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Chapter 11 How does Atticus advise Jem to react to Mrs. Dubose’s taunts? Atticus says to Jem, â€Å"You just hold your head high and be a gentleman. Whatever she says to you, it’s your job not to let her make you mad.† (pg 111) What does Mrs. Dubose say about the children’s mother? How does Jem feel about this? Mrs. Dubose said that, â€Å"†¦ it was heartbreaking the way Atticus Finch let her (their mother’s) children run wild.† (pg 111) Jem obviously didn’t like this and the novel describes his expression as â€Å"livid†. What request does Mrs. Dubose make of Jem? Is this a fair punishment for his ‘crime’? Mrs. Dubose asks that Jem reads to her every day for a month. I think this is a fair punishment because he ruined some of her joy- he should do something to make up for it. Explain in your own words what Atticus thinks of insults like ‘nigger-lover’. How far do you agree with him? Atticus thinks that the name has no meaning. He thinks he shouldn’t take it as an insult because it’s simply a derogatory description of what he really is. I do agree with him, but it’s still insulting, even if it’s true. Why, in Atticus’ view, was Mrs. Dubose a ‘great lady’? Atticus thinks that Mrs. Dubose was a ‘great lady’ because she didn’t mindlessly accept the views of others and had her own opinions- even if they didn’t correspond with his own. Atticus says that Mrs. Dubose is a model of real courage rather than ‘a man with a gun in his hand’. What does he mean? Do you think he’s right? Mrs. Dubose was a ‘model of real courage’ because she confronted her problems herself and didn’t hide behind anyone else. I think he’s right because she definitely got over her morphine addiction and didn’t complain. Chapters ten and eleven are the last two ... ... verdict to be? Does Atticus think the same? Jem expects that Tom Robinson will be declared ‘innocent’, but Atticus doesn’t want to be too optimistic. What is unusual about how long it takes the jury to reach a verdict? Is the verdict predictable or not? It unusual that it takes the jury so long to reach a verdict because normally the black person would have been immediately announced guilty. Because of Atticus’ convincing case, it was taking them much longer to decide, and the verdict was quite unpredictable. As Scout waits for the verdict, she thinks of earlier events. What are these and how do they remind us of the novel’s central themes? While Scout waits, she remembers what Jem had told her about the power of human concentration, which can suggest how she and many of the other characters in this novel have the power to change what happens, even slightly.

Essay --

There are a series of complex processes within the human body whose consequences is the wearing out of body cells and tissues and consequently their replacement is quite ideal. Body anatomy confirms that human body is made up of numerous cells that are organized into functional parts that work to achieve various life processes. As the processes in the body progress, there is synthesis of new cells that replace the worn out ones. The new cells need to be a replica or exact copies of the worn out cells with the same functional capacity and attributes. Otherwise, an abnormality occurs in the structure and physiology of the human body. In case malignant growths develop due to abnormality in the body cells, a condition known as cancer develops. Cancer basically can occur on any part of the body. The most common forms of cancer are lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, cervical cancer, cancer of the brain and colon cancer among others. Development of colon cancer begins when the process of the normal replacement of cells on the colon lining is interfered with which in most cases is due to faults in the process of mucosal cell division. As a result of this, the lining cells multiply gradually (for almost 10years) forming polyps which are pre-cancerous tumors. Further growth of the polyps generates mutations that facilitate subversion of the cells making them inexplicable. If not detected early, the pre-cancerous tumors may change course and attack other layers of the large intestine thus becoming cancerous (KEVIN, 2014). Precisely, colon cancer is a health condition in which malignant or cancerous cells develop in the tissues of the colon. Colon is actually a section of the digestive tract that helps in the absorption of waste and... ...ancer. A more advanced form of treatment of colon cancer is the use of radiations. This can be done in combination with chemotherapy for patients with colon cancer in the third stage. In the cases where the cancer has reached the fourth stage where the cells have reached adjacent organs like the liver, some treatments can be done to reach the liver. Some of them are ablation, directing the radiation to the liver, cryotherapy and liver surgery. PROGNOSIS Normally, there are higher chances of surviving if the cancer is detected prematurely. The question of certainty in survival depends on the stage at which the cancer is diagnosed. In most cases patients who have been diagnosed of colon cancer have high chances of surviving five years after the diagnosis (Network., 2012). Cancer at the first, second and third stages are essentially curable and the patients survive.

Animal Cruelty :: essays research papers fc

Animal Cruelty The topic of animal cruelty is one of great importance to the wold today. Why we humans have the right reserved to treat animals as lesser individuals is beyond me. Animals are fulfilling their part in the ecosystems and communities of the earth, and to the best extent that they are able. For example, a spider is being the best possible spider that it can be, spinning webs and working diligently at what it knows best, not bothering any creatures of the earth besides the ones which it needs to capture for food. We, as humans, decided that we are a much advanced life form and can basically treat anything else in this world in ways which we cannot imagine being treated. As a result the threads holding our earth together tightly in the balance are being slowly unraveled to lead into ultimate self-destruction. In 1988, 16, 989 animals died in laboratories in the United Kingdom. This was due to such tests as acute and chronic toxicity experiments, where the animals are forced to consume substances such as perfume, make-up and other beauty products and are often literally poisoned, their systems literally overloaded by the substance in question. Another testing method is the Lethal Dose 50 percent test or LD50. In this procedure at least half of the animals must die in order for the government to figure out how much a human can ingest without dying. In one such test some animals were fed 4. lb. of lipstick and one ended up dying of intestinal obstruction. In another, 7 pints of melted eye shadow was fed to rats. In yet another, mice were wrapped in tin foil and grilled in ultraviolet light to test a sun block cream for a total of 96 hours. The results of the test were that the longer the mice stayed in the rays, the more sunburnt they got. But that is not all. A wax product used in many cosmetics was dosed into animals by a stomach tube. The amount that they used is equivalent to feeding 1 Â « lb of the stuff to humans. The animals involved soon began salivating, bleeding from the nose and mouth, and had extreme diarrhoea. As the test progressed some more, the animals became emaciated and unkempt, had congestion in the lungs and kidneys and solid wax in the stomach. The infamous Draize eye test cannot be forgotten either. Chemicals are instilled into the eyes of rabbits in stocks, often for up to seven days. And because their eyes are physiologically different from ours, they cannot produce

Waste Disposal on Cat Ba Island

At present, the waste disposal issue on Cat Ba Island is still seriously concerned. Mr. Sang Bui Quang, Director of Department of Natural Resources and Environment, said on website www. monre. gov. vn that waste management has not met environment protection requirements, there has not been waste treatment firms, and commonly discharge waste directly from ships into the sea. Consequently, it seems to impact on the environment, the scenery and also Cat Ba People. Waste disposal includes treatment in the land and on the water. In the land, Cat Ba has only one landfill, Dong Trong. It is not far from Hung Son block( about 8km), the point of storing rubbish through all sites of Cat Ba and surrounding areas with the volume of 40m3/day. Each day, the rubbish is buried and prayed three times. However, the landfill has not met hygienic standards so that the pollution here is adversely affecting people's lives in this area. In reality, there are some campaigns to dispose the situation, but it is not effective. The landfill still has rising smoke and the unbearable stench so that flies and mosques are crowded there and surrounding areas. Assigned to Cat Hai public construction and urban service company to collect, transport and dispose rubbish in the area of Cat Ba, including handling baggage pollution of Dong Trong. Despite great efforts to minimize pollution affects people's lives, the district also can process according to the method of chemical spraying, burial. There is no way to remedy the situation thoroughly cell infection here. On the water, waste disposal has met more difficulty. In the bay, there are 123 cages, including 106 aquaculture cages and 17 cages with people living, which is the main reason for water pollution. Although each cage has its own trash, the big amount of rubbish into the water (i. e. waste water, fish, food†¦). Waste from the fishing vessel and the fish cages are at risk of causing environmental pollution at the alarming level. Fishing boats use big plastic bags to marinate fis, they scratch those and throw into the sea before moving up onto the shore. According to Mr. Bay Vu Tien, there is also a collecting ship to take rubbish from cages to the land. But it just counts for 30% of the waste. The baggage is floating on the water that makes a bad image about Cat Ba environment in tourists’ mind.

Reflective Portfolio

Abstract This is a reflective essay looking at the author’s career expectations and working background. Models of reflection are used to examine the author’s experience and self learning in terms of career aspirations. Past working history, and the situation with jobs in the airline industry, are discussed. A model of ideal characteristics for the author’s desired job is presented, and the areas in which the author is lacking are set out. The tools and approaches which can be used to improve these characteristics and hence become more like the ideal candidate are set out. 1. Introduction In the following paper, I am going to look at my career aspirations in the context of available careers in my chosen industry: the airline industry. I want to work in a customer services / management capacity at British Airways, building upon my existing skill-set and experience. I will discuss this subject in terms of approaches and insights I have gathered from studying international tourism management and travel tourism management, as well as what I have learnt in this particular module on career development. I will be looking critically at my experience and self-learning in order to identify the characteristics which I have that I feel equip me for this role. I will also be identifying areas which need to be further worked on. I will be combining intuitive writing about my experiences and capacities with academic research, textbooks and theories. In reflecting on my experience, I have been influenced by a number of models of learning through reflection, including Gibbs’ an d Kolb’s. Both these models show a way to structure learning. In Kolb the learner is encouraged to look at an experience and make observations then form concepts and general theories, which are then tested against more new experience. Gibbs suggests a similar process of describing, analysing feelings, evaluating, analysis and conceptualisation (Moon 2013). I have used models like these to first describe to myself or others my experience, then build conceptual models, abstract key ideas and theorise about what happened in order to do things differently in the future. Overall, I will be demonstrating how and why I feel I fit the role of Customer Service Manager within the airline industry, and how I might fill the current gaps in my knowledge and experience. 2. The Airline Sector and Available Careers In this section, I will look at the airline industry globally and in the UK, outline the areas of work, discuss the different possible job roles, and suggest the one which is right for me. I will also look at the career possibilities associated with this role, and look at the relationship between the ideal candidate for this role and my capabilities. My aim is to work in management within the airline industry. Although I have had a variety of jobs in my career so far, I have always wanted to work for British Airways. I was drawn to the opportunities for travel, as I see it as a way of learning and personal development. The old saying that travel broadens the mind seems true to me, although it also seems that travel and tourism research has so far concentrated more on why tourists select the destinations they do, rather than the impact on travellers psychology and perceptions (Chon et al 2012). Initially, I felt I should wait until the right job came along, but I was advised by a friend that I should take any job within the organisation and then work my way into the position I wanted. Many jobs are advertised internally first in many employers, not just B.A. (Williams 2010). The airline industry as a whole is large, and is likely to expand particularly if the trend for cheap air travel continues. Globally, there are approximately 2000 airlines with 23,000 aircraft serving over 3500 airports. By 2006, air travel growth was approximately 5% year on year, and capacity was thought likely to double by 2021 (Hencke 2006). Within the UK, aviation is a significant contributor to the economy, with UK airports handling 230 million passengers a year. UK manufacturing, technology and service providers in the industry are considered world leaders. Nearly 150,000 people are employed in the UK directly within the industry, and the sector contributes nearly ?10 billion to GDP (The Air League [online] 2014). The strength and likelihood of growth of the sector, while not directly motivating me to want to join the industry, certainly give me confidence that I will be able to have a life-long career within the industry. In terms of different organisations, the industry is d ominated by a few large organisations, although low-cost players have changed the situation somewhat. British Airways is the largest operator, followed by Virgin Atlantic Airways. British Midland and Easy Jet are also well known. UK companies face competition from overseas providers as well (Belobaba et al 2009). I was especially drawn to working for British Airways as they are the largest provider in the UK, and as such I feel I will have more opportunities for career development. But because many other companies operate globally, I feel I am in a good position to move to different organisations in the future, not least because I speak a number of languages. Given the large number of jobs in the sector, it is unsurprising that there are a wide range of occupations and roles. The type of jobs available can be divided into three main sections: ground handling services (e.g. baggage handling), airport operations (e.g. terminal manager, customer support) and airline operations (e.g. ground handling, cabin crew etc) (National Careers Service 2014). Of the choices, I have decided to focus on roles which directly progress out of the role I am now occupying. In particular, I have mapped out a possible career development path. First, I will go for a Future Talent Customer Service Manager (FTCSM) position, which I can move to after 12 months in this role. After this I can progress to a Customer Service Manager (after 2 years), and, beyond this, to an In-Flight Business Manager (IBM). I have chosen this particular development path having considered and rejected another. In the other path I would take a less customer-facing role, becoming a Duty Off ice Manager (DOM) or Turn Around Manager (TRM). The first looks at the management of crew, while the second deals with the mechanics of putting aircraft back in the air quickly and efficiently. My decision to go for the first career route was guided by my skills in dealing with people. I feel I have demonstrated empathy with different types of people, and am practiced at dealing with people’s problems. I care about people, want them to enjoy their experiences and want to continue to be very hands-on, if not with the public then with other employees. I also feel that there’s a more defined and visible career path in the first set of roles, as I can move from FTCCSM to CSM and to IBM, and beyond. In terms of my chosen career progression, there are a number of skills and abilities the ideal candidate will have. These are not specific to B.A. or the aviation industry, but are needed across all customer service and people facing roles. A CSM/FTCSM should have: Good leadership skills Planning ability Understanding and acting on feedback Communication ability Networking ability Flexibility The ability to manage stress and pressure as well as cope with job challenges Be able to deal with conflict (Evanson 2011) In terms of this ideal checklist, I believe I already possess several of these requirements. That is, I feel I am able to deal with conflict in a low-key, non-confrontational manner (a skill honed during my time as a bouncer), I can manage stress and pressure, I am fairly good at planning, understanding feedback and communication. This is not to say I cannot improve in these areas, but I feel that the areas in which my personal profile is most mismatched with the ideal job candidate profile are: Leadership Networking Flexibility I will explore in more detail my personal circumstances and their match to the ideal profile in the next section. 3. Current Career & Circumstances This section looks at my background in terms of career history, strengths and weaknesses. I then assess my competencies in terms of the ideal candidate profile I outlined in the last section. Finally, I identify areas for improvement in relation to this profile. Currently, I am working as a member of cabin crew. I have 6 months experience. I felt this position will help me advance in the industry as a whole. My previous career history has given me some very useful experience. I have had a variety of jobs from modelling to being a bouncer. While many of these positions might be considered ‘low level’ I feel they have taught me to deal with many different types of people, particularly people who are aggressive or who attempt to manipulate. Having dealt with so many tricky people, I feel I have a strong intuition about what people’s real motives are, as opposed to what they say they are motivated by, and also an ability to communicate with all sorts of people without making situations worse. Before I started my current job, I knew I wanted to work within the airline industry. I was also attracted to B.A. as I had heard they were a good employer (indeed.com [online] 2014). I treated the application process as a way of learning how to improve my interview skills. I applied to some organisations not because I especially wanted the advertised job, but in order to brush up on these skills, and become familiar with a range of the interview styles which exist in different companies. Some organisations, for example, use stress techniques to see how you cope under pressure (Parkinson 2002), others put you in either a very structured or an unstructured situation, both of which elicit different types of responses and require different approaches (Lehman and DuFrene 2010). During my 6 months in this job, I have come up against a number of new challenges which have made me more aware of my strengths and weaknesses in terms of the job I am ideally looking for. I have found that people tend to assume that working as a member of the cabin crew is easy particularly for men. Indeed, there’s a strong ‘trolley dolly’ stereotype (Bolton & Boyd 2003), which I have found frustrating at times. In fact, cabin crew work is a difficult job demanding good time management, concentration, the ability to think ‘on your feet’ and solve problems quickly, and an ability to get on with many different sorts of people. In addition, you need to pass a number of tests. For example for the BA mixed fleet crew the tests include health, criminal record and different aircraft licenses. I have found out in this job that I am good at listening to others. I feel I have a natural empathy with others and want to listen to what they are saying, rather than try and organise them into my way of doing things. However, and perhaps this is connected with this strength, I am not naturally forceful and good at leading others. In fact, if I am faced with a domineering or overpowering customer, I tend to give in and do what they want. This creates problems for me, for example if what they want is against the company rules. I think if I had more leadership ability, I would be better able to convince such people that the way I want them to behave is the right one for them as well. I also feel I do not currently demonstrate leadership skills. When in group meetings I tend to hang back and do not put my point of view across. I also feel I do not make the best use of situations. For example, I was asked to train up a new member of my team, but I felt I did not do this well, I felt und er-confident of what I was doing and I think I confused the person I was training. In addition to the areas of improvement I need to work on, which I will discuss more in the next section, I need to look at ways in which I can achieve my goal of a management position. I believe that my experience so far has helped a great deal. I have already had 6 months experience working as a member of cabin crew, so I understand the mechanics of this industry, but also of this particular job. After all, many people have to spend several months, if not years, volunteering to get similar experience of their desired industry, and I have had the luck to be paid for getting to this stage. Another benefit of being in the industry is that I have had a chance to build contacts already. Networking is an extremely powerful tool for getting the job you want (Souza 2010) and continues to be useful once in the job. After all, networking can be defined simply as creating opportunities, improving relationships with other people and making useful contacts. In a job, these benefits deepen over time, as you develop a more permanent network (Fisher 2011). As such, it is useful to career progression. Another skill I need to learn is flexibility. After all, as Pryor and Bright (2011) point out, the 21st Century workplace is characterised by change. Being able to adapt to change, not to expect the workplace to stay the same for years (or even months) and having a portfolio approach to a career are becoming increasingly important. I recognise that I am somewhat inflexible, and that change scares me. I naturally prefer the security of some sort of routine. However, there are things I can do to become more flexible. To some extent, working as cabin crew has helped improve my adaptability and increased the extent to which I can have a positive response to change, as I am never 100% sure where I’ll be going over the next months, and I have become aware that people can be very different in their demands and expectations. As I deal so much with members of the public, I have learnt to adapt to circumstances as they come up in a consistent way. I think there is more I can do in this area though. To summarise, there are some key areas which I need to work on: developing my management skills (including communication) and improving my networking, as well as being more flexible and open to change. I have covered networking and flexibility in this section, and will look at leadership in the next section. 4. The Development of Key Skills: Leadership This section evaluates the personal development tools I have used to improve my leadership skills, as it has been identified above as one of the areas I need to work on. I have had extensive working experience in a variety of positions, but have not really worked in a position where I have had to lead others. This initially made me wonder if I had what it takes to be a leader, but a number of things we covered in the module have convinced me that I can lead others. Other gaps include networking skills and flexibility. Theoretical learning about leadership has helped expand my horizons in terms of career development. Before I started the module, I believed that leaders are born, not made, and that one either is or is not the sort of person who can lead others. However, we learnt about different theories about leadership, and also about ways leadership can be developed. The idea that leaders are born is also known as the ‘great man’ theory of leadership (Daft 2007). A similar theory is the ‘trait’ model (Komives et al 2009). Although these are old models, they were still influential in my thinking. My experience on the course opened my eyes about different leadership theories. Many hold that leadership can be learned, for example behaviour-based theories, contingency theories and transformational theory (Komives et al 2009; Bragg 2008). Of the three, I have been most influenced by transformational theories. Behavioural and contingency theories seem to lack soul for me. It seems to me, based on my working experience, that people need to relate to and be inspired by leaders. Transformational theory, introduced by Burns (1978), suggests that transformational leadership is related to â€Å"morality, charisma, vision and values† that is, the leader must inspire people. Leaders also need to work with the people they lead, sharing information (Lucas 2005, p.20). One problem I found was that while there is a lot written about transformational leadership, there is not so much about how it can actually be put into practice. I did find a model based on Burns (1985) ideas. Manktelo et al (2005) suggest a 4 step process involving Creating a picture of the future to inspire people Getting people to ‘buy in’ to the picture Manage the way the vision is made to occur Improve relationships between people involved in delivering the vision They also suggest ways in which each stage can be achieved. In order to attain my desired career goals I will certainly be using this model to help me. I also found some textbooks recommended for the module useful. Chapman and O’Neill (1999) broke leadership down into 6 practical steps. I found this useful as I find it hard sometimes to translate theory into practice. I also found Covey (1999) useful. This approach teaches one how to base leadership around principles. I have always felt that management should be to do with treating people fairly and involving them in decisions, no matter what level of the company they are working at. Gardner and Laskin (1996) have given me ideas about how to watch what other leaders do and incorporate their behaviours into my own approach. One writer I found less helpful was Watkins (2013). He suggests getting to understand the â€Å"pivotal† people in the organisation quickly, through understanding their motivations and the pressures t hey are working under as well as the way they see their choices. The strategy is then to apply tools of influence to sway them. I have two issues with this approach. First, I believe every worker in an organisation is equally important. I would rather get all people agreeable to a course of action than concentrate on those he sees as ‘pivotal’. By concentrating on a few, resentment might arise. I would also suggest that it might not be possible to get to know people as quickly as he thinks. Watkins (2013) assumes that people will be honest and open about their motivation in a short conversation, and from my experience this often is not the case. Overall, I believe that learning more about leadership and finding practical approaches to being a better leader, including coaching skills, is the key way to address the gap I have talked about in earlier sections between my current skill set and the skill set required for my ideal position. 5. Conclusion In conclusion, I have examined my career in the context of my past working experience, where I am at the moment, and where I want to be. A number of tools I have learned during this module, as well as through self-learning, have helped me work out the ideal profile for my desired job role. I have also identified how I might turn my current skill set into the desired one. In particular, I need to work on leadership abilities. I have found a number of practical tools to help me do this, and have explored them above. My networking skills and flexibility can also be improved. 6. References The Air League (2014) ‘UK Aviation’ [online] (cited 8th February 2014). Available from http://www.airleague.co.uk/about/position-papers/uk-aviation/ Belobaba, P, Odoni, A and Barnhart, C (2009) The Global Airline Industry, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ Bolton, S C and Boyd, C (2003) ;Trolley Dolly or Skilled Emotion ManagerMoving on from Hochschild’s Managed Heart’, Work, Employment and Society, 17:2, 289-308. Bragg, D J (2008) The Application of Transformational Leadership, Proquest, USA. Chapman, E N and O’Neill, L S (1999) Leadership: Essential steps every manager needs to know (3rd edn.), Prentice Hall, USA Chon, K S, Pizam, A and Mansfeld, Y (2012) Consumer Behaviour in Travel and Tourism, Routledge, UK Covey, S R (1999) Principle-centered Leadership, Simon & Schuster, London Daft, R (2007) The Leadership Experience (4th edn.), Cengage Learning, Mason OH. Day, D V, Zaccaro, S J and Halpin, S M (2004) Leader Development for Transforming Organizations: Growing Leaders for Tomorrow, Psychology Press, Bristol D’Souza (2010) Brilliant Networking: What the Best Networkers Know, Say and Do, Pearson, UK Evenson, R (2011) Customer Service Management Training 101: Quick and Easy Techniques That Get Great Results, AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn, USA Fisher, D (2011) Professional Networking For Dummies, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ Gardner, H and Laskin, E (1996). Leading Minds: An anatomy of leadership, Basic Books, NY. Gladwell, M (2001) Tipping Point: How little things can make a big difference Abacus, London Hencke, E (2006) ‘Airline Industry Overview’, [online] (cited 8th February 2014) available from http://www.columbia.edu/cu/consultingclub/Resources/Airlines_Eric_Henckels.pdf Indeed.com (2014) ‘British Airways’ [online] (cited 8th February 2014) available from http://www.indeed.com/cmp/British-Airways/reviews Komives, S R, Lucas, N and McMahon, T R (2009) Exploring Leadership: For College Students Who Want to Make a Difference (2nd edn.), John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ. Lehman, C and DuFrene, D (2010) Business Communication (16th edn.), Cengage Learning, Mason, OH Lucas, D B (2005) A Study of the Relationship Between Transformational Leadership and Constructive Organizational Culture in Small Manufacturing Companies, Proquest, USA Manketelow, J, Brodbeck, F and Anand, N (2005) How to Lead: Discover the Leader Within You, Mind Tools, Swindon. Moon, J A (2013) Reflection in Learning and Professional Development: Theory and Practice, Routledge, Oxon National Careers Service (2014) ‘Finding out about aviation’ [online] (cited 9th February 2014) available from ttps://nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk/advice/planning/LMI/Pages/aviation.aspx Parkinson, M (2002) Your Job Search Made Easy, Kogan Page Publishers, London Pryor, R and Bright, J (2011) Chaos Theory of Careers: A new perspective on working in the twenty-first century, Routledge, Oxon. Watkins, M D (2013) First 90 Days, Updated and Expanded: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels, Harvard Business Press, USA Williams, C (2010) Management (6th edn), Cengage Learning, Mason, OH

The Wealth of Nations

The Wealth of Nations was published 9 March 1776, during the Scottish Enlightenment and the Scottish Agricultural Revolution. It influenced a number of authors and economists, as well as governments and organizations. Synopsis I: Of the Causes of Improvement in the productive Powers of Labour Of the Division of Labour: Division of labour has caused a greater increase in production than any other factor. This diversification is greatest for nations with more industry and improvement, and is responsible for â€Å"universal opulence† in those countries. Agriculture is less amenable than industry to division of labour; hence, rich nations are not so far ahead of poor nations in agriculture as in industry. Of the Principle which gives Occasion to the Division of Labour: Division of labour arises not from innate wisdom, but from humans' propensity to barter. The apparent difference in natural talents between people is a result of specialization, rather than any innate cause. That the Division of Labour is Limited by the Extent of the Market: Limited opportunity for exchange discourages division of labour. Because â€Å"water-carriage† extends the market, division of labour, with its improvements, comes earliest to cities near waterways. Civilization began around the highly navigable Mediterranean Sea†¦ Of the Origin and Use of Money: With division of labour, the producer of one's own labour can fill only a small part of one's needs. Different commodities have served as a common medium of exchange, but all nations have finally settled on metals, which are durable and divisible, for this purpose. Before coinage, people had to weigh and assay with each exchange, or risk â€Å"the grossest frauds and impositions. Thus nations began stamping metal, on one side only, to ascertain purity, or on all sides, to stipulate purity and amount. The quantity of real metal in coins has diminished, due to the â€Å"avarice and injustice of princes and sovereign states,† enabling them to pay their debts in appearance only, and to the defraudment of creditors. Of the Real and Nominal Price of Commodities, or of their Price in Labour, and their Price in Money: Smith gives two conflicting definitions of the relative value of a commodity. Adam Smith, â€Å"What everything really costs to the man, who wants to acquire it, is the toil and trouble of acquiring it. What everything is really worth to the man who has acquired it, and who wants to dispose of it, or exchange it for something else, is the toil and trouble which it can save to himself, and which it can impose upon other people. That this is really the foundation of the exchangeable value of all things, excepting those which cannot be increased by human industry, is a doctrine of the utmost importance in political economy. â€Å"The value of any commodity †¦ is equal to the quantity of labour which it enables him to purchase or command. Labour, therefore, is the real measure of the exchangeable value of all commodities. † Of the Component Parts of the Price of Commodities: Smith argues that the price of any product reflects wages, rent of land and â€Å"†¦ profit of stock,† which compensates the capitalist for risking his resources. Of the Natural and Market Price of Commodities: â€Å"When the quantity of any commodity which is brought to market falls short of the effectual demand, all those who are willing to pay†¦ annot be supplied with the quantity which they want†¦ Some of them will be willing to give more. A competition will begin among them, and the market price will rise†¦ When the quantity brought to market exceeds the effectual demand, it cannot be all sold to those who are willing to pay the whole value of the rent, wages and profit, which must be paid in order to bring it thither†¦ The market price will sink†¦ † When demand exceeds supply, the price goes up. When the supply exceeds demand, the price goes down. Of the Wages of Labour: Smith describes how the wages of labour are dictated primarily by the competition among laborers and masters. When laborers bid against one another for limited opportunities for employment, the wages of labour collectively fall, whereas when employers compete against one another for limited supplies of labour, the wages of labour collectively rise. However, this process of competition is often circumvented by combinations among laborers and among masters. When laborers combine and no longer bid against one another, their wages rise, whereas when masters combine, wages fall. Of the Profits of Stock: Smith uses interest rates as an indicator of the profits of stock. This is because interest can only be paid with the profits of stock, and so creditors will be able to raise rates in proportion to the increase or decrease of the profits of their debtors. Smith argues that the profits of stock are inversely proportional to the wages of labour, because as more money is spent compensating labour, there is less remaining for personal profit. It follows that, in societies where competition among laborers is greatest relative to competition among employers, profits will be much higher. Smith illustrates this by comparing interest rates in England and Scotland. In England, government laws against usury had kept maximum interest rates very low, but even the maximum rate was believed to be higher than the rate at which money was usually loaned. In Scotland, however, interest rates are much higher. This is the result of a greater proportion of capitalists in England, which offsets some competition among laborers and raises wages. Of Wages and Profit in the Different Employments of Labour and Stock: Smith repeatedly attacks groups of politically aligned individuals who attempt to use their collective influence to manipulate the government into doing their bidding. At the time, these were referred to as â€Å"factions,† but are now more commonly called â€Å"special interests,† a term that can comprise international bankers, corporate conglomerations, outright oligopolies, trade unions and other groups. Indeed, Smith had a particular distrust of the tradesman class. He felt that the members of this class, especially acting together within the guilds they want to form, could constitute a power block and manipulate the state into regulating for special interests against the general interest: â€Å"People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices. It is impossible indeed to prevent such meetings, by any law which either could be executed, or would be consistent with liberty and justice. But though the law cannot hinder people of the same trade from sometimes assembling together, it ought to do nothing to facilitate such assemblies; much less to render them necessary. † Smith also argues against government subsidies of certain trades, because this will draw many more people to the trade than what would otherwise be normal, collectively lowering their wages. Motivates an understanding of the idea of feudalism. Of the Rent of the Land: Rent, considered as the price paid for the use of land, is naturally the highest the tenant can afford in the actual circumstances of the land. In adjusting lease terms, the landlord endeavors to leave him no greater share of the produce than what is sufficient to keep up the stock from which he furnishes the seed, pays the labour, and purchases and maintains the cattle and other instruments of husbandry, together with the ordinary profits of farming stock in the neighborhood. This is evidently the smallest share with which the tenant can content himself without being a loser, and the landlord seldom means to leave him anymore. Whatever part of the produce, or, what is the same thing, whatever part of its price, is over and above this share, he naturally endeavors to reserve to himself as the rent of his land, which is evidently the highest the tenant can afford to pay in the actual circumstances of the land. II: Of the Nature, Accumulation, and Employment of Stock Of the Division of Stock: â€Å"When the stock which a man possesses is no more than sufficient to maintain him for a few days or a few weeks, he seldom thinks of deriving any revenue from it. He consumes it as sparingly as he can, and endeavors by his labour to acquire something which may supply its place before it be consumed altogether. His revenue is, in this case, derived from his labour only. This is the state of the greater part of the laboring poor in all countries. † â€Å"But when he possesses stock sufficient to maintain him for months or years, he naturally endeavors to derive revenue from the greater part of it; reserving only so much for his immediate consumption as may maintain him till this revenue begins to come in. His whole stock, therefore, is distinguished into two parts. That part which, he expects, is to afford him this revenue, is called his capital. Of Money Considered as a particular Branch of the General Stock of the Society: â€Å"That the price of the greater part of commodities resolves itself into three parts, of which one pays the wages of the labour, another the profits of the stock, and a third the rent of the land which had been employed in producing and bringing them to market: that there are, indeed, some commodities of which the price is made up of two of those parts only, the wages of labour, and the profits of stock: and a very few in which it consists altogether in one, the wages of labour: but that the price of every commodity necessarily resolves itself into some one, or other, or all of these three parts; every part of it which goes neither to rent nor to wages, being necessarily profit to somebody. † Of the Accumulation of Capital, or of Productive and Unproductive Labour: â€Å"One sort of labour ads to the value of the subject upon which it is bestowed: there is another which has no such effect. The former, as it produces a value, may be called productive; the latter, unproduct ive labour. Thus the labour of a manufacturer adds, generally, to the value of the materials which he works upon, that of his own maintenance and of his master's profit. The labour of a menial servant, on the contrary, adds to the value of nothing. † Of Stock Lent at Interest: â€Å"The stock which is lent at interest is always considered as a capital by the lender. He expects that in due time it is to be restored to him, and that in the meantime the borrower is to pay him a certain annual rent for the use of it. The borrower may use it either as a capital, or as a stock reserved for immediate consumption. If he uses it as a capital, he employs it in the maintenance of productive labourers, who reproduce the value with a profit. He can, in this case, both restore the capital and pay the interest without alienating or encroaching upon any other source of revenue. If he uses it as a stock reserved for immediate consumption, he acts the part of a prodigal, and dissipates in the maintenance of the idle what was destined for the support of the industrious. He can, in this case, neither restore the capital nor pay the interest without either alienating or encroaching upon some other source of revenue, such as the property or the rent of land. † The stock which is lent at interest is, no doubt, occasionally employed in both these ways, but in the former much more frequently than in the latter. III: Of the different Progress of Opulence in different Nations Of the Natural Progress of Opulence: â€Å"The great commerce of every civilized society is that carried on between the inhabitants of the town and those of the country. It consists in the exchange of crude for manufactured produce, either immediately, or by the intervention of money, or of some sort of paper which represents money. The country supplies the town with the means of subsistence and the materials of manufacture. The town repays this supply by sending back a part of the manufactured produce to the inhabitants of the country. The town, in which there neither is nor can be any reproduction of substances, may very roperly be said to gain its whole wealth and subsistence from the country. We must not, however, upon this account, imagine that the gain of the town is the loss of the country. The gains of both are mutual and reciprocal, and the division of labour is in this, as in all other cases, advantageous to all the different persons employed in the various occupations into which it is subdivided. † Of the Discouragement of Agriculture: â€Å"Of the Discouragement of Agriculture in the Ancient State of Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire†. â€Å"When the German and Scythian nations overran the western provinces of the Roman Empire, the confusions which followed so great a revolution lasted for several centuries. The rapine and violence which the barbarians exercised against the ancient inhabitants interrupted the commerce between the towns and the country. The towns were deserted, and the country was left uncultivated, and the western provinces of Europe, which had enjoyed a considerable degree of opulence under the Roman Empire, sunk into the lowest state of poverty and barbarism. During the continuance of those confusions, the chiefs and principal leaders of those nations acquired or usurped to themselves the greater part of the lands of those countries. A great part of them was uncultivated; but no part of them, whether cultivated or uncultivated, was left without a proprietor. All of them were engrossed, and the greater part by a few great proprietors. This original engrossing of uncultivated lands, though a great, might have been but a transitory evil. They might soon have been divided again, and broke into small parcels either by succession or by alienation. The law of primogeniture hindered them from being divided by succession: the introduction of entails prevented their being broke into small parcels by alienation. † Of the Rise and Progress of Cities and Towns, after the fall of the Roman Empire: â€Å"The inhabitants of cities and towns were, after the fall of the Roman empire, not more favored than those of the country. They consisted, indeed, of a very different order of people from the first inhabitants of the ancient republics of Greece and Italy. These last were composed chiefly of the proprietors of lands, among whom the public territory was originally divided, and who found it convenient to build their houses in the neighborhood of one another, and to surround them with a wall, for the sake of common defense. After the fall of the Roman Empire, on the contrary, the proprietors of land seem generally to have lived in fortified castles on their own estates, and in the midst of their own tenants and dependants. The towns were chiefly inhabited by tradesmen and mechanics, which seem in those days to have been of servile, or very nearly of servile condition. The privileges which we find granted by ancient charters to the inhabitants of some of the principal towns in Europe sufficiently show what they were before those grants. The people to whom it is granted as a privilege that they might give away their own daughters in marriage without the consent of their lord, that upon their death their own children, and not their lord, should succeed to their goods, and that they might dispose of their own effects by will, must, before those grants, have been either altogether or very nearly in the same state of villanage with the occupiers of land in the country. † How the Commerce of the Towns Contributed to the Improvement of the Country: Smith often harshly criticized those who act purely out of self-interest and greed, and warns that, â€Å"†¦ for us, and nothing for other people, seems, in every age of the world, to have been the vile maxim of the masters of mankind. † IV: Of Systems of political Economy Of the Principle of the Commercial or Mercantile System: Specifically, The Wealth of Nations attacks, inter alia, two major tenets of mercantilism: 1. The idea that protectionist tariffs serve the economic interests of a nation (or indeed any purpose whatsoever) and 2. The idea that large reserve of gold bullion or other precious metals are necessary for a country's economic success. Of the extraordinary Restraints: â€Å"Of the extraordinary Restraints upon the Importation of Goods of almost all Kinds, from those Countries with which the Balance is supposed to be Disadvantageous†. Of Drawbacks: Merchants and manufacturers are not contented with the monopoly of the home market, but desire likewise the most extensive foreign sale for their goods. Of Treaties of Commerce: When a nation binds itself by treaty either to permit the entry of certain goods from one foreign country which it prohibits from all others, or to exempt the goods of one country from duties to which it subjects those of all others, the country, or at least the merchants and manufacturers of the country, whose commerce is so favored, must necessarily derive great advantage from the treaty. Those merchants and manufacturers enjoy a sort of monopoly in the country which is so indulgent to them. That country becomes a market both more extensive and more advantageous for their goods: more extensive, because the goods of other nations being either excluded or subjected to heavier duties, it takes off a greater quantity of theirs: more advantageous, because the merchants of the favored country, enjoying a sort of monopoly there, will often sell their goods for a better price than if exposed to the free competition of all other nations. † Of Colonies: Of the Motives for establishing new Colonies: The interest which occasioned the first settlement of the different European colonies in America and the West Indies was not altogether as plain and distinct as that which directed the establishment of those of ancient Greece and Rome. Causes of Prosperity of new Colonies: The colonists carry out with them knowledge of agriculture and of other useful arts superior to what can grow up of its own accord in the course of many centuries among savage and barbarous nations. They carry out with them, too, the habit of subordination, some notion of the regular government which takes place in their own country, of the system of laws which supports it, and of a regular administration of justice; and they naturally establish something of the same kind in the new settlement. Of the Agricultural Systems: â€Å"Of the Agricultural Systems, or of those Systems of Political Economy, which Represent the Produce of Land, as either the Sole or the Principal, Source of the Revenue and Wealth of Every Country†. V: Of the Revenue of the Sovereign or Commonwealth Smith postulated four â€Å"maxims† of taxation: proportionality, transparency, convenience, and efficiency. Of the Expenses of the Sovereign or Commonwealth: On taxation Smith wrote, â€Å"The subjects of every state ought to contribute towards the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respe ctively enjoy under the protection of the state. The expense of government to the individuals of a great nation is like the expense of management to the joint tenants of a great estate, who are all obliged to contribute in proportion to their respective interests in the estate. In the observation or neglect of this maxim consists what is called the equality or inequality of taxation. † Of the Sources of the General or Public Revenue of the Society: In his discussion of taxes â€Å"The necessaries of life occasion the great expense of the poor. † They find it difficult to get food, and the greater part of their little revenue is spent in getting it. The luxuries and vanities of life occasion the principal expense of the rich, and a magnificent house embellishes and sets off to the best advantage all the other luxuries and vanities which they possess. A tax upon house-rents, therefore, would in general fall heaviest upon the rich; and in this sort of inequality there would not, perhaps, be anything very unreasonable. It is not very unreasonable that the rich should contribute to the public expense, not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more than in that proportion. † Of War and Public Debts: â€Å"†¦ when war comes politicians are both unwilling and unable to increase their tax revenue in proportion to the increase of their expense. They are unwilling for fear of offending the people, who, by so great and so sudden an increase of taxes, would soon be disgusted with the war †¦ The facility of borrowing delivers them from the embarrassment †¦ By means of borrowing they are enabled, with a very moderate increase of taxes, to raise, from year to year, money sufficient for carrying on the war, and by the practice of perpetually funding they are enabled, with the smallest possible increase of taxes [to pay the interest on the debt], to raise annually the largest possible sum of money [to fund the war †¦ The return of peace, indeed, seldom relieves them from the greater part of the taxes imposed during the war. These are mortgaged for the interest of the debt contracted in order to carry it on. † Smith then goes on to say that even if money was set aside from future revenues to pay for the debts of war, it seldom actually gets used to pay down the debt. Politicians are inclined to spend the money on some other scheme that will win the favor of their constituents. Hence, interest payments rise and war debts continue to grow larger, well beyond the end of the war. Impact– United States James Madison, in a speech given in Congress on 2 February 1791, cited The Wealth of Nations in opposing a national bank: â€Å"The principal disadvantages consisted in, 1st. banishing the precious metals, by substituting another medium to perform their office: This effect was inevitable. It was admitted by the most enlightened patrons of banks, particularly by Smith on the Wealth of Nations†. Thomas Jefferson, writing to John Novell on 14 June 1807, claimed that on â€Å"the subjects of money & commerce, Smith's Wealth of Nations is the best book to be read, unless Say's Political Economy can be had, which treats the same subject on the same principles, but in a shorter compass & more lucid manner†. Two views of the â€Å"Wealth of Nations† The â€Å"Wealth of Nations† is therefore inhomogeneous and consists of the earlier elements of an individualistic strain in the tradition of Aristotle, Puffendorf and Hutcheson, Smith’s teacher, – elements compatible with a neoclassical theory – and the classical theory Smith learned in France. Smith’s classical message is what he states at the very beginning: the two ways to create the â€Å"Wealth of Nations†. First, make productive labour even more productive by enhancing markets to deepen the division of labour (moving the neoclassical production curve to the right); and second, use more labour productively instead of unproductively, i. e. produce more goods and services that are inputs to the next economic reproduction circle, as opposed to goods used up in final consumption. In the words of Adam Smith: â€Å"The annual labour of every nation is the fund which originally supplies it with all the necessaries and conveniences of life which it annually consumes †¦ This produce †¦ bears a greater or smaller proportion to the number of those who are to consume it †¦ But this proportion must in every nation be regulated by two different circumstances; First, by the skill, dexterity, and judgment with which its labour is generally applied; and, Secondly, by the proportion between the numbers of those who are employed in useful labour, and that of those who are not so employed.

Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism

Book Report on Edward’s â€Å"Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism† The turning point of the field of broadcast journalism was attributed to no one but Edward R. Murrow who, ironically, has no background of the profession but whose innovations opened doors and paved the way for the industry’s present prominence. This premise proved that one’s contributions and eventual success are not measured by his or her credentials or circumstances but definitely based on the significance of the work a person has performed and ultimately how the efforts affected people and the society in general.The said condition was how NPR’s Morning Edition host Bob Edwards successfully exemplified and analyzed the character of Murrow in the book â€Å"Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism (Turning Points in History). † Noting the relevance of broadcast journalism in today’s modern world, Edwards became effective in his approac h in evaluating the life and contributions of Murrow according to the nature of the latter’s character as well as his principles and endeavors which made the broadcast field successful.Set at the early years of Murrow’s broadcast career which started in 1935 and at the backdrops of the Nazi regime and World War III, the Edwards book made the public realize the exciting, fearless, meticulous, in-depth but generally composed personality of the â€Å"See It Now† television show host. From the title itself of the book as well as its clear portrayal of Murrow, Edwards proudly imparted that the improvement, success and influence of the contemporary broadcast journalism was absolutely a product of the work caliber and individuality of the radio and television icon.As such, the protagonist of the Edwards book perfectly exuded a picture of both excellence and calmness when his innovations resulted in the turning point of broadcast journalism. Hence, in the light of clear character analysis of the Edwards book, the words of Murrow clearly manifested how he wanted himself and the field of broadcast journalism to be realized. Edwards quoted Murrow as saying â€Å"I began to breathe and to reflect again—that all men would be brave if only they could leave their stomachs at home† (Edwards 74).Another form of character analysis that affirmed the kind of personality, quality of work and significant influence made to broadcast media profession by Murrow was through the interview made by Jones to Edwards. The â€Å"Edward Murrow† book is efficiently perceived through how Edwards viewed Murrow. Jones then confirmed from the interview he made with the author that without Murrow, broadcast journalism will never be the same as it is now (Jones).It was also in an online broadcast by the National Public Radio or NPR and where Edwards’ show is broadcasted that Murrow was regarded as a history himself. Murrow’s spectacular rooftop live broadcast of the London Blitz provided fresh approach and unique style of broadcast journalism. As presented by Edwards in his book, it was Murrow’s innate character and professional supremacy that brought new information or news reports and made broadcast journalism as a field of enormous power and undisputed impact to people and societies (â€Å"Edward R.Murrow: Broadcasting History†). Apart from his innovative wartime broadcasts that catapult him to fame and respect, it was Murrow’s personal and professional principles that made him incomparable from the rest. Hence, it was the statement by Edwards during the Jones interview that ideally depicted the character and value and most importantly, the influence of Murrow to broadcast journalism.As Edwards said: â€Å"I say he (Murrow) set the standard, but it’s probably closer to say he set the ideal and we can’t have the (same) ideal anymore† (Jones). Works Cited â€Å"Edward R. Murrow: Broadcasting History. † Morning Edition. National Public Radio. 6 May 2004. Edwards, Bob. Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism (Turning Points in History). New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2004). Jones, Michelle. â€Å"NPR’s Bob Edwards on Edward R. Murrow. † Interview to Bob Edwards. 2004.