Internal vs External Change Leaders Essay

Introduction Organisation development(OD) is a planned process of change in an organisation’s culture through the utilization of behavioral science technology, research and theory (Warner Burke, 1982). It also refers to a long range effort to improve an organisation’s problem solving capabilities and its ability to cope with changes in its external environment with the help of external or internal behavioral-scientist consultant or change agents (Wandell French, 1969). Organisation transformation(OT) is a term referring collectively to such activities as re-engineering, redesigning and redefining business systems. It is often used when there is existing issue faced by the organisation. Organisation development is the preferred choice that an organisation wants to be in and continually improve their products and service in an incremental manner. In order to achieve OD, organisation need internal or external change agents to aid them. However, after assessing the advantages and disadvantages of the change agents (Appendix 1 & 2), Internal change agent will be better for organisation to achieve OD as compared to external change agent. Internal and External Change Leadership External change agents are consultants who are temporary employed in the organization to remain engaged only for the duration of the change process. An internal change agent is a staff person who has expertise in the behavioural sciences to help in the OD. Various reviewers of change management argue that OD applied by managers, rather than OD professionals has grown rapidly. It has been suggested that the faster pace of change affection organisation today is highlighting the centrality of the manager in the managing change. Therefore, OD must become a general management skill. Many managerial staffs in an organisation are equipped with this relevant skill. Internal Change Leadership in the Action Research Model The Action Research model focuses on planned change as a cyclical process in which initially research about the organisation provides information to guide subsequent action. The model emphasises on data gathering and diagnosis pior to action planning and implementation. The result will be carefully evaluated after action has been taken. Data gathering and preliminary diagnosis: Although Internal change agents are often limited by perceptions and position in the organization, but they have the value of in-depth knowledge of the business, the organisation and the management. This in-depth knowledge makes them particularly valuable on sensitive implementation of strategic change projects or culture transformation initiatives, managing processes or projects, and integrating or leveraging initiatives across the organisation. It can also help to reduce the time spent on data gathering as internal change agents will have intimate knowledge of the organisation and its dynamics, culture and informal practices. Being part of the organisation, internal change agents are able to interact more freely with the fellow employees. This enable the internal change agents to gather a more reliable information as compared to external change agents. Feedback to client: In this step, clients are given the information gathered by the change agent to help them determining the strengths and weakness of the organisation. Internal change agents are employees and they have a better understanding to the organisational structure. Thus, after gathering the relevant information, it will be easier for them to feedback to the client as the client need not afraid that information on the organisation’s weakness will be exposed. Internal change agents have the knowledge of the politics in the organisation, this will enable to effectively establish rapport and trust better than external change agent. Organisation may be also wary of the external change agents as the organisation may fear that confidential information will be exposed. Joint diagnosis of problem: At this point, fellow employees discuss the feedback and diagnosis with the internal change agents whether they want to work on the identified issues. Strong inter-relationship between internal change agents, the fellow employees and clients can help in the understanding of the result gathered in the earlier steps. This is important as the failure to establish a common frame of reference in this relationship will lead to faulty diagnosis or to a communication gap whereby client become unwillingly to believe the diagnosis. By using internal change agents, organisations are more likely to have the trust in the diagnosis as compare to external change agen ts because internal change agents have the more sense of ownership to the OD as compare to external change agents. Joint action planning: At this stage, further action for the OD had been decided. Internal change agents will have the advantage of getting hold of the first hand information. Any immediate follow up action can be access and rectify Action: This stage involves the actual change from one organisation state to another. It may include installing new methods and procedures, reorganising structures and work designs, and reinforcing new behaviour. This stage may also take a long period to reach the ideal outcome. Although external change agents are often viewed as professional and has more credibility, internal change agents have the advantage of the sense of ownership to the change. Internal change agents are viewed as part of the organisation and fellow employee will trust them and will result in a smoother transition period. Data gathering after action: This research action model is a cyclical process. Therefore, internal change agents can more effectively gather the output of the change result and feedback to the client. The result obtained will also most likely be more accurate and timely. This will enhance the effectiveness of the process of rectification and also to stop OD if the result obtained is deem as a failure. This will help the organisation to cut cost if the change is a failure. Circumstances whereby Internal change leadership were preferred Planned change can be contrasted across situations on 2 key dimensions, namely the magnitude of organisational change and the degree to which client system is organised. One of the planned change is magnitude of organisational change. Planned change can be either incremental or quantum. Under incremental change, OD practitioners help to solve specific problems in particulars organisational systems. Example of such problem are poor communication between inter-departments, low productivity and continuous improvement as a quality management process etc. These issues are mostly solved by internal change agents because of the nature of the problems. Most of these issues are smaller problems faced by the organisation. By hiring external change agent for these problems are too expensive and time consuming. Under the quantum change, OD practitioners help to create a vision of a desired future and energise movements in that direction. Examples of quantum change are changing an organization’s structure and culture from the traditional top-down, hierarchical structure to a large amount of self-directing teams. Another example might be Business Process Re-engineering, which tries to take apart the major parts and processes of the organization and then put them back together in a more optimal fashion. These changes are more complex. Therefore, more people are involved in the change. The advantage of using internal change agents in this scenario will be the fact internal change agents have more in-depth knowledge of the structure of the organisation. By hiring external change agent, employee may have ‘fear’ to the outcome of the change. This can affect the morale of the organisation and data obtained from employees of the organisation may be untrue. Although quantum is a complex change, a more professional change agent is needed and more professional change agents should be involved in the process. However, by having different internal change agents from department of the organisation to work together can also have the same result of hiring the external change agents as mentioned earlier that more employees are equipped with the knowledge of OD. By having internal change agents, not only they have the ownership of the change and also it is cheap for the organisation. This could be useful for some smaller organisation. The 2nd dimension of planned change is the degree of organisation of the company. The system of a company can vary between overorganised situations to under-organised manner. In an overorganised system, the structure and leadership style of the company is usually bureaucratic and rigid. Most organisation that are in such organised manner usually have conducted OD before. Thus, having internal change agents should be sufficient for the organisation. Conclusion Internal change agent are preferred to External change agent for various reasons as mentioned as above. Internal change agents are closer to the organisation and have the ownership to the change and organisation. They are most likely to understand what is require and have a clearer picture of the change. However, if the change is drastic, organisations should consider hire a small group of external change agent as consultant for the internal change agent as external change agents are more experienced in OD. Organisations should not depend only on external change agent for OD because it may expose the weakness of the organisation and endanger the competitive edge of the organisation.

Effect of Video Games Essay

A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word videoin video game traditionally referred to cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, but it now implies any type of display device that can produce two or three dimensional images. The electronic systems used to play video games are known as platforms; examples of these are personal computers and video game consoles .These platforms range from large mainframe computers to small handheld devices. Specialized video games such as arcade games, while previously common, have gradually declined in use. Video games have gone on to become an art form and industry. The input device used to manipulate video games is called a game controller, and varies across platforms. For example, a controller might consist of only a button and a joystick, while another may feature a dozen buttons and one or more joysticks. Early personal computer games often needed a keyboard for game play, or more commonly, required the user to buy a separate joystick with at least one button. Many modern computer games allow or require the player to use a keyboard and a mouse simultaneously. A few of the most common game controllers are gamepads, mouse’s, keyboards, and joysticks. Video games typically use additional means of providing interactivity and information to the player. Audio is almost universal, using sound reproduction devices, such as speakers and headphones. Other feedback may come via haptic peripherals, such as vibration or force feedback, with vibration sometimes used to simulate force feedback. In the early days of cartridge consoles, they were sometimes called TV games. Early games used interactive electronic devices with various display formats. The earliest example is from 1947—a † Cathode ray tube Amusement Device† was filed for a patent on 25 January 1947, by Thomas T. Goldsmith and Estle Ray Mann, and issued on 14 December 1948, as U.S. Patent 2455992. Inspired by radar display tech, it consisted of an analog device that allowed a user to control a vector-drawn dot on the screen to simulate a missile being fired at targets, which were drawings fixed to the screen. Other early examples include: * The NIMROD computer at the 1951 Festival of Britain * * OXO a tic-tac-toe Computer game by Alexander S. Douglas for the EDSAC * in 1952 * Tennis for Two, an interactive game engineered by William Higinbotham in 1958 The term â€Å"platform† refers to the specific combination of electronic components or computer hardware which, in conjunction with software, allows a video game to operate. The term â€Å"system† is also commonly used. In common use a â€Å"PC game† refers to a form of media that involves a player interacting with a IBM PC compatible personal computer connected to a video monitor. A â€Å"console game† is played on a specialized electronic device that connects to a common television setor composite video monitor. A â€Å"handheld† gaming device is a self-contained electronic device that is portable and can be held in a user’s hands. â€Å"Arcade game† generally refers to a game played on an even more specialized type of electronic device that is typically designed to play only one game and is encased in a special cabinet. These distinctions are not always clear and there may be games that bridge one or more platforms. In addition to personal computers, there are multiple other devices which have the ability to play games but are not dedicated video game machines, such as mobile phones, PDAs and graphing calculators. With the advent of social networking and other online applications hubs, the term â€Å"platform† started being used to refer to the online service within which the game is played, regardless of the actual hardware on which it is executed. A game’s platform could simply be â€Å"Facebook†, whether it is played on a Windows PC, Mac, Smart TV, or smartphone. Statement of the problem : 1.) What is the negative effects of video games to teenager? 2.) What is the positive effects of video games to teenager? 3.) Does game violence make teens aggressive? Scope and limitation Development in technology brings many things that people don’t have many years back. One of these things is online gaming that is provided by the internet. Online gaming is one of the widely used leisure activities by many people. Teenagers who are playing these online games said that they are playing these games just for fun, to keep away from the heat of the sun, without knowing that there are a lot of effects of playing these games that are more than what they think. Playing online games, according to some research is beneficial. It enables the mind of the players to be more active , especially those puzzle-based games. It helps the player to come up with decisions in tight situations, especially those adventure games that keep the players to be alert, active and strategic. Playing these types of games makes the player experienced different feelings because it is as if the player is really the one taking the challenges. Despite those benefits, playing these games also bring negative effects. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE RELATED LITERATURE â€Å"Computer Gaming Effects to the Academic Performance among High school students† – The internet and online gaming industry has grown considerably over the past decade. As the advent of internet occurs, online gaming is undisputedly popular to the students and that online gaming has become high school students’ favorite leisure choice. Most of the High school students in these times are seen on internet sites and spending their money for them to be ready on their battle online. Because of this widespread, parents and educators are concerned about the doable effects on the academic performance among high school students. The most common question discusses about how it affects the academic performance of the gamer. Not surprisingly, gaming culture has become a polarizing force in our society, as well. â€Å"The Effects of Computer Games to the Academic Performance of Aims Students† – Computer addiction is a relatively new term used to describe a d ependency on one’s computer. Computer addiction is not limited to personal computers (PCs). It covers video games and the Internet and has already been given a label by psychologists, namely Internet addiction disorder (IAD). People can grow addicted to a variety of substances, and there is usually a substantial amount of help available to treat them. Alcohol, drugs and sex have all been known to bring out the addictive personality trait in some people, but other forms of addictive behavior, such as exercise, watching television or spending too much time on a computer, have only recently been recognized. Computer addiction, like any addiction, can creep up on a person without one being aware of it. Talk shows are full of people whose relationships have been torn apart by one partner’s computer addiction. Spending hours chatting online, surfing the web or playing computer games can cause relationships to deteriorate as other parts of a person’s life are neglected.

Business ethics Essay

The role that ethics plays in strategic management has changed drastically in the last 20 years. It was rare to find companies that had ethics in the forefront of their management plans in the 1990s. Business was all about maximizing profit/shareholder equity. Incidents like Enron’s bankruptcy caused a big change in management style. â€Å"Enron’s failure in 2001 represents the biggest business bankruptcy ever while also spotlighting corporate America’s moral failings. † (Silversmith, 2013) That spotlight showed a moral environment fraught with greed and shortsightedness where long term growth for companies was concerned. New government regulations on business make it more important that the Board of Directors, CEO and CFO takes more responsibility for how they run the company. Shareholders are also demanding more of the leaders of businesses. For a time, shareholders did not pay attention to how the company was run as long as they received their dividends. Now they are are much more aware. Many people were hurt financially by the bankruptcies and re-valuations of those companies with questionable practices. Pursuit of profits is no longer the main emphasis for many companies. The emphasis is now on ethical issues including environmental, employee satisfaction, and consumer satisfaction. â€Å"Ethics and integrity are at the core of sustainable long term success. † Says Richard Rudden, managing partner at Target Rock Advisors in New York State. â€Å"Without them, no strategy can work, as Enron demonstrated, enterprises will fail. That is despite having some of the ‘smartest’ guys in the room. † Another area that was affected by the lack of corporate ethics was the mortgage industry. Regulations were relaxed, and some larger banks took it as a chance to make a lot of money very quickly. They wrote bad loans for people that could not pay. Using sub-prime methods led to a lot of people that could not afford to buy a home getting mortgages. When they could not pay, the banks found is financially more advantageous to foreclose rather than try to work with the borrowers. They are still doing that to this day, even with government mandated refinance programs. Unfortunately, some people/organizations take longer to learn a lesson than others. References Silversmith, K. (2013, May 14). Enron, Ethics and Todays Corporate Values. Retrieved from Forbes. com.

What Is Modern Technology Provide to Us

What is Modern Technology Provide to Us? â€Å"Technology begins with human nature,† this is a slogan what I believe. There is one question always appear in my mind, what does modern technology bring us? Since development of modern technology, more and more inventions appear. Modern technology was designed to meet human needs, and for convenience. It cannot be denied that modern technology makes our life more convenient; however, modern technologies still bring greater inconvenience than convenience.Complex method of operation is one of the biggest problems when using the modern technology; for example: a millionaire bought a car from Europe to show his wealth, everyone could drive it easily by pushing several buttons because this car was full automatic with its artificial intelligence. But the system setting was very complicated before you started it. Once, this millionaire pushed the wrong buttons and then the car could not move. Then, he had to invite the professional engin eer from Europe to help him solved this problem.After that, he decided not to use those buttons to avoid any problem and troubles. Let’s take the invention of cars as another example, its invention is supposed to enable us to travel faster and is more convenient. But, what happens now? The traffic jams for hours, pollutions appear, every time when I see the traffic jams in any city during the rush hour, I feel that I am so lucky because I don’t have a car. We don’t even know exactly how much time we have to spend or waste on our car. That is the reason why I choose to take populace transportation vehicle.To compare radio and cable, radio can provide news, entertainment or even advertisement as cable does. There is no doubt that cable plays an important role in our lives; however, cable brings numerous negative things as well. Cables transmit more violence and pornography than before. It might affect our new generation. On the other hand, radio still occupies an important role in our life. Most of people don’t really have time to watch the news on television, but they will still listen to the radio have they are driving or so.Modern technologies bring inconvenience because it doesn’t really fit in what we need in our life. Let’s take the most popular invention: cell phone as another example. Nowadays, cell phones become smaller and lighter. Cell phone seems very convenience to us. Nevertheless, this kind of design is not suitable for some of us. Such as the button are too small for senior citizen to click, too expensive to fix. Personally, I am always looking for my cell phone because my cell phone is too small for me. What does modern technology really bring to us?One of my teachers told us that the richest people will get richer and richer. But we are getting poor. It is because those producers are sucking our money because we are buying their new invention. Personally, I strongly believe we should consider if the new est technology can really provide the convenience to us when we try to develop them, or they will only become a trouble for us. Now, I am also thinking about another question: â€Å"If my laptop break down right now and this essay suddenly disappear, how will I feel and what should I do? †

Smaller Public Companies and Sox

Should Smaller Public Companies be Exempted from Complying with SOX Section 404(b)? ABSTACT On July 21, 2010 the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act provided the non-accelerated public companies (those with a market capital below $75 million) a permanent exemption from complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Section 404(b). The Section 404(b) would have required these smaller companies to do what larger companies over the $75 million market cap are currently doing; requiring an external auditor to audit their internal controls over financial reporting.However, what may seem like a huge win for the smaller companies who long have complained about the cost out weighing the benefits of complying with the standard, does not appear that way to everyone. INTRODUCTION Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act Section’s 404 (a) and (b) were created to help restore the public’s trust in what public companies are reporting in their financial statements, as well as the opinio ns on the reports that the auditors are providing on the financial statements.SOX 404(a) implies that managements of public companies assess and report on whether their internal controls over financial reporting (ICFR) are effective (United States Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC], 2009); in order to ensure that those requirements in Section 404(a) are being met, public companies are required to have an external auditor attest to management’s assessment over the ICFR (SEC, 2009). While SOX 404(a) is required by all public companies, Section 404(b) was required only by large companies (those with a market cap greater that $75 million).As for the smaller public companies (those $75 million and under), they were granted numerous extensions and were eventually permanently exempted. The main purpose of SOX 404 was to alleviate the growing tension between investors, government agencies, and public companies. While the public trust is continuing to be restored, according to r esearch and studies; unintended circumstances of the SOX 404 implementation caused massive financial burdens for smaller public companies (Garrett, 2009).The outcries from the small public companies were answered by numerous extensions on the compliance of SOX 404(b). This was in order to give these companies more time to get their internal controls in place for external auditors to attest to them. Finally, on July 21, 2010, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) was passed. The Dodd-Frank Act provided permanent exemption from complying with the SOX 404(b) for non- accelerated public companies (those with a market capital below $75 million) (Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform, 2010, pg. 83). As a result of this Act, another issue surfaced as to why permanently exempt the smaller companies from SOX 404(b). All public companies, to include smaller public companies, should be held to the same standards and be subject to the rules under SOX 404(b). Ins tead of permanently exempted them, the SEC should have came up with a way to make it more cost effective to comply. This paper will address arguments from both sides of the Dodd-Frank Act, and why smaller firms should be required to comply with SOX 404(b).ANALYSIS The permanent exemption comes as a relief for the small public companies as complying with SOX 404(a) has been very expensive and time consuming. By adding to the cost associated with complying with SOX 404(b), it would be more than they would be able to handle. A study conducted by Financial Executives International, showed that the cost of complying with SOX for those public companies whose market cap was under $100 million was approximately $824,000 compared to $1. million for those who market cap is between $100 million to $500 million, at the time the article was written (Wolkoff, 2005). Furthermore, Wolkoff (2005) goes on to say that at the AMEX median, the median revenue for its companies are $57 million, which mean s that for these companies to comply with SOX 404(b) it would cost close to 1. 5% of its median revenue(Wolkoff, 2005). Specifically, Wolkoff states that this could â€Å"severely† have a negative impact on these companies operating margins and â€Å"in many cases to near zero — and depleting funds available for a reinvestment† (Wolkoff, 2005, pg. ). In addition, resources that could be used for other more important business needs would be diverted to costly â€Å"tedious documentation requirements†, and would not be worth the benefits derived (Garrett 2009, pg. 1). Even after the creation of Auditing Standard No. 5 (AS5), a study done by George Washington University, found that the decrease that larger public companies found with the relief provided from AS5 was not the case for smaller public companies (Garrett, 2009).Furthermore, NASDAQ research showed that based on revenue percentage it would cost 11 times more for smaller companies than larger compan ies to comply with SOX 404 (b), which creates an â€Å"unfair competitive advantage for larger companies† (Garrett, 2009 pg. 1-2). Not to mention that these smaller companies believe that the cost associated with SOX 404(b) far outweighs the benefits of compliance (Wolkoff, 2005).On the other hand, opponent’s of the Dobb-Frank Act believes that despite the George Washington University and NASDAQ studies, SOX 404 costs are still expected to go down and that the reduction is not only due to the implementation of AS5, but because of other factors. For instance, the cost of complying with SOX 404 is expected to continue to go down as companies continue to implement and document effective controls and move into the â€Å"maintenance phase of monitoring and reporting† (How Potential Changes in Small-Company, 2006, pg. 7).As this relates to SOX 404(b), this could also mean that once the external auditors have completed their first audit of the company’s internal controls and improvements are made based on the outcome of the audit, audit fees should go down because the audits will become easier since any ineffective internal controls should have been or is being addressed. Another SOX 404(b) obstacle that proponents of the Dobb-Frank Act believed threatened the small companies was that the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) was trying to take a â€Å"one size fits all† approach.Meaning, the SEC was trying to use the same standards for both large and small companies when regulating corporate governance. Proponents felt that this was unfeasible because larger companies were in a better financial position to handle the expense for consultant and external audit fees that came with the SOX 404 regulations. For example, an increased auditing bill to $500 thousand for a company who has a $10 billion market cap would not have the same effect on a company with a market cap of $100 million (Wolkoff, 2005).Conversely, an analysis done by CRA International for the Big Four, reported that audit fees did not make up the majority of the cost associated with SOX 404. Specifically, the smaller of the larger companies that had to comply with all sections of SOX 404 (i. e. , those with market caps between $75 and $700 million); 35% of those costs were related to audit cost (How Potential Changes in Small-Company, 2006) as it relates to SOX 404(b). Additionally, those companies with a market cap over $700 million, only 26% were related to audit cost (How Potential Changes in Small-Company, 2006).Although the compliance with SOX 404(b) was implemented to restore investor’s confidence, Wolkoff (2005) states that in doing so caused a deterrent in the number of small firms that would go public both domestically and overseas. The Amex has seen the impact as the number of small companies that have delisted from the Exchange has increased (Wolkoff, 2005), and those that would have joined decided not to, which reduces the number of initial public offerings in the United States.The SOX Act, specifically, Sections 404(a) and (b), didn’t take into account that large companies have a more complex business structure, which makes for more complex accounting practices (Wolkoff, 2005). For example, the segregation of duties obstacles that many smaller companies are faced with and do not have the resources to fix this control problem. According to Wolkoff (2005), the SEC should have taken that into consideration the â€Å"market cap† or â€Å"minimal revenue† that a company generates and apply different standards accordingly (pg. 1).Another point that proponents of the Dobb-Frank Act made was that scandals like Enron are least likely to happen in smaller public companies. The reasoning behind this is that smaller companies are not normally out to cheat themselves. This is because these smaller companies are usually run by the people that founded the companies or closely related (Wolkoff, 2005). However, by requiring smaller public companies to comply with SOX 404(b), will not only ensure that they are in compliance with SOX 404(a), but it will also help these companies by uncovering inefficiencies in some processes.This in turn will help the companies because it will â€Å"†¦makes fraud harder to commit and easier to detect† (Aguilar, 2010, pg. 33). Especially since smaller companies are in a better position and at greater risk for committing fraud and accounting manipulations (Aguilar, 2010). Furthermore, who is to say those smaller companies’ investors do not deserve the same level of confidence and â€Å"financial reporting safeguards† that larger public companies’ investors are receiving (Solnik, 2010).In addition, studies have shown a correlation between â€Å"weak internal controls and poorer earnings relative to effective internal controls† (Hamilton, J. , 2009). In time of a declining economy, the temptations for fraudulent r eporting is increased and by having smaller companies comply with SOX 404(b) serves as a deterrent for those temptations (Hamilton, J. , 2009). Lastly, smaller public companies feel that they have already spent a lot of money just to be in compliance with SOX 404(a), and do not feel the need to be monitored by external auditors.This is because they feel that are capable of monitoring, finding, and remediating deficiencies through internal audits (Solnik, 2010). However, as previously mentioned, SOX 404(b) was not only put in place to ensure that public companies were in compliance with SOX 404(a), but to also have it attested by an independent auditor. This not only helps restore investor’s confidence, but also provides the public companies beneficial information as to whether or not they have proper controls in place and/or additional controls are needed.Moreover, small companies may be putting themselves at risk especially, if the investors penalized them for not meeting th e â€Å"transparency norms† that is projected by external auditors (Silverstein, 2008 pg. 26). Especially since there are approximately 7,300 smaller public companies, which accounts for 65% of the overall public companies (Hamilton, J. 2009). CONCLUSION While there are good cases made from both sides of the Dobb-Frank Act, permanently exempted smaller companies doesn’t solve the issue of ensuring compliance with SOX 404(a) is being followed.More importantly, it doesn’t provide the smaller public investors with the same confidences as large public investors as to whether or not the proper controls are in place, and/or whether the controls are effective. By having external auditors attest to ICFR it will provide the smaller companies’ investors the same boost of confidences as its larger counterparts. Instead of permanent exemption, other means should be looked at in order to make it to where it is cost effective to comply with SOX 404(b).Also, as recommen ded by the Key Advisory Committee, â€Å"[e]xempt some smaller public companies entirely from SOX 404 reporting requirements, but add stricter corporate governance requirements for those companies† (How Potential Changes in Small-Company, 2006, pg. 6). That way we will not have to wait until another scandal is made public to scramble and make these changes; as the old saying goes, â€Å"It’s not if, but when†. REFERENCES Aguilar,  M. (2010,  May). Small filers struggle with internal controls over fraud. Compliance Week,  7(76),  33,74.Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry. Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Conference Report to Accompany H. R. 4173. House of Representative , 111th Cong. 583 (2010). Garrett, S. 2009. Garrett introduces SOX exemption for small businesses, Press release, Oct. 8,2009. Hamilton,  J. (2009, June). Section 404 works and is important for small companies, Aguilar feels. SEC Filings Insight,1,4. Retr ieved from ABI/INFORM Global. How potential changes in small-company SOX regulations could affect your firm. (2006,  February).Accounting Office Management & Administration Report,  06(2),  1,6+. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry Silverstein, M. (2008,  December). (Sarbanes-Oxley Revisited:) The Good, the Bad, the Lessons. New Jersey Business,  54(12),  26. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Dateline Solnik, C. (2010,  July). Small companies push to gain permanent exemption from Sarbanes-Oxley requirement Silverstein nts. Long Island Business News. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Dateline. United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Economic Analysis. 2009). Study of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 Section 404 Internal Control over Financial Reporting Requirements. Retrieved from http://www. sec. gov/news/studies/2009/sox-404_study. pdf Whitehouse,  T. (2009,  April). SOX 404 Compliance Improves for All but the Small. Compliance Week,  6(63),  42-43. R etrieved from ABI/INFORM Trade & Industry. Wolkoff, N. L   (2005,  August). Sarbanes-Oxley Is a Curse for Small-Cap Companies. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition),  p. A. 13. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Global.

Oxygenation in Paediatrics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Oxygenation in Paediatrics - Essay Example This is a simple visual inspection and involves checking for signs of reducing cyanosis on the tongue and extremities such as the palms and soles of the feet. This method is simple and easy to implement. However, differences in skin color and inability of the health professional to discern color change significantly limit this method. For instance, in blacks, cyanosis cannot be easily observed and may sometimes go unnoticed until it is too late. To solve this limitation, equipment are usually used. The most common of the instruments is the pulse oximeter. This is a device that is attached to the patient’s finger and measures the actual oxygen content in the blood. It, therefore, monitors the extent and effectiveness of oxygenation (Sinha 2012, p. 312). The main limitation of the equipment monitoring is that some people may read and interpret the readings wrongly leading to undue panic or preventing timely action. In addition, the connection of the equipment may vary the readin gs. There are various methods of oxygen administration in infants. These methods are selected depending on the availability of the equipment and hence affordability, as well as preference and infants condition. The methods are divided into invasive and non-invasive methods. The invasive methods make use of a tracheal tube and are recommended for infants with severe breathing conditions. The non-invasive methods include headbox oxygen administration which measures the oxygen concentration before entry into the respiratory system. Other methods include facemasks that assist in concentrating the oxygen being delivered around the nose. Both the headbox and facemasks pose a danger of carbon dioxide accumulation with increased expiration. Nasal prongs, nasal catheters and the nasopharyngeal catheters are also used to deliver oxygen to the lower

Recorded Music Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Recorded Music - Research Paper Example In 2009, she fell out with her boyfriend Chris Brown. The fallout tinted her music career (IMDb.com, b). In 2011, Rihanna released her popular song Birthday Cake. Rihanna, Marcos Palacios, Ernest Clark, and Terius Nash had collaborated in writing the song. Birthday Cake has triggered mixed public reactions; some people praise the song while other people criticize it. At first, Rihanna produced the song as a single release but later included it in the album Talk that Talk. The second release of Birthday Cake in February 2012, featuring Chris Brown, coincided with Rihanna’s 24th birthday (IMDb.com, b). Rihanna released Birthday Cake as a single entity but due to pressure from her fans, she included it in Talk that Talk album. The 2012 remix of the song featuring Chris Brown triggered widespread criticism of the artist. Rihanna had fallen out with Brown in 2009 because the latter assaulted her. Rihanna’s initial Birthday Cake lasts for one minute and eighteen seconds. Birthday Cake is a blend of hip hop and R&B. The song’s instrumentation consists of heavy bass coupled with sounds of engines and bells. The artist adopts a sensual tone in the track. Birthday Cake lyrics are sexually suggestive. In the song, Rihanna talks about her desire to have spontaneous sex with her lover. In the original version of Birthday Cake, Rihanna ended the song in mid-verse making it appear as if it was not a complete track. The 2012 remix starts with an obscene line from Chris Brown, a continuation of the 2011 version of the song. In the obscene line, Brown states how he misses his lover’s body. The line evokes the 2009 fallout of Rihanna and Brown and the long time that had elapsed. The entire song covers sexual themes. Sexual theme is a deviation from society’s norms. By covering sexual theme, Rihanna ceases to be a role model for young girls. Birthday Cake also evoked the fans’ bitter memories of the 2009 assault. Rihanna’s

Daoism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Daoism - Essay Example For instance, Du Guangtung created his account using the west queen mother by selecting, re-writing, and combining various texts from the old literature. Some of the sources used by Du Guangtung to record the assembled transcendent of the fortified wall city include; Taoist, Buddhism, historical, classical and other popular sources; which retained his personal tradition of precedence work (Cahill 107). Du’s work is considered allusive and condensed. For instance, his first records are about a queen mother’s biography. The writings express the queen’s primacy in lineage and power. This account is one of the beneficial sources of Du Guangtung, which gives a complete account of the perceptions Taoists have about goddesses (Cahill 146). Du Guangtung gave the Records of the Assembled Transcendent of the Fortified City to the ruling emperor because he was attempting to associate the imperial government with Daoism. The Tang emperor was finally influenced by Daoism (Cahill 144). For instance, Bian’s story is publicized to honor the agreement by recording his transcendence. The book reveals that the founders of Tang Dynasty were sisters who were mothers of Emperor Yang of Sui. These sisters ruled two emperors of different dynasties. From the beginning, Daoism played a major role in the politics of Tang. Li Yuan bid for power by attracting followers through the claim for Daoist and Laozi descents (Bokenkamp 204). Individuals who were bidding for office had to involve monks from Buddhist temples to pray for them openly and they were paid cash donations in return. Buddhism and Daoism were accepted in the Tang Dynasty before Buddhists faced persecution in the 9th Century. Daoism’s spectacular success brought about the reunification of Tang Dynasty. Li Yuan, the founder of the kingdom, became more influential and successful after he was deferred of

Walt Disney Company Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Walt Disney Company - Assignment Example From this study it is clear that management and leadership development involves training employees on good leadership qualities and what it entails being a good manager. Employees get skills and lessons for team building because leaders ought to build teams and be good team leaders. Supervisory and organization skills are required to make a good manager as it enables one to create good business relationships, facilitating the meeting and also mentoring their junior employees.This study highlights that professional development involves taking professional courses and certification that help employees better their skills and be the best. Performance support systems and reimbursements to pursue job-related degrees help the employees to be more abreast with the modern world and changes that occur in the job market. Employees pursuing further studies mean that they get to qualify for promotions and also can move to companies where they get to advance their career status. With the developm ent of technology, any company would want its employees to have high tech computer skill to be able to operate the machines and computer they use at work. With new software coming up in production, the employees should be ready to use them and training in computer helps a great deal in this. The company offers mentoring programs that include internships, scholarships and programs to mentor startups such as the Disney Accelerator. Mentorship programs benefit not only the beneficiaries but also the company.

Emergency Disaster Legal Issues after Hurricane Sandy within New Research Paper

Emergency Disaster Legal Issues after Hurricane Sandy within New Jersey - Research Paper Example Legal offices have been open in the region to provide people with access to benefits, acquire safe inexpensive housing, and manage other legal problems to assist families and the public pull through Hurricane Sandy. In order to prevent communities from the devastating effects of any other emergency, several policies have been implemented accordingly. Reflecting on this context, this paper critically examines emergency disaster legal issues after Hurricane Sandy within New Jersey from a broad point of view. In order to successfully scrutinize the subject, the paper also provides the central research question and the purpose of the research, research methodology, and appropriate recommendations accordingly. The Central Research Question and the Purpose of the Research The occurrence of disaster in any given society leads to mass killings and destruction of property in the long run. The happening of Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey has become an important issue of discussion in recent time s. The debate over the disaster has been aimed towards finding out the most valuable measures, which should be implemented in the region to help people (National Disaster Legal Aid, 2012). Whenever a disaster hits any given region, there are several legal issues which arise among the victims. Several measures must be adopted appropriately in order to solve such legal issues within the shortest time possible. With the intention of addressing the legal issue in the affected region, legal assistance is always considered of great importance (Perry, 2012). Legal assistance provided in New Jersey takes account of the following. The first legal assistance is returning legal documents lost and damaged during the incidence. The second legal assistance is providing medication and property insurance claims to the victims whilst the other legal assistance is to give counseling on issues related to tenant and landlord. Building on this perspective, it is worth noting that the central research qu estion of this paper revolves around preparing a report in support of the legal issues of the disaster. This implies that the central question of the research forms a point of reference from where the purpose of the research is understood clearly. It is worth noting that, all the way through the state, revival efforts are well in progress (Summar, 2012). The revival efforts are aimed towards saving the lives of all people affected by the disaster. In that sense, the purpose of the research is to explore the negative impacts of a disaster, examine the necessary policies that are put into practice towards addressing the emerging issues, and define how victims of the catastrophe can be helped to recover sooner or later. Research Methodology After evaluation of the disaster, the Hazard and Vulnerability Analysis prepared by the legal offices at New Jersey announced that the people were equally at risk of different types of disasters. It is appropriate for a community to have well organi zed emergency operations against any emergency. After an analysis has been done and the community has been found vulnerable to different types of disasters, there is the need to come up with emergency plans to address the situation (Perry, 2012). For the community, there are two ways to go about this: we can have a Disaster Specific Plan for the different disasters or have a General Emergency Management Plan for addressing any of the four disasters whenever

Fetal Heart Monitoring during labor Research Paper

Fetal Heart Monitoring during labor - Research Paper Example Similarly, the paper will discuss the aspects of intermittent fetal heart monitoring and the negative and positive aspects that are included. Additionally, the paper will describe the interview performed on doctors working in Labor and Delivery at the local hospital; their views and opinions will be noted. Last will be a determination of potential problems that could arise without the use of fetal monitoring and provide evidence of the possibility of them occurring. The fetal heart monitoring is the standard method and the most preferred technique to determine the heart rate of the fetus during labor. Determination of the fetal heart rate is vital because it enables the prevention of the fetal distress and fetal death as well as prevention of fetal seizures. Although this procedure is vital for the health of the mother and of the fetus, doctors’ delay in acting when fetal distress detection is shown on the electronic monitor can lead to death of the mother and fetus (Elimian, Lawlor, Figueroa, Wiencek, Garry, & Quirk, 2003). The continuous use of the fetal monitoring electronically has shown a positive impact on the fetal development. The process further reduces the chances of incidences like the fetal failure and eventually fetal death. The continuous fetal heart monitoring is famous in the United States but it has fewer benefits for the pregnant woman or the fetus. Continuous fetal heart monitoring (CEFM) has a negative effect on the labor process in pregnant women. This process can also affect the satisfaction of the maternal delivery by decreasing the maternal mobility, physical contact of the pregnant mother with the partner, and the time period with the nurse or the doctor in comparison to the intermittent auscultation procedure (Bailey, 2009). The intermittent auscultation procedure is known to increase the rate of medical risks. This is chiefly because of the

Academic writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Academic writing - Essay Example Its crystal that shock to the head from sports like boxing, rugby, American football and ice hockey have caused long term brain injuries to the associated players. The latest game coming into the light about brain injuries sustained from head collisions is soccer. According to the Legendary Pele, Ball heading resulting from play is supposed to be done using the forehead with clenched fists. It can also be done using the tensed neck muscle and failure to that resulted in misdirected play and a greater impact on the brain. This is because a header caused one’s mind to shake in the skull. When it came to children they either failed to follow the necessary steps while heading or are not strong enough. Considering that they are still growing, their neck muscles even though tensed are not adequately strong to protect their skulls from absorption of the elevated G-force. Since their heads are big and wobble in proportion to the whole body than adults, the brain is likely to shake ins ide the skull on impact. In comparison to a 6-year-old non-developmentally ready to pass the ball, 12-year-old should not be allowed to head. Studies have also established that children take longer to heal mental children as compared to adults. They are also more susceptible to injuries because their skull is not well developed to sustain external forces (Cantu and Hayman, 2014). Since children aren’t able to decide and prepare how appropriately to head the ball, they are more susceptible to head injuries. Such injuries may be attributed to the inadequacy in strength to head, awareness in the best heading way or not well-coordinated to head. Furthermore, the neck muscles are not well developed to hold the head steadily and deal with the impact from heading. While watching a children’s game, it won’t take long notice that heading is useless. It’s always a result of guesswork and done randomly with closed eyes and the ball non-directional. The ball in most cases makes contact

Global Supply Chain Analysis of a Global Coffee Company Essay

Global Supply Chain Analysis of a Global Coffee Company - Essay Example The essay "Global Supply Chain Analysis of a Global Coffee Company" talks about the analysis of an entrance to a new market by Starbucks Corporation in Lithuania through theories. There are different strategy models which can be applied to Starbucks in order to analyze their current situation and steps to be taken for future internationalization. There are four strategies based on local responsiveness pressure and cost reduction pressure. They are global standardization strategy, transnational strategy, international strategy and localization strategy. In the case of Starbucks, the best strategy which can be incorporated is Global Standardization Strategy. This would enable the firm to expand over the larger geographical area and acquire high-profit margins. Global standardization strategy mainly states that the company follows the same strategy across the globe. This form of standardized strategy is reflected in its branding, products or services, customer support, etc. International strategy is all about implementing the best possible strategy to establish a strong market position. The four possible international strategies for Starbucks are joint ventures, franchising, exporting and acquisitions. Starbucks encompasses complex tasks from product manufacturing to delivery at retail stores. The company is inclined towards global resource span where it acquires cocoa beans from one country and milk from another distant location. This supply chain strategy enables the firm to spread its operations across many locations.

(writer's choice) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

(writer's choice) - Essay Example Charlie is not considered to be very smart because his I.Q. is much lower than his peers. The experiment involves a surgical procedure that aims to triple Charlie’s I.Q. Even though his intelligence is not very high, Charlie is a hard-working individual, which is shown through his regular attendance at the night class at the Beekman College Center for Retarded Adults (Keyes, progris riport 2). It is here that he was first recommended to be a subject for the intelligence experiment. Charlie works in New York at Donner’s Bakery as a janitor and delivery boy. His co-workers tease and make fun of him, even the ones Charlie considers to be his friends. After the operation is completed, Charlie returns to work only to find that things aren’t always the way he imagined. He is now able to realize that the other workers take advantage of him by mocking him while in the company of the other employees (Keyes, progris riport 8). However, his new behavior surprises many of his fellow bakery workers. Charlie is even able to operate a machine that mixes baking dough. The other workers start feeling jealous of Charlie and his newfound intelligence. Because of this, a majority of the workers agree to sign a petition to remove Charlie from his position in the bakery. Once Charlie is fired from his job by Donner, he begins the process of cramming of whole lifetime’s learning into a few short weeks. Charlie is fascinated by learning a number of ancient languages, and his intelligence level even surpasses that of Dr. Nemur and Dr. Strauss, the original scientists who began the experiment on Charlie (Keyes, progress report 12). However, Charlie’s increased intelligence allows him to recall his childhood and how he was treated by his parents. His father Matt simply tried to do the best for his son; his mother Rose disowned him because of his mental

What the new expatriates should expect with leaders from another Essay

What the new expatriates should expect with leaders from another countries - Essay Example Ladies and gentlemen, as I stated just now globalization has brought us closer with each passing day and same has been the case among the nations – spread across the world’s horizon. We might have a definitive understanding of the American nation but then again little do we know about the kind of leadership prevalent within Brazil, Italy, India, Germany, Denmark and Australia. Thus these seven nations have so much in common but when it comes to an understanding of their leadership regimes and the like, we fall short on gaining that ground. Let us kick off with how the American leadership shapes up. America, as we all know is the super power of the world and hence the influence it has on the fraternity of nations is somewhat demanding. It wants to build relationships with the rest of the worldly nations only on the premise that they are willing to listen to what the American leadership has to say. As expatriates, you should know beforehand that American leaders are willing to listen yet they do what they deem best for their country, organization or society. As decision makers, they take all steps after going through each and every stage of the decision making cycle as the pros and cons are studied in an incisive manner. (Barber, 1988) They treat their subordinates with respect and dignity and reward them for their work and commitment. In a global workplace, communication holds the key and America, of all the nations has this advantage of understanding the different dialects and languages of the expatriates coming from different regions of the world. America is on the move and so is their leadership hierarchy – they are striving to achieve more and more through the means of diversity, rest assured. Moving on towards Brazil ladies and gentlemen, we take a look at the way this South American nation has progressed over the years. The Brazilian

Digital Economic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Digital Economic - Essay Example It is worthwhile to mention that Internet and mobile devices are two separate entities in this global environment of today. Internet is interconnecting the countries and cultures. On the other hand, mobile devices are providing ease of accessibility. Combining the two technologies is having a drastic effect on today’s business houses and their strategies. While developing a 21st century business strategy, strategists are now trying to focus on the nature and behaviour of target audiences or user groups. Today’s users or potential customers are far more agile, informed, and active across the social networks. Websites like Facebook, Top Ten Reviews, etc. have increased the scope of interaction between users and customers in a drastic manner. In such circumstances, a strategist must think in an innovative way, so that he/she can create a positive impression of his/her company all across the Internet. For example, a company can now develop its own app (a very concise form o f software application). This kind of customised software utilities can be easily installed in mobile devices (e.g. a tab or a smartphone). Then, users can easily try or look into the commodities or facilities that are being provided by the company concerned. Besides, websites like Facebook allow business enterprises to create their dedicated pages for publicity. Now Zara is a big retailer of textile and fashion products, which appears to have diverted from the general course of Internet-based business application development and strategic adjustments. It does limited advertising and propaganda. This policy is maintained across the Internet too. Frequency of online advertisements is considerably controlled by Zara. However, this can be noted as a complex influence of Internet/mobile technologies. Since most of the fashion retailers are now overly emphasising on Internet and mobile technologies, Zara possibly wants to look different and reach its loyal

Rewriting a Disertation proposal Problem Statement Essay

Rewriting a Disertation proposal Problem Statement - Essay Example There have been a number of issues that lead to the marriages breaking up and ending up as divorces. The main question that needs to be answered is the techniques and steps taken by the Christian couples to sustain the long term marriages and the romance in their relationships. The main focus and problem that is aimed at being answered is the issues that the Christian couples have been through and how they navigate out of the issues and form a strong and strong committed relationship. Also another one of the main issues that have been faced in the current times is the weight that people give to various factors like fear, religious duties, companionate love and passionate love and the relationship that these have to the romance that people share with their better half. The reason why love develops between couples can provide a basis upon which continuing appreciation and admiration can support the marriage. The paper provides a clear understanding of the issues that are faced each day and the research brings out how couples have worked through their issues to resolve the problems and sustain their romance in the long term successful

The Environmental Impact Assessment Process Essay

The Environmental Impact Assessment Process - Essay Example EIA has the potential of cutting down on costs involved in an unanticipated environmental impact (PADC, 2007, pg.7). The costs involved in facilitating the changes that have to be made upon completion of the project, due to environmental effects, will be more than the costs involved in trying to avoid the harmful ramifications (EIA, 2015). The processes involved in coming up with an EIA report may not necessarily translate to a delay in the planning of the project. However, experience has shown that delays experienced in the planning of projects can be significantly reduced with an effective EIA that will lead to saving time and costs. The exact period of coming up with an EIA may range from anywhere between three months to two years. The time depends on factors such as the nature of the project, its location and availability of research data. It is highly recommended that the process of EIA be integrated with other project planning activities so that it can be carried out at the same time with the rest of the project. The integration will enable saving of time, thus avoiding delays as a result of the EIA planning. The EIA process raises environmental issues that have to be put into consideration when carrying out the planning of any project. The EIA has the potential of necessitating the redesigning or delaying of a project. It can also offer suggestions that can be made on the project once it has been found out that the project can cause significant impacts on the environment. An effective EIA will have the effect of cutting down on costs and delays that otherwise would have affected the planning of the project. Therefore, EIA makes a significant difference to projects and decision-making once it has been approved. 2. Critically review the role of consultation and public participation (CPP) in the EIA process. Indicate the benefits and difficulties associated with undertaking CPP at various stages and in involving various types of stakeholders, and discuss the main methods of achieving effective CPP. Use examples as appropriate in your answer.

Oppressed Rights by the Oppressive Regime in Margaret Atwoods the Handmaids Tale Essay Example for Free

Oppressed Rights by the Oppressive Regime in Margaret Atwoods the Handmaids Tale Essay Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale delves well into the horrid nature of extreme control and immoral limitations in defining the corrupt theocratic government at large, and more specifically the effect this control has on the society’s women. In an age in which a newly emerged and merciless governmental system called the Republic of Gilead has â€Å"put life back to the middle ages,† sparked by a widespread panic of infertility, personal freedom and individuality have become unimaginably reduced (Genny 1). Handmaids selected to live in the houses of wealthy, well-respected couples go through a life entirely designed by the government for the sole purpose of bearing children. Caught between following the strict rules made for women by the Republic and breaking them in secret for the sake of her sanity, the protagonist Offred essentially but not purposefully offers close to nothing for her society’s benefit. Not allowed to read, write, speak her thoughts or even look another in the eye, the most she can offer proves to be occasional, well-monitored grocery errands and the slight possibility of providing the gift of life for an elite Commander and his Wife. Parallel to a dystopia in which Offred has been stripped of the most simplistic allowances, women in today’s various Middle Eastern societies find relatively equal difficulty in utilizing their strengths due to the severe suppression and forced structure of their daily lives. Regardless of the varying context of these two scenarios, they both present themselves problematically in light of women’s personal struggle to contribute in society—in both Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and the modern Middle East, seemingly unethical yet extreme theocratic government exercises examples of such radically unformed control over its people that the exploitation and demeaning of the natural rights of women become prevalent. But on what grounds should the male citizens of the Republic of Gilead and those in today’s foreign communities be granted more liberation and opportunity while the women are held more captive of their own independence? As Offred finds herself trapped in such an unreasonably restrained living situation, she instinctively recognizes the current lack of available free will because she once knew what freedom looked and felt like. For example, in opposition of her training as a handmaid with the Aunts, she cannot help but wander her ind back to the pre-Republic days â€Å"thousands of years before,† when she and fellow females could actually go to school and watch â€Å"movies of the rest of the world† that even included â€Å"dancing[,] singing, ceremonial masks, [and music],† clearly taking place in a land where â€Å"people†¦were happy† (Atwood 118). Offred as well as other handmaids in her place inevitably suffer within their reality by trying to maintain a grasp on the memories of such privileges they once took for granted, such as real television to promote quality education. Instead of living the naturally liberal life of opportunity that was once available to Offred and existed in her home and school life, such a vision has been taken away by the government and exists now only in her memory, as the Aunts present to her and the other potential handmaids a government-approved film with â€Å"the title and [few] names blacked out†¦with a crayon so [they] couldn’t read them†Ã¢â‚¬â€another example of a ludicrous constraint, reading, that could have instilled fruitful possibilities in the mind of a woman (Atwood 119). In addition, as if the recollection of accredited education and other past events were not enough a cause of longing, Offred also recalls the fearless, empowering spirits of her late loved ones—particularly her mother whom she spots in the film, â€Å"wearing the kind of outfit Aunt Lydia told [the handmaids] was typical of Unwomen in those days† while â€Å"smiling, laughing†¦and raising [her] fists in the air† (Atwood 119). To witness such a wild and free spirit in action, that once was allowed for women but has been officially banned by the radical Christian followings of the Republic of Gilead, undoubtedly sparks a deep temptation within handmaids to rebel against this authority inflicting such â€Å"unacceptable losses of intellectual liberty†; however, such a temptation proves to be a challenge to pursue for some women today (Tolan 1). While the initial teachings of Islam attempted to improve living conditions for Muslim women by granting them some of the same rights as men in the seventh century, women become incapable of endorsing these rights when their society attempts to enforce the â€Å"laws† of the Islamic religion, described by the Columbia University professors who wrote At the Crossroads of the World: Women in the Middle East: Today, many Muslim women do not have the opportunity to enjoy rights once considered theirs by their religion. Women may be unaware of their rights or live in societies where these rights have been misinterpreted or misrepresented by individuals in power (be it the state, culture, or family). In Muslim countries around the world, there is a fundamental difference between what is prescribed by religious texts and what is actually practiced, a gulf between the ideal and the real (Esposito 1998, xiii). Often, the purportedly ‘religiously grounded’ restrictions placed on women within certain societies have little or nothing to do with the teachings of Islam. More often they are a function of socioeconomic and political factors. Recent examples of such restrictions included Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, which prohibited women from receiving medical attention from males and placed other restrictions on their movement in public (Revolutionary Association of the Women in Afghanistan)(Crocco, Pervez, and Katz 110). At most, these women are granted with the illusion that they possess legitimate freedoms, when in actuality their government prohibits this execution with the false justification that it simply conforms to the Islamic religion. The handmaids and all women alike governed by the Republic of Gilead correspondingly must follow the rules of the regime that claims to be operating in the name of the Christian faith in an attempt to validate its restrictive essence. Thus, no question exists as to how Offred becomes â€Å"increasingly reckless with her actions and behaviors,† or to why in the end â€Å"there is the strong possibility that her recklessness has cost her her life† (Genny 1). Most emphatically does Offred’s situation come off as unjust when she finally experiences a small taste of the natural freedom she once had but still deserves. Because it is obviously an â€Å"oasis of the forbidden,† she has to force herself to â€Å"hold†¦absolutely rigid† when the Commander invites her into his off-limits personal turf to play a game of Scrabble, something harmless, yet banned. Despite â€Å"[t]he fact that [she’s] terrified,† Offred still recognizes that â€Å"this is freedom[;] an eyeblink of it,† as if â€Å"he were offering her drugs† (Atwood 138-139). While Atwood implies in her novel that â€Å"feminist utopianism cannot avoid the taint of totalitarianism,† she employs the concept of defiance in that Offred can nourish her natural tendencies to actually enjoy herself through breaking the rules (Tolan 30). Similarly for the women in Iraq, the Ba’ath Party that emerged in 1963 sought provisions for women’s equality, including the liberties of education and employment; however, outside the major urban center of Baghdad, â€Å"the society still relegated Iraqi women to a very inferior position vis-a-vis men† (Brown and Romano 1). To maintain two adjacent communities with such contrasting ways of governing women is arguably contradicting and therefore, a cause for concern. Ultimately, women have simplistically natural rights that ought not to be rendered in the least, especially by illegitimate theocratic governments. Under no circumstances are the rights to thought, decision, reading, and writing, among many others, capable of being outlawed justifiably, regardless of gender. With such liberties, women carry great potential in contributing to society, despite the possibility of infertility or radically religious devotion—and in a lot of cases, that contribution can be imperative. Today in Iraq, a woman cannot own private property or hold any status, while forced to give up her education and marry a stranger. However, women still make up 65% percent of the population, and make up 70% of the agricultural workforce (Al-Jawaheri and Harris). Though they continue to fight for the equal rights and treatment they deserve while accepting their low circumstances, the crucial importance of granting women this moral blessing remains strong.

Presentation Essay Example for Free

Presentation Essay As a matter of introduction, I would provide the students with all relevant information concerning the topic in question and thereafter introduce the use of graphic organizers. Firstly, I would let the students be in pairs and assign them a task which will require the two to discuss. I would henceforth combine several pairs of the students to form a small group for purposes of discussion. Thereafter, I would join the small groups to form the whole class and therefore let them work as a class. The first step of teaching the students helps them to learn all the required concepts before they are allowed to master the concepts through graphic organizers (Danford, 2006). Step two which has given two students the chance to read through their books and hence gather information. The sub-groups on the other hand helps the students to compare any information they came up with and therefore be able to decide what was the required information. Given that the groups will have drawn a conclusion, the whole class shall benefit when the results are read by different leaders of the small groups. Finally, I would request the students to all write a report individually which shows their masterly level. The next step in my plan would be to help the students be able to attain the objectives of the lessons as per the requirements. This I would help the students to achieve the right information for the specific class. Graphic organizers would be best to use where I would allow the students to identify the required concepts of the lesson. Most students would be able to assimilate all the information about a specific lesson only when they are given a brief summary which contains the objectives of the lesson (Adams, 2007). Therefore, graphic organizers would help me to summarize all the required concepts for students to understand easily. With this I would let the students know that the objectives of the specific lesson are summarized in the graphic organizer. The following is an example of a graphic organizer that highlights on events which depend on certain inputs and specific requirements for the output to be as desired. The above graphic organizer has elaborated on how the required results of the task would not be got without the input which has to go through certain processing to attain the required specification. Michael (2004) observed that this type graphic organizer helps the students during their revision to spot the necessity of specific requirements for the output to be as desired. Students shall hence be in a position to formulate several relating questions especially on the requirements for the output to be as specified. Mostly the graphic organizer will hence be of help to the students especially in identifying the right flow of the required process before they get the final result.

Quality Assurance Of Teaching Education Essay

Quality Assurance Of Teaching Education Essay The divisions of rules that exist in the university curriculum-making authority are distributed as follows. Curriculum design is done by a team at the program-level in which courses design is in draft form. Then, as a draft of curriculum it should be approved by the department and faculty academic senate before it finally passed by the chancellor as formal curriculum for each program. This arrangement is suitable with the hierarchy of stakeholders of the institution within the university. It defines that the Faculty is organizing stakeholders and or academic activities in specific disciplines and can consist of one program or several program of study. Department is the organization of academic resources for the development of science, education and implementation of academic, professional and or profession, in part or one branch of science, technology, art and culture. The Program is the integrated study plan as guidance and academic education or profession conducted on the basis of a curriculum and aimed so that learners can master the knowledge, skills and attitudes in accordance with curriculum objectives. Based on this definition, the program is the stakeholder which takes main responsibility of curriculum design and evaluation. As will be elaborated below, the process of curriculum development involves many parties in which the program holds main duty that is initial design and determining course structure jointly with the department. Curriculum Design The formulation process of the curriculum at the program level is carried through several steps: (i) define the graduate profile, (ii) define their competences, (iii) map and translate the learning process that needed for achieving these competences in the course design, (iv) arrange the courses in suitable order and reasonable time study, (iv) synchronization of the course design with related programs. This duty is carried by the curriculum design team at the program level in which consist of: Head of the program Group of lecturers who represent each of specialization area Academic staff of the department Historically, the curriculum design has been evoluted following the rule set by directorate of higher education, Ministry of Education. It had involved three curriculums, namely curriculum 2007, curriculum 2009 and the current/undertaking revision: competence-based curriculum. Shortly, current undergoing  changes in  the curriculum  is a shift from  the target  mastery of science  and technology  into  the  emphasis on  the education process  that refers to the  context of culture  and  human  development  in a comprehensive,  global  /  universal. The target now is to produce  graduates who are  cultured  and able to  play a role  in the international world.  This is known  as a  competency-based  curriculum. The curriculum development is started by formulation of descriptive profile of the graduate. Referring to the current rule, as stated in the Chancellor decree No.897/SK/R/UI/2009 in article 2 about the objective of the program, it is stated: To generate economic undergraduate economics courses that have the ability and skills analysis of both micro and macro economics to meet the needs of analysis and research in government institutions, research institutes, banking and capital markets. According to this definition, the graduates are those who should master ability and skill as junior economist. In order to achieve this profile of competence, the entire representative of lecturers of each are/courses was involved to design the appropriate course structure. Internal course area meeting In this meeting each courses area design three important documents: GBPP(Garis-garis Besar Program Pengajaran), SAP(Satuan Acara Perkuliahan) and the syllabus. In the new term GBPP and SAP are recognized as BRP(Buku Rancangan Pengajaran) and BPKM(Buku Pedoman Kerja Mahasiswa). During the last revision this process have been conducted for . (isi tanggal rapat koordinasi internal tiap konsentrasi dan matakuliah wajib). Within the program, the area is a group of specialization in economics area. The following is the lists of area and lecturers responsible for each area. Monetary economics: Prof. xxx, Dr. xxxx International economics: Prof. xxx, Dr. xxxx Industrial organization: Prof. xxx, Dr. xxxx Public economics: Prof. xxx, Dr. xxxx Human resource and labor economics: Prof. xxx, Dr. xxxx Environmental and natural resource economics: Prof. xxx, Dr. xxxx Regional economics: Prof. xxx, Dr. xxxx Work meeting (Rapat Kerja) In order to create a good coherence and mapping of each course with the graduate profile, jointly work meeting were carried. For the last curriculum revision this meeting conducted on (Raker Bandung). The result of these process is summarized in the following tables. Table 1 Sequence of Courses of Economic Undergraduate Program (EUP) Based on Curriculum 2009 Table 1 Sequence of Courses of Economic Undergraduate Program (EUP) based on KBK The detail of the connection between each courses and competence aimed from each course is in the Appendix. Users Involvement In the curriculum development, jointly with the department, the program  also  involves users as the  important stakeholders. One of the example is during the develpment of 2009 curriculum, a focus group discussion with stakeholders were conducted on December 10, 2008. To accommodate the various type of organization of workplace for graduates, the meeting invited participants from Ministry of Finance and National Planning Agency who represented government institution, NC Sekuritas, Mandiri Sekuritas, Bahana TCW Investment MGT, Danareksa Persero, and PT Pefindo as private instituion representatives, participant from the Bank Indonesia (Central Bank), and LPEM FEUI and LD FEUI as research institution representative. From this session, there were valuable inputs as a based to revised the competence profile in order to be suitable with the users need. For example is the focus on the mastering quantitative software, loyalty, English proficiency and writing skills. As the result, wit hin the compulsory 144 unit of courses now students are required to participate more on the quantitative laboratory session, minimum of 15 unit English-based course, and the academic writing course. Students Involvement In addition, the students  involvement in the course development also considered as important as other stakeholders. Especially, the students are the main party of the curriculum implemetation. For this reason, the program also conducted several meeting with each of students bagde, e.g. meeting December 19, 2011. In this meeting there are some feebacks including the continuous improvement of writing skills which then be accomodated in the KBK curriculum design. The Curriculum Dissemination and Implementation After the curriculum is finalized as formal document of the university, the faculty has been disseminating the curriculum for all stakeholders, mainly it targets students and lecturers. This was done by two handbook: Buku Panduan Akademik and Buku Katalog Mata Ajar. In addition, the program also uses program website to inform lecturer and students about the curriculum. Figure 1 The Website Course and curriculum evaluation The role of UPMA and BPMA Specifically, the university manage teaching and learning process by the role of quality assurance body BPMA(Badan Penjaminan Mutu Akademik) at university level and UPMA(Unit Penjamin Mutu Akademik) at faculty level. Curriculum implementation then will be monitored and audited by these units. The cycle of curriculum monitoring started by formulation of quality standard then followed by monitoring, internal evaluation and finally the development and enhancement of the curriculum. In addition to the role of internal evaluation, the implementation of the curriculum is also influenced by external evaluation such as national accreditation (BAN PT) and AUN itself. Figure 2 Cycle of Curriculum Quality Assurance In Handbook of Quality Standard published by university, within the quality standard, it is stated that the curriculum component should meet the criteria of: mention explicitly the graduates competence, list of learning materials, appropriate grouping of courses, has three main documents of BRP, BPKM and syllabus, and exhibit well connection between courses to meet the required competence as the learning objectives. In addition to this indicator it also should show indicator of the availability of course reference in the library, delivery method, time study allowed and the spread of workload and student evaluation system. The cycle is summarized in the following figure. detail of audit process Once the audit by quality assurance bodies was carried, and at the same time it is the period of curriculum evaluation, the faculty will appoint a team to review and develop new curriculum. Historically we have two consecutive revision, in 2007 and 2009. detail of the 2007 and 2009 revision KPTS/449/D/2006: Prosedur Pengembangan dan Perubahan Kurikulum KPTS/29/D/2008: Pembentukan Panitia Pengembangan Kurikulum FEUI Student evaluation The monitoring from student point of view to academic progress is carried over following processes: EDOM EDOM(Evaluasi Dosen oleh Mahasiswa) is one of the formal intrument to monitor teaching process within university. This system is implemented based on the Chancellor decree number (isi SK rektor tentang EDOM). While the name of the system suggests that the evaluation is mainly on the performance of the lecturers, the evaluation components are not limited to individual lecturers evaluation but also teaching and learning in various aspects. Evaluation aspects in EDOM includes: Course content delivery of course by the lecturer Class management Course assessment Course content: evaluating the availability of course syllabus, information of references, textbooks and other leaning resources, as well as relevance of assignments with the course objectives. Delivery of course by the lecturer: evaluating the delivery methods (including the implementation of active learning methods, discussion methods), relevance of course materials with the syllabus, consistency among lectures within teaching team, encouragement by the lecturer Class management: evaluating the punctuality of sessions, learning atmosphere, the use of supporting facilities, lecturers attitudes towards feedback and support for students with problems. Course assessment: evaluating the relevance of examination and assignment with the course contents, feedback and discussion on the results of assignments and examination. Analysis based on EDOM Pros: ? Cons: it is not completely reflect student opinion rather than obligatory fill in to see their course grade Academic Councelling (Bimbingan akademik) In addition to feedback from EDOM, the program evaluates the curriculum based on the feedback from students during the consultation with the academic supervisor. This is a non-structured feedback from student that ocasionally gives valuable input, epecially related to course assesment and course management. Evidence

Framework of Sustainability for SMEs

Framework of Sustainability for SMEs Sustainability: Integrating the Literature to Develop a Framework for SMEs Abstract Business today is called to consider sustainability or corporate social responsibility. Is this call meaningful or relevant to SMEs? Using the taxonomy of Garriga and Mele the literature on the broad spectrum of work related to sustainability and CSR is reviewed to develop a framework for SMEs, structured around the simple concepts of why, when, what, how and where. Further work with the framework will answer two questions; the circumstances of how SMEs engage in sustainability and what are the unique aspects of this sustainability for SMEs. Introduction Over recent times there has been a growing demand for business to consider corporate sustainability. Most large public companies are engaging with the concept in some way as evidenced by the production of Sustainability or Corporate Social Responsibility Reports (Bartells, 2008). Small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) are less likely to be engaged and some would argue they are not even sure what the concept means or whether it is relevant (Redmond, Walker, Wang, 2008; Spence, Jeurissen, Rutherfoord, 2000; Vives, 2006). There is a large body of literature on the aligned concepts of sustainability, corporate social responsibility, corporate social performance, global responsibility and corporate citizenship, with a variety of perspectives, definitions and assumptions. There is no integrated theory or framework broadly adopted by scholars and in fact there have been only a few attempts at this (Garriga Melà ©, 2004; Jones, 1983; Montiel, 2008; Wood, 1991). Within the SME literature there have been calls for research to develop a theoretical framework to understand CSR and SMEs (Jenkins, 2006; Thompson Smith, 1991). Whilst there is a growing body of literature focused on SMEs it is often merely descriptive and uses a single theoretical lens. A broader model encompassing a wider range of theoretical perspectives may have more utility. The utility and practicability of the framework as a tool for small business will be tested as part of a lager project to develop, from case study research and the literature, a useful integrative framework, to assist SMEs to engage with sustainability in the most appropriate and relevant way for their business. The normative approach frequently used in studies of large organisations whilst ideal may not be the most pertinent to SMEs. This paper aims to develop a practical theoretical framework unifying the spectrum of theoretical and empirical approaches and focussing in particular on the needs of SMEs. The paper starts with an outline of the concept of sustainability and a review of the unique aspects of SMEs. It then moves into a review of the literature using a taxonomy based on Garriga (Garriga Melà ©, 2004), considering both theory development and empirical studies. From this the most relevant elements are drawn together to develop a number of propositions regarding both the circumstances of how SMEs engage in sustainability and what are the unique aspects of this sustainability for SMEs. To add to the practicality of the framework it will be structured around 5 dimensions; Why, when, what, where and how? What is Sustainability At the outset a normative definition with regard to sustainability is required to anchor this work. Corporate sustainability is an umbrella concept (Gond Crane, 2008) which integrates the social, environmental and economic dimensions into business operation. Within these three categories, there are a range of elements which are comprehensively detailed in the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI, 2006). Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is often used interchangeably with sustainability in the business world and large companies may have either a CSR or sustainability report with little notion of the long theoretical tradition behind each of the terms. In the academic literature there are quite different origins of the two. It is worth digressing to briefly explore the history and overlaps of the terms. CSR as defined by Carroll encompassed four elements, economic, ethical, legal and philanthropic (Carroll, 1979). This was later refined to three with philanthropic being incorporated into the economic or ethical space depending on the logic (Schwartz Carroll, 2003). Until Woods work in 1991 there was no mention of the natural environment within the CSR literature (Wood, 1991). In parallel, during the late 80s ecological modernisation implored business to consider its environmental impact and look for solutions to environmental problems (Mol Sonnenfeld, 2000). Also in the 80s, as a response to the UN movement on sustainable development, business or corporate sustainability was developed, focusing not only on profit, but on the social and environmental impacts of business. Thus there were three independent movements CSR (predominantly social/ethical), ecological sustainability (predominantly environmental) and sustainability (economic, social and environmental). This differentiation still exists in scholarship. When one considers the divisions within the Academy of Management there exists both Social Issues in Management (SIM) the natural home of the CSR scholars and Organisation for the Natural Environment (ONE) the natural home of the environmentalists. Those who chose the sustainability path exist in both divisions and are not completely at home in eith er. The concepts of CSR and sustainability are becoming closer. Some scholars now argue that environmental issues are an explicit subset of CSR (Agle, Mitchell, Sonnenfeld, 1999; Waddock, 2008) . Montiel claims that both CSR and sustainability now include the economic, social and environmental elements, with sustainability more integrated and with different questions asked by researchers in each paradigm (Montiel, 2008). The difficulty remains in the implicit versus explicit definitions. CSR literature often includes the environment implicitly. The risk is that what is implicit can be overlooked, and so CSR could exist without considering the environment, but in sustainability the environment is explicit, although not exclusive. Social and economic considerations are also explicit in sustainability. This is one reason sustainability is more appropriate then CSR as the focus this work. There is another subtle difference between the two with CSR being more concerned with an ethical perspective, and a requirement that involvement must be voluntary and beyond any legal requirements. This last concept is not considered in sustainability. Research on CSR often reflects on individual activities tagging philanthropy and volunteering as evidence of CSR (Jenkins, 2006; Porter Kramer, 2002) . Corporate sustainability is focused more on the long term and has no relative measure against any legal requirements. Two key concepts are clearly defined in sustainability and less explicit within the CSR literature, particularly earlier papers. These are upstream social impacts in the supply chain and the expanded concept of product stewardship. Product stewardship refers to the environmental or social impact of the product from raw material, through manufacture and its useful life to disposal impacts. The supply chain factors include the social impacts on employees and communities u pstream in the supply chain. As a final clarification, sustainability in some work focuses only on the environmental case (Bansal Roth, 2000; Tilley, 2000), however in this paper the term sustainability refers to the wholesome integration and consideration of the dimensions of economic performance and social and environmental impact into a business, and is very much aligned with the approach that has been described as Corporate Sustainable Development (Bansal, 2005). In an ideal world sustainability is a normative concept with business understanding that it has a wider responsibility than simply an economic outcome and must consider its impact on the social and ecological environment it operates in now and for future generations. The major focus of the larger project, of which this paper forms a part, is to determine if this is real and meaningful for SMEs or if there is a more appropriate definition and framework for SMEs. SMEs There are a few definitions of SMEs in the literature. For this exercise we will adopt a definition of businesses between 10 and 200 employees (the Australian Bureau of Statistics definition of SMEs). They tend to be owner operated. There is much evidence that SMEs are different to large firms and hence behave in different ways. Generally they are independent, multi-tasking and cash strapped (Jenkins, 2004; Williamson, Lynch-Wood, Ramsay, 2006) more flexible and less formalised (Aragà ³n-Correa, Hurtado-Torres, Sharma, Garcà ­a-Morales, 2008; Lefebvre, Lefebvre, Talbot, 2003), have a shortage of management skills (Luetkenhorst, 2004), are unlikely to use costly professional advice (Spence, Schmidpeter, Habisch, 2003), and manage stakeholders with whom they have personal relationships (Jenkins, 2006). When the economy is tough SMEs have to focus on short term survival as they generally do not have the depth of resources of larger firms (Luetkenhorst, 2004). This suggests a resource constraint in adopting new approaches to work wether focused on sustainability or strategic management. This is explicitly stated as an inhibitor for SMEs to adopt CSR (Kuhndt, Volker, Herrndorf, 2004). A contrasting view suggests a shared vision, proactively driven by the founder, combined with the innovativeness and flexibility, will actually encourage adoption of better practices in SMEs and in the case of one study, better approaches to environmental management (Aragà ³n-Correa et al., 2008). There is a comprehensive body of work on SMEs and sustainability, which tends to show evidence of attention to some of the elements of sustainability within SMEs almost accidently (Lawrence, Collins, Pavlovich, Arunachalam, 2006; Roberts, Lawson, Nicholls, 2006), very little affiliation with CSR (Jenkins, 2006) or environmental impact (Petts, 2000; Redmond et al., 2008) and a general disengagement with sustainability (Vives, 2006). All papers argue the importance of looking at small business because of its aggregated size and impact and its difference to large business where a much more substantial body of work has been undertaken. In the review of the theoretical approaches relevant empirical or descriptive work from the SME literature will be considered. Taxonomy of the literature There are a number of articles which detail the history of scholarly endeavours into CSR, sustainability and aligned concepts (Bansal, 2005; Carroll, 1999). Suffice to say that after 50 years no single theory or integrative framework exists which brings together the disparate views of corporate sustainability, stakeholder theory, natural capitalism, resource based views of the firm, corporate social responsibility, global responsibility, sustainable leadership and corporate citizenship, into a framework beneficial to business operators and not just academics. From an empirical approach, the Sustainable Leadership model of Avery developed using a grounded theory methodology (Avery, 2005), contains many elements from most of these theories as does Stubbs Sustainability Business Model (Stubbs Cocklin, 2008) and will be reviewed later. Garriga and Mele published a taxonomy of the CSR field in 2004 based on the work of Parsons who identifies four problems in any dynamic system; that of building and distributing resources; the economic aspect, that of allocating and prioritising resources; the political aspect, that of maintaining social relationships; the social aspect and that of ensuring actors display the right values; the ethical aspect. Using these dimensions, theories based on the prime organisational goal of wealth creation Garriga identifies as instrumental theories, those based on the responsible use of the social power of organisations are defined as political theories, those based on integrating social demands to satisfy todays stakeholders are integrative theories and those based on normative values unbounded by time and environment, they term ethical theories. The authors add that most theories will have elements of all four aspects with a strong focus on one area, used as the basis for segmentation (Ga rriga Melà ©, 2004). A limitation of the review is that it focuses on predominantly American literature and ignores salient literature such as global responsibility (GR) developed in other geographies. Considering the context of the business system or the surrounding institutions (Luetkenhorst, 2004; Matten Moon, 2008), focusing on a single geography gives the narrow focus of a single business system. A second limitation is that the theories considered are all firm centric and so papers that look at how external institutions can impact CSR activities are not considered. Finally the work does not include the literatures outside of the traditional CSR space so ecological modernisation and business sustainability are excluded. The following will include a review of the broader literature omitted from Garrigas paper. The taxonomy chosen is relevant given the empirical evidence of its elements in the CSR activities and motivations of large companies (Whitehouse, 2006) To develop an integrated framework for SMEs, this paper must cover off a broader range of literature which includes institutions that may impact on SMEs involvement with sustainability. With this and the limitations of the Garriga taxonomy in mind, expansion of the concept of political theories to look at external as well as firm centric theories is appropriate. This group will be called institutional theories after Powell and Di Maggio (DiMaggio Powell, 1983). In the following sections each of these four groups, ethical, instrumental, integrative and institutional is explored in more detail, considering the main theories within each group, any supporting empirical or SME research. Finally the most relevant questions and implications for SMEs are extracted to develop propositions which form the bones of the integrated framework. Ethical theories Within this group are considered theories that are predominantly ethical arguing that it is the responsibility of business to look beyond the financial bottom line to the wider context and impact of business on the societies in which it operates, in a relatively unbounded manner, because it is the right thing to do. All strategic management theories have some moral or ethical underpinning (Phillips, Freeman, Wicks, 2003) however they are only included in this group when this is the primary focus of the theory. Under review will be CSR, normative stakeholder theory and global responsibility followed by a review of relevant empirical or SME work. Corporate Social Responsibility in its original form was an ethical theory. Developed in the USA as early as the 1950s it was unabashedly normative, â€Å"the social responsibility of business encompass the economic, legal, ethical and discretionary expectations that society has of organizations at a given point in time† (Carroll, 1979, p. 500). The normative version of stakeholder theory is also ethical; â€Å"Stakeholder theory begins with the assumption that values are necessarily and explicitly a part of doing business† (Freeman, Wicks, Parmar, 2004, p. 364). Normative stakeholder theory is differentiated from the applied or integrative use of stakeholder theory in that it generalises on which stakeholder interests should be considered and admonishes managers that these stakeholders must be considered in decision making (Phillips et al., 2003). In the last few years a new â€Å"global responsibility† literature has developed in Europe. The concept has its origins in CSR however the new label is proposed on the basis there are greater pressures from technological progress and globalization, moving so fast, that neither ethics nor legal frameworks can keep up. Thus it is up to business owners to fill this ethical vacuum and develop a new business model based not on making profit but on making progress. De Woot states: â€Å"In a global economy the raison dà ªtre of the firm is to ensure economic and technical progress that furthers human progress and facilitates the type of society we wish to have† (de Woot, 2005, p. 113). The corporation is viewed as a source of energy and creativity which has led to massive global development. DeWoot seeks to change the focus of this energy towards progress, not just profit, and to fill the gaps in global governance. Global Responsibility supersedes CSR, claiming that both corporate and social are too narrow (Antal Sobczak, 2004). Perez defines global responsibility in more detail, identifying responsibility for actions and their consequences in a global context which implies extensions to the societal, environmental and time dimensions in which we are used to operating. The responsibility is borne both by the organisation and its â€Å"social representatives†, with responsibility owed to shareholders, external authorities and other stakeholders (Perez, 2003). Beyond the strict definition of the words, the intent of both concepts is the same, for business to be motivated by more than the â€Å"single thought† (de Woot, 2005, p. 39) or profit motive and consider both a wider goal and a wider sphere of impact. A number of authors identify two opposing models of company orientation aligning one with a firm response to the ethics of global responsibility or CSR and the other with a sole focus on profit. The former has been called the Rhineland model (Albert, 1992; Avery, 2005) and is expressed by Perez; â€Å"The manager considers that his mission, and that of the enterprises he manages, is a multiple one: he must of course be competitive to do otherwise would be suicidal but also, as far as possible, be attentive to his internal and external partners, think about the environment and future generations, in short be globally responsible† (Perez, 2003, p. 82). The opposing perspective is the Anglo US model (Avery, 2005) and follows the ideology of the single thought (de Woot, 2005). It is this differentiation which leads to a contentious issue in the CSR literature. Much of the CSR literature talks about the need to go beyond legal requirements (Carroll, 1999) however once this is int erpreted through the lens of the national business system it can be seen why this has come about. The lack of regulation in the American corporate context, to address other than financial imperatives, requires that if a company is considering its social impact it must go beyond compliance. In the European context many of these requirements are bound up in institutional aspects of the local business model. Matten and Moon refer to this as implicit and explicit CSR (Matten Moon, 2008). This international context of the institutions, cultures and norms of the society in which firms are rooted needs to be considered in much of the discussion about CSR and sustainability, particularly when we talk of institutional literature. Much of the work stemming from United Nations initiatives around sustainable development such as the Brundtland Report and the Global Compact also stem from an ethical perspective. The argument is about the rights of the worlds peoples and hence the dual obligation on business to maintain the ecological environment for the benefit of future generations and to be responsible for the social impacts on society today. The common thread amongst the ethical arguments is that they are all focused on why these broader issues should be a responsibility of business. They do not venture into what or how: this will come from subsequent literature. There are relevant empirical studies which help to develop this â€Å"why† concept further particularly for SMEs, which will now be reviewed. Empirical work on ethical theories of sustainability, CSR or normative stakeholder theory is sparse (Berman, Phillips, Wicks, 2006). No research investigating global responsibility and business could be found, although there are a number of descriptive case studies of business which are used to show evidence of a global responsibility approach (Antal Sobczak, 2004; Zinkin, 2004). De Woot identifies that small business is unable to make the changes required alone and this will only happen through their professional associations (de Woot, 2005). Within the descriptive literature on SMEs and the adoption of CSR or sustainability there is considerable evidence that there is an ethical motive behind some business activities which could be considered a part of the CSR spectrum (Condon, 2004; Graafland, van de Ven, Stoffele, 2003; Spence et al., 2003). Jamalis work in Lebanon reached a conclusion that is typical of many studies: â€Å"there was a high level of convergence regarding a philanthropic conception of CSR that was characterized as an obligation parallel to the business rather than being integrated into it. All six SME managers (with no exception) equated CSR with philanthropy, which they considered as a necessary activity independent of mainstream business transactions.† (Jamali, Zanhour, Keshishian, 2009, p. 364) This is not unlike the early view of CSR, where the key issue was philanthropy as an activity of the firm somewhat separate from the firms business. Spence has looked deeply at the personal ethics of small business owners and how this impacts their business operation, to identify four orientations; profit maximisation, subsistence priority, enlightened self interest and social parity (Spence Rutherford, 2001). This frame gives us some insight into the utility of ethical theories of CSR. For those who have a social orientation, ie those exhibiting enlightened self interest or social priority an ethical theory may have utility in further integration of sustainability into the business beyond mere CSR activities. For those with a profit maximisation focus, however ethical theories are unlikely to entice operators to be involved. Which begs the question if ethical theories are only useful to those who are ethical then do they have any utility at all? And yet maybe they do and the focus needs to be to inculcate business to understand that if they claim to be ethical they need to take on De Woots call and use their energy to change t he way their business operates and strategically incorporate the new paradigm into their daily operations. It may be that it is the inability to gain traction with ethical arguments that led truly committed individuals such as Elkington and Hawken to develop their work as instrumental theories and encourage business buy in this way. In summary the research shows that for SMEs an ethical intent of the owner may lead to adoption of sustainability or at least elements of CSR. This will be considered further as propositions are developed to build the framework. Instrumental theories Within the taxonomy, instrumental theories are defined as those that argue that CSR can be adopted as a means to achieve an economic end. In other contexts they are termed the Business Case (Dyllick Hockerts, 2002; Epstein Roy, 2003). Garriga includes Friedmans shareholder maximisation theory, the work of Porter on social investments in a competitive context, Prahlad on the bottom of the pyramid, Harts natural resource view of the firm, and work on cause related marketing. To this can be added Natural Capitalism and the triple bottom line. Harts Natural Resource Based view seeks to engage business to maintain and protect the environment by exhorting a firm to consider a wider view of the resources available to it, and extend from the traditional consideration of capital and labour as the only constrained resources to include the natural resources it uses. In particular it asks a firm to consider pollution prevention, product stewardship and sustainable development. The theory is instrumental because it argues that over time the adoption of this strategy will lead to competitive advantage, which in the current business paradigm equates to more profit (Hart, 1995). The theory is extended to a model for how to integrate sustainability through the sustainable value framework a somewhat integrative model however clearly focussed on creating shareholder value, which may be a broader construct then profit alone (Hart Milstein, 2003). One concept clearly articulated in this framework and absent in many others is that this i s a strategic choice and should be part of the strategic decision making framework of the firm. Patagonia is held up as a company whose successful growth and green reputation is based on successfully integrating the elements of natural resource based theory into its strategy (Fowler Hope, 2007). Porter weighed in on the environment debate in the 90s arguing that to be green would lead to long term competitive advantage albeit at a potential short term cost (Porter Linde, 1995). This is very much an instrumental or profit oriented approach. He came late to consideration of CSR and unsurprisingly has also taken an instrumental approach. The profit motive is explicit in his comment; â€Å"The essential test that should guide CSR is not whether a cause is worthy but whether it presents an opportunity to create shared value that is, a meaningful benefit for society that is also valuable to the business† (Porter Kramer, 2006, p. 84). Prahalads plea for multinationals to engage in developing products appropriate for, and taking their business to, developing countries, whilst altruistic, is again instrumental. The focus is that business can make money with the approach (Prahalad, 2002). Since this is a call to multinational corporations this is unlikely to be relevant for the SME framework, except potentially to the extent of product development. The Triple Bottom line is another instrumental approach. Elkington comes from a personal conviction that the world must change (Elkington, 1999), with an argument that is not unlike DeWoots global responsibility argument. This is his personal motive for raising awareness. However in developing his theory and identifying the seven pillars of a sustainable future and thus calling others to action he relies on a business case and clearly states that the reason is not about ethics or religion (Elkington, 1999) He avoids the argument for a paradigm shift and reverts to a business case argument almost as if he were trying to seduce business to accept his ideas and unwittingly do the right thing by the environment. The theory of Natural Capitalism has a similar thread. It is again easy to confuse the theory with the ethics of the creator. The four pillars are increased resource productivity, waste elimination through closed loop material circuits, an economic shift to a solutions based business model and investment in natural capital. However as the proponents states: â€Å"that enable business to behave responsibly towards both nature and people while increasing profits, inspiring their workforce and gaining competitive advantage† (Lovins Lovins, 2001, p. 99). They are profit focused and thus instrumental and move from the â€Å"what† typical of most instrumental theories and extend it in to a â€Å"how† which we typically see in Garrigas integrative theories. As a generalisation instrumental theories tell us what to look at to achieve competitive advantage or profit. There is a focus on material usage, waste and physical resources (Hart, 1995; Lovins Lovins, 2001), product stewardship (Hart Milstein, 2003), symbiotic partnerships (Elkington, 1999), relevant social issues (Porter Kramer, 2006) and on marketing and business models (Elkington, 1999; Lovins Lovins, 2001). From a theoretical perspective we now have why, what and a little on how. The following paragraphs review the empirical work on SMEs and instrumental theory to further inform the framework. There is significant empirical work testing the validity of the business case argument. Orlitzkys meta-analysis of this body of work shows that there is a correlation between corporate social performance and corporate financial performance (Orlitzky, Schmidt, Rynes, 2003). This finding gives an additional utility to this group of theories for the profit motivated adopting the new ethics of CSR or sustainability makes a contribution to profit so we have a why as well as a what. Ethicists however take issue and question whether the ends adoption of CSR justify the means taking it on because it adds to profit (Gond, Palazzo, Basu, 2009). Within the SME literature there is a strong case argued that contribution to profit is critical and when this can be demonstrated practices which form part of the sustainability agenda may be adopted (Castka, Balzarova, Bamber, Sharp, 2004; Williamson et al., 2006). Studies show that cost savings and competitive advantage can be gained from attention to the environment (Aragà ³n-Correa et al., 2008), successful implementation of eco-efficiency and environmental policies was motivated by a business case (Cà ´tà ©, Booth, Louis, 2006; Kerr, 2006, p. 34) and application of Harts strategies are directly applicable to SMEs (Avram Kà ¼hne, 2008). When looking deeper into the literature for the items identified in the discussion of instrumental theories, ie material usage, waste and physical resources, symbiotic partnerships, relevant social issues and marketing and business models, it is only the clear business performance characteristics which resonate and are considered (Williamson et al., 2006). In considering the integrative framework it will be necessary to consider what elements identified should be considered given the limitations of SME resourcing. Integrative models Integrative models consider how social demands are integrated into a business. They do not have the scope of ethical theories and are bounded in the present what social issues demand the attention of the business now. In Garrigas taxonomy integrative theories include stakeholder management, corporate social performance, issues management and public responsibility. Dunphys pathways framework (Dunphy, Griffiths, Benn, 2007) and Tilbury and Wortmans organisation development methodology (Tilbury Wortman, 2004) are added into this class. Integrative theories developed because an ethical notion of CSR is holistic and does not help the manager in determining the granularity of what issues to address and how to address them. In developing the idea of CSR as a process, issues management, Jones states â€Å"Corporate managers do not advance by asking abstract questions but by making the pragmatic, specific decisions that confront them in the operation of their business.† (Jones, 1980 , p. 60). Similarly in her 1991 paper, Wood develops a practical framework from the previous theoretical work on CSR and corporate social performance, integrating principles, process and outcomes (Wood, 1991). Within the GR literature Thevenet also tries to develop an integrative form of global responsibility in an attempt for relevance. For GR to be effective he suggests business is responsible to expose and train managers, to develop personal reflection and maturity without which he claims ethical decisions cannot be made, â€Å"The key to global responsibility will be, at the end of the day, behavioural responsibility from people† (Thevenet, 2003, p. 124). With a prima facie base in ethics the separation between integrative and ethical theories is ambiguous. The difficulty is that once the theory becomes integrative and focused on application, the origins become less significant and the same process can be used for different reasons. At the extreme is the work of Gond on the Mafia as an organisation which on the surface can be said to exhibit many CSR best practices yet is patently not an ethical organisation. Practices include; developing good relationships with the local community and stakeholders (albeit using