Hegel s Concept Of Freedom - 2587 Words

What is Hegel’s concept of freedom? One wishes such a question could be easily answered. Hegel’s Elements of the Philosophy of Right has been read as Hegel tracing out his concept of freedom, at all of its different moments, in its many different forms, personal, interpersonal and communal.1 So we do not follow the path that Hegel traces and arrive at a concise definition of freedom; rather Hegel’s definition of freedom is contained in and expounded through the entire path.2 In this paper I will attempt to follow this path and make the various aspects of Hegel’s concept of freedom as clear as possible. Before I set out on this Hegelian path, I want to clearly differentiate between philosophical conceptions of freedom and political conceptions of freedom. Philosophical freedom is broadly concerned with the nature of the will. It is primarily concerned with the freedom of the individual, with free will. Political freedom, conversely, is concerned with the relationship between the subject and the external world, with rights, with what one is permitted to do. There is an obvious sense in which an ape living in the wild is freer than an ape confined to a small cage. If one were to argue that apes lack the necessary rationality, self-awareness, mind, soul, etc. that is necessary for freedom, or if one were to argue that the world is determinist and so both apes are equally unfree, one would be missing the point. The ape lacks what might broadly beShow MoreRelatedThe Main Element Of The Philosophy Of Right897 Words   |  4 Pagesas political philosophy, the text’s primary concept is freedom. Hegel’s dominant claim is that free will is the only way in which right is pertinent to philosophical science. He describes will as the ability to convey concepts into existence. The will exists solely when an action is brought forward and only in those who are self-conscious. The origin of right is crafted by the free will that expresses freedom, which Hegel states is the goal of right. Hegel affirms that the will is free. â€Å"When the willRead MoreHegel Legitimised the French Revolution but not the Revolutionaries Themselves1272 Words   |  6 PagesHegel Legitimised the French Revolution but not the Revolutionaries Themselves Hegel views on the role of the individual can be seen and used to justify the Revolution. Individual freedom can also be woven into these ideas and living in a community or society is how Hegel saw the individual fulfilling their life. Hegel agreed with the ideas of the classical Greeks in as much that he thought the individual should lead an ethical life. In this ideal each individual has obligationsRead MoreThe Theories Of Freedom Articulated By Rousseau, Burke, And Hegel1208 Words   |  5 Pages2. Rousseau boldly asserts that we are â€Å"born free† but are â€Å"everywhere in chains.† what political theorists have thought about the concept of freedom, its basic meanings, and its presence or absence in the world. Discuss the theories of freedom articulated by Rousseau, Burke, and Hegel. In your view, which theorist expressed the most adequate understanding of freedom? Why? (300* 3)words for each theorist + 100 words for my opinion = 900 + 100= 1000W Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s ideas were extremelyRead MoreKant s Philosophy Of The State And Analysis Of Historical Summit1312 Words   |  6 PagesCompromised largely in Kant s ideas, Hegel s systemic philosophy of the State and analysis of historical summit of the body politic provides the foundation of Marxism and alike. Hegel declares the concept of state as superior to the individual. In his book Philosophy of History, he establishes Reason as the rational manifestation of world history which subsists in both natural and spiritual realms; But the Spirit, and the course of its development, is the substance of history (20). Reason asRead More Hegel and the Russian Constitutional Tradition3343 Words   |  14 PagesHegel and the Russian Constitutional Tradition ABSTRACT: This paper advances the idea that Russian constitutionalism developed through a reinterpretation of Russian history in terms of Hegels concept of the World Spirit. Russians implicitly viewed their nation as the embodiment of Hegels World Spirit, which would have a unique messianic mission for humanity. However, the specifics of Russias historical development diverged from Hegels critical stage of ethical development, in which individualsRead MoreAntigone - Compositions On The Works Of Sophocles Antigone1026 Words   |  5 Pagesbefitting funeral and the other wanting to challenge the machine, led to Thebes Argos army and remained apart after the death burial on orders inherited the throne of Creon, brother-Oedipus, A. decides on defying mania lord, to honor the dead brother s funeral and divided intent with his sister Ismenio. That is not in a position to violate the ban, fearing the promised punishment. (In addition, there is this contrast between the two sisters to some extent prompted eksodom Aeschylus Seven vpererezRead MoreWhat Purpose And Composition Of An Ideal State Should Be And The Consequences Of The Individual1894 Words   |  8 PagesAmong the more controversial intellectual ventures of continental philosophers is answering the question of what the purpose and composition of an ideal state should be and the consequences of that state on its citizens. Philosophers Hegel and Rousseau found common ground in the need for a form of authority separate from the collective people, but they prescribed different types of government based on their conflicting views on a state’s exact role in relation to the citizens. At the heart of bothRead MoreEssay about Hegel and The Libertarians2958 Words   |  12 PagesHegel and The Libertarians ABSTRACT: This paper aims to show how the Hegelian philosophy can contribute to the conceptual discussions between the two strains of contemporary ethical-political philosophy. I argue that the Hegelian political theory is of central import to the discussion between communitarians and libertarians, both in the communitarian criticism of the libertarian — mainly in Michael Sandels criticism of Rawls — and in the Rawlsian project of a society founded in justice as equalityRead MoreHobsbawm s The Age Of Extremes1079 Words   |  5 PagesNeither the periodization nor the titles are important, however Hobsbawm has limited himself to the `short Twentieth Century marked by the start of the First World War and concluding with the collapse of the Soviet Union at the start of the 1990 s. In practice, Hobsbawm analysis is shown to move on beyond 1991 and makes it apparent of his awareness of the political forces that need to be understood if 1914 were to be explained. As the eco nomic growth between these two points might just be termedRead MoreThe Hybrid Application Of Hegelian And Kantian Philosophical Policy2957 Words   |  12 Pagesfrom 2011 through 2014; and 10 percent by 2015 and thereafter. Of the electricity generated each year from renewable sources, at least 4 percent must come from solar technologies. Initially, nine Colorado utilities serving over 80 percent of the state s electric customers will be required to comply with this proposal (40 CRS  §2124). In 2007, the Colorado General Assembly increased the RES by passing bill HB07- 1281, raising the state’s goal to twenty percent by 2020. It also increased the retail impact

Essay on Schizophrenia and its Types - 1064 Words

Schizophrenia There are many types of psychotic disorders. Some are worse than others and not everyone suffers the same from all of these. The way someone deals with the disorder depends on their environment mostly and the help they get. Some disorders can be painful, others scary and even threatening not only to the patients life but also to the ones surrounding them. We never really pay enough attention to mental disorders, we have no idea how intense some are and how bad people suffer from them. First of all, Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that makes it difficult to tell the difference between real and unreal experiences, think logically, have normal emotional responses and behave normal in social responses. Schizophrenia is†¦show more content†¦He was also the first to classify the symptoms as positive or negative and started looking at the different types of schizophrenia. The name keeps changing as scientists keep doing research and try to be more accurate abou t it. So far, they’ve come up with 5 types of schizophrenia: disorganized, catatonic, paranoid, residual and undifferentiated. The most serious of these is disorganized because it is the one that affects patients the most. The most common one is paranoid. It is hoped that by classifying the different types of schizophrenia and giving them names they can come up with a cure for it faster since they’re going to see the different symptoms of each one. The positive symptoms for schizophrenia are hallucinations, bizarre delusions, language, and behavior. The negative effects are a-volitional movement, poverty of speech, social withdrawal and flat affect or no emotion. People with schizophrenia usually develop the symptoms in months or years. They might or might not have all of them. Schizophrenics usually have a hard time keeping a job or friends. They might also suffer from anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts or behaviors. They might get irritated easily, see things th at aren’t there, lack of emotion, anxious, social isolation, jumping between unrelated topics when talking, among others. The symptoms depend on what kind of schizophrenia the person suffers from. There have been some studies on schizophrenia but weShow MoreRelatedSchizophrenia Is The Most Common Diagnosed Type Of Schizophrenia Essay911 Words   |  4 PagesSchizophrenia is a debilitating psychosis, a mental condition that affects about 1% of the US population (WebMD). There are 5 types of schizophrenia: catatonic, disorganized, paranoid, residual, and undifferentiated (schizlife). Catatonic Schizophrenia can be described as someone displaying extreme behavior. There can either be a heightened expression of activity; hyperactive or overly excited, or the individual can decrease activity so severely they become immobile and seem detached from theirRead MoreThe Major Types and Possible Causes of Schizophrenia1082 Words   |  4 PagesSchizophrenia is a severe, debilitating disabling disease. There are more than two million Americans who suffer with schizophrenia in any given year. Some of the symptoms of schizophrenia are hallucinations, delusions, apathy, lack of emotion, disorganized thoughts, difficulty concentrating or following instructions and memory problems. There are no lab tests to diagnose schizophrenia and most times the patient is misdiagnosed with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder or major depression (Daily schizophreniaRead MoreSchizophrenia: Types, Symptoms, Medications, Treatment Essay2472 Words   |  10 Pages Schizophrenia is a neurological disorder that affects the cognitive functions of an individual. The cause of this illness is unknown, but there are several theories of how an individual may acquire schizophrenia. Because there are many symptoms of the disease and because the symptoms can vary quite dramatically among several individuals and even within the same individual over time, the diagnosis of schizophrenia can be quite difficult. In the United States and Europe, schizophrenia occursRead MoreSchizophrenia: Types, Symptoms, Medications, Treatment Essay example2723 Words   |  11 PagesHISTORY EPIDEMIOLOGY CLINICAL FEATURES COURSE PROGNOSIS DIAGNOSTIC TYPES ETIOLOGY NEUROPATHOLOGICAL STUDIES GENETICS DOPAMINE HYPOTHESIS OTHER NEUROTRANSM1TTER SYSTEMS TREATMENT Schizophrenia is sometimes considered the most devastating of the mental illnesses because its onset is early in a patient’s life, and its symptoms can be destructive to the patient and to the patient’s family and friends. Although schizophrenia is usually discussed as if it were a single disease, this diagnosticRead MoreSymptoms And Treatment Of Schizophrenia1238 Words   |  5 Pagesdiagnosed with them. Although there are many neurological diseases, schizophrenia is one of them. Schizophrenia is one of the more known disorders in the psychological world. Throughout this paper the following questions are answered: what is schizophrenia, what are the causes of schizophrenia, what are some of the types of schizophrenia, and what are the treatment options for those who are diagnosed with schizophrenia? Schizophrenia is a disabling disorder and is chronic and severe to those thatRead MoreSymptoms And Symptoms Of Depression And Schizophrenia1374 Words   |  6 PagesDepression and schizophrenia are mental health problems and occurs in unhealthy minds. A person with a depression feels unhappy and if this condition stays longer than normal, it causes a mental problem which called depression. Schizophrenia is not a split personality, its better understood as a split between reality and imagination. DSM (diagnostic classification) is a list of mental disorders which are in officially DSM system. This essay is going to outline clinical symptoms and casual explanationsRead MoreSchizophreni A Complex Psychological Disorder990 Words   |  4 PagesThe word schizophrenia means split mind and was first used in 1911 by Eugen Bleuler. According to Paul Eugen Bleuler and the origin of the term schizophrenia as the disease becomes distinct, the personality loses it unity. Originally it was meant to describe patients whose thoughts and emotions seemed disconnected or disrupted. Unlike the meaning of the word schizophrenia, it has nothing to do with split personalities. Schizophrenia is a complex psychological disorder that can be characterizedRead MoreSchizophrenia- Mental Disorder1002 Words   |  5 Pagesobserved by psychiatrists that later diagnosed him with disorganized schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a severe chronic mental disorder that causes people to live in an alternate â€Å"universe† inside of his or her head. There are different types of schizophrenia that have different symptoms from one another and different causes of the disorder, but thankfully there are medicines that can help ease some of the symptoms. Schizophrenia is defined as a â€Å"group of severe mental disorders characterized by realityRead MoreWhat is Schizophrenia?985 Words   |  4 PagesSchizophrenia is the worst of all mental health disorders because it is many severe disorders all put into one such as mood disorders and psychological disorders. It is a mental health disorder that affects a persons’ reality. When the word Schizophrenia is broken into two, schizo means â€Å"Split† and phrenia means â€Å"mind† (DeWall Myers, 2014, p.562). According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), about 1% of Americans have schizophrenia. Schizophrenia has many different components suchRead MoreSchizophrenia Essay1066 Words   |  5 Pagesis schizophrenia? Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by irrational thought processes. A person dealing with this debilitating illness may think that people are going to kill them, or kidnap them. Some Schizophrenics often have â€Å"voices † in their heads telling them what to do. In some cases this has caused people to take their lives or try to. Schizophrenia is everywhere you look. Out of one hundred thousand people at least one hundred and fifty people have schizophrenia. Like

Managing & Leading Strategic Change of Public Sector- Lecture Notes

Question: Discuss about the Managing and Leading Strategic Change. Answer: Introduction: Organizational change is the methodology that helps the firm to move from their current position to some desired future state in order to increase their effectiveness. When the operational and regulation system of an organization get disturbed due to internal and external forces that occur frequently, the organizational change takes place and affect the entire work environment of the firm. Identification and Justification of the Review of the Public Sector Twenty-five years ago, the government of Hong Kong was praised due to the implementation of a small, restricted model of government that was mostly suited to the growth of the capitalist economy. From that time onwards, the government and the firms that have been created as per the new model of government have expanded to a wider extent. Williams (2013) mentioned that the widespread of the organizations are mainly concerned to the public sector, thus it has been found that the public sector has grown too large. Therefore, it can be said that there are various reasons due to which rapid growth in the public sector of Hong Kong took place. Thus, its reflection can also be noticed on the organizational forms as well as on the change that takes place in leading and managing organizational development. As a result, in this essay, export credit insurance industry has been highlighted that belongs to the public sector of Hong Kong in order to analyze the key skills and competencies that are required to lead and manage the organizational change and development. For instance, the company Export Credit Insurance Corporation has been selected whose business nature is to protect exporter against risk of non-payment for export of goods and services in order to analyze the importance and key skills and competencies that are required for managing and leading the organizational change. The Future Back approach has been implemented to this analysis as it helps to look forward 3 to 5 years and also to identify the significant trends that might influence and impact the nature of change landscape (Hayes 2014). It has been found that Hong Kong can be considered as the 8th largest trading economy across the world. It mainly handles the offshore trade and it has been found that the amount of offshore trade have increased with the passage of time. The offshore trade of the area has increased by 6.1 % in the year 2013 to HK$ 4954 billion than in the year 2012. On the other hand, the value of re-exports was found to be HK$ 3505 billion in the year 2013 that was increased by 3.8 % than the year 2012. Thus, it can be said that the amount of offshore trade has already exceeded the value of the re-exports of Hong Kong. Additionally, it has been noted that in June 2015, a total of 484416 people were employed in this segment of export and import as establishments have increased to 102413. Moreover, in the year 2013, this export and import sector accounted for around 20 % of the total GDP of Hong Kong. Therefore, it can be said that the export credit insurance industry is fully dependent on the export and the import industry of the country. Thus, with the growth of the export and important industry, the export credit insurance industry will also expand. The export credit insurance industry mainly provides three key roles prevention, collection and insurance in order to merely transfer the risks of an exporter against risk of non-payment for export of goods and services. For instance, it has been found that the particular company Export Credit Insurance Corporation generally insures both commercial risks and political risks. By analyzing the facts and figures of the global credit insurance market, the trend of the export credit insurance industry can be better understood. As per the declarations by the ICISA members, it has been estimated that the credit insu rance global market volume is USD is 4.3 billion. This huge size of the world market implies a positive trend to the particular industry. The world market shares include Euler Hermes (37.0%), Gerling NCM (25.4%), Coface (15.3 %), Credito y Cauion (6.1%) and others (16.2%). Thus, it can be said that the market trend of the credit insurance market in Hong Kong is positive as it has a fully open market. Fullan (2014) mentioned that all these imply that the financial condition of the export and import sector is presently healthy and it will also lead the export credit insurance industry to run successfully in future. Thus, it can be assumed as per the Moonshot that the company Export Credit Insurance Corporation will also run successfully as per the positive trend of the export credit insurance industry. It can also be said that the positive trend of the export credit insurance industry will encourage the particular company Export Credit Insurance Corporation to run efficiently and effectively in near future. The positive or the rising trend inspires the specified firm Export Credit Insurance Corporation to operate and regulate its business in the right direction and the reliable and authentic data that have been gathered will help the particular organization to encourage and enrich their functions in the specified field. It can also be said that the facts and figures of the past (history) will help the particular firm to imagine regarding the future prospect of the company as well as the industry. Analysis and Evaluation of Trends In the global market, the Export Credit Insurance company shall be dependent on the export and the import of goods. As such, it is necessary for the business entity to evaluate both the commercial risk as well as political risks. The export credit insurance industry shall be dependent on the three roles of the business entity that includes prevention, collection as well as the insurance of goods. In the case of the Export Credit Insurance company the brand has been able providing insurance against commercial as well as the political risks of the business entity. The export credit insurance company segment in the global marker thrives in a restricted model of governance. Thus, this shall ensure that the business shall consolidate in the present condition of the organization and make appropriate measures for organizational growth (Baden-Fuller and Haefliger 2013). The future back approach has enabled the business enterprise in establishing the organization approach in the next three to five years. The trends indicate that the organization is in a phase of growth. These trends indicate the general business growth of Export Credit Insurance Corporation. The restrictive model of governance shall strengthen the inherent financial condition of the economy, and make measures for ensuring survivability in a competitive market environment. Griffin (2013) mentioned that this model has contributed substantially to organizational growth and sustainability of enterprise operating in the export credit insurance industry. The future back approach has been essential in developing strategic marketing strategies in creating a distinct brand image among the buyers. According to Hkecic.com (2016), the future back approach shall be utilized in analyzing the market condition, and responding appropriately for the market growth. This approach has helped the organization in analyzing the market needs and assisting the organization in raising external finance from different sources. In this regard, the future back approach can be used in determining the sustainability of a business entity. Haines (2016) mentioned that the recent trends in the export impor t business indicate that it is in a growth phase with rising profitability and lower administrative costs. The amount of offshore trade has increased over a period, with the establishment of newer business markets in the international trade. The export credit insurance industry has played a pivotal role in providing insurance against commercial and political risks in the context of the international export and import of goods. Goetsch and Davis (2014) mentioned that the payment of the lower amount of taxes has been an essential factor that has contributed extensively towards the success of the offshore trade in the global market. As such, it is necessary that operational processes of the brand shall have to be positively influenced through the sales revenue obtained through the offshore trade business segment. The export credit insurance company has been offering insurance against financial as well as non-financial risk in the global market. Kapferer (2012) mentioned that this is a major business portion of the export credit insurance company that has a considerable impact on the sales revenue of the export credit insurance company. The offshore trade has been signifying factors that has affected the operational strategies of the export credit industry, and has lead the export credit insurance company towards a greater market share. According to Hill (2014), the export credit insurance industry has experienced massive technological changes in the recent times. These technological changes have brought about innovation in the workplace, and have lead the organization to give consistent performances over a period of time. Booth (2015) stated that managers possessing the required leadership skills should have the necessary competencies to identify the discrepancies in the workplace, and bring about the changes in the workplace. In this regard, Hitt et al. (2012) noted that the export and the import business policy would need a structured guideline to execute the business functionalities as per the long-term goals of the business enterprise This would reduce the transportation and the distribution cost and adds to the financial strength of the export credit insurance industry. The import and the export business would have an impact on the business sustainability of business enterprise. Galliers and Leidner (2014) mentioned that effective leaderships should be required from the management of the organization in leading the export credit insurance industry towards acquiring newer business markets. As such, this shall influence the business organization in increasing the business volume by enhancing the amount of export and import. Besides this, Anderson (2013) noted that the export credit insurance industry attributes refer to a flexible working environment and employee policies that shall facilitate employee potential and growth. In this regard, the human resource policies shall have an effective role to develop the skills and the aptitude of the persons. As such, it is necessary to implement regular training schemes to enhance the productivity of the employees. In addition, the export industry attributes shall refer to the financial and the operational competencies of the business enterprise. Holsapple (2013) stated that these two attributes should help the business entity in developing the operational policies of the business entity, and lead the organization to further growth. The sustainable organizational change shall assist the business entity in developing the appropriate business policies in aiding organizational growth and sustainability in a competitive market environment. According to Cummings et al. (2014), to bring about innovation there must be alterations in each aspect of the production and the distribution processes of the organization. The import and the export industry thrive on innovation in the workplace. This has only been possible due to the implementation of the advanced technological mechanisms in the country. Besides this, the transportation and the distribution process has been an essential part of the export credit insurance industry. Jenkins and Williamson (2015) stated that in the case of the export credit insurance company, it is necessary that that the organization has the required operational constituents which shall ensure smoother business operations. Apart from these factors, it is essential that Export Credit Insurance Corporation adhere to the local laws and the regulations of a particular country. According to Eden and Ackermann (2013), the entities operating in the export and import organization would have to strictly follow the local laws and the regulations to conduct their business in an effective manner. Therefore, the change management process shall be facilitated after considering factors like the economic condition of the country, the market position of the company and the nature of the product or the service line the organization is currently operating. Framework Development Key attributes Description Role of Management For offering effective work life balance, it is essential that the organization provides an employee friendly policies for facilitating employee growth. The management of the organization has the ability to execute the business functionalities as per the vision and the mission of the organization. The management operating in the export credit insurance company shall decide upon the vision and mission of the organization operating in the export credit insurance industry. Leadership skills Organization Change and Development It is essential that an export credit insurance industry is governed through a strong leadership. As such, this shall assist the business enterprise in aligning its operational activities as per the long-term objectives and the goals of the organization operating in the export credit insurance corporation.. It is also the responsibility of the leadership group in the organization operating in the export credit insurance industry to find out the employee issues in the workplace and respond appropriately towards resolving them. Developing appropriate foreign business policies shall assist the export credit insurance industry in establishing providing insurance against effective foreign export as well as import of goods. As such this would assist the business enterprise in enhancing the productivity of organization as well as reducing the operational costs The export credit insurance industry shall require continuous upgradation and innovation that shall the business enterprise in achieving operational efficiency. As such, innovation is the primary characteristics in the case of towards executing consistent business performances over a period of time Thus, the change initiative process implemented in the business organization. In the case of Export Credit Insurance Corporation, the band has been implementing change initiatives have been implemented in regular intervals of time. This has assisted the business s organization to execute smoother business operational policies. Organizational Attributes The industry attributes mainly depends on the product and the service line the organization is currently operating. The export and the import segment can be unpredictable by nature, since it is based on the economic condition of various countries. Thus, the industry has to take account for the various uncertainties in the external business environment to avoid any financial losses that the business enterprise can incur. The Export Credit Insurance Industry has been facilitating the export and the import of goods in Honkong for a considerable period. This has assisted the business organization to enhance the operational policies of the business enterprise Table 1: Key Attributes of Leading Strategic Change (Source: Created by Author) The key management attributes identified in the above section shall refer to certain organizational policies and structures that would have an impact on the operational processes of the business enterprise. As such, Hubbard et al. (2014) stated that developing a flexible working environment to offer employees a flexible working environment is one of the primary responsibilities of the management of the company The business strategies of the business enterprise shall be enhanced if the management adopts such policies. According to Mendenhall and Osland (2012), it is essential that the management to guide the organization towards attaining the business objectives has adopted leadership skills. Besides this, the leadership of the organization shall emphasize on identify the discrepancies in the existing business functionalities. As such, this shall assist the management of the organization to take rectification measures that shall aid the business growth of the organization. In this regard, Shields et al. (2015) mentioned that considering the consumer behavior has been essential for aiding the growth of the organization. As such, it is necessary that the recent consumer trends and the preferences shall have to be identified in delivering consistent business performances over a period of time. Thus, these factors shall have to be identified in framing appropriate business performances over a period of time. Kuipers, (2014) mentioned that the organization change and development in the case of the public sector organization have to be executed as per the needs of the market. In this regard, it is necessary that the changes implemented in the case of the public sector organizations would address the issues that are pertinent in the operational policies in the organization. According to De Waal (2013), the change drivers identified in the case of Export Credit Insurance Industry are the core competencies of the organization. These competencies include the financial and the operational constituents of the business entity . The Export Credit Insurance Industry being a major contributor to the sales revenue possess the required competencies in establishing new business segments within the domestic market of Honkong. This would help the business organization in achieving business sustainability in an intensely competitive market environment. Reflection As a manager, I would have to act in accordance to the existing needs of Export Credit Insurance Industry in the Honkong market. In addition, it is necessary for a manager to identify the reasons behind the implementation of the changes in the organization. As a leader/manager of the organization, I have to consider the external environment of the organization in facilitating organization change for the organization. The factors that include the external market constituents are the pricing policies adopted in the organization as well as the intensity of the market competition. In addition, I feel that the change initiatives implemented in the organization. As a manager of Export Credit Insurance Corporation, I would have to strictly adhere to the operational policies of the business organization in executing the daily business functionalities of the organization. Thus, the necessary import export laws and the regulations of the various countries have to be duly followed in framing ef fective business policies. However, I have to identify the change drives that would lead the organization to overcome the threats that can adversely affect the business sustainability of the business entity. As a manager, I feel that communication is one of the primarily considerations in developing coordination among the business entity. Therefore, effective communication from the top management of the organization shall assist the business enterprise in executing the business functionalities as per the short-term objectives and goals of the business entity. As a manager, I have to assist the business entity in adjusting to the vulnerable market environment. This is my primary role as a manager in the organization. The export credit industry in the global market operates in an extremely vulnerable market environment. As a manager, I have to assess the market environment in creating strong business policies to assist business growth in an intensively competitive market environment. Therefore, it is necessary that as a manager I communicate effectively with my subordinates to assist the organization in the growth. Allocation of job responsibility is one of the primary responsibilities to enhance organizations productivity. Therefore, I shall allocate the job responsibilities in accordance with the skills and expertise of the workforce. As such, it shall be of help to the business organization in effectively planning as well as division of the business functionalities of the organization. As a manager, I have the responsibility to assess organizational performance in regular intervals of time. This shall assist me in identifying the discrepancies and taking measures for organizational growth. Being a manager, organization I have to innovate every aspect of the production as well as the manufacturing processes in the organization to bring about organizational changes in the organization. In this regard, a manager has to evaluate the type of the product and the service line the business entity is currently functioning. Besides this, there must be a balance between the domestic business and the international businesses. As such, this shall assist the business enterprise in controlling the operating expenditures of the enterprise, thereby, strengthening the financial condition of the business enterprise. To compete successfully in the global market, the export credit insurance industry has to offer distinctive products and services to the buyers.. The manager has to forecast the market condition of the domestic and the international market and prepares the budget accordingly As a manager, I have to identify the change drivers in the organization that can help the business organization to achieve the required growth. These include the financial and the operational competencies of the business organization. The existing business functionalities of the business organization shall be influenced by certain business attributes like the nature of the product and the service line as well as the prevalent pricing policies of the business enterprise. Thus, the change initiatives that have to be adopted in the business organization shall address the existing needs of the organization and take pertinent measures for organizational growth. As such, the alterations adopted in the business entity shall facilitate the organization in enhancing the operational efficiencies in the organization, thereby, reducing the operational expenses of the organization. References Anderson, D.L., 2013. Organization development: The process of leading organizational change. Sage Publications. Baden-Fuller, C. and Haefliger, S., 2013. Business models and technological innovation. Long range planning, 46(6), pp.419-426. Booth, S.A., 2015. Crisis management strategy: Competition and change in modern enterprises. Routledge. Cummings, T.G. and Worley, C.G., 2014. Organization development and change. Cengage learning. De Waal, A., 2013.Strategic Performance Management: A managerial and behavioral approach. Palgrave Macmillan. Eden, C. and Ackermann, F., 2013. Making strategy: The journey of strategic management. Sage. Fullan, M., 2014. Leading in a culture of change personal action guide and workbook. John Wiley Sons. Galliers, R.D. and Leidner, D.E., 2014. Strategic information management: challenges and strategies in managing information systems. Routledge. Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014. Quality management for organizational excellence. pearson. Griffin, R.W., 2013. Fundamentals of management. Cengage Learning. Haines, S., 2016. The systems thinking approach to strategic planning and management. CRC Press. Hayes, J., 2014. The theory and practice of change management. Palgrave Macmillan. Hill, C.W., Jones, G.R. and Schilling, M.A., 2014. Strategic management: theory: an integrated approach. Cengage Learning. Hitt, M.A., Ireland, R.D. and Hoskisson, R.E., 2012. Strategic management cases: competitiveness and globalization. Cengage Learning. Hkecic.com. (2016). ECIC. [online] Available at: https://www.hkecic.com [Accessed 29 Jul. 2016]. Holsapple, C. ed., 2013. Handbook on knowledge management 1: Knowledge matters (Vol. 1). Springer Science Business Media. Hubbard, G., Rice, J. and Galvin, P., 2014. Strategic management. Pearson Australia. Jenkins, W. and Williamson, D., 2015. Strategic management and business analysis. Routledge. Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D. and Regnr, P., 2013. Exploring Strategy Text Cases. Pearson Higher Ed. Kapferer, J.N., 2012. The new strategic brand management: Advanced insights and strategic thinking. Kogan page publishers. Kuipers, B.S., Higgs, M., Kickert, W., Tummers, L., Grandia, J. and Van der Voet, J., 2014. The management of change in public organizations: A literature review. Public Administration, 92(1), pp.1-20. Mendenhall, M.E. and Osland, J., 2012. Global leadership: Research, practice, and development. Routledge. Shields, J., Brown, M., Kaine, S., Dolle-Samuel, C., North-Samardzic, A., McLean, P., Johns, R., Robinson, J., O'Leary, P. and Plimmer, G., 2015.Managing Employee Performance Reward: Concepts, Practices, Strategies. Cambridge University Press. Williams, C., 2013. Principles of management. South-Western Cengage Learning.

The Hobbit Essays (578 words) - The Hobbit, New Zealand Films

The Hobbit The Hobbit tells the story of a comfortable, friendly creature named Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo, like most hobbits, is similar to a human, but about half the size, and much more nible because they have leathery soles on thier feet, and not nearly as loud. Bilbo gets caught up in mysterious affairs much greater than his own hobbit-life affairs when, at the recommendation of a mysterious old wizard named Gandalf, he is hired as a burglar by a group of dwarves. These dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield, son of Throror, son of Thrain are going to the Lonely Mountain in the East to reclaim their family's massive treasure from the great dragon Smaug who lives deep in the bowls of the lonely mountain. Along the way, the company gets into trouble with goblins who live in the misty mountains, spiders who live in Mirkwood forest, and other destructive and harmful creatures, and they often escape only because of the assistance of Gandalf and other good creatures they meet. Bilbo proves himself essenti al to the quest, saving the dwarves on many occasions with his valor and skill. His success is partly due to a magic ring that he takes from a strange, dark creature named Gollum, who lives in the dank, dark caves below the Misty Mountains. Gollum is clammy and slimy and he refers to his ring as my precious. Bilbo even manages to discover Smaug's weak spot, the bare area under his ear, which allows the dragon to be killed and the treasure divided. However, the dwarves cannot enjoy the gold alone, since it lures humans and elves, some of whom have a just claim to a portion of it. Thorin's unwillingness to share the treasure almost leads to war between the dwarves and the elves and humans, but instead war is forced upon all of them by the goblins and wargs (wild wolves). All the good races(dwarfs, men, elves, eagles, and Dain's soldiers) are thus forced to unite against their common enemies. They succeed in defeating the evil creatures, but at the cost of the life of Thorin and many o thers. After the battle, the good races enjoy the treasure in peace rather than fighting over it. Bilbo, weary but happy to have played a part in great affairs, returns to his quiet home at Bag End in the Shire. Because of his unhobbit-like adventures, he is never really accepted back into the community of Hobbiton. Though Tolkien's world is one of fantasy, he designed it to reflect certain truths about the real world. The Hobbit addresses the problem of determing the right way for a hobbit to live, not what society tells us to do. Should he or she concern himself with great deeds and wars, and risk losing the humble perspective afforded by the simple life? Or should the ordinary person never look outside his or her own quiet existence, and risk ignoring the larger perspective that might have allowed him to do great things for the common good? The truth that emerges from The Hobbit is that, if one is called on to play a part in great affairs--as we all are, at least according to Tol kien's Christian perspective--then one should not shirk one's duty. To perform that duty well, however, one must never lose sight of one's own insignificance in the larger scheme of things, nor lose respect for the value of the simple life. Book Reports

Free Essays on Christabel

In the poem Christabel, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Colerdige’s use of mysteriuos imagery and magic is present throughout the entire poem. In Christabel he continues in a dark path of unknowingness and despair. Many of his later poems, including Christabel, came from his being subject to continues nightmares of guilt and despair, and also from feelings of remorse( Norton 417 ). These feelings were major prose in his poetry. Coleridge often priviledges weird tales and bizarre imagery over the commonplace. Taking a look at this specific poem one might be able to see how this poem follows his use of bizarre and detailed imagery. In the beginning the poem seems to go in one direction; as if, it were to be a love story, but near what is suppose to be the end because Christabel is unfinished, the reader is left feeling as if they have been subject to some mystical spell, quite like the character Christabel. The setting takes place in the forest outside of a castle. It is here that the reader is first introduced to Coleridge’s brilliant use of imagery, through the way he describes the setting. He sets the setting as followed, Is the night chilly and dark? The night is chilly, but not dark. The thin gray cloud is spread on high, It covers but not hides the sky. The moon is behind, and at full; And yet she looks both small and dull. The night is chill, the cloud is gray: ‘Tis a month before the month of May, And the Spring comes slowly up this way( 14-22 ). Looking closely one can see that the lines are set in ryhming couplets.... Free Essays on Christabel Free Essays on Christabel In the poem Christabel, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Colerdige’s use of mysteriuos imagery and magic is present throughout the entire poem. In Christabel he continues in a dark path of unknowingness and despair. Many of his later poems, including Christabel, came from his being subject to continues nightmares of guilt and despair, and also from feelings of remorse( Norton 417 ). These feelings were major prose in his poetry. Coleridge often priviledges weird tales and bizarre imagery over the commonplace. Taking a look at this specific poem one might be able to see how this poem follows his use of bizarre and detailed imagery. In the beginning the poem seems to go in one direction; as if, it were to be a love story, but near what is suppose to be the end because Christabel is unfinished, the reader is left feeling as if they have been subject to some mystical spell, quite like the character Christabel. The setting takes place in the forest outside of a castle. It is here that the reader is first introduced to Coleridge’s brilliant use of imagery, through the way he describes the setting. He sets the setting as followed, Is the night chilly and dark? The night is chilly, but not dark. The thin gray cloud is spread on high, It covers but not hides the sky. The moon is behind, and at full; And yet she looks both small and dull. The night is chill, the cloud is gray: ‘Tis a month before the month of May, And the Spring comes slowly up this way( 14-22 ). Looking closely one can see that the lines are set in ryhming couplets.... Free Essays on Christabel I think the two transgressions that Christabel performed was that of shame and jealousy. In the first part’s conclusion Coleridge describes Christabel as she comes out of the orgasmic gaze. He describes her as crying and smiling at the same time and then finally resting like a playful kid. In the second part of the poem, Sir Leoline is presented to Geraldine and he finds out that she is his once best friend’s daughter. Sir Leoline is so excited to see her that he embrace’s her and Christabel gets extremely jealous, the second transgression. She’s so jealous that she hisses like a snake. She now becomes the snake and Geraldine becomes the dove. Sir leoline orders Barcy the Bard to take Geraldine home and he vows that he will kill the traitor that harmed Geraldine. Both ladies are startled by this revelation, but continue on with Barcy the Bard. As they continue the journey, Sir Leoline listens to the dream and finally realizes that his daughter and Christabel have had intimate relations and he becomes furious and sorrowful at the same time. I wonder if Sir Leoline’s old friend set this whole thing up just to get back at Sir Leoline for something he did. The poem never tells us what happened that broke the two of them up, only that the relationship ceased. Also, during this incident of discovery, Coleridge describes both women as reptiles. Coleridge’s constant description of the reptile, the dog at the front door, the supernatural being is Gothic but not scary. It’s dark, but not gory. I like how he chooses the right animal or description of buildings, like the castle. The feel of the poem is mysterious and mystical. They both became snakes when they noticed Sir Leoline looking at them with disgust. And they showed no shame or guilt of their encounter. It appeared that they were just amazed and astonishe d at being caught. Maybe they wanted to continue the affair. Or take the secret to their grave. Sir Leoline, impulsive...

How a Penny Can Make Wine Smell and Taste Better

How a Penny Can Make Wine Smell and Taste Better Before you throw out that bottle of funky-smelling wine, try a simple chemistry life hack to fix it. Its super easy and all you need is a penny! How to Fix Smelly Wine With a Penny First, find a penny. Clean it up by rinsing it off and polishing off any grime.Pour yourself a glass of wine.Drop in the clean penny and swirl it around in the glass.Remove the penny. You dont want to accidentally swallow it!Now, inhale the improved aroma and drink the wine.Drink more wine. Youre so clever, youve earned it. How the Penny Trick Works Wine can smell stinky because it contains sulfur compounds called thiols. A burnt rubber odor comes from a thiol called ethyl mercaptan. Eau de rotten eggs comes from hydrogen sulfide. If your wine smells like someone put out a match in it, thats from a thiol named methyl mercaptan. The thiols are in the wine as a natural consequence of  grape fermentation. During fermentation, the sugars from the fruit juice undergo reduction, which involves the loss of oxygen. In stale, old wine or some cheap wine, the process kicks into overdrive, resulting in so much thiol the wine becomes unpalatable. Heres where the penny comes to the rescue. While pennies are mostly zinc, the outer shell contains copper. The copper reacts with thiols to produce copper sulfide, which is odorless. Since the senses of smell and taste are connected, removing the stench dramatically improves both the aroma and perceived flavor of the wine. Save Your Wine With Silver Looking for a classier way to fix your wine? You can get the same deodorizing effect by stirring your wine with a silver spoon. If you dont have a silver spoon, try a sterling silver ring. Just remember to remove it before imbibing.

Assignment #7 PKG 381 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

#7 PKG 381 - Assignment Example st part of sustainability is based on reducing the wastes that a company produces to the environment and at the same time changing the company to become completely sustainable in the future. Industries that would have the most positive environmental impact when they are engaged into sustainable practices include oil and gas industries, fertilizer, paper, motor vehicle and other industries that uses chemicals and release chemical wastes to the environment. These industries would have the most positive impact to the environment in case they engage on sustainable practices since through such practices, they will reduce lot of pollution they cause to the environment. At the same time, such industries are known for releasing some of the most harmful gases as well as minerals to the atmosphere. Such gases like carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and others are very harmful when inhaled by humans. At the same time, they form part of the ozone gases that cause the greenhouse effect to our environment, leading to global warming. Heavy metal such as Lead are also released by industries such as fertilizer industries, to the nearby drainages that empty their waters to the water stream s used by humans. Such metals are harmful to human lie as they cause cancerous conditions in

Question set 4-6 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Question set 4-6 - Assignment Example The project management system enables users to easily see that resources are applied to the right tasks at the right time. It assists managers to make sure that they have allocated ample time to the employees for the success of the project (R.Drew 2009). Project management system enables assigning of tasks which can be declined or accepted by the managers depending on whether they have the time and resources to perform the tasks. This in turn provides team work since one is not assigned tasks they cannot or do not what to perform. It also ensures that there is no overlap in resource assignment (R.Drew 2009). A project sponsor is the link between the project team and the organisation executive team. They own the project and have the ultimate responsibility for seeing that the intended benefits are realized to create the value of forecast in the business case (L. Bourne 2012). An escalation process ensures that the next level of management is informed periodically, if an issue cannot be resolved by the project manager. Examples of some of the issues that are usually escalated are resource conflicts; this is where during projects people are pulled out to go and assist resolve problems in their day to day work areas threatening the projects ability to meet its schedule. Another example is when the project team realizes that late in the project, there are issues with the project’s main deliverables and the team believes that the issue cannot be corrected within the original time (efor_blog 2009). The escalation process should be defined at the beginning of the project by setting expectations as to how certain issues will be raised to the project sponsor during the project to avoid conflict between the project team and the project sponsor. The project team should keep track of the issues, regularly reviewing them and determining their significance, so that teams see which should be escalated. This can

Corruption in Colombia Essay Example for Free

Corruption in Colombia Essay There has been a four-decade long conflict between government forces and anti-government groups, such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) who are funded by the drug trade, has escalated over the years. Since about 2002 the violence has decreased a slit amount because of the lack of the military and popular support necessary to overthrow the government. However these groups of insurgents have continued to attack civilians. Large areas around Columbia are under the revolutionary influence. By the end of 2006, more than 31,000 former governments’ officials had ceased to function as long as the formal organization the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC). When this occurred criminal groups arose and members included former government officials. The Colombia Government has made efforts to advance government control throughout the country. In order to understand how corruption is affecting Colombia, we must first examine concrete economical statistics. The Colombian Peso exchange rate depreciated 6. 64 percent against the US Dollar during the last 12 months. The Colombian Peso spot exchange rate specifies how much one currency, the USD, is currently worth in terms of the other, the COP. While the Colombian Peso spot exchange rate is quoted and exchanged in the same day, the Colombian Peso forward rate is quoted today but for delivery and payment on a specific future date. Colombian pesos (COP) per US dollar: 1,869. 9 (2010) 2,157. 6 (2009) 2,243. 6 (2008) 2,013. 8 (2007) 2,358. 6 (2006) According to the CIA World Factbook, Colombia is ranked 59th in exports and 54th in imports. In May of 2011 Colombia exports were worth 4704 Million USD and imports were worth 4931 Million USD. Their major exports are petroleum, coffee, coal, nickel, gold and, nontraditional exports. Their major imports are industrial and transportation equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, paper products, fuels, and electricity. The total population in Colombia was last reported at 45. 9 million people in 2010 from 16. 0 million in 1960, changing 187 percent during the last 50 years. Colombia has 0. 67 percent of the world? s total population which means that one person in every 150 people on the planet is a resident of Colombia. The unemployment rate in Columbia from 2000 until 2010 averaged at 14. 7 percent. The highest percentage was in January of 2001 when it was 20. 99 percent. The lowest percentage was in November of 2007 when it was 8. 91 percent. Labor force is the number of people employed plus the number unemployed but seeking work. The non-labor force is those who are not looking for work, those who are institutionalized, and those serving in the military. According to the World Bank, the Colombia Gross Domestic Product is worth 288 billion dollars or 0. 46% of the world economy. Colombias average GDP was 60. 55 billion dollars and reached the highest dollars in December of 2010. Colombia is a free market economy with major commercial and investment ties to The United States. Transition from a highly regulated economy has been underway for more than 15 years. Colombias average annual economic growth rate was of over 5% from 2002 to 2007. The inflation rate in Colombia was last reported at 3. 3 percent in August of 2011. Inflation rate refers to a general rise in prices measured against a standard level of purchasing power. The most well-known measures of Inflation are the CPI which measures consumer prices, and the GDP deflator, which measures inflation in the whole of the domestic economy. Corruption’s negative impact on Colombian Foreign Direct Investment is reflected by the poor image of Colombian government by its citizens. The Colombian government, although less developed and more corrupt, is structured similarly to the United States’ government. However unstable it may be, it is a republic and consists of three branches: executive, legislative and judicial. Also like the United States, Colombia is dominated by two major political parties, the Colombian Conservative Party and the Colombian Liberal Party. Because of the natural radicalism of the two parties, two major civil wars have resulted from their existence, The Thousand Days War and La Violencia. The Thousand Days War is a prime example of how the corruption of the Colombian government has made Foreign Direct Investment a very difficult achievement for Colombia. The Thousand Days War was a civil war fought between the Conservative Party of Colombia and the Liberal Party of Colombia, sparked by corruption. In 1898, Conservative Party member Manuel Antonio Sanclement, was elected president of Colombia. This was very controversial because it was believed that significant election fraud had made this possible. As Sanclement was an adamant Liberal Party oppose, the Colombian Liberal Party waged war. The war, which lasted 4 years, claimed an estimated 100,000 lives. As devastating of a loss as 100,000 people is, the worst outcome of The Thousand Days War may be that it did little to resolve the extreme differences between the Liberal and Conservative Parties of Colombia. The Thousand Days War was soon followed by a second civil war more commonly known as La Violencia. La Violencia was also a war founded on corruption. It was sparked by the assassination of the Liberal Party leader Jorge Eliecer Gaitan. After the assassination in 1948, Conservative Party leader Laureano Gomez, was the uncontested elected president in 1950. Under Gomez’s power, there was an increased rate of violence, specifically by the liberals of Colombia who were very upset about Gomez’s rise to power. Gomez was overthrown by a military coup led by General Gustavo Rojas Pinilpla in 1953. However, Rojas proved to be just as corrupt his predecessor and was soon overthrown by the Colombian military, with the support of both the Conservative and Liberal parties. La Violencia, a time properly named after and extreme period of violence and conflict, lasted from 1946 to 1957. Within that timespan it claimed an estimated 300,000 Colombian lives. The following chart shows the number of Colombian citizens who are murdered per 100,000 people by year. What is more concerning than its high rates, is that it continued to increase even after La Violencia. These extreme rates of murder and frequent conflicts are heavily dependent on the poor image citizens have of the Colombian government. There is a lack of trust in the Colombian government. Historically, governmental corruption is common practice in Colombia, just as it is a frequent occurrence that violent rebellions and civil wars take place in order to transfer power between the two political parties. This poor government infrastructure and lack of control allows corruption to run wild in Colombia making it a very difficult place for Foreign Direct Investment. This poor image of government in Colombia did not see much improvement after La Violencia. Another violent problem emerged with narco-terrorism. Colombia has become notorious for its cocaine production. In 2008, Colombia was the sources of 50% of the world’s cocaine. It is an industry which is very frequently held out violently, leading to what is known as narco-terrorism. In 1990, three presidential candidates were killed by narco-terrorists. With the rise of drug trafficking in Colombia, it appears that narco-terrorists have more control than the Colombian government. Although Colombian government has always struggled with corruption, there have recently been many signs of improvement towards a better country for Foreign Direct Investment. Within the past decade, several laws have been passed to weaken drug cartels and strengthen governmental control. From 2002 to 2008 Colombia has seen a decrease in many historically struggling areas. Its homicide rate dropped 44%, its kidnapping rates dropped 88%, its terrorist attacks dropped 79% and its attacks on country’s infrastructure dropped 60%. These tremendous improvements show an increase in governmental authority in Colombia. If Colombia can continue to improve in these areas and demonstrate that its government can have more control over its people, without corruption, it will become a much better candidate for Foreign Direct Investment. In August 2010, President Santos, introduced a legislation that would distribute industry incomes to Columbians who have lost their land due to violence. He also is trying to make improvements through domestic security. Columbia is third largest exporter of oil to the United States. Foreign direct investment from 2008 to 2009 went from $10 billion to $7. 2 billion. Even though records show that it has dropped $2. 8 billion, in 2010 it began to recover their losses through the oil sector. Because of their financial crisis the economy didn’t grow significant amount till 2010 then it grew 4. %. Before that the growth was a low percentage. With the challenges that Colombia’s faces it requires major improvement to sustain economic expansion. The outrageous amount of corruption in Colombia is hindering its economy and stopping it from becoming a safe and stable country. Although it is one of the oldest democracies in Latin America, Colombia has some of the most corrupt elections. An estimated 130,000 candidates are running for election at the local, regional, and national levels. 10% of these candidates have proven criminal records. About a third of their senate is currently under investigation for parapolitics and many of which are already in jail. The corrupt election are stopping Colombia from having a stable government which is stopping foreign investors from taking the risk of putting money into Columbia, meaning less jobs and poorer quality of life for the average Colombian. In 2005 the parapolitics scandal was uncovered and left the Colombian senate in chaos. The Colombian senate seats 102, and with 51 senators now being investigated and 29 in jail, they are virtually paralyzed. As each senator is arrested, it delays the agenda for legislation even more. Paramilitary leaders have confessed to hundreds of thousands of crimes including murders, abductions, rapes, narcotics, and extortion. They have also confessed to backing many politicians in an attempt to be protected outside of the law. Many members of the former president of Colombia, President Alvaro Uribe’s party were arrested for parapolitics showing the world how unstable the Colombian government is. One of the arrested politicians includes the president’s cousin Mario Uribe who has had very close ties to the president both family-wise and politically. This influenced the United States greatly and in 2007 a package of military aid destined for Colombia from the United States was blocked in the U. S. senate because of fear of election corruption. Colombia depends on the U. S. greatly, as it is number 3 in the world for U. S. military aid. The aid is used to assist in fighting the drug war and without it; more violence and corruption will take place. Paramilitary has a huge effect on the elections conducted in Columbia. There are around 20,000 paramilitary fighters in the country all growing from their creation in the 1980’s. In 2010 armed groups killed over two dozen candidates running for election and at the same time they invested large sums of money to fund their own candidates’ campaigns. Along with bribing people to run for them, these armed groups will also pay the public for individual votes. This can be as much as $40 per person in some places. Other times they will also use sheer military force to intimidate the public into voting for them. Many of the jailed parapoliticians have others running in their place as puppets while they are still in jail. Caracol news agency reported that 18 of the candidates in 2010 were â€Å"political front men† for ex-senators. There was an increase in the amount of women running for election which usually is considered a good thing. The truth is that the ones with the best chance for election were being backed by paramilitary families in an attempt to keep seats lost by jailed parapoliticians. The other big problem in Colombia its enormous drug trade and the negative effect it has on the economy. Columbia is the world’s largest cocaine producer and accounts for 43% of coca cultivation (the crop used to make cocaine). 0% of the cocaine found in the United States is Colombian. Combined, Colombian and Mexican drug cartels make an estimated $4. 6 billion exporting to the United States per year. Overall Columbia’s drug trade is about $10 billion / year which is equivalent to 25% of the countries legal exports. In 2008 81,000 hectares of land were being used for illegal coca cultivation. These are staggering numbers and makes you wonder, how is all of this being allowed to happen? If Colombia was not as corrupt as it is, this wouldn’t happen. Many of the drug lords use their influence and resources to pay off politicians, police, and military to turn a blind eye to their drug trade. Attempts have been made to stop this massive drug trafficking but so far it has only slowed it down. Colombia’s defense spending is now at $12 billion per year which is triple the average defense budget of other South American countries. Along with an increased defense budget, the United States has also committed an additional $6 billion since 2001 to help crackdown on the coca production. These are large sums of money that could be spent in other more productive ways. Such as, creating a better national infrastructure and creating jobs. $18 billion is a lot of money to invest in an economy, and currently they are losing all of that potential production because drugs are such a big problem. Drug trafficking and election corruption are both hurting the Colombian economy. Billions of dollars are being spent to stop the corruption but to this point there is still a great deal going on. In order for Colombia to have better production in a global economy, they must prove to the world they have a stable government, and reduce the risks associated with investing in them. Over the past few years, foreign direct investment in Colombia has been gradually increasing as their country has been fighting the corruption and violence that had been prominent. Some of the most advantageous areas for FDI are technology, fuels – such as coal, oil and natural gas and infrastructure. One reason that fuel is a wise choice for FDI is because Colombia has much more oil than is being used by its population: This excess would allow foreign companies access to enough oil to run more plants at a cheaper cost. Infrastructure is also important because Colombia’s current ease of transportation leaves much to be desired. If a company decided to invest in Colombia’s transportation, it would draw more investors in as said transportation costs decreased. The Colombian government has been actively working to encourage local companies to develop the roadway systems across the country to attempt to make Colombia more attractive to foreign investors. While several countries are investing in Colombia, the United States is the lead investor by over 30%. It is certainly beneficial to have a strong investor, however it can be problematic for one country to control so much of Colombia’s foreign direct investment. Having investments in Colombia is helpful for the United States because Colombia is a relatively close population of cheap labor without many of the highly-regulated working conditions that are found in more developed, less corrupt countries. As a surprisingly strong investor, Anguilla contributes 20% of Colombia’s foreign direct investment. For a country whose economy is largely based on tourism, it is interesting to see their commitment to a local country that has very little tourism because of its reputation for violence, drugs and corruption. Foreign direct investment has been increasing in the recent years due to Colombia’s higher regulation of corruption and desire to control the violence in the streets. Many businesses are beginning to trust Colombia to protect their product rights and property, although Colombia is still far from stable and dependable. While crime rates are slowly decreasing in Colombia, most businesses still avoid investing in Colombia because of its reputation for extensive riots and drug wars. If Colombia can decrease their reputation for instability and corruption, they have every opportunity to successfully draw in investment and provide a safer, better future for their citizens. As stated throughout this extensive research paper, corruption can cause a country many problems. One aspect that it affects the most is trade. Countries and corporations are less attracted to corrupt governments opposed to more stable governments. According to Mauro, who analyzed 94 corrupt countries, GDP increased by four percent with a decrease of 2. 38 on his teen point scale; GDP per capita increased by . percent. Mauro contributed to the book, The State in a Changing World, World Development Report 1997. Columbia has had corruption problems for an extended period of time now. Parts of the government have tried to stop such corruption but cooperation from all parts is needed to progress. In order for Columbia to progress they must start at the root. They must analyze what causes corruption and approaches other countries took to successfully start eliminating corruption. A few of the reasons corruption is practiced are to avoid penalties for illegal actions or to get around legal regulations. One overwhelming problem in Columbia, that is no secret to most, is drug trade. Drug cultivating and trade in Columbia is evident due to its geological location and ideal climate. In order to transport these drugs and have farms some drug lords may need to pay off government officials so they can â€Å"turn their eyes† on such activities. In this case both the drug lords and government officials benefit. Corruption will be hard to fight in Columbia due to the fact that the drug industry is estimated to be valued in the billions and whenever there is such a significant amount of money on the line, people are willing to do anything. Regardless of the reason, usually it is for an individual’s personal gain, companies included. Institutional corruption usually arises when government officials have a significant amount of power but little accountability. Most of the time, the officials must have their own financial incentives in order to partake in the corruption. The more control government officials have to regulate corporations the more corruption is likely to occur. If the probability of being caught or punished is low, people will tend to risk dealing with corruption. There are two approaches that must be taken to fight corruption, the first approach must be an institutional approach and the other must be a social approach. To begin an institutional reform towards corruption, Columbia must limit authority. Columbia has a questionable democratic government. With all the corruption going on, the polls could be altered. This is where the social approach comes into play later on. There most prominent branch is the executive branch. This supports the fact that Columbia’s authorities may have too much power. Privatization is believed to be able to reduce corruption by limiting the amount of government interaction with companies. In order to be successful there must be certain regulation put into place. The only problem with this approach is that it has already been taken by Columbia, and while it did improve corruption, it was not notable enough. Columbia has gone as far as privatizing its water supply and while it had many critics at first, it turned out to be a good decision by their part due to the correct regulations put into place. Other suggestions are to increase liberalization by reducing tariffs. This will lead to officials having less access to 1bribes. Competition among public services can also reduce corruption by eliminating monopoly type organizations. By increasing accountability, corruption can be decreased. Accountability includes stricter enforcement and easier detection mechanisms. Accountability can be increased through many ways. Freedom of information legislation can help. To better explain freedom of information legislation, and example would be the Ugandan government began posting prices for services and activities such as registering a car or starting a small business. This eliminates questionable pricing and increases transparency. Another tactic to increase transparency is to implement financial disclosure among government officials. This tactic makes government officials income and assets public. Some South American countries have already began this practice; countries such as Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. Government expenditures and income can also be made public for transparency purposes. This way money won’t go missing and if it does the people will know; this is known as an open budget process. Legislative oversight can benefit Columbia greatly in terms of eliminating corruption. Since Columbia must give more power to its legislative branch rather than its executive branch. A recent example has been one of Columbia’s neighbors, Brazil. The congressional impeachment of President Fernando Collor de Mello demonstrated the strength of the legislative branch. The Brazilian senate has also set up a special committee to investigate potential fraud in selling government bonds. Columbia’s senate should take initiative and also set up some sort of committee to investigate corruption charges. These methods won’t completely eliminate corruption and none will come close to even making an impact if it’s the only method used but if they are combined corruption and decrease considerably. An incentive to avoid corruption would be stricter sanction. By increasing the severity of the punishments people face a higher risk factor when participating in corrupt actions, thus leading them to think twice about their actions. Sanctions may include but are not limited to minimum sentences for taking part in corrupt activities or denying public services for any entity offering bribes, this includes people or companies. Columbia was already on somewhat of a right track when it comes to strengthening their judicial branch’s power. In 1991 Alfonso Valdivieso was appointed attorney general. In Colombia the Attorney General cannot be dismissed or reappointed and he is given investigatory powers. Valdivieso gained world recognition for prosecuting high ranking drug lords and government officials. I would recommend Columbia to ask Valdivieso for help, knowing that he is a reliable source when it comes to corruption. He can’t be Attorney General again but if special unit is formed to combat corruption, he is definitely a guy that should be taken in mind. This concludes possible ways to avoid and reduce corruption from an institutional view point, reducing corruption from a social approach is rather different. The way people are raised and their surroundings affect their views on many things including corruption. If children are raised in a corrupt environment, they will view it not only acceptable but almost necessary. It’s a top down effect where government officials and corporation leaders are at the top. They must set an example for the public to look down on corruption and not endorse it. Public Relations Campaigns can be put into effect to better inform people on the consequences and harm done by corruption that is not too clear. Campaigns can be executed through mass media, community activities or school programs. A few key points that should be emphasized are the effect that corruption has on things such as public services, investments, and inequality. All of these aspects are affected in a negative way. Columbia’s unemployment rate is 11. 8% and its Gini index is 58. 5. These numbers could improve with by decreasing corruption but this fact isn’t evident to most of the population. If people feel like they have a say in the situation and can make a change, they will be more actively supportive. These campaigns should aim towards making people feel as if every little bit of help counts. In Argentina a non-government organization was formed to inform the public about corruption. The organization consists of television and radio ads. Another positive use of media to combat corruption is investigative journalism. Investigative journalism increase transparency greatly. It helps uncover corrupt officials and acts. The truth is what drives investigative journalism rather than just a story. Investigative journalism poses a threat of being exposed towards anyone that is participating in corrupt acts. It is a risky job due to the fact that people being uncovered may have a lot of power. Workshops should be set up to train such journalist. Countries such as Uganda and Tanzania have just that. In a country like Colombia with all the guerilla forces and drug cartels, this is a very important part to investigative journalism. Journalist run the risk of being targeted, so they must be careful and smart in the ways they go about reporting and accessing their findings. Lastly Columbia could search for outside help. Help can come from individual countries or organizations. Organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank could offer guidelines to help. Both organizations are pretty much powerless but they can help establish treaties that could improve anti-corruption efforts. Individual countries that wish to invest in Columbia could also take initiative and further influence Columbian anti-corruption movements. To recap corruption is mostly if not solely negative towards Columbia’s economic development. It makes Columbia look risky to outside investors hoping to make a Federal Direct Investment. Investors prefer stability rather than turmoil. Due to its geological position, Columbia has faced drug problems for a few decades now. In order to transport these drugs and grow them, bribery and corruption is needed. Columbian citizens and officials should notice that corruptions cons outweigh the pros when it comes to the Columbian economy as a whole. Officials must lead by example and the power of the executive branch should be reduced.

Against His Will :: Homosexuality Short Story Essays

Against His Will Imagine waking up every morning and looking in the mirror knowing that the reflection is only an illusion of one’s inner being. As soon as eighteen-year-old Brian Clark’s alarm clock goes off, prepping and primping will take place for the next hour-and-a-half. Regardless of school, work, rain, or shine, Brian always has to â€Å"dress to impress.† With his red tight shirt, blue fit jeans, black star belt, red shades, and perfectly gelled hair, Brian can now be seen in public. As a daily routine, Brian must do his â€Å"therapy† by looking in the mirror and chanting against his will, â€Å"I love you Brian. You are beautiful.† â€Å"Having to admit to yourself and your family that you are gay is the hardest thing you will ever have to do in your life.† When one enters Brian’s room the soothing aroma of men’s cologne, â€Å"cool water† fills the air. The immaculate, perfectly ordered room will catch a person’s eye. Neatly tacked to the wall, posters of Aaliyah, Josh Hartnet, and I Love Lucy draw one’s attention. Beautifully stacked and organized, fashion design magazines lie in the shelf by month and year. Picture frames sit proportioned next to each other on top of the dust-free desk. Brian’s closet is full of freshly pressed shirts and pants with the label â€Å"dry cleaning† on the bag. Although Brian shares a room with his little sister, Sarah, she chooses to live out of their closet and sleep in the living room. â€Å"After fighting over who gets the closet space and bathroom time, my sister decided to let me have the room to myself,† Brian states casually. â€Å"I feel bad at times, but I guess she realizes how tough it is for me to grow up gay. Let the best man win!† he declares with a great chuckle. For Brian, growing up and having to live a lie was painful, furthermore humiliating. â€Å"I have always known that I’m gay,† Brian states nonchalantly. â€Å"The moment I could logically think, I knew I was different.† Brian strokes the side of his hair with his fingers while stating, â€Å"All of my life I’ve felt like a girl inside. When I was little, if a person closed their eyes and listened to my voice they would have mistaken me for a girl.

The Poverty-stricken Youth of America

America has been described as a â€Å"melting pot†Ã¢â‚¬â€œ a land full of diversity. With that diversity comes a full range of income levels and statuses of its inhabitants, from the very, very rich to the destitute. Ronald Taylor†s article entitled â€Å"African-American Youth: Their Social and Economic Status in the United States† focuses on the issue of polarization. Polarization occurs when an increase of the percentage of people in poverty coincides with an increase of the percentage of people with higher incomes. Fewer people are considered ‘middle class†, but are either rich or poor. This paper will focus on the poverty-stricken youth of America. How are today†s poor white and poor non-white youth alike? How do they differ? Sociologists and researchers have found evidence to justify both, and I hope to focus on major points for both issues. Whether you†re white, African-American, or Hispanic, poverty for today†s youth has many recurring themes. A recent article by Duncan and Brooks for The Education Digest points out some very discerning facts that face today†s poor youth. â€Å"Low Income is linked with a variety of poor outcomes for children, from low birth weight and poor nutrition in infancy to increased chances of academic failure, emotional distress, and unwed childbirth in adolescence.† (Duncan& Brooks, pg. 1). They also claim that low-income preschoolers show poorer cognitive and verbal skills because they are exposed to fewer toys, books, and other brain-stimulating items at home than their higher-income classmates. Low-income adolescents, in later years, will experience conflict between their economically stressed parents, as well as lower self-esteem than other teenaged children. An article from the Ojibwe News, a Native American Magazine, gives a startling statistic discovered by research analysts for the Minnesota Private College Research Foundation. They found that a child from a family earning $25,000 or less annually is only one-half as likely to enroll in college as a child from a family with an annual income of $50,000 or more. Both white and non-white youth in poverty experience a higher rate of teenage pregnancy, AIDS, and tend to live in single-parent homes. There are several differences that exist between white and non-white youth that live in poverty. Recent research for low-income youth has shown that the most important factor that contributes to the gap between employment rates of minority and white youth can be attributed to their social network. Three reasons were cited in lecture as to what lead to the declination of life chances among African-American youth in poverty. They are as follows: 1. â€Å"Affirmative Action† primarily helped better-educated, especially professional workers. 2. Relocation of industry to suburbs or abroad reduces â€Å"living wage† jobs for non-college educated. Lack of network contacts, plus continuing discrimination, puts minorities last in line. 3. Concentration of poverty in center cities. Higher income black families go to the suburbs for jobs. Therefore, loss of network contacts, community organizations, and the like. These reasons attribute to the starling fact that Black poverty rates and unemployment rates remain at approximately 3 times the white rate. Israel and Seeborg in their article entitled â€Å"The Impact of Youth Characteristics and Experiences on Transitions out of Poverty† state that â€Å"†¦being black increases the probability of exposure to adverse social and economic conditions (i.e. underclass environment)†¦Ã¢â‚¬  which, in turn, reduces the chance that new generations can get out of poverty. This leads us to another point-if African-Americans experience the highest rates of teenage pregnancy, which perpetuates continuing generational poverty, will there ever be a time when African-American adolescents get out of poverty? It is not only African-Americans that feel a more pronounced state of poverty. The Ojibwe News, a native American newspaper, focuses on the plights of Native American youth in Minnesota, as well as statistical evidence of other minority students. â€Å"Divided We Fall: The Declining Chance for College Among Minnesota Youth From Low-Income Families and Communities of Color† is based upon information from the Census Bureau, the Minnesota Department of Education and other sources, and examined high school dropout and college participation rates and how they are affected by such socioeconomic factors as race, family income, and parental education (Laird, pg. 2). The Ojibwe News showed a strong correlation between education and earnings. Considering that the present funding system for public schools usually provides from two to five times as much money for wealthy school districts as for the poorest, and that whites are twice as likely to have good access to computers, it is no surprise that this correlation exists. According to projections by the Minnesota Department of Education, 62% of all black students and 56% of all Native American students who entered public high school in the fall of 1991 will drop out by 1995. Nearly 50% of Hispanic students and 21% of Asian students were projected to drop out as well. The rate for white students? Only 16%. The article also explains how those 18 to 24 year-old dependents with at least one parent who had completed four years of college were twice as likely to enroll in college than those peers who parents had no post-secondary education (Laird, pg. 1). In summary, there exist many similarities and differences between white youth and non-white youth in American cities. A recurring solution emphasized by researches and in lecture is the idea of socialization. By integrating poor minority and poor white students with their wealthier peers, as done in the Gautreaux program, the continuation of poverty can be decreased.

Did the Arabs Injustice Huntington?

Samuel Huntington is the author of the article entitled â€Å"The Clash of Civilizations? † which discusses or narrates concepts that explicates world politics. According to Huntington, international conflicts that concerns politics may be justified by rational arguments or issues that are left unresolved. However, Huntington reiterates that these particular conflicts are founded on underlying issues or matters that naturally lead to political conflicts – that is culture.According to Huntington, culture is threatening to divide nations instead of leading the way to support unity and oneness in handling international problems or issues, since culture is the primary source of irreconcilable differences and conflicts that do not provide opportunities for nations to meet in middle ground. As a means of representing concrete structures of culture, Huntingon has labeled seven civilizations being the Confucian, Hindu, Islamic, Japanese, Latin American, Slavic-Orthodox, and Wes tern. One may notice that Huntington left out the African populace as one of the identified civilizations.This is because Huntington was unsure about the state of the African nation, that is, whether it meets the standards and guidelines of development that is attributed to a mindful and responsive civilization. The classification of Huntington of the world population into civilizations was primary influenced by prominent religious affiliations that are a major identifier of culture. Personally, I would have to agree with Huntington on this matter, since I sincerely believe that cultural affiliations among individuals are largely influenced by the religious beliefs that they share.Huntington believes that the strong ties of individuals to their culture and religion which grants them a sense of self or identity as an individual and as a nation, is difficult to break apart when it comes to promoting rational politics and relations that necessitates the disregard of personal worldviews as directed by a civilization’s culture. However, Huntington’s establishment of seven civilizations has also been a source of contradicting information that he has presented in his article since the classification of civilizations is complicated and inconsistent.Moreover, Huntington mentioned that differences between people, as supported by his theory of the seven civilizations in the world, do not necessarily mean that there will be conflict, and conflict does not necessarily mean that it will lead to violence. However, the gist of Huntington’s article clearly displays how differences, particularly in culture and religion, is the primary cause of conflict and violence around the world as he studied the Cold War and the succeeding world events after it.These contradicting thoughts that Huntington shared in his work, he also contradicted by stating how culture and religion are two important factors in promoting unity. In this case, Huntington mentioned how non-A rab Muslims were able to unite as one despite differences of culture and religion and through shared culture and religion. Upon the establishment of the seven civilizations, Huntington continued to discuss various historical evidences that support his claim. This particular issue led to the discussion of the politics between the Arabs and the West which raised violent reactions from the former.Huntington wrote that at present time, the major players in world politics are the West and the Arab nation. Despite internal clashes between different factions or minority groups within the Arab nations, Huntington believes that in the end, it will still find a way to reconcile differences among them and be counter-reactive to the West. Although the statements of Huntington caused a stir within the Arab nation, I believe that Huntington was not pressing violent, hateful, derogatory, or discriminatory issues against the Arab nation.Huntington magnified his discussion on the issue between the A rabs and the West since it is the current international issue or problem – the power struggle between the two civilizations which people often hear in the news. Although majority of Huntington’s arguments were based on theories, I believe that everything he said were reflective of the current situations, straying away from the assumption that he wrote the article to present his prejudiced or biased sentiments against the Arab nation.His article was based on decades of historical evidences that created an obvious pattern relaying motivations of war in the past, which was further supported by the 9/11 incident that led to the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York. Huntington was simply observant and articulates enough to present a logical explanation of countless conflicts between nations, which may or may not have some truth to it. Frankly, I believe that major truths are embedded within theories, especially those that lend themselves to conspiratorial issues.Setti ng my personal opinions aside, Huntington’s criticisms of other civilization validates the fact that he was not anti-Arab, but simple a man who wanted to illustrate world politics under a cultural context. Huntington criticized the immorality and hypocrisy of the West, stating how the Western civilization has achieved its superiority over other civilizations due to its mindful submission to organized violence in order to achieve its goals and objectives. Moreover, Huntington reiterates that the West does not promote universalism but rather act for world domination.Moreover, Huntington believes that Christian views which originated from the West could not have influenced numerous people around the world if Christians had not come into contact with individuals from the East. Huntington then criticized Western Christianity; and then continued to criticize Western Europe. According to Huntington, some of the concepts of politics and economics claimed by the Western Civilization, particularly Western Europe, did not actually originate from it but from non-Western civilizations in other parts of the world.In general, Huntington’s article was a seemingly balanced representation of his theories on how international conflicts, then and now, were products of cultural and religious differences. The criticisms he posed were not one-sided, attacking the Middle East or the West, or any other civilization for that matter, solely. In fact, Huntington’s theories were open discussions and arguments about the Arab and Western perspectives. Huntington acknowledged how the West is trying to portray a super power estate that works to promote unity, solidarity, democracy, diplomacy, peace, and such.This, he identified as the Western perspective. However, Huntington argued that the West’s interests are politically motivated, geared toward staying in power and obtaining control of the majority populations. On one hand, Huntington discussed how the Arab popu lations are trying to overthrow the influence of the West in their land, moving them to resort to threats and violence toward non-Arab and Western nations. For Huntington, the Arab perspective is just patterned after the â€Å"us-versus-them† mentality.

What Beauty Means to Me Essay Example

What Beauty Means to Me Essay Example What Beauty Means to Me Essay What Beauty Means to Me Essay People today base too much emphasis on looks. If someone doesn’t fit the criteria for what we believe should be the â€Å"perfect† man or woman then they are not fully accepted. Appearances can very easily help someone get a job, out of a ticket, special treatment at restaurants, and many more things. A lot of people have mistaken beauty for what is accepted by the â€Å"celebrity† world. For many women what society sees as acceptable and pleasing influences their everyday lives. So many women result to changing how they look through surgery and other procedures. If our society as a whole could change how they view woman and what is socially acceptable I think many woman would be healthier, happier, and overall better. Our media for the most part has an extreme affect on how women look at themselves. In magazines, television, and books there is always the images or words referring to the â€Å"perfect† woman. The â€Å"perfect† woman in today’s society is thin and has no flaws; she probably has a plastic, Barbie doll face, and the perfect measurements. It seems that if you don’t fit these criteria you aren’t as easily accepted as someone who does. When it comes to a new job, a woman may be rejected because of a â€Å"better† looking woman who may not even have the qualifications as the other woman. Personally, I have seen this first-hand. My current workplace is searching for a new manager. They refuse to hire a single man or even one who is very good-looking because they are afraid that they will mix business with pleasure. In the past they have had a couple different managers who have dated or had sexual contact with their employees. Once incident even included breaking up a marriage that brought some unnecessary negativity in the restaurant. So to avoid all of this they opted to hire a married man who has is not quite as attractive and seems to be very loyal to his wife, being married for twelve years. So many women today are changing how they look to more socially accepted. Bigger breasts, smaller noses, flatter stomachs, and many other things. Paglia states in her essay, â€Å"Good surgery discovers and reveals personality; ad surgery obscures or distorts it. † This has been proven to be very true. There are a few celebrities out there with good plastic surgery, for example, Ashlee Simpson. Simpson had a nose job which turned out to define her face better making her appear happier with herself. Then there is bad surgery, like Tara Reid, who had a bad breast augmentation leaving horrible scars and also having lumpy liposuction. For a woman, like Reid, in their early thirties, there is no reason to surgic ally change one’s self so much. She did however make herself look worse trying to conform to society’s preference. There is such a thing as good plastic surgery, but only to enhance what is already yours and brings out your personality, not make you someone completely different. If we, society as a whole, could grasp the concept that beauty is different for all women; it comes in every shape, form, and color. If more celebrities could make peace with themselves then maybe normal everyday women could learn to also respect who they are and love themselves for what they have been given. Not every woman can be a size four, large breasts, tall, tan, perfect face or whatever the case may be. Each woman should look at themselves and know they are beautiful, not what is beautiful to some individuals. It’s so unhealthy to do such drastic things to their bodies, like repeatedly plastic surgery, yo-yo dieting, and trying â€Å"new† things doctors come up. I think if the media could help us change then more woman could be happy with who they naturally are.