Ptolemy Essays - Ancient Greek Mathematicians, Claudii,

Ptolemy Introduction In ancient times there were many great ideas which began to shape the way man perceived his environment. However, there were few minds who were able to put all of these ideas together. One of these minds belonged to Claudius Ptolemy, or just Ptolemy as he is commonly referred to. We know almost nothing of the chronology of Ptolemy's life, and we don't even know his birth or death dates. We do know, though, about his ideas in several fields, which include geography, astronomy, optics, astrology, music, and other topics. His most profound and lasting contributions came in the fields of geography and astronomy, where his two written works Geography and Almagest dominated the thinking on these subjects throughout ancient times and for many centuries to follow. To geographers, Geography represented a breakthrough in the spatial tradition of geography through Ptolemy's principles on cartography and the maps that were created from this. This will be reviewed as well as other aspects of Ptolemy's work that made him such a respected figure in the history of geography. Astronomy and Almagest It is important to mention the impact that Ptolemy had in the field of astronomy, as it allows us to understand the ideas that he was able to bring to geography. Ptolemy did his astronomical observations in Alexandria, Egypt, and it has been estimated by scholars that his findings were made in 150 AD After recording his observations and analyzing them, he incorporated them into a work that would be called the Almagest, which is a combined Greek and Latin term meaning "the greatest". Almagest is revered as one of the top astronomical works of all time, as it was a thirteen book mathematical treatment of the phenomena of astronomy. It contains a myriad of information ranging from earth conceptions to sun, moon, and star movement as well as eclipses and a breakdown on the length of months. Among his astronomical observations were the idea that the earth did not move, but rather it was the motionless center of the universe with the sun, moon, planets, and stars revolving around it. Another of Ptolemy's ideas was that the planets were closer to the earth than the stars, but farther away than the moon (which is true). These and other ideas were accepted as scientific fact for several centuries following the writing of Almagest. In fact, these ideas weren't changed or corrected until the findings of Copernicus in 1543. Geography Although we don't know if Geography was written before or after Almagest, it remains a trivial side note compared to geographical concepts presented in it that draw the interest of geographers. The introduction to Geography states what Ptolemy wants to accomplish, which includes an explanation of the principles of cartography such as giving coordinates to places around the world and geographic features as well as recommendations for making world and regional maps. He then starts his coverage of the world with Europe in Books 2 and 3. He goes on to cover Africa in Book 4 and covers Asia and summarizes his findings in Books 5-8. Geography included 26 colorized regional maps as well as one map of the "known world". Ptolemy stayed away from orthogonal (or cylindrical) world mapping in favor of three other projection types. He returns to orthogonal projection on some regional maps with dimensions based on mean latitude. The farthest point north on his map was Thule at 63 degrees north, while the farthest point south was the Agysimba and Prasum promontory east of Africa at 16 degrees, 25 minutes south. He measured the north-south length of the known world to be about 7392 kilometers or 4580 miles, while his east-west measurement was about 13,306 kilometers or 8250 miles. Geography held the same respect in the field of geography that Almagest had in astronomy. Geography was regarded as a complete and inerrant document on the subject of geography, and it dominated geographical theory until the Renaissance. The Almagest is now regarded as a better document than Geography scientifically. This is because the application of the concepts presented in Geography was substantially limited, although advances in geography theory were made. Actions After Geography Ptolemy's work has been discovered and used through the ages by several noted people around the world. Arabic writer al-Mas'udi, while writing around 956, mentioned a colored map of the Geography which had 4530 cities and over 200 mountains. Byzantine monk Maximus Planudes found a copy of the Geography in 1295, and since there were no maps in his copy, he

Critical Evaluation of Three Journal Articles on the Effects of Imprisonment The WritePass Journal

Critical Evaluation of Three Journal Articles on the Effects of Imprisonment Critical Evaluation of Three Journal Articles on the Effects of Imprisonment This review will seek to establish the extent of the pro-social attributes offenders possess, and how these can be of use to the rehabilitation process. Offenders’ strengths have received relatively little attention in the literature, but strengths-based approaches show promising signs for criminal desistance, and as such deserve investigation. The first article under consideration (Aresti, Eatough and Brooks-Gordon, 2010) investigates reformed ex-offenders experiences in the community following release from prison. The study particularly sought to map the underlying psychological change, which comes with lasting desistance from crime. The findings were that criminal desistance seemed to be facilitated by a change to a pro-social identity and the attainment of meaningful employment. The change in identity was typically a positive experience, although participants struggled against their label of ex-offender when establishing this new place in society for themselves. They typic ally explained their past offending behaviour using whatever seems most plausible to them, such as mental illness or drug abuse, and thus distanced themselves from the offending behaviour. Participants were five male ex-offenders, who took part in semi-structured interviews. This method would also uncover specific subjective nuances conveyed by ex-prisoners about what caused them to fully embrace an identity shift. Although the sample size was very small, and extensive data obtained from five people can hardly be used to speculate on ubiquitous effects. Inclusion criteria were implemented to ensure that the participants had sufficiently similar experience of criminal justice and shared a motivational drive to reform. This strategy eliminates confounding variables but limits the applicability of findings to the group best described by the attributes of the participants. Aresti et al. (2010) filled an essential gap in the literature by addressing the experiences of reformed ex-prisoners in particular. The selection of this group is a good choice as developing a timeline of their reformation could assist in identifying factors which are conducive to causing offenders to re-assess their lives and make a qualitative change in their attitude towards society. Although it does not have the empirical specificity than quantitative research can provide; effect sizes and objective causal antecedents cannot be established. But subjective interpretations of the ex-prisoners involved gives research into this field a more human voice, aiding empathy and understanding which may ultimately help in the effort to reform more offenders. McMurran, Theodosi, Sweeney and Sellen (2008) examine the self-reported motivations and goals of currently incarcerated prisoners, a strategy which could prove useful as it can identify what offenders believe they need in order to reform at the crucial period during which their future offending behaviour is still in question. By identifying what prisoners want out of life, intervention strategies can be better informed to use this source of motivation to rehabilitate them. The method used was again qualitative, which was appropriate for in-depth understanding of prisoners’ aspirations. The paper brings in a relatively fresh perspective focusing on offender strengths and propensities to reform. Risk and needs-based models of criminogenic factors have been criticised for concentrating too much on offenders’ deficits and negative influences in their lives rather than their strengths and positive goals. McMurran et al. (2008) suggest that prisoners actually want what professionals on rehabilitation believe they need. But perhaps their present circumstances (incarceration) are causing them to assess their lives in this way, and upon release they will change their tone, or they could equally be expressing what they believe the authorities want to hear. This is a bias which profoundly impairs the validity of the findings. These papers advocate a strengths-based resettlement of prisoners following release rather than risk-oriented strategies. Subsequently, research must be reviewed on the effectiveness of strengths-based approaches to rehabilitate and address the concerns of ex-prisoners in the community. The obstacles facing practical implementation of such approaches including conflict with the prevalent risk-based policies must also be considered. Therefore the third paper in this review will be Burnett and Maruna (2006). This paper makes some excellent points on the potential of strengths-based approaches to endow ex-offenders with a sense of purposeful responsibility, which can help to enact a cognitive restructuring towards a pro-social belief system (Toch, 2000). Prominent in Burnett and Maruna (2006) is the empirical evidence; in particular a case study of a project in HMP Springhill in which prisoners were employed at a Citizens’ Advice Bureau (Burnett and Maruna, 2004). There were marked benefits for offenders; evidence for this was acquired via interviews, observations and surveys gauging public opinion, employed as an imprecise measure of prejudice against prisoners. The findings confirmed that the most important impact was on their social identity. As in Aresti et al. (2010) this was attributed in part to a reduction in both the fear of rejection and the dismay at lost opportunities owing to the offender label. This article also brings up an important effect that prisoners experience; the suppression of personal characteristics and social withdrawal while incarcerated. The re-emergence of individual personality and realisation of the self in a more pro-social light is stressed as perhaps the best indicator of sustained desistance from crime (Farrall and Maruna, 2004). Burnett and Maruna (2006) add to this that rehabilitation programs can best help prisoners by offering ‘helper’ roles in the community, and allow the input of prisoners in selecting volunteer jobs to maximise their feeling of responsibility and earning their place in society, as well as cultivating their new persona as caring and helpful. Criticisms of Burnett and Maruna (2006) have to include that the empirical evidence comes largely form only a single case study, limiting applicability. Also only the lowest risk offenders were allowed to participate in the program, arguably higher risk offenders would not be affected in the same way. Indeed this whole approach may only be useful for prisoners who are most willing to reform (and hence are lower risk) since inherently prisoners have to agree to the work and associate meaningfully with it. Ultimately, the recommendations for the criminal justice system based on these papers is that prisoners must be seen as resources capable of contributing to society, and opportunities must be presented for prisoners to develop a new pro-social identity and hone their individual skills. Stigma, labelling and the risk-assessment culture are huge obstacles to this, and the trust bestowed on prisoners participating in community programs must not be dissolved too eagerly as this threatens to fracture the new pro-social identity. In conclusion, although there are limitations of these articles including vague measurement tools and limited applicability, the identification of encouragement of offenders’ strengths could prove beneficial for some prisoners, but perhaps only those designated as low risk. References Aresti, A., Eatough, V. and Brooks-Gordon, B. (2010) Doing time after time: an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of reformed ex-prisoners experiences of self-change, identity and career opportunities.  Psychology, Crime Law, 16(3), 169-190 Burnett, R. and Maruna, S. (2004) Prisoners as Citizens’ Advisers: The OxCAB–Springhill Partnership and Its Wider Implications. London: Esm ´ee Fairbairn Foundation Burnett, R. and Maruna, S. (2006) The kindness of prisoners Strengths-based resettlement in theory and in action.  Criminology and Criminal Justice,  6(1), 83-106 Farrall, S. and Maruna, S. (2004) Desistance†Focused Criminal Justice Policy Research: Introduction to a Special Issue on Desistance from Crime and Public Policy.  The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice,  43(4), 358-367 McMurran, M., Theodosi, E., Sweeney, A. and Sellen, J. (2008) What do prisoners want? Current concerns of adult male prisoners.  Psychology, Crime Law,  14(3), 267-274 Toch, H. (2000) Altruistic Activity as Correctional Treatment. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 44(3), 270–278

Assessment of a New Emerging Market-Free-Sample for Students

The trade of timber is one of the most important trades in Indonesia. Indonesia’s forest products such timber and other related products comprises 10% of the country’s GDP. Indonesia used to contribute 70% of the plywood industry in the world during the year 1980. But from then there can be seen a declining trend in the exports. The figure came down from $3.6 Billion to $2 billion in the year 2000. The decline is due to some of the aggressive policies that are being taken by the government against exports of timber. Timber or forest product industry is one of the major revenue generators for Indonesia The business market of Indonesia is one amongst the biggest business market in the world. It is projected in accordance to the economic growth that by 2030 it will become 7 th largest economy in the world. The country of Indonesia has a GDP of 932 billion as recorded in the year 2016. It ranks in 8 th position based on the purchase power parity. The economy of Indonesia is growing at a rate of 5% every year since from the last decade. The country has sound macroeconomic policies and a huge population of youth that has a growing domestic demand have promising future ahead. The government has announced a number of reforms or policies in order to push the economic condition of the country. The reforms are expected to improve the business condition of the country. The GDP per capita of the country is $3604 which is more than many of the Asian countries. The country has the world’s fourth largest middle income group people with 17.3 households as in the year 2014. (Larson et al, 2016). The country has developed a plan for the next 20 years. In the next twenty years the country wants to make development and changes. There plan starts from the year 2005 and will last till the year 2025. The main focus of the country is its economy and other reforms. The country is looking forward to strengthen its infrastructure and they also came up with other development programmed to develop its educational and healthcare sector of the country. The reform which are being taken by the country are extremely beneficial for the people who are in the below poverty level (Lustig, N 2016). The country is currently facing the problem of the slower pace of creation of jobs for the people 1.7 million person join jobs each and it is problem for the country to create jobs. The total population of the country is around 253 million out of that 28 million people live under the line of poverty. The government is trying their level best to reduce the poverty level but from the last few days this speed has reduced. The poverty level which was getting reduced by 1% each and every ever is now reduced to 0.3% (Aguiar, Narayanan and McDougall, 2016). The government of the country has come up with reforms regarding the reduction of poverty level and betterment of the public services. The public services include transportation, health, education etc. a huge stress has been given by the government in regard to the health care sector of the country. The health care sector has made many advances so there is an improved and modern health care unit so as to provide health care services. The gap between the poor and the rich is relevant in Indonesia and the government is trying to reduce this gap. The health care in the country suffered a lot. It is said that 103 children in 1, 00,000 die in Indonesia which is a very high alarming number and reforms are being taken to reduce this high maternal death. Out of 3 every 1 child suffers health condition such as problems of growth and brain development. The problem in the youth results in problem of the growth of the country. As it is know that youth is the future of our country and it is through youth that we bring changes and new reforms in the country (Otoo et al 2014). If the youth of the country is not strong enough then it is bad sign for the country. The government of Indonesia is trying to cope up these challenges and they had been pretty successful regarding controlling these problems.   In order to strengthen the economy of the country the government has brought new reforms they have opened up sectors for differ ent kinds of investment and thus this will reduce high logistics that they may had been facing in the past. The economy of Indonesia is rising it is making great progress so the investors around the world seeing this great opportunity. The country has become a great place for foreign direct investment from around the world. After India and china Indonesia is the third major country if consider its economy. As we know that the country is the world’s tenth most populated country and the world’s third largest democratic country. If we look at the export of Indonesia, in that case we will see that the country is one of the largest exporter of thermal coal and also the exporter of palm oil. These are products of high value and they fetch high revenue from the foreign countries. The most important thing about the economy of the country is that it relies on itself. The economy does not rely on other countries. In one word it can be said that the country is self sufficient, it is a great advantage for the country. When a country is self sufficient, in that case the country does not require the help of other countries in case of importing products that means the country produces most of the products (Otoo et al, 2015). Right at the moment Indonesia is standing at a situation where it is a key point of the country where it is making a transition for the betterment for the country. The growing from small economy to a larger economy, the country was a primary producer of the products such as coal and palm oil and now has become one of the largest producers of in the world. The country has opened a window for the investors.    The country’s economy is one of the fastest in the world and its growing at a rapid speed. This economy brings in great opportunity to investment. There is a huge opportunity for foreign direct investment within the country (Ozawa, T 2014).The analyst have made an assumption that Indonesia will grow as a very large and stable economy in the future though the country is facing some issues such as corruption and bureaucratic issues that is restraining the country from 360 degree modernization but still the country has every possible opportunity to grow. One of the main issues is the poor infrastructure and not qualified human resources which are not contributing towards its growth. The country has all the resources needed to rule the economy of the world in the future but it is to be guided in a way such that it can be made possible (Ikein, A.A 2017). The government of Indonesia is proactive and they have come up with numerous numbers of reforms which will help in foreign direct investment. Although the corruption remains a big issue which needs to be handled for better growth Due to the large population of Indonesia the market is very vast and dynamic and the FDI will help the country to fulfill its need and thereby providing growth for the country by improving its economy. Thanks to a large population and FDI inflow, Brazil’s potential for growth is extremely high. There is a substantial trend of a growing middle-class and the gap between the rich and poor is declining steadily. Additionally, the Central Bank has successfully reduced the risk of currency devaluation and has also brought inflation under control. However, when it comes to the dollar, the currency is considered to be overvalued, which is adversely affecting the exports of the country There are a number of people who live under the line of poverty and with the help of FDI the economic condition of the country will improve. The country has huge number of youth who have demands and wants that can be fulfilled by the FDI by giving them the opportunity for employment and a better standard of living. The country is good at technology. The maximum part of the population of Indonesia is under the age of 30 and they are technologically savvy. So with the flowing of foreign direct investment, the country can utilize its human resource to generate revenue which will help in improving the condition of the country The country of Indonesia is rich in natural resources. The natural resources that are being produced are petroleum, tin, natural gas, nickel, timber, bauxite, copper, fertile soils, coal, gold, silver. The natural resources of the country will attract foreign investment more in comparison to the countries with fewer natural resources. This helps to give a competitive edge over other countries which may have few amounts of natural resources. It also opens the door for multinational companies to exploit the situation and do business in the country which will help the country in economic growth. The natural resources create more option and helps in growth of the economy. In Indonesia the one fourth of the manufacturing production was accounted by FDI during the period of 1990s. The Foreign direct investment created employment and developed the support of the suppliers and transferred technology. It also helped in generating more tax revenue for the government of Indonesia but it had a problem regarding the balance of payment. It impacted negatively on balance payment and it also caused continuous deficit in relation to manufacturing goods. Though FDI can help and bring positive changes in number of sectors and so it is not to be restricted. It can create technological advancement, help in growth of the economy, Improve the infrastructure of the country and thereby helping in overall growth of the company. These policies or reform that is being taken by the country are causing hindrance in its growth. The ban on raw material exports is one of the biggest problems the country is currently facing. The restriction of retail sales of liquor and they have also proposed a ban on sales of liquor in the parliament which is contributing in the decline of the economy. The country is high in natural resources. It is blessed with natural minerals. It is one of the largest thermal coal exporters in the world. The country is blessed mineral resources. They are the largest exporter of tin in the world (Dunning, J.H 2014). The coal that is found in Indonesia is low in sculpture which is good in nature and it can be found very close to the surface which makes it very easy to extract. Thereby the cost of extraction of the coal is very little in comparison to other countries where the coal can be found deep below the soil, where the extraction cost gets very high. Apart from coal Indonesia has great deposits of gold and silver which thereby makes it very rich in minerals (Visor et al, 2015). As there are active volcanoes in the country, the soil of Indonesia is very fertile and has many deposits which is high in natural minerals there by making the country high in natural resources. Apart from this Indonesia is situated in such an area that it helps them t o generate renewable energy. As the soil is extremely fertile in nature it helps to cultivate commodities of high value such as palm oil, coffee and rubber. These products are exported to different parts of the world and they fetch great revenue for the country. The country is trying to be as self-sufficient as possible thereby reducing their import and increasing their export so that they increase their revenue earning and gives away less revenue (Cairns and Slew, 2017). The country has large number of population and youth that can drive the country to a new economic height. The country has around a population of around 250 million and its growing every day. In the year 2009 the country has seen a growth of 4.9 % in gross domestic production, which is a substantial growth. As the country is self sufficient and most of the need of the country is fulfilled by the products of its own, in that case the country is fewer dependants on other. This will help the country in time of economic crisis. In case of any kind of economic cries faced by the world, in that case it won’t affect much on Indonesia (He et al, 2015). As the country achieves new growth each and every day the manufacturer in the country plays a greater role in satisfying the needs of the people. With the increase in gross domestic production and economy of the country the income level of the people of the country will also increase and this is a very positive point for the people who are in the middle income group or people who reside below the poverty level or lower income group (Hill and Kohpaiboon, 2017).The country will need to start production of the products which it is not producing currently at this moment such as smart phones or other technological products. The youth of the country is becoming technologically savvy and the manufacturing industry is also trying to understand the trend within the population of the country and acting accordingly (Nasution,   2014.). It is great news that more than 50% of the total population of the country is youth which is under the age of 30, which is great news for the country. Having a large base of youth for the country is very advantageous, this youth is technologically very upgraded which is a very important for the country. So the future of the country is promising unlike china where the percentage of the youth is very little as most of the population is aged due to their one child policy. The aim of Indonesia is change the economic condition of the country by the year 2030 and they have taken measures accordingly. They are making changes in their technological sectors, there workforce and also in their production. This will help in the transition of the economy of the country. If they will have a better workforce which is skilled and a manufacturing sector which is advanced and can fulfill the needs of the country, in that case they can achieve the economic growth they are looking for (He, 2015). The country has faced many political changes and transformation in the past years. The country is now the rule of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who is the first Indonesian president who is elected by voting. The country has evolved in relation to the politics. They have a new and mature political structure, with the democratic rule the country has become more matured where each and every member of the country has a personal opinion, which that person can keep forward through his or her voting right. The political condition of the country has become much stable in nature. This political stability will help the country towards its economic growth (Bhat, 2017). Foreign direct investment will help the country in utilizing huge human resources which comprises a big number of youth. It will also bring in new technology which will create an advancement and growth in terms of technology. The economic condition of the country will get better. It will create jobs which help the individuals of the country in increasing their standard of living. Indonesia is a very rich country in terms of neural resources may that be coal, petroleum or timber and other resources but still they will need foreign direct investment, which can support the economic condition of the country and develop the economic condition of the people of the country. It will help the number of people living under the line of poverty to lead a life with better standard and economic condition. Aguiar, A., Narayanan, B. and McDougall, R., 2016. An overview of the GTAP 9 data base.  Journal of Global Economic Analysis,  1(1), pp.181-208. Bhat, M.G., 2017. Trade related intellectual property rights for genetic resources: Implications for developing countries. Cairns, G. and Sliwa, M., 2017.  A very short, fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about international business. Sage. Dunning, J.H., 2014.  The Globalization of Business (Routledge Revivals): The Challenge of the 1990s. Routledge. He, J., 2015. Chinese public policy on fisheries subsidies: Reconciling trade, environmental and food security stakes.  Marine Policy,  56, pp.106-116. He, Q., Fang, H., Wang, M. and Peng, B., 2015. Trade liberalization and trade performance of environmental goods: evidence from Asia-Pacific economic cooperation members.  Applied Economics,  47(29), pp.3021-3039. Hill, H. and Kohpaiboon, A., 2017. 10 ‘Policies for industrial progress’, not ‘industry policy’.  Production Networks in Southeast Asia, p.202. Ikein, A.A., 2017. Nigeria oil & external exposure: the crude gains and crude pains of crude export dependence economy.  The Business & Management Review,  8(4), p.396. Larson, H.J., de Figueiredo, A., Xiahong, Z., Schulz, W.S., Verger, P., Johnston, I.G., Cook, A.R. and Jones, N.S., 2016. The state of vaccine confidence 2016: global insights through a 67-country survey.  EBioMedicine,  12, pp.295-301. Lustig, N., 2016. Inequality and Fiscal Redistribution in Middle Income Countries: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru and South Africa.  Journal of Globalization and Development,  7(1), pp.17-60. Nasution, A. ed., 2014.  Macroeconomic Policies in Indonesia: Indonesia Economy Since the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997. Routledge. Otoo, N., Awittor, E., Marquez, P. and Saleh, K., 2014. Universal Health Coverage for Inclusive and Sustainable Development: Country Summary Report for Ghana. Otoo, N., Awittor, E., Marquez, P. and Saleh, K., 2015. Universal Health Coverage for Boyer, R., 2016. Renewal of the diversity of capitalisms, tipping in international relations.  The Rejuvenation of Political Economy,  207, p.216. Ozawa, T., 2014.  Multinationalism, Japanese style: The political economy of outward dependency. Princeton University Press. Visser, M., Pisa, N.M., Kleynhans, E.P.J. and Wait, R., 2015. Identifying the comparative advantage of products and industries of South Africa’s Mpumalanga province.  Southern African Business Review,  19(2), pp.27-50

Response Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 20

Response - Assignment Example The CEO’s meeting with Jose in Las Vegas is, indeed an educative experience. Jose displays a positive behavior one that workers should emulate when inducting new employees in the firm. Firm but fair; Jose introduces Kim to various roles, some of which do not befit a manager according to Kim. Interestingly, Jose would not hire Kim, and Kim learns that he is growing older by the day after finding some of the simplest tasks somewhat challenging. The outcome of this interaction teaches leaders that they should respect the work done by junior employees. They should set goals while considering workers’ varied abilities. At times, a manager must realize that the tasks they allocate need special expertise and should recognize the input of the workers. Kim is utterly defeated to undertake the cashier job and has to compensate the customers for the time wasted, and he learns a lot. Just like Kim, contemporary managers should notice the significant input of their workers. The fact that Carrie the director of operations does deliveries accentuates the enormous input of the personnel. After all the challenges he faced, and learning about the staunch sacrifices some of the staff has to make to deliver excellent performance to the company, Kim’s life is completely changed. Encouraged by the events, he resorts to rewarding good work by giving the four employees congratulatory incentives. Therefore, once in a while, company bosses ought to casually interact with the staff. This way, they not only have to appreciate the increasing financial figures, but also learn to recognize the individuals behind those

MGT 501 Mod 2 Case assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

MGT 501 Mod 2 Case assignment - Essay Example The most notable of the report is that not even Facebook or Apple made it to the list. Google has committed human resource team whose only job is to work on keeping employees happy. Irrespective of such extreme attention on the retention policies, Google still loses their workforce to Facebook or other bigger companies. But, the employee turnover rate of Google is comparatively less than that of the rival companies. For an organization, it is not just important that they have clear mission and goals. It is also important that they reach at all levels of the organization. This is exactly what we will analyze with the case of Google’s ranking. The difference in Google compared to that of other companies is that the employees are equally aware about the mission and goals of the company while in many other companies it is just the top management that are aware about the mission. In Google, the employees strive towards achieving the organizational goals. The work and leisure enviro nment at Google is considered to be the best in the industry. The essay will begin by analyzing how the job satisfaction and motivation of people at Google are influenced by its corporate values and goals concerning employees, customers and business. The essay will finally conclude by suggesting whether this business model can be adopted by every organization or not. Corporate Values and Goals Values and Goals Concerning Employees: â€Å"A company with employees aligned on goals for the future is able to reach those accomplishments faster.† (Frost, 2013) The same is true in the case of Google. Google’s value and goals concerning the employees are one of the best in the industry. Google’s values consist of 10 things that the company charted in the initial years of formation of the company. The company still holds on to those 10 values. The one point that focuses on employee values is ‘You can be serious without a suit.’ (Google, 2013a) Google’ s approach to employees is unlike the traditional organizations. Google believes that work should be fun for the employees. Google’s work culture is employee friendly compared to many other organizations. In fact, Google believes that it is the proper work culture that brings out the best from an employee. Google values the ability of the employees over their experience. For proper employee motivation and job satisfaction, the freedom to share opinions and ideas is very much essential. In Google, each and every employee gets the opportunity to be a significant contributor to the objectives of the organization. They have good say in the objectives of the organization. At the weekly meetings, employees have the freedom to shoot questions even to Larry and Sergey. It is not just the monetary benefits that motivate an employee. Almost all theories related to motivation and job satisfaction says that participation of employees in decision making will lead to higher employee motiva tion. (Ezinearticles, 2013) Similarly, a good work culture is also essential in job satisfaction and improving employee morale. This theory holds true in the case of Google. Due to its extreme focus on enabling an employee friendly work culture, Google was able to be ranked as one of the best companies to work for. It also has one of the

South African Investment Essay Example for Free

South African Investment Essay In the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, Caltex (an affiliate oil refinery of Texaco and SoCal) started their operations in South Africa. In this paper, I will identify and explain the benefits and the negatives as to why Caltex should build there plant in South Africa. I will also discuss how I would vote on three of the resolutions made by the stockholder’s as well as discuss how the managers of Texaco and SoCal should have responded. Finally, I will address the management responsibilities as it relates to this case. Utilitarian benefits of building the Caltex plant in 1977 When Texaco and SoCal decided to build there refinery plant, Caltex, in South Africa in 1977, there was much to consider. First of all, the South Africa was ruled by government upheld apartheid legislation. According to the textbook, Business Ethics: Concepts and Cases, the apartheid system, â€Å"deprived the entire Black population of all political and civil rights: They could not vote, could not hold political office, could not unionize, and had no right to freedom of assembly,† (Velasquez, p. 8). Despite this obstacle, Caltex was built and began operations. Caltex believed that by opening operations in South Africa they could provide the people with some economic opportunities that they could not have if they did not. According to the case study, â€Å"the managements of both Texaco and SoCal argued that Caltex was committed to improving the economic working conditions of its black employees and their continued pre sence in South Africa did not constitute and ‘endorsement’ of South Africa’s ‘policies’,† (para. 5). By declaring that there presence in South Africa was in no way evident in support with the government policies, Caltex gave the impression of a utilitarianism approach. According to the textbook, utilitarianism is â€Å"a general term for any view that holds that actions and policies should be evaluated on the basis of the benefits and costs they will impose on society,† (Velasquez, p. 61). Caltex upheld the belief that the benefits they provide to its employees outweigh the fact that they are conducting business in an oppressed nation. In my opinion, I think that that the benefits outweighed the negatives. Even though the South African government was morally wrong for oppressing the majority of its citizens, Caltex brought an opportunity to the region that had the promise of not only economic promise for the organization, but also the opportunity to show the people of South Africa what it is like to be equal and not discriminated. Also, there presence no doubt brought on political change and opened the eyes to the other nations of the world as to the oppression present in South Africa. If I were a stockholder in Texaco or Standard Oil Despite of all the benefits and the promises that Caltex could have provided to the people in South Africa, the shareholders still encouraged management to withdraw their operations from South Africa. As a result, the stockholders proposed three resolutions to which they would vote on and decide the future of Caltex’s operations in South Africa. The first resolution (A) was asking Caltex to terminate its operations in South Africa. The second (B) asked Caltex not to sell to the military or police of South Africa. The last resolution (C) asked Caltex to implement the Tutu principles. I believe that as a shareholder invested in my company, I would want to portray us as a responsible organization that will work with the host country to find a common ground rather than be charged with a serious crime. C. FAVOR. Tutu’s principles are something that I would definitely be in favor for. According to the case study, Bishop Tutu’s principles â€Å"outlined several conditions of the investment which would enable Caltex and other U. S. companies to make such a ‘positive contribution to improving economic and social opportunities’,† (para. 4). These principles would be exactly what I would like my company to portray because they contribute to human rights and equal opportunities to all races. Manager’s responses In regards to the resolutions proposed by the stockholders, I believe the manager’s responses should be as follows: A. The manager’s should have also not been in favor of this resolution. In this case, the manage ment needs to consider that the utilitarian benefits do actually outweigh the negatives and oppression the South African government has over its citizens. B. The manager’s responses to this resolution should be weighed very carefully. Even though they may not agree with the practices of the government and may think they are an aid to unwanted practices, they still need to consider there reputation and the consequences that can result from not being cooperative. In my opinion, the manager’s should have responded by communicating the need to work with the government to their stakeholders as well as find some type of resolution with the government. C. The management should embrace the Tutu principles. If the management is really dedicated to the ideals and principles of their institution then they should know that these principles are about the people and their well-being. They should make any adjustments necessary to make sure the principles are upheld. Management responsibilities (i. e. , duties) In my opinion, I believe the management of a company does have the responsibility beyond ensuring a high return for its stockholders. In this case, the responsibility of the management is to make sure that the principles and business ethics that they have developed as an organization is upheld at all costs. Just because the stockholders wanted to see their company disassociate themselves from a country that they did not see as ideal, it is still imperative that the management stick to there own ideals and principles regardless of where they are. On the other hand, I do not believe that the management of a company should look primarily to the law and to the rate of return on its investment as the ultimate criteria for deciding what investments it should make. Companies should always consider the economical and social circumstances in the region to which they decide to invest their company. Conclusion This paper outlined why I believe the utilitarian benefits outweighed the negative circumstances for the building of Caltex in South Africa. I have also provided my own views as to what I would do if I were a stockholder in the company as well as what the manager’s should have done in response to the resolutions. Finally, I gave my point of view as to what the manager’s responsibilities are when dealing with stockholders and investments. Caltex was in a difficult place as they had to deal with their stockholders and the government of South Africa in order to conduct their business, but the most important thing they had was the opportunity to show the oppressed people of South Africa what it was like to be an equal member of an institution.

Writing Persuasive or Argumentative Essays :: Writing an Essay

In persuasive or argumentative writing, we try to convince others to agree with our facts, share our values, accept our argument and conclusions, and adopt our way of thinking. Elements toward building a good persuasive essay include * establishing facts to support an argument * clarifying relevant values for your audience (perspective) * prioritizing, editing, and/or sequencing the facts and values in importance to build the argument * forming and stating conclusions * "persuading" your audience that your conclusions are based upon the agreed-upon facts and shared values * having the confidence to communicate your "persuasion" in writing Here are some strategies to complete a persuasive writing assignment: Write out the questions in your own words. * Think of the questions posed in the assignment while you are reading and researching. Determine o facts o any sources that will help you determine their reliability (as well as for further reference) o what