Minor v. Happersett - Womens Voting Rights Denied

Minor v. Happersett - Women's Voting Rights Denied On October 15, 1872, Virginia Minor applied to register to vote in Missouri. The registrar, Reese Happersett, turned down the application, because the Missouri state constitution read: Every male citizen of the United States shall be entitled to vote. Mrs. Minor sued in Missouri state court, claiming her rights were violated on the basis of the Fourteenth Amendment. Text of Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments After Minor lost the suit in that court, she appealed to the state Supreme Court. When the Missouri Supreme Court agreed with the registrar, Minor brought the case to the United States Supreme Court. Fast Facts: Minor v. Happersett Case Argued: Feb. 9, 1875Decision Issued: March 29, 1875Petitioner: Virginia Minor, a female U.S. citizen and resident of the state of MissouriRespondent: Reese Happersett, St. Louis County, Missouri, registrar of votersKey Questions: Under the 14th Amendments Equal Protection Clause, and the 15th Amendments assurance that voting rights must not be denied or abridged ... on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude, did women have the right to vote?Majority Decision: Justices Clifford, Swayne, Miller, Davis, Field, Strong, Bradley, Hunt, WaiteDissenting: NoneRuling: The Court ruled that the Constitution  did not grant anyone, specifically female citizens of the U.S., the right to vote. The Supreme Court Decides The US Supreme Court, in an 1874 unanimous opinion written by the chief justice, found: women are citizens of the United States, and were even before the Fourteenth Amendment passedthe right of suffrage the right to vote is not a necessary privilege and immunity to which all citizens are entitledthe Fourteenth Amendment did not add the right of suffrage to citizenship privilegesthe Fifteenth Amendment was required to be sure voting rights were not denied or abridged ... on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude in other words, the amendment was not necessary if citizenship conferred voting rightswomens suffrage was explicitly excluded in nearly every state either in the constitution or in its legal code; no state had been excluded from joining the Union for lack of womens voting rights, including states re-entering the Union after the Civil War, with newly written constitutionsthe US had made no objection when New Jersey explicitly withdrew womens suffrage rights in 1807arguments about the need for womens suffrage were irrelevant to their decision s Thus, Minor v. Happersett reaffirmed the exclusion of women from voting rights. The Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, in granting suffrage rights to women, overrode this decision. Related Reading Linda K. Kerber. No Constitutional Right to Be Ladies. Women and the Obligations of Citizenship. 1998

2016 - 2017 ACT Scoring Details

2016 - 2017 ACT Scoring Details The one facet of the ACT exam that seems to stress kids out the very most is the ACT scoring system. Of course, it’s easy to understand why! ACT scoring is very important because money and scholarships can be tied to your composite score and people tend to tie prestige to the score you manage to earn, too. The higher the score, the more bragging rights you get. So, just how does it work? And how do colleges get your scores and use them? Sit tight. You’re about to find out the ins and outs of the ACT scoring system and all the hoopla that goes with it. ACT Scoring Changes The ACT announced in June 2016, that it will be revising the score reporting for the 2016 - 2017 test administrations. What does this mean for you? When you get your score report back after registering, preparing and taking the ACT, you’ll see a number of different things on your scoring sheet. The ACT changed how it reports scoring. Instead of receiving subscores based on the subcategories under each section, students now receive percentages on a comprehensive set of reporting categories. These reporting categories make it easier for parents and students to determine exactly what types of skills testers need to brush up on the most. Heres what your current score report will contain.   Composite Score: Your composite score will be between a 1 (really low) and 36 (genius). This is an average of each multiple choice section.Section Scores: Each multiple-choice test section (English, Math, Reading, and Science) will get a raw score, based on the total number of questions you answer correctly. That score will then be converted to a scaled score, between 1 and 36.STEM Score: In September 2015, the ACT began reporting a STEM score that was the rounded average of Math and Science.ELA Score: At that time, they also began reporting the rounded average of English, Reading, and Writing scores as a general English Language Arts score.Reporting Categories: Although you will not get scores for these areas, per se, you will receive percentages correct out of the categories along with the total possible and total correct.ACT Plus Writing: If you take the Writing test, youll get an overall score between 2 and 12 because although the ACT changed the Writing score to 1-36 like the ot her multiple choice test section scores in 2015, it is changing it back for the 2016 - 2017 administrations. Youll also get four writing competency scores on a scale of 2 - 12 in these domains: Ideas and Analysis, Development and Support, Organization, and Language Use and Conventions. The ACT Reporting Categories Below, youll find the multiple choice sections of the test, along with the reporting categories youll find on your score report. The numbers in parentheses are the total number of questions for a sample score report*. On the score report, youll find the correct number you answered out of that total number, what that number looks like as a percentage, and the ACT Readiness Range, which shows you how your  performance on each reporting category compares to students who have met the ACT College Readiness Benchmark on that section.    *Please note that the number of each type of question could change, depending on the test.    MathPreparing for Higher Math (~35 total questions)Number and Quantity (5)Algebra (8)Functions (8)Statistics and Probability (6)Geometry  (8)Integrating Essentail Skills (~25)Modeling (~22)ScienceInterpretation of Data (~16)Scientific Investigation (~10)Evaluation of Models, Inferences, and Scientific Results (~14)EnglishProduction of Writing (~23)Knowledge of Language (~12)Conventions of Standard English (~40)ReadingKey Ideas and Details (~24)Craft and Structure (~11)Integration of Knowledge and Ideas (~5)Understanding Complex Texts reported as Below, Proficient, or Above How the ACT Scoring Works on the Essay The 2-12 score range for 2016-2017 is very quite than the one used in 2014-2015. The old Writing score was simply the sum of two readers’ grades between 1 - 6. The new score range, however, is an average domain score, rounded up to the nearest number at .5.   Take the following example: A student scoring these domain numbers: Grader As scores: 4, 6, 4, 5Grader Bs scores: 4, 5, 4, 6  Total scores: 8, 11, 8, 11 38Writing score is a 10 because 38/4 9.5 ACT Raw to Scaled Scoring When youre finished with your test and it heads off to be graded, the graders first count the number of questions that you answered correctly in each test section and in each subscore area. The number of correct answers is your raw score. The reporting categories will show you those raw scores - how many questions you actually answered correctly in each category. Then, those raw scores are converted to the scaled scores. Scaled scores are the scores that you’ll get back and the scores that are sent to your high school and the colleges to which you’re applying. The exact raw to scale tables that are used are not published, as they differ depending on the test questions used per test. Having a scaled score allows the ACT to be as fair as possible, considering different test questions and versions are used. The good news is that you don’t have to worry about your raw score except when you’re actually taking the test – you want to answer as many questions correctly as possible and attempt every one. You aren’t penalized for guessing like you are on the SAT. But on your score report, you won’t see your raw score, so you don’t need to sweat it! ACT Scoring Compared To Other Students On your score report, you’ll also see a score percentile, which compares you to the rest of the nation. The national average tends to hover right around a 20 or 21, but many scholarships start at around a 27 composite score and go up from there depending on the school and program to which you’re applying. Here are some ACT scoring averages and percentiles for you to check out: The best of the best ACT scoresAverage national ACT scoresAverage ACT scores for top private universitiesAverage ACT scores for top public universities If I Retake the ACT, Do Colleges See All My ACT Scoring? If you take the ACT more than once, you get to choose which set of scores to send to colleges. So, the schools will not see all of your ACT scores unless you choose to send them all. This is a very big deal especially if you do not perform very well during one testing session and ace another!

Supply Chain Management Case Analayis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Supply Chain Management Case Analayis - Essay Example Effective supply chain management (based on collaboration between a manufacturer and retailer) allows companies to reduce costs and anticipate the demand. Another important factor is improved technology (the internet connection and computer databases) which improves coordination and control mechanisms (Simchi-Levi et al 2008). 2. In order to improve the situation, the companies should cooperate and plan their activities together. Also, they should pay a special attention to scheduling stage. Scheduling of production/operations covers detailed planning of quantities and times, facilitating the efficient and continuous operation of the process. Where smoothing is difficult to achieve, scheduling could play the role of a cushioning device. For example, it is difficult to make customers change their buying behavior, to buy diapers size two instead of size one. Instead of smoothing demand (externally) companies try to deal with the problem internally by producing at a constant rate throughout the year and building up inventories or by stepping up the production rate as the seasonal peak in demand occurs. Even if Kimberly-Clark opens its own stores, it will not benefit the company and can damage sales in Costco stores. The main problem is that Kimberly-Clark has limited product range and most buyers prefer to s ave time and visit supermarkets where they can buy goods and products for the whole family. Kimberly-Clark and Costco should cooperate and implement a new advertising campaign aimed to attract potential customers and popularize Kimberly-Clark products (Simchi-Levi et al 2008). 3. For Costco, the main advantages of supply chain management are low inventory cost and no need for ordering itself, 'full shelves' and low warehousing cost, low price which attracts consumers and saves on staff. For Kimberly-Clark, the main advantages are effective data analysis and forecasting of demand, stable sales and control over sales. This process helps Kimberly-Clark to plan its production and avoid overproduction of certain products. In general, the advantage of supply chain management is flexibility of all operations. In contrast, by encouraging the use of large batches, it deters a firm from becoming flexible in responding to changing customer needs. "A proposed supply chain is one in which all the operations that go toward manufacturing a particular product and its variations are grouped together" (Christopher 2005, p. 54). 4. The main advantage if in-house operation is a quick response, reduced time and control over the supply. Also, it allows the company to deliver better service and improve overall service level. The main disadvantage is limited number of products and dependency upon a single manufacturer. The advantages of external sources are market analysis and opportunities to switch from one supplier to another, buy low cost and high quality products from different suppliers. Many customers are brand loyal seeking a particular brand or a product. Cooperation (strategic alliance) with one company limits market opportunities of the retailer. In order to achieve greater value through reductions in both batch volumes and in barriers between operations, it would also be worthwhile and cost effective to use external sources of supply.

International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

International Business - Essay Example hift in the policy happened is the question to be discussed in this essay as it will analyze as to why the government withdrawn from intervening in the market and what may have changed over the period of time. In UK, the architects of the free market policies were Margret Thatcher who was largely considered as the Prime Minister with the mandate to reverse the economic decline of UK. The major influence on Margret Thatcher was from Milton Friedman- a Noble Prize winning economist whom she described as the reviver of economics of liberty.(Cornwell,2006). It started with the privatization process initiated basically in order to make institutions more competitive because of the long term chronic problems of the UK economy. The process of privatization was slow and done in phases where the government gradually sold their stakes in the public enterprises to make them function under the private management in order to make them more efficient. (Cook, 2009). The long term failure of fiscal economics as UK was facing strong inflationary pressures. The policy response from Thatcher government was to gradually decrease the State intervention into the affairs of the free market by leaving them on the ir own to float and regulate the market. Further, the initial steps also included banning unionism within the organizations to increase their efficiency and at the same time providing rights to the workers in order to balance the power within the organizations. Another very important measure taken while making a stride towards free markets was the fact the monetary policy was made largely independent. However, it was largely directed at controlling and managing inflationary pressures on the economy. Interest and tax rates were cut besides reducing expenditure on the social security nets in a bid to lessen the influence and intervention of government from the market. As a result of this, UK witnessed a gradual decrease in its inflation and could achieve growth rates which were

Is Time Real Essay Example for Free

Is Time Real Essay Is Time Real The aspects of time that we can understand are only based on what we can perceive, observe, and calculate. Every day we look at our watches or clocks. We plan our day around different times of the day. Time tells us when to eat, when to sleep, and how long to do things for. Is time real? To answer this question, let me explain what time is first. Time is defined as a measured or measurable period, a continuum that lacks spatial dimensions. This broad definition lacks the simple explanation that humans are searching for. There are many scientists, philosophers, and thinkers who have tried to put time into understanding terms. In the following paragraph, I will discuss the meaning of time perceived and theorized by two of the greatest minds of human kind ? Einstein and Kant. Albert Einsteins theory of relativity (study guide, 53) came up with the idea that both space and time were relative to the observer, or the state of motion of the observer (Broadcast). If there are two chairs, and you see someone sitting in one, when you turn away, you can not be sure that he or she is still there. You also can not be sure that they are not in two chairs at the same time, or what point in time they are in them. This all leads up to Einsteins theory that time is relative. What Einsteins theory seemed to tell us was that time is not absolute and universal. It can be changed by motion. Each observer carries around his own personal scale of time and it does not absolutely agree with anybody elses. However, some philosophers have argued that all time is unreal. Kant, for example, claimed that time both the subjective time we experience as flowing, and objective time as the fixed series of all events ? is a construct of the human mind (Manuel Velasquez, 244). For Kant space and time are not real things, but are modes of experience. Kants solution was to say that there is something in our mind, that makes everything that we experience to our sense be located in time so that the physical world is simply bound to be temporal because of the way our minds works (Broadcast). From my point of view, time is definitely real, only our experience of time is subjective. For example, we see a train with blue color followed by yellow color followed by blue and so on. We will at first be able to distinguish the blue from the yellow as the train starts moving. After a while, the train moves very fast that the sequence appears to be simultaneous to our eyes and mind and we see green. We can see time is real because blue follows yellow, but our perception of time is subjective because we dont see a sequence of blue following yellow, but something else entirely. In conclusion, time is not easily explained or understood by anyone. Einstein and Kant have expanded their minds by coming up with possible theories for the unknown. We can theorize, and calculate our own, but I think it will always be an unknown. The mysteries of the universe will in my opinion be just that, a mystery. Resources: Manuel Velasquez. Introduction: What is philosophy Philosophy: A text with Readings. New York: Wadsworth, 2005. 244.

Racism in Song of Solomon, Push and Life of Olaudah Equiano Essay

Expressing Racism in Song of Solomon, Push and The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   African-Americans often are discriminated against, suffer from a barrage of racial remarks, and even endure racially based acts of violence. Unfortunately, this crime against humanity goes both ways. Those being oppressed may retaliate as a matter of self-defense, sometimes becoming that which they despise most. In many cases the Black man is forced into developing racist mores against the White man due to past history and to the fact that Whites discriminate against them. The victim of oppression can become the oppressor and, in fact, this 'reverse racism' may easily develop into a feeling of superiority for Black people. Although both parties, Black and White racists, suffer from the belief that their own race is the superior one, it could be said that the Black community is oftentimes more justified in their beliefs. Black writer, Sapphire is quoted as saying "One of the myths we've been taught, is that oppression creates moral superiority. I'm here to tell you th at the more oppressed a person is, the more oppressive they will be" (Walker, Fall 2001). I believe it not only creates a more oppressive group of people, but a group that believes they are morally superior. This moral superiority is evident in the writings and the personal lives of Olaudah Equiano, Toni Morrison, Sapphire and Maya Angelou. These writers display a common point of view held among many African-Americans in their views of Africa versus America, morality among Whites versus morality among Blacks, and racial inferiority versus racial superiority.    African-Americans often form comparisons between Africa, the country they were forcibl... ...and the Middle Passage. Ed. Maria Diedrich, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Carl Pedersen. New York: Oxford UP, 1999: 47-56. Davis, Jane. The White Image in the Black Mind: A Study of African American Literature. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2000. Equiano, Olaudah. "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano." The Classic Slave Narratives. Ed. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. New York: Putnam, 1987: 1-182. Mandville, Sir John. The Travels of Sir John Mandeville. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin, 1983, p.64. Morrison, Toni_Guest. Personal Interview. Jet 31 August 1998. www.findarticles.com (10 Sept. 2001). Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. New York: Penguin Group, 1977. Sapphire_Guest. Personal Interview by Carletta Joy Walker. www.foodcoop.com (13 Sept. 2001). Sapphire. Push. New York: Random House, 1997.   

Urbanization and Its Effects

Introduction Chapter No. 1 Urbanization brings about a social change. This is most prominent in the expansion of entrepreneurship and industrialization. It is known that the progress of the landless laborer and the absorption of wealth into a few hands promote urbanization. A lot of people say that urbanization is the predictable outcome of economic growth, with the increase of expert craftsmen, merchants, and proprietors. Urban growth or urbanization brings an attraction for the people residing in rural areas. They get attracted by the luxuries, comforts and opportunities which people of cities are enjoying. Both the natural increase (population growth) and net migration are the major contributory factors to urban growth. As in other parts of the world, although the urban growth in Pakistan is dominated by the natural increase, about one-fifth of this growth is certified to internal migration. Internal migration or urbanization has played a major role in the expansion of the population density in the major cities of Pakistan. Internal migration has also been very important in the fast growth of these cities. Urbanization is more rapid than a population growth. People are moving from rural areas to urban areas for a better living standard, to seek better quality education, mesmerizing work places. Besides all the positive aspects of urbanization, it also has a negative impact on the economy which includes the loss of agriculture land, urban food supply like vegetables, wheat, rice, maize etc. , the devastating of habitats and urban diseconomies. Economy of Pakistan thus has both negative as well as positive effects of urbanization. Further moving on with the details of effects of urbanization on Pakistani economy, we need to know the conditions of the economy of Pakistan at present. The economy of Pakistan and the effects of urbanization on Pakistani economy are discussed in below: Economy of Pakistan: The economy of Pakistan is placed to be the 27th largest in dollar terms. Pakistan is surrounded by chemical industries, textiles, agriculture, food processing and other industries, which makes it the semi-industrialized economy. The economy of Pakistan has suffered a lot in the past from high inflation rates, increasing poverty levels, low quality of education, terrorism and a fast growing population. The economy of Pakistan has been going through hard times since last 5 to 6 years. The gross domestic product (GDP) of Pakistan is US$167 billions, which makes it 48th largest economy in the world Today Pakistan is said to be having the 2nd largest economy in the South Asia. In Pakistan GDP growth and a prominent rise in the industrial and service sector remained in the range of 6% to 8% in 2004 to 2006, due to the transformation by the Musharraf government in the year 2000. In year 2005 World Bank named Pakistan to be the top reformer in its region and in the top 10 reformers throughout the world/globally. Pakistan’s GDP gross domestic product is estimated to be $475. billion if measured by purchasing power parity (PPP). The per capita Income in Pakistan is estimated to be 23% to 28%. GDP growth rate was stable during the mid of 2000 at a rate of 7% however it slowed down due to the economic crisis of 2008 to 4. 7%. Pakistan has a high inflation rate of 24. 4% and a low savings rate which makes it difficult to sustain a high growth rate. In year 2005 inflat ion rate jumped to more than 9% and reduced to 7. 9% in year 2006. Following the route, in year 2008 petrol prices hit the highest price in Pakistan as high as 25. 0%. The State Bank of Pakistan is adopting the policy to tighten its monetary policy to preserve the growth of Pakistan. In year 2007 and 2008, the prominent rise in the international oil and food prices on combining with the internal political confusion leads to macroeconomics imbalances in Pakistan. In year 2008, Pakistan faced a balance of payment deficit. The government agreed to an International monetary standby agreement to overcome the balance of payment crisis. But all through year 2009-10 its current account strengthened and foreign exchange funds stabilized mainly due to reduced oil prices and record remittances from workers abroad. Unfortunately, in July-August 2010 the agriculture output reduced which contributed to a jump in inflation. Government funds were spent on the recreation and reconstruction which led to limited recourses with the government. Pakistan keeps on emphasizing on the reduction of poverty, illiteracy, terrorism and social protection. It also works hard to enhance the weakest sections of the society. Pakistan also has a vital infrastructure, especially in water management, transport, communication, education and energy. The economy is of Pakistan is divided into three sectors; agriculture, industry and services. The contribution to total GDP is mentioned below in terms of percentages. Agriculture includes farming, fishing and forestry. Industry includes mining, manufacturing, construction and power production. Services include communications, finance, transportation etc. The distribution will total less than 100% if the data is incomplete. Agriculture has a contribution of 21. 2% in the total GDP of Pakistan. Industry sector has 25. 4% share in the total GDP of Pakistan whereas services sector has the highest contribution of 53. 4%. Pakistan is facing economic and political instability these days. The government is also destabilized and losing its control. The rapid development of cities is a regular and a persistent demographic occurrence in most of the developing countries including Pakistan. This rise has led to an increase in the degree of urbanization. In Pakistan, the most recent study says that 34% of the people are living in urban areas and about 66% of people are living in rural areas. It has been predicted that the level of urbanization in 2015 would increase by 39. 5%. The most recent study, states that the growth rate of Pakistan is 1. 73% and the population density of Pakistan is 177. 37 people per sq. km. Pakistan is grouped with countries having moderate level of urbanization; it has the highest share of population living in cities (urban areas) among the South Asian countries. It has also been projected that about half of Pakistan’s population will be living in cities by the year 2030. Year 2011 has proved out to be another difficult year for the economy of Pakistan because it could only achieve the growth of 2. 4% against the target of 4. 5 %. This was even worse and weaker than the growth rate achieved in year 2010. The slowdown in the growth was predicted right at the time country suffered from devastating effects of the flood in August 2010. Growth was in a weak position, as the government had to transfer funds for the rehabilitation and recreational purposes for the flood victims. Another important factor that constrained growth was the energy crisis/power shortage in the country. Numbers of industries are shifted in Bangladesh due to energy shortfall, rising furnace oil prices, have forced power producers to run below capacity. The resulting shortage of power has added to the energy deficit to the country. If we look at the agriculture sector of Pakistan in detail we will come to know that it showed a strong improvement after the devastating impact of the floods in early 2011. This recovery was mainly due to livestock sector, along with minor crops and some major crops (wheat and sugarcane). Despite the significant losses caused by the floods, growth in the livestock subsector was adequate to provide much needed momentum to agriculture growth. Trade and payments is the backbone of the Pakistani economy, in year 2011 total exports recorded a constructive growth of 27. % for the period of first ten months (July-April) against an increase of 8. 0% in the similar time period of previous year 2010. In total, exports have gone up from $15,773. 2 million to $20,154. 2 million in the period. On the other side imports in the first ten months of the current year 2011have gone up with an increase of 14. 7% against the same period of the last year reaching to 32. 2%. Education is considered to be very important in any economy, if we look at the literacy rate of Pakistan basing on the age groups then we see (10 years and above age group ) the total literacy rate in year 2008-2009 was 57. % which has increased to 57. 7% in year 2009-2010, which increased by 0. 5% in the current year. And if we look at the literacy rate basing on the provinces wise then the literacy was as follows; Sindh 58. 2 percent; Punjab 59. 6 percent; Balochistan 51. 5 percent; Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa 50. 9 percent. Total expenditures budgeted for health services are Rs. 42. 0 billion out of which Rs. 18. 7 billion for development in health care centers and Rs. 23. 3 billion for current expenditures which is equal to 0. 23 percent of GDP which is 79 billion in contrast to previous year. Pakistan’s total population according to the census of 2011 is 177. 10 million and it is considered to be the 6th popular country in the world. And if the population keeps on increasing with the same tendency it will be 191. 7 million by year 2015 and 242. 1 million by 2030. The growth rate in Pakistan is calculated to be 2. 05 percent at present and the total fertility rate is 3. 5 children per woman. In Pakistan the life expectancy is 67. 9 for women and 64. 18 for men. And if we talk about the labor force of Pakistan we may conclude that it is the 9th largest country in the world basing on the size of its labor force which is 54. 2 million. Pakistan has given a great attention towards its infrastructure i. e. transport and communication and if we talk about the communication sector of Pakistan, then we may conclude that only 3 percent of the total population is using post paid connections whereas prepaid connection users are 97 percent. The total cellular subscribers have c rossed 102. 8 million so far in Pakistan. Now that we have given a glance at the current position of the economy of Pakistan, we need to know what Urbanization is. And why is it increasing at a very rapid pace in Pakistan? Urbanization: After going through the economy of Pakistan in detail, we now need to know what urbanization is. Urbanization is a transformation of rural life to urban life. Urbanization takes place when people living in rural areas (villages) decides to move to urban areas (cities or towns) to seek better living standards or for seeking better employment opportunities or to maximize their incomes. One of the definitions of urbanization is stated as, â€Å"Urbanization is the transformation of rural conditions (farms and small towns) to urban conditions (huge cities). We can also say that urbanization is the migration of population from rural areas to urban areas. † This definition tells us that urbanization takes place when a rural life transforms into an urban life. Rural life is a life where people work on farms and fields, whereas urban life is a complete opposite life where people work in big offices, they have better quality education, they dresses up professionally for their offices, they uses best possible ways of communication and transportation. Urban life provides us with better quality living, better education facilities, better job opportunities, better infrastructure and better entertainment facilities apart from work. Another definition that I would like to state here is, â€Å"The change in a country or a region which is caused by the movement of the population from rural to urban areas is known as urbanization. † The definition clearly explains that when people migrate from villages towards towns or cities, migration takes place. Migration of people from villages towards cities causes a change in that particular region where immigrants plan to live in. The changes that can be seen within that particular region may be more food consumption, increase in rate of unemployment, increase in rate of poverty, it may also effect literacy rate; mortality rates are also being affected. Another definition of urbanization that I came across is, â€Å"Urbanization can also be termed as the quick and huge growth of and migration to cities from the villages. Urbanization is the name for the movement of people from rural (villages) to urban areas (cities), thus results in increasing the population. † This definition is also similar to the above definition. This definition also makes clear that urbanization takes place when people of the rural areas tends to move towards the urban areas, this movement is quick and thus it increases the growth of the particular area of the cities as compared to rural life. By this definition we can come to know that apart from the increase of the population in any particular area of a city or movement of people from the rural areas. It is also more of a change in the employment sector; the industrialization sector; the service industry sector and also the agriculture sector. The definition is stated as, â€Å"The increase in the proportion of the population residing in towns, brought about by migration of rural populations into towns and cities, or the higher urban levels of natural increase resulting from the greater proportion of people of childbearing age in cities. Urbanization indicates a change of employment structure from agriculture and cottage industries to mass production and service industries. † Another definition that tells us that urbanization brings a change in the market size, health care services are also increased due to increase in the population size, transportation and communication services are also increased when urbanization takes place. Urbanization brings a change in many sectors either directly or indirectly, because many factors are dependent on urbanization. The definition that tells us about the changing factors and sectors is stated below. â€Å"Urbanization is the rapid population growth, increase in industrialization, increase in transportation and communication, increase in health services, increase in market size etc. † Urbanization comprises of population immigration to an already existing area or a town as a result of which causes expansion of that specific region at the expense of rural land. The process of a society transforming from rural to urban can be stated as urbanization. As the number of people moving into cities rise, urban centers expand too, erasing rural, agricultural and forestland in their wake. Urbanization mainly occurs due to the reasonable economic variations within both rural and urban areas. As agriculture is becoming more and more technologically advanced so it has now been replaced by machines and people are becoming jobless in rural areas because their work is being replaced by the machines. This has tended to move people from rural to urban areas because urban areas have ample job opportunities. In addition to above issue, urbanization is increasing rapidly because rural life and working on farms and fields is becoming unpredictable due to sudden happening of floods, deficiency of any other important seed, fertilizer or pesticides and deadly diseases which are fatal. On the contrary, urban areas posses’ great business opportunities, healthy jobs, better living standards and infinite number of services in terms of universities, schools, hospitals, housing, transportation etc. Great variety of entertainment sources, such as hotels, cinemas, discos, clubs, restaurants etc and many other leisure time places and events which forces people to move to urban areas. We can also say that urbanization is a flow of physical growth of urban areas which is bringing about a global change. The question arises in our minds that why do people choose to migrate? What are the reasons that people choose to plan a shift from rural living standard to an urban living standard? What are the consequences of this shift? To answer these questions, first of all we need to know what a city is. As old as species, people have gathered in the densely populated and highly structured areas, to which we call cities. Cities in the beginning were established 5,000 years ago, but from the past 200 years-with the advent and spread of industrial sector and with the increase in the global population which is rising with a prominent rate, which tells us that cities have grown considerably in size and number. In the beginning of the 20th century only one-tenth of a person lived in the cities, but today the proportion of urban and rural people is approximately equal. It has been estimated that by the start of 2025 about 2/3rd of the world's population will live in the urban areas called cities. In the terms of economics, all cities are same basing on the following functions they perform; for example; manufacturing, retailing, and services (doctors, professors etc). These sources provides plenty of job opportunities for the individuals residing in the cities, thus it provides wealth which ultimately provides a better living standard. The larger a city is the more numerous and highly specialized its functions are. By contrast, smaller cities and towns have fewer functions, which tend to be of a more general nature. Karachi in Pakistan is the highly populated and has high density rate in comparison to other cities like Lahore and Islamabad etc. In large cities we find clinics and hospitals in wide range of places. Big food chains like Mc’Donalds, Kfc, Pizza hut etc are rarely seen in small cities but in the large cities we find them at every passing way. People are tending to move towards the cities because of the attractive opportunities, people of the cities are benefited from. There are lots of wealth opportunities in the cities, new business techniques are used to expand the business. Transportation is used which is considered to be the fastest medium of travelling in the cities whereas in the rural areas people are still using bullock-carts. Cities with best facilities and the best opportunities have made life easier to live. People in the cities can live comfortably and spend a peace full life. They can also enjoy the luxuries of the lives. Whereas people n the rural areas have to travel to the cities, to grab the opportunities and facilities provided in the cities. Many of the people in the rural areas travel due to medical problems. As there is a lack of better hospitals and specialized doctors. Cities can also be defined basing on their social composition. Cities are typically places with a large, dense, and heterogeneous, or varied, population. As cities have expanded and mass communications which has dispersed urban values, however, it becomes increasingly difficult to identify a uniquely urban life style. Now if we compare an urban life with a rural life we get to know the following differences between the two. The contrast between the two has been discussed below. Urban life is the result of individual and corporate efforts, which tends to reduce expenses and time in communicating and transportation, also improves opportunities for jobs, education, housing, and transportation. Living in cities allows individuals along with their families to take benefits from efficient jobs and effective job-places, a worth living life style, and a marketplace competition. People are moving into cities to grab different opportunities provided in cities. In villages, it is difficult to improve one's standard of living beyond basic nourishment because the whole family is dependent on a small family farm. Farm living is dependent on volatile ecological conditions, and in times of deficiency, flood or deadly disease, survival becomes extremely difficult and challenging. Cities, in contrast, are the places where wealth, money, services are in abundance. Cities are the places where fortunes are made and where societal mobility is possible. Businesses, which create great number of job vacancies and excessive amount of capital, are generally situated in urban areas. Whether it is through buying and selling (trade) or tourism (sightseeing), it is all the way through the cities that foreign exchange flows into a country from another country. Therefore it is the wish of every individual living in the rural areas to move to cities and make abundance of money to send back home to their struggling families. There are enhanced and essential services as well in the cities that are not found in the villages. There are great varieties of jobs and plenty of job opportunities in urban areas as compared to the rural areas. Physical condition and physical health is another key factor. People, when become old and weak are mostly sent to cities for a better health check-up with the help of specialized doctors and hospital. There are also various attractive factors which becomes a reason that why people of the villages tend to move to the urban areas. Those factors includes cinemas, amusement parks, restaurants, shopping complexes and malls etc. other than entertainment it also provides a better quality of education, namely universities as compared to the rural areas. Effects of urbanization on Pakistani economy: Once we are done with the discussion about urbanization, life in cities, and the contrast of urban life with a rural life. We have to see what effects urbanization has on the economy of Pakistan. It can either have positive effects or negative effects, may be the mixture of both can also be seen. Urbanization in Pakistan has increased very rapidly as compared to any other South Asian country. The people who are migrating from rural to urban, are in search for a better quality of life, but they are totally unaware of the fact that their this move is resulting in a chaos in the urban areas, a burden on the economy as well as an adverse effect on the quality of life. This high, in fact very much high rate of urbanization has also resulted in an increase of  difficulties for the management  as well. Almost 3% to 4% of  the  national population is moving to urban areas every year. The economy of the country in case of GDP rate has improved a bit due to this urbanization. More jobs in manufacturing  and  service sectors have been created. About 27% of the GDP is being produced by the industrial sector . In the coming times, this huge urban population will definitely create a domestic market for goods and services and will provide with technically skilled and equipped manpower resulting in the definite rapid and certain growth  of  the country’s economy. The other important effect of this urbanization on the economy of Pakistan rather than the increase  in GDP is the growing manpower in the sectors of commerce and industry. Industries and private sectors have been a great increase factor in national income. They train their employees in their respective fields as well as in different  interrelated subjects. They provide them with a broader vision of their respective fields where they can create their own ideas, bring new ones, mould the old ones in better forms, thus being more productive and creative. This all multi-training and multi-tasking of  employees  results in the  progress and prosperity of their respective industries and firms. And this ultimately brings a positive effect on the economy, as the productivity increases with technical expertise and so does the income. Urbanization  has also paved the way for women empowerment as well as increase in women employment. Now women being more educated, confident and having vast visions are working together with men  almost in every field. The mutual  work environment  has provided an opportunity of exchange of ideas often where  new methods, new techniques and new ideas are just found turning things more productive and better. Employment of women along with men has raised the number of people working to a very high extent, and this has ultimately resulted in the betterment of economy where not just one is earning  for a family of six, in fact their partner is willing to accompany him/her too. Urbanization results in the increase of industrialization and services sector. People they shift their capital from farm industry to big industries and competitive markets, where they get a chance to maximize their capital and to earn a healthy livelihood for themselves and their families also. By shifting to urban areas they can provide a better life style and a very bright to future to their families and children. Urbanization can bring a change in their living standards, a change in their dressing, a change in their communication and a change in their behaviors. People who shift from rural areas are benefited from the facilities and opportunities available in the urban areas. The effect of urbanization on the economy is that people work in big offices, they have better quality education, they dresses up professionally for their offices, they uses best possible ways of communication and transportation. Urban life provides us with better quality living, better education facilities, better job opportunities, better infrastructure and better entertainment facilities apart from work. A lot of people claim that urbanization is the conventional outcome of economic growth, with the increase of skilled and trained craftsmen, merchants, and proprietors. Urban growth or urbanization brings an attraction for the people residing in rural areas. They get attracted by the luxuries, comforts and opportunities which people of cities are enjoying. Urbanization though has increased the chances of availability  of a better quality of life to the people who are migrating from rural areas to urban areas like towns and cities. They get better health care and educational facilities  as compared to their respective rural areas, yet they become  Ã‚  a reason of a high level burden on the country’s economy. The question is how? The high and fast wave of urbanization has  added a lot more to urban slums. Yet people are still migrating from rural to urban areas and this has resulted  in the increase of difficulty for the  management of the urban areas. The adjustment of these huge migrated masses and providing the basic facilities of  life, in fact quality life to them does not turns out to be an easy task for the management. These people being not highly educated  cannot go for the technical jobs, and what they do is either to get small  ordinary jobs, sitting idle at their homes  or  they earn by begging. All the pressure to feed these unemployed masses comes on the city, provincial or federal government. But how can a government feed them all when there is only 1 or no one to work and so many to eat? In Pakistan, almost 3-5 million people migrate from rural areas to urban  Ã‚  areas each year and approx. 40% of the Pakistani population now resides in the urban areas of the country. This has brought a great burden on the already burdened economy of Pakistan. The aids that are said to be given to Pakistan are mostly used for the military purposes, not in the economic growth sectors. Pakistani economy is really going through a crisis since last few years due to this war on terrorism. The immigrants from our neighboring country Afghanistan, aren’t residing in the rural areas of the country but in the urban ones. And the ones who lived in the rural ones have started migrating towards urban areas in order to secure their lives and children. This also is a burden on the economy, I mean a country whose economy cannot feed its own people properly, cannot provide them with a better quality of life, healthcare facilities, proper education; how can such a country  Ã‚  feed the refugees as well? But being a brotherly neighbour, Pakistan is giving its fullest support i. e. economical and social help to these refugees. They can get jobs anywhere they want to, live anywhere they want to. But the people who aren’t working at all, still need to be looked after by the government and a worse fact is that the ratio of such people isn’t very low, so the economy of Pakistan has been truly burdenized by this factor as well. This trend of urbanization has increased the number of beggars in the cities and towns. At some places there are special beggar mafias and begging has become a profession and a skilled art of  earning money quickly and easily. This thing is now being strictly seen by the government and strict measures have been taken now. This rapid urbanization has also paved the way for increasing crime rate in the  urban areas. When the people migrating from rural areas in spite of all their efforts aren’t able to find jobs or any means of earning, they indulge themselves in anti-state activities and different small and big crimes, because obviously they have to earn something to feed themselves and their families. In spite of all their efforts when they can’t find any legal or right opportunity or way to earn, they get themselves involve in illegal means of earning. The high crime rates involving every crime i. e. mall crime like mobile snatching, money snatching to big crimes like that of target killing or pre planned murders are amongst the most disastrous effects of this urbanization. This high crime rate results  in a frightened and disturbed society, where both, the quality as well as the  quantity of work being done is affected. This disturbs the standards of  economy by disturbing the work potentials of manpower. The consequential population from urbanization has also played an important role in increased crime rates in urban areas. This study of consideration may also be due to the variation in the behaviors of the people living in towns. Following are the factors due to which the crime rates are increasing: factors such as low income, availability of jobs, poverty etc. , and sometimes family conditions such as divorce, single parenthood, frustrated past due to any incident may also be related to increased crime rates. This rapid and high level wave of urbanization has very adversely affected the healthcare sector as well. The shortage of medicines, vaccines, unavailability of doctors, bad hygienic conditions at the hospitals, is some of the main after effects of this strong and fastest wave of urbanization. The  availability of health care facilities  to all its inhabitants is one of the most important and foremost duty of a state. The private sector here though provides much better facilities, is more equipped and trained and is quick than the  government sector, yet it isn’t in the reach of common man to get treated in the private sector because they charge too much for all these  healthcare services but the option of government  hospitals  is open to every commoner, where he can get a better health care service and all other facilities as well. But more population has adversely affected that healthcare sector too. The mess and rush of the people in the government hospitals is also affecting the health care sector. Another major problem in result of urbanization that is rapidly taking place in the economy of Pakistan is â€Å"poverty†. Poverty occurs when the basic food that is the necessity of living is out of the reach of the people. People starve, they beg, and they die because they cannot afford to have meal, three times a day that is merely due to the high inflation rates prevailing in Pakistan these days. Environment confronts and problems of Pakistan are linked first and foremost with an unfair social and economic expansion in the past few years. This challenge is additionally compounded with quick urbanization due to a change of population from rural to urban areas. Consequently, all main cities of Pakistan face unexpected and accidental growth leading to boost in the pollution. This unnoticed growth has taken us to the point where there is a creation of slums areas in the region of city’s edge. Ever since the metropolitan authorities and utility service supplier have confined boundaries in expanding their facilities, urban overcrowding, blocking and jamming is the main reason of ever weakening air and water quality, along with this solid waste management. Under the current scenario, the managers are facing problems in providing sufficient water facilities, improved sanitation and sewerages systems, healthy and hygienic health care services and to ensure a hale and hearty environment. Environmental poverty is primarily connected to poverty in Pakistan. Poverty is the chief obstacle in dealing with the surroundings and their related problems. The demand of the already diminishing natural resources is increasing in Pakistan. Since poor frankly rely on natural resources of the country for their living i. . agriculture, forestry, hunting, fisheries, etc. Poverty collective with a fast growing population and swiftly increasing urbanization is leading to create more and more pressure on the environment. As a result, there is a terrible need to work on poverty elimination. Considering this problem, Benazir Income Support Programme has organized by the current government, is anticipated to have an optimistic effect on poverty elimination. Urba nization is also causing a shortage of food and nutrition in Pakistani economy. Since a part of the population has decided to move to a particular area or a region of the city and it is becoming densely populated and the population size is increasing in a particular city so it is very natural that the food and nutrition needs can’t be fulfilled and thus the economy of Pakistan faces a shortage of food and then it goes for a call to the foreign countries to fulfill its needs of those food items which ran short of supply in the market. This again disturbs the balance of payments of Pakistan. Apart from this agriculture is considered to be the backbone of the Pakistani economy. And Pakistan earns maximum foreign exchange by exporting the wheat, sugarcane, cotton etc as compared to any other items. Ever since urbanization is seen to be rapidly increasing, it is considered to be a setback for the economy of Pakistan because agricultural land is totally being neglected and left barren. This again will push us further towards failure as an economy as well as a nation. The statistical analysis is presented in chapter 2. Recommendations and conclusions are listed in chapter 3. Urbanization is closely related to modernization, industrialization, and rationalization. Urbanization also has adverse effects on the growing density in specific affected areas, mainly in large growing cities and often accompanied by number of other problems and after effects. Another major issue can also be disruption of agriculture uses. In addition to this, there would also be conflicting interests in terms of land use for rural and urban purposes. There would also be a negative impact on the agriculture of industry and also a loss of farm and forest land. Another prominent problem that arises from urbanization is the significant rise in respiratory problems in people living adjacent or very close to urban areas. Following are the factors due to which the respiratory problem occurs are: vehicular and industrial emissions, the toxic smoke arising from the chimneys of the leather factories or tire manufacturing industries, mining and drilling tend to be responsible for greater level of toxins in the air. It has also been acknowledged that global warming is also a resulting problem from increased urbanization. There has also been seen adverse air quality in houses and buildings within urban areas due to air conditions outside the buildings and houses. Respiratory infections may also occur from excessive exposure to nitrogen oxides, which results in decreased lung function. The consequential population from urbanization has also played an important role in increased crime rates in urban areas. This study of consideration may also be due to the variation in the behaviors of the people living in towns. Following are the factors due to which the crime rates are increasing: factors such as low income, availability of jobs, poverty etc. , and sometimes family conditions such as divorce, single parenthood, frustrated past due to any incident may also be related to increased crime rates. Some of the issues of urbanization that can be seen in any economy are Employment; Sanitation; Housing; Sewerage; Water; Social welfare; Role of government; Political machines (controlling organizations); increased Crime rates; Respiratory problem. Employment problem occurs when there are less job opportunities or may be due to Less capabilities amongst the people of the rural areas, this problem can be seen due to lack of technical education. People living in urban areas get technical education to achieve the highest rank of designations in the offices or their work places. Increased rates of urbanization can also cause an increase in the crime rates. Increased crime rates are due to frustration caused amongst the people when they are unemployed or any other personal/family problems like divorce and single parent upbringing. When the population increases in a particular region of the city many other problems are seen like housing, sanitation problems and transportation problems etc. , this causes frustration amongst the people thus increasing the crime rates. Sometimes government is also biased towards the immigrants. This also causes a gap amongst the people.

Paradox of Samsung’s Rise

The Paradox of Samsung's Rise, examines the strategic management decisions that led to Samsung's emergence as one of the world's most successful companies from an ordinary original equipment manufacturer just 30 years ago. Samsung Electronics transformed itself through a new management initiative in 1993 that combined Western best-practices with essentially Japanese management methods to produce a highly profitable hybrid system, resulting in recording breaking profits of $13.9 billion on $138 billion in revenue in 2010. As today’s emerging giants face the challenge of moving beyond their home markets, they have much to learn from the path breaking experience of South Korea’s Samsung Group, arguably the most successful globalizer of the previous generation.Twenty years ago, few people would have predicted that Samsung could transform itself from a low-cost original equipment manufacturer to a world leader in R&D, marketing, and design, with a brand more valuable than Pe psi, Nike, or American Express. Fewer still would have predicted the success of the path it has taken. For two decades now, Samsung has been grafting Western business practices onto its essentially Japanese system, combining its traditional low-cost manufacturing prowess with an ability to bring high-quality, high-margin branded products swiftly to market.Like Samsung, today's emerging giants—Haier in China, Infosys in India, and Koc in Turkey, for instance—face a paradox: their continued success requires turning away from what made them successful. The tightly integrated business systems that have worked in their home markets are unlikely to secure their future in global markets. Samsung has steadily navigated this paradox to transcend its initial success in its home markets and move onto the world stage.To move to the next level, they, too, must reinvent themselves in ways that may seem contradictory. And when they reach new plateaus, they will need to do so again. F or seven years, we have traced Samsung’s progress as it has steadily navigated this paradox to transcend its initial success in its home markets and move onto the world stage. It is a story we believe holds many important lessons for the current generation of emerging giants seeking to do the same.The Rise of a World Leader:The two sets of business practices could not have seemed more incompatible. Into an organization focused on continuous process improvement, Samsung introduced a focus on innovation. Into a homogeneous workforce, Samsung introduced outsiders who could not speak the language and were unfamiliar with the company’s culture. Into a Confucian tradition of reverence for elders, Samsung introduced merit pay and promotion, putting some young people in positions of authority over their elders. It has been a path marked by both disorienting disequilibrium and intense exhilaration.Founded in 1938, the Samsung Group is the largest corporate entity in South Korea , with $227.3 billion in revenue in 2010 and 315,000 employees worldwide. Best known for its flagship, Samsung Electronics (SEC)—producer of semiconductors, cell phones, TVs, and LCD panels—the group’s highly diversified businesses span a wide range of industries, including financial services, information technology services, machinery, shipbuilding, and chemicals.By 1987, when Lee Kun-Hee succeeded his father as only the second chairman in the company’s history, Samsung was the leader in Korea in most of its markets. But its overseas position as a low-cost producer was becoming untenable in the face of intensifying competition from Japanese electronics makers, which were setting up manufacturing plants in Southeast Asia, and rising domestic wages in South Korea’s newly liberalizing economy.In the early 1990s, Lee spotted an opportunity in the reluctance of Japanese companies—the analog market leaders—to adopt digital technology, whic h consumers were flocking to in cameras, audio equipment, and other electronic products. This opened the door for Samsung to surpass its rivals if it developed the agility, innovativeness, and creativity to succeed in the new digital market.Success Mantra:Hybrid strategy- Mix and Match of Japanese strategy and Western Strategy. Implementation of western strategy on Japanese strategy. Excellence in all department, such as, Marketing, Production, IT, Finance and especially in HR. The Hybrid Strategy: Diversification. Capital Management. Type of operation. Supplier Relation. HR aspects- -Type of Labor, -Recruitment, -Promotion and Compensation.Other Reasons: Outsiders in- Insider abroad policy. Diversification Advantage. Flexibility. Implementation of 6 sigma. Latest advanced IT systems. Financial positions.Conclusion:â€Å"If you act according to market, Market will react according to you†

Strengths, limitations and challenges of ethical and socially responsible business practices The WritePass Journal

Strengths, limitations and challenges of ethical and socially responsible business practices Introduction Strengths, limitations and challenges of ethical and socially responsible business practices ) argues that implementing CSR initiatives may cause the company to lose its focus on its main objective, which is making a profit. However, given that companies depend on customers to make profits, they are obliged to ensure that they attract them by all means, one of them being creation of a good reputation through CSR initiatives. Pride et al. (2009) argue that ethical business practices minimize the opportunities for business to increase their profits. With reference to developing countries that are still characterized by corruption, multinational companies that are ethical may decline to offer bribes for favours. Therefore, they might fail to set up operations in such countries or if they start operations, an unfair competition orchestrated by political forces may limit them from attaining their operational capacity. There are also several companies where employees may be paid low wages or raw materials are bought are sub-standard prices to increase their profitability. Such â€Å"opportunities† may be missed out by companies that dedicated to acting ethically. However, it can be argued that restriction of company freedoms by ethical practices is beneficial to the wider society. Challenges of implementing ethical and socially responsible business practices One of the main challenges faced by businesses in implementing ethical and socially responsible business practices is the large number of stakeholders involved (Ferrell et al., 2011). While it is often at the interest of the business to cater for the needs of all its stakeholders, it is often difficult to achieve. This causes some business to unwillingly act unethically, either directly or indirectly. An example of such a situation is when a company gets its supplies from one supplier with which it has created a relationship over time.   If the company later realizes that the supplier uses child labour to prepare the supplied raw materials, it might be challenging for it to immediately cut off such a supplier. This is because the welfares of other stakeholders in the organization depend on the constant supply of raw materials. A case of a company that is in such a dilemma is Wal-Mart. In an effort to dissociate itself with factories with labour violations and safety problems, the company produced a list of 200 factories, barring them from supplying merchandise to them in 2011. However, two years later, the US customs records indicated that at least two among the two hundred barred companies were still sending merchandise to Wal-Mart. A similar case was established to be happening with Wal-Mart Canada. In Wal-Mart’s defence, it was stated that the companies were still supplying to Wal-Mart because of a confusion that existed as to whether its standards applied. This was because the supplier in question was producing garments under the label of another company (Grabell, 2013). This is a typical example of the challenges that companies face in implementation of ethical and socially responsible practices. To overcome such challenges, companies should formulate ethical policies that dictate the steps tha t have to be undertaken in case such situations arise. This will enable companies like Wal-Mart to avoid scandals of this type. Conclusion Ethical business practices are supposed to be carried out in all business aspects, which include product design, procurement, preparation of financial statements and recruitment of staff, among others. As it has been presented in this paper, adherence to principles of business ethics may be beneficial to the organization, customers, employee and other stakeholders that are affected directly or indirectly by the organization. It has also been pointed out that adherence to ethical and socially responsible business principles may be disadvantageous to the company. However, the organizational disadvantages that may be caused by this are argued to be advantages to the wider society. The key challenge to implementation of ethical and socially responsible business practices is posed by the large number of stakeholders involved. Therefore, whilst companies are encouraged to act ethically, they have to be aware of the limitations and challenges involved. References Chua, F. Rahman, A., 2011. Institutional Pressures and Ethical Reckoning by Business Corporations. Journal of Business Ethics, 98(2), pp.307-29. Ferrell, O.C., Fraedrich, ‎J. Ferrell, L‎., 2011. Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases. Mason: Cengage Learning. Grabell, M., 2013. Walmart Accepted Clothing from Banned Bangladesh Factories. [Online] Available at: http://business-ethics.com/2013/06/17/1606-walmart-accepted-clothing-from-banned-bangladesh-factories/   [Accessed 11 november 2013]. Hopkins, M., 2012. Corporate Social Responsibility and International Development. New Jersey: Routledge. Lindgreen, A. Swaen, V., 2010. Corporate Social Responsibility. International Journal of Management Reviews, 12(1), pp.1-7. Pride, W.M., Hughes, R‎.J. Kapoor, ‎J.R., 2009. Foundations of Business. Mason: Cengage Learning. Rehak, J., 2002. Tylenol made a hero of Johnson Johnson: The recall that started them all. The New York Times, 22 March. Shaw, W.H., 2010. Business Ethics: A Textbook With Cases: A Textbook with Cases. Mason: Cengage Learning. Trevino, L.K. Nelson, K.A., 2010. Managing Business Ethics. New Jersey: John Wiley Sons. Strengths, limitations and challenges of ethical and socially responsible business practices Strengths, limitations and challenges of ethical and socially responsible business practices ) argues that implementing CSR initiatives may cause the company to lose its focus on its main objective, which is making a profit. However, given that companies depend on customers to make profits, they are obliged to ensure that they attract them by all means, one of them being creation of a good reputation through CSR initiatives. Pride et al. (2009) argue that ethical business practices minimize the opportunities for business to increase their profits. With reference to developing countries that are still characterized by corruption, multinational companies that are ethical may decline to offer bribes for favours. Therefore, they might fail to set up operations in such countries or if they start operations, an unfair competition orchestrated by political forces may limit them from attaining their operational capacity. There are also several companies where employees may be paid low wages or raw materials are bought are sub-standard prices to increase their profitability. Such â€Å"opportunities† may be missed out by companies that dedicated to acting ethically. However, it can be argued that restriction of company freedoms by ethical practices is beneficial to the wider society. Challenges of implementing ethical and socially responsible business practices One of the main challenges faced by businesses in implementing ethical and socially responsible business practices is the large number of stakeholders involved (Ferrell et al., 2011). While it is often at the interest of the business to cater for the needs of all its stakeholders, it is often difficult to achieve. This causes some business to unwillingly act unethically, either directly or indirectly. An example of such a situation is when a company gets its supplies from one supplier with which it has created a relationship over time.   If the company later realizes that the supplier uses child labour to prepare the supplied raw materials, it might be challenging for it to immediately cut off such a supplier. This is because the welfares of other stakeholders in the organization depend on the constant supply of raw materials. A case of a company that is in such a dilemma is Wal-Mart. In an effort to dissociate itself with factories with labour violations and safety problems, the company produced a list of 200 factories, barring them from supplying merchandise to them in 2011. However, two years later, the US customs records indicated that at least two among the two hundred barred companies were still sending merchandise to Wal-Mart. A similar case was established to be happening with Wal-Mart Canada. In Wal-Mart’s defence, it was stated that the companies were still supplying to Wal-Mart because of a confusion that existed as to whether its standards applied. This was because the supplier in question was producing garments under the label of another company (Grabell, 2013). This is a typical example of the challenges that companies face in implementation of ethical and socially responsible practices. To overcome such challenges, companies should formulate ethical policies that dictate the steps tha t have to be undertaken in case such situations arise. This will enable companies like Wal-Mart to avoid scandals of this type. Conclusion Ethical business practices are supposed to be carried out in all business aspects, which include product design, procurement, preparation of financial statements and recruitment of staff, among others. As it has been presented in this paper, adherence to principles of business ethics may be beneficial to the organization, customers, employee and other stakeholders that are affected directly or indirectly by the organization. It has also been pointed out that adherence to ethical and socially responsible business principles may be disadvantageous to the company. However, the organizational disadvantages that may be caused by this are argued to be advantages to the wider society. The key challenge to implementation of ethical and socially responsible business practices is posed by the large number of stakeholders involved. Therefore, whilst companies are encouraged to act ethically, they have to be aware of the limitations and challenges involved. References Chua, F. Rahman, A., 2011. Institutional Pressures and Ethical Reckoning by Business Corporations. Journal of Business Ethics, 98(2), pp.307-29. Ferrell, O.C., Fraedrich, ‎J. Ferrell, L‎., 2011. Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases. Mason: Cengage Learning. Grabell, M., 2013. Walmart Accepted Clothing from Banned Bangladesh Factories. [Online] Available at: http://business-ethics.com/2013/06/17/1606-walmart-accepted-clothing-from-banned-bangladesh-factories/   [Accessed 11 november 2013]. Hopkins, M., 2012. Corporate Social Responsibility and International Development. New Jersey: Routledge. Lindgreen, A. Swaen, V., 2010. Corporate Social Responsibility. International Journal of Management Reviews, 12(1), pp.1-7. Pride, W.M., Hughes, R‎.J. Kapoor, ‎J.R., 2009. Foundations of Business. Mason: Cengage Learning. Rehak, J., 2002. Tylenol made a hero of Johnson Johnson: The recall that started them all. The New York Times, 22 March. Shaw, W.H., 2010. Business Ethics: A Textbook With Cases: A Textbook with Cases. Mason: Cengage Learning. Trevino, L.K. Nelson, K.A., 2010. Managing Business Ethics. New Jersey: John Wiley Sons.

Rules to Make Your Book Club Run Smoothly

Rules to Make Your Book Club Run Smoothly When youre starting a book club it helps to set some ground rules to help ensure that all of your attendees feel welcome and want to return. Some of the rules may seem like common sense but making sure everyone is on the same page helps avoid unnecessary conflict.Having established rules can be especially important if you are starting a book club thats open to the general public. If you dislike obscene language, for example, a book club made of just your friends would probably already know to avoid swearing, but if you opened the club to strangers they might assume cursing was fine. Having a rule in place would let everyone know the type of discourse to use. When deciding on rules for your club youll want to think about the kind of conversations youd like to have. Are you focused on deep critical analysis or is it just for fun? Its also a good idea to think about the space youll be holding your book club in. If youre meeting an public area like a library community room it might have its rules about things like bringing food or putting chairs away after the meeting. Its best to be aware of these when making your groups rules. Youll probably come up with a few rules of your own but heres a list of some common book club rules to help you get started. If any of these rules dont appeal to you or you feel are unnecessary for your group simply ignore them and remember the most important thing of all is just to have fun! The purpose of this book club is to read and enjoy literature! So, if you love books, and youre ready to discuss them... youre in the right place.You may find that you disagree with something that another member of the group has said.It is okay to disagree as long as its done respectfully.Inappropriate behavior and/or language will not be tolerated.Please respect the authority of the moderator.Keep on topic, but feel free to introduce information that is relevant to the discussion (historical facts, bio details, book background, related authors or topics).No Spoilers!  All meetings will start on time.When you speak, please state your name.Some book clubs include food or beverages. Dont forget to bring your assigned (or volunteered) food or drink. More Info. General Book Club Questions for Study and DiscussionWhich character do you most like?How To Determine a Reading ScheduleWhat is a classic?Quotes

Research paper-Art history-Choir & apse of San Vitale Essay

Research paper-Art history-Choir & apse of San Vitale - Essay Example The mosaic method has been discovered to be in use in Mesopotamia as early as the fourth millennium B. C and many researchers also feel that mosaics may have origins in imitating the various carpets and tapestries that abounded. (Anthony 27) This paper will discuss three such mosaics: the aspe and choir at San Vitale, the Deesis Mosaic of Christ flanked by the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist and Christ enthroned, the apsidal mosaic in the basilica of Saint Paul’s. Each of these is representational of their religious affiliation as well as their historic and cultural context in which they were created. There is also a sense of humility when faced with these works. The creation of the mosaic itself is somehow representational of the many facets of the art and of the religious tradition it represents. While certainly lacking in depth of filed and light/shadow, the mosaics represent in this sense a divine use of an inner light, a creativity in the weaving of the image that can be achieved in no other art form. One author refers to this Inner Light as, â€Å"The vibrancy of effect produced by decidedly broken color creates a definite esthetic stimulant which in the right surroundings, quickens religious emotion† (Anthony 37). The juxtaposition of varying pieces of glass and fragments of tile create a quality that the mind sees almost as moving and alive, something that seems to touch the soul and heart as well as the eye. This resonance lends itself well to the feeling of spiritual and religious passions. The figures represented are perceived as symbolic icons, which already produces an immediate religious invocation only to be enhanced further by mosaic’s shapes and often brilliant colors. The first mosaic under discussion is found in the Basilica of San Vitale located in Raveena, Italy. The church was consecrated in 547AD and the Archbishop