433Mod5SLP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

433Mod5SLP - Essay Example This website is precise and can be easily used by the viewers. Its separate segments make the entire website easy to be operated. The major usability criteria for this website was to understand whether all information has been provided regarding visual design, content strategy, project management, maintaining high usability, etc. All of these factors have been properly addressed in the website (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2014). The next website highlights the different elements which enable a website to be transparent by nature. There have been many images and stories portrayed in the website that reflects stories of the past history. However the entire assessment for this website was aligned toward the aspect of how well it brings forth the meaning of transparency. The usability of this website is comparatively low in comparison to the previous website simply because of the fact too many information has been embedded in the site (Transparency, 2013). It meets the re quirement in terms of content and structuring but the website appears to be complicated to the users. There is a need to possess knowledge about the factors that has been stated in the site. The last website is of Nielsen Norman Group and it describes history and achievements of Jakob Nielsen. Its usability assessment is done on productive contents of the site. This website has an ease of usage and learning (Nielsen Norman Group, 2014). All the useful resources have been categorized articles, training, reports, etc. In the first website there are no such specific areas for improvement as all the vital elements that improves user experience has been properly addressed. However in the second website the excessive content is not usable. It appears to be complex in relation to viewing as well as understanding. The major improvement in this website should be in the form of structuring where all the information will be grouped under separate categories (Rubin &

Ethical Leadership in Organizations Essay Example for Free

Ethical Leadership in Organizations Essay Ethical leadership is leadership that is involved in leading in a manner that respects the rights and dignity of others. As leaders are by nature in a position of social power, ethical leadership focuses on how leaders use their social power in the decisions they make, actions they engage in and ways they influence others. Leaders who are ethical demonstrate a level of integrity that is important for stimulating a sense of leader trustworthiness, which is important for followers to accept the vision of the leader. Leaders who are ethical are people-oriented, and also aware of how their decisions impact others, and use their social power to serve the greater good instead of self-serving interests. Motivating followers to put the needs or interests of the group ahead of their own is another quality of ethical leaders. Motivating involves engaging others in an intellectual and emotional commitment between leaders and followers that makes both parties equally responsible in the pursuit of a common goal. Ethical leadership falls within the nexus of inspiring, stimulating, and visionary leader behaviours that make up transformational and charismatic leadership. Ethical leaders assist followers in gaining a sense of personal competence that allows them to be self-sufficient by encouraging and empowering them. What is Ethical Leadership? One typical response to the â€Å"ethics crisis† in business is a clarion call for more â€Å"ethical leadership,† yet there are few explanations of what exactly is meant by the term. Many executives and business thinkers believe that ethical leadership is simply a matter of leaders having good character. By having â€Å"the right values† or being a person of â€Å"strong character,† the ethical leader can set the example for others and withstand any temptations that may occur along the way. Without denying the importance of good character and the right values, the reality of ethical leadership is far more complex and the stakes are much higher. Over the past 25 years, in talking to executives in a number of industries about the problems of how to lead in a world of great change—globalization, democratization, and incredible technological advances—we have identified a number of touchstones for the idea of â€Å"ethical leadership.† Our experience is often contrary to the picture of business executives one finds in public discussion where they are often seen as greedy, competitive, and only concerned with compensation. In fact most executives want to be effective in their jobs and to leave their companies and the world a better place, creating value on both fronts for those whose lives they affect. Our view of ethical leadership takes into account not only the leader but also his constituents (followers and key stakeholders), the context or situation that the leader and constituents face, the leader’s processes and skills, and the outcomes that result. Leaders are first and foremost members of their own organizations and stakeholder groups. As such, their purpose, vision, and values are for the benefit of the entire organization and its key stakeholders. â€Å"Leaders see their constituents as not just followers, but rather as stakeholders striving to achieve that same common purpose, vision, and values. These follower and stakeholder constituents have their own individuality and autonomy which must be respected to maintain a moral community.† Ethical leaders embody the purpose, vision, and values of the organization and of the constituents, within an understanding of ethical ideals. They connect the goals of the organization with that of the internal employees and external stakeholders. Leaders work to create an open, two-way conversation, thereby maintaining a charitable understanding of different views, values, and constituents’ opinions. They are open to others’ opinions and ideas because they know those ideas make the organization they are leading better. Characteristics of Ethical Leaders In today’s turbulent world, ethics and values are present at a number of levels for executives and managers—leaders who devote their time and energy to leading the process of value creation. This broader concept of ethical leadership empowers leaders to incorporate and be explicit about their own values and ethics. The following list provides a framework for developing ethical leadership. It is based on the observations of and conversations with a host of executives and students over the past 25 years, and on readings of both popular and scholarly business literature. Written from the perspective of the leader, these ten facets of ethical leaders offer a way to understand ethical leadership that is more complex and more useful than just a matter of â€Å"good character and values.† â€Å"It is important for leaders to tell a compelling and morally rich story, but ethical leaders must also embody and live the story. This is a difficult task in today’s business environment where everyone lives in a fishbowl—on public display. So many political leaders fail to embody the high-minded stories they tell at election time, and more recently, business leaders have become the focus of similar criticism through the revelations of numerous scandals and bad behaviours. CEOs in today’s corporations are really ethical role models for all of society.† 1. Articulate and embody the purpose and values of the organization. Following a series of unethical activities by Citigroup employees in Japan in 2004, new CEO Chuck Prince fired several executives, publicly accepted responsibility and bowed apologetically to Japanese officials. Not only did Prince’s message resonate within Japan, but it also signalled a new era of â€Å"shared responsibility† within the culture of Citigroup where every employee was expected to take ownership for their decisions that affected the enterprise. 2. Focus on organizational success rather than on personal ego. Ethical leaders understand their place within the larger network of constituents and stakeholders. It is not about the leader as an individual, it is about something bigger—the goals and dreams of the organization. Ethical leaders also recognize that value is in the success of people in the organization. In 1998, in a bold gesture demonstrating how he valued the company’s line employees, Roger Enrico, former Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, chose to forego all but $1 of his salary, requesting that PepsiCo, in turn, contribute $1 million to a scholarship fund for employees’ children. In a similar manner, the founders of JetBlue began a process of matching, from their salaries, employee donations to a charity. Today, their entire salaries go to the JetBlue Crewmember Catastrophic Plan charity, to assist staff with crises not covered by insurance. The point of these examples is not that ethical leaders donate their salaries to charities, but rather that ethical leaders identify and act on levers, such as employee loyalty, that drive organizational success. 3. Find the best people and develop them. This task is fairly standard in different models of leadership. Ethical leaders pay special attention to finding and developing the best people precisely because they see it as a moral imperative—helping them to lead better lives that create more value for themselves and for others. Finding the best people involves taking ethics and character into account in the selection process. â€Å"Ethical leaders pay special attention to finding and developing the best people† Many CEOs have said to us that judging someone’s integrity is far more important than evaluating their experience and skills. Yet, in many organizations, employees are hired to fill a particular skill need with little regard to issues of integrity. 4. Create a living conversation about ethics, values and the creation of value for stakeholders. Too often business executives think that having a laminated â€Å"values card† in their wallet or having a purely compliance approach to ethics has solved the â€Å"ethics problem.† Suffice it to say that Enron and other troubled companies had these systems in place. What they didn’t have was a conversation across all levels of the business where the basics of value creation, stakeholder principles and societal expectations were routinely discussed and debated. There is a fallacy that values and ethics are the â€Å"soft, squishy† part of management. Nothing could be further from the truth. In organizations that have a live conversation about ethics and values, people hold each other responsible and accountable about whether they are really living the values. And, they expect the leaders of the organization to do the same. Bringing such a conversation to life means that people must have knowledge of alternatives, must choose every day to stay with the organization and its purpose because it is important and inspires them. Making a strong commitment to bringing this conversation to life is essential to do if one is to lead ethically. Most people know the story of Johnson and Johnson’s former CEO Jim Burke and the Tylenol product recall in the 1980s in which, at a great short-term financial cost, he pulled all potentially tampered-with products off the shelves, thereby keeping the public’s trust intact. The less well-known background to this story, however, is critical to understanding the final outcome. Well before the Tylenol crisis hit, Johnson Johnson had held a series of â€Å"challenge meetings† all around the world, where managers sat and debated their â€Å"Credo,† a statement of their purpose and principles of who they wanted to be as a company. The conversation about ethics at Johnson Johnson was alive, and in many ways made Jim Burke’s choice about handling the situation clearer than it otherwise would have been. 5. Create mechanisms of dispute. This needs to be made part of the organizational culture, not just a line item in a compliance program document. Some companies have used anonymous e-mail and telephone processes to give employees a way around the levels of management that inevitably spring up as barriers in large organizations. Many executives also have used â€Å"skip level† meetings where they go down multiple levels in the organization to get a more realistic view of what is actually going on. General Electric’s famous â€Å"workout† process—where workers meet to decide how to fix problems and make the company better—was a way for front line employees to push back against the established policies and authority of management. All of these processes lead to better decisions, more engaged employees, and an increased likelihood of avoiding damaging mistakes. In a company that takes its purpose or values seriously, there must be mechanisms of pushing back to avoid the values becoming stale and dead. Indeed, many of the current corporate scandals could have been prevented if only there were more creative ways for people to express their dissatisfaction with the actions of some of their leaders and others in the companies. The process of developing these mechanisms of dissent will vary by company, by leadership style, and by culture, but it is a crucial leadership task for value creation in today’s business world. 6. Take a charitable understanding of others’ values. Ethical leaders can understand why different people make different choices, but still have a strong grasp on what they would do and why. Following twenty-seven years in South African prisons, Nelson Mandela was still able to see the good in his jailers. After one particularly vicious jailer was being transferred away from Robbins Island because of Mandela’s protest and push back, the jailer turned to Mandela and stated â€Å"I just want to wish you people good luck.† Mandela interpreted this statement charitably as a sign that all people had some good within them, even those caught up in an evil system. Mandela felt that it was his responsibility to see this good in people and to try and bring it out. One CEO suggested that instead of seeing ethical leadership as preventing people from doing the wrong thing, we need to view it as enabling people to do the right thing. 7. Make tough calls while being imaginative. Ethical leaders inevitably have to make a lot of difficult decisions, from reorienting the company’s strategy and basic value proposition to making individual personnel decisions such as working with employees exiting the organization. Ethical leaders do not attempt to avoid difficult decisions by using an excuse of â€Å"I’m doing this for the business.† The ethical leader consistently unites â€Å"doing the right thing† and â€Å"doing the right thing for the business.† The idea that â€Å"ethical leadership† is just â€Å"being nice† is far from the truth. Often, exercising â€Å"moral imagination† is the most important task. Mohammed Yunus founded the Grameen Bank on such moral imagination. By taking the standard banking practice of only lending to people with collateral, and turning it on its head, Yunus spawned an industry of micro-lending to the poor. The Grameen Bank’s motto is that poverty belongs in a museum. In addition to having one of the highest loan repayment rates in the banking industry, the bank’s program of lending to poor women in Bangladesh to start businesses has helped millions of them to be able to feed themselves. 8. Know the limits of the values and ethical principles they live. All values have limits, particular spheres in which they do not work as well as others. The limits for certain values, for instance, may be related to the context or the audience in which they are being used. Ethical leaders have an acute sense of the limits of the values they live and are prepared with solid reasons to defend their chosen course of action. Problems can arise when managers do not understand the limits of certain values. As an example, one issue common to the recent business scandals was that managers and executives did not understand the limits of â€Å"putting shareholders first.† Attempts to artificially keep stock prices high—without creating any lasting value for customers and other stakeholders—can border on fanaticism rather than good judgment. Ethics is no different from any other part of our lives: there is no substitute for good judgment, sound advice, practical sense, and conversations with those affected by our actions. 9. Frame actions in ethical terms. Ethical leaders see their leadership as a fully ethical task. This entails taking seriously the rights claims of others, considering the effects of one’s actions on others (stakeholders), and understanding how acting or leading in a certain way will have effects on one’s character and the character of others. There is nothing amoral about ethical leaders, and they recognize that their own values may sometimes turn out to be a poor guidepost. The ethical leader takes responsibility for using sound moral judgment. But, there is a caution here. It is easy to frame actions in ethical terms and be perceived as â€Å"righteous.† Many have the view that ethics is about universal, inviolable principles that are carved into stone. We need to start with principles and values, and then work hard to figure out how they can be applied in today’s complex global business environment. Principles, values, cultures, and individual differences often conflict. Ethical leadership requires an attitude of humility rather than righteousness: a commitment to one’s own principles, and at the same time, openness to learning and to having conversations with others who may have a different way of seeing the world. Ethics is best viewed as an open conversation about those values and issues that are most important to us and to our business. It is a continual discovery and reaffirmation of our own principles and values, and a realization that we can improve through encountering new ideas.

Subject, Education, Truth :: Philosophy Papers

Subject, Education, Truth Two processes develop in human culture and society that implicate each other. The first is, according to Hegel, the development of universal experience and knowledge in any individual since individuals are never born complete as what they are supposed to be. The second is the subjectivization of the universal experience and knowledge into unique and singular forms of the self and self-consciousness. An analysis of these two processes in the history of philosophy has revealed the interconnections between the cognizing subject, truth and education and paideia. A hermeneutical principle of "self-care" that develops the skill of ruling and caring for others represents one of the traditions that includes these features in unity and determines a type of paideia. This principle is developed by Socratic, Platonic, Epicurean and Stoic morality, and was actualized by Descartes in his movement to the cogito. "Self-care" was considered in the 17th century as a condition of acquiring scientific k nowledge; later, however, it was labeled as egotism and individualism and replaced by self-cognition. Foucault gives proof of the necessity to revive the "self-care" principle in its initial sense as a foundation of the modern hermeneutical conception of upbringing. Hence, the role of philosophy as "an adviser" or "tutor" is to be revived in the process. How should I change my "self" to gain access to the truth? M. Foucault Hegel treats education as the alienation of natural Being and individual rising to universality, thus he correspondingly understands the person as "self" and as the subject of education. Subjectivity is here the definiteness of the universal. Aimed to freedom, it is able to unfold itself in culture and history, to develop itself on the basis of "the spirit and heart principle" to the extent of subjectivity, to the extent of judicial, moral, religious and scientific activity. It exhibits itself in active entity, internal activity and processuality as "inter-subjective" activity that develops in culture and history. The self-educating subjectivity becomes the highest universality, concrete Being of the universal, an individualisation of its content. In culture and society there develop two processes that meet each other. The first one, according to Hegel, is coming of a person to the universal experience and knowledge, because a person is never born the one s/he has to be. The second i s subjectivization of the universal experience and knowledge into unique and singular forms of the self and self-consciousness. Looking at education from these two points of view allows one to reveal hermeneutic meanings of education.

Princess Diana :: essays research papers

Princess Diana of Whales was a very wonderful person. She touched many lives and went through many turmoils herself. I decided to do my paper on Princess Diana of Wales, not only because I am named after her, but of my interest in such a wonderful role model. Lady Diana Frances Spencer, was born on 1 July 1961 at Park House near Sandringham, Norfolk. She was the youngest daughter of the then Viscount and Viscountess Althorp, now the late (8th) Earl Spencer and the Hon Mrs. Shand-Kydd, daughter of the 4th Baron Fermoy. Lady Diana's parents were married in 1954 and separated in 1967. The marriage was dissolved in 1969. Together with her two elder sisters Sarah (born 1955), Jane (born 1957) and her younger brother Charles (born 1964), Lady Diana continued to live with her father at Park House, Sandringham, until the death of her grandfather, the 7th Earl Spencer. In 1975, the family moved to the Spencer family seat at Althorp in Northamptonshire. Lady Diana first went to a preparatory school, Riddlesworth Hall at Diss, in Norfolk. Then in 1974 went as a boarder student to West Heath, near Sevenoaks, Kent. At school she had a particular talent for music (as an accomplished pianist), dancing and domestic science, which she gained the school's award for the girl giving maximum help to the school and her schoolfellows. She left West Heath in 1977 and went to finishing school at the Institute Alpin Videmanette in Rougemont, Switzerland, which she left in 1978. For a while she looked after the child of an American couple, and she worked as a kindergarten teacher at the Young England School in Pimlico. On 24 February 1981 it was officially announced that Lady Diana was to marry The Prince of Wales. As neighbors at Sandringham until 1975, their families had known each other for many years. Lady Diana and the The Prince had met again when he was invited to a weekend at Althorp in November 1977. They were married at St Paul's Cathedral in London on 29 July 1981, in a ceremony which drew a global television and radio audience estimated at around 1,000 million people, and hundreds of thousands of people lining the route from Buckingham Palace to the Cathedral. The couple was married by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Runcie. The Princess was the first Englishwoman to marry an heir to the throne for an incredible 300 years.

Paragon Information Systems

Individual Case Analysis Memorandum Paragon Information Systems BU481 – E Tabatha Dominguez Tuesday, November 29, 2011 PROBLEM AND RECOMMENDATION Paragon Information Systems is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Newtel Enterprises Limited, that operates in Atlantic Canada’s information systems industry. They meet their customers’ needs for information systems hardware and provide them with excellent customer service as well. There was recently a crisis as the founders of Paragon left the company, with the entire sales force, to start a new company in direct competition. Paragon was rebuilt and has become a stronger company since the founders left (EX1). Information systems hardware is a largely undifferentiated product so Paragon needs to deliver something unique and of value to customers. This can be done by adopting a focus differentiation strategy based on offering superior customer service (EX 8-9). Also, they will provide services that complement their hardware. This will allow Paragon to capitalize on their relationship with NewTel Information Systems (NIS) and become more profitable. ANALYSIS Focusing on the customer will create switching costs that will help to better protect Paragon’s position in the market (EX3,5). This will enable them to differentiate their company from competitors with a more sustainable method than simply competing on price. The new strategy will allow Paragon to fully realize the potential of their relationship with NIS (EX6-7). NIS has experience with selling services for information systems that Paragon can use to help their focus on services succeed. Working with an established organization like NIS will give them an opportunity to identify where there are gaps in their strategy and how they can best deal with those deficiencies. The services that accompany the hardware have much better margins than the hardware itself. Including services in the product market focus of Paragon will increase the profitability of the company and increase switching costs for clients (EX10). This change in focus will provide the management with the sustainable growth they wanted (EX2). Finally this alternative will properly align Paragon’s goals, product market focus and core activities with their now formalized value proposition (EX4). This will guide the actions of employees as it gives them direction for how they can provide value to the organization. IMPLEMENTATION The First thing Paragon needs to do is to meet with their employees and inform them that excellent customer service is how the company plans to differentiate themselves. Employees that will be trained to become capable of providing the services Paragon will now offer. The sales department will need to learn the specifics of the new services and will also receive customer service training. As the employees are being trained Collins will meet with NIS management and establish a formal relationship between the two subsidiaries. Paragon has moved from the crisis/reactive stage of the crisis curve to the anticipatory stage. With this in mind they should continue to use the participative leadership style they have been using so that they can gain acceptance for the changes that are planned more quickly. A more detailed outline of actions can be found in Exhibit 11. Exhibit 1 – Assessing Performance Customer Financial Innovation and Learning Internal Business processes Balanced Scorecard -Market share is increasing -Revenue has increased since the crisis -Investment in training tripled -Improved productivity -Had highest net income in company’s history Implications: Currently Paragon Information Systems is performing quite well. The changes they made have enabled them to change their position on the crisis curve from the reactive/crisis stage to the anticipatory stage. Exhibit 2 – Direction NEL Mission Statement – To provide sustained and consistent growth in shareholder value, through primary focus on telecommunications and related businesses in Atlantic Canada. Essential to our success will be exploitation of emerging competitive opportunities, responsive customer service and an effective, action-oriented management team. Implications: NewTel Enterprises Limited, which wholly owns Paragon, is committed to growing shareholder value and they believe providing excellent customer service is crucial to their success. Exhibit 3 – Atlantic Canada Information Technology Industry Analysis Threat of Substitute Products Threat of New Entrants Bargaining Power of Buyers Bargaining Power of Suppliers Intensity of Competitive Rivalry Porter’s Five Forces -Relatively low threat of substitute products -Computer hardware is necessary for an information system. -Barriers to entry are low, because of little government regulation and the lack of high upfront or fixed costs. Bargaining power of buyers is increasing -There are few competitors in the market place but more are entering -Buyers are happy to see more competition -Bargaining power of suppliers is unknown -level of intensity is unknown -Hardware is largely undifferentiated Implications: The information technology industry in Atlantic Canada is somewhat attractive. Hardware products are largely undifferentiated but excellent customer service can serve to establish switching costs. With the threat of new entrants and increasing bargaining p ower of buyers firms needs to offer more value than their competitors. Exhibit 4 – Business Strategy Business Strategy Triangle -The underlying strategy is to become more client-focused, and provide responsive customer service -They do not have a formal strategy in place Goals -Provide sustained and consistent growth in shareholder value -Create a more participative culture -Develop capabilities of employees Product Market -Systems integration, application development and computer networking Focus products and services in Atlantic Canada Core Activities -Selling hardware -Providing after sales support Implications: The goals, product market focus, and core activities are all aligned with providing the customer with quality service. However, Paragon has made no attempt to develop a formal strategy built around customer service. Value Proposition Exhibit 5 – Environment Analysis PEST Political Economics Unable to be determined. The strength of the economy can have a significant impact on the demand for computer hardware. Information systems do not directly generate revenue so if the economy is hurting a company’s ability to generate profits they may be hesitant to purchase an information system. If economic conditions are good then a company may be more likely to take this opportunity to develop an information system that can further improve their efficiency. Unable to be determined. Use of the internet is gaining momentum and will change the way that businesses operate. The way that customers communicate with businesses is moving from over the telephone to email. Companies need to be prepared for this change and be able to interact with customers through the medium they desire. Also, the technology that is sold in the industry is changing. The hardware is constantly improving, removing any advantage gained from superior technology quite rapidly. Social Technological Implications: With the threat of new competitors and lack of differentiation between products firms need to find another way to set themselves apart. They need to create value for their customers through means other than the technology they are selling. Exhibit 6 – Resource Analysis VRIO analysis – Relationship with NewTel Information Solutions (NIS) Value This relationship will allow Paragon knowledge on they can grow their service offering. NIS has experience providing services in the IS industry and can give advice to Paragon. Rarity No one else in the industry has a relationship with an established service provider like NIS. Inimitability Very difficult to establish a relationship with a company that may ultimately be a competitor. Organization There is no formal relationship between NIS and paragon. Implications: Paragon’s relationship with NIS can provide them with a competitive advantage. They just need to address the fact that there is no organization to capitalize on this resource. They need to have meetings with NIS or an intermediary that will allow them to communicate formally so they can share information and make sure they do not interfere with each other’s interests . Exhibit 7 – Strategy Analysis Strategy – Environment Linkage Strategy – Resources Linkage Strategy – Management Preferences Linkage Strategy – Organization Linkage Diamond-E Due to increased competition and a lack of differentiation in the hardware the industry sells Paragon needs to find a sustainable way to differentiate themselves. Paragon is not set up to capitalize on the possible benefits of sharing skills with another NEL subsidiary, NIS. NIS already has experience offering services for information systems in the Atlantic Canada market. Management at NEL is committed to revitalizing paragon. They are willing to give Collins whatever he determines is necessary to sustain growth of the company. They believe that excellent customer service is valuable enough to their customers, to provide a basis for which to set themselves apart from their competition. Paragon has identified training as a priority. They increased spending allocated to training to a level three times larger than before. Paragon needs their employees to have the technical knowledge and the proper communication skills to provide customer service that will differentiate the company. Implications: Paragon’s strategy, to differentiate themselves in Atlantic Canada with excellent customer service, is aligned with the needs of their environment and what management wants to do. However, there is a gap in the strategy-resources linkage as Paragon is not properly organized to exploit their relationship with NIS. They need a linkage or liaison with NIS so that they can fully utilize their knowledge of the service aspect of the information systems industry Exhibit 8 – Strategic Alternatives Alternative 1: Paragon will expand so as to offer services around their applications, differentiate themselves with superior customer service, capitalize on their relationship with NewTel Information Systems. Alternative 2: Paragon will expand its offering to include services with their applications, enter the New Brunswick and Quebec markets, differentiate themselves with superior customer service and restructure to a geographic organization. Exhibit 9 – Strategic Alternative Selection Alternative 1 -The market is large enough to sustain Paragon and is growing -Demand is steady -Low barriers to entry which can lead to more competitors -Low cost to serve customers -Low fixed costs Sustainability of -Utilizes customer service to create Competitive value for the customer Advantage? -Uses distinctive capabilities and processes to build strong customer and channel relationships Prospects for successful -Training has been increased to give implementation employees the customer service and technical skills required for this alternative -Consistent with managements goal of sustainable growth and responsive customer service (EX2) Are risks acceptable -A robust alternative -Assumes that Paragon is capable of providing services around their information systems hardware. Tests How attractive is the market? Alternative 2 -Larger market than alt 1 -Demand is steady -Low barriers to entry which can lead to more competitors -Low cost to serve customers -Low fixed costs -Utilizes customer service to create value for the customer -Uses distinctive capabilities and processes to build strong customer and channel relationships -Employees are capable of providing the customer service required -Organization has no experience in the Quebec and New Brunswick markets Will the forecast financial results be achieved and increase shareholder value? -Profitability of Paragon is expected to increase so even if revenues don’t meet expectations alternative will remain profitable. -A fragile alternative -assumes that Paragon can differentiate themselves in new markets -Assumes Paragon can withstand retaliation from competitors in new markets. Alternative is more dependent on reaching expected revenues -If targets are not met alternative will be less profitable Implications: Alternative 1 is a superio r alternative. They both have attractive markets and perceived sustainable competitive advantages. Alternative 2 offers a larger payoff but is much riskier. It assumes that paragon will be able to enter a new market and compete without any experience in those markets. Alternative one is more conservative but still offers growth and profitable returns with minimal risk. Exhibit 10 – Financial Projections Paragon Information Systems Projected Income Statement Years ended 1998, 1999, 2000 (in thousands) 1998 1999 $16,299 $17,927 15,729 17,255 $570 $672 Revenue Total Expenses Net Income 2000 $19,720 18,931 $789 Implications: This projection is based on revenues increasing 10% annually and net income as a percentage of revenue increasing from 3. 5% in 1998, to 3. 75% in 1999, and 4% in 2000. The increase in profitability occurs because the services that Paragon offers have a much higher margin. As services become a larger part of Paragons revenues, they will become more profitable. The increase in profitability from 1997 to 1998 is less than other periods to account for the loss of productivity when employees are being trained. Exhibit 11 – Strategy Implementation Immediate 3 Months 6 Months Long Term Hold a meeting with employees to inform them of the changes to the strategy and product offering -establish a formal relationship with NIS -train employees to properly provide services that will be offered. -Sales Department: learn about the services so they can -Sales Department: start pushing the service offerings -Meet with cl ients to discuss how Paragon can provide better service and offer more value -Meet with employees to discuss the progress of the new strategy and determine if any changes need to be made -Develop new customer service objectives with the information that was obtained from clients -Meet with employees to discuss the progress of the new strategy and determine if any changes need to be made -Evaluate the success of the strategy and make changes as necessary

Aboriginal Literature essays

Aboriginal Literature essays Native traditions and history were passed down through the generations using the art of storytelling. Storytelling was not only useful for Natives in this way but became a part of the tradition and history they passed down to their children. Unlike Euro-Canadian people, Aboriginal people did not put their oral traditions into writing but have increasingly begun to do so in the present day. This may keep these traditions from dying out as many already have, but this may also destroy the showmanship and meaning of Aboriginal storytelling. This is one of the most important critical debates pertaining to Native literature; is the written word destroying the effect of Native oral tradition or is it saving it? This essay will show that translating and converting Native oral stories to text may keep them alive longer than those who tell them, but the written word will never capture the full effect of Native oral storytelling. In the past, Native people did not document their history or traditions on paper. When the Europeans came, their traditions were disregarded because of this fact. This, and the fact that oral traditions were easily lost with the death of a particular culture or language, is the reason why Natives have lost so much of their history. As the ethnographer A.F Chamberlain wrote of the Indians of Scugog Island: These stories are only known to the older generation...and will soon be lost to oblivion if not taken down at once (Clark xii). Since the younger generations of Natives had less interest in their oral traditions the only way to save the traditions was to write them down; and this began the trend of Native written literature. In this way the Native traditions would live on even if they were not passed on orally. Unfortunately, the text versions of the stories do not convey everything that the oral stories themselves were intended to. When Native oral traditions are collected and transcribed,...

Understanding Citizen Journalism

Understanding Citizen Journalism Citizen journalism involves private individuals, who are normally the consumers of journalism, generating their own news content. Citizens collect, report, analyze, and disseminate news and information, just as professional journalists would, creating what is known as user-generated content. These amateur journalists produce news in many forms, ranging from a podcast editorial to a report about a city council meeting on a blog, and is usually digital in nature. It can also include text, pictures, audio, and video. Social media plays a major role in disseminating news and promoting citizen journalism content. Since the general public has 24/7 access to technology, citizens are often the first on-scene for breaking news, getting these stories out more quickly than traditional media reporters. However, unlike professional journalists, citizen journalists may not have conducted the same background research and source verification, which can make these leads less reliable. Collaborations vs. Independent Reporting Citizens are able to contribute content, in one form or another, to existing professional news sites. This collaboration can be seen through readers posting their comments alongside stories written by professional reporters, like a 21st-century version of a letter to the editor. To prevent obscene or objectionable messages, many websites require readers to register in order to post. Readers are also adding their information to articles written by professional journalists. For instance, a reporter may do an article about disparities in gas prices around town. When the story appears online, readers can post information about gas prices in areas not covered in the original story and even offer tips on where to buy cheaper gas. This collaboration allows both citizen and professional journalists to craft a story together. Reporters might even ask readers with expertise in particular areas to send them information on that topic or even do some of their own reporting. That information is then incorporated into the final story. Some amateur journalists operate fully independent of traditional, professional news outlets. This can include blogs in which individuals can report on events in their communities or offer commentary on the issues of the day, YouTube channels where citizens give their own news reports and commentaries, and even unofficial print publications. Revolutionizing News Citizen journalism was once hailed as a revolution that would make news-gathering a more democratic process - one that would no longer solely be the province of professional reporters. It has had a significant impact on todays news, with many believing that citizen journalism is a threat to professional and traditional journalism. Social media has played a vital role in revolutionizing news. Many citizens are the first to report on breaking stories, with eye-witness videos, first-hand accounts, and real-time information, all using social media. Even news outlets will share breaking stories on social media before traditional means, but they have to still follow up with larger stories quickly or risk being outdated with their material in this fast-paced news environment. Social media doesnt just play a role in disseminating citizen-generated news; it also stands as a source for professional journalists to identify the stories they need to cover. A 2016 study by Cision indicated that more than 50% of professional journalists used social media to find and build stories. Despite its vast impact on our daily news, citizen journalism is not without its flaws. The biggest concern is the reliability of news, including fact-checking and the risk of incorrect information being disseminated.

How to Use the US Social Security Death Index

How to Use the US Social Security Death Index The Social Security Death Index is a huge database containing vital information for more than 77 million people (primarily Americans) whose deaths have been reported to the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA). Deaths included in this index may have been submitted by a survivor requesting benefits or in order to stop Social Security Benefits to the deceased. Most of the information (about 98%) included in this index dates from 1962, although some data is from as early as 1937. This is because 1962 is the year that the SSA began to use a computer database for processing requests for benefits. Many of the earlier records (1937-1962) have never been added to this computerized database. Also included in the millions of records are approximately 400,000 railroad retirement records from the early 1900s to 1950s. These begin with numbers in the 700-728 range. What You Can Learn From the Social Security Death Index The Social Security Death Index (SSDI) is an excellent resource for finding information on Americans who died after the 1960s. A record in the Social Security Death Index will generally contain some or all of the following information: last name, first name, birth date, death date, Social Security number, the state of residence where the Social Security number (SSN) was issued, the last known residence and the location where the last benefit payment was sent. For individuals who died while residing outside of the U.S., the record may also include a special state or country residence code. Social Security records can help provide information needed to find a birth certificate, death certificate, obituary, maiden name, parents names, occupation or residence. How to Search the Social Security Death Index The Social Security Death Index is available as a free online database from numerous online organizations. There are some who charge for access to the Social Security Death index as well, but why pay when you can search it for free? For best results when searching the Social Security Death Index, enter only one or two known facts and then search. If the individual had an unusual surname, you may even find it useful to search on just the surname. If the search results are too large, then add more information and search again. Get creative. Most Social Security Death Index databases will allow you to search on any combination of facts (such as a birth date and first name). With over 77 million Americans included in the SSDI, locating a particular person can often be an exercise in frustration. Understanding the search options is extremely important in helping to narrow down you search. Remember: it is best to start off with just a few facts and then add additional info if it is needed to fine tune your search results. Search the SSDI by Last NameWhen searching the SSDI you should often start with the last name and, perhaps, one other fact. For best results, select the Soundex Search option (if available) so that you dont miss possible misspellings. You can also try searching for the obvious alternate name spellings on your own. When searching for a name with punctuation in it (such as DAngelo), enter the name without the punctuation. You should try this both with and without a space in place of the punctuation (i.e. D Angelo and DAngelo). All names with prefixes and suffixes (even those which dont use punctuation) should be searched both with and without the space (i.e. McDonald and Mc Donald). For married women, try searching under both their married name and their maiden name. Search the SSDI by First NameThe first name field is searched by exact spelling only, so be sure to try other possibilities including alternate spellings, initials, nicknames, middle names etc. Search the SSDI by Social Security NumberThis is often the piece of information that genealogists searching the SSDI are looking for. This number can enable you to order the individuals Social Security application, which can lead to the discovery of all sorts of new clues for your ancestor. You can also learn which state issued the SSN from the first three digits. Searching the SSDI by State of IssueIn most cases, the first three numbers of the SSN indicate which state issued the number (there are a few instances where one three digit number was used for more than one state). Complete this field if you are fairly positive of where your ancestor was living when they received their SSN. Be aware, however, that people often lived in one state and had their SSN issued from another state. Searching the SSDI by Birth DateThis field has three parts: the birth date, month and year. You may search on just one or any combination of these fields. (i.e. the month and year). If you have no luck, then try narrowing down your search to just one (i.e. the month or the year). You should also search for obvious typos (i.e. 1895 and/or 1958 for 1985). Searching the SSDI by Death DateJust as with the birth date, the death date lets you search separately on the birth date, month and year. For deaths prior to 1988 it is advisable to search on the month and year only, as the exact date of death was seldom recorded. Make sure to search for the possible typos! Searching the SSDI by Location of Last ResidenceThis is the address where the person was last known to be living when the benefit was applied for. About 20% of records do not contain any information on Last Residence, so if you are having no luck with your search you may want to try searching with this field left blank. The residence location is entered in the form of a ZIP code and includes the city/town which is associated with that ZIP code. Keep in mind that boundaries have changed over time, so make sure to cross reference the city/town names with other sources. Searching the SSDI by Last Benefit InformationIf the individual in question was married you may find that the last benefit and location of last residence are one and the same. It is a field which you will usually want to leave blank for your search as the last benefit could often have been paid to any number of people. This information can prove to be extremely valuable in the search for relatives, however, as next of kin were usually the ones to receive the last benefit. Many people search the Social Security Death Index and quickly get discouraged when they cant locate someone they feel should be listed. There are actually a lot of reasons why a person may not be included, as well as tips to finding people who arent listed as you would expect. Have You Exhausted All Your Options? Before concluding that your ancestors name is not in the index, try the following: Make sure that you have tried soundex search or alternate spellings for your surname.Many SSDI indexes allow wildcards to be used in searching. (You could type in Pat* Smith and it would find Pat Smith, Patrick Smith, Patricia Smith and so on). Check the rules for the SSDI search engine you are using to see what types of wildcards are allowed.If you have filled in several search fields and received no results for your ancestor, then try searching with less information. Just because you know your ancestors birth date, doesnt mean it is listed correctly in the SSDI or that it is even listed at all.If you are including the given name (first name) in your search, then be sure to check for alternate spellings. The search will only return results which match the given name you enter exactly.Middle names are not usually included. Even if your ancestor went by his/her middle name, you should be sure to check under their first name as well. In some cases the first and middle names may both be included in the given name field. The person may be listed with an initial or initials in the given name field.An individual may have only a single name entered (either a first name or a last name). You would be best off trying to narrow these down with other known facts such as birth or death date.Married women are most likely listed under their husbands surname, but if this provides no results then check for a listing under their maiden name. If a women was married more than once, be sure to check all married names.Titles such as military rank (Col.), Occupation (Dr.), Family Rank (Jr.) and Religious Order (Fr.) may be included with either the surname or the given name. There may also be variations in the way the title was entered. For example, you may find Jr. with and without the period and placed after the surname with either a space or a comma (i.e. Smith, Jr or Smith Jr.).Leave out the ZIP code field as this does not exist for the earlier records.Check a variety of dates - typos and transposition of digits is common. 1986 could have been entered as 1896 or 1968. 01/06/63 could be read as January 6, 1963 or June 1, 1963. Reasons  You May Not Find Your Ancestor The person who entered the information into the database may have made typographical or other errors. The information may also have been incorrectly recorded during the initial application process. This was especially true when Social Security numbers were first issued and involved a multi-step application process with an opportunity for errors at each step.Many of the records prior to 1962 (when the SSDI database was first computerized) were never added.Your ancestors death may have never been reported to the Social Security Administration.It may be possible that your ancestor did not have a Social Security card. Many occupations prior to 1960 were not eligible for social security enrollment.

Chicago tribune tower competition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Chicago tribune tower competition - Essay Example (see fig. 1) Yet as with any design project, opinions were subjective, many professionals believing the winner should have been the simplified modernistic design by the Finnish architect, Eliel Saarinen.(see fig. 2). Winner or not, future designs would soon replicate Saarinen’s simplicity and the competition itself become the focal point of discussion and ideas that would forever effect the purpose and design of these giant, impressive structures. (jitterbuzz.com, no date) Howell’s and Hood’s design, with its classic buttresses popular in the early twentieth century, seemed a logical choice to blend with other more traditional buildings in the city. The thirty-six story building featured a spectacular topside treatment with structural piers shooting upward to flying buttresses that form an ornate ornamental crown. Elaborate Gothic carvings adorn the top and bottom of the building along with contributing decorations from more than one-hundred and twenty structures of significance, including the Great Wall of China. As was the case with most of Hoods projects, the sculptures and decorations were executed by the American artist Rene Paul Chamberllan. The tower also features carved images of Robin Hood (Hood) and a howling dog (Howells) near the main entrance to commemorate the architects. Its famous lobby incorporates patriotic passages defending freedom of the press. Its Gothic style, hardly unique, was somewhat based on a precedent set by Hood’s Woolworth Building, built 1913†(see fig 3) ( jitterbuzz.com, no date, para. 3). Critics such as Louis Sullivan, who coined the phrase â€Å"form ever follows function,† disagreed on principle with the committee’s choice. Though Sullivan’s quote has often been over-and misused over time, â€Å"his [Sullivan’s] point, that the style of architecture should reflect its purpose, made sense at the time, and continued to do so for much of the last century...† (Rawsthorn, 2009, para. 3). In preferring

Comparison of creation of wealth across different asset classes with Dissertation

Comparison of creation of wealth across different asset classes with pakistan stock market kse-100 - Dissertation Example The securities that are traded at stock exchange market are shares, unit trusts, derivatives and bonds. Stock market index on the other hand means the statistical gauge that is used to measure and report changes around the stocks or shares market value. Stock market index track the movement of market differently depending on the averaging method used to come with the index, coverage of index whether broad or narrow and the weight applied which depends on whether it is based on market capitalization or market prices (Puntaier 2010). A nominal rate of return in the stock exchange market represents the investment returns before adjusting for inflation rate during that period. A real rate of return on the hand is the rate of return on the investment after taking into consideration the inflation rate factor during that period. Literature review Pakistan stock exchange market (KSE 100) is the stock market index that tracks the share prices of 100 top listed companies on the Karachi Stock E xchange. The index was first launched in November 1991 with a stand of 1000 points which has generally grown to new heights in the past. The companies with the highest market capitalization are selected in determining the companies that are to be made use of in working out of the index. To make sure that the index is a full representation of the market, each sector of the economy is represented in this computation by the highest capitalized company from that sector which covers over 80% of the total market capitalization. There are 35 sectors of Pakistan economy that are captured in the computation of KSE 100 index which includes, open-end mutual funds, close-end mutual funds, modarabas, leasing companies, investment banks/ investment companies/ security companies, commercial banks, insurance companies, textile weaving industry, textile spinning industry, textile composite sector, woolen sector, jute sector, sugar and allied industry, tobacco sector, power generation and distributio n sector, oil and gas marketing companies sector, oil and gas exploration sector, cement sector, automobile assembly sector, refinery sector, automobile parts and accessories sector, cable and electrical goods sector, technology and communication sector, fertilizer sector, pharmaceuticals sector, chemical sector, paper and board sector, vanaspan and allied industries, transport sector, leather and tanneries sector, food and personal care products sector, glass and ceramics sector, synthetic and rayon sector and miscellaneous sector. The companies are selected from each of the 35 sectors except from the open-end mutual fund sector (McGuigan and Moyer 2012). The largest capitalized companies in each of the 34 sectors makes the first 34 companies on the list while the remaining 66 companies are selected in a descending manner from the highest capitalized to the 66th capitalized company. If a company has being suspended in the last 6 months from trading and or on the defaulters’ counter, it is not included in the composition of the KSE 100 index. The reason behind the establishment of KSE 100 index is to act as a benchmark of comparing the stock price performance over a period of time. Thus, KSE 100 design helps investors to have a sense of how the performance of equity market is in Pakistan. This means that KSE 100 works like other indicators in tracking down the sectors of economy of Pakistan. The index is computed by taking the total market

The South Vindicated from the Treason and Fanaticism of the Northern Assignment

The South Vindicated from the Treason and Fanaticism of the Northern Abolitionists (1836) - Assignment Example He explained the life of a poor laborer in the north is far worse than the life of a southern salve. A northern poor laborer might work hard, unrelenting jobs under horrific conditions and still not make enough income to support himself and his family. He may do this his whole life and never come up in the world or provide for his loved ones. He shares that the experience of a southern slave is much more secure. Although they are work hard and tirelessly, they are provided comfortable living arrangements, proper food, and better hygiene and treatment of sickness than the northern worker would ever receive. A slave has fewer worries in life and security, the author believes that the slave’s existence is far more attractive than that of a northern laborer. He believed that educating slaves was dangerous and unfair. It is dangerous for slaves to be influenced by the false messages of abolitionists would rile them up and make them eager to seek freedom, which in turn would force southern whites to take greater and stricter measures to keep the salves in line. By educating them would be to, potentially, expose them to information that will only misinform them and lead them down a path that will only end in punishment and pain. He believes that the southern way of life is more a reflection of what human beings should be like. Because slavery relieves the white man from the day-to-day labors and basic necessity concerns, like food, income, and shelter, they can focus on more important things. Many men had more time to involve themselves in politics and educating themselves. All white men in the south are equal to all other men because there is no labor class per say as in the north. This country was founded on the principals that all men are created equal. The south believes that statement only applies to the white man. Therefore the universal mentality of equality in the south is closer to

Development of Scratch Radio to the Station Manager Essay

Development of Scratch Radio to the Station Manager - Essay Example The main objective of the study is to recognize and determine current involvement in Radio Listening amongst BCU undergraduate scholars in the City North campus. It is mainly because there are various competitors for the Scratch Radio as well as it is also very much necessary to identify the thoughts of BCU undergraduate students towards Scratch Radio and its selected competitors. The study includes the questioners’ analysis which will help to identify the current involvement and future development of Scratch Radio. Thirst for knowledge is the fundamental human condition. Research methodology is the systematic process of exploring knowledge. The research can be conducted in many ways. The methodology of the research is decided in relation to the nature of the study and the type of sample and the data collection. In this study the researcher tries to explore the information about the current involvement in Radio Listening between BCU undergraduate students and also to evaluate the attitudes of BCU undergraduate students towards Scratch Radio. â€Å"Methodology is the pathway or an approach to get the needed information by locating the data from different sources which are primary & secondary†. In this research paper, the data gathering was done using various research instruments. The research instruments have helped to carry out the interview process and data gathering more easily. The study will be a pilot survey, to test the questionnaire and the survey methods and to generate some exploratory data which may be useful to decision makers of marketing division. Sample size taken to conduct the survey is 20. All the students that took part in the survey are students of BCU undergraduate course in the City North campus. And also this sample survey includes male and female students of each study year. Personal interviews are carried out to collect most significant information from the target audience. The sample size selected was quite enough and usef ul for this research. The survey was conducted in the same method, but the people interviewed were different. The tools used in this research are really working and useful to carry out a detail study. Questionnaires are one of the ways used to collect information from the target customers to acquire the relevant information. The questionnaires are well planned. Both open ended and closed ended questionnaires are used to collect information. Open ended questionnaires are carried out to acquire the information in the deliberate style. Closed ended questionnaires are used to acquire the information in the single words such as the questionnaires comprises of the YES or NO type questions. â€Å"A Questionnaire can be quite inexpensive to administer. Time is also an important resource that questionnaires can maximize† (Stasko & O’Brien n.d.). 4) Summary of the Key Findings: This pilot survey we have conducted has helped to find out the opinions and recommendations of the stu dent listeners of Scratch radio of BCU. The sample size of

Answer questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 23

Answer questions - Essay Example Males that are good hunters control their hunting groups and interact a lot with fertile females. The genes for goo hunters get passed on to other generations due to increased possibility of mating with fertile females (Van, pg.198). 2: read page 205 â€Å"The Mother/Infant Bond and Social Learning† and answer the following question: What do the monkeys raised without a mother tell us about the importance of parenting among primates? Are primates purely instinctual, or do they need to learn complex behaviors? Parenting among primates plays a crucial role in shaping the basic skills of the babies. The monkeys that did not grow up with a mother could not interact well with others, and they lacked basic mothering skills towards their young ones. Primates are not purely instinctual, and they need to learn the complex behaviors. The surrogate ‘mothers’ in the story did not provide any practice for the young monkeys to emulate; this letter made them behave negatively towards others (Wrangham, pg. 205). The chimpanzees used the knuckle-walking style of locomotion when on the ground. They mostly utilized the proximal finger joints of their hands while walking on quadrupedal but not the palms of their hands. The chimpanzee in the video portrayed minimal differences between them and other subspecies. Their bodies are more robust build than the bonobos, and they seem to have slight sexual dimorphic features. The grooming handclasp in the video shows that the Chimpanzee live in a fission-fusion society. Like other animals, they move and do their activities in groups mostly because they want to avoid the predators. The group size of the Chimpanzee keeps on changing in size and composition all through the year in addition to their activities

Development of Scratch Radio to the Station Manager Essay

Development of Scratch Radio to the Station Manager - Essay Example The main objective of the study is to recognize and determine current involvement in Radio Listening amongst BCU undergraduate scholars in the City North campus. It is mainly because there are various competitors for the Scratch Radio as well as it is also very much necessary to identify the thoughts of BCU undergraduate students towards Scratch Radio and its selected competitors. The study includes the questioners’ analysis which will help to identify the current involvement and future development of Scratch Radio. Thirst for knowledge is the fundamental human condition. Research methodology is the systematic process of exploring knowledge. The research can be conducted in many ways. The methodology of the research is decided in relation to the nature of the study and the type of sample and the data collection. In this study the researcher tries to explore the information about the current involvement in Radio Listening between BCU undergraduate students and also to evaluate the attitudes of BCU undergraduate students towards Scratch Radio. â€Å"Methodology is the pathway or an approach to get the needed information by locating the data from different sources which are primary & secondary†. In this research paper, the data gathering was done using various research instruments. The research instruments have helped to carry out the interview process and data gathering more easily. The study will be a pilot survey, to test the questionnaire and the survey methods and to generate some exploratory data which may be useful to decision makers of marketing division. Sample size taken to conduct the survey is 20. All the students that took part in the survey are students of BCU undergraduate course in the City North campus. And also this sample survey includes male and female students of each study year. Personal interviews are carried out to collect most significant information from the target audience. The sample size selected was quite enough and usef ul for this research. The survey was conducted in the same method, but the people interviewed were different. The tools used in this research are really working and useful to carry out a detail study. Questionnaires are one of the ways used to collect information from the target customers to acquire the relevant information. The questionnaires are well planned. Both open ended and closed ended questionnaires are used to collect information. Open ended questionnaires are carried out to acquire the information in the deliberate style. Closed ended questionnaires are used to acquire the information in the single words such as the questionnaires comprises of the YES or NO type questions. â€Å"A Questionnaire can be quite inexpensive to administer. Time is also an important resource that questionnaires can maximize† (Stasko & O’Brien n.d.). 4) Summary of the Key Findings: This pilot survey we have conducted has helped to find out the opinions and recommendations of the stu dent listeners of Scratch radio of BCU. The sample size of

Financial Reporting and Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Financial Reporting and Analysis - Essay Example This principle can also be termed as accrual basis accounting. c) Purchase for store equipment or office equipment for less than $25 are entered in miscellaneous expenses. The matching principle is followed here. Expenses and revenues have to be matched if it becomes reasonable to do so. Expenses should be recognized when a particular work or product contributes to revenue. It is not when the work is done or when the product is produced. Income is recognized the same way with the expenses whether it is earned, incurred and received or spent. Consistency is enhanced through this principle. f) Land purchased 15 years ago for $40500 and now worth $346 000 is still carried in the books at $40500 on the basis of the historical cost principle. Land is a long term asset and should be reported in the balance sheet at its purchase cost rather than its current market value. This principle is based It should be based on the cost of acqusation. The information provided by this principle is reliable although lacks relevance and that the reason why Debts and Securities are now being reported at their market values. g) Zero corporation reports the possible loss of $1 million after it was sued for breach of contract in accordance with the principle of full disclosure. This principle ensures that all the important financial information is fully included in financial statements. This principle is important since it ensures that a company reflects even negative information and also highlighting positive impacts (Gibson, 2008). When the financial statements are audited, an opinion is expressed, the opinion of the auditor should be expressed on the opinion that generally accepted accounting principles are followed and applied on the basis of consistency as they were applied in the preceding year (Ramos, 2006). Unqualified opinion –this type of an opinion has no financial statements

Ethical Implications of Cloning and Stem Cell Research Essay Example for Free

Ethical Implications of Cloning and Stem Cell Research Essay Bio-medical breakthroughs in the fields of genetic and tissue engineering hold great promise. However, as modern medicine advances, it often poses major ethical issues on which people are seriously divided. The argument in favor of proceeding with research at unrestrained pace is mainly advocated by scientists and medical experts who would like to see some fantastic therapeutic benefits that science promises in the form of stem cell technologies. Scientists are absolutely thrilled by the possibilities looming on the horizon (Thompson, Harrub 2001c). On the other side of the debate are people, sometimes led by religious groups, who are concerned we may going too far too fast, using unacceptable means and in unknown directions. Stem cell research has the greatest potential for saving lives, but is controversial for its research based on embryos and fetuses (Rickard 2002). Stem cells are immature and unspecialized cells that that possess both the capacity to renew themselves indefinitely as well as the capability to differentiate themselves into specialized and mature cells. Mature cells, such as the heart’s myocytes or the liver’s hepatocytes, stop dividing after several dozen divisions, while stem cells can keep on dividing indefinitely, either renewing themselves or bringing out specialized cells. There are four types of stem cells in the human body 1) adult stem cells, 2) fetal stem cells 3) embryonic stem cells, and 4) nuclear transplant stem cells. For the first three months of pregnancy, a fertilized cell, or zygote, divides and grows in the mothers womb and is referred to as an embryo. The embryo’s stem cells are the precursors of the development of a complete human baby. They produce all of the bodys various 100 trillion cells. It should become possible to use embryonic stem cells to regenerate any type of cell that the body needs. When the embryo assumes an apparent human body form, it becomes a fetus. Because the fetus is growing rapidly, all tissues and organs, including the brain, contain stem cells. It is for this reason that stem cell researchers are interested in studying fetal tissues. Studies suggest that human embryonic stem cells have immense potential in terms of developing into multiple tissue types and long-term self-renewal. Therefore, stem cell research entails the intentional creation of human embryos in the highly artificial context of an IVF clinic, using cloning techniques, and discarding them after their use for research is exhausted (Thompson, Harrub 2001a). The question to be resolved is whether research on embryonic stem cells constitutes a violation of fundamental human rights, in particular the principle of respect for human dignity and the right of life. However, many believe that conception/fertilization is not a moment but a process, and the early development does not indicate true individuality in any sense of the word, and therefore there is violation of human rights. The promise of embryo research, liberal-minded people tend to think, is too real to ignore any longer by sticking to conservative attitudes that stand in the face of pragmatism. And yet, even they would flinch at the possibilities of reproductive cloning. The difference between therapeutic cloning using embryonic stem cells (stem cell research) and reproductive cloning is the distinction between creating cloned body tissue or organs for therapeutic purposes and creating cloned human beings. Reproductive cloning is generally viewed as morally abhorrent because it is seen as unnatural and a commodification of human life, and it captures public fears about the power of science to pursue a eugenic agenda. When governmental organizations of today debate ban on human cloning, the main issue in such debates would be whether to ban outright all forms of embryo cloning, which a number of countries seem to support, or to permit the cloning of embryos for research purposes (therapeutic cloning/ stem cell research) while outlawing human reproductive cloning. Besides reproductive cloning, there is another untoward ramification to therapeutic cloning, which is cloning for enhancement. The issue of using advances in stem cell research for the purposes of enhancement, as against solely therapeutic purposes, opens up a Pandora’s box of all kinds of complications, ethical, social, psychological, philosophical and practical. For instance, stem cell approaches might help to cure Parkinsons patients, but, in the not too distant future, they could also be used to improve brain functions. Rich people would be able to afford this therapy and poor people would not. This could create a most undesirable stratification of the society. But where does therapeutic cloning end, and enhancement cloning begin — even if cloning was advanced for purely therapeutic purposes, it would soon spread into the domain of enhancement. This is the argument of â€Å"slippery slope† commonly advanced against all biomedical research involving genetic and cellular manipulation. Last but not least, thanks to the promise that genetic engineering and human cloning research hold, the prospects of achieving capabilities for indefinite life extension even within the next twenty to thirty years are very high (Thompson, Harrub 2001b). The consequences of physical immortality for whole populations are simply inconceivable. But today, the possibility of human race becoming permanently deathless looms uncomfortably close to us. Therefore it becomes imperative that something be done to stem the advances of genetic and cloning research before the situation goes out of hand. A number of states have already enacted specific cloning-ban legislation, either banning the cloning of humans or imposing a moratorium on cloning within the state. Other states have taken action at least to consider formally similar legislation. At federal level, the Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2003, which bans the process of human cloning for any purpose and the importation of any product derived from an embryo created via cloning, was passed by the U. S. House of Representatives on 27 February 2003. It was not ratified by the senate though. The Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2005 bans only reproductive cloning while allowing therapeutic cloning. To date, federal regulations only prohibit federal funding for research into human cloning (Cash 2005). Though the science of bio-medical engineering is making rapid strides, and offers the promise of unveiling radical new therapies, simply the fact that a technology exists does not imply that anyone who can pay for it can be automatically allowed to use it. This is because the emerging genetic and cellular techniques and technologies raise all kinds of issues, ethical, philosophical, social, psychological and so on. They carry with them implications very difficult even to comprehend.

Evolutionary Approaches to Economic Change

Evolutionary Approaches to Economic Change What is the evolutionary approach to economic change? How does it compare with conventional approach in mainstream economics? Introduction The changes in the economic process brought about by innovation, together with all their effects, and the response to them by the economic system, we shall designate by the term Economic Evolution†, Schumpeter (1939).[1] The above description of economic evolution by Schumpeter aptly illustrates the picture of the evolutionary approach to economic change, where innovations and technology set the economic system in dynamic motion.[2] It takes into account the complexity of economic change by emphasizing: a.) the importance of technology as a contributing factor to economic change; b.) the factors that create states of disequilibrium; c.) the uncertainty of the economic system; d.) the importance of entrepreneurship; and e.) the diversity of growth rates. The evolutionary approach emphasizes dynamism in terms of competition between and among firms, which necessitates making new adaptations to the changing environment brought about by transformations created by other firms. [3] On the other hand, the conventional approach to economic change in mainstream economics perceives economic change as a function of savings, population growth and technological progress (which are viewed as exogenous), ascertain t he static income per capita levels. [4] It assumes that the growth rate of total output will in fact, always move towards a given constant level which represents a state of steady economic growth. [5] Moreover, the conventional approach operates on the basis of assumptions that center on the existence of perfect information, absence of uncertainty and achievement of warranted economic change. Comparative Analysis of Evolutionary and Conventional Approaches to Economic Change Evolutionary and conventional approaches to economic change differ in many aspects. In the context of economic change, these important differences center on the following points: a.) use of metaphors; b.) states of equilibrium / disequilibrium; and c.) emphasis on technological progress as input to economic change. Use of Metaphors The evolutionary approach uses biological metaphors to explain economic change, which uses the living organism in its analogy in effecting such change. This approach uses biological / genetic mutations to represent the small changes coming from investments in already existing enterprises. The process of mutation as evolutionary adaptation for survival lies on the nature of biological mutations which happens at random and where natural selection weeds out the unsuccessful species. Similarly, economic change in the context of the evolutionary approach occurs in a competitive environment where changes are made at random and where enterprises with less efficient management systems become the unsuccessful ones. On the other hand, the conventional approach uses physical metaphors such as investments taking the form of physical inputs such as â€Å"modifications of existing factories, fields, roads, harbours, etc†. [6] States of Equilibrium / Disequilibrium The evolutionary approach highlights the dynamic interaction of the various firms, consumers, households and markets, taking into account the distribution of income and production among them, thereby emphasizing the influence of a diverse group of variables on economic change. This is in stark contrast to the consideration of the economy as an aggregate entity by the conventional approach. In effect, the variables being diverse and numerous in the perspective of the evolutionary approach, potentially create states of dynamic disequilibrium within the economic system. These states of disequilibrium are in fact embodied in the structural change within the economic system which is â€Å"a necessary reflection of diversity in the growth rates of different activities.[7] It rejects the classical assumption of Say’s Law [8] , [9], since the evolutionary approach is grounded on a more realistic view of the economy where society places a value on the goods produced based on its prefe rences and tastes, thus, the uncertainty of gains and losses are well taken into account. This realistic view of the evolutionary approach to economic change therefore delves into the interaction between the diverse agents or actors involved in the economic system as a whole. These interactive processes being essentially dynamic and transformative in nature, expose the economic system into more random forces that lead to a disorderly state or to a state of disequilibrium. In this scenario, market processes shape the competitive process which breeds innovation consequently leading to the restless quest for technological progress. Technological progress later determines market share and hence, becomes a useful yardstick of competitive edge. In this case, there is hardly any state of equilibrium, but instead, there exist randomly interacting forces colliding with one another, producing further disequilibrium in the economic system. A useful analogy would be to equate biological evoluti onary forces that determine the likelihood of an organism to survive in a constantly changing environment, to the economic factors that cause disequilibrium which determine the competitive strength of firms in the face of imperfect competition. The conventional approach views economic change as a stationary or static process, and thus, the growth of all activities† are â€Å"at a uniform rate†. [10] The neoclassical theory which follows a conventional approach negates the importance of economic forces that often influence the rate of economic change, making it an idealized approach. Thus, in this case, there is a total absence of unemployment or inflation, while what exists is a uniform return to scale. This approach models economic change in a state of equilibrium where economic decisions are made from perfect information, and are carried out with â€Å"perfect foresight and precision so that there is never any excess supply of or, excess demand for, labor or land.† [11] This approach also assumes that a perfect suitability exists in production between capital goods and consumption goods, thus, â€Å"only one commodity is produced which may be used either for final consumption or for addition to the st ock of instruments of production.† [12] Hence this steady state of economic change in the perspective of the conventional approach assumes that: (i) all elasticities of substitution between the various factors are equal to unity, (ii) technical progress is neutral towards all factors, and (iii) the proportions of profits saved, of wages saved, and of rents saved were all three constant, [13] The conventional approach inherently possesses an â€Å"apparent inability to account for observed diversity across countries† and a â€Å"strong and counterfactual prediction that international trade should include rapid movement towards equality in capital-labor ratios and factor prices.† [14] Since it emphasizes the production function where the relationship of inputs of factors used to generate the output becomes a major consideration, in effect, it uses the classical assumption of Say’s Law.[15] Technology as Input to Economic Change The evolutionary approach to economic change emphasizes the role of technological knowledge in the improvement of economic productivity. It presupposes that technological progress and innovation are central to the attainment of economic change. J.S. Gans asserts that acceleration to the growth rate could be achieved if resources would be allocated to the production and distribution of knowledge. [16] The endogenous sources of technological progress and innovation are the institutions and organizations within which it becomes an integral part. This approach emphasizes the need to capitalize on institutions and organizations as sources of technological knowledge, in effect highlighting the importance of entrepreneurship in the quest for economic change. The costliness of technological innovation becomes embedded in the central factor of entrepreneurship which is viewed as a factor that drives capital deepening through shifts in the production function to achieve a higher rate of techno logical progress.[17] The conventional approach regards technology as exogenous and therefore is not regarded as an inherent part of the economic system . It does not trace the source of economic growth to technological innovation and consequently assumes that technology is a free good,â€Å"manna from heaven.† [18] Conclusion In the final analysis, the revolutionary and conventional approaches to economic change lie on opposite planes of the overarching concept of economic change. Their differences lie on the following salient points: The evolutionary approach emphasizes: the use of biological metaphors, dynamic change, and disequilibrium factors in a diverse economic system and entrepreneurship; and puts significant consideration on the role of technological knowledge as an endogenous part of institutions and organizations responsible for wealth creation and distribution. The conventional approach on the other hand, espouses: the use of physical metaphors, static or comparative static condition; disregards entrepreneurship due to the aggregate production perspective; and considers technological knowledge as a free, exogenous good , not directly associated with wealth creation and distribution. References: Dosi, G., Nelson, R. R., â€Å"Evolutionary Theories†. In Markets and Organization, ed. Arena, R., Longhi, C., 205-234. New York: Springer – Verlag, 1998. Gans, Joshua, S. â€Å"Knowledge of Growth and the Growth of Knowledge†. Information Economics and Policy, 4 (1989/91): 201 – 224. Green, Eric Marshall. Economic Security and High Technology Competition in an Age of Transition: The Case of the Semiconductor Industry. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1996. Lucas, Robert, E. Jr., â€Å"On the Mechanics of Economic Development† . Journal of Monetary Economics , 22 (July 1988): 3-42. Martens, Bertin. The Cognitive Mechanics of Economic Development and Institutional Change. New York: Routledge, 2004. Meade, J. E. A Neo-Classical Theory of Economic Growth. New York: Oxford University Press, 1961. Meliciani, Valentina. Technology, Trade, and Growth in OECD Countries: Does Specialisation Matter?. London: Routledge, 2001. Metcalfe, J. Stanley. Evolutionary Economics and Creative Destruction. London: Routledge, 1998. Metcalfe, J.S. â€Å"Knowledge of growth and the growth of knowledge.† Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 12 (March 2002): 3-15. Nelson, Richard. How New Is New Growth Theory?. Challenge 40, no. 5 (1997): 29+. Reinert, E. S., Riiser, V. Recent Trends in economic theory – implications for development geography. Oslo, Norway: Studies in Innovation and Economic Policy ( Step Group) , 12 (August, 1994): 1-12. ISSN : 0804-8185. Available from: http://www.step.no/reports/Y1994/1294.pdf. Accessed ; 18, November, 2006. Scott, Maurice Fitzgerald. A New View of Economic Growth. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1991. Sengupta, Jati K. New Growth Theory: An Applied Perspective. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, 1998. 1 Footnotes [1] J. Stanley Metcalfe, Evolutionary Economics and Creative Destruction (London: Routledge, 1998 ): 103. [2] Giovanni Dosi, Richard R. Nelson, â€Å"Evolutionary Theories† in Markets and Organization, ed. Arena, R., Longhi, C. (New York: Springer – Verlag, 1998): 205-234. [3] Maurice Fitzgerald Scott, A New View of Economic Growth (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1991): 124. [4] Jati K. Sengupta, New Growth Theory: An Applied Perspective (Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, 1998): 13. [5] J. E. Meade, A Neo-Classical Theory of Economic Growth (New York: Oxford University Press, 1961): 30. [6] Maurice Fitzgerald Scott, A New View of Economic Growth , 125. [7] J. S. Metcalfe, â€Å"Knowledge of growth and the growth of knowledge†. Journal of Evolutionary Economics 12 ( March 2002): 3-15. [8] Say’s Law assumes that â€Å"everything produced has some value for the community†. [9] Joshua S. Gans, â€Å" Knowledge of growth and the growth of knowledge†. Information Economics and Policy 4 (1989/91): 203. [10] J. Stanley Metcalfe, Evolutionary Economics and Creative Destruction, 3. [11] J. E. Meade, A Neo-Classical Theory of Economic Growth (New York: Oxford University Press, 1961): 4 [12] Ibid, 6. [13] . J. E. Meade, A Neo-Classical Theory of Economic Growth, 30. [14] Robert E. Lucas, Jr., â€Å"On the Mechanics of Economic Development†. Journal of Monetary Economics 22 (July, 1988): 3-42. [15] Joshua S. Gans, â€Å"Knowledge of growth and the growth of knowledge†. Information Economics and Policy 4 (1989/91):203 [16] Joshua S. Gans, â€Å"Knowledge of Growth.., 220. [17] J. S. Metcalfe, â€Å"Knowledge of growth†¦, 4. [18] Erik S. Reinert and Vermund Riiser. Recent Trends in economic theory – implications for development geography. (Oslo, Norway: Studies in Technology, Innovation and Economic Policy: Step Group, 1998): 10. ISSN: 0804-8185. Available from: http://www.step.no/reports/Y1994/1294.pdf. Accessed: 18 November, 2006.

Treatment of Nature by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge E

William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge had vastly different writing styles as well as opinions of the material they treated in their writing. One of the primary differences between the two is how each treats nature in his work. Wordsworth, in his self-proclaimed writing like the common man, often expresses a nostalgic appreciation for nature, as can be seen in â€Å"Tintern Abbey†. On the other hand, Coleridge’s character, the mariner from â€Å"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,† scorns nature and only learns to respect it, not necessarily to love it. Coleridge treats the supernatural far more than Wordsworth, and it is debatable as to whether or not his frequent use of opium contributes to this tendency. Overall, it stands to reason that nature is presented as a pure, innocent, and desirable thing to Wordsworth, and Coleridge’s writing deems it unpleasant, albeit powerful. Wordsworth’s â€Å"Tintern Abbey† is a poignant view of his return to the Banks of Wye, where he spent much of his youth. He clearly feels favorably toward Nature, which as it seems is the entire focus of the poem. After a description spanning the first 21 line stanza about certain aspects of the Nature he recalls favorably, he calls them â€Å"beauteous forms† and says that he experiences â€Å"feelings too of unremembered pleasure† because of them (line 22, 30-31). Wordsworth’s mission statement in Lyrical Ballads is essentially to use the language and to recapture the beauty of ordinary men, while still establishing his prowess in poetry. His account of nature in â€Å"Tintern Abbey† represents not necessarily the language of ordinary men, but he believes these pure forms of nature upon which he reminisces to be a common good across the lines of class. However, he claim... ...osing Wordsworth and Coleridge’s poems, it can be deduced that Nature must be loved and feared. This might seem reminiscent with traditional views of God, as he is believed to be a beautiful albeit powerful form of power. Thus, Nature is established as an all-encompassing form of power that can govern one’s life. Works Cited 1. Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. â€Å"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.† Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Romantic Period: Volume D, 8th edition. Ed. Greenblatt, Stephen. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2006. 430-446. Print. 2. Wordsworth, William. â€Å"Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour, July 13, 1798.† Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Romantic Period: Volume D, 8th edition. Ed. Greenblatt, Stephen. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2006. 258-262. Print.

Alvin Ailey Contextualisation Essay

Ailey used his culture and many childhood memories to base his choreography on. Church and worship played a huge role in the lives of black Americans and was the center of Ailey’s community. â€Å"The exuberance and poignancy of the black experience are well served in Ailey’s splendid. â€Å"The church was always very important, very theatrical, very intense. The life that went on there and the music made a great impression on me. † (A. P Bailey 1997 pg. 8) He grew up in Texas in the 1930s with both racial segregation and the economy being big problems of the time. â€Å"Black lives were as peaceful and secure as racism and poverty would allow. (Dunning, 1996) â€Å"In those days black people were forced into certain sections of the town†¦you couldn’t buy a house in other sections of the town, so you had to go to schools that were essentially segregated’’. In spite of the miserable living conditions   Ailey’s community and others alike were joyful in church and the drew drop inn which was where all the adults used to go on Saturday nights to dance to the blaring juke box. The dew drop inn was a rough place to be. My mother was in there, and everybody was doing what they considered to be the nasty dances†¦many of the same people who went to dew drop inn on a Saturday night went to church on a Sunday morning. In dance I deal with these two very different worlds: Blues suite and revelations. † (A. P Bailey 1997 pg23) At the age of 12 Ailey joined his mother in Los Angeles where she was to work as cleaner for a wealthy white family â€Å"I remember very well seeing my mother on her knees scrubbing these white folks’ rooms and halls. That image is in my ballet cry† (A. P Bailey 1997pg32) Here he experienced the theatre and heard the music of Duke Ellington for the first time, who’s music he later came to create a total of 14 dances to. Including The River’ â€Å"The River is a legendary collaboration between Ailey and Ellington†¦ was Ellington’s first symphonic score written specifically for dance†¦The legendary and highly acclaimed collaboration mirrors together the art forms beautifully. (http://www. exploredance. com/article. htm? id=1635) Creations of Two Masterful Artists, Alvin Ailey and Duke Ellington by Amber Henrie December 28, 2006. It was not until the 1940s that Ailey took a serious interest in dance, seeing the Dunham Company perform excited him in a way that nothing ever had before. Proving it to be a transcendent experience for him, he felt a connection with her and her dancers and was ‘lifted into another realm. I couldn’t believe there were black people on a legitimate stage†¦before largely white audiences†¦doing afro-Caribbean. Lester Horton not only inspired Ailey with his stylized technique and incredibly expressive movement but also in the way he offered his students a ‘complete education’ teaching them how to participate in all aspects of production from lighting and reading music to choosing the correct fabric for performances â€Å"He knew every fabric in the world and was extremely knowledgeable about color, design, dyeing and tailoring†¦I am still guided by Lester’s insistence that costumes must be made from extraordinary fabric† (A.P Bailey 1997 pg. 63) The Horton Technique focus’ on movements that lengthen the spine and the hamstring muscles with flat backs, lateral stretches, descending and ascending from the floor into horizontal positions, release swings, leg swings and deep lunges all of which appear in Ailey’s works regularly. Lester Horton has proved to be Ailey’s biggest influence; the similarities between the 2 choreographers are due to Ailey’s awe of Horton, his works and his attitude. As he just as Martha Graham had, had a mixed racial company â€Å"He realized that you have to use the best dancers regardless of color† (A. P Bailey 1997 Pg. 60) All of the above stylistic features are seen in works of Ailey’s such as Revelations, Cry and Witness to name a few. Each using deep plies and stunning lines to create interesting and meaningful viewing, using a combination of modern dance with jazz and classical ballet. Each with a meaning and a message to its audiences worldwide. Ailey (cited by De Frantz) said From his roots as a slave, the American Negro – sometimes sorrowing, sometimes jubilant, but always hopeful – has created a legacy†¦ which have touched, illuminated and influenced the most remote preserves of world civilisation†¦ We bring you the exuberance of jazz, the ecstasy of his spirituals and the dark rapture of his blues. † Yet while Ailey drew lots of his choreography from his ‘blood memories’ he did create plot less works too, making more use of ballet technique which can be seen in Streams. After Lester Horton’s death, Ailey founded his own company and had great success that still lives to this day; he and his company toured worldwide and were awarded with numerous honours before settling In New York. Yet Thomas F DeFrantz (2004) said the unasked question, implicit in dozens of feature articles and reviews, seemed to be: how could a gay black man from dirt-poor. Rural, depression-era Texas, with limited dance training and no college degree found and run the most successful modern dance company in the idiom’s history?