Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Utilitarian vs. Kantian - 1200 Words

This paper was written during the final exam for an ethics class, from memory. As such, there are no referances, but it still makes for a pretty good outline for a paper on utilitarian and Kantian ethical theories. With so many varying views on morals and ethics, trying to use reason in ethics without resorting to emotional judgments is difficult. The first stop to overcoming this obstacle is to begin by studying ethical theories. Once a good grasp of the theories has been established, the next task is to create an extreme hypothetical situation and apply the theories to it. Once this can be achieved correctly, it will become easier to make ethical decisions in day-to-day life. Following this process the situation is thus:†¦show more content†¦Kantian Ethical Theory says to turn the one into a fine red mist. Looking at this scenario from Utilitarian point of view is much simpler than the Kantian view. The reason for this is because utilitarianism is consequence driven; ergo it does not matter if the one or the nine blows up the one, or if they abstain from ventilating the one. Either way, the end state is the same, no matter whose hand (or faces, pants and shirts) the blood is on. Now in order for this scenario to be resolved by utilitarianism, some assumptions must be made. When we say that the ten are average people, we assume that they all have the average number of friends, family, skills, knowledge, and abilities; for if any one of these is different for one of the individuals, then it would change the amount of utility if that one person lives or dies. This being said, there would be no need to compute the hedonic calculus, since the net outcome would be the same (x) for any one of the ten. Therefore it is a simple matter of which is greater, x or 9x. From this, it is c lear that either by choice of the one or the nine, the one should be first to greet his/her maker.Show MoreRelatedEssay about Kantian vs Utilitarian Ethical Parameters990 Words   |  4 Pagessituations and determine the ethical parameters in which a person should act. The two philosophical approaches that I will examine the situations with the Kantian and Utilitarian point of view. Kant deciphers his ethical questions by examining a persons motivation for performing an act regardless of the consequences. A person who utilizes the Kantian view believes that the only pure good is pure human reason without consequences. This pure human reason works without the influence of human emotionsRead MoreEhtics in ABC Corporation Essay945 Words   |  4 Pagesthis material fact to DEF because Johnnie is Tommy boss, so he is afraid of getting fired by Johnnie. So, we decided to use Kantian vs. Utilitarian to see whether tommy should disclose this information to DEF. 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What would Dr. Ethos do, if he were a Deontologist (Kantian)? Utilitarianism John S. Mill describes Utilitarianism, also known as â€Å"The greatest happiness principle†, as a philosophical theory of morality. This theory focuses on the end result, rather than the motiveRead MoreUtilitarianism Vs. Kantian Theory1100 Words   |  5 PagesMelanie Dolechek 3/30/17 PHI Essay #2 Utilitarianism vs Kantian Theory Morality is a complex subject and ethical dilemmas yield differing opinions and theories that have manifested through time by intelligent philosophers. There were two influential philosophers’ names Jeremy Bentham and Immanuel Kant, who formed differing theories, in an attempt to set a uniform approach to ethical dilemmas and morality. Bentham was a firm supporter of Utilitarian theory; which focuses on overall happiness and consequencesRead MoreThe Moral Dispute Of John Stuart Mill And Immanuel Kant1500 Words   |  6 Pagesrendering reward with heaven. Aristotle’s theory and argument will be explored further in this review along with the works of some of his successors. The Moral Dispute John Stuart Mill vs Immanuel Kant Philosopher John Stuart Mill’s theory highlights utilitarianism and Kantian theory would be the total opposite. Mill’s position links happiness with morality and focused solely on the outcomes of an action. Philosopher John Kant’s theory emphasizes the importance of rationality,Read MoreCapital Punishment : Deontology Vs. Consequentialism1165 Words   |  5 Pages Capital Punishment: Deontology vs. consequentialism Subject: Analyze the deontological and consequentialist arguments on both sides of the issue of capital punishment in Gregg v Georgia. In this paper I will present the moral arguments of deontology and consequentialism used to determine whether or not using the death penalty was in fact constitutional. I will present both sides of the arguments and present them in the context of this trial and of similar situations where the arguments could

Monday, December 16, 2019

Spirit Bound Chapter Twelve Free Essays

string(29) " ways to tame troublemakers\." WHICH WAS CONFIRMED WHEN WE finally stumbled back to the Royal Court. I wasn’t the only one in trouble, of course. Lissa was summoned to the queen for chastising, though I knew she’d suffer no actual punishment. We will write a custom essay sample on Spirit Bound Chapter Twelve or any similar topic only for you Order Now Not like Eddie and me. We might be out of school, but we were technically under the jurisdiction of the official guardians now, which meant we faced as much trouble as any disobedient employee. Only Adrian escaped any consequences. He was free to do whatever he wanted. And really, my punishment wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Honestly, what did I have to lose at this point? My chances of guarding Lissa had already been sketchy, and no one had wanted me as a guardian except Tasha anyway. A crazy Vegas weekend–which was our cover story–was hardly enough to dissuade her from taking me on. It was enough, however, to make some of Eddie’s prospects withdraw their requests for him to be their guardian. Enough still wanted him that he was in no danger of losing a good position, but I felt horribly guilty. He didn’t breathe a word to anyone about what we’d done, but each time he looked at me, I could see the condemnation in his eyes. And I saw a lot of him in the next couple days. It turned out guardians had a system in place to deal with those who were disobedient. â€Å"What you did was so irresponsible that you might as well be back in school. Hell, elementary school, even.† We were in one of the offices in the guardians’ headquarters, being yelled at by Hans Croft, the guy in charge of all the guardians at Court and someone who was instrumental in guardian assignments. He was a dhampir in his early fifties, with a bushy gray-and-white mustache. He was also an asshole. The scent of cigar smoke always encircled him. Eddie and I were sitting meekly before him while he paced with his hands behind his back. â€Å"You could have gotten the last Dragomir killed–not to mention the Ivashkov boy. How do you think the queen would have reacted to the death of her great-nephew? And talk about timing! You go off party-hopping right when the guy who tried to kidnap the princess is running loose. Not that you would know that, seeing as you were probably too busy playing slot machines and using your fake IDs.† I winced at the reference to Victor, though I suppose I should have been relieved that we were above suspicion for his escape. Hans read my grimace as an admission of guilt. â€Å"You might have graduated,† he declared, â€Å"but that does not mean you are invincible.† This whole encounter reminded me of when Lissa and I had returned to St. Vladimir’s, when we’d been chastised for the same thing: recklessly running off and endangering her. Only this time, there was no Dimitri to defend me. That memory made a lump form in my throat as I remembered his face, serious and gorgeous, those brown eyes intense and passionate as he spoke up for me and convinced the others of my value. But no. No Dimitri here. It was just Eddie and me alone, facing the consequences of the real world. â€Å"You.† Hans pointed a stubby finger at Eddie. â€Å"You might be lucky enough to slide out of this without too many repercussions. Sure, you’ll have a black mark on your record forever. And you’ve totally screwed up your chances of ever having an elite royal position with other guardians to support you. You’ll get some assignment though. Working alone with some minor nobility, probably.† High-ranking royals had more than one guardian, which always made protection easier. Hans’s point was that Eddie’s assignment would be lowly–creating more work and danger for him. Casting him a sidelong glance, I saw that hard, determined look on his face again. It seemed to say he didn’t care if he had to guard a family by himself. Or even ten families. In fact, he gave off the vibe that they could drop him alone into a nest of Strigoi and he’d take them all on. â€Å"And you.† Hans’s sharp voice jerked my gaze back to him. â€Å"You will be lucky to ever have a job.† Like always, I spoke without thinking. I should have taken this silently like Eddie. â€Å"Of course I’ll have one. Tasha Ozera wants me. And you’re too short on guardians to keep me sitting around.† Hans’s eyes gleamed with bitter amusement. â€Å"Yes, we are short on guardians, but there’s all sorts of work we need done–not just personal protection. Someone has to staff our offices. Someone has to sit and guard the front gates.† I froze. A desk job. Hans was threatening me with a desk job. All of my horrible imaginings had involved me guarding some random Moroi, someone I didn’t know and would possibly hate. But in any of those scenarios, I would be out in the world. I would be in motion. I would be fighting and defending. But this? Hans was right. Guardians were needed for the Court’s administrative jobs. True, they only kept a handful–we were too valuable–but someone had to do it. One of those someones being me was too awful to comprehend. Sitting around all day for hours and hours†¦ like the guards in Tarasov. Guardian life had all sorts of unglamorous–but necessary–tasks. It truly, truly hit me then that I was in the real world. Fear slammed into me. I’d taken on the title of guardian when I graduated, but had I really understood what it meant? Had I been playing make-believe–enjoying the perks and ignoring the consequences? I was out of school. There would be no detention for this. This was real. This was life and death. My face must have given away my feelings. Hans gave a small, cruel smile. â€Å"That’s right. We’ve got all sorts of ways to tame troublemakers. You read "Spirit Bound Chapter Twelve" in category "Essay examples" Lucky for you, your ultimate fate’s still being decided. And in the meantime, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done around here that you two are going to be helping with.† That â€Å"work† over the next few days turned out to be menial manual labor. Honestly, it wasn’t too different from detention, and I was pretty sure it had just been created to give wrongdoers like us something awful to do. We worked twelve hours a day, much of it outdoors hauling rocks and dirt to build some new, pretty courtyard for a set of royal town houses. Sometimes we were put on cleaning duty, scrubbing floors. I knew they had Moroi workers for these kinds of things, and probably they were being given a vacation right now. Still, it was better than the other work Hans would give us: sorting and filing mountains and mountains of paper. That gave me a new appreciation for information going digital†¦ and again made me worry about the future. Over and over, I kept thinking about that initial conversation with Hans. The threat that this could be my life. That I would never be a guardian–in the true sense–to Lissa or any other Moroi. Throughout my training, we’d always had a mantra: They come first. If I had really and truly screwed up my future, I’d have a new mantra: A comes first. Then B, C, D†¦ Those work days kept me away from Lissa, and the front-desk staff within our respective buildings went out of their way to keep us apart too. It was frustrating. I could keep track of her through the link, but I wanted to talk to her. I wanted to talk to anyone. Adrian stayed away too and didn’t bother with dreams, making me wonder how he felt. We’d never had our â€Å"talk† after Las Vegas. Eddie and I often worked side by side, but he wasn’t speaking to me, which left me with hours of being trapped with my own thoughts and guilt. And believe me, I had plenty of things to intensify my guilt. Around Court, people didn’t really notice workers. So whether I was inside or outside, people were always talking like I wasn’t there. The biggest topic was Victor. Dangerous Victor Dashkov on the loose. How could it have happened? Did he have powers no one knew about? People were afraid, some even convinced he’d show up at Court and try to kill everyone in their sleep. The â€Å"inside job† theory was running rampant, which continued to keep us above suspicion. Unfortunately, it meant a lot of people now worried about traitors within our midst. Who knew who might be working for Victor Dashkov? Spies and rebels could be lurking at Court, planning all sorts of atrocities. I knew all the stories were exaggerated, but it didn’t matter. They all came from one kernel of truth: Victor Dashkov was walking the world a free man. And only I–and my accomplices–knew it was all because o f me. Being seen in Las Vegas had continued to provide an alibi for the prison break and had made what we’d done seem even more rash. People were aghast that we’d let the Dragomir princess run off while there was a dangerous man on the loose–the man who’d assaulted her! Thank God, everyone said, that the queen had pulled us out of there before Victor found us. The Las Vegas trip had also opened up a whole new line of speculation–one that involved me personally. â€Å"Well, that doesn’t surprise me about Vasilisa,† I overheard a woman say while I was working outdoors one day. She and some friends were strolling along toward the feeders’ building and didn’t even see me. â€Å"She’s run away before, right? Those Dragomirs can be wild ones. She’ll probably go straight back to the first party she can find, once they catch Victor Dashkov.† â€Å"You’re wrong,† her friend said. â€Å"That’s not why she went. She’s actually pretty levelheaded. It’s that dhampir that’s always with her–the Hathaway girl. I heard she and Adrian Ivashkov went to Las Vegas to elope. The queen’s people just barely got there in time to stop them. Tatiana’s furious, especially since Hathaway declared nothing will keep her and Adrian apart.† Whoa. That was kind of a shock. I mean, I guessed it was better for people to think Adrian and I were running off than for them to accuse me of aiding and abetting a fugitive, but still†¦ I was kind of amazed at how that conclusion had come about. I hoped Tatiana hadn’t heard about our so-called elopement. I was pretty sure that would ruin whatever progress she and I had made. My first real social contact came in the form of an unlikely source. I was shoveling dirt into a raised flower bed and sweating like crazy. It was nearing bedtime for Moroi, meaning the sun was out in full summer glory. We at least had a pretty site while working: the Court’s giant church. I’d spent a lot of time at the Academy’s chapel but had rarely visited this church since it was set far from the main buildings of the Court. It was Russian Orthodox–the predominant Moroi religion–and reminded me a lot of some of the cathedrals I’d seen while actually in Russia, though not nearly as big. It was made of beautiful red stonework, its towers topped with green-tiled domes, which were in turn topped with golden crosses. Two gardens marked the far boundaries of the church’s extensive grounds, one of which we were working on. Near us was one of the Court’s most remarkable sites: a giant statue of some ancient Moroi queen that was almost ten times my height. A matching statue of a king stood on the opposite side of the grounds. I could never remember their names but was pretty sure we’d gone over them in one of my history classes. They’d been visionaries, changing the Moroi world of their time. A figure appeared in my periphery, and I assumed it was Hans coming to give us another awful chore. Looking up, I was astonished to see it was Christian. â€Å"Figures,† I said. â€Å"You know you’ll get in trouble if someone sees you talking to me.† Christian shrugged and sat on the edge of a partially completed stone wall. â€Å"Doubt it. You’re the one who’ll get into trouble, and I really don’t think things can get any worse for you.† â€Å"True,† I grunted. He sat there in silence for several moments, watching me shovel pile after pile of dirt. Finally, he asked, â€Å"Okay. So how and why did you do it?† â€Å"Do what?† â€Å"You know exactly what. Your little adventure.† â€Å"We got on a plane and flew to Las Vegas. Why? Hmm. Let’s think.† I paused to wipe sweat off my forehead. â€Å"Because where else are we going to find pirate-themed hotels and bartenders who don’t card very much?† Christian scoffed. â€Å"Rose, don’t bullshit me. You did not go to Las Vegas.† â€Å"We’ve got plane tickets and hotel receipts to prove it, not to mention people who saw the Dragomir princess hit it big on slot machines.† My attention was on my work, but I suspected Christian was shaking his head in exasperation. â€Å"As soon as I heard three people had broken Victor Dashkov out of prison, I knew it had to be you. Three of you gone? No question.† Not far away, I saw Eddie stiffen and glance around uneasily. I did the same. I might have been desperate for social contact, but not at the risk of dangerous parties overhearing us. Our crimes getting out would make garden labor seem like a vacation. We were alone, but I still pitched my voice low and attempted an honest face. â€Å"I heard they were humans hired by Victor.† That was yet another theory running wild, as was this one: â€Å"Actually, I think he turned Strigoi.† â€Å"Right,† Christian said snidely. He knew me too well to believe me. â€Å"And I also heard one of the guardians has no memory of what made him attack his friends. He swears he was under the control of someone. Anyone who had that kind of compulsion could probably make others see humans, mimes, kangaroos†¦.† I refused to look at him and slammed the shovel hard into the ground. I bit my lip on any angry retort. â€Å"She did it because she thinks Strigoi can be restored to their original form.† My head shot up, and I stared at Eddie in disbelief, astonished he’d spoken. â€Å"What are you doing?† â€Å"Telling the truth,† replied Eddie, never stopping his work. â€Å"He’s our friend. You think he’s going to report us?† No, rebel Christian Ozera was not going to report us. But that didn’t mean I wanted this out. It’s a fact of life: The more people who know a secret, the more likely it is to leak. Unsurprisingly, Christian’s reaction was not all that different from everyone else’s. â€Å"What? That’s impossible. Everyone knows that.† â€Å"Not according to Victor Dashkov’s brother,† said Eddie. â€Å"Will you stop it?† I exclaimed. â€Å"You can tell him or I will.† I sighed. Christian’s pale blue eyes were staring at us, wide and shocked. Like most of my friends, he rolled with crazy ideas, but this was pushing the crazy line. â€Å"I thought Victor Dashkov was an only child,† Christian said. I shook my head. â€Å"Nope. His dad had an affair, so Victor’s got an illegitimate half-brother. Robert. And he’s a spirit user.† â€Å"Only you,† said Christian. â€Å"Only you would find something like this.† I ignored what appeared to be a return to his normal cynicism. â€Å"Robert claims to have healed a Strigoi–killed the undead part of her and brought her back to life.† â€Å"Spirit has limits, Rose. You might have been brought back, but Strigoi are gone.† â€Å"We don’t know about spirit’s full range,† I pointed out. â€Å"Half of it is still a mystery.† â€Å"We know about St. Vladimir. If he could restore Strigoi, don’t you think a guy like him would have been doing it? I mean, if that’s not miraculous, what is? Something like that would have survived in the legends,† argued Christian. â€Å"Maybe. Maybe not.† I retied my ponytail, replaying our encounter with Robert in my mind for the hundredth time. â€Å"Maybe Vlad didn’t know how. It’s not all that easy.† â€Å"Yeah,† agreed Eddie. â€Å"This is the good part.† â€Å"Hey,† I shot back at him. â€Å"I know you’re mad at me, but with Christian here, we really don’t need anyone else making snide comments.† â€Å"I don’t know,† said Christian. â€Å"For something like this, you actually might need two people. Now explain how this miracle is supposedly done.† I sighed. â€Å"By adding spirit to a stake, along with the other four elements.† Spirit charms were still a new concept to Christian too. â€Å"Never thought of that. I guess spirit would shake things up†¦ but I can’t imagine you staking a Strigoi with a spirit-charmed stake would be enough to bring them back.† â€Å"Well†¦ that’s the thing. According to Robert, I can’t do it. It has to be done by a spirit user.† More silence. I’d rendered Christian speechless yet again. At last he said, â€Å"We don’t know that many spirit users. Let alone any who could fight or stake a Strigoi.† â€Å"We know two spirit users.† I frowned, recalling Oksana in Siberia and Avery locked away†¦ where? A hospital? A place like Tarasov? â€Å"No, four. Five, counting Robert. But yeah, none of them can really do it.† â€Å"It doesn’t matter because it can’t be done,† Eddie said. â€Å"We don’t know that!† The desperation in my own voice startled me. â€Å"Robert believes it. Victor even believes.† I hesitated. â€Å"And Lissa does too.† â€Å"And she wants to do it,† Christian said, catching on quickly. â€Å"Because she would do anything for you.† â€Å"She can’t.† â€Å"Because she doesn’t have the ability or because you won’t let her?† â€Å"Both,† I cried. â€Å"I’m not letting her anywhere near a Strigoi. She’s already†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I groaned, hating to reveal what I’d discovered in our time apart through the bond. â€Å"She got a hold of a stake and is trying to charm it. So far, she hasn’t had much luck, thank God.† â€Å"If this were possible,† began Christian slowly. â€Å"It could change our world. If she could learn†¦ â€Å" â€Å"What? No!† I’d been so eager to get Christian to believe me, and now I wished he hadn’t. The one saving grace in all this was that with none of my friends thinking it was possible, none of them had given any thought to Lissa actually trying to fight a Strigoi. â€Å"Lissa’s no warrior. No spirit user we know is, so unless we find one, I’d rather†¦ † I winced. â€Å"I’d rather Dimitri died.† That finally made Eddie stop working. He threw down his shovel. â€Å"Really? I never would have guessed that.† Sarcasm to rival my own. I spun around and strode toward him, my fists clenched. â€Å"Look, I can’t take this anymore! I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say. I know I screwed up. I let Dimitri get away. I let Victor get away.† â€Å"You let Victor get away?† asked Christian, startled. I ignored him and continued shouting at Eddie. â€Å"It was a mistake. With Dimitri†¦ it was a weak moment. I failed in my training. I know I did. We both know it. But you know I didn’t intend the damage I caused. If you’re really my friend, you have to know it. If I could take it back†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I swallowed, surprised to feel my eyes burning. â€Å"I would. I swear I would, Eddie.† His face was perfectly still. â€Å"I believe you. I am your friend, and I know†¦ I know you didn’t mean for things to turn out like they did.† I sagged in relief, surprised at how truly worried I’d been about losing his respect and friendship. Looking down, I was startled to see my fists balled up. I relaxed them, unable to believe I’d been that upset. â€Å"Thank you. Thank you so much.† â€Å"What’s all this shouting?† We both turned and saw Hans heading toward us. And he looked pissed off. I also noticed then that Christian had practically vanished into thin air. Just as well. â€Å"This isn’t social time!† growled Hans. â€Å"You two still have another hour left today. If you’re going to get distracted, then maybe you should be separated.† He beckoned to Eddie. â€Å"Come on. There’s some filing with your name on it.† I shot Eddie a sympathetic look as Hans led him away. Yet I was relieved it wasn’t me off to do paperwork. I continued my labors, my mind spinning with the same questions I’d had all week. I had meant what I said to Eddie. I wanted so badly for this dream of Dimitri being saved to be true. I wanted it more than anything–except Lissa risking her life. I shouldn’t have hesitated. I should have just killed Dimitri. Victor wouldn’t have escaped. Lissa wouldn’t have given Robert’s words a second thought. Thinking of Lissa pushed me into her mind. She was in her room, doing some last-minute packing before going to bed. Tomorrow was her Lehigh visit. Unsurprisingly, my invitation to go with her had been revoked in light of recent events. Her birthday–something that had been horribly overlooked in this mess–was this weekend as well, and it didn’t seem right for me to be apart from her during it. We should have been celebrating together. Her thoughts were troubled, and she was so consumed by them that a sudden knock at the door made her jump. Wondering who could be visiting her at this hour, she opened the door and gasped to see Christian standing there. It was surreal to me too. Part of me still kept thinking we were in our school dorms, where rules–theoretically–kept guys and girls out of each other’s rooms. But we were no longer there. We were technically adults now. He must have gone straight to her room after seeing me, I realized. It was astonishing how quickly the tension ratcheted up between them. A bundle of emotions burst into Lissa’s chest, the usual mix of anger, grief, and confusion. â€Å"What are you doing here?† she demanded. The same emotions were in his face. â€Å"I wanted to talk to you.† â€Å"It’s late,† she said stiffly. â€Å"Besides, I seem to remember you don’t like talking.† â€Å"I want to talk about what happened with Victor and Robert.† That was enough to startle her out of her anger. She cast an anxious look into the hallway and then beckoned him inside. â€Å"How do you know about that?† she hissed, hastily shutting the door. â€Å"I just saw Rose.† â€Å"How did you get to see her? I can’t see her.† Lissa was as frustrated as me over how our superiors had been keeping us apart. Christian shrugged, careful to maintain a safe distance between them in the suite’s small living room. Both of them had their arms crossed defensively, though I don’t think they realized how they were mirroring each other. â€Å"I snuck into her prison camp. They’ve got her shoveling dirt for hours.† Lissa grimaced. With the way they’d kept us separated, she hadn’t known much about my activities. â€Å"Poor Rose.† â€Å"She’s managing. Like always.† Christian’s eyes turned toward the couch and her open suitcase, where a silver stake lay on top of a silk blouse. I doubted that shirt would survive the trip without a million wrinkles. â€Å"Interesting thing to bring on a college visit.† Lissa hastily shut the suitcase. â€Å"That’s none of your business.† â€Å"Do you really believe it?† he asked, ignoring her comment. He took a step forward, his eagerness apparently making him forget about wanting to keep away. Even as distracted as she was by the situation, Lissa immediately became aware of their new proximity, the way he smelled, the way the light shone on his black hair†¦. â€Å"Do you think you could bring back a Strigoi?† She turned her attention back to the conversation and shook her head. â€Å"I don’t know. I really don’t. But I feel like†¦ I feel like I have to try. If nothing else, I want to know what spirit in a stake will do. That’s harmless enough.† â€Å"Not according to Rose.† Lissa gave him a rueful smile, realized what she was doing, and promptly dropped it. â€Å"No. Rose doesn’t want me going anywhere near this idea–even though she wants it to be real.† â€Å"Tell me the truth.† His gaze burned to her. â€Å"Do you think you have any chance of staking a Strigoi?† â€Å"No,† she admitted. â€Å"I could barely throw a punch. But†¦ like I said, I feel like I should try. I should try to learn. To stake one, I mean.† Christian pondered this for a few moments and then gestured toward the suitcase again. â€Å"You’re going to Lehigh in the morning?† Lissa nodded. â€Å"And Rose got cut from the trip?† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"Did the queen offer to let you bring another friend?† â€Å"She did,† admitted Lissa. â€Å"In particular, she suggested Adrian. But he’s sulking†¦ and I’m not really sure if I’m in the mood for him.† Christian seemed pleased by this. â€Å"Then bring me.† My poor friends. I wasn’t sure how much more shock any of them could handle today. â€Å"Why the hell would I bring you?† she exclaimed. All her anger returned at his presumption. It was a sign of her agitation that she’d sworn. â€Å"Because,† he said, face calm, â€Å"I can teach you how to stake a Strigoi.† How to cite Spirit Bound Chapter Twelve, Essay examples

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Leading Business Players In The Singapore -Myassignmetyhelp.Com

Question: Discuss About the Leading Business Players in Singapore? Answer: Introduction Imob Company is one of the leading business players in Singapore. The company is looking forward to extending its operations into India. The company has decided to prepare, equip and deploy ten members into the new subsidiary. India has a different culture in comparison with Singapore (see appendix 9.4). These cultural differences cover various aspects such as religion, gender, languages, diets, sports, and leisure activities among many others (Petrakis, 2014). Therefore, this means that the company must embrace appropriate strategies for the success of this endeavor. Organization Design and Structure Singapore and India have different national cultures. Deploying staff to India requires putting the appropriate measures in place for the success of the plan. The national culture of a given country can be best explained using Hofstedes cultural dimensions approach. Hofstede conducted a research and came up with a theory to account for the culture of nations. According to him, there are six basic dimensions of the national culture. These are power distance, masculinity and femininity, collectivization and individualization, uncertainty and long-term orientation (Smith, 2008). Thus, Imob must analyze these cultural dimensions India as compared to Singapore and ensure they appropriate strategies are laid down for each. See the attached cultural comparison in appendix 9.3. Regarding the cultural, organizational structure, they are two main types. These are mechanistic and organic structures. In mechanistic structure, there is centralization in the business environment, and thus authority hierarchies exist. Each employee is assigned a specific task and reports to a senior person on top of them (Rong Allen, 2009). There is formalization where the decisions are made basing on the rules and procedures that are laid in place. The system is bureaucratic and usually, applies in a stable and certain environment. On the other hand, organic structure operates in the opposite way of the mechanistic. The organic system is characterized by a rapid lateral communication within the organizational structure. It has a decentralized form of authority (Fischer, 2009). Therefore, the organic system has less bureaucracy and is usually applied in unstable complex business environments. Singapore as a country has adopted a mechanistic type of structure. Normally, their people have job descriptions defining their roles and duties, and a lot of emphases is put on this. People hierarchically report on a higher authority above them thus the system is formal and there is power centralization on the senior employees in the organization, a significant characteristic of a mechanistic structure (Peng, 2011). Work environments in Singapore are also characterized by established rules, regulations and procedures that guide people on what they should do thus mechanistic. Besides, Singapore also has masculinity values, for example, they set strategic goals and aims to achieve them. All these aspects brings out that Singapore has a mechanistic organizational structure (Coelho, 2011). In comparison to Singapore, India also applies a mechanistic type of organizational structure. The Indians employees are also characterized by job descriptions highlighting their roles and responsibilities in the work environment. They also have some established procedures in place for guidance at the workplace, and powers are centralized to senior people in authority. However, Indians have a few aspects in their mechanistic structure that are different from those of Singapore (Dowling et al., 2008). For example, India has lower values for the control of children. They are more focused on the self-interests and achieving their own individual goals, unlike the communal goals. Therefore, deployment of employees to the subsidiary of Imob in India is likely to be successful because the cultures are almost similar. Job design Given the fact that the subsidiary of Imob Company is going to operate in the mechanistic culture system, there is a need for job plans. Every job position in the branch should have a job description with its roles and responsibilities drawn in place. In designing the job descriptions, it is important for the human resource to ensure that there is an alignment of the job with technology. Besides, the company should put in place the procedures that will be followed in the subsidiary such as the reporting structure. Therefore, a good job design practice is likely to increase the productivity of the employees in the organization giving it a greater competitive advantage(See sample job design at Appendix 9.5). Staffing Process Strategy Various staffing plans are available for international HRM. These are home-country national, host-country national and third-country national. Imob can choose to adopt one of these available staffing plans. For example, in the home-country national approach, the staff will be picked recruited from those already working for Imob. The approach has many advantages regarding control, improving their experience and building their morale. However, there is a likelihood of the shortcomings of the approach especially regarding adapting to the environment, cultural effects, language, and costs. Staffing process strategy entails various key aspects which facilitate the success of the process such as selection, recruitment, and training (Harvey et al., 2011). Imob Company should put in place strategies that are likely to impact the staffing endeavor positively. When using host country national approach, the company will recruit people from India who are aware of the existing cultures in the country through the host-country national strategy. On the other side, for the countries of national origin approach, the company should give chances to the internal staff for selection to the oversea subsidiary. Firstly, Imob should communicate and invite qualified applicants to express their interest for the job. After receiving the applications, the human resource should proceed to the next stages of selection and recruitment (Collings et al., 2007). Recruitment Recruitment process should be conducted carefully to attract the desirable skills for the job. It is important for Imob to incorporate both internal and external recruiting. Internal recruiting is important since it will give a chance to the internal staff to be able to receive priority and get opportunities to the new job thus motivating them. This can be done through advertising on the company intranet for internal recruitment. The approach has many advantages regarding control, improving their experience and building their morale (Csizmar, 2008). However, there is the likelihood of the shortcomings of the approach especially regarding adapting to the environment, cultural effects, language, and costs. External recruitment is also good in some cases where the internal recruiting seems insufficient. It gives the broad range of opportunities to get any desired skills in a market without any limit (Srivastava Shailesh, 2008). Imob can apply external recruitment by advertising the available opportunities to the public through media channels and also their company website. Therefore, external recruitment will give a larger pool of skills and qualification for the job (Angelo Ricky, 2009. Selection Selection is a critical aspect in the process of staffing since it helps in the right people for the available job. It presents an opportunity to filter those with the proper attitude, skills, and qualifications to undertake the responsibilities of the company. After receiving the applications from interested people, Imob should proceed to the next level of choosing those who seem more appropriate for the job. The company should go for those who meet the minimum criteria for the job. It is also important for Imob to conduct the selection exercise within India to cut down on the costs. Selection process will include various aspects such as interviews and background checks. Firstly, Imob will conduct interviews for those for few people who meet the initial minimum requirements for the jobs. This is done by inviting those who qualify the few selected people for the interviews. Invitations for the interview can be made best by communicating to those who seem suitable for the face-to-face interview after their application. This can be done through the emails and telephone among others. They should be invited for the exercise to present the opportunity to choose the best skills for the job, best cognitive expertise and those who can best suit for the existing organizational culture. The human resource should equip itself with a detailed checklist of all these skills and then mark for each of them to select the best available skills. It is also important for the organization to conduct background checks for the candidates. The company should get sufficient background information about all the candidates and then select those with the best suiting background characteristics. This step is important and will ensure that Imob only gets the best staff for the India exercise (Csizmar, 2008). Training and Development Process Training is one of the primary roles of the human resource. Employees need to be thought about what they are going to do their jobs. Training is necessary to help prepare employees to take up new responsibilities or even realize what where they failed in the past in cases where are going to take up similar job roles. This applies to both the expatriates from the home country or host country (Brown Warren, 2009). Therefore, training is likely to help increase the productivity of the employees in their new job positions thus increasing the general profitability of the business organization. See the attached employee background in appendix 9.1. Besides training on the job roles, it is also important that the human resource educates the expatriates about the intercultural issues. There should be a good plan regarding the cross-cultural training to ensure that all the employees are protected from the effects of intercultural change. They should be briefed about the cultural differences that exist between Singapore and India. Such type of training helps to equip them both emotionally and also assist them to acclimatize to the environment of the host country (Cheng Hampson, 2008). Most employees who move from one country to the other usually face challenges related to their emotions, culture acceptance, adapting to the skills, language problems, and leadership among others. The human resource should be careful to ensure that the training thoroughly covers all these aspects that affect the employees (Bhatti Kaur, 2009. Failure to the proper training program is likely to make the change impact negatively the expatriates thus lowering their productivity. Therefore, the human resource should be careful to train people so that they can move on happily, with confidence and no stress thus becoming more productive (Steers et al., 2010). Remuneration Remuneration is an aspect of the human resource that cannot be ignored. The company should formulate the appropriate compensation terms and conditions that are fair both to the worker and the organization. Inappropriate remuneration package is likely to discourage the employee's morale of working if it is too low while it can also be a loss to the company if it is too high compared to the task being undertaken. The employee should willingly sign the terms and conditions agreement after understanding them (SUFF, 2010). Therefore, appropriate pay is likely to motivate the employees thus they will be able to deliver their best. The remuneration balance sheet approach is attached at appendix 9.2. Imob Company should formulate a compensation package that has the basic amount, allowances, and the other benefits. Regarding cash, the company should consider the employee's basic salary and the assignment premiums. The compensation module will consist of the housing allowance, hardship allowance, living cost allowance among many others (Armstrong, 2009). The employee should also enjoy some benefits such as life insurance and medical coverage. These remuneration plans are important in making the expatriates more comfortable and thus able to concentrate and give the best for the company. Therefore, the human resource should evenly distribute this remuneration plan depending on the job positions that they are holding (PuniaPriyanka, 2008). Conclusion In conclusion, the international human resource has got a lot of tasks of managing people in an international context. There are various aspects that the human resource must consider especially if it is operating in a global context. There are differences between the two countries of operation, especially regarding their culture. The culture of a given country is best analyzed using the Hofstede's cultural dimension which provides an excellent analysis of important aspects of culture that the human resource must consider when going internationally. Failure to find culture by an international company is likely to lead to failure in the staffing process of the organization. Besides, it is also important to note that the human resource is expected to make a job design with their description of the roles and responsibilities that are expected for every expatriate in the subsidiary. The human resource must take appropriate staffing strategy that is likely to be more productive yet cost efficient. Recruitment and selection should be done carefully to ensure that the company gets all the required skills for the better performance of the business organization. Also, the human resource should give the appropriate training to people and also remunerate them properly to increase their motivation to work. Therefore, this is likely to increase their productivity which in turn gives the organization a competitive advantage. References Angelo, S. Ricky, G. (2009). Human Resources Management, Biztantra Publication, New Delhi 2nd edition. Armstrong, M (2009). Handbook of HRM practice, Kogan Page, London, and Philadelphia. Bhatti, M. and Kaur, S. (2009).The Role of Individual and Training Design Factors on Training Transfer.Journal of European Industrial Training.34 (7), 656-672. Brown, T., andWarren, A. (2009). Distal Goal and Proximal Goal Transfer of Training Interventions in an Executive Education Program.Human Resource Development Quarterly.20, (3), 265-284. Cheng, E. and Hampson,I. (2008).Transfer of Training: A Review and New Insights.International Journal of Management Reviews.10 (4),327-341. Coelho, D. A. (2011).A study on the relation between manufacturing strategy, company size, country culture and product and process innovation in Europe. International Journal of Business and Globalisation, 7(2), 152-165. Collings, G., Scullion, H. and Morley, J. (2007). Changing patterns of global staffing in the multinational enterprise: Challenges to the conventional expatriate assignment and emerging alternatives. Journal of World Business Csizmar, C. (2008). Does your expatriate program follow the rules of the road? Compensation and Benefits Review, 40(1), 61-69. Dowling J., Festing, M. and Engle, A. (2008). International Human Resource Management, 5 th Ed, South-Western Publishing. Fischer, R. (2009).Where is Culture in Cross-Cultural Researches? An Outline of a Multilevel Research Process for Measuring Culture as a Shared Meaning System. International Journal. Of Cross Cultural Management, 9: 25-48. Harvey, M., Reiche S. and Moeller M. (2011). Developing Effective Global Relationships Through Staffing with Inpatriate Managers: The Role of Interpersonal Trust, Journal of International Management. Peng, M. (2011). "Global Business," 2nd Ed. South-Western Cengage Learning Petrakis, E. (2014). "Culture, Growth and Economic Policy," New York and Heidelberg: Springer, ISBN978-3-642-41439-8, pp. 250. Punia, K. and Priyanka Sharma (2008). Organizational Employee Development Initiatives and their Impact on Retention Intentions: The Case of Indian IT Industry," Amity Business Review, 9.1, 2008, pp. 12-23 Rong and Allen David (2009). Recruiting Across Cultures: A Value Based Model of Recruitment," Human Resource Management Review, No: 19, pp.334-346 Smith, P. (2008).Indigenous Aspects of Management. In P. Smith, Peterson, M., Thomas, D. (Eds.),The Handbook of Cross-Cultural Management Research. Sage, Thousand Oaks CA: Sage, 319-332. Srivastava, K. and Shailesh R. (2008). Employee Retention: By Way of Management Control Systems, ACM Ubiquity, 9.16, pp.22-28 Steers, R., Sanchez-Runder, C. and Nardon, L. (2010). Management across Cultures: Challenges and Strategies. London: Cambridge University Press SUFF, R. (2010). Labour turnover rates and costs: IRS survey 2010. IRS Employment Review. pp. 9

Sunday, December 1, 2019

May Day Eve by Nick Joaquin Novel Review free essay sample

Today’s special short novel review is all about the May Day Eve written by the one and only Nick Joaquin. The short story, May Day Eve, carefully and brilliantly depicted the status Filipino women had during in the past. In this still seemingly patriarchal world, we are somehow forced to believe that men are superior and that women are just subordinate to men. This ideology was even more highlighted in the past, where women were totally deprived of the necessary rights that men had always enjoyed. In the story, the vital issue of marriage, wherein women are forced to marry men, was particularly portrayed.Women had lost the capacity to decide and fulfill their own desires, making their lives almost meaningless. Agueda in the story had died miserably because her life was molded into something she didnt wish. She was forced to marry don badoy montiya because the latter had a tremendous desire for her. We will write a custom essay sample on May Day Eve by Nick Joaquin: Novel Review or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Her whole life was spent grieving for the situation she cant escape.Perhaps this was because the premise of their love was based only on raging passion and nothing more. Passion, after all, is evanescent and transitory. Love cannot be based on passion alone. Their contrasting attributes perhaps were what brought them together. But it could also have been the root of the bitterness that concluded their time together.That short story May Day Eve was all about hasty decisions, most specifically on trusting in superstitions. Superstitions can lead to many kinds of paths. It can be harmful or not. They can lead to big mistakes such as marriage like what Badoy and Agueda had. Nick Joaquin was able to teach his readers a lesson on superstitions. Superstitions are not always necessarily true. I admire him because through a simple story he was able to say a lot. He also made a two-fold ending. For Voltaire, it was not difficult since he stopped believing in the superstition. For Badoy, it wasnt easy for he grieved and regretted for his marriage with Agueda.