Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Hello, Class of 2012. We're graduating. June 12 is the day we have worked toward for the past 12 years. We have reached the time where we say good-bye to Hayes and hello to our futures outside its hallowed walls. Our teachers have taught all they can about life's many obstacles and pitfalls, and even taught us a few tricks on how to work them out. Every year we have met new teachers who have made such an impact on our lives that we keep in contact throughout the years. They gave us memories to cherish and keep with us. They have been there for us when we needed them, and they never complained. We knew we could always go to them with our problems and not be judged. We have had our star athletes, our strong academic students, and our extraordinary artists and performers. But I believe the strong, the extraordinary, the stars of Hayes High School were and always will be the teachers. We will never forget them. We're graduating. The stars in our life are not only found inside Hayes' walls, but elsewhere. These people have to put up with us every day and every night. They hav...

Emma by Jane Austen Essay

The selected passage from the eighth chapter is a part of the dialogue between Emma and Mr. Knightly, based on Harriet and Mr. Robert Martin’s match making issue, which is strongly condemned by Emma on the basis of difference of social and intellectual status between Harriet and Mr. Martin but Mr. Knightly supports Mr. Martin for being comparatively more respectable and dignified as he is a self-made farmer as compared to Harriet who had grown as an illegitimate child. This passage holds certain biased female gender statements by Jane Austen which lifted the rhetorical expertise of her novel with the immensity and intensity to create a difference in the opinion of a general public and also of an individual, who had possessed the conventional views of the rigid class structure and orthodox ideas of overlooking women as mere symbols of fanciful appearances. Emma appears with a strong debate for advocating about the intellectual ability of a woman and adamantly suggests the men of her era to become aware of this point of view of a woman being conscious about their individual identity. Mr. Knightly on the other hand speaks justly on behalf of the men of developing class of the society who could equally possess the status of gentlemen in the society. Thus this argument was more of a social debate that led both the characters argue logically against certain beliefs of the society that needed to be reformed to let the people grow more as individuals than as just the product of social and conventional beliefs. Austen surprises her readers when Emma acknowledges the superiority of Harriet over Mr. Martin for her individual intellectual capabilities despite her illegitimate identity of parental background that was mentioned as her handicap in the social status by Mr. Knightly. This manner of expression by Austen discovered a new dimension of analysis and execution of the subject in the novel writing in the eighteenth century literature, which was based on reality but focused through the psychology of the characters. This psychological realism of Jane Austen let her penetrate the minds of the people who existed in the limited sphere around her but even this limited world provided her with the vastness and variety of hidden and suffocated ideas that yearned to expressed openly since ages. As compared to her contemporary or predecessor novelists Jane Austen enjoyed an edge of being more innovative and meticulous in the accomplishment of her subject. Her dexterity in weaving the plots of her novels which have mostly been based on several characters interrelated with each other through the complexities of their thinking and believing, proved her magnitude of apprehension and deep analysis of the variety of people she had observed around her. In â€Å"A History of English Literature† written by Emile Legouis, and Louis Cazamian and Raymond Las Vergnas, Jane Austen has been compared with her contemporary novelist Miss Burney and they have been specifically compared for their distinct manner of expression and choice of the fate of their somewhat similar (or rather conventional) subjects, which mostly dealt with the issues of love, status of the characters and ultimately ending in successful marriages. But Jane Austen has been praised for her rather mature â€Å"clear-sighted eyes† that could â€Å"read through the inner minds of those who live around her, or of the beings whom she invents and animates just as if those minds are transparent†; whereas Miss Burney’s world of novels were more of a depiction of her time and the society that she moved in and about how would a woman succeed through the critical events of her life to achieve a happy marriage. Jane Austen’s world of her novel was more of a depiction of the heroine’s world and how her thoughts, beliefs and notions critically evaluated the world in which she dwelled. Thus Austen’s world is operated through the mind of her heroine whom she provided with a wide range of liberty to interact with a variety of people and also to develop notions about them. This was a perplexed mode of expression which Austen successfully accomplished in most of her novels. Surprisingly Jane Austen’s apathy about the socio-political scenario of her time never inculcated her knowledge to an extent to show a vivid impact in her writings. She remained quite ignorant about the after math of the French Revolution and the emerging Romantic traits of intellect and expression in the field of art and literature. Her sole focus had been on how to read and depict the variable minds of the people who lived with or around her and she believed in expressing for the suffocated thoughts and ideas of the muted minds. She preferred to remain aloof from the moral and social code of conduct in the matter of her psychological analysis she would analyze and deal with the most sensitive aspects that were more felt and less expressed by the people of her time. This is the reason why Emma speaks in favor of Harriet and rates her quite high in an intellectual status as compared to Mr. Martin, despite the fact that Harriet had no legitimate parenthood to satisfy her high social status. The expression of reality requires the cohesion in the acquisition of thoughts that cause concrete notions in our mind and then it requires coherence in the process of development of such potent thoughts that cause the need for an expression. Austen must have deeply observed the psyche of the women of her surroundings to be subtle enough to create Emma or perhaps Austen animated her as a mixture of such women who spent more time in knowing others than knowing themselves. For many readers Austen’s novels are limited and based on almost claustrophobic room of action that gives us a strong sense of the confined nature of a woman’s existence in early-nineteenth-century rural England, but in the social context, Austen’s commitment to reason and moderation can be seen as feminist and progressive rather than conservative. And her profound hypothesis of the varied psychologies of people from different groups of society enabled her to create intelligent and resourceful heroines who stand in constant contrast to the limits of the constricted world of courtship and marriage defining their sphere of action.

Challenging Behaviour Essay

In this assignment my aim is to choose 3 ideas from chapters 1-3 of the textbook ‘Understanding Management’ (Cameron and Bridge, 2012), discuss why these ideas are important and finally describe how I have started to use them in everyday life this includes aspects of my work, leisure and home life. My 3 chosen ideas are SMART objectives, time management skills, and stress management. My first topic is the ‘SMART objectives’. ‘SMART’ is an acronym so each of the 5 letters have a specific meaning. Sometimes in the workplace it is easy to try and impose targets that seem out of reach. If targets are not clear it can sometimes be hard to measure whether a target has been met. In order to make it easier to manage the workforce’s performance clear and concise objectives must be set out. By using the SMART checklist employers can ensure that they have set relevant objectives. The letters ‘SMART’ stand for; ‘S’ – Specific – an employee/team member needs to be clear on his/her goal. ‘M’ – Measureable – means of measuring = means of control. ‘A’ – Achievable – the goal needs to be in reach otherwise a team will not try very hard. ‘R’ – Relevant – the objectives need to add up to the overall goal of which the manager is responsible. ‘T’ – Time defined. – In order to check progress time needs to be specified. (Cameron and Bridge, 2012) I have started to use this checklist in my work especially, as it gives a clear view on day to day goals. As a self-employed construction worker I need to be ‘Specific’ of what needs doing on a particular task. For example, before starting a job I need to specify the height, width of a wall with the client before work commences. Without these preferences the work that I carried out would be pointless as the client would most likely be disappointed. ‘Measure’ the overall progress of a task to be more efficient next time. For example, note down in a ‘works diary’ how long a particular job has taken to finish and use it as a bench mark for next time. Without a way of measuring progress a team would be insufficient. Liaise with my workforce and set ‘Achievable’ goals for the day’s work. Set targets that are in reach so as not to dishearten them. A disheartened workforce would shortfall the progression. ‘Relevance’ of the tools needed to carry out the work. At the end of each working day I like to plan ahead and make sure that I have all the relevant tools ready for the next day. Without these the work cannot be carried out therefore delaying our commitments with the client and generally causing stress and turmoil within the workforce. ‘Time defined’, the time I have to complete a job as I am often working to a tight schedule. For example some customers need certain work carried out/finished by a certain time due to their commitments. For example, recently a client wanted his garden feature completed in time before he was admitted to hospital for an operation. Time was of importance due to the clients commitments. My second idea is ‘Time management’ (Cameron and Bridge 2012). Time management is when you make a conscious decision on how to manage your time efficiently to ensure that you are able to complete each task you undergo with maximum effectiveness and efficiency. One way of improving your time management is to implement the ‘3 Es’ when you’re planning a task or an activity. The ‘3 Es’ have definitely been used in my own leisure/ hobby of taking on a course. The first ‘E’ (economy) has helped me in my essay work of firstly writing a plan. This has evidently helped in the time it will take in the actual essay writing because I have a guide. ‘Efficiently’ – I have kept my course work on a ‘PDF’ on my computer for me to access them more efficiently, this will save time when I need to access them quickly. I will use ‘Effectiveness’ to use my time wisely, for example not to start an essay 12a.m when my concentration is at its lowest. Stress Management (Cameron and Bridge, 2012) is my last idea. Stress can come from a number of different places. Stress is what occurs when someone is under a lot of pressure and their health is affected due to not being able to cope with certain pressures. Life is never simple therefore we will all feel a certain amount of stress at times this is normal however if there is a lot of stress for a prolonged amount of time this is when problems may arise. Prolonged stress can affect how well you are able to concentrate; it may impair your judgement and could also affect the standards of work. One of the first and simplest ways to manage your stress is to be aware of it. In the text ‘Understanding Management’ (Cameron and Bridges, 2012) there is a checklist that allows you to assess your own stress levels. This made me aware of certain things that may have been causing me undue stress in the workplace. After assessing my situation and considering what could be done to help relieve this I have started to do a few things differently when I am at work. A number of these things involve good planning. A day/workforce that has a plan will have no problems which will feedback no stress on the boss/manager (me). My last thoughts are on the importance of what I have learned from ‘Understanding Management’ (Cameron and Bridge, 2012). I feel that using the above strategies has evolved my way of thinking for the better in my work, leisure and home life therefore producing a more effective and professional approach to management. ********************************** Word count – 973 Reference list Cameron S. and Bridge K. (2012) Understanding Management, Milton Keynes, the Open University. TMA01 Task 2 On experiencing essay writing for the first time since secondary school, I felt the task a bit stressful and daunting. The most enjoyable and easiest task was reading chapters 1-3 ‘Understanding management’ in assignment booklet and note taking. I enjoyed it in school and enjoyed it now. The most difficult task was remembering to reference and where to reference. I often wondered if I was doing it enough or too much. This was down to no practice and lost touch with academic life. Another problem area was conclusion writing. 2. In the future I could research more on conclusion writing and reference writing to make this area a little easier. Also question my tutor. Word Count – 115

Ethical Theories

Ethical Theories ETH/316 April 9, 2013 Ethical Theories Introduction Ethics is system of moral principles, the way individuals conduct themselves with respect to the right and wrong of their actions and to the good and bad of any motives and ends of such actions. Ethics are instilled in individuals since they were children by parents, teachers, and loved ones. This paper will show the similarities and differences between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics. Similarities and Differences Understanding the similarities between virtue theory, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics, they first must be defined.Boylan (2009) stated, â€Å"Virtue ethics is also sometimes called agent based or character ethics. It takes the viewpoint that in living your life you should try to cultivate excellence in all that you do and all that others do† (p. 133). Individuals who judge others by his or her character rather than his or her actions, exemplifies the virtue theory of ethics. Utilitarianism is defined as a theory that an action is morally right when that action is for the greater good of a group rather than just an individual (Boylan, 2009).Utilitarianism theory is based upon creating the greatest good for a number of people. An individual can be overlooked in order to achieve a greater goal for all individuals involved. Deontology ethics is a moral theory that suggests that an individual’s duty to do a certain task because the action, itself, is right, and not through any other sorts of calculations—such as the consequences of the action (Boylan, 2009). Basically the theory suggests that individuals have a moral obligation to follow certain rules that are deemed unbreakable.Virtue theory determines the good and bad traits of a person over a long period of time. Utilitarianism theory also finds the good in a person – provides guidance for behavior and enables people to know what differentiates as a good moral choice. Deontol ogy recommends an action based upon principle. Utilitarianism is the end justifies the mean while deontology is the end does not justify the means. Virtue theory is a broad term that relates to the individuals character and virtue in morals rather than doing their duty or acting to bring about good choices. Personal ExperienceFrom the time we are able to walk and talk we are given rules from our parents. Those rules are not given as punishment, but to guide us in life to know what is right from wrong. We are taught morals on how to act, how to treat others, not to lie or be disrespectful. We are taught virtues that were instilled in our parents from their parents and passed on from generation to generation in hopes that we learn from their past mistakes. They place values in us that we will grow up to do the right things in life and teach others and to lead by example. ConclusionEthics is something everyone learns from a young age and individuals either grow with it or they choose t o follow another path in life that may not be as good as it should have been. Ethics is learned it is not something that is already in place. Some people go above and beyond, why others falter. People all have a choice in life as the path they travel down. Every individual should instill some form of ethics within them so the world could be a better place to live in. Reference Boylan, M. (2009). Basic Ethics: Basic ethics in action (2nd ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Ethical Theories Morals define our character; ethics dictate the working of a social system. Ethics point towards the application of morality. In the wake of this understanding, national, social and workplace ethics are based on the abstract moral codes adopted and adhered to by each member of the group. Ethics lay down a set of codes that people must follow. Ethics are relative to peers, profession, community, society and nation. Morals are and are dependent on an individual’s choice or beliefs or religion and can mean doing the right or wrong thing.An example to help you understand the difference would be: Abortion is legal and therefore medically ethical, while many people find it personally immoral. Ethics can be relatively simple to follow, while applying morals can be decidedly tougher. There can be a moral dilemma, but not an ethical one. While good morals represent correct and upright conduct, ethics act more as guidelines. Ethics are applicable or adhered to by a group or community or society, whereas morals relate to individuals.As we can see from the above discussion that ethics and morals may seem similar, but are in fact rather distinct. While morals constitute a basic human marker of right behavior and conduct, ethics are more like a set of guidelines that define acceptable behavior and practices for a certain group of individuals or society. Deontological theories: Deontological theories are the category of normative ethical theories. It is a form of moral philosophy centered on the principles of eighteenth century philosopher Immanuel Kant. Its name comes from the Greek words Deon and logos, meaning the study of duty.Deon means duty. Actions are morally right are those in accordance with certain rules, duties, rights and maxims. Deontological theories hold that an action’s tightness or wrongness depends on its conformity a certain moral norm regardless of the consequences. Actions can be morally permitted, required or forbidden. Consequences of the activities are not important according to deontological theory. The basis of deontology is to assess a person’s character by how well he or she follows moral rules, even if by doing so, tragic results occur.Deontology always advocates the Right over the Good. The deontological model of ethics determines the correctness of a moral action by determining if it follows moral norms. For instance, Kant gave the example that it is wrong to lie even if it could save a person’s life. The agent-centered theory of deontology: focus on the duties of the moral agent (the person acting); rather than the rights of person being acted upon (patient centered theory). Act only according to that maxim where by you can at the same time as an end and never merely as a means to an end.Lying is forbidden, because if lying is a universal action, society would be undermined. Also it is states that people’s moral choices are determined by personal obligation and permission. For instance, a parent is obligated to treat his or her child as more important than other people; however, other adults have no obligation to treat that parent’s child any differently than anyone else. Since people can have personal obligations that are different from other people, they also have permission to protect their obligations at the expense of others.In this theory, a parent has permission to save his or her own child even if it means causing negative or tragic consequences for other people’s children. The patient-centered theory: that deal with rights, it means an action is wrong if it violates a person’s right (life, liberty, property/ the pursuit of happiness) or against being used only as a means for producing good consequences without one’s consent. It centers on the rights of individuals rather than personal duty. It states that individuals have the right to not be used for moral good against their wills.For instance, a murderer cannot be killed witho ut his or her permission even if it would save several lives. The Advantages of Deontological Theories Deontological morality leaves space for agents to give special concern to their families, friends, and projects. At least that is so if the deontological morality contains no strong duty of general generosity or, if it does, it puts a stopper on that duty's demands. Deontological morality, therefore, avoids the overly demanding and excluding aspects of consequentialism and accords more with traditional notions of our moral duties.The Weakness of Deontological Theories Paradox of deontological theories: We are for forbidden from violating certain duties and rights even to prevent more violations of certain duties and rights. Deontological theories have also weak spots. First and most important of all, is the seeming irrationality of the having duties or permissions to make the world morally worse. Deontology is and will always be paradoxical, unless a nonconsequentialist model of ra tionality is created; deontologists need to defuse the model of rationality that motivates consequentialist theories.The Golden rule: is known as the ethic of reciprocity, this famous cross-culture maxim states: â€Å"Do to others as you want them to do to you†. Humanists try to embrace the moral principle known as the ‘Golden Rule’, otherwise known as the ethic of reciprocity, which means we believe that people should aim to treat each other as they would like to be treated themselves – with tolerance, consideration and compassion. Humanists like the Golden Rule because of its universality, because it is derived from human feelings and experience and because it requires people to think about others and try to imagine how they might think and feel.It is a simple and clear default position for moral decision-making. Sometimes people argue that the Golden Rule is imperfect because it makes the assumption that everyone has the same tastes and opinions and wan ts to be treated the same in every situation. But the Golden Rule is a general moral principle, not a hard and fast rule to be applied to every detail of life. Treating other people as we would wish to be treated ourselves does not mean making the assumption that others feel exactly as we do about everything.The treatment we all want is recognition that we are individuals, each with our own opinions and feelings and for these opinions and feelings to be afforded respect and consideration. The Golden Rule is not an injunction to impose one’s will on someone else! Trying to live according to the Golden Rule; means trying to empathize with other people, including those who may be very different from us. Empathy is at the root of kindness, compassion, understanding and respect – qualities that we all appreciate being shown, whoever we are, whatever we think and wherever we come from. Consequentialism:Hold that; this action’s rightness or wrongness depends on consequ ences it causes (happiness or pain). Consequentialist theories say that; the moral rightness of action can be determined by looking at its consequences, if the consequences are good, the act is right. The right act produces greatest ratio of good to evil of any alternative. If the consequences are bad the act is wrong. Lying generally is bad according to ethics, but if we don’t say that her illness to woman with cancer may be it will be better. Consequentialism is a moral theory, which stands under the normative ethical theories.It can be used as guidelines to enlighten on how to resolve moral issues. This specific moral theory focuses on the consequences of one’s actions, rather than looking at the rightness and wrongness of an act. Therefore a morally right act is an act that creates a good result or consequence. According to this theory the ethically correct decision is the one that produces the best consequences: â€Å"The end justifies the means†. Consequen tialists realize and accept the fact that difficult moral choices sometimes injure others. Thereby they are more flexible than duty-based theorists.It is most important to look at consequences and analyze the results’ impact on other people. Thereby this theory is good in ethical dilemmas, because it concentrates on the impact of our behavior on others. There are two types of consequentialist theories: 1- Egoism 2- Utilitarianism 1- Egoism It contends that an act is moral when it promotes the individual’s best long term interests. If an action produces or is intended to produce of greater ratio of good to evil for the individual in the long run than any other alternative, then it is the right action to perform.Ethical egoism claims that it is necessary and sufficient for an action to be morally right that it maximize one's self-interest. Egoism: The view that morality coincides with the self-interest of an individual or an organization. Egoists: Those who determine the moral value of an action based on the principle of personal advantage. An action is morally right if it promotes one’s long-term interest. An action is morally wrong if it undermines it. There are two types of egoism: a- Personal egoism: You pursue your own best interest, but don’t care what others do.Personal egoists claim they should pursue their own best long-term interests, but they do not say what others should do. Personal egoists pursue their own self-interest but do not make the universal claim that all individuals should do the same. Personal Egoism is a view according to which an individual claims that he/she ought do what is in his/her long term self-interests but cannot tell others what they should do. b- Impersonal egoism: You believe everyone should be an egoist. Impersonal egoists claim that everyone should follow his or her best long-term interests.Impersonal egoists: Claim that the pursuit of one’s self-interest should motivate everyone’ s behavior. Impersonal Egoism requires that each person act in his or her own self-interest regardless of the interests of others (unless it so benefits him/her). This does not prevent people cooperating with each other even when there are different self-interests. Misconceptions about egoism: Egoists do only what they want, not true. Egoists don’t possess virtues like honest, generosity and self-sacrifice, not true. Egoist can possess all of these virtues, as long as they advance long term self-interest.Egoism can’t resolve conflict of egoistic interest. Egoists only do what they like, not so. Undergoing unpleasant, even painful experience meshes with egoism, provided such temporary sacrifice is necessary for the advancement of one’s long-term interest. All egoists endorse hedonism (the view that only pleasure is of intrinsic value, the only good in life worth pursuing) although some egoists are hedonistic, others have a broader view of what constitutes self-in terest. Egoists cannot act honestly, be gracious and helpful to others, or otherwise promote others’ interests.Egoism, however, requires us to do whatever will best further our own interests, and doing this sometimes requires us to advance the interests of others. 2- Utilitarianism: Originally formulated Jeremy Bentham in 18th century and developed by J. Stuart Mill in 19th century. Greatest good is the foundation for morality. Determinations of morality are based on the application of the moral law to an action. Principle of Utility or GHP (Greatest Happiness Principle) is the moral law. GHP states that an action is right in proportion to its ability to promote pleasure/happiness.It is wrong in proportion to its ability to promote unhappiness/pain. Right action = pleasure/happiness Wrong action = unhappiness/pain According to Mill; Satisfaction depends on the attainment of pleasure, and pleasure depends on right action. Right action has to conform to the GHP. Satisfaction ha s to conform to the GHP. GHP is moral, greatest happiness principle refers to collective happiness not individual happiness. Standard of morality govern human conducts. If my action conforms to the standard of morality then my action is moral.Happiness of community is more important than personal happiness. You should sacrifice your personal interest for community happiness. Sacrifice is always done some end. Sacrifice for the greater good is the highest virtue. Utilitarianism is based off of the Greatest Happiness Principle which states that actions are considered moral when they promote utility and immoral when they promote the reverse. Utility itself is defined by Mill as happiness with the absence of pain. The main elements of this philosophy are one's actions and their resulting utility.A person is considered moral when their actions tend to promote utility of the general public in accordance with the Greatest Happiness Principle. However, just an action increasing utility does not necessarily imply a moral action. In order for the action to be moral it must be the optimal choice in increasing utility and minimizing pain. Since it is difficult to determine the superior of two vastly different results, Mill provides us with a system to determine which choice would have the higher quality. This system has the proper judges of the actions determine which they prefer.Whichever is preferred by a majority is considered the action with a higher quality result and thus would be more moral to perform than the action with a lower quality result. In the result of a tie, both choices are considered equally moral. The Greatest Happiness principle also allows for us to cause pain to others as long as a majority of the people becomes happier. We could essentially just steal resources from smaller foreign countries and drive them to poverty as long as more people benefit than lose. Things such as slavery, bullying, rape, racism, and murder could be justified under Utilit arianism as long as the majority prefers it.Murderers could justify their action by simply killing all of those who opposed them. Once their numbers became the majority, murdering became justifiable as moral. Lastly, the Greatest Happiness principle eliminates the usage of the laws provided  by our government. As long as the person's actions increase general utility, then it does not matter how many laws are broken in the process. We could all go speeding down roads and ignoring traffic signals/signs to our full enjoyment despite there being speed limits as long as few people cared and most people would be having a blast.Following examples are used to illustrate the concept of utilitarianism. Say that one has promised to a friend to meet up at six o'clock. Is it acceptable to break this promise in order to rescue someone from a burning building? Consequentialist is only concentrating on the consequence. Therefore, when looking at the result a consequentialist might say â€Å"noâ €  as the consequence would be breaking a promise and in this way it could harm the friendship. On the other hand a consequentialist might say â€Å"yes† if the result might be saving another person’s life, even though it would demand breaking a promise.In utilitarianism it depends on the one making a decision. Therefore one could justify the killing of a homeless if his organs could be used beneficially, saving for example four other peoples’ lives, who have jobs and family (Frost, 2007: 15). Utilitarianism has many flaws. One of the biggest problems with it is that measuring and comparing happiness among different people is impossible in practice as well as in principle. Shareholder theory: It says that one and only obligation of business is to maximize its profits while engaging open and free competition without fraud.According to shareholder theorists such as the Nobel winning economist Milton Friedman, managers should inly focus on serving the interests of the firm’s shareholders. Therefore business executives are obligated to follow the wishes of shareholders while obeying the laws and ethical customs of society. On one hand, it is correct to say that the main focus of a business should be to make profit. Without profit, a business cannot survive. In a way, Friedman’s theory does promote social responsibility to society.The increase of profits in a company benefits the economy which benefits the citizens of the economy. Friedman also believed that social responsibility should not be forced by the government. Responsibility to stakeholders can still be achieved while helping to strengthen the community. For example, companies can conduct research to provide a safer product to consumers. Shareholder Theory, on the other hand, focuses strictly on those who have a monetary share of the company. According to this view, a firm’s only purpose is to serve the needs and interests of the company’s owners.In many industries there are companies that seem to follow a stakeholder theory framework while guiding the majority of interests towards the shareholders and ultimately enforcing a shareholder theory framework. An analysis of shareholder theory applied to the management styles found in major league baseball has revealed such a conflict of interest. According to shareholder theorists such as the Nobel winning economist Milton Friedman, managers should only focus on serving the interests of the firm's shareholders.In an article he published in the New York Times, The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits, he states, â€Å"Responsibility is to conduct the business in accordance with their [shareholder’s] desires, which generally will be to make as much money as possible while conforming to the basic rules of the society, both those embodied in law and those embodied in ethical custom. † (Friedman, 1970) Stakeholder theory: Freeman; who has contributed a lo t to this approach, he defines stakeholders as â€Å"any group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of the organization objectives.Normative stakeholder theory contains theories of how managers or stakeholders should act and should view the purpose of organization, based on some ethical principle (Friedman 2006). Another approach to the stakeholder concept is the so called descriptive stakeholder theory. This theory is concerned with how managers and stakeholders actually behave and how they view their actions and roles. Stakeholder theory is a theory of organizational management and business ethics that addresses morals and values in managing an organization. It was originally detailed by R.Edward Freeman in the book Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach, and identifies and models the groups which are stakeholders of a corporation, and both describes and recommends methods by which management can give due regard to the interests of those groups. In short, it attempts play to address the â€Å"Principle of Who or What Really Counts. â€Å"[1] In the traditional view of the firm, the shareholder view, the shareholders or stockholders are the owners of the company, and the firm has a binding fiduciary duty to put their needs first, to increase value for them.However, stakeholder theory argues that there are other parties involved, including governmental bodies, political groups, trade associations, trade unions, communities, financiers, suppliers, employees, and customers. Sometimes even competitors are counted as stakeholders – their status being derived from their capacity to affect the firm and its other morally legitimate stakeholders. The nature of what is a stakeholder is highly contested (Miles, 2012),[2] with hundreds of definitions existing in the academic literature (Miles, 2011). 3] The stakeholder view of strategy is an instrumental theory of the corporation, integrating both the resource-based view as well as the market-based view, and adding a socio-political level. This view of the firm is used to define the specific stakeholders of a corporation (the normative theory (Donaldson) of stakeholder identification) as well as examine the conditions under which these parties should be treated as stakeholders (the descriptive theory of stakeholder salience). These two questions make up the modern treatment of Stakeholder Theory. Who are stakeholders?A very different way of differentiating the different kinds of stakeholders is to consider groups of people who have classifiable relationships with the organization. Friedman (2006) means that there is a clear relationship between definitions of what stakeholders and identifications of who are the stakeholders. The main groups of stakeholders are: * Customers * Employees * Local communities the main groups * Suppliers and distributors * shareholder * The media * The public in general * Business partners * Future generations * Past generations (founders of organizations) Academics * NGOs * Stakeholder representatives such as trade unions or trade associations of suppliers or distributers * Government, regulators, policymakers Primary: a firm cannot exist without their continuing participation. Primary stakeholders include: shareholders & investors, employees, contractors, customers & suppliers. Secondary: those who influence or affect or are influenced/affected by, the corporation, but they are not engaged in transactions with the corporation or essential for its survival. Secondary stakeholders include: media, action groups, government agencies, trade unions, regulatory authorities.Non-social stakeholders do not involve human relationships, which may also be divided into primary (direct) and secondary (indirect), for example, natural environment, nonhuman species, future generations and their defenders in pressure groups. They are neither influenced by nor a factor in the survival of the organisation (Wheeler & Sillanpaa (1998): p205, Vandekerckhove & Dentchev (2005): p222). Freeman (1984) argued that it is easy but extremely detrimental for managers to assume that stakeholders who oppose them are irrational and irrelevant.Additionally, this issue is further reinforced by arguing that there is wide variation in stakeholder claims, interests and rights (Hall & Vredenburg, 2005:p11). Internal stakeholders are those in the management, marketing experts, designers, purchasing, manufacturing, assembly and sales, while external stakeholders are the users/customers, distributors, governments, suppliers, communities, laws and regulations. Political stakeholders can be divided into 2 different sub-group; ‘national stakeholders’ and ‘international stakeholders’ (Holtbrugge, Berg & Puck, 2007).National stakeholders include governmental actors such as central government, state government, local authorities and also non-governmental organizations or NGOs. On the other hand, internation al stakeholders are those supranational organizations which constituted by national government (IMF, WTO) and also NGOs (Greenpeace, international association of trade unions, international media). Both governmental actors and supranational organizations are classified as ‘public stakeholders’ while NGOs are classified as ‘private stakeholders’.Hillman & Hitt (1999) proposed a typology which distinguishes between 3 different strategies of political stakeholders: 1. Information strategy: – Seeks to affect the actions of political stakeholders by providing them specific information about preferences for policy or political positions. 2. Financial incentives strategy: – Aims to influence the actions of political stakeholders through financial inducements which may include hiring personnel with direct political experience such as managers or consultants, providing financial support or community bribery of decision makers. . Reputation-building str ategy: – Tries to influence political stakeholders indirectly through stakeholder support. The main instruments to achieve this goal are public relations and codes of conduct. The idea of grouping the different types of stakeholders is a noble one. It helps to improve the understanding and appreciation in managing stakeholders. For this, Kolk & Pinkse (2006:p62) came out with the grouping of stakeholders into two groups, based on potential for threat and for cooperation and, based on concomitant strategies, as shown in Figure 4.Briner et al (1996) indicated 4 different sets of stakeholders namely: client project leader’s organization, outside services and, invisible team members. In the case of corporate and business environment, Colacoglu, Lepak & Hong (2006: p211) cited that there exist three primary groups of stakeholders that exert distinct pressures on organizations and are directly impacted by the performance of organizations. 1. Companies must attend to the need s of capital market stakeholders-shareholders and major suppliers of capital such as banks. 2.Companies must consider the needs and demands from product market stakeholders-the primary customers, suppliers, unions, and host communities with whom organizations conduct business 3. Companies must consider the needs of organizational stakeholders, the employees and managers within the organization. IDENTIFYING The first Step in the mapping process is to understand that there is no magic list of stakeholders. The final list will depend on your business, its impacts, and your current engagement objective—as a result it should not remain static.These lists will change as the environment around you evolves and as stakeholders themselves make decisions or change their opinions Action: Brainstorm a list of stakeholders without screening, including everyone who has an interest in your objectives today and who may have one tomorrow. Where possible, identify individuals. Use the following list to help you brainstorm: * Owners (e. g. Investors, shareholders, agents, analysts, and ratings agencies) * Customers (e. g. direct customers, indirect customers, and advocates) * Employees (e. g. urrent employees, potential employees, retirees, representatives, and dependents) * Industry (e. g. suppliers, competitors, industry associations, industry opinion leaders, and media) * Community (e. g. residents near company facilities, chambers of commerce, resident associations, schools, community organizations, and special interest groups) * Environment (e. g. nature, nonhuman species, future generations, scientists, ecologists, spiritual communities, advocates, and NGOs) * Government (e. g. public authorities, and local policymakers; regulators; and opinion leaders) * Civil society organizations (e. . NGOs, faith-based organizations, and labor unions) To facilitate important stakeholder mapping, Freeman suggests the following questions: In 1984 Edward Freeman offered questions th at help begin the analysis of identifying major stakeholders: * Who are our current and potential stakeholders? * What are their interest/rights? * How does each stakeholder affect us? * How do we affect each stakeholder? * What assumption does our current strategy make about each important stakeholder? * What are the environmental variables that affect us and our stakeholders? How do we measure each of these variables and their impact? * How do we keep score with our stakeholders? Stakeholder versus Shareholder? According to stakeholder theory, the very purpose of the firm is to serve and coordinate the interests of its various stakeholders. These stakeholders can include employees, suppliers, customers and the communities in which the firm operates. It is the moral obligation of the firm’s managers to maintain a balance among these interests when directing the activities of the firm. Shareholder theory, on the other hand, focuses strictly on those who have a monetary share of the company.According to this view, a firm’s only purpose is to serve the needs and interests of the company’s owners. The Corporate Social Responsibility The way business involves the shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, governments, non-governmental organizations, international organizations and other stakeholders is usually a key features of corporate social responsibility concept. CSR involves a commitment through the on-going engagement of stakeholders, the active participation of communities impacted by company activities and public reporting of company policies and performance in the economic, environmental and social arenas.Corporate social responsibility (CSR, also called corporate conscience, corporate citizenship, social performance, or sustainable responsible business/ Responsible Business)[1] is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. CSR policy functions as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby a business monitors and ensures its active compliance with the spirit of the law, ethical standards, and international norms.CSR is a process with the aim to embrace responsibility for the company's actions and encourage a positive impact through its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere who may also be considered as stakeholders. The term â€Å"corporate social responsibility† came into common use in the late 1960s and early 1970s after many multinational corporations formed the term stakeholder, meaning those on whom an organization's activities have an impact. It was used to describe corporate owners beyond shareholders as a result of an influential book by R.Edward Freeman, Strategic management: a stakeholder approach in 1984. [2] Proponents argue that corporations make more long term profits by operating with a perspective, while critics argue that CSR distracts from the economic role of businesses . Others argue CSR is merely window-dressing, or an attempt to pre-empt the role of governments as a watchdog over powerful multinational corporations. CSR is titled to aid an organization's mission as well as a guide to what the company stands for and will uphold to its consumers.Development business ethics is one of the forms of applied ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business environment. ISO 26000 is the recognized international standard for CSR. Public sector organizations (the United Nations for example) adhere to the triple bottom line (TBL). It is widely accepted that CSR adheres to similar principles but with no formal act of legislation. The UN has developed the Principles for Responsible Investment as guidelines for investing entities.

Assighment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Assighment - Essay Example All this will indeed be a challenge for me but utilizing the gained knowledge will help me overcome the challenges and make the store a profit center. Discussion What are the most significant challenges facing you as manager of this store? For me as the manager, the most significant challenges can be enumerated as follows: Low volume of Sales: As the manager of the store, the most important thing for me to keep the store afloat would be the finances. The store cannot operate at a loss and to ensure that it is not at a loss, sales are the most important criteria. The store will have certain fixed overheads and certain variables. Fixed overheads include salaries, electricity, rent, telephone expenses etc. These are the costs the store has to bear even if there is no sale. These components are discounted by the profit which is generated out of sales. In the event of no or low sale, the fixed expenses stand as it is and proves heavy for the store. Variable expenses also are a part of exp enses which are incurred in case of sale. Suppose freight charges for delivery of products etc. So this cost is only incurred if there are sales and is directly proportionate to sales. So in case, there is low sale, my store will have to bear the fixed overheads at least. There needs to be a minimum amount of sale to cover the fixed costs and be at zero profit at least(Berman, 2007). Manpower issue: Since the store is not doing well, the manpower cannot be more due to their costs. The plus point here is that the store has a good blend of experienced and fresh manpower. So to utilize maximum potential from them, the experienced ones should provide some training to the fresh ones and always back them up during sales. The attrition rate also has to come down to save on training time and cost. Branding and Advertising: Since the store once enjoyed loyalty of customers in neighborhood, the goodwill re-building would not be so difficult. I should focus on how I can harness the goodwill al ready built among certain groups of people to attract them to be our customers at the shopping mall and to promise them that the quality of products and services are same irrespective of change of hands of the store. What steps would you take during the first 90 days as manager to address these challenges? In the first 90 days, the steps I would take have been described below: Since the employees include high school and college students, I would harness their contacts to boost my sales. I would plan an incentive for each employee if they give me a minimum amount of business. Example: An employee will be offered x% of the sales value if they give a minimum of x amount of business. Since they are college students, offering only a small amount will be enough to motivate them to bring in business. This will be done keeping in mind the profitability of business. Once we have customers, they can be converted to repeated customers later on through schemes and good service. Specifically aim ed promotion: The store needs to be promoted in such a way that the people who were already loyal customers can connect to the promotion activities and believe that the store is still the same as they liked it even after change of hands. The erstwhile loyal customers will be the first ones whom I would like to be my customers as they will be easy to convince. Once they are back, word-of-mouth will play

The Porters Five Forces Competition Model Essay

The Porters Five Forces Competition Model - Essay Example Since the government is protecting the industry because of the high tax rate imposed on fine fragrances, it would be harder for the consumers to have a bargaining power over the price of related products. The local consumers are left with no choice but to avail these items at a high price or simply use non-branded perfumes or colognes. Therefore, the bargaining power of the buyers on fine fragrances is low. Â  The bargaining power of suppliers is also low because there are a lot of suppliers available in the area competing to supply the raw materials for the big producers of Fine Fragrances like Channel, YSL, Givenchy, etc. Since there are a large number of suppliers in the area plus the option of finding a supplier in other countries, the competition among the suppliers of raw ingredients is very high. (See Chart I – Fine Fragrance Industry on page 4) Â  Buyers have a medium bargaining power over the retailers of fine fragrance products because the local consumers have the choice of paying high prices from a legal distributor and/or to buy the same product from grey market traders at a lower price. Â  There is a high threat of substitute because of the grey market traders. These people are selling the overproduction of fine fragrances at relatively low prices than those being sold from an authorized dealer. Â  The suppliers have a medium bargaining power. This is because they have the option to sell their products directly to the authorized dealers and/or the overproduction of fine fragrances are sold in grey markets at a lower price. (See Chart II – Retailing Fine Fragrance Industry on page 6) Â  Jennifer Lopez was very successful in launching a perfume that was designed to capture the market for young women between 15 to 24 years old back in September 2002. (Wagner, 2006; Lloyd-Jones, 2005)

Possible interview questions and answers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Possible interview questions and answers - Essay Example My strengths are excellent time management and organized person. Every time I am working on a project, I always make sure to complete the project well ahead of schedule. I developed a unique set of skills that make me suited for this job while in college. Firstly, I learned presentation skills. Secondly, I learned how to develop the ability of questioning and evaluating information. Thirdly, I learned to pay attention to detail elements of any performance. In my final year, we were given an accounting project to solve within a week. The task involved researching on the tax policy in the country and its impact on small businesses. I started working on the project from the first day. The move ensured that I did not have a problem in meeting the deadline. In my spare time, I like cleaning and organizing my house. This activity developed my organization skills. The activity has taught me the importance of organization. As a result, I will always pursue a deliberate and logical course of action in the workplace. As part of my volunteer activities, I participated in a workshop that we organized for inner city students. I was given the responsibility of talking about accounting and the importance of a University education. I started by introducing myself. Then I ensured that I maintained a positive body language. In addition, I listened to the feedback of the students. The talk was successful because I made a deliberate effort to create a conversation based on their interests. As a person, I believe in continuous improvement. Consequently, I would love to continue my studies. In addition, I will use my spare time to attain further accounting credentials. I believe that I can do my job and study at the same time. I will appreciate the opportunity to study ACCA. After completing my degree, I expect that I will be eligible for exceptions. As a result, I expect to take about two years to complete THE ACCA course. I will study at