Impact of Music on the Body

Impact of Music on the Body Music and Success Music in itself has a strong impact on the emotional state of the human body. By listening to a certain type of tone or melody, it can make us feel happy or even sad. When listening to sad music, you can become saddened by it, relating to what the lyrics say, or the type of major its in. The same happens with happy or upbeat music, you tend to want to dance or jump around, or even sing along! Not only can music change the way you feel, but it can also, in some cases, help you concentrate better. If music is capable of changing your emotions, do you think that training with it could also determine how successful you are throughout your life? Albert Einstein is known worldwide to be one of the worlds greatest minds. A master of the sciences, a wonderful mathematician, and a great philosopher. His whole life, he had grown up listening, learning, and training with music because of his mother. She was a professional pianist and his father was a salesman with a passion for mathematics. His mother thought it would be nice to get her son into learning an instrument, so the violin became the instrument of choice. Einstein grew up with a passion and love for music Life without playing music is inconceivable to me. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music I get most joy in life out of music. (Bergland) I believe, as do others, that musical training had helped him develop certain skills sooner than he wouldve originally had in the first place. Of course, it could be because of his fathers influence of his passion for mathematics, but researchers say otherwise. There are many different kinds of benefits to musical training that are shown to be true. Musical improvisation is a type of special training that makes you rely on the working memory less, using instead more extensive connectivities to the brain. It can stimulate the area of the brain that can enhance your main senses such as touching, hearing, seeing, ect. Adult musicians and musically trained children in the new Boston study showed enhanced performance on several aspects of executive functioning. (Bergland) Musicians that have grown older have shown signs of acute hearing and enhanced and developed motor skills, being able to switch quickly from one mental task to the other. Even children who were training in instruments were tested in IQ and seemed to have a higher level of intelligence than those who did not, and naturally, a higher IQ means theres more likely of a chance for those children to become successful throughout their lives. The New Boston study was performed to test whether or not students with musical training helped them in their years of school. They decided to compare kids who had trained with instruments to those that had not, and put them through functional MRI (Functional magnetic resonance imaging) scans. The children who had been through musical training had more activity on specific parts of the brain that had been proven to help them test better. Our findings suggest that musical training may actually help to set up children for a better academic future. (Flieser) A lot of people agree that instead of schools focusing their income on standardized testing, they should put more effort into musical arts.This would not only insure a higher success rate of fellow students, but it would also boost their levels of happiness. Who wouldnt want to replace a test for a chance at learning an instrument for free? Further research has proven that music taps into other skills other than simple aspects like hands or fingers, Making music involves more than the voice or fingers playing an instrument; a child learning about music has to tap into multiple skill sets, often simultaneously. (Brown) When playing an instrument, it requires a lot of effort and multiple things must all come together at once in order to perform the correct task. You use all different kinds of muscles to perform the actions such as your arm and finger muscles when playing a violin, or your vocal chords and esophagus when singing. You also use your eyes to read the notes off of paper, having to memorize what each little note sounds like, and then using those muscles to make that certain tune. Your ears, of course, are used to listen acutely to make sure youre playing the right note. Normally, if youve trained enough, you can tell when a note sounds out of tune, so your sense of hearing between different kind of sounds would naturally be increased. Learning an instrument also help with language development. They learn to process different sort of sounds better, and are able to make out and decipher words much easier. According to researchers, the effect of language development because of music can be shown in the more active parts of the brain. It increases the rate of growth in language development. The bond between language and music help compliment each other, so if a child studies in one area, they are more than likely going to get the hang of the other just as easily, The development of language over time tends to enhance parts of the brain that help process music, says Dr. Kyle Pruett, clinical professor of child psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine and a practicing musician. (Brown) Being musical, and being around people who are musically creative, can have a positive influence on the children, encouraging them to go to higher lengths and accomplish greater things. If you have an environment where there are a lot of people doing creative, smart, great things, joyful things, even people who arent doing that have a tendency to go up and do better.(Brown) According to Luehrisen, even those who are not involved in said activities can grow up to be more successful just because of the influence of the people around them. Just giving your child the opportunity to train with an instrument does not guarantee that your child will end up turning into some famous musician, but the fact that there is a connection there that exists with success does happen to mean a lot. He says music reinforces your confidence in the ability to create. (Lipman) Music in itself is a very creative hobby, but when training with it, it has the possibility to open your mind up to more ideas. That is why people who play with instruments often begin making a little tune of their own just for fun. Improvisation exists because of this reason as well. People play from their hearts and their minds making their tunes and melodies form together like a puzzle piece. Music is a wonderful thing. It has many, many positive aspects in life if you learn to get familiar with it. You dont have to be as skillful as Beethoven in order to insure success in your life. Just learning one instrument can have a dramatic change in your life, so if you havent already, go pick up one and see what lays in store for you. Work Cited Bergland, Christopher. Does Playing a Musical Instrument Make You Smarter? Psychology Today, Psychology Today, 25 June 2015, www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201406/does-playing-musical-instrument-make-you-smarter. Brown, Laura Lewis. The Benefits of Music Education. PBS, PBS, www.pbs.org/parents/education/music-arts/the-benefits-of-music-education/. Lipman, Joanne. Is Music the Key to Success? The New York Times, The New York Times, 12 Oct. 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/opinion/sunday/is-music-the-key-to-success.html. Fliesler, Nancy. Does Musical Training Help Kids Do Better in School? Does Musical Training Help Kids Do Better in School?, Boston Childrens Hospital, 19 June 2014, vector.childrenshospital.org/2014/06/does-musical-training-help-kids-do-better-in-school/.

Seventh Heaven :: Alice Hoffman Magical Realism Essays

Seventh Heaven Seventh Heaven by Alice Hoffman was published by G.P. Putnam's Sons in 1991. Many characteristics of magical realism were expressed in an excerpt from this novel. From reading this, I have learnt that magic appears to me as being real. My comprehending of this novel was more because or realism. Alice Hoffman's attitude in this book seemed to be that she set it as an example of magical realism and she made the readers curious about what was going to happen next. Hoffman made this book enjoyable so that readers would want to read this book. She had a good attitude toward what she was writing about and how the book was presented. The book consisted of many magical elements. Some of the magical elements in this book were that the crow in Mrs. Olivera's chimney might find a pack of matches, rub them the wrong way, and poof up goes the house in flames (17). I feel that this is something that would never happen. I think it is impossible for a crow to light a match and catch a house on fire. Another magical element was the fact that no one in the neighborhood could tell the houses apart when they were first built and carve out of the potato farms. (10). I don't think that many people would get confused about what house was theirs and what block that it was on. Everyone should know what is theirs. Realistic elements in this book stood out better than the magical elements because I felt that most of the book seemed like everyday life. Realistic elements were that the guys in the neighborhood wanted to get together and renovate Mrs. Olivera's house and to sell it to someone instead of it setting there looking run down (18-19). I think that guys in the community would fix a house to try to help the neighborhood look nice and to keep people from getting hurt. The purpose of the magical elements is to keep the reader tuned into the book. The author tries her best to make the reader experience textualization. She does this by making the book have plenty of realistic elements and throwing in magical element to make the experience different. Magical elements stood out to me the most were when the women in the neighborhood made a big deal about Nora being divorced and how Donna Durgin had never met a divorced person in her entire life (82). Seventh Heaven :: Alice Hoffman Magical Realism Essays Seventh Heaven Seventh Heaven by Alice Hoffman was published by G.P. Putnam's Sons in 1991. Many characteristics of magical realism were expressed in an excerpt from this novel. From reading this, I have learnt that magic appears to me as being real. My comprehending of this novel was more because or realism. Alice Hoffman's attitude in this book seemed to be that she set it as an example of magical realism and she made the readers curious about what was going to happen next. Hoffman made this book enjoyable so that readers would want to read this book. She had a good attitude toward what she was writing about and how the book was presented. The book consisted of many magical elements. Some of the magical elements in this book were that the crow in Mrs. Olivera's chimney might find a pack of matches, rub them the wrong way, and poof up goes the house in flames (17). I feel that this is something that would never happen. I think it is impossible for a crow to light a match and catch a house on fire. Another magical element was the fact that no one in the neighborhood could tell the houses apart when they were first built and carve out of the potato farms. (10). I don't think that many people would get confused about what house was theirs and what block that it was on. Everyone should know what is theirs. Realistic elements in this book stood out better than the magical elements because I felt that most of the book seemed like everyday life. Realistic elements were that the guys in the neighborhood wanted to get together and renovate Mrs. Olivera's house and to sell it to someone instead of it setting there looking run down (18-19). I think that guys in the community would fix a house to try to help the neighborhood look nice and to keep people from getting hurt. The purpose of the magical elements is to keep the reader tuned into the book. The author tries her best to make the reader experience textualization. She does this by making the book have plenty of realistic elements and throwing in magical element to make the experience different. Magical elements stood out to me the most were when the women in the neighborhood made a big deal about Nora being divorced and how Donna Durgin had never met a divorced person in her entire life (82).

Organizational Culture and Its Counterculture

The authors Joanne Martin and Caren Siehl are focusing on organizational culture and its counterculture. The definition given by the authors for counterculture states that counterculture will most likely arise in a strongly centralized organization that has allowed a reasonable decentralization of authority to take place. The article assumes that cultural systems can emphasize as well as sustain the objectives of the firm’s top management. The main argument here is that in addition to serving integrative functions, culture can express disagreement and address needs for segregation among organizational elements.As a replacement for thinking culture is a huge phenomenon, they explore counterculture’s uneasy symbiotic relationship with the rest of an organization. Finally they tackle the connection between cultural development and managerial action by asking what a leader does, unintentionally or intentionally, that seems to impact the development of a counterculture. Give n said that when a dominant culture and a counterculture takes place it creates an uneasy symbiosis between these two interdependent cultures. There were two books selected for this research, one was by Ed Cray and the other was by J. P Wright on General Motors.The three core values for dominant culture in GM were â€Å"respecting authority†, â€Å"fitting in† and â€Å"being loyal†. J. P Wright talks about how DeLorean’s division in GM has created an uneasy symbiosis relationship between the dominant culture and counterculture. DeLorean’s activities have been studied to see how he has created a counterculture in an organization with such a strong dominant culture. There are several ways to counter the dominant culture and DeLorean has done so by â€Å"questioning deference to authority†, â€Å"finding an alternative way to fit in† and â€Å"opposing demands for unquestioning loyalty†. . There are three types of subcultures; th e first is enhancing, orthogonal and counterculture. This article’s main focus will be on counterculture. According to the authors some core values of a counterculture has a direct challenge to the core values of a dominant culture, therefore creating an uneasy symbiosis. This article has taken two main authors as their references to explore the adequacy of a dominant culture and a counterculture and to find out what values those artifacts put across.The two main authors are Ed Cray, Chrome Colossus: General Motors and Its Times (McGraw-Hill, 1980) and J. P Wright’s description of DeLorean’s activities, On A Clear Day You Can See General Motors (Wright Enterprises, 1979). This article was done on General Motors, one of the main characters that was discussed in this article was on John DeLorean who was a head of one of the division’s in GM. DeLorean was a man who made his way up the corporate ladder which gave him a position of leadership, resources and po wer who in return questioned the dominant culture of GM.There were three main core values of GM that were discussed, the first is Respecting Authority: Jargon and Rituals of Deference. What happens in GM is that the dominant culture gives so much importance to paying reverence to the top corporate management; special jargon was used to refer to these executives. For example, each top manager was assigned a junior executive who will be an assistant, and these assistants were called â€Å"dog robbers† which meant an assigned servant who is responsible to pick up the dogs dropping in a large household.Another type of dominant culture artifact was the ritual, GM had many rituals, this is just one of the rituals; subordinates were expected to meet their superiors from out of the town at the airport and carry their bags, pay for their hotels, meals and chauffeur them around day and night. The second core value found in GM was Fitting In: Communicating Invisibility by Visible Cues. The core value of invisibility was expressed through such visible cultural artifact as dress and decor.An example GM’s dress code was a dark suit, a light shirt and a muted tie so that no single employee stands out. The rule implemented on office decor also states the value of invisibility. All the decor was standardized. In GM if an employee was invisible he was a â€Å"team player†. They engage in public, symbolic acts of conformity to show they are team players. The third core value to the GM way of life was loyalty to one’s boss. They were all expected to be loyal to their bosses and not question them or even point out their wrong doings.One of the examples given was, GM retirement dinner, in this retirement dinner they pay tribute to the retiree by telling his journey story in the past years in GM. These dinner instilled mutual respect, admiration and loyalty. It was important for GM to tell the stories of their retiring employees, simply because these stor ies were true and shows a sequence of events in the company’s history. In one case, DeLorean did not go to pick his boss up from the airport, which was a ritual followed by all GM employees, what happened was DeLorean’s boss was furious and expected DeLorean to not repeat it ever again.In the retirement dinner, they reward the retiree for the past tasks done by ensuring future loyalty, so in DeLorean’s case he would be marked by the others and may be seen as someone who isn’t a team player. The counterculture to these dominant cultures can be seen by DeLorean’s actions. There are three areas to it; the first is questioning deference to authority. DeLorean kept creating stories that were being questioned by other employees, because one story will not make most of the employees buzzing, therefore DeLorean created many situations.For example, he wanted to replace deference to authority with task-oriented efficiency. He discouraged the meeting of super iors at airports. DeLorean himself role modeled the behavior. This incident became an organizational story. He became a controversial and powerful figure. This particular event was significant because it expressed a value that contradicted a core value of the dominant culture. The second counterculture, An Alternative to Fitting In: The Limits of Acceptable Deviance. DeLorean did not agree on the core value of fitting in team play. He instead valued dissent and independence.He backed his values with practices, by changing his divisions’ performance appraisal system. Performance was measured on basis of criteria that were as objective as possible. DeLorean was also able to role model himself by not following the dress code and he also changed the decor in his division, allowing his executives to have their own touch in their spaces. This was his way of declaring independence from the dominant culture. The only way a counter culture can sustain is by implementing the practices as well as being consistent with the preferred value.Opposing Demands for Unquestioning Loyalty is the third counterculture. Articulation of a â€Å"boomerang† challenged the dominant culture. The Corvair was a product of GM that was supposed to be the finest and most appealing product to attract the young. The Corvair story becomes a boomerang, it takes a sudden turn and employees started questioning the safety of the rear engine, but without enough support and evidence that the Corvair was not safe GM management told the employees who objected to join the team or find some other place to work. In the end the Corvair had caused many deaths because of its faulty design.This in return cost GM its reputation and millions of dollars in legal expense, and of court settlements. 3. This argument fits with my experience as an observation that I have seen happen over and over again, it is no other than an public area which most of us are bound to go to in some time in our lives in di fferent occasions, the hospital. It is always said that right after graduating as a doctor, the worst fear for all of them is their houseman ship years. It is a dominant culture that all new doctors who are coming in for their houseman ship are pushed around and are made to work over time.In other words they are bullied by their superiors. It has been a culture that has been happening all around the world and many have come to accept it as a norm. In my opinion I don’t think it should be the case, I believe that there can be an artifact of a counterculture here. Why it is that fresh new graduate doctors allow their superiors to push them around to a certain extreme. For example, senior doctors, will intentionally post questions for houseman ship doctors in front of a patient and then mock them for the answers given to enforce their authority as senior doctors.This can be emotionally damaging depending on the degree of verbal abuse. Another case would be houseman ship doctors are treated as the lowest employees in the hospital during their houseman ship years; they are not only pushed around by senior doctors but by the nurses as well. They are made to do irrelevant work and lots of running around. Another case would be sometimes, senior doctors will make houseman doctors to do their shifts as well, resulting in the housemen to be wore out and exhausted.Some of these housemen will eventually break down, for they are not able to cope with the pressure and stress. Then again this happens over and over again in all parts of the world. In my opinion I think it would make a lot of difference if some doctors have the capability to stand up and make a change in this environment. I believe as time goes by, more and more stories and incidents will occur causing the dominant culture to be questioned and a breakthrough for a counterculture to take place in this particular environment.I am sure there are cases where certain doctors have made a stand for themselves, but with the repetition of the same behavior this dominant culture may be able to change. Where the houseman ship doctors are treated with equal respect and are able to apply what they have learnt over the past few years in their houseman ship years. 3. This argument fits with my experience as an observation that I have seen happen over and over again, it is no other than an public area which most of us are bound to go to in some time in our lives in different occasions, the hospital.It is always said that right after graduating as a doctor, the worst fear for all of them is their houseman ship years. It is a dominant culture that all new doctors who are coming in for their houseman ship are pushed around and are made to work over time. In other words they are bullied by their superiors. It has been a culture that has been happening all around the world and many have come to accept it as a norm. I believe that there can be an artifact of a counterculture here.For example, senior doc tors, will intentionally post questions for houseman ship doctors in front of a patient and then mock them for the answers given to enforce their authority as senior doctors. This can be emotionally damaging depending on the degree of verbal abuse. Another case would be houseman ship doctors are treated as the lowest employees in the hospital during their houseman ship years; they are not only pushed around by senior doctors but by the nurses as well. They are made to do irrelevant work and lots of running around.Senior doctors will make houseman doctors to do their shifts as well, resulting in the housemen to be wore out and exhausted. Some of these housemen will eventually break down, for they are not able to cope with the pressure and stress. Then again this happens over and over again in all parts of the world. It would make a lot of difference if some doctors have the capability to stand up and make a change in this environment. As time goes by, more stories and incidents will occur causing the dominant culture to be questioned and a breakthrough for a counterculture to take place in this articular environment. I am sure there are cases where certain doctors have made a stand for themselves, but with the repetition of the same behavior this dominant culture may be able to change. Where the houseman ship doctors are treated with equal respect and are able to apply what they have learnt over the past few years in their houseman ship years.4. Reference Martin, J and Siehl, C (1983) Organizational Culture and Counterculture: An Uneasy Symbiosis. Organizational Dynamics, pp 52-64

Letter of Recommendation

I take immense pleasure in introducing one of my outstanding students†¦. whom I know for the past three years. I have taught him the courses of ‘Electrical machines’ , ‘Power Electronics’ , ‘Modelling of power system components’ and ‘Network theory’. This interaction with him provides me sufficient information to gauge and asses the intellectual capability and analytical skills that he has developed during his course . I would rank him among the top 1% of the students I have taught in my experience of 25 years.I find †¦.. to be hard working, diligent and sincere in his efforts and feel that his practical and logical approach of handling the problems presented should be brought to your notice. In him, I find the commitment desirous of a good student, meticulous with the right blend of aptitude, merit and determination. His clarity of thought combined with his analytical ability, supported by his excellent communication skil ls, brings out the intellectual independence in him.His ability to work with counter parts and even with his seniors is exemplary. With his pleasing manners, proficiency in communicating his ideas effectively, he has established an excellent rapport with his fellow students and the faculty. He has brilliant team leader skills and is competent of extracting the best out of his team members. He also has good teaching capabilities. He has attended various symposia held in the city, which suggests his keen interest in the latest technological advancements.Considering his motivation, perseverance and intelligence, I strongly believe that he will scale the highest peaks in his fields of interest. In view of all the above facts, I strongly recommend him, without any hesitation, for admission into your graduate program with possible financial assistance, and would like to recommend him to qualify as a teaching/research assistant in your university. Letter of Recommendation LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION I take great pleasure to recommend the candidature of Mr. XXXYYY for admission into the graduate program at your esteemed university. He has been a student in many of my classes during the academic years to and my interaction with him during this period had given me adequate scope to examine him intimately, as to judge his personality and scholastic capabilities. Having taught him , supervising him in laboratory, being his final year project mentor, I had an occasion to be in close association with him.I am glad to present this testimonial for your reference and I know he would do well if given the opportunity to continue his education. Mr. XXXYYY is intelligent, inquisitive and yearns to gain in-depth knowledge. He has an excellent ken of Analytical and Logical Skills, which he applies efficiently in problem solving. He is optimistic, communicates effectively while working as a part of team and has a strong work ethic. I found him very sincere, diligent and responsible towards his course work.He is equipped with the right level of self-confidence and maturity. When in times where the students were reluctant to take up real time projects during their final year, Mr. XXXYYY with his knowledge and experience on the Software, embedded systems design, manufacturing process & with his personal network connections for procuring components required for the project, encouraged and made six other teams to take up real time projects.More so, he and his team completed their final year project â€Å"Project Title† with excellence and won the Best Project of the Year Award from the university. Mr. XXXYYY’s proficiency in English is commendable. He has always maintained a good academic record in both theory and practical studies and has been a regular student in our institution. His organizational, analytical and interpersonal skills are highly developed. He maintains a good rapport with the faculty members and peers.Considering his per formance records and other activities, I place him in the top 5% in his class. He has shown the motivation, intelligence, preserving nature and analytical aptitude for graduate program. Considering his enthusiastic quest for knowledge and intellectual capabilities, I strongly advocate him for Master’s program in your honored university. I am confident that he would continue to be a promising and competitive student and would be capable of efficiently discharging his duties. I wish him a prosperous career ahead. Letter of Recommendation I take immense pleasure in introducing one of my outstanding students†¦. whom I know for the past three years. I have taught him the courses of ‘Electrical machines’ , ‘Power Electronics’ , ‘Modelling of power system components’ and ‘Network theory’. This interaction with him provides me sufficient information to gauge and asses the intellectual capability and analytical skills that he has developed during his course . I would rank him among the top 1% of the students I have taught in my experience of 25 years.I find †¦.. to be hard working, diligent and sincere in his efforts and feel that his practical and logical approach of handling the problems presented should be brought to your notice. In him, I find the commitment desirous of a good student, meticulous with the right blend of aptitude, merit and determination. His clarity of thought combined with his analytical ability, supported by his excellent communication skil ls, brings out the intellectual independence in him.His ability to work with counter parts and even with his seniors is exemplary. With his pleasing manners, proficiency in communicating his ideas effectively, he has established an excellent rapport with his fellow students and the faculty. He has brilliant team leader skills and is competent of extracting the best out of his team members. He also has good teaching capabilities. He has attended various symposia held in the city, which suggests his keen interest in the latest technological advancements.Considering his motivation, perseverance and intelligence, I strongly believe that he will scale the highest peaks in his fields of interest. In view of all the above facts, I strongly recommend him, without any hesitation, for admission into your graduate program with possible financial assistance, and would like to recommend him to qualify as a teaching/research assistant in your university.

The Atrocities of the Congo Free State Rubber Regime

The Atrocities of the Congo Free State Rubber Regime When the Belgian King Leopold II acquired the Congo Free State during the Scramble for Africa in 1885, he claimed he was establishing the colony for humanitarian and scientific purposes, but in reality, its sole aim was profit, as much as possible, as fast as possible. The results of this rule were very uneven. Regions that were hard to access or lacked profitable resources escaped much of the violence that was to follow, but for those areas directly under the rule of the Free State or the companies it leased land to, the results were devastating. The Rubber Regime   Initially, government and commercial agents focused on acquiring ivory, but inventions, like the car, dramatically increased the demand for rubber.  Unfortunately, for the Congo, it was one of the only places in the world to have a large supply of wild rubber, and the government and its affiliated trading companies quickly shifted their focus to extracting the suddenly lucrative commodity. Company agents were paid large concessions on top of their salaries for the profits they generated, creating personal incentives to force people to work more and harder for little to no pay.  The only way to do that was through the use of terror. Atrocities In order to enforce the near impossible rubber quotas imposed on villages, agents and officials called on the Free State’s army, the Force Publique. This army was composed of white officers and African soldiers. Some of these soldiers were recruits, while others were slaves or orphans brought up to serve the colonial army. The army become known for its brutality, with the officers and soldiers being accused of  destroying villages, taking hostages, raping, torturing, and extorting the people. Men who did not fulfill their quota were killed or mutilated. They also sometimes eradicated  whole villages that failed to meet the quotas as a warning to others. Women and children were often taken hostage until men fulfilled a quota; during which time the women were raped repeatedly. The iconic images to emerge from this terror, though, were the baskets full of smoked hands and the Congolese children who survived ​having a hand cut off. A Hand for Every Bullet Belgian officers were afraid that the rank and file of the Force Publique would waste bullets, so they demanded a human hand for each bullet their soldiers used as proof that the killings had been done.  Soldiers were also reportedly promised their freedom or given other incentives for killing the most people as proven by supplying the most hands. Many people wonder why these soldiers were willing to do this to their ‘own’ people, but there was no sense of being ‘Congolese’. These men were generally from other parts of the Congo or other colonies entirely, and the orphans and slaves had often been brutalized themselves.  The Force Publique, no doubt, also attracted men who, for whatever reason, felt little compunction about wielding such violence, but this was true of the white officers as well. The vicious fighting and terror of the Congo Free State is better understood as another example of the incredible capacity of people for incomprehensible cruelty. Humanity and Reform The horrors, though, are only one part of the story. Amidst all of this, some of the best of people was also seen, in the bravery and resilience of ordinary Congolese men and women who resisted in small and large ways, and the passionate efforts of several American and European missionaries and activists to bring about reform.

Executive Compensation Schemes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Executive Compensation Schemes - Essay Example A promising action to address this problem is to develop frameworks for employee stock options valuation that will enhance the quality of compensation disclosure. This lack of information also does not help shareholders determine the company's long term prospects. The debate on executive compensation continues to acquire a national scope with the string of investment bank failures. Many business analysts put forward corporate reforms that try to construct payment schemes that will really induce CEOs to pursue the shareholder interest. When Nike paid William Perez US $18.2 million dollars in 2006, it made him the highest-paid chief executive. However, it was during Perez' one-year tenure that Nike's stock price dropped by more than $7 per share and the Swoosh lost US $2 billion dollars in market value. Nike's board asked the underperforming Perez to leave the following year. A US government official acknowledged the exorbitant executive pay in large American companies. Christopher Cox, chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission had admitted that executive compensation had changed but the SEC's disclosure rules have not been able to keep up with the pace. Company disclosure obfuscates rather than provides the clarity regarding executive compensation. (Seattle Times, July 9, 2006) US President Barack Obama had implemented restrictions on pay for executives at investment banks bailed out by taxpayers so as to curb Wall Street excesses and reign in public anger before the White House requests for federal funds to bail out the financial sector. Obama described Wall Street bonuses as "shameful" and expressed "disgust" at executives who reward themselves for failure (Financial Times, February 4, 2009). Obama further said that America does not disparage wealth but what gets people upset are executives who reward themselves for failure, particularly when those rewards are subsidized by US taxpayers. He pegged the compensation of executives of companies that receive assistance from the government at US $500,000 ('345,000) a year. Executives can obtain restricted stock, which could not be sold before the government had been repaid. (Financial Times, February 4, 2009). A Chief Executive Officer of a Standard & Poor's 500 company received US $14.2 million dollars in total compensation annually in 2007, according to the Corporate Library, a corporate governance research firm. The median compensation package that executives had earned was US $8.8 million dollars. In addition, the AFL-CIO labor union recognized that a fair compensation system for executives and workers is essential to the establishment of a long-term corporate value. The chief executive officers of large U.S. companies averaged US $10.8 million dollars in total compensation in 2006, more than 364 times the pay of the average U.S. worker. (Financial Week, 2007) Options constitute an important portion of executive compensation. An aspect of these programs is the discreteness of vesting dates and option exercise dates. The option grants occur infrequently. Investment banks and executive compensation The business of an investment bank is doing huge deals. This deal making usually involves raising capital either debt or equity for clients and advising on merger and aquisition transactions. In addition, investment banks sell securities to institutional investors. They also trade for their own account. Investment banks

Business Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

Business Ethics - Essay Example In this case, there are no ifs and buts. However, a close look reveals the fact that applying Kant’s principles into the modern business world is a tough task due to many reasons. The first such issue that requires attention is the fact that Kant proposes that the same maxim can be applied to two moral dilemmas. However, it seems that at times, there are issues of conflicting duties. For example, the United States in the 1990s witnessed the shutting down and massive layoffs of many enterprises. A closer look reveals the fact it becomes impossible to assess this situation using Kant’s ideology. To illustrate, the Kant’s philosophy would argue that the employees, in such cases, are being used as mere means to enhance the shareholder wealth, and hence, it is immoral from the part of the company to shut down. If someone agrees that it is immoral from the part of the company to shut down, and that the company should run irrespective of the consequences of that action, the issue gets more complicated. For example, the company is showing injustice towards its shareholders. In other words, when the company resorts to showing morality towards the employees by avoiding layoffs, it fails to show the same morality towards its shareholders. Thus, it becomes evident that Kant’s theory of categorical imperative is not absolute in nature. Yet another example is the forced retirement of employees in a company so that the company can pass through a financial crisis by reducing expenses. It is very evident that according to the widely accepted notion in the business field, it is justifiable to crucify a few innocent if it does good to the majority. However, the Kant ideology is in stark contradiction with this ideology. In both the cases, it seems difficult to find a solution that can do justice to all the stakeholders. However, a solution to this kind of issues comes from the notion of open book management. This method was developed and implemented by Jack Stack at the Springfield Manufacturing Company. According to Schuster, Carpenter and Kane (227), under the open book management system, the company informs its employees about the financial situation of the company on a regular basis. Thus, when the employees possess sufficient knowledge about the performance and financial situation of the company, they too have an equal responsibility in the running of the company. It is very evident that in open book management, employees get a chance to take wise decisions about their performance and career. So, if the company faces a situation like layoff, the level of suspicion and confusion will be far less, and sometimes, the committed employees may propose to work for a limited wage to face the crisis. Anyhow, it is highly unlikely from the part of employees to allege that they are deceived by the company. Thus, it becomes evident that a proper understanding of the Kant ideology and its application in the workplace will make more meani ngful workplace by enhancing self-respect and freedom. In addition, it means the removal of a layer of supervisors as the company no longer requires supervisors to monitor its employees. To sum up, when the employees are allowed autonomy, when they are provided reasonable salary and conducive workplace, and when the company does not interfere with their moral development, one can say that Kant’s theory of categorical imperative is accepted in spirit. II Principles of affirmative action are the principles which are intended