We feel we know the self to be an equivocal commodity Essay Example For Students

We feel we know the self to be an equivocal commodity Essay Although he does abandon any morals he has he has more scruples over doing so than Cromwell clearly, as we can see from his performance when with the Mores when his guilty conscience suspects that he is no longer welcome there; later we see him showing his conscience to Cromwell; Im lamenting. Ive lost my innocence. (page 44) However, Cromwell quickly brings him into check and so seems to dissolve the last trace of Richs ever fading conscience. Thomas Cromwell was clearly a follower of pragmatic political thought, we can see this through the fact he advised Rich to read works Machiavellian literature. We will write a custom essay on We feel we know the self to be an equivocal commodity specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We see him labeled by the boatman as the coming man, this is because he is a very pragmatic politician, and it is his pragmatism that brings about his success as nothing holds him back; When the King wants something done, I do it. (page 21) Cromwell is a schemer, is ambitions are clearly very powerful ones. He is a suspicious character, this can be seen through the agitation on stage at the mere mention of his name, he certainly is not a well liked character. He uses people, notably Rich in order to achieve what he desires. He has no scruples in knowingly setting up an innocent man, clearly he is not a man of conscience. He is a rather sadistic character and we see this side of him as we see him hold Richs hand in the candle flame, this incident also serves to demonstrate Richs weakness as even after this Rich continues to follow Cromwell in order to progress. His attitude could be well summed up in the following phrase, which gives an insight into his lack of conscience and moral standards; so much wickedness purchases so much worldly prospering. (page 43) Cromwell is jealous of more and his success and relationship with the King, and resorts to Richs perjury in order to defeat More. Clearly, Cromwell is a character lacking in morality and any sense of human decency. More describes him as threatening like a dockside bully. Ambition can lead to moral downfall. Since the power that drives on ambition is great enough to push aside any signs of conscience if it achieves the seemingly greater cause, we see this in the actions of both Rich and Cromwell. The Common Man too is guilty of finding fewer and fewer things, which he is willing to stand up for. He will keep his quiet about anything and everything if it keeps him out of trouble and out of the spotlight.

The wealth for wealth sake- the ethical perspective of profit making. The WritePass Journal

The wealth for wealth sake- the ethical perspective of profit making. INTRODUCTION The wealth for wealth sake- the ethical perspective of profit making. INTRODUCTIONSHAREHOLDER WEALTH MAXIMISATION/ LEVELS OF RETURNSSTAKEHOLDER AND AGENCY THEORYAGENCY THEORYCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICSETHICSCONCLUSIONCHALLENGES AND THE LEANING OUTCOME I FIND MOST DIFFICULTREFERENCERelated INTRODUCTION This report seeks to explore the topic ‘wealth for wealth sake- the ethical perspective of profit making’, stakeholder theory, agency theory, corporate social responsibility, ethics and if any relationship exist between these concepts and level of company’s returns using British Petroleum Plc as a case study. These issues have sprung up a lot of debates in the last decade, with some of the opinion that the sole aim of an organisation is the maximisation of wealth for its shareholders while others hold the view that organisations should be responsible not just to their shareholders but to stakeholders. In view of this, this report will discuss these issues by examining diverse views and research on these issues and whether the focus of companies should be based solely on maximising shareholder wealth or if companies should pursue other objectives beside wealth maximisation. SHAREHOLDER WEALTH MAXIMISATION/ LEVELS OF RETURNS A business exists to maximise wealth for its shareholders and the manager has a duty to act solely in the interest of the shareholders (Friedman, 1971 in ACCA p1, 2011, p.147).   Friedman was of the view that organisation cannot have responsibility and so not accountable to anybody but its shareholders. This view was reiterates by Grant, 2011 who said that organisations are entities that have the right to maximise profit. However, a business though an artificial person in law, has the same rights and responsibilities as human beings and thus accountable for its actions and this invariably bestows its some responsibilities to those groups who are affected by the organisations activities and decisions (ACCA P1, 2011, p.146). The question is then whether organisations should make wealth at the expense of other stakeholders, such as the customers, suppliers, employees, community and society?   These organisations in question are kept running by communities of people who all share com mon goals and values and shareholder wealth maximisation is being made possible because of the effort and actions of these group of people despite the fact that the shareholders provides funds for the business. An organisation who fails to recognise its stakeholder is asking for trouble as employees can boycott work or customers can stop buying from them. The implication will be a fall in share price and since shareholder wealth is measured by the value of shares they own in the company, there will be a reduction in shareholder wealth.   Studies have shown that businesses that are ethically sound are rewarded with additional customers while those that are unsound are boycotted and employees show more commitment to socially responsible companies (ACCA p1, 2011, p.147). Friedman fails to realise that organisations are first and foremost communities of people working together for a common purpose and the existence of community automatically give rise to mutual responsibilities (Grant , 2011 in (Blank and McGurn, 2004; Gates, 2004; Gini, 2004). Moreover, the market is a network of relationships and it is the working of these various relationships that makes an organisation efficient or inefficient. Bp has a better understanding of the importance of developing relationships with the stakeholders when in April 20, 2010 the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in America Killed eleven workers and left 17 injured in a bid to maximise wealth (Mardell, 2011). The company was charged $20bn as compensation fund (Palmer, 2011). Bp continues to pay dearly for its actions long after the incident with the continuous fall in the share price as evident in the graph below: Bp Share Chart April 2010 to April 2011 SOURCE: ADVFN, 2011 Bp had the biggest fall in share price following the spill by more than 6% on opening and ended the day 4.7% down (Merrison, July, 2010). BP Share Price 1-Day Chart SOURCE: SKY NEWS, 2010 As at June 9, 2010, two months after the incident, Bp is below book value and trading less than half of its 52-week high, and its worth less than $100 billion. The company which has been paying out a steady 84 cents per share per quarter now has that payment in jeopardy as there is a $4.50 fall in the share price and a dividend of $3.36 is currently being paid on a stock worth $30 (Salmon, 2010). Analysts even went as far as proposing an exit for Bp via a takeover. STAKEHOLDER AND AGENCY THEORY Stakeholders are all those agents who are concerned about the growth and development of an organisation (Pesqueux et al, 2005, p.6 in Mercier 1999). They are those individuals, groups or organisations who are interested in and or are affected by the activities of an organisation. (Boddy, 2011, p.637) and (Mallin, 2010, p. 63-67). Mallin identified several stakeholders and the nature of their interests and expectations in the organisation which are: EMPLOYEES: whose interest is in job security, fairness in promotion and pay and working conditions, personal development among others. Others are environmental groups, communities, customers, suppliers among others (Mallin, 2007, p.51-53). The law of corporations says that the firm should be run primarily in the interest of shareholders; stakeholder theory does not give preference to any stakeholder. Organisation should seek a balance relationship among all its stakeholders as an imbalance will put the survival of the organisation at stake. Jensen (2001) supported this view when he said that a firm who seek to maximise wealth cannot ignore the interest of its stakeholders. Buttressing the point that stakeholders not just shareholders are paramount to the success and wealth of a stakeholders, Freeman maintained that effective stakeholder management is important to the survival and prosperity of an organisation as opposed to Friedman who argued that the only responsibility of business is to engage in activities design to maximise wealth for the shareholders and anything contrary to this is stealing. However, Friedman opined that in the pursuit of this goal, the business must conform to the basic rules of the society whic h are embodied in ethical customs, giving credence to the fact that ethics is key to business performance. Mallin 2007, p.7273 raises concerns as to whether a board can function effectively with multiple objectives and which should take priority over others, not to mention the fact that the enhancement of shareholder wealth is given supremacy in the United Kingdom. AGENCY THEORY Managers of a firm own a duty to shareholders to make all effort to maximise shareholder wealth by working in their interest. Alternatively, managers are also concern in working for their own best interest giving that economic theory of rational choice maintains that human nature being selfish will engage in activities that benefit them rather than others (Bradburn, 2001, p.4). However, there have been a lot of cases of selfless service in history such as Mother Theresa of old. Agency theory arises thus as a result of the conflicts of interest between management and shareholder due to separation of ownership from control. Studies have shown that managers substituted their interest in place of those of shareholders just like the case of Enron Corporation (ACCA, paper p1, 2010). Agency problem therefore arises as a result of managers making decisions that are contrary to the maximisation of shareholder wealth and possible causes of this are Separation of ownership and control: shareholders the principal fund the company but appoint agents, management to control the affairs of the company on their behalf. Differing goals between shareholders and management: Shareholders want high return on investment and thus want managers to take higher risk. However, managers are risk averse and tend to minimise risk by investing in low risk projects as oppose to shareholders who want higher returns on their investment thereby reducing shareholder wealth. Asymmetry of information: Because management are involve in the day to day running of the company, they have access to all financial and management information which the shareholders have no access to except the annual report of the company that are often times subject to manipulation (Watson and Head, 2007, pp.11-12). This was the case of Enron whose managers engaged in fraudulent creative accounting techniques in a bid to build empires at the expense of shareholders which led to the eventual collapse of the company. According to Jensen and Meckling, agency problem occurs when managers own less than 100% of the firm. He argued that managers are driven by power and control rather than maximizing shareholders wealth and often times seek to build empires. Thus take decisions that maximise their interest rather than the shareholders such as increase in managerial pay, rewards and job security. As a result of this conflict of interest and in an attempt to ensure that management interests are in line with those of shareholders, agency costs are incurred such as legal cost, cost of managers’ incentives and monitoring among others (ACCA, paper p1, 2010, p.23). To resolve problems arising from goal congruence between shareholders and management, Measures have been put in place by shareholders to minimise these problems: Monitoring activities of managers: Here external auditors are put in place to ensure that the financial statements prepare by the directors show a true and fair view of the affairs of the company. However, in the process agency costs are incurred. Performance related pay: Executive share option schemes: In an effort to encourage executives to maximise shareholder wealth and reduce managers aversion to risk, share options are introduced which allow senior managers to own certain number of shares in the company at a fixed price. The downside of using share option to check and balance senior executives is the fact increase in share price due to boom in the economy and general market trends will result to executives being rewarded not base on the merits of their performance (SIGLER, 2009, pp. 762-764). CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ETHICS It has become increasing important that organisations become actively responsible and makes ethical business decisions as a result of the recent scandals that have gulfed the business world, from Enron to WorldCom among others. The business world and the community can no longer fold their hands and watch in horror in anticipation of when the next big scandal will rock the world economy. Thus, the need to revisit the role of ethics and corporate social responsibility in today’s business world. Although corporate social responsibility is closely linked to ethics because an outcome of ethical conduct is social responsibility (Dubrin, 1994, P.44), however, Blowfield, 2008, p. 12 13 in Davis 1973 explains that corporate social responsibility begins where the law ends. It is the positive impacts companies made on the lives of the community and beyond the society in which they operate outside of their legal obligations. Siegel and Vitaliano (2007) argued that CSR occurs when firms e ngage in activity that appears to advance a social agenda beyond that which is required by law. There is no doubt that corporate social responsibility is of paramount importance to the performance of a business as evidence have shown that organisations who put social responsibility as top most priority in their agenda will have a strong financial performance (Schermerhorn, 2002, p.159). In a poll in 2005, eighty-one percent of executives said that corporate social responsibility is important to their business. Majority of the executives were of the opinion that the purpose of a business is to be a steward in the society as it has duties to its stakeholders such as the customers, shareholders, employees, community and the environment (Blowfield, 2008, p. 10). In addition, there is little or no reason to believe that organisations cannot maximise wealth for their shareholders while performing other public responsibilities. Svensson et al, 2011,p.29 in Lea 1999 agrees with this when he said that ‘it is the various stakeholders that determine the economic performance of a business and that profit   will arise naturally from the performance of their business practices such as being socially responsible’. Similarly, Freeman et al 1988, p.47 stressed further this by saying that financial performance and ethics are the same thing. For an organisation to maximize wealth, it needs to maintain relationships with several stakeholders that affect or are affected by its decisions (Presqueux, 2005, p.8). Business should not only look at the immediate returns, but at the communities who will become their consumers. This indicates that companies need to re-examine the nature of their interactions and the effects on their stakeholders (Gibson, 2007, p.xiv). Martin 2003, p.87 in an article in Harvard business review maintained that organisations exhibit socially responsible behaviour because it create goodwill among customers and enhances shareholder value. Little wonder more companies have come to the significance of being socially responsible and have become actively involved in building key relationships with their various stakeholders. Some have gone from being socially responsible to becoming sustainable due to increasing awareness to conserve and protect earth’s limited and depleting resources (May et al. 2007, p.237) such as the G8 summit. British petroleum, BP in 1997 took a stand on climate change by reducing greenhouse emissions. This socially responsible act Bp claims has cost them nothing but increased net income by $600 million. However, the same Bp in 2010 was involved in an oil spill that led to 11 employees’ death and pollution due to negligence and an attempt to cut cost and increase shareholder wealth (Mar dell, 2011). Bp as a result suspended dividend payments to shareholders with $25 billion dollars set aside to cover compensation claims (Boddy, 2011, p.161). Apple and Microsoft are massively involved in CSR while still creating value for their shareholders. (Heal, 2005, p.14). Alternatively, there have also been those who argued that acting socially responsible has no impact on the wealth of an organisation. Friedman in an article published in 1970 argued that an organisation has no responsibility other than maximising shareholder wealth through legal and accepted means. Friedman was one of the capitalists who emphasised strict completion, wealth maximisation and reduction in expenditure which serve as barriers to acceptance of ethical practise in business. Monsanto was destroyed while acting socially responsible. The company invested money to make crops more productive without the use of chemicals. This backfired as it was faced with oppositions from environmental activists and consumers, thus making farmers to abandon them, causing financial threats to the company and the subsequent takeover. The quest to maximise shareholder wealth should not put other stakeholders’ lives in jeopardy. Take for instance Ford Motors whom in the sixties in an attemp t to improve market position, fight competition from companies like Volkswagen and subsequently increase wealth for shareholders made the affordable Ford Pinto that was produced very cheaply with the petrol tanks placed in a position that endangers lives. Analyst believed Ford knowingly choosing profit over safety. The car poses risks and do not meet up with the legislation, yet the car was put up on sale. What followed were series of car accidents that caused many lives. Ford motors continued to sell the car as the cost of removing the product from the market far outweighs the law suit that would arise. The company was sued, though it won the lawsuit, but its reputation was badly damaged which affected the market share and subsequently the shareholder wealth they were aiming for (Boddy, 2011, p.135-136). The company in an attempt to maximise wealth for their shareholders put profit first before the safety of its customers and the community and operated outside the legal and accepte d standard advocated by Friedman. ETHICS Ethics are the norms and standards for judging good versus bad, right versus wrong. It thus defines whether actions taking by an organisation are under moral grounds (May et al, 2007, p. 157). However moral behaviour is dependent on some circumstances of time and places or on each individual decision-maker. It provides a support for maximising shareholder value in the long term and an understanding of business ethics will enhance business targets and improve performance (Sternberg, 1994, p. 15). In a survey of CFOs carried out by ACCA, it was discovered that companies that build a culture of ethics are more likely to succeed financially. Also, good ethics they say means good business (Chriysside and Kaler, 1996, p.8). Studies have shown that employees are more inclined to work for companies that are ethically and socially responsible (Weiss J, W, 2003, p.11). The pursuit of shareholder wealth should be within the confines of ethical behaviour as an organisation that solely pursues we alth maximisation will act unethically (Gibson, 2007, p.7). More so, managers believes that shareholders interest is in wealth maximisation, however, shareholders differ on this view depending on the nature of their investment with time. Some shareholders wants returns on the short term through dividends and often times, such shareholders are not inclined to acting ethically as opposed to those who wants their returns reinvested to achieve capital gains in the longer term. Boddy states that evidence have shown that investors are willing to invest in business that encourages ethical decision making. Therefore, companies need to integrate values such as trust, honesty, integrity and fairness into its policies, practice and decision making (Blowfield, 2008, p. 18). In recent times, series of companies with strong ethical policies have been found in breach of the law. This was the case of Boeing in 1998 when despite its ethical guidelines on procurement, corruption and marketing used co nfidential materials stolen from its competitor Lockheed Martin to win defence procurement contracts with the United State government. This led to it suspension from bidding for defence contracts. Ethics is a necessity in the achievement of profits, growth and shareholder value (Blowfield, 2008, p.190). Conversely, an organisation that acts unethically will have its reputation damaged and boycotted by its stakeholders just like the Ford Pinto, Enron and WorldCom. Enron despites having a Code of ethics had its senior management concealed debts worth $35 billion. The exposure of this fraudulent act led to a drop in share price from $90 to 61 cent (Gini, 2009, pp.104-115). Royal Dutch shell adopted the slogan people, planet, profits in an attempt to regain lost trust in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria and criticism for its proposed scrap of Brent Spar oil storage platform in the deep Atlantic (Blowfield, 2008, 61). It is therefore not acceptable for business to say that anything it d oes within the confines of law is ethically acceptable. In the 80’s, the Beech-Nut Nutrition Corporation had its executives sentenced by a jury for purported selling baby apple juice which in reality contain little or no apple juice. The company’s shares of $750 million dropped from a high of 20% as a result to 17% (Gini, 2009, pp.29-31). Pressure is being mounted on businesses to go beyond the law by according respect and dignity to stakeholders, thus the need for organisations to consider responsibilities to those whom their decisions will affect. Managers have to balance the demands to maximise wealth for shareholders with those of acting ethically in the pursuit of wealth and being responsible to its stakeholders whom are affected by its decisions as doing contrary to this could be detrimental or poses to the business and shareholder wealth just as Dearlove 1998 suggests that ethical behaviour should be imbibed as a core value of business. Corporate social responsibility and ethics in a lot of ways increases wealth for shareholders as illustrated in series of examples above. However, organisations will need to weigh the benefits and advantages accrued from it and come to a balance. This is not to say that companies should pursue wealth at the expense of other stakeholders’ lives. CONCLUSION The aim of this report was to discuss the objective of the company as to whether the maximisation of shareholder wealth should be the sole objective of the company. Evidences reviewed in the report pointed to the fact that wealth maximisation should not be the sole aim of the company, other stakeholders who are affected by the company’s decision should be considered and the involvement of these various stakeholders evidence shown create company goodwill and increase shareholder wealth. It is therefore imperative that companies pursue other objectives beside wealth maximisation. REFLECTIVE JOURNAL WHAT I LEARNT FROM TAKING PART IN THE COURSE WORK: This report gave me a better insight into shareholder wealth maximisation and levels of returns, stakeholder theory, agency theory, corporate social responsibility and ethics. I learnt to work with limited time and meet up with strict deadline and to effectively manage my time. MY RESAERCH TECHNIQUES: My research techniques was based on reading journals, text books,   Harvard Business review, television station archives such as BBC News, Ft.com,Rueters.com and internet sources. MY MOTIVATION: My motivation stemmed from my drive to produce a quality course work. So my motivation was strong as I worked really hard to meet up with the deadline for the assignment. WHAT I WILL DO DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME: I would ensure that I have done a thorough research regarding the subject matter before commencing my work as this will make it easier and save me time. THE FOLLOWING ARE THE LEARNING OUTCOMES WHICH I FIND EASIEST Corporate social responsibility which bothers on the ground that organisation in their pursuit of shareholder wealth needs to consider the positive impacts they made on the lives of the community and beyond the society in which they operate beyond that which constitute their legal obligations. I got to know that corporate social responsibility enhances shareholder wealth maximisation despite some argument which stress sole objective of wealth maximisation. CHALLENGES AND THE LEANING OUTCOME I FIND MOST DIFFICULT Stakeholder theory was particularly difficult for me as I have challenges getting relevant materials for it. Another was ethics which in a way is like a twin to corporate social responsibility. I realised while writing ethics that most of what I had to talk about were already discussed in corporate social responsibility making it difficult for me to have a balance word count between the two concepts. Thus ethics was also touched on in corporate social responsibility and vice versa. I believe I have done this work to the best of my ability and it will be useful to me in my future career prospects. REFERENCE ACCA. 2010. Ethics linked to better business performance. [WWW]. accaglobal.com/allnews/national/zimbabwe/ethics   (9/4/2011). ACCA. 2010. Paper p1: Governance, Risk and Ethics. Complete Text-June and December, 2011 Exam Sittings. UK: Kaplan Publishing Limited. ADVFN. 2011. [WWW].   Bp Share Price. advfn.com/lse/SharePrice.asp?shareprice=BP. (7/4/2011). BLOWFIELD, M, AND MURRAY, A. 2008. Corporate Social Responsibility: A critical Introduction. Newyork. Oxford University Press. BODDY, D and PATON, S, 2011. Management: An Introduction. 5st. Edn. England: Pearson Education Limited. BRADBURN, R. 2001. Understanding Business Ethics. London: Continuum. CHRYSSIDES, G AND KALER, J. 1996. Essentials of Business Ethics. London: McGraw-Hill. COLLINS, D. 2006. Enron: the good, the bad and the really ugly. In: GINI, A and MARCOUK, A.M. Case studies in business ethics. 6th.Edn. London: Pearson prentice Hall, pp. 104-115. DEARLOVE, D. (1998). Key Management Decisions. London: Pitman Publishing. DUBRIN, A.J. (1994). Essentials of Management. 3rd.Edn.Ohia: South-Western Publishing Co. FRIEDMAN, M. 1970. The social responsibility of business is to Increase Its Profits. In: BURCHELL, J. The corporate social Responsibility reader. Oxon: Routledge, pp.84-89. GRANT, P. 2011. Aristotelian approach to a sustainable business. Corporate governance [Online journal], 11(1), pp. 4-12. Available from Emerald at emeraldinsight.com/search.htm?st1=patricia+grantct=allec=1bf=1. (16/3/2011). GIBSON, K. 2007. Ethics and Business. Uk: Cambridge University Press. HEAL, G. 2005. [WWW] Corporate Social responsibility: an economic and financial framework. The Geneva papers on risk and Insurance-issues and practice. https://europealumni.kellogg.northwestern.edu/research/fordcenter/conferences/ethics06/heal2.pdf (4/4/2011). JENSEN, M, C. and MECKLING, W, H. 1976, Theory of the Firm: Managerial Behavior, Agency Costs and Ownership Structure. Journal of Financial Economics. [Online Journal] sfu.ca/~wainwrig/Econ400/jensen-meckling.pdf. (17/3/2011). MALLIN, M, A. 2010. Corporate Governance. 3rd .Edn. New York: Oxford University Press. MARDELL, M. 2011. Failure of an industry. [WWW] bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markmardell/2011/01/the_failure_of_an_industry.html (5, 4, 2011). MARTIN, L, R. 2003. The Virtue Matrix: Calculating the return on corporate responsibility. In: HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW. Harvard Business Review on Corporate Social Responsibility.USA: Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. Pp. 83-103. MAY, S, CHENEY, G AND ROPER, J. 2007. The debate over Corporate Social Responsibility. New York: Oxford University Press. MERRISON ED. 2010. Seep Fears Fuel Drop in BP Share Price [WWW] http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/Seep-Fears-Fuel-Drop-In-BP-Share-Price-US-Coastguard-Demands-Action-Plan-From-Oil-Giant/Article/201007315667088?f=rss (4/4/2011). PALMER, J. 2011. Gulf spills effects may not be seen for a decade. [WWW] bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12520630 (30/3/2011). SALMON, F. 2010. The ever falling Bp share price. http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2010/06/09/the-ever-falling-bp-share-price/ (4/4/2011). SCHERMERHORN, J.R. (2002). Management. 7th. Edn. Newyork: John Wiley Sons. SIEGEL,   D. and VITALIANO, D.   2007). An empirical analysis of the strategic use of corporate social responsibility. Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, 16(3), pp. 773-792. SIGLER, K, J. 2009. A brief overview of executive stock options in reducing the agency problem of excessive risk aversion. Management Research News [online Journal] emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=0140-9174volume=32issue=8articleid=1800682show=pdf (6/4/2011). STERNBERG, E. 1995. Just Business: Business Ethics in Action. 2nd.Edn. London: Warner Books. SVENSSON, G. AND WOOD, G. 2011. A conceptual framework of corporate and business ethics across organisations: Structures, processes and performance. The learning organization. 18(1). pp.21-35. PESQUEUX YVON AND SALMA DAMAK AYADI, 2005. Stakeholder theory in perspectives. Corporate governance. 5(2) WATSON D, AND HEAD, A. 2007.Corporate Finance: Principles and Practice. 4th. Edn. England: Pearson education. WEISS, J, W.2003. Business Ethics: A Stakeholder and Issue Management Approach. 3rd. Edn. Ohio: South Western.

The Effect of RMB Revaluation in the Economy of China Dissertation

The Effect of RMB Revaluation in the Economy of China - Dissertation Example The Effect of RMB Revaluation in the Economy of China Table of Contents List of Tables 4 List of Figures 4 Chapter 1: Introduction 5 1.1Background of the research problem 5 1.2Statement of the research problem 5 1.3Research objectives 5 1.4Research questions 6 1.5Significance of the research problem 6 1.6Definition of terms 7 Chapter 2: Review of Related Literature 9 2.1 Chapter Overview 9 2.2 Currency revaluation and its effects 10 2.3 The fixed vs. ... The director also drew a plan of action if China did not withdraw the control of currency and permit the renminbi (RMB) to gain strength. The central bank of China known as the People’s Bank of China allowed for some relaxation. The bank announced that will abandon the two year old peg. The peg has kept the RMB with the dollar (Yu, 2010, p. 2). It allowed RMB to respond according to the forces of the market. China will now begin to move into the regime of floating exchange rate. The regime will be a tight one which was in practice in the period between 2005 and 2008. The value of RMB will be the base on a basket of currencies within a narrow range (Wharton University of Pennsylvania, 2010). China believed that the stable RMB policy is good for the country from the time of the financial crisis of Asia. The country turned away from the exporters who were reported for violating the standards of pollution. The strengthening of the RMB against the U.S. dollar has continued unabated since 2005. It will follow the stable rising path since the country is under intense inflationary pressure (Wang and Whalley, 2007, p. 3). 1.2 Statement of the research problem The problem this dissertation seeks to resolve is: What effects shall the revaluation of the renminbi have in China’s economy, as well as in the world economy? The principal goal of the dissertation is to identify the impacts of the revaluation of the RMB on the economy of China. 1.3 Research objectives In adopting the research problem specified above, the research undertakes to achieve the following objectives: (1) To examine the necessity of a currency revaluation in

Crimes Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Crimes - Research Paper Example Murder is considered the most serious violent crime and its punishment is life prison, long prison life or capital punishment (death). Different states have different laws in relation to murder but the common division is manslaughter and murder. Murder is where the killer thought and intended to kill without a justifiable reason. In this case, the killer does not have a reasonable explanation to commit the crime. Murder can also take place under the felony-murder rule. Where one in the course of committing a felony such as robbery kills somebody else, he is charged with murder although there was no initial plan or premeditation. In this case, the person acted in a dangerous way and his behavior led to the death of somebody else. The difference between manslaughter and murder therefore is in the fact that there is no premeditation in manslaughter. Manslaughter is further divided into voluntary and involuntary categories. Voluntary manslaughter means that the intention to kill is there but it comes up suddenly due to intense emotions but it was not planned. In this case, there is no cooling off period between the action that brought the aggravation and the killing. There is no intention to kill but it happens due to carelessness or negligence. Voluntary manslaughter is not as serious as murder but it results to prison time. The only killing where the killer is released from responsibility is killing in self defense (Storing, 1981). Crimes against Property Crimes against property are those which involve theft without any force or threat directed towards a person. These include burglary, motor vehicle theft, larceny-theft and arson. Burglary is where one enters into somebody else's property such as a building to steal something. Lacenny-theft does not involve entry into a person's property but it is the unlawful taking of property. Embezzlement involves the changing something that was lawfully acquired to conduct unlawful activities. In embezzlement, the property must have come to the suspect's possession through a fiduciary relationship. It involves an element of breach of trust. It is necessary to prove breach of trust by showing that the property in question was handled in a manner that is not consisted with the trust arrangement. The required mental state for one to be accused of embezzlement is that there must have had been an intent to defraud and convert the property in question. Other types of crimes against property include fa lse pretenses and receiving stolen property. In false pretenses, a person is deceived to give up his rightful ownership or possession of property with an intention of converting the property to personal use. Possession or concealing, receiving and buying of stolen property also constitute of a crime against property. Under the crimes against property, extortion is the only intent crime. Another word for extortion is blackmail. It involves the taking of

Issues of drugs use in public schools Research Paper

Issues of drugs use in public schools - Research Paper Example The second sub-question is the rules and regulation that might be needed to guide the processing of identifying drug users among teachers and students. The other sub-question is how the effectiveness of a drug identificationtechnique chosen could be improved. Analysis in this researchis based on these sub-questions. The research concludes that none of the drug identification techniques is sufficient; it therefore recommends use of other drug identification techniques before deciding to undertake drug testing among teachers and students in public schools. CHAPTER 1: Introduction Context of the problem Drug use in public schools has been identified as a key issue affecting education in this country. Principals and other education administrators have found students in their schools using or in possession of illegal drugs like marijuana (Samaha, 2012). Moreover, there are teachers and other school employees who have been foundusing drugs by the school administrators while in their line o f duty. Therefore, the issue of drug use is a problem that affects the whole public schools fraternity. In the past, students were tested for drug use only when participating in athletics or when undertaking major co-curricular activities (Dempsey, 2011). This proved to be ineffective since the majority of drug users turned to be the idle students who did not engage in any form of sports or co-curricular activities. Furthermore, drug users tended to avoid sports and co-curricular activities to avoid being tested for drug use. However, recently a random drug test routinehas been introduced in the majority of public schools in this country. According to Leonard (2011), this approach of testing drug use has been providing great promises both as a preventive tool for drug use and as a means of reducing the costs of drug use in the society.However, teachers and other members of the public schoolfraternityare not included in this drug testing process. Drug use in public schools has severa l negative effects. Gasper (2009) identifies the issue as one of the major causes of students dropping out of schools. This is because of the fact that it could make the students feel unfit for the learning environment provided in public schools. It is also related to social problems like lack of discipline in schools, premarital sex, and spread of STIs (Ryan & Cooper, 2008). This indicates that if allowed to increase, it would result to increase in these identified social problems. Drug testing is one way of identifying drug users in public schools. As a policy, it requires that the test results be kept in confidential files and be released to educationpersonnel only when needed (Alexander & Alexander, 2011). However, very few school administrators meet what this policy requires. This results in violations of people’s privacy and victimization of students in public schools.Such outcomes have motivated human rights advocates to propose that drug education should be employed i nstead of drug testing. According to Wilson and Kolander (2011), drug education encompasses all activities aimed at teaching and communicating issues related to drug use to people in order to assist them in avoiding such harm. This might eliminate the negative effects of drug testing and yet achieve the required results in terms of

Wine Manufacturing Processes in India

Wine Manufacturing Processes in India INTRODUCTION In India wine industry develop as a new emerging field. The consumption of wine in India is very large have a great economy. Due new emerging field wine industry have a lot of opportunity also have challenges to show your talent. Now in days servicing drinking of wine become status symbol. The challenges come out due to different rules taxation in each state of India. Each state government has their own rule taxation policy for wine business. The challenge also still occurs due to Indian culture tradition because servicing drinking of wine assume as a western culture so marketing of wine in domestic region become a hard challenge. Cost quality of wine firstly decide for business in domestic region. In urban area people accepted the western culture servicing of wine in parties vocation become style statement but to develop wine market in rural area is a big challenge because rural people assume as a bad tradition to drink wine. At the tourism places multicity like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Karnataka, Varanasi, Lucknow city in up many tourists comes they wants to drink fine good quality of wine so growth in tourism sector is correlated with growth of wine industry. In current scenario due to accepting western culture becoming style statement the market of alcoholic beverage changes globally. A lot of new market comes out redefining distribution method helping the wine market to reach the potential customer. In between last 10 year it has been seen that middle class people accepted the western culture contribute into the consumption of wine at a faster rate. Through the use of internet, television cinema drinking of wine increase widely all over India. Indian wine industry organizes many events club to getting the coverage of media to reach the people attract them for joining to the industry. This event organizes only for advertisement attracts huge number of customer. The product offered by vintner to the customer from regular brand in minimum affordable price. The growth rate of Indian market for wine industry is 25-30%. The researcher showing that 100 million people in next five year will be legally allowed to drink alcohol. In biotechnology field manufacturing of wine is done by the biological tools such as microbes bacteria. According to Indian market the cost of wine should be low quality must be fine this is the basic funda of biotechnology. The use of biological tools means to get brilliant quality quality means fitness for purpose so for a biotechnologist wine industry has a great opportunity good career. WINE MANUFACTURING Formation or manufacturing of wine is known as Vinification. Wine making process is ordinary categories into two groups one is still wine production i.e. without carbonation other second is sparkling wine production i.e. with carbonation. The wine making technology is known as Oenology wine maker is called Vintner. RAW MATERIALS FOR WINE PRODUCTION Grapes fruit, berries, apple many other sugar rich fruit are raw material for wine production. PROCESS OF WINE PRODUCTION Quality of wine is decided by selection of grape fruits. Good quality of grape means good quality of wine. Minerals nutrient in soil, its ph, weather, time of harvesting affects the quality of grape. Collectively these effects in the term of grape fruits are known as grape’s terroir. Grapes are growing in vineyard. Harvesting i.e. picking of grape for wine production from vineyard is done by mechanical or by hand. Mechanical harvesting take short time cover large area while hand harvesting take more time but the advantage of hand harvesting is that we can pick only ripe cluster of grape. Vitis vinifera species of grape is more preferable for wine production. FORMULATION OF MUST OR PULP Squeezing is next process after the selection of grape. Grape fruit squeeze normally by which the content of fruit release. The releasing content of grape is called must or pulp. In the vine industry vine made at a large scale so far squeezing is done by crusher known as destemmer.For the manufacturing of red vine stem from the bunches of grapes removed because these stem contains high tannin and give an undesirable smell. These smell is due to 2-Methoxy-3-isopropyl pyrazine.The color of red vine comes from skin of grape. On vini fera vines are the execption.It contains malvidin 3, 5-Diglucoside anthosyanin which is a dark pigment. White vine initiate without squeezing and avoid removing the skin. Avoid to removing skin is so for the flavor. Adding of potassium ion precipitate to the skin protein into the bitartrate which increases the pH of juice. In the production of rose vine grape fruits squeezed and dark skin left with must of grape for a long period to extract the desirable color of vine. BASIC FERMENTATION On the surface of grapes yeast are present in the white powdery form. These are the natural yeast and basic fermentation is done by natural yeast. In the basic fermentation one problem occur that some sugar of grape must remains unfermented. This unfermented sugar makes vine sweet so culture yeast are often added into yeast. Yeast ferments the sugar into alcohol and CO2 . Temperature affects the rate of fermentation. For red vine production temperature should be 22-25 C* and for white wine 15-18 C*. From one gram of sugar half gram of alcohol is produce so far to get 8% concentration of alcohol most should be contains 16% concentration of sugar. After Basic fermentation secondary or malolactic fermentation start. This process is done by lactic acid bacteria. STABILZATION OF WINE There are two processes for stabilization or clarification of wine. Cold Stabilization – This process is used for remove to tartrate crystal. This tartrate crystal is formed by adjoining of tartaric acid and potassium ion. This crystal appears as clear sand in the wine. These are known as wine crystal or wine diamond. For the separating of this crystal the temperature of wine decreases at the freezing level and put it for one to two weeks. By this process crystal stick on the wall of the holding vessels. Wine is ejected from the vessels and crystal left behind it. Heat Stabilization – For the removing of unstable protein from wine heat stabilization is done. Heat stabilization prevents the precipitation of this protein. SECONDARY OR MALOLACTIC FERMENTATION Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are responsible for the malolactic fermentation. To shape the wine from the oxidation it kept in air lock system. Secondary fermentation takes places in large steel vessels. Wine also kept in oak barrel. For the desirable change in test, Wine put in to oak barrel. One is notable that use of LAB cans undesirable change in the flavor of wine which is undesirable. Types of lactic acid bacteria LAB— Leconostoc Pediococus Lacttobasilus These are gram +ve bacteria, Wine LAB are microaerophili i.e these bacteria can grow in low O2 containing material. Due to their microaerophilic nature they catalyzes whole sugar, acid and other material present In container of wine that is not only at the surface of container, SOURCE OF LAB The main source of LAB is layer of grape fruit and grape leaves. Contaminated equipment as like pumps, walves and storage container wooden barrels are also the source of LAB. At the stage of alcoholic fermentation population of LAB decreases because yeast competes with this bacteria and form ethylalcohol and SO2. At the period of fermentation number of LAB increases rapidly and reaches up to 106 to 108 cell/ml. Generally leuconostoc grow in this condition and carry out malolactic fermentation but when pH of wine is high that is 3.5, pediococcus and lactobasillus also carry the malolactic fermentation. When the pH of wine is more than 3.5 and sulpherdioxide level is insufficient fluff causing LAB develop into the wine and wine become bubble. After the malolactic fermentation wine should be preserved very carefully. DIFFERENT WAY OF SPOILAGE (BUBBLING) OF WINE BY LAB Sugar Fermentation – Malolactic fermentation done by LAB. LAB catalyzes to sugars like glucose and fructose into lactic acid and CH3COOH. The vinegar like smell comes out due to acetic acid. This is the reason for bubbling of wine and takes places in must with fast fermentation or with high concentration of sugar in wine. Due to fermentation lactic and acetic acid decreases the pH of wine and resulting low growth of microorganism. Glycerol Degradation – LAB catalyzes glycerol into lactic acid, acetic acid and acrolein. Due to presence of acrolein test of wine become bitter. Tartaric Acid Fermentation – Tartaric acid are fermented into lactic acid, acetic acid % CO2 by LAB. This is done at low acidity and high pH. This acidity further catalyzes and vinegar likes aroma and bad test. Citric Acid Fermentation – Amount of citric acid decreases in wine at time of fermentation. This amount is depending on type of LAB and pH of wine. Ropiness – Some specific genera of leuconostoc produces dextran slime and musilaginous substance and resulting wine appears oily and do not have high volatile acidity. The very bad smelling of wine s due to lactic spoilage and known as mousy and geranium like aroma. The mousy aroma in wine is due to formation of acetyl tetrahdyropyridine. Lactobacillus is responsible for production of these compound. Geranium like aroma in wine is produced by formation of 2-ethoxyhexa-3, 5-diene from the catalyzing of sorbic acid by the LAB. Presence of this compound, wine become undrinkable. To prevent this aroma from wine growth of LAB must be handled. METHOD OF PREVENTION OF WINE SPOILAGE For the prevention of wine spoilage 3 factors are responsible. Composition of wine/must Practices of vinification Interrelationship with other organism Composition of wine/must – The growth of LAB is affected by the pH of wine. The Initiation and duration of malolactic fermentation is affected by the pH of wine. Growth of LAB and malolactic character is also determined by the pH of wine. According to researches malolactic fermentation decreases with increase in pH. The research report show that at pH 3.15 malolactic fermentation take 23.4 weeks while at pH 3.84.This process complete in 2 weeks.pH pf must also decide the type of LAB for malolactic fermentation. At below 3.5 pH, malolactic fermentation is done by leuconostoc and at above 3.5 pH pediococcus and lactobacillus carry out the malolactic fermentation. Controlling the pH of wine is best method for preventing from spoilng. For controlling the growth of harmful bacteria SulpherDioxide is uses. It’s a very effective germicid. In wine sulpherdioxide exist as free or bound form. It affect the pH of wine. The free from of sulpherdioxide is increases by decreases in pH of wine, so maintaining low pH of wine is profitable. In forming sulpherdioxide which is most effective tool for controlling the LAB. Sulpherdioxide bound with certain carbonyl compound like acetyldehide. This form of sulpherdioxide is known as bound sulpherdioxide. When LAB catalyzes this carbonyl compound sulpherdioxide releasea and works as free sulpherdioxide.which restricted the growth of bacteria. The molecular sulpherdioxide at the concentration 0.8ppm works very effectively to controlling the growth of LAB. Lactobacillus trichods and alcoholic bacteria which contains 20% alcohol. pH and storage temperature of wine determine the tolerance of wine. As before describe that due to microareophilic nature of LAB oxyzen does not require for the growth of LAB but the evidence show that small amount of oxyzen is require for well growth of LAB. Carbondioxide also influences growth of LAB. PRACTICES OF VINIFICATION Many condition like fruit condition, clarification, fermainting conditions, must treatment, lease contact, skin contact tme(in case of red vine) and winery hygine use for controlling of LAB, Use of fresh clean and healthy fruits for wine making reduce the number of microbes. Sulpherdioxide is added at crushing time to reduce the high growth of LAB. The pH and acidity of wine can be adjusted by use of tartaric acid before fermentation. At the time of stuck fermentation LAB fermented to sugar compound and increases the volatile acid level in wine. Before reaching at dryness of wine controlling of fermentation of wine is good method to preventing the growth of LAB. To put the fresh wine on te lease for a long time will be face down to malolactic fermentation. This is because of releasing nutrients by yeast and decreases carbondioxide concentration. Clarification means filtration of wine with very fine approximate 45 micron membrane filter to reduce the growth of LAB. INTER RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER ORGANISM At time of alcoholic fermentation the growth of LAB in wine decreases or LAB do not perform very well because of presence of yeast which inhibitory effect on the LAB. The factor that affect the performance of LAB is competition consumption of nutrient by the yeast. Yeast is also form ethanol SO 2 which are inhibitory compound for LAB. Some other microorganism like Botrytis cineria acetic acid bacteria activate function of LAB. Acetic acid bacteria show symbiosis with LAB. Many researches show that Bacteriophage are isolated from wine ruin the LAB. DIRECTION FOR WINE MAKER Since LAB participate in malolactic fermentation wine spoil aging both so for some key points are mentioned for vintner to control the LAB. Always use fresh, healthy, high acidic fruit. Add few amount of SO2 at time crushing of grape fruit. Malolactic fermentation at the range of pH 3.3-3.5. This level of pH is most favorable for LAB to malolactic fermentation. Malolactic fermentation increases the pH so it is suggestible that ph of wine should be low by which after malolactic fermentation wine attain desirable pH. Low ethanol, low SO2 high temperature fermentation are favorable for malolactic fermentation. Take precaution to avoid a stuck fermentation. Fermentation by yeast for improving wine quality selected yeast are preferred by wine maker. Sacchromyces cerevisiae a commercial yeast are used for improving  wine quality. Volatile thioles are uses for changing smell of wine at cold temperature. New researches show that microbes present on the layer of grapes are varies from one vine yard to other vine yard. By the use of short amplicon sequencing technique(a dna sequencing technique) researcher determines the varieties of unique microbes present on surface of grape in a vine yard. If microbes like yeast and bacteria are determine of a vine yard ten use of bacteria and yeast for fermentation of particular vine yard grape by which quality of wine can be improved.

Laurel Ulrichs A Midwifes Tale Essay -- Laurel Ulrich Midwife Tale E

Laurel Ulrich's A Midwife's Tale   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before I watched 'A Midwife's Tale', a movie created from the diary found by Laurel Ulrich chronicling the life of a woman named Martha Ballard, I thought the women in these times were just housewives and nothing else. I pictured them doing the cleaning and the cooking for their husbands and not being very smart because of the lack of education or them being unable to work. My view on the subject changed however when I watched this specific woman's life and her work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To know that there was a woman such as Martha back in those days is very interesting to me because I especially did not think there were women who were as brave and independent as she was. The lives of women in general, not just in Martha?s case, were busy and at sometimes hard during these times. They had to do an array of things from keeping the house under control and raising sometimes several children to working on a farm and spinning. Sometimes, some women would even work to make a second living for the family, as in Martha?s case. And even though the women were able to work, they still did not hold as much power as men did, which is still evident today. And if the women were recognized as much as they should be I?m sure we wouldn?t need a completely different subject for Women?s History because they would cover it in the regular history classes, instead of the subject consisting of 99.9% males.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Martha?s day was a pretty long one and consisted of many jobs to do, anything from cleaning the house to delivering a baby. The fact that she never lost a mother during any of the childbirths is astonishing in itself since it was the number one cause of death in women. Among those jobs she also spun, raised her children, worked on her farm, and treated illnesses, coming up with her own remedies. For example when Parthenia was sick and she had her drink the last milk from the cow in hopes of her getting better which unfortunately she wasn?t able to make her get better and Parthenia died. Martha?s own children however all lived into their adulthood which was also a very rare thing to add to her list of unique facts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although Martha did have different jobs to do, her real job was being a midwife. She got paid high for a woman at this time and she was a well respected person in the town. This job was the most demanding and it?s not like... ...because I probably would have if my kid took over my house and I missed my husband.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Martha Ballard died, she was definitely missed and even though her diary sat in the back stacks of a library for a very long time because authors thought it was useless, her story was told and it was a good one at that. It wouldn?t be a surprise to me if her story has inspired women and I know it has definitely educated people about women?s lives at this time. It?s just a shame that more women?s stories from this time will never be told. I?ve learned from Martha Ballard?s story that she must have been a very good, decent, and smart woman and I would have loved to have met her. She is a good example of what some women were like back then and it?s good to see that not all of them were powerless housewives as some people think and how I, myself, thought before I saw this movie. I saw her struggle and her get through the hard times. The things she had to live through throughout her life were astonishing and I?m really glad I got to see this woman?s work. I realiz ed how easy we have it now and how women like Martha paved the way for us and we have to appreciate them for what they?ve done.

Ecological Debt Repaid through Awareness and Commitment Essay

At this age of technological advancements, where people are more likely inclined with the latest technical and industrial innovations, the most modern gadgets, the cyber world itself, the group believes that a public service message posted to social-networking sites, like Facebook, would reach out with its millions of users; teen-agers, civilians, and people from all walks of life, who are still unaware of the impacts and dangers that humanity would face because of our ecological debt and neglect. Now that man is getting more engaged with a computerized and scientific world, the preservation of the earth’s innate form is often situated at stake. For instance, land developers aim to civilize mountain and forested areas in view of larger residential communities, neglecting the extinction of species and the degradation of their habitats in that area. In the same way, roads and tunnels are logged to provide efficient trips in woody regions, unaware of the affected species due to construction. It should be realized that in the context of global progress, biodiversity should not be sacrificed. Biodiversity is about making sense of the variation of life on earth, and its fundamental unit is the species. Why is there a must to conserve biodiversity? It is mainly because it affects mankind by all means. Outstandingly, biodiversity has an incontestable subsistence value. Remember that the species we use for our herbal medicinal needs, the plant and animal species that we eat, and the other species we use for our consumption, all contributes to biodiversity’s value for human survival. Biodiversity also has an economic value; the productive use it imposes into our market. In addition, it provides service value, like tourism benefits for a region where a certain specie is  endemic. But most importantly, biodiversity has to be conserved because of its intrinsic value. By the principle of Biocentrism: All species are worth of moral consideration. Humans have an obligation to protect them (Do or Die, 1999). We should be grateful for nature because it provides us our basic needs, water, food, air, even which the greatest engineering cannot tantamount. All of us have an ecological debt we can never repay fully, but we could somehow pay its interest, that is by preserving biodiversity. There are two modes of payments: In Situ and Ex Situ. In Situ is the maintenance of biodiversity in the wild, by allowing the species to continue their aboriginal evolutionary interactions (Reid, 1989, para.1). The species are left to be free and to continue their way of survival without any human intervention. This is a general and efficient solution that is left to the hands of government officials or organizations for strict implementations. But as part of the human race, we should be aware of the creation of such law and support it whole-heartedly. Many of our local or indigenous fellowmen would still continue the hunting or harvesting of the endangered species due to lack of knowledge or opportunities; thus, there should be thorough promotion of In Situ throughout the nation. On the other hand, Ex Situ is the maintenance of wild or domesticated species in home gardens, orchards, aquaria, zoos, or laboratories. These sites provide home for viable populations of threatened species, also providing areas for research, educational and public awareness (Reid, 1989, para.1). Indeed, there are several solutions man could engage to if we really want to hinder more biodiversity losses. We could grow endemic plants in our region in our own backyards. Every time we go to a beach, we must remember not to take souvenir seashells or corals with us. We should refute groups that do  activities leading to biodiversity losses. Or join movements which promote awareness and commitment in saving the earth’s biodiversity. Spread the information of biodiversity’s importance. All of us can make a difference. The move should start today before we reap the wrath of nature’s revenge. Change does not happen overnight, neither does it occur one-time big-time. The restoration of our ecosystems does not depend only on politicians or environmentalists, simple steps should be made by simple citizens, like you.

The Theory of Social Contracts Essays

The Theory of Social Contracts Essays The Theory of Social Contracts Essay The Theory of Social Contracts Essay Essay Topic: The Social Contract The period of Enlightenment ushered in an age of intellectual development as well as theoretical formations on the concept of society. English political thinker Thomas Hobbes and French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau posit political treatises on the formation of social contracts as a necessity of man and eventually leads to the establishment of an ideal government. The paper will discuss first the concept of man’s nature according to both philosophers in order to determine the reason behind the formation of such contracts which will subsequently lead to the conception of governments and sovereignty. Hobbes proposes that man is essentially at war with other men, motivated by personal desire and fear of death that inhibits the formation of a peaceful society. Rousseau however, contradicts Hobbes argument of man as naturally at war but looks into a different state wherein man possesses compassion which enables the formation of ideal relationships and eventually, social contrac ts. We look into Hobbes’s viewpoint in his treatise Leviathan and compare and contrast several arguments with Rousseau’s On The Origin of Inequality and Social Contracts. Hobbes’ Natural Man and Covenants Hobbes’ political theory in Leviathan stipulates the formation of covenants as the final end of man’s actions, transgressing from his natural state wherein man is in constant war with himself and with others. First, we define Hobbes’ argument on the natural state of man that provides the basis of conflict. In comparison with Rousseau’s viewpoint, the nature of social contracts is reversed, wherein Rousseau’s notion of social conventions is negative compared to Hobbes’ notion of contracts as a deviation from the erring state of human nature. Hobbes argues: â€Å"For every man look that his companion should value him at the same rate he sets upon himself, and upon all signs of contempt or undervaluing naturally endeavor to extort a greater value from his condemners. So that in the nature of man, we find three principal causes of quarrel. First, competition; secondly, diffidence; thirdly, glory (Hobbes 84). The primitive state of man is bordere d on Hobbes’ statement â€Å"where every man is enemy to every man† (Hobbes 85). Each individual is focused on the aspiration for personal gain, thus creating conflict or an unharmonious relationship because of completion (gain), diffidence (safety, self-preservation), and glory (reputation). The chaotic context provided in Hobbes argument consequently inhibits the concept of justice in a particular social setting. Since man is motivated by personal gain, the fear of death through self-preservation, and personal glory, there is no concept of right and wrong or even justice. â€Å"Where there is no common power, there is no law; where no law, no injustice† (Hobbes 85). Thus, we see Hobbes attempt to present his first law on man’s natural state: that man, motivated by personal gain, sets himself in conflict with other men who pursue the same object. He then narrates â€Å"the passions that incline men to peace are: fear of death; desire of such things as a re necessary to commodious living; and a hope by their industry to obtain them† (Hobbes 86). According to Hobbes, the natural law governing social relationships is motivated by the passions; specifically, man’s fear of death. Thus, the first natural law, in context with the natural state, is that every man has innate rights or liberty to will himself to self-preservation and that one can do anything to his body, even to another person. As long as this natural law exists, there can be no harmonious buildup of society. The second law then obligates man to create peace or to achieve peace through any means necessary and from here, man is then obligated to set such rule to all and that every right of man is necessary to be withdrawn or transferred in order to build peace; since to maintain the second rule, man will be constantly at war. The renouncement of rights is essentially good in itself because it aspires for the majority rather than the self, governed by selfish passions. However, such rights are not to be taken away by force or for an individual to force himself o f withdrawing his own, since â€Å"he cannot be understood to aim thereby at any good to himself† (Hobbes 91). Renouncement of rights should be voluntary and by choice, in order to determine the goodness which will benefit the majority. Thus, social contracts or covenants are formed. Hobbes argues that for a man to achieve peace, it is necessary to break away, through the tenets of reason, from the natural state wherein every individual is motivated by personal gain and fear of death. This fear motivates the individual, in relation to self-preservation, to create contracts with other men in order to achieve peace, wherein the value of life becomes the unifying factor for all; thus creating peace and harmony. Covenants are then considered to be the agreements that will benefit two parties aspiring for different objects. Justice then presents itself in the presence of covenants, for justice occurs when an individual performs or acts upon the agreement or covenant while injustic e is the failure to establish covenants which inadvertently places the individual in his former natural state. Hobbes definition of the natural state and the natural law focuses on the importance of self-preservation or the fear of the death in relation to the individual. In contrast with Rousseau, the formation of contract is that of beneficial to man rather than Rousseau’s argument that society itself that provides inequality and conflict. Contracts, through reason, necessitate a societal framework that is governed by the inexpressible right of every man to survival and preservation of life. The Commonwealth For Hobbes, the ideal form of government is the formation of the commonwealth which acts as the â€Å"final cause, end or design of men (who naturally love liberty and dominion over others) in the introduction of that restraint upon themselves, in which we see them live in Commonwealths, is the foresight of their own preservation, and of a more contented life thereby† (Hobbes 116). The formation of covenants, which represent a duty-bound notion to aspire for peaceful societal conditions, inevitably leads to its conception wherein the withdrawal of individual rights is penultimate toward its formation. Conventions serve the function as a mean toward the aspiration of the common power or will of the majority. Common power acts as a protection against external attack or injuries that an individual may cause upon the other and is formed through the transcendence of personal right to a man or an assembly: â€Å"Confer all their power and strength upon one man, or upon one assembly of men, that may reduce all their will, by plurality of their voice, unto one will: which is as much to say, to appoint one man, or assembly of men, to bear their person† (Hobbes 118). Every man should then willingly state: â€Å"I authorize and give up my right of governing myself to this man, or to this assembly of men, on this condition; that thou give up thy right to him and authorize all his action in like manner† (Hobbes 118). We take into context a mix between a democracy (representation of the few) and monarchy (rule by a sovereign). However, Hobbes’ monarchy is not entirely absolute, ruled by the elite or loyalty; rather Hobbes’ conception of monarchy focuses on the rule of a sovereign where powers are granted by the conventions of the majority. From such, the sovereign is then obligated to perform the powers bestowed upon the social covenants; the sovereign itself being a representation of the general will of the people. The Commonwealth The sovereign, either instituted in one man or an assembly of men, is bestowed power of the withheld rights by society or subjects. As sovereign, its responsibility lies on any action or authorization to ensure the presence of duration of peace and to create any means necessary to protect individuals from others as well as to protect attacks from other societies. According to Hobbes, there are only three kinds of commonwealth and nothing else; a democracy, monarchy, or aristocracy. Hobbes does not believe that no man aspires for a turbulent and rocky society. However, Hobbes is partial toward a monarchial government, which, according to him, generally embodies the conventions made by man, and in essence, the nature of a commonwealth: â€Å"The riches power and honor of a monarch arise only from the riches, strength, and reputation of his subject. For no king can be rich nor glorious, nor secure, whose subjects are either poor, or contemptible, or too weak through want, or dissension† (Hobbes 130). Amor Propre and Civil Society On the other hand, Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s work Discourse on Inequality and Social Contract primarily present arguments against Hobbes’ definition on the natural state of man in contrast with social systems and conventions. Rousseau argues on the condition of the human soul as it progresses from its distinct natural form up until the pure state of man is transformed through social relationships or systems. First, he argues the physical differences of man, which in essence, does not ultimately provide a firm basis of inequality: I conceive that there are two kinds of inequality among the human species; one which I call natural or physical, because it is established by nature, and consists in a difference of age, health, bodily strength, and the qualities of the mind or the soul; and another, which may be called moral or political inequality, because it depends on a kind of convention. (Rousseau 1) Apart from physical differences, inequality falls under the moral or political sense. In the context of social structure, inequality lies on the ladder of power and wealth, wherein the notion of civil society is created by the rich in order to suppress the poor of wealth and maintain power among the elite few. In contrast with Hobbes, Rousseau presents a different view of man’s natural state wherein man is savage in nature wherein ideas are generated by sense experience. But in opposition to regular animals, man has reason that establishes himself apart from common animals. The natural behavior of man is similar to that of Hobbes’ viewpoint but differs in motivation. According to Rousseau, the basic instinct of man is self-preservation, free will and compassion; the last being the most important part in man’s natural state wherein Hobbes contends to man’s natural war with the other. He contends Hobbes’ view of man’s nature which compels him w ith the fear of death. However, Rousseau argues: â€Å"the knowledge of death and its terrors being one of the first acquisitions made by man in departing from an animal state† (Rousseau 17). In contrast, Hobbes’ provides death as a motivator for withdrawing personal rights in order to achieve peace while Rousseau presents reason as a way of fighting the irrational passions that push him out of his natural state. In addition, compassion is the important natural virtue that contradicts selfish impulses or vices which come from the passions or irrational tendencies of man. Rousseau narrates that Hobbes’ definition of man does not provide himself with an idea of goodness, that man may be considered as evil. Rousseau’s view presents man, in his primitive state, as essentially good, and possesses virtue. â€Å"so many writers have hastily concluded that man is naturally cruel, and requires civil institutions to make him more mild; whereas nothing is more gent le than man in his primitive state, as he is placed by nature at an equal distance from the stupidity of brutes† (Rousseau 47). Compassion is the most important aspect of man, along with innate desires of preservation, reason and free will. â€Å"It is this compassion that hurries us without reflection to the relief of those who are in distress: it is this which in a state of nature supplies the place of laws, morals, and virtue, with the advantage that none are tempted to disobey its gentle voice† (Rousseau 31). Compassion generates interaction with other men and the natural instinct of self-preservation, as times continue to progress, enables the individual to improve living conditions. Thus, the combination of compassion, reason, self-preservation enables the individual to form conventions with other men. However, the problem lies with the development of amour propre, the subsequent regularity of conventions where man’s reason is garbled to a false sense of dependency on the individuals through improvement of self-perception and acquiring favor. The natural, non-invasive self-love is transformed to a more self-centered and jealous love of others. â€Å"Man must now, therefore, have been perpetually employed in getting others to interest themselves in his lot and in making them, apparently at least, if not really, find their advantage in promoting his own† (Rousseau 51). This corrosive notion of self-love produces competition, comparison with others, hatred, and the continuous search of ambition and power: â€Å"In a word, there arose rivalry and competition on the one hand and conflicting interests on the other, together with a secret desire on both profiting at the expense of others† (Rousseau 51). The Social Contract Thus, Rousseau defines man’s state of nature as it develops amour propre. To deviate from the natural state, the formation of social contract is evident in order to rid of the evils pertaining civil society. According to Rousseau, the conception of social contracts delimits the individual from inequality and therefore frees himself from the trappings of social classification. The purpose of the contract is to establish a body that will inadvertently defend the rights of the individual and the right of society as a while. Similar to that of Hobbes’ notion, social contracts are meant to deviate the condition of human nature from its amoral/evil sense in order to create society focused on peace. The social contract, in Rousseau’s perspective, is founded on the presence of the general will: â€Å"Each of us puts his person and all his power in common under the supreme direction of the general will, and in our corporate capacity, we receive each member as an indivisi ble part of the whole† (Rousseau Social Contract, 59). The general will is the summation of all opinions of the majority, which in turn acts as an abstract form that aims toward the good of all. Rousseau also posits the idea of a sovereign which acts a representative of the people. The people however, in Rousseau’s form of government, are not represented by senators or magistrates but represent themselves as a symbol of the general will. Sovereign Similarities Both philosophers argue on the importance of social contracts in establishing relationships with people in order to construct an acceptable and peaceful social framework. Both stress the importance of the ‘natural’ law of man to deviate himself from his primary state and is obligated to create a world without indifference and conflict through commonality of opinions and desire. The difference lies on both philosophers account of man’s nature, wherein Hobbes argues that man is essentially evil and it is through civil relationship that man refines himself and achieves peace. Rousseau contradicts Hobbes’ arguments that he had failed to include compassion as a virtue in man’s natural state. Rousseau opines negatively toward civil societies, that conventions itself ruin man’s natural state through social classification and levels of power. Instead, Rousseau posits man as a docile creature until society corrupts his natural state. On the subject of contracts, both thinkers apply the same rule for the formation of social agreement as majority of society transfers its rights toward a sovereign that which governs and protects them. However, Hobbes is partial toward a monarchial government wherein it is suited with the embodiment of his covenants while Rousseau proposes the same powers for a sovereign but also adds the presence of the government to mitigate the function of the sovereign who acts as the representation of the general will while the government attends to particular or private wills. Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments Economic theorist Adam Smith proposes on his treatise Theory of Moral Sentiments the formation of a consciousness in the perspective of a leader, or in Rousseau’s/Hobbes’ context, a sovereign, in order to determine, apart from proper behavior, the rules and regulations that one must impose upon the subjects of society. Smith narrates: â€Å"We suppose ourselves the spectators of our own behavior, and to endeavor to imagine what effect it would, in this light produce upon us† (Smith 112). In context of a sovereign, it is essential, according to Smith, to examine actions and decisions through a detached position wherein the leader supposes himself to be a common citizen that according to theory, provides the power and responsibility of governance. Thus, rules imposed upon the subjects of sovereignty should be taken into proper consideration by the sovereign, so as to measure the worth and value of behavior reflection upon society, according to Smith. For example, a ruler’s ethical behavior is dependent on the laws in which he imposes over the ruled. Harsh policies that generally disfavor society imply that the ruler may be arrogant and selfish and therefore does not suit the position. Lenient policies on the other hand may imply a carefree attitude with the lack of seriousness that a good leader must possess. Thus, rules and impositions should situate itself in the middle rather than the extreme and through Smith’s propositions, the leader must then view rules as an ordinary citizen. In relation to Hobbes’ and Rousseau’s social theories, the concept of the sovereign is created by the people and represents the general will. Therefore, there is an implication of a natural balance of power between the governed and the sovereign. In Hobbes view, the sovereign’s duty is dictated or authored by the subjects and therefore cannot harm the governed whether through abuse or dereliction of duty; rather, the formation o f laws and policies are in relation toward the fulfillment of the commonwealth’s purpose – that is, the preservation of peace. However, Hobbes monarchial standpoint does not entirely agree with Smith’s proposition since the monarch, utilizing the commonwealth’s purpose, has the power of censorship on speech, publication or any other form of expression that may disturb the peaceful status quo. Thus, Smith’s proposal cannot be applied with Hobbes’s notion of government. However, Rousseau takes into consideration the general will of the populace that also gives right and power to the sovereign. But Rousseau does not imply the purpose of peace in his government; rather, he focuses on the general will as given power. The sovereign has then the duty to make sure that laws do not violate the freedom of every individual for it is they who had created power in the first place. Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. Mineola, N.Y. Dover Publications, 2006. Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Discourse on the Origin of Inequality. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications, 2004. Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. The Social Contract. New York: Penguin Classics, 1968. Smith, Adam. The Theory of Moral Sentiments. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publications, 1997.

How to Write Natural Dialogue for Narratives

How to Write Natural Dialogue for Narratives Writing verbal conversations or dialogue is often one of the trickiest parts of creative writing. Crafting effective dialogue within the context of a narrative requires much more than following one quote with another. With practice, though, you can learn how to write natural-sounding dialogue that is creative and compelling. The Purpose of Dialogue Put simply, dialogue is narrative conveyed through speech by two or more characters. Effective dialogue should do many things at once, not simply convey information. It should set the scene, advance action, give insight into each character, and foreshadow future dramatic action. Dialogue doesnt have to be grammatically correct; it should read like actual speech. However, there must be a balance between realistic speech and readability. Dialogue is also a tool for character development. Word choice tells a reader a lot about a person: their appearance, ethnicity, sexuality, background, even morality. It can also tell the reader how the writer feels about a certain character. How to Write Direct Dialogue Speech, also known as direct dialogue, can be an effective means of conveying information quickly. But most real-life conversations are boring to read. An exchange between two friends may go something like this: Hi, Tony, said Katy. Hey, Tony answered. Whats wrong? Katy asked. Nothing, Tony said. Really? Youre not acting like nothings wrong. Pretty tiresome dialogue, right? By including nonverbal details in your dialogue, you can articulate emotion through action. This adds dramatic tension and is more engaging to read. Consider this revision: Hi, Tony. Tony looked down at his shoe, dug in his toe and pushed around a pile of dust. Hey, he replied. Katy could tell something was wrong. Sometimes saying nothing or saying the opposite of what we know a character  feels is the best way to create dramatic tension. If a character wants to say I love you, but his actions or words say I dont care, the reader will cringe at the missed opportunity. How to Write Indirect Dialogue Indirect dialogue doesnt rely on speech. Instead, it uses thoughts, memories, or recollections of past conversations to reveal important narrative details. Often, a writer will combine direct and indirect dialogue to increase dramatic tension, as in this example: Hi, Tony. Tony looked down at his shoe, dug in his toe and pushed around a pile of dust. Hey, he replied. Katy braced herself. Something was wrong. Formatting and Style To write dialogue that is effective, you must also pay attention to formatting and style. Correct use of tags, punctuation, and paragraphs can be as important as the words themselves. Remember that punctuation goes inside quotations. This keeps the dialogue clear and separate from the rest of the narrative. For example: I cant believe you just did that! Start a new paragraph each time the speaker changes. If there is action involved with a speaking character, keep the description of the action within the same paragraph as the characters dialogue. Dialogue tags other than said are best used sparingly, if at all. Often a writer uses them to try to convey a certain emotion. For example: But I dont want to go to sleep yet, he whined. Instead of telling the reader that the boy whined, a good writer will describe the scene in a way that conjures the image of a whining little boy: He stood in the doorway with his hands balled into little fists at his sides. His red, tear-rimmed eyes glared up at his mother. But I dont want to go to sleep yet. Practice Makes Perfect Writing dialogue is like any other skill. It requires constant practice if you want to improve as a writer. Here are a few tips to help you tune your ear. Start a dialogue diary. Practice speech patterns and vocabulary that may be foreign to you. This will give you the opportunity to really get to know your characters.Eavesdrop. Carry a small notebook with you and write down phrases, words, or whole conversations verbatim to help develop your ear.Read. Reading will hone your creative abilities. It will help familiarize you with the form and flow of narration and dialogue until it becomes more natural in your own writing.

Journal entry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Journal entry - Essay Example During this exercise I managed to make an observation practice that regards evidence bias on hygiene among care providers. Later on I had a conversation with my preceptor regarding hygiene among care providers (Rutledge, 2011). My preceptor prepared me for the need to ensure hygiene in health institutions to reduce infections. My preceptor also gave me information regarding departments that ensure hand hygiene and how important it is. Hand hygiene helps to reduce hospital acquired infection. A meeting where I participated was held to discuss ways to sustain hand washing program. At the meeting, it was suggested that, to ensure hygiene, hand washing materials have to be availed to the employees in every department (Beauchesne, 2010). I then presented my practicum manual to the preceptor. The preceptor explained her role in this exercise and also asked me to let her know of my goals expectations in the next meeting. I engaged with the personnel from infection control department to evaluate the need of hand washing exercise to maintain hygiene in all the departments. I then had a meeting with my preceptor where we had a discussion on the following: the last weeks’ assignment, how we can work together with my preceptor to achieve the set objectives for the for the practicum experience. Rutledge, C. M., Renaud, M., Shepherd, L., Bordelon, M., Haney, T., Gregory, D. & Ayers, P. (2011). Educating advanced practice nurses in using social media in rural health care.  International journal of nursing education scholarship,  8(1),

Explain why it is important for modern organisations to create dynamic Essay

Explain why it is important for modern organisations to create dynamic tensions between opportunistic innovation and predictable goal achievements; and discuss how managers can influence such tensions - Essay Example the controlling role of management control systems is associated, according to Mundy (2010) with the efficiency, predictability and importance to meet the short-term goals, it strives to diminish issues of information asymmetry and search for the ways that would decrease uncertainty and improve decision-making. There are numerous studies that highlight the use of management control systems by organizations in order to facilitate innovation and learning during the exertion of control over the achieved goals. The importance of management control systems is in the provision of organization’s values and priorities in leveraging the belief system, which givens employees a stable environment and challenges organizational stability and political processes by means of communication of values and assumptions (Mundy, 2010). For the modern business it is essential so the levers of control supported the development of organizational abilities of innovation, learning, entrepreneurship and market orientation. While the lever of control promotes forming of dynamic tension between innovation and goals achievement, it is a positive growth for each organization; hence, it should be studied by the companies. Besides, they do so in order to handle inter organizational conflicts. It proves that formation of dynamic tensions influences the development of organizational capacity. Simons (1995), states that within the modern business environment, managers are facing different challenges in terms of seeking of opportunities for meeting the customers’ needs. Thus, employees can break the control mechanisms within a business and ruin the company’s reputation and cause fines and business loses. One solution in managing control issues can be monitoring of employees and counseling about how to make certain job. Simons (1995) considers that in the intense business environment managers, however, have not time for each employee to be provided with the necessary advice. For that purpose,