Value System in Nepal

What is value system? In simple way value system means the principle of right and wrong that are accepted by an individual or a social group. Values can be defined as broad preferences concerning appropriate courses of action or outcomes. As such, values reflect a person’s sense of right and wrong or what â€Å"ought† to be. 40â€Å"Equal rights for all† and â€Å"People should be treated with respect and dignity† are representative of values. Values tend to influence attitudes and behavior.For example, if you value equal rights for all and you go to work for an organization that treats its managers much better than it does its workers, you may form the attitude that the company is an unfair place to work; consequently, you may not produce well or may perhaps leave the company. It is likely that if the company had had a more egalitarian policy, your attitude and behaviors would have been more positive. A value system is in essence the ordering and prioriti zation of the ethical and ideological values that an individual or society holds.While two individuals or groups may share a set of common values, they may differ in their determination of which values in that set have precedence over others. The two individuals or groups are said to have different value systems, even though they may have many values in common, if their prioritization of values differs, or if there are different exceptions they attach to these values. Groups and individuals whose differing value systems have many values in common may still wind up in conflict, ideological or physical, with each other, because of the differences in their value systems.People with differing value systems will thus disagree on the rightness or wrongness of certain actions, both in the abstract and in specific circumstances. In essence, a value system (if sufficiently well-defined) is a formalization of a moral code. The premise behind the discipline of rigorously examining value system s and the differences between them (given the provisional name ethonomics) is that an understanding of these differences in prioritization of values can lead to greater understanding about the politics (and motivations) of individuals and groups.While political discourse in recent times has frequently focused on the â€Å"values† held by the people engaging in the discourse (be they candidates, office holders, or media pundits), in reality those being compared share many (perhaps most) values in common. It is in their prioritization of those values that they differ, causing them (as a result of these different prioritizations) to come to different conclusions about what is right and wrong, and to take different actions accordingly.One example of a simple formal value system is Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics, which is intended as value system (of sorts) for robots in the hypothetical future of Asimov's science fiction novels. Simply distilled, the laws stipulate that: * human life is of primary importance and value (â€Å"A robot may not harm a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. â€Å") * orders given by human beings to robots are secondary, to be obeyed as long as they do not violate the first law (â€Å"A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. ) * a robot's own existence is of tertiary value, meaning that a robot should preserve its own life only if the other two laws have been satisfactorily complied with (â€Å"A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law. â€Å") Naturally, this is a very simplistic set of values, but the idea behind formalization of value systems is that more complex value systems that apply to human society might be derived or mapped from similar principles and structures, and that conflicts between such value systems might be resolved rat ionally.Definitions Values In order to define value systems, we need to define the characteristics of values that could be represented in a value system. The values that a group or person holds may fall into several different categories. The ones that usually concern us in the area of value systems are the ethical and the ideological. * Ethical values may be thought of as those values which serve to distinguish between good and bad, right and wrong, and moral and immoral. At a societal level, these values frequently form a basis for what is permitted and what is prohibited. Ideological values deal with the broader or more abstract areas of politics, religion, economics, and social mores. In theory, the broader ideological values should derive logically as natural consequences of the particulars of fundamental ethical values and their prioritizations. But although ideally a value system ought to be consistent, quite often this is not the case. Value Systems As mentioned earlier, a va lue system is the ordering and prioritization of the ethical and ideological values that an individual or society holds.The specific prioritizations may lead to designated exceptions invoked because one value is deemed more important than another (e. g. , â€Å"lying is wrong, but lying to save someone else's life is acceptable, because human life is more valuable (more highly valued) than the principle that lying is wrong†). Regardless of whether or not value systems are formed logically, they determine for individuals and societies what actions they are likely to act and how those actions are likely to be justified (or perhaps ‘rationalized'). Characteristics of Value SystemsValue systems can be categorized along multiple axes: * They can be personal, held by an individual and applicable only to an individual, or they can be communal or societal, defined by and applying to a community or society. Communal value systems may be legal codes take on the force of law in ma ny societies. * They can be internally consistent, where the broader ideological values derive logically as natural consequences of the particulars of fundamental ethical values, and where values do not contradict each other, or they can be inconsistent.Although ideally a value system ought to be consistent, quite often this is not the case in practice. Note that valuing the consistency of a value system is itself a sort of ‘meta-value', that could be present or absent in a given value system. * They can be idealized value systems (ideal representations of an individual's or group's value prioritizations) or realized value systems (how such a value system is manifested in reality, in the actions and decisions of the individual or group).Idealized value systems tend to be absolute, in that they are codified as a strict set of proscriptions on behavior, while realized value systems contain conditional exceptions that are rules to resolve collisions between values in practical ci rcumstances. Personal vs. Communal A value system may be held by a group of people, a community or society, or it might be held by an individual. An individual person's value system might be consistent with or equivalent to the community's value system. Consistency does not imply equivalence, though.An individual's value system might even hold the person to a higher standard, and still be consistent with the community's value system. (Consistency within a value system, described below, refers to the degree to which contradictions and overt situational exceptions are absent from that value system; consistency between value systems means that any action that might be taken in one value system would not contradict the rules associated with another. ) Exceptions One way of looking at differences between value systems is to think of the exceptions to the â€Å"rules† associated with values.These could be abstract exceptions (which are generalized enough in the way they are defined to take hold in all situations) and situational exceptions (which only can be said to be applied in very specific situations). The more generalized the exception, the more useful it is in a wider context for defining a consistent value system. In general, abstract exceptions serve to reinforce the prioritization of values, e. g. : Lying is wrong, but lying to save someone else's life is acceptable, because preserving a human life is more valuable (more highly valued) than the adhering to the principle that lying is wrong.In a formal value system (idealized or realized), the default exception associated with each value is assumed to be â€Å"as long as no higher-priority value is violated†. However, this hierarchical structure may be too simplistic in practice, and explicit exceptions may need to be specified. Examples of exceptions in practice: * We may commonly agree that telling the truth is an important positive value, and that conversely deception is inherently wrong. Bu t we make both abstract and situational exceptions for circumstances where we may assert that lying is acceptable behavior.Thus lying to avoid causing another person pain as a general rule would be considered an abstract exception, while lying in a particular situation because a specific person, if lied to, might do a specific thing at a specific time would be considered a situational exception. * People may agree that stealing is wrong, but some people may believe that stealing if you are starving and want to feed yourself and your loved ones is more acceptable than stealing if you are a abitual thief who makes a living stealing from people, or if you are an already wealthy person whose greed leads you to steal from your partners, your investors, or those you do business with. Others may find nothing wrong with stealing from faceless corporations and business establishments but may frown upon stealing from individuals. Some may define certain acts to qualify as not stealing if they fit into some of these categories. * People who think that killing is wrong might make an exception for someone acting in self-defense, placing a higher value on preservation of one's own life than on the principle of â€Å"thou shalt not kill†.Someone in the military might accept the value that killing another person is wrong yet may see nothing wrong with killing someone (in self-defense or not) in the course of or following the orders of a military commander (assumed to have a valid reason for ordering the killing), placing a higher value on discipline/loyalty and â€Å"defending one's country†. Conversely, a conscientious objector might prioritize the value that killing is wrong not only over military actions but even over self-defense. Many people in the business world might include the Golden Rule (which says â€Å"Do unto others as you would have others do unto you†) in their value system, but in practice they might place higher priority on the values li ke â€Å"Every man for himself† or â€Å"Let the buyer beware†. Conversely, another person might find that prioritization morally repugnant, and accuse the businessman of being unethical (or even of a form of theft) if he sells merchandise he knows to be shoddy, or deceives those he tries to do business with. ConsistencyA value system whose exceptions are abstract, generalized enough to be used in all situations, is said to be an internally consistent value system. On the other hand, a value system whose exceptions are highly situational, or whose exceptions are inconsistently applied, is said to be an internally inconsistent. A value system's consistency (or lack thereof) does not necessarily say anything about how ‘good' or ‘evil' it is. A value system that declares that lying and murder are acceptable, that essentially endorses a ‘might makes right' morality, could be internally consistent in its approach.Likewise, an internally inconsistent value system, loaded with inconsistently applied situational exceptions, might be considered perfectly acceptable if the ‘meta-value' of consistent application of values is not part of the value system. (The paradox here is that the absence of this value in a value system makes it consistent, because there is no constraint that says it must be consistent. It could be argued that those who explicitly omit this meta-value from their value system implicit endorse consistency as a value in that act of deliberate omission. On the other hand, those who hold this value ) Idealized vs.Realized These exceptions, especially when they are implicitly rather than explicitly defined, often yield a difference between an idealized value system and the realized value system. The idealized value system is the simple listing of values (in priority order) that a person or society would purport that they employ in determining right and wrong. The realized value system is the one they actually use in day -to-day life. While people claiming to employ a particular value system might say they place more value on x than y, more often than not there are deviations from this in practice.A consistent value system A religion may list a strong set of positive values, but its adherents and even those who are leaders of the religion may stray from those in practice. Idealized value systems often list strict rules (perhaps without any prioritizing order) but do not carefully define exceptions, abstract or situational. Realized value systems, in practice, often have a number of exceptions associated with them, but they may not be explicitly defined or consistently applied. Absolutists hold to their idealized value system and claim no exceptions other than the default.Defining Values Some fundamental values that most people seem to share, at least in theory, are: * â€Å"It's wrong to hurt, to harm, or especially to kill another person. † * â€Å"It's wrong to steal from another person. à ¢â‚¬  * â€Å"It's wrong to lie. † In practice, realized examples of these values would be a good deal more complicated, with exceptions already embedded within them. * â€Å"It's wrong to hurt another person, except in self-defense to keep them from hurting you, or if it is agreed upon with the other person as a step towards a mutually acceptable greater good (e. g. a doctor giving a patient a painful injection to cure an ailment). † * â€Å"It's wrong to take something from someone in a non-consensual fashion without negotiating overtly with the other person and agreeing to a mutually satisfactory transfer or exchange. † * â€Å"It's wrong to deceive another person knowingly for your own gain. † * â€Å"It's wrong to take deliberate overt action to prevent another person from exercising his will as long as that exercise does not interfere with your own exercise of will, except when the other person's will serves to violate the aforementioned principle s. In general, these values declare that â€Å"it's wrong to interfere in another person's life unless they do things to interfere in yours† This corresponds in essence to what has been called the Wiccan Rede which declares that â€Å"[As long as it] harms none, do what thou wilt†. While this may seem an elegant moral principle, in practice it runs into trouble because of the differing priorities people place on specific individual values, because of the way differing value systems define what is and isn't ‘harm', and perhaps most of all because of the different exceptions implicitly or explicitly defined in a value system.Examples of conflicting value systems This section is devoted to the process of using rational analysis to resolve conflicts between value systems. Individualism vs. collectivism In individualism, the needs and wants of the individual take precedence over the needs and wants of a society or community. The implicit exception inherent in individu alism is usually â€Å"as long as the actions of the individual do not harm other individuals. † Absolutists may claim that even this exception does not hold.In collectivism, the needs and wants of the society or community take precedence over the needs and wants of the individual. Rarely is the exception invoked that this is true â€Å"as long as the actions of the society do not restrict individuals . † It could be argued that a rational value system puts value on the needs and wants of the society or community structure, but does not give this more value than the needs and wants of the individuals within it.It is relatively easy to argue the case for this prioritization: under collectivism, a community could decide (however such decisions might be made) that it would work better if there were no people in it to interfere with the smooth running of society. While this might be true, since people tend to â€Å"complicate† the smooth running of any social order, it would create a society without any people, something which is clearly against the interest of the people in that society—would we rationally advocate our own extinction if it made the â€Å"system† of society run better?A rational resolution to the conflict between individualism and collectivism might structure these values in this manner: 1. The rights of individuals to act as they wish is unencumbered, unless their actions harm others or interfere with others' free exercise of their individual rights, and as long as their actions do not interfere with functions of society that other individuals depend upon, provided those functions do not themselves interfere with these proscribed individual rights and were agreed to by a majority of the individuals. . A society (or more specifically the system of order that enables the workings of a society) exists for the purpose of benefitting the lives of the individuals who are members of that society. The functions of a soc iety in providing such benefits would be those agreed to by the majority of individuals in the society. 1. A society may require contributions from its members in order for them to benefit from the services provided by the society.The failure of individuals to make such required contributions could be considered a reason to deny those benefits to them, although a society could elect to consider hardship situations in determining how much should be contributed. 1. A society may restrict behavior of individuals who are members of the society only for the purpose of performing its designated functions agreed to by the majority of individuals in the society, only insofar as they violate the aforementioned values.This means that a society may abrogate the rights of any of its members who fails to uphold the aforementioned values. Of necessity, as you can see here, the exceptions associated with values like these can become recursive and often convoluted. The name proposed for the discipl ine that tries to perform this task—mapping and formalizing value system prioritizations and resolving conflicts between disparate value systems through rational analysis—is ethonomics.

Developments Leading to the Civil War, 1848-1861 Essay

By 1848, the slavery issue was already dividing the nation and various compromise suggestions had been put forth to no avail. The elections, however, avoided the topic and it won the presidency for Zachary Taylor. Finally, in September 1850 with what was to be known as the Compromise of 1850 finally won in the form of five laws. It was hoped that this would settle the slavery problem once and for all. However, especially controversial was the Fugitive Slave Act which â€Å"compelled northern citizens to catch runaway slaves† which they loathe to do. In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published which brought the horror of slavery to the forefront. Then in 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Bill was passed wherein they were to be organized as a territory with the slavery issue to be decided by popular sovereignty. It again opened great concern that slavery might extend to Kansas previously declared in the Missouri Compromise as a non-slave territory. An offshoot was the birth of the Republican Party dedicated to fight slavery. Also in 1854, the Democrats made moves to expand further south into Cuba using the Ossend Manifesto to pressure Spain to sell it and if successful, turn it into several slave states. In Kansas, there was chaos. Both pro- and anti-slavery scrambled to settle the area so they can take part in the territory’s vote on the slavery issue. For three years, there was much conflict and bloodshed. It became the â€Å"foretaste of civil war. † In the presidential election of 1856, Kansas was the chief issue. The Democratic candidate James Buchanan won. In 1857, the proslavery groups in Kansas set-up a convention and asked to be admitted as a state by and submitted the Lecompton Constitution to Congress. Buchanan endorsed it. However, Stephen Douglas fishing for the north’s support in his bid for the Senate fought for having it returned to Kansas and passed in a referendum. The people of turned it down. On March 6, 1857, the Supreme Court brought down its ruling on the Dred Scott case. Scott sued for his freedom on the grounds that he lived in both a free state and territory before retuning to Missouri. It was declared that he was a non-U. S. citizen, that he was his master’s personal property and according to the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution, Congress had no right to take way personal property without due process of the law. This last ruling in effect declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional. This led to violent opposition. The series of debates between Lincoln and Douglas on the slavery issue also brought it forward to people’s awareness and widened the rift between the North and the South. In 1859, John Brown together with 22 men, an anti-slavery radical, attacked the federal arsenal hoping to provoke an uprising by the slaves. His trial gained more sympathy from the North for his cause but increased the paranoia of the South. For some time, Southern leaders had said that their states would not stay in the Union if an anti-slavery president was elected. Abraham Lincoln who opposed the extension of the slavery in the Territories won in 1860 by popular vote. South Carolina promptly seceded from the Union. In the next two months, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas also seceded. They soon organized the Confederate States of America. On February 4, 1861 they adopted a constitution and elected Jefferson Davis president. Meanwhile, the Federal forts in the South were being taken over by the Confederates including Fort Sumter. Major Robert Anderson was holding it down and asked for provisions from the Federal government. On April 10, Jefferson ordered General P. G. T. Buearegard to get the fort to surrender. Major Anderson refused and on April 12, the Confederates shelled Fort Sumter. The Civil War has begun. Two days later, Fort Sumter surrendered.

European Women’s History Essay

The role of women in society has greatly evolved. Prior to the emergence of today’s modern world, women were restricted and confined by the norms and dictates of society. Gender inequality greatly prevailed especially during the early societies. There was little room for progress for women. More often than not, women were prohibited from pursuing careers. Such personal growth was attributed solely to men.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, with the evolution of the society came the change in perception of the role of women. It can be said the change in society’s perception with regards to the role of women was initiated by the querelle des femmes, or the debate over women. Such debate began in the 14th century and lasted until the 18th century.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   During the said period, various questions were raised with regards to how women should be viewed or treated in society. The status of women in society became the center of the debate. Questions regarding the rights of women as well as their capabilities were likewise raised. Misogyny was likewise an important issue that continuously raged on in the debate. Primarily, the basic question that emerged was regarding the capability of women for rational thought. Men and women argued on whether women are rational beings who could determine what is logical and rational. In other words, such question dealt with whether women have the ability to make decisions on their own.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From such debate emerged the changes in society’s perception over the role and status of women. Various assumptions were developed and were brought about the long debates and arguments. Among the most vital assumptions that were developed was one that concluded that women were indeed rational beings. Women were capable of rational thought and thereby had the inherent ability to make decisions for themselves.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To supplement such nature of women, education for women was encouraged. Many philosophers argued that educating women was vital in order to establish their place in society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, it is not only with the querelle des femmes that questions over the role and status of women were argued upon. Such questions were continuously discussed even with the emergence of the enlightenment period. In both cases though, gender equality was the main point of debate.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another assumption that emerged from such debates dealt with the fact that the role of women is society is a product not just of misogyny of men but with the education of women. Before the said period, women were educated in such a way that they would become submissive to men. Such mindset is one of the reasons why women were viewed as inferior beings in society. With the emergence of women writers in the aforementioned periods, the call for a change in the education of women began to emerge. The15th to 18th centuries saw an abundance of literary works that called for equal education between men and women. As previously mentioned, education was one of the key questions in the debate. Moreover, such literary pieces called for society to treat women as intellectual equals of men. In other words, the proponents of the movement demanded that women be considered intellectuals and thus be given intellectual education. It was no longer enough that women be trained to become mere housewives. The debate changed the type of education that women usually received. The debate reformed the view that women were ignorant and that they were only capable of performing household duties. With the many arguments raised in the centuries-long debate, such perceived nature of women was changed. The pro-women stand had several proponents. Each of them took on the battle using their pen and paper. It is through literature that women combated the misogynists of the time. Various literary works emerged that tackled the many questions that arose from the querelle des femmes. Women writers were at the forefront of the battle for a reformation of women’s rights and more importantly, the nature and role of women in society. The negative view of women was tackled directly and indirectly through prose and poetry. In each literary work, women writers such as Pizan and Wollstonecraft signified women’s desire to be considered as equal of men. More importantly, such works pinpointed the wanting of women to be viewed as intellectuals who deserve the proper training and education that will allow them to pursue further personal growth and development. The pen served as the weapon of choice for women. Through the pen, women were able to prove that they were intellectually capable of rational thought. Through the pen, women were able to voice out their dislike for the manner by which men and society in general viewed their importance and role.

Work-Life balance in Emirates Group Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Work-Life balance in Emirates Group - Essay Example This implies a point of equipoise or stability between two equally demanding things – in this case, work life and family life. People have a natural inclination to seek challenge and achievement as much as the desire to enjoy family relationships and the leisurely company of other people they have an affinity for. WLB is now considered as one of the most important qualities of the workplace, second only to the pay rate, because the physical and psychological stability of workers and employees directly impact on the performance of business firms. The usefulness of WLB in enhancing the operations of firms has been the topic of many academic researches, with varying outcomes. WLB has been known to impact positively on workers’ levels of job satisfaction and morale, reduce stress in both work and family life, enhanced organisational efficiency and effectiveness, and reduction in problems experienced in both areas (Kumar & Chakraborty, 2013). As beneficial as WLB sounds, the practice, while gaining legitimacy as a general principle, has received less than enthusiastic response at the execution level. WLB has not been effectively implemented in many organisations; the causes were determined in a survey conducted by Kumar & Chakraborty (2013), some of which are as follows: Negative or indifferent attitude on the part of top management Lack of faith of supervisors in the effectiveness of WLB benefits Uncertainty and reluctance among employees in adopting WLB in their work schedules Stringent work schedules Dictatorial behaviour of supervisors and top management, and their refusal to plan out flexible work schedules Unavailability and inaccessibility of WLB tools and techniques for workers to implement flexible work schedules. Unsupportive organisational culture for the implementation of WLB Bureaucratic procedures and delay in the formulation and execution of WLB policies and practices. Poor structural framework of the planned WLB programme Inconsistency in infrequency of interaction between management and workers in order to assimilate WLB as a transformative element in organisational life. The foregoing enumeration of impediments to what should be an effortless adoption of WLB is evident in many companies, and will likely continue to pose obstacles to its implementation. According to Smith (2010), however, each succeeding generation of workers tend to come to a greater understanding and acceptance of WLB, thus as they advance in the organization into the supervisory and managerial levels it is expected that the attitude of management towards WLB will also eventually change. So far, what has not appeared to be evident to management is the strategic usefulness of WLB as a competitive advantage, in terms of improved quality of work, improved job performance, ethical decision-making and long-term job satisfaction (Smith, 2010). Four areas for flexible work or leave arrangements Industrial Relations Victoria (IRV), a government sub-uni t under the Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development, is tasked with monitoring industrial relations in the State’s public and private sectors, and with supporting innovations to address the increasingly competitive business environments without engendering additional industrial (IRV, 2013). According to the IRV, a compilation of the research of several government agencies have identified 27 model family friendly clauses that were directly included in various collective agreements. The 27 clauses (which represented the best practices in the industry) may be classified into four based on their nature and subject. They are as follows Services – This refers to the provision of service options by the employer organisation for the

Political Fiction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Political Fiction - Essay Example It can serve as a weapon towards change in a prevailing social system, tackle direct social and political repercussions, and discuss social struggle. Fiction can employ a particular topic and convey meaning and symbol related to an existing social and political system. The significance of fiction in history is not only confined within the realm of literature, but also explores the domain of politics. Fiction is seen to have worked its way in the political domain when Ignacio Salome's novel; Fontamara (1933) became popular upon gaining a favourable opinion of Mussolini's Fascism (Hanne 1994). Likewise, Alexander Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (1962) personally authorized for publication by Soviet leader Khrushchev in order to discredit Stalin, is another example of fiction being influenced by politics. However, this connection is not limited to external influencing but extends to the more important functions of fiction and politics - that of the conveyance of meaning and symbol of political phenomena through their depiction of the fiction. Likewise, the realm of politics is likened to a fiction, including all its elements from plot to setting, characters, and scenes. Such is made possible through political representation embo died in the fiction, especially when it is a political novel. The Problems with Political Representation It is from assumptions, biases, and news reports from which political beliefs are normally spring, which makes politics a drama that takes place in an assumed world in which people as spectators, do not directly observe or touch. Politics is a domain that consists of images and models wherein people usually translate the reported news, a task considered a necessary undertaking (Edelman 1995). Edelman says that this translation is seen in an example in which a report about American missiles were launched against Baghdad to punish the Iraqi dictator which creates meaning for everyone's repertoire on the images of images of military actions, Arabs, and how war brings devastation even to civilians. Political phenomena are thus not taken as they are without any political representation involved. More so, political representation is an essential part of how symbols and messages are conveyed, in that in another example set by Edelman (1995), a report about an increase or reduction of welfar e benefits brings images of cheaters and victims, as well as the possible consequences of such increase or reduction in relation to tax rates, and so on. These are examples of political images being drawn on the minds of people caused by attached meanings and assumptions on them. Political fiction often offers direct criticism of a present government, society, or political figure and presents an alternative of a sometimes fantastic reality, to what is being criticized (Edelman 1995). In doing such, political fiction often employs satire like The Simpsons in its depiction of the Western culture. It may be inferred that beliefs about politics and political discourse are products of art in which complex causal connection is drawn. This being said, Edelman states that art is a

How to fix America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How to fix America - Essay Example This financial crisis and the recessionary time period have struck the United States and the rest of the world because of reduction in the investors’ confidence level. This reduction in investors’ confidence is primarily because of the Federal Reserve’s supporting behavior towards large institutional banks and brokerage houses. The Federal Reserve has allowed such large institutional banks and brokerage houses to perform normally when these institutions carried liabilities worth an estimated 10% of the entire annual economic output (GDP) of the nation. The FED has kept a discriminatory approach towards the other private sector organization, which go into receivership if they are found to have such liquidity issues. This approach of the FED lets the large institutional banks and brokerage houses to perform normally can lead the economy to shatter if any of these institutions are allowed to unwind. The major example is the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy issue. Such act ions of the FED have led to a reduction in the confidence level of investors. The approach that can be followed to address such issue is to cut down and reduce the size of each bank. This reduction in the size of each individual bank would reduce the impact on the entire system if any of these banks fail. This way each and every institution would be accountable for the amount of risk that it takes up. This way the lending policies would become more risk averse and cautious. Each and every bank would work upon their revenue and economic growth through a proper and reasonable interest rate. The other issue arises with the transparency of the FED. The FED should be fair and just in all its decisions and the excess printing of the dollar bill as compared to the inadequate backing of gold needs to be fixed. This would increase and restore the confidence in the value of each Dollar in circulation. This can be

Finance Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Finance Assignment - Essay Example However, the best practise to calculate the cost of capital is to consider the market value of the assets, in which case, the difference can be significant. The WACC is calculated using only the cost of debt and the cost of equity. It is important to note that raising capital via. Debt increases the beta value of the company, i.e., the risk of investing is increased, as the company is obligated to pay the debt. Hence the cost of equity is also increased due to this change in capital structure. The debt ratio of Boral limited is computed as the ratio of total debt to total assets which is equal to (1518/5816.60) 26.1%. This is lesser when compared to the Commonwealth bank which has a higher debt ratio. Also, the Commonwealth bank of Australia has lesser short term money and in order to compute the liquidity position of the bank, the cash as well as the loans and deposits are to be considered. The gearing ratio of the bank has to be much higher, as the entire operation of the bank involves taking deposits and lending loans. However the gearing ratio of Boral cannot go much higher as it will affect the debt rating of the company. From the balance sheets, it is evident that Boral Limited has a number of non-tangible assets whereas all the assets and liabilities are monetary in nature. The banks normally seek and increase liabilities in order to build the assets. However manufacturing companies tend to build assets and thrive to increase the value. As there are opportunities for business development with the additional capital raised by making the company public, it is essential to estimate the business growth. This will give an estimate on the earnings per share. Based on the earnings, the plowback rate can be computed for continuous growth. Hence from the earnings per share and the plowback rate, the dividend payments can be forecast during the growth period. Case 1: Assuming that the business can expand for the next 6 years and

Fixing Pubic Education in the United States Essay

Fixing Pubic Education in the United States - Essay Example This paper stresses that in the US, elementary education is compulsory and begins at age 5. According to Avril Toffler, compulsory education was premeditated to fabricate obedient factory personnel who are used to performing repetitive errands. Besides, compulsory education is a criminal, communist and unconstitutional because it is unusual and cruel punishment. Hence, the education system constitutes unintentional solitude. Thus, this is what the US education system does to the junior citizens who are in elementary schools. It is evident to deduce that what the children will specialize at will be mastering their alphabet but not being creative. Thus to yield creative citizens in the future, the federal government should do away with the compulsory system of education. This will enable children in elementary school to apply appropriate principles, values, and reasons to make a sound decision in their lives. This will enable them to become responsible citizens too. This discussion makes a conclusion that the US education system trains students to be employees and consumers. The system is unable to give rise to critical thinkers and aggressive entrepreneurs in US. If the system is not fixed, there will be no room for inventors and innovative citizens in the future to solve future challenges. To change the trend above, the government should implement a system where talent of individuals is nurture from a tender age thus enables development and specialization of an individual in his field of study. With such a system, there will inventions in the country thus economic growth. The system will also encourage entrepreneurship; thus this will lead to job creations and reduce pressure on the few available jobs hence decline in the unemployment rate, which is currently on the rise. The US system does not give rise to critical thinkers and thus the students are taught to obey rules and regulations in elementary school. This, in turn, confines the student s and suppresses them to express themselves. Since the students are not given room to express their views, their creative talent is curbed. The federal government should introduce a system which promotes a one on one free interaction between teachers and students. This will facilitate a favorable learning environment; thus it will nurture the students public relations and elevates student’s power of thinking. Besides, interaction between the students and the teacher will enable the teacher recognize the student’s area of difficulty; thus it will enable him to strengthen it. Besides, once the student is perfect through one on one discussion with the teacher, he will become more specialized and innovative too. One on one interaction also encourages group discussions and exchange of ideas. The US education system resembles a state penitentiary because of the incarceration, constant surveillance from the teachers; bells ringing at intervals, age segregations and lack of pr ivacy thus prevent children from learning how to think because they will be in constant fear of being punished by their teachers. When children are exposed to such circumstances, they are forced to addiction behavior. Constant surveillance retards students from being critical thinkers thus lack in creativity. Besides, it gives the teachers room to manipulate, harass and punish students incase they have done something erroneous. The federal government should introduce a system which does not tolerate teachers’ harassments to students. Besides, classes should be conducted in the

What is the object of copyright How should the law define the 'work' Essay

What is the object of copyright How should the law define the 'work' in the context of literary property - Essay Example The copyright’s interpretation and protection is mainly related to the indigenous creation of the work. It does not apply to the idea that underlies its creation. As such, copyright protects the presentation of the idea. For instance, an idea behind a book is not protected but the presentation of the idea in the form of a book through the content is protected. This means that other individuals can also utilize the same idea and write a book based on that idea; however, they cannot claim copyright if the content of the book is copied or if it is an adaptation of another writer’s presentation of that idea (The UK Copyright Service, 2004). Names, titles, phrases and specific colours are ineligible to be granted a copyright, because they are not considered to be unique or distinct. They are also not sufficiently tangible to be protected by copyright law. However, a logo which contains all these components can be protected by copyright. Therefore, the form in which an idea or a creative work is presented can be protected by copyright law. Nevertheless, just the idea behind such a presentation cannot be protected (The UK Copyright Service, 2004). The Institute for Public Policy Research or the IPPR claims that millions of consumers infringe the copyright law by illegally copying the content of CD’s and DVD’s. The usual practice is to store the content of CD’s and DVD’s on computer hard disk drives or on optical discs. This practice makes it look as though there is some kind of private right to duplicate copyrighted content. According to Ian Kearns, Deputy Director of IPPR, the existing English law with regard to copyrights cannot counter the unlawful practices adopted by consumers, due to the sophistication of the technology employed (HOME NEWS, October 30, 2006; Pg. 15 ). The existing law provides a legalised private right to copy, to the people. Under this private right, consumers are freely copying the contents of CD’s or DVD’s onto their

Stock Market Development in Qatar Economy Essay

Stock Market Development in Qatar Economy - Essay Example It is believed that inflation bears a positive influence on common stocks. This is so because the shareholders tend to earn more money for their goods and services when they sell them during the time when there is a high inflation rate in the market. This gives a positive relationship between an inflation and the stock market prices. When one, therefore, tries to assess the impact of inflation on the stock prices performance, there is a positive relationship which is achieved between the two. Economists measure economic growth in through the use of an increase in the size of the economy of a nation. Gross Domestic Product is a widely used measure of an economic output. The term is normally used to refer to the total value found from the final goods and services that are produced within a country’s borders within a given year. When measuring GDP, normally the ownership of a particular goods and services are not normally considered. The measure, however, considers the only the f inal goods and services that consumed by the final user but not those goods and services that were used as inputs in the production of other goods and services. Researchers have found out that there lies some relationship between the stock prices and the future growth of the real GDP. Two explanations exist to prove this fact, and the first explanation is the one that states that there are changes in information that might occur in the future about the RGGDP, and such changes in information can change today’s prices in the stock market.

Free

Free Press and Democracy Essay Democracy is a form of government in which all eligible citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Democracy allows eligible citizens to participate equally and to have free access to information ideas and opinions, with this reasoning is inferred that de democracy needs free press in order to be function properly. The power of the press is associated to the fundamental principles of democracy thats to say the freedom of expression and freedom of opinion. The desire of people to express themselves freely wouldnt have been possible without a fully free press. The power of the press has managed to reach such importance as freedom of expression. Free press has the capacity to arms citizens with essential information-the truth, that gives people the opportunity to choose the path to follow and to have their own opinion when it comes to solve problems or take a side in the issues that will always take place in a society. An intimidated, uninformed and disinterested public would be the predictable result of the loss of freedom of the press. It is basic statement that to maintain a healthy democracy no government activity should escape the scrutiny of the press. According to one story, one of Napoleon’s contemporaries visited the United States as a guest of President Thomas Jefferson. Upon seeing a Federalist newspaper article lying on a table that heavily criticized Jefferson’s policies, the visiting Frenchman remarked that the writer of the article should be punished. Jefferson responded calmly, â€Å" Sir, you may take the newspaper back with you to France, because that is the difference between my country and yours.† The president, a great believer in freedom of the press, was telling his visitor that without this right, American would not be the country that it is. This was true in 1800, and is equally true today. The freedom to publish facts, even opposing opinions about those facts, is essential for informed voters to participate in a democracy. In a nutshell, it can be inferred with all this information that democracy and free press needs to come handy, together in order to give people the freedom that they deserve to take their own opinion in a determinate matter. In my opinion everybody have the right to take their own decisions and to have their own opinion in all aspects of live. Without free press there is no democracy, no freedom of choice.

Crime and Prostitution Essay Example for Free

Crime and Prostitution Essay Prostitution is known as the oldest profession in the world, however, many states in the U.S. outlaw it. The textbook definition of prostitution is the act or practice of engaging in sexual acts for money (Prostitution, Macmillan 805). Nevada is the first in the United States to legalize prostitution. Although the long term effects of legalized prostitution is uncertain, the short term effects have been economically beneficial. Prostitution should be legalized because not only could it financially benefit the country, but it could also reduce crime. There are many reasons why prostitution is illegal in 49 U.S. states today. First, and foremost, many people feel that prostitution should stay illegal in order to preserve morality. Parents do not want their children to grow up thinking that prostitution is acceptable. Worse yet, parents do not want to hear their children say, When I grow up, I want to be a prostitute. Christianity also looks down upon prostitution because according to their beliefs, the act of sex is only to be done when a man and a women are in love and married. Monogamy is to be practiced in the marriage, and any violation of this is considered a sin. Another reason why the preservation of morality is so important is that peoples morals shape the future of a nation. Many people feel that if prostitution is legalized, then its long term effects would be detrimental to the.

The Laugher Of The Medusa | Analysis

The Laugher Of The Medusa | Analysis Throughout history, women have been excluded from any kind of writing that could allow them the participation in the making of history and culture. Being considered as creatures of lesser rank in mental capacities and intellect, women have been, over centuries, kept in the dark by a patriarchal system that has successfully muted their needs for expression, be it physical, oral or written. In her fundamental essay The Laugh of the Medusa, Hà ©là ¨ne Cixous, French philosopher and feminist critic, openly introduces this idea of womans need for writing as a biological drive which intimately relies on her ceasing back and mastering her own body that has been violently miused by males rhetoric , as Toril Moi asserts that always and everywhere, the rational, active, masculine intellect operates on the passive, objectified, feminized body (189). Its only from the bodily experience that women, according to Cixous, can give birth to an  «Ãƒ ©criture fà ©minine  » which will subvert the phallocentric discourse of masculine writing, along with the logocentric representational system through which it functions. The purpose of this paper is to examine the key insights that the author explores in her essay, mainly the feminine writing  [1]  with the idea of sexual differences. It is, also, necessary to consider, in the following stages, how Cixous makes use of Freuds and Lacans psychoanalysis and Derridas deconstructist theory to disrupt the phallocentric assumptions, hence to break up with all forms of repression against women. A particular focus will be on the critics contribution to French feminism and Anglo-American feminist theory. Le Rire de la Mà ©duse was written by Cixous in 1975, and translated into English as The Laugh of the Medusa in 1976 by Keith Cohen and Paula Cohen. This influential essay, essentially adressing women in order to  « bring them to writing  » (Cixous 875), is expressed in a beautiful and poetic language to convey the idea of the existence of an à ©criture fà ©minine, which is already used by the author. As with many of her writings  [2]  , Cixouss The Laugh of the Medusa revises sexual differences between men and women from past to present, anticipating a future radical change in the perception of this notion which would only take shape if woman takes back a body that is hers, from the masculine repressing language, in order to employ it as a cause and effect of a new genre of writing which Cixous introduces as the feminine writing. The whole premise of the essay is that  « Woman must write her self: must write about women and bring women to writing .  » (Cixous 875). In the light of this idea, the critic goes on to relate womens writing to their bodily experiences that represent a source of desire and urge for creativity. In other words, for a woman to be able to break up with the old traditional doormat in her skin, she must trace her own body with a feminine language. As a result, women will create their own tradition of writing, embarking from the past and its repressive language. Over centuries, masculine discourse has been the dominant and the stronger one. Women had no word to say in a patriarchal universe where, as Cixous states, they were regarded as  « dark  » and  « dangerous  » (878). Women have, accordingly, developed a sense of resentment for other women and themselves under the influence of the masculine ideology. To break up with this complex, Cixous calls woman to manifest through a writing that belongs to her ; but which can neither be defined nor theorized (883) since, as it can be deduced, language is males property, and there is no room to theorize a feminine writing within the masculine dominant discourse. However, the feminine mode of writing can be described as revolutionary against the phallocentric language and thought (888). Cixouss point is to approach this genre of writing in relation to sexual differences and gender in order to demonstrate how these differences have served historico-cultural purposes to hinder womens intellect ual capacities. She goes further to discuss the traditional idea of bisexuality as neutrality- that engenders the fear of lacking  [3]  , contrasted with a bisexuality, that allows one to identify one self as having sexual orientation toward the two sexes. From this equation, Cixous concludes that  « woman is bisexual  » by the nature of her organs and the turning shifts of events; whereas man cannot be so without losing his phallocentric masculine identity (884). In the same way, she believes that writing is bisexual, for women should write to women and men without no exclusion. Throughout the article, Cixous sensibilizes women to the urgent need of a universal revolution against the phallocentric discourse to which they have been the signified subject. By creating their a discourse of their own, women will fly through and, at the same time, steal back that which is already theirs  [4]  , their voices that have been repressed. The author points out to the fact that this subjugation has resulted in creating a female voice consciousness which, aware of the difficulties that women have undergone, reclaims their socio-cultural identity and their natural rights. She also argues for womens freedom to have children or not to have any, without being  « threatened  » or blamed for the choices they make in life (890). The main purpose of this study is to analyze the key insights that Cixous discusses in The Laugh of the Medusa, along with the major influences that affect her writing, namely the Derridian deconstruction and psychoanalytical theory. As its title indicates, the essay includes the  « Medusa  » as a metaphor to portray womans beauty, oppression and intelligence at the same time. By using this Greek mythical figure  [5]  , Cixous hits two birds with one stone : she firstly alludes to women being treated badly by their male counterparts, as Medusa was once ill-treated and raped. On the other hand, the author also hints to womens jealousy of and hatred to other women under the influence of the masculine worldview. Cixous goes on to develop this idea when she argues that men  « have committed the greatest crime against women. Insidiously, violently, they have led them to hate women, to be their own enemies  ». In the same way, the Medusas metaphor is associated with the modern psychoanalytic interpretations of Sigmund Freud who refers to the Medusas head as  « the supreme talisman who provides the image of castration associated in the childs mind with the discovery of maternal sexuality and its denial  » (Freud). Cixous takes on the idea of castration, by which the phallocentric mind is haunted, and relates it to the Medusas image so as to prove that man is unconsciously weak at the sight of the feminine sex, to the point that he is  « consumed, as Freud and his followers note, by a fear of being a woman  » (884). At this level, the critic implicitly alludes to the French psychoanalytist Jacques Lacan, who follows Freud in his concept of Wunsch  [6]  to arrive at a  « desire  » that is associated with a lack. According to Lacans theory of Lack, as explained by Joel Dor in his Introduction to the Re ading of Lacan, womans desire towards the masculine body does not originate from the body itself as the object of desire ; rather, it originates from her lacking a penis ( Dor 236). Ironically, Cixous refutes this  « phallocratic  » analysis arguing that her personal desire of the other is for the other, and that  « a desire originating from a lack  » is much poor and lacking(891). She goes further to criticize women who madly fetishize the masculine sex, treating them of  « the woman of yesterday  » who is either kept in the dark ages, idolizing the traditional way the big penis takes her ; or falsely modernized with naive virtuous thinking as Cixous affirms here :  « They still exist, easy and numerous victims of the oldest of farces: either theyre cast in the original silent version in which, as titanesses lying under the mountains they make with their quivering, they never see erected that theoretic monument to the golden phallus looming, in the old manner, over their bodies. Or, coming today out of their infans period and into the second, enlightened version of their virtuous de-basement, they see themselves suddenly assaulted by the builders of the analytic empire and, as soon as theyve begun to formulate the new desire, naked, nameless, so happy at making an appearance, theyre taken in their bath by the new old men, and then, whoops! Luring them with flashy signifiers, the demon of interpretation  » (892) Following this idea, Cixous is harshly attacking the masculine phallocentric values in the personae of Freud and Lacan, whom she accuses of exploiting the new version of  « modern  » woman to satisfy their sexual needs while theyre reducing them to an inferior and negative position. One cannot understand Cixouss ideas without going back to the Freudian and Lacanian psychoanalytic theories. If we examine Freuds interpretation of sexual differences which place man in a superior position for biological reasons  [7]  , it would then be obvious why he has been criticized by feminists  [8]  , including Cixous. Though she mainly builds her theoretical legacy on psychoanalysis, precisely Freuds, Cixous uses this latters analysis of developmental theory and gender roles -which are based on the biological differences between man and woman- as a counter-argument to assert that, though there is a sexual difference, women should be treated equally, and not in terms of the Lacanian binary oppositions, as she states :  « writing has been run by a libidinal and cultural-hence political, typically masculine-economy; that this is a locus where the repression of women has been perpetuated, over and over, more or less consciously, and in a manner thats frightening since its often hidden or adorned with the mystifying charms of fiction; that this locus has grossly exaggerated all the signs of sexual opposition (and not sexual difference), where woman has never her turn to speak  ». (879) In the same way, Cixous criticizes Lacans theory of phallocentrism which posits the phallus in the centre of the masculine being. Furthermore, the critic employs this primacy of the phallus in the Derridian deconstructist critique of logocentrism to coin the term  « phallogocentrism  », which refers to a (superior) masculine language centered upon the phallus, opposed to a (deficient) feminine language which lacks a phallus. In other words, her writing is a deconstructist one through which she undermines the phallocentric ideology that dominates language (Tidd 98). In addition to the medusas image which is used by the author to overcome Freuds  « castration  » and Lacans  « lack  », is the metaphor of Dora  [9]  that strongly disturbs Freuds legacy in psychoanalysis and therapy. When she directly adresses Dora as  « the true mistress of the Signifier  » (886), Cixous evokes the story of humiliated girl who was manipulated by her father as a pawn in a sexual game between him and his mistresss husband, and later by Freuds therapy that tried to convince her of the necessity to play the game. As a result, the girl was a subject of a double oppression, applied firstly by the father, and secondly by Freud. The case of Dora in the essay, if it alludes to patriarchal ideology and oppression of the females voice, it does not fail to deconstruct the Freudian assumptions of male superiority and the Lacanian theory of  « the Name of the Father  » which prescribes the father as a symbol of law and order. For Cixous, the name of Dora repr esents more than an example of the psychological violence caused by males oppression; she rather employs it as an icon of females revolution and manifest (Showalter 332). The Laugh of the Medusa is the most significant example of Cixouss  « à ©criture feminine  ». Rich of artistic metaphors and innovative ideas, this influential essay is inscribed as a fundamental work of art within literary and critical theory. Influenced by the deconstructist and differentialist thought, Cixouss writing has been effective in undermining the patriarchal dominance over language. By revising the question of sexual differences existing in the psychoanalytical theories of Freud and Lacan, she deconstructs the equation of the binary oppositions applied to the couple man-woman, while intelligently adopting the difference to prove the equality rather than the opposition between the sexes. The idea is recognized through feminist critiques like Shiachs  « Their Symbolic Exists- it Holds Power  » in which she notes :  « Cixous has represented the process of differentiation in more social terms, and has offered the possibility of more hopeful conclusions: the construction of new sorts of identity, which cut across dual hierarchized oppositions  ».( 165) Her poetic language and feminine style is a demonstration of what she calls  « à ©criture fà ©minine  ». Influenced by her reading of James Joyce and Virginia Woolf, Cixous seems to take up their experimentation and modernist mode of writing, herded with a feminine sensual voice and experience, as essential features of a new form, which is the feminine writing. Consequently, introducing this idea, among many others, into the critical theory has undoubtedly made of Cixous one of the most prominent figures of French feminism. When translated into English, Cixouss The Laugh has gained international interest, mainly by Anglo-American feminists. Admittedly, the author has been often criticized  [10]  for considering the sexual differences and making them as a basis for her argument, which, for certain critiques, cannot but reinforce the unequality, hence, repression. To make sense of her ideas, however, one has to contextualize them within a poststructuralist framework. Being a deconstructist par-excellence, Cixous emphasizes the differences in order to deconstruct them. For a deep understanding of her writing, it is crucial to be familiar with psychoanalytical concepts of Freud and his readers, so as to make sense of them in a Cixousian shape. Karen L. Taylor recognizes Cixouss legacy, against Morag Shiachs critique  [11]  , when she states : Furthermore, through her writing, Cixous engages in a psychoanalytical exploration of the feminine. Reading and writing are, for her, the means to grapple with the enigma of male / female relations. She has been criticized for her psychoanalytical style, influenced by Jacques Lacan, and marked by a superabundance of images. Nonetheless, Cixous has been instrumental in establishing a new form of literature that lies somewhere between myth and novel.  » ( 70) What Cixous does is more than claiming equal civil rights for women with regards to their male counterpart. What she does is deconstructing the patriarchal language that hierachizes woman into inferior positions, calling at the meanwhile for a new mode of writing that inscribes the feminine as equal to the masculine, hence, anticipating a possibility of change in social structures. Through the  « à ©criture fà ©minine  », the feminine body  « will produce far more radical effects of political and social changes than some might like to think  » ( Cixous 882).

Human Resources and Organizational Strategy Essay -- Business, Organiz

Human Resources and Organizational Strategy Introduction Organizational success or failure is dependent on a myriad of variables that can be challenging to measure and interpret. Success or failure can simply be luck and timing or an orchestrated and deliberate effort. As new technologies allow organizations the ability to rapidly measure and assess its internal and external environmental factors, more efficient strategies can be quickly implemented. The focus of this literature review is specifically on one of these mentioned variables. The paper will detail the relationship that Human Resources (HR) practices have with an organization’s strategic goals and vision. HR is defined by the Society for Human Resource Management as, â€Å"The function dealing with the management of people employed within the organization.† (SHRM, 2011). The primary functions of administrative, development and management. Administrative functions include those tasks that are often considered â€Å"overhead,† such as benefits and payroll management. Development, or HRD, is defined by Swanson (2001) as, â€Å"Human resource development is a process of developing and/or unleashing expertise through organization development (OD) and personnel training and development for the purpose of improving performance (as cited by Hassan, 2007, pg. 2). Lastly, management is those strategic functions that align HR tasks within its own department and with the overarching organizational strategies. This paper will attempt to give a broad overview from the available literature within three areas. First, the paper will explore the historical relationships of HR and organizational strategy. Second, the paper will give an overview of current practices and trends. Lastly,... ...an approach of partnership is critical for organizations that want to gain competitive advantages. Butler, Ferris & Napier (1991) state this as, â€Å"the more management believes that HRM contributes to corporate success, the more its role will be integrated into the firm’s strategic planning process.† (as cited by Rose & Kumar, 2006, pg. 3). Additionally, organizations that apply energy and resources to HRD benefit from an increase in human capital. Là ³pez-Cabrales, Real & Valle (2011) state the benefits of building human capital as, â€Å"If the company adopts appropriate procedures of personnel management, human capital can be orientated to the achievement of sustainable competitive advantages† (pg. 5). In conclusion, it is recommended that further literature reviews be completed to explore study results that supplement or add to information already reviewed. â€Æ'

World Politics: American Hegemony Essay -- The US as Global Hegemon

UNITED STATES POWER Whenever world politics is mentioned, the state that appears to be at the apex of affairs is the United States of America, although some will argue that it isn’t. It is paramount we know that the international system is shaped by certain defining events that has lead to some significant changes, particularly those connected with different chapters of violence. Certainly, the world wars of the twentieth century and the more recent war on terror must be included as defining moments. The warning of brute force on a potentially large scale also highlights the vigorousness of the cold war period, which dominated world politics within an interval of four decades. The practice of international relations (IR) was introduced out of a need to discuss the causes of war and the different conditions for calm in the wake of the first world war, and it is relevant we know that this has remained a crucial focus ever since. However, violence is not the only factor capable of causing interrupt ion in the international system. Economic elements also have a remarkable impact. The great depression that happened in the 1920s, and the global financial crises of the contemporary period can be used as examples. Another concurrent problem concerns the environment, with the human climate being one among different number of important concerns for the continuing future of humankind and the planet in general. In this paper, I will argue that the current system is hegemonial. My explanation to hegemony will then be centered on the sources of the United States as a hegemonial power. Furthermore, I will state the different primary implications associated with the rise of China and what the Roman Empire offers for understanding the United Sta... ... The Costs of US Hegemony: Military Power, Military Spending, and US Trade Performance. Sage. http://rrp.sagepub.com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/content/31/4/32.full.pdf+html R. Bruce Hitcher. (2008). Globalization Avant La Lettre: Globalization and the History of the Roman Empire. New Global Studies: Vol. 2: Iss. 2, Article 2. Susan V. Lawrence, Michael F. Martin. (2013). Understanding China’s Political System. Congressional Research Services. https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R41007.pdf The Rise of China and the Future of the West. (2008, January 1). Retrieved from http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/63042/g-john-ikenberry/the-rise-of-china-and-the-future-of-the-west Wei-Wei Zhang. (2004). The Implications of the Rise of China. Foresight, Vol. 6 Iss: 4, P. 223 – 226. http://www.emeraldinsight.com.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/journals.htm?articleid=874264

Essays --

Accounting is used as a tools to inform investors and other stakeholders about management’s performance. However, accounting standards permits management to use judgment in financial reporting methods for some accounts as they have best knowledge of its business so it can choose accounting alternatives that suit their business. With ability to choose its preferable reporting methods, estimates and disclosure, this flexibility creates opportunity for managers to distort earnings in which they adopt accounting methods that do not truly reflect firms’ financial status (Healy and Wahlen, 1999). In addition, due to the fact that management has better access to firms’ business transactions and operations than stakeholders do and auditing and monitoring system are not always effective, these lead to an information asymmetry problem which increases earnings management opportunity. For example, they can alter some information and do not disclose all the information to the stakeholders. This essay will first describe the definition of earnings management and its evolution. Then, the proxies used to detect earnings management will be illustrated. Next, the motives for earnings management and its effect on financial reporting process will be discussed. Subsequently, it will turn to the impact of debt financing on earnings management. Finally, this paper will examine the factors that may constrain the degree of earnings management. Definition of earnings management and its evolution Many researchers has given different earnings management definitions. For instance, Healy and Wahlen (1999,p.368) states that ‘Earnings management occurs when managers use judgment in financial reporting and in structuring transactions to alter financial repor... ...orts (Houqe et al., 2012) Also, the adaptation of widely-used accounting standards, for example, IFRS, may help prevent management from manipulating financial information and, therefore, improve the quality of earnings because such standards require managers to provide a true and fair view of its report and may help reduce the earnings management activities. Houqe et al. (2012) conclude that the adoption of mandatory IFRS increases the quality of earnings in the countries that provide strong protection for investors. However, there is some controversy if accounting standards would reduce earnings management. Tendeloo and Vanstraelen (2005, cited in Houqe et al., 2012) and Lin and Paananen (2009, cited in Houqe et al., 2012) find that after adopting IFRS, firms in Germany recorded more discretionary accruals and those accruals are lowly-correlated with cash flows.

Religion and Morality

Examine the views of scholars concerning the idea that religion and morality are linked. In this essay I am going to be looking at all the different view points on why some people may think religion and morality are linked. I will talk about a few things that link them such as conscience, divine command ethics, Kant's view and Aquinas' view.Many people believe that morality is based upon religion and the rules written in the Bible and other holy books, although some say that religion is completely opposed to morality and it is wrong to mix the two. Some scholars believe there are three views on the relationship between religion and morality, one of them being that morality depends on religion. Religious leaders are expected to have extremely high standards of morality, R. B Braithwaite believes so, he states that ‘to be religious and to make religious claims is to be committed to a set of moral values'.Much religious language is the language of morality, and as we have seen rel igious believers have committed themselves to particular ways of behaving. Aquinas' believed that if God exists morality exists and that God made umans only his image, ‘when we are good, we are reflecting God's image'. He also believed that goodness on earth reflects on God's morally good perfection, so because God made us based on his image, when we are good we are reflecting on his ‘perfect' image.However Kant's view is the opposite to this, he believed that if morality exists God must exist and that the highest of good is perfection, although no one is perfect, which means no one can be as good or great as God because he has this perfect image, and no one is perfect therefore cannot live up to those expectations. Kant's argument was that for the existence of God based on the xistence of morality: There must be a holy author of the world who makes possible the highest goods.Some people believe in Divine Command Ethics because they think that God's authority is absolute and final, and that human reason has no authority. God tells us how to live, obedience is commanded. Disobedience to the word of God is a sin. He also thinks that the existence of God is necessary for the summum borum (which is the highest for of good) to be achieved, and that the summum borum is not achievable in this life, therefore the existence of God is necessary for the goal of morality to be realized. Another is that morality is independent of religion.Freud believed the conscience is a moral policeman. The internalized super-ego that controls and socializes human moral behavior. Capable of doing much damage to our mental health. Some people believe conscience has no supernatural origin, it is the product of how people are brought up. Parents and teachers, teach us right and wrong and we are effected by the environment we are brought up in. Everyone's conscience is different depending on what they were taught and how they were raised and children, meaning they believe differ ent things, and have different view points.Religion and morality is also linked by religious influences on moral matters. For example, a US abortion rights group nave angered some conservative Christian groups by selling condom key rings that have a picture of Michelangelds Sistine chapel, with God handing Adam a condom. The president of the Christian group said ‘this does nothing to deal with the horrific promiscuity rate we have among teenagers. We believe the real approach particularly to the young people that this is targeted at is abstinence before marriage'.

How did the nature of work change during the 20th century? Essay

The industrial revolution transformed the nature of work. It involved a breakthrough in the use of inanimate energy and power, massive investment in industries such as iron, coal, and textiles and a transport revolution. Industrialization changed the dimension of work. In pre-industrial society â€Å"those who are employed experience a distinction between their employers time and their â€Å"own† time. And the employer must use the time of his labour, and see it is not wasted, time is now currency: it is not passed but spent. Writing in the 19th century, Marx predicted that the intermediate strata would be depressed into the proletariat. However during the latter 20th century, a number of sociologist’s had suggested that the opposite was happening. They claimed that a process of embourgeoisement was occurring whereby increasing numbers of manual worker’s were entering the middle class. During the 1950’s there was a general increase in prosperity in advanced industrial societies and, in particular, amongst a growing number of manual worker’s whose earning’s fell within the white-collar range. These highly paid affluent workers’s were seen to be increasingly typical of manual worker’s. This development, coupled with study’s, which suggested that poverty was rapidly disappearing, led to the belief that the shape of stratification system was being transformed. From the triangle or pyramid shape of the 19th century (with a large and relatively impoverished working class at the bottom and a small wealthy group at the top), it was argued that the stratification system was changing to a diamond or pentagon shape with an increasing proportion of the population falling into the middle range. In this middle mass society, the mass of the population was middle rather than working class. The U.S work activity has changed radically For example. In the 1950’s, about 20% of the workforce was professional, 20% skilled and 60% unskilled. By the 1970 the comparable figures were about 20% for professional, less than 20% for unskilled and over 60% for skilled. This reflects a change both in the skills required for new and emerging jobs and the rising skill demands for existing jobs. The theory used to explain this presumed development was a version of economic determinism. It was argued that the demands of modern technology an advanced industrial economy determined the shape of the stratification system. E.g. American sociologist Clark Kerr claimed that advanced industrialism request’s an increasingly highly educated, trained and skilled workforce which in turn leads to a higher pay and status occupations. In particular skilled technicians are rapidly replacing unskilled machine minders. Jessie Bernard argued that working-class affluence is related to the needs of an industrial economy for a mass market. In order to expand, industry requires a large market for its products. Mass consumption has been made possible because large sectors of modern industry have relatively low labour costs and high productivity. Bernard claimed that there is a rapidly growing middle market, which reflects the increased purchasing power of affluent manual worker’s. Home ownership and consumer and consumer durables such as washing machine’s, refrigerators, televisions and motorcars are no longer the preserve of white-collar workers. With reference to the class system, Bernard say’s † The proletariat has not absorbed the middle class but rather the other way round, in the sense that the class structure here described reflects modern technology. It vindicates the Marxist thesis that social organisation is â€Å"determined† by technological forces. (Goldthorpe and Lockwood 1969, p.9.) Change in the nature of work has also been driven by the changes in organization structures and the design of management often referenced as the shift from â€Å"fordism† to â€Å"post-fordism†. â€Å"Fordism† is named after Henry Ford, the American car manufacturer who pioneered mass production, which involved fairly rigid, highly structured and hierarchical forms of management. Michael J. Piore is amongst those who believe that capitalist countries have entered a â€Å"post-fordism† era. He claims that much work is now organised according to the principals of flexible specialization, management now involves more team-based work settings, with more governance, greater decentralization and less hierarchical or â€Å"top-down† management. As a result of this shift in organization and management, job design has changed form being narrow, repetitive, simplified, standardized in the old system to being broad, doing many task’s and having multiple responsibilities in the new system. Employees are now required to be multi/cross skilled, whereas specialized skills were required in the old system. These shifts are not likely to slow or lesson in the immediate future and the current economy suggests that these are the more rapid growing industries and job growth in these types of industries will outpace the rate of growth in other industries where the skills demands may be less. Worker’s in companies which are changing along these lines need to be more broadly trained as their work becomes increasingly varied. Because of their long training and the importance of their skills to their companies, they enjoy more job security, and management makes greater attempts to enlist their cooperation. Some firms have adopted another Japanese technique, quality circles. In quality circles groups of workers and managers meet together periodically to discuss how the production or performance of the company can be improved. Other initiatives may include worker’s representatives sitting on company boards, and profit-sharing scheme’s, which enable worker’s to benefit from any success the company enjoys. Flexible specialization then, increases the skills needed by the workforce, and unlike industries where scientific management techniques are used; workers may cooperate with management in organizing the labour process. By, implication, job satisfaction increases and industrial conflict decreases. The theory of flexible specialization also implies a move away from the concentration of capital in giant corporations and an increase in the number of small businesses. The British economist John Atkinson has developed similar views in his theory of the flexible firm. Atkinson believes that a variety of factors have encouraged managers to make their firms more flexible. Economic recession in the 1970’s and 1980’s, and the consequent reduction in trades union power, technological changes and a reduction in the working week, has all made flexibility more desirable and easier to achieve. According to Atkinson flexibility takes two main forms. One of which is functional flexibility, this refers to the ability of managers to redeploy workers between different tasks. Functional flexibility requires the employment of multi-skilled employees who are capable of working in different areas within a firm. Such flexible workers form the core of a company’s workforce. They are employed full-time and have considerable job security. The core is usually made up of â€Å"managers, designers, technical sales staff, quality control staff, technicians and craftsmen†. The second form of flexibility is numerical flexibility, which is provided by peripheral groups. Numerical flexibility refers to the ability of firms to reduce or increase the size of their labour force. The first peripheral group have full-time jobs but enjoy less job security than core workers. These workers might be â€Å"clerical, supervisory, component assembly and testing†, and they are easier to recruit than core workers because their skills are common to employment in many different firms. The second peripheral group of workers are even more flexible. They are not full-time permanent employees. They may work part-time, on short-term contracts, under temporary contracts or under government-training schemes. Atkinson believes that flexible firms are making increasing use of external sources of labour. More work is subcontracted and the self-employed and agency temporaries are used. A change in the attitudes towards work has also changed as a result of industrialization. The historian Thompson argues that large-scale, machine powered industry necessitated the introduction of new working patterns and with them new attitudes. According to Thompson pre-industrial work was regulated by task orientation; the new necessities of the job determined when and how hard people worked. However in post-industrialization the patterns of work are based round time rather than tasks. Thompson says â€Å"time is now currency; it is not passed but spent†. Workers who were used to a considerable amount of control over their work patterns experienced the new working day in the factory, with its emphasis on punctuality, as oppressive. They resented having to work to the clock. The early factory owners had considerable problems trying to persuade people to take jobs in factories. When they had recruited workers they often regarded their reluctant employees as work-shy and lazy. They therefore sought to change their attitudes and get them to accept new working patterns. According to David Lee and Howard Newby: â€Å"workers brought up under the assumptions of â€Å"task orientation†, were subject to massive indoctrination on the folly of â€Å"wasting† time by their employers, a moral critique of idleness which stemmed from the puritan work ethic†. One of the major changes in the nature of work is that the modern concept of the â€Å"housewife† was created in the 20th century. In earlier times, although there were clearly differentiated gender roles, there was little doubt that men and women were both involved in production. No one would have described the wife in a household of European peasants, or American pioneers, as primarily a consumer. In mid-nineteenth century America, households still carried out a vast range of productive activities; growing and preparing food, sewing and mending cloths, and reusing fabric scraps in quilts, rugs, and homemade upholstery, making and repairing furniture, tools, and other household goods, even making candles and sop from household wastes. The expansion of consumer goods industries toward the end of the 19th century began to change all this, providing affordable mass-produced substitutes for many things that had formerly been made at home. This industrial change allowed, and perhaps required, the rise of a consumer society. In the new regime, the work of the housewife shifted away from material production, toward consumption of marketed goods combined with carrying for, or â€Å"nurturing†, other family members. The change was a contradictory one, at once liberating women form exhausting toil, and commercialising daily life to an ever-expanding extent. Over the past century the way in which we go about getting work done has changed dramatically and this has created and facilitated fundamentally different social arrangements in the workplace. Indeed the application of new technologies has created new workplaces and challenged our thinking about where certain kinds of work can and should be done. Technological advances have resulted in the sharp divisions between professionals, skilled workers and unskilled workers being altered dramatically in the latter stages of this century. Whereas a century ago there were far more unskilled workers than skilled ones, in today’s world this has completely reversed and there are know far more skilled workers than unskilled. Bibliography (1) The sociology of work; Keith Grint (2) The personal consequences of work in the new capitalism: Richard Sennett (3) The future of work: Charles Handy (4) Briton in Europe: Tony Spybey (5) Www.islandpress.org/ecocompass/changingnatow/changing

Market Failures & Professional Dilemmas Essay

Based on the Edwards article which market failures or imperfections are present in the â€Å"Lobster Thermidor† case? And can you identify any in your professional life? Based on the Halbert & Ingulli reading (â€Å"Making An Ethical Decision†) apply the methods of ethical reasoning to these situations. Two market failures can be observed in the â€Å"Lobster Thermidor† case, a tragedy of public goods and informational deficiencies. First of all, the divers have to dive deeper, to the limit of diving safety, since overfishing has made the lobsters rare and to catch the lobster less than 30 meter down is getting harder and harder. This is the very typical case of public goods, where the public resources such as the lobsters under the sea are usually over-consumed by the individuals who try to maximize one’s interest. Deforestation, which has destroyed the entire farming industry and forced Miskitos out to entirely rely on diving, was another tragedy caused by the overconsumption of the public goods, forest. Secondly, both the divers and the end-consumers make wrong, irrational decisions cause of the lack of information. Divers, who do not recognize the true market price of lobsters as well as the true price of potential risks, bargain away their goods with little danger pay allowances. Also, the consumers, who have no idea about the severe fishing environment in Honduras, are reluctant to pay more than current prices, formed lower than it should be at the cost of human lives. The company where I worked prior to school has always tried its best to remove any little elements of competition in its area. If there were a small but promising start-up with innovative idea and technology, that company used every means –most were legal or grey while a few were nearly illegal- to get rid of the potential threats. For instance, it quickly imitates the new technology of the start-up, take out the similar patent, scout the core human resources, block off the critical suppliers and seed funds, cut the price of competitive goods to the minimum level, and do hostile M&A. This case also showed the issues related to public goods and informational deficiencies. The company attempted to minimize the production/dissemination of new technologies, which can be considered as public goods, and the newborn ventures could not protect themselves cause of the limited access to the information. From the utilitarianism perspective, these are reasonable and desirable attempts because the larger number of stakeholders can be satisfied. My company had more than 20,000 employees while the average start-ups have no more than 100 employees. Considering the families of employees, shareholders, subcontractors, and the related industries, maximizing profit of my company could bring higher utilities than the success of small ventures. Even in long-term, my company’s decision would not be wrong since the possibility of success of start-ups are extremely low compared to the global conglomerates. My company, which has the global network, huge infrastructure, and accumulated knowhow can exploit the new technology better and thereby encourage the social progress. In contrast, from the deontological view, it was absolutely wrong. My company not only hindered the fair competition but also committed illegal acts. Whether the result proved positive or negative is not important for the deontologists. Finally, it was not proper when applying the concept of virtue ethics since the motives of the actions of the company was not correct and contributes nearly nothing to the harmonious relationship with the community it belonged.

Punctuation error in your writing. Essay

Making mistakes in subject-verb agreement has always been my weakness when it comes to the grammar of my writing. I keep on doing the same grammatical lapses again and again. There are several rules regarding subject-verb agreement, of course, and being ignorant of one or two of them is forgivable, but what is unforgivable if you know the rule and yet continue to make the same mistake. The simple rule which I keep slipping n is the agreement of subject and verb in terms of number, especially in a present tense sentence. The rule states that when the subject is singular, the verb should also be singular. Inversely, when the subject is plural, the verb should also be plural. The difference between a singular and a plural verb is one letter â€Å"s† and oftentimes I would omit, usually unknowingly or by carelessness, putting that one letter. I have tried to correct the bad habit by being more conscious about my writing, during and after writing. While writing and every time I am to write an action word, I would constantly remind myself to look back to the subject of the verb. During revision of what I wrote, I would run through the entire piece with the one purpose of looking for subject-verb agreement mistakes. I would check for errors in punctuation, spelling, and style during the first revision, but focus on subject-verb agreement on the second run-through.

Phoenix Advertising Essay

Our success in the past has been largely due to out of the box creativity and qualitative team work which has resulted in high standards of performance. It is now time to put in a dose of brainstorming and lateral thinking to recognize the internal hassles that are affecting the general scheme of work. When things are not moving smoothly it’s essential to revisit the existing system and find out the root cause. The careful strategy planning that we use to create winning campaigns for our clients has to be brought in to solve the present impasse. Before an outsider tells us that we have a problem, we need to put our house in order. To find the solution we need to agree on two things. First, we have to accept the fact that there are problems which are affecting the performance of the employees. And second, work up a mutually beneficial solution that will have long term benefits. We can start with the question, WHAT? What is the cause of the trouble? We always focus on client satisfaction as the crucial aspect of agency survival. What we often tend to forget or disregard is the question of employee satisfaction. Effort recognition and sincere appreciation goes a long way in creating a positive environment that is conducive to excellent performances. The disagreement between the servicing teams and the creative teams is as old as advertising itself. Every firm will have its own strategy on how best this can be dealt with. The need of the hour is communication. The management has to sit down and talk it out with the team on a more frequent basis. This will foster a more personal relationship which will result in better levels of understanding that is lacking at present. The next question is HOW? The answer is simple. The accounts crew which serve as contact points between the company and the client usually get the laurels for a successful campaign. This leaves the rest of the team in disappointment which translates as frustration with the next job. Perfect servicing is nothing without innovative ideas and vice versa. Similarly, a sound idea may fizzle away with bad design execution and unimaginative copy. The question is not whether a copywriter is more important than the art director. We believe that every individual has a share in creating good work. This recognition of the importance of everyone in the team is crucial to boosting the team spirit. A sense of give and take is essential between the accounts and creative teams. If the servicing people stubbornly insist that the client is king and expect the copywriters and designers to make constant changes according to the whims of the client, there is bound to be trouble. Working with yesterday’s deadlines and unnerving pressure can bring the creative team to a quick burnout. To avoid this, a daily schedule is absolutely essential. What happens in most cases is that the workload is not evenly distributed. A daily preview of who is expected to do what will give everyone a clear idea of how much work is on the anvil and how best to meet the deadlines. A weekly review of work which will involve every person in the company is the first step. The meeting can be held at the end of every week, at a given time which should be convenient for everyone. The agenda will be an update of the work that has been done during the week, an overview of new jobs, client feedback, possible pitches and a personal comments session where everyone can speak about what they feel is important for the success of the company. Such an open platform will not only bring a sense of transparency to the agency but also create a sense of confidence in the minds of the employees because they will understand that their opinions also count. A feeling of belonging is integral to the very idea of team work. To make this happen, we have to foresee the obstacles we will certainly have to face. Initially there will be some wrangling about the need for such meetings and any given time will be inconvenient for every other person. The word â€Å"compulsory† works magic when it comes to finding time for something. But setting a time and place and sticking to it against all odds is equally important. The next question is WHY? Though everyone in the company is working hard enough, the joint effort is not very visible. To create a sense of unity and to pep up the team’s spirits, an interactive workshop must be conducted every three months which will again involve everyone in the company. In the advertising industry, changes take place on an overnight basis. There is always something new to learn. Keeping up with the flow is possible only when there is a frequent discussion of every issue. Be it new soft wares, award winning ads, fresh perspectives from the creative angle, what the competition is up to etc. Like Burnett once said, creative ideas flourish only in places which have a sense of fun. Workshops are very effective in both cases. Inspiring speeches and group activities will help remove the sense of separateness that the employees now feel. Of course, we don’t need another Ogilvy to tell us that job hopping is part and parcel of every advertising firm. But we should get a revitalizing shot right away to ensure optimal performance. It is only when an employee puts in his/her resignation letter that the management begins to ask whether there was a problem. Instead, there should be a system in which the management is closely aware of every individual’s level of satisfaction within the company. This will help forestall problems and help retain the work force. This leads us to the question WHEN? There’s no time like now to start anew. Every department can review their internal issues and learn to take responsibility for success and failures instead of playing Passing the Buck. Change need not come from the grassroots. It can start at the top. The management can lead by example, and rest assured that everyone will follow. A clear agenda need to be drawn up immediately. To surmise, we need Daily meetings with accounts and creative teams. Weekly round up of work with the entire agency. At least three workshops a year. To encourage people to voice their views. Deal with disproportionate recognition of efforts. Hold the team together at all cost. And above all, we need to do this right away. I sincerely hope that we can make a difference to how things are run, enhance our professionalism and strive towards a better tomorrow for ourselves and the company. Thanking you, Place Date (This is just for your perusal) References    Ogilvy David Confessions of an Advertising Man Garba Kabir Alabi, The Trouble With The Advertising Industry, The Guardian, (24th March 2008)