Monday, September 30, 2019

The News of the World Phone Hacking Scandal

The News of the World Phone Hacking Scandal from Business Ethics and CSR Point of View Date: 21 June 2012 Executive Summary The focus of the project you’re about to read is on the recently phone hacking scandal of famous UK News agency, – The News of The World. The report include a brief explanation of what has happened based on pre-selected online articles, analysis of the scandal from Business Ethics point of view by using various CSR theories discussed during the CSR course in period four and provides conclusion and recommendations on what could have been done.The research is built on identification of the moral problem identification, analysis of the scandal, optional actions which could have been taken to avoid the situation, evaluation of the scandal from business ethics perspective by using business ethics theories. To make sure that the scandal is analyzed realistically the report covers different stakeholder perspectives. Nonetheless, the report addresses one o f the most important scandals of the news industry and aims to handle the issues from Business Ethics and CSR point of view.Contents Introduction3 The News of the World and Phone hacking Scandal background4 1. What the dilemma is about5 2. Stakeholder Analysis6 2. 1. Who acted and who had to act? 6 2. 2. Stakeholder and their interests/actions7 2. 3. Moral values9 3. Theoretical analysis10 3. 2. Sustainability10 3. 3. Ethical Value Judgment11 3. 4. Virtue Ethics (Phone Hacking)12 3. 5. Utilitarianism: Consequentialist approach13 3. 6. Universalism: Deontological approach14 4. Conclusion and recommendations15 Bibliography16 IntroductionThe scandal analyzed within this report is one of the most discussed and complicated scandals the news world has ever faced. In order to be able to realistically present company and adequately evaluate this whistle blowing journalistic research which revealed the greatest journalistic scandal ever the following criterion were used: * Business Aspect of the scandal * Moral aspect of the issue and public reaction * Political aspect of the problem * Ethical theoretical relevancy * Social elements of the scandalAll the gathered data is analyzed according to the theoretical knowledge gained during the course. Company Mission Statement: †Our practice is the fearless advocacy of truth. [We] will seek for the patronage of no party †¦will conceal neither the merits nor the faults of any party, but†¦ will aim alone at doing good service to old England by maintaining her glory and security, the prosperity of all classes of the people. † (Hinton. (2011). After 168 years, what changed?. Available: http://hintonandco. com/tag/mission-statement/. Last accessed 14 June 2012. This in itself is a very powerful mission statement which was left as an inheritance from the company’s founding fathers. After 168 years they first have been in business, the staff were empowered by these powerful words. The culture that was ini tially â€Å"advocated for truth† was left to run uncontrolled even if it was for the cost of breaking the law. The News of the World and Phone hacking Scandal background For the first time being published in 1843 the News of the World was one of the most read Newspaper in the United Kingdom, until 2011.During the period of its publication it was the biggest selling English language newspaper not only in the UK but also globally. The company initially was established by John Browne Bell in 1843 and later was sold to Lascelles Carr in 1891 and last was bought by News Corporation in 1969. News of the World was the Sunday sister paper of The Sun. The newspaper main focus was on its specialty on celebrity-based scoops and populist news. Its â€Å"extraordinary† scandal news earned the company various names, including but not limited to famous News of the Screws and Screws of the World slogan. UK: BBC. (2011). News of the World to close amid hacking scandal. Available: www. bbc. co. uk/news/uk-14070733. Last accessed 14 June 2012. ) The company was famous for exposing celebrities as drug users, sexual peccadilloes, or criminals, setting up insiders and journalists in disguise to provide either video or photographic evidence, and phone hacking which became obvious in 2011. With its paparazzi style and delivering personalized news, the paper was selling over 2 million copies on weekly basis up until 2010.Though the phone hacking allegations started back in 2006, accusations reached to its top level on the 4th of July 2011, when it was revealed that the newspaper staff had intercepted and deleted the voicemail of missing British teenager Milly Dowler, who was later found murdered. As a result of the intense allegations News International announced the closure of the newspaper on July the 7th 2011. However the scandal did not just end there by closing the company, it got deepened as the investigations got intensive.The most horrible news was that the comp any had hacked the phones of the British service personnel killed in action, their families, people who died during 9/11 and their families. However ethical dilemmas do not just end by the phone hacking scandal, but also secondary dilemma starts with the speech of the owner of the News Corp. Richard Murdoch’s announcement on February the 17th 2012 in London that they were soon to launch a Sunday edition of The Sun as a successor to the News of the World and they were planning to employ a number of former News of the World journalists. . What the dilemma is about When the investigations initially started in 2005 it was concluded that the company’s phone hackings were only limited to celebrities, politicians and a few members of the British Royal Family. However when it was revealed in July 2011, that the phones of the murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler’s , relatives of deceased military members, victims of the 7/7 London bombings and some of the 9/11 victims were a lso accessed. As a result of those unethical actions a public outcry against News Corporation and owner Rupert Murdoch culminated. (UK: BBC. 2011). News of the World to close amid hacking scandal. Available: www. bbc. co. uk/news/uk-14070733. Last accessed 14 June 2012. ) Even though the public relatively calmed down after the company was closed, the anti-Murdoch and anti-News Corp. protests culminated once again after the owner of the company announced that they are planning to start a new newspaper agency by hiring the same staff under different name. 1. Stakeholder Analysis 2. 1. Who acted and who had to act? Phone hacking scandal covered multi level stakeholders. The following were the major stakeholders:In this case the main responsible stakeholders were the News Corp Management, Richard Murdoch; – the owner of the company and the British Government/monitoring institutions within the government. These stakeholders were legally responsible for making it sure that the news paper was operating within the legal borders. Once the company was suspected for its fraud activities the governmental institutions did their job by starting an investigation on the newspaper’s operations. However these institutions did fail to monitor the newspaper activities prior to the scandal.Both the News Corp. and the owner of the company, Richard Murdoch claimed not to be knowledgeable of those hacking activities, however they did apologize those harmed as a result of hacking activities and subsequently shut the company down. Meanwhile, the holding company did fail their promises when they announced about their plans of re-starting the newspaper’s successor under different name. 2. 2. Stakeholder and their interests/actions The stakeholders given in the stakeholder map can be divided into two: * Internal * ExternalThe following could be classified as internal stakeholders: 1. The News of the World: It was in the newspapers objective to deliver interesting news at on weekly basis. The company was profit oriented and would do almost everything to achieve its targets. They also had the campaign to expose pedophiles rings rather hollow. That was a dangerous path to go on: we could imagine them asking the question, ‘Will this sell us lots of copies? ’, and if the answer is ‘Yes’, they would do it, no matter if it’s illegal, immoral or indefensible.The culture that was initially â€Å"advocated for truth† was left to run uncontrolled even if it was for the cost of breaking the law. 2. The NotW management: The management had the responsibility to make strategic decisions to run the company profitably. It was in their interest to give the staff as much independence as possible to bring the most sensational news in the news industry. However it was also their responsibility to make sure that the staff’s actions were within the legal boundaries. 3. The staff/journalists: The employees’ main duti es were delivering the news that no other paper delivered.However it was morally their responsibility to act responsibly. 4. Richard Murdoch: It was in his focus that the company was profitable. It was also him as primary responsible person when the company was subject to investigations. He was the one apologizing in public on behalf of the newspaper, which created a good image of the company in short term. However, his announcement about new company being launched again put the News Corp. as holding company in the frontline subject to criticisms. 5. The NOTW shareholders: This group of the stakeholders was the people who invested in the NOTW.It was in their interest that the company was profitable and was running that way continuously. It was definitely out of their focus that the company was engaged such harmful activities. The external stakeholders: 1. The UK government/regulatory institutions: It was government’s/regulatory institutions duty to check the activities of the newspaper and act upon necessity. 2. David Cameroon: The prime minister was criticized for his former director of communications Andy Coulson was an ex-editor of News of the World at the time much of the phone hacking occurred. (Luke Buckmaster and Amber Jamieson. 2011). ‘Hacked to death’: Murdoch kills NotW. Available: http://www. crikey. com. au/2011/07/08/the-latest-24-hours-of-the-NotW-phone-hacking-scandal/. Last accessed 14 June 2012. ) 3. Victims: The victims who were alive or the relatives of the victims were interested in NotW management’s apalogizes. 4. New industry: The industry got harmed by one representative’s action, and the eyes turned towards other news agencies asking one question â€Å"Are they also using same or similar method? † 5. The community: The majority was interested in NotW to apologize and even shut down.However there were small group of people who could potentially be against these and these people were majorly the No tW employees or their relatives. In addition, the community was the main reason why the company did those actions as the demand was very high for such news. The dilemma in the case which makes the stakeholder interests collide: * The NotW company interests for higher profitability * The NotW management objective to bring news at any cost * Possible corruption within the government * High level of public demand for scandal newsSumming it up, there are over 10 major stakeholders being divided into two parts, internal and external stakeholders. However the most interesting part is that some of the stakeholders have mixed interests. For instance, the government who used the information provided by the newspaper, used and sought more news without checking the source of the news and later on accusing the NotW for fraud. In addition, the community who which was the main drive for the hacking due to the demand also had mixed interest levels. 2. 3. Moral values The question â€Å"What is Mo ral† in itself is debatable.However one can accept that moral values are values shared by the majority. If there would not have been any value in common in the community, it would be impossible or extremely hard to decide on what is moral. In fact, one can see that some values are shared with higher acceptance late than others. The phone hacking scandal covers various moral values’ elements: * Responsibility * Accountability * Cooperation * Honesty * Commitment * Integrity * Equality The actions taken by all the stakeholders must meet at least one of the above given elements in order to be considered moral. 2. Theoretical analysis . 1. Carroll’s Pyramid Based on Carroll’s pyramid a company has four levels of responsibility which are Economic, Legal, Ethical and Philanthropic responsibilities. Analyzing the NotW’s overall operational structure we can conclude that their major focus was on Economic responsibility, making more profit in shortest time p ossible. Their mission statement did touch Legal and Ethical responsibilities as well, however it was not very much clear what their major Ethical responsibilities were. They tried to create ethically responsible image of the company by donating money and hosting charity events.However this in itself was not enough. One can conclude that NotW was settled at the base line of the Carroll’s pyramid. 3. 4. Sustainability Evaluating the NotW from sustainability curves point of view one can spot the target of the management. 1- Ethical Responsibility: The company website and their PR representatives always mentioned that their mission is to bring reliable and honest news. While they were often giving large money donations for good cause. However for the concept of the Phone Hacking Scandal, we can say that one action overcame all the â€Å"Ethical† actions of the company. – Economic Responsibility: This was the main responsibility of the company as they were the large st selling English Language newspaper of the world. 3- Legal Responsibility: The company and the staff were held legally responsible for their actions however the management did not act legally responsible prior to the scandal outbreak. Summing it up we can conclude that the company did not meet all the sustainability elements and lacked sound CSR policy. 3. 5. Ethical Value Judgment We inherit ethical standards suiting our community the most.As people, the companies are as well judged upon firm views about right and wrong. Some of those ethical views are so strong that, shaking them will shake the whole fundamentals. Reliability and trust are those of major elements in these ethical standards that any news company would be judged upon. Looking at the NotW, we can confirm that, the company not only ignored the prevailing norms of the industry but also shook the fundaments of the ethical expectations from a news agency. (James Griffin (2006). Value Judgment Improving Our Ethical Beli eves. 2nd ed.New York, the USA: Oxford University Press. p 60- 98. ) However finally the management took the right psychological decision by stopping the company operations. NotW NotW Phone Hacking Scandal Prevailing norms of News industry Value judgments and perceptions of the audiance ETHICAL? 3. 6. Virtue Ethics (Phone Hacking) â€Å"Virtue ethics† is shortly the development of a person or a company into an ethically responsible one to lead ethical and responsible life/operations. To achieve that level it is important to develop responsible character traits which are called virtues.In Phone Hacking Scandal both the government and the management had to determine specific virtues and play the role of Virtue Ethics Agent. Based on virtue ethics, to determine whether an action is morally acceptable, the action must be chosen responsibly making the virtue equal to responsibility. In most of the case the agent must choose the virtue on the victim and help them. We could see that the British Government acted virtuously and increased the investigation on the hacking scandal, which eventually lead to the end of the NotW.This is mostly due to the fact that NotW as a company lacked major news agency virtues which are being trustworthy, reliable, and honest and one can conclude that the government played an important virtue agent role. 3. 7. Utilitarianism: Consequentialist approach According to the consequentialists it is morally right to do anything if it results in the greatest amount of good for the greatest amount of people. However the main issue becomes the consequence of the theory which would allow any action to take place under the name of a good cause. Even actions hat would be considered as â€Å"morally wrong† can be accepted within this theory. However according to the utilitarianism, the NotW has created more harm in the community than benefit by hacking people’s private voice mails and, for this reason they are considered to be guil ty for taking morally wrong actions. Looking at from different perspective, if the scandal was not found out, and people enjoyed reading the hacked news, one could say that as long as nobody finds it out, everybody is happy, the consequence is good. Happy & satisfied customer, revenue generating company, taxes received at the government, positive consequence.Once again it is confirmed that this theory can not clearly formulate satisfactory rules for decision making and can easily breach justice/legislation. For the above given reason, one could conclude that the Utilitarianism is not the best way of assessing an action by means of morality. 3. 8. Universalism: Deontological approach Kant's deontological ethics theory is based on Deon – duty. If the scandal is approached from Kant's categorical imperative principle point of view, we can conclude that it is the duty of any News Agency to deliver the news to its customers within the given standards without violating the otherâ⠂¬â„¢s private lives.Since this theory is built on the actions that lead to the outcome, then we can conclude that it was not only the NotW but also the regulatory institutions who acted immoral by not monitoring the NotW properly and providing the ground for the company to take such actions. 3. Conclusion and recommendations Failing almost every Ethical Theory, not having sound CSR system, being majorly financials’ oriented firm, the News of the World’s Phone Hacking activities were completely against not only the British Business ethical standards but also the international ethical standards.The NotW management had various mistakes, including but not limited to giving power to their staff without monitoring them on according to the standards. Which consequently lead for the largest scandal of the news industry. However, the management did take the right step by announcing the NotW closed which created a caring image in the community, and saved the holding News Corp. company. Meanwhile, Mr. Murdoch’s announcement of News Corp. launching a new successor of the NotW created more aggression within the public. The following would be final recommendations for the News Corp. s the NotW is no longer exists: 1- Give your staff power, but do not let the aggression take their power over 2- Corporate Social Responsibility is not donations, but acting. After such incident, the management should start different volunteer activities not only in the UK but also the other parts of the globe. 3- Define a sound CSR policy covering both your internal and external activities 4- Add learning objectives which you have acquired and which you are missing from your mal-management to your website to let your customers understand that you are aware of your mistake and have learnt from it. – Do not hide your history 6- Engage with your customers via different tools, including but not limited to Social Media means and ask for their opinions where they would li ke to see you as a company. 7- Make sure that you have decent reporting system set, and are on track of every single development within the company. Realizing the above given recommendations, the News Corp. will slowly, however soundly be restoring the customer confidence and rise back to their previous levels once again. Bibliography * http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/uk-14070733 * http://www. crikey. com. u/2011/07/08/the-latest-24-hours-of-the-NotW-phone-hacking-scandal/. * http://www. csrquest. net/default. aspx? articleID=12770&heading= * http://www. ec. europa. eu/enterprise/policies/sustainable-business/corporate-social-responsibility/reporting-disclosure/swedish-presidency/files/media-csr/corporate_responsibilty_and_the_media,_david_grayson_en. pdf * http://www. goodcorporation. com/documents/Corporatesocialresponsibilitymorethanaluxury. pdf * http://www. guardian. co. uk/news/blog/2011/jul/11/news-world-hacking-scandal-live * http://www. guardian. co. uk/sustainable-business/bl og/csr-now-hacking-scandal *

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Comic Strip Lesson Plan Essay

In this lesson the students will discuss memories in front of the class that they enjoy remembering; along with their speech they will present their interpretation of the memory through art. It will also help with their public speaking skills. Objectives: * I want the students to learn how to give a short presentation in front of the classroom. Materials and Technologies (Teacher and student): Teacher notes for lessons. Students will need comic strip sheets, color pencils, crayons, and markers. Preparation of the room: I will put the needed comic strip paper on each students desk. If the students have any of their own crayon, color pencils, or markers they will have them on their desk. All of the classroom crayon, color pencils, or markers on a small table in front center of the classroom, along with extra comic strip paper. Artist (s): – Roy Lichtenstein; comic strip type art – Maya Lin; demonstration of longstanding memories in art work. Artmaking medium: color pencils, crayons, and markers. (Not all must be used on project if not desired by student.) Instruction (Activities and Procedures): Be very specific!!! Opening: â€Å" Today we will be discussing memories that are special to each of us. We will also be presenting our memories to the class through a short speech, and a comic strip drawing.† Attention Grabber (Anticipatory set): For an attention grabber I as the teacher would present my own comic strip, and present a fond memory of my own. This memory would be one that is possibly embarrassing or funny so I could loosen the class up about presenting their own memories. Tap into prior knowledge: I can ask if any of them have ever had to speak in front of a crowd. How did they feel? Did they enjoy? Or if they didn’t, why? Introduction of artist: For Roy Lichtenstein I will tell about his part in Pop Art. I will show them â€Å"Masterpiece† It shows how the comic strips were drawn, and they should resemble there own. I will also show Maya Lin, and her Vietnam Memorial. This shows how the memory of someone or an event is not forgotten if there is art to remember it with. Art making activity: The student will have a 4-6 panels strips of paper. On the strip they will draw there recollection of a particular memory. They will do this with color pencils, crayons, and markers. If less or more panels are needed the adductions will be made. Closure: We will end the lesson with each student presenting their comic with a short presentation. Interdisciplinary connections: This lesson will connect with writing/spelling, because the student will have to have some dialogue/description on the comic. It will also connect with reading, because they will have to read the comic in front of the class as part of their presentation. Accommodating individual differences: To meet the needs of all students, I will make sure that all needed materials are readily available and easily assessable. Feedback: How and what manner will you provide feedback to students. I will give feedback on a comment sheet. On this sheet I will give marks for the students spelling on comic strip, the presentation, and on the drawing themselves.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Analysis of Mrs Hayward from the Novel Spies by Michael Frayn

How is the character of Mrs Hayward developed throughout the opening 3 chapter of Frayn’s ‘Spies’? Mrs Hayward is a contradictory character who is established through Stephen’s fragmented memory to be both a character of smiling perfection and a broken woman, sitting in the dust weeping. She is both the embodiment of a perfect British wartime wife and a character of suspicion; a spy, a traitor, the epitome of deceit and the focus of two young boys’ overzealous imagination. When the reader is first introduced to this character it is through the listing of three declarative clauses in one of Stephen’s long, complex sentences. It is here that his fragmented memory is emphasised by the fragmented syntax where only glimpses of Mrs Hayward are shared with the reader. She is ‘in the long-lost green summer shade, her brown eyes sparkling, laughing at something Keith has written. ’ Through his use of the verbs ‘sparkling’ and ‘laughing’ Mrs Hayward is portrayed as a friendly and happy character who clearly takes delight from time spent with her child. The use of the adjectives ‘blue’, ‘green’ and ‘long-lost’, help to coat the memory with a sense of vibrancy and suggest that these memories, and characters, are positive, fun and safe; they belong to a lost time that was happy. This is further reflected in the use of pathetic fallacy as the memory, and Mrs Hayward, are in the ‘summer shade’, a time of year and image associated with freedom and enjoyment, suggesting this is a character who is pleasantly remembered and much-liked by the narrator. However, as Mrs Hayward is in the shade this could subtly suggest to the reader that there is an element of darkness to the character as she is shaded, half hidden and perhaps that her motivations and intentions are not always as clear as first imagined. The reflective, gentle tone of Mrs Hayward’s introduction is shattered by the use of the short simple sentence ‘Then the laughter’s gone. ’ indicating to the reader that the memory of her is tainted by events that are still unclear to the reader, events that leave her ‘sitting in the dust in front of [Stephen], weeping’. The antithesis of ‘weeping’ and ‘laughing’ highlight to the reader how Mrs Hayward is a character who evokes feelings of both happiness and shame in Stephen, due to her respective actions and emotions. She is a fragmented and incomplete character who is portrayed to the audience through an anaphoric series of present tense memories, which make her actions, and consequent responses of the narrator, seem immediate and continual. She is a character who evokes an emotional response in our narrator almost sixty years after unknown events have occurred, suggesting to the reader that she is going to be central to his journey down ‘memory lane’. When Mrs Hayward is next introduced to the reader it is through elderly Stephen’s third person account of what would have happened if young Stephen had asked Keith to play at his house for the afternoon. This hypothetical pondering of the narrator occurs after a substantial amount of description has been dedicated to Keith’s home, room and father, suggesting to the reader that these male characters were the main objects of focus for young Stephen, Keith because he idolised his friend and his father because Stephen clearly feared him. Mrs Hayward then appears with her ‘perfectly plucked eyebrow’ while she is ‘reclining on a sofa’ and ‘looking up from her library book’. Frayn has positioned Mrs Hayward in the domestic sphere of the house and then used stative verbs to show her lack of movement and action. This is further highlighted when Keith asks if he can go to Stephen’s house and Stephen knows ‘precisely’ that her response will be to tell Keith to ‘ask Daddy’. Here Mrs Hayward establishes herself as having a typical female role within a traditional patriarchal family. She is contemplative, rested and motherly, she does not make decisions; she is not the dominant person in the relationship and she defers decision-making to her male counterpart – not unlike Stephen in his childhood relationship with Keith. Keith’s mother is referred to in the opening chapters using either the pronoun ‘Mrs Hayward’ or ‘Keith’s mother’, both name link her clearly to the males in her life, showing their dominance as her identity is always linked to them. She is not given her own name or identity and this emphasizes the position that she is in within the family; she is the wife and mother. She is surrounded with the semantic sphere of tranquility and passivity, she is ‘unhurried’, ‘calmly smiling’ ‘reclining’ or ‘looking’ and the only time we ee any use of dynamic verbs is when she is ‘shopping’ or fetching things for Aunt Dee. Mrs Hayward is clearly enclosed within the domestic sphere and has a clear role within her family, even her diary entries revolve around ‘Ted’s parents’, ‘Ted to OH dinner’, ‘K’s term starts’, ‘K’s sports dayâ€⠄¢. Each of these entries foregrounds one of the men in her life and shows their overwhelming importance to her daily routines; this is not unfamiliar of a war-time lady of leisure in Britain but it does highlight how she is trapped and isolated from both the world and society. Mrs Hayward is clearly a character that on the surface is shrouded in an air of tranquility and domesticity. She is the image of perfection and is clearly held in an idiolised position, along with everything associated with Keith, according to Stephen and both his adult and child-like perspective. She is a character who appears rested and calm but underneath this facade there is a secret that she is keeping, it may not be that she is a German Spy like the young boys think but all is clearly not as it seems and Stephen’s ‘perfect’ account of her suggests in itself that maybe she is too good to be true.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Current events in the economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Current events in the economy - Essay Example According to the article in the Journal by Froyen, (2009), the other school of economics that deals with monetarist, real business, and classical cycles believe that fiscal policies cannot increase production or employment levels. Fiscal policy is considered as the planning of government expenditure and revenue thus; tax revenue and government expenditure can be determined as a percentage of GDP. In addition, human capital can be determined as the expenditure on human development as a percentage of GDP. Since the governments do not rely on one source of revenue, fluctuations in the level of GDP do not have an impact on employment and production (Froyen, 2009). Monetary, real business and classical cycles’ theories say that fiscal policies cannot increase the level of employment, but rather influenced by other supply side determinants such as deregulation, technology development and infrastructure. If fiscal policies are considered alone they have the potentiality of affecting employment in all production

Thursday, September 26, 2019

8 Forms of Waste in real Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

8 Forms of Waste in real Life - Essay Example This ensured that there was minimum time wasted by any of them waiting for the next step in production (Sarkar 76). The chefs were further required to assemble all their working tools before commencing their work to avoid unnecessary movement of materials and people during the process. The school further ensured that the required amount of baking flour was used. There had been concerns from the school management that the catering department had looked too much into the quality of snacks provided at the school canteen and failing to check on the quantity. As a result, the department was required to change its system so that unnecessary time was not spent in baking. This helped to scrap off extra processing and consequently increase on quantity. The last step taken by the school was ensuring that all the chefs assigned to preparing snacks adhered to their work so as to ensure that there were no non-utilized workers (Sarkar

Rhetorical_analysis_assignment_description Essay

Rhetorical_analysis_assignment_description - Essay Example Benjamin states that the conflicting idea between works of art is an indication that art is thriving in the economy and he uses some persuasive strategy to make his points clear. The rhetorical elements used in Walter Benjamin’s analysis shall be established in this paper in terms of logos, ethos and pathos. Benjamin’s Appeal to Logos Walter Benjamin’s use of solid theoretical background, which paves the way for his forthcoming arguments, is a clear indication of how he appeals to logos. Benjamin did not just make points without giving concrete evidence to back these points and his ability to do this shows that he tried to persuade his readers through his use of logical reasoning that would induce some sort of cognitive response from readers. Thus, Walter Benjamin’s analysis is effective in the sense that it appeals to logic. Benjamin makes his hypothesis as clear as possible as he uses it as a basis to develop a solid theory on the subject matter and this shows the effectiveness in his writing. Benjamin’s appeal to logos is also clear from his explanation of the theoretical framework that his study is built around. The fact that Benjamin explained the reproducible nature of a work of art, how it is reproduced in a capitalistic society, and what the meaning of this whole process of reproducing a work of art in the beginning of his essay is a clear sign of how he appeals to logos in his writing. Benjamin’s ability to differentiate between the replicas of art works made by craftsmen and replicas made by mechanical reproduction and his use of these theoretical frameworks to form the basis of his argument shows his appeal to logos. Thus, Walter Benjamin’s analysis is effective in terms of its appeal to logic. Benjamin’s ability to draw from historical analogies gives his audience the required information they need and clears the way for him to develop his arguments and concepts on the subject matter. By this a ct of rhetorical induction, a logical infrastructure is laid down by the writer which would ultimately lead the readers into a new realm of thought. All the historical facts presented by him are established facts and the only thing that he has done to prove his point is to put them in their places as if unraveling a mystery. This further emphasizes the effectiveness of Benjamin’s analysis as it is logical in all ramifications. Benjamin’s Appeal to Ethos Walter Benjamin’s open-minded presentation shows the author’s credibility as he is unbiased in his presentation and this is one of the ways that his analysis appeals to ethos. Benjamin uses a language that is appropriate to the audience and the subject alike as he is careful enough not to use words that would be too complex for the audience to grasp their real meaning. This is an essential rhetorical element that Benjamin uses in his analysis and it would make the readers willing to read what Benjamin has to say. The difference in value that exists between the works of art and its mechanical reproduction is something that the readers are also aware of and this is actually one of the ways that Benjamin respected the values and ideas of his esteemed readers. Benjamin could

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Managerial Economics Week 6 Individual Work 1 Assignment

Managerial Economics Week 6 Individual Work 1 - Assignment Example However, the decision may be affecting passengers and the public. The policy of increasing charges luggage fees can increase revenues for airlines. U.S. airlines collected more than a billion dollars in baggage fees for overweight bags, or extra bags in 2008. The revenue was an increase of 148 percent from the previous year. From a managerial perspective, the decision by U.S airways to charge $25 luggage fees for first checked bags was the best decision for the airline. Fluctuating oil prices are a major constraint and limiting resources that affect decisions of most managers. Given the high operation costs for maintaining an airline firm in the market decision such as developing luggage fees may become beneficial to the airline. Managers in US airline decided to charge luggage fees as one of the best alternative to solve the problem of increased costs of oil and operational costs for the air travel. Airlines are companies meaning they need to make decisions that boost their revenues. Increases in revenues enable airlines to remain competitive in the industry. The increase in oil prices is an evident phenomenon all over the world. The world economy is also unstable. Volatility in oil prices and world economic downturn are some of the biggest challenges the airline industry has to face today. Increased o il prices and security costs are major reasons explaining operational losses for many passenger airline companies. It is because of such costs that airline companies such as US airway decide to implement revenue generating fees for services that traditionally were part of the air ticket prices. The fact that charging luggage fees in enraging passengers a lot raises many questions, for example, should the U.S. airway and other airline firms continue charging luggage fees or should they include the fees in the ticket price? While most passengers accepted

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

HISTORY OF CAMBODIAN IMMIGRANTS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

HISTORY OF CAMBODIAN IMMIGRANTS - Essay Example as well as their assimilation into the American society. The first batch of Cambodian immigrants arrived in the USA earlier than 1975 because of a study exchange program that the American government entered into the Cambodian government that allowed Cambodian students to pursue their studies at the California State University in the Long Beach, which resulted in a considerable number of Cambodians mainly students living in the neighboring town of Long Beach (Bunte, Joseph, and Wobus 2). The Cambodians presence in the U.S. can be traced back to the early and late 1970s when many students benefited from the America-Cambodia education exchange program and broke out of war in Cambodia, which resulted in the overthrowing of the government by the Communist rule. In 1974, the US-backed government in Cambodia was overthrown by the Communist rule a situation that culminated in both political and military instability in Cambodia. The same scenario was replicated in Vietnam as the Communist rule also took over governance in the nation sending the two countries into turmoil. The international community had invested a considerable amount of support in the two nations as far as management is concerned to restore political stability and human rights in the Indochinese region. The Communist rule in the Khmer Republic declared a ‘Zero Year’ an operation that was meant to cripple every aspect of Cambodia to its knees (Sou Chea slide 3; Needham, and Quintiliani). It was aimed at destroying the educational, social and economic aspects of Cambodia so as it can be viewed as a failed state with no standards or values (Operations and Readiness Directorate 19). In essence, the Communist Rule was aimed at destroying all the political, social and economic gains that Cambodia has made with the help of its international allies and thus creating a humanitarian crisis in the nation. The period between 1975 and late 1976 saw close to two

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Retail Brands Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Retail Brands - Case Study Example It is a leading retailer in food, clothing and home-ware and financial services, in operation since 1884. Zara is a leading Spanish Flagship Chain Store that deals in Women and Men's clothing. It opened its first store in 1975 and since then has taken retail fashion by storm. It is one of the largest brands, by the Inditex Fashion Retail Group, that has 723 stores in 56 countries making sales of Euro 3.8 billion (India Supply Chain Council, 2006). Zara's fashion is based on imitation; it copies designs from the catwalk and other spots and brings them to their customers at low prices in as little as a couple of weeks. Marks and Spencer's average customer is mainly women aged between 35 and 54. They are wealthy and have an active lifestyle. They are also family-oriented and are open to trying new things (MMC Consultancy, 2004). Zara's average customer is aged between 15 to 30 years of age. They are fashion-focused and have a desire for high-end fashion. The average customer is an urban woman who is not necessarily exceptionally wealthy and looks for trendy clothes in reasonable prices. (Nidasio G., 2007) It was assumed that Marks and Spencer would do better with 70% of the stores being refurbished. Their strategy to increase market share for the past three years has been the same. This year, and the last, they still managed to come back at a higher position (after their big downfall till 2004). It is one of the few retail stores in the UK that managed to increase their market share in 2007, with high interest rates and low consumer confidence. Zara's position in the retail market has always been a leading one. This year was no different. It increased profits by expanding to into more territories. It hold a stronger position in the fashion retail industry than many other foreign labels. Sales, Profit and Market Share Marks and Spencer's sales turnover, for the year ended 31 March 2007, was Pound 8,588.1 million. The sales breakdown for 2006/2007 was as follows: Clothing was at Pound 3,570,900 and Home was at Pound 431,900 (with the rest accounting for Food and International slaes). The profit before tax was Pound 1,007 million, which was a 4.3% increase. According to Stuart Rose, Chief Executive of M&S, sales fell by 2.2% by the end of December, during Christmas season. The market share for women wear fell during Christmas time also. However, the sales in UK rose by 9.7%. The market share held by clothing and footwear in 2007 was at 11.1%. (TNS WorldPanel Fashion,Your M&S, 2008). Zara, on the other hand, has a very high product turnover. It makes more than 11,000 products annually. The annual report of Zara (Inditex) for the fiscal year 2006 covers all activities from February 2006 to January 2007. Zara opened 138 new stores during the past year, increasing its selling area by 15%. The sales were an increase of 21% at Euro 5,352 million. It earned net profit of Euro 1 billion (Safe G., 2007) an increase of 25%, was in contrast to last year's profit. The sales in Europe, with exception to Spain, were 40.6% of the total (Inditex Annual Report, 2007). Store Design Zara's typical store is a principally white, modern and spacious store; it is bright and has

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Business process reengineering Essay Example for Free

Business process reengineering Essay This article is about business process reengineering. business processes we can say is the core tasks that are carried out in departments in an organization for the ultimate goal of delivering a product and a high quality one at that and services to the satisfaction of the customer. Business process reengineering is the modeling of the existing processed to steer the organization towards better performance. This is not considered to be done over a long period of time but rather it is something which is done at once so in a way there is a change of the way things are done but the aim is to come up with a better way for a better benefit. Examples of business processes is the manner in which information flows in an organization,management, departmental tasks,, that is the sales and marketing, production, as well as operational and technical support. Business process reengineering strategy is to improve the business competitive advantage. In discussion is its scope and strength. In consideration is the size of the business alongside the composition of the market. Its main aim is improving the existing business processes and sees how they make a business much better than it was before. We can also call it business transformation whereby the existing organization transforms the way work is done with a way of improving the services as well reducing the costs. It is also aimed at adding value to the existing business; processes and maintain the ones which are relevant as they are while at the same time minimizing or getting rid of those that do not add value to the organization. The article also speaks about organizational culture. An organization is a work setting which comprises of employees. These may be in different departments e. g. sales and marketing, production, and transport department. These departments are interdependent and they support one another in their functions. Their main aim is for the organization to achieve its goals and objectives. It comprises of employees who are the human resources. Culture in itself is beliefs, norms, attitudes, values and experiences of an organization and the people who work there. Organizational culture is the way things are done there. There is a trend of the way the management operates and the way people behave and the manner in which they work. An example of an organization culture is the role culture where emphasis is laid on the concentration on the task carried out. Teamwork is also is a type of culture where tasks are accomplished by a group of people working together with a common goal. They however work as a tea m but this they do in order to achieve the organization goals and objectives as a whole. This is the analysis of the existing business processes in which case is the way tasks are carried out in an organization and working towards transforming them and implementing the new process with the aim improving products and services that the organization offers. A group of processes are observed whereby individual tasks are allocated to a team with a wide range of expertise to accomplish with the main aim of achieving the organization goals and objectives. It is also aimed at improving the organization efficiency and effectiveness. The main aim of BPR is to increase an organization competitive advantage and a new competitive edge. An organization can achieve its goals a fresh through business process reengineering since it is as good as new. Cost is the price at which the end product is sold for. In cost strategy the consideration is to penetrate the market with a low price while at the same time offering the standard quality product and even better than that of the competitor but a lower cost. This will be seen to give an organization the competitive edge. The key issue is to maintain the quality of the product while liasing with all the department s in order to ensure that at all costs the cost is reduced from the marketing department to the production department. Cost reduction should be considered in all aspects of the organization and in the whole business process as a whole . this will enable the organisation to reach the consumer with a high quality product and a t a favourable price. Another organization process is production. This is the conversion of the raw materials into a product. The organization has a plant in which there is manual machinery which is used in the production process. Human effort is considered in loading the materials some of them onto the machinery for production. Efficiency is required in order to ensure that the product at the end of the day is prepared on time and also should be of the standard quality. At all times the organization should seek ways to ensure that the costs of production are kept at the minimum in order to ensure that the product reaches the market at a low price, in order to enjoy a competitive advantage. This is the computerized use of machinery. The machinery in the organization is controlled using computers and all the production processes are computer controlled. This will ensure that the product is of high quality, speed will be increased since the machines work much faster than human beings. Efficiency is enhanced where there is continuity of the work being done as well as the uniformity since the machines do not take days off. This will ensure that the supply of products in the market is constant and availability is enhanced. Supplies also can be made even on orders which have been made over a short period of time since the machinery can be able to meet the production to be done with the minimum time possible. This can also ensure that there is a reduction in the cost of production where there are no many human resources required together with the expenses that go with them like medical cover, housing allowances, as well as pension funds. Cost reduction is effective, and it ensures that the product at the end of the day penetrates the market at a very low cost which will enable the organization to build a large customer base, and also expand its market share. This is a combination of beliefs, attitudes, norms adopted by people in an organization and the manner in which they work. It is best described as a collection of norms and values by people and groups working in an organization. This is a type of culture where efforts are directed towards a product or a service being delivered. it brings human resources together and also pulling resources together for the benefit of coming up with the best possible product or service. It is a team culture whereby a team is built and it is assigned a certain project with an aim of achieving a certain goal and objective. In this culture the team is composed of people qualified in different fields of expertise and is marked by sessions of brainstorming where ideas are formed on how to accomplish the set task. There is also an element of friendliness, as the members all the employees working in a team have to combine efforts and hence each one of them is as important and hence they have got to form alliances. It is from expertise that power is derived. Team members have a scope of ideas which they bring on board and contribute towards accomplishment of the set tasks. The main aim is to reduce costs in all aspects of the organization from sales and marketing and other departments to production. This will ensure that the end consumer will enjoy a lower price of the product than that of the competitor. Cutting costs should be considered in all the organization processes. When the cost is reduced the product is able to penetrate the market at a relatively lower price than that of the competitor products. This will increase the market share as well as the profits. When there is an increase in the profits the organization will also be able to run efficiently and be able to meet its consumer needs as well as enjoy growth in terms of better service and product delivery. This can be achieved through mass s production and distribution, reduction of waste and also a reduction of the market force while also maintaining a goal oriented team. This is the time for business process reengineering. It should be considered since it is for the better of the organization where it gets rid of obsolete business processes and introducing and bringing fresh ideas and ways of working in an organization in order to come up with fresh ideas as well as improve the organization efficiency in delivery of products and services. Organization culture plays an important role in the way an organization operates. It is very important that an organization adopts a culture that favours its goals and objectives and enhances the growth of the organization as well as ensure that it encourages the employees to work towards achieving the organization goals.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Stakeholder Analysis

Stakeholder Analysis 1. Briefly describe the seven steps of stakeholder analysis A. map stakeholder relationship Before the stakeholder relationship has been made, there are some questions that will be asked for analysis and identifying major stakeholder. The stakeholder to be selected must knowledgeable, current and close to the source of the issue at hand. The stakeholder analysis is only as valid and reliable as the sources and the processes use to obtain the information. For example, if the Mattel’s recalls, you would place the Mattel Inc. in the centre stakeholder box and then continue identifying the other groups involved with that issue. B. map stakeholder coalitions After identify and make a map of the stakeholders who is going to involved in the firm in the incident addressed, this step is to determine and map any coalitions that have formed. The coalition among the stakeholder is important. Interest groups and lobbyists sometimes join force against a common ‘enemy’. If the numbers of the advantages is seeing by, the competitor may join force. Mapping actual and potential coalitions around issues can help the CEO anticipate and design strategic responses toward these groups before or after they form. C. assess the nature of each stakeholders interest There are four types of stakeholders the CEO may face in the company. That is supportive, non-supportive, mixed blessing and marginal. The supportive and the non-supportive will against the CEO. While the mixed blessing and the marginal, the CEO are less sure for their support for the strategy. The opening example like Mattel, if you are the CEO, along with his staff, you might determine that the support of Mattel would be many. Non-supportive stakeholders or those who may include some shareholders and their lawyers, the Chinese government, members of the U.S. government, the victims and their families, consumers, competitors and the media. The interest of these stakeholders is varying. By systematically, completing this audit, as a CEO in facing the crisis, it can create a broader or more objective picture in the situation faced. D. assess the nature of each stakeholders power There are eight types of power that different stakeholders exert, first, voting power, the ability of stakeholders to exert control through strength in numbers. Second, political power where the ability to influence decision making processes and agendas of republic and private organizations and institutions. The third is economic power, which the ability to influence by control over resources either monetary or physical. Forth, the technological power where the ability to influence innovations and decisions through uses of technology. The fifth is the legal power by the ability to influence laws, policies and procedure. The sixth is the environment power, where the ability to impact the nature. The seventh is the culture power, the ability to influence values, norms and habit of people and organizations and the last one is the power over individuals and groups. This is the ability to influence particular, targeted persons and groups through different forms persuasions. For instances, the Mattel suggests that shareholders, number of congress and individual constituent have voting power over the Mattel policies and officers jobs and responsibilities. In that case, the Chinese contractors and government representatives the economy power over the Mattel expenses and profit. While the U.S. government also use the political power for the Mattel’s operating and manufacturing polices and the process. E. construct a matrix of stakeholder moral responsibilities This step is to determine the responsibilities and moral obligations for company have to each stakeholder. A matrix of stakeholder has their own responsibilities. For example, the Mattel’s CEO may see the firm’s economic responsibility to the owner to preventing as many costly lawsuits as possible. Legally, the CEO may want to protect the owners and the executive team from liability and damage. This would entail proactively negotiating disputes outside the courts. Ethically, the CEO may keep the company’s stockholders and owners current regarding his or her ethical thinking and strategies to show responsibility toward all stakeholders. To complete the matrix in this stage, the ethical principles can be referring to follow as: utilitarianism (weighing costs and benefits), universalism (showing respect and concern for human beings), rights (recognizing individual liberties and privileges under laws and constitutions), justice (observing the distribution of burdens and benefits of all concerned). In this stage, the CEO might advise shareholders to show responsibility by publicly announcing their plans for resolving the problem. F. develop specific strategic and tactics After get the result from the preceding steps, it can continue to outline specific strategies and tactics that wish to use with each stakeholder. Firstly, a CEO should consider whether to approach each stakeholder directly or indirectly. Secondly, need to decide whether to do nothing, monitor, or take an offensive or defensive position. Third is determine whether to accommodate negotiate, manipulate, resist, avoid or ‘wait and see’. Finally, the CEO can decide what combination of strategies those want to comply to achieve the goal. G. monitor shifting coalitions In this stage, the time and the event can change the stakes and the stakeholders and their strategic. Tracking external trends and events and the resultant stakeholder strategies can help CEO and his or her team act and react accordingly. This dynamics process that occurs over time and is affected by the strategic and action that a CEO and the team direct with each stakeholder group as events occur. Decisions of a CEO are influenced by how effective the stakeholders respond and the CEO team strategic and action. A CEO would typically follow the utilitarian ethic of weighing costs and benefits of all your strategies and actions toward each major stakeholder group. If the CEO neglecting the public, the company ‘bottom line’ can be affect. By following the Mattel case, when you see the child who is harmed or may be at risk, you might have attempted to take care of each child. You may recall the manufacture at China, then plan meeting with the person in charged and pay a vis it to the victim families to show the concern about the case and to protect the company image and reputation going forward. 2. Explain the diagnostic typology of organizational stakeholders The diagnostic typology of organizational stakeholders can be separate into two classes and four types. For the classes, the low class is the supportive and the marginal while the high class is mixed blessing and non-supportive. The diagnostic typology of organizational stakeholders shows two dimensions, that is potential for treat and potential for cooperation. The type one is the ideal strategic for the focus corporation. Type 1 is the supportive stakeholder with a low potential for threat and high potential for cooperation. Here the strategy of the focus company is to involve the supportive stakeholder. In contrast, the is a non-supportive stakeholder who show the high supportive for threat and a low potential for cooperation. The type four stakeholders is mixed blessing. The mixed blessing is with a high potential for threat and cooperation. In this situation, the stakeholder could become the supportive or non-supportive. And the last one is the type two, the marginal stakeholder . This stakeholder has a low potential for both threat and cooperation. This kind of stakeholder may not be interested in the issue of concern. 3. Discuss the 7-phase issue development process using an example Seven phase issue development process are felt need, media coverage, interest group development and growth, leading political jurisdictions, federal government attention, legislation and regulation and litigation. The first is a felt need arises; this is for emerging events, advocacy groups. The second is media coverage. The media coverage is developing such as the television segment like news, internet, or the newspaper and other news and blogging sources. The third is the interest development gains momentum and grows. The fourth is the policies. These policies are adopted by leading political jurisdictions for cities, states and country. The federal government gives the attention to the issue occurred. The federal government have the responsible to hearing and the studies for the cases. The sixth is the issues and policies evolve into the legislation and regulation and the last one is issues and policies enter litigation. In the Mattel’s company, the CEO and the top level te am is use this framework to anticipate and prevent the recalls and also respond to the public about the cases. The Mattel toy recalls and its partnership with the Chinese contractors and subcontractors the outsourcing debate in general is related to the topic to analyse by using the second issue frame work that is media coverage. There is an article which is written by Christopher Clott’s with the title â€Å"Perspectives on Global Outsourcing and the Changing Nature of Work†. This article provided the excellent background information. These seven steps are useful in identifying and following the public issues like the Mattel’s Inc. faced. 4. Describe the 4-stage issue life cycle approach There are four stages in life cycle, which is social expectation, political issues, legislation and social control. The first step is social expectation and the awareness. In this process, it is about the social discussion and debate. The societal awareness is low at first and approached the highest at stage there that is legislative engagement and decrease when it reaches the stage four. The social awareness is like the emerging the events, advocacy books and so on. In the event, they will discuss about the problem occurred and debate about the problem. The interest group will pay the attention if the problem is related to them. The second of the stage of life cycle is the political awareness. The political awareness involved the media attention and the hearing is held. In this stage, is include the incorporate of the media coverage available in the country, the interest group development and growth and the leading political jurisdictions adopt policies. The third phase is the legis lative engagements which are law passed, legal involvement and regulations enacted. And the last stage is social control and litigation. This are include the compliance issues, legal conflict and court rulings. 5. Identify and explain the 4-stage approach to crisis management Crisis management is a method that to study how corporation and leaders respond to the crisis faced. By using this method, it is essential for understanding and possibly preventing the future fiascos because crises is continue to occur year by year. There are the four stages for crisis management. That is prodramal, acute, chronic and conflict resolution. The prodromal or pre-crisis is also known as the warning stage. The second stage still can proceed although this stage is not recognized or does not actually occur, but is requiring the damage control. For the example, Mattel experienced several recalls with its Chinese subcontractors. First recall is given by sending a warning sign that issues existed. Represented from the Mattel let the subcontractor takes blame at first. In the second stage, acute crisis which mean the damage has been done. This stage is use to control the damage as much as possible. This is the short stage among the four stages. In 2005, a toddler died from inge sting a magnet from a Mattel toy that was manufactured in China. Since there is no laws governing this type of incident, Mattel had not considered the risk faced. The third stage is the chronic crisis. The chronic crisis is also mean clean up stage. This is a period of recovery, self-analysis, self-doubt and healing. In this process, the congressional investigations, audits and interviews occurred. The final stage is crisis resolution. This stage is the goal of crisis management. In this stage, it is about what is the best solution for the problem occurred.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Government and Politics - Towards a Universal View :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Towards a Universal View As a registered voter of Minnesota I have seen first hand what it takes to get the younger generation to vote. Rule number one: Throw out the term "younger generation" we hate that. It seems as though our, male-dominated-over-fifty-white-washed government system has a tendency to categorize, everything needs to be correlated and filed away. They ask questions like, "What do we do with the 'Native Americans'? How can we improve the lives of 'lower income families'" This type of fragmentation is far from strengthening our nation. We need to move away from numbers and categories and move towards a more Universal view. I realize that the problems I mentioned above are real issues and they need to be dealt with. But talking about minorities like they are the plague isn't going to help anything. As you all know my governor is none other than Jesse the brain or body or whatever. On the day he was elected a wave of confusion swept the country. How did a Pro-Wrestler get elected to office? Simple, he spoke to everybody. Just to warn you this essay is not on how great Jesse is, personally I can't stand him. In every one of his speeches he addressed everybody, there were no boundaries, there were no dividers. Jesse didn't talk about the "rich" vs. the "poor", he didn't talk about "black" vs. "white," he talked about Minnesotans. As a result of this Jesse produced the greatest turn out of 18-24 year-old voters in Minnesota history. This doesn't mean the Jesse is the smartest guy in the world. Frankly I feel that he stumbled upon the answer by accident (that is merely my opinion). What he figured out was that you must talk to the voters at eye level. One more time just in case you missed it. TALK TO THE VOTERS AT EYE LEVEL! Yes that's right, get down off of your soapbox and talk to us. We'd much rather be "talked too" than "talked about." This isn't about lowering the voting age or sending out flyers or making phone calls. This is about bringing politics back to its roots. What it was way back on the Mayflower. Everybody huddled around that table on that boat and decided the rules. I realize that the population of these United States has risen considerably since then but that is no excuse for moving away from our roots.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Othello Essay -- essays research papers

One of the most interesting and exotic characters in the tragic play "Othello," by William Shakespeare, is "Honest" Iago. At first glance, Iago seems to be the essence of "motiveless malignity." However, despite Iago's unquestionable malignancy, the motivation behind his actions lie more in Iago's quest for personal gain, as opposed to just being evil for evil's sake. Iago's rapacity can be validated by examining his manipulation of Roderigo, Cassio and, most importantly, Othello. Iago's main interest is the destruction of Othello. The reason being that Othello has chosen another man, Cassio, as his second-in-command, preferring him to Iago. This resentment, accompanied by Iago's fabricated accusations of adultery and his blatant racism, cause Iago to despise the kindly moor, and shortly thereafter, begin to conspire against him. Because Iago is much too smart to immediately kill Othello, he proceeds with the arduous process of dismantling him emotionally. Iago also knows that he must distance himself from any of the harrowing occurrences that transpire, so he cleverly gets other people to do his dirty work. The first to fall victim to Iago's illiberal manipulation, is the half-witted Roderigo. Iago knows Roderigo is consumed by lust for Desdemona, and would do anything to make her his own. Iago tells Roderigo that the only way to win Desdemona's love, is to make money to procure gifts for her. "...put money in thy purse.." (Act 1,...

Preference Reversal And Expert :: essays research papers

Subjects in gambling tasks that involve both choice and pricing show a pattern of responses known as preference reversal. That is, although subjects in a choice condition generally will give higher preference ratings to “safe';, high-probability/low-payoff, bets than to “longshot';, low-probability/high-payoff, bets, when they are asked in a pricing condition to generate an amount of money that they would accept to avoid the gamble altogether they tend to give higher values for longshots over safer bets. Tversky, Slovic, and Kahneman (1990) demonstrate that among the several possible actions that subjects could be taking to produce this pattern, the critical factor appears to be the overpricing of the longshot bets. If subjects are actually offered a monetary figure (hypothetically) by the experimenter to replace the gamble, they will accept this figure even though it is lower than the figure that they generated in the pricing condition. Tversky et al. (1990) further show ed that this overpricing is largely due to a phenomena known as scale compatibility, which involves certain biases when the response required by the subject is in the same units as the factors influencing the decision. Since the payoffs of the bets and the buy-out prices assigned to them are both monetary values, this leads people to give greater weight to the payoff value of the bets when asked to price them (a situation of compatibility) than when asked to choose between them (a situation of non-compatibility).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The development of expertise in avoiding preference reversal, then, would have to involve the circumvention of the compatibility effect. One possible way in which this could occur would involve subjects consistently selecting either payoff or probability as the critical factor in both choice and pricing conditions. By adopting a strategy of maximizing the chance of any payoff in both the choice and pricing condition and giving that option the higher rating on both scales, preference reversal would be avoided. Conversely, considering only the greatest potential for gain in each condition would have the same effect.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This strategy, however, would be susceptible to preference reversals in the other direction. In the first case of maximizing the chance of payoff, the safe bet (H) would be favored over the longshot (L) and the pricing would also favor the safe bet (Ch) over the longshot (Cl) (i.e. Ch Cl). Yet when any amount of money (X) is offered at a %100 probability, that option would be selected over both H and L.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Societies and cultures Essay

Societies and cultures in olden times used to live in isolation as means of transport were very slow. Men either travelled from one place to another on foot or animals like horses and camels were used. Cultural exchange used to take place when the invaders overran a country or traders came. The process of Globalization has been initiated by faster means of travel sophisticated technological advancement in communication like media and the internet boom. It has made information available to an individual at the click of a button . There is lot of foreign investment which entails creation of job opportunities. As a result economic prosperity and ideas of the developed nations are being incorporated in the societies of these countries. a kind of cultural exchange is taking place as trade and commerce is flourishing. Multinational companies are bringing western ideas to the developing nations. The term globalization was almost a nonentity before1990 ((Lewellen, 2002, p. 7) It is catch phrase of the contemporary society. According to Stanley Barrett â€Å"Human society is in the process of being transformed to a degree possibly not seen since the Industrial Revolution. The process can be summed up by the term globalization. † (Stanley Barrett 1999:258). The result of these interactions is asocial change in different cultures. Family is a basic unit of society in any culture. It is an institution which stands for cohesion solidarity, social order and continuity. The challenges faced by this building block of society is very important as A contrasting study of the families of the developed country like America and a developing country like India is going to elucidate the changes that are being brought about by globalization. The Family unit in U. S has undergone a lot of transformation some of the indicators can be the number of children living with both the parents in 1963 was 91% and it declined to 73% in 1997. (Waite & Nielsen, 2001, p. 25) The formation of family revolves traditionally around marriage . The age at which the first marriage is taking place has steadily increased . In 1950s the young women married at the age of 20 but it has increased to 28 yrs as women are more and more getting career oriented. Late marriages are also responsible for decrease in fertility rate. The population decline has many factors but it is one of the major reasons of decline. Single person household are accounted for 20% homes in case of males and 12% in case of females in United States in 1970. The striking similarity between both the countries is that they single family is by and large headed by women . There are other factors which are responsible for the decline of the family in America. It is very interesting that though the age at which first marriages are taking place has increased to an average of 28 years in case of females but the age at first incidence of premarital sex has declined. It has become and accepted behavior by the society . it is no more considered an abnormal behavior. United States is among the leading countries as far as pregnancies out of wedlock are concerned. India is as far as premarital sex is concerned quite conservatives . The exact figures of Premarital sexual encounter is largely undocumented as there is a stigma attached to it. Although it can be quite reliably said that a kind of sexual liberalism is in the making . The acceptance and the prevalence of Valentines day is indicator of the acceptance of these ideas Till the till the 1990 s it was an enigma but now every town and city is reverberating to these ideas . It would be wrong to say that promiscuity was not an acceptable social practice . Especially the Hindu culture is full of the examples of the sexual liberalism. In fact it is the reason why the western concept of cohabitation and sexual freedom gained so much popularity. Various forms of family are there in United States like the extended family, the single-parent family, the â€Å"blended family† (where previously married spouses with children remarry), and the â€Å"part-time-parent† family (where a parent is only with the rest of the family for weekends). Changes in the structure of the family is severely effect the health and well being of children The divorce rate is very high in American society . More than half of the marriages end up getting divorced and it has been studied that children of such households have more likelihood of cohabiting and premarital sex which can result in pregnancies (Le Bourdais et al1998) Children in single parents family have lower academic excellence both at high school and university level. Marriage is a precursor to the formation of the family. It is very sacred institution in which there is no escape. The Indian society is primarily a patriarchal society and male members are the bread winners and the bearer of authority. Women’s role at the best can seen as complementary she is considered as an ardhangini or the other half. The economic independence and the transportation of the Ideas of equality coupled with the emphasis on the material wellbeing have resulted in the acceptance of the women working outside the precincts of their homes. There is consistent increase in the incidence of the family of nuclear family and the reasons of this rise is urbanization, industrialization, globalization and decrease in the fertility rates since 1961 (Niranjan, Nair & Roy, 2005) The southern India which has lower fertility rates have seen a shrinking the family size . The size of he family dependent on the economic status as upper class have lesser tendency to form a nuclear family . it is independent of the caste and religion. Class is a predominant aspect of most of the nation states. The major distinction between the haves and the have not is of relevance to most societies . The class system in the Indian society is very rigid as those who are born in a particular class can not move up the hierarchy come what they may do. The Varna system is a social system was based on skills and qualification . Asocial change was seen as a result of the modernization and interaction with the west in the form of the colonial occupation. Since the middle class is the most representative of the society of any country . Therefore it has been taken as indicator of the change . The organization or the structure of the family remains the same irrespective of the class distinction. The social class in the American society is strictly on the basis of the economic standing of the individuals . It is broad spectrum of society that can range from the Janitor to the manager. We are contrasting the effect of globalization on a middle class family of the developing country like India and the developed country like America. The middle class in India comprises of a mosaic of various culture and religion. Class does play an important role in the character and the speed of the changes that are occurring as a result of the globalization. In the present context class in the Indian society is being defined more by the economic status than by the social order of the olden times which owed its existence to the Vanaashramdharama. It is the economic compulsions which is resulting in the middle class families in India to move away from the traditional model of family to amore western concept There are certain similarities how these changes have been perceived in both the American and the Indian middle class like the acceptance of the role of women in the mainstream has been gradual. There are differences between the middle class of the two countries . India is by far more conservative as far as the role of women in society is concerned . Household duties is still the pejorative of the women . She is doubly burdened as she has keep the hearth as well as earn to enhance the material wellbeing of her family members THE IMPACT OF ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCE Globalization is seen by many as an economic phenomenon as there is an influx of capital in the national economy. There is an immense interaction of the local economy with the international market. The economic changes that are taking place as a result of globalization are having an impact on the family structure of the developing countries like India . We are seeing a shift from the joint family system to the nuclear family structure. Many factors contributed to the disintegration of the joint family. Multinational companies have captured the national economies and hence a lot of job opportunities have been created. Women are increasingly becoming economically independent . This is a step towards an empowerment of women but it doesn’t indicate that all sorts of gender bias that have traditionally been prevalent in the Indian family structure has been eradicated. Family structure provided a kind of social security net for the most vulnerable members of our society . The old and the infirm and kids enjoyed the security and safety of their homes. The multinational companies have entered the Indian market and are eroding the value system of the traditional societies. There is a prevalence of dual earners in the middle class as a result the moms are not performing their traditional roles of caregivers which were unpaid labor. However the increase in the income of the middle class family has lead to increase in the living standards of the average middle class family. These trends is result of globalization as the in the west working women is the norm of society. The economic independence of women was precursor to a higher divorce rate in the contemporary Indian society. Many women are opting out of abusive marriages as they are economically independent. Despite this fact the divorce rate in India is among the lowest. It stands at 1. 1%where as in America it is 54. 8% according to Wikipedia. The Indian society is in transition and divorce and remarriages are slowly gaining acceptability. It is difficult to get the exact figures of divorce rates because the divorces are filed at the local courts. The women seeking information on how to obtain a divorce through telephone helpline of The Delhi Commission for Women has increased from 20% to 2000% Traditionally marriages in the Indian society could not be annulled it was a sacrosanct relationship and there was no way of getting out of it. Liu is quoted by Science Daily said â€Å"Not only the United States, but also other countries, including developing countries such as China and places with strict religious policies regarding divorce, are having more divorced households,† The family structure historically had a survival and welfare function . The member of a family like the women and the children were economically dependent on the male earning member for the fulfillment of their needs The Indian family system was primarily patriarchal . despite the fact that Indian family has various strains because of the different cultures and religion practiced One thing that I common is the fact that it is primarily a male centered unit . The call centre culture is a recent phenomena and the impact of it on the Indian society is by and large undocumented . The new found economic independence of the youth is disturbing the hierarchical structure of the family system. The parental authority is continuously diminishing as the offspring are becoming economically independent. There is shift from parental authority to Co-operation from obedience to exploration. It is a commonplace experience in the Family structure of The American society that the unmarried children who are above 18 years of age to go and live outside the family home . The new found economic independence can be seen as a precipitator of the same trend. The traditional role of women as caregivers has seen a paradigm shift as they are more and more employed and a shift towards smaller families have created a situation in which caring for the elderly and sick is becoming difficult . there is lot of geographic mobility and the lower fertility rates are contributing to the unavailability of persons that can act as care givers. There is an absence of social security net for the elderly consequently they are the worse hit There are no alternatives for them the old homes are either in bad shape or they are not available. In grave contrast to their American counterparts they are rich The old are a target of the advertizing agencies as they have a lot of spending power. The elderly population which can be used as a source of education and the influence of social class on families. Are there similarities in families of same social class in different culture? Whose influence is more culture or economics EFFECT OF GLOBALIZATION ON FAMILIES Globalization has brought the modern concept of individual freedom at the doorstep of the developing nations . The demand for the excellence of the individual creates a tension which not only felt by him but by the entire family . It is affecting the parent offspring relationship. The emphasis on material success has disturbed the proviso institution and it has created a problem for the aged and the week and the children who have lost a caregiver . Some of the positive aspect of Globalization is women emancipation and lowering of the fertility rate and poverty . These are problems that the developing nations are facing Globalization has decreased if not completely eradicated this problem. REFERENCES Hertz and Nancy L. Marshall UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Berkeley  · Los Angeles  · London year 2001 Lewellen, 2002, p. 7The anthropology of globalization. SAHER MAHMOOD and SOMINI SENGUPTA As Mores Evolve, India’s Divorced Seek Second Chance. Retrieved March 30, 2008 from: http://www. nytimes. com/2008/02/14/world/asia/14remarry. html? _r=2&ref=world&oref=slogin&oref=slogin Waite & Nielsen, 2001, p. 25. Working Families The Transformation of the American Home edited Rosanna

Monday, September 16, 2019

The Importance of Friendship

It’s impossible to know all of the different cultural differences in body language that you can run into. And trying to abide by all of them is even tougher. If I did, I’d be running around not looking at anyone with my hands in my pockets. Of course, then I would be offending both Turkish people (hands in my pockets) and all of my friends in the States. This is article is a compilation of my research. I apologize if I omit anything or make a mistake – there’s so much information in regards to this subject, and it’s difficult to capture it all.Drop me a line or comment if you see an error or want to add something. 1. Eye Contact: In the United States and Canada, INTERMITTENT eye contact is extremely important in conveying interest and attention. In many Middle Eastern cultures, INTENSE eye contact between the same genders is often a symbol of trust and sincerity however, between opposite genders, especially in Muslim cultures, anything more than BRI EF eye contact is considered inappropriate. Additionally, in Asian, African, and Latin American cultures, extended eye contact is considered a â€Å"challenge.†The Japanese tend to consider even brief eye contact uncomfortable. And, in some cultures, a woman should look down when talking to a man (thanks to thank Denise Gerdes, a former Peace Corps volunteer from Minnesota for that information). 2. Handshakes: In my handshake article Networking 101: You Better Get A Grip and Read This, I talked about the handshake in Western cultures. Between cultures, however, there are differences that could throw you off! For example, in parts of Northern Europe a quick firm â€Å"one-pump† handshake is the norm.In parts of Southern Europe, Central and South America, a handshake is longer and warmer – meaning the left hand usually touches the clasped hands, the elbow, or even the lapel of the shakee. Beware that in Turkey, a firm handshake is considered rude and aggressive. I n certain African countries, a limp handshake is the standard. Men in Islamic countries never shake the hands of women outside the family. 3. Greetings: In America, we have the standard greeting: â€Å"Hello, my name is.. † with a handshake.At a networking event, chances are persons from a different culture will probably assimilate into everyone else’s style, however, there are other greetings out there of which you should be aware. In Japan, people bow. In Italy, people kiss cheeks. There is a very interesting list over at Bruce Van Patter’s website. 4. Personal Space: I get freaked out when someone gets too close to me – and I immediately try to end the conversation. However, in some cultures it is normal to be â€Å"in the bubble.†In China, if someone is doing business, it is widely accepted to have NO personal space at all. Strangers regularly touch when standing near each other. On the other hand, some cultures require much more space than in America. Keep in mind, that personal space will differ for everyone based on their upbringing. The advice that I would give, is that if you are unsure, start with your comfort zone, and let the other person move to where they are comfortable. 5. Touching:This is a big no-no. It may look okay, but you could be fooled.For example, did you know that in some sects of Judaism, the only woman that a man will touch in his lifetime is the woman he is married to? In Japan, Scandinavia, and England, touching is less frequent. In Latino cultures, touching is encouraged. This may not have a place in this article, but still interesting: NEVER touch a person’s head. This can be religiously offensive. Really, when you are out networking, just DON’T touch – except to shake hands. If you are comfortable, let the other person guide what is appropriate to them. 6. Small Talk: It’s tough to make small talk.And to make it even tougher, sometimes it is different in cultures ou tside of America. There was not much research on this, however, some of my loyal readers were able to help me out. Susanne Ebling of Washington, D. C suggests that in other cultures, just because you are asked â€Å"How are you? ,† it doesn’t mean that the other person is asking for a full health report. Keep in mind that this is not always a cultural thing. If someone you don’t know asks you how you are, you should never say anything but, â€Å"excellent,† or â€Å"fine,† or some derivative.Also, James Yoakum from New York reminded me that in America, often it is appropriate to ask what a person does for a living in a conversation. In fact, that’s how most people make small talk — and, in certain situations, it’s completely wrong, which I will discuss in another article. However, what you need to know now is that for many cultures it is inappropriate to ask this altogether. I say, learn how to network without making this part of your â€Å"small-talk† routine. 7. Personal Dress and Hygiene: I don’t know of any culture where it is acceptable to not brush your teeth.I could be wrong. However, everything else can vary! Some cultures don’t shave – their mens’ faces (or womens’ legs or underarms). Some cultures never wear deodorant and others don’t bathe as frequently. You must be careful to make sure you do not offend anyone. And yes, sometimes odors that are quite odd to you might be very acceptable in another culture. 8. Gestures:They mean different things everywhere. Seriously, keep your gestures to yourself. If you want to flip off the business card warrior, it might not have any effect at all if he/she is from a different culture.In fact, in some cultures, it’s used as a pointer. The thumbs-up has all different meanings too. At the peril of destroying my reputation, I am not even going to write about them. Also be careful with the American â€Å"A -Ok† sign and putting your hands on your hips. Conclusions: The two most important ideas to take away from this article is that you know these differences exist and that you treat others how you would want to be treated. Once again, the best policy is to let the other person lead the interaction if you are unsure. That way, you can never be wrong!

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Describe marketing techniques used in a business

Pl Describe marketing techniques used in a business kayaks Marks & Spencer Marketing Strategy Facets Company overview Marks and Spencer (M&S) is one of the Auk's largest and longest surviving brands and High Street retailers in the private sector. From humble beginnings in 1884 as a small bazaar, the store saw itself grow into the Auk's market leader In quality clothes retailing up until rand sass, however more recently, the company has suffered consecutive falls in clothes and food sales over the last twelve quarters.Whilst it still holds a respectable 11% of the market share there are concerns that this percentage ill continue to shrink as competition increases from other clothes and lifestyle retailers. M&S's challenge is to regain its growth It was once renowned for. M growth strategies through market penetration Market penetration is where an organization increases its market share of an existing product or service. Store refurbishment. Aware that their brand had become tired, i n 2011 M spent Been on store refurbishments to give their customers a better shopping experience.This included providing more space for the customer and more changing rooms. Recruitment of new staff for flagship branches and provision f quality training for maximum customer satisfaction and a more personal service than It has ever provided in the past. Opening of 150 more M food only stores nationwide in the next three years to compete in the small supermarket's industry. M&S growth strategies through product development Product development is where a company brings a new product or service to market or improves an existing product or service.M&S were originally known for clothing products; however they now have a wide range of products and services to satisfy their customer needs. Introduction of new exotic and diverse prepared food, for example introduction of haggis to all food stores. Provision of quality cafe © facilities in its main stores so customers were inclined to spend more time and money in the stores. Introduction of new product ranges such as birthday cards and In-house designer ranges. Launch of the new M&s. mom as direct competition to Next online, bringing a new method of shopping for its existing customers. M&S growth strategies through market development Market development Is where an organization promotes Its existing products or arrives in a new market, e. G. Overseas, for example. With potential for over 250 new 1 OFF their product ranges reach a wider customer base. Expansion of their franchise business in Western Europe. Launch of M&S. com will provide a global reach for customers for maximum market development.M&S growth strategies through diversification Diversification is where an organization produces products or services which are very different to its core activities, so that new products/services are being introduced to new markets. M&S have introduced their own bank and have attracted a number of customers interested in an al ternative to the main high street banks. The company has launched its own mail order service alongside new gifts, hamper and flowers online business. Introduction of pet/car/home/travel insurance to compete in the insurance market.Customers can now manage their household energy provision through meanderer's. Com as the company rivals other brand utility companies. M survival strategies A survival strategy is where an organization reduces costs or cuts back to either simply survive as a whole business or recover in parts of their operations. M's cent market share decline has caused senior management to review their supply chain efficiencies to improve margins wherever possible. The company is constantly looking to reduce costs wherever they can.Outsourcing of delivery services. The company is striving to seek quality fabrics at lower prices with its suppliers. M&S branding strategies Branding is where a company has a consistent theme which is easily recognized by its customers. M&S h as built its reputation on quality and trust reinforced by its â€Å"Only M&S† campaign † Leading actors and personalities have been recruited to revive familiar yet aspiration qualities to promote the brand through a series of television, magazine and billboard advertisements.M&S prides itself on its refund service and has built a reputation of always providing customers either refunds or store vouchers regardless of how old the item they return is. Their recent 130 year birthday played a large part in their brand promotion, building on nostalgia and trust from its valued customers. M&S relationship marketing strategies Relationship marketing is where an organization focuses on the long-term allegations it has with a customer by identifying their needs and providing products and services which satisfy those needs.The provision of M&S loyalty cards has provided an excellent platform for collection of customer data which the company those needs. M&S have an excellent tra ining programmer where its staff are taught how to become ‘closer' to the customer in order to provide them with products and services they might not already be aware of e. G. The role of the personal shopper. M&S banking use relationship marketing strategies to provide financial products for all areas of a customer's needs.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Human Behavior in an Organization Essay

In an organization there are lots of factors to be considered for the company to achieve its goals and objective and succeed. These factors include communication, motivation, leadership skills, personal characteristics of employees, interaction between and among employees and teamwork. Communication is significant in transferring information because the information to be transferred must be precise and accurate to avoid miscommunication. Failure to communicate proper information might cause a negative long-term effect on the company. Furthermore, miscommunication may result to personal conflicts between members of an organization. Persons or employees in the organization must feel motivated to achieve the goals and objectives that should be met. This motivation may come from personal factors, such as for family and self-competence, or external factors, such as salaries or benefits are tied to performance of doing a job. Highly motivated members are the ones who mostly done their job efficiently. Management must motivate employees for them to do their jobs efficiently and effectively so as to lessen any probable negative impacts to the organization. There is always a person or a group of persons that will initiate any activities done by an organization and we usually call these people as leaders. A leader must be sensitive to feelings of others but not to the extent that it would prejudice any undertakings made by the group. We see different kinds of leaders, there are those who are autocratic or who don’t listen to what others has to say but there are also those that listens, hears and considers the point of view of others. Conflicts may arise in an organization primarily because of the personal characteristics of each employee that are not acceptable to others. This should not be done because everyone is different in his or her own way. Conflicts between employees would result to negative effects that would cause to fail to meet the objectives. These problems between members must be resolve to build a better relationship between them and to be able to prevent this problems to arise again in the future. In any activity that an organization should do, teamwork must always be present. This is very important to achieve the organization’s goals and objectives efficiently. In a team, each one must do their part to help achieve the goal and not help prejudice the activity. In a team, together everyone achieves more, which means that if members would just work together, all of the objectives, even the least important objective will be met. There are weaknesses and strengths inside a group and this must be taken into considerations, to eliminate these weaknesses and improve those strengths. Team building activities may be done by the organization to improve the relationship between and among members so as to have a team that works together for a common goal. Hence, goal congruence arises, which is very important factor that must exist inside the organization. Thus, proper communication, motivation, leadership skills, relationships between members and teamwork must exist within an organization. In this way, any goals and objectives of the organization will be met. As long as each one of the members do their parts well, nothing could go wrong and the organization will be successful in any activities they will undertake.