Evaluate the extent to which the methods of justification employed by Essay

Evaluate the extent to which the methods of justification employed by Kant in his Groundwork of Metaphysics of Morals provide models for other theories of justi - Essay Example ) can be achieved only with if based on the observation of the actions from an objective point of view and not a critical one because in this case there is the possibility that certain behaviours could be characterized as hostile to the general social framework, an action which should be avoided – at least at the primary stage of the behavioural analysis. Current paper deals with the identification of any possible element of Kant’s work – particularly the Metaphysics of Morals – which can be used as a substantial theoretical source for the support of other theories of justification. In order to achieve the above task the paper has been divided in three parts. Part One presents the methods of justification used by Kant in Metaphysics of Moral. A general overview is also made regarding the value of Kant’s work for the researchers in the area of moral philosophy. Part Two refers to the theories of justification used by other philosophers, like Rawls and Hare. The idea of utilitarianism is also presented in this part in order to explain the stages of development of moral theory in the history. Finally, Part Three summarizes the views presented in the above two parts in an effort to identify the possible relation between the methods of justification used by Kant and those applied by other theorists in the area of moral philosophy. It is also examined to which level the first ones could be used as models for the second ones. In order to understand the Kant’s perceptions regarding the justification applied in all aspects of human behaviour we should primarily refer to the two fundamental ‘formulae’, which are in fact the theoretical framework on which Metaphysics are based. More specifically, in accordance with Kant the following two formulae can support the interpretations of human behaviour as presented throughout his work: a) the Formula of Universal Law : â€Å"Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a

On Berkeley’s Concept of God and Heinous Sins Essay Example for Free

On Berkeley’s Concept of God and Heinous Sins Essay It is a misconstrual in positing that George Berkeley’s axiom that God being the author of ideas is responsible for all heinous crimes. And worst, claiming that such postulate of Berkeley is the loophole in his argument and philosophical treatise is reading his philosophic stance superficially. Relying on a version of the argument from design, Berkeley concluded that our ‘ideas’ are produced in our minds by the will of God acting directly. So God, whom we may safely assume to act (in Berkeleys estimation) in full knowledge of what he is doing, must himself have all the ideas which he generates in human minds, as well as those which he would generate, if the right human acts of will occurred to make them appropriate. And for Berkeley, this would amount to saying that God perceives the whole of physical reality, since physical reality simply is a certain infinitely complex constellation of ideas, and having them before ones consciousness is perceiving it. That would be, in itself, a welcome conclusion, when we perceive the physical world, what we do is just the same as what God does when he perceives it; all that happens in either case is that a mind has certain perceptions, nothing more, and so the human mind can be just as sure of what it perceives as is the divine mind of what it perceives. But it does not necessarily follow that he is the author of evil because as Berkeley defined sin, it is the manifestation of the spirit’s will, meaning it is not something that is innate to the motion of its body or God’s design (Berkeley 1988). Thus when ethical issues or moral conflict arises, it is not necessary to blame for the transpiration of events. For example, the espousal of capital punishment is not authored by God, but it was the product of human will and faculty. The problem is, when humanity cannot explain things, they tend to account it to God. Unfortunately, they forget that there is no necessary connection between cause and effect, and they failed to realize that heinous sins such as adultery, murder and sacrilege are not will of God but of ours.

The Theory of Utilitarianism Essay -- essays research papers fc

THEORY--  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The theory of Utilitarianism states that actions should be judged as right or wrong depending on whether they cause more happiness or unhappiness. It weighs the rightness and wrongness of an action based on consequences of that action. PRINCIPLES-- (1) CONSEQUENCE PRINCIPLE: Actions are to be judged right or wrong mainly by their own consequences. Nothing else matters. Right actions are those that have the best consequences. -No act is right in and of it self. -No act is wrong in and of it self. (2) PRINCIPLE OF UTILITY: The only thing that matters is the amount of happiness and unhappiness that is caused. Therefore the right actions are those that produce the highest ratio of happiness over unhappiness. So in judging the consequences only the wants of happiness and pain are relevant morally. (3) PRINCIPLE OF IMPARIALITY: When finding happiness and unhappiness that's caused ones own happiness is to be looked at more important then anyone else's. Every person is equally important as the next when it comes to happiness. Applying the 3 principles of Utilitarianism: (1) Utilitarian can disagree about what is right and wrong yet still be utilitarians. (2) The principle of Impartiality has its limits, so . . . (3) Personality types can be assessed in terms of their utility. EVERYDAY SCENARIO--   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Utilitarian experience's conflict when considering acts of injustice that does harm to others. That this sort of...

National Socialism: The Loss of Individuality Essays -- Essays Papers

National Socialism: The Loss of Individuality National Socialism in Germany between 1933 and 1945 offered no room for individuality. The unification of Germany and the purification of the Arian race did not allow for the citizens in Nazi Germany to have any singularity. The rise of National Socialism was due to many linked motivations, from the disgrace that the Germanys were feeling after their defeat in the First World War, to the racism against the Jews that plagued all of Europe. After World War One Germany was demolished, both economically and agriculturally. Then, under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was charged with sole responsibility for the war, and was forced to pay costly reparations. This all added to the desperation of the country to form a stronger country. Germany would soon be one of the most powerful states in the world. The National Socialist, in their struggle to rebuild their country and its unity, had two goals. First, they promised to rid the state of national disgrace and desperation. This promised to be completed in a brief period of time. The National Socialist of Germany thought that the sooner it could get back on its feet, the sooner it could become the strongest power in the world. The second goal was to get rid of the absolute monarchy. This was so important to the plan for Germany that they were not concerned whether it be done legally or not. (Dulffer 16-17) In The Enabling Act of 1933 Adolf Hitler, the nationalist leader, was granted dictatorial powers, ending the Weimar Republic. This began the dictatorship that would change the course of history. Hitler (for more information click on picture) gave the members of the Nazi party high... ... camps. This illustrates the power that the National Socialist had in keeping individuality restrained for the â€Å"good† of the community. National Socialism between 1933 through 1945 was a breakdown of individualism. The Nazi control of German unified a country, while tearing apart a world. The reasons for the rise of this totalitarian state are vast, but closely linked together. Through the disgrace of the First World War, and the desperateness of Germany to find a scapegoat, millions of lives were taken for the â€Å"common good† of the Aryan race in Germany. Bibliography - Abel, Theodore. Why Hitler Came to Power. London: Hrvard Collage, 1966. - Duffer, Jost. Nazi Germany 1933-1945 Faith and Annihilation. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. - Mosse, George L. The Crisis of German Ideology. New York: The University Library, 1964.

Celta †Focus on the Learner Essay

The first part of the assignment focuses on the general overview of Entry 1 group who are majority females of South-Asian origin; also a Chinese, African & Arab learners are also enrolled in class. Learners of this group are housewives with little or no previous education background. They would have learnt Urdu or Gujarati in their country. The ages range between 24 and 45. The majority of learner’s first language speaks Gujarati or Punjabi. They have been learning English between 1-3 years & some less than a year and they all enjoy learning English. Most learners are married housewives and have children. They are motivated as they have children and would like to keep pace communicating and helping their children with English. Some also would like to find work. They also like to learn English so they can communicate with doctors, school staff and general everyday life. They like watching TV, Reading and using Computers. From the observation they like listening to the teacher and prefer to learn from pictures, visuals, gestures etc. They prefer the kinaesthetic type of teaching by listening to audio, matching sentences and also interpersonal skills by working in pairs and groups. However as Adults on the whole tend to be more disciplined, the South Asian learners are very well disciplined, listen and are motivated to learn. However they may struggle to learn coming from the cultural background and education experience. â€Å"The traditional Eastern respect for the teacher and for the written word is still a prominent characteristic of learners from India and the neighbouring countries†[1] Due to the culture, there education is more emphasis on discipline and written work. This may be the reason why learners are shy to speak and difficult for teachers to elicit from learners. Part Two From observation during class learners find some difficulty in reading and writing as the majority of learners come from South Asia, where they do not share the Roman transcript; unlike learners from Poland who would pick up the letters of the Alphabet as they share the Roman transcript. They may read out words, however due to not being confident; words may not sound as clear as they could be. They struggle writing in a straight line and also missing out capital letters when writing names of people etc. The group are good at listening to audio exercises and enjoy this type of task as most learners achieve the correct answer. They South-Asian learners struggle a little with their writing skills because of influence of spelling on pronunciation. â€Å"South-Asian scripts are for the most part phonetic, so that spelling is largely an accurate guide to pronunciation. Learners’ pronunciation of English words is consequently over-faithful to the written forms†[2] One of the features of South Asian language accent can be recognised by: â€Å"Tenser articulation than in English, with vowels produced further forward, leading to the loss of some distinctions between different vowels†[3] We observe this in words like Tom; consonants /t/ and /d/ are pronounced heavier. I have also observed the form can/can’t whilst doing my TP. Learners struggle pronouncing both words with the weak form and can’t (stressed) /ka:nt/ with an open mouth; this could have a completely opposite meaning to their answer. They need to respond and get them to elicit more during class. Grammar has also been a weakness as learners struggle with word order and the (ing) form. I have noticed their use of Present simple/continuous. They seem to use the (ing) from the opposite way. I.e. Learners will say or write ‘I am eat’ instead of ‘I am eating’. The South Asian Grammar will have some similarities with English Grammar. â€Å"The ‘parts of speech’ of English and Hindi are broadly similar†[4] There are other differences which will cause problems for our learners. â€Å"has no word class corresponding to the English articles, prefers postpositions placed after a noun or pronoun to prepositions and has its normal word order one in which the verb is placed finally in a sentence†[5] â€Å"With stative verbs rarely used in progressive forms, the present progressive may be used inappropriately by analogy with Hindi simple present, formed with the present participle and present auxiliary: We are not understanding what she means. (for We don’t understand what she means.) The present progressive Hindi is used to say how long a present state of affairs has been going on: How long are you living in England?†[6] Part Three I have identified 2 areas of weaknesses, Grammar and Pronunciation. Grammar activity I have chosen the Grammar activity from ‘‘Language in Use’ by Adrian Doff & Christopher Jones, CUP, Unit 11, pg 48 & 50. (see attached) I would use the attached activity on ‘What’s going on’ for learners to practice with Present simple/continuous (ing) form. This activity is useful as learners omit the (ing) form when speaking and writing. This is due to word order with South Asian language as they tend to omit the ing after the verb. This would be introduced at the start of the lesson with pictures on the whiteboard and elicit what they are doing. They can then think of an action and write on paper. They would then learn how to make the ing form by using basic rule of adding ing to verbs and verbs ending in e; removing (e) etc. They will then complete the exercise on pg 50. Rationale This exercise would be useful as learners all understand the simple verbs and have come across before. This activity is good as it’s simple and clear with visuals; there is also a listening activity which will help learners understand more. I will give explanation on this topic followed by exercises using speaking and listening, which should address this weakness. Pronunciation activity I have chosen the following activity from ‘Language in Use’ by Adrian Doff & Christopher Jones, CUP, pg 81-82. (see attached). I have identified the use of can/can’t in simple sentences. Learners do not stress enough to differentiate between the two; they need to pronounce can’t /ka:nt/ (stressed) with an open mouth this is very important as they don’t convey the wrong meaning of what is being said. This will require a lot of practice listening, speaking and eliciting more from learners during lesson. Rationale The exercise I have chosen is about a woman and what she can/can’t do. Learners will listen to the pronunciation of can/can’t and observe the difference carefully. I would also ask learners to look and observe at the mouth opening more and explain the long vowel in /ka:nt/. Learners are explained the stress and the open r in /ka:nt/. There will be lots of drilling chorally and individually. This would be done mid-way through the lesson after introducing the Grammar and listening to audio. Learners have understood the weak form and open r in /ka:nt/ but have little practice pronouncing the stress form. More listening, drilling and getting learners to speak in pairs and in class should address this problem.

Free Essays on Euthyphro

of wisdom from the ignorant Eythyphro. Socrates makes a great point, in explaining that different god’s have different views. I know even Jesus and God had different opinions and views on certain religious theories. For an example god wanted harm brought against people who were evil, which Jesus preached about forgiveness and love for all humanity. Yes, he might be pleasing one or two gods , but at the same time pissing off other gods, who have different beliefs. I feel that Euthyphro did no wrong in... Free Essays on Euthyphro Free Essays on Euthyphro EUTHYPHRO Euthyphros charges against his father are ridiculous and impious. A man kills another man, "even it was in a drunken rage" deserves to be punished for his actions. That’s my view on murder, however I do feel there is a time to kill, like if his father was a vicious man or had killed before. The indictment, which happened many years ago, will have a great effect on his fathers life. I have no knowledge on the penalties that were received at for murder, but I am sure they were severe. I am not certain that Euthyphro thought out how sever the consequences of his charges, were going to be on his father. Maybe he did and just didn’t care, having that much hatred towards his father. If I had more background on Euthyphros relationship with his father, I might be able to understand a little better why he would do this to his own father. Euthyphro feels he is being pious for what he is doing, he has abandoned the fact, that the laborer killed the slave in cold blood. I realize that the man was just a degrading slave, but he is a human being too and deserves justice. In my eye’s that’s not being very pious at all. Euthyphro set double standards for his laborer and the slave. Where is the piouty in that? "I think, Socrates, that the godly and pious is the part of the just that is concerned with the care of the gods, while that concerned with the care of men is the remaining part of justice." Words of wisdom from the ignorant Eythyphro. Socrates makes a great point, in explaining that different god’s have different views. I know even Jesus and God had different opinions and views on certain religious theories. For an example god wanted harm brought against people who were evil, which Jesus preached about forgiveness and love for all humanity. Yes, he might be pleasing one or two gods , but at the same time pissing off other gods, who have different beliefs. I feel that Euthyphro did no wrong in... Free Essays on Euthyphro The title of the work that will be examined in this paper is the â€Å"Euthyphro† by Plato. Aristocles, also known as Plato, wrote this dialogue in the year 380 B.C.E., shortly after the death of his teacher and mentor Socrates (ca. 399 B.C.E.) (Pojman 16). The Euthyphro is a dialogue between Socrates and a religious expert named Euthyphro. During his lifetime Socrates never wrote down any of his teachings or thoughts so the Euthyphro and many other dialogues like it serve as the only source of information on the life and teachings of the Western World’s greatest thinker. The dialogue begins when Socrates meets Euthyphro by the Porch of the King Archon. Socrates and Euthyphro exchange greetings and each asks what the other’s business is at the court. Socrates explains to Euthyphro that he is being charged by Meletus, a hooked-nose unknown, with inventing false gods, not recognizing the gods of the state, and corrupting the youth of Athens. After a brief inqui ry to the specifics of the charges Euthyphro assures Socrates that his affair will end in nothing and that both of them shall win their cause. Upon hearing this Socrates asks Euthyphro what his suit is. Euthyphro responds that he is the prosecuter in the case of his servant’s murder by his father’s hand. Socrates becomes astounded when he hears of this and proceeds to tell Euthyphro that in order for a son to prosecute his own father he must have achieved a high state of wisdom because the common man knows little about these matters. Euthyphro, ironically, replies that yes a person must be extraordinary do undertake this task. Euthyphro then goes on to explain that whether or not the wrongdoer is a relative or a stranger they must be brought to justice by trial. It is at this point that the dialogue, which will attempt to answer the question â€Å"what is piety?†, ensues. This paper will analyze the four arguments and reversals posed by the dialogue. It will a lso give cr... Free Essays on Euthyphro Plato’s Euthyphro is an obscure dialogue conversation that attempts to unveil an ideal meaning of piety. The purpose of this paper as a whole is to analyze transitions as to where definitions of piety are being made. Furthermore, it will attempt to explain the separation of morality as independent of religion (a system of social beliefs), while attempting to define morality. It is essential to understand the role of the gods to establish the definition of piety. All those in Athenian society during Plato’s existence who did wrong, did wrong against the gods. Therefore, all wrong doers are prosecuted for the sake of the gods. It was seen that these wrong doers did commit a wrong that was ungodly. On the other hand, it was unknown to Plato what exactly godliness and ungodliness where. As the conversation continues and it seems there is a collaboration of thoughts and ideas on behalf of both men to develop the definition of piety. Plato states â€Å"that piety would be knowledge of how to give to, and beg from, the gods† [14d]. This final definition clearly indicates that piety is something that the gods receive from man. The offerings of thankfulness and outward respect to them are things which Euthyphro believes are dear to the gods. Thus, making what is dear to the gods pious. Being pious is approved by Gods; not the things which G ods thinks are pious. Humanity though, is provided with no basic understanding of the term piety. All they know of is one effect of piety. The fact that it is a thing that pleases the Gods is co-extensive with the definition of piety. An act of piety always has an element of justice, but an act of justice will not always be pious. How are morals established and who decides what’s moral? The â€Å"moral majority† decides this. The consensus of those which govern laws govern the morality of a particular society. However, everyone may not have similar beliefs as to what morality is. For examp...

Student Essay Help

Student Essay Help Student Essay Help Student Essay Help: Your Light at the End of the Tunnel Some students easily cope with the problems in the college or university. But there is some type of students, who really struggle with the student assignments. Probably, it is not their fault that they could not handle it. For instance, they struggle with the student essays writing. Maybe, this working process requires rather diligence and responsibility than concrete knowledge. It is a systematical work that includes analysis and argumentative expression of the authors opinion. Probably, some new students will face these barriers during their studying course, but with the student essay help they could improve their skills of writing: Student Essay Help What is that? Actually, student essay help is your light at the end of the tunnel. When you have some critical problems with essay writing, you always can rely on the student essay help. It could be as the informational source in the internet, newspaper, book or magazine that describes the basis, principles and methods of student essay writing, as the writing agency, which provides the necessary information to you or does the dirty job instead of you. It is up to you what kind of student essay helpwill you choose. Student Essay Help How it works in practice? Usually, the guide or manual creates the correct idea about essay writing. In other words, it helps you to make a plan of your work. For instance, the numerous manuals throw light upon the plan of your essay. Example: think up the unexpected introduction that could attract the readers attention; add the thesis statement: the thesis has to reflect your topics conception; show the analysis of the subject; in the main body of your essay pay special attention to the details and argumentation; do not forget to express your own constructive opinion; gather all the information at the end and provide the logical conclusion. Student Essay Help The assistance of writing agencies. In case of the writing agencies, you have just to choose the appropriate organization, that has a solid rating and provide the reasonable prices for the work. Of course, it is always a risk to rely on other people, but sometimes it is absolutely normal when you ask the help of professional writers. Anyway, it would be better if you start your writing practice with own attempts. Obviously, there will be mistakes at the first time, but step-by-step you will find the own style of essay writing. Read more: Education Term Paper Outline for a Term Paper Need Help Writing a Paper Islamic Religion Term Paper Term Paper on Personal Success

Travel Writing Resources

Travel Writing Resources Travel Writing Resources Travel Writing Resources By Sharon I love travel writing, but the strangeness of the internet marketplace means that sometimes I have to write travel articles about places that Ive never been to. Ive now done several of these, and heres what I have learned from the process. As a writer you can make connections between what you have done and what you are writing about. Okay, so you may not have visited a water park in Tenerife, but you might have visited one in Disneyworld. You can use your memories of that experience to add local color and a bit of excitement to your writing about the new location. No matter where you go in the world, water parks, museums, parks and other places of interest have many of the same features, which you can use as a way of getting started. Its essential to do your research. Normally, I dont recommend Wikipedia as a research resource, but I have found that their profiles of countries and cities are generally well researched, with verifiable sources. If you want a starting point for an overview of the history, climate, industry and main attractions, Wikipedia works well. I always double check the information there with information from the destinations city or country guide site. These sites are also great places to find out about local amenities and annual events. A site that provides a good overview of these is Eventguide.com. When it comes to describing the attractions and knowing what people really felt about them, you cant do much better than TripAdvisor.com. You get a capsule description of the attraction and lots of great reviews. If 300 people found the same location amazing or awesome, then you are on firm ground when using those adjectives in your travel piece. You can usually find links to the attraction websites to get more information. This site also helps with nightlife, eating out and other aspects of a successful trip. Other resources I find useful are Yahoo Travel and the Lonely Planet site. Once you have the right research resources, its relatively easy to put together a piece that will give readers information about the place of interest. Ive travelled a lot, so I can use that experience to create some excitement for readers who are looking for information about a particular place. And since I love to travel, I am interested in learning about new places and excited about what they offer, so I dont have to fake that fizz. Ive also found some great new destinations as a result. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Direct and Indirect ObjectsHomonyms, Homophones, Homographs and HeteronymsComment, Suggestion, and Feedback

Special Individuals Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Special Individuals - Research Paper Example Discuss thoroughly. Manifestation determination is the act of â€Å"determining whether the behavior that results in a suspension or change of placement is a manifestation of a child’s disability† (Giordano, 2008). It often takes place when a school is implementing a change of placement or suspension due to violations of school rules; when a student has been removed from the school system for more than 10 days within a school term; or when a student is being punished for activities or behavior which indicates a pattern (Giordano, 2008). In instances when the behavior is indicates a student’s disability, a Functional behavior assessment must be carried out and a plan of behavior conceptualized. Students with exceptional needs – those with disabilities (with Individualized Education Programs or IEPs) – can be suspended up to ten days during a school year or even expelled for their behavior which is not caused by their disability. There is a need to ca rry out additional procedural safeguards in instances when suspension exceeds ten days (FSUSD, n.d). 3. List and describe three strategies or interventions to use when teaching and working with students with emotional or behavioral disorders. Why do these particular strategies work well with these students? a. Use taped word read-alongs (Trim, 2009). Studies have provided strong support for this strategy with students under this intervention improving their reading rate at a faster pace. b. Test retakes (Trim, 2009). Studies also point out that students who could do retakes of tests, scored higher than those who could not (Trim, 2009). c. Responses, praise, and academic talk (Trim, 2009). Students given more praise performed better than those who were not praised as much. d. Cover, copy, and compare (Trim, 2009). This is a process of considering instructions, extracting it, and interacting with a greater amount of accuracy (Trim, 2009). If the student is wrong, then he keeps trying until he would get it right. Part 2 Introduction The history of violence in schools has been a subject of discussion in government agencies and interest groups. These incidents have graduated from minor skirmishes to major gun shooting incidents. Some of these incidents have proved fatal to students and to teachers alike and they seem to find its roots in behavior disorders from troubled teens and youths. This discussion shall consider the Worthing High School shooting incident. Discussion This shooting incident involved atleast two gunmen which killed one man and hurt five other people. About sixty individuals from Worthing, Madison, Yates, and Jones high schools were attending an all-girl football game when a Ford Taurus drove into the field. The game was apparently not a sanctioned event. Attendees were residents of surrounding neighborhoods and were not HISD students (Glenn and O’Hare, 2011). A fist fight first broke out between two individuals and this escalated to a fig ht between two groups of men. A gun was soon drawn and was fired by some of the men. The incident was considered to be gang-related. The life of a former Worthing High School student was claimed in the shooting. Participants in the fight, including those who were injured were interviewed after the shooting (Glenn and O’Hare, 2011). Officials with the Houston Independent School District were prompted to reinforce their security as a

How and why is the provision of foreign aid perfceived of as an Essay

How and why is the provision of foreign aid perfceived of as an essential part of OECD states' foreign policies - Essay Example This paper examines the question of how and why foreign aid is perceived as an essential part of OECD states' foreign policy. In doing this, the paper will examine the position of international aid in the global society. This will be done by investigating the background of foreign aid and cross-border donor activities. The research will identify the challenges in providing development in poor nations and the issues with using force. From these analyses, the paper will move on to look at new trends in aid amongst OECD nations and their motivations for this. Genuine Disparities and White Man's Burden â€Å"White Man's Burden† is a poem by an English poet, Rudyard Kipling. It was published in an American newspaper in 1899 and referred to the imperial aspirations by the United States towards the Philippines Islands (Margolis, 2009). The poem described the burden of the White race to assist and help the poor and less developed nations in the world around that time to build the prop er infrastructure and live a live that was of the best merit for the citizens. At the time White Man's Burden was written, most nations around the world were highly backward. Some of them maintained social and cultural systems that barely allowed them to overcome nature and survive. Europe and other Eurocentric nations ruled by persons of European origins like the United States, Canada, Australia and the Cape Colony of South Africa were absolutely advanced. These nations had the rightful political structures that were steeped in the rule of law, democracy and the separation of power. The nations had formal educational structures that complemented the concept of work. Through this, people were equipped with skills in structured educational systems and were presented into the labour force to work and earn remuneration in a formal manner. However, most nations, particularly those in the southern hemisphere had structures that had faced serious setbacks. On a basic analysis, two importa nt reasons can be used to explain this. First of all, most of these communities in Africa, Asia and South America was highly isolated from the rest of the world. And due to that, they could not share ideas with other nations. Secondly, these nations included persons with major diversity differences that made it impossible for such nations to unite on the basis of a common language, common institutions in order to create the rightful environment for democracy and nation-building. On the contrary, Europe had a few languages that formed the basis for the cohesion of huge nations. Also, the role of the Church as a unifying institution created the right framework for Europe to build modern nations (Viault, 1990). So at the turn of the 20th Century, Europe and persons of European origin were way ahead of other nations around the world. The poem, White Man's Burden signified the need for Europeans to spread the institutional structures and systems to developing countries and in the case of the 1899 publication, it was meant to show Americans the need to take up a colonial obligation in the Philippines. The poem showed that imperialism was not only about exploiting poorer nations but also, sharing development and promoting better livelihoods in less developed nations in Africa, Asia and South America (Margolis, 2009). Today, the White Man's Burden continues to subsists. Although most nations in the developed world are overwhelmingly multicultural, there is the need for

There is no such thing as a neutral question. Evaluate this statement Essay

There is no such thing as a neutral question. Evaluate this statement with reference to two areas of knowledge - Essay Example For example, when conducting research respondents can be asked, â€Å"how many pairs of shoes do you own?† This is a neutral question since the person asking is not interested in whatever answers the respondent gives. The questioner could be someone who does not even know the respondent and happens to interact with them (physically or virtually) basically owing to the research. If a researcher from the United Kingdom goes to the United States to carry out an interview and asks such a question, the answer does not affect them. A question can, therefore, be neutral. How, then, can it be said that such a question is not neutral? The questioner changes the neutrality of a question by either manipulating the answer to suit his objectives or phrasing the question to box the respondent into one corner. For example, the question â€Å"are you going to hit me?† is not neutral because the answer is likely to influence whatever action, or thought that comes next. This is because whether the respondent answers in the affirmative or the negative the questioner is likely to develop certain notions about them2. This is more like a statement or a judgment. One distinct attribute of questions that are neutral is that they raise more questions; non-neutral questions tend to end with an answer. More question marks and doubts surrounding whatever answer given are highly likely3. When a teacher confronts a student who has failed a test and asks â€Å"how did you fail this test?† the teacher is using the question to reprimand the student4. The teacher is concerned about the intricate details of what led to the student failing the test. The student, on hearing the tone of the question, is likely to get defensive, and the communication process will be interrupted. This is because the teacher comes across as angry and judgmental; he is stating a point and not asking a question5. On the other hand, if the teacher asks â€Å"did you study

Access to Higher Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Access to Higher Education - Essay Example 33).Accessing the institutions of higher learning has however been a challenge even to the developed countries and this article tries to show why this is so and why in some countries it has been successfully implemented. This paragraph explores cost as a factor for access to higher education. One challenge that makes higher learning hard to achieve for everyone is the cost implication that comes with it. The cost of acquiring a degree is very high that not everyone in the society can be able to match. This poses a challenge to those in those in the lower class in the society (Harmon 2010, p. 75). Very often, you will find needy students that are very bright but cannot afford to further their studies. The only hope for these students is either to find a sponsor or the government loans and grants provided by governments especially in the developing world. To overcome such a challenge, countries like the Scandinavian countries have made tertiary education to be free for all its citizens regardless of their performance in the secondary school (Harmon 2010, p. 79). What this does is that it ensures no one is denied a chance to further his or her studies.Therefore, cost is really an issue. Next let us explore the loan factor in details.How is loan a factor? Loan as a helping factor to access to education involves the government offering to finance the education of its university population and recover the money once the student has graduated and found employment. The prohibitive factor in this case, however, is that not all students who complete their degrees do find jobs immediately or even at all and thus it is common to find a lot of defaulters and thus the government might not be able to offer enough funds to future deserving cases (White 2008, p. 19). What other governments do to avoid this is that they subsidize the cost of education for all students in public institutions of higher learning to a level where it is affordable to almost everyone. In Kenya for exa mple, the cost of degree courses in public universities there is averagely $300 a year. Such subsidies are however putting a strain in the overall running of the universities and most of them have been forced to look for funds from other sources to run the universities (Thomson 2009, p. 22). This brings in another element in the access to higher learning; inequality. How about exclusivity as a factor? Exclusivity definitely denies everyone access to the best tertiary institutions of choice but the good thing is for those who make it to these institution is the demand they will get in the job market. Here is a look at both sides of this discussion. There are some high end universities that are so sought after that they have to put extra requirement to be accessed. The so-called Ivy League Schools like Oxford and Yale are so expensive to the ordinary person that only the well-off do go there. While these universities actually deserve to be there, it is the inequality that exists that is the problem. You will find that there are different registration numbers for different student with one being for the self-sponsored and another for the government sponsored (Rubin 2012, p.35). This brings about favoritism as the self-sponsored tend to be more favored than the other students because of the amount of money that they bring in to the University. Graduates from these

Five educational technologies that will most influence teaching, Essay

Five educational technologies that will most influence teaching, students, and the classroom environment over the next ten years - Essay Example For example in 2009, the private institutions enrolled 3.7 million students and spent $ 22,514 per student while the public schools enrolled 7.7 million students and spent $12, 812. There is thus a great variation between the colleges therefore, driving the need for change to the future of higher education. Jackson also noted that there were increasing costs in education and student debts which raised much concern over the future of these institutions.2 Furthermore, these institutions are expected to produce individuals with skills that are relevant in the job market. Since most students enroll in public institutions, there is need to effect changes in those institutions to ensure efficiency and productivity. Information technology in this case, if incorporated in schools can play a great role in delivering the much needed change. The high demand for incorporation of IT in schools has been necessitated by the many challenges faced by educational institutions in a dynamic global envir onment. First, there is increased need of expanding the content of the curriculum to cope with the demands placed on education by the society. Education is expected to deliver more content due to growth of knowledge. There has also been tremendous growth in reasoning and critical thinking skills hence IT is needed. Due to increased diversity of students, the traditional methods of learning are proving to be incapable of fulfilling learner’s needs besides being expensive.3 Changes in the methods of teaching and how students learn are therefore needed and the only solution is to make IT more central to teaching and learning processes. There are various IT technologies such as use of personal learning environments, tablet computing, use of mobile devices, game-based learning, online learning, user generated learning among others. The paper will concentrate on the five educational technologies that will hold the most influence on teaching, students and the classroom environment o ver the next ten years which comprise of: learning centered design, user generated content, mobile devices, tablet computing and game-based learning. Education in the United States is based on a comprehensive system of elementary, secondary and higher education. Children below five years are enrolled in preschools after which they proceed to elementary school at age 5-7 to age 11-13. Secondary education begins at age 9-12 after which those who graduate proceed to graduate schools. The education system is decentralized hence the schools have a greater role in decision making process rather than relying on the state. It also means that the service providers have to ensure high quality education as they are held accountable by the parents as well the government.4 The U.S education system is dependent on the economic resources hence in case of economic downturns the impact on education is great leading to low enrolment levels and increased drop out rates. This is especially so for racia l groups and the minority groups who have less chances of enrolling in secondary schools.5 The secondary schools are divided into parochial, private, and public schools. The parochial schools are owned and funded by religious entities while private schools are owned and funded by private individuals or organizations. The public schools on the other hand, are funded by

Access to Higher Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Access to Higher Education - Essay Example 33).Accessing the institutions of higher learning has however been a challenge even to the developed countries and this article tries to show why this is so and why in some countries it has been successfully implemented. This paragraph explores cost as a factor for access to higher education. One challenge that makes higher learning hard to achieve for everyone is the cost implication that comes with it. The cost of acquiring a degree is very high that not everyone in the society can be able to match. This poses a challenge to those in those in the lower class in the society (Harmon 2010, p. 75). Very often, you will find needy students that are very bright but cannot afford to further their studies. The only hope for these students is either to find a sponsor or the government loans and grants provided by governments especially in the developing world. To overcome such a challenge, countries like the Scandinavian countries have made tertiary education to be free for all its citizens regardless of their performance in the secondary school (Harmon 2010, p. 79). What this does is that it ensures no one is denied a chance to further his or her studies.Therefore, cost is really an issue. Next let us explore the loan factor in details.How is loan a factor? Loan as a helping factor to access to education involves the government offering to finance the education of its university population and recover the money once the student has graduated and found employment. The prohibitive factor in this case, however, is that not all students who complete their degrees do find jobs immediately or even at all and thus it is common to find a lot of defaulters and thus the government might not be able to offer enough funds to future deserving cases (White 2008, p. 19). What other governments do to avoid this is that they subsidize the cost of education for all students in public institutions of higher learning to a level where it is affordable to almost everyone. In Kenya for exa mple, the cost of degree courses in public universities there is averagely $300 a year. Such subsidies are however putting a strain in the overall running of the universities and most of them have been forced to look for funds from other sources to run the universities (Thomson 2009, p. 22). This brings in another element in the access to higher learning; inequality. How about exclusivity as a factor? Exclusivity definitely denies everyone access to the best tertiary institutions of choice but the good thing is for those who make it to these institution is the demand they will get in the job market. Here is a look at both sides of this discussion. There are some high end universities that are so sought after that they have to put extra requirement to be accessed. The so-called Ivy League Schools like Oxford and Yale are so expensive to the ordinary person that only the well-off do go there. While these universities actually deserve to be there, it is the inequality that exists that is the problem. You will find that there are different registration numbers for different student with one being for the self-sponsored and another for the government sponsored (Rubin 2012, p.35). This brings about favoritism as the self-sponsored tend to be more favored than the other students because of the amount of money that they bring in to the University. Graduates from these

Revelation Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Revelation Paper - Essay Example An aspect of similarity between the Martyrdom of Perpetua, Philistas and her companions at one end and Polycarp at the other is underscored by the fact that in both cases, God allows His faithful to undergo martyrdom. This immediately serves as a strong antithesis to the presently famous doctrine being touted by televangelists that with faith, God can do anything for a Christian, if that Christian has faith. This prosperity gospel insinuates that God’s blessings and primary will amount to physical and material gains and consummation of earthly goals. On the contrary, it is apparent that immediately Perpetua has a revelation from God [through a vision wherein the Lord is presented as a Shepherd], together with her companions, they all become aware that the impending martyrdom is God’s will. A very devoted and godly man, Polycarp also undergoes martyrdom. Through the experiences that transpire in the lives of Perpetua and her companions and Polycarp, it becomes clear that God may love His people very much, to the point of taking them home, to be with them forever- and martyrdom or natural death [as is the case of St. John the Divine] may be an instrument God uses to achieve this purpose. The crux of the matter herein is that at some instances, God may glorify Himself through martyrdom, as is the case of Perpetua and her companions and Polycarp’s martyrdom. Again, contrary to modern day teaching, martyrdom is also presented as a way of God’s deliverance for His children (Amat, 1996). Growing up over the years, I have come to appreciate the harmony I have acquired from my religious heritage. The matter here is that I have benefited immensely from the roles that my father and mother have dispensed as individuals and as unique members of the family, just as the Quran and the Hadith stipulate. Because of this, I have been able to have a stable and orderly family where the roles of each parent are effectively and timely discharged. Over time, I have come to

Rich man Essay Example for Free

Rich man Essay Slavery is alive and well in the 21st Century. Ever wondered, as you slipped on your trainers or pulled on a pair of jogging bottoms what life would be like for the person who made them? Nike promotes sport and healthy living but the lives of workers who make Nike shoes and clothes in Asia are anything but healthy. Independent research indicates that they live in extreme poverty and suffer stress and exhaustion from over work. Around the world there are millions of people whose lives depend on global trade. Many are small children between an age of nine and seventeen, working in factories trying to earn just a little money for their families. But working in these factories isnt living. Its sweating. Its exhaustion. Its two meals of rice and vegetables a day. Its two twenty-four hour shifts a week. Its food or medicine, not both. Its a mat to sleep on in a nine by nine cell. In short ninety pence, the daily rate at Nike factories and the mandated Indonesian minimum is more a dying wage than a living wage. We are the reason that the poor get poorer and the rich get richer. Demand here effects lives there. Poor people are being kept poor, thanks to companies like Nike. People have to work overtime, and if they dont, they either get the sack or they get abused both physically and mentally. Workers are so poor that they cannot take the risk and say no, because they need the money so much. Even children have had to work in order to earn money because of their poverty. Child labour is one of the most serious human rights abuses in the work place. They are being denied something all children should have an entitlement to, a childhood. A right to play, a right to grow up without the worries and responsibilities of survival. A right to an education without which they can never aspire to a better quality of life. Should such huge responsibilities be placed on such little shoulders? In the U. S. A. and Europe a Nike shirt costs thirty pounds, yet the workers may only get about a quarter of that price per week in wages. The third world kids are victims of poverty. We the consumers are victims of high prices and ignorance. Every time we wear an item of clothing produced by named brand manufacturers we advertise their products. We have been given false hopes, the way that Nike gives false hopes to the workers in their factories. The clothes we buy from Nike are made in factories from China to El Salvador. These factories can only be called sweatshops. The conditions people are expected to work in are nothing short of appalling. Wages are abysmal; hours are long and welfare non-existent. Workers who remained anonymous for fear of loosing their jobs were interviewed by Sarah Strickland in Phonom Penh and are quoted as saying, Some only earn i 20 a month. They have to get their card stamped when they go to the toilet and sometimes they faint from exhaustion and the heat. One particular worker who said he had worked for two years without a holiday told her, When I asked for two days off, they cut my salary. The manufacturers were also approached for their comments on the state of the garment industry in Cambodia. Van Sou Ieng, chairman of the Garment Manufacturers Association told Ms Strickland Some of the workers have unrealistic demands, like asking for forty hour, five day weeks. I wonder how many hours per week he works and for how much pay? I would be very surprised if he wasnt entitled to holiday pay, sick pay and a substantial pension. I think the workers in these factories should be paid more because they are being kept poor and its unfair. The children working in these factories should not have been there, they should have been in school, playing and having fun not receiving pain in a factory. However this is a complex issue, consider this, if you buy Nike products, those factory workers will be kept poor. If you dont buy them they will still be poor, maybe more so. So what can we do about it? Well, we could try protesting to companies like Nike. A letter of disapproval might be a start, but will these multi-million pound companies listen to us? I think we should protest to the world trading organisations and persuade them to set standards for all companies around the world. Standards that are fair to everyone; the factory workers, the companies and you the consumer. A world trade mark could then be a sign of quality without cruelty, a guideline for the unsuspecting buyers around the world that the product didnt cost someone more than a fair days work for a fair days pay, and doesnt cost us our peace of mind. Rich man The executives of the large companies who make their money from us all   Poor man The consumer who is being conned by these companies and kept in the dark about the way in which their products are produced.   Beggar man The people in third world countries who have little or no rights in the workplace, slaves to their rich masters.   Thief The Multi-million pound companies, the fat cats of society, making their money from exploiting others.

Business Process Reengineering in Service Sector

Business Process Reengineering in Service Sector Over the years, there has been a realization that for all businesses, manufacturing or service, change is key to success. Increasing costs, challenging timelines, cutthroat competition, and technological innovations are some of the major factors propelling change. Since most of the services are people / process oriented, the change is not easy to carry. Add to it, the fast vanishing geographical boundaries make the tasks even more difficult for the organizations. Whether the company operates in manufacturing sector or in services; organizations have been forced to rethink their strategies. Many a time, service sector has been ahead of manufacturing in the Business Process Reengineering queue. Improved Product / Service quality, reduced cycle time, reduced cost to the customer are direct outcomes of BPR. BPR is essentially different from other changes in an organization that it defies the Old wine in a new bottle principle. Business Process Reengineering is by definition, the means by which an organization can achieve radical change in performance as measured by cost, cycle time, service, and quality, by the application of a variety of tools and techniques that focus on the business as a set of related customer-oriented core business processes rather than a set of organizational functions. The shift is imminent. Competition is now global as against Local or regional in the past. Markets are focused in comparison to Mass. Operations are flexible in contrast to controlled. The focus is on Best service than performance. BPR is the answer as it talks of radical change vis-a-vis Traditional approach which limits itself to incremental changes. Business Process Reengineering involves tinkering with the organizations DNA and producing an evolved species. The mistake companies tend to make is pick the wrong process to be reengineered, or make only superficial changes. According to James A. Champy one of the founders of the management theory behind Business Process Reengineering, and proponent of a process oriented view of business management, BPR is not just about reducing cost but also improving quality, speed to market and changing the customer experience. Why BPR? The changing economic environment has led to an increasing interest in improving organizational processes to enhance business performance. BPR has been instrumental in success of various organizations. Sidikat, Ayanda (2008) in paper titiled, Impact Assessment of Business Process Reengineering on Organisational Performance concluded that business process reengineering has become useful weapon for any corporate organization that is seeking for improvement in their current organizational performance and intends achieve cost leadership strategy in its operating industry and environment. Different objectives of BPR include: Reduced transaction process time Improved customer service Increased volume of business Reduced operating cost Higher profitability Improved Employee loyalty Key enablers of BPR BPR involves a rationale change at every level of organization starting with top management. The most important thing to keep in mind while implementing any such exercise is to work across processes and not functions. Equally important is to have a strong internal team that is working on the implementation. Key enablers of BPR can be listed as follows: People Management Leadership Organizational Culture Functional Expertise Instantaneous reaction Performance Indictors Quality, Lead Time, Cost, Service Service Sector in India The service sector has experienced rapid growth over the years as many nations including India shifted from a manufacturing-based economy to a service economy. A major spur in this shift happened as a result of computerization and advancements in telecommunication. Along with this shift, the consumers expectations have grown manifold. It is extremely difficult to meet desired service levels in todays age without a shift from age old systems to high-tech advanced systems. Before discussing about BPR in service sector, a brief list of different Service sectors is as follows. Trade Hotels and Restaurants Railways Other Transport Storage Communication (Post, Telecom) Banking Insurance Dwellings, Real Estate Business Services Public Administration; Defense Personal Services Community Services Other Services BPR Service Sector Though Business Process Reengineering has been instrumental in changing the fate of many manufacturing industries, it has played an equally pivotal role in service sector. Additional Ps People Process that differentiate Services from Products along with PhysicaI Evidence are the most important drivers leading to this overhaul. Suzanne Wintrob (1995) in research paper titled It wont work if users kept in dark discussed the incomparable role of people in Business Process Reengineering. According to Sunil Chandiramani, National Director Advisory services, Ernst Young, The external team (consultants) can facilitate the process, but it has to be led by the internal team. In recent past, many service sector companies have successfully seen the transition from being overloaded with papers to technology driven time-saving systems. In India, with government giving a go-ahead to private players in 90s, public sector companies felt the heat and started losing market share to private counterparts. The private companies implemented modern centralized core processing systems. Banking is one of many Indian industries where this transition holds true. Indian Post and Indian Railways are other two takers of this dynamism. Banking Finance Public Sector Banks in India are the building blocks of Indian economy. Ironically, they had been deprived of all modernized systems till late 90s. They offered the most basic services such as manual deposits and withdrawals as compared to a bouquet of services such as facility of ATM, 24-hour banking, E-banking, M-banking provided today. State Bank of India is one such example which had undertaken a massive computerization effort to automate all its branches, implementing a highly customized version of Bankmaster core banking system. However, because of Banks historic use of manual systems void of centralization and problems in communication systems, it had to resort to decentralized system to start with. The need for reengineering arose because SBI along with other public sector counterparts started losing existing customers and were handicapped to tap the ever growing potential of middle class. In 2000, SBI engaged KPMG for this overhaul and in 2002, KPMG recommended an IT driven systems to counter the private players led competition. To start with 3300 branches were selected for implementation which was later expanded to 14600 of SBI affiliate branches considering unparalleled success. SBI planned to provide a single window system, better customer service, wanted to reach out to urban as well as rural population and control the customer switching along with many other objectives that it sought. The biggest problem that drove this restructuring for this Public sector giant was that since branches were not connected, the customer was a Branch customer rather than a Bank customer. Moreover Information Technology till now, was aimed only at Internal efficiency. Hence, it was planned to share operations for back-office functions and rework the workflows and processes. Indian Postal System BPR has aimed at radical improvements by means of elevating efficiency and effectiveness of the business processes that exist within and across department. The key for BPR is to look at business processes from a clean slate perspective and determine how they can best construct these processes to improve the way business is conducted. Department of Posts occasionally conducts workshops related to BPR involving the people such as Nodal Officers who are part of BPR strategy and implementation. India Post has been making several upgradations to existing systems and has started offering bouquet of services such as Money Transfers, One-stop bill payment (Telephone, electricity), Driving license renewals etc. Speed Post, started by Department of Posts in August 1986 for providing time-bound and express delivery of letters documents and parcels across the nation and abroad, is the market leader in the domestic express industry. Through ePOST service launched in 2004, customers can send their messages to any address in India with a combination of electronic transmission and physical delivery through a network of more than 1,55,000 Post Offices. ePOST sends messages as a soft copy through internet and delivered to the addressee in the form of hard copy at nominal charge of Rs 10 per A4 sheet. ePayment is a comprehensive bill payment service offered by India Post to help meet the needs of the business customers.  This allows collection of bills (telephone bills, electricity bills, university fee, school fee, insurance premia etc) on behalf of any organization. The collection is consolidated electronically using web based software and payment is made centrally through cheque from a specified post office. The payment information can be assessed online by the user. Instant Money Order (iMO), the instant on-line money transfer service, provides speed, mobility, safety and reliability for money transfer. IMO is an instant web based money transfer service through Post Offices (iMO Centre) in India between two resident individuals in Indian territory. Though the number of services offered is many, still huge gaps exist in quality as compared to international standards. To enable Department of Posts to achieve the business objectives of becoming the IT enabled complete service provider, Project Management Unit have been entrusted with the task of creating state of the art electronic network covering all its offices and all products and services including third party services and enable electronic transmission of information for conducting monitoring operations, consolidating transactions data and generating an effective MIS. Business Process Reengineering groups were formed and their reports are being evaluated by concerned Divisions of Directorate, which would form the base to make the comprehensive IT strategy and roadmap for Department of Posts. Indian Railways Its been long since computerized passenger reservation system was started by Indian Railways. Today the reservation related workload has increased manifold but railways have been able to manage the work without much increase in manpower. Different systems incorporated by railways includes- Software Aided Train Scheduling Network Governance Main objectives of train scheduling are that it should be convenient to the passenger and feasible to run on the system. Introducing new train services and augmenting older ones is an art and a select group of planners are highly skilled in this task. Indian Railways have now started using information technology to aid the planning process. Web Enabled Claims System The worlds biggest employer, the Indian Railways, which earlier used to prepare various claim (Court/Accident) documents manually, has shifted to web claims format which maintains up to date database of all such cases. Thereby, eliminating complex file maintenance providing for queries that gives the precise status of registered cases in Chief Claims Office. Punctuality Module This module was implemented in February, 2004. This module captures the delays involved in train running at interchange points and detention causes for the delays at the divisional level. Based on this input, reports are generated for traffic managers. CONCERT Country-wide Network for Computerized Enhanced Reservation and Ticketing developed by CRIS, is a total networking solution to Indian Railways Passenger Reservation System. Seat Availability/PNR/Journey Planner/Fare/Time Table enquiries and e-Reservation of tickets are available on the internet. Along with above initiatives, ATM integration with reservation/enquiry system is being planned as well. A number of Banks in India shall be issuing Reserved and Unreserved Tickets through their ATMs under an arrangement with Zonal Railways. It is not only the old stalwarts who have reengineered. Even the private sector and novice companies in upcoming sectors have seen this change. For Spencers, RPG Groups retail chain, massive ramp-up in operations necessitated a series of restructurings. The chain planned to increase from an area of 2.5 lakh square feet to 15 lakh square ft i.e. from 52 to 400 stores. This meant that the older systems were no longer adequate. Hence, instead of doing an incremental improvement on the existing processes, the company introduced an automatic replenishment system. This has resulted in decreased stockouts and increasing efficiency. It may be concluded that BPR initiatives have less to do with controlling costs and more about managing business, which underlines the importance of this concept.

Essay --

CAT Question: Do balanced scorecards increase performance in organizations? †¢ Management challenge and research question The research question is when an organization has implemented a balanced scorecard does performance improve within an organization? Many organizations have balanced scorecards that contain metrics that do not necessarily contribute to increased performance. They may also try to measure areas that are not easy or impossible to measure like values or engagement. In addition, organizations may focus more on meeting milestones or deadlines of activities rather than achieving the desired outcomes of the initiative. Another issue is that organizations may focus solely on the measures on the balanced scorecard while ignoring other important operational initiatives. Lastly, balanced scorecards may increase organization performance due to the Hawthorne effect or the observer-expectancy effect that claims individuals will modify their behavior when it is being measured as a response to the fact that they know they are being studied. Studies have also shown that high performance may be reflected through the balanced scorecard, but this is more of a reflection of the manager’s relationship with a certain employee than it is of the outcome of a particular initiative. †¢ Results / evidence summary (including limitations of research found, if any) Study in the Journal of Management Accounting Research (Ittner & Larcker, 1998) surveyed the effectiveness of the balanced scorecard versus performance measurement methods used in the past. The results showed that only 5% of respondents thought the balanced scorecard approach was significantly higher in its effectiveness. In the International Journal of Business Administration, a ... ...mance. There are several factors that play a role in this observation, many of which have to do with the nature of the balanced scorecard model. First, balanced scorecards create an atmosphere where performance is being looked at and often when an individual’s performance is being monitored, they are more susceptible to the observer-expectancy effect that means these individuals try harder. Second, balanced scorecards increase the accountability of managers. These contribute to managers â€Å"walking the talk† so that their staff and others view them â€Å"living’ the balances scorecard. Third, when putting measures, objectives and initiatives on the balanced scorecard this highlights their importance. This in turn brings more attention to achieving the proper outcome and increases performance, but only when the proper objectives, initiatives and measures have been selected.

Julius Caesar: Tragic Hero :: essays research papers

Tragic Hero Essay   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sometimes our friends keep us from achieving our goals. We make sacrifices to make our friends a part of our goals and achievements. If a friend gets left out, we stay behind with them to keep them from being alone. Some achievements require us to leave out our friends. This is what happens in the case of Julius Caesar. He became the ruler of Rome, leaving out his good friend Brutus. Brutus and other conspirators assassinated Julius Caesar turning him into a tragic hero. A tragic hero must portray four main traits. The hero may neither be perfect nor ultimate evil, the audience must feel pity or fear for the hero, and must be a ruler or leader; good but with flaw. The hero must also come to recognition; from ignorance to knowledge. William Shakespeare identifies three tragic heroes throughout the play; Caesar, a great ruler who took advantage of his power; Brutus, a gullible noble Roman, and Rome. Julius Caesar was an honorable man, but with his power, came his corruption and greed in the eyes of Rome’s leaders. Several high political figures in Rome were becoming more and more discontent. Caesar’s friend Brutus tells Cassius, â€Å"[w]hat means this shouting?/I do fear the people choose Caesar for their king.† (24). Brutus and Cassius felt Caesar was gaining to much attention to quickly. With each amount of increasing support from the Romans, Caesar extended his use of power further. Brutus and the conspirators then go on about Caesar’s abuse of power: â€Å"Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world Like a Colossus, and we petty men Walk under his huge legs and peep about To find ourselves dishonourable graves. Men at some time are masters of their fates: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings.† Cassius uses this line to persuade Brutus into joining him in a conspiracy against Caesar. To Cassius, Caesar was a gigantic Colossus walking all over the common people, ignoring the opinions and thoughts of the Roman people. His abuse of power leads to the discontent of several political figures.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Brutus was a kind noble man; however, he was very easy manipulated. This bad trait eventually molded Brutus into a tragic hero. Cassius tried to persuade Brutus by stating that: â€Å"Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that 'Caesar'? Why should that name be sounded more than yours? Write them together, yours is as fair a name;

Disputes between the European Union and the rest of the World Essay

Disputes between the European Union and the rest of the World Introduction            The EU (European Union) has become a formidable power through trade, hence creating more problems with the rest of the world. Occasionally its dominance has helped it manipulate its trading partners. Starting with regional labor standards to development policies and internationally, ranging from global governance to foreign policy (Marshall & Jaggers, 2010).This paper will mainly focus on the EU as a dominant trade block. A factor that has undoubtedly contributed to the many conflicts it has internationally. The analysis includes different, but recent trade related conflicts the EU is involved in and points out the factors that led to the misunderstanding, and in some cases if there was a third party involved in the issue. The analysis also shows if a form of solution was reached or if the dispute was left unresolved, and the possible outcomes it had during the time of the confrontation. Lastly, it summarizes the main ideas of the paper and gives a comprehensive ov erview of the analysis. Russia – EU car tax disagreement            Among the first goals of the EU as a trade, hegemony is using its supremacy to secure concessions from others on market participation. This makes it function as an economic globalization determinant. The EU is using its trade dominance to achieve non-trade objectives therefore openly flanking market integration such as social, environment and safety standards to be more political or strategic in nature (Haughton, 2007). A bold move that has often left the rest of the world wonder if such use of trade power by the EU ultimately matter in geopolitical terms.            In 2013, a disagreement arose between the EU and Russia, which mainly centered on the newly imposed car levies. Russia had been a member of the WTO (World trade Organization) for barely a year before the trade dispute began. The EU accused Russia of using a recycling charge levied on imported cars to cover its automobile manufacturers illegally. The EU affirmed that for a whole year it had tried all possible diplomatic channels to amicably resolve the problem but with no success, Moscow declined to review its policies. According to the EU trade commissioners the implementation was not in line with the stated WTO laws that forbid biases against imports (Diakun, 2012).            Allegations arose on what was seen as Moscow’s non-compliance as the WTO sought to find out the facts. Initially, Moscow had some misconceptions about the benefits they would gain by joining the WTO. For Russia joining the union came at a cost of signing up to firm standards, which it understood well, equalized by the benefits of gaining access to a populous and larger markets with guarantee against protectionism. Most critics have accused Russia of failing to keep its commitments and the levy on cars put in place some days after it joined the WTO (Osipov, 2013).            Russia placed an increase in the duties paid on German and Italian vehicles imports, making them more expensive for the customers and affecting their market. The European Union is of the opinion that Russia is doing this on purpose to protect its manufacturers. Critics from Russia say the country is known for never keeping its WTO obligations and that the car levies disputes are part of a long chain of non-compliance laws on goods that range from harvesting machines to alcoholic drinks. Russia, conversely has protested against the EU initiatives to open up the bloc’s electricity and gas market, which it claims affects the regions business structure.            The proposed recycling levy bill failed to be amended by the Russian national assembly before it went into recess, and the EU warned the then Russian Economy Minister to expect a reaction from the union. Under the WTO regulations, Russia has exceeded its 60-day grace period to try and change or explain its laws (Marshall & Jaggers, 2010).            Comparisons between the 2001 China entry and that of Russia were unavoidable as the potential benefits of incorporating a big economy like Russia were very promising. In the case of China the first dispute arose two years after having enjoyed an enormous trade boost immediately after joining: for Russia it took less than 11 months. Russia still has other issues with the EU policies mainly its laws on the control of the European gas pipeline assets by Gazprom. The EU set up a committee to look into the issue. The Russian parliament, on the other hand, passed a ruling that changed the levy on recycling and confirmed the changes sort out the requests pointed out by the committee of the EU panel (Stephanie and Brianna, 2012). EU- Russia- Ukraine- gas dispute            The presidents of the EU, Russia and Ukraine, have agreed to meet and talk in relation to the dispute they have had over the Ukraine-EU free trade and gas agreements. Concurrently, with the efforts to stabilize the Ukraine security situation, the heads of state Vladimir Putin, of Russia, Petro Poroshenko, of Ukraine and Jose Manuel Barroso president of the European Commission are anticipated to hold one-one-one talks, but the venue and dates are not specified. Raising the discussions to the level of the heads of state seems to give hope to possible ease of tension over the Ukraine issue, a crisis that has for long plagued the relations between the West and Russia (Andres & Kofman, 2011).            The EU and Russian president spoke over the phone on possible ways that they could ease the current tension in the Ukraine. In June this year an approved series of three-way talks over gas disputes that brought together the energy ministers of the EU, Ukraine and Russia broke down provoking the Ukraine gas supplies to be cut off by Russia. Since then the EU energy minister has scheduled various meetings with both the Russian and Ukraine energy ministers to restart the initial discussions on resolving the Ukraine-Russian row over gas prices (Diakun, 2012).            The EU consumers have not been affected by the disruption of the Ukraine gas supplies, the Ukraine, however is a major route supply for approximate half of Russia’s gas shipments to the EU. This means that the EU depends on Moscow for a third of its energy. Russia has also recently held talks with the EU to try to calm the Kremlin fears over a wide-ranging free trade agreement that the Ukraine had signed with other 28 EU nations. A move that Moscow believes will be counterproductive to its economy (Osipov, 2013). The competition between Russia and EU over Ukraine gas has led to a problem that escalated when Russia seized the former Soviet Union Crimea region. EU sanctioned Russia for illegally occupying Crimea and on the other hand Moscow retaliated by banning imports from Europe. Which leaves both the opposing at a trade standoff since the dispute is still not resolved. China-EU solar panel dispute            The EU-China solar panel dispute in recent months has taken center stage on most newspaper headlines. This is hardly a new thing since the two are both seen as dominant international trading blocs. Most analysts, however often ignore the fact that trade disputes between economic titans like in the case of the EU and China is not a new thing. Rather they represent a continuous confrontation of the so-called China-EU strategic trade alliance.            The basis that a large volume of the EU-China policy is centered on the concept of normative power makes it one of the primary contributing factors for the long conflict. The EU policies towards China under this principle have developed in four main aspects namely: investments and trade, global governance, technical skills, and social and political changes. EU-China collaborations on renewable energy and climate change are mainly structured on the concept of encouraging sustainable growth.            In regards to the EU-Sino disagreement, the trading commissioner for the commission failed in his role of convincing other state members who already have well-developed solar energy technology to support their proposed sanctions on China. Germany, for example, a renowned leader in solar energy was particularly vocal with its disagreement on the placed investigations and sanction tariffs on China (Stephanie and Brianna, 2012).            In relation to the Sino-EU disagreement, the Commissioner for the EU failed in his initial role of convincing a majority of the members who have advanced and mature solar energy technologies to place retributive measures in China. For example, Germany, which is known internationally as a solar energy giant, is against the said investigations and restrictions placed on China.            The commission’s status from these investigations has been greatly undermined by the EU-China strategy. Such inquiry failures have further prompted China to sideline the commission, if not the entire EU affiliates. Aside from the dispute over the solar panels, the EU reluctance to allow China’s Market Economy Status (MES) is another one of the constant challenges that has not been resolved by the two factions for over a decade. EU has refused this initiative on the grounds that China lacks significant government interventions and transparency in its trade and economic policies (Marshall & Jaggers, 2010).            This drawback according to the Chinese was seen as a possible defeat. They reasoned that being granted the status of a market economy would be a major advantage in their EU-China alliance, both politically and economically. They stated that the principal reason for the EU refusal was due to the vast trade difference between China and the EU, and that the EU has tried to use the market economy status problem to gain more negotiating power and attempt to solve trade market entry and trade barrier issues that cripple their firms. The EU however continues to stress that the decline is a pure technical issue within the blueprints of its anti-dumping laws.            With this perspective of the EU, China has changed its stand from that of a new entrant to a competitor. The EU gets itself in a bind where its economic interests are threatened by its normative power strategy. Such inconsistencies that are allied with EU counterparts have further confused both renewable manufacturers and the Chinese government. The EU has eventually found its drive to promote sustainable development and pursue a value based foreign policy in China that is beyond its levels. The current standoff between EU and China, mainly originated from a mix-up and lack of recognition as to what each side’s law priorities state (Teorell, 2010). The issue has however not been resolved. EU-US Dispute on Trade Alliance            In 2011 the sheer size and importance of the United States-European Union mutual trade alliance, with trades mainly on goods roughly total up to â‚ ¬450 billion making the two trading partners the major trade players internationally. Recently, discussions started on a possible trade alliance aimed at mitigating or eliminating non-tariff and tariff trade hindrances in products and services.            The EU parliament in 2012 demanded the start of talks so as to get a more efficient EU-US trade pact. Among the most highly traded items within the two factions include automobiles and medical products, machines and high tech gadgets, as well as pharmaceutical, optic and photographic appliances among others (Cooper, 2014).            Therefore, their agreements mainly focus on labor and capital intensive industries, as recognized by the economies of scale and intra-industry trade policies. Debates on agricultural products have caused some disagreements in such discussion and with various public opinions; the greatest differences still remain in areas of food safety and consumers, subsidies and environment protection.            One such recent dispute has been on the Boeing and Airbus grants awarded to the concerned companies. A bilateral agreement between the US and EU that was concluded in 1992 centered on the trade of large civil aircrafts, and the parties who controlled the funding of the subsidies in this large sector. The US withdrew from the initial 1992 agreement in October 2004 disputing the public funding allocated to the Airbus. The EU also responded by challenging the public endorsement granted to Boeing. According to the (WTO) World Trade Organization both parties had breached the initial subsidy policies, and therefore were allowed to place counter measures (Tugores-Garcà ­a, 2012). While there is a possibility that such initiatives would clearly provoke a trade war involving other sectors, it is expected that the problem will eventually be solved. The dispute hearing on possible counter-measures started on the 16th of April 2013, and the outcome will definitely have dire c onsequences on how new entrants of large civil aircrafts from other countries can progress while joining the market (Cooper, 2014). Eu-China wines dispute            A recent EU-China dispute on anti-dumping laws centered on wine exports was resolved amicably earlier this year through negotiation and consultation. China had begun an investigation last year to establish whether European wines were sold at the standard price in the country. The initiative was seen as being an EU countermeasure for enforcing disciplinary policies on China’s solar panels. A dispute that had almost driven the two trade giants to the edge of a trade war, was sorted out through mediation by the then China Premier when agreed on price undertakings. In May 2014, the EU warned China that it would commence anti-dumping and anti-subsidy inquiries on its imports of network telecommunication equipment. The solar panel dispute is a case reference that highlights how under the WTO consultation and dialogue rule are the best ways to solve disputes, and that the EU and China had the capability and intelligence to choose this option (Huang, 2010).            In 2012, the export of wine from the EU reached 257 million liters which are approximated at $1 billion, more than that originating from France. In July 2014, the two factions settled a disagreement on poly-silicon products by using consultation and negotiations. It agreed that in the European markets the said products will not be sold below a certain price set by china. On the other hand, China agreed to stop its anti-dumping and anti-subsidy trends initially placed on its imports. Analysts have foreseen this unlikely alliance between the two factions as one that is likely to create a more beneficial atmosphere in the future.            This is because both sides take pride in their bilateral economies. If not properly settled trade disputes often have much bigger negative impact on both economies than can possibly be mitigated. As the EU and China industries are now closely interlinked industrial connections should be incorporated into the frameworks of resolving trade disputes, since it will help improve future relations and avoid further conflicts (Cooper, 2014). China-EU Misunderstandings over Trade Defense Mechanisms            The EU has on several occasions been charged by China for inappropriate use of placed trade defense mechanisms. China particularly charges the EU for using double standards against their imports and products. In 2003 when Chinese companies sold coke in European regions at cheaper rates, they were accused of offloading their products and fined based on the EU antidumping policies. Much later the EU again threatened to file a case against China at the WTO for restricting coke exports, which China clearly explained it had done mainly due to environmental reasons. These are all clear indications of how the EU often used unfair standards against China products which eventually raised disputes between the two parties.            More surprising is the EU refusal to apply several trade methods concurrently. It is a known fact that both European and (EC) European Commission affiliate companies placed (IPR) Intellectual Property rights protection and anti-dumping measures on most of their Chinese imports. For example, on the importations of China electronics, the China-based manufacturers were first charged with IPR infringement. Then the EU in 2005 also simultaneously filed anti-dumping case against the Chinese electronics (Huang, 2010). All of which have helped fuel the long trade disputes between China and the EU.            The anti-dumping policies of the EU have always been characterized by bias trends towards the affected domestic producers. This is most certainly the case being investigated against the so-called (NME) non-market economy countries like China. For a long time, exporting producers from China have been far worse treated as compared to other countries. They had to show that they qualified for their market status, by undergoing very strict regulations that were not required from other foreign exporters belonging to the WTO.            In addition, China enjoyed fewer regulation privileges as compared to other foreign exporters due to the limited access given to the information utilized for the vetting of the injury margin or dumping regulations. A similar EU bias of its producers could be found in the way it proves the existence of hazardous material within the EU industries. In such cases instead of analyzing a substantial size of the industry as a whole, the EU on focused on a small portion of the total industry strictly comprising of companies that support the imposing of anti-dumping measures. Eu – Brazil protectionism dispute            The EU filled at the WTO a trade case against Brazil that seems potentially explosive. The Latin America trade giant received for the first time after almost ten years a case over what it claims are protectionist charges levied on automobiles and other imports. The case is being filled amidst worry that Brazil has over the recent years become more protectionists in nature. The initiative to seek a hearing at the WTO comes as both sides seek to rejuvenate the initial long-standing trade agreement between the Mercosur and the European Union. Officials from the EU recently affirmed that the rising number of tax measures recently introduced by Brazil were not in line with the WTO policies and therefore, provided the domestic industries with undue advantage, while safeguarding them from external opposition.            Initially, Brazil’s move was thought to be aimed at Chinese automobile importers, who in 2011 controlled most of the local Brazilian market due to the aid of ingenious marketing strategies applied by the Brazilian media. Recently the EU openly declared that it was disturbed by the wrong path taken by Brazil on its policies and taxes affirming that such broad tax initiatives also affected smart phones, computers and semiconductors. Such moves negatively affect the EU exporters whose products were levied more than their local counterparts. The EU complained that the implementation also affects the Brazilian citizens since they would now be left with little choice, higher prices and lower access to original products.            The protectionism claims were strongly rejected by the Brazilian side, and they maintain that the Latin America trade bloc had solid counter arguments to show they fully adhered with the WTO trade regulations. Analysts reviewing the continuing dispute have claimed that the EU-Brazil case opens the doorway for more trade cases against Brazil. This implies that there are more cases against Brazil by other WTO members and companies, many of them have endured the injustice since the Brazil market is very lucrative. But now with the slowed economy, it is evident that the WTO members and involved companies are now less lenient towards the Latin America trade bloc (Grina, 2014).            The officials at the EU have said they had brought up the Brazil tax complaints in other former bilateral talks but had made no developments in sorting the problem. The move by the EU to ask for an official hearing of the issue in the WTO gives both parties a 60-day grace period to come up with an amicable solution. If no solution is reached within that timeframe, the EU will be permitted to ask for a formal committee to hear the case, which could impose against Brazil punitive trade restrictions. India-eu trade disputes            The EU and India in 2007 began talks on a wider investment and trade agreement BTIA (Broad based Trade and Investment Agreement) with the intent of opening up trade in services, goods and investment. However even after several negotiation sessions, there has been very little development due to several unresolved issues. Until such issues can be solved a trade agreement between the two nations will never come to pass, and the WTO policies will continue regulating the trades between the two members (Wouters, Goddeeris, Natens, & Ciortuz, 2013).            The EU on automobiles would like to see the eventual elimination of the duty import, whereas India wants to maintain it at 10 %. Talks on opening up regulations on the public procurement as well as the insurance sector have been particularly hard. Though, India is still in the path of changing its laws on foreign investments. The EU wants India to verify its commitment by passing a public procurement bill, which has not yet been submitted to the Indian parliament for approval. The gross domestic product markets in India, according to public procurement, accounts for 15- 20 percent. This is due to the needs of the infrastructure in a wide variety of areas that include energy, telecom, roads, railway and healthcare; these areas are of apparent concern for the development of the EU commerce (Wouters, Goddeeris, Natens, & Ciortuz, 2013).            Simultaneously, India aims to benefit its IT sector with the trade agreements. It mandates the EU to upgrade its status to that of a secure data state. Such recognitions are viewed as important for the Indian based IT company’s expansion. In addition, India is negotiating for its professionals to be given more open Visa to the EU. India had complained over the EU seizing generic medicine that had been in transit through the region. Even though the two parties later solved the problem there are still some significant aspects of the dispute that still emerge.            The EU in 2003 asked for talks with India in relation to 27 anti-dumping allegations in regards to several EU export products that, included chemicals, pharmaceuticals, steel, textile and paper. The EU was of the opinion that there was no proof of the alleged dumping accusations and that there was sufficient analysis of the casualties and injury. Since then India has terminated progress on most of the disputed issues; these include those on pharmaceutical and steel products, the problem remains un-resolved and under consultation (Khorana, & Garcia, 2013).            India in 2010 also asked for talks with the Netherlands and EU in relation to the reported genetic medicines seized on the grounds of patent breach. The taken drugs had been produced in India and were being transported through airports and ports in the Netherlands to Brazil, which was the primary destination. India claims that the alleged Dutch and EU measures were against their agreements under the (GATT) General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the agreement under the (TRIPs) Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights regulations. It was not until 2011 that the dispute was sorted through mutual consensus.            According to the consensus, the fact that medicines are passing through the EU territory and that there is a patent title warranted by such products in the EU area. In itself does not give much basis for EU customs authority to suspect the patent rights violation. Proof can provide such basis that the medicine might be re-routed onto EU markets. The Indian medicine conflict perhaps might arise, on the basis of the extent of (IPR) intellectual property rights on third world economies (Wouters, Goddeeris, Natens, & Ciortuz, 2013). US and EU Power Struggle            In comparison, these two powerful trade blocks have no difference in the ways they show their dominance in different regions. Mostly they achieve this through agreements that they often have over their access to the market for their goods, capital and services in other areas. Agreements with EU have often been more involved on mutual concessions over levies, rations, and technical obstacles. Nonetheless, they can sometimes be asymmetrical. Either because the EU could be making steeper reductions or the value of the EU reductions could be larger following the size of the regional bloc. Failure to withstand such asymmetries means that the EU, similar to the US, uses preferential bilateral agreements to pry open the available markets that are found in the area as an exchange for accessing its markets. Regionally, EU’s power has taken the form of less accurate mutual concessions (Cooper, 2014).            As more states join the EU, it wants to satisfy its members’ goals by realizing economies of scale via bloc-to-bloc pacts. Such first bi-regional trade agreement are still being negotiated since 2000 mainly involving the EU and Mercosur, which is a customs union created in 1991. It is to be followed by ASEAN (the Association of South East Asian Nations) as new economic partnership agreements (EPAs) with, among others, the Caribbean countries and the Gulf Cooperation Council. It cannot be denied that Latin America especially, has made such moves partly in consideration to reaction by USA’s drive towards regionalism.            The EU and the US have always been engaged in a battle of supremacy since their establishment as trade giants. Each side has been trying to guarantee their members and partners that they have an unrelenting access to markets and resilience in trade and regulatory deals. In addition, both have also tried using their power in trade to exert the type of ‘western dominion’. Mainly Over the developing countries, especially towards the so-called ‘new issues’ that pertain to services as well as intellectual property that were initially made In China and later introduced during the Uruguay Round. Currently, little co-operation exists between the EU–US regulatory bodies. These two powers have kind of began pursuing sharply diverging tactics, which often came up with opposing alliances like during the Hong Kong meeting of the Doha Round that happened in December 2005 (Teorell, 2010). Conclusion            As shown by the paper, it is evident that the EU mostly uses its undisputed trade prowess to pursue objectives that are often non-trade related. Like in the case of China wines dispute and misuse of trade defense instruments. The EU therefore, attempts to forcibly fashion the trade blocs in its image either through conditionality or by force. This shows the way the various quarrels among of the different member states make it hard for the EU to project its dominance more evidently to the entire world (Teorell, 2010).            Nonetheless, such divergences are themselves a byproduct or an expression of existing tensions between various alternative priorities or even norms that must simultaneously be committed to by the EU machinery. 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