Report of Virtue Ethics and Animals Essay

Prompt #1 Rosalind Hursthouse is a renowned moral philosopher who champions virtue ethics, one of the three major approaches in normative philosophy. In contrast to deontology and consequentialism, virtue ethics is an agent-centered approach that answers the question of â€Å"what should I be? † while does not provide clear rule or ethical answers on why one should/should not act. (Guidry-Grimes, 1/31/2013) Virtue ethics empathizes the role of moral character embodied by the moral agent for assessing his/her ethical behavior and character. In other word, we think what would a virtuous moral agent will act under given circumstance, and he/she typically does what is virtuous and avoid what is vice. The principles of virtue ethics are the â€Å"v-rules†, namely thinking in terms of virtues and vices, as a virtue person â€Å"do what is compassionate, do not what is cruel. † Applying the â€Å"v-rules† is highly contextual and heavily based on specific circumstances, under which the moral agent should evaluate what are virtuous to act and avoid actions of vices. Most importantly, in virtue ethics, although virtues and vices are given many vocabulary or ways to describe, there is no rule that specify what the type actions belongs to virtues or vices. For example, compassion can be a virtue or a fault depending on specific scenario (Hurtshouse, 126). Therefore, it is important to recognize that determination of virtuous character and what action would deem virtuous is not always forthright and clear. (Hurtshouse, 127) Having established what virtue ethics is, Hursthouse argues that the concept of moral status is unnecessary and irrelevant for applied virtue ethics. Both deontology and consequentialism, two other branches of normative ethics, are heavily depended upon the moral status concept which essentially divides everything into two classes: things with moral status that are within our â€Å"circle of concern† and worthwhile of moral principles and things without moral 1|Page Ye, Kening Prompt #1 status and are outside of the â€Å"circle†. Hursthouse has pointed out several issues related to the moral status arguments. It is hard to draw a fine line for determining what deem moral status. Things without moral status can become of our moral concern if they have sentient value and moral worth to those we concern thus they become valuable to us. If to expand â€Å"the circle of concern† to all sentient animals, it becomes over-simplified and problematic for our moral decision making as beings with moral status can make â€Å"competing claims† that may require us to further distinguish their features in order to justify our decision making (Hursthouse, 123). In addition, it is criticized as speciesim if to only keep human beings with moral status. Although Hurtshouse compares and contrasts the characteristics of speciesim and familysm, and concludes that giving moral preference for our species, namely human beings, is â€Å"sometimes wrong but sometimes right† (Hursthouse, 122), another issue is that we sometimes cannot avoid to evaluate the significance of moral worth among members of moral status. In short, the common consensus is that all humans are within â€Å"the circle of concern†. The moral status arguments not only give human being strong preference over nonhuman beings but also have instilled priority in decision making for moral agents. As Hursthouse argue, attaching the concept of moral status does not contribute to virtue ethics but only adds complications. If to apply the moral status conception into animal ethics, we are directed to act divisively upon two different groups, namely humans and nonhuman animals, in terms of our treatment and attitude. As such, our treatment and attitude toward the groups are often distinguished since preference is always given to human beings under universal circumstance. However, on the other hand, virtue ethics challenges us, as moral agents, to strive for virtues and deliver actions that are deemed virtuous in nature. This approach is heavily 2|Page Ye, Kening Prompt #1 Prompt #1 status and are outside of the â€Å"circle†. Hursthouse has pointed out several issues related to the moral status arguments. It is hard to draw a fine line for determining what deem moral status. Things without moral status can become of our moral concern if they have sentient value and moral worth to those we concern thus they become valuable to us. If to expand â€Å"the circle of concern† to all sentient animals, it becomes over-simplified and problematic for our moral decision making as beings with moral status can make â€Å"competing claims† that may require us to further distinguish their features in order to justify our decision making (Hursthouse, 123). In addition, it is criticized as speciesim if to only keep human beings with moral status. Although Hurtshouse compares and contrasts the characteristics of speciesim and familysm, and concludes that giving moral preference for our species, namely human beings, is â€Å"sometimes wrong but sometimes right† (Hursthouse, 122), another issue is that we sometimes cannot avoid to evaluate the significance of moral worth among members of moral status. In short, the common consensus is that all humans are within â€Å"the circle of concern†. The moral status arguments not only give human being strong preference over nonhuman beings but also have instilled priority in decision making for moral agents. As Hursthouse argue, attaching the concept of moral status does not contribute to virtue ethics but only adds complications. If to apply the moral status conception into animal ethics, we are directed to act divisively upon two different groups, namely humans and nonhuman animals, in terms of our treatment and attitude. As such, our treatment and attitude toward the groups are often distinguished since preference is always given to human beings under universal circumstance. However, on the other hand, virtue ethics challenges us, as moral agents, to strive for virtues and deliver actions that are deemed virtuous in nature. This approach is heavily 2|Page Ye, Kening Prompt #1.

Untrustworthy President Example Essay

Matthew Hart 09/18/12 An Untrustworthy President â€Å"The true test of the American ideal is whether we’re able to recognize our failings and then rise together to meet the challenges of our time. Whether we allow ourselves to be shaped by events and history, or whether we act to shape them. †- Our current president. The U. S. president has been untrustworthy on more than one occasion. Our president is unreliable when it comes to foreign and domestic issues, as well as being all around untrustworthy. Our president is untrustworthy to us, U. S. citizens.Our borders are overflowing with illegal immigrants who have no intensions of legalizing or paying taxes but are willing to take our jobs and take our money back to their country where it does not belong. Our president has been persecuting Arizona for enforcing illegal immigration laws when his administration will not do the job. At the White House, the president held a joint press conference with Mexico’s preside nt that featured both of them criticizing Arizona's immigration law. I only wish there were someone there to represent America that day.That is a matter of national security where we cannot trust our president to protect us. We depend on our president to provide us with jobs when the job market is suffering and this president is providing us with a slow increase in jobs when we need a quick and large increase, again our president expresses untrustworthiness in the face of a crisis. The very first thing our president did after he was elected was push through the largest and most wasteful spending bill in human history. The cost of the bill was attested to be 800 billion to 1. trillion dollars. The purpose of the bill was to create jobs and the government claimed the bill would keep unemployment below 8%. We've now had 38 straight months of above 8% unemployment, the longest streak since the Great Depression. Keeping our country and government operating smoothly is another area where uncertainty surrounds our president’s capabilities. That is an example of our tax money being insecure in the hands of our president. We pay more money a year than anyone can fathom and it is squandered in this country and around the world n ways that do not help solve our problems we face here at home or around the world. As all presidents are, this president has been unreliable from the beginning, when he ran for office. Every president to be must tweak the truth of where they stand on certain topics of interest, creating a false sense of security which later makes us insecure as a country. Despite the fact that our government assured us that there was â€Å"no risk† America would lose its AAA credit rating, America did indeed lose its rating for the first time since 1917 because of our president’s refusal to cut spending.Election Day for our president, with his soon to be half fulfilled promises to better this country and the world, is a memorable example of our president acting untrustworthy. Never before in the history of our country has one party pushed through a massive entitlement program that was wildly unpopular with the American people, the Affordable Health Care Act. This year’s convention where the president makes unreliable statements about what he has or has not accomplished is another example.The recent speeches on foreign policy and national security provide extensional evidence of how trustless our president is to us. Putting a man on the moon is one of America's greatest accomplishments and our Space Shuttle program was ended, under our current president. When a U. S. president wants to be reelected to office, he must rethink his first set of unfulfilled promises and decide which to change and which to keep. Foreign policy is a major area where he has become untrustworthy with.Foreign leaders of allied nations around the world cannot trust our president when they need his help. American’s think of our presi dent as being untrustworthy when it comes to the current crisis in the middle-east. The President has wasted a ton of time, energy and money on things like nationalizing our health care system which doesn't really rise to the level of being a true national emergency. Meantime, he has spent almost no time dealing with real national emergencies, such as the emergence of a nuclear Iran. They feel as though he is not acting in the best interest of our country.Look at our president, when faced with multiple countries in the middle-east burning our flag, he does not take action in the best interest of the citizens of the United States. As the president of the United States of America it is his duty to act in best interest of this country’s citizens and there is no evidence where he has asked us what we would want him to do about this crisis. But he took action in the best interest of those countries citizens and that is untrustworthy from an American citizen’s point of view. The U. S. resident shows us just how unreliable he is at protecting our good country’s name around the world when he does nothing after four Americans are murdered, an American embassy is set on fire, and an American school is burned to the ground in a foreign country. Our president is unreliable when it comes to foreign and domestic issues as well as being all around untrustworthy. As all presidents are, this president has been unreliable from the beginning, when he ran for office. Foreign policy is a major area where he has become untrustworthy with. Foreign policy is a major area where he has become untrustworthy with.

Ban on Advertisement Aimed at Children

Parents all over the world treat their children as their number one priority, and they are often obsessed with the childs protection, be it from an illness, danger and even certain people. Despite all this protection, we allow our children to be allured into the wonderful world of advertising. From such an early age we are told by our parents dont talk to strangers. How is it that after 30 seconds of TV, associating products with our favourite characters or even glancing at a poster in the street, our children are instantly convinced by the strangers of the world of advertising? There are two types of products on which manufacturers are willing to spend millions of euros convincing children to demand that their parents buy them. The first is the massive and very powerful food and drinks industry. From a very early age children are bombarded with images of food and drink on TV, in newspapers and magazines, on the internet and even at the cinema in a technique known as product placement. I think it is wrong to advertise food and drink to children as they have not developed the skills necessary to judge whether these products contain too much salt or sugar or whether they can form part of a healthy and balanced diet. Also food and drinks should not be associated with popular programmes or cartoon characters. Supermarkets also adopt techniques such as placing sweets and chocolate near the checkout at childrens eye level so that they demand that their parents buy them, in a technique known as pester power. One of the major threats to our health is obesity, and childhood obesity is a growing problem in the western world. In addition a lot of the sugary drinks aimed at children damage growing teeth. Advertising of food and drinks aimed at children should be banned and parents should choose how to provide their children with a healthy diet and which treats they should occasionally be given. The second type of product aimed at children are aspirational goods such as toys, designer clothes, video games, mobile phones and other electronic goods. Once again I think there are major hidden dangers associated with this type of advertising. It is wrong that a child should associate success with the ownership of such must have goods. A child can suffer serious self esteem issues if he or she does not have the right phone or trainers, for example. The advertising also puts unnecessary pressure on parents, they may feel inadequate if they cannot afford to buy the products demanded by their kids. Some parents can even get into serious debt in order to buy the goods advertised. Once again I think that this type of advertising aimed at children should be banned. I believe children should be free of all advertising and manipulation, and to all the gold-digging business men who devote their lives to brainwashing our children to becoming slaves to these enterprises, Target the parent, not the seven-year old. If youre product is not good enough to allure a grown up, make something better! I believe most parents would agree that what advertising is doing to our children is wrong. We have the power to stop this and let our children grow up and be free of being left out or with an obesity problem until theyre old enough to make their own decisions. Lets all ban advertising aimed at children now.

Pharmacy & Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pharmacy & Technology - Essay Example The drugs allow us to live healthier and more productive lives. However, they can also have negative side-effects if they are not taken correctly. Indeed, some drug regimes are very complex and can require the consumption of as many as a dozen different pills several times a day. The level of complexity is so high that many people need professional advice. This is where pharmacists come into the picture. These people study many years and must be very clever to reach the position they are in. However, there is another essential element that pharmacists must possess: intuition. Intuition is a fundamentally human trait. It allows people to make assumptions and come up with ideas that go outside of the box. It allows a pharmacist to suspect that someone may be faking an illness in order to score free drugs. It also allows a pharmacist to anticipate a problem a patient may have with the drug regime they are on. In other words, dispensing drugs is not something a machine can do. In todays world technology has made so many things more easily. In car factories, robots assemble large portions of each car and they do it very well. In marking lots, machines take our money and dispense tickets and let us in and out of the parking lot. All of these things provide a lot of convenience in our every day lives. Of course, we always want to make our lives more and more convenient. That said, there must be a limit. Should we replace our school bus drivers with robots? Most people would disagree. Should we replace our doctors? No. The majority of people believe that there are some services and functions in our society that should be performed by people because only a person has the intuition and judgement to deal with complex and human situations. Does that mean that a human doctor or pharmacist will always get it right? No, but they will be better equipped to deal with such

Environmentalism Today Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Environmentalism Today - Essay Example However, man has increasingly become involved in the growth of economic activities and has paid little heed to the protection of the nature. The natural resources have been exploited for economic gains and the world today faces a serious problem of degradation of the environment. This issue has assumed importance because of the fact that exploitation of the environment has led to the danger of destruction of the civilization. The political world has gauged the gravity of the situation and has been rallying hard to protect the environment from destruction. The political world is the authority in the modern world to introduce and alter policies regarding any changes in system. The political world consists of political parties who are influential in the implementation of laws in the social system. The political parties control the democracies in the world. Therefore, the political parties in effect have the responsibility of controlling the policies regarding the protection of environme nt. (Ryan, 2006) The paper deals in the relation between the security of the environment and the politics in the modern world. It is a fact that the political parties are trying relentlessly in making the issue of guarding the environment an important one. The paper will look explore the subject in detail. It is a well-known fact that the existence of mankind i... The nature has provided us with all that is needed for existence. The destruction of the nature will therefore lead to the destruction of mankind. The earth is influenced by biodiversity- the variation of life in an ecosystem. Biodiversity is an important reason for our existence and it is also responsible for supplying us with the basic needs like food, water and air. It has been influential in making the earth a suitable place to live in and has also made it beautiful. It has an intrinsic value to mankind with all its variation of plants and species. It has an important effect in creating economic value to mankind. Research has proved that all the species of nature are equally important to mankind and thus have to be conserved. The extrinsic importance of biodiversity stems from the economic value it gives to the mankind. Biodiversity has made it possible for mankind to gain economic benefits as it provides goods which can be extracted or grown and then can be sold or valued. It ha s made possible for man to grow agricultural products, which is the basis for food supply all over the world. The extraction of minerals like coal and oil is also a product of biodiversity. The activity of extraction from the nature has grown to be one of the most important economic activities over the world and some of the minerals extracted are the driving force of the modern economy. The ecosystem consisting of air, water, land, climate etc. are indispensible for the existence of humans and the value provided by it cannot be quantified in monetary terms. Some economists attempted to measure the value of the ecosystems. They found out that the value of these ecosystems run to over $3 trillion. The value is greater than the total GNP of the modern world. Thus, it is clear that it is not

Black Test Car by Masumura Yasuzo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Black Test Car by Masumura Yasuzo - Essay Example Such screenshot occurs to justify its effect in the view of the audience from whom to expect mixed sentiments of tension, suspense, and desperation at the sight of a principal character whose constant presence seems to evolve in shadows or in a state of thick gloom while the other part of the atmosphere receives a faint amount of light to indicate how transitions take place. Masumura Yasuzo evidently knew which perspective suits the scene that must evoke an image of stealth and treachery via a choice of lighting where the dark side makes a sharp contrast with the bright side. At an angle where the back of the man in focus forms the black before the others that make the white counterpart with their faces revealed, it feels that somewhere, something is bound to establish and sustain the conflict. Equivalently, the musical score in this portion of the story suggests undertones of pressure because of the human nature or instincts being portrayed by the conferring characters in a spot hidden from public notice. One necessarily observes herein that the manner in which dialogues blend with instrumentation rather sounds like there would be a consequence of opportunity or of mystery based on how words and music flow together to communicate the complex thoughts and sensitive gestures that could either make or break a plan in the end. Moreover, all the men in this thematic image generally project an appearance void of pleasant expressions which I think further contributes to the heavy and serious air of encounter between them.

Economics Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Economics - Term Paper Example 2.2 Economy of North America†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦... 7 The topic covers opportunities for allocation of capital as a scare resource that has to be allocated in many ways. Others see prospects in monopolistic environment, while others perceived the pure and natural monopoly more advantageous for their particular intention. Economies of countries differ because of economies of scale. This results to differences in GDP of poor and rich countries. We also see that aggregate demand is affected by price levels that either lowers or raises income and eventually influences balance of trade. Also, we have come at a conclusion that capital is the backbone of any business, but there are several decisions needed before a business could be established. Economics is a social science that studies production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. By extension economics also studies economic system, human welfare the creation and distribution of wealth, and the scarcity and alternative uses of resource. Under this definition, this study looks at the different market structure in a monopoly environment, examines the economy of selected countries, and studies the capital structure of business in order to understand the process of distribution of wealth. A monopolistic competition is a form of an imperfect competition which results from the differentiation of products by sellers. Dean, J. (p. 51) describes monopolistic competition as a situation where there are many sellers and no one can claim of control of major part of the common commodity. For example, McDonalds cannot claim a monopoly of hamburger sandwich as many others are selling the same product. McDonald differentiates its product thru advertising and promotion. Chart below shows a monopolistic competition which shows that on a short run basis, profit margin is comfortable for

Student Loans; How banks manage them and how they affect individual Term Paper - 1

Student Loans; How banks manage them and how they affect individual spending - Term Paper Example ay for college education that they cannot afford creates a situation in which a slowed job market will be unable to absorb these individuals and provide the necessary debt payments that these loans necessitate. Accordingly, the rate of default during any future slowdown in economic growth could be so profound that these individuals will contribute to a secondary crisis that could be far worse than the mortgage-backed security crisis that took place during 2007/2008. Yet, rather than focusing an entire analysis upon the potential for hardship that exists due to the way in which student loans are managed and given out, the following analysis will specifically focus upon the way in which banks manage student loans, the potential for distress that this style of management creates, and the individual hardship that student loan/debt repayment creates for a recent graduate and their overall Outlook for earnings during their lifetime. It is the hope of this author that such a level of discus sion will be beneficial with respect to engaging a further level of appreciation with regard to the issue of student loans, how they are managed, and how this form of debt impacts upon individuals within the current era. One of the most interesting ways in which the reader can come to appreciate the similarity between the mortgage-backed securities that contributed to the 2007/2008 financial hardship as compared to the issue of student loan debt creation and repayment has to do with the similarity of financial structure; specifically with regard to the way in which these student loans are packaged in bulk and sold within equity markets. In almost an identical manner to the way in which banks manage mortgage-backed securities and bought and sold these as an asset, the financial system is currently performing much the same process with respect to student loan debt. This is not a new concept. Instead, packaging debt and selling it to investors that place a premium upon whether or not

Simulation of Server Virtualisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 15000 words

Simulation of Server Virtualisation - Essay Example By doing this we can minimize physical servers   i.e., instead of having one server running in one operating system with the help of server virtualization we can have one physical server which has many virtual servers which acts as an individual operating system. The drawback of using conventional server is that many resources are not utilized in a proper ways and will be in idle state waiting for the other job to be finished. Having server virtualization implemented within an organization we will eliminate this problem by understanding the disk usage, Memory consumption. The application performance with respect to its Input and Output is usually done with the time required by the operating system. The operation of OS like read and write helps us to estimate resource and s system the performance of any resource. Another important factor related to operating system is response time of the service processing the application requests. Since all these factors have a tendency to change its behaviour anytime in the real environment, it will be necessary for one to monitor factors like performance and efficiency of servers. For this analysis we will take help of simulation of server virtualization to calculate the workload of a resource and s system.  Three types of server virtualization exists, they are OS-level virtualization, Full virtualization and Para virtualization. Usually in server virtualization the physical servers are called as host of the server and virtual servers are called guests.  

Fallacies and Generalizations Essay Example for Free

Fallacies and Generalizations Essay Fallacies and generalizations of complex topics is common in today’s high-pace society. Even before the era of 24/7 news, it was often easier to persuade people to an action if the terms were simplified. Unfortunately, this simplification often mires debates, and those who have no cost to being wrong often burden others with the cost of making a wrong decision. As I have been reading Economic Facts and Fallacies (by Sowell), many of the common fallacies of today’s economics and culture situations are broken down to reveal possible causes, as well as the true causes. For today’s post, common fallacies and generalizations will be defined, as well as an example of each. When debating with others, watch out for these fallacies and call them out when you are able to. 1. Ad hominem One of the most common fallacies today, in which an argument is linked to a personal characteristic or belief to the opposition. It should not be confused with general name-calling or with legitimate concerns of the opposition’s motives for arguing. Example: Mark: Gay marriage is wrong. Susan: Well, to you it is because you are a Christian. Mark: All the reasons against have had nothing to do with religion. Susan: You are religious so it does not matter what your reasons are for not supporting gay marriage. 2. Argument from Authority Simply put, an argument/statement is correct because someone with recognized authority (person or organization) has said it is correct or endorses the position. It is commonly seen in commercials, but also prevalent in areas of debate that do rely upon factual data. Arguments based on a person’s expertise must be heavily scrutinized, especially in the scientific and mathematical fields, which require non-biased data to support conclusions in experiments. Example: â€Å"Hi, I’m (Athlete) here to talk to you about the amazing advantages of using the Dental Pro-Product Extreme! Example 2: Susan: Global Warming has not yet been conclusively proven to have been caused by human activities. Mark: 90% of scientists with the UN and many climate agencies around the world have agreed that man is the cause of this Warming. 3. Appeal to Emotion The fallacy of appealing to emotion is broad, a person can appeal to fear, ridicule, or some positive benefit. Emotion though has not place in a debate based upon facts. Example: Mark: If we don’t support our troops, then our national security is at risk! Who really wants to let up security so terrorists can sneak through and harm us? 4. Correlation does not imply Causation One of the biggest generalizations committed today is this one. Many of the fallacies in Sowell’s book revolve around this type of fallacy including various â€Å"discrimination† such as the gender-wage gap, and black-white income/education gap. The other problem with this generalization is that it generally applies broadly to a diverse group, such as â€Å"women†. Example: Mark: Women consistently earn 75 cents per dollar that men make doing the same jobs despite all the advances they have made over the years. Susan: Did you know that women, as a group, tend to choose jobs that are lower pay and have less hours? And that when compared individually, productivity differences due to time off from work explain the gap? 5. Slippery Slope The bane of many internet debates and political debates is the slippery slope fallacy. It is often combined with other fallacies to make the argument stronger. In essence, the person will use this fallacy to say that a small event will cascade into ever larger events, typically against the wishes of the audience. Susan: If we legalize prostitution, then drug use will increase. Which means more tax dollars will be needed to combat the rise in crime that will result, and schools will need to enforce stricter drug policies to protect children. Mark: Why not legalize drugs as well? Shouldn’t people be free to use their bodies as they please? Many, many, infinitely many more fallacies exist. Generalizations are also common when people are treated as a homogeneous group, such as the income differences amongst ethnic groups in the United States. Of course, at times fallacies and generalizations can be useful, if they are true and conform to reason, but for every-day usage, most are just to win the debate and shame the opponent one way or another.

Merger of mittal stell and arcelor steel analysis

Merger of mittal stell and arcelor steel analysis This case is about the merger of Mittal Steel Industry and Arcelor Steel Industry which was merged in 2006. This assignment covers the topics of change management and its theories. The case is related to Plan Do Check Act (PDCA) theory. The headquarters are situated in Avenue Da La Liberate, Luxembourg. The business of these 2 companies are served world wide after the merger. The Chairman of the companies is Laxshmi Mittal. These companies deal with many products such as Steel, Flat Steel, Long Steel products, Stainless Steel, Wire products, Plates. The companies not only provide these products in reasonable ranges but also provide good quality. Before the merger Mittal Steel Industry used to produce volume however Arcelor Steel Industry used to produce highest revenues. After the merger these companies became number one steel industry in producing values and revenues as well. The status of the revenue of this merged company in 2009 was US$ 65.11 billion and profit was US$ 118 billion. The operating income was US$ 1.678 billion in 2009. In further pages of this assignment the theories of change management are also related to the cases. TABLE OF CONTENTS Index INTRODUCTION MITTAL STEEL INDUSTRY MITTAL STEEL co. was formed by the merger of LNM HOLDING and ISPAT INTERNATIONAL.LAKSHMI MITTAL who is the CEO of the company, He and his family hold 88% of the company and its headquarter was in ROTTERDAM NETRHERLAND. The company was produced words largest steel in term of volume and also largest in turnover which merge in ARCELOR MITTAL. The company establish a meal stone in the steel world industry ARCELOR STEEL INDUSTRY ARCELOR was established in February 2002 by combining 3 steel making companies i.e. ARCERALIA [SPAIN], ARBED [LUXEMBOURG] and UNISON [FRANCE].In ARCELOR more than 104000 employees was working in 2006 over 60 countries. ARCELOR revenues were 40.6billion euros and its production was 53.5 million tonnes of crude steel. Their products were flat carbon steel, long carbon steel, stainless steel and steel solution and services. The ARCELOR steel and b MITTAL steel merge in ARCELORMITTAL steel in 2006. Now, ARCELOR MITTAL is words no. 1 steel maker company with the revenue of $ 105.2 billion a year. The company produced crude steel and production of crude steel is 116 millions tons per year. It produced 10% of steel in the world. The co. has more than 310000 employees in over 60 countries across 4 continents. The co. is leader in the global market in various fields which has automotives construction household appliances and packaging. Mittal steel was leader in steel industry in terms of volume whereas Arcelor steel was leader in terms of revenue. After merge it becomes highly fragmented steel industry in the world. This industry belong to steel market, it presence in Europe, Asia, America and Africa. It gives the global exposure to the steel industry. Now ARCELOR MITTAL is looking for high growth in Indian and Chinese market. Its also listed with the stock exchange of New York, Luxembourg, Paris Brussels , Amsterdam and Spanish stock exchange of Barcelona Bilboa. Change Management Theories PLAN DO CHECK ACT (PDCA) Plan-Do-Check-Act first developed by Walter Shewhart and it was popularized by Edwards Deming. PDCA  (plan-do-check-act) is a four-step problem-solving process typically used in  business improvement. Its also known as Shewhart cycle, Deming cycle, PDSA (PLAN DO STUDY ACT), PDCA (PLAN DO CHECK ACT). This Act is useful for change management. The PDCA cycle should be repeated again and again for continuous improvement in an organization. PLAN: To improve your operations first by finding out what things are going wrong (that is identify the problems faced), and come up with ideas for solving these problems. PROCEDURE- Recognize an opportunity and plan a change. DO: Implement the new processes. PROCEDURE- Taking small steps in controlled circumstances for execute the plan. CHECK: Measure the new processes and compare the results against the expected results to ascertain any differences. PROCEDURE- Review the test, analyze the results and identify what youve learned. ACT: Analyse the differences to determine their cause. Each will be part of either one or more of the P-D-C-A steps. Determine where to apply changes that will include improvement. When a pass through these four steps does not result in the need to improve, refine the scope to which PDCA is applied until there is a plan that involves improvement. PROCEDURE- Take action to improve the process Benefits of the PDCA cycle: This cycle can solve the problems, Project management, Daily routine management for the individual and team, Continuous development, New product development. THE CHANGE The merger was started from 27th January 2006 but it finalised on 25th June 2006 It Is valued at 26.8 billion Euros in dollar it was 33.5 billion which was 44% higher than initial offer 18.6 billion Euros MITTAL was the largest share holder with 45% stake in the merged entity. THE MERGER The change was necessary in the Steel Industry and the aim was globalization and consolidation in the Steel Industry. MITTAL defines the deal and set pace for the industry. In June 2006 MITTAL STEEL and ARCELOR reach an agreement to merge the two companies. The combine group which name formed was ARCELOR MITTAL and the head quarter established in Luxembourg. 2006 was a very exciting and growing year for MITTAL ARCELOR because in this year new milestone were achieved by both companies. The company was converted by two companies which lead the industry through mergers and acquisition. Change management was the merger was on the basis of ADHOC basis and it was run on temporary basis. After this the second step was not temporary basis now the ARCELOR adapted the merger and then the new company was formed with the name of ARCELOR MITTAL and it perform all the function of one company and now it leads the whole of the steel industry. ARCELOR + MITTAL = ARCELOR MITTAL ARCELOR MITTAL- BUILDING OUR COMPANY WITH THE NEED OF FUTURE GENERATION IN MIND. WHY CHANGES IMPLEMENTED The aim of company was to become largest company as both company were large but both was in competitor with each other but the aim of the company was to become no. 1 in the steel industry which was not easily possible for both of them individually. Companies want to achieve economy of scale. Economy of scale achievement is very difficult for both of the company. Every company wants to growth but various factor are countable in the way of it. So one of the factors was competition in different field thats why change was necessary for achievement of economy of scale. Steel demand was strong in 2006 in developing industry as the expert shows the relevant data about growing of it thats why one way growth was very difficult in steel industry so change was necessary in steel industry. Both are very strong MITTAL in terms of volume and ARCELOR in terms of revenue which attract to each other. Both knew about their strength and weakness thats why both knew what they are doing because this was the requirement of both of the company. So change is necessary and both companies want to adopt these changes in mutual way. This case can be related to the theory of Plan Do Check Act as following changes were occurred according to the theory: Plan- Both the companies planned to combine with each other as there will be profitable changes after the merger. Do- Both the companies tried to find out the situations of the company that how it can be profitable in the global market. They find out the scale of the economy as the achievement of economy of scale was very difficult for both the companies. Check- The companies checked both the status of the companies as steel demand was strong in 2006 in developing industry so the change was necessary and both companies want to adopt changes in mutual way. Act- Both the companies were very strong in their ways however they finally merged by analysing the future situation and status of the company in the market. They knew their strength and weaknesses so the merger was resulted successful. MARKET POSITION IN REGION AFTER CHANGE NO 1 NORTH AMERICA NO 1 IN WESTERN EUROPE NO 1 IN EASTERN EUROPE AND CIS NO 1 IN SOUTH AMERICA NO 1 IN AFRICA STRATEGIC PRESENCE IN ASIA ACHIVEMENTS AFTER CHANGES Operation of company achieve more than 20 countries The production of steel crossed 116 millions The annual production capacity is 130 million s tonnes Steel shipment produced approximate 110 million tonnes Revenue from shipment is generated 105.2billion US$ Company is announced 35 more acquisition The organic growth of company 20 million tonnes The company has unique capability in the steel industry in the field of R D ARCELORMITTAL GROWTH PLAN IN FUTURE In the shipment company will adopt five year plan in which 20% increase in 5 years It adopt growth plan 2012 and it called growth plan 2012 For 2012 company target focused on 131 million tonnes production Company strategy mainly focused on high growth market and low cost areas The growth plan in 2012 is approximately 75% which have done already or approved For a potential investment of 7billion US$ over 6 years. CONCLUSION WHY THE CHANGE WAS SUCCESSFUL The change management was a synergy change. It is related with the team performance. Both the companies want to work like a team so both were clear in their field thats why change management was successful in these companies. Together they brought iron, technology and marketing expertise which in past they were brought separately it becomes another change which follow both of the company they know their powers in their field so when they combined they use in the combined way and they also share their power in one way thats why change was successful. They follow the merger process which is adept at combining business. The merger process which is follow by many companies but right merger process is that which follow the right way in the right time with the right company. So in this way both company follow the same procedure of successful thats why the change was successful. Both of were knowing the growth of each other thats why they know what they have done and what they earn from this management change because they know where they stand and what they will be done so they know about change very well thats why change process they follow which made history in the steel industry. They was the best competition in the market thats why they knew very well strength and weakness of each other which made best connection with each other which made path for the successful change it shows both of the company leadership techniques for growing one. They have different quality of top level in both ways from the MITTAL point of view the volume they produced and from the ARCELOR point of view revenue they earn so both have unique but also powerful quality in their field which made change successful. Current Status: Total Assets US$ 127.7 billion (2009) Total Equity US$ 65.40 billion (2009) Employees 281700 (2009)

Essay --

By the looks of these starling statistics we can all optically discern sex inculcation is greatly needed. When children are still adolescent their brains are like sponges and it’s more facile for them to obtain information and it’s consequential for us to learn things early. Adolescence is a paramount duration with regard to sexual development considering hormonal changes increase sex drive, change appearance and amend the likelihood of reproduction. The stages of sexuality largely depend on perception but conventionally commence with autoerotic deportment, which translates into authentic sexual activity with another person (Steinberg, 2011), Even though adolescent sexual demeanor is by all accounts mundane, the implicative insinuations cognate to the utilization of contraception are concerning. For instance, â€Å"one worrisome finding suggests that most adolescents report verbalizing about contraception after they first have intercourse, rather than before† (as cited in Steinberg, 2011, p. 342-343). Due to the prevalence of sexual intercourse during adolescence efforts to edify the youth perpetuate to be a top priority of the inculcative system and regime. Nonetheless, these efforts have done little to solve the current crisis in our community with regard to adolescent sexual deportment. A report published by the U.S Department of Health and Human Accommodations â€Å"suggests that as many as 50% of all adolescents are sexually active† (White, 2008, p. 349). A portion of those are puerile women who will become pregnant, adolescent men who will contract a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and teenagers who will suffer from emotional distress and regret. Albeit the majority concurs inculcation is the solution to this dilemma, one q... ...cer and infertility (Steinberg, 2011). Thus, the biological perils cognate to sexual activity incline to be the primary focus when edifying teens; however, the psychological and societal implicative insinuations may be the most consequential. Although a pregnant adolescent faces many stressors, which can translate into sundry psychological quandaries such as melancholy, the most consequential effects may pertain to the child. According to Steinberg (2011) children of adolescent mothers â€Å"are at a more preponderant risk of developing a variety of psychological and gregarious problems†; largely, due to being raised in a poor environment and/or a single parent household (p. 363). Psychological issues can additionally arise due to puerile parents interacting with their infant less often, which have a consequential effect on the child’s development (Steinberg, 2011).

Cultures :: essays papers

Cultures Culture is something that is very stable but it is still something that is subject to change. There are different causes to change including accidents or the unexpected outcome of events that are already in existence. Sometimes it is also the attempt to solve a perceived problem. Change can also be forced upon a group through intense contact between two societies. Adaption and progress are both consequences and not causes of change. The ultimate source of all change is innovation. This is any new practice, tool, or principle that gains widespread acceptance within a group. A primary innovation is a change that involve the chance discovery of a new principle. A secondary innovation results from the deliberate application of known principles. A great example of primary innovation is the firing of clay which makes it permanently hard. Modeling the clay to be fired by known techniques into familiar objects. Primary stimulate other inventions and may prompt rapid cultural change. Diffusion is known as the borrowing of cultural elements from one society by members of another. Borrowing is so common that the North American anthropologist Ralph Linton suggested that as much as 90% of a culture is accounted for by borrowing. The Pilgrims that settled in New Plymouth might have starved to death if it wasn’t for the Indian Squanto which showed them how to grow crops. There is a creativeness behind the borrowing, picking and choosing from multiple possibilities. Most of these choices are made to be compatible with the already existing culture. Cultural loss has to do with the abandonment of some trait or practice with or without replacement. People think of change as an accumulation of innovations: adding new things to those that are already there. When reflected upon you come up with the conclusion that the existence of a new innovation leads to the loss of an older one. This in not only a feature of Western Civilization. In biblical times chariots and carts were in Widespread use but were replaced by camels because they worked better by the 6th century. Acculturation is the occurrence of two groups of different cultures coming into intensive firsthand contact with each other. An element of force is usually involved directly or indirectly. There are other variables which include the degree of cultural difference; circumstances, intensity, frequency, and hostility of contact; who is dominant and who is submissive: and whether the nature of the flow is reciprocal or nonreciprocal.

The Use of Computers in Entertainment :: Technology

The Use of Computers in Entertainment In today’s electronic era computers have a hand in almost everything. Entertainment is no exception, in fact with the coming of digital information has made one of its greatest leaps. Movies, games, music, even books that that are simple and easy as it is have been impacted greatly by computers. But how far is too far? Music is now stolen, movies the same, games can be hacked and broken into with simple programs. As technology continues, more and more information will be taken, changed, stolen, and laws will then be made to try to stop all of this. But all they really need is a good middle ground to work towards or land on. With the coming of DVD’s computers moved into a big portion of the video industry. But with it came the ability to take a movie off of the disk and distribute it over user sharing programs. Many companies have tried to solve this problem by adding programs and such to the disks so that the information cannot be stolen. This does not stop DVD pirating, but it does cut down on the burning of DVDs. CD’s have also incorporated this type of programming for the same reasons. The music industry was turned upside down with the coming of Napster. Why this was is not really understood, because many programs that were out previously that did the same thing. Scour was a one of a kind program, and before that simple FTP sites were in abundance, as they still are, to download music. Perhaps the ease of which Napster allowed users to share information is what bothered them. But a lawsuit was taken against Napster, and it had to restrict many of its features (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1000463.stm). But if they had simply come to a common middle ground, perhaps having users pay to use the service or pay for the music itself, would have been better. Just because Napster was forced to add program lines that all but shut the program down didn’t mean the other user to user programs were forced to stop being made. In fact when one is shut down it seems like 5 replace it. Because of this many programs that have a service fee or a membership of so me sort is ignored.

British Imperialism in South East Asia

For along period, up to the late 20th century, many of the European nations had vast interest in many of the Asian and African countries. This made them to colonize these countries so as to get whatever they wanted. Almost all of the African and Asian countries became colonies of the western countries. The more a country was perceived to have got many resources, the higher the scramble for that country was. Britain is one of the countries that had majority colonies in both the African and the Asian continent. India happened to be just one of these colonies.The colonists come along with their way of doing things thus impacting on the natives' way of handling the same issues. In essence, most of the colonies wanted to see that they changed their colonies to behave in the manner that will be beneficial to them. In India, the British’s interest was experienced during the decline time of Mughal Empire (http://www. indianchild. com/history_of_india. htm para 8). It all started as me re commercial activities between the two nations. There was a breakup in the rule of the Mughal Empire which resulted to the rising of dispute among the princess.This was a great advantage to the British as they did step in to settle the dispute. In the process, the British Empire started gaining much influence (Martin, pp 213). During the first global war that was fought in Europe and North America for seven years, it saw the British and the French come into a big fight in which the British won. Many of the Indians were recruited in the well paying British army. In the end, it emerged that India became the key source for Britain’s raw material and a market for finished goods (Siegel & Kennedy pp 98). British Colonialism in IndiaWhen the British entered the Indian colony, they formed a society that was stratified having the Britons occupying the highest position in the society. In the Indian schools, it emerged that the language of communication was now English. Many scholars of the British rule in India have noted that despite the heavy presence of the Britons in India, their presence was insignificant. The British used the tactic of divide and rule very well, and more importantly the psychological indoctrination of the Indians who had undergone through the education system of the British.These were the people who became the model British subject. the British used the English-educated Indians to absorb values about what they wanted , and this played a significant role in helping the Britons loot most of what they wanted from India, in terms of physical wealth and labor (http://india_resource. tripod. com/britishedu. htm para 1). According to the Britons plan, they wanted to have a person who was Indian in blood and color, but with an English taste, language and intellect. It meant therefore that the Britons had to decide on what the Indians were going to learn in schools and the mode of learning.For the British to succeed in its mission, they did set t he learned Indians against their fellows by proclaiming that they were following a very bad tradition, and it was only the British’s tradition that was good. These intellects were used to stress the negative impact of the Indians tradition. The Indians were made to believe that they were conservative people who lacked national concept or history. On the other hand, the British were considered as modern and scientific oriented. â€Å"With their unique organizational skills and energetic zeal, they would raise India from the morass of casteism and religious bigotry.These and other such ideas were repeatedly filled in the minds of the young Indians who received instruction in the British schools,†(http://india_resource. tripod. com/britishedu. htm para 4). There was need to facilitate transport and communication between the colony and the colonials. Hence the colonials constructed the railway line to facilitate transportation of the troops, raw materials and finished good s. There was as well telegraph lines to ease communication. However, the Britons did not take any step to see that the Indians learnt the new technology (Webster pp 186).The Indian soldiers rebelled against the British in 1857 causing the British to tighten its rule against India (Martin, pp 213). the rebellion of the soldiers occurred when the British empire introduced new cartridges that required the soldiers to tear them apart using their teeth. The cartridges were lubricated using animal fat, and this offended especially the Muslims whom their religion did not allow them to use pork or its products, while the Hindus were against the use of cattle fat for greasing.The rebellion was put down in 1858, but already several of the Britons had been killed; males, females and children. There were establishment of schools and universities by the Americans and the Britons in India that provided an education system that advocated for a strong nationalist sentiment. â€Å"In 1885, they fou nded the Indian National Congress, which promoted a greater role for Indians in their country's government. The new organization also sought harmony among Indians of diverse religion and social groups†, (Martin pp 213).There are many other influences in the Indian cultures that can be directly linked to the British rule in India. For instance, the Indians were not known for using surnames. However, with the coming and the ruling of the Britons, the Indians adopted the use of surnames. As Kolhatkar argues, â€Å"Surnames were not in use in India in ancient times and almost till the end of the first millennium CE. Thousands of names are known from Sanskrit/Prakrit texts, rock-cut inscriptions, copper plates, coins etc. They are almost always single names†, (para 3).However, it is now an occasion that in India, you come across the name of the child alongside that of the parent. The use of the surname became as a mark of respect for the parent. It is because of the British rule that the use of the surname became advent. It could be argued that these was because of the fact that the Britons wanted to make the work of administration much easier by having a system that was â€Å"more clarity in identifying individuals and the facility of documentation and reading created by the widening use of the printing press.Thus came into being the current method of the individual's name, father's name and the surname,†(Kolhatkar para 6). Therefore, looking at the influence Britain had in India, it can be concluded that it is true to note that these influences spilled all over the world especially the other Britain’s colonies. The use of surname, the British system of education, trade and language are all over the world. Reference: Kolhatkar, A. Indian surnames and the British influence, 29 Jul 2004, Retrieved on 13th May 2008 from http://archiver. rootsweb. ancestry. com/th/read/INDIA/2004-07/1091137759Martin, P. Five Steps To A 5, ISBN: 0071437142; M cGraw-Hill Professional, 2004 History of India, 2004, Retrieved on 13th May 2008 http://www. indianchild. com/history_of_india. htm Siegel J & Kennedy P. Endgame: Britain, Russia and the Final Struggle for Central Asia, ISBN: 1850433712; I. B. Tauris, 2002 SOUTH ASIAN HISTORY; History of British Rule and Colonization in India, 2001 Retrieved on 13th May 2008 from http://india_resource. tripod. com/britishedu. htm Webster A. Gentlemen Capitalists: British Imperialism in South East Asia, 1770-1890, ISBN: 1860641717; I. B. Tauris, 1998

Cash Basis vs. Accrual Basis Accounting Essay

Cash basis accounting and the accrual basis accounting are two accounting methods used to keep track of a business’s income and expenses. In accrual basis accounting, revenue is recorded as it is earned and expenses are recorded when they generate revenue. Under cash basis accounting, only transactions involving increases or decreases of the entity’s cash are recorded. One of the major differences is the reporting of net income and net cash flows from operations. The cash basis is the more commonly used method of accounting by individuals and small businesses with sales of less than $5 million per year whereas accrual basis is used by large companies and is required of corporations whose stock is publicly traded. With accrual basis accounting being more complex, it provides more financial information about a company, therefore, providing more meaningful financial reports. Cash basis accounting is the simple method. It provides a more accurate picture of how much actual cash your business has because it only deals with cash transactions. Companies record transaction when they have an increase or decrease of cash. However, this doesn’t give you a clear picture of a company’s operations and financial performance. In summary, the difference is the timing when transactions, including sales and purchases, are credited or debited to your account. If your business is simple, then cash basis will do, but accrual basis provides the â€Å"big† picture of business operations.

Measuring Customer Satisfaction at ImageStream Essay

ImageStream Internet Solutions, Inc. is a privately held company in its 9th year of operation. ImageStream engineers, manufactures, and distributes Linux-based routing products for network and Internet applications. ImageStream products are used by Internet service providers (ISPs), governments, schools, and businesses in more than 75 countries around the world. As ImageStream moves toward its next decade, market forces require it, like most high technology companies, to be fast and responsive. The company faces constant change in demands and needs along with the pressures of mission creep in the face of limited resources. It is against this backdrop that ImageStream started its ISO 9000:2000 certification process. This process requires not only the implementation of quality processes, but measurement of their efficacy as well. ImageStream conducts key manager meetings twice monthly, and a company-wide review on a semi-annual basis. During these managerial and company reviews, the senior executives identify key metrics driving the success of the company’s mission, including those metrics that would benefit most from significant improvement. This proposal outlines the use of a customer satisfaction survey and seeks to answer the management question: What is the current customer satisfaction with the level and type of customer service provided by ImageStream? The study will explore the conceptual framework of service quality, the positive and negative impacts of service quality on ImageStream, and the effect of favorable and unfavorable customer intentions on perceived quality using survey research. Armed with the statistical analyses outlined below, the operations management team will identify current trends in customer satisfaction in a proactive attempt to resolve to any issues. Background and Literature Review The study and development of customer service techniques and customer  retention management programs has blossomed into its own industry. This increasing focus on customer satisfaction is not surprising, given the positive correlation between happy customers and successful companies illustrated in countless marketing research studies. This study will outline the relationship between customer satisfaction with service and customer retention at ImageStream. To support the findings, we will conduct an empirical study focusing on the relationship between perceived service quality and customer intentions. Weinstein and Johnson (1999) recommend that companies like ImageStream should spend â€Å"75% of its marketing budget on customer retention strategies† and to strengthen these relationships. Once customers commit to a product platform, and the longer they use and deploy that platform, the more profit ImageStream can realize. Longstanding, satisfied customers will generally continue, or often increase, purchasing, require less operational and customer service support, and be more willing to pay price premiums to remain with the company–all without incurring new customer acquisition costs (Pine, Peppers, and Rogers, 1995). This paper will analyze how ImageStream’s service relationship with its customers produces customer behaviors indicating whether or not a customer will remain an ImageStream customer. The methodology used will follow Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman’s study on this topic (1996). Since replacing lost customers requires new customer acquisition costs, customer retention should be a fundamental performance measure for ImageStream’s executive staff and a key component of the company’s incentive programs (Zeithaml et al., 1996). According to the American Management Association, acquiring a new customer can require five times the investment needed to keep an existing customer (Weinstein et al., 1999). Literature Review Customer service, not surprisingly, has been researched extensively: from the conceptual framework of service quality, to the positive and negative impacts of service quality, to the effect of favorable and unfavorable  customer intentions on perceived quality. We review these concepts in recent literature, and investigate an empirical study focusing on the relationship between service quality and customer behavioral intentions (Zeithaml et al., 1996). Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman (1996) offer a conceptual model of service quality. The researchers postulate that the quality of customer service will determine whether a company retains its customers or loses them to defection. Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman (1996) highlight seven key points: 1.Customer defection has a negative relationship with an organization’s profitability. 2.Retaining current customers costs less than acquiring new ones. 3.Customer retention should be a fundamental component of incentive programs. 4.Companies must advertise not only to attract new customers, but to replace lost customers. 5.Advertising, promotion, and sales costs are required expenses when attracting new customers. 6.In general, at the beginning of a customer/vendor relationship, the customers do not generate a profit for the company. Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman estimate that acquisition cost recovery can take as long as four years. 7.Positive customer assessments of service quality lead to positive behavioral intentions, strengthening the relationship between the customer and the company. Negative assessments, on the other hand, create unfavorable customer behavioral intentions. The unfavorable conditions weaken the customer/vendor relationship. Based on their research and observations, Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman  (1996) believe that expressed or observed behavioral intentions can indicate whether or not customers will remain with an organization. Reinartz and Kumar (2000) challenge Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman’s assertions that customer retention always leads well-managed companies to profitability. Reinartz and Kumar (2000) argue that long-term customers are not always the most profitable customers, and dismiss research assuming that loyalty equates with profitability as a gross oversimplification. Reinartz and Kumar (2000) contend that managers should not automatically assume increased lifetime spending, decreased costs of service, and decreased price sensitivity for long-term retained customers. Reinartz and Kumar (2000) go further in also disputing the idea that long-term retained customers require lesser marketing investment by companies. Their research concluded that long-term customers often have inactive purchasing periods unrelated to their retention by an organization (Reinartz and Kumar, 2000). During these dormant periods, these customers are at best a break-even proposition for organizations, and often consume marketing and service resources resulting in net losses during periods of inactivity. Reinartz and Kumar (2000) found that short-term customers may be as significant to customers as longtime clients. Other research indicates that organizations struggling with a single approach to satisfy all customers can end up with â€Å"inefficient and inappropriate levels of service† (Cohen, Cull, Lee and Willen, 2000). Cohen, Cull, Lee and Willen (2000) conclude that organizations must customize their service to meet each customer’s individual needs. Superior service generates favorable behavioral intentions in customers, including increased future spending, acceptance of price premiums, â€Å"word of mouth† referrals, and, ultimately, customer retention (Zeithaml et al., 1996). Research suggests that most employees have a â€Å"true customer orientation† in that they understand their customers’ needs, and possess empathy and respect for their customers (Bitner, Booms and Mohr, 1994). Quality service builds customer faith in the organization, and â€Å"is essential for maintaining competitive advantage† (Berry, Parasuraman and Zeithaml, 1994). Since quality customer service can generate positive behavioral intentions, quality service strategies are effectively profit strategies for organizations. Research illustrates this link between service and profitability, as Keaveney (1995) found that customer defections can cost an organization future revenue stream. As customers’ intentions toward a company improve, the results include new customers, increased business with existing customers, fewer lost customers, and added pricing power (Berry et al., 1994). Berry and Parasuraman (1997) stress the creation of customer feedback channels as a component of quality service. Listening and responding to the customer’s needs in a quality way has a â€Å"direct effect on the quality of service provided† (Berry and Parasuraman, 1997). This focus on customer feedback drove the purpose of this series of papers. Evidence, such as Keaveney’s study, highlighting the role customer loyalty plays in making an organization more profitable makes it imperative that companies quickly and proactively address concerns, complaints and other unfavorable behavioral intentions among their customers (Tax, Brown and Chandrashekar, 1998). Tax, Brown and Chandrashekar’s point also applies in a comparative sense as well. Organizations can potentially provide satisfactory service that nonetheless lags other competitors’ service offerings. In these cases, customers may defect because of the attraction of comparatively superior service offerings from a competitor. Managers of service departments and service companies must recognize this comparative measure, and realize that some customers will defect even when they are satisfied with a former provider (Keaveney, 1995). Customers display favorable intentions such as praising the company, expressing a preference for the company to the company or to other consumers, continuing and/or increasing purchasing volumes, paying price premiums, and making recommendations to others based on their satisfaction with the company (Zeithaml et al., 1996). Satisfied customers stay loyal to an organization longer, pay less attention to competitive products, exhibit less price sensitivity, offer service improvement or expansion ideas to the organization and cost less to service over time than new customers (Weinstein et al., 1999). When dissatisfied, customers display unfavorable intentions such as expressing an eagerness to leave the organization, decreasing purchase patterns, voicing complaints to the vendor, complaining to others, or taking legal action against the organization (Zeithaml et al., 1996). When customers do leave an organization, many choose to do so quietly with the intention of â€Å"getting even by making negative comments† to others about the organization (Tax and Brown, 1998). Since defecting customers can impact current and future revenue streams, properly identifying dissatisfied customers and understanding why customers defect can be valuable tools in improving customer retention management programs. Companies must implement strategies to overcome potential customer defections. Retention efforts should begin as soon as organizations acquire new customers. The organization should proactively attempt to learn and address customer needs and resolve any complaints or concerns quickly (Weinstein et al., 1999). Weinstein et al. (1999) suggest several ways to build loyalty and increase favorable behavioral intentions in customers. They suggest that organizations could embed sales staff at the offices of their best customers, participate in their customer’s events or promotional efforts, interview their customer’s customers, conduct retreats with major customers to share best practices and to train customers on company products and services, develop a preferred customer pricing strategy, reward customers for referring new business, solicit feedback on product development roadmaps, and even partner with key accounts on industry research projects (Weinstein et al., 1999). SERVQUAL Among the most popular assessments tools of service quality is SERVQUAL, an instrument designed by Berry, Parasuraman, and Zeithaml (1994). Through numerous qualitative studies, they evolved a set of five dimensions ranked consistently by customers as central to service quality, regardless of the  service industry. Berry, Parasuraman, and Zeithaml (1994) defined these dimensions as: *Tangibles: the appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication materials; *Reliability: an ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately; *Responsiveness: a willingness to help customers and provide prompt service; *Assurance: the knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence; and *Empathy: the caring, individualized attention the firm provides its customers. Based on the five SERVQUAL dimensions, the researchers also developed a survey instrument to measure the gap between customers’ expectation for excellence and their perception of actual service delivered. The SERVQUAL instrument helps service providers understand both customer expectations and perceptions of specific services, as well as quality improvements over time (Berry, Parasuraman, and Zeithaml, 1988). Analysis of customer responses to a SERVQUAL questionnaire presents numerous potential practical implications for companies and their customer service teams. Scope We will conduct a study of all ImageStream customers (the â€Å"population†) by e-mailing or mailing a questionnaire to companies listed in ImageStream’s internal records. The study will take less than one month to complete. We will contact all customers and direct them to the on-line survey, and follow up with customers who have not responded after two weeks. We will end the study after four weeks, and expect 25%-30% participation. We base this estimate on the response rate of similar studies mentioned above. A response  rate of at least 10% will yield a significant sample, enabling us to make conclusive findings and recommendations. Methodology We identify three determinants of customer satisfaction with ImageStream: service quality, solution quality, and price (through a measure of perceived value). Data on customer satisfaction, service quality, solution quality and price will be collected through the attached questionnaire survey. The questionnaire adapts the SERVQUAL instrument developed by Berry, Parasuraman and Zeithaml (1998) and uses a combination of Likert-scaled, dichotomous and unstructured questions. The use of both bipolar Likert/dichotomous and unstructured questions allows us to benefit from the strengths of both quantitative and qualitative research. The use of quantitative questions allows us to obtain a high degree of reliability and validity using the scientific method, and enables others to more easily repeat or replicate our study. The qualitative questions provide background for customer responses, and help to identify any underlying issues highlighted by the quantitative research. Triangulation, in this case the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, allows us to overcome the weakness of using only one research technique. We do not assume that there is only one reality and believe that different research methods will reveal different perspectives. Using quantitative and qualitative triangulation allows us to use different sets of data, different types of analyses, different researchers, and/or different theoretical perspectives to study customer service. The quantitative question results will provide data that we can subject to complex statistical analyses. We will combine the quantitative question responses to determine central tendencies and dispersion of the data, including measures of mean, standard error, median, mode, standard deviation, variance, kurtosis, skewness, and range. We will analyze the  results of each question and of the study as a whole. Based on the results of the analysis above, we will develop regressions to identify potential relationships between past service experiences, perceived quality, future purchasing behavior, and loyalty. A possible research design for the regression analysis follows. H1: There is a positive correlation between the level of superior customer service and positive future customer behavior. H2: There is a negative or no correlation between the level of superior customer service and positive future customer behavior. H3: There is a positive correlation between the level of inferior customer service and negative future customer behavior. H4: There is a negative or no correlation between the level of inferior customer service and negative future customer behavior. Using these results, we can make conclusions about the management problem defined above. Development of these findings will include the use of anecdotal evidence from the qualitative questions in the survey. We will use the responses to the qualitative questions to support the quantitative findings, and to highlight key issues not covered by the quantitative portions of the survey. Possible Findings Following Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman (1996), we believe that a positive relationship exists between quality service and positive customer behavior as defined above. Additionally, we believe that our research will show that favorable customer behavioral intentions will be higher among customers experiencing no service problems. Customers who have experience problems, but received service to resolve them will show the next highest level. Customers with unresolved service problems will show the least favorable  behavioral intentions. Conclusion Customer service and its effect on customer retention in an organization is a growing area of research, and one that is vital to maintaining quality at ImageStream. This paper examined customer retention and defection from an organization in the context of customer service quality, exploring four areas: 1.A conceptual framework of how service quality affects particular customer behaviors and the consequences for ImageStream, establishing the purpose for this study, 2.Empirical studies that focused on the relationship between service quality and customer behavioral intentions, 3.A triangulated quantitative and qualitative survey to study perceived service levels among ImageStream customers, 4.Follow-on research based on the survey results and statistical analysis, including a summary of expected findings Customer retention branches off into many other significant areas such as value-added services, supply chain relationships, use of information systems to service customers better, and very importantly perceived and expected performance. Organizations have a chance to learn from their customers. The more customers teach the company the more effective it becomes at providing exactly what they want and the more difficult it is for competitors to lure them away from the organization (Pine II et al., 1995). Learning about customers is what this whole retention topic is about. The customers tell the organization what to do to keep them. The strategy is for the organization to learn how to listen and respond. References Anton, J. (1996). Customer Relationship Management: Making Hard Decisions with Soft Numbers. New York: Prentice Hall. Berry, L., Parasuraman, A. and Zeithaml, V. (1988). A Conceptual Model of Service Quality and its Implications for Future Research. The Academy of Management Executive, 8, 32-52. Berry, L. and Parasuraman, A. (1997). Listening to the Customer: The Concept of a Service-Quality Information System. Sloan Management Review, 38, 65-76. Berry, L., Parasuraman, A. and Zeithaml, V. (1994). Improving Service Quality in America: Lessons Learned. The Academy of Management Executive, 8, 32-52. Bitner, M., Booms, B. and Mohr, L. (1994). Critical Service Encounters: The Employee’s Viewpoint. Journal of Marketing, 58, 95-106. Chase, R. and Stewart, D. (1994). Make Your Service Failsafe. Sloan Management Review, 35, 35-44. Cohen, M., Cull, C., Lee, H. and Willen, D. (2000). Saturn’s Supply-Chain Cooper, D. and Schindler, P. (2002). Business Research Methods (6th ed.). Burr Ridge, IL: Irwin/McGraw-Hill. Cronin Jr., Joseph J. and Taylor, S. (1992). Measuring Service Quality: A Reexamination and Extension. Journal of Marketing, 56, 55-68. Heskett, J., Jones, T., Loveman, G., Sasser, W., and Schlesinger, L. (1994, March-April). Putting the Service-Profit Chain to Work. Harvard Business Review, 164-174. Innovation: High Value After-Sales. Sloan Management Review, 41, 93. Joppe, M. (n.d.). The Research Process. Retrieved January 12, 2004 from http://www.ryerson.ca/~mjoppe/rp.htm Keaveney, S. (1995). Customer Switching Behavior in Service Industries: An Exploratory Study. Journal of Marketing, 59, 71-82. Pine II, J., Peppers, D. and Rogers, M. (1995). Do You Want to Keep Your Customers Forever? Harvard Business Review, 73, 103-114. Pitt, L., Watson, R., Kavan, C. (1997). Measuring Information Systems Service Quality: Concerns for a complete canvas. MIS Quarterly, 21, 209-221. Reinartz, Werner J. and Kumar, V. (2000). On the Profitability of Long-Life Customers in a Noncontractual Setting: An Empirical Investigation and Implications for Marketing. Journal of Marketing, 64, 17. Tax, S. and Brown, S. (1998). Recovering and learning from service failures. Sloan Management Review, 40, 75-88. Tax, S., Brown, S.and Chandrashekar, M. (1998). Customer evaluations of service complaint experiences: implications for relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing, 62, 60-76. Van Dyke, T., Kappelman, L., and Prybutok, V. (1997, June). Measuring Information Systems Service Quality: Concerns on the use of the SERVQUAL questionnaire. MIS Quarterly, 21, 195-208. Weinstein, Art and Johnson, W. (1999). Designing and Delivering Superior Customer Value: Concepts, Cases, and Applications. Boca Raton: CRC Press. Whyte, G., Bytheway, A., and Edwards, C. (1997). Understanding User Perceptions of Information Systems Success. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 6, 35-68. Zeithaml, V., Berry, L. and Parasuraman, A. (1996). The Behavioral Consequences of Service Quality. Journal of Marketing, 60, 31-46.

Pompeii The Forgotten City History Essay

The wonder of hidden or disregarded metropoliss is capturing. Pompeii was wholly buried in a affair of seconds, when Mount Vesuvius erupted. The ash and â€Å" miasmic gas † preserved everything in sight ( EyeWitnesstoHistory ) . Even after at least 2000 old ages of being buried you can see people in the center of populating their lives, working on their farm, or merely traveling to the market topographic point. â€Å" Parts of the site remain exposed, and digging and research squads are still trying to uncover this cryptic metropolis ‘s secrets. † ( EyeWitnesstoHistory ) It is sad to state that â€Å" the memory of Pompeii and the environing metropoliss faded into a obscure fable about the lost hoarded wealth of La Citta ( â€Å" the City † ) . † ( EyeWitnesstoHistory ) Pompeii was a really comfortable land, really rich, in money and harvests, the people at that place had a alone manner to â€Å" manner † their houses, utilizing tiles made of lava and besides colored rocks to do mosaics. â€Å" The site of Pompeii is located in western Italy in a part called Campania, with the seashore to the West and the Apennine Mountains to the E. Campania is a fertile field, traversed by two major rivers and blessed with dirt rich in P and potassium hydroxide. † ( EyeWitnesstoHistory ) Pompeii is on a â€Å" a tableland formed by an ancient lava sedimentation sou'-east of the vent Mt. Vesuvius. The metropolis ‘s site is besides a short distance North of the Sarno River and E of the Bay of Naples. This location insured the metropolis ‘s function as a centre of commercialism. Pompeii was a land with fertile evidences, due to the vent and a trade centre. † ( Archive.Pompeii ) â€Å" Pompeii was considered a instead big metropolis at the clip, more cosmopolites than Rome. It held control over city states near it and was a centre for trade in harvests, due to the fertile evidences, vino and olive oil. â€Å" ( Stories form an Volcanic eruption ) Pompeii was a really Rich civilization. â€Å" Pompeii grew from a colony of Oscan talking posterities of the Neolithic dwellers of Campania. Pre-Roman Pompeii, as a portion of Campania, was a receiver of a complex set of cultural influences: Etruscans from the North, Grecian settlers from the South, and Samnites and other Italic peoples all about. † ( Archive.Pompeii ) where Pompeii is located, â€Å" it was a Samnite metropolis for centuries before it passed under Roman regulation at the clip of Lucius Cornelius Sulla ( 1st cent. B.C. ) . â€Å" ( Free Encyclopedia ) â€Å" In 80 BCE Pompeii became integrated into Rome as a settlement ; Pompeii ‘s citizens received Roman citizenship and the metropolis ‘s establishments, architecture, and civilization were Romanized. At its tallness, Pompeii had a booming economic system based on trade and agribusiness, and the metropolis supported between 10,000 and 20,000 dwellers. † ( Archive.Pompeii ) â€Å" As Rome herself became more comfortable, her cit izens began to look up on Pompeii as a luxury resort and shortly luxury state places of the most powerful people in the universe began to embrace the shoreline. â€Å" ( Cornellia ) The worship of Gods and goddesses in this clip are varied, depending on where you were. Isis, an Egyptian goddess, was really extremely adored, as faith spread through Greco- Roman civilization, through the pickings over of states or city states and slaves taking their civilization with them. â€Å" The Temple of Isis in Pompeii was little but flowery. There were temples dedicated to Isis and her brother/husband Osiris throughout the Greco-Roman universe. These temples were the sites of luxuriant day-to-day and one-year rites and were administered by an educated priesthood skilled in music and medical specialty. Isis worship was particularly popular with adult females and with the new elite who gained wealth and prominence as the Roman Empire expanded. â€Å" ( AnceintVine ) And there are many other Gods they worshipped in Pompeii. Pompeii was a polytheistic state. â€Å" First there are the Oscan Gods, eg Flora, the spirit of Agriculture. The Grecian Gods Apollo, Dionysus, Zeus, Athena and Heracles are often depicted in wall pictures. The particular defender of the settlement of Pompeii was Venus. The older Roman Gods, A the Triad of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva had their outstanding topographic point at the Temple of the Capitoline, near the Forum. â€Å" ( Gods & A ; Goddesses ) Pompeii ‘s edifice technique was interesting. In Pompeii, they used lava to craft and make bricks and many other things. â€Å" The streets of Pompeii were filled with blocks of lava melted into rock. The people would utilize â€Å" crushed rock or ash † , whatever they could to construct walls for a house or bakeshop. ( Ancient Times ) â€Å" They would aline the bricks on the wall, in diagonal rows. † Using the colourss of the cement and seting them in assorted forms. ( Ancient Times ) The houses in Pompeii each had a alone flow to them. One thing that attributed to that was the floors, â€Å" made of coloured rocks that formed a image, called a mosaic. † ( Ancient Worlds ) Mosaics were really popular in Pompeii to adorn houses, â€Å" Mosaic ornamentation was widely used in the ornament of the houses. † ( Mosaics ) Another thing they used the lava bricks for is public baths. â€Å" The wonts and manners of life in Roman times have been revealed in great item at Pompeii by the program of the streets and pathwaies, the statue-decorated public edifices, and the simple stores and places of the craftsmans. The houses and Villas have yielded rare and beautiful illustrations of Roman art. Among the most celebrated are the houses of the Vetti, the Villa of the Mysteries, and, in the suburbs of Pompeii, the Villa of the Boscoreale. † ( Free Dictionary ) â€Å" On August 24, 79 a.d. Mount Vesuvius literally blew its top, spiting dozenss of liquefied ash, pumice and sulphuric gas stat mis into the ambiance. † ( EyeWitnesstoHistory ) â€Å" Some people of Pompeii grabbed their animals of load and attempted to fly the country ; others possibly take to wait until the streets were clear of the panicky multitudes ; still others sealed themselves up in suites † ( Archive Pompeii ) Pompeii, covered wholly in ash in a affair of seconds, was preserved for many old ages before being discovered, being a good preserved state. â€Å" Volcanic activity can be something every bit simple as a mild rumble or a whiff of fume, on up to a full blown eruption of magma or clay. It can besides slowly emit or explode rapidly. â€Å" ( Answers ) â€Å" Smoke, clay, fires and firing rocks spewed from the acme of the mountain, directing a rain of ash and stone through the encompassing countryside. The clay seeped down the sides of Vesuvius, get downing nearby farms, groves and Villas. Adding to the devastation were the miasmic bluess that accompanied the falling dust ; the exhausts foremost caused deliriousness in their victims, so suffocated them. † ( Archive Pompeii ) â€Å" Before the eruptions in 79, temblors occurred for some clip, but were disregarded by local dwellers because of their acquaintance with the phenomenon, † it was usual to experience shudders in that country. ( EruptionofVesuvius ) â€Å" The site of Pompeii is located in western Italy in a part called Campania. Campania is a fertile field, traversed by two major rivers and blessed with dirt rich in P and potassium hydroxide. † ( MNSU, Pompeii ) Since the eruption long ago, the civilisations on the fertile land fear the following eruption. â€Å" Campania ‘s first colonists, the first people to settle in this part were likely prehistoric huntsmans, gatherers and fishers. The part besides hosted some of Italy ‘s main olive Grovess, and the mountains nourished 1000s of sheep. † ( MNSU, Pompeii ) Pompeii, a good preserved civilisation, is now toured by many people ; they go to see the fantastic harvests, and the beautiful conserves. â€Å" Based on artefacts discovered by people who lived on the land, scholar humanists hypothesized that the ancient objects they found came from the celebrated La Citta. Excavations did non happen, nevertheless, until the 18th century, when Herculaneum was rediscovered by a provincial delving a well. Pompeii itself was found during an digging that began on March 23, 1748. † ( MNSU, Pompeii ) â€Å" Though Mt. Vesuvius had one time been a really active vent, it had remained hibernating for every bit long as worlds could retrieve. Since no bequest of devastation had been passed down from their ascendants, the people populating near the mountain did n't recognize there was any possible for danger. The first warning mark came on February 5th, A.D. 62. † ( MNSU, Pompeii ) The town besides â€Å" flooded, it was dismaying, though the temblor merely lasted a few minutes, but at that place was one after the other and nobody knew when there was traveling to be a temblor, † people did non cognize how to experience, hopeful or as if they were approximately to decease. On August 24, there were more shudders and the cragged vent erupted, â€Å" the unfortunate people who could non get away in clip to avoid catastrophe were killed by falling edifices, overcome by the miasmic gas, or merely buried by the quickly falling ash. Their organic structures were rapidly covered by the vent ‘s mineral sedimentations, which covered Pompeii in a bed more than 30 pess thick. † ( EyeWitnesstoHistory ) Pompeii was forgotten, due to being covered wholly, in with ash and â€Å" miasmic gas † because of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 a.d. The ash preserved the full land. There were many things that lead up to the eruption, including a inundation. Pompeii was a really comfortable land, really rich, in money and harvests, the people at that place had a alone manner to â€Å" manner † their houses, utilizing tiles made of lava and besides colored rocks to do mosaics. Remarks: This study is short by 5 inches. There are several things that need to be addressed: Obviously, as a new pupil, I do n't cognize how much old research and study composing you have done. It appears that you have done a just sum of research for this study, based upon your commendations page and citations in your study. You use a really big figure of citations within the organic structure of your study which should be reduced. Your study needs to be in your ain authorship, sum uping what you have read, with the occasional citation to back up your authorship. If anything, it is the other manner around here. We need to work on this. Although you have good information, it is non good organized. As I had stated in my remarks in your rough bill of exchange, your composing demands to be better organized. Further, there are expressed countries where you neglected to do alterations based upon my remarks ( â€Å" aˆÂ ¦being a good preserved state. † Pg 4 ) Again, evidently you put a batch of work into this, and I do n't desire you to be disheartened. We merely have to work on your authorship manner so that what you have to state us makes the greatest impact. Citations Brion, Marcel, Michael Grant, John Ward-Perkins, and Amanda Claridge. â€Å" Pompeii. † Web. 01 Nov. 2010. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/archaeology/sites/europe/pompeii.html & gt ; . â€Å" The Destruction of Pompeii, 79 AD. † Eyewitness to History – History through the Eyes of Those Who Lived It. Web. 01 Nov. 2010. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/pompeii.htm & gt ; . â€Å" How Often Do Volcanoes Erupt | Ask Kids Answers. † AskKids Answers | AskKids.com. Web. 03 Nov. 2010. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //answers.askkids.com/Nature/how_often_do_volcanoes_erupt & gt ; . Institutions, City ‘s. â€Å" Pompeii Information. † CyArk. Web. 01 Nov. 2010. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //archive.cyark.org/pompeii-info & gt ; O'Neill, Amanda. Ancient times. London: Bramley, 1992. Print â€Å" Pompeii. † Peoples and Topographic points in the Ancient World. Web. 03 Nov. 2010. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //cornellia.fws1.com/pompei.htm & gt ; . â€Å" Pompeii Definition of Pompeii in the Free Online Encyclopedia. † Encyclopedia. Web. 02 Nov. 2010. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Pompeii & gt ; . â€Å" Pompeii Mosaics. † Pompei Online.net: La Citta ‘ Di Pompei, Gli Scavi Archeologici Ed Il Santuario. Web. 02 Nov. 2010. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.pompeionline.net/pompeii/mosaic.htm & gt ; . â€Å" Pompeii: Narratives From an Volcanic eruption. † Welcome to The Field Museum. Web. 03 Nov. 2010. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.fieldmuseum.org/pompeii/pompeii.asp & gt ; . â€Å" Temple of Isis. † AncientVine.Com. Web. 02 Nov. 2010. & lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ancientvine.com/templeofisis.html & gt ; .

Is God the Father a Model or an Idol Research Paper

Is God the Father a Model or an Idol - Research Paper Example Richard Niebuhr’s. Sally McFague’s major contribution is bridging literature and theology. Her works frequently touch on literary theory and theology, and her theories are known as Metaphorical Theology. Metaphorical Theology has four defining aspects and this has greatly influenced how McFague created her idea. It will be discussed in the subsequent paragraphs. First: theology is achieved by â€Å"hearing† out God’s word. Secondly, God being in Jesus Christ means that all the flaws in humanness, all the problems and ambiguousness, is significant. Thirdly, theology should be reviewed and renewed constantly to avoid â€Å"idolatry and irrelevance†. And lastly, the world, or the human world at least, is made of language. Theology is achieved by â€Å"hearing† out God’s word. If a person does not â€Å"hear† or understand the word of the God, then it is unsuccessful, it is a farce. This thought echoes throughout McFague’s wo rk, and it is has seen to be heavily influenced by Barthesian ideas. The mere fact that it constitutes communication as a part of major theory, is a sign that McFague’s thrust on the understanding of literature is evident in her study of theology. The second aspect, â€Å"God being in Jesus Christ means that all the flaws in humanness, all the problems and ambiguousness, is significant†, is an aspect that shows that McFague tries to bridge the gap between the relationship of theology and literature. It is quite evident that the tension.

My Future Leisure and Sustainability of Northern California Ocean and Term Paper

My Future Leisure and Sustainability of Northern California Ocean and River - Term Paper Example Passive leisure does not involve the use of extreme energy while active leisure needs a person to utilize full mental and physical energy. Examples of passive leisure can be going to the cinema and watching television. Examples of active leisure can be swimming, fishing and dancing (Joffre, 1960). The North California Ocean and rivers provide a good environment for leisure activities such as swimming and fishing. The leisure activities are important for several reasons that will be discussed in the paper for people of north California. From my own experience, there is a surety of leisure engagement to reduce among the people of North California in the future. This is so because life is expensive. The cost of spending on very important things like food, clothes and leisure is very high. Most of the people concentrate on making money to meet there basic needs only. For students who are working and living alone, it is worse. There is no time for leisure because one requires having two jobs to meet there daily needs and wants. As an individual's rate in leisure engagement reduces, the more stressed they become. Leisure gives people a sense of freedom. Neulinger 1974 came up with two psychological functions of leisure. The main one was perceived freedom where he asserts that leisure depends on freedom from any internal or external constraints. The fact that an individual has the capability to choose what he or she is to do, the time and place gives them intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is the second psycholog ical concept where there is no payment after one engages in the leisure activity. The moment one engages in an activity and at the end of the day they are being paid for it, then there is extrinsic motivation. At the same time it can lead to intrinsic motivation. The leisure activities are a great motivation for individuals because of self actualization that everyone needs to build there self esteem (Neulinger, 1974). In addition, Mihaly 1996 contributes to the benefits of engaging in leisure by using the theory of flow. The flow theory states that an individual has full involvement in and activity they engage in that is, there is full mental focus to the activity and the individuals feel energized by the focus. The flow contains a lot of variables: setting clear goals, high rates of focus and concentration, loosing self-consciousness, lose sense of time, feedback should be direct and immediate, level and challenge ability should be balanced, feeling of personal control over an activity, intrinsic reward of the activity and complete immersion in the activity. He went on to suggest the activities one can engage in to ensure that there is extrinsic benefit but other theorists have come up with those that lead to intrinsic benefits or motivation. The activities that lead to extrinsic motivation can be music, design, education and different sports. Intrinsic motivation involves the feeling of improvem ent, spirituality, self help and performance (Mihaly, 1996). The second reason for the diminishing rates of leisure engagement can be due to the pollution of the ocean and rivers especially the Sacramento River. Fishing and swimming are the major recreational activities that the people of North California engage in. this is due to the abundance of the rivers and the ocean. The ocean and the rivers are dirty. For fear of contracting infections due to the dirty water, people rarely