Thursday, October 31, 2019

Sustainable management future Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sustainable management future - Assignment Example Sustainability, however, attempts to achieve all three elements simultaneously. Sustainability is increasingly becoming popular amongst consumers who are now demanding retailers to adhere to sustainable principles. Further insight reveals that the proportion of ethical consumers has risen over the years in the U.K. To this end, the proportion has risen from 36% in 2004 to 40% in 2007 (Ipsos MORI, 2007). However, a significant factor that hinders ethical purchases is that of price. Increasingly, consumers have suggested that highly sustainable products come at a price premium. Therefore, consumers prefer sustainable products, only if they are not sold at a premium price. John Lewis has incorporated sustainability into every aspect of its operations, particularly its partnerships. The company has a well developed framework for CSR and sustainability under which it operates which includes its compliance with all regulatory measures, the maintenance of a transparent governance structure, keeping all stakeholders on board as well as mitigation of risk. As far as CSR is concerned, there are three major schools of thought. John Lewis applies neither the classical Bowen nor the Friedman view solely. The Bowen’s school states that giving back to the society ought to be the aim of a business’s existence (Bowd et al., 2006). Albert Carr took this view to its extreme by stating that businesses ought to achieve profits at any cost (Bowd et al., 2006).John Lewis does not follow this view since doing so would leave little incentive for running the business; that is, â€Å"profits†. The company is certainly not a charity or a non-profit concern; it is very much a profit making entity catering to various product offerings while differentiating itself from its competitors. The other view is Friedman’s view which states that the sole purpose of businesses is to generate profits and that organizations are best run by the interests of its owners (Bowd et al., 2006). Friedman indicated that social responsibility is not the arena of businesses and is the sole domain of the government, NGOs and the individuals. John Lewis does not adhere to Friedman’s principles in isolation because it engages in extensive CSR activities; â€Å"green sourcing†, 15% reduction in carbon footprint over 10 years, ? 8.8 million donation to charities to name a few. The perspective followed by John Lewis is the CSR’s theory that has been set in stark contrast to Milton Friedman’s view that the only objective that an organization should have is maximisation of profits. This view states that CSR is best achieved by switching from a purely altruistic view of relationships with stakeholders to one where the CSR activities are tied to organizational performance (Bowd et al., 2006). This is reflected in the stringent long term targets set by John Lewis. For instance, 98% of its current energy consumption is from renewable sources (John Lewis Partnership, 2011). The company has also targeted the elimination of use of non-renewable plastics in packaging along with sustainable interiors in construction by applying

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Final - Essay Example It impacts the reserves held by banks and other institutions to lend money to corporations and households. On a larger scale, it affects the supply of reserves in the banking system, and thus the interest rates and overall growth in the economy. a) If central bank sells government bond, it takes money in exchange for the bonds. This reduces the reserves of private sector banks, and their capacity to make loans to households and corporations and thus cause money growth to decline through money multiplier mechanism. The central bank usually targets a certain level of bank reserves or a particular interest rate for these reserves. OMO allows Fed to affect the supply of reserve balances in the banking system and therefore influence short term interest rates. Given that Fed sold 1 million dollars’ worth of government securities, and that the money multiplier is 5. The reserves of banks and lending institutions to go down by $1 million, this money could have been used to give out lo ans worth $5 million (Amount X Multiplier). This is part of Fed’s tightened the monetary policy. The graph below shows how a change in the supply of money influences interest rates. The supply curve of money shows the quantity of money supplied, with all other things remaining constant. As the quantity of reserves is determined by the Fed’s monetary policy, the supply curve of money is assumed to be vertical line. ... The components of GDP include: Consumption (C) Investment (I) Government Expenditure (G) Net exports (X - M) These components are easily influenced by changes in interest rates. When interest rates are high, people do not want to borrow money through loans as it is more expensive to repay. This reduces the demand for most of the products such as cars, new houses or house renovation, large appliances, luxury goods etc. which causes the overall consumption in the economy to fall. Businesses also avoid raising money for expansion or start up through loans because the interest rates are higher. Similar is the case for government borrowing. As interest rates increase, the foreign investment will tend to rise because foreigners will get a large return on their investment. This drives up the demand for dollar and causes exchange rate to rise. As exchange rates surge, our imports will become cheaper and their demand will rise; exports will be more expensive for foreigners, so their demand wi ll fall. The graph below depicts how a change in the aggregate demand will impact price level and real GDP of the economy. The graph above shows a shift in aggregate demand curve from AD to AD’, it shows the impact on price level as prices have reduced from P to P’; the real GDP in the economy has fallen from Y to Y’. As we know that the demand for labor is a derived demand, that is, it is required only when a higher quantity of other goods is required. If the aggregate demand for goods and services in the economy goes down, a lower quantity of labor will be required to produce these goods. People who are willing and able to work will not find jobs,

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Education in the UK: Social Policy Changes

Education in the UK: Social Policy Changes The 1944 Education Act has a significant role in the British education system. According to Bochel et al (p.238), the legislation of this Act initiated free secondary education for all children and raised the school leaving age from 14 to 15. Control over education system was shared between central government and local government. It also gave local authorities the power to control education affairs whiles the central government was in charge of providing financial support. In relation to this, the Act created three secondary systems (Tripartite system) namely: the grammar school (for the academic), technical (for practical or vocational studies) and secondary modern (for less academic). Admission in to these schools were based on entrance examination called eleven- plus. One of the impacts of this policy was to establish a system that allows children from diverse background to schools most suitable for their needs and ability. The return of conservative government in 1979 alleged that change was necessary in other to raise the standard of the British education system. The change did not neutralise until 1988. Bochel,etl(2009) wrote: Thatchers government of 1980 placed at least part of the blame for Britains economic ills on trendy educators who they perceived as having emphasised equality and new teaching methods at the expense of providing a solid educational foundation for children (p.240). This means that the conservative government believe the possible way to revive the education system was to take control of the provision and policy of education from the hands of local authority and teaching professionals and centralized it to the central government. This was responded through the 1988 Education Reform Act. The key significant of this legislation was to introduce market mechanism which encourages competition among schools and parental involvement (i.e. giving parents an informed choice in terms of choosing schools for their children). GRANT MAINTAIN SCHOOLS Thatchers government initiated two tier systems in to the British education in other to promote competition among schools. This was achieved through given grant maintain status the opportunity to opt out of the control of Local Education Authority (LEA) and become independent schools through parental votes. The benefit of opting out meant that the school will be able to receive it budget directly from the central government and also have the power to manage it affairs such as pupil entry and selection process. However, schools which chose to remain under the umbrella of LEA had it budget control by local management of schools (LMS). Under the LMS control, the schools were able to manage 85% of it budget . (Alcock 2008 p.317). According to Bochel (p. 241) the aim of the conservative was establish a market strategies for the two schools (i.e. GMS and LMS) to compete for pupil numbers. To the policy makers, based resources on the number of children they could attract not only encourage them to perform well but also meant that those which perform below standard would be force to improve or face the consequence of closing down where as those that attract more pupil receive grater resources and continue to remain in operation. THE NATIONAL CURRICULUM, STANDARD TEST AND LEAGUE TABLE The second area of concern to Thatchers government was the poor basic skills of the British population especially among young children in school leaving age compare to other countries (reference this part). In response, the policy makers introduce a national curriculum and standard test for all state schools which was to be published in a league table. The content of the curriculum included maths, English and science as the core subjects in addition with other subjects like history, languages, geography and daily worship if it is a faith school. The standard test on the other hand was initiated to test childrens understanding or attainment on the curriculum on four key stages between the ages of 7, 11, 14 and 16. However, testing at key stage 4 was later polish due to children under taking GCSE. Publication of the result along side with GCSE and A- levels in league table gave parent the choice to compare schools and also to check it performance before enrolling their children. (Alcock 2008, p.318). However, the information published could be misleading because the pupils achievement might be determine by various reasons outside the control of the school. For example, a child from a high class social background might need a might receive little support from the school and still high result from test compare to a person from a low social background who gets good quality of teaching fro the school but still perform poor in test. The result therefore courage schools to select children from the high class academic families.(Hill 2009). However, it could be argue that the 1988 Education Reform Act has lead to creation of class differences and inequality in to the British education system. For instance, Brown and Lauder deem that bringing marketing in education would benefit children from high class family as they will be influence to educate their children in independent schools where as children from the minority and working class families end up LMS schools which could be classified as less successful schools (Haralambos 2000 p. 798). In addition, Gewirtz et al argue that even though the act has giving parents the autonomy to make choice, however, parents from high class families are more likely to excise this choice as compare to parents from the working class families. For example high class families are more able to move house to certain areas in other to have access to good education. They are also likely to appeal against a decision if their children are tune down of their preferred choice of school and often educate children in a primary school which has link to their preferred secondary school. Working class families on the hand might be force to choose a local school because they can not afford to move house or has no means of transportation either than public transport (Haralambos 200 p. 806). The nation curriculum on the other hand could be view as initiating inequality into the education system. For example, the study of history is about the British history or empire without considering other cultures such as the Asian or African history which might have a significant influence on the consumers. Lawton has critics that testing between the ages of 7 and 14 would label some children as either failures or achieves. Those labelled as failures could result in leaving school early or not having much interest in school which lead to affect their future prospect (Haralambos 200 p. 811) NEW LABOUR POLICY Following a successful election in May 1997, new labour came in to power with Tony Blair as the prime minister. New labour gave education policy a high priority in it agenda. According to Alcock (2003), new labour has continued the regime of conservative ideology of marketization and parental choice; however, the first major change was the school standard and framework Act 1998. the aim of the legislation was to bring social exclusion and inclusion as well to tackle child poverty in education and creating opportunity for every child to developed. The impact of the policy resulted in revising the national curriAccording to Baldock (2007), even though new labour still continue to or are in use of the nation curriculum, it has however made some significant changes which include daily hour of literacy and numeracy strategy in primary education. It has also introduced citizenship teaching and, information and communication technology. In addition, labour has reduced class size for key stage 1 and 2 to a maximum of 30. The importance of reducing class size as argue by new labour was that large class size distract pupil from learning. Funding for achievement was derived from scrapping off the Assisted Place scheme implemented by previous conservative party.( check alcock 2003 for referncing). Statistics by Adcock shows an improvement in reducing class size and also bring in literacy and numeracy hour on top of the national curriculum in primary schools. By 2007, 88% of pupils in primary education were taught in class of not more than 30 children compare to 1997 which had a percentage of 72. Moreover, the percentage of literacy achievement at key stage 2 at 2007 was 80% compare to 75% in 2002 and 54% in 1996. Numeracy on the other hand achieved at key stage 2 in 2007 was 77% compare to 72% in 2000 and 54% in 1996 (Alcock, 2008). This improvement shows a significant raise in labours policy. Education action zone, this framework was established to support schools within poor areas to improve education attainment. In order to achieve it aim, the government enter in to partnership with private business, individual schools and education authority. The intension of the partnership was to formulate new strategies of teaching in areas where social exclusion and poverty were high in order to raise standard in attainment (Blakemore 2003). Aside the action zone, the 1998 frame work act encourages the establishment of specialist school. These emphases on the promise to promote diversity and excellence in schools as cited in Alcock 2003, p . Comprehensive secondary were given power to bid and became specialist school in areas such as Arts, Business, science, language or sports as well as selecting 10% of it candidates based on aptitude. The impact of this was to create diversity which meant that schools differ from each other and offer a curriculum which best suit the needs of the student in the chosen area. By 2006 it was recorded that 80% of the secondary school in Britain had become specialist school. Adcock(2005). This percentage shows that high proportion of secondary school bid to specialise in particular area of interest. The consequence however, from opting out as noted from Thatchers government in 1988 which lead to a two ties system could also implied in specialised schools. Blakemore (2003) highlighted the fear that specialist schools can fully funded and resource where as non specialist become under resourced. Another concern to the policy makers was the failing schools. According to Blakemore (2003), the Act gave central government power to intervene when local authorities fail to provide adequate support for a school to perform well. Both the failing school and the local authority were identified by Ofsted and shamed. Moreover, the government initiated that if matters are not resolved; than the local authority is not equipped to handle matters and therefore the school management would be transfer over to private sector for management. Examples such local authorities that went into private management are Hackney and Guildford. The consequences of labours 1998 In spite of labours promise to change years of underachievement for the countrys most disadvantage schools, educational opportunity still reflects on class deference, ethnicity, and gender inequality. According to Hill(2009), the issue of gender still remain in education but on the reverse. It is no longer the female discrimination as it used to be years ago. Female According to Blakemore(2003) Hill, M. and Irving, Z. (2009) understanding social policy. 8tt edn. Oxford: Blackwell publishing Ltd.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Ramses the Great :: Ancient Egypt Egyptian History

Ramses the Great In the Egyptian pyramids of Giza, Ramses the Great ruled as the greatest pharaoh of all times. Ramses the Great, also known as Ramses II, or just Ramses, was born in 1304 B.C., and was given the name the Justice of Ray is Powerful. He had the knowledge of the kingdom, and became the focus of the court at an early age. Ramses and his father spent most of their time together, and at age ten, Ramses became heir to the thrown. He took the thrown in the year of 1292 B.C. The pharaoh lived over all other people in the kingdom. According to historians, the Nile river was the source of life to the Egyptians. The Nile river provided the Egyptian people with water, fish, and fertile soil to grow crops on. The peasant folk in Egypt lived on a diet of wheat bread, fish, and corn. Also, the death rates there were said to be very high. When Ramses became pharaoh, he got many riches. For example, Ramses had as many women as his heart desired. The women did everything for Ramses, which includes dancing for him. Ramses II was the most powerful king in all of ancient Egypt, and his Queens were his greatest supporters. Ramses had many wives, but he loved one particular wife the most of all of them. Ramses the Great was also known for his fighting. In 1275 B.C., he went into battle with about 2,000 men. It was about noon on a spring day, and Ramses II was encamped with his army near the city of Kadesh in Syria. He and his army were planning a surprise attack on the Hittites. While Ramses was waiting for his army to assemble, Hittite chariots showed up out of nowhere and attacked. Frightened, the Egyptian forces fled and left Ramses the Great to face the enemy alone. Luckily, he escaped with his life. Later, Ramses II had scenes from the battle carved on temple was all over Egypt. According to the carvings, Ramses prayed to Amon, the chief Egyptian god, to save him. He said, "My soldiers and charioteers have forsaken me, but I call and find that Amon is worth more to me than millions of foot soldiers and hundreds of thousands of chariots." After that, the carvings show that he rallied his forces and had victory over the Hittites.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Effectiveness of the Criminal Justice System in NSW

‘Evaluate the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in NSW'The NSW criminal justice system relates to all areas associated with the law and law enforcement, including those who are incarcerated, on probation, or suspected of committing a criminal offence. In evaluating the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in NSW there are three issues which can be considered; alternatives to gaol, charge negotiation and the role of the courts.These issues promote or demote the effectiveness of the NSW criminal justice system, especially when evaluated in terms of equality, accessibility, resource efficiency, and the balance of rights for victims, offenders and society. These issues are also discussed widely in the media, which presents a different perspective for many of these issues, and provides the necessary pressure required to initiate law reform on these issues. One of the most important issues in the NSW criminal justice system is the availability of alternatives in punishment, aside from incarceration. Apart from criminal infringement notices, there are many more serious alternatives to a prison sentence, including home detention. Home detention, created under the Home Detention Act 1996 (NSW), is applicable for certain offenders, who have committed non-violent crimes and have been sentenced to less than 18 months imprisonment. Home detention is likely to be controversial for more serious offences such as murder or sexual assault, as there is possible high risk of reoffending. Community service orders are also available as a means of shaming and punishing offenders, while facilitating rehabilitation by requiring a period of amending their wrongs towards the community. Diversionary programs are used to divert certain offenders from reoffending, through rehabilitation. Over 150 offenders a year complete The Drug Courts diversionary program. According to the NSW Crime Bureau analysis of the effectiveness of the Drug court, they found that; 37% of criminals were less likely to be reconvicted for any offence, 65% were less likely to be reconvicted for offences against the person and 57% were less likely to be reconvicted for a drug offence. The use of these alternatives are effective in terms of the aforementioned criteria as it provides a sense of equality between different members of society tried for the same crimes, as they each have the capacity to be given the same diversionary program, as long as they satisfy the necessary criteria. The diversionary programs are very resource efficient as they typically cost less per day than the $205 necessary for the average prison inmate. It also provides a balance of rights for the victims and the offenders, as well as society as they are all benefiting from these programs. Charge negotiation, including plea bargaining, is where charges are either dropped, or reduced in return for an early guilty plea, as set out in the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999. There are many issues associated with charge negotiation, as shown through ‘True Plea on Justice', a Daily Telegraph article published on October 11th 2010, which details the plight of victims of crime, who are not told of the charge negotiation taking place, until they attend the trial. Under new guidelines from the state government, prosecutors must now complete a certificate detailing the consultation with victims and their families. This reform of current guidelines shows the inadequacies when regarding the balance of rights for victims, although this issues is being rectified. Charge negotiation is also effective when assessed for resource efficiency, as the cost of a sometimes lengthy trial is avoided. The role of the courts is imperative to having an effective legal system. The role of the courts is to ensure a fair trial ensues. Equality within the court system is a major concept, and is exemplified through the necessary impartiality of magistrates, judges and juries. Once again to ensure equity judges and magistrates are bound to follow precedent, or follow sentencing guidelines according to the Criminal Procedure Amendment (Sentencing Guidelines) Act 1998. Many of the crimes prosecuted are outlined in the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), which is accessible to all members of the public, under the rule of law. The courts attempt to use resources efficiently by using juries in all matters bar summary offences, and by requiring ‘leave to seek appeal' when appealing to the Supreme Court to ensure that court resources are not tied up in unsubstantiated appeals. The courts also provide a balance for victims, offenders and society, by providing necessary sentences the magistrate or judge feels is necessary to reflect the standards of society, ensure a fair outcome for victims and also to not be excessive to offenders. The criminal justice system in NSW is effective in the sense that it provides an equal, accessible and resource efficient system in which justice is achieved. It also provides an impartial field for offenders to be tried, and as such come to outcomes that benefit the victim and society as a whole. There have been recent developments to ensure this balance remains, as is the case of victims regarding charge negotiation, showing the development and thus effectiveness of the criminal justice system in reflecting societies beliefs and values.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Gender Barriers in Communication Essay

Managers today have to face unique challenges while trying to manage a very diverse work force, and keeping communication lines clear and understood is one of these challenges. Remember that for any business, effective communication is an integral key to the success of any organization. No matter which way you look at it, communication flow is important at each and every level in order to function with focus, deliberate and accurate objectives, and controlled consistent results. Effective communication ensures that the communication contents are interpreted and understood in the way that it was intended to. Unfortunately there are barriers that have a negative effect on communication, and one of those barriers is called Gender Barriers in Communication. You are probably wondering just how do Gender Barriers affect Communication, and how did this Barrier develop? Well let’s find out. â€Å"D.E. McFarland has defined Communications as the process of meaningful interaction among human beings†(Jain, n.d., para. 1). We as humans are dependent on Communication in our everyday lives. To be honest, â€Å"the whole world is reliant on communication to complete even the most basic daily functions† (Braedyn, 2010, para. 2). It is the process by which we humans convey our thoughts and ideas verbally, with hope of being perceived and understood in the way the sender meant for it to be understood. With so many methods of communication in our modern day life, we are bombarded with Email, Facebook, Voicemail, memo’s, and phone calls. All of which are forms of communication. Why even the act of rolling your eyes and shrugging fall in as a form of communication. But even with all these forms available at our disposal, miscommunication occurs. â€Å"Gender Barriers are any misunderstanding or confusion in the intended message caused by male and female differences, which results as a communication barrier† (Braedyn, 2010, para. 4). Communication must be understood by both men and women in order to be effective, and in order to fully understand these differences we need to see just how they began. Gender communication differences begin in early childhood, as soon as a child is pegged as either female or male. Gender starts with the assignment to a sex category on the final basis of what the infants genitalia looks like. This sex category becomes the main defining factor as to how this child will be dressed, named, and spoken to. â€Å"The development of a gendered identity starts from the very moment babies are identified as male or female as they experience societal, familial, and cultural interactions† Both males and females are taught different linguistic styles. For instance our childhood is influenced by nursery rhymes that give subtle instruction on how different genders are and should be perceived. â€Å"Snips and snails and puppy dog tails, that’s what little boys are made of. Sugar and spice and everything nice, that’s what little girls are made† (Rafael, n.d., para. 2). These subtle instructions set the stage, and are just the beginning fo r future gender differences. Zittleman states that â€Å"Gender stereotypes have a history that begins with learned beliefs of femininity and masculinity† (Zittleman, 2006). Learned beliefs that allow for reinforcing different behavioral types on our children. For example boys are allowed to have rough language, play loudly, and be rambunctious. They are also taught that it is not seen as being manly if you show emotion by crying, this behavior is reinforced by telling them to be tough and suck it up. Girls on the other hand are taught early on to behave like a lady and to use their manners. They are also told to play quietly, and that it is okay to show your feelings and cry. Crying is allowed on the feminine side. These gender differences have helped to create behaviors and patterns. Men usually are factual, direct, and honest, which explains why they only speak about 7000 words a day. Their communication behaviors that men display usually revolve around competition, rank, power, logic, and reason. Men build relationships as projects are being worked on, and they process information internally when working on making decisions. Female’s method of communication differs largely from that of males. Women are raised to be of the nurturing persuasion, indirect, and very respectful. They have a bad habit of apologizing excessively, and their style is more of a rapport type of talk, whereas males have a more report type style. Women build relationships in order to accomplish specific projects, they are comfortable in communicating about their feelings, relationships, and personal subjects like their feelings and emotions. No wonder women speak on average about 25000 words a day. Another difference in how men and women communicate is how the information they are receiving is being processed. The female and male brain process information very differently. Men process information on their left side of the brain, whereas women use both left and right hemispheres; men process analytically, and women process abstractly. Now that we fully understand the reasons and the differences behind Gender Communication Barriers, what can we do to bridge the differences and proactively improve communication in everyday life? â€Å"Men and women would need to make themselves fully aware of each other’s different communication styles, and be open in trying to break any biases or stereotypes† (Lieberman, n.d., para. 3). In conclusion, even though men and women process information and communicate differently, by working together and understanding each other’s differences they can begin to bridge the gap. Businesses stand to benefit â€Å"by committing to develop a firm culture that recognizes, embraces, and leverages individual differences, you will experience greater productivity, increased morale, higher recruiting and retention rates, and improved financial performance† (American Instritute of CPA’s, 2012, para. 3). References American Instritute of CPA’s. (2012). www.cpa2biz.com Braedyn, A. M. (2010, February 1). Improve Communication Skills. Suite 101. Retrieved from http://suite101.com/article/improve-communication-skills-a196668 Jain, R. (n.d.). The Barriers to Effectivce Communication. Ezine Articles. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Barriers-to-Effective-Communication&id=1210011 Lieberman, S. (n.d.). Gender Communication Differences and Strategies . Retrieved from http://www.simmalieberman.com/articles/genderstrategies.html Rafael, J. K. (n.d.). Why Don’t You Understand? Gender Communication Differences. Hub Pages. Retrieved from http://jillkrapfl.hubpages.com/hub/Why-Dont-You-Understand-Gender-Communication-Differences Zittleman, Karen. (2006). â€Å"Being a Girl and Being a Boy: The Voice of Middle Schoolers.†