Filipino Smiles and Spirits Essay

Philippines, when we hear this word one thing pops out in the mind of most people in the World, Typhoon Haiyan, that barreled through most of Visayas, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. Being the most powerful storm ever landed, how do Filipinos react into this kind of calamity? The fact that many storm have landed there all over the years. Can Filipinos still find a way to smile in those times? Many calamities have landed there in the Philippines, Including the Typhoon Haiyan, which is the most terrifying storm ever existed. It’s a tragedy to experience such a storm in a small country like theirs. We’ve seen high floods high as a second floor house, Children crying, Starving people begging for help, winds not like the zephyr outside your window but a wind like a tornado. If you’re in their situation, you’ll be given a Hobson’s choice by your own mind â€Å"You’ll eat that spoiled food on the ground or starve yourself to death† You have no option but to eat whatever food there is. People there had lousy- which means â€Å"abundantly supplied†- of stuffs, lousy of tragic memories, lousy of tears, lousy of floods, lousy of lousiness of many stuffs brought by the typhoon, but one thing we’re very lousy of are their humor and smiles. This is the best characteristics of Filipinos, even though darkness is taking over, they still find our little ray of sunshine and are happy for it, we’ll still find their sweet smiles. I found a lot of funny pictures in the internet, people dressed like a mermaid sitting on a rock, imitating little mermaid. Some are dressed like scuba divers, swimming in the ersatz swimming pool which is the flood in an Olympics way, edited a picture and titled it â€Å"The ConjuRAIN†, another picture showed two people lying on a waterbed, looking very relaxed as if they’re sun bathing. some even managed to take a picture of themselves smiling!. The Brightest smiles are owned by the Filipino people. Some countries may misunderstand the way we handle a situation like this but it’s just the way we are, we smile, we don’t lose hope. Just like the quote I’ve seen on the net â€Å"Baha ka lang, Pinoy kami! † means â€Å"You’re only a flood, We are Filipinos! â€Å". Filipino Spirit is Waterproof! We still find a sense of humor even in the worst day. They are Filipinos, these traits are in their blood. Being sad is the penultimate thing we feel whenever there’s calamity, and being happy and optimistic for what we still got is the last thing we feel. Having that trait is a blessing, show them that happiness is in your attitude. â€Å"There’s no reason crying in the rain, or flood for that matter. It worsens the situation, now another one is coming in and we need all the smile we can muster to drive away the gloomy days†That phrase can be a double meaning telling us to be strong in any problems and be happy for what you got. God really great for giving them such a trait.

The value of friendship

True friendship is one of the most important asset that human has and true friendship surpass any obstacle and test of times. We are born as social beings and no human can live alone like an island.Although this is taken literally most of the times, no one understands the value of those around you not until you are left alone one day in a situation you need help. Grieve (2008) assert that in every aspect of our life, we interact with people in different ways. It is through interaction with people that we are socialized to the society. However it is not everyone in our life that we get along with.There are individuals who we become close confidants to, who we can term as true friends.   Although it is usual to make and lose friends, there are friends who have a great impact in our life and whose memory lives to our old age. These are who we call true friends.   True friends are hard to come by and when we lose them, we do feel that a part of us has been taken away.A true friend is one who is ready to sincerely do anything for you in value of your friendship. However most of the times we take our friendship for granted and we may not be committed to like our friends are. According to Donegani et al., (2006) despite this, true friendship will survive all odds and the bond between the two friends survives beyond the reason for the end of their friendship.True friends are bonded by a strong bond in a way that although they may be separated psychically, their hearts longs for the other and what remains in their friendship is the melancholic memories of the times they shared together.A wise saying says no one knows the value of water until the well dries and this can be applied to our friends. We never know the value of our friends not until we are separated. As we said, most of the time will be taking our friendship casually not realizing their value in our life.However when we are separated, we start seeing difference in our life. Lonely moments starts crawling in our life and we spend long days thinking about the good times we had before. Although we may try our foot in making other friends, we never fell satisfied. We still miss the days we spend with our friends. It is true to assert that true friendship surpass any obstacle and test of timesDuring my high school days, I learnt the value of friendship in the hard way. I was sad and lonely girl in my childhood as I grew at home as the only child. My parents were both full time workers and I spent most of my time in the house alone.My life brightened when I went to school as I interacted with other children and made friends. Among the friends I made in my junior school, Jane could be considered as a true friend. Our friendship blossomed as we were in the same class and lived in the same neighborhood. We spent our time together, played together, ate together, and bonded the same bus to school; our friendship was the center of our life.We were close confidant with one another and we shared our innermost feeling. Furthermore we were faced by the same condition at home since Jane was still the only child in the family and her parents were full time worker.When we were not in school, we spent our time together either in our home or in their home. I cherished each and every moment I spent with Jane. I felt a different person in her company, my eyes brimmed with happiness and my heart was filled with joy like child curdled by her mother. I felt like Jane was my sister and I real took her like my sister.On our birthday, we showered each other with gifts and up to date, I still have the old doll that she bought me on my eight birthdays. However, fate had it that our friendship would not grow beyond out middle classes. When we went to high school, things changed rapidly which left me a lonely person in life.I have come to believe that very precious things which you value most in you life are the one which you are most likely to lose and in a more painful way. I did not think that our friendship with Jane be broken by any third party.However this came to in our first year in high school. Our parents had decided to take us to the same high school since they realized the value of our friendship and they encouraged us to be there for each other.  Ã‚   One day, Jane came running to be in a very upbeat mood.   I could see that she was very excited and she told me that something very wonderful had happened in her life.I was very happy to see my friend that much excited but little did I know that the unfolding news would change our friendship and affect me in a great way. Jane informed that she had fallen in love with Kelvin, who was a new boy just admitted to the school. She informed me that Kelvin had approached her and she cold not resist since she had strong feeling towards him.I advised her about the difficulties she may face dealing with her boyfriend and committing her time to education but she assured me that she would manage it. Upon pondering the news, I told her that this was her decision but I cautioned her to be very careful. She promised me that she would be extra careful and would not relent on her educational goal of becoming a doctor. However, I had one concern about our friendship.I felt that Jane would spend most of her time with her new boyfriend. With a thoughtful expression, I asked Jane: â€Å"Is your new friendship going to a break up our close friendship?†Ã‚   Jane looked at me and replied straight to my face â€Å"Don’t by like that, of course you know that I love you more that anything. You are my best friend and nothing can separate us.Don’t you believe me?† for something thins were as usual but with time I noted that Jane was avoiding my companionship and she was spending more time with her boyfriend.   I started feeling sadder and lonely. My childhood days crawled back in my life.   When I thought about the words Jane had uttered straight to my face, I felt she was a liar a nd she did not value me at all.   With time, our friendship died away and I felt sadder.One day, Jane borrowed my book and she lost it. I could not control my anger and I hurled words at there calling her a liar and untrustworthy friend. She reiterated and hit me hard with her lunch box. Our friendship was as dead as a dodo.Only melancholic memories of our past that remained, hunting me on daily bases. This was just the begging and more lonely days came when were separated after high school.   However, true friendship does not end and although you may be separated physically, you are together at heart.

Discuss the relationship between culture and public relations Essay

Discuss the relationship between culture and public relations - Essay Example Public relation practitioners, managers, and theorists have long been dealing with the concept of differences (Ainlay, Becker and Coleman 1986) and problems of communicating across cultures (Alberts 1992; Asante and Gudykunst 1989; Gudykunst 1991; Scollon and Scollon 1995; Varonis and Gass 1985; Gass and Varonis, 1991).On the other hand, some prominent public relation experts have criticized the importance of multicultural communication. This paper tries to explore the relationship between public relation and cultures while discussing about the societal and corporate cultures and their collective impact on public relation practices. Public relation practice is packed with the possibilities of embarrassments, lost opportunities, confused clients, inadequate performance, and unsatisfied expectations stemming from misunderstood cultural differences. Some prominent commentators reject the idea of multicultural communication, such as, ODwyer (1994 quoted in Banks 2000). Considering the insensitivity towards cultural differences, Banks (2000) suggests that they must get more informed about cultural diversity and get a better understanding of cultural variability and its implications for public relation practices. Banks (2000) refers to it as internalization of business; others call it globalization of business (Cheney 1999; Fitzpatrick 1992 quoted in Banks 2000, 40). Banks (2000) also notes that the research and theory on diversity in public relation is in its early phases. A diverse body of literature has emerged in order to provide practical information for training and working in multicultural settings, however, t he largest public relation study, the IABC Research Foundations "excellence project" has not directly acknowledged multicultural principles or issues; either we consider the studys development as theoretical statement or for using recommendations to improve

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 3

Economics - Essay Example According to this system of pricing, it is not as the view of Smith and Marshall of the mixed bag where different people participate in production to a common pool and keep the products for all but is a situation where individuals have control over resources (Sandri 13). While people were producing and living in communities in the past, in the current day, people adopted the issue of capitalism where they advocate for individualism. This means that they maximize profit on any opportunities they have and they are therefore, profit maximizing rather than building a community minded and working to maximize their satisfaction of all (Sandri 31). In the market, different factors that influence the production and exchange of products determine wages and profits individuals or organizations make. The amount of a product in the market is a key determiner of its cost because the law of supply and demand implies that t if the supply is high, and the demand is low, the product will cost little amount of money and the if demand is high and the supply is low, the price will be high. This means that when prices are high, the chances for profit will be high and the vice versa is true even in payment of products and services including labor. In the subjective theory of value, people involve themselves in activities that cause them to exploit the opportunities they have in their environment without disruption from the society. In this theory, reform is not required because it ensures that people have their position in exploiting the environment so that they can get rewards and benefits in a specific venture. In the subjective theory of value, distribution of income among people is not encouraged because different people play different individualistic activities and the benefits of it extend to the one who participated in it (Sandri 21). In the subjective theory of value, people concentrate on the capitalistic models of economic system in which people concentrate on the differen t things that happen in the society and cause competiveness in people. In this model of economy, according to Marx, competitiveness ensures that few have a lot of resources while a large number of people have less to accumulate for their own. This theory of economy ensures privatization of property such as land and capital to various privileged individuals in the society (Sandri 27). My social theory is that capitalism which advocate for individualism and the potential of each individual in establishing a system of production and distribution of benefits. In this model of production, people focus on improving their lives and in the process the economy of all the people are improved. Government laws provide a framework for people to exploit the resources around the economy as well as regulating potential for exploitation of citizen in the capitalistic system. The role of the government in a system of economy should be to ensure stability and sustainability of the system so that there is continuity of production in the economy. Economics is not a pure science that operates according to set out rules but it is a science that operates according to variations that exist within contexts. This implies that people exchange goods and services as determined by the conditions that prevail in the environment in which the processes are taking place. In recommending a policy, a

Monitoring our home planet Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Monitoring our home planet - Research Paper Example This paper will analyze the identified phenomenon that leads to natural disasters through a critique on the available web based monitoring resources. Earthquakes Earthquakes are sudden tremors that result from sudden release of energy from earth crust. The energy produces seismic waves that are experienced as earthquake. The magnitude of earthquake is determined by the degree of frequency of the resultant seismic waves. It is estimated that 500, 000 earthquakes occur annually and they are detectable with the current monitoring instruments. However, only 20% of the detectable earthquakes cannot be felt or experienced. Distribution of earthquakes around the globe is closely associated with tectonic stability. Regions with active geological activities such as volcanoes, and faults lines are more prone to earthquakes than more geologically stable regions. However, this does not restrict earthquakes to certain areas since areas that have never recorded cases of earthquakes such as New York often experience earthquakes that are below the detectable magnitude. The main earthquake zones around the world are closely associated with regions that have h istory of active volcanic activities, strong tidal waves, areas with natural fault lines and regions within tectonic plate interfaces. Seismometers are used to monitor seismic waves in the earth crust and predict earthquakes. Countries such as Japan, Haiti, Indonesia, and Turkey have experienced severe cases of earthquake in the recent past. Various resources have been set to monitor trends of seismic waves and the possibility of earthquakes. IRIS Seismic Monitor, Live Earthquakes Map and GeoNet – Quakes are some the main earthquake monitoring websites. The web based monitoring technology provides up-to-date information and data on earthquakes. However, the websites have a geographical bias and usually assume the welfare of developing countries. It is evident that the current geological system that depicts seismic hotspots is not accurate. However, the websites are restricted to availability and distribution of earthquakes monitoring infrastructures around the world. Politics plays a significant role in the recording and reporting of earthquakes and related information. Most of the global earthquake monitoring infrastructures such as satellites and seismic wave monitors are controlled by major world powers (Ollier, 1988). This indicates that availability of information concerning earthquakes is closely linked with global politics. In addition, data collection is mainly carried out in area that are of political interest. The seismic monitoring resources do not cover less developed countries or regions of less political interests. However, web based results can be used to predict occurrence of earthquakes in less developed countries through extrapolation methods. Global economics plays a critical role in monitoring and

Contemporary Brand Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Contemporary Brand Management - Essay Example ..a set of mental associations, held by the consumers, which add to the perceived value of a product or service† (Kapferer, 2008, pp. 10). The alliance ought to be exceptional, well distinctive, effective and affirmative. Brands act as a key attribute to differentiate its products or services from that of its competitors. It constructs a separate individuality for the company in favour of it from others. Brand is considered as the asset for an organisation as it augments the value of the product with the assistance of its outstanding salient features. A brand is intangible in nature as it does not possess the characteristic of being figured. Thus, it is quite different from being just a product, or a service or a commodity. It enhances the image of the corporation. Therefore, it is also different from a company. It has been witnessed that consumers review a product or service on the basis of the brand name that is allied with it. Branding aids in developing an elongated, vigoro us and emotional affiliation between the brand and the company. It divulges about the company and other essential information with context to the company internationally. The brand name in itself influences the purchaser to purchase the product. Branding facilitates a corporation to provide a clear definition of any product, position the product and distribute it to the prospect customer (Kapferer, 2008). Background Information about Rolex Rolex, the exquisite brand coined by Hans Wilsdorf and produced by Swiss watch making company at Bennie, brought forward a wonderful range of watches. Since ages, Rolex prolongs to sustain efficiently and also persists to be a strong position in the copious watch market. Rolex is assisting its company with an enlarged market share and a significant competitive advantage to sustain in the fiercely competitive global industry. It enhances its market position which is a factor that makes the brand an asset for the enterprise which segregates it from merely being a product, service or commodity. Rolex focuses on brand purity, trend, business presentation and constancy. These are the most important reasons that have made Rolex an astounding brand (Liebeskind, 2004). It has been seen that customers always evaluate and scrutinises a particular product on the basis of brand name. Similarly, Rolex having a superior brand name stimulates customers to spend on its product, although it has encountered various competitors as a consequence of globalisation, still it stands to be an internationally exclusive brand. The main competitors of Rolex include Citizen and Omega. The watches endowed by Rolex primarily focus on the sports person as their potential target customers as it deals with giving immense importance to luxury and deluxe products. It has also developed its brand on classic, fashionable and water resistant watches. The international players dealing with the similar nature of products and similar market segment may be regarded a s their competitors. It follows the scheme of premium pricing to distinguish its product from its contenders

Charles Brockden Brown's Edgar Huntly Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Charles Brockden Brown's Edgar Huntly - Essay Example According to Cobbett, â€Å"it is the Indians who are considered to be the most dangerous of all the nation’s ‘aliens and enemies.’† (p. 437) It means that in case the American government decided to go into war against the Indians, the American Indians would be left no choice but to side with the Americans. This could be possible in case the nation fights against another nation. However, there will always be some instances wherein this statement cannot be applied into the real situation. alone. By simply going through the process of naturalization, the American Indians would eventually lose their traditional Indian culture in exchange with the American culture. In the process, the American Indians would eventually act and be known as part of the American nation who would be left with no choice but to give up their traditional way of doing things. Perhaps if not within themselves†¦ it could be with the next generation to come when their children decide to inter-marry another American citizen. It has also been mentioned that it is the ‘duty of all the Americans’ to hunt down individuals who go against the U.S. government, becomes a traitor to the society, or has done actions that are against the law. (p. 438) It means that every American Indians are obliged to report any suspicious Indians who do not abide with the U.S. law. In order words, the situation could become a fight between the American Indians and the other Indians. At the first part of the story, this has become evident in the life of Edgar Huntly. However, the story ends up proving that blood will always be thicker than water. The duty of Edgar as an American Indian can be traced in the story back when Edgar suspected Clithero to be the associated with Waldegrave’s murder, the surrogate father of Edgar. (pp. 441 - 443) Edgar suspected Clithero purely based on the physical description

What factors affect the gender pay gap in the UK industries Literature review

What factors affect the gender pay gap in the UK industries - Literature review Example Recent statistics indicate that the percentage for GPG has increased exponentially in recent times as compared to the previous five years despite the measures taken to abate the differences. Women begin to experience these wage differences with their male counterparts in their first jobs and the gap continues to widen as the women continue to rise in their careers (Blau, Brinton, Grusky, 2009, pp. 121). This literature reviews examines the different factors that have resulted in such discrepancies in the labor force in the UK. The factors contributing to gender pay gap among women in full time employment can be grouped in to four main categories namely education, experience, occupation, and unexplained factors. Over the years, the number of women accessing higher education has been minimal as compared to the number of men. This has negatively affected both employment and wage rates for women because men often most men have higher educational qualifications. As a result, women need to have slightly superior degrees, for instance a masters or a doctorate degree in order to earn the same amount as their male counterparts with only a first degree (Chant, 2010, pp. 73). The government has taken several, measures to promote higher education for women in the country and the situation is likely to be remedied in the future. Another factor related to experience is professional experience. Women tend to have less professional experience as compared to their male counterparts in similar positions. Women’s professional experience is cut down due to various factors including duration spent on maternity leaves, or time taken off to take care of children. This has in turn affected the wages and salaries that women get in similar positions held by men. One other factor that contributes to the GPG is occupation. The society generally classifies various occupations as male or female professions. Most women would therefore be

Strategic Analysis - Motorola Share Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Strategic Analysis - Motorola Share - Case Study Example The focus upon the customer has enabled the company to reinvent its organizational structure several times successfully over its history. From televisions and consumer electronics to microcomputers cellular phones and pagers, each time the company has been altered fundamentally, enabling Motorola to compete in different industries. In this manner Motorola’s competitive advantage has been sustainable. The company has created an organic organization design which enables the management to maintain the continuous process of innovation. By capitalizing upon this strength, Motorola has been able to develop a wide range of products and services ranging from wireless handsets and smartphones to wireless and wireline broadband solutions to end-to-end enterprise mobility solutions. This diverse product range has enabled the company to build brand reputation and customer loyalty in a wide range of industries. The diverse product range has also led to a sustainable competitive advantage s ince the company can maintain profitability by focusing upon other industries if the demand in one industry is affected. Another strength of the company is its organizational culture. It provides a positive environment for the employees so that they are satisfied in working for the company. This motivates them to strive for continuous improvement in productivity. As a result, Motorola has been able to achieve the highest standards of excellence in the industry. One of the weaknesses facing Motorola is that the management has not coped with complexity well as the organizational structure has evolved. This has had a negative impact upon decision making further affecting the management of its international network of subsidiaries, branches and companies. As a result the company has been facing declining sales. At a time when competition in the industry is high, Motorola needs to create an organizational structure that optimizes international management. However the management has yet t o take any action in this regard. The result is an inefficient organizational structure. Word count: 400. The current strategy of Motorola Given the high competition in the industry, Motorola has to create a sustainable competitive advantage. The current strategy of the company is to meet this long-term objective by capitalizing upon its core competencies. The important core competencies possessed by the company are brand management, supply chain management, mass production system and product development technology (Case study strategic analysis). The company is trying to combine these core competencies in an organizational structure which makes the company an attractive prospect for the stakeholders. Brand management enables the company to develop a strategic focus that makes the company very market and design driven (Motorola, 2006). In supply chain management, the company is able to develop an efficient system for inventory management and production scheduling. The mass productio n system saves costs and time and the product development technology has been built upon a standardized information system. These activities have led to a current strategy that takes into account social and environmental costs. Different stakeholders such as consumers, investors, nongovernmental organizations are demanding sustainable performances from the companies that they are investing in. If the products show poor environmental performance, then the company as a whole is not likely to have a

Professional Interview Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Professional Interview - Research Paper Example Authors such as Reilly (2012) have established a relationship between effective leadership and the success in business systems in a country. The author argues that knowledge and skills in a country, which can empower leadership, are significant to the country’s economic development. Leadership roles exist at different levels at which decision-makers offer their professionalism (Nabli, 2011). To facilitate the study of leadership capacity in Nigeria, this essay will focus on an interview response from a Nigerian professional, ‘Usman Olaide’ who is a Senior Client Service Consultant and a Business Development Executive at Field Communication Ltd. The interview focuses on the role of leadership in promoting crises and leadership strategies for preventing or managing crises when they occur in the Nigerian business environment. Consequently, it will be possible to evaluate any impacts of the leadership that exists to the business crisis in this country. Usman identifie s the role of leadership in integrating different industries in the corporate sector for accountability in management because observed crises in the Nigeria’s business environment results from negligent actions from single industries or organizations and spread to affect the entire economy. Referring to Martin Oluba’s analysis of the equity market crisis (N.d.) and her experience in sources of crises in the Nigerian business environment, Usman explains that industries are interrelated and poor leadership in one industry, leading to a crisis in the industry, affects other industry’s performance. The finance industry is the most significance because it is the center of power for circulation of money across other industries as was observed in the equity market crisis. While poor leadership in the equity market led to its crisis, Usman explains that the move by the industry’s players to seek funds from private holdings influenced businesses in other sectors t o seek similar targets for rescue and culminated into the crisis. In her analysis of the scenario that is a perfect example of the role of weak leadership in business crisis, the interviewee argues that regulatory framework, both legal and moral, should be put in place to ensure credible and competent centralized leaderships that can preempt crisis in their respective industries and develop preventive measures. She also argues that a collaborative initiative among leaders from respective industries in regulating activities and risks in each industry can also play an effective role in containing crises from spreading to other industries, should such crises occur in a given industry (Usman, O, personal communication, August 16, 2013). Usman also argues that leadership offered by relevant government agencies play a significant role in management of financial crises in the Nigerian corporate environment. Agencies whose roles relate to macroeconomic aspects such as the Central Bank of Ni geria must be explicit in their roles to guide corporate operations and regulate the economic environment for stability. She explains that poor decisions on factors such as interest rates and consequences in high inflation rates are detrimental to businesses and the central bank should develop effective strategies for economic stability. The interviewee also relates such government regulations to the sensitive finance sector that has potential effects on other sectors and industry. In agreement with John, Adaeze, Soni, and Onoriode

Parenthetical referencing Essay Example for Free

Parenthetical referencing Essay Strategic Organisation Module Module Syllabus Learner experience This module focuses on organisational design, development and performance as a strategic response to the modern business environment. You will be introduced to the concepts underlying new forms of organisation designed to enhance competitive position and improve performance and growth. In particular, strategic organisation is explained in the context of the special demands and opportunities presented by the global economy and advances in technology. Additionally, this module includes introductory information on academic integrity, citing, referencing, and participating in discussions that will aide you throughout your programme. Module aims and objectives The aims of the module are to develop knowledge and understanding about organising and managing in contemporary conditions of society and industry. Specifically, the module focuses on management and organisational performance through the relationship among strategy, organisation, and organisational environment. The module also addresses foundational topics for student success throughout the academic programme. This module is the first in your master’s programme. There are some items that will be found within the online classroom which may be new to you as an online student such as Module Aims, Learning Outcomes, Discussion Questions, and Hand-in Assignments. Throughout the first two weeks of this module there are additional explanations and preparatory information provided to assist in guiding you through the instruction. There is a transition in week three that begins the module content specifically related to Strategic Organisation. In addition, if at any time you have questions during the class, please contact your instructor. Aims The specific aims of this module are to ensure that students can: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Manage the academic requirements of online learning successfully; Appreciate the nature and role of management in modern organisations; Understand why organisation is integral to the effective performance of organisations; Model organisation performance, taking account of the relationships between corporate strategy and features of the organisation such as people, structure, routines, and culture. Learning outcomes By the end of the module the student will be able to: †¢ Participate in and contribute to an academic community through on-line discussion and assessments; whilst applying writing style conventions and academic integrity to academic writing; Analyse and evaluate scholarly resources and writing for logic and supporting evidence; Understand the nature and purpose of business organisation; Identify the dynamics that shape organisational form, conduct, and performance in contemporary environments; Analyse the factors that make organisation a key strategic element in business performance; Assess the importance of organisation in the implementation of corporate and business strategy; Evaluate alternative strategies for managing people and processes in organisations. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ The learning outcomes listed above will be measured through your completion of the weekly assignments, either Discussion Questions or Hand-in Assignment, in the module. Learning strategies You will be studying this module through a combination of self-study and online interactions. The self-study materials introduce the full range of topics that need to be covered, although some additional detail will arise through discussion and collaboration between students and instructors. One of the strengths of an online learning program such as this is the high level of student interaction, where students are encouraged to share their own experiences online for the benefit of the others. Each week of the module has detailed learning objectives, indicating the topics and level of competence that you should achieve on completion of that part. Assignments include discussion questions, hand-in assignment exercises, and a longer project. Weekly Notes Each week’s theme is made up of several topics. Beginning in Week 3, these are introduced and explained in turn in the recorded lecture, which is also available as printed text. You can listen to the lecture as many times as you want and download it to your computer or other devices. Recommended reading We have indicated the pages in your textbooks that you should read with each topic in the weekly theme. Occasionally, we have also recommended journal articles that are available in the online library for you to study. We advise that you begin each week by reading the indicated materials in full, as this will provide you with a broad understanding of the subject matter required to complete the assignments and discussions successfully. Online interactions You will have regular online interaction with other students and the instructor in order to help consolidate your understanding of theoretical concepts and to develop your skills through discussion and exercises. The content of these online contact sessions will relate to the materials covered for each week and will include Discussion Questions set by the module instructors and Hand-in Assignment questions, both of which will be assessed. Text and software The required texts for the Strategic Organisation module are provided in the weekly Readings folder as module content. Textbooks Child, J. (2005) Organization: contemporary principles and practice. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. Roberts, J. (2004) The modern firm: organizational design for performance and growth. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Journal articles 1. Simon, H. , 1995. Organizations and markets. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 5 (3), pp. 273–294. 2. Yasuf, Y. , Gunasekaran, A. , Abthrope, M. 2004. Enterprise information systems project implementation: A case study of ERP in Rolls-Royce. International Journal of Production Economics, 87 (3), pp. 251-266. 3. Gibbons, R. 1998. Incentives in organizations. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12 (4), pp. 115–132. 4. Nadler, D. , Tushman, M. , 1999. The organization of the future: strategic imperatives and core competencies for the 21st century. Organizational Dynamics, 28 (1), pp. 45– 60. You will be able to access these online in the Liverpool University Library at http://www. liv. ac. uk/library/ohecampus/index. htm. You will need an audio player, such as Windows Media Player, if you want to listen to the recorded version of the lecture. (The text version is also provided for use if you do not have an audio player. ) Overview of module work †¢ Students are required in all weeks(Weeks 1–10) to submit: o Individual Discussion Question answers (DQI) o 3–5 meaningful Discussion Question Follow-on postings (DQF) in response to fellow student submissions †¢ Hand-in Assignments (HA) in weeks 2, 4, 5, 6 and 9 †¢ A project proposal in Week 7, an outline in Week 8, and a completed Module Project (MP) in Week 10 Discussion Questions (Initial responses are 28 percent of total module grade; Follow-on Participation is 25 percent of total module grade) Weeks 1 and 2 Discussion Questions Your first Discussion Questions in Week 1 and Week 2 of the module are introductory in nature covering foundational material designed to assist you in the online learning environment. Use these Discussions to establish relationships with your peers and master the required citing and referencing guidelines that apply throughout the module. A typical answer should have about 500 words, but it is the quality of the answer that matters, not the number of words. Just as in the below guidelines for Weeks 3 through 10 Discussions, you are required to participate with follow-on postings to your peers’ answers, making 3–5 significant Discussion Question follow-up postings in addition to your initial response. Week 1 Discussion Question explanation The Discussion Question in Week 1 of the module will be focused on content from your specific masters-programme as it relates to a current strategic issue in your field of study or professional area. This material will enable you to gain a holistic understanding of the programmme and how this particular module is relative to the overall programme goal. Week 2 Discussion Question explanation The Discussion Question for Week 2 of the module will focus on content related to academic integrity as it is relative to your masters programme and your professional experience. This question will assist in the transition from Week 1 and 2 foundational materials to the Strategic Organisation module material upcoming in Week 3. Weeks 3 through 10 Discussion Questions Beginning in Week 3, your Discussion Questions will focus on concepts related to Strategic Organisation. A typical answer should have about 500 words, but it is the quality of the answer that matters, not the number of words. To ensure your success throughout this module and the Masters programme it is essential to complete and thoroughly respond to each Discussion Question. Answers will be submitted to the weekly Discussions folder Turnitin Links, and also posted in the module Discussion Board. You must submit your initial response to the Discussion Question(s) by the end of Day 3 (Saturday). Following the 3 out of 7 days rule, you are required to participate with follow-on postings to your peers’ answers, making 3–5 significant Discussion Question follow-up postings in addition to your initial response for each Discussion Question by the end of Day 7 (Wednesday). Your total Discussion Board participation must occur on at least 3 individual days during each week. Follow-up postings should be significant contributions to the Discussion. You may wish to respond to your colleagues’ postings in one or more of the following ways: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Ask a probing question. Share an insight from having read your colleague’s posting. Offer and support an opinion or suggestion. Validate an idea with your own experience. Expand on the ideas in your colleague’s posting. Hand-in Assignments (19 percent of total module grade). You must submit your answer to the Hand-in Assignment (HA) for five of the ten weeks by the end of day 7 (Wednesday). A typical answer should have between 500 and 1,000 words, but it is once again the quality of the answer that matters, not the number of words. Answers will be submitted to the weekly Assignments folder, but are not to be posted in the module Discussion Board. For both the DQ and the HA, satisfactory answers will demonstrate clear understanding of the topics and issues related to the assignment. Good answers will be able to explain the reasons in more depth. Excellent answers will be able to raise appropriate critical questions. Weak answers will demonstrate only a partial grasp of what is important in the context of the assignment. Instructors will provide feedback about these assignments in their weekly feedback to students. The following table provides an example weekly flow of activities. Example Weekly Activities Days 1 -2 Thursday Friday Review the Weekly Information and Learning Resources Day 3 Saturday Initial DQ Response Due  Days 4 -6 Sunday Monday Tuesday Add Follow-up Postings Work on Hand-in Assignment (if applicable) Day 7 Wednesday †¢ Total of 3-5 Follow-up Postings should have been posted by this Day †¢ Hand-in Assignment Due Final Projects End of module assessment: 1500–2000 word assignment (28 percent of total module grade). The purpose of the Final Project is to apply the concepts and techniques of the module to the analysis of real-world situations or problems. Students are expected to use diverse sources of information and to carry out an original analysis rather than summarise or rehash existing work. You will submit an individual project (IP) in Weeks 7 and 8. The IPs are components of the Final. Project intended to help you plan your work and give you the benefit of your instructor’s feedback before your Final Project is due in Week 10. In Week 7, you will submit a Project Proposal, which will convey the resources you will use for your research and the organization you are proposing for your project. In Week 8, you will submit an Annotated Outline of your research sources. In Week 10, you will address the comments from your instructor and submit your Final Project. More details on each stage of the project are found in the weekly areas. Assessment The table below outlines the mandatory contribution in each category and the range of grades scales that applies to each component. Component DQ Initial Response DQ Participation Hand-in Assignment Wk 1 X Wk 2 X Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 X X X X Wk7 X Wk8 X Wk9 X Wk10 X Component Weight 28% (2. 8% per DQ) 25% (2. 5% per DQ) 19% (3. 8% per Assignment) 28% (Wks 7, 8: 7%) (Wk10: 14% X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Final Project X X X For general information on assessment and grading, please consult the Student Handbook section pertaining to Grading at http://success. ohecampus. com/index. php? mod=dcpact=navigationindexnavigationid=3691. Syllabus by Week Week 1 Participating in the global classroom Topics †¢ †¢ Describe a strategic issue and its global impact on an organisation Contribute to an academic community through online Discussion. Workload Self-study for Week 1: o Complete Account Registration †¢ How to register for your University of Liverpool network account (PDF) o o Read, sign, and submit the Academic Honesty Declaration Read the following resources: †¢ Master’s study cycle handout (PDF) †¢ Sample online discussion interaction (PDF) Discussion Question: o Post your initial response both to the Discussion folder and to the Turnitin link provided by Saturday (Day 3) o DQ1 is due on Saturday (Day 3) o Review responses by other students and make 3 5 meaningful posts o Required Participation (minimum 3 out of 7 days in addition to the initial Discussion Question response) Week 2 Outlining arguments for scholarly discourse Topics †¢ †¢ Analyse the principles of academic integrity Construct logical arguments and academic writing skills Workload Self-study for Week 2: o o o Turnitin tutorial presentation How to read a Turnitin originality report (PDF) About the draft Turnitin link in your first module (PDF) The University of Liverpool (n. d. ) Guide to referencing and developing a bibliography [Online]. Available from: http://www. liv. ac. uk/library/ohecampus/referencing/referencing. htm (Accessed: 15 June 2010). The University of Liverpool (n. d. ) Study support: what you need to know about plagiarism [Online]. Available from http://www. liv. ac. uk/library/ohecampus/study/plagiarism. htm (Accessed: 15 June 2010). The University of Liverpool (n.d. ) Plagiarism, collusion, and fabrication of data [Online]. Available from http://www. liv. ac. uk/students/student-administration-centre/policiesprocedures/plagiarism-collusion. htm (Accessed: 15 June 2010). The University of Liverpool (n. d. ) Plagiarism, collusion, and the fabrication of data: guidelines for staff and students [Online]. Available from http://www. liv. ac. uk/tqsd/pol_strat_cop/plagiarism_collusion_fabrication_staff_student_g uidelines_20. pdf (Accessed: 15 June 2010). Purdue Online Writing Lab (n. d. ) Safe practices [Online]. Available from: http://owl. english. purdue. edu/owl/resource/589/03/ (Accessed: 15 June 2010). Logical argument and outlining For this weeks Hand-in Assignment, you must develop an outline for a logical scholarly argument related to Strategic Organisation. These resources from Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL) will help with this assignment. You should search the Purdue OWL site for additional information on scholarly writing as you need it. †¢ †¢ Purdue Online Writing Lab (n. d. ). Types of outlines and samples [Online]. Available from: http://owl. english. purdue. edu/owl/resource/544/03/ (Accessed: 15 June 2010). Purdue Online Writing Lab (n. d. ). Developing strong thesis statements [Online]. Available from: http://owl. english. purdue. edu/owl/resource/588/01 (Accessed: 15 June 2010). Looking ahead: citation and reference styles A citation and reference style is one means for colleagues in a discipline to ‘speak the same language’ when presenting discoveries and analyses. Moreover, it is a method for distinguishing your original contributions to the field from the contributions of others. Each Liverpool programme uses a specific citation and reference style. Begin familiarising yourself with the style for your programme, Harvard Referencing style, so that you may apply it to your Discussion and Hand-in Assignments starting with this week. †¢ The University of Liverpool (n. d. ) Guide to referencing and developing a bibliography [Online]. Available from: http://www. liv. ac. uk/library/ohecampus/referencing/referencing. htm (Accessed: 15 June 2010). To explore topics related to Harvard referencing download the provided PDF. Supplemental Resources Citing and referencing Following is a supplemental resource students may wish to purchase or access to help them with the citing and referencing style required in their programme of study. The text below includes several topics related to academic writing, citing and referencing. It focuses on Harvard referencing, with brief mentions of OSCOLA, APA, MLA, and MHRA referencing. †¢ Pears, R. Shields, G. (2008) Cite them right: the essential referencing guide. (7th ed. ). Newcastle-upon-Tyne: Pear Tree Books. OR †¢ Pears, R. Shields, G. (2010) Cite them right: the essential referencing guide. (8th ed. ). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Additional information on Turnitin †¢ Key questions students ask about Turnitin http://turnitin. com/static/resources/documentation/turnitin/sales/Answers_to_Questions_ Students_Ask. pdf Discussion Question: o Submit your response to the Turnitin link and also post it on the Discussion Board o Review responses by other students and make an additional 3–5 meaningful comments by Day 7 of Week 2 Hand-in Assignment: o Submit responses to Hand-in Assignment to the weekly Assignments folder Reminder: In Week 2, the initial Discussion Question response is due on Saturday. Your 3-5 significant discussion question follow-up postings and are due by the end of Day 7 of Week 2 (midnight Wednesday, your time zone). Week 3 The nature and purpose of business organisation Topics †¢ The purpose of business organisation †¢ Structural, processual, and boundary-crossing elements †¢ Types of business organisations †¢ Motivation and coordination †¢ Organisation as an alternative to the market †¢ Characteristics of scholarly writing and academic originality †¢ Resource validity for inclusion in university work †¢ Reference list for articles which uses a citation style Workload Self-study for Week 3: o Read or listen to the Lecture Notes Read the following pages in your textbook: Child, J. (2005) Organization: contemporary principles and practice. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. (Ch. 1 3-6, 6-9, 15-17, 9-14, 17-23). Roberts, J. (2004) The modern firm: organizational design for performance and growth (Chapter 3, pp. 88–103). One of your main tasks for this week is to become familiar with the online library and how to search its holdings. The following Web site is to the home page for the library for online students. Make sure to bookmark this page or add it to your Favorites for easy access during your programme. †¢ The University of Liverpool (n. d. ) Library homepage [Online]. Available from http://www. liv. ac. uk/library/ohecampus (Accessed: 15 June 2010). Peer review Peer-reviewed resources have met the highest academic standard. Use the following resource to familiarise yourself with the differences between types of resources. †¢ ProQuest (2004) Scholarly journals, trade publications, and popular magazines [Online]. Available from http://uppermerionhslibrary. wikispaces. com/file/view/peervsscholarly. pdf/31480977/peer vsscholarly. pdf (Accessed: 15 June 2010). †¢ The University of Liverpool (n. d. ) Library homepage [Online]. Available from http://www. liv. ac. uk/library/ohecampus (Accessed: 15 June 2010). The Web site also contains detailed tutorials on how to use and navigate the online library. †¢ Purdue Online Writing Lab (n. d. ) Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing [Online]. Available from: http://owl. english. purdue. edu/owl/resource/563/01/ (Accessed: 15 June 2010) Purdue Online Writing Lab (n. d. ) Paraphrase: Write it in your own words [Online]. Available from:http://owl. english. purdue. edu/owl/resource/563/02/ (Accessed: 15 June 2010). †¢ Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarising One of those characteristics is the way the author uses citing, referencing, quoting and paraphrasing in the article. The resources below offer clarification on quoting, paraphrasing and summarising so that you may identify them more readily as you read an article. †¢ †¢ Purdue Online Writing Lab (n. d. ) Quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing [Online]. Available from: http://owl. english. purdue. edu/owl/resource/563/01/ (Accessed: 15 June 2010). Purdue Online Writing Lab (n. d. ) Paraphrase: Write it in your own words [Online]. Available from: http://owl. english. purdue. edu/owl/resource/563/02/ (Accessed: 15 June 2010). Supplemental Resources Roberts, J. (2004) The Modern Firm: Organizational Design for Performance and Growth (Chapter 3, pp. 74-88). Oxford: Oxford University Press Roberts, J. (2004) The Modern Firm: Organizational Design for Performance and Growth (Chapter 3, pp. 103-115). Oxford: Oxford University Press Roberts, J. (2004) The Modern Firm: Organizational Design for Performance and Growth (Chapter 3, pp. 75). Oxford: Oxford University Press The following University of Liverpool online library resources will help you to become more familiar with the online library and how to search its holdings: †¢ The University of Liverpool (n. d. ) Library guidelines [Online]. Available from http://www. liv. ac. uk/library/ohecampus/help/guidelines. htm (Accessed: 15 June 2010). The University of Liverpool (n. d. ) Library help and advice [Online]. Available from http://www. liv. ac. uk/library/ohecampus/help/help. htm (Accessed: 15 June 2010). The University of Liverpool (n. d.) Tips for searching the library [Online]. Available from http://www. liv. ac. uk/library/ohecampus/help/search. htm (Accessed: 15 June 2010). †¢ †¢ †¢ The University of Liverpool library exercises. These exercises will help you review how to do basic library tasks. http://liv. ac. uk/library/ohecampus/ILM/Part%208%20%20Library%20Exercises. pdf#zoom=85statusbar=0navpanes=0 Discussion Question: o Submit your response to the Turnitin link and also post it on the Discussion Board o Review responses by other students and make an additional 3–5 meaningful comments by Day 7 of Week 3 Reminder: In Week 3, the initial Discussion Question response is due on Saturday. Your 3-5 significant discussion question follow-up postings and are due by the end of Day 7 of Week 3 (midnight Wednesday, your time zone). Week 4 Strategic organisation to meet new challenges Topics †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ The need for strategic reorganisation Hypercompetition in the global business environment The impact of new technologies on organisation Implications of the knowledge-based economy Organisation as a strategic act Workload Self-study for Week 4: o Read or listen to the Lecture Notes o Read the following pages in your textbooks: Child, J. (2005) Organization: contemporary principles and practice (Chapter 2, pp. 25–43, 45-52). Roberts, J. (2004) The modern firm: organizational design for performance and growth (Chapter 1, pp. 1–30). Discussion Question: o Submit your response to the Turnitin link and also post it on the Discussion Board o Review responses by other students and make an additional 3–5 meaningful comments Hand-in Assignment: o Submit responses to Hand-in Assignment to the weekly Assignments folder Week 5 Integration as a strategic response Topics †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ The need for integration in the business organisation Difficulties of integration and the cost of failure Creating dynamic capability through integration Managing the process of integration The role of team working. Workload Self-study for Week 5: o Read or listen to the Lecture Notes o Read the journal article, available in the on-line library and linked to under Weekly Readings: Yasuf, Y. , Gunasekaran, A. Abthorpe, M. , 2004. Enterprise information systems project implementation: A case study of ERP in Rolls-Royce. International Journal of Production Economics, 87 (3), pp. 251-266. o Read the following pages in your textbook: Child, J. (2005) Organization: contemporary principles and practice (Chapter 4, pp. 79-108). Discussion Question: o Submit your response to the Turnitin link and also post it on the Discussion Board o Review responses by other students and  make an additional 3–5 meaningful comments Hand-in Assignment: o Submit responses to Hand-in Assignment to the weekly Assignments folder Week 6 - Strategic control and motivation Topics †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Motivating people in organisations Strategies for control Theories and concepts of reward Performance measurement and indicators Incentives and reward policies Workload Self-study for Week 6: o Read or listen to the Lecture Notes o Read the journal article, available in the on-line library and linked to under Weekly Readings: Gibbons, R. (1998) ‘Incentives in organizations’, The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12 (4), pp. 115–132. o Read the following pages in your textbooks: Child, J. (2005) Organization: contemporary principles and practice (Chapter 1, pp. 17-18; Chapter 5, pp. 111-135; Chapter 6, pp. 137-154; Chapter 7, 156-174). Roberts, J. (2004) The modern firm: organizational design for performance and growth (Chapter 4, pp. 161-176 required; Chapter 4, pp. 118-176 supplementary). Discussion Question: o Submit your response to the Turnitin link and also post it on the Discussion Board o Review responses by other students and make an additional 3–5 meaningful comments Hand-in Assignment: o Submit responses to Hand-in Assignment to the weekly Assignments folder Week 7 Strategic organisation for innovation and growth Topics †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ The need for new forms of organisation Acquisition-based growth strategy Encouraging and exploiting innovation Organising effective research and development Monitoring and incentivising innovation Workload Self-study for Week 7: o Read or listen to the Lecture Notes o Read the journal article, available in the on-line library and linked to under Weekly Readings: Nadler, D. A. , Tushman, M. L. (1999) ‘The organization of the future: Strategic imperatives and core competencies for the 21st century’, Organizational Dynamics, 28 (1), pp. 45–60. o Read the following pages in your textbooks: Child, J. (2005) Organization: contemporary principles and practice (Chapter 16, pp. 377–387). Roberts, J. (2004) The modern firm: organizational design for performance and growth (Chapter 6, pp. 245–280). Discussion Question: o Submit your response to the Turnitin link and also post it on the Discussion Board Review responses by other students and make an additional 3–5 meaningful comments Individual Project: o Prepare and hand in a proposal including the nature of the project, the sources of information on the cases to be analysed and the most important concepts and techniques to be applied o Submit your proposal to the weekly Assignments folder Week 8 Strategic organisation for performance Topics †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Restructuring for increased strategic responsiveness Strategic organisation of the value chain Benefits and costs of diversification Internal organisation for performance measures The importance of complementarity Workload Self-study for Week 8: o Read or listen to the Lecture Notes o Read the following pages in your textbooks: Child, J. (2005) Organization: contemporary principles and practice (Chapter 3, pp. 59–77). Roberts, J. (2004) The modern firm: organizational design for performance and growth (Chapter 5, pp. 191–241). Discussion Question: o Submit your response to the Turnitin and also post it on the Discussion Board o Review responses by other students and make an additional 3–5 meaningful comments Individual Project: o Prepare an annotated outline of the Project Report indicating the gist of each section in the report along with a list of references on the cases studied and the concepts and techniques applied. o Submit your outline to the weekly Assignments folder Week 9 Network forms of organisation Topics †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ The benefits and problems of outsourcing The importance of strategic alliances Strategic advantages of virtual organisations Managing virtual organisations Transnational organisation in the global economy Workload Self-study for Week 9: o Read or listen to the Lecture Notes o Read the journal article: Simon, H. (1995) Organizations and Markets Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 5 (3), pp. 273-294 o Read the following pages in your textbook: Child, J. (2005) Organization: contemporary principles and practice (Chapter 8, pp. 179–193; Chapter 9, 196-219; Chapter 10, 222-237; Chapter 11, 240-271). Discussion Question: o Submit your response to the Turnitin link and also post it on the Discussion Board o Review responses by other students and make an additional 3–5 meaningful comments Hand-in Assignment: o Submit responses to Hand-in Assignments to the weekly Assignments folder Week 10 Managing organisational change Topics †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Strategic drivers of organisational change Different approaches to organisational change Managing the process of planned change Issues in implementing strategic reorganisation Overcoming resistance to change Workload Self-study for Week 10: o Read or listen to the Lecture Notes o Read the following pages in your textbook: Child, J. (2005) Organization: contemporary principles and practice (Chapter 12, pp. 277–306). Roberts, J. (2004) The modern firm: organizational design for performance and growth (Chapter 7, pp. 281–287). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Discussion Question: o Submit your response to the Turnitin link and also post it on the Discussion Board o Review responses by other students and make an.

Underground Economy Essay Example for Free

Underground Economy Essay Every year, economics becomes a hot-button issue for politicians and ordinary citizens across the country. Politicians stake their careers on promises of economic revitalization, and individuals grouse when the forecast for the national economy is less than inspiring. Most economists measure an economy’s health by a variety of factors, such as the Gross Domestic Product, tax returns, poverty rates, and unemployment rates (Koopmans 575). But how accurate are these numbers? And if they are not accurate, then is society receiving a truthful picture of the overall economy? Many scholars stimate that as much as twenty percent of the GDP goes unreported every year (Kacapyr 30-31). In addition, surveys confirm that up to 25 million Americans are leaving large portions of income out of their tax files (Bartlett, â€Å"Going Underground†). In fact, the IRS estimates that an astounding one trillion dollars of income is left out of tax documents every year (Speer 15). Many factors contribute to this disturbing trend, such as crime and questionable business practices. However, one hot-button issue in particular has emerged as a significant factor in underground economy activity. For Texans, illegal mmigration is a little-disputed reality. For the American economy, Texas is an undeniable omen of the devastating impact of the underground economy. The term bears many other names (including informal and shadow economy), and has been defined in numerous ways, including those economic activities that circumvent or evade . . . the tax code and â€Å"unmeasured economic activity† (Priest 2259). The last definition, in its simplicity, best defines the underground economy. When many people think of unreported earnings, they may picture traditional illegal activities such as drug smuggling, prostitution, and gambling. While such activities do comprise a large part of the underground economy, millions of ordinary and otherwise law-abiding citizens participate in the underground economy every day. A 1994 auditor’s report states that, â€Å"The underground economy is not all smugglers. It is hundreds of thousands of otherwise honest people who have withdrawn their consent to be governed, who have lost faith in government (Dawson 18). For example, general laborers who are paid ‘under the table’ are for the most part honest individuals that nevertheless make up the estimated ? of Americans who earn â€Å"unofficial income† each year (Bartlett, â€Å"Going Underground†). What are the reasons for this illicit activity, and what effect does the underground economy exert on the overall economy? One major aid to the underground economy according to most experts is tax laws. Supply-side economics holds that any changes in marginal tax rates will have an important effect on resource use (Gwartney and Stroup 114). In other words, the presence of taxes greatly impact the economic decisions of businesses and employers alike. A big benefit for underground employees is the absence of income tax and social security reductions. In the underground economy, gross income and net income are equal. Employers also avoid costly payroll taxes when they engage in underground activities (Sennholz, â€Å"The Underground Economy†). Data gathered from the Census Bureau seems to confirm the prominence of tax evasion. The group estimates a twenty-five percent non-response rate for questions relating to income (Speer 15-16). Further, a Federal Reserve study found that when the tax burden increased by ten percent, underground activity rose by up to three percent. Self-employment and small business tax rises are particularly linked to underground economic expansion (â€Å"Underground Dwellers,† National Review). Another important determinant of underground participation is unemployment. Numerous studies have found a positive correlation between unemployment and underground participation. Individuals (especially those supporting families) who cannot find a well-paying job often feel that they have no other choice but to work in whatever job becomes available. Such citizens may work underground while still accumulating welfare and unemployment checks (Bajada 281-284). Surveys of inner-cities suggest that a gap does exist between the income reported to social welfare agencies (an average of $10,000/year in one California study) and the â€Å"actual† income level disclosed in confidential questionnaires (an average rise of $5,000/year in the California study). (Speer 16) Illegal aliens represent one prominent group who benefit from underground activities. Immigrants from poorer countries such as Mexico can be illegally paid under the minimum wage and still accumulate earnings significantly higher than if they found work in their home country. Such arrangements benefit both the employees and the employer (who avoids paying minimum wage and benefits) financially (Schlosberg 45- 47). The ramifications of underground economies on the economic picture are enormous. As previously mentioned, statistical data used to calculate the health of an economy can become irreparably skewed by missing underground information. Poverty rates and unemployment rates are overestimated (Bajada 181), which can present an overly bleak forecast for a state’s or country’s future (as evidenced by the American Demographics Index of Well-Being) (Kacapyr 31). In addition, small businesses and firms lose income opportunities because they are reluctant to move businesses into areas hich are deemed (perhaps falsely) as â€Å"poor† (Speer 16), resulting in a loss of revenue for affected regions. In return, the lack of legitimate businesses only stimulates the underground economy. National and state savings rates are also underestimated, which may lead to faulty focus in social welfare programs (Justice and Ng, â€Å"The Underground Labor Force is Rising†). Since these anti-poverty programs make up more than 70% of public aid programs (Paglin 2254), then it is vitally important that the facts and figures which are used to support and implement such programs are as accurate as possible. The programs that do work will lose important funding, due to tax shortfalls (Anderberg, Balestrino, and Galmarini 651). Likewise, the increased burden on taxpayers can create lower morale amongst even more otherwise law- abiding individuals (Bajada 187). For example, when the federal government is forced to raise taxes in order to fulfill missing income taxes, more citizens will become involved in underground activities in order to replenish their own incomes (Gwartney and Stroup 115-116). And the cycle continues. In the world of economics, there are no easy answers. Texas has learned this hard esson first-hand as its own underground economy thrives, largely due to a booming population of illegal immigrants. According to estimates by the Pew Hispanic Center, Texas-based illegal immigrants account for roughly ten percent (1. 6 million out of 11 million) of the overall United States illegal citizen population. Most of these undocumented citizens have settled in seven populous regions, including Houston (Combs, â€Å"Undocumented Immigrants in Texas†). Researchers project that the population of Texas will comprise of over fifty percent Hispanics by the year 2030 (Johnson, â€Å"Texas 2025). Of these fifty percent, a majority will enter the growing workforce of undocumented workers. Many of these undocumented workers arrive from the most education- and poverty-stricken regions of Central America and Mexico (Johnson, â€Å"Texas 2025†). Therefore, most illegal citizens, desperate for secrecy and any money for their disadvantaged families, accept jobs for little income and virtually no benefits. Despite a 1980s state mandate that banned companies from employing undocumented workers (â€Å"The Costs of Illegal Immigration to Texans† 7), Texas continues to be a prolific workplace for illegal immigrants. In addition to its proximity to the Mexican border, the heavy tourism and farming present in the state makes the region an attractive draw for the surplus of service, construction, and field jobs that constitute most undocumented employment. What are the ultimate effects of Texas’ booming undocumented, underground economy? Since the state does not focus on income taxes, most tax losses result from the disadvantaged economic situation most illegal immigrants encounter. Less income itself means less spending and therefore less sales tax—taxes which generate a large portion of state revenues (Bartlett 12). The greatest costs to the state economy, however, are accrued in public assistance. Just as state laws sought to punish employers for hiring illegal immigrants, the United States Supreme Court struck a blow to Texas’ immigrant control efforts by ruling that children of undocumented citizens must be allowed entrance into the public education system. Since this 1982 ruling, the state has spent roughly $7085 dollars per year on each student (including each undocumented student). If reports by the Texas Education Agency are accurate, the annual cost of schooling undocumented students is 957 million dollars (Combs, â€Å"Undocumented Immigrants in Texas†), nearly one billion dollars per year. Healthcare represents another crucial cost of the underground economy. Since virtually all undocumented workers receive no health insurance, these individuals must rely on public health services when they do fall ill or get into accidents. In Texas, most of these services are readily available to anyone—regardless of citizenship status—due to the Indigent Healthcare and Treatment Act. Emergency care, treatment of infectious diseases, immunizations, women’s and children’s health services, and even mental and substance abuse programs can all be obtained by illegal immigrants. The Texas comptroller conducted a comprehensive study at the end of 2006 which highlighted the extreme cost of such services per year. By applying a formula which measured state expenditures against the estimated undocumented population, the comptroller found costs of three and a half million dollars annually in emergency medicine alone. Federally mandated assistance services such as Medicaid netted an additional 38 million dollar cost per year in relation to illegal immigrants. Overall, the comptroller put total healthcare costs based on underground activity at a conservative 58 million dollars. Most of these expenses fall onto local governments and businesses in the private sector, as does the estimated 130 million dollars in annual illegal immigrant incarcerations every year (Combs, â€Å"Undocumented Immigrants in Texas†). The impact of illegal immigration on small business entrepreneurs perhaps highlights the most lasting cost to Texas’ future. A prevalence of underground economic activity steals from and slowly strangles the economy that is ‘above the ground. ’ Consider the plight of one contractor, a man who already charges at rates drastically reduced from those of his competitors. Despite his willingness to adjust to the economic climate and the spirit of capitalism, this legal worker—who compensates all of his employees fully—recently received a dismissal from a potential client that has become all too common: â€Å"I have two other bids here that are half what you’re asking† (McHugh, â€Å"Notes from the Underground Economy†). Documented workers, already struggling in a struggling economy, must face even more obstacles simply because they expect a living wage. The government has done little to address this problem. By the turn of the century, fewer than 1000 employers nationwide were being held accountable for hiring illegal immigrants. If this lax approach to the problem continues, in the United States and in Texas in particular, the dire prediction of Texas State Representative Pete Gallego will transform into a grim reality: â€Å"By the year 2025, if we keep doing what were doing now, Texas will have the economy of a Third World country. †

Symbolism Iconography

Symbolism Iconography The use of symbols and icons predates human spoken and written languages. In his book, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, Scott McCloud (1993) defines an icon as any image used to represent a person, place, thing, or idea. While a symbol is an image we use to represent concepts, ideas, and philosophies (p. 27).   He also defines Icons of the practical realm as icons of language, science, and communication (McCloud, 1993, p. 27). Each of these types of icons have varying degrees of meanings. A representational icons meaning is fluid and varies depending on the degree of realism. The second being non-pictorial icons, or as Scott McCloud calls them icons of the practical realm have a fixed and absolute meaning. Simply, their meaning does not change with their appearance such examples include the peace sign or the number 5. Finally, there are completely abstract icons. The most common being words. Words do not represent a pictorial meaning at all. Icons that have a fixed or absolute meaning are icons of the practical realm as McCloud states. These are such things as letters (A), numbers (5), punctuation (!), music notes (à ¢Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã‚ ª), and mathematical symbols like pi (à Ã¢â€š ¬). No matter how one writes or represents this icon the meaning stays the same. To visit the beginning, one would have to go back to 3300 BCE. This is the believed to be the beginning of Egyptian hieroglyphs (history-world.org, 2007). Many people believe that hieroglyphs are representational icons, in that they represent what they depict. This is not the case as it has been discovered that hieroglyphs are interpreted as sounds, much like our alphabet. For example, three birds in a row was not interpreted as birds instead it was interpreted as the sound baà ­u (McCloud, 1993, p. 12). Most of us have been taught the alphabet in grade school and that each letter represents at least one sound. No matter how one writes or types a letter, its meaning do es not change. For example, you can still read this sentence even though every word is in a different font. Some types of these icons have become pretty much universal with the advent of the digital world. Much like every word in this research paper they are completely abstract. None of these words visually represent what they mean. For example, if you read the word cat it does not represent the furry four-legged pets we know and love. A representational icons meaning is fluid and varies depending on the degree of realism. The best example, and the one Scott McCloud utilizes, is the human face (See visual example on the next page). In this example a photograph would be an icon that most represents real life. The next step down would be a realistic drawing of that face. There are many things that set these apart from actual faces Theyre smaller, flatter, less detailed, they dont move. They lack color but as pictorial icons go, they are pretty realistic (McCloud, 1993, p. 28). The third step is more abstract and looks close to the style found in most adventure comics. Continuing to simplify it we get to a face made from just lines and shapes, it looks more like a cartoon. Finally, we have a circle with two dots for eyes and a line for a mouth. The advantage to stripping down the realism is the universality of the imagery. The simpler it is the more people it could describe. Using the previous example, the picture can only describe one person while the realistic drawing could describe a few. The adventure style may represent thousands of people while the cartoon version could describe millions of people. Finally, the two dots and the line within a circle represents nearly all people. This graphic represents many gradients from complex to simple, realistic to iconic, objective to subjective, and specific to universal (McCloud, 1993, p. 46). However, this is just one side of an entire spectrum. McCloud (1993) states that the pictorial side is the received side where we need no formal education to get the message. The message is instantaneous (p. 49). The other side is perceived, as the spectrum becomes even more abstract it crosses from the representational icon to the completely abstract icon. This writing being perceived information. It takes time and specialized knowledge to decode abstract symbols of language (McCloud, 1993, p. 49). This creates an entire spectrum shown on the next page. McCloud (1993) states that when pictures are more abstracted from reality, they require greater levels of perception, more like words. When words are bolder, more direct, they require lower levels of perception and are received faster, more like pictures (p. 49). In his book, How to Design Logos, Symbols Icons, Gregory Thomas (2000) says that the oldest ideograph symbols are the circle, cross, triangle, and the square (p. 9-10). Circles were used to signify the endlessness of the universe, eternity, or God. These symbols were found on pre-Columbian caves. Open circles may represent openings such as eyes or a mouth. One with a dot in the center may represent the sun and this has been used in every cultural sphere on earth before inter-civilization communication (Thomas, 2000, p. 9). The cross predates Christianity and was one of the earliest signs traced back to the Neolithic Age. Now commonly used to signify Christianity. The triangle was symbolic due to its three even sides, used to define a multiple of triads such as birth, life and death or body, soul, and spirit (Thomas, 2000, p. 9-10). Opposite the circle, the square signifies matter, earth, restraint, solidarity, order, and safety (Thomas, 2000, p. 10). Present day a few people have come together to create standards. Seeing that everyone is now connected through the internet and many people travel throughout the world a need for a standard for symbols and signs arose. Out of this need the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) was created. Its main goal is to raise public awareness of ISO graphical symbols which transmit safety messages and other important information without creating language barriers (International Organization for Standardization, 2013). With this standardization, an individual would be able to travel anywhere, even where one may not know the language, and they would still be able to understand basic signs like no smoking, parking, or restroom. With the advent of the digital era there was need for more standardization. This first came in the form of the American Standard Code for Information Interexchange (ASCII) which is a standard that assigns letters, numbers, and other characters within the 256 slots available in 8-bit code (Computer Hope, n.d.). Slots 0-31 were non-printable codes, 32-127 are considered Lower ASCII and this contains the older American systems. Then there is the Higher ASCII, codes 128-255 which is programable and is based on the language of your operating system, the program currently being used, or for foreign letters (Computer Hope, n.d.). As one may have guessed this system became very limiting very fast as the internet became an international tool and this system only has 256 character slots. Thus, a new system was established. This new system is the Unicode Standard developed by the Unicode Consortium (unicode.org, 2015). The earliest updated version was released June of 2016, Unicode 9.0 sports a total of 1,114,112 code points (the same as a slot in ASCII) with only 267,819 code points being used (BabelStone, 2016). This gives more than enough room to accommodate language variances including a multitude of oriental symbols and everyones favorite: the emoji. First, a quick clarification on the difference between emojis and emoticons. Emojis are images and symbols that are rendered on the device, for example à °Ã… ¸Ã¢â€ž ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡, while emoticons are simple expressions and faces created with standard keyboard characters for example :-). Originating in Japan, emojis were developed in 1999 by Shigetaka Kurita, an employee of NTT DoCoMo. They were the biggest mobile-phone operator in Japan and were under increasing pressure to support a new obsession among the Japanese people, with images. Mr. Kurita, also known as Mr. Emoji, realized that digital communication robbed people of the ability to communicate emotion (Schenker, 2016). The name emoji originated from picture (e) and character (moji). This then became a part of the Shift JIS Japanese character encoding scheme. It wasnt until Apple incorporated the emoji that it became globally popular. However, in 2007 they incorporated an emoji keyboard into their mobile operating system (iOS) to be able to sell iPhones to Japanese customers, but hid this feature on iPhones sold everywhere else. People outside of Japan soon discovered this and they found that they could unlock the emoji keyboard by downloading a Japanese language app, and emojis spread like wildfire (Schenker, 2016). It wasnt until 2011 that Apple officially supported emojis internationally with the release of iOS 5. To make this trend a reality emoji character sets were incorporated into Unicode in 2010. Therefore, no matter what operating system is sending or receiving an emoji everyone can still view them because of the great standardization in digital communication. With a clear definition of emojis versus emoticons one may wonder what the father of the emoticon thinks about emojis. In an interview with the UKs Independent, Scott Fahlman, the Carnegie Mellon University professor who invented the emoticon, said I think they are ugly, and they ruin the challenge of trying to come up with a clever way to express emotions using standard keyboard characters. But perhaps thats just because I invented the other kind (Bignell, 2012). Today we have 1,851 different emojis and they have become more multi-cultural, racially diverse, and gender diverse. As a relatively recent development it has already come a far way and has a bright future ahead of it. While words are abstract icons, the recent revolution of emojis brings rise to the use of a unified standard for non-representational icons. Icons demand our participation to make them work. There is no life [in an icon] except that which you give to it. Its been over [forty-four] years since McLuhan first observed that people à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ didnt want goals so much as they wanted roles! And thats what visual iconography is all about (McCloud, 1993, p. 59). BabelStone. (2016, June 22). How many Unicode charachters are there? Retrieved from babelstone.co.uk: http://www.babelstone.co.uk/Unicode/HowMany.html Bignell, P. (2012, September 8). Happy 30th birthday emoticon! :-}. Retrieved from Independant.co.uk: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/happy-30th-birthday-emoticon-8120158.html Computer Hope. (n.d.). computerhope.com. Retrieved from ASCII: http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/a/ascii.htm history-world.org. (2007, January). An Explanation of Hieroglyphics. Retrieved from International World History Project: http://history-world.org/hieroglyphics.htm International Organization for Standardization. (2013, January). The international language of ISO graphical symbols. Retrieved from iso.org: https://www.iso.org/files/live/sites/isoorg/files/archive/pdf/en/graphical-symbols_booklet.pdf McCloud, S. (1993). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. Schenker, M. (2016, October 11). The suprising history of emojis. Retrieved from webdesignerdepot.com: http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2016/10/the-surprising-history-of-emojis/ Thomas, G. (2000). How to Design, Logos, Symbols Icons. Cincinnati: How Design Books. unicode.org. (2015, December 1). What is Unicode? Retrieved from unicode.org: http://unicode.org/standard/WhatIsUnicode.html

Analysis Of Primary Colors Essay -- essays research papers

Politics is a bloodsport, one big game of corruption, muckraking, prostitution, and defilement, which is played by the politicians, the media, and the seemingly innocent public that tends to forget that politicians are humans also, no better than the masses except for one thing, the ability to play the game. Primary Colors by Anonymous portrays this fraudulent game perfectly, exhibiting all of the dark aspects of a political campaign: from the vicious media in their pursuit of scandals, to the traitorousness of opposing candidates to destroy each other, all the way to the secretive sexual interactions taking place during the campaigning process. Yet in this vice-corrupted novel, Anonymous also manages to let the human side of the tainted politicians shine through, showing that they are imperfect, that they have flaws and weaknesses, and that they make mistakes in exactly the same fashion as all other human beings do. It is with these decadent political figures, Jack Stanton and Fredd y Picker, that Anonymous in Primary Colors shows that there is still a nobleness to politics, a dedication to the voters, a love of the political game, and a human compassion in all of it. It is important to mention the definition of noble in order to avoid misunderstanding the word, for according to the Microsoft Encarta 97 Encyclopedia, the definition of noble is â€Å"stately and imposing; of magnanimous nature,† and referring to The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, noble means â€Å"characterized by or indicative of virtue or magnanimity; high minded; imposing of appearance; grand; impressive† (475). Both definitions of the word noble imply that a person can have a noble appearance and that a person’s main objectives and actions are noble, but one should keep in mind that even noble people are not perfect people. This is especially true with the characters of Jack Stanton and Freddy Picker. Jack Stanton’s appearance, especially when he is presenting himself to the public, doing what he loves best—mingling with â€Å"the folks,† is noble. The public looks up to him, â€Å"he was a big fellow† (Anon., 1) and the manner in w hich he interacts with the people, his meaningful handshakes and physical contact to them, truly listening to them, always remembering their names, and considering them friends is exemplary of nobleness. On the other hand, Freddy Picker’s appearance is completely different, a trim... ...le confessing to Stanton that he is afraid of the media’s power to destroy his life, and Stanton immediately rushes to hug him, rocks him gently, and kisses him on the top of his head while Picker cries on Stanton’s chest (495). The action speaks for itself: two grown men, tough political figures, becoming as loving and caring as a mother with her child--true human compassion. Even in the fierce and heartless business of politics, certain noble human attributes such as a dedication to the public, a love of the game of politics, and the compassion shared in this sport are necessary for politicians, such as Jack Stanton and Freddy Picker, to succeed. Through Primary Colors, Anonymous truly depicts their imperfections, defects, and addictions in such manner that the reader realizes that these characters can not be perfect just because they are politicians. Although political figures are in the public eye, they are human like every other person and the pressure and demand to be faultless by the public is unreasonable and superlative. Politician’s imperfection is best summarized by Anonymous’ character, Jack Stanton: â€Å"This is about the ability to lead. It’s not about perfection† (503).

Hamartia in Oedipus the King :: Greek Tragedy Tragedies Oedipus Essays

Hamartia in Oedipus the King According to Aristotle, the tragic hero is impeded by a distinguishable characteristic or character trait which leads to his ultimate demise. This trait is known as hamartia, or the "tragic flaw." This characteristic is said to not only lead to the hero's demise but may also enable the reader to sympathize with the character. So it follows that in Oedipus the King, a Greek tragedy, the tragic hero Oedipus should have some sort of flaw. However, after close examination of the text, no distinguishable "flaw" is revealed. Although Oedipus appears to have many "flaws" on the surface, namely his poor temperament, carelessness, curiosity and pride, close examination of the text reveals that he has many seemingly flawed characteristics that are not only justifiable but in some cases to be expected. One might expect that a quick and even murderous temper would be considered a serious impediment to Oedipus. However, he is quite justified in his rage against Creon and Tiresias, and he has good reasons to suspect them of plotting against him. From the view point of Oedipus, he has just discovered that the antecedent king Laius was savagely murdered along with the members of his entourage. Furthermore the murder has yet to be solved many years later, and the gods have placed a plague on his city until the murderer(s) is apprehended and punished. After learning of the death of Laius, Oedipus concludes that the murderer is "a thief, so daring, so wild, he'd kill a king? [It's] impossible, unless conspirators paid him off in Thebes" (140-142). Creon concurs that this thought had also crossed his mind. So with this evidence, it is easy to see why Oedipus is distrustful of his own peers. Maybe the actual killing of Laius and his four servants is an extreme display of Oedipus' murderous temperament. While it may seem a bit extreme in hindsight, at the time of the incident his actions are totally justifiable. Oedipus describes the incident as thus: as he was"making [his] way toward this triple crossroad [he] began to see a herald, then a brace of colts drawing a wagon, and mounted on the bench . . . a man, just as [Jocasta] described [Laius], coming face-to-face, and the one in the lead and the old man himself [was] about to thrust [him] off the road-brute force - and the one shouldering [him] aside, the driver, [he] struck [him] in anger - and the old man, watching [Oedipus] coming up along his wheels - he brings down his prod, two prongs straight at [his] head"(884-893).

Billy Budd Essay example -- essays papers

Billy Budd Herman Melville’s Billy Budd, Sailor is evidently an extremely divisive text when one considers the amount of dissension and disagreement it has generated critically. The criticism has essentially focused around what could be called the dichotomy of acceptance vs. resistance. On the one hand we can read the story as accepting the slaughter of Billy Budd as the necessary ends of justice. We can read Vere’s condemnation as a necessary military action performed in the name of preserving the political order on board the Bellipotent. On the other hand, we can read the story ironically as a Melvillian doctrine of resistance. Supporters on this pole of the debate argue that Billy Budd’s execution is the greatest example of injustice. They argue that the execution is a testament of denunciation, deploring the shallow political order of a paranoid military regime. I do not wish to argue either side of this debate. I have pointed it out to illustrate that Billy Bud d, Sailor is a text about principles of right conduct, or at least this view is held by critics. Is Vere’s conduct right or wrong? This is the basic question at stake. In this sense it is a text about moral values and ethical conduct. However, considering that Billy Budd, Sailor is an ethical text, what I find most curious about it is the mysterious absence of the emotion guilt. Here we have a story about two murders. Billy obviously kills Claggart and Vere (Although it is indirect, ultimately the decision is his) kills Budd. Neither of these murderers shows the emotion of guilt in the form of remorse. For a narrative which tries so hard to situate the reader in an ethical and moral position of choosing interpretations, isn’t it somewhat ironic that the cha... ...g or resisting an ethical dilemma is perhaps a moot point. The ethical thrust of the story could possibly be to indict mans insatiable need to punish and requite injuries through erroneous means. As Nietzche seems to think, "we may unhesitatingly assert that it was precisely through punishment that the development of the feeling of guilt was most powerfully hindered." If we conceive of the text of Billy Budd, Sailor as situating the reader for an alignment with this viewpoint, then perhaps the reader "gags" at the death of Billy Budd not for the seemingly unfair and unjust killing of a sympathetic character, but instead for its illustration of a social system inherently disjointed at its foundation; one which doesn’t make sense considering human nature, but one which is so inextricably linked to society that it is doubtful that it could ever, or will ever, be changed. Billy Budd Essay example -- essays papers Billy Budd Herman Melville’s Billy Budd, Sailor is evidently an extremely divisive text when one considers the amount of dissension and disagreement it has generated critically. The criticism has essentially focused around what could be called the dichotomy of acceptance vs. resistance. On the one hand we can read the story as accepting the slaughter of Billy Budd as the necessary ends of justice. We can read Vere’s condemnation as a necessary military action performed in the name of preserving the political order on board the Bellipotent. On the other hand, we can read the story ironically as a Melvillian doctrine of resistance. Supporters on this pole of the debate argue that Billy Budd’s execution is the greatest example of injustice. They argue that the execution is a testament of denunciation, deploring the shallow political order of a paranoid military regime. I do not wish to argue either side of this debate. I have pointed it out to illustrate that Billy Bud d, Sailor is a text about principles of right conduct, or at least this view is held by critics. Is Vere’s conduct right or wrong? This is the basic question at stake. In this sense it is a text about moral values and ethical conduct. However, considering that Billy Budd, Sailor is an ethical text, what I find most curious about it is the mysterious absence of the emotion guilt. Here we have a story about two murders. Billy obviously kills Claggart and Vere (Although it is indirect, ultimately the decision is his) kills Budd. Neither of these murderers shows the emotion of guilt in the form of remorse. For a narrative which tries so hard to situate the reader in an ethical and moral position of choosing interpretations, isn’t it somewhat ironic that the cha... ...g or resisting an ethical dilemma is perhaps a moot point. The ethical thrust of the story could possibly be to indict mans insatiable need to punish and requite injuries through erroneous means. As Nietzche seems to think, "we may unhesitatingly assert that it was precisely through punishment that the development of the feeling of guilt was most powerfully hindered." If we conceive of the text of Billy Budd, Sailor as situating the reader for an alignment with this viewpoint, then perhaps the reader "gags" at the death of Billy Budd not for the seemingly unfair and unjust killing of a sympathetic character, but instead for its illustration of a social system inherently disjointed at its foundation; one which doesn’t make sense considering human nature, but one which is so inextricably linked to society that it is doubtful that it could ever, or will ever, be changed.

Practise What You Preach

Practice what you preach Any person in the world is an individual and it goes without saying that all people differ. Consequently, all of them have different mentality, ideology, behavior, thoughts, attitude to the same things and phenomena. Usually since childhood we stand on one path and follow it during all our life. Here the influence of parents, grandparents, teachers can be seen, when we try to copy their adult habits.But it seems to be normal when a little child follows the ideas of a mother today, for example, and the other day he/she persuades everyone that a father says the truth, even though it contradicts a mother’s truth which was actual a day before. It can be understood that a child just explores the world and can’t decide whose ideas are worth following. Becoming a teenager, a young man or lady, we tend to make our own conclusions rather that listen to what adults say and think.And since that moment when we generate our own ideas and persuade other peopl e have the same beliefs, we are responsible for what we say. There is one proverb: â€Å"A word spoken is past recalling†. If you have said something once, don’t change your opinion in one hour or the next day, because in future people won’t know whether believe you or not, whether listen to or ignore you. Of course, it’s a usual thing when due to some experience, knowledge, evidence we can change our beliefs, it’s our personal thing.But when you begin to spread your ideas among other people, you should stand by them till the very end, otherwise keep silence. If your ideas were introduced aloud, if other people heard them once, then you are expected to practice what you preach. Here can be said in general about teachers, because they are those who teach a lot of children. The last without their own experience, remember everything said at the classes. Surely, they believe their teachers, because they are older and wiser.And if one day students see t hat a teacher doesn’t practice what he/she preaches, they won’t believe him/her anymore. Therefore the authority of a teacher won’t be stable. There is one more concrete example about Mr. Davidson from W. Somerset Maugham’s story â€Å"Rain†. Alfred Davidson, a self-righteous missionary, tried to make Miss Thompson a religious woman, to kill her lust and her desire to sell her body. But one day he succumbed to his lust and raped her, even though he was a missionary about 15 years and he was a married man.The next morning, he was found dead on the ocean shore  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ a  suicide. He couldn’t live anymore when he had done a thing which was against his religious teaching. Summing up my essay, I would like to emphasize that an advice â€Å"Practice what you preach† given in the title concerns not only people who have authority: teachers, politicians, priests, but any person in the world. If you want to be trusted, don’t speak at random waste words, because people will expect you to follow what you’ve said.