Arab Societies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Arab Societies - Essay Example Meanwhile, the former inhabitants of the land purchased by the oil-rich citizens are left to migrate to urban areas leaving their agricultural livelihood to be bulldozed into the ground as the new foundation of an eagerly anticipated tourist destination. These migrants eventually get employed in a job that does not offer them enough income to live comfortably. This is the picture of how most Arabs live in the Middle East as painted by the authors of the assigned readings. The unfortunate thing is that only 5% of the Arab people are living in luxury while the rest live within middle-class to lower-class means. The consequence of the rural-urban migration of people is leaving agricultural lands barren without anyone to tend to producing crops or raising livestock for people’s food. Kadri reports that exportation of food has significantly decreased and importation has been on a steady rise. Hence, malnutrition among Arab nations has also spread. What is the government doing about this â€Å"rich getting richer† and the â€Å"poor getting poorer† situation? Since huge investments on land and real-estate would need the appropriate permits and authorization to operate, with the authority coming from the government, it may be expected that people in government gain much from the investors and inevitably approve of their investments. Mitchell has described such leniency from government as neoliberalism. It may be overwhelming to witness vast lands being turned to â€Å"dreamland† while the economy suffers and the majority of the population live in poverty. One may question where most of the revenue from taxes of such luxurious investments go. Certainly not to programs that will uplift the standard of living of middle to low classed citizens! Government priorities have been lopsided, favouring the projects of the rich over the service of the poor. This may be due to the personal agendas of those in power. Farsoun laments how Arab state capitalism

Critically consider psychological explanations of love Essay Example for Free

Critically consider psychological explanations of love Essay There are three psychological theories of love, The Three Factor Theory of Romantic Love, Sternbergs Triangular Theory of Love and Romantic Love and Attachment. The three factor theory of romantic love suggested by Hatfield and Walster, recognises two types of love, passionate love and companionate love. Whilst passionate love can be seen as an intense physiological arousal which involves a longing for the other person, companionate love is more a feeling of affection towards those whom we feel deeply about. Hatfield and Walster propose a theory to explain passionate love based on three factors; physiological arousal, appropriate love object and cultural exposure. The authors see love as a label that is placed on someone that we are physiologically aroused by. Experiencing this arousal will cause a person to state it is because of love, since this is what our culture teaches us happens when we are in love. This theory receives support from research by Dutton and Aron. In this study, male participants were interviewed on a high or low suspension bridge, by an attractive female. The results supported the prediction that those males interviewed on a high bridge felt more sexual attraction to the woman, presumably because they experienced stronger physiological arousal. The males on the lower bridge felt less physical attraction, presumably because their physiological arousal was not as strong. It is possible that this theory could explain certain experiences such as love at first sight. However, since most people seem to fall in love gradually, this would suggest that for the majority of individuals, the label, love, comes first rather that the physiological arousal. The theory is also more applicable to western rather then eastern or collectivist cultures. Sternberg defines love as intimacy (sharing mutual understanding and emotional support), passion (involves physical attraction and sexual desire) and decision/commitment (involves the short-term decision that you love someone and a longer-term commitment to maintain that love). These three components of love can be combined in different ways to produce seven varieties of love; liking, infatuation, empty love, romantic love, compassionate love, fatuous love and consummate love. These seven types of love form a triangle. Consummate love being in the center as it is the strongest form of love since it involves all three components. Sternberg believes that people have two different types of triangle. The first is based on an individuals own theory of love and is formed in a cultural context from watching television, observing parents, reading books, including listening to fairy tales when young. The second triangle is based on the individuals current relationship. According to Sternberg when two triangles are similar, relationships tend to be more successful. The theory has practical applications it is possible to measure the components in the two parties and then analyse the differences in the types of love shown by each partner. It helps pinpoint areas where change and compromise may be necessary. However, the components are rather vague, especially commitment, and it is therefore difficult to judge the basis on which one person decides to love another. Hazan and Shaver proposed that romantic relationships are attachment relationships, and that individual differences in adult attachment style, mirror those found by psychologists who studied attachment styles such as Ainsworth. So rather than love being formed in a cultural context, Hazan and Shaver believe that love originates from a persons early relationship with a primary caregiver. This theory developed out of two earlier pieces of research by Ainsworth and Bowlby. Ainsworths strange situation and the observation that children have three different styles of attachment secure, insecure/anxious resistant and insecure/anxious avoidant. Bowlbys belief that the mothers behaviour towards the child creates an internal working model that leads the infant to expect the same in later relationships. According to Hazan and Shaver, later love relationships can be predicted from a childs attachment style. So therefore a secure child who had a positive image of a caring mother will have relationships in later life that are friendly, trusting and more enduring. A child classified as insecure/anxious resistant will have conflicting memories of the mother, both positive and rejecting, causing relationships in later life to consist of emotional highs and lows, with moments of jealousy and concerns whether their partners really love them. Insecure/anxious avoidant children will remember their mother as cold and rejecting and have relationships in later life where they fear being close to someone and believe love is not necessary for happiness nor is it long lasting. Hazan and Shavers research receives support from a number of studies in that there does seem to be a relationship between early attachment experiences and later attitudes and behaviour to love for example Feeny and Noller 1990. However the research has all been correlational in this area, so it cannot be claimed that early attachment causes later relationships behaviour. The relationship between the two could be caused by another factor. Kagon believes this other factor to be the temperament of the child. Infants are born with certain temperaments which determine the quality of their early relationships and these innate or genetic factors affect relationships throughout life. The three psychological theories of love provide partial explanations for this most intense of human emotion. Whilst Hatfield and Walster believe love to be a state of strong physiological arousal, Sternberg and Hazan and Shaver believe that love originates from a persons early relationships with a primary caregiver.

Free Hamlet Essays: Hamlet’s Fatal Mistake :: Shakespeare Hamlet Essays

Hamlet’s Fatal Mistake  Ã‚   When you play a part or a role to disguise your true character it harms you in the end. Hamlet’s antic disposition was a tragic error on his part because it let to his eventual demise. Hamlet displays the antic disposition in order to fool Claudius, although Claudius is the only character to not be fooled. When Hamlet denies Ophelia his love, she goes mad and takes her life. Hamlet becomes confused as to whether he is insane or not. For these reasons, Hamlet’s decision to portray an antic disposition is a tragic error.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When Hamlet found out that Claudius killed his father Hamlet was furious, and got right to work on how to get his fathers revenge. Hamlet went to work by coming up with a plan to act mad so that it would hide the truth from Claudius, which was that Hamlet was going to kill Claudius. Hamlet has no such luck. Claudius does not believe Hamlet’s attempt at pretending that he is mad. "Was not like madness. There’s something in his soul" (III; I; 161). This means that Claudius does not believe that Hamlet is insane, but rather has some sort of plan being brewed. Claudius also has a plan that is to kill hamlet. This is ironic because in the end they end up Claudius is in the end murdered by Hamlet.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hamlet must act mad if he wants Claudius to believe him, so Hamlet uses his confrontations with Ophelia to display it. Ophelia is manipulated by Hamlet for his own personal gain. Hamlet uses Ophelia to get the word that he is mad around the kingdom. This is sad because Ophelia is innocent and she ends up committing suicide in the end. One of the way’s Hamlet fools Ophelia into believing that he is insane is by scaring her. (II; I;75). " I have been so affrighted". Hamlet fools Ophelia into believing that he is mad by killing Polonius behind a curtain in the Gertrude’s room. This incident drives Ophelia into becoming insane and leads to her taking her own life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hamlet spends much of his time pretending to be mad, that he starts to believe that he really is insane. Hamlet feels as if he is losing control when he sees his father’s ghost in Gertrude’s chambers. Every other time the ghost appeared, someone else saw it as well, only this time his mother did not see it.

The Banning of Capital Punishment Essay examples -- Papers Death Penal

The Banning of Capital Punishment Capital punishment is a brutal, antiquated concept that must be abolished in the name of civilized society. A humane culture cannot abide the organized extermination of human beings in the name of justice. In the United States, dozens of people are put to death every year like stray animals, only perhaps in less humane ways. The methods of capital punishment vary greatly, but none are publicly accepted as humane. Society's support for the death penalty is waning, but there is still enough support in the United States to keep it legal in many states. The death penalty exercises only the most primal instincts to kill and extract revenge in an organized fashion. This is why the death penalty must be abolished entirely: to allow society to function in a civilized manner in which every person has the right to live. Capital punishment is hypocritical, selection is arbitrary and biased, and the practice itself is cruel and inhumane. By allowing the organized extermination of living human beings the government is telling the public that they have the right to extinguish anyone they think is a murderer. The very idea of killing another for killing is inherently hypocritical. By enforcing capital punishment, the government is telling the public that it is okay to kill as long as you have more power than the person you are killing. This is of course a very cut-and-dried interpretation, but it is what the message boils down to. The problem with such a hypocritical notion as an eye for eye, is its fundamental inconsistency. In order to practice; what they preach, the courts would have to find a way to steal from thieves, betray traitors, and rape rapists. This is obviously ludicrous. Besides the cen... ... government to kill those deemed "deserving". Consequently, there are laws in place that allow the punishment of murder, by murder. Society's integrity is diminished every time a criminal is executed. The very tenets of modern organization are opposed to the notion of capital punishment, yet this is constantly defied and ignored by the American legal system. If no changes are made and the death penalty remains an acceptable form of punishment, it is inevitable that this correctional method will bleed throughout the American legal system and be utilized for "potential murderers" and small-time thieves. The mentality that encourages organized murder in the name of justice is doomed to devour the society that supports it, creating a totalitarian culture governed by paranoia. Society must voice its opposition to capital punishment before it pays dearly for a for it.

Mediation and Advocacy Literature Review Essay

In the human services field there is a combination of areas that require mediation and advocacy. Human services consist of and utilize a number of disciplines. Mediation is usually defined as a process in which an impartial third party helps parties resolve a dispute or plan a transaction by assisting their negotiations. Approaches, however, can vary considerably. Many mediators tend to use the same approach regardless of the situations of the parties. But others are flexible and do whatever will work. Each approach has potential advantages and disadvantages. Advocacy is helping or assisting those within a special population acquire the services they need. Advocacy is when someone supports you to speak up about a certain thing. It aims to make sure that an individual’s opinions and/or plight are heard and understood. Many disputes are presented when working as a mediator and an advocate in the human services field. Advocacy and Mediation necessitate a person to stay unbiased in order to assist individuals resolve their issues. The roles of advocates and mediators also come with restrictions which if not followed, could lead them to have severe legal problems. Mediators recognize that research is essential to the advancement of knowledge and that all investigations must be conducted with respect for the rights and dignity of participants and with concern for their welfare. Specifically, the conditions of the Human Subjects Experimentation, as designated by the Department of Health and Human Services of the United States Federal Government, shall be adhered to. (www.mediate.com) Being an advocate can present ethical, moral and legal issues, ethical issues are presented everywhere within advocacy. Those advocates have the ethical liability to act with honesty and sincerity. Advocates have the moral responsibility to help clients and social reasons. The most difficult task in their obligations is the legal and ethical limitations they face when taking on their cases. Some of the most rigorous limitations include laws regarding defamation or even hate crimes. These hate crimes are not only at hand in relation to racisms. An increase in hate crimes has been seen towards and in relation with same-sex marriages. These advocates are faced with the intricate task of protecting these people from hate crimes and must at the same time uphold their ethical and moral obligation to their clients regardless of their own personal beliefs (Barsky, 2007). The assimilation of advocacy and mediation plays a vital role within all human services agencies. These positions are highly recommended to unbiased knowledgeable individuals seeking to help improve society. Advocates support and preserve their stance on their meticulous beliefs and do so in an organized group fashion. A mediator in contrast assists people with decision making; they provide alternatives to their problems through coordinated counseling or support groups. Mediators strive to assist in a wide array of approaches and provide both parties with the best tools and documentation in order to realize a positive result, nevertheless mediators do not make the final decisions as they are only there to facilitate both parties to a arrive at an agreement (Barsky, 2007). Mediation and advocacy also allow clients to become familiar with the laws and limitations in relation to their issues in hopes to eliminate further escalations of the issue; whether it is a social or legal topic. Advocacy allows people the opportunity to defend their personal beliefs and voice what he or she believes to be right or wrong. The presence of these two entities allows the resolution of conflicts and conflic ting beliefs from escalating in to violence or further legal actions. Whether it may be defending the basic human rights or the difficult topics of parental rights or partial custodies; mediators provide an undeniable crucial Advocates understand the complex interface between the individuals and even the communities in which they live in. Being around the individual helps the advocate and mediator access and determine what type of people they are around and see how society interacts with their lives. The individual’s behavior would provide insight into what makes them comfortable; so there want be a need for barriers. Advocates and mediators recognize this type of closure and are specialized in learning how to gain the individuals trust. Advocates and mediators also distinguish how an individual lives with one another and can determine a lot about their lifestyle. Human services act as advocates as well when trying to determine any needs that have not been facilitated for clients. The needs could be great but it is up to human services to determine whether it’s assistance at home, medical and school issues for their children if they have any because unfortunately when adults are having problems, they do reflect on their children. Children are easiest to please but when their parents are having issues at home it can be emotionally offensive to the children if the parents aren’t careful, going to counseling and getting their children involved could help determine the cause and hopefully find a solution. In conclusion I have discovered that mediators and advocates provide a strong backbone for the different disciplines that encompass human services. Human services, advocates and mediators are all allowed to form a positive and engaging environment with the individuals that they relate with. Advocates work with clients in order to help them negotiate more effectively on their own behalves while also acting on behalf of one client. Human services are aware of their own cultural backgrounds, principles, and ethics, recognizing the prospective impact on their relationships with others. Human services advocate for the rights of all members of society, particularly those who are members of minorities and groups at which discriminatory practices have historically been directed (National Organization for Human Services, 2009). Connecting mediation and advocacy to human services involves all parties fully engaged in helping individuals surpass their disputes. Obtaining commitments and considering alternatives are good negotiation ethics that a professional must encounter to have a balanced reasonable connection with their clients (Barsky, Chapter 3 , page 78, 2000). References: Barsky. A.E. (2000). Conflict Resolution for the Helping Professional (2nd ed.). Retrieved From the University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. Mediation Council of Illinois. (1999, August). Standards of Practice for Mediators, Illinois Retrieved February 10, 2013, from http://www.mediate.com/articles National Association of Social Workers. (2011). Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Retrieved February 10, 2013, from http://www.socialworkers.org

A&P and Araby essays

A&P and Araby essays John Updike's A characteristic of both writers' works, each rendition offers its own unique perspective upon the young man's romantic infatuation. Not only are descriptive phrases shared by both stories, but parallels occur with each ending, as well (Doloff 113). What is even more telling of Updike's imitation of Joyce's Araby is the fact that the A & P title is hauntingly close in pronunciation to the original story's title. The theme of A & P and Araby are so close to each other that the subtle differences might be somewhat imperceptible to the untrained eye. Both stories delve into the unstable psyche of a young man who is faced with one of life's most difficult lessons: that things are not always as the...

Dear America Dreams In the Golden Country The Diary of Zipporah Faldman, A Jewish imigrant Girl

Dear America Dreams In the Golden Country The Diary of Zipporah Faldman, A Jewish imigrant Girl September 1, 1903My name is Zipporah Faldman. I am a 12 year old Jewish girl from Russia. I have two older sisters. The oldest is Tovah. She is 16. The middle child is Miriam. She is 15 and I zipporah (Zippy for short), am the youngest. I am 12 years old. Me, my two sister and my mother are finally going to America.September 2, 1903I am so confused and Lost. I am not at home is Russia. I really don't like America. My oldest sister Tovah says that I shouldn't hate America until I have lived here two years. I don't get what she is saying but I still have America. I could list a bazillion things that I hate. One thing for sure is that I don't like change.September 3, 1903I am finally at my American home. I kind of like it. It's bigger than our one room house in Russia.English: Miriam depicted on the rightAmazingly, It's a three bedroom house!!! I am feeling so much more lucky to have the family that I have. I am starting to like America a little bit. New York, Elliss Islad is amazing.Se ptember 11, 1903Tovah is teaching me english, it's really interesting. I am going to start going to school on Monday. I am really nervouse!!! What will happen? Will people hurt me? Now I'm scared!!!!!!! Well, I guss that I will have to wait and see...September 17,1903School is absolutly horrible. I am stuck in a room with a bunch of seven year olds in first grade! The seats are to small. The seats aremade for seven year olds. It's not fair!!!!!!!September 24, 1903I have made a new friend at school, her name is Blue. Although we arent very similar, we still love to talk...

Domestication History of Rye

Domestication History of Rye Rye (Secale cereale subspecies cereale) was likely fully domesticated from its weedy relative (S. cereale ssp segetale) or perhaps S. vavilovii, in Anatolia or the Euphrates River valley of what is today Syria, at least as early as 6600 BC, and perhaps as early as 10,000 years ago. Evidence for domestication is at Natufian sites such as Can Hasan III in Turkey at 6600 cal BC (calendar years BC); domesticated rye reached central Europe (Poland and Romania) about 4,500 cal BC. Today rye is grown on about 6 million hectares in Europe where it is mostly used for making bread, as animal feed and forage, and in the production of rye and vodka. Prehistorically rye was used for food in a variety of ways, as animal fodder and for straw for the thatched rooves. Characteristics Rye is a member of the Triticeae tribe of Pooideae subfamily of the Poaceae grasses, meaning it is closely related to wheat and barley. There are around 14 different species of the Secale genus, but only S. cereale is domesticated. Rye is allogamous: its reproductive strategies promote outcrossing. Compared to wheat and barley, rye is relatively tolerant to frost, drought, and marginal soil fertility. It has an enormous genome size (~8,100 Mb), and its resistance to frost stress appears to be a result of the high genetic diversity among and within rye populations. The domestic forms of rye have larger seeds than wild forms as well as a non-shattering rachis (the part of the stem that holds the seeds onto the plant). Wild rye is free-threshing, with a tough rachis and loose chaff: a farmer can free the grains by a single threshing since straw and chaff are eliminated by a single round of winnowing. Domestic rye maintained the free-threshing characteristic and both forms of rye are vulnerable to ergot and to munching by pesky rodents while still ripening. Experimenting with Rye Cultivation There is some evidence that Pre-Pottery Neolithic (or Epi-Paleolithic) hunters and gatherers living in the Euphrates valley of northern Syria cultivated wild rye during the cool, arid centuries of the Younger Dryas, some 11,000-12,000 years ago. Several sites in northern Syria show that increased levels of rye were present during the Younger Dryas, implying that the plant must have been specifically cultivated to survive. Evidence discovered at Abu Hureyra (~10,000 cal BC), TellAbr (9500-9200 cal BC), Mureybet 3 (also spelled Murehibit, 9500-9200 cal BC), Jerf el Ahmar (9500-9000 cal BC), and Djade (9000-8300 cal BC) includes the presence of multiple querns (grain mortars) placed in food processing stations and charred wild rye, barley, and einkorn wheat grains. In several of these sites, rye was the dominant grain. Ryes advantages over wheat and barley are its ease of threshing in the wild stage; it is less glassy than wheat and can be more easily prepared as food (roasting, grinding, boiling and mashing). Rye starch is hydrolyzed to sugars more slowly and it produces a lower insulin response than wheat, and is, therefore, more sustaining than wheat. Weediness Recently, scholars have discovered that rye, more than other domesticated crops has followed a weedy species type of domestication processfrom wild to weed to crop and then back to weed again. Weedy rye (S. cereale ssp segetale) is distinctive from the crop form in that it includes stem shattering, smaller seeds and a delay in flowering time. It has been found to have spontaneously redeveloped itself out of the domesticated version in California, in as few as 60 generations. Sources This article is part of the About.com guide to Plant Domestication, and part of the Dictionary of Archaeology Hillman G, Hedges R, Moore A, Colledge S, and Pettitt P. 2001. New evidence of Late Glacial cereal cultivation at Abu Hureyra on the Euphrates. The Holocene 11(4):383-393. Li Y, Haseneyer G, Schà ¶n C-C, Ankerst D, Korzun V, Wilde P, and Bauer E. 2011. High levels of nucleotide diversity and fast decline of linkage disequilibrium in rye (Secale cerealeL.) genes involved in frost response. BMC Plant Biology 11(1):1-14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2229-11-6 (Springer link is currently not working) Marques A, Banaei-Moghaddam AM, Klemme S, Blattner FR, Niwa K, Guerra M, and Houben A. 2013. B chromosomes of rye are highly conserved and accompanied the development of early agriculture. Annals of Botany 112(3):527-534. Martis MM, Zhou R, Haseneyer G, Schmutzer T, Vrna J, Kubalkov M, Kà ¶nig S, Kugler KG, Scholz U, Hackauf B et al. 2013. Reticulate Evolution of the Rye Genome. The Plant Cell 25:3685-3698. Salamini F, Ozkan H, Brandolini A, Schafer-Pregl R, and Martin W. 2002. Genetics and geography of wild cereal domestication in the near east. Nature Reviews Genetics 3(6):429-441.   Shang H-Y, Wei Y-M, Wang X-R, and Zheng Y-L. 2006. Genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships in the rye genus Secale L. (rye) based on Secale cereale microsatellite markers. Genetics and Molecular Biology 29:685-691. Tsartsidou G, Lev-Yadun S, Efstratiou N, and Weiner S. 2008. Ethnoarchaeological study of phytolith assemblages from an agro-pastoral village in Northern Greece (Sarakini): development and application of a Phytolith Difference Index. Journal of Archaeological Science 35(3):600-613. Vigueira CC, Olsen KM, and Caicedo AL. 2013. The red queen in the corn: agricultural weeds as models of rapid adaptive evolution. Heredity 110(4):303-311.   Willcox G. 2005. The distribution, natural habitats, and availability of wild cereals in relation to their domestication in the Near East: multiple events, multiple centres. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany 14(4):534-541. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00334-005-0075-x (Springer link not working) Willcox G, and Stordeur D. 2012. Large-scale cereal processing before domestication during the 10th millennium Cal BC in northern Syria. Antiquity 86(331):99-114.

Standards-Based Decision Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Standards-Based Decision Making - Essay Example ditors are required to state whether an audit client has complied with the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (G.A.A.P) when preparing financial statements (Williams, 2006). Green and Associates is an external audit firm to ABC Corporation. The audit firm may provide any of the four types of the audit opinions after completing a corporate financial audit on ABC Corporation’s financial statements. Green and Associates may provide an unqualified or ‘clean’ opinion of the company’s financial statements. An unqualified opinion is only provided when an audit firm ascertains that a company’s financial statements reflect a truthful opinion of its financial operations. The opinion also indicates that the company’s financial statements are in compliance with the G.A.A.P. An unqualified opinion is the best audit report that a company can receive from its auditors. In our opinion, ABC Corporation’s financial records provide an honest and fair view of its financial operations during the fiscal year ended 31th August and are in compliance with the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. An unqualified opinion may warrant an explanatory paragraph if the auditors feel that certain disclosures in the financial statements require a detailed explanation or when there is a change of auditors. It arises when the financial records indicate some minor deviations from G.A.A.P. The explanatory paragraph includes a detailed explanation of the auditor’s opinion. In our opinion, ABC Corporation’s financial statements require modification to expel the minor inconsistencies with the G.A.A.P, despite reflecting a true and fair view of the company’s financial operations. An audit report may provide a qualified or an ‘except for’ opinion after completing a corporate financial audit. Green and Associates may provide a qualified opinion if it believes that ABC corporation’s financial records are not in compliance with the G.A.A.P, despite representing a true

Industrial revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Industrial revolution - Essay Example The revolution took place around the end of 18th century and early 19th century. The overall economic outlook of England’s society saw a turn and twist in the manner in which it operated previously, and this was formally coined in by Arnold Toynbee (Williams, 2011, 138) who gave it the name of revolution and since then the term has been referred to as revolution in form of modernization of society across the world. Apart from the form of practices, it had its effect on the different styles of leadership and ruling over individuals in society as well. Keywords: Development, steel, economic development Characteristics of revolution: It brought about change in the life styles. Prior to it people relied on agriculture and lived a simple life style that was restricted to the rural part of the countries. With the advent of the industrial revolution, industries were developed; machinery came about into usage, people started adopting the new means. Although the revolution was of total ly different pattern as compared to the previous revolutions yet it had an impact on the social sphere, economic sphere and political sphere within different societies. The countries with greater economic development were in position to dominate the situation and enforce their conditions and political systems upon other nations. Imperialism was a sequence of the entire event that took place as a result of dominant and stronger economic states against the weaker ones (Kesselmae et.al, 2011, 51). In the social sphere, it allowed for jobs creation and overall rise in the income level. The ultimate impact was that of improvement of the economy. Per capita incomes (Sng, 2010), G.D.Ps, annual budgets and other social and economic factors saw progress up to multiple folds which was completely unprecedented. Countries with more progress in the industrial sector ended up becoming developed states and those with little access and advantages extraction from the industrial means and mechanism r emained underprivileged and under developed. The impact was directly visible upon the people within those societies and the overall standards of life were of little attractive outlook with regard to income and prosperity level. The earliest traces of Industrial revolution can be traced back in to the English society where people started using the tools and devices at domestic level, although the term came into force and knowledge in France first(Clark, 2000, 5) . This in turn gave rise to the industry at local level and people started progressing with the overall prospect of various professions. Machine, tools, automation, iron, steel were few of the terms that were trade mark of the concept of industrial development that took place in Europe. The spread of development in form of concepts of industrialization did not stop in the social spheres of England only ,rather it made inroads into other societies of Europe as well and later on extended beyond the European continent and United States of America got engulfed into the overall developmental process. The benefits and modifications that resulted from industrial development were not only limited to manufacturing industries or heavy machinery usage, rather they enabled the communication advancements in form of the building of roads, and covering these roads with automobiles of all kinds.

Ethics and Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethics and Business - Essay Example Human induced climate change creates many ethical issues, which remains unaddressed. Although a few individual are responsible of inducing climate change, even those not involved in inducing it feel the effects of climate change across the globe. Climate change is an ethical issue since it entails exploitation of the environment. Additionally, adverse changes in climate are expected to cause disruptions in economic activities in the countries affected. Business organizations are thus supposed to take corporate social responsibility while conducting their activities. Climate change is responsible of causing health problems since it results in pollution. In accordance to business ethics, companies involved in causing pollution are supposed to undertake actions aimed at reducing climate change. The issue of social justice arises because different countries are responsible for differing levels of emission, which requires that the responsibility be divided unequally. This paper focuses on climate change as an ethical issue. The paper will discuss how climate change violates deontological and social justice principles. Additionally, the possible solution to climate change will be discusses from the perspective of the different moral frameworks. How Climate Change Violates Deontology Principles Deontology principles, classify actions as moral or immoral depending on whether the companies involved follow their duties. Climate change violates deontological principles because it threatens the life of both current and future generations. Companies are considered immoral if they contribute to climate change without adhering to their moral duties. Additionally, activities that contribute to climate change are morally wrong since they do not respect the rights of all humans. Causing climate change entails impinging upon the right of others. Companies that contribute in causing climate change violate deontological principles (Gardiner, et al., 2010). To reduce climate change, businesses and other corporates are supposed to work together with their governments towards reducing activities that cause climate change or finding ways to reduce the effects of climate. According deontology principles it is unethical for companies to block the government from implementing activities aimed at reducing climate change. According to views by deontologists, it is crucial that companies take responsibility of their action to avoid causing injuries to other institutions and individuals (Gardiner, et al., 2010). Emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, which are responsible for climate change, causes indirect injuries to persons. Since the problems related to climate change affect vulnerable individuals or groups, then all activities resulting in emission of the gases are ethically wrong and violate deontological principle. Companies contributing to climate change can be viewed as victimizing vulnerable individuals, which is morally bad and wrong (Gardiner , et al., 2010). Solutions in Accordance with Deontological Framework Different countries contribute differently towards climate change. This is because they emit varying amongst of greenhouse gases. Deontology framework is an appropriate way of addressing the issue of climate change. Deontology principles require that companies share the burden and costs of climate change. However, it would be unfair for all companies or countries to share the burden equally. International negotiation should thus be based on the

Review of asian art performance Movie Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Of asian art performance - Movie Review Example Immediately the background vocalists finish singing BhÄ «ma comes and starts destroying the kadili groves. BhÄ «ma finally see Hanuman lying on the way. BhÄ «ma starts wondering who was blocking his way. To BhÄ «ma the person lying on the way looks like an old monkey.BhÄ «matries all he can,including threatening Hanuman but he is eventually unable to get Hanuman out of his way. This performance makes good use of dramaturgy and dance. This is a common characteristic of Indian classical dance forms. It can be seen that in most parts of the performance.The performers make good use of dancing and acting to bring forward the message that intended. It is only during the few occasions that the background singers can be heard coming into the performance with songs that are aimed at giving more details to the performance (Vatsyayan 78). It is through dancing and acting that you can actually get to know that Hanuman tries to imitate an old monkey and that that BhÄ «ma is highly offended by the fact that â€Å" an old fat monkey† lies on his way and refuses to heed to his orders despite that fact that he is royalty. The kind of performance seen in this video really show that the actors use physical stamina, skills, and concentration. It can also be noted that there is extensive use of finger gestures to communicate messages in this performance. Another notable thing about this performance is the choice of costume. Both actors receive different costumes so that their nature can be communicated. Hanuman wears a costume that is hairy at the arms so that there is the ease in associating him with a monkey. Another thing is that BhÄ «ma has attire that has been able to show his royalty.On his head he is wearing a crown and his gown has some golden accessories at the neck. These golden accessories can be said to have been purposely included in the costumes so that audience should be able to associate BhÄ «ma to affluence or royalty. Looking at the makeup used on both actors you

A&P - ARABY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A&P - ARABY - Essay Example Taking up Updike’s story first will make the comparison easy and more meaningful. It is the story of Sammy, a boy of nineteen, who enters his adult life, his real worldly life. Three young girls â€Å"in nothing but bathing suits† enter the A & P store (Joyce). Sammy is a normal boy with innocent instincts and imagination. As the girls are being keenly observed by him, the readers’ attention shifts to the inner changes taking place in him. As a young boy, he is ignorant of the reality outside. However, as his desire gets hardened, he yields to some hard decisions. He realizes that taking risk in life is very essential. Not only the known people, but the strangers also seem to play a role in molding one’s fate. The mere appearance of the girls in their swimming suit precipitates Sammy’s desire to quit his present job. As his innocence slowly melts into boldness, he gets a firmer grip on the complexity of life. He also realizes that his routine life i n the store is very monotonous, â€Å"pretty dreary â€Å", and very stagnant. The girls seem to promise some adventure in his life, some new excitement. He foresees in his imagination a new world, like the one in which the girls live. In â€Å"Araby†, the boy gets trapped by the sight of a beautiful girl, Mangan’s sister. He is completely swept away by the charm of the girl. He says â€Å"Her image accompanied me even in places the most hostile to romance† (Joyce). Her response is not much available in the story, as Queenie’s to Sammy’s love remains remote in â€Å"A & P†. The Dublin boy loses interest in everything except the girl. He is on a journey now to please her and to get him accepted by her. He explains his romantic situation: â€Å"But my body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires† (Joyce). One day he gets a chance to meet her, and she suggests that he

Review of asian art performance Movie Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Of asian art performance - Movie Review Example Immediately the background vocalists finish singing BhÄ «ma comes and starts destroying the kadili groves. BhÄ «ma finally see Hanuman lying on the way. BhÄ «ma starts wondering who was blocking his way. To BhÄ «ma the person lying on the way looks like an old monkey.BhÄ «matries all he can,including threatening Hanuman but he is eventually unable to get Hanuman out of his way. This performance makes good use of dramaturgy and dance. This is a common characteristic of Indian classical dance forms. It can be seen that in most parts of the performance.The performers make good use of dancing and acting to bring forward the message that intended. It is only during the few occasions that the background singers can be heard coming into the performance with songs that are aimed at giving more details to the performance (Vatsyayan 78). It is through dancing and acting that you can actually get to know that Hanuman tries to imitate an old monkey and that that BhÄ «ma is highly offended by the fact that â€Å" an old fat monkey† lies on his way and refuses to heed to his orders despite that fact that he is royalty. The kind of performance seen in this video really show that the actors use physical stamina, skills, and concentration. It can also be noted that there is extensive use of finger gestures to communicate messages in this performance. Another notable thing about this performance is the choice of costume. Both actors receive different costumes so that their nature can be communicated. Hanuman wears a costume that is hairy at the arms so that there is the ease in associating him with a monkey. Another thing is that BhÄ «ma has attire that has been able to show his royalty.On his head he is wearing a crown and his gown has some golden accessories at the neck. These golden accessories can be said to have been purposely included in the costumes so that audience should be able to associate BhÄ «ma to affluence or royalty. Looking at the makeup used on both actors you

ASDA expansion to KSA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

ASDA expansion to KSA - Essay Example The report includes the findings and challenges faced in compilation of the report. Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Table of Contents 2 1.0.Introduction: 3 1.1.What Should Be Considered and How 4 1.2.Saudi Arabia Overview and PESTLE Analysis: 4 1.2.1.KSA PESTLE Analysis 5 1.2.2.Political analysis 5 1.2.4.Social and Cultural Analysis 6 1.2.5.Technological Analysis 6 1.2.6.Legal Analysis 6 1.2.7.KSA Business Environment Analysis 7 4.0.Market Entry Strategy 9 5.0.Marketing Mix and Product Adaptation and Development 11 6.0.Conclusion 12 Appendix: Clients Preference for Different Supermarkets. 13 Works Cited 14 ASDA Expansion Plan to KSA 1.0. Introduction: Companies are increasingly becoming globalized. The main reasons why companies opt to expand their operations to a global level include increasing their sales due to availability of new markets, acquisition of new resources which could be domestically unavailable or expensive, opportunity to diversify business operations, minimiza tion of competition, and a possible opportunity to minimize tax deductions. Expanding business to a global level results in growth of operation and thus requires coming up with a different plan to facilitate the transformation of the business premise from local dealings to global ones. The plan should be dependent on the kind on business in question since different business has different ways of operating (Alpen Capital, 2011). While seeking to expand business operations globally, it is vital to develop an expansion plan, which should include market research to ensure that your company has a proper understanding of the market conditions in the new nation thus develop ways to adopt to the different government policies, technologies, laws and competition (Luo, 1999). In the past, globalization mainly involves large companies. However, retail businesses are continually becoming interested in globalization. A good example is the supermarket retails such as Tesco and ASDA found in UK and have currently expanded their operations to other regions, which have resulted in increased sales and profits. KSA is one of the nations that many companies are eyeing due to the readily available market (Business Monitor International, 2012). This study focuses on a plan that ASDA, a UK based retail supermarket, could adopt to expand its market and venture into KSA. ASDA Stores Ltd.  is a supermarket chain with headquarters in UK, which sells food, general merchandise, clothing, toys in addition to offering financial services. Additionally, ASDA owns a mobile telephone network called ASDA mobile. This study aims at analyzing the market conditions in KSA by exploring the following aspects: A market plan that ASDA can use to expand its market into KSA ASDA background The appropriate mode of entry into the market Marketing mix and Product adaptation and development 1.1. What Should Be Considered and How Before deciding to expand the market into KSA, it is important that ASDA carry vigorous research on the market situation in since global expansion process is often a risky choice faced by challenges. However, carrying out a prior research helps in coming up with ways to counteract the challenges. For ASDA to be in a position to triumph in KSA, it is import

Inter Textual Synthesis Essay Essay Example for Free

Inter Textual Synthesis Essay Essay Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, centers around the theme of discovering oneself. The book shows readers the world of Edna Pontellier and gives them a window into her numerous insecurities and hesitations. Throughout the book, Edna attempts to become the opposite of the stereotypical women of her time. She chooses to be herself instead of the socially acceptable role she is expected to be. Additionally, Natasha Tretheway’s poem â€Å"Domestic Work† and Bobby Coles’ poem â€Å"Finding Yourself† attack the issues of independence, relationships, and gender. These two poems in combination with The Awakening strive to challenge the status quo of women everywhere. In the 19th century, women were expected to be domestic goddesses. As a married woman, it was important to be a positive influence on her husband and children, but was still expected to address to her husband as the head of the household. These restrictions had many women, including Edna in The Awakening, feeling trapped. Some women felt the need to become their own person, as opposed to the woman they were expected to become. In the poem, â€Å"Domestic Work†, the reader is given a preview of a typical woman in the 1930’s: â€Å"She beats time on the rugs, blows dust from the broom like dandelion spores, each one a wish for something better. † (Trethewey 23-26). The poem displays the monotonous life of women in the 19th century, and how some women desired something more. Edna, from The Awakening, is included in the category of women who longed for a life beyond household chores. In both The Awakening and â€Å"Domestic Work†, independence and a woman’s relationships are subjects of choice. Edna feels that she should be able to be free and independent. She wants to make her own choices about men and decide on her own who she loves without anyone else’s opinion influencing her choice. When Edna starts to lose the feelings she once had for her husband, she falls for Robert Lebrun. In fact, Edna had no intention to marry Leonce to begin with; â€Å"Her marriage to Leonce Pontellier was purely an accident, in this respect resembling many other marriages which masquerade as the decrees of Fate† (Chopin 23). Edna desires to have freedom. Robert wants a marriage with Edna, which conflicts with what she wants. Her feelings for Robert are strong but Robert has mature feelings for Edna, eyond what she feels for him. Though Edna wishes she could say the same, her love for him is more an infatuation-not true love. â€Å"As Edna walked along the street she was thinking of Robert. She was still under the spell of her infatuation. She had tried to forget him, realizing the inutility of remembering. But the thought of him was like an obsession† (Chopin 71). In the end, Edna realizes she cannot have both independence and true love. She decides to keep Robert out of her life and ends up drowning herself because of the internal conflict she has endured. In the poem â€Å"Finding Yourself†, author Bobby Coles explains that a person has to reach inside himself/herself in order to discover who he/she is. Similarly, Edna and the woman in â€Å"Domestic Work† are enduring their own journey. In Coles’ poem, he intentionally writes without specificity of gender, therefore making the poem easily relatable to readers of any gender. Coles uses descriptive language to create an image of what it is like to go through the process of finding yourself like Edna and the woman in Domestic Work did. â€Å"When are you most comfortable? Are you being true to yourself? You are in there somewhere. Judge on your own. Listen not to others. Look in the mirror. See beyond the image† (Coles 35-41). Coles encourages readers to not be influenced by the opinions of others, and instead, judge for themselves. In each text, the idea of taking your life in your own hands is present. Each of the poems and The Awakening displays themes of gender, relationships and independence. These themes help shape the stories and give the reader a greater understanding of the messages, as well as make connections to each of the characters.

Wide Variety Of Hawaiian Dishes Cultural Studies Essay

Wide Variety Of Hawaiian Dishes Cultural Studies Essay In the nineteenth century the Americans established pineapple and sugar cane plantations. As the industries expanded immigrant workers from many different places such as Portugal, Philippines, China, Japan, and Korea arrived in Hawaii. They influenced many parts of Hawaiian cuisine. They brought with them different cooking styles, and food preparation techniques. The Portuguese brought pork dishes and the use of tomatoes and chili peppers when preparing meals. The Filipinos brought with them broiled dishes, beans, adobo dishes, and peas. The Chinese brought stir fry. The Japanese brought sashimi, noodle soups, and shrimp tempura. The Koreans brought with them dishes called kimchi, marinated meats, dishes with sweet garlic sauce, and mixed rice with seasoned vegetables also known as bibimbab. The Vietnamese brought the use of lemon grass when cooking to Hawaii. Puerto Ricans brought heavy soups and casseroles with them to Hawaii. The Samoans brought fruit based poi with them to Hawaii . Some popular restaurants in Hawaii are Sam Choys, Alan Wongs Restaurant, the Diamond Head Grill, La Mer, and Tropica. Sam Choy is a Hawaiian of Chinese descent. Sam Choy is famous for being one of the 12 chefs who established the Hawaiian Regional Cuisine movement. Some of Choys famous dishes are fried tofu, tomato poke, stone crab claws, and the pake paella. Another popular restaurant in Hawaii is Alan Wongs Restaurant. Alan Wong is considered as one of the three kings of Hawaiian Regional Cuisine, and is one of the top chefs in Hawaii. Alan Wongs Restaurant in Honolulu, is among the top ten restaurants in the state.Some of their well-known dishes are seafood paella, ginger crusted onaga, kalua pig, and tomato soup and sandwiches. The Diamond Head Grill at the Honolulu hotel also offers quality Hawaiian cooking techniques. La Mers menu features Neo ÃÆ' ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ classic French cuisine. In Hawaii there are a few food festivals. Aside from food, the highlight of Hawaiian food festivals includes the hula, musical entertainment, games, and other cultural performances. Some of the Hawaiian food festivals are Taste of Wailea, Taste of Oahu, Kapalua Food and Wine Festival. The festival of Taste of Wailea is a feast. You are able to taste some dishes prepared by top chefs in Wailea, and taste some of the best wines in the world. The festival of Taste of Oahul is also a feast. At the festival of taste of Oahul you can try some of Hawaiis dishes from over twenty five of Hawaiis best establishments that are known for their signature recipes. You can also enjoy the festivals wine tasting. The Kapalua Food and Wine festival is a very famous celebration in Maui. It is a four day long celebration. Over the years, this four-day long event has been known to feature several top chefs. Aside from wine tasting sessions and seminars, this event also highlights cooking demonstrations. If you want to try some of Hawaiis traditional dishes you should go to a luau. All the islands of Hawaii celebrate a luau. During a luau, Hawaiis traditional dishes such as poi, Kalua pig, coconut, and seafood dishes are served. King Kamameha 11 started the tradition of a luau during the 1800s. This event was held as a symbol that certain religious taboos previously practiced have ended. A luau is the highlight of many important Hawaiian events including weddings, birthdays, and graduations. Since then, the term has been used in place of party, even in other countries. Today Hawaiians are still celebrating luaus today. There are some popular dishes you must sample when in Hawaii. One of these dishes is the Kalua pig. The Kalua pig is seasoned with salt then wrapped in banana leaves and then steaming it inside a ground broiler, or imu. Another popular dish is Haupia. Haupia is a gelatin like desert. Haupia is made using a thickened coconut milk. Another popular and one of the oldest recipes is a seafood dish called Luau. Luau is prepared with a mixture of coconut milk and taro leaves. Another dish you should try while in Hawaii is the Lomi salmon. The Lomi salmon is made by mixing together tomatoes, peppers, and onions with salted salmon. Tuna is also a very popular item in Hawaii. There are many varieties of tuna. The popular varieties are the Ahi, the yellow fin tuna, the Tombo, the Albacore tuna, the Aku, and the Skipjack. There is also what they call the poke, which is usually served as an appetizer in Hawaiian cuisine. Poke is a fish salad. Poke in Hawaiian means section, to slice, or cut. Poke is a dish that exhibits the heavy influence of Japanese cuisine. Another Japanese-inspired cuisine is the Spam musubi, which is a variant of a Japanese rice ball with spam wrapped in seaweed. Back in the days, the first fine dining restaurants that were established in Hawaii were mostly for the wealthy. The dishes served in the restaurants were similar to those served in Europe. Some of the items on those menus were mullet, chicken with tomatoes, cabinet pudding, and spring lamb. Back in august of nineteen ninety one a dozen chefs of Hawaii would get together and organize a movement to create a cuisine that would characterize the uniqueness of Hawaii, which marked the birth of the Hawaiian Regional Cuisine. Instead of using foreign ingredients the chefs wanted to create dishes using ingredients grown locally. These chefs wanted to make a cuisine that people visiting would find a taste of Hawaii. The Hawaiian cuisine is made up of much cuisine of many different cultures, but uses the ingredients found locally. Some of the Hawaiian dishes that were a result of the chefs desires to create a unique Hawaiian cuisine were Waimanalo salad greens, Puna goat cheese, and Kahuku pra wns. Hawaii has many crops and other edible plants, and the food served to the early settlers in Hawaii was mainly fruits and root crops. Some locally grown items are taro, sweet potatoes, yams, allspice, banana passion fruit, cinnamon, coffee, guava, java plum, macadamia nut, and mango. In the late nineteenth century, American settlers established pineapple and sugar cane plantations. As the plantations expanded, immigrant workers from around the world arrived in Hawaii. Some of the immigrant workers came from Portugal, Philippines, China, Japan, and Korea. When this happened it really influenced the Hawaiian cuisine. They brought with them different cooking styles, and food preparation techniques. Hawaii is a wonderful place with a great cuisine and someday I would like visit and taste their many different dishes. I think that it is so interesting on how they created their cuisine.

Supernatural in Shakespeares Macbeth - Witches and Lady Macbeth Hold t

The Witches and Lady Macbeth Cause the Downfall of Macbeth      Ã‚  Ã‚   William Shakespeare's tragic play, Macbeth shows the gradual descent of the character Macbeth into the moral abyss.  Ã‚   Macbeth's yearning for power draws him to the murder of King Duncan, Banquo, and Macduff's family. It is difficult to understand how a courageous, gentle man such as Macbeth, could be involved in such villainous activities. In truth, it was the witches and Lady Macbeth that transformed into evil Macbeth's natural desire for control and authority.   The play, Macbeth clearly illustrates that wicked intention must, in the end, produce wicked action.      Shakespeare focuses on Macbeth's courage early in the play.   For example, Duncan and the sergeant both compliment Macbeth's mental and physical bravery in Act I, Scene II.   Macbeth "carv'd out his passage"(I.ii.21) until he and the enemy general were face to face.   In the same act, the reader is told that Macbeth is brave because of his "disdaining Fortune"(I.ii.19) In addition to his quality of courage, Macbeth is also a gentle man.    Demonstrating his love and devotion for his wife, Macbeth refers to her as "his dearest partner of greatness"(I.v.11).   Lady Macbeth views his kindness as somewhat of a problem for their quest for power.   She says that Macbeth is "too full o' the milk of human kindness"(I.v.17)   to place them on the   throne of Scotland as a result of murder.      Macbeth realizes that Duncan is, in fact, a good and humble king.   Other than to fulfill self-centered desires and uncontrolled ambitions, there is no valid reason to murder him.   However, both his wife and the three witches soon pressure Macbeth to murder Duncan.   The three witches are supernatural in... ...es are ruined.    Works Cited and Consulted:    Biggins, Dennis. "Sexuality, Witchcraft, and Violence in Macbeth." Shakespeare Studies VII (1975)    Callaghan, Dympna. Woman and Gender in Renaissance Tragedy. Atlantic Highlands: Humanities Press International, Inc., 1989    Foakes, R.A. "Images of death: ambition in Macbeth." In Focus on Macbeth. Ed. John Russell Brown. Boston: Routledge, 1982.    Muir, Kenneth. "Introduction." In Macbeth. Ed. Kenneth Muir. New York: Routledge, 1992.    Novy, Marianne. Love's Argument: Gender Relations in Shakespeare. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1984    Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Ed. Kenneth Muir. New York: Routledge, 1992.    Stallybrass, Peter. "Macbeth and Witchcraft." In Focus on Macbeth. Ed. John Russell Brown. Boston: Routledge, 1982.   

Controlling Case study Essay

Abstract This paper studies management control design of supplier relationships in manufacturing, a supply chain phase currently under-explored. Compared to supplier relations during procurement and R&D, which research found to be governed by a combination of formal and informal controls, supplier relations in manufacturing are more formal, so that they could be governed by more formal and less informal controls. To refine the management control system and influencing contingencies, we propose a theoretical framework specifically adapted for the manufacturing stage. This framework is investigated by an in depth case study of the supplier management control of a Volvo Cars production facility. We identify three types of suppliers visualizing the associations in the framework and illustrating the framework’s explicative power in (automotive) manufacturing. Furthermore, the case contradicts that supplier relations in the manufacturing phase are governed by little informal control, because the automaker highly values the role of trust building and social pressure. Most notably, a structured supplier team functions as a clan and establishes informal control among participating suppliers, which strengthens the automaker’s control on dyadic supplier relations. Keywords: Management control; Supplier relationships; Manufacturing; Contingency theory; Case research; Automotive 2 1. Introduction In the current economic environment, characterised by globalisation and enhanced levels of competition, companies require an effective supply chain with inter-organizational relationships (IORs) to strive for sustainable competitive advantage. Not surprisingly, studies show that IORs have a high potential impact on organization performance (e. g. Anderson & Dekker, 2005). Literature, however, also argues that many IORs do not provide the expected benefits and are often terminated because of managing difficulties (Ireland, Hitt & Vaidynanath, 2002). Academics often propose that lack of coordination and opportunistic behaviour of partners are the two main reasons for the relatively high relationship failure rate (e. g. Dekker, 2004). Hence, management control systems (MCSs) are argued to play a critical role in preventing such failure, by establishing governance mechanisms to control the relationship (Ireland et al. , 2002). The fundamental goal of MCSs is to influence decision making in attaining strategic objectives (Nixon & Burns, 2005). In an inter-organizational setting, this implies creating bilateral incentives to pursue mutual goals. Already in the mid-nineties, scholars started calling for more attention for this topic (e.g. Hopwood, 1996; Otley, 1994), and have not stopped since (e. g. van der Meer-Kooistra & Vosselman, 2006). Consequently, inter-organisational MCSs have been studied from several angles, including outsourcing (e. g. Anderson, Glenn & Sedatole, 2000), inter-organizational cost management (e. g. Cooper & Slagmulder, 2004), partnerships (e. g. Seal, Berry, Cullen, Dunlop & Ahmed, 1999), strategic alliances (e. g. Dekker 2004), networks (e. g. Kajuter & Kulmala, 2005) and joint ventures (e.g. Kamminga & van der MeerKooistra, 2007). Yet, the main emphasis was put on relational collaboration during the first stages of the supply chain, namely procurement, which involves the make-or-buy decision, partner selection and contract design, and R&D. Although this historical focus is certainly justified, management control in a later phase of the supply chain, namely manufacturing, remains relatively under-explored (Cooper & Slagmulder, 2004; Langfield-Smith & Smith, 2003). However, purchased products and services for manufacturing account for more than 60% of the average company’s total costs (Degraeve & Roodhooft, 2001) and are subject to continuous improvement with suppliers, also requiring adequate management control. Therefore, this study illustrates how manufacturers design the MCS of supplier relations in the manufacturing phase of the supply chain, which we refer to as â€Å"manufacturer-supplier relationships† (MSRs). In other words, we abstract from 3  procurement and R&D influences. 1 Nevertheless, management control research on previous supply chain stages, offers a first theoretical insight into how a MCS for MSRs could look like. In particular, prior empirical research on IORs such as R&D collaboration (Cooper & Slagmulder, 2004), strategic alliances (Dekker 2004) and joint ventures (Kamminga & van der Meer-Kooistra, 2007) found MCSs that combine both formal controls, like outcome controls, and more informal controls, such as trust building. Also the execution of service outsourcing projects, like industrial maintenance (van der Meer-Kooistra & Vosselman, 2000), IT (Langfield-Smith & Smith, 2003) and accounting (Nicholson, Jones & Espenlaub, 2006) is governed by a combined MCS. So if we assume these findings to hold for other IOR types (external validity) and neglect potential characteristic differences, MSRs could be expected to be governed by a combination of formal and informal control as well. Yet, by taking into account differences between MSRs and other types of IORs, the MCS design could be different. In that respect, we argue that manufacturing is more formal than procurement and R&D. Indications for that argument and its consequences for management control can be found in the management control framework of Das & Teng (2001). Based on the variables in their framework2, task programmability and outcome measurability, it should be clear that for manufacturing both variable levels are high, or at least higher than in the case of procurement and R&D. Consequently, the framework indicates that formal controls are suited mechanisms to govern MSRs. This argument is strengthened by the type of knowledge usage in MSRs, for which organization literature provides a clear distinction between knowledge exploration and knowledge exploitation. On the one hand, it is argued that the first supply chain phases, think of procurement and R&D, aim at knowledge exploration, while the later stages, like manufacturing, primarily 1 Obviously, procurement and R&D do impact the manufacturing phase. Yet, as our aim is refining supplier MCS design in the  manufacturing phase, we deliberately exclude these influences. In terms of research methodology, this abstraction is put into operation by studying a MSR between a manufacturer facility and supplier facility only dealing with manufacturing, while procurement and R&D are handled by their respective mother companies (cf part three of this paper â€Å"research methodology†). 2 Although this framework was originally developed by Ouchi (1979) for use in MCS design within organizations, Das & Teng (2001) further adapted it for use in IORs. Task programmability refers to the degree to which managers understand the transformation process in which appropriate behaviour is to take place. Outcome measurability refers to the ability to measure outcome precisely and objectively. When outcome measurability is high/low and task programmability is low/high, formal outcome/behaviour control should be set up to govern the relation. When both dimensions are low, informal control is preferable, but when both measures are high, both outcome and behaviour control are suited control mechanisms (Das & Teng, 2001). 4  aim at knowledge exploitation. On the other hand, research shows that the exploration of knowledge is best governed by informal controls, while knowledge exploitation is most adequately controlled by formal controls (Bijlsma-Frankema & Costa, 2005). Thus, based on the characteristics of high task programmability, high outcome measurability and knowledge exploitation goals, MSRs could be expected to be governed by primarily formal controls with little informal controls. In other words, the literature offers different management control designs for MSRs regarding the informal control level. Therefore, this study investigates how the MCS of MSRs is designed and how important informal controls are in that design, in particular in IORs between an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and suppliers of outsourced manufacturing activities in the trend-setting automotive industry (cf Womack, Jones & Roos, 1990). An automobile is a complex product manufactured with thousands of components. Consequently, also this industry increasingly outsourced non-core activities and started relying on suppliers to create lower costs. To that end, a variety of supply chain management practices has been implemented, such as lean supply and continuous improvement. Yet, these induce the need for appropriate management control structures and bi-directional communication to organize and manage the relation (Carr & Ng, 1995; Scannell, Vickery & Droge, 2000). In that respect, one particular automaker, namely Toyota, is known for partnering with suppliers, transferring its expertise to help suppliers and installing softer forms of control including trust. To govern the search for continuous improvement in manufacturing, Toyota established the â€Å"Toyota Group† by means of a supplier association, an operations management consulting division and voluntary small group learning teams (Dyer & Nobeoka, 2000). However, practitioner literature (e. g. Automotive News/Automotive News Europe) describes several other automakers governing this search by heavily formalized supplier relations. Contrary to cooperation during procurement and R&D, manufacturing is argued to become much more demanding towards suppliers. Automakers increasingly transfer manufacturing risk and supply responsibility to first-tier suppliers, which results in suppliers delivering to very tight just-in-time and in-sequence schedules (Alford, Sackett & Nelder, 2000). As a result, OEMs install formal controls and supplier improvement techniques, which alert suppliers to the importance of ameliorating supply performance at lower costs. Hence, also automotive practice shows evidence of high and low levels of informal control. Therefore, this study specifically investigates how the MCS of automotive MSRs is designed. Yet, besides illustrating MCS design, this paper contributes to explaining MCS design of automotive 5 MSRs. To our knowledge, little inter-organizational management control research specifically investigated contingency theory’s explicative power in manufacturing. Naturally, several papers study influences on MCS design in production environments, like the impact of manufacturing flexibility (Abernethy & Lillis, 1995), customization and related interdependence (Bouwens & Abernethy, 2000), profit centre strategy (Lillis, 2002), production strategy, production technology and organization (van Veen-Dirks, 2006). However, these studies investigate characteristics explaining MCS design in one organisation, while our study focuses on inter-organizational relations. To that end, we propose a refined theoretical contingency framework based on recent inter-organizational management control theory, but specifically adapted for the manufacturing stage. This framework proposes several contingencies determining the level of risk, which is governed by different levels of management control techniques. In order to illustrate the validity of the framework in practice and answer how and why automakers design their MCS, we perform an in depth case study of the relations between a facility (VCG) of the international OEM Volvo Cars and a selection of its first-tier supplier facilities. The case study provides considerable evidence of three supplier types, namely batch, low value-added just-in-sequence and high value-added just-in-sequence suppliers, visualizing the associations in the framework between contingencies, risks and management controls. These controls include both formal and informal techniques, of which trust building and social pressure are highly valued. Most notably, VCG’s structured supplier team functions as a clan and establishes informal control among participating suppliers, which strengthens control on the OEM’s dyadic supplier relations. As our framework draws on case findings from other less formal IORs, it seems that our case findings offer more evidence of their external validity. That way, the findings contradict that informal controls play a minor role in automotive MSRs. In particular, VCG’s MCS, combining both formal and informal controls, is argued to be designed specifically to improve supply performance. The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. In the second part, we develop the theoretical contingency framework. The third part describes the case research methodology. The fourth part is the actual case study, which presents VCG, describes three supplier types by means of contingency levels and clarifies how VCG designed the MCS governing them. In the fifth part, we discuss our findings by comparing VCG’s management control with previous findings and elaborating on the significance of VCG’s supplier team. We conclude the paper with a summary of the main findings and some avenues for further research. 6 2. Theoretical framework In this part, we develop a theoretical contingency framework for MCS design of MSRs, which can be found in figure I. > Contingency theory originated with the aim of explaining the structure of organizations by particular circumstances. Later, management accounting researchers adopted and further developed the theory in order to explain the shape of MCSs in organizations (e. g. Chenhall, 2003; Luft & Shields, 2003). Therefore, contingency theory suits this study, regarding MCS design of MSRs and its explicative variables. The central concept of the framework is the level of risk a certain MSR runs. Inter-organizational management control theory proposes two types of risk, which result from five different situational antecedents, characterizing the MSR. Although we clarify both risk types separately, we stress the integrative interpretation of all contingencies jointly determining both levels of risk. Subsequently, this risk is governed by different management control instruments, either with a large or a small role for informal control. 3 2. 1. Performance risk The first risk type is performance risk, defined as the probability of not achieving the MSR objectives, despite satisfactory cooperation (Das & Teng, 2001). This type of risk is also referred to as â€Å"coordination requirements† (Dekker, 2004; Gulati & Singh, 1998) or â€Å"the mastery of events† (Tomkins, 2001). As the MSR objective concerns manufacturing as many products of the order book as possible, on time, with good quality at the lowest possible cost, performance risk is the risk of a supply chain interruption disturbing the realisation of this goal. Three contingencies related to technology increase this risk, namely complexity, task uncertainty and task interdependence (Chenhall, 2003). Yet as complexity and task uncertainty are highly related (Chenhall, 2003), the framework does not include complexity separately (cf Dekker, 2004). 3 According to van Veen-Dirks (2006), all situational characteristics and MCS characteristics are determined jointly instead of sequentially. Also Kamminga & van der Meer-Kooistra (2007) propose that the influence of contingencies is not determined by each antecedent as such, but by their interaction. In addition, they suggest studying control as an integrative concept, in which all control dimensions are incorporated. Consequently, we do not propose one-on-one associations between one specific contingency, one specific type of risk and one specific type of control, suggested to suit that risk type. Instead, our model simultaneously studies the associations between situational contingencies, risks and management control techniques, as put forward by the three boxes of figure I. The boxes of contingencies and risks are put together to stress their interdependence and joint impact on management control. 7 Task uncertainty relates to variability in transformation tasks and the available knowledge of methods for performing those tasks (Chenhall, 2003). This situational characteristic determines the measurability difficulty of output and activities (Kamminga & van der Meer-Kooistra, 2007; van der MeerKooistra & Vosselman, 2000), which increases with increasing levels of complexity of both the delivered product and its operational processes (Woodward, 1965). The first complexity is related to the added value of the product and gradually increases depending on whether the supplier delivers a standard component or an important customized module (Cooper & Slagmulder, 2004). The second complexity regards the added value of the production process and reflects the complexity of the supplier’s manufacturing processes needed to effectively produce and deliver products as required. Task interdependence refers to the degree to which subactivities of the value creation process have been split up and made dependent on each other (Dekker, 2004). In MSRs, this interdependence is sequential (Thompson, 1967)4, because the relation involves transferring the supplier’s output to the manufacturer’s input process. The level of sequential interdependence is impacted by the dependence level of the manufacturer’s operational performance on the supply quality (timeliness and product quality). Moreover, the interdependence level of a specific MSR is influenced by the production flexibility required from both parties and the manufacturer’s lack of precise knowledge to perform activities previously done in-house. 2. 2. Relational risk The second type of risk is relational risk, implying the probability of not having satisfactory cooperation because of opportunistic behaviour of the supplier, exemplified in shirking, cheating, distorting information and appropriating resources (Das and Teng, 2001). This type of risk is also referred to as â€Å"appropriation concerns† (Dekker, 2004; Gulati & Singh, 1998) or â€Å"the generation of trust† (Tomkins, 2001). Transaction cost economics (TCE) theory5 proposes three contingencies that influence relational risk and subsequently determine appropriate control: asset specificity, environmental uncertainty and transaction frequency (Williamson, 1979). Yet, as the manufacturer possesses no specific assets related to a certain supplier, at 4 Thompson (1967) identifies three levels of task interdependence from low to high, which influence the level of inter-organisational coordination and communication: pooled, sequential and reciprocal interdependence. 5 TCE argues that parties are only boundedly rational and behave opportunistically. Therefore, the total cost of outsourcing is the sum of both the supplied component costs and the transaction costs, including costs for negotiation, drawing up contracts, coordination, control and risk of opportunistic behaviour (van der Meer-Kooistra & Vosselman, 2000). 8 least not in the manufacturing phase of the supply chain, there is no lock-in to supplier opportunistic behaviour. 6 Hence, unlike uncertainty and transaction frequency, asset specificity does not influence supplier opportunistic behaviour in MSRs and is not included in our theoretical framework. Consistent with being a central contingency research concept, environmental uncertainty also forms a powerful characteristic of MSRs (Chenhall, 2003). In particular, this contingency relates to general market uncertainties and uncertainty about unknown future contingencies (Kamminga & van der Meer-Kooistra, 2007; Langfield-Smith & Smith, 2003; van der Meer-Kooistra & Vosselman, 2000). Because manufacturer and supplier interact under these uncertainties, both parties face changes over time, which require detailed contracts (Dekker, 2004). However, incomplete contract theory argues that there exist limitations in drawing up complete contracts, because all future contingencies can not be foreseen, are too expensive to foresee or are too expensive or impossible to contract upon (Gietzmann, 1996). Consequently, the combination of uncertainty and incomplete contracts leads to potential opportunistic behaviour of the supplier. According to TCE, more frequent interactions lower the possibility of opportunistic behaviour (Williamson, 1979). So, to preserve a positive relation between contingencies and relational risk, we could utilize infrequency as contingency variable (e. g. Anderson & Dekker, 2005). Yet, as we study MSRs with no connection to commercial negotiations determining the contract term, we include the antecedent relational stability aim. This contingency relates to the manufacturer’s aim of continued future interactions with the supplier and serves to build bilateral commitment (Cooper & Slagmulder, 2004). We argue that MSRs, in which relational stability is considered necessary and thus aspired by the manufacturer, are subject to higher relational risk. For example, if supplier switching costs are high due to high interdependence, high commitment from the manufacturer could incite the supplier to accept lower quality or delivery performance. Besides including a transaction environment characteristic and a transaction characteristic, we also incorporate a transaction party characteristic (Langfield-Smith & Smith, 2003; van der Meer-Kooistra & Vosselman, 2000). In particular, we include supplier knowledge importance, which encompasses the degree of importance for the manufacturer to know the supplier and to be able to assess characteristics, such as management competence, trustworthiness and willingness to share proprietary knowledge. Usually, this kind of assessment is done by means of first-hand or second-hand experience. Hence, we argue that when the 6 Obviously, suppliers do have specific assets in place, rendering them vulnerable to opportunistic behaviour from the part of the manufacturer. However, this study and the developed theoretical framework only focus on supplier opportunistic behaviour. 9 importance of supplier knowledge rises, the risk for insufficient or erroneous assessment and subsequent supplier opportunistic behaviour increases. 2. 3. Management control system Although MCSs have been conceptualised and categorised in various ways, the current management control literature has reached a consensus on two types of management controls, namely formal and informal control instruments (Langfield-Smith & Smith, 2003). Obviously, studying the usage of informal controls compared to formal controls requires both control types to be included in the theoretical framework. Formal controls are explicitly set up to coordinate the MSR and include outcome controls and behaviour controls. Outcome control involves the measurement and evaluation of the outcomes of operations against pre-defined outcomes or targets, by using several performance measurement techniques (Ouchi, 1979; Dekker, 2004). The most important outcome metrics for MSRs are percentage of defects, quality of delivered goods and on time delivery of goods (Gunasekaran, Patel & McGaughey, 2004). Behavioural control concerns the specification and actual surveillance of behaviour, by means of rules and standard procedures (Ouchi, 1979). Additionally, behaviour control includes evaluating compliance with pre-specified planning, procedures, rules and regulations (Dekker, 2004). Informal controls (also called social controls) are not explicitly designed, but are grown out of shared norms and values, shaped by frequent interaction, meetings and management attitude (Ouchi, 1979; Merchant, 1998). Especially trust building7 has emerged as a very important informal control instrument in inter-organizational MCSs (e. g.Dekker, 2004). While formal controls reduce the risk by altering the incentives for underperformance and opportunistic behaviour, trust mitigates risk by minimizing the fear of underperformance and opportunistic behaviour to occur (Das and Teng 2001). Therefore, we include three types of inter-organizational trust building, namely building contractual trust, competence trust and goodwill trust (Sako, 1992). 8 Contractual trust results from previous contractual relations or grows during the MSR 7 Rousseau, Sitkin, Burt & Camerer (1998, p. 394). Define trust as â€Å"a psychological state comprising the intention to accept  vulnerability, based upon positive expectations of the intentions or behaviour of another†. According to them â€Å"trust is not a behaviour (cooperation), or a choice (e. g. taking a risk), but an underlying psychological condition that can cause or result from such actions† (Rousseau et al. , 1998, p. 395; italics added). As such, trust in itself can not be a control instrument in the MCS of MSRs. Instead, the control techniques are the actions the manufacturer performs to create and build trust in the supplier. 8 Contractual trust is based on the expectation that the supplier will keep promises and comply with agreements made, whether these10 (Sako, 1992). Competence trust is increased by previous good performance, i. e. good quality and delivery results. Moreover, competence trust results from buying activities from reputable suppliers or transferring competences to the supplier. Additionally, product and/or process certification and process standardisation enhance competence trust (Sako, 1992). To develop goodwill trust, Sako (1992) identifies shared values and norms as necessary, but insufficient, as transaction parties also need to show the willingness to be indebted to each other. Gulati (1995) stresses creating and growing an inter-organizational bond of friendship to trigger goodwill trust (Gulati, 1995). Other possible goodwill trust initiators are interactive goal setting, trustworthiness reputation and a long term relationship (Dekker, 2004). Next to these specific trust building mechanisms, the literature also proposes an important overall trust building technique, namely close interaction, based on mutual interests and established by means of joint decision making and joint problem solving via a joint relationship board and/or joint task groups (Das & Teng, 2001; Dekker, 2004). 9 Besides trust building, MSRs can be governed by another type of informal control, which Ouchi (1979) refers to as clan control. Based on shared norms, values and a common inter-organizational goal, supplier behaviour in the interest of the MSR will be reinforced, because suppliers are motivated to achieve the goal (Das & Teng, 2001). This incentive results from inter-organisational social pressure (Spekle, 2001) exerted by the manufacturer, which we believe is social control in its literal meaning. Because of high interdependence between manufacturer and supplier, below standard results of the supplier directly impact the manufacturer’s performance. Consequently, supplier management is unpleasantly confronted with manufacturer management and faces personal humiliation because of the error. Additionally, supplier management runs the risk of their reputation and personal relationship with interacting manufacturer management getting injured. Also Dyer & Singh (1998) mention reputation and personal relations as social control mechanisms, besides norms and trust. By acting as negatively valued social sanctions (Bijlsma- are contractually stipulated or not. Competence trust concerns the expectation that the supplier possesses the necessary technical and managerial competences to deliver the order as agreed. Goodwill trust regards the expectation that the supplier shares an open commitment, with the willingness to perform activities beneficial to the MSR, but possibly neither in the supplier’s interest nor required by the contract (Sako, 1992). 9 Other potential overall trust building techniques in a MSR are communication via regular inter-organizational meetings (Chalos & O’Connor, 2004; Das & Teng, 2001), information sharing of problem areas (Chalos & O’Connor, 2004), supplier development activities (Carr & Ng, 1995), networking (Das & Teng, 2001), training (Chalos & O’Connor, 2004) and the extent to which the employees of both parties understand the factors ensuring the collaboration’s future success (Chalos & O’Connor, 2004). 11 Frankema & Costa, 2005), these social consequences create incentives for satisfactory supplier performance and render supplier opportunism hard to sustain (Spekle, 2001). If we assume operational snags to be day-today business in MSRs, this social pressure creates an informal means to mitigate risk in MSRs. 3. Research methodology 3. 1. Case study research The empirical part of this paper is based on an in depth case study, which is an investigation of a real life phenomenon, relying on multiple sources of evidence and benefiting from prior development of theoretical propositions (Yin, 1994). This research method suits our research that concerns refining existing interorganizational management control theory for the relatively under-explored manufacturing phase of the supply chain. 10 According to Keating (1995), such theory refinement needs a clear theoretical starting point, supplemented with openness to the discovery of unexpected findings. To balance these theory attachment and detachment requirements, we developed a theoretical framework to guide the data collection, but at the same time used data collection techniques allowing sufficient openness. Furthermore, several interorganizational management control case studies (e. g. Cooper & Slagmulder, 2004; Dekker, 2004; Kamminga & van der Meer-Kooistra, 2007; Nicholson et al. , 2006) strengthen the argument that cases allow investigating in detail the structure and influencing variables of IORs (Sartorius & Kirsten, 2005). These studies show that theory refinement of MCS design can be adequately investigated by means of qualitative research. The social meaning of inter-organizational MCSs, especially regarding the use and interpretation of informal controls, and the subsequent behaviour of companies and employees is very complex. So if we only skim the surface, we will never discover how different parties interpret certain IORs and whether the MCS is designed accordingly. This argument not only justifies the choice for a case study, but also forms the reason 10 Our research corresponds to investigating a complex phenomenon within its real life context of which empirical evidence is rather limited, and answering how and why questions about this phenomenon, for which case study research is most suited (Eisenhardt, 1989; Yin, 1994). Furthermore, Keating (1995) argues that case studies suit three goals and that our theory refinement goal represents the middle ground between theory discovery (describing novel phenomena) and theory refutation (disconfirming well specified theories by bringing in negative evidence). More specifically, our case research is of the theory illustration type, documenting â€Å"previously unappreciated aspects of management accounting practice† and identifying â€Å"aspects of the illustrated theory that require reformulation or more rigorous specification† (Keating, 1995, p.71). Indeed, the goal of this study is to illustrate how manufacturers design supplier MCSs, to what extent this design differs from designs in other IORs and how the design can be explained by means of a specifically adapted theoretical framework. 12 why more of this research is requested (e. g. Langfield-Smith & Smith, 2003; Dekker, 2004; van der MeerKooistra & Vosselman, 2006). 3. 2. Unit of analysis In most inter-organizational studies, the unit of analysis is one dyadic relation between two independent parties (van der Meer-Kooistra & Vosselman, 2006). Since there exist different dyadic MSRs within one manufacturer and we study MCS’s dependence on relationship contingencies, our unit of analysis consists of specific MSRs. Dyer & Singh (1998) explicitly propose the â€Å"relational view†, focusing on the buyer-supplier dyad, as opposed to the â€Å"industry structure view† and â€Å"resource based view†, when analyzing cooperative strategy and sources of inter-organizational competitive advantage. In order to answer the proposed research questions concerning MSR MCS design, we analyzed all relations after the manufacturer had decided to outsource the manufacturing activities. In other words, we addressed neither the make-or-buy decision nor related commercial negotiations, but collected data from the start of production onwards. Furthermore, we only gathered data on standard MCSs for MSRs with good operational performance. 3. 3. Case company selection The selection of the case company and its suppliers was influenced by two selection concerns: theoretical sampling (Eisenhardt, 1989), and open and flexible access to.

Review of BPR methodologies

This paper presents the advantages and disadvantages of using a methodology in the context of BPR. It also provides a critique of existing BPR methodologies which erved as a basis for the development of the CONDOR BPR methodology. The paper also presents the main points of the implementation of this methodology to three European construction companies. What can a methodology offer to the BPR field? According to Preece and Peppard (1996), a methodology is simply theory put into practice aiming at dealing with real world situations.According to Valiris and Glykas (1999) a BPR methodology should provide ‘ ‘a consistent set of techniques and guidelines which will enable the business process redesigner to reorganise business ctivities and processes in an organisation†. The use of a methodology is essential for a number of reasons. First, a methodology provides a means of codifying experience, knowledge and ideas, in a form that not only can be easily applied, but also ca n be evaluated and tested. Second, a methodology offers a certain level of organisation, and facilitates planning and monitoring.In BPR initiatives, a methodology enables the organisation, on the one hand, to have a clear picture of its current processes along with their associated problems and, on the other, to design the new state of these processes. In addition, by following a certain methodology, BPR re-engineers† have the opportunity to monitor and evaluate the progress of the re-engineering effort. Third, a methodology enables those who are involved or affected by the BPR to understand their tasks and clarify their roles.A BPR methodology which is clearly defined and explained to those who are leading the BPR work can facilitate the communication between them, and serve as a kind of ‘ ‘contract† in which all the parties understand their responsibilities and are, therefore, able to monitor the overall process re-engineering progress. Finally, adoption of a methodology allows a standard set of required skills to be identified and developed. Key skills required for BPR include process modelling, organisational development techniques, and skills to deal with resistance to change.There are, however, a number of problems related to the use of a methodology. One important reason which explains the reluctance of developing and using methodologies or models in the BPR context is that the widely accepted methodologies are based on how the business processes should change and how the organisation should adapt itself in this change, rather than on the evaluation of urrent practices and on the codification of successful practical experiences (Simsion, 1994).Moreover, the BPR literature search reveals that there are an increasing number of successful re-engineering implementations and case studies using BPR methodologies. Although each business situation has some unique characteristics, an appropriate methodology will need to allow tor assessme nt and re-use ot existing successful approaches and practical experiences. In addition, a methodology hides the danger of restraining creativity and innovation. The latter are crucial elements in he radical thinking during the re-engineering process.By encouraging those who are involved in the reengineering process to comply with the requirements of a given methodology, there is a potential risk of restricting the opportunity of optimising the results according to the level required by the methodology (Simsion,1994). Critique of existing BPR 239 240 In conclusion, there are many advantages and disadvantages regarding the use of a specific methodology or model in the re-engineering initiative. Each side demonstrates equally important arguments that affect the organisation.The lternative to using a methodology in an attempt to minimise the negative consequences is not anarchy but a contingency approach tailored to suit the objectives and needs of every organisation or business sector, building on basic principles of planning and monitoring as well as on previous successful working practices. Critique of existing BPR methodologies and models The are many BPR methodologies and models available, and most of them pursue a similar path and exhibit commonalities in key areas (Butler, 1994).Today, an increasing number of methodologies, models and tools taken from other disciplines re available in the market, claiming that they are suitable for BPR initiatives. Ruessmann et al. (1994) reported the results of their research, claiming that BPR methodologies are based on a synthesis of techniques drawn from other disciplines and methodologies such as soft systems, total quality management (TQM), benchmarking, and organisational development. According to a I-JK BPR methodology survey summary findings (Archer, 1996), the number of stages involved in BPR approaches varies greatly, despite the fact that they do present key similarities.

Forms of Business Organization Essay

The study of business organization is a study of complexity: as each business is different, each form of business organization is also unique. From a local hot-dog vendor to a trucking company, from a restaurant to a multinational, each business has different legal, moral and ethical concerns, and there is no â€Å"one-size-fits-all† approach to determine how a business should best be organized. Take the first two businesses, the hot-dog vendor and the trucking company, as an example: assume that each business is operated by a single individual. While one may argue that the proper form of organization for each would be a sole proprietorship, that would not be the case: the hot-dog vendor could clearly be operated as a sole proprietorship, but not the trucking company. Because of the nature of the trucking business, limiting the liability of the principals is vital: thus, the best form of organization for the trucking company would most likely be an LLC (limited liability company). There are six main forms of business organization, and each has very distinct advantages and disadvantages: some work best for small enterprises, some are better when outside vendors are involved, some are more suitable for larger companies†¦ indeed, there are many variables to consider when determining the organization of a business. Sole Proprietorship The most common form of business organization is called a sole proprietorship. The most common way to organize a business, Entrepreneur.com describes it thusly: The sole proprietorship is a popular business form due to its simplicity, ease of setup, and nominal cost. It is the easiest form of business to setup: again, according to Entrepreneur, a sole proprietor need only register his or her name and secure local licenses, and the sole proprietor is ready for business. As the business is not incorporated, all assets and liabilities relating to this form of business are under the control of the individual who started the business; thus, the business owner assumes full liability in the event of a legal judgment. In addition, as there is no legal protection for the business (it being indistinct from the owner), it is entirely possible for a sole proprietor to see their business liquidated as the result of a lawsuit. The owner has complete control of this form of business: no control has to be granted to anyone else. An advantage to this is that they retain all profits: nothing has to be shared with anyone else, and their return on investment is 100%. Income taxes are easy to calculate: a sole proprietor need only declare their business income on their individual tax form. Because of this, there is no real additional workload or burden to the owner unless they choose to do business under a name other than their own, in which case they would be required to register their business name with the particular jurisdiction they reside in. The location of the business only matters if an individual wants to avoid a particular jurisdiction’s individual income taxes (corporate taxes are not filed for this form of business): for instance, some states do not charge income tax. No separate legal entities have to be formed if the business changes location: the business is connected to the individual and the business exists as long as the individual chooses to operate it. This form of business has a limited longevity: according to Entrepreneur, sole proprietorships rarely survive the death or incapacity of their owners and so do not retain value. They generally dissolve upon the death of the principal and so cannot be passed on to heirs or others. General Partnership According to the Small Business Administration, a general partnership is a business owned by two or more people, with the business partners equally sharing the responsibilities of the business. Like a sole proprietorship, the individual owners of the business assume unlimited liability: it is possible for the business owners to be liquidated due to a legal judgment or the failure of the business. Additionally, because the actions of one of the partners are binding on all the others, the entire partnership can prosper or suffer due to the actions of a single member (The Free Dictionary). Also like a sole proprietorship, a general partnership is, as Quick MBA puts it, a â€Å"?†¦tax reporting entity, not a tax paying entity.†? In other words, the partnership is only a method of business organization; it is not a legal entity for tax purposes, and the individual business owners assume tax liability separately. The longevity of a partnership is potentially greater than a sole proprietorship: for example, since there are one or more other partners, the death of one member does not mean the end of the business since their share can be passed along to heirs. Control in a general partnership is shared equally: since there is no one owner, all decisions (and their effects) are shared equally. Profits are divided among the partners: while the liabilities are shared, the profits can sometimes be divided unequally upon agreement. This can affect return on investment: since it is possible to invest in a partnership without being an active member, it is possible to lose money on an investment if the active principals make decisions that affect the business negatively. As with a sole proprietorship, location is not a real concern with a general partnership: since the principals, not the business, are the ones responsible for the tax liability, the decision on where to locate has little to do with corporate tax liability. Like a sole proprietorship, the only real regulatory burden is if the general partnership chooses to do business under a name under their own: the name would have to be registered. Limited Partnership A limited partnership is similar to a general partnership. Quick MBA describes a limited partnership as a partnership with two or more partners, with one or more general and limited partners. The biggest difference is that a limited partner does not assume unlimited liability: their liability is limited to the amount of their investment. Also, since general partners are held wholly liable, they are often LLC’s (limited liability corporations) rather than individuals. Like a general partnership, income and income taxes are generally divided among the principals, but a limited partnership has to meet certain criteria to enjoy this right: otherwise it is taxed as a corporation. The rules of continuity in this sort of organization are different from those of a general partnership. The continuity of the organization is assured: while a general partnership generally must dissolve if a partner leaves, shares of a limited partnership can be created and can be transferred, bought or sold, though principals in the organization have the right to first bid (Quick MBA). Control of a limited partnership rests in the hands of the general partners: because they have management control, they do not have to grant control to anyone else in the organization: in fact, limited partners lose their status if they take a managing role in the business. Like the general partnership, the profits are shared between the partners: because limited partners are investors in the company, they often receive a greater share of the profits because of their financial contribution. Location concerns as the same as in a general partnership. Concerns of convenience or burden are also the same unless the partnership acts as a corporation, in which case corporate regulations must be followed. C-corporation According to Wikipedia, C-corporations are corporations that are taxed separately from their owners. In the United States, corporations are considered â€Å"people† for tax and liability purposes: in this form of business organization, C-corps are individual â€Å"persons† considered separate from shareholders and directors (Expertlaw.com). Because of this, the liability of the shareholders (note that in a corporation, shareholders are the owners of the organization) is limited: shareholders are protected from assuming the burdens of the corporation if it is unable to meet its obligations. Income taxes for the c-corp are calculated at the corporate tax rate: sometimes this rate is lower than the income tax rate of the shareholder’s, but oftentimes it proves to be much higher. Dividends are subject to the capital gains tax of 15%, then subject to the income tax rate of the shareholder; thus, the profits have been taxed twice. The longevity of this form of organization is perpetual: because the company is owned by shareholders, even if the owner leaves the company can continue to exist (The Company Corporation). Control of a C-Corp rests in the hands of shareholders: the owner has control only so far as their share of the company allows. Shareholders generally elect a board of directors to act on their behalf. As with control of the company, profits belong to the owner only in proportion to the amount of stock in the company they possess. Compared to the forms of organization discussed previously, location has a great deal to do with how and where a C-Corp does business. Phrases such as â€Å"Nevada corporation† or â€Å"Delaware corporation† have entered popular usage: they refer to corporations incorporated in these states solely due to their business-friendly incorporation laws (i.e. easy incorporation, no need to elect a board or issue stock, etc). Because corporations are regulated by the states, often times businesses will be incorporated in a state other than the one they do business in. This form of business organization comes with more of a burden on the business owner than the previous three: the states and the federal government heavily regulate corporations, these forms of business are more expensive to establish, and the paperwork burden is much greater. S-Corporation S- and C-corps are very similar, but there are some differences. Like a C-corporation, shareholders are not individually liable for business debts and resopnsibilities (BizFilings). Also, the are similar when it comes to the longevity, profit retention, and location requirements of an S- or C-corporation. The two biggest differences involve the control of the company and the income tax burden. In a C-corp, an unlimited number of shareholders are allowed, and they can be domestic or foreign nationals; however, a S-corp only allows 100 shareholders, and they must be US nationals. When it comes to income taxes, C-corps file as a corporation and corporate taxes are paid; however, an S-corp is a â€Å"pass-through†, meaning that taxes on earnings are filed and paid by the individual shareholders. Limited Liability Company A limited liability company, according to Wikipedia, is a form of organization that combines the features of a partnership with those of a corporation. Like a corporation, liability is limited: the personal assets of business owners are generally shielded from those of the company. Income taxes are treated differently from the other forms of organization: an LLC can elect how it wants to be treated for tax purposes. LLC’s are, like partnerships and sole proprietorships, pass-through entities: taxes are generally not calculated on the firm as a whole, but on the earnings reported on the individual tax returns of the principals. The continuity of the organization depends on how it is organized: if it is organized as a partnership, the longevity is assured. The principals of the company have control of the company: if one person alone is in charge, the LLC can operate as a sole proprietorship for control purposes. Profits are divided among the individual owners: a single owner retains control of all profits, but partners divide the proceeds. The location of an LLC can be important: for instance, in Washington D.C., LLC’s are not allowed to pass-through income for tax purposes, and some states assess levies for the privilege of operating as an LLC (Wikipedia). Compared to corporations, LLC’s have only a minor paperwork burden: though some states regulate them more than others, there is often little more to do aside from filing the standard sole proprietorship/partnership paperwork. Different companies call for different forms of organization: what may work for the sole owner of a shop may not be successful for a large organization. Oftentimes the greater paperwork or regulatory burden imposed on corporations is offset by the advantages of incorporation; sometimes an LLC or partnership may work better. Before deciding on the form of business organization, a prospective business owner will do well to perform a thoughtful analysis to determine which approach will suit their business model. References Internal Revenue Service. Sole Proprietorships. [->0][->1]. Accessed October 9, 2012. Enterpreneur. The Basics of Sole Proprietorships. [->2]. Accessed October 9, 2012. Small Business Administration. Partnerships. [->3]. Accessed October 6, 2012. Quick MBA. The General Partnership.