Customer Inserts His/Her Name

Bermuda Bermuda is the oldest self-governing overseas region in the British Commonwealth; its 1968 constitution offers the island with official duty for internal self-government, while the British Government keeps hold of responsibility for, defense, security and external affairs. Queen Elizabeth II is the chief of state and she is represented by a governor, whom she assigns. Bermuda has a parliamentary structure of government internally and the premier is chief of government and head of the majority party in the House of Assembly.The cabinet is made up of ministers chosen by the premier from among associates of the House of Assembly and the Senate. (Greey & Nausbaum, 2008). Bermuda's initial political party, the Progressive Labor Party (PLP), was created in May 1963 with mainly black adherents, the two-party system was started in 1965 with the formation of the United Bermuda Party (UBP), which had the hold of the bulk of white voters and of few black voters. A third party, the Bermu da Democratic Party (BDP) was shaped in 1967; however it disbanded in 1970 and was later restored by the National Liberal Party (NLP).Bermuda's initial election was held on May 22, 1968 and the UBP won thirty seats of the House of Assembly while the PLP won 10 and the BDP lost the 3 seats which it had previously. The UBP kept on maintaining control of the government although theyd id this by reducing scope in the Assembly until 1998 when the PLP succeeded in winning the general election for the first time. Discontented goals, mainly among immature blacks led to short civil riots in December 1977 that followed the implementation of two men found culpable of the 1972- 1973 murders of Governor Sir Richard Sharples and other four.Ultimate independence from the United Kingdom (U. K. ) has been an ambition of the PLP from the time of the party's inception in 1963. The Premier (and PLP party leader) Alex Scott declared his decision to start an open and objective debate on the issue of inde pendence in Feb. 2004. Presently citizens of Bermuda are permitted to British citizenship that the British Overseas Territories Bill approved in February 2002 and this gives them automatic ownership of British citizenship that also includes automatic transmission of citizenship to their children, the right of abode, together with the right to live and work in the U.K. and the European Union (EU). Subsequently a harsh and divisive general election on December 18, 2007 took place which many forecasted would be extremely close, the Progressive Labor Party (PLP) under Premier Ewart Brown was back to power with the same number of seats as it had before going into the election. (U. S. Department of State, n. d. ). Reference Greey,M. & Nausbaum, D. (2008). Bermuda. MacMillan Caribbean. U. S. Department of State. (n. d. ). Bermuda. February 20th, 2009. Retrieved from: http://www. state. gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5375. htm

Importance of Demand Analysis to a Business Enterprise Essay

Importance of demand analysis to business enterprises.They are the source of many useful insights for business decision making.The success of failure of business firms depend primarily on its ability to generate resources by satisfying the demand of consumers.The firms unable to attract consumers are soon forced out from the market. The importance of demand analysis in business decisions can be explained under following headings: Sales forecasting :The demand is a basis the sales of the production of a firm.Hence,sales forecasting can be made on the basis of demand.For example,if demand is high,sales will be high and if demand is low,sales will be low.The firms can make different arrangements to increase or reduce production or push up sales on the basis of sales forecast. Pricing decisions :The analysis of demand is the basis of pricing decisions of a firm.If the demand for the product is high,the firm can charge high price,other things remaining the same.On the contrary .If the demand is low,the firm cannot high price.The demand analysis also helps the firm in profit budgeting. Marketing decisions:The analysis of demand helps a firm to formulate marketing decisions.The demand analysis analyses and measure the forces that determine demand.The demand can be influenced by manipulating the factors on which consumers base their demand on attractive packaging. Production decisions:How much a firm can produce depends on its capacity.But how much it should produce depends on demand.Production is not necessary if their no demand.But continuous production schedule is necessary if the the demand for the production is relatively stable.If the demand is less than the quantity of production,new demand should be created by means of promotional activities such a advertising. Financial decisions :The demand condition in the marker for firm’s product’s affects the financial decisions as well.If the demand for firm’s product is strong and growing,the needs for additional finance will be greater.Hence,the financial manager should make necessary financial arrangement to finance the growing need of the capital.

Good practice in Teaching and Learning English in English medium and Research Proposal

Good practice in Teaching and Learning English in English medium and Chinese medium schools - Research Proposal Example â€Å"Language learning activities are representative of the diverse social and cultural background knowledge and experience of learners. Language learning activities provide learners the opportunities to assess and negotiate knowledge, concepts and ideas in the light of their own socio-cultural backgrounds† (Ajayi, p.8) The above facts forced non-native English speaking nations to encourage the learning of English by implementing it in their curriculum. â€Å"The need for a common international language with the expansion of a global communication network has made the English the language of choice† (TESOL& Dang, p.9) Postgraduate classes from grades 2001 to 2004 at Capital University of Medical Sciences in Beijing were assigned to study English for Technical Communication, a course that integrated the concepts of technical communication into English for specific purposes. In the survey of Grade 2004, over 96% of the graduates claimed that it was necessary for them to study English for Technical Communication; more than 90% of the students confirmed that the course was practical; and 90% of them claimed that the course had significantly improved their abilities in technical communication. Therefore, introducing technical communication in English for specific purposes would be a feasible way to develop the teaching of technical communication in China. (Duan et al) Even the communist China, started to encourage the learning of English. They have realized the limitations of Chinese language at international level and realized the importance of English for the smooth communication purposes at international level. English learning is not easy for no-native English speakers. Proper teaching strategies are essential for Learning English for Specific Purposes (ESP) especially in China like non-native English speaking countries. Social, cultural and economic factors can affect the teaching and learning of English for

Cash Basis Accounting Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Cash Basis Accounting - Coursework Example The coursework "Cash Basis Accounting" talks about the cash basis accounting particularly when it is appropriate, petty cash fund and the age of accounts receivable particularly on what basis they are determined. The cash basis accounting is used by most of the sole proprietors as well as businesses without inventory. The system is considered appropriate for a small service company, cash-based business or small businesses. On the cash basis, accounting revenue is recognized once cash is received. On the other hand, in accrual accounting expenses tend to be recognized when cash is paid. Cash basis accounting differs with the accrual basis accounting in some ways. In cash basis accounting, revenues are recorded on the income statement once cash is received while in accrual-based accounting it is recorded when cash is earned. Cash earned entails cash received from customers. In cash basis accounting expenses are reported once cash is paid out while in accrual-based accounting expenses a re reported when they expire or occur. The expiry date is different from the payment period. Cash based accounting is the common mode because it is simple and provides cash flow picture more accurately. Petty cash fund is defined as the amount of cash on hand that is used in paying small amounts owed instead of writing a check. There are ways which can be employed by companies to control petty cash fund. Reporting and audit and the acceptable use are the ways which companies can employ so as to control petty cash fund.

What are the Similarities and Differences Between a Racial Group and Essay

What are the Similarities and Differences Between a Racial Group and an Ethnic Group - Essay Example The only conspicuous differences that appear to the naked eye are due to the differences between males and females. Broadly speaking, the entire animal kingdom is very homogenous. Biologists who refute the claim that races are based on morphological features claim that the assumption that human races are based on anatomical traits is false. They claim that anatomical traits do not cluster distinct groups of people. It is further explained that some human races appear the way they do because of the natural environment surrounding them. for instance, in areas near the tropical latitudes, there are people with darker skin color to protect them from sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation. Thus, the dark brown skin color is primarily found amongst the Africans and the Indian subcontinent. However, the popularly held belief is otherwise. As it, goes-Racial groups are thus based on the biological classification of people. This classification could be according to human features, skin co lor or other morphological features. One is automatically classified by virtue of external forces into a racial group. One does not have any control over the racial group that becomes one’s identity. Racial groupings and concept of race have been a very controversial topic because of its ability to influence the social hierarchy of the society. Ethnicity on the other hand also incorporates the social characteristics of an individual within the society that he lives in. Some of the social characteristics that are a premise of ethnic classification include one’s language, culture, religion, tradition, tribe, and nationality. The race is externally assigned by the people around us. However, ethnicity is not externally assigned to other people. Ethnicity is the onus of an individual; however, he wants to go about it. It is apparently a conglomeration of humans who have similar cultural characters and follow the same religious faith.

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 13

Assignment Example doing working-class activities – and a performance that spark up controversy in the 60s because of its escape from the traditional morality and religion plays. Amidst the competition from renowned theatre houses in Toronto, Studio 275 will primarily rely on traditional publicity such as the use of media release, posters and flyers as well as giving out first hand information through direct marketing to theatre schools and organizations within its reach. Its audience will be composed of women from all income brackets, regardless of their age and background. It will emphasize the plot as something that is contentious in the past and will be refreshed through Studio 275’s production that will bring your memory and interest as to what have these women of the 60s have gone through. Studio 275 was established in 1985 with topmost priority in play development as a means of supporting Canadian playwrights and building the repertoire of Canadian plays. Moreover, the first 15 years of its existence gave emphasis on producing local works but eventually turned in producing shows that reflects the Canadian experience from many generation as well as history and sensibilities that people have brought to the country. This season, the company will focus on series of productions featuring the different sides of women caught up in differing situations. This year’s presentation will start off with Michel Tremblay’s first professionally produced work Les Belles Soeurs (The Sisters-in-Law) directed by Judith Chapman. The story created such controversy in the 60s because of the â€Å"joual† language used by women while discussing about men, religion and Bingo. It represents the working class women in Montreal, doing working-class activities while uttering vulgar language which shocked the Quebec stage in the 60s. 1. Women (Vistors and Canadians). This market includes women from all walks of life, regardless of its social status and age. The title may spark up their interest

Domtar Business Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Domtar Business Analysis - Research Paper Example Domtar has exhibited excellent cash flow over the last few years. The cash flow is anticipated to rise to an average of 9% in the next one year. Domtar’s income has been declining considerably though is still considered to be performing well as compared to other companies in the same industry. Domtar Products Domtar specializes in a wide range of fiber-based products. The products include digital printing papers, specialty papers, EarthChoice papers, publishing papers, commercial printing papers, Business papers, as well as office papers. It is currently planning to start manufacturing packaging papers. Additionally, Domtar engages in the manufacture of paper grade, lumber, wood products, in addition to specialty pulp. Domtar sells its products to a wide range of customers such as merchants, retailers, printers, converters, publishers, as well as end users. Domtar sells its product within Canada, North America and exports to other regions of the world such as United State, whi ch is one of the main customers (Ivara, 2012) Domtar’s Financial Health Financially, Domtar has been performing considerably well. It is considered the second largest paper industry in the world in terms of financial standings. In the financial statement issued on July 27, 2012, which showed the financial performance for the second quarter of 2012, the report showed the considerable decline from that of the previous year. The company reported an operating income of $106 million. Although this was excellent compared to other companies in the same industry, it was, however, a decline from $ 109 million reported in the first quarter for the year 2012. The decline was attributed to increased maintenance costs in addition to reduced shipments for pulp as well as paper. However, the market prices had increased considerably which helped offset the losses, which could have been higher. However, Domtar is anticipating worse times in the third quarter due to the challenges facing the p ulp markets such as the declining demand for both paper and pulp shipments. Domtar management is planning to counteract the anticipated losses by converting the less needed communication paper to Specialty as well as packaging papers, which are still in higher demands. Additionally, Domtar hopes to increase the prices of pulp (Domtar, 2012). The cash flow from functioning activities amounted to about $30 million in the first quarter of 2011. The capital expenditures were approximately $29 million. By March 31, 2012, which marked the end of the first quarter of 2012, Domtar paid $47 million for outstanding premiums and recorded a free cash flow amounting to $48 million. This demonstrates strong cash flow. Additionally, Domtar’s cash flow is expected to average improve further in the future. Domtar’s stock price has outdone the benchmark in the first quarter of 2012. Investors are expected to increase their shareholdings. Additionally, the shares are expected to continue exchanging at bargain basement levels (Domtar, 2012). Any company has the main goal of increasing the value for the shareholders.  Ã‚  

Does A Significant Correlation Exist Between Academic Persistence And Dissertation

Does A Significant Correlation Exist Between Academic Persistence And Student Demographics In An Accelerated Adult Education Program At Not A For-Profit Christian Liberal Arts University - Dissertation Example The research includes related literature. According to the authors Becker and Andrew, adult learners encounter several barriers in their quest to achieve an education. They argue that the barriers encountered range from situational, institutional along with the dispositional barriers. They continue to explain that situational barriers occur due to the adults’ situation, which could include his job responsibilities, the lack of ample free time along with their childcare tasks. Institutional barriers are described by the authors as those barriers, which are imposed on the adult learners by the institutions. This could include issues such as sensitivity to their staff members, restrictions on the number of hours they work or the inadequacy of research information. Finally, the authors describe the barriers of disposition as those barriers, which are internal and come about due to feelings of alienation among adults in campuses. Other researchers on the same have suggested that in order for adult learners to overcome the situational barriers that greatly hamper their activities and decrease their enrolments, most campuses have introduced degree programs that are not part of their traditions. These programs are described as those supple programs in which adult learners can enroll. They use techniques such as learning during weekends, distance learning and accelerated methods of delivering their required content to adults who have enrolled for various courses (Holland, 2010). Age and Academic Persistence According to previous research carried out by Adelman (2007), the number of available undergraduates between men and women was roughly equal in the years between 1900 and 1930. The adult male enrolment following the second global war increased due to the enactment of the bill known as GI. Women participation was augmented from 39% to 68% in the years 1959 to the year 2002, and as at 1970, adult men aged from 40 were receiving more degrees when compared to wome n (Adelman, 2008). According to Alderman, the current reason why adult women are enrolling for the educational programs on offer than men is that they had outperformed them during their days in high school. This is in terms of the records they achieve in their tests, scores and their prior preparation for college (Alderman, 2008). The studies finally imply that women aged above 40 years had tremendous gains in the year 1972 when they augmented their achievements in various tests. This greatly helped in reducing the gaps in their knowledge of mathematics and increasing their reading advantages (Baum and Payea, 2009). Because of these improvements and changes in the community’s attitude towards women, their role in marriage and the job place has changed (Adelman, 2007). This has in turn enabled the women to have greater financial freedoms thus motivating the other women around the globe to join colleges despite the fact that they might be older (Baum and Payea, 2009). Creation of programs to cater for the barriers that affect adult learners and their preferred learning styles has been introduced to respond to the problems brought about by the traditional degree programs on aged adults. There is a decline in the number of students joining post high school education and those who fail to complete their education. The number of the students who do not complete their ed

Catfish Case Essay Example for Free

Catfish Case Essay In 2007, filmmakers Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost starting filming a documentary of Ariel’s brother Yaniv (Nev), who is a 24 year old photographer from New York. This film is an intriguing documentary about love and deception and how Nev gets involved into a internet relationship on the facebook. It all starts when one of Nev’s photos appeared in The New York Sun on August 13,2007. Three months later he received a painting of his photograph in the mail. The painting was really extordinary and beautiful painted by a 8 year old girl named Abby. She lives in Ishpeming, Michigan with her mother Angela, her father Vince, brother Alex, and half-sister Megan. Soon enough Nev becomes Abby’s internet friend chatting with her almost everyday. They talked about Abby’s paintings and her family a lot . He begins to talk to Megan when she sends him a copy of her music she records with her brother Alex, and is immediately attracted to her. She is 19 years old and works at a vets office, she is a dancer and musician. Nev soon falls into a complicated on-line relationship with Megan and when he decided to meet her in person, he learned that Abby and Megan’s family were not at all what he expected them to be. Everyone should see Catfish- not because of the twist, but because of how powerfully and weird it speaks to our time, to internet culture and the way it allows the controlled illusion of intimacy. It’s a film about storytelling about how a lonely Michigan housewife creates a stageful of made up characters, with which to flatter, entice and woo a sophisticated New Yorker and when that New Yorkers friends show up at the house with cameras, ends up wrestling control of the narrative, not to mention sympathy, from them simply by coming across as more human. And that’s something to see. This documentary begins when Abby sends Nev a picture of her painting that she did of his photograph. She was a really good painter for her age, since she was only 8 years old. They quickly began a facebook relationship where they would write each other back and forth almost everday. He soon develops a relationship with Abby’s mother Angela talking about Abby’s paintings and how they were going to buy that art studio for Abby to sell her paintings in. Angela said that Abby sold one of her paintings for $7,000. Nev was so amazed by how inspiring and incredible Abby really was. Not long after Nev gets to get to know Abby, her sister Megan starts to send him pictures of herself and they were instantly attracted to one another. Megan had just moved out of her mother’s house and had bought a farm house in Gladstone, Michigan where she said she had horses and other animals. She was a veterinary assistant who loved animals as well as a musician, dancer, and photographer as well. Megan sends Nev a song that she had song and recorded with her mother Angela. He was absolutely amazed by how beautiful her voice was. The two talked on the phone and exchanged steamy text messages about their attraction, but the closest they had actually come to being together was in a photo Nev doctored on the computer of themselves. He titled it â€Å"Someday†, because he always hoped they would meet in person. They talked about meeting each other one day, because Nev was starting to grow a lot of feelings for a girl who he has never met. He actually thought that she could be the girl for him even though they had never met. One day he gets a call from work getting a job with his brother Ariel and friend Henry to go to Vail, Colorado. They figured this would be a perfect opportunity to meet Megan, since Colorado is a lot closer than New York is. Megan and her family agreed to meet him once he got to Colorado, but before they could meet, Nev discovered something so shocking that it would destroy him. Nev, Ariel, and Henry was looking up one of Megan’s songs and found out that she had copied it off the internet, that it wasn’t her singing it at all, so they looked up some other things to see if there was any more lies that were told. Nev looks up the art studio that Angela was supposed to of bought for Abby’s paintings and finds out that it is still listed, so they call the real estate agent to see if it is still for sale. The real estate agent told them that it was still for sale, so Angela was lying to Nev too. It has seems like Megan and her family are not who they say they are. The three boys decided that they had to get down to the bottom of this and find out who Megan and her family really were. After their dance film is finished they head out to Michigan to surprise Megan and her family with an unexpected visit to catch them off guard. Megan had told Nev that the family has breakfast every Sunday morning, so that’s when they planned on surprising them. Once they got to Michigan it was very late, but they were too anxious to go to bed, so they decided to drive by Megan’s farmhouse in Gladstone and finds out Megan doesn’t live there and she doesn’t have any horses in the garage. The next morning they got up really early to go to Megan’s family’s house to surprise them during their family breakfast. Angela and Abby do indeed live there, but Megan was no where to be found. Nev is excited to finally meet Abby, but she doesn’t seem to know who he is, like she has never talked to him before. So Nev is really starting to wonder what has been going on with the whole situation and where is Megan, does she even exist? Come to find out, Abby doesn’t even paint at all. Angela is the one who paints and she also takes care of her two mentally retarded twin step-sons Ronald and Anthony, who are totally depended on her to do everything for them. Angela never mentioned any of this to Nev before. This is the first time he ever knew about the boys and now doesn’t believe anything that has happened over the past 9 months is real. Nev asks Angela to sit down with him so he can finally get to the bottom of everything. He asks her if there even is a Megan and at first there was. Megan was supposed to come see Nev, but then she texted his phone and told him that she had a drinking problem and that her and her brother Alex were checking themselves into a treatment center called, Dawn Farms, but then Angela admitted that there was a Megan in Dawn Farms and has been there for four months, but Nev has never talked to her. Come to find out there is no Megan at all. Angela had made her up along with all the dozen or so family and friends in dialogue with Nev on her facebook page, using photos and facts culled from Internet and from her own life. Angela seems to have fabricated these fictional people on Facebook as a way to escape the regrets that came with sacrifices she had to make in order to have a family and a stable life. She seems to do it also to make Nev fall in love with her , and making up whatever lies sheneeds to in order to hold that world together. She shows Nev the two cell phones that she had used, one for Megan and one for herself. While Angela gradually owns up to all of these offenses, Nev sits for a pencil portrait that Angela is making. They revisit the virtual love affair they created together over the past eight months. He looks straight at her as she draws, with affection and a kind of awe. He couldn’t believe that this women has been doing this to him for eight months. People can learn a lot about having an internet relationship just by watching this movie. You never know who you are talking to unless you meet them first. There is no safe way to begin an online relationship unless you know that person first. It can be very dangerous and heartbreaking. Nev and Megan sent over 1500 messages over an eight month period not including a lot of phone calls and sexting. To this day Nev still receives paintings from Angela and they still talk on Facebook with each other.

Arthur Miller, A View from the Bridge Essay Example for Free

Arthur Miller, A View from the Bridge Essay The relationships in ‘A View from the Bridge’ are very complex as because of people’s attitudes back then. There is secrecy, suspicion, love and concern. Eddie is weirdly attracted to Catherine and his relationship with his wife Beatrice deteriorates. The relationship between Eddie and Catherine is very close, although they are not immediate family Eddie has become a surrogate father and thinks of himself as her real father. He is very protective of his daughter and would probably die for her, but this first innocent love perverts into a weird incest like love for his niece. Eddie still treats her like she is five although she is going out into the big wide world, this shocks Eddie and it makes him closer to her and more possessive which turns ugly when Rodolfo is introduced. At the start of the play Eddie has a go at his daughter about what she is wearing, ‘Catherine I don’t want to be a pest†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.  Walkin’ wavy’. This shows he has genuine concern for his daughter similar to how modern fathers would react today; this is more of an example to show how much he loves her like a father rather than a lover. He also doesn’t want to let go for his ‘daughter’ and tries to shoot down any discussion of a job, ‘near the navy yard†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Longshoremen’ he is unreasonably disagreeing with any suggestions of a real job for Catherine which just amplifies his blatant love for her. Catherine and Beatrice’s relationship is very different to the relationship between Eddie Catherine, Beatrice wants the best for Catherine and wants her to go get the job and wants her to leave, and she is more positive than Eddie and less caring for her. This could be that she was not as committed to the adoption of Catherine compared to Eddie, but also as she has had less to lose because Eddie has paid for her to go through school and to live, whereas Bea is probably getting a little sick of her hanging about. She is very supportive of Catherine’s independence ‘Well I don’t understand when it’s going †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. It’s an honour for her’. Catherine is also less fond of her and cares more for her uncle as he is the man of the family and provides for her and doesn’t feel for Bea as much because she had less of a role in bringing her up over the years. The relationship between Bea and Eddie starts of normal as the play starts innocent and all happy families but hen as the play progresses Bea starts to notice changes about how Eddie is acting towards her. As Eddie is spending more time chasing Catherine around he is spending less time with his wife and she becomes distraught and upset and also starts to understand why this is happening. Because of Bea realising his it explains why she is so keen for her to become independent and leave because it would be better for everyone if she did leave. ‘When am I going to be a wife again Eddie? ’ shows how upset she is becoming and Eddie doesn’t seem to care about her and tries to ignore the conversation and not provide her with a straight answer. The play basically steers the whole relationship systems so that Eddie and Bea come off worse while Eddie and Catherine gets better. It is obvious that Eddie starts to stop caring about Bea and more about Catherine; Catherine doesn’t seem to notice the weird attraction that Eddie has towards her and carries on like normal. And the more she is around the worse Eddie will get and the more attracted the will become. So Arthur miller presents the family as a normal generic happy family that during the course of the play deteriorates into a weird perverted relationship.

The Tragedy of Macbeth | Analysis

The Tragedy of Macbeth | Analysis The tragedy of Macbeth is a play normally called Macbeth by William Shakespeare concerning the regicide and aftermath. It is the Shakespeares briefest tragedy believed to have been put down between 1603 and 1607. Shakespeares sources of tragedy are encounters of Macduff, King Macbeth of Scotland and Duncan in Holinsheds Chronicles of 1587, history for Scotland, England and Ireland similar to Shakespeare and his accountability (Coursen and Herbert 1997). The initial act of play opens in the amidst lighting and thunder when the present three witches came into decision of meeting with Macbeth in their next meeting. In the following scene, an injured captain gave description to King Duncan of Scotland regarding his generals Macbeth (Thane of Glamis) and Banquo. The report reviewed how Banquo and Thane of Glamis had defeated their enemies forces of Norway and Ireland who were led by conspirator Macdonwald. Macbeth, the kings kinsman was appraised for his fighting prowess and bravery. As the scene took another dimension, Banquo and Macbeth entered as they discussed about the weather and their victory. As they wandered onto the heath, the three witches entered as they waited to welcome them with prophecies. Although the Banquo challenges them at first, they addressed Macbeth after allà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Coursen and Herbert 1997). The first witch summoned Macbeth as Thane of Glamis, second as Thane of Cawdor while the third one proclaimed he could be the King in future. Macbeth seemed to be amazed into silence as Banquo challenged them furthermore. The witches notify Banquo that he would father the line of Kings, arrive and inform Macbeth concerning his newly bestowed title. Thus the first prophecy is fulfilled. Suddenly, Macbeth starts to harbor aspiration to become a king. Macbeth wrote to his wife concerning the witches prophecies as Duncan decides to remain in the Macbeths fortress at Inverness, while Lady Macbeth comes with a plan to kill him and protect the throne of her husband. Though Macbeth is concerned about the reignite, eventually Lady Macbeth persuaded him by challenging his manhood to convince him to follow his plans (Coursen and Herbert 1997). On the night when the King visited, Macbeth killed Duncan though the deed is not recognized by the audience. However, it leaves Macbeth so perplexed that Lady Macbeth had to take charge. Depending on his plans, she puts the Duncans resting servants for killing by inserting bloody daggers on them. Then the porter opened the gate as Macbeth led them into the kings chamber, whereby Macduff discovered Duncans corpse. In the contrived well of bitterness, Macbeth kills the guards before they would take care for their innocence. Macduff is then suspicious of Macbeth though he does not show his suspicion to people. To run for their lives, the Duncans sons leave, Donalbain to Ireland, and Malcolm to England. The correct heirs voyage calls them suppose and Macbeth takes the kingships the coming King of Scotland as Kinsman for dead King. Regardless of his victory, Macbeth remained disturbed regarding the prophecy of Banquo. This made Macbeth to invite him to majestic banquet in which he noticed Banquo and his young son could be coming on that night. He then hired two men to murder them as the third murderer emerges mysteriously at the park before the murder. As the assassins murders Banquo, Fleance takes the chance to flee. At the banquet, the Banquos ghost goes in and sits in Macbeths place and Macbeth alone sees the specter (Coursen and Herbert 1997). The rest wonder at Macbeth raging to empty chair till the distressed Lady Macbeth demands them to flee. Macbeth gets disturbed and visits the Three Witches again. They invokes the three spirits with three warnings and prophecies which commands him to beware Macduff though none of the woman born could harm Macbeth and he would never annihilate till the Great Birman Wood to greater Dunsinane Hill comes against him. Macduff is in exile in England and Macbeth assumes he is safe, and kills everybody in the Macduffs stronghold including the Macduffs wife together with their children. Lady Macbeth feels guilty of the crimes she committed together with her husband. She then sleepwalks and attempts to wipe the bloodstains imaginary from her hands while speaking of dreadful things she knew. In England, Macduff and Malcolm are informed of Ross that her castle was surprised and her babes and wives savagely slaughtered. Macbeth not considered as tyrant, views majority of his thanes conquering. Malcolm leads an army with Englishmen Siward (the elder) and Macduff, the Earl of Northumberland in opposition to Dunsinane Castle. While in Birnam Wood, the military were commanded to reduce and take the tree limbs to disguise their statistics and pleased the witches third prediction. Meanwhile, Macbeth gives the soliloquy tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow along learning of Lady Macbeths death (Coursen and Herbert 1997). The reason remained unrevealed and some assume she committed suicide. The battle ended in homicide of the young Macduffs and Siward altercation with Macbeth. Macbeth brags he had no reason to panic Macduff as he could not be killed by any man born by a woman. In play, the three Witches symbolize chaos, darkness and conflict while their duty is as witnesses and agents. Their presence communicates impending doom and treason.

Guilded Age :: essays research papers

There are many different views on whether or not business should be regulated during the Guilded Age. The rich who controlled the government at the time were against any kind of regulation of business. They wanted one hundred percent capitalism. The workers on the other hand wanted the business to be regulated, and the legalization of unions. I am going to support the ideas of the business owners.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were many wealthy business owners who believed in the gospel of wealth. This was the idea that God made the rich rich and the poor poor. This was a common thought process of the Guilded Age. Andrew Carnegie was a major follower of this thought. This is shown in his speech â€Å"Wealth.† In this speech he says that rich and poor are necessary for the race. It also describes how it is survival of the fittest. The ideas of the gospel of wealth are a scary concept today. If you look at it with a revisionist viewpoint the idea that rich are rich because God said so leaves us open for so much discrimination. The thoughts of this time were not able to see this, and the business owners wanted to keep the power in their hands. Document E also has a touch gospel of wealth in it. It talks about a preacher telling his parishioners to go out and make money. It says that it is the person’s job to go out and become rich. It also talks about how the rich are the most honest of all people. That because they have money you are the least likely to lie because you don’t have too. Many people of the era said that the money would be there even if the rich weren’t there, but Document G contradicts this idea.

The Current State of Virtual Art and Exhibition :: Art Artistic Papers

The Current State of Virtual Art and Exhibition Virtual art is the product of long-standing traditions in art merged with revolutionary technological advances. With innovations emerging almost as fast as end-users can test and master new systems, technology has dramatically altered our daily lives and changed our thought processes. Like many technological advances, virtual and cyber realities have been embraced, and often created by, artists that experiment with the myriad of possibilities that technology can offer. While there have been many works of art inspired and created by means of digital advances, the medium has yet to be defined and its boundaries have not yet been identified. Since technology and virtual art are just beginning to be explored, the medium is in its infancy and thus cannot be judged based upon traditional mores of art. Before virtual art can achieve prominence and respect within the art world, many barriers of tradition must first be abolished. Virtual and digital technologies are rampant in American culture and thoroughly utilized in entertainment mediums like television, movies, magazines, and video games. Our capitalist economy creates a fertile environment for these mediums to prosper by feeding off the public's hunger for entertainment. Because these industries are in such high demand and accrue billion dollar revenues, new technologies are often conceived in and funded by these trades: "For, in essence, all socially relevant new image media, from classical antiquity to the revolution of digital images, have advanced to serve the interests of maintaining power and control or maximizing profits" (Grau 339). That being the case, new technologies "hardly ever†¦advanced solely for artistic purposes" (Grau 339). Because "power" and "profits" are the central means of motivation in our culture; art, in the classical sense, is often an afterthought. In an age where entertainment and art intertwine, however, distinctions b etween the two based upon their creation are impossible. With advances in technology and, in turn, art, our ideas and traditions of comparison should also develop to justly analyze new media: "Although art history and the history of the media have always stood in an interdependent relationship and art has commented on, taken up, or even promoted each new media development, the view of art history as media history†¦is still underdeveloped" (Grau 4). In order to embrace virtual art as a valid outlet of artistic expression, its relationship to media and unique position in the history of art must first be acknowledged.

Volkswagen of America: Managing It Priorities

Matulovic who is the chief information officer of Volkswagen of America (VWoA) has a tough decision to make. Volkswagen’s subsidiary launched a new process for allocating budgets across the business. With the new process, they have derived at a list of approved projects that no one is happy about. Calls came flooding through to Matulovic with an informal request to insert an unfunded project into the IT department’s work plans. VWoA had projects requiring $210 millions and the parent company of VWoA (Volkswagen Group, VWAG) budgeted only $60 million. In choosing the right projects to fund was a process that consisted of three phases: Phase 1-Calling for projects, communicating process, and identifying dependencies, Phase 2-Formal project requests for business unit, and Phase 3-Transforming business unit request into enterprise goal portfolios. Phase I was able to reduce and re-categorize projects because business units realized that many of their initiatives were very similar to other initiatives throughout the company which lead projects to become grouped together into common enterprise projects. This phase identified dependencies among projects. Therefore, without completed projects, the other projects could not be started. This phase also involved members becoming exposed to information about proposed initiatives across the company which gave them a greater understanding and appreciation of different business units. This helps migrate away from the current silo thinking and start focusing on initiatives in an enterprise-wide level. At the end of this phase, the proposed $210 million was simplified to a list of projects that required $170 million. Phase 1 was a critical starting point in aligning all business initiatives and trimming down projects. With the list in hand, we now step into Phase 2. During Phase 2 each business unit was required to classify each proposal into the type of investment (stay in business, return on investment, and option-creating investment) and technological application type (base-enterprise IT platform, enterprise applications, and customized point solutions). These classifications would influence how particular investments would be treated in the selection and prioritization process. Business units had to rank projects by priority and associate projects with enterprise goals. There was criticism that projects were reclassified as enterprise, but they really weren’t enterprise projects. The is because business units had to think of ways to associate their project with enterprise goals to improve chances of funding since the stay in business projects were given high priority, then the enterprise projects and finally individual business units. So if your project wasn’t a stay in business or enterprise project then the business units were tempted to reclassify their project to an enterprise project instead of a business unit. This built frustration as managers are looking for their own funding but don’t have the overall view to properly prioritize which lead other projects get the funding. Finally, Phase 3 consisted of ranking business unit goals based upon enterprise goals/needs. The key concept of governance is to align organizational activity with corporate goals and strategy. The assessment of the new process is to align business goals with enterprise goals and fund the top priority projects that would support the next round of growth goal areas. The NRG program is the readiness program called â€Å"Next Round of Growth† it was aimed to define the goals, functions, and organizational changes required to support and enable the new global product diversification strategy. The Next Round of Growth Enterprise Goal Areas is to support expanded product portfolio which is customer loyalty, new vehicle value, pre-owned vehicle business, stable infrastructure, and optimize supply flow. In order to reach a final project list, VWoA had to simplify and categorize projects, assess their business impact, and distinguish their alignment with goals all while making trade-off decisions. The process is an improvement over the old process since the business units were required to prioritize based on the enterprise-wide goals instead of their own business unit. It also avoided the less organized and less centralized method in prioritizing projects. The new process led business units to work together and make decisions that would affect their unit using the overall company strategy. They would also recognize other business unit’s priorities and provide a greater appreciation of their business unit and the work that they do. This helps alleviate other business units ranking their initiatives as more important than another. As this being a new process at VWoA, this process failed to capture and fund the supply flow project. The unfunded supply flow project revealed a flaw in the new process system. The supply flow project did not get funding because it was recognized at the global level and not at the VWoA importer level. The loss of funding would constitute a major setback for globalization initiatives based in Germany so this particular project must be funded somehow and Matulovic had to think of options on how to make this happen. The recommendation at this point is to remain focus on the most important strategic goals of VWoA and proceed funding all projects in the final project list in the top-ranked portfolio. He should not take funding from other funded projects to try and help fund the supply flow project. That would lead to intense push back and affect working relationships since projects which are important to VWoA’s strategic goals will be neglected. He should also not leave it to the supply flow area to work out what to do about this project because that decision would lead to a project waiting to fail. Dumping a project on them to figure out, without the proper resources is nearly impossible to successfully complete. Re-opening the new prioritization process that took nearly 3 months to complete is unnecessary and wasted time. The process will not have to be reopened, rather to find alternative sources for funding to proceed with the supply flow project. Due to the global reach of the project, it is unreasonable for the project to be funded solely by VWoA, but rather allocating the funds under the parent company or among all companies under the umbrella of the parent company, Volkswagen Group. Volkswagen Group sets the budget at VWoA and several organizational entities at VWoA would play a role in controlling which projects are funded. There are four specific teams involved in this process: the ELT (Executive Leadership Team), the ITSC (IT Steering Committee), the PMO (Project Management Office), and the DBC (Digital Business Council). If they are unable to find alternative funding then they should consider this project as an exception or special condition to figure out a way to fund the project. This is common where successful businesses continuously create new opportunities which cannot be covered by existing IT decisions. Matulovic should reach out to the supply flow group in Germany to present and communicate the different options for alternative funding and the importance of funding the top-ranked portfolio and the supply flow project and get them involved in the solution process. In managing IT priorities in the future, there needs to be a change in the new process to include support and recognize the global level projects and not just at the VWoA level. This ensures other vital projects don’t fall through the cracks like the supply flow project in this case study. The Volkswagen Group should reevaluate that proper funding is allocated for both the VWoA and global level initiatives. Matulovic’s fellow executives that communicated the concern of unfunded projects were involved in the decision making process and if they thought these goals didn’t align with the company’s goals, then they should have voiced their concerns to the process teams, ELT,ITSC, PMO, and/or the DBC, not to Matulovic. The expectation of all VWoA’s employees should be in support of the company’s overall strategic goals, not just their own business units. Volkswagen of America: Managing It Priorities Matulovic who is the chief information officer of Volkswagen of America (VWoA) has a tough decision to make. Volkswagen’s subsidiary launched a new process for allocating budgets across the business. With the new process, they have derived at a list of approved projects that no one is happy about. Calls came flooding through to Matulovic with an informal request to insert an unfunded project into the IT department’s work plans. VWoA had projects requiring $210 millions and the parent company of VWoA (Volkswagen Group, VWAG) budgeted only $60 million. In choosing the right projects to fund was a process that consisted of three phases: Phase 1-Calling for projects, communicating process, and identifying dependencies, Phase 2-Formal project requests for business unit, and Phase 3-Transforming business unit request into enterprise goal portfolios. Phase I was able to reduce and re-categorize projects because business units realized that many of their initiatives were very similar to other initiatives throughout the company which lead projects to become grouped together into common enterprise projects. This phase identified dependencies among projects. Therefore, without completed projects, the other projects could not be started. This phase also involved members becoming exposed to information about proposed initiatives across the company which gave them a greater understanding and appreciation of different business units. This helps migrate away from the current silo thinking and start focusing on initiatives in an enterprise-wide level. At the end of this phase, the proposed $210 million was simplified to a list of projects that required $170 million. Phase 1 was a critical starting point in aligning all business initiatives and trimming down projects. With the list in hand, we now step into Phase 2. During Phase 2 each business unit was required to classify each proposal into the type of investment (stay in business, return on investment, and option-creating investment) and technological application type (base-enterprise IT platform, enterprise applications, and customized point solutions). These classifications would influence how particular investments would be treated in the selection and prioritization process. Business units had to rank projects by priority and associate projects with enterprise goals. There was criticism that projects were reclassified as enterprise, but they really weren’t enterprise projects. The is because business units had to think of ways to associate their project with enterprise goals to improve chances of funding since the stay in business projects were given high priority, then the enterprise projects and finally individual business units. So if your project wasn’t a stay in business or enterprise project then the business units were tempted to reclassify their project to an enterprise project instead of a business unit. This built frustration as managers are looking for their own funding but don’t have the overall view to properly prioritize which lead other projects get the funding. Finally, Phase 3 consisted of ranking business unit goals based upon enterprise goals/needs. The key concept of governance is to align organizational activity with corporate goals and strategy. The assessment of the new process is to align business goals with enterprise goals and fund the top priority projects that would support the next round of growth goal areas. The NRG program is the readiness program called â€Å"Next Round of Growth† it was aimed to define the goals, functions, and organizational changes required to support and enable the new global product diversification strategy. The Next Round of Growth Enterprise Goal Areas is to support expanded product portfolio which is customer loyalty, new vehicle value, pre-owned vehicle business, stable infrastructure, and optimize supply flow. In order to reach a final project list, VWoA had to simplify and categorize projects, assess their business impact, and distinguish their alignment with goals all while making trade-off decisions. The process is an improvement over the old process since the business units were required to prioritize based on the enterprise-wide goals instead of their own business unit. It also avoided the less organized and less centralized method in prioritizing projects. The new process led business units to work together and make decisions that would affect their unit using the overall company strategy. They would also recognize other business unit’s priorities and provide a greater appreciation of their business unit and the work that they do. This helps alleviate other business units ranking their initiatives as more important than another. As this being a new process at VWoA, this process failed to capture and fund the supply flow project. The unfunded supply flow project revealed a flaw in the new process system. The supply flow project did not get funding because it was recognized at the global level and not at the VWoA importer level. The loss of funding would constitute a major setback for globalization initiatives based in Germany so this particular project must be funded somehow and Matulovic had to think of options on how to make this happen. The recommendation at this point is to remain focus on the most important strategic goals of VWoA and proceed funding all projects in the final project list in the top-ranked portfolio. He should not take funding from other funded projects to try and help fund the supply flow project. That would lead to intense push back and affect working relationships since projects which are important to VWoA’s strategic goals will be neglected. He should also not leave it to the supply flow area to work out what to do about this project because that decision would lead to a project waiting to fail. Dumping a project on them to figure out, without the proper resources is nearly impossible to successfully complete. Re-opening the new prioritization process that took nearly 3 months to complete is unnecessary and wasted time. The process will not have to be reopened, rather to find alternative sources for funding to proceed with the supply flow project. Due to the global reach of the project, it is unreasonable for the project to be funded solely by VWoA, but rather allocating the funds under the parent company or among all companies under the umbrella of the parent company, Volkswagen Group. Volkswagen Group sets the budget at VWoA and several organizational entities at VWoA would play a role in controlling which projects are funded. There are four specific teams involved in this process: the ELT (Executive Leadership Team), the ITSC (IT Steering Committee), the PMO (Project Management Office), and the DBC (Digital Business Council). If they are unable to find alternative funding then they should consider this project as an exception or special condition to figure out a way to fund the project. This is common where successful businesses continuously create new opportunities which cannot be covered by existing IT decisions. Matulovic should reach out to the supply flow group in Germany to present and communicate the different options for alternative funding and the importance of funding the top-ranked portfolio and the supply flow project and get them involved in the solution process. In managing IT priorities in the future, there needs to be a change in the new process to include support and recognize the global level projects and not just at the VWoA level. This ensures other vital projects don’t fall through the cracks like the supply flow project in this case study. The Volkswagen Group should reevaluate that proper funding is allocated for both the VWoA and global level initiatives. Matulovic’s fellow executives that communicated the concern of unfunded projects were involved in the decision making process and if they thought these goals didn’t align with the company’s goals, then they should have voiced their concerns to the process teams, ELT,ITSC, PMO, and/or the DBC, not to Matulovic. The expectation of all VWoA’s employees should be in support of the company’s overall strategic goals, not just their own business units.

Why People Want to Study in My University

Why people want to study at FMI Plovdiv University Essay People study in Plovdiv University for many different reasons. I think the most important reason is to gain more knowledge and develop their skills in an area. Of course, there are also many other reasons that people study in the university such as to get more friends. These days, most jobs require people who are educated and have good job skills. Therefore, the people who want a good job have to study hard and at least graduate with a high education.I think that Plovdiv University is the right place to acquire an increased knowledge, especially professional knowledge for a particular job. The new, valuable experiences people get while studying at Plovdiv University are another good reason. Going to the university is so much different from high school, it’s like living in a new environment. For many students away from their home and family, the university is the new home where they’ll have an independent life.This is where they get’ll get to know new people, experience new things and prepare for the life in the future. So, besides the knowledge, people want to study here because they want to see what it’s like living in the real world. Plovdiv, as a big city, offers lots of new experiences and opportunities, especially for people coming from small cities. People want to study in Plovdiv university because of the variety of courses they can choose from, the quality of education they get, and the opportunities the big city (Plovdiv) offers after graduation.

Alcohol Abstinence Essay

Ever known someone that was a victim of an alcohol related death or had their lives ruined because of it? Well I have. More than 100,000 US deaths are caused by excessive alcohol drinking each year. Alcohol is a huge fetter to people and I believe that everyone should be abstinent from it. Alcohol is harmful to the body, teens abuse it and drink underage, and it has harmful effects on children. Every year, more money is spent promoting alcohol than any other product. Perhaps through its elaborate and creative marketing, the most basic, yet important fact about alcohol is often overlooked: It is a drug. One concept that many people find difficult to accept is that alcoholism and alcohol problems are a disease. Research has shown that alcohol interacts with the bodys systems in predictable ways to lead to physiological addiction. Alcohol significantly impairs judgment and coordination, it can increase the chance of aggressive acts, it can do permanent damage to vital organs, and it can cause cancer, gastrointestinal irritations such as nausea, diarrhea, and ulcers, malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies, sexual dysfunctions, high blood pressure, lowered resistance to disease, and others. Alcohol is the most commonly used drug among young people today. Underage drinking costs the United States more than 58 billion dollars a year. Thats enough to buy every public school student a state of the art computer. Concerning the past 30 days, 50% of high school seniors reported drinking, with 32% report being drunk at least once. About 30% of failures in school are caused by alcohol and 2-3% of teens die from it. Despite the tireless efforts of thousands of advocates, impaired drivers continue to kill someone every 30 minutes, nearly 50 people a day, and almost 18,000 citizens a year. Lots of people think the only people affected by alcohol are adults and teens but children can also be affected by it. More than 18% of American children experience alcohol abuse by a parent or other adult in their lives. Parents can influence the use of alcohol as well. Almost 65% of youth surveyed said that they got the alcohol they drink from family. Mothers who drink alcohol during pregnancy can also affect children. These infants may suffer from mental retardation and other irreversible physical abnormalities. In  addition, research indicates that children of alcoholic parents are at greater risk than other children of becoming alcoholics. Since alcohol is something that would be extremely hard to ban and probably wouldnt work if tried, people need to refrain from poisoning themselves with it and become abstinent. Alcohol forces people to do irrational things and endanger peoples lives. People need to be abstinent from alcohol so this world can become a better and safer place for the generations to come. Bibliography â€Å"Alcohol.† GDCADA- Greater Dallas Council on Alcohol on Drug Abuse. 6 Mar. 2006. 14 Feb. 2009 . â€Å"Alcohol and Drugs.† Alcohol and Drug Information. SAMHSA. 14 Feb. 2009 .

Classical Management Theory

Classical management theory, for all it’s rationality and potential to improve efficiency, dehumanised the practice of management (Inkson & Kolb, 2001). Choosing either bureaucracy or scientific management, discuss this quote and argue whether modern business’ continues to dehumanise. People’s conception of the nature of work and the social relationships between individuals in various levels in organizations changed, brought by the industrial revolution of the late 1800s. Classical management believed in work specialization. That is, that work should be organized and divided according to one’s specific individual skill. There are three subfields of management, each with a slightly different emphasis: scientific management, bureaucratic organisations and administrative principles (Wrege & Stoka, 1978). Using scientific management, we will explore the ways it dehumanised the practice of management. Firstly, by discussing it’s systematic approach that was designed by Frederick Taylor, to solely improve productivity by reducing the amount of time and effort needed in solving a task. Secondly, by exploring how human needs and considerations were given little or no regard. Then lastly, how the human relations movement was formed and the ways it ‘humanised’ the practice of management to become what modern management is today. Scientific management was a systematic approach that was designed by Frederick Taylor, one of the original advocates of scientific management, to solely improve productivity by introducing a machine-like structure that reduced the amount of time and effort needed. His philosophy is encapsulated in his statement, â€Å"In the past the man has been first. In the future, the system must be first† (Wren, 1979). This job redesign was at the heart of the scientific management movement, and efforts to simplify job design reached its peak in the assembly-line production techniques that became popular in the early 1900s. It formed the basis for what became known as the scientific management movement, and had the following characteristics; Machine pacing – this was when the production rate was determined by the speed of the conveyor belt, not by the workers themselves. Task repetitiveness – tasks were performed over and over during a single work shift. On auto assembly lines, for example, typical work cycles (that is, times allowed for completion of an entire piece of work) ranged from thirty seconds to one and a half minutes. This means a worker performed the same task up to 500 times a day. Next were low skill requirements – jobs could be easily learnt and workers were easily replaced. Task specialization – each job consisted of only a few operations. Limited social interaction was also a factor – due to the speed of the assembly line, noise and physical separation. Finally, tools and techniques specified – selected tools and techniques were assigned by staff specialists (usually industrial engineers) to maximize efficiency. As you can see, organisations had machine-like structures, which increased a workers speed and expertise in one specialised area. It also reduced the amount of time spent on a task and the effort of teaching them a range of skills, which in turn helped the business achieve organizational productivity and efficiency. But buy doing so; management lost its human side. Human needs and considerations of its workers were given little or no regard. Therefore Taylor felt the worker was, essentially, just part of a huge line of processes. Although the techniques led to an increase in output as well an increase in efficiency, problems with this new form of management began to arise. Firstly, it became increasingly apparent that factors other than money had motivating potential for workers to increase output and efficiency. Second, managers became aware that many employees would work consistently without the need for close supervision and control. Lastly, some managers attempted job simplification techniques without having the need to increase pay when there was an increase in output. It’s failure to deal with the social context and workers’ needs led to increased conflict between managers and employees (Samson & Daft, 2009), as wages fell behind productivity and as increased efficiency lead to cuts in the number of workers. Job fractionation lead to unauthorized breaks, as people did not like their jobs. Workers reacted by refusing to co-operate, and unionization efforts and sabotage also became more common during this period. Over time, concern for improving worker’s attitudes arose and by the 1930s, behavioural scientists began looking at ways to make employees happier on the job. As we have just discussed, the benefits that arose from scientific management seemed outweighed by the multiple drawbacks we have just highlighted, relating the human needs and considerations of workers. Thus, the idea based on rationality and technique almost seemed to â€Å"dehumanise the practice of management†, through this statement Inkson & Kolb (2001) understood. This emphasis on the human factor in employee performance became known as the human relations movement. Management now realized that people wanted to feel useful and important at work. Attention moved away from scientific measurement of fractionation towards a better understanding of the nature of interpersonal and group relations on the job. Motivation had taken a shift from the piece-rate approach to having a stronger social emphasis. â€Å"Hardly a competent workman can be found who does not devote a considerable amount of time to studying just how slowly he can work and still convince his employer that he is going at a good pace† (Taplin, 2006). This quote reflects the previous generally accepted mentality of the average worker, in that their sole motivation was money – the human relations movement changed all of this. Workers wanted to be recognized as individuals and it was concluded that it was failure to treat employees as human beings was largely responsible for poor performance, low morale, high job turnover, absenteeism, among other problems. Because of these problems, an effort was made by managers to make employees feel important and involved. Morale surveys, for instance, became popular as an indicator within organizations, as well as departmental meetings and company newspapers. Supervisory training programmes were initiated to train managers in group dynamics. These were all attempts to help employees feel involved and important to the organisation. As you can see, scientific management, in all it’s rationality, had ultimately dehumanised the practice of management to the point where scientific research was undertaken to better understand the worker and recognize them as individuals. From a modern point of view, the advent of human relations has dramatically changed management techniques today. Although it is constantly changing, two aspects from traditional theories of motivation continue. Firstly, the basic goal of management remained employee compliance with managerial authority. The major differences were the strategies for accomplishing this. Second, nothing has changed in regards to the nature of the job itself. Instead, nterpersonal strategies in the workplace were introduced in an effort to make employees more satisfied and ultimately more productive (Youngblood, 2000). For instance, seminars to improve management and group dynamics were given by businesses to their managers, but their job is still the same. That said, such efforts are aimed at better understanding of human relations in the workplace, to improve employee morale and to recognize workers as individuals and the statement that ‘modern business’ continue to dehumanise’ can no longer be justified. We have discussed the quote â€Å"Classical management theory, for all it’s rationality and potential to improve efficiency, dehumanised the practice of management† (Inkson & Kolb, 2001)† and explored the philosophy of scientific management, which was an idea based on rationality and technique. It â€Å"dehumanised the practice of management† through a number of ways which we have explored in this essay. First, through it’s systematic approach designed by Frederick Taylor to solely improve productivity by reducing the amount of time and effort needed in solving a task. Second, by having little or no consideration for the needs of workers – they were merely part of a machine. Although two traditional theories forming the basis of management remain, the human relations movement has greatly impacted management techniques and it’s entire philosophy. From a once fractionised system it has shifted to having a large social emphasis, forming what modern management is today. Therefore, scientific management without a doubt dehumanised the practice of management and the argument that ‘modern business’ continue to dehumanise’ can no longer be supported.

British Petroleum and The Delay of Maintenance Case Analysis

British Petroleum, now known as simply BP, is a multinational oil and gas company that is headquartered in London, England. On March 23, 2005, a series of massive explosions devastated one of the largest British Petroleum refineries located in Texas City. The blast rattled windows in downtown Galveston, 20 miles away and was even felt in Houston, 35 miles distant. Reports indicated that 15 people had been killed and well over 150 were injured, many of those seriously burned.A BP spokesperson addressed the media by explaining how the explosion had occurred while an â€Å"isomerization unit of the plant was being brought back on stream to full production after having been shut down for annual inspection and repair† (Hosmer, 49). As the families of those killed in the explosion mourned their losses, BP pledged to a â€Å"long and intensive investigation to determine the cause of the explosion† (Hosmer, 49). These promises were cut short when accounts of prior problems at B P refineries began to present themselves.Reports revealed that a year ago from the day of the most recent explosion, a blast occurred at the same processing unit of the Texas refinery. No deaths or injuries resulted, but a U. S Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigation indicated violations of 14 standard operating procedures. Furthermore, merely a week prior to the Texas City explosion, BP was reported to have settled a large lawsuit claiming that their company had failed to; properly maintain huge storage tanks and improperly falsify the maintenance records of those very storage tanks.A far more condemning report in the September of 2005 found hundreds of safety violations related to a venting system at the isomerization unit, seen to not have been working properly. As a result, the OSHA imposed a probationary period, in which, BP had to request permission from the agency to start up old isomerization units, report all accidents and injuries, and hire outsi de professionals to review all refinery safety programs and procedures. BP began accepting wider responsibilities and planned to spend more than $1 billion on improving maintenance procedures.However, the company began to lose its credibility as yet another study revealed that the same isomerization tower that had leaked flammable gases to cause the deadly March 23 explosion, had leaked those same gases not once before, but eight times (Hosmer, 59). Two separate accounts of whistleblowing helped the OSHA conclude that BP’s lack of maintenance and worker training was a result of their continual demands to reduce fixed costs, which of course, the senior officials of BP denied.Stakeholder Analysis In a case that involves such environmental destruction, fines, lawsuits and more importantly, the loss of human life; a wide variety of stakeholders are affected. The first primary social stakeholder is of course the central company to the case itself- British Petroleum, consisting of all its officials and executive members. To commence, since BP is the party being sued for the massive explosion at the Texas City refinery, it has a tremendous amount of stake in the case.BP possesses a high interest in this situation, as it is their reputation and profits that evaporate with all of the proceeding lawsuits and investigations. In the same way, they possess high power because they have the full authority and financing to regularly maintain their production facilities and sufficiently train their staff. Referring to the typology of stakeholder attributes, it is clear that BP has high power, high legitimacy, high urgency and a close proximity in this case.As mentioned earlier, BP attains a great deal of power because their decisions are the root cause of the problem. The fact that BP is the defendant in all its major lawsuits, and has so much at stake gives it high legitimacy. Not only that, but the situation for BP is very urgent as the majority of their facility is d amaged and unable to produce any profits for the company. BP definitely possesses close proximity to the case, with their facility and management all situated at the explosion.All of these characteristics prove BP as a definitive stakeholder that can be harmed through the bad publicity; countless lawsuits, fines and investigations; damage to multi-billion dollar refinery; and loss of profits. The only possible benefit for BP in this pool of harms is that this explosion gives them an opportunity to rebuild the refinery with new, safer technology that abides standard operating procedures. BP claims that the massive explosion is a result of highly complicated chemical processes and even places blame on its employees for â€Å"operational mistakes†.The government agency OSHA thinks otherwise, and imposes their legal right to a probationary period on BP and its operations. BP thinks they are in no wrong, but they are denied the right to appeal for a shorter probationary period as the delay of proper maintenance is confirmed as the cause of the destruction (â€Å"csb. gov†). Moving on, another primary social stakeholder affected by the explosion of the Texas City BP refinery, is the employees and managers of the facility itself. Many employees working in the facility have lost their lives and suffered life-threatening injuries.For this reason, their interest in the situation is very high as their health and well-being is placed in jeopardy. In addition, due to the explosion, these workers are unable to earn wages to support their families. These employees have very limited power because they have no control over the decisions made by BP to properly maintain their facilities. Consequently, the employees and managers of the BP refinery have low power, high legitimacy, high urgency and a very close proximity to the case.To further explain, their measure of low power is the result of their position on the BP ladder. They simply carry out the orders enforce d by BP officials such as cutting â€Å"costs by 25 percent† (Hosmer, 53), without paying much attention to the consequences. They also possess high legitimacy with their life and loss of employment at stake. Their urgency is high as they are unable to earn wages and must resort to external sources of income to provide for their loved ones. Also, those injured in the incident must seek medical attention very urgently.Lastly, the employees clearly have close proximity as they work and reside in the vicinity of the facility that has been damaged with the blast. This combination of attributes deems the managers and employees a dependent stakeholder, which is reliant on the BP officials to carry out their will. These members of the case have virtually no benefit from the explosion. Due to the dangerous working conditions and BP’s high expenditures on the explosion, they are harmed with a possible risk of injury or death and potential job loss.Prior to the accident, these s takeholders were denied the legal right to an adequate training regime, which may have been a factor in the blast as stated in an interim report issued by BP (Hosmer, 50). The workers of BP were also denied their legal right to a union, further addressing their lack of power and independency in the case. Finally, a third stakeholder affected by the massive blast of the BP refinery is the U. S Government, but more specifically, the federal agency OSHA (Occupation Safety and Health Administration).Unlike the others, this secondary social stakeholder has a public or special interest stake in the case that is more indirect. The OSHA has a tremendous amount of power and interest given that it is in their authority to ensure BP’s business practices align with the standard operating procedures and provide safe work environments for the citizens of their nation. This secondary stakeholder can also be classified as a definitive stakeholder due to its high power, high legitimacy, high urgency and close proximity to the case.To elaborate, the OSHA has issued lawsuits, fines, investigations and even a probationary period on the practices of BP and will continue to do so until the proper production requirements are met, giving them tremendous power. They possess high legitimacy and high urgency as it is in their right to prevent any future incidents that could lead to the loss of human life and mass environmental damage, in the shortest possible time period. Clearly the U. S government, with all its branched locations, has close proximity to the accident and all key stakeholders involved in the case. Though the OSHA may benefit from showing positive involvement (i.e. investigation reports, fines etc. ) in the eyes of the public, the incident may actually decrease other countries’ investing interests. As touched upon earlier, the government has exercised their legal right to issue fines, suspensions and in-depth investigations. Through this extensive process a nd help from the media, the OSHA has been able to bring the amoral actions of the BP Company to the public’s eye, concluding that; regular maintenance of the production facility would have been enough to prevent the immense explosion. Define the Complete Moral Problem State the moral problem in a â€Å"complete† question form.Is it ethically permissible for the BP Company to ignore and delay the maintenance requirements of their Texas City refinery given that: 1) the massive explosion caused 15 deaths and over 150 life-threatening injuries; 2) the employees, managers, local communities and environment are placed in a volatile situation; 3) it is one of the largest refineries located in the United States; 4) BP settled a large lawsuit claiming that it had (1) failed to properly maintain huge storage tanks and (2) improperly falsify the maintenance records for those storage tanks† a week prior to the explosion (Hosmer, 50); 5) the same isomerization tower that leak ed the flammable gases to cause the March 23 explosion, had leaked those same gases eight times before; 6) a blast had occurred at the same gas processing unit of Texas City refinery a year prior to the March 23 explosion; 7) they were charged millions of dollars by the OSHA after finding hundreds of alleged safety violations in their facility; 8) they falsely pledged to a â€Å"long and intensive investigation to determine the cause of the explosion† (Hosmer, 49); 9) they were trying to cut costs by 25 percent after realizing an after-tax profit of $15. 7 billion? Characterize the Moral Problem Why is this a moral problem? According to Hosmer, a moral problem is a situation â€Å"in which the firm’s financial performance and social performance are in conflict† (Hosmer, 55). To further elaborate, a moral problem can present itself when a company disregards the needs and rights of its stakeholders in the pursuit of profit and financial reward. These are the situa tions when some individuals or groups to whom the organization has some form of obligation, such as employees and customers, are going to be harmed while others will be benefitted.In considering the issue involving the explosion of the Texas City refinery, it is clear to see that BP disregards the rights of its employees, managers and local communities by continually operating â€Å"rusty, unsafe and unmaintained systems† (Wolf), in order to cut costs and reap a greater financial reward. We can clearly see the direct relationship between the parties that have been harmed and denied their rights, as compared to those that are benefitted and profit from this decision, ultimately creating a conflict between financial and social performance. Thus, this issue is a moral issue. Define the kind of moral issue involved in the problem. To specify, the kind of moral issue present in the case is both a violation of justice and rights.In terms of justice, the OSHA, a branch of the U. S g overnment confirms that BP is in violation of fourteen standard operating procedures and hundreds of other safety violations. Moreover, a week prior to the explosion, BP settled a large California lawsuit as it claimed that it had failed to properly maintain storage tanks and improperly falsified the maintenance record for those storage tanks. With their decision to ignore maintenance, BP is breaking the federal law in order to increase profit and others are being harmed for it. Two cases of whistleblowing revealed that BP managers were ordered by senior officials to â€Å"cut costs by 25 percent† (Hosmer, 53).This is simply unfair for parties with close proximity to the case, such as the refinery staff, as they are unable to maintain a facility, which they know for certain, is dangerous â€Å"with its interrelated valves, controls, tanks, flares and alarms- found to not have been working properly† (Hosmer, 50). In terms of it being a rights issue, BP has violated seve ral positive legal rights and laws. For example, BP initially places blame of the Texas City explosion on its workers for â€Å"operational and supervisory mistakes† (Hosmer, 50). By making this claim, BP is violating the positive legal right to adequate employee training. Furthermore, these very individuals working inside the BP refinery are denied the positive legal right to a safe working environment. The massive blast is, as determined a result of BP’s ignorance of necessary repairs.Thus, BP is responsible for violating their employees’ positive legal right to work and provide for their families as well. Therefore, rights and justice are presented in this case. Due to the rights violated and lack of justice, this is definitely a moral problem. Determine the Economic Outcomes The concept of Pareto Optimality is key for determining the economic outcomes. Pareto Optimality refers â€Å"to a condition in which the scare resources of society are being used so ef ficiently by the producing firms, and the goods and services are being distributed so effectively by the competitive markets, that it would be impossible to make any single person better off without harming some other person† (Hosmer, 27).In order to achieve Pareto Optimality; all markets must be competitive; all customers and suppliers must be informed; and all costs must be included. In the case of BP’s Texas City refinery, the condition that states all internal and external costs must be included is violated. BP fails to recognize the costs necessary to maintain their facility, which results in the massive March 23 explosion. For example, when it was discovered that the same isomerization tower that leaked the flammable gases to cause the March 23 explosion, had leaked those same gases eight times before, all costs to repair the facility were ignored and operations were continued as normal.In addition, BP fails to include; the costs associated with the loss of employ ee wages caused by the destruction of the refinery; and the costs of tarnishing the health reputation of local communities. While BP does recognize the costs to mitigate their environmental impact and compensate for all victims, such expenditures only represent a small fraction of the total social and environmental damage caused by their operations. Also, all customers and suppliers are not informed of BP’s practices, thus, they are in violation of another Pareto Optimality condition. Hosmer explains that all parties â€Å"must be knowledgeable about the features of the products and standards of the company† (Hosmer, 8).BP does not disclose all information regarding their products and standards, in fact, generates corrupt documents in the process. This was evident when BP attempted to conceal a large California lawsuit, in which â€Å"they pleaded guilty to not properly maintaining, and falsifying the maintenance reports of huge storage tanks† (â€Å"dol. gov. com†). Without all necessary information, parties cannot make rational choices and express true preferences. In this situation, we cannot take the action that will generate the greatest profit for the company because this will definitely not generate the greatest benefit for society since all costs are not included and all information is not available.This moral problem cannot be solved economically or by applying Pareto Optimality because human-well being is still being jeopardized for a marginal profit to BP, even when an after-tax profit of $15. 7 billion is realized. Consider the Legal Requirements The law in a democratic society is the minimum collective standard that we hold people accountable to. In this case, the laws that must be obeyed by BP and its operations are the United States government regulations imposed on petroleum industries. In the time leading up to and following the devastative explosion, BP has failed to comply with a significant number of legal requir ements. In 2004, BP was cited for 14 alleged violations of standard operating procedures at their Texas City refinery.In September 2005, seven months after the explosion central to this case, the OSHA found hundreds of safety violations that it called â€Å"egregious and willful† (Hosmer, 50). Not only was BP in violation of their legal operational rights, they also denied their staff the legal right to a safe work environment. However, since the outbreak of BP’s actions, the U. S government has been active in ensuring that all legal requirements are met. Following the September 2005 report, the OSHA levied a record size fine of $21. 4 million on BP. Also imposed, was a three-year probationary period in which BP â€Å"had to request permission from the agency before starting up old refinery units and report all accidents and injuries, regardless of cause, to the agency on a regular basis† (Hosmer, 51).Now, although the OSHA was able to bring some positive change , there are still problems with the law relevant to the case. Initially, the aforementioned government agency lacked adequate information to impose the necessary regulations upon BP that would force them to maintain their facilities properly. Due to the fact that BP was falsifying their maintenance reports and managing to stay clear of the media, it was not until a series of in-depth investigations after the Texas City incident that the OSHA was able to reveal the company’s maintenance fraud. The legal information observed in this case tends to lag behind the necessary regulations and moral standards of society, proving that the law is flawed by lengthy delays.Due to the missing adequate information and lengthy delays, simply obeying the law will not solve the moral problem. The government takes action after investigating the cause, which is not up to par with society’s needs especially when human well being is being jeopardized. Even with federal regulations in place, in 2006, BP caused â€Å"the largest oil spill on the North Slope of Alaska† because their major pipeline â€Å"was found to have been poorly maintained, to be badly rusted, and to require total replacement† (Hosmer, 52). BP is operating against the law, even though they possess adequate information on their social and environmental consequences. The government regulations such as the $21.4 million fine as observed in the case, are â€Å"much more a minor matter for BP, [who] had reported an after-tax profit of $15. 7 billion† (Hosmer, 50). Thus, the law cannot be used to solve this moral problem as BP is both lawful and immoral. Evaluate the Ethical Duties In order to propose a solution to a moral dilemma as such, it is crucial to analyze the ethical duties of BP and the various ethical theories that apply. First, the principle of Personal Virtues comes in to play. It implies that one should â€Å"never take any decision or action that is not open, honest and truthful, and one that you would feel proud to see widely reported† (Hosmer, 99). It is clear that BP’s actions have directly violated this principle.Their decision to knowingly delay the maintenance of their problematic facility without informing many key stakeholders is definitely not open. BP also settled a lawsuit in which they â€Å"falsified the maintenance records for storage tanks† (Hosmer, 50), which is neither honest nor truthful. The key stakeholders in the case, such as the management of the refinery have not been open, honest and truthful, thus, cannot be proud of their decisions. This is seen in a two cases of whistleblowing where a manager of the Texas City refinery â€Å"claimed that he had been ordered to cut costs by 25 percent in early 2005† and another BP executive â€Å"had been directed to keep his maintenance expenditures low† (Hosmer, 53).Since both of these members of the BP Company were â€Å"laid off† following the press release, it is clear that BP did not want the leaked information widely reported. Therefore, BP violates the principle of Personal Virtues. Moving on, the theory of Utilitarian Benefits is one that takes an instrumental approach, assigning costs and benefits to an outcome. It states that one should â€Å"never take any decision or action that does not generate greater benefits than harms for the society of which you are a part† (Hosmer, 99). Based on the classical version of theory, from which, actions are judged solely in terms of their consequences, BP is in serious violation. Their decision to ignore maintenance requirements and operate under dangerouscircumstances leads to a massive blast that has virtually no benefits for the society, other than the fact that BP is provided with an opportunity to rebuild a safer, more secure facility. This benefit is very minute so we can assign it a 4 out of 10. Diametrically, the aforementioned decision creates numerous harms to society such as; 15 deaths and over 170 injuries; major environmental damage; loss of jobs and much more. Being of such importance, it is only fitting that we assign these outcomes with higher values such as 10,8 and 7 out of 10, respectively. Adding up the scores for the benefits and harms, we clearly see that the harms outweigh the benefits, thus, there is overwhelming evidence to infer the Utilitarian Benefits principle is violated.Furthermore, the principle of Universal Duties implies that you should â€Å"never take any decision or action that you would not be wiling to see others, faced with the same or a closely similar situation, be free and even encourage to take† (Hosmer, 99). In the case of BP, their actions directly defy the categorical imperative of the Universalizability Principle, which implies that you should act only according to the maxim you are willing to universalize. If BP universalized their behaviour of ignoring maintenance requirements in oil refiner ies or their disregard to employee safety and well-being, several catastrophic industrial incidents could occur causing deaths, injuries, environmental damage and an overall decrease in the quality of life.In fact, universalizing this behaviour would be self-defeating as the lack of clean water and resources would hinder the growth of petroleum industries. Looking at the Respect version of the categorical imperative, it is clear that BP is once again in violation. The principle explains how one should use humans â€Å"always as an end and never as a means only† (Hosmer, 96). The BP Company uses their employees as merely a means to an end by ordering them to carry out duties within the refinery. Given the numerous risks present in the workplace, the workers are treated as objects with very little care and value, useful only in achieving the company’s aim. BP does not abide with the both aspects of the categorical imperative; therefore, it violates the Universal Duties p rinciple.Another ethical duty worth evaluation is the principle of Distributive Justice. This theory mentions that moral standards are based on the primacy of a single value, justice, and that â€Å"everyone should act to ensure a more equitable distribution of benefits and burdens†, because this promotes individual self respect, essential for cooperation (Hosmer, 100). This theory, unlike the others, is hypothetical and teleological. If we were to conduct a thought experiment, whereby we imagine ourselves in the original position behind the veil of ignorance, it is clear that BP’s actions violate the Difference principle. Behind the veil of ignorance, we are unaware of our socioeconomic status.However, we are in the original position, which means we are interested in ourselves and those that who we care about to succeed; thus, we would want benefits and burdens to be distributed equitably, as we do not know which party we belong to. The least advantaged members of the society include the workers of the BP refinery since they earn low labour wages, taking orders from BP managers and senior officials. With BP’s decision to ignore the gas leaks, rusty pipelines and delay future maintenance of their refinery, high proximity employees are placed in a very volatile situation. They can very possibly encounter life-threatening injuries or death.BP’s actions fail to benefit the least advantaged members of society, which is unfair. Consequently, BP is not acting in their right moral duty. Moreover, the decision to delay maintenance destroys the BP refinery and does not provide the workers with increased employment (or any employment for that matter). Due to the facts outlined, the social and economic inequalities created through BP’s amoral actions are not justified. By means of a though experiment, it is evident that an equitable distribution of benefits and burdens is one that benefits the least advantaged members of society. The fi nal ethical duty is Contributive Liberty or Libertarianism.In the same way, it explains that moral standards are based on the primacy of a single value, which is liberty, and that â€Å"everyone should act to ensure greater freedom of choice† as this promotes market exchange, essential for social productivity (Hosmer, 100). Applying this theory, it becomes clear that BP’s actions are in violation with this principle. A few stakeholders, such as employees have their negative rights violated with the explosion, as they are unable to work and earn wages in a dangerous facility lacking maintenance repairs. More importantly, they are not ensured greater freedom of choice because even though they can see the flaws located in the refinery, they must proceed with the instructions from management. In the same way, the management is also denied a freedom to maintain the facility as they are ordered to â€Å"cut costs by 25 percent† or otherwise, risk losing their position s.By suppressing the freedom of these two stakeholders, BP is liable for the massive blast which shuts down the supply of BP petroleum and gas products; ultimately, obstructing efficient market exchange and violating the principle of Contributive Liberty. Propose and Defend a Solution After determining the economic outcomes, considering the legal requirements and evaluating the ethical duties, it is appropriate to make my recommendation. My proposed solution to BP’s moral problem is to make its most disadvantaged stakeholders better off and implement an ‘Employee Workplace Evaluation Program’ as a part of BP’s regular operations. It is important to note that this case has already been â€Å"solved† legally through BP being sued, fined and placed on a probationary period, however, it does not help the moral situation as the law cannot solve anything morally.BP is already mitigating its environmental impact through financial compensation, but my solut ion involves them to start by personally apologizing to each and every family they have harmed through the explosion of the refinery. Next, BP needs to work with local communities to provide long-term health care, food and other services to those families that have either lost or suffered an injury to an earning loved one. In my opinion, this is the least a multi-billion dollar oil corporation can do to begin righting its amoral actions. The second step in my solution entails BP implementing an Employee Workplace Evaluation Program or EWEP, with overview from government authorities (OSHA).This will give the workers inside BP facilities an opportunity to report on various aspects of their job such as; the safety of the equipment; specific work instructions from their boss; any hazardous occurrences (regardless of magnitude); all of which, are relevant to the cause of the March 23 explosion. With the use of an EWEP, all information is openly available, honest and truthful from the emp loyee’s perspective, thus conforming to principle of Personal Virtues. The solution also holds true for Utilitarian Benefits as the benefits of helping families recover from devastation and ensuring the future safety of employees, greatly outweighs the harms. Finally, by providing employees with the freedom of speech, BP will be able to align with the principle of Contributive Liberty and create more secure and productive work environments.