Indigo Book and Music Essay

Q1 When two organizations merge what type of structure issues doyou think might need to addressed?When Reisman was made a task to merging two organizations intoone, Indigo and Chapter both had similar organizational structure -afunctional based design.Indigo’s corporate structure, for instance consisted of departmentssuch as marketing, human resources, and retail. However, the neworganization suddenly had 90 big- box stores and close to 7,000employees. Moreover, with the take over, Indigo gained control of thenation wide.So when these two types’ organizations merge they can chose therecustomers and product mix and the assets which they have combined,the resources and the common functions which they have. They alsoset staffing numbers and decide salary levels. All customers, privateand corporate, no matter what size, are the responsibility of a localbranch. That means that even a large global customer such as Volvo ismanaged by a branch office. However, a branch office â€Å"buy in† specialist services it may need in servicing important customers likeVolvo. Each branch manger is also responsible for branch performance,which is measured by ratio of costs divided by revenues, and all thebanks branches are benchmarked against each other. if a branch startsunderperforming the regional office will offer advice and examples of what other branches have done. And to stop predatory competitionbetween its own branches, the company has set strict geographicalboundaries. Q2 What role do you think organizational structure plays in anorganization’s efficiency and effectiveness?Organizational structure is the formal arrangements of jobs within anorganization. When mangers develop or change the structure they’reengaged in organizational design. The challenge for managers is todesign an organizational structure that allows employees to effectivelyand efficiently do their work.

Twitter: A Viable Marketing Tool for SMEs?

The new runway terminal would be integrated with UK Central and HAS, deliver capacity of up to 70 million passengers per annum (map), and runway capability of up to 500,000 Alarm Transport Movements (Tams) off both runways. By moving the second runway to the new site, the Airport would have the potential for further, very long-term expansion post- 2050. One of the primary benefits of our proposal Is the extent to which capacity could be â€Å"turned up† and provided to cater for demand as it arises.Expansion to map would be fully in line with the commitments made ender the UK Climate Change Act 2008, remove 13,001 people out of the dub night noise contour and 34,063 out of the dub night noise contour. This represents a reduction of c. 100% and c. 91 % respectively, a substantial improvement for local communities. The indicative timeshare for any new runway development would be around 2030.At this point, the Airport would be operating at close to, or over, the point at which th e marginal benefit of developing a second runway would outweigh the marginal cost of more Intensive utilization of the existing runway. Is likely to be en of the cheapest to deliver in terms of overall costs because of the relative open nature of the site and the way It ties In excellent and proposed local and national Infrastructure. Beyond that the estimated cost of the proposed expansion scheme would be E. 99 billion.Birmingham Airport's proposal, therefore, forms part of a network solution for the UK which would deliver Great Airports for Great Cities, Promoting connectivity at four strategic airports, whether hub or point-to-point, recognizes that transport infrastructure and international connectivity are economic enablers that provide a pathway to a virtuous cycle of growth. The new scheme would be a full-length runway to the east of the current airport site. In summary, the proposed new second runway location and terminal developments would enable Birmingham Airport to expan d from the 8. map it handles today to map by 2050, subject to growth In passenger demand, with the potential to expand further In the very long-term. Recent trends are threatening the stability of the global alliances, the mainstay of consolidation. This has been driven by a shift to long-haul hubs In he Middle East, airline fragmentation and new market entrant, Dub Airport is expected to overtake London Heathers as the world's busiest airport (based on largest number of international passengers) by 2016.The construction of additional airport infrastructure in and around London will not remove the threat to the gateway hub because the Gulf carriers, and Emirates in particular, have already established critical mass and have identified their airports in the minds of travelers as acceptable alternatives The airline Industry is likely to witness more liberation's, fragmentation and a shift sat.The difficulty Is predicting the speed at which each of these trends will take place, and how they respond to each other. What this analysis shows Is that the Auk's reliance on a constrained Heathers as Its dominant gateway Is unsustainable. Focal airports are important, and airports such as Birmingham and Manchester may or I-J catchments around these airports can support thick network airline spoke routes from a wider range of international focal airports, and long-haul point-to-point offered by new aircraft.We need long-haul airport assets across the country to liver the flexibility and resilience the I-J needs, both to engage with any development in the airline industry, and to better connect UK Pl. Egg's analysis found that the 100% of residents in the UK are within a maximum of 2 hour Journey time from one of four macro regions – London, Birmingham, Manchester and Scotland. Each of these regions, London excluded, has one major long-haul airport.Using this catchments analysis, Capital Economics studied the economic activity in each region. They found that each of these macro regions has its own economic identity and requires unique international connectivity to cater for hose needs HAS, and associated rail service improvements, will fundamentally change Birmingham Airport's surface access offering, and the potential shape of the I-J air-rail network..By 2032, 15. 1 million people will live within 1 hour of Birmingham Airport, and 45 million people – or nearly three quarters of the total UK population – will live within 2 hours of the Airport. People likely to be exposed to noise levels of dub (daytime) for traffic levels of 13. 079 million passengers per annum (map his scheme aims to create 100,000 Jobs and generate EYE. 5 billion by 2040,

Pros and cons of horse racing Essay

Horse racing is an adrenaline filled sport for all the participants. It is a short lived, action packed, joy ride. The sport has increased in popularity over the past several years, due to the need for a rush, and is continuing to rise. Due to this massive influx in size the amount of money the business is contributing to the government is large. The business has also had to hire a multitude of people to help carry out the job of keeping the business as orderly as possible. The enlargement of the horse racing industry has also made the stakes for money in the winning a much bigger deal for owners which means they will do most anything to win. This includes the use of illegal drugs on the horses and many other forms of cheating. When the prize money raises so does the need for as many winning horses as possible for horse owners in the industry. The need for horses has led to an intense amount of over breeding of thoroughbreds. The amount of money contributed to the United States gover nment by the horse racing industry is an incredible amount. On average the sport produces 38.8 billion dollars, of which a whopping $1.88 billion is paid in annual taxes. That amount of money just goes to the United States. Around the world, countries make on average 40.2 billion. For instance, in Europe, horse racing is a widely known event and is tradition to participate in. they make on average about 45.3 billion United States dollars in the horse racing industry. Then, when talking into account supplies and employees, they produce around 101.6 billion us dollars. Governments around the globe benefit highly from the industry and horse racing being banned could have a drastic effect on entire populations from lack of money. Horse racing being banned could also cost millions of people around the globe their jobs and businesses. According to a recent labor poll over 4.6 million people are involved in the horse industry in some way, either as owners, employees, service providers or v olunteers. This includes 2 million horse owners, of which 238,000 are involved in breeding. When it comes to competing such as the jockeys and handlers, 481,000 people are involved. When looking at the amount of people involved in other activities such as grooms, veterinarians, and care takers, 1.1 million involved. 119,000 service providers and 702,000 employees, full- and part-time and 2 million family members and volunteers. That means that 1 out of every 63 Americans is involved with horses. Many of these jobs are held by lower-income families. This could be disastrous when taking into account  all the people who depend on the money they make from this business. Banning the horse racing industry could affect the local areas around them badly. The results of the one study done by students at the University of Louisville show that the horse business is a highly diverse industry that supports a wide variety of activities in all regions of the country. It combines the primarily rural activities of breeding, training, maintaining and riding horses with the more urban activities of operating racetracks, off-track betting parlors, horse shows and public sales. Usually when people go to watch a race they want to get dinner or spend their newly eared money in the expertly placed, over priced restaurants and shops. These strip mall shops gain money and business from these enthused shoppers. If there is no race track, these shops and small businesses could have a plummet in sales and be shut down for lack of ability to pay. Additionally, the volume of consumers that are driven to the racetracks each year create a need for additional medical care, education for children and families of track staff, as well as the local universities. Having the race tracks removed could lower business income for hospitals and schools as well as universities. The United States alone produces 3 billion from horse racing and tourism. Over 67 percent of activity as well as gambling money come from tourists going and paying at the race track. As a source of entertainment as well as having food venues and shopping areas round the premises of the track, it is an ideal hot spot for tourists to spend their money; whether it be on food, gambling, or shopping. The revenues made my gamblers who are not local to the area is 785 million dollars. Gambling is exciting as well as engaging for the participants. For those who enjoy taking risks, the propensity for risk associated with gambling may be both simulating and challenging. Also, gambling on horse racing allows the participant to challenge themselves with predicting the potential wins and losses. Gamblers from out of the country are obviously a large part of the income on the race track. Banning racing could make the area of choice loose business all around from not having the interest of tourists any longer. When it comes to betting on horses in horse racing, bettors rely on the accuracy of the statistics on the horses. The statistics allow the bettors to know which horses to bet and wager on. Cheating, such as the latest scandal called ‘doping’, can affect the reliability if those statistics. Doping and other forms of cheating using  drugs can harm the jockeys and horses in the long run. A few of the top drugs used in horse racing are cocaine, blcarbs, anabolic steroids, blue magic and heroine. Drugs such as heroine and anabolic steroids are typically injected into the lungs of the horse or the heart as to keep them from feeling pain and to slow down the rapid rate at which they would usually work to keep them from tiring. This can cause break downs on the track because of the lack of oxygen entering the blood stream at such a high rate of physical activity. Drugs such as cocaine blcarbs, and blue magic are usually pumped into the blood stream on added into the grain. Wha t the purpose of these are is to give the horses an energy boost that is un natural and these can also cause break downs on the track because of the amount of stress the horse is putting its body under without being aware until it is too late. The form of cheating of which is in drugs is considered cruel to the horse. Another form of cheating in the racing industry is toe grabs. A toe grab is a raised rim on the toe area of a horseshoe; its purpose is to help the horse â€Å"dig in† to the track and reduce sliding much like football cleats. However, there are increased stresses on the limbs from this stronger grip on the ground and quicker â€Å"stops† of the feet when they land while normally the foot slides forward just a bit on the ground before stopping, but toe grabs arrest this slide. It’s also been suggested that toe grabs add stress to the limb by raising the toe relative to the heel. Toe grabs on front feet have been associated with increased incidence of catastrophic injury in horse racing. Horses involved in racing are being over bred and this is causing weakening in the breed and mass slaughter of those horses that do not make the cuts. While over-breeding in the racing industry is the derivation of availability, inbreeding, and drugs are inescapably interconnected with the callous and brutal practice of slaughter as is the insatiable demand for horse meat for human consumption principally in European and Asian cultures. Inbreeding and drugs have weakened the modern Thoroughbred while the horse meat industry remains a lucrative multi-million dollar enterprise. More than 100,000 unwanted horses are born in the U.S. per year. Roughly 83,000 of those horses are slaughtered every year just in the United States because of improper breeding. A recent study was done and it showed that if 1,000 horses are bred for racing, only 300 will make it to training. Of that 300, only  roughly 75 horses will make it to racing. Only about 4 horses will make it to live their second race . Most horses that are not used for racing are sold to meat and glue factories. Only 12% of horses are properly retired and either sold to a family for other riding uses it retired to the pasture. This unnecessary breeding has caused weak bones in the thoroughbreds and diseases passed down in blood lines. The weakening of the breed has aroused a lot of controversy over whether or not horse racing should continue due to this issue. In the end there are both pros and cons to whether or not horse racing should be banned. Horse racing contributes an incredible amount of money worldwide and produces multiple job opportunities as well as business in local shops. It also brings in tourism to the track and surrounding areas which can help great deal of money also. Horse racing also has a large issue with cheating that can harm both the jockey and the horse against their will. The use of illegal drugs and product on the race horses’ pre race can significantly alter the horses performance whether for the good or the bad and in the long run, harm the horse terribly. Also over breeding has become a widely known issue across the globe and is causing a mass amount of horses to be sent to slaughter. Over breeding has also caused a decline in the stability of the breed. Horse racing both helps and harms.

James Callaghans Great Debate Speech Influence on Education Policy Essay

James Callaghans Great Debate Speech Influence on Education Policy - Essay Example Here, it needs to be noted that, the following is just an overview of the salient points of the speech, and which are relevant to the topic of this paper. Great Debate Speech This historic speech was delivered by James Callaghan in Ruskin College, located at Oxford, in October 1976. Callaghan begins his speech by highlighting the uniqueness of the college, in the sense that all its students went on to hold prominent positions in the society. He then expresses his appreciation of the fact that there is a strong relationship between the trade unions and Ruskin College. Callaghan subtly states that there are some sections, which are not in favor of the attention of public getting focused on the all-important aspect of education. (1) Callaghan argues that children are the most valuable of all the forms of natural resources, and they should be groomed in a manner so as to be responsible citizens of the country. He suggests that providing them with the right education is the means through which that purpose can be realized. He conveys that all the people toiling in the realm of education are vested with the responsibility of designing its (education) pattern in such a way that the needed standards are successfully met. He then says that he has been highly impressed by the manner in which teaching is carried out in the schools, across the country. Here, Callaghan does not fail to emphasize on the top level commitment displayed by the teaching fraternity. But it is at this point that he throws light on a rather perturbing fact: students who complete education in schools and come out join the industry as employees are struggling to do total justice to their jobs. (1) James Callaghan expressed some unhappiness that majority of students coming out of educational institutions are not inclined to work for the industry. Most of them were choosing to join either the civil services or the academic fraternity. At this juncture, he stresses on the importance of technology-based education that would empower the students in rendering excellent service to the industry. (1) Callaghan also brought the attention of his audience to the fact that, parents of the students were having some misgivings about the unconventional teaching format. This was more so because, the very purpose of the format would be destroyed if the teaching personnel are not that competent. He stated that it is the bound duty of the teaching personnel to be removing the above misgivings. Callaghan remarked that it is of paramount relevance that a perfect balance is brought between the aspects of having technological skills and being responsible to society. Neither of the two should be prioritized at the cost of the other. (1) James Callaghan mentioned that the expected standards for employment have rapidly risen, and that people lacking the needed technical skills are at a disadvantage. He added that, the educational system should be such that, it should successfully address this issue and e nhance the technical knowhow of the students. By this, the students would be facing no hassles in taking up jobs that necessitate having of sound technical knowledge and capabilities. Callaghan concludes his speech by urging the academic fraternity to initiate all the needed changes, so that students can make a mark for themselves in their future roles as employees. (1) Impact on the Educational Policy after 1979 It is not at all an exaggeration in stating that the â€Å"Great Debate† speech of James Callaghan triggered some crucial changes in the educational s

Minority entrepreneurs and International strategy selection Research Paper

Minority entrepreneurs and International strategy selection - Research Paper Example This means that these minorities have to plan an international strategy for their businesses in their nascent stages. The strategy needs to be planned effectively because the ability of the business to take risks and endure failure is very low and the owner may not be able to recover after a loss. Planning an international strategy for such a small and highly constrained business is extremely difficult and requires caution. Because of the cultural differences, minority entrepreneurs have a different style of management and therefore adopt different strategies that make them different from local entrepreneurs. The advantage of this distinctiveness is that they are better able to reach communities and generate referrals along with community support. The disadvantage is that this different style makes these entrepreneurs lesser at ease as compared to the local entrepreneurs. Minority entrepreneurs face a multitude of problems which decrease their chances of success. It is therefore impe rative that structures are set up that provide support to and encourage this important segment of the society. The problems of such businesses are unique and therefore require a unique solution as well. Entrepreneurs are the life blood of any economy as they operate at the grass root level and penetrate markets that the larger enterprises are unable to reach. Each year, thousands of immigrants leave their homelands and settle in other countries in pursuit of better economic and social conditions. Most of the influx also occurs in the western countries or the developed world where the economies are able to support these incomers and the markets are well developed to allow these small businesses to flourish at such a small scale. Contradictory to common understanding, entrepreneurship does not necessarily involve developing an innovative product, it has various definitions. For such entrepreneurs, it is equivalent to launching their businesses in an international

The role of fathers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The role of fathers - Essay Example However, the involvement of the father depends of various factors such as the genetic relationship, a male guardian, adopted or step father. Statistics has also proved that children who live with their father do academically well as fathers take added role in guiding their children’s social and intellectual development. Fathers play various roles and functions which are- The effects of a father’s absence results in many economic disadvantages. It is associated with a substantial degree of isolation and affects the child’s development.(1) When fathers are disenfranchised, the research studies have shown that the children have a higher rate of suicides, asthma attacks, mental disorder, depression. (2) According to the sociologist Lewis Yablonsky, fathering style is determined by a father’s own behavior, his financial condition and his economic status. In the past decade, the United States has been titled as the world leader in fatherless families and current statistics show that 34% of the children in the United States live without their father. Research studies have proved that there are positive effects of a father’s involvement. Statistics has proved that the children enjoy going to school and participate in extracurricular activities more when the fathers are more involved in their children’s education. There has also been evidence that the children have more self control and have the ability to take more initiatives and risks.(2) The role of the father and his involvement impacts the children’s development, survival and growth, health and child’s emerging capacity. The father’s contribution to children’s well being is through interactions, constructive engagement in family and social life. (3) 3. Ball, Jessica & Ken Moselle, Father’s contribution to children’s well Being, Public Health Agency of Canada, population health Fund Project, 10th April 2007, from

Managerial Application of Information Technology Assignment

Managerial Application of Information Technology - Assignment Example Also age can be a good example of data as different age groups prefer different types of movies. The information most likely to be collected is the types, class of movies people are most interest in and the type of movies children, youths, middle-aged and the elderly like watching. 2) Better bodies can state the wide range of services they provide in a site where interested individuals can log in view. Moreover these services can be provided online. This means that with a certain subscription amount, a client doesn’t have to go the gym if he/she has the necessary equipments. He/she has to follow instructions as will be provided. This will be very attractive to a huge number of people hence gaining competitive advantage over rivals. ... These are some of the information that will be gathered and stored into the database which is very essential. 4) This is a situation where no restriction exists on internet access of all sites available in the internet. This where one can access any site and there is no barriers to browsing. Some people strongly support this type of network freedom to be adopted while others strongly reject and oppose this idea. In my opinion I would oppose this idea; this is because without restrictions, internet crime levels would be so high especially those caused by hacking. Many peoples information would be insecure, can even be altered causing serious damages and many more other kinds of misuse would prevail. To avoid all these, restrictions are best appropriate put in place. This would even help when considering the factor of morality where children may be exposed to pornographic materials. 5) In Croydon visiting Nurse services, CRM systems would be of the best help. Considering all tasks are manual and paper based, CRM systems are meant to reduce the paper work considerably by far. All the data to be stored is recorded in the database systems and retrieval of data incase of client need would be fast and time saving. Moreover the systems has a larger storing capacity hence can hold large number of data of clients to almost infinity. The nurses can also communicate with each other through the system from one office to another or from one point to another thereby erasing any inconveniences that may arise due to time wastage and finding one another in numerous rooms. To make it better, it’s cheaper to acquire the system as well as to maintain

Defintion essay on leisure time Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Defintion on leisure time - Essay Example Thesis statement: Do spare time or leisure time varies among countries and individuals or not. Leisure time and children: The time spent by children for leisure time activities varies depending upon factors like economic condition, culture etc. In America and Europe, children are far ahead in spending their leisure time. Compared to North Americans, East Asians are far behind in spending their leisure time. But children in European countries are above North Americans and below East Asians in leisure time usage. But when one considers elders, the senior citizens get more leisure time and engage in different types of activities. The middle aged people do not get sufficient time to engage in leisure time activities. When one considers the younger generation, they get enough time to engage in leisure time activities. The leisure time activities of children include games, sports, cultural dealings amusement and community service. In the middle-childhood, they indulge in computer usage, watching television, art activities, sports, reading, church activities, housework, shopping etc . In the journal article ‘The Benefits of Adult Piano Study as Self-Reported by Selected Adult Piano Students’ from the ERIC academic database, Peter J Jutras makes clear that: â€Å"Findings suggest that students are interested in technical improvement, but they also place high value on the enjoyment and self-growth† (Peter 1) student community shows much interest in wise usage of their leisure time. For instance, when they involve in playing piano, they does not consider it as mere enjoyment but they also consider the technical improvement and self-growth. So, one can see that children are in fond of leisure time and really enjoy the same. But the adults engage in team sports like soccer, volleyball, basket ball etc, and women spend time for

Diversity of Islamic ruling in the Practice of Islamic Finance Essay

Diversity of Islamic ruling in the Practice of Islamic Finance Industry - Essay Example Comparative Analysis on the Sources of Islamic Sharia The Islamic law governs the religious sector, the social aspects, and also the financial as well as economic aspects of the Muslim society. The Sharia is wide and was made on the basis of the life of Prophet Mohammed by the Muslim scholars. The Islamic law influences the legal code in the Muslim communities. This is a set of laws and also regulations that are put to rule the Islamic countries. The sharia law applies in the areas like custody, the personal status including marriages and divorces, inheritances, and the economy of the Islamic society (Letha 2011). The word sharia further means ‘path’ in the Islamic community. It means the set guidelines that rule all the areas of a Muslim individual. This includes the daily routine of an individual, the religious sector, and also the financial aspects of the Muslim society. The laws are from the life experiences and lessons, teachings, and practices of the prophet Mohammed. The past and the current Muslim community apply th ese precedents and the analogy from the book to address issues that affect the Islamic society (Johnson & Vriens 2011). The law developed from the prophet who acted as a role model for the Muslim community. The Muslim scholars developed also the ‘hadith.’ This sharia law is currently used by the population in the north and west parts of Africa and also on the eastern parts of china (Johnson & Vriens 2011).... The sharia law applies in the areas like custody, the personal status including marriages and divorces, inheritances, and the economy of the Islamic society (Letha 2011). The word sharia further means ‘path’ in the Islamic community. It means the set guidelines that rule all the areas of a Muslim individual. This includes the daily routine of an individual, the religious sector, and also the financial aspects of the Muslim society. The laws are from the life experiences and lessons, teachings, and practices of the prophet Mohammed. The past and the current Muslim community apply these precedents and the analogy from the book to address issues that affect the Islamic society (Johnson & Vriens 2011). The law developed from the prophet who acted as a role model for the Muslim community. The Muslim scholars developed also the ‘hadith.’ This sharia law is currently used by the population in the north and west parts of Africa and also on the eastern parts of china (Johnson & Vriens 2011). The Quran contains a compilation of the life and the practices of prophet Mohammed. Islamic law is also referred to as the Sharia in the Arabic and in the Muslim community. It is regarded as a deep and also a rich form of intellectual tradition. The Islamic law is replete with well-developing schools of thought. The tradition encompasses scholarly tomes and detail analysis with principles, texts, and other proofs. The Islamic jurisprudence in Arabic is fiqh, from understanding. It signifies the efforts of legal specialists to interpret the Sharia and apply it to particular human circumstances. A train expiry in jurisprudence is referred to as a faqih and is often when addressing the faqih it goes with the honorific

The Great Catastrophe of Barings Essay Example for Free

The Great Catastrophe of Barings Essay Introduction In 1995, Barings Bank, the first merchant bank in the world met its downfall due to the Singapore International Monetary Exchange or SIMEXs act of a rogue trader. The reason behind the collapse of the Barings Bank lies under the failure of COSO (Committee on Sponsoring Organizations) Internal Control Integrated Framework application in the company in terms of: environment control, risk assessment, control activities, information and communication monitoring. The person who is behind COSO Framework is Nick Leeson. However, the same person violated the said framework without the knowledge of the bank that led to the downfall of the merchant bank.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This paper aims to discuss the causes of the collapse of Barings Bank. Specifically, it also intends examine why the bank failed to apply proper integration of COSO and how Nick Leeson contributed to the downfall of Barings. Control Environment   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In every company, control environment is important in order to give knowledge to the employees and increase their environmental awareness. This provides employees with the necessary discipline in order to incorporate other internal control components to all business operations in the company.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When Baring was on its first level of establishing its figure in SIMEX, Simon, who happened to be the supervisor of Nick Leesson, wanted to hire green traders. This means that in order to save money to be given out to employees, the company will only be accepting fresh graduates who do not demand high salaries. This is a great risk in the control environment that Barings took. SIMEX was internationally recognized financial institution which was ruled by highly competitive and knowledgeable traders. Thus, hiring ignorant traders who are not accustomed to the operations of SIMEX was a wrong move for Barings.   In addition, the responsibility of hiring traders should go under the company’s human resource and not with Nick Leeson. Once a trader is accepted for the job, the company should rigorously train him or her, provide him or her with the right resources, and teach him orher the necessary skills in trading.   Traders should not be brought to the trading floor until they fully master the trading system and procedures. The management philosophy of Barings as a company also appeared to be delinquent since the start of its operations. Simon already warned Leeson that the former was a bottom-line kind of person. Simon was someone who prioritized profitability over quality. For Leeson, loss and mistakes should be avoided at all costs, while maximizing profit. He did not care what steps should be taken in order for the company to earn money. The increase in profit was the only thing in his mind. In this situation, the delinquency philosophy of management was adopted. As per Simon’s instructions, Leeson and the other traders were obliged to always seek the most profitable option. Since they are pressured to do so, if a trader was not able to do his job well, they need to cover it up and find ways to settle the problem immediately in order to maintain the company’s reputation. The lack of human resource policies and procedures can be seen in the case of Kim, one of the traders. She was tasked to sell securities. However, she was not properly trained as a trader. Thus, she got confused about the deal and ended up buying security instead of selling. This mistake which is part of the 1st Barings liquidation can be avoided if only the company was able to check the background of Kim before hiring her. Leeson was not the only person who was pressurized by Simon. The Head of Barings Financial Products Ron Baker was also tasked by Simon to do things in order for them to receive bonuses. Going back to the case of Leeson, aside from work pressure, he was also going through some personal problems. His father-in-law had just died and he had lost an unborn child due to miscarriage. Because of the said incidents, his wife, Lisa, asked Leeson to resign from his job in Barings. She thought that her husband has been overworking for the company while he was not well-compensated. When he informed his supervisors that he was resigning, they suddenly gave him a special treatment. The company pampered him and gave him a special pass to trade for SIMEX when he was in London. He was also given the privilege to name his price when it came to bonuses and rewards. Although the employee retention strategy that the company used appears attractive, it had negative effects on Leeson. Providing this kind of privilege negatively affected his personality and his work performance. It caused him to become overconfident which led to insubordination as he tried to overpower his superiors. If only Simon or Ron had quickly discovered this transition in Leesons performance, they could have stopped him immediately from becoming a thief or an inefficient worker. Risk Assessment   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Risk assessment is the companys ability to control the costs of materials occurring in the company. It also identifies the organization’s risks, and analyzes the potential and likelihood of costs. This is also important in order to assess that benefits should always be higher over costs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the case of Barings, the companys board management was not able to evaluate properly the risks of hiring new personnel in this new line of business. At that time, Barings was on the peak of expanding businesses all over the world. Because of his amazing performance in Jakarta where he was able to solve bonds problem, most of the responsibilities were assigned to Leeson. He was given a lot of power being the manager of the trading floor and the settlement office. He gained authority in giving permission to all transactions and activities involving the trading market. Giving him much authority was a grave mistake as it placed the company at risk. He easily manipulated the accounting system which was supposed to be for trading purposes only. There was a time when Leeson authorized trading floor transactions without the banks approval. Although there were auditors who examined incoming and outgoing transactions, they were easily bribed and manipulated by Leeson. He was also accountable for hiring traders who were not skilled and trained. Control Activities   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Control activities focus on safeguarding the assets of the company. This involves segregating the duties of employees, authorizing transactions, documentation and checking incoming and outgoing deals.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There were control deficiencies in the newly put up Barings in Singapore. However, it was raised accordingly on the management’s table. Leesons case was about the missing 7.78 billion yen which was demanded by the external auditor for him to explain where such huge amount went to. The auditor required Leeson to present 3 valid documents which can prove that the money was not missing and was used properly. Due to the lack of internal control within the company, Leeson was able to produce the documents immediately. Although the management was already notified, there was no investigation conducted to see more supporting evidence where such materials came from. There were no independent checks made by the higher management to ensure that the internal controls were implemented.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Responsibilities were also not properly segregated in Barings. Leeson was the man responsible for both the trading floor and the settlement office, both risk-taking and reconciliation activities. In addition, there were no internal controls that can prevent Leeson from conducting certain control procedures. Since he had the custody of the transactions on the trading floor, he was also the one who authorized the transactions between Barings’ clients and SIMEX. At the same time, he also had the power to determine which authorized entries would be recorded into the journal and what reconciliation was supposed to be made at the end of the month. If there was a higher management responsible for controlling activities in the company, the company could easily detect the activities of Leeson which the company would never authorize Leeson to do. The control activities that were established in Barings were not structured and conducted properly. There were plenty of loopholes that could be taken advantage of. Information and Communication   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Financial reports are vital materials in every company. In proccessing financial reports, having an established information and communication procedure is very important. This procedure enables the employees to understand their responsibilities in making company financial reports. This also involves the accounting system which records, processes, and summarizes the transactions concerning the companys assets and liabilities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lack of information and communication can be seen in the case of Barings. The company was only looking forward to the end of the month period where they gain profits. It did not seek to understand how and why the company achieved such profits; it only sought profitability and less accountability. Barings financial reports lacked accuracy. Thus, Leeson was able to do fraudulent activities while exploiting the companys resources. Even though Simon was curious about the missing 7.78 billion yen, he just demander for a brief report and did not ask for a more extensive investigation concerning the money.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Barings accounting system was also horrible as it was not properly controlled. Because of this, Leeson was able to manipulate every amount of transactions that were entered in the system. The financial statements that were given to the higher management were altered by Leeson first before they were presented to the board of entity. Meanwhile, Simon may be the main reason why Leeson turned out to be like that. He should be the one responsible in monitoring and supervising Leeson. However, he preferred to be preoccupied with the results—whether the company made a huge profit or not. Monitoring   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Company activities should undergo monitoring process in order to fully asses the quality and performance over time. This can be evaluated by internal auditors through financial reports, Continual management review of exception and operation reports, an auditing per period basis and a Regulator’s suggestions for improvement.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Politics is considerably present in Barings organizational structure. Improper support from the board members or a senior executive is given to the internal audit department. The missing 7.78 billion yen was not sensationalized and the news subsided easily without further investigation. Leeson easily made ways to make that 7.78 billion yen case vanished into thin air. The quality of Leesons work was not properly monitored. The senior executives were easily confined on Leesons explanation rather than going through the reports that were submitted.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the other hand, the audit personnel that were sent to audit Nick’s work did not possess the appropriate level of expertise. Nick was at first given a very strict and competent auditor but due to lack of support from the board of members, she was later called back to London due to some political issues and two rookies were sent to audit Nick.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Too much trust on Leeson that lead to the downfall of Baring lies on his managers accountability and the internal audit as well. Simon was not able to focus attention on Leesons performance like for instance when one of Leeson’s traders was making a mistake; and both Ron and Tony, the Senior Settlement Clerk from London, was not able to monitor Nick’s works properly. Tony was only ferreting around Nick’s office for about a month and found nothing. There was a total mess in Barings’ management reviews; there was literally no monitoring on Nick’s doings. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are warnings given to the management but they refuse to accept the fact behind it. Profitability blinded them so much believing that it measure success. Since Barings is a big corporation, segregation of responsibilities should be given properly and at the same time employee should understand true responsibility and discipline. Proper training should be given to newly hired individuals so that they will not be lost in their filed of work. There are problems that can be easily solved because of signs along the way but the management chose to ignore it and carry on with operations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Too much slacking in the internal control was present in Barings. Leeson was able to perform nasty activities and he has vast opportunities that made him loss his integrity. He relied too much on Simons demand of gaining profit every end of the month. His mind is focused on this goal that he made dishonest ways of achieving it. He made things beyond his control even manipulating transactions and financial reports. Too much greed led to Barings bankruptcy and his imprisonment. With the additional pressure and problems that he was facing from both his marital and company side, as a regular human being, it was just a matter of time before he would crack open.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Taking immediate actions could cut Barings losses. Barings should be able to overcome this financial shock, only if the board of entity and higher management had responded spontaneously to the problems that they were facing. Everyone was surprised to know that Leeson who was a well trusted employee counter attack them by his power. Devising a solution immediately can be done to counter the companys loss. Securities should be prioritized to avoid another kind of scenario like Barings downfall. The case of Barings teaches the importance of internal controls in every   company’s success. Right management and good supervision is needed in every company. Dedicated and honest employees are needed to lead the company and do managerial decisions that results in a win-win situation. Better internal controls are needed to fully analyze company transactions. A lesson well learned from Barings that will avoid future company losses in the future.

A Study On Sharing The Wealth Philosophy Essay

A Study On Sharing The Wealth Philosophy Essay There are many people in the world who are currently living in horrible conditions that include malnutrition, hunger, and polluted drinking water. While these people are living in such horrible conditions, I am living a comfortable life and have a habit of taking advantage of certain luxuries that are available to me, but not to someone living in such unfortunate conditions. If a global tax was instated in an attempt to end hunger by contributing a mere one dollar a week, then I would be more than willing to support this movement. There are some others who would agree to and support this tax, but there are also some who disagree with this tax. Different individuals who would have varying opinions on this idea for a global tax are Thomas Pogge, John McMillian, Peter Singer, and Garrett Hardin. Thomas Pogge, as shown in his essay, World Poverty and Human Rights, would seem to agree with the notion of a global tax to help aid those in need. He writes that we have duties, not to expose people to life-threatening poverty and duties to shield them from harms for which we would be actively responsible (Pogge 319). In other words, he believes that those who live in wealthier nations should not allow other people to fall to illnesses if they can afford not to. This would include leaving people to just starve when one can contribute a small portion of our funds to them. Pogge also discusses the topic of how richer countries, such as the United States, strip these poorer areas of their own natural resources. He does mention that these countries to pay for it, but there is a problem with this payment. The payments we make for resource imports go to the rulers of the resource-rich countries, with no concern about whether they are democratically elected or at least minimally attentive to the needs to the people they rule (Pogge 320). Although the richer nations may be paying for the resources they take away, they are paying to leaders who may not share this payment fairly with those that they rule. With this idea in mind, perhaps Pogge would be even more supportive of this global tax if it could be guaranteed that the funds from the tax would be placed in the correct hands and those who need it will actually receive it. Peter Singer is another person who would agree to this notion of a global tax to an extent. In his essay, World Poverty and Hunger, he states that, I (Singer) begin with the assumption that suffering and death from lack of food, shelter, and medical care are bad (Singer 332). It would be an obvious conclusion to come to from this that he would agree that everyone (who can afford to do so) contributing something to people who are suffering from those things would be a good thing. This is ratified when he states that, if it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, with-out thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral importance, we ought, morally, to do it (Singer 332). Again, this would lead to the conclusion that he would be in favor of this tax. Although evidence would support that he would be in favor of the global tax, his argument soon gets more complex than that: If everyone in circumstances like mine were to give  £5, I would have no obligation to give more than  £5. If the conclusion were so stated, however, it would be obvious that the argument has no bearing on a situation in which it is not the case that everyone else gives  £5 (Singer 333). In other words, the wording of that statement means that not everyone would be obligated to give that amount of money. Therefore, by giving more than  £5 I will prevent more suffering than I would if I gave just  £5 (Singer 333). Although this is more of a real-world situation, there is evidence in these statements to come to the conclusion that Singer would redefine this global tax. Instead of everyone being taxed one dollar, everyone should instead give as much as they can to limit even more suffering. He continues to say, it follows that I and everyone else in similar circumstances ought to give as much as possible, that is, at least up tot he point at which by giving more one would begin to cause serious suffering for oneself and ones dependents (Singer 333). He would suggest that everyone who can should give as much as they can without causing suffering on themselves. However, despite the idea that Singer would prefer people to give as much as they possibly can, he would sti ll be in favor of the global tax as it is. As he says, At the very least, though, one can make a start (Signer 338). It is better to give something than nothing at all. Although there are those who agree with the notion of a global tax, there are also those who would not approve of this idea. One such person in John McMillan. In his essay, Antipoverty Wars he blatantly states that, Global poverty cannot be eliminated by sharing the wealth (McMillan 323). The global tax in question would be an example of this idea of sharing the wealth as McMillan puts it. Instead he believes that, The only real solution therefore, is economic growth, to expand the worlds total resources (McMillan 324). By growth, he means an increase in a nations income (McMillan 324). Something in this argument that cannot be ignored is the reasons he gives for the potential failure of redistributing the wealth to those in need. Let us do some hypothetical arithmetic. Imagine that the wealth of the millionaires is confiscated and distributed to everyone earning less than $2 per day. Dividing $25 trillion among 2.8 billion people would give $9,000 to each. (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) It would be infeasible for many reasons, one of which is that taxing income at 100 percent would squash any incentive to earn it (McMillan 323). In this, McMillan states that even though it would give a substantial amount to those in need, it would not bode well to take all of the wealth that millionaires make. With the global tax in question, it would only require everyone to be taxed one dollar, not the entirety of a millionaires wealth like McMillan mentioned. Despite this, McMillan still states that he believes that economic growth is what should be focused on to increase the wealth in a country. Therefore it can be assumed that he would not agree to the idea of a global tax in favor for economic growth instead. In his essay, Living on a Lifeboat, Garrett Hardin is another individual who, like McMillan, would not agree that this global tax is a good idea. He writes this essay with the idea in mind of the lifeboat metaphor. He explains this metaphor as such, Metaphorically, each rich nation amounts to a lifeboat full of comparatively rich people. The poor of the world are in other, much more crowded, lifeboats. Continuously, so to speak, the poor fall out of their lifeboats and swim for a while in the water outside, hoping to be admitted to a rich lifeboat, or in some other way to benefit from the goodies on board (Hardin 340). In other words, the rich nations are separate from, and in better conditions than, the poorer nations. The poorer nations have overflowed and are now in the water and need a boat to get on in order to live. The decision now is whether or not to allow them onto our (the richer nations) lifeboat. Hardin believes that nobody should be allowed onto the lifeboat for many metaphorical reasons, and then backs them up with real-world reasons. The closest example that would align to this notion of a global tax would be the international food bank. One of his issues with this idea is that, the concepts of blame and punishment are irrelevant. The question is, what are the operational consequences of establishing a world food back? If it is open to every country every time a need develops, slovenly rulers will not be motivated (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦). Others will bail them out whenever they are in trouble (Hardin 343). In other words, the leaders of these countries that are receiving aid will not be motivated to prepare for bad times or to help themselves. They will just become, essentially, lazy and not do anything to help themselves. They will become reliant on other countries to bail them out. The most anguishing problems are created by poor countries that are governed by rulers insufficiently wise and powerful (Hardin 344). Here is where Hardin claims that the rulers are not capable of properly leading these poorer countries and that is why they are not doing so well. To relate these ideas to the global tax would be to say that, since these countries are receiving aid now, they do not have to worry about what will happen later because they will become accustomed to thinking that they will always receive that aid when they believe it is necessary. The one dollar that everyone donates could help them get out of poverty, but it would not help them to stay out of it. My personal response to this global tax is a positive one. Despite Hardin and McMillans possible views on the idea, I still believe it would ultimately benefit poorer nations and lead to positive results. The biggest incentive for agreeing with this notion for a global tax is very simple: it is easily affordable. It would not involve drastic cuts from a paycheck that leaves one without money for the things that are necessary for them to live in a day to day society. If everyone contributed one dollar a week, it would not add up for each person individually. This idea aligns up with Singers argument. Since I have money to spare and can give without taking away from any necessities that I have, I should be willing to donate it to those who need it. Even though McMillan makes the argument that sharing the global wealth would not help these nations, I disagree. I disagree because of his proposal that economic growth is the key to a nations success. As both Pogge and Hardin point out, the leaders of these poorer countries are not always the most well suited or fair. Pogge states that the wealth that the economic leaders would get are not being shared with the rest of the nation. Hardin states that getting this aid would not encourage the leaders to start becoming dependent on their own land. This would lead to economic growth being very difficult. Also, as Pogge does mention, richer countries are coming and either buying or stripping a country of its natural resources. There resources are possible necessities that these poorer nations may need in order to actually grow. Another issue that prevents me to subscribing to McMillans theory is his example as to why spreading the global wealth is bad. The first is that it is purely based on the idea of completely taking away a millionaires profit for a year. In our example of a global tax, one dollar a week will hardly scratch the surface of a millionaires profit, and it would still provide positive results to those in need. McMillans theory also requires that this spreading of global wealth is only in place for one year. This global tax would be in place for longer than that one year. This means that it would have more of a chance of being effective and collecting more for those in need. Pogge brings up the point that not when richer countries purchase land or goods from the leaders of poorer countries, the wealth is not always distributed to the people. This is why I believe that the money that is taken from the global tax should be carefully moderated to ensure that it gets placed into the right hands. For this reason, I disagree with Hardins logic. Although the leaders may not always be the best suited, the money can still be distributed to those who need it by not providing it to those in charge. If this money is monitored, there should be no issue of this. A global tax of one dollar per person a week would be a huge benefit to those in the world who need the money and are living in horrible conditions. Taking into consideration of how the money gets distributed and that those giving the money do not place themselves in danger or in need, I agree to this concept of a global tax. Despite McMillans and Hardins views, I think it is a good idea to attempt to redistribute the funds in the richer countries by taking this very small step.

Constitutional Monarchy and the Third Way in UK

Constitutional Monarchy and the Third Way in UK A constitutional monarchy is a type of a constitutional government, where either an elected or hereditary monarch is a head of state, unlike in an absolute monarchy where the king or queen is an absolute ruler not bound by the constitution. Most of the constitutional monarchs have a parliamentary system where legislation is passed and the monarch is the head of state with a prime minister as the head of government elected directly by parliament or appointed by the monarchy. This generally separates the official and head of state duties of the monarchy from party politics making the monarchy politically neutral thus can not vote. This provides political stability, continuity and national focus despite a change in government. The sovereign head governs according to the national laws and regulations stipulated in the constitution. However the UK does not have a written constitution but its governed by convections which are non statutory rules and are equally binding.   The monarch is advised by ministers who hail from parliament and it appoints the prime minister, approves legislation and confers honors. As a head of state the monarch is the head of the armed forces. The British monarch (the queen) today has two roles that of head of state and as head of the nation. As the head of sate for Britain she plays an important role in undertaking important constitutional and representational duties. E.g. opening of parliament, approving of the orders in of council, signing acts of parliament plus meeting and conversing with the prime minister and ministers concerning state matters. Other duties include those of representing the state of Britain to the outside world In relation to the government of UK that is headed by a prime minister. The British parliament consists of the monarchy as where the queen is the head, the House of Lords and the House of Commons-which posses the dominant political power hence always supports the government of the day. Her maje sty duties involve the opening of new sessions of parliament and addressing it through the queens speech. (Drafted by the government and outlines the government agenda), issuance of prorogue, dissolving parliament, assenting to bills and approving orders and proclamations through the Privy Council. Parliament can only meet without a royal summon if the sovereign head has died and parliament is not running. Other duties concern the devolve units of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. On April 10th 1998 the Northern Ireland assembly was formed as part of the Good Friday agreement. It has authority over all devolved responsibilities. The assembly has full legislative authority over education, agriculture, health, social services and on wealth creation. Scotland on the other hand has two parliaments. The Westminster assembly legislates on matters that touch on the whole UK as a state while the one in Edinburgh legislates for the devolved domestic matters. The legislation for legislation was taken from Scotland in 1707 and taken to London till the 21st century on September 1997 when the majority of the Scots voted for a Scottish parliament in a plebiscite. The parliament was official opened by the queen on July 1999 and the new building officially opened by the queen in 2004. It has jurisdiction over primary legislation on matters that concern education, police, environment, economic development law and sets the basic rate of income tax among others. The members of p arliament of the Scottish parliament take the oath of allegiance to the crown. The parliaments first minister is appointed by the queen and receives weekly report from the Scottish parliament. This is done under the statutory law that established the parliament. Waless power on legislation was devolved in 2006 where the Wales assembly has had power and authority to pass laws to address the local issues in Wales such as on health and education. These acts are passed without the approval of the UK-Parliament. These actions of devolution are clearly in line with the intension to bring the government closer to the people so as to be able to empower the people to be able to govern themselves more closely, a proposition that is in line with the third way philosophers in Britain. Socialism involves various economic and political theories that advocate for a collective ownership and administration of the means and factors of production as well as the distribution of goods and services through the state. The system has no private ownership of property. Its a step in the transition of the society between capitalism and socialism according to the Marxist theory. In socialism economic activity is carried out to maximize use value as opposed to exchange value. Socialist are antagonistic to capitalism which they view as concentrating power and wealth to a few elites and it exploits labor leading to formation of a stratified society (class). In recent years there is the notion of democratic socialism that is used to denote the democratic character of the socialist movement. It involves the active participation of the society as whole through workers management of the economy through ideals such as  Ã‚   democratic socialism. It proposes the radical reorganization o f the state through social and economic order through public ownership.   Neo liberalism on the other hand is about economic liberalization based on the neo classical economic theories. Which minimizes the role of the state in the economy  Ã‚   to maintenance of law and order and maximizes the private sectors role? The proponents of this school of thought are referred to as the leftist. Its major effect is seen through the rich growing richer and the poor growing poorer. Third way in UKs politics is about the renewal of the social democracy whose vision and mission is to move the state of Britain from the political limbo that it has been in between the leftist who favor the free market ideologies and the right those who favor the state.   There quest is a new form of political ideology that concentrates on adapting economies and the society in general to the forces of globalization (an advanced form of capitalism). Globalization- a step in capitalism development has resulted in inequalities, the misfortunes of social exclusion, isolation, despair, uncertainty, and politics of the extremes under democracy.   This has put pressure on the leftist to re think there stand politically and socially in these age of knowledge economy. Third way proponents advocate for new progressive values that has three premises i.e. the need for the government to promote equality, to all while safeguarding the underprivileged, a set of moral standards and principles t hat promotes mutual responsibility, while resisting the politics of entitlement and the politics of social abandonment. And finally it advocates for a new approach to governance that empowers the people to act for themselves. The party that was championing this was the new labor party under Tony Blair that shifted from its leftist position and won the British elections of 1997 with a landslide. hence the name new. Today its under Gordon brown. leaving the only leftist party to be the British Fabian society. Third way has been stated to be centrism where it has combined the traditions of the European democrats and the ways of the American economic liberals (proponents of the free market ideology) combining the new right approach to governance and Keynesian theories of economics. The government of the new labor party has been formulating its policies from a number of both leftist think tank bodies like the Fabian society and Demos plus neo liberal think tank bodies coming up with policies that touch on issues like welfare and work etc. This clearly shows that the third way was a compromise between the two. Reference Anthony G, 1998,  The third way: the renewal of social democracy  , Wiley-Blackwell.

World War I and World War II :: Comparative

World War I and World II are basically the same, right? Well, one can also say they have nothing in common. The comparison of the two wars is conceivable, but it is thought-provoking because they are such widespread notions. This concept applies to Araby, written by James Joyce during WWI, and The Flash, written by Italo Calvino during WWII. In Araby, the protagonist falls in love with a girl, but love deceives him. In his moment of epiphany, â€Å"[g]azing up into the darkness [he] saw [himself] as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and [his] eyes burned with anguish and anger† (Joyce 1). In The Flash, the protagonist suddenly grasps a reality and in his moment of epiphany â€Å"[he] stopped, blinked: [He] understood nothing. Nothing, nothing about anything. [He] didn’t understand the reasons for things or for people, it was all senseless, absurd† (Calvino 1). Comparing the epiphanies of the two distinct short stories reveals a relationship betwee n their similarities and differences through theme, symbolism and setting. First and foremost, comparing the themes of both epiphanies reveal they can simultaneously be similar and different. An important common theme in both epiphanies is facing reality. In Araby, the protagonist realizes â€Å"[his] stay was useless† (Joyce 6) since the young lady only â€Å"spok[e] to [him] out of a sense of duty† (Joyce 6). Likewise, in The Flash, the protagonist realizes he â€Å"accepted everything: traffic lights, cars, posters, uniforms, monuments, things completely detached from any sense of the world, accepted them as if there some necessity, some chain of cause and effect that bound them together† (Calvino 1). Both characters face the reality and randomness of the world. Even so, each epiphany implies each protagonist faces a different sort of reality. The protagonist of Araby faces the reality of love and â€Å"[sees himself] as a creature driven and derived by vanity† (Joyce 6). On the other hand, the protagonist of The Fla sh faces the reality of existence and hopes â€Å"[he] shall grasp that other knowledge† (Calvino 2). Therefore, reviewing the theme similar to both epiphanies leads to discovering different themes as well. Conversely, looking at the differences in the symbolism of each epiphany hints at a comparable aspect of symbolism. The epiphany of Araby symbolizes the protagonist escaping into a dark world when he enters â€Å"[t]he upper part of the hall [which] was now completely dark† (Joyce 6).

opium war Essay -- essays research papers fc

The Opium War was a war fought by two countries Great Britain and china in 1839. The war was fought over the drug opium which was used by the Chinese for hundreds of year to relieve pain. opium is a habit forming narcotic made from the poppy plant. In the late 1700’s the British was smuggling the drug into China for non-medical use. The navies of the two countries mostly fought the battles of the opium war at sea. Within three years the Chinese’s old ships were simply no matches for the brand new British ships. In 1843 the Chinese and the British signed the treaty of Nanjing. This treaty gave the British the island of Hong Kong. In 1844 the United States of America and other countries gained extraterritorial rights. Which this allowed other countries to trade in china and not live b...

Compare and contrast the writing styles Essay

Writers are characterized by three factors. These factors are style, tone, and purpose. William Byrd and William Bradford were two colonial writers however they took completely opposite approaches toward writing. During these times, journals, diaries, and sermons made up the literature. Byrd and Bradford were no exceptions with their works of A History of the Dividing Line and Of Plymouth Plantation respectively. Whether it was the difference in writing styles, the different purposes for writing the stories, or simply each writer’s tone, their techniques were far from similar to one another. One difference between Bradford and Byrd was their writing styles. Bradford used the plain style to record and to describe his account of the New World. Plain style writing is the form of writing used by the Puritans. This writing style tended to stay away from figures of speech and tried to keep it plain, simple and right to the point. A great example is when the settlers first arrived and Bradford noted that the people â€Å"had now no friends to welcome them nor inns to entertain or refresh their weather-beaten bodies; no houses or much less towns to repair to, to seek for succor† (31). This statement explained how difficult it was to arrive to such a barren land even after all the hardships assail. Bradford did an excellent job in his writings to give the real and accurate accounts of what happened. On the other hand, Byrd wrote his perception of the New World in sharp contrast to the writing style of Bradford. Byrd used forms of ridicule to record his account of what took place in the new colonies. A classic example of this technique was when Byrd called the sudden immigration of people to the New World a â€Å"modish frenzy† (50). This statement shows that Byrd thought it to be just a modern fad to start a life in the New World. Byrd wrote using his own perception of colonial life and struggle, therefore making it less historically accurate than Bradford’s writings. These two styles characterized each man and greatly attributed to the huge contrast in their writing preference. One of the three factors that characterized both writers was purpose. A large contrast in the writings of Byrd and Bradford was the purpose for which they were written. The main reason that Bradford wrote his story was to inform the reader about the hardships and struggles of Puritan life in the New World. He also wrote his story to show God’s hand in their experiences. Many Biblical references to God such as, â€Å"but they cried unto the Lord, and He heard their voice and looked on their adversity† (31), were used in his writing for this very reason. This as well as many other religious references showed how much of an impact religion had on the Puritans. Bradford wanted to convey this dependence on and impact of God and religion throughout his writings. Byrd’s writing was more biased and opinionated because he wrote it to amuse the reader. Read Also:  Topics for Compare and Contrast Essay For example, all throughout his story he constantly made fun of settlers. He mentioned during the story that the settlers â€Å"built a church that cost no more than fifty pounds and a tavern that cost five hundred† (52). This little tidbit served no purpose other than to criticize the colonial settlers and had no historical significance whatsoever. He made fun of the settlers to explicate change in the settlers’ way of life. Bradford’s purpose greatly contrasted with that of Byrd. The last contrast between Byrd and Bradford was their attitude or tone towards the subject they wrote about. In â€Å"Of Plymouth Plantation†, Bradford used a serious tone. His tone remained simple and unbiased throughout the story. The fact that he chose to use this tone is because Bradford was a very religious man that closely followed the Puritan way of life. Most of all, he wanted to record the true accounts of what took place without mixing personal thoughts or ideas with fact. On the other hand, Byrd used a very satirical and humorous tone. This satirical tone was conveyed throughout his entire story. An excellent example of satirical writing was when Byrd explained how colonists were too lazy to plant their own crops, so instead they â€Å"were forced to take more pains to seek for wild fruits in the woods than they would have taken in tilling the ground† (52). This quote by Byrd clearly showed his frustration with the colonists very. Byrd’s tone differed from Bradford’s, because Byrd’s story was never meant to be an accurate historical account of colonial times. Byrd possessed different feelings toward matters that took place, and this dramatically changed his tone. To conclude, writers are never the same. There are many different types of writers all across the world, from ancient to modern times. William Byrd and  William Bradford were no exception to this. Their style, tone, and purpose totally changed the outcome of their writings which were based upon similiar incidents in history. People have their own views and beliefs of a certain situation, and more often than not, that view will be different from person to person as clearly shown in comparing Byrd to Bradford.

Business Transaction Essay

1.1 – Account Receivable(AR) (AR and Management Policy: Theory and Evidence – Shehzad L. Mian & Clifford W. Smith, Jr) The basis of my subject â€Å"Bad debt expense estimation model† stems from account receivable. Account receivable is the term used by companies to describe money owed to them by clients or customers for goods and services provided. Bad debt expense is that portion of account receivables that will not be collected. Therefore, without any receivables a company will not have bad debts, thus no need to estimate any bad debt expense. Business to business transactions are mostly done with a promise to pay for goods and services provided at a later date. When a company sells its products or provides its services to other businesses or even individuals, it expects payment for the products or services. In most cases, these payments are not done immediately. The company then expects payment at some future date. This promise to pay becomes a receivable to the company providing the goods or services. Thus, the customer goes into a legal obligation to transfer cash to the company at some future date. Receivables form a large part of most company’s assets. Going through the balance sheet of every company, one would come across account receivables registered as an asset to the company. Financial and management accounting cannot over emphasize the importance of account receivable in every organization. Being an asset, account receivable management has gained momentum in recent years in organizations and financial institutions. Since receivables ultimately stem from extending credits to customers, the issue of who to extend credits to and by how much cannot be stressed enough. It might not always be the case, but companies want to grant credit to other companies that are financially sound in order to have a greater degree of certainty that payment will be received in the future. Thus, it becomes absolutely important to grade companies and even financial institutions with regards to their payment behaviors. Companies definitely do not want to write off a big part of their assets at the end of the year as bad debt expense. Generally, there are two main types of trade account receivable. -Current AR -Past due AR Current AR are debts that have not yet exceeded the amount of time allocated for the debt to be paid as agreed upon by the creditor and the debtor. In most cases, the length of time for the payment of a debt ranges from ten(10) to as long as ninety(90) days and even to a year in rear cases. This length of time could be longer for specific debts like notes receivable(loan related) issued by companies. Past due debts are those that have not been paid within the agreed payment term. These are the ones that mostly draw the attention of managers and credit professionals. This is because, the longer a debt is past due, the greater the chances of a debtor defaulting on the payment of the debt. Managing account receivable has always been a daunting task for managers and other finance professionals. Each organization has its unique operating characteristics and this also calls for different techniques and ways of managing AR. Nonetheless, the foundation behind AR is the policy and procedure for granting credit of the organization. Most organizations obviously want to increase their sales, but the policies they use to assess clients to whom they extend credit will ultimately determine the size of their receivables and to a greater extent, the size of the allowance for bad debt and bad debt expense. Thus, the credit policies an organization uses will determine the amount of receivables which they need to achieve at any given time. A credit policy is a key financial management guideline that should be prepared under the guidance of top finance managers and accountants. It should incorporate the company’s goal, the criteria and timetable of achieving these goals as they relate to credit functions and the type of accounts/clients that would be required to generate liquidity. Changes in business or economic environment sometimes require that credit policies be readjusted to cope with these changes. Some flexibility must be written into any credit policy to avoid adverse effects of over or too less rigidity. Different organizations adapt different credit policies. Basically, there are three credit policies and they include restrictive, moderate and liberal credit policies. 1 – Restrictive/conservative credit Policy This is a very conservative outlook on lending credit to potential customers. Companies that adopt this kind of credit policy mostly deal with only well established customers and customers that pay within terms of payment. The company is unwilling to take risks that are more than minor, preferring to do business with customers that are financially stable. Most companies adopting this policy are invariably in solid financial position themselves and would want to maintain this status quo. Most of them survive even long after more aggressive companies have failed. These companies do not have the need to make any estimate for bad debt expense or allowance since they will have almost no client defaulting on their debts. However, this policy of conservatism is not without its own inherent risks. It can stifle the growth and cash flow of the company to dangerous levels. The company becomes less competitive and potential customers become reluctant to do business with it. Receivables could reduce drastically since tough credit policies hinder the rapid replacement of old customers or customers that have gone out of business. 2 – Moderate credit(Middle-of-the-road) policy Companies adopting this policy generally extend credit to good customers as well as to average customers. It strives to find a healthy mix of customers that would both support company growth prospects as well as minimize risks of default. Most companies fall under this category with regard to their credit policies. These companies would tolerate late payments to an extent, they would mostly extend discounts to encourage risky customers to pay within agreed payment terms. They would also require bank guarantees to monitor cash flow and risks of default while attracting more customers. These companies do have a greater need to estimate bad debt expense and allowance since they do make risky sales that will result to nonpayment at the end of the period. Thus, by virtue of their moderate credit policy, they expect to write off some part of their receivables as bad debt. Applied Materials Europe B.V. is a good example of a company that adopts such a policy. 3 – Liberal credit policy This is the most dangerous of the three policies. Companies adopting this kind of policy are high risk takers in every area of their operation, mostly with the aim of propelling sales and company growth. They expand much too rapidly for the size and worth of the company, and this often indicates accepting customers that are not financially stable enough for the credit line they receive. The loss of receivables can be heavy and the danger to the company’s survival can be real. Liberal credit grantors are frequently incapable of handling any major loss due to customer defaulting their payments. In addition, undercapitalization and sporadic cash flows may afflict these companies with liberal credit policies. The companies may find themselves not being able to financially accommodate their rapid growth due to insufficient capital brought about by the loss of receivables and sporadic cash flows. These companies, more than others, have to have a robust model in place for estimating their bad debt expense and allowance since payment default probability from their clients will be high and it will happen frequently. It will not be surprising that companies like these will have a high percentage of their receivables written off as bad debt at the end of the period . 1.2 – Bad Debt Expense and Bad Debt Allowance(Allowance for Doubtful Accounts) Bad debt expense is that amount of money which a company is unable to collect from its debtors. This is regarded as an expense because it comes as a cost to the company. It is as a result of doing business with other companies that this cost/loss is incurred. This amount is periodically written off from the client’s account especially when the client goes bankrupt or when the company thinks that the cost of pursuing this client for payment will outweigh what is due by the client. At this stage, the amount owed by the client is credited in the client’s account to remove the balance due. Depending on the accounting system used by the company, the account that is debited is the â€Å"allowance for doubtful account†. Or, the write off could be done by debiting the bad debt expense account and crediting the allowance for bad debt(doubtful) account. Being an expense, bad debt expense is usually recorded on the income statement of the company since it affects revenue or sales. Bad Debt Allowance or Allowance for Doubtful Account(these account names mean one and the same thing and could be used interchangeably) is a balance sheet account. When a company is in doubt that a particular client will not pay, the company will record the amount owed to it by this client in this special account. This is a contra asset account that reduces the account receivable account. This account is adjusted periodically with current estimated amounts and it is from this account that write offs are made in conjunction to bad debt expense. The Financial Accounting Standard Board(FASB) Accounting Standard Codification(ASC) 310-10-35-7 through 310-10-35-9 requires companies to account for these losses from uncollectible receivables when it is probable that the asset(account receivable) will not be collected and when this amount can be reasonably estimated. The allowance balance is subtracted from account receivable to get the â€Å"net accounts receivable† as shown on the balance sheet of most companies. The amount in the â€Å"net accounts receivable† accounts is a more realistic figure of receivables since this takes into account the uncollectible.

A Moral Evaluation of Child Labor in the Philippines in the Perspective of Immanuel Kant Essay

Introduction Children are the prime movers of the country. They are very much endowed with so much potentialities in which may contribute for the betterment of the many. They are indeed really important in everybody’s life not only of their own family but also of their fellow human persons. Every person including the child must be respected and valued in virtue of his/her being a human person. Thus, children must and necessarily be treasured by valuing their own dignity as human persons capable of rationalizing for the betterment of the future. However, in the Philippines; most of the children in the past and even until now are being exploited in many different ways. Every child in this country is somehow is in the state of danger because the child may be abused at anytime, anywhere, and of anyone. Evidently, Philippines is a young country by which most of the people are composed of youth and/or children. By this, Philippines is very vulnerable to any forms of child exploitation. Similarly, one of the most evident forms of child exploitation in the Philippines is the child labor. Child labor is prevalent in the Philippine society. It should be noted that children are abused by forcing them to bare labor at their very young age. They are supposed to be in the classroom to learn and become educated but because of child labor they could be seen in many places working to earn a living. Because of child labor, it is evidently that children at their very young age are dehumanized. Their own inherent dignity has been taken away from them and thus makes children as objects of exploitation. Moreover, the researcher has decided to conduct a study on this matter to find out the reality of this phenomenon. The researcher wants to assess the morality of child labor in the Philippines and to see its moral implications to other moral agents. Through the aid of Immanuel Kant’s ethical concept, the researcher may find philosophical and moral basis of child labor. The philosophy of Kant particularly his Categorical Imperative and it second formulation- Formula of end itself- will be applied in the subject matter. Library research, internet surfing, journals, and other sources related to the study will be used to achieve the main objectives. By this, the study is reliable and substantial in nature. The substantiality of the study focuses on the child labor in the Philippines. Body The Categorical Imperative Immanuel Kant’s categorical imperative clearly states that â€Å"act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law† (Kant, 1964, p. 88). By this very definition of categorical imperative, Kant contends that morality involves universality and necessity. That is, morality should be applicable to all, and the action must and necessarily be done. Kant distinguishes between two imperatives- categorical and hypothetical. The latter for Kant cannot be the standard of morality since it only applies to some and thus cannot be universalized. It comes to man’s selfish inclination since it is only a â€Å"necessary as a means to the attainment of something else that one wills† (Kant, 1964, p.82) and therefore this cannot be accepted. On the one hand, categorical imperative derive from rational inclination where in reason is that which makes the categorical imperative universal. For Kant, categorical imperative is based on human reason because it must be â€Å"entirely a priori, since here we do not enjoy the advantage of having its reality given in experience and so if being obliged merely to explain, and not to establish, its possibility† (Kant, 1964, p. 87). This, however, does not mean that Kant totally rejected the consequence of any action to determine whether the action is morally right or wrong but he only emphasize the rational faculty of man to act morally which is universal and necessary. Kant further expound his moral philosophy by presenting the four formulations derive from categorical imperative but only the second formulation shall be discussed in the succeeding section because it is the focal point which is needed in the study, formula of end itself. Formula of End Itself. This second formula of Kant stresses the value of human person. It states that â€Å"act in such a way that you will always treat humanity whether in your own person or in the person of any other never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end† (Kant, 1964, p. 96). In this formula, Kant argues that any person should not be used as a mere tool or instrument for the attainment of something else. Every human person then has inherent value regardless of his/her culture, physical stature, nationality, and the like. Thus, every human person has dignity. He added, human person should not be used as a mean because of the person’s rationality. It is his/her rational faculty that which makes man a man and thus should be respected and developed further. Human person is always treated as end because his/her â€Å"rational nature exists as an end in itself† (Kant, 1964, p. 96). Kant explains his contention about man’s inherent dignity by distinguishing inherent value from instrumental value. The latter primarily are the things which do not have innate value such as money, food, and any material beings. Things such as those are really intended to the service for the human person. They are just the means and not the ends of themselves. â€Å"Beings whose existence depend, not on our will, but on nature, have nonetheless, if they are non-rational beings only a relative value as means and consequently called things† (Kant, 1964, p. 86) as Kant says. Thus, it cannot be that the things around us will be regarded as an end for they could only have value when they are being used but after they are being used, then their value is lost. So to say, things only have temporal value. In contrary, human persons are â€Å"persons because their nature already marks them out as an ends in themselves- that is, as something which ought not to be used merely as means- and consequently imposes to that extent a limit on all arbitrary treatment of them (and is an object of reverence)† (Kant, 1964, p. 96). Here, Kant firmly justifies his contention on human value by reiterating the nature of man, rationality, as the prime factor by which every man should be considered as the finality of all actions. Man, in virtue of his/her reason, is the end and not as a mean which leads to his/her dignity. Kant emphasizes more this second formulation by saying: Persons, therefore, are not merely subjective ends whose existence as an object of our actions has a value for us: they are objective ends- that is, things whose existence is in itself an end, and indeed an end such that in its place we can put no other end to which they should serve simply as means; for unless this is so, nothing at all of absolute value would be found anywhere. But if all value were conditioned- that is contingent- then no supreme principle could be found for reason at all. (Kant, 1964, p. 96). Nevertheless, Kant presented in the second formulation of categorical imperative, formula of end itself, the value of man (man’s dignity) which is justified by man’s nature that is capable of reasoning. Thus, through and through, man regardless of anything has the absolute value of being as man higher than any other worldly beings. Child Labor The innocence of the child simply makes the child as a child. No other beings could have an equal innocence of the child except the child itself. Child’s innocence is very unique characteristic. It is self evident to every child that he/she possesses such quality. Since the child is born, innocence has already been inherited by the child. Innocence is not given to a child but it is already in every child without the influence from the outside. This innocence is equal among other children regardless of child’s parental background, physical appearance, or culture. This equality is evidently true for the fact that every child is born naked, dependent, and innocent. Thus, every child, indeed, is innocent. In the same way, this child’s innocence is not static which stagnates on that particular stage but child also develop towards maturity. Every child has innate potentials and capacities to become adult. The child does not remain as a child forever but he/she is always going towards adulthood. However, most of the children especially in developing countries are being exploited and abused. Children at very young age have already engaged to dangerous and oppressive labor. In the Philippines, it is prevalent that most of the children are working to earn money. Children in such case could be seen in the streets, factories, or agricultural heavy activities. Definitely, children of those cases have bet their lives into death. Summing up these kinds of oppression of children, it water down to child labor. Child labor is a perennial societal problem not only of the other countries but also of this country- Philippines. Basically, children are expected to enjoy their childhood and should be in the school so as to develop their selves and discover their identity and skills. Childhood is a complex stage of personhood where the child is starting to grow up with dependency to other persons especially of the children’s parents. Children should be protected and nurtured because most of the children are exploited in many ways. This exploitation has become real because of child labor. Child labor is so rampant in the Philippines. Child labor prevents the natural and proper development of children. Thus, child labor has become a threat to every child’ innocence. The Child Child, according to the law, is defined as person below eighteen (18) years of age. Anyone who haven’t yet attain the age of eighteen may considered as a child or youth. Nevertheless, that person below eighteen years has no civil obligation in the state. But when a person has attained the age of eighteen, â€Å"he/she is no longer considered a child and becomes automatically entitled to do all acts of civil life†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Diokno, 1998). By this, a person then has the duty to follow the civil law and become responsible for any misconduct. Moreover, the child has been defined in a broader sense in conformity to R. A. 7610 (Child Protection Law) which states that, â€Å"persons who below eighteen (18) years of age or those over but are unable to fully take care of themselves or protect themselves from abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation, or discrimination because of physical or mental disability or condition† (Diokno, 1998). It should be noted that the term child in this Child Protection Law is in wider perspective because child refers not only to physical aspect of a person which could be seen empirically but it includes the inner dimension of the person. The law states that a child is primarily be classified as incapable or less capable to protect itself because of disabilities from any harmful influence or oppression. Thus, it does not only imply that person over eighteen years of age may consider as adult or not anymore a child. This law is trying to emphasize the innocence and dependency of a person to persons outside itself. In addition, every child is endowed with rights of the society. Child at his/her young age must enjoy his/her childhood by giving to the utmost his/her needs as a child. The child must be provided with his/her basic needs such as food, shelter, clothes, care, and education. Because the child is really dependent on others, it is imperative to care, protect, feed, and educate such child. These are important in the child’s development towards maturity. Thus, â€Å"parents [should] go into all sorts of sacrifice to provide the highest educational opportunities for their children† (Andres & Ilada-Andres, 2005, p. 34). Child Work vs. Child Labor To understand the oppression happening in most of the children in the Philippines, it is better to distinguish and clarify these terms- child work and child labor. Child labor, as defined by the ILO-IPEC, is work situations where children are compelled to work on regular basis to earn a living for themselves and their families, and as a result are disadvantaged educationally and socially; where children work in conditions that are exploitative and damaging to their health and to their physical and mental development; where children are separated from their families, often deprived of educational and training opportunities; where children are forced to lead prematurely adult lives. (Diokno, 1998). This definition implies then that any work which could harm and will destroy the development of a child, either physically or mentally or both, including his/her social and emotional aspects is regarded as child labor. In addition, work that which could hinder the child’s education and his/her better future. Child labor is really an illness of the society which annihilates the child familial growth and that which really â€Å"deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (About Child Labor, 2002). Child labor, nevertheless, is a form of injustice in the society which needs to be responded by the authority and most especially â€Å"for those willing to stake their time and efforts to save the country’s children† (Diokno, 1998). Child work, on the one hand, is very much different to child labor. Although, both of them have similarity because they are both engaging with work, child work deals with any activities which do not hinder the well-development of a child. Work that does not maltreat and exploit the child is classified as just. Generally, if the work does not affect the development of a child’s body and holistic dimensions, and also his/her education then that work could help the child and contributes positively (About child labor, 2002). Why Child Labor? There are certain reasons on why child labor is continually happening in the Philippines. Child labor does not emerge out of the blue but it has come into reality brought by various problems. Thus, child labor is not the only problem in the Philippines but it becomes the result of combining societal problems. Basically, there are four prime reasons which cause this problem according to Jose W. Diokno (1998) and these are poverty, tradition and culture, educational opportunity, and economy. The Philippines is one of the poorest countries in the world. Poverty has been regarded as the root-cause of many social problems in the country including child labor. Because of poverty, a big number of Filipino families are living in slums areas with limited food. Their hunger, which is needed to be satisfied, is pushing the families to work in any ways including their children. Thus, children cannot refuse to do so but â€Å"to satisfy basic requirements† (Diokno, 1998). Although parents should work and earn a living for their children, their money is insufficient to sustain their needs and thus the parents has to decide that their children â€Å"must work to help in their family’s struggle for survival† (Diokno, 1998) otherwise, the whole family will suffer from hunger. In Filipino cultural context, children are expected to work at their young age because it has been practiced by the people in the past. It has been a â€Å"centuries-old tradition that the child must work through solidarity with the family† (Diokno, 1998) as a sign of respect and obedience to the Filipino culture. Filipinos have the kind of mentality that a child must work â€Å"to compensate†¦ the economic burden that he/she represents and to share in the maintenance of his/her family† (Diokno, 1998). So to say, children have become the burden in the family. Moreover, every child at his/her young age has the responsibility to take share with the family’s needs especially of its financial matters. Thus, Filipino culture has regarded the children’s work â€Å"as a phase of socialization where future roles are learned and working to share in the family is seen as training† (Diokno, 1998). Lack of educational opportunity is one of the reasons of child labor it deprives children to learn and develop their skills as persons. Parents usually prefer not to send their children in school because of family’s home far distance to the school, opportunity to earn more money through children’s labor, or to the expensive cost of schooling. Nevertheless, family could not take this kind of education system because â€Å"poor schooling has little credibility†¦ since it does not promote economic improvement† (Diokno, 1998) in the family. Education is important yet the kind of education in the Philippines most of the time does not give learning quality to them and thus cannot contribute to be competitive individuals. Finally, the economy of the country has influenced child labor. The fact that the country is mostly composed of young people, the economy demands young workers. The economic sectors look for more profit and thus they employed children to work so as to pay minimally. Employers prefer to hire children because â€Å"they represent docile work face, which could be hired and replaced at a fraction of adult wages† (Diokno, 1998) that which is an advantage for the employer. Children could easily be exploited because they cannot refuse the opportunity to help their family through labor. The economy does not only give good opportunities for progress but it also deteriorates the potentials and personhood of every child engages in â€Å"hazardous work† (About Child Labor, 2002). Exploitation of Children Nevertheless, child labor is a perennial issue in the Philippines which slowly destroy the humanness of every child. This ethical issue is continually growing as the local government and international organizations are trying to eliminate this problem. The United Nations (2008, p. 241) has recognized the value of children in particular as it issued the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that all human beings are born equal in dignity and rights. By this, it recognizes the inherent value of human persons including the children. Despite the attempts of the public and private organizations to terminate this societal problem, child labor is still do exist at the present. Some of these forms of child labor in the Philippines have been identified by the International Labor Organization (ILO). It has been reported that children are abused in agricultural works such as the â€Å"sakada,† domestic work where children are victims of child trafficking and physically, verbally, and/or sexual abuse. Manufacture where children work as adult employees with heavy labor, scavenger and street children because of extreme poverty, mining and quarrying where children work dangerously as they unravel minerals inside the mountains. Unconditional worst forms where children are very much exploited by recruiting them as to become child soldiers training them to fight in the battle field and young girls are said to be sex slaves which contribute to prostitution minors (What kind of work children do? , 2012). Analysis Human person in virtue of hi/her reason has innate dignity. This is a basic truth which man holds as he/she exists in the world. To live in the world without dignity is futile. Man cannot live having without value to himself/herself and to others. His/her dignity gives man the right to be respected and protected. Man is quite different to other beings such as the material objects, plants, and animals precisely because man has a rational nature. Without it, man is perhaps the valueless being. So, man in nature is a dignified being. Because the term man is used in this in general sense, it encompasses any human person including the children. Children are also human persons and thus they have rational faculty which in return causes their dignity. Every child, therefore, has inherent dignity. Child is, nonetheless, a mature rational individual but it does not compel the dignity of the child because the child even in that stage of childhood has the mind which continually develops as the child is going toward maturity. Reasoning of a child may differ to one another but it remains the dignity to the child because of the child’s innate capacity of reasoning and rationalizing. Thus, child is always endowed with reason which makes the child a dignified person. The dignity of a child must be respected, protected, and preserved. However, child labor makes the child undignified being. It is said that labor is different from work although both of them have similarity because the former pertains to involvement in economy while the latter is a general notion of any human activities. Human labor in a sense is not bad in itself because â€Å"through labor, man realizes and humanizes himself; †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Timbreza, 2008, p. 94). By this, labor also makes man a man because it distinguishes man to other beings. Although reason primarily causes the distinction of man to other beings, labor has also become a factor which causes man to realize his/her humanness. Thus, labor does not only give negative implication but also good realization. However, child labor, although labor in form, is not the same with the true meaning of the word labor. In this context, child labor does not humanize children but it certainly dehumanizes every child. Child labor exploits and abuses the child in terms of heavy work which greatly affects the child’s natural development. Child labor is a form of oppression and it does not give any value to the child. Thus, child’s dignity has been taken away because of child labor. In Kant’s perspective, child’s dignity is justified through his second formulation of categorical imperative- formula of end itself. His contention is that any human person in virtue of his rationality must be regarded as the end of all actions. Man should not be used as a mean to acquire something else. All action should be done by considering man as an end. Similarly, every child, regardless of anything except of his/her reason, must be regarded as an end in itself. Reason will tell us that child’s dignity is important. It is morally right, universal, and necessary that the child’s dignity must be promoted. And any inhuman activity which destroys the dignity of the child must be eradicated especially child labor. Child labor, nevertheless, promotes oppressions and exploitations in which make the child a valueless human being. Such reasons of child labor like poverty, culture, educational opportunity, and demand of economy are nonetheless insufficient and unjustifiable reasons for the dignity of every child does not depend on these. Poverty is a perennial societal problem in the Philippines and this issue is not new to everybody. By extreme poverty, the family members, including the child, are push to bare labor even though it is not yet proper to the child to do so. A child engaging in hard labor is not yet proper because the child is supposed to be in the home or in the school so as to develop himself/herself and eventually realizes his/her meaningful existence. It cannot be that the child labor is morally right because of poverty which gives way to a child earning money for the family. Child here is not the end of labor precisely because labor is intended to get away from poverty but not for the sake of child’s benefit. It uses the child to overcome poverty rather than dignifying the child without poverty. In the midst of poverty, a child must be dignified as a human person. The parents should sustain the needs of the family and the community should protect the dignity of every child. Culture and tradition, on the one hand, must not dehumanize the child. Every child must not be enslaved by the culture. Culture also involves a matter of choice and thus anything which destroys the dignity of a child must be avoided and stopped. People are the makers of certain culture, and then people also have the capacity to change culture through man’s rationality. Human person’s rational faculty could obliterate such acquired and practiced culture and tradition. Nevertheless, culture in a way makes use of the child as a mean in order to continue such culture and not for the dignity of the child. This cannot be morally right that the child’s dignity be destroyed because of culture. It is irrational to follow certain culture which dehumanizes a child. Lack of educational opportunities and the demand of the economy, in the same way, make the child undignified human person in a way that they affect the natural development of a child. Lack of educational opportunities compels the right of the child to learn and to know his/her identity and demand of economy, in the same way, exploits the innocence of every child. They are both factors which give nevertheless worthless value to every child. In the end, children’s dignity has been destroyed because of child labor. Child labor does not respect, protect, and nurture the humanness of every child. Children in a sense have become mere objects to attain certain goal. They became instruments to alleviate poverty, maintain culture and tradition, victims of poor educational system, and exploited by economic interest. Child labor treated every child in a subjective end by which inclined by selfish interest. Objective end then must be realized and should be done so as to give dignity to every child. Summary and Conclusion The subject matter of this research study is about the morality of child labor. Through the second formulation of categorical imperative by Immanuel Kant, child labor has been assessed. The definition and meaning of the term â€Å"child† also has been presented that which aging below eighteen (18) years and above yet holistically incapable to protect and dependent to other people because of mental or physical disabilities. The distinction between child labor and child work has been discussed also. After which, child labor then has been evaluated that which hinders the natural development of a child. The reasons of child labor have been discussed in this study such as poverty, culture and tradition, lack of educational opportunity, and the demand of economy. Kant’s ethical ideas have been presented and discussed particularly the categorical imperative and its second formulation formula of end itself. Finally, the combining of facts and theory has been discussed in the analysis. In conclusion, child labor through evaluation using the second formulation of categorical imperative- end itself- of Kant is certainly unethical because it humiliate the dignity of every child. Child labor is the result of other societal problems and thus it should be answered. Certainly, child labor in effect gives an unethical implication in every child. It is morally wrong that the dignity of every child should be taken away because of child labor. Child, in virtue of being a human person, is always endowed with gift of rationality by which makes every child unique and higher than any other temporal beings. Rationality gives the child to have the right to be respected. Child’s dignity is innate in him/her thus it should be protected. Indeed, child labor is morally wrong because it primarily dehumanizes every child by destroying his/her dignity. Bibliography Primary: Kant, I. (1948). Groundwork of the metaphysics of morals (H.J. Paton, Trans. ). New York: Harper and Row Publishers, Inc. Kant, I. (1993). Grounding for the metaphysics of moral: On supposed right to lie because of philanthropic concerns. In J. W. Ellington (3rd ed. and Trans. ). Indianapolis/Cambridge: Hacket Publishing Company, Inc. Secondary: Andres, T. D. & Ilada-Andres, P. L. B. (2005). Understanding the Filipino (8th ed. ). Quezon City: New Day Publishing. Timbreza, F. T. (2008). Filipino philosophy today. Kalayaan Avenue Diliman, Quezon City: Kalayaan Press Mktg. Ent. Inc. United Nations. (2008). Universal declaration of human rights: Dignity and justice for all of us. New York: UN Department of Publication. On-line: About child labor. (February 24, 2012). International Labor Organization. Retrieved March 2, 2012, from http://www. ilo. org/ipec/fects/lang–en/index. htm Diokno, J. W. (1998). Part one: Understanding child labor. Working Together Against Child Labor: Philippine Campaign. Retrieved March 2, 2012, from http://ipecphils. tripod. com/pillaws/intro. htm What kinds of work do children do? (2012). Retrieved March 2, 2012, from http://www. knowledgelabor. org/child labor/kinds of child labor. php.