Companies In Controversial Industries Management Essay

Companies In Controversial Industries Management Essay Is it possible for companies in controversial industries to be socially responsible if their products are detrimental to human beings and the environment. Many claim it is impossible for them to be socially responsible because their CSR will always be an inherent contradiction since their business goal is at odds with the aims of public health policies. However as these companies already have a bad reputation, they have no need to be associated with doing good in order to boost sales. Hence when they engage in CSR, it could mean that they are genuine CSR practitioners. This paper examines CSR of firms in alcohol, tobacco and gambling industries and determines whether they can be socially responsible through their CSR implementation by using Porter and Kramers concept of shared value. However while assessing any motives companies may have to determine whether they are genuinely interested in CSR, it may be presumptuous or even unjust to these companies to assume their motives based on the consequences of their actions. Also, the approach used to determine whether the companies have been socially responsible may be too narrow. Nonetheless, companies need not have the best intentions for the society to be socially responsible. Introduction At the mention of controversial industries such as alcohol and tobacco industries, some may be quick to conclude that these industries cannot be socially responsible since they are producing goods that are detrimental to human beings and the environment. Even when firms in these industries practice Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), some may still find it difficult to start regarding them as being socially responsible. The motive behind these companies for practicing CSR is also often disputed over. As these firms already have a bad reputation, they need not be associated with doing good for consumers to demand for their products, unlike inherently good companies. When these firms practice CSR, does it then mean that they genuinely have the societys welfare at heart? Or could they be doing CSR as a way of obscuring their questionable business and gaining social acceptance? Keeping these arguments in mind, we will now look at specific firms in alcohol, tobacco and gambling industries and their CSR practices in particular to evaluate the possible incentives behind their CSR initiatives as well as to determine whether they can be socially responsible through their CSR implementation. In consideration of the controversies of CSR, in particular, the view that CSR should be conducted in such as a way that it benefits both the society and the owners of the firm, rather than only one side of the parties, we will be using Porter and Kramers concept of shared value to decide whether a company is socially responsible. This requires firms to adopt CSR practices that concurrently benefit the society and the owners of the firm, by addressing societal weaknesses or harms while improving the financial performance of the firm, to be socially responsible. Alcohol Alcohol is an important risk factor for disease. It has implications in birth defects, cases of assault and family violence, alcoholism-related abuse, traffic accidents, reduced workplace productivity and lower life expectancy (Collins Lapsley, 2008; WHO, 2011). Consumption of alcohol is estimated to cost the American society a staggering $223.5 billion/year in health care, road-related accidents, reduced workplace productivity, violence and crime in 2007 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). In comparison, federal alcohol tax revenue only amounted to $9.3 billion/year in 2007 (Congressional Budget Office). Case Study Take Diageo for instance. It is the worlds largest producer of spirits and an influential producer of beer and wine. It has 59 brands including Johnnie Walker and Guinness, two of the best-known brands of alcohol, under its portfolio. It generates $25 billion in sales revenue yearly. Diageo uses public awareness campaigns as part of its CSR initiative. It creates advertisements that educate drinking responsibly, including those aimed at discouraging excessive drinking, drink driving as well as underage drinking. However, these may have been the companys subtle attempts at bypassing regulations to advertise its alcoholic beverages to consumers. In Diageos the choice is yours campaign in 2008, it has also conveyed the message that overdrinking would inevitably lead to social disapproval, such as the embarrassing consequences of being thrown out of clubs. However, the University of Bath has found that such incidents are actually perceived as fun by youths (EUCAM, 2009), putting the intended effect of the campaign into question. Furthermore, the website of the campaign highlights the logos of Diageo drinks, casting doubts on whether it may have been aimed at advertising the companys alcoholic beverages to the consumers. The company also has campaigns that are aimed at reaching out to minors in schools. By claiming that they are contributing solutions to alcohol-related problems, the company is able to reach out to a target audience that they would otherwise not be able to reach due to alcohol marketing regulations. By using CSR as marketing gimmicks to make greater profits, the company has failed to manifest itself as a genuine CSR practitioner who does not have the societys best interests at heart when carrying out CSR practices. However, Diageo is making improvements to its corporate governance and has created a multi-prong strategy to take care of the interests of all its stakeholders. This year, it has reduced 9.4% of carbon emission in spite of its increased production and has increased water efficiency by 20% in Uganda through its implementation of better water recovery systems. In addition, it has organized internal DRINKiQ workshops to educate employees on responsible drinking. It also conducts independent audits on its suppliers with issues relating to health, safety and hygiene, working hours and wages. It also provides a confidential whistleblowing service, SpeakUp, to allow anyone who has come across a breach of its Code to report it. This ensures that Diageos Code of Conduct is strictly adhered to. Looking at the various Diageos CSR initiatives and going back to Porter and Kramers concept of shared value, Diageo would be considered a socially responsible company. Through its public awareness campaigns that concurrently discourage excessive drinking and advertise its brand of alcoholic beverages, the company is able to reduce the societal harm of its products and improve the profitability of the firm at the same time, although the effectiveness and the intended effect of the campaigns may be questionable. The implementation of better water recovery systems could also help the company save cost. These show that Diageo is a socially responsible company. Tobacco The health effects of tobacco have long been known. Smoking in particular is a major risk factor for heart attacks, strokes, chronic obstructive pulmonary heart disease, hypertension, peripheral vascular disease and cancer. Each year, 6 million deaths are caused by the inhalation of tobacco smoke. The irony becomes salient when tobacco becomes the single greatest cause of preventable death globally. With products deemed universally harmful allowed for sale, can tobacco companies be socially responsible? Case Study Altria Group Inc. is one of the largest tobacco companies in the world. It is a pioneer of the tobacco corporate responsibility movement in the late 1990s. Recently, it has come out tops in social responsibility rankings, placing 15th on CR Magazines 100 best corporate citizens list and 4th in Fortune magazine. Altria has implemented a comprehensive corporate responsibility program targeting nine specific issues: tobacco product management, marketing practices, combating illegal trade, environmental management, sustainable agriculture, supply chain responsibility, employees, investing in companies and governance and compliance. Despite the multi-faceted approach, its CSR practices have been a subject of constant criticism, with critics questioning their motivations behind the acts of responsibility. Most argument centers on tobacco product management and marketing practices. Over the years, Altria has sought to manage its tobacco product issues and marketing practices as ethically as possible. They voluntarily communicate health effects with transparency, including health warnings on all its packages and websites. They undertake research and development in developing products with lower risks and also actively partner and collaborate with governments in support of cessation. In marketing practices, they voluntarily limit their reach of marketing to unintended audiences. Based on their actions, we can see the moral duty that Altria has undertaken as a company. Critics however argue against the motivation of their CSR, likening it to the washing of blood money. Some even argue that it is used as a sword and shield against product issues (Friedman, 2009). Yet it can also be seen as an atonement of sin. The term blood money seems to convey a form of coercion or illegal means to gain, yet from how Altria practices its CSR, we can clearly see their admittance to liability, transparency and the absence of coercion. Ironically, Altria has been embarking on initiatives to discourage people from smoking, which is counterintuitive of a profit-oriented business model. This seems to highlight the effort Altria has undertaken as a moral duty to doing right what it has done wrong, clearly fulfilling Kantian and even virtue ethics, and is a display of an ethical practice of social responsibility. Critics also argue that CSR allows tobacco companies to improve their image, leveraging CSR to add value to the otherwise evil company, thereby concluding that such a motivation may be of a selfish cause. However, unlike other corporations with the freedom of liberal marketing practices, tobacco companies including Altria undergo some of the strictest regulations on advertising and marketing. In fact, the company is creating advertisements that devalue its products, essentially decreasing the companys value further. There seems to be no tangible benefit for their bottom line with the implementation of CSR; instead, a greater amount of losses are being incurred. This thus further support the ethical motivation behind their CSR practices, as not much value can be leveraged off CSR for the benefit of the companys overall bottom-line. It is evident that a tobacco companys CSR does fulfill Porter and Kramers concept of shared value for both the company and society. However, it is more of a transactional value rather than a transformational one (Palazzo Richter, 2005), after all if tobacco companies really want to change society, the greatest impact will come from its voluntary demise. Therefore, it is justified for tobacco companies to do CSR, but it will never be able to transform or make good itself. Casino Casinos, like tobacco and alcohol, have contributed to a range of social and economic harms to the society (Hancock, Schellinck Schrans, 2008), with the most apparent social impact being the increase in problem gambling. It has been estimated that 1.2% of U.S. adults are pathological gamblers and another 1.5% are problem gamblers at some point of their lives, with the likelihood doubling for people living within 50 miles of a casino (Community Research Partners, 2010). Problem gambling impacts peoples lives in many negative and consequential ways; this includes unemployment, poor physical and mental health, risked social relationships as well as increased crimes (Community Research Partners, 2010). Large sums of social costs, including those spent on bankruptcies, imprisonments and divorces; have to be spent every year as a result of these impacts. Case Study Caesars Entertainment Corporation is the largest gaming company in the world with $8.83 billion in revenue in 2011. The company has carried out CSR extensively. It launched its comprehensive sustainability program, the CodeGreen, in 2004 and has displayed a strong commitment to achieving a broad set of sustainability goals for carbon emissions reduction, energy conservation, water consumption as well as waste recycling. Harrahs Lake Tahoe Casino and Harveys Lake Tahoe Casino, two of the companys casinos, have received the prestigious Gold Certification from Travelife, a certification body that recognizes companies within the tourism industry that adopt sustainable practices. Only four U.S.-based hotels out of 400 worldwide are Gold Certified in 2013 and three of them are Caesars properties (Stevens, 2013). Besides their commitment to responsible stewardship of the environment, the company also has codes of commitment to treat all their employees with respect and to provide them with good career opportunities, to promote responsible gaming as well as to help make all their communities healthy and vibrant places to live and work. To foster responsible gaming, the company only allows adults to visit their casinos, trains their employees on how to offer help to customers who may need it and provides toll-free helpline numbers for problem gambling. They have also adopted a policy to donate part of the company profits to community and charitable causes (Caesars Entertainment). As casinos fundamentally offer products that have adverse social and economic consequences, it may be unnecessary or even irrelevant for the company to conduct CSR to appear altruistic to the public. This may therefore imply that any CSR efforts from such companies could only be genuine. However, companies nowadays are increasingly expected to embrace wider responsibilities and roles and adhere to greater ethical, legal and responsible standards. Companies that fail to do so are found to receive weakened public support and less positive views from the media (Yani-de-Soriano, Javed Yousafzai, 2012). Therefore, it remains unclear as to whether Caesars Entertainment Corporation is a genuine CSR practitioner, or that they have conducted CSR to gain social acceptance. Caesars Entertainments CodeGreen sustainability program is a great example of creating a shared value through CSR. Through committing to responsible stewardship of the environment, the company strives to conserve energy, save water and recycle waste. These are environmental-friendly practices that also bring about cost-savings for the company. While not all the companys CSR initiatives, such as those targeted at promoting responsible gaming, directly bring about economic benefits to the stockholders of the company, they can help to gain social acceptance of the public, increasing sales and thereby giving rise to indirect economic benefits. Since Caesars Entertainments CSR practices create shared value for both the society and the owners of the firm according to the Porter and Kramers model, it is a socially responsible company. Limitations In evaluating the respective companies on whether they are genuine practitioners of CSR given that there do not seem to be a need for them to appear socially responsible, we have looked at how conducting CSR could benefit them to assess the motives that they might have in executing their CSR initiatives. However, it may be presumptuous or even unjust to these companies to assume their motives based on the consequences of their actions. The companies may indeed have been genuine practitioners of CSR, even if their CSR initiatives turn out to benefit the company as well. The approach that has been used to establish whether the specific companies have been socially responsible may also have been too narrow. In applying Porter and Kramers concept of shared value, our criteria for determining whether the companies are socially responsible only lies on whether the companys CSR initiatives benefit both the stockholders and the other stakeholders of the firm; however, we did not apply the model to take into account the inherent nature of the company that their products are detrimental to the society in determining whether they are socially responsible. As a result, all the three firms examined can easily be classified as being socially responsible. On the other hand, to take into consideration the inherent nature of the company, which could only create value for the owners of the firms at best, would mean that these companies could never be socially responsible so long as they continue to operate, according to Porter and Kramers model of shared value. Conclusion Corporate social responsibility is a complex and contentious subject that many businesses have to address and commit their resources to implement. When companies whose products are detrimental to the society practice CSR, their motives are often questioned and their ability to be socially responsible may still be contested. However, as have been discussed and elaborated on above, companies do not need to have the best intentions for the society to be socially responsible. In fact, companies who are not genuine practitioners of CSR, but have both the firm and the society at heart when practicing CSR are the ones who are the most socially responsible. Finally, we conclude that companies whose products are detrimental to the society can be socially responsible companies.

Philosophy And Modernity Essay

The conflict between Philosophy and Modernity is a never ending topic. Each of the terms is individually supported by the corresponding generations. But those who support modernity, at least at some point of life will surely support philosophy. That is the power of philosophy. Let us take a mishap as example that shows us how these two issues conflict with each other. The terrorist attacks of September 11 still haunt the minds of Americans unnerved by the enormity of the crime. We need to know what could have inspired someone to do such a thing. It is bad enough to experience such a monstrous event; to feel it is inexplicable, an act with no conceivable motive, only adds to the sense of unreality. What is the source of this hostility? What ideas, values, and attitudes give rise to it? Lewis’s observation contains the seeds of the two leading schools of thought about the answer to this question. Both schools place Islamist hatred of the USA in a larger cultural and historical context. Both are plausible, and in many respects they are compatible. But they differ in what they see as the essential terms of the ongoing conflict, and in their implications for the future. One school holds that the war on terror reflects an underlying conflict between Islam and the West as civilisations. Each is united, as a civilisation, by the loyalty of its people to a narrative of their past, a common religion, and shared ideas, values, and ways of life. The current tensions between Islam and the West are only the latest of the conflicts that have occurred over the centuries. The USA is a particular object of hostility now because it is the most powerful Western country. Those who reject modernity are to be found in every nation and civilization. The second school holds that terrorists’ hostility is directed at ‘the principles and values’ of the West. On this view, what they hate is not the West as a society or a civilisation per se, but rather the culture of modernity. Modernity was born in the West, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but it is not inherently tied to the history or customs of any one society. It is a constellation of universal values – the secular culture of reason, science, individualism, progress, democracy, and capitalism – that have spread worldwide in different forms and to varying degrees. By the same token, those who reject modernity, who fear and wish to destroy it, are to be found in every nation and civilisation. And invariably they hate the USA as the fullest, most persuasive, and thus most dangerous embodiment of that culture. There are as many battles within civilisations as between them. Muslims saw military success as a mark of Allah’s favour. As Seyyed Hossein Nasr, a prominent Iranian philosopher and historian, observes, ‘During the first twelve centuries of its historic existence, Islam lived with the full awareness of the truth and realisation of God’s promise to Muslims that they would be victorious if they followed His religion. Such verses as â€Å"There is no victor but God†, which adorns the walls of the Alhambra, also adorned the soul and mind of Muslims’. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, however, the tide turned. The scientific and industrial revolutions vastly increased the wealth and the military power of the West. After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, the Middle East was taken over by European nations and broken up into colonies and protectorates. Today, despite decolonisation, the countries of this region remain poor and backward by comparison not only with the West but also with the booming economies of East Asia. Oil revenue has showered wealth on the region, but economic growth has been held back by layers of regulations, wasteful government enterprises and investments, not to mention corruption. Because of their strategic location, Middle Eastern countries were pawns of the Cold War but were rarely true partners or friends of either power. Now, Muslims feel they are at the mercy of a global economy driven by Western capitalism. They feel invaded by Western popular culture, which they regard as morally decadent. Israel is the salt in all these wounds – a nation of people who came from the West, tore a patch of land from Islam, turned it into a vibrant, wealthy economy, and acquired the military prowess to defeat its Arab neighbours. The result of all this, is ‘a feeling of humiliation – a growing awareness, among the heirs of an old, proud, and long-dominant civilisation, of having been overtaken, overborne, and overwhelmed by those whom they regarded as their inferiors’. Having tried to take on Western ways, with dismal results, they are increasingly drawn to the idea that the solution is a return to the pure Islamic faith that reigned in the days of their former greatness. The clash-of-civilisations school doubtless represents part of the truth of the matter. But it is not the whole truth, and not the fundamental truth. Its chief shortcoming is that it exaggerates the extent of agreement in outlook, values, ideas, and loyalties among people who share the common history and culture that define a civilisation. In fact, there are as many battles over these issues within civilisations as between them – especially in the West. The hijackers’ target was a temple of modernity. At the level of fundamental philosophical principles, however, the Enlightenment period was much more important as a turning point in the West, and in a way created a new civilisation. Anti-modernism Modernity was born in the West in a radical transformation of its past. The world of the Middle Ages, built around the world-view of Christian Scholasticism, was a society of religious philosophy, feudal law, and an agricultural economy. Out of this soil, the Renaissance and Enlightenment produced a substantially new society of science, individualism, and industrial capitalism. When we examine the wider context of Islamic terrorism, it is clear that a hatred of modernity is its driving force. The cultural foundation of this new society, if we state it as a set of explicit theses, was the view that reason, not revelation, is the instrument of knowledge and arbiter of truth; that science, not religion, gives us the truth about nature; that the pursuit of happiness in this life, not suffering in preparation for the next, is the cardinal value; that reason can and should be used to increase human wellbeing through economic and technological progress; that the individual person is an end in himself with the capacity to direct his own life, not a slave or a child to be ruled by others; that individuals have equal rights to freedom of thought, speech, and action; that religious belief should be a private affair, tolerance a social virtue, and church and state kept separate; and that we should replace command economies with markets, warfare with trade, and rule by king or commissar with democracy. It is therefore misleading to call our civilisation Christian, even though that remains the largest religion in terms of adherents. The West may still be a culture of Christians, by and large, but it is not a Christian culture anymore. It is a secular culture. And that is what the Islamists hate most about us. The al-Qaeda hijackers did not target the Vatican, the capital of Western Christianity whose leaders launched the Crusades. They did not attack the British Foreign Office, which directed colonial policy in the Middle East after World War I. They attacked the World Trade Centre, the proud symbol of engineering audacity and global commerce, where businesses from scores of countries (including many Muslim countries) worked in freedom and peace, creating wealth and investing in material progress. Their target, in short, was a temple of modernity. The culture of modernity is not a Western good but a human good Modernity meant people changing their relationship with both the world and themselves. For the first time, through science, they realised that many things, such as certain weather patterns or illnesses, were not a matter of fate. The social order no longer seemed impossible to change either. Revolutions could sweep away despots and people could improve their living standards. The threat posed by the Islamist terrorists derives not from their Islamic background but from the ideas, values, and motivations they share with anti-modernists everywhere-including in the West. In that regard, they have not merely assaulted our civilisation. They have attacked civilisation as such. Civilisation is the condition a society attains when it emerges from prehistoric barbarism and begins to apply intelligence systematically to the problems of human life, by creating technologies of production like farming, technologies of cognition like writing, and technologies of social order like cities and law. The culture of modernity is one of these permanent contributions – the most important. Though Western in origin, it is not a Western good but a human good. It has vastly expanded our knowledge of the world; brought a vast increase in wealth, comfort, safety, and health; and created social institutions in which humans can flourish. Anti-modernism is not simply loyalty to pre-modern stages of civilisation on the part of people who have not yet discovered reason and individualism. It is a postmodern reaction by people who have seen modernity and turned against it, who hate and wish to destroy it. This is a profoundly anti-human outlook, and there can be no compromise with it. As we take aim at the terrorists who have attacked us, we must also take intellectual aim at the ideas that inspire them.

Geography of Iraq

Iraq is a country located in western Asia and shares borders with Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. It has a small coastline of just 36 miles (58 km) along the Persian Gulf. Iraqs capital and largest city is Baghdad and it has a population of  40,194,216 (2018 estimate). Other large cities in Iraq include Mosul, Basra, Irbil, and Kirkuk. Fast Facts: Iraq Official Name:  Republic of IraqCapital: BaghdadPopulation: 40,194,216 (2018)Official Languages: Arabic, KurdishCurrency: Dinar (IQD)  Form of Government: Federal parliamentary republicClimate: Mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows that melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and southern IraqTotal Area: 169,234 square miles (438,317 square kilometers)Highest Point:  Cheekha Dar at 11,847 feet (3,611 meters)  Lowest Point:  Persian Gulf at 0 feet (0 meters) History of Iraq From 1980 to 1988 Iraq was involved in the Iran-Iraq war, which devastated its economy. The war also left Iraq as one of the largest military establishments in the Persian Gulf region. In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait but it was forced out in early 1991 by a United States-led U.N. coalition. Following these events, social instability continued as the countrys northern Kurdish people and its southern Shia Muslims rebelled against Saddam Husseins government. As a result, Iraqs government used force to suppress the rebellion, killed thousands of citizens, and severely damaged the environment of the regions involved. Because of the instability in Iraq at the time, the U.S. and several other countries established no-fly zones over the country and the U.N. Security Council enacted several sanctions against Iraq after its government refused to surrender weapons and submit to U.N. inspections. Instability remained in the country throughout the rest of the 1990s and into the 2000s. In March-April 2003 a U.S.-led coalition invaded Iraq after it was claimed the country failed to comply with further U.N. inspections. This act began the Iraq War between Iraq and the U.S. Shortly the U.S.s invasion, Iraqs dictator Saddam Hussein was overthrown and the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) was established to handle Iraqs governmental functions as the country worked to establish a new government. In June 2004, the CPA disbanded and the Iraqi Interim Government took over. In January 2005, the country held elections and the Iraqi Transitional Government (ITG) took power. In May 2005, the ITG appointed a committee to draft a constitution and in September 2005 that constitution was completed. In December 2005 another election was held which established a new four-year constitutional government that took power in March 2006. Despite its new government, however, Iraq was still highly unstable during this time and violence was widespread throughout the country. As a result, the U.S. increased its presence in Iraq, which caused a decrease in violence. In January 2009 Iraq and the U.S. came up with plans to remove U.S. troops from the country and in June 2009 they began leaving Iraqs urban areas. Further removal of U.S. troops continued into 2010 and 2011. On December 15, 2011, the Iraq War officially ended. Geography and Climate of Iraq The climate of Iraq is mostly desert and as such it has mild winters and hot summers. The countrys mountainous regions, however, have very cold winters and mild summers. Baghdad, the capital and largest city in Iraq, has a January average low temperature of 39 ºF (4 ºC) and a July average high temperature of 111 ºF (44 ºC).

Eleanor Roosevelt set a Precedent for First Ladies by...

Eleanor Roosevelt set a precedent for first ladies by purposefully establishing herself as a political figure. After running as the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 1920, Franklin D. Roosevelt would remain a lifelong political figure as would his wife Eleanor. He was diagnosed with Polio a year later and became bound to a wheel chair; Eleanor Roosevelt would step into the political sphere on his behalf as well as her own, where she purposefully established herself as a polished political figure. An evidence of her ensuring that she was ready to take part in this arena was that she sought out the coaching of journalist and politician Louis McHenry Howe . Howe advised the Roosevelts and aided Eleanor through all of Franklin’s public appearances including elections and other Democratic affairs; he also led Eleanor to her own political interests, such as the Women’s Trade Union League. These appearances and affairs would gain public appeal and popularity for Franklin and her, which would later promote his election to office. Another example of Eleanor involving herself in the political arena as an established political figure is through her involvement with the Bonus Army. The Adjusted Compensation Act , passed by Congress in 1924, provided a five hundred dollar bonus to World War l Veterans to be paid at a later date up to 1945 . The Great Depression soon came and by 1932 about one fourth of Americans were unemployed, hungry and homeless: many were veterans.Show MoreRelatedOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 PagesDavid M. Scobey, Empire City: The Making and Meaning of the New York City Landscape Gerda Lerner, Fireweed: A Political Autobiography Allida M. Black, ed., Modern American Queer History Eric Sandweiss, St. Louis: The Evolution of an American Urban Landscape Sam Wineburg, Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past Sharon Hartman Strom, Political Woman: Florence Luscomb and the Legacy of Radical Reform Michael Adas, ed., Agricultural and Pastoral Societies

Swot Analysis A Swot - 777 Words

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Albert is said to have come up with this strategic planning tool through the use of data the Fortune 500 companies in the United States of America at that time (Lancaster Massingham, 2011). A SWOT analysis determine s the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, which are a relevant part of any organization especially the ones that get involved in new ventures. This tool assists the users

Essay on Marriage and Family Free Essays

â€Å"Fear comes from uncertainty. When we are absolutely certain, whether of our worth or worthlessness, we are almost impervious to fear.† — William Congreve For as long as I can remember, my purpose has been to get married and raise a family with someone I love. We will write a custom essay sample on Essay on Marriage and Family or any similar topic only for you Order Now One of my biggest fears is never getting married or accomplishing some of my life goals. When I was younger getting married used to be just something that all people did, almost like a checklist. I would hear people say † I can not wait till I get married† or † When you get married†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The older I get I see that it is not as pure and ideal as I thought. I have watched people, close to me, get married and, ironically, I know even more people who have gotten a divorce. Marriages have been torn apart because of infidelity, abuse, and/or lack of communication. Through the course of my existence, I have been conditioned to believe that romance and relationships are like books and movies, but as I got older I realized that it is not like that in actual life. When i was in the fifth grade i watched my 3 best friends parents all get divorced. It was horrible. one of them had to stay with me for almost 2 months because of the situation at home. Ever since then I have been afraid my marriage would not work out or i just would never get married. Seeing the effect divorce had on my friends and their family made my heart hurt. i felt so bad for them. One thing i knew for sure is i did not want it to happen to me. Marriage is a very challenging factor, but you have to select the proper person, and be aware of that you choose to spend the rest of your life with them. It terrifies me that a lot of them end in divorces, and that it can break your whole family apart. I wanted desperately to be loved unconditionally by someone, but I on occasion experience like I am not good enough, which causes me to push people away. The thought of marriage is coveted by most people, but legally a marriage is simply a piece of paper binding two humans together by the law. I believe, however, that the fear of marriage, not finding anyone, and the concern of living an unfulfilled existence is without a doubt what is stopping people from accomplishing it. When you are living your life to the fullest and not relying on anyone for your happiness, you automatically entice good people and situations. If you let go of the worry of now not finding someone, and you stop placing your value outside of yourself, you will no longer experience the need to find any one to love you.You will already love and value your self in every way. You will simply attract someone who provides greater love into your life. You will find someone to fill it with more joy, laughter and super experiences. Every day I attempt to live my life to the fullest and attempt to be positive and joyful all the time. It is a great deal harder than you think. You in no way know what is going to happen tomorrow, so I attempt to live in the moment through not taking time for granted. I appreciate the small things whilst striving to be the best person I can be. Even if the day is bad, I have learned no longer to stress the negatives, and focus on the right things. If I go through life questioning that I will never get married or attain any of my goals, they will turn out to be a lot harder. I have now realized that I cant have any expectations when it comes to marriage, however I need to strive to make the best of my life. I should not be concerned about these conditions or decisions now, as I am still young and believe that the proper person will come into my life. Being scared of marriage is not necessary right now and I believe I will be fine in discovering the right person to get married to. How to cite Essay on Marriage and Family, Essays

Roles and Features of Internet of Things-Free-Samples-Myassignment

Question: Discuss about the roles and the features of Internet of Things. Answer: Introduction Internet of things is a new technology that has been developed by the combination of internet and sensors. Yang cited that Internet of things has been a creating a bridge between the virtual world and the real world and this connection is really helping the modern technology to become more advanced (Yang, 2014, p. 260). Internet of thing provides the new generation many features and technologies with the help of wireless communication and with the application of sensors. In this report a vehicle simulation project is discussed as it utilizes Internet of Things. The issues related to this project are discussed to understand the features and importance of the system of Internet of things. Internet of Things (IoT) Internet of things sets the platform that makes a connection between the Internet and the electronics. The combination of the embedded system and the internet makes health, transportation and other facilities more advanced. Smart cities, smart grid and smart cars are the product of the application of Internet of things (Wortmann Flchter, 2015, p. 220). Internet of things is consisted of different sensors, actuators, hardware and software. Vehicle Simulation Project utilising IoT Internet of Things can be implemented in the cars to make those more advanced. In the world of Internet a car can be easily connected to the networking system through either Bluetooth or smart phones and thus it can access information from the global internet source (Chandrakanth et al., 2014, p. 15). With the application of different sensor a car can sense the outside temperature and humidity (Gubbi et al., 2013, p. 1655). The map of the road and the information about the traffic are easily available from the GPS used in the car. If there is any sudden temperature or pressure change in the system of the car, then it can also sense the upcoming dangers in the car. Thus it can proactively detect the problems from engine coolant temperature or oxygen sensor reading (Xu, He, Li, 2014, p. 2240). The IoT system is also useful to get the possible idea about the traffic of a city by receiving the information from the cars regarding its speed. The cars can also use the cloud computing in ca se of data analysis regarding the road map and other facilities. With the help of IoT a car can also find the petrol pumps or repairing centres near its position. With the application of different sensors and embedded system the possibility of accident can be reduces to some extent (Wortmann, Flchter, 2015, p. 220). With the help of the proximity sensor the cars can easily identify the movement of another object near it and also the information about the acceleration and the speed of the object near it. Sensors can also be used for finding the parking area of the cars by using the proximity sensors and ultrasonic sensors. Another important impact of IoT is that the sensors can be used to find the amount of pollutants extracting from the car. By the measurement of the pollution and from the records of the pollution index of the cars, pollution can be decreased to a large extent (Yang, 2014, p. 260). Thus the internet of Things has lots of scope in advancing the transport system. Int ernet of Things gradually leads us to a new era of smart cars that can have artificial intelligence. Various components of IoT Physical Objects Sensors Actuators Virtual Objects People Services Processing big data Design and run innovative applications Integration of data to optimize business processes Platforms Access to devices Ensuring proper installation Data analytics Interoperable connection to local network, cloud or other devices Networks Advantages and role of IoT in modern world There are many advantages of using Internet of Things. Internet of things brings a new era in terms of connectivity. Distances have come to very close with the help of internet and other devices. The communication with the help of GPS has created a new direction to the transportation (Gubbi et al., 2013, p. 1660). Automation is a new field on which various works and projects are going on. IoT is enabling the automation to many fields like healthy, transportation and many more. Artificial intelligence is also growing very fast with the help of Internet of Things. Other important products of Internet of things are smart city, smart traffic control and electronic toll collection (Zanella et al., 2014, p. 30). In health and medical research IoT has created a new revolution with the introduction of new bio-medical instruments. Conclusion From the above discussion it can be understood that Internet of Things can be implemented in different sectors like transport, energy savings, and security of information, health and housing appliances. With the help of different sensors and access of the Internet the IoT is a package that can be utilized to make smart city, smart traffic control and electronic toll collection. In this report a vehicle simulating project is discussed from the perspective of utilizing the Internet of Things in that project. References Chandrakanth, S., Venkatesh, K., Uma Mahesh, J., Naganjaneyulu, K. V. (2014). Internet of things.International Journal of Innovations Advancement in Computer Science,3(8), 16-20. Da Xu, L., He, W., Li, S. (2014). Internet of things in industries: A survey. IEEE Transactions on industrial informatics, 10(4), 2233-2243. Gubbi, J., Buyya, R., Marusic, S., Palaniswami, M. (2013). Internet of Things (IoT): A vision, architectural elements, and future directions.Future generation computer systems,29(7), 1645-1660. Wortmann, F., Flchter, K. (2015). Internet of things.Business Information Systems Engineering,57(3), 221-224. Yang, S. H. (2014). Internet of things. InWireless Sensor Networks(pp. 247-261). Springer London. Zanella, A., Bui, N., Castellani, A., Vangelista, L., Zorzi, M. (2014). Internet of things for smart cities.IEEE Internet of Things journal,1(1), 22-32.