Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Aristotle s Symposium The Nicomachean Ethics - 1934 Words

720532457 The Symposium verses The Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics (Ethics) is regarded as one of the, if not the greatest work concerning ethics in history. The word ethics derives from the Greek word ethos, which translates more properly as â€Å"character†, and it would seem that Aristotle’s concern in The Ethics, is what constitutes good character, and that goodness is of practical use; that merely knowing how to be a way is only half of what’s necessary, and that the known must be practiced. A related treatise, The Politics, is often regarded as the sequel to The Ethics, in part because Aristotle closes The Ethics by saying that his ethical inquiry has arranged the foundation for an inquiry into political questions. (Reeve. Page 194.) As such, Aristotle regarded ethics and politics as two separate but related fields, giving way to the idea that ethics surveys the good of the individual, while politics examines the good of the city-state (polis), but also that the good of the individual is secondary to the good of the city-state. Friendship Aristotle devotes two of the ten books of The Ethics to discussing friendship and its forms. Happiness, according to Aristotle, is a public affair, so with whom this happiness is shared is of great importance, and the suggestion that true happiness can be found in the life of a loner is absurd. In books VIII and IX of The Ethics Aristotle says that friendship (philia) itself is a virtue, and is not only important forShow MoreRelatedAristotle s Theory Of Virtue1493 Words   |  6 PagesAristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics is a reflection as to what virtue is. Aristotle’s definition of virtue can be described as the as the â€Å"state of character concerned with choice, lying in a mean relative to us, this being determined by reason and by that reason by which the man of practical wisdom would determine it† (Nicomachean Ethics, 31). In addition to that, Aristotle illustrates two types of virtue that stem from his primary idea; moral and intellectual virtue. Aristotle expounds moral virtue

American Independent Cinema Representational Analysis of Women Free Essays

â€Å"The Hollywood film industry itself has been (and continues to be to a large extent) male-dominated. Hence, male directors, producers, writers, and cinematographers all use the camera as an instrument to look at women. † (Benshoff, pg. We will write a custom essay sample on American Independent Cinema: Representational Analysis of Women or any similar topic only for you Order Now 235) Gender also plays a large responsibility in the film industry when pertaining to what females can and can not do in films. Male characters are usually main characters and â€Å"in charge† within films, whereas the female characters are usually limited to just looking pretty while still remaining passive and somewhat outside of all the action within the story. Women today feel a large amount of pressure to look and behave like these female actresses portrayed on the big screen. With the preparation of these films women usually take a very long time in hair and make-up for the sole purpose of looking attractive and gaining more male attention in the films. Many females fail to realize how much time and preparation really goes into the looks and costume designs of the characters that are being portrayed within the film industry. In today’s society female’s feel as though they have to be beautiful and live up to a certain stereotype and â€Å"look† that is extremely unrealistic. Related essay: Pestle Analysis for Odeon Cinema Real Women Have Curves (2002)† was a film directed by Patricia Cardoso that challenges the representation of all women in society. Although the film is about a first generation Mexican-American female struggling with her family’s beliefs, her future, culture, and body, it reaches all female viewers with the same powerful message. The message is that all females can be empowered and should be proud of who they are and where they come from. Most importantly females should be proud of their bodies and not try to live up to the unlikely images that our American culture has welded for us today. Another film and director that challenged the male dominated movie industry was Susan Seidelman with her 1985 low-budget ($5million) film â€Å"Desperately Seeking Susan. † â€Å"†¦Seidelman doesn’t glamorize women at the expense of men. In fact, her strongest affinity is with desperate, aggressive women who never stop hustling. † (Levy, pg. 356) Her film â€Å"Desperately Seeking Susan† looks at contemporary issues of fame, self fulfillment, and social relationships, as well as personal identity. The film is about a petite New Jersey housewife named Roberta, who is bored, unsatisfied, and tired of her marriage routine life at home. She then begins to read the personals section of the New York newspaper for vicarious thrills and entertainment. Her favorite classified to read is one that features the romance of Jim who is a struggling musician and Susan who is a free-spirited single woman living her life in Soho New York. Susan had just recently escaped her ex boyfriend who was a mobster and stole a pair of very expensive Egyptian earrings. One bored day when Roberta reads the classified section she sees the ad â€Å"Desperately Seeking Susan† and decides to follow Susan and Jim. The reasoning as to why Roberta decided to take this extreme measure is because this was a way for her to escape her daily average life and become someone else for a day. The film then takes an unexpected turn and becomes all about reinvention as the housewife Roberta unknowingly with amnesia transforms herself into the wild and care-free character of Susan. There were a number of different codes within the film â€Å"Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)† that made it easier to understand its viewpoint. Some of the cultural codes recognized within the film include cultural, narrative, artistic, cinematic, and intertexual. The film took place during the 1980’s in a small suburban town in New Jersey as well as New York City. The characters of Roberta and Gary Glass are individuals being represented as members of an upper middle class society living in New Jersey. We know that they are upper middle class because of the context clues and dialogue that we see within the movie. We hear Mr. Glass tell his wife â€Å"what are we poor? † when he tells her that she bought a used jacket that used to belong to Jimi Hendrix. Roberta is a bored, full-time housewife and he is a hardworking husband. As the film continues we meet the other main character who is a fun loving, care-free, gold digging, woman named Susan from New York. The film is told through the eyes of the main character, which is a repressed and bored housewife named Roberta. The story is also partially told through the eyes of Susan the carefree and stylish woman from New York. The story is also told through the eyes of Roberta’s worried husband Gary and her love interest Dez. The film â€Å"Desperately Seeking Susan† was very creative and original. Some of the artistic codes within the film include the music in which is exceedingly upbeat and perfect for the time period of the 80’s. The clothing design within the film is extremely important and relevant to the development of Robert’s character. â€Å"Susan’s individualized pyramid jacket signifies her unconventional personal style and her fluency in innovating her own look. The jacket binds the two women together. Susan’s trading of looks shows her competence in putting together an always evolving and eccentric look, while Roberta’s purchase of the (second hand) jacket is part of her adventure and escape. † (Street, pg. 1) The costumes in the film stated the socio-economic status of the main characters and the time period. At the beginning of the film we acknowledge Roberta well dressed with a suburban flare and we also noticed Susan dressed as a stylish, upbeat, rocker. (Complete Opposites! ) The genre of the film â€Å"Desperately Seeking Susan† was comedy, drama, and romance because of its portrayal. The film portrays comedic humor with the mistaken identity of two polar opposites Roberta and Susan. Their journey is a comedic mystery and we never know what will happen next as Roberta searches for adventure and Susan hunts for the stolen Egyptian earring. The film also depicts drama with all of the confusion and an intense romance between Roberta and Jim. In conclusion, the film industry is particularly male dominated. However, there are more female directors, producers, etc. like Susan Seidelman and Patricia Cardoso who are making a remarkable change. These females are making films with predominately female casts, and with messages of strength, personal identity, social relationships and self- fulfillment. They’re challenging the film business and changing perceptions of women everywhere. How to cite American Independent Cinema: Representational Analysis of Women, Essay examples

Sunday, April 26, 2020

Performance-Based Pay Essay Example

Performance-Based Pay Paper Essay on Performance-Based Pay Organizations pay salaries to their employees based on the type of services rendered. Salary levels rise system is one of the most critical elements in strategic human resource management. This is primarily due to the role played by rewards and compensation system in determining employee productivity. Rewarding the employee on the basis of his productivity or performance generates enthusiasm and interest within the employee to perform better. Moreover, this approach tends to increase the level of motivation encouraging him to perform better. An intrinsic part of rewards and compensation strategy is performance management that seeks excellence and high quality work from the work force. The study highlights various theories in relation to performance related pay and associated human resource strategy. The discussion provides an insight into essential features of performance related pay such as motivation, performance management, appraisals, feedback, and learning that play a vital role in creating effective performance related pay strategies. It also identifies some practical problems faced by managers and strategic alternatives that can effectively meet these challenges. What is performance related pay? Performance related pay is the financial compensation paid to an employee based on his work performance. It translates to rewarding employees for effective performance. Bruno Frey (2002) observes in his book Successful Management by Motivation â€Å"Variable performance related pay has become an increasingly popular form of compensation. The key to performance related pay is that compensation is adjusted to reflect an employee’s individual performance. † This form of compensation is similar to rewards system adopted by organizations to motivate their work force and extract higher quality work. We will write a custom essay sample on Performance-Based Pay specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Performance-Based Pay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Performance-Based Pay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Performance related pay has been practiced by a large number of organizations since the inception of trade and commerce. The system has now evolved to include identification of measurable parameters while assessing performance, use of positive reinforcement and feedback mechanism to instill confidence within employees, and ongoing training development sessions to equip the workforce to meet operational challenges. Theoretical bases of performance related pay Rewarding an employee with financial compensation is a form of motivation that is intended to increase productivity and encourage others within the organization to strive harder to reach the specified performance targets. Motivation has been defined as the â€Å"driving force that determines the direction and strength of goal-oriented behaviors† (Preker, 2007; pg 240). Performance based pay schemes have failed in many instances to motivate the employees to the desired level of performance. Many explanations have been given for this failure and it is to some extent attributed to the amount of compensation in lieu of the hard work and the management fairness during performance appraisals. Vroom’s expectancy theory and the Adam’s equity theory provide explanation to the fundamental problems faced during the process of deciding the level of compensation. Pros and Cons of Performance-Based Pay Advantages The first and most important advantage to performance-based pay is that this type of pay is a fantastic motivator. Simply for a worker to get more money, which is the case in nearly every job, he needs to work harder. This pay system is great for retaining key talent the organization has and getting unmotivated individuals to improve productivity. For a sales person, performance- based pay motivates you too sell your product, since it is the only way that you are going to get paid. There is also a feeling of accomplishment when you get your income, its like a reflection of all the hard work you have put in the month or week. Another advantage to performance-based pay that I think is rather important is that amount of freedom that they might get, (depending where they work). For example, a salesperson would be interacting with customers, he wouldn’t be tied down to a strict schedule or be stuck behind a desk all day. Its also good as you can plan your day around personal appointments, like the dentist or your daughter’s piano recital. Another great advantage for an organization that offers a performance- based pay scheme would be that it is attractive to workers who are higher skilled than their co workers in the same category of work. For example, if I am an extremely experienced and educated sales rep, and I know I’m better than most people at the job, I want to work in a place that will recognize my talents and will also be reflected in my pay. So the organization will have access to a wider range of more educated and experienced workforce. This is extremely useful for an organization, especially in the current economic climate. Disadvantage of performance-based pay A disadvantage of performance-based pay that would contradict my previous advantage would be that motivation isn’t just as simple as money = happiness! Too little money will demotivate but more money will not necessarily increase satisfaction or monivation. (Herzberg) Abraham Maslows hierarchy of needs model of motivation has 5 levels of motivation. 1.physiological 2. Safety 3. Social 4. Self esteem 5. Self actualization. In the there are many other motivators than just financial incentives, like need to belong to a group, to make friends, to work towards job security and to work towards bettering yourself and your career. Once your basic needs are satisfied, other factors start to become more important. A contrasting view of this would be that, in early careers, some people find themselves working an insane amount of hours, and with a performance- based pay, there may not be a limit to the hours you can work, as you can spend a big amount of time building up a client list. Also if you have a certain sales goal to meet or making up for lost time at that dentist or the piano recital, you can sometimes find yourself working through the weekends or even very late into the evenings. In line with this, another disadvantage would be the financial instability. Your wage or salary cannot be sure. This would increase the tension of the employee. A good way to battle the tension or anxiety caused by performance- based pay would be to have some savings set aside for a rainy day or an emergency or if your performance hasn’t been up to par. This isn’t a great solution but it’s a way to help A disadvantage that I though went together in relation to my previous advantage (employees) is that employees that are working on the basis of performance- based pay, may only be inclined to actually do what is measured in their performance appraisal. For example, an employee who picks orders for customers in a warehouse for a wholesalers might have a daily goal or picking up to 14% of the orders placed in a day. He may have achieved that goal, but in the process of just meeting the target, he has caused long-term setbacks but ignoring tasks involved in the company, like restocking the shelves, which is not ideal for an organization. Another disadvantage to do with the employees is that this type of pay scheme can cause a split amongst employees. If some employees are not being rewarded as equal it can cause other employees to feel under appreciated or even start to have some resentment towards the employee who is getting the better rewards. This error can occur easily enough as not every single aspect of the job can be monitored. It can be prevented by putting strict and clear stipulations in place for the system.

Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Abudhabi essays

Abudhabi essays Largest of the seven component parts of the United Arab, Abu Dhabi has a history that stretches back many thousands of years. The first trace of Abu Dhabi dates back to the 16th century AD, when a book published by a traveling court jeweler from Venice mentioned a list of islands in the southern Arabian Gulf. To one of them he gave the name Sirbeniast or Bani Yas, evidence that the Bani Yas confederation of tribes, led for the last 250 years by the family of President his highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and must already have achieved a degree of prominence in the region. The Bani Yas themselves first appeared in history first appeared in history in the early 17th century, when they are reported to have been involved in around 1633 in a major battle between the coast and Liwa with an advancing army from Oman. Historical records trace the origins of what was to become the emirate back at least as far as the late 17th or early 18th century to the reign of somewhat misty figure named Nahyan. He was succeeded by a son, Isa, and by the middle of the century, his son, Dhiyab bin Isa, and become the Sheikh of the Bani Yas, with his main base in the liwa oasis, deep in the desert. To Sheikh Dhiyab goes the credit of establishing the present-day Abu Dhabi, said to have been founded in 1761. A tribal legend tells the tale of a party once hunters from Liwa who visisted the coast, and saw the tracks of a gazelle leading out across the sabkha, salt flats. Following the trail, they found it had come to a narrow inlet of the sea, which it had then crossed, to an island just offshore. Their pursuit continued, and, following the tracks through a thick sea mist, they came upon a gazelle, the discovery of water on an offshore island was of more importance. Returning to Liwa, the hunters reported their find to sheikh Dhiyab. Recognizing its significance, he ordered that a settlement be established on the island, which nam...

Monday, March 2, 2020

Compliance cars are only produced to meet California mandate.

Compliance cars are only produced to meet California mandate. Let’s say you’re a Honda fan. Your father bought Hondas and you naturally followed. Now let’s say that you are interested in an electric vehicle (EV), and you know Honda has an electric version of the Fit hatchback. But, unless you live in California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York or Oregon you can’t just waltz into your local Honda dealer for a test drive. Here’s why. A California Mandate Yes, the Left Coast is the reason that some electric vehicles are only available in a few states, and in some cases just one or two states. In 2012, the California Air Resource Board (CARB) mandated that automakers that sell at least 60,000 vehicles a year in the state - Chrysler (now Fiat Chrysler), Ford, General Motors, Honda, Nissan, and Toyota - must sell zero emissions vehicles (ZEVs) using the formula of 0.79 percent of their total California sales. Next year the number is bumped to three percent. Under the regulation, failure to meet the numbers would result in losing the ability to sell any vehicle in California. Thus, the Chevrolet Spark EV, Ford Focus EV, Fiat 500e, Honda Fit EV and Toyota RAV4 EV were born. They are called compliance cars because they are designed and engineered specifically to comply with the CARB requirements and allow the automakers to continue selling cars in the state.   Of the six biggest car companies, Nissan avoided the â€Å"compliance car† moniker with its Leaf electric vehicle that debuted in late 2011. It not only meets the CARB sales number requirements, but it also exceeds it. Plus, the Leaf is the top selling battery-electric powered vehicle across the U.S. Tesla is relieved from the CARB mandate, even though it sells roughly 1,000 Model S electric cars per month in the U.S., because of its small overall California sales numbers. Other States Sign On Under federal law, other states are allowed to adopt California’s emissions rules even if they are more strict than federal regulations. At this point, the District of Columbia and ten states have signed on to follow the Golden State’s lead with ZEV requirements of their own. They are Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Now you know why Honda Fit EV availability is limited to seven states. And the other compliance cars? Chevrolet’s Spark EV and the Fiat 500e are both available in California and Oregon. The Toyota RAV4 EV, the lone electric sport-utility vehicle, is a California-only availability. RAV4 production will cease sometime this year as Toyota is betting on fuel cell vehicles. Lastly, sales of Ford’s Focus EV started in California but can be purchased at select dealers in 48 states. Oh, by the way, if you do live in a state where the Fit EV is available, you can’t buy one. Honda, for some reason, will only lease the car. And, like Toyota, Honda believes future ZEVs will be hydrogen fuel cell powered and will discontinue the compliance Fit EV next year. But Wait, There’s More As you might suspect, there’s more to this ZEV mandate thing than just engineering and hopefully selling enough compliance vehicles to satisfy CARB regulators. Since it’s not likely that Fiat Chrysler, Ford, GM, Honda, and Toyota can sell enough vehicles to meet the quotas, there is a way for these automakers to stay in the good graces of the state. Under the regulations, a certain number of credits are earned by every automaker for each zero emission vehicle they make. A ZEV is not limited to vehicles that use an electric-drive powertrain and rechargeable batteries. Included are electric-drive vehicles that employ a fuel cell to produce electricity onboard from compressed hydrogen gas fuel in an electrochemical process. A lesser credit amount is also given to plug-in gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles based on the amount of electric power provided. To date, the biggest winner in this credit derby is Tesla. How so? Well, credits awarded can be sold to carmakers that didn’t earn enough credits selling their compliance cars. Tesla has collected a very large number of ZEV credits, and in turn, has sold them for a very handsome sum of money. Buying these credits has allowed GM, Fiat Chrysler, and the others to continue to sell conventionally-fueled vehicles in the state. More Compliance Cars to Come In 2017, new requirements will be implemented. In addition to the six car companies affected by the current plan, BMW, Hyundai and its Kia subsidiary, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen along with its Audi unit also will be included under the new rules. But rather than waiting until 2017, these companies are getting a jump start. First out of the gate is BMW with its i3, the lightest and perhaps the quirkiest-looking electric vehicle. You can order one now in every state but expect at least a six-month wait for delivery. Electric vehicles coming later this year with limited distribution are the Kia Soul EV, the B-Class Electric Drive from Mercedes-Benz and the Volkswagen E-Golf. Hyundai is going a different route to meet the CARB mandate with its Tucson Fuel Cell.  It is arriving now at a select few California dealerships and is available with a lease only. There are also two EVs on the market that are not affected by California’s regulations. The Mitsubishi I-MiEV and the Smart Electric Drive have been on sale for a couple of years, although Smart has a small number of U.S. dealerships. And of course, Nissan’s Leaf and Tesla’s Model S are available nationwide. By the end of 2014, even with the addition of the cars from BMW, Mercedes, Kia and Volkswagen, the selection of electric vehicles will be very limited. Unless that is, you reside in California or one of the other states that have joined the CARB movement.

Friday, February 14, 2020

CHOOSE ONE QUESTIONS FROM THE 5 QUESTIONS ON THE INSTRUCTION LIST Essay

CHOOSE ONE QUESTIONS FROM THE 5 QUESTIONS ON THE INSTRUCTION LIST - Essay Example The opinion of economists have varied on this issue regarding the considerable of the GDP is the appropriate measure to understand the well-being of the nation. While most of the economists have relied on this economic indicator as the main determinant of the standard of living, the others have differed stating that the other intangible and tangible factors like education, health as well as ecological environment to be important factors as well. Simon Kuznets who framed the term GDP even warned that the measure is not an appropriate indicator of the well-being of the nation (Kuznets, 1934). Thus is clear that the GDP was never devised to measure the well-being of nations. With the occurrence of the Bretton Woods conference this measure started being used widely in most of the nations of the world since 1944. GDP as an economic indicator The Gross Domestic Product of a country is the sum of the goods and services of the country taken at the market value. In order to understand the con cept of GDP it is important to know how the GDP of a nation is arrived at (Landefeld, 2008). There are a variety of ways in which the GDP of a country can be measured. The product approach measures GDP by summing the total production of all the enterprises during a definite span of time. Thus the value added of all the final products in a year minus the sum of the value added of the intermediate products gives the GDP of the economy. On the other hand, the expenditure approach considers the sum of the aggregate consumption expenditure, investment expenditure, government expenditure as well as the net exports of the economy. The circular flow diagram provides an idea about the income and expenditure flow in the economy that takes place involving the individuals, firms as well as the government. Therefore GDP measures the flow of the goods and the services that takes place in an economy. The income approach however calculates the sum of the total income of the individuals the firms as well as the government in the economy. From the various approaches it is clear that during the calculation of the GDP the monetary values are taken and hence no other intangible aspect could be captured by the GDP. In all these cases only the computation of the However in most cases it is considered that if the economic condition of the people improves the people of the economy would be better off. Thus it is not an ideal measure of the standard of living of the economy. Defects in GDP as a measure of the well-being of the economy The economic system is a subsystem of a larger system that drives the world. There are ecological, political as well as social systems which are intertwined. The effects of each of these systems influence each other and one cannot be thought of independently without thinking about the other. The economic system in a society can run only in connection with the other systems and depends on the other systems to a large extent. For example, in order to carry out the production in a factory system it is important to take the help of the natural resources as well as the human capital. Along with that the incorporation of the knowhow is also important. Hence the entire economic activity of production needs the intangible resources along with the tangible resources.

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Differentiates Developmental Theory and Rudimentary Theory Essay

Differentiates Developmental Theory and Rudimentary Theory - Essay Example When action research findings are shared; they increase the interrelation between theoretic research and practice. The rapport between the two differentiates developmental theory and rudimentary theory thus publishing action research transforms information into application knowledge. More so, publishing an action research encourages other people to undertake similar researchers in the same or other areas, thus widening the knowledge application base. Publishing also widens the understanding of local readers of facts that they may consider palpable yet they affect their lives in a colossal way. Findings from an action research can be shared through data enclaves. This involves putting related findings in small groups called enclaves and allowing access for the people who consume such data. Data enclaves help in sharing findings and keeping them confidential before publishing. In case the findings of a research are confidential, they may be shared through remote execution systems. The findings are put in highly protected areas so that any request for secondary research in the area are submitted on the system. Findings of an action research may also be shared conventionally while limiting the level of access to such data. Top-coding is a technique of limiting the maximum number of people allowed access to certain findings, for example, 1-35000. Conversely, while sharing this information, discretion should be prioritized. Confidentiality can be maintained through de-identification and ensuring the people providing information remain anonymous. In the field of medicine, findings from field and laboratory researchers are shared through peer-reviewed journals. A peer-reviewed journal is basically a report with details of the features that the scientists observe in the experiments and their conclusions basing on such observations and medical/ scientific theory.