Business ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Business ethics - Essay Example This explains the principles of courtesy and respect. Despite the diversity that exists amongst many people concerning the acceptable ethical standards, it all boils down to societal expectations and provisions for good and bad (Shaw, 2011, p. 99). All ethical standards subscribe and should entangle with the society’s guidelines about what is right and wrong and the legal framework. The ethical standards at workplace should align with the societal moral principles such that when work ethics are breached, it directly go against the society’s moral guidelines. This essay aims at describing and analyzing, with reference to the ethical principles, a personal experience in which an issue with a moral gravity in business was resolved in order to bring out a comprehensive outlook into the decision. I witnessed a challenging situation in which an organization’s management decided to fire an employee on grounds that the employee had breached ethical of code of conduct. The employee in question, one Mr. Livingstone was a sales manager in an insurance firm. He had signed a contract to work for the firm in assisting it to restore market dominance that the firm had lost about 5 years ago due to the increased competition. The insurance industry in the last half decade had seen increased entry of organization that ended up stirring the competition. The firm Mr. Livingstone was working for had, in the process, greatly recorded low sales volume. Mr. Livingstone, a reputably popular sales manager with great success stories was hired to help transform the condition of the company. After 3 years of dedicated hard work, the organization’s performance in the highly competitive market greatly escalated to a point that they could hardly attend to all the clients or rather customers. The facilities and resources they had could not meet the demands of the customers because the number was extremely big. The organization was making great profits since they slightly raised

Immigration personal letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Immigration personal letter - Essay Example I didn't have many savings, and I didn't even have a checking account in an American bank! I had to get an apartment for my first few months here. Every week I would buy groceries, and I had a hard time just keeping afloat. Actually, it was only a few weeks after I got to America that I found a decent job working as a System Admin with an electronics company that needed someone to oversee their software department. Basically I was making sure that everything operated smoothly. If there was a problem on my job, people would usually come see me about it because I was the computer expert. "Saurabh, what's the matter with this program Saurabh, why won't this window close Saurabh, how do I do this How do I do that" As you can see, this was a very demanding job. But I had to work hard in order so that I could send some money back to India until I could afford to bring the rest of my family over here while I was on my work visa. Finally, when I had saved up about ten-thousand dollars, I brought my wife Padma to the United States with our baby girl Dharti. Airfare from India costs quite a bit, so I had to save up for that, as well as the expenses we would have here in the U.S. after Padma and Dharti came over. In order to earn that ten-thousand dollars I had to work overtime at my job for weeks on end. But I did it because I loved my family and I really wanted them to be with me here in the United States. James Madison, one of the founding fathers of the United States, once was quoted. He said that "America was indebted to immigration for her settlement and prosperity."1 This is partially the truth, because, America is not only responsible for my success. I am also partially responsible for the success of America. Now... For awhile I thought I wasn't going to be able to make it in the United States. When I first came to the U.S., I had little money, was without my nuclear family, and didn't really speak English as well as I would have liked. Actually, it was only a few weeks after I got to America that I found a decent job working as a System Admin with an electronics company that needed someone to oversee their software department. Basically I was making sure that everything operated smoothly. If there was a problem on my job, people would usually come see me about it because I was the computer expert. "Saurabh, what's the matter with this program Saurabh, why won't this window close Saurabh, how do I do this How do I do that" As you can see, this was a very demanding job. But I had to work hard in order so that I could send some money back to India until I could afford to bring the rest of my family over here while I was on my work visa. Finally, when I had saved up about ten-thousand dollars, I brought my wife Padma to the United States with our baby girl Dharti. Airfare from India costs quite a bit, so I had to save up for that, as well as the expenses we would have here in the U.S. after Padma and Dharti came over. Now I have an even better job since I got my Master's degree, and work as a consultant with an

Counterculture Paper: Hackers

Counterculture Paper: Hackers Throughout history countercultures have emerged that challenge the established norm. Whether they are a group of Hippies or the Russian Mafia, they are still considered to be a counterculture which rejects the pre-established norms of the larger cultures and replace them with their own values and practices (Thomas). One modern counterculture is hackers. There are three different kinds of hackers, black hat, gray hat, and white hat. All groups defy the norm, but black hat hackers are more well-known and are often what people associate with the word hacker. The word hack first appeared in the English language around 1200 (Yagoda). At that point in time, it did not refer to technology. Hacking began being associated with technology and machines in 1955 at Massachusetts Institute of Technology when it was used to describe someone who used unconventional and creative ways to solve problems (Yagoda). This continued on until the Jargon Files released eight definitions of the word hacker, the last one referring to a person with malicious intent (Yagoda). When self-proclaimed teenage hackers accessed forbidden information and were subsequently arrested, hacking gained a negative connotation (Yagoda). Since the 1970s hackers have infamously stolen money, information, and more from unsuspecting people and companies. There have been a few hackers who have stood out from the rest. Vladmir Levin, a Russian hacker, stole nearly $10 million from Citibank without the use of a computer in 1995; he served three years in prison for his crime (Weissman). Albert Gonzalez stole millions of credit and debit card numbers to execute one of the largest identify theft schemes to date; he was apprehended and sentenced to 20 years in prison (Weissman). Another Scottish hacker by the name of Gary McKinnon was a computer prodigy by the age of 14 and managed to hack 97 American military networks in the early 2000s; despite the U.S.s attempts to extradite McKinnon, he has found asylum in the UK (Weissman). An unidentified Greek hacker who goes by the name Astra accessed confidential information about jet fighters and military-grade aircrafts; he then proceeded to sell the stolen information over the span of five years, adding up to $360 million lost by Dassault Group (Weissman). One of the most infamous hacktivist group is known as Anonymous. Founded in 2003, Anonymous is known for leading online campaigns to voice their opinions on political and social events (Weissman). Anonymous is open to anyone who wants to voice their opinion and includes people of all races, religions, political standings, sexual orientations, nationalities, and genders (Sands). With no specific agenda, Anonymous aims to call attention to censorship, government control and freedom of speech; anyone is allowed to propose ideas, and members will voice their opinions which leads to the idea being accepted or rejected by the group as a whole (Sands). With the proper connections, anyone can gain access to chat groups where Anonymous members discuss ideas and their beliefs (Sands). Once an idea is accepted, the group will persistently attack its target in an effort to gain support from the public and bring about change (Sands). Since its birth, Anonymous has grown into one of the most recog nizable hacktivist groups that spans the globe, yet has no known leader; with their abilities, they have carried out some of the most well-known hacks targeting groups like the Church of Scientology, the KKK, and PayPal (Sands). There are three primary classifications for hackers: white hat, black hat, and gray hat. White hats are normally security researchers; they are hired by companies to find security vulnerabilities and report them to the company to be fixed (Zetter). Black hats are what people normally think of when hearing the word hacker. They are malicious and use their extensive knowledge of operating systems to steal information such as passwords, credit card numbers, or data (Zetter). After stealing information, they often use it to their advantage to blackmail people or receive money, or they sell it to other hackers or groups for large sums of money (Zetter). Gray hats are a mix of white and black hat hackers. They may sell their information to the government so that they can hack the systems of other criminals or enemies; these people may work alone or in groups to accomplish their tasks (Zetter). Over the past few decades, hackers have become increasingly public with their stances and are usually motivated by money and/or the prospect of having their voices heard by people all over the world. Using the sociological perspective, which is the ability to look at the hidden meaning behind peoples actions, allows people to analyze why hackers do what they do (Thomas). For hacktivists, like Anonymous, they want to influence social and political events. For example, they recently targeted Donald Trump by releasing his personal information; this act gives the public insight into their opinion of the current president (Sands). Other people may use hacking to voice their opinions on animal cruelty or other controversial topics, like abortion. Sociological imagination, which involves seeing the connection between ones life and the larger world, can also be applied to observing hackers (Thomas). Some hackers work on a large scale, but their actions have encouraged changes that affect us every day. For example, hackers motivate companies to install strong firewalls to prevent people like Kevin Mitnick from hacking government organizations, like the NSA (Weissman). This indirectly effects our lives, even if we do not see the consequences. Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism are both used to make judgements about a culture. Ethnocentrism involves comparing one culture to another, while cultural relativism involves making judgments about a culture using their own standards (Thomas). Larger society sees hackers as a counterculture because they compare their norms to hackers norms. When doing this, they automatically view their culture as superior and look down on hackers, which aided in the negative connotation associated with the word. Hackers, however, employ cultural relativism, which does not involve comparing themselves to another culture, to judge whether or not their actions are acceptable. This can explain why black hat hackers do not look at their actions as being punishable; this could also be why groups like Anonymous are so motivated and do not see anything wrong with targeting groups and organizations that do not agree with their views. Exploring the world of hackers has allowed me to see the world through their eyes if only for a moment. I can understand why hackers exploit people and organizations, but I do not agree with their views. I believe in freedom of speech, but I do not believe in secretly hacking companies to voice their opinions. It almost seems like cheating, and I believe that there are legal ways to start a movement and bring about change that do not involve stealing information. As for black hats that are simply in it for the money, I do not support their actions in the slightest. I believe that they could use their talents to get a job that would still pay enough money to live comfortably. Hackers have played a significant role in molding modern society, and I do not see them going away soon. However, I am glad that they have kept the government on their toes. With that being said, hacking has evolved, and will continue to evolve as technology becomes more advanced. I am excited to see what the fut ure holds and what role hackers play in it. Works Cited Sands, Geneva. ABC News. 19 March 2016. 10 March 2017. Thomas, W. LaVerne. Sociology: The Study of Human Relationships. Austin: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 2003. Weissman, Cal Guthrie. Business Insider. 10 April 2015. 9 March 2017. Yagoda, Ben. A Short History of Hack. The New Yorker 6 March 2014. Zetter, Kim. Wired. 13 April 2016. 11 March 2017.

Essay --

The helmet and its improvements for safety. Bicycles, the one way we got to move around as kids, and as adults it is the one way we get around too, because cars are mainstream. Safety is an issue when it comes to bicycling and that why the helmet is an important factor when it comes to safety for bikes. Every year, in the U.S, nearly 900 persons die from injuries due to bicycle crashes and over 500,000 persons are being treated in emergency departments. Head injuries are by far the greatest concern for bicyclists, causing one third of emergency department visits, two thirds of hospital admissions, and three fourths of deaths. There are other injuries such as facial injuries, which occur at a rate nearly the same to head injuries. It is hard to trust that helmets would be protective against head injury, but establishing the real effectiveness of helmets is important. Since the beginning of cycling there have been head injuries. Head injuries increased as more roads were being paved. The materials used to pave the roads are macadam and asphalt and they are unforgiving when it comes to crashes. During the 1800’s high wheeler users in clubs started wearing pitch helmets, they noticed that head injuries were becoming a problem. A helmet made of crushable material such as Pith was likely the best option at the time. When impacting the ground the material would break, but there was fewer cars, roads and competitions back then, therefore it was designed for a single impact. At the turn of the century many Racing Cyclist began using â€Å"Helmets† made of leather-covered padding, initially with a ring of leather around the head and a wool ring above that. Soon enough the style had changed, the ring of leather around the head was supplemented by... ...may look, it can save your life or prevent any traumatic injuries. Technology is improving and the series of test being conducted too. Cycling clubs and racers are trying to protect themselves as much as they can, and it makes them happy to see that helmets will be improving as the years go by. In conclusion the helmet has been a huge help in preventing more head injuries. The helmet has been improved throughout the years and since it originated it has followed through with its purpose. We are in the year 2013 and yet scientist are trying to improve the helmet as much as they can, the future to come from the helmet is very bright. There are faster and stronger cars out there, so cyclist are bound to get hit more, the helmet is yet to get stronger. Personally helmets are a big part of me I enjoy cycling a lot, but I know there is a lot of safety that comes with it.

IKEA’s brand Essay

Due to the recent uproar in German media, IKEA’s brand and image are being-Â «rimshed, and I believe IKEA needs to respond to this situation immediately. IKEA’s supplier, Rangan Exports, haJviolated its supply contracts by using child labor for the production oflndian rugs, and such media exposure could lead to sizeable long-term problems such as disruptions in supply and sourcing, lost sales and profits, and reputation risk. I have applied 4 key decision-making criteria to the alternatives IKEA could employ to rectify this situation (Exhibit 1). Above all, since IKEA has been linked to various environmental/social issyes in the past, it should take a proactive stance on the issue of child labor by participating in the media. Without such action, IKEA runs the risk of hurting its image, potentially leading to a cut in its bottom line and slog growth opportunities (Exhibit 2). When looking at the first two alternatives, IKEA could deal with the issue of child labor through its own relationships with suppliers by forming a New Initiatives Steering Committee to manage the issue of child labor. On the other hand, IKEA shares a very important relationship with its suppliers and has many issues to manage on a day-to-day basis, like development and innovation (Exhibit 3). It is very likely that other issues, like child labor, could be overlooked from time to time. For instance, despite IKEA’s past initiative of adding an addendum to its supply contract, Rangan committed a breach of contract by utilizing child labor. For the third and fourth alternatives, IKEA could also step back and allow Rugmark to monitor the use of child labor on its behalf. By joining hands with Rugmark, IKEA would be able to re-emphasize its spirit of responsibility and increase consumer confidence. In addition, Rugmark is an Indo-German organization and such an association could help boost their image and sales in Germany, which account for 30% of total sales. In all the alternatives stated previously, IKEA needs to determine if it should terminate its contract with Rangan or not. If IKEA keeps Rangan on board, it will eliminate supply disruptions and prevent a drop in sales. However, sourcing a new supplier will send a stronger message to other suppliers about the consequences of breach of contract and the division will avoid future costly media outbreaks. For the last alternative, IKEA could withdraw from the Indian rug industry, because it accounts for a tiny part ofiKEA’s turnover. However, Indian rugs are complementary products to other IKEA product lines and discontinuing them would take away from the full line of products. Also, by retracting from the Indian carpet industry and not dealing with the issue of child labor, IKEA’s image as a socially responsible company could be tainted.

Functionalist perspective of family Essay

Functionalists believe that society is based on a set of shared values and norms; this is known as a value consensus. These norms and values socialize its members, which enables them to cooperate with each other so society’s needs are met, this creates social order. It offers a structural and macro view of the family which is top down. Functionalists see society as being similar to a biological organism for example the human body. This is called the organic analogy. The human body is made up of various different parts that function together, each part is necessary for the normal functioning of the whole body. Society is made up of various institutions (for example education or family), Functionalists believe that these institutions rely on each other each other which helps maintain social order. If one institution is quickly modified or fails to work with other institutions, society would be dysfunctional and would end up in anarchy. Functionalists compare this with the human body because if one component is unable to work, this often affects other components in the body, which could result in death. Functionalists believe that a family is a vital institution, which contributes to maintaining social order because it meets the needs of other institutions such as the education system, which enables society to functio n in a unified manner. Functionalists believes that the nuclear family fits society’s needs, however several alternative theories such as Feminism contradict Functionalist ideology. Murdock believes that the nuclear family performs four essential functions for society and its members however he acknowledges that other institutions can perform these functions. He claims that he found evidence of a nuclear family in 250 different societies so he argues that a nuclear family is universal as it fulfills societies needs. The first function is sexual, Murdock believes that sexual intercourse with the same marital partner can prevent social disruption and can strengthen the tie between husband and wife. The second function is reproduction; this allows new members of society to be born which is essential for society because if reproduction did not continue then society would cease to exist. The third function is  economical so the family can provide for its members e.g food and shelter. The final function is the education system, this enables the young to be socialized and educated into society’s norms and values, and this suggests the family is a positive feat ure of society. However Murdock’s research is limited because he ignores diversity. His research is based on a nuclear family, yet in modern society there are many different family types, for example homosexual couples/lone parents. The postmodernist view believes that the nuclear family is no longer the norm and therefore the functionalist theory is not relevant to today’s society. Another criticism would be that Functionalists do not consider the validity of other family structures such as the Nayar or the Kibbutz who can also perform the four functions. On the other hand, a strength of Murdock’s work is it provides an insight of the families’ importance to society, because they examine how a family functions in society. Another positive to Murdock’s interpretations of family life would be that Murdock could generalize his research because he has studied 250 different societies, which demonstrates how a nuclear family can fit societal needs around the world. Another Functionalists explanation of the family comes from Parsons who believes that the functions a family has to perform, will affect its ‘shape’ or ‘structure’. Parson’s identifies two types of family structure: the nuclear family, which fits the needs of modern industrial society and the extended family, which fits the needs of pre-industrial society. Parson’s argues that the extended family was multi-functional so it was a unit of consumption and production whilst the nuclear family fits the key needs of modern industrial society: geographically mobile workforce and the socially mobile workforce. The geographical mobility industries often required people to move to where the jobs were, Parson’s argued that a nuclear family (two generations) would find it more straightforward to move than an extended family (three generations) so the nuclear family is better fitted to the needs of modern industrial society. The social mobile workforce implied that modern society is constantly changing with technology and science also individual status is often achieved (using their own  efforts) rather than ascribed (fixed from birth) e.g. the son may ascribe their own status and move away from home and create their own nuclear family in which they are structurally isolated from other members so Parson’s argues that the nuclear family is better equipped that than the extended family to meet societies needs. Parson’s argues that the nuclear family ‘fits’ (fit thesis) modern society yet he also notices that the changing functions of the family are socially advanced so the family have to fulfill fewer functions for its members, Parson’s argues that the nuclear family specializes in two functions: the primary socialization of children which educates the next generation with basic skills and society’s values. The stabilization of adult personalities is the second function, this enables adults to release tensions so they can return to their place of work and perform their roles efficiently. Parson’s identifies segregated conjugal roles between a husband and wife. The husband has the instrumental role so he is expected to provide for his family whilst the wife has the expressive role and is expected to nurture her children. There are many negatives with Parson’s ideology for instance he idealizes the nuclear family and ignores diversity, as there is more than just the nuclear and extended family in modern society. Another criticism would be that Peter Laslett studied the pre-industrial society and concluded that in this society, the common family was nuclear and not extended as Parson claimed. This was because many families decided to have their children when they were older and short life expectancy conveyed that grandparents were not alive when their first grandchild was born. . However there are some positives about Parson’s research, the first would be that Parson’s identifies how families change in society, another reason would be that Parson’s research shows how families can adapt to meet societies needs so a more stable society is created and he argues that family life ‘fits’ and benefits society e.g. reproduction allows new members of society to be create d so society’s norms and values are passed on to the next generation, which helps create a stable society and social order. More broadly, some feminists such as Oakley argues that Murdock and other functionalists neglects conflict and exploitation in a family (e.g. domestic violence), many feminists also believe that within the family, women are serving the needs of men and they are oppressed, this suggest the family is not functional for women as argued by the functionalists. Marxist’s have a similar conflict point of view as they believe that Murdock ignore the negatives in a family life, as Murdock has an extremely positive view on family life. Marxists ( Engels and Zaretsky)however argue that the family meets the needs of capitalism and not those of family members or society in general, which conflicts with Murdock’s ideology. Furthermore The radical psychiatrists such as Laing argues that the family is dysfunctional as it damages the individual and can lead to mental illness, they argue that the nuclear family is not productive to its members. The New right however supports the functionalist’s view of the nuclear family and suggests they help society to function, however they are an extreme view and have themselves been criticized. To conclude, Functionalists all agree that the nuclear family is the best to fit societies needs, it offers a positive consensus view, however it ignores women’s positions and ignore how the family feeds capitalism, they also ignore family diversity. To understand the family unit, one must look at all theoretical views as functionalism on its own is too limited a view.