Normative Ethical Theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Normative Ethical Theories - Essay Example Firstly, it is necessary to define and interpret the true nature and meaning of the deontological perspective as a means to adequately provide a normative interpretation of FGM. A deontological approach merely specifies that the end ethical consideration of a given action or decision must necessarily consider the impact upon the rights of other individuals in order to determine whether such a course of action or approach to a given issue impacts or infringes upon the rights of another. Naturally, for purposes of the subject matter regarding FGM, such an approach is appropriately suited to helping to come to a very clear and determinant point of view with regards to whether the practice should be allowed to exist or should be deemed ethically and morally reprehensible. Without delving too deeply into the physiology involved, one can understand that the practice of FGM has far reaching implications for both the psychological and physical health of the child upon whom such a practice is directed. Moreover, the fact of the matter is that FGM does not ask the permission of the woman prior to being enacted. Almost invariably such a practice is employed prior to the child being able to speak, walk, or otherwise express themselves (Nussbaum 1999). In this way, one can readily see that the only shareholder in the process that has the ability to make a well informed and moral determination is the surgeon or individual who is responsible for cutting off the clitoris of the young child. In this way, the needs of the woman that the young child will grow into are not considered, and no sought. A cultural interpretation of ethical and moral decision making is employed. As such, it is understood that it is the in best interest of the child involved to perform such a procedure. In this way, the ethical issues breaks down to a question of whether culture is able to be judged as a higher ethical good than any other normative ethical approach. It is the approach of the deontologis t that such an answer can be found via an understanding of the net negative effects that such an approach affects on others. From this point of view, it is clearly obvious the FGM is both barbaric and heartless as it pays little to no attention to the tender and un-vocalized needs of the woman who is having her genitals mutilated (Okwudili et al 2012). Moreover, the deontological approach views the issue from a very ethically determinant standpoint; if the impacts of a given action are causing pain/hardship, and/or harm by way of a specific action, it is therefore unethical and should be re-evaluated and/or discontinued. As such, the type of obligation and duty that deontology speaks to engage the ethicist with the realization that he/she has an obligation to the needs and happiness of others affected by the choices that he/she will make in the ultimate determination of right and wrong. As with any of the normative approaches to ethical thinking, such an approach necessarily disrega rds one theory or practice at the expense of its own interpretation of what is ultimately right or wrong. As stated, from a deontological perspective, it is impossible for the ethicist to promote the process of FGM or any other such process that

Microsoft High School Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Microsoft High School - Case Study Example One of the critical challenges that faced the company in the 80s was developing a career track for those who were individual contributors at best and those who were managers or had potential to be managers. This arose due to the fact the company being an IT company, technical people were mostly hired who may or may not be managers. The solution was to allow people to remain technical experts and get the same opportunity to advance in terms of compensation, promotion and recognition as those in the management track. Ladder levels for determining vertical movement were based on an individual's job nature, together with his experience, skill and performance. In addition, growth was also made possible with horizontal transfers from one job to another. New hires were also encouraged to learn from mentoring from those who were company seniors. IT industry's explosive growth, thousands of ... When the company reached its 20,000th employee mark, Bill Gates viewed this as an important challenge facing the company where the values at its inception responsible for its success were at stake. As a response, the HR group started measuring employee attitudes. A finding in the late 1990s was that even if attrition rates or voluntary resignations were half those of industry levels, at the higher positions, resignations were closer to industry rates. With "Organizational Health Index" (OHI), a part of the annual employee survey, the focus was turned on the work environment as a tool for retention and on a more fundamental level, "keeping the entrepreneurial spirit alive" that made Microsoft what it was. Ballmer's two priorities was to accomplish this was first to change Microsoft's vision from "a computer on every desk and in every home running on Microsoft software" to "to empower people to do anything they want, any place they want, and on any device". The second strategy was to e mpower leaders within the company to clear obstacles, make decisions quickly and clearly define goals. Another challenge was how to identify managers and leaders who are capable of developing people. In order to meet this challenge, Microsoft embarked on a series of programs to identify potential leaders and it became the priority of Steve Ballmer, Microsoft president to develop leaders within the company. As a result of these programs, it was found out that the sources of leadership development were primarily from the jobs currently held at 70%, from mentoring at 20% and from training at 10%. With its maturity as a large-scale organization, a top concern emerged in the 1990s to

Romeo and Juliet Essay Example for Free

Romeo and Juliet Essay How does the opening scene of Romeo and Juliet grab the audiences attention? How does Shakespeare prepare us for what happens in the rest of the play? Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeares most famous romantic tragedies, which was written in 1599. This tale of romance and hatred starts with a dramatic first scene of the opposing families. These characters are shown in the first scene, focusing on the way Shakespeare captures the audiences attention and how he created this action packed, tense first scene to prepare us for the rest of the play. Shakespeares Act 1 Scene 1 sees two angry characters enter armed with swords and bucklers which are publicly seen in their possession. In the society of that time, this would have been common and the audience would not find it strange whereas the society of today would find this threatening, as well as illegal. This gives us an impression of what the people and the society was like 400 years ago. These two fiery characters are Capulet servants called Sampson and Gregory who start the first scene off with humour: Well not carry coals Sampson. No, for then we should be colliers Gregory. This would have been funny in Shakespearean times as Gregory is contradicting what Sampson has said, and is taking him literally to make light of the situation. Shakespeares audience would have understood the reference whereas a modern audience would see the implication differently and the joke wouldnt be understood, as the Shakespearean language is not commonly known these days. Shakespeare uses sexual references towards the Montague household and Sampson comments that he is a pretty piece of flesh. This sexual reference would have been amusing to the Shakespearean audience, and even though we do not fully understand the comment, we would still pick up what he is implying. We still have amusing sexual references in plays and films today which show how the society then and the society now use sexual comments in their scripts to create humour. This humour helps to capture the audiences attention. These two characters help start off the first scene as they help us to realise the anger and hatred between the two families, and prepare us for what we hope will be more fighting and excitement later on in the play. The next two characters to enter are Montague servants called Abram and Balthasar. Sampson and Gregory are clearly angered by their arrival, and comment that they will bite their thumb at them. This action was an insult in Shakespearean times, and would have been taken in an offensive way. The two Montague servants begin quarrelling with the Capulets, and they begin provoking each other: Do you bite your thumb at us sir? Abram No, sir, I do not bite my thumb at you Sampson Later on in Act 1 they continue: Do you quarrel sir? Gregory Quarrel, sir? No sir. Abram. As the provocation warms up, and the two opposing families begin to get angrier, the pace of the play quickens. Modern audiences may not have understood the insult of biting thumbs, but we would feel the tension that was building up on stage between the Montagues and the Capulets, and would see that the characters are very much alike in the fact that they detest the other family and use aggressive language to try and provoke each other. These two characters are added to make the plot more interesting, although they do not show the anger they have for the Capulets as much as the Capulets show us their hatred for the Montagues. Evidence of this is that Sampson and Gregory in Act 1 Scene 1 talk about how they will inflict pain and violence on the Monatagues if they come across one: A dog of the house of Montague moves me. The bickering between these four characters adds tension and excitement to the first scene of the play, and helps move the scene along. The next character to enter is Benvolio and he is clearly angered by the fighting that has occurred between the two families. He beats down their swords saying put up your swords; you know not what you do. We can already see a big contrast between Benvolio and the other four characters: Benvolio is a peacemaker who wishes for the family feud to end, whereas the others provoke each other into a fight, quarrel and hold hatred for each other. Tybalt then enters, angry and fired up over the Montague presence. He speaks of how he hates the word peace as he hates hell, all Montagues and thee. We begin to learn that Tybalt is a very angry and aggressive character that would love to get his own revenge on the Montague household. Although the language is still written and spoken as if in Shakespearean times, we would still feel the tension and pace quickening, and understand the personalities of the different characters. Shakespeare has given Benvolio and Tybalt different tones of language: Tybalts is strong, aggressive and angry whereas Benvolios is a little less strong and is more polite when talking. These two characters, I feel, are created by Shakespeare to add tension and excitement to the play, and prepare us for more action packed scenes with the two characters later on. The contrast between these two characters would grab the audiences attention and leave us wondering what will happen between these two later on in the play. This fighting leads to several citizens (which are split between the Monatgues and the Capulets) that next enter the scene. A big fight ensues between the two families, and the citizens get involved. This would make us (and the audience 400 years ago) very edgy and would add tension in the audience. These characters are added to show us the hatred that has built between the Capulets and Montagues, and to show us that the anger and contempt between them goes as far as the citizens. Watching this on stage would add fear and tension between the characters on stage and the audience, and Shakespeare would have added swords and angry colours to show the hatred. Capulet, Lady Capulet, Montague and Lady Montague enter and when seeing the upheaval of the fights go to join in. The Ladies of the two households try to calm them down but they are defiant; Hold me not; let me go. Montague This shows us that the women in the society of that time did not have any power or say over their husbands, and is a factual part of the play that helps us understand what society was like 400 years ago. During these fights, our next character, Prince Escalus, enters. He immediately stops the fight and issues his last warning. If ever you disturb our streets again, your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace. In Shakespearean times, there was no government to help rule the country: it was the princes last word that everyone followed. Shakespeare uses this language as it is a clear and stern statement that easily makes the audience anticipated on what may happen further on in the play. This would add contrast to the play as we would know that we were to expect more fighting, but the Princes ultimatum would leave us wondering what was going to happen next, which would create more interest in the play and change our first thoughts of what we were to expect as we think that Shakespeare will cause more hatred and fighting between his characters to keep us interested. Shakespeare creates a very clear, polite but strong character here with an easy dialogue that audiences of today would easily understand. All the characters exit leaving Montague, Lady Montague and Benvolio talking of what happened. In this part of the scene, Shakespeare shows us that not only is Benvolio a peacemaking character, but also a truthful one that we can trust. This ensures us that whatever may happen later on in the play, we can trust Benvolio to tell the truth. The language Shakespeare uses is clear and to the point, giving as much detail as possible without giving to much away of what is to come later on in the play. They then start talking about Benvolios cousin, Romeo. This is when Shakespeare introduces his main, love struck character. We learn that Lady Montague is particularly caring about her son: O where is Romeo? Right glad I am he was not at this fray. They talk of how he shuts up his windows, locks fair daylight out, and our first impressions of Romeo is that he is a very miserable, lonely person (not the person we originally think of when we hear his name). Shakespeare leaves us again confused of what may happen later on in the play as the name Romeo is synonymous with romance, but when we hear what Romeo is like, we are left wondering if the play will be as it was first expected. Modern audiences would understand this part of the play, as the language is clear and understandable. The dialogues are introducing the contrast of hatred to love but at the same time it also stays informative and gives us our first impressions of Romeo. This part of the play is important as it helps move the scene along from the fighting earlier on, and informs us on our first of the main characters, Romeo. Our main character now enters and Shakespeares language tells us a lot of how Romeo is feeling: Is the day so long? Ay me! Sad hours seem long. We learn that Romeo is an extremely depressed character who doesnt seem to be this romantic character (that we suspected from his name) we first imagined. Shakespeare keeps us wondering about why Romeo is depressed, giving Romeo small dialogues of little information. We later learn that Romeo is out of her favour where I am in love. This now tells us more of Romeos character and instead of what our first impressions were, we now feel that he is a soppy romantic who is in love with love. Romeo later talks in riddles as he states: O heavy lightness O loving hate feather of lead This shows us how he feels confused over his feelings of love, and that he will feel no love like this. Again our impression is that he is very romantic and loves to be loved. This part of the scene from when Romeo enters prepares us for more romance and we feel that the romance and love will be the cause of the fighting later on in the play, which links to Prince Escalus warning. In conclusion, I feel that this first scene is successful in helping us predict but also wonder what will happen later on in the play. It prepares us for more fighting and for a romance that may be the cause of death, betrayal and hurt. Ive learnt of how inferior the women were 400 years ago, and how royalty ruled everything. Shakespeare has used the period that he lived in to create this play, and along with being an interesting love tale, it is in some ways factual as well. This play is very dramatic, tense and action-packed and I feel that this first scene starts the play off brilliantly.

Concept Of Maximising Shareholder Wealth And Competing Theories Finance Essay

Concept Of Maximising Shareholder Wealth And Competing Theories Finance Essay Maximizing share holder wealth is a concept in which optimally increasing the long-term value of the firm is emphasized. Milton Friedman recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences is often quoted as saying The business of business is business He actually did say there is one and only one social responsibility of business-to use it resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud. Friedman used the term profits, rather than shareholder wealth but the two are often seen as interchangeable. Not only is this not true, there is an increasing body of opinion that views the prime motive of maximizing shareholder wealth as deeply flawed. In the history accounting and finance, it is assumed that the objective of the business is to maximize the value of a company. Put simply, this means that the managers of a business should create as much wealth as possible for the shareholders. Given this objective, any financing or investment decision that is expected to improve the value of the shareholders stake in the business is acceptable. In short, the objective for managers running a business should be profit maximization both in the short and long-term. Shareholders are deemed as the owners of the business. Their main aim is to increase their wealth, finance managers are employed to achieve this aim. In order to maximise shareholder wealth it would mean Maximising the flow of dividends to shareholders through time there is a long term prospective (Arnold, 2005) Shareholder wealth is a short-term gain, and can be artificially increased without adding any tangible assets or products to the companys rooster. You can, for example, simply lay off an entire short-term unessential department; say Research and Development rather than the shop floor, and the next quarters profits will be increased. But what about the social responsibility of the workers made redundant in order to make share price healthy? That is the fallacy with an unthinking mantra of maximizing. Almost any executive decision, no matter how socially irresponsible or unethical can be justified as intended to increase the stock price. Managers on short term leash might stay at the same point on the demand curve but economize more on resource if they must maximize shareholder wealth. Economizing inputs tend to offset the maximisers reducing output. In an economy with widespread monopoly some firms encouraged to maximize shareholder wealth would primarily encourage while others shoul d slash production and reduce allocative efficiency one cannot predict which effect would dominate. Traditional theory suggests that the key aim of any business is to generate the greatest possible value for the company, leading to the maximum possible return for shareholders. As Ian Davies argues, this so-called Shareholder Theory is based on the idea that the ultimate aim of a company is to generate profit and pass this profit, along with any associated value, on to the shareholders who took the risk of purchasing those shares in the first place (Davies, 2007); furthermore, any approach that minimises the companys outgoings will, in theory, contribute to the growth of the asset-value of the company and therefore to the ultimate return to shareholders. Within the concept of Shareholder Theory, there is technically no limit to the methods that might be used in order to maximise shareholder wealth. One of the most commonly used methods, according to Jill H. Ellsworth and Matthew V. Ellsworth, is strategies for the reduction of tax liabilities, in other words reducing the amount of tax paid in order to increase the amount of money that can be paid out as dividends to shareholders (Ellsworth Ellsworth, 2007 ed., p. 58). However, arguably, this theory is overly simplistic: for example, while one strategy might generate greater short-term wealth for shareholders, a less obvious strategy might, in the longer-term, generate far greater wealth. For example, while a company could use surplus profits in order to increase the dividend, it could also use them to invest in projects that could yield far greater gains in the future. This, in turn, could increase the overall share price. This approach highlights an important problem: not all share holders are the same, and while some are willing to wait for the longer-term results, others are after short term gain. There is no guarantee that both can be satisfied by the same approach. COMPETING THEORIES Other theories for example Stakeholder theory asserts that managers should make decisions that take into account the interests of all stakeholders of the firm. Such stakeholders include not only financial claimholders but also employees, managers, customers, suppliers, local communities, government, and others. Thus, stakeholder theory involves trying to maximize multiple objectives. Maximization of shareholder wealth focuses on owners and is a single-valued objective. This does not mean that corporate managers should disregard stakeholders other than owners. On the contrary, they need to be aware of the needs, wants, and interests of these other constituencies, but the owners come first. Although Shareholder Theory has been the dominant approach for many years, the new Stakeholder Theory is gaining ground. This theory suggests that Shareholder Theory is merely one part of the overall strategy that should be employed, with the others including such relatively unfixed concepts as earnings per share, employee satisfaction and environmental protection. Andy Coulson-Thomas argues that Stakeholder Theory is based on the idea that a business is an organic creature that will produce better results for everyone if holistically managed and, overall, led towards a situation in which every aspect of the company is performing well (Worthington et al., 2008, p. 147). This is clearly not a short-term theory, and one again illustrates the dramatic divide between the aims of different shareholders. However, Stakeholder Theory does have one major advantage, which is that it allows a more organic, cross-company angle to be applied, one which allows for stable long-term growth at the ex pense, perhaps, of short-term profit and wealth maximisation. Its also important to consider the size of the company and its location. Size affects such matters as taxation liability and economy of scale, and there are dramatically different rules when it comes to larger corporate entities. Although generalisations are dangerous, its true to say that smaller companies face less legislation in terms of moves to prevent tax avoidance etc., although to compensate for these larger companies often employ legal teams to address such issues. Davies argues that this balances out leading to virtual parity in terms of how companies of different sizes deal with taxation (and) they end up paying virtually the same rates, albeit from very different starting points (Davies, 2007, p. 37). Its also possible to relocate the companys base to a state with little or no corporate income tax, or where potential lawsuits are far more likely to be resolved in the companys favour. This may generate subsequent problems for shareholders, however, since their profits will be considered to be coming from abroad and may therefore be subject to additional taxation. This is an example of what McLaney calls blind strategy (Davies, 2007, p. 6), whereby something that initially seems to be good (for the company) is ultimately bad for the shareholders. In light of the factors above, CEOs of major companies are being urged, to look to other theories of corporate purpose. In this theory, the customer comes first. Perhaps the most notable change of purpose, as advocated by Richard Ellsworth and Ian Davies, is to change corporate focus from the shareholder to the customer. For example, in his book Leading with purpose Ellsworth offers statistics, drawn from a study of 23 companies that show those businesses that were mostly customer-focused exceeded their industries median performance by 36 per cent. But what does focusing on the customer mean? Isnt it something that successful businesses have always done? Yes and no. In his book, The New Business Road Test John W. Mullins defines customer focus as a corporations ability to resolve customers pain. Mullins then goes on to highlight the case of Nike who impacted on the sports shoe market by designing shoes that met the specific speed and endurance needs of distance runners. In 1972, eight years after Nike (then known as Blue Ribbon Sports) was formed, four of the top seben finishers in the Olympic marathon wore Nike shoes. Two decades later, afte r many years of strong growth, Nike targeted women, for whom its products seemed to hold limited appeal. Nikes researchers found that for active women, clothes had to perform a double-duty, handle an intense workout and look good on the street. Nike turned their research iinto new product lines and in 2005 their combined womens business grew by almost 20% outpacing even the companies overall growth. But away from Mullins, Naomi Kliens book, No Logo, shows there is more to Nikes corporate purpose than target markets. Klien points out that Nike is also probably the most famous case of western companies using sweatshop labour a scandal that was bought to national USA attention in 1995-96 and has dogged the company ever since. The question is this: how do we interpret Nikes repeated attempts to change unethical working practices at its various sites around the world? What do we say about the introduction of schools, donations and increased wages it has given out to workers it previously exploited? Can they be seen as cynical attempts by a panicked business to maintain shareholder value, or genuine efforts to resolve their customers moral pain? Nikes efforts at ethical working practices brings me to CSR Corporate Social Responsibility CSR has become the basis on what organisations do well. There are several studies as to what CSR is, several researchers (Friedman, Rudolf, Davis etc.) have given their own definitions, the World Business Council has defined it as the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and to contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families, as well as of the local community and society at large. (Source: Xrefer, definition of Corporate Social Responsibility) Companies usually implement CSR into their policies and practices so the effects of their activities have a positive social, environmental, legal and economic impact on the communities in which they operate and on their stakeholders. Some organisations behave more socially responsibility because it is an obligation by the managerial board, but also because of fear of backlash from environmentalist and consumer pressure groups and the media, and negative corporate image. It has been argued that behaving in a more socially responsibility manner can be beneficial to an organisation in the long run. A good example of an ethical organisation is the Body Shop. The Body Shop was founded by Anita Roddick in 1976, and has achieved worldwide status for being profitable and socially responsible, which proved that an organisation can be ethical and successful and reward shareholders and satisfy stakeholders at the same time. It has achieved worldwide popularity due its ethical practices, famously recognised for being against animal testing and promoting cosmetic products that have not been tested on animals, . They had a business case to provide body care products that have not been tested on animals and their business case just provides further support that an organisation can be profitable whilst being ethical. SHAREHOLDER WEALTH CRITICISM Another difficulty with Shareholder Theory is that aspects of wealth growth, most notably those related to tax, are increasingly complex and require a variety of forensic-level approaches that are often impossible for a large corporation to undertake. For example, some shareholders might benefit from a corporation-based tax reduction strategy, while others might be better off utilising their own such systems. Its impossible to tell which system will suit which shareholder, and its also impossible to mix the two systems. There is therefore a fundamental need to balance competing needs and, often, to find a balance that generates the best average result for shareholders. To compensate for such problems, companies can help their shareholders to form their own corporation designed to either own stock or to act as consultants (mainly for smaller companies). A. McNeil notes that such tactics are likely to appeal only to shareholders who are more proactive in their involvement in the company, whereas research shows that over three quarters of shareholders prefer a far more passive involvement (McNeil, 2007, p. 85). Furthermore, a number of commentators have argued that such tactics usually offer fewer benefits than they promise on paper, since there must be consideration given to the costs of incorporation and the operation of such a company. Turner and Johnson, for example, argue that the hidden costs in such an operation almost always outweigh the possible benefits (Turner Johnson, 2003, p. 238). Ultimately, the concept of maximising shareholder wealth represents a return to the principle of using a business in order to increase the wealth of individuals. As Andy Coulson-Thomas has suggested, this approach has often been lost in recent years as individuals (instead) work for the greater good of the company, which is often valued more highly than the wealth of the shareholders (Worthington et al., 2008, p. 58). Its clear that attempts to focus on the maximisation of shareholder wealth often involve increased complexity and, as a result, present a number of potential points at which profit can be lost. There are a number of conflicting theories in terms of which approach might be best when it comes to maximising shareholder wealth, but its clear that the most fundamental problem is that shareholders often have different, and in many cases competing, aims the key difference is in terms of how quickly they want to see a profit, and the needs of short-term profit-seekers are like ly to contradict the needs of those seeking a longer-term profit generation system. There is even the problem with the stock price itself as illustrated in my third paragraph above. It simply isnt always in management control. Again, as we have seen recently, share value largely depends on the confidence the market has in a corporation or the sector that the corporation operates in. as confidence in the banking sector has recently plummeted, even organizations with a healthy balance sheet have seen their share prices tumble. Consider the monopolist in a nation that denigrates shareholder wealth maximization and has rules and norms that discourage lay-offs. Employees cannot easily be laid off. Their jobs cannot be radically reconfigured without their consent. As such, the monopolist might not cut production and raise prices further, despite the shareholder-wealth-maximization basis for doing so, because it must pay the employees anyway if labor markets are rigid and if it cannot costlessly redeploy its workforce. In such circumstances, not only are the employees with jobs protected, but national wealth is increased (or at least not decreased) by slack agency controls on managers. A weak shareholder primacy norm facilitates greater production. I would say there is the problem of the shareholders themselves. These are not necessarily long-term investors with the interests of the company at heart, but transient individuals, some of whom, as we have seen lately, may actually look to make money out of a business by betting on the share price going down .i.e. taking the fall of shareholders like Conrad Black and Bernard Madoff. As per tutor2u,  Managers of a business should create as much wealth as possible for the shareholders. Given this objective, any financing or investment decision that is expected to improve the value of the shareholders stake in the business is acceptable. This is based on the assumption that managers operate in the best interests of stockholders, not themselves, and do not attempt to expropriate wealth from lenders to benefit stockholders. Another assumption is that managers act in a socially responsible manner and do not create unreasonable costs to society in pursuit of stockholder wealth maximization.  Ã‚  (Blackwell publishing, 2009) Wealth maximization is achieved by maximization of the cash flows of the organization.  Ã‚  Cash flow is a better yardstick than the profits. There are several objections against the profit maximization: One it is vague; there are multiple meanings of Profit.  Ã‚  For example profit after tax, retained earnings. Thus profits cannot be the ultimate goal. Two it is uncertain; as per Freemba, Profit cannot be ascertained well in advance to express the probability of return as future is uncertain. It is not at possible to maximize what cannot be known. Hence the timing of the profit cant be estimated. Three it ignores time value of money; Profits ignore the time value of money which is not in the case of cash flows. One can exactly find the timing of cash flows. Hence cash flow is a better measure. CONCLUSION Despite its advantages of greatly simplifying directors decision making we should discard the fictional undiversified shareholder concept for two reasons. First, it is highly unrealistic, more so than the other alternatives here considered. Second, it is indeterminate as to the degree of risk-aversion that should be ascribed to this fictional shareholder, and this degree of freedom completely undercuts ability of the shareholder wealth maximization norm to constrain director conduct. The  goal of Maximization of profits I think to be a narrow outlook. Evidently when profit maximization becomes the basis of financial decisions of the concern, it ignores the interests of the community on the one hand and that of the government, workers and other concerned persons in the enterprise on the other hand. Hence profit maximization is not considered as the ultimate financial objective. Wealth maximization is considered to be the most important financial objective Organization should also consider non financial objectives too to satisfy the other stakeholders of the organization. Stakeholder can be a person, group, organization, or system who affects or can be affected by an organizations actions. This means satisfying the objectives of customers, suppliers, government agencies, families of employees, special interest groups.  This will help in achieving the success in long term too. Ultimately, the concept of maximising shareholder wealth represents a return to the principle of using a business in order to increase the wealth of individuals.This approach has often been lost in recent years as individuals work for the greater good of the company, which is often valued more highly than the wealth of the shareholders Its clear that attempts to focus on the maximisation of shareholder wealth often involve increased complexity and, as a result, present a number of potential points at which profit can be lost. There are a number of conflicting theories in terms of which approach might be best when it comes to maximising shareholder wealth, but its clear that the most fundamental problem is that shareholders often have different, and in many cases competing, aims the key difference is in terms of how quickly they want to see a profit, and the needs of short-term profit-seekers are likely to contradict the needs of those seeking a longer term profit generation system I also conclude that from above highlights it shows just how complex and interlinked all the financial and psychological aspects of business are. It is no longer enough (if it ever was) for businesses to concentrate soley on their shareholders. In the current climate of a credit crunch fuelled by a potent mix of incompetence and greed, with business ethics under scrutiny like never before, the customer is all of us. And the pain we need resolving is not just economic, but social and environmental as well if corporation investment decisions are best pursued through the use of a fictional shareholder concept, rather than through attempts by directors to ascertain and satisfy to the extent possible the conflicting preferences of their corporations actual shareholders and perhaps other stakeholders as well then the fictional diversified shareholder concept, despite its significant implementation difficulties, is the preferred alternative among those here considered. .

Osmosis In A Potato :: Papers

Osmosis In A Potato Intro: ====== My biology coursework is based round the osmosis process that takes place in potatoes. Osmosis is the intake of a salt solution through a selectively permeable membrane. The strength of a salt solution can have a dramatic difference on the amount the potato can take in, and how it reacts. Here is an example of a selectively permeable membraneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Salt Solution [IMAGE][IMAGE] Strong Weak [IMAGE] Strong Weak Salt Solution [IMAGE] Variables: An fundamental necessity in my biology experiment is to decide which variable I am going to use and modify. A variable is an aspect of the experiment which can be modified in order to change the outcome of the entire osmosis experiment. Below are the variables I have available * Temperature * Solution Strength * Size Of Potato * Weight Of Potato After a lot of careful deliberation I have decided to use the solution strength as my variable. I chose this because it enables me to witness the effect different strengths of solution have on osmosis. Method: To carry out my experiment successfully I will need to stick to the diagram belowà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. [IMAGE] Firstly, I will take 6 test tubes with different strength salt solutions and add them to a test tube rack. I will then cut up a potato and measure them to make sure they are the required size, for this experiment I have chosen 1.0cm. I will then add two measurements of potato into each test tube. The test tube will then be left over night in a fuming cupboard, and results will be taken the next morning. Fair Test: To make sure my experiment is fair I will stand by the following guidelinesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ * Use the same sized test tube. * Make sure each strength is measured exactly. * Make sure each piece of potato is exactly the same size as the next.

How the Media Distorts Male Self-Perception Essay -- Exploratory Essay

How the Media Distorts Male Self-Perception Women are insecure. They constantly diet and scrutinize their bodies. They fall victims to the anorexically thin models appearing in the media. Why do men have it so easy? For years these questions are what women asked themselves. In a world where appearance is everything, women have been the main source of all the hype concerning the image and body. Advertisements have been criticized for years about putting the pressures of the â€Å"perfect† body into the heads of millions of women. Up until a few years ago, it was believed that only women had the eyes of society on them. Now the scales are balancing. More men are beginning to feel pressured, by the same society, to have a muscular body and to portray a perfect male image. However, some men are taking this pressure to the extremes. The media is having a negative effect on the way men view their bodies making them feel as if they need to look like the models shown, which can often result in muscle dysm orphia. Through exposure to the media, primarily advertisements and movies, the physical appearance of the male body has drastically changed, from barely seeing the torso to men in their briefs. In past decades, the male body was portrayed in a â€Å"rugged† sort of way (Luciano 4). It didn’t matter how many muscles the man had or the degree of atonement, but the way that the man carried himself. He was his own seller in a busy market. If he wanted to appear tough and manly, the way he presented and carried himself would make all the difference. For example, in the first two Rocky films, Rocky, played by Sylvester Stallone, is â€Å"beefy† yet buff (Law). He is the idol of women portrayed as ... ...s in Magazines.† Journal and Mass Communication Quarterly. Autumn 2002: 697-711. ABI/INFORM Global. Proquest Horn Lib., Babson Park, MA. 11 Feb.. 2003 . Luciano, Lynne. Looking Good: Male Body Image in Modern America. New York: Hill and Wang, 2001. Olivardia, Roberto. â€Å"Muscle Dysmorphia in Male Weightlifter: A Case Control Study.† American Journal of Psychiatry. Aug 2000: 1291-6. ABI/INFORM Global. Proquest Horn Lib., Babson Park, MA. 11 Feb 2003 . Pope, H.G.. â€Å"Muscle Dysmorphia: a New Syndrome in Weightlifter.† British Journal Of Sports Medicine. Oct. 2002: 375-8 Expanded Academic ASAP. Infotrac. Horn Lib., Babson Park, MA 11 Feb 2003

Weather Investigation

Aim: To record the temperature around School to try to discover if there is a microclimate. Hypothesis: There is a microclimate around the school. The temperature will change. Geographical Theory What is a microclimate? The climate of a small, specific place within a larger area. An area as small as a yard or park can have several different microclimates depending on how much sunlight, shade, or exposure to the wind there is at a particular spot. Compare macroclimate. Plan: In my experiment I am going to measure * Wind speed * Wind direction * Temperature- caretakers room, the English room, Italian room, tree by tennis courts * Air pressure * Rain fall * Cloud cover Method 1) Firstly, we went to the Geography room where we took a look at the Barometer. We read the black needle and then turned the gold needle to the black needle so that tomorrow we would be able to read the air pressure for today. 2) Then we went outside to the rain gauge near the pond. We lifted it up and read how many millimetres of water were inside it. We then emptied it so that tomorrow we cold read from fresh. 3) Next, we went to the tennis courts and measured the wind speed and wind direction using an anemometer and our finger. To use the anemometer you need to hold the digital reader in your hand and lift the other part until you get the highest reading. We licked our finger to find the wing direction and also used a compass then where our finger felt the coldest was where the wing was coming from. 4) We the measured the cloud cover by using observation and counted the number of clods comparing it in eighths. 5) Finally, we measured the temperature around the school reading the results from four different thermometers situated in four different places around the school. These are: the Italian room, the English room, the tennis courts and outside the caretakers room. We measured the current temperature from a normal thermometer and the lowest and highest temperature of the day from a max. min. thermometer. Analysis On Wednesday there was the least amount of air pressure but the most amount of rainfall. It also had the slowest wind speed but the highest number of oktas. Also,on Friday there was the most amounts of air pressure and the lowest number of oktas for the cloud cover. Description of results: On Monday the air pressure amount was between the highest and lowest amount, 998 mb. It had a lot of rainfall of 10 mm and the highest fastest wind speed of 6.4 ms going into the direction of east and 7 oktas for cloud cover. On Tuesday it had the second smallest amount of air pressure of 989 mb and the median amount of rainfall which is 5.5 mm. The wind speed was one of the slowest as it was only 5.1 ms heading east. There were 6 oktas for cloud cover. On Wednesday there was the least amount of air pressure with 981 mb and the most rainfall which is 11.5 mm. It had the slowest of wind speed of 0.75 ms heading south – east and the most cloud cover of 7 oktas. On Thursday it was a median amount of air pressure, 998 mb and the second smallest amount of rainfall with 5 mm but on that day the rain gauge tipped over so 5 mm was not the correct result. There was a wind speed of 5.9 heading south and the cloud cover was of 6 oktas. Lastly on Friday there was the highest amount of air pressure, 1012 mb and the lowest amount of rainfall which was 1.8mm. The wind speed consisted of 6 heading north the cloud cover being 5 oktas as the lowest. Conclusion I have concluded that there is a microclimate in different places around St Michael's Grammar School. But on certain days it was more obvious then others. This is because all the temperatures are varied because of small changes such as facing south- which is where the sun is, or if there is a building in the way which can block sunlight, or if the weather is cloudy, which blocks the sun from getting to a certain area, which changes the temperature in the different areas. Evaluation This investigation was quite accurate but there are a few ways I would make this better. First of all I would make sure that the rain gauge is straight and steady so that it collects the right amount of rain that should be collected so that the rainfall results will be completely 100% accurate. Next I would make sure that the wind speed results are correct as well by using the anemometer properly and waiting longer for the highest amount of wind speed so that we can get a larger result. Another thing is to reset the temperature everyday at the exact minute from the past 24 hours so that the temperature will be accurate for every day. Overall the investigation had reasonably accurate results and there are ways to improve it but it in the end it was a great weather investigation.