China’s One Child Policy is said to have created a generation of ‘Little Emperors’. Assess the consequences of most families having only one or two children Essay

China’s one-child family policy has had a great effect on the lives of nearly a quarter of the world’s population for a quarter of a century, after it was introduced in 1979. One of the effects is often referred to as â€Å"Little Emperor’s Syndrome†, which is when the only child received excessive amounts of attention from relatives causing a â€Å"spoilt brat† generation to occur. This puts both social and economic pressures on the families and children. By only having one child per family it allows the family to solely use its resources on that child; thus allowing the child to often fulfill their potential, as English lessons, music lessons and an additional range of extracurricular activities are normal. Although this has positive outcomes such as a rise in the number of Chinese children going to university, it has still mainly had the negative effect of the â€Å"Little Emperors† having large expectations of everyone else, with the government now being worried about a slump in the economy, being one of the many reasons why China may drop the one child policy. One of the main issues with the one child policy is that 336 million abortions in the time of the policy have taken place, which has caused a few moral issues throughout the world, with many people questioning the policy. Although many people in China have said that it has been a positive as a way to maintain the resources in the country and stop a large increase in the population. The number of abortions is paired with the issue of gendercide in China being at an all time high, people want a â€Å"Little Emperor† and not â€Å"Little Empress† due to traditional preference, this again presents a moral issue with the policy and may lead to future problems. Over 20 million girls are aborted each year and with over 50 million Chinese girls currently missing, there is a problem brewing in that there will be a shortage of women in comparison to men which may see the population and economy of China drop. The one child policy is also a costly program for the Chinese Government with over 400,000 people currently working for the policy and annually costs $708.8 million. This is not helped by the fact that the one child policy is creating a generation of youngsters that is not as good a working force compared to the current one; this is due to the fact that the â€Å"Little Emperors† are spoiled and do not expect to work for themselves (especially in urban areas, where there are wealthier families). It is thought that with the population (Fig 1) stagnating the economy may stagnate also, due to a smaller working force and one that is less willing to work, an example of the â€Å"Little Emperor’s Syndrome† is that there has been a doubling in the number of platinum jewelry sales in China, an expensive gift usually given to children. Although the parental expectations are high, only 2% of Chinese children are able to go to university, which many Chinese scholars suggest may be a sign of the future of the stagnation of the Chinese economy. This all shows that the one child policy may not be aiding the economy that has currently been one of the fastest growing in the world, causing a few people in China to question it. The policy has also affected the children themselves, as surveys have suggested that children born during the one child policy are significantly less trusting, less trustworthy, more risk-averse, less competitive, more pessimistic, and less conscientious individuals. All these characteristics are due to the fact that many of these children are born as an only child, and they now have present implications for the nation. These consequences include the number of criminal incidents to increase by 7.2% in the past 3 years and over $17 billion being spent on illegal drugs; this is because many young people create groups or gangs as close relationships in the place of ones with their siblings; but also due to the fact that a surplus of men has caused an increase in violence due to the increase in young males not marrying and becoming restless. This is not going to be beneficial for the country as it is causing youngsters to be misled into crime and will also be expensive for the government to try and expel from the country. It is also a thought that in the future there will be fewer people of a working age to support a growing number of elderly dependents, meaning that China has an ageing population. (Fig 2) Unfortunately, ageing populations have significant social and economic effects on countries, and with China’s fertility rate being predicted to be as low as 1.5 [a 2.1 fertility rate is needed in China in order for sustainability] the long term effects of the One-Child policy are likely to have detrimental effects for the future; including a stagnating economy. This is made worse by the fact that there are 60 million more men than women in China, which, is only going to lead to more social problems, such as a decrease in population in the future. (Fig 1)Which is shown by a recent census, China’s population grew 5.8% since 2000, from 1.27 billion to 1.34 billion — a significant difference from the previous census, which indicated a rate of 11.7%. (Fig 1) Finally, a positive effect of the one child policy is that it has severely reduced the population of the China by roughly 400 million. This has created an abundance of resources for China, which was under some pressure for necessities such as drinking water. However, China has dealt with that through projects such as the Three Gorges Dam, but also through the one child policy allowing for the surplus resources to exist due to the decline in population growth. The lack of 400 million people has also helped reduce global warming, because, by stopping these births China has averted over 1.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. Overall, it is clear that there are many negative consequences that have occurred or that will occur due to the one child policy, which is why it is thought that by 2020 the one child policy will no longer exist and that it will become the two child policy. The problems are economic and social problems that revolve around the idea of an ageing population that will need financial support from a spoiled generation; yet, the only environmental factors are positive- with global warming being reduced and the resources in China lasting longer and there being surplus. However, it is obvious that the â€Å"Little Emperors† are going to have to support China in their time of need, which is due to the one child policy, and it is whether they can do it or whether they have been spoiled to the extent that they are unable to run one of the biggest economies in the world. Lastly, the one child policy has probably been good for China itself, but the way that other nations now perceive China after the â€Å"brutal† one child policy, may cause them future problems.

Geopolitics and globalization Essay

Geopolitics is a field of study that is responsible for analyzing history, geography and social science with a special reference to spatial politics through patterns of various scales, ranging from state to international levels. It gives a critical examination of economic and political issues in relation geographical frontiers. In this context, geography is defined in terms of function, size, location and relationship of resources and places. Traditionally, geopolitics indicates causal relationships and links between geographic space and political power. It is seen as a concrete line of thought used to essay specific and strategic prescriptions that lay their basis on the relative significance of sea power and land power in the history of the world (Gearnoid, 1998, pp. 33). The consistent concerns of the geopolitical tradition included the relationships between terrestrial and naval capabilities, the identification of international core areas and the geopolitical correlates of power in the world of politics. Geopolitics were conducted through a geopolitical system, that was seen as an ensemble of relations between the interests focused to an area, international political factors, ways, geographical elements and space. Geopolitics is a branch of political geography concerning the assessment of reciprocal relations between politics, geography and power as well as the interactions that arise from their combination. It is therefore a scientific discipline with a basic science nature (Klauds, 2000, pp. 12). Radically, contemporally use of geopolitics deviates from the original use in the 19th century. Originally, geopolitics served as a reflection of international affairs under a strong influence by social Darwinism. Under this, there was a limited significance of international law, global norms and multilateralism all of which signaled realist view of international affairs cynically. The concept currently denotes interplay of geographic space, strategic dominance and natural resources. In connection to earlier usage of the term, its growing use brings on board the need to reflect on the rise of multipolarity in the early 21st century and the renaissance of great power rivalry (Neil, 2005, pp. 23). As the world is changing, there has been great pressure upon traditional or old systems of societal governance and operation. This has been a movement towards globalization, a state where different social setups, economies, technocrats and political affiliates interact, share ideas, problems, challenges and experiences. A globalized society understands, anticipates and advocates for freedom and rights. Globalization encompasses the preaching of rights, justice, freedom, and peace continued support of masses and majority rule to citizens in promoting their own morality related believes. Through interaction, global community has become one society with commonalities in political, social, economic, cultural and technological beacons. Through the process, ideologies of many communities have been alignment towards the same point in both material and non material concerns of life. This change has influenced the original interpretation and applicability of geopolitics limiting the role it initially played (Agnew, 2003, pp. 45). Globalization is therefore premier buzzwords in 21st century, referring to a world which is stretched, interdependent, integrated, shrunk, interwoven, connected and less territorially segmented into various cultural and economic zones. Due to the above description, it is seen as shorthand towards economic liberalism spontaneously adopted by governments of the world, as a social modernization scaled up from national to whole world status with time and also as an economic technological process through the compression of time and space, highly challenging geopolitics (Gearnoid, 1998, pp. 34). Since globalization and geopolitics aspects show some degree of compatibility regardless of the time factor, globalization is of late seen to replace geopolitics. Geopolitics was seen as an issue concerning great powers and empires imposing territorial control to various boundaries whereas globalization is a world that knows no boundaries. This means that globalization has geopolitical roots. Globalization represents a stark break of the geopolitics of the cold war (Brunn, 2004, pp. 20). The free world economy was started during the cold war, through the mantra of the new globalizing economy. Globalization has initiated a new regime of market access through a revolutionary process by international organizations including WTO, GATT, World Bank and IMF. These institutions have aided in departing from geopolitics through enforcement of radical economic liberalism. As a result a new economic geography has emerged, characterized by tension towards continued regulation of economic activities and a world economy with organized flow of goods and capital in locations that are widely scattered. Therefore as geopolitics decay in the current society, there is significant aspiration towards a higher level of global economic development. (http://www. informationclearinghouse. info/article11747. htm) Through globalization, the geographical logic of the world has changed by addressing the disparities between the territorial and interactional modes of capitalism organization. Globalization does not only reshuffle geopolitics in its nature of globality, but through the combination of global networks and localized territorial fragmentation. Geopolitics era structured the world economy into territorial entities such as colonial empires, states and geopolitical spheres of influence (Greer, 2000, pp. 30). In another perspective, globalization is not seen to mark the end of geopolitics but reform it. The main novelty today is the role of economic prosperity, underdevelopment of cross-border flows, networks linking nation to hinderlands and the increased differentiations between regions and localities because of the existing biases along the spatial channel. This clearly shows that globalization has no marked the end of geopolitics, but entails its reformulation from an economic mapping based on territories to a more complex mosaic of states, localities, global city regions and regions differentially integrated into the global economy. This means there exists geopolitics of contemporally globalization concerning the operational and originality structure. To indicate that globalization has not marked the end of geopolitics, social and political boundaries have not disappeared but are in a process of reconstitution along and across long established ones (Larrabee, 2003, pp. 12). Geopolitics was hegemonic in nature. For many years, geopolitics has been known to limit political and economic influence of many countries through dividing the world into territorial empires and trading blocs. The limitation was facilitated through enactment and enforcement of powerful strains to minimize the involvement in political affairs and foreign economic affairs. Geopolitics was highly supported by the autarkic dogmas of soviet communism and competitive trading blocs which were partly blamed for the great depressions of the 1930s. After the Second World War, a strong internationalist American agenda was brought in to counterpoint the effects of the communistic societies by sponsoring international investments, currency convertibility and free trade. This effort towards a free world order provided the groundwork to internationalization of global activities. According to this explanation, we can say that geopolitics laid down the groundwork to globalization. On the other hand, Globalization can thus be said to be a kind of geopolitics that has undergone transition within time and spatial dimensions (Heymann, 2005, pp. 67). Twentieth century economic globalization has been linked to two issues that indicate the linkage between geopolitics and globalization. These issues were both political and economic because they aimed at promoting as realization of continental expansion and later to global expansion in political, economic and social spheres. First, expansion of market was viewed as a necessity towards social well being and national political well being. Second, economic liberty or independence was viewed as the foundation for freedom per se. these views opened a new page as far as geopolitics is concerned (Buqajski, 2002, pp. 43). Early in the 21st century America underwrote continental expansion but stimulated foreign market for their commodities. However, the power of the government to control private economic activities was limited by federal subunits and the divisions of power between the branches of federal government. Such branches included the congress, the presidency and the Supreme Court. This system depicts how firm and conservative geopolitics was. On the other hand it shows how globalization was challenged by the system of governance before starting to grow. Globalization was experiencing a pull apart scenario from tiers of government and federal branches. Down the years, the country and other several nations have extended their powers beyond continental to global frontiers. This means the role of geopolitics in modeling the system of governance is decreasing with time, but it shall not bet forgotten that it serves as the bottom line for change, the change being renamed as the globalization (Herd, 2002, pp. 65). For globalization to be completely explored, it is necessary to assess the role played by geopolitics in its structuring. This is because of the commonalities the two concepts have. Such process will involve comparison between hegemonic power against democracy or devolution. The regime makers in this changing world determine the speed, scope and nature of globalization, regarding how far they are free from geopolitics. The roots of geopolitics indicate the reforms in markets, concentration of political and economic power and hegemony (http://www. informationclearinghouse. info/article11747. htm). To show the current scenarios in issues of globalization and geopolitics, many media commenter, IPE scholars and policy makers criticize de territorial threats from Middle East on the failure to adjust and embrace globalization. This has forced United States of America to use force and bring Middle East to globalization through a slogan that disconnectedness defines a danger. The Middle East is claimed to lie centrally to a vast region that is disconnected to global flow of security, capital and people to sustain mutually assured dependence. Americans have claimed to be fighting geopolitics in the Middle East region. It is said that geopolitical imaginary in the Middle East is blind towards networks of transnational mobility across the region. The study and consideration of geopolitics in the region gives the micro foundations of globalization in the area. It is also widely believed that the rate of globalization is inversely related to extend of geopolitics (Gearnoid, 1998, pp. 35). Areas with high rate of geopolitics are thought to have low rates of globalization and vice versa, but none completely outdoes the other. This means both concepts are important for the involved elements around the globe to intermingle efficiently. This is built on pluralistic theory of globalization, stating that transnational processes and diverse global processes are heterogeneously shaped by agents and networks of alternative geopolitical imaginaries (Agnew, 2006, pp. 16). Specifically the way to globalization can be evaluated by considering the geopolitics of tourism since 2001 in the Middle East region. As opposed to many, tourism has significantly developed since then. Public and private sectors in tourism that initially focused on tourism from industrialized nations have redirected their efforts towards both domestic and regional tourist flow paving way to new, more regional and stylish tourist development. Today, new and emerging forms of regional Islamic tourism and Arabic tourism, propelled by oil income expansion and consumer behavior shifts have remapped globalization meaning in the region. Firms, states and various actors across Middle East are seeking negotiation on own interaction with global economy, promising to assert manipulation of their local spaces and territory and therefore define their itineraries of globalization (Klauds, 2000, pp. 19).

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz Essay

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz - Essay Example In this novel, Oscar is a character that can not maintain a physical relationship with a girl because of his obesity. (Diaz) has emphasized that sex is the fundamental element that an individual must exhibit in order to be a Dominican male. Dominican male in the novel has been described as an individual that has charm, physical attraction, and virility. All of these qualities have been replaced in Oscar’s persona by his obesity. Other characters in the play like Yunior and Rudolfo are able to make girlfriends and maintain a physical relationship with them because they are smart, and have captivating looks. Thus, Diaz has placed a lot of emphasis upon the significance of looks of men. When Oscar’s mother, Belicia reaches puberty and develops large breasts that appeal to all the boys around her, she chooses to date nobody but the most handsome boy in the school named Jack Pujols. The fact that this happens between the year 1955 and 1962 reinforces the concept that menâ₠¬â„¢s beauty has not just recently gained importance, but has been of significance for a long time in the past. Clare Spurrell has expressed the consequences of obesity on the physical relationship in her article Obesity and relationships. Spurrell supports the notion that people have been weight conscious for long. â€Å"Since the 1960s the population as a whole has become more sedentary with greater hours spent in front of the television, and an increasingly automated lifestyle† (Spurrell 1). ... The idea compares well with the issue of obesity in the present age. Proponents of obesity control programs are of the view that obesity lowers an individual’s confidence level and may put the individual into social exclusion. In a society that stereotypes obesity as a symptom of sloth, overindulgence and a lack of self-control, sufferers are often left with feelings of social exclusion and isolation. Even more so in a relationship, the psychological implications of the 'fat stereotype' can be equally disruptive. (Spurrell 1). Diaz and Spurrell have both maintained that obesity has negative effect on people’s physical relationships, though Diaz has gone a step further by not letting Oscar make love with anyone because of his obesity whereas Sara and her boyfriend, do make love with one another, but their relationship is complicated by the obesity that both suffer from and eventually, they part ways. Oscar develops several affairs in the novel by Diaz, though the intimac y never grows up to the physical level. First, Oscar finds Ana Obregon in the SAT preparation class. He finds her attractive and the two make friends with each other. However, Ana is taken over by Manny because he is physically intimate with Ana unlike Oscar, who is only good in conversing with her. Later, Oscar finds Jenni Munoz, a Puerto Rican girl. He does the same to her what he did to Ana i.e. kill the time speaking to her and never making love. Because of that, the end of their relationship is also like before. Jenni finds a boyfriend and breaks all ties with Oscar. Once again, Oscar is left alone. Break up of Ana and then Jenni with Oscar as well as the breakup of Sara with Jonathon essentially tells that sex is fundamental to the survival and sustainability of a relationship.

Financial Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Financial - Term Paper Example 900,000 ?1,600,000 ?1,850,000 ?1,100,000 ?2,225,000 Discount Factor @ 12% Cost of Capital 1.00 0.893 0.797 0.712 0.636 0.567 Present Value (?5,150,000) ?803,700 ?1,275,200 ?1,317,200 ?699,600 ?1,261,575 NPV ?207,275 NPV:-?5,150,000 + ?803,700 + ?1,275,200 + ?1,317,200 + ?699,600 + ?1,261,575 = ?207,275 The Net Present Value of a company is the value of a future number in terms of today. It basically helps in finding out a project’s is profitability. It requires finding out the present value of each future cash flow discounted at a specific value, which is the cost of capital of the project given in the form of a percentage. It uses the concept of discounted cash flows. Time Cash Flow (?5,150,000) ?900,000 ?1,600,000 ?1,850,000 ?1,100,000 ?2,225,000 Yr 0 Yr 1 Yr 2 Yr 3 Yr 4 Yr 5 Cash Flow (?5,150,000) ?900,000 ?1,600,000 ?1,850,000 ?1,100,000 ?2,225,000 Discount Factor @ 14% Cost of Capital 1.00 0.877 0.769 0.675 0.592 0.519 Present Value (?5,150,000) ?789,300 ?1,230,400 ?1,248 ,750 ?651,200 ?1,154,775 NPV (?75,575) NPV = -?5,150,000 + ?789,300 + ?1,230,400 + ?1,248,750 + ?651,200 + ?1,154,775 NPV = (?75,575) Payback Payback = 4,250,000 – 900,000 (Yr 1) – 1,600,000 (Yr 2) = 1750000 ? 1,850,000 (Yr 3) * 12 Payback = 2 Years and 11 months This is a technique used to measure the feasibility of projects in terms of the number of years that it takes to pay back an initial investment. It is measured in number of years till full recovery and the following formula can be used to measure it. Payback = No. of years prior to full recovery + Unrecovered cost at beginning of year/Cash flow during full recovery year. Payback basically represents the period of time during which the initial investment gets recovered. IRR: To calculate IRR, a negative NPV would be calculated. Hence a discount factor of 14% is selected. IRR = LDR + [PV1/PV1-PV2]* (HDR-LDR) LDR = Lower Discount Rate HDR = Higher Discount Rate Pv1 = Present Value at Lower Rate of Return Pv2= Pre sent Value at Higher Rate of Return IRR = 12% + [207,275/ 207,275 – (-75,575) * (14% - 12%)] IRR = 13.46% IRR is the value where the NPV is equal to zero. It is the optimal value where a project is most beneficial. IRR can gauge the profitability of a proposed investment by taking into consideration the concept of discounted cash flows. IRR is not very easy to be calculated as any other accounting measure such as NPV and if done then it does not give accurate answers. It is done on a trial and error. b) Provide a rationale for your treatment of initial research, depreciation and working capital, supporting your answer with links to theory briefly indicate other considerations which might also affect the decision Initial research would not be included within the Net Present Value (NPV) calculation. This is because the initial research cost had already been incurred before starting the project hence the cost was deemed to be a sunk cost. Sunk costs are not to be included within the NPV calculation because these costs have already been incurred and that do not affect the decision of either commencing or aborting any business plan. Depreciation costs do not get included within the calculation of NPV. This is because depreciation is a non-cash item and the NPV purely constitutes cash related items with respect to the time value of money. Although depreciation expense is only included within the NPV calculation in order to ascertain the Tax savings. The tax savings on allowances allowed by the tax authorities are only included

Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 6

Case Study - Essay Example Having discussed the requirements of the document, the other team members John and Theresa decided to leave the task of writing the document to be done by Laura alone. In the meeting it seems John is frustrated by the document that has been done by Laura and after some discussions, they agreed on certain amendments to be made on the document. Having done that, they still delegated Laura to work on the amendments on her own. Given this situation, it can be seen that there is no proper willingness to work together as a team where all the members would pull their contributions together towards the attainment of one goal. In an organisation, workers ought to contribute their ideas as well as resources together so as to attain the organisational goal. In this case, it is the responsibility of the team to work together in designing the document on behalf of the client but it seems they are neglecting the task but indeed leaving it to be done by only one person who is a junior in the organisation for that matter. At the end of the day, it is the organisation’s responsibility to make sure that they give the client a satisfactory order since it will suffer the consequences of being discredited by clients in the event that they fail to provide a standard document to the client. It is not Laura who will be blamed but the organisation as a whole. The way they even conduct their meetings show that there is lack of proper cooperation to a certain extent. The last meeting is characterised by jokes and the way John leaves the meeting inexcusably shows that he is not very considerate about what is taking place. It can be seen from the given case study that there is an element of insubordination where the juniors are expected to do much of the tasks within an organisation. Other team members feel that they are not supposed to be doing that task but it is their responsibility together as a team.

Leadership in organisations during post-recession period Essay

Leadership in organisations during post-recession period - Essay Example Furthermore, there are predictions that in the next 5 years the rapid economic growth of China would suffer a major setback, while some expect India and Brazil to face similar economic slowdown at the same time. Increased globalisation in finances and trade has led to increased integration, which in turn has acerbated specific economic conditions globally, creating greater challenges for business firms. The main challenges for organisations arising from the current economic crisis are: Achieving success in developing economies is not as easy as before and making profits from fast growing markets is increasingly turning more difficult as costs are increasing, there is greater competition, and even the fast developing economies are now slowing down owing to global recession (Ernst & Young, 2011); Divergent markets: Owing to globalisation, as the organisations enter markets having different business culture and environment and varying prospects they tend to face various challenges assoc iated with increasing functional and management complexities (Ernst & Young, 2011); More importance are being attached to dynamic policies, which are largely unpredictable, shows a sign increasing protectionism is creating serious challenges for the organisations. Business firms are also expressing increasing concerns over sharp increase in taxes as governments try to acquire greater revenues to make up for the public fund deficit (Ernst & Young, 2011); Talented people and specialised workers are becoming increasingly difficult to find. Organisations all over the world are finding it increasingly difficult to locate the right candidates and there is scarcity of good leaders and specialised workers (Ernst &... Leadership in organisations during post-recession period A few years back when large companies faced the prospect of losing their stronghold within the arena of domestic markets, they simply searched for fast developing economies in order to make higher profits. Currently, owing to widespread economic globalisation and the looming financial downturn, there is a significant slowdown in economic growth, rise in stiff competition, increase in operational and management complexities and a significant shortage of skilled/specialised workers within key markets, which is turning into a major challenge for various business organisations. Many of the experts have predicted a fresh economic downturn by the end of 2012 primarily initiated by debt defaults in Eurozone (Ernst & Young, 2011). Furthermore, there are predictions that in the next 5 years the rapid economic growth of China would suffer a major setback, while some expect India and Brazil to face similar economic slowdown at the same time. The challenges faced by the organisations during recession makes it necessary for one to take into consideration the various leadership and negotiation skills that are necessary to steer business firms through the difficult period and prepare them for an economic upturn. In this context, some experts have contended that favourable economic conditions create a management and operational environment that is lax in nature, which is tightened up during economic recessions.

Contomporary issue in accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Contomporary issue in accounting - Essay Example Therefore, the existence of the manager-stockholder conflict is undeniable and there are legal as well as business methods of resolving such conflicts. The range of conflicts may be as simple as the corporate social responsibility of the firm to as complex as ethical issues that come up when the management seeks to defraud or cheat its shareholders outright. An understand of such issues becomes important for all students of management, finance, and even sociology since many corporations of the world have budgets which exceed the budgets of sovereign nations in the world today. To better understand these issues, real world examples from companies such as Enron, Apple Inc. and GE would be necessary. Of these, the case of Enron stands as a prime example of what disasters can result when the management gives itself and the results it wants to have priority over the shareholders and stakeholders of the company. Enron had a problem of vision as described by Welch (2005). Enron was created in 1985 when Kenneth Lay’s small company named Houston Natural Gas was merged with the parent company of Nebraskan-Northern Natural Gas named InterNorth. The new entity was named Enron and before this merger, both firms were dealing with the distribution of oil as well as electric energy. They were also involved with the construction, expansion and the maintenance of power plants, pipelines and other similar energy related infrastructure (Thomas, 2002). Under the new company, Kenneth Lay became the Chief Executive Officer and his vision of the company was quite different from what the shareholders might have wanted at the time. This is because Lay wanted to expand the company rapidly into new markets while creating new markets from scratch as well. Of course a successful vision of the CEO would have meant increased value for the shareholders as the stock price would have been maximized and success of the company would have meant job

Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 84

Essay Example However, these sources ought to be in the references’ list and cited well in the text. This is because they are not original works of the experimenter but just backing his or her information to elaborate more about the phenomenon under study. The experiment ought to have a hypothesis, which in this case is specific, brief and giving independent variable as well as expected outcome in the depended variable. In most cases, this is only in form of a statement expounding the core relationship that characterizes the entire phenomenon. Its structure should be in such a way to catch attention of the reader by giving him or her aim of conducting this experiment. The report should also give detailed information concerning varied materials used in the study and followed procedure. Hence, highlighting how and when one carried out the entire experiment. This encompasses outlining used experimental design, equipments, procedure and mode of analyzing data. In addition, method and materials’ section addresses control measures that were essential throughout the entire procedure such that the reader can effectively understand the entire process. This is to the extent he or she can accurately repeat the method without making any errors that might occur due to misinformation or incorrectly set method. If it is possible, one can utilize diagrams or images of the already set apparatus with the intention of giving the reader view of how the experiment’s set up should appear incase it is very complex. This section also entails vivid description of all apparatus and any other equipments used throughout the entire procedure. In comparison with other sections, the most outstanding feature about this section is the use of both past and active tenses. Since information relayed in this section includes actions that have already taken place. Results’ section comprises of already tabulated outcomes of the experiment either in table form or just mere statements without

The Coca-Cola Company Struggles with Ethical Crises Research Paper

The Coca-Cola Company Struggles with Ethical Crises - Research Paper Example All these contamination issues were further aggravated by the slow response from the beverage manufacturer and failure to recognize the severity of the situation. In Belgium, the country’s strict antitrust laws upheld a halt on market strategy seen as illegal strategy to strengthen Coca-Cola’s market share. The reputation of the company was thus deteriorating at an increasing rate. While considering mergers and acquisition, the company’s marketing tactics came under scrutiny due to the strict antitrust laws in the European countries. The French government refused to approve the company’s bid to acquire Origina and Schweppes, other French beverage companies. But still, the company dominates foreign markets throughout the world. Further, claims of racial discrimination came up in the spring of 1999. It is claimed that the top management had knowledge of this since 1995 and had done nothing to neutralize this situation. Discrimination was alleged to take plac e among former and current black employees. Over two thousands of them are said to have been discriminated in terms of promotions, pay and performance evaluations. A mid-level executive accused the Coca-Cola Company of doctoring a study it had done on behalf of Burger King in 2002. The fast food outlet had to take the research on its own to establish the reality of the claims. Coca-Cola was found guilty and had to compensate Burger Kings, the whistle-blower as well as pay millions in pre-tax write offs. It further lost public image among its customers, stakeholders as criminal investigations were instituted. Channel stuffing – shipping additional stock at above board rates to retailers and wholesalers are allegations came up. This was aimed at manipulating the numbers just before the end of a quarter to create a strong demand picture. This makes the financial statement earning impressive to the investors. From 1997 through 1999, the company was accused of this in the Japanese market. Coca-Cola is facing a shareholder suit regarding this kind of actions also in the Europe, North America and South Africa markets. Other supplies of the company such as PowerAde – a sports drink- came under scrutiny. Its delivery to Wal-Mart beyond Texas test area was looked into as bottlers alleged the contracts engaged in did not permit such. Initially the company was using direct store delivery, bottlers dropped off products to all stores, stock shelves and building merchandising displays. Bottlers did claim diminishing of their businesses due to this new change of delivery tactic and also a violation of antitrust laws. The media reported this wrangle negatively hence costing the company its reputation as well as the reputation of firms within its supply chain. The integrity the company had across its shareholders and partners was eroded. Internal wars with unions were up around the same time in Colombia. The death of eight Coca-Cola workers, hiding of further fort y eight and sixty five receiving death threats was attributed to Coca-Cola and its local bottler by the union though it was a coincidence. The union sought reparations to families of slain workers as well as the displaced. The companies denied all these claims and attribute them to the Colombia’s four decade long civil war. There was an arrest of an administrative secretary and two accomplices in 2006. Fraud charges were brought against them as well as stealing and trading

Whats the Most Important Essay Example for Free

Whats the Most Important Essay The world breathes onto us, and in return, each of us breathes onto the world. Life, happiness, and passion are wound around the essence of our beings like white doves flocking about an ancient colossus bathed by the sun of life, a magnificent structure we shape with our own hands each day, every day. We are what we value and what we believe of ourselves. We are capable of as much or as little as we lead ourselves to believe. We have the gift of free-will to decide each day, each hour, each minute who we are and what we will do the coming day and each day after that. We make choices every day, we live everyday, and in grief, a little of us dies every day. But like the surf rolling across the beach of time, the sands of life are replenished with each stroke of the tide. Nature always returns what she takes away. Within each of us is the embodiment of life. We live every day. Each of us has within our beings hopes and dreams. Within our souls we hold our values and our beliefs about the universe. And next to our hearts we hold our ideals and our passions. Like hundreds of thousands of candles shining in the darkness, we are one in ourselves and one together. Each of us is never quite as alone as we ever think we are. And by living everyday we find meaning in ourselves, meaning in our lives, and meaning in our hearts, however brief each of the flames burning in our souls shines in this vast symphony of stars. On one level we simply are. On another we must also recognize that through living, we also make choices about who we will become. We touch others every day with our words, with our words, our actions, and with our joy and our grief. And they in turn touch our hearts in similar ways. The world isnt always perfect, but the choices we make are ours alone, based solidly upon our values and ideals. We may choose every day to be angels, granting wishes, helping those in need, caring, and inspiring others with our words, with our passions, with our hopes and our dreams. We may believe however we wish about the universe- whether God created man or man created God- the choices we make every day are still ours. And subsequently we have the responsibility to look at ourselves each day and ask ourselves who we are and what is it thats truly important to each of us. Whats important to me? What should I do differently today that didnt work yesterday? Am I happy with the choices I made? What can I do from this point on about who I am inside to make myself a better person if Im not happy with who I am now? What do I fear and why? And what is it thats really important in my life? Is acquiring material wealth no matter the cost really that important? Is being seen, worshiped, or placed on a pedestal really that important to make me feel like a worthwhile individual? Is feeling that I fit in a group so important that its worth sacrificing my ideals, values, and everything I believe? We are each one flame among billions, each blessed with the greatest gift of all, the freedom to choose. Life is all about choices, touching others, and being touched by the acts of others each day. Its about who we really are. Its about finding our true selves and being honest about what we feel and what we believe every hour of every day. It is absolutely important that each of us never surrender those things we feel are right and true within ourselves. To do so would only leave us feeling like weve betrayed the foundations of who we are. Never surrender the honesty of your hopes, your dreams, or your values, no matter what anyone says. In the end, the person you really have to live with isnt your parents, your friends, or those who pressure you into doing things. Its YOU. Never forget from where you came. Never lose sight of where you are. And always look forward to where you want to go to chart your course over the great oceans of life. Some will navigate by the stars, some by the charts, and others by the winds alone. They all reach destinations and exotic ports of call eventually. Some stop for a while, while others journey on. But the memory of their journey will be recounted from the lips of the other travelers they met along the way. Some will recall the friendships they forged with them if not for a little while, others will recall their choices at difficult crossroads. But the most poignant memories will often be the acts of compassion or courage that left forth from their hearts because it was who they were.

Buteyko Breathing for Bronchial Asthma

Buteyko Breathing for Bronchial Asthma Lung disease is any pathology that occurs in the lung components and causes the lungs not to function properly and this may lead to serious problems that may cause death. They are considered the third killing factor worldwide. Lung diseases include emphysema , bronchitis, bronchial asthma, pulmonary failure, pneumonia, tuberculosis and pulmonary embolism. These diseases have the following signs and symptoms which are coughing, dyspnea, short breaths, noisy breath sound, fever, chest pain , and using accessory muscle of the neck which include scalene, upper trapezium and sternocleidmastoid muscles. The common causes of these lung diseases are smoking, infections, and genetics factors (Simon, 2000). Treatment of lung disease includes medications like corticosteroid, bronchodilators, antibiotics, and physical therapy that will give patients breathing exercises. One of the most common chronic obstructive disease, is bronchial asthma. Bronchial asthma is the fifth reason for hospitalized worldwide. Physiotherapists used to treat bronchial asthma patients who have hyperventilation symptoms using breathing exercises known as buteyko breathing technique (BBT) in additional to bronchial asthma therapy. (Bishop, 2007) Background Professor Konstantin Buteyko was a Russian physiologist (1932-2003) , who gave his name to a treatment for bronchial asthma patients. The whole idea started in 1960s when he came with the idea that shallow breathing is going to help patients who suffer from hyperventilation like bronchial asthma and stenocardia. He suggested that hyperventilation lead to decrease the amount of blood that is going to alveoli and low- level of CO2 lead to bronchoconstriction which increase hyperventilation. (Bishop, 2007) Literature Review Robert L. and other on 2007 tried to evaluate the efficiency of a non à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬pharmacological intervention Buteyko Breathing Technique (BBT) in patients with asthma with their corticosteroid medication consumption. The design of the study was a randomized control trail of buteyko technique involving 182 subject divided into group of adult with asthma their age ranged from 18-50 years old. While the control group was trained by physiotherapy for relaxation breathing technique. The main results measures by level of asthma control, defined by composite score based on Canadian asthma consensus reported 6 months after completion of intervention. The consequences show that both groups had related enhancement and a high amount with asthma control six months after accomplishment of the intervention. In the Buteyko group the degree with asthma control increased from 40% to 79% percent and in the control group from 44% to 72%. The main conclusion that six month after completion of t he intervention, a large majority of subject in each group shown control of their asthma with the additional benefits of lessening in inhaled corticosteroid use in buteyko group.(Robert, 2007) McHugh on 2003 made a study to evaluate the impact of buteyko breathing technique (BBT) on medication consumption in asthma patients. The method used is a blinded randomized control trail comparing BBT with medication control . It was directed over 38 people with asthma aged between 18-70 years. Members were followed for six months. Medication use and tempts of ventilator function were recorded. The results exhibited that BBT group shown a lessening in inhaled steroid use of 50% only and beta-agonist use 85% after six month from intervention. In the control group there was no significant outcomes. The main conclusion that BBT is a safe and effective for asthma controlling for it is sign and symptoms. BBT has clinical and potential pharm-economics benefits that must have advance studies.(McHugh, 2003) Cooper and his colleges in 2003 completed a study to compare the effect of two breathing exercises which they are buteyko and pranayma which is a yoga breathing method for bronchial asthma patients. This study involve 90 grown-ups who complain of asthma and control it by using medications. They were divided into three groups First group follow buteyko breathing technique ,the second group use a pranayma which is a yoga technique and the last group were the placebo group. Result measure used are symptoms score level , bronchial hyper reaction, medication used, forced expiratory volume before and after buteyko technique. The results showed that ( p=0.003) were the mean for buteyko group and bronchodilator uses have been lessened by two puffs/day after 6 month of practicing buteyko technique while there was no change in the mean in the other two groups. There wasnt difference in the forced expiratory volume or even volume to reduce inhaled corticosteroids. The main conclusion that BBT c an recover symptoms and lessen bronchodilator use but doesnt seem to change bronchial responsiveness or lung function in patients with asthma.(Cooper, 2003) Anatomy of Respiratory System When we breathe air it go through nose to the lower respiratory tract. The advantage of nose breathing is that when air passes through the nose it will be moisturizer, heated and cleaned from any dust. After that air moves to larynx to go into trachea. Trachea is a sensitive structure because if any cold or dry air go into it , this will cause coughing and wheezing as normal interaction to these irritation .After that air moves from the trachea to the lung through the bronchi which are entered in each lung (Figure 1). The lungs are the most important part of human respiratory system. The right lung is divided into three lobes m while the left lung is divided into two lobes. Both lungs are protected by the chest wall. In the lung small air sacs known as alveoli . Then the gases exchanged from the alveoli to the blood stream through small blood vessels known as capillaries. On the other hand , the body waste CO2 returns to the capillaries to be exhaled during breathing. Healthy bronchi al tubes make rapid gases exchange to maintain unchanged level of O2 and CO2 in the blood stream. The outer surface of bronchi is surrounded with smooth muscles that contract , relax in smooth rapid way in each breath. This process will maintain the required amount of air that is needed to go into lung tissues for normal gases exchange. This process of contraction and relaxation of muscles in controlled by sympathetic and parasympathetic of nerves system.(Gerard J,2005) What is Bronchial Asthma? One of the most common chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) is bronchial asthma. Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammation of lung airways that leads to swelling and narrowing of them. The results of this narrowing is difficulty in breathing. The narrowing of airways may be total or partial and can be reversed with treatments. Bronchial asthma is one of the most common diseases , it affect one in every 15 adults in United states of America. It is known to cause physiologically reversible or total obstruction or narrowing to air . Pathologically this will increase thickening of airways because of inflammation and bronchoconstriction. Also narrowing of airways maybe due to swelling which is caused by immune response to allergic materials. (Gerard J,2005) Causes of Bronchial Asthma The main cause of bronchial asthma is inflammation of lung airways that is increased by the increase of irritable stimulations such as dust, vapor, humid weather, cold air, smoke , air pollutions, and fumes.(Gerard J, 2005) Signs and Symptoms of Bronchial Asthma Bronchial asthma have major sign and symptoms that are diverse depending on the severity of the disease. These signs and symptoms include wheezing that is defined as a whistling , hissing sound when exhaling air. Prolonged Coughing, that is usually at night not as good as at early morning, and may occur after workout or when unprotected against cold or dry air. Fast breathing is another symptom of bronchial asthma because fewer air reaches the lungs which is the reasons fast breathing to make up the insufficiency. Another symptoms is the usage of accessory muscle of neck and upper shoulder. Palpitation is another symptoms which is caused by as an asthma attack become worse the airways forceful air through the narrow airways become harder. Muscles of your trunk start to help. This is seen in motion (Figure 3) of the esophagus (2), and sucking in of the abdominal just under the breast bone (5) and among the ribs (4) with each breath leading to heart palpitation. As a response to less a ir passing through inflamed airways that will cause body to do more strength to move air and due to that heart starts to contract faster (3).( Gerard , 2005) Prevention of Bronchial Asthma Bronchial asthma can be prevented by following these strategies: Always check with medical physician for treatment plan to mange signs and symptoms for bronchial asthma . Know the trigger of asthma to be avoided such as pollen air and cold air . Always monitor their breathing type so that they can recognize early symptoms of asthma attack that include coughing, wheezing or shortness of breath. Quickly treat of bronchial asthma attack with immediate taking of medications prescribed and stopping the activity that may be the cause to trigger the attack. (Sue, 2002) Treatment of Bronchial Asthma Bronchial asthma can be treated by different types of medications like corticosteroids, bronchodilators, antibiotics, and by physical therapy. One of the important technique that help patients to control signs and symptoms of bronchial asthma is the Buteyko Breathing Technique (BBT). (Sue, 2002) What is Buteyko Breathing Technique? Buteyko technique is a breathing regulator technique to reduce minute ventilation besides inhibit hyperventilation to treat bronchial asthma as an alternative approach ,besides to the drugs used. Buteyko technique needs that breathing originates from diaphragm not mouth. The main purpose while practicing buteyko breathing style is to breath in a very controlled and shallow manner without holding in the air like your last breath, it should be a gentle rhythm of breathing in and out.(Bruton,2003) Preparation For Buteyko Breathing Technique? Before starting the Buteyko Breathing technique session the physiotherapist should first takes patient pulse per minute and ability to exhale through Forced Expiratory Spiro-meter and measure the blood pressure and check if the patient have any health problems that may be contraindicated to buteyko breathing technique. Also it is important to take full medical history of management of patient bronchial asthma that usually includes hospital admission , consultant referrals and type of medication taken and their dosage. Also check if patient take other medication for other medical conditions. Physiotherapist should also check main signs and symptoms that affecting the patients daily work as if climbing stairs that increase shortness of breath to the patient. After that physiotherapist should inform bronchial asthma patient that buteyko session can be practiced three to five times a day . Before starting buteyko breathing technique session the physiotherapist should educate patient that this technique focus on breathing from the nose, so that nose clearness exercises should be given before starting session (Figure 5). The nose clearance exercises include pinching the nose gently and then move head forward and backward. Usually starting position will be sitting on chair without armrest after that progress to lying supine and finally to make patient adapt to this technique to be practiced in all active daily living of patients life, like climbing stairs. (kellet,2005) Steps of Buteyko Breathing Technique The Procedure of Buteyko Breathing Techniques is characterized by the following steps: Step 1: Close your mouth and breathe from the nose to get all the advantages mention before of nose breathing. (Figure 6).This step may be hard to be followed in the beginning but with practice it became easier with training. Step 2 : Use diaphragm to during breathing in and out , when patients practice breathing using diaphragm they should take in consideration to eliminate using of accessory muscle of neck and upper chest . (Figure 7). Step 3: Measure control pause for bronchial asthma patient , which is the time that patient able to grasp the nose and avoid air entry until the first feel of needing to re-breath again in the same way and pattern .   ( Figure8) can be measure using stop watch. Step 4: Sit in an upright position and reduce breath for around 2 à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 3 minutes, after that bronchial asthma patient will take short rest for 20-30 second and followed by another reduce breathing period for 3 minute followed by short rest again. Step 5: After the last short rest ,the physiotherapists check the final control pause again to check progress in amount of time patient able to hold breath. Usually in first session patient will able to increase time of control pause 2-3 seconds.(Oliver, 2009) Physiological Effects of Buteyko Breathing Technique During an asthma attack people start to panic and breath faster more than body demands. They actually over breathe because they are breathing so rapidly that causes the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood to fall too low. The body responds to that by causing the airways of the lungs to become tighter which leads to decrease inhaled air in each breathe which is shown when bronchial asthma patients trying to breathe harder. This technique will help to break this negative feedback cycle by educating bronchial asthma patients to breath in a shallow way and this will lead to decrease the amount of air that reach lung during breathing. Another benefit is increasing tolerance of body for higher levels of carbon dioxide in your blood.(Oliver,2009) Who will benefit from Buteyko Breathing Technique? Buteyko breathing technique is suitable for bronchial asthma patients and some other conditions that lead to hyperventilation such as hay fever , which is allergic and inflammation due to dust , rhinitis which is also known as stuffy nose that happen due to inflammation of inner nose parts. Buteyko breathing technique can be included also for nose congestion, panic attack, resent heart, persistent cough, bronchitis, snoring and last for COPD patients .(Oliver,2009) Contraindications for Buteyko Breathing Technique Patients with these conditions will not be able to practice BBT even if they have bronchial asthma or any other condition that lead to hyperventilation . These conditions include kidney failure specially if patient on dialysis, current organ transplant, previous brain hemorrhage, recent heart attack or stroke, cardiac peacemaker device, active stomach ulcer, pregnancy, schizophrenia, uncontrolled high blood pressure, any current cancer treatment, sickle- cell anemia and sever emphysema with heart failure. (Oliver,2009) Conclusions Asthma is a common lung disease around the world and usually patients suffer from a lot of sign and symptoms like attacks of shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing that may affect their quality of life so that it need pharmacological agents to control it beside non-pharmacological techniques of pulmonary rehab such as buteyko technique. Buteyko breathing technique is a complementary method that proven it is effectiveness to control breathing in hyperventilation cases such as asthma and improve their quality of life, level of exercises, and forced respiratory volume. There are five core components of the buteyko breathing technique that they are the nose breathin , relax upper muscles, use diaphragm breathing, small gentle breaths and maintain good posture. The buteyko exercises can be done 3-5 times a day and it need committed for these exercises and make lifestyle changes, to be able to use fewer medication.

Performance Appraisal Essay -- Business, Employees Participation

This paper assesses the Human Resource practices of employee participation and involvement and their relationship with productivity. An attempt will be made to distinguish between participation and involvement. Also the paper will focus on development and changing trends of employee participation and the evaluation of these participation schemes with respect to their depth, level, scope and form. Finally, a search into whether employee participation and involvement has a bearing on productivity will be considered. In recent times, a key feature of management practice has been the implementation of effective human development strategies to enhance organisational productivity. Human resource management is considered an important element in achieving an organization’s success and a means of gaining competitive advantage (Armstrong 2009).Again; it is common to have management grant some level of participation and involvement to employees concerning core decisions within the organisation, as researches have proved a link between employee involvement and participation having a positive bearing on workplace productivity and performance (Belanger 2000). Employee participation is promoted for different reasons and embedded in various institutional settings across industries and countries due to influences from the legal, economic, political framework found in each country .Thus the level of participation granted employees and the degree and methods of which employers are willing to use in workforce management differ everywhere (Dundon & Wilkinson2009). Participation and involvement as concepts are by definition intertwined and this makes it difficult to distinguish between them. However, some authors have attempted defining them... ...stantive. In conclusion, though it very difficult to justify empirically whether or not employee participation and involvement can increase a firm’s productivity; it can be said from a synthesis of the above discussion that productivity is dependent on several factors including employee participation and involvement. However to increase productivity, employers should adopt and implement the right strategy taking cognisance of organisational goals and existing work environment. In lieu of the above, Youndt et al. (1996) puts it so succinctly that employee involvement and participation is essential in the a firm’s production process since employees provide organizations with an important source of sustainable competitive advantage and that the effective management of human capital, not physical capital may be the ultimate determinant of organisational performance.

English Society in the Nineteenth Century in Conan Doyles Works :: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Silver Band Essays

English Society in the Nineteenth Century in Conan Doyle's Works For my essay I have decided to study Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "Speckled Band", "Silver Blaze" and "Final Problem". Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories were first published in the London magazine "The Strand" in 1892. All the stories were kept relatively short because they had to be published in the magazine. When the Sherlock Holmes story "The Final Problem" there was a large public out cry of shock and horror to the death of the character they had got very attached to over the last 5 - 7 years. His stories were of a detective genre. The Victorian period was mainly built on a class system almost pyramid like. At the very bottom there was the people who could not support themselves, e.g. Beggars etc. Further up there was the lower class that worked in the factories and could just about support them. On the same level of the lower class were the servants. The next level up was the Labourers who worked for/with the working class and upper classes. The Working class were the next ones up they were the Doctors etc, e.g. Dr Watson. The next class up was the middle class; they lived off inheritance and owned factories. Upper class owned a lot of land and factories they lived in the country. Next up were the Aristocrats, lords, ladies etc these people did not need to work, they were the ones one step down from the King or queen. Women and children of higher classes did not have to work, the children received a good education and the women stayed at home. But the lower classed women and children had to work in factories to support their families. Industrial revolution gave the lower classes a source of money in the cities, most people left the country life to live in the cities and make more money. They lived in poor housing conditions called slums and made little money, some even resorted to crime. When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote Sherlock Holmes a lot of people had lost faith in the London police, as there was a lot of corruption, Sherlock shows this by showing that he is a lot cleverer than the police force. He really does show the police up to no extent. The stories are written in first person by Dr.Watson who uses his notes and memory to write them. All the stories are based on detective genre with a very big twist in the end and clues that only Sherlock picks up on. Sherlock Holmes' character fits perfectly in his class as

Lisa Sherman Case Analysis

Lisa Sherman worked for Verizon for many years. While there she never revealed her sexual orientation . Then one fated day, there was a diversification workshop with her fellow managers. The outcome of this was that her coworkers were bigoted towards homosexuality. Lisa Sherman had a tough decision to make, whether to stay or to leave. The following analysis shows a suggested solution. Lisa Sherman Case Analysis: Lisa Sherman spent many years not being true to who she was. She never told her coworkers that she was gay during her 15 years at Verizon Communications. Then, the company decided they wanted to hold diversity training. This is what led Lisa Sherman to the tough decision of whether to stay working at Verizon or put in her notice. The diversity training displayed general statements about different types of people, with statements such as â€Å"gay people are†¦Ã¢â‚¬  written on poster boards. The corporate leaders then formed groups and wrote on the poster boards what their first concept of a particular group of people was. Their statements of groups such as Blacks and Jews involved only positive messages. However when they got to the board regarding homosexual people, it was nothing at all positive, with comments such as â€Å"immoral, pathetic, perverse, and spreading disease. † (Audenaert and George, 2008). How could Lisa now open up and tell these people that she herself was Gay, when they thought such horrid things? Not only were negative derogatory statements bad for Lisa Sherman they were also bad for the company. The CEO Ray Smith wanted to enact a policy of diversification, to take Verizon into a more flexible and creative company. He planned to establish policies that barred not hiring someone because of their ethnic background, religion, race, sex, and sexual orientation. However if his highest level managers felt this way about Gay people what did the rest of the company feel? Lisa Sherman was with Verizon for 15 years, working her way up the chain. She had always hid her sexuality and the existence of her partner Sophie, using pronouns such as â€Å"him† and â€Å"we† for â€Å"her† and â€Å"she† (Alboher, 2008). She felt that if she were to tell anyone it would affect her career, which allegedly proved to be a correct assumption, from the comments that her co-workers made. One of the most homophobic individuals turned out to be one of Lisa’s mentors. In essence, the people Lisa had been closest to turned out to be bigoted individuals. When deciding what to do, Lisa needs to be sure it is in the best interest of her needs. Since she has been with the same company for 15 years, and quickly worked her way up, she probably has a myriad of opportunities waiting for her. She can inform the CEO Ray Smith of her sexual orientation, as he wants the company to become more progressive and would (allegedly) not be bothered by her sexuality. However, the rest of her coworkers still feel that Gay people are immoral, disgusting people. Even if the CEO did not mind her sexuality, her coworkers would still see her in a different light. I feel the best decision that Lisa can make is to look for different work, with a more open, progressive company, then resign from Verizon. This decision would allow her time to get her finances in order. However, if she had a large savings, then the best decision would be to resign immediately, because being around such bigoted individuals would cause her undue stress, and her performance may be affected. If Lisa Sherman chooses to resign, since the CEO Ray Smith is so open to becoming a more diversified workforce, perhaps he can use her and her experience, when she informs him of her sexuality, as a consultant for future policies. Lisa could be a great asset to the company, as she has experienced the bigotry and discrimination about her sexuality her whole adult life, since she first came out. She understands what it means to not admit to others your true self, for fear of losing a job, or not gaining a job. Policies can be changed but unfortunately it takes much more work to change people’s opinions. People are afraid of the unknown, they fear change (Pratt, 2005). To help change people’s opinions training would need to be done, to show that Gay individuals are no different than anyone else. They do not choose their sexuality anymore than someone chooses their skin color. Someone should not be judged by something that they cannot choose. If Lisa Sherman chooses to resign, Verizon Communications and the CEO need to reeducate their employees on what a diversified workplace should be like. There are currently no federal laws that prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation (Smith, 2010). However many states and companies have laws and regulations that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. The company should respond by offering condolences to Lisa Sherman, then start by making policies to make all workers comfortable. Lisa Sherman was a good employee and a hard worker for many years, yet she had to hide who she really was. No employee should have to hide their family life; it affects their stress levels and their mood. Lisa stated that while others had pictures of their wives and kids on their desks, she had a picture of her dog. Lisa should have been comfortable with having her partner’s photo on her desk, as she was her family. Unfortunately, as the office was not a comfortable place for a lesbian woman to state that she was a lesbian, she was unable to. Whatever the actual outcome was in this case, Lisa Sherman should leave the company for her own peace of mind, and sense of self worth. Verizon Communications and Ray Smith need to take the company to a modern, progressive state, by hiring openly gay people, and enacting policies to prevent discrimination in hiring, and the harassment of workers. Such a progressive policy is not only good for the workforce but for the company. As a company that is so open to diversification, they are bound to increase their customer base. Works Cited http://www.life-with-confidence.com/life-change.html http://www.hrhero.com/topics/sexual_orientation_discrimination.html

Ek Ruka Hua Faisla – Review

E’Ek rukaa hua faisla’’ , remake of Hollywood classic ’’Twelve angry men’’ an Oscar Winning Film widely used in Management Schools & corporate for understanding ‘HUMAN BEHAVIOR’ and â€Å"LEADERSHIP STYLES’ †¦.. Let’s take a look at the plot first to be familiar with this movie. The movie starts from a scene in a jury room where 12 jury members are discussing the case for the final verdict. The case is regarding a murder of an old man and the suspect is his own son. Everything from the statement of witnesses to debate of lawyers has already finished. And as they are reaching verdict and counting votes.. 11 said guilty and 1 said not guilty. Now the whole movie revolves around this 1 person who is standing on his ground for voting not guilty. He explains that he is neutral in his judgment and unless he is satisfied he won’t vote guilty. And gradually with his common sense, thinking and debating power ( Advocacy skills ) he changed the mind of other jury members until finally they all voted not guilty. This movie is special especially because it portrays the thinking of 12 different people from 12 different aspects of society, from self-made guy coming from the slums to famous doctor to elite class people. In these 12 jury members, everyone was so careless to reach their decision except that 12th person. They are so preoccupied with their personal problems or engagements that they do not understand the gravity of their decision. 1 person’s life is on stake. yes, the accused guy could be real culprit or maybe not. But they should not just let the guy to be hanged only because they were getting late for a movie or a game or for dinner party, etc. Sometimes the plot do get interesting when that lone ranger (12th jury member) is highlighting the broken links in the statements of witnesses and the case put together by public-prosecutor against the accused. You get the feeling that this guy could do wonders if he were a real lawyer and whether the lawyer for the accused was so stupid. The movie touch the hearts of everyone who watches it. It shows how unsafe we all really are. How much we lie to our self just to feel safe and strong , and how weak we really are. You can relate yourself to each and every one of that jury member. Each person is a manifestation of your in different situations you can find yourself in your daily routine life. And it horrifies you to realise that how prejudiced and careless you have become to other humans and their feelings. You are not wrong in any way.. but you have to be understanding enough and responsible enough to take other’s point of view into account too when reaching a major decision that could effect other’s life. The message is very clear. Do not reach any decision just for the heck of it. Do take time to think and be as neutral as possible. You really feel so sick when you see and hear the remarks of the other jury members and why some of them want the boy to be punished. Just because the guy from elite class think that this boy belongs to slums and so they must be destroyed to make 1 person less against the fight for exploitation. The doctor thinks that these guys are good for nothing and it’s better that the boy should be punished for making this world more safe and clean. But The main character is the jury member who is most difficult to change his decission, Pankaj kapoor (who i am sure was quite young when he acted in this movie), is really amazing in his portrayal of a hurt father who is prejudiced about the accused boy because his own son had been disrespectful to him and even slapped him. And in the end, you really wonder.. this is a movie so there has to be poetic justice. But in this real world, can you really be impartial and neutral while making every decision? i know and you know too.. t’s next to impossible.. that 12th jury member, the ideal human being , only exist in the movie. It’s hard to find anybody who can be impartial in decisions which do not effect their own life. So, the real decision here to be made is to be positive and unbiased and not to be influenced by our preconceived notions in making important decisions. I am glad that i get to share my views with all of you guys. I would totally recommend this movie to eve ryone. and i mean everyone. This movie is worth watching at least once for your development. ttp://www. slideshare. net/prkworld/ek-ruka-hua-faisla The model is represented as a grid with concern for production as the [x-axis]] and concern for people as the Y-axis; each axis ranges from 1 (Low) to 9 (High). The resulting leadership styles are as follows: * The indifferent (previously called impoverished) style (1,1) : evade and elude. In this style, managers have low concern for both people and production. Managers use this style to preserve job and job seniority, protecting themselves by avoiding getting into trouble. The main concern for the manager is not to be held responsible for any mistakes, which results in less innovative decisions. * The accommodating (previously, country club) style (1,9): yield and comply. This style has a high concern for people and a low concern for production. Managers using this style pay much attention to the security and comfort of the employees, in hopes that this will increase performance. The resulting atmosphere is usually friendly, but not necessarily very productive. * The dictatorial (previously, produce or perish) style (9,1): control and dominate. With a high concern for production, and a low concern for people, managers using this style find employee needs unimportant; they provide their employees with money and expect performance in return. Managers using this style also pressure their employees through rules and punishments to achieve the company goals. This dictatorial style is based on Theory X of Douglas McGregor, and is commonly applied by companies on the edge of real or perceived failure. This style is often used in cases of crisis management. * The status quo (previously, middle-of-the-road) style (5,5): balance and compromise. Managers using this style try to balance between company goals and workers' needs. By giving some concern to both people and production, managers who use this style hope to achieve suitable performance but doing so gives away a bit of each concern so that neither production nor people needs are met. * The sound (previously, team style) (9,9): contribute and commit. In this style, high concern is paid both to people and production. As suggested by the propositions of Theory Y, managers choosing to use this style encourage teamwork and commitment among employees. This method relies heavily on making employees feel themselves to be constructive parts of the company. * The opportunistic style: exploit and manipulate. Individuals using this style, which was added to the grid theory before 1999, do not have a fixed location on the grid. They adopt whichever behaviour offers the greatest personal benefit. * The paternalistic style: prescribe and guide. This style was added to the grid theory before 1999. In The Power to Change, it was redefined to alternate between the (1,9) and (9,1) locations on the grid. Managers using this style praise and support, but discourage challenges to their thinking * Grid theory breaks behavior down into seven key elements: Element| Description| Initiative| Taking action, driving and supporting| Inquiry| Questioning, researching and verifying understanding| Advocacy| Expressing convictions and championing ideas| Decision Making| Evaluating resources, choices and consequences| Conflict Resolution| Confronting and resolving disagreements| Resilience| Dealing with problems, setbacks and failures| Critique| Delivering objective, candid feedback|

Arsenal Holding PLC Essay

This composition is a SWOT analysis of the company Arsenal Holding PLC; whose main product is the Famous English football club ARSENAL FC which is based in Holloway, London and is one of the most successful clubs in English football with thirteen first division titles and ten FA cups and also a record of the longest uninterrupted period in the English top flight.( Wikipedia) What is SWOT? SWOT represents the output of a marketing audit analysis and is essentially the analysis of the environmental factors and the internal appraisal part of the marketing audit. It stands for Strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats. Assessment of this SWOT factors together with an evaluation of its implications is a key part of objective marketing planning.(G.Lanchester and L. Massingham (1996) It is also important to note that SWOT ANALYSIS should be ranked in other to emphasis the importance of each point. The company Arsenal holding plc is the parent company of Arsenal FC and operates as a non-quoted public limited company a variation from other clubs. Only 62,217 Arsenal shares have been issued and they aren’t traded on any public exchange apart from rather infrequently on Plus market ;a specialist market.A single share in Arsenal had a mid share price of  £10,250,which set the companies capitalisation value at approximately  £637.74m.(wikipedia). Its Business Most of its business activities evolve around the Arsenal FC brand which is globally known as a top football club which performs consistently at the highest level in England and Europe. Football being an internationally accepted sport with Europe being the center piece of this affection, it has been suggested that the English Premiership is arguably the most colourful and entertaining League in the world with a viewer following that could be estimated into hundreds of millions weekly and Arsenal would also arguably be elected as its most entertaining team with millions of fans world wide. This Financial wise interprets into a massive brand image and which would  brings cash flow from; image rights of its players and the club, income and earnings from trophy wins and participation in the league and European competitions, Sale of players, television rights, sales of club merchandise and collecting gate for home games. Strengths 1. A very strong globally known brand 2. Large global fan base 3. Large stadium 4. Lot of large corporations interest in brand 5. Location in England and London 6. A few big and expensive players 7. Great history 8. Interesting records and achievements 9. Loyal fans 10. Colourful football and brand colour 11. Effective management Weaknesses 1. Inability to win trophy 2. Inability to compete financially with the best in Europe 3. Inability to keep its best players 4. Inability to convince fans of interest in football success 5. To many inexperienced players in squad 6. Small football squad Opportunities 1. A lot of young potential talents in the squad 2. Recent penetration into Asian market 3. Emergence of FIFA fair play rule 4. Emergence of very defensive teams playing unattractive football 5. Growing English national’s membership in the squad 6. Increasing interest in the English premiership and the European champions league globally Threats 1. European crises 2. Emergence of clubs funded by oil barons 3. Increasing wage structures in the premiership 4. Increasing player valuation 5. Increasing cases of player disloyalty 6. Unhappy fans 7. Resurgence of Tottenham their London rivals 8. Chelsea’s champions league win Evaluation and analysis The SWOT analysis as seen above, appears to be highly invested in the activities of Arsenal FC, this is because the club is a business institution which has an annual financial statement and is run by its parent company Arsenal holdings, which makes the activities of the club and its environment worthy of note. The analysis evolves around the clubs past and present positions and performances; its strengths revolves around the brand and how established it is, pointing out the colourfulness of both the clubs chosen colours and style of football it represents. It also points at the size of its stadium which is regularly filled up and which amounts to large amount of tickets sold. Its weaknesses evolve around its current inability to win trophies and also current financial restrictions as opposed to its main competitors who have a lot more to spend Opportunities looks at its youth policy; a system where by they buy a player most times cheaply and groom him after a few years into an inter national star with the club as his stage. The result of this is that the player’s value increases immensely and with the current state of transfer developments, beyond proportion. It also looks at the fair play rule which if put into effect by UEFA,the body that governs football in Europe will stifle the current dominance of some of its competitors. The threats point at the current crisis in Europe as its most important highlight, as if there is no money there will no body to buy tickets or purchase the goods that the club brands. It also considers its competitors as a major threat, because of the seeming limitless wealth some of them posses. *Note Players leaving the club on the short term is not a danger as it brings about healthier balance sheets and bigger profits, as the players are sold for huge fees, but in the long term it affects the clubs image and reputation and cause an increase in fan disloyalty, so it should be seen as both a weakness and a threat. Conclusion From the SWOT you can conclude that the company has a high amount of strengths compared to the other categories, its weaknesses are quite a few but the man danger lies in its threats, with the key one of note being the crisis in Europe which is affecting all businesses in general, the other threats appear manageable when compared more of the same is advised to sustain the club. REFRENCE G.Lanchester and L. Massingham., Strategic Marketing planning and evaluation, (1996) www.wikepedia.com

Indian Civilization

INDIAN CIVILIZATION Also called Indus Valley Civilization; the earliest in South Asia Contemporary with Bronze Age civilizations in pre-dynastic Egypt, Mesopotamia Compared to the other Bronze Age civilizations, Indus Valley Civilization was unspectacular Early civilizations of the Indian sub-continent were centred on two major river valleys: The Indus River and its tributaries, especially the Saraswati River Valley (2600-1500BCE) – associated with Dravidians. Called Harappan Culture The Ganges River Valley (1500-500BCE) – associated with the Aryans. Called the Vedic Age. Along the Indus & Saraswati, there were two major centres of this civilization: Mohenjodaro and Harappa hence Harappan Culture Other cities of this civilization include Kalibagan, Chanhudaro & Doraji in Gujerat Origins and Development This civilization appears as fully developed & distinctive culture; little is known about the cultures that came before it or the factors that led to its development Recent research indicates that antecedents of this civilization can be found at Mehrgarh on the western edge of the Indus plains Evidence that domestication of plants & animals, pottery production and village life began here Around 3200 – 2600 BCE, several pre-urban cultures existed in Indus Plains and the western hill valleys that show aspects of the Harappan culture HARAPPAN CULTURE: CHARACTERISTICS Built on irrigation-based agriculture. Irrigation based on dikes and drains. Barley and wheat the most important crops; grains stored in granaries in Harappa and Mohenjodaro (as a form of tax? ) Domesticated animals cattle, water buffalo, goats, pigs, donkeys Trade was very important; extensive trade connections with areas around the Arabian Sea & up the Persian Gulf to Mesoptamia Fortified cities; well-planned with straight streets intersecting at right angles; a system of underground drains and sewers Buildings made of baked bricks. At Mohenjodaro, multi-roomed houses have been recorded Thickness of walls and remains of staircases point to the existence of upper floors Skilled artisans including bead makers, metal workers, cotton weavers and potters Potters made painted pots decorated with nimal figures, water jars, cooking & drinking vessels & storage vessels Metal workers produced copper and bronze vessels, silver and gold ornaments Other artisans produced the square and rectangular seals from steatite & other soft rocks Seals had an animal carved in negative relief and a line of script that could be read when the seal was stamped on wet tablet Seals were used to authenticate messages. The script on the seals revealed the name, lineage, social identity or the public office held by seal-owner Seals could also have been worn as talismans or amulets They are the only examples of writing from this period 400 pictographs/characters have been identified so far, but the script is not fully deciphered RELIGION Little is known about the early religions of the Indus River Valley in these early times However, many elements of India’s religious heritage today are evident from some seals from Harappa and Mohenjodaro. A seal from Mohenjodaro has a human-like figure with three heads wearing a headdress and sitting in the Yoga position. He is surrounded by animals: elephants, rhinos, water buffalo, deer etc. Thought to be a Prototype of the popular Hindu god, Shiva (the Lord of Beasts) Seal impressions and clay figurines from Harappa depict a female deity with conspicous sexual organs = thought to represent the goddess of fertility FALL & DECLINE Harappan Culture declined and fell around 1500 BCE; Harappa, Mohenjodaro and other cities were abandoned and their populations dispersed into smaller settlements There was a reversal of achievements: writing was forgotten and much of northern India returned to village life REASONS FOR DECLINE/FALL 1. Possible flooding along the Indus, affecting the densely populated areas and cities 2. Shifts in patterns of long distance trade with Mesopotamia and other regions 3. Changes in subsistence farming; rice cultivation was introduced along the Ganges Basin and had taken root by 1500BCE; millet was introduced in Gujerat. So new environments were opened for farming where conditions were unsuitable for wheat and barley 4. Major geological disturbances near the source of Saraswati river, causing it to dry up, catastrophically disrupting agriculture downstream. 5. Invasion by the Aryans (Arya = noble) who came from the northern steppes of Europe REASONS FOR THE SUCCESS OF THE ARYANS A highly developed spoken language that tended to displace other tongues that it encountered Better military organization: horse-drawn war chariots and weapons made from iron which was superior to bronze GANGES RIVER VALLEY CIVILIZATIONS Aryans became sedentary landowners along the Ganges; others became traders on the river Crafts became more specialized & increased in complexity; produced iron ploughs, luxury items for trade Urban centres re-emerged with substantial populations of artisans, traders, resident landowners, priests, warriors Major metropolises along the Ganges include Patna, Benares (which is still a holy city for Hindus even today) SOCIAL ORGANIZATION Early Indian societies were matriarchal (i. e. headed by women) and matrilineal (inheritance was through the female side of the family). This changed with the coming of the Aryans who were patriarchal Before the Aryans, husbands lived with the wife’s family; the wife’s family paid dowry. After Aryans, wife’s were required to move to the husband’s family, bring substantial dowries and accept husband’s authority The caste system was introduced at this time. Basis for caste division was social and economic rather than racial Originally there were four castes: 1. Sudras = cultivators of land, manual labourers, domestic servants 2. Vaisyas = landowners, artisans, herdsmen, merchants . Kshatriyas = the warrior nobility 4. Brahmans = priests, scholars The caste system became a dominant factor in shaping Indian society Economic specialization & division of labour played a role in the evolution of the caste e. g. Brahmans engage freely in other occupation, avoiding those considered to be polluting The hierarchy embodied in the caste system also applies to the cosmic order; the ranking order o f the caste (from pure to impure) corresponded to the ascending order of the divinities as well POLITICAL ORGANIZATION Not much is known about the political organization in India before the coming of the Aryans However, we know that Harappans had adopted the city as a means of organizing & controlling their civilization Up to five major Harappan cities are known: Harappa after which the civilization is named; Mohenjodaro, Kalibagan, Chanhudaro & Doraji Aryans were loosely organized into families, clans and tribes. Tribes were headed by chiefs/kings called Rajas, most of whom were elected or chosen by rotation from the leading families Rajas shared political power with councils of elders & assemblies of adult males There were two forms of states in India: Republics and Kingdoms In the Republics, rajas continued to rule in conjunction with powerful councils and the assemblies while in the Kingdoms, the power of the rajas grew at the expense of the councils & the assemblies. Most often, power became hereditary Monarchies developed administrative systems headed by chief priests and military leaders Close alliance between kings & priests; Brahmans were involved in the consecration of new kings; the kings supported the emerging Hindu priesthoods RELIGION Again, little is known about early religion in Harappan India. However, we know that religion in early India was a form of polytheism People of Harappan culture worshipped a goddess whose clay figurines have been recovered in Harappa & Mohenjodaro Aryans introduced new gods including: Indra = the god of war Agni = The spirit of the sacrificial fire Varuna = the lord of the big sky Aryans sacrificed to these divinities by slaughtering dozens, even hundreds of animals & sometimes humans too Sacrifices were accompanied by hymns, prayers & rituals. The hymns were passed on through generations to become core of the Hindu scriptures, the vedas HINDUISM Hinduism emerged from the merging of the gods of the Aryans and those of the conquered Dravidians Early Hindus saw some of their gods in the shape of animals (anthropomorphic divinities) such as snakes, the sacred cow etc However, Hinduism did evolve to engage in philosophical search for the deepest spiritual principle of the universe The most important gods of the Hindu faith are: Brahma = the creator god; also called the Absolute Being or the World/Universal Soul Vishnu = the preserver of the universe Shiva = the dancing divinity with four arms and the destroyer of all things; also the Lord of Beasts The concept of Brahma later subsumed all the three gods (Brahma, Vishnu & Shiva). Brahma personified the concept of a deity that could be worshipped; Brahman (as the title for the priestly class) is a derivative of the same word Brahman can also be described as the universal principle that underlies all that exists, the spiritual essence permeating the entire cosmos & the one hidden in all things; hence reincarnation THE VEDAS Today, Hinduism is based on the vedas, the sacred books of the Hindu religion. Vedas are believed to have been divinely inspired. There are four vedas: 1. Yajurveda: a manual of sacrifice for the officiating priest 2. Atharvaveda: a catalogue of charms & spells supposed to be effective in curing illnesses, arousing passion in the object of one’s desire or in destroying one’s enemies 3. Rig Veda (means â€Å"verses of wisdom† or â€Å"knowledge†): a compilation of more than 1000 poems composed between 1500-900 BCE, addressed to various Aryan gods. For example one of the poems is dedicated to Indra who is described as the god of thunder who pierced the bellies of the mountains to release waters (possibly referring to annual floods caused by the melting of snow in the Himalayas). Another poem appeals for protection of goddess Night whose radiance was believed to drive away darkness Another poem is by a gambler lamenting an unlucky throw of the dice which has caused his wife to repel him and his mother-in-law to hate him. 4. Upanishads (meaning â€Å"sitting down near†): These are philosophical treatises in prose and verse. They are cast in the form of dialogues between teacher and student They examine the nature of reality and the problem of man’s place in the universe. They reveal a genius for conceptual reasoning still admired today. †¢Upanishads teach that evil is the fruit of ignorance; that the pursuit of wisdom is pursuit of the highest possible good and that attainment of wisdom bestows both power and virtue †¢Main Teachings: The Absolute Being/World Soul is the only supreme reality Material world is an illusion (or maya); it is not permanent †¢That individual souls go through a cycle of rebirth; the soul seeks to reach nivarna (spiritual liberation) †¢That the soul can escape the cycle of rebirth by union with the Absolute Being. The individual soul (atman) is actually a fragment of Brahman, the Universal Soul. OTHER ASPECTS OF HINDUISM The concept of brotherhood of all living things embodied in the concepts of reincarnation and transmigration of souls, karma and ahimsa The Hindu faith holds that each human soul is reborn/reincarnated in the body of some other creature – human, animal, plant or even supernatural being over & over again The precise form one takes on reincarnation depends on karma or the actions one takes in the present life Good and pious life – you may be reborn as a Brahman or other high caste; a life of self-indulgence & sin – you may live your next life as a worm, dog or something else Members of lowly castes were encouraged to diligently do their duties to be born to higher status Dharma (faithful performance of one’s assigned role) and Karma (merits and demerits earned as a result of action) cemented loyalty to the prescriptions of caste. Thus doctrine of transmigration of souls reinforced the caste system Ahimsa refers to the doctrine of nonviolence; first emerged among the Jains before adoption by others in Indian society Meditation – Hindus belief that one might escape endless rounds of lives filled in with human suffering through meditation (i. e. the mystical concentration of all psychic forces) The goal of Yogi meditation is the submergence of one’s ego in the supreme unity of Brahman. This is achieved through spiritual enlightenment: that all differences are illusions (or maya) & that all that really exists is the totality of Brahman, the Absolute Being BUDDHISM Has origins in religious reforms in Indian society in the 6th century BCE. These reforms produced the spiritual teachers or gurus The gurus were later described as the naked philosophers (or the gymnosophists) because they walked naked in the rain and the sun to discipline the flesh Also fasted for long periods of time & engaged in exhausting exersices that developed into the sacred discipline of yoga Two leading gurus were Mahavira (540-476 BCE) & Prince Siddartha or Gautama (563-483 BCE) Mahavira founded Jainism & Gautama founded Buddhism Gautama was given the title of Buddha (the Enlightened One) by his followers; was born in the Himalayas, present day Nepal GAUTAMA’S TEACHINGS He denied the existence of a soul; taught that only matter existed (in opposition to teaching of Upanishads) Because matter was always in a state of flux, he recognized no Absolute Being or any fixed universal principle other than constant change Even gods were subject to laws of growth & decay; the universe is forever becoming He retained the concept of karma; he believed that the root of suffering is desire (i. e. he pursuit of unattainable goals because the objects sought are fleeting & unreal) In this sense, he agreed with orthodox Hinduism that worldly things are an illusion or maya To reach Nivarna, one should recognize & reject worldly desires as blind follies; cultivate unselfishness, compassion & honesty; reject injury to others such as murder, theft & adultery; choose a life that does not bring harm to other living things 500 years after Buddhism was founded, it split into two major divisions: Hinayana School ( the Lesser Vehicle) and Mahayana School (the Greater Vehicle) HINAYANA SCHOOL So called because it emphasized individual salvation; claimed that a diligent person could attain nivarna in three lifetimes Bodhisattva – successive incarnations of the Buddha Denied existence of a soul; does not recognize the founder of Buddhism as a god. However, prayers, gifts of flowers & incense may be offered to his image Found in Sri Lanka, Bu rma (Myanmar), Thailand, Cambodia & Laos MAHAYANA SCHOOL Mahayana sets as its goal the redemption of the entire human race; worships Buddha as a god The concept of Bodhisattva – represents the Buddha-elect, an individual who has won enlightenment but chooses to remain in the world for the liberation of others; agreeing to suffer as ransom for all human beings Everyone is potentially a Bodhisattva & may become a Buddha. It embodied as cardinal virtues love, piety, joy & serenity Mahayana Buddhism found in China, Tibet, Mongolia, Nepal & Japan, but it disappeared in India in later centuries JAINISM Founded by Mahavira; it is contemporary with & in many respects parallel to Buddhism. Mahavira broke radically with traditional religions, rejected both their deities and their scriptures Doctrines of Jainism To Mahavira, the material universe is real, but it is filled with an infinite number of souls lodged in living creatures & inanimate things Rejected the concept of an overriding World Soul & taught that individual souls are held in bondage by matter; this bondage is perpetuated through successive births by operation of karma Because every action produces karma and karma adds weight to the chains of bondage, the only route to escape is to avoid action altogether; thus nivarna represents a place of absolute passivity Mahavira prescribed a regime of extreme asceticism, ideally culminating in death through self-starvation. Despite its atheistic tendencies, Jainism did resemble a true religion with prayers, holy scriptures and gods. Today, there are about 2 million Jains in southern and western India Prominent in Jain faith is the doctrine of ahimsa or non-injury to living things; it imposes taboos against slaughter of not only of animals but even insects. Ahimsa contributed ethical suppo rt to the ideal of pacifism Since Jainism ruled out the practice of agriculture, Jains turned to trade & money-lending, becoming some of the wealthiest in Indian society ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE VEDIC AGE Medicine: dissection, delicate surgeries; thorough knowledge of human anatomy; study of embryology Knowledge of astronomy: the first to suggest that the earth revolves on its axis & that the earth rotates around the sun Mathematics: were the first to extract square & cube roots; used the decimal system; invented the principle of zero, eventually adopted by the rest of the world; Arabic numbers in use today originated in India; advances in algebra Literature: Two epic poems: Mahabharata & Ramayana Mahabharata – the longest poem in the world with over 10,000 verses. About the struggle between two powerful Indian clans, but gods were involved also Ramayana – a romantic story of Prince Rama who rescues his lovely wife Sita fromRavana, the demon king of Ceylon Arthasastra a political commentary