Why are ethics in sex research important Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why are ethics in sex research important - Essay Example For example, confidentiality is a key issue in sex research and it is enhanced when ethics are observed during the data collection process (McLaughlin 69). Ethics in sex research also help in gaining the support of the public for the research being conducted. Ethical behavior ensures that researchers observe integrity and conduct high quality research, as a result of which the public can fund such an initiative since it is being conducted with adherence to the set standards. Adherence to ethics in sex research is also important since it contributes to the promotion of social and moral values. While conducting sex research, it is essential to respect human rights, observe the law, as well as be socially responsible. In addition, it is important to ensure that the health and safety of the subjects being used in the research are guaranteed. When there are ethical lapses during sex research, the human subjects taking part in the research will be harmed and this is morally wrong (Ritzer and Ryan 546). Ethics in research are also vital since they help researchers to avoid discriminating their subjects. As an ethical obligation, researchers should treat all subjects equally and avoid discriminating some subjects when conducting research. Observing the code of ethics is also crucial in sex research since it enables researchers to abide by the law. Moreover, adherence to norms of research is an indication that the researchers are competent and the research results are valid and reliable. Respect for ethics is a prerequisite for professionalism and competence when conducting research. When researchers observe ethics during sex research, they manage to respect the dignity of humans, autonomy, as well as privacy of the subjects involved in research. In addition, ethical conduct enables researchers to take the necessary precautions, especially when dealing with vulnerable subjects (McLaughlin 70) When conducting sex research, there are a number of

Perceive Social Effects of Handheld Gadgets Essay Example for Free

Perceive Social Effects of Handheld Gadgets Essay The Problem and Its Setting INTRODUCTION Gadgets are small mechanicals or electronic devices with a practical use. Electronic gadgets are very essential and useful to the world today. Gadgets are needed to do business, to have some regeneration and help people get through their daily lives. They have made life a lot simpler for businessmen, corporate executives and entrepreneurs as they can monitor their business and work while they are away, but according to a research conducted previously in America, infants and youngsters should not have any exposure to technology yet. According to Oxford English Dictionary the 11th Edition (2014) perceive is from a variant of Old French â€Å"Percoiver† and from Latin â€Å"Percipere† which is to understand. Effects of an event or something used are often tested through tests. As to this, the group will conduct a survey to test the social effects caused by gadgets to children, especially  to the students of Philippine School Doha. Background of the Study Today, there are many people who seek to find new uses for different things. Luckily, students are tasked by their respective Science teacher to conduct a research to seek new inventions and discoveries that might help the community. One of the main topics of the researchers is the essential use of gadgets and its perceive social effects to children. The students found a research regarding handheld gadgets and its uses and effects to human beings, especially to the young ones. The group decided to conduct a survey regarding the harmful effects of abusive use of handheld gadgets to selected students of their school. This research seeks for a change and answer to why gadgets have harmful effects and what are the effects especially to the young ones and their social life. Statement of the Problem This study aimed to prove the social effects of overuse of handheld gadgets. Specifically, this aimed to answer the following questions: 1) What are the harmful effects of handheld devices to human beings? 2) What are its advantages and disadvantages? 3) What will be the after effect of the research or survey to the students of Philippine School Doha?

Max Planck :: essays research papers

Max Planck On April 23, 1858 Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck was born in Kiel, Germany. He was the sixth child of a law professor at the University of Kiel. At the age of nine his interest in physics and mathematics was developed by his teacher Hermann Muller. When he graduated at the age of seventeen he decided to choose physics over music for his career. Although he is know for physics he was an exceptional pianist who had acquired the gift of being able to hear absolute pitch. His favorite works of music were known to be Schubert and Brahms. Entering the University of Munich in 1874 he got little inspiration and was unimpressed at the University of Berlin which was between the years of 1877 and 1878. He in turn did independent studies primarily on Rudolf Clausius' writings of thermodynamics which inspired him and in July 1879 he received his doctoral degree at the age of twenty-one. He became a lecturer at the University of Munich. His father helped him be promoted to associate professor at Kiel by means of professional connections. At the age of thirty he was promoted to full professor at the University of Berlin. After he decided to become a theoretical physicist he started a quest for absolute laws. His favorite absolute law was the law of the conservation of energy which was the first law of thermodynamics that stated that you could take any equal amount of energy and transform it into the same equal amount of energy ideally, meaning no energy was lost. The second law of thermodynamics led him to discover the quantum of action or Planck's constant h. How he came upon his formula for quantum mechanics well be explained as follows. Planck saw that blackbody radiation acted in an absolute sense because it was defined by Kirchhoff as a substance that could absorb almost all radiating energy and emit all that it had absorbed perfectly which is associated with the first law of thermodynamics. By using various experiments and theoretical failures many scientists tried to find the spectral energy distribution to try and draw a diagram of a curve that showed the amount of radiation given off at different frequencies for a blackbody with a given temperature. Then using Wien's law which worked out for high frequencies but didn't work for low, he saw a relationship with the mathematics of the entropy of the radiation in the high- frequency waves in correlation to the low frequency waves and he guessed if he combined the two in the simplest way that he would get a formula that related to

Affirmative Action :: Quotas Race Minority Academics Essays

Affirmative Action In Texas, acceptance to public universities for high school students is now based on academic achievement - if a student is at the top ten percent of his or her class, he or she will be automatically accepted. This is a way to counter the unfairness of affirmative action causes because the admission has nothing to do with race or sex. Arguably, this policy is reasonable because students studying at the same high school receive equal opportunity to learn and educate themselves. This may seem fair, but the same problem still exists. If a student has to work part-time just to make a living because his or her family is unable to sustain financially, how is this student going to find time to study and be successful in school, and therefore, be in the top ten percent? In recent supreme court ruling, the point system that were using in admitting law students at the University of Michigan was ruled unconstitutional and therefore taken out. The university used a point system that quantified the qualification of the applicant's status. If a student's points exceed a certain number, he or she is admitted to the school. The university gives an extra twenty points to the minorities in terms of enforcing affirmative action and helping the disadvantaged. The six of the judges believe that the defined number system is in many ways similar as having a set quota in admitting minority students, which was banned in the case of University of California v. Bakke of 1978. The judges believe that having a rule in admitting students strictly by race is impersonal. In Bakke's case, the University defends itself for having such quota with the fact that admitting minority students into medical school can help improve social discrimination because the minority are less likely to have the education or the financial status to go to a medical school. As a result, being a doctor becomes majority profession. The judges at the time countered the university's statements by stating that the school is being unfair to the non-minority applicants, who are not directly responsible of the social discrimination. The Supreme Court ruled the University of Michigan's point system unconstitutional in the undergraduate level, but kept the same system for the Law school. They believe race should be taken into consideration, but should not quantify qualification. Although the judges opposing this ruling stated that "A fixed numerical score for racial minority status has the virtue of honesty.

A Critique on Sharon Beatty’s Essay

In her essay, Sharon Beatty provides useful insights for the dissertation supervisor as well as the doctoral student with respect to the nature of the supervisor-student relationship, the dissertation process, and early career development in publishing.The topics discussed in the said paper includes: (1) preparation for the dissertation in the American Education System; (2) Getting started; (3) stages of research; (4) supervision during the process; (5) the study and getting closure; (6) moving dissertation to journal articles; (7) dealing with the submission and review process; and (8) the next step.In the introduction, Beatty noted that the dissertation process can be enjoyable when all the ingredients are present and all procedures are followed to a T. She stresses the need for a positive attitude while undergoing the dissertation process and she shares her views on this matter based on the experiences she has gained as a member oh at least 14 doctoral dissertations on marketing.A s a critique, I would have to say that Beatty covered the aspects of writing dissertations very well. Special mention should be made to the fact that Beatty imparted useful and interesting advice with respect to how the relationship between doctoral supervisors and students can evolve and grow in the process. Needless to say, the supervisor and the students should harness a symbiotic relationship along the way to ensure the success of the dissertation.

Free Essays on Contemplation

Have you ever had a relationship where you have been with the person so long that you don’t know what to get them for a gift anymore? I was in that situation at Christmas and never though it would cause me to have an eye opening moment. â€Å"Mike hurry up we’re going to be late†, we were going to a Leafs game. I got him tickets for Christmas, which was the only thing I could think of and very difficult to get, so I was pretty excited. We got on the train finally and I found myself looking for other people who were going to the game. There were all sorts of people. There was a mother and her daughter the little girl had her face painted with a blue maple leaf. There were three businessmen, I could hear them talking about the game. An old man was holding his ticket so hard it looked like he thought someone was going to take it from him. It was a nice train ride that built up anticipation for the game. Time flew by as I asked Mike all the questions I could think of about the Leafs. In no time we were off the train and heading to the ACC. We gave the person at the gate our tickets and headed to find our seats. I again found myself looking at people this time because certain things caught my ey e. There was a man already drunk, swaying on his feet, a group of girls wearing ... I think it was clothes, a group of businessmen were eating sushi, I hate sushi. Then I saw what I thought was a typical group of hockey fans wearing jeans and jerseys. All of these different people were very interesting to me, so as we sat down I was still analyzing them while Mike watched the warm up. At first, I noticed how empty the arena was and wondered why there were not more people here to watch their home team warm up. So I asked Mike, â€Å"Most of the people who come and watch these games are people who do not care about hockey. It’s just that they have season’s tickets.† He said. I thought that was ridiculous. I don’t like hoc... Free Essays on Contemplation Free Essays on Contemplation Have you ever had a relationship where you have been with the person so long that you don’t know what to get them for a gift anymore? I was in that situation at Christmas and never though it would cause me to have an eye opening moment. â€Å"Mike hurry up we’re going to be late†, we were going to a Leafs game. I got him tickets for Christmas, which was the only thing I could think of and very difficult to get, so I was pretty excited. We got on the train finally and I found myself looking for other people who were going to the game. There were all sorts of people. There was a mother and her daughter the little girl had her face painted with a blue maple leaf. There were three businessmen, I could hear them talking about the game. An old man was holding his ticket so hard it looked like he thought someone was going to take it from him. It was a nice train ride that built up anticipation for the game. Time flew by as I asked Mike all the questions I could think of about the Leafs. In no time we were off the train and heading to the ACC. We gave the person at the gate our tickets and headed to find our seats. I again found myself looking at people this time because certain things caught my ey e. There was a man already drunk, swaying on his feet, a group of girls wearing ... I think it was clothes, a group of businessmen were eating sushi, I hate sushi. Then I saw what I thought was a typical group of hockey fans wearing jeans and jerseys. All of these different people were very interesting to me, so as we sat down I was still analyzing them while Mike watched the warm up. At first, I noticed how empty the arena was and wondered why there were not more people here to watch their home team warm up. So I asked Mike, â€Å"Most of the people who come and watch these games are people who do not care about hockey. It’s just that they have season’s tickets.† He said. I thought that was ridiculous. I don’t like hoc...

Free Essays on Kants Synthesis

In the Transcendental Deduction â€Å"Kant is asking the question how we can have knowledge of objects.† (Ewing 70) To describe the grounds which make knowledge and therefore experience possible is what he is trying to achieve in the synthesis. This subjective deduction is just one the strategies Kant uses to make his point. To begin to discuss anything from the transcendental deduction first there must be an understanding of the transcendental aesthetic. Here Kant demonstrates the a priori nature of space and time. ‘Transcendental’ can be defined as a mode of knowledge that is a priori. ‘A priori’ refers to necessity and universality to something, knowledge independent of sense experience, and any possible experience of space and time. ‘Aesthetic’ can be simply described as perception. Experience of space is where intuitions, or given perceptions, are from. Space is a priori because a condition of any possible experience is for the things which are being experienced to exist in space. Space is an essential element for experience because without space, experience is not possible. Also experience must happen in time. Time exists only if there is someone to experience it. With this rough overview of the transcendental aesthetic now we may move on to the three synthesis of the transcendental deduction. Important to understand is that Kant’s three synthesis are actually the same single synthesis being described in different ways. It could be looked at as the different aspects of a single explanation. Kant states that an a priori concept may relate to an object, however, may not relate to experience. In order for ‘a priori’ concepts to exist, nothing can be derived from experience. Rather, these a priori concepts serve as the conditions that any experience rests upon. ‘Synthesis’ means the act of combining something. The three synthesis to be discussed can be thought of as a priori conceptual synthesis which ser... Free Essays on Kant's Synthesis Free Essays on Kant's Synthesis In the Transcendental Deduction â€Å"Kant is asking the question how we can have knowledge of objects.† (Ewing 70) To describe the grounds which make knowledge and therefore experience possible is what he is trying to achieve in the synthesis. This subjective deduction is just one the strategies Kant uses to make his point. To begin to discuss anything from the transcendental deduction first there must be an understanding of the transcendental aesthetic. Here Kant demonstrates the a priori nature of space and time. ‘Transcendental’ can be defined as a mode of knowledge that is a priori. ‘A priori’ refers to necessity and universality to something, knowledge independent of sense experience, and any possible experience of space and time. ‘Aesthetic’ can be simply described as perception. Experience of space is where intuitions, or given perceptions, are from. Space is a priori because a condition of any possible experience is for the things which are being experienced to exist in space. Space is an essential element for experience because without space, experience is not possible. Also experience must happen in time. Time exists only if there is someone to experience it. With this rough overview of the transcendental aesthetic now we may move on to the three synthesis of the transcendental deduction. Important to understand is that Kant’s three synthesis are actually the same single synthesis being described in different ways. It could be looked at as the different aspects of a single explanation. Kant states that an a priori concept may relate to an object, however, may not relate to experience. In order for ‘a priori’ concepts to exist, nothing can be derived from experience. Rather, these a priori concepts serve as the conditions that any experience rests upon. ‘Synthesis’ means the act of combining something. The three synthesis to be discussed can be thought of as a priori conceptual synthesis which ser...

Principal Parts of Irregular Verbs in English (S-W)

Principal Parts of Irregular Verbs in English (S-W) In the table below, youll find the principal parts of the most common irregular verbs  in English (from S to W). To find the correct past or past participle form of a verb not included in the list, check your dictionary. If the dictionary gives only the present form of the verb, presume that the verb is regular and forms the past and past participle by adding -d or -ed. Principal Parts of Irregular Verbs S-W PRESENT PAST PAST PARTICIPLE sit sat sat sleep slept slept slide slid slid sling slung slung slit slit slit speak spoke spoken speed sped (or speeded) sped (or speeded) spin spun spun split split split spread spread spread spring sprang (or sprung) sprung stand stood stood steal stole stolen stick stuck stuck sting stung stung stink stank (or stunk) stunk strike struck struck (or stricken) string strung strung swear swore sworn sweep swept swept swell swelled swelled (or swollen) swim swam swum swing swung swung take took taken teach taught taught tear tore torn tell told told think thought thought throw threw thrown thrust thrust thrust wake woke (or waked) woke (or waked or woken) wear wore worn weave wove woven weep wept wept win won won wind wound wound write wrote written Continue with: Irregular Verbs:  Arise  to  GrowIrregular Verbs:  Hang  to  Sink

Make a list of your human capital Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Make a list of your human capital - Assignment Example In the office, computer literacy in MsOffice productivity tools such as MSword, excel, powerpoint and outlook is a basic requirement. The ability to surf and do research online is also now a required skill. The degree of required computer proficiency may vary but it is still needed in the new work place. I am happy to report that I could be a part of the modern workplace because I am very proficient in computers and also literate in using other devices. Without this knowledge about computers, one can only do manual labor which are not high paying such as doing construction work, flip burgers or wait tables in restaurants. I consider my good health as a human capital because it enables me to do a lot of things. People who are very healthy may take this human capital for granted but this is actually very valuable because it ensures that we have the energy to achieve our goals and objectives. If we become sickly, we are almost out of the game of pursuing our dreams because we cannot physically pursue it. My social skills can also be considered as a human capital because it enables me to establish connection with other people whom I may need in the future. This human capital should not be underestimated because this skill provides the opportunity. Any skill or knowledge would be useless if there are no opportunities to use it. My college education of course is an invaluable human capital. My college diploma guarantees my competency in my field of study and almost assure me of an above average salary upon employment. It also serves as a ticket for a long term career in any endeavor that I may choose where there is a huge possibility where I could assume executive position because of my education. Unlike with my other human capital where its possibility of being used as a source of income is very small, college education opens a lot of possibility for me to make a living. I can use it as a credential in applying for a job. Or it could also be

History of Baseball Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

History of Baseball - Research Paper Example Baseball has been there for long in the history in different parts of America, Europe and Asia. Different sources maintain different records about the origin of baseball as the game, and thus make the exact origin of it debatable. However, there is no doubt in the fact that baseball has been played in America in a proper way since the later half of the 19th century. In addition to the American League that all of us are generally aware of, there used to be a Negro League as well. Evidence has been found for the claim that for centuries, the indigenous tribes of America have been playing a game much like what we know today as baseball. However, to play that game, the tribes made use of sticks and balls which were made from various kinds of materials. Like this, Cricket, that is known worldwide as an English game is much similar to baseball in nature. The similarities between cricket and baseball include but are not limited to developing the pitch for the game, the need to hit the ball with the help of a bat, and the use of mitt for the purpose of fielding. Baseball had always been there in the history of Asia as well. Moghols and Genghis Khan used to play the games that were just like the baseball though they had to be riding the horses in order to play the game. There used to be a Major League Baseball which had divided into two separate leagues, namely the National League and the American League. The latter of the two is often referred to as the Senior Circuit and this happened to be the original baseball league. With the expansion of baseball after numerous decades, the National League was added to the Senior Circuit. In America, baseball has hardly changed at all since the evolution of this game, with the basic equipment that includes a bat, a ball, a base, and a glove remaining unchanged. In the 1800s, Americans formed informal teams to play baseball. â€Å"By the 1860s, the sport, unrivaled in popularity, was being described as America's "national pastime. "† (Bellis). Discussion of the modern baseball is incomplete without discussion of Alexander Cartwright (1820-1892) who lived in New York and in 1845, founded the modern field of baseball. Cartwright together with several other members of the New York Knickerbocker Base Ball Club devised rules which were internationally accepted for baseball. Steroids have played an important role in altering the history as well as the integrity of baseball. Steroids have long been part of the baseball game. There have been players who have talked about the use of steroids by the players in early 1960s, yet most players hold the consensus that baseball players did not start using steroids until late 1990s. Illegal edges have conventionally been looked for by many baseball players. They have been spitting on the balls, stealing signs, tampering the balls and making use of amphetamines to boost the energy level of the body. However, there has not been much resistance towards the use of steroids by the baseball players because of the fact that in order to be successful in baseball, one did not need to be bulky or muscular. Accordingly, consuming steroids hardly made any difference. The 1990s home run explosion was the first clue that steroids were being used by players to get stronger, quicken reflexes and play through injuries.

Media Study Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Media Study - Coursework Example The aim of having as much information on one page is to save on printing results. This results in properties been placed wherever space is available to accommodate them. In order to find a property the customer would essentially have to go through the whole brochure which is time consuming. Additionally, the customer will be overwhelmed with too many options. Furthermore, if houses are sold the customer is not aware until contact is made with the sales agent. New Communications Context – Online Publication The product will be digitised so that it can be uploaded online. The first page of the magazine will have different sections indicating the types of properties available - townhouses, two family houses, apartments, etc. These will be hyperlinked to the relevant pages. There will also be requirements for additional inputs to narrow users search. See New York Mag (n.d.). These will include inputs for lower and upper limit of price range and location. Here the customer will not have to waste time searching through irrelevant information. All relevant pages in the online brochure will be linked to the home page. The online edition will also allow the potential purchaser to view the property inside out by way of a virtual tour of the house. Additional information on the property will be accessed by way of a hyperlink. These include contact details.

Choose a recent IS security breach or service outage that has been in Essay

Choose a recent IS security breach or service outage that has been in the media - Essay Example As a result of this breach records of more than 40 million workers were stolen. Additionally, the significant influence of such cyber attack that stole data and information on the businesss Secur-ID verification tokens is yet being debated. According to the management of RSA, two separate hacker groups working in the organization with an overseas supervision to begin a set of spear phishing based security attacks beside RSA workers, demonstrating like people the workers relied, to infiltrate the businesss network. In this scenario, EMC stated that in last July it had used-up as a minimum $66 million on remediation. However, RSA administrative staff believes that there was no harm to clients networks. Additionally, the management of RSA has not supported the matter by initially being unclear regarding both the security based attack vector and (more notably) the information that was stolen (Armerding; Bell; Cate). In addition, it was simply a matter of time previous to following security based attacks on Lockheed-Martin, L3, and others happened, all of those are supposed to be particularly supported by RSA breach. In this scenario, many people believe that it is just a psychological damage. Without a doubt, this security breach was very harmful and critical just not simply because of the damage it caused, however as well in the scenario of the miserable danger that it drove into each CIO who misplaced the warm-and-fuzzy situation that the reliability of his/her enterprise verification model was undamaged (Armerding; Bell; Cate). Moreover, the bank had to face the loss of more than $100 to put back identification tokens that left their computers susceptible to spying. According to the management of RSA, clients have suggested them to follow a number of prevention practices. However, the bank is seriously considering the suggestions of their customers. And it is currently

EU Official Control of Foodstuffs Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

EU Official Control of Foodstuffs - Assignment Example In this regard, the European community has laid down the regulation on the official foodstuff control system Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 on 2004, in order to ensure the objective of food safety and adopt requisite measures. These regulatory guidelines are implemented in order to overcome the drawbacks associated with the previous legislation to ensure the control in food management approaches and design common national control systems for the European zone (2Europa, 2010; EUE-Lex, 2004). Correspondingly, this study intends to address the topic related to official foodstuff controls system with a special focus on Poland. Poland is one of the rapidly growing economies, wherein it is observed that the foodstuff sector play a critical role to maximise the growth of the nation. In accordance, the report will summarise the aspects related to meat inspections abattoirs, food products, border Inspection, food emergencies and the role of government in it. Poland is one of the fastest developing nations of the EU with a population of around 38 million and a GNI of around $ 13,080 per capita. The nation is termed as one of the largest economies, located in Central Europe (The World Bank Group, 2014). The national strategic plan of Poland has been working with the motive to improve the competitive position of food industry by implementing various preventive methods in its food chain. Due alignment has also been focused by the food management authority in the EU with the already enacted regulations in the food market (International Finance Corporation, 2010). The Republic of Poland is an organisational structure incorporated of a central level, which has 16 regions, 379 districts and 2478 municipalities. The central level of the nation is equipped with the overall responsibility and authority to control animal health and their welfare, agricultural food safety and safety measures through the various channels of food supply in these nations. Both the

Choose a recent IS security breach or service outage that has been in Essay

Choose a recent IS security breach or service outage that has been in the media - Essay Example As a result of this breach records of more than 40 million workers were stolen. Additionally, the significant influence of such cyber attack that stole data and information on the businesss Secur-ID verification tokens is yet being debated. According to the management of RSA, two separate hacker groups working in the organization with an overseas supervision to begin a set of spear phishing based security attacks beside RSA workers, demonstrating like people the workers relied, to infiltrate the businesss network. In this scenario, EMC stated that in last July it had used-up as a minimum $66 million on remediation. However, RSA administrative staff believes that there was no harm to clients networks. Additionally, the management of RSA has not supported the matter by initially being unclear regarding both the security based attack vector and (more notably) the information that was stolen (Armerding; Bell; Cate). In addition, it was simply a matter of time previous to following security based attacks on Lockheed-Martin, L3, and others happened, all of those are supposed to be particularly supported by RSA breach. In this scenario, many people believe that it is just a psychological damage. Without a doubt, this security breach was very harmful and critical just not simply because of the damage it caused, however as well in the scenario of the miserable danger that it drove into each CIO who misplaced the warm-and-fuzzy situation that the reliability of his/her enterprise verification model was undamaged (Armerding; Bell; Cate). Moreover, the bank had to face the loss of more than $100 to put back identification tokens that left their computers susceptible to spying. According to the management of RSA, clients have suggested them to follow a number of prevention practices. However, the bank is seriously considering the suggestions of their customers. And it is currently

Tourism system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Tourism system - Essay Example A large amount national income comes from the tourism industry. Such vast amounts of information and data have to be stored and processed and should be distributed to the customers as efficiently as possible. Information technology plays a very important role in the tourism industry because through the use of information technology, several devices can be implemented which are used to store large amounts of information. Tourism industry was never a very renowned industry and people were not very interested in tourism industry. IT was only recently due to the technical advancements in technology. The advancements in Information Technology resulted in both the quantitative and the qualitative aspects of the economy of a nation and also advancements in the tourism department consequently fueling and sustaining an impressive growth rate over the years (Franke, 2003). This brings into focus the role of IT in tourism education geared at nurturing the necessary skills in potential managers in the industry to make the industry influential and effective. The benefits of implementing Information Technology in tourism industry can only be observed through the development in the tourism industry all over the world. Information Technology when applied to tourism industry, it takes the level of the tourism industry to a whole new level where touris... ome into play while implementing Information Technology in tourism - the information about the tourist places, the kind of places people would like to live in, the type of technology to be used and many such factors (Baggio, 2006). Each one has an important role to play in tourism. Tourism is characterized into three different components: Transport Sector Accommodation Sector Attraction Sector Transport Sector Transport is a major contributor to the development of the tourism industry. Transport helps link the origin and the destination areas through some means of transport. This means of transport could be any moving vehicle. Transport includes many entities such as holiday makers, business travelers, relatives, travelers, and other such entities. Transport facilitates the movement of these entities from one place to another. Before setting out on a journey of any kind, every traveler makes sure which Transport Company has a good safety record (Vich-I-Martorell, 2002). To this effect, airplanes coaches and even taxis are equipped with good communication equipment. An airplane requires highly sophisticated and highly advanced technical instruments to ensure passenger safety. Today's airplane has this highly advanced technical instruments and flies with the help of modern information technology equipment. A deep understanding and detailed weather information, altitude information and other such small but important information is provided by Information Technology. This information is given to the pilot. Using this information the pilot can communicate with the ground control during emergencies. With information technology in place, it is easy for airplanes to communicate to any airport during emergencies. In-flight entertainment is also a product of information

Larson in Nigeria Essay Example for Free

Larson in Nigeria Essay The legislation and the regulations by Nigerian officias has become one of the major problems of Larson. The value of the company by the Securities and Exchange Committee has been extremely low and the sales collection and payment to suppler are delayed in Nigeria. All these factors affect the liquidity and cash flow and raise the total cost of the company. Maintaining the operation was also complicated by problems in staffing. Expatiate staff is very costly. Additionally, entry visas for those expatriate are very complicated. The recruitment of qualified skilled experts is difficult and they are not staying long in the country. Because Larson had a promise to increase the share of local ownership, the local partners participation seems very important. If the local equity participation keeps very low like current situation, the profit of both companies will become little or even lost capital. Recommendation The vice-president of international operations should decide to continue the companys joint venture in Nigeria. However, the company needs to address the problems of coping with local indigenization and hire a new joint venture general manager. Discussions Although the expatriate general manager of the Nigerian operation has delivered a very negative report, the operation should still continue. There are great amount of demands for products in Nigeria and competitions seem not very high. Since different country have different business cultural, to successfully operate the company in Nigeria, we have to cope with their way of doing business. After the share of local ownership increase, they cultural of the business might change to the local way. And the company will have more access to negotiate with the government. As a result, after increase the local equity percentage, in order to maintain the business in Nigeria, Larsons first step is to deal with the Nigerian business cultural. This will help the company solve the problems of cooperate their joint venture partner with divergent views. In order to increase the cooperation, senior management might have to give early retirement to Ridley and hire a new joint venture general manager who has more adaptability. The new manager will help Larson to negotiate and keep good relation with the local equity side. Moreover, the new manager should have an excellent human recourses skill and understand the labour market. This will help the company with the staffing problem which they can hire or train the local experts.

Moral Influences on Historians

Moral Influences on Historians Malthus was criticised of ‘confusing moral and scientific categories, of allowing the former to influence his understanding of the latter’. Should the historian’s work be free of moral influence? ‘Population was [for Malthus] the great Devil, the untamed Beelzebub that was only kept chained down by vice and misery, and which, if it were once let loose from these restraints, would go forth, and ravage the earth.’ (Hazlitt 1994, p.182) This contemporary response to Malthus’s work by William Hazlitt echoes the main corpus of rejoinders raising the charge against Malthus that his work reflected uncorroborated ethical assumptions that ultimately would prove counterintuitive and fly in the face of common sense. Although frequently articulated by his opponents, this essay will argue that this charge is mainly misguided. The question requires to explore three distinct but interrelated issues: first, whether Malthus’s work suffers from a confusion of moral and scientific categories. Second, whether the scientific aspects of his work have been subject to distortion on account of the moral principles he held to be true and valid. And third, whether history as a scholarly enterprise should be free from moral maxims. The implications of all three issues are complex and reach far beyond the confines of this essay. Malthus’s work itself is easily straddling several domains of academic inquiry and part of the answer to whether his work suffers from the conflation of moral and scientific categories lies in the heterogeneous character of his work. It seems appropriate to elaborate all three issues mentioned above through an investigation of his main arguments. Malthus’s work disrespects neatly drawn boundaries of academic disciplines. The essay will proceed as follows. In a first section it will outline what I believe the wider issue is that informs the debate surrounding the veracity and validity of Malthus’s historiographical work. The second part of the essay will sketch the primary arguments by Malthus and, eventually, relate these as we go along to the issues of objectivity and neutrality. Malthus wrote at the intersection of three domains of intellectual engagement. At the time of the publication of his work, none of these fields had emerged as scholarly disciplines in themselves, although one (history) was in the process of methodological standardisation. Malthus’s main thesis on the consequences and logic of population growth drew on one side from historical evidence and articulated a particular historical narrative. On the other hand, it advocated distinct measures to prevent unchecked population growth and therefore engaged with what we would now call social policy. On a meta-level, however, his historical narrative as well as his conclusions about the nature of population control and its desirability rested on assumptions about the nature of man and the role of reason in determining the common good of English society. In a wider sense then Malthus offered his readers a dense and complex philosophical framework that informed his analytical and interpretativ e project. The issue of scientific objectivity or moral influence of his work however does not extend equally into these three fields. And it is this disciplinary distinction which will allow us to clarify some of the challenges and accusations that were levelled against his work. Interestingly the question whether Malthus confuses moral and scientific categories in his work only pertains to one dimension: that of history and historical evidence. Social policy is per se generated by ethical viewpoints about what society ought to look like and about the permissibility of human suffering or desirability of human happiness. Philosophy as an enquiry about the moral resources for social agency of individuals possesses equally qua definitionem a moral impetus. Neither of the two are therefore even in their ideal form free of ethical considerations, nor should they be. To deprive them of any normative content is to strip them of their essence. This is not the case with history, or so at least some philosophers of history claim. The relevant debate is mainly cast in the issue of objectivity in historiography. Historical evidence so the main claim goes, can somehow be void of ethical judgement and so should be the end product of historical work, histories that purport to be an accurate portrayal of things past. Insofar as Malthus presented us in the Essay (Malthus 1970) with an example of historical writing, he would have to abide by strict guidelines of what constitutes objective historiography. There are several confusions here at work that, once clarified, instantly defuse the charge of subjectivity against Malthus. If we understand objectivity in historical writing as absence of undue personal bias then little of historiography would pass this test. McCullagh has convincingly argued that such a stringent standard makes little sense (McCullagh 2000). If we probe our convictions further we may find it utterly reasonable that some types of political, ideological or moral bias find their way into our narratives. What we do find deplorable however is if historians try either to conceal their possible interests in giving a particular narrative a specific slant, or pretending to present to us in their narratives the epitome of objectivity in historical work. Furthermore, we can, as sensitive observers, detect biases and criticise them. All we need for that purpose is to be able to follow up the historical evidence and check that it corroborates the particular historical narrative under scrutiny. This way it is fairly easy for historians to distinguish a work written to robust methodological standards from a fanciful account of past events. The thesis that objectivity is a standpoint universally shared and that therefore historical opinion ultimately must converge upon an indisputable singular truth is erroneous and distorts the nature of history as an intellectual endeavour. Objectivity in historiography can only amount to absence of obvious personal bias which still leaves us as historians with questions of contested interpretations and the problematic nature of evidence selection. History therefore is by nature a field of contestation, a conversation on things past (Oakeshott 1999) rather than the presentation of an ultimate irrefutable portrayal of events. If that is the case, moral maxims may play a role in the instruments of selection and interpretation in historical work, but that should not bother us as long as they are transparently articulated and remain susceptible to criticism. Haskell has formulated a persuasive critique of those notions of history that assume historical writing be ethically neutral (Haskell 1990). We have, he writes, as much chances to prevent our moral convictions to colour our historical work as we have to detach us from our social lives and commitments. In fact it is at the heart of the philosophical project of scepticism to suggest that the search for an Archimedian point of view, which would expose to us the world as it is in some transcendent reality, is riddled with problems bordering on conceptual nonsense. It is this scepticism that informs Malthus’s work on population control and his critique of social policy and social reform. Consequently this critical project is formulated from an ethical standpoint which is clearly expressed and made transparent in his writings. The historical evidence he produces is equally open to scrutiny and he did abide by all common standards of methodological stringency endorsed at that time. H ence to claim that his historical account of population growth is unduly influenced by moral, political or ideological commitments which are immune from analytical scrutiny is to misunderstand the capacity of history for rigorous methodological discipline and professional standards. Let us now turn to a brief outline of the various themes and arguments which Malthus presents in his work. As already mentioned his work is a multifaceted and richly textured argument which straddles at least three domains of intellectual inquiry: history, philosophy and social policy. To contend that Malthus’s essay is exclusively an example of history proper is to fail to recognise the multiplicity of his intentions as well as the depth of his argument. As I have argued above, it should cause us no trouble to accept that Malthus the historian has in fact worked from ethical assumptions that may not be universally shared and that these assumptions have influenced his selection of historical evidence as well as the interpretations of it. The standards of historical work stipulate simply that these assumptions can be revealed, scrutinised and criticised by evaluating the validity of his interpretations of historical evidence as well as the impartiality of his selection. This in essence is the nature of historical work and does not jeopardise any reasonable claim of the discipline as a whole to engage in an enterprise that can lay claim to be objective as different from morally neutral (Haskell 2000). It is however a quite different story if we take Malthus to be an advocate of particular policies of public health or social reform. The question then does not seem to be whether or not Malthus was guided by his moral convictions in formulating his views on these matters, as he inevitably was, but whether his view of history should justifiably tell us anything about the way in which we should organise our society. The question resonates deeply with contemporary philosophical debates of which Malthus must have been keenly aware. Only some years before David Hume took issue with the view that we can infer the future from things past. There can be no doubt that to a certain degree Malthus is guilty of committing the mistake of extrapolating from past developments a picture of a desirable future state of British society. But let us in all fairness look at his claims in detail. In outlining his main arguments I will use a distinction made by Hamlin which I believe structures the field of interpretation in a helpful way and separates the contentious issues from the non-contentious ones. Hamlin focuses first of all on Malthus’s core argument which is of descriptive nature in his statement of the population principle. As a purely descriptive proposition it must fail to invite criticism of ethical subterfuge. (Hamlin 2000, p.117). The principle of population can be summarised in three aspects. Firstly, Malthus believes to have shown that the ‘population cannot increase without the means of subsistence, second, that population invariably increases when the means of subsistence are available, and third that ‘the superior power of population cannot be checked without producing misery or vice’ (Winch 1987, p.19) Here Malthus works with two (mainly speculative) assumptions: first, that man’s drive to procreation is infinitely greater than the earth’s potential to produce subsistence. And second, that the sexual impulses of man are stable over history. Malthus illustrates the first postulate by contrasting the arithmetic power of subsistence to the geometric growth in population. The disparity between the two had been pointed out previously by other commentators, and critics have accordingly accused Malthus of plagiarism (Hazlitt 1994a, p.171). But it would only be fair to Malthus to mention that he never claimed to be the discoverer of this relation between the two different ratios (Hazlitt 1994a, p.171). Although Malthus attempts to support his calculations about the necessary divergence of the two ratios with some available figures on population growth and grain production in the past, his argument which links the two remains speculative. This is not so much the case because he may use only a highly selective range of historical evidence (it can be disputed how much was available to him at the time), but rather because the disparity between the two hinges upon certain assumptions about the nature of population growth and food supply as well as their interaction. Malthus thinks that procreation is the natural outcome of the sexual impulse and does not reckon with the proliferation of already available means of prevention. Equally, his notion of food supply is one dimensional and consequently fails to take into account the possible variations of food produce. He notes that pasture necessarily makes less effective use of land than grain production, yet fails to see the different outcomes in nutritional value for humans. The speculative character of his writings therefore reside in the lack of depth of his calculations not in his moral convictions that may have come to bear upon his selection of historical evidence and hi s interpretation of it. The second domain of his work relates to social policy and the potential of society to prevent misery. This introduces a first normative element into the picture but, contrary to many critics, Malthus’s ethical convictions do not confound the entire issue but only aspects of it. The fist aspect is whether or not it is true as a historiographical assertion that poverty exerts an influence upon the ability of population to grow. Here Malthus is still on descriptive ground. He once again may lack the empirical resources to reach a sufficiently informed judgement on the issue but nothing points to the possibility that Malthus follows in his interpretation of the available evidence a personal bias and subsequently tries to conceal it. His prose is not driven by ideological or moral convictions. The second aspect however deals with the chances of success for a proactive policy of public health and welfare. Here he extrapolates from a mixture of historical evidence and some theories about social and economic agency. It is this mixture which opens him up to the charge of propagating the abolition of any reform agenda on the grounds of ideological beliefs. His position is informed by certain theories of socio-economic behaviour that are at best speculative, at worst simply false. His core argument rests on an analysis of the effects of resource scarcity in society. He notes that the provision of additional money to the poor, if not mirrored by an increase in food supply, only results in the increase of prizes. The overall effect comes to nought. As the income of the poor rises, so do the prizes since the demand exceeds now the supply of food. The intended effect is the continuation of misery for the poor (Malthus 1970, pp.94-95). While this hints at an economic relationship that may or may not pan out in the predicted way, and overall may still prove to be overly simplistic, it can hardly be considered to be unduly influenced by moral beliefs. It is prima facie an economic theory which features (still) in many run of the mill explanations of prize development. Malthus however supports this idea with the notion that any kind of monetary assistance transforms the capacity of human agency for self-reliance negatively. He writes: ‘The poor laws are strongly calculated to eradicate this spirit [of independence]. †¦ Hard as it may appear in individual instances, dependent poverty ought to be held disgraceful. Such a stimulus seems to be absolutely necessary to promote the happiness of the great mass of mankind, and every attempt to weaken this stimulus, however benevolent its apparent intention, will always defeat its purpose.’ (Malthus 1970, p.98) Here he presents us with what John Rawls would have called a background social theory that informs our interpretation of social activity and structures our notion of socio-economic agency (Rawls 1993). The difficulty is that these theories require justification in order to shed their ideological drift (Daniels 1996). Malthus seems to think that all sorts of dependence are deplorable, while all kinds of independence are laudable. What he fails to realise it that independence exists in social contexts which crucially shape the capacity to act as an economic or social agent. Clientelistic relationships for example may to some degree offset lack of money. On the other hand, the absence of either deprives any individual to enter the stage of economic co-operation in the first place, hence the chance to perpetuate personal independence and transform it into participation in social and economic schemes of co-operation. Malthus’s theory about the stimulus of independence abstracts from the conditions that need to be fulfilled for active and effective socio-economic agency. This clearly reflects an ideological bias although, arguably, it may echo the beliefs and attitudes prevalent at the time. Here Malthus’s work lacks the sceptical sting that it exhibits in other parts. The further one reads his essay the more he gets bogged down in speculations about the perfectibility of man and the conditions for moral excellence. These are regrettable deviations from his main argument and deflect from the validity of his historiographical reflections. Once again however, these are strictly speaking not confusions of historical evidence and moral convictions but attempts to defend the conclusions he drew from population development in the past for social policy. He may have committed a category mistake by drawing on descriptive data to formulate prescriptive and substantial policy and support this with views on human nature and the role of reason in society, but his historical credentials remain intact. Although his policy recommendations drew fire, it would be unfair to say that his selection of historical evidence was driven by personal interest or moral convictions. Bibliography Primary Sources Malthus, Thomas Robert (1970), An Essay on the Principle of Population and a Summary view of the Principle of Population, New York: Penguin Books [1798 and 1830] Hazlitt, William (1994a), An Examination of Mr. Malthus’s Doctrines, in Population. Contemporary Responses to Thomas Malthus, ed. By Andrew Pyle, Bristol: Thoemmes Press, pp. 170-175 Hazlitt, William (1994b), On the Principle of Population as Affecting the Schemes of Utopian Improvement, in Population. Contemporary Responses to Thomas Malthus, ed. By Andrew Pyle, Bristol: Thoemmes Press, pp. 176-183 Secondary Sources Daniels, Norman (1996), Justice and Justification. Reflective Equilibrium in theory and practice, Cambridge New York: Cambridge University Press Hamlin, Christopher and Gallagher-Kamper, Kathleen (2000), Malthus and the Doctors: Political Economy, Medicine, and the State in England, Ireland and Scotland, 1800-1840, in Malthus, Medicine, and Morality: ‘Malthusianism’ after 1798, ed. By Brian Dolan, Amsterdam Atlanta: Rodopi, pp.115-140 Haskell, Thomas L. (1990), Objectivity is not Neutrality: Rhetoric vs. Practice in Peter Novick’s That Noble Dream, in History and Theory, Vol. 29, No. 2, pp.129-157 Mccullagh, Behan C. (2000), Bias in Historical Description, Interpretation, and Explanation, in History and Theory, Vol. 39, No. 1, pp.39-66 Oakeshott, Michael (1999), On History and other essays, Indianapolis: Liberty Fund Rawls, John (1993), Political Liberalism, New York: Columbia University Press Winch, Donald (1987), Malthus, Oxford New York: Oxford University Press

The Rise and Subsequent Fall of the Third Reich Essays -- Weimar Repub

The Rise and Subsequent Fall of the Third Reich Living in the crumbled remains of Germany, or the Weimar Republic, in the 1920’s was a dismal existence. Hyperinflation was rampant and the national debt skyrocketed as a result of the punishing features of the Treaty of Versailles. During the depression, however, a mysterious Austrian emerged from the depths of the German penal system and gave the desperate German people a glimpse of hope in very dark times. He called for a return to â€Å"Fatherland† principles where greater Germany was seen as the center of their universe with zealous pride. Under Hitler’s leadership, Nazi Germany rapidly grew and expanded, continually approaching the goal of world domination and the â€Å"Thousand-Year Reich† that Hitler promised the German people. Only a few years later, Nazi Wehrmacht soldiers could be seen marching the streets from Paris to Leningrad (St. Petersburg, Russia). The German Empire, however, like all other expansive empires, had its limits and int egral components such as resources, manpower, and industrial capacity began to fall in short supply further crippling the Nazi war machine. Basically, by 1944, â€Å"Nazi Germany’s fundamental problem was that she has conquered more territory than she could defend† (Ambrose, 27). Hitler conquered a vast area and vowed to defend every single inch of his empire with every last drop of blood at his disposal. As Frederick the Great warned, â€Å"He who defends everything, defends nothing† (Ambrose, 33). It is interesting to study any empire’s rise and fall because similarities are always present, even with some nations today promising to fight the evil, when it reality, it might be becoming what it vows to fight. The story of the rise of the Thi... ... in is destined for some sort of collapse. Nobody in this world would like to compare their own nation to fascist Germany or any other fallen empire but numerous similarities can be found. There is increasing resistance to the government and its actions which are facilitated by the fact that our Constitution allows us to do so freely. Our social security system is going to collapse in the near future if not efficiently revised as those receiving it continue to grow. Military forces are continually being depleted to maintain order in our occupied territories of Afghanistan and Iraq. Where does the expansion end? The United States can not keep tying up its most vital resources abroad. It is an increasing economic cost that has little hope of decreasing anytime soon. Expansion has proved fatal for all nations throughout history. Are we next? I sure hope not.

Banking System and Management Project Proposal

THE UNIVERSITY OF LAHORE CS 2135- OBJECT ORIENTED PROGRAMMING | Semester Project Proposal| | | Course InstructorAbid Bashirabid. [email  protected] uol. edu. pk| Guidelines for Project Proposal 1. Title Page: | Day| | Month| | Year| DATE| | | –| | | –| | | | | PROJECT TITLE:| | STUDENT INFORMATIONWrite down the detail of all group members in BLOCK LETTERS ONLY. | GROUP LEADER: | Sr No. | Student ID| Name| Program| Email id (Optional):| 1. | | | | | 2. | | | | | 3. | | | | | 4. | | | | | Course Instructor’s Remarks:| | Course Instructor’s Signature:| | Date:| | 2. Project Summary (should not be more than half a page):The goal of this section is to present the reasons for doing this project as well as stating all of the project's objectives. In this section in particular it is very important to write concisely and clearly.. Before you begin writing you should be able to answer the following questions: * Why are you doing this project? * What will you be do ing? * How will you be doing it? * Who will be doing it (Describes the roles of individual group members in the project? * How long will it take? 3. Project Objectives: State the major goals to be acquired at the end of the project.Moreover, this section should further highlight the final outcomes achieved at successful development of the project. The overall objective should be as follows: The explanation would include a discussion of not only what you intend to do, but also a justification of what you will not do (in other words, what your audience might assume that you will do). You might consider having a paragraph for each objective. 4. Project Methodology: This sections details the plan for how the project objectives will be achieved. It usually starts with a description of the overall approach.Then it provides details on methodology, the target audience, and how major problems will be managed. 4. 1 The Project Approach Summary: Write a few short paragraphs or bullet points on your overall approach to the project. Include how the project team will be organized, what development and collaboration languages will be used, and how the plan will be updated along the way. 4. 3. Work Breakdown: Make a list of tasks and major functionalities that will be performed for this project, make sure the list is detailed enough to cover the major features to be involved within the project.Therefore, make a comprehensive list of detailed functionalities that would be performed in the relevant project. In technical terms, you are also required to include the names of possible classes to be involved within the project. The following sample table can be used to identify the major sections/features that would be performed in the project: Section No. | Section Name:| Section Description (includes major functions to be performed):| Deployment Status | Remarks| | | | | | * Keep the Deployment Status ; Remarks column empty.IMPORTANT NOTE: You would be finally evaluated against th e mentioned and approved sections along with the relevant functions associated with each section. Therefore, try to be precise and realistic in highlighting the relevant functionalities of the related project. 5. Responsibilities of Team members: In a paragraph for each person, establish the team responsibilities for the project. Highlight any specific sections or tasks related with the project that would be performed by each group member.

Common stock Essay

A1a. During the 12% bonds review the earnings per share common stock out totaled .103. The total was not enough to maximize the shareholders return. It was observed that the interest on the bonds would put them at $72,000. The interest on bonds was very high and could have contributed to the lower total figure. The common stock shares outstanding were at $975,000; which was a very low number. Compared to all the totals the 12% option had the lowest shares issued. During the 20% bonds review they totaled the earnings per common stock share at .197. This stock option was the second highest to the chosen 50% stock option. It looks like the 20% bond option was lower due to using $120,000 in bonds and $480,000 in common stock. The 40% bond option had earnings per common stock share of .181. The ending total wasn’t too bad but it wasn’t enough to maximize the shareholders return. The company acquiring $240,00 in bonds and $360,00 in common stock played a role why the figures went good enough to increase shareholders return. The 60% bond option had earnings per common stock share at .160. The $43,200 interest on bonds could have affected the earnings total. The income before tax and the tax income was a contributing factor to lower figures and results in the net income category. A2. Competition Bikes needs to analyze their capital budgeting. Businesses should acquire investments that are going to bring in more revenue but they have to make sure for the long term the investment is worth taking on. The cash inflows and outflows have to be looked at to determine what is best for the company. The company needs to see potential during the capital budget stage. In the story line management  decided that the most reliable data for a capital budgeting analysis is to estimate the number of product sales using the U.S. pricing and cost data. It is anticipated †¨that costs will be consistent in the new Canadian location. Net present value is capital budgeting used to examine the success with of a investment or project by using the present value of cash flowing in and the present value of the cash flowing out. It is used to determine profitability. It is a tool for management to see if the investment will bring value to their company. Projects and investments should only be taken on if the total number is positive or at 0. The company had a low net present value of -26,740 and the moderate net present value of 2,243. The sales forecasting indicates a range of outcomes as indicated by a low forecast and a moderate forecast of results. The recommendation would be for Competition Bikes to not take on the Canadian investment. Based of the low and moderate numbers if they are split in half they would still be in the negative. It is suggested if the net present value is not a positive number a company should not take on the investment or project. Internal rate of return is the rate of growth projected for t he investment or project. The story line advises Competition Bikes, Inc. requires a 10% return on capital (hurdle rate) to pursue a capital investment. The internal rate of return for the low demand was 8.7% and the moderate demand cash flow was 10.1%. The higher rate of IRR the more likely the company will generate a greater return. The recommendation for internal rate of return is for the company to take on the Canadian investment. A3. Working capital consists of current assets minus the current liabilities, it is the money left over to pay for the day-to day activities to run a company. It is an indicator of how many short assets they have to be able to pay off their short-term debt. If the working capital ratio is less than 1 the company has a negative working capital. A company should always want to be in above 1 for positive results. The current assets can be monitored daily or weekly to keep a close eye on the incoming cash flow to the account. Obtaining Working Capital Competition Bikes needs to obtain working capital quickly. The storyline suggests the cost to build the manufacturing facility is expected to be $400,000. (All figures are in US$) Working capital of $200,000 will also be necessary to support the operation. These two items have been considered as  the total investment in the capital structure analysis. They need to come up with $200,000 for the expansion operation. Competition Bikes can get a line of credit from a bank to obtain working capital quickly. They will need to negotiate the terms and amount of time they will be doing with the bank for the loan. Once they receive the payments in their accounts receivables they then need to turn around and the pay the loan down. They can consider getting a business cash advance to obtain working capital. Business advance loans have a quicker turn around time to receive the funds than a traditional bank loan. Most of the time the payment options are flexible depending on the companies specific needs. Competitions Bikes can go with a business advance loan normally receive a lower rate with fixed payments. Managing Working Capital They need to re-evaluate their account receivables procedures. They are taking almost 44 days to receive payment, they need to decrease their days to right around 30 for collecting payment. They may need to consider discounting to the customers that are paying the money on time. The company needs to consider charging penalty fees for accounts they are outstanding. Managing account payables is another way to manage working capital. They need to keep a good relationship with their suppliers. When picking suppliers payment and the terms of the contract need to be the number one priority. Paying the supplier on time and keeping an open line of communication is the key to managing the accounts payable. They also need to re-evaluate how inventory is handled to properly manage their working capital. The inventory and purchasing has to be reviewed to make sure they are bringing in the correct and defect free products and keeping track of them. They need to develop the first in first out method. They need to use the inventory longer that they had the longest. They need a security plan in place to make sure the inventory is accounted for and locked in a safe facility. Lease vs. Buy Competition Bikes has to make the decision whether they will lease a facility or whether they will buy in the Canadian expansion. For the leasing option the storyline advises 5 year lease financing has been offered at 6%. No down payment is required with this option but the $200,000 working capital must  still be internally funded. The leasing company would buy the building outright and then accept five $90,000 lease payments over 5 years. A $50,000 buyout option would be included so Competition Bikes, Inc. could choose to keep the location at the end of the five-year lease. To the lease the facility it will cost $283,752 after call calculations are done. They also have the option of buying an existing facility. The storyline advised Competition Bikes, Inc. found a suitable existing facility it could buy outright for $400,000 using one of the options from the capital structure analysis. The lenders require a $50,000 down payment. The working capital requirements and down payment must be internally funded. The purchasing option totaled the company out at $399,774. If the facility is purchased they had to factor in an $18,000 operational cost. In the story is stated the depreciation on the new asset will be based on a 10-year life. The building is expected †¨to have $200,000 value at the end of the ten years. The after cash flows of 80,439 at year 9, 81,743 at year 10, 83,125 at year 11, 84,590 at year 12, and 86,143 at year 13 all factored into the after cash flow. The tax rate of 35% goal is to preserve working capital. The leasing option is going to be less money and a better option for having a positive working capital. Merger vs. Acquisition A merger is when two companies mutually agree to become one company. They will them form one completely new company. If the merger they can offer a better robust product line. With the merger they also can bring in and appeal to a wider customer base than being just one company. The potential for increased revenue is an advantage to merging two companies. A merger can bring a better research and development element to the new company. The cons of a company merger can be increased prices. If there is less competition in the market and one company having monopoly power they can make consumers pay higher prices. A company merger can also lead to job losses for staff at both companies depending on the new business needs. The storyline suggests in a merged company the Canadian Bikes, Inc. shares will be exchanged for Competition Bikes, Inc. shares on a 3:1 basis. During the merger in year 8 for available common stock for Competition Bikes will have 31,286 while Canadian Bikes will have 24 ,200. After the merger Competition Bikes will 975,000 of the shares plus 1/3 of Canadian Bikes 200,000 shares outstanding. The earnings per share before the merger was .032 and after the merger the earnings would be .053; which is a .21 increase. The merger will increase shareholder value. An acquisition is when one company buys another company by taking over most or all of it. During an acquisition one company will consume total control over the other. The parent company will acquire or absorb a second company to further their businesses goal of market domination. An acquisition will give the parent company more market power and financial increase. During an acquisition they can also run into some challenges. A company can run into difficulties integrating two different companies and having them on the same page. Acquiring another can sometime be pricy. A lot of capital has to be raised before company negotiations can begin. The story advises Competition Bikes, Inc. has the option to acquire Canadian Bikes, Inc. at an offer price 30% above the Year 8 ending share price. If Canadian Bikes is acquired Competition bikes will have to pay $286,000 to acquire Canadian Bikes. The net present value of the acquisition would be -73,862, that number came from taking 212,138 of the present value and subtracting 286,000 of the offer price Competition Bikes would have to pay Canadian Bikes in the acquisition. Based off the statistical figures the final recommendation would be for Competition Bikes to merge with Canadian Bikes rather than acquiring them. The merger had a .021 increase in earnings per share while the acquisition would have Competition Bikes at a -73,862 in net present value. Net present value needs to be a positive number for a company to consider taking on a new investment.

Interview Outline

In life everyone has different think and behaviors usually do to how a person is raised during childhood, what they have seen during childhood, or it is inherited through genes that are passed on to them. I chose two people for my final paper, they happen to be a husband and wife, their names are Lela and Jerry Hyles, they have been married for ten years they have no children together but they have many step children, Lela is 40 and Jerry is 58, the wife is about eighteen years younger than her husband, They are both currently unemployed they are disabled to work. These people are my parents Lela is my mother and jerry is my step father but if I have to choose one I would rather speak to the wife instead of the husband because I have more contact with her than him the wife is not only my mother but she is my best friend. I made the decision of choosing both a male and female for my interview because men and women think a little differently in some situations, which I thought, might shed a little light on the difference between the two genders and their thinking. Interview Questions; 1. ) Does the interviewee prefer studying in a library, or at home where there are background noises and some distractions? 2. ) Has the person you are interviewing taken the Myers Briggs test? Report the results. 3. ) Does the interviewee think these results are accurate? Why or Why not? 4. ) Which experience does this person think contributed most in the development of his or her personality? 5. Does this person feel that he or she is self-monitoring in regards to his or her attitudes? How or how not? 6. ) What does the interviewee feel was the strongest influence on his or her attitude? 7. ) What role does your interviewee think a person’s race, gender, or ethnicity play when forming that person’s personality and attitudes? 8. ) Does this person feel he or she is better at tasks when intrinsically motivated or extrinsically motivated? . ) The learning and memory process? 10. ) Does the interviewee remember information more accurately if he/she ob serves the behavior being performed? Yes I do have permission to speak to them on this paper. Also Instructor Michelle Hill I hope I done this assignment correctly. My reference: I got them from the questions from Appendix A that I will be asking to the interviewers. – Final Project Overview.

MGMT 670- STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

MGMT 670- STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT - Assignment Example The possession of a very strong brand name as well as image, which will boost the company’s growth and the reach to the customers. The establishment of a very good supply chain management capability, which will help the smooth inflow and outflow of the retail products along with good customer service. The presence of a very good and attractive customer base and a global presence through a wide global network, that is ready to buy the products available in the retail outlet. The possession of the capabilities and also the competencies by the organic foods retail outlet, which very well matches the key success factors of the industry. The five competitive forces that are the weakest in the Organic foods retail industry are: Product differentiation from those of the rivals. There is no need for the possession of superior technological skills amongst the different competing organic food retail outlets, since they are not in the process of manufacturing products but are involved on ly in the selling of the finished products. Joint ventures with the other firms for possession of superior technology is not required in this case, since the organic food retailers only requires good marketing and advertising skills that are needed for selling the product.

Management of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding Research Paper

Management of acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding - Research Paper Example The management aspects appear to be directed at healthcare workers rather than patients. For instance, the article elaborately explains how scoring systems for AUGIB work. It also presents initial resuscitation processes and drugs used before enodoscopy. This information is largely useful for healthcare workers rather than AUGIB patients themselves. The article is crisp in terms of language and detailed in terms of information. Overall, the article is very informative for healthcare workers involved in the management of AUGIB. The article vaguely relates to clients with a GI bleed and cannot be used as a patient hand out. The language and medical terminology employed in the article is too complex for a lay person to understand. As already stated, the information provided by the article is helpful for healthcare workers and not for patients themselves. The article talks less about how an ordinary person can manage the illness and more about the medical interventions and management processes applied. The only section that could benefit patients is that of risk factors for AUGIB. These however are not helpful in management of the illness. The article discusses medical procedures for management of variceal and non-variceal bleeding, which are difficult for patients to understand. For instance – For oesophageal varices, variceal band ligation using elastic rubber bands (Figure 1) has been shown to be superior to sclerotherapy (i.e. the injection of sclerosing agent—similar to treatment of haemorrhoids) (Laine and Cook, 1995; Lo et al, 1997). If banding is sub-optimal or cannot be achieved, then sclerotherapy may be considered (Jalan and Hayes, 2000) (Mitra, Marrow and Nayar, 2012, p. 39). A lay person would find it hard to understand procedures such as â€Å"sclerotherapy† and terminologies such as â€Å"comorbidities†, â€Å"resuscitation†, â€Å"proton pump inhibitors (PPI)†, â€Å"aetiology†, etc. Patients would have been able to

Team Leadership and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Team Leadership and Management - Essay Example 33). The solutions and strategies proposed by the authors are really practical in today's multinational organizations. Different tasks make a degree of different contributions to the team's various functions in production, support, and well-being. Although technological changes are usually aimed at modifying the team's production function, they almost always have profound effects on the team well-being and member support functions as well. The sharing among team members of both access to the hardware portions of the new technology and of the expertise needed to use and understand the new systems may provide brand new range of the distribution of status and power within a team, dimensions that compare quite poorly with the prior status structure. In terms of underlying social-exchange dynamics, the principal rewards and costs concern task achievement or success. In modern multi-national companies the affective or emotional factor of teamwork is important to all relationships. It is le ss so in task-based, personal relationships than in purely social roles. Team-based approach plays a much important role in the development of team relations than it does in organizations in general (Northhouse, 2003). I agree with the authors that teamwork should be flexible and fit with environmental changes. I would add communication as one of the most important elements in teamwork. The major reason Critique: Team LED 501 for past success is open communication policy and the ability to get people to work together as team. A team leader sees themselves having an informative meeting with employees. They should emphasize open door policy and encourage employees to use it. The task of the team leader is to inform team members that they would like to have some formal meetings for brainstorming and troubleshooting purposes and some informal meetings just as an excuse to get together. Virtually, members of a multi-national workforce behave the same way as traditional teams but pay more attention to interpersonal communication and interaction. In a virtual or practical environment, working relationships vary in their empathy or understanding, effectiveness, and power. The results of ineffective communication range from minor embarrassment to critical problems. Minor embarrassment occurs when we show up at a friend's house for a party on the wrong night; a critical problem occurs. As a human resource professional, one of leaders' responsibilities is to develop and improve the communication process in organization. The authors explain how effective teamwork or group effort can enhance the communication process. The authors do not pay attention to problems and conflicts take place in virtual environment. The communication process is rich with imagery and descriptions. Words and other forms of communication are symbols that bring to mind mental images. In fact, communi cations is basically the management of symbols or language. It is through use of these mental images that we communicate and convey relationships and promote understanding that generates the necessary action to accomplish organizational goals and objectives. These ideas might be supported by the Bible saying: "And do not forget to do

Welcome Activity. Classroom Atmosphere Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Welcome Activity. Classroom Atmosphere - Essay Example It is not easy for middle school or high school students to practice respect, but if the teacher is respectful, it is almost guaranteed that the students will be respectful. Also, I will attempt to make all the students feel as if they are a key component of the class. I will encourage students to utter only constructive things about others. It is difficult to establish a safe and secure environment when there is the presence of disparage. I will also establish a system of consequences and rewards. This system will be used to assess student behavior (Kees, 2003). Question 2 I will create a positive learning atmosphere by getting to know every student as early as possible after the first meeting. I will encourage the students to write a biography or complete a survey. This will help provide essential information that will assist to support and teach the students. I will try spending a considerable amount of time with students on a daily basis. This will help establish personal associa tions with the students. I will design the classroom with several positive quotes and messages. This will make students develop a sense and a feeling of greatness in the future. In addition, I will do everything to make the classroom cheerful and comfortable. For example, I will provide inspiration art work, motivational speeches, and anything positive that will influence the students’ performance (Griffin, 1997). I will give regular, positive response. This will show that I notice their attempts and realize their outstanding work. Question 3 While time is a large factor for teachers, paying attention to students’ social and emotional requirements is an investment. If students feel insecure or threatened, it will be difficult to perform classroom activities well. I will dedicate some time for students to make them understand that mistakes form the basis of learning processes. In addition, I will encourage regular class meetings for students to air their views and commu nicate their worries. I will also ask questions, develop a rapport with students, and provide assistance and comprehension to the students’ unique situations. For those students with issues and responsibilities at home, I will discuss with the students about their issues and responsibilities (Griffin, 1997). Also, I will listen to their issues and show them that they have my support. I will establish an environment that is free from humiliation or fear by developing clear prospects of the learning results.   Question 4 I will promote a feeling of student ownership by developing a community feeling in the classroom. This will help lessen the feeling of authoritarian hierarchy and give students the ability to feel they are an essential component of the class. Developing extracurricular activities will assist advance interaction between teacher and student, and student and student. This will develop a sense of student ownership in the classroom. For example, I will design an a rt activity and subdivide the students into units. A student from each unit will be the group leader for the art activity. This will develop a sense of team work and ownership among students. In addition, I will set time to have encounters with students (Kiselica, 1999). This will help in their daily lives. These minor, life links create an environment that promotes student ownership in academics. Question 5 I will provide the meaning of empathy to the students. Explaining to students that empathy requires the identification and sharing the feelings of other people. I will also show pictures that express a number of positive and negative emotions. The students will be

Merit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Merit - Essay Example uous are rewarded and the vicious punished in proportion to their relative deserts† is- those who do good deeds are always rewarded while those who perform evil or bad actions are always punished. These actions are towards the attributes with which every individual is born. It also signifies the extent of goodness or evilness of the action that was performed and this is going to decide the merit or desert of the act (Pojman, 1999). In terms of merits the statement given by Pojman holds true in the sense that it promotes people to perform good or rather their best to secure rewards. This act is going to culminate the entire world a place where people are going to procure their merits according to their actions. These actions are in terms of promoting good deeds to make a healthy and congenial atmosphere. In the judicial system, it is not always true that those who have performed virtues are going to be rewarded! At times judgments have gone in favor of the evil task performer. Such cases create a sense of insecurity in the minds of people and tremble their trust and faith from the judiciary system of the country. The statement given by Pojman does not imply that this is how it is; instead it says that is how it should be. The theory in circumstance pronounce that it is not possible to change the minds of people and change the attitude but we all can strive hard to make this world a better place to live where people will receive their merits in proportion to their acts. There are various examples where people receive merits not because they have achieved something but they have deceived others to achieve their targets. Some examples are discussed here: one of the biggest politicians Saddam Husain was very popular amongst the people of Iraq; people rewarded him and offered him their wealth and everything what so ever they could and crowned him as the strongest person in the country. But as there is a saying that power corrupts so he started taking all the

Competency in Information and Technology Literacy Essay Example for Free

Competency in Information and Technology Literacy Essay The dynamic changes in information technology has advocated for nurses highly qualified in nursing informatics. This paper discusses some barricades allied to the employment of essential Nursing Informatics competencies into undergraduate nursing websites. Introduction Information Literacy is the set of skills needed to discover, repossess, evaluate, and use information. The Changes in information technology have led to new changes in the way nurses operate on patients. These nurses have to undergo various competencies. This paper discusses the changes and the required competencies. Discussion Information literacy is important in the nursing researches and practical working with the nursing informatics equipment. It is not just for students to learn but for practicing nurses and other healthcare practitioners as well. The practice of nursing in which the nurse makes medical decisions based on the best existing research proof, his or her own clinical expertise, and the needs and inclinations of the patient is referred to as evident based nursing. The nurses should learn to practice Information system to design and maintain their healthcare information. For instance, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant or Patient Data) could allow nursing scholars to access various decision support systems that would offer them with professional guidance relating to specific care and treatment matters at their patient’s bedsides. There are various sources where one can learn about information literacy and find ideas about relationship between them. These include the website, libraries, journals, electronic full-text for nursing, that is, books, journals, virtual libraries, other articles and databases. To evaluating a website containing medical records, determine the website goal; discover the website objectives; website content description, evaluation questions, sources of evaluation data, methods of data collection. The steps performed are performed systematically. First and foremost, find out if the results have been reproduced in other research laboratory or by other scholars. Next step involves an attempt to conclude the study’s credibility. Look keenly at the material of study that is, if investigators essentially compare two sets of topics or did they just make bservations? If a control was used were the group results comparable? Evaluate the criteria used to conclude this study. Consider the modification and duration of the study. The next step is to look at the conclusions. Consider if they are warranted by the evidence. If one can’t find useful solutions in the website, then it is time to address some questions like: does one have to take illegalized results? How does one know that the product in question is the right one? If the product is or could be the right one, then, what guarantees this? Moreover one must to know more information on the product. Any information that is relevant should be taken into account. If the person still decides to take the product, he or she should be sure to tell the doctor who can make observation on the side effect about the product. Conclusion Nursing informatics is very important in today’s dynamic technological application. It is very important for nursing professionals to have the knowledge of nursing informatics as this will help them to participate fully in the technology enabled nursing.

A Definition of Corporate Social Responsibility

A Definition of Corporate Social Responsibility Nowadays, the association of the words social and responsibility has become increasingly frequent. But in business world, there is another variant of these terms that prevail and it is the term Corporate Social responsibility (CSR). According to Archie Carroll (2008 p.19): though the roots of the concepts that we know today as CSR have been a long and wide-ranging history, it is mostly a product of the twentieth century, especially from the early 1950s up to the present time. Despite the fact that the concept of CSR has been present for such a long time, researchers still do not share a common definition or set of core principles (Andre Crane et al. 2008 p.4). This also brought about other questions on the interpretation of terms as being socially responsible and also is a firm capable of being responsible towards society. According to Wood (1991, cited in Moir, 1991, p.2), the basic idea of corporate social responsibility is that business and society are interwoven rather than distinct entities. Businesses are often assumed to have profit maximization for sole aim and ignore its responsibilities towards society. Milton Friedman (1970) said that the only one responsibility of business towards society is the maximization of profits to the shareholders within the legal framework and the ethical custom of the country. However supporters of CSR can also be found, Dave Packard (Co-founder of Hewlett Packard Company in 1939, cited in Harvard Business Review, 2002, p.54) claims that the assumption that people make of companies only making money is wrong. He also adds that: a group of people get together and exist as an institution that is called a company so that they are able to accomplish something collectively that they could not accomplish separately and simultaneously they make a contribution to society (Dave Packard, 1939). Votaw (cited in Garigga and Mele, 2004, p.51) wrote that corporate social responsibility means something, but not always the same thing to everybody. The diverging opinions can be categorized in two main points of view; one is that CSR is yet another means to maximize profit and the other is that CSR is here to help companies help society as a whole. CSR has been described in a number of various ways. Below are given different definitions of CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility is a commitment to improve community well-being through discretionary business practices and corporate resources. (Philip Kotler and Nancy Lee, Corporate Social Responsibility, Wiley, 2007) The social responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that society has of organizations at a given point in time. (Archie B. Carroll, 1979) Shell: We all need to assess the impact our business makes on society and ensure that we balance the economic, environmental and social aspects of everything we do (Moody-Stuart, 1999). The diagram below gives a visual description of what constitute CSR: Source: www6.miami.edu/ethics/pdf_files/csr_guide.pdf According to Lance Moir (2001), the area defined by advocates of CSR increasingly covers a wide range of issues such as plant closures, employee relations, human rights, corporate ethics, community relations and the environment. Aspects of CSR Drivers of CSR Drivers, in this context, refer to the reasons behind the choice of a firm to adopt a more socially acceptable behaviour. These reasons can be classified as being internal and external to the firm. Internal drivers: Internal drivers are the pressures that originate from the internal environment of the firm. Examples of components that can constitute the internal environment of a firm are, employees, suppliers, competitors, top management, etc. Flatter organisations have considerably changed the approach towards how business was once done. Nowadays, employees put pressure on how the organization conducts business using certain societal values (M.G.V. Dongen, 2006 p.9). They are more attracted by the non-material aspects of the organisation that employs them. Besides, employees seeking a more socially responsible firm, managers now have the task to reconcile the profit-making need of the company with the responsibility towards society. But as Haigh and Jones (2006) mentioned, for business managers, business is first. ODwyer (2003, cited in Haigh and Jones, 2006, p.2) said that social considerations come second and providing only that such considerations would not open an exploitable weakness. Haig h (2006) adds that the paradigm that managers face simply prevents overall improvements consistent with social welfare. The capacity to integrate CSR policies in the core activities of the firm can also act as a driver. According to Porter and van der Linde (2000, cited in Haigh and Jones, 2006, p.2), CSR is competitive driver that requires appropriate resources. Integrating CSR in a companys activities can be a tedious process. The diagram below shows how CSR can be incorporated at different levels of the company. Source: MVO Platform, (2002, illustrated in M.G.V. Dongen, 2006 p.10), Different intensities of CSR CSR can also be undertaken in a set of separate activities geared towards improving social welfare. This can take the form of sponsoring of sports activities or engaging in charitable activities. Another view to consider internal drivers to CSR is to consider them to be national drivers. The table below gives a number of different national CSR drivers and a brief description of each of them. Source: Visser, W. (2008) CSR Drivers: The Forces Shaping Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility, CSR Inspiration Series, No. 3. External drivers: External drives refer to the external pressures that compel a firm to engage in CSR. The external environment of a firm can include market structure, customers, government, economic situations, competitors, etc. Businesses no longer evolve in a static environment, threats are no longer limited to local competitors and the market is now a global one. Similarly, adopting the culture of foreign firms has become a must and CSR is one of the main concerns of all firms in this century. Castells (2000, as cited in M.G.V. Dongen, 2006 p.7) says that globalization increases the importance of social networks of a company on a worldwide basis. Moreover, consumers are more concerned by the fact that whether the firm, to which they are loyal, is contributing to societys welfare. As Castells (2000, as cited in M.G.V. Dongen, 2006 p.7) mentions, a lot of information is obtained more rapidly by consumers and it is easier to keep in touch with the various activities undertaken by any firm. The govern ment also contributes in making company conscious of their duties towards society. According to the European Union and MVO Platform (2002, as cited in M.G.V. Dongen, 2006 p.7), Governments are now engaging in the role of stimulating companies to be social responsible, not pressuring them. In M.G.V. Dongens 2006 paper: In search of the link between corporate social responsibility and legitimacy she enumerated a number of external factors that encouraged firm to adopt the concept of CSR. A few of these points are: Transparency. A very important aspect for a company to be socially responsible is transparency. This can be included in the profit-factor but is more and more considered as a prerequisite for a company to be socially responsible. Due to new information sources, e.g. the internet, and the shift in the control mechanisms for organizations from purely governmental to include the organizations stakeholders, this revolution has an enormous impact on the visibility of an organizations business practices.(M.G.V. Dongen, 2006 p.8) Time. A shift can be recognized from purely focusing on short-term profits towards more long-term objectives, which is necessary because societal and environmental issues are mostly long-term issues. Therefore this shift in time-thinking is essential for CSR to be successful. (M.G.V. Dongen, 2006 p.8) Here also, external factors are often associated with international drivers. The table below describes some of them: Source: Visser, W. (2008) CSR Drivers: The Forces Shaping Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility, CSR Inspiration Series, No. 3. In order to link both national and international drivers the diagram below visually establishes a link between both of them. Source: Visser, W. (2008) CSR Drivers: The Forces Shaping Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility, CSR Inspiration Series, No. 3. 3.2 Theories of CSR Many authors have tried to grasp an accurate idea of what is CSR by devising models in order to better understand the various factors involved and their impact. One of the first approaches to tackle CSR by means of a model was made in 1971 by the Committee for Economic Development (CED). It made use of three concentric circles. The definition of the three circles was given in the Social Responsibilities of Business Corporation (1971) as follows: The inner circle includes, the clear-cut basic responsibilities for the efficient execution of the economic function products, jobs and economic growth The intermediate circle encompasses responsibility to exercise this economic function with a precise awareness of changing social values and priorities: for example with respect to environmental conservation, hiring and relations with employees, and more rigorous expectation of customers for information, fair treatment and protection from injury The outer circle outlines newly emerging and still amorphous responsibilities that business should assume to become more broadly involved in actively improving the social environment After this theory others were developed, but throughout time only a few of them prevailed. The first theory that must be considered is the pyramid of CSR developed by Carroll. The pyramid of corporate social responsibility According to Carroll, the four main components or categories that constitute the CSR pyramid are: Economic Responsibilities, Legal Responsibilities, Ethical Responsibilities and Philanthropic or Discretionary Responsibilities. The two tables below give a description of these four terms. Source: Archie B. Carroll (1991), The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility: Toward the Moral Management of Organizational Stakeholders, Business Horizons Source: Archie B. Carroll (1991), The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility: Toward the Moral Management of Organizational Stakeholders, Business Horizons The theory of the pyramid relies on the fact the various components are stacked on each other, the economic responsibility being the base and the philanthropic responsibility being at the top. The logic behind the pyramid relies in the fact that firms are expected to aim for profit maximization but it must also cater for the other responsibilities in the pyramid, which is comply with the law, comply with rules of society and finally act as a good corporate citizen. The diagram below is a representation of Archie B. Carroll pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility. The Stakeholder theory Moir (2001) refers to the stakeholder theory as being used used as a basis to analyse those groups to whom the firm should be responsible. For Carroll (1991, cited as cited in M.G.V. Dongen, 2006 p.13), stakeholder concept personifies the social actors that organizations should consider with their CSR orientation. Stakeholders generally refer to the actors who are directly or sometimes indirectly affected by the actions of a company. Freedman defines a stakeholder as any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the organizations objectives (Freeman, 1984:46). Stakeholders can be classified in two main categories; primary and secondary stakeholders. Clarkson (1995: 106, cited in L. Moir, 2001, p.8) gives the description of a primary stakeholder as one without whose continuing participation the corporation cannot survive as a going concern with the primary group including shareholders and investors, employees, customers and suppliers, together with what is defined as the public stakeholder group: the governments and communities that provide infrastructures and markets, whose laws and regulations must be obeyed, and to whom taxes and obligations may be due (Clarkson, 1995, p.106). Moir (2001, p.8) defines the secondary groups are defined as Those who influence or affect, or are influenced or affected by the corporation, but they are not engaged in transactions with the corporation and are not essential for its survival Source: Monique G. van Dongen (2006), In search of the link between corporate social responsibility and legitimacy The stakeholder theory focuses on a practical approach that explains an organizations need to address the various responsibilities (Dongen 2006, p. 13). The stakeholder theory relies on determining the most important stakeholder for the company and its responsibilities towards that stakeholder. In order to determine how the choice should be made, Carroll (1991) established two main criteria which are; power and legitimacy. Following Carrolls logic, in 1997, Michel et al develop a more detailed approach which includes a new dimension named urgency. The model develop was the the stakeholder salience model Power: the ability of those who possess power, to bring about the outcome that they desire (Mitchell et al., 1997). Legitimacy: the assumption that the actions of an entity are desirable, proper, or appropriate within some socially constructed systems of norms, values, beliefs, and definitions (Suchman, 1995). Urgency: exists when two conditions are met: 1) when it is time-sensitive, and 2) when it is important or critical to the stakeholder (Mitchell et al., 1997). The salience model helps to divide stakeholders in different groups and each of these groups is classified on the basis of having one or more the above characteristics. Mitchell (1997) defined the salience model as the degree to which managers gave importance to stakeholders claims. From this point of view, groups such as latent and expectant stakeholders were created and these groups were further subdivided on the basis of the number of characteristics they possessed. Moir stated that firms would pay most attention to those legitimate stakeholder groups who have power and urgency (Moir, 2001, p.9). Following this logic, an example could be the reputation of a company will have a great importance when it interacts directly with the public. In relation with CSR, Patten (1992 as cited in L Moir, 2006 p.9) gave the following example concerning the possible fluctuations in the level of urgency: environmental groups and issues became more urgent to oil firms following the Exxon Valdez oil spill. To sum up, stakeholder theory can help companies to point out stakeholders that can be sensible to CSR issues and generate a profit in these circumstances. 3.2.1 Mapping of CSR theories In addition to the above models, numerous other theories have been developed, but none of them gave an accurate framework which exactly defined what CSR was. Each and every writer who tried to build up a CSR theory ended up giving a personal opinion, hence creating confusion. Carroll (1994, p.14) described the situation as An eclectic field with loose boundaries, multiple memberships, and differing training/perspectives; broadly rather than focused, multidisciplinary; wide breadth; brings in a wider range of literature; and interdisciplinary. In addition to the above mentioned theories, Frederick (1987, 1998) tried to classify CSR in four main categories namely CSR1, CSR2, CSR3 and CSR4. Other attempts to define theories can take the form of the concept of corporate citizenship by Altman (1998), Issues Management by Wartick and Rude (1986) and Wood (1991) and Brummer (1991) classification of four CSR theories based on six criteria. In order to harmonize all these different models Elisabet Garriga and Domenec Mele (2004) grouped all the actual theories under four main headings namely; instrumental, political, integrative and ethical theories. Theories were placed in a group on the basis of their similitude, for example instrumental theories grouped models that were based on the assumption that organization are here only to make profits. The table below gives a brief summary of each group and the different theories composing them. Source: Elisabet Garriga and Domenec Mele (2004), Corporate Social Responsibility Theories: Mapping the Territory, p.62-63 3.3 Advantages and Disadvantages of engaging in CSR CSR is often view as a companys intention to do good for society, but there can also be times when behind the socially responsible mask the intentions are not the ones expected. In can be quite contradictory but although CSR is assumed to be good, it can have drawbacks. Advantages and disadvantages arising from CSR are as diverse as the domain in which the practices are applied, for analysis purposes standard or most common pros and cons will be considered. First pros or advantages of CSR will be considered. According to Bhattacharya et al. (2008), the first advantage of CSR is that in helps in the recruitment and selection process and more specifically within the competitive graduate student market. Kytle et al. (2005) continue by adding that CSR helps in risk management. Building a genuine culture of doing the right thing within a corporation can offset the risks of losing reputation because of any scandal or environmental accident (Kytle et al, 2005, p.10). Another benefit atributed to CSR is brand differenciation. Paluszek (2005) says that CSR can play a role in building customer loyalty based on distinctive ethical values. CSR can help in building customer loyalty by helping them feel that the company with which they are involved care for them. It must also be added that CSR has a significant impact on customers as well. According to Berger et al. (1995, cited in Maignan and Ferrell, 2004) consumers show more fervent support to companies committed to cause-related marketing, practices that help the environment, or business ethics. Furthermore, the studies conducted by Lichtenstein et al., (2004) proved that CSR helped to develop an emotional attachment with the company and hence it helped in boosting the percentage of sales. Sen et al., (2006) continued by saying that those conscious of actual corporate social activities had more positive responses to, and stronger identification with, the organisation, increased demand for trade and investment intent and demand to get a job with this type of organisation than those unaware of any initiative. In addition to the above advantages, others were published in the Investment News (2007) and they are listed below; Proactive enforcement of stricter quality and environmental controls reduces the risk of negative events (e.g. recalling defective products or fines for excessive polluting). Commitment to CSR increases the ability to attract and retain employees. Benefits include reduced turnover, recruitment and training costs. CSR practices enable corporations to be compliant on ethical issues and attract investors who enforce ethical filters One of the main disadvantages of CSR arises from the misuse of the initial concept behind it. Businesses are here to maximise profits and CSR is in direct conflict with this goal. As Malloy (2003) described corporations exist to provide products and/or services that produce profits for their shareholders. Another disadvantage attributed to CSR, is too use it as a marketing tool to promote the companys image. CSR can help companies to be more profitable. This can be proved by the action taken by British petroleum after the discovery of the global warming phenomenon and the promise to have a world beyond petroleum. Here also the investment News 2007 came with a list of arguments against CSR: Expenditure on CSR dilutes the funds available for shareholders. Corporate Management is not equipped to address social or environmental problems. Expenditure on CSR imposes additional costs which consequently reduce competitiveness Expenditure on CSR can only be made during periods of high profitability 4.0 Customer satisfaction According to marketing literature, higher customer satisfaction improves financial performance by increasing the loyalty of existing customers, reducing price elasticities, lowering marketing costs through positive word-of-mouth advertising, reducing transaction costs, and enhancing firm reputation (e.g., Anderson, Fornell, and Lehmann (1994), Fornell (1992), and Reichheld and Sasser (1990)). Many believe that customer satisfaction is the key to a business success. The advantages to the fact of obtaining satisfaction from customers are various but before considering all of them in details, a definition of the term must be given. Customer satisfactions definition varies in accordance to the domain in which it is used. For instance it will have a different meaning whether it is used in marketing literature or in other sectors. A definition of customer satisfaction from a service management point of view is that customer satisfaction refers to how the perception of the customer affects the value received in a transaction or relationship where value can be defined as the perceived service quality compared to price and customer incurred acquisition costs (cited in Blanchard and Galloway, 1994; Heskett et al., 1990) in comparison to the expected value to be generated from transactions or relationships with competitors (Zeithaml et al., 1990). From the marketing point of view customer satisfaction will be defined as a vital part of the strategy of an organization (Fornell et al. 2006) and a key driver of increased profits on the long-run and boosting market value (Gruca and Rego 2005). Link between CSR and Customer satisfaction A number of studies link customers directly to CSR initiatives. In order to undertake a proper analysis, at least three major dimensions can be considered. The first being Scotts (1987 cited in Luo and Bhattacharya, 2006 p.3) institutional theory and the second stakeholder theory (Maignan, Ferrell, and Ferrell 2005) suggest that a companys actions appeal to the multidimensionality of the consumer as not only an economic being but also a member of a family, community, and country (Handelman and Arnold 1999). Basing themselves on these three approaches Daub and Ergenzinger (2005) developed the term generalized customer. It can be defined as people who are not only customers who care about the consumption experience but also actual or potential members of various stakeholder groups that companies need to consider (Daub and Ergenzinger, 2005; Luo and Bhattacharya, 2006, p.3). Generalized customers derive more satisfaction from the transaction which involves a firm which is socially respo nsible. The second dimension rely on the aspect that establishing the link between the two components is the fact that being highly active in the CSR domain creates a favorable context that positively boosts consumers evaluations of and it gives a favorable image of the firm (Brown and Dacin 1997; Gà ¼rhan- Canli and Batra 2004; Sen and Bhattacharya 2001). Handleman and Arnold (1999) noted that consumers used the concept of positive word to mouth about firms that were committed to actions that were associated with institutional norms (1999, cited in Maignan and Ferrell, 2004). Studies by Berger and Kanetkar (1995), Barone et al. (2000) and Creyer and Ross (1997) resulted in the fact that consumers are willing to actively support companies committed to cause-related marketing, environmentally-friendly practices, or ethics (cited in Maignan and Ferrell, 2004). CSR initiatives constitute a key element of corporate identity that can induce customers to identify with the company. Indeed, Lichten stein, Drumwright, and Bridgette (2004, p. 17) note that a way that CSR initiatives create benefits for companies appears to be by increasing consumers identification with the corporation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ [and] support for the company. Not surprisingly, identified customers are more likely to be satisfied with a firms offerings (e.g., Bhattacharya, Rao, and Glynn 1995; Bhattacharya and Sen 2003). The third dimension examines the antecedents of customer satisfaction (Luo and Bhattacharya, 2006, p.3). One example of a key antecedent can be perceived value and that has been empirically shown to promote customer satisfaction (Fornell et al. 1996; Mithas, Krishnan, and Fornell 2005b; Luo and Bhattacharya, 2006). In the actual case, all else being equal, customers likely derive better perceived value and, consequently, higher satisfaction from a product that is made by a socially responsible company (Luo and Bhattacharya, 2006, p.4).Another antecedents that is known to impact on customer satisfaction is the knowledge of the customer himself. Jayachandran et al (2005) added that improving customer knowledge represents another antecedent that has been found to enhance customer satisfaction. Although the three dimensions above establish a link between CSR and customer Satisfaction it does not indicate whether it is a positive or a negative one. Mac Donald and Rundle-Thiele (2008) pointed out that researchers have studied the impact of CSR on a number of factors, including word of mouth, attitudes, intentions, emotional attachment, shopping in-store, loyalty and brand identification, a limited number of studies have taken into consideration the relationship between satisfaction and CSR (Mac Donald and Rundle-Thiele, 2008, p.174). The only study that directly linked CSR to customer satisfaction was that carried out by Luo and Bhattacharya (2006). They studied Fortune 500 companies, to find that a direct relation between CSR and customer satisfaction existed. Their study identified that satisfaction as a link which formed a relationship between CSR and firm market value (Mac Donald and Rundle-Thiele, 2008, p.174). The diagram below depicts the relationship between customer satisfaction, market share and CSR as studied by Luo and Bhattacharya. Source: Xueming Luo C.B. Bhattacharya, 2006, Corporate Social Responsibility, Customer Satisfaction, and Market Value Despite the direct linking, researchers found cases where CSR was found to have a negative impact on customer satisfaction. Bhattacharya and Luo (2006, cited in Mac Donald and Rundle-Thiele, 2008, p.174) found that, firms which tend to lag in the innovative process, CSR actually reduced the level of customer satisfaction and, through a reduced amount of satisfaction; it adversely affected the market value. In some cases, it may be found that it is more appropriate to use customer oriented initiatives to increase satisfaction than CSR initiatives. CSR initiatives in this case could lead to wastage of precious resources which could have been used in a better way. CSR initiatives against Customer-oriented initiatives Pomering and Dolnicar (2006, cited in Mac Donald and Rundle-Thiele, 2008, p.174) studied that a banks CSR initiatives indicated that customers tend to be more responsive to customer-oriented initiatives, rather than those that had a social orientation. In this study, eight CSR initiatives were proposed such as dedicating one per cent of profit to community programs and launching an indigenous scholarship program. The success of these initiatives did not match the level of satisfaction obtained from customer-oriented initiatives. Pomering and Dolnicar (2006) concluded that consumers consideration for personal well-being may outweigh their consideration of broader social impacts. 4.2.1 CSR initiatives and Customer satisfaction In 2004, Bhattacharya and Sen (2004, cited in Mac Donald and Rundle-Thiele, 2008, p.175) proposed six dimensions to CSR. They are listed below, as published by KLD Research: employee diversity Supporting employees product impact on the environment overseas operations Supporting society 4.2.2 Customer oriented initiatives and customer satisfaction On the other hand, customer-oriented initiatives for the banking sector were also classified. Chakrabarty (2006) observed that customer oriented actions for the banking sector was not the same as for other sectors. Chakrabartys (2006, cited in Mac Donald and Rundle-Thiele, 2008, p.175) research resulted into four factors that determined the total level of customer satisfaction amongst a sample of more than 12,000 UK retail banking customers. They are listed in order of importance as follows: in-branch satisfaction economic satisfaction remote satisfaction ATM satisfaction Later in 2007, Manrai and Manrai (2007, in Mac Donald and Rundle-Thiele, 2008, p.175) came up with another set of four factors. In order of importance, they are: Problems attributed to the personnel Concerns of a financial aspect Concerns about the in-branch environment Convenience-related considerations