Construction Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Construction Economics - Essay Example 2.0 Basis of the Report and Assumptions The report is based on the relevance of cost benefit analysis in determining the feasibility of a project. It is assumed that the developer is aware of the prevailing market rates but is not conversant with the costing strategy that can match the rates. The essence of this report is therefore to recommend the actions on whether the project is viable or not depending on the cost benefit analysis results (Schmitt, B., 2007). 3.0 Site Location Information The construction site is located in London, towards the south east of England. It has a conglomeration of retail constructions, residential and commercial properties. The environment is well developed and the area has easy accessibility to the center of London City. The plan is to have the ground floor as a shell for tenants who intend to rent to fit them out to their suitability. The rest of the floors will be for multipurpose businesses. Figure 1: Rental Units in the Commercial area Figure 2: R ental Units in the Residential Area 4.0. Market Conditions Affecting Value The construction site is in a prime area. The demand in the area for real estate properties is so high in the area pushing the cost of acquisition and development of the plot to go up. ... assessment, the competition from other developers in the area could be a challenge however setting competitive rates will be advantageous to the business (Schmitt, B., 2007). Also the inflation rates in the real estate property market could be a challenge however with the stability in the market the rates could be manageable to the stakeholders. Using the same assumptions, the future demand may be unbearable but the value of the project may be a great advantage to the stakeholders in the future. The high demand for land in the area and the continued rising rates is propelling the already high costs. 5.0 Developers Budget 5.1. Development Cost The cost of development at the present market value covers the cost of acquisition of the site together with the cost of labor and construction materials. The budget for the development is as follows: Demolition: ? 150,000 Planning costs and fees, including s.106 agreement – upgrading infrastructure: ? 250,000 Site surveys: ? 25,000 Const ruction costs: Infrastructure: ? 273,000 Landscaping: ? 15,000 Structure: ?1,100/m2 Extra for office floors: ? 550/m2 Extra for residential floors: ? 650/m2 5.2. Expected return Out of the budget, the return from the rental units will determine whether the expenses are higher than the earnings or less. The present market rates for residential property units will earn about ?500 per month, coming to about ?6000 per unit per month. For the 7 rental units available, the total earning will be ?42000 per year. For every office unit, the project will earn about twice that of residential units, which is about ?84, 000 per year. Parking will be expected to earn about ?10000 per year, making the total annual revenue a consolidated estimate of about ?136000 per year. With the continuous growth in market

See below Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

See below - Essay Example I was wrong. I never thought I would ever leave the Philippines. I was brought up by parents who were completely supporting of my holistic needs – as well as those of my siblings. I am the eldest in the brood with one feisty brother and one totally gregarious sister. I was the timid one; wholly and totally satisfied to be confined in my neat and cozy shell. My parents were both working in the old commercial district of Manila. I remember bidding them daily goodbyes as I was barely awake, stirring sleepily from our shared bed. I was confidently placed under the tender, loving care of my maternal grandmother, who, together with a totally high-tempered grandfather, made sure that my day was full with fun activities to keep me away from mischief. A routine and ordinary day comprised of watching chicken being fed in the backyard, playing hide and seek, getting a mandatory siesta, indulging in native delicacies as snacks, and patiently waiting for the return on my parents from work. The sheltered and traditional practice of child care that was applied partly contributed to the shy behavior. Entering school one month late was another. My working mother must have missed the fact that I was already old enough at five to enter kindergarten. The feeling of being watched and stared at by a bunch of school kids who were already familiar with each other gave me a traumatic experience about early education. I refused to socialize and fairly developed interpersonal skills. I was always anxious to go home and return to my safe refuge. My family was my life. Both parents were the eldest in their respective nuclear families. Both have seven siblings. Our nuclear family lived with my maternal familial lineage. Growing up meant sharing every possible thing with relatives: shelter, food, time, entertainment, stories, laughter, sorrows, emotions, bonds, life. Every meal was a feast to behold – taking into account the number of people sharing the meal, despite the modest y and simplicity of the blessing. Every night was spent in front of the black and white television set watching programs that were legends in their own rights: Hawaii Five-O, Six Million Dollar Man, Wild Wild West, Mission Impossible and local programs. I was never aware that there would come a time when we would all part ways. My godfather, who was also my uncle, first left for the United States to try his luck. I could barely understand what that means – except that he would leave his motorcycle and entrusted it to his brother. My auntie, a very skilled baker, who loved to bake all sorts of pastries: pineapple pies, cakes, waffles, was the next to migrate to the U.S. I will never forget that she was the person who introduced me to one of my most loved cakes of all time, Sans Rival. I can still remember the afternoon she started preparing to bake it. The ingredients were lined up in structured order: butter, flour, sugar, cashew nuts, among others. I was so excited to taste the cake that smelled so good and took so painstakingly long to prepare. I realized that was the first and last time I would savor the recipe from her. Marriage, death, and simply growing up were other reasons for parting. I was already in my teens when I tried to get in touch with relatives who lived in America. I missed them so much that I dreamed of being reconnected with them. The failing health of my parents likewise provided the impetus for a persistent

Approaches To Hr By Multinational Corporations Management Essay

Approaches To Hr By Multinational Corporations Management Essay For better understanding this is important to discuss what a multinational company is in first place. In short words multinational company can be defined as a company or an organization that serves or produce in more than one country is known as multinational company. Other names use for such kind of organizations is Multinational Corporation (MNC), Transnational Corporation (TNC) or Multinational Enterprise (MNE). Multinational organization can be engaged in manufacturing, services or the exploitation of natural resources in the operating countries. Different writers described different definition of multinational companies. According to Moore Lewis (1999, P. 21) stated that an enterprise that engages in foreign direct investment (FDI) and own or controls value adding activities in more than one country is known as multinational enterprise. As Jones (1996, p.4) says An MNE is usually defined as firm that controls operations or income generating assets in more than one country. The re is a long list of multinational firms like Sony, Nestle, Wal-Mart Stores, General Motors, Ford Motor, ConocoPhillips Microsoft, Nokia, Toyota Motors, Intel, Coco-Cola, Sony, IBM, Nike and Citigroup etc. Now the main question is about the multinational companies of different origin adopt different approaches of HRM practices. To discuss this section this is really important to discuss the HRM practices in first place, to define what HRM is and then its practices will be discussed throughout this essay step by step, and then practices of HRM in broader context for the MNCs or MNEs. HRM is modern word use in the businesses, which can be defined as a model of personnel management that focuses on the individual rather than taking collective approach. (www.dictionary.bnet.com). As Pennington Edwards (2000, P. 4) stated that Human Resource Management (HRM) is a new way of thinking about how people should be managed as employees in the workplace. It can be classified into two schools of thoughts.i.e. Hard HRM Soft HRM. Both types of HRM are under studies of different authors in detail. Now to concentrate on the question directly a survey is going to be under studies Country of origin effects and HRM in multinational companies which took place in 2007 by P. Edwards et al. In which he discussed 302 UK based multinational companies, which cover both UK owned and overseas owned companies. This study will play an important part in the essay to get the conclusion either multinational companies of different nationalities have different HRM approaches and practices or not. 2- Challenges in multinationals According to Brett, Jeanne Kristin, 2006, international businesss nature is going under a sea change. The globalisation, multi-nationalisation, and the geographical diversification is pushing companies towards change in their management structure and style. Multinationals now need to consider regional market conditions and develop strategies to cater to each of the regional markets. 2.1- Culture shock Culture shock is the big challenge for multinationals, the difference brings the different thinking ways and working ways, and it needs time to adjust it. In most cases the expatriate manager prefer to emphasize and require the home office or home country values on the host countrys employees instead of accepting and learning within the new culture. (Adler, 2002) 2.2- Lack of cross cultural training In fact, most multinationals ignore this training program during the staffing management. However, the better understanding about culture block can help managers to improve the effectiveness of staffing management. For example, The managers at Bell Canada were totally asked be training about Muslim laws of drinking and the treating of women there before he or she assigned a project for Saudi Arabia such like constructing the telephone system in there. (Adler, 2002) 2.3- Family problems Family problem for PNC manager is another challenge. The overseas employees always think of their family. Sometime, such emotion will effect the concentrations in their work. These difficulties are usually underestimated. What the organization should do is to assist expatriates family to adapt their new environment. (Dolan, 1996) 3- HRM Functions in MNCs Team members of multinational companies come from different countries with the different culture, economic, religions and habits. All of these differences bring the different thinking and working methods, thus, how to manage the multicultural team is a big challenge for the HRM in the multinationals. In the article Managing multicultural team, the author states that Communication in Western cultures is typically direct and explicit. In many other cultures, meaning is embedded in the way the message is presented. The differences can cause serious damage to team relationships (Jeanne Breeet , Kristin Behfar, and Mary C. Kern, 2007) . 3.1 Retaining subsidiary staffs retention It can be argued that the retention of staffing in the multinationals subsidiary conducts huge influence. The transfers between the PCNs, HCNs and the TCNs are the big issues in the staffing management strategy. Scolders identify that the HCNs and TCNs who are sent to the corporate headquarters (HQ) called inpatriates. As this article mentioned before, the ethnocentric approach, the polycentric approach, the regioncentric approach, and the geocentric approach are the four major nationality staffing policies in the international staffing, by analyzing the complex and the new situation appear in the relationships between the HQ and subsidiary, B. Sebastian Reiche (2007) explores the international stiffing-related retention strategies . Firstly, he claims that a pluralistic and consensus-driven approach to international staffing enhances the retention capacity of international staffing practices through increased responsiveness to and involvement of the respective local unit. He states that the knowledge and skill from the local staff can help multinationals to reduce the risk and culture-bound in the local market. He also believes that this approach can improve the loyalty of local staffs, and the local staff can achieve individual career plan to cohere the institutional development plan. At the same time, he states that the PCNs still act as the vital role for informal controlling and coordination in the multinational companies. Secondly, he indicates that expatriation of local staff can help to retain the MNCss retention. In this approach, he states that the inpatriates can share their social and contextual knowledge of the subsidiary environment with managers at the HQ. And also inpatriates tend to be accepted by HCNs more willingly than foreign personnel. HRM is all concern about the employees at the work place, but the demands from HRM gone up as the education rate grown up. As Pennington and Edwards (2004, P.4) stated that As a level of education become higher, a greater proportion of the population world wide expect more than fair treatment, they seek a range of intrinsic rewards such as job satisfaction, a degree of challenge, a sense of career progression and satisfying relation with co workers. 3.2 Selection Recruiting:- The main function of HRM is selecting and recruiting, no matter the firm is domestic or multinational. Staffing issue for domestic managers and MNCs managers are not very different for recruiting for the middle management or ground floor workers, but for selecting and recruiting of top management then the choices come like parent country national (PCNs), Host country national (HCNs) or third country national (TCNs). According to Parlmutter (1989) divided into three main categories. Ethnocentric where top management favours PCNs managers, who are posted abroad for a period of time. Polycentric where top management give choice to subsidies to fulfil management posts themselves, and Geocentric when top management recruits managers globally and post them anywhere in the world. For example Japanese style of HRM dont rely on interviews and job advertisements, they select the people from the universities and the most top MNCs can afford the students from the most prestigious university. According to Keeley (2001, P.62) stated that unlike the most Western companies detailed job description rarely exist. The company seeks to determine if the prospective employee has the type of personality that fits in well with the atmosphere at the company.While US MNCs rely on interview must attribute of HRM practices in their subsidies. In China, they had no selection processes per se when they first started. Senior managers were appointed by community government-officials. Most of the new hires were based on employee referrals. Selection criteria were based on nepotism and contacts. Hiring decisions are influenced by the following in china: 1. A persons ability to perform the technical requirements of the job 2. A personal interview 3. A persons ability to get along well with others already working here 4. Having the right connections (e.g. school, family, friends, region, government, etc.) 5. The companys belief that the person will stay with the company 6. An employment test in which the Person needs to demonstrate their Skills 7. Proven work experience in a similar job 8. A persons potential to do a good job, even if the person is not that good when they first start 9. How well the person will fit in the companys values and ways of doing things 10. Future co-workers opinions about whether the person should be hired (Huczynski, Andrzej / Buchanan, David, 2001) A most important attribute in Japanese style of HRM is called Shushinkoyo which means life or long term employment. This is considered the success key of Japanese HRM as stated by Keeley (2001, P.65) Nevertheless, a number of scholars both Japanese and non Japanese have praised Shushinkoyo and have attributed the success of Japanese enterprises to its practice. Here this shows that multinational companies from Japan apply different approach for selection the new recruits while US MNCs rely on a different phenomena of selection and recruitment. 3.3 Performance Appraisal:- This is the HR attribute which has significant attention from both academics and practitioners, the appraisal system in US MNCs use to reduce the labour force as stated in Edwards (2007, P. 40) that some US companies, GE for instance, have become known for using the appraisal system to remove the lower- performing employees from the workforce on a regular basis and /or to identify those in need of remedial action for their performance level. But in Japanese MNCs the companies gives the life time or long term employment as mentioned by Keeley (2001) that it is one of the best attribute of Japanese HRM in small Japanese enterprises or Japanese MNCs. Differences can b seen in the Edwards (2007) survey of Japanese and US multinational companies based in UK, where he stated that US companies are more likely to emphasise the importance of behaviour in relation to corporate values, while Japanese firms give lower importance rating to quantitative or qualitative individual evolution criteria , and criteria based on corporate values. In large organizations the performance review on periodic basis, this is second task of organizations HR departments, after hiring an employee and on the basis of performance employee get bonuses, promotions and rewards. Performance appraisals give opportunity to the workers (individual/group) to get prepare for the future goals of firm. 3.4 Pay, Compensations, Rewards Benefits:- Compensations like hourly wages and annual salaries while benefits are like life insurance, pensions and sick pays etc. According to Cherrington (1995) stated that compensation should be legal and ethical, adequate, motivate and fair, and should be able to give employment security to the worker. Pay compensation and rewards are not really different from each other, but in simple words rewards is the term use to motivate and to get the future goals by means of workforce for an organization, the reward system plays an important role, by reward (individual/group) the workers get appreciation and get themselves more committed to the firm. These are the some of the main features and functions of any (domestic/MNCs) firm HR department. In Japanese style of HRM they use a Japanese term Nenko Joretsu which means seniority system, where in Japanese HR management the wages goes up with the age and experience, as stated in Keeley (2001, P. 76) said that though nenko is most often translated as seniority'. While US and Europe MNCs apply the performance related pay system. This is the most important phenomena of MNCs HR system when they go to borderless business. According to Edwards (2007, P. 46) stated in his survey that Nationality has some effects. For example, American firms are likely to give organisational performance a higher importance rating for the KEY GROUP than others firms. UK firms are more likely emphasis individual output measures for LARGEST OCCUPATIONAL GROUP. It shows the difference in attribute of HR practices and approaches in multinational firms. 3.5 Training Development:- This is one of the important as well as crucial task for HR department for a firm operating globally, in this area of HRM multinational companies of different origin follow different approaches, for example according to Tung (1981) stated that by comparing US, European and Japanese corporations, Americans firms it seems tend to underestimate the importance of training, whereas most European and Japanese organizations see this as a highly important area of attention. The objectives and goals of training and development are to make sure the skilled and willing workers are available in the organization. Training and development are important to create a smarter working environment. In China, medium and large companies have formal training programmer and many have established special facilities for teaming purposes. Because of the lower educational level in the rural areas, the quality of the rural labour force is significantly in urban areas. Experienced, well-qualified staffs are in short supply. To disadvantage of hiring Key personnel from a shallow pool of talent, they invest heavily in training. Training is an important investment in human capital. Training improves an individuals performance and increase organizational effectiveness. (Ahlstrom Garry, 2001) Japanese MNCs pay less attention to training and development attribute of HRM, the reason might be the less mobility of workers in the Japanese firms, as they use the term Shushinkoyo. According to Keeley (2001, P. 88) stated that A study of the Japan Productivity Centre found differences in the attitudes towards training in Japanese and American firms. Where Keeley stated that from the study and respond of both countries towards training issue were positive but American firms were strong and more positive then the Japanese firms and he also stated that Japanese firms arrange training on request basis. A strategy which makes a firm successful is not easy to implement when they go beyond the borders, because of the barriers which might be language, religion, culture and legislations etc. As Keeley (2007, P.89) stated that HR practices which makes a firm successful in domestic environment are difficult to implement in their overseas subsidiaries. 4- HRM Approach in Multinational Firms: Now in this essay some of the multinational firms characteristics will be studied to see do they get affected by the country where they belong to in their HR practices and approaches or not? There are many MNCs, the country which has most MNCs is USA, and after that are Europe, Japan and Germany. There are many writers who discussed the issue of ownership and HRM in MNCs like Evan, Lank and Farquhar (1977), Barlett Goshal (1989), Rozenzweig Nohria (1994) and Innes Morris (1995) etc, which prove that the issue of ownership has been in discussion from ages, as according to Economist (1995) said that the issue of ownership is central to the number of important policy related and academic debate in the area of HRM and IR, One line of argument is that, with increasing globalization MNCs are becoming stateless players, detached from individual nation states. MNCs of different origin work in the host country by applying its local mechanism of HR practices and approaches, because it is not possible to work and apply 100% approaches of the parent country, as according to Rozenzweig Nohria (1994) said that a rank and file IR issues are more likely to exhibit local isomorphism . There are many arguments about the affection of country of origin on MNCs HR practices, the reasons are many for MNCs to adopt different approaches of HRM, as Ferner (1997) described that in short, it is imperative to take into account the dynamic of nationality as a factor affecting the behaviour of MNCs. The modernization of political institutions, the rapid pace of technology, the internationalization of product itself and changing pattern of international market and competition, all are likely to modify to pre existing national structure although not necessarily in the direction of convergence of different national systems on a single model. Now the essay will point out some differences in Chinese and American Human Resource Managements. China is one of the fastest growing economy of the world, according to Zhu (2005, P.2) explained that the past two and half decades of reforms and impressive economic growth have witnessed an unprecedented enthusiasm for the establishment of foreign invested enterprises (FIEs). Many foreign companies have expended their operations into china, attracted mainly by the sheer size of its potential market. There are many multinational firms in China like Aluminium Corp (ACH), China Petroleum Chemical Corp (SNP) and China Unicom (CHU) etc. The main practice of HRM is selection and recruitment as mentioned above, and the difference between the process of selection of Chinese and USA approach is, in USA model of HRM job interview is essential for filling a major position, while in Chinese HRM mostly jobs are allocated by government and interview process is not common. In reward system the USA model of HRM offers a variety of incentives system, while Chinese HRM system is different from USA, in Chinese system salary ranges are narrow, group reward system is common, but the pay system is more motivate than American pay system. In performance appraisal USA model of HRM believes in two way communication, while in Chinese model supervisor have absolute power and authority to evaluate subordinates, in USA participative management is welcome and encourage, but in Chinese HRM collective leadership is common, and in major decision making, the involvement of workers is symbolic. The difference can be seen in different origin or nationality MNCs that the US MNCs are significantly more like to collect information on employee attitude bring together HR managers from different countries and use HR international shared services, Japanese organizations are less likely to collect data centrally, while French origin MNCs acting more likely in US style of HRM practices, and German origin MNCs firms follow Japanese style of HRM practices. (Jackson, 2002) The best example is British American Tobacco (BAT), which is operating in a number of countries in the world, i.e. Pakistan, South Africa, UK, Japan, Saudi Arabia and many more. As this is an American based firm, and American have an interview must attribute in their HR practices, they apply the same approach for selecting and recruiting in the host country Pakistan, and the adopt some practices of Pakistan HRM practices (host country) like monthly payment of salaries instead of weekly wages, so its means BAT reflected their parent country HRM practices in some ways and in subsidies like UK, BAT apply the same HR practices and approaches as the parent country have, because the culture difference is not very distinct from each other i.e. UK and USA. (www.bat.com) (self experience as a worker of BAT in Pak) 5- Conclusion This essay was carried out to see, do multinational organizations of different origin have different approaches to international human resource management? There were some evidences that showed the answer as Yes they get affected by its country of origin in on or other way, but it is also proved that the most of MNCs adopt the best fit policy when MNCs start operating in a host country, because of the obstacles in the host country, i.e. language, religion, norms and values, culture and legislations. Writers in HRM field have different opinion about the behaving of MNCs, so the best option for MNCs is to apply the best fit approaches of the HRM practices, means combination of both (Parent Host countries) HRM practices. The issue of ownership country of MNC has been in discussion for ages, but still there is not a 100% accurate answer came out as according to Ferner (1997) said that but existing research has failed to systematically explore differences. All these discussion and researchers efforts bring the conclusion that in some HR attributes in MNCs they follow the a universal approach while in some they follow the different approaches in HR practices, according to the survey by Edwards (2007) stated that throughout the report, we have noted the persistent influence of nationality. There are clear national differences in all four area of HR/ER: Pay performance, Learning development, employee involvement and employee representation. But the bottom line can be that: yes! Multinational firms of different origin can be effected by the parent country HR practices when the run business in other part of the world instead of the home country. There are some obstacles for multinational companies which can stop them to apply the 100% parent country HR practices in their subsidies like legislation of the host country, rules and regulation and more, there is term used in Edwards (2007, P.29) survey of Multinational companies in UK called discretion or local autonomy. Which shows multinational companies of different origin give the power of decision making and freedom to their subsidies? In that survey the high discretion power firms are Japanese, which means Japanese multinational companies give more freedom to their subsidies comparatively to American, French and other Multinational firms of different origin. But another thing can be the law enforcement of subsidies (host Country), the example can be Germany where the rules and regulation are strict so the difference in practices of HR of a multinational firm would not be as bigger as in Pakistan, because of the law enforcement, like differences would be less in Europe but it would be greater in Asia. Reference and Bibliography 1- Acuff, F. (1984) International and Domestic Human Resource Functions: Innovations in International Compensation. New York: Organization Resources Counsellors, pp. 3-5. 2- Bartlett, C., Goshal, S. (1989) Managing across Borders : The Transnational Solution, Boston, Harvard Business School Press. 3- Briscoe, R.D. Schuler, R.S (2004) International Human Resource Management; 2nd Ed, New York, Prentice Hall. 4- Cherrington, D, J. (1995) the management of human resources; Enkweed Cliff, NJ: Printice Hall. 5- Edwards, P. at al. (2007) employment practices of multinational companies in organisational context: Available at: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/wbs/projects/mncemployment/conference_papers/full_report_july.pdf 6- Ferner, A (1997) Country of origin effects and HRM in Multinational companies, Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 7, no.1, 19 28 7- Ferner, A. (2000) The embeddedness of US multinational companies in the US business system: implementation of HR/IR. 8- Harzing, W. A. Ruysseveldt, V.J. (1995) International Human Resource Management; London, SAGE Publications Ltd. 9- Harzing, W. A. Ruysseveldt, V.J. (2004) International Human Resource Management; 2nd ed. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. 10- Jemison, D, B. Sitkin, S, B (1986) Corporate acquisition: A process perspective. Academy of Management Review, 11, 145 163 11- Jackson, T. (2002) International HRM: A cross cultural approach, London; SAGE publications Ltd. 12- Jones, G. (1996) The Evolution of International Business: An Introduction; London, Routledge. 13- Keeley, T.D. (2001) International Human Resource Management in Japanese firms. Hampshire: PALGRAVE MACMILLAN. 14- KPMG (Ed) (1999) unlocking shareholder value: The keys to success. London 15- Maund, L. (2001) An Introduction to Human Resource Management: theory and practice; Basingstoke, Palgrave. 16- Moore, K. Lewis, D. (1999) Birth of Multinational; Denmark, AKA Print. 17- Ozbilgin, M. (2005) International Human Resource Management Theory and Practice. Hampshire: PALGRAVE MACMILLAN. 18- Parlmutter, H.V (1969) the tortuous evolution of the multinational corporation, Columbia Journal of World Business, 4 (1), pp. 9 18 19- Pennington, A. Edwards, T (2000) Introduction to Human Resource Management; New York, Oxford University Press Inc. 20- Pucik, V. (1984) the international management of Human Resources, in: Fombrum, C.J. Tichy, N.M. and Devana, M.A. (eds.) Strategic HRM. New York: Wiley, pp. 403 419. 21- Rozenzweig, P Nohria, N. (1994) Influence of human resource management practices in multinational corporation Journal of International Business Studies, Vol.25, no.2, 229 251 22- Stopford, J. M. Turner, L. (1985) Britain And The Multinationals; Chichester, JOHN WILEY SONS. 23- Tayab, H.M. (2005) International Human Resource Management: A Multinational Company Perspective; New York, Oxford University Press Inc. 24- The, economist. (1995). A survey of multinationals. 24th June 25- Tung, R.L. (1981) Selecting and training of personnel for overseas assignments, Columbia Journal of World Business, 16 (1), pp.68 78. 26- www.bat.com [online] Access date: 01st Aug 2009 Available at: http//:www.bat.com/group/sites/UK_3MNFEN.nsf/vwPagesWebLive/DO6Z2KVH?opendocumentSKN=1 27- Zhu, C.J. (2005) Human Resource management in China: Past, current and future HR practices in the industrial sector; New York, Routledge Curzon. 28- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualitative_research 29- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staffing 30- International dimensions of human resource management, Peter J. Dowing Randall s. Schuler, page 4 31- Managing the global work force: Challenges and strategies, Academy of Management Executive, Roberts,K.Kossek,E.E., and Ozeki,C(1998) 12(4): 6-16 32- Adler,N.J.(2002) International dimensions of Organizational behavior, 4th edn 33- Shimon L. Dolan. International HRM Ecole de relations industrielles, Case postale 6128 Montreal, 1996 34- Brett, Jeanne; Behfar, Kristin; Kern, Mary C.. Harvard Business Review, Nov2006, Vol. 84 Issue 11, p88 (AN 22671287) 35- Edstrom, A., Galbraith, J. R. (1977). Transfer of managers as a coordination and control strategy in multinational organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 22: 248-263. 36- David G. Collings, Hugh Scullion and Michael J. Morley, Journal of World Business 42.2 (June 2007): p200. 37- Tahvanainen, M., Welch, D., Worm, V. (2005), Implications of short-term international assignments. European Management Journal, 23: p663-673. 38- David G. Collings, Hugh Scullion and Michael J. Morley, Journal of World Business 42.2 (June 2007): p210. 39- Sebastian Reiche, International Journal of Human Resource Management , 8.4 (April 2007): p529. B. Sebastian Reiche, International Journal of Human Resource Management , 8.4 (April 2007): p529. B. Sebastian Reiche, International Journal of Human Resource Management , 8.4 (April 2007): p530. 40-http://www.colmr.research.va.gov/mgmt_research_in_va/methodology/qualitative_research.cfm 41- Ahlstrom, David / Bruton, Garry / Chan, Eunice S. :HRM of foreign firms in China: The Challenge of Managing Host Country Personnel, Business Horizons 44(3), 2001, p, 59 68. 42- Blake, John / Amat Salas, Oriol / Wraith, Philip: Joint ventures in China a Spanish case, European Business Review 97(4), 1997, p. 155 161. 43- Foster, Dean: The Global Etiquette Guide: China, http://workabroad.monster.com/articles/chinaetiquitte/, 2001. 44- Huczynski, Andrzej / Buchanan, David: Organizational Behaviour An Introductory Text, 4th edition, London: Prentice Hall, 2001. 45- Brett, Jeanne; Behfar, Kristin; Kern, Mary C.. Harvard Business Review, Nov2006, Vol. 84 Issue 11, p87 (AN 22671287) 46- Adler,N.J.(2002) International dimensions of Organizational behavior, 4th edn

Amazing Grace Essay -- essays research papers

Amazing Grace, written by Jonathan Kozol.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At first glance, it seems that the author is going to take us on yet another journalistic ride through the land of the poor. Similar to the ones you read about, or hear in the news. However, this is not the case; the real underlying theme is what is society doing about the plight of the poor? Kozol uses the views of children to emphasize that these reports on living conditions are not being obtained by â€Å"disgruntled† adults, but from innocent, learning children whose only misfortune was being born to this particular area.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The author takes us from the seventh richest congressional district in the nation (being E 59th Street in New York City) to the poorest in the nation. A mere eighteen-minute ride by subway to the South Bronx, to a little place called Mott Haven; where the median family income for the 48000 residents is only $7,600. An area known for crack-cocaine and heroin; prostitution; poor hospital care, where one-quarter of new mothers tested in obstetric wards are HIV positive; and the police say is the deadliest precinct in the city.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Kozol writes about the trials and tribulations of everyday â€Å"normal† life for the children and people who live here. Normal for them however is quite different than it is for most of us. Living with drug dealers, pollution, poor hospital care and an abominable education system not to mention the social system of the city, is the â€Å"norm† for these children. In his interviews with the children of this squalid neighborhood, we find that the children speak honestly and freely about their feelings. Forgotten, hidden, abandoned, are just some of the words that come to mind. One boy named â€Å"Malcolm X† wears his hair in a style referred to as â€Å"25 years to life†. His sister asks â€Å"Like in prison..? This is how you want to wear your hair?† His reply †You don’t have to be in jail to be in prison†. This is just one of many examples given to show the reader the effects that this environment has upon you ths.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As we read further, we find that there are multitudes of problems inherent within the South Bronx. One of the only ways of determining where these problems stem from is by looking at the possible reasons as to why they exist. Drugs, violence, AIDS infections, are not new, ... ... must use more education targeted towards social issues in their schools and community to help people learn to live healthier lifestyles. They must make it known that drug dealing and violence are not â€Å"all right†, and to help people obtain some sort of unity. The well known community members need to get involved in politics so that their voices can be heard and let the City know their communities needs/requirements. Creating support groups for people with AIDS, ex-addicts, people who have lost a family member, also for people who just need a place to talk and get their frustrations out would help the community as a whole. If the people of the South Bronx would act as a community bound together to help themselves and each other, there would be less tolerance for deviant behavior among its’ members. The City must also be made more accountable for its’ actions. Clean-up and reconstruction of Times Square to Battery Park is a step in the right direction. How ever, painting a mural of â€Å"†¦ flowers, window shades and curtains and interiors of pretty-looking rooms†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 31) on the walls of empty buildings in the Bronx, just to give the illusion that this area is a good neighborhood, is not.

Egyptian Art vs Renaissance Art Essay

The ancient Egyptians have had a huge impact on the world today. From Cleopatra, to The Mummy movies, the theme that is Egyptian is something that is very easily recognized. Egyptian art is very flat with exaggerated body parts. These figures have very long arms and legs with pointy eyes. Pointy eyes are a vanity thing that is still sought after and many women achieve this look with liquid eyeliner. Another factor that makes Egyptian art special is their color pallet. The Egyptians used many warm colors such as various shades of brown, red, yellow, and orange. The frescos done by the Egyptians were done with egg and vinegar. One thing I found that was very interesting is that the Egyptians painted males with a dark reddish skin tone, and they painted the women a lighter yellow color. This shows that men were very active outdoors and they women were mainly indoors. This shows how important detail was to Egyptians and that their paintings were very accurate to how they were living. Renaissance style art is classical and most known for their religious pieces. A characteristic Renaissance art had that Egyptian did not was mannerism. Mannerism in Renaissance art included unusual poses of figures and the body language. Compared to the Egyptian’s stiff style, Renaissance art contained much movement and was very soft to look at. Below is a mannerist painting. As you can see the poses seem strange to few, but regardless the painting contains bold colors with the focal point being the woman and her pale skin. One of the things that differentiate Egyptian art to Renaissance art is that Renaissance art uses realism. Their paintings include drawing of people in a realistic way. The people in Egyptian art do not exactly look how a real person would look today. Below, is a renaissance style portrait of Raphael Sanzio compared to an Egyptian painting of the pharaoh. What they both have in common is that they are both of males, they are both wearing head pieces, and both seem to be inspired by the human body. Their differences include color, dimensions perspective, makeup, props, and clothing to name a few. Comparing Egyptian art to Renaissance art is like comparing pizza to sushi. Both very different but amazing in their own way. Both types of art had a huge impact on art today and are considered timeless. As an artist in my spare time, I look up to both styles as my inspiration.

The Effects of Long and Short Term Stress

The Effects of Long and Short Term Stress Teresa Mcilwain PS2150-3 Emry Somnarain October 21, 2012 What does the term Stress mean? Stress is a term used in many different ways. Stress also can refer to events and circumstances, also examinations that can cause unease; to the specific body responses to such events, like Rapid heartbeat; or the mind's and body's try to deal with in order to recapture a sense of wellness.Stoklos defines stress as  a state of imbalance within a person, drawing out by actual or bought on different enviromental demands and the person's capacity to cope the demands†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What is the Effect of Short Term Stress? Short-term stress or acute stress is your reaction to an immediate threat. Divorce or sometime as simple as a deadline is a threat . This is kno wn as â€Å"fight or flight† response. The body is effected by stress is sleep disturbances.Insomnia is one form of sleep disorder. Short- term stress can be back pain, shoulder, or neck pain, Stress can even cause tension or migraine headaches. Depending on the nature of stress, you could experience rashes and hives or even hair loss. Your feet and hands may get cold as your blood flow is redirected from your skin to your heart. Shortness of breath may occur, if you have a touch of asthma and can cause asthma attacks. There are many more ways that stress can effects the body.What are the Long Term effects of Stress? Long-Term stress is the same as chronic stress has been defined by Pearlin as â€Å"the relatively enduring Problems and, conflicts and threats that people face in their daily lives. † The most known bases for this type of stress are family problems with spouse, parents, or children; love or sex problems; job related or s can  break down your immune syst em and make you very vulnerable to infection, including cold and flu symptoms.Prolonged stress can cause then you can suffer from Digestive problems, like constipation and diarrhea. Most people that have lots of stress turn to eating that end up being obese problems; and any other competitive involvement. Long-stress GREGORY L. WEISS, LYNNE E. LONNQUIST,. The Sociology of Health, Healing, and Illness BYESTRESS,htt://www. byestress. com/byestress-articles/effects-0f-stress-on-the-body. htm

The role of David Lloyd George at the Paris Peace Conference essays

The role of David Lloyd George at the Paris Peace Conference essays The Treaty of Versailles, signed on January 18th 1919, was an attempt by the victorious powers to put an end to the First World War. Dominated by the Big Three, consisting of America, France and Britain, the talks ultimately became a forum for conflicting interests and compromises; an exercise in expediency rather than a genuine attempt at a solid solution. However, while it is easy to look back with hindsight and make judgements on this most abused and the least perused document of history , the British Prime Minister David Lloyd George performed to the best of his abilities, and arguably achieved each of his aims. This essay is an analytical look at his role at Versailles, his decisions and the reasoning behind them in order to determine the degree of success with which he can be awarded. Prior to the Paris Peace Conference, and indeed prior to the First World War, the relationship between Britain and Germany was an ambiguous one. Whilst the two had an almost symbiotic relationship dependent on exports, there existed a lasting rivalry between them, most notably on the naval front wherein Germany posed a serious threat to Britains long-term domination of the sea. Following the war, Britain, whilst territorially unscathed, had lost many men through combat and also had to shoulder a large percentage of the debt incurred by the allies. Economically the country was on a knife edge: exports were at an all time low due to outdated factories, high tariffs and foreign competition, whilst unemployment was at an all time high. With this in mind, it is perhaps easy to see the self-preserving attitude with which Lloyd George entered Versailles. Britain was not only economically unbalanced, the public also had a great political influence. Mass unemployment, threats to the British empirical reputation and severe economic downturn all translated into a popular desire for revenge against the alleged German &apos...

Impact of Gambling on the Bahamian Economy

Impact of Gambling on the Bahamian Economy Introduction Bahamian Economy The economy of The Bahamas is strongly shaped by aspects of the growth of touristic services and packages, foreign dominance of its main sectors, development of financial services, foreign capital inflows as well as a state revenue collection through indirect taxation (primarily of the import customs), while evading taxation on earnings and corporate gains (Karagiannis and Madjd-Sadjadi, 2011 p.96).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Impact of Gambling on the Bahamian Economy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Analysts perceive the potential of high volume tourism for increasing income levels and boost employment opportunities for locals that has significant influence in foreign exchange earnings. Nevertheless, this nature of tourism services is highly susceptible to international political economy, foreign exchange, prone to global environmental problems, and external shocks (Karagiannis and Madjd-Sadjadi, 2011 p.96). The Bahamian economy is modelled to structurally and technologically dependent due to disparities in the trend of domestic market demand and the type of good supplied (Karagiannis and Madjd-Sadjadi, 2011 p.97). A wide range of economic transactions in The Bahamas are associated with foreign trade. Activities in the agricultural sector are less developed to the extend that a large quota of food products is sourced from outside the country in order to meet the demand. Population growth and tourism boom are the main factors contributing to food deficits. Consequently there has been an exponential growth in the food import bill as well as a decline in the balance of payments (Karagiannis and Madjd-Sadjadi, 2011 p.97). This has caused challenges in diffusing financial benefits from the tourism into other sectors of the economy. Lottery in The Bahamas Gambling premises particularly casinos were inconsistent and have influenced the economy of the Bahamas for ove r 9 decades (Boxill 2009, p.3). Lottery activities particularly in casinos are designed to favour tourism development. Sources from the government of The Bahamas indicate that the first of gambling casinos in the name of the Bahamian Club opened for business from the capital of Nassau towards the close of the 1920s decade (Boxill 2009, p.3). Later, another gambling premises was opened by the name Cat Cay (Boxill 2009, p.4). The two premises had a small capacity for patrons and centred on attracting tourists. They operated fully during the winter seasons. The lottery activities served as complimentary for other entertainment experiences for the tourists. In the 1960s decade, there was a boom in the casino gambling business throughout the archipelago; with the Play Boy Casino set up in 1978, but later closed in 1983 (Boxill 2009, p.4). By April 2009, there was an approximate five gambling casinos doing business in The Bahamas.Advertising Looking for essay on business economic s? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The traditional paper lottery is now challenged by the online version known as the web shop gaming. This form of virtual gambling eases the need for physical presence during the lottery activities. Participants experience a simulated experience close to the physical one. In a bid to regulate casino gambling, The Bahamas put in-place the Lotteries and Gaming Act in 1969 (Boxill 2009, p.4). The Act was later amended for public ownership of casino premises. The amended act allowed the Hotel Corporation of The Bahamas to have the monopoly license for carrying out business of gaming at any establishment (Boxill 2009, p.4). In addition, an operator was issued with a license to manage a gambling casino. Licenses were to be issued after consensus between the minister overseeing gaming and the Gaming Board. As provided in the official government website, the Gaming Board is vested with the mandate t o regulate the lottery activities (Boxill 2009, p.4). The mandate is mainstreamed within a range of stipulated activities. The Board shall update the status according to the extent, character and geographical site for gaming establishments operated by a premises as per the issued license. The Board shall screen the lottery business as per guidelines of the act, so as to rid off any criminal elements in the industry. The Board shall offer Certificates of Approval as well as Permits to prospective employees intending to operate, supervise or manage gaming. The Board maintains close vigilance on the Certificate and Permit holders for any malpractices or contravention. The Board shall cause the initiation of amendments to the Gaming Act as well as provide advise to the Minister in this regard. The Board liaises with the respective associations in gaming to inform on any developments as well as technological advances within the industry as a way of keeping abreast. Finally, maintain ties with the International Gaming Regulators for information exchange. Lottery amenities have to directly pay to the government of The Bahamas four forms of gaming levies, that is application levy for casino personnel, basic taxes, levies for permits and certificates as well as winning taxes (Edwards, 2009, p.33). Based on the Casino Taxation Act rates levied are proportionate to the floor space occupied. In addition, winnings during games are charged taxes but to some limit. The highest amount of basic taxes charged on casinos based on the business type is US$ 200 000 (Edwards, 2009, p.33). Taxes on winnings are calculated as 25 percent of the gross.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Impact of Gambling on the Bahamian Economy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Table 1: Lottery Taxes to The Government between July 1999 and June 2000 Category of Tax Amount Basic taxes (for three selected casinos @ US$ 200 000) US$ 600 000 Winning Taxes US$ 19 369 273 Levies for approvals (permits and certificates) US$ 35 830 Application fees for Casino personnel US$ 46 600 Overall lottery Earnings accrued US$ 20 051 703 Source: Edwards (2009, p.34) The above table implies that table winning is the major source of government revenue (at US$ 19 369 273). Table 2: Over the Time (From 1993 to 2003) Annual Expenditure Data By the Gaming Board of The Bahamas Year Personal Emoluments ($) Other Charges ($) Total ($) 1993–1994 1,372,225 458,345 1,830,570 1994–1995 1,457,490 532,111 1,989,601 1995–1996 1,456,145 589,872 2,046,017 1996–1997 1,667,543 671,142 2,338,685 1997–1998 1,708,163 622,040 2,330,203 1998–1999 1,919,654 683,238 2,602,892 1999–2000 2,031,951 765,331 2,797,282 2000–2001 2,112,540 721,582 2,834,122 2001–2002 2,353,302 706,388 3,059,690 2002–2003 2,633,182 800,185 3,433,367 Source: Edwards (2009, p.36 ) Figure 1: Annual Expenditure and Taxes Patterns for the Gaming Board Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Source: Edwards (2009, p.36) Based on the Gaming Board expenditure figures and annual revenue for 2002/2003, it is evident that the government remains with a net revenue earning of 85 percent that is utilized within the Bahamian economy for other services. Taxation of Lottery Amenities Globally, The Bahamas provide a model of how the government ceases control and legalises gaming activities leading to positive impacts in tourism resort-based casinos as a social facility which attracts more than 4.5 million international visitors (Edwards, 2009, p.21). Lottery facilities provide jobs, government taxes, foreign exchange earnings as well as investment opportunities. The initial efforts to raise tax revenue from lottery activities in The Bahamas was in 1964 through a legislation- the Casino Taxation Act of December 29, 1964. In addition the Act recognised the potential of the lottery activities to develop the tourism industry. With regard to income generation for the state, some quarter s remained opposed to the legislation (Edwards, 2009, p.24). Tax levy was imposed on all casino facilities. Operators (like the Grand Bahamas, New Providence and Cat Cay) enjoying tax exemption were not left out. Concurrently, the Gaming Machines Tax Act was introduced targeting slot machines used in gaming. It was argued the tax revenue generated was partly re-channeled to develop tourism activities in The Bahamas (Edwards, 2009, p.24). Impacts of Gambling on the Social and Economic Bottom lines Notably, the locals are legally deterred from engaging in casino gambling games, thus the social contribution has relatively been compared to other places that allow participation. Figure 2: Direct Earnings From Lottery Amenities For The Bahamas between 1996 and 2003   Source: Edwards (2009, p.35) Figure 3: Tax Earnings Against Winnings Revenue for Selected Lottery Amenities   Source: Edwards (2009, p.35) General Economic Contribution of Lottery Gambling centres like Casinos have the ability to raise income from fees levied on licenses as well as taxes generated from public gross earnings. The Government of Bahamas indicates that tourism associated activities are lead employer to most locals; thus, contribute largest tax revenue to the state. In the fiscal year of 2002/2003 revenue from winnings indicated that tax collected in 2002 alone amounted to almost US$ 22 million. In total, the American Gaming Association raised gross gambling revenue worth US$92.27 billion in 2007. Deepwater cruise and cruises revenue accounted for 37.3 percent. The Bahamian fiscal budget for 2007/2008 targeted to raise tax revenue from gambling worth US$ 28 million. A case in point is the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort and Hotel which seconds the government lead employer, nationally at 5500 employees. Out of the total staff, more than 1000 employees are stationed at the premises casino. The casino makes annual winning revenue worth over US$134.5 million; while attracting over 5 millio n visitors from abroad. Between the period of July1st 2002 and June 30th 2003, the Princess Casino Limited located at the Grand Bahama made over US$ 29 million from revenue winnings. In the same period, the Crystal Palace Casino sited on the Cable Beach raised close to US$ 34.5 million (Edwards, 2009, p.32). By 2008, gross revenue generated within the last seven years remained within the range of $US190 US$200 million. Two thirds of the national gross domestic product is generated from tourism activities. Thus, casino gambling has diversified the countrys tourism product. Much as the number of table games is less compared to machine slots, the greater portion of the revenue from the lottery industry comes from them. Take for instance, table games at the Atlantis Paradise Island Casino earned revenue worth US$ 0.9 million in 2002/2003 (Edwards, 2009, p.33). Communication (2012, para.22) explains that staff employed within the virtual web shop gambling contribute more than US$ 1 mill ion to the lottery industry. Moreover web shop businesses remit more than US$ 100 000 to the government in the form of license fees. Communication (2012, para.28) observes that governments keenness to regulate can lead to raising of annual tax of up to US$ 20 million from the virtual web shop activities. Figure 4: Revenue Generation (from Tables and Slot Machines Winnings) for Selected Locations in 2002/2003 Fiscal Year Source: Edwards (2009, p.33) Business Investment In Gambling Amenities The Bahamas benefits widely from the investment in the casino gambling business by international corporations as well as renowned players in the resort establishments. Edwards (2009, p.21) notes international investors to include Donald Trump, the Carnival Group of Companies, the Ruffin Group, Princess Properties International, Playboy Limited, Resorts International and Sun (Kerzner) International. Most of these investors have gained interest in The Bahamas since the mid-1960s when the premises w ere small scale but nowadays have expanded to large scale resorts. In 1964, the Monte Carlo Casino located at the Lucayan Beach Hotel was the first among the big international investments to be set up in The Bahamas, followed by the El Casino based at The island of Grand Bahamas in 1966 (Edwards 2009, p.21). The Paradise Enterprises Limited under the auspices of the Mary Carter Paint Company opened the Paradise Island Casino on the Paradise Island in 1967. Nevertheless, the ownership of the Paradise Island Casino changed hands in 1987 to Donald Trump then Merv Griffin in 1989 (Edwards 2009, p.21). Later, it was purchased by the Sun International Hotels in 1994 after which a major face lift and rebranding was one (Edwards 2009, p.21). The growth in the number of gambling amenities gives the indication that the business environment is conducive as well as the return on investment is promising. This is confirmed by the growing number of multinationals attracted to the country. Accordin g to the Communication (2012, para.37) population dynamics and geography of the Bahamas have contributed to the challenges facing the commercialization of national lottery activities. Among geographical challenges is the proximity to the United States of America. The level of advancement in the lottery activities makes them take advantage of the population dynamics and raise more income from the lottery activities (Communication, 2012, para.38). On these grounds, The Bahamas face stiff competition from the lottery activities in the State of Florida. Communication (2012, para.39) observes that it is common for a Bahamian to prefer to spend their lottery bids in the State of Florida than spend locally. Table 3: Large Casino Gambling Amenities put up Between 1964 and 2009 Location Amenity Name (Year, ground size of the amenity) Grand Bahama The Monte Carlo Casino (1964); The Bahamia (1966, 1 000 sq. ft.); The Lucayan Beach Casino (1986) Isle of Capri Casino (2003, 20,000 sq. ft.) Paradise Island Paradise Island Casino (1967, 50,000 sq. ft.); Nassau The Playboy Casino (1978); The Cable Beach Casino (1983) The Crystal Palace Resort Casino (1983, 35,000 sq. ft.) San Salvador Columbus Isle Casino (1995) Exuma Four Seasons Casino (2006, 5,000sq. ft.) Modified from Edwards (2009, p.22) Branding Gambling Amenities Swinging casino destination Since the casino boom in the 1960s, The Bahamas has been promoted under the brand- swinging casino destination. This branding was an attraction for tourists to supplement other entertainment experiences during their stay in an island beach resort (Edwards, 2009, p.23). A baseline study in 1968 sponsored by the Inter-American Development Bank agreed under some premises. Gambling was ranked first as a prime attraction for tourists in the Bahamas, then water sport and nightlife, respectively (Edwards, 2009, p.23). Compared to other warm weather destinations, tourist entertainment packages that included beach activiti es, water entertainment as well as gambling were highly saleable to international tourists (Edwards, 2009, p.23). Top casino entertainment publications have featured amenities in The Bahamas, particularly with regard to travel and recreation. The Paradise Island Casino has been rated excellent by The Travel Guard International publication which deals with provision of travel insurance (Edwards, 2009, p.23). The publication brands the Casino as leading in the Caribbean and offers visitors 800 slot machines as well as 75 game tables, sports and race betting (Edwards, 2009, p.24). The destination boasts of incredible dà ©cor designed by renowned artists like Dale Chihuly. The Paradise Island Casino The Paradise Island gambling amenity is the countrys largest and over the time it has undergone multiple upgrading to give a first class status as well as rank among the prestigious similar to resorts in the Las Vegas. The amenity runs throughout (day and night) and aligns a range of gambli ng entertainment such as let-itride poker, craps, Caribbean stud poker, blackjacks, baccarat, roulette and big six wheels (Edwards, 2009, p.22). Other gambling packages at the facility include parimutuel betting, sports betting as well as paigow poker (Edwards, 2009, p.22). The amenity offers more than three-quarters of the entertainment choices offered across three selected locations, as shown below. Figure 5: Variety of Gambling Entertainment at Selected Locations in The Bahamas Data modified from Edwards (2009, p.23) It is evident that black jacks, roulette and craps are the popular entertainment, respectively. Edwards (2009, p.23) adds that slot machines are over 2,226 in the three locations, while the gaming tables are 190. By the end of the 2003 fiscal year, the variety of tables were 11 in the Grand Bahama, Paradise Island and Cable Beach (Edwards 2009, p.23). This form of data can provide insights into the revenue expectations zeroed-in to the level of per table. Anecdotall y, black jack tables attract more revenue and thus are popular in the selected locations. Other factors that determine the choice of the table to invest in is the return on investment. Table 4: Trend in Percentage (between 2001 and 2007) of Lottery Entertainment Visitor Stopovers vis-a-vis the Overall Year % of Stopover for casino % of Stopover for casino at NASSAU/PI % of Stopover for casino at Grand Bahama 2001 1.1 0.7 2.2 2002 1.7 1 3.8 2003 0.8 1 0.6 2004 0.8 0.9 1.1 2005 0.6 0.7 0.6 2006 0.8 0.8 1 2007 0.8 1.1 0.4 Source: Edwards (2009, p.37) The percentage range (0.8 to 1.1 percent) for visitor stopover for lottery entertainment vis-a-vis overall visitor stop over has experienced dismal growth. Figure 6: Trends in Visitor Stop-over Against National Tax Earnings from Lottery Activities in the Period of 1978 to 2003 Source: Edwards (2009, p.38) The pattern developed between the visitor stop over numbers and tax revenue from lottery shows a positive correlati on. In other words, it is possibly obvious that visitors to The Bahamas are bound to spend proportionately on lottery activities during their stay. Employment Opportunities in the Lottery Industry Across the country, tourism activities provide employment to over 38 percent (that is close to 50 000) (Edwards, 2009, p.29). This statistic indicates that for every US$ 1 million spent by guests, there are 35 jobs sustained. According to the Communication (2012, para. 21), the annual cumulated payroll for employees under the web shop category is more than US$ 15 million. Directly employed opportunities feature more than within the tourism sector such as working in lottery facilities, among others (Edwards, 2009, p.29). There are over 28 indirect employment opportunities in lottery facilities in 1999/2000. Edwards (2009, p.30) lists them as follows (with the percentage of expatriates in brackets). Croupiers (3 percent) Administrative Staff (1 percent) Cage Employees (0 percent) Construc tion Games Supervisors (31 percent) Credit Employees Gaming Tables Surveillance Pit Bosses (27 percent) Transportation Change Machines Hotels Shift Managers (33 percent) Junket Representative Slot Machines Entertainment Playing Cards Dealer’s School Surveillance Equipment Professionals Slot Employees Dice Casino Furniture Accounting Audit Legal Professionals Private Investigations Security (0 percent) Sports-betting Staff Source: Edwards (2009) As shown in the table above, lottery employment opportunities are diverse. In 2002, the number of directly employed staff at lottery stations was 2,747 with expatriates accounting 12 percent. The pie-chart below illustrates this. According to Communication (2012, para.20), in The Bahamas, web shop businesses account for more than 4000 jobs. In 2002, the Atlantis Paradise Island Casino led in the number of direct jobs created at 972 employees (Edwards, 2009, p.30). Figure 7: Job Opportunity Allocations Data modified fro m (Edwards 2009, p.30) This shows that for every job opportunity going to an expatriate, an approximate nine are created for the locals. Presence of expatriates provides the Bahamas lottery experience an international feeling. These expatriates indicate that remuneration rates for staff are appealing. Figure 8: Job Opportunities for The Bahamians in Selected Locations in July 2001–June 2002 Data modified from Edwards (2009, p.30) Drawbacks Faced by The Bahamas Lottery Sector: Religious Resistance Even during the cradle of the Bahamian lottery business religious groupings such as the Bahamas Christian Council opposed the casino development (Edwards 2009, p.39). In opposition to the lottery development issues raised include discouraging decent tourism in The Bahamas; facilitation of social and moral decadence among the residents as well as encourage underworld immigrations and lead to complexities in security enforcement. While, this religious uprise was high at the advent of the lottery legalization, developments in the recent times show restraint among the stakeholders in the industry leading to tolerance among the religious groupings (Edwards 2009, p.39). Arguably, prohibition of Bahamians in participating as gamblers may have ameliorated any adverse impacts resulting from the activities of gaming thus general consensus to include lottery activities among tourism products. However, the current calm on the lottery debate may change considering the growing trend into web shop gambling which is a virtual version of the paper casino gambling. Bahamians are not exempted by law (under the Lotteries and Gaming Act) to participate as online (web shop) gamblers. Financial constraints to secure bank accounts may be a deterrent factor for Bahamian locals to enter into web shop gambling. Regulations on anti-money laundering inflict exorbitant charges (Communication, 2012, para.31). A national legal framework for web shop gambling may be necessary, particularly to direction on Bahamians interested in investing. However, gambling money is perceived as not decent. Conclusion The Bahamian economy is anchored on tourism revenue. This is characterized by the dominance of foreign visitors flocking to the country. The economy benefits from financial services as well as state revenue collections generated from taxation regimes on the tourism products and packages. This means that the influx of visitors is an indicator of the ability of the state to suppress drawbacks while maximizing the opportunities available to better the economy. The success in the Bahamian tourism industry can partly be measured in the ability to sustain mass tourism. Lottery activities boast a long history in The Bahamas (spanning over nine decades). Flourishing of lottery activities within The Bahamas is attributed to the presence of a robust and booming tourism industry. Statistics show that for every visitor spending worth US$ 1 million in lottery entertainment activities o ver 35 jobs are sustained. Web shop lottery activities account for over four thousand jobs. In the lottery industry, expatriates account for 12 percent of the employee base in The Bahamas. This gives the implication of the employment standards in the lottery industry in The Bahamas. The lottery activities survived existence during the cradle years as a supplementary package for tourism entertainment. Now the lottery industry in The Bahamas has grown to the extent of initiating the virtual version where gambles need not to be physically present. This is known as the web shop gambling. In recognition of the contribution of lottery activities to The Bahamian economy, the Lotteries and Gaming Act was put in place in 1969. A Gaming Board institution was put in place to administer and oversee countrywide lottery activities. In addition, the Board has to advise the responsible minister on pertinent matters, be it legislation or other administrative issues. The Bahamas government has establ ished four means of generating revenue from the lottery activities. Taxes, licenses as well as working and business permits directly generate revenue to the government. Edwards (2009) provide the direct and gross revenue for the fiscal period July 1999 June 2000 to be more than US$ 20 million. In the fiscal year 2002/ 2003, revenue collected was US$ 2 million higher. In the financial year 2007/ 2008, the revenue projections pegged on the lottery was at US$ 28 million. The amount is economically attractive considering the emolument and running deductions leave behind 85 percent net income that is reverting to the economic development of the country. A pattern can be generated for the fiscal proceeds that the industry is economically growing. It is interesting to understand how the government has been able to maintain the industry economically robust yet the law exempts the Bahamians from participating as gamblers. Over and above, Revenue from table winnings have generated more to th e economy yet are even fewer than slot machines. Nevertheless, the growing invest interest in the lottery industry by renowned multinational corporations could partly explain the economic significance. Web shop gambling alone generates annual revenue of more than US$ 1 million yet there exists no national frameworks to leverage its activities. The stop over visitor numbers engaging in lottery entertainment has undergone minimal growth compared to the overall visitor numbers. Nevertheless, tax revenue from lottery activities has had a positive association with visitor stopover numbers over the time. Population dynamics and geography present challenge to the full commercialization of lottery activities in the Bahamas. The proximity to stiff competitors like the State of Florida in the USA explains this challenge. Actually, The Bahamas is losing lottery business opportunities to the state of Florida due to the friendly lottery spending environment even for the Bahamians. Unless, the go vernment takes an accelerated and forward thinking step while diversifying the lottery entertainment packages then the revenue that would likely destined into The Bahamas will end up to its competitors. The initially perceived negative social and moral impacts of legalizing lottery activities in The Bahamas have over the time waned off. The legal exemption of the Bahamians from participating in lottery activities as gamblers may have made the significant difference. However, with the existence of the web shop gambling that does not exempt Bahamians it still remains unclear whether the moral and ethical issues are completely addressed amicably. Regulators may have to forgo moral and ethical strictness allowing more economic liberty in order for business owners to break even particularly in the web shop gambling. Web shop gambling requires heavy capital investment that is not readily available among the Bahamians. Other business risks including security may present more barriers of en try for the Bahamians interested in investing in web shop gambling. Having a legal framework in place to regulate lottery activities has not benefited the government, economically but also weather down any barriers of entry for international investors. Probably, this presents the likely path for the government in order to enable the Bahamians to equally benefit from the opportunities originating from the development of the gaming industry; a case in point is the web shop gambling. References Boxill, I. (2009). Casino Gambling in Jamaica: Lessons and Policy Options. In J Cheesman (Eds.), Jamaica’s Casino Initiative: The Policy Options (pp.1-17). Mona Campus: The University of the West Indies. Communication By The Right Honourable Perry G. Christie, Prime Minister And Member For Centreville Re: Referendum On National Lottery And Web Shop Gaming. (2012). Retrieved from http://bahamasuncensored.com/website_update_11_18_12/lottery.pdf Edwards, J. (2009). Casino Gambling and The Ba hamian Economy: Development, Economic Impacts and Competitiveness Issues. In J Cheesman (Eds.), Jamaica’s Casino Initiative: The Policy Options (pp.18-43). Mona Campus: The University of the West Indies. Karagiannis, N. and Madjd-Sadjadi, Z. (2011). Framing The Bahamian Developmental State: An Alternative Policy Package To Neoliberal Failure. International Journal of Peace and Development Studies, 2(4), 96-109. Web.

FILLMORE Surname Meaning and Origin

FILLMORE Surname Meaning and Origin The Fillmore surname derives from  the Old English given name, Filmore, meaning very famous, from the  Germanic elements filu, meaning very, and mari, meaning famous. The root more, in many cases, derives from the Anglo-Saxon mra, meaning renowned. The name is also considered by some to have derived from the Old English fille, which means full, fertile, as a name for someone who lived near a lake or a piece of fertile ground. Surname Origin: English Alternate Surname Spellings: PHILLMORE, PHILMORE, FILMORE, FILLMOOR, FILMOOR,FILLMOORE, FILMOORE, FYLMER, FYLMERE, FILLIMOR, FILLIMORE, FILMOUR Where in the World is the FILLMORE Surname Found? The Fillmore surname is most commonly found today in Canada, according to  WorldNames PublicProfiler, especially the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. The name is also fairly common in the U.S. states of Utah and Idaho. In the United Kingdom, the name is less popular, but found in greatest numbers across southern England and in Scotland. Surname distribution data from Forebears  also indicates the Fillmore last name is most commonly found in Canada and the United States. It is also somewhat common in South Africa and Australia. In England during the period 1881–1901, Fillmore was most prevalent in Middlesex, followed by Surrey and Kent.   Famous People with the Last Name FILLMORE Millard Fillmore - 13th President of the United StatesCharles Sherlock Fillmore - one of the founders of the Unity ChurchHenry Fillmore - American musician, composer and band leaderCharles J. Fillmore - American linguist, co-inventor of Case Grammar Genealogy Resources for the Surname FILLMORE How to Trace Your Family Tree in England and WalesLearn how to navigate through the wealth of records available for researching family history in England and Wales with this introductory guide. Presidential Surname Meanings and OriginsDo the surnames of U.S. presidents really have more prestige than your average Smith and Jones? While the proliferance of babies named Tyler, Madison, and Monroe may seem to point in that direction, presidential surnames are really just a cross-section of the American melting pot.   Fillmore Family Crest - Its Not What You ThinkContrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Fillmore family crest or coat of arms for the Fillmore surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted. FamilySearch - FILLMORE GenealogyExplore over 140,000 historical records and lineage-linked family trees posted for the Fillmore surname and its variations on the free FamilySearch website, hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Fillmore Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the Fillmore surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Fillmore query. FILLMORE Surname Family Mailing ListsRootsWeb hosts a free mailing list for researchers of the Fillmore surname. Post a query about your own Fillmore ancestors, or search or browse the mailing list archives. DistantCousin.com - FILLMORE Genealogy Family HistoryExplore free databases and genealogy links for the last name Fillmore. The Fillmore Genealogy and Family Tree PageBrowse genealogy records and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the popular last name Fillmore from the website of Genealogy Today.- References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998. Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997. Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997. Back toGlossary of Surname Meanings Origins

Discussion Board Post Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 18

Discussion Board Post Response - Essay Example Empowering employees is of benefit to the achievement of your organizations goals of zero serious safety events. In Brookwood Medical Center, achievement of organizational goals is attained through a culture of social responsibility, teamwork, and treating other employees with respect and dignity. Dana Reid, I support the culture practiced in your organization. It is true that the importance of education in health care cannot be understated. One of the most fundamental elements of organizational culture as asserted by Dixon and Dougherty (2010) is human interactions. I believe that level of education of an individual plays an important role in determination of behavior in relation to human interactions, and also individual opinions towards specific issues. I also concur that a culture of higher education and setting the minimum requirement for new recruits as a BSN facilitates quality improvement as only highly skilled individuals are considered. In Brookwood Medical Center, attaining a high level of education is also highly valued. For a nurse to be recruited to a nurse leader position, he or she must also have a BSN. Creating a culture relating to education helps minimize incidences of medical errors as it prevents recruitment of poorly skilled individuals. Dorgham, S. R. (2012). Relationship between organization work climate & staff nurses organizational commitment. Nature and Science, 10(5), 80–91. Retrieved from

Discuss the extent to which regulatory reform, prompted by the failure Essay

Discuss the extent to which regulatory reform, prompted by the failure of Enron, has been successful by reference to the financial crisis and more recent developments - Essay Example According to the Federal securities law, the financial statement of any listed company should be certified by an auditor. In case of Enron, it gave much attention the outside audits. The independent auditor of Enron was Arthur Andersen who was taken into justice charges due to the destruction of documents activities. Enron collapsed not due to it was a big organization but the main reason was that it was shown as much bigger than it really was. Publicly traded companies need to publish the information related to their financial statement but in case o9f Enro9n, some imaginary transactions were shown between the parent company and its subsidiaries that covered the true financial position of the firm (Jickling, 2002). It was the fault of the board of directors to oversee the issues in corporate management to protect the stakeholders’ interest. In the year 1999, the board of directors ignored a conflict of interest to permit the CFO in creating private partnerships. But the transactions that were involved in the partnerships included losses and debts which had a bad impact on the reported profit of Enron. The collapse of the company raises the concern about the capability of directors and bill was passed to question any unauthorized dealings done by the corporate managers (Gudikunst, 2003). The core business of Enron was energy and it was involved in trading of derivative contracts which were based on the prices of gas, oil and electricity. These types of contracts allowed the buyers to hedge the risk that was caused by increase or decrease in energy prices. As the market in which the company traded were highly unstable thus there were very little information available about the actual financial condition of Enron other than which was in the financial statement. Thus the buyers were influenced by the financial statement without knowing the actual fact and traded speculatively which was a high risky activity for Enron (Rantanen, 2007). The main reason behind the

Nature of employment relationship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Nature of employment relationship - Essay Example Since 2002, SABB has implemented a strategic plan called "Putting Customers First". Under this plan, customers would be the primary focus of the bank instead of giving more priority to products and services. The plan called for a total internal re-organization of the Bank to train employees to be focused and to align the delivery of its services to both corporate and personal customers (SABB 2002: 14). SABB's confidence that the plan will deliver benefits to its customers, the shareholders, and the Bank as part of its vision to be the leading financial services group in Saudi Arabia is shown by the successful increases in net income from SAR 830 million to 2.5 billion, assets from SAR 41.92 to 65.9 billion, and deposits from SAR 31.5 to 48.5 billion from the end of 2001 to the end of 2005 (SABB 2006: 16-17). SABB is the leading provider of value added and innovative Islamic financial product and services in Saudi Arabia. This is achieved while following principles of Shari'a whose core investment and market guidelines are to follow the Islamic Shari'a, honesty and integrity, professionalism, strong customer focus, and excellent reputation (SABB, 2006: 9). The main reason is that SABB is a service organization that relies on customer contact and satisfaction for its business. It will be successful if the customers of the Bank are happy with how the employees perform their work of service. This is why employees have to be first satisfied with their relationship with the Bank, because if they are not, this lack of satisfaction will be reflected in poor service quality to the customers. Poor customer service quality results in poor performance, because customers will not deposit their money in the Bank or buy the financial services that the Bank offers. The need for quality customer service is the main reason why the Bank put into effect their "Putting Customers First" strategic plan. Research has shown that in service companies like retail banks, the quality of the customer relationship can give the bank an advantage over its competitors by attracting more customers (Keltner 65-68). The Bank's customer relationship strategy requires that it upgrades its employment relationship to help bank employees to meet the different needs of its customers, not only for personal banking products and services but for the Bank's more profitable private, corporate, and investment banking products and services. Like other banks all over the world, most of its low value-added transactions like cash deposits and withdrawals, bank balance inquiries, questions about basic products and services are all done through Automatic Teller Machines, Telephone Banking, widely available Point of Sale (POS) terminals in retail outlets all over the Kingdom, and the Internet where it is cheaper to deliver the service. The cost to the Bank is lower because technology is used to serve customers by processing their transactions (Morisi 32). This will allow high value-added services like private, investment, and corporate banking to be transacted face-to-face in the Bank's branch network. The use of technology allows the Bank to reach more

Zeno's Paradox of Achilles and the Tortoise Essay

Zeno's Paradox of Achilles and the Tortoise - Essay Example By our perception of motion, we know that Achilles is faster than the tortoise and thus he can easily overcome the tortoise in any race. We can physically prove our initial hypothesis that Achilles can beat the tortoise in a race and see that Achilles will at some point outrun the tortoise by the distance he has covered in leaps and bounds. Space or distance has always been measured by our senses; our eyes can visibly see that the distance traveled by Achilles is indeed greater than that of the tortoise. But this is what Zeno intends to postulate in the first place: our senses should be discredited as they are illusory and motion is logically impossible. Zeno’s paradox about the footrace of the tortoise and Achilles is built on one basic assumption: that the race between these two has no goal or each runner cannot reach their goal. In that case, the tortoise and Achilles’ course of movement extends to infinity and this is where the absurdity lies; there is no race that extends to infinity else the tortoise and Achilles would forever be moving forward and there would be no race at all. This dialectic reasoning of Zeno implies that Achilles will never catch the tortoise in a footrace, but the deeper implication of this paradox lies in the conclusion that no thing, for example a tortoise, or no one, in general, has a limit. As grandiose as this profound and philosophical conclusion is, Zeno’s paradox suggests that man’s abilities are limitless, very great in amount and degree, or boundless, having no apparent end. This paradox about man then puts forward a notion that his actions extend through an infinite amount of time and space. Our actions cover far greater than our senses can perceive; they extend to the end of time and the end of the universe. This claim becomes practically absurd because we know that time and the universe has no end to begin with while man has through his own death. Going back to Zeno’s paradox, his conclusion

Charles Ludlam. Ridiculous Theatre Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Charles Ludlam. Ridiculous Theatre - Essay Example On his death in 1987 The New York Times said that he was "one of the most innovative and prolific artists in the theater avant-garde" (Kaufman, 1), but Charles Ludlam was not so easily categorized as the gender-bending, sex and drug-filled plays of the Theater of the Ridiculous would suggest. He was more complex than appears at first glance, and one of his most successful plays, Bluebeard, does not involve cross-dressing. This paper will examine how Ludlam created the Theatre of the Ridiculous through his writing and performing and how, in a paradoxical fashion, he also moved beyond such easy genre-definitions into his own unique form of theatre. Ludlam was openly gay before it was easy to be so, even within the theatre, and yet he dismissed the idea of a "gay community" in famous San Francisco comments (Kaufman, 1). In the same way, he invented a particular kind of theatre, but steadfastly refused to be limited by it. Ludlam was born and raised on Long Island and discovered his penchant and talent for acting in high school. He wore his hair long during he Fifties, before it was fashionable to do so and was even more-or-less openly gay at the same time. Thus started his life-long tendency to buck conventional standards and be a complete individual. His acting was regarded as so ludicrous as a teenager that some amateur companies refused to cast him, not because of a lack of talent, but because he had too much talent and was perceived as being potentially damaging to other actors (Kaufman, 3). This was a tendency that meant that he essentially had to create his own theatre on graduating from Hofstra University with a degree in Theatre in 1964. Camille might be regarded as "quintessential Ludlam because it has elements of so many different theatrical references" (Busch, 1) As Busch continues, the play is, in one sense at least, a compendium of Ludlam's huge theatre knowledge, with references to Wilde and Ibsen, among others. This bricoleur type of writing style - taking material from wherever the playwright feels there will be valuable material without considering whether it makes a logical whole, is the essential element of Ludlam's craft. In a sense this type of playwriting, and the performance that comes from it, has its origins deep in the history of theatre. From Aristophanes' commentary on his contemporary politics and the Tragedies of the day (Brockett, 12) to Commedia Del Arte, and to much of performance art there is a long tradition within theatre of piecing together a work from the "garbage of popular culture and recycling it into something rather golden and perhaps garish" (Busch, 1). By "garbage" there is no attempt to apply a qualitative value to the material, but rather to suggest that on their own, these odd allusions to specific moments, performances, sections of plays and even specific words would amount to little. It is within the context of a rounded performance that they become something of value. In Camille Ludlam takes a well-known story and uses it for his

Continuous improvement on the free-throw line Coursework

Continuous improvement on the free-throw line - Coursework Example and recording the current process and identification of the causes of variation from the ideal and the current situation is conducted through analysis of a cause and effect diagram. Understanding the causes of variation allowed Timothy to seek alternatives for his son including standing at centre of the free-throw line, bouncing the ball four times, focussing on the middle part of the ring and aiming for a perfect shot, and shoot. Developing an action plan incorporating the alternatives forms the second phase of the cycle. Implementing the alternatives in a real time situation and making comparison with expected results is the last part of the cycle, which in the case involve the improvement of Andrew’s free-throw percentage to 69% from 42% in 1994 season and 71% in 1995 season and an average of 60% in-game practice. Changing the technique resulted in a fall of the throws for the 1996 season with a shooting percentage fall to 50% and reinstallation seeing an increase to 70% in gamer practice and 75% in 1996 and 1997 seasons. Benefits from the (PSDA) include improved results in practice and games, augmented confidence, and profound knowledge of the determination of changes in shooting technique resulting in

Charles Ludlam. Ridiculous Theatre Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Charles Ludlam. Ridiculous Theatre - Essay Example On his death in 1987 The New York Times said that he was "one of the most innovative and prolific artists in the theater avant-garde" (Kaufman, 1), but Charles Ludlam was not so easily categorized as the gender-bending, sex and drug-filled plays of the Theater of the Ridiculous would suggest. He was more complex than appears at first glance, and one of his most successful plays, Bluebeard, does not involve cross-dressing. This paper will examine how Ludlam created the Theatre of the Ridiculous through his writing and performing and how, in a paradoxical fashion, he also moved beyond such easy genre-definitions into his own unique form of theatre. Ludlam was openly gay before it was easy to be so, even within the theatre, and yet he dismissed the idea of a "gay community" in famous San Francisco comments (Kaufman, 1). In the same way, he invented a particular kind of theatre, but steadfastly refused to be limited by it. Ludlam was born and raised on Long Island and discovered his penchant and talent for acting in high school. He wore his hair long during he Fifties, before it was fashionable to do so and was even more-or-less openly gay at the same time. Thus started his life-long tendency to buck conventional standards and be a complete individual. His acting was regarded as so ludicrous as a teenager that some amateur companies refused to cast him, not because of a lack of talent, but because he had too much talent and was perceived as being potentially damaging to other actors (Kaufman, 3). This was a tendency that meant that he essentially had to create his own theatre on graduating from Hofstra University with a degree in Theatre in 1964. Camille might be regarded as "quintessential Ludlam because it has elements of so many different theatrical references" (Busch, 1) As Busch continues, the play is, in one sense at least, a compendium of Ludlam's huge theatre knowledge, with references to Wilde and Ibsen, among others. This bricoleur type of writing style - taking material from wherever the playwright feels there will be valuable material without considering whether it makes a logical whole, is the essential element of Ludlam's craft. In a sense this type of playwriting, and the performance that comes from it, has its origins deep in the history of theatre. From Aristophanes' commentary on his contemporary politics and the Tragedies of the day (Brockett, 12) to Commedia Del Arte, and to much of performance art there is a long tradition within theatre of piecing together a work from the "garbage of popular culture and recycling it into something rather golden and perhaps garish" (Busch, 1). By "garbage" there is no attempt to apply a qualitative value to the material, but rather to suggest that on their own, these odd allusions to specific moments, performances, sections of plays and even specific words would amount to little. It is within the context of a rounded performance that they become something of value. In Camille Ludlam takes a well-known story and uses it for his

Summary of Kants categorical imperative Essay Example for Free

Summary of Kants categorical imperative Essay Immanuel Kants moral theory can be best explained by comparing it to a math equation. Kants moral system will always hold true no matter what the circumstance just like how two plus two will always equal four. According to Kant, our lives should be lived according to maxims that can be willed into universal law (Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, p 303). However the action regarding a moral decision is not judged by the consequences of that action, rather by the motive of that action. Kants the method of moral reasoning starts off by first realizing the principle the rational agent is acting under. To fully understand what this means, a rational agent is to be defined as an entity who is capable of making rational decisions regardless of their natural inclinations. This condition excludes such examples as, animals, infants, and people in a coma from being considered to be a rational agent because they do not show the capacity to reason. After realizing the principle the person is acting under, determine if the reason is morally right. In order to determine if the maxim is ethical and able to be willed into universal law, it must pass three tests: autonomy, respect for humanity, and the kingdom of ends. Autonomy describes the feeling of accomplishment. This can be illustrated as a man who promises his wife that he will take off the weekend from golfing and file their tax reports. By keeping his promise to his wife he not only feels the satisfaction from finishing their tax report but also, more importantly feels good about following through with his promise. Autonomy is important because if the husband breaks his promises and lives his life as a promise breaker then this maxim is clearly self-defeating. The entire maxim of promising to break promises does not pass the test of autonomy therefore could never be passed as a universal law. However, if after passing the autonomy test, then a principle must also respect everyone elses autonomy. In order to respect humanity, make decisions that show an overall concern for rational agents. If by treating them as a rational agent, then the principle will not affect another persons ability rationalize. In order to do this, it is never acceptable to treat a rational being as merely a means (Kant, Fundamental Principles of the Metaphysic of Morals, p 307). That is to say, the act of rape treats the rational agent as a means to sexual gratification. The act of rape does not respect the agent as a rational being and could never be willed into a moral universal law. However if a principle was able to pass the first two conditions, then it is necessary to subject it to the kingdom of ends test. The kingdom of ends is composed of a group of rational agents all with different objectives in life. The importance of having different objectives in life insures that all perspectives and backgrounds have been covered. These agents have been given the responsibility of creating a free society. A free society entails laws that every rational agent in that society would agree upon. If the principle is not a measure that the kingdom of ends would enact, then the principle, by Kants definition, is immoral. Let us analyze the principle of apathy. Living an apathetic life does indeed pass the test of autonomy and by showing indifference to other rational agents it also passes the test of humanity. However, apathy would not pass the kingdom of ends, as no rational being would accept such a maxim. As a result, an apathetic life could not be passed as universal law. As an example, we will refer back to the persecution of Jews during World War II. Say a man is hiding a Jew in his house and the Gestapo comes knocking on door. However, as the Gestapo questions the man of the whereabouts of the Jew, the man cannot lie and say that no one is hiding within his house, but at the same time, if he were to tell the truth he would be indirectly bringing harm upon himself and the Jew. The man should question the Gestapo about what they plan on doing to the Jew once they have located him. According to Kant, consequences have no relevance, although if all possible consequences were known, then it would be permissible to lightly take them into account. Since telling the truth by giving the Gestapo the whereabouts of the Jew would bring direct harm, it is permissible to lie. The maxim would be to never lie unless the truth results direct or indirect harm. This maxim respects autonomy and human nature and would be pass the kingdom of ends test and thus can be willed into universal moral law. Now take the case of Harry and Sally, according to Kantian moral reasoning, should Sally seduce Harry? If Sally were to seduce Harry by taking him back to her place and having sex with him, she would be using him as a means to her ends. By Sally using Harry simply as a means to achieve her ends, that moral decision is breaking a fundamental Kantian principle. Using people as only a means is never acceptable. The difference between Sally seducing Harry into sex and Sally having consensual sex with Harry is the difference of deception and coercion. According to Mappes, deception and coercion are the methods for sexually using someone (Mappes, Sexual Morality, p. 166). The whole idea is based off the respect for an individual person to voluntarily make their own decisions. By deceiving someone, it is clearly misleading a person to make a decision that they would not have made, had it been on their own regard. However the objection can be made that Sally should do what ultimately brings her pleasure. Using Utilitarian morality, something that results in the greater pleasure, or avoidance of harm, of the populations involved is morally correct. Even though Harry is somewhat apprehensive of the whole casual sex idea, he is not defiant or strongly against it. It can even be reasoned that Harry might even enjoy himself once him and Sally are having sex. And also, casual sex is perfectly okay if there is no lying, deceiving, or exploiting (Elliston, In Defense of Promiscuity, p. 170). I believe Ellistons definition of deceiving is different that Kants definition. Kant covers all and any type of deception as immoral. Elliston agrees that deception is indeed immoral, but his definition of deception would be a man telling a woman he does not have herpes when indeed he does. As long as sex is consensual, there is no harm. Sally would only be seducing Harry back to her house under, say, the premise to watch a movie, however when the actual act of intercourse happens, Harry is not being deceived at all. Even with the arguments above, Sally would ultimately be using Harry simply as a means to achieve her ends of sexual pleasure. By using Kantian morality, Sally should not pressure Harry to going home with her nor should she try to seduce him. Kant reasons that human beings have been given this gift of free will to act as the dividing line between humans and animals. Animals are considered animals because they lack the ability to rationalize. What then, is the ultimate value and purpose of having a free will? If the point of having a free will was to seek pleasure and avoid harm, then we are nothing more than animals and have wasted this ability to reason. Instead, humans have free will so they could follow moral law. Therefore, follow moral law even in situations where social laws or natural inclinations could conflict. By following Kants moral reasoning, what we do in our lives is right not only because we ourselves believe it to be right but also since we have willed it to become universal law, it could not possibly be wrong. The maxims that we base our lives on are intrinsically good because we are able to will it into universal law. Therefore, moral decisions made using Kants ideas can be applied universally. Kants ideas show respect for humanity and peoples decisions are not made for selfish pleasure seeking reasons by treating people as a means, but rather they are made based on universal morals and by treating everybody as an rational agent. By following Kants moral reasoning a rational agent will be able to make the right decision when faced with any type of moral dilemma.