Thursday, October 31, 2019

Budgeting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Budgeting - Essay Example Budgets can set aims for attaining a certain level of profits and also maintaining expenses. â€Å"Budgeting can help a company use its limited financial and human resources in a manner which best exploit existing business opportunities† (Budgeting 2013). I will agree the statement of â€Å"management of any business will be ineffective without the preparation and use of budgets†. Following are some of arguments that will support to the agreement.Arguments for: - To Help Achieve Organization’s Goals: Budgets play efficient role in attaining organizational goals in this sense that these are the methods through passing which reach at the goals. In budget development process tries to predict that will productively reach at goals or not. Budgets puts the standards to attain goals and with the assist of these standards firms can assess the fluctuations happen throughout the year and aim to ascertain the cause from deviating from attaining the define objectives. Formulation of the budgets allows the organizational management to react actively to the market circumstances to fast way the goal achievement method. Risk identification would allow organization to adopt procedures that would guide to economic risk minimization. - To Compel Planning: The budget planning method allows the management to recognize and evaluation the impact on the organization’s cash flows, inventory planning with the balance sheet. It also allows the organization to access their monetary position and their needs of borrowing from the market. â€Å"Budgetary Control is planned to assist the management for policy formulation, planning, controlling and coordinating the general objectives of budgetary control† (Chapter 27: Budgeting and Budgetary Control n.d.).A financial budget is a firm’s estimated plan for the future period that will be stated in financial terms. It contains planned expenses, revenues, liabilities, assets and cash flows. It also assists the firm to manage its money and allow the management to create confident monetary decisions and get together his aims in the long run. It can also allow managers to arrange, assess them in detail and to decide on the greatest alternative methods. It also su pports managers to predict troubles before they happen, therefore it provide them time to think alternative methods of overcoming the troubles when it happen. It also assists to arrange for unexpected conditions. Budgeting by planning tends creates better result than a choice made at that moment. - To Communicate Ideas and Plans: In the budgeting procedures, managers in all departments justify the resources they require to get their goals. They justify to their managers the scope and capacity of their activities in addition to how their responsibilities will be performed. â€Å"A financial plan, or budget, is a decision-making tool based on the basic principles of scarcity, choice, and opportunity cost† (Budgeting your financial solutions 2013). The communication among subordinates and superiors assists affirms their mutual obligation to organization goals. Additionally, different units and departments must talk with each other throughout the budget

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Decision making and information politics Assignment

Decision making and information politics - Assignment Example This essay focuses on Professor Jeffery Pfeffer’s 16 rule explaining why we cannot get anything done yet we are very well educated and trained (Webber, 2000). Jeffery Pfeffer’s 16 rule of â€Å"Doing something requires doing something† is one of the fictions of knowledge management. The cult of information administration has developed over the decades. This Jeffery Pfeffer’s rule advocates knowledge administration as the next big thing that has led to the proposal what companies require is to increase intellectual assets. This fact is undeniably true, but it is also somewhat true (Webber, 2000). These supporters forget that intellectual capital is only useful when a company does something useful with that information otherwise it will be useless. The purpose of failing to apply the intellectual knowledge into action is doing something. This means confronting the hard work process of making something possible to occur. To have intellectual conversations is very easy and safer by sitting around and gathering volumes of databases to capitalize in procedural infrastructure but never execute any task planned (Webber, 2000) . For instance, Edison Labs was a place occupied with individuals who were interfering and doing unrealistic things. Thomas Edison constructed a place where people tried out their thoughts, seldom blew things up, and did more than discovering unlimited creations. Today, Idealab is the closest thing that can be compared to Edison Labs, which, in spite of its name, it is not just about thoughts and ideologies. Idealab is an association that not only has ideologies, but also assesses those concepts before turning those ideas into action. This is the same essence that was present at Edison Labs. However, most organizations today are way too far drifted from that essence (Webber, 2000). The difficulties experienced by these companies and people working for those companies are

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Concept of Religious Fundamentalism and Violence

Concept of Religious Fundamentalism and Violence The intersection of religion and violence is a complex conversation which continues to progress (Gluck, 2010). This essay will critically assess whether religious fundamentalism and violence are always intertwined. To come to a decision, we must get a better understanding of the term fundamentalism and why a negative connotation of religion is attached to it. This involves discussing the roots and historical context in which the term was first presented and how it became applied to Islam. We will then consider whether Political objectives behind fundamentalists cause the violence rather than the fundamental ideologies itself or if it is a mixture of both. This will involve discussing the political goals behind the gunpower plot which invoked the marginalisation of Catholics. If religion was protected successfully over history would there be fundamentalist groups, particularly extremists. We will determine if religious fundamentalism has become shorthand to represent whats genuinely p olitics. Furthermore, well look at two extreme fundamentalists groups and how far they went to defend their beliefs and why violence is connected. This will be rivalled with the behaviour of more conservative fundamentalists who respond to the failure of the nation state in a less destructive way. Finally, we will conclude whether religious fundamentalism and violence are always intertwined and if that is the populist belief. Fundamentalism is as an explanatory term which is employed and exploited when used to describe a distinguishing religious movement in the 20th and 21st century and its affiliation with modern society. The term is used in relation to traditional faiths in a 20th century reality and to reaffirm the beliefs and ideologies in a situation which has been influenced by social and economic beliefs (Davie, 2013). Fundamentalism is the rational response of traditionally religious people to social, political and economic changes that downgrade and constrain the role of religion in the public world (Bruce 2008:120). This definition by Bruce, is akin to the ideas of Davie who maintains, that fundamentalism is an outcome of traditional values which were originally protected but have become disrupted and challenged from the outside. Davie goes on to distinguish the way which the threat occurs, from the outside in the form of modernity and from members who develop new ideals (Davie, 2013). We begin to unravel the term fundamentalism and associate its relationship with religion and in what manner it is presented. Fundamentalism originated from American Protestantism, there was great concern for believers who were replacing the biblical view for a more liberal understanding (Welnber Pedahzur, 2003). Religious Fundamentalism involves believers returning to the fixed laws whereby only one interpretation can be used amongst all to preserve religious laws over profane laws. We begin to see how religious fundamentalism has set precedence in the company of believers. Those in support of Christian fundamentalism were marginalised because of modernisation (Koopmans, 2015).ÂÂ   Fundamentalism is believed to be a reactive situation to modernization and secularisation, which will be explained via the loss of religious identify across Christianity, Islam and Jews. A Marxist view suggests that through the reaction of losing members to the materialistic world there has been a rise in fundamentalism whereby recessions and unemployment creates attitudes and a loss of identity amongst groups who edge tow ards fundamentalist groups to stabilize the marginalization of their religion (Almond, Appleby Sivan, 2003; Rarsch, 2015). Through discussing Modernization and the secular world we begin to see how specific Fundamentalist groups came about. Christian Fundamentalists became known following the urbanization of society, creating a decline in tradition and belief in sacred texts. The term fundamentalism in Christianity has become popular among Catholics and Protestants who believe the word of the bible comes directly from God and discard historical and modern interpretations of the word. Fundamentalism in Islam however is excessively used by the media and the state to refer to terrorists as Muslim, this view is not a true depiction of Fundamentalists in Islam. Those known as terrorists are on the extremist side whereas most Muslim Fundamentalists attend the mosque, encourage reading the Quran and follow teachings of Mohammed (Almond, Appleby and Sivan, 2003). This leads us to understand that although fundamentalism occurs in Islam and Christianity it is also a movement within Hinduism, Judaism and other religious communities (Pratt, 2010). Recognizing these fundamentalist groups, we initiate the discussion of fundamentalist groups who set off the violence, damage people and property and whose mentality involves an us versus them outlook (Davie 2013). There is an intolerable relationship when discussing fundamentalism and politics, theres an unwillingness to be accepting of the similarities and differences between groups (Mason, Feldman 2011). The leadership of the state and it actions towards society particularly changes in government or policy which shape the developments and roles of religious based movements. Moreover, fundamentalist extremists have turned to violence to progress their religious movement and reach political goals (Almond, Appleby and Sivan, 2003). When exploring the case of Guy Fawkes and the establishment of the Gun Powder Plot there are well built links with the religion and the state. The plot surfaced to assassinate James I and the ruling Protestant elite after there was an attack on Roman Catholics by introducing an anti-Catholic legislation, once again separating the church and state which left the Catholics feeling excluded which they reacted to by plotting to murder James I. This violent event occurre d because of the fundamentalist ideological route which in certain circumstances produce a terrorist however, not all fundamentalists result to violent behaviour. Although the Plot failed, it demonstrated how the state can use religion as a tool for control consequently leading to desperate measures involving violence. This had significant consequences for Catholics who had to deal with the new laws being passed which blocked their ability to vote in parliamentary elections and practice law (The Socialist Newspaper, 2005). This violent act of terrorism by the Fundamentalists is a historical moment which was not the last and not only within Christianity. Terrorism can be defined as an act intended to hurt more than one person and to instigate change, this term has no roots within fundamentalism which is having faith on the road to having a religious belief system. The term was originally used to describe political groups but has altered to a focus on religion, which no longer focuses solely on Christianity but includes other religions. Many Muslims are concerned with the violent link of terrorism and their religion, the focus should be on Islamic fundamentalism and politics rather than the religion itself. A link ought to be made between religious groups and violent incidents taking place as a reaction to lack of religious freedom whilst, being conscious that violence doesnt take place with all members of the fundamentalist movement (Rausch, 2015). Using France as an example, in 2005 Frances National Assembly declared the removal of signs or dress by which students ostensibly express a religious belonging, wearing a hijab was conside red a threatening act by Muslim fundamentalists (Alan, 2013). The disguised attack on Islam has created a social division in France and has led to various violent attacks taking place with the objective to have an ultimate battle with believers and non-believers by means of achieving their goals through violence (Burke, 2016). This discussion directs us to consider acts of violence by extreme fundamentalists as on going, their goals are long term and for God, terrorists do not expect to live long enough to see how the attacks play out (Rausch, 2015). If religious Fundamentalism and violence are intertwined it is because of western societys disapproval of the Islamic religion or because of fundamentalist groups viewing themselves as superior (Alan, 2013). If we look at the terrorist attacks of 9/11 although it may have been directed at the economic and political structures of the USA it effected the whole world, followed by attacks in Madrid 2004 and London 2005. The terrorist attacks have also wounded Muslims in Nigeria and Sudan suggesting the motivation for the attacks belong to globalisation whereby people are dependent on the market and tradition is overlooked. The association religion and violence have in the 21st century exposes the control of politics, and people deal with this by finding religious fundamentalism movements who use violence to help make sense of the secular world (Huber, 2011). Societies inevitably secularise as they modernize: it is contradictory to be modern and religious, this is the definition used when discussing secularisation theories (Woodhead, 2012:3). Religious fundamentalists are judged badly whereas secularists are deemed good and great when truthfully have played a part in the privatisation of religion (Alan, 2013). Due to secularisation, the education system has become more modernised and schools have limited religious freedom. The state encourages misleading behaviour via material which Is offensive and immoral for religious groups with no intent to protect the religion of others which isolates them and encourages them to challenge the situation (Almond, Appleby and Sivan, 2003) (Bruce, 2011). Therefore, although certain religious fundamentalist groups have resulted to violence to achieve their goals it is more intertwined with the state and how they impact the decisions made. Furthermore, there is an increasing appeal to claim that religion and politics is not an ideal combination and the reason for the war and violence is because of religion. Whenever fundamentalism and secularism is discussed, its within a violent connotation and asserts the behaviour of religious fundamentalists is revenge against the state for trying to separate religion from politics and an aim to bring religion back to public life which unfortunately involves violence (Armstrong, 2014). Secularisation can also be discussed using a legislation from France where they separated religion from the state through a policy La Laicite whereby the practice of religion is privatised and the state removes their involvement with religion (Trigg, 2007). Yet again we see the involvement of politics associating religious fundamentalism with violence instead of relating the detrimental effects legislations, isolation, disregard for moral values can have on others particularly the youth, diminishing the importance of religion (AbdulRahim, 2010). Most Muslims who feel like they are losing their religious identity are not prepared to practice their religion in a private space. Dress code and dietary values are embedded in their beliefs which makes it difficult to disconnect that from their practices. Isolation of many young Muslims in the western world because of economic and political marginalisation leads them to feeling distant and hostile towards the state which can lead to the construction of sub cultures which arrange events such as the July 2005 terror attacks (Gole, 2014). We cant solely link Islam to violence there are other groups who engage in illegal activity due to being subjected to social and economic marginalisation (Abbas, 2007). Discussing the political goals of Islamic fundamentalists who are terrorists we can see similarities between what steered them to violent acts when looking at Guy Fawkes 17th Century Terrorism. Guy Fawkes was a Catholic who wanted to rid England of its Protestant state by assassinating James I, who was failing the church. It can be argued he fought like a jihadist today who are described as a military movement as they fight for what they identify as right similar with Guy Fawkes. Fawkes believed the best way to spread the Catholic ideology was through terrorist force, he believed Catholicism was the dominant faith and was determined to promote their doctrines rather than the laws of the country. The goal was ultimately politically similar with Islam who resort to terrorist attacks to promote their political ideology through the state by means of the sharia law. Fawkes plot targeted members from another Christian Sect, this demonstrates fundamentalists who promote their violent behaviour through a religious ideology. It is a product of the individual movement in the case of Islam, not all who believe in the Salafi sect and their chosen behaviour are extremists who resort to violent behaviour (Mason Feldman, 2011). The tragic events of 9/11 and 7/7 have a left a hostile reaction from the world towards Muslims and Islam, the reactions of the government have been made public and influenced the minds of society (Abbas, 2007). The consequences for the attacks has left Muslims susceptible to racial and ethnic profiling in the criminal justice system and the aftermath is the government focusing on legislation rather than seeing the situation from the view of society similar to the events after the Gun Power Plot (Mason Feldman, 2011). Instead, the government allow the public to accept the belief that those responsible for the terrorist attacks are Muslims, history continues to repeat itself (Abbas, 2007). Deliberating religious fundamentalism and violence reminds us of the Golden rule rooted across religion, to treat your neighbour as you would want to be treated which ultimately shouldnt lead to violence. Yet, in most religion there has never been a hint of no violence across the board, in one way or another all religions have had to deal with the globalised world where violence is unavoidable. For Christians who rejected all forms of violence the moral compass was Jesus and his teachings of love particularly since his death on the cross was extremely violent which could have led to Christianitys turn away from violence (Huber, 2011). Notably for some fundamentalists the belief in the bible scriptures is a manual for how they should live their lives and they oppose those who dont adopt their ideals which can lead to a damaging relationship with fundamentalism, especially those unwilling to be accepting of similarities and differences (Mason Feldman, 2011). We need to continue discus sing how far fundamentalist groups will go to defend beliefs and values. Granting most fundamental religious beliefs have a trace of violent activities not all groups result to violent behaviour despite the politics and secularisation. Mormons are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and their values involves having a strong moral compass and regularly attending religious meetings to discuss how to be a nonviolent active member of the church whilst living in a secular world which diminishes traditional values (Cornwall, Heaton Young 2001). This is similar with Jehovah Witnesses, a more conservative group who base their decisions on a matter of conscience and try to live a life with no immoral actions. They also condemn angry behaviour which leads to violent actions and try to live a life central to Gods teachings and protect society from a corrupt and sinful lifestyle without the use of violence (BBC 2009; Holden, 2005). Both conservative groups demonstrate nonviolent behaviour which leads us to consider that religious fundamentalis m and violence may not be intertwined. When discussing extremist fundamentalist groups, most assert their violent behaviour being taken from biblical ideologies, they believe that they are practicing the one true faith and this religious ideology is known as Christian Identity is a (Perlmutter, 2003; Sharpe 2000). The norms of the Christian Identity are influenced by the Ku Klux Klan who justify acts of violence against the government, Jews, homosexuals and non-whites who they believe are not human or a part of Gods creation. Ultimately believing that aggressive behaviour against marginalised groups is part of the plan to restore Gods supreme white race and establish protestant Christian values (Sharpe, 2000). Whilst this ideology was popular among members it was not accepted by ministers and other Christians who prohibited the connection with Protestant Christianity (Baker, 2009). This view was held in particular because of Klansmen who would perform cross burnings which they understood to be a symbol of respect for Jesu s which they felt was rooted in Christian tradition (Wade, 1998). This interpretation which has been taken from the bible has created a fight where they believe whites are the supreme race fighting for God and non-whites are fighting for Satan (Selepak Sutherland, 2012). The apocalyptic belief extremists hold which emphasises a violent war between good and bad is evidence of the religion being used to defend violent actions and recruit members to join extremist fundamentalist groups (Perlmutter, 2003). This is reinforced in Biblical literature filled with murder stories thereby legitimising violent behaviour and allowing young people to steer towards non-conventional fundamentalist groups with charismatic leaders when feeling distant (Sharpe, 2000). The faith fundamentalist groups have for their charismatic leaders and the justifications for the violent behaviour which they encourage has strengthened the number of members for both the Ku Klux Klan and ISIS whilst ignoring the traditional values from the founders of both Islam and Christianity whic h endorses peace and love for others (Fieudberg, 2014). This suggests that although religious fundamentalist groups will use violence to defend their beliefs they only use parts of their religious literature as a means of achieving this. This question has allowed us to discuss whether religious fundamentalism and violence are always intertwined. From defining religious fundamentalism and examining the term in a historical and political context to deliberating fundamentalist groups who have used acts of violence to make their voice heard. We also looked at the misconceptions of conservative fundamentalist groups who do not use violence as a means of displaying their anger even if the nation state is failing them. Weve discovered that acts of violence and terrorism does not only belong to religious fundamentalism and is the result of a fundamentalist ideological route, more so the behaviour rather than the religious traditions. This is the issue that faces us today. Whats more is Religious fundamentalism and the state are more intertwined and despite secularisation and the lack of support culturally and economically when violence occurs the media and the state create a story which links a religious group to violence. W hat needs to be publicised is when the nation state fails society by isolating the oppressed in many different conditions. We need to appreciate what broader purpose is being served by linking religious fundamentalism to violence. Violence occurs as a consequence of extreme political legislations and marginalisation of groups rather than as a result of religious beliefs.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Body Modification in America Essays -- essays research papers

Body modification in American Culture In recent years tattooing and body piercing have become increasingly prevalent in popular culture. These forms of body modification are no longer tools used by criminals and gang member, showing their role in society. These practices are used by many of teenagers and young adults in our society today. In fact many of these practices have been a positive trend in American culture, giving adolescents a way of expressing themselves Studies have revealed a positive correlation between risky behaviors (such as the use of drugs, cigarettes, and alcohol) and participation in body modification. There is a shortage of available research, however, investigating the relationship between body modification and behaviors of high-risk such as driving while intoxicated and unsafe sexual practices. The current study attempted to bridge this gap in the literature by examining body modification participation and involvement in very high-risk behaviors common to a college student population. Two hypotheses were examined. First, it was hypothesized that a positive relationship between participation in body modification and very high-risk activities would be found. Secondly, it was hypothesized that self-esteem would mediate the relationship between body modification and very high-risk behaviors. The Cognitive Appraisal of Risky Events--Revised (Fromme, D'Amico, & Katz, 1999; Katz, Fromme, & D'Amico, 2000) and The Coopersmith Inv entory (Coopersmith, 1...

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Philippine Independent Cinema Essay

Independent films, more commonly known as indie films, are films not made by mainstream production houses or movie studios. They are independent of the influences, authority, and control of the mainstream industry (Makuha, 2010). The emergence of new and highly-advanced cameras in the market and the advancement of technology have spawned the growth of indie films. This allowed anyone to create his or her own film in accordance to his or her own style without the influences of mainstream movies, which indeed have good effects on the film industry, especially in the Philippines. These films became more noticed and more important and they have saved the slowly dying film industry (Makuha, 2010). Read more:Â  Essay About Philippine Independent Cinema In the brief history of film, advances in technology have from time to time challenged and changed industry models. These advances have wrought their most significant changes on independent sectors of the movie business. In the glory days of the studio system, a parallel or serious rival to that system coming from the independent industry would be unthinkable; the cost and challenge of production and post-production was prohibitive, difficulties of promotion insurmountable. The Internet and many new digital distribution technologies are now starting to remove barriers for the makers and distributors of independent films (Landers, 2006). The development of the 16mm camera and advances in sound technology made it possible, though still difficult, for individuals or small groups of filmmakers to make their vision clear – something rarely possible in the days of the Edison monopoly on technology, or the prohibitive cost of 35mm cameras and professional lighting setups. The challenges of film making were still large in number, but the development of an independent sector of the industry forced the majors to take notice, though the development of subsidiaries specifically tasked to take note of and distribute promising independent films failed to materialize. Independent film had a confined audience, generally limited to subcultures of underground or experimental film. (Such audiences were often primarily composed of fellow filmmakers – though it bears noting that in many cases, these self-selecting individuals were not those who would turn out to view a majority of the studio efforts.) (Tioseco, 2005) Within the last several decades, advances in digital cinema have furthered a similar and all the more powerful renaissance. High-resolution digital video offers an image quality that rivals that of film stock, while video camcorders, and relatively affordable professional-quality editing software capable of being run on inexpensive PCs have made the production and post-production process possible, reasonable and accessible for a substantial number of individuals. With the resulting increase in the number and quality of such films being made, a resulting cultural scene emerged alongside, but not quite outside, the mainstream (Landers, 2006).

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Phi/105 Letter

Letter to a 20 or 21 Century Philosopher PHI/105 September 23, 2012 Letter to a 20 or 21 Century Philosopher I am writing this letter to John Dewey regarding his theory of pragmatism. I am choosing this theory because it interests me in the scientific aspect of your thinking. I know that you chose to challenge logicians to answer the question of truth. This is a hard thing to sort out and make real and true. Going up against some of the times most logical thinkers and challenging them to come up with true answers was one of your strong points.I know that you were not totally opposed to modern logic as you have stated â€Å"logic based upon the idea that qualitative objects are existential in the fullest sense. To retain logical principles based on this conception along with the acceptance of theories of existence and knowledge based on an opposite conception is not, to say the least, conductive to clearness – a consideration that has a good deal to do with existing dualism be tween traditional and the newer relational logics. †(Qualitative Thought  1930) This statement to me means that you had maybe exhausted the traditional way of thinking that you had imagined.I believe that you had to reach for more answers and different ways to get those answers. Truth is a hard thing to come by and it is not easily obtained. I know that you were a philosopher of science and that you used this to try and understand the world. From you research you did not stretch the truth but rather examined all of the parts that could be explained by science. In figuring these things out you were able to determine if the phenomena that you were examining at the time were actually true or not.I find this interesting because there are many things in this world that are hard to explain. I am sure that there were many questions left unanswered for you because the research technology was just not there for you at the time you were doing your research on different phenomenaâ€⠄¢s. The scientific method that you chose to follow would be a base for all of the scientists that followed your research and I find it amazing that you are still known to this day. I can see now by researching your history why you did not believe in religion. I would have to say this is ecause it is something that could not be proven. The phenomena that a being could exists and create everything is just too impossible to conceive. It is impossible to determine by science even to this day if someone such as this did or could ever exist. There is no scientific method that can prove the truth of this and this is why you did not believe it was possible. I would have to also agree with this point and if there were a way to research it scientifically and prove that such a being or person did exist I would believe that to be the truth.With no truth about certain things it is hard to put any kind of faith in them. The more I think about these things the more I believe the scientific method the best way for me to go about life and think about things. I believe that the other two schools are just as good as yours. I just lean a little more towards science then math or metaphysics. These other two schools are necessary as well for the understanding of almost all things that are explainable. There is no one school that is better than the others and I would have to relate to all three of them.As for the things that are just phenomena I would have to agree with you in analyzing the facts and truths that we are able to prove and believe in rather than just making things up and believing in false truths. John Dewey you are truly someone to look up to and I have found in your readings some truth to this life that we lead. Many things go unanswered but in time many things that were unanswerable will get figured out and the truth shall be revealed. References READING:  Ch. 9 of  Philosophy: The Power Of Ideas. READING:  Ch. 8 of  Philosophy: The Power Of Ideas. http://w ww. infed. org/thinkers/et-dewey. htm