Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 21

Essay Example It might not help in generating additional revenues in the short-run. But, it can enhance employee productivity in the long-run through maintaining a healthy relation with them and becoming responsible for their personal well-being. Again, through maintaining a good customer relation, the company can create a positive image in the society that will definitely help it in winning customer loyalty. Moreover, a good image can help a company in preventing implementations of government regulations on its activities that are sometimes known to be a consequence of popular public demands. This paper however, concentrates upon corporate social responsibilities, i.e., a corporate house’s concern towards environmental sustainability and climate changes and the strategies that a corporate should adopt to protect them (Social Responsibility and Organizational Ethics, 2001). Environmental sustainability implies the measures that an organisation can take for the purpose of environmental protection and thus social welfare. It becomes a very important aspect of corporate responsibility since the well-being of the entire population as well as the future generation depends on it. Some important terminology being used in this paper while discussing the strategies that a company should ideally undertake for environmental protection and making room for climate changes are – Natural Resources – these are resources that are found in nature and are not necessary to be created artificially. Natural Resources can be of two types – exhaustible and inexhaustible. The former ones are those that cannot be restored once they are spent and hence need to be used with much care and concern. On the other hand, inexhaustible resources are those that could be restored and thus do not have a diminishing stock. So, it becomes an important corporate responsibility to protect these exhaustible natural resources and make as little use as possible of them, since everything in our nature

Future management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Future management - Essay Example The sole intention of a business is to satisfy the needs of the customers and generate profit for itself. However, one can question the apparent theoretical simplicity of the process. The answer is obvious ‘no’ in terms of simplicity because the simple process of providing goods and services to the customers for generating revenue passes through various complex stages to achieve the goals and fulfil its objectives. There are several business risks, but simultaneously, there are opportunities as well. Hence, to mitigate the risks and capitalize on the opportunities, a company need to have predefined strategies or plans (Gibson and Barsade, 2003). The notion of strategy has been borrowed from the military and adapted for the use in business. In business, as in the military activities, a strategy bridges the gap between objectives of the company and tactics. Hence, it can be stated that tactics and strategy together, closes the gap between the objectives of the firm and the means of achieving it. However, the question which arises in this context is: why does a business require a strategy to operate in the market place? There are several reasons, but one of them is the changing dynamics of the marketplace. The changes in market place occur due to shifts in the external business environment such as, consumer trends, political landscape, new government regulation or a technological change. According to eminent scholars and practitioners, the business environment is always dynamic in nature and undergoes radical shifts with time (Iivari, 2005). With the great global redistribution of social and economic power, it is expected to continue over the next few decades. Moreover, due to the changes in other business factors such as, the environmental factors, political factors, economical factors, legal factors, social factors and technological factors, companies are compelled to bring changes into their system of operation in order to comply with the external environment (Janicijevic, 2012). Despite several attempts to manage the business environment by devising strategies, the attempts have been futile and it also practically seems impossible for a company to manage the business environment (Jones, 2004). This is because a certain amount of change in one of the factors leads to a drastic amount of change in other factors, due to high interconnectivity. Figure 1 (Source: Newagepublishers, 2010) According to eminent scholars such as Schawalby (2005), companies will face a hard time in the future because of the involved uncertainties. The author had also mentioned that due to the increasing intensity of competition within the industries, a company is bound to face complexities. However, the level of complexities faced by the companies will depend upon their ability to adjust themselves in the changing marketplace. An organization has to deal with changes on a daily basis as people usually do with their lives. Change is therefore regarded a s inherent in the contemporary organizations and its management is not only critical, but also at the crux of organizational development (OD). A business always has two sets of objectives namely, short term objective and long term objective. The short term objectives generally deal with the achievement of short term goals. When it comes to the formulation and achievement of long term goals, the dependence on the external envi

Information About Strategic Teaching, Strategic Learning and Thinking Skills Essay Example for Free

Information About Strategic Teaching, Strategic Learning and Thinking Skills Essay Teachers, whether brand new to the classroom, or veterans of many years of service, are always looking for ways to make what they do more effective and more efficient. That even goes for students in teacher preparation programs, as well it should. Efficiency is a measure of what is obtained (results) in relation to what was expended (resources). Effectiveness is a bit more elusive. To be sure, effectiveness in anything, including teaching, can be difficult to describe and to measure. The following is a discussion about some fundamental principles that may lead to actual improvement of instruction. Please read on. In order to use any instructional technique effectively, anyone who teaches must, of necessity, understand the fundamental principles and assumptions upon which the specific technique is based. There is certainly no shortage of descriptions or labels for activities that may be classified as pertaining to instruction. From the ever-popular lecture method to complex student-teacher, student-student interactions, instruction encompasses a broad range of teacher behaviors. At one end (the lecture method) the teacher is an imparter of information, and the students are the intended recipients of the information the teacher imparts. At the other end of the range of teacher behaviors are methods in which teachers interact with students in vastly more complex ways. Most researchers and experts in the field are in agreement that the most permanent and meaningful learning takes place at this end of the range. Strategic teaching, and, concomitantly, strategic learning are techniques in which significant student-teacher interaction and resultant learning and thinking are at the high end of the scale. To learn strategic teaching techniques, and to foster the ability of students to engage in strategic learning, it is important to define some terms. In fact, one of the principles of strategic teaching is to define terms. Below are terms that are relevant to this process. Strategic teaching describes instructional processes that focus directly on fostering student thinking, but goes well beyond that. Strategic teaching and strategic learning are inexorably linked. A strategic teacher has an understanding of the variables of instruction and is aware of the cognitive requirements of learning. In such an awareness, comes a sense of timing and a style of management. The strategic teacher is one who: 1. s a thinker and decision maker; 2. possesses a rich knowledge base; 3. is a modeler and a mediator of instruction. Variables of instruction refer to those factors that strategic teachers consider in order to develop instruction. These variables, as the name implies, change, and therefore the teacher must be aware of the nature of change as well as the actual variables themselves. These variables are: 1. characteristics of the learner; 2. material to be learned (curriculum content); 3. the criterial task (the goals and outcomes the teacher and learner designate); 4. earning strategies (goal directed activities in which learners engage). In teaching content at the elementary, middle, or secondary level, the strategic teacher helps guide instruction by focusing on learning strategies that foster thinking skills in relation to the content. In connecting new information to what a student already knows, learning becomes more meaningful, and not simply retained for test-taking purposes. There are numerous strategies that teachers can develop that accomplish this purpose. To give one information is not difficult, but to help one be able to develop the tools to both know what information is relevant and the means to acquire it, is perhaps the most important function of any social studies teacher. There are numerous techniques for engaging students in thinking about content. Besides thinking skills, there are such practical matters as how best to present a lesson on weather, teaching map and globe skills, helping students work together in groups, how to question effectively, and how to answer student questions. The first and foremost criterion is that the teacher thoroughly know the content, the second criterion is that the teacher have a set of rules for classroom management that are understood and implemented, and the third criterion is that the teacher have the resourcefulness and knowledge to rehearse unfamiliar techniques, and more importantly, have the capacity to adjust any lesson plan to maintain academic focus. Many of these tasks are learned on-the-job. Nothing you can learn in any course is more valuable than learning what to do when you dont know what to do. When you can do that, you are well on your way to becoming a great teacher. Strategic Learning Strategic learning is, in effect, a highly probable outcome of effective strategic teaching. Reduced to its essentials, strategic learning is learning in which students construct their own meanings, and in the process, become aware of their own thinking. The link between teaching, thinking, and learning is critical. As a teacher, if you are not causing your students to think about what you are presenting, discussing, demonstrating, mediating, guiding, or directing, then you are not doing an effective job. You must be more than a dispenser of information. You must create conditions and an environment that encourages thinking, deepens and broadens it, and which causes students to become aware of how they think. The process of thinking about how we think is referred to as metacognition. In helping students create knowledge, it is useful to think of knowledge as occupying space that can be thought of as a pyramid. At the bottom of the pyramid is declarative knowledge, or knowledge of what is. Declarative knowledge is akin to awareness. One step up on the pyramid is procedural knowledge, or knowledge of how something works, or functions. At the top of the pyramid is conditional knowledge, or knowledge of when or why a particular procedure will work. Conditional knowledge is closely related to the predictive function of knowledge. When students develop a broad and deep system of conditional knowledge, they are able to predict more accurately, solve problems more efficiently, and in a sense, are more free because they can identify and articulate more options from which to choose. Strategic learning is a valuable system to help your students develop conditional knowledge. Content Connections The creation of knowledge is, in the most practical and profound sense, a primary and direct result of learning. As teachers, we must strive to assist our students to develop intellectual tools by which they can create knowledge. Any knowledge, once created, becomes a part of a larger system that enhances learning and is capable of integrating and accommodating new information with greater efficiency and reliability. Each person creates knowledge in similar, yet uniquely distinct ways. Connecting information provided or described by others in novel and personal ways is a key to learning and developing knowledge. The more one knows, the more one can know. The idea of content links or connections is not exactly new, but offers some unique opportunities to chart your own course, learn, and add to your knowledge system. Enter the idea of Constructivism. Constructivism is a philosophy as well as a psychology of education. Constructivism is about how knowledge is created.

Essay on Condemnation of a Patriarchal Society in Yellow Wallpaper

Condemnation of a Patriarchal Society in The Yellow Wallpaper      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Charlotte Perkins Gilman was crafty. Taken at face value, her short work, The Yellow Wallpaper, is simply the diary of a woman going through a mental breakdown. The wallpaper itself is the arbitrary object on which a troubled mind is obsessively fixated. The fact that Gilman herself suffered from a nervous breakdown makes this interpretation seem quite viable. This explanation is, however, dead wrong.    The wallpaper is not merely the object upon which she obsesses. The madness that overtakes the narrator is not rooted in any nervous disorder that her husband diagnoses. The wallpaper is actually meant to represent a mould into which all women are supposed to fit. The insanity is rooted in the narrator's inability to fall easily into that mould. Gilman's descriptions of the wallpaper are really eloquent delineations of the restrictions and constraints placed upon women. In short, the wallpaper is what all proper women are supposed to be; the narrator is one woman who is unable to adapt and, hence, she becomes a lunatic.    The narrator's first description of the wallpaper puts forth most plainly what the nature of women is believed to be: "dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate and provoke study, and when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they . . . destroy themselves in unheard of contradictions" (Gilman 4-5). Initially here, women are depicted as confusing objects; so confounding that they are always annoying and yet curious enough to demand "study" or scrutiny. Upon further examination, women are then found to be "lame uncertain curves" so full of contradictions they ... ...f the wallpaper and towards schizophrenia.    It is easy to see how someone could misinterpret what Gilman was attempting to express in The Yellow Wallpaper, but if you take into account her other books (which are clearly feminist), her intentions become more apparent. She obviously uses the wallpaper as a medium to expose the constraints that were placed upon women in the 19th century. Her attitude towards these restrictions is quite apparent from the narrator's account of the wallpaper and her subsequent insanity from overexposure to it. She despises the general view of women and of their mental capabilities. This work lashes out at a patriarchal society's belief system and, the funny thing is, not many of the patriarchs noticed.    Work Cited Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The Yellow Wallpaper. 1892. Alexandria, VA: Orchises Press, 1990.      

The Last Samurai

1) Japan. The end of XIX  century,  Capt. Nathan  Algren(main character), an American  military officer  hired by  the Emperor of Japan  to train  the country's  first army  of the rising sun  to contemporary art  of warfare. The Emperor  is trying to  eradicate the  ancient  Imperial  warrior  class  of samurai, in preparation for  a more  pro-Western  government policies  supporting  foreign trade. Meanwhile,  as a result of  collisions with the  samurai,  Algren  finds himself in the center of  the confrontation  of two worlds and  civilizations,  where  the only way to  survive  is  guided by  its own  concept  of honor. ) Nathan Algren: What do you want? Katsumoto: To know my enemy. Nathan Algren: I've seen what you do to your enemies. Katsumoto: Warriors in your country do not kill? Nathan Algren: They don't cut the heads off defeated, kneeling men. Katsumoto: General Hasegawa asked me to help him e nd his life. A samurai cannot stand the shame of defeat. I was honored to cut off his head. Katsumoto: And who was your general? Nathan Algren: Don't you have a rebellion to lead? Katsumoto: People in your country do not like conversation? Nathan Algren: He was a  lieutenant colonel.His name was  Custer. Katsumoto: I know this name. He killed many warriors. Nathan Algren: Oh, yes. Many warriors. Katsumoto: So he was a good general. Nathan Algren: No. He wasn't a good general. He was arrogant and foolhardy. And he got massacred because he took a single battalion against two thousand angry Indians. Katsumoto: Two thousand Indians? How many men for Custer? Nathan Algren: Two hundred and eleven. Katsumoto: I like this General Custer. Nathan Algren: He was a murderer who fell in love with his own legend. And his troopers died for it.Katsumoto: I think this is a very good death. Nathan Algren: Well, maybe you can have one just like it someday. 3) Differences  between the two culture s  of these countries  are very strong  as we  can see in  the dialogue, Nathan Algren  protagonist  does not understand  what Katsumoto,  the rebel leader  says,  but  only in  the beginning and  at the end of  the film  author  quite  clearly shows  how Englishman understood the ancient culture of  Japan. In this film  the best  scenes  is a  heroic  death,  let's say,  three hundred  Japanese who encountered  by continuous  fire from the  guns and  howitzers.Here  we are talking about  personal  valor and military honor,  above all,  including –  devotion to  their ruler  or  lord. The human  personality, which remains independent and free, even in  the moment of death,  when  made   a conscious choice  between  fame and infamy,  is  the main measure of  value. And this,  director  showed  the viewers by  eyes  of the protagonist,  a foreigner. The fact that he   has mastered the  culture which he didn’t know at all   and  in the end  decided to be  for it. 4) Finally, I want to say that the main principle of survival in the harsh environment of foreign life is adaptation.And I chose this film because there are clearly shown and gradually as the main character throughout the film get used to the Japanese environment. The protagonist, taken prisoner by samurai, gradually turns into a samurai. Contemplation of people indifferent to his own death, talks with rebel leader Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe), stating that the person who saw the perfect shape of a flower, has lived a life not in vain, a clear rhythm and strict rest of life around make from American captain a new man.He understands why his former enemies’ absolute hero – not the one who kept the army and strategic positions, but the one who led a detachment of 211 troops against the two thousandth. And he understands why Katsumoto smiles happily when he hear d that all 300 soldiers were killed Spartan  at Thermopylae; he understands why widow of killed by him Samurai nursed him after being wounded – killed for a fair fight can not be an enemy. And, realizing this, Olgren wears the captain samurai armor, stands in order of their recent opponents and comes with a sword against guns and howitzers.Predetermined outcome of the battle, but it absolutely does not matter: death – only worthy end of life as a single ceremony of honor. Therefore, before the final battle, the protagonist offers a simple truth, which requires a long way to me: fate can not be change or submit- the fate amenable to recognition only. University of International Business and Economics The Last Samurai Intercultural communication Student: Farrukh Khamraev ID: IUP2010070 Date: November 29,2011 Beijing, 2011

Synthesis of Salicylic Acid and Potentiometric...

Synthesis of Salicylic Acid and Potentiometric Determination of its Purity and Dissociation Constant ------------------------------------------------- Abstract The purpose of the study is to synthesize salicylic acid from the ester, methyl salicylate, and determine the acid’s dissociation constant and purity. The ester was converted to salicylic acid by base hydrolysis. The products were refluxed and recrystallized, to ensure maximum purity, and filtered, dried, and weighed. The melting point of the product was determined using a Fischer-Johns melting point apparatus. The acid then dissolved in separate beakers with 95% ethanol and water and titrated with 0.050 M NaOH, previously standardized with potassium hydrogen phthalate, through†¦show more content†¦In the case where a weak monoprotic acid is being titrated with a strong base, subsequent addition of the titrant will cause a reaction to occur between the acid and the base. HA + OH– → H2O + A– (4) The presence of the acid and its conjugate base in solution will cause the formation of a buffer solution, which are solutions that resist a drastic change in pH, should a strong acid or base be added to the system. At these points, the slope of a constructed titration curve is at its minimum. This is the pre-equivalence point. There is a point during the pre-equivalence point region wherein both the acid and its conjugate base are present in equal amounts. This occurs when half of the acid has been neutralized, or when the titration is at the half-equivalence point. At this point, the buffering capacity of the system is at its maximum. Aside from that, simplifying Eq. 3 at this point by inspection, the [H+] is equal to that of the Ka. Taking the negative of the logarithm of both sides, one will be able to get the relation

Pros and Cons of the Common Core State Standards

The full implementation of the Common Core State Standards has come and gone, but its true impact on schools and education as a whole may still not be known for several years. Certainly, the shift to a national set of standards has been revolutionary and highly controversial. They have been debated and well discussed, and a handful of states once committed to the standards have recanted to go in a different direction. As the media continues to evaluate the significance of the Common Core and data from Common Core states begin to pour in, you can bet the debate will rage on. In the meantime, lets examine several of the pros and cons of the Common Core Standards that will continue to lead the debate. PROS International Benchmark. The Common Core State Standards are internationally benchmarked. This means that our standards will compare favorably to standards of other countries. This is positive in that the United States has dropped considerably in educational rankings over the last few decades. Standards that are internationally benchmarked can help improve that ranking.States Performance Can Be Compared Accurately. The Common Core State Standards allow states to compare standardized test scores accurately. Up until the Common Core Standards, each state had its own set of standards and assessments. This has made it exceedingly difficult to compare one states results accurately with another state’s results. This is no longer the case with like standards and assessments for Common Core states who share the same assessments.Lower Costs for Test Development. The Common Core State Standards decrease the costs states pay for test development, scoring, and reporting, as individual sta tes will no longer have to pay to have their unique tools developed. Each of the states that share the same standards can develop a like test to meet their needs and split costs. Currently, there are two major Common Core-related testing consortia. Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium is made up of 15 states and PARCC consists of nine states.College Readiness. The Common Core Standards increase the rigor in some classrooms and may better prepare students for college and global work success. This is probably the single biggest reason that the Common Core Standards were created. Higher education has long complained that more and more students need remediation at the beginning of college. The increased rigor should lead students to be better prepared for life after high school.Higher Thinking Skills. The Common Core State Standards—arguably—lead to the development of higher level thinking skills in our students. Students today often are tested on one skill at a time. Th e Common Core assessment will cover several skills within each question. This will ultimately lead to better problem-solving skills and increased reasoning.Progress Monitoring Tools. The Common Core State Standards assessments give teachers a tool to monitor students’ progress throughout the year. The assessments will have optional pre-test and progress monitoring tools that teachers can use to find out what a student knows, where they are going, and to figure out a plan to get them where they need to be. This gives teachers an avenue to compare an individual student’s progress instead of one student against another.Multi-Assessment Model. The Common Core State Standards assessments are more authentic to a child’s learning experience. We will be able to see what a student has learned across all curricula through the multi-assessment model. Students will no longer simply be allowed to come up with the right answer. Often times they must give an answer, state how they arrived at that conclusion, and defend it.Same Standards Across States. The Common Core State Standards can benefit students with high mobility when they transfer from one Common Core state into another. States will now share the same set of standards. Students in Arkansas should be learning the same thing as a student in New York. This will benefit students whose families move constantly.Stability. The Common Core State Standards give students stability, thus allowing them to understand what is expected of them. This is important in that if a student understands what, and why they are learning something, there becomes a greater sense of purpose behind learning it.Teacher Collaboration. In many ways, the Common Core State Standards enhance teacher collaboration and professional development. Teachers across the nation have been teaching the same curriculum. This allows teachers in opposite corners of the nation to share their best practices with each other and apply it. It also provides the opportunity for meaningful professional development as the education community is all on the same page. Finally, the standards have sparked a meaningful, nationwide conversation about the state of education in general. CONS Difficult Transition. The Common Core State Standards have been a tremendously difficult adjustment for students and teachers. It was not the way many teachers were used to teaching and not the way that many students were used to learning. There have not been instant results but instead, has been a slow process with many almost refusing to get on board.Educator Attrition. The Common Core State Standards have caused many outstanding teachers and administrators to pursue other career options. Many veteran teachers have retired rather than adjust the way they teach. The stress of getting their students to perform will likely continue to cause more teacher and administrator burnout.Too Vague. The Common Core State Standards are vague and broad. The standards are not particularly specific, but many states have been able to deconstruct or unwrap the standards making them more teacher friendly.Increased Rigor for Some States. The Common Core State Standards have forced younger students to l earn more at a quicker pace than they ever have before. With the increased rigor and higher level thinking skills, early childhood programs have become more rigid. Pre-Kindergarten has become more important, and skills students used to learn in second grade are being taught in Kindergarten.Lack of Modifications for Students With Special Needs. The Common Core State Standards assessment does not have an equivalency test for students with special needs. Many states provide students with special needs a modified version of a test, but there is no such tool for the Common Core Standards. The entire school’s population have their results reported for accountability purposes.Less Rigorous Than Some Previous Standards. The Common Core State Standards could be watered down when compared to a few states who had previously developed and adopted rigorous standards. The Common Core Standards were designed as a middle ground of the current state standards, meaning that while many statesâ €™ standards were raised, there were some whose rigor decreased.Costly Material. The Common Core State Standards caused many textbooks to become obsolete. This was a pricey fix as many schools had to develop or purchase new curricula and materials that were aligned to the Common Core.Technology Costs. The Common Core State Standards costs schools a lot of money to update the technology needed for the assessments, as most of them are online. This created many issues for districts who had to purchase enough computers for all students to be assessed in a timely manner.Focus on Standardized Testing. The Common Core State Standards have led to an increased value on standardized test performance. High stakes testing is already a trending issue, and now that states are able to compare their performance against other states accurately, the stakes have only become higher.Limited Subject Scope. The Common Core State Standards currently only include skills associated with English-Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics. There is currently no science, social studies, or art/music Common Core Standards. This leaves it up to individual states to develop their own set of standards and assessments for these topics.