Saturday, August 31, 2019

Ovarian Cysts During Pregnancy

Ovarian Cyst during Pregnancy What are ovarian cysts? Ovarian cysts are fluid-filled, sac-like structures within an ovary. The term cyst refers to a fluid-filled structure. Therefore, all ovarian cysts contain at least some fluid. What causes ovarian cysts? Ovarian cysts form for numerous reasons. The most common type is a follicular cyst, which results from the growth of a follicle. A follicle is the normal fluid-filled sac that contains an egg. Follicular cysts form when the follicle grows larger than normal during the menstrual cycle and does not open to release the egg. Usually, follicular cysts resolve on their own over the course of days to months. Cysts can contain blood (hemorrhagic or endometrioid cysts) from injury or leakage of tiny blood vessels into the egg sac. Occasionally, the tissues of the ovary develop abnormally to form other body tissues such as hair or teeth. Cysts with these abnormal tissues are called dermoid cysts. What symptoms are caused by ovarian cysts? Most cysts are never noticed and resolve without women ever realizing that they are there. When a cyst causes symptoms, pain in the belly or pelvis is by far the most common one. The pain can be caused from rupture of the cyst, rapid growth and stretching, bleeding into the cyst, or twisting of the cyst around its blood supply. How are ovarian cysts diagnosed? Most cysts are diagnosed by ultrasound, which is the best imaging technique for detecting ovarian cysts. Ultrasound is an imaging method that uses sound waves to produce an image of structures within the body. Ultrasound imaging is painless and causes no harm. Cysts can also be detected with other imaging methods, such as CAT scan or MRI scan (magnetic resonance imaging). How can the physician decide if an ovarian cyst is dangerous? If a woman is in her 40's, or younger, and has regular menstrual periods, most ovarian masses are â€Å"functioning ovarian cysts,† which are not really abnormal. They are related to the process of ovulation that happens with the menstrual cycle. They usually disappear on their own during a future menstrual cycle. Therefore, especially in women in their 20's and 30's, these cysts are watched for a few menstrual cycles to verify that they disappear. Because oral contraceptives work in part by preventing ovulation, physicians will not really expect women who are taking oral contraceptives to have common â€Å"functioning ovarian cysts. † Thus, women who develop ovarian cysts while taking oral contraceptives may be advised against simple observation; rather, they may receive closer monitoring with pelvic ultrasound or, less commonly, surgical exploration of the ovary. Other factors are helpful in evaluating ovarian cysts (besides the woman's age, or whether she is taking oral contraceptives). A cyst that looks like it's just one simple sac of fluid on the ultrasound is more likely to be benign, than a cyst with solid tissue in it. So the ultrasound appearance also plays a role in determining the level of suspicion regarding a serious ovarian growth. Ovarian cancer is rare in women younger than age 40. After age 40, an ovarian cyst has a higher chance of being cancerous than before age 40, although most ovarian cysts are benign even after age 40. CA-125 blood testing can be used as a marker of ovarian cancer, but it does not always represent cancer when it is abnormal. First, many benign conditions in women of childbearing age can cause the CA-125 level to be elevated, so CA-125 is not a specific test, especially in younger women. Pelvic infections, uterine fibroids, pregnancy, benign (hemorrhagic) ovarian cysts, and liver disease are all conditions that may elevate CA-125 in the absence of ovarian cancer. Second, even if the woman has an ovarian cancer, not all ovarian ca ncers will cause the CA-125 level to be elevated. Furthermore, CA-125 levels can be abnormally high in women with breast, lung, and pancreatic cancer. How are ovarian cysts treated? Most ovarian cysts in women of childbearing age are follicular cysts (functional cysts) that disappear naturally in 1-3 months. Although they can rupture (usually without ill effects), they rarely cause symptoms. They are benign and have no real medical consequence. They may be diagnosed coincidentally during a pelvic examination in women who do not have any related symptoms. All women have follicular cysts at some point that generally go unnoticed. A follicular cyst in a woman of childbearing age is usually observed for a few menstrual cycles because the cysts are common, and ovarian cancer is rare in this age group. Sometimes ovarian cysts in menstruating women contain some blood, called hemorrhagic cysts, which frequently resolve quickly. Ultrasound is used to determine the treatment strategy for ovarian cysts because if can help to determine if the cyst is a simple cyst (just fluid with no solid tissue, seen in benign conditions) or compound cyst (with some solid tissue that requires closer monitoring and possibly surgical resection). In summary, the ideal treatment of ovarian cysts depends on the woman's age, the size (and change of size) of the cyst, and the cyst's appearance on ultrasound. Treatment can consist of simple observation, or it can involve evaluating blood tests such as a CA-125 to help determine the potential for cancer (keeping in mind the many limitations of CA-125 testing described above). The tumor can be removed either with laparoscopy, or if needed, an open laparotomy (using and incision at the bikini line) if it is causing severe pain, not resolving, or if it is suspicious in any way. Once the cyst is removed, the growth is sent to a pathologist who examines the tissue under a microscope to make the final diagnosis as to the type of cyst present. Ovarian Cysts At A Glance Ovarian cysts are fluid-filled, sac-like structures. Ovarian cysts form for numerous reasons. When a cyst causes symptoms, pain in the belly or pelvis is by far the most common one. Most cysts are diagnosed by ultrasound. The treatment of ovarian cysts varies from observation and monitoring to surgical procedures. Case Study: Ovarian Cyst during Pregnancy I am 35 and 13 weeks into my second pregnancy. Four weeks ago, I went to the hospital for pain in my lower right quadrant. A sonogram showed a cyst on my right ovary, about 15cm. The doctor has had me in bed since then, and I have had two more sonograms. It hasn't gone down. The doctors seem to think it is fluid-filled and not cancerous. Can cysts really go down on their own? How long should I wait to see if it will go down? Have you heard of any cysts this large during pregnancy, and do they pose a danger to the baby? Cysts (fluid-filled structures) can go down on their own, but it is unlikely a 15cm cyst in pregnancy will do so. Cysts are not that uncommon during pregnancy, affecting about 1 in 1,000 pregnant women. The vast majority of ovarian masses found during pregnancy are benign; the incidence of ovarian cancer is 1 in 25,000 births. Ultrasound can be helpful in determining if a mass is benign or malignant, but it cannot do so with 100 percent certainty. If ultrasound shows that the mass is strictly fluid-filled, without septation or thick walls, it is probably benign. The problem with large, even benign, cysts during pregnancy is that they may rupture or torse (twist on themselves). Either of these events leads to significant pain for mom and the potential for miscarriage or preterm labor and delivery for the baby. Large (more than 6-8cm) cysts are usually removed surgically if they do not decrease in size spontaneously over the course of a few weeks. In pregnancy, the best time to operate is in the second trimester, ideally around 14-16 weeks. Occasionally, a cyst may be dealt with via laparoscopy, but very large cysts often require a large, open incision. A 15 cm cyst is rather big, and the potential for complications like rupture is high. If it has remained for more than two weeks, I suggest you talk to your doctor about your option. Your doctor may have been just watching you for now, until you get out of the first trimester (the first 13 weeks of pregnancy). I have removed several masses this size during pregnancy, and all of my patients went on to deliver normal, healthy babies.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Easyjet Case Analysis Essay

Is the budget airline segment an attractive place to be? Why (not)? Yes, the budget airline segment is very attractive in a country where the people are interested to travel in low cost airlines without much comforts like business class and food. And more over if the company can reduce its costs in the areas of operations and utilising the resources more efficiently, then budget airline segment is definitely an attractive place. Some of the areas where we can look into reduce the costs are like using the no frills strategy, reducing the number of travel agents, reducing the aircraft stay in a airport (which reduce the fees to be paid for the airports). The above are the some of the strategies used by the easyjet airways and also they used their resources to maximum extent like they operated Boeing flights for 11 hours per day compared to their rivals who used 6 hours per day. Rising middle class all over the world is also another factor which makes the budget airline segment an attractive place because they can afford the air travel at such a low price there by increasing the volumes of air traffic and helps in increasing the profits of the airlines. As the prices are low for the aircraft, the profit margins are also very low and the airlines has to strictly adhere to its operating policies like punctuality and low fares to attract masses and generate revenues. If one cannot stick to their standards they may lose the market (as in the case it was mentioned some 60 out of 80 carriers went bankrupt). Some other aircraft carriers which are successful in this segment are American southwest airlines and Indian Spicejet (They generated profits after introducing the new strategy of low prices). Also in the case it was mentioned the European budget airline segment was expected to grow by as much as 300% by 2004. So it is definitely a best place to compete and sustain. Also some of the business executives also prefer the low cost airlines as they might be travelling a lot and travelling low cost carriers reduces their expense and as they are available at any point of time. Porters five forces can be also used to know the attractiveness of a industry. Bargaining power of Suppliers: The suppliers of the industry are major aircraft manufacturing companies, some of the outsourcing firms, and travelling agents. Here in this case aircraft manufacturers like Boeing have their upper hand. When coming to outsourcing and travel agents airlines try to minimise their intervention to be competitive. Bargaining Power of Buyers : Since there will be lot of competitors in the industry and ultimately the bargaining power rests with the majority of the customers or travellers in this case. Threat of New Substitutes : In many places in Europe, High Speed Rail network directly competes with low-cost airlines. Still 50% of people travelling in some of the routes preferred business class travel. Threat of New Entrants : As mentioned earlier there is scope of 300% growth by 2004 and so many new entrants try to compete in this industry but from the data available it is mentioned 60 out of 80 entrants went bankrupt. So this may restrict the new entrants to think before entering this sector. Intensity of Rivalry Among competetors: The intensity of competition is very high from the competitors like British airways which launched a separate airlines to tap the low budget airline segment So overall considering the above all cases and if an airline can reduce their costs and increase their operational performance, then definitely budget airlines is the place it can compete. How does EasyJet deliver its customer value proposition? Some of the value propositions offered to the customers by the Easyjet are 1. The airlines flew brand new fleet of Boeing 737s to impress the people and let them know they don’t compromise on the safety of the carriers 2. They hired the experienced pilots and crew at market rates and customers are pleased to find the smiling crew when they boarded the flight. 3. They operated strictly according to schedule and had the policy of refunding amount if they are late by 3 hours 4. The cost of changing to another flight was very less (â‚ ¬10+ difference of the fare) 5. Passengers are required to carry their 6 character reference number instead of the tickets. This reduces the paper wastage. 6. Stelios portrayed image of Man of the people by personal interaction with customers. 7. No pre-assigned seating offered. Allotment was based on first come first serve basis. The Harvard Business School case study on Amazon Web Services (AWS) by Huckman, Pisano, and Kind, outlines Amazon’s expansion into selling â€Å"cloud† services. In 2002, 8 years after Amazon appeared as an online retail bookstore, the company started exposing product data in a â€Å"developer-friendly† format to its affiliates via an application program interface (API). The resulting positive response exceeded expectations and led Amazon executives to recognize a market for renting their highly reliable and scalable technical infrastructure to developers in the form of pay-as-you-go web services. By 2008, Amazon had introduced 12 services, including four core offerings described as â€Å"Infrastructure Web Services†: Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), Simple Storage Service (S3), Simple DB, and Simple Queue Service (SQS). While the move into cloud computing was an unexpected and bold step by Amazon that surprised the application hosting industry, was AWS a disruptive strategy or a new business model? Clayton Christensen describes a disruptive technology as â€Å"changes that toppled industry’s leaders.† While the idea of leveraging existing assets to create a new business opportunity and gain a competitive advantage was a unique concept and industry differentiator for Amazon, it was not disruptive by definition. Incumbent leaders on the server and computing side like IBM, Sun, and HP all had sophisticated back-ends and application frameworks similar to Amazon and each were starting to develop initiatives to provide infrastructure and software solutions in the cloud. In addition, many large corporations such as Network Appliance, EMC, and Dell already offered online storage capabilities comparable to S3, albeit few provided a similar pay-as-you-go model. AWS was also in front of the other Internet giants, but not by much as each major player already had a mature web hosting business and was starting to develop web service offerings. Microsoft introduced two families of web services in 2005: Windows Live, a suite of consumer software services, and Office Live, a similar range of services targeted to small business. Salesforce.com established force.com in 2007, a platform for developers to create business applications, and Google introduced App Engine in 2008, which was expected to evolve and compete directly with AWS. Amazon first considered creating a broader developer-oriented business when the company realized it was spending â€Å"†¦70 percent of its time building and maintaining the back-end technology ‘muck’ that did not differentiate Amazon from its competitors.† The company brilliantly identified the right new business model at the right time and Andy Jassy’s foresight and vision gained Amazon the first-mover advantage in the developer business. The company, however, did not redefine the back-end infrastructure technology supporting their services nor did they introduce a pioneering approach to data center management that significantly reduced overhead costs and destabilized competition. Amazon’s strategy introduced nothing that neither â€Å"toppled† the industry leaders nor prevented them from responding relatively quickly in offering their technology in the same manner as Amazon. While Amazon‘s cloud computing and web services offering is rich, encompassing, and ahead of its competition, AWS is a new business model positioned to reduce costs and increase free cash flows through better asset utilization. It will be interesting to see the impact true technology companies like IBM, Google, and Microsoft have on AWS as their web services solutions mature. What if AWS cannot maintain the volumes needed to offset their costs? Does Amazon’s move away from their core business and heavy investment in technology leave them inflexible and vulnerable to the strategy of a new online bookstore that utilizes cloud computing in a disruptive way to reduce costs and sell books for less?

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Analysis of Demand and Supply for Ford SUVs and Trucks

Analysis of Demand and Supply for Ford SUVs and Trucks This paper will discuss the analysis of Demand and Supply for Ford’s SUVs and trucks. Particularly the larger SUVs and Trucks. What is demand and supply analysis? It â€Å"is the study of how buyers and sellers interact to determine transaction prices and quantities.† (Demand and Supply Analysis: Introduction, 2011). It might be hard to believe that the big SUVs and trucks sells are on the rise while all sedans sales are plummeting in ever category. Half a decade ago SUVs and trucks sells were rock bottom but with the current economy, low gas prices, low interest rates, and the average income is on the rise, people are opting for the larger vehicles. Ford is one manufacture that is going to take advantage of the new demand shift. Ford has opted out of making any more sedans and to only to make SUVs and trucks. Ford will keep two sedans which is the Ford Focus and the Ford Mustang their best sellers. Ford plans to introduce new SUVs and Trucks to cover more of the market segments, because not ever consumer can afford Fords top tier line that cost upwards of seventy to eighty thousand dollars. The Analysis of Demand and Supply. Less than five years ago car manufacturers were on a race to improve fuel economy. This was mostly due to the high gas prices. From around 2011 until late 2014 going into 2015 gas prices averaged over $3.50 a gallon and high average just over $4.00 dollars a gallon. The above chart is from (Gas Price Charts, 2018). According to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the average American driver puts in 13,474 miles behind the wheel each year. So, if U.S. consumer was to by a large SUV that got a combine average of 18mpg and at $4 dollars a gallon it would have cost the consumer $2,994 dollars. However, if the consumer was to buy a car that got closer to 40mpgs it would have cost the consumer $1,347.4 dollars. This would have saved the consumer on average $137 dollars a month just in gas not to mention that the smaller cars cost less. Gas was a significant factor but there were other factors such as economic confidence was down, the average American’s salary was stagnate and even declining. During the time frame 2010 to 2016 consumers were spending less. The economic environment has changed, and the economy has strengthened over the last two years. Gas prices are lower with the current national average of $2.84. At the current gas price and with the larger SUVs and Trucks peaking around 20mpgs it would currently cost the consumer $1,913 dollars in gas, this is a thousand dollars a year savings. Other factors driving consumers spending more on cars are Americans have more economic confidence and American wages are on the rise. According to USA Today â€Å"U.S. workers’ wages and benefits grew 2.6% last year [2017] the fastest 12-month pace since the spring of 2015.† (Wages rise at 2.6% in 2017, 2017). This means that U.S consumers have a little more money in their pocket and they don’t want the same cars any longer and are willing to spend more to get more. Americans have always been drawn towards larger vehicles more than other nations. Therefore, Ford has made the change to focus more on their SUV line and Truck line. Only two cars survived the chopping block. One thing that is evident with the current new demand is the price. In 2013 the Ford Expedition top out at $51,355 dollars in the top trim level of the King Ranch. Now in 2018 Ford has introduced a remodeled Ford Expedition and the top tier base price is $76,175 dollars. These prices were gathered from Autotrader.com. What caused this massive jump in price in just 5 years. To start out the demand was down because of the recent high gas prices. With the environmental factor such as gas price this will reduce the demand for larger vehicle when there is a alternative vehicle that got better gas mileage and cost tremendously less. As the gas went down and the consumer income went up the demand for these SUVs went up, but the supply was low. Fords parent company Lincoln was selling their high-end Lincoln Navigator but Ford was having a hard time keeping up the demand. In January of 2018 Lincoln sold 1,300 Navigators this number was up 97.5% from January in 2017. Not only was Lincolns sales up but of those 1,300 Navigators sold 84% of them were Lincolns two highest trim level which brought a price of over $90,000 dollars. While everyone might not be able to spend upwards of $80,000 to $90,000 dollars Ford is introducing new models that are smaller but look like an SUV. This move is to capitalize on the current trend that people are moving away form sedans and that the current technology is allowing some of the smaller crossover SUVs to get upwards of the 30mpg range. The ability to get 30mpgs in a SUV will help Ford survive if the gas price was to go up or if the economy was to take a down turn. In the end if the economy is right the U.S. consumer will spend more on their vehicle but if gas goes up and the economy tanks we could see prices fall for the large SUVs and Trucks.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Formal Business Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Formal Business Report - Essay Example CSR has been defined by the British Government as being how business takes account of its economic, social and environmental impacts in the way it operates - maximising the benefits and minimising the downsides (Jones, Bowd and Tench 2009). CSR has also been defined as a ‘‘concept whereby companies decide voluntarily to contribute to a better society and a cleaner environment’’ (Dijken, 2007). This suggests that the companies acknowledge that apart from financial performance, they have a responsibility towards the society. This includes their voluntary responsibility towards the internal and the external stakeholders. CSR is now synonymous with terms such as corporate citizenship, proactive community involvement, commitment to quality, human rights, health, safety and environment. However, CSR initiatives should be voluntary but most organizations engage in discharging their social responsibility more as a compliance with legal regulations. Lack of a univers al and precise definition also reflects that CSR activities are motivated by a desire for eventual return (Frankental, 2007). Data to evaluate the actions of companies has been gathered both through secondary sources and primary sources. Secondary data has been collected from academic journals presented as literature review. Primary data has been gathered to evaluate how consumers perceive the CSR initiatives of companies in general. A small survey was conducted among people that work for different organizations. This was a general survey to gather the impression that people have about CSR and its potential benefits. To gather qualitative data, questionnaire (Appendix A) was distributed to about 25 people and the results of the survey has been presented and discussed. CSR provides sustained competitive advantage, CSR enhances corporate image and CSR ensures the stakeholders’ interests are taken care of (Chen 2012). However, organizations resort

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Climate change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Climate change - Essay Example Researchers have the view that the temperature has risen by 0.8 -1o on the Celsius scale globally. The increase in the temperature may look small but it may bring a bigger difference in some of the temperature sensitive environments. The melting of the Atlantic Glaciers and glaciers at some other regions depicts the situation due to the climate change. Ecosystems and Climate Change Ecosystem plays a significant role in shaping the livelihood of the earth. However, the observed effects of the climate change are not such adverse that are estimated, as some of the organisms have the capability to adjust with the climate change. Some of the organisms within the island ecosystem such as coral reefs are much influenced with the little degree rise in the temperature (FAO 3-79). Like the Pacific Island’s mangrove area may decline from 1% to 13% as the temperature increases from 2o to 4o. In the Islands at higher altitudes, the temperature increase is causing the show to melt and thus endangering some species by increasing the amount of invasive species. Moreover, the increase in the level of the sea water might become a reason for the bleaching of the coral reef and effecting the reproduction of the coral reefs and thus lessening the life of the coral reefs. Coral reefs are important in becoming a reason for providing the other species like fish, shelter and food. Biodiversity can be influenced by the events such as the cyclones, where the repetitions of the cyclones are increased. With just an increase of 2% in the temperature, the intensities of the cyclones are increased by 12 or 15% (IFAD, n.pag.). Moreover, the climate change impacted the generation of ice over the... Natural processes have a set impact on the earth’s climate; however, the utilization of the fossil fuel sources to produce energy has produced many problems. The most distinguished problem of the burning of the fossil fuel is the emission of the green house gases. The green house gases are named due to having the ability to trap the solar radiations inside the earth’s atmosphere in the presence of water vapors in the atmosphere. In this way, the solar radiation never go back to the space and constantly warm up the earth’s atmosphere. The green house effect is created artificially in the green houses to develop certain plant species. Human activity is the major cause of the climate change. The utilization of the fossil fuel resources to attain energy is highly impacting the earth’s climate. There is a need reduce the utilization of the fossil fuel resources, as fossil fuels produce green house gas emissions that are capable of trapping the solar radiations. It is recommended to utilize the sustainable and renewable resources to produce energy like solar, wind, geothermal, hydropower, etc. as sustainable and renewable resources produce no or little green house gas emissions. If it is not feasible to utilize the renewable resources, the fossil fuel resources that lave lower percentage of emission must be utilized like natural gas is better than both coal and oil, as it has lower quantity of emissions. There is need to control the climate change for the existence of the human life and for the existence of our planet.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Case study- Corporate Governance Failure at Satyam Computer Services Study

- Corporate Governance Failure at Satyam Computer Services - Case Study Example Ethics can be termed as a moral principles or set of standard followed by an individual. Business ethics can be termed as a set of moral values and principles that help the business managers to arrive at unified conclusion. The impact of business ethics on managerial decision making is huge and has the potentiality of changing the course of managerial decision making. It is observed that the influence of legal laws on the managerial decision making is huge and can have considerable amount of influence on the personal lives of individual as well (George, 2011). Since, business activity is also regarded as a human activity, the evaluation of business ethics would be done in a similar fashion. Apart from the importance of the business ethics, various facets of ethics and its application in the Satyam scandal would be covered. The application of ethical theories and how it’s effective result oriented approach would have changed the entire business scenario in Satyam. Ethical appli cations would have a serious impact on the future business activities, as varied dimensional aspects theory approaches proposed by Laznaick and Dimitriou (1995, cited by Dimitriou et. al., 2011) would have moulded the different business situations to large extent to increase the organizational outcome and effectiveness. 1.1 Satyam Case Scandal & its Ethical Implications The Satyam case scandal was one of the most classic cases of fraudulent accounting, which had a serious impact on its business activities, reputation and its earnings. The Satyam case scandal was a result of sheer negligence by the management towards it fiduciary duties, accounting procedure and lack of corporate social responsibility. One of the major reasons as observed by the analyst behind this kind of negligent behaviour would be due to the greed to earn more revenue just to satisfy the stakeholders and the shareholders. The major need that led to this kind of illegal behaviour was due to greed overshadowing, la ck of responsibility to meet the fiduciary duties and the fierce competition just to impress the stakeholders and investors. Apart from negligence to responsibility and duties towards the company ethical policies and procedures the company management planned to acquire 51 percent stake in Maytas infrastructure, which was one of the leading construction and infrastructure development companies (Caraballo, Cheerla and Jafari, 2010). In April 2008 the company CEO had acquired 37 stakes and the total turnover generated was almost $300 million with a net profit of $ 20 million (Caraballo, Cheerla and Jafari, 2010). In the same year the company had published its first IFRS audited financial statements and five members of the boards had approved the proposal to acquire a stake in the Maytas infrastructure and other properties (Caraballo, Cheerla and Jafari, 2010). However, without the shareholders approval, the company went ahead with the decision, which led to chaotic outcome. The decisio n regarding the acquisition

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Electric car Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Electric car - Research Paper Example There is not a single category of cars manufactured by the automobile manufacturing companies; rather they are categorized into many types based on mechanical specifications, shape, performance, and size. Any new model of a car brand includes some technical, mechanical, and technological enhancements, which make that specific model of car superior to earlier models. Apart from difference in brands, there also exist some differences in the types of cars. Some of the most renowned types include electric car, gasoline cars, and hybrid cars. All these types of cars have some advantages and disadvantages, which make the people switch from one car type to another. In this research paper, we will discuss those reasons that make people switch from gas cars to electric cars. Along with that, we will also take a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages of different types of cars which include gasoline cars, electric cars, and hybrid cars in order to get a better understanding of why peo ple’s choice shifts from one car to another type of car. What are Electric Cars? An electric car is a vehicle that makes use of electric motors and batteries instead of engines used by the gasoline cars. The rechargeable batteries control the main parts of electric cars, which give power to the electric motors that run the cars. Until the advancement in the internal combustion engine, electric cars were the most popular cars in the whole world. People used to travel in electric cars because they were the most popular transport in the late 19th century and the earlier decades of the 20th century. When the car manufacturing companies introduced internal combustion engine and less expensive gasoline cars, the demand for electric cars decreased. Another factor, which proved to be a reason for the decrease in interest for electric cars, was the energy crises of late 1970s. In that era, it became very difficult for the automobile manufacturing companies to gain profits by manufactu ring electric cars because of the decreased interest in electric cars, which had resulted due to the energy crises. The demand shifted from electric cars to gasoline and petrol cars because the prices of oil and petroleum were very low in that age as compared to today. However, electric cars have again started gaining popularity among the public not only due to various attractive features but also as the result of increased fuel prices all over the world. Today, those people who can have enough money to buy an electric car, do not want to buy gasoline cars. Some of the world’s most renowned car manufacturing companies such as Honda and Toyota are developing such cars, which are able to attract a large number of people towards electric cars. Features of Electric Cars A number of features make electric cars different from gasoline cars. Some of the most considerable features of electric cars include durability, convenience, much more efficiency as compared to gas engines, up to 500 hundred percent more efficiency than internal combustion engines, regenerative breaking system, and no emission production. There is no emission of fuels from electric cars because electric cars do not use gas at all for any purpose. â€Å"Once electricity is more commonly produced by water or wind, getting clean power to run electric cars will leave an even smaller carbon footprint† (Cultrona, n.d.). Compared to the internal comb

Stumper 3 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Stumper 3 - Assignment Example For instance, when a country is faced by the threat of wars, it compels that the government purchase some military equipments which consequently induces the need for bonds to settle the expenditures. Since the public savings is one of the major sources of the loanable funds market, its deterioration would cause a negative impact on the funds. When we have government spending surpassing the tax collection, it means there is minimal government savings and this leads to decrease in funds as it has to fund what tax is not able to cover (Mankiw 2011). However, when the governments refund the loanable funds market with significant profits, it contributes to its growth. It is clear from the case study that capital inflows and capital outflows are the two parts of the international capital account. The capital inflow provides loanable funds which are exchanged with financial assets (Mankiw 2011). This indicates that when a country is suffering from national dept or budget deficits, it benefits the international finance whereby it allows for financial exchanges. Capital outflow is a direct opposite of

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Does competition affect social preferences in the context of a Essay

Does competition affect social preferences in the context of a bargaining game Discuss - Essay Example Economics approach on these social preferences assumes that people are rationale and prioritize their personal interests before those of the other people. On the other hand, bargaining games are defined as a situation whereby at least two or more players are required to get into a consensus concerning how to share a given amount of goods, money, opportunities, or any other resource that might be of common interest (Wilkinson and Klaes,   2008, p22). In bargaining games, both parties try their level best to get the most favorable deal by getting into a fair agreement with the other party. Bargaining in labor unions, directors’ negotiation for wage increase as well as dispute between two communities or parties over distribution of a certain resources, territories among other elements are good examples of bargaining games (Wilkinson and Klaes,   2008, p23). To explain how competition affects social preferences, the writer will first focus on the Ultimate Game model. Ultimatum Game (UG) refers to a popular test that is used to analyze specific bargaining behaviors. It is a test of self-interested model that involves two players interacting to decide how to share a given amount of money. The game is commonly applied in economic experiments and the condition behind the game is that the two players must not be familiar with each other and that the game must be played only once between these two particular players. In this case, one of the players becomes the proposer while the other one becomes the responder. Both the required to share a given amount of money with the proposer being the main determinant of the mode of division to be used. The responder is given an option of either accepting the proposer’s offer or declining it, in case the offer is accepted, both get the amount shared according to how the proposer had made the offer, if the respondent declines it, both parties walk away with nothing

Friday, August 23, 2019

Qatars sporting legacy Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words

Qatars sporting legacy - Research Proposal Example The awarding of 2022 FIFA World Cup to Qatar came as a surprise to most of the Asians, Americans and Europeans. However, the fact is that this Gulf state bagged this honor and privilege after years of painstaking commitment to and investment in sports. That is why Qatar was given a preference over some of the most celebrated sports hubs like the USA, Australia, South Korea and Japan. This very fact speaks a lot about the sports legacy of Qatar. This privilege was ample testament to the fact that though being a small nation of 1.7 million people, Qatar is capable of great achievements. FIFA World Cup and other such events will certainly give a flip to Qatar’s standing on the international stage. The modern Qatar is now being associated with high profile sporting events and is considered to be a champion, as far as the task of committing to and supporting sports is concerned. Qatar took a big step towards expanding its sports infrastructure and developing its organizational abil ities way back in 2006, when it hosted the Asian Games. Qatar also hosts a range of international events pertaining to varied sports like golf, soccer, tennis and cricket every year. Actually, this potential of Qatar has attracted the attention and appreciation of the world community and the international sports bodies and institutions. The years following the hosting of 2006 Asian Games have witnessed Qatar’s metamorphosis from being a tiny Arab emirate to a world class sports venue and sporting destination.... The modern Qatar is now being associated with high profile sporting events and is considered to be a champion, as far as the task of committing to and supporting sports is concerned. Qatar took a big step towards expanding its sports infrastructure and developing its organizational abilities way back in 2006, when it hosted the Asian Games. Qatar also hosts a range of international events pertaining to varied sports like golf, soccer, tennis and cricket every year. Actually, this potential of Qatar has attracted the attention and appreciation of the world community and the international sports bodies and institutions. The years following the hosting of 2006 Asian Games have witnessed Qatar’s metamorphosis from being a tiny Arab emirate to a world class sports venue and sporting destination. In the last decade, sports have assumed a central place in the nation’s cultural and economic life. Qatar’s sporting prestige has been successful in attracting some of the top notch sport stars like Sergio Garcia, Roger Federer, Justine Henin and Ernie Els to its shores. Hence any attempt to understand Qatar’s sports legacy ought to take a broad based and holistic perspective, taking into consideration the sanguine political and economic landscape of Qatar that has turned out to be so conducive for sports. The Nation Since the second half of the 19th century, Qatar has been ruled by the Al Thani family. During the British reign, Qatar was primarily known to be a small and poor protectorate (The World FactBook 2011: Online). However, post independence, Qatar has evolved into a sovereign state, accruing billions of dollars annually from its oil and natural gas reserves. In the period 1980-1990, the economy of Qatar was severely jeopardized

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Technological Applications within Human resource Essay Example for Free

Technological Applications within Human resource Essay Human resource department is moving from the traditional way of doing things that is remote and inefficient to a more modern way through computerization that comes with great benefits and surpasses the traditional methods. A computerized system can be termed as eHR which simply means the use of predictable, web and voice innovations to enhance firm’s dealings, organization and process performance. It is therefore prudent for the CEO of the company to embrace such a modern system for efficiency in the firm in order to enhance the human resource services, in order to reduce operational costs, to improve the relationship between the management and the entire staff, to meet customer demands and to offer quality services to its customers and the staff. Technological applications within HR department have various benefits that include the following: with computerized systems the human resource department can develop a viable information strategy that will lead to increase in accessing the relevant information. Another benefit is that of achieving consistent and streamlined processes. This leads to a good and organized system that ensures that the laid down procedures are harmonized to be applicable to all and without confusion. The other benefits come up through the acquisition of the right information for those who need it to make correct decisions thus avoiding risks and losses that come up from guesswork. Also with technological application the management has the opportunity to achieve and maintain a superior internal profile for human resource that leads to achieving the goals and objective of the organization as stipulated by the mission and the vision of the company. (Hal and Dianna, 2005) However, such technological innovations have their own drawbacks and therefore needing the CEO’s attention; such problems include lack of understanding of the system developed using advanced technologies. There is need for the organization to incur extra funds to manage the advancement and also train those working to be better and efficient in utilizing the new technology. Another problem comes up due to inadequate coding of information that is arrived at when there is poor setting of the structures used to code. The middle level managers and supervisors may also bring a problem by holding and maintaining information that may help both the workers and the company at large. This comes when the managers do not have easy access to the system and a lot of manual that holds them . Lack of clarity of responsibilities for getting information on how the system can be used can also cause a great harm thus needing responsibilities to be well specified to correct the problem Research has shown that there is need to come up with a good computerized system for efficiency in the HR department to ensure that there is ease of managing the human resource. Such systems will include: holding personal details about the individuals workers that will include skills, qualification, career history, leave and absence records. Another system will include the production of reports which summarize diverse aspects of this information. It will also hold particulars about employees’ jobs which include things like their job grades, job description, role classification and pay and their benefits. It will also be of value to the company if the CEO ensures that there is information on recruitment and training administration. The computerized system in the company should also be able to provide information by recording and analyzing absence, labour turnover and attendance that helps management to make decisions on individual workers. It should be able to do job evaluation of the workers. For reward management and human resource planning, it will need a sophisticated system that will be in a position to support strategic decision making. (James, 2002) Provision of linkages to the internet is also a part of computerized system which will ease the function of the management of the company and can be of help in instances where the companies do recruitments and other things through the internet. There will be pitfalls that will automatically come from computerization that will not be received well by the affected in general. This are for instance the need for all the personal details about individuals can be tricky to workers since the management can base it in making decisions about them that may be of negative impact. Those being retrenched for instance will be sorted according to the information on qualification academically rather than experience In the event where the accessibility of workers information is not well protected, it can find way to people who can use it against persons who are the bearers of the said information and it becomes very dangerous to the workers. The personal details that must be handled with privacy include: medical history and discipline, employees qualifications, absence, special skills and competence e. t. c must be kept very private. Some top managers may take advantage and misuse the available information to mistreat those that are vulnerable and result to even others deciding to leave the organization while others will be affected psychologically and lead to reduced labour turnover. Some workers inaccessibility and familiarity with technology will make them feel inferior and will not take into account their various responsibilities and needs thus affecting them in the way they perform their duties. (Hal and Dianna, 2005) Best plan for the CEO The CEO must adopt the modern computerized technology to be in a position to be efficient and more organized for the success of the company. The CEO must establish the current need and also the future needs of the business and also analyze everything that results from information system that will be designed. It will require the company to ensure that the systems developed will be well customized to better serve the company and the whole population at large and it can be in a position to hold all the information of workers and avoid information overload so as to be integrated and also give maximum output for the benefit of the company. There is a need to come up with a good statement of all the requirements to make the computerization a success. Taking into consideration the business requirements, the CEO must identify the best options to tackle the problem while at the same time being strategic to realize the business goals set by the company. The CEO must support it by giving financial support after evaluation and analysis and then go ahead to buy the needed facilities. (James, 2002) The system should be in a position to get direct input at source to be able to get the data that is vital for the basis of decision making. It should solve the problems that were experienced there before and help the line managers by giving them information in an easy understandable manner. The system designed must not only help deal with the management information system but should also handle the administrative processes well. The CEO must ensure that they acquire the best technical infrastructure to support the program well. They will include the following; Application Service Provider (ASP) It will help the administration to do its administrative role well through a proper. Smaller or medium sized organizations rely on ASP in outsourcing the burden of running the system. ASP will help the company very much since the number of workers is around 200 HR/corporate intranet It is an electronic system that is networked therefore enabling all the available information to be communicated to departments and the centers that require the information within the organization. The available information that can be relayed comprises HR policies’, links that can be of help to the management to interface with other workers directly with HR applications and make changes or enquiries that can give assistance when required. B2E portal The organization can utilize this system that can help the human resource department by providing it with a single intranet screen that can make the company to collect information on the workers and give the workers and the people ready access to it. Human resource information system It is very important for the CEO to have a human resource information system that helping managing the HR processes and include important data that include, payroll systems, reward and performance management, recruitment e. t. c (Hal and Dianna, 2005) Conclusion It has been proved globally that modern organizations can only succeed when they are equipped with modern computerized system that can help the management of human resource for the growth and success of firms. The CEO has no choice but embrace the modern way that is easily manageable and less costly in the long run. With a number that is between 180 to 200 workers ‘keeping the file system to store information for the whole population can be quite hectic and also expensive since it will require a good number of workers to work in the human resource department to serve the company and the workers. Information required from files takes a very long time to be accessed unlike in the computerized system that is fast and efficient and can be made to perform multi-tasks and handle I perfectly unlike the use of workers who can only give attention to only one chore at a time. The company will now be in a position to assist give crucial information for better management and also handle issues related to their payments and also administer pay reviews, job evaluation e. t. c for the success of the company. (James, 2002)

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Job roles at Tescos Essay Example for Free

Job roles at Tescos Essay A Director is also sometimes known as chief executive officer. CEO are the main bosses of PLCs-Public limited Companies- The title reflects his or her role as both a member of the Board of Directors but also as the senior manager. In large Companies, including investment banks and other financial institutions, Director/Managing Director does not refer to the chief executive but can rather refer to the head of a major business unit. Even though it is known as CEO in some cases, companies prefer the term Director or Managing Director. The responsibility and the role of a CEO is to make sure the company is functioning properly financially. They are the main people who give instructions to employees lower status to them. The Directors are the face of the business. They have a huge responsibility as if the company becomes corrupt or bankrupt this will be due to the director not making correct choices. A Managing Director usually has job security because the board rely on them to keep the company running correctly, if the board decides to fire the director it would be really difficult to find a replacement quickly, therefore it would cost the company quite a lot of money. Because of this usually the job of a CEO is secured. Typical day to day jobs of a Managing Director range from making strategic planning to dealing with customers. Skills, qualifications and personal qualities needed to be a Managing director range from University level degree to peer to peer skills in order for them to communicate accordingly with customers. Managing director are highly appreciated for their work, therefore are paid quite large amounts of salaries, these salary begin from à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½65,000 and can lead up to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½500,000. The benefit of a CEO is that they get paid bonuses in the end if they are PLC Company. These bonuses range from 50%+ of the original salary. The CEO/Managing Director of Tescos is Terry Leahy. The role and day to day jobs of Terry include making final decisions on things like if Tescos wants to create more branches or close down branches. Mr Leahy might also be involved into making decisions such as if Tesco as a whole want a redecoration or they want a new logo. Again Terry Leahy is the face Tesco; he reflects the popularity of Tesco. Operative: Tescos operatives key responsibilities are to offer customer service for their customers. For example, if they are a cashier they will offer customer service when the customers buy products from the till, where as if the they are a shelf stacker they may help customers who are looking for a specific product or give them advice about particular products they might be interested in. A Tesco operative isnt considered usually as a secure job. The reason being, to be an operative you dont require a lot of skills, because of this it means that a large amount of people fit this criteria, therefore Tescos wouldnt hesitate to quickly fire the operative as they would have a handful of people to select the new operative from. Tesco also likes to employ their operatives on temporary contracts. This means that by law it is easy for Tesco to get rid of the employee. The only way a Tescos operative could get a little bit of security would be if they sign a permanent contract. This means that it would be legally much harder for the company-Tesco- to fire the operative. Usually an operative wouldnt be offered a permanent contract without previously completing a temporary contract. The basic skills that a operative will need is ranged from good communication skills, and to have basic English and maths skills, also on top of these educational skill they will also need a common sense and a sense of humour. They will need to be organised and well presented. No degree is usually needed to qualify as an operative, but obviously a GCSE will be taken as a good factor. The wages of an operative usually ranges from minimum to around à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½7 an hour. Operatives are rarely paid their salaries in a yearly basis. Benefits which affect a Tescos operative would be things like a certain amount discount on the companies products, the operative would also be entitled to around about 4-5 weeks paid holiday per year. Manager: The managers, of a branch of Tescos have important responsibilities. These range from ensuring that their operatives and supervisors are working to their full potential and that the department or the store is meeting their day to day targets. For example an overall Tesco store manager will have much more responsibilities than for example a meat department manager. The tasks of a Tescos store manager would range from ensuring if for example the meat department has enough supplies for the week, or if bakery departments needs more flour to bake bread, the manager might need to arrange the sources. The managers at Tescos usually have a stable and secure job. This is explained because to apply for a position like a manager, you will need either have a lot of experience working for Tesco, or another supermarket, or will need to have degrees at a higher level of education. Usually managers of Tescos have worked their way up from starting at a lower place like an Operative, and through years of experience they reach the managers position. However reaching a managers position this way is very difficult as it takes a lot of patience and hard work. The other way of getting a job as a manager of Tescos, might be to get a business masters degree, although again, this takes a few years of studying in university, and there is only a small range of people who have these type of qualifications in the labour market. The role of the manager of Tescos is very different to the job role of an operative. The job of a manager requires a large range of skill; as they will have many decisions to make and problems to conquer. The store manager of a certain branch of Tescos might need to make decisions from such as if they need to fire a certain employee at that branch to decide whether or not to change the layout of the Tesco. Another serious problem a manager will be facing would be deciding how to react with the complaints of the stores customers. As you can see the manager has a large amount of responsibility when it comes to decision making, this is why either experience or qualifications is a must, so the person makes the correct decision. The skills which a manager of a supermarket will need will range from good communications skills-in orders to deal upfront with customers complaints- to being a proven leader, a motivator in order to lead his or her employees to complete the aims of Tesco the fastest and most efficient way. They need to be able to do independent work, to be organised, committed and hardworking. A sense of humour is also a skill which they need; this comes in handy with the communication with the customers, and is a big asset in solving day to day problems, such as complaints. As a standard procedure, benefits come with the job of being a manager. These benefits are much better than the benefits of a standard operative. Managers are paid in a annual salary-per annum. The amount will vary on the size of the store of Tesco, for example if its a Tesco express not a standard big Tesco and the amount of qualifications the individual has. The amount ranges from à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½20,000-à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½35,000. The contract of a manager may state that they are contracted to work 40 hours per week, and this is all they will be paid for, however they may find themselves working longer hours then problems might occur. The benefits of a manager include larger discounts on Tescos products compare to operatives, and unlike the 4-5 weeks of paid holiday for operative, the managers will get 5-6 weeks of paid holidays per year. C-Grade A contract of employment is a contract binding under the law of United Kingdom, between the employee and the employer-Tescos- stating the terms and conditions of the employment. Explanation of sales operatives contract of employment Salary: A sales assistant is paid just above minimum wage, at à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½6.50 per hours. A salary is a form of a periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which is specified in the contract of employment, while the wage is a payment for a certain unit of labour for a certain unit of time. The reason for such a small wage for a sales assistant is because this doesnt require a lot of experience and qualifications, in fact if you can count its enough to be a sales assistant. Date paid: A sales assistant salary day is usually paid monthly, and during the end of the month and is important because this is the day they receive payment for the service which they have provided. Hours of Work: Sales assistant work for around 40 hours a week, over a 5 day period which Name of the contracted parties: This is where the employer and the employee are named with there addresses Starting date of the employee: This is the date of which the employee has begun working at Tescos. Job title and description: This is one of the most important sections in the contract, due to the fact that this is the bit where it is fully described on what the employee has to do, and what fits into their jobs guidelines. Address of workplace: This is the section where it clearly states the address of the place the employee will be working every day, and where they should go to every morning. Holiday entitlement: This is the section where it states how much holidays an employee is allowed. Usually for a sales operative on average its 4 weeks (20 days) of paid holiday per year. And every year after the first year an amount of 1 day is added to the paid holidays. Sickness entitlement: Contractual sick pay: the employee will receive their normal salary for a period of 4 weeks, in any 12 month period where a doctors certificate is produced after 7 consecutive days of sickness. Payments will be less statutory sick pay and any social securitys benefit due to the employee. So the sales operative would only be allowed to take 7 sick days off without a doctors note. Devoting full time to the company: This shows that the sales operative will need to devote their full attention to their job when they are at work. They are not allowed to spend any time phoning friends, or furthering other business interest at a time which Tesco is paying them. Reimburse of expenses: If a Tescos employee like the sales operative spends any money on the business of Tescos, then they need to keep the receipts so Tescos reimburse the amount in which the employee has spent. Disability: If a Tescos employee is injured at the workplace, Tescos are legally obliged to pay for their medical costs. Notice Periods: Time In Employment Minimum Notice Under 1 Month No Notice Over 1 Month 1 Week 2 Years Service 2 Weeks 3 to 12 years service One week for each year to a maximum of 12 weeks. Death Benefits: If one of the Tescos employees dies, then Tescos are legally obliged to compensate the family of the employee who just died. Oral Moderation not binding: This means that anything that are orally changed that might be made to the contract are not binding under the law of the United Kingdom. And if both the employee and the employer wish to have this a legal matter, they will need to write it down, agreed , and then Tescos and the employee have to both sign it Both the employee and the employer have to sign the contract otherwise, it is not a legally binding contract and can not be used in the court of law, if in any case needed.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on Finances

Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on Finances Summary The objective of this research is to study the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on financial performance. The trend of CSR addresses a major challenge in providing a broader representation of the business environment, understood not simply in its economic and financial but also social, human and ecological through an operationalization and verification of the theoretical model proposed in a sample of Tunisian firms, evidenced by a questionnaire sent to 30 companies Tunisian drawn. The results are the lack of link between CSR and financial performance measured by the accounting ROA, while there is a positive if financial performance is measured by ROE. Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility of Firms, Financial Performance, Rà ©sumà © Lobjectif de cette recherche est dà ©tudier limpact de la Responsabilità © Socià ©tale de lEntreprise (RSE) sur la performance financià ¨re. La RSE rà ©pond à   un enjeu majeur, en proposant une reprà ©sentation à ©largie de lenvironnement des firmes, entendu non seulement dans ses dimensions à ©conomiques et financià ¨res, mais aussi sociales, humaines et à ©cologiques. A travers, une opà ©rationnalisation et une và ©rification du modà ¨le thà ©orique proposà ©, au niveau dun à ©chantillon dentreprises tunisiennes, matà ©rialisà ©, par un questionnaire adressà © à   30 entreprises tunisiennes tirà © au sort. Les rà ©sultats obtenus relà ¨vent labsence de lien entre la RSE et la performance financià ¨re mesurà ©e par lindicateur comptable ROA, alors quil existe un lien positif si la performance financià ¨re est mesurà ©e par lROE. Mots clà ©s: Responsabilità © Socià ©tale de lEntreprise, Performance Financià ¨re 1- INTRODUCTION In the 1850s, the role of the company was seen as a purely economic, and bounded to the maximization of profit for shareholders. In this regard, such an approach is consistent with a classical view of the firm where management essentially concerns managers and shareholders (Friedman, 1970). Further, the company was faced increased pressure from its stakeholders (Freeman, 1984). In this regard; it should take into account the effects of its activities in the communities where it operates. This brings her back to reconsider its relations with its stakeholders and to reconcile the often conflicting objectives of various interest groups. The idea of social responsibility of business now (CSR) responds to this challenge by providing a broader representation of the business environment, understood not simply in its economic and financial but also social, human and ecological. Any company that wants to ensure its sustainability, an imperative for financial performance, but also should not ignore or largely ignore the societal benefit that is to say, to engage in a societal approach. The objective of this research is twofold , first to study the impact of CSR on financial performance. Second in a more explicit, we wish to study in the target companies in our survey, the degree of perception of the concept of social responsibility through five dimensions namely: economic, legal, ethical, discretionary, and environmental. In this part, our problem is as follows; What is the impact of social responsibility of corporate financial performance? 2. SOCIETAL RESPONSIBILITY OF THE COMPANY (CSR): TOWARDS THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW CONCEPT Being responsible is to ensure their actions and their consequences and to accept accountability. But when this term is applied to the company, it is a concept that can be understood in different ways. Nowadays, the definition and delimitation of the concept of social responsibility still the subject of controversy and conceptual differences. So, social responsibility has been the subject of increased attention by many organizations of diverse nature, the European and global institutions, professional associations and business networks, Its emergence is born with Bowen (1953) who scored in the first initiative CSR refers to the requirement for businessmen to carry out the policies, decisions and follow the guidelines spreading objectives and values that are considered desirable in our society. Subsequently, MC Guire (1963) argues in his work that the idea of social responsibility implies that the firm has not only economic or legal obligations but also has responsibilities to society that go beyond these obligations . Then, Davis (1973) emphasizes that CSR refers to the consideration by the business issues that go beyond its economic obligations and the technical equal and close to the answers that gives these companies problems. This means that CSR begins where law ends. For Carroll (1979) CSR integrates all economic expectations, legal, ethical and philanthropic society may have in respect of a company at a time. While Jones (1980) stresses the idea that companies, by then the statutory or contractual obligation to have a societal actors. Similarly, Wood (1991) anchors his discussion on the meaning of the liability can be seen that through the interplay of three principles: legitimacy, public responsibility and distinction of three levels of institutional analysis, organizational and individual. In reality, these definitions are generally content to highlight the discretionary nature of CSR, highlighting the fact that it recognized the dimensions beyond the purely economic or legal activity of the company. What brought Carroll (1979) distinguish four categories of CSR: The economic responsibility The legal liability, Responsibility Ethics Responsibility discretion. 2.1 Approaches to CSR measures Measuring CSR is a necessary condition for knowledge of their own social responsibility and thus to control environmental and social impacts. Assessing the social and environmental performance, the establishment of a steering system for the performance and accountability on these external dimensions imply the existence of metrics to assess the quality of management of the business related non-financial. In fact, the existence of these metrics is also of particular importance to other stakeholders that ethical investors who require such information to select the best performing companies on the main criteria the quality of resource management Human and respect for human rights. This leads companies to establish a legal and socio-technical infrastructure to make measurable CSR stakeholders. In theoretical terms, the extent of CSR faces similar problems to those identified to define the concept of CSR: the multiplicity of approaches and dimensions of this complex concept, difficult to r eport objectively its components more subjective often linked to an assessment based on criteria related to ethics or a social context. 2.1.1 Measuring CSR in the academic literature Among the different methods of measurement of CSR that have been used, we can distinguish five categories: Measures of speech, such as content analysis of annual reports, which are to be based on remarks made by companies to assess their CSR, for example by counting the number of lines or words dedicated to themes CSR in the annual report of a company; Indicators of pollution provided by some agencies to assess the pollution of businesses, such as the Toxic Release Inventory in the U.S., or for example measurements of the diffusion of CO2 by businesses; Measures of attitudes and values aimed at assessing the sensitivity of members of the organization (eg managers, employees) to the various dimensions of CSR and are generally administered in the form of a questionnaire; Measures of reputation, such as the indicator of reputation developed by Markowitz in the 1970s in the American magazine Fortune, which includes criteria related to CSR that are assessed by a panel of industry experts to which operates within the enterprise in question; The behavioral measures or audit, developed by the agencies that specialize in the assessment of social behavior and environmental responsibility, such as the U.S. KLD, EIRIS in Britain or in France Vigeo. 3. FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE: DEFINITION Performance is tried to rely on market efficiency that ensures the best allocation of resources and rejects any notion of corporate responsibility other than making profit for its shareholders. As a design performance based on an external view (the current shareholders and potential), often linked to the stock exchange during the action of the company. The performance measures are thus based on data from financial statements. The control and management are geared towards the minimization of costs and return on investment. It is a large building which includes questions on the financial performance within the organization. For a financial indicator, the financial performance of the organization is measured by its financial validity, such as accessibility to different sources of funding or its profitability compared to its investments, its assets or its equity. 2.1 MEASUREMENT OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE According to empirical studies, accounting measures provide most of the time positive correlations between CSR and financial performance. (Cochran and Wood, 1994; Waddock and Graves, 1997; Preston and O Bannon, 1997; Stanwick and Stanwick, 1998; Balabanis, Hugh and Jonathan, 1998, Moore, 2001; Rufetal, 2001). In addition, these measures from the accounts have the advantage of providing a more relevant measure of economic performance of the company and predict a more reliable the possible link between CSR and financial performance. On the other hand, the stock market measures have the advantage of being less prone to managerial manipulation. Especially since they represent scores of investors on the business ability to generate economic benefits (Mc Guire et al, 1988). However, these variables are evaluated specific investor and does not allow to reveal the economic reality of the business (Ullmann, 1985), the results that emerge from studies using measures such as stock market are mi xed, Markovitz, (1972) found a positive relationship, Vance (1975) proves otherwise, and Buchotz Alexander (1978) found a weak correlation or no. Griffin and Mahon (1997) stress that results from market-related measures are mostly negative and called for greater use of accounting measures. To better understand the financial performance and provide a more comprehensive or less of the latter, further research incorporating both measures at a time (Mc Guire, et al, 1988; Balabanis, Hugh and Jonathan, 1998, Moore, 2001 ; Seifert; Maurras and Barktkus, 2003, 2004). 4. SOCIETAL RESPONSIBILITY AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE 4.1 CSR and financial performance: theoretical approaches 4.1.1 The existence of a relationship between CSR and financial performance The theoretical approaches to corporate social responsibility are essentially based on the current contract philosophers and sociological neo-institutionalism. They particularly questioned the compatibility between market logic and the goal of maximum profit that underpin the economic rationale of the business and societal concerns such as sustainable development, intergenerational equity, the general interest which are purposes prior to appearing foreign or contrary to the entrepreneurial logic. In other words, the exercise of social responsibility of business is it an impossible synthesis between the collective demands long-term expectations and short-term private? The theoretical basis is between two opposite poles: on one side, the neoclassical theories, based on market efficiency, reject any idea of social responsibility of business other than making profit for its shareholders (Friedman, 1970). On the other, theories that mobilize a teleological principle and argue that there i s a moral responsibility of policy makers towards future generations and a large number of societal problems. However, the only approach moralistic-ethical is not sufficient to illuminate the strategic behavior of firms in the societal area because it does not understand the motivations of corporate behavior. In this approach, stakeholders influence policy decisions of leaders and they are accountable to them about how they took into account their expectations. 4.2 The stakeholder theory From the 1980s, the theory of stakeholders (Stakeholders theory) is gradually accepted as a framework to further specify the groups vis-à  -vis what the enterprise is (or should exercise) its societal responsibilities. The work of Freeman (1984) popularized this theory by proposing to define as stakeholder all persons or groups who are likely to affect and / or be affected by the conduct of the strategy of undertaking. The theory of stakeholder theory is now the most frequently mobilized both by researchers as actors in the business. She entered the company at the heart of a set of relationships with partners who are not only shareholders (Shareholders), but players interested in or affected by the activities and business decisions. The stakeholder theory is not exempt from a normative vision and ethics but it seeks to integrate economic goals: it states that cooperation contracts establish trust between the firm and its stakeholders and provides a competitive advantage the company. One might wonder whether the inclusion of stakeholder expectations is not rather the result of traditional rules of management that the outcome of a deliberative process of integrating moral principles. Despite its omnipresence in all the literature on corporate social responsibility, this theory remains ambiguous about its theoretical basis and presents a number of limitations. On the one hand, it is part of a relational representation of the organization based on fair contracts that involve conflicts of interest may be resolved by ensuring a maximization of the interests of each group. On the other hand, it would be unrealistic to consider a comprehensive consideration of all potential stakeholders. The rationality of leaders is necessarily limited by the urgency of the problems, pressures and information systems available to them that they decided to put in place. A first theoretical approach suggests that the company is more successful socially; it is more efficient economically and financially. Instead, the company will be more economically efficient and less it will be socially. Finally, beyond these two extreme views, it is possible to consider the assumptions of positive and negative synergy that cross the different conceptual foundations. With these assumptions also added a generic assumption of neutrality of interactions: Gond, 2001) and assuming a more complex relationship. 5. CSR and financial performance: Many theoretical explanations The theoretical explanations to clarify the nature of the relationship between societal and financial performance are numerous. They can be organized into three distinct categories: explanations postulating the existence of linear relationships between these two constructs, explanations suggesting no link between the two constructs, and finally explanations assume the existence of nonlinear relationships between these two variables. 5.1 The models suggest a positive link between CSR and performance Two theoretical models support the idea of a positive impact of CSR on financial performance (Social Impact Hypothesis) and the assumption of funds available as excess resources available to discretionary managers or Organizational Slack (Available Fund Hypothesis). According to the hypothesis of positive social impact, companies with a high level of CSR demonstrate their ability to master the implicit costs and negative externalities of the organization and report to stakeholders and the quality of their management. The theory of stakeholders (Stakeholders theory) that establishes the hypothesis of the influence of social practices, has created a vast literature on the interaction between CSR and firm performance (Freeman, 1984, Cornell and Shapiro, 1987; Ullmann, 1985, Clarkson 1995, Donaldson and Preston, 1995): Satisfaction with the business objectives of stakeholders promotes the improvement of economic and financial performance (Freeman, 1984). The second model, that of Organizational Slack addresses the link between social performance and economic performance by proposing the idea that this is not the social responsibility that is the condition for obtaining a high level financial performance but, instead, the level of financial performance which allows the company to engage in socially responsible actions. Mc Guire et al, (1988) reported that financial performance could improve the level of social performance and their work has been partially confirmed those by Preston et al, (1991). The profitability of the business differential is then a condition of social behavior; Kraft and Hadges (1990) have shown that excess resources and the attitude of managers towards society strongly influence the level of responsibility social enterprises. 5.2 The models suggest a negative relationship between CSR and financial performance Unlike the two previous models, others say that companies realize the best social performance are also those with the worst economic performance and vice versa in this spirit, a negative relationship between societal performance and financial performance dominates. The literature suggests two models that assume a negative relationship between CSR and performance, distinguished by the nature of causality assumed. The first model Trade-Off Hypothesis or assumptions arbitration assumes that the inclusion of corporate social responsibility involves additional financial costs resulting therefore a competitive disadvantage (Friedman, 1962, 1970). In this perspective, any move away from socially responsible leaders of their goal of maximizing profits (Aupperle, Carroll and Hatzfeld, 1985). Drucker (1984, p.58) states that making a profit is fundamentally incompatible with the social responsibility of business 5.3 The models suggest a positive or negative synergy The typology developed by Preston and OBannon (1997) suggests two hypotheses that are based on different theoretical approaches outlined above. Indeed, in the context of a comprehensive model explaining it is possible to envisage a virtuous circle (positive synergy): a high level of social performance leads to improved financial performance that provides the opportunity to reinvest in social actions responsible (Waddock and Graves, 1997). In contrast, a low level of societal performance led to a decline in financial performance limits, therefore, socially responsible investment (negative synergy). 5.4 The models suggest a missing link The conceptual contributions of Mc Williams and Siegel (2001) lead Gond (2001) to complete the typology of Preston and O Bannon (1997) by formulating the hypothesis of no link between the two dimensions. Indeed, Mc Williams and Siegel (2001) propose a model of supply and demand for social responsibility that helps explain the lack of consensus results obtained by empirical academic studies. According to them, there is a supply and demand for social responsibility, in a standard micro, who led each of them to invest socially to meet the demand of stakeholders. Market equilibrium cancels costs and profits generated by successively supply of social responsibility. This approach leads to a hypothesis of neutrality of interactions between social performance and financial performance. 5.5 The models suggest a more complex relationship The results obtained by Bowman and Haire (1975) led Moore (2001) also refine the typology of Preston and OBannon (1997) and the hypothesis of positive relationship between more complex two-dimensional. Indeed, Bowman and Haire (1975) but also, more recently, Barnett and Salomon (2003) showed a non-linear U-shaped inverted between social performance and financial performance, indicating an optimum level beyond which socially responsible investment longer improves financial performance. The multiplicity of theoretical hypotheses advanced to explain the nature of interactions between CSR and financial performance has led to develop empirical tests to define the conditions of validity of the various mechanisms invoked.. 6. CSR and financial performance: empirical approaches Clarification of the economic impact of CSR has always been a major concern in the field of study on the relationship between business and society. It is therefore not surprising that empirical work on this issue have been very numerous, there were in 2007 more than 160 empirical studies on the subject. This work focused on the nature of interactions between the firms ability to achieve a high level of CSR and financial performance by studying the interactions between on the one hand, social performance (or societal) Company (CSR) and, secondly, its financial performance (FP). These interactions have been studied mainly through two levels of analysis we will present successively: Many publications over the last twenty years have highlighted the link between social responsibility and financial performance of the company. But these studies show conflicting results do not establish clearly the existence of a positive or negative relationship between social responsibility and financial firms (Preston and OBannon, 1997; Griffin and Mahon, 1997; Mac Williams and Siegel , 2001, Margolis and Walsh, 2002). The lack of theoretical foundation and conceptual studies, lack of uniformity in evaluation of social responsibility and financial and methodological shortcomings found explain the poor results obtained. Studies most recent research (Griffin and Mahon, 1997; Roman Hayibor and Agle, 1999, Margolis and Walsh, 2003) found a slight advantage for the detection of positive links between societal performance and financial performance . The synthesis of the literature identifies 122 studies published between 1971 and 2001 with an accelerating pace of recently published (35 studies between 1997 and 2001) and far (2007) on more than 160 empirical studies on this subject, but also this research were sometimes biased in the direction of the illumination of a positive relationship. For example, the 122 education fifty and claim a positive association between social responsibility and financial performance twenty get mixed results, twenty seven indicate no ties and seven observed a negative relationship. 6.1 The hypothesis of impact-social Social Impact Hypothesis According to (Freeman 1984, Donaldson and Preston, 1995), stakeholder theory has explained the origin of the favorable influence social behavior on financial performance. Indeed, CSR is an indicator of the ability of business to effectively meet the demands of various stakeholders. This has consequently regained their confidence and thus improve profitability (Balabanis, Hugh and Jonathan, 1998). Waddock and Graves (1997) speak of Good Management Theory that there is a high correlation between good management practice and CSR, simply because an improvement in social activity entails a special relationship with Key Stakeholders Groups (Freeman, 1984), implying more performance. In addition, a review of empirical literature confirms a positive relationship between the two components (Mc Guire et al, 1988; Waddock and Graves, 1997; Preston and OBannon, 1997; Verschoor, 1998, Stanwick and Stanwick, 1998; Mc Williams and Siegel, 2000, Moore 2001, Ruf et al, 2001, Orlitsky, 2001; Kohers an d Simpson, 2002). Allouche and Laroche (2005) identified 82 research, 75 of them have found a positive link, while Margolis and Walsh (2003) who counted 54 out of 127 studies confirming the positive relationship. Hence our first hypothesis H1: Social responsibility has a positive impact on financial performance. 6.2 The Trade-Off Hypothesis This hypothesis refers to the classical theory of Friedman (1962, 1970) that CSR is an investment that increases costs and takes place at the expense of financial performance. For example a decision to invest in equipment acquisition environmentally friendly while other competitors do not, can generate a competitive disadvantage. Hence the reduction in profitability which may cause discontent among shareholders. This finding was also confirmed by Aupperle et al, (1985), the authors conclude that social activities such as donation to charity, environmental protection and community development dissipate more resources and generate additional costs, which disadvantages the company against its competitors less engaged in social actions. Searches return the negative relationship to abnormalities in particular methodological tools to measure financial performance. The negative association is due to the use of market variables as a measure of financial performance (Griffin and Mahon, 1997). In reality, the number of studies that lead to a negative relationship is very small, Margolis and Walsh (2003) identify 127 studies dealing with the subject in question, and they found that only 8 of them expect a negative correlation between the two dimensions. of where our second hypothesis H2: The social responsibility has a negative impact on financial performance. 6.3 The lack of connection between the two dimensions Some authors suggest that CSR and financial performance are both built entirely separate. Ullmann (1995) emphasizes that the link from a pure coincidence. The correlation is generated, according to the author, by intervening variables that occur in an unpredictable manner and that link the two constructs. Meanwhile, Waddock and Graves (1997) show that the methodological problems in operationalizing CSR tend to obscure the link. A multitude of empirical studies have provided no link between the two dimensions (Aupperle et al, 1985; Fogler and Nutt, 1975; Abbot and Monsen, 1979, Freedman and Jaggi, 1986; ONeil, Mark Saunders and Carthey 1989; Seifert, Maris and Barkus, 2004, Graves and Waddock, 1999). Others state that the link is weak or nonexistent (Alexander and Bchholz 1978, Cochran and Wood, 1984; Krauz and Pava, 1996; Berman et al, 1999; Balabanis, Hugh and Jonathan, 1998, Seifert and Morris Barktkus , 2003). Griffin and Mahon (1997), Balaban, Hugh and Jonathan (1998) found that the results are inconclusive: the variables selected do not distinguish between successful firms and inefficient firms. In this context, our third hypothesis H3: There is no link between social responsibility and financial performance. 7. CSR and financial performance: The effect of control variables Research has shown that the relationship between CSR and financial performance is not absolute, it must take into account the weight of the elements of each company (Ullmann, 1985; Waddock and Graves, 1997) and are likely to moderate the relationship between the two constructs. These characteristics are operationalized as control variables. 7.1 The effect risk The risk is variable, with several studies in different contexts have shown that it controls the relationship between the two dimensions. The argument assumes the risk that companies have a low risk to commit advantage in social activities, and vice versa. Companies with low risk have a stable performance model, and therefore, this situation seems very conducive to investment in social activities (Roberts, 1992). Aupperle et al, (1985) postulate that firms more socially responsible are identified as being better managed and risks are minimal. This finding is especially approved by the study of Mc Guire et al, (1988); ONeil, Mark Saunders and Carthey (1989), Waddock and Graves (1997), Graves and Waddock (1999). In contrast, Aupperle et al, (1985) found a correlation, positive correlation between CSR and risk accounting, and negative but not significant between CSR and market risk. 7.2 The effect size The argument for the size stipulated that organizations undertake major advantage in social actions; small organizations do not give importance to social activity (Waddock and Graves, 1997). Burke et al, (1986) argue that companies, as and as they grow, give more attention to external factors and better meet the demands of stakeholders, Stanwick and Stanwick (1998) found that size, measured by the volume of sales and total assets is positively related to CSR. Mc Guire et al (1988) find a positive but not significant between CSR and the size measured by total assets. 7.3 The effect sector The sector as designed in the literature is a moderating effect of CSR and PF relationship, eg the extent of the consideration of environmental responsibility by a chemical company is not the same a financial institution. A plurality of researchers took into account the control variable as in include: Waddock and Graves, 1997, Griffin and Mahon, 1997, Graves and Waddock, 1999; Balabanis, Hugh and Jonathan, 1998, McWilliams and Siegel 2000, Moore 2001, Ruf et al, 2001; Seifer, Morris and Barktkus, 2003.2004. 8. theoretical model 9. METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH The objective of empirical research is to empirically test our research hypotheses and the theoretical model proposed. In order to test the validity of our assumptions on a sample drawn from all Tunisian companies, we proceeded by two steps the first is to measure the perception of Tunisian companies to the concept of CSR and then study the impact of this latest financial performance. Through our research, we chose the method of direct interview, and for several reasons, we conduct a field investigation, by adopting the technique of direct investigation on the basis of a questionnaire. The survey covered a sample of 30 Tunisian companies selected from different sectors. 9.1 The scale of measurement of CSR predictor For measurement of CSR, we will adopt that developed by Maignan et al (1999), which forms part of the work on measuring social performance. This scale operationalizes the concept of social performance by measuring the dimensions of the construct. In fact, two major scales have been developed in this perspective: The oldest is that of Aupperle, Carroll and Hatfield (1985) measuring the orientation of managers towards social responsibility, the latest and most complete is that of organizational citizenship Maignan et al. (1999), reused by Maignan and Ferrell (2001). These two instruments take over the traditional classification in four types of social responsibilities of Carroll (1979): economic, legal, ethical and discretionary or philanthropic organizations that are a reflection of society see the company actively engaged in its local environment and / or global defense of social causes and public interest. Regarding the scale of Aupperle et al (1985), it is intended to measure only the views of leaders on the relative importance of each of the four dimensions of social responsibility of business. While the scale of Maignan et al. (1999) is designed to gather perceptions of the social performance of the business stakeholders throughout the company (Maignan and Ferrell, 2001). Indeed, the scale was constructed from academic studies describing activities commonly accepted as citizens by the three main stakeholders ie employees, customers, stakeholders public. These authors manage this work, mainly to executives (Maignan et al 1999, Maignan and Ferrell, 2001) to have completed the questionnaire as relevant as the leaders and general information about the company cutting. Hence, our questionnaire has five dimensions are those of Carroll (1979), added an environmental dimension whose items are inspired by the Global Compact (1999). This choice is argued by the importance it attaches to the environment today, and the pressures that companies face to reflect the impact of its activities on the environment in which it operates, it is relevant namely the impact of the inclusion of the natural environment on the financial performance of Tunisian firms.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Essay --

Shady Hill is first portrayed as the perfect town. Located in the upper-middle class suburbs of New York City during the 1950s, Shady Hill appears to be the ideal place for a family to live and is the setting for the short story "The County Husband" by John Cheever. The inhabitants are well mannered and educated. They can only associate with a restricted number of people who are in the norm. Unsurprising, once the plastic wrap is pulled away the city’s flaws come into focus. "It seems to me what is really wrong with Shady Hill is that it doesn't have any future. So much energy is spent in perpetuating the place in keeping out undesirables, and so forth..." (Cheever 82) tch Colonial home that the Weeds reside in giving such animated description as "it was not the kind of household where, after prying open a stuck cigarette box, you would find an old shirt button and a tarnished nickel" (Cheever 72). His life is one of genteel complacency, as we see from this description of his house. It may not seem to describe Shady Hill but in many ways it does. The reader begins to form an opinion of a city that contains this type of residence, a residence where "roses on the piano were reflected in the polish of the broad top..." (Cheever 72). The opinion is that Shady Hill is one of statute, and a person’s house is always kept in pristine condition. The reader may not realize that perhaps the house is kept in such tidy condition not for the sake of the family but to impress others that may come over unannounced. The description of the house should show a reader that material possessions are of great importance to Shady Hill community members. The world outside their suburb remains more than an unknown quantity; in this case... ...d reality: â€Å"for if he couldn’t tell one person from another, what evidence was there that his life with Julia and the children had as much reality as his dream of iniquity in Paris or the litter, the grass smell, and the cave-shaped trees in Lovers’ Lane† (Cheever 85). There is a useful connection to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. In the end, Hawthorne and Cheever reintegrate their protagonists into their societies because, in fact, neither author really believes that there is any other arena for human fulfillment than that of human society. The Farquarsons’ maid is the unacknowledged Hester Prynne in the midst of Shady Hill, while Weed wrings his hands—or whittles wood—like a suburban Dimmesdale. At the end of â€Å"The Country Husband,† the real question concerns the nature of the suburban society into which Cheever reintegrates his characters.

Geothermal Energy Essays -- Science Energy Chemistry Essays

Geothermal Energy Geothermal energy is a superior source of energy because it is constantly being produced. Radioactive decay of nuclei with long half lives that were imbedded in the Earth’s interior during its genesis accounts for seventy percent of the globe’s internal energy. The remainder of this energy is derived from either the residual heat left over form the Earth’s formation, gravitational forces, or meteorite impacts. Geothermal energy is available anywhere on the planet. On average the Earth emits one sixteenth of a watt per meter squared, however this number can dramatically increase in regions near volcanoes, hot springs and fumaroles. Therefore, the uniqueness of each location around the world causes the Earth’s internal heat to be stored underground in many different natural structures. In some areas, the globe’s heat is stored in the rocks that form the Earth. There is a normal temperature increase, called the Normal Geothermal Gradient, of 30 degrees Celsius for every kilometer dug below the Earth’s surface. However, the precise amount of temperature increase that occurs as one’s depth increases is not a constant over the entire surface, it depends on the rock’s temperature. Therefore, in hotter sections of the planet there is Hot Dry Rock which produces an increase in temperature of forty degrees for every kilometer dug below the surface. In additi on, a reserve of geothermal heat even hotter than the solid rock type is molten magma, which is melted rock. Also, some regions of the planet house underground aquifers that use water to store large quantities of heat. Some areas contain vast hot water pools deep below the surface called Hot Water Reservoirs. In other places the conditions are r... ...ability it will surely be developed much more extensively in the near future. This source of energy will also be able to be used for a long time into the future because geothermal energy’s sources will continue to replace the energy used. In addition, it is estimated that the Earth can produce 600,000 exajoules of energy over five million years. This rate is believed to be enough energy to fulfill human energy requirements for the rest of the biosphere. Sources For my sources, I used the text book, Energy and the Environment and the following websites. †¢ http://www.eren.doe.gov/geothermal/ †¢ http://www.h2ssafety.com/hydrogen_sulfide.htm †¢ http://www.geothermie.de/egec_geothernet/menu/frameset.htm †¢ http://www.worldbank.org/html/fpd/energy/geothermal/markets.htm †¢ http://www.worldbank.org/html/fpd/energy/geothermal/ †¢ http://www.ees4.lanl.gov/hdr/

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Genesis And Theogony... Plagiarism? Essay examples -- essays research

Genesis and Theogony†¦Plagiarism? The Book of Genesis is a compilation, and like every compilation it has a wide variety of contributors who, in turn, have their individual influence upon the final work. It is no surprise, then, that there exist certain parallels between the Theogony, the cosmogony of the early Greeks, and the Book of Genesis, the first part of the Pentateuch section of the Bible. In fact, arguments may be made that the extent of this 'borrowing', as it were, is not limited to Genesis; the Theogony has its own roots in Greek mythology, predating the Book of Genesis by a thousand years. A superficial examination of this evidence would erroneously lead one to believe that Genesis is somewhat a collection of older mythology re-written specifically for the Semites. In fact, what develops is that the writers have addressed each myth as a separate issue, and what the writers say is that their God surpasses every other. Each myth or text that has a counterpart in Genesis only serves to further an important idea among the Hebrews: there is but one God, and He is omnipotent, omniscient, and other-worldly; He is not of this world, but outside it, apart from it. The idea of a monotheistic religion is first evinced in recorded history with Judaism, and it is vital to see that instead of being an example of plagiarism, the Book of Genesis is a meticulously composed document that will set apart the Hebrew God from the others before, and after. If we trace back to the first appearance of Genesis in written form, in its earliest translation, we arrive at 444 B.C.; In order to fully comprehend the origin of the story we must venture further back in time. We can begin with the father of the Hebrew people, Abraham. We can deduce when he lived, and find that he lived around 1900 B.C. in ancient Mesopotamia. If we examine his world and its culture, we may find the reasons behind certain references in Genesis, and the mythologies of Theogony they resemble. Abraham lived during a time of great prosperity and a remarkably advanced culture. Homes were comfortable, even luxurious. We can also deduce that it was a relatively stable and peaceful society; its art is characterized by the absence of any warlike activity, paintings or sculptures. Outside the cities the early nomadic tribes of Israel were, "taking with them the early ... ... Hebrew god is simply not measured or scaled; He is an unknown quantity, set apart from the bounds of human knowledge. These similarities serve a function as a contrast to the differences between these religions. It would seem that the writers acknowledged these other religions, and addressed each one by creating a god that surpasses all others. The god that creates himself is one of many; the Hebrew god stands alone in his might. The god that created the world defeated another god, and formed the earth from the corpse; in Genesis, God speaks and his words transform into actions. God exists before the matter He shapes to His will. The writers have then, in fact, minimized the actions of all other gods in comparison to one all-powerful deity such as this. By drawing comparisons to other texts, the message can be lost in attempting to find the roots of certain ideas. But the origins of the stories are not nearly as important as the overall message being stated, and while the ideas they resemble may be old, the message is clear and unique: there is but one, and He is beyond all that is. His will alone suffices, and He predates even time itself. And that message has changed the world. Genesis And Theogony... Plagiarism? Essay examples -- essays research Genesis and Theogony†¦Plagiarism? The Book of Genesis is a compilation, and like every compilation it has a wide variety of contributors who, in turn, have their individual influence upon the final work. It is no surprise, then, that there exist certain parallels between the Theogony, the cosmogony of the early Greeks, and the Book of Genesis, the first part of the Pentateuch section of the Bible. In fact, arguments may be made that the extent of this 'borrowing', as it were, is not limited to Genesis; the Theogony has its own roots in Greek mythology, predating the Book of Genesis by a thousand years. A superficial examination of this evidence would erroneously lead one to believe that Genesis is somewhat a collection of older mythology re-written specifically for the Semites. In fact, what develops is that the writers have addressed each myth as a separate issue, and what the writers say is that their God surpasses every other. Each myth or text that has a counterpart in Genesis only serves to further an important idea among the Hebrews: there is but one God, and He is omnipotent, omniscient, and other-worldly; He is not of this world, but outside it, apart from it. The idea of a monotheistic religion is first evinced in recorded history with Judaism, and it is vital to see that instead of being an example of plagiarism, the Book of Genesis is a meticulously composed document that will set apart the Hebrew God from the others before, and after. If we trace back to the first appearance of Genesis in written form, in its earliest translation, we arrive at 444 B.C.; In order to fully comprehend the origin of the story we must venture further back in time. We can begin with the father of the Hebrew people, Abraham. We can deduce when he lived, and find that he lived around 1900 B.C. in ancient Mesopotamia. If we examine his world and its culture, we may find the reasons behind certain references in Genesis, and the mythologies of Theogony they resemble. Abraham lived during a time of great prosperity and a remarkably advanced culture. Homes were comfortable, even luxurious. We can also deduce that it was a relatively stable and peaceful society; its art is characterized by the absence of any warlike activity, paintings or sculptures. Outside the cities the early nomadic tribes of Israel were, "taking with them the early ... ... Hebrew god is simply not measured or scaled; He is an unknown quantity, set apart from the bounds of human knowledge. These similarities serve a function as a contrast to the differences between these religions. It would seem that the writers acknowledged these other religions, and addressed each one by creating a god that surpasses all others. The god that creates himself is one of many; the Hebrew god stands alone in his might. The god that created the world defeated another god, and formed the earth from the corpse; in Genesis, God speaks and his words transform into actions. God exists before the matter He shapes to His will. The writers have then, in fact, minimized the actions of all other gods in comparison to one all-powerful deity such as this. By drawing comparisons to other texts, the message can be lost in attempting to find the roots of certain ideas. But the origins of the stories are not nearly as important as the overall message being stated, and while the ideas they resemble may be old, the message is clear and unique: there is but one, and He is beyond all that is. His will alone suffices, and He predates even time itself. And that message has changed the world.