Business and Virtue Ethics Essay Example for Free

Business and Virtue Ethics Essay Abstract For the purposes of this assignment we will analyze the Mattel case and discuss the actions of the company regarding the behavior and actions in conjunction with the Global Manufacturing Process that was implemented. Breaches of the two business ethics elements of integrity and egoism will be assessed. Within the discussion I have identified the virtues prudence, justice, fidelity, and courage that were largely violated by the Mattel organization and how it affected the employees of Mattel. We will discuss the implications of virtue, deontological, and utilitarian ethics regarding their potential usefulness in evaluation of the Mattel case. Introduction Mattel’s concept of Global Manufacturing Principles (GMP) was not a novel concept. The many forms of GMP including International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) have been around for decades and have worked to insure that specific industries are held to a standard that is industry wide. ISO’s model is â€Å"Say what you do, and do what you say†. When a company endeavors to become ISO qualified, it is required to document every activity (as a standard operating procedure, SOP) that occurs within the company and adhere to that process without deviation. ISO qualified companies are always subject to audit by other ISO registered companies and is initially audited by four such companies in order to acquire certification. Having been directly involved with ISO implementation at a former employer that supplied fasteners for manufacturing, I am fully aware of how involved the certification is. The company SOP was over 1000 pages. Additionally, another ISO company can and will come in and audit your company prior to electing to conduct business with your company. In some instances, ISO qualification is not enough to be awarded the business. The nutrition industry also adheres to the Good Manufacturing Practices, of which I was required to be certified in every year. Each department of the nutritional company I worked for had its own GMP standards that we were to adhere implicitly. The nutrition industry, while not regulated by the FDA, is controlled indirectly by the FDA. GMP is an FDA requirement. Having worked in two industries where the concept is not only expected, but required in some instances; I was not impressed by the fact that Mattel implemented GMP of their own volition for the sole purpose to improve public perception after misconduct was exposed by the media. Business Ethics Issue The one word that I found that resonates throughout the article, whether spoken or implied, is â€Å"integrity†. The incoming CEO stated that Mattel would behave in all actions with â€Å"unwavering integrity† and that the company’s commitment to the GMP remained unequivocal and undiminished. (Sethi, Shapiro, Emelianova, pg.490) Ironically, I identify the most noticeable and important business ethics issue as just that; a lack of integrity. Merriam Webster defines integrity as â€Å"the firm adherence to a code of especially moral value, the quality or sate of being complete or undivided, and the quality of being honest or fair. Mattel exhibited none of these traits insofar as where their GMP’s were concerned. In fact, there were numerous infractions regarding the non-enforcement of their GMP’s across the board in the Asia and Mexico based manufacturing facilities. The second ethics issue I identified was narcissism. Mattel implemented this GMP program with the attitude of ‘look at what we’re doing’ but with minimal effort to ensure the success of the program. According to Duchon and Drake (2009) extreme narcissistic organizations will establish these formal ethics programs but will not have much effect on hindering unethical behaviors. This was evident in that the supervisors at the factories knew what they were supposed to be doing; but found ways to circumvent the system and there were no reprisals as a result of their nonconformance. Ultimately, it was a program of words and not deeds. Three Virtues Prudence â€Å"Careful good judgment that allows someone to avoid danger or risks. † (M-W, 2013) In my opinion, a great deal of misfortune and hardship could have been avoided if Mattel would have practiced a modicum of prudence before ever moving their manufacturing to Asia. In a perfect world, and especially in a modern world we do not expect children to work. However, when dealing with underdeveloped countries; it is normal for children to work in conditions that would be an affront to any American’s moral nature having abandoned child labor decades ago. If Mattel had done due diligence, they would have known that the facility in Indonesia was operating in an unacceptable manner (Sethi, et al. pg. 486) and could have implemented working conditions and requirements from the get-go. Then the exposure by the media would have never been an issue. I have no doubt that the draw of paying lower wages and increased productivity was the catalyst to overlook the conditions in those overseas factories. Justice â€Å"The quality of being just, impartial, or fair. Conformity to truth, fact, or reason. † (M-W, 2013) The concept of justice was completely lost on Mattel. While the implementation of the GMP program was comprehensive; the execution and enforcement was unconscionable. The last paragraph of the GMP, exhibit 1 says that if â€Å"Mattel determines that any of its manufacturing facilities or vendors violate these principles, we may either terminate our business relationship or require that facility to take corrective action. If corrective action is advised and not taken, Mattel will immediately terminate current production and suspend placement of future orders. †(Sethi, et al.pg. 487). However, when audits were performed; the facilities were rife with infractions but there was no follow through when corrective actions were required. The facilities were allowed to continue to operate unhindered. Astonishingly, the 20 plus companies that were not owned by Mattel were allowed to operate without any disciplinary actions imposed by Mattel for infractions if any auditing was conducted at all. Considering the fact that both Mattel owned and vendor factories employ some hundred thousand plus employees; Mattel’s actions were nowhere near impartial, fair, or conforming to fact or reason. Fidelity â€Å"Quality or state of being faithful, accuracy in details. †(M-W, 2013) For this virtue, I am concentrating on the act of being faithful to the employees. Whether or not the GMPs were self-imposed or not, Mattel had an obligation to the people it employs. Throughout the article, it was found during audits that the employee’s time cards would systematically be incomplete where they were not being allowed to clock-out. This resonates that these people were being required to work overtime ‘off the books’. Employees were not being given the appropriate days off or vacation time. Some living conditions and canteen conditions were substandard. Fines were being imposed. (Sethi, et al. 2011) The list goes on and on. In my opinion, Mattel should have had impartial representatives on the ground in these factories to ensure that the rules for payment, working overtime, and work conditions were being upheld. There should have been constant supervision and vigilance on a corporate level. To think that audits that were being conducted every three years was comprehensive enough to get the job done was blind and narrow minded. Courage To go one step further. A virtue is an attitude. Courage is measured when there is risk involved; but also rationality. To be truly courageous there needs to be a clear picture of what a person’s values are. Courage does not need to be proven beyond a doubt. (Hartman, 2008) In the case of Mattel, I feel it was courageous to implement such a comprehensive GMP program although it was misguided and ultimately failed. An even more courageous act would have been to rehab the program and bring it to its full potential and fruition. The article does not mention whether Mattel experienced any loss of revenue as a result, but public perception is a fickle entity and once all of the attention over sweat shops and child labor overseas died down, Mattel was no longer under the microscope. Financially, Mattel was spending money it perceivably no longer needed to spend. Since their program was self-imposed; it is no surprise that Mattel just unceremoniously abandoned the GMP program after nine years. When some organizations implement and enforce codes as part of a self-regulation process and others do not, those who self-regulate invariably incur greater costs. These costs are usually passed onto the consumer who subsequently (and sensibly) choses the organization which offers the cheaper product. (Blackburn & McGee, 2004) Virtue Ethics â€Å"Virtues† are attitudes, dispositions, or character traits that enable us to be and to act in ways that develop this potential. They enable us to pursue the ideals we have adopted. Honesty, courage, compassion, generosity, fidelity, integrity, fairness, self-control, and prudence are all examples of virtues. (Andre, Meyer, Shanks, and Velazquez. 1988) Virtue ethics indicates that business decisions should be made in a manner that attributes to the overall goals of the professional. It stresses activities and motives, what we do and why. Virtue ethics proffer that action and motive are connected to character and disposition. Actions are taken and decisions made because they are linked to a certain character. (Blackburn and McGee. 2004) â€Å"That â€Å"ought† does not imply â€Å"right† can be seen in another sort of case as well, namely, when what one ought to do in one’s circumstances results from one’s own prior wrongdoing. In such a case, doing what one ought to do may not be the same as doing a right act or a â€Å"good deed†. In fact, the same prior failure may both increase one’s level of obligation to do a given act now and decrease one’s level of praiseworthiness. † (Russell, 2008) The above quote is especially poignant in the Mattel case. Because Mattel implemented the GMP program on the heels of a media expose, the intentions were not solely based on the ‘right’ thing to do, but on what they ‘ought’ to do. Mattel probably did not get the recognition or good press they were looking for and therefore had no proclivity to ensure that the plan was a success. Utilitarian Ethics â€Å"Actions are approved when they are as such to promote happiness and disapproved when they have a tendency to cause unhappiness. † (Driver, 2009) We also know that utilitarian ethics work for the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Mattel directly employs over twenty thousand people throughout Asia and Mexico. If the happiness of those employees would have been considered; the pay, working conditions, time off, and canteen programs would have never been an issue. If the executives of the company would have experienced any of those adverse conditions, they would have cried â€Å"foul† all the way to an attorney. The employees are ultimately left without a voice and no recourse. Deontology â€Å"To act according to the maxim that you would wish all other rational people to follow as though it were universal law. † â€Å"Never treat a person as a means to an end. † (Pecorino, 2000) Kant contends that where morality is concerned, it is guided by law and therefore judgment is not necessary to fill in the blanks, because there are no blanks. He believed that people can conform to duty and not be morally limited. He believed that we could use indeterminate action-guidance for imperfect duties, and I’m paraphrasing; to weigh the moral options for decisions regarding duty towards others. Because that decision requires the minimum of our morality. Kant rejected virtue ethics. (McAleer, 2001) My opinion is that deontology would not work in the Mattel case. There are too many variables to consider in order to narrow down the maxim that will be comprehensive enough to include thousands of people over a number of cultural variances. Conclusion While the design of Mattel’s Global Manufacturing Principles may have been well intended and meant to improve the working conditions of the employees, the implementation was short-sighted and poorly executed. All too often when the few aspire to set standards for the many, the end result is a miscalculation. GMP’s are not a one size fits all type of endeavor. Each facility should have had a program that was custom to their country and working conditions. The ethical treatment of employees was the intention; but the ultimate governance was not enforced. The aftermath was the abandonment of the program due to the lack of interest and participation on the public and other companies in the industry. References Andre, Claire, Meyer, Michael and S. J. , Shanks, Thomas, Velasquez, Manuel. (1988) Ethics and Virtue. Issues in Ethics, V1 N3. We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

The Passion of the Christ Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Passion of the Christ - Essay Example His sufferings then start from henceforth with the soldier spitting on him and physically hitting him, his disciples abandoned him with Peter, who swore beforehand never to leave Jesus, denying him three times as Jesus has prophesied. In the chaos that was happening, Judas hung himself after attempting to return the thirty pieces of silver the Sanhedrin gave him in exchange to betraying his master, which was not accepted. When Jesus was brought to Pontius Pilate, the crowd cried for him to be crucified and Pilate was left to no choice but to wash his hands and give Jesus to the hands of his accusers. The drama of Jesus’ flogging, with all the sweat and blood mixing as he parades with his cross to the mountain of Golgotha along with the soldiers and other prisoners were witnessed not only by the common people but by his disciples as well and Jesus’ family particularly his mother, Mary. During his crucifixion, the soldiers witnessed the miracle that happened as the earth quaked and the release of both water and blood as one soldier struck Jesus’ side to make sure he was already dead. In the temple, the priests felt the quake as well and witnessed the destruction of the curtain separating the holy place from the most holy place. The story ends with the resurrection of Jesus, with the hole on his hand proving his identity. The movie pictures Jesus who is similar to any other man who was able to feel pain, vulnerable to the harsh realities of this world like betrayal, outrage and temptations. When he was praying in the garden, Satan was depicted as a man in a black hood with a pet snake who has been torturing Jesus by questioning his ability to save the world and like anyone else, Jesus had the tendency to yield to temptation as it was presented when he said, â€Å"If it is possible, let this Chalice pass from me.† This shows to the modern man that as Jesus was able to avoid sinning by giving in to temptation, the same is true with anyone . An individual may always choose to avoid sinning by being strong when being tempted or be weak enough and succumb to temptation. However, Jesus also with his words showed that man can avoid succumbing to temptation if he yields to the will of God as he said â€Å"Let you will be done.† Jesus is also portrayed as a meek lamb brought to the slaughter as the Bible says, having no objections to the soldiers or high priest about what he is being accused of. Jesus could have had always been able to defend himself, with Pontius Pilate able to see and understand that his accusers brought Jesus to his presence because of jealousy, it would have been easy for Jesus to justify himself. Still, he did not fight back instead, he let the high priest succeed in his desire of getting Jesus hung on the cross, treated like an evil criminal, flogged and spat on yet without retaliation. The Jesus story portrayed in the film is a very moving story which is directed not only to those who believe in Jesus but also to those who do not believe because of ignorance. At some angle, the movie acts as an educational means to proclaim the reality behind the passion of Jesus, why he came to die and what sort of manner he died. This has been a great contribution to understanding and imagining the hardships Jesus had gone through only to save humanity from their sins. I believe seeing the movie which has courageously shown the brutality of the

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Hotel Paris Training Program - Case Study Example It is clear from the discussion that the CFO team should come up with an integrated information technology training system that offers a comprehensive interactive platform to employees at different departments within the organization. As such, it would provide an important potentiality and diversity for every employee to offer assistance at every department whenever there is a need (253). Since the recruitment of employees is not a guarantee to a direct performance, it is vital for Lisa and Hotel Paris training department to design an appropriate training program. Such a program will enable new recruits to understand the organization in a broader sense right from the history to mission and visions of the future. Moreover, the organization should align the training strategies towards achieving the organizational goals and objectives. Therefore, it will be very easy to distinguish employee’s behavior right from the time a person joins the institution and determine the worth for the progressiveness of an organizational achievement (224). From the study, it can be resolved that Lisa and the CFO did not carry out proper investigation ascertaining why there existed a fall in Hotel Paris Training program. For instance, Hotel training department only spends a fraction of training duration as compared to the other companies. The CFO simply went ahead and recommended for the development of a separate training program that lacked a consultative approach towards achieving the competitive advantage of Hotel Paris. The organizational training advisory team should have considered conducting a different training need analysis to identify what employees need to fill up job vacancies.

Intelligence Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Intelligence Analysis - Assignment Example Fast forward, Hamid Aboutalebi is the proposed Iran ambassador to the U. N. A proposal vehemently opposed by the U. S. This is amid the looming high level and sensitive nuclear talks between Iran and the six major powers. The current appointment of one Hamid Aboutalebi as the Iranian ambassador to the U. N. has elicited mixed views on whether he should be allowed a U.S. visa amid allegations of his role in the hostage crisis of 1979 (Shawn, One – time hostage of Iranian militants urges denial of visa to new Iran envoy involved in siege). One of the hostages taken then, Barry Rosen has been vocal against his appointment. Jakes, (US Troubled by Iran’s Choice of Its UN Ambassador) reports that the U.S. objected to this anticipated appointment. However it is evident that the Obama administration does not want to state its stance on the issues instead choosing to remain silent. This issue comes up even as expert – level nuclear talks slated for Thursday are set to go ahead. The talks shall be held from April 3 – 6 in Vienna with a view of asking Iran to scale back its nuclear program to ensure it is of peaceful nature (Qing, ed., Iran, powers to start expert – level nucl ear talks

An Analysis Of The Dumbest Generation English Language Essay

An Analysis Of The Dumbest Generation English Language Essay The Dumbest Generation, How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Dont Trust Anyone Under 30) is a critical analysis on the effects of the prolific spread of information and communication technology on the youth of today. In it, Mark Bauerlein argues that while this technology could have been used to increase access to knowledge and therefore improve the minds of children, it has only been used to distract them from useful knowledge and skills which he strongly implies, although rarely explicitly states, only currently come from books and exposure to art. The book at its core is a research paper, using hundreds of facts and an eight page bibliography to support his thesis, and free from having to defend his beliefs on a philosophical level, Bauerlein spends much of his paper explaining his many cited statistics and presenting his conclusion about what would happen if the trend was allowed to continue. Besides the obvious and repeatedly stated concl usion that an unchecked spread of technology would cause a completely ignorant generation, Bauerlein concludes his paper with an explanation of how an informed society is necessary to uphold a democratic government. Hidden more subtly throughout the book is the hidden message that technologys isolation of its users from the outside world and contact with the kinds of people we might not enjoy being around causes the psychological maturing process to slow, rendering a generation raised in the digital era perpetual children. Although his book is intended to be read by a wide range of audiences, Bauerleins target audience is the adults of today, or more specifically, the educators of today. His solution, placed in the final chapter of the book, where he was no doubt aware that only those with a personal stake or a love of knowledge would reach before putting it down, is to encourage children to read and learn for their own edification. He mentions several counter arguments to his, but doesnt refute their logic as much as drown them in empirical data showing that they have little to nothing backing them up. Through this book Mark Bauerlein jumped into a national debate already brought up by another similar book, The Age of American Unreason, by Susan Jacoby. But who is Mark Bauerlein? His most obvious feature is being a professor of English at Emory University, as stated in his web page at Emory Universitys official website and on the cover of his book. Also according to the same sources, he took a break for a couple of years to be a Director of Research and Analysis at the National Endowment for the Arts, showing that he does have experience in both gathering and interpreting the data with which he generously fills his book. His own personal website reveals that he is a fairly prolific writer himself, from such topics as racism and literary criticism itself, but for the most part Bauerlein writes about the humanities. While this information would obviously lead to Bauerlein having a personal stake in the state of American literacy, it does not really offer any evidence of bias either way for whether or not there actually is a literacy deficiency. Bauerlein uses his credentials well, relying only on his own credibility to properly evalua te data and to extrapolate the results, allowing the actual risk of misinformation to lie with his sources. For the most part, his information consists of surveys of participation in certain activities and tests of academic skill, primarily the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which is a program run by a subdivision of the U.S. Department of Education (Bauerlein 14-5). Where Bauerlein seems to falter in his credibility is in trying to avoid sounding reactionary or out of touch, discussing the information revolution as a form of Youth Rebellion (Bauerlein 178), making sweeping comments such as Young people have too much choice (Bauerlein 156), and showing disdain for the design of websites conforming to the whims of their readers, whose compositions include large bold headlines intended to grab audiences and putting the broad, useful information first to keep the reader paying attention, while completely ignoring the existence of these tactics in newspapers and within his own book. However, one can understand why the condescension was included. A moderate book doesnt sell, and an English Professor knows this better than anyone. But despite some issues regarding his relationship to the subject, the book does successfully display the flaws of the so called dumbest generation, and it certainly accomplishes its retroactively stated goal, to open up the issue to some sober skepticism, to blunt the techno-zeal spreading through classrooms and libraries (Bauerlein vii), found in the preface of the paperback edition. The purpose of the book is plain, and stated in its title, sub title, and sub-sub title. Bauerlein uses statistics and logic to show that the current generation of children will be incapable adults in order to convince parents and educators to encourage the children to read books, learn history, experience liberal arts. Like any good research paper, Bauerlein begins his exploration of the effects of technology with a moving introduction. In it, he sympathizes with the struggles facing the ambitious youth, who have to tirelessly fight to be the best out of millions just to progress to the next step in their lives. However, near the end he suddenly shifts to his own images about the average American student, which are quite grim. The introductions lack of relevance to the main subject was most likely added to pull in someone who would naturally expected the opposite of what is depicted in the first part of the intro based on the title. Also, by conceding the efforts and hardships of the young academics, he does not alienate them, in a way separating those potential readers from the sweeping accusations made later in the book. The pleasantries aside, Bauerlein dives into the fray with his mountains of data, citing over one hundred statistics in the first chapter. He uses several kinds of statistics; so me to show that children do not pass subject material exams, some to show that a large amount of children do not know a specific fact that one is normally expected to know, and some to show that other factors one might consider for causes of a lower average intelligence such as school time (Bauerlein 30), finance (Bauerlein 31), and leisure time (Bauerlein 32) have only become less restrictive over time. After having thoroughly proven that todays students dont know what they should, he moves on into the next chapter to discuss why this is. Bauerlein simply says that children dont choose to learn enough. His weapon of choice now is the survey of students in which he shows that children do not read literature or participate in the arts. The main survey he brings up is a report from National Endowment for the Arts, Reading at Risk, in which Bauerlein show that the reading of any kind of literature is declining, and especially so in children. However, the survey asked about voluntary reading, not reading required for work or school (Bauerlein 45) and despite assertions that to be considered a reader one merely had to read any work of any quality of any medium-book, newspaper, magazine, blog, Web page, or music CD insert (Bauerlein 47), it is unlikely that most of the people who said that they did not read were aware of or understood this qualification, and in all likelihood disregarded a ny reading they did do as sufficient. Bauerlein goes on to give several examples of the positive effects of a zeal for reading such as Frederick Douglass and Walt Whitman, which serve more to emotionally touch the reader rather than to logically prove his point, as the last section did. Back to the facts, Bauerlein sends out scores of numbers indicating that the youth of today spend a disproportionate amount of time on screen technology. However, instead of merely analyzing the data, he takes the time to bring up counterarguments. He shows how other authors such as Steven Berlin Johnson have explored the special social and thinking patterns that could only occur in a world of instant communication and interactive digital worlds in such books as Everything Bad is Good for You, and doesnt actually protest their reasoning, and even gives us his own visions of an ideal world where the technology created a vibrant massive community seeking knowledge and obtaining true enlightenment. And then Bauerlein caps it off with an answer to the rhetorical question Why, then, should bibliophiles and traditionalists carp so much? with the short maxim, Because that glorious creation of youth intelligence hasnt materialized (Bauerlein 107). He shifts once again to his statistics, now not only showing poor scholastic performance but poor job performance as well, painting a new picture of a generation of perpetual children who know little and know nothing practical. Not only do the digital medias have less complex vocabulary (Bauerlein 128-9), but they foster peer absorption (Bauerlein 133) and poor attention spans (Bauerlein 148). He describes the newest batch of young adults as twixters (Bauerlein 160) who despite financial stability, technology, and readily available education, do not settle down and wander through life fairly aimlessly. The solution, according to Bauerlein, is for the educators of America to rise up and promote reading and arts instead of technology alone, which has been shown to be ineffective by itself to promote learning and knowledge. In the final chapter, Bauerlein compares an ignorant adults that the ignorant children would become to Rip Van Winkle (Bauerlein 204-9), knowing nothing that they need to in a world that suddenly demands their attention and participation, and unaware of how to feel about the issues surrounding them. Bauerlein closes with a conclusion that if uncorrected, the trend of an unintelligent youth would undermine democratic society, and that only by reintegrating tradition into learning could we save society from the sovereignty of youth. (Bauerlein 223) brought about by a freedom from material that challenges what they think. The overall structure of the book is designed for a broad range of readers. An interesting introduction pulls in readers of all sorts, and then a series of facts puts the issue of childhood ignorance freshly onto the minds of concerned adults. Specific proof of his claim trails this to counter those who doubt the validity of his claim, followed by acknowledgement and rebuttal of claims to appease those more enlightened on the subject, and he finishes the book with a powerful, almost alarmist message that exploits the fears of a society of idiots and their patriotism to swing to his side his colleagues, students, and critics. Of course, Bauerlein is certainly not the first to comment on the rising ignorance among todays young adults. Just three months before The Dumbest Generation was published, The Age of American Unreason, a book by Susan Jacoby, hit the shelves with a similar conclusion, that the digital age has caused the current youth to become self absorbed and ignore what goes on around them; Bauerlein mentions it in passing. For long years it has been suspected that digital technology would not improve education. In an essay by Michael Schrage from 1997, aptly named Computers Will Not Transform Education, shows doubt about the young internets ability to revolutionize education, and points out that neither the radio nor the television had a great impact on student performance. This sentiment was also expressed in another essay that year, Computers Cannot Replace Good Teachers, by Clifford Stoll, who makes the calm assertion that most learning isnt fun. Learning takes work. Discipline. Responsibilit y-You have to do your homework. Both of the predictions of a high amount of spending on technology by education and an insignificant change in performance are evident in The Dumbest Generation. However, Bauerleins presentation of poor performance seems to contradict the Flynn effect, the rise of IQ over time, but instead of contesting it, he lets it sit, and in some ways appears to ignore the elephant in the room when discussing the relevancy of new visual learning techniques, relying nearly entirely on test performance. However, not all of the data works in favor of Bauerlein. According to The Nations Report Card, the official web site for the National Assessment of Educational Progress, Mathematics scores for 9- and 13- year-olds are higher than all previous assessment years and that Reading skills at all three ages improve since 2004. Furthermore, according to the charts on the long-term trend section of the web site, average scores overall have increased gradually but constantly since the first test in 1978. So while Bauerlein may be correct that the number of students who pass the test may be decreasing, this is mainly due to the level of competence being raised faster than the children are getting better, a much less frightening scenario. In fact, On both the reading and the math tests, and at all three tested ages (9, 13 and 17), the lowest-ever scores in the history of the NAEP were recorded by children born between 1961 and 1965 (Neil Howe). However, the raw score increase has not gotten any faster in thirty years, the increase is most likely due to increased incomes, higher teacher to student ratios, better health, and many of the other improvements that Bauerlein points out rather than technology, which would have shown higher improvement in recent years, when the information revolution started. Of course, all of this is only relevant if you put your faith into NAEP tests, which according to Jim Hull of The Center for Public Education in The proficiency debate: A guide to NAEP achievement levels, you cant. Hull shows that NAEP standards for proficiency in a subject are higher than nearly all of the state regulated proficiency tests, and the tested material often widely differs from state curriculum. One of Bauerleins main sources is Reading at Risk, a report explaining the results of a 2002 survey of reading habits by the National Endowment for the Arts, which he states indicates decreased reading in all age groups and a large decline in young readers. However, the 2008 results were released in January 2009, as a sort of sequel titled Reading on the Rise, which bared the unexpected news that the percentage of literary readers had actually gone up, and even more astoundingly, Literary reading has increased most rapidly among the youngest adults. This isnt just contradictory to the trend of 1992 to 2002, from which Bauerlein draws proof of a non reading public; it completely turns it upside down. And while the report was published eight months after The Dumbest Generation, the survey itself was taking place as Bauerlein was finishing his book, and that the miraculous return to literature had begun and reading rates were rising as Bauerlein was writing about how the reading rates w ere falling, and he didnt notice the complete reversal happening right under his nose, or chose to ignore it. Most people who picked up The Dumbest Generation were probably expecting a lot of expanded logic and presumptuous reasoning like what makes up the counter arguments to this book such as Everything Bad is Good For You, which do not have much true evidence. I was personally delighted to find that Mark Bauerlein had taken the time to find not just adequate data, but a tremendous amount of information. For the most part, his logic is sound; however, his main struck a bad chord. Because technology has increased while the intellectual performance of the newest generation has gone down, technology must be causing the newest generation to be the dumbest. Post hoc ergo proptor hoc. While he briefly explains why several other possible causes for lower test scores havent happened, he doesnt ever find a factual link between technology and the change in scores other than the times in which both occur. As far as books and technology, print reading would naturally decrease as web usage went up, sim ply due to the limits of time. In fact, Bauerlein doesnt have any proof of high literary reading from before twenty years ago; we are simply expected to believe that those before us spent all of their free time reading. What Bauerlein fails to address is the fact that social networking is not the result of technology on reading, but the effect of technology on actual, face-to-face social interaction. Ill jump to agree with the assertion that a decrease in performance could be based on the ability to choose not to succeed, but it is society, not technology, that facilitated this shift. The children of today arent expected to read literature much, and dont gain anything concrete from it, so most of them dont and I would expect it. Am I supposed to believe that the students of yore read The Divine Comedy for fun? They didnt, and for the most part, people read only what they like to read or what they have to read. And when children dont have to read much, they mostly read whats fun, eac h other, and other frivolities like video games. In The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Dont Trust Anyone Under 30, Mark Bauerlein uses out of context information to convince readers that our advancements have made my generation the dumbest, when really it is simply not expected to do more, and its opinion is valued as important as the instructors. Indeed, with discipline, technology can be and already is used for incredible feats in learning. Without the photocopier, the online databases paid for by my school, and the internet, I would know nothing more on this subject than what is in this book. If more was expected of students, both student knowledge and beneficial use of technology would rise, to the point where English professors like Mark Bauerlein would stop separating published content into the categories of print and web. And quite frankly, Im insulted he used the title The Dumbest Generation when a title more fitting to his thesis would be The Laziest Generation. An alarmist book, The Dumbest Generation was written to sell a malformed idea that an English professor had a lot of published work already invested in, and was written to sell a lot of books. In both of these he succeeded.

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The World Bank is a specialized agencies of the United Nations. Their stated purpose is to reduce poverty through low-interest loans, interest-free loans at banking and economic aid to developing nations. It is consist of 185 members. This organization was created in 1944 and it is headquartered at Washington, DC, United States. The World Bank Group have five specialized multilateral agencies of the United Nations: 1. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) have 185 member countries. It was created in 1945, aims to achieve poverty reduction in developing countries and middle-income and creditworthy, providing financial advice on economic management. Certainly is the main branch of the World Bank Group, having to belong to him for membership of any of the following organizations. (Learn Economics) 2. The International Development Association (IDA) have as member to 166 countries. It was created in 1960, the members of this association made contributions that allow the World Bank (WB) provide around 6,000 and 7,000 million dollars annually in credit, with a very low interest, to those 78 countries that are considered the poorest. The international development association is very important for those countries, called "developing", who cannot get financing at market circumstance. This give money for the development of services such as education, housing, water, sanitation, and making investments and reforms to promote productivity and increasing employment. (Learn Economics) 3. According to Lear Economics, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have as member 179 countries. it was created in 1956, this corporation is responsible to foment the economic in developing countries with the help of private sect... ...try that has the largest number of shares (together with the International Monetary Fund) and therefore has a great influence on the direction of the organization. Due to its great number of shares, is also the only country with veto rights. Generally, members of the Board of Governors are finance ministers or development of the member countries. They meet once a year at the annual Board of Governors of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund. (Preserves Articles) Since the Board of Governors meets once a year only, delegating specific tasks to 25 executive directors who work in the offices of the World Bank. The five largest shareholders of the World Bank are France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, who each choose an executive director, while other member countries are represented by the remaining 19 CEOs. (The World Bank) â€Æ'

‘It is impossible to not take sides during conflict’ Essay

‘It is possible to avoid taking sides during a conflict’- Persuasive The statement stating that is possible to avoid taking sides during conflict, is wrong. It is nearly impossible to take sides during conflict. Even if the conflict does not involve you directly, it can impact your life sooner or later. Things such as love and family can affect the ability to be able to take sides during conflict. In the novel the Quiet American, the difficulty of taking sides during war is displayed and is evident in Fowler’s and Pyle’s strange friendship. Additionally, in the novel Fowler and Pyle share a strange friendship. At the commencement of their friendship, Pyle falls in love with Phuong and eventually Phuong chooses to be with Pyle. This leaves Fowler with resentment because he is left with nothing. However when Fowler discovers that Pyle is partly responsible for the bomb that goes off at the cafà © he researches the plastic and once he is sure that he is defin itely involved and responsible. Fowler does not hesitate to work with the three men and agrees that Pyle should be assassinated and he takes part. Fowler is left with no choice but to take a side and do something so that Pyle cannot hurt people again. He also considers Phuong and her well-being. Fowler’s decision is influenced by his previous friendship with Pyle and his involvement with Phuong, so therefore it is impossible to not be involved. When innocent civilians are left to suffer due to a person’s ignorance and their impulsive need to make a scene so that a higher up government recognises them, it is hard not to have an opinion or want to be involved. In contrast, when Fowler witnesses the dead and the chronically injured civilians after the bomb has gone off, it is surreal to him. It brings him anger and sickness to know that these innocent people were hurt because of Pyle. ‘It’s not a matter of justice. We all get involved in a moment of emotion and then we cannot get out’. Fowler could have exposed Pyle and told the Vietnam police or someone with high authority but he chooses to take matters into his own hands. There is an exception of those who are ignorant and don’t understand the full extent of the conflict, for example, those of which are children or do not have any input of the mishap. Additionally, people that are scared to have opinions or are naà ¯ve to the conflict, do not have strong opinions and find it difficult to take a side in conflict.

Gambling Pros and Cons and Stages

Gambling is one of the many things that people do. A lot of people see no problem in gambling and others may see different. Gambling has many different cause and effects on certain people and different phases of getting there. Some people may get the better effects, and some may get the not so good effects from it. Gambling doesn’t always just affect the person doing it, but may affect the people around them. There are many pros but more cons to gambling. People may just go gamble just for a night out, others do it on a regular basis.The ones that may do it on regular basis, build their own life around it. Getting into gambling may be caused from stress, greed, and mental health problems. Depression is a big one. When depressed gambling can lift up someone’s mood, especially if he or she is winning all the time. When winning all the time a person becomes greedier with their money than before. Some just don’t know when to stop. Some people waste their winnings on trying to win more when they should’ve just walked away. Other people use gambling when he or she is stressed out about money.They think they win one time there going to win many more, and money problems will disappear. From many stories shared around most likely that won’t be the case more problems just start to occur. The effects from gambling can be something little to something big. There are many harmful effects such as, debt, family issues, pathway to other crimes, endangering ones job, and most likely a high increase in alcohol and drug use. In a study conducted by the United States, 2. 5 million adults suffer from gambling addiction, where 15 million people are under the risk of getting this addiction.Many people who have this addiction go out and gamble their life savings, risking that they might lose it all. Bill money gets spent, and that when one starts to get in debt. Gambling also increase the issues in a household. Increase of child abuse, and neglect of ten occur. He or she might lose a 5,000 dollar bet and take the anger out on the children at home. Many gamblers stop caring about everyone around them, and only think about themselves. There are different stages to having the gambling addiction. The beginning s ones â€Å"winning† stage. One occasionally gambles, gets a big win, and then starts making higher bets. Next the â€Å"losing† phase hits. Some may lose time from work, start borrowing money from others, and start becoming in debt, because of that winning streak. Next the â€Å"desperation† phase. When one is in a panic from all the money lost, and the beginning of doing illegal crimes to get money will begin. Finally, the â€Å"hopelessness† phase hits. Now there is nothing left and suicidal thoughts run threw some people head.The debt is too much to handle and they feel nothing they can do will get them in a stable environment. This is also when in a marriage a divorce might happen, and everyon e that was once there, may not be there anymore. Gambling is a horrible addiction. This addiction may be treatable, as long as the person wants to be treated. Gambling effects a lot more than just one person. It affects everyone around. A winning streak may just be a fluke, taking way too far and ruin one’s life and many more. There can be many pros and cons to gambling, but in the end the cons takes over.