Enron Ethics Essay

This article tries to show how the company’s culture had profound effects on the ethics of its employee? And particularly in this case: how did Enron lose both its economical and ethical status? This question makes the Enron case interesting to us as business ethicists. Enron ethics means that business ethics is a question of organizational â€Å"deep† culture rather than of cultural artifacts like ethics codes, ethics officers and the like. BackgroundAt the beginning Enron faced a number of financially difficulty years. In 1988, the deregulation of the electrical power market took effect and Enron redefined its business to energy broker and got a thriving company. The company became a â€Å"matchmaker† in the power industry, bringing buyers and sellers together. Enron embraced a culture that rewarded â€Å"cleverness†. Pushing the limits was considered a survival skill; the motto of the CEO Jeffry Skilling was â€Å"Do it right, do it now and do it better†. This culture admires innovation and unchecked ambition and publicly punishes poor performance can produce big return in the short term. However, in the long run, achieving additional value by constantly â€Å"upping the ante† becomes harder and harder. A lot of smoke and mirrorsWith Enron’s spectacular success, the business community rewarded Enron for its cleverness and Enron’s executives felt driven by this reputation to sustain the explosive growth of the late 1990s, even when they logically knew that it was not possible. In order to indicate that the company was not as successful as it appeared, Enron entered into a deceiving web of partnerships and employed increasingly questionable accounting methods to maintain its investment-grade status. PartnershipsTo push the value envelope, Enron created â€Å"special purpose vehicles† (SPV), pseudo-partnerships that allowed the company to sell assets and â€Å"create† earnings that artificially enhanced its bottom line. Enron exaggerated earnings by recognizing gains on the sale of assets to SPVs. An example is the partnership with Blockbuster which was intended to provide movies to homes directly over phones lines. In this case Enron recorded $ 110.9 million in profits prematurely, even if these profits were never realized as the partnership after only a 1,000-home pilot. Therefore booking  earnings before they are realized were rather â€Å"early† than wrong. The culture at Enron was quickly eroding the ethical boundaries of its employees. Keeping debt off the balance sheetTo avoid that a highly leveraged balance sheet would threaten its credit rating, Enron parked some of its debt on the balance sheet of its SPVs and kept hidden from analysts and investors. This can be read as another example of ethical erosion, but Enron’s decision makers saw the shuffling of debt rather as a timing issue and not as an ethical one. Partnerships at â€Å"arm’s length†Enron enlisted help from its outside accountants and its attorneys to guarantee that the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) did not consider its partnerships as Enron subsidiaries. Enron crafted relationships that looked (legally) like partnerships, although they were (in practice) subsidiaries. A closer look at the partnerships would have revealed that the outside investments came from companies that were owned by Enron. Conflicts of interestEnron officials obviously had close ties with its partnerships. For example, the CFO war partial owner of two of the most important partnerships. The culture of cleverness at Enron started as a pursuit of excellence that devolved into the appearance of excellence as executives worked to develop clever ways of preserving Enron’s infallible faà §ade of success; for the good of the company, Enron’s executives also began to bend the rules for personal again. Once a culture’s ethical boundaries are breached thresholds of more extreme ethical compromises become lower. The self-reinforcing decline of EnronThe sum of incremental ethical transgressions produced the business catastrophe. As partnerships began to fail with increasing regularity, Enron was liable for millions of dollars it had not anticipated losing. The financial implosionThe partnerships that once boosted earnings and allowed Enron to prosper became the misplaced card that caused the Enron  house to collapse. The very results Enron had sought to prevent – falling stock prices, lack of consumer and financial market confidence – came about as a direct result of decisions that had been driven by Enron’s culture. The Enron case of ethical failure consists of more than a series of questionable business dealings. Enron employees, who had been encouraged to invest heavily in the company, found themselves unable to remove and salvage their investments. The company culture of individualism, innovation, and aggressive cleverness left Enron without compassionate, responsible leadership. Leadership mechanisms and organizational culture at EnronLeadership is the critical component of the organization’s culture because leaders can create, reinforce or change the organization’s culture. According to Schein (1985) there are five primary mechanisms that a leader can use to influence an organization’s culture: attention, reaction to crises, role modelling, allocation of rewards, criteria of selection and dismissal. AttentionIf the leaders of the organizations focus on the bottom line, employees believe that financial success is the leading value to consider. Enron executives’ attention was clearly focused on profits, power, greed and influence; â€Å"Profits at all costs†. As Stern has suggested, if the organization’s leaders seem to care only about the short-term bottom line, employees quickly get the message too. Reaction to crisesSchein asserts, that a crisis tests what the leader values and brings these values to the surface. With each impending crisis, leaders have an opportunity to communicate throughout the organization what the company’s values are. Enron was facing a crisis of how to sustain a phenomenal growth rate. Leaders reacted by defending a culture that valued profitability, even when it was at the expense of everything else. The mantra at Enron seems to be that ethical wrongdoing is to be hidden at any cost; deny, play the dupe, claim ignorance, lie, quit. It appears that the truth and its consequences have been a part of the Enron culture. Role modeling (how leaders behave)Actions speak louder than words –  therefore- modeling behaviour is a very powerful tool that leaders have to develop and influence corporate culture. Employees observe the behaviour of leaders to find out what is valued in the organization. Perhaps, this was the most significant shortcoming of Enron executives. Enron’s leaders’ primary message about their values was sent through their own actions. They broke the law as they concentrated on financial measures and used of the creative partnerships. It also sent a message to employees that full and complete disclosure is not a requirement, or even recommended. If the company achieved short-term benefits by hiding information, it was acceptable. The leadership of Enron almost certainly dictated the company’s outcome through their own actions by providing perfect conditions for unethical behaviour. Just as the destiny of individuals is determined by personal character, the destiny of an organization is determined by the character of its leadership. Allocation of rewardsThe behaviour of people rewarded with pay increases or promotions signals to others what is necessary to succeed in an organization. To ensure that values are accepted, leaders should reward behaviour that is consistent with the values. Enron’s reward system established a â€Å"win-at-all-costs† focus. The company’s leadership promoted ant retained only those employees that produced consistently, with little regard to ethics. â€Å"The moral of this story is break the rule, you can cheat, you can lie, but as long as you make money, it’s all right†. The company’s compensation structure contributed to an unethical work culture, too – by promoting self-interest above any other interest. Enron’s reward system rewarded individuals who embraced Enron’s aggressive, individualistic culture and were based on short-term profits and financial measures. Criteria of selection and dismissal (how leaders hire end fire employees)The selection of newcomers to an organization is a powerful way of how a leader reinforces culture. Leaders often unconsciously look for individuals who are similar to current organizational members in terms of values and assumptions. This tends to perpetuate the culture because the new employees typically hold similar values. The CIO of Enron (Skilling) perpetuated a focus on short-term transactional endeavours from the very beginning by  hiring employees that embodied the beliefs that he was trying to instil: aggressiveness, greed, a will to win at all costs, and an appreciation for circumventing the rules. The way a company fires an employee and the rationale behind the firing also communicate the culture. Some company deal with poor performers by trying to find them a place within the organization where they can perform better and make a contribution. At Enron, fifteen to twenty percent of producers were let go or fired after a formal evaluation process each year. Final comments and suggestions for future work†Consequences of unethical or illegal actions are not usually realized until much later when the act is committed†. Enron’s culture is a good example of groupthink where individuals feel extreme pressure not to express any real strong arguments against any co-workers’ action. Employee were loyal in an ambiguous sense of the term, they wanted to be seen as part of the star team and to partake in the benefits that that honor entailed. Two of the most important lessons to learn from the Enron culture history is that bad top management morality can be a sufficient condition for creating a self-destructive ethical climate and that a well-filled CSR (corporate social responsibility) and business ethics toolbox can neither stop nor compensate for such processes. Enron is a case of deceiving corporate citizenship and of surface or faà §ade ethics. A typology with moral cultures can be draft with two dimensions: ethicalness of an organization culture and presence of business ethical tools of artifacts (ethics officers, codes of ethics, value statement). Enron looks at first sight like â€Å"type I†, like a classical business ethics case, with a typical mix of â€Å"amorality† and â€Å"immorality†. But the thesis of the authors is that Enron is an at least as good illustration of â€Å"type II†, of window-dressing ethics, with talking instead of walking, ethics as rhetoric. While â€Å"type II† looks modern, â€Å"type III† looks like the old-fashioned type of moral business ethics, CSR, marketing and public relations were invented with collective moral conscience as consistent label and content, perhaps additionally communicating moral humbleness, with a  touch of British understatement. â€Å"Type IV† refers to a moral role business culture in the age of marketing and public relations, with walking the talk, with showing and confessing openly its collective moral conscience. Bibliography: http://www.springerlink.com/content/p712j1555807774r/ Enron Ethics (Or: Culture Matters More than Codes) – Ronald R. Sims, Johannes Brinkmann

Mr and Mrs Martins Short Text Theme

An idea that was worth learning about in The Silk by Joy Cowley was eternal love. The writer showed us this idea through Mr and Mrs Blackie's traits and the symbolism of the silk and bridge. While an idea worth learning about in Mr and Mrs Martins by Edla van Steen is how the couple face death. The writer shows us this idea through Mr Martins character and the symbolism of the incomplete gravestone. Eternal love is an idea worth learning about as it shows us their love for each other. The writer shows us this by Mr and Mrs Blackie's relationship. As â€Å"days and nights† pass, Mr Blackie is falling more ill as he settles â€Å"into bed as gently as dust†, showing his physical weakness. Mrs Blackie is aware of this so her caring trait helps try to make him as comfortable as possible with pillows or how she filled the hot water bottle to keep him warm. Then she decides to create his laying out pyjamas as a last gift and memory with him. She shows her love for him by how he is going to do â€Å"every stitch†¦ by hand†. Mr Blackie also shows his love as he wants to spend their last moments together so he asks her to â€Å"do it in here† (making the pyjamas in their bedroom). From this we feel hopeful that in the near future we will find a special someone that cares for you and vice versa. As I have known some peers that only has one person giving in to the relationship. The idea of eternal love is also shown by the symbolism of the blue silk from China and its bridge image on it. The couple have been together for fifty-odd years and are still very much in love as they both want to spend their last moments together. The silk is used as a symbol to represent their marriage, love and bond they have in the present time. But Mrs Blackie is unsure of what their love will become after Mr Blackie passes. After she decides to create the silk pyjamas, they have to cut it and â€Å"together they feel the pain as the blades met cleanly† as they realised that the silk and their relationship will â€Å"never again be the same†. After Mr Blackie dies Mrs Blackie griefs over the fact that â€Å"he didn't say goodbye† . Then she sees the man on the bridge â€Å"waving. Or perhaps beckoning to her† and realises that he did say goodbye and that the link or bond is still there. She comes to realise that their love can transcend death and become eternal love. This makes the reader feel envious of their life long relationship as many relationships in the present day aren't lasting very long. Also how they have a mutual understanding where no words are needed because they such a tight and special bond between them. Facing death is an idea worth learning about as different people deal with death differently. The writer shows us this idea through Mr Martin's decision to keep on living separately due to Mr and Mrs Martins traits. Mr Martin has the dominant trait while Mrs Martin is submissive, which allows Mr Martin to make the decision while Mrs Martins just allows him even she does not want to. He made this decision due to the love he has for his wife and he believes that most men die first, so he wants her to â€Å"prepare for living alone† without him. We see that Mrs Martins is being the peacemaker as she doesn't want to live separately but respects his wishes and chooses not to argue as she will â€Å"wait for another opportunity† to tell him. From this we feel very frustrated that Mr Martin is ignoring what his own wife wants as most people should spend their last moments together happily, not alone and all depressed. Yet we also get the reason for Mr Martins decision as it can be painful when all of a suddenly your loved one dies and your all alone. This helps Mrs Martins through as she learns to depend on herself as some widows nowadays struggle to live alone. Another reason why facing death is an idea worth learning about as not only do they live separately they have also made a gravestone for themselves already. The writer uses this gravestone as a symbolism to represent how the incomplete dates show anticipation towards death and also their union of marriage in life and death. It represents the decision and unspoken pact that the couple have made. The symbolism is shown consistenly through the story with words like â€Å"slab†, â€Å"tomb† and â€Å"her sepluchre†. It also shows how they believe that this is the end for them, there is nothing after death. From this we feel confused at how they can make a gravestone for themselves even though they are both very healthy and alive. But we feel sad at the fact that they have no children, so no one will be visiting them. It makes the reader think of what we as children need to do for our parents in the far away future. Eternal love and facing death are both ideas worth learning about as we get to learn about lifelong love with that special person or the hardships when dealing with death. The writers shows us these ideas are worth learning about through the main character's traits and symbolism of silk, bridge and gravestone.

Intercultural memo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Intercultural memo - Essay Example It is highly probable that we will see members of the other delegation use non verbal gestures for communication. In case you notice such a situation, please do not be offended as it is normal cultural practice in that part of the world. Negotiating Styles A prominent concern will be the negotiating style of the other delegation. Being a consanguine culture, negotiations will be slow to proceed because extensive consultation is part of the culture. Moreover, as the other delegation will be staffed largely by family members so convincing each and every member will be vital. During consultation in the Punjabi culture, especially in the families, the issue of social repercussions is eminent. For example, if a member of the other delegation feels that the deal with our company is detrimental, he may behave like a single issue voter and use social pressure to convince the other members not to deal with our company. Therefore, try not to be offensive during negotiations as the Punjabis rel y on impressions a lot. Another thing to keep in mind is that Punjabi is known as a rude language. People use high tones and volumes during communication which essentially makes the language seem rowdy.

Critical Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Critical Review - Essay Example The article is based on a study in an organization where people were more tested with the new method of work and they thoroughly enjoyed it because people had the ease of being watched by their colleagues and friends rather than being watched over by their extremely â€Å"strict rules (Snook 2008 16) bosses. The management realized that the â€Å"employees want to know where the business is going and what they need to focus on† (Kaplan 2007 87). This idea was although introduced in the early 21st century, it was still to be tried and tested upon though â€Å"management fads shift all the time† (Brown and Duguid, 2000, p80). The article deals with the issue of surveillance at the work place "that is becoming the focus of much attention" (Sewell 1998 397) Core Questions: The article emphasizes on a few special pointers. The main one was probably to test how the workers work when they are around their peers who act like their bosses and not actually around their real boss es; who they think can be stricter. Also it shows how workers responded to managerial changes from bureaucratic to concertive control. Throughout this control the workers had their peers manage a group which was specially assigned to do a particular task, for them. Also the main purpose of it was to check how much labor, time and money is saved through concertive control and how quickly the negative or positive changes take place in the organization. Assumptions of the Study: The assumption made on the study was weather concertive control can affect any organization in a positive way or not. Also it was a controlled task to all self managers. They had to act responsibly for all actions. They had to initiate all actions and also commit to them. They had to be responsible for the organization’s performance. They had to be responsible for the quality of the work provided to an individual or of a group. They had to make a balanced group that is that every group should have high e xperienced workers, knowledgeable workers and able workers. Also the assumption was to take it in three stages. The first stage being the simple control one, allowed hired bosses to boss his employees. The second stage was the technological control. This control allowed the technology to look upon the workers. The third stage was the bureaucratic control. This was rather the most systematic stage of the control. And after this was the stage of concertive control that was to change the managing way of the organization, this change allowed self control throughout the organization and also control over the staff by a certain worker was introduced throughout this control How the analysis undertaken in the article helps to achieve these objectives After a lot of brain storming the idea of concertive control was started, hence, it should have at least been represented in a better way. The mangers should have had to have proper rules they had to follow and probably the basic rule for the m anagers should have been to be a little easy going on their staff. Also the research should have been carried out in many organizations instead of being carried out in two or three organizations for a longer period of time. Also discrimination between new and old staff members should not have been made. If an old staff member made a mistake he was punished but if the new staff member made the same mistake he was overlooked. The workers should have been given some time to get adjusted to the environment. The iron cage should have been

Political Science Reflection Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Political Science Reflection Paper - Essay Example king is naked, and hence, Kingdon is liable to be beheaded by the American capitalists who, for years, promoted the idea that America has the best form of government. Evidently, there are many people in the American society like me who are made to believe for years that the American public policies are unique and the best in the world. This is all the more so because of the concept of liberalism, that means one is allowed to decide ones own destiny. In other words, the nation does not interfere in the lives of people as much as other nations do. This is a stunningly attractive proposition considering the fact that the tax American people pay is much less than the amount people in industrialized nations pay. However, Kingdon points out that the founders of the nation have done a dubious job by crafting the policies of government with ideologies of distrust in government, thus preferring a limited government. In addition is the check and balance among the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. In sharp contradiction with my view that this check and balance will help the nation continue with its great unique features of less governmental intervention, Kingdon has shown how tricky it was from the part of the nation builders to develop such a system. It, in practice, ensures that even if American people or the leaders they elect want to make radical changes in the policies, it becomes a difficult task because of the burdens involved in passing laws and policies of reformation in the existing check and balance system. Evidently, the ones who are eager to make changes like the Native Americans and the African Americans will never be able to make radical changes in the governmental policies, and this is the uniqueness many people including me believed the best in the world. In addition, Kingdon points out how greatly the myth of equal opportunities has affected the public policy system in America. It is pointed out that this equal opportunity proposition also

The neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia Research Paper

The neurodevelopmental hypothesis of schizophrenia - Research Paper Example An adult diagnosed as having schizophrenia will go to a completely separate facility and will see a very different specialist—though the doctor will still likely be a specialist. What is most unfortunate about the current mind set and treatment set-up is that neither allows for comprehensive understanding of these neurological disorders or for continuous treatment of them. What is most relied upon for diagnosing neurological disorders at present (outside of the symptoms themselves) is the prevalence of the suspected disorder among the patient’s immediate and distant family. The thought is that such disorders are largely hereditary, and so if several other members of the family have this particular disorder, then the patient likely has it as well. More recent research could definitely shift that thought process, however. According to research, there is a clear overlapping of various symptoms and developmental delay between many of these disorders. The symptoms themselves (i.e. developmental delay, cognitive impairment, social impairment, etc) are seen across the spectrum of disorders, and where they differ is in their severity. With that kind of overlapping, treatment of one disorder could most certainly benefit from understanding of treatment of another disorder. As we well understand, more comprehensive understanding of a disorder allows for more creative and more effective treatment options. Obviously, with more and better treatment options, doctors are more likely to be able to better the quality of life for their patients. At the end of the day, is that not the end goal of all medical understanding—to improve the quality of life for the patient? Administrative set-up for treatment facilities is also limiting the medical community’s ability to treat their patients. While studies are showing that neurodevelopmental disorders cross the age spectrum from children with ADHD to adults with bipolar disorder, treatment facilities only al low for treatment of one or the other. What happens to those individuals who develop what becomes labeled as one disorder as a child, and then continues to need treatment as an adult? Often times these adults are re-diagnosed with a different disorder and are subjected to a completely new set of lifestyle rules and treatments. More comprehensive understanding of these neurological disorders as being on a spectrum and having overlapping symptoms (and possibly treatments), would allow for doctors to take information of a childhood disorder and factor that in to treatment of the adult patient. Better communication between facilities would also surely result from better comprehension given that members of the medical community already have well-established policies of working with other members who may offer insight in to what would help their individual patient. The connection of the information in this article to my personal major and career aspirations were strongly felt by me. As a psychiatric social worker, it will be my duty to understand both what individuals’ symptoms indicate in terms of illness and comprehend the way those symptoms are felt by the individual. That is to say, how the symptoms present themselves and what they mean to and for the client. Aside from my duties, being a psychiatric soc

Poverty and Pollution Case Study Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Poverty and Pollution Case Study - Term Paper Example In later part of 20th century, the industrialization process was still young in the developing world, and so they were not in a position to change gear and switch to environmentally friendly technology. Many developing countries are still not able to tackle the problem of environmental pollution because it is not economically feasible for them to invest in environmental friendly technology. The issue of environmental pollution will be discussed in the paper with regards to developing countries. A global plan for pollution control will also be laid down in the end of the paper. Third world countries are more prone to environmental pollution than the developed countries because businesses in the third-world countries pay little heed towards environmental concern (Taylor, 2002). The moral repercussions of environmental pollution in the third-world countries are substantial. When businesses pollute the oceans, rivers, lands, and atmosphere of third world countries, they indirectly affect the health of the inhabitants of those countries. This is why the act of pollution can never be ethically justified. Environmental pollution in the third-world countries can also not be justified through argument of economic progress. There is no doubt that industries and businesses offer employment opportunities to local people which is instrumental in improving their living standards. But this opportunity comes at the price of their health and this cannot be ethical. Basic ethics demands that every person is given employment opportunity without compromising his health or the health of others. When businesses pollute the environment of a third-world country, they endanger the health of the people of that country. This is why there is not sound ethical justification for doing so. Businesses in the third-world countries have many reasons to ignore pollution control. The cost of investing in environmentally friendly equipment is extremely

SWFS 5004 Social Inclusion (Part 2) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

SWFS 5004 Social Inclusion (Part 2) - Essay Example In simple terms therefore, social exclusion may refer to the extent to which individuals are unable to participate in key areas of economic, social and cultural life (Levitas, 1998). While clarifying this definition, Hilary (2007) explains that an individual can become socially excluded if he or she fails to participate fully in key activities carried out in his or her society. In view of the foregoing definition, it can clearly be upheld that social exclusion involves an individual’s lack of participation in society and emphasizes the multi-dimensional, multi-layered and dynamic nature of the problem (Frazer & Marlier, 2007). The concept of social exclusion can thus be found to possess four salient features namely: lack of participation, multi-dimensional, dynamism and multi-layered. Silver (1994) observes that the causes of social exclusion operate at many levels including individual, household, community and institutional. Hilary (2007) sums up the concept of social exclusi on as the inter-connectivity between â€Å"a person’s social class, educational status, relationships in childhood and living standards as well as how these might affect access to various opportunities†. ... It similarly presents a PowerPoint presentation of my personal reflections on my own values of respect, caring and person centered. Aspects of social inclusion and social exclusion As earlier explained in the foregoing introductory part of this essay, social exclusion has been demonstrated to be multidimensional going beyond the issue of material poverty. According to Will (2007), social exclusion also encompasses other forms of social disadvantages such as lack of regular and equal access to education, health care, social care as well as proper housing. Additionally, the same causes go beyond material poverty and further encompass a wide range of reasons including discrimination against immigrants, ethnic minorities, the disabled, the elderly or ex-offenders (Will, 2007). Secondly, social exclusion is also considered to be a process in itself rather than a mere outcome of a process as espoused by Paris (2004). Research indicates that the accumulation of a number of disadvantages ass ociated with social exclusion may result in a self-reinforcing cycle that makes it difficult to attribute causality to one specific factor or another (Frazer & Marlier, 2007). This fact has led a multiplicity of social scientists to delve into the genesis of social exclusion, making the concept quite dynamic, where different individuals or groups of individuals find themselves in different stages of the exclusion process, whether temporarily, recurringly or continuously (Levitas, 1998). Apart from the preceding argument, the concept of social exclusion is said to be context-specific where best inclusion endeavors are in ways that are specific to particular localities. This in essence implies that countries and governments need to develop

Article writing about corrlational stuies Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Writing about corrlational stuies - Article Example Patrowski. Substantially, the researcher bases on general assumptions regarding ESL students and thus, tries to establish its validity. Apprehensions regarding learners who use minority language are deemed to be limited in their studies due to the perceived language barrier. The problem therefore is that they are oftentimes stuck in furthering ESL courses instead of attaining an elevated comprehensive learning experience. They become in essence improperly restricted in their apposite learning process. The 271 students were selected as they were part of the ESL program at CUNY. Primarily, the researcher chose them for their inclusion in the program. Another important aspect was the availability of their records to the researcher as they are within the same academic institution. The information collected by the researcher includes their entrance exam scores which integrated their aptitude in math, reading and composition. It also incorporates their ‘persistence’ which involves how they perform academically together with their diligence in pursuing tertiary education. The subjects were chosen perceptibly for their significance in what the author is trying to establish. He also recognizes that its relevance may be fragmentary as it is only focused in one university but he still maintain that it is of import in terms of the issue the research is trying to attain. In particular this is also because of the variance that is palpable in today’s ‘ethnolinguistically diverse institutions.’ Students’ success were measured by (1) their CPA or their cumulative grade point averages through a grading system based in the usual â€Å"4 point† system wherein O=F and 4=A and (2) based on six criterion. Referred to as â€Å"SCS rating† this composed of; completing their courses on development, a 2.0 GPA or higher, finishing their freshman papers, gaining the required 6 units Core Curriculum, a minimum 50 credits and a 70% attempted

The Courageous woman Essay Example for Free

The Courageous woman Essay As a woman leader, Elizabeth Blackwell strived to become someone in life. She influenced mothers, children, wives, and sisters and showed them how strength could lead them to their dreams. Her family and friends discouraged her, but she kept going in her own direction. They told her how impossible it would be to become a woman doctor and she asked them why she should not be a doctor. They had no reasons to tell her, but even if they had one, it was not useful, so she still kept going no matter what the challenge and hard times she faced. After all what she went through, Elizabeth Blackwell accomplished her dream by becoming the first woman doctor. Elizabeth influenced women to become more confident in their own ideas and skills. Like other women who followed Elizabeth Blackwell’s idea, I am inspired by her persistence in life; even if I face hard ways, it is good to follow my dreams and travel by my own destination. I want to attend Regina Dominican High School, because I want to be like Blackwell and pursue my goals without hesitation and fear of other people’s discouragement. Elizabeth’s strength has had an impact on me because she is the kind of woman who proved that women are not the bottom of society; they are the top of society and equal to men. Her impact on me is that women can become whatever they want and equal with everyone. As a woman leader, Elizabeth’s strength will help me to develop my dexterity, put out my creativity in front of people, and follow my dreams to become a doctor. As long as I am doing what is expected of me, even if people are putting me down, I just have to be persistent to fulfill my dreams. To develop as a global leader, use any chance I get to disprove people who may have the wrong impression about me. Regina Dominican High School has its own belief in its students, and I am 100% sure that if I attend the Regina Dominican High School in the next four years, I will be like Elizabeth Blackwell and achieve my goal.

Analysing Homelessness And Potential Causes Social Work Essay

Analysing Homelessness And Potential Causes Social Work Essay Homelessness is not a problem of Irish government housing policy; it is a problem of individuals. In order to discuss this statement both structural and individual causes of homelessness will have to be examined. There are a number of personal issues which contribute to the complex issue of homelessness, and how much these contribute to a individual becoming homeless in Ireland will have to be determined. Both statutory and voluntary agencies involved in the area of service provision for the homeless have different views on the definition of homelessness, and both definitions will need to be explored. Over the years in Ireland the government has attempted to address the homeless issue with various acts and strategies and I feel it would be necessary to review the implementation and impact of such interventions on the homeless problem. Finally the impact of government housing policy on homelessness will have to be examined and discussed. Homelessness and its causes cannot be easily explained. Both structural and individual issues interact to contribute to this complex problem. Personal problems such as psychiatric illnesses, domestic violence, poverty, unemployment, addiction and disability are just some of the problems that are believed to contribute to an individuals pathway to homelessness. Leaving state care such as prisons or psychiatric hospitals, without the proper safeguards being put in place can also be a factor in an individual becoming homeless. With regard to the definition of the term homelessness, it wasnt until the 1988 Housing Act that the first legal definition of homelessness was introduced. 1988 Housing Act Unlike a number of countries throughout the European Union, presently a right to housing does not exist in Ireland. However, there has been policy and legislation enacted to assist those who cannot afford housing in acquiring their own home. The 1988 Housing Act obligates local authorities to carry out assessments every three years, of those who are in need of housing or who are homeless. In regard to homelessness this Act cleared up earlier confusion as to which statutory body was responsible for the homeless, by leaving responsibility at the door of the local authority. Prior to this, under the 1953 Health Act, the Health Authority was responsible for providing assistance to those who were incapable of providing shelter for themselves. Although this Act does not oblige local authorities to provide accommodation, it does how ever permit such authorities to assist the homeless. Also prior to this, under the Vagrancy Act, homeless people were often highly criminalised for such offence s as wandering abroad, not being able to give a good account of ones self and not having any visible means of subsistence. The Act changed this by taking such offences off the statute books. Another provision of the Act authorises local authorities to provide assistance to approved voluntary agencies involved in the area of provision of welfare and housing for the homeless. An important part of this act was the first legal definition of homelessness. Under Section Two of the Act a person is classified as homeless if: there is no accommodation available and which, in the opinion of the authority, he, together with any other person who normally resides with him or who might reasonably be expected to reside with him, can reasonably occupy or remain in occupation of, or (b) he is living in a hospital, county home, night shelter or other such institution, and is so living because he has no accommodation of the kind referred to in paragraph (a), and he is, in the opinion of the authority, unable to provide accommodation from his own resources. While voluntary agencies welcomed this first legal definition of homelessness there were some criticisms of the Act. Focus Ireland, a leading voluntary organisation in the provision of services to the homeless, believed the Act failed to go far enough. One of their main criticisms of the Act was its failure to legally oblige local authorities to provide housing for the homeless. As well as this, they believed the act was too narrow and did not provide for those at risk of homelessness. Focus Ireland divides homelessness into three broad categories; the visible homeless, the hidden homeless and those at risk of homelessness. The visible homeless are those sleeping rough or those residing in emergency accommodation such as bbs or shelters. The hidden homeless are families or individuals involuntarily sharing with friends of family, in insecure, inadequate and often sub-standard accommodation. Finally those at risk of being homeless, these are people who have housing but are likely to b ecome homeless due to economic difficulties such as rent being too high, insecure accommodation or health difficulties (Focus Ireland, 2002). Reviews of the impact of the1988 Housing Act on homelessness Follow up reviews of the implementation of 1988 Housing Act painted a bleak picture in regard to its impact on the problem of homelessness. Kellehers (1990) review stated that the Act had minimal affect on the problem and that greater co-ordination needed to exist between statuary and voluntary agencies involved in the delivery of services to the homeless. He also pointed to the need for the development of a housing forum, consisting of both statutory and voluntary agencies to tackle the problem. Two years after this, in 1992, Lawless and Dillon carried out a survey on local authorities throughout the country and found that only five authorities had staff specifically trained to cater for the needs of the homeless. This led to authorities providing basic shelter, with very little services being developed to cater for the needs of the homeless (OSullivan, 2005). These studies were pointing to the need for co-ordination between services, but it wasnt until almost eight years later that the government acknowledged that such an approach was required. Homeless strategies The 2000 Homelessness: An Integrated Strategy, was the first real acknowledgement by government that an integrated approach to the problem of homelessness was required to tackle the problem. The report found that a wide variety of services existed for the homeless, but very little co-ordination existed between these services. Another part of the report suggested that the majority of services focused primarily on emergency needs such as shelter and food and as a result homeless people became stuck in such accommodation. The report suggested that the focus needed to be more on moving people out of homelessness and, in conjunction with this, putting preventative measures in place that would prevent homelessness. An important part of the strategy was to clear up earlier confusion as to who had responsibility for meeting the different needs of the homeless. The strategy clearly states that local authorities are responsible for meeting the accommodation and housing needs of people who are homeless, while health boards are responsible for meeting their health and care needs (www.homelessagency.ie). In 2004 the Simon Community, a voluntary organisation involved in delivering services to the homeless reviewed the Integrated Strategy. They believed that through focusing on the complexities of homelessness, the strategy takes away from the fact that the foremost need of someone who is homeless is housing (www.simoncommunity.com). As part of the overall homeless strategy, in 2002 the government introduced the Homeless Preventative Strategy. The key element in this strategy was to ensure that no one left state care without measures being taken to ensure they had a place to live upon leaving. This included people leaving prisons, hospitals and juvenile centres. While there have been improvements in this area, there is still much to be achieved. These strategies have had an impact on the homeless problem but the recent freeze in funding for homeless services by the HSE has put the achievements of the last 7 years in jeopardy. A new project ran by the De Paul Trust, which was going to provide 30 new homes to those moving from emergency accommodation, could not go ahead due to lack of funding. A number of other services have also being affected by this lack of funding (The Irish Times, 2008). Housing Policy The term Housing policy is used to describe policy implemented by government in regard to the housing market. Blackwell (1988, p75) defined housing policy as any deliberate course of action which is designed to affect housing conditions. Through policy and legislation, the government intervenes to create a well organized housing market. This can be done through direct interventions such as setting minimum standards for housing conditions as well as directly providing housing (local authority housing) to the public. In addition to this government may provide tax relief and state loans to people purchasing their own homes, as well as providing welfare (rent allowance) to those on low incomes who are renting in the private sector. The state can also act to determine which source of tenure will be predominant within society (Quinn et al, 1999). The three types of tenure that exist within Ireland are owner occupied, social housing and the private sector. In Ireland today the type of tenure promoted by government is that of owner occupied. This is shown in figures produced by euro stat () that 82.3 percent of the Irish population are living in owner occupied housing, compared to an EU average of 63.4 percent. Since the 1970s the Irish government have promoted this type of tenure in a number of ways; through tax relief, the waiving of stamp duty on the purchasing of new homes, etc. In addition, the government has also made it possible for low income households who are renting local authority housing to purchase their houses at a lower than normal prices, shared ownership, affordable housing. Although the promotion of this type of tenure appears ideal in theory it has the undesired effect of excluding those who can not afford such housing (www.cori.ie). Housing need Obliged by the 1988 Housing Act in 1991, local authorities carried out a count on those in need of housing and the figure recorded was 23,242 with - of these being homeless. Two years later a further count reported an increase of over 5000 and the figure stood at 28,624 with homeless people making up. Both these counts took into consideration those who were on the waiting list and those who were not. Voluntary agencies working with the homeless challenged the validity of these counts and were highly critical of methods used to conduct the count. In response to these criticisms, government commissioned the Economic and Social Research Institute to investigate the criticisms of the count, and it was concluded that an undercount had taking place. One of the main concerns of this report was that local authorities lacked the skills and knowledge required to respond effectively to issues that often accompanied homelessness, such as addiction or mental health problems. It recommended greate r co-ordination between voluntary agencies and the health board and highlighted the need for clarification concerning policy in relation to the housing of one-person households by local authorities. Due to the shortage of social housing being provided and the continuing growth in numbers of households on the waiting list, there was very little provision for the housing of one- person households (OSullivan, 2005). Lack of social housing One of the effects of government promoting the tenure of home ownership is the lack of resources being allocated to the tenure of social housing. In 1996 there were 27,427 households on the local authority housing waiting list and by 2002 this had grown to 48,400. The 2005 count saw a slight decrease at 43, 684. At this rate it would take until 2033 to eliminate the current waiting list and this is providing there are no new entrants to the waiting list (www.cori.ie). Naturally families are given priority when it comes to the order of selecting those on the waiting list for local authority housing. Its interesting to note that () % of the homeless are individual households and this very fact means that they are inevitably not a priority for local authority housing. In an article written by McVerry Carrol (2007) they believed one of the main obstacles to addressing the homeless issue was the failure by government in the provision of long term accommodation. An interesting fact in thi s article was expenditure on homeless services in Dublin, the budget which stands at 54 million a year is the equivalent of spending à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬74 a day per homeless person, with the price of a mortgage for 1st time buyers standing at à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬46,22 (assuming an average house price of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬270,000). They felt the key instrument in addressing homelessness was firstly providing suitable long term accommodation and then provide a service which would support the individual or family in maintaining such accommodation. This approach, they believed would greatly diminish the need for the web of services that currently exist to address the homeless issue (www.cfj.ie). Conclusion In conclusion, it can be seen that there are a vast amount of circumstances that contribute to an individual or families becoming homeless. Stating that homelessness is a problem of individuals seems to be too simplistic a view and fails to allow for the failure of Irish government to provide housing for one of the most vulnerable groups in society. Although the government has increased funding in tackling the problem of homelessness, the question has to be asked, has this funding being used wisely? It seems as if the cart has been put before the horse as far as addressing the issue of homelessness is concerned. If theres to be any substantial progress made in addressing the homeless issue, providing housing has to be the primary objective. After addressing this very basic need, services need to be developed to assist people in maintaining such accomodation. http://www.simoncommunity.com/uploads/File/position/Taking%20the%20Integrated%20Strategy%20Forward%20Feb%2004.pdf The Irish times, February, 28, 2008 http://www.homelessagency.ie/about_homelessness/integratedStrategy.html http://www.cfj.ie/content/view/152/96/ 614781157279

Analysis of Sam Spade Essay -- sexual maturity, masculinity, film

There a many definitions of masculinity and those definitions are heavily influenced by culture, environment, media, and the child’s parents. When young men start to reach their sexual maturity, they have to create their own definition of what it is to be a man. The idea of masculinity creates a lot of questions, because there is no resource that will give a young male the answer. Due to this, young males learn what it is to be a man from a grab bag of possibilities. Eventually, the young male will have accumulated traits, appearances, behavior, and so on that defines what it is to be a man. With a new sense of self, the young male transforms into his idea of masculinity. In the Maltase Flacon, masculinity is defined through the actions of Sam Spade whom demonstrates the masculine principals of making his achievement of alpha male status a top priority, aggressive behavior, avoiding being feminine, homophobic, and restriction of his emotions (Meek) through his interaction with several characters throughout the film. Through out the film, Sam Spade has a constant need to prove to himself and other people around him that he is an alpha male. This need is triggered when Sam Spade feels intimidated or challenge by another male. Sam Spade’s alpha male status is challenged when he is taken at gunpoint by Wilmer Cook to see Kasper Gutman. Sam quickly rises to the challenge and manages to take Wilmer’s guns away from him (Falcon). Considering that the gun is a phallic symbol, one could interpret that when Sam took away Wilmer’s guns he symbolically took away Wilmer’s masculinity as punishment for challenging his alpha male status. Sam’s action of emasculating Wilmer inflates his ego and reinforces his masculinity though his achievem... ...ith several characters throughout the film. This particular definition of what it is to be a man is presented to the public in the form of media. It is possible that this film could serve as a guide for how young men of the past, present, or even future should behave in order to be considered a man. In this film, the femme fatale sexuality is censored, but the ideals that acting violently towards people who are homosexual, constantly fulfilling a need to achieve dominance through aggressive and violence behavior is the cultural norm of what it is to be a man. This film demonstrates people acceptance of this behavior and acts as propaganda. Works Cited Meek, Dr. Will. Psychology of Men. Ed. Dr. Will Meek. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2013. . The Maltese Falcon. Dir. John Huston. 1941. Warner Bros., 2000. DVD-ROM.

Essay on Tom in The Glass Menagerie -- Glass Menagerie essays

The Character of Tom in The Glass Menagerie    Tom Wingfield has a dual role in The Glass Menagerie. The first Tom is the narrator, who introduces his second self, the character. In his fifth soliloquy, Tom the narrator indicates that time has detached him from the drama, "for time is the longest distance between two places" (Williams 1568). In the closing soliloquy Tom recounts how he lives and re-lives the story in his memory, though he is detached from the participants in the original affair. Like his father, "a telephone man who fell in love with long distances," (Williams 1523), Tom has fallen in love with the long distance that is time.    Tom is a sensitive, artistic man who is forced by circumstances into a phenomenological situation. He is compelled to live and re-live the situation of the play, in which he sought for and found what he believed to be freedom. Although he escapes the situation, he does not find freedom; his consciousness forces him to dwell upon the situation until he finds meaning in it. Because Mr. Wingfield, Laura, Amanda, and Jim are parts of ...

Steriods and Baseball Essay examples -- essays research papers

Athletes and Steroids   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jose Canseco claims steroids can make an average athlete a super athlete, and make a super athlete incredible. With that statement said, it not only compels pro athletes to use steroids, but teenagers as well. In 2002, NIDA funded a study that asked teen athletes if they ever tried steroids. The study confirmed that 2.5% of 8th graders used it; about 3.5% of 10th graders; and 4% of 12th graders admitted using steroids. The percentage of teens using steroids is on the rise every year and I believe something needs to be done to prevent it from even getting higher.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most athletes acquire steroids to gain size and strength. The main reason I believe younger athletes are taking steroids is because they take notice of pro athletes taking them. The pro athletes you hear taking them are: Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi, as of late. Young athletes have grown up watching these two superb athletes and strive to be like them. In reality, the only way they can even come close to being as great as them is by taking anabolic steroids.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Professional athletes have been taking steroids for decades, it is proven. Athletes get stripped of gold medals they’ve won in the Olympics because of steroid use. Many sports have been now increasing the amount of steroid testing because they feel it is an unfair advantage. People who take steroids clearly are more super...

Computer Games †Good or Bad? Essay

Before we decide whether or not computer/video games are bad, there are many facts and opinions to consider. For example, many people feel that these games are too violent and that they cause an undervelopment in the frontal lobe. Others feel that games are helpful and educational. There is also a health concern. According to Professor Ryuta Kawashima, â€Å"The importance of this discovery cannot be underestimated. There is a problem we will have with a new generation of children – who play computer games – that we have never seen before. The implications are very serious for an increasingly violent society and these students will be doing more and more bad things if they are playing games and not doing other things like reading aloud or learning arithmetic. † I do not agree with this statement fully, though I can understand that it does occur in some cases. I love playing computer and video games. When I was younger I used to play a James Bond game with my friends. We also played Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. I used to love those games, and I remember making them â€Å"turn off the blood† because I ddin’t like that side to it. I still play video games, and though they may include shooting, fighting and other violence, you don’t see me beating up somebody because of a video game. I do know that there are some bad people in the world who have hurt someone because they were influenced by violent games. Another concern is the underdevelopment of the frontal lobe. As written by Tracy McVeigh, education editor, â€Å"Whenever you use self control to refrain from lashing out or doing something you should not, the frontal lobe is hard at work. Children often do things they shouldn’t because their frontal lobes are underdeveloped. The more work done to theicken the fibres connecting the neurons in this part of the brain, the better the child’s ability will be to control their behaviour. The more the area is stimulated, the more these fibres will thicken. † I think I agree with this statement, becasue I have seen the behaviour of the people around me, they seem out of control sometimes. They speak before they think, they fight constantly and are always in other people’s faces. One guy states â€Å"I’m not going to argue that violent entertainment is harmless. I think it has helped inspire some people to real-life violence. I am going to argue that it’s helped hundreds of people for every one it’s hurt, and that it can help far more if we learn to use it well. I am going to argue that our fear of ‘youth violence’ isn’t well-founded on reality and that the fear can do more harm than the reality. We act as though our highest priority is to prevent our children fron growing up into murderous thugs – but modern kids are far more likely to grow up too passive, too distrustful of themselves, too easily manipulated†. I agree more with him than Professor Kawashima, because I don’t find that video games influence EVERYONE to be violent. I feel that they release anger by hurting fictional characters on a screen rathern than real-life people and animals. Professor Angela McFarlane says â€Å"Adventure, quest and simulation type games have a lot of benefit – they’re quite complex and create a context in which children can develop important skills†¦We’re not advocating arcate, shot-the-baddie type games†¦Now that’s interesting when the stereotype is that children play on the computer exclusively on their own. Teachers and parents then broke that down into skills of negotiation, planning, strategic thinking and decision-making. † I feel that if television can teach us, so can video games. Video and computer games can cause health problems. In every instruction book for games there are warnings. Some people suffer from a condition called Photosensitive Epilepsy. As said by Professor Graham Harding, â€Å"Photosensitive epilepsy is best defined as a tendency to recurrent convulsions, precipitated either by flashing lights or patterns. † I have only ever had one fit in my life, when I was younger. I was diagnosed with occipital epilepsy. I’ve always played video games and hadn’t had a problem. We got a PS2 (PlayStation 2) for Christmas last eyar, and while I was playing I felt dizzy. This occured with every game on PS2 except Buzz, though it’s a quiz game and doesn’t have all those flashy graphics. I can play on the Computer, my Nintendo DS and my GameCube without a problem, it seems to just be the PS2. I agree that video games can cause health problems, though if you do everything you need to (e. g. not playing a certain game, having a break etc.) you should be alright. Computer games – are they good or bad? In my opinion, I think that they are enjoyable, though they aren’t for some people. Those people who can be so cruel as to murder an innocent kitten or beat up a person due to these games are the reasons why there are doubts about computer and video games. Computer games are both good and bad. Good because they are enjoyable and can be educational, though bad because they cause some violence. Just remember, more people kill in the name of God than violent computer games.

Corporate Finance Essay

1. Set forth and compare the business cases for each of the two projections under consideration by Emily Harris. Which do you regard as more compelling? Productions was New Heritage ´s largest division as measured by total assets, and easily its most asset-Intensive. Approximately 75 % of the division ´s sales were made to the company ´s retailing division, with the remaining 25% comprising private label goods manufactured for other firms. The division revenue figures include approximately $95 million of internal sales within divisions which are eliminated when considering consolidated revenue for the company. We must look closer on the financial projections and the operating details for the two proposals. By looking we can see a big difference in Revenue growth. We realize that Design your own doll can handle much more additional annual revenue according to the resources in the balance sheet. According to the outlays the initial expenditures for Design Your Own Dolls is much higher than Match my Doll Clothing. As with Match my Doll Clothing the required R&D and marketing costs would be tax deductible. EBIT is a good gauge of how well those two companies is being managed. It is watched closely by all stakeholders, because it measures both overall demand for the company ´s products and the company ´s efficiency in delivering those products. The operating projections tell us that Design Your Own Doll has gained more in operating profits. Substantial investment in working capital (primarily work in process inventory of partially manufactured dolls) would be required beginning in 2011 for Match My Doll Clothing to support the forecasted level of sales. The value of a risky alternative to the decision maker may be different than the expected value of the alternative because of the risk that the alternative poses of serious losses. The concept of the certainty equivalent is useful for such situation. Factors considered in the assessment of a project ´s risk for Emily Harris included, for example, whether it required new consumer acceptance or new technology, high levels of fixed costs and hence high breakeven production volumes, the sensitivity of price or volume to macroeconomic recession, the anticipated degree of price competition, and so forth. Given the proven success of Match My Doll Clothing, Harris believed the project entailed moderate risk that is, about the same degree of risk as the production division ´s existing business as a whole. Design Your Own Doll had a relatively long payback period, introduced some untested elements into the manufacturing process, and depended on near-flawless operation of new customer-facing software and user interfaces. If the project stumbled for some reason, New Heritage risked damaging relationships with the best customers. On the other hand, the project had a relatively modest fixed cost ratio, and it played to the company ´s key strength – creating a unique experience for its consumers. The cash flows excluded all financing charges and non-cash items (i.e. depreciation), and were calculated on an after-corporate-tax basis. The New Heritage’s corporate tax rate is 40%. We think that the Design Your Own Doll project is more compelling. 2. Use the operating projections for each project to compute a NPV for each. Which project creates more value? (Please find the calculations in the attachment)  NPV calculations include a terminal value computed as the value of a perpetuity growing at constant rate. We computed Free Cash Flows (FCF) to find out the actual amount of cash from operations that the company could use in developing its new projects. We calculated the terminal value for 2020 as projected FCF in the first year beyond the projection horizon divided by discount rate of 8.4% less the perpetuity growth rate, which in this case was 3%. According to our calculations the MMDM’s terminal value in 2020 is 16,346,000 and DYOD’s is 27,486,000. Based on the our calculation the NPV of the Match My Doll Clothing project is $7,151,000 ( and the NPV of the Design Your Own Doll project is $9,257,000 . In both cases the NPV is greater than zero but NPV of project 2 is greater than NPV of project 1, therefore project number 2 should be selected. | | | | | | | | | | | | NPV calculations for Design Your Own Doll| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2010| 2011| 2012| 2013| 2014| 2015| 2016| 2017| 2018| 2019| 2020| EBIT | -1201,00| 0,00| 550,00| 1794,00| 2724,00| 2779,00| 2946,00| 3123,00| 3310,00| 3509,00| 3719,00| Tax @ 40% | -480,40| 0,00| 220,00| 717,60| 1089,60| 1111,60| 1178,40| 1249,20| 1324,00| 1403,60| 1487,60| | | | | | | | | | | | | Net Income | -720,60| 0,00| 330,00| 1076,40| 1634,40| 1667,40| 1767,60| 1873,80| 1986,00| 2105,40| 2231,40| plus: depreciation | 0,00| 0,00| 310,00| 310,00| 310,00| 436,00| 462,00| 490,00| 520,00| 551,00| 584,00| less: ΔNWC | 0,00| 1000,00| 24,00| 1386,00| 942,00| 202,00| 213,00| 226,00| 240,00| 254,00| 269,00| less: capital expenditures | 4610,00| 0,00| 310,00| 310,00| 2192,00| 826,00| 875,00| 928,00| 983,00| 1043,00| 1105,00| | | | | | | | | | | | | Free Cash Flow (FCF) | -5330,60| -1000,00| 306,00| -309,60| -1189,60| 1075,40| 1141,60| 1209,80| 1283,00| 1359,40| 1441,40| terminal value | 0,00| 0,00| 0,00| 0,00| 0,00| 0,00| 0,00| 0,00| 0,00| 0,00| 27486,00| FCF after terminal value | -5330,60| -1000,00| 306,00| -309,60| -1189,60| 1075,40| 1141,60| 1209,80| 1283,00| 1359,40| 28927,40| | | | | | | | | | | | | Discount factor (DF=8,4%) | 1,00| 0,92| 0,85| 0,79| 0,72| 0,67| 0,62| 0,57| 0,52| 0,48| 0,45| | | | | | | | | | | | | Present Value (PV) | -5330,60| -922,20| 260,41| -243,07| -861,51| 718,47| 703,57| 687,77| 672,93| 657,81| 12913,19| | | | | | | | | | | | | Cumulative Present Value| 14587,38| | | | | | | | | | | Net present value (NPV)| 9256,78| | | | | | | | | | | 3. Compute the IRR and payback period for each project. How should these metrics affect Harris ´s deliberations? How do they compare to NPV as tools for evaluating projects? When and how would you use each? IRR Analysis Table – IRR Sensitivity Analysis | Revenue Change | Match My Doll Clothing Line | Design Your Own Doll (baseline) 3% | 18.24% | 14.68% | 2% | 17.74% | 14.28% | 1% | 17.24% | 13.87% | 0% | 16.74% | 13.46% | -1% | 16.23% | 13.04% | -2% | 15.72% | 12.62% | -3% | 15.21% | 12.19% | -4% | 14.69% | 11.77% | -5% | 14.16% | 11.33% | -6% | 13.63% | 10.90% | The model reflects a change in revenue from +3% to -6%. IRR of NPV is not used because sensitivity is included in the discount rate. Payback Period Analysis Payback period for each of the scenarios: * Match My Doll Clothing Line Expansion (baseline) = 8.43 years * Design Your Own Doll (baseline) = 10.09 years 4. What additional information does Harris need to complete her analyses and compare the two projects? What specific questions should she ask each of the project sponsors? In order to complete her analyses, several questions need to be asked in order for the report to be as fruitful as possible. Thus the questions that could be asked in order for Harris to make good decisions in comparing the two projects, goes as follows. * What changes would be expected in capital expenditures during periods of change? * Are there any hidden labor costs not being considered in the Match My Doll Clothing Line Expansion, similar to the additional labor costs in Design Your Own Doll? * What level of risk does the project Design Your Own Doll pertains? In hand with revenue-analysis, what are the incremental earnings? * In addition to the risk level of Design Your Own Doll, is the project stable enough not to harm customer relationships? * What is the forecast for the whole industry? What will be the future market share since this affects sales outstanding and in hand revenue? * Based on the data, what will the equity of the company and share price be, taking into account the two projects? Historical data for inventory turnover ratios; days sales outstanding and days payable outstanding would also be additional information that Harris could benefit from. 5. If Harris is forced to recommend one project over the other, which should be recommended? Why? To improve the present value for both projects the  management of the company should think of how to improve the projects’ cash flows. Typically, companies aim to increase cash flow from their existing operations by collecting receivables as soon as possible and slowing down their payables without harming their relations with suppliers. The NPV is a forecast, and as with every forecast, the outcome is not given. Typically forecasts for shorter periods are more accurate. The forecast for New Heritage Company is based on a time period of 10 years. I would recommend reducing that time period to provide more accurate cash flow figures. As with all forecasts, the NVP is not free from risks. The management should be aware that risks such as increase in inflation, change in interest rates, and increased competition in the toys business, could have a negative impact on future benefits of selected project. Last, I would recommend for the management to monitor the costs to increase profits. However, the management should weigh the benefits of reducing costs to avoid an adverse effect of diminished profits. If additional cash inflows are achieved, the company should invest a portion of the profits to generate additional money and expand the business through creation of new products and projects.

Snickers Chocolate’s Global Share

Global Candy Sales | | |Market Share |$ Sales in Millions | |Brand |Company |2011 |2012 |2011 |2012* | |Snickers |Mars Inc |1. 7 |1. 8 |$3,286 |$3,572 | |M&M's |Mars Inc |1. 8 |1. |$3,380 |$3,494 | |Trident |Kraft Foods Inc |1. 8 |1. 7 |$3,354 |$3,321 | |Reese's |Hershey Co, The |1. 3 |1. 4 |$2,553 |$2,679 | |Galaxy/Dove |Mars Inc |1. 3 |1. 3 |$2,407 |$2,597 | |Milka |Kraft Foods Inc |1. 3 |1. |$2,530 |$2,510 | |Cadbury Dairy Milk |Kraft Foods Inc |1. 3 |1. 3 |$2,414 |$2,506 | |Orbit |Mars Inc |1. 3 |1. 3 |$2,441 |$2,501 | |Extra |Mars Inc |1. 1 |1. 2 |$2,115 |$2,231 | |Kit Kat |Nestle SA |1. 0 |1. |$1,933 |$1,979 | |Mentos |Perfetti Van Melle Group |0. 9 |0. 9 |$1,649 |$1,711 | U. S. Candy Sales | | |Market Share |$ Sales in Millions | |Brand |Company |2011 |2012 |2011 |2012* | |Reese's |Hershey Co, The |7. |7. 7 |$2,479 |$2,603 | |M's |Mars Inc |6. 8 |6. 8 |$2,238 |$2,300 | |Snickers |Mars Inc |5. 5 |6. 0 |$1,815 |$2,020 | |Kit Kat |Hershey Co, The |2. 8 |2. 8 |$917 |$948 | |Twizzl ers |Hershey Co, The |2. 3 |2. |$746 |$801 | |Trident |Kraft Foods Inc |2. 2 |2. 0 |$732 |$674 | |Twix |Mars Inc |1. 8 |1. 9 |$598 |$655 | |Extra |Mars Inc |1. 8 |1. 8 |$598 |$610 | |Orbit |Mars Inc |1. 7 |1. |$561 |$549 | |Milky Way |Mars Inc |1. 6 |1. 6 |$516 |$539 | |Galaxy/Dove |Mars Inc |1. 6 |1. 5 |$523 |$504 | |Starburst |Mars Inc |1. 3 |1. 4 |$433 |$467 | |Godiva |Yildiz Holding AS |1. 1 |1. |$373 |$391 | |*2012 figures are projections. Source: Euromonitor Internationa | | | | | |Snickers Surging to Top of Global Candy Race | |Mars-Owned Candy Bar Set to Pass Sibling M&M's, Kraft's Trident in New Euromonitor Ranking | |By: E.J. Schultz Published: September 20, 2012 | |208share this page | |[pic][pic][pic][pic] | |There is a new candy kingpin. | |Snickers will pass M&M's as the top international confectionery brand by the end of the year, giving the 82-year-old candy bar a satisfying | |victory in the global chocolate wars, according to a projection by Euromonitor Intern ational. |Snickers is â€Å"definitely on target to surpass M&M's,† Lee Linthicum, Euromonitor's global head of food research, told Ad Age. He cited U. S. | |innovations and strong growth in emerging markets as factors in moving the candy bar from No. 3 to No. 1, also surpassing Trident. Going | |forward, the race for the top is now a sibling rivalry because Mars Inc. owns Snickers and M&M's, which are separated by a razor-thin | |margin. | |While a win for Mars, the rankings are a loss for Kraft Foods' Trident. The gum brand fell from second to third place as projected 2012 | |worldwide sales slipped to $3. 2 billion from $3. 35 billion in 2011. Kraft remains the global leader with 14. 7% share when all confectionery| |brands are totaled. But the food giant's share of the category fell from 14. 8% in 2011, while No. 2 Mars jumped to 14. 4% from 14. 1%, | |according to Euromonitor. | |The shift at the top was first reported by Candy & Snack Today, a publication by the Nationa l Confectioners Association. | |Among individual brands, the worldwide candy battle remains close and fragmented, with only a fraction of a share point separating the top | |10. |Snickers is expected to surge from $3. 29 billion in global sales last year to $3. 57 billion for 2012, capturing a 1. 8% share, according to | |Euromonitor projections. The brand, whose ad agency is BBDO, has been backed with major media investments in recent years, including Super | |Bowl spots featuring Betty White and Roseanne Barr, who have both stared in the ongoing â€Å"You're Not You When You're Hungry† campaign. | |But M's — which Mars featured in this year's Super Bowl spot– is not far behind, growing from $3. 38 billion to $3. 9 billion in global | |sales, according to Euromonitor projections. | |Mr. Linthicum attributed Snickers' climb to its strong performance in the U. S. , which accounts for a huge share of the global candy market. | |Domestically, the candy bar has aggr essively pushed a line extension called Snickers Peanut Butter Squared, which launched last year and | |features two square-shape bars that adds peanut butter to the familiar mix of peanuts, caramel, nougat and milk chocolate. | |Globally, the brand is benefiting from strong growth in Eastern Europe.In Russia, sales have doubled since 2007 to $300 million, partly as | |a result of distribution gains Mars has made by acquiring some ex-Soviet chocolate companies, he said. While that should also help M's, | |the bite-size candies face more competition in the region, where smaller candies are more established and familiar, Mr. Linthicum said. By | |contrast, candy bars like Snickers are more of a novelty, he said. | |In the U. S. , Hershey Co. ‘s Reese's is expected to remain the top brand, with a projected $2. 6 billion in sales capturing 7. % market share | |for 2012, according to Euromonitor, which uses a variety of sources to track all sales channels, from Walmart to vending m achines. M&M's, | |which is also handled by BBDO, is projected to hold onto the No. 2 slot stateside with 6. 8% share, followed by Snicker's (6%) and Hershey's | |Kit Kat (2. 8%). | |Still, Reese's remains stuck in fourth place globally with 1. 4% share, according to Euromonitor projections. The reasons are twofold: | |Hershey has less of a global footprint than Mars, Mr. Linthicum said. Also, peanut butter is not as popular in Europe as it is in the | |States.It is a â€Å"very uniquely American thing,† he said. â€Å"That sweet-savory juxtaposition of flavors is something of an acquired taste. † | |Mr. Linthicum pinned Trident's struggles on stiff competition from Wrigley 5, the Mars-owned brand that launched in the states in 2007 with | |slick packaging, innovative flavors and a highly produced ad campaign by Energy BBDO called â€Å"Stimulate Your Senses. † | |The flashy appeal has resonated globally. â€Å"It's even gaining share in Greece of all places,â €  Mr. Linthicum said. â€Å"Everywhere they release it| |around the world †¦ it's worked. † In the U.S. , Wrigley 5 is now the 4th-largest gum brand with a 7. 43% share, according to SymphonyIRI, | |which excludes Walmart. | |Kraft, which on Oct. 1 will split off its candy and snacking business into a company called Mondelez International, is fighting back with | |its first global ad campaign for Trident by Saatchi & Saatchi that is more emotional than previous efforts, which had touted functional | |benefits such as oral health and vitamins. Meanwhile, in the States Kraft recently rolled out â€Å"ID Gum by Stride,† featuring artsy packaging | |and a gimmick-filled campaign by Droga5. |

Susana and the Elders

Susanna and the Elders On my trip to the Norton Simon Museum, a painting labeled Susanna and the Elders, Flemish women Jan Massys, really stood out to me. The specifications of this oil on canvas work of art are 42 x 77-1/2 in. (106. 7 x 196. 9 cm). The painting was made in 1564, during the Renaissance, and portrays an example of the religious tension of that time and reflects the era after the start of the Reformation. My first thought when gazing upon Susanna and the Elders bad things are about to happen; there is two old men hiding behind a planter box and appear to be conspiring an evil plot.These men are dressed in red, which in this case, it must represent last that they are feeling toward Susanna. The focal point is Susanna looking as though she is getting ready for bed or perhaps to take a bath. Also, she is dressed in very nice cloths so appears to be of noble stature. I should also not that she is conntroposto in her posture and the way her cloths fall on to her body. To th e right, there is two women that look as if they are trying to lure her to safety, away from the creepy men behind her. Perhaps they are her loyal servants.This all appears to be taking place in a fancy garden which gives me the idea that she vulnerable in that she is secluded. The men must have planned ahead to sneak up on her out here rather than around other people furthering my suspicion of their cruel intentions. One last thing I noticed was the little statue in the bottom right corner; however, I can’t make much sense of it. I know it means something, but I just don’t get it. If you follow the lines of the stone benches they lead you to a point just beneath Susanna’s head which suggest the use of perspective.The use of lines is evident again when looking at the fine detail in the trees that surround this scene. On, a side note, the tree that the old man is holding on to appears to be minerature in size, as if her is this evil giant. Perhaps this is meant t o symbolize their dominance and her vulnerability. Massys placed the buildings in the background so they are proportional to the balanced figures in the foreground. Also, it looks as if there is use on linear perspective, especially in the stone walls; they look at if they are wrapped around Susanna keeping her safe from these bad men.The light source is coming from the top right of the painting and appears that it is shining directly on to Susana, almost making her this heavenly entity. I think this is a symbol that God will keep her safe from these men. It is a soft light that that allows the colors Massys chose to stand out and add to the chiaroscuro. Though the Chiroscuro is light, Massys makes decent use of it. Susana is lit up signifying that she is pure and innocent and the creepy guys behind the tree are in the shadows giving off the idea that they are evil with malicious intent.The deep blood red that the two guys are wearing is symbolic of their lust for Susanna. Red, I be lieve, sex or passion whether it be good or bad. The gold that Susanna is wearing gives her some authority in the painting and also an angle like presence as gold represents the heavens. The colors seem very realistic and must closely portray what this actual place must have looks like. Everything in the painting looks as if it is overlapping and this adds to the drama. Also, the figures seem to be very strategically placed in the setting.There is Susana in the center, the to evil old men on the left and the maidens on the right giving the scene much balance. It looks as though he may have started from the back of the painting and moved forwads as the object got closer. He probably started with the building in the back and then moved his way up to the human figures. Even though the figures are put fairly close together there is obvious depth. If there wasn’t any perspective in the painting I don’t think it would have depth and would come out rather flat and dull.The pe rception of depth in this work of are seems to be very important in composing the message. The use of color might add some dimension but without depth they would still seem flat and dull. There are many things that suggest motion in this picture. Susanna’s hand is stretched out giving the impression that she is reaching out to them. The maids are pointing at theselves and also where they are going looking as if they are asking Susanna to follow them. They also look rather worried for her safety.The maids are leaning forward while both of their right legs are extended behind them preparing for their next step making a very strong implication that they are walking rather quick. I don’t know if this is just me, but it looks as if the clouds fading into the distance faster than normal perhaps to represent the passing of time and they are golden suggesting the presence of God. I think that the way Massys has the two lurking men staring at Susanna and the two maids looking a t her from the opposite direction make all the characters one.Also their heads all lay on the same plane adding to the composition. The two benches that are on either side of Susanna lead the eye back into the painting so you experience the whole scene. It’s almost as if they are a Ying and Yang; the men want her to do bad things to them and her maids want to protect her and her good name. The creepy looks on these guys’ face give me the impression that they will blackmail the women in to getting what they want from her.Also, unfortunately, they also appear to be powerful men and most likely have the means of doing so rather easily. The look as if perhaps they are part of the clergy somehow, and this ties back to the representation of the corruption going on in this time. Perhaps Massys was Protestant and was trying to convey her view of the Catholic order. Also their heads all lay on the same plane adding to the composition. The two benches that are on either side of Susanna lead the eye back into the painting so you experience the whole scene.

How does Deforestation effect Malaria Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

How does Deforestation effect Malaria - Essay Example These areas have a wide history of malaria infection due to the harsh climatic conditions and environmental degradation. According to Guerra et al., (2006), the estimated number of the population at risk of malaria in increasing and currently exceeding 3000 million people. There are more than 500million cases of malaria infection all over the world. According to health experts, various environmental, climatic and topographical conditions greatly influence the transmission and spread of malaria in various areas, in the world. Deforestation is one of the environmental factors that greatly influence and facilitate the widespread of mosquito breeding and malaria transmission. There are many publications that support this hypothesis. According to global geography, many forests are found within the tropic especially within the equator. They are dense and forested compared to forests in other areas. These areas have cool and wet climate that supports mosquito breeding and transmission of malaria. The forest cover is gradually decreasing day by day due to deforestation in various parts of the world. The malaria causing parasites that are common in deforested areas include A. philippinensis, Plasmodium falciparum, A. minimus, A. culicifacies, and A. nivipes. These parasites are harmful and malaria causing. The parasite is common in forested areas such as Amazon, Kenyan highlands, India Central Africa, Western Pacific and South-East Asia. These forested areas are always subjected to severe deforestation in various periods. For instance, the population of people at risk of malaria is 11.7 million in Amazon, 70.1 million people in South-East Asia, 35.1 million people in Western Pacific and 18.7 million people in Centra l Africa (Guerra, Snow & Hay, 2006). According to the study done Assam on the influence of deforestation in malaria, deforestation influences the rate at which mosquito parasites develop and spread malaria. Findings revealed that

March of the Penguins The movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

March of the Penguins The - Movie Review Example This paper discusses the basic plot, similarities and differences, strength and weaknesses of the movie, followed by some lessons learned, and then the conclusion. An outline shows the structure of the arguments. Matthew Turner1 of The ViewLondon Review (2005) gives the basic plot of the movie thus - Directed by Frenchman Luc Jacquet and narrated (in the U.S version) by Morgan Freeman, the film . charts the annual cycle of the emperor penguins of Antarctica, beginning with their 70-mile march from the sea to their mating grounds. They walk in single file, often travelling on their bellies, enduring winds of up to 100 mph and sub-zero temperatures. When they finally reach the mating grounds, they undergo a series of elaborate mating rituals before pairing off into monogamous couples and mating. Once the egg is laid, the female penguins travel back to the sea, swimming and eating and having a great time while the males are left to hatch the eggs. After two months, the eggs hatch and the females return with food, at which point the males begin a trek to the sea and back in order to gather enough food to keep the penguin chicks alive. MEETING OF MALE PENGUINS at more normal times. Emperor penguins behave like a community. In the harsher times of winter, together they brave the storms of their environment. After the storms, it is the same. These are the fathers who take care of the eggs and nurture them to chicks and until the mothers come back. The mothers have gone back to sea to eat and would take them about two months to return.2 Photo credits: Yahoo MOTHER PENGUINS TRAVEL BACK TO SEA. After delivery, the mother penguins would entrust their eggs to the father penguins and would need to go back to sea to eat or else would die. The travel is not that easy as it takes them to coast ice glaciers of some distance. Most of the time, they travel by foot. When they get tired, they use their stomachs and slide by the ice glaciers.2 Photo credits: Yahoo Thesis. There are differences between human beings and penguins, but there are also similarities that echo much human experiences of love and loss. Penguins,3 however, are just birds and so should be assessed as birds and not something that should model for human beings. Similarities and differences. In March of the Penguins, the similarities and differences between man and penguin were clearly marked. The similarities mainly centered on rearing habits and mother instincts. Like human beings, penguins are warm-blooded vertebrate bipeds that reproduce sexually from male and female intercourse. They also rear their offspring to maturity as couples, very much reminiscent of domestic concerns (Greydanus 2006). This penguin concern extends to filial relationship and parent feelings for the offspring. The mother instinct in the movie is partially exemplified in the mother penguin trying to steal another's chick in an effort to replace her lost chick. It is hilarious in that in this episode, it is like the story of the two women fighting over a baby and judged by Solomon in the bible. Unlike human beings who resort to legal cases, the penguins band together to stop the stealing (Greydanus 2006). Not of the same

Dance and Identity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Dance and Identity - Essay Example This essay focuses on discussing dance as a form of performing art where your body posture plays a really crucial role because this performing art needs to have amazing elegance and grace in your body. The performer expresses him or her through the medium of his own body. According to the theory of performativity, gender should not be considered as a noun that acts but it is always a doing. This statement is very true in the context of dance or any other performing art where the actor is a performer in spite of his gender identity. The researcher uses Kathak dance to provide an example for better understanding of the issue. Kathak is one of the oldest classical dance forms which originated in North India. Dance is performed by both male and female. The masculine dance is always vigorous and aggressive while the feminine dance form is very delicate and more graceful. Basically in Kathak, the artist has to have the knowledge of both of these patterns. To conclude, the researcher states that sex has been an obligatory injunction for the body to become a cultural sign. Since ancient time dance has many stereotypical approaches in all around the world. Basically dance is an elegant art which needs to be enjoyed by an artistic vision. Objective should be taken into consideration while assessing the dance performance and not the gender identity of the artist. Gender issue should not be included and this art should not be kept constrained in the certain framework of gender identity.

Entrepreneurship and small business development for the hospitality Essay

Entrepreneurship and small business development for the hospitality and tourism industry - Essay Example Here we need to understand the change in the Chinese economy. The capitalist economy has undergone a paradigm shift and has opened its economy to the international market. This has changed the way the entrepreneurs look at their business. They have become more competitive in the global market and are keen in expanding their spread across the international market. China also has a huge pool of natural resources, with excellent options for the travel and tourism industry. Hence, China has a deep rooted heritage with the wisdom of the new world economy, and this combination has generated huge revenues for the Chinese economy. The small businesses are making breakthroughs in their own domains. Their businesses have received great support not only from the government but also from the local people and the society at large. The education and industrial development is also a key factor in this growth. The quality of education and the business ideas have made great breakthroughs in making the small business successful. This is satisfying the requirements of the national and the global economy at equal ease. When we discuss about the business strategies, we need to keep in mind the internationalization of the Chinese economy and its growth in the past decade. We need to understand that with internationalization comes a brand image, and higher expectations. The other countries will expect China and its entrepreneurs to be competitive, efficient and cost effective, while providing excellent customer service. And being in the service industry the entrepreneurs in the hospital and tourism industry has direct interaction wit the foreign nationals, who not only take back their experience but also act as a viral advertisement for these businesses. At this juncture, these small entrepreneurs face the language barrier and communication difference while attending the foreign nationals. But this can now be countered by employing young graduates, fluent in foreign languages

Significance of Emotional Intelligence Research Paper

Significance of Emotional Intelligence - Research Paper Example The authentic power is a great source of enriching the environment with trust, integrity, and honesty which are the cornerstones of an ideal working environment. Different organizations are on a constant search for a strategy that can fill their business environment with these elements so that they can smoothly move towards their goals. Honesty and trust are crucial elements that should be part of the leaders and when employees believe in their leader's ability and credibility, they tend to perform their job roles well. An effective environment in the organization in which employees are always looking to collaborate with others can be the biggest competitive advantage for any firm. This competitive advantage can allow organizations to be at the topmost level in the industry. Mostly, the resources and product line of the firm is viewed as a major competitive advantage of the firm, but most people forget that the environment within the organization is the main driving factor in creating an innovating culture within the organization (Cassady and Eissa, 2008). The authentic power mentioned above is more commonly known as the emotional intelligence within the organization. Emotional intelligence is the main factor in creating an environment of trust, honesty, integrity, and innovation that are essential elements for any business. All these elements will create strong relationships among employees and most importantly with the company creating a satisfied internal customer. The satisfied internal customer provides the basis of the satisfied external customers. The emotional information is an important aspect of the professional life as the relationships that develop at the workplace are ruled by the dominance and cooperation of others (Mayer and Cauruso, 2002). Being a manager it is imperative that one understands the importance of creating and enhancing a relationship with the subordinates. Â  Having a good relationship with the subordinates would foster creativity and productivity in the performances of the subordinates which furthermore would lead to the profitability of the firm.

Virtues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Virtues - Essay Example Integrity is defined as staying honest and having strong moral principles. For instance using the turn signal lights in a car. I make it a personal choice to use turn signals when turning off an empty road or in a parking lot. I strive to promise what I can deliver. This has made it easier for me to say no to what I cannot do and in turn my integrity is nourished.Work ethic is the policy that hard work is intrinsically virtuous or worthy of reward. Practice leads to perfection. It applies to academics, sports and life in general. What you reap is what you sow. Consistently, I have worked hard at my academics, and it has proved that work ethics does apply. Colin Powell states "A dream does not become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work." Teamwork is the effective and efficient action of a group. Teamwork can never be overrated. If you need to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to go far, walk with others. From the football pitch to the classroom, I have enjoyed the fruits of collaboration. In class discussions, I have always found previously hard concepts explained by others. I have improved my grades through such group discussions. Self-discipline is the ability to control one's feelings and overcome one's weaknesses. In high school, I would procrastinate a lot. Then I started rewarding myself for following a checklist of activities previously written down. Now in my undergraduate I can attest to the power of self-discipline as a virtue. However, fully mastering it is still a process, not a destination.

Assignment Two Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Assignment Two - Essay Example icle on â€Å"The effect of unionization on the gender earnings gap in Canada† by Shamsuddin and University of New England (1996), women are not as organized as compared to men when it comes to joining unions. Gender variations in unions are a critical topic in Human Resource Economics because students in the management class get to understand the role that unions play in a state. The second question is on the topic of 21st century unionization rates by genders. Have the rates of men and women in Unions changed in the 21st century? Contrary to the number of women who joined unions in the 1990s, women in the 21st century are now joining unions at an increasing rate. Women in 1981 were at a rate of 31% as compared to men who were at a rate of 42% in terms of joining unions (Barry & Wilkinson, 2011). The 21st century unionization rates by genders serves as a fundamental topic in Human Resource Economic because students in a management class are in a better position to address gender differences among employees as future managers. Lastly, the other question is on unionization rates in Canada and United States. Is there enough evidence to show that the unionization rates in Canada are similar to those in the U.S? According to Barry and Wilkinson (2011), there is little research showing the possible causes of gender variations in Canada. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct more research to fully understand the gender variations in unions which are in Canada (Shamsuddin & University of New England, 1996). The unionization rates in Canada and the U.S are important in Human Resource Economics because they allow management students to understand the factors that have an impact on different countries when it comes to managing unions or different employees as future

Emotion and Behaviors Essay Example for Free

Emotion and Behaviors Essay This project requires that you observe two preschool-age children in the Child and Family Development Center (ground floor of the Alfred Emery Building) and, on the basis of your observations, report on a particular aspect of their development. In the following pages, three options will be presentedyou may focus on either language development, play, or emotional behavior. Thus, the option you select will determine the nature of the observation you conduct, but it is also true that all projects must follow the same guideline. First, you must decide which of the three options you will pursue. Second, you should become familiar with the objectives of your observation (based on the descriptions presented in the following pages as well as any reading from the textbook that would prove useful in this regard). Third, you should begin planning your observation; this should include decisions regarding what you will focus on during your observations (e. g., behaviors, specific features of the physical and social context), what kinds of things you will try to take notes on in the course of your observation, which preschool class you will observe, and when you will plan to conduct your observation to assure that you will leave yourself enough time for a second chance should you fail to gather all of the necessary information on your first observation attempt. Fourth, you should conduct your observation, paying very careful attention to the behaviors and situations that you have (beforehand! ) decided are most import antin all cases, you will have to observe two children for 15 minutes each. Take notes and remember that these notes are all you will have to work from when writing your paper. I also would recommend that you allow yourself approximately 1 hour for your observation. This would allow you at least a few minutes at the beginning of the observation to get a feel for the classroom and the children in it and to identify the two children you will observe; ample time to observe each child for 15 minutes (which may be split into 5 minutes now, 5 minutes in a short while and 5 more minutes at the end of your hour); and even some time to make up for observations that dont result in any useable information. Fifth, you must rely on your notes and the details of the assignment to prepare your paper. In all cases, I am asking that you provide some general, objective information about what you observed in each child, and that you interpret your observations in terms of what youve learned about preschooler development. In addition, the introduction of your paper should provide a brief description of who you observed, when you observed them and what was going on in the preschool classroom during your observation period. Finally, at the end of your paper, briefly comment upon your experience as an observer. For example, How easy or difficult was it? What did you learn? How confident are you in the representativeness of the behaviors you observed for each child? As usual, all papers MUST BE TYPED. You are limited to 3 typewritten pages so think carefully about how best to organize all of the information you wish to present. Papers are due at the beginning of class on Tuesday, April 15. *****The preschool schedule is as follows: There are three different preschool classes (children ages 3-5): one meets Mon/Wed/Fri, 8:30-11:30, one meets Tues/Thur, 8:30-11:30, and one meets Mon thru Fri, 12:30-3:30 pm). In all cases, there should be no problems if you observe (quietly) from the observation booths attached to each classroom, or from outside the playground fence. If you wish to observe from within the classroom, or if you wish to go onto the playground with the children, you will need the permission of the head teacher. Simply tell them about the project, mention the class and instructors name, and there should not be a problem (do this ahead of time! ). Following are descriptions of the three options, each focusing upon a different feature of preschoolers development. In this exercise, you will be concerned with describing and analyzing the childs speech and determining such things as the depth and variety of his/her vocabulary. 1. It is important to look at the childs speech in terms of Piagets concepts of egocentrism and sociocentrism. Egocentric speech is speech that does not take the other person into account; it is speech that, for all practical purposes, is private. There is no real effort to communicate with the other person; therefore, whatever is said is meaningful only to the speaker. Piaget identified three types of egocentric speech: (a) monologue, in which the individual talks only to himself and with no other persons present; (b) repetition, in which the individual repeats words and phrases over and over again as if to practice them or as if he simply enjoyed making the sounds; and (c) collective monologue, in which two or more persons are talking together but none of them is paying attention to what the others are saying. Each conversation is independent of the other conversation. Socialized speech, on the other hand, is public speech. It is intended to communicate with someone and each person takes into account what others are saying and responds accordingly. Q1: 2. Does the child engage in egocentric or socialized speech? What are the circumstances under which these types of speech are used? Vocabulary is the foundation of speech. We communicate by putting individual words together into properly constructed sentences and paragraphs. Presumably, the greater the number of words in our vocabularies, the greater the number and variety of sentences and ideas we can utter and transmit to others. Words have different meanings and serve different purposes. Moreover, words must be placed in the correct position within a sentence; thus, there are rules of grammar and syntax. Q2: What do you observe about the childs vocabulary? In particular, examine the childs speech for words that express relations and oppositions, for example, words such as and, or, not, same, different, more, less, instead, if, then, and because. Also, how varied or rich is the childs vocabulary when he/she talks about the world and the people/things in it? Think in terms of general classes or categories of objects, persons, and events, then assess how many different words the child uses to discuss those categories and/or how many different categories the child uses. B. Observational Objectives To learn about the language production abilities of preschool children, and how children of preschool age use language as a means of social interaction. C. Procedure For this exercise, your purpose is to observe and record the language behaviors of children as they are engaging in social exchanges. Basically, you will need to write about the vocabularies demonstrated, the ways in which children use their language for the specific purpose of communicating with others (either adults or other children), and the degree to which language appears to be influenced by the setting in which it occurs. For this purpose, select two children and observe each of them for 15 minutes during a time when they have opportunity to interact with others in a small group settingfree-choice periods are probably best. (Do not try to observe two children at the same time! ). As you observe, take notes regarding the nature and variety of words used by each child (writing down exactly what the child says would of course be very useful), the childs specific use of language to communicate with others, and the context in which all of this is going on. For each child, your paper should include a brief description of the language used (including information about vocabulary, communication and context) as well as an interpretation of each childs language behavior in terms of what youve learned about development during the preschool years. II. PRESCHOOLERS PLAY A. Background Information Play is considered by some psychologists to be the most important activity in which the young child engages. Indeed, play activities pervade the lives of children from infancy throughout childhood. Some play seems obviously linked to the childs observation of adults; other play seems to stem from the childs fantasies and from experiences that she finds particularly enjoyable. There are a number of explanations of the major purposes of play. These range from play as getting rid of excess energy to play as a means of socioemotional expression. Play can be a group or an individual activity. Play is distinguished from non-play by its special characteristics, the most important of which are its voluntary nature and its complete structuring by the participants, with little regard for outside regulation. When play is governed by consistent rules, we say children are playing games. These rules give play a social dimension. The participants must put their own personal wishes into the background and abide by the requirements of the game and the wishes of the larger group. It is important to note that not everything children do is play, although they will sometimes try to make play out of what adults intend to be serious. Parten (1932) has identified six types of play, which are given in an accompanying list (next page). Remember that play, like all behavior, occurs in a physical and social context. Therefore, include in your report information on the equipment and materials the child was using in his play and who the child was playing with, if appropriate. B. Partens Six Classifications of Play or Social Interactions 1. Unoccupied Behavior: Here the child is not engaging in any obvious play activity or social interaction. Rather, she watches anything that is of interest at the moment. When there is nothing of interest to watch, the child will play with her own body, move around from place to place, follow the teacher, or stay in one spot and look around the room. 2. Onlooker Behavior: Here the child spends most of her time watching other children play. The child may talk to the playing children, may ask questions or give suggestions, but does not enter into play. The child remains within speaking distance so that what goes on can be seen and heard; this indicates a definite interest in a group of children, unlike the unoccupied child, who shows no interest in any particular group of children, but only a shifting interest in what happens to be exciting at the moment. 3. Solitary Play: This is play activity that is conducted independently of what anyone else is doing. The child plays with toys that differ from those used by other children in the immediate area within speaking distance, and she makes no effort to get closer to them or to speak to them. The child is focused entirely on her own activity and is uninfluenced by other children or their activities. 4. Parallel Play: Here the child is playing close to other children but is still independent of them. The child uses toys that are like the toys being used by the others, but he uses them as he sees fit and is neither influenced by nor tries to influence the others. The chid thus plays beside rather than with the other children. 5. Associative Play: Here the child plays with other children. There is a sharing of play material and equipment; the children may follow each other around; there may be attempts to control who may or may not play in a group, although such control efforts are not strongly asserted. The children engage in similar but not necessarily identical activity, and there is no division of labor or organization of activity or individuals. Each child does what he or she essentially wants to do, without putting the interests of the group first. 6. Cooperative or Organized Supplementary Play: The key word in this category is â€Å"organized. The child plays in a group that is established for a particular purpose: making some material product, gaining some competitive goal, playing formal games. There is a sense of â€Å"we-ness,† whereby one definitely belongs or does not belong to the group. There is also some leadership present–one or two members who direct the activity of the others. This therefore requires some division of labor, a taking of different roles by the group members, and the support of one child’s efforts by those of the others. C. Observational Objectives To learn about the distinguishing characteristics of different forms of play, specifically according to Partens classification of play behaviors. D. Procedure Familiarize yourself with Partens classifications of play as described above. Select two children in the preschool and observe each of them for 15 minutes, preferably during a free-choice period when the children are free to move about the room and play with who or what they wish. (Do not attempt to observe both children at the same time! ) As you observe each child, look for examples of each type of play or social interaction as described by Parten. Also, in addition to classifying each childs play behaviors, observe whether there are any patterns to their play. For example, are there particular situations in which a child tends to be an onlooker, but in other situations he/she engages in parallel or cooperative play? As you observe, you should take notes regarding these relevant issues so that you will have something to work from in writing your paper. For each child, your paper should include a brief description of the types of play exhibited (including information about which type(s) are exhibited most frequently) and the social context which characterized each type of play. Additionally, you should provide an interpretation of your observations based on what youve learned about development during the preschool years. III. EMOTION BEHAVIOR A. Background Information Emotions are such a basic part of our psychological beings that we sometimes take them for granted. Some of our emotions are clearly identifiable by us. We know when we are angry, frightened, or joyous. At other times, however, we can have feelings that are not so clear; we may not be able to label what we feel. Whatever the case, emotions are internal experiences that are private and directly accessible only to the individual experiencing them. This being so, we cannot state with certainty what emotion another person is feeling. She must tell us, or we must infer the emotion on the basis of the individuals behavior, facial expressions, and the event that preceded and might have caused the feeling. A childs emotional behaviors become more refined and extensive as she matures. Therefore, a four- or five-year-old will typically be more emotionally expressive than a two-year-old. In this exercise, you will be trying to gain some understanding of the childs emotional behaviors, of the range of her emotions and the kinds of situations that prompt these behaviors. Again, you can only infer what the child is feeling and cannot observe emotions directly. Therefore, be cautious in your interpretations and concentrate on the childs obvious behaviors and the contexts in which they occur. 1. There are several emotions that are commonly found in preschool children: aggression, dependency and fear. Aggressive behavior is frequently defined as behavior that is intended to physically or psychologically hurt another person (or oneself) or to damage or destroy property. An important issue is whether a behavior is intentionally aggressive or simply an accidental occurrence. Further, it is argued by some that in order for a behavior to be termed aggressive, the aggressor must feel anger or hostility toward the victim and must derive satisfaction from hurting the victim. This kind of aggression is called hostile aggression. In contrast to hostile aggression, there can be cases where the aggressor is interested only in getting some object from the victim or achieving some goal. This is called instrumental aggression, and it need not involve anger or hostility. Observe the childs behavior for instances of aggression, either toward  another child or an adult, or towards objects in the environment. Be certain to differentiate between intentional, hostile and instrumental acts of aggression. What kinds of situations or frustrations make the child angry? What behaviors by other people anger the child? How does the child express his/her anger? Dependency consists of such behaviors as clinging or maintaining proximity to adults or other children, seeking approval, recognition, assistance, attention, and reassurance, and striving for affection and support. It is important to recognize that all of us are dependent. The issue is to what degree and under what circumstances we show our dependency. It is also useful to distinguish between two basic types of dependency: a) instrumental dependency, which essentially is the necessary reliance we have on others for certain things that are beyond our capacity to do; and b) emotional dependency, which is a need to be near others and to have their support, affection and reassurance. It can also be the unwillingness or the selfperceived inability to do things for oneself that one can or should be able to do. It is important that, where possible, you distinguish instrumental dependency from emotional dependency behaviors. It is also important to note that as children mature, the characteristics of their dependency behaviors change. Very young children are likely to show clinging and proximity-seeking behaviors, whereas older children, who also have greater cognitive abilities, will likely seek attention and approval. Q3: 3. Fear is demonstrated by such behaviors as crying, withdrawing, seeking help, and avoiding the fear-producing situation. Fear can promote both dependency and aggressive behaviors. Nonetheless, fear can be expressed in such a way that it, and not aggression or dependency, is the primary emotion. Q4: 4. In what situations or activities is the child dependent, and, for example, seeks the presence, direction, or assistance of others? In what situations is the child independent and does not seek direction or assistance from others? What kinds of objects or situations appear to scare the child? In what ways does the child express his/her fears? How does he/she deal with his fears (e. g. , by withdrawing, confronting the fearful situation, seeking help)? In addition to the emotional behaviors just discussed, there are other feelings that children are capable of experiencing and expressing. You should be alert to as many of the childs affective states as possible. For example, there are the feelings of pleasure and displeasure, frustration, boredom and sadness. Like adults, children will differ as to how accurately they can identify and/or express what they feel. Q5: What kinds of things does the child find pleasant? What activities, play materials, stories, games and so on, seem to be particularly attractive to the child? How does the child express that pleasure? Q6: What kinds of things are unpleasant or uncomfortable for the child? In what situations does the child appear to be ill at ease? How does she express her displeasure? Q7: Are all or most of the childs feelings expressed with equal strength, or does their intensity vary with the particular feeling or situation? B. Observational Objectives To learn about the differences in childrens emotional behaviors and the range of emotional responses in preschool children. C. Procedure Select two children, observe and record each childs behavior for a 15-minute period (do not attempt to observe both children at the same time! ). Record behaviors in as much detail as possible (attending to the kinds of things that would help you answer the above questions) and be sure to include descriptions of the physical and social context as they apply to the emotional behaviors observed. IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT YOU OBSERVE CHILDREN DURING THE VERY BEGINNING OF THEIR PRESCHOOL CLASS SO THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SEE THEM AS THEY ARE BEING DROPPED OFF BY THEIR PARENTS AND THEN MAKING THEIR INITIAL ADJUSTMENT TO THEIR PRESCHOOL SETTING. Your paper should include a brief description of each childs behavior (including the different kinds of emotions, the contexts in which they occurred and the relative frequency of each expression) as well as an interpretation or comment on each child using some of the questions and background information provided above. Finally, compare the two children, looking at the range of emotional expression, intensity of expression, and what evokes the emotional responses. In short, summarize how the children differ from each other in this area of functioning.