Illegal Immigration Essay

With Illegal immigrants entering the United States daily, attention grows as to what should be done about it. Illegal immigrants who enter the United States and build lives here ultimately affect our economy and society. On one side of the debate, you have those who believe all illegal immigrants should be deported. No exceptions should be made and citizenship should be required to enter the borders of the United States. On the other side, why not give illegal immigrants a chance? Allow them to earn rights in the United States and eventually gain citizenship. Serious debate continues over what reforms should be made to our nation’s Immigration laws. With a vision of more secure borders, there are those who see illegal immigration completely unacceptable. This side argues that Illegal immigrants be given no status in the United States. Those who share this point of view often times share similar reasons as well. Many middle class jobs, available to legal United States citizens, are being swept up by illegals. Illegal immigrants are using falsified documents to gain access to such jobs. It’s not fair that legal citizens who are looking for jobs face competition against illegal immigrants. Their use of fake social security numbers to authenticate documents causes issues to tax brackets and government assistance programs. Government assistance, only intended for use by citizens in need, is being utilized by illegal immigrants. As well as wanting to keep government agencies from being utilized by wrong parties, safety is a strong reason for wanting more secure borders. With thousands of immigrants making the attempt into the U nited States daily, it is impossible to filter out violent offenders and other criminals from non- criminals. This is what scares many American citizens into wanting completely shut borders. You just don’t know who is entering the U.S. Without the ability to screen everyone who enters the U.S., and regulate the number of immigrants entering the U.S., this side will continue to vote for closed borders. On the contrary though, commonly in tune with ideals that our nation was founded by immigrants, there are those who see reform is necessary for the United States. America has been known as the land of opportunity for centuries. Why not allow everyone a chance to prosper? Immigrants bring and have brought new ideas to our country for centuries. Every day they form a functioning part of our society as well as economy. Although some view it wrong for illegal aliens to receive government assistance, they contribute to taxes as well. With dreams of bettering one’s life, immigrants usually come to the U.S. with strong work ethics and hopes to prosper. Blamed for the shortages in jobs, Illegal immigrants seem to fill the holes in society that legal citizens haven’t already filled. With them they bring values of their own cultures. This helps distill more values of culture into our own. Creating a more diverse country can help everyone feel more like they fit in. Illegal immigr ants, with dreams of citizenship in the U.S., should be given the chance. Reform in our government should allow more eligibility for those trying to gain citizenship. Opportunity should be accessible to everyone. With illegal immigration often debated by those with strict agendas, it is easy to see certain points of view are missed. Noted historically as â€Å"one big melting pot†, The United States was originally founded by immigrants. Most â€Å"Americans† today are descendants of immigrants who came to the U.S. hoping to find opportunity, the same as immigrants today. The United States should honor that many illegal immigrants see it as the land of opportunity. Citizenship here should not be a dream held out of reach for so many. Immigrants bring diversity to new nations. Government reforms concerning both sides can be made. Changes that not only allow more opportunity to those looking in, but strengthen and secure our border’s as well. Consideration from both sides of the debate is necessary in trying to find solutions to the immigration problems our nation faces today. Debate over whether our borders be accessible or left shut will continue as long as people try to cross them. There will always be those radically opposed to immigration as will there always be those for it. With chances  slim of immigration into the U.S. slowing down, parties will have to form necessary common grounds in order to preserve the integrity of our nation. Security for the U.S. will always be the main factor in how our reform pans out. It should never be forgotten though that this is the land of opportunity, built by those who came by boat. Only views of equality can fix the issues tying up our immigration reform. Work Cited Brooks, Philip. â€Å"Timeline.† Immigration. Chicago: Heinemann Library, 2004. 44. Print â€Å"Illegal Immigration.† Illegal Immigration. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013 â€Å"Immigration ProCon.org – What Are the Solutions to Illegal Immigration in America?† ProConorg Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. Smith, James P., and Barry Edmonston. â€Å"Historical Background and Current Immigration Issues.† The Immigration Debate: Studies on the Economic, Demographic, and Fiscal Effects of Immigration. Washington, D.C.: National Academy, 1998. 289-310. Print. West, Darrell M. â€Å"Shifting Public Opinion.† Brain Gain: Rethinking U.S. Immigration Policy. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 2010. 107-26. Print.

Male culture disadvantages boys in education Essay

Until the late 1980’s, most sociological literature focused on the underachievement of girls. Girls were less likely to pursue A levels and consequently to enter higher education. However, in the early 1990’s, it was argued that girls had begun to outperform boys at most levels of the education system. The main sociological focus today therefore is on the underachievement of boys. Epstein et al.(1999) state that boy’s underachievement is not something new, but in the past was not a worrying trend for two reasons: working-class boys used to move easily into jobs without good qualifications in the days when sons followed fathers into mines, factories, etc. And the structural and cultural barriers preventing female’s access to high-status jobs and the pressure on women to become wives and mothers, etc. meant that males always achieved better paid jobs in the long run. However, today Epstein notes that governments are anxious about large numbers of unemployed young men because they are a potential threat to social order. There are many reasons why boys are under-achieving in education. In some schools, the extent of boys’ underachievement has become so serious that twice as many girls are getting five GCSE’s grades A-C. It is estimated that by the age of 16, nearly 40% of boys are ‘lost’ to education. Some sociologists have suggested that the fault lies with teachers. Studies of classroom interaction and the relationship between pupils and teachers suggest that teachers are not as strict with boys as with girls. It is claimed that teachers tend to have lower expectations of boys, e. g.they expect work to be late, to be untidy and boys to be disruptive. Emphasis in the past has been on excluding such boys rather than looking for ways to motivate them. Consequently a culture of low achievement evolved among boys and was not acted upon because the emphasis in schools for many years was to make education more relevant and interesting for girls. Boys’ performance in schools is a complex issue. This policy issue of boys’ underachievement can be understood in many different ways. The issue can be framed in terms of human capital, class inequality, equal opportunities or social justice. Links can be drawn between the low educational attainment of some boys and the low employment rates of some young men. There is also for some boys an antagonism between educational attainment, even attentiveness, and the performance and achievement of particular and valued masculinities. Mac An Ghaill (1996) argues that working-class boys are experiencing a ‘crisis of masculinity’. Their socialisation into traditional masculine identity has been undermined by the decline of traditional men’s jobs in manufacturing and primary industries such as mining. Mass unemployment found in working-class areas means that boys are no longer sure about their future role as men. This confusion about their future role may lead working-class boys to conclude that qualifications are a waste of time because there are only limited opportunities in the job market. The future looks bleak and without purpose so they don’t see the point in working hard. They may temporarily resolve this crisis by constructing delinquent or anti-school subcultures, which tend to be anti-learning. Research evidence indicates that boys appear to gain street credibility and status in such cultures for not working. In 1994 Panorama’s â€Å"The Future is Female† by Hannon suggested that with more opportunities for women in the work place, a change in the female ideology and with a fairer education system women simply passed the boys. â€Å"Boys are not actually doing worse than they have done in the past, they are improving, but girls improvement outstrips boys† Hannon, The Future is Female, 1994. With father opportunities of women it is easy to realise the origins of the current masculinity crisis, as there is no set role. Boys are no longer thought of as maturing later and comfortably walking into sustainable education. Instead men are expected to work hard throughout education to reap the rewards later but this is against the gender stereotype portrayed through the agents of socialisation. With this problem the â€Å"new man† was created producing a crisis for men on which to evolve into. Both published in socialisation agents boys have the problem of evolving into fulfilling the â€Å"laddish stereotype† or one in which they draw away from the idea that it is not male to work hard in education. Other sociologists have pointed to the feminine culture, which surrounds younger children as a possible influence on male under- achievement. Children, both male and female, may equate learning and therefore schooling with femininity. As boys grow up, they identify with more masculine role models and may reject academic learning and skills such as presentation and reading as feminine. Boys and reading and boys and literature are frequently mentioned by teachers as trouble spots in educating boys. Many young boys belong to anti-learning sub-cultures and they would therefore be deemed as ‘un-cool’ if they achieved well in school especially in a ‘girly’ subject such as English. Many boys don’t try to achieve at school simply to conform to their group’s norms and values. If their group doesn’t value education then they won’t. They believe it is more valuable to be popular and ‘in’ with the right crowd as opposed to achieving in school and education.

Record Management System Essay

A student record is about any written information about the students. Student records are often viewed as paperwork produced for the education accreditations. However, a well-designed student record system, whether using paper documents or automated systems, produce many benefits. The most important of these is the ability to report information for decision making about individual students, school and programs. A second benefit, particularly with automated systems, is efficiency in processing and exchanging student records among schools. The focus on student outcomes and records has been a burden to our school, for them to monitor well the information and the performance of the students. Various student records, data and information were required to have proper organization and management to provide sustainable student record. This thesis or system helps the school’s administrator or the teachers for maintaining the records of the students. As technology changes, we want to be updated or to be modernized. Using the manual record and grading system, sometimes causes to confusion. We all know that manual record system are just hand written, so it may cause confuse someone just because he or she cannot understand the hand writing of the person and also sometimes the student records are being misplace. Unlike in automated record system, the information’s can be clearly understood because it is computerized and can be kept in a folder. In the past, universities and large school districts in particular have created their own bespoke student record systems. One such example is the Repository of Student Information (ROSI) system at University of Toronto. With growing complexity in the business of educational establishments, most organizations now choose to buy customizable software, and increasing numbers are buying software as a service. Most student information systems in use today are server-based, with the application residing on a central computer server, and being accessed by client applications at various places within and even outside the school. But student information systems have been moving to the web since the late 1990s and that trend is accelerating as institutions replace older systems. In the Philippines, some of the university used the Student Recording System or Student Information Systems. Like in Benguet State University, they provide their new way record management and transaction processing that wouldachieve efficiency on processing student information. It would be a great help to the administrativepersonnel, academic personnel, grantors or stakeholders, parents and students in updating, retrievingand generating student data. Importance of the Study The study entitled â€Å"Guidance Record Management for Cavite State University Imus Campus† will help the university to maintain an organized and systematic record for guidance unit. The web- based record management will serve as a bridge between the student and the guidance office. The study will help the Guidance Office to manage the Student Information Profile, the offenses and the good morals of the student. It will build a foundation in becoming more efficient of the guidance servicing unit in Cavite State University Imus Campus. The universities students will help the student to access easily the Guidance Unit and enjoy its services. They can be easily update to the universities announcements and will be aware of their offenses. The study also enables the examinee to know the result of the exam through online and download it for the requirements needed for the enrollment. They can now access the guidance office on their home now with the help of internet. The study will serves as a reference for the future researchers who will study the guidance servicing unit. It will give them wide information about the study and broaden their knowledge. I recommend the future researcher to make the study more emphasize and broader. Statement of the Problem In the Cavite State University Imus Campus, Guidance Office still using a semi†computer based system and paper†based student record management. Staff finds it tedious in searching and preparing reports on student’s information and also laborious due to repetition of processes done in filling and updating of records. As main goals of the school, it sought to answer the following questions: The Student Information Profile Sheets has been disseminated in the university for the Guidance Record. But the said SIPs failed due to lack of time to sort all the records. How to provide an easy way to manage all the records of the students and easily fill-up the information? (See Appendix A, Figure 3). Every end of semester, staffs need to pass their accreditations for their accomplishment reports. It is undeniably and obviously, that making reports in Guidance Office was very laborious. How will it be easier for them to finish their accomplishment reports? (See Appendix A, Figure 4). Every end of semester, the Discipline Officer/ Entrance Examination Officer conducting an entrance examination. It hassles them to accommodate over one hundred examinees just to announce the result of their examination. How to provide an alternative way to announce the entrance examination results? (See Appendix A, Figure 5). The request of good moral is hassle for the students because they need to photocopy the requests and wait for the long 3-day working process of the Guidance Office. How to provide the student can easily request and get their Good Moral Certificates and help the Discipline Officer to its recording? (See Appendix A, Figure 6). Objectives of the Study The study aims to develop a web-based application for Guidance servicing Unit in Cavite State University Imus Campus. Generally, the study aimed to design to create a website that will render the services of Guidance Unit in Cavite State University. It shall help the university to manage the student’s information. It will also enable the student to fill-up and generate their Student Information Profile (SIP). It will also provide the announcement for the entrance exam results every semester and update the students’ every day. It should also have a high security and control measures for the student’s privacy. It will then produce a new transaction, Good Moral Certificate request online and record management of student offenses. And lastly, it will improve the generation of record reports. Specifically, the study aimed to; 1. Plan a website that will enable the student to fill-up their SIP and the  university to manage the SIPs. 2. Design an entrance examinees result online. 3. Design a new way for making an accomplishment reports. 4. Analyze the process for requesting and releasing good moral certificates. Time and Place of the Study The system development started last August 2014. The researcher’s interview was conducted on June 2014 located at Cavite State University Imus Campus. They conducted requirements gathering and system construction on July 2014. In September 2014, the researcher stated doing the documentation of the study. The study is expected to be done by the end of September 2014. Scope and Limitation The study is conducting for the efficient student record keepings. The study is limited only to the features like SIPs record, entrance examination results, university announcements, information’s security, new Guidance transactions and generation of reports. The said features are only made for the Guidance Service Unit of Cavite State University Imus Campus. The Guidance Administrators (Guidance Counselor and Discipline Officer) are the authenticated persons to manage the system. They can add offenses, view incident reports, add announcements, view all the student information, and view Good Moral Certificate requests and display the entrance examination results. Students can only view announcements, submit incident reports, view their profile, request good moral and be notify about their offenses. Examinees can only view their entrance examination result. And the teachers can only submit an incident report. Definition of Terms Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Is a style sheet language used for designing the look and formatting of a document written in a markup language and which enables to separate the designing from coding. Downloadable. Receiving a data from the local server and convert it to a file. Mysql. Used for making  a relational database management system. Online.Accessing the website through internet connection and its done over the internet. PHP. A general purpose programming language designed in making a website. Record Management System (RMS). An application that is responsible for collecting inputted data. Student Information System (SIS).An application that organized, record and manage the information of student. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES Presented here in Chapter 2 is the synthesis of research that supports the evaluation of record management system and student information system. For further understanding of the study, the researchers made use of different reading materials related to the online system. Related Literature Presented here in Chapter 2 is the synthesis of research that supports the evaluation of record management system and student information system. For further understanding of the study, the researchers made use of different reading materials related to the online system. These materials such as books, thesis and other web articles are essential in broadening the knowledge of the researchers. These will also guide the researchers to achieve their target objectives by getting ideas on other related studies and make improvements as possible. The information gathered by the researchers focuses on the record management. Security measurement information in terms of student’s information privacy to be considered in developing an online system is also obtained. Marrero (2009) in his study entitled â€Å"Student Information System for the University of the Cordilleras† stressed that the concept of Information Systems (IS) emerged in the early 1960s. More often, when information system is defined, the field Information Science is always associated, IS is an academic field that deals with the generation, collection, organization, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of recorded knowledge. Furthermore, it is a collection of related components designed to support operations, management, and decision making in an organization. Generally, IS is supposed to inform people. Information System  supports people or users in making intelligent decisions based upon the information derived from reliable data. MIT (2009) gave emphasis that Student Information System (SIS) provides students with access to their academic and biographic records as well as the ability to update their address information and pre†register for classes; it provides instructors and departmental administrators with class list information; and provides advisors and departments with access to the individual academic records of their students. Therefore, SIS is an integrated approach in acquiring, storing, analyzing and controlling the flow of student data throughout the institution. Highly developed SIS can be useful in nearly all institutionalInternational Journal of Innovative Interdisciplinary Research Issue 4 201341 ISSN 1839†9053 departments’ functions and can greatly increase efficiency and response times of traditional labor and time†intensive processing of student data. According to Desousa (2008), Web based application have four core benefits. These are the following: 1) Compatibility. Web based applications are far more compatible across platforms than traditional installed software like web browsers. 2) Efficiency. Everyone hates to deal with piles of paper unless they do not have any other alternatives. The benefit of web based solution makes services and information available from any web†facilitated Personal Computer (PC). 3) Security of live data. Normally in more complex systems data is moved about separate systems and data sources. In web†based systems, these systems and processes can often be merged by reducing the need to move the data around. Web†based applications also provide an additional security by removing the need for the user to have access to the data and back end servers. 4) Cost Effective. Web†based applications can considerably lower the costs because of reduced support and maintenance, lower requirements on the end user system and simplified plans. According to Tech-Faq (2013), the programming language called PHP is quickly rising to be one of the most preferred web browser programming languages due to its user-friendliness, efficiency, and user control. PHP allows a user to describe specific functions within the code in order to drastically control the way a web browser displays and organizes information. A user is able to mix PHP and HTML within the same document to reach the desired effect. According to Vennapoosa (2013), Throwaway Prototyping Model is especially useful when the  project needs are vaguely and poorly laid out. It functions by providing proof that something can indeed be done in terms of systems and strategies. Throwaway Prototyping Model is used for certain projects and will eventually be discarded after the project has been completed. It is also known as Close-Ended Prototyping. Related Studies In the Online Student Information System of Benguet State University (OSIS-BSU), Philippines of Ms. Rochelle D. Pacio (2013) in Benguet State University. She used the Rapid Application Development (RAD) Methodology with the development of 30- 90 days. The proposed online student information system is integrated to the website of the university which serves as a portal for the students. The system covers the posting and updating of students’ personal data sheet. The Student Information System of University of Baguio, proposed by Ms. Elisabeth D. Calub (2005) of Saint Louis University. She used the Goal-Exception Dependency (GED) Model. This model serves as the student information of the University of Baguio. It serves as the portal and announcement viewer of the students. The Student Guidance System, a thesis proposal of Mr. Jay Pabs (2004) with a methodology of Agile. The purpose of this program is to record the complaints and or problem of a student in guidance office. This will keep track the past record of a certain students by using this program. And of course, to eliminate a paper work, retrieve the record easily, and create a report. Based on the three studies, authors conclude that it would be still easier to use the Throwaway prototyping. There are some features that were alike of this project. So there is no so much adaptation in those theses

Bush Administration and sanctions on policy of torture on detainees Research Paper

Bush Administration and sanctions on policy of torture on detainees - Research Paper Example 7 6. Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 7 7. Works Cited†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 Torture is an unquestionable crime and cannot be justified with any rationale, no matter how reasonable it may sound. Torture is prohibited by all civilized societies and both the US and International laws hold it in strict abhorrence. According to the US as well as International laws, those convicted of assault and tortures are liable to be punished. The US code lays out strict rules on torture and all other acts that come under its purview, with clear orders on the punishments and penalties that should be meted out to its violators. In spite of such regulations, it is alleged that the US administration under the presidency of George W. Bush, indulged in torturing detainees alleged for terrorism and other crimes. The entire world expressed outrage over such US policies, blaming them to be the reason behind the increased insurgence of terrorism and the lack of support from allies, however, it is surprising to note that many others justified it as being legal and the need of the hour. The Bush Administration refuted all such claims, saying that no such policies on torture of detainees were sanctioned, but the piling list of evidences against it speaks otherwise. This calls for a formal inquiry by the Obama Administration as well as the US Justice Department into all the policies sanctioned under the Bush Administration. If President Bush and all the other policy makers are convicted of resorting to torture, they must be brought to book and should be penalized with full justification to the US penal code, failing which wou ld be the greatest failure of law and order in our times. According to the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, torture is a punishable act and the violators of these are bound to be penalized. Accordingly, the Bush Administration is punishable by law, as its secret policies on torture are not secret anymore. Tortures under the Bush administration According to Taylor1, the US government recognized all the international conventions against torture. Nevertheless, the Bush administration secretly sanctioned torture methods for the interrogation of detainees of its â€Å"War on terror† post September 11. It justified such acts as being legal and â€Å"morally permissible†, when they became known in public. The Bush administration sanctioned water boarding, forced nudity, slee p deprivation, temperature extremes, stress position and prolonged isolation as "safe, legal, ethical, and effective" enhanced interrogation techniques which were previously considered torture and forbidden by the United Nations Committee Against Torture1. Torture became a state policy of the United States under Bush administration wherein prisoners of War on Terror were tortured as a matter of policy and practice at Abu Ghraib prison by American troops as well as more experienced torturers (Masciulli, Molchanov and Knight 349). According to news reports, President Bush had authorized the use of waterboarding2 and other inhumane tortures against criminals in its war on terror. Innumerable evidences of torture are

Financial Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Financial Management - Essay Example Public facilities are those centers that provide service to the entire public at large, for example, a pack or a sport stadium. People will enjoy using the facilities, but none of them would be willing to personally pay for the entire cost incurred in establishing the facility. In most cases, such facilities are the only of their kind in the entire country which makes them monopolies in nature. The second government intervention to protect the external environment, would be in response to business practices that negatively impact the public; such as air pollution. For example, the negative impact that would result from air pollution does not by any means affect the business’s cost in production but it does affect the society. Therefore, the government may increase the tax on the product to raise its production cost as a way of regulating such practices (Finkler 5). Increase in production cost would hinder the entry of other entities in production of the same product making one entity the only producer. Lastly, the government may intervene to avoid many businesses entities crowding in a particular field. For example, the government would not prefer many electric industries since it would be a waste of resource to putting up so many posts and wire in the streets. Doing this makes the electric industry a monopoly. In conclusion, monopolies are therefore legal entities because the government contributes in their formation. In addition, government bodies, non- profit- organizations and health care organizations that offer services similar to private organizations but in a subsidies cost are other forms of

The Design of Health and Safety Control Systems Assignment - 1

The Design of Health and Safety Control Systems - Assignment Example The design of any equipment used at work is controlled and measured by various legislation, with the supply of machinery (safety) regulations 2008 covering the stepladder involved in this operation (Policy Group STSU, 2008). The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 cover the stepladders usage and maintenance throughout the operation (Policy Group STSU, 1998). This PUWER legislation requires that the equipment be ‘suitable for the intended use’ and ‘maintained in a safe condition’. Regular checks are required by this legislation, and all checks should be recorded to ensure that the equipment is in the best possible condition to prevent health and safety issues. Additionally, all employees concerned in the operation are required to have adequate training. To verify the competence of these employees, the PUWER legislation requires that all equipment must be used by those who have received adequate information with which to use the equipment safe ly. In this case, to ensure that all employees are competent, they must be shown the correct use of the ladder prior to the operation despite any prior training. For the chemicals, the correct safety procedure should be carried out and the employees should be familiar with the packaging to ensure they know the risks and signs. The Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmopsheres Regulations 2002 (Disease Reduction Programme Office, 2002) requires that all substances that are flammable are controlled, and employers should ‘find out what dangerous substances are in their workplace and what the fire risks are’, as well as ‘put control measures in place to remove [or] remove’ the risks. Employees should be properly informed about and trained in the usage of these chemicals. The sealant, in this case, is the dangerous substance and the employees involved should be informed of the risks and training in its use. Finally, the welfare of the employees is also a concer n in enclosed spaces. The Confined Spaces Regulations 1997 should be followed stringently to ensure that work in the enclosed space is safe, healthy and poses no risk to welfare. Checks Hazard Control Measure Results What else can be done? Safe? Spray Sealant Ensure all employees using this substance understand the risks of the substance and the emergency proceedures involved Spray Sealant Ensure all employees are provided with masks to prevent any damage to health from the sealant Ladder Ensure that ladders safety information is up to date and appropriate checks have been carried out Ladder Ensure all employees are trained in the proper usage of the ladder Ladder Ensure all employees are provided with hard hats to prevent damage to the head in the case of a fall Transport Ensure all employees have clean drivers licenses and are aware of the dangers of driving down private lanes (as well as normal driving dangers) Risk Assessment What are the hazards? Who might be harmed and how? Wh at are you already doing? What further action is necessary? Action by who? Action by when? Done? Ladder The employees using the ladder to access the sewer Ensuring that training and equipment is safe and in place. None Spray Sealant The employees in the confined space in which the sealant is being used Ensuring that all fire risks are assessed and removed as much as possible. All employees are aware of the evacuation procedure for this task. All employees have the appropriate equipment for this task.

Baroque Music Play List Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Baroque Music Play List - Term Paper Example Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart- Ave Verum Corpus: While we listen to it, we can feel a great and rare angelic beauty making its way to our hearts. It makes the listeners feel blessed and calm. Mozart was a prolific and influential  composer of the  Classical era. He composed over 600  works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of  symphonic, chamber, piano,  operatic, and  choral  music. He is among the most enduringly popular of  classical  composers. Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood in  Salzburg. Already competent on  keyboard  and  violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. Antonio Lotti- Crucifixus : This is a magnificent , high quality music made for vocal performance. I chose this for I was amazed by its contrapuntal techniques and variety of voices. Lotti produced masses, cantatas, madrigals and around thirty operas and instrumental music. His work is thought to be the bridge between the established baroque and emerging Classical styles.

Human resource in public sector (several topics to choose from) Essay

Human resource in public sector (several topics to choose from) - Essay Example It can further be said that a performance appraisal is an assessment and discussion of how a worker has performed in his or her work and this assessment is completely based on the performance of the individual workers. It is not based on the characteristics that are displayed by the individuals in the workplace and the latter are some of the most commendable aspects of performance appraisals. This process helps in the measurement of the skills that have been displayed and the things which a worker has accomplished with as much accuracy and uniformity as possible and this is done with the aim of ensuring that the improvement of the performance of the organization concerned. When this process is conducted within an organization, it more often than not leads to the understanding of the workers by the management of the said organization. ... In addition, this process is designed to ensure that the workers, through an assessment of their abilities, are provided with the opportunities that are necessary for the promotion of their professional growth. It can be said to be a methodical process which gives the direct supervisors of the workers being assessed the opportunity to determine the skills of the said workers so that they can measure the payments that are made to the workers in comparison to the aims and objectives of the organization (Kline & Sulsky, 2009). It is a process which also provides the management of the organization the opportunity to make an analysis of the factors that determine how the workers perform over a certain period. One would say that it is a process that helps the organization’s management to be in a position where it is able to provide guidance to its workers towards a path which will lead to the better performance of their work. In many organizations, the process that is performance ap praisal that is conducted among their workers is an activity which has to be conducted on an annual basis and has to be conducted regularly and in a standardized manner to ensure that there is a thorough assessment of the functioning of the organizations involved. While this can be said to be the ideal scenario, in many cases, the role that is given to the immediate supervisors of the workers under them as not only as the assessor, but also a judge, tends not to go down well with them and it is a fact that the entire procedure tends to be heartily disliked by many supervisors. This is because of the fact that many of the supervisors involved tend to hold the fate of their employees in their hands during this process, a situation which many individuals do not often lightly, since

Mid term Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mid term - Essay Example To address the demonizing of government by those enjoying the fruits of a system created for the good of all people, is similar to the analogy of biting the hand that feeds you. At his inaugural address in 1981, Ronald Reagan stated, â€Å"Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem,† and with that premise began the anti-government sentiment that is still alive today. Not in an anarchical sense, rather a frustration felt among certain people or groups that have determined nothing good coming from the feds. One must take into consideration all of the productive or good aspects of government before branding the leadership in Washington as the evil empire determined to destroy all society. Without the power within our government to implement change or assist the people of the United States in times of need would call for the shallow attempts at placing blame for the woes of the masses; however, the opposite is true. Such legislative authority builds roads, provides health care, supplies clean water, finances entitlements and Social Security payments, without those services and many others our nation would join the statistics of the third-world countries. The Tea Party agenda desires less government and more freedom to control our collective destiny, by lessening the footprint of government, a utopia will emerge in society; nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, to eliminate any major function of government such as Social Security leaving retirement savings to the individual would be catastrophic. Not to mention the security afforded by a strong military and law enforcement that if minimized would jeopardize millions of lives. Freedom, when applied in logical terms, can be achieved in the most restrictive governmental ideology. Our misconception of the U.S.S.R. during the Cold War and prior to the removal of the Berlin Wall was home to millions that went to school, shopped at local stores, and

Homosexuality in the Middle East Essay Example for Free

Homosexuality in the Middle East Essay Homosexuality lacks respect in the Middle East. It is considered to be an immense scandal. Nowadays, the idea of gay marriage is completely disregarded. They don’t display it on Arabic television. The media is controlled by the government, and hence they are not allowed to air or publish such ‘dishonors’. Therefore, most Arabs remain unaware and ignorant. There are undoubtedly many homosexuals in the Middle East who hope to get married. However, the chief problem is that it’s against the law. The Middle Eastern governments have placed rules and regulations against homosexuals. If they were to alter their rules, the Arab community may begin to accept the gay community. Furthermore, another chief problem is that the government is heavily influenced by religion. All prevalent religions do not approve of gay marriage. Hence, if marriage were to become civil, gay marriage might be permitted in the future. But in order for all these actions to take place, the Arab community must unite and try to make a change. Gay marriage should become an acknowledged concept in the Middle Eastern society. The Arab governments are one of the principal obstacles that are preventing gay marriage from happening. They decree many rules and regulations that are against homosexuals. One such example of these laws is Article 534 of the Lebanese Penal Code, a result of French colonialism, in consideration of diehard religious groups and sects. Article 534 states that: â€Å"sexual intercourse contrary to nature is punishable for up to 1 year in prison†. This article, in essence, deprives a large Lebanese demographic from partaking in ordinary civil life, and restricts their civil liberties. By restricting civil liberties, this so-called â€Å"law† prevents the democratic process from occurring smoothly for all citizens, and is an obvious black mark on the face of the supposedly â€Å"free† Lebanese democracy. This article also prevents Lebanese homosexuals from being properly integrated into society, and they therefore seek other Western societies, that are more open to homosexuality, and emigrate in search of a better life. Article 534 includes â€Å"the act of Sodomy, or any sexual intercourse between two men, which includes penetration†. The article, theoretically and legally, does not concern intercourse that does not include penetration, and does not include sexual acts between two women. The execution of this article has been scarce in modern day Lebanon, and so a conclusion can be made that it is used instead to prevent any debate on sexuality from occurring. One Helem article cites that â€Å"The association of unnatural acts with homosexuality contradicts modern scientific foundations, especially psychological and medical studies and research that removed homosexuality from the list of mental illnesses, something recognized by the World Health Organization on 17 May 1992, a date that was announced as ‘the international day against homophobia’. † (Helem) (Helem is the first LGBT organization in Lebanon). In Islam, homosexuals (called qaum Lut, the people of Lot) are condemned in the story of Lots people in the Quran (15:73; 26:165) and in the last address of the Prophet Muhammad. However, attraction of men to â€Å"beautiful male youths† has been a part of the culture of some Islamic societies and the attraction is not usually looked down upon in itself. When it comes to lesbian homosexuality, some have argued that since penetration is not involved, female homosexual acts should be less severely punished. Islamic law is most concerned with openly gay public behavior, so there is no strong disapproval of homosexuality if it is not displayed in public (Homosexuality, Oxford Concise Dictionary of World Religions. ) ‘Struggle for Gay Rights in the Middle East’ is an article that was written by Hala Gorani for CNN. One of the situations mentioned in the article is how the Egyptian police invaded a homosexual hangout on the river Nile called the Queen Boat. Some of the people who were involved in the hangout were arrested and imprisoned for sin. The article also notes that when governments raid homosexual gatherings, they do it for political instead of ethical reasons. Brian Whitaker, in his paper ‘Unspeakable Love: Gay and Lesbian Life in the Middle East’, argues that homophobia in Arab Muslim countries â€Å"is not a religious or a cultural issue, but is foremost a political problem of which culture and religion are reliant factors†, arguing that Homophobia in the Muslim world can be attributed to the attitude this world has to its counterpart, the modern secular European and Western civilization. Whitaker goes on to write that attitudes concerning homosexuality in the Middle East have become increasingly intertwined with politics on an international scale, stating that â€Å"claiming that homosexuality is anti-Islamic, or against the Arab ‘nature,’ has become a way to oppose Western policies†. The Muslim world views gay rights as a Western import, imposed on them by the changing world in view of globalization, and the stronger â€Å"imperialist forces†. But, even if the government were to change its laws concerning the issue of homosexuality, the people’s view on the subject might not change at all. Since the conservative citizen’s view on the issue is so deeply rooted in his beliefs already, it wouldn’t matter to him/her if the government changed a few rules and stuck some new wording in the Penal Code. They would still think the same thing, and say the same hateful things. Another major difficulty is the social rejection of gays in the modern Arab society. Most Arab people disregard and disrespect homosexuals. A recent article in BBC news written by John Muir called ‘Iraqi gay men face ‘lives in hell’ describes how a young boy was caught wearing women’s underwear. Men poked the boy with sticks and interrogated him, asking why he was dressed in such a manner. The boy frightfully explained that he was trying to aid his family’s monetary situation. Another event that was mentioned in Muir’s article was harassment. Homosexual Iraqi men were often harassed and brutally murdered for being what they were. Several dead men were found lying near placards with the terms ‘puppies’ and ‘perverts’ written on them. Another article called ‘People Think it’s a Mental Illness’, published in The Guardian, by Brian Whitaker accounts his travels around the Middle East, where he interviewed many homosexuals. One of the people he interviewed told him that his brother actually threatened him at gunpoint when his homosexuality was discovered. Article 534 of the Lebanese Penal Code, mentioned earlier, is used as Blackmail in Lebanon. One BBC article, in an interview with Helem’s co-ordinator George Azzi states that The authorities use this article to blackmail homosexuals by asking for money or using violence or insults, all the while knowing that it will cost them nothing at all to do so. The article also states that many gay men have lost their jobs after being uncovered as gay, and they suffer from verbal and physical abuse and degradation (especially in the case of more effeminate gay men). This hardship also exists within the family, where a majority of gay men have been threatened with murder and are kicked out of their houses. The article goes on to say that if a gay man or woman were to be a doctor or lawyer, he/she would be in a very tough situation, where people would lose f aith in their ability to treat them or give them legal advice. The only for the gay Arab community to escape social judgement is simply by keeping themselves in the closet, and restricting their beliefs only to themselves, in order not to get caught. This repression of attitude would definitely lead to major psychological and social problems for Arab homosexuals, most notably depression and social isolation from one’s social group, in order not to be judged or criticised for who he/she is. The gay individual may also start to feel denial because of his/her sexual orientation, and would start considering suicide as an easy way out. All these factors would not work well for the gay community, and would therefore lead to its downfall, and then the government would have won. Another important issue that needs to be tackled in the idea of civil marriage in the Middle East; traditionally, marriages are conducted by a Priest or a Sheik, with no regard to inter-religious marriages (sort of like a religion caste system). People of different religious backgrounds who want to get married usually travel to European countries, where civil marriages are conducted routinely, in order to obtain a legal marriage license and elope. Civil marriage has not been recognized in many, if not all, Arab countries, and multi-sectarian Arab governments steadfastly oppose the idea of legalizing civil marriage, where the idea of civil marriage takes â€Å"God† out of the sacred bond between man and woman. Since civil marriage is illegal in these countries, so is marriage between homosexual members of society, as they cannot get married in a church of mosque (even though some priests who are open to the idea may officiate gay marriages inside their respective churches, but the marriage would still go unnoticed by the government). Both the former Lebanese Minister of Interior Affairs and the current Maronite Patriarch (surprisingly enough) have voiced their opinions on being with the idea of civil marriage in Lebanon, but no action to pass a law concerning this issue has taken place as of yet. If civil marriages are legalized in these countries, then same-sex partners have the right, and the choice, to get married if they wanted to. In one Guardian article, entitled ‘What’s wrong with being gay and Muslim? , Brian Whitaker talks about how many Arab same-sex couples, or same-sex couples of Muslim descent in Britain are looking to civil marriage there in order to have a legal binding marriage contract. Whitaker gives one such example, writing that â€Å"two lesbians arrived at their local register office to tie the knot, both were Muslims and both were wearing hijabs†; saying that that was the first Muslim gay marriage to take place in England. The question still remains, if civil marriage we re to become legal at some point in the future, would Arab same-sex couples still want to tie the knot locally? They would remain afraid and weary of the repercussions that might result as a product of their marriage, and of the backlash of the conservative religious communities in these countries, and would probably not consider local Arab civil marriage a good solution, and would travel abroad anyway. In closing, the issue of homosexuality in the Middle East is still a taboo topic, regardless of the winds of change that might be sweeping part of the region. The point is they have still not had their effect on the region as a whole. The question of homophobia in these areas should be answered, is it one of culture and rejecting diversity, or is it a question of rejecting foreign politics and holding a united front against the western world? In any case, homophobia should not even still be a phenomenon of our 21st century civilization, whether locally or abroad. It is mainly a discussion on racism in general, and racism as a whole should have been abolished a long while ago. One day, the Middle Eastern governments will alter their challenging policies and people will begin to understand how ordinary gay marriage is. People should not feel troubled to be exposed and generate awareness to others around them. The face of the Middle East should case to be the face of extremism and terrorism, and should start being the face of a shining beacon of revolution and change, and especially of tolerance and unity. Marriage is first and foremost based on love, so why deny same-sex couples their right to love?

Resource Based View Of Firms Competitive Advantage

Resource Based View Of Firms Competitive Advantage The nature of competition constitutes the basis of a firm s success or failure. Quality today no longer constitutes a competitive weapon. Organisations long term success in a market is determined by its ability to expand and maintain a large number of loyal customer bases. Innovation has always been at the focus of competitiveness. Innovation often occurs in sudden dynamic shifts. It is these sudden competitive changing innovations that open up and close out vast areas of businesses. A firm s core competences is dependent on its capacity to creatively combine core skills (Prahalad, 1993), from both within and out side the organisation. However, what matters is the creative bundling of a firm s core competency (Prahalad, 1993) and thus, the need for a focus on the factors that signal value to the customers. Firms are required not only to improve, but to innovate products and services and anticipate customer needs on a continuous basis. In order to maintain a long-term relationship with the customer, firms need to demonstrate their ability to think for the customer, and to conceive and implement new ways to serve them better. Table of contents Executive Summary 1 1.0 Introduction An Overview of the Resource-Based View (RBV) 2.0 Competitive Advantage and Innovation 3-7 3.0 International Business Machines Corporation IBM 4.0 SONY 8 5.0 Procter Gamble 11 6.0 Conclusion 14 References 15-18 Bibliography and Appendices 19-21 1.0 Introduction An Overview of the Resource-Based View (RBV) RBV is a strategic theory for understanding why some firms outperform others. It is a widely adopted analytical tool of assessing a firm s internal strengths and weaknesses and a business management tool used to determine the strategic resources available to a firm. The fundamental principle of the RBV is that the basis for a competitive advantage of a firm lies primarily in the application of the bundle of valuable resources at the firms disposal (Wernerfelt, 1984, p172). It provides an explanation of competitive heterogeneity between firms. To transform a short-run competitive advantage into a sustained competitive advantage requires that these resources are heterogeneous in nature and not perfectly mobile (Peteraf, 1993, p180). Classical RBV theory was contributed by Penrose (1959) almost half a century ago. She argued that a firm is more than an administrative unit. It is also a collection of productive resources. The disposal of the resources between different users over time is determined by administrative decision. Penrose contributed to our knowledge of the creation of competitive advantage, sustaining competitive advantage, isolating mechanisms, and competitive advantage and economic rents (Kor and Mahoney, 2004). Modern RBV theory of the firm was introduced by Barney (1986, 1991), Dierickx and Cool (1989), and Peteraf (1993). Their works assumed that each firm is a collection of key resources and capabilities that determines a firm s strategy. Above-average returns are earned when the firm uses its core competencies to establish a competitive advantage over its rivals. With the progress in the research on RBV, it has become clear that the RBV extends beyond the assets of an organization and reaches i nto its capabilities which have more relation with process and activities. According to Barney (1991), for a firm to have the potential to generate competitive advantage firm resources must have four attributes. First, the firm must be valuable, in the sense that it exploits opportunities and or neutralizes threats in a firm s environment. Secondly, it must be rare among a firm s current and potential competition. Thirdly, it must be imperfectly imitable. Finally, there cannot be strategically equivalent substitutes for this resource . Identify the firm s potential key resources. Evaluate whether these resources fulfill the following (VRIN) criteria: Valuable A resource must enable a firm to employ a value-creating strategy, by either outperforming its competitors or reduce its own weaknesses (:p99;p36). Relevant in this perspective is that the transaction costs associated with the investment in the resource cannot be higher than the discounted future rents that flow out of the value-creating strategy (Mahoney and Prahalad, 1992, p370; Conner, 1992, p131). Rare To be of value, a resource must be by definition rare. In a perfectly competitive strategic factor market for a resource, the price of the resource will be a reflection of the expected discounted future above-average returns (Barney, 1986a, p1232-1233; Dierickx and Cool, 1989, p1504;[1]:p100). In-imitable If a valuable resource is controlled by only one firm it could be a source of a competitive advantage ([1]:p107). This advantage could be sustainable if competitors are not able to duplicate this strategic asset perfectly (Peteraf, 1993, p183; Barney, 1986b, p658). The term isolating mechanism was introduced by Rumelt (1984, p567) to explain why firms might not be able to imitate a resource to the degree that they are able to compete with the firm having the valuable resource (Peteraf, 1993, p182-183; Mahoney and Pandian, 1992, p371). An important underlying factor of inimitability is causal ambiguity, which occurs if the source from which a firm s competitive advantage stems is unknown (Peteraf, 1993, p182; Lippman and Rumelt, 1982, p420). If the resource in question is knowledge-based or socially complex, causal ambiguity is more likely to occur as these types of resources are more likely to be idiosyncratic to the firm in which it resides (Peteraf, 1993, p183; Mahoney and Pandian, 1992, p365;[1]:p110). Conner and Prahalad go so far as to say knowledge-based resources are the essence of the resource-based perspective (1996, p477). Non-substitutable Even if a resource is rare, potentially value-creating and imperfectly imitable, an equally important aspect is lack of substitutability (Dierickx and Cool, 1989, p1509;[1]:p111). If competitors are able to counter the firm s value-creating strategy with a substitute, prices are driven down to the point that the price equals the discounted future rents (Barney, 1986a, p1233; sheikh, 1991, p137), resulting in zero economic profits. 1.1 Competitive Advantage A firm can attain competitive advantage if the current strategy is value-creating, and not currently being implemented by present or possible future competitors. Competitive advantage has the ability to become sustained, however, this is not necessarily the case always. A competing firm can enter the market with a resource that has the ability to invalidate the prior firms competitive advantage, which results in reduced rents (Barney, 1986b, p658). Sustainability in the context of a sustainable competitive advantage is independent with regards to the time-frame. When the imitative actions have come to an end without disrupting the firm s competitive advantage, the firm s strategy can be called sustainable. This is contrary to other views that a competitive advantage is sustained when it provides above-average returns in the long run. (Porter, 1985). 2.0 Competitive Advantage through Innovation A convenient definition of innovation from an organizational perspective is given by Luecke and Katz (2003), who wrote: Innovation . . . is generally understood as the successful introduction of a new thing or method . . . Innovation is the embodiment, combination, or synthesis of knowledge in original, relevant, valued new products, processes, or services. A content analysis on the term innovation carried out by Baregheh et al. (2009) within the organizational context, defines innovation as: Innovation is the multi-stage process whereby organizations transform ideas into new/improved products, service or processes, in order to advance, compete and differentiate themselves successfully in their marketplace.[3] Innovation typically involves creativity, but is not identical to it: innovation involves acting on the creative ideas to make some specific and tangible difference in the domain in which the innovation occurs. For example, Amabile et al. (1996) propose: All innovation begins with creative ideas . . . We define innovation as the successful implementation of creative ideas within an organization. In this view, creativity by individuals and teams is a starting point for innovation; the first is necessary but not sufficient condition for the second. For innovation to occur, something more than the generation of a creative idea or insight is required: the insight must be put into action to make a genuine difference, resulting for example in new or altered business processes within the organization, or changes in the products and services provided. Innovation, like many business functions, is a management process that requires specific tools, rules, and discipline. Innovation is an instinctive behavior in certain companies. It does not emerge overnight, and will not be developed unless the firm is placed in with the right structure. This means that the firms need to identify and address their weakness, decide upon a strategic direction and determine what type of growth innovation will stimulate. In order for firms to survive intensive competition that exist around the globe, firms must be innovative. It is essential to understand what makes a firm innovative and the kind of resources make a significant contribution to a firm s innovation capabilities. We do know that good technological resources and rich innovation resources result in stronger innovation capabilities. Companies need to introduce architectural or business- model breakthroughs in order to develop new strategies to attack competitors and enter new markets. They must identify the gaps in industrial organisation and go into filling these gaps by finding ways to turn them into profitable markets. They need to find new customers, new products or new ways of promoting, producing or distributing them. Strategic innovation goes beyond just product innovation. It links resources and efforts to an overall business strategy and involves making knowledge creation and innovative action a way of life. It seeks to create and expand markets, rather than to react to customer demand and then redirecting its resources from profitable lines to more potentially profitable lines. According to Abraham and Knight (2001), for those managers who know about the strategic innovation approach, the approach serves as a part of intelligence-gene transplant , enabling them to leverage resources to achieve superior growth or competitive advantage. Innovation remains a management dilemma long-term survival requires a commitment to alteration and change through disrupting growth, but it s a strategy few companies survive. In order to solve the dilemma, leaders must address its inherent conflict. The need to innovate is universally perceived as the key to organizational survival, but it s not enough for companies to merely get better. They need to be more differentiated not just through extensions of existing businesses, but mainly through a commitment to continuous growth. Such transformational innovation is a necessity, not an option Strategic innovation process has become such an essential element due to the speed of change and increased competition. According to Abraham and Knight (2001), The process is based on repetitions of the five phase strategic innovation cycle as illustrated in the diagram below. Source : Abraham, J.L, and Knight, D.J, (2001) Strategic Innovation leveraging creative action for more profitable growth. Strategy Leadership 29, pp 24 Abraham and Knight (2001), states that This cycle helps transform difficult-to-describe tacit knowledge and experiences into more explicit form and enables a leader to deliberately and systematically create results-oriented knowledge and innovative action. Abraham and Knight (2001) identifies the five phases as per of the strategic innovation cycle. It is illustrated in Appendix 1. Abraham and Knight (2001) also identified a strategic innovation cycle In the below diagram, the strategic innovation cycle is recurring, generating an increased knowledge and innovation, spiraling up and across an organization and even reaching outside the organizations boundaries Source : Abraham, J.L, and Knight, D.J, (2001) Strategic Innovation leveraging creative action for more profitable growth. Strategy Leadership 29, pp 24 2.1 Criticism of innovation It is often considered that firms often resist to change, both within and outside the organisation. Virtually every large company that has got into trouble has been criticized for not changing rapidly enough. Many firms fail to anticipate change and its subsequent ramifications renders them unprepared, reactionary and lacking the drive necessary to respond to the market s demands. It has become increasingly important for firms today to introduce innovation and flexibility into their core competence (Peters, 1987). Moreover, in order to influence an organisation s potential resources, Prahalad (1993) argues for the development of a proactive framework in which innovation can be planned and managed. 3.0 Over view of International Business Machines Corporation IBM. The building block of IBM reach back into the mid 1880s, however, the company was officially founded in 1911 by Charles F. Flint, as he engineered the merger of Holleriths Tabulating Machine Company, Computing Scale Company of America and International Time Recording Company. The agreed upon name was Computing- Tabulating- Recording Company or C-T-R. C-T-R soon found itself struggling do to over diversification of its product. In 1914 Thomas J. Watson, Sr. was brought in to help homogenize the company. Throughout the Great Depression IBM was able to continue to grow and innovate even when demand for their products began to drop. In the 1940s IBM completed the first ever Automatic Sequence Controlled Calculator, also called the Mark I. In the 1950s IBMs computers became smaller and more practical for business applications such as billing, payroll and inventory control. IBM was the first computing company to sell computers without software bundled into the package, this move generated the multi-billion dollar software industry that exist today, of which IBM is still an industry leader. In the 1970s and 80s IBM worked to get the computer smaller and more convenient for the household format. Floppy disks were introduced to the public market as personal self storage devices. IBM also developed the first Intranet in the mid 80s and created the foundations for what would later become the internet. In the late 1980s and early 90s IBM was struck with turmoil as the PC revolution exploded IBMs long standing relationships with big business saw the company struggling to survive, averaging annual losses of 8 billion. Personal consumers were all the rage not big business consumers. Soon IBM was able to use their intranet experiences of the past and harness the emerging information age using their line of top end servers and integrated business solutions. Today, IBM is a world leading research organisation boasting a track record for breakthrough developments that many other envy and we can match. IBM has an impressive inventory of ideas due to their reliance on in-house expertise. The company has been forging closer links with a range of external technology developers due to changing market demands. To IBM, technology equals participation and interaction, whose prime motive is how it can be more widely applied. IBM employs a breakthrough tool to enhance the team creation process. IBMs future looks strong as they are the underlying producers of servers and business solutions for the e-business industry, which is growing at an incredible rate. 4.0 Procter and Gamble Procter Gamble is a company with more than 100 years on business, and is a clear example of a successful company. Procter and Gamble was founded in 1837 and incorporated in Ohio on May 5, 1905. It began as a small family operated soap and candle company, and now provides products and services of greater quality and value to consumers in over 180 countries. Procter Gamble has one of the largest and strongest portfolios of trusted brands. Procter and Gamble is the producer of products in nearly 50 categories. Because of this, they have been able to bond technologies within the categories in various astonishing ways. Over the years, Procter Gamble s Research and Development team has revolutionized home care. Many breakthroughs originate in the Procter Gamble s laboratories. Procter Gamble operates in more than 80 countries worldwide, which makes for one of the largest global companies around. Procter Gamble s strategy is mostly focused on innovation. They use this strategy to approach consumers more easily, and to obtain the most effective results towards the market share in the industry. Procter Gamble is also strongly committed to the concept of sustainable development, and continues to lead its industry in that regard. The company views sustainability as an opportunity to innovate products that improve the lives of the worlds consumers. Procter Gamble centers its sustainability efforts largely on its core activities. In particular, two key themes are significant to a number of Procter Gambles businesses: water purification technology products and sanitation hygiene. In that context, Procter Gamble emphasizes on innovation in products that serve basic needs of consumers in the least developed countries. The companys high scores in the criteria of product impact and strategies for emerging economies is a reflection of that fact. In developed markets, Procter Gamble focuses on environmental excellence, innovating in products such as cold-water cleaning technologies that provide good performance as well as energy savings and eco-efficiency Procter and Gamble s Innovation strategy is called Connect + Develop. This strategy is seeking to build a global innovation network. Through Connect + Develop relationships, the company continually searches for products, packaging, technologies and commercial opportunities that can be reapplied to brands and rapidly introduced to better meet consumers diverse needs. This strategy seeks to leverage the ideas, talents and innovation assets of individuals, institutes and companies around the world. Innovation Examples: Ready-to-go Technologies: Procter Gamble introduced Bounce, the worlds first dryer added softener, after acquiring the product technology from the independent inventor who developed the innovative fabric-care solution. Ready-to-go Products: In this instance, the deal was struck when Procter Gamble acquired Dr. Johns Spin brush business and added the Crest brand name to the innovation. Ready-to-go Packaging: Several of the Olay Skin Care products now utilize new consumer-preferred pump dispensers originally developed by a European packaging products company. Commercial Partnerships: Procter Gamble found the perfect complement to the Swiffer brand in a hand-held duster developed by a Japanese competitor. The VRIO analysis provides a deep look into Procter Gamble which helps to analyze what makes or does not make this company so unique. Procter and Gamble s physical resources are valuable but not rare, and are costly to imitate. The Procter Gamble Company has over 138,000 employees. Managing this many employees is not an easy task. Training these masses alone is an unprecedented task. Having all these employees work in conjunction is something that is not easy to imitate. Procter Gamble s research team is made up of 7,500 Ph.D.s and researchers. Within Research and Development, there is a strong commitment to find the best researchers, and retain them with a culture designed to reward success, stimulate learning, challenge complacency, and nurture innovation. It is this common goal, which in instilled in those who work in the department, that the company gets its extra vigor and motivation. Criticism Procter Gamble could focus more on the Research and Development department, which has the task of analyzing and preparing potential products for such a complex market. It is also important to mention that India and China are the fastest growing economies, and so this factor represents an opportunity for growth. In the marketing aspect, Procter Gamble has to focus more on demographics and how to target effectively the Asian market. Procter Gamble is a very strong competitive company within the markets that it resides. This company will most likely continue to prosper for some time but always has the possibility of a down fall. As long as Procter Gamble continues to implement their strategies and effectively revise them along with the changes in the markets Procter Gamble will continue to have a prosperous outlook. 5.0 Overview of Sony Corporation; Sony is a company which managed to become an established name in the electronics market. It exists of a mix of businesses ranging from Hollywood studios to high-definition televisions. It is the company which created the forever-famous Walkman, as well as the highly popular Playstation gaming devises. The Sony brand is often seen as cool , hip . It is a company with very high heights, but also very low lows. Not only on the subject of products, but also regarding management and structure. Sony s Play Station video game console is just one of a string of imaginative hit products that include the Trinition colour television and the Walkman personal stereo player. The company s creative, somewhat quirly, eccentric engineer-focussed corporate culture, where ideas and enthusiasm are valued over and above seniority, experience and university degrees, has been the main reason for its success. Consumer electronics industry is changing, competition is becoming intense and product lines are moving closer together. With complacency settting in at Sony, resources became stretched too thinly, managers becamse less demanding and creativity was made over complicated. The case of Sony questions whether efficiency and productivity really go hand in hand with creativity and innovation. Sony is struggling to find a balance between the drive to stay innovative and the cooperate need to not fall behind the competition in key markets. It must decide whether it is leading, following or simply standing still. Criticism Sony could afford to concentrate on product quality and can have a more rigorous project management structure. First mover advantage is active in evolutionary technological transitions which are technological innovations based on previous developments (Kim and Park 2006, p, 45, Cottam et al. 2001, p. 142). Late entrants may comply with the technological innovativeness and increase pressure of competition, hence, seek for a competitive advantage through making the existing competences and resources of early entrants invalid or outdated. In other words innovative technological implications will significantly change the landscape of the industry and the market, making early mover s advantage minimum. However, in a market where technology does not play a dynamic role, early mover advantage may prevail. 6.0 Critiques of Resource Based View. The RBV s lack of clarity regarding its core premise and its lack of any clear boundary impedes fruitful debate. Given the theory s lack of specificity, one can invoke the definition-based or hypothesis-based logic any time. Again, we argue that resources are but one potential source of competitive heterogeneity. Competitive heterogeneity can obtain for reasons other than sticky resources (or capabilities) (Hoopes et al. 2003: 891). Competitive heterogeneity refers to enduring and systematic performance differences among close competitors (Hoopes et al., 2003: 890). The limitations of RBV are mainly in two aspects. First, RBV alone does not capture all the essences of competitive advantage of the firms. RBV provides no perspective on why and how some firms rather than others accumulated valuable and inimitable resources, or indeed what made these resources valuable and inimitable (Lazonick, 2002). In order to explain competitive advantage, the RBV must incorporate the evolution over time of the resources and capabilities that form the basis of competitive advantage (Helfat and Peteraf, 2003). Second, RBV ignores the external elements and focuses on the internal. A complete model of strategic advantage should adopt both the internal dimension which is based on periodic reviews of the fitness of the firm s current resources and the external dimension which is oriented towards an appraisal of the resource endowments of outsiders such as competitors, customers, suppliers and so on. Furthermore, it is also important and relevant to briefly discuss the concept of resource and capability. A firm s resources can be classified into two categories: tangible resources and intangible resources. Tangible resources are assets that can be seen and quantified. Intangible resources are rooted deeply in the firm s history and that have accumulated over time. Barney (1991) and Grant (1991) classified tangible resources into four forms: financial resources, organizational structure, physical resources and technological resources. Grant (1991) and Hall (1992) identified three kinds of intangible resources: human resources, innovation resources and reputation resources. Priem and Butler (2001) made four key criticisms: The RBV is self-verifying. Barney has defined a competitive advantage as a value-creating strategy that is based on resources that are, among other characteristics, valuable (1991, p106). This reasoning is circular and therefore operationally invalid (Priem and Butler, 2001a, p31). Different resource configurations can generate the same value for firms and thus would not be competitive advantage The role of product markets is underdeveloped in the argument The theory has limited prescriptive implications However, Barney (2001) provided counter-arguments to these points of criticism. 7.0 Conclusion In order to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage, firms will have to out-innovate the competition continuously so that it is the customer who constitutes the ultimate beneficiary. All too often firms lose sight of their primary goal their customers needs, wants and values in pursuit of innovations that appear to promise improved efficiency and augmented financial benefits. Thinking for the customer , it is argued, implies that innovation derives from customer orientation: the firm s desire to serve and reward their customers. Furthermore, beyond a firm s technological innovations, what has become increasingly important is the firm s service innovations. Service innovation is the process through which a firm undertakes changes in its philosophy, culture, operations and procedures to add value to the result of the service/product for the benefit of the customer. It requires an understanding of the complex nature of customers needs and the values attributed to combined product and service offerings (service package). Essentially, therefore, service innovation depends on a firm s ability to use this understanding to evolve, collaborate and enter partnerships that effectively fulfil their customers holistic needs and, thereby, increase the opportunities for customer allegiance (relationship). A number of issues have emerged from this study which have important contributions in both innovation as a competitive advantage and how resource based view is applied in the real world . While the above arguments tender theoretical understanding and explanation, it is recommended that future empirical research need to be done to complement this study, particularly in terms of identifying the various analytical tools for understanding and developing competitive advantage.

Impact of Corruption in Nigeria

Impact of Corruption in Nigeria CORRUPTION AND ITS IMPACT ON INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (NIGERIA AS A CASE STUDY) (FEBRUARY 2014) Abstract Corruption is no news in the world today. We can see corruption in our daily lives, let alone in our businesses and the way economies as a whole deal with corruption every day. That is why discussing corruption and seeking ways on how to deal with it in International business is inevitable. I chose Nigeria as a case study for obvious reasons; I am Nigerian and unarguably Nigeria is the Giant of Africa vast in its natural resources but unfortunately Nigeria is still battling with corruption which is crumbling our already poor nation and taken a toll on our International Business relations pushing potential business and development further away. This paper seeks to attempt to show why corruption is predominant in developing countries, its impact on International Business in developing economies and possible recommendations. I will first start by giving you a brief picture into Nigeria’s biggest export and make an attempt to analyze corruption itself. Introduction International Business is all commercial transaction between two or more countries and the goal of the private business is to make profits while the government is motivated by profit or political reasons (Daniels, Radebaugh, and Sullivan 2007). Business has become more global, trading has become easier with different regional trading blocs. This only encourages companies and economies to engage in International Business to boost its economy. Several economic theories show how countries’ competitiveness with other and Nigeria certainly has an Absolute Advantage in the Oil sector. Nigeria is a country with diverse and enormous mineral resources like crude oil, coal, zinc, semi-precious stone and gold to name but a few. Nigeria exports petroleum, petroleum products, cocoa and rubber. Nigeria is also rich with great human resources hence a great destination for business. The sudden growth of Oil in the 1970s led Nigeria to the abandonment of its strong agricultural and light manufacturing bases in favor of an unhealthy dependence on crude oil. Oil and gas exports account for more than 95% of export earnings and over 80% of federal government revenue. However, the success story in the sector has lead it thus far making Nigeria, the United States largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa, supplying 8% of U.S. oil imports which is half of Nigerias daily oil production .The country is also the fifth-largest exporter of oil to the United States. Nigeria is a member of the functional Commodity Agreements in the world; Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and its current crude oil production averages over 1 million barrels per day with oil reserves are estimated to be 36 billion barrels; natural gas reserves are over 100 trillion cubic feet. (Source 21 Feb 2012: http://www.nigeria.gov.ng/index.php/2012-10-29-11-05-46/economy) Table 1.1 Nigeria Economic Overview 2014 Nigeria Economy Overview Region Sub-Saharan Africa Income Category Lower middle income Population 168,833,776 GNI Per Capita (US$) 1,430 City covered Lagos Doing Business 2014 Rank Doing Business 2013 Rank Change in Rank 147 138 -9 Doing Business 2014 DTF(% points) Doing Business 2013 DTF(% points) Improvement in DTF(% points) 46.62 46.33 0.29 (Source 21 Feb 2014: http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/nigeria/ ) Corruption â€Å"The world is a chain, one link to another† Maltese Proverb, and with the rapid pace of globalization and the increase in the volume of International trade and investment , coupled with ongoing corporate scandals, has escalated the importance of issues relating to Corruption, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Politics (Rodriguez et al, 2006). As foreign firms expanded into, and new firms were born within, developing and transition economies governments, managers and scholars grew more aware of the magnitude of corruption and the need to understand and address it. Corruption has been described by several authors using very fancy words but keeping it simple; it is a wrongful act that affects the well-being of the society. Corruption abuses power for private gain and it affects everyone who depends on the integrity of people in a leadership position. It can be manifested through bribery, illegal gratuity, extortion, conflicts of interest, kickback, and corporate espionage and through commissions/fees (Source 21 Feb 2014: http://www.sfo.gov.uk/briberycorruption/briberycorruption.aspx) In public offices several ardent writers relate corruption with the continuous malicious use for self-financial gain but this is not exclusively the case because corruption also exists in both (small and large) private enterprises and their gains arise because of embezzlement, conflicts of interest, abuse of power, exploitation, bribery and fraud. (Sikka, 2008). Corruption in Developing Countries Unfortunately, it is not news to our ears that Nigeria is headed to being completely destroyed by corruption if continuous effort to curb it is not pursued vigorously. Well, I’m of the opinion the root cause of the present Nigerian corruption problem is the overarching crude oil economy and politics over the years. Transparency International is has efficiently made available a Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) which ranks countries and territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be. The scale of 0 100, in the CPI is a s follows; 0 indicating that a country is perceived as highly corrupt and 100 indicating it is perceived as very clean. Please note the countries perceived as very clean and where those countries originate from compared to those perceived as highly corrupt further stressing my view that developing countries are highly corrupt due to the economic conditions thus affecting business. (Source 21 Feb 2014: http//www.transparency.org). Copy of CPI2013_GLOBAL_WithDataSourceScores.xls Nigeria is at 144, alarming! looking past tables in the Transparency International website in 2004, Nigeria was at 90. The last country on the list is an African one, Somalia. This goes without saying. If you look at the economic situation in Somalia, it is obvious. The poorer the nation the higher the corruption. But how can there be a balance? A nation needs Foreign Direct Investment to boost its economy. The Porter Diamond Theory (Daniels et al 2007) which naturally should help boost a nation may not work in a developing country like Nigeria, according to this theory companies’ development of international competitive product depends on their success in their home country, this theory is not feasible in most developing economies, these countries need foreign investors to set companies to harness the demands of the nation but with corruption as one of the factors affecting International Business, how will be nation grow strong enough to combat it? Sadly, Nigeria has no excuse for its failure so far, at present the problem of corruption issues has been saddled in into the laps of three government bodies: Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), with little or no success considering Nigeria is still falling below the world’s Confidence Interval year on year, so how can International Business be seamless? You can also find current shocking details about bribery/corruption in Nigeria on bribenigeria.com. Won’t a corporation or nation rather deal with another continent with a lower corruption issue than invest or trade with a nation who is known for corruption? If I were to answer, my answer will be no. I believe that developed countries in the world have a better advantage over the fight against corruption because developed countries do not face the several challenges that developed countries face, so third world countries or developing countries like Nigeria, still have a long way to go. Multinational Corporation’s interest in fighting Corruption in International Business It has been argued that governments and host communities  may be interested in eradicating poverty, promoting education, health care and  human rights, but corporations may not necessarily share such goals. They are  essentially ‘private’ organisation and are required by law to prioritise the welfare of  the shareholders (capital) above other stakeholders (Sikka, 2008). Corporations’ today  should to conduct their operations responsibly with accountability to wider  society and legitimise their social power corporations may acknowledge some social  responsibilities, but they most often times can’t buck the systemic requirement to increase profits  and dividends to the benefit of capital. Businesses and organizations are set up to create wealth, and so far it is a very highly  effective tool for doing so. No limitations, whether legal, ethical or moral limit  are set to what or whom corporations can exploit to create wealth for themselves and their  owners. According to Sikka (2008), ‘such practices seems to be part  of the ‘enterprise culture’ that persuades many to believe that ‘bending the rules’ for  personal gain is a sign of business acumen’ (pg. 270). Competitive  advantages is considered to be an entrepreneurial skill, especially when competitive  business environment link profit and market shares with meeting global business  target. We see that the use of bribery and inducement to secure competitive advantages is primarily a  matter of executive discretion rather than any legal or moral compulsion. It has been  argued that this discretion may be used to enrich directors since their remuneration  is influenced by the level of profits and return to capital. Markets therefore exert  pressure on companies to generate ever increasing profits and returns as capitalism  does not provide any guide to upper limits of accumulation (Sikka, 2010). Companies  can generate additional returns for finance capital, not only through competitive  advantages on products and services, but also through bribery and other  inducements to secure government contracts which are the big and guaranteed revenue even though payments are delayed .In an attempt to satisfy the corporate  goal unfortunately everybody else is put at risk. Generally, the codes of business conduct include statements rejecting the payment or  acceptance of bribes, collusion, pressure or illegitimate favour, either directly or  through third parties whether public officers or private individuals but are often not respected. Y their involvement in corrupt practices and other anti-social practices cannot therefore be  reconciled with their business codes of conduct (Sikka, 2008, 2010; Otusanya, 2012). Environmental turbulence and threats to their reputation are managed by publishing corporate social responsibility (CSR) statements and code of conduct that promise ethical behaviour, improvement of economic and social infrastructure and quality of life of all stakeholders (Phillips, 2003; Sikka, 2010). Looking at it critically even if one organization restrains itself, the superior profits of competitors and business environment exert pressure to explore ways of matching or exceeding that,  thus the tendency to increase profits through corrupt practices as a means of gaining competitive advantages remains embedded within the corporate enterprise culture. In the end, it is a â€Å"means† to an â€Å"end† or â€Å"we all want to make money† some would say. Impact of Corruption in the International Business world Without a doubt corrupt activity hinders development, contributes to the depletion of the public purse and distorts markets, furthering hindering local and Foreign Direct Investment. The growth of a nation depends on the redistribution of its wealth since the middle class and poor benefit is much greater than the affluent, who loss out of the re-distributional process. Countries suffering from corruption cannot implement sound re-distributional policies and are not expected to take benefit from sustainable economic development despite engaging upon economic growth from time to time for some reason or the other. No country or company would like to engage in business with falling economies. Another pitfall is it becomes a way of life. Corruption is like a way of life in Nigeria, from the secretary that sits at the office expecting to receive a â€Å"gift† before passing the cheque for signature to our leaders who can only award contracts by our wonderful saying â€Å" if you help me, I go help you† ( *pidgin English which means if you scratch my back, I scratch yours). There are other things to consider, for instance the level of poverty. Nigerians do not know any way out. Word on the street, is you have to be smart, so you can survive. And survival here is relative. The danger of this is that is rubs off on the nation as a whole. Our image and reputation is constantly taunted. Business people need to find out if they need to cut corners before making an investment in Nigeria and need to know the â€Å"Man at the top† before the contract is awarded It ridicule’s the concept of open and fair competition; hence the continual decline of the economy. *â€Å"Pidgin English† is the low class English spoken on the streets in Nigeria† Summary International Business as stated earlier involves all commercial transactions, private and governmental, sales, investment, transportation that takes place between two or more countries for developing countries to find a way to curb corruption to its minimum; it must first start from the sectors and the leadership. Not forgetting that the various modes of entry ranging from Imports and Exports, Tourism Transportation, Licensing and Franchising, Turnkey Operations, Management Contracts, Direct and Foreign investments need to be rid of corruption (Daniel et al 2007). In the case of Nigeria, it makes sense that any effort to eradicate corruption in must start with the oil sector, because of its all-encompassing effects on other sectors of the economy and move immediately to harnessing other natural resources, focus on production of resources that the economy has demand for thus providing job opportunities for several people. Secondly, the law enforcement would need to sanitize its own department because it is a pity that in developing countries they are the most corrupt. I’m not confident of the efficacy of the sanctions and restitution imposed and how is it been effective handled, however if sanctions from those found guilty of corruption can also be re enforced. Finally, as also noted earlier, unfortunately it has become a way of life. The biggest step will be sensitization. The media and institutions of learning will have to collaborate to ensure these morals are instilled. A full blast media campaign on the effects, combined with tutorials in classes will surely make an impact. The earlier an individual realizes that it is not a norm, the better. People should not accept or give bribe and not cut corners the better for the whole society. Corruption can be tackled, it may take forever but with collaboration and eyes on the bigger picture; when purely looking at it from a business perspective, it is indeed wiser to build a good reputation that bring a lifelong investment than engage in activities that will only provide solutions for short term needs. References/Bibliography Daniels, Radebaugh and Sullivan (2007) ‘International Business Environments and Operations’, 11th Edition. Olatunde Julius Otusanya, Sarah Lauwo, Gbadegesin Babatunde Adeyeye (2012)  Ã¢â‚¬Å"A Critical Examination of the Multinational Companies’ Anti-Corruption Policy  in Nigeria† (Accountancy and Public Interest 2012). (Online journal 9th Feb 2014: http://visar.csustan.edu/aaba/Otusanya2012.pdf) Otusanya, O. J. (2011b) ‘Corruption as an Obstacle for Development in Developing  Countries: A Review of Literature’, Journal of Money Laundering Control, 14 (4):  387-422. Phillips, R. (2003) Stakeholder Theory and Organisational Ethics, San Francisco:  Berrett Koehler. Rodriguez et al (2006) ‘Three Lenses on the Multinational Enterprise: Politics,  Corruption, and Corporate Social Responsibility’, Rensselaer Working Papers in  Economics, No. 0608 New York. Sam Ejike Okoye. How to tackle corruption Effectively in Nigeria:  http://www.gamji.com/article4000/NEWS4930.htm (9 Feb 2014) Sikka, P. (2008a) ‘Enterprise Culture and Accountancy Firms: The New Master of  Universe’, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 21(2): 268-295. Sikka, P. (2010) ‘Smoke and Mirrors: Corporate Social Responsibility and Tax  Avoidance’, Being Paper Presented at Essex Accounting Centre, Essex Business  School, University of Essex, UK http://www.essex.ac.uk/ebs/research/working_papers/WP2010-5%20PS%20CSR%20and%20Tax%20Avoidance%20Revised%20April%202010.pdf. (9 Feb 2014) Udelove (2010) ‘Why Nigeria Is Referred to as the Giant of Africa’. StudyMode.com: http://www.studymode.com/essays/Why-Nigeria-Is-Referred-To-As-449209.htm (21 Feb.2014) Yima Sen ‘Political Economy of Corruption in Nigeria’:  http://www.gamji.com/article9000/NEWS9136.htm(9 Feb 2014) Web. 9 Feb 2014 http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/nigeria/energy.htm> Web. 21st Feb .2014 http://www.transparency.org > Web .21 Feb.2014 http://www.nigeria.gov.ng/index.php/2012-10-29-11-05-46/economy> Web. 21 Feb 2014 http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploreeconomies/nigeria/> Web. 21 Feb 2014 http://www.sfo.gov.uk/briberycorruption/briberycorruption.aspx>

Beowulf Society Essay example -- essays research papers

Beowulf Society The earliest known manuscript of Beowulf is thought to have been written in the tenth century, however, the poem had most likely been told as an oral tradition for centuries before that. In fact, the poem’s events date back to the sixth century. However, because there is only one manuscript of Beowulf still in tact very little is known about the poem or its author. The poem does, however, give us great insight into the culture of the people who composed and told this epic tale. Because the poem was performed orally mainly between the eighth and tenth centuries, but dealt with subject matter of centuries earlier, it is difficult to decipher and separate the cultural context involved in the poem from one century to the next. The poem was probably unrecognizable from its original state after two hundred years of oral tradition that would have changed its content drastically. The storyline of the poem, the battles and significant events, probably maintained most of their identity while the cultural context took on another form more suited to the current culture of the people. By the time it was written, in 1000, the poem was probably most representative of the tenth century culture yet it still managed to tell a story similar to the original version. Beowulf, then, gives us a significant insight into the cultural views of the tenth century Anglo-Saxons including their political, social and moral views. The individualistic society was just beginning to replace the tribal system in which no individual had been seen as more important to the success of the tribe than any other. The individuality that Beowulf displayed helped establish new rules in society. Beyond this, Beowulf gives us an even greater insight into middle ages society. Woven throughout almost every aspect of their culture and the poem are very strict moral codes and values. Loyalty, honesty, family ties, courage and even Christianity play a major role in this epic poem. In each of the stories told throughout the poem elements of these values are openly displayed. All three of Beowulf’s battles demonstrate qualities deemed virtuous and essential to the people of the middle ages. Beowulf, a godfearing, heroic warrior, first faces a monster that represents all things evil. The monster is a descendant of Cain, a bloodthirsty avenger of man and an outcast. Beowulf confronts this evil fig... ...rated the final and greatest sacrifice he could make. It was a battle that he surely knew would take his life, but one he deemed worthy. Despite his incredible physical strength and courage Beowulf was unable to win the battle within himself. Like everyone that ever lived, Beowulf grew old, weak and tired. No matter how hard he tried he was unable to escape death and he knew that it would not be long in coming for him. He went into battle facing not only the dragon but also the destiny of his own death. His death, rather than being a sign of weakness, becomes his final act of glory. Beowulf, amazingly, continues to be studied and read extensively all over the world even today, one thousand years after it was composed. Its study of social conflict and heroism is what has made it become a timeless classic. The issues it deals with not only pertained to life in the middle ages, but also with issues that never die. It contains all of the elements of a modern Hollywood film. The most important aspect of the poem, though, is the insight it gives us into middle age life. This poem most likely began as a tribute to a noble war hero, but it has become one of the greatest epics of all time.