Constitutional understanding Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Constitutional understanding - Term Paper Example As time passed, a lot of things became introduced and others amended in the constitution. There got ways that can be used to bring changes in the constitution in order to enhance more positive rights. Cass advised on the proper way to have positive rights put in the American constitution (Sanford 45). He continues by saying that through constitution conventions, constitutional amendments Matthew in his book We Hold These Truths tries to oversee and connect some of the principles lay down during nation founding with some of the thorniest issues today (Matthew 23). In being a constitutional scholar, he analyzes and even gives some 10 transformational initiatives in an attempt to seek to provide the necessary education regarding constitutional self government and liberty to policy makers, news media and even regular Americans. In his book, he states some of the first principles laid down by the forefathers and tries to suggest applicable solutions to problems being faced nowadays in terms of liberty. In the establishment of liberty in the American constitution, meant quite a lot to the citizens. In the beginning, liberty encompassed a broad scope of some human freedom and entailed dimensions like political, economic, intellectual plus religious aspects. Matthew in his book explores how the forefathers wanted liberty to be and gives solutions on how conservatives could revert it. Matthew believes that the first principles started becoming eroded in the early 20th and late 19th more so due to centralization, relativism, bureaucracy and lies therefore undermining the vision the fore founders had for the constitution (Matthew 45). In his book, he adds that the victory by Republicans remains as another way to demonstrate how the Americans still believe in some of the visions outlined by some of the founding fathers in forming the constitution. According to Sanford in the

Plato’s and Cicero’s life and Political Ideas Essay Example for Free

Plato’s and Cicero’s life and Political Ideas Essay Between 429-347 BCE, were the period of Plato and his ocean of philosophical dispositions and carried the most deep-seated political, social and intellectual thoughts. His questions raised the consciousness of intellectuals, students and general people making them think every aspect of their life from new and fresh perspective. As said by Alfred North Whitehead, â€Å"All Western philosophy consists of footnotes to Plato. † (Garvey 7) Plato was a student of Socrates and teacher of Aristotle, and naturally in his works there is a reflection of Socrates thoughts and ideologies. But while remembering, Plato we should not forget Cicero, 106-43 B. C. who was himself part of many of the political developments of his time. He was not only a philosopher but also an orator, lawyer and politician. He laid more importance to politics over philosophy. His philosophical works came about only in the period when he was forced to refrain himself from politics. Though he was neither considered as exceptional thinker nor we can see any originality in his works yet his thoughts on various aspects of philosophy exerted tremendous influence on many thinkers after many years to come. His popularity rose in 19th century. There is no comparison between Plato and Cicero as they were both of different ages and had their own distinct attributes, yet if we give deep thoughts into their philosophical works what we get is what we call slight deviations in their thoughts on Politics. Plato was born in Athens during 428-7 B. C. E but there is no certainty about this date because according to Diogenes Laertius, Plato was born in the same year when Pericles died. He was also considered to be six years younger than Socrates was and his death came when he passed the youthful years of his life-at the age of 84. If according to Apollodorus’ version, the death date of Plato is correct then his birth date should lie between 430 or 431 but Diogenes put his birth in 429. Diogenes further said that if Plato was the twenty years old at the time of Socrates murder in 399 then his year of birth should be 427. These years between 429-347 B. C. E is considered to be very appropriate, whereas, Cicero was born on 3rd January 106 BC in Arpinum, as Arpino today. It is a hill town situated 100 kilometres towards south of Rome. This small Italian got Roman citizenhsip in 188 B.  C. and began to speak Latin rather than their language Volscian before they were enfranchised by Romans. The assimilation of nearby Italian communities into Rome laid Cicero’s future as a Roman statesman, orator and writer. Though he had a great mastery over Latin rhetoric and composition but Cicero would never from him heart considered himself as a â€Å"Roman† and he was aware of this fact through out his life. During this period of Roman history, it was considered as cultured to able to speak both the Greek and Latin languages. Like many of his contemporaries, Cicero also got education in Greek rhetoricians, and their most influential teachers of their time was also Greek. His knowledge of Greek language enabled him to translate many of its theological concepts into Latin brining maximum number of common people into the world of Greek philosophical thoughts. He was so inclined towards the study of Greek culture and language that he would be called by the other boys as â€Å"Little Greek boy†, yet it is his obsession with the Greek language that made him tied to the traditional Roman elite. The family of Cicero belonged to the local class of nobles known as domi nobles, but without any tie with the Roman senatorial class. Cicero was only connected to Gaius Marius, the most popular person born in Arpinium. In 80 B. C. , he led the most popular faction during civil war against optimates of Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Cicero’s father was a knight who would compensate his personal life by reading books. His mother was Helvia who was a very good housewife. (Clayton Online edition) Plato’s was also fortunate to be born in a noble family of Athens. He was the son of Aristone and his mother’s name was Perictone. He got his nickname from the wrestler’s broad shouldered physique. He was expected to follow the family’s tradition of politicians but when he witnessed that Athens entered into conflict with Sparta during Peloponnesian war, he aliented himself from politics and at the age of twenty, joined the School of Socrates. Socrates main ambition was to seek the truth and further explore on the issues like virtue and pity. He also critcised religious and political institutions but allegations began to be levid against him from all corners as he was charged for corrupting the mind of youths. Plato captured the nerves of the society at large and pened down his earnest views followed by Apology and Crito. When Socrates died, Plato opened his academy in a grove which was considered to be sacred to the demigod Academus, near Athens. The importance of Academy grew when Aristotle became its student. Astronomy, Mathematics, and Philosophy were the subjects taught in the Academy. Few years of his life, Plato spent in travelling gaining more knowledge in the other parts of Mediterranean whereas rest part of his life was spent in Athens until he died in 347 B. C.  Ralph Waldo Emerson, a great American essayist, philosopher, a poet and a leader of Transcendentalist movement of the nineteenth century evoked, Plato is philosophy, and philosophy, Plato, at once the glory and the shame of mankind, since neither Saxon nor Roman have availed to add any idea to his categories. †Ã¢â‚¬â€(Emerson, Spiller, Ferguson Slater Carr 23) Plato understood politics from the angle of justice and democracy. His aim was to give the rulers the main principle of what constituted real politics. For Plato, politics was an application of what metaphysics and ethics considered as true. His ideal world was something which was true, good and therefore virtuous. He gave to the world the best mouth piece of the study of human behavior and his relation with society. His â€Å"Republic† was his ideological stand point whereby he posed number of questions and pondered their answers in the light of various assumptions and dynamics of society. His main question comes from the light of what is good and bad in their world-Why should we be good and why in this cruel world, wicked are more happy and successful? To find out the answer to this question, Plato had to invite the whole community-the Polis. In other words , if you can find out the right direction to form polis which is healthy then the importance to individual happiness is ruled out. For Plato, justice is a base which could only be frutifully gained by bringing about balance in wisdom, courage and temperance. For Plato, even an ideal state can be self desructive. Plato posited the view that even ideal state where all have equal rights could also be destructive and it could be happen in turn by the very basic concept on which democracy stands. Though Republic, the Statesman, the Laws are three main political dialogues of Plato, and they developed their ideologies on the basis of what today is termed as conceptual analysis-in other words clarification of the basic principles on which politics stands and its importance. For Plato, this conceptual analysis was a preliminary stage for further critical evaluation of thought processes. According to Plato, making right decisions on the administration and making right choice between peace and war are the two most crucial initial steps of good politics. Such decisions could not be left into the hands of public only but by good orator. Cicero’s works included fifty speeches, around thousand letters to friends and associates, among them the several of his works included rhetorical theories and twelve out of them are on philosophical topics. These display great intellectual thoughts that deepen Cicero’s conviction that both the philosophy and rhetoric are independent to each other and are very important for human life and society. His works on philosophy stand witness to the rhetorical techniques and style of Roman oratory. The political philosophy of Plato was largely based on speculations about ideal state. Though he did conceptualize his points by imploring upon the city-states of Greece and events in current political scenario, yet his discussions evolved largely around what he and other intellectuals thought to be ideal states. The essence of his ideological state lied in the needs of the man on the individual level and on the whole and these needs of the man joined them together to work for the common goal. The members that make the society could be divided into different classes according to their particular work criteria. As according to Plato, in man, there are two different souls in the same way in the society also, there are three different classes: philosophers, warriors, and producers; one of which belongs to the rational souls and the rest two belong to the irrational souls and each class has its own particular role to fulfill. For e. g. philosophers run the state, warriors defend it and producers cultivate their skills to produce the materialistic goods needed by the state. On the other hand, much of the Cicero’s political thoughts followed Aristotle concept of ideal state. For Cicero, there were three main forms of government; monarchy, aristocracy, and the constitutional state, but he also believed that there is every scope of perversion in each form of government, which emerges from those who do not have regard for the public good. Not one form of government is perfectly good. Instead Cicero prescribed what is known as composite form of government with the principles of monarchy, aristocracy and democracy. This form of government today is known as Common Wealth form of Government and Cicero termed as the Res Publica, literally known as â€Å"The People’s thing. His composite republic is based on the monarchical principle, also known as consuls; the aristocratic is likened to the Senate of Rome, which performs both the legislative and executive functions. The democratic principles are tribunes referred to as committees (comitia) in ancient Rome. Rather than revolutionary or politically visionary, Cicero was being considered more as a â€Å"political conservative† who was eager to preserve the Roman Republic against the designs of Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony, and Octavian whose aim was to make Rome into their own personal empire. But Cicero did not succeed in preventing Roman Republic from collapse and was murdered by the followers of Mark Anthony. (Marcus Cicero, Section 12). Cicero’s law was based on these two: â€Å"That true law was reason, That good is always good, that bad is always bad and in traditional Roman values. † (Simmons Online) He criticized all other form of constitutions for breaching the rights and interests of people and conveyed that political system should provide legal rights to every one equally but give electoral, legislative and judicial rights in accordance to their merit and wealth. Cicero’s first book On the Orator laid importance of Oratory in the politics of Rome. Oratory had been part of the Roman politics, and Cicero mainly superimposed its value. His discussions merely revolved around education basically history and poetry with composition of logic, philosophical theory and rhetorical techniques. As said by Stephen Whites’s, â€Å"Orator, clearly reflects Cicero’s own proficiencies, unites thorough knowledge of history and law with complete command of in a Romanized version of Platos philosopher-rulers†. (White online edition). Both Plato and Cicero wanted education to be based on philosophy to produce best statesman. While Plato’s more emphasis was on training on mathematical ground and transcendental metaphysics, Cicero wanted many practical programs of instructions designed to cultivate articulacy and civic debate. (White Online edition). His On the Republic is his much thought provoking dialects on leadership and politics. It was almost lost but its first third was recovered in 1820. On the Republic is a challenge of Plato’s Greek political theory based on utopian thoughts. He defined republic as â€Å"a peopl’e affair, â€Å"(res populi) and people as a community who have joined in to one consensus on their mutual interest. His other part constitutes his explanation on types of constitutions in classical Greek style and developed the data on the development of Roman institutions; whereas some of the sections which are either lost or preserved in very poor state have in short explanation of Hellenistic debates on the nature and rewards of justice and the discussions on education system of Rome. Yet another of his book On Laws is a sequel to a legal system. Contradicting Plato’s laws, he contended that Rome already had embodied itself much the ideals of law. On Laws truly appeared to be very important in the sense that it contains full account of natural law. Based entirely on Stoic ideas, Cicero contended that the whole concept of law is already a part of nature with an appropriate order, which could be codified in legislation for final tribunal in a court of law. After these writings, civil war erupted and he did not go further into this, but last of his books summed up his thinking on political grounds by bringing out the importance of morality in public life. In his On Duties which was his epistle to his son, he gave the routes to bestow on the proper code of conduct for Roman nobility emphasizing justice, benefaction and public service. His entire focus was on the men of high status and their way of dealing with the problems relating to personal ambitions and social obligations. Cicero too always stood on his profound trust on the noblest trait of human beings, which is their humanity and inculcate reasoning power to improve the lives of human beings. His thoughts on humanism are best skewed in his â€Å"On the Ends of Good and Evil†. The dialogue herein reflects on the question of what and where is the end of all human actions and the way you attain the happiness. Cicero agreed with Aristotle and saw that human beings are political or social animals. â€Å"But nature has given to mankind a compulsion to do good, and a desire to defend the well being of the community . (Cicero Rudd R I. 1). † But the most influential model book was The Republic by Plato. Cicero’s homage to the Republic was found in its expression in the section which was lost but also found its place in his concluding marks of the cosmos and the afterlife (The Dream of Scipio), which reflects the myth of err by the end of the Plato’s end book. Plato has been directly quoted and or reflected several times. Cicero’s Scipio states that, â€Å"Rather than invent a city for themselves as Plato did, he prefers to examine a real historical stance (The Roman Constitution) which comes closet to the ideal†. (Cicero, Rudd, Powell xvi) But it was also mistake to espouse that, because Cicero had departed from Plato in certain way, his Republic is in very deep sense anti-platonic. It is further said that â€Å"Cicerio’s Scipio was enough of a Platonist to regard philosophy and astronomy as wise man’s true occupation, and to declare that one should take political offices only our of sense of duty or necessity, as Plato’s Guardian do. (I-26-29)( Cicero, Rudd, Powell 17) There are many similarities between the Plato’s Republic and Cicero, de ra republic. Each formulated on the account of relationship between citizen and state. Both of them discussed on justice, both of them bestowed theory of constitution. Both of them also had mentioned discussion on education and a vision of an after life. Sharpely too suggested that â€Å"Cicero Republic in the sense, Plato’s turned inside out. † (Cicero Zetzel 14) In the Republic by Plato, Socrates and his friends are trying to implore and analyze on what should be an ideal city but do not want to analyze the state in which he was living. Plato and Cicero were only mouthpieces in an arena of political thoughts in their respective periods whereas in Ciceros De re publica, all the comments whether directly or indirectly emphasized on the organization of the state they ought to be living, which was Roman Republic in the final stages.

Case Study Monsantos Repatriation Program

Case Study Monsantos Repatriation Program Monsanto is a global provider of agricultural products with revenues in excess of $4 billion and 10,000 employees. At any one time, the company will have 100 mid and higher-level managers on extended postings abroad. Two thirds of these are Americans who are being posted overseas, while the remainder are foreign nationals being employed in the United States. At Monsanto, managing expatriates and their repatriation begins with a rigorous selection process and intensive cross-cultural training, both for the managers and for their families. As at many other global companies, the idea is to build an internationally minded cadre of highly capable managers who will lead the organization in the future. One of the strongest features of this program is that employees and their sending and receiving managers, or sponsors, develop an agreement about how this assignment will fit into the firms business objectives. The focus is on why employees are going abroad to do the job, and what their contribution to Monsanto will be when they return. Sponsoring managers are expected to be explicit about the kind of job opportunities the expatriates will have once they return home. Once they arrive back in their home country, expatriate managers meet with cross-cultural trainers during debriefing sessions. They are also given the opportunity to showcase their experiences to their peers, subordinates, and superiors in special information exchanges. However Monsantos repatriation program focuses on more than just business; it also attends to the familys reentry. Monsanto has found that difficulties with repatriation often have more to do with personal and family-related issues than with work-related issues. But the personal matters obviously affect an employees on-the-job performance, so it is important for the company to pay attention to such issues. This is why Monsanto offers returning employees an opportunity to work through personal difficulties. About three months after they return home, expatriates meet for three hours at work with several colleagues of their choice. The debriefing session is a conversation aided by a trained facilitator who has an outline to help the expatriate cover all the important aspects of the repatriation. The debriefing allows the employee to share important experiences and to enlighten managers, colleagues and friends about his or her expertise so others within the organization can use some of the global knowledge. According to one participant, It sounds silly, but its such a hectic time in the familys life , you dont have time to sit down and take stock of whats happening. Youre going through the move, transitioning to a new job, a new house, the children may be going to a new school. This is a kind of oasis; a time to talk and put your feelings on the table. Apparently, it works; since the progr am was introduced in the early 1990s, the attrition rate among returning expatriates has dropped sharply. Questions: a. Why does Monsanto need to recruit expatriates for their US Operations? b. Why How does the repatriation programme of Monsanto is helping reduce attrition rates? a. Why does Monsanto need to recruit expatriates for their US Operations? INTRODUCTION The world economy is moving away from the traditional economic system, where national markets were considered as distinct entities which were isolated from each other by trade barriers, barriers of distance, time and culture towards a modern economic system, where the national markets are merging into one huge global market. In many industries it is no longer meaningful to talk about the American market, the German Market or the Japanese market. Therefore, as the development in the international business environment are forcing companies to think of the world as one vast market, the companies are being forced to set up their manufacturing and marketing facilities in different foreign countries in order to do business globally. Ford Motors, for instance, has production plants in 38 countries and sales outlets in over 200 countries (Ford 1997 Annual report, www.ford.com). In this regard, there are in todays world a still increasing number of people, who are sent by companies on forei gn assignments for a longer or shorter period of time and it is those people that we in this paper will refer to as expatriates Expatriates play a key role in the globalization of many companies. The parent company often depends on expatriates to transmit the core values to employees in the overseas location besides of course putting in place systems and processes. In short, expatriates assume a significant responsibility for culture building. Black and Gregersen, have given an excellent account of the issues involved in the management of expatriates. Most companies struggle with their expatriate programmes. Some expatriates return early because of job dissatisfaction; others fail to live upto expectations and a few leave after completing an overseas assignment to join competitors. Successful companies seem to follow three practices religiously. While managing international assignments, they focus on knowledge creation and global leadership development. Other considerations are given less importance. While assigning people for overseas postings, they look for people whose technical skills are matched or exceeded by their cross cultural abilities. Finally, companies with a successful expatriate programme know how to end an assignment and put the experience of the executives to good use, when they return after an overseas stint. Global companies after selecting the candidates place them on the jobs in various countries, including the home country of the employees. But, the employees of the global companies are also placed in foreign countries. Even those employees who are placed initially in their home countries are sometimes transferred to various foreign countries. Thus, the employees of global companies mostly work and live in foreign countries and their family members also live in foreign countries. Employees and their family members working and/or living in foreign countries, are called expatriates in the foreign country. Expatriates are those living or working in a foreign country. The parent country nationals working in foreign subsidiary and third country nationals are expatriates. Large no of expatriates normally have adjustment problems with the working culture of the company, countrys culture, laws, etc. some expatriates adjust themselves easily, while some others face severe problems of adjusting. Such employees about their assignments and return to home country by terminating their work contracts. Thus, the major problem with expatriates is adjustment in the new international environment. Expatriate is a person who leaves his country to work and live in a foreign country. Generally, expatriates are the nationals from the other countries than the host and the MNCs parent country, i.e. expatriates are the third country nationals. The unavailability of the required skills and talents takes the organisation to source talent from other countries. The procedures and processes of recruiting and selecting the human resources are never uniform even within a single organisation. The procedures vary according to the post, the skill set required, the nature of work etc. More of it is seen in the case of recruitment of expatriates. The recruitment and selection procedures and considerations are drastically different for expatriates than that of the domestic employees. Recruitment of expatriates involves greater time, monetary resources and other indirect costs. Improper recruitment and selection can cause the expatriates to return hastily or a decline in their performance. A mismatch between job (its requirements) and people can reduce the effectiveness of other human resource activities and can affect the performance of the employees as well as the organisation. Recruiting expatriates require special considerations and skills to select the best person for the job. Except for a few expatriate selection policies, the expatriate selection criterion is generally organisation and nation specific. The recruiters for recruiting the expatriates should be carefully selected and trained. The recruitment strategies for expatriates should be aligned with requirements of the job. The interviews of expatriates are designed in a manner to judge their: Adaptability to the new culture Intercultural interaction Flexibility Professional expertise Past international work experience Tolerance and open-mindedness Family situation Language ability Attitude and motivation Empathy towards local culture A few researches in this field also suggest that women are morale likely to be successful in certain positions as expatriates as they are more sensitive towards new culture and people. Recruitment of expatriates should be followed by cultural and sensitivity training, and language training. Allegiance to parent firm Low Free agents Natives High Hearts at home Dual citizens Low High Allegiance to local operation Monsanto, the US chemicals manufacturer, starts work on suitable assignments for returning expatriates well in advance. The company not only arranges for debriefing on their return, but also identifies suitable jobs based on the expatriates skills and organizational needs. To sum up, the challenge for global companies is to develop a cadre of expatriates who will function as dual citizens, with a balanced allegiance to the headquarters and the country subsidiary. Creating such a cadre would involve careful selection processes, cross cultural training before and after overseas assignments, well planned career systems that lead to clearly defined job expectations and well conceived repatriation programmes. NEED OF EXPATRIATES FOR MONSANTO Expatriate is a person who leaves his country to work and live in a foreign country. Generally, expatriates are the nationals from the other countries than the host and the MNCs parent country, i.e. expatriates are the third country nationals. From the HR-literature we know that expatriates are divided into three types: PCNs (Parent Country Nationals); HCNs (Host Country Nationals); and TCNs (Third Country Nationals)., we will focus on the different roles of these expatriates by point of departure in the following four general approaches to international staffing: Ethnocentric Approach: Because of a lack of qualified HCNs, PCNs occupy all key positions in the foreign operation, which means that the subsidiary is highly dependent on the headquarters decisions. Some drawbacks from this approach could be limited promotion opportunities for HCNs, income gaps between PCNs and HCNs, and that PCNs cannot be involved in local matters. Polycentric Approach: In this approach HCNs occupy positions in the foreign subsidiary. Some transfers of HCNs to headquarters also take place. The approach eliminates the language barriers, and typically HCNs are less expensive. Some drawbacks from this approach could be communication problems between headquarter and subsidiary and limited career opportunities for HCNs as they cannot be promoted to headquarter. Geocentric Approach: In this approach the best people are selected for key positions regardless of their nationality. Nationality is not taken into account and a worldwide integration of employees takes place. In this approach an international team of managers is developed. Some drawbacks from this approach may be related to situations, where host governments prefer employment of locals because of i.e. labor issues. Regiocentric Approach: Here a companys international business is divided into international geographic regions (i.e. the European Union). The staff can only transfer within these regions. MONSANTO needs expatriates because of the following reasons:- Expatriates first enter the picture when corporations have strong incentives to internalize activities. Typical, enterprises will engage in the type of internalization most suitable for the factor combination, market situations and government policies which they face: When it is more profitable for this company to exploit its ownership advantages in another country itself rather than to sell or license them. When a firm desires to extinguish bilateral monopoly because of market imperfections: that is, when some markets incurs lower cost through hierarchical co-ordination (FDI) than through co-ordination by market prices then the need to use expatriates becomes evident. When an enterprise has location and ownership specific resource endowments and finds the need to internalize these because of market imperfections then the expatriate is born. The expatriate will likely be used to take out the imperfections of the market by being the liaison for the organization to that market. Having a manger that knows and understands headquarters desires and wants is therefore of great importance when investing and operation in foreign markets. Securing transfer of technology/filling positions, as companies send the expatriates abroad in order to transfer their technology to the foreign subsidiary. I.e. in countries where qualified people are not available, companies send the PCNs to fill out the positions. This is mostly used by multinational and international firms. Securing the headquarter control, where the companies can exercise this control by using the PCNs in their foreign subsidiaries. In such situations firms try to incorporate the headquarters culture into the foreign operations, which in some cases may create cultural problems. Especially MNCs tend to demand administrative and financial control in their foreign operations. Opportunity for international experience/ management development, as several firms find international experience highly important before promoting their employees. Foreign transfers are here important in order to learn foreign cultures and environments. In such situations qualified HCNs are available but managers are still transferred to foreign subsidiaries to acquire knowledge and skills. Securing organizational development, which also is called the Geocentric approach. This role is performed only by the best people at the best places without nationality barriers. Transfers can take place from headquarter to subsidiary, from subsidiary to headquarter, or from subsidiary to subsidiary. Nationality of employees does not matter in this situation, as the objective of this staffing strategy is to get to know about different cultures, create international networks, decentralization, and interaction between managers of different nationalities. In general, this strategy is mostly followed by larger global companies. Expatriates are responsible for transferring new technologies and penetrating new markets in foreign subsidiaries. Organizations opening a new production facility or branches in a foreign country will send an expatriate to facilitate entry into the new markets. PCNs are commonly sent out to initiate operations in fresh markets in countries with no qualified people to carry out the firms mandate. These PCNs render their expertise in the vital global market within the new markets. Mostly, a firm will send a team of expatriates to work together effectively and penetrate the new market. Companies may want to exercise control over foreign subsidiaries by integrating the headquarters culture in foreign operations. This might be achieved by sending PCNs who have been with the company for some time. These expatriates have to promote a variety of inter-organizational skills and interpersonal skills, commonly used in the headquarters, to different employees in the subsidiaries. Most organizations with operations in foreign countries are quite successful and use expatriates to oversee financial and administrative functions. Expatriates have the opportunity to learn the foreign environment and culture during foreign assignments. This international experience and expansive knowledge gained by expatriates can be used to develop products that suit a specific culture, ensuring the firm remains competitive in the global market. The PCNs may be sent to foreign subsidiaries before they are promoted, so that they can learn the skills and knowledge to operate within a diverse environment. This foreign exposure helps expatriates develop international management competencies. Expatriates are sent to foreign countries where they can locate valuable resources and expertise, learn best practices and transfer all these assets to the company operations in the host country. Expatriates may gain expertise from different cultures, providing the company with learning opportunity from a diverse staff. Expatriates help the organization in forming international networks, creating a global market for products. They also promote decentralization of the organization by taking control of the various foreign operations. b. Why How does the repatriation programme of Monsanto is helping reduce attrition rates? INTRODUCTION A largely overlooked but critically important issue in the training and development of expatriate managers is to prepare them for reentry into their home-country organization. Repatriation should be seen as the final link in an integrated, circular process that connects good selection and cross-cultural training of expatriate managers with completion of their term abroad and reintegration into their national organization. However, instead of having employees come home to share their knowledge and encourage other high-performing managers to take the same international career track, expatriates too often face a different scenario. Often when they return home after a stint abroad-where they have typically been autonomous, well-compensated, and celebrated as a big fish in a little pond-they face an organization that doesnt know what they have done for the last few years, doesnt know how to use their new knowledge, and doesnt particularly care. In the worst cases, reentering employees have to scrounge for jobs, or firms will create standby positions that dont use the expatriates skills and capabilities and fail to make the most of the business investment the firm has made in that individual. Research illustrates the extent of this problem. According to one study of repatriated employees, 60 to 70 percent didnt know what their position would be when they returned home. Also, 60 percent said their organizations were vague about repatriation, about their new roles, and about their future career progression within the company; 77 percent of those surveyed took jobs at a lower level in their home organization than in their international assignments. Not surprising, 15 percent of returning expatriates leave their firms within a year of arriving home, and 40 percent leave within three years. The key to solving this problem is good human resource planning. Just as the HRM function needs to develop good selection and training programs for its expatriates, it also needs to develop good programs for reintegrating expatriates back into work life within their home-country organization, for preparing them for changes in their physical and professional landscape, and for utilizing the knowledge they acquired while abroad. MEANING OF REPATRIATION Repatriation, or re-entry, is the transition from a foreign country back to ones own after working overseas for a significant period of time. According to Black, Gregersen, and Mendenhall (1999) this last stage of the expatriation process has been neglected to some extent since the process of relocation to the home country and home organization has been assumed to be a simple matter for expatriates. However, repatriation problems are complex both for the company and the expatriate because they involve the challenges of personal re-entry and professional re-entry at the same time (Linehan and Scullion, 2002). Hodgetts and Luthans (2001), claim that for most expatriates, the return to the home country occurs within five years after leaving the home country. Furthermore, Dowling, et al. (1994) suggests that the repatriation process consists of different phases in which the expatriate and the company face different roles. The authors describe the repatriation process in four related phas es. These are a) preparation, b) physical relocation, c) transition, and d) readjustment. The first stage, preparation, involves the development of plans for the future both for the company and the expatriate. In this stage the expatriate can gather information about the new position that will be offered in the home organization. Preparation is followed by physical relocation of the expatriate. This stage refers to removing personal effects; breaking ties with colleagues, and traveling to the country where the home organization is located. In this stage the company can offer comprehensive and personalized relocation assistance to reduce the amount of anxiety the repatriate may feel. Transition, the third step in the repatriation process, is the settling into temporary accommodations as well as making arrangements for administrative tasks. This makes the process of re-entry to the home organization smoother. Readjustment, the last step, involves coping with reverse culture shock and career demands that are followed by the re-entry. (Ibid) According to Paik, et al. (2002), the process of an expatriates re-entry to the home organization is a complex interaction of several job-related factors, socio- cultural factors and family factors. The job-related factors primarily address the relationship between the expatriate and the home office and issues related to the repatriates career progression after returning to the home country. Many repatriates return to an organization that does not know what they have accomplished overseas and how to use the repatriates experience appropriately. The socio-cultural factors are related to the repatriates ability to adjust and reintegrate into the home country culture. Sufficient cross-cultural preparation is needed to prepare the expatriate for working in another culture as well as for preparing the expatriate for working in the home organization upon return. Finally, the family factors address the impact of reintegration on the spouse and children. The cultural shock that the family ma y experience can affect the repatriates ability to resume their responsibilities at the home office. One of the key transitional activities is to involve targeted communication concerning the expectation of the home office towards the return of the repatriate and his or her family. (Ibid) Suutari and Brewster, (2003) claim that for the employee, career progression is often the reason to accept an assignment abroad. As a consequence the re-entry position is frequently linked with whether the new position matches the repatriates career expectations. Although international assignments are seen as a key tool for developing international managers the positive connection between an expatriation assignment and career development has been questioned. The authors further state that there is a gloomy picture with organizations losing a lot of talented and experienced international staff at or shortly after repatriation. The fall-out rate is often a result of dissatisfaction among repatriates whose careers are blighted by their negative experience and who have to rebuild their careers elsewhere. (Ibid) However, according to Linehan and Scullion (2002) the costs of losing repatriates are significant because they are valuable and expensive human resources who are capable of understanding the workings of both corporate headquarters and overseas operations; in addition they are responsible for critical co-ordination and control functions. MEANING OF REPATRITION PROGRAMME Black, et al, stress the importance of having a well-defined repatriation program in order to accomplish successful repatriation and to conquer the problems companies and employees face. However, Dowling, et al (1999) present a study by Harvey that state that only 31 percent of U.S companies have a program for repatriation. The three most frequent mentioned reasons for not having a program was a lack of knowledge about how to develop a program, the costs of training repatriates, and no perceived need by top management of having a program. (Ibid) Yongsun (2002), claims that in order for organizations to fully exploit the knowledge and skills of returning expatriates it is critical for the company to manage the repatriation process. Different theories and approaches of how a repatriation program can be developed exist in the literature. (Ibid) According to Jassawalla, et al (2004), a retrofit program at the end of the expatriates assignment makes poor repatriation. Vermond (2001) sugge sts that the repatriation process should start as early as possible in an expatriates assignment, and should be continued after the expatriates return to the home country. The repatriation program as an ongoing process, have developed a theoretical model of how an effective repatriation program can look like. In this model the authors have divided the repatriation process in three stages. This model identifies the key action steps taken prior to departure, during the assignment, and after the repatriates return that appear to determine the organizational and individual outcomes. (ibid) However, the outcomes of these actions will not be discussed as mentioned in the delimitations in chapter one. As previously mentioned, companies and expatriates face different problems in the repatriation process. These problems affect the stages in the repatriation program developed differently. Therefore some problems are mentioned in several stages in order to justify different actions that can be taken in order to conquer the problems that either the company or the expatriate/repatriate face. Repatriation Program Prior to the expatriates departure During the expatriates stay After the expatriates return Choosing new assignments in the home office -Quality of interaction with sponsors The sponsor has a stake in the repatriates personal long-term career. The duties of a sponsor include searching for positions that may suit the repatriate and try to ensure that the repatriates skills will be used upon return. Using the procedures designed to reorient the repatriate to the home office Task clarity Expectations on the expatriate The deadlines of the task How the performance will be evaluated -Career counselling The reasons for sending the manager overseas The benefits of the overseas assignment for the firm and the manager The managers career options upon return Formal policies for repatriation Repatriation policies should include actions to be taken during the pre-visit, visit and post visit. -Perception of support while on assignment Related to issues included in the relocation package such as financial compensation, support to the spouse and children to aid in their adjustment to the foreign environment. Nature and frequency of communication This factor is related to the frequency of communication between the home office and the expatriate while he or she is abroad. Who is responsible for the contact and how the contact is maintained are considered. -Perceptions of support upon return Receiving credit and recognition for the foreign assignment Utilizing their new perspectives in their new job Adjusting to the differences in job related factors of their new job compared to the foreign assignment Although a lengthy discussion of underlying reasons for expatriate failure is unfortunately out of scope for this article, it can be argued that companies benefit from managing this repatriation process in order to exploit the knowledge and skills of returning expatriates. (3) High attrition rates have been found to be primarily related to organizations difficulties to effectively reposition their repatriated employees. This observation is a strong argument to stress repatriation management in HR departments. (4) Organizations may experience difficulties in finding candidates for expatriate positions when potential candidates see what will happen to expatriates once they return. (5) Ogberg, who coined the term culture shock in 1960, also considered a reverse culture shock that expatriates experience when returning home. Proper preparation for this future shock may prepare expatriates for the transition to domestic work and family settings. (5) Research in 2005 showed that repatriatio n adjustment was the strongest predictor of intent to leave the organization (Lee Liu, 2005). Retention and career management, therefore, should be central to planning expatriate positions. Positions should be gradually more challenging in order to challenge valuable employees and be part of a long term career path. Long term career planning foresees in building on previous assignments; assigning repatriates unchallenging positions once back home may be regarded as an invitation to apply for positions elsewhere. Sound expatriate management will therefore consider repatriation arrangements as good practice. In reality, however, organizations often seem to have forgotten who these expatriates are. HR departments fail to build on expatriates skills and experience because they do not know well what they have accomplished during the years. Expatriates experience frustration once their expatriate benefits and status will be lost upon repatriation. They will have to get used to normal levels of pay and taxation again. Their children will have to attend national curriculum schools, private school tuition fees will not be covered upon return to the home country. Establishing a mutual understanding and a clear definition of successful repatriation could help repatriates establish correct expectations before returning home. A proper preparation towards the end of expatriate assignments may ease the transition and avoid costly turnover for the organization. An ongoing lack of attention to repatriation management will likely continue to fuel high attrition rates. Avoiding Reverse Culture Shock While we often think of culture shock as a factor during a familys arrival to a new country, dont underestimate the role that reverse culture shock can play when the assignment ends. After a period of time spent away from their home culture, family members may have trouble readjusting to the formerly familiar environment. This culture shock can affect any member of the family, but children are known to have the most difficulty readjusting. For example, friends and loved ones while they may have stayed in touch during the time away will have moved on to new interests and p

History of Ian Fleming Essay -- Ian Fleming James Bond Essays

History of Ian Fleming Ian Fleming not just created the character of James Bond; he personified him by living an exciting life. With his suave style and long history of lavished background he was almost born into the part of his later creation. Ian Fleming was born on May 8th, 1908 to his father, Valentine Fleming, and his mother, Beatrice Fleming (Lycett 12). He was the grandson of the famous Scottish banking pioneer, Robert Fleming (Rosenberg 5). Ian also had three brothers named Peter, Richard, and Michael. He hated his brother Peter during most of his childhood. This was due to his brother being very successful in academics and got his fathers attention. Fist fights usually broke out between the two of them (Lycett 15). He loved his mother, but he was always rebelling against her because, he didn't like the thought of her controlling his life (Lycett 28). Ian's father did seem more like a teacher than a father him. He always encouraged Ian to take part in sports such as track. The father even taught him golf (Rosenberg 8). Since his father and his brother were very successful, Ian felt a desire to become successful himself. Ian attended Eton High School and joined the track team there and became and outstanding athlete (Cork 1). But, his stay at Eton was short lived due to some trouble he was in that involved women and a motor vehicle accident (Rosenberg 20). Apparently, Fleming stole his father's vehicle and went to a party where he drank a lot and met women that he later invited to ride with him. One of the women distracted Fleming and he ran into a tree (Lycett 31). During the expulsion of high school, Ian's father died in World War 1 during a battle in France on Sunday 20 May 1917 (. All the inherited money went to Ian's mother. With the stipulation that she would remarry, Ian was pressured into getting money of his own. The widowed mother put him in another school called Tennerhof High School. It was there that he started to gain girlfriends and have an expensive taste of food and automobiles. People who went to Tennerhof with Ian remembered him as being very arrogant and difficult. There were other's that swear he was found to be charming, handsome, witty, and a lively aristocrat. But, Ian was having problems academically. Ian's mother knew a married couple that could help Ian. So he would visit them one day a week... ...n making the book into a movie. They approached Ian with a proposition to make "Dr. No" into a movie. If the movie did well they would produce other "Bond" movies. During the negotiations and production of "Dr. No" Ian completed "Goldfinger", "For Your Eyes Only", "Octa*censored*", and "The Spy Who Loved Me". The movie, "Dr. No" was a huge hit and Ian had the feeling that he finally reached the success that he hoped to achieve over his father and brother. Other movies were made while Ian Fleming continued to write. That is until 1964 when Ian Fleming died of a fatal heart attack while at Royal St. Georges Golf Club. Ian Fleming was a man of many visions, and talents. It wasn't until after his death that James Bond was a British, sexual, and heroic icon. A total of 20 "Bond Films" have been made so far. Even more James Bond books have been written. Ian Fleming will live on with infamy and legend. Work Cited Bruce A. Rosenberg "Ian Fleming". Boston: United Publishing, 1981 Andrew Lycett "Ian Fleming: The Man Behind James Bond" Kansas City: Universal Press, 1995 John Cork "The Life of Ian Fleming (1908-1964)" http://www.mcs.net/idust/www/flem-bio.html

Nursing Jobs Specialties Essay

Good morning, my name is Annamaria Amodei. I was born in Florence Italy and lived there for 20 years. I then came to New York in 1981. In the last 30 years I went through lots of changes in my life and in my careers. I grew older and wiser by going through a marriage, 3 wonderful children, a divorce and a several jobs within several different sectors of industries, from restaurant manager and owner to medical billing therefore dealing with the public at all times. In the mid 90s I decided to return to school and because my interest was in health I enrolled in a 2 year nutrition program receiving an associated degree in dietetics in 2000. Instead of applying my degree to a job in nutrition, I become a co-owner of a surgical supply store which has kept me occupied for the past 10 years. I’ve been again involved with the public, this time a very different one. The people I see are mostly physically sick, handicapped or in some kind of physical pain They were coming into my store because they knew that I could help them with my knowledge, experience and a deep will to help others. I found myself helping one person after another and I realized that helping others gave me a lot of joy, because I knew that I was able to make a difference in someone’s life. So about a year ago I decided to go further with my studies. I searched for a program to fulfill my needs and a school that would offer excellent training. That is why I applied to D’Youville College where I’m going to start my nursing education in January 2011. I have so much love in me and so much compassion to give that I cannot think of a better way to share that with other people than to care for them as a nurse. I want to impact people’s lives whether it’s just for a second, a moment or a lifetime. I want to be that nurse that cannot only be just a nurse, but can also be a friend to her patients. A nurse can touch lives in so many different ways and aspects. The purpose of a nurse is to fulfill his/her job in different areas of people’s lives and situations, and because we all ail in different ways. A nurse is trained to make sure that each patient is comfortable no matter what is the nature of their illness. I ruely believe that if you are a good nurse you will find satisfaction in your patient’s recovery and it is a nurse’s obligation to treat all patients with the utmost respect as well as to maintain their dignity at all times. A nurse has to be knowledgeable enough to understand each patient’s situation as an individual and attend to their needs accordingly because every case is so different and unique. That is why I strongly believe that educat ion and experience are very important keys for a nurse to master her/his profession. There are many other ways that a nurse with a bachelor or a master degree in USA can find employment outside the hospitals settings. Community Health Nurses – Usually this type of nurses work for the government, towns, cities and also non-profit agencies. Their job is to inform the public about how to avoid health risks, how to achieve a healthier lifestyle including principals of good nutrition and the basics of physical fitness. They often address a certain segment of population, such as children or elderly, and they usually will be doing public speaking at schools, churches, community groups, etc. Prison-Jail Nursing – This is another way a nurse can give her services to a population that unfortunately is growing and they also have a lot of health problems and they require the proper attention. It takes a special kind of nurse to work in a correction facility and they probably have had many prior opportunities to experience nursing before beginning a prison nursing career. Managed Care Nursing – Is another way that a nurse can find employment. More and more people are having health insurance and a lot of health problems, so the cost of healthcare is skyrocketing. HMO’s, Medicare Medicaid and other private insurance companies are hiring nurses directly to work for them. Managed care nurses serve both patients and their employers providing quality health care for more people by educating their clients in prevention and healthy lifestyles, and looking for different health care delivery in order to keep the cost of insurances down. Nursing Educator –. Because of the increasing nurseing shortage, the demand for nurse educators is becoming very popular. Nurses with a master degree and several years of experience who love their profession combined with a love for teaching and the passion for sharing their knowledge are perfect for this kind of job. Missionary Nurses –There are many organization and agencies providing support and relief to third world countries. If you want to help people less fortunate than yourself and you don’t mind spending time overseas, there is no better way to do that than putting all your knowledge and skills to work for these agencies and organizations. School Nursing – Private or public schools are employing more nurses than ever before because today there are more kids enrolled in school than ever and with more special needs. A school nurse needs to love working with kids and adolescents. Pain Management Nursing – For this kind of nursing a master degree is required. Many nurses in this field work with cancer patients, in homes, hospitals or with Hospice. In the past few years there have been tremendous advances in understanding pain, measuring its intensity and responding with appropriate doses of medication. Administrative Nursing – This kind of nurses work in large medical clinics, legal firms and big companies. If you have talent for managing people and enjoy working in an administrative position and you‘ve got good office and people skills, this is also a very good nursing career. This position requires a master degree and some experience. Substance Abuse Nursing – Alcohol and drugs are unfortunately a growing number in today’s society. These nurse work with people who are struggling with addition. Many of them work in detox and rehab clinics. They help people to safely end their addition and try to work with them on the cause of the problem and help them overcome and build a drug and alcohol resistance. This nursing career can be very frustrating at times due to the power that these additions have over people, leading to many relapses. But for a nurse who really wants to improve people’s lives this is an admirable career. Temp Nursing – Many nurses choose not to work for a single facility and they associate with one of the many temporary nurses stuffing agency across the country. This is a very flexible kind of work, they can choose to work or not in a particular place. Some agency specializes in travel nursing which means that a nurse could work several weeks from Los Angeles to New York and even in Hawaii. The housing is paid for and this is an excellent opportunity for single people. If you are a nurse that wants lots of flexibility then a temp nurse is an excellent career choice. Nurses are also needed in all branches of the military. Some of them become hospice nurses dedicated to care for those that are terminally ill and during their last days of life. The world of nursing career is wide open and new job descriptions are being created all the time as nurses responds to a rapidly changing world. A career in nursing has endless opportunities and that is why I’m much exited to start this program. I would like to thank Dr. Mariano (and Dr. Lewis) for giving me the opportunity to speak to you about why and how I decided at my stage in life to change careers and become a nurse I also want to thank all of you for listening this morning. I wish you the best in your journey through medical school Ciao

Writing for Hobby and Leisure Activity Magazines

Writing for Hob When I began my freelance writing career in 2007, I would never have believed Id end up writing dozens of articles for hob My Ive found hob Leisure activity magazines exist in a mind-boggling plethora of topics; trains, quilting, motorcycles, automobiles, cats and dogs, dolls, scale modeling, yachting, cycling, running (and nearly every other sport imaginable), camping, hiking, video games, arts crafts, astronomy, military history, stamp collecting, coin collecting, rock gem collecting, antique collecting, and every other pastime imaginable. Next time youre at your local Barnes Noble or bookstore, thumb through the special interest and hob Where to Pitch Your Hob Leisure activities represent a huge market in first world countries. So, make sure you pitch your stories to magazines published in developed countries that have wealth and where the people have leisure time for pursuing hobbies such as North America, the U.K, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa. You Dont Have to Be an Expert Writers do not need to be experts about their hob Ive consulted or quoted experts in some hob My article in Garden Answers Magazine, about the Elandan Bonsai Gardens in Port Orchard, Washington, was a profile piece about Daniel Robinson, a bonsai expert who created this magical garden. How Do You Pitch Your Story Ideas to Hob Hob Create Pitch Lists Ive created extensive magazine distribution lists for every leisure activity genre that Ive written in. Once youve developed your magazine distribution lists, youve got them forever, so you dont need to reinvent the wheel every time you want to query a hob Writing for hob

Alaskan Oil Spill essays

Alaskan Oil Spill essays Oil Spill Brings Environmental Problems to Alaska December of 2004 brought a devastating oil spill to the Bering Sea of Alaska and has presented many problems with the environment of this area. The Malaysian Selendang Ayu was in route to its destination when it was grounded in the Bering Sea. This caused the cargo ship to split dumping massive amounts of fuel into the sea. It has been estimated that 321,047 gallons of intermediate-grade fuel and 18,000 gallons of diesel fuel were lost in this tragedy. The numbers are far less than the eleven million gallons that were lost in the oil spill of the Exxon Valdese in 1989, but the aftermath of this spill is bringing devastation to the area. The grounding site for the ship is an asylum for many sea birds and marine mammals. It is located in part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. This habitat is frequented by Stellar Sea Lions, Stellar Elders, and Aleutian Sea Otters. These species are considered endangered, and this is producing a wildlife problem in that respect. More than 1,600 birds have been confirmed dead from the accident already. Oil has been found on bald eagles and on the fur of red foxes. Difficulty has arrived for scientists who are trying to examine the environmental affects of the oil spill. The problems are coming from the fierce weather, treacherous terrain, remoteness of location, and lack of daylight due to the winter daylight time in Alaska. Additional studies are needed to determine the numbers of birds killed and the species that are involved. Some of the Alaskan beaches have up to four feet of soybeans stacked along their shoreline. The Selendang Ayu was transporting 60,198 metric tons of soybeans to China. The crew members were mostly evacuated. However, six people were killed during rescue efforts when a large wave caused the Coast Guard rescue helicopter to crash. ...

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Philadelphia Freedom Award- Fredrick Douglass essays Philadelphia, July 3, 2002- As a student that has much to achieve in life, I believe that this years Freedom Award should be Awarded to Fredrick Douglass. Fredrick Douglass individualism and heroism reminded me of the self-reliance piece. Douglass was born into slavery and turned his life into something great for the future to observe. Douglas felt that slavery was unacceptable in his as well as in America. He used this unacceptability as a driving force to educate himself and to become free. As, a black man of his time, Fredrick Douglass was able to read and write which made him a very influential person. Fredrick Douglass was known as the African- American who did it all. Douglass was born a slave in Tuckahoe, Maryland, and spent his adolescence as a houseboy in Baltimore. He escaped to Massachusetts, were he began a career as an abolitionist after giving an important speech at an antislavery convention. Douglas did much through his travel to protest slavery. Douglass used his skills over the years to lecture in the northern star against slavery. He also helped slaves escape to the North while working with the Underground Railroad. Douglass established the abolitionist paper The North Star on December 3, 1847, and also developed it into the most popular, influential black antislavery paper published during the antebellum era. The North Star was used to not only denounce slaver, but to fight for the women and other oppressed groups. The North Star reached up to 4,000 readers in the United Sates, Europe, and the West Indies. The North Star merged with the Liberty Party Paper of Syracuse, and renamed his paper to Fredrick Douglass Paper. Douglass devoted the next three year of his life after this exciting event in publishing and abolitionist magazine called Douglass Monthly. A weekly established in Washington, D.C. to serve former slaves. He renamed this magazine to The New National Era., and published it unt...

Describe some of the different ways of conducting an archaeological Research Paper

Describe some of the different ways of conducting an archaeological excavation - Research Paper Example Research indicates that the earth’s surface is completely enclosed by the soil which comes from the original bedrock. This might include chalk, sand and granite, different types of rocks or clay (Barker). Since the fundamental nature of the soil is analyzed through its underlying rocks therefore initially the subsoil is studied then soil’s fertility is known which further helps in the determination of farming or vegetation settlements. Archeological sites are broadly defined as the settled residues of different structures which over the period of time convert into earthworks and rubble through the process of stone-rubbing, erosion, decay and invasion by the animals and plants (Barker). Sometimes it is possible that the researchers locate a residual settlement which is on its way to become an archeological site. This basically facilitates scientists in studying the archeological process. The archeological sites are usually found at lowland areas (Barker). One of the important factors in locating an archeological site is the confirmation of the fact that rocks present at the upper layer of earth were formed later than those beneath them. For instance, lave forms after the development of mountainside rocks. However, surface of the earth never remains in the same pattern and hence after some time the covering of different structural settlements remove and the rock beneath them comes to the surface. The same thing happens with the archeological sites since when the superimposed layers are removed the underlying surface becomes visible which indicates the historical remains and the presence of previous living and nonliving objects (Barker). Archaeological remains are distinguished into different types. The first archeological type deals with the antiquity of man i.e. the recognition of former civilizations, for instance, those humans who lived in caves centuries ago. There are various written records which

Philosophy 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Philosophy 3 - Essay Example As a function of approaching the issue from such a perspective, this student hopes to expound upon the overall suitability of Kantian morality and provide a well balanced approach to determining the inherent strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that should an approach would necessarily espouse. In the Kantian approach to ethics and morality, the ultimate identifier of a â€Å"good action† is one that is performed out of duty; with no other ulterior motive being present as a means of rewarding or punishing the individual performing the action. Although Kant was not the first individual to support such an approach to morality and ethics, he was the first that has been known to record such an approach and pass it along as a moral code of ethics that, as he argues, should be applied universally. This universality of Kantian morality is one of the hallmarks of such an approach that ultimately makes it unique among the other forms of ethical and moral approaches that have thus far been studied. This universality is born out of an understanding that the main guiding precept that defines goodness is duty. Therefore, the duty, as Kant describes it is not necessarily born out of an imprint of Godliness upon he hearts of mankind; rather, it is born out of the universality of reason in helping to develop moral and ethical approaches to the many situations that greet the individual within his/her daily life (Lachapelle 2005, p. 608). It should of course be noted that Kant never sought to distance God and/or his influence upon morality from his approach. Instead, Kantian morality and ethics take the approach that God is exhibited through reason and rationality and therefore is present within the duties that ultimately lead an individual to perform a moral act for the sake of duty itself. As a means to further this moral approach, Kant argues that the â€Å"good of humanity† in and of itself is sufficient enough a cause for

How do American Perceptions of an Ideal Hero Relate to our Ideas of Essay

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The Impact of Reforms within the Milk Sector in 1984 Research Paper

The Impact of Reforms within the Milk Sector in 1984 - Research Paper Example Milk is sold either through contract or cooperatives. The ratio of cooperatives in total milk production is different in the individual member countries of the EU because of differing systems of agriculture. The ratio of cooperatives is the lowest in Spain and Greece (18 and 20 percent), and is the highest, in Denmark, Ireland, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom (96-100 percent). Within the UK, milk and dairy products are mainly distributed through cooperatives. The milk production scenario in the UK is not just limited to distribution factors but also to its production which seem to determine the general outlook of the milk sector4. The milk sector in UK is a large one and there are around 12 million cattle in the UK mainly reared for beef or milk production. Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs or Defra is responsible for UK milk production and marketing policy. Defra has the responsibility for sponsorship of the dairy industry in the UK and helps to sustain the industry. The Common Agricultural Policy5 and milk quotas and UK policy on dairy are controlled and implemented by the Defra. Defra thus upholds global Milk and dairy policies and also represents UK interests at the EU Management Committee for Milk and Milk Products6. The pre-1984 scenario in the dairy sector showed higher production quantities and as there were no quota constraints, the more efficient producers could expand on a large scale whereas the least efficient ones had to leave milk production. Milk production quotas that were introduced by 1984 tend to thwart these market patterns and even allow the least efficient milk producing units to stay in business putting a check on the more efficient ones who have competitive advantages. There was an excess milk production in the pre-1984 scenario and the export facilities or even the disposal facilities were time consuming, expensive or even insufficient or unavailable7. What made the EU reform' The additional production quota, introduced in 1984, has been designed to reduce the imbalance between supply and demand for milk and milk products and consequently the resulting structural surpluses8. Thus with the quota system, excess production and surpluses could be handled more efficiently. Some of the factors responsible for introduction of quotas include budgetary pressures, over or excess supply of milk when productivity increased much more than the consumption and also external pressures. According to the Defra, the milk quotas system was introduced by the European Community in April 1984 in which member EU states were allocated a national quota of milk production and supply. This was done to curb excess production of dairy products and also to reduce expenditure on the disposal of surplus milk and milk products9. Pre-1984, expenditure on support and removal in the dairy sector had reached 5.2 billion euro that was 30% of the total agriculture budget10. Reform - The use of quotas/ super levies as the main instrument The quota limits were in place for EU milk production since 1984, and individual milk producers were subject to these policy changes. Following the

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Rules of Engagement - Essay Example According to the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, ‘In military or police operations, rules of engagement (ROE) determine when, where and how force shall be used.’ The rules of engagement are designed so as to ensure that uncontrolled violence is prevented, civilian casualties are minimized and the conflict does not escalate. However, restrictive rules of engagement undermine the ability of the military or police to resolve a conflict, as, according to many critics of the war, was the case in the US invasion of Vietnam (1959). The US president at the time, Lyndon Johnson, in order to contain the conflict set down strict rules of engagement that hindered the forces from striking or utilizing force in certain areas. This was done in order to thwart the perceived threat of Soviet or Chinese intervention and to gain support at home. President Johnson wanted the conflict to be restricted to South Vietnam, although aerial bombings in North Vietnam were allowed at certain point in the war. He believed the war was a counter-insurgency battle and the rules of engagement thus were justified. The Secretary of Defense, Robert Mcnamara, authored the rules of engagement. He saw the Vietnamese invasion as a ground war and thus saw little use of the US air force. Thus, the rules of engagement he designed restricted the aerial fighting the most. Mcnamara too saw the entire conflict as a counter-insurgency battle and thus tailored the rules of engagement to be such that most military strategies and moves were to be self-defensive. It was not until the Gulf of Tonkin incident in the August of 1964 that U.S. air strikes were allowed to be more aggressive. It is no surprise that the rules of engagement set down by the civilian suits in the government were not very popular with the military strategists. General William Westmoreland was a key architect of the military strategy. In order to avoid further disaster, he forbade any unit smaller then 750 men from

How Has the Introduction of the Computers And IT to Markets Changed Research Paper

How Has the Introduction of the Computers And IT to Markets Changed the Way Stocks And Bonds Trade - Research Paper Example Computer technology and internet has changed the dynamics of global financial markets and this will be explained in great detail. Information technology has increased the dissemination of information and this has contributed to the growth of financial sector all over the world. Information technology has also made financial markets of the world integrated. The study will help identify possible effects of development of information technology and computer on the financial markets, specifically on bond trading and stock trading. Research Question Information technology has brought many changes in our daily life. The financial markets all over the world are now in the reach of normal investors which was previously not possible. But this is just one effect of information technology and computers on financial markets. In order to better understand how computers and internet have revolutionized stock and bond trading the more aftereffects of information technology should be identified. Res earch question we would want to answer through this study is given below: Question: How has the introduction of the computers and IT to markets changed the way stocks and bonds trade? Literature Review Financial markets started to grow rapidly in the 1980s when financial liberalization became the norm. Countries like United States started to liberate their financial sectors and deregulation started in the financial markets. Private firms and investment houses were given freedom to come up with newer products and offer investment option to normal investors. Financial liberalization focused on deregulation of financial markets where central bank’s role was just to control inflation. This was the time of significant growth in the financial markets and investment firms... The author stresses that the results of the study have identified changes that information technology and internet has brought to trading of stocks and bonds. Information technology has increased volumes and volatility, has increased global integration, has made markets more efficient, and has increased complexity of financial products. These changes are not disputed at all and most of the literature available on the internet supports our findings. Information technology has also made markets more efficient since the dissemination of the information has improved. Now a press conference in USA can be seen live in any part of the world and investors can make decisions accordingly. Internet and computers have therefore made sure that news or event is represented in the prices of stocks. Internet has made it impossible to hide information from investors. This report makes a conclusion that Internet trading is a growing market and investment firms should try to capitalize them. Also youth is getting attracted towards online trading therefore this should also be kept in mind before launching newer products. More accurate data can be collected by conducting a survey based quantitative study. Impressions of youth and internet traders can be taken regarding stock and bond trading. This can more accurately predict specific changes that have come in trading patterns after advent of internet and computers. Longitudinal studies can also help explore more specific trading activity related questions. The research we have conducted has a major limitation. We have not collected any primary data and previous literature has been used to answers research question.

The Impact of Reforms within the Milk Sector in 1984 Research Paper

The Impact of Reforms within the Milk Sector in 1984 - Research Paper Example Milk is sold either through contract or cooperatives. The ratio of cooperatives in total milk production is different in the individual member countries of the EU because of differing systems of agriculture. The ratio of cooperatives is the lowest in Spain and Greece (18 and 20 percent), and is the highest, in Denmark, Ireland, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom (96-100 percent). Within the UK, milk and dairy products are mainly distributed through cooperatives. The milk production scenario in the UK is not just limited to distribution factors but also to its production which seem to determine the general outlook of the milk sector4. The milk sector in UK is a large one and there are around 12 million cattle in the UK mainly reared for beef or milk production. Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs or Defra is responsible for UK milk production and marketing policy. Defra has the responsibility for sponsorship of the dairy industry in the UK and helps to sustain the industry. The Common Agricultural Policy5 and milk quotas and UK policy on dairy are controlled and implemented by the Defra. Defra thus upholds global Milk and dairy policies and also represents UK interests at the EU Management Committee for Milk and Milk Products6. The pre-1984 scenario in the dairy sector showed higher production quantities and as there were no quota constraints, the more efficient producers could expand on a large scale whereas the least efficient ones had to leave milk production. Milk production quotas that were introduced by 1984 tend to thwart these market patterns and even allow the least efficient milk producing units to stay in business putting a check on the more efficient ones who have competitive advantages. There was an excess milk production in the pre-1984 scenario and the export facilities or even the disposal facilities were time consuming, expensive or even insufficient or unavailable7. What made the EU reform' The additional production quota, introduced in 1984, has been designed to reduce the imbalance between supply and demand for milk and milk products and consequently the resulting structural surpluses8. Thus with the quota system, excess production and surpluses could be handled more efficiently. Some of the factors responsible for introduction of quotas include budgetary pressures, over or excess supply of milk when productivity increased much more than the consumption and also external pressures. According to the Defra, the milk quotas system was introduced by the European Community in April 1984 in which member EU states were allocated a national quota of milk production and supply. This was done to curb excess production of dairy products and also to reduce expenditure on the disposal of surplus milk and milk products9. Pre-1984, expenditure on support and removal in the dairy sector had reached 5.2 billion euro that was 30% of the total agriculture budget10. Reform - The use of quotas/ super levies as the main instrument The quota limits were in place for EU milk production since 1984, and individual milk producers were subject to these policy changes. Following the

How Has the Introduction of the Computers And IT to Markets Changed Research Paper

How Has the Introduction of the Computers And IT to Markets Changed the Way Stocks And Bonds Trade - Research Paper Example Computer technology and internet has changed the dynamics of global financial markets and this will be explained in great detail. Information technology has increased the dissemination of information and this has contributed to the growth of financial sector all over the world. Information technology has also made financial markets of the world integrated. The study will help identify possible effects of development of information technology and computer on the financial markets, specifically on bond trading and stock trading. Research Question Information technology has brought many changes in our daily life. The financial markets all over the world are now in the reach of normal investors which was previously not possible. But this is just one effect of information technology and computers on financial markets. In order to better understand how computers and internet have revolutionized stock and bond trading the more aftereffects of information technology should be identified. Res earch question we would want to answer through this study is given below: Question: How has the introduction of the computers and IT to markets changed the way stocks and bonds trade? Literature Review Financial markets started to grow rapidly in the 1980s when financial liberalization became the norm. Countries like United States started to liberate their financial sectors and deregulation started in the financial markets. Private firms and investment houses were given freedom to come up with newer products and offer investment option to normal investors. Financial liberalization focused on deregulation of financial markets where central bank’s role was just to control inflation. This was the time of significant growth in the financial markets and investment firms... The author stresses that the results of the study have identified changes that information technology and internet has brought to trading of stocks and bonds. Information technology has increased volumes and volatility, has increased global integration, has made markets more efficient, and has increased complexity of financial products. These changes are not disputed at all and most of the literature available on the internet supports our findings. Information technology has also made markets more efficient since the dissemination of the information has improved. Now a press conference in USA can be seen live in any part of the world and investors can make decisions accordingly. Internet and computers have therefore made sure that news or event is represented in the prices of stocks. Internet has made it impossible to hide information from investors. This report makes a conclusion that Internet trading is a growing market and investment firms should try to capitalize them. Also youth is getting attracted towards online trading therefore this should also be kept in mind before launching newer products. More accurate data can be collected by conducting a survey based quantitative study. Impressions of youth and internet traders can be taken regarding stock and bond trading. This can more accurately predict specific changes that have come in trading patterns after advent of internet and computers. Longitudinal studies can also help explore more specific trading activity related questions. The research we have conducted has a major limitation. We have not collected any primary data and previous literature has been used to answers research question.

Life of Pi and Religion Essay Example for Free

Life of Pi and Religion Essay The Grapes of Wrath has many Religious parallels to the bible. The characters are paralleled with people from the bible, some easily recognizable. Also the Grapes of Wrath is during the Great Depression which can be an allusion to the horrible treatments and suffering times the Israelist people had to deal with reflects to this time period. The plot of John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, can easily be related to many biblical references as well as it could be applied to the daily struggles of the lives of Christians. Two particular portions of this novel stick out more than any other. Those are the characters of Jim Casey and Pa Joad. Jim Casey reminds me of Moses from the bible because in the bible Moses lead thousands of people out of harsh treatments and slavery and led them to the promises land Canon. Where Steinbeck could be referring the Joad family as the people who followed Moses and Jim is viewed as Moses who tries and lead them to a safe place where they won’t suffer anymore. Throughout The Grapes of Wrath, religious symbols crop up, explaining the significance of the section. One use of symbolism is that when on the road to California, Tom runs in to a snake. Already used in the novel is the fact that to the Joads, California represents a place of great wealth, freedom, and prosperity. It is a Garden of Eden, so to speak. The Garden of Eden had a serpent who brought the Wrath of God upon Adam and Eve. The serpent gave them with the forbidden fruit. California is forbidden to outsiders and migrants. No Okies allowed. The snake represents the Eden Serpent and its betrayal to Adam and Eve. California will betray the Joads.

The Playboy of the Western World Analysis

The Playboy of the Western World Analysis J.M. Synges highly controversial play The Playboy of the Western World exposed the middle-class Dublin audience to a different portrayal of Irish countryside life as opposed to the traditional idyllic image they were accustomed to. Synge strongly employs the element of satire in his play, implemented as a device to shock his conventional audience; the plays lack of morals would have offended the audience, so satire is also used to inject humour, creating a light-hearted tragicomedy. In pages 59 62 the presence of satire can be analysed in terms of satirising gender, religion and the presentation of rural Ireland, in addition to how satire is present throughout the entire play. Synge depicts Christy Mahon as a weak, frightened, young man at the beginning of the excerpt, whereas Pegeen is given a strong, almost masculine persona, protecting him from the Widows advances. When the Widow is introduced, the audience sees Christy clinging to Pegeen exclaiming Oh Glory! with Pegeen having to hurriedly give Christy his supper and usher him off to bed like a child. In this extract, the audience sees how Pegeen is given the protector role, exhibiting maternal instincts. In 1907, the satirising of gender roles shown with Synge giving more status to women than men would amuse the audience, as it conflicts with the traditional Irish patriarchal society. Christy is painted as the classic damsel-in-distress, with Pegeen having to fight the Widow, angrily telling her that she will not have him tormented, and he destroyed travelling since Tuesday was a week. Again it is evident that Christy is shying away from his expected male role, leaving Pegeen to defend him, amusing th e audience. When the Widow pulls Christy up, as theyd best be going, young fellow; so rise up and come with me, Pegeen retaliates by seizing his arm, insisting hell not stir. Christy has been compromised in terms of his masculinity; two women have physically placed their control over him, and Christy lacks the strength to disprove their control. This scene would have been very comedic, as not only are Pegeen and the Widow effectively having a brawl, a male associated activity, but Christy is helpless in the middle, like a female. Traditionally, it would have been the men who wooed the women, but Synge has ignored this, with Christy being rather violently wooed by Pegeen and the Widow, eliciting laughter from the audience, who would find the explicit use of satire highly amusing. Synge is presenting Christys essential emasculation, shown by reversing traditional gender roles. Later on in the play a mule race takes place; as D. P. Moran observes, the pursuit of physical-contact Gaelic games [was used as] an antidote to such emasculation. Christys partaking in the race shows how he used this opportunity to reassert his gender after feeling emasculated by Pegeen and the Widow. Throughout the excerpt from p.59-62, repeated references are made to religion, many in the form of Father Reilly, the local priest. Though he is not seen in the excerpt, his presence is acknowledged as he is partially why the Widow went to find Christy Mahon; when Pegeen asks her What ails you, or what is it youre wanting at this hour of the night? the Widow replies that she was after meeting Shawn Keogh and Father Reilly below, who told me of your curiosity man, and they fearing by this time he was roaring, romping on your hands with drink. The audience would not be surprised by Father Reillys attitudes, as in the 1900s Ireland was a devoutly Catholic nation, as Jane Abbottsmith explains The term Irish Irelander originated to characterize the true Irishman: Catholic and with Irish ancestry, learned in Irish folklore and competent in the speaking and reading of the Gaelic language. Abbottsmith continues to remark that it was the Irish peasants, who were the traditionally pious, Catho lic population that was well versed in Irish folklore. Though the 1900s audience would have expected the priests intervention, a modern audience would find it comedic how Pegeen being alone with Christy has prompted such a flustered reaction, suggesting Synges attitudes were ahead of his time. Irish society was devoutly religious, so the audience would have been surprised at how Father Reilly is the only religious character. The other characters do not seem to incorporate religion in their personas, shocking the audience. However, the only other character to be religious would cause offence: the Widow Quin remarks to Christ God save you mister! which is highly ironic as her intentions for him are far from holy. Seeing such a scandalized, predatory character using the Lords name would have undoubtedly offended the audience. The power of the Catholic Church is a running theme throughout the play, as Synge would be aware that his audience would compare what they see onstage to the Chur chs teachings. Therefore Synge has satirised religion to expose the absurdity of the extreme religious views in Ireland; a lack of religion in the other characters further show the audience how independent rural Ireland is from middle-class conventions. The portrayal of life in the Irish countryside was undoubtedly one of the main sources of controversy in the play. The middle class audience would have had the conception of rural Ireland employing a quiet, idyllic life however Synges play disproves this, county Mayo being the antithesis to their expectations. Christy is welcomed with open arms, despite the town knowing he murdered his father. As Adrian Fraser notes, The Playboy could be read as exploring a converse proposition: a communal willingness to absorb (even glorify) those who break the ultimate taboo against patricide. Christys glorification would greatly concern the audience, inducing outrage. By satirising countryside life, Synge was providing a social commentary on life in the isolated rural coast. However, Christy is later disgraced in the play, when the characters realise they have been deceived. When Pegeen tells of how the Widow supposedly murdered her husband, where she hit himself with a worn pick, and the rusted poison did corrode his blood the way he never overed it, and died after. That was a sneaky kind of murder did win small glory with the boys itself the audience would be shocked that such sin runs free in the countryside. As Fraser again writes, The Playboy of the Western World is a social satire of rural life that is fantastic, grotesque, and profound. At the plays conclusion, when Christy leaves Pegeen for his adventures, the audience would find humour at the contrast between their futures: Christy is off to live a life of excitement, whilst Pegeen is doomed to a fate of marrying Shawn and a dull life in County Mayo. The difference in their fates reinforces the plays status as a tragicomedy. Synge uses the element of satire in his play to expose to the middle class Dublin audience what life was like for the people of the countryside; the plays controversy stemmed from people disliking what they saw. By satirising gender roles, religion and the idyllic conception of Irish countryside life, Synge was effectively able to annul the pastoral sentiments felt towards them, illustrating to the middle class how independent rural Ireland was to the pretentious Dubliners. As Heidi Holder says Synge makes it quite clear to his audiences that their beloved image of the Irish country folk was a mere construction a construction eminently open to challenge, and it was precisely this dismantling of the distinctions between fiction and reality that was the source of Synges conflict with his audience.

Tobacco Essay -- social issues

Tobacco Tobacco is one of the leading preventable causes of death in the United States. Nicotine, which is an alkaloid derived from the tobacco plant, is a potent chemical that has powerful effects on the human body, especially when administered rapidly or at high doses. Prenatal exposure to nicotine is associated with adverse reproductive outcomes, including altered neural structure and functioning, cognitive deficits, and behavior problems in the offspring (9). At least 20% - 30% of pregnant women are estimated to smoke cigarettes, although smoking is associated with low birth weight, prematurity and infant mortality. In the United States, smoking accounts annually for estimated fetal deaths ranging from 19,000 to 141,000, for 1,900 to 4,800 deaths during or immediately after parturition, and for 1,200 to 2,200 death from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (7). Maternal smoking has been implicated in long term deficits in infant mental development and adverse behavioral problems in children such as attention disorder. Nicotine crosses the human placenta and has direct effects on the developing fetus. Pre-clinical studies suggest that maternal smoking during pregnancy produces changes on the offspring's neural functioning, including reductions in uptake of serotonin, alterations in dopaminergic systems, alterations in peripheral and central noradrenergic neurons, and changes in DNA and RNA synthesis in the brain (9). Children prenatally exposed to nicotine consistently score lower in the two subcategories of expressive language and conceptual comprehension. Evidence from studies of human neonates suggests that maternal smoking during pregnancy is associated with increased rates of neurobehavioral difficulties. Several studies have linked maternal smoking during pregnancy with childhood inattention, impulsivity, and motor hyperactivity in offspring. Similarly, maternal smoking during pregnancy has been associated with parent-teacher ratings of conduct problems in children and a criminal record in young adults. A study by Yousef Tzabi suggested that cigarette smoking during pregnancy may be one of the causes of hyperactivity and learning deficits in children. In a laboratory study with Sprague-Dawley mice, it was shown that hyperactive male pups that were exposed to nicotine prenatally had significantly higher nicotinic receptor concentrations in the... ...ironment is relatively hypoxic, and corresponding cardiac functional deficits would thus contribute to the high incidence of fetal mortality. Just as impaired cardiac function during hypoxia in neonatal rats can account for the increase in mortality with prolonged hypoxia, comparable effects in man would provide a mechanism for cardiovascular collapse and consequent brain damage or death during delivery. The consequences of smoking during pregnancy are very dramatic. If clinicians are able to convince their patients to stop smoking early in their pregnancy, a major impact may be made on the incidence of low birth weight infants, perinatal morbidity and mortality, as well as cognitive deficits and behavioral problems in the offspring. A strong statement has to be made on the issue of tobacco exposure during pregnancy. This could be accomplished by informing women that their infants may not only be "smaller" than their nonsmoking counterparts, but their infants may also have transient or permanent changes in their lung and brain ultrastructure. A patient who is informed of these possible long-term effects of nicotine on her child may be more successful with her smoking cessation.