Integration paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Integration paper - Assignment Example Even though each of the concepts and theories learnt can be testified as transforming my learning in a very tremendous way, two concepts and theories I believe will continue to impact my corporate knowledge about emerging markets forever are the concepts on legal and ethical practices in emerging markets, and the ways in which local emerging businesses can effectively compete with multinational companies. These two concepts and theories are selected generally because they are transcending to both multinational companies and local companies. While learning about legal and ethical practice in emerging markets, I came to appreciate the kind of power and authority that the consumer in these emerging markets have as far as the command that they can have on the market is concerned. This is because for all this while, I thought that because most multinational companies that went to these emerging markets were from developed countries, they would go and influence the local people directly with their foreign ethics and culture. However, I have now come to appreciate the fact that culture and ethics are important concepts that establish the identities of people and so local consumers would not just allow the influx of foreign and strange ethics and legal practices to overtake what they have practiced for long. For multinational companies that are poised for success, the essential role that they can play is to admit a sense of readiness to comply by local ethical and legal standards. This is because with the ethical and legal inc lination that the local people have, they form a social hub, which is not easy to penetrate or break apart. Multinational companies must therefore see themselves as part of social network, where they are the ones who have to comply with set standards. The concept of competitions between local companies and multinational companies was

Homeland Security Strategies Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Homeland Security Strategies - Research Paper Example Introduction The United States of America Department of Homeland Security has been tasked with ensuring the security of the American citizens and their property. One might argue that the Department is only tasked with counter terrorism measures but this is wrong. The Department of Homeland Security is mandated by an act of Congress to ensure that the United States of America is safe domestically. The fact that terrorism is the major threat facing not only the United States domestic security, but even that of all other countries in the world, results in the notion among many people that the Department of Homeland Security is only in charge of fighting terrorism. However, the Department of Homeland Security is tasked with five major responsibilities. They include: protecting citizens of the United States of America from terrorist threats, securing of the United States of America Borders, facilitating legal migration and cracking down on illegal immigration, developing an urgent sense o f readiness, and finally unification and maturation of the Department (Haulley, 2005). When one considers the five responsibilities then it is safe to conclude that the department of Homeland security is not only tasked with preventing terror attacks but also other threats such as natural disasters. This paper will discuss the different strategies that the Department of Homeland Security employs to ensure that it is successful in executing its duties. Surveillance One strategy that the Department of Homeland Security has used profoundly is surveillance. This is where the department uses agencies such as the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to gather intelligence both domestic and foreign that is viewed to be of national security importance by the Department of Homeland Security. Surveillance techniques such as electronic surveillance have been widely used by the Department to follow and intercept conversations of those who are believed to pose a threat to the domestic security of the United of America. This strategy was rampantly used after the September 11th attacks on the United States of America especially during the Bush administration. This is so since the administration allowed the department through the National Security Agency (NSA) to carry out electronic surveillance of terror suspects without the need of any warrant. This strategy can be considered as one of the strategies that have yielded a lot of positive results in the efforts of the Department of Homeland Security in securing the lives and property of Americans from terrorist attacks. For example, according to the director of National Security Agency (NSA), electronic surveillance efforts have resulted in the prevention of numerous terrorist attacks both abroad and domestic on United States of America citizens (Homeland Security News Wire, 2013). Another way that the Department of Homeland Security has employed Surveillance as a strategy of ensuring Natio nal Security is the use of Drones to spy on terrorist groups such as Al-Qaida that operate in foreign countries. Drones are unmanned airplanes that are used by the United States of America government to either spy or attack. These drones have been used to establish the activities of such terrorist groups. The Department of Homeland Security has also used satellites to perform surveillance on its

Cessna Headquarters, Wichita, Kansas Essay Example for Free

Cessna Headquarters, Wichita, Kansas Essay The words â€Å"Cessna Skyhawk† have special meaning for anyone who has ever wanted to learn to fly. At 27 feet long and 8 feet tall, with a 36-foot wingspan, a 140 mph cruising speed, and room for two adults and their luggage, more people have learned to fly with a Cessna Skyhawk than with any other plane in aviation history. In fact, the Cessna Skyhawk is the best-selling plane of all time. Clyde Cessna built his first plane in 1911, and Cessna became a storied name in aviation. Cessna built 750 gliders for the army in World War II, introduced the Skyhawk in 1956, produced the first turbo-charged and cabin-pressurized single-engine planes in the 1960s, delivered its first business jet in the 1970s, topped $1 billion in sales in the 1980s, and then, in one of the worst downturns in the history of aviation business, nearly went out of business over the next decade and a half. Sales of general aviation aircraft, which had topped out at 17,000 planes per year, dropped to 12,000 planes within a year, and over the next decade finally hit rock bottom at 928 planes for the entire industry. During the same time, Cessnas sales of piston-engine planes, like the Skyhawk, dropped from 8,000 per year to just 600. Cessna was forced to lay off 75 percent of the employees at its piston-engine plane factories (Cessna also makes business jets and larger planes) and eventually stopped making piston-engine planes altogether. However, after the economy improved and the U.S. government approved the General Aviation Revitalization Act (barring product liability lawsuits on any plane over 18 years old), Cessna decided to start building its legendary Skyhawks again.

A Dolls House Analysis of Nora

A Dolls House Analysis of Nora I must stand on my own two feet if I am to find out the truth about myself and about life, To what extent is Nora a tragic heroine? -1497 words (excluding title) A Dolls House by Henrik Ibsen is a modern tragedy that is centred around the life of a typical Norwegian household in the Victorian era, focusing on the trials and tribulations that face Nora Helmer in this patriarchal society. A Dolls House explores not only the status of women, but how they are victims of social forces to the extent that they are left with the role of a dollwife. During the course of this essay, I intend to study the character of Nora and to what extent she qualifies as a tragic heroine. As the curtain opens to the first act, we are introduced to Nora as an extravagant little person, a sweet little spendthrift; giving the audience the impression that she will be yet another undeveloped female character as seen in previous traditional tragedies. Ibsen uses patronizing language to portray Torvalds view of his wife, how to him she was just a sweet little skylark, the word little emphasizing Torvalds misogynistic ego, and how he uses typically loving terms but makes them seem condescending and demeaning. Aristotles description of a tragic hero as outlined in his book Poetics, is where he discusses the aspects of ones character which qualify one to be a tragic hero, ideas which have been accepted and expanded for several centuries, and often used as a mould for tragic heroes. In order to reach my conclusion and decide to what degree Nora is a tragic heroine, I will compare Noras character to some of the ideas Aristotle discussed in his book. According to Aristotle, the tragic hero is a man who is a mixture of good characteristics and bad characteristics. Regardless of the requirement of being male, Nora fits this aspect of his definition perfectly as she can be seen as both the epitome of good and evil within the play, depending on ones perspective. Ibsen establishes Noras character as not purely vapid (as we perhaps thought based on our first impression of her) but a woman who gave up the necess[ities] of life and went to extreme lengths to save [her] husbands life, even though it was considered imprudent in Victorian society, where a woman was transferred from being, firstly a good daughter, secondly a good wife and finally a good mother. Consequently, Noras character can also be seen as having bad characteristics (one of Aristotles prerequisites of being a tragic hero) as she undoubtedly commit[ted] a fraud and as Krogstad says, the law cares nothing about motives, even if Nora did it for loves sake. Ibsen stated that a woman cannot be herself in modern society. It is an exclusively male society, with laws made by men with no regard to female emotions. Torvald shakes his finger at Nora and says that a songbird must have a clean beak to chirp with. Ibsens use of stage direction clearly shows Torvalds condescending behaviour towards his wife. It also shows that even after eight years of marriage, Torvald Helmer underestimates his wifes character or capabilities to the extent that it is questionable whether he knows her at all. Ibsen suggests that even though the plot unfolds in a male dominated society, those same men could be easily deceived by their wives, as shown by Torvald and Noras relationship. Even though Ibsen has followed Aristotles idea, he has left it open to interpretation as Noras actions can be interpreted as good or bad. Ibsen portrays Nora as being coquettish, using her beauty and charisma to her advantage as she play(s) with [Torvalds] coat buttons without raising her eyes to his, mere domestic, flirtatious behaviour. However, it adds complexity to Noras character, as she is manipulating her husband into giving her what she desires. Alternatively, Ibsen could be portraying that women were now breaking away from the restraints of the social norm, where before all else, [they] are a wife and a mother. As it is revealed to us that Nora saved Torvalds life, we know that she is not just a dollwife, but a woman of intellectual complexity. Ibsen adds psychological depth to Noras character, depth that was previously uncommon within female characters in drama, a prime example being Shakespeares Ophelia. The play follows Aristotles rule -the tragic hero has a tragic flaw, or hamartia, that is the cause of his downfall-, establishing Nora as a tragic heroine. Nora Helmers tragic flaw is undoubtedly her naivetà ©. As Aristotle stated, the tragedy is usually triggered by some error of judgment or some character flaw and it can be said that it is Noras innocence that inevitably leads her to her tragic fall. As I have previously discussed, Torvald consistently displays condescending and demeaning behaviour towards Nora, calling her a little featherhead and an obstinate little person, and Nora seems to perceive his abusive and controlling behaviour as a sign that Torvald is so absurdly fond of [her]. Nora regards her husband as having no moral failings, and man enough to take everything upon [him]self to the extent that he would never for a moment hesitate to give his life for [her]. Torvalds morality is what makes his actions so shocking when he refuses to save her and accuses her of hav ing no religion, no morality, no sense of duty, when in fact the reason behind her immorality was Torvald himself. Noras understanding of her hamartia permits her to reach catharsis which is a secular moment of self realisation, allowing her to therefore rectify her problem and complete her journey to be a tragic heroine. During Act II, Nora starts to realize her flaw, she starts to realize that she is not Torvalds dollwife living in his play room. This is made evident in the play as Nora disagrees with Torvald and says he has a narrow-minded way of looking at things. Even though this realization is nowhere as dramatic as it would have been in classical tragedy, Noras actions have the same effect on the audience as she voices her opinion, taking on the dominant role in their relationship. Aristotle also states that the tragic hero is someone people can relate to. Ibsen has made this possible by setting his play within a typical affluent Victorian household, and uses Nora to depict the oppression of women, and how they have been dehumanized to mere objects of entertainment, particularly in the middle-class society. George Bernard Shaw agrees that the plays domestic setting makes the characters recognizable people as their problems were familiar to the audience. Ibsen illustrates the Helmers broken marriage through Nora taking off [her] fancy dress, her changing into regular clothing symbolises the shedding of all illusions about their marriage. He uses the metaphor of a cold, wintry night to depict the frosty atmosphere of the Helmer household. Ibsen shows how Nora has existed merely to perform tricks for [Torvald] through the tarantella, a folk dance that was traditionally performed to purge oneself of poison, showing the intensity of the control Torvald has over her. Finally, Aristotle argues that the tragic hero always falls in the end, and that is why he is called a tragic hero. His tragic flaw always ends up in tragedy for himself and for those around him. The plays climaxes when Nora leaves her husband and children, which can be regarded as her fall. This can be regarded as either an assertion of her humanity or as a negligence of her most sacred duties, as she forsake(s) [her] husband and children. However, In my opinion, Nora is not abandoning any duties as even though she had borne [Torvald] three children, it was their maid Anne-Marie that catered to all the childrens needs, whereas it was great fun when [Nora] played with [the children], the children have been [her] dolls. Subsequently, it can be seen as liberation for Nora as her whole life, she was simply transferred from Papas hands to [Torvalds], allowing her to make nothing of [her] life. It is here when our little skylark finally flies away from her cage, attaining freedom. Aristot le agrees that the fall is not pure loss. There is some increase in awareness, some gain in self-knowledge, as Nora slams the door shut on her marriage. It can be said that Ibsen uses his final stage direction to symbolise the possible decline of patriarchy, the closing of 19th century beliefs and the birth of Modernism. Throughout the play, Nora takes on many different roles, making her character difficult to compartmentalise, but as a critic says, the greatest dramatic characters have the freedom of incongruity. In A Dolls House, Ibsen presents us with a character that at first glance appears to be a featherhead, but follows the Aristotelian journey of a tragic hero, from hamartia to catharsis to her tragic fall. Aristotle says that the tragic hero is a character of noble stature and has greatness, and even though Nora is just an ordinary Victorian housewife, it is undeniable that she does in fact possess greatness, making Nora a modern tragic heroine.

Merchant of Venice Essay: The Character of Portia -- Merchant of Venic

The Character of Portia in Merchant of Venice  Ã‚      In his Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare wants the reader to admire Portia, arguably the most powerful character in the play. However, it is easy to mistake the word ‘admiration’ to mean simply a liking of someone’s positive virtues. Rather, we should like Portia because of those things that make her a multi-faceted character. Though she can appear to be an â€Å"unlessoned girl,† she is also conniving, manipulative, and powerful. Three examples that effectively show her prowess and as a result win our admiration of her occur during the casket, the trial, and the ring scenes. One reason why Shakespeare wants us to appreciate Portia is because of the respect that radiates from her during the casket scene. Respect is clearly shown when she follows the prescription of her father’s will, which stipulates that she is to be wed to whoever can successfully figure out the riddle of the caskets and pick the one that has her likeness in it: I may neither choose who I would nor refuse who I dislike, so is the will of a living daughter curbed by the will of a dead father. (I.2.22-24) Portia realizes that she has little to say in the matter, and nowhere does she hint at not following her father’s wishes and marrying whomever she wants. Portia’s faith to her father is steadfast as she goes through the ritual of entertaining potential suitor over and over again. However, that is not to say that Portia is fond of her predicament, because clearly she is not. When Morocco fails to pick the correct casket and leaves in a distraught manner, she is relieved and exclaims: â€Å"A gentle riddance† (II.7.78). Portia must also be admired for her unwavering love and support of her Bassanio. Whi... ...tely frees Antonio (and perhaps even Bassanio) and at the same time obliterates Shylock. Therefore, Portia is a character whom Shakespeare means to be highly admired. She possesses qualities that make her the adoration of some and the envy of others. She is highly skilled at whatever task she undertakes; yet she retains an aura of compassion and a strong sense of commitment. She puts herself on the line for the sake of her Bassanio. On the other hand, when she is crossed - or better yet when something she is endeared to is threatened - she is prepared to unleash a havoc to make things better again.    Works Cited Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. 1967. Ed. W. Moelwyn Merchant. The New Penguin Shakespeare. London: Penguin Books, 1996. - - -. Othello. 1968. Ed. Kenneth Muir. The New Penguin Shakespeare. London: Penguin Books, 1996.   

Moral Actions Essay -- Philosophy Essays

Moral Actions Honesty and deceit. Compassion and Neglect. Benevolence and malevolence. All these represent the extremes in the spectrum of morality. From the general societal viewpoint, the former represents the attitudes which should be admired, rewarded and emulated, while the latter represents the attitudes which should be abhorred, punished and discouraged. Now philosophers, not being satisfied with leaving things well enough alone, endeavour to discover why this is so. Why do we admire acts of kindness? Why do we loathe acts of malice? It is generally thought that the crux of this question of morality has to do with the magnitude of selfishness accounted for in the acts and thoughts of individuals. If we can think of selfishness as an empirical property, honesty, compassion, and benevolence are acts and attitudes that involve much less selfishness than their moral opposites. This realization, of course, does not answer the question we are considering, it merely pushes it back one metaphysical level. So the revised question should be this: When is selfishness morally acceptable, and when is it not? Nietzsche, in proposing that selfishness is, in a sense, completely free of moral blame at all, comes to a conclusion that is completely opposite to the rest of the philosophers that we have studied. We shall see that Nietzsche is probably on the right track, and that selfishness is a faulty gauge of the morality of an action, and that morality is simply an illusory concept created by the individuals of society to prevent harm to themselves. We have all seen it before. The African savanna. A cheetah. A pack of grazing gazelles. The cheetah stealthily approaches toward the pack of grazing gazelles. N... ... of when selfish acts are morally permissible, we have first established that all sane actions are selfish in origin, and therefore, selfishness cannot be used as a measurement of morality. Secondly, the standard of morals which we use to gauge themorality of an action is based on our own selfish desire for personal power. As established by Nietzsche, actions done in the pursuit of personal power are natural, and therefore, from our own viewpoint, these actions are never objectionable. It is only when seen from another's perspective that these actions can be seen to be despicable because it threatens their personal pursuit for power. Therefore, the actions that others find objectionable are the actions performed by us that do not involve stealing personal power away from another. In this case, there is no definite set of morals that one can measure their actions to.

Marks and Spencer’s accounting choices Essay

Question 1 Exhibits 1 and 2 report the income statements and excerpts from the notes to Marks and Spencer’s financial statement for the fiscal years ending between March 31, 2005 and March 31, 2009. Critically analyze M&S’s accounting choices. What choices may have helped the company to overstate its net profits between 2005 and 2009? * M&S recognize many software development costs as intangible assets. In fact they recognize all costs related to software costs. This includes direct cost of material and services, payroll related costs for employees who are directly associated with the project. This may help M&S overstate its profits because normally only the direct costs associated with the software are recognized as an asset. The payroll costs for employees should not be considered to be an asset but as direct costs and should immediately reduce profits of M&S. Because this isn’t done, profits can be overstated. This is reflected by the large increase in computer software under development which was 5.6 million in 2005/2004 and was 178.8 million in 2009/2008. This is a stunning increase of 3192%. Besides there isn’t any amortization of the computer under software development and is only subjected to impairment. * Another thing which should be considered when reading the report is that there is a large amount of goodwill which may lead to overstatement of assets. In those five years there isn’t any impairment loss recognized or depreciation on that goodwill. Goodwill should be every year be subjected to impairment and it’s unlikely to remain constant over five years. This may lead to overstatement of assets. Warning signs of delayed write-downs on non-current assets can be a declining non-asset turnover or a declining return on assets below weighted average cost of capital. * Another point of discussion about the accounting methods M&S use, is the large depreciation rates they use on fixtures, fittings and equipment which can vary from three years to 25 years depending on the estimates life of the asset. This should be done on basis of useful economic life instead of the estimated life of the asset. This way they can spread the costs over a larger amount of time which overstates profits. * In 2005-2009, every year there are a large amount of additions, other than acquisitions. This is the case with land and buildings, fixtures, fittings & equipment, goodwill, computer software and computer software and development. Our opinion is that this comes from an increase in value of the asset. This is strange because there is an addition in goodwill which suggests that the value increased with no particular acquisition in 2007/2006 and 2008/2007. Also land and buildings and fixtures fittings & equipment increase because of additions while there is economic downturn in 2008/2007 and 2009/2008. * They also requalify their pension liability as equity because they sold it to a joint venture with its pension fund. This liability was then leased back from the joint venture so because they fully control this operational liability, they can qualify this as equity. This seems to be an accounting trick to state liabilities as equity. M&S also receives exceptional pension credit from this transaction in 2009/2008 and 2008/2007. Question 2 Exhibit 3 provides information about the liability that Marks and Spencer reclassified as equity. Do you agree with the decision to reclassify? What will be the effect of this decision on future financial statements? The reclassification of the liability of Marks and Spencer’s as equity seems to be an accounting trick. Marks & Spencer’s group had a liability of 496.9 million to M&S UK pension scheme. Because they did not want that the liability influenced their financial reports in 2007, they sold it to a joint venture of M&S group with M&S UK Pension scheme. The partnership then leased the properties of the partnership to the M&S plc. This reclassifies the liability because of the operational lease as equity while M&S group still has to pay the money to the pension scheme. When the pension fund has not got the money to pay their employees, the group still has to bring up the money. The effect of this decision on future financial statements is that a large amount of liabilities is classified as equity which distorts the equity/liability ratio and is not an actual reflection of the financial health of the organization. The future financial statements will give off a wrong impression of the liabilities owed to the pension scheme.