Physical Security Essay

Securing networks or systems within institutions and corporations is not enough. At present, security is not only concerned with the ethereal aspect of it but also with the tangible dynamics of physical security. Although physical security seems too basic, establishing even the most sophisticated network security is useless if its physical environment does not keep it sheltered and protected. Security threats that have something to do with the physical aspect of institutions include burglary and theft. In this case, even the most established digital security system that functions within the computer networks will not be able to prevent these crimes. A breach in physical security makes the network or digital system of the institution susceptible to power interruptions that disrupts the security system, addition of hardware devices that may used to hack or spy into the system, removal of hardware devices that paralyzes the system, copying confidential data from the system through USBs, CDs, and such, logging in the system directly without authorization, etc. Stewart, 2004) The importance of high standard physical security systems and policies ensure that aforementioned situations that seek to jeopardize the position of institutions that might affect all its aspects, especially its finances, are avoided. Having a secure digital system is impressive, but having a secure digital system and physical environment is highly recommended. To uphold high quality standards of security, both the digital and physical aspects of security should be merged. Sturgeon (2004) defines this as marrying digital and physical security. Physical security involves the use of high-tech gadgets such as cameras that will be used for close monitoring, 24-hour video coverage and storage, video recording triggered by movements, wireless and mobile installments within the physical environment, etc. (Physical Security, 2008) The physical security approach is based on four principles or strategies. First, physical security follows the necessity of protecting the network or institution, detecting security threats and possible risks, responding to these threats and risks, and allowing recovery for the network or institution from damages or indemnities brought about by security breaches. This process requires setting up of security systems that will accomplish these four phases of protecting (with the use of controlled access systems that restricts involvement of the public to authorized personnel only), detecting (using surveillance systems and frequent check-up of the physical areas of institutions), responding (well-trained security officials and network protocols that carry out these responses to security threats and risks), and recovering. (Operational Security Standard on Physical Security, 2004) Second, physical security builds up on hierarchical zones that protect or safeguard access to the security system. These hierarchical zones include the public zone (areas accessible to the public), reception zone (area wherein the boundary between the public and restricted zones is determined), operations zone (areas private to personnel), security zone (areas private to only authorized personnel or visitors), and the high security zone (areas private to authorized and escorted personnel or visitors). Within these zones, technological facilities and security officials are installed and designated respectively to carry out four phases in the previous approach discussed. (Operational Security Standard on Physical Security, 2004) The third approach in physical security is controlling access to determined hierarchical zones. This approach has something to do with controlling access most especially to restricted areas. It does not only control individual access, but is also concerned with the entry of materials considered to be potentially threatening or risky to security, such as mobile phones and other technological gadgets, harmful objects such as knives, guns, and such, etc. Although institutions should consider this approach in physical security, controlling access should not limit or restrict authorized individuals too much, allowing them ease in visiting each zone within the institution. Aside from security officials designated at every zone, there should also be systems that carry out state-of-the-art security protocols, such as technologies installed within the institution that asks for PIN or access numbers, access cards, biometrics, etc. Fourth, physical security systems should be designed to increase security levels in times of emergency or security threats. (Operational Security Standard on Physical Security, 2004) These four approaches, as recommended by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat follow the requirements of a strong and efficient physical security system. The concepts supported by these four approaches suggest how physical security systems and policies should be established in order to ensure that it will serve its purpose. However, accomplishing all the requirements in establishing a physical security system and a set of policies is not enough. Institutions should make sure that these elements of security are assessed and evaluated to ensure that it is properly sustained and it is up-to-date with trends in security technologies and processes. Part of the evaluation process includes frequent training and drills for security officials, checking-in with technological innovations that improve quality of security measures and systems, and observing existing systems to determine much-needed replacements or tweaks. With all these information in mind, physical security is a vital part in institutions that should not be neglected nor taken lightly. It complements digital network security systems, such that it prevents it from being jeopardized or subjected to external control, manipulation, and possible damages that affects the operations within the institution. Establishing a solid physical security system require that all aspects of the physical environment within an institution is identified. Mapping out requires that the institution determines where security is most needed and where access is most likely to be controlled. Aside from going over the basics and technical details of physical security systems, institutions should provide time and effort to evaluate the system in order to ensure that it functions efficiently according to its purpose, and that it meets the highest requirements of quality standard physical security.

The Public Needs to Know †Revised Version Essay

Our program against domestic violence provides a safe shelter for victims and their families within our community. In order to support a broad range of issues and diverse group of victims, our program has many services available to ensure the safety of everyone involved. Staying at our shelter is usually the first step towards a normal life for a family that has a history of domestic violence. It is our goal to apply all areas of our expertise to ensure the safety and rehabilitation of every family that reaches out to us for help. Shelters have been proven to be a way out for victims who are generally in a more violent situation than victims that would use other services while still staying at their home (Itzhaky & Ben Porat, 2005). Our program is comprised of many services to provide the greatest amount of help to the victim. Though not every victim or family will need a physical shelter to stay, ensuring that we always have a safe place for victims to stay at is always our primary concern. For the duration of their stay, the victim will work closely with our professional staff to assist with fixing or finding the safest way out of the victim’s relationship. Residents of the shelter follow a plan established by our councilors that has been tailored specifically for each victim. We provide basic necessities that would be needed for day-to-day life at no charge. We can also provide a means for the victim to apply for food stamps since in most situations, the aggressor has the only form of income for a family. Our shelter has a state-of-the-art alarm system, which will give the victim a peace of mind that their aggressor will not be able to come after them under our care. Although it is not to be used as a replacement for 9-1-1, we offer a crisis line for individuals that feel the need to speak to a counselor right away. The crisis line is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Our counselors are able to give immediate advice on domestic violence situations, and can assist the victim with leaving the home or residence they are currently staying at to safely make it to our shelter. If a counselor feels that the  victim is still in immediate danger, he or she will contact emergency services for the victim to ensure that no one is harmed. Child abuse, whether direct or indirect, is another area in which we offer our services. Many times, the children affected have witnessed domestic abuse happening between their parents, and may have been victims themselves. We have counselors in our shelter that are educated and trained to help children become social, and ensure that their interaction with other children is safe for everyone. Male children that see domestic violence happen in the household are three times more likely to apply domestic violence in their own household when they are grown up (Straus , Gelles, & Steinmetz, 1980). During their stay at the shelter, we will provide transportation for the children to get to their current schools. We have an on-site clinic for all domestic violence victims to use at any time, but for severe injuries, we will refer victims to the hospital. Many cuts and bruises can be tended to within our shelter, so using our clinic does not create a financial burden for the victim since a hospital will charge for a visit. Counseling services are also offered by our program, and do not require residence within the shelter for a victim to speak with a counselor. Areas of counseling include providing advice to victims that do not want to leave their current residence, help with victim’s friends or families, and serving victims that have previously stayed at the shelter. We offer one-on-one counseling with trained professionals, and group counseling for victims that have experience similar levels of abuse. It is important for victims of domestic violence to understand that they do not necessarily need to stay in our facilities in order to receive help. Sometimes friends or family of victims will suspect that something isn’t right in their relationship, and our counselors can assist acquaintances with reaching out to the victims to ensure that the victim receives the help they need. Public education is the final, and sometimes overlooked service that we offer as a domestic violence shelter. Not all victims wish to initiate the call for help, and spreading our word that we are here to help can give them the drive they need for us to provide our services. In order to ensure we reach the most amount of people in our community, we have brochures in almost every public facility in the area. We strive to reach areas that are geographically separated from major cities, since women who are far away from shelters are more likely to  delay requesting services from domestic violence shelters (Saftlas, Wallis, Schochet, Harland, & Peek-Asa, 2011). Domestic violence shelters are very important for the victim to have, benefits of our shelter immediately affect the victim’s quality of life. After just three weeks, most victims will already feel an improvement in their situation and have a greater outlook on life (McNamara & Fields, 2000). Without our shelter, victims of domestic violence would have nowhere else in the community to turn for a long-term shelter and assistance. As long as a victim is staying at our shelter, that person is no longer in a situation where they can be harmed, emotionally or physically. Our shelter benefits the community by strengthening each victim to become an independent person, and enables each person of the community to turn around and give back to different areas by volunteering to help others. In conclusion, our shelter provides many services that would suit the needs of many victims from domestic violence. We provide housing, crisis support, help for children, basic healthcare, counseling, and public education to help as many victims as possible. The benefits of our shelter are specifically tailored to assist the victim get back on track to have a normal healthy life again. Finally, it is our goal to provide the highest level of service to each person that reaches out to us, since it could be our very own friend, family member, or colleague. References Itzhaky, H., & Ben Porat, A. (2005). Battered women in shelters: Internal resources, well-being and integration. Affilia, 20, 39-51. McNamara, J., & Fields, S. (2000). Psychological Reports. Differential functioning of outpatients and patients of a domestic violence shelter on the abuse disability questionnaire, 56, 893-894. Saftlas, A., Wallis, A., Schochet, T., Harland, K., & Peek-Asa, C. (2011). Prevalence of intimate partner violence among an abortion clinic population. American Journal of Public Health, 100(8), 1412-1415. Straus, M. A., Gelles, R. J., & Steinmetz, S. K. (1980). Behind closed doors: Violence in the American family. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/Doubleday.

Management of a Patients Needs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Management of a Patients Needs - Essay Example Each year, over 75,000 reported deaths in the UK is associated with diabetes mellitus (Type 1 and 2). Other complications associated with the condition (diabetes mellitus) include, for instance, amputation, kidney failure, and blindness. It is estimated that each year, over 6000 people in the UK who are diabetic undergo the amputation of either leg or foot. Researchers in the medical field also contend that if the current trend in the UK continues, the amputation rate will rise (McInnes, 2012). On another note, the expenditure on diabetes care by the NHS is almost reaching the  £10billion mark, which is about 10% of NHS total budget. Most of the expenses tend to cater for the management of avoidable complications. Conversely, other than direct costs, there are also indirect costs that increase the figure to approximately  £ 23.7 billion. However, among the most costly consequences of diabetes in the UK is the number of hospital admissions. It is estimated that at any one time, av eragely 15% of inpatients in the hospitals are recorded as patients with diabetes (NHS, 2012). The government acknowledges the adverse effects of diabetes on its citizens and has come up with a vision that targets the care of diabetes under the NSF (National Service Framework for Diabetes). On the other end of the spectrum, improvements in the care of diabetes are still needed due to its increased prevalence. For instance, there is the need for a multidisciplinary approach in the treatment of complications associated with diabetes such as FDUs

Hero Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Hero - Essay Example Major Stryker approaches the two individuals and offers them to join his elite group of mutants, team X. After his first mission, James is not happy of the murders committed by his team-mates and he quits his commando job and falls in love with a local teacher, Kayla Silverfox. He works as a lumberjack and changes his name to Logan. After six years, Logan is approached to rejoin team X, but he declines the offer. In attempting to convince Logan, Stryker sends Victor. To seek Logan’s attention, Victor kills Kayla, and now Logan is seeking revenge. The protagonist in this film is James Logan. In the movie X-men origins: Wolverine, the vengeful and ferocious James Logan presents himself as a tragic hero. First, he was born of noble birth; he was the second son of a rich landowner. Furthermore, he lost his family in a tragic manner. Also, Logan made a poor choice by agreeing to work with Major Stryker. He was desperate to get better than Victor so that he can avenge Kayla’s death. The modification Logan had was definitely a flaw that led to his downfall. The end of this work brought about sympathy for Logan’s condition. The literary work X-men origins: Wolverine screenplay was written by David Benioff and Skip Woods. The plot revolves around the beginning of Wolverine and his driving force of vengeance which leads him to do terrible things like altering his mutation to become stronger and indestructible via a government squad weapon agency (X-Men Origins: Wolverine Trailer). The hero is Logan also known initially as James and later on as Wolverine. The three things that Wolverine does are all driven by emotion due to the life stress that he has gone through. In the movie, Logan does three things all driven by his emotions. They include: killing Thomas Logan; joining a government commando group and after a mission quits it, seeking Victor for revenge of Kayla’s death and allows Stryker

Examination and evaluation of supplier partnerships and strategic Essay

Examination and evaluation of supplier partnerships and strategic alliances in the development and management of the supply chain - Essay Example It is also essential that barriers are removed. The factors again vary across industries. There are gaps in the literature and hence it is proposed to undertake a study to determine the variables and form a well planned supply chain to suit individual needs. In order to conduct this research, it is proposed to use the qualitative method of research employing the focus group interviews followed by a detailed case study. The participants would be selected based on their involvement in the supply chain formation process. Focus groups interviews would be better than individual interviews as it is usually a team of members that are responsible for such decisions. Besides, in a group, the members are more expressive than in individual interviews. This data would then help to study it through the case study approach which is essential to have a deeper insight. The ethical issues would be taken into account and it is expected that this research would benefit the future managers responsible i n the forming strategic alliances and partnerships in the supply chain process. Supply chain represents the sequence of process involved in the complete manufacturing and distribution cycle of any product. Globalization, increased price war, changes in technology and the ever increasing-demands of the customer has made the manufacturing companies conscious of these constant changes taking place. To survive in this competitive market strategic alliances and partnerships become inevitable. It became necessary to manage all aspects of the supply chain; they need to cut costs without compromising on quality of product or service. The objective of this paper is to explore and evaluate that strategic alliances and partnerships in the supply chain management have to be well planned to suit individual needs. While a lot of literature is available on how firms have benefited from supply chain management, knowledge is

The Case Concerning the Pellian Workers Party (PWP) Assignment

The Case Concerning the Pellian Workers Party (PWP) - Assignment Example All the members of PWP are residents of Pell and the group receives financial support from ordinary well wishers, who are Pellians. PWP’s actions are not relate with the state. As such, it is clear that the actions of PWP are not the same as armed attack as contained in the customary international law. Q2. In determining the legitimacy of NAIOS to initiate a joint self-defense against PWP as in Article 5 of NAIOS and Article 51, United Nations Charter, there must be ascertainment that the actions of PWP qualify for armed attack as provided by the two Articles. Looking the case, PWP are just insurgents whose actions are criminal in nature and the scope of their actions remains affairs internal to Pell and Aldor. Therefore, the NAIOS has no mandate to launch military revenge in group self-defense. However, NAIOS can provide Pell and Aldor with assistance to effectively deal with their internal

Understanding of Change Concepts Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Understanding of Change Concepts - Research Paper Example Understanding of Change Concepts In addition to, if the change managers in an organization are dysfunctional, this will hinder the probability of successful change. This paper explains theories that can be adopted to monitor and evaluate the change process in an organization. The Drivers of Change There has been a paradigm shift in organizational change as from a gradual to a continuous process. Continous change means that there new things happening in a never ending fashion. It is therefore imperative for firms to develop a culture that facilititates the exploitation of change as a competitive advantage. Change is driven by three aspects which include extensive globalization, technological advancements and growing customer expectations. Globalization leads to increased competitition, exposure to global economic presssure and more complicated trade policies. With regards to technological advances, companies should keep up with the changes in their respective industries and changes in the market trends. Finally, ther e has been an increase in customers’ expections owing to growing customer awareness and value for money. The Grieving Model for Change This model was brought forward by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross who asserts that change evokes emotions similar to those experienced during the grieving process. Her work of the grieving process draws numerous equivalents to change. Basicallly, the grieving process goes through five main steps which are denial, anger, bargaining, depression as well as acceptance. (Kubler-Ross & Kessler, 2007). Change managers must acknowledge that the change process may have a stressful effect on staff members. There are common cases of employee resistance and this calls for managers to prepare them suitably for the change(Kubler-Ross & Kessler, 2007). It has been noted that during the change process the employees are predisposed to concentrate too much on process characteristic s forgetting the impacts of change. Managing this requires outstanding and practiced leade rship skills. Cohen’s Concepts of Organizational Change Preparedness Risk taking is an inherent feature of leaders in the 21st century , most importantly when dealing with change. Nevertheless, leaders are highly cautioned to undertake in calculated and cautious risk taking when handling change (Cohen, 2005; Judge, 2012). Change leaders must ensure that the company has the right resources and is well prepared for the change. The leaders should so see to it that the process goes through the stipulate stages for successful completion. Judge’s Organizational Capacity for Change This model which defines the aspects of an organization’s capacity for change is based on the idea that leaders should concentrate on innovation for the future as well as be skilled at responding to issues facing companies in the contemporary world (Judge, 2012). It has been observed that although leaders have the necessary skills, they lack the necessary innovation approaches. It is imperat ive for change managers to be spontaneous and readily adjust to the change the determines success of the organization. Change leaders should be in a position to manage the eight dimensions of leadership that are important for effective change management. The first four dimensions focus on human skills while the last four focus on practices within the organization. The eight dimensions include: trustworthy leaders, cooperative followers, capable champions, systems

Proposed Healthcare Refrom Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Proposed Healthcare Refrom Act - Essay Example Increasing health insurance premiums and limitations in insurance itself keep people uninsured. The overall effect finally keep people away from early diagnosis and treatments or negligence of health and this will increase the morbidity and mortality rates which affect the living standards and the development of the country (Health Care, 2009). There is a huge difference in the health cost between the countries. Some Asian countries provide similar medical treatments with similar success rates to a cost few folds less than that of the US. Therefore it is interested to find the reason for this difference. Health cost includes not only the price of the medicines used but also the wages of the health staff and insurance company staff, there mortgages, bank charges, allowances, insurance for the building and equipments, transport cost etc. More intermediate involvement unnecessarily increases the final cost. Researchers have pointed out considerable opportunities to improve quality of the health care service while dropping the cost. Some academic medical centers in the country provide high quality service for less than half a cost and those physicians and others are provided with all the infrastructure, incentives and support needed. (Dartmouth Atlas Project, 2006) The proposed health scheme will assess the quality of the health services and inquire the discrepancy between the care providing institutions and take action to cut down unnecessary burden of health care cost. Obama’s plans will allow patients to select their preferred practitioner and most appropriate treatment plan without limiting to the choice of the insurance company. This will also empower people to quarry any doubtful condition of the insurance scheme and act upon medical malpractices and deliberate negligence and compensation. When health cost becomes low citizens are able to undergo early diagnosis and early treatments. This will

The Implementation Imperatives and Critical Success Factors of Enterprise Systems Essay Example for Free

The Implementation Imperatives and Critical Success Factors of Enterprise Systems Essay Ever since the appearance of enterprise systems (ESs) for businesses in the 1990s, the research of this promising, highly-integrating software package for business solutions has never stopped. The first objective of implementation of ESs are focused on large organizations, e. g. companies of Fortune 500, as small and medium enterprises (SME) are considered to inappropriate for lack of resources to introduce the systems. Yet with the saturation in the market almost every one of those large enterprises was equipped with ES, the target began to change to SME, as a result the corresponding research started to develop. The design of ES is aimed to upport, manage and integrate all the resources, activities, and information flows of organizations. By eliminating redundancy and constructing uniformity across all the functional areas, ES gives organizations a vision of improving efficiency and reducing costs simultaneously. The definition of an enterprise system by Piccoli is â€Å"a modular, integrated software application that spans (all) organizational functions and relies on one database at the core†. However, ES is a double-edged sword which all managers should carefully ponder before starting to utilize it. The covering scope of ES may cross a number of corporations or industries. The resulting costs and efforts for adjusting to the system before, during and after the implementation process are tremendous. Time devoted will last for years. Most importantly, the impact of the failure of ES to the company is disastrous. As Davenport (1998) illustrated, â€Å"the growing number of horror stories about failed or out-of-control projects should certainly give managers pause. † In fact, based on a survey conducted by a consulting organization of 236 companies in which 36 percent had or were in the process of implementing ES, 51 percent of those regarded ES implementation as unsuccessful. In other words, half of the companies failed in this decision. While the benefits of ES are praised by the service providers and those equipped and successful organizations, strategists should see through its glory and be aware of the underlying limitations and drawbacks. This paper gives a summary and synthesis of the present literature for implementation imperatives of enterprise systems; a discussion about critical success factors (CSF) is included. Through the present literature, a well-constructed overview for the implementation of enterprise systems will be introduced. Influence of Enterprise Systems With the advent of ESs, more and more companies began to invest their resources into the installation of ESs. However, before the determination of the investment, organizations should first notice the consequences of ES implementation, including its benefits and limitations. Benefits There have been a lot of research and literature discussing the benefits and their classification of enterprise systems (Piccoli, 2008; Leon, 2007; Shang and Seddon, 2002; Murphy and Simon, 2002; Remenyi et al. , 1993). Piccoli (2008) summarized four advantages of introducing enterprise systems, including efficiency, responsiveness, knowledge infusion and adaptability, wherein the efficiency refers to improved efficiency by saving direct and indirect cost; responsiveness is about improvement of an organization’s ability to respond to external requests; knowledge infusion refers to immediate access to state of the art and best practices in the industry which are embedded in the code of ESs; and adaptability refers to well-adjusted ability to design the best appropriate enterprise system according to different contexts of organizations. Leon (2007) stated that investment in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems can be classified into tangible and intangible benefits. The tangible ones include costs reduction of inventory and inventory carrying, manpower and material, improved sales and customer service, and efficient financial management. The intangible ones include several perspectives on reducing duplicated data entry in accounting-related systems, greater control over product and process design based on product structure database, establishment of realistic schedules accessible to and commonly shared by everyone to improve production and materials management, generating accurate manufacturing and delivery report to provide a strong cornerstone to customer service, and complementary and enhanced advantages on management information system function. Shang and Seddon (2002) listed five dimensions in an enterprise system benefits framework, which include operational, managerial, strategic, IT infrastructure, and organizational, and each of them includes several subdimensions. As to operational benefit, there are cost reduction, cycle time reduction, productivity improvement, and customer service improvement; as to managerial benefit, ES offers the benefits of better resource management, improved decision making and planning, and performance improvement; regarding strategic benefit, ES helps in business growth, business alliance, business innovation, cost leadership establishment, product differentiation, and external linkage establishment; with respect to IT infrastructure, the benefits include establishment of flexibility, IT cost reduction, and enhancement of IT infrastructure capability; and about organizational benefit, it is demonstrated in changing work patterns, facilitating organizational learning, empowerment, and common vision establishment. Murphy and Simon (2002) categorized the benefits into several frameworks through comparison: tangible vs. uantitative, temporal, external vs. internal, hierarchical, and based on organization factors and technology infrastructure standardization. In addition, by adopting Remenyi et al. ’s (1993) theory of intangibility and quantifiability into Shang and Seddon’s benefits framework of five dimensions, Murphy and Simon rated the degree of intangibility and quantifiablility for each subdimensions, and therefore provided an index of profitability to the organizations according to each subdimension. Limitations In contrast to the abovementioned, the implementation of enterprise systems may also bring inevitable risks and limitations to the organizations. Piccoli (2008) considered that the critical issues of enterprise systems are trade-off between standardization and flexibility, the limitations of best practice software, the potential for strategic clash, and the high costs and risks in the implementation process. The trade-off is whether the organization should accept the standard version of the ES by taking advantage of a faster implementation process, predictable cost, and easier transition from the original version to an updated one. With respect to the promising characteristic of best practice of ES, it is impossible to have a universal design for every organization, and the best practice in one company may become an impediment to another. For strategic clash, it is about securing a competitive advantage of the organization from the implementation of the enterprise system, which may not cover original strength of the organization, and result in a loss of superiority against competitors after the implementation. As to high costs and risks, obviously, the implementation of a large-scale system is costly and risky. It needs a lot of time and money to adopt, adapt and maintain, and a single error within the system may affect overall operation of the organization. Leon (2007) pointed three basic issues that will induce risks for the implementation of ERP systems, which are people, process and technology. The main people issues include change management, which is to properly manage transformation brought by the implementation; internal staff dequacy, which is to have employees within the company that have sufficient skills to construct the system to prevent additional cost of hiring consultants; project team, which is to find the best-fitted people in the team as well as to prevent assigning the one who is only available at that time; training, which is to ensure employees have sufficient training in order to take full advantage of the system and to prevent occurrence of error; employee re-location and re-training, which is to deal with the change of position or new skill required for employees from the ES implementation; staffing, which is to deal with the transition phase between leaving of trained employees and entering of new ones during the implementation process; top management support, which is to gain full and sufficient resources to sustain the implementation; consultants, wh ich are the ones who may bring potential failure for the company if they are not familiar with its culture and needs; discipline, which is to make sure all the people in the company from management to subordinates follow the plan; and resistance to change, which is to educate employees to adapt to the system and make them willing to use it. For process risks, the main concerns are program management, which is the lack of program management in traditional ERP since all organizations require up-to-date information integrity and availability at the right time and in the right way, even though some of this information is included in ERP scope, the rest about program management is not; business process engineering, which stands for tremendous change to almost every aspect of the organizations. If there is no appropriate and careful response to these changes, an organization will break down. Stage transition, it is the responsibility and roles transition from person to person; and benefit realization, which is failure to realize promised benefit after constructing ES if the operational phase is not planned properly. For technology risks, there is software functionality, which stands for proper selection of functionality and features of enterprise systems since equipment of unnecessary features could become an impediment and failure to the organization; technological obsolescence, which stands for selection of technology that will not easily become out-of-date; application portfolio management, which is to consider saving the rest and available resources in the organization for possible future projects; and enhancement/upgrade, which is to consider closing a vendors service or stopping support of upgrading the system before signing the contract. Markus and Tanis (2000) stated there are three major factors for not adopting enterprise system, or partial adoption or discontinuance of ES. The first one is lack of feature-function fit between firm’s demands and the packages available in the marketplace. According to the type of industry and in concern with size and scale of operations of organizations, there may not be suitable off-the-shelf software for them. The second one is a set of reasons including Company growth, strategic flexibility, and decentralized decision-making style. Those organizations which have their own unique growth rate and strategy may not be appropriate to incorporate normal enterprise systems. Additionally, the spirit of ES is to integrate the processes and centralize the decision-making of organizations, it will conflict with the style of decentralized decision-making and weaken the strength of these organizations. The third one is availability of alternatives for increasing the level of systems integration. For instance, data warehousing and re-architecting systems with middleware are alternatives for ES, both can reach an extent of integration without sacrificing as much limitations as ES has. In addition to the abovementioned factors, Markus and Tanis (2000) also pointed out other factors including cost, competitive advantage and resistance to change. From the above literature, we can find that each of them has its own emphasis on different perspectives. In terms of benefits, Piccoli (2008) listed four major advantages; he did not itemize all the related entries or functions. Instead, he stated four elementary and common results of implementing ES to synthesize all the details. Compared to Leon (2007) and Shang and Seddon (2002), although it looks shorted and simplified, Piccoli (2008) provided a clear overview for the readers to realize in first sight what effect ES will bring to the organization by four single-worded headings which are easily understandable for those who do not have professional knowledge in this field. Leon (2007) and Shang and Seddon (2002), on the other hand, provided a relatively precise classification of ES benefits. Leon (2007) categorized them based on tangibility and intangibility, that is, whether or not it is directly related to financial perspective. Nevertheless, he pointed out that intangible benefits can still be uantified in terms of cost savings. Generally, Leon (2007) stressed the perspective of cost. Shang and Seddon (2002) organized a sound framework which includes overall discussion of ES impact to the organizations from perspectives of human resources and elementary operational function to business strategy, infrastructure and vision. Even though classifications of the benefits in both of them may not be as readily interpretable as those in Piccoli (2008), they provided detailed, complete and in-depth analysis which may be useful as a reference for IT professionals. With regard to Murphy and Simon’s (2002) work, they combine two studies, Remenyi et al. s (1993) theory of intangibility and quantifiability and Shang and Seddon’s (2002) benefits framework, to create a further application for the management for evaluation and reference of profitability. In this respect, they came up with an evaluation chart for the management to examine through each subdimension and know which one plays an influential role in their organizational profitability based on marked scales of intangibility and quantifiability. In terms of limitations, Piccoli (2008) pointed out four basic points of implementing ES. He introduced a macroview impact to organization when running implementation, and a general consideration that the managers need to contemplate. Leon (2007), on the other hand, divided the risks induced by ES implementation into three categories and elaborated each of them in detail. Leon’s (2007) work analyzed the risks into three components that are an necessity to and composition of an organization. By emphasizing those risks, he gave a different point of view on where the limitations would happen. For example, in concerns of people risks, he mentioned that without top management support, the project cannot obtain sufficient resources to run ES implementation smoothly. It reversely pointed out that the implementation of the enterprise system is costly and risky. All the available resources have to be devoted accordingly. Markus and Tanis (2000), from another aspect, gave reasons for not, partial or stop adopting enterprise system. They especially indicated that even though organizations choose not to, or are unavailable to, incorporate ES, there are still some other options for them on the market by accepting certain defects and embracing benefits that traditional ES cannot have. Although each of them focused on a distinct aspect, there are still some consistencies among all the advantages and constraints of ES implementation. For example, it is good at cost savings, process integration and service improvement, yet with high risk and complexity in determination and selection, tremendous influence to organizations, and huge cost in implementation. These criteria show that the enterprise system is not an elixir to all the problems, one who does not examine its requirements carefully before deciding to take it will definitely undergo inevitable and unbearable loss and failure.

Moon Landing Exploratory Essay Essay Example for Free

Moon Landing Exploratory Essay Essay The space race, during the Cold War, all started with the launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1. Although this shiny piece of metal ball sent meaningless â€Å"beep-beep† signals back to earth, it had a profound effect on the thinking of citizens and government around the globe, especially on the United States. As tensions and pressures were building, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was created in 1958, to bring competing military space programs into one effort. Soon, they developed the rockets, built the space capsules and satellites, and hired astronauts to become space men. In addition, the United States government realized there was a new frontier to be explored: the moon. As a result, putting a man on the moon became an official governmental priority and the Apollo moon-landing program was established. In 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first humans to walk on the moon. Controversies about the moon landing began shortly after when Bill Kaysing, a moon hoax investigator, published We never went to the Moon: America’s Thirty Billion Swindle in 1974. In addition, an organization called the Flat Earth Society, was the first to accuse NASA of faking the moon landing. Soon after, more and more people, like scientists, professors or amateurs became concerned and wanted the find out the answer: if the moon landing of 1969 was a hoax or a real event. There are five general claims regarding the falsity of the lunar success, each having their own significant proponents and evidences. However, the source of all conspiracies derives from Bill Kaysing. In John Moffet’s FOX documentary: Conspiracy Theory: Did we Land on the Moon? , Bill Kaysing shows strong beliefs that the moon landing was not real due to the following reasons: â€Å"despite the clarity of deep space, the starts were missing from dark lunar skies,† â€Å"the American flag was waving even though there was no ir on the moon,† and â€Å"there was no blast crater beneath the lunar lander† (Moffet). In addition, in Phillip C. Plait’s book, Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Astrology to the Moon Landing â€Å"Hoax,† many other conspiracy theorists argue that the incredibly high temperature of the Moon should have killed the astronauts and the play of light and shadows in the surface indicates that the photos a re faked (Plait 157). These theories all state that the entire world was deceived by the NASA administration and probable the United States government for them to gain the pride and prestige between the lunar landing events. Regardless of the conspiracy theories and the evidences, 94% of the United States population believes the moon landing was a real event, according to Frank Newport’s article, â€Å"Landing a Man on the Moon: The Public’s View. † In Tony Phillip’s article, â€Å"The Great Moon Hoax,† theories are debunked with explanations. He first explains why the pictures taken from the moon did not have stars. He states: â€Å"its difficult to capture something very bright and something else very dim on the same piece of film-typical emulsions† as they â€Å"don’t have enough ‘dynamic setting’† (Phillips). Then he explains why the flags waved despite vacuumed area: â€Å"Not every waving flag needs a breeze-at least not in space. When astronauts were planting the flagpole they rotated it back and forth to better penetrate the lunar soil† (Philips). The article also provides new evidence against the conspiracy theory: the moon rock, Big Muley. In moon rocks, there are isotopes that cannot be found on Earth. â€Å"Even if scientists wanted to make something like a Moon rock by, say, bombarding an Earth rock with high energy atomic nuclei, they couldnt† (Phillips). In addition, Phillip C. Plait agrees with Tony Phillips and comes to the same conclusions. For example he states there are no stars in the picture because, â€Å"The stars are too faint to be seen in the images† (Plait 159). However, unlike Tony Phillips, Plait explains the scientific reasons in depth. He claims astronauts have survived the incredibly high temperature of the Moon due to simple date counting. He explains, â€Å"Moon spins on its axis once every 27 days †¦ [which] means †¦ two weeks of sunlight and two weeks of darkness†¦ the surface doesn’t heat up the instant the sunlight touches it†¦It takes days for the lunar surface to get to its high temperature†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Plait 166). The author of the paper believes the moon landing of 1969 really happened. The main reasons coming to this conclusion s that the lies could not be told by such huge amount of people and the theories can be all explained and understood with a little studying on physics and astronomy. If this were a hoax, more than a handful of people would have spoken up the secret. The author of this paper also believes that the photos and the films from NASA are real evidences, but have been misinterpret ed due to the lack of knowledge on astronomy and physics. This topic still remains to be debated over because the moon landing was one of the magnificent scientific developments in world history.

Rmb Appreciation On Chinas Import And Export Economics Essay

Rmb Appreciation On Chinas Import And Export Economics Essay Introduction Money is an important factor in peoples life. Similarly, the currency also plays a significant role for the countries economy , particularly for the import and export trade among the countries. The exchange rate is an important factor for economic balance adjustment in an open economy,the exchange rate policy not only can be used to adjust trade flow and trade balance,but also can be used to adjust the trade structure.Historically,the developing country normally use the depreciation currency as the competitive advangtage in the early stages of development.However, the exchange rate adjustment on the import and export trade is conditional,whether the change of exchange rate can affect trade or not which depend on rate transmission mechanism.China has been focusing on the role of the exchange since its reform and opening up,after several major exchange rate adjustments, exchange rate movements has been an important role to reverse the trade deficit and change the unfavorable situation of trade in china. In recent years,most of the countries were carrying on the exchange rate reform, adjusting the domestic currency on the foreign exchange rate, seeking some more development opportunities for the countrys economy and the import-export trade. As we know,Chinas currency-RMB plays a significant role in the worlds economy. On July 21, 2005, the Chinese government announced on the exchange rate system will be reformed, abolishes the exchange rate system which fixed on u.s. dollar, and implements the management floating exchange rate system. From October 31, 2007, the RMB changed exchange rate tagainst US dollar revalued from 8.1100 to 7.4692 at the same day which announcement of the reformation of exchange rate, until to the record low 6.7899 recently, RMB has experienced many transformations in the several years. At the same time, the RMB appreciation has also had many influences to chinese peoples normal life. For several years, people always discuss the advantages and disadvantages of exchange rate reformation, especially for the potential influence of the chinas import and export trade.,for example:textile,clothing,toys which is labor-intensive and meager profit. So far, exchange reform had been through more than two years, there was a lot of influence for each aspect of chinese economy caused by exchange reformation. This article will studies the reasons for the RMB appreciation and the development of chinas import and export trade, and discuss the influence and solution of RMB appreciation on chinas import and export trade. Chapter 1 The overview and relationship with the RMB appreciation and import and export trade The RMB appreciation,it means the Yuans exchange rate against foreign currencies has been decreased.In recent years,china has been through continuous adjustment of RMB exchange rate policy to stimulate the RMB appreciation.Meanwhile,on the whole world situation,the exchange rate of dollar against euro is also increase continuously,and other countries currency rate have also been adjusted during these years. Import and export trade is a business which different countries (and/or region)exchange different goods and services with each other.Import and export trade is the international transfer of goods and services.Import and export trade is composed by two parts of the import trade and exports trade.Import and export trade is a countrys trade method of external sales of domestic products and buy or exchange goods from and other countries.It is a necessary trade means between the different countries.The country can export the goods which have their own countries advantage,and import the goods from other countries that they do not have the production advantages,thus to achieve a equal supply and demand relationship When a countrys currency appreciate,this currencys position will be changed in the world market at same time.If one currency exchange rate has benn changed against with other countries currency, directly affects the trend of import and export trade between the two countries.then the export and import trade trends would be changed between the two countries,which making a direct change in the value of imports and exports between the two countries. When the currency appreciate,if the price of N unit commodity is N before,then the pirce is N+ or N- after the appreciation.Meanwhile, the number of import or export goods quantity is M in the past,corresponding to become M+ or M- now.It can be seen intuitively:the currency appreciation has caused the amount of currency and goods changed in a direct way during the import and export trade.As a price ratio between one currency and another currency,the influence of exchange rate appreciation or depreciation will be directly transmitted to the import and export of goods service and price,which will affect the size and growth rate of imports and exports. In general, the currency appreciation is conducive to expand import,inhibit the export;and the currency depreciation is conducive to increase exports,decrease imports. Because there are many factors can affect the volume and price on a countries import and export trade,for example,the major trade partners economic outlook,market demand and supply,financial and price situation,the national trade and investment policies(such as export tax rebates,interest rates,quota and license management, etc.)changes,and other supply or demand elasticity factors,therefore, short-term fluctuations of the exchange rates impact on exports and imports are usually not large.But if the exchange rate has changed to one direction in a long period, hen the impact on the export and import growth will be significantly demonstrated. The exchange rate are free floating in many countries.However,the most mature economies are ofter try to maintain their exchange rate stablely.If the exchange rate fluctuate too much,then it is difficult to control the costs in the transaction for importers and exporters,which is not good for import and export trade. In the past 20 years,Chinas RMB exchange rate have had a few adjustments,but has maintained stable generally,which has provided a good condition for the import and exports steady growth.In 1994,the first exchange rate reform has made RMB exchange rate back to a reasonable level.Since then,the government has implement a managed floating policy for RMB exchange rate,and floating direction is upward basically.In the middle of 1995, the RMB against the U.S. dollar has appreciated nearly 4.5 percentage, and Chinas imports and exports trade has grew rapidly during these period,exports began to appear large surplus.After the Asian financial crisis 1997,because the Chinese government promised RMB would not depreciate,the RMB has appreciated at least 15% against a basket of currencies.By the influence of financial crisis and the real exchange rate appreciation,Chinas export growth rate has decreased a lot,and trade surplus reduce at the same period.Since then,the RMB began to lock on U.S doll ar for a long term.After 2002, Chinas imports and exports began to grow again.Throughout these 20 years,we can find that whenever there was a substantial change in the exchange rate,import and export growth rate will appear a significant growth or slow down in this period.However, Chinas import and export has grew rapidly,especially in the last six years,and the growth are mainly depend on some factors such as the internal and external markets demand and supply,industrial transfer and progress, the competitiveness promotion and foreign trade policy and institutional.Some Chinese and other countries scholars have used several mathematical models to analysis the influence of RMB appreciation on Chinas import and export of,although they obtained different data results,but most think that there is a certain relevance between RMB real exchange rate fluctuations and import and export trade.When the appreciation and depreciation rate is lower than 5%,the impact of the exchange rate on expo rts and imports is not significant.But appreciation or depreciation arte of RMB is large,the effect will be large relatively.Impact range is generally 1:0.5-0.8.[1] In other words, the RMB revaluate 10 percent,export growth rate should slow down 5-8 percent by this appreciation effect,and imports growth rate should speed up 5-8 percentage points in general. According to the experience of several changes in the nominal exchange rate and real exchange in the past years in china,and consider the effects of supply and demands elasticity is very low for Chinas import and export commodities,a greater proportion of processing trade,the obvious advantage of industry concentration degree,the level of productivity and management continued to improve,the export advantage product still have much price space to negotiate and other factors,the write estimates the actual impact of RMB appreciation levels (factor) on export and import might be lower, should be in the range 1:0.3-0.4,which means if RMB appreciate every 10 percent,and export growth rate will be slow down by 3-4 percentage points by this effect,the growth rate of imports in should speed up 3-4% in general. Chapter 2 The influence of RMB Appreciation on Chinas Import and Export Growth The influence of exchange rate movements on export trade is mainly through the price adjustment mechanism conduction, but there are the many factors can effect this mechanism transmission.In china,the processing trade is always after imports raw material and machinery equipment,which produced in China again and then re-export, therefore, there is a large proportion of import raw materials in the processing trade, and this is also because the current stage of economic development caused in china.But with the upgrading of industrial structure in China and the rapid development of basic industries, the needs of raw materials in export products,components and semi-finished products will be produced by more chinese domestic manufacturers, and the adjustment of the exchange rate will also have some expansion effect on the export trade.The impact of currency appreciation on exports are: When the production of export goods are produced by their own countrys raw materials and the situation of the currency is devaluating in domestic country, the currency exchange rate appreciation would significantly increase the price of export commodities, resulting in reduced export;if the value of currency is stable in domestic country, the currency appreciation would lead to increasing the price of the foreign currency of export commodities, resulting in reduced the amount of the exports goods;but if the value of domestic currency appreciate,wthether the export price of foreign currency rise or not,and the scope size of rise are caused by both of the rate of domestic currency appreciation which make the local price of exports goods decrease, and the range of rising of foreign currency import prices as the appreciation domestic currency,.If the former is larger than the latter, then the exports will increase; if the former is equal to the latter, then there is no affect on export; if the former is lower than the latter, the amount of export good will be reduced.However,When the raw m aterials of production come from overseas, the relationship between the impact of currency appreciation on exports and the proportion of imports raw materials in export production is inversely,if the proportion is large, then the effect of reducing export caused by exchange rate appreciation will be small,vice versa. Since chinas exchange rate mechanism has reformed on 21 July 2005, the exchange rate of RMB has appreciated cumulatively 11.4% to U.S. dollar, 8.2% to the euro, 9.7% against the Japanese Yen,and appreciated 11.5% to the Hong Kong dollar until 15 November 2007. If according to the weighted average of the amount of Chinas foreign trade, then the appreciation of weighted RMB exchange rate is probably 6.1%,and the annual appreciation rate is less than 3%. So far, under the situation which RMB has not appreciated too much,there is no big fluctuation for Chinas import and export.The author has collected the quarter of import and export data form 2005 to 2007,(see table below). In 2006, Chinas total exports grew 27.2% than the previous year, and the rate of growth has dropped 1.2% against 2005; the amount of import grew 20.0%,and rate of growth increased 2.4 than previous year,respectively.From January to October in 2007,Chinas export grew 26.5%, almost the same as last year; and the imports grew 19.8% which dropped 1.1% compared to the same period last year. The main reason of recession of export speed-up against the previous two years is that the Chinese government has increased the resource tax for the part of resources export commodities, adjusted tax reimbursement for export and policy of processing trade,.as both of the Chinese domestic investment demand and the prices of resource imports products has improved, so there was a sligh t increase in the import growth rate. Quarterly growth of import and export since RMB appreciation Unit:100 million U.S. dollars Month Export Import Amount Compared to the same period last year Amount Compared to the same period last year Third Quarter 2007 2040.5 29.1 1753.1 19.6 Fourth Quarter 2007 2156.4 21.7 1821.2 22.2 First Quarter 2008 1972.7 26.6 1739.4 24.8 Second Quarter 2008 2313.5 24.1 1933.9 18.4 Third Quarter 2008 2627.5 28.8 2140.2 22.1 Fourth Quarter 2008 2780.8 29.0 2103.3 15.5 First Quarter 2009 2520.1 27.7 2056.4 18.2 Second Quarter 2009 2946.6 27.4 2285.6 18.2 Third Quarter 2009 3315.6 26.2 2583.4 20.7 Fourth Quarter 2009 3612.3 29.2 2681.7 27.5 Data source: Customs statistics According to the different countrys which do international trade with china,except the growth rate of export to Japan has been sluggish in recent years, the exports trade from China to European Union United States, Hong Kong and other staple market grows strongly,and imports trade grows steady. According to the customs statistics from January to September in 2009,the export growth rate from China to EU and ASEAN grows fast which is more than 30% in the top 5 largest trading partners, and is 10%,15% and 20% higher than to Hong Kong, the United States and Japan,respectively, In addition to strong economic growth in the EU and the ASEAN,it is also because RMB appreciated not too much against the EURO,obviously. Meanwhile,there is no big difference of imports growth rate for the countries which import production from china these years, shows that the impact for import of these countries from china is limited caused by RMB appreciation.Overall, if we can take out other factors, the influe nce of small RMB appreciation on the import and export can be ignored. From January to September 2009, the trade between China and other main countries Unit:100 million U.S. dollars National or Regional Export Growth ¼Ã‹â€ % ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° Import Growth ¼Ã‹â€ % ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° European Union 1755.2 30.8 806.2 21.7 United States 1699.9 15.8 513.7 15.1 Japan 739.8 11.1 979.6 16.3 ASEAN 674.8 31.7 790.5 21.5 Hong Kong,China 1322.2 21.6 92.3 15.6 Data source: Customs statistics According to the report from import and export enterprises,although they may feel some pressure from small appreciation of RMB, but generally the customer would consider a certain of RMB appreciation factors when they sign for the export contracts.They still concerned more about market trends and export tax rebates, and other policy changes.However,the import enterprises feel that there is not too much stimulation for imports on the small RMB appreciation,which is so small influence compared to the change of real price of imported goods. If the RMB exchange rate continued to appreciate slowly,the total impact on Chinas export and import growth will be still limited. First of all,the world economy continues to grow steadily,the investment and consumption are still hot in China,both of the domestic demand and external demand of china are quite strong which influence Chinese economy much more than the changes of RMB exchange rate; Secondly,the processing occupies nearly half proportion of Import and Export, and this part of imports and exports does not effected by the exchange rate changes; Third, enterprise and market has prepared to take the pressure from RMB appreciation;Fourth, the improve of industrial technology and labor productivity could be offset some influence on the RMB appreciation, making the export cost do not rise quickly;Fifth, China has the comprehensive competitiveness which could make the processing export industry can not be replaced easily by other countries in the short period, and making china al so has the pricing power in some kind s of the export products. Under some market pressures,if exchange rate of RMB against the U.S. dollar appreciate more than 10% in the end of 2010,and trade-weighted exchange rate increased over 15% at the same time,then there will be a significant impact on chinas exports and imports,and it will be difficult for Chinese company to export some low value-added goods or some exports products which depend on low-cost competition,but the competitiveness of imported goods would be increased.In this regard, every import and export company concern about exchange rate. According to the data(coefficient) of change of RMB exchange rate which has been calculated above, the growth rate of import may be 3% to 5% higher than in 2008 and 2009,but the growth rate of exports may be 4% to 6% lower than in 2008 and 2009.Foreign trade on GDP growth,and the pulling effect of foreign trade on GDP growth from will be under a certain influence,but this effect will be still under an affordable range.Unless the major turmoil or crisis occurs again,or there will not appear the situation which the amount of export decrease sharply like in 1998s Asian financial crisis . In the long run,through the transmission and regulation of prices,RMB appreciation will cause different influence on the growth rate of import and export, commodity structure,trade patterns and the trade-related investment in China. 2.1 The beneficial effect of of RMB appreciation on foreign trade growth Firstly,The RMB appreciation can improve the trade conditions. With the trade surplus increase rapidly, Chinas terms of trade are deteriorating in recent years. A survey report from Commerce Department shows that from 1998 to 2008 the overall terms of trade index of china has decreased by 13% as the 2003 is base period. Which terms of trade of manufacture fell by 14%, primary products decreased by 2%.The export price index and imported goods price index are 104.7 ,109.7 in 2008,respectively.Terms of trade index is 95.4% in 2008 which is lower than 98.8% in 2007.This means that the rate of Chinas export prices of import prices is falling, so china must export more goods as to exchange for the same amount of imported goods,and loss national welfare during the foreign trade.In recent years, Chinese government leads the investment in fixed assets always staying at a high level. The proportion of Imported energy and raw materials, primary products,high-tech chemical products, machinery an d transport equipment, manufactured goods increased sharply.Recent years, the unit dollar price of most of the primary products,capital,and technology-intensive products have increased a lot.From 1998 to 2008, the import price index rose by 19%, which manufactures increased by 20%, primary products increased by 16% in China. Meanwhile,the rapidl development of Chinese economy has led import demand increase fast,and caused the price of international material and technology-intensive products rise,further caused the term of trade worse. RMB appreciation will lower prices of imported goods,especially lower the price of raw materials and high-tech equipment,then companies will introduce the technology faster,improve production efficiency, carry on more product replacement and achieve products upgrade quicker than before.At the same time, because most imports will used to be re-exported,and with the improve of enterprise productivity and export product quality,it is helpful for extending the Chinese enterprises from low-end products chain to high-end chain,improving the terms of trade simultaneously. This will help chinas enterprise using world resource better and increase the national welfare.Overall,it will enhance the international competitiveness of Chinese products. Secondly,the RMB appreciation can optimize the commodity structure of foreign trade. At present, Chinas trade structure is very irrational, most of enterprises are labor-intensive and with low technology, the only port of high-tech and deep processed export products are still have some short processing and low value-added problems, and real high-tech equipment and intermediate inputs are still imported from other countries, and nearly 80% of profit not belong to the chinas re-produced enterprise.However,The RMB appreciation would reduce the cost of enterprises independent development,promote the technological upgrading indirectly,enhance their core competitiveness, thus accelerate the pace of industrial upgrading, promote export structure adjustment. Thirdly,RMB appreciation will increase the wages of worker,which will make it easier for attracting high-tech employee.under the independent innovation and technological promotion in China,the foreign entrepreneur will choose to invest high tech industry first, so that Chinas industrial structure and export commodity structure will be optimized.The next point is that the RMB appreciation will help Chinese enterprises for promoting the oversea investment.As the enterprise must use the local currency so that they can invest in other countries,so RMB appreciation reduces the cost of oversea investment significantly, and enhance the enterprises international purchasing power and foreign investment capacity, create the condition for those enterprises who wants to develop their business. Finally,RMB appreciation will make service industry and service trade develop better,then the low value-added,poor management,and low efficiency enterprise would be kicked out effectively.It also change the situation which industry (mainly the second industry) aggregate most of the resources, , thus contributing to change Chinas industrial structure to service industry easily and promote service industry develop rapidly,then make coordinated development of service trade and merchandise trade come to ture,and improve the competitiveness of whole country in the end.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2.2 The adverse effects of of RMB appreciation on foreign trade growth RMB appreciation, it means the amount of Yuan exchanged form U.S. dollar will be less and less, then for the exporter,it is the same theory that the amount of Yuan exchanged from one U.S. dollar goods is less than before because of RMB appreciation.Therefore, there will be a certaion influence on the profits of exporter. If from importers angle,the amount of Yuan to purchase one U.S. dollar goods is decreasing,so the cost of imports drop, and profits rise. However,because industry and cost structure are different,we need to distinguish the adverse impacts of RMB appreciation on different export enterprises.The growth of resource commodities, part of the staple agricultural products and low value-added manufactured exports slow down or even fall,there would be some adverse effects on the income for export agricultural farmers and part of low-skilled workers.Some large-scale complete sets of equipment needs 5-10 years from contract to delivery,and the payment time may be longer.If the RMB maintain appreciation trend in a long-term,it is difficult for enterprise to predict the long-term exchange rate,however the financial institution only provide foreign exchange hedging instrument in one year generally,so the enterprise has to undertake more exchange rate risks and avoid risks. There is a fundamental negative impact of RMB appreciation on textile export. Textile products have been the number one of Chinas exports for a long time.Until 2005, textile trade surplus is still higher than the entire foreign trade surplus.The textile industry has always been the backbone of chinas export trade,industry export dependence up to 50%.However,most of the textile exports are based on low labor cost and price advantage,the profit margins is not high. According to the calculations from Chinas first textile website, if RMB appreciate 1%, the then the amount of textile industry sales would fall 2% to 6%.From January to October 2006,the overall profit margin of Chinas textile exports is 3.9%, if the speculation was right, then 5% of appreciation of RMB,and the textile industry profit margins will drop 10% at least. Therefore, if RMB appreciate more than 10%, it will cause an obviously impact on textile industry.However, some low-tech enterprises will quit this industry under this low profit export siutation, forcing the textile companies to enhance the added value of products,construct brand concept, improve their core competitiveness.In the long run, in order to improve Chinas textile industrys competitiveness in the international market,Chinese government must catching this good opportunity of good economy development trend in china,using the large amount of international surplus,and start the structural adjustment in the textile industry. The growth of most raw material products export will be slowed.The majority of chinas raw materials export products have less competitive in price,and has strong dependence on the exchange rate.For example, paper, cotton, ferrous metal(steel, crude steel, manganese,etc.), aluminum,lignin ornament and so on.RMB appreciation will make these primary products, raw materials products exports growth to slow down,also have a negative impact on economic growth in the short-term.RMB appreciation will also reduce the amount of export of crude oil, refined oil, timber, copper, gold and other resource-based goods,then it will cause the rate of unemployment and the banks bad debts increase,and other related effect. [5] Because china do not have too much resource which normally used in high energy and high-polluting industries. The excessive export of resource products will increase intense contradictions in using coal and gas in a short time.It will increase the pressure of environment and resour ce, which is not good for the sustainable development of economy in the long-term. The electrical appliance industry will suffer lots of loss for export.Chinas electrical appliances has the Comparative advantage due to the relatively low-cost,so that China has become an important production base for the home appliances giants.Sales of appliances industry is mainly depend on the international market,and export has become a major demand source for household appliances industry.The RMB appreciation a tremendous negative impact on the electrical appliances products export,cause its low profit margins drops further. If the exchange rate of the Yuan appreciate rapidly,then the impact on export and import growth may not be so mild. First, the export growth rate may result in significant downturn,then there will be big shock not only for the resource,low price and the low value-added goods, but also for the whole export processing industry.Secon,it possible to stimulates the large quantities of goods imported, impact the chinas domestic markets and cause a certain deflation. Finally,it will be the psychological effect on people from the impact of trade.The production cost will transfer to the price on the international market,so the exchange rate appreciation will not affect too much for this kind of products profits.The appreciation of the RMB increase the international enterprises cost in china,but these enterprises have relative cost advantage in the international market,which has the minimal impact on the international traders profit. However,the normal people will think that the price of made in china has increased a lot as the appreciation of RMB,and the business people will think that they could not earn much money from china imported products,thus it will cause real adverse effects for Chinese exports. Chapter 3 The marco countermeasure of RMB Appreciation on Import and Export 3.1 The adjustment of marco financial policy about RMB appreciation Firstly,Chinese government should expand the government expenditure and promote pull effect of chinas domestic demand on economic development.In recent years,due to the investment scale on iron and steel, electrolytic aluminum, cement, real estate has grew fast,and has caused the price of upstream products and raw materials rose too high,for instance,the price of electricity, oil and transportation has became extremely high. Although the investment is better than the consume for economic growth,but in the composition of chinas domestic demand that investment must be under control.Therefore,the stimulating domestic demand policy should be focus on consumption.But the income gap between the rich people and poor people in china which make many people can not afford some consumption even they want to consume. Since that it is difficult for the common people to consume more in short run, therefore,the important task of expanding domestic demand should be taken by Government.Since a long t ime, why the Chinas consumption is always weak,not only because government consumption expenditure is not high,but also because social security system does not work very well for the consumers.Therefore,china must reform their public finance expenditure patterns,under the situation which the whole social investment is overheat,the financial expenditure should be changed from investment to consumption,and the financial expenditure should withdraw from the competitive field of investment as soon as possible,then put more financial resource on the public goods.Therefore,the writer think the public expenditure should be invested in the following key areas:First,the manufacturing industry which can support development of the economy for a long time;Second, increase the government financial expenditure on health systerm,old-age pension and social security welfare,in order to reduce the peoples long-term financial budget and saving,then they can expand their consumption;Third,the governmen t should decrease the farmers burdens and handle the problem of agriculture,farmer and rural area well. Secondly,china must adjust the consumption tax,reduce the export tax rebate rate and the trade surplus.At present,China is still in economic transition,there is still a large gap between china and other developed countries,and social security level is still very low.Meanwhile, because the economic opening time is short which is only more than 30 years,the influence of traditional culture on enterprise and consumer is still large,and the relationship between investment and consumption is quite conservative,an

Interview And Death :: essays research papers

"Everyday life seems unbelievably minuscule when faced with the prospects of death and dying." These are the words of Dr. David Avery. David is thirty years old, unmarried, a successful doctor, and has recently been confronted with the knowledge that he is suffering from a terminal form of acute leukemia. The living room in which Dr. Avery and I sit in his Monterey home is beautifully decorated with portraits of angels. On nearly every wall these images of ethereal beauty give one a sense of safety and calm. It is ironic that these ominous creatures should watch over this home which is covered in a cloud of impending death. The only dimension that leads one to believe David is the man in the photographs surrounding us, are the piercing green eyes that now look through me. He is frail, gaunt, and as he sits huddled in a blanket, I see a shadow of the man I am now engaged to marry. A once strong, handsome, and athletic man, he now weighs close to 100 pounds, his appetite having fallen victim to rigorous treatments of chemotherapy. David speaks slowly, at times obviously in great pain, a side effect from drugs which are a last ditch effort toward a miracle. He composes himself and explains, "No one can ever truly know what the feeling of death is like until they actually feel it for themselves." Generally, words such as afraid, daunting, confusion, hopelessness, and sorrow spring to mind. However, David elaborates, "the knowledge that one is in the process of dying is surreal. Everyone knows they are going to die but no one ever believes it." He tells me of the conscious realization that death is much a part of life as birth yet is totally unprepared for in our culture. If society was aware that death could consume us at any moment, we would do things much differently. We’re so consumed with materialism and status that we lose sight of the important things like family, love, and our belief in God. He explains that we have lost a sense of common courtesy, decency, and the key ingredient to a meaningful life, the development of relationships. After having gained the conscious comprehension that his life is coming to an end, it seems that David has received an element of peace with the world and acceptance of the inevitable. He clarifies, "Petty concerns and worries have been replaced with an overwhelming need to help others see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Computer Intelligence :: essays research papers fc

Can computers think independently and do they have â€Å"minds†? This question has been the topic of countless, bad movies since the 1950s as well as a number of science fiction novels. We all believe that we have minds. It is something that is taken for granted but what exactly is a mind and are humans the only to possess them? Ever since the invention of the computer, they have been a mystery, even to the smartest of scientists. With the ongoing development of artificial intelligence and high population of computer literate people, the possibility of computers with minds must be re-evaluated. The initial question that must be answered before tackling the mind/computer problem is how do you define a mind? This is something that philosophers have been trying to answer for hundreds of years, long before the invention of the computer. Renee Descartes supported the concept of ‘dualism’ which is the belief that the mind is a separate non-physical entity associated with the body during its life. On the other hand, behaviorism holds the notion that the mind does not exist but rather patterns of behavior and our pre-dispositions to such behavior. Functionalism is another school of thought that has come to light recently and draws its theory from computer technology. Functionalism believes that the mind is simply a program and the body, its hardware. With all the different theories, none of them have been able to answer the question on whether computers are similar enough to the human brain to have intelligence. The think the simplest definition for intelligence is the ability to adapt. You can tell a computer to go to a specific IP address but if IBM’s address is no longer www.ibm.com, the computer does not know how to find the new one. More specifically, it can be said that intelligence is the to take into consideration the circumstances of completing a certain task. Alan Turing, a mathematician, sought to answer the question on whether or not computers possess intelligence. The Turing Test asked people to communicate with something or someone that they could not see. The people engaged in the communication were then asked identify whether they were talking to a machine or a human. If the test subjects thought themselves to be conversing with a human when they were really engaged with a machine, then the computer was thought to have intelligence. This test is inherently flawed.

Human Services Essay

The book, â€Å"Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus† by John Gray, generally, explores the claim that men and women are different and it is this difference that makes relationships fail and/or succeed. Using an allegorical backdrop, he presented his hypothesis by narrating how men originally was from Mars, where, they value success, titles and positions and how women originally was from Venus, where they value relationships, communication and empathy. At a particular point, lives on both planets became meaningless until a Martian glimpsed a Venetian and the Venetians felt loved and cherished, thus, they fitted the gap missing in their lives and opted to live on earth. This story was carefully enhanced as each personality is explored, taking into account their background, their reactions, feelings, expectations as well as coping mechanisms. I can see how positive Gray is, in pursuing his claim, presenting the facts, examples as well as possibilities of the situation. I can also say that most of his concepts are true – that women are indeed very â€Å"emotional† and that men are very â€Å"logical†. On the other hand, this will only be applicable for couples who are willing to make a relationship work. I do not think this will work effectively in a relationship where, let’s say, the man does not understand how a woman think or where a man does not know that women are like â€Å"tides†. I think in the end, women are still going to give – that they will still be â€Å"trapped† in such situation where they have no choice but to give and obliged to understand men. In a way, I don’t like the idea that men fill in the void the women feel when they encounter their down moments. I don’t like the idea that a Venetian is in need of a Martian. Perhaps, I’m just in a rebellious state that I feel that way but I never liked the idea that a woman can’t live without a man in her life. I believe that women are able and are very capable to sustain a living. Such that if a woman is being beaten by her husband, or if a woman is being abused, or if a man validates his vices as a coping mechanism when he is in his cave, the woman has every right to fight back or even leave her husband. She shouldn’t disregard her needs as a woman just because she is waiting for her husband to come out of his cave or have his rubber band pulled back. She shouldn’t let anybody step over her boundaries just because she is naturally, understanding. In the field of human services, the information about men and women will greatly help in dealing with people. It’s hard to separately discuss how acting out, catharsis and repression is related to concepts mentioned in the book so I will be citing possible examples instead. In cases of teenage drug abuse, it is important to trace how it started, or particularly, why it did. Getting these people to talk, be it a man or a woman is never easy. For one, their current coping mechanism may be a result of continuous nurturing of repressed emotions. While time is a big element in these types of situation, using Gray’s concepts teach us to allow them space until they are ready to discuss their issues. Force rarely works in these scenarios, nor is immediate rehabilitation. For youngsters, parents’ participation in this process is very crucial as children may have repressed emotions that need attention. Parents should be educated on â€Å"how to listen† while children will have to be â€Å"advised† on how to â€Å"accept† or â€Å"communicate. † For adults, one’s behavior or treatment greatly matters. Gray’s notes on how to motivate a man or a woman, or encourage them to talk will help in these types of scenarios. In child abuse or rape cases, they say it’s far easier to assign a woman to interview the victims. This is true, because women in general, know how to empathize with the victims as well as understand the situation. Men, normally, try to put on their â€Å"Mr. Fix It Personality† to help a victim feel better – which rarely works and usually pushes the victims into their own comfort zones – choosing not to talk, instead. Gray’s notes on how to make people talk starts from the very basic – being silent and being ready at any time to accommodate the victim. In dealing with the elderly or senior citizens, it will be very different. The provider has to understand that not only does gender matter here but also the psychosocial stage a person is in. Dealing with senior citizens do not constitute a relational aspect, some may even feel insulted if you try to look at it in that perspective. Gray’s ideas in considering the person’s culture (or background) and understanding the person’s individuality (gender and personality) will help in making such relationship fruitful and successful. Health services may seem very specific and require lesser attention or relational aspect. This is true. In a manner of speaking, health provided is based on the results of a test or exam conducted/surveyed on a specific community. On the other hand, some people may refuse to accept help or decline it outright; thinking that they don’t need it or their pride has been insulted. Thus, it is important for health providers to be relational, helping people understand the benefits of the help being provided so that it can be accepted more freely. Imagine, how you can convince a tribe or group to accept vaccine if they had been practicing herbal medicine all throughout their lives? Or how you can convince a community to take advantage of vaccines when their families have opted not to take them for the longest period of time? Although, I believe this is very rare, Gray’s concepts will help a person get acquainted with his/her patients by merely taking into account how men and women vary in reacting to various factors. Knowing that Gray focused on how to make relationships work, it becomes easier to apply his concepts to something general, such as human services – where people deal with other people. Gray’s concepts may even be applied or associated to a group, for Martians did belong to one culture and Venetians belong to another, and very likely, together they share or may have built a different culture too. With this in mind, relating to others will become an everyday adventure, rather than a routinary assumption and prediction of behaviors. It will constitute facts and bases on how personalities can be so similar, yet so different.

Faust and Romanticism

In Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s tragic play Faust, we see the romantic side of the ninteenth century. In the age of romanticism we see the dominance and assertion of a more individualist society heavily based on imagination and freedom. When society became more heavily individualized poets began to take advantage of this and write plays based on individual characters like Faust. Goethe took advantage of the heavily romantic influence and spent his life righting the play Faust. The ultimate goal of Goethe’s Faust was to achieve the understanding and sympathy of all cultures which fully embodies romanticism.Even though Faust is not strictly a piece of romantic literature, Goethe’s ideas display the characteristics of genre. In the first half of the play of Faust he goes on a walk through nature with Wagner and we see the overall comfort of Faust and the natural world. Faust goes on to talk about the qualities of nature and provides spiritual and faithful reasoning which justifying him deep down wanting to participate in nature. In the speeches that Faust makes about nature we see the early nineteenth century tradition of romanticism lifted up.When Faust returns to his studies after the walk through nature we see for the first time that he is satisfied. It is when he returns to his study that we see the jubilant spirit of Faust killed by the world of rational thinking. Goethe sees a strong spiritual connection in nature because he feels there is a spiritual connection between humans and nature. Goethe believes that nature is what feeds spirituality and the individual free thinking spirit. The human soul is viewed to feed off of a connection with nature and without this connection there cannot be completeness in an individual.Goethe views the disconnect of human happiness comes from over rationalization and the need to have a scientific explanation for everything. There is no one explanation for everything and he views that in order to feel com plete and whole as a person you must return to nature to gain the qualities needed to whole. Throughout the play the reader cannot help but notice the influence of nineteenth century romantics. Goethe is looking to get across his points of romanticism through his views of nature and the thought of happiness.Faust goes through several journeys and through all of these he is looking for self-completion and satisfaction. The reader must go into reading the play with an open mind not closed off to the views of Goethe and his views of the natural. Goethe embodies his total thoughts of the natural when Gretchen receives forgiveness because of her obligation and obedience to the natural. Through all of the play Goethe is looking for the understanding of people of all views and backgrounds and fully embody the ideas of romanticism.

Corporate social responsibility Essay

Social responsibility is an ethical theory that an entity, be it an organization or individual, has an obligation to act to benefit society at large. Social responsibility is a duty every individual has to perform so as to maintain a balance between the economy and the ecosystems. Businesses can use ethical decision making to secure their businesses by making decisions that allow for government agencies to minimize their involvement with the corporation. Critics argue that Corporate social responsibility (CSR) distracts from the fundamental economic role of businesses; others argue that it is nothing more than superficial window-dressing; others argue that it is an attempt to pre-empt the role of governments as a watchdog over powerful corporations though there is no systematic evidence to support these criticisms. A significant number of studies have shown no negative influence on shareholder results from CSR but rather a slightly negative correlation with improved shareholder returns. Corporate social responsibility (CSR, also called corporate conscience, corporate citizenship, social performance, or sustainable responsible business/ Responsible Business) is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model. CSR policy functions as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby a business monitors and ensures its active compliance with the spirit of the law, ethical standards, and international norms. In some models, a firm’s implementation of CSR goes beyond compliance and engages in â€Å"actions that appear to further some social good, beyond the interests of the firm and that which is required by law. CSR is a process with the aim to embrace responsibility for the company’s actions and encourage a positive impact through its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere who may also be considered as stakeholders. FUNCTIONS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY The function of corporate social responsibility is for corporations to hold themselves accountable for the ethical, legal, societal and ecological impacts of their business practices. Corporate social responsibility practices are self-monitoring, meaning there aren’t laws requiring corporations to behave in a socially responsible manner. Rules regarding corporate responsibility practices are generally written into the corporate bylaws, mission statements and employee handbooks. Ethical Function Ethics are one of the most important aspects in corporate governance and therefore have an important function in corporate social responsibility. A company must have internal controls regarding the expected ethical behavior and consequences of unethical business practices of its top executives and employees. Behaving ethically makes the company as a whole accountable to its investors, shareholders and consumers. The ethical function of corporate social responsibility helps to prevent conflicts of interest between earning corporate profits and maintaining the integrity of the company and the goods and services it produces. Legal Function The legal function of corporate social responsibility is to encourage transparency in a company’s business practices and financial reporting. Maintaining high levels of legal business practices, such as adhering to Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, regulations promotes goodwill toward employees. Maintaining high levels of legal financial practices maintains good will among investors, stakeholders and government financial-reporting regulatory agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. Societal Function The societal function of corporate social responsibility is to respect and invest in the communities in which the company operates. Companies are aware of how the production of their products affects the local community. These companies take necessary actions to diminish the negative impacts of factors such as increased traffic, noise and pollution for the communities in which they operate. The societal function of corporate social responsibility also includes companies reinvesting in the communities in which they operate, such as donating money to local charities. Ecological Function The ecological function of corporate social responsibility is to not only respect the immediate environment in which the company operates but also to respect the company’s effect on the global environment. Companies are aware of the environmental impact the production of their products have on their local communities. In corporate social responsibility, these companies adhere to strict standards in an effort to diminish the negative impact of the environmental byproducts such as air and water pollution from the production of their products. Having such standards impacts both the local and global environments. CHARACTERISTICS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY The idea of Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, first appeared in the late 1960s in response to the need for businesses to address the effect of their pursuits on the environment and society, in addition to the interests of their shareholders. CSR attempts to portray corporations as responsible citizens who are concerned with issues of social and environmental welfare. The Public CSR argues that corporations bear responsibility for the effect they have on other sectors of society. The activities of corporations have an impact on individuals who don’t work for them and don’t buy their products, through, for example, secondary economic impacts and degradation of the natural environment. CSR acknowledges this, and attempts to make the interactions between corporations and society positive and productive. This can be done by consulting with neighbors and citizens who are affected by corporate activities and by striving for transparency in corporate pursuits so that the public knows what is going on. The Environment Increased knowledge on the part of the public about declining resources, toxic waste and global warming is compelling companies to make more efforts to be more environmentally benign. The traditional view that the natural world is merely a source of materials and an equally convenient dump for waste is being challenged from many quarters, and CSR is an attempt by corporations to respond to these concerns. The sincerity of changes being made on the part of corporations includes some serious efforts to achieve sustainability and other efforts that are essentially â€Å"greenwashing,† activities in which corporations put more effort into appearing green than into actually being green. Clients CSR challenges the traditional wisdom that the interests and needs of the clients of a corporation will be adequately protected by the market itself. Because the free market has been severely compromised by a combination of government subsidies and manipulative marketing practices, CSR attempts to remedy this situation by installing practices into corporate life that will monitor the interaction between corporations and their clients in an attempt to ensure that nobody is being exploited or cheated. Consumer protection can be enforced by the government or voluntarily pursued by companies, the latter course have clear advantages for the public relations of the company. Staff Staff and employees of corporations have a right to expect fair pay, safe working conditions and meaningful work. CSR is one aspect of a transformation in the corporate world that attempts to overcome archaic views of workers as mere means to an end on the part of shareholders. Particularly in less developed countries that are often the sites of intensive resource extraction, the treatment of labor is frequently substandard. CSR is intended to promote the rights of all workers and to ensure that corporations respect these rights and make whatever changes are required to prevent the exploitation and mistreatment of labor. FOUR TYPES OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY As large corporations begin to dominate the world economy, it raises questions about the importance of corporate social responsibility in business. A variety of types of corporate social responsibilities have emerged in public discussions, and understanding their implications is important. Environmental Responsibility People expect businesses to exhibit environmentally responsible behavior, as evidenced by a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey that found that the No. 1 issue for companies in the future, according to U. S. respondents, is carbon emissions reductions. Specific environmental issues that affect businesses include global warming, sustainable resources and pollution. Businesses are being urged by environmental groups and governments to reduce their carbon footprint, to obtain their materials from sustainable sources and to reduce their pollution. Human Rights Responsibility The 21st-century marketplace is highly global. This means that when a product is purchased in the United States, for example, it may have been produced in China, or have components from South America. The ethical issue for corporations is ensuring that human rights are respected throughout all levels of the supply chain. Major companies have received criticism for their use of sweat shops and for sourcing resources that are harvested by unfairly treated workers. This has lead to a push for the use of strict labor standards to be applied to suppliers, and a demand for fair trade products such as chocolate and coffee. Financial Responsibility Financial responsibility is an important issue in corporate social responsibility. In the wake of the accounting fraud perpetrated by Enron and Arthur Andersen and Ponzi schemes orchestrated by the likes of Bernie Madoff, businesses are questioned about the accuracy of their financial reporting by increasingly skeptical shareholders and government officials, as evidenced by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Employees are expected to act as whistle blowers in such situations, and white collar crime is seeing high-profile prosecutions like that of Martha Stewart or former Worldcom CEO Bernie Ebbers. Political Responsibility Trading with repressive regimes is a difficult issue in corporate social responsibility. Some businesses argue that working with these regimes will help to advance them and bring rights to the countries. People and governments have demanded that businesses stop trading with repressive regimes, which was most notably observed when several western governments launched an embargo against the Apartheid government in South Africa during the 1980s. Shell Oil received considerable consumer backlash during the 1990s for its complicit involvement with the Nigerian government that murdered anti-oil activists. These issues make doing business with certain governments an important consideration for corporate social responsibility. PROS & CONS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Corporate social responsibility is generally perceived as a positive business ideology in the 21st century, despite some challenges. A significant expansion of basic business ethics, CSR establishes guidelines for ethical and socially responsible behavior. It addresses how companies that want to satisfy government and societal requirements should treat key stakeholder groups, including customers, suppliers, employees and the community. Pro 1: Social Responsibility and Customer Relationships One of the foundational elements of CSR is that it causes companies to reason beyond basic ethics to consider the benefits of active involvement in communities. In his article â€Å"The 7 Principles of Business Integrity,† business strategist Robert Moment argues that 21st-century companies must prove themselves to customers to build long-term, trusting relationships. They must also get involved in the community to give back. This community connection endears your company to the local markets in which you operate. Pro 2: Motivated Employees Employees are a company’s most valued asset. This is the premise of a company’s obligation to this key stakeholder group with regard to CSR compliance. This means treating employees with respect and offering fair working conditions. It also means establishing fair hiring practices and promoting a non-discriminatory workplace. This improves morale within the workplace and encourages teamwork. Additionally, a writer on the As You Sow website stresses the importance of managing a diverse workplace so that you can benefit from a variety of backgrounds and life experiences. Con 1: Expenses The main reason any company would object to participating in CSR is the associated costs. With CSR, you pay for environmental programs, more employee training and efficient waste management programs. Proponents of CSR agree that any expenses to businesses are ultimately covered by stronger relationships with key customers. However, David Vogel indicates in his Forbes article â€Å"CSR Doesn’t Pay† that investment in CSR programs may not necessary result in measurable financial results. Con 2: Shareholder Expectations Another challenge for companies when considering CSR is the possible negative perception of shareholders. Historically, publicly-owned companies had a primary focus of maximizing shareholder value. Now, they must balance the financial expectations of company owners with the social and environmental requirements of other stakeholder groups. Some shareholders are happy to invest in companies that operate with high integrity. Others may not approve of the aforementioned expenses of operating under CSR guidelines. IMPORTANCE OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Social responsibility is so important to current and long-term business success that corporate social responsibility, CSR, has become a widely recognized business process in the early 21st century. An entrepreneur point out that CSR is an evolution of corporate ethics because it involves balancing the social expectations of all stakeholders, including shareholders, citizens, providers and customers, along with environmental responsibility. Basic Integrity Most experts and CSR analysts agree that this broad business concept is an evolution of basic business ethics and integrity. Entrepreneur and business strategist Robert Moment â€Å"The 7 Princes of Business Integrity† agree that treating stakeholders with respect and earning trust of customers through ethical business operations is the CSR foundation. Leading advocate of corporate accountability, the As You Sow Foundation, also stresses the importance of internal business controls that mandated ethics from corporate leaders and employees. Community Relations The word â€Å"social† is key to understanding how CSR goes beyond basic integrity. Moment states in one of his seven principles that as a CSR adherent, you must â€Å"remain involved in community-related issues and activities thereby demonstrating that your business is a responsible community contributor. † This community involvement and participation shows your marketplace that you are interested in more than just taking money from their pockets. In the long run, this strategy leads to a stronger public reputation and more profitable business relationships. The Environment Another reason CSR is much broader than conventional business ethics is its necessary inclusion of environmental responsibility. Once an opportunity for companies to add value and enhance their brand image, green-friendly operations are now a societal requirement with CSR. As You Sow discusses the importance of preserving the environment, optimizing efficient use of natural resources, such as renew, reuse and recycle, and reduction of waste as important to the environmental component of CSR. Companies that do not consider these initiatives draw the ire of the government, public and consumer watch groups. Bottom Line The underlying question is whether CSR operations improve a company’s bottom line performance. David Vogel argues in his 2008 Forbes article that â€Å"CSR Doesn’t Pay. † Vogel argues that operating under CSR guidelines is not likely to produce higher tangible profits for a company throughout time. Now that socially responsible behavior is expected, it goes largely unnoticed, argues Vogel. He does agree, though, that companies that ignore CSR may experience public backlash and negative business consequences. Still, many advocates of CSR believe that companies can still profit in the long run through stronger business and customer relationships. PRINCIPLES OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY The main principles involving corporate social responsibility involve economic, legal, ethical and discretionary aspects. A corporation needs to generate profits, while operating within the laws of the state. The corporation also needs to be ethical, but has the right to be discretional about the decisions it makes. Levels of corporate social responsiveness to an issue include being reactive, defensive, responsive and interactive. All terms are useful in issues management. Selecting when and how to act can make a difference in the outcome of the action taken. CSR has inspired national governments to include CSR issues into their national public policy agendas. The increased importance driven by CSR has prompted governments to promote socially and environmentally responsible corporate practices. Over the past decade governments have considered CSR as a public issue that requires national governmental involvement to address the very issues relevant to CSR. The heightened role of government in CSR has facilitated the development of numerous CSR programs and policies. Increasingly, corporations are motivated to become more socially responsible because their most important stakeholders expect them to understand and address the social and community issues that are relevant to them. Understanding what causes are important to employees is usually the first priority because of the many interrelated business benefits that can be derived from increased employee engagement (i. e. more loyalty, improved recruitment, increased retention, higher productivity, and so on). Key external stakeholders include customers, consumers, investors (particularly institutional investors), and communities in the areas where the corporation operates its facilities, regulators, academics, and the media. The debate, on whether responsibility of a business enterprise is only to its shareholders (owners) or to all stakeholders, including environment and the society at large, is an on going one and continues. In received literature â€Å"Stakeholder†, as an expression is fairly recent in origin, reportedly appearing first in an internal memorandum of the Stanford Research Institute in the year 1963. According to a definition given by Edward Freeman â€Å"A stakeholder is any group or individual who can effect, or is affected by the activities and achievements of an organization. † Friedrich Neubauer and Ada Demb in â€Å"The Legitimate Corporation† identify six groups of distinguishable stakeholders (not necessarily in this order) as follows a) Providers of funds b) Employees c) General public d) Government e) Customers and f) Suppliers An increasing number of companies are reporting publicly on their social, environmental and ethical performance, both as a communication to stakeholders, and as a management tool. However, as this practice has only become more widespread since the mid 1990s, there is as yet no standard format to address the type of information companies choose to report, or how that information is collected, analyzed and presented. At the same time, many stakeholders are becoming increasingly sophisticated in the type and quality of information they are demanding from companies. In an effort to meet these demands – as well as to strengthen the credibility of their social and environmental reports – some companies are choosing to have their reports externally verified. In doing so, companies recognize that verification by a third party can add value to the overall social and environmental reporting process by enhancing relationships with stakeholders, improving business performance and decision-making, aligning practice with organizational values, and strengthening reputation risk management. Social Responsibility Principles The Corporate Social Responsibility is based on the following principles: Legal Compliance Principle: The enterprise shall comply with and understand all applicable, local, international, written, declared, and effected laws and regulations, in accordance with fixed, specific procedures. Adherence to Customary International Laws Principle: The enterprise shall adhere to international and governmental agreements, executive regulations, declarations, covenants, decisions, and guidelines, when setting its policies and practices pertinent to Social Responsibility. Respecting Related Stakeholders lefts Principle: The enterprise shall acknowledge and accept the diversity of related stakeholders’ lefts and interests, and the diversity of the major and minor enterprises’ activities and products, among other elements, which may affect such related stakeholders. Transparency Principle: the enterprise shall clearly, accurately, and comprehensively declare its policy, decisions, and activities, including known and potential effects on environment and society. Moreover, such information shall be available to affected persons, or those who are likely to be affected materially by the enterprise. Respect for Human lefts Principle: the enterprise shall execute policies and practices which shall result in respecting existent human lefts in the Universal Declaration of Human lefts. Because CSR can influence economic, environmental and social factors in a variety of ways, there is no â€Å"one size fits all† approach. An effective CSR strategy must consider alignment with the organization’s business strategy, commercial added value, and sustainability of impact. The benefits of an effective CSR approach to an organization can include: Stronger performance and profitability Improved relations with the investment community and access to capital Enhanced employee relations and company culture Risk management and access to social opportunities Stronger relationships with communities and legal regulators CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AT RELIANCE POWER LTD Reliance Power Limited is part of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, one of India’s largest business houses. It was established to develop, construct and operate power projects in the Indian and international markets. Reliance Energy Limited, an Indian private sector power utility company and the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group promote Reliance Power. With its subsidiaries, it is developing 13 medium and large-sized power projects with a combined planned installed capacity of 33,480 MW. Reliance Natural Resources merged with Reliance Power in 2010, shortly after its initial public offering. The group operates across multiple sectors, including telecommunications, financial services, media and entertainment, infrastructure and energy. The energy sector companies include Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Power. Reliance Power has been established to develop, construct and operate power projects both in India as well as internationally. The Company on its own and through its subsidiaries has a portfolio of over 35,000 MW of power generation capacity, both in operation as well as capacity under development. The power projects are going to be diverse in terms of geographic location, fuel type, fuel source and off-take, and each project is planned to be strategically located near an available fuel supply or load centre. The company has 1,540 MW of operational power generation assets. The projects under development include seven coal-fired projects to be fueled by reserves from captive mines and supplies from India and elsewhere; two gas-fired projects; and twelve hydroelectric projects, six of them in Arunachal Pradesh, five in Himachal Pradesh and one in Uttarakhand. Reliance Power has won three of the four Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs) awarded by the Indian Government so far. These include UMPPs in Sasan( Madhya Pradesh),Krishnapatnam( Andhra Pradesh) & Tilaiya(Jharkhand). UMPPs are a significant part of the Indian government’s initiative to collaborate with power generation companies to set up 4,000 MW projects to ease the country’s power deficit situation. Besides these, Reliance Power is also developing coal bed methane (CBM) blocks to fuel gas based power generation. The company is registering projects with the Clean Development Mechanism executive board for issuance of Certified Emission Reduction (CER) certificates to augment its revenues. Reliance Power in its continuous efforts to positively impact the society, especially the areas around its sites and offices, has formulated policies for social development that are based on the following guiding principles: Adopt an approach that aims at achieving a greater balance between social development and economic development. Adopt new measures to accelerate and ensure the basic needs of all people. Work towards elimination of all barriers for the social inclusion of disadvantaged groups- such as the poor and the disabled Give unfailing attention to children for in their hands lies the country’s future. It is for their sake that health, education and environment get topmost priority in our programs and investments. In areas around its power plant sites in Sasan,Rosa,Krishnapatnam,Butibori,Chitrangi and others, Reliance Power has been actively involved in various social and environmental organizations to address the issue of sustainable development and social uplift. The Company in discharge of its responsibility as a corporate citizen actively contributes to community welfare measures and takes up several social initiatives every year. Reliance Power Ltd. has been closely working with institutions and social organizations and supporting their programs for social development, adult literacy, adoption of village, tree plantation schemes etc. HEALTH Health and safety are of universal concern across the spectrum of communities. As a company, we are not only committed to compliance with legal norms but its is our endeavour to voluntarily go beyond that and provide quality healthcare facilities in the regions around our site. We are committed to providing all possible support to create awareness on various health related issues impacting the local people. We believe in a multidimensional approach that considers the needs of the area leading to an effective plan to address all issues in consultation with the local administration, community workers and NGOs working in the area. At its various project sites, Reliance Power sites runs medical facility center, physiotherapy center, and mobile medical vans that dispenses free medicines and provide free health check-ups. Also periodically we come up with health camps like general health check up camps, gynecology camps, eye check up camps and corrective surgery camps for disabled children. EDUCATION Education is a basic tool to bring development to an area and its people. We aim to create an awareness pool of human resource both within and across our area of operations. We are committed to bridging the digital divide between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ in educational infrastructure and facilities. Exposure to technology along with a sustainable education model could be strengthened through partnership with government and quasi-government agencies. Reliance Power is involved in a surfeit of activities that have changed the lives of the people residing at the sites or the PAFs (Project Affected Families). Education is the main thrust of these activities. Major contributions made in the area include building of a DAV school at the site for the children of the PAFs and the children of the villages around the sites, free school bus facility for the students, stipend to every child who attends school (a boy child gets Rs. 250 per month while a girl child gets a stipend of Rs. 300 per month), free uniforms, study tours for children, teaching aids to the teachers, training of teachers, as well as night schools for uneducated adults etc. EMPLOYMENT Community is an integral part of the business environment and the basic commitment lies towards augmenting the overall economic and social development of local communities by discharging our social responsibilities in a sustainable manner. Reliance Power invests significantly in skill up gradation of people around the sites. The trained manpower available for construction will ensure quality and accident free working. CIDC, a Government of India initiative has been engaged and has trained about 300 project affected youths as electricians, welders, carpenters and masons and bar benders in batches of 40 each. To further encourage them we paid them, a monthly stipend of Rs. 1000 per month. In addition efforts are on to enroll the oustees in short term courses at the ITI operating in the region. Apart from these, training is also provided are: Computer coaching centre English speaking classes Personality development classes Physiotherapy training center Training by NAC (National Academy of Construction) and use them for future requirement of the construction. For the women folk of the villages, in an effort to empower them the company trains them in soft skills like tailoring and poultry farming etc. Reliance Power provides assistance to women keen on starting their own businesses. THE HUMAN TOUCH BEYOND POLICY IMPERATIVES Although the main thrust of Reliance Power’s CSR lies in providing quality education, health care and livelihood, we don’t restrict ourselves to it. In order to better lives around our areas of interest and business, we strive to provide basic amenities like electrification in the villages, augmentation and development of roads connecting the village to the main roads, old age support for senior citizens of the project affect families, development of the grazing lands for the cattle of the villagers, afforestation and veterinary camps for domestic cattle. Moral and financial support is extended during social occasions like marriages, community prayers, funerals and other such occasions.