Activity Based Management (ABM) Essay

Activity based management (ABM) is a method of identifying and evaluating activities that a business performs using activity based costing (ABC) to carry out a value chain analysis or a re-engineering initiative to improve strategic and operational decisions in an organization. ABM can be divided into operational and strategic. Operational ABM is about â€Å"doing thing right†, using ABC information to improve efficiency. Those activities which add value to remain in business can be identified and improved. Activities that don’t add value such as scheduling, moving, waiting, inspecting and storing are the ones that need to be reduced to cut costs without reducing product value. Strategic ABM is about â€Å"doing the right things†, using ABC information, to decide which products to develop and which activities to be used. This also can be used for customer profitability analysis, identifying which customer are the most profitable and focusing on them more. Activity based costing (ABC) is a costing methodology that identifies activities in an organizations and assign the cost of each activity with resources to all products and services according to the actual consumption by each. This model assigns more indirect cost which is overhead into direct cost compared to conventional costing. ABM is also a process of using information from activity-based costing to analyse activities, cost drivers and performance so that customer value and profitability are improved. The aim of ABC models is to estimate the cost elements of entire product activities and services. It may help to inform a company’s decision either identify and eliminate those product and services that are unprofitable and lower the prices of those that are overpriced or identify, eliminate production or service processes that are ineffective and allocate processing concepts that lead to the very same product at a better yield which customer valued. Customer value is the value a customer places on particular features of a product. It also addresses the vertical view on the activity-based costing model. 2. 0 USES AND BENEFITS of ABM 2. 1 The Uses of ABM Accounting Based management (ABM) refers to the entire set of actions that can be take on a better information basis with activity-based cost information. Organizations implement ABM for different reasons. They believe that ABM can help them make a better decision, improve performance, and earn money on asset deployed. Some of specific uses of ABM in organization today include attribute analysis, strategic decision makings, benchmarking, operations analysis, and profitability/pricing analysis and process improvements. Attributes analysis classifies and combines cost and performance data into manageable, controllable clusters. ABC/ABM system cause many different attributes for a specific cost. Data attributes allow a company to perform analysis on many different dimensions of a management problem using the same basic warehouse of data. Some common forms of attributes analysis are value analysis, which utilizes information collected about business processes and examines various attributes of the process. For example are diversity, capacity, and complexity. This is to identify candidates for improvement efforts, time variability analysis, which seeks to understand variances in the time needed to complete an activity or provide a service and to develop ways to reduce these variances. Cost of quality, which is a management reporting technique that identifies and measures quality costs within an organization using four basic categories: prevention, detection, internal failure, and external failure. Strategic analysis explores various ways a company can create and sustain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Emphasizing long long-term objectives and challenges, strategic analysis seeks to impact future costs and improve future profitability by clarifying the cost of various cost objects such as products, customers, and channels. Strategic analysis emphasizes future opportunities and challenges, using a combination of both physical and financial measures to explore the impact of alternative strategic positions. Ways in which ABM supports strategic analysis include strategic planning, consolidation of operations analysis, acquisition analysis; and analysis of revenue and profitability growth potential. Benchmarking is a methodology that identifies an activity as the standard, or benchmark, by which a similar activity will be judged. It is used to assist managers in identifying a process or technique to increase the effectiveness or efficiency of an activity. ABM supports different types of benchmarking, including internal benchmarking, industry/competitive benchmarking; and best-in-class benchmarking. Operations analysis seeks to identify, measure, and improve current performance of key processes and operations within a firm. Areas where ABM is useful include â€Å"what-if† analysis, project management, creation and use of activity-based performance Measures, capacity management, constraint analysis; and process-based costing. Profitability/pricing analysis is a key area for any company. ABM assists a company in analysing the costs and benefits of products and processes in both the â€Å"as is† and post improvement â€Å"to be† scenarios. ABM also supports prelaunch analysis and improvement of product profitability. Areas in which ABM has proven useful in adopting organizations include product/service profitability analysis, business process reengineering, distribution channel profitability analysis, market segment profitability analysis; and target and life-cycle costing. Process improvement lies at the heart of modern management techniques. Focused on identifying the causes of variation, waste, and inefficiency, process improvement includes both incremental and quantum change efforts that seek to increase the value created per resources consumed by an organization. Uses being made of ABM for process improvement include business process modelling, total quality initiatives, business process reengineering; and analysis of outsourcing and shared service. The Pennzoil Production and Exploration Company (PEPCO) used ABM as a key measurement tool to identify costs by process and to support its reengineering efforts. To keep pace with lower crude and natural gas prices and slowing North American operation, PEPCO needed to find ways to reengineer existing processes to streamline and improve efficiency. ABM provided the data for PEPCO to change the cost structure of its exploration and production efforts. It achieved this by determining what resources were actually required to support its properties based on current operation. In addition, the reengineering link enabled the company to consider those same properties and determine how it could best meet its economic objectives with fewer resources through a variety of operations improvement analyses. 2. 2 BENEFIT OF ACCOUNTING BASED MANAGEMENT (ABM) ABM is used to support a broad array of management initiatives to help organizations create more value for their customers while reducing the cost of operations. Benefits derived from ABM’s use include identification of redundant costs, analysis of value-added and non-value-added costs, quantification of the costs of quality by element; and identification of customer-focused activities. Other benefits include analysis of the cost of complexity; identification of process costs and support of process analysis, measurement of the impact of reengineering efforts, better understanding of cost drivers, evaluation of manufacturing flexibility investments; and activity-based budgeting. 3. 0 ABM IMPLEMENTATION PHASES A holistic approach to ABM implementation is important to ensure that all benefit derive from the use of ABM is sustained. The implementation of Activity Based Management (ABM) consist of seven (7) step that is planning, activity analysis, activity/ product costing, documenting results, data gathering and analysis, developing a data collection and reporting system, and achieving full integration. The first step is planning. The planning phase focuses on identifying the purpose, objective, and expectations for each specific elements of the ABM total implementation. The detailed project plan should be develop which include a time line with assign responsibilities for task completion, clear definition of resources required to complete each stage of the implementation, the selection of specific individual to complete the work, and a precise denotation of the data collection methods to be employed. The second step is analyzing activities. Analysis activities include several key steps which is catalogue of specific activities and business processes, definition of outputs and output measures, value-added analysis, identification of cost drivers, and detailed specification of activity performance. The third is costing activities, product and services. Activity analysis provides basic information for constructing the ABC cost system. Developing the ABC estimates is the most mechanical part of any ABM implementation. This phase focus on identify and documenting cost tracing methodologies and core assumptions, the costing phase ties the financial reporting system to the newly developed activity and process structures of the ABM system. The development or choice of a specific software system to export, import, and accept the data used to generate the activity-based estimates is important to ensure that work can be completed at time. The other step is documenting result. The work completed, significant results, recommendations, and conclusions should all be included in the documented records of the project. This documentation serves as a crucial bridge between planning and operating an ABM system. The time spent recording past result and detailed requiring future actions serve to reinforce the learning process, communicate and access progress, and adjust the detailed implementation plans to accommodate unforeseen problems and concerns. Next is gathering and analysing data. During the planning stages of the implementations, emphasis is placed on gathering information and data to document the purpose, expectations and objective of the initiatives. Data gathering takes on more importance as the key to understanding the existing knowledge based in the organizations. To complete the activities/ product costing step, information about the consumption of resources by activities needs to be collected and analyzed. The next step is developing an on-going data collection and reporting system. The development of a cost-effective, efficient data collection and reporting system is the final aspect of a holistic ABM implementation. The information gathered during implementation provides a static snapshot of the activities, and their resource usage, at one particular point in time. There are two major stages in implementing the ongoing ABM information and reporting system that is establishing the basic data collection and analysis procedures and ongoing system maintenance. The last stage is achieving full integration. Integrating ABM with existing management practices is necessary in order to achieve its full benefits. The full integration of ABM within the fabric of the organization’s other information and management systems is complete when people in the organization embrace activity management, take ownership, and internalize it as a better way of doing business and making decisions. 4. 0 COMMON ABM PITFALLS AND SOLUTIONS Many problems may occur during the life of the project and beyond. Knowledge of these pitfalls helps an implementation team develop methods to avoid them and to deal effectively with problems as they occur. Each stage of the implementation process brings with it its own unique challenges as the following discussion suggests. Firstly is the problem during planning. During the planning phases a number of distinctive pitfalls and problem can plague the implementation efforts, including the lack of senior management responsibilities and commitment, failure to gain complete agreement on implementation objectives and lack of understanding on the kinds of financial, operational, and strategic information the organization expects. However this problem can be resolve through some ways. Among the solutions that can be applied to deal with the common pitfalls of the planning phases is by expose through senior management the potential benefits of ABM Implementation that can be done through acknowledgement of the company who already experiencing in dealing with ABM. Second is by link the initiative to key business objectives and clearly articulate how the ABM project will deliver improvement in that area. Next is during the analyzing activities. While analyzing activities, the structure of the project and the implication of its scope begin to be felt. Among the common pitfalls in this phases is the number of activities for which detail information must be gathered seems overwhelming, appear to be no significant activities, and lastly the failure to communicate to employees behind the project and its question leads to the potential for negative feelings and defense behaviors. Among the specific ways the pitfalls of the activity analysis phases can be addressed include information on how activities interrelated instead of detail data on individual task, involved employees in the selection of activities and cost drivers. Costing activities/ product and services is also one of the common pitfalls. The costing activities/ product and service phases on ABM implementation may be mechanism but it do have it own unique challenges and potential pitfalls such as activity drivers does not adequately reflect the consumption rate and pattern of their respected activities, capacity, or potential of the resources in the worksite supports work, is not defined and responsibilities and controllability of the costs is not clearly identified. Some approach that have been used in successfully ABM implementation include reconciling ABM data to the financial accounting system, avoiding allocating cost when they cannot be assigns accurately; using total cost in decision-making and process improvements efforts; and using practices capacity to assign costs to cost objects. Next is analysing data and documenting results. At this point in the ABM implementation, new information becomes available to managers at all levels of the organization. It consists of the actual information that brings with it its own unique challenges and pitfalls including managers do not take any action on the ABM information. For example, some parties are adversely affected by the ABM information and a high degree of disbelief in the new number develops. Some ways these pitfalls can be manage and require managers to justify inaction as well as actions on ABM information. This is to ensure that a large number of people are receiving and using the information, and holdings feedback sessions to gather criticisms, concepts and problems with the ABM system from affected managers. Developing ongoing data collections and reporting system is also one of the problem. While the need to create effectiveness, efficient data collection and reporting systems is essential to any ABM report. It is also a stage that having its own potential pitfalls, including no provision is made for the results updating of the ABM information, reports do not continued the information managers need or want, and unnecessary accounting terminology is used in the reports. Some ways in which an ABM implementation can plan for and overcome these data and reporting pitfalls are minimize the efforts required to reconcile data and balance report, as well as to update and maintain the system, develop and written plan for how the system will affect decision makings. Moreover, what the decisions are, how the system will help in making them, whose responsibilities they are and when they will be made will use graphic and summary future as the ordinary report, providing detailed information in an appendix or query format, and use innovative data display and users interfaces. Report that are difficult to understand are not going to be used but somehow the report that is easily readable and understand. If the report arrives not at the right time also having a little value. Furthermore is achieving full integrations. Full integration of ABM information with the existing data and reporting structure of the organization signal a mature implementation. Somehow it still having a unique challenges which can lead to the disaster in order to achieve the objectives in ABM which consist of no formal system exists for documenting suggestion for improvement in the ABM system and no one has taken ownership for the system in decision makings. Among the approach that can be used when pitfalls are plaguing a company seeking full integration. This is to ensure that system design specifications take into account technique such as benchmarking and target costing, and also transferring ownership of the system to line management. 5. 0 Conclusion After many years of experiments, successes, failures, and learning, ABM systems are proving they are here to stay. Much more than another form of accounting, ABM in best-practice firms lies at the heart of the decision-support process. Integrating ABM within the total information and management control system of the organization can lead to quantum improvements as vital links between operations and strategy, processes and customers, value and cost are defined, measured, and understood. Achieving the results requires an organization to understand and address the common pitfalls and barriers in order to success at every stage of implementation. Whether during planning, activity analysis, costing, documentation, data gathering and analysis, development of the data collection and reporting system, or achieving full integration, the ABM system must include and draw on the insights of the people who will use it. When the people using the system take ownership, the implementation is a success. Successful implementation of ABM will not look the same in every organization or follow the same path. Tailored to the unique strategy, structure, capabilities, and needs of the firm, ABM is a universally useful concept and system that can take on a multitude of shapes and uses. ABM data should meet the needs of the company’s decision makers and support their efforts to create value for all stakeholders. REFERENCES 1. Kim Langfield Smith, Helen Thorne, Ronald W. Hilton (2012), Management Accounting, 6th Edition, Mc Graw Hill. 2. CIMA July 2002, Technical Briefing – Latest Trend in Corporate Performance Measurement. 3. Drury, C. (2008), Management and Cost Accounting, 7th Edition, Chapter 21 & 22, Thomson Publishing. 4. Eldenburg, Brooks, Oliver, Vesty, Wolcott (2005), Contemporary Management Accounting. 5. www. cimaglobal. com 6. Isa, C. R. , Keong, T. Y. (2008) JIT Manufacturing And Purchasing Practices And Business Performance: An Exploratory Study, Asia-Pacific Management Accounting Journal, Vol 3(1).

Ethical Dilemma Essay

1. Keeping in mind the facts and timeline of this situation, discuss Lavonda’s situation in terms of legal and ethical issues. This case has many aspects of sexual harassment, and is very complicated. Karline is partially correct in that it was common knowledge that Lavonda and Allen were intimate. It was because Lavonda crossed that line, and did not report the relationship, that Lavonda’s sexual harassment suit becomes unstable. Her legal suit would carry more weight if she had gone through the proper channels to report the misconduct when it occurred. There is also an ethical problem if she tries to convince the new hire to work for Allen. 2. Discuss Lavonda’s alternatives and possible professional and private outcomes for her. The probable cost to Lavonda if she reports the sexual harassment case is a long legal struggle and possible loss of her job. We are aware that Lavonda’s mother has cancer, is undergoing chemo, and Lavonda needs the income to care for her mother. If Lavonda loses the case, she faces a risk of not being able to help her mother, especially if Allen spreads nasty rumors about her throughout the industry. She should probably be aware that if she pursues legal case that this will follow her throughout her career. This could negatively influence future employers or could show them that she has a moral character. 3. Is Allen in violation of sexual harassment and/or sexual discrimination laws in United States? Yes. He has displayed intimidating behavior, sexual harassment, and is very manipulative of women in the workforce. Whenever Lavonda asked him to stop, and he continues his behavior, this becomes harassment. 4. Certainly Allen has damaged Lavonda’s performance level: however, discuss whether he has created a legally hostile work environment. By definition of a hostile work environment, he has created it. There are three criteria that must be met: (1) the conduct must be unwelcome; (2) the conduct becomes severe, pervasive, and regarded as so offensive to alter the conditions of employment; (3) conduct was so bad that a reasonable person would find it hostile or offensive. All the employee needs to prove is that the conduct interfered with her work performance.

Contract Law Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Contract Law Assignment - Essay Example Consequently, statutes of the contract law serve as the custodian of the rights of the parties to the contract. â€Å"The Law of Contract is intended to ensure that what a man has been led to expect shall come to pass and that what has been promised to him shall be performed.†1 (Anson, 2002, p. 3) A legal contract requires some specific terms for its proper implication. Before embarking upon the terms of the contract, it will be worthwhile to explain few terms of contract law, essential to understand the valid contract, which are as under: Offer:2 â€Å"When one person signifies to another his willingness to do or to abstain from doing anything with a view to obtaining the assent of that other to such act or abstinence, he is said to make a proposal.† However, the offer must be unconditional and intact one in nature, without containing any ambiguity in its nature or scope. For instance, A offers B to buy one of his properties against an appropriate amount, which does no t make a clear offer because neither the particular house to be sold is manifestly mentioned, nor does there exist any clear description of the amount against which the house would be sold. An offer may be specific or general; it is specific in nature when it has been made to a specific person or party. For instance, C offered D to enter into joint venture of managing an event at a hotel. Instead of D, E accepted the offer. It was held that since E had not been communicated in respect of accepting the offer, there did not create any legal liability between C and E altogether. Acceptance:3 â€Å"When the person to whom the proposal is made signifies his assent thereto, the proposal is said to be accepted.† Like offer, acceptance should also be made in an adequate manner, and without any condition that could impose bar on the actual offer. For instance, if A has offered to sell B’s laptop at $ 2000, and if B agrees to buy the same at $ 1800, it would not be stated as acc eptance. Moreover, mode of acceptance should also be proper one. For instance, A has made an offer through the e-mail, the same could be accepted through the post mail, e-mail, telephone or text message etc. Additionally, acceptance should be made within an appropriate time period; otherwise, it would become time-barred. For instance, C made an offer of entering into partnership with D in an export-import business in June 2008; D did not reply to the offer till November, 2011. It was held that making acceptance of the offer after three and half years could not make the parties bound under the Contract Law, as D would have to enquire a fresh offer for the same. Agreement:4 â€Å"Every promise or every set of promises forming the consideration for each other.† Agreements may be either social or legal in nature. If an agreement has been made with the intention of entering into legal relationship, it would be legal one. And if the parties to the agreement do not have any intentio n of legal remedies, it would be just a social agreement. For instance, X invites Y to attend his marriage ceremony, and Y accepts the same. However, if Y is unable to attend the same, there will be no legal remedy for the same due to the nature of agreement, which is social one. In Balfour v. Balfour5, a husband had promised to pay his wife monthly pocket money during her illness. Somehow, he did not observe the same. The wife sued for the recovery of money. It was held that the contract was domestic and social

Davidsons Coherence Theory.Coherence and Skepticism Essay

Davidsons Coherence Theory.Coherence and Skepticism - Essay Example It is these two variables that make Davidson's theory widely accepted and appear more legitimate than others. Davidson was not shy in acknowledging the influences to his works and theories and this contributes to the viability and attractiveness of his philosophy. The Coherence Theory of Truth and Knowledge All coherence theories are based on the fundamental position that the truth in propositions is validated by its coherence through a set of propositions. They oppose correspondence theories because of this emphasis on the relationship between propositions and truth conditions. According to LePore and Ludwig (2007, p. 316), coherence theorists focus on the nature of truth as guarantee the link between the belief and truth, arguing that â€Å"what makes for truth is simply some property of a set of beliefs, namely, coherence.†Davidson distinguished his coherence theory from that of correspondence theory by explaining that coherence is a sufficient test for truth. Unlike, the latter, it no longer waits for the confrontation of a belief and the reality, which is a requisite in any theory that requires the production of meanings to be satisfied by objective truth conditions. (p. 154) The coherence is the criterion by which a proposition typified by a set of beliefs is a sufficient i ndication that such proposition can already be equivalent to objective facts. The coherence and the implications it provides enable one to know that the proposition also corresponds. Meanwhile, he distinguished his theory from other versions of coherence theory by explaining simply that the truth condition for a proposition should be that someone must understand it and that "when the beliefs are true, then the primary conditions for knowledge would seem to be satisfied" (p. 154). He went on explaining that people live in different environments and, hence, different experiences. They have different intentions, desires, own sense organs and are affected by internal and external events that are unique to their own existence (p. 155). This variable supposedly highlights how the recognitions provided by different individuals should be enough to confirm that what is being proposed is true. He explained, "a coherence theory is simply the claim that nothing can count as a reason for holding a belief except another belief," and that "its partisan rejects as unintelligible the request for a ground or source of justification of another ilk" (p. 156). The evaluation provided by individuals with diverse experiences, constraints and circumstance is authoritative and considered more effective than other theoretical conditions. Davidson explained this further in his discourse about the relationship between belief and sensations. His argument is that "the existence of belief entails the existence of sensation, and so the existence of the belief entails its own truth" (p. 156). It is clear that sensation, among other faculties and factors, enable individuals to justify beliefs on the grounds of causal relationship. But his view is not as simplistic as those other theories that set great import on sensation. Davidson recognized the role of the senses in theorizing about truth but he did not find it satisfactory enough. His position is that while meaning and knowledge depends on experience and experience ultimately depends on sensation, â€Å"this is the ‘depend’ of causality and not evidence of justification†

Importance of Effective Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Importance of Effective Communication - Essay Example Effective communication is important for a successful relationship among peers. Effective communication leads to a better interpersonal role and through this approach a person can gain popularity and will be able to motivate or influence other people. How can the quality of communication be judged This is rather simple if we take the written modules in consideration. That is how well the author has related the matter to the subject. In the verbal context it is a bit different. Having a strong vocabulary is just not enough for becoming a good communicator as while delivering a message directly words are just about 7% effective, the tone is around 38% effective and the rest is judged by the nonverbal cues given by the speaker. This is why a gloomy dialogue expressed by a charismatic personality is of more importance as compared to a strong statement made in an in-effective tone. Strengths regarding communication in my context are that I am easy going and fain familiarity with other ind ividuals quite quickly as I am more affable. My strengths are that I can easily manage groups due to my understanding and simple use of language. My point is based on cogency as I prefer no hesitation in delivering my point of view and another important point about good communication is that let the speaker finish and then cite your view. This also improves upon communication prospect and the person utilizing this is considered a good communicator. Nonverbal communication The other fact that can be related to better communication is the ability to handle the kinesics and the non-verbal cues. Non-verbal cues include eye contact, body movement and postures, and most of all the tone of delivery. I believe that good eye-contact entails one as being a better communicator and it is vital if delivering strong messages and in-person contact. Keeping a measurable distance from the interacting person is a good approach and it is regarded as a good conduct in many cultures. But one is not to s tand too far as it shows the avoidance factor. People like to free up space in between themselves and the present environment so that they can produce their messages more effectively and easily. My case is that I am able to convey my message without the need of personal space. The personal space does not influence my mode of message delivery. Dynamic Non-verbal factors of Communication Next I would like to introduce the dynamic non-verbal factors. These include eye graze, body movement with regard to the statement, gestures, paralanguage and time frame. What I mean by body movement with regard to the statements is the point that your body should act in accordance with your message delivery. If you are delivering a message regarding something that has increased then the arm movement should (if required) should be 'raising the level'. Similarly eye contact is of prime importance and the ability to understand this feature is also of much substance. This can lead to the avoidance of man y undesirable consequences. Message Delivery I think that denying someone's message is a wrong act as we should try to convince him in such a way that he himself identifies the consequence. Saying 'NO' is something that is regarded as bad in the context of effective communication.

Safe Guarding Sensitive Database Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Safe Guarding Sensitive Database - Assignment Example For Vista, choose Start, Search, click the down arrow on the right side of Advanced Search, then select Date modified in the Date drop-down menu which is on the left. Here, you then look for any recently created, altered or renamed files. If you find what you are looking for, to be safe, save it in at least two different storage devices. b) -Â  Identity proofing, registration and credential delivery which bind an identity to a token. Depending on the level of assurance necessary for the system, this process is done either remotely or in person. It includes: Remote authentication mechanisms: This is the combination of authentication protocols credentials and tokens which are used in establishing the subscription of the claimant’s authenticity as a subscriber. Assertion mechanisms: This is used to communicate remote authentication results to other parties. They are issued by verifiers pertaining to claimants as a result of a successful authentication, and they are either signed in a digital way by their issuers or by direct way of obtaining, by presenting parties from a trustworthy party through a protocol with secure authentication. They would not be the same for a bank versus a school since in a bank, the authentication protocols present a way a claimant can establish the token control to a verifier without compromise but with a school, such high level of security is not required since they don’t run a high-risk business. They do not hold highly sensitive documents as it is with a bank (Williams & Simoff, 2006). a) Age, gender/sex and socio-economic status: In analyzing the audience, I will first determine the primary age group and gender of your audience, audience’s race and/or cultural background, my audience location in terms of their country/state/city, their education level, socio-economic status and religion. b) What I believe I can do as a speaker to respond to the audience’s listening goals is focusing on what they are interested in since it is a common thing to see.

Presidency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Presidency - Essay Example He has the supreme power of veto, even though the Congress can override it. A man endowed with such important powers needs to be a balanced individual, capable of taking on the spot, quick and appropriate decisions. But his actions need to stand the test of close scrutiny by the Supreme Court and he has to take enough care that he does not violate the provisions of the US Constitution. Though he has an array of legal advisers, the President must possess that sixth sense to take right decisions at the right time. The real test with a President is in dealing with the foreign countries. No doubt, he is working under a system of delegated powers but President is the Chief Diplomat, and he has to take important and big decisions that have far reaching political significance and effect on the American economy. State of war and depression in the economy are the worst thing that can happen to a country. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) faced such a challenging situation. He negoti ated both the crises successfully by keeping a close rapport with the people and about 80% of the people listened to his speeches. As such communicating effectively with the people is a quality that will make the President great. Another important issue for the President is to deal with his advisors. He has the power of appointment, and some of those who disagree with his viewpoints later, may be his appointees. A good President needs to create such a congenial atmosphere that those who disagree with him should feel free to air their opinions. What is important is expression of independent opinions irrespective of the consequences. They are serving the President, ipso facto, the Nation, even when they disagree with his estimate of a particular issue. The President has great projects to implement as per his election promises, and he needs great and fearless individuals to implement them. They may not agree with the President always; The President may not agree with their viewpoints s ometimes. But the ship of national and international politics commandeered by the President has to sail through the turbulent waters. When you get ready to vote for a Presidential candidate, what is most important? I would go by the merit of the Presidential candidate, though I have affiliations with a particular party that I would not like to disclose. To me the President is a supreme personality and interests of the Nation are more important than party interests. Moreover, I am not voting for a candidate in the local body elections. I will cut through the party-liners, if necessary and vote for the best candidate, without fear or favor. Now, the question is how to select who is the best? Here I make use of the knowledge that I possess on the subject of leadership qualities. First and foremost is the character of the individual as character traits have an overriding influence on other qualities. Grit and determination follow. Often, peace-time problems are more important than the p roblems of the Nation at war. Political opponents turn vociferous during peace-time and the expectations of the people also are more. The economic issues like crime, drugs, healthcare, education and immigration take the front seat to challenge the President. As such I will vote for the President

Article Critique on Facebook's future Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Article Critique on Facebook's future - Essay Example Market expectations regarding buyouts, development of a Google-like search engine or a new smart phone have been slashed as minor developments such as adding features seem to be at the epitome of the company’s business strategy at the moment. Nevertheless, the unprecedented success of the user-centric business model of Facebook and its latest foot forward into the mobile industry are major factors that shall shape the future of Facebook. Facebook has truly revolutionized the field of social networking and the way in which millions of users across the world can communicate for free with each other and share their interests, hobbies, activities etc. This is nothing less than a powerful customer database that keeps track of the demographics, psychographics and geographic traits of its customers. However, the collapse of Facebook’s stock has put tremendous pressure on the future of the company. This is because the market had been expecting something revolutionary such as an acquisition, creation of a Smartphone or the development of a search engine similar to that of Google. The announcement of the Graph Search feature and the absence of scope for revenue generation through it, however, shunned these expectations and the share prices fell.This suggests how Facebook’s future is largely hinged with its ability to offer either paid content or attract sufficient advertisers that enable the company make high profits. At the epitome of Facebook’s business model is the fact that the company offers data compilation and acts as a database of users is more significant than the motive of money creation (Eichenwald). Enhancing the financial strength of the company, therefore, requires establishment of newer business models. Furthermore, using the Facebook database as an advertising medium such that the site becomes attractive enough for advertisements remains a challenge. Most ads on the web require users to click on an item to purchase it. However, since Facebook’s business model was not based on immediate sales, it would remain a challenge to incorporate such ads. Even if the company did go ahead with these ads, it is difficult to predict how they would be compatible with the social networking feature offered by the company. Companies such as Google manage to generate ads by using the pay-per-click model where, once users indicate their willingness to buy an item through the search engine, they are flooded with ads (Eichenwald). This, however, remains a remote possibility for facebook. The most intriguing question perhaps is how to use the personal data that is uploaded by users almost every minute onto Facebook? This has, to some extent, been answered by the buzz marketing generated by Facebook Pages whereby advertisers interact one-on-one with customers and learn from their feedback. As opposed to Google that fulfilled customers’ demands, Facebook is stimulating demand (Eichenwald). A major leap in Facebookâ €™s success was brought on by its famous mobile advertising platform where advertisements could be placed in users’ newsfeed (Eichenwald). This allowed ads to go mobile rather than being just restricted to laptops. Also, this has been a breakthrough compared to typical banner ads which interfered with users’ online experience. Even though the net-positive results of having this feature favored its existence, various criticisms have surrounded it. The most important concern is that users are bombarded with advertisements which, sometimes, translates into fewer posts regarding friends compared to posts regarding ads. This puts off majority of users and

Benefits of tourism to the local community Research Paper

Benefits of tourism to the local community - Research Paper Example Analysis of the theoretical and conceptual aspects of the benefits of tourism to the Local Community in Singapore Tourism is the global largest industry that contributes to job position creation in diverse economies. The sector has facilitated the development of structures that have the capacity to boost coexistence and economic stability. Communities that focus on improving their living standards should encourage tourism based on its benefits. Dwyer and Forsyth (1997) note that tourism improves the income levels of community members; furthermore, tourism increases the national GDP, employment and facilitates general rise in the living status of individuals. According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), nations are obligated to adopt conventional tourism guidelines that facilitate their competitiveness and growth. WTO facilitates the formulation of policies to ensure that tourism activities are streamlined effectively. This is to ensure that the tourist attraction sites meet def inite standards; furthermore, they should have supporting amenities that allow the safe stay of visitors (Lewis and Newsome, 2003). The agency defines tourism as travelling to new destinations due to particular attractions outside an individual’s geographical setting. ... They also facilitate engagement at various levels of operations that range from local setting to the international arena. This advances social and cultural integration that is earned through mutual understanding (Lewis and Newsome 2003). According to King (2000), domestic tourism in Singapore entails visiting the local destinations and tourist sceneries. Domestic tourism is important in enhancing an individual’s lifestyle since it allows the local people to understand the local events and historical sceneries. It also enables individuals to embrace and appreciate the local resources within the society. It also enhances the understanding of diverse cultural practices by persons with dialectal variations. Inbound tourism forms the second category that entails the visit made by non-citizens or residence to the local attraction sites (King, 2000). The system is currently gaining momentum since the need for individuals to change their environmental setting and learn new things in l ife is paramount. People are currently keen on exploring new ventures and sites of attraction that provide a unique environment for leisure. The technique can be encouraged through detailed awareness of the existing sceneries or the attraction sites, thus, influencing decision-making. Outbound logistics forms the third category that entails the visits to other nations by locals. Internal, national and international tourist categories follow respectively. The categories entail the combination of inbound, domestic and outbound categories. The categories are vital since they foster international integration and cooperation that is crucial in enhancing trade; thus, benefiting the local community. They are also significant in advancing social and cultural cohesiveness (King, 2000). The

Going global means new frontiers Essay Example for Free

Going global means new frontiers Essay Introduction On the 19th Sep. 2014, the world’s largest initial public offering (IPO) was successfully completed in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), U.S., and the total IPO amount has reached up to $25 billion (Chen. Mac. Solomon. 2014). Alibaba, the miracle creator, used only 15-year’s development to take the seat in the Wall Street and build an e-commercial empire. The NYSE’s IPO is the signal to tell global investors and competitors that Alibaba is ready to join the global market competition. For Alibaba, going global means new frontier, however, the new frontier could be either a barren cliff or cornucopian grassland. In this essay, we will mainly discuss that why Alibaba want to expand global markets, and how Alibaba is going to make the global strategies to against global competitors in overseas market. by avoiding direct competition, targeting similar market as China and increasing firm size in the global market environment to step into a â€Å"grassland† market for persistent development. Alibaba the world’s largest online and mobile commerce company, was established in 1999 by the group of 18 people led by Jack Ma in Hangzhou, China. There are three main sites in Alibaba China, including T-mall, Taobao and Alibaba.com along with numbers of other companies to support Alibaba’s ecosystem development. Moreover, Alibaba also has Alibaba.com and AliExpress.com to provide worldwide online shopping services (Pressman 2014). Until 2013, Alibaba has more than 2 million merchants across more than 190 countries and regions. In 2013, there was amount of $248 billion transactions went through Alibaba’s online sites which is more than the total of eBay and Amazon. Furthermore, after the NYSE’s IPO, Alibaba’s market cap has reached up to 215 billion dollar, which only followed behind Microsoft, Google and Apple among the global tech firms (Lajoie Shearman. 2014). Global Market Expansion (convention path: from domestic to overseas) Why Alibaba want to expand global market?  Alibaba is a typical Multi-national corporation, since Alibaba set up the headquarter in the China and operate e-commerce businesses in other  countries. in As a typical multi-national corporation, going global to exploit new distant market, to merge into larger and more efficient units and to exploit better social capital is an irresistible process for Alibaba. As the dominator in the China’s online shopping market, Alibaba has already controlled 80% of the market share, thus Alibaba needs new distant markets for persistent development. Moreover, For Alibaba, both the internal capabilities and external environment allows Alibaba to make the global market expansion decision. For the internal capabilities, Alibaba is a mature Internet corporation, which has controlled 80% of the China’s online shopping market. China’s market profits could constantly provide enormous capital support for Alibaba’s long-term market expansion. Moreover, after the NYSE’s IPO, Alibaba has won the trust from global investors and acquired sufficient capital for early market expansion. However, the challenges always exist during the process of the market expansion, especially from the local e-commercial corporations. Despite of the competition, high cost for setting up facilities, cultural shock, and different government policies would also be main concerns before the decision was made. Thus, I have listed three main strategies below to demonstrate Alibaba’s global market expansion. Avoiding direct competition Instead of â€Å"face to face† competition with those locally dominant e-commercial corporations, Alibaba decided to operate their business around the market edges and move partial of e-commercial businesses to cross-country trade. In 2004, The America’s largest e-commercial corporationeBay entered the Chinese market by merger with a Chinese e-commercial corporation—EachNet. In order to against eBay, Alibaba decided to launch Taobao, one of the main sites under Alibaba for C2C (customer to customer) business model, compete with eBay. Because of Taobao’s preponderant business model and domestic advantages, eBay finally failed in China’s e-commercial market expansion (Wang, 2010). Right now, Alibaba faced the same challenge in the America’s market, but Alibaba will not make the same mistake as eBay did. In order to avoid direct competition with eBay and Amazon, Alibaba has launched AliExpress for cross-country trade wholesale by offering quality products at factory prices. As the advantages, Chinese  products have unbeatable prices to attract American customers; also Chinese customers have strong demands for American high quality products (like Cherry Farmers and Fisherman). Although it’s too earlier to claim the final result of Alibaba, to avoid direct competition is always a good way to enter a new market without too much pressure from local competitors. Finding similar market as China Alibaba’s global strategies are more likely targeting the large and potential e-commercial market as China’s market. For instance, Brazil, as one of the largest developing economy in the world, the economy status and e-commercial structure in Brazil is really similar as in China. ALthough, eBay and Amazon has already settled down in the Brazil’s market, it’s always not too late for Alibaba overtakes the dominance. In 2013, Alibaba set up a Portuguese e-commerce site to allow Brazil buyers directly purchase goods from Chinese wholesalers. Just in a year, Alibaba has became the third largest e-commercial website and took 20% of market share after Ebay and Amazon. In this July 12 millions of Brazilian customers visited the Alibaba.com, which is ten times than last year (Sciaudone, 2014). Moreover, in Brazil’s market, Alibaba wisely used the local sub-contractor to reduce investment and improve service quality, which subcontracted the online payment services to Boleto and delivery services to Brazil’s state-owned postal service (Pressman, 2014). To make it even better, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and Chinese President Xi Jingping have signed the agreement to open the â€Å"Green Channel† to support Alibaba’s business between two countries (Chao, 2014). All in all, the success in the Brazil’s market indicated that to find the similar market is a feasible strategy for future development. Increasing the firm size As a typical multi-national corporation, Alibaba effectively applied the law of increasing firm size, ‘which have rapidly growth in the representative size of the firm, culminating in the MNC, and the parallel growth in organizational complexity’ (Hymer, 1970). E-commercial is the fundamental business for Alibaba’s long-term development, but not the only business Alibaba does or will do. As the range of investments show below, Alibaba  made plenty of investments in smart phone, video websites, telecommunication and so on. Some of them are complement businesses to support Alibaba’s e-commercial, like Juhuasuan, Alipay and Alibaba pictures; and some of them are potential businesses for long-term development, like Kabam, Peel, and Tango. Like Jack Ma has said in the Stanford Business School’s presentation, Alibaba would always follow the market’s path, where is the market, where is the Alibaba. Alibaba believed those investments are the future market and opportunities. On the global market expansion, Alibaba’s strategy is to pursue dynamic, diversified, sustaining development. Impacts on global market and host region With the development of Alibaba, the global e-commerce businesses will absolutely more competitive than before. There will be more and more cheaper and quality products flow into global market from China. Other e-commercial corporations, like eBay and Amazon, have to find the way out to against Alibaba’s expansion. On the other hand, Alibaba’s global market expansion will provide more opportunities and channels for China’s manufactories and factories to enter into a larger market. As Alibaba’s mission said, ‘to make it easy to do business anywhere.’ Alibaba help China’s merchants to do business much easier and more efficient. Conclusion It is indeed that Alibaba made a great success in 15-year development, but some concerns still exist from investors. Some investors even thought it’s possible that Alibaba is too big to be expropriated by Chinese government (Crovitz, 2014). However, It’s a totally misunderstanding, Chinese government always encourage and support China’s corporations to exploit overseas market and welcome foreign investment. Furthermore, investors also consider the instability to an Internet company. Unlike other industries, such as auto or manufacture industry, Internet Company is highly volatile. Internet Company could create billions of fortunes overnight, but also could lose everything instantly. In this case, it’s a significant mission for Alibaba to keep investors’ trust and faith. Up to now, Alibaba’s steady-state growth and expansion is the best response to investors’ trust and support. For 15-year development, Alibaba completely followed the conventional path from serve domestic market to operate businesses overseas. Eventually, Alibaba has successfully built an e-commercial businesses bridge between China and overseas market. Alibaba will continue to grow, and it will continue to change China and change the world. As William Kirby, and expert on Chinese business in Harvard’s business school, demonstrated that Alibaba is ‘a private company that has done more for China’s national economy than most state-owned enterprises (Economist, 2013).’ References Chen, Liyan; Mac, Ryan; Solomon Brian. Alibaba Claims Title For Largest Global IPO Ever With Extra Share Sales. Forbes. Web. Available from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2014/09/22/alibaba-claims-title-for-largest-global-ipo-ever-with-extra-share-sales/ [Accessed on: 14/11/2014] Crovit, Gordon L. 2014. Alibaba: Too Big to Expropriate? The Wall Street Journal. Web. Available from: http://online.wsj.com/articles/gordon-crovitz-alibaba-too-big-to-expropriate-1411339239 [Accessed on: 14/11/2014] Hymer, Stephen. 1970. Lecture notes distributed in Global Business Environment at The University of Birmingham U.K. on November 2014. INC. 2014. How Alibabas Jack Ma Conquered China. INC. Video. Web. Available from: http://www.inc.com/jack-ma/alibaba-jack-ma-reveals-his-global-strategy.html [Accessed on: 14/11/2014] Osawa, Juro. Alibaba Isn’t the Amazon of China. The Wall Street Journal. Web. Available from: http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2013/10/16/alibaba-isnt-the-amazon-of-china/ [Accessed on: 15/11/2014] Pressman, Aaron. Alibaba a threat to eBay, Amazon outside the U.S., not within. Yahoo Finance. Web. Available from: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/alibaba-aims-at-ebay-and-amazon-outside-of-the-united-states-173757037.html [Accessed on: 14/11/2014] Sciaudone, Christiana. 2014. Alibaba in Brazil Challenges EBay-Amazon Market Grip. Bloomberg. Web. Available from: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-05/alibaba-in-brazil-challenges-ebay-amazon-market-grip.html [Accessed on: 14/11/2014] Shearman, Nick; Lajoie, Marc. 2014. What is Alibaba?. The Wall Street Journal. Web. Available from: http://projects.wsj.com/alibaba/ [Accessed on: 14/11/2014] The Economist. 2013. The World’s greatest bazaar. The Economist. Web. Available from: http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21573980-alibaba-trailblazing-chinese-internet-giant-will-soon-go-public-worlds-greatest-bazaar [Accessed on: 20/11/2014] Wang, Helen H. 2010. How eBay Failed in China. Forbes. Web. Available from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/china/2010/09/12/how-ebay-failed-in-china/ [Accessed on: 20/11/2014] http://www.cnbc.com/id/102008330#.

Use Of Green Building Constructions Environmental Sciences Essay

Use Of Green Building Constructions Environmental Sciences Essay India is the Seventh largest country in the world and it has population of 1.24 billion as of 2012 according to World Population Review 2012. As of 2012 India experienced a growth of 5.5% in its Gross Domestic Product (Money Control, 2012). In the same year, the Construction industry Experienced a growth of 6.6%. During the year 2011, construction industry was valued at Rs.18.5 trillion (Reportlinker, 2012). Indian Green Building Council was started on 2001 by Confederation of Indian Industry. The aim of this council is to increase green building construction in India and to make India one of the leaders in green buildings of the world. Benefits from green buildings can be both tangible and intangible . Most important benefit from construction of green buildings are reduction in usage of water and energy costs during the construction of building. The tangible benefits by using green buildings are saving water sources at 30-50% and energy sources by 20-30%. The intangible benefits in construction of green buildings are clear vision of day lighting, health and wellbeing of the occupants, conservation of national resources and enhanced air and marketability of the project (Indian Green Building Council,2008). Indian Green Building Council is a system designed for rating residential buildings which include Gated communities, Residential apartments, Retrofitting of residential buildings with accordance to Indian Green Buildings Council (Indian Green Building Council, 2008). The increased growth in economic activities of any country is causing pressure on environmental and natural resources. There is evidence that an irreversible damage is caused to global environment due to human activities, which have an impact on quality of life for future generations. This concern for environment due to global warming has caused governments to search for sustainable solutions. In India, the real estate industry is the main contributor for global warming due to emission of greenhouse gases released due to energy use from buildings. Hence, there is a necessity for developing sustainable green buildings and technologies in the construction industry. Compared to the world average growth of 5.2% in construction industry, India is growing rapidly with a rate of 10% and also 20% of total electricity is consumed by buildings in India (Lang and Meghraj, 2008). This shows that it is a great opportunity to instigate construction of green buildings or sustainable buildings in the country. In some cases developers have to face a lot of challenges since construction of green buildings will cost a lot for some cases. Green Buildings Development: Sustainable development is often defined as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (Brundtland, 1987). Sustainable development is conceptually divided into three types. They are Economic Sustainability, Social Sustainability and Environment Sustainability (John Elkington, 1999). Performance of industrial economy is always been measured by financial outcome. Striking a balance between the above three constituent parts will be a key in achieving sustainable development. In India real estate industry is the major energy consumers and Greenhouse Gas emitters. 38% of global energy is being consumed by real estate industry and almost 3,800 tonnes of greenhouse gas is emitted every year, according to a report done by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change in the year 1996. This report has not included usage of any other resources such as water. Due to increased global warming, depleted sources and consumer pressures had pushed the need for sustainability in construction industry secto r (Lang and Meghraj, 2008). Sustainability in construction industry is not limited to energy conservation also includes resource usage, working conditions and also neighbour surroundings. This situation has given rise to development of sustainable buildings. The green building usually emphasises reduction of environmental impacts on a integrated approach to land, construction strategies and building uses in a sustainable way. Usually a green building uses less amount of energy, natural resources and water when compared to other normal building. By construction of sustainable buildings less amount of construction waste is generated and it also helps in providing healthier environment for people living in it. Green buildings have sustainable features like sufficient use of water, energy and eco-friendly environment, usage of recycled materials, renewable energy, landscapes, effective building and control management systems (Lang and Meghraj, 2008). The benefits of sustainable building usually depend on the extent at which they are used during the planning and design state. A green building will be successful only if it is included starting from the design state. The considerations that are taken into account in design of green building are supply chain starting from material sourcing, recycled resource use, civic amenities, modelling of energy and finally waste disposal for occupiers education. Sustainable Buildings in India: In India, green building movement started with establishment of Indian Green Building Council in 2001, which was started by CII (Confederation of Indian Industries). The first sustainable building was constructed on July 14 2004 at Hyderabad named as CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre (Lang and Meghraj, 2008). In India there are about 18 LEED certified green buildings with an area of about 110 million sq ft by the end of 2007 (CII-Energy Efficiency in Building Design and construction, 2010). In India, the construction industry is considered to be one of the biggest emitter of Greenhouse Gases. 20-25% of consumed electricity by government buildings is being wasted due to incapable design, according to a report submitted by Ministry of power in June 2004. This is the same scenario in private sector. Merits and Cost of Sustainable Buildings In India: The main difference between normal and green buildings are that green buildings have improved indoor environment and also operational savings. The economic advantages of green buildings will not be visible immediately, since the lifetime payback is higher compared to that of normal buildings which mainly come from cost savings, reduced carbon emission and higher capital or rental values. The social advantages are due to increased green buildings in the environment. It also helps in increasing tenants and decrease their health problems due to better working condition. In India, the payback of platinum rated building will range from 5 to 7 years where as gold rated and silver rated building have a period of 3 to 4 years (Lang and Meghraj, 2008). The common notion among Indian developers is that construction of green buildings is costlier when compared to normal buildings and it will take a long time to get payback on sustainable buildings. This reason is due to mainly following: green buildings are still in the stage of developing, not having enough technical information on green buildings, execution of sustainable buildings are still inept, preferring short returns instead of focusing on life term returns (Lang and Meghraj, 2008). Cost Premium of Green buildings in India ranges from 6-18%, it depends on the ratings (Confederation of Indian Industry, 2008). There are green building rating systems which give information about changes, effort by the owners invested on achieving a good performance sustainable building and environmental benefits of the land. The sustainable building rating systems are as follows: BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method, used mostly in UK) LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, used mostly in US) Green Star (Used mostly in Australia and New Zealand have their own type of Green Star) NABERS (National Australian Built Environment Rating System) LEED in India by Indian Green Building Council GRIHA (Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment) Cost Analysis of Green buildings: In words of Greg Kats Principal of capital (a consultancy focusing on clean energy), he says that there is big difference between operating cost and capital cost of sustainable building. Why Did I Chose Green Building Constructions and Their Cost Efficiency in India: Most people in India know about Green Buildings, but dont know the procedure how to start and what are the methods to be taken care in starting a sustainable construction. We have lack of information on Sustainable buildings and Government of India must educate people on sustainable buildings. Construction of green buildings started in India recently during the year 2004 until then people where constructing residential buildings, non-residential buildings including government buildings in normal ways. My aim in choosing this topic is to show that even though green buildings are costly but in lifetime they can get their payback and also provide healthy environment to neighbours and occupants. Government should help in providing financial help for constructing sustainable buildings in India.

Kants Theory of Deontology and Euthanasia Essay -- Kant Assisted Suic

I am going to apply the theory of Kant’s Deontology to the case regarding assisted suicide for psychological suffering. Based on Kant’s theory, I have found suicide morally unjust. This case is about euthanasia and assisted suicide. On September 28, 1991, Dr. Boudewijn Chabot administered a sufficient amount of sleeping pills and a liquid drug mixture to a patient with the intentions of assisting the patient with death. The patient, Hilly Bosscher, was suffering from depression, and psychological pain. She was recently divorced from a 25 year abusive relationship, and her two son’s had died. The doctor determined she suffered from unbearable pain, genuinely desired to die, and freely and competently made such a request. On the same day Dr. Chabot administered the medici...

Kudler Fine Foods Case Study: Personal Values Essay -- Business Case

Aristotle, the famous Greek Philosopher, believed ethics is common knowledge. In fact, he taught and practiced virtues and ethics, and strongly believed that ethics is the behavior learned through practice. According to Aristotle, "The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than upon mere survival† (Irwin, 1988, p.702). To be clear, there are many descriptions used to analyze a person’s ethical behavior. The description used to analyze my behavior is the ethical perspectives of the Williams Institute Ethics Awareness Inventory (EAI). The EAI identifies four CORE ethical perspectives to determine the effect of one’s decision-making. However, this paper will focus on the ethical perspective, Character. Likewise, the paper will compare and contrast my personal values related to the core perspective, Character, with that of Kudler Fine Foods. It is worth noting that sound judgment enables a person to build character and make the right decision in their personal or professional life. In fact, according to the Williams Institute, â€Å"Character is a key factor in the workplace because integrity is highly regarded. Also, sound judgment applied in a business strategy within an organization, is relevant to the character profile.† (The Williams Institute of Ethical Management, 2003). The Author’s Values: Developing positive Character traits are essential to the success of any organization and the EAI results provided valuable insight to my management style. After personally completing the self-assessment test, the following details are the results: The ethical perspective most likely aligned with is Character; and the ethical perspective least likely aligned with is Equity. Character by d... ...ate the ethical standards set. Therefore, resolving any potential problems by displaying leadership, effective communication, and positive ethical behavior. Works Cited Character. (2010). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved February 28, 2010, from http://merriamwebster.com/dictionary/character Hunte, S. (2009, December 9). Character Quotes - Do You Have the Best Character? Retrieved February 28, 2010, from ezinearticles.com/? Character- Quotes- - - Do- You- Have- the- Best- Character?&id=3401750 Irwin, Terence. Aristotle’s First Principles. Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. p.702 University of Phoenix. (2003). Williams Institute Ethical awareness [Computer Software]. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, Simulation, MGT521 website.

Interpretation Project

So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him† (Lucas, New Kings James Version). Jesus shares Insight for humanity prior to HIS return, In efforts that mankind may be prepared to receive the Lord and not be deceived. If people use consideration when interpreting God's meaning and not personal interpretations, the true message can be revealed. According to Journey into God's Word, â€Å"We believe that the way to approach the Bible (I. E. , the way we listen to God) should match how God gives us the Bible (I. E. , chose to speaks' (Devalue & Hayes, 2008, p. 0). This short story ay be viewed as Jesus being Like a thief and coming at an unexpected time; discovered. Jesus provides all humanity with the necessary preparations for the end times. Jesus reveals His love and concern for humanity by revealing signs of the tribulation. â€Å"Nation will rise against nation†¦ There will be famines and earthquakes†¦ † (Ma tt. 24:7). These are given in efforts to bring awareness that until these pass, the end is not here. Jesus will be returning at an unknown day, hour, and season. His return is not even known to â€Å"†¦ Angels, nor the Son, only the Father† (Matt. 4:36). He includes warnings and precautions. Jesus warns against false teachings, and prophets that will arise and claim to be the messiah. Man is to be cautious that he is not lead astray by the â€Å"thief† that will come to deceive. Jesus uses the parable of the thief and the master of the house. If mankind knows when His return will be, man would most likely live in darkness until the time approached. Then deception would be avoided by waiting for the very day and hour of His return and many may not accept Him until the last minute and not spread the Gospel until the end times.As stories are mentioned, people read the parable regarding the fig tree and fleet on the prophecy spoken in Daniel; these are pieces of the a rmor of God to keep the â€Å"elect† from being deceived by the true deceiver. â€Å"So when you see standing in the holy place the abomination that causes desolation'†¦ † (Matt. 24:15,). People who know God will know this is the â€Å"thief† that has come to steal salvation. As many become like the parable of the fig tree, they become fruitless and the Word of God will have been spoken and not heard. This is when the time to watch that The Lord will be arriving soon after these things has been fulfilled.He then shares with us the story of Noah. This story is included to reveal the swiftness of His return. Any who have lived an ungodly life â€Å"as determined by the Son of Man† will be cast among the hypocrites (Matt. 24:51). Jesus desires humanity to accept the gift of salvation and live unto Him; only by adhering to these warnings can mankind be prepared for the Lord's return.

Surah Khaf

surah khaf 18:1 to top Sahih International [All] praise is [due] to Allah , who has sent down upon His Servant the Book and has not made therein any deviance. 18:2 to top Sahih International [He has made it] straight, to warn of severe punishment from Him and to give good tidings to the believers who do righteous deeds that they will have a good reward 18:3 to top Sahih International In which they will remain forever 18:4 to top Sahih International And to warn those who say, † Allah has taken a son. 18:5 to top Sahih International They have no knowledge of it, nor had their fathers. Grave is the word that comes out of their mouths; they speak not except a lie. 18:6 to top Sahih International Then perhaps you would kill yourself through grief over them, [O Muhammad], if they do not believe in this message, [and] out of sorrow. 18:7 to top Sahih International Indeed, We have made that which is on the earth adornment for it that We may test them [as to] which of them is best in de ed. 8:8 to top Sahih International And indeed, We will make that which is upon it [into] a barren ground. 18:9 to top Sahih International Or have you thought that the companions of the cave and the inscription were, among Our signs, a wonder? 18:10 to top Sahih International [Mention] when the youths retreated to the cave and said, â€Å"Our Lord, grant us from Yourself mercy and prepare for us from our affair right guidance. â€Å"

Discussion on CPTED

In trying to find the connection between defensible space and CPTED we first need to look at the basic definitions used to describe them. Defensible space is an environment, typically residential, whose physical design allows it occupants to aid in their own security. CPTED, on the other hand, is using environmental design to deter the occurrence of criminal activity. The connection between these two terms is that defensible space is referring to the individual physical â€Å"components† that are used in the process of CPTED.The defensible space is the building blocks by which the resulting design is built. Strategies associated with CPTED are natural surveillance and access control. Natural surveillance is applied by utilizing proper lighting positions, placing windows appropriately to allow occupants to easily view sidewalks and parking areas, and using landscape design to aid in surveillance. Applications used in access control strategies include the placement of low, thorn y shrubs below lower level windows, the use of locking gates for access to yards and limiting access through single points of entry.The future for CPTED is bright as new construction of schools, commercial properties and public buildings incorporate the ideas of defensible space in their early design models. This approach, along with an increase in the creation of campus environments, is moving CPTED to the forefront of environmental design, and with increased education, CPTED is building a strong foundation for continued growth.

Department of Social Services

The national organization of caring for the values mostly given attention by the society today through voluntary services is that of the Department of Social Services. Likely, their existence in the society makes it easier for the entire human society within the communities that they serve to be able to garner the most basic commodities that they need for life. These commodities involve food and shelter as well as medication. Having them operate within the current tumultuous situations in the society makes the earth a more livable place.It is through this particular organization that the needs of people are given fine attention by the government. The Objectives of the Organization As a major organization that handles the needs of the society, the American Department of Social Services sees to it that the major issues about human needs in the society is well attended to. The said needs are divided into several points of concentration that involves the different divisions of people nee ding support in the society. The divisions are as follows: †¢ Child Foster Care Services †¢ Child Abuse and Neglect Services†¢ Family Support Services †¢ Elderly Assistance Services †¢ Health Care Services With these objectives in mind, the administration of the organization actually intends to make it certain that each division of the population in the society receives the attention that they need to be able to exist in the communities that they are living in. it is also the aim of this particular organization to handle the needs of immigrants transferring to the country who are usually in need of assistance with regards community familiarity as well as with their basic needs. The MissionAs noted earlier, the Department of Social Service particularly wants to extend help to special groups of people in the population of a certain society that they are involved in. With this mission in front of them, the organization constantly makes it certain that everythin g they have outlined to perform for their stakeholders, mainly the community, are seriously attended to at the appointed time as they themselves have scheduled. To attend to the needs of the target audience in the society is the main idea of the establishment of the said organization.Being funded by the government and assisted by commercial organizations, the organization’s mission of providing the society with the finest service that they deserve is not that hard to complete. The Issues Living in such a tumultuous society, finding somebody to ease the stresses and the pains brought about by the world indeed helps so much especially when it comes to facing the challenges of life. This is the reason why the existence of social workers and Non-government Organizations aiming to help the whole human population to cope up with life is an important factor considered whenever voluntary work is being discussed.With regards to social work, as the name of the job suggests itself, the main focus of NGO’s involved in social work is the social issues that are found in the human community. Because of this, they have continuously tried in alleviating the human systems of living through their assistance in the issues and problems that are mostly considered as the main reasons of stress and depression in the community. With issues on psychosocial difficulties emerging in the entire4 human community, the social workers have an important role when it comes to supporting the said people caught up in those situations hard to deal with as mentioned above.It is more often than not that the nature of social worker’s job is closely related to mediating between agencies and the clients needing their services and yet does not have any means or power to do so. According to the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) and the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), the main definition and role of social work in the society are as follows : â€Å"The social work profession promotes social change, problem solving in humanRelationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well- being. Utilizing theories of human behavior and social systems, social work intervenes at the points where people interact with their environments. Principles of human rights and social justice are fundamental to social work. † (The American Psychological Association) But although this is true of the main goals of social work, thee are still some certain important issues needed to be addressed within the systems of organization making up and bonding social workers together.One of the said issues is the existence f racial discrimination. This issue actually affects the social work systems both in and out of the organizations of social workers. Internally, this is naturally because of the fact that social workers are usually made up of people from different countries, cultures and races. In this way, some conflicts are pr esent because of the fact that each individual joining the social works are widely diverse and have different views on several points of concern within the social work.Externally, this issue is usually developed when social workers tend to chose the people they opt to help. With regards to this issue, several social workers as well as society experts have conducted studies and tried to solve the problems brought about by the issue within the systems of the organization in the social working tasks. The following paragraphs shall introduce the vital informations collected by the researchers regarding the said issue. Racial Discrimination and Its Effects to the Society Megacities are plagued by even more serious problems.Besides insufficient housing, overcrowded schools, and understaffed hospitals, psychological aspects are also involved. Dr. Paul Leyhausen, a leading German ethologist, claims that â€Å"a great number of neuroses and social maladjustments are, partially or totally, d irectly or indirectly, caused by overcrowding. † (1999, 12). Megacities rob their citizens of a sense of community, turning the city into a faceless mass of numbers. In the midst of hundreds of neighbors, a city dweller can be lonely, yearning for friends and companions he can find nowhere.The sense of alienation created by this situation becomes dangerous when it causes multinational populations to break up into racial or ethnic groups. Economic inequalities or acts of discrimination—real or imagined—can lead to disaster, as Los Angeles learned in 1992 when outbreaks of racial violence resulted in more than 50 deaths and 2,000 injuries (Leyhausen, 1999, 13). Indeed, racial discrimination is already considered as a social plague, affecting the whole world.And Along with this, the fact that the whole society of man is naturally diverse, even people who aims to help the society with their problems regarding the issues of social diversity also face the same challeng e of staying united amidst the changes they have against each other. Cities especially encounter the grave effects of the issues behind racial discrimination and according to the American Psychological Association, these dilemmas bring so much depression and stress to the population comprising the cities’ territories.This is also the main reason why behind the wonderful goals of social workers around the globe, issues such as racial discrimination brings them so much hindrance in getting their goals done for the society. As mentioned earlier, several researchers already worked on this topic and thus got considerably fine results regarding their studies. Through the use of surveys and interviews, a lot of the results of the studies were taken into conclusion.The following paragraphs shall discuss several ways in which racial discrimination has been proven as a part of the regular social work and yet had been continuously used by many social workers as an opportunity to bond to gether better than to simply get along with the flow of dispute brought about by the issue. In the Journal of Women and Social Work in an article entitled â€Å"What racial discrimination does to the social work society†, it has been mentioned that racial discrimination is indeed considered an organizational sickness especially when it comes to working ethics (Dinerman, 2005, 11).Usually, this issue of diversity causes a lot of problems within the system of assistance that social workers give to their fellowmen. It has been mentioned too that racial discrimination also sets the workers apart and drives them to choose who among the needy people should they help basing upon the cultural or racial qualification of the person to be helped. On the other hand, the British Association of Social Workers say otherwise, to them â€Å"racial discrimination is an opportunity opened to the social workers in showing their unity and bond beyond the cultural differences they have from each other (1999, 14).True, if the issue is carefully dealt with, racial discrimination could bring different people joined by an organization in a stronger bond. It may be considered an irony by many. However, because of the fact that the right ways of facing the dilemma had brought many social organizations more bonded together than separated by differences, it is really not impossible to make the issue of racial discrimination â€Å"a bridge to better opportunities of bonding with people from other cultures.Seeing differences as a positive factor in the society which sets the uniqueness of each individual in the entire human community† (British Association of Social Work, 1999, 12) is indeed a key factor in making racial diversity a successful aspect of the social organizations. The Role of Social Work in Discrimination Issues Through the use of adequate studies done by social work experts as discussed in this paper, racial discrimination is referred both as an asset and weakne ss of a social organization designed to help the people in the communities.It is more often than not though that the lack of effective ways in facing the challenges of racial discrimination to an organization, many social groups fail in controlling the dilemma of the issue. As Anne Rosegrant Alvarez mentioned in her Article â€Å"A look at cultural diversity† that proper handling of disputes regarding racial discrimination within social organizations bring considerably fine results for both the association and the individual performance of each member towards the fulfillment of their goals as a group (2006, 13).The following are the six ways in which social workers are able to control if not completely eliminate the dreadful effects of racial discrimination to organizations aiming to serve the community. As these six practices are implied within the rules and regulations of the organization in dealing within the organization and with the people in the community, the goals of the organization is observed to have easier ways in achieving their goals as a group.These practices are as follows: †¢ Having oriented as social equalizers, the social workers become more capable of handling disputes and controlling both their fellow social workers and themselves in dealing with social discrimination. †¢ Seeing everyone as a part of an important purpose in the society helps every social worker to work well with their colleagues as well as serve all people of all races amidst all the differences they have against others.†¢ Having the aim to give pure and undoubted service to everyone also allows the social worker to serve the people with purpose, disregarding the accent or the color of the skin of any person they ought to serve in the community. †¢ Being considerate with what the person needs and not where the person cam from is also an important factor to be considered by the social workers. As repeatedly mentioned, the main focus of social grou ps is to be of service to others, and failing to do such an aim is a betrayal to the profession.†¢ Having fair views of everyone may not be that easy, especially if the person has significant cultural background that has a negative impact on the other. However, if both parties would be able to consider the fact that social work is bounded by love for one’s fellowmen, the hatred brought about by discrimination could as well be covered by concern for others welfare. †¢ Making the best out of one’s time and neglecting unnecessary details about senseless things could as well help a social worker see the importance of doing â€Å"first things first.These means that prioritizing social service above all could drown the ideas of racial discrimination completely. (Source: Gutierez, 2006, Pp 4, 5). Indeed, considering the six major practices of ethical social service given by an excellent social worker to his or her fellow workers and to the people, gives a promising successful result of hard work for a certain social group. As clearly seen, the researches have been able to put concrete and relevant details down into writing for the benefit of the social workers in enhancing their servicing skills.These informations were taken into consideration since they are all sourced out from people who have actually put the principles of social work into practice in their own experiences of rendering services to other people. Having been able to see the importance of proper handling of racial disputes and racial discrimination in both internal and external setting of the relationship of the social workers to the community, it is also important to know how effective the practices mentioned above are when it comes to actual practice of social service operations.How the Implementation of Rightful Practices on Racial Discrimination Affects Social Work As mentioned earlier, the six practices which are designed to at least control racial discrimination within a nd outside the social groups, have been already applied by many social workers and were proven effective as they have observed the effects of the practices both on them, their organization and the community. In the book â€Å"International Perspectives on Social Work in Health Care: Past, Present and Future†, Auslander mentioned that: â€Å"the social practices around the world have been exceptionally developingduring the past few years. The fact that many social workers are already able to successfully work within a highly culturally diverse group, the level of excellence of social services provided internationally are known to have been developing as well† (1997, 16). Yes, because of the fact that many social workers already recognize the importance of racial equality in aiming for the best results of social services, the relationship between the community and the Non Government Organizations have been strongly enhanced during the past years.In this regard, it is sim ply rightful to say that as researchers of social work and racial discrimination have concluded, â€Å"the right handling of disputes give best results† (Feit, 2002, 3). Aside from this, it could also be said that in many cases, self-control and self-discipline helps a lot in the implication of equality within the activities of social work. The ability of a certain social crew to divert his thoughts of racial discrimination to a healthy thought of cultural respect of diversity naturally helps that worker to become fairer when it comes to his treatment towards his colleagues and the people of whom he serves.As obviously seen, the studies performed by the researchers and social work experts helps us understand the deeper issues which social workers have to face in their profession. It has been clearly shown though their works that racial discrimination is an expected source of dispute between colleagues in the social work systems. However, although this is the case, many social organizations still manage to deal with the problem and thus get considerably fine results for their hard work.It could also be added that in many ways, turning dispute into becoming a bridge towards a closer bond between the differences and uniqueness each person possesses compared to others helps a lot in making a peaceful and more concerned society to exist. (Hoefer, 2006, 18) Surely, the consequences of having been able to meet and survive the challenges of combating racial differences has a very great effect on how social groups deal with their communities.This is the reason why it is most advised by the researchers that further studies on the matter should be generated in an aim of further increasing the capability and the credibility of social groups in providing social help. Conclusion and Recommendations Although a lot of studies regarding the matter of social work and racial discrimination have already been commenced and finished, it would still be helpful to continuously search for possible ways in which social groups could combat the negative effects of racial discrimination to the goals of the organizations.In this way, it would also be advisable to look deeper on the reason why racial discrimination is present in the society. In this way, the roots of the issue could be traced and solved at the same time, making it possible for social workers to do their duties to the community without being hindered by discriminating ideas and cultural differences. True, as great as social work is when it comes to serving the community, so are the issues that are arising within the groups or organizations of such kind. Yes, issues on racial discrimination could be considered as a hindrance to the social worker’s fulfillment of their goals.Yet, an effective and strategic way of facing the challenges placed by the dilemma could help in even developing the servicing skills of the social workers further as they are forced to discipline their thoughts as well as their acts when it comes to facing the issue of struggling through with social differences. BIBLIOGRAPHY Books: Ruth Crocker. (1992). Social Work and Social Order: The Settlement Movement in Two ndustrial Cities, 1889-1930. University of Illinois Press. Lena Robinson. (1995). Psychology for Social Workers. Routledge; 1 edition. Anna Metteri.(2005). Social Work Visions From Around The Globe: Citizens, Methods, And Approaches (The Social Work in Health Care Series). Haworth Social Work. James G. Daley. (2006). Advances in Social Work: Special Issue on The Futures of Social Work. Trafford Publishing. Nancy Elizabeth Sullivan. (2002). Social Work With Groups: Social Justice Through Personal, Community, and Societal Change. Haworth Press. Richard Hugman. (1995). Ethical Issues in Social Work (Professional Ethics). Routledge; 1 edition. John S. Wodarski. (1996).Cultural Diversity and Social Work Practice. C. C. Thomas; 2nd edition. Journal Articles: Miriam Dinerman. (2005). â€Å"Wha t racial discrimination does to the social work society†. Journal of Women and Social Work. Yeshiva University. British Association of Social Workers. (September 1999). â€Å"Working beyond racial diversity†. British Journal of Social Work. Anne Rosegrant Alvarez. (Volume 14 Number 1 spring 2006). â€Å"A look at cultural diversity†. Journal of Community Practice. Lorraine Gutierez. (Volume 14 Number 2 spring 2006). â€Å"Making things work†. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity. University of Texas Arlington.Marvin D. Feit. (Volume 15 Number 3 August 2002). â€Å"How the society behaves†. Journal of Human Behavior and Social Environment. University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Richard Hoefer. (Volume 5 Number 1 Spring 2006) â€Å"Effective Despite Differences† . Social Policy Journal. University of Texas, Arlington. Paul Leyhausen. (1999). â€Å"The big cities, the big differences†. Journal on Ethnology. University of Tennessee, Knoxv ille. American Psychological Association. (1990). â€Å"The cost of social work†. Psychology Journal. American Psychological Association.

Mary Shelly’s ‘Frankenstein’, and P.B. Shelly’s ‘Alastor’ Essay

The theme of suffering is best conveyed through the â€Å"solitary† aesthetic figure of the wanderer or vagrant. Romantic writers produced works revealing extremes of isolation and socialisation, creating ‘either a wild beast or a god’ and proving that although solitude can render knowledge, it can also be the cause of deep suffering. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, is an account of the monstrous potentiality of human creative power when severed from moral and social concerns. Suffering is displayed through the characters of Victor Frankenstein and his nameless creation, the monster or â€Å"the fallen angel† . Moreover, what is necessary to further the discussion of suffering, is the cause and indeed expression of suffering endured by the central characters. Frankenstein hopes to be the source of a new species, but ironically, his creature evolves into a self acknowledged Satan who swears eternal revenge and war on upon his creator and all the human race as a result of the misery he experiences at their hands. The Monster sees salvation only through the creation of his Eve. Both master and creature are torn by their internal conflicts from misapplied knowledge and their sense of isolation. P.B. Shelley’s Alastor; or the Spirit of Solitude, compares well to Frankenstein as there are many similarities with the poet and the character of the Monster and his creator, Frankenstein; both texts portray the themes of suffering through isolation and central to both is the desire for a companion or equal other. Alastor; or the Spirit of Solitude is a touching poem which conveys well the suffering of the individual. There is an obsession within the young poet within the poem, which leads him to express the broodings of the heart in solitude. The lonely musings of the poet are ironically soothing and create a melodious tone to the poem as he learns and strives for more knowledge to quench his young mind. As P.B.Shelley describes the character in the preface to the poem, he also draws on its moral: ‘It represents a youth of  uncorrupted feelings†¦He drinks deep of the fountains of knowledge and is still insatiate†¦ His mind is awakened and thirsts for intercourse with an intelligence similar to himself†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ He yearns as a result, for his perfect companion, but his wandering to far lands fails to find him his ideal. Shelley goes on to write that in desiring the purest being in a ‘single image’ he seeks in vain for a prototype of his conception. ‘Blasted’ by his disappointment he descends to an ‘untimely grave’. Shelley stated also in his preface that the tragic flaw of the young poet is that he is ‘deluded’ and ‘duped’ and thus ‘morally dead’. Shelley suggests, therefore that the spirit is cursed because it fails to exist with other citizens of the world. The poet chooses to wander in solitude and so suffers for existing ‘without human sympathy’. It is the ‘intensity and passion for their search’ which leads them to ‘lasting misery and loneliness in the world’. The moral is epitomized in the final lines of the preface: ‘Those who love not their fellow beings live unfruitful lives and prepare for their old age a miserable grave’. It is ironic that the poem begins exclaiming ‘Earth, Ocean, Air, beloved brotherhood!’ and yet this obsession and love for creation leads him further and further away from coexisting with all these things which he admires, leading to withdrawal and suffering. The opening verse describes romantic images of nature, typical of the period in which Shelley was writing, revealing the poets love for nature: The ‘dewy morn’ and the ‘solemn midnight’ as well as the descriptions of animal and insect life, create a tranquil atmosphere. Yet these are suddenly juxtaposed by the second verse; the poet describes suffering and disturbed sleep in ‘charnels and on coffins’ and the philosophical questions of the purpose of existence that follow create a sense of foreboding. P.B.Shelley, significantly, then describes ‘the alchemist’, implying that just as the alchemist’s quests to turn base metals into gold are an impossibility, the poets quests to wander and reject society, is equally fruitless. Parallels can be made to Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley’s gothic novel, who also is like the alchemist . The poet desires a companion, just as the Monster does in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. In the poem, the longing is portrayed in the image of the  moon: ‘As oceans moon looks on the moon in heaven’ This image is significant for several reasons; the poet compares illusion and reality and therefore conveys how he pursues the dream image of the maid into the real world, but the pursuit, as the image boldly suggests, is impossible and unattainable. In addition to this, the image of the moon enhances the feelings of a vacant natural world as it seems to the poet, whose narcissist love is directed to an ideal conceived within his own mind. This can be compared to both the character of Victor Frankenstein and his creation. Just like the poet in Alastor, the Monster desires in despair for an ideal which will never become a reality. Equally, the idea of narcissism is also apparent within the character of Frankenstein. In the poem, ‘Yellow flowers forever gaze on their own drooping eyes’ This image symbolises Narcissus who saw his reflection and fell in love with it, mistaking it for a Nymph, falling into the river, and dying in pursuit of his own reflection, turning into a daffodil. In the same way, Frankenstein is solipsistic and motivated by selfish desires; for him, love is narcissistic and in his pathetic attempt to make a creation in his own image, as God did with Adam, he creates instead ‘the fallen angel’, which he fails to love and nurture. Thus the novel and the poem both represent an idealistic quest, egotistical in essence- and for Frankenstein, a quest for self glorification- which gives rise to unimaginable suffering. In his poem, Shelley compares suffering and loneliness with an eagle, ‘grasped in folds of green serpent’ burning with pain, ‘Frantic with dizzying anguish’ Shelley appropriately uses the imagery of the serpent attacking a bird, drawing in Biblical parallels to the poem, just as Mary Shelley does in her novel to place importance on the Fall of Man. This theme is essential in Frankenstein as it often provides reasons for the suffering the characters experience, as Frankenstein too gains his knowledge through a forbidden act. Despite James Reiger’s 1974 criticism of the realism of the novel, it cannot be denied that Shelley knew far more about Galvanism, science and sorcery, than her critics gave her credit for. Frankenstein’s asexual creation of a ‘new species’ is actually an evolutionary regression. His ‘solitary reproduction’ is far from God-like; it is instead the beginning of terror and torment on human lives. The r eader first learns  about Frankenstein’s ill health and general condition through Robert Walter. This is an effective narrative method revealing Shelley’s exceptional style which enhances sympathy towards Frankenstein and, more importantly, serves to create suspense. He is described as being ‘dreadfully emaciated by fatigue and suffering†¦generally melancholy and despairing’ and more significantly, ‘gnashes his teeth as if impatient of the weight of woes that oppress him’. This description also highlights that Shelley’s work has been influenced by her father, the author of Caleb Williams, William Godwin, who wrote ‘Every time the mind is invaded with anguish and gloom the frame (or physical and outward vigour) becomes disordered’ (Godwin, Political Justice, Pg 249) Walter’s description of Victor Frankenstein only creates further suspense and is heightened by Frankenstein’s answer to why he is alone and travelling in such severe conditions: â€Å"To seek one who fled from me† It is his ‘constant and deep grief’ (Walter, page 59) which instil ‘sympathy and compassion’ in both Walter and the reader. The cause to Frankenstein’s grief is then revealed to the final and only friend he will ever have, in a unique Gothic style, revealing elements of both the sensational and supernatural. What follows then is a chilling story, in which Shelley creates a brooding atmosphere or gloom and terror, mystery and suspense, revealing at first the sufferings of the creator, and then the pain and torment of the creation. Frankenstein emphasises that â€Å"No youth could have passed more happily than mine†. Shelley contrasts the description of Frankenstein’s upbringing which is both respectable and pleasant, to the ‘gloomy and narrow reflection upon self’ which Frankenstein now feels on telling his story to the lieutenant. He outlines his fascination for ‘the structure of the human frame’ (page 79) and his various advancements in his work , but what is emphasised more is his obsession with his work. When his experiment is finally complete, there is no such joy. Frankenstein describes his disappointment and disgust when the monster woke, having ‘worked hard for nearly two years, but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart’ (page 85) So sickened and repulsed by the being he has created, Victor leaves the room: ‘†¦one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped’ (page 88). Thus form the moment the Monster is created, Frankenstein rejects him. His justification for his  action is simply: ‘Oh! No mortal could support the horror of that countenance!’ It is this fatal rejection which leads to his own downfall and proves that the suffering and solitary state of the monster is a result of Frankenstein’s irresponsibility. Victor’s suffering is caused by loss of his family and lover, and ultimately himself. Walter describes him as ‘broken in spirit’ but a ‘divine wanderer’ nevertheless. Frankenstein says ‘I have suffered great and unparallel misfortunes.’ Victor is not only referring to the murders, but also to the trial of Justice who is wrongly accused of murdering the young boy, William. Victor is aware that it was in fact the Monster who committed the murder, and when Justine’s verdict is announced, Victor can only think of his own guilt: ‘The tortures of the accused could not equal mine†¦the fangs of remorse tore at my bosom’. Victor blames himself for the deaths that occur because only he is aware of his creation and that it was he who let lose the malice of the ‘fiend’. His mental state leads to his illness, and typically in a Romantic novel, Shelley proves language cannot describe the nature of experience and is therefore limited, as Victor states: ‘†¦the sense of guilt which hurried me to hell of intense tortures, such as no language can describe.’ Victor describes his own solitary state has being ‘deep, dark, death – like solitude’ and this implants bitter rage within him: ‘My abhorrence for this fiend cannot be conceived’ and so he vows to avenge the murders. The arrival of the monster reveals to the reader a different story of suffering. Shelly prepares the reader for a terrifying gothic figure, but when he finally appears before the vehement Victor, he is composed and calmly states: ‘I expected this reception†¦all men hate the wretched’. His demeanour and eloquent speeches reveal a learned individual whose rationality supersedes even Victors, furthermore, there is a tone of remorse and pain in his voice. It is certain that Victor’s creation only grows monstrous qualities through his sufferings. Victor created life and abandoned it, and the monster even states helplessly:’ No father had watched my infant days’. His creation therefore has no identity, family, society, home or companion. He recognises that he is different: ‘Who was I? What was  I? Whence did I come? What was my destination?.’ His perceptions of himself are formulated as a result of societies reactions to him. He is â₠¬Ëœhideous and gigantic’ and suffers for these reasons in solitude. He describes his initial feelings as a new creature on earth, a ‘helpless, miserable wretch; I knew and could distinguish nothing; but feelings of pain invade me on all sides, I sat down and wept.’ His experiences are harrowing and emotional, and yet astounding; the monster’s sensory experiences are like a small child that is abandoned and desperately trying to survive. His first encounter with mankind leaves him afraid ‘miserable†¦from the barbarity of man’ (130) However, his encounter with the cottage family reveal the real nature and characteristics of the Monster. He yearns to be part of a family unit and on seeing the family weep, he realises their pain is poverty. He realises that by stealing from them ‘inflicted pain on the cottagers, I abstained and satisfied myself with berries’ (141) He helps them by collecting firewood and without their knowledge tends to their crops, and his only reward is his personal satisfaction of being able to help the needed. It can be stated that at this stage, the creature is only monstrous in appearance, and his recognition of the cottagers suffering shows his astonishing empathetic qualities. His romantic descriptions of his observations of the children and the loving nature of the family, juxtapose with his solitude and his feelings of self- loathing which are epitomised in seeing his reflection in the lake: ‘I was filled with bitterest sensations of despondence and mortification.’ When the cottagers finally find him, they too react through physical violence and ultimately the monster is rejected once again only to return to his solitude and misery: ‘Of my creation and creator I was absolutely ignorant†¦ endowed with a figure hideously deformed and loathsome; I was not even of the same nature as man†¦When I looked around I saw and heard of none like me†¦a blot upon this earth which all men fled, and whom all men disowned’ (149) The monster is visibly aware of his alienation and his reflections cause him agony and sorrow. He expresses his pain through wandering, and this is a pivotal moment which captures the transition completely: ‘I gave vent to my anguish in fearful howling. I was like a wild beast.’ His distress and agony are with a world full of prejudices where he is given no chance, and thus, he projects his rage at his surroundings tearing at branches and trees, and finally ‘sank on the damp grass in the sick impotence of fear.’ It is at this moment that he realises his goodness will never be recognised; he is grotesque but has physical strength as his only tool, hence declaring ‘everlasting war ‘ on his ‘enemies’, and above all, ‘against he who had formed me’, his creator, Victor Frankenstein, the root of his suffering. The image which follows is a hellish and ghoulish scene of the monster howling into the night and burning down the cot tage he had once loved. His stream of bad fortune is just appalling and Shelley seems to be exposing the inhumanity of humanity. The significance of the three texts which the monster encounters cannot be overlooked. The first text is Goethe’s The Sorrows Of Young Werther which enables the monster to realise his own solitary state and depression. He weeps whilst Werther suffers too as an orphan and solitary walker, and adds: ‘I applied much personally and to my own feelings and condition’ (153) He compares his Werther’s desires to become part of Charlottes family to his own which were to become part of the cottage family, the De Lacey’s. Shelley’s novel also draws from her mother’s work, such as Vindication in which the influence is apparent through the monster’s actions; he is deprived of the domesticity and affections necessary for human beings. Thus through Goethe’s text, he learns of the domestic idyll. The second text is the Volume of Plutarch’s lives which depicts the history of the origins of mankind, and from the text he learns ‘high thoughts’, and goes on to state: ‘He elevated me above the wretched sphere of my own reflection [of self- pity and gloom], to admire and love the heroes of past ages’. However it is the third text, Milton’s Paradise Lost which is most striking in its parallel towards both the Monster and Victor . The monster found a correlation between his condition and stated: ‘Like Adam, I was apparently  united by no link to any other human being†¦I was wretched, helpless and alone. Many times I considered Satan as the fitter emblem of my condition’ (page-136). The monster’s central complaint is that he is alone and he requests that Victor make a companion for him: ‘I am alone, and miserable; man will not associate with me†¦ my companion must be of the same species and have the same defects’ (Page 168) Society has rejected him because he is ‘deformed and horrible’, but this suffering leads to the monster retuning to find his creator so that loneliness can only be overcome by a companion – this is a huge realisation in the monster: and more significantly, is that this suffering caused by complete solitude, is experienced by humans too. Hence the suffering felt by the monster makes him no different to man. The monster goes on to say that a companion is ‘necessary for my being’ (Pg 168) and the only cure for his malicious behaviour and misery. When Victor refuses a ‘fiendish rage animated him as he said this; his face was wrinkled into contortions too horrible for human eyes to be hold†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Pg 169) This is his reaction to someone refusing what he desires most, what has haunted him since his creation and his rage is hardly surprising when considering the suffering he has endured. ‘Every time languor and indifference creep upon us our functions fall into decay†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ This is where the monster’s argument finds its roots, for as Godwin writes in Political Justice, in order to be ‘cheerful’, we must ‘cultivate a kind and benevolent propensity†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢Godwin also expressed his views on solitary confinement and these too seem to be echoed in the text :’The soul yearns, with inexpressible longings, for the society of its like.’ The monster is hence likened to the offender in solitary confinement and pleads for a companion: ‘Who can tell the suffering of him who is condemned to uninterrupted solitude? Who can tell this that this is not, to the majority of mankind the bitterest torment that human ingenuity can inflict?’ (Pg 251) Echoing Godwin, who wrote ‘A man is of more worth than a beast’, Victor disregarding the monster’s pleas, destroys the unfinished female monster. This is the penultimate event which gives rise to relentless suffering endured by the monster . The extent of his misery is epitomised with the monster questioning Victor: ‘Shall each man find a wife for his bosom, and each beast have his mate, and I be alone? Are you to be  happy while I grovel in the intensity of my wretchedness?’ (Volume 3, chapter 2) Thus there is a disastrous outcome to Victor’s reasoning. In Mary Shelley’s Gothic novel, Frankenstein hopes to be the source of new species, but ironically, his creature evolves into a self acknowledged Satan who swears eternal revenge and war upon his creator and all the human race. The monster reflects that hell is an internal condition which is produced and increased through loneliness. Both master and creature are torn by their internal conflicts from misapplied knowledge and their sense of isolation. In P.B. Shelley’s poem, the solitary walker suffers as a result of his own actions and choice to be abandon society. He suffers for having fantasies that will never be a reality. Hence his suffering is a result of his own disillusionment. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Shelley, P.B., Alastor: Or, The Spirit Of Solitude 2. Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft , Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus,(D.L.Macdonald and Kathleen Scherf) 1999. 3. Duncan Wu, ed,. Romanticism: A Critical Reader, (Blackwell, 1995) 4. Butler, Marilyn, Romantics, Rebels and Revolutionaries: English Literature and its Background, 1760-1830,(Oxford University Press, 1981) 5. Goethe, J.W., The Sorrows of Young Werther(Penguin Books, 1985) 6. Furst, Lilian, European Romanticism, (Wayne State University Press, 1990).