Strategic Change Management - 1080 Words

Unit 1 Business Environment Assessment Activity Front Sheet This front sheet must be completed by the learner (where appropriate) and included with the work submitted for assessment. Learner Name Date Issued Hand in Date Assessor Name Submitted on Qualification Level 4 Edexcel BTEC Higher National in Business (QCF) Unit 1 Business Environment – 15 credits Assignment 1 will give learners the opportunity to achieve: Learning Outcome 1 – understand the organisational purposes of businesses Learning Outcome 2 – understand the nature of the national environment in which businesses operate Learning Outcome 3 – understand the behaviour of organisations in their market environment Learning Outcome 4 – be able to assess the significance of†¦show more content†¦Your manager suggests that you prepare a briefing paper which outlines the relevant factors to be addressed including: a) explain how market structures determine the pricing and output decisions of businesses b) illustrate the way in which market forces shape organisational responses using a range of examples c) using examples to illustrate, judge how the business and cultural environments shape the behaviour of an organisation This provides evidence for 3a, b, c Unit 1 Business Environment Task 4 – Global Factors Finally, trainees need to know about the global factors that affect organisations. You can prepare a short presentation or a written report, using examples from organisations you have researched. Make sure you: a) discuss the significance of international trade to UK businessShow MoreRelatedStrategic Change Management in MS2823 Words   |  12 PagesStrategic change management Marks and Spencer Profile: MS is well-known for both its quantity basis clothing comes in most colors, sizes and styles as well as its quality particularly in the Food Hall, where the produce is often considered superior to that in many super markets. MS is known to a lot of people as Marks Sparks or MS, is one of the leading retailers with over 600 stores in the UK and over 200 more in 40 other countries. Although perhaps not the most fashionable place toRead MoreAn Assignment On Strategic Change Management Model3280 Words   |  14 Pages AN ASSIGNMENT ON STRATEGIC CHANGE MANAGEMENT ABSTRACT A regular proverb goes on, â€Å"Change is the only constant thing in this world†. 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I have read and understand the University rules on Plagiarism Read MoreStrategic Change Management3581 Words   |  14 Pagesï » ¿Title: Strategic Change Management Introduction McDonalds is a leader in the global foodservice retailing business with more than 33,500 restaurants serving approximately 68 million people daily in 119 countries. McDonalds focuses on 5 Ps, which include price, products, people, and promotion to deliver exceptional quality service as well as delivering customer experiences around the world. Within the last eight years, the company has recorded success through innovative styles of providing excellentRead MoreStrategic Change Management: Case Study of ICICI3616 Words   |  14 PagesStrategic Change ManagementPage 2 Strategic Change Management Case Study Analysis-ICICI Contents Executive Summary 3 Introduction 5 1. Leading the Stakeholders in Developing a Strategy for Change 6 1.1 Systems Development to Involve Stakeholders in the Change Planning 6 1.2 Development of a Change Management Strategy with Stakeholders 7 1.3 Evaluation of the System Established for Stakeholders Involvement 8 1.4 Creation of a Strategy for Managing Resistance to Change 9 2. AbilityRead MoreThe Importance Of Leadership For A Successful Management Of Strategic Change2234 Words   |  9 PagesCritically discus the importance of leadership in the successful management of strategic change. Introduction Leadership McShane and Von Glinow, 2010:360 argued that leadership is influencing, motivating, and enabling others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organizations of which they are members. It is the dual focused management approach that works towards what is best for individuals and what is best for the group as a whole simultaneously. 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Criticism on the Poem Do Not Go Gentle Free Essays

The first poem that Dylan Thomas ever published, when he was only eighteen, was an early version of â€Å"And Death Shall Have No Dominion. † The cycle of life and death formed a constant underlying theme throughout his poetry since that earliest effort. In â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night,† a moving plea to his dying father, death takes on a new and intensely personal meaning for Thomas. We will write a custom essay sample on Criticism on the Poem Do Not Go Gentle or any similar topic only for you Order Now David John Thomas was an important influence throughout his son Dylan’s life. A grammar school English teacher, he had a deep love for language and literature which he passed on to his son. In a 1933 letter to a friend, Dylan Thomas describes the library he shared with his father in their home. His father’s section held the classics, while his included modern poetry. It had, according to Thomas, everything needed in a library. â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night† was in all likelihood composed in 1945 when D. J. Thomas was seriously ill; however, it was not published until after his death on December 16, 1952. Thomas sent the poem to a friend, Princess Caetani, in the spring of 1951, telling her that the â€Å"only person I can’t show the little enclosed poem to is, of course, my father who doesn’t know he’s dying. After his father’s death, the poem was included in the collection In Country Sleep. Ironically Dylan Thomas himself died just a year later. The poem discusses various ways to approach death in old age. It advocates affirming life up until the last breath, rather than learning to accept death quietly. Poem Summary Lines 1-3 The first tercet introduces the poem’s theme; it also introduces the two recurring refrains that end alternate stanzas. Although these two lines, the first and the third, both state Thomas’s basic theme about resisting death, they contrast in several ways. Each of the predominant words in line one finds its opposite in line three. â€Å"Gentle† is paired with â€Å"rage,† â€Å"good† with â€Å"dying,† and â€Å"night† with â€Å"light. † The tone of the two lines also is quite different. Line one is subdued; the verbs are deliberately simple, vague. Thomas uses the predicate adjective â€Å"gentle,† making it describe the personality of the individual, rather than the more obvious choice â€Å"gently,† an adverb which would only refer to the action of the verb. â€Å"Good night† when it refers to dying becomes a paradox for Thomas, meaning a good death. Although this line may be an exhortation to resist death, its entire tone is gentle. Compare this to the beginning of line 3 where â€Å"rage† is repeated twice. Here the poet urges a furious resistance to death. The second line introduces Thomas’s advice to those who near death. The idea of burning is frequently associated with the passion of youth; however, Thomas wants the elderly to cling as passionately to their lives as anyone would. The phrase â€Å"close of day† establishes a connection with the â€Å"good night† of the previous line, while the words â€Å"burn† and â€Å"rave† move the reader into the third line of the stanza. Line 4 The next four stanzas describe four different types of old men and examine their attitudes and feelings as they realize that death is approaching. The first type Thomas mentions are the wise men. They may be considered scholars or philosophers. Perhaps because of this, intellectually they accept the inevitability of death. Thomas begins the line with the word â€Å"though,† however, to indicate that their knowledge has not prepared them to accept the reality of death. Line 5 This line explains why the wise men are unable to act in accordance with their knowledge. Scholars are known and measured by their words. These men have many words still left unwritten or unspoken, so their goals have not been accomplished. Thomas ends this line in mid-thought, leaving the rest of the idea to the next line. This parallels the unfulfilled lives of the wise men, with their messages only partially delivered. Line 6 In many villanelles, the refrains simply serve as a chorus. Here, Thomas makes it an integral part of the meaning of the stanza. Lines 7-8 â€Å"Good† seems to be used in a moral sense here, describing men who have lived worthy, acceptable lives. The phrase â€Å"last wave† presents readers with a dual image. The men themselves are a last wave, the last to approach death; they also seem to be giving a final wave to those who they are leaving behind. â€Å"Crying,† as well, has two meanings here. In one sense, it simply means speaking out, but it also carries the sense of weeping and mourning. Like the wise men, the good men have not accomplished what they wished to in life. Their actions failed to stand out. Thomas uses rhyme for different purposes here. Rhyming â€Å"bright† at the end of line 7 with â€Å"might† in line 8 erves to emphasize both words and link the two stanzas. Also, the rhyming of â€Å"by,† â€Å"crying,† and â€Å"dying† unites this stanza, while the use of â€Å"deeds† and â€Å"danced† is an example of alliteration. Line 9 The intensity of the refrain contrasts with the nature of the good men as Thomas has presented them. They seem passive, their actions weak. Now at the end of life, they must finally behave passionately, finally be noticed. Lines 10-12 Thomas’s wild men are very different from the good, quiet men in the previous stanzas.  The image, â€Å"caught and sang the sun,† is joyous and powerful when compared to frail deeds. These men have lived live fully, not realizing that they, too, will age and die. Since Thomas himself cultivated an image as a wild Celtic bard, this stanza seems ironically prophetic about his own death. Line 13 The word â€Å"grave† carries two meanings here: seriousness and death. These are the men of understanding; paradoxically, although they are blind, they are able to see more clearly than those with sight. Lines 14-15 The mentions of blindness are references to his father. Thomas spoke of this blindness again in the unfinished elegy he wrote after his father’s death, describing him as: Too proud to die, broken and blind he died †¦ An old kind man brave in his burning pride. In this stanza, Thomas contrasts light and dark imagery; for instance, the term â€Å"grave† is countered by â€Å"gay,† just as â€Å"blind† is contrasted with â€Å"sight. † Lines 16-17 While the last stanza referred to Thomas’s father only obliquely, this stanza is addressed to him. The â€Å"sad height† refers to his closeness to death. There are Biblical overtones to Thomas’s request in line 17, as he asks for a final blessing or curse; the patriarchs delivered such parting messages to their sons. As in many Bible verses, with their parallel structure, blessings and curses are paired together. If this line is read as iambic pentameter, however, the emphasis will fall on the words, â€Å"bless† and â€Å"now. † The image of â€Å"fierce tears† shows contrast: the tears acknowledging the inevitability of death, while the use of â€Å"fierce† indicates resistance until the end. â€Å"I pray† reinforces the Biblical imagery; however, the prayer is addressed to his father, the agnostic, rather than God. How to cite Criticism on the Poem Do Not Go Gentle, Essay examples

Management In Strategic Information Systemâ€Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Management In Strategic Information System? Answer: Introducation In major context of the information Technology and the Information science, Woolworths has decided to let go of five hundred employees from corner to corner its support office and the supply chain network. It will also mark down the millions in the IT benefits as the new chief executive officer Brad Banducci commences a reconstructed operating representation (Woolworths.com.au 2017). Woolworths is facing major challenges. The company has been struggling with the supplier relations during its most current quarter. There were also issues with the presentation of the replacement of the assets of the Company and the inventory systems. The relationships with the suppliers have also been strained. The other challenges that the company is facing is the slow consumer cycle. Then there is the sales struggle, which is a major challenge. The deleverage of the Australian supermarkets and the quality of the product has become an issue. The New Zealand supermarkets are also facing greater competitive pressure. Woolworths wanted better customer satisfaction and to gain advantage over competition. The Company had the vision to increase the revenue and save more by improving the productivity and the efficiency of the employees. The completion of the projects of the Company should also be within the desired budget. The intention is to invest in the advanced analytics. The purchasing power of the customers is to set the increase in the near future. There is an insistent push by the Federal government and the ACCC to a lower competition barrier. Latest competitors have to be allowed to penetrate the market in order to increase the choice of the consumer. The increase of the consumer bargaining power would lead to the rise in price of the comparison websites. That will enable the consumer to enable the prices and choose the cheapest alternative that is available (Abeywickrama and Zambonelli 2012). The pros and cons of these IT strategic decisions is the expanse of the Company in the marketplace to the national and the international markets. The expanding of the base of the customers and the suppliers will enable the organization to sell more at a cheaper rate. The consumers will benefit from this and will be able to shop from any location. The customers will also be able to interact with the company. The disadvantages are regarding the security and the privacy concerns that deter the customers from buying. For the long term, the level of online fraud is increasing. In both short and long-term scenarios, some of the customers would like to touch and feel the products. There is also the resistance from the customers regarding the change of the shopping experience from the buildup store to the virtual store (Slack 2015). The main role of the IT is for the supply chain management to manage the entire supply chain in order to gain the competitive advantage. It is important to maintain the trusted and respectable connection with the manufacturers. The IT helps the company regarding the issue of the distribution. IT is the key business driver. The implementation of the new software is still in process but he has seen a material improvement in the performance. The decision of the new management in writing down the millions of dollars in the It investment is a good move. This will help the business to expand the required skills in both the area of data analysis and the undeviating selling to renovate its supply chain. Woolworths is now focussing on the online performance of its singular brands. The supplier relationships have also been strained over the last year due the troubled six year of the Company that will be fixed with the help of the new management system (Benlian and Haffke 2016). (8.1)The chief information officer has certain responsibilities to fulfil. He has to be the one who will take the decisions regarding the purchase of the IT equipment from the suppliers or the creation of the new systems. They have to direct the workforce of the organization. (8.2)The retailer has the new IT foundation program which aims to catch up on the underinvestment in the IT infrastructure with a specific focus on the self-service checkouts and the point of sale systems. (8.3)If the CEO rejects the idea then idea and the objective should be reframed and conveyed to the CEO. The ideas should meet the goals. The response to an objection should be available and has to be supported with a reason (Laudon et al. 2012). The information systems to be used are the Transaction Processing systems that are operated directly by the shop floor workers and the data is obtained through the automated or semi-automated tracking of the basic transactions. Then the Management Information systems can be used to ensure the smooth running of the Organization in the short to medium term. The Decision Support System will support the ill structured decisions and have an analytical capacity. The executive information system will help to predict the future and support the unstructured decisions (Stair and Reynolds 2013). There was poorly thought out strategy and there was selling of the wrong stuff. Part of Woolworths plan was to introduce a leaner operating model and to replace and implement a number of company-wide systems. This was done to improve underlying processes. This is about the process of stability. Woolworths has also introduced the success factors HCM across the company. The new ERP system in the merchandizing platform is now stable and has been implemented. When the platform went live for Big W mid-last year, the store was unable to process orders for suppliers, leaving empty shelves and millions in lost sales. The Stakeholders are the customers, employees, unions, suppliers, franchisees, shareholders and the investors and the business partners. The functional requirements for the IT systems are: for Transaction Processing system the inputs for the transaction events, for processing the validation and sorting and for the outputs lists and detail reports are required. The Management Information systems requires internal files and structured data and in the processing field requires sorting merging and summarizing. The Decision Support System requires modeling for processing along with simulation, analysis and summarizing (Ricciardi and De Marco 2012). References Abeywickrama, D.B. and Zambonelli, F., 2012, April. Model checking goal-oriented requirements for self-adaptive systems. InEngineering of Computer Based Systems (ECBS), 2012 IEEE 19th International Conference and Workshops on(pp. 33-42). IEEE. Benlian, A. and Haffke, I., 2016. Does mutuality matter? Examining the bilateral nature and effects of CEOCIO mutual understanding.The Journal of Strategic Information Systems,25(2), pp.104-126. Galliers, R.D. and Leidner, D.E. eds., 2014.Strategic information management: challenges and strategies in managing information systems. Routledge. Laudon, K.C., Laudon, J.P., Brabston, M.E., Chaney, M., Hawkins, L. and Gaskin, S., 2012.Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm, Seventh Canadian Edition (7th. Pearson. Ricciardi, F. and De Marco, M., 2012, February. The challenge of service oriented performances for chief information officers. InInternational Conference on Exploring Services Science(pp. 258-270). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. Slack, N., 2015.Operations strategy. John Wiley Sons, Ltd. Stair, R. and Reynolds, G., 2013.Principles of information systems. Cengage Learning. Woolworths.com.au (2017).Welcome to Woolworths. [online] Woolworths.com.au. Available at: https://www.woolworths.com.au/ [Accessed 25 Aug. 2017].

The Concept of Photons

Table of Contents Introduction Origin of photons Lifecycle of the photon Characteristics of photon Uses of photon Conclusion Works Cited Introduction A photon can be defined as a particle or unit that represents a quantum of electromagnetic radiation for example light. It usually contains energy that is proportional to the radiation frequency. A photon is always in motion with a constant speed of light which is approximately 2.998* 108 m/s whenever there is no form of resistance.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Concept of Photons specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Photons are usually formed in a number of ways, for instance, we can get a photon via the progression of an electron (in an atom) discharging energy which is reached when the particular electron moves to a somewhat lesser orbit around a nucleus. Another way in which a photon could be created is through an acceleration of a given charge (A nato, Moskalenko and Snoke 1). This paper gives an in depth discussion in regard to photons including their origin, their lifecycle, their characteristics as well as their uses. Origin of photons The origin of photons can be traced back in the early twentieth century. Lewis Gilbert is associated with photons as he was responsible for bringing out the various concepts of photons in 1926 although the general concept of light had been there for a long time. There had been a belief that light is usually made up of some form of energy even in the ancient times which can be seen in the book of Optics which was published long time ago. This was true but people did not have the understanding of the photons concept and the fact that they were the ones responsible for the production of energy. During the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries, people had gained a lot of interest on the aspect of light and a variety of theories were developed in order to understand the key factors underlying it for instance the wavelength and refraction characteristics associated with other particles like the protons. It was in the beginning of the twentieth century that the discovery of photons came about raising a lot of concern among people. Various studies have been carried out since then in regard to photons leading to many discoveries with the most recent one being that of the laser which have been proved to be very effective in various fields and procedures like X-rays (Bortz 28). Lifecycle of the photon Just like a living organism, a photon undergoes t some processes during its entire lifetime (formation, living and death) and the processes can be termed as the lifecycle. A photon has a relatively long life span and could be even infinite unless the light energy in it is consumed, for example, when a photon strikes an object that is likely to absorb it. The determination of the lifecycle of a photon is an aspect that has proved to be very difficult unlike that of other particle s like atoms, ions and electrons. This is due to the fact that in most cases, photons tend to be destroyed once they are detected due to the risks linked with them.Advertising Looking for research paper on natural sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More According to the Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique (par 2), the determination of the life cycle has been made possible through a technique where photons are trapped in a superconducting cavity for study. This way, it was a bit easier to study in real time the birth, the life as well as the death of a single photon whose result could be taken as a representative whole. Anato, Moskalenko and Snoke (3) assert that the emission of a photon could be as a result of excitons which usually have a finite probability for an excited electron to reunite with the whole hence the emission of a photon. The life cycle for an exciton could be described as follows; there is usually an exciton which is formed as a result of absorption of a photon, the exciton then passes through a solid whereby scattering process is experienced and finally the exciton recombines to emit a photon which usually take place far from the creation point, at some area in the solid. The lifetime of the exciton is not constant but rather dependent on some factors, for instance, the proportions of the recombination processes and the experimental conditions among other factors. According to the above factors it is argued that the lifetime can range from picoseconds to milliseconds or even longer. All in all much have not been discovered in regard to the life cycle of photons although there is still hope that with time a definite conclusion will be reached. Characteristics of photon Photons have a wide range of characteristics and the following are just some of them according to the photon theory of light. According to Zimmerman (2), photons have no mass and resting energy an aspect that s ounds not to be realistic but it is proven to be true. Photons however have momentum and energy at the antinodes which is responsible for taking on mass from energy expansion. This is unlike other particles (like neutrons) that always have a small amount of accumulation under all circumstances. They also move at the speed of light which is 2.998* 108 m/s. Another unique characteristic of photons is that they can either be destroyed or formed when either radiation is absorbed or else emitted. Photons are also known to have various particle related interactions with electrons and other particles. They do not contain any electric charge whereas all other related particles have an electric charge. For example, neutrons are neutral, protons are positive and electrons are negative. They are generally the smallest measure of light and are able to exist in all possible states concurrently.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Concept of Photons specifically fo r you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Another characteristic unique to photons is that once they are polarized, it becomes very difficult to measure them precisely and it would call for the use of a filter, which is exactly equivalent to that produced by their current spin. They are also emitted through a variety of natural processes and do not decay instinctively in empty space. Apart from the above characteristics, photons posses a distinctive wavelength and a specific state of polarization which is absent in other particles (Clark par. 4) Uses of photon Photons have become very essential tools in regard to technology today. They have for instance found their application in various technological devices that either create or produce light as a mechanism of their usability for instance camera flash or even flashlight. This is because the photons are created and manipulated to provide the energy needed for these devices to function. It is the mechanism a nd working of photons that has enabled individuals through the use of technology to capture and create light energy in a number of productive ways necessary for various developmental processes (Akkermans and Montambaux 12). Photons have found various applications in the different fields of life like X-rays in medicine, construction sector, weaponry and even electronics. This has been made possible due to the use of the photons to produce lasers which have various uses in different fields. Despite the benefits associated with photons, there are also some risk factors that come along with handling photons and so people should be more careful on this to avoid injuries. This is so because some photons could be dangerous due to the amount of energy they possess which is dependent on their patterns as well as their wavelength (Orkwell 4). Conclusion The concept of photons is not very new although most discoveries have only been made recently. All in all, it has helped a great deal through its various applications especially in medicine and electronics. Photons have been able to stand out distinctively among other particles like the protons, electrons and neutrons due to the unique characteristics they posses. We can also state that photons in the form of energy are usually infinitely small just as it is the case, infinitely large. Matter as finite energy is also considered as an intermediary as well as part of infinite energy. The future of photons is bright as there are still other discoveries on the way with an aim of bringing even more improvements in various sectors of the economy. Works Cited Akkermans, Eric and Montambaux, Gilles. Mesoscopic physics of electrons and photons. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.Advertising Looking for research paper on natural sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Anato Sviatoslav, Moskalenko Evich and Snoke D.W. Bose-Einstein Condensation of Excitons and Biexcitons: and Coherent Nonlinear Optics with Excitons. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Bortz, Alfred .The Photon. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2004. Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique. â€Å"Life And Death Of A Photon ‘Filmed’ For The First Time.† Science Daily, 2 Apr. 2007. April 14, 2011. Clark, Josh. â€Å"How Quantum Cryptology Works†. Howstuffworks. 2011. Web. Orkwell, Mark. â€Å"About Photons†. Ehow. 2011. Web. Zimmerman, Jones Andrew. â€Å"What is a Photon?† About.com. 2011. Web. This research paper on The Concept of Photons was written and submitted by user Addilyn S. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Free Essays on Understanding Social Learning Theory

Social Learning Theory's explanations of aggression This theory denies that humans are innately aggressive and that frustration automatically leads to aggression. Instead Bandura (1973) argues that aggression is learned in two basic ways: (1) from observing aggressive models and (2) from receiving and/or expecting payoffs following aggression. The payoffs may be in the form of (a) stopping aggression by others, (b) getting praise or status or some other goal by being aggressive, (c) getting self-reinforcement and private praise, and (d) reducing tension. The Social Learning Theory also incorporates cognitive processes, like rational problem-solving, "trial runs" in fantasy to see what might happen if I did _____ , and the self-control procedures of self-observation, self-evaluation, and self-reinforcement. Even children are able to control their aggression if they have some understanding of why someone else frustrated them (Mallick & McCandless, 1966). We have discussed Social Learning Theory in chapters 4, 5, and 6. We all frequently face an environment that presents frustrating, unpleasant experiences as well as cues that suggest there would be certain payoffs for different courses of action. Inside us are various emotional responses, such as anger, various motivations and urges to seek certain payoffs, and complex cognitive processes for weighing the pros and cons for different alternative responses, including aggression or violence, passive withdrawal, depression, increased striving to succeed, reasonable "assertive" handling of the situation, and other possible responses. Eventually, the person chooses a response and acts, then the result of that response is observed and evaluated in terms of its effectiveness. If the response is reinforced, it is likely to be used again. Tavris (1984), a spokesperson for this point of view, argues that anger is a social event, a way of saying "Hey, I'm hurting and you're in my way." She ... Free Essays on Understanding Social Learning Theory Free Essays on Understanding Social Learning Theory Social Learning Theory's explanations of aggression This theory denies that humans are innately aggressive and that frustration automatically leads to aggression. Instead Bandura (1973) argues that aggression is learned in two basic ways: (1) from observing aggressive models and (2) from receiving and/or expecting payoffs following aggression. The payoffs may be in the form of (a) stopping aggression by others, (b) getting praise or status or some other goal by being aggressive, (c) getting self-reinforcement and private praise, and (d) reducing tension. The Social Learning Theory also incorporates cognitive processes, like rational problem-solving, "trial runs" in fantasy to see what might happen if I did _____ , and the self-control procedures of self-observation, self-evaluation, and self-reinforcement. Even children are able to control their aggression if they have some understanding of why someone else frustrated them (Mallick & McCandless, 1966). We have discussed Social Learning Theory in chapters 4, 5, and 6. We all frequently face an environment that presents frustrating, unpleasant experiences as well as cues that suggest there would be certain payoffs for different courses of action. Inside us are various emotional responses, such as anger, various motivations and urges to seek certain payoffs, and complex cognitive processes for weighing the pros and cons for different alternative responses, including aggression or violence, passive withdrawal, depression, increased striving to succeed, reasonable "assertive" handling of the situation, and other possible responses. Eventually, the person chooses a response and acts, then the result of that response is observed and evaluated in terms of its effectiveness. If the response is reinforced, it is likely to be used again. Tavris (1984), a spokesperson for this point of view, argues that anger is a social event, a way of saying "Hey, I'm hurting and you're in my way." She ...

Tips for Winning Writing Contests

Tips for Winning Writing Contests Entering writing contests is great practice for writing, editing, revising and submitting your work, whether it is creative nonfiction or flash or longer fiction. The more awards you can obtain, the better it looks on your resume and makes you more attractive when applying for specific writing gigs and searching for a literary agent. Having won several different awards for my work over the years, Ive developed three tips for finding success with writing contests. Select the right contest for your work. There are so many contests out there, its important to do your research when deciding where to submit your work. Are you familiar with the publication or website offering the contest? Are the entry fees reasonable? I personally dont enter contests where the entry fee is more than $30, but thats a personal choice. Research previous winning stories to get a feel for what the contest is looking for. When I entered the Writers Digest Popular Fiction Awards last year, I looked over the categories and decided I wanted to use the contest as an opportunity to create two new short stories- one a suspense/thriller and one in the young adult category. I read back through several years winners for the suspense category and then got to work. Admittedly, I didnt research the young adult category quite as much. My story, The Polaroid, won first place in the 2017 Popular Fiction Awards suspense category. The young adult story didnt go anywhere, so I filed it away. Make your submission unique. Follow the guidelines for stories to the letter. If theres a prompt, follow it and stay within the requested word count. Think of a unique angle for a submission. As a judge for the WOW! Women on Writing quarterly flash fiction contest, I read through a lot of preliminary submissions. One subject we see a lot are stories that focus on dementia and Alzheimers Disease or the disintegration of marriages. So, if you are going to write about those topics, take unique angles on them, such as sharing the story from the perspective of a neighbor or from the mind of the person with the illness, or giving a failing marriage short story a twist ending the reader isnt expecting. Use contests to find a home for work youve already produced. As I mentioned earlier, I had written a young adult story for the WD Popular Fiction Awards that didnt place. A few months later I came across another writing contest opportunity from the Womens National Book Association. I thought the story, titled The Name Youre Not Supposed to Call Women, would be a good fit for this particular contest. I read through a few of the previous winners and submitted my entry. Within two months I received notification that the story won Honorable Mention in the 2018 WNBA Writing Contest Young Adult Category. I was glad that I hadnt let the story languish and was able to find it a home in this particular contest, giving me another great credit for my resume. Writing short stories has helped breathe new life into my writing. There are also plenty of creative nonfiction contests out there, including one that WOW! Women on Writing holds each quarter. Try your hand at submitting using these tips and you may be surprised Links: WOW! Quarterly Flash Fiction Contest http://wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php#FlashFictionContest   WOW! Quarterly Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest http://wow-womenonwriting.com/contest.php#EssayContest

Evidence based practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Evidence based practice - Essay Example A careful review of the available literature exposes some of the difficulties discovered in finding an answer to this question. Intake of omega n-3 (VLCn3 PUFAs) could be associated to construction and functional development of cognitive, sensory, perceptual, and motor neural systems. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega n-3, is crucial for the growth and functional development of the brain in infants. DHA is also required for preservation of the normal brain function in adults. The addition of rich DHA in the diet can improve the individual’s learning capability, while insufficient DHA is linked with insufficiency in learning. DHA is drawn into the brain in preference to other fatty acids and the speed at which DHA is assimilated in the brain is exceptionally fast, therefore requiring constant replenishment. In addition, the visual perception of healthy, full-term, formula-fed infants is amplified when their formula contains DHA. Throughout the last 50 years, infants have been given formula diets that are deficient in DHA and other omega-3 fatty acids. DHA deficiencies are associated with foetal alco hol syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, cystic fibrosis, phenylketonuria, unipolar depression, aggressive hostility, and adrenoleukodystrophy. Low levels of DHA in the brain are connected with cognitive decline during aging and with onset of sporadic Alzheimer disease (Martinez 1996). Reports have been generated over the last few years, regarding supplements of omega n-3 fish oil, and the effects that it may have on children of school age to improve their behaviour, mental capacity and studying performance amid concerns of poor diet amongst the younger generation (Poulter, 2006). This subject has evoked a lot of interest in the media from ministers to health care professionals, parents and school authorities (Poulter 2006). The vast amount of research by the scientific community is still argumentative as to whether chemical pollution

Project mamagemen Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Project mamagemen - Assignment Example - but the consensus of such best practice is as follows. In order to keep Quality events progressing satisfactorily and resolve any problems on time, there needs to be a deadline which is enforced throughout the project. The tasks assigned in the project under consideration must follow the specified path, that is to say one work product must be delivered before the next. Using a workflow-based system enables the Project Manager to define the project team, assign tasks to the most appropriate team members, and ensure that they are working satisfactorily. Once that task is complete, the workflow moves the project along to the next person, and so forth. Workflow is the generally accepted way to automate the work products and processes and keep the work going forward. Typically, projects tend to follow a set of specific patterns, in a away that is analogous to the Design Patterns found in software development - the same project type will be encountered over the course of normal Quality operations. This will allow the creation of a series of Project Templates that will automatically load deliverables based on the type of event that has been encountered. The best project management tools take the Quality Management data and populate the deliverables with this data, so a Project Plan related to the specific event under consideration may be quickly and easily developed Assigning tasks to individuals is one way to manage a project, but more often than not, it comes down to roles. By using roles, that is to say, Quality Manager, Inventory Control, Health & Safety etc. the ability of the team may be broadened to handle the work products as the project progresses. Such cross-training means that there will be any number of individuals within the role that can help complete each task within the project removing the risk due to the unavoidable absence of a particular individual who can only perform a given

Examine the Hindu views on arranged marriages Essay Example for Free

Examine the Hindu views on arranged marriages Essay To what extent can Hindu arranged marriages survive in a multi cultural society In this essay I will examine the Hindu views on arranged marriages and how they are surviving in s multi cultural society. I shall use secondary research to back up what I mention within this essay. An arranged marriage is a marriage in which neither the bride nor the groom has a say over the selection of their future spouses. However, in an arranged marriage, both parties give full consent to the marriage. Arranged marriages have been proven to be successful. Arranged marriages have been a traditional aspect of family life in Hinduism. According to Hinduism, a marriage between two people is seen to be a holy relationship, that is just not limited to this one life, but extends across seven or more lives during which, the couple will help each other grow as people and progress spiritually. Two souls come together and marry because their karmas are intertwined and they have to resolve many things together upon earth in order to ensure their mutual salvation. In Hinduism, man and woman represent the two halves of the divine body. There is no question of superiority or inferiority between them. When parents are in search for a partner for their child, they firstly look at the religion, language and caste. These are very important factors that most parents do not overlook for arranged marriages. In India, parents feel that a girl can be a potential wife at the age of eighteen and parents get worried if she remains unmarried past twenty four or twenty five. It is acceptable for a boy to remain unmarried till his late 20s, but after that questions are asked about his appropriateness as a husband. This does not necessarily apply to a growing urban middle class population. Once the families have agreed on their childrens marriage they consult a family priest or an astrologer to fix the wedding date according to their astrological charts and thereafter invitations are sent to family and friends. The Hindu marriage ceremony entails several functions before the big day. However the wedding day itself has many religious rituals which need to be followed and is a custom for all Hindus. Firstly there is the Panigrahana; this ritual is carried out by the brides father, where he would offer the hand of the bride to the groom. The next ritual is the exchanging of the vows with fire as the witness. A Havankund or fire is lit and the priest recites the relevant hymns from the scriptures. Each time the bride and groom go around the fire they exchange vows. The next ritual is the Saptapadi; at the end of the ceremony the couple take seven steps together; each step represents strivings for their married life. The first step is taken for God and the growing of their spiritual progress together, the others are for health, wealth, strength, children and happiness. The seventh step represents life long friendship between husband and wife. The other key feature of a Hindu marriage, which everyone is familiar with, is the marking of the brides forehead with red powder called kumkum. This merely shows the females status. Love marriages are on the increase in Britain, but there is still a lot of doubt about them amongst the elder generation. Love marriages within the same caste and financial background are favoured, compared to inter-caste and inter-religious marriages. Couples who dare cross the social conventions have to cope with a lot of social pressure within their families and outside. These problems are more acute in the rural areas compared to the urban areas and metropolitan cities. Much depends upon the family background. If parents are educated and enlightened on both sides, things would be easier for the children, who get involved in unconventional relationships. I would say one of the evils of Hindu arranged marriages in India especially is the ever- present dowry system. The amount of dowry can be a very substantial amount, even in dollar terms, depending upon the financial status of the parties involved. Sometimes greedy mother-in-laws and husbands subject the poor brides to innumerable hardships for not meeting their expectations in respect of the dowry. Cases of bride burning are not unknown. Indian penal code prescribes severe punishment for such acts. But the cases take years and decades before the courts deliver justice. Many Indian families who have settled outside of India still uphold the tradition of arranged marriage. Being part of two cultures can be hard. Young people born in Britain but from an Indian family can find this particularly difficult if their modern western lifestyles clash with their parents hopes and wishes.2 Many young Indian people living in Britain know that one day they will agree to an arranged marriage. To deny their parents this would be a sign of deep disrespect. Many families are able to discuss the issue and reach compromises that are suitable for everyone. For example insist that you are happy to meet with prospective partners but that you must like your match. Family, friends and relatives will be informed once they have decided to go ahead and soon meetings will be organised. They will be matched according to their education and experience, a suitable caste, or social class associated with the Hindu religion. Many non Hindus have a huge misconception about arranged marriages. It is important to make a clear distinction between arranged marriages that are consensual and marriages that are arranged without the consent of the individuals involved. These are sometimes called forced marriages and are against the law in this country. However in rural parts of India this idea about forced marriages still takes place even today. Although Western societies tend to ridicule arranged marriages as backward and uncivilized and old fashioned, there are positive aspects. For example, Westerners focus more on the physical aspect of relationships, and are thus obsessed with love, sex, and beauty. As a result, people get married based on these factors and then get let down by one another very easily. The divorce rate in Western countries such as the U.S. has increased rapidly. 50% of American marriages end in divorce1. In contrast, Eastern cultures that practice arranged marriages place far more emphasis on the practical, such as integrity, diligence, ambition, modesty, and kindness. People get married based on practical reasons, and work on building affection later. Strong characteristics like the ones described above are very favourable to building love and affection in Eastern marriages. As a result, these marriages are much longer-lasting than many Western marriages. It is because the primary emphasis is not on love, sex, and physical beauty that arranged marriages are usually so successful, because the spouses get to know one another on a practical level first, looking beyond trivial issues such as beauty. I know it can go both ways, there are many arranged marriages that are just total hell, and there are marriages that started out based only on infatuation and grew stronger as time passed. But I think as long as one looks for the right characteristics in a potential spouse, then, arranged marriage can definitely work. People within the western civilisation are mistaken by the term arranged marriages. Arranged doesnt necessarily mean fixed. Arranged marriages it encompasses a lot of different varieties: the harshest arranged marriages are almost forced upon the bride or groom while the most liberal ones start with just an introduction of the couple through their parents and the rest is up to the couple. If they feel they are compatible then they would go ahead with the marriage. If they decided not to get married they would remain friends. I feel that within Britain today, Hindu parents have become liberal with their children dating and seeing each other. Parents are now influencing their children to look for someone within University get to know them for at least a couple of years and then decide on whether they are right for you. I think if the parents know about the son or daughters partner and they are Hindu, have a good family background and most importantly are educated then the parents would definitely agree to the marriage. In fact, the advantages and drawbacks of arranged marriages cannot be so easily appraised. The incidence of divorce among Indian-born British/Americans is dramatically lower than among British/Americans generally, but that partly reflects the continuing disgrace of divorce. Even as the divorce rate among Indian British/Americans appears to be increasing, the topic is rarely discussed. Divorce reflects poorly on an Indian family, and some proportion of arranged marriages endures not because they are successful or rewarding, but because leaving them would bring such shame. In addition, the concept of a woman living independently is foreign to most people in South Asian culture. Also, a majority of women dont work in rural areas of South Asian countries and hence find it difficult to have enough money to support them without getting married or after getting divorced. And many endure because the definition of success differs from Western ideas. Traditional Indians dont expect a partner to be that improbable combination of soul mate/confidante/red-hot lover/best friend. The husband-wife bond is one of reliability and dependability and complementary family roles raising children, caring for elders, explains Karen Leonard, author of The South Asian Americans and a University of California-Irvine anthropologist. They may communicate very little in intimate ways, and its still a good marriage.3. The custom of arranged marriages in India has survived migration and modernization remaining central to the fabric of society. However 95% of all marriages in India are arranged, even among those in the educated middle class. Many Indians challenge that arranged marriages are more successful than marriages in the West, particularly given the latters staggering divorce rates. Romantic love does not necessarily lead to a good marriage, and often fails once the passion dissolves, they argue. With most unions between individuals from the same background, the arranged marriage reflects and reinforces the social, economic, geographic and historical diversity of India itself. More like a continent than a country, India is made up of 14 states, with as many languages, thousands of dialects, three major religions, hundreds of sub-religions, an outlawed but still practiced caste system amongst Hindus. The Hindu religion, strongly intertwined in the concept of duty, order that parents are responsible for providing their childrens education and marriage. Once married, their sons take over the running of the household and provide for their parents for the rest of their lives. The arranged marriage has adjusted to modernization. Prospective grooms were once not even allowed to see the photograph of their prospective brides so as to protect an unmarried womans purity, her most valuable asset. By the 1930/40s, such as in my grandmothers marriage, the couple exchanged photographs, in order to decide if they liked each other. Today couples, depending on how liberal their parents are, have a coffee or meal on their own either at home, or in a restaurant, before deciding to commit. Middle-class women are allowed to reject suitors favoured by their parents. Engagements can now last six months. Western concepts of love triumphing over tradition can be seen in popular Indian films. However, many Indian women in the diaspora are in change. Freedom comes with a price. Some women, after having ended several long term relationships, find themselves in their late 30s alone, with one foot in either world and judged by both. It goes without saying that no marriage, not even an arranged one, is accustomed from basic incompatibility or abuse. But the arranged marriage does have its advantages. Living with the extended family, daughters traditionally live with their in-laws including brothers-in-law and their wives and children which means a free staff of child minders. Apart from the economic savings of a family home, shocks such as a death or the loss of a job can be absorbed. The system cares for elderly parents and grandparents who are generally isolated in Western societies. Also, because the arranged marriage tends to be a union of two families of strong moral and cultural values provides checks and balances against areas that may splinter it, such as unfaithfulness. Most people tend to equate Hindu marriage with arranged marriage. The parents in order to meet this domestic obligation prepare themselves mentally and, more importantly, financially when their child reaches marriageable age. They search for a suitable partner keeping in mind the community rules regarding cast, creed, birth chart, and financial and social status of the family. Traditionally it is the girls parents that bear the cost of the wedding and to jumpstart their daughters married life they shower her with gifts and ornaments to take to her in-laws. Unfortunately, this has aggravated peoples greed end in the many evils of dowry system. In the end, the discussion of arranged and love marriages comes down to which is better? Obviously, the one that leads to more successful marriages. Supporters of arranged marriages claim that it is more successful, but their definition of success focuses on divorce rates. But are divorce rates really a measure of a successful marriage? Do all the couples that dont get divorced stay happy with each other? The occurrence of divorce in society depends on a lot of factors including the stigma of divorce. It should be a matter of great concern that we have begun to ignore the ancient and lofty ideals of Hindu marriage and are anxious to follow in the footsteps of cultures that do not value these ideals. No wonder, the number of divorce suits filed by Hindu couples is on the rise. Instead of strengthening the traditional ideals, which for thousands of years have helped us prevent marriage and family break-ups, we are misdirecting our energies towards promoting the ideal of sense-enjoyment and self-interest. In my opinion it is still not too late to be proactive to protect the sanctity of Hindu marriage. 1: http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_dira.htm 2: http://www.youthinformation.com/infopage.asp?snID=805 3: http://lair.xent.com/pipermail/fork/2003-March/018427.html Words 2,582 (not including Bibliography)

Road less Travelled :: essays research papers

Certain administrators, educators, and medical professionals in our ranks are recommending strange books which teach skepticism, atheism, and New Age philosophies. This present report draws the curtain back, so you will not be ignorant when these concepts and their corollary code words are presented in your area. It may all sound very exciting, mystifying, and life-changing. But it is old-fashioned Oriental mysticism in a new guise. There are churchmen and medical professionals in our ranks who claim that these books will change a person’s life. We agree. THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED M. Scott Peck, M.D., is a practicing psychiatrist. His most famous book is The Road Less Traveled, which was initially published in 1978. It has been a national best-seller ever since. This book, and its companion volumes by the same author, are increasingly being urged on our people. The subtitle of this book is A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth. Sounds pretty good, does it not? Do not be fooled. We are giving you an advance warning. You may find these theories taught at your own church one of these days. Peck excites the imagination to lofty flights of fancy while subtly instilling pride in one’s own wisdom. This is the secret of its fascination. It lures one on to seek a wisdom hidden from, and unavailable to, commonplace people. One might think that M. Scott Peck is a very wise man, in view of the profundity which people imagine they find in his writings; yet we will learn that, by his own admission, he is a tobacco and alcohol addict. The wisdom of the world is foolishness with God. â€Å"The wisdom which spiritualism imparts is that described by the apostle James, which ‘descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.’ This, however, the great deceiver [initially] conceals.†Ã¢â‚¬â€Great Controversy, 554. M. Scott Peck teaches his readers that they must forsake the half-truths their parents have taught them and become skeptics in order to attain the level where wisdom begins: â€Å"Science is a religion of skepticism. To escape from the microcosm of our childhood experience, from the microcosm of our culture and its dogmas, from the half-truths our parents told us, it is essential that we be skeptical about what we think we have learned to date. It is the scientific attitude that enables us to transform our personal experience of the microcosm into a personal experience of the macrocosm. Road less Travelled :: essays research papers Certain administrators, educators, and medical professionals in our ranks are recommending strange books which teach skepticism, atheism, and New Age philosophies. This present report draws the curtain back, so you will not be ignorant when these concepts and their corollary code words are presented in your area. It may all sound very exciting, mystifying, and life-changing. But it is old-fashioned Oriental mysticism in a new guise. There are churchmen and medical professionals in our ranks who claim that these books will change a person’s life. We agree. THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED M. Scott Peck, M.D., is a practicing psychiatrist. His most famous book is The Road Less Traveled, which was initially published in 1978. It has been a national best-seller ever since. This book, and its companion volumes by the same author, are increasingly being urged on our people. The subtitle of this book is A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth. Sounds pretty good, does it not? Do not be fooled. We are giving you an advance warning. You may find these theories taught at your own church one of these days. Peck excites the imagination to lofty flights of fancy while subtly instilling pride in one’s own wisdom. This is the secret of its fascination. It lures one on to seek a wisdom hidden from, and unavailable to, commonplace people. One might think that M. Scott Peck is a very wise man, in view of the profundity which people imagine they find in his writings; yet we will learn that, by his own admission, he is a tobacco and alcohol addict. The wisdom of the world is foolishness with God. â€Å"The wisdom which spiritualism imparts is that described by the apostle James, which ‘descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.’ This, however, the great deceiver [initially] conceals.†Ã¢â‚¬â€Great Controversy, 554. M. Scott Peck teaches his readers that they must forsake the half-truths their parents have taught them and become skeptics in order to attain the level where wisdom begins: â€Å"Science is a religion of skepticism. To escape from the microcosm of our childhood experience, from the microcosm of our culture and its dogmas, from the half-truths our parents told us, it is essential that we be skeptical about what we think we have learned to date. It is the scientific attitude that enables us to transform our personal experience of the microcosm into a personal experience of the macrocosm.

Macchiavellian theories in “King Lear” Essay

William Shakespeare’s â€Å"King Lear† has within it many Machiavellian theories. This is evident once we examine the characters of Edmund, Goneril, and Regan. The Machiavellian principles relating to politics, ethics, and virtue are exemplified throughout â€Å"King Lear† play by these three characters. Machiavellian politics deal with acquiring power and forming very strong governments. For Machiavelli, power meant politics. Ethics can be best described as a branch of knowledge concerned with moral principles. The Theme of morality and ethics keeps evolving throughout â€Å"King Lear† and is demonstrated by these three characters. Virtue is the final principle highlighted by this Shakespeare play. By examining each of the three characters in more depth, we can better understand how Machiavellian theories apply to the play â€Å"King Lear† Edmund is the most Machiavellian character in â€Å"King Lear† for many reasons. Edmund was born as illegitimated son of Gloucester. He had elder brother named Edgar who was legitimated son of Gloucester and beloved suitable heir. Edmund shows his avarice, greed, and envy towards Edger. Edmund states soliloquy â€Å"Thou, Nature, art my goddess; to thy law, †¦ now, gods, stand up for bastards.†(I, ii, 1-22) This shows that he blame the nature that he never meant to born as an illegitimated, such as bastard son. He also decides that as concern everything think as a bastard, he will act as a bastard, the way of being Machiavellian as manipulating and taking advantage of others. Especially from the part of soliloquy, â€Å"legitimate Edgar, I must have your land.† (I, ii, 16) He is showing his jealousy towards Edgar, and all that he has. Back in Shakespeare’s time, land ownership was a form of wealth. Wealth equaled political power. Acquiring political p ower is a Machiavellian trait. Edmund also criticized his father for being too superstitious and gullible in nature. He ridiculed his father, Gloucester for his beliefs and he thought he was morally superior to him. Edmund exploited his father’s good nature by enraging with Edgar’s false letter against his father. In a deceptive manner, Edmund, quite simply acted phony to Edgar. He tries to cover Edger, however deceiving both ends of his mouth between Gloucester and Edgar. Edmund acted in a two faced manner and this is true to the Machiavellian way  of doing things. There is one more example of Edmund’s Machiavellian behavior. In Act III, we are exposed to Edmund’s treacherous tendency against his own father. Edmund states, â€Å"The younger rise when the old doth fall†(III, iii, 26) it is clear that Edmund wished to take over and assume power over his father’s domain. Edmund is seeking power that Macchivelli often wrote about. The greed in acquiring power is all right if the end justifies the means. In Act V, Edger, Edmund’s brother, also a victim of Edmund’s Machiavellian tendencies revenge on Edmund and murdered him. Along with Edmund, Goneril is also another character in the play, which exemplifies immoral and unvirtuous behavior. Goneril used flattery to get on the good side of her father. â€Å"Sir, I love you more than words can wield the matter, †¦ Beyond all manner of so much I love you.†(I, i, 57-64) She wanted to inherit her father’s kingdom. Goneril had an ulterior motive for acting this way to achieve any greedy goal. After she took advantage of her old father, she kicked her father out from her castle. This shows how she unvirtuous Machiavellian treatment to her father. There is the second example of Goneril’s deceiving ways. Goneril cheated on her husband Albany. This is undoubtedly Machiavellian trait. Albany even detected Goneril’s conniving deceptive behavior. He states † You are not worth the dust which the rude wind blows in your face.†(IV, ii, 30-31) Furthermore for Goneril’s love of Edmund, she poisoned her own sister, Regan to eliminate from him. At the end of the play, these Machiavellian traits and characteristics brought her to this point of self-destruction and suicide. Regan is the next character who also showed Machiavellian behavior in her personality. She flattered her father just like Goneril did. â€Å"I am made of that self mettle as my sisters, †¦ In your Highness love†(I, i, 71-79) She had an ulterior motive to in praising and flattering her father. Like her deceptive sister Goneril, Regan wanted the wealth and kingdom. It was more than she deserved. Regan cooperated thoroughly with Goneril to mistreat her  father with disrespect. Regan defends her sister’s poor treatment of her father to her father and informs her father that he is old and should be rule by others. She mentioned to him that return to Goneril and beg her Forgiveness. â€Å"O, sir, you are old, †¦ Say you have wronged her.†(II, iv, 145-151) This behavior is Machiavellian in nature, because it is immoral and unvirtuous. Regan also cheated on her husband, Cornwall. She loved Edmund as her sister Goneril did. She informed her sister that she wou ld merry Edmund as soon as her husband died, however Regan was poisoned by Goneril. This shows that how the last become to the Machiavellian who looks for their own profit, and their Machiavellian personalities bring themselves into their own grave. It is clearly evident that the Machiavellian themes are prevalent by the words and actions of Edmund, Goneril, and Regan. The theory of acquiring power, ethics, morality, and virtue that Macchiavelli wrote about is a common theme in William Shakespeare’s â€Å"King Lear†. The three characters previously mentioned are all looking out for their own self-interest. They will do anything to achieve their greedy and selfish goals. Perhaps it is truly ironic that the play does not have happy ending. Much can be learned by examining Machiavellian principals and theories as they pertain to â€Å"King Lear†.

Life processes – Biodiversity

Often referred to as â€Å"Ecosystems†, Biomes are environments that differ depending on certain factors such as plant life, human presence (which will increase or decrease the pollution levels depending on the advancement of the civilization) and weather/climate. Biomes are easier to define in the worlds of biology, ecology, and biogeography than areas of the planet that have been sectioned and defined by the presence of humans. There are 6 basic terrestrial and aquatic biomes, these can be categorised into Freshwater, Marine, Desert, Forest, Grassland and Tundra. Every different type of ecosystem is unique unto itself, with forms of plant life and animal species that are found only within them. The animals collect in these environment and they rely on the plants for food or shelter or both. Other major factors within a biome are the existence of clean water and suitable weather conditions that these animals can live comfortably in, without these factors, the ecosystem would fail. Biodiversity exists within a biome, this is used to categorise the different types of life within them. Sub definitions are food-chains, placing predatory animals that feed on lesser able animals higher up. Below is an example of a food chain in the rainforest. (1) A food web is a more detailed way of connecting food chains. A food chain diagram, like the one located to the left can only depict a simple staged diagram, whereas a food chain can show how many different types of wildlife can survive on different. Many animals eat more than one thing, a way of showing this is to illustrate it in a food web. An example of one can be seen below. (3) Animals multiply and thrive in some places better than others, for example, varieties of insects that rely on certain types of abiotic climates such as the warm and humid types found in rainforests, would not be able to survive in a desert environment as the conditions there would not provide them with the adequate plant life they need in order to survive both for food and shelter. Using the diagram located to the left it is possible to view some of the more widely known wildlife in this particular ecosystem, however if one were to compare this particular environment to one on the opposite end of the scale, for example, the desert, the wildlife, plant life and factors of human interference would be dramatically different. Rainforests have long been affected by the presence of man and as a result have diminished in size dramatically; this has a direct result on the ecosystems found within them. Our continuing harvesting of wood from trees and the use of land for grazing purposes for farms and such has reached a deadly climax for many species and has forced the wildlife and animal life to adapt to the changes and although they continue to live within these ever changing environments, some species have not. According to sources between 30-100 species of animals, including birds, mammals, fish and insects are being wiped out every single day due to human interference in their habitats (2) The question of which biome has the highest and lowest biodiversity is one that is in constant competition within scientists. Some believe it to be the marine biome as some say there are more variations of plant and marine life and it is the largest, covering two thirds of the earth's surface. Another point directly relating to this particular decision is the affect of humans on the biome. Humans pollute the seas daily, this is not in contention, however the sheer volume of area within which these species survive is not as affected as the land as humans cannot affect as much of it as they cannot access it all. Another argument is that the neotropical climate of climate of Costa Rica puts it at the top, it has over 500,000 different types of species, approximately 300,000 of these are insects. An example of adapting within biomes is that of squirrels. Traditionally found in Britain are the Red and Grey squirrel, the latter of which was introduced to Britain around 130 years ago. The community of the red squirrel is under threat due to the grey squirrel, they raid the food hordes of the red's and as a result their numbers are dwindling. The red squirrel is unable to digest acorns unlike their foreign cousins form across the seas, as a result, the red squirrel is unable to survive in many of the oak laden wooded areas around Britain, over time the red squirrel has found its niche and now, although greatly outnumbered, approx 2. 5 million greys to 160,000 red, the population have survived in man made habitats such as the one on the Isle of Wight and in North East England, Scotland & Wales. Being born and raised in Blean, Canterbury, a regular family outing would be to take regular treks through Blean woods. This is a perfect example of a local ecosystem and evidence of biodiversity. Blean woods spans over 3,000 hectares and within its boundaries thrive many different types of wildlife. Nature reserves have been set up including an RSPB base and guided walks are available on most days, taking nature lovers deep into its terrain to understand, view and record the process of nature that dwells within. The woods themselves are a popular attraction with tourists that travel from far and wide, many of which are people who have come to discover Canterbury and wish to find out more about the surrounding areas. The area itself is maintained by charitable organisations and funded by donations and it is important to understand the financial benefit that these woods have on the area and how much people depend on them. The Conifer tree is the breed of tree that is found the least in these particular woods but there are sanctuaries within it that breed these trees.

Harrison Bergeron Summary and Response Essay Example

Harrison Bergeron Summary and Response Essay Example Harrison Bergeron Summary and Response Paper Harrison Bergeron Summary and Response Paper This meant that no person was more intelligent, better-looking, or more athletic than the other. In order to make sure the Amendments were being upheld, the Handicapper General and his team of agents were in full force. In April of 2081, Harrison Burgeon is taken away from his parents (George and Hazel) by the Handicapper General. Because of the equality laws, his parents did not have the Intelligence to recall the tragedy. Those with above average Intelligence wore a radio In which the government could broadcast a noise to interrupt the thoughts of those who had been thinking for extended periods of time. One night, George and Hazel are watching ballerinas dance on television. Hazel is crying but cant exactly remember why. That was a real pretty dance, that dance they Just did, said Hazel. Huh? said George. That dance, it was nice, said Hazel (Opponent, 1). Suddenly, Harridans picture is shown on the television, claiming that he has escaped from prison. The government felt as If they were In danger because of Harrison. He was very Intelligent, an athlete. And is under- handicapped (Opponent, 3). Instead off little ear radio for a mental handicap, he ore a tremendous pair of earphones, and spectacles with thick, wavy lenses besides. : The spectacles were intended not only to make him half-blind, but to give him whining headaches besides. Scrap metal was hung all over him (Opponent, 3). George suddenly recognizes that Harrison Is the one being shown across the television, but a sound of automobile wreck forces him to lose his train of thought. When the noise Is over, he cant remember who he Just saw. The government felt threatened by Harrison because of his above average qualities. However, Harrison claimed to be an Emperor and would select an Empress hat night. l am the Emperor! cried Harrison. Do you hear? I am the Emperor! Everybody must do what I say at once! (Opponent, 5). As Harrison was dancing with his Empress, Diana Moon Slammers, the Handicapper General, entered the room and shot both Harrison and his Empress. Both were dead before they hit the floor. She had shot them because they had disobeyed the laws of the land and equality. Diana threatened to shoot the musicians as well if they didnt put their handicaps back on. After this incident, George and Hazels television went out. George had left to grab a ere from the kitchen and came back to the living room. Muff been crying? He said to Hazel, watching her wipe her tears. Muff, she said. What about? he said. I forgot, she said. Something real sad on television. (Opponent, 7). In response to ten story, I completely Allegros Witt ten Handicapper Generals Ana the rest of the government officials. I do not believe that those with higher power can force an individual, let alone an entire nation, to become completely equal in inhum ane ways. The most interesting detail of the reading was by far the extremity f how far the government went to ensure that all citizens were no better than others. If someone were to be more athletic, they were to wear a bag of birdbaths around your neck. If someone were to be above average looking, they were to wear a mask. If someone were to be more intelligent, they had to wear a radio which blared a terrible noise if a thought was carried for more than twenty seconds. Hanging bags of birdbaths around the more athletic kind was particularly interesting. I was confused as to how a government could be so strict to ensure that no person is better than the other. Was Harrison the only one they were afraid of, or were they afraid of everyone who was a potential threat to the government?

Analysis of the steel production company POSCO

Analysis of the steel production company POSCO 1. Introduction The project that started with a few people at the city of Pohang at the East coast of Korea has today grown to the company that most of us knows as POSCO. Today POSCO is not only among the top steelmakers in the world in terms production, but also in terms of technology has the company captured one of the leading positions. More specifically the company is today the third biggest steelmaker in terms of production, and has earlier figured as number before different mergers and acquisitions changed this status. POSCO has succeeded by constantly investing in new production facilities and new technologies. This is underlined by their slogan: â€Å"Resources are limited; Creativity is unlimited†. POSCO was founded in cooperation with the Korean government, which wished to create a local supply of steel. Thus, POSCO has always been highly dependant on the Korean market and the Korean government. Even today this dependence is preserved, emphasized by POSCO having 72% of their sales in Korea (Business and Company Resource Center, 2010). However POSCO is also starting to position themselves at the global market, where the patterns of competition is completely different than the ones at their home market. This paper will examine the position of POSCO at the Korean market as well as the global market, and what kind of possibilities and challenges they are facing in order to prosper. The role of technology development plays a crucial role in this matter. Despite being an old and established industry, steel production is highly dependant on the development of technology, especially in terms of new processes of production. The paper should therefore also take into consideration how POSCO will succeed in further improving their technological competencies in order to stay competitive. The structure of the paper will be as follows: After the introduction some theoretical considerations in relation to the paper will be provided. Second, a presentation of POSCO, including its historical development as well as a short presentation of steelmaking will be provided. Third, the competitive market of the steel industry that POSCO are acting in will be analysed through the model, Porter’s five forces. After this, the technological development within POSCO will be described and analysed. At last, the future challenges in terms of technology strategy and the possibilities improving their position in the market will be analysed. These will be complemented by some specific recommendations on how to prosper. 2. Theoretical Considerations This study will consist of a business strategic part as well as a technology strategic part. The aim of the paper is to explain how the technology strategy of POSCO can be utilized in order to carry out the business strategy of the company, ultimately leading to a sustainable competitive advantage. At the business strategy level this paper seeks to combine the market-based view (Porter, 1980) and the reso urce-based view (Barney, 1991; Prahalad & Hamel, 1990). The paper adopts an outward-in perspective, starting out by analysing the current market situation of POSCO. For this purpose a Porter’s five forces model is used. By making this analysis it becomes visible what kind of position POSCO holds in their current competitive environment, and how they can eventually use their internal resources, more specifically technologies, to obtain a more favourable position relative to their nearest competitors. The resource-based view is not applied in the same systematic way, but rather as a mean to understanding the importance of technology development for the overall resources of the company.

Harold and Maude A Meditation on Life and Death Essay

Harold and Maude A Meditation on Life and Death - Essay Example It is also a well known fact that Carpenter Square Theatre opened its twenty-first season with Harold and Maude, the stage version of the 1970s cult classic film by the same name from 03-25 Sept. 2005. The main thesis of such a popular comedy is depiction of two scenarios of human life. One is an introvert, Harold, twenty year old, who has evolved as a dramatic recluse as a result of receiving consistent neglect from his mother. Secondly, it is Maude, a septuagenarian who is an extrovert and freely living woman having no hassles. Both are representing two extremes. The movie's real concern is that "there is a time to live and time to die" (Canby, 1971). All that occurs is on the road to life and As such, Harold (Bud Cort) loves feigning suicide attempts. He does them in front of his mother, Mrs. Chasen (Vivian Pickles). She is then infuriated instead of being frightened by such repeated attempts. Harold pretends to drown, shoot, hang, slit his wrists, chop off his hand and immolate himself. Nothing of this sort affects his mother. Yes, his mother arranges computer dates for Harold which he promptly scares away. Harold enjoys driving a hearse and frequents funerals of people he doesn't know. He is also fond of spending time at junk yards. Then there emerges his match in Maude (Ruth Gordon). ... Then there emerges his match in Maude (Ruth Gordon). She is an expert at stealing cars and so many other things. She is still full of life. Her friendship with Harold starts at a funeral where she is having a solo picnic of her own. Harold learns to love life, to embrace it and nurture it only from Maude. There is so much of happening on the highway to life and death in this film that Harold - representing death, and Maude - depicting life, have numerous 'meditations' to share mutually. This ultimately brings them, first, to the altar of marriage and, then, separation in the suicide of Maude. This is the communion of Death in Life and Life in Death. Author's last name HYPOTHESES 1. There are varied streams of consciousness in this film. These diverse levels of consciousness show "cinematic representation of mental processes occurring in the minds of fictional characters simultaneously with the external action, granting a penetration into their inner life" (Callev, 1997). This is reflected in Uncle Victor, Mrs. Chasen, Sunshine, Edith and other girls from Dating Service, Police Cops, Nurses and Priest etc. in the film Harold and Maude. 2. One of the most interesting aspect in this movie is its emphasis on 'self'. What 'this over-concern with self can bring about' is shown in diversity of character and their behavior. Different roles and dispositions are shown in the film. That is why it is also branded as a black comedy. For instance, Nurses do not listen to Harold when he is asking them to immediately treat Maude to save her life. Another similar example is there in the acts of Harold presenting Maude with an 'I Love You' memento and, Maude, on the other hand, throwing it into ocean depths instantly! 3. All these characters and

The Development of Health Care Provision in Britain Essay

The Development of Health Care Provision in Britain - Essay Example In Roman times doctors were often Greeks and might belong to a private family as well as acting as general practitioners. There were also doctors and medical assistant attached to the invading Roman army. Even in families where there was no doctor some member of the household would have acquired some necessary medical knowledge:-. Unwashed wool supplies very many remedies†¦..it is applied†¦.with honey to old sores. Wounds it heals if dipped in wine or vinegar†¦.yolks of eggs†¦.are taken for dysentery with the ash of their shells, poppy juice and wine. It is recommended to bathe the eyes with a decoction of the liver.(Pliny, 1st century C.E.) There would also be wise women, often herbalists. The History of Hospitals and Health Care in Britain This situation would have continued until the Middle Ages when the very first hospitals appeared, driven by Christian convictions, and founded as religious institutions. St Bartholomew’s Hospital, in central London, was founded in the 12th century by a monk. These religious foundations were based upon ideas taken from the gospels, as in Matthew chapter 9 where there are several examples of Jesus caring for the sick. . By the time of Elizabeth I the state was beginning to play its part. In response to the increasing number of vagrants and wandering jobless an act of 1601 set up the first poor houses, and these would have included at least minimal care for the sick and mentally fragile who were also poor (Bloy, 2002). Local taxes were used to support such ventures. It was in the 18th century that many of today’s larger British medical institutions came into being as voluntary hospitals. At first these were in long established cities such as London and Edinburgh. With the coming of the Industrial Revolution newly burgeoning cities such as Manchester also opened hospitals. These were funded by private contributions. Specialist hospitals such as those dedicated to maternity care, and eye hospita ls, also opened. Asylums were under the care of local authorities (Voluntary Hospitals Database, undated). At this time though nursing training was rudimentary . It was only with the threat of various wars , including the Crimean War and the First World War, that the need for formal training became obvious. In 1911 the National Insurance Act became law. This is an important stage in the founding of a welfare state, and it resulted in care being provided for many people . There were many schemes to help poorer people to pay for their care. In Birmingham the Birmingham Hospital Saturday Fund was begun in 1873 by a local clergyman (BHSF Undated) .The fund was one of several from various parts of the United Kingdom and continued into the days of the National Health Service when, for the payment of a few pence weekly, people could ensure a place in a convalescent home after an illness. The aims of the organisation today are still to provide convalescence, but also to invest in medical re search. Meanwhile richer people continued to visit private clinics or to have doctors visit them at home. The majority voluntary hospitals and schemes later became incorporated into the National Health Service, which was initiated by the Labour government in 1948, based upon an ideal of good health care being made accessible to all, whatever their situation in life. According to Rivett (Undated) this principle had been in existence for at least a century, with many individual initiatives, and the London County Council even wanting to provide its own hospitals, but not enough had been done to make it a reality. In I920, soon after the end of the First World W

Research proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 2

Research proposal - Essay Example In analyzing the data, SPSS program and the Microsoft Excel are in use. The report will then be detrimental to the department and the relevant authorities for the sake of health promotion. The relevant health departments will be informed of the findings for the sake of incorporation in their departments. In men, the urine flow is through the urethra. Enlargement of the prostate gland is likely to blocks urine flow. The urethra narrows, therefore, forcing the urethra to contract forcefully to push urine through. The bladder muscles thicken, becomes stronger and sensitive over time; it, therefore, begins to contract in the presence of a small amount of urine due to its increased sensitivity causing need for frequent urination With time, the bladder muscles become ineffective to pressing out urine due to the narrowed urethra so urine tends to remain in the bladder, and it is completely not emptied. It in the end puts an individual at risk of developing urinary tract infections. Bladder stones, blood in urine, incontinence and acute urinary retention are a few serious problems that can develop over time. Benign prostatic hyperplasia is a histologic diagnosis referring to the multiplication of smooth muscle and epithelial cells within the prostatic transition zone. The etiology of BPH is unknown; however, there is a similarity between BPH and the embryonic morphogenesis of the prostate. The lower urinary symptoms have resulted from the enlarged gland. Direct bladder outlet obstruction has resulted to voiding symptoms. The prevalence and severity of lower urinary tract symptoms in aging male population are progressive, and it is, therefore, important the diagnosis in the healthcare of the patient and a large society. Despite the lack of enough information to explain the pathophysiology, BPH is treatable through surgical and medical treatment (Bird et al., 2013, pg. 347). Prostate gland is located within the male reproductive system. The gland is just

Ethical Issue Facing The Technology Industry Commerce Essay

Ethical Issue Facing The Technology Industry Commerce Essay Ethical issue facing industry (Charlie). We chose to take a look into the technology industry for our ethical analysis. We chose this industry because in todays world, technology has become a massive aspect in our everyday lives. Everyday technology is growing and become a bigger part in the world and the way it runs. Ethics is defined in the dictionary as, the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation. So we wanted to look into an industry that has had issues and would be worth our time looking into. Some issues that face the technology industry for companies like Apple, IBM, and Google are production issues as well as the selling practices. Specifically for Apple, a big issue that they are facing is their both production and selling practices. Apple has their products made overseas in places like China while the goal of a company should be to increase jobs in the countries that they are in. Apple is also taking advantage of China and the fact that the average worker makes under $200 per week. Apple has decided to do this; however, because if they made their iPads in the United States, they would cost over $1,100. So yes, they may be doing the people a favor in terms of price by creating these iPads overseas, but at the same time they are taking advantage of a country in China because they know how cheap the labor market is there. We make products overseas because Chinese manufacturing jobs are paid 1/30th of the United States median salaries for manufacturing jobs (Thompson, Der ek). These businesses, especially Apple, are churning out products on a quick, regular basis. So what Apple has done is created a massive profit margin on their products so that they can keep creating new products, which are essentially software updates, instead of just allowing people to upgrade their software solely. Apple has made it so that their 32 gb iPad 2 sells for $729, but when you add up their labor and material costs to make these iPads, it only comes out to about $325. This gives Apple a profit margin of around 54% and allows them to have customers buy brand new products instead of just allowing them to upgrade the software on their products that they purchased within the past year (Thompson, Derek). Companies like Google are facing issues of being deceptive and need to show more Corporate Social Responsibility because their customer is the most important aspect of their company. Privacy International ranked Google as the worst in its survey, they say that Google is the worst when it comes to respecting their users privacy. Congress was also warned about applications that Google was marketing on Capitol Hill because people believe that there were privacy and security risks. Google also does not disclose its conflicts of interest; they keep their customers in the dark, also not fulfilling their social responsibility. Google says that they work for the people that use their site but Google really works for advertisers on their sites. People who use Google pay nothing to use it, so Google has a conflict of interest of whether theyre working for their users, who are their customers, or the advertisers on their site. This makes users of Google have a false sense of security while usin g the site and can put users at risk of being defrauded. Google is all about who will make them the most money, and not about doing things the right way. They say they hold auctions for awarding keyword searches to the highest bidder but to whoever makes Google the most money. Google has also been accused of stealing, which is neither ethical nor responsible. Viacom sued Google for a clearly illegal business model. Google is also being sued by no less than five different industries. Viacom is suing Google in the TV broadcasting industry. Motion Picture Association has sued Google over aiding the piracy of films by promoting sites that allow users to download movies without buying them. Some trademark owners have had Google sell keywords that are their brands, which in turn has created brand confusion. Book publishers and newspapers for things like copyright infringement, and illegal use of newspaper headlines have also sued Google. Google has shown little ethical compass as well. When former CEO Eric Schmidt was confronted about the fact that Google and their privacy issue, Schmidt said that they were not concerned with privacy and protection because it would slow down Google and their performance. Google has placed speed over their ethics and social respo nsibility to their users. It is clearly unethical to place profits and money over customers and ethics. (Cleland, Scott). Some ethical issues facing a company like IBM, which is big into things like Information Technology (IT). People who work in IT for IBM has several things that they need to look at. People in IT play a large role in helping shape ethical aspects of their organizations. IBM has to look into privacy and establish a freedom from intrusion for the customers as well as control of their customers personal information and as well as allowing customers to avoid unwarranted surveillance. IBM works to help their customers keep these three aspects intact. IBM is working to protect the privacy of their customers so they can avoid being defrauded and other problems that may arise. The SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) has accused IBM of bribing officials in the governments of South Korea with both cash and free computers. These bribes supposedly helped IBM obtain contracts in South Korea that worth a supposed millions of dollars. IBM has also been charged with creating secret funds for officials in China as well. This shows how bribery overseas has become a large issue for United States companies. This showed a problem that IBM had in their department of internal controls to stop these problems. IBM was calling these payments as legitimate expenses that were used for businesses. IBM was essentially forging their books and records, also a very unethical practice. IBM was working with travel agencies to help create fake invoices. (Hilzenrath, David S). These businesses within the technology industry are where we thought we found the biggest ethical issues concerning social responsibility of the corporations in terms of things like bribery, privacy and other ethical issues. We believe these are the biggest issues facing companies today and thought it would be helpful to see how they affect such a large and growing industry in our world today. Pressures facing the industry (Alicia) There are many pressures that impact the technology industry. Most of the pressures that are growing for this industry come from employees, governments, consumers, suppliers, advocacy groups, and stakeholders. Some of the areas that are receiving attention with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are as follows: global responsibility, transparency with company information, environment issues, and safe labor practices (Cadmus, 2009). Global Responsibility Most companies in the technology industry, such as Apple, IBM, and Google, are Multinational Corporations (MNCs). This causes those companies to be in the spotlight as a leader. Consumers, governments, and advocacy groups for CSR expect these MNCs to step up and assume wider responsibilities in the social arena (Smith, 2003). Society sees big businesses that are growing globally and gaining more power, and they believe that with the power comes an obligation to attend to the community in which it operates (Smith, 2003). Apple, for example, is one of the most powerful companies in the world, let alone the technology industry. Because of that and the fact that they continually are innovating in creating new types of technology, people believe that Apple should use that innovation to help the world and contribute to social change. According to a Forbes article, Technology has become central to fighting disease, distributing food, improving education, and Apple should be a leader (Klein, 2011). Transparency Companies are receiving pressure from society to be transparent in their business practices. People, such as employees and stakeholders, are searching for the answers about how these companies are doing business and where their products are coming from. At this day and age, customers can find out any information they want about companies, with all of the social media available. Therefore, the pressure to be highly transparent about both good and bad things in the company is becoming more and more important (Monahan, 2012). The idea is that if businesses dont put their information out there, people will still find it and it will look as though the business was trying to hide that information from the public. Environment Activist groups are making a movement to make sure businesses are taking care of the environment while conducting their business operations. Of course there are government regulations that companies are legally supposed to follow, but there are also many groups that put the pressure on these companies to go over any beyond. As the need for energy increases, pressure increases on these technology companies to reduce materials used for their products, reduce effects of production processes in the environment, and use materials in production that have a smaller environmental impact (Business for Social Responsibility, 2011). Safe labor The media is really affecting how companies have been running with their unsafe labor standards. Businesses can no longer get away with child labor and unfair working conditions in foreign countries like they used to. If they do, they will most likely get caught because all of the different types of medias will find it and broadcast the companys unethical practices. Apple has become scrutinized in the media because of their unfair labor practices involving their manufacturing partner Foxconn and its subsidiaries (Sethi, 2012). Increased pressure on Apple and Foxconn has at least lessened their amount of unethical labor practices overseas, but it still hasnt done away with it completely. These pressures on the technology industry will likely decrease shareholder value on each firm if nothing is done about it. However, trends are showing that these firms are taking the pressures of ethical issues seriously. If the businesses continue to improve on their CSR, it is most likely that shareholder value and profitability will rise because of their ethical stance in society. Corporate social responsibility activities (Josh) CSR Activities IBM: IBM has shown in many ways that they support the communities they serve and strive to make not only themselves better but also the communities they operate in. IBM provided nearly $12 million in grants in 2011 to 4,000 schools and non-profit organizations where IBM members were volunteered. These grants were given to projects that applied innovation and professional skills to improve the communities that they served. IBM also has a grant program that gives up to $100,000 to innovative projects created by its employees that deal with healthcare, energy conservation and food safety. Along with this, IBM has a program that it calls Celebration of Service that encourages their employees to go out and volunteer at least eight hours for any cause that they wish support. Many individuals volunteered in areas of education, healthcare disaster relief and conservation. All-in-all, the program has yielded nearly 3.2 million hours of service from its employees in 120 countries across the globe. Lastly, IBM has a program that is called The Smarter Cities Challenge in which IBM sends top experts from different backgrounds to 100 cities across the globe for three weeks. While these experts are in these cities, they work with the local governments to make recommendations to try to make the city smarter and more effective. These recommendations come in the areas of administration, citizen engagement, economic development, education and workforce, environmental, public safety, transportation and urban planning. Through this program, IBM is trying to help make cities across the globe become more effective and efficient (2011 Corporate Social Responsibilities, 2012). Apple: Over the past year, Apple has tried to improve its appearance in the area of corporate social responsibility. Apple has made a significant effort to perform more audits on their supply chain. In 2011, Apple performed 229 total audits, 80% more audits than it did in 2010 with Steve Jobs as CEO. Of these 229 audits, more than 100 of them were performed on companies that had not been previously audited by Apple. Through these evaluations of its supply chain, Apple found several environmental and labor issues, but they claim to have handled the situation by enforcing their policies and helping their suppliers management teams to take corrective action to ensure that it would not happen again. Apple has also recently added 100,000 more manufacturing employees to its program to help ensure that its current employees do not exceed their 60-hour maximum hours a week (Supplier Responsibilites, 2012). Apple has also recently started a program for its employees that will match any employees don ation to a charity program of up to $10,000 (Hughes 2011). Apple has also made a conscious effort to reduce the amount of carbon emissions produced when manufacturing all of its products. In 2011, Apple reported that all of its products had a reduction in the amount of carbon emissions during the manufacturing process. Apple TV has seen 90% reduction in carbon emissions since 2007, MacBook Pro has seen a 21% reduction since 2007, and iPad has had a 5% reduction since 2010. Apple has also removed all of the toxic substances from its products that other companies still use, such as lead, mercury and arsenic in their glass screens. Because of this, Apple is years ahead of their competitors in technology, but also very socially responsible for taking these steps past their competitors to ensure their products will not harm the environment. Apple has also made all of its products extremely energy efficient. For example, an average 60-watt incandescent light bulb uses 48.4 grams of CO2 em issions per hour, while the 2011 MacBook Pro air only uses 7.4 grams an hour. All of Apples products not only meet the Environmental Protection Agencys strict Energy Star law, but they also exceed them. Lastly, Apple has made an effort to reduce and minimize the materials used in packaging its products. Since 2007, Apple has reduced the amount of packaging needed for the iPhone by 42 percent, allowing them to ship 80 percent more boxes in each airline-shipping container (Apple and the Environment, 2012). Google: Google has programs that give grants to select charitable organizations by giving them ad space on their site for free. Some of these organizations represent things such as animal rights, literacy to abandoned children and HIV education. Google has many other grant programs, especially supporting areas in Asian countries, giving grants to colleges and education programs. The most recent included giving 164 computers to the Green Computer Action for Poverty Alleviation. Google also attempts to be socially responsible with its environmental procedures. Google claims that to provide a user with three full weeks of streaming YouTube videos, Google only uses the amount of energy it takes to do one load of laundry. Googles data centers are some of the most efficient in the world, only using 50% of what the average data center uses. Not only does Googles data centers use less energy than most, Google has also began to use 33% of its total energy needed through renewable energy sources such as wind farms and solar panels on some of it facilities. Googles main focus is try to offset the carbon footprint it produces by investing in and using more renewable energy than it uses (A better web. Better for the envrinoment. 2012) In conclusion, not much was found IBM trying to improve its corporate social responsibility in areas of bribery and privacy. Although, IBM is still notably one of the most responsible companies in the industry and the world. IBM has many programs to help the communities that it operates in all across the globe. Next, Apple has made attempts to become more responsible within its supply chain and labor practices within the last two years. Apple has also maintained its solid reputation for being an environmentally conscious and consumer conscious company. They have made attempts implement change in the ways their production practices. Google, on the other hand, has not made many changes in the areas of deception and fraud. However, they are known for being a very environmentally friendly company. Social/Ethical Investment Policy Recommendation: In todays corporate society, it can be rather difficult to find a company that has strict adherence to ethical standards it has place for corporate social responsibility. However, there are some firms in the marketplace that are dedicated to both doing business in a socially responsible way and also increasing shareholder value. Therefore, it is important for Virginia Tech to take into account the corporate social responsibility of the companies for which they invest. Due to the fact that Virginia Tech is educating thousands of the worlds future business leaders, they should make sure they are setting the right example for America future. If Virginia Tech ignores how companies do business, and instead just focus on who can provide them with the cheapest price, it start a slippery slope among the young minds that receive their education at the institution. Also, since Virginia Tech offers an Ethical Leadership class that stresses the importance of corporate social responsibility, it w ould seem to very hypocritical if it were not to follow on the exact information it dissents to students. Therefore, it seems incredibly important to me that Virginia emerge as leader among state intuitions and makes ethical responsibility one of the main factors it uses when making investment decisions. Most of the reasons for Virginia Tech incorporating ethical issues into their investment decisions are ethical but there are also some financial aspects as well. First, Virginia Tech will need to accept the fact they often times the most ethically responsible company may not be the cheapest option out on the market. Therefore, they will need to plan for the fact they may end up with smaller investments or gains because the most ethical company may not necessarily be the best investment. However, just because Virginia Tech chooses to not invest in unethical companies with higher returns, does not mean the University will lose money. Simply put, the University will have to spend more searching for ethically sound companies that also reap high returns on their investments. Choosing to investment responsible companies will be a time intensive strategy that may not pay off in the short term, but long term will definitely have its benefits. Also, because of the amount of time spent searchi ng for ethically smart investments, the process may come under fire by shareholders (Fontinelle, 2012). Therefore, choosing to invest in responsible companies will be a difficult decision but one that is right for Virginia Tech in the long run. Clearly, Virginia Tech should be expected to make financial sacrifices in their investment decisions in order to make sure they are choosing the most socially responsible company. With the business strategy so clearly focused on the bottom line and not how a company achieves this number, Virginia Tech would truly be living out its Ut Prosim motto. By establishing itself as a company that will only invest in the most socially responsible companies, more and more industries will choose to follow this avenue. Virginia Tech is a large institution that investors would be enthusiastic to receive funds from. If Virginia Tech makes it clear that they will only invest in companies that have strict ethical standards, more companies will oblige to these rules to gain the Universitys business Therefore, the amount of unethical companies will diminish making investment choices for the University all the easier. By establishing itself as an an ethical investor, Virginia Tech could diminish the amo unt of irresponsible firms in the marketplace, while increasing the amount of companies that perform business in the right way. Investment Recommendations (Charlie) We believe that Virginia Tech could and should invest in firms in the technological industry. The technological industry is a massive industry and still growing every single day. It would be beneficial for Virginia Tech to get involved with companies in this industry because the world now runs on technology. The dependency of the world on technology has become incredible. Everyone knows how to use technology and everyone wants to be updated with the newest products. Yes, there are possible problems and ethical issues that arise in this industry, but it does not mean that everyone in this industry have problems arising constantly. This industry has been growing with such rapid pace that it would be beneficial for Virginia Tech to get invested in this area. Virginia Tech should most certainly favor firms that are more socially responsible in the technology industry. The most important thing when it comes to investing is making sure that you are investing in a company that has an investment in you. Virginia Tech needs to look into companies that have a history of being socially and ethically responsible. The returns may not be as great as the very top companies in this industry but if they go with a company that is socially responsible, they are less likely to run the risk of being hurt by the company not fulfilling their responsibilities. Virginia Tech is also a school that is big into technology as well and the best way for them to set a positive example is for them to invest in socially responsible companies. This will benefit companies that may not be at the very top of scale. This could start a trend where other schools and investors will be more open to the idea of investing in companies that are more socially responsible. This may turn the mentality of the investor by moving their motive from most profit to most socially responsible.