Corporate Social Responsibility for Competitive Advantage

Corporate Social Responsibility for Competitive Advantage Introduction The famous Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman who once said that there is one and only one social responsibility of business to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits (Friedman 1970). Friedman outlines views which are characterized in two perspectives with regards to social responsibility, on one hand we are aware that attaining profits is one of the primary objectives but it doesnt mean that the managers should be focusing only on profits when making business decisions. There are other factors as well, with can be explored around different perspectives related to social responsibility, however focusing on a businesss application of Social responsibility to make decisions and benefiting society (Spector, 2008). Regardless of whether businesses pose any responsibility to partake in social matters is an ever-growing part of the commercial and industrial world, not too long ago businesses were expected to avoid any harm being done, however recently its almost frowned upon if a corporation does not engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) at all. Qualitative Analysis Forbes published a blog and the writer carried out a survey about consumer behavior, attitudes and awareness about cause marketing, consumer and employee perspectives on CSR issues. The results were that 65% strongly considered leaving their jobs if harm is caused to the environment by the company and a staggering 90% of the consumers said improving society should go hand in hand with achieving company business goal (Epstein-Reeves, 2010). 30,000 consumers were interviewed on Corporate Social Responsibility conducted by Neilson Global this survey ranged across 60 countries with the purpose to understand how invested consumers are with regards to sustainable practices in their daily purchases. It also covered which segments are ecologically and socially supportive in the responsibility efforts made. 50%+ respondents claimed they purchased at a minimum one service or product within the span of six months from a company that is socially responsible. Out of every 10 respondents, four said they have made socially and ethical purchases, these respondents were from North America and Europe (Nielson, 2014) Per Net impacts what workers want report, from the sample size, 45% of the staff agreed to have 15% reduction in pay that has a positive environmental or social effect. A further 51% of employees claim that helping make a better world working towards contribution to society are fundamental to the working society (Heldrich et al. 2012). Criticism however of business extends much further in that much more is expected of corporations today, with realization of ineffective government solutions on a social responsibility platform, for this and other reasons, in developed countries at least. Private sectors organizations are baring the burden of this responsibility to solve these social problems, let alone the directly responsible cases and matters it must rectify ie. Pollution, health and safety of products produced (smith, 2013) Discussion It is clear that with increased public and media pressure CSR is a matter of competitive advantage. From a Moral stand point, the argument is that with all the money businesses have as well as the power they possess to make societal changes, and are now obligated to do so, which seems to be the view of supporters of CSR which is similar to Crowther et all (2008) when he explained in his book that its the obligation of the firm to consider and include the society within its decision making and business operations. However, some argue that large companies have the only responsibility to maximize profits and have no grounds in socially moral matters otherwise, this may seem like a heartless view, whereas the supporters of CSR argue that charitable initiatives tend to shift the focus away from organizations harmful and unethical practices (Tran, 2015) The issue is then how does a business engage in actions that benefit everyone, this is a very difficult task however business managers must be able to balance these competing interests. Shareholders are those individuals to invest their money in the company in exchange for a percentage of ownership and typically voting rights, this makes shareholders the actual owners of the company and shareholders dont necessarily have the time or expertise to make a big decisions they elect the board of directors corporate officers to manage the day-to-day operations and send shareholders who again are the owners to make the decisions is the responsibility of the corporate officers to make decisions that are in the best interests of the shareholders and what is more important to shareholders profit so it is the responsibility of the corporate executive to make as much money as possible while of course operating within the rules of the game which refers to establish laws now engaging in what is termed social responsibility is in direct conflict with the shareholder model because it diverse resources in energy is away from profit maximising behaviours Take for instance giving to a charitable organization Freeman isnt arguing against donating to a local church but he is arguing that a business is not the appropriate vehicle to do it. for one finding cars that all of its shareholders agree with would be nothing short of a miracle and secondly by spending energies and resources on social responsibility the businesses giving up those alternatives that it may have otherwise engaged those alternatives may produce more of a benefit for the business. Instead Freeman believed that this is a super super profit maximization is actually making as much money for shareholders as possible and with that extra cash shareholders to donate to whatever organization they wish Freemans views of course represent just one of the two perspectives related to social responsibility the second perspective is known as the stakeholder model and maintains that businesses have a responsibility to not only see profits but also satisfy the interests of multiple sta keholders these stakeholders represent individuals or groups that have an interest in the actions and behavior of the business The conceptual thinking behind the stakeholder model is that for an organization to operate effectively the business managers need to continuously maintain a positive relationship and understanding with the environment and the society within which it operates. Failure to manage and maintain this will effectively cause harm to the reputation of the business in turn hinder their ability to operate. Since all stakeholder have different types of influence on organizations, they are then separated in to primary stakeholders and secondary stakeholders. Primary stakeholders represent those individuals or groups to have a greater influence on the organization they include businesses, customers, employees, suppliers government agencies and the local community (Henriques et al. 1999). These groups are very importance because the business depends of them for long term existence and survival. Consider the impact on the business if suddenly customers seize to buy and products or even the withdrawal of investors. The stakeholder model business managers top priority should be satisfying the various interests of these groups. Common secondary stakeholders like the media maybe not critical in the role played in CSR, however secondary stakeholders do pose strong publish perceptions which can influence the business (Henriques et al. 1999). Case Study 1 British Petroleum The stakeholder group do not carryout business on a regular basis with the company but the information that they communicate impacts the perception of the public drastically. For example, the lengths British Petroleum has taken to repair is damaged image in the light of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (Spence, 2011). The shareholder and stakeholder models above clarifies the if the objective if profitability, does it make it wrong to proceed with decisions with the profitability objective in mind although one can confidently argue the case that boosting profits by cutting cost didnt benefit BP in the long term. Therefore, conducting oneself as socially responsible is less about being socially responsible and being more profitable in an unadulterated socialistic way as Freidman suggests. On the other hand, Shell does portray and provide good examples of CSR by promoting openness. Shell makes it clear that it is keen to commit to transparency when debating with stakeholders. Tell Shell is a discussion blog or forum which tackles issues and matters relating to Shell on a global scale. The posts are criticizing Shell and at the same time supporting Shell, and regular responses from Shell (Shell, 2017). Once the correct personnel are in place, the identification of which stakeholder representatives should be engaged with, specific types of engagements should be determined and a measurement of social performance. A detailed understanding of the companies current corporate social performance is vital when constructing a plausible CSR strategy with clear objectives and goal (Shell, 2017) Case Study 2 Kraft Heinz Kraft Heinz Co suffered a blow from the media in 2009/10 because of Cadburys hostile acquisition. Even though the unions of Cadbury opposed and fought the case in the anticipation that there will be major job cuts. Following the take-over, many top potions employees and executives quit and as much as 30% of the Cadbury staff were privy to leadership posts (Moeller, 2012). As the acquisition ended, over four hundred job had been made redundant despite the promise of Kraft to retain employees (Stiener 2017), this was seen to be a horrible PR let alone a worst case of CSR for Kraft since Kraft now has been negatively portrayed socially. The rising government and public pressure regarding the manner in which companies operate and the total effect it has on the environment is increasing. Kraft as well as many other snack food companies are under pressure with their role in buying palm oil which has direct and considerable links to deforestation (Allen, 2015). Kraft as all multinationals has strict regulations when in operation, these rules are constantly changing with the evolvement of new contaminants globally, but was forced to recall 11 types of chocolate in Chine when it was reported that 50,000 babies become sick and 4 died by contaminated milk by a chemical product (Rigby, 2011) Kraft invests largely in improving its technology to minimize their Co2 emission and protect the environment and reduce global warming. They have incorporated policies to increase the use of rail and low emission modes of transport instead of using trucks (Kraft, 2010) Key Drivers To get and understanding to what the key drivers are, then answering questions of intent is the first item to uncover. An examination of processes and practices is not the only method when studying CSR, but also in depth discussions of communication strategies within CSR. In which way do social and organizational factors cultivate and shape the beliefs and norms that drive organizations to engage in socially responsible activities? A practical way to accomplish this would be to consult top management since they are normally the candidates that spear head CSR initiatives (Lee, 2010) Ethical Consumerism How aware are end users of the activities of the company they buy their product from? Front a B2B standpoint, are converter factories making conscious decisions about who they trade with? Responsible Investment This drives public /institutional investors as well as high net worth individuals to invest in ethically responsible companies. This is a big encouragement for companies to comply and produce CSR reports Shrinking Role of Government This is evident in the fact that due to the shrinking role of governments to solve the problems and issues within the society, its it becoming increasingly clear that organizations are taking on this role. Public Pressure/NGO We can establish that trade unions and NGOs do play a big role in pushing CSR initiatives, therefore due to the possible reputational consequences, firms are partly incorporating more inclusive CSR policies and initiatives. Conclusion Parameters for measuring a companys value or worth and competitiveness has evolved over time, especially since the time Friedman wrote his article in the 1960s. Hence with the ease of access and availability of external information, ie. Macro factors, yes parameters have changed. Therefore in the 60s, companies that took part in social initiatives were rarely publicized or even made known to the larger audience or media. Where as in this current day and age, even the slightest alteration in the CSR policy of the company or social activity is documented and either praise or frowned upon. To sum up, this is a view point Milton Friedman may have not anticipated at the time when analyzing and writing his report.

Gandhian Values

Gandhian Values and its Relevance to me as a Future Leader : Ajay Dixit (10BEC1007) Amidst the atmosphere of tension, violence, differences of opinion, unemployment and inflation globally, today the question is being raised again and again about the relevance of Gandhian philosophy which is based on truth and non-violence. Anyhow, most of the people who oppose Gandhi's thoughts unfortunately are Indians and not foreigners. These people did not feel the relevance of Gandhian thoughts even when he was alive. This feeling of disagreement with Gandhian philosophy resulted in his assassination.Society is going through a degraded phase which should be revoked so that humanity sustains in this world for centuries. Today when we are surrounded by the forces of darkness, we need a leader like Gandhi, a man of rare courage, character, and charisma, who dares to tell the truth, who can overcome violence with nonviolence, and who shows us the way to light. Gandhi and his twin principles of satya (truth) and ahimsa (nonviolence) are more relevant today than any other time in human history, and the Gandhian style of satyagraha seems to be the only potent and pragmatic, moral equivalent of war in these troubled times.Gandhi not only said but showed us the way that, â€Å"nonviolence is infinitely superior to violence,† and the soul-force is far more potent than the brute-force. Gandhi was in favour of using the thoughts against the arms and not the arms against the arms, to fight injustice and inequality. He gave an armament to the humanity in which there was no need to raise arms or make enemies. He believed in changing the society with his thoughts and not with the power or force.After the heavy destruction of property and lives in the World War II, when there was no good in the war, at last in 1945, the United Nations Organisation made declaration according to the thoughts of Gandhi. That was, ‘war is no solution to any problem so all problems should be solved through mutual discussions'. All the members of the UNO signed this peace proposal. President of United States, Obama, has been inspired by Mahatma Gandhi. Obama has fixed a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi in his office, where he is seen conveying the message of peace.Obama is impressed with those great philosophies of Gandhi in which Gandhi inspired the world society to face the crushing policies with peaceful ones. Obama accepts Gandhi as his idol and took inspiration from the picture of Gandhi in his office. He says that this picture of Gandhi always reminds him that true results don't come from Washington but from the public. Obama says that Gandhi was to select an alternative while getting India free from the British rule, & he selected courage in place of fear.Obama, who talks of the Great change in the world & finds solution of the problems while following the path of nonviolence, is feeling the relevance of Gandhian ideals in this age of violence & terrorism. Gandhi being a wors hipper of non-violence clearly understood that violence is no solution for any problem. As the terrorism and violence are widespread in the world today, there seems relevance of Gandhian principles everywhere. Almost all the countries of the world including America are facing the severest economic recession since World War II. Gandhiji was against the big industries and was worried about the increasing industrialization.He used to call the set up of industrialization as ‘satanic set up'. Gandhi was of the opinion that the industrialization set up was based on the exploitation of man by man. The inequality will increase in the industrialization set up and there cannot be justice. Today the increasing unemployment in India and more industrialization has reminded the relevance of Gandhian thoughts. Including India in so many countries today, small scale industries, cottage industries and industries run by the workers are lying shut and the persons involved in such industries have been badly affected.Where ever such industries are running; the poor labourers, common man and the worker groups are hardly able to make both ends meet. Gandhiji always considered the welfare of the poor as the centre of the war of independence. I think the best way to educate our children on Gandhian methods would be to explain the reasons for violence in the world, which is intolerance of people that look/speak/behave differently from us. Educating them about the oneness of all humans, regardless of race and religious diversity. Also, we should educate our children about the real message of world religions, and explain how religion has een historically (and is currently being) exploited for selfish political and terrorist agendas. Today, people who are active in politics, mainly have the motive of gains by getting political power. The so said political leader should have got power for social service or issues for development & progress or for eradication of illiteracy & unemploym ent, for providing health services or for giving basic amenities like roads, electricity and water. For these, they should go among the voters & get support for the works done by them. Exactly opposite, now there are attempts to get the power as ‘fruit' without doing any labour.The result of this shortcut adoption is that communalism and corruption is flourishing throughout India. Many other countries of the world are also feeling the heat of communalism & casteism. At some places, communal riots are instigated just for communal polarisation and thus to make easy & early way to power. At some places, differences of language, caste & creed are spread. At present, some narrow minded leaders of a particular state who are also heading regional political parties in India are using narrow thoughts to spread hatred against North Indians.It is not a type of work, labour or action but a simple trial to get the result or ‘fruit' of power. Such people leave policies, principles & e ven humanity. They don't hesitate to take decisions of the lowest level just to get the wicked motives. Gandhi never took decisions on the basis of majority. He looked all the communities equally may be the Hindus, the Muslims, the Sikhs or the Christians or any other. His valuable wealth was his thoughts of peace, love, harmony, truth & non-violence.But the people, whose politics was based on communalism, perhaps didn't like his policy of communal harmony. In the end, a fundamentalist Hindu shot him. But after his sacrifice, his thoughts became more popular. May be that, critics of that great soul are more in number in India but every visitor to India from a foreign country who may be a head of the country, pay a visit to Rajghat & pay obituary. Today, all over the world, where there are peace marches, all remember Gandhi. So there is no gainsaying that the thoughts of Gandhi are relevant even at present & would remain forever.

Characters in Macbeth and The Laboratory Essay

Macbeth is arguably one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies. Written sometime between 1603 and 1606, the play is strongly written with King James the first’s of England’s interests in mind; the supernatural. Because of this we are introduced to the idea of the paranormal and witchcraft straight way in the play with the three. This would have scared a Jacobean audience as they feared the supernatural; it also foreshadows the likeliness of disturbed characters to be introduced later in the play. In comparison, The Laboratory, a poem written by Robert Browning in the 1800’s and set in aristocratic France- before the revolution, when the old regime of the monarchy was still in place. This was a time of great diversity between the social classes, so seeing the narrator of the dramatic monologue, an affluent woman, liaising with a poor alchemist would have deeply shocked a 19th century audience, as they would believe her to be troubled, or maybe even disturbe d. Macbeth is Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy; this means that the play has no sub-plots and only concentrates on the story, and the disturbed mind, of the main character, Macbeth. The full focus on Macbeth himself emphasises his evil nature and thirst for power, portraying him as the ultimate tyrannical and disturbed character. â€Å"I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself and falls on the other† . The metaphorical language used as the reference to ‘spurs’, used to make horses go faster, shows that Macbeth feels his ambition to gain power is being limited by the king. Macbeth is shown to have great respect for the king and sees the king as almost a friend, so to describe him as a mere obstacle to overcome shows he has no moral boundaries, making him a disturbed character. Similarly, The Laboratory is a poem written in the form of a dramatic monologue, this means we hear everything that’s going on from the view of the narrator. In this case, it’s high class woman who is obsessed with getting revenge on her husband and his lovers. Her single-mindedness is shown by the poem only being about her thoughts and her fatal flaws, jealousy and revenge. These themes are shown in the poem right away. In the first stanza, the topic of poison and murder are mentioned quite blatantly. â€Å"Which is the poison to poison her, prithee?† The reader doesn’t yet know that there’s a revenge  plot, however Browning wants the reader look into the narrators disturbed mind early into the poem. He uses this fourth line like a hook to pull the reader into the poem and make them wonder why the speaker would want to kill someone. In Act 1, Scene 1 of Macbeth, we are introduced to the three witches, showing the audience that the play has a strong supernatural theme. This would have scared a Jacobean audience much more than a modern audience as witchcraft was feared much more intensely than it is today. Shakespeare used catalectic trochaic tetrameter and rhyming couplets to make the witches words sound like a spell, â€Å"Fair is foul and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air.† The oxymoron shows that the witches don’t know the difference between good and bad. This foreshadows a play of contrasts and disturbed minds. Macbeth’s words also echoes the witches in Act 1, Scene 3 â€Å"So foul and fair a day I have not seen.† We recognise the oxymoron from when the witches said it in the opening scene; this gives the audience the impression that Macbeth shares similar qualities with the witches, such as he doesn’t know the difference between good and bad, and therefore had no moral boundaries. It also foreshadows that Macbeth will have more to with the witches in the future. This makes Macbeth a disturbed character to the audience, particularly a Jacobean audience, because of his association with the supernatural. On the other hand, the subt itle to Robert Browning’s poem â€Å"The Laboratory†, â€Å"Ancien Regime†, tells us that it is set in France before the revolution, when the old regime of the monarchy was still in place. The narrator appears to be an upper class woman, a fact which is not apparent in the opening stanza, but becomes so as the poem develops; this is seen by the lexical field of wealth, â€Å"Gold, Kings, Jewels†, who is in a laboratory brewing up a poison to kill her rivals. For a 19th century audience this poem’s setting alone would be very bizarre. In aristocratic France, it was way rare for the social classes to mix, so seeing an upper class lady in the setting of a poor laboratory was very strange. The disturbance in the setting would have deeply confused the audience. The narrator even flaunts her wealth to the chemist when she begins to fantasise about what she will hide the poison in with the exclamatory sentence, â€Å"To carry pure death in an earring, a casket, A signet, a fan-mount, a filigree-basket!† This would have shocked a 19th century audience and they would have believed her to have been a very disturbed character. A Jacobean audience would think that  Macbeth is more of a tragic hero than a modern audience would. This is because a Jacobean audience would feel more sympathy towards Macbeth because of his fatal flaw, ambition. In the 1600’s the idea of succession and promotion would be much more topical than it is today, this is because one of the two main monarchs in Shakespeare’s time, Queen Elizabeth, remained the ‘Virgin’ Queen throughout her reign and therefore had no successor, creating great instability. Macbeth was promoted to Thane of Cawdor and the King called him brave â€Å"for brave Macbeth- well he deserves that name†. This would have been a massive compliment to Macbeth, so naturally he would enjoy it and want more, A Jacobean audience would have sympathised with his feelings because of the situation of their monarchy at the time. This makes him a tragic hero as he was once a great war lord that was brought down by his fatal flaw, ambition. Also, a Jacobean audience were much more likely to believe in the idea that the witches were taking over Macbeths mind. In Shakespeare time, witchcraft was a major issue as people fully believed that it was possible to be possessed by the supernatural and demonic natures as the knowledge that the women supplied was like a drug to Macbeth, and it is obvious he was fascinated by it at the start, â€Å"would they have stayed†- and continually wants more. His obsession with the witches would have made a Jacobean audience believed he had a disturbed mind, but they would have also have felt sympathy toward his as they believed he was being possessed, making him a tragic hero. However, a modern audience are more sceptical about the supernatural and would therefore see Macbeth as more of a disturbed character as we find it harder the feel sympathy towards him and see him more of a weak willed character as he frequently talks himself out of murdering his friends for his own gain, yet he does it anyway. â€Å"yet I do fear thy nature; it is too full o’the milk of human kindness/ To catch the nearest way.† It is shown that Mabeth doesn’t dislike Duncan as a king, in fact he sees him as a friend, but he is in the way of Macbeth’s fatal flaw, ambition, and so has to be killed. The upcoming murder is described as inevitable. The focus on his fall, as well as his rise demonstrates Shakespeare’s moral message th at tyrannical reins will come full circle and end in their demise. Shown also through the divine right of kings, as Malcolm finishes up on the thrown. However, in The Laboratory, as soon as we hear of the narrator’s motive we feel sympathy towards her. She is also a  victim as her husband has cheated on her, leaving her heart broken and distraught. However as we learn more of her fatal flaws, jealousy and revange, the audience realised that she does not only want to kill her emimies, but she wants to make them suffer too, â€Å"Not that I bid you spare her the pain! Let death be felt and the proof remain.† This quote from the 9th stanza shows that she wants her rivals to know that they are dying, and that she doesn’t care if she is caught to be the one responsible for their murder. A 19th century French audience would call this a ‘crime of passion’ because the persona has been wronged by the husband and would naturally want to take revenge. They wouldn’t believe that it was okay, however they would have understood why she wanted to do it more than a modern audience would, and would therefo re view her as a tragic hero. A modern audience would mostly see her actions as outright murder and would feel less sympathy to the disturbed mind of the narrator and so would see her as less of a tragic hero and more of a disturbed and jealous maniacal killer. In Act 1 Scene 5, Lady Macbeth, after being told what the witches told Macbeth about him become king, â€Å"and king here after!†, and upon receiving word that King Duncan of Scotland will be arriving that night, begins sharpening her talons. She isn’t sure there’s enough manhood to go around between herself and her husband, so she calls upon scheming spirits to â€Å"unsex me [Lady Macbeth] here.† This is her vivid way of asking to be stripped of feminine weakness and invested with masculine resolve. She imagines herself as a vessel which may be emptied out and refilled â€Å"from the crown to the toe.† One thing nobody, spirit or otherwise, has ever poured into her is â€Å"the milk of human kindness†. Lady Macbeth’s speech is very shocking to the audience as it shows the inner workings of her mind and what she really desires, power. This suggest to the audience that she may be the one with the ultimate disturbed mind as she has no d oubts that she I prepared to kill her king for her own gain. The narrator shows her power over the alchemist as she frequently dominates him and gives him orders, â€Å"Quick- is it finished? The colour’s too grim!† The idea of a woman telling a man what to do would have been unheard of in a patriarchal society such as then. However the alchemist doesn’t seem to mind as it is revealed that the disturbed woman who has come for his service is prepared to give everything, â€Å"Now, take all my jewels, gorge gold to your fill, You may kiss me old man, on my mouth if  you will!† The fact an upper class woman is prepared to let a poor alchemist kiss her shows how much this poison means to the narrator. However she pushes him away to avoid any repercussion of the poison, â€Å"but brush this dust off me, lest horror it brings†. Her quick change of mind shows the giddiness in the thought of killing her rivals. After Lady Macbeth strengthens her husband’s resolve by mocking his perceived weakness, she convin ces him that king Duncan will be murdered than night and explains her plan to him. In the beginning of Act 2 Scene 1 the setting is clearly dark (use of touch bearers) and â€Å"the candles are all out† metaphor, which is a reference to the heavens, suggests that with the physical darkness there is also a moral darkness. Shakespeare uses pathetic fallacy to set the dark scene. This foreshadows the likelihood of death and also likes with the darkness of Macbeth’s and his wife’s disturbed mind. Later on in the scene Macbeth’s soliloquy reveals for the first time the extent of Macbeth’s disturbed mind. He begins to see things that others cannot, a dagger. He asks if it is real or a â€Å"false creation/ Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?† This intensifies the atmosphere of evil but is also a symbol of the start of Macbeth’s mental torment and psychological breakdown. Just as inward debate and talk of murder is about to stifle his courage, Macbeth’s intense illusion is shattered by the bell, a signal from L ady Macbeth that Duncan’s chamberlains are asleep, â€Å"I go, and it is done; the bell invites me.† Macbeth races away to commit the heinous crime almost saying he has no choice since the â€Å"bell invites† him, taking the responsibility away from himself. This leaves the question in the audience’s mind of weather a few more moments of deliberation would have changed Macbeths disturbed mind. On the other hand, The Laboratory is written in anapaestic tetrameter, which is an upbeat rhythm that shows her calm and confident one track mind. This is also emphasised by rhyming couplets and regular quatrains, â€Å"..Tightly.. Whitely,†; â€Å"..Smithy†¦ Prithee?† However, Browning switches to dactyls on line 5, â€Å"He is with her, and they know that I know.† This change in rhythm emphasises her paranoia and makes the audience wonder whether her husband’s affaire is all just in her disturbed and paranoid mind In Macbeth’s eyes, the murder of Duncan has now made the murder of Banquo and his son a necessity and the witches predicted th at it would be Banquo’s children that end up on the thrown. Macbeth treats the murder of his best friend as a  facile task, which tell the audience that the trace of humanity under the â€Å"vaulting ambition† and the moments of reflection and regret are now gone. After the deed had been done and Banquo is now dead Macbeth sees his best friend’s ghost, ironically during his celebratory banquet after becoming king. This is the first time Macbeths friends and subjects see his disturbed minds and Macbeth begins to panic and shout at, what seems to them, to be nothing. â€Å"Prithee, see there! Behold! Look! Lo! How say you? Why, what care I? If thou canst nod, speak too.† The repetition of short exclamatory sentences and rhetorical questions shows Macbeths panic at the disturbing sight of his â€Å"gory† best friend’s ghost. To a Jacobean audience, this would be Gods punishment for committing murder and treason. The divine right of kings lead people to believe that the royal family is put there by God so to k ill Royalty is much worse than normal murder. So therefore god has sent the image of his dead friend to torment his disturbed mind for what he has done. On the other hand, a modern audience would argue that this is result of Macbeth’s guilt for ordering his best friend to be killed for no reason other than to keep his status as king for eternity. This shows his deluded and disturbed mind as there is no way that killing Banquo and his son would leave Macbeth on the thrown forever. It shows how is power hunger and disturbed character has poisoned his mind is his sub-conscious guilt has finally gotten too much. In contrast, in The Laboratory, because of her husband’s love affair with other women, â€Å"he is with her†, we can see the narrator’s mental state become more and more disturbed as the poem progresses. This can be seen through the pleasure that the speaker is feeling when talking about the imminent death of her two rivals; â€Å"grind away moisten and mash up thy paste†. These verbs show the pleasure the speaker is taking in plotting death. This is unsettling to the reader as we wouldn’t expect to see such evil thoughts in a society filled with luxury, portrayed by the lexical field of wealth â€Å"gold, kings, jewels.† The narrator frequently refers to poison with positive connotations â€Å"treasures†¦ pleasures†, this shows that she doesn’t know the difference between good and band and therefore (like Macbeth) had no moral boundaries. Browning also includes alliteration of plosives, â€Å"Brand, Burn up, Bite into its grace-â€Å" This makes the verbs sound violent and aggressive and also makes the narrator sound very disturbed when she says them. Finally, Macbeth who, by  Act 4, is far along the path of insanity becomes paranoid and feels the need to make the witches tell him more. He returns to the Witches and boldly demands to be shown a series of apparitions that tell his future. The first apparition is the disembodied head of a warrior who seems to warn Macbeth of a bloody revenge at the hands of HYPERLINK â€Å"http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/m/macbeth/summary-and-analysis/~/link.aspx?_id=D7760724761D4871B3541B0CC827B645&_z=z† Macduff. The second is a blood-covered child who comforts Macbeth with the news that he cannot be killed by any man â€Å"of woman born.† The third is a child wearing a crown, who promises that Macbeth cannot lose in battle until Birnam wood physically moves toward his stronghold at Dunsinane. Encouraged by the news of such impossibilities, Macbeth asks, â€Å"Shall Banquo’s issue ever reign in this kingdom?† The Witches present an image of a ghostly procession of future kings, led by Banquo. All this serves only to enrage Macbeth, who, trusting in his own pride reveals in an aside to the audience his determination to terminate Macduff as he is now a threat to Macbeths rein. Macbeth realises that he cannot kill Macduff at that moment in time as Macduff is off with his army in England. So instead he chooses to damage Macduff emotionally, in the hope that he would crumble in grief after hearing of the slaughter of his loved ones. This shows that Macbeth has now bee n completely in engulfed into his disturbed mind as he is now killing innocent women and children in his decent into ultimate tyranny. To both Jacobean and modern audiences his disturbing actions are unforgivable. However Macbeth’s actions do the opposite of when he intended- Macduff is spurred on by his anger and eventually takes Macbeth’s life for it. The focus on his fall, as well as his rise demonstrates Shakespeare’s moral message that tyrannical reins will come full circle and end in their demise. In conclusion, I think that Shakespeare uses the disturbed mind of Macbeth effectively to keep the audience engaged. Macbeth’s confused and disturbed mind is always flickering back on forth to what is right and what isn’t. Shakespeare presents this through his use of soliloquies and short sentences, keeping the audience fascinated and following every turn and twist of Macbeth’s disturbed mind. Contrasting to The Laboratory where Browning presents the character of the narrator as truly disturbed, yet not mad like Macbeth and she keeps a one track mind and urge to kill throughout most of the poem. This theme of  revenge leaves the reader able to sympathise with the narrator. They understand her motives and that she had been driven to this outcome. The relationship that browning builds between the narrator and the reader is effective because the reader can easily look into and understand the narrators disturbed mind, allowing the reader to stay engaged with the piece.

Application of a social cognitive model in explaining physical activity in Iranian female adolescents Essay Example

Application of a social cognitive model in explaining physical activity in Iranian female adolescents Essay Example Application of a social cognitive model in explaining physical activity in Iranian female adolescents Paper Application of a social cognitive model in explaining physical activity in Iranian female adolescents Paper This study looked at the level of physical activity (PA) in Iranian girls and the link that this has to the high rate of obesity in teenagers.   Iranian girls have a higher rate of physical inactivity because they face cultural barriers that prohibit them from exercising in public. The purpose of this study was to use social cognitive theory to test the fit and strength of barriers self-efficacy, outcome expectations, self-regulation and social support in explaining PA in female Iranian adolescents. The study found that there was a 52% chance that girls were going to be more physically active if they had a good support system. The girls that reported that they were more likely to be physically active reported that they had social support from their parents and friends. The researchers felt that the results from this study will allow for future research and interventions not only for Iranian adolescents but also for girls in similar cultural backgrounds (Taymoori et al, 2008). This article offers some very interesting findings on the link between physical inactivity and the rate of obesity among adolescents. The group that the researchers chose to look at was interesting because very little research has probed this slice of society. Iranian culture and customs do not welcome as much probing into their customs and social norms as do some sectors of society.   As interesting as the study was, it was lacking in some important aspects.   First, the study mainly focused on just Iranian adolescents girls. The study did use a screening measure that was given to both Iranian male and female students, but it would have been nice to see the researchers take the study one step further and had a second test group of a different cultural background in order to show that the results are valid across cultural boundaries. Secondly, one of the measurements that the researchers used were based solely on the log that each girl kept about her physical activity.   Unfortunately, humans are incredibly prone to sometimes exaggerate the outcome on something like a personal log or a personal diary. The researchers really had no way of knowing if the girls accurately reported the minutes that they spent in physical activity or if the girls maybe fudged a minute or two in order to make their log look good when it was turned into the researchers. This article has a wealth of information that can be used and applied to American adolescent girls.   In America, many adolescent girls do report that they have a hard time getting more physically active. Girls have a hard time with being physically fit because as a society we still hold onto some of the antiquated ideas that girls should be demure and petite.   In school, girls that like to get out and run are more often then not labeled as the â€Å"tom-boy† and can in many cases be teased by their classmates. In looking at the results of this study, programs that help girls to become more active could be designed.   Peer exercise programs where girls work with a buddy on different types of exercises would be one way to encourage more physical activity.   A second idea would be to get families more involved. Mothers and fathers could both serve as valued role models in providing both their sons and their daughters with examples of good physical fitness.   As the study results showed, girls that have the social support of both their peers and their family are more likely to be more physically active. Self-Regulation, Self-Efficacy, Outcome Expectations, and Social Support: Social Cognitive Theory and Nutrition Behavior In the United States there has been a rapid decline in the rate of nutrition in the last ten years.   The researchers in this study took a look at this trend and used social cognitive theory to explain how other variables, like self-regulation and self-efficacy, may be the key to integrating healthier nutrition into the U.S. lifestyle.   The study looked at 712 church goers (18% African American, 66% female, and 79% overweight or obese) from 14 churches in southwestern Virginia. The study used data from food-shopping receipts and food frequency questionnaires.   The data that was collected was on nutrition that related to social support, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and self-regulation components of social cognitive theory as well as on the fat, fiber, fruit, and vegetable content of the food that the subjects bought. The results of the study showed that participants’ age, gender, socioeconomic status, social support, self-efficacy, negative outcome expectations and self-regulation made important contributions to their nutrition behavior (Anderson et al, 2007, p. 34). The findings of this article were very interesting.   As a society, people are often affected by how the people around them eat.   Eating is a social activity; we go out to eat, we eat at celebrations, and eating has been linked to many of the rituals of our society, such as the Catholic Communion. As a social activity, the ways that people in our social group eat are often the way that we will eat.   The findings of this study pointed this out very clearly.   As interesting as this article was it did have one area in which it could be improved on. The subject pool was very narrow.   The researchers used church members from one geographical area of the U.S.   Food preferences are different in different areas of the country and so to take those findings and suggest they would work across all areas of the country is a little hard to say.   If the researchers had used the same techniques on Californian beach goers, they might have gotten a much different result. The choice of church members also was a problematic factor.   People who attend church often have a set pattern of eating. They eat chicken on Sunday after church and certain things on the other days of the week.   It would have been interesting if other sectors of the same society would have been polled and to compare those findings with the church members. The researchers also only targeted Methodist and Baptist churches.   They did not look at Catholic or any other kind of church and it would have been interesting to see if the same results would have been achieved given a different church going demographic.

Reasons for the Civil War essays

Reasons for the Civil War essays Thomas Jefferson once said, Maintaining slavery was like holding a wolf by its ears. You didnt like it, but you didnt dare let it go. (Civil War) Slavery was apart of this nations birth. It would be the deciding factor in the separation from North and South. The separation of the two would cause fear and hatred, which would eventually lead to war. Future president, Abraham Lincoln said it best, As a nation we began by declaring that all men are created equal, we now practically read it: all men are created equal, except Negroes. (Civil War) Slavery was introduced to the lands of North America from the very beginning of English, later American, colonization. Throughout the American Revolution, this idea that all men are created equal was the driving force for change, blood was spilled, but after years of warfare, it was all over; a new nation had been born. Finally, there was a chance to start over, but with this idea of equality came hesitance and there was no change. The question of morality was surpassed by greed and profitability. At the Constitutional Convention, the topic of the Black slave was discussed and after much deliberation, it was proposed that the slave would be treated as three-fifths of that of a White for the purposes of representation and taxation. The only reason why the slave was worth that much was because the Government needed the tax money. If slaves didnt count at all, there wouldnt be two bits to collect in his/her name. Also, at the Convention, the slave trade itself was discussed, but no compromise could be made. In other words, the institution of slavery was protected in the Constitution, the very fabric of this nation. Something that was fought so hard for (equality) was hypocritically passed aside and left alone for the next generation to deal with. Slavery never was commonly practiced in the North. As being a free territory, the Nor...

Tourism in Switzerland and Kenya. Advantages and disadvantages Essay

Tourism in Switzerland and Kenya. Advantages and disadvantages - Essay Example Kenya and Switzerland have registered an impressive record in tourists’ attendance, especially international tourists. Both countries have diverse tourist attractions sites and locations, receiving recognition across the globe. In Kenya, tourism is an industry that has sustained thousands of people in their daily living. It remains the second great foreign exchange earner, after the leading agriculture. Wildlife remains the core tourist attraction. Kenya is also rich in cultural heritage especially along its coastal region (Akama, pg. 8). This too acts as a source of tourist attraction. The coastal beaches are a superb place to visit especially during winter in the West. Switzerland also remains a famous tourist destination location. It does possess an abundance of natural resources and beautiful landscape. The Alps peaks creates a fascinating site. Their rich culture attracts tourists from various locations across the world (Banfi, Filippini, and Hunt, pg. 690). Both countries do acknowledge that tourism does fetch immense income. A major exchange earner has steered the growth of the various locations in both countries. There has been a steady rise in the number of revenues collected from tourism activities. Such revenue goes a great way in improvement of Gross Domestic Product. Essentially, it is the business and the fastest growing service industry in the mentioned countries. It does hold immense potential in it. The growth of t tourism sector has led to the upsurge and development of other sectors such as infrastructure, agriculture, manufacturing, retailing, and hotel industry. Tourism contributes directly or indirectly to the macro-economic growth of the countries. Dues to the stimulation of development ion technology, investments, industries and infrastructures, there is creation of an environment that favours economic growth. The foreign currencies stimulate growth. Taxes emanating from

Strategic management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Strategic management - Research Paper Example IKEA has been forced to develop a supply chain model that is very scrutinizing of supplier labour policies, putting considerable strain on in-house procurement to ensure compliance to IKEA’s no child labour processes. These can represent significant costs and restructuring of the supply chain to ensure that no products are being subcontracted from regions that use child labour in production. At a time when IKEA is concerned with cost-cutting measures, this can complicate distribution and operations, making political issues in child labour a budgetary problem. In Russia, IKEA global has been hindered by ongoing corruption that is occurring at the governmental and cultural levels. IKEA actually froze its investments in Russia in 2009 due to its anti-corruption stand and a recent scenario that involved bribes paid to subcontractors related to the procurement of electricity suppliers in St. Petersburg (Betts 2010). This puts pressure on strategic expansion plans as the company must cut through bureaucracy red-tape and attempt to gain governmental support for anti-corruption. In many ways, IKEA is at the mercy of regional governments who seem, in some territories, to turn a blind eye to these business practices. Campaigning against corruption represents a similar strain to operating budget and proper, efficient utilization of executive personnel. Betts (2010) identifies that IKEA has also dealt with corruption in France that was occurring from political groups that suggested IKEA was involved in the exploitation of French workers at its stores. IKEA received cultural backlash from French citizens on picket lines that disrupted trading with 26 French retail stores. IKEA must continuously deal with political angst in certain countries where it operates and, since the company’s supply chain is global, becomes a target of political objectives. The economic environment differs in