Who Made a Serious Mistake?

Identifying the facts of the facts: Jean Safari was investigating a serious error made by a Japanese worker at a Japanese subsidiary of a US multinational company. It was founded that a component was inserted upside down and the entire batch had been pulled out of production to be reworked, thus making it a high cost for recovery. Jean had for information about the incident, and she was amazed that plant director didn’t know who it really was from the group of workers. Even the floor supervisor did not know and even if he did, he would not tell Jean or anybody else about it.It simply just shows that they are all protecting each other in the organisation. The plant manager was polite and form enough to make Jean understand that the woman who was responsible for this act was indeed very upset that she had left the factory and went back home, also she was ready to resign. It was thanks to tow of her co-workers who convinced her to come back to work. The group who works with her i s fully aware that she is new to the organisation, does not have anyone to look out for her or even see if she has been trained to do the work properly.That is why the whole group has apologized by a letter and they are also ready to apologize to Jean in public. But Jean doesn’t want the apology, she wants to stop such incidence from happening again, so she is wondering what she should do in order to prevent such acts from occurring again. Stating the problem What sort of collective action against the subsidiary should be taken in order to prevent such events? Setting the objectives 1) To find out whom really is the culprit who has caused such a huge loss? 2) List out a number of solutions for the problem 3) Choose the best solution out of the given choices ) Implement the solution that has been chosen Area of Consideration In order to reach a good and less harmful decision, a few areas have to be taken into account before implementing the final decision. The areas of conside rations are mainly the stakeholders of the multi-national company. 1) Customers – Obviously they are the one who buy the products from the company in order to satisfy their needs and wants. But if there is a small affect/error that occurs, then it can lead to losing the customer. So the company should consider the customers if they are going to be affected by any changes in the business. ) Employees – They are the internals of the business, hence they make up the products and distribute it to the customers. The company should take the employees opinions into account before coming to a final decision and it is important to do so as it is linked to the case 3) Government Agencies (Legal Systems) – These are the place which includes the laws of the land and before coming to a final decision for improvement , the company needs to make sure that the decision that is being taken, is it legal or not. One should consider the laws of the land in order to avoid violation of the rules and regulations. ) Society – They are the people living as a whole in the same area or same country where the factory is located. A business should consider its private and social costs and benefits of doing any activity in the business as it will have an impact (positive or negative) that can create an image infront of the society (good or bad) 5) Suppliers – They are the people who supply the necessary raw materials and equipment for businesses in order for them to produce goods and services. So the suppliers need to kept informed about changes that will take place in the business. Alternative Course of Action ) Getting rid of the employee and punishing the faculty worker for the error he/she has made which has also cost the company a lot. Usually it is done by individualists who remove the responsible employee from the work by force and give out a punishment or even a penalty for the error occurred. Advantage – By taking this decision, it was hel p in reducing the cost for finding a replacement. Disadvantage – If this decision is taken, it will give a bad impression to the entire employee as this is how employees are treated if a mistake/error is committed. Not to mention the huge bad impression on the society as well. ) Motivating the employees in the business by providing them a monetary rewards like bonuses, health insurances. And then also non-monetary rewards such as education. Advantage – The employees will be provided with a feeling of confidence in order to perform better and make fewer errors in the business, hence focus more on the task. Disadvantage – This decision may give out a wrong idea to the workers that the company does not care about the errors that are made in the business. 3) Improving training, by providing courses for new and existing workers in order t encounter any future errors that might occur in the production.Advantage – The benefit of creating a more flexible workforc e, helping to increase the flow of production, having made the workers more skilled and having more efficiency of the workers. Disadvantage – It is obviously time consuming and the cost to train employees will be high. 4) Improving the environment, changing the layout of the offices, even the colours of wall and the atmosphere to work in that will suit the employees. Advantage – Employees will be able to work without disturbance, there will be less stress and security measures can be provided as it will help the employees work in a flexible manner with less worries and stress.Disadvantage – It is time consuming and the cost to train can also be high. Choose the best solution For the problem which had occurred in the factory, a number of alternative actions were drawn out and out of them, the most effective decision in my opinion would be the third option, which is improving training for the employees. It is a decision that has been chosen so that workers feel mo re confident and less nervous while doing their job as they will be more skilled and perform better than before with less problems to occur in the factory. This decision has been taken so that employees will be able to work together more flexibly.It is advised that the other alternatives should also be used but after the training solution, so that performances of individuals will also increase with time. It is highly advised not to use the first option, which is getting rid of and punishing the employees as the Japanese are communitarians as it will have a bad impression on the workers as well as the society in various aspects. Cross Cultural Communication Assignment Who Made A Serious Mistake? Name – Asad Mudeer Student I. D. – 7639 Class and Batch – C-4, Evening Faculty – Dr. Sharon

Ford Pinto

In 1968 Lee Iacocca and the Ford Motor Company wanted to produce a inexpensive vehicle to appeal to the first time buyers market. Mr. Iacocca philosophy was for consumers to remember Ford as the very first vehicle that they owned so that when it was time for them to invest in another vehicle it would be a Ford. But, in order for Ford to develop a inexpensive vehicle to fit the philosophy of Lee Iacocca, they had to cut corners. Unfortunately, the one corner they cut was the placement of the fuel tank, causing catastrophic failure in rear end collisions resulting in loss of life, serious injury, or burned out vehicles. Daniel Boyce, author of The Ford Pinto Cade Information, cuts to the chase, â€Å"The Ford Pinto is known to be one of the most dangerous cars produced in automotive history due to several serious design flaws† (Boyce). This is a crucial statement that can affect the reputation of a company and have serious consequences financially. If it was my ultimate decision to either engage in a recall or to settle the cases in which injury occurred I would have to choose the decision to recall. Not only would that decision be the correct ethical decision in my mind, it would be a decision, one that would have been very costly, that would have saved the reputation of Ford Motor Company and would have paid off with future sales. There are two different stakeholders in this situation. The first and most important in my opinion would be the consumer, those buying the Ford Pinto. The second stakeholder would be the investors, stockholders, of Ford Motor Company. My decision to recall the Pinto, spending $11 per vehicle for a total of $121 million, would be to benefit the life of those that had purchased the vehicle. Those individuals that had put trust in the Ford Motor Company to develop a safe and reliable product have more value than that of a dollar figure. Though my decision to recall might not sit right with the investors of Ford Motor Company, in my opinion it is the moral and ethical decision that could pay off financially in the future. Pay the $121 million now, fix the 11 million Pinot’s that are out on the streets, establish a reputation of doing what is right for the safety and well being of your consumers, and the sales of your future vehicles would drastically improve. To have a reputation that Ford cares more about the bottom line than the consumers that purchase their products, that human life has no value, can be detrimental to the future sales of Ford products. With my decision to recall obviously the immediate inancial impact of Ford Motor Company would be significant, $121 million to be exact. In my opinion, this initial investment of fixing the Pinto will bring bigger profits to Ford Motor Company in the future. Andrew Bouman wrote an article regarding the Ford Pinto and addressed future car sales, â€Å"When people are purchasing vehicles now days they still think back to the ford pinto and think that hopefully this same issue isn't going to happen with this car. This has affected the sales of F ord vehicles† (Bouman, 2009)†. Other car manufactures have had safety issues and the company chose to fix the problem, putting human life in front of the bottom line. This philosophy has been successful for other automobile manufactures, a philosophy Ford should have followed. Bouman goes on to say, â€Å"If ford would have thought about their future they definitely would have spent the money to fix each one of the vehicles and then their sales would be doing a lot better today and they would not have lost as much money† (Bouman, 2009). The question Ford Motor Company had to deal with was; does the human life have a value? Their decision to place a $200,000 figure for each individual that was negatively affected by the Pinto tells me that Ford placed a dollar value on human life. Michael Zimmerman writes, â€Å"The intrinsic value of something is said to be the value that that thing has â€Å"in itself,† or â€Å"for its own sake,† or â€Å"as such,† or â€Å"in its own right† (Zimmerman, 2002). We are talking life; a value in itself, a value for its own sake, and a value in its own right. Ford was talking value of life that would affect them, Ford motor Company, not the life of the consumer. The instrumental value is the value of the object, and in this situation the object is the human life. Ford Motor Company valued the human life at $200,000; this dollar figure was a life value that benefitted Ford Motor Company, not those that purchased Ford Motor Company products. But does human value have a monetary price associated with it? In my opinion no; there is no dollar figure that can be substituted for life. But life does have a value, a purpose, a stake, but it is just not financially connected. I think that with human life the intrinsic and instrumental values are connected, not separated. The human life has value in itself, has value for the individual; but it also has a value as an object, it has a purpose and stake what happens within the future, it just doesn’t have a dollar figure attached to it. Stanley Riukas explains, in an article discussing intrinsic and instrumental value, inherent and instrumental values are inseparably connected, that they are strictly parallel as regards their quantity, quality and other characteristics, that they are reversible, and that their richness determines the richness of human life† (Riukas). The richness of human life places the instrumental value upon it. In conclusion, the decision I would have made in regards to the defective design of Ford Motor Company’s Pinto would have been drastically different than that of Lee Iacocc a. I would have placed the value of human life over the value of the company. In my opinion this decision would have financially benefited Ford Motor Company in the future. A reputation of doing what is best for the consumer rather than what is best for the company has a direct impact on the success of the company in the future, Making the initial investment of $121 million would have gone farther that having the reputation of putting life second and the thought of unreliable vehicles manufactured by Ford Motor Company in the minds of all consumers. References Andrew Bouman. (October 14, 2009). The Ford Pinto. In Ezine Articles. Retrieved July 7, 2013, from http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Ford-Pinto;id=3044629. Daniel Boyce. (n.d.). The Ford Pinto Case Information. In The Ford Pinto Case. Retrieved July 7, 2013, from http://fordpintoethics.webs.com/. Stanley Riukas. (n.d.). Inherent and Instrumental Values in Ethics. In The Paideia Project On-Line. Retrieved July 7, 2013, from http://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/Valu/ValuRiuk.htm. Zimmerman, Michael J. (October 22, 2002). Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Value. In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2010 Edition). Retrieved July 7, 2013, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/value-intrinsic-extrinsic/#WhaHasIntVal.

Review of Related Literatures and Studies Essay

Local Studies: One of the past local studies that is relevant to our research was made way back 2009. I think it has something to help in our current issues about our researches.   On December 5, 2009, Mapua Institute of Technology finalized their research named â€Å"The effects of Computer Addiction to the Academic Performances of Mapua Institute of Technology First year Students†. It seems like familiar or should I say Same Title but in our research we include Computer Games Addiction and also its effect on academic performance on selected freshmen CCIS students. This research was made by 4 Mapua Students. In their research, they interviewed 16 first year students about study habits and computer addiction. As the survey results, 11 participants were classified computer addicts. The results of that survey back 2009 showed that computer addicts spends more time playing computer than studying. Their research also concluded that computer addiction have lead students to have a declining grade on their academic performances of first year students in the said University. With the help of this past research, we can make our research stronger and more useful. It will give us more information and ideas that are related to what are the goals we want to achieve. Philline Kate Vera C. Palaà ±a, Juan Paolo D. Rabacio,Marjorie Maralit, Nidia P.D.C. Andrade. â€Å"The-Effects-of-Computer-Addiction-to-the-Academic-Performances-of-Mapua-Institute-of-Technology-First-Year-Students.† 5 December 2009. http://www.scribd.com. . Local Literature: â€Å"Video games will ruin your children’s future†- Cesar Tolentino, a Market Research Analyst and Consultant here in the Philippines. In his blog/ article on http://www.gdap.org.ph, where the title of his featured blog is â€Å"Turning the tide: Changing the Filipino Outlook Towards Gaming†. He stated there that â€Å"there are cases of overuse and abuse among gamers for online games in the country, we should advocate responsible gaming†. In this case, many students failed in their academic performance because of too much playing or becoming addict in computer games. He stated also, † It’s all a matter of mind conditioning. Often those who became so addicted to games and suffered low grades or failures in school also have family problems. Responsible gamers know their priorities. There are actually many valedictorians and dean’s listers who play video and computer games too.† I think this will help us in finding the reason why many students keep playing computer games at all. Tolentino, Cesar. â€Å"features/turning-the-tide-changing-the-filipino-outlook-towards-gaming/.† 6 July 2011. http://www.gdap.org.ph. .

The Dialectic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Dialectic - Essay Example He used crude ways and strategies to get back to the perpetrators of the inhuman acts. This makes the novel to be a captivating tale of bloodlines that exist between evil and ideological good. V is a freedom fighter. He is the only person who dares take the government on, and to point out that they are wrong. He blows up some structures to make a statement against the dictatorship. He executes some guilty people who were being protected from punishment In this novel, the character V specifically condemns the local people more than the government as the cause of the dominant oppression and mistreatment that is ongoing. He blames the people for not reacting to the various exploitation, oppression or fraud they experience in the country. He classifies this issue as a responsibility displacement. He says, â€Å"You gave them the power to make your decisions for you† (Moore 117). This means that people have the power to make their own decisions but they have bowed to the oppressors and given them the authority and responsibility to decide on their behalf. He strived to change this mind set by insisting that people do as they please. He incited individuals to become solely responsible for their lives’ experiences. In the novel, V discourages the local people from shrinking or becoming complacent and letting other people decide their lives for them. He insisted that all people have equal chances and right so no one should b ully the others and make decisions for them. He believed that the citizens themselves were responsible for the shambles that existed in the country. He suggested that people’s submissiveness to the oppressors was what allowed the oppression evil to prevail in the country. He changed people’s perception and motivated them to take action since inaction only brought discrimination and exploitation to them. What the character V does is necessary even though it appears to be very evil.

Impact of Management Style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Impact of Management Style - Essay Example A manager’s action can directly or indirectly affects guests’ dining experience. They can be listed below; Manager should initiate to design a code of ethics for his firm. Code of ethics to a business means the set of principles and concepts that is designed to achieve the proposed objectives and goals by ensuring the collective effort of all employees, managers, and other individuals. It has great significance in the food and hospitality service too. The main focus of the code should be the requirements of community, law, employees and shareholders. As part of the ethical concern, the manager has to ensure the quality of products and services offered to the customers. Employees should be made convinced of the importance of their ethical compliance in order to acquire customer satisfaction. Legal compliance is one of the most important aspects of food and beverage operation. Managers need to ensure that their firms maintain the required legal standards especially on quality of food, service, and sanitation (Jones P. & Merricks P, 1994, p.164). Commitment to legal compliance would force employees to adhere to the manager’s instructions; and it will indirectly enhance customer satisfaction. Manager has to heed his/her genuine attention to employ selection process. Effective workforce is the asset of every business organization. While recruiting employees to food and beverage service, candidates with academic background on hospitality management have to be given priority. Potential candidates from the required quality area will ease manager’s effort to operate the business. In addition to selection, they should be given adequate training on their assigned duties. Manager needs to evaluate the performance of his employees frequently and reassign their roles if necessary. It not only improves employees’ level of performance but also enhances the customer’s dining experience. If a manager is not bothered how

Feedback on the Discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Feedback on the Discussion - Assignment Example Responses obtained from the discussion are from board members with close proximity to the speaker. Moreover, at the time of the vote, only a few members provide their response. This proofs that they have limited concentration on the meeting.  In providing feedback on the discussion, the speaker in the group should be more bold and passive while addressing the meeting. This would increase the concentration and participation of other group members. The group members, on the other hand, should concentrate on the meeting agenda and meeting coordinator. For instance, members should not be allowed to touch their phones during the meeting. In addition, all members should be able to take part in the final vote. The lack of full corporation enables the public to understand that the discussion may not be meaningful. Additionally, the body language displayed by the members also depict the same.

Cross Border Insolvency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cross Border Insolvency - Essay Example Within the more advanced legal systems when the latter deals with insolvency and bankruptcy, one usually finds a mechanism which would come in force given certain predetermined circumstances. This mechanism has the scope of actually attempting to minimise the various not so desirable effects, both on the individuals concerned as well as on the business units involved, which a situation of insolvency brings about. It can be said to be a recognition of the fact that a situation of insolvency not only effects the person or company who or which is going through a process of bankruptcy but ultimately effects also the economy as a whole. In fact the amount of bankruptcies currently being undergone within a country is usually taken as an indication of how well that particular economy is faring. In the UK a review Group within the Department of Trade and Industry and HM Treasury opined that the trend seems to favour furthering the rescue culture. Whenever possible emphasis should be laid on the assisting of companies in order that the latter might be placed in a position to as much as possible overcome what may in the ultimate analysis be temporary financial difficulties. It is submitted that in these types of situations, the problem is to assess exactly how temporary is temporary and numerous instances occour when what started off as being temporary resulted in the end of being permanent. In that report the emphasis seemed to be placed on the possible avoidance of liquidation and towards the furthering of a culture of a predisposition towards the preservation of a business unit as a going concern1. Before the coming into force of the 1986 Insolvency Act in the UK, there were three kinds of liquidation procedures, namely members, creditors= and compulsory when the company was insolvent. An alternative rescue mechanism was put in place through the coming into force of The Insolvency Act 1986 called the Voluntary Arrangement procedure. This enabled the companies to enter into a contract with their creditors for the latter to be pay less than their full debts, however it was not so much utilised as it did not allow for the agreeing of a moratorium. The Insolvency Act 2000 introduces a new CVA procedure that includes a moratorium although it should perhaps be mentioned that the new CVA moratorium procedure is only available to companies that satisfy two or more of the requirements for being a small company, as set out in the Companies Act 1985.Another remedy which may be classified as a non-insolvency remedy available to companies is a Scheme of Arrangement under Section 425 of the Companies Act 1985. Such schemes can be complex and have proved to be somewhat difficult to organise. Experience has shown that because of the expense and perhaps other reasons this remedy seems to be used primarily by the larger companies. Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) can be said to be the personal insolvency equivalent of a CVA. In contrast to CVAs, the Insolvency Act 1986 provided a moratorium for those seeking an IVA. However, the Insolvency Act 2000 introduces a simplified procedure for non-traders (i.e. consumer debt cases). In the case the Courts may

Gulf War Oil Spill of 1991 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Gulf War Oil Spill of 1991 - Essay Example Whereas various economic costs are comparatively not that difficult to approximate, for instance the lost profits within the commercial fishing industry, however various costs like the lost aesthetic and ecological values are complex to quantify. The policies on oil spills decree that environmental renovation be carried out as reparation for the losses and damages. It is important to consider preliminary data in regard to the potential economic costs of the Gulf War oil spill, observing that the ecological destructions to wildlife and habitats are probably to be greater as compared to the market-based costs like the lost profits of both tourism and fishing. The Gulf War oil spill evokes the thought on economic valuation of risk. A careful though is given to the development o policies amidst oil spill risk and the relevance of standard risk analysis established as the right methodology for economic risk appraisal. This discussion has significant inferences for other disputes where disastrous risk is at issue, for instance nuclear power and global climate change. Economics postulates that the efficient prices for both goods and services ought to reflect all social benefits and costs but not merely the market interaction of demand and supply. Apparently the economic impact of the spill was a negative inclination due to the losses that were incurred in the process. Very many oil spills occur yearly within the marine surroundings. The degree of these spills is comparatively minor, not exceeding 100 gallons, and has insignificant damages to the economy. Larger oil spills such as the Gulf War oil spill of 1991, result in significant destruction to both the environment and economy. The Gulf War oil spill adversely impacted on aquatic plants and organisms, including fish (Saenger, 1994), thus significantly leading to a fall in fish supply and a corresponding decline in revenue. Further, polluted beaches were increasingly unattractive

The African-American Artists Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The African-American Artists - Essay Example I firmly believe that the success of a song or musical composition does not entirely depend on the ethnic, racial or cultural background and orientation of the artist. Other factors contribute to the success of a musical composition, including the integrated components of musical elements such as the harmony, pitch, lyrics, melody, and rhythm, among others. Music, interpreted by a particular artist, regardless of race or other personal differences in gender or age, would have found equal success with the right timing, right musical score, choice of instruments, vocals and the expressive interpretation of the artist that elicited the appropriate appeal of the target audience. There are different instances when songs have been initially recorded by one artist and have been interpreted by another. For instance, the song of Josh Groban entitled â€Å"You Raise Me Up† was popularly known to have been recorded by various artists even before it rose to fame when Josh Groban recorded and sang it. The reasons why there are versions that generated significant popularity and success more than others who previously recorded them could range from the timing of these songs being recorded which perfectly match the sentiments and appeals of the audience; the personality of the singer or artist who sang and interpreted the song (where it could be observed that there are a particular appeal and charisma that was exemplified – more than what the other artists who previously recorded them delivered); the strategies used for promoting the songs; and there could be some changes in some musical elements, like the tempo, rhythm, and musical instruments or accompan ying background that made a particular musical interpretation more successful than others.

Questions and Applications Essay Example for Free

Questions and Applications Essay The current financial crisis has many parallels with what happened to Enron in the early part of the decade. Although the hazards associated with overpaid executives, unethical practices and lack of accountability were clearly illustrated by the Enron Crisis; little was done to prevent the repetition of such behaviors. As a result, similar malfeasance, hubris and incompetence, coupled with the lack of political will for regulation has resulted in yet another financial crisis. The U. S. and overseas stock markets were still adjusting to the psychological and economic impact of the terrorist attacks in New York City in the two months prior to the announcement of the bankruptcy of Enron. (Weller, Miller, Zhang, 2001) The markets had just stabilized, and reassumed their moderate growth owing, in large part, to the assurances by Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan that the underpinnings of the economy were strong, and large economic entities, such as Enron, were economically stable and fundamentally secure. (Weller, Miller, Zhang, 2001) These assurances came despite the consistent deregulation of trade practices in both federal financial markets, and California energy markets. (Weller, Miller, Zhang, 2001) Such deregulation was the bailiwick of not only Greenspan, but the Republican congress and White House. (Weller, Miller, Zhang, 2001) The assumption on the part of those who supported deregulation and limited scrutiny of practices, was that enlightened self-interest of the heads of corporations would prevent destabilizing acts of stock manipulation and other actions that would serve to destroy the underlying equity in the corporation. (Weller, Miller, Zhang, 2001) Clearly, this was not the case, as a small number of executives pillaged the assets of Enron without regard to the economic fallout of their actions. These people reaped their individual fortunes, largely by dumping corporate stock, valued in billions of dollars, just prior to affecting the economic ruin of the company. (Weller, Miller, Zhang, 2001) Had this episode had a salutatory effect on the perceived need for closer oversight and regulation of economic practices, it may have been worth the cost, but the lessons of Enron went unlearned, and the same behavior of corporate executives derailed the economy once again by destabilizing financial institutions and undermining economic development. Congressional hearings regarding the current collapses of financial institution are ongoing at the time of this writing, but it is unclear at this point whether any laws were actually broken. As the lengthy prison sentences handed out to Enron executives illustrate, the actions of this group outpaced ethical considerations and proceeded to securities fraud, concealing evidence and other illegal acts. As of now, none of the executives involved in the collapse of the financial institutions are yet facing criminal charges. This fact illustrates a key point regarding these activities. If executives can run decades-old financial institutions into the ground, bankrupt them, destroy their lending capabilities (which paralyzes corporate growth) and leave with multi-million dollar compensation packages without having broke the law, then clearly the law as it stands is inadequate. In the case of Enron, the executives knowingly engaged in fraudulent activities to the detriment to the company and its shareholders. The drive to maximize profits cannot outstrip ethical obligations of full and correct disclosure and fair trade practices. These standards are not only ethical in nature, but legal as well. The law sets reasonable guidelines for practices that compel executives to act in the interest of their shareholders to the best of their ability, and in the case of Enron, they did not do so. The fact that these executives were knowingly breaking the law was illustrated clearly by their destruction of relevant records. This clearly illustrated the mindset of guilt that the people responsible had, and proved the likelihood of a significant cover-up effort. It is unclear at this point whether the same holds true for the authors of the current financial debacle. However, there are some key differences in the situations. For one, unlike the Enron executives, the bank executives were inflating values of securities in a manner that benefitted their shareholders and borrowers as well as themselves. The second key difference is that these banks gained SEC exemptions that made what they were doing technically legal, if not particularly smart. The regulations governing energy sale in California contributed significantly in Enron’s ability to commits fraud and force a false energy crisis upon the state. (Griffin, 2006) Once prices were deregulated for energy in 1996, Enron determined a market plan that was predicated on short-term contract bidding for energy. (Griffin, 2006) Essentially, Enron was maximizing profits by selling their commodity to the highest bidder. (Griffin, 2006) The problem with this system is it is not regulated, and executives at Enron decided to take advantage of the lack. (Griffin, 2006) Enron took advantage of the rules in three significant ways. (Griffin, 2006) First, they would shut down plants in certain areas forcing energy to come from marginal plants located nearby, and charged premium prices, that were additionally padded so that executives could skim off of the income. (Griffin, 2006) Enron also conducted â€Å"wash trades†. (Griffin, 2006) These recorded sales and purchases of energy that never occurred. These trades are revenue-neutral for both parties, but the activity drives up index prices by creating a false demand for the energy. (Griffin, 2006) Finally, Enron itself place bids to occupy energy on the grid, creating artificial shortages, which they, in turn, would alleviate at premium prices. (Griffin, 2006) These practices, combined with an increase in demand coupled with a stable, but not increasing reserve volume of natural gas, helped cause the California Energy Crisis. (Griffin, 2006) Then-Governor Grey Davis absorbed a significant amount of blame for the perceived energy crunch in California that followed from these practices, but he was in no way to blame. (Griffin, 2006) The policies that were manipulated were enacted by the legislature, not the Governor. (Griffin, 2006) Davis was also fighting the public perception that not only was he complicit in the crisis, but he was in contact with Kenneth Lay of Enron over the issue. (Griffin, 2006) Davis never denied this, but claimed it was a prerequisite to asking the federal government for aid. When the Bush administration declined to offer aid, Davis, a Democrat, was recalled and replaced by Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Griffin, 2006) The Stanly Milgrim experiments were invoked in the film, â€Å"The Smartest Guys in the Room† to explain why energy traders for Enron, who were aware of the damage caused by their activities, continued to act in the manner that they did. Milgram set up an experimental circumstance where subjects believed that they were causing bodily harm to another participant (actually, a confederate of the experimentor). The variable being measured was how much pain (measured by voltage of electrical shock) would a subject be willing to administer under no compulsion other than being told by a person in a lab coat that they â€Å"must continue†. It was demonstrated through this experiment that up to 50% of subjects would give what they believed would be fatal shocks to others under virtually no duress, and with no promise of reward. It was suggested that Milgrim’s experiments proved that individuals would do things (such as shock a person to death) with nothing more than a verbal instruction from a perceived authority figure to prompt them. From this, Milgrim concluded that unquestioned obedience to authority is a reaction that is very strong in most individuals. It should be noted that this argument had earlier failed to sway judges of the Nazis at Nuremburg, and later those who judged Callay guilty for the Mi Lay massacre. While this experiment does illustrate some insights regarding human nature and obedience, it does not explain, or really relate significantly to the situation regarding the energy traders at Enron. For one thing, the Energy Traders, as evinced by their own recorded conversations, stood to gain significantly from their activity themselves. Their motivations clearly went well beyond â€Å"following orders† as they expected to be â€Å"able to retire at 30. † The common element between the two circumstances (Milgrim’s Experiment and the Enron Traders) appears to be a perceived locus of responsibility. That is, the subjects/traders felt that whatever the consequences of their actions, blame and responsibility would fall solely upon the persons who issued the orders.In the case of the Enron Traders, this turned out to be true to a great extent. ? References Griffin, L. (2006) â€Å"California Energy Crisis Meets Enrons Ethical Catastrophe†. Retrieved December 8th, 2008 from McCombs School of Business Website: http://www. mccombs. utexas. edu/news/pressreleases/spence06. asp Weller, M. Miller, P. Zhang L. (2001) â€Å"Moral Hazard and the US Stock Market: Analysing the ‘Greenspan put’† The Center for the Study of Globalization and Regionalization Working paper No. 83/01, November, 2001.

Normal And Inferior Goods And Examples Economics Essay

Normal And Inferior Goods And Examples Economics Essay A microeconomic law that states that, all other factors being equal, as the price of a good or service increases, consumer demand for the good or service will decrease and vice versa.   Law Of Demand This law summarizes the effect price changes have on consumer behavior. For example, a consumer will purchase more pizzas if the price of pizza falls. The opposite is true if the price of pizza increases.   people generally buy more of a good when the price is low and less of it when the price is high. This is a general rule that applies to most goods called normal goods. As the price of a normal good increases, people buy less of it because they are usually able to switch to cheaper goods. Normal and Inferior Goods and Its Examples Normal goods can be defined as those goods for which demand increases when the income of the consumer increases and falls when income of the consumer decreases, price of the goods remaining constant. Examples of normal goods are demand of LCD and plasma television, demand for more expensive cars, branded clothes, expensive houses, diamonds etc†¦ increases when the income of the consumers increases. To the opposite side of normal goods are the inferior goods. It is defined as those goods the demand for which decreases when the income of the consumer increases. Examples of inferior goods are consumption of breads or cereals and since the income of the consumer increases he moved towards consumption of more nutritious foods and hence demand for low priced product like bread or cereal decreases. Another example can be of use of public transportation, when income is low people use more of public transportation which is not the case when their income increases. Hence from the above one can see that other things remaining constant as the income of consumer increases demand for normal goods will increase and demand for inferior goods decrease and vice versa. GIFFEN GOODS In economics, a giffen good is an inferior good with the unique characteristic that an increase in price actually increases the quantity of the good that is demanded.   This provides the unusual result of an upward sloping demand curve. This phenomenon is notable because it violates the law of demand, whereby demand should increase as price falls and decrease as price rises. For example-consumption of bread increased as its price increased.as bread is a staple food for low income consumers.A rise in its price would not stop people from buying as much as before.But poor people would now have so little extra money to spend on meat or other luxury foods that they would abandon on their demand for these and instead buy more bread to fill up their stomachs.the result was that a rise in the price of bread led to a rise in the demand for bread. This happens because of the interactions of the income and substitution effects.   SUBSTITUTION EFFECT : if the price of a good rises, consumers will buy less of that good and more of others because it is now relatively more expensive than other goods. If the price of good falls, consumers will buy more of that good and less of others. These changes in quantity demanded due to the relative change in prices are known as substitution effectof a price change. INCOME EFFECT : If the price of a good rise, the real income of consumers will fall. They will not be able to buy the same basket of goods and services as before.Consumers can react to this fall in real income in one of the two ways.if the good is a normal good,they will buy less of the good. If the good is an inferior good, they will buy more good.these changes in quantity demanded caused by a change in real income is known as income effect. For an inferior good, the substitution effect and income effect work in opposite directions.A rise in price leads to a fall in quantity demanded because the relative price of the good has risen.but it leads to a rise in quantity demanded because consumers real income have fallen. However, the substitution effect outweighs the income effect because overall it is still true for an inferior good that a rise in price leads to an overall fall in quantity demanded. A Giffen Good is a special type of inferior good. A rise in price leads to a fall in quantity demanded because of the substitution effect but a rise in quantity demanded because of the income effect.However, the income effect outweighs the substitution effect, leading to rises in quantity demanded. Depending on whether the good is inferior or normal, the income effect can be positive or negative as the price of a good increases. .The interesting thing about a giffen good, is that when the price of a giffen good rises, the income effect is greater than the substitution effect.   So if a good is inferior, the income effect will be positive and larger than the negative value from the substitution effect.   A giffen good faces an upward sloping demand curve because the income effect dominates the substitution effect, meaning that quantity demanded increases as price rises C:UsersadminDesktopassignmentWhat is a giffen good, an example with graphs_filesgiffen+good.png Type Of Good Substitution Effect Income Effect Total Effect Normal good Fall Fall Fall Inferior Good Fall Rise Fall because substitution effect > income effect Giffen Good Fall Rise Rise because substitution effect MR, then P > MC is also true.  Ã‚  A monopolist charges a higher price than would competitive producers selling in the same market.   Profit Maximization Under Monopoly Q MC ATC MR P Profit Clearly, the price elasticity of demand plays a crucial role in monopoly price setting. As long as demand is elastic, total revenue will rise when the monopoly lowers its price, but this will not be true when demand becomes inelastic. Therefore, the monopolist will expand output only in the elastic portion of its demand curve. As monopoly is a form of imperfect market organization, there is no difference between firm and industry. A monopoly firm is said to be an industry. Thus monopoly means the absence of competition. There are strong barriers to entry into the industry. As a result, seller has full control over the supply of the commodity. Features of Monopoly: 1. One seller and large number of buyers: Monopoly is a form of imperfect market structure where there is only one seller of a product. A monopoly firm may be owned by a person, a few numbers of partners or a joint stock company. The characteristic feature of single seller eliminates the distinction between the firm and the industry. A monopolist firm is itself the industry. Under monopoly there are large numbers of buyers although the seller is one. No buyers reaction can influence the price. 2. No close substitute: Under monopoly a single producer produces single commodities which have no close substitute. As the commodity in question has no close substitute, the monopolist is at liberty to change a price according to his own whimsy. Monopoly can not exist when there is competition. A firm is said, to be monopolist only when it is the single producer and supplier of the product which have no close substitute. Under monopoly the cross elasticity of demand is zero. Cross elasticity of demand shows a change in the demand for a good as a result of change in the price of another good. 3. Strong barriers to the entry into the industry exist: In a monopoly market there is strong barrier on the entry of new firms. Monopolist faces no competition. As there is one firm no other rival producers can enter the market of the same product. Since the monopolist has absolute control over the production and sale of the commodity certain economic barriers are imposed on the entry of potential rivals. 4. Nature of demand curve: In case of monopoly one firm constitutes the whole industry. The entire demand of the consumers for a product goes to the monopolist. Since the demand curve of the individual consumers lopes downward, the monopolist faces a downward sloping demand curve. A monopolist can sell more of his output only at a lower price and can reduce the sale at a high price. The downward sloping demand curve expresses that the price (AR) goes on falling ns sales are increased. In monopoly AR curve slopes downward mid MR curve lies below AR curve. Demand curve under monopoly la otherwise known as average revenue curve. 5. Homogeneous Product A monopoly firm manufactures a commodity that has no close substitute and is a homogeneous product. With the absence of availability of a substitute, the buyer is bound to purchase what is available at the tagged price. For instance: there is no substitute for railways as the bulk carrier. Thus, to be the sole seller, in the monopolistic setup, a unique product must be produced 6. Price Discrimination Price discrimination can be defined as the practice by a seller of charging different prices from different buyers for the same good or service. A monopolist has the leverage to carry out price discrimination as he is the market and acts as per his suitability. 7. Price Elasticity With regards to the demand of the product or service offered by the monopolizing company or individual, the price elasticity to absolute value ratio is dictated by price increase and market demand. It is not uncommon to see surplus and/or a loss categorized as deadweight within a monopoly. The latter refers to gain that evades both, the consumer and the monopolist. Advantages of monopoly Monopoly avoids duplication and hence wastage of resources. A monopoly enjoys economics of scale as it is the only supplier of product or service in the market. The benefits can be passed on to the consumers. Due to the fact that monopolies make lot of profits, it can be used for research and development and to maintain their status as a monopoly. Monopolies may use price discrimination which benefits the economically weaker sections of the society. For example, Indian railways provide discounts to students travelling through its network. Monopolies can afford to invest in latest technology and machinery in order to be efficient and to avoid competition. Disadvantages of monopoly   Poor level of service. No consumer sovereignty. Consumers may be charged high prices for low quality of goods and services. Lack of competition may lead to low quality and out dated goods and services. MONOPOLIST EQUILIBRIUM WITH ZERO MARGINAL COST   Under certain exceptional cases, the cost of additional units of output, i.e., marginal cost (MC) may be equal to zero. With constant value zero of marginal cost, the value of average cost is also constant and is equal to zero. With zero cost of production, the monopolist has only to decide at which output, the total revenue will be maximum. And total revenue is maximum, at the output level at which marginal revenue is equal to zero. Further, with zero marginal cost, the condition of profit maximization, i.e., the equality of marginal cost (MC) and marginal revenue (MR) can be achieved, where the latter is also equal to zero.   Fig.   shows the equilibrium of the monopolist, where marginal cost is equal to zero. E is the point of monopolist equilibrium, where MC cuts MR from below. The equilibrium price and the equilibrium quantity at this equilibrium are OP and OQ respectively. Here, total revenue and hence total profits (area OPBE in   fig. ) of the monopolist are maximum. Beyond OQ level of output, MR becomes negative and total revenue starts declining. As explained in Chapter 16 on Market Structure, under heading Relation among AR, MR and Price Elasticity of Demand, Page 485 elasticity of demand on the AR curve corresponding to zero marginal revenue is equal to one. Therefore, with zero cost of production, monopolist equilibrium will be established at a level, where elasticity of demand is unitary. Description: Zero Cost of Production.JPG  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Fig. : Monopolist Equilibrium with Zero Cost of Production It is important to note that the monopolist will never produce the output at any level, where MR is negative. If he does so, his total revenue will fall as output increases. He can increase total revenue by reducing the output. In other words, the monopolist can earn larger profits by restricting the output. Further, since MC cannot be negative, equality of MC and MR (equilibrium condition) cannot be achieved, where MR is negative. We know from the relationship among average revenue (AR), marginal revenue (MR) and elasticity of demand7 that when marginal revenue is negative, elasticity of demand is less than one. Therefore, no rational monopolist will produce on that portion of the demand curve, where MR is negative, i.e., the elasticity of demand is less than one? That is why; no monopolist ever operates on the inelastic portion of the average revenue curve or the demand curve. With the positive marginal costs (which is most usually the case), the monopolist fixes his level of output for which MR is also positive, i.e., total revenue rises with increase in the level of output. In other words, the equilibrium will always lie, where elasticity of demand is greater than one. In   fig. , if the price is fixed at point B (middle point of the demand curve), where the elasticity of demand is equal to one, the MC (whether straight line or U-shaped) curve will pass through the MR curve at zero point. Here, both the MC and the MR are zero. It is a rare possibility. Further, below the middle point B of the demand curve, elasticity of demand is less than one. If the price is fixed in this inelastic portion of the demand curve, both the MC and the MR assume negative values, as the point of intersection between them is below point E on the MR curve in   fig. . However, MC can never be negative. Given positive costs, MC curve must cut the MR curve from below at a point, where both the MC and the MR are positive. The equilibrium in this case will be established at a point above E on the MR curve in the figure and the price will be fixed in the elastic portion of the demand curve, i.e., above the middle point of the AR curve in   fig. (source: transtutors.com) Q3)World Economic Outlook The global recovery is threatened by intensifying strains in the euro area and fragilities elsewhere. Financial conditions have deteriorated, growth prospects have dimmed, and downside risks have escalated. Global output is projected to expand by 3 ¼ percent in 2012 (Table 1  and  Figure 1)-a downward revision of about  ¾ percentage point relative to the  September 2011 World Economic Outlook (WEO). This is largely because the euro area economy is now expected to go into a mild recession in 2012 as a result of the rise in sovereign yields, the effects of bank deleveraging on the real economy, and the impact of additional fiscal consolidation. Growth in emerging and developing economies is also expected to slow because of the worsening external environment and a weakening of internal demand. The most immediate policy challenge is to restore confidence and put an end to the crisis in the euro area by supporting growth, while sustaining adjustment, containing deleveraging, and providing more liquidity and monetary accommodation. In other major advanced economies, the key policy requirements are to address medium-term fiscal imbalances and to repair and reform financial systems, while sustaining the recovery. In emerging and developing economies, near-term policy should focus on responding to moderating domestic growth and to slowing external demand from advanced economies. Financial risks escalate, global growth decelerates Global growth prospects dimmed and risks sharply escalated during the fourth quarter of 2011, as the euro area crisis entered a perilous new phase. Activity remained relatively robust throughout the third quarter, with global GDP expanding at an annualized rate of 3 ½ percent-only slightly worse than forecast in the  September 2011 WEO. Growth in the advanced economies surprised on the upside, as consumers in the United States unexpectedly lowered their saving rates and business fixed investment stayed strong. The bounce back from the supply-chain disruptions caused by the March 2011 Japanese earthquake was also stronger than anticipated. Additionally, stabilizing oil prices helped support consumption. These developments, however, are not expected to sustain significant momentum going forward. By contrast, growth in emerging and developing economies slowed more than forecast, possibly due to a greater-than-expected effect of macroeconomic policy tightening or weaker underlying growth. Description: Figure 1 Table 1. Overview of the  World Economic Outlook  Projections (Percent change unless noted otherwise) Year over Year Projections Difference fromSeptember 2011 WEOProjections Q4 over Q4 Estimates Projections 2010 2011 2012 2013 2012 2013 2011 2012 2013 World Output  1 5.2 3.8 3.3 3.9 -0.7 -0.6 3.3 3.4 4.0 Advanced Economies 3.2 1.6 1.2 1.9 -0.7 -0.5 1.3 1.3 2.1 United States 3.0 1.8 1.8 2.2 0.0 -0.3 1.8 1.5 2.4 Euro Area 1.9 1.6 -0.5 0.8 -1.6 -0.7 0.8 -0.2 1.2   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Germany 3.6 3.0 0.3 1.5 -1.0 0.0 1.8 0.7 1.6   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  France 1.4 1.6 0.2 1.0 -1.2 -0.9 0.9 0.5 1.3   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Italy 1.5 0.4 -2.2 -0.6 -2.5 -1.1 -0.1 -2.7 0.9   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Spain -0.1 0.7 -1.7 -0.3 -2.8 -2.1 0.2 -2.1 0.6 Japan 4.4 -0.9 1.7 1.6 -0.6 -0.4 -0.9 1.9 1.5 United Kingdom 2.1 0.9 0.6 2.0 -1.0 -0.4 0.8 1.0 2.4 Canada 3.2 2.3 1.7 2.0 -0.2 -0.5 2.1 1.7 2.0 Other Advanced Economies  2 5.8 3.3 2.6 3.4 -1.1 -0.3 2.9 3.2 3.5   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Newly Industrialized Asian Economies 8.4 4.2 3.3 4.1 -1.2 -0.3 3.8 4.3 3.8 Emerging and Developing Economies  3 7.3 6.2 5.4 5.9 -0.7 -0.6 5.9 6.0 6.3 Central and Eastern Europe 4.5 5.1 1.1 2.4 -1.6 -1.1 3.4 1.4 3.0 Commonwealth of Independent States 4.6 4.5 3.7 3.8 -0.7 -0.6 3.2 3.5 3.7   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Russia 4.0 4.1 3.3 3.5 -0.8 -0.5 3.5 2.8 4.0   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Excluding Russia 6.0 5.5 4.4 4.7 -0.7 -0.4 . . . . . . . . . Developing Asia 9.5 7.9 7.3 7.8 -0.7 -0.6 7.4 7.9 7.6   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  China 10.4 9.2 8.2 8.8 -0.8 -0.7 8.7 8.5 8.4   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  India 9.9 7.4 7.0 7.3 -0.5 -0.8 6.7 6.9 7.2   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  ASEAN-5  4 6.9 4.8 5.2 5.6 -0.4 -0.2 3.7 7.4 5.0 Latin America and the Caribbean 6.1 4.6 3.6 3.9 -0.4 -0.2 3.9 3.3 5.0   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Brazil 7.5 2.9 3.0 4.0 -0.6 -0.2 2.1 3.8 4.1   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mexico 5.4 4.1 3.5 3.5 -0.1 -0.2 4.1 3.1 3.6 Middle East and North Africa (MENA)  5 4.3 3.1 3.2 3.6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sub-Saharan Africa 5.3 4.9 5.5 5.3 -0.3 -0.2 . . . . . . . . .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  South Africa 2.9 3.1 2.5 3.4 -1.1 -0.6 2.4 3.0 3.7 Memorandum European Union 2.0 1.6 -0.1 1.2 -1.5 -0.7 0.8 0.3 1.7 World Growth Based on Market Exchange Rates 4.1 2.8 2.5 3.2 -0.7 -0.4 . . . . . . . . . World Trade Volume (goods and services) 12.7 6.9 3.8 5.4 -2.0 -1.0 . . . . . . . . . Imports   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Advanced Economies 11.5 4.8 2.0 3.9 -2.0 -0.8 . . . . . . . . .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Emerging and Developing Economies 15.0 11.3 7.1 7.7 -1.0 -1.0 . . . . . . . . . Exports   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Advanced Economies 12.2 5.5 2.4 4.7 -2.8 -0.8 . . . . . . . . .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Emerging and Developing Economies 13.8 9.0 6.1 7.0 -1.7 -1.6 . . . . . . . . . Commodity Prices (U.S. dollars) Oil  6 27.9 31.9 -4.9 -3.6 -1.8 -3.1 . . . . . . . . . Nonfuel (average based on world commodity export weights) 26.3 17.7 -14.0 -1.7 -9.3 2.2 . . . . . . . . . Consumer Prices Advanced Economies 1.6 2.7 1.6 1.3 0.2 -0.1 2.9 1.2 1.3 Emerging and Developing Economies  3 6.1 7.2 6.2 5.5 0.3 0.4 6.5 5.6 4.8 London Interbank Offered Rate (percent)  7 On U.S. Dollar Deposits 0.5 0.5 0.9 0.9 0.4 0.3 . . . . . . . . . On Euro Deposits 0.8 1.4 1.1 1.2 -0.1 -0.4 . . . . . . . . . On Japanese Yen Deposits 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.2 0.2 0.0 . . . . . . . .   (Source www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2012/update/01/

Irony in Sophocles Antigone Essay -- Antigone essays

   Frank Jevons in â€Å"In Sophoclean Tragedy, Humans Create Their Own Fate† comments on Sophocles’ irony: In this connection we may consider the â€Å"irony of Sophocles.† In argument irony has many forms That which best illustrates the irony of Sophocles is the method by which the ironical man, putting apparently innocent questions or suggestions, leads some person from one preposterous statement to another, until, perhaps, the subject of the irony realizes his situation and discovers that when he thought he was most brilliant of impressive, then he was really most absurd. . . .(62).    Let us explore the irony, in Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone, and see if we don’t conclude that, as it applies to King Creon it brings quite the same result as in Jevons’ stated situation.    In Sophocles: The Theban Plays E. F. Watling comments on Sophocles’ usage of dramatic irony in his dramas: â€Å". . . that powerful and subtle weapon of ‘dramatic irony’ which Sophocles used with especial skill, whereby the audience can judge every speech and action of the play in the light of their previous knowledge of the situation† (12). M. H. Abrams defines dramatic irony as a situation wherein:      Ã¢â‚¬Å"the audience or reader shares with the author knowledge of present or future circumstances of which a character is ignorant; in that situation, the character unknowingly acts in a way we recognize to be grossly inappropriate to the actual circumstances, or expects the opposite of what we know that fate holds in store, or says something that anticipates the actual outcome, but not at all in the way that the character intends†(137).    This type of irony is commented on by Thomas Woodard in the Introduction to Sophocles: A Collection of Crit... ...dings on Sophocles, edited by Don Nardo. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press, 1997.    Segal, Charles Paul. â€Å"Sophocles’ Praise of Man and the Conflicts of the Antigone.† In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.    Sophocles. Antigone. Translated by R. C. Jebb. The Internet Classic Archive. no pag. http://classics.mit.edu/Sophocles/antigone.html    â€Å"Sophocles† In Literature of the Western World, edited by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. NewYork: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1984.    Woodard, Thomas. Introduction. In Sophocles: A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by Thomas Woodard. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.    Watling, E. F.. Introduction. In Sophocles: The Theban Plays, translated by E. F. Watling. New York: Penguin Books, 1974.   

To what extent and in what ways are people ?fixed? and ?open to change?

Charles Darwin was not only a pioneer in evolutionary psychology, also today’s theories of modern lifespan development draw on and are influenced by Darwin’s ideas. His functionalist perspective primarily focused on the reason for development of specific human characteristics over many generations, and therefore an enormously long timescale. However, inspired by the observations in the development his own son, Darwin also acknowledged that â€Å"an individual is the result of a gradual sequence of prior changes, both in a broad evolutionary sense and within individual’s own lifetime and further development and changes lies ahead† (Cooper and Roth, p.50, 2003). This notion provided the basis for other researchers to further explore the development of humans over a lifetime period. The human lifespan development can be explored in many different ways, e.g. in terms of biological maturity of the body from a new-born to a physically fully-grown adult, physical deterioration in later stages of live and how that effects people psychologically. Individual physiological and psychological characteristics are potential factors that have different impact on each individual, they therefore are considered as â€Å"internal influences† (Cooper and Roth, p.5, 2003). The development of cognitive abilities, specific historical circumstances or the social and cultural environments of each person present â€Å"external influences† (Cooper and Roth, p.5, 2003). It has to be noted that both internal and external factors can influence each other. We therefore we have to look at these transactions rather than just taking single factors into consideration. Initially, researchers considered the observation of children as a very instructive means in investigating at what point of time certain changes in human behaviour evolve. Through identifying a pattern of changes that take place in the development of a new born into a fully grown adult, researches developed the organismic approach. They believed that in order to achieve adulthood, people go through different phases and that a later stage incorporates and expands on the experiences from an earlier stage in life (â€Å"stage theory†). While adulthood was considered as the end-stage, external factors were identified as potential causes for a delay, acceleration or slowing-down in certain stages of development, but it was suggested that the pat... ... we can consciously change, e.g. getting rid of what we sometimes define as â€Å"bad habits†, or unconsciously after powerful, sometimes traumatic life-events. Human development therefore should be seen as the complex construct of â€Å"interactions between age-related factors, historical factors and random environmental occurrences that only relate to one individual† (Cooper and Roth, p.59, 2003). While early experiences in life might predict certain characteristics that define each individual throughout his/her life, life events and experiences are considered to be major factors that can enhance and undoubtedly change these characteristics. Human development over a lifetime can be seen as a constant journey, with many possible routes, turns, cross-points and sometimes dead-ends. We, as the drivers of the vehicle that takes us through our own individual journey can often chose which road we want to take out of all routes available. Sometimes our choices are limited, but the end point of our journey is the end of our lives, rather then the achievement of adulthood. References: Cooper, T. and Roth, I. (eds) (2003) Challenging Psychological Issues, Milton Keynes, The Open University.

Euthanasia Essay: Mercy Killing or Murder? -- Euthanasia Physician Ass

Euthanasia: Mercy Killing or Murder?      Ã‚   We, as humans, are mortal beings.   Our life span is finite.   Even though we are mortal, we try to hang onto our lives as long as we can; fear of death and wanting to live forever are, after all, part of human nature.   Sometimes, however, the field of medicine capitalizes on this aspect of humanity. While it is certainly true that one goal of medicine has always been to prolong life, another goal has been the alleviation of pain and suffering.   One point at which these two views collide is over the hotly debated issue of euthanasia.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Euthanasia, or "mercy killing," as it has been called, is certainly not an issue with just two sides.   There are many shades of gray involved, so to speak.   Euthanasia, after all,   ranges from simply allowing an individual to die naturally without life support or "pulling the plug" (passive euthanasia), all the way to Jack Kevorkian's suicide machine (active euthanasia). To complicate things further, there is also voluntary euthanasia, "Cases in which patient requests to be killed, and dies as a result of action taken by another person," involuntary euthanasia; "cases in which no action is requested because the patient is unconscious, senile, or otherwise incapable of making a request, but the person is allowed to die or is killed," and nonvoluntary euthanasia; "cases in which a conscious, terminally ill patient states that they do not want to die, but is allowed to die or is killed anyway" (http://valdosta.peachnet.edu).   While an individual may advocate one form of euthanasia, it is not uncommon for the same person to be completely against another form.   There are cases in which euthanasia is wrong, especially cases involving conscious pe... ...d dreaded events that human beings ever have to go through.   This is probably the main reason that euthanasia is so controversial.   It is human nature for us to try and prolong our lives as long as possible, and, through medicine, we have prolonged them quite a bit.   It is important to remember, nevertheless, that sometimes while attempting to fight our common enemy death, we lose sight of the best interests of the individuals whose lives we are affecting.   Are these people not the most qualified people to make this decision?   It is, after all, their lives that hang in the balance.    Works Cited "Murder" American Heritage Dictionary on CD-ROM,   1991. Internet: Http://www.ieatf.org.McCord, William. Internet: Http://valdosta.peachnet.edu.   "Moral Dilemmas." Society 29 July-August 1992: 22. Pallone, Nathaniel. Society 29 July-August 1992: 35.

Value and Purpose of Literature

Value and Purpose of Literature Literature is expressed in varying ways, such as poetry, novels, history, biographies, and essays. Depending on which type of work you are reading, the purpose and interpretation is different as it is depending on the person that is reading it. The purpose of literature is to get a diverse set of people to read the same piece of work and comprehend it differently, but still have the same affect on them. The purpose also depends on the genre. History is a guide for the future; it helps us figure out future plans and to help us not make the same mistakes we did back then. Poetry and novels are more of an artistic way to entertain people or to get how you truly feel onto paper and see if anyone else could relate. Biographies and essays are more of an informational bit written to persuade or inform the reader of an occurring problem or of a person who is significant in the work they have accomplished. The Red Badge of Courage, written by Stephen Crane, is a fictional novel talking about a soldier in the Civil War that ditches the war to save his self and then feels guilty and goes back to become one of the best soldiers in his regiment. This novel was written clearly for entertaining the reader and for a little history lesson about who won the war. A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles, is also a fictional novel about a young man at a school readying him for war where he finds what he is capable of. The value of literature is measured on how much the reader enjoyed the book. Reading is a pleasing way to pass the time for some people and can in many ways affect the way you live and the way you think. The value a book can have on a reader is unlimited. It can change the way people live with and influence each other, helps one understand the past and how the world has evolved, teaches a lesson that will inspire the reader to live a better life, and helps us asks questions related to the standards of a â€Å"good† life, but doesn’t always answer them. Literature is one way that humans can communicate their thoughts and feelings to one another. Though the genres, purposes, and interpretations may differ, it is a universal tool and usually affects the reader in more than one way.

Humanistic Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda was a savant and philosopher of the highest order. The Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda is a gospel of humanism, for man is the central pillar of his life and teachings. Man, manliness, man-making these were the constant mantra on his lips. It sprang forth authentically from his own realization of the Divine that existed in himself and all. He therefore raised the dignity, and worth of man to the pinnacle of divine excellence. He exemplified man in his universal dimension which expressed itself in a concern for him everywhere and in every field of his life. It made him the exponent of humanism as much deep as significant in illuminating the whole of mankind from time to eternity. Swami Ranganthananda opines about Swami Vivekananda as: â€Å"What was unique about him as a spiritual teacher of mankind, however, was his deep interest in man and his untiring work for total human development and fulfillment everywhere. And this interest and work, we should not fail to note, was not just religious in the narrow sense of that word – just helping men and women to secure the salvation of their souls, as all other spiritual teachers have done – but covered all aspects of human life, as much economic and social as moral and religious. In fact, this all-round human interest formed the central theme of Swami Vivekananda’s life and work. † Romain Rolland speaks about Swami Vivekananda’s humanistic philosophy of man, as he exemplified man in his universal aspect, and not in the narrow racial, national, or sectarian aspects. That universal dimension expressed itself in a deep concern for man everywhere and in every field of his life; it made them the exponents and exemplars of humanism, as much deep as wide, as much intellectually stimulating as spiritually inspiring. What is humanism? The term ‘humanism’ is derived from the Latin word ‘humanitas’ implying ontological individualism and the quest for the perfection of the human spirit through the consummation of man’s inherent potentialities is subjectivist and optimistic in its orientation. Humanism is thus an approach n study, or the practice that focuses on human values and concerns, attaching prime importance to human efforts. Humanism is not a creed or code but the fullness of a qualitative development of the emotional and cogitative potencies of the empirical human, Jiva that is the object of quest of the humanist. In the words of the Buddhist Tripitakas it can be said that ‘liberality, courtesy, benevolence, u nselfishness under all circumstances’ and ‘concord of fraternity’ mark the life of the humanist. Swami Vivekananda’s Humanistic Philosophy Swami Vivekananda assimilated and modified the philosophical ideas of the Vedanta, adapting them to the conditions of the new life. In contrast to the materialistic view of man, Vivekananda's humanistic philosophy possesses many features of active humanism and in his fervent desire to elevate man he put forward the idea that the highest divine substance Brahman is personified in millions. â€Å"†¦ the ideal of Vedanta is to know man as he really is, and this is its message, that if you cannot worship your brother man, the manifested God, how can you worship a God who is unmanifested? The uniqueness of Vivekananda was to reinterpret this philosophy of man that is at once creative and synthetic and uses it for achieving highest human excellence. Swami Vivekananda viewed man as a multi-leveled being, a composite of physical, mental, emotional, intellectual and spiritual faculties. Swami Vivekananda clearly showed in his exposition of four yogas that the various faculties of man ha ve to be harnessed for one’s spiritual growth. Swami Vivekananda is of the opinion that when man is able to integrate all of the faculties, he attains the manhood in entirety. He advises the youth to have a strong body. â€Å"You will understand the Gita better with your biceps, your muscles, a little stronger. You will understand the mighty genius and the mighty strength of Krishna better with a little of strong blood in you. You will understand the Upanishads better and the glory of the Atman when your body stands firm upon your feet, and you feel yourselves as men. Thus we have to apply these to our needs. † â€Å"Makes your nerves strong, what we want is the muscles of iron and nerves of steel. †¦ Stand on your own feet and be men. The faculty of reason should be cultivated to harness the full potential of being human. Swami Vivekananda says: â€Å"Why was reason given us if we have to believe? Is it not tremendously blasphemous to believe against reason? What right have we not to use the greatest gift that God has given to us? I am sure God will pardon a man who will use his reason and cannot believe, rather than a man who believes blind ly instead of using the faculties He has given him. † Swami Vivekananda feels that, religion is not a separate pursuit divorced from the humdrum of life. On the other hand, it envelops the whole life. The way man looks at himself, his conception of his own nature, governs all his other concepts. The value of the reorientation of man's view of himself extends from value to the individual in the development of his character to the humanity as a whole. This reorientation of man's view of himself results in a new kind of holistic awareness where the so-called distinction between the religious and secular vanishes. Referring to this approach Sister Nivedita in her Introduction to the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda says: â€Å"†¦.. No distinction henceforth between sacred and secular. To labour is to pray. To conquer is to renounce. Life is itself religion. To have and to hold is as stern a trust as to quit and to avoid. This is the realisation which makes Vivekananda the great preacher of Karma, not as divorced from, but as expressing Jnana and Bhakti. To him, the workshop, the study, the farmyard and the field are as true and fit scenes for the meeting of God with man as the cell of the monk or the door of the temple. † She continues, â€Å"All his (Swami Vivekananda) words, from one point of view, read as a commentary upon this central conviction. Art, science, and religion†, he said once, â€Å"are but three different ways of expressing a single truth. But in order to understand this we must have the theory of Advaita. † There is a faith in the greatness of man as expressed through his different socio-cultural activities in this material world. He strongly feels that, it is a greatest sin to call the human being is a sinner. He is potential ly divine. But there are unlimited creative possibilities in man, beyond this limited humanistic analysis. For this Vivekananda explains this creativity as the potential infiniteness or divinity in man as spiritual man. This idea of man does not merely explain the material or individual existence of man with the material development of life. On the other hand, it synthesizes the material and the spiritual dimension of man and thus evaluates the material or individual, collective or social and spiritual or transcendental values of life with their expressions in harmonious forms and manners. In order to explain the infinite potency of man, Vivekananda points out: â€Å"Do you know how much energy, how many powers, how many forces, are still lurking behind that frame of yours? What scientist has known all that is in man? Millions of years have passed since man first came here, and yet but one infinitesimal part of his powers has been manifested. Therefore you must not say that you are weak. How do you know that possibilities lie behind that degradation on the surface? You know but little of that which is within you. For behind you is the ocean of infinite power and blessedness. † In this way Vivekananda pleads for the spiritual Man, expressing the creative multi-natured divinity as the ‘ocean of infinite power and blessedness. Man, in the observation of Vivekananda, has an unlimited fund of energy which is not fully exhausted in fulfilling his limited material or biological demands. The unlimited energy in man, expressed through different creative states of existence, develop his infinite personality as the manifestation of his potential perfection as the sense of unity. Thus in the background of the evaluation of the ideas of man and humanism in the form of spiritual humanism advanced by Swami Vivekananda, we get a synthetic view of ‘multidimensional man' in the spiritual process of developing individuality and universality. Such a synthetic view will facilitate an advancement of Unity in different states of existence in different degrees. His profound spirituality, the scintillating brilliance of his intellect and the presence of his personality invested in him with a magic fascination which none could ignore our resist. Here was a man who spoke inspiring words to the masses like Messiah who has come to save their lives from darkness and misery. Here was one who spoke for ancient learning in highest praise, but at the same time urged that we throw off the shackles of convention. He was of the traditional and revolutionary, whose mission was not only reawakening the people to a consciousness of their great heritage but also to make them know man who could make a new India. â€Å"I consider that the great national sin is the neglect of the masses, and that is one of the causes of our downfall. No amount of politics would be of any avail until the masses in India are once more well educated, well fed, and well cared for. They pay for our education, they build our temples, but in return they get kicks. They are practically our slaves. Through his doctrine of the potential divinity of all beings, Swami Vivekananda sought to bring about a radical transformation in the society. To quote Nivedita again, ‘His prime concern was vindication of Humanity, never abandoned, never weakened, always rising to new heights of defence of the undefended, of the chivalry of the weak'. Swami Vivekananda advises that let the people be your God. Think of them, work for them, p ray for their well being. His definition about great soul is â€Å"Him I call a mahatman whose heart bleeds for the poor, otherwise he is duratman. Swami Vivekananda gave a new responsibility to the institution of monasticism by exhorting sannyasins to come out from the caves and work for betterment of the humanity. ‘Shivajnane Jivaseva’ – based on this aphorism he asked monks to work for the welfare of others. The present open education system was dreamt by Swami Vivekananda a century ago. He advised the sannyasins to go to every village to impart education for every individual irrespective of their castes, creed, sex with the help of cameras, maps, globes and such other accessories. He asked to give education, and instill faith in individual by that masses can gain their lost individuality and dignity of human labour. Once a young disciple asked Swami Vivekananda, how can we raise India again? He answers emphatically that, â€Å"Your duty at present is to go from one part of the country to another, from village to village, and make the people understand that mere sitting idly won't do any more. Make them understand their real condition and say, â€Å"O ye brothers, arise! Awake! How much longer would you remain asleep! Go and advise them how to improve their own condition, and make them comprehend the sublime truths of the Shastras (scriptures), by presenting them in a lucid and popular way. †¦ Also instruct them, in simple words, about the necessities of life, and in trade, commerce, agriculture, etc. If you cannot do this, then fie upon your education and culture, and fie upon your studying the Vedas and Vedanta! † Swami Vivekanand’s heart bled for the poor masses. â€Å"For centuries people have been taught theories of degradation. They have been told that they are nothing. The masses have been told all over the world that they are not human beings. They have been so frightened for centuries, till they have nearly become animals. Never were they allowed to hear of the Atman. Let them hear of the Atman–that even the lowest of the low have the Atman within, which never dies and never is born–of Him whom the sword cannot pierce, nor the fire burn, nor the air dry–immortal, without beginning or end, the all-pure, omnipotent, and omnipresent Atman! † In his lion-like roar he enthused men to follow the practical humanism and not to be satisfied with a weak sentimental approach to it. His fiery words to feel for the suffering masses are as forceful even now as when they come out of his mouth. â€Å"Do you feel? Do you feel that millions and millions of the descendants of gods and of sages have become next-door neighbors to brutes? Do you feel that millions are starving today, and millions have been starving for ages? Do you feel that ignorance has come over the land as a dark cloud? Does it make you restless? Does it make you sleepless? Has it gone into your blood, coursing through your veins, becoming consonant with your heartbeats? Has it made you almost mad? Are you seized with that one idea of the misery of ruin, and have you forgotten all about your name, your fame, your wives, your children, your property, even your own bodies? Have you done that? That is the first step to become a patriot, the very first step. † Swami Vivekananda’s concern about the Indian mass is phenomenal. The poor and illiterate form the bulk of Indian population. But they are being treated worse than animals for the last thousand years or so. According to Swamiji, the cause of degradation of India lies in depriving Indian masses of their basic rights of livelihood and education. He says, â€Å"Remember that our nation lives in the cottage. But alas! Nobody ever did anything to them†¦ The fate of nation†¦ depends upon the condition of the masses. Can you raise them? Can you give back to them their lost individuality? †¦ This is to be done and we will do it. † As such, his approach to social and political problems of India was facing at that time is totally humanistic in nature. He says that awakening of the masses by giving them proper education is the only panacea for all the ills India is facing now. In this regard he says, â€Å"All the wealth of the world cannot help one little Indian village if the people are not taught to help themselves. Our work should be mainly educational, both moral and intellectual†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Conclusion Swami Vivekananda says, â€Å"†¦ I may be born again and again, and suffer thousands of miseries so that I may worship the only God that exists, the only God I believe in, the sum total of all souls-and above all, my God the wicked, my guard the miserable, my guard the pool of all races, of all species, is the special object of my worship. Sister Nivedita testifies to Swami Vivekananda's love for man: â€Å"No institution, no environment, stood between him and any human heart. His confidence in that Divine-within-Man of which he talked, was as Perfect, and his appeal as direct, when he talked with the imperialist aristocrat or the American millionaire, as with the exploited and oppressed. But the outflow of his love and courtesy were always fo r the simple. Swami Vivekananda’s humanism is based on spiritual illumination, which he got through Vedantic means. As Vedanta stands for truth and eternity, with its focus on concept of divinity of man, the humanistic philosophy envisioned by Swami Vivekananda is centred on eternal principles of life. Here we find no conflict but perfect harmony between the religious and the secular, between the mundane and the transcendent and also between the individual and the collective. What the world wants now is not friction and fight but accommodation and acceptance. This should be the goal of any kind of humanism. Vedantic humanism lived and taught by Swami Vivekananda is a perfect archetype of this.

Billing and Payments Monitoring System

I. INTRODUCTION 1. 1 Background of the Study One of the most important things to remember when you have a business or a company is keeping records. Monitoring bills and payments are very important. People are assigned to different positions such as cashiers, treasurers, finance managers and others that involve handling money. Without such records, a company will not be able to keep track of their transactions, which would lead to negative results such as being broken or having more expenses than income. The process of recording bills and payments are done in different ways.Most companies would do it manually, a cashier or any other qualified person would do the computations and write it down and keep it. Our client company, however, only has two people that have access to their records. In this situation, the cashier has no assistants so that the job is very difficult as she manages everything by herself. The proponents intend to propose and develop a Billing and Payments Monitoring System for Minerva Trading; the House of Motorcycles Inc. ; it would computerize the tiring manual process of writing everything down in paper.It would keep the records, and it would allow the users to keep track of their customers and their corresponding ledgers. It would show the total price and record factors that might affect changes in payment such as discounts and advanced payments. 1. 2 Overview of the Current System Our interview with Mr. Dustin Sacay the Officer in Charge of Minerva Trading, Novaliches branch and Ms. Rosie Pascual the cashier, went well as we talked about how we could help their company with the system that we intend to develop.They gave us all the data that we needed, and they were very cooperative while we were conducting the interview. Our client, Minerva Trading; the House of Motorcycles Inc. the company that accepted our proposal had to do everything manually, they write all the transactions and records on papers. While that is the most common way of k eeping records, there are certain problems that would arise from time to time. These problems might include ink erasures, writing the wrong data, misplacement of records, and restocking of paper constantly.Minerva's trading has a simple step by step process to be followed whenever a transaction was made. First, the customer would fill up an application form; he/she would select his/her payment type, installment or cash. If the customer chooses cash, he/she gets the bill and the transaction is finished. If its installment, the OIC would do a CI (Checking Investigation) to do some background checking on the customer, if the customer passes or fails the CI, he/she would be notified.If the customer is approved by the OIC, his application form and order detail would be submitted to the cashier. The cashier would then fill up a contract and a ledger that would give the payment details for the customer. The customer subsequently gives a down payment and afterwards pays the rest of the amou nt whenever he can until he/she completes the whole amount. 1. 3 Significance of the Study The following will be the beneficiaries of this study: * Company The system would reduce the time that they spend on manually writing down everything in paper. Cashier The cashier would be the primary beneficiary. She does nearly 90% of the paperwork in Minerva Trading. Once they receive and use the system, their work would be a lot faster, easier and more organized. * OIC (Officer In Charge) Other than the cashier, the OIC is the only other person that has the authority and access to all the records. He would find the system useful as it will simplify and lessen their work. * Customers The customers might also find the system helpful, especially during transactions.Filling up forms and other paperwork might shorten the time that they need to wait or to get their receipts and other things that usually involved the manual writing processes. * Proponents The proponents would also benefit from th is, as it would expand our knowledge when it comes to system development, it helps us practice our interpersonal skills as we communicate with different people, it helps us practice writing in English with the documentation, and last but not the least, the subject itself is going to prepare us for other thesis subjects in the coming semesters. Future Researchers This might also be of some of the use to future researchers as it is distinct from the typical proposals that involve systems that seem common to both teachers and other proponents alike. We believe that learning about a system that is different from the usual proposed titles would expand their knowledge and maybe even help them think of their individual concepts in creating their own systems.

Manager †managerial decision making Essay

1. What assumptions can you make about managerial decision making, as it relates to the millennial generation, from the case? My assumptions, enroll students are rating professors from good to bad making it easier for future student to get always with easier classes. 2. Did Tom and Alex follow a logical and rational managerial decision-making process in determining their class schedules? Why or why not? Yes, Tom and Alex are paying for school, therefor they want the best class and great teacher. Tom and Alex note the numerical values representing overall quality and easiness of each professor they are researching, and make their decision based on these numbers alone. 3. Identify the group influence that the information provided on RateMyProfessors.com places on Tom and Alex. The students were rating the professors from overall rating, total rating, easiness, and hot? Overall quality and easiness have numerical values from 0 to 5.5 being the highest. This information help Tom and Alex to choose professor and make their schedules. 4. Describe the types of interpersonal influence that the information provided on RateMyProfessors.com places on Tom and Alex. By visiting the web site they can click on the name of any professors and see their rating in more detail. Rating from overall quality, helpfulness, clarity, easiness, and hotness. 5. What influence do consumer ratings that fall either above or below the norm have on your managerial decision-making process? For example, when a professor (or an Amazon.com product) is rated with 3 stars, what strength do you place on the few individual reviews that rate them with 1 star or 5 stars?

Share your perspective on leadership in the workplace and describe how Essay

Share your perspective on leadership in the workplace and describe how it has been shaped by the increasing influence of globalization - Essay Example This paper focuses on identifying few underlying factors that affect leadership methods in the contemporary organizational setup. McShane states, â€Å"Globalization refers to economic, social and cultural connectivity with people in other parts of the world† (p.8). From this perspective, globalization has serious implications for business leaders, especially in multinational organizations. These organizations require diverse workforce as well as diverse leaders that possess awareness of influence of cultural, political and social aspects on business. Globalization has resulted in easier accessibility of technology, information, data and products/services. It has also resulted in stiffer competition among organizations and greater passion of people to achieve more in less time, contrary to the conventional steady growth rate powered by profits and bureaucracy. Leaders in contemporary workplace embody these implications in the form of aggression in their business conduct, growth and aspirations. As a result, evidences of businesses booming and going bust have surfaced in recent past. Secondly, globalization has caused organizational struggle for existence, and sustenance is extremely difficult besides opening up opportunities to expand and develop. These opportunities have in fact caused paradigm shifts of leaders in different parts of the world. For instance, the Chinese managers are becoming increasingly individualistic contrary to their collectivistic culture. The research also reveals lowered commitment of new managers to their traditional values, here Confucianism (Ralston et al, 425). Mindset of future managers is changing rapidly towards embracing global strategies and challenges, which means leaders/managers are adapting to international management styles irrespective of their cultural background (Peng & Shin, 179). Despite leaders’ adjustments to the process of globalization, many businesses continue

Theories of Crime Causation Unit 1IP Research Paper

Theories of Crime Causation Unit 1IP - Research Paper Example Criminologists study feminist criminology an area that considers the subject on women and crime. There is penology where criminologists focus on the study of the prison system at large. Criminalists are physical scientists they are known as crime scene investigators, or crime lab technicians. According to Roberts, the task of criminalists involves recognizing, collecting, analysing, interpreting, preserving physical evidence from crime scenes (Roberts, 2013). Criminalists usually testify in courts regarding their scientific findings. Roberts explains that many times the work of a criminalist revolves around the laboratory. Roberts clarifies that criminalists do not fight crime as shown in criminal movies. A Criminalists’ field of study is rather wide there are areas, which focus on firearms, and tool marks. This section deals with weapons, bullets, found in crime scenes. A study on DNA and serology involves examination of biological materials in crimes scenes that contain DNA. Criminalists study trace evidence, which include hair, soil, fibres, and other objects from crime scenes, which can provide information related to the crime. A study on drugs alcohol and toxicology empowers criminalists with the knowledge on how to utilise analytical chemistry in identifying pills liquids, body fluids among other substances in a crime scene (Roberts, 2013). Forensic psychologists utilise human understanding to perform various tasks in the legal and civil systems. Atlaf explains that forensic psychologist assists in criminal investigation by performing criminal profiling tasks. Forensic psychologists can observe a crime scene and deduce the characteristics of the person who created the crime scene. Atlaf mentions that forensic psychologists can work in police stations where they provide counselling to police officers. Forensic psychologists also provide crisis counselling for crime victims. In judicial systems, forensic psychologists perform a number of tasks. For i nstance forensic can determine whether a defendant is able to stand trial, they can also determine the mental state of a defendant when he was committing a crime. Atlaf explains that in American systems Forensic psychologists serve in family law where they perform the role of mediators between divorcing parents who have disputes the needs and interests of their children. Forensic psychologists examine criminals and determine if they are dangerous. They provide information that is vital in the sentencing process. Sutherland (1949), states that white-collar crimes are illegal acts committed by persons of a high social status. According to Barnett (2010), white-collar crimes are illegal acts that are non-violent in nature. The United States department of justice argues that people engage in white-collar crimes for financial gain, to avoid payment, to secure personal or business advantage. White-collar criminals utilise sophisticated means to conceal their acts of deceit. White-collar c rimes include the various types of fraud, embezzlement, computer crime, bribery, forgery, antitrust violations. White-collar crimes cause massive financial losses to states, local government, private organisations and individuals. For example when a company shuts down due to financial losses resulting from a fraud case we have people who lose jobs, investors who lose their money, consumers who feel disappointed by the

A Corporate Entrepreneurship Analysis of Sony Essay

A Corporate Entrepreneurship Analysis of Sony - Essay Example The term can be defined alternatively as the development of internal markets and relatively small and independent units designed to create internal ventures and expand innovative staff services, technologies and methods within an organization (Pinchot, 1985). It has been established that successful companies have one thing in common and that is an entrepreneurial style of management (Katz & Shepherd, 2004). Stevenson and Gumbert (1985) attribute the sustenance of a high level of performance by big companies such as Sony and Hewlett Packard to their entrepreneurial behaviour. Company overview Sony corporation is a Japanese multinational conglomerate that originated in the wake of World War II. The company made history after it built Japan’s first tape recorder and named it the Type-G. In 1958, the company changed its name from Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Company to the present day Sony. The Sony Corporation has diversified its operating scope to cover almost all the ar eas of the entertainment and the telecommunications sectors. Sony Corporation is the parent company of the Sony Group. As the parent company of the group, its main task is to make strategic business plans for the group through research and development, designing, and marketing of products. As pointed out earlier, Sony Corporation has diversified its scope in to most entertainment and telecommunication sectors. The company has done this through its subsidiaries. One such example of the subsidiaries is the Sony Chemical and Information device Corporation which is responsible for manufacturing as well as the engineering and research and development for the mass production of products (Sony Corporation, 2012). According to the fortune 500 2012 list of companies, Sony Corporation is ranked 87th (CNN, 2012). The Sony group not only focuses on electronics, gaming, and entertainment, it also offers financial services. The subsidiary company that is responsible for the financial services bus iness of the Sony group is the Sony Financial Holdings. With its headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, the company controls the operations of Sony Life, Sony Assurance, Sony bank, and Sony Bank holdings. This subsidiary is the most profitable of all of Sony’s subsidiaries accounting for about 50% of Sony’s global earnings (Sony Corporation, 2012). The company was enjoying high profit returns up until early 2000’s when it started experiencing financial difficulties. These financial difficulties were due to several reasons. The first reason was the global financial crisis. The crisis made it difficult for the company to procure materials for manufacturing, cope with debt and maintain its work force. Secondly, the company’s milk cow, the play station, started to face steep competition from rivals Microsoft with their X-box gaming model. With the sales of the play station reducing, the company’s profits suffered similarly. The last main cause of the companyâ⠂¬â„¢s decline in profits was due to natural disasters. Japan has been victim to natural disasters, mainly earthquakes. The company’s headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, was hit by the devastating earthquake and therefore it became financially challenging for the company to make a comeback. The company however made a comeback in December 2011. Though the market capitalization of the company had dropped by over 50%, its net worth had increased from $17.6 billion in March 2002, to $35.6 billion in December 2011. This comeback can be attributed to the entrepreneurial behaviour of the company in promoting innovation and creativity that has enabled the company to realize and