Analysis of a news story Essay

The article that I am analysing shows how a newspaper presents a story. The article I am studying is about ‘The War on Terror’ the article, being about a man named Kerim Chatty, whom was caught, whilst under a routine security check, with a gun in his wash bag was published in The Sun paper. Kerim Chatty is believed to have been planning on hi-jacking the flight air-born from Sweden to England, Stanstead. The Sun paper is a tabloid, which is more suited to people who enjoy reading ‘dramatic’ and ‘over-exaggerated stories. ‘ The Sun is aimed at people who prefer ‘easier reading. ‘ By this I mean that the papers stories are short, too the point and simple. The newspaper has sensational stories, which attract readers between the age group of 16-30. The tabloid uses interesting pictures and eye catching headlines. Also by using emotive language, it grabs the readers’ attention. The headline consists of the title ‘War on Terror,’ as the reader I was attracted to this article immediately as I wanted to see what it is about. The sub-heading reads, ‘Face of Jet Hi-jack Thug’ this is where the story begins. A good publisher knows that you should never tell your audience what the piece of writing is about, in the headings because if you do then they may not want to continue reading your story. The first sub-heading is used to briefly tell the reader of what is going on. The following sub-heading leads you onto more information, but still doesn’t give the story up. ‘Violent Crook Obsessed by Weapons. ‘ By using emotive language such as; crook, obsessed and thug, the readers build a self image of Kerim Chatty as being even more of a criminal and horrid man, this is what the tabloid paper wants you to do. The first section of the article is based on the hi-jacker and what he had done and in the main picture it shows the scene of the crime. The picture has a lot going on it; you can see the hi-jacker with his weapon, walking towards the armed police who appear ready for any sudden action from the hi-jacker. Also in the background of the picture you can see the hi-jacked plane, from a leading company Ryannair. There is a smaller caption below with a clear face of Chatty; this is put there so the readers can see who the hi-jacker is. Analysing the Picture If I saw the picture of the man without knowing he had committed an offence, I wouldn’t look at him as though he was a ‘thug’ or ‘crook’ instead Id see him as being a perfectly normal guy, who could of maybe been in the paper having been involved in a racist attack.. Below the picture of Chatty is a caption stating: ‘Gangster†¦. Kerim Chatty’ Once you see this you start to imagine an evil side to him and then turn against him. Emotive Language & Formal Language The paper immediately wants the reader to turn against Kerim, even before they manage to read the whole article, so emotive language is used to slip in words such as Crook, Thug, Violent, Obsessed and Gangster to enhance the stories features. The Sun uses informal language such as; Cops and Common Nuts! The more informal the English is the easier the article is to read and understand. ‘Simple Reading’ is what I believe The Sun is known well for. Summary: The presentation of the story is smart and The Sun did very well to express and explain the story. It has done well on telling the story, using typical tabloid tools. I don’t think Kerim Chatty, would really appreciate how The Sun have spoke about him and no doubt some of it may not be true. The Sun is a good tabloid newspaper but the stories are exaggerated in a big way, although the exaggeration does bring excitement to the story, Kerim probably wouldn’t enjoy reading it.

Importance of Art Education during Childhood Essay

Since more than two decades researchers have been discovering affirmative relationships between arts education and cognitive improvement in children. Gardner (1983) has claimed an affirmative relationship between arts and intellectual (Clark & Zimmerman, 2004). There are multiple advantages of arts education that range from the improvement of vocabulary and math competence, to the improvement of spatial reasoning. Today arts education is given much more importance than previously, when it was thought to be a lot of fluff. Art is not simply an extra subject in education; it is necessary to learning. When students learn about the visual arts, they get a view of the rich and fascinating world around them. This teaches them theirs as well as others history and customs. Art leads to a cultivation of expressiveness, imagination and originality along with critical thinking and analytical competence. It has been stated by the art educators that children as young as three years of age consistently use their imagination in different ways (Golbeck, 2001). The children studying about art expand their capabilities to consider meanings and to make assessments and decisions. Through comprehending and creating art, a student can learn how to work collaboratively with others and also how to put in effort to attain an objective. Also, art education helps in making a major contribution to the enhancement of the child’s capabilities to tackle with the abundance of visual indications obtainable to him and to comprehend and utilise these visual indications (Anway & McDonald, 1971). The enhancement of such competencies and qualities allows for making children better learners along with helping them to feel good; that is, it creates self-worth. It is a world where concepts and data are usually conveyed visually, and the children are required to learn the way they can consider and ascertain the sense of the pictures and also how they can use them so as to convey their own concepts. These talents and qualities are considered essential for individual success as well as America’s improvement.   In spite of this several schools have reduced their budget in art programs since the last decade and this has resulted in some schools providing with almost no art education (Prentice, 2000). These schools are not offering their students with the chance to improve their talents that are so essential if they are to succeed in a competitive fiscal setting in such an ethnically varied, visually adjusted world. Teaching Art Enid and Laura Zimmerman say that there are three standpoints of art teaching that have affected art education for youngsters since the last five decades. The first point is that a child’s piece of art is an expression of the natural internal procedures of improvement. The second point is established on a cognitive improvement attitude, and it concentrates on children’s building of general knowledge concerning the world. The third point is that art education leads to a promotion of self-improvement in order to allow the children to absorb themselves relative to the community they live in. According to Gardner (1980) when adults offer the youngsters with the kit, materials and support, their natural art capabilities develop. The adults should not be directly interfering with the children so as to develop their natural capabilities (Schaffer-Simmern, 1948). Infants and preschool children rather prefer to explore colors, feel and type of materials and express thoughts, concepts and insights. These are fine objectives for them. They value the procedure more than the end result. After completion of the work by a child, the teacher or parent should talk to him about it instead of simply praising him. This allows for learning more about the artwork and how the child thinks. Also, the instructor can put down points on paper and, if the child allows, fix it to the child’s work. Plus, the artwork should be dated. That allows the instructor to keep a track of the youngster’s improvement. Visual arts can be a source of advantage to children of all ages. From a kid’s first rate motor skill development to a teen’s expressive enhancement, the arts can prove to be a much efficient training and managing means. A person does not have to be absolutely knowledgeable on each and every procedure or have to purchase extremely costly equipment in order to bring in the arts to a kid’s life. Straightforward product selection and child focused examination can direct initial creative attempts. Children’s Motivational Beliefs about Art Art classrooms offer with distinct motivational tests. Even though kids usually take pleasure in the hands-on exercises which are part of most of the curriculum and they without reluctance involve themselves in the delegated projects, it is quite often hard to get them to put in all their efforts, to make their â€Å"hurried production† more detailed and improved. Many a times young students are overheard talking about who is good at art and who is not, which is mostly themselves. Usually with age kids become pessimistic concerning their art capability (Flannery & Watson, 1991; Gardner & Rosenstiel, 1977). The necessity of motivation in order to maintain children’s interest in art is accentuated by the usual weakening in self-esteem and interest in art which the kids start displaying during middle childhood. This weakening is linked with the children’s idea that their production should fulfil the principles of traditional practicality and that they do not possess the abilities of accomplishing this (Flannery & Watson, 1991). Nevertheless, comparable deteriorations in self-assessments of capabilities are commonly perceived in various subjects (Stipek & Maclver, 1989), and also the progressive weakening of student’s encouragement as they advance through school. In goal theory the advice is implied that teachers motivate students to follow individual imaginations of mastery more willingly than to work to impress outside assessors. This is a problem for regions like visual art where students should bear in mind the ultimate receiving of their performance (imaginative production) by an audience even as they try to focus on self-enhancement and mastery. This matter poses a problem to the art teachers who should make every day choices concerning the degree to which they will try to motivate students by emphasizing grades and the chance for exhibit of work. Art teachers are also caught up with the fact about whether art contests raise children’s concentration on spirited performance to the disadvantage of their assignment involvement and ability improvement. Parents and Art Education Parents can help their children in art education and not just rely on the institutions. They can encourage the children’s involvement in art when at home which can be done by encouraging art programs in the nearby society and also by assisting in making a decision as to how the school can teach the art. Parents can also turn out to be important speakers for developing art programs at schools. Parents can work along with the school staff, with the members of art societies, and also with other people. In this way they can ensure that art is being given a significant position in their children’s education plus in the society. There can be PTA meetings held that would emphasize on the importance of art education. In this way parent awareness concerning art education will be built. A very significant step that parents, and even rest of the people, can take is to back up education leaders and officers so as to sponsor the addition of art education in the syllabus. Every person can lead to a difference if he contacts these persons.

Analysis of Strategic Leadership Qualities Needed In Modern Dissertation

Analysis of Strategic Leadership Qualities Needed In Modern Organisations - Dissertation Example So at times, the leader would have a coaching style while at other times there would be a commanding style. Kelly (2000) argues that while leaders are free to adopt styles as per the situation, however, the leader would have one dominant style that would force all interactions. Some even though a leader would shift between visionary styles or pace setting style, the leader would ultimately be following the dominant style. The gap in the literature is that the desired qualities in a leader are not apparent. The subject of strategic leadership in organisations has been discussed in a number of publications (Boal, 2000), (Crossan, 2008), (Daily, 2002). Strategic leadership is about the quality of leadership in providing a direction for a planned and strategic direction for the growth of a firm. The focus is on adopting a growth plan that has a fully reasoned and logically structured growth plan. A strategic leader would be planning the organisation activities. The leadership is predicti ve and this means that the actions taken by the organisation are planned to meet the stimulus from the market forces. The actions are not reactive in the sense that the organisation would not be pulled in all directions by the market forces. A strategic leader would play many roles, that of a friend, mentor, guide, disciple, critic, detractor and well-wisher. Crossan (2008) speaks of five features that strategic leader should demonstrate. It is assumed that a leader who manages these five qualities will have the ability to achieve the business objectives. The five lessons are creating organisation wealth, bringing in a culture of innovation, leveraging the present to focus on the future; leading teams with a vision and inspiration and relying more on personal charisma and... This essay stresses that Strategic leadership is about the quality of leadership in providing a direction for a planned and strategic direction for the growth of a firm. The focus is on adopting a growth plan that has a fully reasoned and logically structured growth plan. A strategic leader would be planning the organisation activities. The leadership is predictive and this means that the actions taken by the organisation are planned to meet the stimulus from the market forces. The actions are not reactive in the sense that the organisation would not be pulled in all directions by the market forces. A strategic leader would play many roles, that of a friend, mentor, guide, disciple, critic, detractor and well-wisher. This paper makes a conclusion that a combination of literature review and primary research will be used. For the primary research, a survey instrument will be designed and administered to top managers of medium and large organisations in UK. These leaders would be approached through the college department and the cooperation of the managers will be requested. Contact will be made by calling up personally and through emails. The replies will be assessed and the results analysed. The difficulties anticipated are that these managers would not be willing or have the time to cooperate. The author of this paper will persist in his efforts to elicit responses. Secondary research will be performed by reviewing peer reviewed Journals and books on strategic leadership.

World War 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

World War 2 - Essay Example One would realize that there was no need for United States of America to become a party in war (Blum). The Second World War was fought on European and Asian soils. There were two groups of countries that are involved in the war. The Allies and the Axis, the former faction included giants like Russia, United Kingdom, United States of America, and other anti-Nazi European countries. The three main players of Axis were Germans, Italians and Japan in the east (British Library, n.p.). Despite, the territorial clashes, there was severe damage to the civilian. There were genocides in the name of purification or superiority; there were mass killings in China and Korea. In total World War Two produced over fifty million deaths, the highest for any war. The key figures of World War Two were Hitler and Mussolini from the Axis side. Hitler was the leader of Nazi, while Mussolini led the Fascists in Italy. On the other side, there were names like Churchill prime minister of United Kingdom, Roosevelt the president of America, and Stalin, the dictator who ruled Russia. Hitler wanted to gain dominance over Eastern Europe, Germany which was a giant at that wanted to take control of Europe. Meanwhile Italy was on war with England over colonial claims. In Asian soils the main problem was Manchuria province in China. Apart from these key issues there was a competition for conquering crude oil reserves in the Middle East. World War Two was fought between 1939 and 1945. There was never any side that gained dominance, if Allies secured one base, the Axis would conquer another, the tug of war, continued for six years, and it might have extended even further, if America would have not used its atom bombs to make Hiroshima and Nagasaki silent forever (Weber, n.p.). The end of World War Two gave birth to formation of two blocs, and a cold war began between USSR and America (US History, n.p.). This led to an arm race; followed by formation of organizations like NATO and

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Essay

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) - Essay Example ost all venues of promoting animal welfare: educating people about the proper care of pets, apprehending those who have been found to have been cruel to animals like those who operate dog- and cock-fighting rings, sequestering and providing shelters for those animals that have been treated cruelly, and helping cats, dogs, horses and other docile creatures successfully find homes that would care for them the right way. Recently, ASPCA has even created a program called Meet Your MatchïÆ'” that is the first and the only research-based adoption program that aims to match pets with the right owners and vise versa. This is indeed a wise step towards guaranteeing that animals at their various shelters all over the United States will find the right homes. ASPCA has also penetrated television by broadcasting, through and in cooperation with Animal Planet, the show â€Å"Animal Precinct,† which shows how people’s inhumane treatment of animals is a reality. It is happening everywhere and if one is not aware of it, then one may just ignore a neighbor who is being sadistic to his or her pet/s. With this show, people know that they can file a complaint, who to complain to, and that, ultimately, something can be done. Aside from creating awareness, the show also demonstrates how HLE agents work, their dedication and commitment to their job, and their sincere love for animals. In 2001, ASPCA also launched an interactive website specifically designed to be navigated by children 7 years old and above. Involving the children and making them aware of the do’s and don’t’s of caring for their pets, whether at home or in the classroom, hrough the website and also through other programs like Henry’s Book Club and ASPCA’s Books for Children are ingenious and innovative ways of ensuring that everyone knows about animal cruelty. It is usually children who are mindful of how animals are being treated as most are inherently curious and sensitive to what the people around them are

Reveiew on two journals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reveiew on two journals - Essay Example Late adoption may arise due to various reasons, some schools may lag behind due to various reasons and this will create inequality in the society, according to the BECTA report adult and offender education face required infrastructure problems where they may lack resources to implement these facilities, support services and quality of equipment used by schools will highly depend on the resources. Some institutions may not realize the benefits of adoption of technology in learning and this may lead to late adoption of technology in learning, also in most institutions digital learning is taken as optional and therefore there is need to set standards and requirements across all schools. From the study by BECTA it was evident that despite the flexibility of the system there has been rare adoption of technology. Challenges will also arise where not all learners will have access to sustainable and reliable infrastructure and this will be due to lack of efficient management, lack of technical support, lack of funds and limited value. The learners expectations may not be met whereby the expectations by learners regarding the adoption of technology in learning, some of the equipments may be affordable and their money value will not meet the learners expectations, according to the research undertaken it was evident that learners were not impressed with laptops and preferred smaller equipments and therefore it is evident that there may be problems in adopting this system without considering what the students expect. The study also showed that Games aimed at educating the young did not have much credibility among the learners, this shows that technology may not have much impact on the performance of learners as expected. Technology adoption in learning may lead to inequality, from the journals thre may be the problem of digital divide where some

Stereotype paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Stereotype paper - Essay Example that sometimes, maybe many times, we are actually just as guilty as the next person of making incorrect snap judgments based upon another person’s appearance alone rather than any inherent qualities. These judgments are based more upon what we understand about that type of person from what we’ve been taught or by comparing them with other elements of our experience. Many of these understandings are shaped by the media outlets we pay attention to. I never believed I was a very judgmental person and didn’t really feel I acted on stereotypes until I had an experience that opened my eyes. At the time, I was working in an auto parts store and was the only person manning the store when a new customer walked in. It was a woman and, although I didn’t really stop to think about my reaction to her, I realize that it was based mostly on what I understood of this kind of woman on how her type was portrayed in the movies. There were few facts involved in my decisions regarding the girl. The woman was blonde, skinny, young and dressed fashionably well. Her big, blue eyes seemed overwhelmed at the materials in the automotive shop and she wandered around the aisles as if lost. Without even thinking about it, I made an instant assessment of her based upon her looks that qualifies as stereotyping. Her appearance was really the only fact I had to go on before making my assessment, but this was enough to me to feel as if I had correctly identified her personality and ability. The other fact I was working on was the fact that I had very few female customers. My typical customers were men, ranging in age from teenage through old man, and they were usually dressed in oil-smeared clothes that had little resemblance to their original color or shape. The few women who came into the shop were regulars and they were usually only distinguishable from the men in the length of their hair and the higher pitch of their voice. Comparison to what I knew was also strongly

Health economics, assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Health economics, - Assignment Example This impacts negatively on the poor who have no access to Medicaid or any form of health insurance. 3. a) Indemnity health plans have higher premiums than HMOs due to two reasons: demographics and health status. Indemnity plans have more older enrollees compared to HMOs. Secondly, older people suffering from a terminal illness are more likely to join indemnity than HMO (Altman et al, 2003). Alterman et al (2003) show this by analyzing the data collected from the two health plans. b) The weaknesses of this argument include the assumptions that HMOs negotiate for lower premiums and that they discourage sick people from enrolling with them. It is also taken for granted that HMOs offer lower intensity of treatment. 5. a) Ellis and McGuire make various recommendations on predictability and predictiveness. They state that the problem of rationing could be eliminated by identifying the problematic areas that inhibit complementarity of improving the quality of care. They suggest that payment systems should be designed for plans that attempt to neutralize incentives to ration some services more tightly than others (Ellis & MacGuire, 2007). 6. a) Mortality may decrease during recession because people lead healthier lifestyles during hard economic times than when there is abundance. During recession, unhealthy lifestyles such as excessive smoking and drinking and consumption of junk food go down due to lack of sufficient finances among people. Consequently, mortality rates reduce. c) This is because they have huge macroeconomic effects for groups of people such as heavy smokers and the physically inactive. There are numerous indirect changes, such as changes in sleep that accompany economic fluctuations. Therefore, economic downturns affect much more than just the macroeconomic status of individuals and the country. e) Getting Congress to lobby for the provision of affordable healthcare to all. It would enable people who cannot afford

Understanding of ethics and ethical understanding of life event or Essay

Understanding of ethics and ethical understanding of life event or life stage and of the ceremony that celebrates it - Essay Example This article highlights the concept of ethics in its simplest possible form. Many people tend to equate ethics with feelings. They believe that being ethical is like following one's feelings. This is however clearly not true because feelings frequently deviate from what is right. On the other hand ethics should not even be identified with religion. It is true that most religions do preach ethics in the purest form. Many believe in supernaturalism i.e good is what god has ordained. However, we must understand that ethics and observation of moral codes of behaviour are as much a duty of a religious person as that of an atheist or someone who is not that religious for that matter. Therefore ethics is clearly not a factor of religion. Ethics is also not the same as following the law. It is true that more often than not laws regulate ethical conduct in a society. However, laws like feelings can deviate from being right. Lastly, ethics is not about doing whatever the society accepts. Accor ding to the theory of cultural relativism good is equivalent to what is acceptable in the society. Cultural relativism exhorts that ethics is not about objectivity and that they vary from place to place and culture to culture. This is partly correct. However; socially approved is not always good for the following reasons. Standards of behaviour in societies frequently deviate from what the right thing to do is. ... Although it was by no means an ethical thing to dowhen we look at it logically through the eyes of reason. Even though cultural relativists may not agree with this statement and argue that female infanticide was the right thing to do in the context of the Arab culture. It was the accepted norm in the society and few dared to challenge it. In addition to this the lack of social consensus on many issues prevents societal acceptability to become an ethical standard. Therefore it is futile to assume that any of the above mentioned sources of ethics can dictate ethical standards. Another approach to determining ethical standards is that of consequentialism. This theory asserts that an action is good or bad because its results are good or bad. Thereby the morality of a certain behaviour or conduct is determined by its results. More simply put the ends justify the means. Consequentialists would consider Robin Hood to be ethical because he was stealing for a good cause. However, there is a catch in this theory. It completely disregards means. Although I believe that means are as important as the ends. If you are collecting money through unfair means and giving it for charity, you are by no means being ethical because your means are wrong. Ethical behaviour should comprise both the right means and the right ends. Only then can conduct be classified as truly ethical and right.( Gensler.H, 1998) Other than this many believe that intuition is the perfect judge of right and wrong. Most moral judgements can be made by relying on one's intuition and that there are certain objective moral truths which are universally acceptable. The basic moral truths are thereby though to be evident to

Examine the nature of the distinctive managerial, organisational and Essay

Examine the nature of the distinctive managerial, organisational and developmental characteristics of small businesses vis-a-vis - Essay Example Coaching is more task-oriented whereas mentoring is driven by knowledge sharing meant in a spiritual context with the purpose of developing the personality of a learner. The understanding developed through the work of Garvey et al. (2008) is further strengthened through literary explanation provided by Robert Thurman, Meredith Belbin and Rosemary Ryan. Where Garvey et al. (2008) describes how the definitions of these two terms have evolved over centuries, other three authors explain their relevance to present life. According to Garvey et al. (2008), self-realization is a foundation of coaching and mentoring. The follower has to understand his/ her inner self and then interpret the meaning of knowledge provided to them. Furthermore, they believe that coaching and mentoring are rooted in our cultural norms and values. Like Bruner stated in Garvey et al. (2008), folk wisdom is distributed through interpretations of historical events that later on form our culture; this understanding of cultural norms is further strengthen through dialogues (p.11). In order to elaborate the historical background of coaching and mentoring, frequent references to the work of Plato, Homer, Socrates and Aristotle are given in Garvey et al. (2008). It is stated that frequent questioning and critical debates lead to emergences of true knowledge. Therefore, without questioning the pre-established norms, new ideas cannot be created. While defining their work, it was found that only Plato and Aristotle have used the word mentor for a figure known for disseminating knowledge. Later on, it has been added that Aristotle has introduced a differentiation between practical and theoretical knowledge. He further introduced the concept of productive work which defines creation of something new. Careful analysis of contemporary coaching techniques would reveal that these three concepts are used frequently in present coaching and mentoring. Further referencing to Homer indicated that the word mentor w as introduced into literature around three thousand years back. The word itself meant an advisor. However, Homer’s work has been highly shadowed by unnecessary criticism and relevance to gender issues without giving much attention to social norms. Garvey et al. (2008) further analyzed the literary work with reference to coaching and mentoring in 18th century. According to Fenelon, observing life events is itself a learning process that can provide positive as well as negative lessons. Presence of mentor helps in interpreting important lessons out of these events that helps in attaining better insight of life and virtues. The concept of experiential learning also stemmed out of Fenelon’s ideas of learning and development. The idea was extended by Rousseau in 18th century when he introduced the ideal class size for effective education. The present day concept of multiple students in one group headed by a single teacher was not accepted by Rousseau; in fact he emphasized on having a one-on-one interaction between the student and a teacher whereas the term teacher was replaced by mentor. Where mentor was considered as a figure of knowledge and wisdom, Louis Carccioli attached spiritual attributes to this personality. According to him, a mentor is someone who not only enriches the mind but also lights the heart. Hence, a therapeutic effect of mentoring was introduced by Caraccioli when he writes, â€Å"

William Shakespeares Macbeth Essay Example for Free

William Shakespeares Macbeth Essay In William Shakespeares Macbeth, it is apparent that the character Macbeth is largely responsible for his own fate. Although other characters play some role in Macbeths final downfall, it is apparent that almost all underlying contributions to his fate can be traced to Macbeth himself. It is obviously apparent that Macbeths fatal flaw is his ambition. We see in Act I Scene ii that Macbeth is very noble and loyal to his king. Initially this is apparently because Macbeth is a good person who has his countrys best interests at heart, however later in the play we see that his loyalty falls from his country to himself. This is possibly because Macbeth has always had his own interests at heart, as being loyal to the king allowed him to excel as a nobleman, and gain an additional title to his current one of Thane of Glamis. It could be said that Macbeth was loyal to Scotland when he needed to be for the sake of his own interests, but later, after the witches spoke to him and he was told that he were to be king, Macbeths interests altered and thus so did his loyalty. The witches we see in Act I scene iii inform Macbeth that he is Thane of Glamis, he will be Thane of Cawdor and he shall be King hereafter. We see nowhere before this point that Macbeth has any intentions of becoming king, however after he is informed by three unnatural looking beings that he shall be king, the idea remains with him. If Macbeth did not have these ideas already, the chance of him believing the witchs prophecies is substantially remote. The fact that the witches are so odd in appearance may also have some bearing on Macbeth trusting them, as the fact that they are so unnatural makes Macbeth feel although they are indeed supernatural beings, and thus have supernatural powers. We find, however, that Macbeth takes a lot of poetic license in interpreting the prophecies of the witches and therefore we can hold him accountable for his final downfall. This is illustrated through the fact that the witches only tell him that he shall be king, and do not elaborate on this in any way. From this Macbeth apparently believes that it is his right to be king, and therefore kills Duncan as a matter of urgency in order to gain his throne. This same idea is present in Act IV Scene i when Macbeth sees the apparitions shown by the witches and is told Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth, beware Macduff; Beware the Thane of Fife for none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnham wood to high Dunsinane hill Shall come against him. As we see later in the play, all of the prophecies presented here are easily carried through, however not in the way that Macbeth interpreted them, which was in their most literal sense. It can therefore be said that Macbeths method of interpreting the apparitions may be reasonable, however his interpretations do not have enough foundation to safely base his life upon, as we see Macbeth do. For these reasons, it could be said that the witches are a catalyst for Macbeths behavior, and therefore do not influence Macbeths behavior other than through prompting it to occur sooner than it would have initially without the witches interaction. This argument can be supported through when Macbeth says in Act I scene iv Stars hide your fires, Let not light see my black and deep desires. This speech occurs immediately after Macbeth learns that Malcolm, Duncans eldest son, has been made Prince of Cumberland, and hence will be king succeeding Duncan as king. We may assume that Macbeth was expecting to be named Duncans heir, and when this does not occur, Macbeth is understandably a little upset, however I feel that this speech shows us an insight into Macbeths thoughts that allow us to conclude that his thoughts are darker than could be generally expected in this situation. This I feel is strong reason to assume that Macbeth was considering taking action to gain the throne before the witches mentioned anything, and the witches therefore merely pushed the thoughts into stronger action. It is highly likely that if Macbeth did not want to be king in the first instance, he would not have actually gone through with committing Duncans murder, as this is an extreme step to take and there were many other ways that he may have become king, especially as he was viewed so highly by Duncan when he was alive. If Macbeth was not so intent on becoming king then he would have taken much more time considering the consequence of the actions that he was going to undertake and would have probably decided against killing the king. The only time that we see Macbeth think about what he is about to do is in Act I Scene vii, and this is a remarkably small scene for such contemplation. The next person who could be said to be partially responsible for Macbeths fate is his wife, Lady Macbeth. We see when we are introduced to Lady Macbeth that she is a very strong person whom has very strong intentions. This can be seen through her quote in act I scene v where she says Come you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty; make thick my blood, Stop up th access and passage to remorse This quote very strongly tells of Lady Macbeths nature and why she is so influential on Macbeths actions. It is apparent that Lady Macbeth possesses very little of the femininity expected by a lady at the time the play was set, and she is therefore well respected by Macbeth as equal in their marriage, which would have been unheard of at the time the play was set. This means that Lady Macbeth has obviously had considerable past influence on his actions, and therefore he is likely to listen to and respect her opinions. From this we may conclude that her character is very strong and is good at being persuasive and taking charge, which goes on to say that she, too, is a catalyst for Macbeths actions, as she initiates the action and Macbeth carries it through. Consequently, we can see that later the input that Lady Macbeth puts into the actions of Macbeth decreases. This is possibly because Lady Macbeth is becoming a lot less emotionally stable because of her input into Duncans death, as well as the strong alteration in the character of Macbeth, which is a direct result of her forceful ways before Duncan was murdered. Because of this, we may assume that Lady Macbeth is not capable of making large decisions. It is highly likely that this is also because Lady Macbeth has pushed Macbeth into a spiral of killing and dealing with the consequence and therefore not a lot of thought is needed to be put into the conduct of Macbeth by the end of the play. We see through the murder of Duncan that Macbeth loses his morals as the play goes on, and by the last scenes he has no hesitation at the thought of murder. This is likely to be because Duncan was the divine appointed king and through killing Duncan first Macbeth started at the top and thus killing others, such as Banquo, did not seem as bad to him, we also see that Macbeth has no interaction with Lady Macbeth over the issue of Banquos murder which is testimony to the fact that Lady Macbeths influence in diminishing. Although her character changes into a less dominant person later in the play than she was initially, we can see that the beginning of the play is where the most change in the character of Macbeth occurs and therefore this is where the character of Lady Macbeth is so important. It goes without saying that the most influential person on Macbeths actions in Macbeth himself. The choices that Macbeth makes throughout the play have an obviously detrimental effect on his fate and this is supported by the fact that at the beginning of the play Macbeth was loyal, honest and trustworthy. By the end of the play he was lost almost all of these traits and therefore we may assume that the extraordinary choices that he makes from the beginning of the play are responsible for this. Initially, we see that the first choice Macbeth made was to listen to the witches prophecies, which lead his to interpret them in a particular way. The way that Macbeth interpreted the prophecies was in their most literal sense, and so we can therefore assume, and are later shown, that there were other ways in which the prophecies could be interpreted. The fact that the witches only told Macbeth that he would be king and did not specify that Macbeth would need to interact with what is apparently the natural order to make this occur is testimony to the fact that Macbeth actually chose to murder and become king. This also allows us an insight into the witches actions, for they presumably knew that Macbeth would need to act evilly in order to become king, and hence we may conclude that the witches were toying with Macbeth and his ambition. Further to this point we also find that Macbeth hides himself in a false sense of security after he sees the witches apparitions, as his interpretations lead him to believe that he is safe from everything until the forest uproots itself and that he cannot be harmed by anything born of a woman. As these ideas seem remarkably unbelievable, Macbeth is obviously convinced about the fact that he is almost immortal. Through this Macbeth acts very confidently without thinking a lot, and tells us that the first thing he thinks shall be the first thing he acts upon. It is from this that Macbeth begins to disregard all advice that he is given and therefore does not take the necessary precautions to protect himself against the army that forms against him. From this we are in a way seeing once more a part of the old, loyal Macbeth, as we find that he fully intends to fight to the end, regardless of the fact that he has very little to actually fight for through the loss of his friends, his loyalty, his morality and his wife. Through the above outlined reasons it is clear that Macbeth is responsible for his own fate. Macbeths choices directly effect the actions of others and in this way even the actions of others that effect Macbeth are in some way his fault. We see that Macbeth sacrifices his loyalty, morality, friends and country in order to gain and retain his kingship, which is a direct result of his ambitious nature. From this, we see that others turn against him and effect the way in which his life ended. There is an enormous difference in Macbeth from what was expected of him at the beginning of the play given his nature, and what actually happened. It is therefore fair to conclude that Macbeth is mostly responsible for his fate.

Changing Environment And Its Impact On Business Information Technology Essay

Changing Environment And Its Impact On Business Information Technology Essay With the emergence of internet, business organization of 20th century has undergone structural, cultural and qualitative change, the way business is done and a new organization structure has emerged known as E business enterprise. E business enterprise enables employees, professionals, terms, groups, vendors, customers to perform business operations through electronic exchange of data and information anywhere at any time. The business operations are performed through E communication and collaboration initiatives. Therefore, E business enterprise has a global market, reach, source and global competition. Due to extensive use of technology, the enterprise is now called a digital firm. The business process are conducted through enterprise software like ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), SCM (Supply Chain Management) and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) supported by data warehouse, decision support system, knowledge management and content management system. Information Technology (IT) consists of computer hardware, software, data and storage technology, and networks along with the human resources required to operate the technology. The managers and employees directly interact with these systems, it is important for the company now and in the future that the information architecture and IT infrastructure meet the business requirements of the company and that the systems can work together where needed. An Information System (IS) as interrelated components that work together to collect, process, store, and disseminate information to support decision making, coordination, control, analysis, and visualization in an organization. An Inofrmation System (IS) can be any organised combination of people, hardware, software, communication networks, and data resources that stores and retrieves, transforms and disseminates information in an organization The Field of Information Systems encompasses many complex technologies abstract behavioral concepts, and specialized application in countless business and nonbusiness areas. The figure beside Illustrates a useful conceptual framework that organizes the knowledge presented in the text and outlines what you need to know about information system. For Detailed Information Students are requested to refer MIS by James A OBrien Page 6 7 This framework Outlines the Major areas of Information Systems Knowledge needed by business professionals The Three Major roles of the business applications of information systems. Information system provides an organization with support for business processes and operations, decision making, and competitive advantage Support Business Process and Operations: As a consumer, you regularly encounter information system that supports the business process and operations at the many retail stores where you shop. For example most retail stores now use computer based information system to help them record customer purchases, keep track of inventory, pay employees, buy new merchandise, and evaluate sales trends. Store operations would grind to a halt without the support of such information system Support Decision Making: Information System also help store managers and other business professionals make better decision. For Example, decisions on what lines of merchandise need to be added or discontinued, or on what kind of investment they require, are typically made after an analysis provide by computer based information systems. This not only supports the decision making of stores managers, buyers and other, but also helps them look for ways to gain an advantage over other retailers in the competition for customers. Support Competitive Advantage: Gaining a strategic advantage over competitors requires innovative application of information technologies. For example, store management might make a decision to install touch screen kiosks in all of their stores, with link to their e-commerce web site for online shopping. This might attract new customers and build customer loyalty because of the case of shopping and buying merchandise provide by such information system. Thus, strategic information systems can help provide products and services that give a business a comparative advantage over its competitors. DATA INFORMATION AND ITS ATTRIBUTES D:Projectsken pptslides imageslaudonf01-02.gif Data: Streams of raw facts representing events such as business transactions Information: Clusters of facts those are meaningful and useful to human beings in the processes such as making decisions The Features / Attributes / Characteristics of Information Improves representation of an entity Updates the level of Knowledge Has a surprise value Reduces uncertainty Aids in decision making Three activities in an information system produce the information that organizations need to make decision, control operations, analyze problem and create new products or services. These activities are input, processing and output. Input Captures or collects raw data from within the organization of from its external environment. Processing converts this raw input into a meaningful form. Output transfers the processed information to the people who will use it or to the activities for activities for which it will be used. Information system also require feedback, which is output that is returned to appropriate members of the organization to help them evaluate or correct the input stageD:Ken ppt -Rituch2imageslaudonf01-03.gif CLASSIFICATION OF THE INFORMATION The information can be classified in a number of ways provide to a better understanding. John Dearden of Harvard University classifies information in the following manner. Action Versus No-action Information Recurring Versus Non-recurring information Internal Versus External Information Planning Information Control Information Knowledge Information Organizational Information Database information Functional or Operational information Action Versus No-action Information: The information which induces action is called as action information. The information which communicates only the status of a situation is a no-action information. No stock report calling a purchase action is an action information but the stock ledger showing the store transactions and the stock balance is a No-action information. Recurring versus non recurring information: The information generated at regular intervals is recurring information. The monthly sales reports, the stock statements, the trial balance, etc are recurring information. The financial analysis or the report on the market research study is non recurring information. Internal versus External information: the information generated through the internal sources of the organization is termed as an internal information, while the information generated through the government reports, the industry surveys, etc is termed as an external information, as the sources of the data are outside the organization. Planning information: certain standards, norms and specification are used in the planning of any activity. Hence, such information is called the planning information. The time standards, the operational standards, the design standards are the examples of the planning information. Control information: Reporting the status of an activity through a feedback mechanism is called the control information. When such information shows a deviation from the goal or the objective, it will induce a decision or an action leading to control. Knowledge Information: A collection of information through the library reports and the research studies to build up a knowledge base as an information source for decision making is known as knowledge information. Such a collection is not directly connected to decision making, but the need of knowledge is perceived as a power or a strength of the organization. Organization Information: When the information is used y everybody in the organization, it is called as organization information. Database Information: When the information has a multiple use and application, it is called the database information Functional or the operational information: When the information is used in the operations of a business it is called functional or the operational information. Module 2 Transaction processing systems (TPS) are basic business systems that serve the operational level of the organization by recording the daily routine transactions required to conduct business, such as payroll and sales receipts. Transactional Processing system is a computerized system that performs and records the daily routine transactions necessary to conduct business. Examples of TPS are order entry system, cheque processing system, accounts receivable systems, accounts payable systems and ticket reservation systems. These systems help any company to conduct operations and keep track of its activities. TPS was first developed in the year 1950s in accounting departments of major corporations. It is the oldest type of information system and can be called as the work horse of the information system industry for the last 50 years.D:Ken ppt -Rituch2imageslaudonf02-02.gif The principal purpose of systems at this level is to answer routine questions and to track the flow of transactions through the organization. How many parts are in inventory? What happened to Mr. Williams payment? To answer these kind of questions, information generally must be easily available, current, and accurate. At the operational level, tasks resources, and goals are predefined and highly structured. The decision to grant credit to a customer, for instance, is made by a lower level supervisor according to predefined criteria. All that must be determined is whether the customer meets the criteria H:mis10eimagesimg02_06.jpg The figure illustrated beside is transaction processing system. Managers need TPS to monitor the status of internal operations and the firms the external environment. TPS are also major producers of information for the other types of system TPS are often so central to a business that TPS failure for few hours can lead to a firms demise and perhaps that of other firms linked to it. Imagine what would the airlines do without their computerized reservation system? Transaction processing is the set of procedures for handling the transactions. Common Activities in transaction processing include: Calculation Classification Sorting Storage Summarization Types of Functional categories of TPS Systems D:Ken ppt -Rituch2imageslaudonf02-04.gif Management Information System The MIS has More than one Definition, some of which are given below: The MIS is defined as a system which provides information support for decision making in the organization. The MIS is defined as an integrated system of man and machine for providing the information to support the operations, the management and the decision making function in the organization. The MIS is defined as a system based on the database of the organization evolved for the purpose of providing information to the people in the organization. The MIS is defined as a computer based information system. It serve middle managers interests by providing current and historical performance information to aid in planning, controlling, and decision making at the management level. MIS typically compress TPS data to present regular reports on the companys basic operations. Middle Management needs systems to help with monitoring, controlling, decision making, and administrative activities. The principal question addressed by such systems is this: Are things working well? In any organization, small or big, a major portion of the time goes in data collection processing, documenting and communication it to the people. Hence, a major portion of the overheads goes into this kind of unproductive work in the organization. Every individual in an organization is continuously looking for some information which is needed to perform his / her task. Hence, the information is people oriented and it varies with the nature of the people in t he organization. Role of the Management Information System. The system ensures that an appropriate data is collected for the various sources, processed and sent further to all the need destinations. The system is expected to fulfill the information needs of an individual, a group of individuals, the management functionaries: the managers and the top management. The MIS satisfies the diverse needs through a variety of systems such as query systems, analysis system, modeling systems and decision support system MIS helps in strategic planning , management control, operational control and transactional processing The MIS helps the clerical personnel in the transaction processing and answers their queries on the data pertaining to the transaction, that status of a particular record and references on a variety of documents The MIS plays the role of information generation, communication, problem identification and helps in the process of decision making. The MIS, therefore, plays a vital role in the management, administration and operations of an organization. Decision Support systemH:mis10eimagesimg02_08.jpg DSS is an interactive computer based system which facilitates the solution of unstructured problem. Scott Morton Defined Decision Support system as Interactive computer based systems, which help decision makers utilize data and models to solve unstructured problem It supports non routine decision making for middle management. They focus on problems that are unique and rapidly changing, for which the procedure for arriving at a solution may not be fully predefined in advance. They try answering questions such as these: what would be the impact on production scheduled if we were to double sales in the month of December? What would happen to our return on investment if a factory schedule were delayed for six months? Although DSS are internal information from TPS and MIS they often bring in information from external sources, such as current stock prices or product prices of competitors. These systems use a variety of models to analyze data, or they condense large amounts of data into a form in which decision makers can analyze them. DSS Characteristics of DSS Ability to support the solution of complex problem Fast response to unexpected situations that result in changed inputs Designed to help support decisions that are formulated as semi structured, complex problems May be constructed to support one time decisions DSS is typically designed for either a particular decision maker or a group of decision makers Allows the decision makers to interact in a natural manner due to careful design of the interface It is a way to organize information intended for use in decision making Ability to quickly and objectively try different strategies under different configurations Other Characteristics: Cost Savings Improving managerial effectiveness Extensive range of support to management Support of individual / group Graphic Display Designed and run managers; incorporated data and models Attributes of Decision Support system Flexibility: The system are flexible so that any semi structured or unstructured decision making sitation can be tackled with ease and speed Simple models: The systems use simple models of decision making. The only change is that a different set of information is sought for the use of different models. The choice of a model depends upon the complexity of decision making Database: the decision support system needs database(s). The system calls for several inputs from database(s) from decision making. The use of information being common, input to the system is from the database Types of Decision Support System Status inquiry system: The number of decisions in the operational management and some at the middle management are such that they are based on one or two aspects of a decision making situations. It does not call for any elaborate computations, analysis, choice, etc. for decision making. If the status is known, the decision is automatic, i.e., the status and solution is unique relation Data analysis system: These Decision systems are based on comparative analysis, and use of a formula or an algorithm. But these processes are not structured and, therefore vary. The cash flow analysis, the inventory analysis and the personal inventory system are examples of the analysis systems. The use of simple data processing tools and business roles are required to develop this system. Information analysis system: In this system, the data is analyzed and information reports are generated. The reports might be having exceptions as a feature. The decision makers use these reports for assessment of the situation for decision making. The sales analysis, the accounts receivable systems, the market research analysis, the MRP systems are examples of the systems. Accounting System: These systems are not necessarily required for decision making but they are desirable to keep track of the major aspects of the business or a function. The contents of these systems are more data processing leading to formal reporting, with exceptions, if necessary. These systems account items such as cash, inventory, personnel and so on and relate it to a norm or norms developed by the management, for control and decision Model based systems: These systems are simulation model or optimization models for decisions making. These decisions, generally, are one time and infrequent and provide general guidelines for operation or management, the product mix decision, the material mix, the job scheduling rules, and the resource or asset or facilities planning systems are the examples. Executive Support System These are management information systems tailored to benefit the strategic information needs of the top management / senior executive. ESS summarizes and presents data at the highest levels of aggregation. Usually, they involve presenting reports in standard formats and they often involve graphics. ESS is the newest of the five categories of MIS. They have had the least acceptance of the five types. The reason being that most executives started their careers prior to widespread use of computer. Executive Support systems provide critical information from a wide variety of internal and external sources in easy to use displays to executives and managers. For example, top executive may use touch screen terminals to instantly view text and graphics displays that highlight key areas of organizational and competitive performance What are the characteristics of MIS? How do MIS differ from TPS? From DSS? MIS supports the management level by providing routine summary reports and exception reports for various purposes, including planning, controlling, and decision making. Examples include sales and profit per customer and per region, relocation summary and analysis, inventory control, capital investment analysis, and even a report on students who were here in the autumn but did not to return in the spring. MIS differs from TPS in that MIS deals with summarized and compressed data from the TPS and sometimes analysis of that summarized data. Decision-support systems provide material for analysis for the solution of semi-structured problems, which often are unique or rapidly changing. Typically, they provide the ability to do what if analysis. While MIS have an internal orientation, DSS will often use data from external sources, as well as data from TPS and MIS. DSS supports right now analysis rather than the long-term structured analysis of MIS. MIS are generally not flexible and provide little analytical capabilities. In contrast, DSS are designed for analytical purposes and are flexible. What are the characteristics of DSS? How do they differ from those of ESS? DSS provide sophisticated analytical models and data analysis tools to support semi structured and unstructured decision-making activities. DSS use data from TPS, MIS, and external sources, provide more analytical power than other systems, combine data, and are interactive. ESS support senior managers with unstructured strategic-level decision making. They may be less analytical than DSS with less use of models such as linear programming or forecasting. However, they often rely on external data and rely heavily on graphics. Describe the relationship between TPS, office systems, KWS, MIS, DSS, and ESS. The various types of systems in the organization exchange data with one another. TPS are a major source of data for other systems, especially MIS and DSS. TPS are operational-level systems that collect transaction data. Examples of these are payroll or order processing that track the flow of the daily routine transactions that are necessary to conduct business. TPS provide data that are required by office systems, KWS, MIS and DSS, although these systems may also use other data. KWS and office systems not only use data from TPS but also from MIS. DSS not only use data from TPS but also from KWS, office systems, and MIS. MIS rely heavily on data from TPS but also use data from KWS and office systems. ESS obtains most of their internal data from MIS and DSS.

The Criticisms On Agency Theory And Its Application Finance Essay

The Criticisms On Agency Theory And Its Application Finance Essay Introduction Issues on corporate governance, business ethics, decision making and risk-taking are the normal issues being faced by all types of corporations, both old and new. One of the main assumptions why such issues are often encountered by majority of companies and institutions can be attributed to the conflict of interests and the misalignment of corporate goals among those in the managerial position and the common shareholders. According to Moldoveanu, M Martin, R. (2001), in many cases, the application of right managerial decisions, which are considered the lifeblood of any organization, are not being practiced and applied therefore causing inefficiencies on the part of the company and its people. There is always a separation in terms of control and ownership in all corporations. However, this separation is what almost always causes conflict and is most often the root cause of all other problems and issues in the organization. Ideally, the design or framework of a corporation is well-defined in a way that control and ownership of the companys assets are clearly identified and distinguished among the people within the organization. In a usual company setting, control over a corporations assets is delegated to the people assigned in the managerial posts while the ownership of company assets is being handed over to the companys shareholders. Therefore, both the managers and shareholders within the organization are responsible and accountable for each of their deliverables and assigned functions (Moldoveanu, M Martin, R., 2001). Given that both the shareholders and managers perform very specific and highly-critical functions in an organization, it is but natural for the two to develop a specific kind of relationship. The development of this kind of relationship is indeed critical for the success of the corporation. Nevertheless, out of this manager-shareholder relationship also stems the many issues and problems which often result or cause negative impact on the corporations assets. This special kind of relationship that exists between the shareholders and the managers is called an agency relationship. In a typical corporate set-up, managers are given the right to control and manage the assets of the company which are owned by the shareholders. The function of the managers is therefore highly significant as their decisions and moves may potentially cause a positive or a negative impact on the company and its total assets (Economy Professor, 2004). However, failures on the part of the managers are quite common given the structure and framework of most corporations which interfere with the proper decision making and task-delegations of most people on the managerial posts. According to Moldoveanu, M Martin, R. (2001), two of the most common failures of professional managers nowadays are a.) failures due to honest miscalculations and errors which are beyond the managers control and b.) failures related to a managers integrity and selfish motives. These kinds of managerial control failures are what cause extreme damage on the companys valuable assets. Hence, in order to safeguard the company from these potential threats and damages often caused by managerial failures, the shareholders find a less-riskier way of protecting company assets which are usually facilitated by a shareholder via a reward punishment method. The purpose of the rewards punishment method is to provide incentives for every properly executed managerial output. Other methods are also employed and utilized by the shareholders which are intended to protect the company assets such as the monitoring, assessing and checking on the decisions of the manager. Aside from incentives, sanctions are also given to the managers in order to align their interests and decisions based on that of the shareholders (Moldoveanu, M Martin, R., 2001). As in the case of any corporation, this manager-shareholder relationship exists and is most commonly referred to as the agency relationship. This paper on The Criticisms on Agency Theory and its Application on Corporate Governance is aimed at providing a detailed discussion of the agency theory, its history and basic concept, how it is currently being applied and manifested in many modern corporations nowadays and how this theory concept has been abused and improperly utilized by many corporations nowadays. A specific focus will also be allotted on the various criticisms on this particular theory and why its focus on merely two stakeholders: the managers and shareholders, is highly criticized by many people, specifically, other stakeholders involved in the organization. Moreover, this paper will answer how this criticism was justified and how in a way, the agency theory negatively affects proper corporate governance. To be more specific, this paper on The Criticisms on Agency Theory and its Application on Corporate Governance aims to answer the following questions: What is the agency theory? How did the agency theory begin and evolve? What is the role of the agency theory in corporate governance? What are benefits and advantages of adopting the agency theory in a corporation? What are the threats and disadvantages of adopting the agency theory in a corporation? Why is the agency theory being criticized with its focus on merely two stakeholders: the managers (agents) and shareholders (principal)? How does the agency theorys focus on merely two stakeholders: the managers (agents) and shareholders (principal) negatively affect corporate governance? How does this criticism affect other stakeholders within an organization, apart from the managers and the shareholders? A. Agency Theory: The Concept and its Beginnings According to the Economy Professor (2004), the agency theory originated in the year 1970s. This theory basically refers to the relationships that exist between the so-called owners of corporate assets and the so-called controllers of corporate assets. In simple terms, the agency relationship refers to the corporate relationship that exists between the shareholders and the managers within an organization. The agency theory also pertains to the firms view on its network of people resources. This theory states that a special kind of corporate relationship is formed when one person or a group of persons (known as the shareholders) decide to hire an individual or a group of individuals (known as the managers) to provide some service or work for them. Moreover, the agency relationship also occurs when the shareholders assign or delegate some decision-making tasks to the managers (Economy Professor, 2004). But aside from the shareholder-manager relationship, other forms of agency relationship may also exist in a corporation like for instance, the stockholder-debtholder relationship. Generally however, agency relationships are mostly used to refer to the shareholder-manager relationship. In many textbooks and journals, the agency theory is also being referred to as the principal-agent theory simply because it is a type of relationship that involves a principal or a shareholder and an agent or a manager (Economy Professor,2004). Moldoveanu, M Martin, R. (2001) further defined clearly what occurs in an agency relationship. They stated that in an agency relationship, the shareholder or the principal is the one who hires and accepts the services of a manager or the agent based mainly on the latters capabilities, professional competencies, decision-making ability and knowledge. Normally, the principal hires the agent because the former believes in the capabilities of the latter to increase and safeguard the assets of the company. Since the principal or the shareholder is the owner of those company assets, he or she will not hire an agent or manager who is not capable of increasing or protecting the assets of the company. Once the principal hires the agent to be in-charge of the company assets, the principal must automatically transfer his or her decision rights to that asset over to the agent (Moldoveanu, M Martin, R., 2001). The transferring of decision rights from the principal to the agent is vital in order for the latter to take full accountability, control and management over that asset. If there was no transferring of decision rights over to the hired agents, issues and problems stem from it which cause a negative impact not only on the relationship between these two stakeholders but also on the agents capacity to deliver the expectations of the principal (Donaldson, L. Davis, J., 1991). According to Lupia, A. (2001), the delegation of decision rights and power from the principal to the agent is highly important for an agency relationship to work. In the concept of the agency theory, the principal is known to be the person who performs the delegation process. The principal is the one who passes over the authority over the assets, specifically the power and authority to decide, to another person. The agent on the other hand is the one who acts as the recipient of the authority and power being delegated by the principal. When the full transferring or delegation of rights and authority is already transferred to the agent, then the agent already has the full accountability over the company assets. The agent is then subjected to either a sanction or an incentive depending on his management over the assets. According to Donaldson, L. Davis, J. (1991), various types of schemes are usually devised by the principals in order to prevent huge corporate losses due to managerial failures or the agents failure to deliver the shareholders goals and interests. Some of these schemes include financial rewards through the form of benefits and compensations which would greatly motivate the agents to achieve their company goals and align themselves with the interests of the shareholders. This has been an effective corporate strategy which proved to motivate agents to perform their managerial roles better (Donaldson, L. Davis, J., 1991). B. The Role of the Agency Theory in Corporate Governance According to Donaldson, L. Davis, J. (1991), the role of the agency theory in the modern corporations of today is quite important. Essentially, the concept of agency theory is both stewardship and shared ownership. Donaldson, L. Davis, J. (1991), states that the concept of shared ownership in the agency theory is what pushes and drives the managerial executives (agents) to perform beyond the top managements expectations. The idea that the professional managers are co-owners of the companys most valued assets is what drives them to perform better their management functions. Aside from their liability and accountability over the company assets, the idea that these managerial executives are co-owners themselves of the company assets is what makes them more concerned and involved in the nitty-gritty of the corporate process and their own functions. This therefore maximizes the shareholder returns which benefit all stakeholders within the corporation. Moreover, the agency theory encompasses the concept of stewardship. The agents or the professional managers act as the stewards of the company and its assets. Their decisions and their ability to successfully deal with various corporate issues and concerns as well as their ability to increase the value of corporate assets is what makes the managers good stewards of the business or the company (Donaldson, L. Davis, J., 1991). The capacity therefore of the agency theory to maximize shareholder returns by simply motivating the managers or the agents to perform their management functions better is what makes this theory quite useful in corporate governance. Moreover, the role of the agency theory in corporate governance involves a number of important elements which facilitate the effective governance and management of a corporation. One of which is exercise and practice of the decision rights. According to Moldoveanu, M Martin, R. (2001), the agency theory is what strengthens and allows for the proper exercise of the decision rights of the principals over the company assets. Since technically, the principals are the owners of the assets and they are the ones assigned at delegating the power and decision-making authority over to the agents, their rights must still be protected. This decision right comes in three types: a.) the principals right to create, initiate and implement a specific decision and b.) the principals right to authorize or give consent and approval to a specific decision and c.) the principals right to punish or reward an agent based on the results or outcome of a specific decision the latter has made. On the other hand, the agency theory also puts emphasis on the managerial rights that should be utilized and exercised by the agents. These management-decision rights include: a.) the agents decision right to propose, initiate or suggest a specific course of action or decision and b.) the agents decision right to counter, resist or veto a specific course of action or decision (Moldoveanu, M Martin, R., 2001). The agency theory also acts as the initiator and motivator of the punishments and rewards system in an organization. The agency theory states that the concept of incentive (rewards) and sanctions (punishments) is possibly the best form of motivation among all stakeholders, not merely the managers or the agents. Moldoveanu, M Martin, R. (2001) states that managerial incentives usually come in two types: a.) incentives for observable and obvious efforts exerted by the agent or the manager which usually come in the form of monetary or financial rewards such as bonuses, stock grants or salary increases and b.) incentives for observable and obvious efforts exerted by the agent or the manager which usually come in the form of non-monetary rewards, acknowledgement and other privileges. Given all these functions, the agency theory indeed performs a significant role in any organization in terms of safeguarding and increasing the companys most valued assets as well as motivating its stakeholders, specifically its agents or managers to go perform beyond top managements expectations given that their roles, functions and rights are clearly identified by the agency theory. C. The Benefits and Advantages of Adopting the Agency Theory One clear benefit of adopting and utilizing the agency theory within an organization is its ability to maximize the potentials and use of a particular agent. While the agents are clearly motivated to perform or even go beyond their managerial roles, the ultimate benefit is still being experienced by the shareholders as it is their assets which are being maximized. Although oftentimes, when the shareholders return on investment is quite high, all stakeholders also benefit out of it in the form of great financial rewards such as salary increases and bonuses (Sanchez, A.V., n.d.). The increase in shareholder returns and the value of the companys assets is one clear benefit and aim that the agency theory brings in to any corporation that is why its utilization is still very much applicable in the set up of modern corporations. In simple terms, the agents and the principals as well as other stakeholders within the organization directly benefit out of this company financial gain (Sanchez, A.V., n.d.). Another benefit in the adoption of the agency theory in corporations is the maximum utilization of the agency cost or the cost incurred by the shareholder by hiring the agent or the manager. Given that typically, an agent performs quite a number of critical roles including the important function of decision-making, the cost incurred by the company in hiring the agent is therefore justified by the amount of work or services accomplished by the agent for the company. This clearly benefits the shareholders as their agency costs can also be considered an investment for the further growth of company assets (Sanchez, A.V., n.d.). On the part of the agents, the application of the agency theory is also beneficial as it offers the application of the concept of maximum utility. The concept of maximum utility denotes a maximization of their potentials and skills which they have provided the company. In a way the end benefit is still clearly leaning towards the company. Nevertheless, the maximization of the managers skills and potentials also directly benefits him or her as an agent (Sanchez, A.V., n.d.). D. The Threats and Disadvantages of Adopting the Agency Theory According to Mallin (2007), the agency theory can possibly result into a number of threats or disadvantages in an organization. One of these disadvantages is the opportunistic view of the managers or the agents in the corporation. For instance, there were many instances when the agents (managers) took advantage of their power and used it for their own selfish interests. Apparently, some agents do not act in accordance to the interests and goals of the shareholders. Most of the time, the agents are tempted to use their power and decision-making advantages to pursue their own selfish interests and not act in behalf of the principals or shareholders of the company. Moreover, the agents may have a totally different view of what their roles or functions are supposed to be which may be far from what was defined by the shareholders. For instance, some agents or managers may avoid risk-taking which the shareholders consider essential in order to effectively increase the value of a corporate asset. Also, agents or managers have the tendency to avoid making decisions, especially those decisions which are entirely needed to properly govern the corporation. When this happens, the clash between these two stakeholders begin which is another disadvantage brought about by the agency theory (Mallin, 2007). Information asymmetry is also a common problem in the application of the agency theory. This happens when the amount or load of information accessed and received by the agent varies from that of the shareholder. When this happens, it results into an unbalanced amount of corporate knowledge or information between the two which may put either of them at a disadvantage. Also, the gaps in corporate knowledge or information may cause confusion or misunderstanding between these two important stakeholders. As a result of this, conflicts arise between the managers and the shareholders which hinder both of them from performing their distinct functions in a corporation (Mallin, 2007). The Criticisms on the Agency Theory: Why this theory focuses on merely two stakeholders: the managers (agents) and shareholders (principal) The agency theory, coined and popularized in the 1970s, has long been an existing concept and theory that people in the past centuries have been thinking of adopting. It was however only in the 70s that this concept was already adopted by many companies around the world. The popularity of the application and use of the agency theory only commenced when corporate governance became a more difficult and complicated task to do. When the corporations began to expand, more and more clients and employees became part of both the external and internal stakeholders of the company. An implication of this was the tasks became more difficult to manage that the owners of the corporation needed additional people to offer special work or services for them. This then resulted to the birth of the demand on hiring agents (Mallin, 2007). These agents, according to Mallin (2007), were recruited and hired based on their professional competencies, skills, talents and the ability to make decisions. The owners or the shareholders (principals) are the ones directly hiring these agents to offer special services them that would further grow or benefit the corporation. Moreover, Mallin (2007) asserted that the complications brought about by the increase in demand of the services offered by a corporation and an upsurge in the number of its clients, brought about the need to separate control and ownership in a corporation. Most of the time, shareholders or owners of a company are too busy to perform and attend to the important details in a corporations daily operations. The amount of work and responsibility that these owners need to perform are way too much that they need to add more employees to handle them. This therefore resulted into a separation of control and ownership in the company, with the shareholders performing the ownership function while the managers performing the control function. According to Mallin (2007), when the shareholders or principals start performing the ownership function, thats when they begin to make the agents and other stakeholders in the company more accountable and responsible in their tasks and functions. The command and directives come straight from them which would then have to be managed by those under them. When this happens, the shareholders would have a direct control over the business or the corporation just as owners should have. Accountability increases over the shareholders capacity to function as owners of the corporation and its most valuable assets. On the other hand, direct control over the corporations daily operations is exercised by the professional managers assigned by the shareholders. Full control and accountability rests on these individuals which make their functions highly critical in a corporation. These professional managers are concerned with the nitty-gritty of the daily affairs of the corporation as well as the handling of the people under them. Also, they are in charge of increasing the value of a corporate asset which puts more pressure on the functions that they perform in the corporation (Mallin, 2007). Hence, the focus of the agency theory is basically to put emphasis on the importance of the functions that both the principals (shareholders) and the agents (managers) perform or play in the success of corporate governance. This explains the main reason why most corporations nowadays exercise or apply the agency theory in their business framework. Also, the corporations found it to be very significant to maintain the healthy relationship between the principals and the agents as it is only then can they manage the various issues that corporations normally face. Moreover the distinct advantages of applying the agency theory are tremendous, such as the maximum utilization of the companys agents and the increase of the companys most valued assets, that it led many corporations to apply the agency theorys principles in their businesses. Nevertheless, Mallin (2007) argues that one of the most popular criticism against the agency theory is its focus on merely two stakeholders: the agents and the principals. According to corporate analysts, it is not healthy for a corporation to focus on merely two stakeholders and neglect all the other stakeholders that also play key roles in the organization. In the long history of corporate governance, it has been proven to be true that the agency theorys focus on the principal-agent relationship has caused many threats and disadvantages as well to the organization. For one, these two stakeholders cannot properly operate or function without the presence of other key constituents or stakeholders within the organization. Other key stakeholders such as the managers subordinates, suppliers and the investors also perform highly significant functions in the corporation which cannot be ignored or neglected. The seemingly unfair and unbalanced focus of the agency theory on only two stakeholders have been for a long time resulting into negative impacts in the organization which was justified through the perception of other stakeholders on the unequal distribution of power in the organization. The unequal distribution of power and privileges within the organization, mostly focused on only the principals and the agents, is what makes other key stakeholders feel deprived and unimportant in the corporation (Eisenhardt, K., 1989) When this happens, these other stakeholders like for instance the investors and suppliers may be tempted to take away their loyalty on the corporation and move to its competitor. This then places the corporation into a threatening situation as its key stakeholders know much confidential information about the company. F. The Stakeholder Theory versus the Agency Theory The many issues confronted by many corporations through the utilization and application of the agency theory in their corporate governance resulted into many negative impacts on the part of other stakeholders involved in the corporation. For one, these stakeholders namely the employees, investors, suppliers, communities, subsidiaries, the media and the government and other internal and external constituents that the corporation usually deals with, are not given sufficient attention and privileges compared to the shareholders and the managers. This is because in the agency theory, the focus is merely on the shareholder-manager relationship or the principal-agent relationship and not so much on other stakeholders. In order to avoid these kinds of issues on the part of other stakeholders, another theory was created which was the stakeholder theory. In essence, the stakeholder theory states the importance of addressing the needs and emphasizing the functions and roles of other relevant key stakeholders in the organization in order to effectively govern the corporation (Donaldson, T. Preston, L., 1995). Moreover, the stakeholder theory presents the first step to divert the attention from merely two stakeholders: the shareholders and managers, to other stakeholders such as the investors, suppliers, communities, media, political associations and the general public at large whom the corporation directly affects or influences (Donaldson, T. Preston, L., 1995). The stakeholder theory also gave a strong emphasis on the importance of identifying the corporations internal and external stakeholders. This is because any corporation would not be able to stand in itself and operate by itself without the aid of other key stakeholders which the corporation serves or which help the corporation achieve its organizational goals. In other instances, even the competitors can also be considered part of the organizations stakeholders (Donaldson, T. Preston, L., 1995). The usefulness of the stakeholder theory compared to the agency theory is that the former has a clearer, wider view and concern with other people outside of the managers and the shareholders. The stakeholder theory puts more emphasis on their importance as a corporate entity and in a way helps the corporation properly position itself as well, especially in the community where it operates (Donaldson, T. Preston, L., 1995). The stakeholder theory states that by identifying the internal and external stakeholders of a corporation, the interests of the corporation would be balanced among the interests of the other key stakeholders. The corporation therefore would not appear selfish or apathetic to the community and the general public at large because its organizational goals and principles are hinged from the best interests and common good of all its stakeholders, not just the managers and the shareholders. The stakeholder theory also paints a good view of the corporation to other stakeholders as it appears concerned and ready to serve the general public at large. Also, the application of the stakeholder theory implies that the corporation acknowledges that its decisions have either a positive or negative impact on the stakeholders in general. This makes the stakeholders therefore feel important being part of the corporation as its concerned and needs are acknowledged by the corporation where they belong compared to the agency theory which only highlights the contributions and roles of merely two stakeholders: the managers and shareholders. (Donaldson, T. Preston, L., 1995). Conclusion The agency theory in corporations is a useful and widely-used theory that has in itself a lot of distinct advantages and disadvantages to the corporation. Its focus on the important functions of the principals (shareholders) and the agents (managers) is what led to its popular application in corporate governance. For many decades, the use of the agency theory has benefitted many corporations as it aimed to strengthen the relationship between the principals and the agents whose main functions are considered the lifeblood of the corporation. Also, the agency theorys emphasis on the maximum utilization of the agents resulted into tremendous increases in the value of the corporations assets and the corporations maximization of the agency costs they incurred out of hiring the services of these agents or professional managers. Nevertheless, while the agency theory application resulted into many benefits and advantages, it also brought it certain negative impact and disadvantages in the corporations. For one, it resulted into conflicting interests between the managers and the shareholders. The shareholders often seem to have a hard time influencing the managers with their own organizational goals, while the latter focuses on pursuing his or her own selfish interests in the organization. Second, the lack of focus of the corporation on other relevant stakeholders brought forth more disadvantages in the organization as the other stakeholders felt unimportant and neglected in the corporation. This issue has therefore given birth to another theory called the stakeholder theory which balances out the unbalanced treatment and view of the agency theory on the other relevant stakeholders in the company by stating the important roles and functions of other key stakeholders which the corporation directly influences and affects as well.

Business And Society :: essays research papers

LEADERSHIP American business is in dire straits and the blame is being heaped on its leadership or, more aptly, the lack thereof. There are probably no fewer business leaders today than there were 50 years ago. There is not a shortage of good people, but maybe a lack of the right kind of people. People with the skills necessary to drive companies forward in a thoroughly different and rapidly changing world. I feel a leader should have several essential attributes:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Trust. Leaders must be trustworthy, and they must trust their people, also.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Vision. The nuts and bolts of running a business. Leaders must know where they want the company to be in the future. Also, get the whole company to share that vision. Leaders have to set the direction and get the company headed that way.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Commitment. There will always be disloyalty among employees, but leaders need to seen as caring and nurturing.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Integrity. A leader can’t lack integrity and still have people follow. Leaders must have values. They must have dedication to do what is right. The values of an organization are manifested on what a leader does.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Creative Ability. Leaders must be positive. Always looking for possibilities, not perfection. This means that they must be open to different ways of doing things.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Communication. A good leader is in constant communication with his or her people. He or she makes the rounds and knows what’s going on. Telling his people everything he can about what he knows and doesn’t know.  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Risk Taking. It is essential to be open to possibilities, and to question assumptions. Always allow people to be innovative without the fear of failure. AIDS AIDS is one of the most pervasive and difficult workplace issues. The community, not only for their life-style, rejects people with AIDS but also because the disease is incurable. AIDS is an acronym for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, a disease caused by a virus that attacks the body’s ability to fight off infection. It now comes to be called HIV, human immunodeficiency virus. If a person is tested positive with the antibodies they are designated HIV+. It is presumable they have been exposed or have acquired the AIDS virus. The increase presence of AIDS in the workplace has crystallized a number of concerns for both employers and employees. However, Title I of the American with Disabilities Act covers those infected. The Act prohibits discriminating against individual with AIDS. States have different employment laws that apply to those infected.

Othellos Research Paper :: essays research papers fc

Among Aristotle’s terms in depicting terms in his model of human characteristics is hamartia. Hamartia is when one’s flaw or weakness is his or her error or transgression. In William Shakespeare’s â€Å"Othello,† Othello’s hamartia is the misconception he has â€Å"of himself as being uncouth, poorly spoken, and old; and because he begins to believe that his fair wife, Desdemona, cannot love him, he starts to believe that she is guilty of infidelity. â€Å"(classicnote). Maurice Charney’s â€Å"Shakespeare on Love and Lust† states that love in a comedy â€Å"acts as a generator of plot†¦The assumption is that the perturbations of love are a prelude to the triumph of love in the end; they provide a kind of education in adversity† (29). The phrase â€Å"education in adversity† means that there will be obstacles designed to make lovers question just how much they love. In comedy, this education proves hopeful; it illustrates that lovers will overcome this adversity. There is no burden on the characters to fight their way through the obstacles of love because what Charney calls â€Å"plot magic† exists (29). Charney’s idea of a cure-all ‘plot magic’ has been erased in the tragedy Othello, therefore making the characters condemned to endure their educations in love without the help of a plot. In tragedy the obstacles are designed to impede â€Å"perfect love,† that remains unconquerable. There is no longer the possibility for the characters to learn the same lessons of â€Å"triumph, wit, and devotion† that love in comedy teaches (30). These intractable obstacles in Othello are Othello and Desdemona themselves. The love between Othello and Desdemona proves to be destroyed because both of them stand in the way of a comedic and successful â€Å"education in adversity.† Othello could quite well be jealous of Brabantio’s relationship with his daughter, Desdemona. Quite possibly, to move up in the ranks of social mobility, Othello believed that Brabantio would love him one day and respect him, too as a son-in-law. Othello’s jealousy burns inside him because his pride is on the line when he doubts Desdemona’s faithfulness to him. Othello was a former slave and had a hard time being loved unconditionally. He felt loved by those he fought battles for. Desdemona loving him unconditionally seemed too good to be true. When Brabantio, Desdemona’s father, warns Othello that Desdemona may deceive him just as she has deceived her own father, any hope of Othello’s long-term happiness is bruised.

Prison Gangs: Gangs and Security Threat Group Awareness Essay -- secur

One of the major problems of corrections today is the security threat group - more commonly known as the prison gang. A security threat group (STG) can be defined as any group of offenders who pose a treat to the security and physical safety of the institution. Throughout the 1960's and 1970's, prison gangs focused primarily on uniting inmates for self protection and the monopolization of illegal prison activities for monetary gain (F.B.P., 1994, p. 2). STGs are mostly divided along racial lines and practiced defiance towards authority. STGs use a variety of hand signs, alphabet codes, tattoos, and different types of gang terminology. Gangs characteristically have rivals and make an alliance with other gangs. The criminal activity of S.T.G.’s does not only exist inside the confines of the prison walls, but has flowed to the outside world. â€Å"Prostitution, extortion, drug selling, gambling, loan sharking – such activities are invariably operated by prison gan gs† (Gaines, Kaune, Miller, 2000, p.652). The Texas Prison System consists of eleven classified security threat groups; Texas chooses to classify a gang as a STG when they become involved in violent activity. â€Å"Prison gangs exist in the institutions of forty states and also in the federal system† (Clear and Cole, 2000, p. 260). Three main stages that the offender will experience with the S.T.G. are recruitment, the gang experience, and affiliation upon release. Recruiting efforts begin with the intake of the offender into the prison system. The best recruitment takes place in transfer facilities where offenders are held before they are classified as to what security level prison they will be sent to. There are steps that must be followed when becoming a prospectiv... ...y not only endanger themselves, but also family and friends. As it is stated in many of the by-laws, â€Å"blood in, blood out†-membership is for life. Bibliography: Bohm, R.M., & Haley, K.N.(1999). Introduction to Criminal Justice (2nd edition). New York: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill. Clear, T.R., & Cole, G.F.(2000). American Corrections (5th edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Federal Bureau of Prisons.(1994) Security Threat Groups Symbols and Terminology (Fall 1994 edition). Sacramento: U.S. Government Printing Office. Gaines, L.K., & Kaune, M., & Miller, R.L.(2000) Criminal Justice in Action. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Ralph, P.H.(1997). From Self Preservation to Organized Crime: The Evolution of Inmate Gangs. In J.W. Marquart, & J.R. Sorensen (Eds.). Correctional Contexts: Contemporary and Classical Readings (pp. 182-186). Los Angeles: Roxbury