Corporate governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Corporate governance - Essay Example In corporate governance, the company’s management takes a trustee’s role for other parties that have interests in the company. Corporate governance is majorly based on principles like conducting business with fairness and integrity, transparency in handling transactions, complying with laws governing operation of companies, making sound decisions and necessary disclosures, ethical issues in conducting business and responsibility and accountability towards stakeholders. There is also need to clearly distinguish between corporate funds and personal funds when managing a company. Enron Corporation was a company dealing in services, commodities and energy based in Houston, Texas state in America. It had approximately 20,000 staff members and was among the world’s major natural gas, electricity, pulp and paper and communications companies before its bankruptcy in December 2001. After 2001, it was found that the company’s financial condition was majorly sustained by a systematic, institutionalized and planned accounting fraud that was termed as Enron scandal (Sterling, 2002). The Enron Scandal that was discovered in 2001 led to bankruptcy of Enron Corporation and dissolution of Arthur Andersen, an entity that was among the five largest accountancy and audit partnerships worldwide by then. Enron is rated the biggest failure in audit apart from leading as the largest bankrupt company in the history of America by then. The case analyzes the cause of this failure in details. Lack of truthfulness. According to the report given by Kirk Hanson, the executive director of Markkula, a center for Applied Ethics, the Enron management did not give true information concerning the company’s health (Canadian Center of Science & Education, 2010). The senior executives developed a belief that Enron had to take the first position in relation to other companies and also they had to maintain their reputations as well performing executives in the United

Mark and Spencer Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Mark and Spencer Strategy - Essay Example According to the paper findings in order to get deeper understandings of the external factors affecting the company’s operations including trends and environmental issues. The PESTLE analysis is used to analyse the business market and establish the potential external issues affecting the business in the political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental circles.From this essay it is clear the political set up in the business environment affects the consumers’ buying power and the regulations governing the entity. It is therefore important for Marks Spencer to take into account certain political issues before introducing a give business strategy. The company is based in the UK whose political environment is relatively stable. In addition to, the tax and labor systems in the country have been regarded as the most attractive in the developed world.  The UK economy is ranked as being the fourth largest in the world and it is viewed to be an open economy. It is further characterised by well managed fiscal and monetary policies with full financial government support and low inflation rates. The company should consider any short- term and long- term issues affecting its operations before implementing any strategy. The socio- cultural factors affecting entities differ across countries. Being an international company, Marks & Spencer has spread its operations across the globe. The management needs to address this issue by looking at some of the factors affecting the consumers’ attitudes, tastes and preferences in local and foreign markets.  ... In addition to, the tax and labor systems in the country have been regarded as the most attractive in the developed world.   Economic Factors The UK economy is ranked as being the fourth largest in the world and it is viewed to be an open economy. It is further characterised by well managed fiscal and monetary policies with full financial government support and low inflation rates. The company should consider any short- term and long- term issues affecting its operations before implementing any strategy (Left, 2001). The company is advised to invest more in the clothing industry as the young people are more likely to spend their disposable income on clothing. Social Factors The socio- cultural factors affecting entities differ across countries. Being an international company, Marks & Spencer has spread its operations across the globe (Rayner, 2008). The management needs to address this issue by looking at some of the factors affecting the consumers’ attitudes, tastes and pre ferences in local and foreign markets. Taking these aspects into consideration ensures that they meet the needs of the organisation. Technological Factors Technology is an important factor since it gives a company competitive advantage over its competitors in the global market. Marks & Spencer competitors are argued to be more developed in the application of technology (Rayner, 2008). This can be observed from the fact that the company introduced online shopping and loyalty cards after their major competitors. This can have an adverse impact on the entity’s competitive position and it’s a high time the company started using the latest technology in their sales and production process. Legal Factors The legal environment in the UK is favourable

The meaning of life Essay Example for Free

The meaning of life Essay All praise be to God, the Sustainer of All the Worlds,and blessings and peace be upon our master Muhammad,and on all his Family and Companions. [Brother! You wanted a few words of advice from me, so listen to a few truths included in eight short stories, which since you are a soldier, are in the form of comparisons of a military nature. I consider my own soul to need advice more than anyone, and at one time I addressed my soul at some length with Eight Words inspired by eight verses of the Qur’an from which I had benefited. Now I shall address my soul with these same Words, but briefly and in the language of ordinary people. Whoever wishes may listen together with me. ] The First Word Bismillah, â€Å"In the Name of God,† is the start of all things good. We too shall start with it. Know, O my soul! Just as this blessed phrase is a mark of Islam, so too it is constantly recited by all beings through their tongues of disposition. If you want to know what an inexhaustible strength, what an unending source of bounty is Bismillah, listen to the following story which is in the form of a comparison. It goes like this: Someone who makes a journey through the deserts of Arabia has to travel in the name of a tribal chief and enter under his protection, for in this way he may be saved from the assaults of bandits and secure his needs. On his own he will perish in the face of innumerable enemies and needs. And so, two men went on such a journey and entered the desert. One of them was modest and humble, the other proud and conceited. The humble man assumed the name of a tribal chief, while the proud man did not. The first travelled safely wherever he went. If he encountered bandits, he said: â€Å"I am travelling in the name of such-and-such tribal leader,† and they did not molest him. If he came to some tents, he was treated respectfully due to the name. But the proud man suffered indescribable calamities throughout his journey. He both trembled before everything and begged from everything. He was abased and became an object of scorn. My proud soul! You are the traveller, and this world is a desert. Your impotence and poverty have no limit, and your enemies and needs are endless. Since it is thus, take the name of the Pre-Eternal Ruler and Post-Eternal Lord of the desert and be saved from begging before the whole universe and trembling before every event. Yes, this phrase is a treasury so blessed that your infinite impotence and poverty bind you to an infinite power and mercy; it makes your impotence and poverty a most acceptable intercessor at the Court of One All-Powerful and Compassionate. The person who acts saying, â€Å"In the Name of God,† resembles someone who enrolls in the army. He acts in the name of the government; he has fear of no one; he speaks, performs every matter, and withstands everything in the name of the law and the name of the government. At the beginning we said that all beings say â€Å"In the Name of God† through the tongue of disposition. Is that so? Indeed, it is so. If you were to see that a single person had come and had driven all the inhabitants of a town to a place by force and compelled them to work, you would be certain that he had not acted in his own name and through his own power, but was a soldier, acting in the name of the government and relying on the power of the king. In the same way, all things act in the name of Almighty God, for minute things like seeds and grains bear huge trees on their heads; they raise loads like mountains. That means all trees say: â€Å"In the Name of God,† fill their hands from the treasury of mercy, and offer them to us. All gardens say: â€Å"In the Name of God,† and become cauldrons from the kitchens of Divine power in which are cooked numerous varieties of different foods. All blessed animals like cows, camels, sheep, and goats, say: â€Å"In the Name of God,† and produce springs of milk from the abundance of mercy, offering us a most delicate and pure food like the water of life in the name of the Provider. The roots and rootlets, soft as silk, of plants, trees, and grasses say: â€Å"In the Name of God,† and pierce and pass through hard rock and earth. Mentioning the name of God, the name of the Most Merciful, everything becomes subjected to them. The roots spreading through hard rock and earth and producing fruits as easily as the branches spread through the air and produce fruits, and the delicate green leaves retaining their moisture for months in the face of extreme heat, deal a slap in the mouths of Naturalists and jab a finger in their blind eyes, saying: â€Å"Even heat and hardness, in which you most trust, are under a command. For like the Staff of Moses, each of those silken rootlets conform to the command of, And We said, O Moses, strike the rock with your staff,1 and split the rock. And the delicate leaves fine as cigarette paper recite the verse, O fire be coolness and peace2 against the heat of the fire, each like the members of Abraham (UWP). Since all things say: â€Å"In the Name of God,† and bearing God’s bounties in God’s name, give them to us, we too should say: â€Å"In the Name of God. † We should give in the name of God, and take in the name of God. And we should not take from heedless people who neglect to give in God’s name. Question: We give a price to people, who are like tray-bearers. So what price does God want, Who is the true owner? The Answer: Yes, the price the True Bestower of Bounties wants in return for those valuable bounties and goods is three things: one is remembrance, another is thanks, and the other is reflection. Saying, â€Å"In the Name of God† at the start is remembrance , and, â€Å"All praise be to God† at the end is thanks. And perceiving and thinking of those bounties, which are priceless wonders of art, being miracles of power of the Unique and Eternally Besought One and gifts of His mercy, is reflection . However foolish it is to kiss the foot of a lowly man who conveys to you the precious gift of a king and not to recognize the gift’s owner, it is a thousand times more foolish to praise and love the apparent source of bounties and forget the True Bestower of Bounties. O my soul! If you do not wish to be foolish in that way, give in God’s name, take in God’s name, begin in God’s name, and act in God’s name.

Influence of Social Media on Political Views

Influence of Social Media on Political Views Social media’s influence on citizen’s democratic beliefs and political ideology and impact on elections From the beginning the internet has been used as an archive tool for human behavior. Around the globe, social media has provided an outlet and has made it easier than ever in allowing individuals to voice their opinions and beliefs about government; to talk about issues, mobilize around causes, and hold various leaders and lawmakers accountable. This review will attempt to summarize how the spread of beliefs and opinions by others on social media very much influence the those who use social media as a source of getting news as well as if social media is changing the way we view a democracy. It is just recently that in the year 2011, social media took a vital role in the Arab Spring uprisings in places such as Egypt and Tunisia as it was proclaimed a liberating technology. A considerable amount has changed from that point forward. The 2016 US presidential election conveyed to the fore the dangers of outside meddling and fake news and political polarization. The impact of web-based social networking on legislative issues has never been so significant to observe. The majority of this brings up a critical issue: what impact does social media have on people’s democratic beliefs, values, and political ideology? By and large, 20% of social media clients say theyve adjusted their position on a social or political issue on account of material they saw on social media, and 17% say online based social networking was the underlying factor that assisted in changing their perspectives about a particular political hopeful (Anderson 2016). Among online-based social networking users, Democrats and liberal Democrats specifically are more likely than Republicans to state they have ever changed their perspectives on a social or political issue, or on a specific political candidate, as a result of something they saw via the internet. The Pew Research Center conducted a survey asking respondents a time where they can recall social media having an effect of their views on the 2016 presidential election. â€Å"Many of the responses we received in this survey, conducted this summer, mentioned one of the major presidential candidates as the â€Å"political or social issue† they changed their minds on. Around one-in-five users mentioned either Hillary Clinton, 21% or Donald Trump, 18%, and around one-in-ten referenced Bernie Sanders†. (Kent 2016). In addition to asking whether they had changed their opinion in this way due to what they saw on the internet, social media, the survey also asked respondents to tell share in their owns words the time when this change occurred. â€Å"I saw a video on Reddit †¦ that ultimately swayed me from voting independent in this election to voting for Hillary Clinton.† â€Å"I thought Donald Trump was leaning one way on an issue and a friend posted something that was opposite of what I believe. This caused me to think less of him than I once I did.† â€Å"Originally, I planned on voting for Hillary Clinton in the election, but then I found out about Bernie Sanders through social media. I decided I would vote for him instead.† (Staff P.S 2016)    It is evident that there is no deficiency of challenges at the intermix of online networking and democracy. â€Å"As of August 2017, 67% of Americans claimed that they get in any event some of their news via social media with two-in-ten doing as such frequently, as indicated by a review from Pew Research Center† (Shearer and Gottfried 2016). Note that this is only a slightly modest increase from the middle of 2016 during the peak of the primaries where 62% of U.S. adults revealed getting news from social media. A strong correlation is evident that the use of technological applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube and support of civil liberties. People who spend more time self-publicizing on the internet appear to value freedom of expression highly but also value the right to privacy; in contrast to those individuals who use social media less often. A cross-sectional survey was then conducted to determine the connection between online behavior, political attitude, and social media use in 2010. 913 people were surveyed with questions that pitted concerns about security and safety. In order to see a measure of these civil liberties Swigger then designed a test to measure individual’s support for privacy and freedom of expression against concerns of security and safety. In conclusion of this test, among online socializations came back with a negative attitude for the right to privacy and to note the results seem to be spearheaded by respondents 25 and younger. (Swigger 602: 2013) This pattern suggests that social media may be altering American’s attitudes and beliefs about democratic values (Swigger 590: 2013). In contrast to conventional media such as television and newspaper articles where the audience passively pays much attention to, web based social media is designed to encourage users to create and share content about their lives which formerly would only be shared in private face-to-face conversation. This change in behavior has led to people livening their lives in the light of the public. With regards to the 2009 German election, a study was conducted by the research institute Forschungsgruppe Wahlen and an analysis of more than 100,000 messages containing a reference to either a political party or a lawmaker. The results demonstrate that Twitter is utilized widely for political pondering and that the even a small number of party mentions precisely mirrors the race result (Tumasjan 2011). The tweets assumption (positive and negative feelings related with a lawmaker) compares similarly to voters political preference. In the examination 104,003 tweets examined between 13 August and 29 September 2009 prior to the German election. Of those tweets analyzed, about 70,000 of them mentioned the political party and about half of them referenced specifically the politicians name. Given the large samples size, a sentiment analysis was used, an automated mechanism to quantify the information contained in these messages. To extract such data, they used Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC2007). LIWC2007, a text analysis software developed to assess emotional, cognitive, and structural components of text samples using a psychometrically validated internal dictionary (Tausczik & Pennebaker, 2010). In particular, this product determines the rate which certain cognitions and feelings are present in the text. There appears to be two facets to assess in determining if Twitter can fill in as an indicator of a race result. The foremost being the share of attention the political parties gets on social media, specifically Twitter, with the results of the 2009 German election. The latter being whether tweets can forecast the ideological ties amongst parties and potential political coalitions post-election. The MAE (mean absolute error) of six research institutes published election polls in the sample period, ranges from 1.1% to 1.7%. Thus, Twitter comes close in mirroring these accepted results. It is noteworthy to mention the predictive accuracy when compared to the historical backdrop of the IEM, a prediction market whose sole purpose is to predict election results. The IEM produced a MAE of 1.37% in U.S. presidential elections and 2.12% in non-U.S. elections based on election eve market prices (Berg, Forsythe, Nelson, & Rietz, 2008). In conclusion, the negligible number of tweets saying a political party can be viewed as a plausible reflection of the vote turnout and its prescient power even approaches conventional election polls (Tumasjan 2011). â€Å"Overall, our results demonstrate that Twitter can be considered a valid indicator of the political landscape off-line† (Tumasjan 2011). On the off chance that theres one essential truth about social media’s impact on democracy it’s that it  amplifies human intent  (Toyama 2011) both good and bad. At its best, it allows us to express ourselves and take action. At its worst, it allows people to spread misinformation and corrode democracy. References APA Anderson, M. (2016, November 07). Social media causes some users to rethink their views on an issue. Retrieved March 06, 2018, from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/07/social-media-causes-some-users-to-rethink-their-views-on-an-/ Davis, D. W., & Silver, B. D. (2004). Civil Liberties vs. Security: Public Opinion in the Context of the Terrorist Attacks on America.  American Journal of Political Science,48(1), 28-46. doi:10.1111/j.0092-5853.2004.00054.x Forsythe, R., Rietz, T. A., & Ross, T. W. (1999). Wishes, expectations and actions: a survey on price formation in election stock markets.  Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization,39(1), 83-110. doi:10.1016/s0167-2681(99)00027-x Kent, D. (2016, November 04). When social media changes minds. Retrieved March 06, 2018, from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/07/social-media-causes-some-users-to-rethink-their-views-on-an-issue/ft_16-11-07_socialpolitics/ Shearer, E., & Gottfried, J. (2017, September 07). News Use Across Social Media Platforms 2017. Retrieved March 06, 2018, from http://www.journalism.org/2017/09/07/news-use-across-social-media-platforms-2017/ Staff, P. S. (2016, November 08). Your Friends Unhinged Political Facebook Rants May Actually Make a Difference in the Election. Retrieved March 07, 2018, from https://psmag.com/news/your-friends-unhinged-political-facebook-rants-may-actually-make-a-difference-in-the-election Tausczik, Y. R., & Pennebaker, J. W. (2010). The psychological meaning of words: LIWC and computerized text analysis methods. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 29, 24-54 Toyama, K. (2011). Technology as amplifier in international development.  Proceedings of the 2011 iConference on iConference 11. doi:10.1145/1940761.1940772 Tumasjan, A., Sprenger, T. O., Sandner, P. G., & Welpe, I. M. (2011). Election Forecasts with Twitter How 140 Characters Reflect the Political Landscape.  SSRN Electronic Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.1833192

Essay --

The United States (US) Navy has been in many battles over the years, made many improvements to their ships, and has allowed women to join the force; this is why the Navy is one of the largest branches of the military today. The Navy is a brand of the nation’s armed forces that includes warships and support ships, their crews, land bases, and many personnel. Also, many navies include an air force; some navies even have combat forces known as marines. The marines are trained to fight in the air and on land; they are some of the toughest people in the military. â€Å"On October 13, 1775, the United States Navy was formed.† (â€Å"Worldbook† 2). There was a meeting and the Continental Congress voted for the Navy to be approved. This was to help out at sea where at the time British were the major force. The Navy was initially made to cut off trades and munitions between Britain and other countries. This was an attempt to help the Americans in the war. The smaller navies of the world usually consist of warships, smaller boats like patrol boats, missile boats, and minesweepers. The main objective fo...

Comparative Essay on Romantic Poetry - In London, September 1802 vs. :: English Literature

Comparative Essay on Romantic Poetry - In London, September 1802 vs. The World Is Too Much With Us Late and Soon - Wordsworth Wordsworth's poems initiated the Romantic era by emphasizing feeling, instinct, and pleasure above formality and mannerism. More than any poet before him, Wordsworth gave expression to unformed human emotion; his lyric "Strange fits of passion have I known," in which the speaker describes an inexplicable fantasy he once had that his lover was dead, could not have been written by any previous poet. The message that these poems sent across may be interpreted as being cynical and nostalgic towards the people, nation and the era in which the author lives. In The World is Too Much, the speaker angrily accuses the modern age of having lost its connection to nature and to everything meaningful: "Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers: / Little we see in Nature that is ours; / We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!" He says that even when the sea "bares her bosom to the moon" and the winds howl, humanity is still out of tune, and looks on uncaringly at the spectacle of the storm. The speaker wishes that he were a pagan raised according to a different vision of the world, so that, "standing on this pleasant lea," he might see images of ancient gods rising from the waves, a sight that would please him greatly. He imagines "Proteus rising from the sea," and Triton "blowing his wreathed horn." This poem in a very clear manner shows the flaws of society and his views against such flaws. In London, September 1802 Wordsworth's views are not so clear. The use of such accusations "The Wealthiest Man among us is the best": /"For comfort, being, as I am, opprest". The foundation of this poem is not condemning all that is in his life but nature, rather he attempts to show the shortcomings of society in an effort to go back and reflect upon the lost ways of the past. This is supported with excerpts like "We must run glittering like a brook" and "No grandeur now in nature or a book" show the author's view that there is potential for society and that is has the ability to change. This is quite contrary to the pessimistic outlook of The World is Too Much. The structure of both these poems is that of an Italian sonnet much like many other famous sonnets Wordsworth wrote in the early 1800s. Sonnets are fourteen-line poetic inventions written in iambic pentameter. An Italian or Petrarchan sonnet is divided into two parts,

Mariveles National Highschool Malaya’s 2013 Education Week

Mariveles National Highschool Malaya celebrated its 2013 Education Week last December 16-18. It is a whole week activity and celebration that aims to enhance and emphasize the role of education in empowering and developing the skills of the students by showcasing their outputs and projects through Bazaars and Exhibit. The school created a small booth to be able to show the different beautiful and pretty dress that was made by the students in dressmaking.Seminars and workshops were conducted to strengthen the cooperation among stakeholders in education to provide high quality of education. Team building for teachers and students is another activity which inspires educators to do more for children and ensure their future. Academic and Co-curricular contest were also established to enhance student’s knowledge while still enjoying and having fun with co-students.The school also facilitates Tree Planting and Tree Growing as part of the aim of school is to produce youth that are res ponsible and have love for the environment. Disaster Risk Reduction and Related Life skills preparedness is another seminar that was conducted that gives the students as well as teachers an awareness for the preventive measures and behaviors during and after disaster.As the last part of the week celebration, the students and teacher were able to run for education through helping the Typhoon Yolanda victims by raising funds through â€Å"PISO mo Tabang mo† a Piso sign for a cause. And to celebrate also the spirit of Christmas, the school facilitates the Pasko na Gift Giving were the beneficiaries are from poor community and orphanages.The school aims for the celebration of education week benefits not the just the school but also the students, teachers, community and environment and beneficiaries of the fund raising project where Education week is not just pure education but also interrelate to the spirit of Christmas which is gift giving.