Wendell Berry Essay free essay sample

â€Å"Why I Am Not Going To Buy A Computer,† in the 1987 edition of Harper’s, Wendell Berry was critiqued by readers who felts he was using his wife as a â€Å"drudge. † Berry writes that, â€Å"My wife types my work. She sees things that are wrong and marks them with small checks in the margins. She is my best critic because she is the one most familiar with my habitual errors and weaknesses. She also understands, sometimes better than I do, what ought to be said. † (Pg. 180) But his readers seemed to miss this. To make a full response to them, Berry writes â€Å"Feminism, The Body, and the Machine. † Through his use of quotation marks, tone, and diction, Berry defines and defends his marriage. He illustrates the ironies in how we think and live that have turned us from a sense of mutual belonging to one of individual ownership. Quotation marks can be used to imply a different meaning than a word would normally be associated with. We will write a custom essay sample on Wendell Berry Essay or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page â€Å"Marriage, in what is evidently its most popular version, is now on the one hand an intimate ‘relationship’ between two successful careerists in the same bed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Pg. 180) The word relationship tends to have a positive connotation because typically, it’s used to describe friendships, lovers, husbands and wives, mothers and daughters. The word implies something good, something sacred, and something intimate. However, Berry puts the word in quotation marks to essentially make the statement that this particular relationship is a lie. The relationship is not truly a relationship if each partner’s focus is on himself or herself. The same idea is applied to ‘†¦ the ‘married’ couple will typically consume a large quantity of merchandise and a large portion of each other. † (Pg. 180) Marriage insinuates a helpful attitude between a husband and wife, a giving rather than taking. The definition of â€Å"consume† means to destroy. Comparing it to marriage confirms that Berry believes the world’s idea of marriage is a lie. After defining marriage’s most popular version, he writes to confirm that there are some marriages that still believe in the household as an economy. â€Å"To them, ‘mine’ is not so powerful or necessary a pronoun as ‘ours. ’† (Pg. 181) While he doesn’t allude to a different meaning with this use of quotation marks, he does use them to continue to differentiate between his marriage and the rest. â€Å"Ours† means sharing, giving, and working together in a way to allows for quality time and growth within the home. Berry uses tone to undermine and expose the logic of his detractors. â€Å"Their accusation rests on a syllogism of the flimsiest sort†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Pg. 180) Here, Berry uses a mix of sarcasm and a mocking attitude to make his point against the readers. Speaking in regards to their comments, he writes â€Å"†¦ the sort of razor-sharp philosophical distinction that could cause a person to be elected president. † (Pg. 179) By mocking them right off the bat, Berry disarms the comments he can’t bother to take seriously before he defends the things that do take priority. Moving onto a paternal tone, Berry says â€Å"It is clear to me from my experience as a teacher, for example, that children need an ordinary daily association with both parents. † (Pg. 182) He takes on this tone because aside from defining his marriage, he also takes responsibility for educating the people he’s responding to and the people that are reading. I find that Berry uses a lot of irony in his essay. He makes an interesting statement early on in his essay where he says his â€Å"offense† is that he receives help from his wife. Most often, an offense implies a breaking of a social or moral rule. The readers believe that help in a marriage is the same as exploitation or subservience. The irony is that having something uncommon, such as a marriage where the focus is mutual help rather than subservience doesn’t mean a moral rule is being broken. It simply means that Berry and his wife work together rather than using each other. Speaking on feminists, Berry uses irony by writing, â€Å"That feminists or any other advocates of human liberty and dignity should resort to insult and injustice is regrettable. † This statement could arguably be the most ironic of them all. Because advocates of human liberty are standing for fairness and equal rights to all people, it is more than regrettable that they would lower themselves to attacking Berry. It contradicts what they supposedly stand for. Berry redefines words to make the reader truly understand his thoughts. â€Å"†¦ Involving (ideally) two successful careerists in the same bed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Pg. 180) The word â€Å"career† is most often associated with people who put their job before anything else. â€Å"I can’t date, I’m really into my career right now. † It’s an implication that it’s more important than relationship. Using the word â€Å"bed† strips away all ideas of intimacy and love. Later, Berry writes, â€Å"†¦ a prolonged and impassioned negotiation as to how things shall be divided. † Berry uses to the word â€Å"impassioned† to imply a lot more than just the long process of divorce; he’s saying that passion is only really shown when assets are being divided. Marriage involves vaguely sharing your bed with that guy from that one time, and divorce is when you remember how many times he forgot to make his side of the bed. It’s what works for that time, and Berry knows it. After laying out the common beliefs of marriage, Berry writes on what marriage ought to be in regards to the household as an economy. He doesn’t necessarily compare it to an actual economy so much as say that in order for a marriage to function well, each must do their part. He goes into some detail about working outside the home versus working inside the home, but I think his primary focus involves â€Å"†¦ the work of both wife and husband, that gives them a measure of economic independence and self-protection, a measure of self-employment, a measure of freedom, as well as a common ground and a common satisfaction. It’s all about working in harmony with one another. Careers aren’t as important as jobs within the home. Berry knows that what you do isn’t nearly as important why and how you do it. Wendell Berry’s essay, â€Å"Feminism, the Body, and the Machine,† focuses in part on marriage with his wife and marriage in its most popular version. His use of stylistic devices shows more than what is written and implies deeper meaning that rounds off his stance.

Physiological states Essays

Physiological states Essays Physiological states Essay Physiological states Essay A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioural pattern that occurs in an individual and is thought to cause distress or disability that is not expected as part of normal development or culture. From the drama we used I learnt that the recognition and understanding of mental disorders has changed over time and across cultures, I also l learnt that mental disorders do not have a defined cause- any disorder can arise from a combination of environmental, biological, and psychological sources. In particular one of the workshops we took part in helped me identify how social forces can influence individual psychological and physiological states.This was achieved by each pupil being given a folded piece of paper where all were blank except one which had a black spot on it. This taught me some mental illnesses may be caused by social rejection often leading to paranoia or distress. It also taught me, however, that a persons mental disorder can influence their thoughts on people around them and how these people perceive their behavior, whether these thoughts are right or wrong.From the work we did I learnt drama can be expressed in several ways and is an extremely diverse subject- a piece can also be interpreted in a number of ways and that is what makes it drama. Anything can be portrayed through drama, ranging from art to literature. Particularly, I learnt about certain explorative strategies and how they can influence a piece- forum theatre, I thought, was one of the most interesting ideas. I think it allows the character and the audience to become more familiar with the characters traits and understand them on a deeper level. This is also true for hot-seating, whereby simply asking basic questions, a character can be developed from a straightforward person to a complex, intricate character. Marking the moment has also proved helpful, by identifying a significant moment in a piece of drama allows the audience to help the actors improve their scene, but also helps the audience understand it further, on a deeper more multifaceted level.One of the key moments of the workshop was the lesson where we looked at The Scream. From this I learnt a significant amount about not only drama, but drama portrayed though art. From one painting, so many connotations can be drawn and applied to drama. What I noticed first about this painting is the normality of everything else besides the man screaming, it can be seen as a sort of inner scream we all feel sometimes when an agony that we must keep silent becomes unbearable. Unless we are insane, we keep the resulting desire to scream in despair and fear inside- we are torn apart inside while outside everything goes on as normal. This painting captures both the inner scream and the normality around us. From this I learnt that people may be drawn to madness or depression because they have no one to confront, and open up to- their inner scream may drive them insane. I thought this central idea was most forcefully portrayed by Huguettes group.They portrayed their inner scream and confusion through a simple but impressionable concept. The four members of the group, Jake, Lucy, Honor and Huguette, were sitting in a circle. They took it in turns to speak as they went around the circle, they all seemed to talk to each other, but did not communicate as each character was interested in their own problems- and only their problems. The scene was drawn to a stark ending when all four characters shouted ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?, this stood as a symbol of their inner scream revealing itself.This was my favourite and most memorable part of their piece as it was extremely powerful and summed up everything we had previously studied from The Scream to Cagebirds, drawing links between all the drama texts we had studied, this is what really sticks out in my mind and was one of the most powerful workshops.

Writing an Exemplary Statement Of Purpose

Writing an Exemplary Statement Of Purpose When applying to college, many students are asked to submit a statement of purpose. Similar to the personal statement essay, the statement of purpose is a two page composition that students must write and submit with their application form. Statements of purpose allow students to demonstrate their writing abilities and give admission board members the chance to get to know their applicants. The reason that statements of purpose are so important in the application process is because they represent the factor over which students have complete and immediate control. Lets say, for instance, that your test scores and/or grades arent that exemplary. Obviously, you cannot go back and change your academic history. What you can do, however, is draw the admission councils attention away from your below average grades with an above average statement of purpose. The statement of purpose is your one and only chance to speak directly to the university admissions board members and convince them that you are an excellent candidate for their school. When writing your statement essay, make sure that your voice is heard loud and clear. Be passionate, be enthusiastic, be reasonable, and above all be creative. Statements of purpose are some of the most complicated papers to write. If you would like help writing your statement essay or if you would like some tips on how to compose quality college admission essays, please dont hesitate to contact me. As someone who has written several statements of purpose for a variety of different schools, I believe that I am more than qualified to assist you.

Case study analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Case study analysis - Essay Example For resorts, these technological advantages opened new opportunities in terms of involvement in time-sharing projects and the development of new properties such as recreation-focused hotel and higher-end housing. In Florida the lodging industry was experiencing the period of changes of substantial net growth with the resorts’ occupancy to remain considerably higher than in any other region of U.S. Being a part of Playa Dorada, Inc. located in Deerfield Beach, Florida, the Tennis Club lived its high times with 26,6% of all visitors to be involved in such activity. However, the current director Douglas Hall recognized the two main issues that were worth attention: lack of capacity and pricing structure. In this context, the main concerns were to tackle such problems to enable more visitors use tennis courts. Despite the twenty-three courts available for the visitors, most of them were occupied in the most used hours. As a solution to the problem, Hall thought of building extra courts as the same cost, however, they would bring a net loss to the company. In addition, new courts would need duplication of facilities that along with service staff would bring greater cost to the resort. Whil e the issue with capacity was hard to resolve, the pricing structure could be used by Hall as shifting of the situation. Through special pricing schemes, promotions and additional services, the Tennis Club could implement changes per court charge, such as doubles play. Despite the reduction in revenue in doubles play, more guests would be able to use the court. Through implementation of fewer charges for hard-surface court, the company would make it more cost affordable. In addition, the tennis and discount plans would also shift the use of hard-surface courts for the adult clients to play while younger players would be offered 50% off after two hours of play on hard-surface court. To make the tennis courts available to more people, there is a reason to think over the cause

HR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

HR - Essay Example The manager has to prove himself as a powerful leader not by means of his autocracy but by building trust in his employees. Rothwell and Kazanas (2003) inform that the managers of HR department have to take the responsibility of establishing goals for the department and its purposes. Manager is also responsible for structuring the department according to its needs. Staffing, issuance of orders, deciding on differences, inter-departmental and outside the department communication, planning for department budgets and politics, all can be regarded as the roles of the manager of HR department and design a path towards development of the department (Rothwell and Kazanas, 2003). The advantages that can be found because of manager’s performance at HR department are many in number. Manager is responsible for communication within the department and outside the department; it means that the information from inside and outside should be gathered in order to take the right decisions. This factor is wholly advantageous as the employees are allowed to communicate with the manager and deliver their thoughts regarding a decision. The final decision stays with the manager; it means that the manager can collect information from various sources but should be decisive in order to come to a conclusion regarding a problem (Woods and Thomas, 1994). A manager has many responsibilities to bear and the tasks should be divided among his employees but leadership should be with him so that the performed tasks of the employees can be evaluated. As a manager is required to do lengthy and painstaking tasks, therefore, there should be consciousness behind any taken decisions and the manager should decide according to the needs of a situation. Sometimes, it is disadvantageous to give so many responsibilities to a manager as all the tasks cannot be justified fully because of over burdening of the manager. There should be a team

How Austen creates her novel Pride and Prejudice Essay Example for Free

How Austen creates her novel Pride and Prejudice Essay Jane Austen was extremely modest about her genius, describing her work to her work to her nephew Edward as  That little but (two inches wide) of ivory in which I work with so fine a brush as produces little effect after much labour. Although the world of her novel Pride and Prejudice is confined to a small section of society comprising of country-gentry and lesser aristocracy of England in the opening of the 19th century, the novel itself shows page by page how interesting life could be, how fascinating lifes twists and turns are, how significant the trivialities are to those concerned. The range of Austens novel is limited by her own circumstances, her own sex, and her position in the society. But the little world she writes about, she knows inside out. She fills her little world so artfully that when we are in it we do not long for anything else and we feel its fullness as well. She practiced what she preached. There are four families in a country village is the very thing to work on. She sticks to what she knows and is refusing to include in her novel what does not properly belong to village life; she is an artist. Austen has an acute interest in personalities, her field is the human heart. Therefore, although she writes in the years of war between England and France while Napoleon was changing the map of Europe, in her novel we find not mention of Britain at war. In Pride and Prejudice soldiers like Wickham, come to Meryton to provide, in a sense, amusement for the girls. Austen thus does not impose anything harsh or unnecessary on her novel; this alludes to the artistic unity of her creation. She consciously limits herself and does not write anything beyond her experience. It may well be mentioned here that in A Room Ones Own Virginia Woolf pays a rich tribute to Austen by mentioning that novels like War and Peace could never be written by any female novelist, but certainly no Tolstoy could ever write the novels of Jane Austen. Austen deliberately and wisely limits herself to a few families and a limited number of characters in Pride and Prejudice. Her characters live in comfort in country houses; their lives consist of holding balls, attending parties, visiting each others house and thus amusing themselves. In that society even a small event is given a higher importance. Thereby a ball at the Bingleys or at the Lucases is eagerly anticipated and minutely analyzed. Austen chooses her characters from very ordinary life. Her characters range from the proud aristocrat Darcy to the dull-witted Mrs. Bennet, from the good-natured Jane to the hypocritical Miss Bingley. The men-folks in her novel do not in fact do nay work whereas the young girls are always in pursuit of good husbands. The girls have somehow managed to turn themselves into husband hunting butterflies. Distant Pembrly, Netherfield and Rosings are the upper limit, whereas Sir W Lucas and Lady Catherine Debourgh are highest in rank, the still higher estates and greater aristocracy are not mentioned in the novel, since they little effect Meryton and Derbyshire. The way Austen treats her characters is satiric. Her views of life are therefore always satiric; the passionate and tragic aspects of human life are somehow discarded. Only such characters are chosen that could be satirically treated. This satiric vision of life is a limitation on Austens part. Critics sometimes mention that Austen Banished nine-tenth of life, and gave us people who never work, or fight or die, or starve or go crazy. In the view of that above-mentioned statement we find that people in Pride and Prejudice engage themselves in doing nothing. Mr. Darcy apparently seems to have some work to do when he is at Pemberly, the work he does there is obviously connected with his estate. Mr. Gardiner revels in fishing only. Mr. Bennet, as we are told, takes one of his farms but only emerges from his library when he needs to settle some family affairs. Mr. Hursts motto of life is High living and little thinking. Reading has a place in family entertainment and since all the novels are heard at family gatherings, the writers take care to fill up pages fit for family consumption. In fact, Austens knowledge of mens ways limited, but she knew how to use  her limitation. In Pride and Prejudice men come and go, and sit and chat when in front of the ladies; Austen does not pursue them into their personal world. We may see Fitz William Darcy and Bingley set off in a carriage but what they discuss is never reported if no woman is present. Despite Austens failure to present the many facets of mens life, she is successful in providing an illuminating insight into some of the most significant characters like that of Darcy and Bingley. For instance, Darcys transmigration from a proud and snob person to a compassionate and reliable one is shown with perfect dexterity. In this novel Austen does want to compete with students of political economics, or social problems. The life and its complications that she depicts are just as what she experienced as a woman. Quite naturally her themes in this novel center the complex role of money and love in marriage. In doing so she even consciously avoids any discussion on philosophical or social issues. A simple plot concerning a few number of people is woven in this novel. That Austen has no wish to exceed the limitation of her own is quite evident when we find that urban life is excluded from the novel only because she had not much experience of it. It is mentioned casually during Janes visit to London. We have also observed that no black-hearted villain ever makes an appearance in Austens pages. The greatest villainy that ever occurs in Pride and Prejudice is the occasional elopement of Lydia with Wickham. Wickham indeed lacks all those negative traits of character which could have made him a person of shade like that of Alec in Hardys Tess of the Durbervilles. Therefore, Wickhams possibility to be the only villain in Pride and Prejudice ends there. Still it is no shallowness or lack of insight on Austens part, which leads her to restrict the exploration of human nature to the apparent social level. Austen gives us in her novel an artistic unity in which nothing is forced, nothing is excessive. A simple plot proceeds bit by bit to the only conclusion possible. Her characters act and speak in a very familiar way as we can imagine. The characters are so true to nature and so well-balanced against constructing types that as they talk along the story we begin to  think that it would not matter if there were no plot. The central figures whose union we desire grow upon us as their mistakes and recoveries reveal the fineness of their spirit. Therefore, in Austens world there is a welcome for the sensitive reader who will accept it as it is and will not cry out for, in the words of one critic The moon of passionate embraces or the lightning of sword.

Homers Iliad Essay -- Art Tool of Warfare Papers

Homer's Iliad The Iliad is an epic of death. It is a tale of conflict, batle, agony, and horific mutilation. Honor and glory are atained through warfare. The great shield of Achiles stands out in this context because it depicts the glories of an orderly, functioning, productive civilization. This depiction of life stands in stark contrast to the scenes of death that constitute a large portion of the narative. An examination of the shield of Achiles in Homer’s Iliad reveals many ideas in conflict: love and honor, the pleasures of life versus a heroic death, free wil and destiny. By viewing the shield as an element of contradistinction—that is to define it on the basis of contrast—one can se that the shield symbolicaly unifies the entire poem. Achiles’ shield is the mechanism through which the poet presents a tool of warfare as a reflection of civilization; explores the concept, structure, and nature of the universe; and examines the role of art in society. I. A Reflection of Civlization on a Tool of Warfare In the epic tradtion, the arming of wariors for batle holds particular significance. The description of a warior’s armor tels much about the individual character of the warior and about the values of the society of which he is part. The Iliad contains many such arming scenes which take the simple description of armor and transform it into a more expansive and iluminating portrait of ancient Greek mentality. When compared with one another, these descriptions of armor reveal some basic distinctions that make the shield of Achiles of utmost importance. As noted by Atchity in Homer’s Iliad: The Shield of Memory, the armor of Paris is described in book thre in a conventional and most undistinguishe... ...ch contradictions. Art is the medium through which humans explore life’s great questions and test its boundaries. Armed with the belief that ordered civlization wil prevail, the artist—poet, metalworker, painter, actor—is fre to enter into the batle of ideals. Works Cited Atchity, Kenneth John. Homer’s Iliad: The Shield of Memory. Carbondale, IL: Southern Ilinois Univ., 1978. Becker, Andrew Sprague. The Shield of Achiles and the Poetics of Ekphrasis. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Litlefield, 1995. Duethorn, Guenter A. Achiles’ Shield and the Structure of the Iliad. Amherst, MA: Amherst Colege, 1962. Edwards, Mark W. The Iliad: A Commentary. Vol. V: books 17–20. G.S. Kirk gen. ed. Cambridge, MA: 1995. Homer. The Iliad. Trans. Richmond Latimore. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago, 1961. Keats, John. â€Å"Ode to a Grecian Urn.† 4 Oct. 2003 < htp://www.poets.org/poems/>. Homer's Iliad Essay -- Art Tool of Warfare Papers Homer's Iliad The Iliad is an epic of death. It is a tale of conflict, batle, agony, and horific mutilation. Honor and glory are atained through warfare. The great shield of Achiles stands out in this context because it depicts the glories of an orderly, functioning, productive civilization. This depiction of life stands in stark contrast to the scenes of death that constitute a large portion of the narative. An examination of the shield of Achiles in Homer’s Iliad reveals many ideas in conflict: love and honor, the pleasures of life versus a heroic death, free wil and destiny. By viewing the shield as an element of contradistinction—that is to define it on the basis of contrast—one can se that the shield symbolicaly unifies the entire poem. Achiles’ shield is the mechanism through which the poet presents a tool of warfare as a reflection of civilization; explores the concept, structure, and nature of the universe; and examines the role of art in society. I. A Reflection of Civlization on a Tool of Warfare In the epic tradtion, the arming of wariors for batle holds particular significance. The description of a warior’s armor tels much about the individual character of the warior and about the values of the society of which he is part. The Iliad contains many such arming scenes which take the simple description of armor and transform it into a more expansive and iluminating portrait of ancient Greek mentality. When compared with one another, these descriptions of armor reveal some basic distinctions that make the shield of Achiles of utmost importance. As noted by Atchity in Homer’s Iliad: The Shield of Memory, the armor of Paris is described in book thre in a conventional and most undistinguishe... ...ch contradictions. Art is the medium through which humans explore life’s great questions and test its boundaries. Armed with the belief that ordered civlization wil prevail, the artist—poet, metalworker, painter, actor—is fre to enter into the batle of ideals. Works Cited Atchity, Kenneth John. Homer’s Iliad: The Shield of Memory. Carbondale, IL: Southern Ilinois Univ., 1978. Becker, Andrew Sprague. The Shield of Achiles and the Poetics of Ekphrasis. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Litlefield, 1995. Duethorn, Guenter A. Achiles’ Shield and the Structure of the Iliad. Amherst, MA: Amherst Colege, 1962. Edwards, Mark W. The Iliad: A Commentary. Vol. V: books 17–20. G.S. Kirk gen. ed. Cambridge, MA: 1995. Homer. The Iliad. Trans. Richmond Latimore. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago, 1961. Keats, John. â€Å"Ode to a Grecian Urn.† 4 Oct. 2003 < htp://www.poets.org/poems/>.

Peter Singer’s Solution to World Poverty

Peter Singer’s argument reveals little new to the reader who has ever been thinking about poverty and difference in life standards in different nations.To the sophisticated reader, the main point of focus is the wording and how well the argument is presented, how effectively the author uses his persona, how effective his examples are, and how well he appeals to his target audience. The main weaknesses of his essay seem to be the example that is a little overdrawn, failure to account for some serious possible objections, and a somewhat problematic purpose.To evaluate if this is true, let us see first what the purpose of the essay is. Singer aims to persuade his readers that they need to donate whatever money they have to spend beyond basic necessities to charity because not doing so means killing poor children around the world much like Dora in the Brazilian movie almost kills the street boy by pushing him into the hands of the organ peddlers.This, as the title implies, would b e the â€Å"Solution to World Poverty†. Basically, the author argues for a redistribution of global GDP via private donations from richer to poorer nations.The purpose of the essay looks somewhat doubtful. One has to decide what Singer is in effect trying to do. As stated in the second paragraph, he seems to be persuading the audience to donate money to charity. Is he trying to end the world poverty? Or merely raise funds for charity organisations? The two things can be really different. No one is forbidden to think that the simplest way to end poverty is to redistribute funds through charity.However, this does not address the root causes of poverty – social inequality, underdevelopment of some nation's economies, political turmoil in weak democracies that blocks economic development, and so on.This pushes one into thinking that effective efforts on combating poverty should direct funds towards projects like infrastructure improvement, sounder governance policies, and so on. Charity means giving bread to the poor all the time without teaching them how to make bread. It might be wiser to call on professionals having important skills to sacrifice a year or two of their professional careers in order to go to another nation and share their knowledge with people there.For instance, a manager of the food processing factory would do better to go and help start a factory somewhere in Africa rather than keep sending them the greater part of his salary in those years. Singer, on the contrary, seems to see donations as the only viable means to end poverty. He does not take into account the efforts of people who work in development projects, and they may be contributing more to improving life quality of people in developing nations than they would if they stripped their life of TVs and new cars.With his example involving Bob and his car Singer alienates the audience rather than entices it into donating. Bob’s situation is indeed different than that of the average American who is ready to give $200 to charity funds. If Bugatti is his own investment, then his whole future depends upon it.He means it as an investment in his post-retirement future since â€Å"its rising market value means that he will always be able to sell it and live comfortably after retirement† (Singer 1999). A finance professional can debate the soundness of the decision to put all one’s retirement savings into one object as perishable as the car, especially driving it at the same time, but Bob seems determined to follow his strategy.His car is his only investment, his way to secure income after retirement. If he loses his car, he will have to live on Social Security benefits that are far from secure now with the reform looming and all the talk of the future depletion of funds, and if he can count on them, they can really be too small to pay even for necessities.The US is a rich nation, but the whole social setup encourages Americans to care for t hemselves on their own, including insurance schemes and retirement savings. For this reason, Bob may have not to give up luxuries – he deprives himself of necessities to save the child.The picture of an old man losing his retirement funds and favourite car is far too gloomy to allure those who are eager to share a portion of their pie with starving children. Singer could have made his demands on fellow citizens more realistic and less frightening if he had chosen an example more suitable to his thesis – keeping necessities but letting luxuries go in order to provide necessities to others.Another problem with Singer’s example is that Bob loses â€Å"His pride and joy† (Singer 1999). The car may be his only hobby, the pursuit in which he engages with great zest. This should alert the readers that following Singer’s strategy they will only be working day and night, using their high developed-nation income to help the poor in other countries. No more b irthday parties that cost over $200, no more trips to exciting places, and how should an avid photographer feel buying a new expensive camera?One would be forced to admit that all the progress of the world’s economy has only produced enough output so that all people can eat enough, and that’s it. Leonardo da Vinci probably didn’t have to paint his great works after all if nobody is going to travel to museums to see them. Museums and trips are definitely not on the list of necessities, and neither are CDs, books and computers that could store this information.Singer would have a hard time trying to implement his solution in reality since it feels like elimination of luxuries has the potential to stop all the cultural progress in world and, even more importantly, deny people the right to enjoy something other than simple meals. Implementation of the solution would force one to produce an exact definition of what is luxury and what is not, and this is not as easy a s it seems.Thus, Singer’s example is repelling rather than attractive to the audience. It tells readers in which situation they might end up donating everything above $20,000 per household to charity – stranded in retirement, with hapless lives in which joys are no more than they were in the Ice Age.Imagining that the targets are middle-class Americans, Singer is hardly ready to force them into paying for charity with these examples and his relentless claim to give up all beyond necessities. Intuitively, he would score higher with pictures of how charity actually works and how children are saved with the donations.This is exactly what his paper is missing. Singer makes a concession concerning â€Å"uncertainties about whether aid will really reach the people who need it† admitting that â€Å"nobody who knows the world of overseas aid can doubt that such uncertainties exist† that is hardly encouraging for anybody willing to give a part of hard-earned money to such organisations (Singer 1999).If $200 works after provisions are made for ‘uncertainties’, how much is really enough? $150? $100? And what exactly are the uncertainties? The first thing that comes to mind is corruption that is so prevalent in developing nations. Does Singer expect hard-working citizens to reduce themselves to a life consisting of bare necessities in order to feed immoral officials somewhere in Africa or Asia whose children are well off enough to pay their tuition at US universities?This is an important objection, and Singer skips it by implying: â€Å"Don’t care how much they steal, just keep paying them.† Singer’s main emphasis is that people should part with the money because it is wrong for them to have it when so many children are starving. He does not show that this parting actually contributes to lives saved. This, however, is the basic assumption of utilitarian ethics – one has to do what works well for other pe ople, not just what is right or moral to do.Singer also fails to account for objections concerning the economic effects of his proposal. One can object that the high life standards of the Western society are promoted by the high motivation of the people and ingenious system that rewards performance.Westerners are interested in the success of their companies thanks to profit-sharing plans, and they are aware that upgrading their education and learning new skills will result in higher salaries and better life standards. Human nature can be mean and unworthy, but so far financial reward has been an important stimulator. Singer is in fact suggesting that from now on everybody in the US should start living on $30,000 so that â€Å"a household making $100,000 could cut a yearly check for $70,000† (Singer 1999).All making different input, getting about the same salaries with the rest redistributed for public good (but also involving corruption) – this is something the Soviet Union tried to do, and as is known, they failed on the economic front. It might take a couple of generations before the West lapses into a similar economic crisis for want of motivation and will no longer be able to support anybody financially.Thus, Singer’s argument is failing on some points. First, his solution to world poverty is questionable and thus the purpose of the essay looks doubtful to those who support other solutions. Second, his example is not a good analogy since it differs from his stated thesis.In addition, the example paints too gloomy a picture to be attractive to the audience. Besides, despite the professed utilitarianism of the essay, Singer does not go very deep into the results of the actions he advocates. He also fails to account for objection concerning the so-called ‘uncertainties’ of overseas aid and economic effects of his proposal.BibliographySinger, Peter. â€Å"The Singer Solution to World Poverty.† The New York Times Sunday Magazine 5 September 1999: 60-63. 24 Oct. 05 .   

Union Carbide India Limited

It all started with the manufacturing of flash light batteries in Calcutta by the Eveready Company Limited of Great Britain. Later on this company became a subsidiary of UCC headquartered in New York. The company later adopted the new name of Union Carbide India limited and also established a factory in India to manufacture flash lights along with expansion of its capacity to manufacture dry-cell batteries. The company progressed and by the eighties they were involved in batteries, carbon and metals, plastics, marine products, and agricultural chemicals. UCIL established fifteen plants in different parts of India. To expand its agricultural division UCIL sought permission of Indian government to allow them to set up a pesticide plant. Initially the plant was started near the city of Trombay but later on switched to Bhopal. The plant in the beginning imported Sevin powder from the United States diluted it with non-toxic powder and sold it. Later the Indian government pressurized UCIL to manufacture Sevein and its components in India. That's how the Bhopal plant expanded and the investment in the plant increased from initial $1 million to $25 million. The company made its mark among all companies present in India in terms of Sales. In Bhopal the UCIL factory was like any other process plant with storage tanks, hoppers and reactors connected by pipes, pumps, valves and ducts. Sevin was made through a chemical reaction between alpha-naphthol and methyl isocyanate, MIC. MIC is a highly reactive liquid that boils and becomes a gas above day time temperatures. UCC was the world leader in MIC technology and provided essentially al the process design for the plant but did not send engineers to supervise the construction. The alpha-naphthol unit began experiencing some problems. Also the sales were started going down in the beginning of 80s due to various reasons. Due to the decline in sales the unit started having losses. The staff at the MIC was cut from twelve operators on a shift to six. The maintenance team was reduced in size. In a number of instances, faulty safety devices remained unrepaired for weeks. The plant was running at far below capacity. The company seriously started making plans for dismantling the plant and shipping it to some other region. UCIL was located in Bhopal where there was a shanty town inhabiting thousands of India's poorest citizens. In the South of Bhopal wealthy Indians lived in their elegant houses. MIC the main component used to prepare Sevin was made at the plant by reacting Phosgene gas with another chemical but the system had been idle. The MIC was being used from ‘charge-pot' which was periodically resupplied from either of two different tanks. Operators had experienced difficulty in pressurizing one of the tanks. At the night of the incident, several hundred gallons of water entered in this particular tank. The water reacted with MIC producing heat and gas. A relief valve soon lifted and MIC vapor began flowing through vent headers and out a discharge stack. Some workers reported to supervisors that their eyes began to water because of possible leak of MIC. Supervisors found what they believed was the source and they set up a fire hose to spray water on the suspected leak. The water curtain that may have reduced the concentration of the gas was only set to ~13 m and did not reach the gas; it was not designed to contain a leak of such magnitude. The supervisors retired to the company canteens in violations of instructions not to take their break together. The supervisors were later called when the tank was rumbling with increasing pressure but it was too late for them to take any concrete action. MIC vapor were billowing from an atmospheric vent in the air. The cloud of deadly white gas was carried by the northeast wind toward the shanties on the south side of the plant. On the cold night cold of December 03, 1984, MIC settled toward ground. The gaseous fumes reached the huts resulting in panic and confusion. Many of the weak and elderly died where they lay blinded and smothered by the acrid fumes. Though the audible external alarm was activated to warn residents of Bhopal, it was quickly shut down to avoid causing panic among the residents. Thus, many continued to sleep, unaware of the unfolding drama. However, as the words of the gas leak spread, many of the Bhopal's affluent citizens fled in their cars while poor were left behind. An estimated 2000 or more died that deadly night while over 200,000 were injured. Doctors and hospitals were not informed of proper treatment methods for MIC gas inhalation. They were told to simply give cough medicine and eye drops to their patients. Confused crowds waited outside hospitals outside the hospitals for medical care. The plant on the other hand, later on, was closed and locked. The citizens of Bhopal remained totally shocked by the turn of events. Soon after the incident blame game started. UCC referred to deliberate act as a possible cause of the water entry. Later the company suggested that a Sikh terrorist group might have sabotaged the plant. A representative of UCC's investigation team suggested that the gas was formed when a disgruntled plant employee, apparently bent on spoiling a batch of methyl isocyanate, added water to a storage tank. There were many theories started flowing around. UCC and UCIL executives were charged in India with manslaughter and other crimes. UCC chairmen Anderson along with the head of UCIL was arrested and briefly detained by Indian officials when they went to India after the incident. Several UCIL employees were also arrested and CBI began criminal investigation. A number of US and Indian lawyers rushed to sign up gas victims and their relatives as clients. Different class action lawsuits were filed in the United Sates on behalf of the victims of disaster. In March 1985, India enacted the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act, giving UOI the exclusive right to represent the victims. Finally, In an out-of-court settlement reached, Union Carbide agreed to pay $470 million for damages caused in the Bhopal disaster. As we know from the background of the case that refrigeration unit was not working, safety devices were not working, safety standards and operating procedures were not im place, maintenance was poor, downsizing took place and less qualified personnel were hired. These issues indicate that the problem lied at the management level. Inefficient operation shows that there was absence of even basic management. The day to day operations were not carried out according to the general standards and norms then what can be said about disaster planning or planning for dealing with an unforeseen event. At UCIL the local management should have taken the complete responsibility of the diaster as they failed to maintain even the basic principles of management. Even though foreigners were on the board of directors but it was not the responsibility of the board member to run day to day operations. The whole blame was put on foreigners and forign board and the case became one of the most talked about industrialized disaster in the history. The plant was purely run by the Indian local managers and it was the responsibility of such managers to maintain the basic standards. This incident would not have happened had management been active in implementing the basic levels of management. Ideally there should be a contingency plan in place to deal with the possible disasters. In plants dealing with chemicals there is always a possibility of accidents and disasters of any proportion. It was naive of the management to forget about the contingency measures. On another level the government of India also played the political part and tried to trap foreign board in the incident while forgetting that primary responsibility lied on management on ground. Foreign board in Bhopal's case also on the hand tried to safegurd its image as the issue was discussed on all forums There had been many accidents of similar nature in UCC's American plants prior to the Bhopal accident but they did not get much publicity and were not blown out of proportion because they were tackled at the management level on ground. As later there was a ruling that the case should be tried in India. The company denied every charge leveled against UCC and pointed out that no US citizen had been employed there 2 years before the disaster. Foreign board definitely had the moral responsibility of the incident but they cannot be blamed for failed day to day operations. The case reminds us that on the first level basic management should function and operations should be efficiently run. However the management responsibility does not end here. Management should be on toes and keep on scanning both external and internal environmental factors. There should be contingency plans in place to deal with possible mishaps or disasters.

Key Success Factors of Apple Inc Essay Example

Key Success Factors of Apple Inc Essay Example Key Success Factors of Apple Inc Paper Key Success Factors of Apple Inc Paper Abstract Introduction – Introducing Apple Inc. (One of the largest company in computer industry), and the meaning of Key Success Factors as well as the main objective of the Research Paper. Relation to Previous Research – By analyzing different researches, we can have a whole picture of Apples success and see whether there have any managerial implication. Proposed Methods and Reflections – By using a questionnaire with different questions to respondents via Internet, we can analyze the data to reflect Apples recent key success factors. Conclusion – Brief summary of the key success factors of Apple Inc. which make it have a market share of 14% in U. S. and 3% in the world. Introduction Apple Inc. is an American Multinational corporation with a focus on designing and manufacturing consumer electronic and related software products. Its best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of personal computers, the iPod (portable media player), and the iPhone. The software products include the Mac OS X operating system, iTunes media browser and the iLife suite of multimedia and creativity software. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) The personal computer industry is characterized by the following features: it is highly competitive, computer companies abide aggressive pricing practices that causes downward pressure on gross margins, another feature is frequent introduction of new products, computers, peripherals and accessories have got in a great extant short product life cycles, there are a lot of industry standards and patents, in fact, all makers apply strategies of continual improvement in product price/performance characteristics, if any company has invented any technological advancements, another one rapidly adopts it, besides, prices are very sensitive on the part of consumers, and it is likely, there is and lots of competitors in the market. In order to achieve those results Apple Inc. has got today the company has to pay attention to all these above described factors which determine success. According to A. A. Thompson, Jr. , A. J. Strickland and J. E. Gamble in Crafting and Executing Strategy (2005), key success factors are so important to future competitive success that all firms in the industry must be competent at performing or achieving them or risk becoming and industry also-ran. An industry’s key success factors are those competitive factors that most affect competitors’’ ability to prosper in the marketplace, which include particular strategy elements, product attributes, resources, competencies, competitive capabilities, and market achievements. In my research paper, I will try to review and analyze key factors of the Apple’s success, try to compare results of several existed researches on this issue with the one that have been done by me and discuss about both. My research has been made by means of a questionnaire via the Internet (see the Appendices). One supposes that the success of the company was brought about because of its innovations and internal organizational impacts. Relation to Previous Research There are a lot of researches which refer to the issue of the success of Apple Inc. in mass medias, the Internet and economic literature. All of them point out in some way or other different factors of the success. My research is to get the whole picture of Apples success by analyze different researches and facts with applying strategic theories that I have learnt on this program. Let us consider some of them. According to the article â€Å"Apple Computer, Inc. † (Apple Computer, Inc. Case Study) The author calls factors of early success of the company. Among them there were the interface â€Å"window† introduced to customers (though it has been later borrowed by Microsoft), the strong organization structure of the company which consisted of designing professions with high work discipline and morality, next, one of the main factors was, in fact, is the deep market penetration with the educational community in the U. S. A. and some others. As for the today’s success of the company, one can example the results of the research from the article â€Å"Apple Computers, Inc. Comprehensive Business Analysis†. The author of this work confirms that Apple Inc. is a successful maker because of the following elements of its strategy. First of all, it is due to the company’s constant innovations (virtually, the company is called one of the most innovative one in the country). Second, products of Apple are stylish, are characterized by usability and increased speed and memory. Besides, Apple is a company with a very strong brand, in other words, is good positioned. About this fact the following research speaks - â€Å"From computer geek to style icon† (Behind Apples Strategy: Be Second to Market) The researcher is discussing about the importance of the brand revitalizing as one of the most efficient factors of the success. Having narrowed its followers’ share to a â€Å"Specialist† brand, the company has returned its former reputation as the most fashionable computer maker in the market. Due to much attention to its customers, the company has created its own base of loyal ones who, as witness some sources, has great expectation about future company outputs. In other word they are confident of quality of Apple’s devices. This confidence alongside with effectively paying off all debts has led to overvaluing of the company in the financial markets. One of important factors of the success is the one which gives the company the possibility to compete in the market. It is margin expansion. Due to large reserves of higher prices the company, in fact, has got room to survive during price wars with other rivals. According to the article â€Å"Apple and PCs, both given Up for Dead, Are Rising Anew† (Archives The New York Times Friday, May 23, 2008) the core impulse of the development of the company in the early period and after 1998 was the return of Steve Jobs to it. The team headed by Jobs understands that the main preconditions of the company success are â€Å"simplicity, branding and style†. The new staff created after Apple Inc. has got problems with its finances, is a source of creativity and non-standard thinking that lead to constant innovations due to a great share of research and development costs. Besides the mentioned factors, one can call the one referred to high quality of sales (for example, when in Palo Alto, Calif. , in the store they have found out that the companys innovative iMac computer did not work with a newly designed Epson printer, in a matter of days a software patch was created and widely distributed via the Internet that helped to combat customers’ complaints). Also researchers point out many novelty from Apple - iPod, iPhone, iMac and others which have got demand due to the creative approach to their production, due to the fact all these product have got their own names â€Å"iPod†, â€Å"iPhone†, â€Å"iMac† (without the article â€Å"the†). Proposed methods and reflections In order to gather our own data about what main factors of Apple Inc. ’s success, we will work out a questionnaire with different questions to respondents via the Internet. This kind of research was chosen because of its simplicity for understanding and doing conclusions, because of the possibility of the existence of control questions, and because of rapidity of gathering of information. The first question can reflect about the Apple Inc. s recently breaking into a different market niche, for instance, the portable music segment - with iPod and iTunes software. Nowadays in this market the company has achieved 90% of all sales in the U. S. A. (according to â€Å"Apple Computers, Inc. Comprehensive Business Analysis†). This share of the market, in fact, allows the Apple’s management to set its own rules of competitive oppositions. Such monopolistic state creates the possibility to charge new prices that is used by the company in full. Now existed competitors are not able to create something to surpass the Apple’s product. Next, as for the question No2, on the ground of these answers, one can conclude that all these factors have got their weight in the success of the company. But the main two of the three are easiness of use of its computers and sales via the Internet. As for the last factor, there is a need to say that Apple sells its products via its improved distribution network in the U. S. A. and worldwide. In particular, the company is using the sites Amazon. com and Buy. com that gives the possibility of home shopping. In this context (of sales), we have to note about the company’s retail strategy. According to the article â€Å"Apple Retail Stores: the 9-success factors† (Apple Retail Stores: the 9-success factors, December 23, 2007), Apple Inc. attracts about 9000 visitors a week in each of its stores in the U. S. A. Besides the article numbers other factors of the success, they are: a strong concept, new and exciting products, enough cash on the balance sheet (that during the period of the company’s collapse was, in fact, one of the most crucial problems), excellent marketing and brand name (about it we have noted), excellent supply chain management (it gives the possibility not to depend on one of the suppliers, in other words, not to be in the situation of monopoly), relevant information systems, excellent shop locations, a unique solution-focused store design, and outstanding store operation to deliver â€Å"Fantastic experience†. If to speak more about the last factor, according to the article â€Å"Mac sales corral 14% of U. S. computer market† (Keizer G. , â€Å"Mac sales corral 14% of U. S. computer market† computerworld. com/action/article. do? command=viewArticleBasicarticleId=9069298) the company’s store personnel offers customers complete buying experience† that, to some executives’ mind, is the most important factors of the success. As for the third question, â€Å"To what extent does the existence of professional designers at the company assist its success? † In fact, it means what many other researches confirm that, in particular, Steve Jobs’ returning to the company in 1997 became an impulse of revitalizing and give the possibility to create a new team of designers which set a milestone of creativity, an innovation approach and research and development costs. As for the fourth question, it can reflect whether Apple Inc. due to a wide range of above mentioned and other factors has got a base of loyal customers who are confident of the company, of its products and expect novelties from it in spite of relatively higher than in competitors prices. One has to note that the bulk of this base of customers is the educational sector, which the company has relied in the past and rely now on. And finally, as for the fifth question â€Å"What do you think of relatively higher prices of Apple’s products? † So, we can observe that whether the law â€Å"high price - high quality† works in the case of Apple or not. The company has got a strong brand name, long history of presence in the market, is famous for its innovations and novelties, and corresponding quality of products. Besides, we have asked some open questions about key factors of the Apple’s success and got the following results: if to group them - thought leadership, network innovations, human factors engineering, continuous improvements. If to generalize these answers, we will get similar conclusions: one of the main factors of the company’s success alongside with the presence of creative approach within the team of designers is constant innovations and RD costs which rank the company as the one of the most innovative in the country. Conclusion In spite of particularities of the computer market, Apple Inc. has managed to outlive during the period of its collapse at the beginning of the 1990s and achieve a remarkable success. There are many key factors which have determined and determine such results (Apple’s market share is 14% in the U. S. A. and 3% in the world - according to the article â€Å"Mac sales corral 14% of U. S. computer market†). They are innovations, â€Å"buying experience† at stores, a great amount of RD costs, deep penetration with the

Morality and God Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Morality and God - Essay Example First being the ontological argument that invokes the belief of the existence of a being that is all perfect, omniscient and powerful. It asserts that God is â€Å"that than which no greater can be conceived.† The second purported evidence that convicts the belief of the existence of God is the ‘cosmological argument’ which firmly asserts that something must have brought the universe in to being what it is; nothing can merely come into existence without having some force spurring it to existence (Murphy, 2011). The third purported truth is the argument from design which seeks to base the existence of God from the fact that the universe is ordered with forces and laws that complement each other giving support to the survival of human lives. This asserts that God made the universe with human being like us in mind. Another argument that seeks to prove the existence of God is the moral argument which asserts that we are all bound to act under some moral laws. Laws tha t tell us what to do. So who is it really that orders us to behave morally? The argument from design probably holds more water. Scientists have not even been able to come up with clear facts to explain evolution and how everything in the universe seems to co-exist naturally as though it was all pre-planned. It is therefore most likely that the creator intended to create a universe that could support life, because it could have had different matter laws to bar the existence but it didn’t. It thus preposterous to assert the existence of God impossible. The theory of evolution has been around for more than a century and has influenced the way people look at the world and proposes that they came in to being as a result of chance and they belong to a species group. The idea has gained momentum and the effects can be reflected in the development of bloody ideologies as people keep distancing themselves from the morality of religion. The theory of evolution has been put forward as a n imaginary hypothesis and to this day has not been backed up by any scientific experiment. Trials for this confirmation have further proven its invalidity. Nevertheless, many people have accepted the theory as fact like the law of gravity. Modern science however has proven in regards with the complexity of the human structure that it is quite impossible for life to come about as chance or emerge from natural conditions. What is the meaning of human life? To answer this question at all implies a religion. Social feelings are a source of the crystallization of religion. The desire for guidance, love and support prompts men to form the social or moral conception of God. This is the God of providence who protects, disposes, rewards and punishes. The God who according to the width of the believers outlook, loves and cherishes the life of the human race, or even for life as such, the comforter in sorrow and unsatisfied longing, who preserves the souls of the dead. This is the moral conce ption of God. We often arrive at a conception of the relation of science to religion is very different. When one views the matter historically one is inclined to look upon science and religion as irreconcilable antagonists, and for very obvious reasons. The people that believe in science and that really take the hypothesis of causality seriously are thoroughly convinced of the universal operation of the law of causation cannot for a moment entertain the idea of a ‘being’ who interferes in the course of happening events.

Management Information Systems IT Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Management Information Systems IT Project - Essay Example CRM greatly impacts the running and overall performance of a business. The most important effect of CRM is the reduction of costs. Effective management of customer relation has direct positive effects on the profits of the business and also increases customer loyalty. It also increases efficiency as the customer correspondence is channelized through technological means such as online services. Application of social business strategies may be used for enhancing the procedures of sales, services and other business aspects. The CRM users typically include the customers, the company employees who use it to communicate or collect information of customers and the general public who use it for general information purpose or potential customers. CRM facilitates each user with simplified and hassle-free solutions. A company employee finds it easy to categorize and classify the customers according to company parameters and priorities. This allows for better coordination and better accommodates the quality market (Anderson, Kristin & Kerr, pp. 18). The customer finds it comfortable to have a channel to communicate their concerns and issues to the company and a quick response usually translates into sales. For people in general, CRM provides the right tools for social analysis and allows for reaching the desired market in efficient manner and reduce redundancies. People also get attracted by the features provided by CRM and turn into potential future customers. The CRM strategy of implementing software and electronic communication means has eliminated the manual work to a bare minimum. The present day customer finds the web to be the easiest way of acquiring information. CRM caters for this tendency effectively. Features like customer services, helpdesk and online customer care representatives allow for more customers to be attracted to the business. The company also operates without fear of losing data as the use of cloud computing system allows for data backups to be