Saturday, August 31, 2019

Carp Reaction Paper

REACTION PAPER: COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN REFORM PROGRAM For a long period of time, Philippine land was owned by the private sectors. This started during the Spanish regime when the land was primarily owned by the large landlords and the friars. The Philippine farmers found it hard to acquire land during that time because the only basis for ownership is ancestral domain ship. Agrarian rights were established during the American occupation, but only few initiatives were given and the rich families still continue to own the Philippine land. The first comprehensive agrarian reform order was attempted in the country in 1972. A month after the martial law, President Marcos issued Presidential Decree no. 27 making the Philippines a land reform nation. This reform order states that an individual cannot own more than seven hectares of land. The remaining area will be given out in portions to individual tenants. The tenant may acquire a maximum of 3 hectares of irrigated land or 5 hectares of unused land in exchange for payments such as royalty taxes, etc. This reform program was unpopular thus making it a total failure. On June 22, 1987, President Corazon Aquino outlined the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL) through Presidential Proclamation 131 and Executive Order 229. The law was enacted by the 8th Congress of the Philippines and signed by former President Aquino on June 10, 1988. The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law is the basis of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) which was the centerpiece program of President Corazon Aquino’s Administration. The program was said to have an underlying political motivation for it formed one of the major points against Marcos during President Aquino’s Presidential campaign. The essence of CARP is asset revaluation or redistribution of wealth so that the landless farmers can have access to capital resources in order to promote their welfare. Its aim is the equitable distribution and ownership of land to the tiller and to provide opportunities for a dignified quality of life to the Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs). To accomplish these objectives, provisions were made for adequate support services for rural development and economic-size farms were established as the basis of Philippine Agriculture. The program was given a special fund of P50 billion. The sources of the Agrarian Reform Fund was proceeds of the sale of the Assets of the Asset Privatization Trust (ATP), the sale of the ill-gotten wealth recovered through the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) and other appropriate sources. The CARP has an 8. 1 million hectare scope. The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) was assigned to distribute 4. 3 million while the Department of Environment and Natural Resources was assigned with 3. 8 million hectares to distribute. As of December 2005, it was reported that The Department of Agrarian Reform had distributed 3. 5 million hectares and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, 2. 93 million hectares. Even though the DAR and the DENR distributed a large number of lands, it didn’t reach the goal set in the program. â€Å"Twenty Years later, the Government’s land reform effort has woefully short of its goals – by some 1. 3 million hectares of private farmland† (Facts not Slogan, t he Business Mirror) The distribution of land to the tiller is below the expected target. It was not accomplished during the first term of CARP which was 10 years. The government’s slowness in land transfer activities is because of the following factors: 1. lack of political will to implement agrarian reform 2. manifest in operational and legal bottlenecks 3. blockades by big land owners who have seats in Congress and posts in the Government bureaucracy But the main reason was the lack of resources to fund the program. The actual requirement estimated by the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) in 1987 was 221. 09 billion to ensure the program’s full implementation. However, only P100 billion was given under the law. The fund provided was less than half of what is required. There were numerous issues concerning the implementation of CARP. The biggest of which is the lack of support services for the ARBs to ensure the productivity of the lands that were distributed to the farmers. â€Å"Then there is the matter of official commitment to the program—or rather, the lack of it. Frequently cited is a study in Negros Occidental, which showed that 97 percent of agrarian-reform beneficiaries (ARBs) have received no government support services, that 41 percent of ARBs have either abandoned or sold the rights to the land awarded to them under the CARP, that 98. percent of ARBs have not paid land taxes, etc. Moreover, Negros Occidental has remained a hotbed of insurgent activity. † (Facts, not Slogans. Business Mirror) â€Å"Beneficiaries of land reform also lacked sufficient support to make their farms viable. Ownership is just one step in making a decent living out of farmland. The owner needs agricultural know-how as well as technical and financi al resources to plant the right crops at the right time, and use the proper pesticides and fertilizers. At harvest time he needs access to post-harvest facilities, and then assistance in marketing his crops. Knowledge of crop rotation could maximize the use of a small farmland. † (The Promise of Agrarian Reform. The Philippine Star, 6/02/09) â€Å"There weren’t enough farm-to-market roads, processing and distribution facilities, irrigation and market support. † Because of the absence of these minimum requirements, a number of CARP Beneficiaries were prompted to sell their farms, sometimes to â€Å"buyers† hired by the original owners. Without the necessary support, ownership is useless. Another problem is landowner resistance. The poor implementation of the program is the reason why private agricultural lands remain undistributed. A common carp loophole used by landowners to escape relinquishing their lands is through the reclassification of their land into residential, commercial and industrial lands which are excluded from CARP. Just this year, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed the extension of the Agrarian Reform Program, Republic Act No. 9700 or the CARP Extension and Reform Law (CARPer), which allocated P150 billion for agrarian reform, to be distributed in five years. Sixty percent of the budget will go to land acquisition and forty percent to support services. â€Å"The new law, a consolidation of House Bill 4077 and Senate Bill 2666, is called CARP Extension with Reforms (CARPer) and extends the program from July 1, 2009, to June 30, 2014. It provides a P150-billion outlay for the acquisition and distribution of 1. 6 million hectares of all agricultural lands, as well as support services for 1. 2 million farmer-beneficiaries. † (Booster Shot for Agrarian Reform. Business Mirror) â€Å"The reforms in RA 9700 include provisions on the sourcing of the funds, which will allow the Department of Agrarian Reform to target the acquisition and distribution of the remaining 1 million hectares or so of agricultural lands covered by CARP at a much faster pace; the creation of a joint Congressional Oversight Committee on Agrarian Reform, or COCAR, to closely monitor the implementation of the new law; the strengthening of the ban on land-use conversion by landowners eager to avoid CARP, by extending the scope of the ban to allow no exceptions, by levying heavier penalties for illegal conversion of agricultural land into non-agricultural use and by mandating the automatic coverage of converted land if the conversion is unimplemented or its terms violated—thus legislating the lesson from the Sumilao farmers’ issue. † (CARPer, Right and Wrong. Philippine Daily Inquirer) CONCLUSION In my opinion, the government focused only on distributin g lands and not in the other objectives that were stated in the law. As pointed out in the editorials which I’ve read. It’s not enough to own land in order to become prosperous in agriculture. A farmer needs the necessary equipment to harvest his crops and also knowledge in marketing in order to sell his crops. A poor farmer even if given rights to own land won’t be able to change financial status because what is given to him is not enough. As for the loopholes in the CARP, I hope the implementation of the CARPer will resolve the problem concerning the evasion of redistribution of estates. The revised CARPer should target the weaknesses of the old program and make sure that the implementation would be better this time than the previous program. The Philippines is still far from accomplishing agrarian reform even after 50 years. If they keep it up in this rate, it’ll take a very long time to lift our Filipino farmers from poverty.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Alaska Coffee Company Essay

Sure Powell was given input by his retail managers, employees and customers, but he wasn’t given any advice from people that new the company inside and out. All the people that offered him advice had no knowledge regarding the financials or other intricate facets of the company. If he had a board of directors he might be able to make more informed decisions that better serve the company as a whole. It is clear he also didn’t have a clear process for managers to go through to implement changes and or suggestions. The chain of command was vague and rarely used except by going directly to or through him. His attitude of â€Å"let it rip† is great because it gives employees freedom to thing outside the box and make them feel like they are a major part of the company but does not give any structure to them. His marketing background is most likely a key contributor to the company’s success in implementing new products and keeping customers coming back but with no real experience in running a company before this he lacked the human resource skills necessary for a company to thrive which is clear in his passive leadership role. External Environmental Analysis Some of the key external forces with company were in the beginning not really having any competition which let the company grow and lock down a loyal customer base. Also with the Alaskan environment suiting coffee drinkers because of the mild to colder weather. Staying confined in one city also helped the brand name grow through word of mouth and helped lock down business opportunities. Having a roaster facility in the city also cut down on expenses and helped keep the coffee fresh which was one of their staple trademarks to serve the freshest coffee possible. Internal Environmental Analysis Some of the key internal forces for ACC were the fact that the company was built on loyal workers who stayed in the company due to chances for promotion and growth. Along with that and Powell’s leadership style it let employees act somewhat freely and have input into a company that strived to stay away from a corporate feel. The quality of the products that they offered also helped them since they were considered to have the top of the line products some of which were considered to be the best in the world. Having a small chain of command is also beneficial to the employees because it allows them to get things done relatively quickly without having to wait for it to go through many different levels of management. With most customers saying that the coffee was addicting and the atmosphere was very pleasant it leads to a happy environment for customers and workers alike allowing for the business to strive. Another problem of the external environment is that the shops were not strategically located. The areas that they were placed in were researched to some extent but not fully like a major company like Starbucks would do to make sure they can get the most out of the market. Not only that but they didn’t own all the building or locations that they were in having leased some of the spaces with only year contracts. SWOT Analysis The opportunities to grow for the ACC seemed to be limitless since they had already successfully competed with local competition and it did not affect their bottom line to a level of concern for them until, world conglomerate Starbucks entered the scene. Once they came on scene it became clear that competition would become a threat and opportunities could and would shrink. This was and is the biggest threat to ACC since Starbucks is already a well known product that strives to give customers the â€Å"Starbucks Experience†. This is where the customer can feel comfortable getting the same service and products at any store in the world compared to ACC’s differently styled shops and styles of running the stores. This is probably of the greatest concern since most of their stores have different layouts and feels you can’t go to one ACC store and then go to another and feel like it is just like the one you already visited. One strength that ACC has is that it is a local company built on staying small and having a non corporate feel. They also strive to employee young workers in a state that is economically stricken and worried about their young adults leaving the state to live elsewhere. One weakness I believe that they have is that their merchandise can be over priced and even though started to compete with lower priced items there were no real studies done on how well the products would do. One of their major weaknesses is their human resources department and their lack of technical support. They switched to new major software with no one that could fix a problem if one occurred. Business-Level Strategy Their strategy was to find a way to keep their customers loyal while offering the best possible choices in specialty coffees and to help contribute to the great state of Alaska’s economy. Their potential for success I believe is still quite good. As long as Powell can overhaul is leadership strategy and his chain of command, I think they could become even more profitable than they already are. He needs to make a lot of changes but he has the right idea and now he just needs to build on it. Even though it may not be the Alaskan way of doing things he needs to come up with written ways and policies to go about key things in his business. The communication chain also must be improved for the business to continue to be successful. Cooperative Strategy ACC has some key alliances in place already with major retailers already selling their products in wholesale as well as, disturbing them as needed. Having an alliance with an already established local produce market has obviously been key to their early success and I would guess that those are the stores that continue to post the most profits. Since they do not have a written agreement in place I would recommend that he do so because if he were to lose those locations to say Starbucks, it could be detrimental to his business. Even though some of the major retailers already offer Starbucks products to the public, it is important that ACC stays on good terms with them so as not to lose their business since they are solely confined to Alaska any lose of a major retailer could have vastly negative effects. It is also key that stay in good relationships with the companies that they do their major business with for the same reasons as above. Options and Recommendation In order for ACC to stay in the specialty coffee market, they will need to do some drastic overhauling. Starting with Powell, he needs to establish a direct chain of command and follow through with it. He already gives managers leeway with projects but he has to help them make more informed decision so that he will not have to cancel projects. He also needs to bring in a financial analyst to help teach his managers how to budget and be more open with the financials of the business. After that he needs to revamp his human resource department and definitely bring in an IT specialist to help deal with any software issues. While he also needs to bring in people to train all the essential employees on how to use the software adequately enough that they will be able to teach new employees. I would say he then needs to have a clear line of vision of where he wants the company to go and how he wants it to get there. In order to do that I believe he needs a committee or a board of directors to help weigh in on decisions and help spark new ways and ideas of innovating and implementing strategies. It is also apparent that he needs to upgrade his facilities so that they can operate at full capacity which will also help get rid of some of the overhead he has. Then he needs to establish one way that all stores will look and future stores will be laid out. The one thing that he may not want to do because it may seem like they are going corporate but there are too many uncertainties from one store to the next. They do not have to be identical but the way things are done internally and as far as customer service goes that should be. Overall I think ACC can last and be the main Specialty Coffee supplier in Alaska he just needs to do a little overhauling.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Aristotle and Virtue Essay Example for Free

Aristotle and Virtue Essay Aristotle believes that we need virtue, both of thought and of character, to achieve that completeness leading to happiness. This is the function: activity in the soul in accord with virtue, where soul is defined as what is in us that carries out our characteristic activity. Aristotle is right in believing we need virtue. The end of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics Book I introduces the idea that since happiness is â€Å"a certain sort of activity of the soul in accord with complete virtue, we must examine virtue,† because doing so will allow us to closer analyze and understand how to study happiness. He goes on to identify two areas: virtues of thought and virtues of character. I believe the philosopher is right when he thinks that a good life requires harnessing both kinds of virtues. Virtues of thought are simpler to identify, as they include excellence in problem solving skills, abstract and rational thought, mathematics and the like. Virtues of character, which are also called ‘moral virtues’, seem to be more complex and are also an integral part of the completeness that Aristotle said was necessary for a good life. Some examples of these virtues are generosity and patience. Virtues of character are definitely good for the possessor as Aristotle states in chapter 6, â€Å"having these feelings at the right times, about the right things, toward the right people, for the right end, and in the right way, is the intermediate and best condition, and this is the proper virtue. † Finding that mean or middle ground, that balance or yin and yang, is essential to establishing a completeness which ultimately lead to happiness. One problem may be actually the path to virtue. The idea of pleasure without pain is not realistic in the mortal world. Everything on this plane is relative. Take, for example, two dogs: Dog A lives on the street and has all of his life. He has to find himself food everyday in alleys and has to deal with the weather. This life is good to him because it is his world and he does not know any better. As far as Dog A is concerned, he is in ‘heaven’. Dog B lives in a mansion with air conditioning and gourmet steaks that are given to him on a regular basis. This is all Dog B knows and he is not aware of anything else out there better than this (even though it surely exists), so this dog is in heaven also. Imagine their own individual and relative differences if they were to switch places. Dog A would go to a mansion atmosphere and the comfort of his life would dramatically improve, while Dog B’s life would be hell all of a sudden. This relation of pleasure to pain and how it is all relative makes one take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Nelson, W. Philosophy 1305 Proteus Classics Readings. Thomson Custom Publishing, Mason. pgs 81-122. Aristotle and Virtue. (2016, Dec 13).

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Virgin Airways Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Virgin Airways - Assignment Example Currently, the airline is using Embraer jets, Boeing and Airbus for its flight services and has a presence in 29 cities across Australia. The airline is also a member of the Sytax alliance and is given a 4-star rating. Virgin Airways has managed to be one of the leading airlines in Australia and around the globe. This paper aims at analyzing the nature of the business including the internal and external business environment. The paper will also focus on a discussion of the planning and strategy formulation, organizational change, and how the company implements corporate social responsibility and ethical behavior. However, the paper will mainly concentrate on the strategy formulation of the company in order to understand the competitive advantage of the company. Planning and Strategy Formulation According to Virgin Airways, its major strategies are defined as being creative in addressing the challenges facing the company. The company heavily relies on the Virgin brand name in terms of providing quality services at affordable prices (Hooley 60). The company puts great emphasis on improving its human resources by having a strong focus on values, culture and pioneer leadership. Business analysts contend that the virgin culture is phenomenon in the sense that the brand has a very strong culture that is recognized for quality and value for money. The virgin brand is also recognized for its fun work environment. Research studies indicate that the virgin brand was 94 percent recognized before the airline was finally established. The brand was being tanked among the best ten brands in the Asia-Pacific region and also among the top trusted brands in Australia (Hooley 66). Virgin Airways has managed to establish a very unique culture through Richard Branson. Branson is among the high profile entrepreneurs that exist in the modern world and has managed to transform the world of business through his emphasis on a unique working culture. Most of the airline employees have pr eviously worked for the Virgin Group. This is to ensure that there is the spread of the Virgin culture across the airline company. The company’s senior management has a good working relationship attributed to the fact that most of the members have worked together as a team in their previous job positions at Virgin Group. They have respect for each other’s talent and ability. This is a strong working culture that has been established at the top and one that filters down the company. The main corporate synergy for the company is the ability to operate like a venture capital firm based on the Virgin brand name (Hooley 70). This involves non-related diversification at the individual level of business. This is achieved through the creation of hierarchical relationships and the interactions between the corporate head office and the airline business unit. The airline company has managed to leverage on the virgin brand which has approximately 96 percent prominence in the minds of consumers. This ensured that the airline entered the industry with a bang. Virgin Australia was established in 2011 but has managed to shake up existing orders in the market and given competitors a run for their money. Virgin Australia is a business unit under the Virgin Group but the company is focused and develops as an autonomous business under the Virgin brand name. This creates a decentralized organizational structure and independent decision making

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Projects and their management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Projects and their management - Essay Example In the enclosed review of what, how, and when certain needed skills or knowledge is warranted to defining how critical a project manager is to a project will show its overall importance in reaching success (Savory and Butterfield 1998). The focused areas are knowledge and application that outline the needed awareness in critical points that presents challenges from a less skilled profession to remedy a particular situation. In such an analysis, the outcome will provide the understanding to the true reasoning’s by the assumption that a project manager is the proactive measure to facilitating the project scope (Thill and Bovee, 2007). The evaluation on all the needed processes, interventions, identifying, traceability and monitoring - that has the definitions of what required skills are necessary to be deemed a capable project manager. Identified Required Knowledge and Usage of Application from a Project Manager The usage of core project management tools is essential to effectiv ely monitoring the progress of the project. The project manager awareness of controversies is the important standpoints for the ability to showing how connections and distinctions relate to differences in a functional environment (O’Conor, 2000). ... The true understanding of the defined processes for making the project successfully happen provides the matrix to forming the right strategy of execution (Thompson and Bunker, 2006). The project manager’s skill set is in the decision making ability that will determine a successful outcome will occur or an unsuccessful outline. The senior project manager is about making the discipline of initiating, planning, executing, and the actual managing resources with the focus on completing specific deliverables within budget (Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, and Sutton, 2008). The needed quality and time restraints are the driving force that detects the project manager skill of decision making to either a successful outcome or a failure (Jennings, 2010). The building of the project manager’s skills are an integral part in determining if the planning of the project proves to being a profitable one – that is outline in the defined project scope. Therefore, the knowledge base is th e streamline of implementing an entire project from start to finish for adhering to the time and budget constraint. The prowess of the project manager must realize the scope vision and elements required in facilitating the needed pace of meeting deliverables dates and expectations of quality. The successful project manager is visionary to foreseeing challenges that can prevent the finish of certain or all deliverables, especially within the critical point, that reference a keen eye of perception to keeping pace. The identification of the key metrics are the important element to considering how the approach the can or should be applied in meeting project scope goals. The project life cycle correlates to the determining factor of

Monday, August 26, 2019

Research Design Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Research Design - Assignment Example Looking at extrinsic motivation, this motivation comes from the outside. In the next stage, they are more internal about their motivation, and this relates more to themes of self-efficacy and self-esteem that comes from inside the individual instead of coming from outside. Having intrinsic motivation is not necessarily the same thing as having self-esteem, although it may be related to this concept. Valuing health and a fitness atmosphere is also a big part of cultivating self-esteem and positive self-image in this environment of research questions into athletic performance, and decreasing potential conflicts and problems in life. Overall, the plan focuses on both self-esteem and motivation. Motivation shows a mind-body connection, so whether or not a positive and motivated mind can lead to a better body for the subjects, is another major question in regards to the researchers. This points towards a holistic definition of fitness as is shown in motivation itself, of which this is part of internal or intrinsic motivation to increase the fitness level of the athlete, who is measured cycling in the study. The authors make educated guesses about whether or not athletes would respond positively or negatively to motivational factors. â€Å"Athletes occasionally follow pacing patterns that seem unreasonably aggressive compared with those of prerace performances, potentially because of the motivation provided by competition. This study evaluated the effect of extrinsic motivation on cyclists` time trial performance† (Hulleman et al., 2007). Extrinsic motivation may be true, but uses levers to encourage a certain way of thinking. Dealing with issues of motivation and planning means that the athlete would be hypothesized to need to have definite goals and at the same time still be flexible. That is, the effective motivated pro will have a master plan going but at the same

Sunday, August 25, 2019

History Document Analysis on ETA and the Basque Country Essay

History Document Analysis on ETA and the Basque Country - Essay Example 498). In its campaigns thus far, the ETA has committed over 900 killings and dozens of kidnappings. While the ETA did declare a unilateral cease-fire on March 22, 2006, on September 23, 2006, the organization announced that it would resume hostilities until the achievement of Basque independence (ETA). To understand the sentiments at work in all three of these documents – particularly the harsh dichotomies of the Arana piece – it is good to have an understanding of the dynamics at work within the ETA. To people outside of the Basque region, and, in particular, outside of Spain, the mission of the ETA sounds just like one of many small revolutionary groups, agitating for its own few square miles of self-determination, if only to avoid the larger taxing entities in the country around it (Funes, p. 499). Each of these little splinter groups has its own manifesto that spouts idealistic words and phrases, its own shrill anthem that sounds to the modern person listening from abroad much like, quite frankly, the declarations that leapt from the American colonies to the government of Great Britain in the later days of the eighteenth century. The modern chapter of the Basque story begins during the reign of Francisco Franco, and his attempts to drive the Basque nation off the very face of the planet. Because there had been Basque sympathizers with the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War, Franco decided to eliminate any signs of Basque culture from the public consciousness. The Basque flag could not be displayed; Basque holidays could not be publicly celebrated; teaching the Basque language, or even speaking it in public, were forbidden; baptizing children who did not have Spanish surnames was proscribed (Sullivan, p. 88). This crackdown against non-Spanish cultures was not carried out throughout the country, however. While Guipuscoa and Biscay were also singled out for this attempted annihilation of local culture, because of their

Introduction to Web and Multimedia Quiz Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Introduction to Web and Multimedia Quiz - Essay Example Choose one answer. D a. HTML b. CSS c. DOM d. NET e. JAVA 10 Marks: 1 In AJAX terms, what is the DOM Choose one answer. A a. Document Object Model b. Distributed Object Model c. Documented Object Method d. Disseminated Objects Method e. Delineated Object Methodology 11 Marks: 1 The Internet started as: Choose one answer. A a. An American military research project b. A commercial venture by Microsoft and IBM c. A student project d. A way to make use of personal computers e. A joint project by television companies 12 Marks: 1 POP3 is an Internet protocol for Choose one answer. B a. Composing songs b. Collecting E-Mail from servers c. Sending E-Mail to servers d. Uploading web pages e. Gaining remote access to computers 13 Marks: 1 The location of a resource, such as a web page, is given by a URL. URL stands for: Choose one answer. C a. Universal Road Language b. Unidentified Record Label c. Uniform Resource Locator d. Understandable Route List e. Unreasonable Response Link 14 Marks: 1 The use of tags is DEPRECATED by style sheets. In this context DEPRECATED means Choose one answer. D a. added to b. totally replaced by c. usually replaced with the current standard d. made redundant e. interpreted 15 Marks: 1 The following tag and attribute are usually used to: Choose one answer. C a. Produce a blank background in a table b. produce a phantom table c. remove the outer border of a table d. set the border colour to black e. position the text in the table 16 Marks: 1 By default, when a web browser comes across unknown tags, Choose...The salesmen were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of data nets danced in their heads. And I with my datascope tracings and dumps prepared for some pretty bad bruises and lumps. When out in the hall there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my desk to see what was the matter." What service of the Internet translates domain names (computer hostnames) to IP addresses. and also lists mail exchange servers accepting e-mail for each domain. In other words it provides a worldwide keyword-based redirection service

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Children in the restaurant observation Research Paper

Children in the restaurant observation - Research Paper Example 1100: Tasha enters through the door and seems to be dragging her mum inside as though she cannot wait to have a taste of the delicacies served in the restaurant. She shouts, â€Å"I want French fries, mum I need those† as she points to one of the customer’s plates that is loaded with nicely plated brown French fries with strands of red ketchup. Just as expected, Tasha and her mum are both served, and they head for their seats. Tasha eats hurriedly while focusing all her attention on her plate and seems to care less about her mum seated right in front of her. Neither does she care about adding ketchup or salt to her food. 1105: Jean gets into the hotel with his mother. He does not seem to be in a hurry and stops at the door to watch the restaurant’s cowboy statue erected at the entrance. It is not until his mum drags him that he finds a seat opposite Tasha’s. He seems to care less about the food. His mum joins him with two plates of French fries, and they begin to eat. 1110: Tasha stretches her left hand to reach for a bottle of ketchup. Her mum mumbles a few words before she goes on picking her chips one after the other. Tasha seems reluctant to add ketchup to her half full plate of French fries. She gazes around aimlessly like though she had not noticed the presence of their customers in the restaurant before she finally squeezes the ketchup on her plate wastefully. Her mum seems irritated and grabs the bottle. 1115: Jean eats slowly but steadily. He is not distracted by the melee caused in the restaurant when a group of rowdy teenagers enter the premise. Jean only lifts his head for a moment as if to confirm his mum’s presence then resumes his slow but steady eating. 1120: Tasha seems a little distracted by the food on her plate and begins to play with the sticks of chips. She rolls her sleeves up and begins to rearrange the food on her plate as if to create some sought of artwork. She

Friday, August 23, 2019

Integrated risk management (financial risk management) Essay

Integrated risk management (financial risk management) - Essay Example World has evolved rapidly over the last few decades. The changes on our economic horizon are just a part of a global economic shift toward better more efficient and transparent systems. The term ‘better’ is a very generic term. This has been used basically to make a statement about diversity. The term ‘better’ changes its meaning every few years for everyone. For example a few years ago it was better to own an apartment in a high rise apartment building than an ordinary house. Today however the trend has changed once again. People prefer buying private houses rather than apartments; even the most expensive ones. This is because of a socio cultural shift in human evolution. This is just a very small example of the change that is present all around us. Another example if of the concept used mostly in International Business Management (IBM) called ‘International Product Life Cycle’. This concept basically assumes that a product exists in every phas e of its life cycle if we look at the world as a whole. A very relevant example would be of a Plasma LCD. These LCDs are in the growth stage of their life cycle in developed countries. In other developed countries however they might still be in the introductory stage. This is just an example of the complexity and diversity that is present in our business environment today. This complexity and diversity makes decision making very difficult. The risk factor therefore becomes even more prominent and damaging. When every decision might be right and wrong at the same time, how can you minimize risk? Moreover a global business environment is order of the day. This means that there are very few large and successful corporations which are not multinationals. Going beyond borders has therefore become a recipe for success. Recently a new phenomenon has emerged called outsourcing. This basically includes using human

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Global and regional environmental Essay Example for Free

Global and regional environmental Essay People across the globe are being affected by global and regional environmental changes. The drastic environmental problems such ozone layer depletion and climate change are as a result of over consumption, unsustainable life styles and unhealthy patterns of development (Harris, 47). Environmental problems are likely to hit the marginalized and the poor first often with drastic consequences but latter they will also affect the privileged. Unless these environmental problems are curbed they are threatening to cause havoc to the life support systems and the ecosystems. This will therefore lead to an immense and unprecedented crisis for the whole humanity. To achieve sustainable development and the health of the environment it requires drastic changes in the current global order and formulation of the alternative ways of thinking. Within environmental movements there are huge wealth of experiences, ideas and visions of what an alternative environmental sustainable and people oriented societies can look like. Environmental destruction has always been part of the human history (Harris, 48). Throughout time the problems of the environment have been important factors affecting the health of people both at regional and global level. The pressure on the environment has increased enormously as a result of changing scales of the human society increases and development of the technology. This problem is fuelled by the runaway global economic systems which have created over consumption (unprecedented affluence) and enormous level of poverty. The environmental problems now threaten to cause irreversible harm to the ecosystems and increase inequalities on a global scale (Pickering Owen, 117). Some of the environmental problems are immediate local problems whose their causes can be known and their solutions be identified. On the other hand other environmental problems are incredibly complex and they are often complex to handle. Such environmental problems involve much uncertainty and affect the whole globe and are the result of combined human behavior. These problems are maintained and embedded on the societal structures (Harris, 50). Some critics argue that environmental problems are as a result of the present day population growth especially in the third world countries and natural resources depletion in the highly industrialized countries (Harris, 50). Alarmist argue that the explosive population growth in less developed countries and overexploitation of the non renewable resources by the highly industrialized countries are combining to produce sets of condition which cannot be sustained in the long-run by our finite world. The population problems of third world countries constitute an impediment to social economic development and can pose a threat to depletion of natural resources. However relatively low crude population densities in many third world countries with exception of some few areas they do not produce population pressure on the natural resources (Harris, 52). Most of the third worlds countries have an even population distribution and few urban centers are becoming overcrowded. High rates of population growth in third world countries is as a result of high and constant fertility that have possibilities of reducing mortality due to the improved health facilities. Because of high proportion of children and high patterns of fertility heavy dependence burden is produced within the populations in most third world countries. The heavy dependence implies large expenditures of provision of employment and education for the growing population (Pickering Owen, 134). Most bureaucrats, economists and political leaders in third world countries especially in Africa argue that third world countries in Africa have abundant resources which have not yet been tapped. They also argue that large area in Africa have not been inhabited and therefore the political question that population growth put pressure on the limited natural resources should not be taken seriously (Harris, 53). There is need for the political leaders, economist and bureaucrats to know the prospect of the third world countries in terms of the resources base that can absorb the population problems of the third world countries (Harris, 54). In comparison to other industrialized countries for example Europe nations the land under cultivation in third world African countries is three times higher per capita, the livestock per capita is two times higher, the grazing land per each unit of livestock is a bout seven times higher while the mineral resources out put of third worlds countries in Africa constitute one tenth of the mineral output of the whole world (Harris, 54). The primary energy resources of the third world countries are enormous which are comprised of natural gas and petroleum product coal and hydro power for example 32 percent of world hydro power which can be exploited, 12 percent of reserves of uranium and 60 percent of thorium reserves are found in Africa third world countries. Despite the abundant resources of the third world countries most countries in Africa are under developed (Harris, 57). It would be a weak argument to suggest that the high population growth in the third world countries is the root cause of their underdevelopment. However the high population growth of the third world countries is an important factor that impedes development. The rapid population growth constitutes pressure on the arable land. Several million hectares of land are being degraded in third world countries (Pickering Owen, 204). The degradation of land can be linked to population pressure and poverty, values and attitude of people weak tenure systems and land management and drought which often results in over exploitation of the natural resources such as the trees used for fuel wood, overgrazing deforestation and unsustainable agricultural activities. Degradation has decreased land productivity, increased desertification and causes loss of arable land in most third world countries (Pickering Owen, 206). As a result of degradation in the third world countries there is less food than can be produced in degraded lands and also the availability of biomass is greatly reduced. Land degradation also makes the ecosystems to be less resilient and increases chances of malnutrition and susceptibility of diseases in the local populations. Third world countries like china, Ethiopia, Brazil, Nepal, India and most African countries have caused much of environmental degradation. In recent time the respective government has began to introduce policies to minimize the extensive environmental degradation that their countries are facing (Pickering Owen, 213). The environmental policies have been developed soon after formation of and applying pressure by several activist groups in the field of environment. Initially before the activist groups applied pressure the governments in the third world countries did not see any needs to develop environmental policies. Environmental degradation is only the problem of the third world countries and most often thirds world countries have make do with what they owns and usually they compete with large populations (Pickering Owen, 208). Once a natural resource for example water is degraded it become of little use to the people. On the other hand western or industrialized countries have a higher standard of living than third world countries or less developed countries. In developed countries the communities have access to electricity, clean water, housing, employment, refrigeration, clothing, food, heating, hospital, schools, medicines, machinery, manufacturing, communication and road thus in the process they consume much of the resources (Pickering Owen, 209). The communities of the third world poor countries do not have access to these things and they rely on what they can hunt, gather or grow. People in the third world countries acquire other things if they have surplus produce to sell and therefore are disadvantaged to gain access to power supply, telecommunication, railways and roads thus becomes difficult to access the few schools hospitals etc and therefore third world countries are not degrading the environment as much as the developed nations (Pickering Owen, 210).

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

The Unjust War In Iraq Politics Essay

The Unjust War In Iraq Politics Essay Peaceful efforts to disarm the Iraqi regime have failed again and again-because we are not dealing with peaceful men, stated the President of the United States of America, George W. Bush, as he declared war to Iraq. The Iraq War was labeled as a preventive war, aimed at removing the threat before it could arise and by the criterion of the just war theory this type of war is often considered morally dubious. Through close scrutiny of Bushs arguments, we find that the invasion of Iraq was unjustified because insufficient reasoning was advanced for the proposition that the war was just. The just war theory sets a series of very specific conditions to be cleared by proponents of war, and in this case they failed. Therefore, on the grounds of insufficient reason, the Iraq War is unjust. In order to properly make this claim it is necessary to analyze President George W. Bushs argument, focusing on the components of the jus ad bellum criteria from the just war theory. The arguments stated b y President Bush on March 17, 2003 as valid for declaring war did not fulfill all the criteria necessary, such as: just cause and right intention, to place the second Iraq war as permissible; rather it can be claimed unnecessary. Just war theory has set the guideline for evaluating war in a moral spectrum (Miller, 1). The just war tradition presents a series of justifications that must be valid in order to reach a prudentially defensible decision about whether to go to war or not. Just war theory states that a nation may engage in warfare only for the purpose of self defense and only when all other means to solve the conflict have been exhausted (Coates, 98). First, in order for the Iraq War to be permissible, it should have had valid arguments for the Jus ad Bellum criteria. The Jus ad Bellum criterias intention is to question the permissibility of war, meaning when and under what circumstances may a state may engage in war and when, if ever, is it morally justified (Miller, 1). Under the Jus ad Bellum criteria there are several decisive factors that must be met in order to be justified. President Bush fails to meet all of these criteria and engaged in a war that was not morally permissible. Obviously the most crucial matter is determining the reasons why to engage in war, to abide by the regulations of the just cause criterion, which clearly states that force may only be used when there has been an aggression against a states sovereignty or human rights (Miller, 2). George W. Bush has said that the Iraq War can be justified by this criterion, because force can be used in self-defense or to pre-empt an imminent attack. The rationale behind of Bushs argument was that Saddam Hussein had possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and had a supposed relation to the terrorist group Al-Qaeda. As he made clear with his declarations The danger is clear: using chemical, biological or, one day, nuclear weapons, obtained with the help of Iraq, the terrorist could fulfill their stated ambitions and kill thousands or hundreds of thousands of innocent people in our country. If these accusations were true, then it would be valid as far as just cause, because indeed they would be engaging in preemptive war insofar as there is an imminent threat. This is the basis for the Bush Doctrine dictates in a war where there are weapons of mass destruction, the threat is always imminent, which is the basis for the previously mentioned argument. The idea that because the stakes are too high there was a moral obligation to act first and not wait for a strike was also one of the ideas used to justify the need for war. However, over the course of six years, American troops continue to sacrifice their lives and not one weapons of mass destruction has been unearthed and few ties to Al-Qaeda have been discovered.    In light of these facts, it is easy to understand why the majority of the American population considers the War in Iraq a disastrous blunder and a failure to in fact comply with the regulations of just cause. Moreover, if an argument can be that we have to strike first against anything that might appear as a threat, then we would be constantly attacking other co untries because they disagree with the United States policies. No war is totally predicable. Therefore, President Bush failed to give a valid reason to fulfill the just cause condition. In another light, it might be arguable that there was right intention behind the war in Iraq. President Bush feverishly argued in his speech that the intention to disarm Iraq was solely to protect people from the war on terror and a tyrant leader. We will tear down the apparatus of terror and we will help you to build a new Iraq that is prosperous and freeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.the tyrant will soon be gone, if this is indeed the heroic intention behind the war, then it adheres to Jus ad Bellum criterion. However, there have and continue to exist terrible regimes in the world, such as Sudan and North Korea just to mention a few. I still have not seen President Bush call a press conference and declare a war against them in order to fulfill his moral duty to liberate people from oppression. I doubt that his concerns regarding human rights were ever at the top of his political agenda. From what we have witness of the Iraq War, we can conclude that it was not approached as a war to bring about s ocial justice, the number of civilian deaths is outstanding and no one could ever think of this war as a humanitarian act. What I am saying is that right intention is not met either because the goal of war should be to attain peace and there should be no private motivations, and even as if we can all agree that disarmament is ideal and desirable, I do find the real motives questionable. I cannot discard the possibility that protecting the innocent might just be a byproduct of real intent such as, but not limited to, retaliating past injustices or damages of Saddam Husseins regime on the United States, a form of revenge for the resentment on a speculation of the relation between Hussein and the terrorist attacks from 9/11, or to force Iraq into a regime change because of the dislike of their leader (Prados, 127). By intentions such as vengeance as a goal of war the permissibility of war would have been denied. Let us remind ourselves that it is necessary not only to fight against an unjust cause but for a just one. As far as legitimate authority goes, this is a very fragile condition to break. President Bush could be deemed as a legitimate authority insofar as he is acting on behalf of a common good, but whose common good is he acting on behalf of? As he mentioned: The United States of America has sovereign authority to use force in assuring its own national security. That duty falls to me, as Commander-in-Chief, he clearly was acting for the good of his country, but he does not mention anything regarding the good of the rest of the world, particularly the Iraqi people. Indeed it is hard to determine this when the intentions for the war are unclear. Besides, Iraq had not attacked the United States directly, let us not forget that there is no proof of any link between the terrorist attacks and Saddam Hussein, therefore not placing a direct threat on their sovereignty. Therefore, the United Nations was the legitimate authority as they were engaging in a diplomatic intervention before the invasion on behalf of the common good of all nations. It is necessary to clarify that the UN Security Council is a collection of authorities who act as a whole and no member should act on its own. This is directly linked to the other condition of the Jus ad Bellum criteria: last resort. This deals with the idea that all other resorts had been exhausted and all other attempts had been ineffective. The argument here for George W. Bush was that after twelve years of democracy, more than a dozen resolutions in the United Nations Security Council, and all other failed attempts of what he calls good faith had been exhausted, and, therefore, he had to act. Even though it is undeniable that Iraq had clearly violated various resolutions presented by the United Nations Security Council, there was still reasonable hope for a democratic solution. People failed to challenge faulty information and justifications given by Bush and his administration because they were so immersed into Groupthink (Prados, 17). Meaning that a group made a faulty decision because group pressure led to a deterioration of their efficiency to make good decisions and tend to ignore alternatives. War should not be re sorted to just because it is faster than diplomacy. As a result, it can be said that there is always another option and the Iraq war was certainly not the last resort. Proportionality was another big argument for President Bush; in fact this can be the basis of the Bush doctrine. He stated that the risk of inaction would most definitely outweigh the risk of action, meaning that if they did not act they could be facing a nuclear attack: We choose to meet that threat now, where it arises, before it can appear suddenly in our skies and cities. Nonetheless, this can be disproven as well insofar as no weapons of mass destruction were found and so if the United States would not of acted they would not have been more threatened by them than they have always been to countries that dislike them. In terms of just war theory and specifically the Jus ad Bellum criterion it can be concluded that these concepts can be twisted in directions that are not legitimate to try to make a war permissible. This was clearly the case with the Iraq War. Using the novelty idea of a pre-emptive war, in which they were entitled to attack another country just by believing that they had the potential to become a threat, President Bush was able to get away with it. I do not believe that any nation or leader has the noble intentions to really try to prevent something just for the sake of a universal good as it was presented on Bushs speech. There always has to be a hidden intention or benefit, and I am sure this was war was not the exception, even though we can only speculate about what the real motivations were, we can be sure that the arguments presented on the Presidents speech were not sufficient to abide to the conditions of the just war theory, specifically the Jus ad Bellum criterion. Further more, the primary reason for engaging in warfare is to restore peace and the Iraq War has failed miserably to deliver peace and security to the Iraqi people or to anyone for that matter, making this the unnecessary war.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Business Strategy of Emirates Airline

Business Strategy of Emirates Airline In 1974, three years after the independence, the rules of the EAU decided to establish to a joint carrier of flag: Air of Gulf. Nevertheless, a tense relation between the air line and the government of Dubai existed after his beginning, as this one re fading to yield before the demands of the Air of Gulf to leave his politics of open skies. In the reaction, the Air of Gulf reduced frequencies and capacities to and of Dubai for more than two thirds between 1984 and 1985 without the notice previous(Wilson 2005). Since the foreign carriers demonstrated incapable or desinclinados to fill the hollow, Dubai then the rule, recepiente of Sheikh Mohammed Rashid To Maktoum, summoned a team of experts headline Maurice Flanagan and later affiliated by Tim Clark and the son then 26-year-old of the rule, Sheikhs Recepiente Ahmed Saeed Al Maktoum to design an emergency plan. The recommendation of the group to establish to a carrier of house for Dubai was rapidly accepted by the rule, but heimpo sed two conditions: the new air line should find the standards of the highest quality and there would be no additional injections of capital of the government in addition to the financing of starter of 10 millions of reconciled USD. On October 25, 1985, the first flight of the Emirates left to Karachi, using an A300 wet leasehold of Pakistan International air Line. The air Line of Emirates is the carrier of flag of United Arab Emirates and a principal air line of the Middle East. His key bucket is the International Dubai Airport, which joins it with an extensive network of international routes.The air line is a branch of the group of Emirates, an international public corporation that also supports the honor of making work four of the commercial flights the longest continues from Dubai to Los Angeles, San Paulo, Houston, and San Francisco. This offers extensive trips of air in the EAU and Middle East. The air line also supports a division of separated load, for the name of Emirates SkyCargo. It is between the most rapid air lines of growth of the world, which gained enormous income for 500 million dollars in 1993. HISTORY OF EMIRATES AIRLINE Air Lines of Emirates support 127 aircraft quickly, consisting of Airbus A330-200, Airbus A340-300, Airbus A340-500, Airbus A380-800, Boeing 777-200, Boeing 777-200ER, Boeing 777-200LR, Boeing 777 -300 and Boeing 777-300ER. The airline investigating its fleet frequently, in accordance with its policy to support a young fleet. In 2008 the Emirates for the second air line to demolish the Airbus 380-800, after Air Lines of Singapore. This has also asked for 58 Airbus A380-800, making it the biggest customer of this Airbus. The use of air line of his plane is the highest in the industry, climbing to 13.7 hours in a day. aviation, value U.S. $ 19 billion, adding 71 new planes. This is now the client as principal cast of two ultra-modern new aircraft A340-600 HGW and double-decker A380 super-jumbos. DESTINATION COVERED Emirates Airline covers 101 destinations, in 60 countries of the world. It flies to Canada, U.S, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand. In Europe, it serves France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Russia, England, Switzerland, Turkey and Malta. The airline carries passengers to destinations like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Philippines in Asia and Egypt, Morocco, Sudan, Libya, Angola, Kenya, Mauritius, Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana in Africa. FLEET Air Lines of Emirates support 127 aircraft quickly, consisting of Airbus A330-200, Airbus A340-300, Airbus A340-500, Airbus A380-800, Boeing 777-200, Boeing 777-200ER, Boeing 777-200LR, Boeing 777 -300 and Boeing 777-300ER. The airline investigating its fleet frequently, in accordance with its policy to support a young fleet. In 2008 the Emirates for the second air line to demolish the Airbus 380-800, after Air Lines of Singapore. This has also asked for 58 Airbus A380-800, making it the biggest customer of this Airbus. The use of air line of his plane is the highest in the industry, climbing to 13.7 hours in a day. ACHIEVEMENTS Air Lines of the Emirates is one of the first 10 airlines in the world, based on revenue, passenger kilometers. This is also the largest air line in the Middle East, in terms of income, fast-size, and passengers walked. The airline is the seventh largest in the world in terms of international passengers is taken. This supports the state of the air lines of the worlds larger quarters, in terms of kilometer international demolished because of the passengers. In 2009, Singapore Airlines, the fifth best air hose was voted the world by signing the agreement with the survey Skytrax, the earliest positions ninth (2008), ninth (2007), called up the (2006) and third (2005). http://www.iloveindia.com/airlines-in-india/international/emirates-airline.html The Emirates Group Air Lines of Emirates (including his subsidiaries Load of Sky by Emirates of load) is only one division of the Group for the Emirates, a few globally active national travel and tourism conglomerate, which provide good aviation-related support services. Finally, the group of Emirates 43.6 percent of the Air Line SriLankan. The Dubai Governments aviation- Related Activities dress of an even higher level of aggregation, the Emirates Group, for his {your} part, it is only one element of a complete bundle related to aviation, full as it is about responsibility Sheikh receiver Ahmed Saeed Al Maktoum (1) (1) World of Dubai Central Consortium (activity: the construction of Jebel Ali Airport City is also the new mega-airport in Dubai). (2) Department of Dubai Civil Aviation (activity: that all statutory tasks related to aviation, which operates the airport DXB, Dubai Libre of taxes and the people of the Load in Dubai) (3) Business of the airspace in Dubai (activities: leasing of planes, airport planning and direction, consultation, maintenance and related to aviation education). SWOT Analysis Strengths Many of the forces in the Emirates they come from the ruling which the Court has taken in his foundation, and from his single organizational structure. Not only carrier benefits of having failed to be created from scratch just 22 years ago, leading to flat hierarchies and essentially all of the costs of heredity, but which is more important is the central role of aviation in the strategy for the development of Dubai, Emirates also by ensuring a very favorable political environment. Emirates extract profit well below costs in its airport in the house. Obtaining the fees are generally the same as that of the main airports, has no air line flying into DXB to pay any additional cost (as cost of noise, the cost of ATC, security expenses, etc.), the Emirates just like any other company doing business in Dubai or, indeed, in most states, the Gulf of Mexico to take advantage of the low tax rate from Dubai diet, which only holds branches of foreign banks and companies of energy to the corpo ration. Obviously this is an advantage, while the company is profitable. The laws of immigration of Dubai is quite generous by international standards. Only it does not support this one for foreign experts who can be easily recruited by the local signatures. This also applies to passengers in transit who do not have to clean the immigration of DBX changing planes. second of the fort in the Emirates is his service awarded in all classes, which are connected or surpassed only by a few other airlines such as Air Lines, Singapore. Weaknesses It is almost impossible for foreigners to discern any great weakness. But although apparently not reliable as a source, some cartels on the Internet related to travel blogs complaining about the quality of services as sanding (as he stabilizes himself) in general and the lack of consistency that service in particular. In fact, the Emirates was less affected in the recent profit Syntax and other awards for the quality of exceptional service. Opportunities Clearly the factor of the main contributions to the success of the Emirates, and a huge opportunity for future growth, is very favorable position in Dubai. Approximately 3.5 billion people live within eight hours of flying. Moreover, Dubai is placed directly in the intersection of some basic flows of passengers and cargo, p.ej. Asia (Small Stone / India) Africa, Asia in the southeastern part of Europe, Europe-Australia/New Zealand, India North America, sits on the economic importance of which grows in parallel with an increase in the emerging economies in the vicinity. In addition, DXB has become a master and often saves time go point for passengers (and it loads) travel from smaller towns, especially in Western Europe, the road to Australasia and up to Africa. In fact, for passengers flying, lets say, Hamburg to Sydney, Emirates offer a universal one union instead of at least two stops in almost all of Oneworld, Skyteam or encaminamientos of Estrellas Alliance. And for flights t o Asia, Emirates offer the same universal service as his European competitors, but to a greater number of destinations). What is more, not only has EAU government has been very hit in the negotiation of agreements on free trade in all major economies in the U.S. to the emerging markets of Asia (but not with a European reluctance Union), who very likely will increase demand for air travel to and from the EAU. What is more, has the Arabic entire peninsula has been one of the faster growth regions worldwide. From the many nearby countries, including the most populous, Saudi Arabia, they have dealt with the gradual liberalization of his markets for air transport, the new opportunities for growth are also the Emirates in his region in the house. Finally, for the decision of the Emirates to work a huge fleet of A380 allows the air line to continue to grow by no means airports are forced to groove it serves, though even their European competitors primary buckets. Threats A much more likely threat is the increase that lobbies for some of his competitors in key markets such as Australia, France and Germany, and largely without the benefit of Canada, for the legal protection from the extension of the Emirates in his to house the cover with lawn . For example, Lufthansa campaign vigorously against the project by Singapore Airlines to serve the Berlin and Stuttgart, although the operators of these two airports have tried a lot of time to attract more intercontinental services that Lufthansa has not prone to, or, in the case of Berlin, it has not provide a profitable way. http://www.aerlines.nl/issue_38/38_Knorr_Eisenkopf_Emirates_Business_Model.pdf PEST ANALYSIS OF EMIRATES AIRLINES: POLITICAL ASPECTS: Air Line of Emirates has been protected by regulation or the rules and policies formulated by the Government of Dubai and other countries where they work. Bosom of the government of Dubai is the only holder of the industry the company has been able to join to the policy of all governments to ensure him that the company will lead commercial activities successfully and with power. In addition, the company also formulates its own policies for protection against possible government restrictions and limitations. ECONOMIC ASPECTS It is said to be one of the largest and most competitive industry in the world in terms of air management and air transport, Air Line of Emirates, to be economically stable and guessed stability. Despite the many dangers that they find in different parts of the world, trying way air line of the Emirates that they could overcome such struggles and the strain of having a better economic conditions. SOCIAL ASPECTS The airline of the Emirates is affected by the situation in the society in which they work. Along with this, try the air line of Emirates harder to see him that they give to each community an equal opportunity to utilize the resources provided by the organization. The company follows the high reputation and relationships in the community to which they belong (2004). TECHNOLOGICAL ASPECTS The appearance of the technology of information and the Internet have a power line of Emirates has worked in recent years. Different Ello / ES adopt the companys systems and Internet are used to reach his client over the world and to know the latest trends in global business. Apart from these, the company uses including facilities that help to improve his productions and activities. http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/2009/02/emirates-airlines-leadership-analysis.html An Emerging Global Brand Emirates is a brand that actually occur as a global icon with its logo represented in the Arabic writing as a symbol of his origin. The air line at the Emirates construct an operational strategy and approach to the service of a truly global purveyor, supplying high quality service and boasting of one of the youngest and more advanced fleet of industry who will win the loyalty of its customers worldwide. Today, the Emirates flies to 78 destinations in 55 countries with more than 12 million passengers annually. Meanwhile, most of the air lines of the world has in the past year stabbing costs and slashing services, Emirates started eight new major lines only in 2004. Last summer it began his first U.S. flight, JFK airport of New York City and that he has already said that no fewer than nine U.S. destinations. Emirates Branding Emirates brand positions all traditional and new instruments for the marketing major, but the way that has helped him to walk with their customers and increase their knowledge of the brand the fastest sound sports patronage of the event owner. As Simon said: When we launch a new route, we do not just go there with an advertising campaign to promote our products and services.We together a complete campaign that builds up our reference letters as a corporate citizen and really he promotes social, cultural space and Community events. by hand with our publicity and campaigns of public relations, Emirates decide to sponsor events, groups or businesses that attract coverage of world television. Our study shows that choosing the right protection, we have been able to spectacular jumps in the promotion of our knowledge about the brand in new markets. http://www.dinarstandard.com/marketing/EmiratesBrand0091005.htm VIRO FRAME WORK Using Jay Barneys VRIO Frame work, we can better understand the competitive advantage of Emirates Airlines and the reasons behind its success. VALUE Air Lines of Emirates has valuable human resources and a personal good experience. Vice Chairman of the power line has more than 50 years experience in the business of aviation. The airline provides excellent information to his staff and it is pervasive in order to improve their skills without considering expenses. Also, air lines of the Emirates is the international carrier in Dubai that is politically stable area and having to its strategic location, especially for passengers in transit. Cardinal humans and the location of the airport to resolve an important role in the help of potential prowess of the power line and avoid threats. RARENESS I would consider to be the strategic location of Dubai, a scarce resource that provides the power line a great demand for their services. Human capital is a scarce resource as well. For example, the Sheikh Ahmed, an object of value and a scarce resource, and his image has a large contribution to the success of the airline. This is similar to Richard Branson and Virgin Atlantic Ocean. IMITABILITY The position of Dubai is a resource that cannot be imitated easily since Dubai is the commercial capital of the Middle East. ORGANIZATION The cooperation between all divisions of Emirates Airlines has been very cost cutting and increased efficiency. His leadership and policies of the compensation they are worth mentioning too. In conclusion, the air lines of the Emirates has a competitive advantage that supports the benefit is based on the work of the framework VRIO. http://g00001651.blogspot.com/ COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE The competitive advantage is a position that a signature occupies against its competitors. A company that had the advantage among competitors can overcome the expected revenues and it was a possibility that the main signature in the commercial sector or industry. Many forms of competitive advantage can not be supported indefinitely because of the promise of economic rents invites competitors to duplicate the competitive advantage that is supported by a signature. Therefore possesses a signature of a competitive sustainable advantage when his processes that create value and status could not be a duplicated or imitated by other signatures. FIVE FORCES OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE In analyzing the competitive advantage, numerous theories and models are presented including the Five Forces Model Bargaining power of suppliers Suppliers of materials keys that arranges an end product can have a significant influence in the competitive spirit in an industry mainly the timing of the lead-availability of the product as well as his ultimate prize. Bargaining power of customers When customers are the source of revenue in an industry, they are obviously important in determining its attractiveness. The information is available, their price sensitivity, geographic concentration, and switching costs affect the revenue side, a competitor in the market can expect to receive. Customers will always seek to optimize their purchasing position, and will therefore use all available information to them so that they get the optimal price for the product that suits their needs. Threat of substitute products When a replacement product is available in the market had the advantage of being first can be significantly reduced especially if it is comparable price and features. These substitutes can simply increase competition in an industry such as the impact of the introduction of the iPod in the MP3 player market. Potential entrants The ideal situation for any competitor is to participate in a market that is closed to others. Barriers to entry when youre on the right side of the fence can be an effective source of competitive advantage and thus increase the overall attractiveness of an industry. Industry rivals The player who arranges industry making the competition for the ratio of the market. The factors that determine the degree of the attractions include the grade of rivalry between the players, the category of implicit complexity had economies of scale as existing players, and the level of investment to become a viable competitor. Discussion In the Additional Study of Five Forces In The Competitive Advantage, the Air Line of Emirates Are The use as the subject. The Air Line of Emirates, in a brief definition, is a principal air line in the Middle East. This is the National Air Line of Dubai, United Arab Emirates (EAU). The lines of Air Line Between the first 10 carriers all over the world in terms of Income, Passengers miles, the biggest air line speed donated in the Middle East in terms of Income, fixed size, the Passengers went; andnow the seventh biggest air line. In the business of air line, There Is note doubt thats the Establishment of A Few very Enormous commercial facilities and Organization is risky.And the care of stable it is undoubtedly risked also also, into effect. But These thoughts Were Already eliminated in the minds of the persons work behind the WHO Air Lines of Emirates. They did Strategies Using Five Forces Of The Competitive Advantage to analyze the ambience of the business. The strategy The strategies of the emirates are a function of the ambience where this works and the product of the strategic intrinsic thought from within the carrier. Threat of New Entrants. It seems apparently that the airline industry is a low entry barrier industries. Finance, the main barriers to entry are readily available in the Middle East and the technology and expertise available for purchase. The threat lucrative markets that offer high returns will attract business. This results in many new players who will in practice profitability decreases. Unless the entry of new signatures could be blocked by new entrants, the price for profits drop down to a competitive level (perfect competition).This will prove to the dam is at the line (clear, right, etc.), the economies of the differences in product, capital of the brand, etc. Power of Suppliers Boeing and Airbus are the two main suppliers and the struggle between them is likely, observable, but not horrible. Moreover, the probability of a provider that integrates vertically pretty remote. Negotiating Position also described as the market outcome.Suppliers of major issues, components, labor and services (such as domination) to the signature can be a source of power on the signature. Suppliers can shoot back to work with the signature, or p.ej to receive prices that exceed the high places of the only resources. Power of Buyers Bargaining power of buyers of industrial air management in the Middle East is quite low. Negotiating Position also described as market outcomes. The customers suitability to put your signature under the pressure and this also affects the sensitivity of the client contrary to the changes in prices. Availability of Substitutes The threat is really limited, because the distances in the Middle East and the quick steps to make himself a symbol of the area. The threat the existence of closely related products of alternative increases customers propensity to switch to alternatives in response to increases in the price (the high elasticity of demand) the buyers willingness to pay. In an ordinary business that sells retail, substitutes are always present clients that the common motive in the choice of options is: the interpretation of the relative prices of substitute products, buyers who change costs, and perceived level of product differentiation. Competitive Rivalry The industry of air line are generally very competitive and highly competitive industries in general, once again, winning the returns because the cost of competition is high. East could mean disaster in the low times of the cycle. Middle East, gives a different story thanks to the preparation of the governments in the suppression of shock. Rate for most industries, this is the most important factor that competitive spirit in the industry. Sometimes rivals compete aggressively and sometimes competing competing in dimensions not prices as innovation, marketing, etc. http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/2009/08/competitive-advantage-of-emirates-airline.html CONCLUSION The role discovers that the success of the brand of Emirates Air Lines has not happened for a typical kind of happiness, but rather for the planning of good strategy and appropriateness of direction to act quickly and with the decision, which has contributed to the wave of the company over its competitors as much on regional markets and the global The role of passing it discovers that what started as an air hose with aircraft that is given has made for herself now an air hose with the largest and the youngest fleet of Airbus and Boeing in the industry of the entire airline. The role of talking to the customers first service and services, has helped to make the Emirates a top position in the classification of the Award of Excellency Skytrax. This role identifies some issues and benefits of the planning of the brands image and strategy, and the effect on markets, customers and economies that affect the success of an organization. http://www.academon.com/Research-Proposal-Emirates-Airlines/111739

Monday, August 19, 2019

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight :: Essays Papers

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Written in the late fourteenth century by an anonymous author, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a story about a Christian warrior society. Sir Gawain, nephew to King Arthur, epitomizes the definition of a true noble knight. Sir Gawain is not only brave, but he is also loyal, courteous, and a true believer in God. The story begins with the game of the Green Knight, a game of exchanging hits with an axe (290-300). However, this story is more than an adventure tale; it is also a lesson on the long-term benefits of religious adherence over the short-term benefits of personal pleasure. At Bercilak's castle, Sir Gawain faces his most powerful enemy, himself. In the attempt to maintain his ideals of courtesy and nobility, Gawain causes his own religious downfall. As soon as Gawain enters Bercilak's castle, he is already slowly stripping off his religious protection and armor. Bercilak's servants take off his armor, which symbolically identifies him, and Gawain is dressed in "robes richly wrought" (859-861). He is without his shield, which is not only a protection from enemies, but from the evil spirits (641-650). It is in this clothing that Gawain faces his next tests. During the next three mornings, the Lady, Bercilak's wife, tries to seduce Gawain in his bedroom. Each of the three tests is parallel to the three hunting games of Bercilak. Gawain may not have sexual relations with the Lady, but during the tests, his spirituality declines and so does his morality: the Lady is able to receive one more kiss from Gawain each successive day; Gawain takes the green girdle; and he lies to Bercilak. On the first two mornings, Gawain is extremely surprised and shocked to find the Lady in his bedroom. In fact on the first morning he pretends to be asleep when the Lady comes into the room (1190). Gawain is very courteous in his responses to the Lady's words and actions, by constantly putting himself down and praising Bercilak. Both times, the Lady leaves, successfully getting a kiss the first morning and two kisses the second morning from Gawain. When Bercilak returns from his hunting, to keep his word, he gives Gawain the animals, the deer on the first day and the boar on the second day. Gawain, in return, gives Bercilak what he has received that day while in the castle, first a kiss, then two kisses.

Mark Twain not Racist the Adventures of Huckleberry Fin :: essays research papers

There is many racial elements in, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, a story that has caused much controversy over the years. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, was published two decades after the civil war was over, yet it is set in a time period before the civil war began so there is many examples of racism and slavery. Mark Twain believed that slavery, and owning slaves was acceptable, but he was not a racist. Mark Twain was for slavery because he grew up in a time period where it was okay to have slaves and it even boosted your social status, to own slaves. â€Å"He cared just as much for his people as white folks does for their’n. It don’t seem natural...†(155). Mark Twain thought that black people were on a lower level of social status than white people, and that they did not care for their families as much as white people did. â€Å"And then think of me! It would get all around that Huck Finn helped a nigger to get his freedom, and if I was ever to seen anybody from that town again I’d be ready to get down and lick his boots for shame†(212). In the 1860's it was considered immoral and a sin to help a slave into freedom. Mark Twain’s character, Huckleberry Finn, is ashamed that he helped the slave Jim to escape, yet he is good to Jim, so there is a bit of conflicting interests in Huck’s and Jim’s relationship. Mark Twain was not a racist because he did not portray Huckleberry Finn as one in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. â€Å"People would call me a low-down abolitionist and despise me for keeping mum, but that don’t make no difference†(43). Huck new it was wrong to help Jim escape, but that was his friend and he did not care was the other people thought. â€Å"All right, then, I’ll go to hell†(214). Huck decides that he doesn’t want to give up Jim’s locations so he decides to rip up the letter that he was going to send to Jim’s owner Miss Watson, even if it meant that he would go to hell for committing what he believed was a sin. â€Å"I saved him by telling the men we had smallpox aboard, and he was so grateful, and said I was the best friend old Jim ever had in the world, and the only one he’s got now†(214).

Sunday, August 18, 2019

An Investigation of the Factors Affecting the Period of a Pendulum :: Papers

An Investigation of the Factors Affecting the Period of a Pendulum I could investigate the following factors: * Angle of displacement * Length of string * Pendulum weight I am going to investigate and see if varying the length of string will affect the period of the pendulum. My prediction is: The longer the string the longer the period. The period will be longer as the pendulum has farther to travel. My theory is demonstrated below. Pendulum A has a shorter string. This gives it a shorter period. Pendulum B has a longer string and has a much larger period as it has farther to travel to get from X to Y to X which is one period. [IMAGE] I made my prediction based on a previous experiment I have done. The length affected the period as stated above and I think this will happen again in this experiment. I looked at a clock with a pendulum to see how it worked. I found that to change the speed of a second you adjust the length of the pole which the pendulum hangs from, so I also based my prediction on that as it is the same principle. I set up a trial experiment to test out the following: * Which angle of displacement to use (e.g. 90Â °) * How many readings to take * Which lengths of string to measure (e.g. every 10cm) * Where to carry out the experiment (on a desk/floor etc..) To ensure the test is fair I am going to: * Use the same piece of string * Use the same weight pendulum (preferably the exact same pendulum) * Make sure the string is measured accurately To ensure the test is safe I am going to: * Use a sensible angle of displacement * Not to swing the pendulum near others To ensure the test is accurate I am going to:

Saturday, August 17, 2019

The Concept of Omoiyari (Altruistic Sensitivity) in Japanese Relational Communication

Intercultural Communication Studies XV: 1 2006 Hara The Concept of Omoiyari (Altruistic Sensitivity) in Japanese Relational Communication Kazuya Hara, Meikai University, Japan Abstract It is essential to explore Japanese concepts in Japanese languages as intellectual tools for future studies in Asia. In order to develop Asian theories of communication, therefore, Asian communication scholars ought to engage in this important task.This paper presents such an attempt by conceptualizing the concept of omoiyari for a Japanese theory of relational communication. In social psychology, the Japanese concept of omoiyari has been examined in terms of altruism, sympathy, empathy, and prosocial behavior, and a variety of cognitive models of prosocial behavior arousal have been proposed. In the field of communication studies, however, the concept of omoiyari has not attracted much scholarly attention, although aspects of harmonius Japanese communication are well documented.By synthesizing the rel evant literature on omoiyari across disciplines, then, this paper formulates a definition of omoiyari for Japanese communication research, lays out its basic assumptions, and characterizes it in light of four major semantic areas of omoiyari: (1) prayer, (2) encouragement, (3) help, and (4) support. Introduction â€Å"Cast your bread upon the waters and it will return to you. † –a saying reflecting omoiyari When Japanese people feel another’s kindness toward them and see someone’s warm-hearted feelings, thoughts, and behaviors, they appreciate that person’s omoiyari.The primary meaning of omoiyari is â€Å"an individual’s sensitivity to imagine another’s feelings and personal affairs, including his or her circumstances† (Shinmura, 1991, p. 387, translated by Hara). Omoiyari has attracted non-Japanese scholars’ attention as one of the most important ideas in Japanese cultural value and communication (e. g. , Lebra, 1976; Travis, 1998; Wierzbicka, 1997). The word omoiyari is often seen on signs bearing a school motto and at police stations. In many surveys of public opinion, Japanese people have listed omoiyari as a key concept on which they put high value.Although omoiyari -based behavior and activity are seen across cultures, Japanese people are the ones who put the highest value on omoiyari all over the world (Kikuchi, 1988; Akanuma, 2004). This humane omoiyari concept has been emphasized in moral education at schools in Japan as the guiding principle to communicate with others (Ito, 1998a; 1998b). In educational psychology in Japan, the importance of omoiyari has been emphasized with its developmental views of children (e. g. , Kikuchi, 1988).Recent inhumane crimes such as ill-treatment bullying or indiscriminate murder on the street are caused by the lack of omoiyari, and the importance of omoiyari has undergone a reevaluation in terms of education in the schools (Kanno, 1988). Psychological asp ects of omoiyari such as empathy and sympathy have been studied, 24 Intercultural Communication Studies XV: 1 2006 Hara and its behavior has been studied as prosocial behavior, altruistic behavior, and helping behavior in social psychology (e. . , Harada, 1991; Kikuchi, 1998; Matsui, 1991). Although the term â€Å"omoiyari behavior† is not generally used as a technical term in social psychology (Matsui, 1991), the titles of several studies on these concepts are comprehensively translated into Japanese using the word omoiyari (e. g. , Eisenberg & Mussen, 1989; Hoffman, 2001; Jones, 1993). Additionally, cultural psychologists Uchida and Kitayama (2001) developed a measurement scale of omoiyari from the viewpoint of sympathy.In the field of communication studies, although aspects of harmonious communication have been well-researched, only a few studies have focused on omoiyari as an important factor of Japanese harmonious communication. For example, Donahue (1998) argues that om oiyari is a psychological factor in Japanese indirect communication. In health communication, Kakai (2002) argues that Japanese prefer ambiguity or not disclosing of cancer to their family members. Behind such indirect communication and style is the psychological and cultural background of omoiyari.These studies refer to the study on Japanese empathy by anthropologist Lebra (1976) and her definition and observation of omoiyari. Although previous studies have contributed to pointing out the importance of omoiyari in Japanese mental culture and behavioral culture, there are three points to be further considered. First, many psychological studies based on Western concepts have not proposed clear conceptual definitions of omoiyari, so there is no consensus on its definition.Second, studies on omoiyari in other fields have only argued one aspect of omoiyari with its case contexts; we might be able to explore multi-aspects of omoiyari, taking various communication contexts and levels into consideration. Third, negative aspects of omoiyari have not been referred to adequately in previous studies on omoiyari. For example, there are cases when omoiyari toward others might not be appreciated or accepted by others. In order to develop future studies on omoiyari in Japanese communication, this paper attempts to concisely conceptualize Japanese omoiyari across disciplines.Additionally, the author believes that it is essential to explore Japanese concepts in Japanese languages as intellectual tools for future studies in Asia. In this paper, first, the author will review the relevant concepts in Western psychology which have been argued as omoiyari in Japan. Then, he will articulate Japanese omoiyari with its translation, definition, and major characteristics. Finally, using a diagram, he will propose four semantic areas of omoiyari, taking its communication levels and contexts into consideration.Omoiyari and Its Relevant Concepts The idea of omoiyari has been argued from th e standpoint of the concepts of altruism, sympathy, empathy and prosocial behavior. Although the causal developmental relationship among these concepts is controversial (e. g. , Eisenberg, 1986; Hoffman, 1982; Toi & Baston, 1982), each concept in itself has been regarded as one aspect of omoiyari in Japanese social psychology and communication studies. This means that these concepts are seen as elements of omoiyari, and conversely that omoiyari can be conceptualized with a combination of these concepts.The foundation of omoiyari feelings can be covered with the concept of altruism. Altruism is other-oriented and self-sacrificial (Kerbs, 1975). According to Cohen (1978), altruism refers to an act or desire to offer something gratuitously to others when needed. Cohen indicates that there are three components of altruism: (a) giving, or the desire to do so; (b) empathy; and (c) the absence of any motives of reward from doing the altruistic behavior. 25 Intercultural Communication Studi es XV: 1 2006 Hara Essentially, altruism lies in the motivation to help others and to aid others in their behavior.As this conceptual definition shows, altruism is the source that produces more concrete omoiyari feelings and behavior. Based on altruism, omoiyari seems to comprise both sympathy and empathy (e. g. , Kikuchi, 1991, 1998; Matsui, 1991). Sympathy refers to a concern for another person, agreement with and consideration for the feelings of others, or compassion (DeVito, 1986). It is generally conceived as a reaction to particular contexts such as the sadness or disappointment of others. Another view is that sympathy refers to a feeling for another person, while empathy refers to actually feeling as that person does (DeVito, 1986).Empathy in omoiyari is described in Bruneau’s (1995) definition as â€Å"‘feeling into’ another’s feelings with one’s own, vicariously, and attempting to achieve some I-thou congruence† (p. 87). Empathy imp lies understanding of others through imagining the situation of others (Travis, 1998). Psychological aspects of altruism, empathy, and sympathy are reflected in prosocial behavior. Prosocial behavior generally refers to â€Å"voluntary actions that are intended to help or benefit another individual or group of individuals† (Eisenberg & Mussen, 1989, p. 3).Wispe (1972) suggests that prosocial behavior refers to behaviors that can be described as sympathetic, altruistic, charitable, and so on. Furthermore, prosocial behavior benefits others without anticipating external rewards, and is done under the conditions that it is done either for its own end, or as an act of restitution (Bar-Tal, 1976). Also, as Bar-Tal argues, prosocial behavior should not be carried out as a result of external threat, enforcement, or obligation, but should be due to an individual’s freedom to decide to act in a certain manner or not.Reviewing altruism, empathy, sympathy, and prosocial behavior in human communication, on the basis of altruism, people seem to have feelings of either empathy or sympathy at the stage of intrapersonal communication. Additionally, in the context of communication activities with others, when such feelings are seen in behavior, the behavior is regarded as prosocial behavior. As the findings in Uchida and Kitayama’s (2001) survey indicate, omoiyari as sympathy had a positive relationship with emotional empathy and prosocial behavior. The combination f these concepts seems to help conceptualize aspects of omoiyari. However, since each concept cannot individually cover omoiyari in a comprehensive sense, we need a conceptual definition of omoiyari before applying these concepts to aspects of omoiyari. The Concept of Japanese Omoiyari In Japanese communication, it is often seen that people say â€Å"show omoiyari toward others† when a person does not do so. The word omoiyari is directed toward anybody of the same generation and status, o r toward younger people with regard to both in-group and out-group members.To say â€Å"have omoiyari† to elderly people, on the other hand, sounds arrogant, although the person is thinking â€Å"omoiyari† in his or her mind. In such a situation, it seems appropriate to use the word â€Å"itawari†(caring consideration with respect) instead, even though the person has the word â€Å"omoiyari† in his or her mind. In this section, the author attempts to propose an expedient translation of omoiyari into English which is comprehensible to both Japanese and non-Japanese people. Then, the author will define omoiyari in Japanese communication.Translation of Omoiyari into English It is impossible to translate Japanese omoiyari into English with one word or phrase 26 Intercultural Communication Studies XV: 1 2006 Hara which is comprehensible to both Japanese and non-Japanese people. Even words such as compassion, consideration, thoughtfulness, mercy, and benevolenc e cover only one aspect of Japanese omoiyari. There seem to be two reasons for this difficulty. First, there are different views of omoiyari across cultures.For example, Yamagishi (1995) argues that for Westerners, omoiyari is not â€Å"thoughtfulness† to others, which is occasionally perceived to be unnecessarily imposed by others depriving one’s own right to choose his/her own behavior. Easterners, on the other hand, believe that thoughtfulness-based omoiyari is essential to living a group-oriented life. Secondly, as Travis (1998) points out, English words such as â€Å"considerate† and â€Å"thoughtful,† which are related to omoiyari, do not involve the same kind of â€Å"intuitive† understanding. This intuitive way of communication is also cultivated as intuitive listening and empathic understanding inJapanese ways of communication (Barnland, 1975). As for a neutral and comprehensible translation term, Yamagishi (1995) points out that â€Å"se nsitivity† can represent the feelings of omoiyari that are common to Westerners and Easterners and which do not have the connotation of imposing one’s thought on others. Therefore, in this paper, the author uses his own tentative and expedient translation of omoiyari as â€Å"altruistic sensitivity† taking the definition of altruism, â€Å"concern for the happiness and welfare of other people rather than for your own † (Sinclair, 1987, p. 2) into consideration, regarding altruism as the psychological foundation to produce omoiyari-based feelings such as empathy or sympathy. Defining Omoiyari Omoi in omoiyari means considerate caring for others, while yari is the noun form of the verb yaru, which means sending something to others. Therefore, â€Å"omoiyari † literally means sending one’s altruistic feelings to others. The difference among omoiyari, empathy, and sympathy is that omoiyari implies intuitive understanding and includes behaving in that way (Shinmura, 1991; Travis, 1998; Uchida & Kitayama, 2001).Consideration toward others is not always received, and omoiyari does not expect any reward. If any reward is expected, it is not omoiyari but business-like helping behavior. One of the definitions of omoiyari which is frequently referred to is the one by cultural anthropologist Lebra (1976), which describes omoiyari as â€Å"the ability and willingness to feel what others are feeling, to vicariously experience the pleasure or pain that they are undergoing, and to help them satisfy their wishes†¦without being told verbally†(p. 38).Historical anthropologist Akanuma (2004) states that omoiyari is to guess others’ feelings and pay careful attention to their feelings, accepting what has happened (or will happen) to others as what has happened (or will happen) to myself. Social psychologist Ninomiya (1991) defines omoiyari as voluntary behavior for others’ benefit. The common assumptions underlying all these definitions are that omoiyari is voluntary and that people put high value on sharing feelings with others. As such, intuitive understanding is necessary.In this study, the author will define omoiyari as an intuitive understanding of others’ feelings that will occasionally lead us to conceive what to do or what not to do to others. Taking the conceptual issues of omoiyari into consideration, the author will further argue major characteristics of omoiyari in the following section. Major Characteristics of Omoiyari To have a sense of omoiyari and to behave with omoiyari are regarded as ideal communication in Japanese society. For example, according to a survey by the Ministry of 27 Intercultural Communication Studies XV: 1 2006 HaraEducation in Japan cited in the Yomiuri-shimbun (1994), elementary and junior high school teachers in Japan answered that they put the highest value on omoiyari in moral education. Additionally, in a survey on child-birth in Japan by the Yo miuri-shimbun (2005), 86. 7% of the parents expected their children to be a child with omoiyari. As these data show, to have omoiyari is essential in Japanese relational communication across contexts. In this section, the author will begin to argue major characteristics of omoiyari based on its psychological, behavioral aspects, along with the assumptions of omoiyari in previous studies.Then negative aspects of omoiyari will be briefly mentioned. Finally, four context-based semantic areas of omoiyari in human communication will be proposed. Psychological Aspects of Omoiyari Omoiyari has been considered altruistic feelings or emotional participation in others’ mindds (Eisenberg & Mussen, 1989; Kikuchi, 1988), and there are three characteristics which occasionally lead to actual prosocial behavior. The first is that omoiyari does not include the concept of â€Å"otherness† (Akanuma, 2004). This means that omoiyari means to understand the other’s feelings, not taki ng one’s self-concept into consideration (Otsuka, 1991).In this assumption, there is a Japanese interpersonal view that puts high value on oneness with others. For example, Hamaguchi (1985) argues that Japanese people think that since affectionate mutual aid is essential, people should read mutual true intention, and the relationship once established must be respected as valuable. Oneness with others gets reinforced through mutual omoiyari. The second is that omiyari is neither based on pity from superiority nor on mechanistic give-and-take relations (Otsuka, 1991).The motivation of omoiyari is voluntary, and does not expect gratitude from others (Kikuchi, 1991). If a person expects any reward when they help others, that is not omoiyari. Such a reward-expecting behavior will not be respected but rather despised, and is against the virtue of omoiyari. The third is that the value of omoiyari is evaluated based on purity of consideration of others. It goes without saying that th e purer the consideration is, the more appreciated it is. However, such pure consideration of others occasionally contradicts its behavior.A commonly cited example is that physicians and family members are reluctant to directly disclose terminal diagnoses to patients because of omoiyari (Kakai 2001; Paton & Wicks, 1996). Such communication, which might be regarded as deception, will not be criticized by others because they know the family’s true feelings. Behind this type of communication, there is an unspoken assumption that true and honest feelings will be understood by others even though one’s behavior contradicts his or her psychological feelings. Behavioral Aspects of Omoiyari Omoiyari in behavior has been studied as prosocial behavior in social psychology.Kikuchi (1998) provides four common characteristics of omoiyari based on its psychological assumptions. The first is that omoiyari as prosocial behavior includes the idea of an action which is helpful for others . However, this does not necessarily mean that the prosocial behavior will be willingly accepted by others. The second is that omoiyari as true prosocial behavior is not done with the expectation of a reward from others. This is not a matter of whether a person receives or rejects a reward, but rather the premise that the person had no desire to receive a reward in the first place.The third is that omoiyari-based prosocial behavior is accompanied by a kind of cost or risk of self-sacrifice. The final condition is that omoiyari as prosocial behavior 28 Intercultural Communication Studies XV: 1 2006 Hara should be voluntary. This means that a person is not bound by any sense of duty to others, but is willing to behave prosocially as a choice. Japanese omoiyari behavior is uniquely seen in conflicting situations. For example, it is often stated that Japanese prefer to avoid conflict rather than to try to resolve it. In such a situation, the Japanese are inclined to use mbiguous or euph emistic expressions with their bokashi (ambiguous) logic (Nayayama, 1986), and to use honne (true intentions) and tatemae (public principles) properly (Doi, 1985) so as not to hurt others’ feelings. Such a linguistic feature can be described as â€Å"the language of omoiyari,† and it is listener-oriented (Ando, 1986). Even to enemies, they do not tend to deliver a fatal blow. Such communication styles are represented in proverbs such as teki ni shio wo okuru (to show humanity even to one’s enemy) or bushi no nasake (samurai-like mercy). Omoiyari, however, is not always performed desirably.In the following section, negative aspects of omoiyari will be mentioned with cases that are against its psychological and behavioral assumptions. Negative Aspects of Omoiyari Omoiyari does not always function as we hope. For example, overly imposing omoiyari on others might be a psychological burden or, even worse, an annoyance. This is called osekkai (meddlesome) and is the a ntithesis of empathetic understanding (Lebra, 1976). Especially when the elderly want to meddle in younger people’s affairs, the younger people cannot say â€Å"Please mind on your business. This type of omoiyari could be considered osekkai. In the worst case scenario, when omoiyari is not accepted by the receiver as the source expected, the source might blame the receiver in his or her mind. This is called sakaurami (to think ill of a person who meant to be kind). At the point when the source feels sakaurami, however, his or her kindness to others is no longer regarded as omoiyari. Four Context-Based Semantic Areas of Omoiyari in Human Communication As argued above, omoiyari consists of both affective aspects (altruism, sympathy, empathy) and a behavioral one (prosocial behavior).Using these concepts, the author will attempt to conceptualize four semantic areas of omoiyari. The following figure representing the four areas of omoiyari is based on intrapersonal communication (Areas A and B) and interactive level (Areas C & D). [See next page. ] The fundamental assumption is that Area A and Area B are at the level of intrapersonal communication and cover one’s cognitive and affective aspects. Area C covers the interaction stemming from Area A, and Area D covers the interaction stemming from Area B. Area A and Area C are based on sympathy, while Area B and Area D are based on empathy.Every feeling and behavior by a communicator is based on altruism and with intuition. Area A is the situation where a person is worrying abut someone’s undesirable situation and praying that it will be improved. The feeling is based on altruism and sympathy. In this context, examples such as praying for the recovery of another’s health or sympathizing with the struggle of others are included. In contrast, in Area B, the communicator has a feeling of encouragement in his or her mind, and the feeling is based on altruism and empathy.For example, praying for the success or health of others is included in this area. Area C and Area D cover people’s behavioral aspects in their relational communication and social activities. In these areas, verbal and nonverbal interaction is exchanged, and helping behavior is added when necessary. Area C, which stems from the psychological feelings of Area A, stands for prosocial behavior based on altruism and sympathy. 29 Intercultural Communication Studies XV: 1 2006 Hara Communication activities such as helping behavior or volunteer activities are included in this area.Also, Area D, which stems from the psychological feelings of Area B, is based on altruism and empathy, and includes situations such as supporting other people’s success with one’s own will or participating in activities to share happiness with others. Prosocial Behavior Area C: Help Area D: Support Sympathy – – – – Area A: Prayer Intuition –––– Empathy Area B: Encouragement Altruism Figure 1. Four Context-Based Semantic Areas of Omoiyari in Human Communication Concluding Remarks The primary purpose of this essay was to onceptualize Japanese omoiyari (altruistic sensitivity) with its psychological and behavioral characteristics, and to propose four types of omoiyari (prayer, encouragement, help, and support) from the viewpoint of communication. Although the author was only able to review a portion of the previous literature on omoiyari, he hopes that the essence of omoiyari conceptualized in this paper will contribute to further studies of Japanese relational communication. Based on the conceptualization in this paper, the author expects future studies to be conducted in three areas.First, various communication styles in each of the four semantic areas of omoiyari (prayer, encouragement, help, and support) should be further examined and discussed. Secondly, the possibility of combining these four areas should be further examined using empi rical studies. Third, based on the emic studies on this type of concept all over the world, to seek commonalities of omoiyari views across cultures is strongly suggested. Based on these studies, derived-etic views of altruistic sensitivity are highly anticipated. References Akanuma, K. (2004). Nihonjin wa naze gambaru noka (Why do the Japanese make efforts to anything? . Tokyo: Daisan-shokan. Ando, S. (1986). Nihongo no ronri, eigo no ronri (The logic of Japanese language and the logic of English language). Tokyo: Taishukan. Barnlund, D. C. (1975). Public and private self in Japan and the United States: Communicative Styles of two cultures. Tokyo: Simul Press. Bar-Tal, D. (1976). Prosocial behavior: Thory and research. NY: Halsted Press. Bruneau, T. (1988). Conceptualizing and using empathy in intercultural contexts. Human Communication Studies,16,37-70. 30 Intercultural Communication Studies XV: 1 2006 Hara Bruneau, T. 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