A Book Review on “The Wisdom of Confucius”

† When you see a good man, try to emulate his example, and when you see a bad man, search yourself for his faults. † That quote is one of the many morals stated by the ancient Chinese philosopher, Confucius, which we still live by today. The Wisdom of Confucius, edited and translated by Lin Yutang, takes the best things said and said about Confucius and put them into one three hundred page book. It follows his life, from his lowly birth in the small town of Tsou, to his death as one of the world†s greatest philosophers. The book also shows his ideas and beliefs on such subjects as education, politics, and music, subjects still evident in modern day society. The book is mainly comprised of sections and chapters taken from ancient Chinese literature and translated into English by Yutang. He has also added his own commentary and a very lengthy introduction. Some of the books that Yutang used were: The Analects, written by one of Confucius† disciples Mencius, Spring and Autumn, written by Confucius himself, and The Book of Songs, which includes over three hundred Chinese songs and anthems edited by Confucius. Confucius was born in the small town of Tsou, Lu in 551 BC. His real name was Ch†iu K†ung. Ch†iu literally meant â€Å"hill†, and he was named this because he was born with a large bump on his head. The name Confucius means â€Å"K†ung the master. † When he was a young boy, Confucius† father and mother died and were buried together at Fangshan, a town in eastern Lu. While he was still grieving a corrupt official told Confucius that the baron of his city was giving a banquet for all of the scholars and he as not invited. This upset Confucius greatly so he left Lu. On his deathbed , the baron of Lu, Li Meng, told his son, Yi Meng, that Confucius was the descendant of a great nobleman. He also told him that Confucius would grow up to be a great philosopher, and Confucius returned to his home country of Lu, and more and more disciples came to study under him. He never stayed in the same spot for a long time. He would travel from place to place in China for long periods of time. The books calls these times as â€Å"periods of wanderings. It was during these periods of wanderings that the books were written that recorded his sayings and teachings to his disciples. These books are what has made him one of the most famous philosophers. The book does not go into any detail about where he went or what he was doing during the periods of wanderings. It only talks about what was going on in China at that period of time. The rest of the book has Confucius opinions and sayings on certain subjects. It is mostly â€Å"Confucius said this, and Confucius said that. There were a lot of interesting uotes in this part of the book, but it was extremely hard to read without falling asleep. On the subject of education, Confucius said â€Å"Forever occupy your thoughts with education. † He is telling the reader that you should always think about learning something new. You should be open to learning something from anyone you meet, no matter how old or smart you think you are. He also said â€Å"Teaching is half learning. † This means that the person who is teaching is also learning from their students. When asked the question â€Å"What do you think of repaying evil with kindness? Confucius replied â€Å"Then what are you going to repay kindness with? Repay kindness with kindness, but repay evil with justice. † Confucius† main teaching subject was gentlemen like conduct. He believed the best way to live you life was being kind . I thought this book was very hard to read. The beginning was alright when it was talking about his life, but when it got to his quotes it got tiring to read the same thing over and over. It would be a good book to read if you wanted to find a quote to make yourself sound cool in conversation or to do a report on philosophy.

Computers & social change Essay

To argue for and against, use authors that are for and against technological determinism. In order for me to carry out this task effectively, I will define what is meant by the term technological determinism then break down the mystery of these term into parts and also demonstrate out some different technologists who have had a say on the term. According to Babylon, Technological Determinism is considered as an autonomous ling and is defined as technology being developed by its own ruling, with its potential limited by material resources. 1 Authors For As said by Neville Holmes a senior lecturer at the University of Tasmania â€Å"Computers are merely tools. They are not members of society; they are not even pseudo members, like corporations and governments. They are not independent agents. Like cars and telephones, they only do things if and when someone uses them. They can neither be blamed for what they do (are used for), nor given credit for what they do (are used for). â€Å"2 Here Holmes is arguing in favour of the above statement, he is telling readers that computers should not be classified as living being that they are just machines which we can control or use to assist ones doing, they are helpers or assistants. Also Jacque Ellul is arguing alongside Holmes, he also apply that computers are not independent of social change as he wrote that; †Technology, is symbolic of a cancer which as it grows increases the fundamental danger to its host, in this case society† Ellul see’s the idea of technology as a whole as an autonomous means with no ruling. He suggests that computers can not be autonomy of social change because they are not only created by humans but they are also used by humans. 3 Arthurs Against Whereas the Dutch social critic Michiel Schwarz is against the above authors opinion as he stated that; †Technology has become our environment as well as our ideology. † †We no longer use technology, we live it. † Schwarz is arguing for computers, he believes humans see computers as the structure of society. He is trying to tell us that computers are independent of social change. Also Marshall McLuhan is arguing alongside Schwarz, he believes that computers are independent of social change as he stated that †inventions in technology invariably cause cultural change. † McLuhan is trying to inform readers of his theory that the introduction of technology has changed the world, is still changing the world and will always have some kind of connection to do with the rapid evolving of the world. 4 Conclusion As a whole having looked at different authors’ point of view over the past years, one can see that computers have played and are still playing a great responsibility amongst our society since technologies are improving in terms of their functioning and capability, the society is adapting to it. I agree with (name of author u fink is right) and because of his/her point, we can see that technology is definitely the motor of our society therefore, I recon. 1 Babylon Translation, Available at: http://dictionary.babylon.com/Technological_Determinism (Assessed on 17-December-2008) 2 Neville Holmes, University of Tasmania, Available at: http://eprints.utas.edu.au/2765/1/ieeec97may.pdf (Assessed on 3-November-2008) 3 Jacque Ellul, Available at: http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/280/class/gregtd.html (Assessed on 16-December-2008) 4 Amy Schick, Technological Determinism: A Critique, Available at: http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~as491398/tdaes.htm (Assessed on 17-December-2008)

To the Lighthouse Symbolism

To the Lighthouse Summary: Part 1: The Window The novel starts in the Ramsays' summer home. Mr Ramsay tells to the family that will take them to the Lighthouse on the next day but it wasn’t possible due to bad weather. This makes a certain tension between James the son of the family and his father because he really wants to get to the Lighthouse. In this part Lily Briscoe attempts to paint a portrayal of Mrs Ramsay and her son James. Part 2: Time passes This second part gives the feeling of time passing and also death. Ten years pass, during which the four-year  First World War  begins and ends and also Mrs Ramsay passes away.Part 3: The Lighthouse In the final part the remaining members of the Ramsay family return to their summer house ten years after part 1. Mr Ramsay finally decides to keep his word and take his son James and his daughter Camila to the Lighthouse. In this section Lily attempts to finally complete the painting that she started in part 1. Upon finishing t he painting (and at the same time the sailing boat of Ramsay family reaches the lighthouse) and seeing that it satisfies her, she realizes that the execution of her vision is more important to her than the idea of leaving some sort of legacy in her work.Symbolism of the Lighthouse. Before launching into what Virginia Woolf might be talking about Lighthouse I’m going to take a few seconds to explain you what it is. The meaning of Lighthouse it refers to beacon it's something people who are lost can look towards for guidance and the light it moves around. When the night falls, it flashes on, and when the sun rises, it shuts off. So a lighthouse works as both a symbol of  stability  (as a beacon) and of  change  (as its lights go on and off with the turning of the day).Now, about this specific Lighthouse. We know that it's visible from the Ramsays' summer home but separated from it by a stretch of sea. And we know that, at least at first, James Ramsay  really  wants to get there – so much that when Mr. Ramsay says they won't be able to sail to the Lighthouse the next day, James Ramsay  goes very mad. But the Lighthouse also is a symbol for Traditional Family Structure. One important thing they share in common is that they're both guys. Another important thing is that they're both really into Mrs. Ramsay.Sure, one's her husband and the other's her son, but they feel they have to compete with each other for her attention. All this leads us to a roundabout way, the Lighthouse is potentially a symbol for family structure, and especially for the authority of the father in the traditional family. So the lighthouse is kind of a phallic symbol, and phallic symbols in literature often mean that there are daddy issues coming down the pike. In other words James and Mr. Ramsay are squabbling over who gets power over the family: Mr. Ramsay is the authority figure, so he gets to say â€Å"No! he weather will be bad! † And James is a rebel who 's all â€Å"Why  do you have to ruin  everything? In conclusion I have talked about the Lighthouse as a symbol for family authority and how control over getting to the Lighthouse has a lot to do with family power. But like the Lighthouse tower itself, the family as an institution is solid and unchanging. But individual families come and go as rapidly as a lighthouse of a beacon goes on and off – time changes the shape of all families. All families have their upon and down. Bibliography To The Lighthouse (Sparknotes Literature Guide). Edition: 2003

Post Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Post - Assignment Example This way, it will be possible to make accurate assumptions that will impact on planning positively because assumptions have influence on planning (Bush, 2005). I perfectly agree with the position you took on the purposes of EOP, especially when it comes to the aspect of planning. I would agree with you that planning is an important tool for achieving efficiency and for avoiding waste (Dudo, Dunwoody & Scheufele, 2011). Very often, emergency workers approach emergency events with virtually no idea about outcomes to expect. This happens when there is poor planning towards such events. Having an EOP can therefore help in ensuring that emergency workers abreast themselves with possibilities of emergency outcomes so that they can make the right preparations to them. An additional insight that I will like to add to your point is that whiles preparing emergency operations plans, it is important to take much inspiration from past events. I believe that it is based on past events that the right planning can be made to achieve efficiency. While you were opining on the questions/issues that must be addressed by an EOP, you made very important points which I agree with very perfectly. One of these was the point you made about the community. I agree with well that the community has a role to play in emergency management and that it is always very important to ask questions about the roles that the community can play in times of emergency. Once the role of the community is clearly defined, it will be possible to get the very best from them in times of emergency. The situation where community members interrupt the work of the emergency workers will also be avoided. This is because there will be distinctions between what they are allowed to do and what they are not allowed to you. With all the lessons above, it can be conclude

Develop work priorities bsbcmn402a final assessment task a Coursework - 1

Develop work priorities bsbcmn402a final assessment task a - Coursework Example c. Since the author of this paper had been subjected to different responsibilities of assuring the value of the products of the organization as they are kept for warehousing purposes, it could be noted that he too has been able to find better ways to assure that the procurement of the said products are handled successfully giving fine returns for the organization. c. Through coming up with a systematic sense of handling the materials that are used and distributed by the organization for better market service, the author of this assessment was able to further improve his capability to manage the process of keeping good care of the items that the organization give much importance to while securing the financial values of the company. a. Performs duties as alternate safety advisor performs weekly and monthly fire extinguisher and emergency wash stations inspections in battery charging areas. The main idea of the enhancement of the capability to handle safety measures is to remain aware of the ways by which the equipments and other electrical appliances used by the organization for business operation are in top condition. Taking control of this responsibility enhances the awareness of the author making it easier for him to constantly assure of the safety he needs protecting himself and the people working around him. c. Mentored three employees over last 2 years showing them the most efficient and safest way to perform such tasks as in-checking containers, rotating and stocking product, completing ‘cyclic’ and yearly inventories, and properly palletizing product on pallets for shipment. Besides building camaraderie with other workers in the organization, this particular task made the author a better leader assuring the capability of each company personnel to provide the best service needed by the business to remain at the top of the list of the companies competing within the said industry. a. Has knowledge in all facets of warehouse

What exactly do groupworkers do and what do their groups seek to Essay

What exactly do groupworkers do and what do their groups seek to achieve - Essay Example (Steinberg, pp. 43-45, 2004) In this regard, a large number of professionals have encouraged the practice of working in groups, which has proved to be very effective and efficient in terms of achieving the goals and objectives. In this paper, different aspects of group working will be defined, discussed, and analyzed for the better understanding of the theory of group working, which has resulted in a number of accomplishments of organizations, as well as, individuals in different parts of the globe. In terms of definition, when the people work together in a cooperative environment, it has been referred as group work. Some of the examples of such cooperative environment can be observed in sport, such as squash, football, cricket, where people have to work together to accomplish a single objective, as well as, work for their individual improvements. In some of the perspectives, group work has been distinguished from the teamwork; however, various experts have not agreed with such theory and considered them as a single theory and practice. Accomplishment of a common objective is required in most of the projects, which require the people to work together. (Ephross, pp. 19-20, 2005) Therefore, most organizations, companies, institutions, etc. consider group work or teamwork as an important and unavoidable factor of the success. A team environment usually requires collaborative skills of different group workers that can be employed in an effective manner. In this regard, communication plays a vital and crucial role in the employment of such skills. Consequently, training workshops are organized and arranged by most of the organizations and institutions to improve and enhance the mutual skills and strategies of the employees to acquire an effective and noteworthy place in the fast growing world. In the present rapid modification of the surroundings, group working plays a crucial role for achieving success by

Xi Jinpings Negative Effect on China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Xi Jinpings Negative Effect on China - Essay Example This paper examines how subsequent Chinese leaders, through China’s Communist Party (CCP) have helped the country reclaim its lost glory. In essence, former leaders such as Deng Xiaoping advocated for decentralized and non-personalistic leadership as the only way through which China could prosper. However, Xi Jinping, the current State President, and Party leader seems to be deviating from this ideology and is leading China to a darker period than that witnessed in the Mao era. Prior to the 1800s, China was experiencing an economic boom as a result of silver inflow into the country in exchange for Chinese exports. However, according to Naughton the British felt threatened by the Chinese and started importing excess amounts of opium into China1. The attempt by China to stop the influx of opium led to the opium war during which China suffered degrading defeat and severe economic meltdown Naughton2. Consequently, Chinese leaders started formulating ideologies that were geared towards regaining national pride. However, as Naughton writes, most of these strategies continued concentrating on centralized and personalistic leadership especially during the Maoist era3. These are the same strategies that Xi Jinping is continuing to advance on China, thus leading China on a dark retrogressive path. Deng Xiaoping is one of the most celebrated Chinese leaders credited for bringing about reforms aimed at controlling the abuse of power by the Party’s general secretaries. As a supreme leader, Deng was able to ensure the decentralization of power within the government, going as far as removing secretary generals whose policies were in conflict with national interest. For example, according to Lawrence and Martin, before his death in 1997, Deng had removed Jiang Zemin and Zhao Ziyang from the Party secretariat for leading the Tiananmen massacre4.However, China today has no such supreme leader with such powers. As such, when an opportunistic leader such as Xi Jinping comes into the office and tries to amass personal power, there are limited avenues of stopping controlling such personal interests.

Latin Christendom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Latin Christendom - Essay Example It was natural that a sense of rivalry between Latin Empire and Greek Empire should develop very readily. And still more readily did the rivalry of Greek-speaking Christianity and the newer Latin-speaking version develop† says Wells (1922, p.45). His rule was the time when State had the utmost supremacy and after his death, State power receded to the background and papacy became more important during years of Latin Christendom. It was a Latin speaking world and the States resented the enormous power wielded by the Church. By then, the Romans have become Christians and they could not abide with the papal power. Christianity started with the high principles of brotherhood and tolerance, but with the high individuality cherished by Romans, Church found it necessary to have effective control. â€Å"†¦ Christianity did cherish the principle of toleration and abandoned it only reluctantly as the need of maintaining social, and even political cohesion among Romans made centralization and authority unavoidable,† Pickman (1937, p.17\). On the other hand Byzantine Empire was the Greek speaking Roman Empire and under emperors like Constantine, it was a raw political power. Even though the emperors were totally in control, this did not rule out acute rivalry and existence of contenders to power. Rebelling against the state or defying it would have brought severe punishment. People were well protected, but had very few individual liberties. Rulers like Justinian were more focussed on empire expansion and control. Emperors did not look at the religious authority for succession, approval and guidance in ruling. No doubt the Christian power was ascending, but it did not control the political power. Byzantine rulers never accepted the superiority of the Church. The Emperor remained supreme and every other authority was defied. Byzantine were more autocratic than the States that

Analysis of Stereotyping Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis of Stereotyping - Article Example This way, they neither challenge nor are challenged by any other person or group. However, building one's own perceptions, ideas and ideals bring new discoveries. Those who believe in self and not in stereotypes prosper. They challenge the norms and make progress. It is commonly believed that females cannot hold the key managerial positions in an organization, because of the false belief that they do not have a strong decision power (Koenig, Eagly, Mitcell, & Ristikari, 2011). On the other hand, history is full of those females who brought a revolution in the world. The most common example is Mary Kay, who initiated a company, in which she hired females for all kinds of jobs, from assistant manager to watch person. Hence in this fashion proved to the world that females can do any work, and demonstrated a strong character and will that is evidence of her strong decision making, thus proving the stereotype of females’ weak decision making. False beliefs are also playing a role o f guiding principles in evaluating the leaders based on their skin color (Carton & Posette, 2011). This bias is based on the deliberately created belief by whites, which explains blacks as distrusting and naive, but in reality, it is not the case. The prominent presence of Nelson Mandela, who fought for the rights of colored people and gained the support of them, through raising voice for their rights, is an example of wrong assumptions developed over time in the society. Leadership is an influence which can come through anybody irrespective of the skin color. So, it is suggested to the believers of this stereotype that, they should learn to evaluate a leader based on his positive influence on people’s lives because it is the true measure of leadership. On the other side, African Americans are wrongly believed to be less talented regarding their educational pursuits, so teachers are found to be less than willing to help them in grasping the concepts that are taught in the cla ssroom (Isaiah, 2011), by neglecting their queries. But research designates them as hardworking and committed towards their education. In the light of this statement, it is suggested to teachers to consider all of their students as equals, because their duty is, polishing the ability among the students, rather than devastating it. At the same time, this kind of behavior will compel these individuals towards taking a road leading to crimes and make them more prone to the risk of becoming criminals. The attitude of teachers has the potential to make or break the career of a student. Conclusion This paper attempts to provide a sufficient amount of logic to counter various false beliefs prevailing in the world community. However, these beliefs are myths and appear to be trivial at best, when analyzed through logical reasoning. Therefore, it is the best interest of humanity to forego these differences of color, gender and race, because after all, we are humans and only that matters. On t he other front, these stereotypes are hindering humanity’s progress, because of lacking synergies between different groups and nations. This paper argues that females are fully capable of demonstrating strong decision making, regardless of the false assumptions on their capabilities.  Ã‚  

Security Essentials DB 5.3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Security Essentials DB 5.3 - Essay Example Among the factors that influence that decisions made by law enforcement officers regarding crime prevention, include the nature of emergencies, the availability of community policing, the emergency response protocols and the activities of community management organizations. The nature of emergency dictates the type of prevention measure, which law enforcement officers can embrace. Laws regarding prevention must address each crime in its unique context. Community policing options can also shape the decision of the local law enforcement officers as the stakeholders implementing the initiative will have to work within boundaries. The presence of community management organization also influences the activities of individuals in the society. The legislation must incorporate their perspectives, as they can be instrumental in initiating behavior change. The integration of private security professionals in the prevention strategies is beneficial. Stakeholders can achieve this through availing of crime prevention resources to the private security officers. Secondly, while training the public officers, they should also involve the private professionals. Additionally, crime prevention strategies must outline and define functions performed by the private personnel. Lastly, the strategies must advocate increased liaison between the public security personnel and private staff. In conclusion, the alleviation of crimes today and in the future demands collaboration between the community, private security officers as well as public

An organisation's performance can be improved by careful development Essay

An organisation's performance can be improved by careful development and integration of its HR strategy and policies. Evaluate - Essay Example It will continuously attempt to recruit them and keep them part of the organization. This mutual relationship and trust between the employee and employer is the highlighting factor for a firm of 21st Century. Generally, daily these organizations co-operate a major role in our daily lives (Boyatzis 1982). The water we drink, food we eat, the vehicles we use to go from one place to another, the clothes we usually wear are all benevolence of such organizations. The historians of future regard this era as they might view certain organization to be of great achievements. It is the marvel of thousands of people with sophisticated individual skills, backgrounds, and interests that combine together in different organizations to pursue the common institutionalized objectives (Gold et al 2010). Human Resource Planning People or employees are the assets of all organizations. They form the goals or objectives of the organization, the improvements in technology and the achievements for which orga nizations are known for. From the view point of an organization, its people are its resources. They are not physical assets such as capital or land; rather they are human element of the organization. Without this human element, organizations would perish (Armstrong 2002). The following narration clarifies the concept of human resource in an organization: As people are becoming more passionate and goal oriented, emerging top managers are realizing the organizational success that is dependent upon the meticulous attention given to human assets. Some of the perfectly managed and successful organizations are the ones who make their employees meet the challenges faced by the organizations innovatively. For instance in high-tech firms, to receive the best from engineers, they must come up with creative programs and designs, in bio-tech firms and in research as well; nurturing the free flow and creativity of the ideas among the researchers as it leads to success (Wilton 2011). In the manuf acturing firms, the cost controls leads to success. In the service and retail industry, the difference between the extinction and growth is completed by providing the best quality of service. In all of these examples, the employees decide the future of the firm. This way the human element practices are combined with the precise challenges that the firm faces. These challenges are diligently solved by an effective and efficient human resource management by implementing the right policies and strategies (Boxall & Purcell 2008). Today, organizations have become conscious of the fact that strategic human resource management is mandatory for an organization and its importance is focused upon increasingly in most firms. This awareness comprises of a serious arena in the performance of most organizations. The experiences from real life show that there is a constant assumption attached to the idea how businesses operate and how they carry out their activities. The validation of this argumen t pertains in the fact that the competitiveness of business is a continuous event which is scrutinized by consultants, practitioners, and academicians. There are new approaches to deal with the human resource department now (Gold et al 2010). Armstrong (2009) said that the strategic human resource management focuses on the needs that the HR strategies and plan should be devised within the arena of

Presentation Essay Example for Free

Presentation Essay First, to ensure the improvement and continued success of my upcoming PC-2 presentation, I should keep in mind the strong points of my previous work, and make a conscious effort to continue them. I must make sure that I continue to be lively, persuasive and enthusiastic. I should also ensure that I prepare well for the upcoming presentation, so as to remain the authority or the expert in what I am discussing. It will also be important to continue the various techniques I used in grabbing and keeping the attention of my audience, and to again arrange my presentation in such a way that the audience stays with me and does not get bored with it. Second, based on the comments of my fellow students, my professor, and from my own observations, here are some things that I can improve on. The first and obvious area that needs improvement is with regard the technical aspect of my presentation. I will need to get better equipment (I. e. new web/video cam, sound recording devices) to ensure that my audience sees and hears my presentation clearly. All my hard work and preparation will be put to waste if no one will be able to properly view my work. Second, I will have to improve the place where I shoot or record my video presentation, as my previous area was a distraction to some, if not most of my audience. Perhaps I can use a more professional setting, or at least something which will not distract and divert the attention of my audience from my presentation. Next, I think I can also improve on some of my unconscious mannerisms while doing the presentation. As pointed out, there were instances when I was moving my chair back and forth, which distracted my audience. I should make a more conscious effort to be aware of these mannerisms, and perhaps to do the presentation while standing up, which will help in making my over-all appearance more persuasive and assertive. Lastly, in the end, nothing compares to a good preparation an planning of the presentation to ensure its success.

Reliance Industries Limited: Effect of Globalisation

Reliance Industries Limited: Effect of Globalisation The Reliance Group, founded by Dhirubhai H. Ambani, and is one of the largest private sector companies in India, with businesses in the energy and materials value chain. Reliance Groups annual revenues are in excess of US$ 58 billion. The flagship company, Reliance Industries Limited, is a Fortune Global 500 company. Reliance activities span exploration and production of oil and gas, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals (polyester, fibre intermediates, plastics and chemicals), textiles, retail and special economic zones. Reliance is the largest polyester yarn and fibre producer in the world and among the top five to ten producers in the world in major petrochemical products. Major Group Companies are Reliance Industries Limited (including main subsidiary Reliance Retail Limited) andÂÂ  Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Limited. Reliance Group is a highly diversified group and is in to multiproduct business like oil/gas exploration, retail of petro/consumer products and mfg. of petrochemical/refining and textile products. Here I have summarised how Globalisation has affected the survival and sustainable development of Reliance Industries Ltd. GLOBALISATION If I were to summarise in one word as to what is Globalisation Liberalisation is leading to.. I will say Competition. Globalisation has a significant impact on entrepreneurial enterprises in many ways. Globalisation provides a great opportunity for entrepreneurial ventures to expand their business internationally. With the help of local governments, large corporations, and international organisations, entrepreneurial enterprises are able to confront the challenges posed by globalisation and economic liberalisation, to improve their competitiveness in the global market, and better serve the global consumers. A number of hypotheses are examined to understand how globalisation has affected the survival and sustainable development of entrepreneurial enterprises. Globalisation has forced Reliance in the following ways It has aligned with the global trends Development policies and compensation systems were put in place. Built leaders within organisation, within this talent pool. International Business Environment affects the development of RIL India imports about two-thirds of its crude oil requirement. Exploration and production of oil and gas is critical for Indias energy security and economic growth. Reliances oil and gas exploration and production business is therefore inexorably linked with the national imperative. Exploration and production, the initial link in the energy and materials value chain, remains a major growth area and Reliance envisions evolving as a global energy major. Over the years the EP industry has registered significant growth, primarily due to spiraling crude oil and gas prices. With growing competition and ever growing demand for energy, especially from developing countries, the focus is on energy security. RIL began gas production within six and a half years of gas discovery, in comparison to the world average of 9-10 years for similar deep water production facilities. Continuous gas production for about a year, with 100% uptime, once again demonstrates the Companys flawless commissioning and execution capabilities. In April 2010, RIL entered into a joint venture with the USA based Atlas Energy, Inc. (Atlas) under which RIL acquired 40% interest in Atlas core Marcellus Shale acreage position. RIL has become a partner in approximately 300,000 net acres of undeveloped leasehold in the core area of the Marcellus Shale region in south western Pennsylvania for an acquisition cost of $ 339 million and an additional $ 1.36 billion capital costs under a carry arrangement for 75% of Atlass capital costs over an anticipated seven and a half year development programme. Low operating costs and proximity to USA northeast gas markets combine to make the Marcellus Shale region one of the most economically attractive, unconventional natural gas resources play in North America. The acreage will support the drilling of over 3,000 wells with a resource potential of approximately 13.3 Trillion Cubic Feet equivalent (TCFe). While Atlas will serve as the development operator for the joint venture, RIL is expected to become a development operator in certain regions in the coming years in the JV. Atlas will continue acquiring leasehold in the Marcellus Shale region and RIL will have the option to acquire 40% share in all new acreages. RIL also obtained the right of first offer with respect to potential future sales by Atlas of around 280,000 additional Appalachian acres currently controlled by Atlas (not included in the present joint venture). The RIL-Atlas joint venture has the potential to become one of the largest prime acreage holders in the Marcellus Shale region. This joint venture will materially increase RILs resource base and provide an entirely new platform from which to grow its exploration and production business while simultaneously enhancing its ability to operate unconventional projects in the future. Additionally, RIL has farmed out 20% PI in the blocks Borojo North and Borojo South in Colombia; and 30% PI in block 18 and 25% PI in block 41 in Oman. The Regional Government of Kurdistan has assigned third party participating interest of 20% each in blocks Rovi and Sarta to M/s OVM; the assigned agreement is yet to be signed by RIL. RIL now has 13 blocks in its international EP portfolio including 2 in Peru, 3 in Yemen (1 producing and 2 exploratory), 2 each in Oman, Kurdistan and Colombia, 1 each in East Timor and Australia; amounting to a total acreage of over 93,500 sq. kms. Sustainability Strategy adopted/used by RIL in Global Markets Reliance has made sustainable development a cornerstone of its business strategy to achieve sustainable and profitable growth. RIL adopted principle of materiality and prioritized key issues after collective deliberation by management and key stakeholders. These issues include; Energy Security, Health Safety, Corporate Governance and Transparency, Product Responsibility, Climate Change and Waste Management. RIL sustainable development strategy draws on proven technology and risk management framework and evolves from the materiality analysis that has been performing over the years. The focus areas under sustainability development strategy include the following: Energy Security As a company RIL involved in the energy and materials value chain, so it is committed to responsible use of energy. Its systems and processes ensure optimum energy usage by continuous monitoring of all forms of energy and increasing the efficiency of operations. Growth through Innovation RIL firmly believe that growth through innovation will give a big competitive advantage and will be a key differentiator. Companies goal is to make RIL one of the most innovative companies in the world and to achieve breakthrough growth in revenues and profits by creating and implementing sustainable solutions. RIL is developing an innovative ecosystem that builds on organisational systems and processes, talent management, open innovation and world class RD facilities. Health and Safety Safety overrides all production targets this vision drives RIL to continuously look for ways to achieve zero accident at workplace. RIL vision is to develop a dedicated pool of safety professionals and lead in safety performance across its operations by focusing on process safety and behavioural safety.. Environment Protecting the environment and preserving natural resources is a high priority area. Through annual environment plan and business targets, RIL identify projects and take action to reduce water consumption and become carbon neutral and achieve maximum possible recycling and reuse of wastes. RIL set targets for key environment-related performance indicators such as material intensity, GHG emissions, air quality, water consumption, effluent discharge, waste generation and disposal, and conservation of bio-diversity. Product Responsibility For RIL, product responsibility is to offer efficient and reliable product and services with minimum environmental impact throughout the life cycle of the product from the cradle to the grave. Its product and services are designed, manufactured and delivered with principle consideration of customer safety. Social Institution Building Social welfare and community development is at the core of RIL/s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) philosophy. RIL strategy is to have close and continuous interaction with the people and communities around our manufacturing divisions to bring qualitative changes and support the underprivileged. Strategy Milestones Made significant investments in EP of OG to secure energy supplies Implemented systems to monitor and measure sustainability performance Introduced sustainability awareness programmes in the intranet Formed the Reliance Innovation Council Sustainability report assured by an independent assurance provider

Merger of Cadburys and Kraft | HR Analysis

Merger of Cadburys and Kraft | HR Analysis Cadbury being one of the top lead and almost 200 years old confectionery company having chocolate, gum and candy brands in the portfolio , with a power of making brands like Cadbury, Trident and Halls, that people love. John Cadbury, in 1824 started cocoa and chocolate selling shop in Birmingham. Since then the business kept expanding over time around the world, and today operates in more than 60 countries, with over 35000 direct and indirect suppliers and having more than 45000 employees Cadburys HR department Cadbury operates in more than 60 countries all around the world. Each of the factories has its own HR department that deal with the demand of the workers of the region according to their local situations and demands. Like all other HR departments, it deals with the efficient and effective utilization of resources available. The HR department actively takes care of the following: Recruitment of new staff that must have good skill level or past experience of working at factories of similar kind. Provision of training to new and existing staff so that they are fully equipped with knowledge of any new equipment or procedure brought in and will be able to use it efficiently. Helping the existing workers with problems that they may have at work place. The problems that Cadburys HR department is most likely to face are: Potential employees have in adequate skill or knowledge creating a skill gap. Other factories create competition among staff and creating a deficiency of new staff. Increase in staff turnover in different situation affect production GUEST MODEL: Through statistics and evidences we can easily identify the active management at Cadbury that not only seek betterment of its business but continuously strives for development for the people it holds and for the people that looks forward in joining hands with the company. In this way the Guest model fits in the best with the companys strategies and outcomes. The Cadburys powerful organizational policies can be understood by any good marketer through the managerial decision it takes in the market all over the world. The utmost emphasis on human resource development has helped Cadbury to gain the loyalty of its employees. The employees that are working with the company have created a good will of the company in market such a way that new graduates seek opportunity to work with the company. (Cadbury) The proactive approach of providing equal opportunities to the workers for their development and encouragement packages that the existing employees are enjoying helped to maximum decrease in the turnover and absenteeism percentage. The flexibility employees get during their tenure help them enjoy their work. The organizations communication system is well operated. The management gives a platform to its employees and not only that, they assure the employees that they have a devoted audience that will welcome whatever they place upon that platform. This strategy has helped tremendously that it has not only reduced the grievance level but have also again helped in the reducing the absences. Thus, all the statistics, feedback of employees and consumers and the well known companys market reputation indicates the companys conformance best with the Guest Model. KRAFT: ABOUT KRAFT: A US manufacturer, Kraft, being the second largest food company with approximately $ 50 billions revenue, doing business in more than 160 countries. A company that grew out of cheese whole sale and delivery business started in Chicago in 1903 by James L. Kraft. It later on incorporated as Kraft Bros, Co. in 1909. It acquired Philip Morris Cos in 1988 and later on renamed it as Altira Group Inc., in 2003. THE CULTURE: At Kraft, being open and inclusive a simple concept to follow that has became a part of their core company value in action and that guides their behavior. Being open and inclusive is critical to creating a delicious work experience for our employees and business partners. And its the foundation of our strategy to build a high-performing culture. (Krafts management) Their business style: Two words open and inclusive has become the core code of all the business Kraft do everyday, from training and development programs to the accountability in leadership objectives. THE HR PERSPECTIVE: The Kraft believe in attaining heights through their diverse workforce is one of the modern day technique. Krafts Human resource approach revolves around the same perspective. The management claimed to be providing equal opportunities and rights to different races and color people working at Kraft. At Kraft, following key points are emphasized and are followed religiously: Provision of training for every employee to value the diversity creating a sustainable culture of welcoming differences and values. Their diversity-focused council aligns objectives with the business strategies in order to enhance the impact. HARVARD MODEL: Kraft Foods Company fits in with the Harvard model for HRM. The reviews, feedbacks and statistics indicated that the company emphasis on the company as a whole with respect to its employees. The Kraft management is working with the situations of the worlds market in formulation of policies and making organization wide decision. It works in interest of all the members i.e. stakeholders, of the company. Although the model is weaker than the others and has a fair vulnerability to Unitarianism but it is a much more appropriate model of reference. The decisions the company have made over time had given us the idea that the company works in between constraints and choices that made the company a successful and still growing one. The influence of company itself on the unique contribution within the environmental and organizational parameters not only depicts the management as the real actor but also confirms its conformity with the model. The hr perspective also indicates the active HRM the company has that gives the 4 C outcome that is obvious enough through the employees feedbacks that have been reviewed. In the last the model gives three types of long term consequences i.e. individual based, organization based and societal level. At individual (employee) level, the psychological rewards a worker receives in exchange for efforts. At organizational level, increased effectiveness that ensures the survival and growth of organization. These two levels in turn, enable the societal level as; these two levels make its possible for fully utilization of human resource available and thus, societal goals like employment and growth are easily attained. STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: CADBURY: Strategic human resource management aims at the improvement of the way human resources are managed strategically within organizations, with the definitive goal of improving organizational performance, as judged by its impact on the organizations declared corporate strategy, the customer or shareholders. It is a philosophy of people management based on the belief that human resources are uniquely important to sustain the success of a business. It can also be defined as the process of linking the human resource functions with the strategic objectives of the organization in order to improve performance. Strategic human resource management involves the linking of HRM with the strategic goals and objectives of the organization in order to achieve a progressive business performance and achieve an organizational structure that promotes innovation and flexibility. Strategic HRM according to text published in 2004 has emerged as a major approach to improving the competitive advantage of the firm. The strategic management is concerned with policy decisions effecting the entire organization, overall objective being to position the organization to deal effectively with its environment. Strategic HRM aims to provide a sense of direction in an often turbulent environment so that organizational and business needs can be translated into coherent and practical policies and programs. It provides competitive advantage over the others. (Malik, 2009) The goals and objectives of HRM are aligned with the strategic objectives and plans of the organization. The case referred presents a clear picture of an organization that works with clear business objectives i.e. to deliver shareholder performance. The company works with the aim at dividends. The company policy works with the vision that the people it holds are the most important asset that not only works for the company but also integral in achieving the desired goals. Through different papers and journals we saw that the management is managing its human resources in a contingent manner. Thus, we can say that they are following the contingency approach.ÂÂ   Many advocates of the contingency theory of SHRM a company can only be effective if its policies and strategies align with the other key factors and strategies of the firm. According to journal HR must be closely integrated into the planning process of a firm. They also believed that a firm can achieve success if it is able to develop HR policies and practices that complement and support other HR policies and practices and other elements of the organizations strategic plan. (TME) Thus it is evident enough in the case that Cadbury considers its people as a source of competitive advantage and believes that they work as the main contributors to the companys success. The company also seeks and welcomes changes. The goals and objectives are clear and in order to achieve the goals and set objectives it must be aligned with the efforts of its people. The only way to observe such a trend is through Strategic Human Resource. As the company requires active and effective communication with its human resource and it plays the most important role in the companys approach, and in conveying all the policies, plans and strategies so that people at work can synchronize their efforts. The mere fact that Cadbury Schweppes has an HR director on the main board and that HR is represented at every regional business unit make it obvious that the company recognizes the strategic importance of human resources and takes HR issues and concerns seriously. (Cadbury) Cadbury is a resource based company. The company core competencies make it a resource based company. Cadburys unique strategies and policy, the working conditions and the development opportunities it provides to its employees that in turn becomes the key asset or its edge over its competitors. (TME) KRAFT: Kraft unique style of providing training and development opportunities at all level and point of time during an employees tenure makes it a best fit, best practice based company. Through analysis we can see that all the employees from top to bottom have a particular thing to be on that position. The core strategies that are followed at Kraft begin with the aim of building a high-performing organization (Kraft Foods). The provision of best fit entitles an employee for his reward in terms of promotion or training or even other means of rewards and appraisals. It also provides the top management the opportunity of enjoying a decentralized decision making power. The best fit eventually leads to best practice where a good healthy employee who is psychologically satisfied through rewards and encouragements strives to work for better tomorrow. All these practices are observed in Krafts foods operations making it Best Fit, Best Practice based company. LITERATURE REVIEWS: Kraft wins BBC Big Challenge Award for Gloucestershire (Kraft Foods, 2006) Kraft Foods today announced that it has won the BBC Big Challenge Health Works Award for Healthiest Large Employer in the BBC Radio Gloucestershire area. This award is presented to employers who have made health in the workplace one of their top priorities in 2005 and beyond. Kraft won the award for its commitment to creating a working environment that encourages and supports employees in their efforts to lead a balanced, active and healthy lifestyle. Since its launch in July 2004, Krafts employee wellbeing programme has offered advice on living a healthy lifestyle, supported activities that promote wellbeing such as pilates and yoga, provided healthy options in its staff restaurants, and offered all employees the opportunity to obtain periodical health checks through the companys occupational health team. The programme also demonstrates Krafts commitment to being a global leader in Health and Wellness, and its vision to Help people around the world to eat and live better. Christine Harrop, Occupational Health Sister at Kraft Foods won the BBC Big Challenge Unsung Hero Award for Gloucestershire an award presented to employees who have done something to inspire and encourage their colleagues to lead healthier and fitter lives. Christine won the award for her commitment to the health and wellbeing of Kraft employees, and her role over the past 18 years in participating and encouraging Kraft employees to take part in the annual London to Brighton Bike Ride. Christine regularly manages to recruit up to 60 employees to participate in the initiative and has raised thousands of pounds for the events chosen charity, the British Heart Foundation. Commenting on the two awards, Jim Beaty, HR Director stated Its a terrific achievement and recognition for the efforts of all employees who have contributed to the success of the employee wellbeing programme. Kraft Foods Names May to Global Human Resources Post. (Busniess Wire, 2005) NORTHFIELD, Ill. Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE:KFT), a global leader in branded foods and beverages, announced today that Karen May, 47, is joining the company in October as Executive Vice President, Global Human Resources. May will provide leadership for all of Krafts human resources disciplines, including benefits, compensation, diversity, facilities management, labor and employee relations, human resources strategy, safety and security, and talent management. She will report to Roger Deromedi, Chief Executive Officer of Kraft Foods, and join the Kraft Executive Team. May replaces Terry Faulk, who is retiring after more than 38 years with the company. She will work closely with Faulk to ensure a smooth transition, prior to his retirement at the end of the year. We will truly miss Terrys vast experience and sound judgment, said Deromedi. I want to thank him for his many significant contributions to Kraft throughout his long and distinguished career, and wish him and his family the very best in his retirement. Karens broad range of experiences and thorough understanding of the Human Resources function will serve her well in this role, Deromedi noted. Im confident that shell play a key role in driving Krafts transformation to a more consumer-focused, innovative and nimble company in the years ahead. May joins Kraft from Baxter International, Inc., where she has been Corporate Vice President of Human Resources since 2001. She joined Baxter in 1990 as Director of Corporate Audit and held several positions of increasing responsibility, including Vice President of Corporate Audit and Vice President of International Finance. In 1998, she became Vice President of Global Talent Planning and Staffing at Baxter and, prior to her most recent assignment, was named Vice President of Human Resources in 2000. May began her career in finance, with PricewaterhouseCoopers. She has a BS in accountancy from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Kraft Foods markets many of the worlds leading food brands, including Kraft cheese, Maxwell House and Jacobs coffees, Nabisco cookies and crackers, Philadelphia cream cheese, Oscar Mayer meats, Post cereals and Milka chocolates, in more than 155 countries. CONCLUSION: After all the research it can be concluded being key players of same consumer good category companies, and apart from the merger or acquisition, both the companies have their own unique set of competitive advantage over each other. Challenges in Highway Construction | Research Proposal Challenges in Highway Construction | Research Proposal Dissertation Proposal Challenges in Highway Road Construction in Nigeria. Research Questions: Why is there a high number of highway roads in poor conditions especially in the eastern part of the country? Why is there abandoned highway roads across Nigeria despite huge investments in highway construction? Why this there a poor maintenance culture of roads across the country? Hence, this proposed dissertation would aim to address this gap in knowledge by challenges facing the highway road construction, focusing more on the supervision of highway roads of indigenous construction companies. AIM To review and identify the challenges facing the construction of highway roads in Nigeria and to provide relevant recommendations for minimising these problems. The objectives of this research proposal are: To clearly identify the challenges facing highway construction in Nigeria through literature review. To conduct a questionnaire survey and interview of professional bodies and engineers and obtain their perceptions on highway construction challenges in Nigeria (particularly professionals with 30years and over of experience). Analysis of the survey data. To recommend possible changes in the supervision of highway construction in Nigeria. Background Introduction Nigeria is the largest country in Africa in terms of size and population of 174 million with landmass of 923,768 sq. km with diverse ethnic and cultures. It has 36 states with the Federal capital at Abuja with commercial states at Kano, Lagos, and Port Harcourt representing the northern, southern and eastern parts of the country. The Construction industry contributes about 7% of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in Nigeria annually and the GDP per capital was about $2,800 in 2013 and is made up of small, medium and large scale companies. It is dominated by foreign companies controlling about 95% of the construction works across the country with top construction companies namely Julius Berger, Dantana Sowoe, Borini Prono, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, etc. OVERVIEW OF HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION IN NIGERIA Nigeria has the largest road network in West Africa with a total of over 193,000km length which is generally funded and managed by government. Road transportation is the major means of movement in Nigeria and it accounts for about 90% of movement of goods and services (Akpogomeh, 2002). In terms of scale and value, the transport infrastructure sector is dominated by the roads and bridges which make up about 17.2% of the total construction industry in 2014. However less than 20% of the road network is paved. With the government’s commitment to development, large investments in highway roads has been awarded across the country and the sector is expected to grow. The road network in the South and eastern part of the country are denser than the other parts owing to the high population densities in the areas (Ubogu et al, 2011). For example, the population in Lagos is about 6 million which was the former capital state and is the commercial and production part of the country and hence the volume of usage of the highway roads to and fro Lagos is quite high. The total highway roads are separately owned with the responsibility for construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation.The Federal roads are about 17%, State owned roads 16%, rural and Local Government Areas (LGAs) about 67%. The funding of the construction of the highway roads comes from the allocation of budget and also revenues from excess crude oil sales. Also, some states generate funds through private partnering which is used in Lagos States. However, only about 27% of Federal roads are reported to be in good condition, of which a major cause is likely to be the instability of the country during the military regime, which later became civilian rule since 1999. Annual loss to the economy is estimated in the region of N175b (N75b due to reduction in asset value; N88b due to increased vehicle operating cost; N12b due to increased turn around and increased travel time). Due to the high cost of construction of highway roads especially in the southern part of the country characterized with poor soils, high cost of labour, the Federal government relies heavily on international aid especially from China and the World Bank. With the World Bank, funding erosion projects across the country worth over $500 million. In October 2012, in the Northern part, Kaduna State approved $176million for 31 rural and township roads, and the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed a loan of $170million for roads as part of the Nigeria Agriculture Transformation Agenda (NATA), which targets rural development. Also, a 128km road contract in Zamafara state worth $43.47million was awarded in 2013. Over in western part of Nigeria November 2012, in one of the biggest road developments, Ogun state awarded four companies a share of $568million for road contracts. Borini Prono, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), Hi Tech and PW Construction will complete eight new roads by 2014, with a second phase of construction worth over $250 million. Also, the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is one of the major road projects under development. The Infrastructure Bank Plc. is to raise NGN117bn for the reconstruction of the 127km road. Over in the Middle part of Nigeria, Delta where the country gets its crude oil from, a road construction contract worth $1.07 billion has been awarded to China Railway Construction in Nigeria. The Ministry of Delta Affairs of Nigeria awarded the package of works for Section V of the A121 East-West highway to China Civil Engineering Construction, a division of China Railway Construction with a 5 years duration to connect the main North-South highways. ITS route runs from the A1 highway at Shagamu in Ogun State to the A2 highway at Benin City in Edo State. More recently, in 2014, the governments of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) of which Nigeria is strong member approved a $50million six dual lane road projects to link Lagos, Abidjan and Dakar together cutting across Benin, Togo and Ghana. Also, the African Development Bank is expected to provide $16million for the construction and rehabilitation of roads across Africa linking the major cities. In general, the present condition of the Nigerian roads require urgent attention, in terms of rehabilitation and had a negative effect on the cost of production, lengthy travel time and standard of living ((Ubogu et al, 2011). For example, travelling from Benin to Lagos normally should take 5hours, but due to the bad road, the journey takes 8hours. Table 1.0 showing highway construction projects, value in US dollars, capacity, contractors and status. Project Name Value(US$) Capacity/length Companies Status Benin-Sagamu Highway 156 9.93km NA Under construction from 2013 Edepie-Tombia road Reconstruction 63 13km Shell Petroleum Development Company Under construction Niger Delta East- West Highway 2,175.69 338km Setraco Limited Under construction from 2013 Akwa Ibom State roads reconstruction 726 266km NA Planning stage Six lane Rig road in Niger Delta Port Harcourt 1,000 125km Africa Finance Corporation, China Harbor Eng. Company Contract awarded in 2008 East-West Road Project 2,276.3 338km Setraco Nigeria Ltd, Reynolds Construction Company Ltd, Gitto Costruzioni General Nigeria Ltd. Under construction since 2012. 51% of work completed. Ibadan-Ilorin highway upgrade 292 52km Shikin Binui Housing and Construction Under construction awarded 2010 and includes new dual carriage with interchanging bridges. Lagos- Ibadan Expressway 1054 127.6km Julius Berger, Reynolds Construction Company Ltd. Awarded 2013. Concession awarded to Bi-Courtney Highway Services ltd and was terminated and granted to Messrs Julius Berger Plc, Reynolds Construction Company. Gbongan Akoda Omoluuabi Motorway widening 185.8 30km RATON construction Nigeria Awarded May 2013 Magami-Dangulbi Dankurmi, Sabon Birni, Bagega Anka road 94.91 128km Bonny Prono Awarded Nov. 2012 Charanchi Ganuwa-Rawayau road 8.18 17km Mothercat Under construction from Oct 2013 Kaduna roads 178.1 NA NA Project Finance Closure(Funding Approved) NA-Not Available Source- Nigeria Infrastructure Report 2014 (BMI key Projects Database) SUPERVISION IN HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION IN NIGERIA In Nigeria, supervision of highway construction is done by consultant engineers and middle level supervisors with few highway field experience, for example in the construction of say 10km rehabilitation in rural areas. A major factor affect supervision of highway projects is low knowledge of highway design and construction, understanding and interpretation of drawings, which is impossible to supervise what ones does not have knowledge of. Some processes in highway construction requires proper supervising such as the road alignment, soil tests, laying of asphalts or macadam as the case maybe. Also, the supervision should involve checking of quality of the material used for construction such as sand, laterite in accordance with the specifications in the highway drawings. In the awarding of highway roads contracts, the construction and supervision are awarded separately with competitive biddings. For example, Julius Berger, a foreign based company which specializes in highway construction which major works in Abuja city capital. The major issue is that for some construction works supervision contracts are awarded based on connection instead of actual knowledge of the supervision and hence there are no checks. But in general, most of the construction of highway roads by the foreign companies have stood the test of time. The case is not the same for home based construction companies who have limited resources and technical knowledge are awarded huge highway road contracts, with home based consultants supervising. Another issue is that the bill of the consultants supervising the construction is often times added to the entire contract and hence responsibility rests in the hands of the contractors and hence the consultants are often times forced to cut corners and save costs such as not putting a resident engineer to supervise daily and give reports. LOW KNOWLEDGE BASE. A major problem facing the highway construction is the lack of knowledge passage from the old and experienced engineers to the young, inexperienced engineers. Often times, due to the lack of availability of supervision works, most consulting firms do not employ and train engineers, engaging them in design and interpretation of drawings on site. Often times, when consulting firms get work, they employ contract based engineers to supervision leaving a huge gap of knowledge passage to the younger engineers and hence in Nigeria, most graduate Engineers have little or no construction experience. Also there is a lack of modern method of road construction especially the home based construction companies and hence many highway projects, such as highways and bridges, do not meet cost and time performance requirements. There is a poor maintenance culture of highway roads across the country and with the huge investments in highway construction, the average Nigerian lacks maintenance culture. In some cities across the country, some of the highways are constructed without the side drains and in some other cases only one side of the drains are constructed, which later causes failure of the roads. Also, litters can be seen in some of the highway roads especially in the eastern and western parts of the country which is a very serious issue which should be addressed. In the rural areas, most of the side drains are completely blocked especially in the eastern part which is prone to erosions. Another major issue within the highway construction in Nigeria is the failure of the Federal Government in paying contractors. For example, in the reconstruction of the 125km Lagos-Ibadan Expressway which was re-awarded to Julius Berger and R.C.C in which the construction is due to start due lack of payment by the government which is one of the reasons for abandoned highway projects across the country. Nigeria still uses the traditional contracting approach in which procurement is done through advertisement and bid processes has failed in performance in both the quality of construction and the management of the highways, in many developed countries adopting performance-based contract in road construction and maintenance. The Federal Ministry of Works which has branches across the 36 states with head office in Abuja the capital is responsible for all the federal highways construction which involves planning, design, construction, and rehabilitation. It is responsible for awarding for major highway contracts across the country. It also supervises and monitors construction and maintenance of the federal roads. In terms of quality, the choice of materials used, methodology and supervision are key in improving the quality and life span roads. In this regard, (Arumala 1987; and Akpododje 1986) investigated how the design standards, poor supervision and the failure of highways and found little or no evidence supporting it. Also, studies on road failure caused by use of sub-standard materials and knowledge on the geotechnical properties of the soils in which the roads are built (Ibrahim 1980; and Ola 1978). For example, the cost of road construction in the south and eastern part of the country is higher than that in the northern part mainly on the bad conditions of the soil, high cost of labour and availability of construction materials. The British code of Highway practice (BS codes) are still used in Nigeria for both in highway construction and buildings as it was a former colony of the Britain and currently a member of the Common Wealth. The Federal ministry also supervises the activities of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) which is responsible for carryout maintenance works on the federal and state highways across the country. Research Method My proposed research method would be a qualitative research (questionnaire and interview survey). Interview survey for consultant engineers who have over 30 years’ experience in highway construction and questionnaire survey for contractors in highway construction in Nigeria. The reason being that the research requires an in depth perspective and in terms of numbers there are few engineers with over 30 years’ experience I can meet. The structure of the interview would be semi structured to allow for flexibility for 3 consultant engineers home based medium scale firms. Possible Problems Potential Solutions Possible limitations to my proposed study is the firstly the time management and a timetable has been drafted as shown below. Also the responsiveness of the interview survey could be challenging finding professional engineers and consultants with over 30 years’ experience. The research limited to home based construction companies and professionals. Conclusion Hopefully, at the end of research work, solutions could be recommended in the highway construction industry in Nigeria especially in the supervision area which would help in future planning of projects. References Alaba Adetola, et.al (2011) A critical appraisal of road transport infrastructure management in Nigeria International council for research and innovation CIB, pp.77-95. Abdulkareem, Y. and Adeoti, K. (2003), Road maintenance and National Development available at unilorin.edu.ng Adams, O. (1995) Indigenous Contractors’ Perceptions of the constraints on Contractors Performance and Development Programmes required in Nigeria. Habitat International, 19(4), pp.599-613. Adetola, A. (2011) A critical appraisal of road transport infrastructure management in Nigeria. International council for research and innovation CIB, pp.77-95. Aibinu, A. and Jagboro, G. (2002) The effects of Construction Industry, international Journal of Project Management. 20(8), pp.593-599. Nigerian Infrastructure report, 2013; 2014. (2014). A.E Okezie (2013) A case for Performance based road maintenance in Nigeria available at www.nseph.org Odeh, A. and Battaineh, H. (2002) Causes of construction delays: traditional contracts. International Journals of Project Management, 20, pp.67-73. Okigbo, N. (2012) Causes of Highway failures in Nigeria. International Journal for Engineering Science and Technology, 4(11).

How Being in Love can Change People :: essays research papers

â€Å"How Being in Love can Change People†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the three marvelous works, Matchstick Men, Punch-Drunk Love, and â€Å"Mama Day†, people are all changed greatly, and for the better by romantic or father/child love. How everyone knows that there is no one on Earth who is perfect, yet when there is love, we come so close to it. Within these three works of art, one can analyze how there is actual change through people when there is love present.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cocoa states in Gloria Naylor’s â€Å"Mama Day†, â€Å"When I had come to New York seven years before that I had wondered about the need for such huge buildings. No one ever seemed to be in them very long; everyone was out on the sidewalks moving, moving, moving- and to where?† Cocoa starts out as a lost cause, going to New York as a resident tourist. Meeting George saved her vision of New York . . . . He knew what it was really about, â€Å"New York wasn’t on those Manhattan sidewalks, just the New Yorkers. My city was a network of small towns, some even smaller than here in Willow springs. It could be one apartment building, a handful of blocks, a single square mile hidden off with its own language, newspapers and magazines- its own judge and juries. You’d never realize that because you went and lived on our fringes.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cocoa was living in New York and had resided there for seven years, but was she seeing the real New York? Or was she seeing a New York fantasy world? †¦A forever-tourist New York resident. George insists that New York is much more than its’ buildings or looks, it’s the little things, â€Å"To live in New York you’d have to know about the florist on Jamaica Avenue who carried Yellow roses even though they didn’t move well, but it was his dead wife’s favorite color. The candy store in Harlem that wouldn’t sell cigarettes to twelve year olds without notes from their mothers. That they killed chickens below Houston, prayed to Santa Barbara by the East River and in Bensonhurst girls were still virgins when they married.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the reasons why George offered to show Cocoa around New York was because she needed a â€Å"guide†. She had lived in New York for seven years and still had thought like a tourist, the same way of thinking she had had when she arrived seven years earlier.

Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace Essay -- Literary

Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace Margaret Atwood was born on November 18, 1939 in Ottawa, Ontario, and since then she has lived in various places such as Boston, London, France, Italy, Germany, and Alabama. She currently resides in Toronto. Atwood has written numerous poems, novels, short stories, children’s books, magazine articles, and works of nonfiction. She has also written three television scripts, and she has edited anthologies. Some of her well-known novels include The Handmaid’s Tale, Cat’s Eye, The Robber Bride, and Alias Grace ("Atwood"). Alias Grace is a fictional work based on the true story of Grace Marks, a servant who was accused of murdering her employer and his mistress in Canada in 1843. Grace was a servant in the home of Thomas Kinnear, whose housekeeper and mistress was Nancy Montgomery. When Thomas and Nancy were found murdered, Grace and James McDermott, another servant, were arrested for the crime, and James was hanged. Grace was imprisoned for several years during which people who believed her to be innocent petitioned for her release, which finally occurred in 1872. Atwood’s novel is a blend of fact and fiction in which writers who wrote about Grace during her life are quoted. The story revolves around repressed memories, a common theme in Atwood’s novels. Grace is the only living witness to the murders of Thomas and Nancy, but she claims that she does not remember exactly what happened. Whether she was involved in the murders or the helpless victim of James McDermott is a mystery. Most of the action in the novel occurs during Grace’s imprisonment. She tells her life story to Simon Jordan, a doctor who visits her with the goal of restoring her memory and learning what really happened. In additi... ...possessed by the spirit of her friend Mary Whitney. As in much of twentieth century literature, no definite answers are given, and the reader is left to draw her own conclusions. Atwood’s ambiguity is similar to that of James Joyce’s in "The Dead" and Franz Kafka’s in "The Metamorphosis." In these and other twentieth century works, there are more questions raised than answers given. There is no known solution to the real mystery of Grace Marks, and Atwood leaves the solution to her character’s mystery to the reader’s interpretation. Clues are scattered throughout the novel, and any answer is possible. One can accept the spiritual answer that arises during the hypnotism or choose a more realistic interpretation. It is up to the reader to decide. Works Cited Atwood, Margaret. The Margaret Atwood Information Web Site. 21 Apr. 1999. .

Simplicity and change as a child

I remember finding that first rock. We were digging in the woods behind my house. The entire neighborhood: Alec, Julien, Westley, Blake, Nathaniel, and I. It was a giant pink quartz, the size of a grapefruit. The creases were packed with dirt. Chipping away at the frostbitten ground in November, we began finding more and more rocks: a small white crystal, a green gem, a slab of mica, coral, and fossils. We now had a fairly large pile of artifacts in the shoebox under my bed. I would go and look through them, thinking I had found the biggest treasure in the world. I remember Nathaniel saying how we’d all be millionaires and the two brothers fighting over what we’d spend in on. Did we want a pool for the neighborhood? A new PlayStation? The possibilities were endless, but we’d be famous anyway, the kids that discovered it all! When we had excavated the last of the rocks, we looked them over to clean out the dirt that had plastered itself into all the cracks and holes. We decided to keep it a secret, a dusty cardboard box hidden under all the other old school work under my mattress. I remember sawing back and forth against the plywood. Our swing was going to be amazing. My arm was sore and salty sweat speckled my lip. Summer sun is the most unforgiving heat, dry and merciless. I remember the metallic jingling in our pockets of the coins we had scrounged from the junk drawer. We bought some red paint and metal hooks from the hardware store downtown. I remember the kind chuckle the cashier gave us, a bunch of kids counting out all our quarters and dimes. I remember the countless tries it took to throw the ropes over the outstretched arm of that pine tree. I remember the refreshing rush of air, and not feeling solid ground on my calloused and dirty bare feet. I remember years later, seeing the swing lifeless and dangling, a paint chipping, rope rotting, rust infected memory. I remember the numbness, watery eyes, and stuffy nose. I remember the way snowflakes looked through the orange light of the street lamp. Let the battle begin. We rushed behind the wall of our castle. Westley, Nathaniel, and I, verse all. Packing the snow together with wet mittens I took an iceball to the lip. I remember the strength it took not to cry. The war began to die down; I remember leaning back and falling into the forgiving snow and watching my breaths turn into soft clouds against the piercing black sky. I remember snowflakes on my eyelashes; we were all going to be friends forever. I remember the day Julien moved away. I remember the day Westely started middle school. I remember the day Alec didn’t want to come play football. I remember the day Nathaniel had too much homework to go outside. I remember the day I realized the unforgiving nature of time, the inevitability of change, and the pricelessness of simplicity. Everyone gets the, â€Å"have fun now, ‘cause it won’t last forever kid!† from a sassy grandparent who you don’t want to believe. Sure, nothing can last forever, but I’ve got plenty of time to be a kid. The memories of simplicity that I hold onto so closely are the things that I appreciate most. They are what construct the skeleton that the layers and complications of my life cling to. Every day I feel how precious it is to have modesty, clarity, and sincerity. I remember simplicity.

Public Schools vs Private Schools Essay

Introduction Are private school students better than those in public schools? What are some of the factors that separate the quality of education received by the two groups of students? Controversy has in the past brewed over studies that have indicated that students in private schools perform better than those in public schools. This paper is therefore meant at an in-depth analysis of both the public and private stakeholders in the education system. The paper will focus on a study that reveals the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats experienced by students going through both systems. The study employs a unique selection model that involve religious and non-religious in comparison to public schools. The study focuses on how these factors affect the selection of schools by individuals and what exactly make private schools attractive. The paper also evaluates measures that can be taken to ensure that both the public schools and the private schools offer the same quality of education. R esearch problem The competition between private and public schools has been ongoing for a long time. It is only with determining which one is better that we can establish who is better between private school students and public school students. Although research has been continuous for quite some time, it is impossible for anyway to state empirically that one system is better than the other. Similarly, there hasn’t been enough improvement in the educational sector despite the fact that recommendations have been made constantly as to how to try and equalize these systems. This therefore begs the question. How can the research be carried out in such a way that it highlights major issues in the educational sector that need to be addressed? The research is also supposed to bring to light an empirical way through which the quality of public school students can be measured against that of private school students. Human beings tend to be proud of institutions that they are affiliate to. That being said, conduction of an analysis of the system could be hindered by exaggeration or even false witness statements. Research questions and variables The study should allow for the comprehension of issues that lead to the rift between public and private schools. It should also allow for the answering of questions such as are private school students better than public school students? If so how different are they from public school student? Or rather, in what aspects do these students differ? The paper should also address the possibility of an intervention in the education sector so as to address the issues that demarcate the two institutions in terms of quality education. This should be able to create a lasting solution to the quality issue. Variables involved in this study include socioeconomic status, parental education, peer group characteristics and community support. Socioeconomic status This is commonly referred to as SES. This could affect education at the home level as well as the attitude towards education. The materials read at home could be very resourceful in improving the student’s intake of knowledge. Similarly, a good environment, one without parental quarrels, where all the basic human needs are met can ensure that the student can focus more on education. Availability of books and access to the internet is a major contributor to the learning process. These facilities are not available to all though and this could affect the quality of education. Socioeconomic status could also affect the attitude towards education making data collection during the research rather difficult. Parental education The level of education of the parents is also a variable in this study. Parents could influence their children to either, study hard and achieve as much as they did or to disregard education all the same. Parents with a lower education level are not able to monitor their children’s progress in school or even to determine if they are receiving quality education. This may lead to reduced standards in education. Parental education could affect the quality of a students work at school as well. Peer group characteristics The company that is to be found at a prospective school may without a doubt determine whether a parent considers the school for his/her child. Parents always want what is best for their children. The thought that negative behavior is quite common in public schools could be a negative aspect. This study should however establish whether this is true and find ways to mitigate the same. Community support The community does in a way regulate the activities of a learning institution. The community influences discipline and behavioral mannerism that are acceptable. This is a major variable since different communities could prefer different behavior. Importance and benefits of research This research could without a doubt be the elusive solution to the issues surrounding equality and equity in the educational sector. The research will also answer the unanswered questions like what factors make private and public school students different, whether the students are different or not as well as the question as to what can be done to ensure that there is a lasting solution to these issues. Research objectives The study and subsequently the research process, is meant to highlight issues that separate quality education provision between the public and private schools. It should also establish if at all public schools are better than private schools and vice versa. The research process will highlight areas where these two differ and find ways to resolve these issues creating a lasting solution to the issues that have plagued the educational sector for a very long time. This paper, with the focus on past studies, will also look at past recommendations and what has been done to put them into effect not to mention the results they have achieved so far. What challenges have been faced during the implementation process and how they can be remedied in the future are also questions meant to be answered in the study. Literature review The literature reviews in this paper has paid special emphasis on the choice of schools. The academic article has been tackled by David N. Figlio and Joe A. Stone. The ideas and measures stipulated in this article are as per stipulated by the two researchers. Their study is mainly aimed at comparing private and public schools. Several factors have been put into consideration. They include the performance, management of the school, the quality of the teaching process, class size and the facilities offered by the school. The writer of this article argue that private schools are more superior than public schools because the learners in private schools are more likely to successfully graduate from high school and get chances in colleges or universities. The proponents of this article can be criticized by the fact that public schools offer comparatively equal quality education. Also this article has used data from different private and public schools to understand the best school between private and public schools. This article has also placed a special emphasis on the unique difference that occurs between the public schools and private schools sponsored by the church. Reality stipulates that other factors apart from religion can influence the quality of education that can be provided. For example the writers of this research article should have considered factors such as the selection process. Perhaps the selection process used during the intake of private schools mainly focuses on bright students. The second article that has been tackled in this literature review a research that was done by The Center of Educational policy. The most unique thing with this research is that it recognizes that factors such as family background and the level of the school should be considered before making a comparison between any public and private schools. Also, a lot of studies that have been done in the past by scholars such as Hoffer, Coleman and Kilgore(1982) made conclusions th at private schools are incomparably better than public schools. It is important to consider other important aspects of family life during any study. The good thing about this research is that it did appreciate the fact that the difference in issues such as the family of origin can make a great difference in the performance of different students. Although this study has considered these factors, it is still vivid that there are other issues within their methodology that have made their conclusion that those public schools are better and private schools appear lame. They argue that public schools improve the value of students and help them to continue maintaining the spirit of their private school performance, but there are still others who whose performance indicate a dropping graph. The other article dealt with in the literature review is the comparison made between private schools, public schools and market schools done by Andrew J. Coulson. His paper focused on informally collected information and this is likely to be biased. Sometimes, the media can encode information that private schools are better than public schools so that they can only create a public opinion that private schools should be preferred to public schools. The strength found in this article is that the information used is data that has been collected from various parts of this world such as Chile, Thailand, India, Nigeria and Indonesia among other countries. The Educational Next JournaL IS the last article of the literature review in this proposal. The author of this articl e is known as Elena Llaudet and Paul E. Peterson. This journal was written on winter 2007. They used NCES model that used to infer to a student’s background during the study and comparison of family backgrounds to identify incidences of poverty in families. They argued that the use of this model would help to identify the strengths of both private and public schools considering that the factor of poverty should be held constant. They also analyzed the number of students who had language difficulties and researched to see the language used in their homes. The writers of this article should have considered to analyze other factors that are likely to affect a student’s performance apart from their backgrounds. Research design The research design of this particular study is mainly based on the understanding that a lot of comparison and analysis should be done in order to be able to answer the research problem. This research will be carried out by the use of field interviews, questionnaires and other methods that will be found workable at that time. To ensure that all possible comparison is made, the researcher will ensure that they make a list of Ten public school and ten Private schools to compare several variables about them. The main area of comparison is the academic performance, but other factors that are likely to affect academic performance will also be considered. These factors include; facilities, human resource, discipline and the environment among other vital factors. Data collection methodology The data collection methodology of this research proposal is aimed at collecting data from students, teachers, the ministry of education and its departments together with youth correction institutions. Correctional Institutions for the youth will be very resourceful to help us to understand the rate of school truancy between the population from the public and the private schools. The data should be collected by means of questionnaires, interviews, as well as hypothesis. The questionnaire should also be aimed at helping the researcher to understand how students feel about being in a public or private schools. Other possible questions include; Do you think you would perform better if you were in a private school? Or Do you think that you would add more value in private or public school? If you were given a chance to rate the facilities of your school out of ten, what value would you give? Also, the interviews will be conducted to students in school (both private and public), teachers, Heads of various school departments and the parents too. Expected results When family background is taken into account, the following results are expected from the research; First and foremost, young adults whose education was at private schools are likely no to be engaged in civic activities compared to young adults whose education was at public schools that are known to have limited resources and traditional ways of education. Also, when the population of young adults who schooled in private schools is compared to those who schooled in public schools, it is clear and vivid that those people who attended traditional public high schools are more satisfied with their jobs compared to the others who schooled in private schools. The performance of students in public schools is also expected to be better than those in private schools considering that they are trained to be more independent. Finally the people who are more likely to attend college are those in public schools and not private schools. Generally, these expectations are meant to reveal that the peo ple in private schools neither receive short term nor long-term academic advantages. Conclusion In conclusion, it is unequivocally vivid that to understand the differences and uniqueness of both public and private schools, a lot of analysis has to be done. This research is only a proposal of a lot of work which is in the offing to try and answer the research question. Public schools have various shortcomings and strengths at the same time. In the same way, private schools also have their uniqueness and shortcomings too. References Andrew J. Coulson, Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, (2009) Comparing Public, Private, and Market Schools: The International Evidence, Journal of School Choice Coleman, J. S., Hoffer, T., & Kilgore, S. (1981). Public and private schools. Washington, D.C.?: National Center for Education Statistics :. Coleman, J. S., Hoffer, T., & Kilgore, S. (1982). High school achievement: public, Catholic, and private schools compared. New York: Basic Books. David N. Figlio, School Choice and Student Performance: Are Private Schools Really Better?, , September 1997 Elena Llaudet, Paul E. Peterson, The NCES Private-Public School Study, Winter 2007/Vol. 7/NO.1 Hoxby, C. M. (1994). Do private schools provide competition for public schools?. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. Mendelssohn, J. (2007). Which school?: beyond public vs private. North Melbourne: Pluto Press.

Alternatives for the decision regarding the high lead found in the whistles Essay

The situation of determining how to handle the recently discovered high lead content in the large whistles order is a difficult one that will in some way affect the company. Three alternatives have been made to allow options for this decision. Alternative 1: Say nothing; allow the whistles shipment to go without notifying the customer. Alternative 2: Replace the customer’s order by providing whistles that meet the appropriate company standards. Alternative 3: Contact the customer and explain the situation, offer them a discount for on the whistles that are lower than the company standard. Decision Process The process for choosing the three alternatives began by identifying the decision to be made. The decision at hand is what to do with the information discovered about the order of whistles going to a school in South America. This is a big decision that will affect the company in each alternative. The next step of the process is listing options possible for the situation, and then studying those options by listing advantages and disadvantages of each. Then the decision was made by choosing the best overall solution for the decision. And lastly the decision was evaluated to determine if the results were what was expected. The three options for this decision are listed above; say nothing to the customer, replace the order, or try to make a deal for the customer. Each option is motivated by a result that will benefit the company financially, ethically, or a mixture of both. The idea behind the alternative 1 decision was to save money upfront and not bother with order changes and other inconveniences for the company. In studying this option the advantage of this would be to save money and time for the company. The disadvantage would be a possibly unhappy customer, an unethical move which could make employees see the company as being unfair; giving a poor product that could be hazardous to children. The legal ramifications of this alternative would be risky if the a child became ill from the use of the whistles and the company was blamed, sued, etc. The idea behind the alternative 2 decision was to replace the customers order with whistles that are not potentially hazardous and meets the company standards. The advantage of this option is not putting the company in an unethical situation of trying to pass products that are under par for high quality. This will help set a standard of ethics in the company that could motivate employees to do good work. The disadvantage of this option is that it will cost the company $100,000. The financial loss could take a long time to recover from, the positive influence on employees won’t immediately compensate for the loss. There would not be a legal issue with this option. The idea behind the alternative 3 decision was to try and contact the customer and explain the situation and let them decide if they would like the whistles replaced or to take the hazardous whistles at a discount. The advantage of this alternative is that the customer could decide to keep the original whistles which would still save the company a considerable amount of money cutting the losses to a much smaller amount. Also it would show that the company had the customer’s best interest in mind. The disadvantage of this option is that it could reflect negatively on the company still because we can’t really determine how the customer will feel about the whistles that are potentially hazardous. They customer might think that the company is trying to cut corners and save themselves money. This would be bad for future business. Legally the customer would probably not try and sue the company, but there is still the potential issue of the company being reported as manufactur ing products with too high of a lead content. This would kill the company’s reputation and the customer relationships of other clients. Recommendation Alternative 2 is the recommended decision; replacing the customer’s order by providing whistles that meet the appropriate company standards. This decision was made by both ethical and financial decisions. Ethically this alternative is the most appropriate. The customer contacted the company to provide a product to be used in the South American schools. It would be unethical to provide the customer with a product that is below the company and country standards even though they are not violating the South American standard. The customer chose this company over a foreign company to give a quality and safe product. This recommendation will positively affect the company because they will possibly become more favorable in the eyes of the customer, with the possibility of more business in the future from them and their business relations. This option was chosen not only for company recognition, but also to save children from a potentially hazardous experience. This option will be a great cost to the company, but the positive experience from both the customer and employees. By creating a culture of â€Å"wanting to do what is right† will help future sales and the company will gradually earn the loss in funds back over time. Customer relationships Considering the outcome on the customer relationship is an important part of the decision making process. We have to ask ourselves how will the customer feel about our decision, how will it influence them and how will it influence the company? By choosing alternative 2, to replace the whistles, the company will look favorably to the customer, being the school buying the whistles. Though the company will merely be providing the product that was originally agreed upon for the initial sale, the customer will realize that the company is sacrificing to replace the whistles and they will go away with a positive relationship with the company. This experience is sure to foster future business from the customer because of the positive experience they experienced. They will also be more likely to recommend the company to their peers and the company could gain substantial business from the experience. The children who would be ultimately affected by the quality of the whistles will feel good about receiving a quality, non-hazardous product, and the parents of the children will be grateful knowing that the company behaved ethically. This could also create future business for the company by providing the children and parents with a positive experience from the company. The company employees will see the standard of ethics portrayed by the company and it will reflect in their work. By giving an example of a high ethical standard it is likely that employees will take greater pride in their work which will affect the company in a positive way. The company’s decision will affect multiple stages of people, their feelings, thoughts, and behaviors will help the company in the long run to regain the loss taken from replacing the whistles. The financial gains will be gradual yet immeasurable in the long run of creating a company with a superior ethical standard. Social Responsibility In a corporation, social responsibility is behaving ethically as individual workers and together as a company to be sensitive toward social, cultural, economic and environmental issues. This means that the company doesn’t always do what’s best for its self but rather do what is best for their environment, customers, employees, culture, etc. Social responsibility is a big part of the decision making process because decisions made by the company not only affect the company alone, it affects employees, the economy, the customers, and the environment. These decisions and methods are important when considering long-term business operations. The decision making process for the situation had many factors involved. The most noticeable factor was the cost of replacing the lower quality whistles with a product that is up to the company’s standard and isn’t potentially hazardous. There was multiple ways of looking the problem; ignoring it, saving the company money and hoping there was not issues with the product, or there was the option to replace the product with something the company could be proud of, a product that had no hazards for use by children, and doing what was appropriate ethically for the situation. Social responsibility played a major part in the decision to use alternative 2 and replace the order with whistles that didn’t have high amounts of lead. The choice to do what is best for the customer, environment, and the kids of the schools outweighed the option to save the company time and money.