Thursday, October 31, 2019

Human Resource Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Human Resource Development - Essay Example It will further correlate the significance of coaching in improving corporate ethics and in enhancing critical learning processes pertaining to HRD. HRD and Coaching Human resource development technically deals with the relation between workers and employees. Most companies organized their human resource office to implement or enforce resource policies for employees that are substantially contextualized on national policies on labor. Aside from policies pertaining to workers’, the administration provides supervision, guidance, and performance measure to ascertain that human resource will maintain its commitment to the organization’s vision, mission and goals (Gibbs, 2007; Wilson, 2005). A significant part of shaping workers’ commitment to improve its performance and relation to the clientele is to do coaching or mentoring. Bax, Negrutiu and Calota (2011) described that most companies use coaching or mentoring as significant in making job at the right place, hence , this learning process needs effective interaction between the coach and the employee to permeate the former to unlock the potential of the worker in the process (p. 4-5). It is therefore significant that a coach must have in-depth knowledge pertaining to varied needs of an employee so that adequate information, systems and frameworks are transferred to the workers to meet the required standard of performance (Lynham & Cunningham, 2004; Harrison, 2005). Coaching, otherwise known as mentoring, is an executive function and privilege. Although the terms somewhat evoke similar meanings, but for clarity of meaning the words should be distinguished (Bax, et.al, 2001, p. 5). Mentors are teachers who can provide guidance to rediscover and tap the unutilized competences, strengths and values of a person using theories and empirical experiences as exemplars (Pettinger, 2002). The coach, on the other hand, provides behavioral feedbacks for a person to straighten on something to learn and grow . However, coaching is by far encompassing and inclusive in approach because it can include mentoring as part of the process which can be realized through training, seminars, and alternative form of education (Bax, et.al, 2001, p. 5). A coach has roles to play for employees. These are guiding, teaching, sponsoring, empowering and mentoring. The latter is already discussed in the preceding paragraph. Guiding refers to providing of proper direction and about giving supports without necessarily intervening in such fashion that could disturb the creativity and sense of autonomy of every worker to complete his tasks (Bax, et.al, 2001, p. 5). Teaching appeals to the cognitive capacities of employees since this entails undergoing serious learning process to acquire necessary knowledge and skills (Bax, et.al, 2001, p. 5). These are basic in nurturing strategies for in depth consideration and action (Bax, et.al, 2001, p. 5). Indeed, education is an impetus for the company to empower its work ers to make them more conscious of organizational obligations while realizing their competences. Coaching for SM Company SM Prime Holding is a leading mall operator in the Philippines and claimed to provide world class integration of shopping, dining, entertainment section in one venue and in varied strategic location in urban centers (SM, 2012, p. 5). SM malls is engaged in retail industry. But aside from that, it has also diversified into property sales,

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Delivery and Quality in Bar and Restaurant Essay

Delivery and Quality in Bar and Restaurant - Essay Example According to the discussion  DINESERV was redefined from SERVQUAL after Stevens, Knutson and Patton adapted it the tool to the restaurant industry using their acquired experience and knowledge of drafting the LODGSERV. The scholars thus went ahead to use the tool to measure consumer customer’s expectations concerning the quality of service they received in three segments of restaurants vis-à  -vis, casual, fine dining and quick service. They identified the service quality dimensions that were almost similar to those of SERVQUAL except that their order of preference and importance was different. According to DINESERV, the five dimensions of quality services were as follows; reliability, tangibles, assurance, responsiveness, and empathy. The five dimensions were to measure and examine the level of perceptions and expectations in relation to restaurant services such as fine dining restaurants and airport food services.From this paper it is clear that a  research done in Zagr eb city in Croatia using the DINESERV in restaurants revealed that customers` expectations are higher than their perceptions. In this research, a number of questionnaires were distributed to 12 restaurants in the city where the restaurant`s staff helped in distributing the questionnaires to the customers who participated in the study. The data was analysed using the SPSS while the descriptive method was used data to analyse the demographic profiles of respondents and the evaluation of their expectations and perceptions.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Religion Is Incompatible With Modernity Theology Religion Essay

Religion Is Incompatible With Modernity Theology Religion Essay As a cultural condition, modernity colors religions perception in various ways. Popular modernization theorists such as Daniel Bell and Karl Marx have asserted that the result of economic development is persistent cultural changes. However, other scholars such as Samuel Huntington and Max Weber have argued that cultural values are an autonomous and enduring influence on society. Religion, which is the broad cultural heritage of society, leaves an imprint on values, which endure in spite of modernization. This paper presents a discussion the impact of religion on modernity. Discussion What is modernity? A traditional meaning of this term refers to the social conditions that resulted from the rise of industrialization. Certainly, the term modernity is normally used to describe the social patterns that accompanied the Industrial Revolution, which commenced in mid-eighteenth century in Western Europe. Therefore, modernity is the process of urbanizing, industrialization, increasing use of new and scientific technologies, and social, cultural and political changes, which have accompanied these developments. Though popular scholars such as Marx and Bell predicted the decline of religion because of modernity, it is important to note that religion or spirituality has not faded. In the twentieth century, modernization was broadly viewed as distinctively Western processes, which societies in non-Western countries could follow as they deserted their conventional cultures, and incorporated ethically à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¹Ã…“superiorà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ and technologically Western ways. However, in the second half of the twentieth century, non-Western societies surprisingly surpassed their Western role models in significant elements of modernization (Dawkins, 2006 pp. 167). For instance, East Asia achieved the highest rate of economic growth in the world. Japan led in consumer electronics and automobile manufacturing, and had the highest life expectancy globally. Presently, few scholars would attribute ethical superiority to the West, and economies of Western countries are no longer believed to be the model for the globe. With regard to secularization, secular simply means without religion. Individuals who are non-religious live secular lives. Secular government runs along humanistic and rational lines. In democratic nations, this is the norm. People, who make up the government, have the freedom to whatever religion they want, as is the population. In a multi cultural world, because of this freedom, there is a requirement for authorities not to cause divisions by identifying itself with a certain religion. Secularism is the belief that religion should be a personal, private, and voluntary affair, which does not impose on others. Thus, secularization is the process of things becoming more secular. The Western world has witnessed this standard come to dominate civil and political life. Because religion causes issues, it retreats from the public sphere because individuals choose to meet in peace in neutral terms. Secularization theory is a sociology theory that argues that religion retreats when the soci ety advances in modernity. Scientific and intellectual developments have undermined the supernatural, paranormal, spiritual and superstitious ideas on which religion relies for its authenticity. There are three forms of secularization: privatization of religion, social differentiation, and the decline of religion. According to secularization theory, as contemporary society advances, it will become more secular and religion will in turn become hollow. Ever since the emergence of science in the seventeenth century, scholars have asserted that religion might be in a permanent decline, while others have proposed to intelligence and science are anathema to spirituality or religious faith. Bruce (1992 pp. 78) asserts that though contemporary church membership is dropping, religious belief is still strong. One aspect of conventional secularization theory is that one widely questioned fact among modern religion sociologists is the claim that modernity leads to the decline of religion. Rather than withering away, organized religion has a large presence in many parts of the modern world (Thompson, 1992 pp. 148). Whereas participation in churches has sharply fallen in many modern societies in Europe, the picture is still complicated. In the 90s eighty one percent of the British, and forty percent of Italians attended church at least once a week. In the U.S, a modern society, approximately forty percent attend church on a regular basis. Secularists have tried hard to explain this theory. Is Secularization occurring in Britain? If being a secular nation means keeping religion out of education and public life, then it is evident that Britain is not a secular nation. The Church of England, which can be dated from the seventh century, predates Britain itself. Although the influence of Christianity in formal ways in public life is less that it previously was, it is still apparent. The presence of prayers in the English Parliament, church legislation passed by parliament, exercise of patronage by the Lord Chancellor reveals that religion is still very much tangled in British national life. This demonstrates that the Christian religion is largely part of British national life. The afro mentioned can also be observed at the local level. Secularism is just not about removing religion from national life. It is rather about removing it from public life (Ruthven 2004 pp. 167). Numerous Anglican churches still hold countless civic services and in some places, they are actively involved in local life, for example when selecting Bishops and so on. This reveals the observation of many people involved in the selection process, which the Bishop does and should play a notable role in symbolizing the Church in public matters. Another notable area where Britain shows that it is not a secular state is in education. Almost all of the primary schools in Britain are Church of England schools. In addition to this, the high number of public schools has Christian foundations. Latest statistics reveal that at least seventy two percent of the British refer themselves as Christians. That is almost three-quarters of the overall British population. But, these statistics do not prove much, it is possible to have a country where all of its population is of one religion, but the state is secular. Because the Christian religion is deeply entangled in national life in Britain, the statistics are quite relevant. However, it should be noted that relatively few people in Britain have altogether opted out of religion; atheists are rare. Additionally, although it has been observed that there can be little doubt about trends, Beyer (1994 pp. 104), asserts that by the twenty first century, believers in religion are highly likely to be only found in small numbers likely resisting global secular culture. The U.S is a secular country both in its government and most of its private sector. The population in the United States is still mostly Christian, yet by any ballpark figure, secular Americans make up a larger section of the public than any religious minority. Still, secularists do not start to exert influence exerted by religious institutional; whether they represent large Christian denominations or small minorities such as Judaism. In the United States, the reason as to why secular groups have little influence in states governed by Christian fundamentalists is scientifically clear, but the issue of why secularists are mostly ignored by the President is more complicated. The United States demonstrates that the impact of religion on national life is simply not one of formal engagement. The customs and laws of countries are not draw from a vacuum due to the fact that law makers are individuals themselves and thus, normally reveal the values of those around them. When the individuals of a country have been severely shaped by a certain religion, the values of that particular religion will in general, be echoed in the national life. In the United States, the influence of Christianity has been felt in spite of the contrasting degrees of separation of the state and the church. However, to a large extent, this situation is changing. There is an increasing observation that Christian ethics are been abandoned. In this context, Christians will wish to influence the life of the country and those around them. In Britain, this appears to be largely accepted due to the nature of the Church to the state. On the other hand, in the United States, a region where Christ ians are more in numbers and actually more aggressive, the opposition of their views is not on certain issues, but on the very notion of Christians influencing national life with secularists disputing that it is unconstitutional (Bruce, 1992 pp. 137). Also, no secular institution can affect the lives of its sympathizers and members to the scale that churches can. This is somewhat about the social pressure and partly about money, which binds church members together as a population. No secular group can claim special authority in attempting to convincing secular Americans to support a certain position. However, during trying times, such as during the terrorist attacks of 9/11, there is strong religious unity. For example, immediately after this attack, shocked political enemies gathered together for prayer at a National Cathedral, including a Muslim imam who even read verses from the Koran. But, it did not take long for the tender feelings of tolerance and togetherness to be replaced by hostility and division. Some policymakers and leaders embraced Samuel Huntingtonà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s argument that the West was busy in a clash of civilizations with Islam (Gray, 2003 pp. 289). On the other hand, secularists embraced the idea that the world was split between dangerous religionists and secularists. Secular scholars have hoped and predicted for years that as our societies become more advanced, religion would become less significant. However, while the last decade has inspired countless challenging discussions about the link between democratic societies and religious communities, it has also proven that religion decline is not inevitable in modern society. Trust in religious leaders and institutions as well as secular institutions have declined. However, Americans still continue to value religion with about eighty percent telling pollsters that religion is a significant part of their lives. And the relocation of religious immigrants to America and Britain has shown that Western societies are by no means a civilization in which religion is imperceptible. What is more, many conflicts are occurring in modern societies over religion: banning of hijab in French schools, debates over teaching evolution in schools, and so on. Nevertheless, when focusing on such conflicts, we normally miss a fascinating fact. In the face of modernity, old religious traditions are not fading away. Instead, they are acclimatizing and forcing modern societies to adapt to them. According to the conventional view, major universal features of modernity tend to wear away religious faith. Rationalization and industrialization have often been mentioned as forces that would divide the world. However, it is not evident that churches and other religious institutions can thrive in highly rationalized and industrialized societies. At times, urbanization coincides with the decline of religion, but it is regularly linked with church growth, and in various parts of the globe, the megacity has generated the mega church (Beyer, 1994 pp. 87). Another major element that corrodes religious faith is mass entertainment. No country has a lot of mass entertainment than the U.S; however, it does not seem to have led to any clear decline in church attendance. Just like in Britain, Sunday in the United States has become a day to watch football or shopping day. In the U.S, the great secular holiday is the Super Bowl Sunday. There are also other indications. Many Americans prefer to get buried or married without any kind of religious ceremony. At education institutions, such as universities, departments dedicated to the study of secularism are starting to be established. Books written by authors who are atheists are bestsellers. And there is still little uncertainty that religious groups still wield a lot of influence in American public life and politics, particularly in major parties. Another element of modernity that seems to corrode religion is the pluralism of modern societies. Sociologists have regularly argued that pluralism corrodes religion; the existence of so many religions challenges the plausibility of religious faith. However, pluralistic societies contain numerous people with strong religious belief. But, we all know that pluralistic societies contain numerous people with strong religious beliefs and if this was not false, then pluralistic societies could not exist. According to a recent study, evangelicalism in America positively thrives on pluralism due to the fact that living in a pluralistic society causes evangelicals to sharpen their different religious identities. Norris Ingle-hart (2004, pp. 245) asserts that post-modernity with its expressive consumerism and individualism, challenges tradition religion. Some types of religion appear to blossom in a post-modern environment. This is most noticeably true in Pentecostal and charismatic forms of evangelicalism that strike in with easy-to-read individualism of post-modernity. Still, there is no strong evidence that science is a key agent of secularization. According to a 1996 survey, roughly forty percent Americans believe in a personal god. Science is not a secularizing force. But, a factor that appears to closely correlate with secularization is the western style higher education. Though Americans are known for their religiosity, there is compelling evidence that social elites are rather highly secularized. Still, in the United States and Western Europe, individuals with a higher education are more likely to be keenly involved in churches than people with little education (Cohen Kennedy, 2000 pp. 154). It is notable that none of modernityà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s universal features can explain the reason why some areas of the modern world are more highly secularized than other areas. The effect of these features is dependent on the particular context that they operate. Additionally, global factors are poor predictors of secularization, and religious decline can only be explained with reference to independent variables present in societies that are highly secularized. Beyer (1994 pp. 178) asserts that modernization essentially leads to a decline of religion, in the minds of people and in society. Conclusion When evaluating the role of religion in modern societies, it is crucial to address secularization. There is a lot of pressure exerted to make Britain a more secular nation. However, Britain retains a strong Christian basis in education and public life. On the other hand, the population in the United States is still mostly Christian, but secular Americans constitute a larger segment of the public than any other religious minority.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Radio Stations and the Public Good :: essays papers

Radio Stations and the Public Good For my final project on public interest I chose to view the public inspection files of the local radio station. I have been working at radio stations all of my life and had never seen or heard of a public inspection file until this class. In order to prepare the station for my arrival I called in advance to make an appointment. The receptionist answered the phone and I told her that I needed to see the files, this created a great deal of suspicion and I was directed to Dave Andrews the Vice President of Regent Broadcasting. Right away I knew that it was not a regular request due to the manor of which he explained the rules, it was as if he was reading them of an F.C.C handout. â€Å" Any member of the public can view the files between Monday and Friday during normal business hours†, he recited. I made an appointment, and I was very interested in viewing something that deserved the attention of the Vice President. I had no idea that this visit would be so rewarding and life changing. I arrived at the local radio station in time for my appointment. The receptionist asked to see identification, I gave my driver’s license which she photo copied. I felt as if I was in a secret area of the Government where I needed clearance to view the top-secret files. After my information was taken I met Mary-Jo Beach the General Manager who would assist me in viewing the public inspection files. I was disappointed when I first saw the standard gray file cabinet, because in my head I pictured a mission impossible type setting with gadgets and locks. Mary-Jo sat with me in her office as I viewed the files. She was very suspicious at first and very interested in my objective. Before I was actually able to review the public inspection file, Mary-Jo asked me what exactly I wanted to see and why I was interested in their station. I explained that I was a student and as our final project we had to visit a station, view the files and then report our experience and determine if they were broadcasting in the public interest. Mary-Jo’s whole manner changed, she seemed to be relieved. After I had explained the main reason she helped me work through the files and was very helpful in answering my questions.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Moving to a New Country

Moving to a foreign country might sound like a big adventure. One of the things that will happen when you go to a new place (even on vacation) is that you compare everything to how it’s back home. This means that you will compare food, quality of life, weather, people’s habits, beliefs, and ever thing between. Subsequently, moving to a foreign country is big terrible for some people, and it could be normal for others. Through my experience, when you decide to move to a new country or new place. you have to start with first step. Do not spend too much time thinking. For example; if you decides to move to Canada to complete your studies, get your first step by doing the Canadian visa. In addition, keep your personal and your family life separate. For example, do not stay in your back home because your personal’s life or your family. The goal of this point is don’t spend much time thinking, and that will help you to achieve your goal. Secondly, moving to a new country might be difficult especially when they don’t speak your native language, then you be stressed out. In addition to that, learning a new language could takes a long time so that you can understand their culture. For instance, when you move from Korea to Canada you will see new language and new culture. So, try to make your life there funny by going with your friends and that will make your time run quickly. Next, adapting with a new country or a new culture might takes a long time. Moreover, you need to learn every day about this new culture by talking and making friends. Also, try to going walk in your new city, and see their people, or try to have fun with your new friends. As an example, do not move to a new city to staying in your house that will make you feel boring. By following these steps you will feel you are in your back home and not expatriate. In conclusion, Moving to a new country could be difficult for some people and easy for some. You can find that easy by following some steps that will help you such as, speaking their language, adapting with their culture, and try making friends. I hope everyone adapts with his/her new life.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Critically discuss Michel Foucault’s concept of knowledge/power

In â€Å"The Order of Things† (1973) Michel Foucault describes an episteme as the combination of institutions, discourses, knowledges and practices that organise the way we do things, making some actions acceptable and others unthinkable. He also says these processes of organisation in society are generally invisible. Critically discuss Michel Foucault's concept of knowledge/power with reference to Arthur Miller's film â€Å"The Crucible. † Michel Foucault's is a theorist who demonstrates a modernist way of thinking. Based on one of David Morley's definitions of the postmodern phenomenon being â€Å"a form of cultural sensibility and a mode of thought, particularly appropriate to analyzing the period† (Morley: 1996, p. 50), Foucault could be considered a postmodernist and a poststructuralist. However, some may consider his earlier works, like The Order of Things, to be structuralist as it may have possibly reflected a lack of distinction at the time it was written and received. Rather than narrating the nature of reality, Foucault intended to give descriptions of a variety of structures of knowledge also referred to as episteme. Arthur Miller's film â€Å"The Crucible† explores issues that are parallel to Foucault's thoughts of power and knowledge, however, Miller uses actual historical events as the background for his modernist ideas. The concept of knowledge and power explored in Foucault's text The Order of Things can be critically analysed with reference to more contemporary work of Arthur Miller, allowing one to draw distinctions between Foucault's theories and the concepts of collective evil, personal conscience, guilt, love and redemption explored in the film. In The Order of Things, Foucault can give up the philosophy of the subject without depending on ideas from social issues in society, which, according to his own analysis, are confined the modern form of knowledge. Foucault had studied the form of knowledge that appears with the claim of rescuing the intelligible from everything empirical, accidental, and particular, and that becomes especially suitable as medium of power in particular on account of this â€Å"pretended separation of validity from genesis† (Kelly: 1995, p. 82). This lack of empiricism in Foucault's thoughts reflects a modernist way of thinking. The article â€Å"Conclusion: Speaking as Deputy Sheriff† by Osborne and Lewis, has evidence of a similar modernist approach to thinking and lack of empirical theories. It is less focused on the idea that what ever is true should be measured; instead it makes statements and develops an analysis based on sciences or theory. An example is when it suggests that â€Å"a more historically aware approach to thinking about communication in Australia would be a useful place to start† (Lewis & Osborne: 2001, p212). This modernist approach to thinking about knowledge determines â€Å"the ensemble of rules according to which the true and the false are separated and specific effects of power attached to the true† (Kelly: 1995, p. 82). At the beginning of The Order of Things, Foucault claims for a will that consists of truth for all times and all societies: â€Å"Every society has its regime of truth, its ‘general politics' of truth: that is, the types of discourse which it accepts and makes it function as true. † This ideology is reflected in Arthur Miller's film â€Å"The Crucible† which is set in a small town, Salem. The entire village becomes consumed by certain beliefs and certain truths which include their indisputable faith in God and the existence of witches, witch craft and the devil. The Order of Things is the story of the â€Å"return of language† which explains the fundamental position of literature in our culture. Ours is a period in which language is taken to be at the source of all thought, and this is what highlights the importance of modernist writing. Language is â€Å"the strict unfolding of Western culture in accordance with the necessity it imposed upon itself at the beginning of the nineteenth century† (Rajchman: 1985, p. 3). The significance of language is also reflected in ‘The Crucible' when John Proctor refuses to sign a false confession, claiming â€Å"you can not take away my name†. He believed this would have happened by signing the confession onto paper, epitomising the impact that language has when printed on paper. In The Order of Things, Foucault paints a picture of modernist culture in which there is no character of man and science is no longer independent or universal. All scientific, aesthetic, and moral problems are reduced to problems of language, and languages have no warrant or foundation beyond themselves. Rajchman states that â€Å"Language becomes the limits of our being. It is only in transgressive writing that these limits are transcended; writers are the heroes of our age. This is a picture of what I call ‘post-Enlightenment literary culture. ‘† Many literary modernists, including Rajchman and Foucault, tell the story of how language had returned as the fundamental problem of our period, and our literacy culture which thus â€Å"finds itself† to be telling its own history. Foucault claims that â€Å"literature in our day†¦ s a phenomenon whose necessity has its roots in a vast configuration in which the whole structure of our thought and our knowledge is traced† (Rajchman: 1985, p. 25). In The Order of Things, it is clear that Foucault is hostile to the culture that reifies Man, and urges the reader to embrace the post-humanist age he foresees. Foucault rejects the traditional (Enlightenment) idea of progress and science, instead he constructs his history of knowledge with a lack of connection, and his literary history contains a hidden teleology giving way to immediate links to â€Å"The Crucible†. Stuart Hall and Bram Gieben describe the Enlightenment idea of progress as â€Å"the idea that the natural and social condition of human beings could be improved, by the application of science and reason† (Hall & Gieben: 1992, p. 22). â€Å". Both Miller and Foucault are modernist thinkers as they reject this Enlightenment concepts of progress, for example, the film â€Å"The Crucible† does not end with an improved social condition and happiness instead it comes to an abrupt end by the death of a central character and hero. In The Order of Things we find an attempt to â€Å"de-anthropologise† the concept of freedom. In â€Å"The Crucible†, John Proctor found freedom in the form of death. By not giving up his name in the confession he was condemned to be hung. However, his knowledge of what the real truth was allowed him to be free in his own sense of the word. This relates to Foucault's idea of power that he describes as â€Å"a way in which certain actions modify others† (O'Farrell: 1989, p. 119). But because of the freedom of the acting subjects, no matter what violence or seduction actions that make up power choose to exercise, the object of power can ultimately escape and refuse power even if only through death. This idea was taken from Foucault who said â€Å"the exercise of power may produce as much acceptance as may be wished for: it can pile up the dead and shelter itself behind whatever threats it can imagine. In itself the exercise of power is not violence; nor is it a consent which implicitly is renewable† (Foucault: 1977, p. 228). O'Farrell and Foucault's ideas are epitomized in the film ‘The Crucible', when John Proctor refused to sign the confession or in this case refused power, he was set free even if it were to be through death. These power relationships were then abolished once the subject was freed and hence there was no possible point of reversal hence the film was forced to an abrupt end. Foucault also believes there is no suspicion that our language, our work, and our bodies might determine the description of our actions and our world in ways we do not realise and can't change. However, there are many reasons why this theory should be questioned, an example existing in the film â€Å"The Crucible†. The young girls who were accused of witchery manifested power over their bodies and their language in order to convince the courts and an entire village of the existence of ‘their world' and the fact they could see the devil. All this was done in a quest to cover up their actions that was dancing naked around a fire in the forest. This idea creates a contradiction to Foucault's theory. However, Foucault also says that our problem becomes â€Å"not the possibility of knowledge but the possibility of a primary misunderstanding† (Rajchman: 1985, p. 13) which indeed was true in the case of the young girls of the film. In The Order Of Things, Foucault challenges new intellectual writings in regard to the change in utopian thought. In the classical period, utopia was the dream of an ideal beginning in which everything would perfectly fit into Tables of Representation. In Foucault's argument he states that â€Å"The great dream of an end of History is the utopia of casual systems of thought just as the dream of the world's beginnings was the utopia of the classifying systems of thoughts. In â€Å"The Crucible† the idea of witch craft challenges this world of utopia and one can question who has the authority to classify utopia, Miller or Foucault? Foucault's ideas challenge many of the ideas that run through â€Å"The Crucible† as he wishes not only to â€Å"de anthropologise† any nineteenth century utopian imaginations, dissociate our hopes of ever realising meaning and separate our freedom from philosophical theories about our nature. Much of Foucault's work is contradictory and this confuses anyone trying to analyse meaning in his writings. In The Order of Things he had looked at the way in which the human subject is defined through scientific discourse as a working, living, speaking individual (O'Leary: 2002, p. 59). However, Foucault deals with a collective and a great deal is to do with his unconscious ideas of perceptions; individuals play almost no role in his work. He is not concerned with the discoveries of scientists or other philosophers. However, it is difficult to imagine the human sciences without specific individuals. Thus, Foucault uses individuals such as Ricardo, Cuvier and Bopp in his work, however they â€Å"are not depicted as real people, no reference is made to their lives and little consideration is given to the controversies surrounding their ideas, since these issues are regarded as merely surface phenomena† (Spier: 1983, p. 166). As a result, the reliability of Foucault's work can be questioned because a crucial part of critical thinking and analysis when investigating other theorists work is their background and what may be the reasons behind their specific way of thinking. However, Foucault justifies himself explaining that he â€Å"tries to explore scientific discourse not from the point of view of the formal structures of what they are saying, but from the point of view of the rules that come into play in the very existence of such discourse† (Spier: 1983, p. 166). Spier raises an interesting critic of Foucault bringing his status as an author-subject into question. â€Å"If language rather than man speaks, as he claims, and if the statement â€Å"I am writing† is a contradiction comparable to â€Å"I am lying†, then who is the author of the order of things? (Spier: 1983, p. 167). This raises the question, is Foucault a universal voice of our time or is he merely speaking for himself. If he is speaking for himself as he suggests, then does he claim that what he is saying is a lie? Much of Foucault's work makes contradictory statements and thus is not necessarily reliable when looking for truths, instead his writing is the developing process of his thoughts and is often experimental so should be read with an open mind and thought about critically. Foucault's analyses may be regarded as a contribution to an understanding of the historical conditions of possibility of the human sciences and their social and political effects. The underlying connection within Foucault's work is the assessment of the relation between forms of rationality and forms of power, or of the relation between the emergence of particular forms of knowledge and the exercise of specific forms of power. Foucault believes that power is exercised upon the dominant as well as on the dominated and that there is a process of self-formation or auto-colonisation involved (Smart: 1983, p. 4). If we put this theory into practice within â€Å"The Crucible† one can suggest that Foucault's idea of power is quite naive. In â€Å"The Crucible† the young girls were from the dominant culture in Salem and exercised their power over the lower classes (or the dominated). However, there was no retaliation and so power was not exercised onto the girls (the dominant) in any case. Thus, Foucault theory is merely a generalisation and not appropriate as a rule on the whole. Power relations, Foucault claims are â€Å"‘intentional' and ‘non-subjective'†¦ They are imbued, through and through, with calculation: there is no power that is exercised without a series of aims and objectives† (Dreyfus & Rabinow: 1982, p. 187). This idea states that at the local level there is often a high degree of conscious decision making, planning and plotting. Foucault refers to this as the local cynicism of power (Dreyfus & Rabinow: 1982, p. 187). In â€Å"The Crucible† the young girls execute power over the village through their conscious actions to protect themselves, many were young and naive, and fear was driving them to accuse the innocent. Their actions would ultimately lead the execution of innocent and respected members of the town. Some of the elder girls such as the head Abigail knew very well of her actions and used strategically planned methods of power. The following phrase by Foucault epitomises power very accurately when in relation to these girls from â€Å"The Crucible†; â€Å"People know what they do; they frequently know why they do what they do; but don't know is what they do does† (Dreyfus & Rabinow: 1982, p. 187). This theory on power is an example of how both Foucault and Miller may have been influenced by other modernist thinkers such as Max Weber, a modernist thinker. He believed that power is the †chance of a man or a number of men to realize their own will in a social action even against the resistance of others who are participating in the action† (Max Weber, Basic Terms-The Fundamental Concepts of Sociology: 1942) In much of Foucault's writing there are seeming contradictions especially in this return to the traditional philosophic view or Enlightenment idea that description and interpretation ultimately must correspond to the way things really are. However, Foucault does admit to his somewhat unreal approach to writing. â€Å"I am fully aware that I have never written anything other than fiction. For all that, I would want to say that they were outside the truth. It seems plausible to me to make fictions work within truth, to introduce truth-effects within a fictional discourse†¦ † With this is mind one can say that Foucault's writing is still informative and helpful in its own right and reveals more about society and its practices than about ultimate reality. In The Order of Things, Foucault does describe an episteme as the combination of institutions, discourses, knowledge and practices that organise the way we do things, making some actions acceptable rather than unthinkable. In many ways Foucault's concepts of knowledge and power are contradictory to his own existing theories. While many of Foucault's ideas are parallel with Arthur Miller's film, â€Å"The Crucible†, some of his ideas reject Miller's way of thinking. This non-uniformity in Foucault's analysis can however be justified, because it is hard to believe that in any given culture and at any given moment, there is only one episteme that defines the possibility of all knowledge, power relations, the concepts of freedom and truth, whether it be in a theory or demonstrated in practice or action.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Overview of the Economics of Demand

Overview of the Economics of Demand When people think about what it means to demand something, they usually envision some sort of but I want it sort of scenario.  Economists, on the other hand, have a very precise definition of demand. For them demand is the relationship between the quantity of a good or service consumers will purchase and the price charged for that good. More precisely and formally the Economics Glossary defines demand as the want or desire to possess a good or service with the necessary goods, services, or financial instruments necessary to make a legal transaction for those goods or services.  Put another way, an individual must is willing, able, and ready to purchase an item if they are to be counted as demanding an item. What Demand Is Not Demand is not simply a quantity consumers wish to purchase such as 5 oranges or 17 shares of Microsoft, because demand represents the entire relationship between quantity desired of a good and all possible prices charged for that good. The specific quantity desired for a good at a given price is known as the quantity demanded. Typically a time period is also given when describing quantity demanded, since obviously the quantity demanded of an item would differ based on whether we were talking about per day, per week, and so on. Examples of Quantity Demanded When the price of an orange is 65 cents the quantity demanded is 300 oranges a week. If the local Starbucks lowers their price of a tall coffee from $1.75 to $1.65, the quantity demanded will rise from 45 coffees an hour to 48 coffees an hour. Demand Schedules A demand schedule is a table which lists the possible prices for a good and service and the associated quantity demanded. The demand schedule for oranges could look (in part) as follows: 75 cents - 270 oranges a week70 cents - 300 oranges a week65 cents - 320 oranges a week60 cents - 400 oranges a week Demand Curves A demand curve is simply a demand schedule presented in graphical form. The standard presentation of a demand curve has price given on the Y-axis and quantity demanded on the X-axis.  You can see a basic example of a demand curve in the picture presented with this article. The Law of Demand The law of demand states that, ceteribus paribus (Latin for assuming all else is held constant), the quantity demanded for a good rises as the price falls. In other words, the quantity demanded and price are inversely related. Demand curves are drawn as downward sloping due to this inverse relationship between price and quantity demanded. Price Elasticity of Demand The price elasticity of demand represents how sensitive quantity demanded is to changes in price.

Monday, October 21, 2019

French Welfare System

French Welfare System The social welfare system in France and other European states has almost the same organization in the way the social security scheme works. The social welfare scheme in France is organized in such a way that all the beneficiaries fully covered incase they incur any risks (Agressano, 2011). The scheme covers a wide range of cases such as old age, maternity, widowhood, death sickness and all forms of occupational accidents.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on French Welfare System specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The social security scheme has no special provisions and applies to employees who are salaried regardless of their nationality, age and sex. The social welfare program in France does not allow for more than one recruitment in the scheme according to the 1996 declaration (Agressano, 2011). This paper will highlight social welfare programs in France and other European countries in comparison with the healthcare refo rm in the United States. The welfare scheme covers all employees as long as they make all the required contributions towards the social security scheme. The scheme covers all medical expenses and costs ranging from laboratory costs, consultation fees, hospitalization, medicine, prostheses, dental care and optician’s charges (Agressano, 2011). The employees are guaranteed adequate cover even in the periods when they are not on duty. Foreign workers have to first of all obtain residence and work permits for them to be covered by this social security scheme. The employees and the employers have a share of contributions they make towards the social security scheme. It is the responsibility of the employer to make contributions that cater for family allowances and occupational accidents (Agressano, 2011). The social security scheme refunds medical costs according to the beneficiary’s contribution rates. Other extra costs are paid by the employee and other complementary insu rance schemes. This social scheme can not work effectively in the United States because of the many social welfare schemes are expensive and discriminative. The social welfare of American employees has been poor over the years due to the expensive rates charged by the available social welfare schemes and insurance companies (Kronenfeld, 2004). This has always elicited a lot of debate and in the end many citizens have been unable to access quality healthcare. The healthcare reform has provisions meant to subsidize insurance and expanding medical aid to the poor. The legislation lays much emphasis on medical research and permanently prohibiting coverage caps by insurance companies (Kronenfeld, 2004). The law protects applicants from insurance companies that deny them coverage and unreasonably high premiums. The legislation also seeks to prohibit those insurance companies that only insure applicants with good health profiles and ensure that all citizens get the necessary cover regardle ss of their health profiles (Kronenfeld, 2004).Advertising Looking for essay on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In conclusion, each country has the responsibility of ensuring that its citizens enjoy medical cover from social welfare schemes without any discrimination. The social welfare schemes in Europe are completely different from that in the United States because of its flexibility. The social welfare scheme in the United is one of the most expensive in the world with many insurance companies’ exploiting citizens by charging high premiums (Kronenfeld, 2004). The healthcare reform will ensure that insurance premiums are subsidized so that all citizens are able to enjoy quality and affordable healthcare. References Agressano, J. (2011). French welfare state reform: Idealism versus Swedish, New Zealand and Dutch pragmatism. New York: Anthem Press. Kronenfeld, J. J. (2004). Healthcare reform in America: A reference handbook. New York, NY: ABC-CLIO.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Breaking Cover

It was sunny, breezy Sunday afternoon in July, and three girls crowded around the window seat, looking out at the hunks from a volleyball camp on the Skidmore campus quad play Ultimate Frisbee. Some of those playing had even taken off their shirts, revealing the muscles underneath, resulting in the squeals of delight that had first attracted my attention. As our camp was for the nerdy sort, our boys rarely looked so well-developed. My dormmates were chatting, creating a pleasant hum of conversation. I was the youngest in the bunch, rather like a kid sister. You know, SJs a lesbian, Corinne said idly. It was like poking a beehive. An immense buzzing started as every girl added her commentary. My face must have shown my consternation, because Corinne was suddenly asking, concernedly, if Id known. Dead silence and all eyes on me. My face heated. I gave a short nod of acknowledgement. Inwardly I added a small footnote of just since yesterday. In fact, SJ had been rather blunt. Shed said point-blank, after fumbling a few moments, that she was a lesbian. That while she didnt go out and advertise, she also didnt try to hide it. My reply had been equally awkward. The conversation took on a strained tone. I gave a half-shrug and mumbled OK. The room was dimming with the setting sun, but neither of us moved to turn on the lights. What should I say? Should I change the subject? It would be a death-knell to our friendship, but I had other friends here. It was only a week before I went home. I didnt have to deal with this. I was panicking now. Invisible deep breath. Im in a gifted program, think about this! Whats changed? Shes gay, you dolt! But that doesnt change the fact that all in all SJ was still the same, still running to sign up for morning running, still able to have rapid-fire Spanish conversations with Lori that left me convulsing in laughter. I conveyed my rev elations to SJ, and the room brightened as I flipped the switch and turned on the light. After that quick agreement, we fell into a more companionable silence. The conversation flowed on to family and other matters. Friendship kept, crisis avoided. But apparently I hadnt dodged the bullet as cleanly as Id hoped. Now I once again had to make a decision. Betray SJ and talk behind her back, or defend her and possibly ostracize myself from the rest of my hallmates. It was especially likely, as several of them went to church. But there was really only one thing to do. I wasnt panicking now. Im fine with it. Are you? I asked, a little challenging. Two weeks after camp ended, I received a letter from SJ, which thanked me for being so accepting on campus and supporting her among our hallmates. I didnt know shed known.

Friday, October 18, 2019

MGT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

MGT - Essay Example FoldRite Furniture Company was started in the year 1986. The company has been operation with the management being involved in a number of initiatives that have been aimed at its continued growth and profitability. The company operated in a very competitive environment and there was always a need to be more innovative in order to stay ahead. In 2006, there was a change in ownership which warranted some changes in management. However, the company had experienced a growth rate of over 3.5% from 1999 to 2006. This is evidenced by the increase in revenues from $47.5M to $60.3M. This recorded growth was well above that of the industry at the time. However, the company had a cyclic nature at this time as there was a growth and decline sort of scenario which was occasioned by a financial turmoil and loss of yields and general decline in productivity occasioned by high staff turnover. The turnover of staff meant that the company was mainly reliant on the inexperienced staff members at most ti mes. There was also an increase in the production lead time and increased margins. In 2007, the company began undergoing a transformation that was started when a new CEO was recruited. The new CEO, Marshal Epstein only made two changes to the structure of the organization and these proved to be vital in its rejuvenation. The first major change was that he reduced the number of products that the company offered while at the same time embarked on the consolidation of manufacturing. The other major change was that he reduced the lead time to a maximum of a fortnight and also made sure that the shipping policy was changed to reflect only two days. Despite the recession in the latter years, the company was profitable in 2009. FoldRite has a very dynamic market structure and although the demand for their products is seasonal, they have managed to spread out and rely on a large market base. Currently, the largest market segment is the

The Rationale for Banning The Outsiders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Rationale for Banning The Outsiders - Essay Example As an initial matter, before addressing why the book was banned in certain schools, it is useful to summarize the plot generally. The protagonist in this story was Pony Curtis. Pony was a young boy whose parents had died in a car accident; as a result, he was cared for by his twenty year old brother, Darry. Pony was poor, though clever and a good student, and he did what all boys in this neighborhood did. He joined a gang, named the Greasers, and hung out with his gang as if they were an extended family. There was a rival gang, the Socs, made up of rich boys from a another neighborhood. A gang rivalry existed between the two, and one day a fight ensued in which Pony's good friend killed a member of the Socs gang in self-defense. Pony's friend later died, and another friend was shot by the police after going crazy and trying to rob a store with a gun. Pony, however, did not suffer the same fate as his friends; rather, after being inspired by a letter from Johnny, he decided to reconci le with his older brother and to try and improve his life. In short, Pony decided to reject the outsider lifestyle and to participate more productively in his society and community. Given the hopeful ending, the transcending of obstacles, it seems odd that the book was so heavily criticized. The first The first basis for criticism was that the novel promoted gangs. More specifically, this line of reasoning argued that the novel, by including both rich and poor children in gangs, glamorized and encouraged young readers to pursue similar affiliations. In this way, the novel's critics believed that the novel was divisive, socially destructive, and immoral. It was socially divisive because it pitted rich boys against poor boys; it was socially destructive because violence was used as a conflict resolution tool for disputes; and, finally, it was immoral because the gang lifestyle promoted laziness, substance use, and revenge. Indeed, the central role of gangs in the novel was a central foundation for the criticism which ensued. A second criticism was the use of violence by young boys. One can distinguish between clubs with mild-mannered rivalries and gangs with deeper notions of rivalry and revenge. It is one thing to portray youthful pranks; in the minds of the novel's critics, however, it was quite another thing to portray children and adolescents intending to cause serious physical harm and genuine emotional trauma on their rivals. A particular example was the use of weapons in the novel. These gang members, for instance, carried knives, bats, and guns. Rivals weren't simply embarrassed. Quite the contrary, as in the case of Johnny's conflict with Bob, some people were killed. Thus, in addition to the portrayal of gangs, the vivid depiction of violence also furnished a strong basis for the subsequent criticism. A third criticism was the prevalence of substance use and abuse by underage boys. The references to cigarettes and alcohol were also found objectionable. These boys were underage. By associating public figures, in this case fictional characters from a popular novel, with substance abuse, many people argued that schoolchildren would be influenced to behave similarly. Today's cigarette-smoking adolescents will become tomorrow's marijuana users was the fundamental criticism. These

Coping, Stressor Anticipation and Endurance Assignment

Coping, Stressor Anticipation and Endurance - Assignment Example ctions can include anger, guilt, anxiety, sadness, or despair; physical reactions like sleeping problems, change in appetite, health issues can occur. Disturbances in social aspects may be in the form of taking over other family responsibilities, interacting with family and friends, ability to return to work etc. In such situations, grief counselling and grief therapy can be very effective. It helps the person to accept the loss, to live without the loved one and to make decisions, emotional separation from the person, and makes the mourner stronger mentally, emotionally and physically. Allowing the mourners to experience the entire grief process helps in relieving them from grief and depression, and in bringing their lives back to normality (Cancer, 2003). Kissane et al.’s (2006) research identified that a family-focussed grief therapy is most effective in coping the grief from loss of loved one. This specifically brings about reduction in complications of bereavement, helps the family members function normally, and helps in cohesion and communication among family members. In conclusion, coping with loss and grief due to illness is specific to every individual and should be approached considering all the impacting factors and their

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Experience Through Work Module Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Experience Through Work Module - Essay Example Its expansion into numerous international markets has led the company into becoming a symbol of globalization, over and above, the spread of America’s life style. Moreover, the prominence it holds globally has enabled to become the topic of discussion particularly in terms of obesity, consumer responsibility, and corporate ethics. In essence, the restaurants is said to have both drive through service, and counter service in outdoor and indoor seating. In global operations, the McDonald’s has become a global icon and is known as â€Å"McDonaldization of the society†. Of importance to note is that McDonald’s UK has thrived in the competition field due to the presence of an excellent management team that has ensured that the Company has a strong work force especially in terms of customer satisfaction and delivery services. This has been emphasised through the Human Resource Management, which is the most powerful department in McDonald’s Company. ... nagerial activities, functional areas, nature and impact of the company especially in terms of employees’ satisfaction that ensures that work is done effectively. Principally, there are diverse ways in which managers perform their duties in accordance to the kind of company that he or she is mandated to work for. It is without doubt that management is crucial in every organisation or company as it works as core of a company that has a competitive edge. 2 My Responsibilities included; 1. Assisting in man power planning 2. Involved in designing job analysis 3. Determining wages and Salaries 4. Recruitment and Selection of Employees 5. Assist in performance appraisal 6. Prepare training and development of the work force 7. Employee welfare and motivation 8. Implementing of McDonald’s Policies In essence, as a HR department it is crucial that a record of the future plans is keep to ensure that the company is focused on the goals and objectives that it intend to have current ly and the future. The record further entails the number of employees that intend to leave McDonald’s for one reason or another. Besides, it analysis the productivity levels o f the workers in relation to the competition factor. Consequently, any technological changes that the company goes through are officially noted in relation to the expected growth in sales in the company (Barney 1991). Apparently, the HR department is solely responsible for analysing and giving job description particularly when there are vacancies in various departments in the company. Job analysis is gathering details about the duties, responsibilities, required skills, over and above the work environment. On the other hand, job description regards the tasks, and responsibilities that match particular qualifications of

DESIGN OF AN APPROPRIATE WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR A Essay

DESIGN OF AN APPROPRIATE WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR A REMOTEJRURAL COMMUNITY - Essay Example Sewage systems that are poorly maintained or virtually non-existent, untreated animal wastes, landfills that are poorly regulated and rising levels of industrial effluents are some of the reasons and issues behind contamination and wastewater generation. In fact, untreated sewage often tends to flow into the streets in rural areas (especially in developing countries) and can run into agricultural fields contaminating the clean water and food sources. This paper will describe two distinct conceptual models for wastewater management and evaluate relevant issues such as water conservation, reuse and sustainability. Thereafter, the best model among the two shall be elaborated further and include a detailed description of the inherent wastewater management scheme. The paper also includes a detailed stakeholder analysis to ascertain the various issues affecting and influencing each stakeholder who is either involved or affected due to the prescribed wastewater management scheme. The first model for wastewater management consists of a pilot plant system made up of an ASB (up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket), a CW (constructed wetland), SF (Intermittent sand filter) and AVB (Passively aerated vertical bed). This treatment model is highly flexible and can accommodate various wastewater treatment combinations. Each of these components is described below (Henze, 2005): Anaerobic sludge blanket (ASB): the reactor segment of the plant is conical in shape and does not contain any gas separators for any initial treatment upon preliminary sedimentation. The average working volume of the reactor is 7.5 m3 and has a surface area of 8 m2. The ASB concept has been devised, developed and applied in many parts of the world, especially in the rural regions of developing nations such as China and Brazil (Rofe, 2004). Aerated vertical bed (AVB): For the current consumption levels of 200 L/d per house, a passive aeration system consisting of four vertical beds can be

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Managed Healthcare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Managed Healthcare - Essay Example It is under such circumstances that the role of a care-giver becomes all the more important. While on the one hand, the care-giver has to take care of the organizational goals and the profitability aspects, on the other hand the care-giver is supposed to provide the best care and guidance to the customer. Once, such arrangements takes cues from corporate management, the healthcare too becomes 'managed healthcare'. From the point of view of a consumer, the pros of such managed healthcare are; v. At times, in situations like the consumer is on tour to place outside the native place, then the tie-up between caregiver companies helps the consumer in getting a good care from some affiliated company as well i. The consumer gets tied up with a particular company for longer time and even if there are better alternatives, he/she cannot go for a change, because of the agreement between the consumer and the healthcare company But entering into a managed healthcare plan with consumer also involves some risk for the company. For example, in these inflationary times, when costs are rising up, the company finds itself unable to charge higher prices, because of the agreement done with the consumer. Some of the well known managed healthcare are plans are, Health Maintenance Organization (HMO); Preferred Provider Organizations (PPO) and Point-of-Service (POS) plans. These plans have evolved over the years and have taken care of some of the deficiencies that included in the traditional insurance covers. While the traditional insurance covers used to take care of limited aspects of the healthcare, the managed healthcare plans are comprehensive in nature and try to include some modern day health hazards like long sitting in front of the computer screen and its ergonomic impacts on our body parts.

DESIGN OF AN APPROPRIATE WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR A Essay

DESIGN OF AN APPROPRIATE WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR A REMOTEJRURAL COMMUNITY - Essay Example Sewage systems that are poorly maintained or virtually non-existent, untreated animal wastes, landfills that are poorly regulated and rising levels of industrial effluents are some of the reasons and issues behind contamination and wastewater generation. In fact, untreated sewage often tends to flow into the streets in rural areas (especially in developing countries) and can run into agricultural fields contaminating the clean water and food sources. This paper will describe two distinct conceptual models for wastewater management and evaluate relevant issues such as water conservation, reuse and sustainability. Thereafter, the best model among the two shall be elaborated further and include a detailed description of the inherent wastewater management scheme. The paper also includes a detailed stakeholder analysis to ascertain the various issues affecting and influencing each stakeholder who is either involved or affected due to the prescribed wastewater management scheme. The first model for wastewater management consists of a pilot plant system made up of an ASB (up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket), a CW (constructed wetland), SF (Intermittent sand filter) and AVB (Passively aerated vertical bed). This treatment model is highly flexible and can accommodate various wastewater treatment combinations. Each of these components is described below (Henze, 2005): Anaerobic sludge blanket (ASB): the reactor segment of the plant is conical in shape and does not contain any gas separators for any initial treatment upon preliminary sedimentation. The average working volume of the reactor is 7.5 m3 and has a surface area of 8 m2. The ASB concept has been devised, developed and applied in many parts of the world, especially in the rural regions of developing nations such as China and Brazil (Rofe, 2004). Aerated vertical bed (AVB): For the current consumption levels of 200 L/d per house, a passive aeration system consisting of four vertical beds can be

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Frankenstein Essay Example for Free

Frankenstein Essay According to mental health specialists, Borderline personality disorder is a serious mental illness and those afflicted have issues with regulating their emotions, behaviors, and thoughts. On top of that, they have a hard time maintaining relationships with others because of their reactions to certain situations or ideas, and are found to be â€Å"unstable†. Not unlike the men in Shelley’s Frankenstein, a person with, the somewhat misnomered, illness is very impressionable to the various occurrences in their life. It is true that with age and as the story goes on, that the toll of being emotionally unstable and incapable of dealing with the repercussions of their actions increases and is reflected in the personalities of the men in Frankenstein. Starting with the most susceptible of the three main male characters, the Wretch has the least understanding of how the world around him works. He is seen to be pondering the realization that he has been shunned, by the one person who should accept him for who he is, and he instantly feels indignation. â€Å" ometimes I allowed my thoughts, unchecked by reason, to ramble in the fields of Paradise and dared to fancy amiable and lovely creatures sympathising with my feelings and cheering my gloom but.. [my creator] had abandoned me, and in the bitterness of my heart I cursed him,† (93-94). He is content with the knowledge that people are wanted and treated well by those who care, but is disappointed when he comprehends that he and the people around him are not one and the same. The Wretch struggles to come to terms with this, as he has not been prepared to deal with the cruelty of those who he instinctually admires. The Wretch takes offense easily, and is hardened by the fact that there is so much good in the world, yet he remains unwanted. The Wretch desperately wanted to be accepted by the cottagers, and is so overcome with grief when they reject him entirely that it oversteps his anger. He is even found to say: â€Å"I could have torn him limb from limb but my heart sunk within me as with bitter sickness, and I refrained,† (97). Sad and confused, the Wretch finds himself alone and dealing with the sudden and all-too-heavy realization that he is not wanted in the world he was brought about into. The Wretch is child-like, not unlike his first victim, and does not have an understanding of how he is received by others. The Wretch comes across William Frankenstein, Victor’s youngest brother, and wants to be his friend; but his attempts at friendship being dodged by the youngster only confuses and hurts him further. â€Å"I could seize him and educate him as my companion and friend, I should not be so desolate in this peopled earth the child still struggled, and loaded me with epithets which carried despair to my heart: I grasped his throat to silence him, and in a moment he lay dead at my feet,†(102). Regrettably, The Wretch did not realize his strength and was too taken by the idea of friendship to see what he was doing. Disappointed still at the fact that a young and impressionable child was old and wise enough to know they were different, the Wretch truly feels alone and abandoned by society. Robert Walton is a man who is always changing his mind, and changing his behaviors and focuses. He realizes a new goal for himself, to travel to the Antarctic, and sets out on yet another adventure; he is relishing in the thought that he is finally content with the direction in which his life is going. These reflections have dispelled the agitation with which I began my letter, and I feel my heart glow with an enthusiasm which elevates me to heaven; for nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purposea point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye,† (2). Walton is quoted several times to have said that he changed focuses in his life. He is inconsistent a nd fickle about his life’s goals, and never completes anything. Sure he may one day set out and finish something, but the Robert Walton depicted by Shelley and introduced to Victor Frankenstein is not that man. Robert Walton is a simple man. who is so proud, that he can not bear to be a disappointment to anyone, including himself. While writing to his sister, Walton is addressing the fact that should he fail on his latest mission, he will be far too ashamed to face that and most likely disappear completely. â€Å"If I succeed, many, many months, perhaps years, will pass before you and I may meet: If I fail, you will see me again soon, or never,† (3). From the very beginning, Robert is displayed as a character who is unstable and very easily disappointed. While this is not life ruining, a trait like this surely only complicates life and upsets those around him. In promising to estrange himself from his family solely because of a failure, one that has not even happened yet, Robert is painted as a man who perhaps should not be trusted. Walton’s emotions and how he reacts is everchanging, and he is quick to change his mind about a person or idea solely based on prejudice or the opinions of others. Robert allows himself to feel badly for the monster when listening to his grief over the death of Victor, but his sudden and ery deep obligation to Victor, as well as his prejudice against the Wretch, stops him. â€Å"I was first touched by the expressions of his misery; yet, when I called to mind what Frankenstein had said of his powers of eloquence and persuasion, and when I again cast my eyes on the lifeless form of my friend, indignation was rekindled within me,†(164). Perhaps Robert would have felt more strongly about the Wre tch and his own story had Robert not known and immediately sided with Victor. In lieu of assessing the situation and how he felt about the monster, Walton promptly writes off any good feelings for him, because he is an easily-influenced man, who is incapable of really thinking things through. Victor Frankenstein, towards the end of his life, is quick to anger when faced with even the thought of his creation. Robert Walton wanted to know what was plaguing the mind of his new friend, but was taken aback by how upset Victor was when questioned about the monster. After confronting him, Walton says, â€Å"As I spoke, a dark gloom spread over my listener’s countenance. At first I perceived that he tried to suppress his emotion; he placed his hands before his eyes, and my voice quivered and failed me as I beheld tears trickle fast from between his fingers, a groan burst from his heaving breast,† (11). Victor is a man of prestige and a scholar, to see him break down at the mention of the Wretch is largely an indicator that he is somewhat deranged. He literally breaks down and cries in front of Robert Walton, a man whom he has just been introduced to, and is so moved by his emotions that he has to excuse himself and spend the night calming himself. Though this is early on in the novel, the actual event takes place at the end of Victor’s tale, and can later be chalked up to the fact that the creation of his monster took so much out of him, that he is a different, and highly disturbed man. Victor is taken so strongly by his emotions and devotion to his project that he jeopardizes himself and his health. Victor explains the struggles he went through to create the monster, but is so enraptured with the idea of making new life, that he dismisses these downsides. He is quoted as saying, â€Å"I had worked hard for nearly two years, for the sole purpose of infusing life into an inanimate body. For this I had deprived myself of rest and health. I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart,† (35). Taken by his convictions, Victor knows what he is doing is wrong, and continues on with them anyway. He sees that his creating the monster and tampering with life is wrong, but goes through with it because his want to succeed is much greater than the battle within him over how morally right or wrong it is. As the novel progresses, this eats away at Victor, as he feels so badly about what he’s done. Victor abhors the creation he has made because he is a man who lets impressions fog his view of others. Victor himself feels a general sadness when he hears the tale of the Wretch, because not unlike Victor, nor any other â€Å"living† man, the Wretch has feelings. However, Victor openly admits that: â€Å"I compassionated him and sometimes felt a wish to console him; but when I looked upon him, when I saw the filthy mass that moved and talked, my heart sickened and my feelings were altered to those of horror and hatred,† (106). This reflects poorly on Victor, as he is the man who created the Wretch. To feel horror and hatred at one’s own creation, one whom many liken to a son of Frankenstein’s, is abominable of Victor. Victor is just a man who is incapable of looking past his preju. dices and accepting the wrongs he has done. Knowing what kind of man he is, he should not have gone through with the making of the Wretch at all. However, the drive to accomplish something great and be renown for his advancement in the science community, as well as an arguably deep-rooted want to be distinguished and intellectual, proved to be much greater than any compunction from creating life and tampering with something so delicate as the human emotion. The Wretch, Robert, and Victor are all men who are shown as developing and complex characters. Their decisions and ultimately the way they handle the consequences of their actions is what makes the men of Frankenstein emotionally unstable.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Ryanair Business Ethics

Ryanair Business Ethics Summary of the unit: Business Ethics is a key component; in fact, it could be the very bases of the way in which operational activities are carried out within a business. Ethics are to do with what is right and wrong. It is about how a company does its business and how its activities affect all of its stakeholders. A business is part of society and therefore is required to maintain a certain standard of behaviour. TASK 1: Assessment 1 A Study of a Selected Company Using an organisation of your choice but in discussion with your tutor, research the ethical values and activities of the company. Explore ethical issues relevant to the companys progress, identify stakeholders and conflicts of interest and assess the ethical implications for stakeholders. Finally, explore the social implications of business ethics for the company. Introduction: Ethics refers to the moral rights and wrongs of any decision a business makes. It is a value judgement that may differ in importance and meaning between different individuals. Businesses may adopt ethical policies because they believe in them or they believe that by showing they are ethical; they improve their sales. Background of the organisation or company: Ryanair is Ltd which means the liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested into the company. Ryanair is an Irish low cost airline, which is located on the grounds of Dublin Airport, with its primary operational base at London Stansted Airport. The airline operates over 300 Boeing 737-800 aircraft and has been characterised by rapid expansion and its low-cost. The route network serves 30 countries both in Europe and North Africa. Explain the ethical values and activities of the company: (Areas of ethical activities include: ethics in finance, eg bribery, executive pay, insider trading, lobbying; ethics in human resource management, eg discrimination, worker surveillance; ethics in production, eg animal testing, genetically modified (GM) foodstuffs, planned obsolescence; ethics in sales and marketing, eg spamming, shills, product placement, green washing; ethics in intellectual property eg software piracy, counterfeiting, peer-to-peer file sharing) Ryanair have made it very hard to find their mission statement, but on the basis of their main objective one can see that Ryanair wants to be the low-cost airline. In my opinion, based on different information I have read during research I believe Ryanair will do just about anything to maintain that low-cost airline status. Ryanair are cutting the costs in which they spend by reducing fuel, re-styling their inflight magazine from A4 to A5 and doubling it up as a menu. The airline has also been accused of environmental effects which are imputing to the speed up of Global Warming due to the emissions which the planes are releasing. In a conference to discuss corporate strategies, Michael OLeary (CEO) says, Its the oldest, simplest formula; Pile em high and sell em cheapà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ We want to be the Wal-Mart of the airline business. Nobody will beat us on price EVER. Ryanair inform their stakeholders about what they believe, is ethical behaviour in the Chairmans report as part of the Annual Report. However, they do not mention how they will improve occurring problems. Notwithstanding the issues we face, the outstanding people at Ryanair continue to work hard on behalf of shareholders to reduce our costs while at the same time delivering the lowest fares in Europe to our 79 million passengers. Explain the ethical issues relevant to the companys progress. (These include corporate governance; corporate social responsibility; environment; sustainability; human rights; corruption; trading fairly; legal and regulatory compliance; business practices; working conditions; individual ethical responsibilities): Human Rights Business ethics considers actions taken on behalf of organisations such as Ryanair. Business ethics asks the business if its actions are good or bad for us humans. Many questions that arise in business ethics affect all of us such as the environmental ones. There are also some issues which relate to human rights too. Therefore, it is important that Ryanair deals with these issues and questions correctly as they do affect humans and the environment. Human rights are mainly about discrimination. For example, it is illegal in the UK to treat people differently because of their race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or disability. These are known as basic human rights. There are other types of human rights which are built into legal system. At Ryanair, employees are entitled to a contract of employment, to work part time, to be able to join a union and to have hearing against wrongful dismissal. This is for everyone; this is known as human rights. Ryanair would have to follow human rights when employing people to work with them; they cannot deny someone to work for them because of their race, gender, religion or disability. If these laws are broken in Ryanair they can be sued. Ryanairs commitment to operating with respect for human rights is reflected in company policies and procedures. In order to integrate human rights considerations into the management of their business, human rights due diligence is part of their risk assessment for new production and sales markets. For existing production and sales markets, Ryanair will regularly evaluate human rights related risks and conduct human rights impact assessments on high risk markets. Risk and impa ct assessments are used for them to identifying actual and potential human rights impacts from their business activities, which are then managed by the relevant business functions. Ryanair works broadly to promote respect for human rights through public policy, stakeholders dialogues and collaborations. Working Conditions When people start working for a business organisation, they are entitled to a set of minimum working conditions, which are not just about wages and salaries. They also cover aspects of work such as hours, holiday entitlement, privacy harassment and discrimination. It is up to employers to create working conditions that are fair, just and open. Trade Unions have the traditional role of defending worker rights against bad employers. Ryanairs employees must have been told about the working conditions which should cover all aspects such as things like hours, holidays, salaries and wages. It is up to the employer to create the working conditions, if something is unfair there are Trade Unions who have the role to defend workers from the bad employers. The employees shall be granted and correctly compensated for any types of paid leave to which they are legally entitled. For Example, leaves include annual leave, maternity/parental leave and sick leave. Ryanairs employee should be treated with respect and dignity. Under no circumstances Ryanair either accept the use by their suppliers, their subcontractors or other business partners of humiliating or corporal punishment, and no employee shall be subject to physical, sexual, Psychological or verbal harassment or abuse. Wages must be paid regularly, on time, and must reflect the experience, qualifications and performance of the employee. Ryanairs minimum requirement is that employers shall pay at least the statutory minimum wage, the prevailing industry wage or the wage negotiated in a collective agreement, whichever is higher. All other types of legally mandated benefits and compensations shall be paid. No unfair deductions are allowed, and the employee has the right to a written specification of how the wage has been calculated. Corporate Governance Ryanair have board of directors who make important decisions. They are answerable to board managers. Governance is important to large businesses like Ryanair. it is important because how will HM directors know what mangers are doing. Therefore the government gets involved. Also corporate governance is the people and procedures for taking a major decision within Ryanair. Ryanair will have to send directors progress about the business so they are always updated, the managers at Ryanair will be responsible for consulting the board directors about everything that goes on in the business on a regular basis. Governance is vital to big companies such as Ryanair because how will Ryanair directors acknowledge what managers are doing, this government will step in. Corporate governance is the employees and measures for taking important decisions within Ryanair. Trading Fairly Fair trade is where: Business is carried on in an open manner. Competition takes place on grounds that are equal for all parties Consumers can feel secure that the goods and services they are buying are going to be of satisfactory quality. Ryanair must make sure that they are always trading fairly and theyre consumers should always feel secure that goods and services they are using are going to be of satisfactory quality. Ryanair agree that wages in some production countries are too low. Ensuring that all textile workers should be able to live on their wages has always been Ryanair s vision, and this is also stated in our Code of Conduct. In November 2013, Ryanair had developed a new roadmap based on their vision, a fair living wage covering workers basic needs should be paid by all HM commercial goods suppliers. One important element of this is that Ryanair s while another states that this requirement is based on a skilled workforce whos wages are negotiated and reviewed annually, involving democratically elected trade unions of worker representatives. Identify stakeholders of the organisation and conflicts of interest and assess the ethical implications for stakeholders. (Stakeholders owners, employees, customers, suppliers, competitors, citizens, etc. Conflicts of interest between stakeholder groups e.g. shareholders versus environmentalists) Ryanairs Main Stakeholders include: Shareholders Business Partners Customers Employees Conflicts of interest Ryanair Stakeholders: Employees Vs Owners Employees want higher wages and owners want high profits therefore want to pay employees lower wages. Customers Vs Shareholders Low prices is what customers want, but higher prices is what shareholders want as it means higher profits. Employees Vs Management Conflict might occur when management desire to cut costs to boost profit in order to satisfy their own needs as well as different stakeholders as employees want higher wages. Stakeholders Stakeholders are a person, group or organisation that has interest or concern in an organisation. Stakeholders can affect or be affected by the organisations actions, objectives and policies. The below diagram includes definitions for each stakeholder: Ryanairs main stakeholders are: Employees who seek the necessary training along with career development opportunities within Ryanair. They also want job security. Shareholders who want a dividend from profits. Customers who want services that meet their needs when flying. They wish for flights that are at low prices and convenient dates and times. Explain the social implications of business ethics for the organisation or company. (Implications include adapting business behaviour; responding to ethical pressures; implementing ethical practices; influence of stakeholders and pressure groups; impact on competitiveness; reputation; public image; ethical trade; value-added; complying with relevant legislation and codes of practice, e.g. UK law, EU law;UN Declaration on Human Rights; UN Global Compact; economic activity e.g. location) (Other Implications include: global, eg environment; corporate, eg legal and regulatory compliance, policies and practices; individual (employee, consumer) Ethical Concerns and Solutions Ryanair is a business that is acting unethically in many ways. I have included the reasons which I think are the main ones. EnvironmentalThe emissions, which are coming from the aircraft, are believed to be having a very bad effect on the Earths atmosphere which is causing harm which leads to Global Warming, this will have an effect on everyone if Ryanair doesnt stop right now. This is evidence that the business is acting unethically as they are not caring for the environment in which we are all living in. Social An example of the way in which Ryanair is acting unethically in relation to employment practice which became known when former employee Sophie Growcoot got in contact with her local representative to reveal the details of her employment contract with the company Crewlink, which acts as a contractor for Ryanair. The Independent later published the story. Growcoot explains that Crewlink forced her to take three months of compulsory unpaid leave a year during the winter months, air traffic is slower therefore Ryanair require less staff. Not only is a compulsory unpaid leave bad enough, the contract forbids her from taking additional employment yet provided no compensation during that period of leave. She also criticized Ryanair for making her pay for her uniform and for required safety courses. Growcoot then explains further to all of that they only paid her for the hours she was in the air, which didnt include any turnaround time between flights, meetings, time on ground resulti ng from cancellations or delays and pre-flight briefings. However due to this claims Ryanair have not denied them but expressed that she was employed by Crewlink and not them therefore they hold no responsibility for any of this accusations. Health and Safety The action in which Ryanair is carrying out which leads me to believe that they are an unethical business is that they are putting their passengers and staff at risk by restricting the amount of fuel they carry in an attempt to cut costs. In a recent article published by The Independent, the airline has been accused of not putting extra fuel into their tasks, which would be used due to any delays. The article includes an example of this which has recently happened, a Ryanair flight has to make to attempts to land then make a pit stop as they had not filled the tank fully included extra fuel in which they needed. However, this is not a legal problem as they fill the tank to the amount by law. They have the amount issues by law, but are driving slower in order to use up less this means they are adding time on to journeys. With these issues and more creating black clouds over the business which is making them act unethically, Ryanair needs to consider ways in which they could deal with the occurring issues if of course they can actually deal with them. The fact is that Ryanair is faced with unethical issues including, environmental, social and safety ones. In order to start acting more ethically the airline seriously needs to overcome the occurring problems, for the three issues I have explained above I am going to suggest ways in which they can change unethical to ethical. Environmental: Problem The emissions from Ryanair aircrafts are having bad effects on our environment. Solution In order for the emissions released to not affect our environment Ryanair should look into exactly how much is being released and consider changing what they use that makes the emissions have such a bad effect. Ryanair needs to go green like Virgin America and Air France, which are the two airlines that were awarded the most eco-friendly. Practicality If other airlines that are highly recognised and extremely successful can go green and be environmentally friendly then why cant Ryanair. In order for this solution to be successful the airline need to invest more time and money into biofuel, recycling etc. as in the long run this is the better option for everyone. Social Problem Ryanairs contractor Crewlink has been drawing up harsh contracts for staff of Ryanair. Solution Crewlink are working for Ryanair, yet its Ryanair that get the blame for all the disasters like in Sophie Growcoots story. Ryanair cannot deny its happening as they know it is, but to stop it and act ethically towards their employees, they need to change the way in which the contracts are being drawn. If Crewlink are the ones who are responsible Ryanair should disconnect from them and treat their employees with fair advantages rather than unfair disadvantages. Possible vs. Practicality To change the way in which the contracts are drawn is hard as Crewlink are a company as well (even though they are working for Ryanair) they might go against Ryanairs wishes. To me the most practical thing to do in this situation is to drop Crewlink all together and start employing people straight through Ryanair that way if anything does happen Ryanair has all the documents to fight against claims because at the moment they have no evidence. However, this may increase costs, which would make shareholders unhappy. Safety: Problem In attempt to cut costs Ryanair is reducing the amount of fuel brought on a journey right down to the amount needed by law. This means no emergency extra. Solution The solution to this is obvious. Bring extra. Even though fuel is expensive wouldnt Ryanair rather pay for that then is the cause of passengers and staffs deaths if an unfortunate incident occurs? Possible vs. Practicality This is without a doubt something Ryanair should stop doing it is unsafe to all. If they continue they may end up spending more and getting into more trouble therefore losing customers and loosing profit. This is so important that shareholders would be willing to have lower dividends for a while. Impacts of Acting Ethically Even though acting ethically is a good thing, Ryanair have been unethical for a long time and with the change there is bound to be some impact on the business and its stakeholders. If the business was to carry out the solutions I have suggested they will encounter long-term and short-term advantages and disadvantages. In making the ethical decision to stop reducing fuel in order to cut costs would mean that the business would need to invest more money therefore in the short-term no one would be the winners as the shareholders might not get as much money back as they invested. However, in the long-term, as by carrying out this particular solution, customers may view Ryanair as safer and trust worthier, the business profits may increase therefore the Ryanair will be a good investment once more. If the business were to cut off Crewlink and have an in-house recruitment, Ryanair may save money, as they would no longer need to pay Crewlink for their services. This would be an advantage for the business for two reasons, they would be able to control everything and stay out of trouble caused by linked companies and they would cut costs in a safer way. For the last solution it is a win/win situation for all involved, the business and stakeholders. By being more environmentally friendly Ryanair will attract more customers as they will still be able to keep their low-cost scheduled flights just in an ego way. In my judgment I think Ryanair would be crazy not to carry out these changes, they will be beneficial to everyone in many ways. As a business Ryanair will be able to maintain its low-cost reputation but just do it will more certainty, yes in the short-term it may be a lose but it will be a win for all in the long-term. Assignment 2: Ethical Concerns in the Community of the Selected Company- P3, P4, P2.Research the ethical concerns of different communities in which a selected business operates and write a full report for submission. Define Ethics: Ethics are the set of moral principles that guide a persons behavior. These morals are shaped by social norms, cultural practices, and religious influences. Ethics reflect beliefs about what is right, what is wrong, what is just, what is unjust, what is good, and what is bad in terms of human behavior. They serve as a compass to direct how people should behave toward each other, understand and fulfil their obligations to society, and live their lives. Define Business Ethics: Business ethics are the study of proper business policies and practices regarding potentially controversial issues, such as corporate governance, insider trading, bribery, discrimination, corporate social responsibility and fiduciary responsibilities. Business ethics are often guided by law, while other times provide a basic framework that businesses may choose to follow in order to gain public acceptance. Mention your selected business and give historical background Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and manufactures consumer electronics and computer software products. The companys best-known hardware products include Macintosh computers, the iPod and the iPhone. Apple software includes the Mac OS X operating system, the iTunes media browser, the iLife suite of multimedia and creativity software, the iWork suite of productivity software, Final Cut Studio, a suite of professional audio and film-industry software products, and Logic Studio, a suite of audio tools. The company operates more than 250 retail stores in nine countries and an online store where hardware and software products are sold. Established in Cupertino, California on April 1, 1976 and incorporated January 3, 1977,the company was called Apple Computer, Inc. for its first 30 years, but dropped the word Computer on January 9, 2007 to reflect the companys ongoing expansion into the consumer electronics market in addition to its traditional focus on personal computers. Apple has about 35,000 employees worldwide and had worldwide annual sales of US$32.48 billion in its fiscal year ending September 29, 2008.For reasons as various as its philosophy of comprehensive aesthetic design to its distinctive advertising campaigns, Apple has established a unique reputation in the consumer electronics industry. This includes a customer base that is devoted to the company and its brand, particularly in the United States. Fortune magazine named Apple the most admired company in the United States in 2008 and in the world in 2009. Here I will be using my selected business Apple, to describe the ethical concerns facing specific communities as a result of their activities. Explain the ethical concerns of different communities in which a selected business operates: (DifferentCommunities include: local; regional; national; global; pressure groups, eg Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth; impact of overseeing bodies, eg UK Government, United Nations, European Union, World Trade Organization (WTO), World Health Organization (WHO) (Ethical Concerns include: corporate social responsibility; globalisation; cultural imperialism; ecology; environment; fair trade;corruption; child labour; outsourcing; personal attitudes; whistle blowing) Apple, whose main manufacture in China is Foxconn, had to face ethical concerns in China recently. Local Community The ethical concerns facing the local community are Environmental and Child Labor. The environment is impacting the local community because the business is having an increase in the level of pollution in the city which is of course having a negative effect on the environment. Child Labor is another ethical concern that Foxconn have to face as they are employing under age children which is affecting the local community as they are not getting the opportunity to be educated instead they are having to work in factories. Regional and National Community The ethical concern facing the Regional and National Community beyond China is mostly to do with the Environment. The factories in China in which Foxconn own to manufacture the supplies for Apple create and let off a lot of pollution which is spreading across the seas into H.K and Taiwan. This is then impacting the environment second hand in another community. A business can also be affected by acting unethically in one community but having it pass on to the next through media. Once a community sees what the business is doing in another community they may be less willing to engage with that particular business, this creates a bad reputation for the business. Pressure GroupsEnvironmental pressure groups consistently force issues into the publics attention and therefore pressure both governments and business leaders into action. In terms of Child Labor, U.N.I.C.E.F is a pressure group that stands up for childrens rights. Along with promoting the importance of education for children living in communities where work seems like the only option U.N.I.C.E.F will fund the education. The roles that pressure groups such as U.N.I.C.E.F play in encouraging these businesses to act ethically is extremely vital and so important as without them the businesses would just do whatever is easiest. Overseeing BodiesOverseeing bodies such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and Governments are needed to deal with these ethical questions that concern us about our businesses. National, Continental and International bodies are taking all sorts of action to monitor the activities of business around the world. Examples of these overseeing bodies are: UK Government United Nations (UN) European Union (EU) World Trade Organisation (WTO) World Health Organisation (WHO) Concerns of Communities Here I will be taking the issues mentioned above and explaining how businesses could improve their corporate social responsibility. In terms of the Environment and Child Labor concerning the community due to unethical behaviour from Foxconn and Apple there are ways they could eliminate these. EnvironmentThe environment is not just having an effect in one community but is traveling on and having a second hand effect on neighbouring communities much like the second hand smoking effect only this is second hand pollution. Due to the business acting unethically and producing masses amounts of pollution from Foxconn factories manufacturing Apple products the environment is having a beating. This is effecting the rise of global warming aiding it to go faster. The mining of the raw materials is also impacting our environment badly as they are not going about it the correct way. Ways in which Apple can eliminate these unethical environmental concerns is by hiring another company to manufacture their products, although this may mean they need to spend more as one company may be more expensive than another. However, by doing so Apple will no longer be seen as acting unethically as they will not be associated with an unethically partnering company. Foxconn however can eliminate these unethical environmental concerns but it will take more than one step. They need to consider ways in which they can produce what they are producing but ethically. For example, they can start by sourcing the raw material in an ethical way such as mining in areas that are specifically designed to be mined in and recycling the waste materials they do not use. Child LabourChild Labouring is a horribly unethical thing to be associated with and both Foxconn and Apple should be very ashamed of themselves. Due to the hiring of underage children to work in factories manufacturing Apple products both Foxconn and Apple are guilty of this unethical act that is a concern the business needs to face. Apple once again can eliminate this problem quite easily, they can drop Foxconn and find another company to manufacture their products, hopefully a company that doesnt use Child Labour. Again this might cost them more but they should consider whether it is worth saving their money of a childs rights. For Foxconn is little tougher to eliminate this problem as it a reputation they will always carry, however Child Labouring only occurs in certain communities where education is limited for children so working is really their only option. Foxconn can spend more money and open a factory to manufacture the products in another community or country (if needed) so that they cant be exposed to the Child Labouring temptations. The Environment and Child Labor concerning the community due to unethical behaviour from Foxconn and Apple can be prevented by considering and acting upon the suggestions I have made above but there are many more unethical concerns facing these businesses and those also need to be sorted before the business is somewhat considered ethical. Social Impacts Here I will be describing the social implications of business ethics facing Apple in its different areas of activity: Apple has been acting unethically and we can see from this report in the Guardian, Apple has been known to use child labour. The business ethics issues that I believe effect society as a whole are ethics in Finance, Human Resource Management and Sales and Marketing. Ethics in finance relates to issues like bribery, executive pay, insider trading and lobbying and it is a concern to society because it involves all sorts of illegal corruption. Ethics in human resource management includes discrimination, worker surveillance and is a concern to society because it is about the rights of society and employees of the business. Ethics in sales and marketing for example, spamming, shills, product placement, green washing are concerns to society because it is just a way of generating sales and can end up having a baggage pile on society. The implications of these issues for the business are different for each issue. For ethics in finance the business can face legal and regulatory concerns if they are caught demonstrating insider trading. The business is currently keeping a close eye on the stock exchange activity within the business to make sure no one is taking advantage of it. For ethics in sales and marketing faces a potential bad reaction from customers if they keep green washing their products in marketing. Currently the business is doing nothing to address this. As for the child labor Apple face legal concerns as it is against the law. According to the report Apple let the children go and pay for their education in a school of their familys choice. Judging the Impacts For this I will be focusing on the issue of Apples Child Labour use. Apple might deal with the issue of Child Labour by eliminating the problem and sticking to their code