Political Impacts Essay

Political stability is usually defined as the state of peace that is normally experienced in a country from the activities from the government and also the government in this situation will make decisions and keeping best interests in mind for people. Government initiatives are when the government can support business through grants and tax reductions. The government have their own initiatives for companies like Asda and these are the health eating and fit for life. These are campaigns that Asda will try to support then try to receive more funding from the government for advertising etc. Also when the government chooses investment finance this then involves selling part of your business shares to an investor. The investor will then take a share of any profits or losses Asda make. The government may change the tax rates up or down in an effort to try an boost the economy. An example of this is VAT which means all non-food will need their labels changing which could potentially increase profitability. `The international monetary fund describes itself as ‘an organisation of 188 countries that works to foster global monetary cooperation. It also works to secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world. Legal Impacts The legal impacts are that Asda must follow the law. The legal frameworks is where the business chooses the way it operates. This will determine who has what role and share to the business. It will also determine relationships between investors and employees etc. Consumer protection is when a group of laws and organisations have to ensure that the rights of a consumer are put in place to hopefully prevent businesses that are engaging in fraudulent activities etc. An example of consumer protection is the Trade Description Act. This is where the product must be described accurately otherwise it can cause an issue. It is really important that Asda describe the product well and accurately if not then the trading standards will have no choice but to get involved. Employee protection is essential in a business. Health and safety standards are the most important. New employees will partake in an induction day before they can start a full time job. They will be shown around the premises and where they can and can’t go within the company. Social Impacts Over time many changes take place in society which are relevant for business organisations. One change is demographic issues. When the population of a country is growing, there is an increase in demand for goods and services, the numbers of people making themselves available for work. This means Asda could potentially increase in their profits as population is growing so there is a possibility of gaining more customers. There have also been changes in structure as the number of older people in Britain is increasing. People tend to save when they are young and spend their savings when they are older so this also could increase profits also for Asda if they spend more in their stores. The average age of marriage is increasing and many people now live alone. Many single people are high income earners. This shows that the standard of living has increased. As it has increased it means they are likely to spend more money on food which is great for Asda as their profits increase. Male and f emale roles have been shifting as today 50% of the working population is female. The changing of gender roles has had a massive impact on consumption patterns. For example the rapid rise in the ready meals market is mainly because of families where both parents are working. This is ideal for Asda to gain more profits by stocking up on a lot of ready meals. Britain consists of many religious groups. Each religious group has its own beliefs and values. These beliefs can affect the types of goods that customers purchase and, and behaviours in the workplace. It is important that employers are familiar with these religious requirements so they can make appropriate allowances. Asda need to apply similar sensitivities to products or materials that people of different religions may touch and handle. Business ethics are the values and principles held by those that run businesses. Ethics help to shape the actions of a business and the decisions it makes. Ethic principles should go beyond legal requirements. Key ethic issues include fair trade. This is offering fair prices to suppliers often in poor countries. Also not leading customers and cheating t hem in any way and providing them with what is good and useful to them.

Marshall McLuhan’s Theory Essay

How might Marshall McLuhan’s theory of hot and cold media be used to explain the surge of interest in mobile technology, especially text and picture messaging? ‘Any invention or technology is an extension or self-amputation of our physical bodies, and such extension also demands new ratios or new equilibriums among the other organs and extensions of the body’, Marshall McLuhan in ‘Understanding Media’ (1964, p43). A comment which has possibly never been truer than when understood with regard to a mobile phone. McLuhan’s theories have recently been given new life with the onset of the Internet; however, they can also be usefully applied to the massive explosion of mobile technology. Given it is a medium which some may consider to be cool; its impact on society has been immeasurable. In today’s society it is difficult to meet a person between the ages of fifteen and fifty who do not own a mobile phone. Like televisions, it is the electronic accessory of the moment and it is advancing fast. Only five years ago text messaging was in its infancy and not all phones offered it; picture messaging was unheard of. Nowadays picture messaging is very much here and already the technology has moved towards video messaging. Some ‘mobile phones’ would be more accurately described as hand held computers as the telephony is only a fraction of its capabilities and often not even its main function. As with most mobile phones the main function consumer’s use is text messaging. According to McLuhan in ‘Understanding Media’ (1964) the advent of a hot explosive medium can cause drastic changes to politics and society. This can be seen in the effects that such technology has had on not only the telephone but the way people communicate in day to day life. However, when contrasted with a hot medium such as television or cinema, text and picture messaging are comparatively cool. They provide far less information and demand more participation from the receiver to fill in the gaps. Pictures received in messages are only small and very symbolic rather than detailed. There is also only limited space for text and language is often limited to abbreviations and annotation. Of course when compared to the standard telephone, mobile technology is considerably hotter, however, in order to stay within McLuhan’s theory, and for the medium to cause such a change in society, one would assume that the medium itself would need to be hotter. Such a change could be better explained and explored by the theories of Roland Barthes, particularly his writings on myths and semiotics. In a collection of articles entitled ‘Mythologies’ (1973) Barthes explores practical objects and their cultural meanings. Examining such objects as cars and haircuts he scrutinizes the ‘signifiers’ and ‘signs’ that they contain. ‘Barthes begins by making explicit the meanings of apparently neutral objects and then moves on to consider the social and historical conditions they obscure’ (McNeill 1996). He examined cars, comparing them to Gothic cathedrals, due to their uses over and above their basic functions. Cars carry status and tell a lot about the person who owns them (Barthes 1973). Such meanings can also easily be drawn from mobile phones. Far more useful than assessing whether or not they are hot or cold, deeper more analytical conclusions can be derived from Barthes’ methods. By exa mining the semiotics of the medium its position in society and culture and its effects could be estimated. In ‘Mythologies’ (1973) ‘he argued that myth was a mode of signification. He argued that in myth, the link between the signifier and the signified was motivated†¦so that a culturally constructed sign becomes a signifier, thus allowing what is signified to become naturalised’ (Hartley 2002). Hartley goes on to apply this theory to brand named sports wear and their attached meanings. Such an application could be used with mobile technology as not only are there many different mobile phones with different functions but many different brands. ‘Nokia’, in particular, as the apparently leading brand, has different model phones which contain different signifiers. Some appear fun and contain lots of features and gadgets; others appear sophisticated and look sleek and small. Others exist for practical purposes for uses who are less taken by mobile phone culture. Given the huge range of choice on offer, not just by ‘Nokia’ but all brands, the decision of which phone to purchase is an active one which takes serious contemplation. More can be said for a person who uses picture messaging. Society has not quite reached a stage where its considered a ‘necessity’ like text messaging so those who do use it are those who are particularly interested in the culture. More so as these phones and messages cost more it signifies how much money a person has or at least how they prioritise their spending. More meanings could be drawn from how often a person uses their phone and how many different people they know who can accept picture messages. Barthes also wrote about Text itself and its semiotics, arguing that words are strong and can be used as political weapons, as they have been in post World War II politics. He charts the beginning of the ‘moment of the text’ as 1968 (Hartley 2002). This seems to have affected the whole of society as people now talk to each other less, preferring to e-mail or send text or picture messages. McLuhan has commented on discourse and text. According to a website called ‘Marshall McLuhan: spinning the web of the future’, ‘specifically, McLuhan feels that the best way to convey information between two people is to maximize the use of the senses†¦[therefore] ancient oral civilizations appeared to have the greatest and most clear form of communication.’ That is not the written word, but the spoken. This has, however, been criticised by Miller (1971) who ‘disagrees with this assumption because he feels that humanity has evolved with technology a nd that this is not necessarily a bad thing. The reality is that further technological advances have given humanity the ability to communicate using mediums that are essentially extensions of the spoken word.’ McLuhan expressed concern over the effects of technology and its result in the loss of human identity, although he did not see it as a bad thing, it was something to be maintained and supervised. His concerns could be justified, however, in that nowadays people talk to each other less, preferring to communicate by the written, or typed, word. Concern should probably not to be so extreme as to fear the breakdown of society but it has seriously affected how we communicate and what we now spend our money on. According to McLuhan in ‘Understanding Media’ (1964) intense, hot media needs to be cooled off by our senses before it can be assimilated. Possibly then the appeal of the text and picture message is that they are easier to take in on a sensory level. They are quick, take only seconds to read and write and enough time is given to process the information between each message and response. Radio and cinema act as an assault on the senses demanding that attention be paid in order to take it all in, although fewer gaps need to be filled. In two-way communication, however, it allows the user time to consider their response and therefore reduces the risk of saying something which one may regret later. If we put together the two theories of McLuhan and Barthes it is possible to achieve composite critique of the phenomenon of mobile technology. Although much of what was written by, particularly McLuhan, has been excessively criticised, some disregard it all together, he makes some points which are useful when examining this area of contemporary media and technology. Using McLuhan to explore the more technical aspects of text and picture messaging, suggesting why it may be so popular. Due to its being hotter than a normal telephone it is likely to be the next step in technology and its convenience makes it so popular. Also fact that it is cooler than other direct forms of media and allows more time and less information for the brain to process ensures it is easier on our senses. Its very presence has caused an upheaval in our society and we have taken the next cultural and technological step in our ever progressing development. Barthes, on the other hand, we can look to for inspiration in analysing the cultural aspects of such communication technology and what it means. Using his methodology of examining mobile phones for signs and signifiers many conclusions can be drawn. As phones differ widely in style and in what features they contain each person can be judged on the phone they own, or the phone they wished they owned. Someone who has a phone that looks good, rather than containing many features is clearly saying something about the way in which they want to present themselves. Furthermore, a person who cares less about how the phone looks and more about what it does suggests something else. Most phones which contain more features, particularly a camera are usually larger and look less neat than those with fewer features. Phones that can be used to record short pieces of film or watch videos on are bigger still yet there are already people who own them. Such people may be looking for a phone with more f unctional value, as well as their having an interest in gadgets. That said, however, we can assume they gain intrinsic pleasure from showing a person what their, apparently less attractive, phone can do. We could also assume that such people wish to be ahead of technology and enjoy being one of the first to own such items. Near enough all young people own mobile phones and few would deny that they gain pleasure and enjoyment from them. ‘Texting’ has become a common, everyday form of communication; one that did not exist during the lifetimes of Marshall McLuhan or Roland Barthes and it can be assumed that neither would have anticipated this surge in technology. Both would express concern at its immense popularity as it risks people becoming less sociable and having less actual conversation. Another side to that argument, however, could be that it increases human interaction, it just takes place in a different way. People can now contact their family, friends and acquaintances much easier and faster. To send a text message to say ‘hello’ is far quicker and easier than making a phone call which could result in lengthy conversation. Whereas once a person may have decided against the phone call for that reason they will now send a text message. It is probably safe to say that, give n that human beings are an innately social species, and indulge in conversation for pleasurable as well as functional purposes that if what they desire is a conversation then that will be sought above a text message. It is hard to predict where society and culture will go with this ever increasing technological development. In the next year or so we can assume that videophone will become much more popular and that mobile phones will continue to develop into small computers than ‘phones’. Living in a century where convenience is emphasised and encouraged and our lives are busier it is likely that less face to face interaction will take place however with the help of the mobile phone we can avoid losing contact altogether.

Experiential Knowledge versus Intellectual Knowledge Essay

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has for a long time stirred the issue on the tug between experiential knowledge (the sort of knowledge that is gained in the â€Å"streets† and practiced mostly by Huck) and intellectual knowledge (the kind of knowledge being taught in schools and by people like Widow Douglas and Miss Watson). The issue can most of the time be phrased as that between being logical and following the practical consequences of one’s logic as opposed to following the dictates of society. This is a theme that was developed early on in the book and extends up to the end. Huck, for example, defies society and chooses his own logic in Chapter 1 when he told Widow Douglas that he would prefer to go to hell since this would mean a change of scenery and being with Tom. It is known for a fact that â€Å"heaven† should be the de facto choice of destination for everyone. To choose to go to hell, with our without reasons for wanting to do so, plainly means going against what is conventional. Time and again, Huck has dealt with the part of his conscience that told him that keeping and cuddling Jim, a â€Å"property† of Miss Watson versus his natural sympathy for the man (Bennett 3). These and many other instances in Huckleberry Finn illustrate the clash between the obviously wrong societal teaching that racism and slavery is good and having sympathy and compassion for the slaves as bad versus the instinctive knowledge that sympathy and compassion towards a slave is worthwhile. In this paper, this clash between experiential knowledge, i. e. , knowledge gained by oneself through the exercise of personal logical induction and deduction gathered through experience, and intellectual knowledge, i. e. , knowledge gained through different societal instruments, shall be dealt with. More specifically, this paper shall address the issue of which of these two â€Å"knowledges† has more importance. Being an issue that is of no light matter, this paper would need to look beyond Huckleberry Finn for aid. As such, Philosophy, Ethics, and Education seem to be the most promising areas of knowledge that address the issue. Hence, this paper shall look in these directions to settle the issue. Specifically, this paper shall have the following parts: on wisdom and knowledge as personal or societal; morality as inauthentic or authentic; and educations as geared towards making the person â€Å"fully† come out versus education as socialization. The paper shall end with a conclusion. Wisdom as Personal or Societal Philosophy has dealt with the question on the source of wisdom a number of times and through different thinkers. Thomas Aquinas and Aristotle are known to deal extensively about this issue, and as such, their philosophies shall be utilized. Since Aquinas is known for extensively working on Aristotle’s works, merging the works of these two thinkers shall not pose any problems. Before anything, it would be best to first give a definition of wisdom. At least in the Aristotelian-Thomistic tradition, wisdom is a kind of knowledge that is â€Å"of paramount importance in directing human existence towards its purpose or end† (Artigas 17). It is that kind of knowledge that aids man to be a better human being, not only by providing particular knowledge, but most specially a universal knowledge that speaks of the human being’s nature, purpose and end. In the end, wisdom ought to lead to the human being’s happiness, happiness defined as a life that is flourishing. All these ideas seem to be abstract, so it would be best to concretize a bit. At least for Aristotle, living a life that is full of human flourishing means living a virtuous life in a community that allows for the continuous development of the individual. According to the Aristotelian philosopher Martha Nussbaum, this refers to a life wherein virtues, human relations, reason and other physical capabilities are allowed to flourish by the society (Nussbaum 76-78). More concretely, this means experiencing real friendship, practicing justice, exercising prudence and a host of many other virtues that Aristotle spoke of in the Nicomachean Ethics in a society that value and nurture these. It is allowing a person to have meaningful relations, to engage in activities that nourish one’s â€Å"senses, imagination, and thought,† to have bodily health, to engage in play, to have autonomous control over one’s environment and so on (Nussbaum 76-78). So far, it seems that wisdom ought to be acquired for the benefit of the individual that would most probably emanate into the good of society. That is well and good, nevertheless, we still have not answered the question as to how wisdom itself is acquired. In this respect, Aquinas has an answer. Thomas Aquinas is known for the Natural Law Theory. The theory states that â€Å"man is born with the natural facility to know the basic truths or principles or the moral order as ‘the good is to be done and promoted and the evil to be avoided’† (Panizo 56). In this respect wisdom, i. e. , knowledge about what is good and what is to be avoided that ought to lead to happiness and human flourishing, is not only something that man is capable of; in fact, man is born with this natural facility. Human beings are born with the disposition to want what is good and to avoid what is evil. Thinking about it, this medieval theory seems to make a lot of sense. Is it not true that no human being ever does something which for her/him is plainly without good or any sort of benefit? Even actions that may be considered as evil by many still have some sort of perverted â€Å"goodness† in it. Actions such as murder, drug trafficking, etcetera, still give â€Å"pleasure† to those who engage in them. But, does this mean that these actions are morally good? Aquinas would not agree. He would say that though nature has granted man the capacity to know what is good and evil and to want good over evil, still, error may happen. Error occurs once the basic principle, â€Å"good is to be done and sought after, evil is to be avoided† (Aquinas 197) is applied. In fact, there is a hierarchy of difficulty when it comes to the application of this basic principle, the most difficult application of it called â€Å"remote conclusions† are described as â€Å"not easily drawn by ordinary people, for they involve education in theology and philosophy, and deep reflection† (Panizo 59). These involve judgments on issues like euthanasia, divorce, abortion, etcetera. We have reached a point then when natural wisdom, i. e. , wisdom depending on reason alone, becomes insufficient. Life is so full of instances when â€Å"remote conclusions† are needed and called for. The sad thing is, this knowledge is hard to come by and a human being is left with no option but to listen to the dialogues of the people in the academe. For Aquinas and Aristotle, experiential knowledge is not enough. It could only get us so far. This then brings us to the discussion of the place of â€Å"intellectual knowledge† in Philosophy. According to Aristotle, human beings need a role model to live a flourishing life. An excellent person is considered the standard for most of us who are still aiming for human flourishing, for a life of virtue. An excellent person is defined as he/she whose wishes â€Å"will be what is wished in reality† (Aristotle 65), i. e. , the wishes of the excellent person is that which is truly good for the human being. An excellent person is the exact opposite of the base person to whom â€Å"pleasure would seem to cause deception since it appears good when it is not† (Aristotle 65). Thus, modeling is Aristotle’s system of knowing what is worth imitating and what is not. To add to this, it must be recalled that for Aristotle (as with the other Greek thinkers), education has an indispensable role in bringing an individual to perfection. This is the very reason why the Academy and the Lyceum were established. In these schools, individuals from different cities merge to further their knowledge, to share each other’s knowledge and in this sense socializing each other. Hence, at least in Aristotle and Aquinas’ philosophy, though natural wisdom or experiential knowledge may be the starting point, this is not enough. Intellectual knowledge is still necessary since remote conclusions are always called for to ultimately be happy and live a flourishing life. Authentic and Inauthentic Morality Beyond the epistemology of Aristotle and Aquinas is the perspective that morality or ethics may be inauthentic or authentic. This is the very idea of Michael Moga in the book, Toward Authentic Morality. According to Moga, one’s sense of right and wrong can either be wholly dependent on one’s culture (i. e. , inauthentic morality) or it could come from one’s personal choice (i. e. , authentic morality). This is the very same clash between the self and the society that we have been talking about. According to Moga, most people ascribe to inauthentic morality. This is the sort of morality that gives in to social pressure, that kind of pressure that forces us to act and think in a particular way without exactly knowing why such an action or thought should be considered moral. We would not have to go very far to understand inauthentic morality. Most adolescents and teenagers are susceptible to peer pressure when it comes to many facets of their lives. The very persistence of racism and discrimination speak of a poorly reasoned morality that rest on social acceptance. In fact, Moga sets out the characteristics of inauthentic morality. The following are the characteristics of this type of morality. Inauthentic morality is characterized by being based on certain rules and values affirmed by culture; it is universal in its application, i. e. , it is valid for everyone; they impact individuals as set of morality that is external, i. e. , the source of morality is something outside the self; these laws are anonymous; the individual is haunted by fear and shame; the moral obligation is something that comes from authority; and it is fluctuating in influence (Moga 35-39). This is the sort of morality experienced by the typical teenager who follows his/her group’s choices. Such an individual follows rules not her own, a set of rules she may find difficult to follow since it is something external, nevertheless the breaking of such group rules result to fear and shame. This teenager considers the lead of the group as the one vested with authority to enforce such rules. Though this morality is most stark among teenagers, adults may very well be living this sort of morality. We would only have to look around shopping malls to see how many adults go with the flow without thinking why. Supposedly at the other extreme is authentic morality. This morality results from one’s personal decision to accept a set of values and morals after necessary reflection. Again, this sort of morality has characteristics: it is personally chosen and accepted; it is based on a rational appreciation; it is not based on fear or shame; morality as an expression of one’s freedom; and it is based on what one personally cares for, i. e. the very principles that one values (Moga 39-41). This is the sort of morality of individuals who have taken enough time to think over his/her morals. This would be represented by an individual who does an action and could very likely explain and be personally involved in the very principle of one’s actions. This would be the individual whose sense of morality is not dependent on â€Å"what others will say† but rather on a clear set of personally chosen moral principles. Though individuals must all aim for authentic morality, Moga insists that both moralities are important. In the first place, all human beings undergo the inauthentic morality stage where parents become the sole authority from whom morality emanate. Nevertheless, we should not stay this way. After being exposed to different sets of moralities, it is the individual’s responsibility to think and chose which of these moralities shall be made personal. Thus, at least in the Ethical perspective, the social and the personal ought to go together, though in the end, the social should be for the personal. Conclusion We have seen that at least in Philosophy and Ethics, there really is no real clash between the personal and the social, between intellectual knowledge and experiential knowledge. Clashes happen in Philosophy when error exists in the mind and nothing is done to correct the error. This error may of course exist not only with individuals but also in groups such as those in the academe. Nevertheless, we have clearly stated above that intellectual knowledge is there not to ram down society on the throats of individuals but rather to further perfect experiential knowledge for the sake of human flourishing. The same may be said in the field of ethics. Both authentic and inauthentic moralities are there and both have uses in society. Nevertheless, in the end, inauthentic morality ought to be the material source of inputs for the eventual authentic morality of a person. Morality only becomes stagnant when there is no interaction between the inauthentic and authentic. To answer the question which of the two knowledges is more important, we could qualifiedly say that both are important as long as there is minimal error and that the ultimate purpose is human flourishing.

Sex and Violence on Television Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sex and Violence on Television - Essay Example It is quit obvious that these programs bring more harm that they are the benefits. Therefore, this paper supports the fact that sex and violence on television should be restricted. Programming has become an issue in the last one decade. Though defenders of the programs argue that the effects are minimal, to the contrary, the programs have caused a number of effects. Most of the violent programs concentrate on homicide, assaults, and gang related issues. According to psychologists, when these programs are aired, it becomes hard for viewers, especially young people to differentiate right and wrong. The ultimate result of watching these programs without proper evaluation of the outcome is using the violence as a source of attention. The fact that many broadcasts on televisions concentrate on fighting and murder, it is possible that viewers will copy these actions and violent messages, try to act them out eventually causing harm to others. Although supporters of these programs argue that violence witnessed in the television scare away viewers from trying such scenes, the violence has come on the increasing side (Barrie, Harrison, and Wykes 99). It beats common knowledge that some program broadcasters know too well that their programs are dangerous. At the end of the program, a common message is send to the viewers warning them not to try what they have just watched at home. This means that even the broadcasters understand that a program with violence can easily be imitated causing harm to the society. What astonishes most is the fact that violence is now looked upon as a rule rather than an exception. This is because the many cartoon programs watched by children show how violence is superior to reason (Himilton 174). When these children are brought up with such understanding, they become hard to handle in schools and later become criminals. This is because from their young age, they were made to believe that death is violated by conflicts and threats and these are ethical conditions for existence. The three-lettered word, SEX, catches the attention of both children and adults. On television, sex evolved over time, until it came to become a normal thing. In section one the book, â€Å"Sex On Soaps - Afternoon Love & Lust On Television Daytime Dramas† soap operas have increased with many instances of sexuality. The increase of this screening was because sex is looked upon as a shock factor in several places. Although sex can be argued as good to some extend, just like violence, the lesson picked from these programs affect the young people. It is discouraging how televisions air these programs making parents and their children watch them together. Although to marriage people these programs could be beneficial, television have one objective of drawing more viewers thus without consideration of age bring these programs at any time of the day (Arthurs 10). Cases of sexuality have increased among the young people in both primary and secondary schools. At some point, young boys have forced girls into having sex. These are common cases in schools and many of the involved students are victims of sex on television. Rape cases have increased. When an individual who is not married watches a phonographic movie, the emotions force that person to involve himself in an act of sex. Since the person is single, the only

Finance & Investment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Finance & Investment - Essay Example when the share is underpriced. The valuation model used to estimate the intrinsic value of a share is the present value model. Constant Growth Model is also known as Gordon’s Share Valuation model. It is assumed that dividends will grow at the same rate (g) into the indefinite future and that the discount rate (r) is greater than the dividend growth rate (g). The constant growth assumption may not be realistic in many situations. The growth is dividends may be at varying rates. In this model, the future time period is divided into two different growth segments such as the initial extraordinary growth period and the subsequent constant growth period. That is the flow from period 1 to N which will call V1, and the flow from period N+1 to infinity referred to as V2. Freehold property is an asset, the owners of such property require appropriate evidence about their ownership of the property. The freehold property is a fixed asset held by the owner itself. In this context, it is viewed that whenever the portion of assets increases, then the profitability of the company also goes on increasing. If there is an appreciation in assets, it will automatically lead to increases in profitability of the company as a whole; as a result, increase in profit leads to increase in dividend also. So, it is very clear that there is a direct relation between the increment of assets and thereby a corresponding increment of profits, and finally in dividend also. Moreover, whenever a person becomes the real owner of a freehold property, such a person has the right to undertake either to sell or to provide a lease of such property. â€Å"Taxpayers may seek to infer that the wording "holding investments" connotes passive ownership and argue that extensive personal involvement by the deceased/transferor in the business cannot be classed as "holding investment†. (SVM27580 - Share Valuation Manual: Business Property Relief and Agricultural Property Relief)

I wrote it on 'Assignment Criteria' Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

I wrote it on 'Assignment Criteria' - Essay Example The advantages and disadvantages need to be studied in depth before a developing nation decides to build or leave the idea as it is of a dam within its territories. (Choudhury, 1999) Dams can pose both good and bad points for any developing nation but the real decision maker is the government since it finds how good or how bad the construction of dams could mean for the poor people of the developing nation. For a developing nation, the poor people get affected by dams in the most direct manner. Their agricultural basis is positively improved and their return on investments is taken care of. Different businesses also get affected by the availability of electricity as these dams bring them a reason to smile and earn more and more. For the poor, dams bring them water and that too in an abundant quantity. They get to drink fresh, clean water and are thankful to the authorities who made the decision to build dams in the past for them. Rain water gets accumulated within these dams and this helps the poor people a lot. (Lyon, 1994) They get a number of benefits for their own selves, their families and their respective businesses with the assistance of these dams. Dams help the poor people more than the rich ones since these dams assist in opening up their new business ranks and also help them in getting food and water easily. Dams always help in irrigation, agriculture and the issues related with the availability of fresh and clean drinking water. The illnesses related with the non-availability of clean drinking water are always scary and this is one aspect that is looked after in a good manner by the presence of dams within any country. A developing nation can continue on its developing path if it builds dams for the prosperity of its own people as well as to enrich its resources and the water that is there within its territories. The disadvantages that building dams on the

Ethical and Moral Issues in Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethical and Moral Issues in Business - Essay Example For instance in India a person that eats cows is considered immoral by the majority of society due to the fact that the cow is a sacred animal. In America eating cow meat is a moral act. Managers of corporations often face ethical dilemmas in their decision making process. The decision of closing down an American factory in order to open up an operation in a foreign country is an example of an ethical dilemma. Many people belief that American corporations should look out for the best interest of its home country. Patriotism is a moral view that is very popular in the United States. The other side of the coin is that the company can lower its operating costs and increase profitability by closing down the factory in the U.S. and moving to an emerging economy such as India, China, or South Africa. Either decision is justifiable depending on the moral view of the company and its managerial staff. Personal ethics and business ethics are two distinct concepts that sometimes collide with each other. Characteristics associated with personal ethics include spirituality, virtue, morals, and altruism (Lichtman, 2010). A person’s personal ethics can influence his buying behavior. A person that has strong beliefs in environmentalism is more likely to buy an electric or hybrid car. Personal ethics may also influence other decisions in a person’s life such as his nutrition, religions beliefs, and lifestyle. The personal ethics of an individual determine how much he cares about others. People that are socially conscious are more likely to donate money to non-profit organizations such as Feed The Children. â€Å"Ethics is the activity of man directed to secure the inner perfection of his own personality† (Schweitzer). A critical success factor for companies in the 21st century is business ethics. Business ethics refers to moral principles concerning acceptable and unacceptable behavior by business people (Answers, 2012). Business ethics differs from personal ethics in

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 22

Case study - Essay Example r, it is a popular belief amongst experts from the industry that GE should bring change – change in people handling and change in the approach to work at GE. The million dollar question then arises: What is GE doing wrong despite such huge training investments and what area does it need to concentrate on to improve the current working attitude of its people. These questions can only be answered by exploring the approach that GE’s CEO Mr. Jeffrey R. Immelt has adopted to deal with his employees. G.E has a centralized organizational structure. The article mentions that executive recruiter Peter Crist says companies that once poached GE talent now look beyond it to alternatives such as Danaher (DHR), United Technologies (UTX), and even Tyco (TYC), which are viewed as "decentralized, sophisticated, and young." Jeff Immelt practices a democratic style of leadership and the leadership theory that he follows is a traits theory. The quote that best supports the approach says: ‘within GE, the talk is about the new traits leaders will need to thrive, a subject thats reviewed every five years. "We are working on 21st century attributes," explains Chief Learning Officer Susan Peters.’ The above quote shows that human traits are given more importance and Immelt strongly believes that there are some common traits shared by all leaders and that these can be learnt at the Crotonville Management Center. Moreover, the dinner weekends that Immelt organizes and the focus that he has started to give to his employees also support that he practices a democratic form of leadership. Immelt seems to be making both programmed and non programmed decisions as on one side he is only following the old and timed practices of GE’s human resource management, but on the other side he is experimenting with his new ideas of bonding with his employees. Instead of bringing out a change in how employees are trained he believes that what GE has been doing is in the best interest of its

Socioautobiography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Socioautobiography - Essay Example I had to know how to protect myself, but part of that protection meant keeping interest off of me when it came to possible threats. In Queens, in the middle of New York City and surrounded by millions of people, there was never enough space for me to go off and have any time to myself. I had to learn to make my own privacy even when surrounded by other people. I believe this quality has benefited me well in improving my ability to focus in distracting situations. I always lived in a two-parent household. I always knew that my parents loved me, my two brothers, and each other very much. These positive memories from my childhood have given me a stable foundation on which to build the rest of my life. My parents' example of a healthy marriage gave me the guidance I needed in my life to understand how stable relationships and happy families are built. I plan to take this knowledge and pass this on to my own children someday, whenever I decide it is time to take that next step forward wit h my life. My mother worked as a social worker and my father was a police officer. They raised me and my siblings in an extremely value-oriented household. I was taught from an early age to respect others and also to respect authority. My parents also raised me with a deeply-held belief in social responsibility. It was not enough for my family and for me to live in the world without actively causing harm to anyone. I also needed to do something that bettered my community and improved the world around me. As a result of these teachings from my parents, my two brothers followed in my father’s footsteps and became police officers for the city of New York. However, I wanted to do something different with my life and my career than the rest of my family. I had just enough of a rebellious streak in me that I felt it was necessary to leave home and try something new. However, this rebellious tendency was not enough for me to let go of the values my parents had taught me. As a result , my career choice was to join the military, which is a value-oriented career but one that was very different from anything my parents or siblings had ever done. I thought the military was a perfect choice for me, since I could expand on my existing skills and beliefs while seeing new places and experiencing all kinds of new things. For my first year after basic training, however, I felt that joining the military had been a huge mistake, possibly the biggest mistake I had ever made in my life. I was a child of the urban environment where I had grown up. Being sent to places like the farming community out in rural Texas, the location to which I was originally deployed after training, was a major shock. I missed being surrounded by all the activity and the bustle of the city. I felt like there was nothing for me out there, surrounded by nothing but mountains and empty desert all the way to the horizon. I also missed my family members and the closeness I had shared with them during my childhood. My parents and siblings all still lived in New York City. In fact, most of them still live in the neighborhood where I was born. I rarely had a chance to see them. At that time, joining up with the military seemed like the worst thing that had ever happened to me. Unsurprisingly, during my time in the military I was sent overseas to serve in Iraq. I completed two tours of duty there. It was an experience that I will never be able

How retention strategies of organisation has an impact on labour Dissertation

How retention strategies of organisation has an impact on labour turnover in China - Dissertation Example Throughout the entire period in fulfilling the objectives of this dissertation, I was greatly blessed with his extensive guidance and supervision over my work. I cannot complete this part without saying ‘thank you, sir’. Subsequent to that, my colleagues and friends who also played their part have extended their hand for my project; the successful culmination of this dissertation has also observed the role of my friends. For such contribution, I am also indebted to them. Executive Summary The report objectives were to investigate the recent status of labour turnover in China, reason for increasing labour turnover, identification of retention strategies and effective way to reduce turnover in China. The literature review highlighted the theoretical underpinnings of turnover intention and its related factors with a particular focus on the Chinese market. The online survey was carried out to entertain these objectives. The main findings indicate that job variety, decision making and job involvement have no or zero correlation with turnover intention; job variety, decision making and job involvement have a weak positive correlation with job satisfaction and the same has been found with organizational commitment. The majority of the respondents attach considerable significance to â€Å"leave† incentive as an option to switch over to new organization and training, career help and appraisal can be employed as effective tools to reduce the labour turnover and simultaneously they can be used as retention strategies. The future research should be focusing on the different incentives offered by the employers. Table of contents Introduction 6 Problem statement 8 Research Objectives 8 Revised Literature Review 9 Labour turnover 9 School of turnover 10 Objective opportunities 10 Turnover intention 12 Retention strategies 12 Job satisfaction 13 Organizational commitment 14 Job involvement 14 Job or skill variety 15 Decision making 15 Gap in research 15 S ummary 16 Methodology 18 Research philosophy 18 Hypotheses formulation 19 Research approach 19 Research instrument 20 Data collection method 21 Pilot testing 22 Sampling 23 Sampling strategy 23 Validity and reliability 23 Discussion and analysis strategy 24 Research limitations 24 Research ethics 25 Discussion and analysis chapter 27 Correlation 27 Turnover intention and job variety 27 Turnover intention and decision making 29 Turnover intention and job involvement 30 Job satisfaction and job variety 31 Job satisfaction and decision making 32 Job satisfaction and job involvement 34 Organizational commitment and job variety 35 Organizational commitment and decision making 36 Organizational commitment and job involvement 37 Benefits of Switching organizations 38 Retention strategies 39 Conclusion 40 Recommendations 43 References 45 Appendices 49 Introduction The Chinese economy has grown rapidly. This growth has also increased the Chinese economic environment along with raise increa se in the aggregate employment level. However, this rise increase in the employment has also resulted in labour turnover. Labour turnover can be divided into two main dimensions: voluntary and involuntary. The former reflects employee decision to discontinue offering employment services and the latter relates to employer’s decision to cease up employment relationship with employee. Abbassi and Hollman (2000) maintain that there are five reasons which give rise to employee turnover including managerial style, hiring practices,

Diasability challenges Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Diasability challenges - Essay Example Normally, it does not even take me a second to peel a banana. In case there was anyone observing me; he/she would undoubtedly think I had lost my mind. They could see the frustration and the struggle that I went through. It was extremely devastating. Therefore, I have learnt to appreciate all friends and workmates with disabilities after realizing how hard it can be for them to do what we use no effort to do (Workers with Disabilities, Challenges, and Solutions, n.d). I will mobilize others in supporting them; giving them necessary aid and making them feel wanted in order to offer them a favorable working environment. Under the vision challenges, I chose to thread a needle blindfolded. I could not locate the needle hole putting in mind that it is so tiny to be felt. After almost thirty minutes of futile attempts, I gave up. My eyes were even paining. This is something that I have been doing on almost a daily basis, and it had never crossed my mind that I could barely do it without my sight. I have learnt just how beneficial it is to see. I had never considered how hard it always is for my blind peers to handle most tasks. It requires patience and the strong will to do it. Therefore, I will not look down upon them and will learn to appreciate them for their efforts, accept them and treat them like normal peers. This will keep them encouraged and give them a sense of belonging. Finally, I tried to watch Oprah’s TV show, my favorite, without sound to try figure out what was happening. I could barely tell what was going on, all I could see were pictures; people laughing or maybe sad. I could not tell why the laughter or sad looks at all. I just could not comprehend a thing. Therefore, I learnt that having the ability to hear is a gift that we should not just take for granted. I will share this with other peers at work and help others in understanding how sad it could feel to be ignored, jeered or even

Socrates The Afterlife Essay Example for Free

Socrates The Afterlife Essay Read selections from The Phaedo, available in this week’s Electronic Reserve Readings. Focus on paragraphs 107 to 115a (pp. 437–444). Write a 350- to 700-word essay on the following: †¢Why does Socrates not fear death? †¢What are his views on death and the afterlife? †¢Do you agree or disagree with Socrates on this topic? †¢Using the Socratic method and The Good Thinker’s Tool Kit, formulate at least one question you would ask Socrates about his views on the afterlife. Socrates’ view of the afterlife is a little difficult to assess due to the fact that there are not actual written works by Socrates. The only works about him are by other people. Socrates view of death came up in a conversation when asked by Cebes about the poetry he was working on. The discussion starts with the question suicide. Socrates thesis was â€Å"the one aim of those who practice philosophy in the proper manner is to practice for dying and death†. He also defines death as the separation of body and soul. All this lead to Socrates conclusion about death which is, upon dying a philosopher is most likely to obtain the wisdom which he has been seeking his whole life. Socrates also had an interesting view of the afterlife. Since â€Å"being dead† and â€Å"being alive† are opposite states, and â€Å"dying† and â€Å"coming-to-life† are the two opposite processes between these states, coming-to-life must balance out dying. Socrates also recalled an ancient theory basis just as the souls of the dead in the underworld come from those living in this world; the living souls come back from those of the dead. He concluded that everything that dies must come back to life again. Socrates made a strong argument with valid points that cannot be dismissed. If the two opposite processes did not balance each other out, everything would eventually be in the same state: for example, if increase did not balance out decrease, everything would keep becoming smaller and smaller. Another prime example of this is the Yin and Yang which is a Chinese philosophy and culture which based its principle in that all things exist as inseparable and contradictory opposite, for example female-male, dark-light.

Media And Violence Against Women Media Essay

Media And Violence Against Women Media Essay There has been an exponential growth in the media over the last fifty years. We have witnessed the advent of technology with the development of; telegraph, newspaper, magazines, television to internet. No doubt, the advance has been tremendous. Modern society depends hugely on information. Communication is important at work, health care, personal relationships traveling, and entertainment. Indeed most of our decisions, values, and beliefs are based on our assumptions, facts we know, our values, our studies and our experience. In our daily lives, we rely hugely on information we get from the media. Our trust on media as an indisputable authority to give us entertainment, news, and education is evident in all civilized nations of the modern world. People are at all times being exposed and bombarded constantly with thousand of sex, celebrities, advertising, violence and much more. Indeed, a modern child is exposed to more than 40,000 adverts each day. It is then imperative that we appreciate the role of the media to shape our values, beliefs, and decisions. Every six hours, a woman is murdered in South Africa. Each day, two women are killed in Guatemala. In every 15 seconds in Sao Paulo, Brazil, a woman is assaulted. In U.S.A, within a span of six minutes, a woman is raped. In Europe, 50% of women go through sexual harassment, or physical contact where they work.6000 women are genitallly mutilated in North Africa every day. In China, more than 15,000 women will be sold to sexual slavery this year. This grim statistics points to the fact that violence on women is rooted in the global culture of discrimination. This is a human rights issue. Legitimization of women bodies for individuals and political gratification is disturbing. Each year, community, and home violence devastates and shatters lives of millions of women throughout the world. In 2009, 8000 women were raped in Democratic Republic of Congo. This is a society where combatants have a prevalence rate of 60% H.I.V (Amnesty international, 2010). This form of violence cannot be justified by any cultural, religious, and political claim. Violence is being allowed to happen daily by the prevailing global culture with impunity. Every time when women are terrorized, raped by soldiers as spoils of war, abused in custody, battered at home; what is manifested is unequal power between men and women. This reduces their choices and worsens their plight. Governments all over the world have legal, social, economic duties to protect and punish any form of abuse done on women. This is a responsibility they must sustain with due diligence to protect individual rights from abuses. Violence against women manifests itself in a number of ways. When in custody, aggression on happens due to unevenness of control between inmates and guards is because of dependency on correctional officers and the ability of the guards to hold on privileges. In order to get food or personal hygiene products, women are coerced into supplying sex for favors. Though these crimes are prevalent, perpetrators are rarely held accountable (Division for the Advancement of Women, UN, 2006) Honor Killings; In some countries, if suspected of extra marital relations, even in the case of rape, the cruelest form of indignity and violence is meted on women. Those who are raped are incapable of providing overt substantiation and are occasionally accused of Zina .This is especially so in Iran. The punishment is often stoning .Laws such as these only serve to aggravate and inhibit women from pursuing cases of those who raped them.Making an assumption that the woman is guilty, male respective families believe the only form of dealing with the infringement of honor is to kill the woman. The presence of pornographic videos and images in the media portrays women as cheap and objects of personal gratification. This is a widespread phenomenon, highly commercialized form of business, whose existence is solely because of media reliance. It should be noted that it is the electronic media that hosts most of these demeaning and distasteful images. The fact that the media will place the woman as an object brings about the expected setback of women rights being violated. Domestic violence; this is a global pandemic. With no exception, a womans greatest risk is from someone she knows. Resentment at homes is a contravention of a womans physical right, veracity, and right to being. When basic steps are not taken to curb this abuse, crimes of this nature are allowed to prevail Female Genital Mutilation; F.G.M is the removal of every or a fraction of women external genitalia. In Africa, it is being practiced in more than 28 countries. With dire consequences, an estimated 135 million women have undergone FGM .Though legislation against the practice exists in these countries where it is practiced, complete lack of enforcement and persecution of the perpetrators only ensures that the whole problem continues to thrive (Human Rights Watch, 2010). In the case of sexual orientations, cultural norms and sometimes-legal measures support regulation of sexuality. Families, cultural networks, media, institutions, and religion regulate womens sexuality. A good number of women alleged to be or are lesbians go from end to end through abuses meted by private sector, police, family, and state authorities. Multiple cases of beating, rape, forced impregnation, or marriage are reported to having been inflicted to such persons. In United States, lesbians consistently face well-founded fears of attack or persecution by police because of their identity. On regular basis, this form of violence occurs (Renzetti Bergen, 2005). Consequently, we can say that a Gender Based Asylum case scenario is brought to light. Here, fear of persecution or discrimination by women is considered for the purposes of refugee status. Forcible abortion, female genital mutilation, domestic violence, and honor killings are forms of persecutions that allow one to seek asylum. However, women seeking asylum in many countries rarely gain the refugee status based on claims of these forms of violence. Restrictive interpretation of the international definition of persecution of refugees is severe. In particular, lesbians fear disclosing their sexuality based on violence generated from such disclosure (Malamuth Check, 2004). On the Problem of Impunity, most women fail to report abuses against them because most Government departments are accomplices of gender discrimination. Ostracization, lack of resources, and shame from communities causes most women to fail to seek legal redress to crimes committed against them. Challenging of abusers in a court of law is often long, tedious, humiliating where authorities and those present dwell on sympathy other than empathy (Crowell Burgess, 1996). The brutality meted on women is so widespread that it often fails to invite outrage and censure from members of the public. One in four women experience violence by an intimate partner. Yearly, thousands and thousands of women are recruited to prostitution. In addition, thousand of girls are forced to genital mutilation. In armed conflicts, forces and groups do sexual assaults as an act of war. Violent acts rarely results from one cause. Many things come play. The influence of the mass media is viewed as part of the many potential factors that influence the abuse on women. Constant broadcasting of media violence on women promotes aggressive behavior in young children contributing to increased aggressiveness and ultimately violent behavior many years later. Abuse against girls and women takes various forms. Economic, sexual, psychological, and sexual form. All form these forms of abuse are related and affect women from the onset of their life to their death. This violence is not concentrated to a particular country, region, or to a particular group of people in the society. It is widespread and with it are repercussions the society cannot afford to allow. Indeed 70% of women experience abuse in their lifetime. This has debilitating effects on the society because it leads to women impoverishment, family disintegration, and erosion of progress in communities and Nations (Ferrell Websdale, 1999). Media is a double-edged sword. It has the power to influence the society in a positive way as well as influence it in the most destructive form. It will not be fair to note that although there has been a tremendous progress championed by the media in addressing violence against women, electronic as well as print media has played a complementary role in encouraging degradation of women (Cuklanz Moorti, 2009). Largely, the media is as guilty as charged for promoting violence against women. Media violence leads to an increase in aggressions and real world violence. Film violence and fictional television contribution to both long term and short term rise in silence and aggression against women. Imitative rapes, filmed sexual acts, and pornography portrayals in movies tend to compound the problem of women abuse in the society. Media violence and real world violence relationship tends to be moderated by the nature of the media content and social influences and the characteristics on the individuals exposed to that content. This overall size of effect is big enough to place it in the category of known threats to women rights. Exposure to violence on television and video games increases risk of violent behavior on the part of the viewers (Byerly Ross, 2006). Accumulation of body research is consistent and clear that television violence causes an increase in violent and aggressive behavior. It leads to acquisition of beliefs, attitudes, schemes, and scripts that increase the risk of aggressive and violent behavior in the observer of media violence. Media has always played a significant role to address issues of health, economy, and politics. If similar energy is focused on the issue of eliminating violence, it can play a vital role. Victimization of females in storylines reduces perceptions of violence. Media monitoring, an African institution that advocates fair journalism reported that there is a shortage of women journalists in major media outlets in the continent. Where they exist, the people controlling stakes in these media institutions restrict their roles. These people are either the management or the owners. They are therefore denied a chance to highlight issues pertinent to their plight. According to Meyers (1997), it is of prime importance to be responsible always on how to present news in matters regarding violence on women. The media has the role of making these events however challenging or sad to be a moral lesson to all the viewers. There is an acknowledgement that the media is a strong influence in our age. However, responsible use can sway the influence in a positive direction. Studies show that even in female friendly nations, news reporting remains dominated by men. Almost half of journalists are women in these countries; however, three out of the four seniors in the media industry are men. This is a serious disparity. It denies women an avenue in which to address issues pertinent to them. The media should be the watchdog of international organizations making effort to stem the spread of violence against women. Campaigns such as UNITE should be given needful coverage to raise awareness of the initiative noble goals. The media should follow up on the progress Nations of the world are making to meet the set target in 2015 when the issue of aggression on women should be eliminated. Nations should marry their own initiatives with the wider programs that are already in various countries to ensure that conducive legal environment is provided to deal with offenders and mitigate against further injuries being inflicted upon women. Intergovernmental cooperation is also of prime importance to stop trafficking of women for sexual slavery. It is only through such concerted efforts that the war will be won. As United Nations Secretary General observes, there is one universal truth, applicable to all countries, cultures, and communities: Abuse on women is never acceptable, never excusable, and never tolerable. This is a noble dream that should be supported by all.

No Universally Agreed Definition Of Corporate Social Responsibility Management Essay

No Universally Agreed Definition Of Corporate Social Responsibility Management Essay With no universally agreed definition of Corporate Social Responsibility, myriad of terms Corporate accountability, Corporate sustainability, Corporate citizenship or Sustainable responsible business have been used interchangeably to describe the practice of CSR. Basically, CSR is a discharge of duty towards society. Business and society are interrelated rather than being distinct entities and therefore, society has certain expectations for appropriate business behaviour and outcomes (Wood, 1991). According to Mallen Baker (2004), CSR is about how companies manage business operations to produce positive impact on society. Consequently, companies need to account for the quality of their management (both in terms of people and process) and the nature of and quantity of their impact on society in various areas.1 In the 1950s, Howard Bowen first published a seminal book Social responsibilities of businessman in which he famously posed the question What responsibilities to society may businessman reasonably be expected to assume. This publication evidently marked the beginning of a modern era of CSR as it we know it today (Carroll, 1999). Since then, the notion of CSR has come to dominate the society-business interface and various theories and concepts have been proposed. According to Bowen (1953), social responsibilities refer to the obligation of businessman to pursue those policies, to make those decisions, or to follow those lines of action which are desirable in terms of objectives and values of our society. The most applied definition of CSR comes from Archie Carroll (1979) who argues that the social responsibility of business encompasses economic, legal, ethical and discretionary expectations that society has of organisations at a given point in time. This approach encompasses a whole range of responsibilities of a firm. In the same vein, Lichtenstein et al. (2004) and Lindgreen et al. (2008) consider that an organisation needs to define its role within the society and implement the necessary ethical, responsible, legal and social standards to their firm. Conversely, GÓssling and Vocht (2007) described CSR from a different viewpoint as an obligation of the business world to be accountable to its entire stakeholder customers, employees, shareholders, communities and ecological consideration in all aspects of their operations (Gokulsing, 2001). 2.1.1 Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate Social Performance The current globalisation trend and growing demand from stakeholders towards companies to adopt CSR practices within their business strategy have indeed encouraged companies involvement in such practices (Chapple and Moon, 2005). Therefore, companies that are considered as socially responsible are experiencing triple bottom line benefits associated with such social initiatives. Additionally, companies are not only assessed via traditional performance indicators but also by the way they interact with broad set of social demands. However, CSR being impossible to measure (Van Beurden Gossling, 2008), an observable and measurable outcome of CSR term Corporate Social Performance (CSP) is used to capture the performance of CSR strategies within the society. Carroll (1979) vaguely defines CSP construct as a three dimensional model that consisted of social responsibility categories, social issues and philosophies of social responsiveness. Building on Carrolls attempt to define CSP, Wartick and Cochran (1985) offer a general framework of CSP by defining CSP model as the underlying interaction among the principle of social responsibility, the process of social responsiveness and the policies developed to address social issues and show how several competing perspectives (economic responsibility, public responsibility, social responsiveness) can be incorporated into his framework. Nevertheless, Wood (1991) argues that although Wartick and Cochran (1985) model is innovative, it is still incomplete. Wood (1991) asserts that the term performance relates to actions and outcomes and not interaction and integration. Consequently, Wood (1991) refine Wartick and Cochrans (1985) model to integrate various theoretical perspectives into a coherent CSP model and as such, he defines CSP as a business organisations configuration of principles of social responsibility, process of social responsiveness and policies, programs and observable outcomes as they relate to the firms societal relationships. Wood (1991) affirms that the principles of social responsibility operates at three levels specifically; institutional, organizational and individuals. Conversely, Gond and Crane (2010) define CSP as an umbrella concept which includes organisational process of environmental assessment, stakeholder management and various measures of its external output and societal manifestations (Orlitzky, 2008). 2.1.2 Forms of CSR initiatives Basically, CSR includes a variety of socially responsible activities. Kotler and Lee (2005) identified six major initiatives under which most CSR related activities fall generating a positive impact on the company. The six different forms of CSR initiatives are as follows: 2.1.3 Main approaches of CSR In response to the question to whom an organisation has a responsibility, Marrewijk (2003) presents a sequence review of three corporate responsibility approaches Shareholder approach, Stakeholder approach and Societal approach. 2.1.4 Factors influencing level of CSR activities Review of prior literature indicates that companies actually differ in how they implement their CSR strategies. This can normally be explained using a range of company level attributes that influence the companys CSR participation. These attributes entail: Company size Waddock and Graves (1997) and Itkonen (2003) provide that company size is related to CSP since bigger companies have been found to be more socially responsible than smaller ones. Type of industry McGuire et al. (2003) argues that the type of industry plays an important role in identifying the level of CSR activities. For instance, the CSR activities differ from manufacturing sector to service sector (Kolk, 2003). Financial risk Orlitzky and Benjamin (2001) assert that a company with low CSP shall consider and manage its social responsibility since such a company will have an adverse impact in terms of risk. 2.1.5 Social Responsibility Models The Pyramid of CSR The professor Archie Carroll is one of the first academics to make a distinction between different kinds of organisational responsibilities. This distinction is referred to as a firms pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility. The pyramid implies a hierarchy of responsibilities moving from economic and legal through more socially oriented ones of ethical and philanthropic responsibilities (Carroll, 1979; 1991). http://www.witszen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/carrollCSR.jpg Source: (http://www.witszen.com/how-companies-should-use-social-media-for-better-corporate-social-responsibility/) Economic Responsibilities Carroll (1979) argues that business institutions are basic economic unit in society and have a responsibility that is economic in nature or kind. The economic responsibility is the most fundamental responsibility of a company which reflects the essence of a company as a profit-making business organisation. The remaining three kinds of social responsibility are based on the economic responsibilities. The economic responsibility implies that society expects business to produce those goods and services demanded and make a profit as an incentive or reward for the business efficiency and effectiveness. Legal Responsibilities The legal responsibilities entail expectations of legal compliance and playing the rules of the games. From this perspective, society expects business to fulfill its economic mission within the framework set forth by the societys legal system (Jamali, 2008). Crane and Matten (2004) further adds that all companies attempting to be socially responsible are required to follow the law. Ethical Responsibilities According to Schwartz (2011), the ethical responsibilities embody those standards, norms or expectations that reflect a concern for what consumers, employees, shareholders and the community regards as fair, just or in keeping with the respect or protection of stakeholders moral rights. Therefore, society expects corporations to act ethically towards its stakeholders (Crane and Matten, 2004). Philanthropic Responsibilities These responsibilities which represents the smallest layer of the pyramid, involves the corporations willingness to enhance the quality of living of their stakeholders through charitable donations and organisational support that are entirely voluntary and seen as desirable by society. The philanthropic responsibilities are sometimes on the same level as ethical. However, the difference is that it is not seen as unethical behaviour if business does not contribute their money to humanitarian programmes (Carroll, 1991). Carrolls CSR Pyramid in Developing Countries In a review of CSR in developing countries, Visser (2006) bases himself on the empirical studies undertaken by Pinkston and Carroll (1994), Edmondson and Carroll (1999) and Burton et al. (2000) to underline the fact that culture may have an important influence on perceived CSR priorities. As such, the widely accepted Carrolls pyramid is revisited in the context of developing countries as shown below: Source: Visser, W. (2006)  Revisiting Carrolls CSR Pyramid: An African Perspective, In E.R. Pedersen M. Huniche (eds.),  Corporate Citizenship in Developing Countries, Copenhagen: Copenhagen Business School Press Visser (2006) contends that the order of CSR layers in developing countries taken as relative emphasis assigned to various responsibilities differs from Carrolls classic pyramid. Hence, in developing countries, even if economic responsibilities still get the most emphasis, philanthropy is given the second highest priority followed by legal and then ethical responsibilities. This is explained partly by the traditional attachment to philanthropy by the fact that it is most direct way to improve living conditions in their immediate surroundings and also by a traditional culture of fatalism, dependence and assistance in developing countries (Ragodoo, 2009). Conversely, the pressure to comply with existing legislation is less as compared to the developed countries. Three Domain Model of CSR Schwartz and Carroll (2003) highlight certain limitations in Carrolls CSR pyramid. Firstly, the pyramid suggests a hierarchy of CSR domains whereby one may conclude that the domain at the top is more important than the domain at the base. This is clearly not the kind of CSR priorities that Carroll intended in his CSR pyramid. Secondly, the pyramid framework cannot fully capture the overlapping nature of CSR domains. Hence, extrapolating from Carrolls model, Schwartz and Carroll (2003) proposed an alternative approach to conceptualise CSR a three-domain model. The three-domain model is presented with three core domains of economic, legal and ethical responsibilities that are depicted in a venn model framework. Initially, it suggests that none of the CSR domains is prima facie more important or significant relative to the others. The venn model framework actually yields seven CSR categories from an overlap of the three core domains. However, the exception with this model is that the philanthropic category, if exist, is subsumed under the ethical and/or economic domains. The figure below illustrates the venn model framework originated from Schwartz and Carroll (2003) research: Source: Management for Social Enterprise, Bob Doherty,  George Foster,  Chris Mason,  John Meehan,  Karon Meehan,  Neil Rotheroe,  Maureen Royce 2.2 CSR Reporting Based on their research on CSR disclosure, Holder-Webb et al. (2009) assert that it is not enough for corporations to simply engage in CSR activities but it is also important and desirable to make information about these activities available to stakeholders. Additionally, the call for disclosure of non-financial information has grown in response to the awareness that financial statement omits salient information about the company (Adams et al. 2011). The financial statement actually portrays a limited picture of the company through providing merely financial metrics. Therefore, the relevance of non-financial information has increased markedly over the years. The emergence of non-financial reporting can be seen as an attempt to increase transparency with respect to corporate actions concerning social and environmental issues (Nielsen Thomsen, 2007). Further, it is acknowledged that the disclosure of non-financial information is essential to reduce information asymmetry that exists be tween management and key stakeholders (Narayanan et al. 2000) as well as to allow investors to better assess key areas of performance and support a broader view of corporate performance that encompasses society at large (Holder-Webb et al. 2009). 2.2.1 Motivation for CSR Reporting Along with the increased interest to engage in CSR activities, today corporations across the world are more voluntarily disclosing information about their CSR performance. Undeniably, numerous motivational bases can explain companies involvement in CSR reporting practices. Threat to the organisations legitimacy The legitimacy theory posits that there is a social contract between companies and the society in which they operate (Deegan 2002; Mathew 1993; Patten 1992). Therefore, corporation try to legitimise their corporate actions by engaging in CSR reporting to get the approval from society and thus, ensuring their continuing existence (Belal, 2008). Increase access to capital and shareholder value Roberts (1992) assert that one way that firms consider CSR disclosure is to increase access to capital and shareholder value by satisfying stakeholders expectation. Investors are choosing to invest in organisation that is demonstrating a high level of CSR (Baron, 2008). Enhance corporate reputation Branco and Rodrigues (2008) argue that CSR disclosure (CSRD) is an important mechanism to enhance the effect of CSR on corporate reputation as well as representing a signal of improved social and environmental conduct. In their research on CSRD and corporate reputation, Bayoud et al. (2012) confirms that a high level of CSRD is strongly associated with corporate reputation for stakeholder group. Risk Management According to Kytle et al. (2005), reporting practices have become a key management tool to the growing complexity to multinational business management. He further argues that reporting helps to integrate CSR activities into companies strategic risk management so that the impact of CSR activities can be maximised. Employee attraction, motivation and retention Waddock et al (2002) argue that employees perceptions about how a corporation accepts and manages its responsibilities are often part of the employees decision about where to work. Therefore, publication of sustainability related information can play a role of positioning a company as an employer of choice and as such, this status can enhance loyalty, reduce staff turnover and increase a companys ability to attract and retain high quality employees (Group of 100 KPMG, 2008). Financial performance Margolis and Walsh (2003) claim that corporations engagement in CSR activities and its disclosure can foster corporate performance and as such their research conclude a positive relationship between CSR performance and financial performance. Similarly, Balbanis, Philips and Lyall (1998) find that economic performance is related to both CSR performance and disclosure although having a weak relationship and lack of overall consistency. 2.3 Theories on CSR Various theories have been used over the years to demonstrate the behavior of economic units related to CSR issues. The relevant theories are: Agency theory Proponents of economic theories are among the first to write about corporate social involvement although considering it as a flaw in corporate thinking. Stewardship theory Social contract theory The social contract theory begins in the classic period of history and takes its modern form in the 16th and 18th centuries with best known philosophers like Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau. Legitimacy theory Deegan and Unerman (2006) assert that the legitimacy theory relies upon the notion that there is a social contract between an organisation and the society in which it operates. The social contract as explained by Deegan (2000), represents myriad of expectations that society has about how an organisation should conduct its operations. Stakeholder theory Freeman (1984) argues that managers should not just focus on stockholders need, but rather must satisfy a variety of stakeholders. As such, the stakeholder theory is used to analyse those groups to whom a firm should be responsible (Moir, 2001). 2.4 Corporate Financial Performance Price and Mueller (1986) assert that corporate financial performance (CFP) depicts the financial viability of an organisation. Therefore, corporations need to disseminate information about their financial performance as an account of managements stewardship as well as a means of assessing the entitys capacity to generate cashflows (Stein, 2000). Additionally, the financial performance is a subjective measure of the effectiveness with which an organisation makes use of its resources to attain its economic or financial goals. Basically, an organisations financial performance can be measured using three alternative approaches market-based measure, accounting-based measure and perceptual-based measure (Orlitzky, 2003). The market measure focuses on the firms stock price to evaluate its financial performance. McGuire et al (1998) argue that the market measure represents investors evaluation of the ability of a firm to generate future economic earnings. Alternatively, the accounting-based measure captures the firms competitive effectiveness and internal efficiency as well as optimal utilisation of assets. This measure represents financial performance using three divisions: (i) Return on Asset (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) (Waddock and Graves, 1997); (ii) profitability in absolute terms (Stanwick and Stanwick, 1998) and (iii) multiple accounting based measure with the overall index score of 0-10 (Moore, 2001). Finally, the perceptual measure uses subjective judgment about the firms financial performance wh ich is provided by survey respondents (Wartick, 1988). 2.4.1 Relationship between CSP and CFP The nature of the relationship between a firms socially responsible behaviour and its financial performance has extensively been debated till today and yet it remains unsolved (Margolis and Walsh, 2003). Preston and OBannon (1997) actually highlights two important issues in the relationship between CSP and CFP: Direction and Causality of the relationship. The direction of the relationship can be positive, neutral or even negative. The positive direction of the relationship can be explained using the instrumental stakeholder theory. This theory suggests that the satisfaction of various stakeholder groups is instrumental for the organisational financial performance (Donaldson and Preston, 1995). Conversely, the negative relationship is based on the neoclassical economic theory which argues that a socially responsible firms costs are considered unnecessary and thus can lead to a competitive disadvantage such that a decrease in firms profit and shareholder wealth (Preston and OBannon, 1997). Finally, the neutral relationship between the two constructs, as provided by Waddock and Graves (1997) exists by coincidence. McWilliam and Siegel (2001) further explain that a company acting responsibly to customers can have different demand curve as compared to a less responsible one. Therefore, the CSR activities are only a way to attain differentiation and thus, do not impact on companys profit. The causality of the relationship as pointed out by Preston and OBannon (1997) actually denotes whether CSP or CFP is an independent or dependent variable. Therefore, in such a case, if CSP is an independent variable, it comes first to affect CFP while if CSP is a dependent variable, CFP comes first to affect CSP. Such an argument is also raised by Griffin and Mahon (1997) who question whether a company is better off focusing on CSP or CFP first. In view of explaining the causality of the relationship, Waddock and Graves (1997) and Dean (1999) proposes two theories such as the slack resource theory and good management theory. The slack resource theory explains that a firm shall have good financial performance to contribute to the corporate social performance. It further posits that a company conducting social performance requires some funds that may result from the success of financial performance. Therefore, this theory argues that financial performance comes first and is an indepen dent variable to affect CSP. Conversely, the good management theory argues that social performance actually comes first. This theory provides that CSP is an independent variable resulting in CFP and companies having good reputation achieve good financial position through market mechanism. 2.5 Empirical review

William Blake, the Jonah of London :: Blake Jonah London

William Blake, the Jonah of London missing works cited Through the streets and alleyways of Nineveh the prophet Jonah trudged. At every marketplace and city gate he joyously roared his tidings of evil, â€Å"forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned!† Two and a half millennia after the great fish vomited Jonah back onto dry land, William Blake faithfully follows that path of bilge and seaweed, bile and gall, into the fraternity of prophets and oracles. Just as Jonah was reluctant to prophesy to the Ninevites for fear that his enemies would hear and repent, Blake has a vested interest in perpetuating the blindness of his readers. In fact, even as he works his metaphysics to impose his â€Å"phantasy† as the prophet who proclaims the liberation of the world, he shows a full awareness that true success can only lead to his demise as a poet. Thus, standing upon his apple-crate in the marketplace, he chokes back his voice a little and mumbles in ciphers, desperately praying that he would not be understood. Amidst angry fires and hungry clouds the poet arises in prophet’s robes, and with a roar to shake the worlds to their very foundations proclaims the revival of â€Å"Eternal Hell†! Like Christ upon the commencement of his ministry, he boldly steps forth and seizes the words of Isaiah to legitimize his mission. He points to Isaiah’s vision of Edom becoming â€Å"blazing pitch (Isaiah XXXIV, v9)† and cries, â€Å"now is the dominion of Edom (plate 3)†; now is the fulfillment of the prophecy, â€Å"then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped,† and Blake, the prophet of Hell, shall be the one to fulfill it (Isaiah XXXV, v5). By positioning his first proclamation in parallel with Isaiah 34 and 35, Blake invites, or rather, forces dialogue between Isaiah and himself, and claims for himself Isaiah’s prophetic authority. Later, he dines with both Isaiah and Ezekiel in a symbolic gesture of equality and solidarity and discusses with them as one prophet to another the challenges that one faces in such a line of work (plate 12). Blake again establishes the bond between prophets and the fires of Hell by telling of an angel who, having been converted by a devil, embraces the fire and, consumed by it, arises as the prophet Elijah (plate 24). Thus allegiance to Hell, Bake claims, makes one a prophet.

The Decision to Litigate and the Adversary System :: Litigation Adversary System Court Essays

The Decision to Litigate and the Adversary System The in-class video and lecture identified a number of factors that should be considered when making this decision. They include 1.) Trials are expensive and lengthy. Someone has to pay the costs. 2.) What is the likehood of recovery? 3.) Are the defendants able to satisfy the judgement? 4.) Will a suit impact the relationship between the defendant(s) and 5.) Will harmful publicity or loss of goodwill result? In the movie, the decision to go to trial was based on the attorney’s greed. Though that was not the initial decision, once Schlictmann saw Beatrice Foods and linked it to â€Å"Peter Pan, Tropicana, Samsonite, etc†. You could see the dollar signs in his eyes. From that point forward all manpower and resources were allocated to this one case. None of the plaintiffs in the film appeared to have the financial resources to support a decision to litigate, nor did the firm representing them. Towards the end of the trial, the firm was so heavily in debt over the case they filled out multiple applications for credit cards. They also had second mortgaged their homes, cashed in their â€Å"retirement plans, life insurance plans, gone.† The firm had completely overextended themselves in the process of trying to generate evidence to prove their case. The lack of evidence, money as well as the tremendous resources of the defendants should all have been considerations that would have steered them from a trial. Most important of all, the attorney should have been focused on the goal of the Plaintiff’s in determining whether or not to litigate, which in the movie was completely overlooked. They did not want punitive damages as a result of their losses. What they wanted was for the responsible party to take ownership of their actions and apologize to them. This was clearly stated to Jan Schlictmann in his initial meeting with them. Furthermore, they restated their interest at the time that the attorney’s informed the families that they would each receive $375, 000 as part of the settlement from W.R. Grace. Strategy in the Adversary System One of the strategies employed by lawyers in a trial to achieve a favorable verdict is to persuade the trier of facts that the facts presented by the other side are untrue, improvable or not credible. In the movie, both defense attorneys’s attacked the credibility of the plaintiff’s attorney, Jan Schlictmann.

Microsoft Office and Figure

Table of Contents Introduction This session is targeted at those who wish to learn the new key features of MS Word 2007. It will cover use of the ribbon, adding tools to the Quick Access Toolbar and using live preview before making selections. By the time you have completed this session you should be able to: 1. Work with the new ribbon in Word 2007 2. Add tools to the Quick Access Toolbar 3. Use the Office Button 4. Use Live Preview and make selection 5. Create, save and format a document 6. Indent paragraphs and change line spacing 7. Create bullet and number list 8.Change format of bullets and number list 9. Apply borders and shading to paragraphs 10. Add a header or footer and page numbers to documents 11. Select tools from the Mini Toolbar 12. Work with Super tool tips 13. Use Launchers to display dialog boxes 14. Create and modify tables 15. Add and remove items from the Status Bar 16. Select Word Options 17. Understand the new file formats 18. Use the Compatibility Checker 19. Understand and apply the different security features Documents needed for practical are contained within the EssentialsInWord folder on the desktop or download from http://www. qub. ac. k/student Click on the Training Materials link (under Useful Information), scroll down to Microsoft Office 2007. Click on the Zip files for Word Essential. zip and download either to desktop or H drive. Right click on the zip file and select Extract All (or unzip to here) This practical should take you approximately 2 hours to complete Microsoft Word’s 2007 Ribbon When Word 2007 is first opened, a new blank document is automatically created. The ribbon displayed across the top of the screen replaces the old toolbars and menus. The ribbon is divided into eight tabs (if Developer tab is shown), plus an additional tab if add-ins are being used.The number of items shown in the ribbon will vary depending on the size and resolution of the monitor. For example, figure 1 below shows four heading styl es on the ribbon, whereas a larger monitor with a higher screen resolution would display six or more heading styles. By clicking on the downward arrow to the right of the styles, the full range of styles will be displayed. By selecting the tabs across the top of the ribbon, i. e. Insert, Page Layout, References, Mailings, Review and View, a different section of the ribbon will be displayed.Notice that the Home ribbon/tab contains many of the tools previously displayed on the Standard and Formatting toolbars. Figure [ 1 ]: The Ribbon (Home Position) To hide the ribbon, (which will allow more room on the screen) double click one of the tabs across the top. To access a tool from the collapsed ribbon, click once on the tab to expand the ribbon and select the tool. To bring the ribbon back, double click on a tab or use the keyboard option Ctrl+F1. Note that when the ribbon is collapsed it is possible to use the Alt key on the keyboard to show the shortcut keys.For example Alt+N will acce ss the Insert tab. See . Figure [ 2 ]: Short Cut Keys for Ribbon ————————————————- Across the top of the ribbon (or just below it), at the left hand side of the Title Bar, you will notice the Quick Access Toolbar (see figure 3). To add tools from the ribbon to the toolbar, right click on the tool and select Add to Quick Access Toolbar. Note: tools on the Quick Access Toolbar are saved to the computer, therefore if you use a different computer, you will not be able to access tools saved earlier. Figure [ 3 ]: Quick Access ToolbarMany of the tools contained in the earlier Edit menu, can now be accessed from the Office Button See figure 4 for list. Note that if the current document is saved on a SharePoint server, there will also be a Server Tasks button, between Publish and close. 1. ———————————â₠¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- Click on the Office Button 2. ————————————————- Right click on the Save icon 3. ————————————————- Select Add to Quick Access Toolbar Note: If the tool is already on the Quick Access Toolbar, the option will be unavailable.If this is the case, select another tool of your choice to add to the toolbar. Office Button Click on the arrows to see an extended menu in each case Live Preview Live Preview shows formatting results on text such as heading styles, font colour, background colour, etc, without actually clicking on the choice. For example by highlighting text and moving the mouse over the styles, on the Home tab, a preview of the effect of each style will be displayed without actually selecting the style. Note that not all fo rmatting options use live preview.Click on the Office Button and select Open Browse to where you have saved the Word Essentials folder and open the document ECDL Leaflet Select the first heading ECDL and ECDL Advanced Ensure the Home tab is selected and move the cursor over the heading styles Notice how the heading changes to allow a preview (without clicking on a style). Click the downward arrow to the right of the styles to access the full range. Select Heading1 style by clicking on it. (Note: the name of the style will appear as you move the cursor over each style). Bullets and Numbering 1. ———————————————— Under the heading Why Study for an IT Qualification, select the five lines of text after By studying for the ECDL at Queen’s†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 2. ——————————————â€⠀Ã¢â‚¬â€- Select the Bullets tool from the Paragraph group on the Home tab. 3. ————————————————- Scroll down to the heading What will you learn and select the seven lines of text beginning Basic Concepts of IT and select the Numbering tool from the Paragraph group. 4. ————————————————-Under the heading Moving forward with ECDL Advanced, select the text Word processing, down to Presentations and select the bullets tool. 5. ————————————————- To change the style of numbering or bullets, select the last list you created and click on the downward arrow to the right of the bullet or number tool 6. ———————â₠¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- Choose a style or select Define New Bullet to choose a picture/symbol. See figure 5. (Note Live Preview of bullets before selection) : Change Bullet types * Note: within the Paragraph group there is also a Multilevel list.See figure 6, which is a useful feature for creating sub level lists. Also under the font group there is a tool to remove all formatting from a document. See figure 7. : Multilevel List : Clear Formatting Borders and Shading 1. ————————————————- Ensure the Home tab is selected. 2. ————————————————- Select the last paragraph in the document beginning ECDL and ECDL Advanced and click on the downward arrow beside the Border tool (on the Paragraph group). See figure 8. 3. — ———————————————-Select Outside Borders, see figure 8. Figure [ 7 ]: Border 4. ————————————————- With the paragraph still selected click on the downward arrow beside the Shading tool (next to the border tool) on the Paragraph group. 5. ————————————————- Select a shade of grey, i. e. 25% * The MiniBar/Mini Toolbar Select any line of text in the ECDL leaflet document. Notice that the mini toolbar appears. See Figure 9. At first the toolbar will be quite faint but as the cursor is moved closer to the toolbar it becomes more solid.Moving the cursor off the mini toolbar and back may cause it to disappear. Right click on the selected text and it will reappear. Note t hat the mini toolbar does not produce live preview results. Figure [ 8 ]: Mini Toolbar By right clicking on text such as bullets or numbering, extended shortcut options will appear (see figure 10). Figure [ 9 ]: Extended Short Cut Menu * Super Tooltips Move the cursor over the tools on the ribbon. Notice that an extended tool tip appears. For example in Figure 11 below, the mouse was hovered over the Format Painter tool. In most cases the keyboard short cut keys also appear.Figure [ 10 ]: Super Tooltip for Format Painter * Dialog Boxes and Launchers Dialog boxes can be displayed in several ways. One example is to use the launchers. These are indicated by the small arrow in the lower right hand corner of ribbon groups, see figure 12. Click on the launcher to open the dialog box. Note that not a lot of changes have been made to dialog boxes in Word 2007 see figures 13a and 13b for one example. Figure [ 11 ]: Launcher Launcher Figure [ 12 ]a: Paragraph in 2007 Figure 13b: Paragraph in 2003 The Insert RibbonClick on the Office Button and create a new blank document. Click on the Insert tab to display the insert section of the ribbon, see figure 14. Figure [ 13 ]: Insert Ribbon From the Pages group there is the option to insert a cover page, a blank page or page break. Section breaks can now be accessed from the Page Layout tab (covered later). Note that page breaks can also be accessed from the Page Layout tab. Tables Click on the downward arrow under tables and select a three column by three row table. See figure 15. Alternatively select Insert Table to make your selection. See figure 15. Figure [ 14 ]: Insert TableThree columns by three rows Note the table tools in the ribbon with Design and Layout tabs. See figure 16 with Design tab selected and Figure 17 with Layout tab selected. Design tab Layout Table Tools Border Launcher Figure [ 15 ]: Table Tools (Design) 1. ————————————â €”———- Click into the first cell of the table and ensure the Layout tab is selected (see figure 17) 2. ————————————————- Select the top row of the table and click on the Merge Cells button within the Merge group 3. ————————————————-Select the Design tab and from the table styles (use the arrow key to the right of the styles), select Light List Accent 2 style, i. e. move the cursor over the styles and a name box will appear. Figure [ 16 ]: Table Tools (Layout) 1. ————————————————- Select the table and with the Design tab still selected, click on the Draw Borders launcher (see figure 16) to access the full range of borders and sha ding options. Alternatively click the downward arrows next to the borders and shading buttons to see the full range of options (within table styles of the Design tab). 2. ———————————————— Select All borders 3. ————————————————- Select 1 point width for the border and the colour blue. 4. ————————————————- Right click within a table cell to bring up additional options such as insert row/column, delete row/column, etc. See figure 18. 5. ————————————————- Alternatively, select the Layout tab, see figure 17 to insert rows, columns, delete table, et c. 6. ————————————————- Using figure 19 as a guide, complete the remaining cells within the table. . ————————————————- Save the document as Table Example within the WordEssentials folder and close the document. Figure [ 17 ]: Table options Courses Microsoft Office 2007 Training Courses| October| Word| Essentials| October| Excel| Essentials| October| PowerPoint| Essentials| October| Access| Essentials| November| Word| Advanced| November| Excel| Advanced| November| PowerPoint| Advanced| November| Access| Advanced| A range of other course are available in each Microsoft application Shapes and SmartArt Click on the Office button and create a new document and ensure the Insert tab is selected.The Illustrations group on the Insert tab has buttons for inserting pictures , ClipArt, Shapes and Charts, there is also an option to use SmartArt which is a new feature on the Insert ribbon. 1. ————————————————- Click on the downward arrow below shapes. A range of shapes, lines, arrows are available. See figure 18. Note the option New Drawing Canvas at the bottom of the list (this appeared automatically in Word 2003) 2. ————————————————- Select three flow chart shapes of your choice and draw them on the page, one beneath the other.Draw connecting lines from the first shape to the second and a line from the second to the third shape. Figure [ 18 ]: Shapes 1. ————————————————- With the Insert tab still selected, click on Blank Pa ge (from the Pages group). 2. ————————————————- Click on the SmartArt control and browse through the different categories down the left hand side. See figure 21 3. ————————————————- Select Block cycle from the Cycle category and click OK. See figure 21 with block cycle selected. Note the SmartArt ribbon appears.See figure 22. Figure [ 19 ]: SmartArt Figure [ 20 ]: SmartArt Ribbon Add Shape Change Colours 4. ————————————————- Click into each area of the cycle in turn and type the tasks associated with completing the ECDL qualification. See figure 23. 5. ————————————â€⠀Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- Click anywhere on the page when the cycle is complete. To access the SmartArt ribbon, double click on the shape and it will reappear. 6. ————————————————- To change the colour of the cycle, click on the Change Colours control, see figure 22. 7. ———————————————— To delete a shape, select the shape and press delete on the keyboard. 8. ————————————————- To insert a shape, select a shape next to where you want the new shape and click on Add Shape, see figure 22 9. ————————————————- To change the layout use the arrows to the right of the Layouts group and click a layout to select. 10. ————————————————- To change the SmartArt style, click on the arrows to the right of the Styles group and click the style to select. Figure [ 21 ]: Steps to complete ECDLNote: for more advanced features of SmartArt, see Advanced courses in Word and PowerPoint. Headers and Footers 1. ————————————————- Ensure the Insert tab is selected. Click the downward arrow under Header, (within the Header & Footer group) to see the full range of header styles. Click the arrow beneath Footer and Page Number to view the styles available. See figure 24. 2. ————————————————- Click on the Footer button and s elect Alphabet style. Type your name in the [Type Text] box. The page number will appear on the right of the footer. . ————————————————- Notice the view of the ribbon/tab has changed, i. e. a design tab for header and footer appears. See figure 25. 4. ————————————————- Click Close Header and Footer (see figure 25). Note: Another way to access headers or footers is to double click the header or footer area of the page. Figure [ 22 ]: Headers and Footers Note: When in the header or footer area the header and footer tools/controls appear, see figure 25. To return to the main document, click the Close Header and Footer button see figure 25.Figure [ 23 ]: Header and footer tools Quick Parts and Building Blocks Quick Parts and Building Blocks provide a menu of reusable document parts, for example headers, footers, cover page, tables, etc. 1. ————————————————- With the Insert tab selected, click on Quick Parts from the Text group. Any quick parts created will be displayed. In figure 26 below, a cover sheet for IT courses has been created and saved as a quick part. 2. ————————————————- Click on Building Blocks Organizer to see the full list and type.Select a building block and note the preview displayed. To use a building block, select it and click Insert Figure [ 24 ]: Quick Parts 1. ————————————————- With the Building Blocks Organizer open, click on the heading Name, to sort items by name. To sort by Gallery, Categor y or Template, click on the particular heading. 2. ————————————————- Select one of the building blocks and click Edit properties. The Modify Building Block box opens (see figure 27). Changes can be made, click OK Figure [ 25 ]: Modify Building Blocks 1. ———————————————— To add a document part to Quick Parts or Building Blocks, select the item (for example to create a heading with QUB logo): 2. ————————————————- Ensure the Insert tab is selected, click Header and select Edit Header 3. ————————————————- Click on Picture within the Insert tab and insert Logo_QUB from the folder saved to your desktop. 4. ————————————————- Click on the downward arrow next to Quick Parts and select Save selection to Quick Part Gallery (see figure 27). . ————————————————- Type a name for the Quick Part, i. e. QUBLogo, select the Header gallery from the drop down list. See figure 28 Figure [ 26 ]: Create Quick Part 1. ————————————————- Open a new blank document 2. ————————————————- Click on the arrow next to Quick Parts and select Building Blocks Organizer 3. ————— Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- Click on Name to sort by name and scroll down to QUBLogo 4. ————————————————- Click Insert The Page Layout RibbonClick the Page Layout tab to display the page layout section of the ribbon, see figure 29. Figure [ 27 ]: Page Layout Ribbon Margins 1. ————————————————- Ensure the ECDL Leaflet document is opened. 2. ————————————————- Within the Page Setup group, click the downward arrow under Margins, to change the margins of the document 3. ————————————————- Note t he range of page set up styles provided but in this case choose Custom Margins 4. ————————————————- Change the top margin to 3. cm and the bottom to 3. 00 cm (see figure 30). 5. ————————————————- Note the option to change page orientation (leave as Portrait) 6. ————————————————- Click OK Figure [ 28 ]: Page Set up Indents and Spacing 1. ————————————————- Select the first paragraph of text under the heading â€Å"Is your CV missing something? † 2. ———————————â⠂¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- Ensure the Page Layout tab is selected and click on the launcher button to the right of the Paragraph group (see figure 12 for launcher button) 3. ———————————————— Ensure the Indents and Spacing tab is selected and from Special select First line indent (see figure 31). 4. ————————————————- Change the line spacing to 1. 5 lines with 10 pt spacing after the paragraph (see figure 31). Click OK Figure [ 29 ]: Indents and Line Spacing As mentioned earlier section breaks can be inserted from the Page Layout tab, from within the Page Setup group, (click the arrow beside Breaks to select section breaks), see figure 29. The References Ribbon Click on the References tab to display the ribbon, see figure 32.The References tab is used f or working with long documents, i. e. generating a table of contents and index, inserting footnotes and endnotes, inserting captions for tables and figures, etc. It will not be covered in this practical. Figure [ 30 ]: References Ribbon The Mailings Ribbon Click on the Mailings tab to display the ribbon, see figure 33. Tools on the Mailings tab are used to create mail merged documents, labels and envelopes. A document has been created named ExamResults containing student exam results (three topics) for seven students. Figure [ 31 ]: Mailings Ribbon 1. ————————————————-Open the document StudentResults and ensure the Mailings tab is still selected 2. ————————————————- Click on the Start Mail Merge button and select Normal Word document 3. ———â €”————————————- Click on the downward arrow next to Select Recipients and choose Use Existing List 4. ————————————————- Browse to the WordEssentials folder and select the file ExamResults. Click Open 5. ————————————————- Position the cursor after the text Student Name and click on the downward arrow beneath Insert Merge Field 6. ———————————————— Select Student Title (see figure 34), leave a space and repeat, inserting Student_First_Name and Student_Surname 7. —————————————†”——- Position the cursor in the first blank cell of the table (beneath Module Result) 8. ————————————————- Insert fields for Introduction to Pure Maths, 9. ————————————————- Repeat point 8 above for Applied Maths and Programming (should resemble figure 35) Figure [ 32 ]: Insert Merge Field Merged Fields 10. ————————————————-Click on Finish and Merge 11. ————————————————- Click Edit Individual documents, select OK 12. —————————————— ——- Exam results for 7 students should be completed. The Review Ribbon Click on the Review tab to display the ribbon, see figure 36. The Tracking group is used to track changes made to a document and the Changes group is used to accept or reject changes. These will not be covered in this practical. The spell and grammar checker, thesaurus word count and translate tools can be accessed from the Proofing group of the Review tab.To spell check the ECDL leaflet, click on Spelling & Grammar. As with previous versions of Word, suggestions will be given, along with the option to add to dictionary. Figure [ 33 ]: Review Ribbon Proofing group The View Ribbon Click on the View tab to display the ribbon, see figure 37. Within the Document Views group the various views with text description is displayed. Also note the views are displayed in the status bar across the bottom of the window. Figure [ 34 ]: View Ribbon Developers Ribbon To show the Developers ribbon, click on the Offic e Button and select Word Options.Ensure the Show Developer tab in ribbon is ticked. See figure 38. The Developers tab is not covered in this practical. Figure [ 35 ]: Show Developer Tab in Ribbon Click on the Developer tab to display the ribbon, see figure 39. Figure [ 36 ]: Developer Tab * The Status Bar The Status Bar is positioned across the bottom of the window, see figure 40. There are over 20 choices on the bar, see figure 41. To display the Customize Status Bar dialog box, right click on the Status Bar. Items with a tick beside them will appear on the Status bar. To add an item, click on it. To remove an item, click on the ticked item.Figure [ 37 ]: Status Bar Figure [ 38 ]: Status Bar Options Word Options Previously Word options were accessed from the Tools menu by selecting Options. Word Options is now accessed by clicking on the Office button and selecting Word options. The Word Options menu will then appear. See figure 42. Click on the tabs down the left hand side to acce ss features associated with the tab. In figure 42, the Popular tab is selected showing the top options for working with Word. Figure [ 39 ]: Word Options Customize Quick Access Toolbar 1. ————————————————-With Word options still open, click on Customize 2. ————————————————- Click on the downward arrow next to Choose Commands From (see figure 43). Notice all the tabs are listed along with options to add tools not displayed on the ribbon. 3. ————————————————- Select the Insert Tab and select Convert Text to Table. See figure 43 4. ———————————————â€⠀- Click the add button to add the tool to the Quick Access Toolbar 5. ————————————————- Click OK. See figure 43Figure [ 40 ]: Add to Quick Access Toolbar File Formats Most Word files created in 2003 can still be opened in 2007. Word 2007 uses four file extensions: 1. .docx – file ending for ordinary Word 2007 documents 2. .docm – file ending for macro enabled documents 3. dotm – file ending for Word 2007 templates (does not contain macros) 4. .dotm – file ending for macro enabled templates By clicking on the Office Button and selecting Save As, you have the option to save as a Word Document (2007 version), Word Template, Word 97-2003 or select Other Formats, see figure 29.Even if the document is saved in Word 2007 format, Word 97/2003 users can still open it if they have downloaded the compatibility pack from Microsoft online. Figure [ 41 ]: F ile Formats Note: Word’s . doc used binary, whereas . docx uses XML. .docx creates smaller files than . doc and are less likely to become corrupt. Use SaveAs to save one type of document as another Save the Document 1. ————————————————- Click on the Office Button and select Save As 2. ————————————————- Save the document as ECDL Information (notice the file ending), see figure 45 3. ———————————————— Save it in the WordEssentials folder, see figure 45 4. ————————————————- Close the application Figure [ 42 ]: Save Compatibility Checker Pro vided Word 2000-2003 users download the free Office 2007 compatibility pack, they will be able to read and write to Word 2007 files. Occasionally users will get a message stating that certain features might be lost when converting between these different formats. Word automatically runs compatibility checks if a document is being saved in a different format from the current one.If you prefer, you can run a compatibility check at any time to find out if features would be lost in saving to another file format. To run the compatibility checker, click on the Office button and select Prepare, Run Compatibility Checker. See figure 46 Figure [ 43 ]: Run Compatibility Checker Ensure the Check compatibility when saving in Word 97-2003 formats check box is ticked. See figure 47. If the checker is turned on, whenever you use a feature in Word 2007 that is not supported in Word 97-2003 the Compatibility Checker will pop up highlighting the issue, see figure 48. Figure [ 44 ]: Compatibility Chec kerSecurity Features There are a range of different types of protection methods that can be used with Word 2007 Restricting Permission: Information Rights Management: This option allows users to access Microsoft’s service to restrict access to those who can open or make changes to a document. Click on the Office Button, select Prepare, Restrict permission and Restricted Access, see figure 48. Note you may need to download the software from Microsoft (see figure 47) and sign up to the service the first time you use it, see figure 50. Figure [ 45 ]: Restricted Access Figure [ 46 ]: Information Rights ManagementAt this stage it is a free trial service but it is possible Microsoft might charge for the service in the future. Figure [ 47 ]: Sign Up Style Formatting, Tracked changes, comments and filling forms Restrictions * Restricts formatting to particular styles * Protection is by password * Accessed from Review ribbon, Protect Document, Restrict Formatting and Editing (see figu re 51). * Make selection from Restrict formatting and Editing pane, see figure 52. Figure [ 48 ]: Formatting Restrictions Limit formatting to a selection of styles – tick box Figure [ 49 ]: Restrict Formatting and EditingSelect type of editing allowed from drop down list Click Yes, Start Enforcing Protection to enter password Password to Open/modify Click the Office Button, select Save As – Tools – General Options and enter the password to either open and modify or modify only, see figure 53. Figure [ 50 ]: General Options Inspect Document To inspect a document to see if it contains personal data or comments, click the Office Button, select Prepare, Inspect Document. Click Inspect on the Document Inspector, see figure 54. Figure [ 51 ]: Inspect Document Mark as Final A document can be marked as final if it had no further modifications to be made.This option will render the document read only. Users with Word 2007 can remove the feature if necessary. Users with e arlier versions of Word, even with the compatibility pack won’t even see the file as Read Only. Word Help To access Word help, click on the question mark at the right hand top of the window. Type keyboard shortcuts in the box provided and click on Search. See figure 55. Links to a range of possible solutions will be provided. See figure 55 Figure [ 52 ]: Help The Get Started Ribbon For additional help on using the Office 2007, download to your own computer the Get Started ribbon (also provided for Excel, PowerPoint).See figure 56. A range of interactive materials, videos, online training and discussion forum is provided. See figure 56. To download the Get Started Ribbon (when you return to your own computer), open a web browser and go to http://office. microsoft. com/en-us/help/HA102146851033. aspx Figure [ 53 ]: Get Started Ribbon Bibliography TitleAuthor(s)Publisher Goal Directed Project ManagementE S. Anderson et al. Kogan Page & Coopers & Lybrand, 1987 The Handbook of Pro ject ManagementTrevor L YoungInstitute of Directors, 1999 Introducing Prince – The Structured Project Management MethodC. BentleyNCC Blackwell, 1992Project Management – 5th EditionDennis LockGower, 1994 Project Management – A Managerial Approach 4th EditionJ. R. Meredith & S. J. Mantel, Jr. John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2000 Project Management – A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and ControllingHarold KerznerJohn Wiley and Sons, Inc, 1998 Project Management ToolsJacques SurveyerSoftware Development Magazine, July 1997 Project Management for the 21st CenturyB. P. Lientz & K. P. ReaAcademic Press, 1998 Project SkillsSam Elbeik & Mark ThomasButterworth Heinemann, 2000 Step by Step – Microsoft Project 2000C. S. Chatfield & T. D. JohnsonMicrosoft Corporation, 2000