Poverty and Social Stratification Essay Example for Free

Poverty and Social Stratification Essay Absolute poverty corresponds to the situation wherein the individual person cannot survive or live due to lack of basic needs or resources such as food, water, clothes, medicines and the likes. On the other hand, Relative Poverty is the situation wherein the person could not satisfy his personal wants but this does not imply that the person is not going to survive. Social Stratification simply denotes the systems of layers and/or divisions made in the society that shall reflect their relative poverty or wealth. It is not focus in the individual person but instead refer to a larger group of people. The different kinds of Social Stratification are class systems, caste system and slavery systems. Today a so-called Global Stratification exist that categorizes each country according to their economy, population and wealth or national income. The most industrialized countries relatively are the wealthiest, their economy are mostly capitalist. The industrializing or otherwise known as developing countries have much lower standard of living and income than the industrialized. The least industrialized countries are the most poverty stricken. It includes majority of the South East Asian, Latin America and most of Africa. Most analyst believes that the economic growth of a country lies on raising the social standing of women, because in most industrialized countries women are given equal opportunity like men while in the least industrialized countries women are commonly regarded to have lower social status and capabilities than men. Uplifting the standing of men in a society would generally increase the labor force. Educating women would create women who are as much competitive as that of men. This type of women would be able to compete with men in a capitalist setting. Only when there is an equal treatment between men and women could a society fruitfully developed. Otherwise, women would be stagnant part of the economic system. The more players there are in an economic system the faster is the economic progress since there are more participants. References Relative and Absolute Poverty. Retrieved on November 9, 2006. Retrieved from the World Wide Web: http://www. qvctc. commnet. edu/brian/soc/sld027. htm Global Social Stratification. Retrieved on November 9, 2007. Retrieved from the World Wide Web: http://72. 14. 253. 104/search? q=cache:jmq-xfTAm0UJ:www. ilstu. edu/~jeweinz/soc106/notes/ch7notes. doc+global+social+stratificationhl=tlct=clnkcd=1gl=ph

Analyzing the Polluter Pays Principle Through Law and Economics Essay Example for Free

Analyzing the Polluter Pays Principle Through Law and Economics Essay The ‘polluter pays principle’ states that whoever is responsible for damage to the environment should bear the costs associated with it. The Polluter Pays Principle (PPP) is one of the internationally recognized principles that in? uence the shaping of environmental policy at both the national and international level. As one of the environmental principles that have developed ‘from political slogans to legal rules,’ it is also increasingly re? ected in national and international law. It is seen and analyzed both as a principle of environmental economics and as a principle of environmental law. In environmental economics, it is discussed as an ef? ciency principle of internalization of environmental costs. As a legal principle, it is usually treated as a principle for the allocation of the cost of pollution prevention, and for liability and compensation for environmental damage. In general, it is regarded as an important and ‘right’ principle in the perspective of environmental protection. It is often mentioned together with other major environmental principles such as the precautionary principle, the principle of prevention and the principle of integration. In general, it is regarded as an important and ‘right’ principle in the perspective of environmental protection. It is often mentioned together with other major environmental principles such as the precautionary principle, the principle of prevention and the principle of integration. The â€Å"polluter pays principle† (PPP or principle) requires the polluter to bear the expense of preventing, controlling, and cleaning up pollution. Its main goals are cost allocation and cost internalization. In 1972, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) articulated the principle explicitly and in 1989 indicated that it should be applied to agriculture. Though the principle originated as an economic principle, since 1990 it has been recognized internationally as a legal principle. The PPP now plays an important role in national and international environmental policy. The European Community (EC) adopted the principle in the 1987 Single European Act, and it has appeared in international agreements, including the Rio Declaration of 1992. The principle is an explicit part of legislation in some nations; in others, it is an implicit subtext for both environmental regulation and liability for pollution. Historical Evolution Of Polluter Pays Principle The polluter pays principle, like the other great towering principles that today influence international environmental law, such as: (1) the sustainable development principle; (2) the prevention principle; (3) the precautionary principle; and (4) the proximity principle, started as a political declaration without legal force. The polluter pays principle has been included in documents with legal status. For instance, many modern constitutions in the European Union explicitly provide for a right to a clean environment and thus environmental policy principles also constitute environmental law. The right to a clean environment implies a duty of the state to protect its citizens, but it is questionable whether these principles or social rights can yet be considered subjective rights, meaning that they can be enforced by citizens in a court. However, some see the right to a clean environment as a human or natural right existing independently of politically decided treaties. Finally, the polluter pays principles is now seen in specific pieces of legislation becoming more (or some might say ‘less’) than a grand constitutional statement of an intractable human right. OECD – the birth of the polluter pays principle Some explanation of the sometimes arbitrary course of the principle of polluter pays can be found in its historical development. The principle first appeared in a legal context in a document prepared by the international Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (â€Å"OECD†) and included the following recommendation: â€Å"The principle to be used for allocating costs of pollution prevention and control measures to encourage rational use of scarce environmental resources and to avoid distortions in international trade and investment is the so-called ‘Polluter Pays principle’. This principle means that the polluter should bear the expenses of carrying out the above mentioned measures decided by public authorities to ensure that the environment is in an acceptable state. In other words, the cost of these measures should be reflected in the costs of goods and services which cause pollution in production and/or consumption. Such measures should not be accompanied by subsidies that would create significant distortions in international trade and investment†. In 2001, the OECD Joint Working Party on Agriculture and Environment, after years of gestation and development by other organisations, stated that a new and expanded form of the polluter pays principle should provide that: the polluter should be held responsible for environmental damage caused and bear the expenses of carrying out pollution prevention measures or paying for damaging the state of the environment where the consumptive or productive activities causing the environmental damage are not covered by property rights. United Nations – the Rio Declaration This proclamation was proved, at least on paper, if not yet by jus cogens, in 1992 when the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development delegates agreed on the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development (the â€Å"Rio Declaration†), which has been described as an â€Å"instrument of international jurisprudence [that] articulates policies and prescriptions directed at the achievement of worl dwide sustainable development†. It is of note that Principle 16 of the Rio Declaration provides that: â€Å"[n]ational authorities should endeavour to promote the internalization of environmental costs and the use of economic instruments, taking into account the approach that the polluter should, in principle, bear the cost of pollution, with due regard to the public interest and without distorting international trade and investment†. The principle’s appearance in such a seminal statement of the undamental principles of international environmental law demonstrates its significance in environmental liability regimes around the world. United States The principle has to some extent informed United States’ legislation, but its influence should not be overstated and commentators note that: â€Å"The United States, in contrast to the European nations, does not officially recognize the [polluter pays principle] as a distinct principle or policy mandate, but does, by natural political and economic inc lination, closely follow its precepts in practice†. Certain provisions of the United States’ Clean Air Act 1970 (the â€Å"CAA†) and Clean Water Act 1977 (the â€Å"CWA†) require polluters to satisfy environmental standards at their own expense; and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (â€Å"CERCLA†) assigns liability for costs associated with cleaning-up sites contaminated by hazardous wastes. CERCLA is a notable milestone in the development of the polluter pays principle in the United States and commentators have noted that: â€Å"the polluter pays principle is one of the central objectives or goals of CERCLA†. Flaws in the Polluter Pays Principle Few people could disagree with what seems at first glance to be such a straightforward proposition. Indeed, properly construed, this is not only a sound principle for dealing with those who pollute but is an extension of one of the most basic principles of fairness and justice: people should be held responsible for their actions. Those who cause damage or harm to other people should pay for that damage. This appeal to our sense of justice is why the polluter pays principle (PPP) has come to resonate so strongly with both policy makers and the public. As a general rule, sound economic analysis of pollution and environmental problems must also be based on the principle of responsibility. Forcing polluters to bear the costs of their activities is good economics too; it not only advances fairness and justice, but also enhances economic efficiency. In other words, with appropriate policies based on a PPP, we should not have to give up the economic efficiency of a free market system based on private property in order to obtain environmental protection, nor vice versa. But as with most such general principles, the devil is in the details. In this case, the details relate to three basic questions that any application of the PPP must answer. First, how do we define pollution and therefore a polluter? Second, how much should the polluter pay, once he is identified? Third, to whom should the payment be made? The answers to these questions are at the heart of whether any application of the PPP will be either just or economically efficient. A correctly construed polluter pays principle would penalize those who injure other people by harming their persons, or by degrading their property. Too often, however, the PPP is misdefined and misused to suppress private economic activity that benefits the parties directly involved and does no specific damage to other people, but which offends those who oppose human impact on the environment and prefer to leave resources undeveloped. The objective is to restrain the resource use at the expense of the property owners and consumers without cost to those who wish to see the resources remain idle. Under such a misapplication of the PPP, very often a polluter is not someone who is harming others, but is someone who is simply using his own property and resources in a way that is not approved of by government officials or environmentalists. In such cases there is no harm to be measured and no real victims to compensate. Consequently, the amount to be paid is not determined by the extent of any actual damage done. Rather, it is set at a level that curbs the politically disfavored activity to the degree desired by its opponents. And finally, the payment (whether there are real victims or not) typically goes to the government in the form of a tax. In other words, in most cases, the PPP is used as cover to promote a political or ideological agenda rather than to ensure that real polluters pay compensation to real victims of their activities. Constitutional and Legislative Measures Stockholm Declaration of 1972 was perhaps the first major attempt to conserve and protect the human environment at the international level. As a consequence of this Declaration, the States were required to adopt legislative measures to protect and improve the environment. Accordingly, Indian Parliament inserted two Articles, i. e. ,, 48A and 51A in the Constitution of India in 1976, Article 48A of the Constitution rightly directs that the State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and safeguard forests and wildlife of the country. Similarly, clause (g) of Article 51A imposes a duty on every citizen of India, to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, river, and wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures. The cumulative effect of Articles 48A and 51A (g) seems to be that the State as well as the citizens both are now under constitutional obligation to conserve, perceive, protect and improve the environment. Every generation owes a duty to all succeeding generations to develop and conserve the natural resources of the nation in the best possible way. The phrase ‘protect and improve’ appearing in both the Articles 48A and 51A (g) seems to contemplate an affirmative government action to improve the quality of environment and not just to preserve the environment in its degraded form. Apart from the constitutional mandate to protect and improve the environment, there are a plenty of legislations on the subject but more relevant enactments for our purpose are the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974; the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977; the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981; the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991; the National Environment Tribunal Act, 1995 and the National Environment Appellate Authority Act, 1997; the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972; the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. The Water Act provides for the prevention and control of water pollution and the maintaining or resorting of the wholesomeness of water. The Act prohibits any poisonous, noxious or polluting matter from entering into any stream or well. The Act provides for the formation of Central Pollution Control Board and the State Pollution Control Board. The new industries are required to obtain prior approval of such Boards before discharging any trade effluent, sewages into water bodies. No person, without the previous consent of the Boards shall bring into use new or altered outlet for the discharge of sewage or trade effluent into a stream or well or sewer or on land. The consent of the Boards shall also be required for continuing an existing discharge of sewage or trade effluent into a stream or well or sewer or land. In the Ganga Water Pollution case, the owners of some tanneries near Kanpur were discharging their effluents from their factories in Ganga without setting up primary treatment plants. The Supreme Court held that the financial capacity of the tanneries should be considered as irrelevant while requiring them to establish primary treatment plants. The Court directed to stop the running of these tanneries and also not to let out trade effluents from the tanneries either directly or indirectly into the river Ganga without subjecting the trade effluents to a permanent process by setting up primary treatment plants as approved by the State Pollution Control Board. The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess Act, 1977 aims to provide levy and collection of a cess on water consumed by persons carrying certain industries and local authorities to augment the resources of the Central Board and the State Boards constituted for the prevention and control of water pollution. The object is to realise money from those whose activities lead to pollution and who must bear the expenses of the maintaining and running of such Boards. The industries may obtain a rebate as to the extent of 25% if they set up treatment plant of sewage or trade effluent. The Air Act has been designed to prevent, control and abatement of air pollution. The major sources of air pollution are industries, automobiles, domestic fires, etc. The air pollution adversely affects heart and lung and reacts with hemoglobin in the blood. According to Roggar Mustress, the American Scientist, air pollution causes mental tension which leads to increase in crimes in the society. The Air Act defines an air pollutant as any solid, liquid or gaseous substance including noise present in the atmosphere in such concentration as may be or tend to be injurious to human beings or other living creatures or plants or property or environment. The Act provides that no person shall without the previous consent of the State Board establish or operate any industrial plant in an air-pollution control area. The Central Pollution Control Board and the State Pollution Control Board constituted under the Water Act shall also perform the power and functions under the Air Act. The main function of the Boards under the Air Act is to improve the quality of air and to prevent, control and abate air pollution in the country. The permission granted by the Board may be conditional one wherein stipulations are made in respect of raising of stack height and to provide various control equipments and monitoring equipments. It is expressly provided that persons carrying on industry shall not allow emission of air pollutant in excess of standards laid down by the Board. In Delhi, the public transport system including buses and taxies are operating on a single fuel CNG mode on the directions given by the Supreme Court. Initially, there was a lot of resistance from bus and taxi operators. But now they themselves realise that the use of CNG is not only environment friendly but also economical. Noise has been taken as air pollutant within the meaning of Air Act. Sound becomes noise when it causes annoyance or irritates. There are many sources of noise pollution like factories, vehicles, reckless use of loudspeakers in marriages, religious ceremonies, religious places, etc. Use of crackers on festivals, winning of teams in the games, and other such occasions causes not only noise pollution but also air pollution. The Air Act prevents and controls both these pollutions. The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 was enacted to provide for the protection and improvement of the quality of environment and preventing, controlling and abating environmental pollution. The Act came into existence as a direct consequence of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. The term environment’ has been defined to include water, air and land, and the inter-relationship which exists among and between water, air and land and human beings, other living creatures, plants, micro-organism and property.

A Multinational Computer Software Corporation Commerce Essay

A Multinational Computer Software Corporation Commerce Essay Microsoft Corporation is a multinational computer software corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington. With annual revenues of more than 50 billion, Microsoft Corporation is more than the largest software company in the world (Kooten, 2011). It was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975. In early school days, Bill Gates was the topper of the class. Bill and his friend Paul Allen starts to skip classes soon after they were introduced to computers in 1968 (Balu, 2011). They started to find out how these computers work, read books about them, and they started to write programs then, at the age of 13. After finishing schooling days, they joined Harvard University and this was the time when they got into full time into the world of computers. Gates was not graduated from Harvard University as he spent most of his time in computer center and his total interest in programming. The Microsoft Empire started when Bill Gates saw a copy of magazine in 1975 in which featured the new Altair 8800 microcomputer made by MITS computer. He showed MITS the application of the BASIC programming language for their computer. Gates and Allen moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico to be close to MITS Computer and this was where they established Microsoft. Like most start-ups, Microsoft begins small, but has a huge vision a computer on every desktop and in every home. The company was incorporated in 1981 and it became Microsoft Inc. They launched the first Windows operating system on November 20, 1985 (Microsoft, 2012). Microsoft is known globally for its Microsoft Windows operating system and Microsoft Office suite of products such as, Internet Explorer, Power Point, Excel and Word programs. The companys core business is on developing, manufacturing and licensing software products. Microsoft is committed to the mission of helping their customers to realize their full potential. They constantly update and improve their products, continually evolving their company to accelerate new technologies for serving their customers better. Therefore, there are a total of eight business divisions in Microsoft offering greatest potential to serve their customers. They are Online Services Division, Server and Tools Business, Microsoft Business Solutions, Microsoft Office Division, Interactive Entertainment Business, Windows Phone Division, Windows Windows Live Division and Skype. Led by Gates, Microsoft has succeeded in placing at least one of its products on virtually every personal computer in the world, setting industry standards and defining markets. Contents An effective organization should four important management functions in order to help managers to achieve organizations mission. The four management functions are namely: Planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. In this content, we will analyze Microsoft Corporation in using these four management functions effectively. 2.1 Planning In this current global marketplace, a multinational corporation such as Microsoft is required to have a corporate culture and an inclusive business environment. Employees with varied perspectives, skills, and experiences are working together in this corporation to meet global consumer demands. The collaboration of cultures, ideas, and different perspectives is what that brings forth greater creativity and innovation. Microsoft found out that U.S. and global diverse markets represent tremendous sources of value in the workplace and marketplace. The growth of diverse populations worldwide and the potential of these segments make them important targets as prospective employees and customers. Economically, the diverse markets represent a growing source of market consumption and buying power, which makes them an important customer group for Microsoft. By increasing the diversity of workforce, they will create a team that capable of designing products that fulfil these growing customers needs. Employees actively seek guidance from their senior executive leadership team to ensure that diversity and inclusive best practices are deeply embedded throughout the working environment. Microsoft comes out with a strategy called Global Diversity Inclusion (GDI), which included: Representation: Building a Pipeline of Future Leaders Microsoft focuses on building its employee pipeline, while actively recruiting those with wide range of diverse backgrounds, highly trained individuals from around the world. Microsoft leverages relationships with schools and professional organizations to achieve diversity recruiting.   They offer programs that provide students the chance to interact with todays technology and learn about careers in this industry Inclusion: Creating Engagement in the Work Environment In order to sustain diversity gains, working environment must promote behaviours in a way that encourage employees to find new ways of problem-solving and reward diversity of thought. Thus, Microsoft provides leaders that have cultural competency training and GDI best practice management strategies, and offer employees the opportunities to build stakeholder relationships, thereby fostering a culture of inclusive behaviours. Innovation: Driving Market Excellence To build the best software, Microsoft incorporates the talents of varied workforce into products, and fulfils the needs and priorities of its diverse customers, suppliers and partner base. Microsoft works with certified and highly trained individuals, and also with small businesses that are seeking to purchase competitively priced quality goods and services from Microsoft. (A Vision and Strategy for the Future, 2012) 2.2 Leading Microsofts unveiling of the new Surface tablet, and with its planned $1.2 billion acquisition of Yammer, a social networking service, and the company is showing signs of actions of a market leader. Microsoft is going after Total World Domination, 100% market share in every market that it is involved in. They focus on risking profits to increase market share and go after a market with the view to dominate it. This is part of the reason which makes Microsoft the leading corporation. There are secrets of Microsofts management where the key points are, Bill Is Watching (Olaoluwa, 2012). Bill Gates philosophy, approach and strategic vision permeate the entire company. Project managers send reports regularly to Bill about the status of their projects in which the current status of the project and the problem that it faces must be stated in the report to ensure Bill knows what is happening. Bill often walks among the workers to see how projects are progressing and he gains a good understanding about what is going on with the projects by talking to the workers. Because Bill understands what is happening throughout the company, his decisions are generally the correct ones for the strategic direction of the company (Thielen, 1999). Besides, workers are given the freedom to create and work properly, but must at the same time be aware of the problems within and status of the project. There is an annual meeting every year for Microsoft employees that include entertainment as well as business. The idea is to keep all employees informed about what is going on in the company and the direction that it is taking. This reflects the management functions of leading in Microsoft. 2.3 Organizing Microsoft is a public corporation. Shareholders elect the board of directors, who in turn hire the top executives including the president, vice presidents, secretary, and treasurer. The company must follow Washington States laws regarding a corporation and must also abide by Securities and Exchange Commission regulations for financial reporting. As of November 2012, Steve Ballmer held the title of CEO, while co-founder Bill Gates was the chairman. According to Wikipedia, as of 2012, the company has a divisional organization. Each division, or product group, focuses on a specific line of goods and services. Each group has its own research and development, sales and customer service staff. Although this type of organization is more expensive and consumes more resources, but it allows the groups to better serve their customers. Each product group has one executive in charge who reports directly to the companys president. Microsofts five product groups are Windows Live Windows Group, which handles the PC operating software and Windows consumer products; Server Software, in charge of internet server software; Online Services, responsible for online advertising and Bing search engine; Microsoft Business, develops business related software and servers; Entertainment and Devices, assigned to handle the Xbox, Zune and software for the automotive industry. By managing the company in divisional form, the entire group is often in one location, allowing more interaction and better communication between all the employees developing or supporting one line of products. Having a smaller business unit means each division can develop new products and get them to market faster, making it easier to compete against rivals. Figure Organizational Structure of MicrosoftOrganizational Chart Microsoft TheOfficialBoard.jpg 2.4 Controlling Besides planning, leading and organizing, Microsoft also focuses in controlling. This management process is important to ensure activities are accomplished as planned and to correct any unwanted deviation. The controlling process includes monitoring, comparing, and correcting work performance. Microsoft often monitors the employees by personal observation. The company managers practices Management By Walking Around (MBWA). Bill Gates and other management staff of Microsoft often walk among the workers to monitor the progress of the project. By this way the top managers gains a good understanding on what is going on with that project. The employees of Microsoft are rate and measured according to accomplishments. A project failure will affect the employees rating negatively. But failure is expected to happen sometimes, and a failure is acceptable and will not give a permanent bad mark on the employees record, unless the employee fails continuously. This measuring style do not intent to belittle the employee, but to measure the work the employee most recently completed. The employees are not measured by whether the project fails or not, but how well they perform within their scope of responsibility. Employees with better performance will receive rewards as well as successful. If failure happens in a project, a post-mortem discussion is held where individuals discuss what went wrong and what could have bee n done better. 2.5 Factor that lead to success Marco Iansiti and Alan D. MacCormack stated that in any industry subject to rapid technological change, a firm faces two big challenges. The first is in recognizing the threats and opportunities that are caused by newly emerging technologies. The second is in mounting an effective response to these threats. Microsoft appears to have solved these problems, giving it the ability to quickly adapt to changing circumstances. Based on Sean Silverthorne, Microsoft has built-in sensing mechanisms to keep track of what is happening in the broader technological context which assist it to recognize threats. Much of this ability comes from its tools division, which tracks the needs of the many developers worldwide who write for Microsoft platforms. When these developers find attractive alternatives to Microsoft technologies as they did when the Internet first emerged, its not long before the tools division starts to hear about it. Microsoft also employed several thousand developers to constantly examining the potential of new technologies. In terms of responding to potential threats, Microsoft consistently plays to its strengths: its overall platform strategy, its existing knowledge base, and its process of componentization. For example, when developing the new Internet Explorer browser, the development team opted to leverage its existing programming model, despite the fact that this would initially slow the project down. From this point on, competitors in the browser space faced a formidable challenge. They were competing not only against the Explorer team, but also against the continual improvements made to Microsofts underlying platform over its many years of existence. 2.6 Future Challenges Even as Microsoft earns high ranking in worlds most powerful brand, profit, sales, assets and market value, their longstanding competitor, Apple, still holds higher ranking than Microsoft in all those aspects. Apple had now topped Microsoft to be the worlds most powerful brand, and it is clear that getting that first place again will be Microsoft greatest challenge. Now and again, Apple had introduced new innovations, especially products like iPad or iPhone, which generates more revenue than all of Microsofts wares combined. Apples innovations have earned Apple more attention and customers as compare with Microsoft. Microsoft challenge will be turning attention of consumers from Apple to Microsoft by coming out with new gadgets that are better than Apples product. Microsoft next challenge is to be flexible in their products. When Apple came out with gadgets with touch screen interfaces such iPhones and iPads, it grab consumers attention to buy the products because people like the convenience and uniqueness of the touch screen interface. Clearly touch screen interface is the trend, but Microsoft could not implement this new technology in their product because Microsofts software products are hardcore to only keyboard and mouse, not touch screen. As a result, Apple was able to grab more customers because of Microsoft inflexibility in its product. To dominate the market, Microsoft needs to be flexible in their product. Findings Conclusion As a summary, the four management functions which consist of: planning, organizing, leading, and controlling had been applied by Microsoft and this kind of management allows the organization to run smoothly in achieving their goals. The chosen example Microsoft stated that planning is the foundation of management, where all the management should built. Planning is importance as well, it determine and implemented to attain the organizations goals and objectives. Besides planning, the management should getting prepared, getting organized. Manager must organize all the resources well before putting into action. Furthermore, leading helps the manager to manage and supervise the actions of the subordinates. This helps them to assist the staff achieving organizations goals and enhancing their career goals which can influenced by leadership, communication, increment, promotion and motivation. Lastly, controlling helps to check the errors and to take the corrective action; therefore control is a tool for achieving organizational activities and also a continuous process. Nowadays, big organizations require managers to be flexible, adaptive, and innovative so to stay competitive. In order to reach these targets, managers must have various management techniques and practices. Managers should understand the fundamentals of the techniques and practices it before it can apply it. Without understanding the management basics, they cant be an effective and efficient manager. As a result, effective and efficient management leads to success, where it accomplishes the targets and objectives of the organizations. Of course, to achieve the ultimate goals, the managements need to work productively and innovative for solving problem with the four management functions mentioned earlier. Management not only has foreseen the desires of accomplishing the goals, but has to look into process that their method is practical and realistic for the company as well.

Temporal Becoming and the A- and B- Theories of Time :: Philosophy Philosophical Time Papers

Temporal Becoming and the A- and B- Theories of Time It is interesting to note that many of Saint Augustine's concerns about time around 400AD are the same as we have today. For example, Augustine was puzzled about the nature of the distinction between the past, the present and the future. He was also concerned about the nature and status of the apparent flow of time. In this essay we will consider a much more recent approach to time that came to the fore in the twentieth century. In 1908 James McTaggart published an article in Mind entitled 'The Unreality of Time', in which, as the title implies, he argued that there is in reality no such thing as time. Now although this claim was in itself startling, probably what was even more significant than McTaggart's arguments was his way of stating them. It was in this paper that McTaggart first drew his now standard distinction between two ways of saying when things happen. In this essay we shall outline these ways of describing events and then discuss the merits and demerits of each, and examine what has become known as the 'tensed versus tenseless' debate on temporal becoming. One way which we speak, experience and conceive of time is that time is something that flows or passes from the future to the present and from the present to the past. When viewed in this way, events which are present have a special existential status. Whatever may be the case with regard to the reality or unreality of events in the future and the past, events that are in the present exist with a capital 'E'. It can then be postulated that it is the 'present' or 'now' that shifts to even later times. If events in time (or moments of time) are conceived in terms of past, present and future, or by means of the tenses, then they form what McTaggart called the A-series (from which the A-theory of time is derived). This type of change is commonly referred to as 'temporal becoming', and gives rise to well known perplexities concerning both what does the shifting and the type of shift involved, which we will discuss later. On the other hand, we experience events in time as occurring in succession, one after another, and as simultaneous with other events. When viewed in this way, events stand in various different temporal relations to each other but no one event, or set of events, is singled out as having the property of being present or as occurring 'now'.

The Psychology Behind the Serial Killer Essay -- Psychological Essays

The Psychology Behind the Serial Killer Creeping around the shadowy house, the predator found its prey waking to strange sounds. The victim lay facedown, with a sweating forehead pressed fearfully into the pillow, silently praying the noises would just go away. Suddenly the victim found himself straddled and pinned to the bed. He was unable to scream for help due to the pressure of the handle of a pick-axe against his throat, preventing any breath from escaping, much less any sound. The victim struggled beneath the weight of the assailant. The scant light from the sodium-arc street light outside cast a peculiar silhouette on the walls of the darkened room, projecting an image that looked oddly like that of a cowboy saddled upon a bucking bull at a rodeo. Struggling to dismount the attacker, the victim felt the piercing blows of the sharp point of the pickaxe, succumbing to death only after receiving eleven stab wounds to the chest and throat. The thrill of the kill was stimulating enough that, when interviewed later, the murderer reported â€Å"popping a nut,† that is, becoming so sexually aroused by the event, to the point of having an orgasm (Pearson, 1998). Does this sound like the heinous acts of Jeffrey Dahmer, Jack The Ripper, or Ted Bundy? How about the petite, pretty, fawnlike, Texas teen named Karla Faye Tucker? A woman? A killer? A sexual predator? Never before had such a thing been heard of, until Miss Tucker. Typically, when one thinks of serial killers, such images as Son of Sam, John Wayne Gacy, or the Boston Strangler, come to mind. Though these men do indeed fit the description, there are many myths and misconceptions surrounding the definition of serial killer, first and foremost that serial ... ...1998). Essential criminology. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Monahan, J. & Steadman, H. (1984). Crime and mental disorder: Research in brief. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice. Pearson, P. (1998). When she was bad: How and why women get away with murder. New York: Penguin Putnam, Inc. Redl, F. & Toch, H. (1979). The psychological approach to crime, in Toch, H. (Ed.). Psychology of Crime and Criminal Justice. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. Redl, F. & Wineman, D. (1951). Children who hate. New York: Free Press. Ressler, R. K. & Shachtman, T. (1997). I have lived in the monster. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Severence, L., Goodman, J., & Loftus, E. (1992). Inferring the criminal mind: Toward a bridge between legal doctrine and psychological understanding. Journal Of Criminal Justice, 20. 107-120.

Kant Essay -- essays research papers

Immanuel Kant, a supporter of capital punishment, offered us of the most complicated, if not ambiguous, views on the subject. In fact, he would’ve ironically disagreed with its modern proponents. Those who advocate capital punishment today often do so for utilitarian reasons. For example, the death sentence would protect society by not only preventing a purpertrator from committing the same crime again, it would also deter others by setting an example. Kant would’ve argued the rights of the condemned are being trampled; by using him as an example, we are using him as a means to an end. A rational being, in Kant’s view, is an end in himself, whether criminal or law-abiding citizen. We would thus be violating his humanity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Kant’s view of ethics, actions must be undertaken from a sense of duty dictated by reason, and no action performed for appropriateness or solely in obedience to law or custom can be regarded as moral. Moral acts are done for the â€Å"right† reasons. Kant goes on to describe two types of commands given by reason: the hypothetical imperative, which dictates a given course of action to reach a specific end; and the categorical imperative, which dictates a course of action that must be followed because of its rightness and necessity. The categorical imperative is the basis of morality and was stated by Kant in these words: â€Å"Act as if the maxim of your action were to become through your will and general natural law.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reason, through the categorical imperative, would render such motives immoral; nevertheless, if a man is guilty, it would also dictate that he must not escape punishment. Otherwise, not only is justice being flaunted, but equality, which Kant sees as the basis of law and order, will not have been served. When selecting a punishment, equality becomes our standard. But what in Kant’s view, is equality?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To answer this, we must first understand his concept of jus talionis—the right of retaliation. In essence, there are two parts to this. One, Kant argues that a punishment must fit the crime. He would argue that the degree of suffering inflicted on the victim should be inflicted on the perpetrator. Two, if one commits a crime, he is exposing himself to the danger of his actions. If crime were to become universalized, and therefore acceptable, what is... ... way, to prove that our principles, based on perception, can be rationally applied. Because of this inability to prove our rational perception and thus a moral principle based on that perception, we are unable to demonstrate whether our motives are truly correct. To Kant, these principles can be proven through his transcendental arguments, but there remains the fact that he agreed sensory (and thus transcendental) experience could not be accepted as fact. Because of his lack of definite statement, Kant fails to prove through his arguments that correct thought or action can be universal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  People attempt to describe good based on virtuous thought. Virtuous thought supposes that a virtuous person has a fairly explicit concept of what is moral. Kant’s perception skews the person's thought because each person perceives an event (whatever the event may be) differently. It is this difference in what people perceive that creates opposing viewpoints on morality whether virtuous or not. Any attempt to provide a universal ethic to the community is impeded by the community itself. Not only was it an impossible task in Kant's time, but it is still impossible today.

Internal And External Business Environment Of Bunzl Plc

Bunzl is one of the world’s fastest growing specialist distribution groups in international market. The groups specialized in providing one-stop-shop for customers within several business sectors. The business includes producing a range of product including outsourced food packaging, disposable supplies and cleaning and safety products, caterers, non-food retail, hotels, etc. Its operations spread across North America, Europe and Australasia. Within this paper, we will focus more on the retail sector of Bunzl’s business environment.The company existed as far as 1854, as a haberdashery business founded by Moritz Bunzl in Slovakia, but it was not named Bunzl plc until 1940. The Bunzl family transmigrated to US and Europe and formed Tissue Paper Limited, the original name for Bunzl plc. During its early years, the company enters various types of business some of them were successful and some other are failures. Going through several changes of direction, the company did no t loose its existence in local as well as international market.Today, the company is a focused international value added distribution and outsourcing group, with the addition of Filtrona, a supplier of fibre and plastic technology products to international niche markets, listed as a separate entity (‘History’, 2006). Within this paper, I will perform an analysis on the internal and external business environment of Bunzl plc. The following chapter will elaborate how the company manages its internal conditions during its daily operations. The next chapter is about the external conditions of the retail sectors, and the challenges it brought to Bunzl plc.In the later part of the paper, there will be a short analysis on how best Bunzl perform its strategic management to face corporate challenges. II. Internal Strategic Environment of Bunzl Plc II. 1 Bunzl Core Competencies Bunzl has formulated a range of corporate mission to guide its steps in daily operations. The company s upported manufacturers who assist in satisfying customers’ needs for the benefit of all. It aims to provide services of such excellence that customers prefer Bunzl as their supplier regardless of the brand and product they select (‘About Bunzl Distribution’, 2006).If all successful companies have their own values that describe their competitive advantages, for Bunzl, it is the effective and creative utilization of technology. The company has only a single and uniform hardware and software platform to operate its business. The main data center of the company resides at its Corporate Headquarters in St Louis. The facility includes UPS generator, dual A/C and redundant telecommunications. The company also has a ‘hot site’ disaster recovery center where all transaction data are relayed to this site as a protection from natural disaster (‘Bunzl plc – Major Products and Services’, 2006).The company has a real time software system consis t of order processing, purchasing, receiving, billing, sales, warehousing, distribution and accounting modules. All locations of Bunzl operations are equipped with those software and all of them are connected to a centralized database repository, which is maintained by corporate IT staff. The company also maintains a National Accounting Customers system that provides customers from all over the country with standardized reports (including fill rates, sales tracking, item utilization, etc).In the retail sector, the company has an extensive network of distribution centers that serves retail supermarkets. Using the technology elaborated above, the company aims to maintain the quality of its services. Furthermore, it utilizes e-commerce facilities for online ordering and EDI computer-based technologies to support its ongoing strategies to increase productivity, service quality and achieved their ‘packaged of performance’ slogan. E-commerce technology is also used to continu e explore new business opportunities.These new business opportunities might be pursued in the form of internal growth as well as acquisition of new business (‘Bunzl plc – Major Products and Services’, 2006). II. 2 Product and Market Management Bunzl retail segment grocery customers include small, regional and national supermarket chains as well as warehouse grocery stores. The retail segment provided Bunzl’s customers with disposable packaging, supplies and carryout items. The retail outsourcing segment has a fleet of over 370 trucks, operating through 83 locations in North America and serving all 50 states, plus Canada and Mexico (‘Bunzl plc- Business Description’, 2006).The company is the leading distributor of disposable paper and plastic packaging supplies to the retail grocery industry. This includes the self-distributing chains and wholesalers. Bunzl is the company who is recognized for revolutionizing the outsourcing industry. The compa ny revolutionized that industry by developing sophisticated marketing, procurement and logistics systems designed to lower the delivered costs of supplies. Within this retail sector, Bunzl offers customers three types of logistics systems, which are: ? Direct-Store-Door (DSD), which constitutes a direct delivery to customers stores and supermarkets? Warehouse Replenishment System, which describes a just-in-time delivery system to customers’ warehouses instead of to customers’ retail stores. ? Cross Docking, which describes a system that serves clients in accordance to their individual stores’ needs? It is a system of individualized store-ready deliveries. (‘Bunzl plc- Business Description’, 2006) II. 3 Financial and Performance Management From the figures displayed in their financial report, the company displayed an increasing amount of sales and net profit during the last decade.This displayed a considerable growth of market share which is an impor tant indicator of overall corporate performance. The profit margin and operational ratios also display positive indication. A more detailed data revealed that the company made ? 2,182 million from sales in the year 2000, while in the year 2005; the sales number went up to ? 2,916 million. Other sales numbers between the two periods indicated a stable increase of corporate performance. The operating profit account of 2000 displayed a number of ? 165 million, while in 2005, this number changes to ? 205 million.The number between the years also displayed a stable rate of increase. Other accounts from the income statement as well as the balance sheet indicated that the company manages their resources in a very presentable manner. II. 4 Human Resource and Culture Management In terms of human resource management, the company aims to provide employees with real jobs since the fist day of work. This means that the company will expect high quality of working performance, but not before all e mployees are provided with training that involves practical experience as well as formal programs.The company has high expectations on key personal skills such as teamwork, leadership, self-development, innovation and creativity. Maintaining these programs, Bunzl aims to: ? Increase employees’ personal effectiveness by concentrating on the tried and tested techniques used by managers and specialist around the world. ? Improve employees’ financial understanding by providing them with programs that educated employees to interpret financial information and make decisive contribution to the key financial ratios of the business? Help employees to concentrate on team working and enablement, making each of them realized that enablement of individuals are crucial to a team’s success, etc Graduates that joined with Bunzl stated that Bunzl has a carefully structured training scheme, which covers a wide range of areas and gives trainees exposure to the whole organization. They stated that the company only take few graduates but tend to be encouraging in the process of developing their practical as well as decisive skills. They also mentioned that the company values teamwork and equality in performing team tasks.III. External Business Environment of Bunzl Plc III. 1 Macro Environment (PEST Analysis) ? Political Politically, the company did not have many obstacles that harm growth. The company operates in foreign markets, but limited to the regions of North America, Europe and Australasia, in which, political business restrictions are minimum. Because Bunzl do not perform business activities in China or in other Asian economy, the business experiences minimum complications when it comes to government regulations, market entrance and tax.The company also has a reputation of providing employees with equal work treatment, this keeps all problems of race and nationality away forms Bunzl operations (Desloge, 2005). Furthermore, Bunzl plc is officially headq uartered in London, who provided it with a slightly lighter burden of taxation. Nevertheless, because most of the group’s operations are in countries with higher tax rate (US and European countries); the taxation charge recorded for Bunzl in its financial report could be higher that the UK base rate.For instance, in 2004 the recorder tax rate was 32%, which is slightly higher that the nominal UK rate of 30%. Another political obstacle is the approval of regulators in foreign country. This is because a country’s government where Bunzl interests in needs to protect local players. Therefore, politically, the objective of Bunzl to enter new market in a foreign countries might be delayed due to regulation to protect local players. ? Economic The retail segment is naturally a capital intensive business. Retail companies generally perform considerable borrowing actions which will be paid-off gradually by years of profit.In the case of Bunzl, the company has been on the busine ss for decades and therefore, has already a low debt to capital ratio. In order words, the company no longer has to carry the heavy burden of interest rates. Nevertheless, the company performed numerous large acquisitions in its operational years that new borrowings are made occasionally. For example, the net interest charge for continuing operations increased to ? 10. 8 million from ? 2. 9 million because increased average borrowings due to recent acquisitions (‘Bunzl eyes more acquisitions’. 2006).Environmentally, only a small portion of the increase in interest charge is caused by fluctuation of interest rates. The environments in which Bunzl performs its operations are comparatively stable. The translation issue also has a weak influence over corporate profitability. Any fluctuation would not cause changes to more than 1% of sales number. According to Porter and Ketels (2003), within the last two decades, the UK economy had shown some excellent economic metrics. The y also said that the awareness on the issues of competitiveness had also increased significantly.This situation had helped the country to improve the country’s prosperity since there is an increase in the level of labor force utilization (hours worked per employee, employment rate, and labor force participation rate). In addition, they found that the country had experienced good growth in labor productivity while the country’s export market share and the attractiveness of FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) were still stable. Despite the excellent performance in some economics metrics, Porter and Ketels (2003) pointed out that UK still lag many other advanced economies.They said while labor utilization is at high level, the country still face low labor productivity (Porter and Ketels, 2003). ? Socio-cultural Concerning the socio-cultural aspects, the company might consider following questions like, what are the attitudes toward foreign products. How strong are the environm ental issues? Are they important to address especially if we are embarking on international markets? (â€Å"PEST Analysis†). Under such circumstances, the customers and manufacturer/service providers, like Bunzl are closely related.It further influences the way Bunzl interacts with their suppliers in order to ensure the products tailored to fit their customers’ needs and faster delivery. In the socio-cultural aspect, the company does not deal with extreme differences of culture, as faced by other multinationals. On the other hand, the company faces a slightly more demanding corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. Modern communities in the North America, Europe and Australasian region are more aware of the importance of a good CSR practice by multinationals.In the case of Bunzl plc, besides ensuring all-ethical operational processes, the company also performs various community investments. There is no apparent socio-cultural debacle in the corporate history. ? Technological The technological environment provided a tremendous chance for growth to Bunzl. The company lives within an advanced society where access to technology is practically limitless. The technology provided the company with the potential to increase the quality of its outsourcing services. For example, Bunzl can develop centralized procurement system, which employs computerized system as shown in the following figure: