Find an article about weather (within the last 2 years 2012-2014) and Assignment

Find an article about weather (within the last 2 years 2012-2014) and summary the article - Assignment Example However, with plate movements, comes climate change. This can explain the reason it has become challenging to predict weather and in this case El Nià ±o and La Nià ±a. Global warming in turn is causing melting of the ice sheets, movement of the magnetic pole and the following rise in sea level could bring about an effect on the distribution of mass on the Earths surface (278). This paper seeks to relate the themes of movement, Human-Earth –relationship, and weather in relation to geography. The fickle El Nià ±o of 2014 written by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory will be the article under analysis. Science Daily recently did a feature article on the prediction of another El Nià ±o occurrence in the west America region in 2014. This article is based on information from journals, other organizations such as NASA and as well as universities. According to the article, there were high hopes of another cycle of El Nino in the region, which is mostly a dry area. Earlier in the year hopes were raised as from February through to May when a chain of larger atmospheric west wind burst triggered an earlier series of Kelvin waves (NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, para 1). The situation was short lived though as the warming of the eastern equatorial Pacific by the Kelvin waves dissipated, interfering expectations for an El Nià ±o this year but these latest Kelvin waves have appeared, reviving hopes for a late arrival of the event. Measurements of sea surface height are a prime indicator in predictions of El Nià ±o and La Nià ±a which have become a part of the long-term, changing condition of global climate (NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, para 2). Climatologist Bill Patzert is convicted that it is too early to be certain for sure. However, he would not be shocked if the current Kelvin waves are the signal for this much-hoped-for El Nià ±o (NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, para 4). One of the themes of Geography, Human-Earth -relationship, seeks to explain the

To what extend does Joint Commission International (JCI) Accreditation Essay - 2

To what extend does Joint Commission International (JCI) Accreditation standards improves healthcare facilities - Essay Example Therefore, collectivism can be considered the second main factor after that of religion in influencing Saudi culture. On the other hand, one of the cultural issues influencing healthcare in Saudi Arabia is consanguineous marriages. These societies prefer consanguineous marriages for various reasons such as to strengthen family relationships or to avoid financial assets or property falling into the hands of individuals outside the family (Bittles, 2001). Regarding healthcare, according to Al- Abdulkareem and Ballal (1998), consanguineous marriages have been found to be one of the causes of certain inherited blood diseases among Saudis. In 2003, the Saudi government therefore introduced a pre-marriage test to reduce the rate of such diseases. However, a study by Alsulaiman and Hewison (2006) on attitudes to the pre-natal and pre-implantation diagnosis of Saudi parents at genetic risk showed that, out of 30 couples asked, only 50% would accept such a test. In KSA, modern healthcare system and quality management did not exist until 1926. Up until then, health services had been provided by individuals not governmental authority. Healthcare and quality have organised through several stages to reach present day status. However, quality management started to appear in the public and private healthcare sectors, by many workers attracted to the idea of Total Quality Management (TQM). Dale (2007) argues that shifting TQM from the manufacturing industry to the health sector is difficult for a number of reasons: the managerial environment differs from other sectors, consumers in healthcare are different as they use the service as patients, the nature of failure, where few errors are able to be fixed and the complexity of the workforce in the health sector. All these reasons make the implementation of JCI accreditation standards in TQM or continuous quality improvement a challenging

Business ethics Essay Example for Free

Business ethics Essay Introduction Todays world is continually shrinking due to many factors, not the least of which is the rapid growth of international business. Four specific interlinking phenomena are occurring which present new problems to international business: a) the increase in offshore banking transactions; b) the continuing growth of multinational corporations (MNCs); c) the increasing instances of outsourcing business activities offshore and d) the equally increasing instances of locating and using suppliers of goods and services in developing countries. All four of these phenomena are fueled by economics and they show no sign of abating anytime soon. Two aspects dealt in this paper are: a) the existence of perceived corruption in international business, including graft, kickbacks and preferential treatment and b) workplace conditions that are considered unethical by generally accepted world standards. There are many other aspects of international business which lend themselves to ethical examination, but they are not appropriate here. The approach taken is to examine some of the principal ethical philosophies of the last two hundred years in relation to international business, as follows: a) Immanuel. Kants Categorical Imperative; b) early mercantilist philosophies; c) Distributive Justice; d) Ethical Relativism; e) Integrative Social Contracts Theory; f) Virtue Ethics; g) Confucian and Islamist ethics and h) pragmatic approaches to international business ethics. Then, by way of local comparisons, several local national situations are presented in order to clarify the problem. Finally, in order to address workplace ethics specifically, the SA 8000 Social Accountability standard is presented and analyzed as one approach to remedy a widely recognized situation which required positive attention. Furtherj this standard is presented as a possible entry point toward developing a customer/supplier dialogue which may hole the promise of formulating a wholly new code of international business ethics, not simply another Western concept grafted onto the developing world. 1 Key ethical theories and concepts Kants categorical imperative: Immanuel Kants Categorical Imperative has become a mainstay in the study of ethics for the past two hundred years and has stimulated a considerable amount of both support and objection. His assertion to act only according to maxims which you can will also to be universal laws^^ was seen to be in direct reaction to the relativist philosophies being propagated at that time and can also be seen as a defense of free will which was being called into question as well. Marias^^ points out that Kants purpose was to personalize ethics, not necessarily to institutionalize ethics. Kants ethics describe a moral person; not necessarily a moral society which is a key point in attempting to apply Kantian ethics to our world. Significant problems have been found to exist not within Kants ethics but in its applications. Calder* perceives the lack of degrees of wrongness in Kants Categorical Imperative, stating that this is a major flaw in his ethics. Calders interpretation of Kant is that an act is either right ot wrong in a universal sense, not allowing for varying degrees. This would be a valid objection to Kantian ethics were it not for Kants intention to personalize ethics and to make the individual person responsible for his or her own actions. In this sense, Kants ethics are indeed universal in the sense that each person must decide what is right and what is wrong. An argument could be made that in this sense, Kantian ethics can be applied universally, but with a less than satisfying sense of having identified a code of ethics that would fit like a sort of template over our world. It should also be noted that at the time Kant lived in the late 18 Century, our world was just being discovered as highly diverse. European ethnocentrism was still very much in force and the uncivilized world was seen generally as a very undefined place.The intertwining effects of the growth of world trade, the rapid increases in colonialism and the onset of the industrial revolution stimulated additional efforts to address the people of the world at large. Early mercantilist philosophy: The various mercantilist philosophies which emanated from the growth of colonialism and world trade presented a somewhat different viewpoint to (11)Advances In Management Vol. 5 (3) Mar. (2012) ethics. In the minds of the mercantilists, civil society would contain markets which would be self-regulating and government, business and nonprofit organizations would unite to create social accountability systems which would contain self-enforcing codes of conduct reinforced by the concept of shareholder and stakeholder pressures. These concepts tend to continue to the present day in many business textbooks. However, these early mercantilist philosophies, propounded in the heyday of expansionism by the worlds trading nations, pointedly did not consider what effects mercantilism would have on the rest, of the world. These mercantilist philosophies provided a basis for the development of utilitarian ethics which would become popular in the following century with the writings of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart MilP^ and which would eventually become the unofficial political philosophy of the British government throughout the colonial years and up to the present day. Distributive Justice: The rapid growth of complex economic systems together with the shrinking of the social world gave birth to the concept of distributive justice. The concept has its origins in David Hume and John Locke and continues today in the writings of modern philosophers John Rawis and Robert Nozick. ^ The internationalization of the world economy has further spurred discussion concerning how distributive justice might be applied to international business. Unlike the ethics of early mercantilist philosophies and classical utilitarianism which both fit uneasily in the world of international business, there has been quite a lot of discussion concerning the ethics of distributive justice in this context. The principal questions tend to revolve around how (or whether) gains from international trade get distributed both within and between countries* and whether or not basic human rights are observed in the practice of international business. This second question has also been expanded to discuss whether international business as a function has the obligation to offer help to the inhabitants of developing countries within which they do business. Both concepts would seem foreign to the mercantilists and would pose awkward questions to the utilitarians. Ethical Relativism: The next logical stage of development in the thinking of international business ethics was termed ethical relativism. To put the best face on it, this concept developed as a realization of the multifaceted cultural and social nature of todays world and of the inherent difficulties todays international business person experiences in attempting to deal with these differences. ^^ However, as many authors have pointed out, ethical relativism can be seen as moral approach to business, using cultural differences as an excuse to practice unethical behavior which might not be acceptable in ones own society. ^ The ethical relativism stage of international business ethics exists but does so in a weakened position due to criticisms leveled against it. Integrative Social Contracts Theory: An effective response to ethical relativism in international business has been a blending of ethical relativism and universally recognized ethical principles at least universally recognized in the Western world into a concept that has become known as integrative social contracts theory (ISCT). -^-* Under this concept, certain universal ethical concepts would provide the basis for an ethical code of conduct for international business with the recognition of the validity of certain local ethical practices with the provision that in the event of conflict between the two, universal ethical principles would take precedence. This blending of ethical concepts satisfied most participants in international business activities but not all. One criticism leveled against ISCT is the problem of using empirical methods to discover and define what the authentic norms of a particular culture might be^. The approach taken by most ISCT practitioners lays open to question the overall effectiveness of a purely empirical approach, subject as it is to misinterpretation and lack of complete knowledge and understanding. As a result, critics of ISCT tend to call for a revival of the universal ethical principles that ISCT has largely replaced, causing discomfort particularly in the developing world which has never been completely comfortable with espousing the universal ethical code of former colonizing powers. Virtue Ethics: One possibility of a usable ethical code is the application of virtue ethics to international business. This concept would formulate ethics based on the moral character of the people involved in international business. Clearly, virtue ethics appeals to those who wish the right thing to be done consistently and studies have attempted to apply the concept to the international business arena. * Virtue ethics has also been proposed as a tool that international organizations could use to fight corruption. Nonetheless, it remains undeniable that virtue ethics is grounded in ones own culture and moral beliefs and would necessarily provide a weak tool to formulate any sort of international business ethics code. Confucian and Islamic ethics applications: One has only to look at the major cultures of the world to discover old and well developed codes of ethics. One such ancient culture China has adhered to Confucian ethical concepts for centuries. Magee^* notes that philosophy, including ethical thought, proceeded in China unhindered by established religions, as was the case in the West and therefore developed a thoughtful ethical philosophy deeply seated in Chinese culture. Yew Chan^*^ points out that while most Confucian ethical thought parallels Western ethical thought, there are some significant divergences. Interestingly, one of the principal differences from the Chinese point of view has to do with the West placing results ahead of ethical concerns. Also, the importance of social harmony which takes on a characteristic of ethics in Confucian culture is emphasized in China while downplayed in the West. (12)Advances In Management Vol. 5 (3) Mar. (2012) Another old and well established body of ethics is found in the Middle East, northern Africa and southeast Asia in the ethical traditions of Islam. The Islamic tradition highly values such concepts as trust and benevolence and makes a major point of including justice and social balance in its code of ethics. Most of these concepts have their basic roots in pre-Islamic Arab culture based in turn on Bedouin culture, but they are reinforced by both the Koran and Sharia. Pragmatic approaches The various conflicts resultant from culture meeting culture in the international business world and the typical result of developed societies coming out on top (with the notable exception of the international petroleum industry) has generated a movement termed the United Nations sustainable development initiative. ^ This convergence of business, political and ethical concerns and interests is the most recent attempt to make things right in the international business world in the face of increasing world poverty and hunger and undeniable global inequality. The most recent ethical solution proposed to begin to set things right internationally is called the language of rights. *,This solution which flnds its roots in distributive justice, identifies the multinational corporation as one of the principle change agents and focuses on the capabilities of all concerned rather than on finding blame. The emphasis is on denning and promoting the positive rights of all concerned. International Business Applications From a practical point of view, however, all of these concepts are somehow found wanting. The realities of wide chasms between the developed world and the developing world which in many instances is not developing at all, relatively speaking tends to make nonsense of any attempts to formulate and superimpose any sort of universal ethical code on the whole world. In the old days of colonialism, the Western powers and Japan simply took what they wanted through dint of force and in the present day of neocolonialism these same powers in the persons of international business carry on that tradition in an updated manner. Appeals to post-conventional moral reasoning, in efforts to induce multinational corporations to develop mature corporate ethics in dealing with developing countries, have met with mixed results. Claims of widespread corruption in international business has stimulated a considerable amount of activity both in academia and in international organizations, although strong arguments have been made that bribery and corruption are not cultural characteristics, as they have so often been called, but symptoms of cultural breakdowns under the pressures of a malfunctioning economy. The local gift-giving customs in some cultures has been thoroughly examined and seem to be finally recognized as local custom and not necessarily as a form of graft. ^ One viewpoint sparsely practiced in the search for some resolution of the international business ethics conundrum is viewing business practices from the perspectives of other cultures. Both Confuciani. st and Islamic ethical systems were very briefly noted above and cases drawn from the business experiences of people from a few speciflc countries are now examined by way of comparison in order to better understand the cultural diversity in todays international business environment. Post-apartheid South Africa presents an interesting case study as the only developed economy on the African continent and as the principal trading partner of many African countries. South Africa also presents a model for global multinational corporations in how to deal effectively with developing economies. ^ Through a mixed strategy of business promotion and social involvement in these countries and by limited political involvement with government ministries. South Africa has developed a favorable reputation throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa by remaining pragmatic in dealing with local custom. Within that region, Nigeria has developed a version of virtue ethics based on a communitarian notion of ethics which seems to work well for Nigerian businesses. ^^ Considering that Nigeria is the most economically successful of the black sub-Saharan economies and is the dominant force in West Africa, this application of communitarianism is having a positive effect on its culturally similar neighbors and holds out hope for a type of regional ethical code in business. The case of Jordan, a relatively poor country located in the Mashriq area of the Middle East, shows mixed results when business ethics are examined. Similar to other countries in the region, Jordanian businessmen tend to bend their ethical activities toward what is practical under the pressures of reality which makes them not much different than other businessmen throughout the world. However, the active effect of Islamic ethics, as previously noted, has an ameliorating effect on Jordanian business practices. India presents a more interesting ethical picture. ^* While being largely Hindu in religion with significant minority groups, India is a country comprised of people speaking twenty-six different languages within two large ethnic groups. To consider India as a single culture through which one can examine Indian business ethics would be completely misleading. As a result and considering the existence of under cultures throughout the Indian population, international business performed in India would need to carefully examine the various ethical codes in practice throughout the country in order to understand the culture and begin to apply any sort of integrative social ethical theory. Finally, Australia presents another interesting case study. Australia is a large country approximately the same (13)Advances In Management Vol. 5 (3) Mar. (2012) size as the forty-eight contiguous states in the United States but with the total population of not much more than Los Angeles and Orange Counties in California combined. Rich in natural resources but isolated from the rest of the world by geography, Australia finds itself an essentially Asian country but with a European political, social and cultural tradition. As a result, Australian businessmen have had to learn how to do business with Asian cultures not by choice but of geographic necessity. ^ Adjustments to doing business in Asian cultures has always been a problem for the Australian businessman, particularly when faced with unfamiliar or uncomfortable ethical situations. ^ As a result, Australia can be seen in this sense as a microcosm of what international business people face. Social Accountability International As described above, the applications of ethical codes to international business have been spotty at best. The reasons for this are varied, but seem to have a great deal to do with attempts to formulate universal ethical principles, albeit with the effort to formulate ISCT in order to accommodate at least some local cultural practices that might affect business ethics. A major reason behind this failure may very well be that the various attempts have all been based on Western philosophical thought. Both Confucian and Islamist traditions possess functioning and effective ethical codes which seem to work well in those cultures. In 1997, Social Accountability International (SAI) published Social Accountability 8000, a voluntary standard that attempts to ensure humane workplaces worldwide. The standard was revised and updated in 2001. Rather than using the exhortative approach attempted up until that time by the International Labor Organization (ILO), SA8000 is a frank, open attempt to convince companies that it would be in their best business interests to become registered to this standard. It is based on international workplace norms of ILO conventions, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (saintl. org). It is an auditable certification standard and those companies which pass an initial audit and which also maintain compliance through successful semi-annual surveillance audits are included in a published list of SA 8000-registered companies. Audits are conducted by thirdparty auditing organizations accredited and overseen by Social Accountability Accreditation Services (SAAS). ^ Provisions of SAAS a) Child labor: No workers under the age of 15; minimum lowered to 14 for countries operating under the ILO Convention 138 developing-country exception; b) Forced labor: No forced labor, including prison or debt bondage labor; no lodging of deposits or identity papers by employees or outside recruiters; c) Health and safety: Provide a safe and healthy work environment; take steps to prevent injuries; regular health and safety worker training; system to detect threats to health and safety; access to bathrooms and potable water. d) Freedom of association and right to collective bargaining: Respect the right to form and join trade unions and bargain collectively; where law prohibits these freedoms, facilitate parallel means of association and bargaining; e) Discrimination: No discrimination based on race, caste, origin, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, union or political affiliation, or age; No sexual harassment; f) Discipline: No corporal punishment, mental or physical coercion or verbal abuse; g) Working hours: Comply with the applicable law but in any event, no more than 48 hours per week with at least one day off for every seven day period; voluntary overtime paid as a premium rate and not to exceed 12 hours per week on a regular basis; overtime may be mandatory if part of a collective bargaining agreement; h) Compensation: Wages paid for a standard work, week must meet the legal and industry standards and be sufficient to meet the basic need of workers and their families; no disciplinary reductions; i) Management systems: Facilities seeking to gain and maintain certification must go beyond simple compliance to integrate the standard into their management systems and practices. The SA 8000 standard is a rather obvious carrot-andstick approach to flght the more blatant workplace abuses by creating a type of international honor roll of companies which have successfully undergone certification. Its introduction was greeted by a mixed reception^ amid fears that it was just another expensive piece of bureaucracy. However, within a few years the value of the SA 8000 standard was becoming apparent. Further, studies have shown that successful implementation of this standard as well as other similar standards have had the effect of improved international business in developing countries. The SA 8000 approach admittedly does not address all ethical concerns inherent in international business but it does address what can be considered the heart of the problem by attempting to bring workplace conditions in line with generally accepted international standards. As discussed, the issues of corruption in the exercise of international business are being addressed in part by the application of cultural ethical standards, such as Confucian and Islamist practices and the more heinous practices have been so roundly (14)Advances In Management r Vol. 5 (3) Mar. (2012) condemned that they are either fading away or have been made well-publicized examples throughout the world. The hope is if workplace conditions can be brought up to an acceptable level, then the concept of discourse ethics can be put in play under which multinational corporations in partnership with their developing country suppliers can provide a theoretical justification for opening and maintaining a moral discourse which can then establish and mutually maintain ethical principles based on agreement and cooperation. ^ This would be a truly revolutionary development and one which would create a wholly new code of international business ethics involving the customer and the supplier as cooperating partners. Conclusion In the wake of Enron, Tyco and other recent scandals which have severely shaken the publics faith in our business leaders, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has emerged as a serious topic of discussion in the business world. ^Â ° In addition, the popularity of such recent and graphic films as Lord of War, concerning arms dealing in Africa, Blood Diamond, also concerning this topic in Africa and The Constant Gardener, concerning corruption in the international Pharmaceuticals trade and once again in Africa, has raised the publics awareness of business corruption in developing countries. In addition, the rapid movement by Western companies to developing countries as a source of supply based on cheap labor has accentuated the previously invisible problem of working conditions in these areas. ^* Recent health threats concerning tainted pet food and leadbased toys from the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) have served to magnify the situation. American consumers, once complacent concerning the products they bought as long as they were cheap and worked, are becoming more concerned with the quality and inherent safety of these products and a connection seems to have been made in the publics mind with workplace conditions in the countries of origin. The challenge is to keep these issues out in the open until they are resolved. The success of the SA 8000 standard is a good beginning toward instituting a true international discourse which has the potential of creating a new international business code of ethics which all people can buy into and follow a code of ethics which was not exported from developed countries, but one that would truly be an international code of ethics developed in partnership between customer and supplier. Such a mutually developed code of ethics would be-much more easily understood, would stand a much better chance of acceptance because the subjects would also be the formulators and would therefore offer a significantly higher chance of success. References 1. Al-Shaikh F. N. , The practical reality theory and business ethics in non-Westem context: Evidence from Jordan, The Journal of Management Development. 22 (7/8), 679-693 (2003) 2. Beekun R. I. and Badawi J. A. , Balancing ethical responsibility among multiple organizational stakeholders: The Islamic perspective. Journal of Business Ethics. 60 (2), 131-145 (2005) 3. Bendana A. , Shifting Paradigms of thought and power. Development. 47 (1), 22-26 (2004) 4. Beschomer T. and Muller M. , Social standards: Toward an active ethical involvement of businesses in developing countries. Journal of Business Ethics. 73 (1). 11-21 (2007) 5. Bruyn S. T. , The moral economy. Review of Social Economy, 57 (1), 25-46 (1999) 6. Calder T. , Kant and degrees of wrongness. Journal of Value lnquiry. ,39 (2), 229-244 (2005) 7. Chung K. Y. , Ethical perceptions of business students: Differences between East Asia and the USA among Confucian cultures! Journal of Business Ethics. 79 (1/2), 121-133 (2008) 8. Derig Shengliang, A new look at ethics in International business. The International Executive. 34(2), 151-165 (1992) ;l 9. Everett J. , Neu D. and Rahaman A. S. , The global fight against corruption: A Foucaultian, virtues-ethics framing. Journal of Business Ethics. 65 (1), 1-13 (2006) 10. Falkenberg A. W. , When in Rome moral maturity and ethics for international economic organizations. Journal of Business Ethics. 54 (1), 17-32(2004) 11. Flynn G. , The virtuous manager, A vision for leadership in business. Journal of Business Ethics. 78 (3), 359-372 (2008) 12. Gilbert D. U. and Rasche A. , Discourse ethics and social accountability: The ethics of SA 8000, Business Ethics Quarterh, 17 (2), 187-216(2007) 13. Hartman C. L. and Beck-Dudley C. L. , Marketing strategies and the search for virtue: A case analysis of The Body Shop, International Journal of Business Ethics. 20 (3), 249-263 (1999) 14. Hellston S. and Larbi G. A. , Public good or private good? The paradox of public and private ethics in the context of developing countries. Public Administration Development. 26 (2), 135-146 (2006) 15. Hutchings K. and Murray G. , Family, face and favours: Do Australians adjust to accepted business conventions in China? Singapore Management Review. 25 (2), 25-57 (2003) 16. Husted B. W. , A critique of the empirical methods of integratiye social contracts theory. Journal of Business Ethics. 20 (3), 227-236 (1999) 17. Jackson K. T. , Global distributive justice and the corporate duty to aid. Journal of Business Ethics, 12 (7), 547-553 (1993) 18. Kapstein E.B. , Distributing the gains: Justice and international (15)Advances In Management Vol. 5 (3) Mar. (2012) trade. Journal of International Affairs. 52 (2), 533-566 (1999) 19. Lee M. and Ruhe J. A.. Ethical mindsets of Christianity and Confucianism: A comparative study. International Journal of ValueBased Management, 12(1), 13-28(1999) 20. Leonard D. , Strong foundation solid future. Quality Progress, 41 (3), 30-36 (2008) 21. LeVeness F. P. and Primeaux P. D. , Vicarious ethics: Politics, business and sustainable development. Journal of Business Ethics, 51(2). 185-197(2004) 22. Limbs E. C. and Fort T. L., Nigerian business practices and their interface with virtue ethics. Journal of Business Ethics. 26 (2), 169-180(2000) 23. Magee B. , The story of philosophy. New York, Dorling Kindersley (2001) 24. Malan D. , Corporate citizens, colonialists, tourists or activists? Ethical challenges facing South African corporations in Africa, The Journal of Corporate Citizenship. Summer. 18, 49-61 (2005) 25. Marias J. , History of Philosophy, New York, Dover Publications (1967) 26. Miles M. P. and Munilla L. S. , The potential impact of social accountability certification on marketing: A short note. Journal of Business Ethics. 50 (1). 1-8 (2004) 27. OECD, Bribery: Does the OECD convention work? OECD Observer, 246/247, 20-21 (2005) 28. Olsen W. , Pluralist methodology for development economics: The example of moral economy of Indian labour markets. Journal of Economic Methodology. 14 (1), 57-82 (2007) 29. Pedigo K. and Marshall V.. International ethical dilemmas confronting Australian managers: Implications for the training and development of employees working overseas, Journal of European Industrial Training. 28 (2-4). 183-198 (2004) 30. Rohitratana K. , SA 8000: A tool lo improve quality of life. Managerial Auditing Journal. 17 (1/2). 60-65 (2002) 31. Social Accountability International, Social Accountability 8000, New York (2001) 32. Thaler-Carter R. E. , Social accountability: A social guide for companies or another layer of bureaucracy? HR Magazine. June. 107-112(1999) 33. Thompson Jr. A. A. , Strickland III A. J. and Gamble J. E.. Crafting and executing strategy: Text and readings. New York. McGraw Hill, Irwin (2007) 34. Van Dijk E.. Ethical relativism: Escaping accountability. Financial Week, July, 35 (2007) 35. Velasques M. G.. Business ethics: Concepts and cases. Upper Saddle River. NJ, Pearson Prentice Hall (2006) 36. Wettstein F., Lets talk rights: Messages for the just corporation transforming the economy through the language of rights. Journal of Business Ethics, 78 (1-1), 247-264 (2008) 37. Wolff J.. An introduction to political philosophy. New York. Oxford University Press (2006) 38. Yew Chan G. K. , The relevance and value of Confucianism in contemporary business ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 77 (3). 347-361 (2008). (Received 8^ December 2011, accepted lO February 2012) Advances In Management Individual Subscription Fellow Membership Indian Rs. 20,000/- US Dollar 2000 Life Membership Indian Rs. 10,000/- US Dollar 1000 Annual Membership Indian Rs. 3000/- US Dollar 300 Institutional Subscription Fellow Membership Indian Rs. 30,000/- US Dollar 3000 Life Membership Indian Rs. 15,000/- US Dollar 1500 Annual Membership Indian Rs. 4000/- US Dollar 400 Please send your cheques / drafts in name of Advances In Management along with Membership Form at above address. (16)Copyright of Advances in Management is the property of Advances in Management and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.

Information Security

Information Security Introduction The requirements of information security with in an organization have undergone major changes in the past and present times. In the earlier times physical means is used to provide security to data. With the advent of computers in every field, the need for software tools for protecting files and other information stored on the computer became important. The important tool designed to protect data and thwart illegal users is computer security. With the introduction and revolution in communications, one more change that affected security is the introduction of distributed systems which requires carrying of data between terminal user and among a set of computers. Network security measures are needed to protect data during their transmission. The mechanisms used to meet the requirements like authentication and confidentiality are observed to be quite complex. One must always consider potential counter measures while developing a particular mechanism. It is also important to identify implementations to adopt these mechanisms. Security mechanisms usually involve more than a particular algorithm or protocol. It means that participants be in possession of some secret information, which raises doubts about their creation, distribution and protection of that secret information. Thus a model has to be developed within which security services and mechanisms can be viewed. To identify the security needs of an organization at its effective level, the manager needs a systematic way. One approach is to consider three aspects of information security that is Security attack, Security mechanism and Security services. Security attack identifies different modes by which intruder tries to get unauthorized information and the services are intended to counter security attacks, and they make use of one or more security mechanisms to provide the service. As information systems become ever more active and important to the conduct of activities, electronic information takes on many of the roles earlier being done on papers. Few information integrity functions that the security mechanism has to support are security and confidentiality of the data to be transmitted and authentication of users. There is no single mechanism that will provide all the services specified. But we can see that one particular element that specifies most of the security mechanisms in use: cryptographic techniques. Encryption or encryption like transformations of information is the most common means of providing security. A model for much of what we will be discussing is captured in general terms. Encryption Model This general model shows that there are four basic tasks in designing a particular security service. Design an algorithm for performing encryption decryption process. Generate the secret information with the help of algorithm of step 1. Identify methods for the distribution and sharing of secret information. Identify rules to be used by both the participating parties that makes use of security algorithm and the secret information to achieve a particular security service. A crypto system is an algorithm, plus all possible plain texts, cipher texts and keys. There are two general types of key based algorithms: symmetric and public key. With most symmetric algorithms, the same key is used for both encryption and decryption. Symmetric-key encryption Execution of symmetric-key encryption can be highly useful, so that users do not experience any significant time delay because of the encryption and decryption. Symmetric-key encryption also provides a degree of authentication, since information encrypted with one symmetric key cannot be decrypted with any other symmetric key. Thus, as long as the symmetric key is kept secret by the two parties using it to encrypt communications, each party can be sure that it is communicating with the other as long as the decrypted messages specify a meaningful sense. Symmetric-key encryption will be successful only if the symmetric key is kept secured by the two parties involved. If anyone else discovers the key, it affects both confidentiality and authentication. The success of a symmetric algorithm rests in the key, divulging the key means that any one could encrypt and decrypt messages. As long as the communication needs to remain secure, the key must be protected between the participating parties. Encryption and decryption with a symmetric algorithm are denoted by E K (M) = C D K (M) = P Symmetric algorithms can be divided into two categories. Some operate on the plain text a single bit or byte at a time, these are called stream algorithms or stream ciphers. Others operate on group of bits or characters. Such algorithms are called block algorithms. Public algorithms are designed so that the key used for encryption is different from the key used for decryption. The algorithms are called public key because the encryption key be made public. It involves a pair of keysa public key and a private keyassociated with an entity that needs to authenticate its identity electronically or to sign or encrypt data. Further more the decryption key cannot be calculated from the encryption key. Each public key is published, and the corresponding private key is kept secret. Data encrypted with ones public key can be decrypted only with his private key. shows a simplified view of the way public-key encryption works. Public-key encryption Compared with symmetric-key encryption, public-key encryption requires more computation and is therefore not always appropriate for large amounts of data. However, its possible to use public-key encryption to send a symmetric key, which can then be used to encrypt additional data. This is the approach used by the SSL protocol. This provides Authentication, Integrity Confidentiality of Information at low computing power. Nevertheless, private-key encryption is useful, because it means you can use your private key to sign data with your digital signaturean important requirement for electronic commerce and other commercial applications of cryptography. Encryption and decryption can be represented in a public key scheme is E Kpu(M) = C D Kpr(C) = M Where Kpu is the public key and Kpr is the private key. In public key encryption there is always a possibility of some information being leaked out. A crypto analyst tries to get some information based on ones public key. Not a whole of information is to be gained here, but there are potential problems with allowing a crypto analyst to encrypt random messages with public key. Some information is leaked out every time to the crypto analyst, he encrypts a message. In probabilistic Encryption, multiple cipher texts are generated for one plain text, a cryptanalyst can not generate any information by chosen plain text and chosen cipher text attacks. Probabilistic encryption Security Analysis of algorithms: Different algorithms offers different degrees of security, it depends on how hard they are to break. If the cost required to break an algorithm is greater than the value of the encrypted data, then we are probably safe. If the time required to break an algorithm is longer than the time that the encrypted data must remain secret, then we are probably safe. If the amount of data encrypted with a single key is less than the amount of data necessary to break the algorithm, then we are probably safe. An algorithm is unconditionally secure if, no matter how much cipher text a crypto analyst has, there is not enough information to recover the plain text. In point of fact, only a one time pad is unbreakable in a cipher text only attack, simply by trying every possible key one by one and by checking whether the resulting plain text is meaningful. This is called a brute force attack. Cryptography is more concerned with crypto systems that are computationally infeasible to break. Any algorithm is considered computationally secure if it cannot be broken with available resources. The complexity of an attack can be measured as Data Complexity, the amount of data needed as input to the attack, Processing complexity, the time needed to perform the attack and storage requirements which are the amount of memory needed to do the attack which is space complexity. As a thumb rule, the complexity of an attack is taken to be minimum of these three factors. Another classification of complexities is by complexity of the algorithm by its construction and complexity of the algorithm by its strength. By its construction, the time complexity of the algorithm can be calculated by executing through the steps of the algorithm, which will be referred as O(n). Complexities can also be expressed as orders of magnitude. If the length of the key is k, then the processing complexity is given by 2k . It means that 2 k operations are required to break the algorithm. Then the complexity of the algorithm is said to be exponential in nature. A desirable property of any encryption algorithm is that a small change in plain text or the key should produce significant change in cipher text. Such an effect is known as avalanche effect. The more the avalanche affects of the algorithm, the better the security. Crypto analysis is the study of recovering the plain text with out access to the key. It may also find weakness in a crypto system that eventually leads to previous results. An attempted crypto analysis is called an attack. There are five types of attack. Each of them assumes that the crypto analyst has complete knowledge of the encryption algorithm used. Cipher text only attack: Here the crypto is in hold of cipher text only. The crypto analyst has cipher text of several messages, all of which have been encrypted using the same encryption algorithm. The crypto analysts job is to recover the plain text of as many messages as possible, or better yet to deduce the key used to encrypt the messages, in order to decrypt other messages encrypted with the same keys. Known Plaintext attack: The crypto analyst is in hold of not only to the cipher text of several messages, but also to the plain text of those messages. His job is to get the key used to encrypt the messages or an algorithm to decrypt any messages encrypted with the same key. Chosen Plaintext Attack (CPA): Here the crypto analyst is in hold of not only cipher text but also parts of chosen plain text. If the analyst is able to insert into the system a message chosen by the analyst, then such an attack is known as chosen plain text attack. Differential crypto analysis is an example of this mode. Chosen cipher text attack (CCA): Under the CCA model, an adversary has access to an encryption and a decryption machine and must perform the same task of distinguishing encryptions of two messages of its choice. First, the adversary is allowed to interact with the encryption and decryption services and choose the pair of messages. After it has chosen the messages, however, it only has access to an encryption machine. Chosen text: In this model, the analyst posses the encryption algorithm, Cipher text to be decoded, plain text message chosen by the crypto analyst and purported cipher text chosen by the crypto analyst. Present work: In this work an attempt has been made to generate a set of algorithms which provides security to data transmitted. The first algorithm considers a random matrix key which on execution by a series of steps generates a sequence. This sequence is used a sub key to build three different encryption models. Each model can be used for encryption of data. The second algorithm considers not only the key but also initialization vector and a time stamp to generate sub keys which are used for encryption process. And also a mechanism has been discussed which identifies any garbled key while transmitted from the Key Distribution Centre. In this work both the algorithms are discussed in terms of computational security, computational complexity and computational overhead. Both the algorithms are studied for their strengths and limitations. A crypto analytical study of the algorithms with emphasis on probabilistic encryption is also considered in this study. The encryption algorithms are compared with standard algorithms like RC4 and DES. The algorithms are also discussed in terms of its applications and also about their advantages and limitations in network security environment.

Childhood in Robert Frosts Birchess and William Blakes The Chimney Sw

Childhood in Robert Frost's Birchess and William Blake's The Chimney Sweeper Robert Frost's view of childhood is much different than that of William Blake, as expressed in their respective poems, "Birches" and "The Chimney Sweeper". Living in the late seventeenth century, Blake saw some hard times; and as such, paints a very non-romantic picture of childhood. Frost, however, sees things differently. The result is two glaringly different poems that goes to prove how very different people are. Blake's portrayal of childhood is far from happy. A small child's mother dies while that child is still very young; this is sad but not all together strange. However the child's father then, very soon after, sells him off to be a chimney sweeper. Blake does not stop here; after a description these children's living conditions few emotions are left except for pity. As Americans living in the twenty first century, this all seams very strange. We see childhood as a time of joy, and innocence; a time to embrace, and to not let slip by too fast. We see childhood as Robert Frost does. Childhood, a time of adventure; a time when the world is large and mysterious, and there is always more explore; a time when there is no wrong that could not be righted by a mother's kiss. This is the childhood described by Robert Frost. He describes this through a portrayal of the child's game of riding birches; a careful climb, a well timed jump, and an exhilarating swing. Then he describes the loss when one ages. How one by one this boy subdues the trees until there are none left to swing from. Frost then finishes off by showing his longing to return to those days. How is it that two poems, written on the same theme, could be so incredibly d... ...about an ideal childhood, or that of a friend; and Blake could have done likewise. However, because they both wrote about the childhood they experienced, this validates our other theories on time and location. The difference between these two views of childhood are like night and day. One is a pleasant time, and the other is not. One is a time to hang on to, the other is a time to get passed. One is a time of joy, the other is one of hardship. Looking back on how my life has played out so far, I am glad that I should have the privilege of Frost's childhood, and not that of Blake; but one is by no means the norm and the other not. The primary factor causing the difference between Blake's and Frost's childhood was location, location in time and space. And, though as unfortunate as it may be, when the world is viewed in 4D Frost's childhood is hardly normal.

Violence :: essays research papers

Violence What do all of these scenes have in common: a small figure jumping on another figure's head, a man stabbing a woman with a pencil in the hand, and a man punching another man in the face? Violence. What is the difference between these three scenes? One is a scene from a video game, another is from a new, popular movie, and one can be seen in real life. In a popular video game you have a little character named Mario who is supposed to rescue Princess Toadstool. In doing so he has to jump on certain characters' heads in order to kill them. It is scenes like this that the government wants to outlaw. How can the government limit the amount of violence a kid sees in his or her childhood because the only way is to remove the kid's eyes just so he or she couldn't see the violence? Of course the kid can still hear the violence, so what are they going to do, cut off the kid's ears too? After that, the kid would be safe from seeing and hearing violence. What could the kid do after that? Violence is just a part of human nature; it may be a part that civilized humans suppress in order to try to have law and order. Law and order are two things that just seem like guidelines from which a kid bases his or her rebellion. Just like in Columbine High School there was a small group of kids who were willing to break the law because there were restrict ions on what they could do. And because they were teased by some of the kids, and to them it might have felt like the whole school was coming down on them, they got their revenge in one way possible. Although we will never know exactly why, even though they left a note, they rebelled against the system like they did; we will never know because they are now dead from their suicide pact. From now on, I think that someone should take threats a little more seriously when it comes to kids like they are. In video games you could be, as the government puts it, trained like a killer just from video games. I don't believe that statement to be true, because if it were then we would have a 'holodeck'; from Star Trek.

History of Musical Films Essay

By 1928, Hollywood was invaded by sound theater. Silent films made an honorable exit. Vaudeville was also being wiped out. It signaled a phenomenon Tinseltown was not quite prepared for. It was the time of sound facilities and infrastructures. Later on Broadway composers were hired to write screen musicals (â€Å"History of Musical Film†, 2004). The first picture to make a transition from silent film to sound was Warner Bros. ’ 1927 The Jazz Singer starring Al Jolson who mostly did the singing in the movie (â€Å"Musical Film†, 2006). One MGM musical hit opened the doors to the musical film genre. This was the 1929 Broadway Melody with a score by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed. The story was about two sisters fighting over their love of a song and dance man. It cost $379,000. 00 and grossed for $1. 6 million in its first release. Its title tune is â€Å"You Were Meant for Me. † It was the first sound film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. MGM’s production chief Irving Thalberg was credited for bringing in a string of musical hits since Broadway Melody. (â€Å"History of Musical Film 1927-1930 Part II†, 2004). Love Parade from Paramount followed on the same year by silent screen director Ernst Lubitch. It is a lighthearted operetta inspired by Broadway to fit the screen starring soprano Jean Macdonald as a young royalty and Maurice Chevalier as the French playboy diplomat. (â€Å"History of Musical Film 1927-1930 Part II†, 2004). The 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s were considered the golden age of musical films. Following are some of the popular musical films: Hollywood Revue of 1929 with Joan Crawford from MGM, Cecil B. Demille’s Madam Satan (1930). 932 mid-Depression saw the making of Love Me Tonight, a collaboration of Richard Rogers, Lorenz Hart, and director Rouben Mamoulian. Rogers and Hart continued with Hallelujah, I’m a Bum (1933) with Al Jolson. (â€Å"History of Musical Film 1930s: Part I†, 2003). Forty Second Street by dance Broadway director Busby Berkeley choreographed the dance sequences while composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dublin created the score. It was a million dollar hit for a $400,000 production. It was followed by Footlight Parade (1933), The Gold Diggers (1933) and Hollywood Hotel (1937). â€Å"History of Musical Film 1930s Part II† 2004). Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers entered the musical scene in 1933 through Flying Down to Rio, The Gay Divorcee (1934), Top Hat (1935) with a score by Irving Berlin. It was also the time of Shirley Temple in movies such as Stand Up and Cheer (1934), The Little Colonel (1935), among others. Disney produced Fantasia (1940). MGM revived its musical genre with the release of The Merry Widow (1934) (â€Å"History of Musical Film 1930s Part IV† 2004). The 1940s saw Warner Brothers’ Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) with James Cagney in his Oscar-winning performance. Then independent producer Samuel Goldwyn found Danny Kaye and made Up in Arms (1944, Wonder Man (1945), among others. It was also the time of Bing Crosby (Road Series, Going My Way, Holiday Inn) and Bob Hope (â€Å"History of Musical Film Screen 1940s: Part I† 2003). Judy Garland starred in Little Nellie Kelly (1940), Ziegfeld Girl (1941), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) directed by Vincente Minneli, her future husband. She appeared in sixteen MGM musicals. Gene Kelley also was a big MGM star in musical movies like For Me and My Gal (1942), On the Town (1949), among others (â€Å"History of Musical Film 1940s Part III† 2004). The 1950s was the decline of the musical film genre and the emergence of television. Some of the musicals produced from 20th Century Fox were Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II’s. Oklahoma (1955), Carousel (1956), King and I (1956). South Pacific (1958). Warner Brothers released some Doris Day films, Love Me or Leave Me (1955), The Pajama Game (1957). Paramount produced What Christmas (1954) while Walt Disney released musical animations such as Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty. MGM released Kiss Me Kate (1953) and High Society (1956) (â€Å"History of Musical Film Screen 1950s†, 2003).