Human Resources Code of Ethics Essay

Message I am thrilled to join Company X’s management team. My colleagues have been stellar in providing me support and helping me accilmate to the organizational culture, which is different from what I am accustomed to. I have encountered my first challenge, a challenge that is incumbent that I bring to your attention along with three detailed solutions, inclusive of attractive and detractive aspects of each. It is also important that I share with you the methodology I employed to arrive at these conclusions, since it is reasonable for you to have access to and test the methodology employed to engender these solutions. I will also recommend to you an appropriate course of action. Separately, I will present a report, which will report the findings of an analysis that I conducted on our company’s ethical decision-making process. This report will include strategies to mitigate against concerns I will have raised in the memorandum. I will also discuss the process of creating a code of ethics that will provide for employee growth through ethical decision making and continued company revenue growth. Production Concern Company X is the leader in the production of toy whistles for children the world over. Our principal production plant is located within the United States and, naturally, is under the purview of production guidelines set forth by the U.S. government. The quality-assurance department recently informed me of a production issue that has arisen. Toy whistles that have been manufactured and are on schedule for shipment undergo an arduous testing process to ensure that the  constitution of each toy meets federal regulations. Toy whistles that will be shipped to South American countries have, unfortunately, failed lead-level requirements; they are slightly higher in lead than what is legally tolerable. Our company has decisions to make about how we address this considerable concern. After analysis, collaboration with team members, and sufficient reflection, I have developed three solutions to address this concern. Each solution has attractive and detractive aspects, both of which I will discuss. Ethical, legal, and financial considerations must be made with all solutions. Solution 1: Cease shipment; Re-produce Toy Whistles At current lead levels, the toy whistle would not be shipped to customers. The entire production process would re-apply, which includes re-securing the raw materials necessary to make replacement whistles, re-producing those whistles through the production process, and commissioning the quality-assurance department to verify that the whistles meet all federal guidelines for selling and consumption. It will also be important that the quality-assurance department provide a quality verification of its own processes. Such a verification will be necessary, since antecedent quality processes failed to identify the higher-than-normal lead levels of our toy whistles. Solution 1: Explanation of Method Used to Select Solution A combination of brainstorming and SWOT analysis were employed to determine three solutions for our company’s quandary. The brainstorming process involved three team members who reviewed the situation and offered ideas—any ideas—as solutions. Each team member produced two ideas, totaling six possible solutions. The following is a breakdown of submissions by team members: Bob Jones| Celine Jiles| Patti Durant| Stop Production; Adjust Lead Levels| Continue Production; Bribe Foreign and  Domestic Government| Stop Production; Offer Different Product| Stop Production; Make Plastic Whistles| Continue Production; Ignore Lead Levels| Stop Production; Close Business| A SWOT analysis was performed on each decision alternative to test its integrity. SWOT is an acronym for â€Å"Strengths,† â€Å"Weaknesses,† â€Å"Opportunities,† and â€Å"Threats† (Bradford, Duncan, & Tarcy, 2000). The goal is to reduce the possible responses to those that require attention. Bob Jones Solution A Strengths: Legal and ethical approach to doing business. Promotes high levels of customer service. Holds all parties accountable for their actions due to process review and refinement. Weaknesses: Delayed production. Poor customer-satisfaction surveys in the short term. Costly to hold up production. Opportunities: Favorable contract renegotiation if determined process failure with supplier. Possible acquisition of new customers if mitigative steps made known. Threats: Possible government intervention if lead levels are exposed. Possible customer revolt if mitigative steps to lead levels not perceived correctly. Customer churn—possibly to competitor—due to production delay. Board of directors overhaul of C-level management Based on these considerations, Solution A is a viable candidate for resolution. Bob Jones Solution B Strengths: No delay in production. Customer satisfaction not harmed. Foreign government receptive to bribes. No disruption to revenue. Weaknesses: Domestic government not receptive to bribing. Massive costs due to bribing. No consideration for customer health. Short-term solution. Socially irresponsible course of action. Opportunities: Short-term customer growth. Relationship-building with foreign government. Threats: Considerable legal actions from both domestic and foreign government if not receptive bribes. Possible legal threats from customers. The costs associated with Solution A indicate that it is not a viable solution. Celine Jiles Solution A Strengths: Legal and ethical approach to doing business. Promotes high levels of customer service due to considering customers’ health. Holds all parties accountable for their actions due to process review and refinement. Weaknesses: Massive delays in production. Abrogation of contract with current supplier. Extensive training costs for new products. Extensive project-management costs to deploy new product. Substantial increase in customer churn due to offering different product. Possible negative press in foreign market. Possible domestic layoffs due to change in product. Opportunities: New streams of revenue due to new product. New streams of customers due to new-product demand. New, lower cost contracts with new suppliers. Possible employment of foreign workers to replace costly domestic workers. Threats: Legal threats from current employees subject layoff. Possible customer revolt if competitor unable to make up for our departure from whistle market. Increased regulatory scrutiny possible based on new product. Intractable board of directors. Based on these considerations, Solution A is a viable candidate for resolution. Celine Jiles Solution B Strengths: Minimal delay in production. Avoid lead-level requirements. Safter products for customers, thereby increasing customer satisfaction. Avoid legal issues from foreign and domestic governments. Contract abrogation with supplier if process failure due to supplier. Socially responsible course of action. Weaknesses: Contract abrogation with existing supplier if Company X process failure. Short-term customer dissatisfaction due to minimal production delay. Training for production of new whistles. Costly process refinements. Opportunities: Possible acquisition of new customers. Long-term customer growth. Possibly reduced prices with contract negotiations for new suppliers. If process adjustments made public, possible acquisition of customers in other countries. Threats: Minimal threat of legal action from domestic or foreign governments due to initlal lead-level failures. Minimal threat of substantial customer churn. The strengths of Solution B indicate that is viable enough to be considered. Patti Durant Solution A Strengths: Reduced production costs. Short-term customer satisfaction due to on-time delivery. Possible increased customer acquisition. Weaknesses: Very short-term solution. Disregard for long-term customer health. Disregard for domestic legal mandates. Socially irreponsible course of action. Long-term profit loss. High customer churn in long term. Opportunities: Short-term increase in streams of revenue. Threats: Extensive legal threats from public and private sector. Abrogation of current contracts iminent. Long-term erosion of shareholder confidence. Solution A should not be further considered due to the blantant disregard for customer safety. Patti Durant Solution B Strengths: Regard for customer health. Weaknesses: Total loss of all revenue and profit. Opportunities: No known opportunities. Threats: Possible legal action from suppliers, employees, customers, and governments due to abrogation of contracts, inability to pay out on employee pensions, or willfully missed customer demand. Solution B is unquestionably not worthy of further consideration. Solution 1: Advantages and Disadvantages The important advantage this solution offers is that our toy whistles’ lead levels will not detrimentally influence the health of our customers. Our identification of this issue will allow our company to take mitigative actions before the whistles are in the hands of our consumers. Another advantage of this solution is that our customers will be unaware that there could have been an issue with the whistles. Our consumers’ ignorance allows our company to avoid a public-relations concern or public excoriation of our product and company brand. There are no government mandates that our company must disclose these sorts of issues if they are discovered before being delivered to our customers. An important disadvantage to this solution is that the investigative process and resultant process refinements will prove costly and timely. It is evident that a production and service failure has occurred, since our whistles’ lead levels currently contravene United States legislative mandates; however, we are not certain where in the supply chain this failure has occurred. Unnecessary people-power must be devoted to resolving this issue sufficiently to prevent issues in the similitude of this one. Another disadvantage to this solution is the effect it will have on employee morale. To be specific, the judgment of the managers of these processes is dubious and will have to be investigated. It is unquestionable that coaching and development, inclusive of corrective action, will have to be meted to all parties involved in this situation. And because of the cost of resolving this matter, some managers and their employees may have to have their employment terminated. No matter how delicately the corrective action will be handled, other employees will inevitable respond negatively. This situation may encourage discussions of unionization. It may engender unnecessary employee churn. Or for those who have their employment terminated as a result of our investigation, it may very well involve contending against ex-employee litigation for perceived wrongful termination, which will involve government agencies and their investigations. Solution 1: Ethical Considerations This solution is an ethically viable option. The reason is that the lead levels prescribed by the federal government are ostensibly predicated on customer saftey and, if more stringent, supersede lead-level requirements of the target country. Providing customers, especially young children, with high-lead toys is immediately unethical and demonstrates a disconnection from social responsibility. Solution 1: Financial Considerations This solution, however, is the most costly and will make profit from these sales impossible unless we increase the price of the toy whistles. The  following are cost considerations of this solution: 1. Vetting Raw-Material Supplier: It is possible that the raw materials that we obtain from our supplier do not possess the integrity that we expect, which would cause products to fail quality verfifcations. An audit would be required of the supplier. This audit would entail the following costs: a. On-site inspections: $10,000, inclusive of labor costs and travel expenditures b. Report of findings: $5,000, inclusive of labor costs of presenting the findings c. Negative findings: $10,000, inclusive of replacing and contracting with a different raw-materials supplier. d. Positive findings: $15,000, inclusive of sunk costs of on-site inspections and reporting of findings (since no issue would have been with the supplier) 2. Vetting Production Processes: There may be deficiencies in the production process that cause higher levels of lead to result in our products. Here are the costs associated with this vetting: e. Departmental inspections: $7,000, inclusive of labor costs f. Report of findings: $5,000, inclusive of labor costs of presenting the findings g. Negative findings: $50,000, inclusive of making process adjustments, training on new processes, and follow-up labor costs h. Positive findings: $12,000, inclusive of sunk costs of inspections and reporting of findings. As easily noted, the costs of making process changes are considerable. However, the costs of these changes should not, by themselves, be an impetus to continue to produce high-lead toy whistles.

A Study of Sergei Eisenstein’s Montage Theory Essay

Cinema is a visual concept heavily marked by the objective of enterntainment, yet is also an ideology that is subject to a whole universe of theoretical frameworks. Many of it may trace their beginnings to a technique, as with the montage, which in French means â€Å"putting together†. This is the solid base of Russian cinema, more specifically in the montage theory subscribed to by Russian filmmakers. It is defined as a cinematic approach that depends mainly on editing, and the value of cuts in a film. In this revolutionary philosophy in cinema, probably the most recognized name is that of Sergei Eisenstein. Eisenstein was born to Jewish parents in Tsarist Russia in 1898, and was educated in Riga and St. Petersburg. He learned to speak a number of languages fluently, and was urged by his father to follow his path of becoming a civil engineer. Nonetheless, the young Eisenstein already had serious interests in theatre, and spent all of his free time watching films. The Bolshevik Revolution further reinforced his penchant for cinema, as he found himself educating workers, peasants, and troops in remote areas with camera in hand—and a gun in the other. Cinema was then perceived as a weapon by Eisenstein, a belief he would carry with him for the rest of his filmmaking career (Jonas, 1998). II, The Soviet Montage Soviet montage films were defined by its own set of values, not necessarily just techniques, but executed in a specific way. The socialist thinking was obviously present in this style, for individual characters in these films had no place as focal points. Social classes are the main issues, and the role of each character is to represent one. Various organized protests are also common elements of the film’s narrative, echoing the Russian revolution experience. Eisenstein formulated the system that resulted in a Synthesis, starting with a Thesis, followed by an Anti-Thesis—a foundation of the montage that traces its origins to Marxist themes of human history and experience being in perpetual conflict wherein a force clashes with a counterforce; the product of this encounter would be a new idea or concept, something absolutely greater than its origins (Karpenko, 2002). The montage style utilized editing and the resulting film cuts to generate reactions from the audience, usually in ways that defy convention. This contradicts traditional continuity editing, which shows scenes as they happen chronologically or at least in the same time realm; montage cutting produced overlapping or elliptical time relations between cuts. Most exemplary of this technique is Eisenstein’s Strike, where he juxtaposed scenes of two separate characters and time frames via jump cuts. In the series showing a police officer and a butcher, the editing serves a particular purpose—relate the connection between the acts being done by the officer and the butcher, in this case portray the idea that the workers were being slaughtered, just like animals. Eisenstein introduced his theory of intellectual montage, fully at work in this film by showing conflict in the juxtaposition of unrelated shots (Trischak, 1998). Eisenstein called montage a merge of opposites in art, through unity and conflict. He created this theory primarily to go against film tradition, negating the lack of character and stimulus in the logical editing of films. He listed several categories of montage, as well as the purpose of each: 1. Metric Montage. Shots are edited together according to their measured length, and are arranged according to a measure of music. Tension is invariably produced by the combination of short shots and the expected flow of melody or tone. 2. Rhythmic Montage. Compared to metric montage, action is given equal importance as the shot’s length, allowing for occasional conflicts between the montage’s rhythm and movement. An example would be the Odessa steps sequence in Battleship Potemkin, where the shot showing soldiers marching does not match the editing rhythm. This violates all metric requirements, effecting absolute tension and prepares the viewer for the iconic baby carriage scene. 3. Tonal Montage. Generally a level higher than metric montage, this style is created by the specific scene’s emotional tone. Vakulnichuk’s death in Potemkin, somber and sedate, appears in complete contrast to the steps sequence’s fast cuts. With each shot’s length at five seconds, this sequence serves as caesura, or a device to provide transition from the previous scene of violence to the citizens’ angry demonstrations. The similarities between rhythmic and tonal montage can be clearly seen as they both operate via the actions shown within each frame (HATII, 2008).

Humanistic Psychology

Humanistic Psychology Basis Humanistic Psychology is so named due to its core belief in the basic goodness present in and respect for humanity. Its core is founded upon existential psychology, or the realization and understanding of one's existence and social responsibility. The two psychologists, Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow initiated the movement with this new perspective on understanding people's personality and improving their overall life satisfaction. When war broke out in the 1960s, the world felt compelled to better understand the nature of humanity.Humanistic theory provides an understandable mechanism for examining an individual's need for conflict in order to create peace. This simplistic theory has become a favorite and popular topic throughout self-help literature. Additionally, the struggle for mankind to gain greater understanding and meaning for life and existence is a timeless cornerstone conflict in entertainment and literature. The premise behind humanistic psych ology is simple. So simple, in fact, that naysayers believe it to be excessively simple. Humanists adhere to these beliefs: 1. The present is the most signficant aspect of someone.As a results humanists emphasize the here and now instead of examining the past or attempting to predict the future. 2. To be mentally healthy, individuals must take personal responsibility for their actions, regardless if those actions are positive or negative. 3. Each person, simply by being, is inherently worthy. While any given action may be negative, these actions do not cancel out their value as a person. 4. The ultimate goal of living is to attain personal growth and understanding. Through constant self-improvement and self-understanding can an individual ever be truly happy.Abraham Maslow provided the best known and mostly widely understood precept in humanistic psychology. Abraham Maslow believed that Watson and the other behaviorists' ideas about control were lacking. He saw human life as more th an simply external reinforcement, disputing the assumption that humanity was born without value or direction. When he was studying psychology, the prevalent ideas were psychoanalysis and behaviorism. These theories were covered by most courses and a great deal of energy was used for each psychologist to identify the theory aspiring psychologists would subscribe to.Maslow did not follow either of these paths. He condemned behaviorism, eventually taking the same perspective with Freud's works as well. Even though Maslow accepted the existence of an unconscious being within us, Maslow refuted Freud's idea that the bulk of our being is hidden far from our consciousness. Maslow purported that humanity is aware of motivation and drives on the whole. Without life's obstacles, all of humanity would become healthy psychologically, attaining a deep self-understanding and acceptance of society and the world around them.Maslow reinforced his energy on realizing the positive aspects of mankind, while Freud saw mostly negativity. One might summarize the distinction between humanism and psychoanalytic thought in this way – psychoanalysis is founded upon acceptance determinism, or acceptance of aspects of our lives outside of control, while humanistic thought bases itself on the concept of free will. Maslow's best known contribution to Humanistic psychology is his Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow's Needs Hierarchy is frequently used to sum up the humanistic psychology belief system. The fundamental premise of his hierarchy is that everyone is born with specific needs.If we do not meet those base needs, we are unable to survive and focus upward within the hierarchy. The first stratum consists of ;b;physiological needs;/b;, or survival needs. Unable to obtain oxygen, sleep, water, and food, all else is irrelevant. After we meet these needs, we can shift our focus to the next stratum, the need for security and safety. When pursuing safety needs, we attempt to secure safety in o thers and yearn to create an environment that protects us, keeping us free from harm. Until these goals are met, it is unlikely that someone would consider higher order needs, and their growth is then stifled.When someone feels safe and secure, we attempt to build friendships and establish a sense of belonging to a greater whole. Maslow's third level of needs, the social needs of belonging and love, focus on our desire to be belong to a group and have a place in a larger whole. Meeting social needs get us one step closer to the top of the triangle — the fourth level: esteem needs. Those attempting to fulfill esteem needs channel their energy on respect from others, self-esteem, self-respect, and gaining recognition for our accomplishments in life.We push further and further to excel in our careers, to expand our knowledge, and to constantly increase our self-esteem. The final level in the hierarchy is called the need for self-actualization. According to Maslow, many people ma y be in this level but very few, if anybody, ever masters it. Self-actualization refers to a complete understanding of the self. To be self-actualized means to truly know who you are, where you belong in the greater society, and to feel like you are accomplishing all that you are meant to be.It means to no longer feel shame or guilt, or even hate, but to accept the world and see human nature as inherently good. Against Scientific Basics At its onset, Humanistic theory was not researched easily. To start with, since the fundamental belief of Humanism is in the goodness of people, treatment should focus on the positive, instead of negative. This leaves very few tests upon which to build the case of Humanism. Then, through assessment, the assessor is essentially trying to say that the tester knows more about the client's emotion, thought, and behavior.To do something so presumptuous is a flagrant contradiction of the belief principles of Humanism. As a result, most theorists, specifica lly behaviorists, refuted humanistic theory since it was not easily researched. However, as with psychoanalysis, it was possible to aggregate meaningful data on the effectiveness of applying Humanistic theories. Actually, just as with psychoanalysis, innovative testing needed to be designed to accentuate the exact theory and the intended application of the theory. Psychoanalysis use tests like TAT and Rorschach — humanists use the Q-Sort.Humanistic Theory – Weaknesses and Strengths Humanistic Theory Strengths Just as with every theory, some find humanistic psychology to be relevant, as others can only see the flaws. A couple of humanistic theory's strengths are the focus on the positivitity and goodness of humanity, as well as the free will related to change. Contrasting Freud's and biological approaches, focusing on the belief that human behavior and cognition are causally determined by prior events and actions, such that we lack self-control, Maslow and Humanistic ps ychology believe that the individual is quite powerful.Another strength of humanistic theory is how easily many aspects of the theory integrate with other schools of thought. A number of therapists adopt humanistic undertones when working with their clients. While the individual may believe that humanistic theory doesn't cover the distance, they understand the benefit of the core values and beliefs in changing people's lives for the better. Ultimately, humanism has benefits which carry over into a number of other professions. In a business class, you will probably cover Maslow's hierarchy.When studying finance or economics, the course will no doubt cover the concept of moving up financially and physically, to eventually become more enlightened and aware of who we are and our place in the world. This principle is similarly present in other professions such as criminology, history, and literature, since the core of humanistic thought rings true in everything that deals with what it me ans to be considered human. Humanistic Theory Weaknesses For every yin, there is also the yang. Humanistic theory has its share of flaws as well.The most significant criticism of humanistic psychology centers around its lack of specific approaches to treatment aimed at precise problems. Since the core belief behind Humanistic theory is that of free will, it is very complicated to both innovate a technique for treatment as well as a means to study the efficacy of this treatment technique. Additionally, it is believed that humanistic theory falls is unable to help people with severe personality or mental health disorders. While Carl Rogers' Theory of Personality may have positive effects on a minor abberation, using it as treatment for schizophrenics is laughable.Lastly, humanistic theory applies some human nature generalizations which are widely believed to be complete. Are all people good at the core of their being, or are some people just not there? Can we effectively position that Maslow's needs hierarchy, as explained, applies to everyone universally? Or is it possible that each individual can impose their own belief system or their order of attainment, or even their very definition? Why is it that some individuals appear to consciously take negative alternatives while positive choices are right in front of them?These doubts huant humanistic psychology and the complexity associated with performing measurable research of the theory further exacerbates the issue. However, regardless of these trials, humanistic theory is incorporated into nearly every opposing school of psychotherapy and improvement of the human condition. It is widely believed that treatment with humanistic undertones creates a nice environment for positive change. While, alone, humanistic theory may be insufficient, the groundwork it lays might be a necessity for to effect significant changes of personality.

Campus and the Life Changing Eye Opener Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Campus and the Life Changing Eye Opener - Essay Example This was through a campus  club  known as AIESEC. This experience changed my life profoundly and sparked a level of  awareness  that I  previously  did not have. A good number of the movies I had watched while growing up presented campus as  a place  to have mad fun. Caution  was thrown  to the wind as the students explored and experimented with their lives.  Whereas I am not claiming  conclusively  otherwise, I  feel  that there is a  side  of campus movies the movies totally ignore; the constructive side.  Oblivious of this view of campus, I had joined the  place  when  ready to  experience  the thrills I had seen in the movies.  Out of chance, I had joined this student’s  business  club, AIESEC. The  club  concerns itself with offering a  platform  to develop agents of positive change and leaders, with strong interests in business, entrepreneurship and project management. The  club  also offers its members oppo rtunities to  visit  business establishments to  witness  the best practices at work. It was during one of such activities in AIESEC that my life changing  experience  occurred. ... The level of  efficiency  arising from such  proper  organization  was clearly  discernible. Besides, the factory seemed to have an  unspoken  culture  as there was no one barking orders and reprimanding junior staff. The  second  thing I came across was the  commitment  to sustainability and environmental awareness. I do not claim to be the most environmentally  unaware  individual  at that time, but I had not seen such levels of active pursuit of sustainable practices and eco-friendliness, epitomized by  production  of the Prius and massive cuts on energy expenses. Massive research  had been done  into the most  efficient  technologies and building designs, while  ordinary  practices  were adopted  during  everyday  roles. While the capital costs would appear restrictive, the benefits in cost saving, motivation and customer  admiration  are  invaluable. The third and  last  impact  of the trip to TEMA was sparking my  global  awareness. The company is clearly a  global  leader; identifying  global  trends and how they affect Toyota; training staff to be  global  business leaders among other  global  perspectives. An experience is not life changing if one fails to act on it. I built upon the impact of the trip to TEMA first through undertaking research on the concepts learnt from the visit. Thus, I gained  an understanding  of the Toyota Way Culture and Lean management systems that brought about the efficiency, hard work and  motivation  I had observed (Toyota-Global). In fact, most other firms use a Toyota Way  variant  referred to as Six Sigma to optimize performance (Liker and Hoseus 37). I also gained much  interest  and understanding on sustainability and eco-friendliness, and how to build a

Poetry Richard Cory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Poetry Richard Cory - Essay Example ... rhyme scheme is suggestive of the meaning behind the poem-that you cannot know what somebody is like inside just from the outer appearances. The rhythm of the stanzas, as well as the light tone that the poem starts in, are not at all foretelling of what is to come in the last stanza, unless if one employs irony and listens to the foreboding that this poem seems too light to be taken at face value. Thus the rhythm of the poem-regular, perfect grammatical stanzas, and the rhyme scheme which follows in an orderly way, seem to show the outside perfection of Richard Cory's life. However, only the last two stanzas give away (what goes on in) his inner life, and this is in sharp contrast to the outside appearances, in fact, completely contrary to the seeming perfection. The second stanza describes Richard Cory's behavior in a social sense, and more of his effect upon other people. The third stanza describes his social standing and his position, and we see him as a very wealthy man. But he is also "schooled in every grace", which makes him somewhat of a hero figure, as he is not only rich and handsome, but also of a fine mind and fine manners. Thus up to the end of the third stanza, what we as readers are offered is this description of Richard Cory, in which we see him as a bright character, and almost like a model citizen in a way. ... This is also a general opinion of other townspeople of him. So up to this point the poem's beauty seems to be in perfectly lined up, almost symmetrical sentences, told in a style that is almost classical in its simplicity and elegance. The focus is on detail in the description of this character. Thus we see elegant expressions such as "imperially slim", "quietly arrayed", and further-"he was always human when he talked". Finally, at the end of third stanza, Robinson concludes the detailed true-to-life description by saying: "In fine, we thought that he was everything/ To make us wish that we were in his place". Note that he says: "[W]e thought", and not another verb of more certainty such as "we knew" for example. It is still not obvious to the reader that a tragedy will follow, but the choice of verb here underlines the fact that appearances do not have to be true to what is going inside of a person. The last stanza suddenly gives us more insight into the socio-economic position of the narrator, as well as the other townspeople: "So on we worked, and waited for the light,/ And went without the meat, and cursed the bread". Thus it is now established that the narrator, as well as most of the townspeople, are poor, in contrast to the wealthy and successful Richard Cory. Finally, the poem ends: " And Richard Cory, one quiet summer night,/ Went home and put a bullet through his head." Note the perfectly grammatical, symmetrical sentences in this stanza, and the orderly rhyme scheme-ghgh. The perfect symmetry of this poem is ironic in contrast to the internal chaos that is shown through Richard Cory's sudden suicide. However, there is not much emotion shown from the narrator with regards to Richard Cory's

Explain what you understand by the term Securitisation and consider Essay

Explain what you understand by the term Securitisation and consider why a bank might choose to securitise some of its loans - Essay Example It ends up losing some cash flows or assets in return for the cash. This debt also not reflected in the bane sheet of the ultimate bower. Therefore, securitisation can be viewed as a method of disposing off a cash flows stream. Besides the impact on the borrower, securitisation benefits investors as well. It increases the variety of choices of investments available. The securities that are asset-backed by way of securitisation can be easily analysed since investors need only to undertake an evaluation of cash flows from a very small assets pool. This saves them from having to evaluate the entire complex business. The most commonly securitised assets are loans of a single kind or another type which when pooled becomes an investment of low risk. Also, it means that in the context of the issuer, it is often a borrowing way that’s very cheap. (Moneyterms.co.uk, 2009). This is a study set out to discuss this issue of securitisation and to this there will be a vivid answering of the questions â€Å"what is securitisation?† and â€Å"why do banks choose to securitise some of their loans?† Securitisation is an expression that has become more common in usage and it’s usually used the numerous mechanisms of transferring risks between the parties involved. It usually includes the description of the scale or disposal of risk assets in an absolute manner or the synthetic transfer of particular risk aspects. It is used in several contexts and among various parties who indulge in contracts. More comprehensively, it’s defined as the process via which receivables, loans or other relevant assets are put together. The cash flows that go with the assets and also the economic values deployed to aid payments of the securities related. The related securities are issued in both private and public markets by issuers or on their behalf, which use the process of securitisation to

A Bottled Water Company Called Quench Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A Bottled Water Company Called Quench - Essay Example From this paper it is clear that Quench is a target of bad media attention with regards to its environmental issues linked to packaging, sustainable resources and ecological logistics. The global economic downturn has not helped improve its situation, resulting in declining sales. As business’ social responsibility become increasingly important in the eyes of stakeholders, Quench’s position as a social responsible organisation is tarnished. According to the paper the company’s steady growth over the past decade has been attributed to its competitive pricing strategies, strong advertising campaigns and a good reputation. Thus, having its reputation ruined by a series of bad publicity could further hurt its performance as a market leader in sports drink products. Moreover, Quench’s management appears to be taking its time to rectify the situation. With this, worldwide customers will become alarmed about its seemingly lack of concern for the environment. The fact that its brand is connected with trust and reliability, the issue on hand has made these hard to believe. The crisis management of Quench must come together to analyse the problem and discuss corrective actions to take. A press statement addressing the issue should be released quickly to show that the company is aware of the public’s concern and is taking steps to deal and rectify the situation. The company’s quick reaction to the matter will place it in a better light because it is giving out positive image of how it is handling the problem. On the other hand, delayed response to the public will further harm Quench’s reputation, as the media will continuously publish damaging reports on the issue.

Lighting withing religious buildings Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8500 words

Lighting withing religious buildings - Thesis Example By 15 BC, the Roman people made use of natural light in buildings given the unavailability of artificial light, and natural light became the domain of the architect. The need for natural lighting led to the introduction of windows that used glass panes. The invention of glass dates back to 2500 BC in Mesopotamia. Originally, the use of glass in religious buildings served a decorative role with colour being an essential attribute of glass. It is this attributes that religious people explored to create stained and art glass windows in places of worship. According to religious people, the art or stains on glass was light enough to allow light streams to pass through while projecting plays of colour and light throughout the interior spaces. Over time, art glass in religious architecture became part of religious culture. Although religious architecture is extremely complex for lack of shared basic characteristics amongst all religions, most religions embrace art glass in their architecture (Anon., 2011). For instance, Muslims and Christians’ embracing of art glass dates back to the middle ages when both introduced large scale colour art glass window. Back then, art was elevated as a symbol of the divine while adding colour, light, and beauty. For the worshippers, these windows shared the faith teachings with worshippers through secular and Christian scenes present in art glass design. For the Christians, the windows were used by the clergy to teach the gospel. One of the major roles of glass, evident in France during the 12th century, was for the provision of natural lighting. This light was equated with beauty and goodness while stained glass window was preferred for its superb connection to daylight. The value of natural lighting through the glass was defined by Philosopher Abbot Suger as â€Å"Divine light† based on his reasoning that through natural light, God could be experienced by

The Gold Rush Era Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Gold Rush Era - Research Paper Example Gold Rush in California had a very significant impact on the life of people and the city in the era of 1848-1855. California before 1848 was a small city with less count of citizens. After Gold was found in this city, it became the center of attraction for many people. California not only traded Gold in the United States but it also traded Gold in the best part of the world after 1850. â€Å"Due to heavy Gold mining, there were requirements towards transportations so the government had to build railways and roadways were also improved so that there could be optimum trading of Gold to and from California†. Heavy gold mining helped other types of businesses in the United States to gain positive business growth rate. â€Å"Most importantly, gold rush actually helped the economy of United States to gain a positive growth rate†. The Gold Rush undoubtedly led to the development of the city by improving the society. The Gold Rush began near Coloma at Sutter’s Mill after tests were conducted on a shiny metal found there. The tests confirmed that the shiny metal was gold. This news was then published all over the world which led to the development of California. â€Å"Gold was first discovered in Northern California on a huge scale. Later on, Gold was also discovered in Southern California on a smaller scale †. The first discovery was made in Rancho San Francisco.This place is popularly known as Los Angeles. Foundation of Gold in California let people diverse from agriculture and fishing to gold mining.

Environmental Analysis Essay Example for Free

Environmental Analysis Essay As a way of promoting Skoal, the company utilizes print advertisements in magazines whose readers are 85% adults. Aside from this, the company also uses one-on-one events as a way to let the clients know more about Skoal and try out its products. Skoal’s promotions includes reach-out advertising, and it includes a very, very successful direct mail program that we have been running to adult smokers. In 2006, the company mailed to about 2.5 million adult smokers with a series of coupons and product information about Skoal and its products and have been very, very successful in converting about 5% of the people that we mailed to, to actual ongoing usage of moist smokeless tobacco products. (UST 2006 Analyst and Investor Conference) In addition, the company also has its own company website (http://www. ustinc. com/) and product website (http://www. skoalbrotherhood. com) that can be used as a tool for customers to access information about the product and the company 24/7. The product’s unique selling point is that it is the only smokeless tobacco that offers several flavors, cuts and pouches. In its advertisements, Skoal sports the tagline â€Å"A pinch better. † Skoal wanted to position to itself in its main target market’s mind as â€Å"the preferred way to experience tobacco satisfaction† a vision that positions the company not as a smokeless tobacco company, but as a tobacco company whose consumer universe is all tobacco consumers. (UST 2006 Analyst and Investor Conference) Pricing The company utilizes the prestige pricing strategy and this is congruent with the image the brand is trying to project. Since Skoal is the only smokeless tobacco that offers a variety of flavors, cuts and pouches, it is only right for them to charge a price premium to maximize their profits. Over its course of business, Skoal has undergone through several price changes. However, for the entire year of 2006, the company has not yet raised it prices. Murray Kessler, manager of Skoal said â€Å"Prices per can depends on how much we spend on the promotional front and it depends on what we do with the competitors. † (UST 2006 Analyst and Investor Conference) So far though, the company does not see the need to raise prices. Comparing Skoal to other brands, it charges much higher prices as compared to competitors like Couper, Cougar, Gold River, and Grizzly but there are a few brands like Hawken and Kodiac whose prices are higher than Skoal. Sister brand Copenhagen charges the same price as Skoal. Distribution Skoal products can be purchased in several websites online and also several retailers. The company uses extensive distribution channels and which became an edge for Skoal. UST’s long-established brands distributes through tens of thousands of small retail outlets, and the unwillingness of major tobacco companies to enter this market (due to the poor image and social unacceptability of the product) have made UST’s market position unassailable. (Industry Analysis 7) The company does not operate any retailing stores but instead relies on third party retailers to get their products to their target markets. So far, Skoal products can be found in the United States and some parts of Canada but the management is eyeing Eastern Europe as an opportunity to expand Skoal internationally. Conclusion Skoal has been successful in implementing its strategy. Currently, Skoal belongs to the top of mind awareness of its target market when it comes to smokeless tobacco with it capturing 78% of the market together with its sister brands. In order to maintain this position, further significant investments in advertisements, branding, and promotions must be undertaken.

Gym Cultures Prominence In Society Cultural Studies Essay

Gym Cultures Prominence In Society Cultural Studies Essay Gym culture holds a prominent place in contemporary society. Studies1 focused on the physical dimensions of self-concept document the significance placed on physical appearance in evaluations of self-worth. The inconsistency between the real and ideal self is an important trigger within gym culture and this relationship is comprehensively and covertly exploited through media narratives and advertising images. Roland Barthes asserts that an imitated object makes something appear which remained invisible, or if one prefers, unintelligible in the natural object. Structural man takes the real, decomposes it, then recomposes it.2 Unravelling the means by which texts and images recomposed the original is at the centre of structuralist analysis. Concepts of semiology developed by Ferdinand de Saussure form the basis for structuralist methodology. Saussure rejected the conventional view of the linguistic sign as a name attached to an object in favour of the notion of the linguistic sign as a two-sided psychological entity.3 The word sign is used to describe the whole created through the combination of the signified (signifie) and the signifier (signifiant). The signifier is the materially perceptible component such as a sound, picture or written mark whilst the signified is the conceptual meaning. The relationship between the two, according to Saussure is arbitrary, founded entirely on social convention. Signs employed in the discourse of gym culture habitually focus on bodies. Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 all contain images of young, slim, and attractive 1 Maguire, J. and L. Mansfield, No-bodys perfect: women, aerobics, and the body beautiful Sociology of Sport Journal 5, 2 (1998): 109-137. 2 Critical Terms for Literary Study. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1995. 3 The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Chris Baldick. Oxford University Press, 2008. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press bodies. The relationship between the photographic images, the signifier, and the concept of youth, health and attractiveness, the signified, combine to create the sign. Roland Barthes however noted that this model focuses extensively on denotation to the detriment of connotation. In his initial investigations Barthes distinguishes between two forms of reference: denotation and connotation. Conventionally denotation is referred to as the literal, primary sense or straightforward dictionary meaning, whilst connotation refers to the range of further associations that a word evokes in addition to its denotation. The connotations of a particular word are a formulated sequence of qualities, contexts, and emotional responses commonly associated with that to which it refers. The context in which the word or phrase is used and the individual inclinations of the audience determine which connotations will be initiated. Initially Barthes suggested that analytically connotation can be distinguished from denotation4 in the same way that a photographic image represents the denotation of what is photographed, the connotation is exposed through how it is photographed. Barthes however later concluded that: denotation is not the first meaning, but pretends to be so; under this illusion, it is ultimately no more than the last of the connotations (the one which seems both to establish and close the reading), the superior myth by which the text pretends to return to the nature of language, to language as nature. The two women in Figure 1 and the woman in Figure 3 are all pictured wearing long pants. The same particular item of clothing is denoted in both advertisements, namely pants. However in Figure 1 the 4 Chandler, Daniel:  Semiotics for Beginners  (1994) pants are cargo pants whilst in Figure 3 the model wears jeans. Cargo pants connote youth, hip-hop and dance culture whilst jeans are associated with the everyday down-to-earth, girl-next-door. The style of pants selected reflect a range of connotations, the denoted image is inherently connotative. Barthes perspective exposes denotation as being no more natural than connotation but rather as stemming from a process of naturalization. Denotation is thus proved to be a product of ideology. Images prevalent in gym culture discourse documents this well. Note the similarity between the models selected in Figures 4, 5 and 6. They are all slim, tanned and tall with long blond hair and have been selected to portray a specific image of femininity influenced by historical attitudes and social convention, which conforms to contemporary westernized ideology. Similar images are presented to both male and female consumers. Fitness magazine (Figure 5) features an image of American television host K elly Ripa, with a byline suggesting that the magazine contains the secrets to how she got this buff, whilst the cover of Mens Fitness (Figure 6) has a byline suggesting that the magazine contains the secrets of how to gain hard abs, strong enough for a night with the featured Carmen Electra, glamour model and actress. Connotatively men should be fit and muscular to attract their ideal woman, and women should strive to be that ideal- attractive, slim, tanned and blond. The selection of celebrities this physical represented ideal suggests that fame, success and wealth accompany the ideal. These associations formed by groups of signs create a cultural paradigm. In the same way the Zumba advertisement in figure 1 is designed to immediately invoke connotations of a gym culture paradigm. The images are of one male and two female bodies. Little of their faces, apart from smiles suggesting fun and happiness, can be seen reinforcing a focus on moving bodies and physicality. Naked midriffs whilst emphasize muscled, slim bodies also invokes sexual connotations. Through metonymy the graphic representation of a speaker emphasizes the role of music and its associations with parties, social interaction. Strong colours are used and orange, the adverts predominant colour believed to be invigorating as it increases oxygen supply to the brain is used to reflect joy, enthusiasm, creativity, attraction, success and stimulation. It is also used to attract attention as it is high visibility. The line Ditch the workout, join the party! aligns working out with having a party. The word join is repeated four times reinforcing the idea of belonging, identifying wit h and being part of a particular group. The language choice is deliberately relaxed and informal, to emphasize fun. The paradigm created is one of youth, music, party, fun, sexual attraction, dancing and fitness, with a focus on belonging. Figure 2 is an advertisement for a Sony water resistant walk-man. Sony employ an approach common to brand-name product advertising, one whereby their product is aligned with culturally desirable paradigms, in this case fitness and health, thus advancing a connotative association between their product and other values their audience might hold. A young man is pictured, dressed in a vest he appears to have been running. The aim is to establish paradigmatic relationships between exercise and fitness and Sonys brand. In so doing Sony hope to include their product in a fitness paradigm and through this inclusion their brand comes to connote all that characterizes gym culture. Whilst Paradigmatic relations rely on familiar cultural associations to create meaning, syntagmatic relations create meaning through the sequence in which the signs are displayed. In Figure 1 the line Ditch the workout, join the party! aligns working out with having a party. In figures 3 and 4 both advertisements rely on an alternative semiotic structure in addition to paradigmatic relations to communicate their message. Both advertisements offer promises of transformation, figure one blatantly telling us before and after. A syntagmatic relation can be represented by the connotative narrative, a sequence of associated events: She joined the gym, exercised regularly, ate the right food, lost weight, and was thereby transformed. Because this is such a familiar narrative to us, the advertisement can invoke it and all its associations by just showing us a single image, the mirrored but subtly altered image of the women that represents the start and finish of the narrative. Our understand ing of figure 4 relies on previously learnt and accepted conventions. Barthes identified these previously learnt and recognised conventions as cultural codes which could be utilized in structural analysis of texts. 5 In contrast to the conventional definition of myth as a traditional or customary story Claude Levi-Strauss and Roland Barthes shifted the emphasis of myth as a plot to myth as a way of thinking akin to a kind of ideology. Roland Barthes 1957 Mythologies brought to light how myths are part of everyday modern life. Barthes demonstrates an idea of myth as a further sign, its foundations in language, but to which further implication is added. To make a myth, the sign itself is used as a signifier, and a new meaning is added, which is the signified. This additional meaning is not arbitrarily, even if the reader is not aware of it. Historically determined circumstances are presented as natural. Predominantly media driven modern myths are created to disseminate an impression of society that is 5 Leak, Andrew N. Barthes, Mythologies. London: Grant Cutler, 1994. compliant with current ideologies. The earlier discussion of the models chosen in figures 4, 5 and 6 is an example of how pervasive myth can be. Barthes characterizes myth as ubiguitous6 being or seeming to be everywhere at once. The tall, slim, blond woman is unanimously presented to male and female consumers alike as the ideal women. In addition myth is axiomatic operating as a sort of fusion of fact and value, it is assertive. Axiological language presenting a theory as a fact is frequently found in advertising narratives. Figure 4 contains a good example: inside everybody is a better body. Myths are not just narratives, but narratives mixed with other signs: Figure 3 suggests, through a combination of images, graphic representation and narrative, that joining their gym will make you younger. Gym culture serves as a good example of how myth permeates consumer driven society. According to Barthes uncovering of the Ideological abuse hidden in the display of what goes without saying lies at the centre of structuralist analysis and serves to warn that since the theft of language perpetrated by myth is so subtle that nothing appears to have been taken8 consumers are affected by it without even recognising its existence. 6 Leak, Andrew N. Barthes, Mythologies. London: Grant Cutler, 1994. 7 Ibid., 8 Ibid., p57

Feminist Theories on Rape

Feminist Theories on Rape Feminist theory provides more than just a discourse on the interactions of the male and female, within the public and private sphere. In fact feminist theory has considered the core problems in the legal and political systems, resulting in a discourse on the inherent inequalities of these systems that favor men over women. Therefore this discussion will consider two key areas of feminist theory which are; equality of rights; and the equality in the law. In order to understand the contributions that feminism has made to political and legal theory the inequalities and injustices that feminists are aiming to eliminate must be considered. The main area of feminist theory that this discussion will consider is liberalist and Western feminism; however it is important to note that there are non-liberalist and Eastern theories of feminism but to explore these feminisms is beyond the scope of this essay. This essay will discuss the theory provided by theorists such as MacKinnon, Scales and Sta nley. It will consider radical feminism and the concept of rape; and the next section will discuss the use of womens bodies either through rape law or visual norms as a way to control women. It will then consider the case study of feminist theory and the blurred distinction between the public and the private in general and then consider whether the approach taken by radical feminists goes too far and reduces the accountability of feminist theory. The following section will consider an alternative approach within feminist theory to ensure that equality and accountability is brought into the theory and then the approach to legal, social and political problems such as the states approach to rape as a means of control is taken seriously. Finally this discussion will conclude in answering the title question – does radical feminism theory offer an explanation and solution to womens inherent inequality in the political and legal systems, in areas such as rape? Feminist Theory: MacKinnon approaches feminism from a standpoint that the laws that evoke equality between men and women are not enough, because they rely on the sameness principle between men and women and tries to compensate women by saying that men and women should be treated the same. However this is not enough because of the physical and biological differences which causes a problem, because the social construction of these differences that have caused an inherent inequality between men and women in the current social, cultural, political and legal system. Mackinnon also indicates the current theoretical approaches to equality and rights are not sufficient enough because they fail to recognize that the legal and judicial system is entrenched in a male domination. Hence trying to make women the same as men, rather than recognizing that men and women are different but should have basic rights that protect this difference. MacKinnon also supports leveling the playing field by giving women advantage s over men in order to counter the male dominated system. In short MacKinnon argues that the creating of laws to make women equal to men will not compete with the inherent inequalities in Western legal systems, in fact these laws will entrench the inequalities further and support the power men have in society. Scales also endorses the problems with the inherent social inequalities between men and women. She therefore sets forth the inequality approach in order to combat the structural injustices that face women in the legal system. The central area that Scales explores is the notion of stereotypes which illustrate the structural inequalities between men and women. One such set of stereotypes are the images of the breadwinner and the housewife – the breadwinner, traditionally, is the husband who can successfully have a career and a family because he is not the primary carer. On the other hand, the wife stays at home and commits to childrearing and domestic duties, she can be in employment but not have a successful career because of the responsibilities she has at home. Hence this results in a scenario akin to the case of Phillips v Martin Marietta Corp â€Å"where the company hired males with preschool-aged children but would not hire women in that category†. The other key factor of the inequality approach in addition to recognizing that there are inherent structural differences between men women, it also recognizes the extent of injustice that the system affords to women. Scales takes MacKinnons basic theory and expands it into an approach that can be adopted into legal theory and thinking in order to eliminate the structural inequalities between men and women in the legal system. Therefore making equality more achievable for women as well as leveling the playing field for women by balancing out the inherent power men have over women in the legal system. If one also considers the work of Stanley who argues that the academics of feminist theory s hould be made accountable and not fall foul of academic standards or just use the mainstream methods that are inherently biased. This form of accountable methodology will create a serious and challenging feminist theory of politics and law, which will not be scrutinized as zealous ranting or settling for the biased methods of the male hierarchy: The intellectual location from which debates and arguments are assembled and presented constitutes a point of view – and the point of view critic is inevitably different from that of the proponent†¦ Recognizing this is important, because a point of view is both unavoidable and also indicates the existence of perspective: a particular way of seeing which highlights and brings into focus some thing as salient. Therefore as Stanley points out it is not only important to create a distinct feminist theory that is based upon a methodology that is accountable and not a part of the male hierarchy, as this is the only way to ensure that a feminist theory that will ensure substantive equality. Radical Feminisms Approach to the Body and Men: The general approach of radical feminism to rape is that it is a form of control and the approach of the justice system to rape and the victimization of the victim when testifying. The key factor that radical feminists argue is that this is indicative of an unequal society, where rape and other factors of male violence are examples of re-enforcing the patriarchal system. Rich argues that rape and violence against women are central to the control of women and their bodies, especially when the advancement of women in the public sphere is de-stabilizing this power base: Patriarchy is†¦ a familial-social, ideological, political system in which men – by force, direct pressure or through ritual, law and language, customs, etiquette, education, and division of labour, determine what part women shall or shall not play, and in which the female is everywhere subsumed under the male. It does not necessarily imply that no woman has power, or all women in a given culture may not have certain powers. When considering other feminist theories there is an indicator that there is inherent discrimination in the legal, social and political system. Helena Kennedy in her expose of the English legal systems approach to women in rape trials seems to re-enforce this notion, where a respectable women, i.e. subservient wife or vulnerable career woman can be raped but the aggressive, assertive, sexually active woman will be exposed and not be seen as a victim: A no may be taken forgranted when a respectable woman is attacked by a total stranger in a dimly lit s treet, but since a vast majority of rapes are committed by men known to the victim, consent in rape trails has always been an issue that makes men nervous†¦ Getting women to submit is an acceptable part of the sexual game plan†¦ That women who dressed sexily were contributory negligent or that women who did not want sex just had to keep their legs shut. Therefore the inherent discrimination pervades even violent crime against women, which has been also the case in respect to domestic violence where the justice system would shrug it off as private disputes. The problem with radical feminism is not its findings but the lack to use acceptable academic research from an objective method; it does in fact portray the reality of inequality and control. The action of rape is not about sex but control and power and the more that women threaten the patriarchal system the approach to rape and domestic violence seems to be dismissed; unless the victim falls inline with the ideal picture of a good girl. Campaigning in recent years have brought these problems to the forefront but there are problems with the attitudes of police to rape victims that may not have the purest sexual background then there is little action taken. This is closely tied to the approach of modern media and its onslaught of enslaving women to body image and the perfect Hollyw ood body, as well as the slow progress in respect to sexual harassment in the workplace, i.e. all are tied to patriarchal control of women. There is a problem with academics and policy makers approach to radical feminist theory is that it is considered to ignore the traditional approaches to academic research and theory; therefore as Stanley suggests there needs to be an accountable approach to feminist theory, which will be discussed later in this discussion. The following sections will investigate how the theory of radical feminism that pressure and control of patriarchy over women can be seen as inextricably tied to womens sexuality. Feminist Theory and Womens Bodies: Carla Rice states that [w]henever we as women look at ourselves through the lens of culture, we†¦ end up engaged in a war with our bodies, one that we cannot win. Society has inhibited our bodies and we have absorbed into our skin and bones (1999, 317) Rice introduces an interesting connection between womens bodies and culture; however the modern restraints on women and the body are not new, i.e. history has restrained the body in differing ways. The modern restraint is the attaining the body of the supermodel and not looking older than thirty years old; whereas in history it was being the chaste and innocent daughter and then the dutiful wife and nurturing mother. After the 1960s and the civil rights movements women became a dominating force of change in the workplace and educational arenas, no longer did women have to get married after high school and start a family; rather the avenues of higher education and careers beckoned women from this form of dominance in culture. In order to remedy these advertisements no longer held the 1950s perfect mother image; rather it was replaced by underfed models, such as Twiggy. This escalated to the modern era of fighting natural processes of aging and the hatred of differing body shapes. This has led to women starving themselves, damaging their body by binging and purging, paying thousands of dollars to have their skin stretched, fat pumped and bones broken and replaced. The modern era has heralded freedom in the sense of the mind; however culture has enslaved women using their body again, i.e. the reproductive functions were the prison of the past, superficial beauty is the prison of today. This imprisoning of the mind by using the body is a very old weapon used by the dominating male hierarchical system in fear that women can no longer be so easily controlled. If one considers cultures, such as the Middle East, being too fat or having a big nose is not a thing of consequence; because women are still imprisoned by their reproductive functions. The male dominated system of the West has been forced to alter cultural images and notions to further dominate women; therefore culture has had to alter by forcing women into a new box, i.e. an underfed, tall, big busted woman. The war waged on womens bodies is first a conflict over shape and size, over the terrain of our bodies, played in a deeply entrenched cultural taboos and a powerful dictate against women taking up space and claiming room of our own. This statement of Rices sums up the conflict between the advancement of women and the restraints constructed by the male dominated culture, which has to adapt to the advancement of women in the late 20th and 21st Century. Rice is correct in her evaluation of the male dominated culture adapting to imprison women from declaring their own rights and space. Case Study – Women in the Public Private Spheres: â€Å"Occupational segregation is being reproduced by cyclical practices which are the outcome of past conventions regarding proper relations between the sexes†¦ Occupational segregation is itself a source of stability and conventional gender identities will be reinforced by work in sex-typed occupations. The orthodox division of labour between men and women in the public and private spheres will also be reaffirmed by jobs that offer the opportunity to combine domestic – with paid work – that is, flexible conditions of working, part-time hours and so on†. The situation of creating the level playing field has not been achieved by legal policies of equal opportunities, because the higher paid jobs usually require a large amount of commitment and inflexible working hours. This makes it very hard for mothers to enter these professions. In the case of mothers the barrier to higher employment in the professions of law, accountancy, the stock market and business is the hours are not always nine to five; because a crisis or a client may need advice at anytime. Therefore women in these professions are usually kept to the lower levels, because the fact that they may have a family will impede the commitment these employers expect from a partner or CEO. This is not necessarily the case with the actual possible employees, because the traditional role of mother and housewife is no longer the key driver for the identity of women. It is this perception that is prevalent within liberalist democracies where the structure is entrenched with male dominat ed thinking. Therefore it is this mode of thinking that needs to be changed, which means that the adoption of policies that relay equal-opportunities is not enough. This has been emphasized through the theory of thinkers, such as MacKinnon and Kymlicka. Both these thinkers advise that rights need to be afforded to disadvantaged groups that ensure that the balance the playing field against the dominant group(s) in society. Therefore this introduces policies such as quotas, whereby a certain percentage of women and other disadvantage groups must be represented at all levels of employment. For example within political parties throughout Europe and in certain sectors of Canada a quota system is used, in order to get a representative amount of women into politics. However this has been rejected by the UK and certain sectors of Canadian polity as reverse discrimination. Rejecting the quota systems and labelling them as reverse discrimination illustrates how the current political and legal structures are only playing lip-service to the principles of equal opportunity and anti-discrimination. Institutions of business and government in the who argue against so-called reverse discrimination have failed to recognize that women are more than their traditional role of housewife and mother, because their entrenchment in traditional liberal theory views the labour market as supply and demand; where traditionally the largest supply of cheap labour is found to be women, whereby this labour is traditionally unskilled or related to the caring and domestic sectors. However in the recent years the number of women university graduates has rapidly increased, therefore provides a wealth of skilled female labour. The number of women in the skilled sectors has increased, but the higher one gets in the hierarchy there are fewer women, because of the concept of the glass ceiling for women. This barrier is not recognized in the institutions by equal opportunity policy or within the law be cause it is so entrenched into the social structure of the present legal and political system that is invisible, hence being called the glass ceiling. Feminism has provided a discourse that has gone farther than just making women equal to men, because in making the law gender-blind it fails to recognize the inherent power of men over women in the legal system, as well as the inherent structural inequalities. Not all feminists take the approach of MacKinnon and Scales, however their theories do recognize that there is a structural inequality of power between men and women. There is definitely a feminist political and legal theory which has recognized the structural inequalities between men and women and has tried to eliminate these inequalities through various different approaches. However feminism has provided a very important analysis of the legal system and theory by recognizing that power is inherent in the ruling group; where the only way to balance this power is to identify and eliminate the inequalities that afford the ruling group power. This is also applicable to class, caste and race inequalities and if an approach can be made in legal theory to ensure that there is a redistribution of historical burdens and benefits to disadvantaged classes then there would be an effective law of equality. Therefore feminism has provided a new dimension to liberalist legal theory is; a re-evalu ation of its structure; and a consideration of its inherent power and inequalities. This argument ties closely into the arguments presented by Stanley. Stanley argues that there is a need for accountable feminist methodology to ensure that this feminist theory is challenging the academic norms; as well as freestanding as an academic school of knowledge. Alternative Approach Necessary for Equality and Reduce Violence against Women: Nozicks Entitlement Theory Inequality is a reality for women at all levels of life, in the home, in the labor market and as a citizen of the state. The laws of liberal democratic states have set up value neutral laws that are based in an androgynous view of the sexes; however this is not the reality of situation, because the state, family and labor market is based on systemic discrimination of women, i.e. men have created the system and have inherently based the position of women, at best as second class citizens and at worst as the property of men. This has made the theory of re-distribution key to creating equality economically, socially and politically for women. Therefore this discussion will consider the theories of re-distribution and then apply them to womens social and political situations, which then should cause changes in womens social image and therefore create a situation of equality in the family. It will do this by considering Nozicks entitlement theory and adapt it in respect to feminism to cre ate an inherently indiscriminate state and a more objective approach by the justice system to rape. The core thinking of Nozick is the entitlement theory whereby there are three principles which are; the transfer principle; the acquisition principle; and the rectification principle. It must be stressed that Nozicks liberalism is entrenched in the theory of natural and core rights as set out originally be Locke. Therefore all men are created equally as derived from the state of nature but in order to create a civil society men contracted for a just system of governance with essential human rights. This is the traditional theory of the relationship between the market and the state; however this value-neutral approach fails to create equality for women. The problem of inherent inequality is because such a theory based on the free market would view re-distributive actions by the government as unjust. The main problem for this thinking is the original premise whereby Nozick assumes all p eople began as equals, because the present Western society has been created primarily by white men, therefore for there to be equality. Inequalities within the home and views on womens sexuality have been the focus for theorists that emphasize the need for a level playing field. However, on the other hand, the focus on labour market inequalities arguably may be deteriorating within the UK, due to the introduction of legislation from the early seventies to the nineties, this legislation; whereby two of the key concepts were equal pay for equal jobs and the freedom from discrimination regardless of race, religion, gender or creed. For women there was also the introduction of maternity rights, making it impossible to dismiss women or not hire women solely on the grounds of pregnancy (actual or future). This has been strengthened in the last few years with carers leave for children under five and the introduction of flexible working for parents. Therefore the current legal atmosphere promotes equality in the workplace, especially between the genders. The law in general follows from the Human Rights Act 1998; however thes e equal rights are based on treating men and women the same and do not combat the inequities that are inherent in the system, which are illustrated by the fact that there are problems with sexual harassment and the prosecution of such acts. In fact in some jurisdictions such as Canada there was no legal action of sexual harassment until 1989 with the case of Janzen v Platy Enterprises. If there are problems in defining and prosecuting sexual harassment because of the traditional views of women this illustrates the problem with the Therefore it is necessary for this systemic discrimination to be tackled by re-distributive justice, which feminists such as Mackinnon purport. Therefore inequality is the key term that needs to be discussed when contemplating the validity of re-distributing resources. Re-distribution can be done by either handing out state benefits of money, housing or material items or by providing more opportunities to those that are in disadvantaged positions. Nozick and Rawls are examples of two extremes in liberalist thought; Nozick represents the true laissez-faire liberals whereby redistribution is against equal opportunities and the only way to present a just government is to follow free-market principles. Rawls, on the other hand, argues that re-distribution can be fair as long as it is just, but would not suggest quota systems or the socialist democratic state of the Scandinavian nations. This section will end by comparing the two theorists. There are other theorists such as Kymlicka who argue that re-distribution is the only manner of ensuring that inherent inequalities are eradicated in the political system. Such lines of argume nts come from feminist thinkers, such as MacKinnon. Therefore this approach would tackle rape and the current approach of the court as an example of this inherent inequality, ensuring that rape is treated seriously and a matter under an objective court rather than a court that is biased against women, using their sexual backgrounds against them when all there should be is a question of consent. Accountability: Stanleys accountable feminist knowledge and how this approach might address methodical problems of gender, these are the problems that radical feminism hold and many ward of unwarranted ranting, rather than a theoretical argument. Gender is not an a priori characteristic of social life or of people or of the content of documents; it is not in these as a by definition component of them, but instead a construction, one capable of being construed differently in different times and places, by different commentators, using different (or in deed the same) evidences. Stanleys approach to feminist knowledge is very important because it sheds the inherent methodologies of society, which are entrenched with biases of the male dominated society. In addition Stanley argues that gender is not an a priori characteristic rather it is the construction of society and dominated by male dominated methodologies, i.e. ones sex refers to the simple a priori characteristic whether one is male or female; whereas gender is the construction of how this sex should function in society, such as the Victorian and 1950s image of the male (husband) is the breadwinner and the female (wife) is the nurturer and housewife. This is a very important distinction because for too long have all academic disciplines mistaken gender and ones sex for one in the same thing. What Stanley is proposing will take a closer look at how gender is constructed and whether a feminist methodology will ensure that equality and substantive justice will be meted out fairly. One such example is the use of quantitative and hard scientific methods; whereby the only manner to ensure equality is from a value neutral approach, i.e. men and women are considered androgynous and without sex; therefore creating a system of equality. On the other hand, a more modern approach denies this value neutral approach as an example of inherently sexist methodology because it does not combat the differences between the sexes; as well as t he value neutral approach being steeped in gender stereotypes that does not truly combat the male dominated academic biases of methodology. Stanley uses the work of Rich to create and exposition of this approach and focuses on the differences in perspective, i.e. no scientific method can truly be value neutral as they are being conducted by humans and humans are inherently biased: The intellectual location from which debates and arguments are assembled and presented constitutes a point of view – and the point of view critic is inevitably different from that of the proponent†¦ Recognizing this is important, because a point of view is both unavoidable and also indicates the existence of perspective: a particular way of seeing which highlights and brings into focus some thing as salient. Stanley, therefore, proposes that in order to combat these biased perspectives, where the male dominated perspective is inherent in the societal structure, there needs to an accountable feminist methodology that will provide a feminist perspective that will provide a realistic and challenging opponent to the inherent male dominated perspective. Accountability is the key because it allows for the methodology to be considered as an equal to the current academic methodologies, without accountability it will be dismissed as mere zealous ranting as opposed to a new academic method. As Stanley argues: A real debate about feminist methodology has not yet happened†¦ in particular because of the use of binaries†¦ What is needed now is an actual, real, debate, involving an exchange of ideas and the thoughtful interrogation of alternative approaches. Conclusion: At the moment because the state and economic situation is only playing lip service to equality this re-enforces the inequality in the family, work and justice system where the good girl gets justice the wife who is not only a career women, but also a cleaner, caretaker, nanny and a personal servant to her husband. Therefore the argument of radical feminism is not too far from the truth; however its methods and accountability raises questions and it gets regarded as biased and un-objective. In order for this attitude in society to change feminist theory needs to be incorporated in the state and the economy further, with re-distributive justice; the reason why feminist theorists have only been partially successful is that either the theory has no accountable basis or it is falling prey to mainstream academic methods. In order to do this feminist theory must incorporate an accountable feminist methodology, in order for feminist theory to be held as a valid theory of the state and econom ics with valid aims to create equality through realistic systemic change. By bringing true systemic change it will cause a change in social views and policy, which will bring true equality to the family home, womens sexuality and in the workplace and most importantly in the justice system for victims of rape .

Navajo Tribe Issues Essay -- American History Native American

Residing in the Southwest United States, the Navajo Indian tribe is one of the largest tribes in America today. In their own language, they refer to themselves as Dinà © which means â€Å"the people†. They are an old tribe with descendants tracing their roots back to the thirteenth century. The first contact that the Navajos had with white settlers was during the Mexican American War in 1846. The United States conducted peaceful relations with the Navajo for over fifteen years. Forts were built to help protect the Navajo from Spanish/Mexican raids on the Navajo’s cattle. Eventually, a new military commander, James H. Carleton, was named in New Mexico and he began to raid Navajo lands with a vengeance. He ordered the Navajo to surrender. When the majority of the Navajo refused, their crops were destroyed and they were forced to leave their lands in what is called ‘The Long Walk’. They were forced to a reservation in Fort Sumter, New Mexico some 300 miles away. The reservation failed because it was designed to support four to five thousand but there were nine thousand Navajos that were displaced onto the reservation. Finally a treaty was developed that included parts of their homeland as the reservation and the Navajo were then allowed to return to the new reservation. For the most part, the Native Americans prospered with a few skirmishes from white settlers. The prosperity didn’t last as the U.S. government decided that the Navajo cattle were overgrazing the land. Immediately, over eighty percent of all the livestock was exterminated in what was called ‘The Navajo Livestock Reduction’. This was a low blow to the Navajos, culturally and economically. The government then started to try to mainstream the Navajo tribe by placing childre... ...28, 2010, from http://jn.nutrition.org/content/127/10/2114S.full The Navajo Nation - Services Page. (n.d.). The Navajo Nation - Home page. Retrieved November 27, 2010, from http://www.navajo.org/services.htm#news The Technology Opportunities Program. (n.d.). National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Retrieved November 28, 2010, from http://www.ntia.doc.gov/otiahome/top/index.html World Facts and Figures - GDP per capita by country. (n.d.). World Facts and Figures. Retrieved November 28, 2010, from http://www.worldfactsandfigures.com/gdp_country_desc.php Yurth, C. (n.d.). The Navajo Times Online - Education: For 40 years, an Indiana University program has provided dedicated teachers to Navajo. navajotimes.com - The newspaper of the Navajo People. Retrieved November 28, 2010, from http://www.navajotimes.com/education/2010/0810/081910teach.php

Social Networking Safety :: Social Networks, Facebook, Twitter

MySpace gained popularity when businesses and bands began using it for advertising. Since the launch of Facebook, both have made social networking part of daily life for millions of people worldwide. Internet relationships have become more popular and face-to-face interactions have become more rare. Though these websites allow friends to stay in touch more easily, they also raise safety concerns. Predators have found ways to gain access to innocent bystanders. The age of account users on these sites has become an issue. Parents’ main priority for their children when it comes to the internet is their safety. The safety risk has caused many parents to ban social networking sites in their home. The question on everyone’s mind is, is it worth risking personal safety to communicate more easily? While staying in touch with friends is essential to adolescent development, there are less risky ways to do so. An article by Jennifer Sexton and Marlanda English states that online sites put young people at risk for online predators when they believe they are socializing with friends. Cyber relationships can delay the growth of real relationships according to Sylvia Engdahl in Online Social Networking. Anne Whittaker and Geraldine Wagner wrote that these websites can stimulate the economy by creating advertising opportunities. Advertising and socializing can be combined with these sites, and as Craig Belanger and Laura Finley wrote in an online article, they allow even the shyest of people to express themselves freely. MySpace is a great place to advertise businesses, while Facebook can create the virtual interaction that everyone seeks. Safety precautions can be implemented to ensure only those of suitable age can have access to these sites. Each year there are more advances in technology that allow the world to connect on more personal levels. The new-found popularity of social networking sites accompanies advancements in technology. Social sites allow people around the world to connect with one another in an instant without much hassle. With many great achievements or advancements comes a controversy. The controversy over the popularity and use of social networking sites has alarmed groups of people around the globe. Each group seems to have its own opinion on each miniscule detail of the ever popular sites such as MySpace and Facebook, and they state their opinion in every way possible. While advancements in technology have allowed social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook to connect people around the world, they may be releasing too much information and therefore making innocent people vulnerable to dangerous situations.

Business continuity Essay

Just in time concept is a lean operation concept applied in supply chain management where an enterprise strives to produce only what is needed, whenever it is needed and in the amount that is needed. It allows for efficient production of quality products through complete waste elimination, avoidance of inconsistencies and also elimination of non-value addition activities within the production line. (Lieb & Miller 1988) According to (Stank & Crum 1997) the wastes that are eliminated are related to labour, where over staffing is a waste, time, in this case idle time or use of extra time to accomplish a goal is considered waste. Just in time concept emphasizes on customer requests and avoids making decisions based on forecast. In this concept, inventory is considered as an additional cost to the process. Traditionally, it would be considered to be value adding in the system. In this case, businesses and organisations are advised to eliminate any form of inventory that does not impact any additional value to the product. The just in time concept has various benefits to a business firm or enterprise. The benefits include an improvement in the flow of goods into, within and from the warehouse. There is also better planning and consistency in the organisation. Manpower can be reduced when production process has stopped mainly due to planned shut downs for maintenance, stocktaking activities, or any other reason (Stank & Crum 1997). This helps the enterprise to save on cost related to labour and other production overheads. When an organisation adopts the JIT concept and implements it, it helps in the production of better quality products and also increases the efficiency of production. All the aforementioned benefits are customer oriented. We therefore realise from the benefits customer satisfaction is enhanced. This in turn has an impact on customer loyalty and improved sales by the organisation. The net effect of this is improved profits by the organisation (Swamidass 2000). Despite having all the above benefits, the outcome of the terror attacks on September 11 has cast a lot of doubt on the just in time (JIT) concept deliveries in the supply chain. In a supply chain, each organisation along the chain depends upon a supplier and therefore in case of a hitch along the chain, the repercussions are felt along the whole chain. Before the September 11 attack the â€Å"JIT† was comfortably applicable and implemented to various businesses. Until this time, overstocking was avoided and components were delivered to the right place at the right time and in the right form with no hitch. Piling of inventory was avoided and production processes proceeded smoothly. However, the events of September 11 reversed all these, there were delays caused by grounding of aircrafts and also a longer time was required for border inspections. Transport on land was also highly affected. As an example, due to these interruptions, commodities destined for the Gap, Banana republic and the old navy stores ended up to a warehouse next to an airport. The business environment, both external and internal will always be fluctuating. External environment like the impact from natural calamities e. g. hurricanes, snow, storms, floods, earthquakes and internal environments like strikes, affect business operations. Therefore, for an organisation with a JIT system, in case of any fluctuation in the business environment, the supply chain will be disrupted and therefore flow of products downstream will not be realized (McClenahen & Jusko 2001). For a sudden change in the business environment, the shocks will be felt throughout the supply chain. There will be a gap that will be created along the chain at the point where the fluctuation is highly felt. It is a noble idea for businesses to consider having some safety stock on hand at each link of supply chain, which will take care of the emergencies in case of any eventuality. Since a supply chain consists of a network/series of suppliers and consumers, a hitch on one supplier side will affect the consumer who is also a supplier to the next consumer. Therefore in a business that has adopted the JIT system, it might end up being grounded because of lack of inventory to process or sell to the next stage of the chains. It is therefore highly recommended for such businesses to develop a Just in case system, a system that allows for a safety supplies that will take care of any eventualities. Even though the JIT system has a number of shortcomings in case of shocks within the supply chain, it is important to note that organisations can still implement JIT and maintain an attractive supply chain with lean inventories even during emergencies. To achieve this, one of the moves that a firm can make is locate where there is stock piling of inventories (Lu & Kyokai 1989). Firms can have most of its inventories stocked next to or near their locations. This will help overcome the problems due to shipment or air transport in case these modes of transport are affected. A firm can also consider having more than one supplier for a given commodity, this will be a second option during emergency situations. For an organisation to succeed in its implementation of the JIT system, major changes within the organisation need to be undertaken. The top management need to show commitment and offer full support. They are also required to lead from the front if the benefits of the JIT system are to be realised. The adoption and implementation of the JIT system will substantially affect the mode and criteria through which carriers and other logistics services providers will be recruited by the organisation. Organisations should be able to come up with service providers who are very efficient so as to pass on the efficiency downstream the supply chain. The just in time concept is highly dependent on the speed and efficiency with which products are moving at along the chain. It is therefore worthy to mention that the JIT system will highly affect the style of operations in the logistics industry. The number of logistics service providers to be recruited will also be determined by the success of the JIT system. According to (Ian 1988), constant and effective communication between business firms and their suppliers is another important factor that will affect the future of JIT in the global business environment. The quality of information that will be conveyed should also be put into consideration. The right information should be conveyed to the right place, at the right time and to the right person. A successful implementation of the JIT system in the future will highly depend on additional training of the implementing personnel (Abuhilal, Rabadi, & Sousa-Poza 2006). A lot of emphasise should be on the training of the personnel that are directly involved in the implementation of the JIT concept. This should not be taken to mean that other employees in the organisation should not be trained. An elaborate training plan on this system should be unveiled and the concerned departments or functions for example, production, logistics, marketing should be given intense training. The major areas to be considered should include: policies on JIT system, communication skills and training on commitment to the principles of JIT. The future of the just in time (JIT) system in the global environment will highly depend on the level of technology that will be embraced by an organisation. This includes both in machinery and other office operations. Adoption of improved technology for material handling is a key area that firms need to look at. They should consider embracing cross docking or flowing inventory through a distribution centre. With an improved material handling facility, the businesses can absorb shocks easily in the event that there is disruption in the supply chain (Kreng & Wang 2005) The use of information technology is in inventory management is particularly crucial if the growth and success of the JIT system is to be guaranteed. Business organisations should utilise information technology resources both in hardware and software so as to enhance the success of the JIT system. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) modules should be adopted for inventory management and controls within the organisation. Internet resources should be highly utilised for an effective JIT system. The most applicable resources include e-procurement, e- marketing. e-banking and e-mailing. When an organisation conducts procurement via internet, a variety of goods both in terms of quality and quantity may be obtained. The business deal is also conducted in an accelerated speed. Marketing via the internet allows for the organisation to reach many customers within a very short time and hence improve on the organisation’s sales. Internet banking allows for faster business transactions hence delays associated with payments are reduced and therefore the supply chain is protected from such delays (Hale 1997). To ensure that the intended results of the JIT concept are achieved, it is important for firms doing business together along a given supply chain be proactive in their operations. By being proactive, it means that a consumer should be involved directly in what their supplier is producing. The consumers should be involved in product design so as to have a product of their own making. On the hand it is very important for the suppliers to follow up and find out how their products are serving the customers. This will help in the elimination of ripples along the chain and hence easy implementation of the JIT system. The players in the supply chain should develop a culture of sharing problems when they occur at a particular point of the supply chain, this in a nutshell will reduce the overall effect that the problem would have on the entire supply chain (Titone 1996). The just in case system is another approach that will have an impact on the future of JIT system in the global environment. It is very important for firms to have a buffer stock that can bail it out when events in the supply chain don’t seem to be favourable. The idea of having safety stocks for emergency times should not be confused by firms holding inventories. It is a different concept from overstocking.