The Romantic Period Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Romantic Period - Research Paper Example According to the research "The Romantic Period" findings, romanticism and the Industrial Revolution deeply resemble each other both in their temporal boundaries and in their concerns.The romantic period is often said to have begun with a publishing event (the publication in 1798 of Lyrical Ballads and closed with a political event (the passage in 1832 of the Reform Bill) (Haywood & Leader 2). This conjunction is symptomatic of romantic studies' tendency to define romanticism as the intersection of an array of particular literary qualities (a shift in poetic diction, a concentration on the figure of the poet, a foregrounding of natural scenes, and so on) with a series of correspondent political events, particularly the French Revolution. Yet in yoking the literary primarily with the political, romanticists have generally overlooked other changes culture was undergoing at the time (Johnson 12-20).From 1750 to 1850, a number of events are highly familiar to romanticists for denoting imp ortant political events (the beginning of the French Revolution. the Terror, and the end of the Napoleonic Wars) (Jasper 34). By contrast, contemporaneous events in the history of technology are relatively unknown. Most romanticists have only passing knowledge of the technological achievements which arose at their period of study, romanticism and the Industrial Revolution deeply resemble each other both in their temporal boundaries and in their concerns. The Industrial Revolution was a fiction, one of the main discursive events of the nineteenth century.

Poem Explication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Poem Explication - Essay Example The poem is patterned in three stanzas structure, having an identical rhyme scheme (ababab cdcdcd efefef). The same basic meter (iambic tetrameter) is maintained throughout the poem. The division of stanza in the poem corresponds to the poem’s meaning in internal structure, within the three stages of his acquaintance with the advancing lady, first from a distance, then next to him and finally, after the encounter. The point of relationship between the author and the subject lady are expressed by the prepositions â€Å"which†, corresponding to the distance between the author and the lady. Then â€Å"how†, expressing the lady’s closeness to him, and finally, â€Å"whose†, conforming to time after the encounter. The lady the writer notices in stanza one possesses beauty and displays it as she walks along. The timing is in a cloudless night, which gives him the chance to observe the lady without being noticed. Probably, he was imagining on how the ladyà ¢â‚¬â„¢s beauty matched with the starry skies. Even in the darkness, the author imagined the lady to appear bright and was mesmerized by the brightness of her eyes. Perhaps, the dressing of the lady adorned her by its glittering. The poem is all about beauty which possessed the lady of the night. Moreover, the author imagined that the lady was surrounded by beauty like an aura. The Lady was not only beautiful physically, but the stanza introduces the inner beauty of the lady as she was tender. The second stanza introduces some contrast in darkness and in the light, and that the lady was fair in the dark, but not so fair in the light. The author expresses his sentiments by use of words to claim that her graceful and beauty were nameless, which could be implying that he could not quite point out what made her so graceful. â€Å"Every raven tress† could be something to do with her beautiful hair, which â€Å"lightens her face†. The woman’s facial expression reveale d the sweet serenity of her thoughts. The speaker is deep in imagination that the sweet expression of the lady reflected her state of mind â€Å"dwelling place†. The contrast of the inner thoughts and outer expression is developed over and over as â€Å"sweetness† and â€Å"pure†, which all summed up as valuable and precious â€Å"dear†. The smiles and tints (blushes) that â€Å"glow† on the lady’s cheek and brow (poetic term for fore head) are calm and serene. This could imply that the woman was quite and elegant, yet her smiles and blushes were eloquent. The writer was strongly attracted by the expressive smiles and blushes. Byron seams to suggest that the smiles expressed all the time that the lady spent on doing good acts. Because the lady was not just pretty faced, but was equally kind and good, she managed to appear notably â€Å"calm† with serenity around other people (â€Å"all below†). Finally the love of the lady was innocent, which could mean that she had not fallen in love as yet. It could as well mean that she was in a platonic love. The writer of the poem utilized plenty of figurative speech to express the theme of romance. The title of the poem is presents some figurative as the term â€Å"walks† could imply advancement both in space and in time. In other words, the beauty evidenced in the lady was not just for the particular period that the writer noticed her, but it could mean that beauty possessed her. Similarly, by introducing the aspect of light and

Effectiveness of CSR in Achieving Sustainable Development

Effectiveness of CSR in Achieving Sustainable Development CHAPTER I 1. Introduction Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a concept that has acquired a new character in the global economy. â€Å"With the advent of globalization, managers in different contexts have been exposed to the notion of CSR and are being pressured to adopt CSR initiatives† (Jamali and Sidani, 2008; 330). Therefore, even more corporations are increasing conscience about the importance of matching their own interests and the interests of society by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on employees, suppliers, customers, communities and other stakeholders as well as the environment. Although, this is an obligation that goes beyond economics or law, and in which companies have to act ahead in pursuing long term goals that can also be good for the society and the environment as a whole. Intrinsically related to the topic of CSR is the protection of the environment for future generations through Sustainable actions. Not only because there has been an enormous technological progress that means we are not as much dependent as decades ago of a wide range of natural resources such as air, energy, land, and minerals. On the contrary, driven by the growth of the population and the hectic globalization, competition for those natural resources has been intense. As a result, this competition also brought a powerful driver for both environmental conflicts and damage to our fragile, life-supporting environment. A range of environmental disasters, such as climate change, ozone layer depletion, and soil contamination, have been occurring along the past decades and which turned organizations and society more aware of practice such as recycling, energy consumption, preservation, among others. â€Å"Evolving from an attitude of simply reacting to such disasters and their effects on the physical environment, corporate concerns now include strategic planning and looking at the environment in its multiple social, cultural, political, and institutional dimensions† (Enriquez and Drummond, 2007; 75). Therefore, the instruments of corporative citizenship turned also to the preservation of the environment as a strategic element for enterprises in the whole world. Along with the development for part of the organizations of clean technologies, there is also the concern in getting a green image, which put organizations’ sustainable activities into practice calling for an Ecobusiness. Especially in the past two years, 2008 and 2009, the world was marked by a financial crisis that had an impact in economies of organizations in general. Nevertheless, the financial crisis is not causing firms or governments to abandon sustainable development. In fact, many business and government suggest that a ‘green solution’ can be found to both economic and ecological challenges, creating new jobs and markets by investing in new forms of energy, redesigning or retrofitting buildings and equipment, and managing forests and other ecosystems sustainably. Mineral industries, for example, are using the actual crisis on their own benefit, attempting to identify domains where actions are required and trying to shape a different future to this industry, taking advantage of the actual scenario. To achieve that they make use of available data and information to appreciate the mining sector’s impact, giving support to decision makers in their strategic choices. The actions of Alcoa Inc., for example, are impressive and unique, the company interplays among intangibles as leadership and innovation as well as a strong CSR strategy, wisingly aligning society, workplace and environment, productivity, and financial performance in the context of a traditional manufacturing company. This project research examines the existing literature in an attempt to create a more comprehensive perspective of what has been written about the topic of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development. The project’s approach was qualitative in nature and focused on discovering what researchers and authors have explored and understand about this complex subject. Besides, it looks at some of the principal favourable and unfavourable arguments to the social responsibility of enterprises, especially when they are being considered by multinational enterprises interested in initiating activities into developing countries, with focus into Brazil. We also propose some alternatives of acting in the area of Social Responsibility made by Alcoa Inc., considering the current Brazilian reality, with the aim of achieving Sustainable Development. This dissertation is divided in two parts. Part one will be based in secondary data and involves: Chapter II, which comprises the literature review that examines existent work in current trends involving the subject of CSR as well as paradigms as SD in order to help establish what values associated indicators could contain. Chapter III, the explanation of the methodology used along the development of the project. Part two, comprises Chapter IV, which examines factors involving Alcoa Inc., taking into account its current CSR and SD actions and strategies, making use of a questionnaire, answered by some of the organization’s managers, in relation to the issues encountered in the literature. Chapter V, will draw conclusions, make future recommendations and points out gaps for future research. 1.2 Research Title The Effectiveness of Corporate Social Responsibility as a means of achieving Sustainable Development: a case study of Alcoa Incorporation. 1.3 Research Background In the modern complex and dynamic business environment, most organizations are adopting a global attitude making sure that they are geared for being global. Furthermore, it is common knowledge that the world is constantly developing and changing and no change is permanent because any change is about to be further adjusted in the short or long run to suit the environment and the challenges they face. Organizations are now more powerful and have more influence in the society. Therefore, â€Å"The notion of corporate social responsibility today functions as an emblem, that the company themselves rise towards a consensual â€Å"social revolution† that will eventually benefit all the stakeholders of our society† (Habish et al, 2005; 271). Corporate social responsibility intrinsically relates to environmental issues faced globally, especially in the early stages of the twenty-first century and sustaining in a particular industry has become very difficult task for many businesses. â€Å"Employees, investors and consumers are becoming increasingly more aware of the social and environmental impact to people and planet that a company produces, which are both positive and negative. As consumers become even more aware of sustainable practices, there will be even greater demands for business communities to do the right thing, requiring enhanced ethical leadership and CSR to drive profits, and brand loyalty† (Mamic, 2004; Leffel, Sweeney, 2007 cited by Maass, 2007; 36) Alcoa is â€Å"the worlds leading producer and manager of primary aluminium, fabricated aluminium, and alumina facilities. In the framework of sustainability, Alcoa is considered one of the top three companies in the world in terms of commitment to sustainable development and has made use of an environmental strategy associated with a truthful social responsibility in order to gain competitive advantage and success in the marketplace. For example, for three years the Company has been sponsoring the Internethos program, directed at the development of Corporate Social Responsibility for Sustainability (www.alcoa.com). Moreover, â€Å"Recognition from the Covalence Ethical Ranking drives the company to intensify actions of engagement of strategic publics. In 2006, the company was indicated as world leader in ethics, in the mining and metallurgical Industry, according to Covalence Ethical Ranking† (Alcoa annual report, 2006/2007; 41) 1.4 Research Aims Analyse how corporate social responsibility can ensure competitive advantage and success in achieving sustainable development. To explore, analyze and identify the use of environmental strategy as a tool of achieving global success. Analyse the importance of achieving sustainable development in today’s global environment. 1.5 Research Objectives To evaluate, in an environmental perspective, the effectiveness of corporate social responsibility in today’s global business. To evaluate, in an environmental perspective, the effectiveness of corporate social responsibility on achieving sustainability. To establish the feasibility of using corporate social responsibility within the industry to align strategic planning with sustainable development. To analyse and find out the implications of corporate social responsibility in Alcoa’s Inc. environmental management. To identify the extent to which the environmental management is involved in strategic planning at Alcoa Inc. To identify how important is environmental sensitivity to a company that extracts natural resources. To analyse in depth the integration of sustainability to Alcoa’s overall business giving emphasis to Brazil. To investigate practices used by Alcoa Inc. in its implementation of corporate social responsibility as a means of achieving sustainable development. 1.6 Rationale of the project The objective of this project was to gather information that could be useful and benefit different organizations in engaging in environmental strategies by the concept of corporate social responsibility. Moreover, data collected can also guide corporations by providing them with an understanding of sustainable development and the resources they can make use of to establish a sustainable future for society and the environment. The information gathered for this present work was collected through an extensive literature review as well as the use of different sources of information, such as videos. In addition, a questionnaire was used in order to collect insight information on the organization’s management perspectives and its corporate social responsibility strategies for a sustainable development and prosperous business. CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction Social Responsibility actions are examples of a phenomenon of great proportions, which have been taken into more consideration in the business world, and reflect a new world-wide configuration. Historical recent events, in special environmental catastrophes around the globe, developed the academic discussion on the social paper of organizations, public and private, in the construction of the called sustainable development. Investors originated from richest countries have been realizing that economical survival and social balance is a long-term phenomenon more and more dependent of a constant preoccupation with levels of development of the least favoured areas of the globe (Parker, 1998). In the context of globalization, Social Responsibility has started to be understood as an essential instrument to be considered by organizations’ strategists in the sense of paying attention to the social demands of several economical agents involved. Apart from the internationalization strategy adopted, multinational enterprises installed in developing countries are under pressure in adopting an ethical and responsible posture. Meantime, many actions carried out by multinational enterprises, through their own foundations or partnerships with local agencies, have been questioned for disregarding the participation of local actors in the decision processes, in the resource allocation and in the evaluation of results. 2.2 Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility â€Å"Some vigorous critics and Marxists tend to dismiss the link between business and ethics† (Shaw, 2009; 2). For example, â€Å"It was widely assumed that business and ethics were radically different and that ethical behaviour had little or no return on investment† (Brenkert, 2004; 188). However, on current days, ethical issues are being one of the most important subjects concerning organizations across the world, which now view business ethics not only in terms of administrative compliance with legal standards, rules or regulations as they used to do in the past. Some corporations are even creating their own written and formal ethical codes in addition with the use of different systems, like corporate social responsibility, to help them to create and maintain an ethical organization culture. Accordingly, Shaw affirms, â€Å"Business ethics thus involves studying the ways to refine and reinforce the implicit norms of the business system† (Shaw, 2009; 3). Nevertheless, Corporate Social Responsibility is topic of great value in business ethics, as reinforced by Ghauri and Cateora (2006; 468): â€Å"Ethics and social responsibility go hand in hand†. Organizations are increasing conscience about the importance of matching their own interests and the interests of society by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on employees, suppliers, customers, communities and other stakeholders as well as the environment. Kotler and Lee (2005; 161) argue, â€Å"The first ethical duty of business is to do not harm. Companies are responsible for minimizing stakeholder’s risks. This is the heart of business ethics.† In fact, when ethical issues come to the organization field, a question is raised: â€Å"Of all these stakeholders, which should or will have the most or least influence over the ‘ethical’ rules that will be applied by the organization?† (Buhalis and Laws, 2001; 88) Despite of all the suggestions given in relation to CSR and business ethics, Jones et al (2005; 19) points out the fact â€Å"†¦ whether business ethics will actually make business more ethical.† In a current globalized environment, companies play an important role in the social structure and more than ever before, are being encouraged to improve their business practices by emphasizing ethical behaviour, not only through the development of new technologies but also through social and environmental initiatives. Companies are increasingly being held accountable for their actions, especially with the growth in demand for higher standards of corporate social responsibility. Sims (2003; 8) links the concept of ethics and social responsibility saying that: â€Å"Being socially responsible, ethical, and a good corporate citizen is important to meeting and exceeding the expectations for any organization’s stakeholders†. And affirms: â€Å"Organizational management that truly cares about business and corporate social responsibility is proactive rather than reactive in linking strategic action and ethics†. The structure of society has changed due to globalization changes, and the importance of businesses impact in society forced organizations to rethink their actions towards profitability, also promoting the development of concepts like sustainability. Nisberg (1988; 43 cited by Kilcullen and Kooistra, 1999; 158) gives an important definition of business ethics, which according to the author â€Å"can be defined as a set of principles that guides business practices to reflect a concern for society as a whole while pursuing profits†. However, with the relentless pursuit of profit in this actual globalized situation, how to maximise profit and act as an ethical company at the same time? A good understanding of what exactly is the term Corporate Social Responsibility is essential in order to answer and explain this question through different perspectives and theories. 2.3 History and Definitions of Corporate Social Responsibility The history of Corporate Social Responsibility can be compared as being as old as the history of business; however, its concept has not been fully formulated until now (Asongu, 2007; 28; Crane et al, 2008). May et al (2007; 4) also adds â€Å"Questions regarding the nature, scope and impact of organizations have been present into various forms for centuries ranging across the ‘classical’, ‘medieval’, ‘mercantile’, ‘industrial’ and ‘corporate eras’†. Taking into consideration only the period after the Industrial Revolution, or better saying the 20th century, the first author who directly contributed to the responsibility issue was Clark (1916; 210 cited by Secchi, 2007; 351) when he affirmed that â€Å"The old idea of free will is giving way to determinism, individualism to public control, personal responsibility to social responsibility.† During the period of 1930s and 1940s, called as the ‘corporate period’ references about social responsibility can be found, for example: Chester Barnard’s, ‘The functions of the Executive’ (1938) and Theodore Kreps’s ‘Measurement of the social performance of business’ (1940). (Crane et al, 2008). Murphy (cited by Crane et al, 2008), on the other hand classified Corporate Social Responsibility in four eras as follows: Philanthropic era (up to 1950s), awareness era (1953 to 1967), issue era (1968 to 1973) and awareness era (1974 until now). According to Secchi (2007; 348), however, â€Å"One of the first attempts at classifying theories on CSR (business and society issues) was made by Preston (1975).† This shows that the concept of CSR has been discussed for long but in fact, has not yet been fully understood and placed among organizations. Recently, empirical research about Corporate Social Responsibility and its relation to Corporate Social Performance and Sustainability provokes many contradictions in the literature. Due especially to the occurrence of different scandals among enterprises as well as the movement towards an environmentalist society rather than materialist, competitive labour market and shrinking role of government, there were a rise of interest in Corporate Social Responsibility in the past decades (Carrasco and Yakovleva, 2007; 15-16). Many authors affirm that business and society are interrelated entities rather than being distinctively separated (Kotler, 2005; Wood, 1991 cited by Moir, 2001). According to Watts et al (1998; 3 cited by Yakovleva, 2005; 12) â€Å"Corporate Social Responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well of the local community and society at large†. Corporate Social Responsibility, thus, reflect the responsibility or accountability of organizations in pro not only of its stakeholders but also of its surrounding environment, taking into consideration the various practices that can affect those. Carroll (1979), on the other hand, proposed a four-layered concept, which was the most accepted model, suggesting four corporations’ responsibilities related to their economical, legal ethical and philanthropic aspects. All those four aspects are of great meaning to the CSR concept, however, our current work focuses more on the top of the pyramid, which encompasses the philanthropic responsibilities. â€Å"Philanthropic responsibility: Interest in doing good for society, regardless of its impact on the bottom line is what is called altruistic, humanitarian or philanthropic CSR. â€Å"giving back† time and money in the forms of voluntary service, voluntary association and voluntary giving – is where most of the controversy over the legitimacy of CSR lies† (Shahin and Zairi, 2007; 755) According to Carroll, the philanthropic responsibilities are discretionary being, therefore, less important than the other categories; on the other hand, as said before, is the one that brings the most controversial issues. The definition proposed by Gauri and Cateora (2005) follows the same idea, where the role of a company in the society goes beyond its economic goals. As we can see, definitions relating CSR are various and contradictory among the literature which makes its study more exciting. 2.4 Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility Governance is defined by Dam et al (2007; 1333) as â€Å"the set of informal arrangements that are used in handling the consequences of these unforeseen states of the world†. As a result of globalization, different global governance structures have emerged, transforming the CSR concept more difficult to be understood. This new global governance brought about the participation by firms in tasks that used to be the government’s domain. (Cutler et al., 1999; Scholte, 2001 cited by Albareda, 2008). Corporate Social Responsibility, therefore, â€Å"can be seen as a new governance arena† (Haufler, 1999; Scholte, 2001 cited by Albareda, 2008; 434). Castka et al (2004 cited by Shahin and Zairi, 2007; 761) proposed a useful framework, based on three major assumptions: â€Å"(1) The CSR framework should be integrated into business systems, objectives, targets, and performance measures. (2) The governance system, whose purpose is to control, provide resources, opportunities, strategic direction of the organisation and be held responsible for doing so, is an integral part of business hence CSR system. (3) Central to the CSR framework is the transformation of stakeholders’ needs and expectation into business strategy, where the organisation has to balance the need for CSR from their key stakeholders with entrepreneurship.† Corporate Social Responsibility is considered deliberate governance, however, influenced directly or indirectly by demands from global civil society, Non Government Organizations, or even the government itself. Thus, Corporate Social Responsibility plays a major role in the global economic and political activities of corporations. â€Å"To exercise this political power in international society, companies as private authorities have adopted different mechanisms. The most important of these have been inter-firm cooperative instruments, fundamentally through the creation of CSR business associations† (Albareda, 2008; 434). The implications of poor corporate governance for people’s lives are tremendous, either in a developed or in a developing country, like Brazil for instance. Most of the Brazilian corporations are still dominated by a family-owned management, who are therefore, the main, if not the only shareholders of the company. This fact can interfere severely in the potential of corporate governance. â€Å"Brazil is a country with strong authoritarian traditions, and inadequate corporate governance laws make it possible to perpetuate authoritarian and concentrated influence over governance structures† (Oman, 2003; 35). Nevertheless, especially in the past decades, there has been intensification of businesses in relation to governance and sustainability in countries like Brazil. Paro and Boechat (2008; 533-534) illustrate it: â€Å"One of the most significant Brazilian non-governmental organizations with the specific mission to mobilize companies around this issue – the Ethos Institute of Business and Social Responsibility, founded in 1998 – had 1,266 member companies in November 2007. Around 74 Brazilian companies have published reports based on the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines (GRI, 2007), and the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa) launched in 2005 its own Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE), which now has 32 companies listed†. Well-managed corporate governance can have positive effects on socio-economic development; it also hence sustained productivity growth and reforms on regulatory practices, although its benefits cannot be taken into consideration without strengthening the examination of business practices and the government environment as a whole. 2.5 Building Corporate Social Responsibility into Strategy Corporate and business strategy according to Foss (1997) has different meanings in relation to the kind of decisions to be made. The first relates to decisions that determines the company’s goals and objectives, the latter though, determines how the company will position itself in relation to its competitors, defining its business and resources. McManus (2008; 1069) affirms: â€Å"The term strategy is derived from the Greek Strategia or generalship, sometimes translated as the art of war. The metaphor of business as war, a competition to be won, is pervasive.† The first author who actually exposed the link between strategy and Corporate Social Responsibility was Michael Porter. He argues that â€Å"corporate social responsibility can be a source of innovation and competitive advantage if incorporated into the framework of analysis that companies use to guide their business strategy† (Porter and Kramer, 2006 cited by McManus, 2008; 1077). Corporations have now added value-creation to their core business always considering its stakeholders’ needs to develop a strategy that is going to keep the company in a competitive advantage position. This is what drives a company to strive in management initiatives, especially if those initiatives are driven towards the achievement of sustainable development. Lee (2008, cited by McManus, 2008; 1075) argues, â€Å"There has been an evolution in CSR from the macro-societal level to the organizational level, with a greater emphasis on managerial, strategic, and ultimately financial issues to the point that the key issue in 2008 is how to integrate CSR into one’s core business.† Organizations integrated to societal aspects are trying to be aware of the implications of the environment they are in and building, therefore, its strategy based in a social/environmental mission and vision. On the other hand, â€Å"recent reports reveal that almost six out of ten organizations have no strategy for CSR while many companies are unclear as to how to adequately anticipate which social issues will affect their overall strategy† (The Work Foundation, 2002; McKinsey and Company, 2006 cited by Galbreath, 2009; 109) The importance of keeping the integration of a company’s core business and its strategy according to the society’s (stakeholders) needs determine the effectiveness of a business and its position in the marketplace. Galbreath (2009; 122) also draws a model of corporate strategy in relation to the society as follows: [image] Figure 2 Source: Strategy in the context of society (Galbreath, 2009; 122). Not only the strategy itself, but also a change on the decision-making framework plays an important role. The use of the classical American pragmatic decision-making is one example. â€Å"The use of pragmatic decision making would inherently lead to the consideration of ecological issues within the decision-making process while fostering competitive advantage† (York, 2009; 102) In conclusion, as McManus (2008; 1068) says, â€Å"Perhaps, the greatest contribution of the mash-up CSR and business strategy will be, not in the details of particular approaches to its realization, but rather the change in consciousness of individual business people its emergence may signal.† 2.6 Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility The first important point in the leadership context is to understand that ethics is not something we born with. Many authors say that along the years we are taught by the community conventions, norms, and regulations that guide our ethical behaviours (Trevinâ‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¢o and Nelson, 2004). The same occurs with an organization, where norms, regulations, and values are drawn along the years, guiding their employees and creating its culture, but in this case, the founder has a crucial position, being the one who first underlie most of the organization’s ethics code. Another important issue consists in how hierarchy of power is distributed in the organization; this is explained because the flow of integrity and moral actions always comes from the top to the bottom of the organization hierarchy and this explains why the founder plays a key role in creating the culture and guiding decisions. This relates to the called learning theory, where leaders are perceived as role models. (Hind et al, 2009) Daboub et al (1995 cited by Hind et al, 2009; 8) â€Å"developed a model which suggested a relationship between the characteristics of an organization’s top management team and corporate irresponsibility, even criminality. The model holds that, other variables being equal, the greater the proliferation of formal management qualifications (e.g. MBA’s) in a top management team, the higher the chances of corporate criminality. The implication of this is that management educators do not seem to be addressing the current and future developmental needs of managers who are required to respond to changing social norms for higher ethical, accountable, and sustainable standards in business.† 2.7 Voluntarism and Accountability of Companies There are two contradicting views in the role of voluntarism in CSR: The first view is supported by Carrol and Buchholtz, (1999 cited by Yakovleva, 2005; 14) and suggests that â€Å"CSR refers to both types of corporate operations: operations towards compliance with legislation requirements and voluntary operations towards social benefit not stipulated by law or economic requirements†. The second view, however, suggests that the firm itself should call for the stakeholder’s interest voluntarily and â€Å"considers that CSR starts when law ends† (Yakovleva, 2005; 14). All those contradictions are part of the inconsistency in defining the term CSR. Corporate Social Responsibility according to Keinert (2008) is concerned to how corporations tackle external pressures responding to them accordingly. Moreover, she adds â€Å"It does not question the ‘rightness’ of social expectations from an ethical, theoretical point of view, but seeks way of implementing them† (Keinert 2008; 45) Apart from this point of view, corporations are responsible, nowadays, alongside the government, to the interests of its employees and society as a whole being also accountable for its actions. Thus, accountability is another important feature of Corporate Social Responsibility. Zadek (2007; 10) argues: embracing accountability for their actions, corporations â€Å"contribute to addressing societal needs and challenges in ways that could also deliver economic value and success.† According to the IPEA (Instituto de Pesquisa Econà ´mica Aplicada), â€Å"Social Accountability 8000 is the first norm turned to the improvement of the conditions of work, including the principal labour rights and certifying the fulfilment through independent auditors. The Social Accountability International LEAVES-, a non-government organization created in 1997 in USA, developed it and which has its action turned to the preoccupation of the consumers for the conditions of work in the world. The norm follows the standard of the ISO 9000 and of the ISO 14000, which makes its introduction easier for enterprises that already know this system†Ã¢â‚¬  (www.ipea.gov.br). â€Å"One of the basic propositions from social accountability favourable to the contemporary point of view is based on Keith Davis’ ideas† (apud Certo Peter, 1993; 281 cited by Souza, 2004; 31). According to them, â€Å"enterprises must operate as an opened system with two hands, with information reception from society and opened advertisement about their operations with the public.† (Souza, 2004; 31) In agreement with this proposition, the enterprise must be disposed to hearing the society and working in the construction of its well-being. 2.8 Corporate Social Responsibility and Profitability Whilst some authors defend Social Responsibility as a solution for organizations and society’s sustainability issues in the long-term, others are emphatic, affirming that it is not reasonable to imagine that the

Grapes Of Wrath :: essays research papers

Okies Vs. Californians   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, is a novel depicting the Okies migration to California during the period in history known as The Dustbowl. In this novel Steinbeck attempts to display the tensions between the Okies and the Californians. This display can be closely compared to today’s tensions between citizens born in the US and the Immigrants. Great pieces of literature are timeless in the lessons they teach and the controversy they portray.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The tensions between the Okies and the Californians were heated, as are most tensions dealing with land and immigration. The Okies wanted only two things: food and land. â€Å"†¦the new barbarians wanted only one thing – land and food: and to them the two were one.† The â€Å"barbarians† only moved out to California to escape the treacherous conditions of Oklahoma and surrounding states suffering from the Dustbowl; the were attempting to create a better life for their families. The Californians wanted all the luxuries in life, they were living in a land free of Dustbowl worries. â€Å"†¦the Californians wanted many things, accumulation, social success, amusement, luxury, and a curious banking security†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The Californians had already established the conditions that the Okies were in search of. They were now attempting to attain extras, and feared that the arrival of the Okies would halt this endeavor. The Okies motives wer e much nobler than the Californians’; but the Californians still felt that the Okies had no right to invade their land. â€Å"And whereas the wants of the Californians were nebulous and undefined the wants of the Okies were beside the roads, lying there to be seen and coveted†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The Californians did not know what they wanted; their dreams were very unclear. The Okies intentions, on the other hand, were very clear and important.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This tension still exists today between Immigrants and US born citizens. Immigration is a constant topics of discussion among politicians, and the US population as a whole. US born citizens become tense with the arrivals of Immigrants; the US citizens are attempting to achieve their American Dream; these Immigrants are, in their minds, and obstacle on their path to success. Like the Californians in the Grapes of Wrath; the Americans have already attained their needs and are attempting to secure luxuries.

The New Generation: Internet and the Side Effects

The New Generation: Internet and the Side Effects Submitted to: Professor Tonio Sadik Submitted by: John Yoo (4578772) SOC 3116 C November 16th 2011 The article, â€Å"A Fantasy World Is Creating Problems in South Korea† published by Choe Sang-Hun from The New York Times discuss the growing issue of internet gaming addiction among adults in South Korea (Choe, 2010). With the emergence of the internet, more and more people around the world communicate with one another on a day-to-day basis through this modern communication technology.As the digital generation in the 21st Century continues to stay online, there is a need to critically examine the issue of whether or not there is a correlation between the amount of time people spend online (including surfing the web, social networking, instant messaging, online gaming, etc. ) and its effects on their social behaviour. This essay will focus on how people interact online based on certain theories that may explain the increase of in ternet addiction and the potential consequences these issues may bring to our next generation.In comparison to the previous generations who have grown up mostly with books and outdoor activities, the generation Z or the â€Å"internet† generation today are integrating the digital culture into their early lives. For these generations, the Internet, playing videogames, downloading music onto an iPod, or multitasking with a cell phone is no more complicated than setting the toaster oven to bake or turning on the TV.However, it is important to note that internet was first developed for the military and was not used commercially until 1990’s when its information-sharing and communicative functions attracted the interest of corporations and then of the general public (Gackenbach, 2007, p. 18). Nowadays, it is a mandatory condition for employees to use internet at work, to use e-mail and share files. Furthermore, due to the rapid development of the internet and other innovati ve tools such as smart phones being able to be connected anywhere all times, it is unimaginable how much one can do in a small amount of time.Thus, if people today do not participate in online activities, they usually tend to feel excluded or powerless or, at the very least, out of date (Gackenbach, 2007, p. 19). As much as the internet being the new way to communicate and share information efficiently, Karl Marx pointed out that â€Å"certain new technologies have incredible power to shape human behaviour and social structures† (Wallace, 1999, p. 13). Whether his theory is the complete truth or not, through various research and past investigations, one may hypothesize that excessive usage of internet for a long period of time may actually shape human behaviour.On the contrary to the hypothesis, several studies have examined the association between time on the Internet and social and psychological factors, and these studies seem less likely to find negative associations. Morg an and Cotton’s (2003) study of college freshmen found that increased time spent shopping, playing games and doing research was associated with higher levels of depression, but sending e-mail and visiting chat rooms was associated with lower levels (Shields & Kane, 2011).This may be true as many college students tend to communicate through online chat rooms to either family or friends, or send e-mail to loved ones as a stress-relief from studies or work. Thus, just spending time on the internet may be too broad of a term, and need to be more specified as to what type of internet usage. From the journal â€Å"Social and Psychological Correlates of Internet Use among College Students†, Gordon et al. (2007) also argues that the reasons why individuals use the Internet must be taken into account in order to understand associations (Shields & Kane, 2011).Our personality is the source of our emotions, cognition, and behaviour (Amichai-Hamburger, 2005). Most of the time in th e real world, only the surface of our personality may become visible to others while the rest of it remains unrevealed, and on the contrast to the real world, there exists a more protective environment over the internet that sometimes encourages people to express themselves more freely than they would in a real world interaction (Amichai-Hamburger, 2005).This type of interaction may be found within internet discussion forums where people with anonymous or virtual IDs being able to discuss about certain matters on a topic/idea or on issues from around the world. This is also quite visible within online chat rooms where people get to communicate with others from all over the world without publicly sharing their identification from the start. The idea of being unidentified may give users the comfort to reveal more of who they really are or give the option to be someone completely different.Disinhibition is defined as the inability to control impulsive behaviours, thoughts, or feelings, and manifests online as people communicating in ways that they would not ordinarily do offline and can be positive or negative (Gackenbach, 2007, p. 58). The concept of disinhibition can be quite surprising for example, Nidederhoffer and Pennebaker (2002) were amazed when, in post-experimental interviews, students who had just engaged online in â€Å"overt invitations for sex, explicit sexual language, or discussion of graphic sexual escapades† (p. 4) were demure and shy (Gackenbach, 2007, p. 59). This idea of disinhibition may be translated into people are still being themselves online but it is being part of themselves that they generally keep fairly hidden. Suler explains six general reasons why people extend their emotional expression of the self while online: Dissociative Anonymity, Invisibility, Asynchronicity, Solipsistic Introjection, Dissociative Imagination, and Minimization of Status and Authority (Gackenbach, 2007, p. 59). 1.Dissociative Anonymity: Although not a formal pathology, the sense of self while online becomes compartmentalized into an â€Å"online self† which is perceived as alone and anonymous, and an offline self that is different. Because the Internet feels so virtual and boundary-less, it is tempting to perceive â€Å"the other† as not real; 2. Invisibility: No need to worry about how you look when chatting with someone online; 3. Asynchronicity: For many online communications, one can respond at one’s leisure and the pressure of an immediate response is gone; 4.Solipsistic Introjection: The online friend becomes incorporated into one’s intrapsychic world. Some of these interactions are real and immediate, while others are somewhat less so, such as an imagined comeback to your boss. The online friend can take on a special status in our imagined internal dialogues, which can result in a felt sense of special closeness existing outside the boundaries of time and space; 5. Dissociative Imagination: Som e people keep careful boundaries between their online selves and their real-world selves.So, for instance, in online role-playing games such as Everquest, when the computer is turned off, the online self as a wizard is gone. This idea of separate realm provides the online self the freedom to do things which the offline self would not do, such as flirt outrageously or act aggressively; 6. Minimization of Status and Authority: An example may be although you know that your boss has a higher level of status from you at work, when responding to his e-mails, that gap minimizes.Thus, it sometimes becomes easy to make a nasty or sarcastic comment by e-mail that would never have been spoken during face-to-face situation; (Gackenbach, 2007, p. 60) With these facets in mind, which can be revealed through interactions on the Internet, one may argue that unexpressed behaviours can be generalized from virtual world into the real world. Most of us enter cyberspace, however, lot of us just never gi ve much thought to the online persona – how we come across to the people with whom we interact online (Wallace, 1999).People in general do not give much thought into what the person on the other side of the screen actually think of them. This may be because many times those people are either their friends or family (people who are close in the real world) or they are someone completely unknown who may reside on the other side of the world in the real world that one may just don’t care about what they think of them.However, there is an increase in how online persona is playing a larger role when it comes to first impressions as in this generation people rely on e-mails, Web sites, and discussion forums more for the first contact, and the phone call, letter, or face-to-face meetings less (Wallace, 1999). This increasing trend of communication through e-mail and online messaging tools are even thoroughly visible in the public workplaces, such as Government of Canada (GoC) . Everyday, public servants send and receive e-mails using the common GoC e-mail messaging tool, â€Å"Microsoft Outlook† whether it is through lackberry or workstation (PC). As many of these people work in collaboration with others across the country or even around the world, there is a strong need to be careful on how their e-mail is written so that there are low chances of possible miscommunication with the other person. There is an issue that is currently visible due to massive amounts of e-mail and sharing of information over internet. The Library and Archives Canada (LAC) states that â€Å"globally, we send 35  billion emails per day; in the Government of Canada (GoC) we send 18  million per day. 0%  of  GoC  business is now conducted by email; 99. 9%  of government records are digital†() The issue is that some of the departments in GoC are now faced with these massive amounts of e-mails (both transitory which are personal e-mails and are useless to t he organization; and of business value) and â€Å"it is estimated that 85% of corporate data resides informally in those unstructured formats outside of corporate custody and control, in the PC desktops under the custody and control of individuals or groups†().Being able to communicate more efficiently is an important factor, however, the unlimited communications of cyberspace permitted by the web and networks nowadays and this exponential growth of information† means that one just cannot capture and preserve all of it.There are many personality theories relevant to the interaction on the internet, such as the need for closure, the need for cognition, risk taking, sensation seeking, attachment, and locus of control, one theory that is considered by many to have the most relevance to the social aspects of the Internet Interaction is the extroversion and neuroticism personality theory (Amichai-Hamburger, 2005, p. 28). This theory is one of the developments of Carl Jungâ⠂¬â„¢s extroversion-introversion personality typology and is used to explain the possible relationship between extroversion, neuroticism and loneliness (Amichai-Hamburger, 2005, p. 9). According to this model, some people tend to hold a negative view of themselves and the world and as a result, perceive themselves as depressed, worthless, and lonely, regardless of their actual social network. From series of studies, it is found that only the correlation between extroversion and loneliness, and not that between neuroticism and loneliness, is mediated by the size of the individual’s social network. Thus, people who are high in neuroticism seem o be lonely not because of their difficulty in forming and maintaining relationships, but rather as a result of their general negative bias (Amichai-Hamburger, 2005, p. 30). Bibliography Academic Sources: Amichai-Hamburger, Y. (2005). The Social Net: Human Behaviour in Cyberspace. Oxford University Press. Chen, J. V. , Ross, W. H. , & Yan g, H. -H. (2011). Personality and Motivational Factors Predicting Internet Abuse at Work. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace.Choe, S. -H. (2010, May 26). A Fantasy World Is Creating Problems in South Korea. The New York Times. Gackenbach, J. (2007). Psychology and the Internet: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, and Transpersonal Implications. Elsevier. Shields, N. , & Kane, J. (2011). Social and Psychological Correlates of Internet Use among College Students. CyberPsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace. Wallace, P. (1999). The Psychology of The Internet. Cambridge University Press.

Fear in the Things They Carried

Tim O’Brien’s decision to go to Vietnam was out of the fear from disappointing his family and community. How does shame affect and play a role in the life of the soldiers in The Things They Carried? The Things They Carried is a book set in Massachusetts but the core of the book is based in Vietnam. A group of Soldiers go to war and Tim O’Brien decides to document the true effects of war but beneath his words, there were a lot of factors and double meaning to them.The motif ‘Shame† played a huge part in every character in this book as it was a trait they all shared in common Shame in this context is not necessarily a bad thing as with the power of hindsight, we found it to have been a motivating factor for them during the war in more ways than one. They could decide to inflict injury on themselves as a way to get discharged from their military service but the fear of shame further guided them to be heroes for their country. The interesting thing about this book is that shame was a common factor shared by all men.Their fear of shame and weakness propelled them to act braver than they were. It is not a secret knowing that the soldiers were a little bit afraid of the war but they all did a good job in masking their shame and fears. In The Things They Carried, â€Å"They carried the common secret of cowardice barely restrained, the instinct to run or freeze or hide, and in many respects this was the heaviest burden of all, for it could never be put down, it required perfect balance and perfect posture† (77).In analyzing this quote, their instinct to run or hide had to be restrained due to fear of being made fun of by colleagues and being called a coward. The chapter â€Å"On the Rainy River† summarizes Tim’s moral fight against being drafted into an unjust war. The Vietnam War was one he strongly opposed and his decision to fight is not down to his bravery or him being a patriot, but that of the ‘fear of sh ame’ and being tagged a coward. Therefore he succumbed to the pressure. â€Å"I survived, but it's not a happy ending. I was a coward. Related essay: Shame is Worth a TryI went to the war† (79). This statement is an example of how shame had him motivated. Him calling himself a coward was the fear of ‘shame’ out powering his principles. He initially thought of running off to Canada after being drafted but was scared that if he did not acknowledge the draft, he would be ridiculed/punished and that would be him disappointing his community and family. In order to avoid this shame facing him, he decided to be brave and go to war and fight for his country. He ended up going and survived the ains of the war due to shame being his motivating factor in his decision. Additionally, looking at Curt Lemons in â€Å"The Dentist†, shame was an igniting force leading to some of the characters bravery and heroism. Curt Lemon suffered an embarrassing fate in this chapter where he fainted before being observed by the visiting dentist. In fear of social acceptance and how the soldiers in the platoon would look at him, he decided to face his fears and shame by having his tooth removed although there was nothing wrong with it.One can attribute the survival of some of the soldiers to shame as it gave them the needed extra incentive to survive. With his renewed ego, this would make him feel stronger and ready for the worst (increasing his bravery while mitigating his shame). Shame, no matter how negative the definition seems to be, the characters in The Things They Carried made the most out of it by making it an unorthodox form of motivation for going to war and trying to survive it. Safe to say O’Briens characters (soldiers) value pride more than their life. Olumide Shodipo