Might Makes Right essays

Might Makes Right essays The focus of realism is based on war and conflict. Its belief adheres to common human nature. Society in general is governed by laws that have their roots in human nature. The natural state of humans is warfare. Realists have a dark view on human nature, and are very pessimistic. This view lets them believe that it is necessary to become immoral when thinking about the national interest. There is little or no place for morality in foreign policy. They believe that this is just the way it is, and we have to deal with it. We may not like how the world is and our nature, but we must do what we can to protect ourselves. Realism has been the primary tradition in international politics ever since the Peloponnesian war. The main problem of international politics, the realist feels, is war and the use of force, and the main actors are states. This is a third-image view based not on individuals, but large-scale states. The realist despises interaction and feels that the end of international politics is the states intervention with other states. Realism was shown during the Peloponnesian War. Thucydides, the father of realism, observed that the strategic interaction of states followed an apparent pattern. Within a given system of states, a certain hierarchy among the states determined the pattern of their relations. While a change in the hierarchy of weaker states did not ultimately affect a given system, a disturbance in the hierarchy of states would upset the equilibrium of the system. War was the result of a systematic change, brought by the increasing power of the Athenian state, which tried to exceed the power of the state of Sparta. This was one of the first examples of the security dilemma. In order to strengthen one countrys defenses, that country would put more emphasis on their defenses. In response to this, the other country as well would increase their defenses. The one country is not doing anything to initially pr...

Mark Twain Quotes About Death

Mark Twain Quotes About Death Mark Twain  died on April 21, 1910, but he had plenty to say on the subject while he was still alive. Death may be a morbid topic for many. However, Mark Twain chose to make light of the subject. He often joked about how dreadful the world would be if we were to continue to live forever.   Mark Twain Quotes About Death You can develop a new perspective on death through Mark Twains death quotes. Here, you will find Mark Twain embracing the concept of death with his famous wry sense of humor. We never become really and genuinely our entire and honest selves until we are dead and not then until we have been dead years and years. People ought to start dead and then they would be honest so much earlier.Let us endeavor to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.We owe a deep debt of gratitude to Adam, the first great benefactor of the human race: he brought death into the world.All say, How hard it is that we have to die a strange complaint to come from the mouths of people who have had to live.The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.Thousands of geniuses live and die undiscovered either by themselves or by others.Do the thing you fear most and the death of fear is certain.

Monetary Policy Responds to Stock Market Movements Dissertation

Monetary Policy Responds to Stock Market Movements - Dissertation Example According to Bernanke and Gertler (2001) changes in asset prices (including stock prices) should only impact monetary policies to the extent that they affect the central banks forecast of inflation. Therefore, the target of monetary policy is inflation and not specifically stock prices. Hayford and Malliaris (2002) used different methodologies to determine whether monetary policy has influenced the stock market since it crashed on October 19, 1987. The results indicate that, rather than using the Federal Funds rate policy to offset increases in the value of the stock market above estimates of fundamentals, Federal Fund policy has on average accommodated what is considered to be overvaluation of the stock market. Hayward and Malliaris (2002) found evidence in the FOMC minutes which is consistent with Taylor (1993). Taylor’s (1993) rule suggests that Federal Funds rate target has largely been st in response to inflation and measures of excess demand and therefore is not solely a response to offset potential stock market valuations. Rigobon and Sack (2003) employed an identification technique based on the heteroskedasticity of stock market returns in order to determine the response of monetary policy to stock market movements. Using daily and weekly movements in interest rates and stock prices between 1985 and 1999 Rigobon and Sack (2003) found that the response of monetary policy to stock market movements was significant. The results showed a 5% rise (fall) in the Standard and Poor’s (S&P) 500.... reases in the value of the stock market above estimates of fundamentals, Federal Fund policy has on average accommodated what is considered to be overvaluation of the stock market. Hayward and Malliaris (2002) found evidence in the FOMC minutes which is consistent with Taylor (1993). Taylor’s (1993) rule suggests that Federal Funds rate target has largely been st in response to inflation and measures of excess demand and therefore is not solely a response to offset potential stock market valuations. Rigobon and Sack (2003) employed an identification technique based on the heteroskedasticity of stock market returns in order to determine the response of monetary policy to stock market movements. Using daily and weekly movements in interest rates and stock prices between 1985 and 1999 Rigobon and Sack (2003) found that the response of monetary policy to stock market movements was significant. The results showed a 5% rise (fall) in the Standard and Poor’s (S&P) 500 Index, i ncreasing the possibility of a 25 basis point tightening (easing) by about one half. These results suggest that stock market movements have a significant impact on short term interest rates, driving them in the direction as the change in stock prices. This Rigobon and Sack (2003) attribute to the anticipated reaction of monetary policy to stock market increases. Fuhrer and Tootell (2004) focused on the fact that methods used in earlier literature fail to adequately separate what they describe as the observational equivalence problem. In addition Fuhrer and Tootell (2004) showed that after controlling for the information that that enters the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC’s) decision making process stock market prices have had no independent effect on monetary policy. Cassala and Morena

Small War In The Context Of Law Empire Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Small War In The Context Of Law Empire - Essay Example The small war also comprises of campaigns aimed to subdue the existing guerrillas’ warfare and rebellions in different parts of the universe. In these areas, several soldiers and other defense forces have been deployed to fight back the militants or rebels who are cowards and do not have the courage to battle with militaries in open ground or field. Therefore, small war can be said to involve operations that are extremely unreliable and unpredictable as far as their scope and conditions are concerned. In the real sense, small war can be termed as a civil war in a nation or a civil wrong resulting from feuds and conflicts that prevail in a group or between groups in the society. Most of the people perceive small war as a turning point in the establishment of societal values and concepts. The scope of a small war entails organization of soldiers for irregular warfare information that is very valuable and important in defeating the enemy. The military logistics arrangements are e xhaustively dealt with and in detail. These logistic arrangements include communication lines, transport, and the supply system. In respect to strategies and tactics in place, a sketch of the rules, practice and the principles of a small war is established which will govern the conducts of armies while in war operations against the enemies. In small wars, it very significant to learn the varying hostile mode of war to a certain extent and get conversant with the possible war circumstances to prevail in the course of the battle. The military records have proven that the hostile mode of small wars differs from one battle to another. Therefore, a prior war study will help to come up with suitable strategies and tactics that will assume all forms of war. In a small war, the warring sides tend to have contentious issues that range from economic issues to social issues.

Pearl River Piano Company Essay Example for Free

Pearl River Piano Company Essay Pearl River Piano Group (PRPG) was established in 1956 by bringing together six small piano shops in Guangzhou. The group of 100 employees produced only 13 pianos that year. After many attempts, Guangzhou technicians were finally satisfied with the tone color and quality of its first manufactured piano, and in a short time it was sold in Hong Kong. It would be twenty years before the factory was able to prove its potential. As a State -owned enterprise PRPG is accountable to the Guangzhou municipal government. Investments from both Yamaha and Steinway Sons have played a key role in the expansion of their production. In addition, PRPG has bought the German piano brand Ritmuller and will be expanding in the European market. Guangzhou, located at the north of the Pearl River delta, is an important trading center as well as a busy port and the capital city of the province of Guandong . The city has an area of over 16,000 square kilometers and a population of 6.7 million. Guangzhou is also one of the most important centers of foreign commerce in South China. There are a lot of interesting legends concerning its past. One of the beautiful stories which gives the city its name Goat Town says that five gods riding on five goats brought the first grain to the city. In 1959 PRPG consisted of a shed on the side of the street to repair pianos. Later a shelter was built to process the wood. At that time the pianos were carried in a cart with men walking barefoot to the port. During the tumultuous of Mao Zedongs Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and 1970s, few Chinese dared to buy a piano, which symbolized the Wests decadent and bourgeois society. Learning the piano was frowned upon at that time. The factory didnt stop making pianos. However, they were lucky if they sold more than one hundred pianos a year. In the meantime Chinas one-child policy has created a culture where parents invest heavily in their childrens education. Parents like to spend money to improve their childrens education and culture and this has paid off for PRPG. Nearly 80%of their pianos are sold in China. Pianos have caught on in China. PRPGs domestic shipments climbed even throughout Asias financial crisis. During the1960s companies such as Yamaha took advantage of low labor costs to enter the global and domestic market. They were quietly followed my South Korea. For years the musical instrument business was dominated by U.S. and European companies. But this has been changing now for decades. In 1992 Tong Zhi Cheng took control of the company. He had worked for only one company during his adult life, the state-owned PRPG. When Tong took over pianos were fairly common in households in Europe and the U.S. for nearly two centuries, but in China they have been a luxury. In 1995 PRPG and Yamaha Pianos of Japan forged a $10 million joint venture. They set up a company called Yamaha-Pearl River. This company was set up to make certain Eterna models that are exported to Europe and the USA. Unlike Chinas typically backward state-owned companies, PRPG is savvy about brands and looks for new products to sell. Tong bought a mature German brand Ritmà ¼ller in 1999. In addition he has struck a deal with Steinway Sons to produce their Essex line of pianos. Today, PRPG consists of a factory spanning 2 million square feetthe worlds biggest piano plantcranks out 250 pianos every day. White-smocked workers steer computer-driven kilns that bake oak planks en masse. Individual piano keys are hand-checked for precision and balance. Five pairs of ears listen to each pianos tuning, speeding another instrument out the doorand into Americas living rooms. Just two years after Pearl River set up a U.S. sales arm, its high- quality, low-priced pianos have snared 10% of the market, and the company vows to capture a 25% share by 2005. It already has won the hearts and minds of some U.S. consumers.

Batik Essay -- essays research papers

Batik   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Elaborately decorated fabrics and patterns can be seen almost everywhere in the world today. Batiking is a type of decorated fabric, which usually depicts motifs of flowers, birds, butterflies and other natural objects, or simple geometric forms. These designs are rich in symbolic heritage and variety; to date there are over three thousand recorded batik patterns. To perform the art of batiking, one must know a little about its origin, the necessary materials, and the method of creating a batik.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The technique of â€Å"batik† itself is Indonesian in origin; the word â€Å"batik† is an Indonesian-Malay word that means â€Å"to dot.† The art of batiking is more than a millennium old. There are evidences that cloth decorated through a form of resistant technique was used early AD in West African, Middle-Eastern, and Asian communities. Over the past two or three centuries, batik has become one of the best means of expression, spiritually and culturally, in the values of Southeast Asia. This means of coloring and decorating textiles has even reached a higher degree of excellence in the island of Java. From Java, batik cloth has been exported to many other islands, spreading the batiking art around, which is how it is so well known, as are most of the items used to create it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A number of different materials are used when creating a batik. The primary requirements are cloth, wax, various colored dyes a...

How Upholding Ethical Values Helps an Organisation

HOW UPHOLDING ETHICAL VALUES HELPS AN ORGANIZATION THAT USES INFORMATION SYSTEMS? INTRODUCTION In order to understand the role of ethical values and the related ethical codes of conduct with regard to information systems in organization performance, there is need to put the, whole affair in a broad context as to the rise of ethical issues and dilemmas in the management of systems for organizational performance and development.Information systems has been defined as â€Å"a set of interrelated components that collect, process, store, retrieve and distribute data or/information in an organization referred to above facilitates decision making and control in an organization† The data or information referred to above facilitates decision making and control in an organisation and hence being crucial to organizational management and performance.It can therefore be said that the system of managing the collection, processing, storage, retrieval and distribution of data and information is what is termed as Management Information Systems. Infact Management Information Systems is about the relationship between management and the operations of an organization. When you think about this assertion, three things stand out; How IT or information systems improves the management of an organization How IT or information systems helps in the improvement of organizational performance How IT contributes to organizational developmentThe fact of the matter is that the rapid growth of Information Technology and hence the use of information system has contributed significantly to organizational management, improvement in organizational performance and organizational development in general. The rapid advancement in IT has led to creation of INTERNET and the rise of the DIGITAL FIRM. While significant achievements in social progress have been recorded, at the same time, it has led to social costs for other users, and the rise of computer crimes.Infect the rapid advancement of IT and the attendant use of information systems has created ethical issues and this is due to the following; I. T changes the distribution of decision making rights, power and other resources. For example IT makes it possible for millions of people to download video files weakening the exclusive rights of movie studios to control distribution for their own profit. IT creates new opportunities to commit crimes. For example e-mail creates conditions for extensive â€Å"Phishing† or online con games designed to defraud ordinary citizens.In this era if IT and the expansion of computer usage, ethical values for good management information system can be looked at in relation to the following ethical moral dimensions. Information rights and obligation – this is about ourselves as human beings and organizations Property rights and obligation – this is the protection of intellectual property rights Accountability and control – this pertains to who will be held accountab le in case harm is done. Systems quality – standards of data and systems quality.Quality of life – this is in connection with in the preservation of values and culture WHAT IS ETHICS Ethics refers to the principle of right and wrong which people use to make choices to guide their behavior and actions in the operations for organizational performance It is necessary here to reflect on some key technological trends which have led to ethical issues in information systems; Computing power doubles every 18 months. Almost everything is computerized. The over dependence on computers us giving rise to errors.As computer usage increases its use if being abused Rapidly declining data storage costs. Modern computer techniques have led to the creation of multiple databases. Software’s have become cheap and this led to some people to store phonographic material. Data making advances – the use of high speed search engines has led to things like harking. It has led to va luated access to information and hence interfering with people’s privacy and the confidentiality of organizational information and data is at stake. Advances in networking including the INTERNET – This has led to increased computer crime.Thus, as we witness increased technological advancement and the increased use of information systems, concern must be put on the attendant rise of computer crime and other ethical issues, ethical concerns and dilemmas in this era of globalization. Therefore organizations using information systems must concern themselves with the need to put in place ethical codes of conduct and enforce them with emphasis on inculcating into the minds of their employees the use of ethical values in their day to day work for the proposer management of their organizations and managementHOW THE USE OF ETHICAL VALUES CAN HELP AN ORGANISATION WHICH IS USING INFORMATION SYSTEMS Upholding ethical values in an organization using information systems is of benefi t to both within and outside stakeholders. That is To outside stakeholders, the organization gives assurance to its clients of security and confidentiality of their data. Hence the integrity of the organization is reaffirmed. Ethical values are used to assure people of fair and free judgment thus transparency in operation. Ethical values emphasize law and order which affect the behavior of employees in a desired direction.For example workers of an ethical upright organization would not spend working time moonlighting since they are aware of illegality involved in using organization resources for private work. Ethics controls dilemmas. For example it is not certain if software fits in intellectual property law since it is a code created by mathematical texts (Severson 1997 p. 33). Hence in such incidences the law would work best with morality. Ethics is used for consistent decision making at all levels of management in the organization because everyone would be aware of what is accep ted or not.For example someone from an ethically upright organization was asked to steal funds using the electronic fund transfer would immediately say no because he or she would know is wrong without putting too much thought on the benefits of stealing. Through upholding ethical values, trust among employees is established since they are assured of confidentiality. This in turn brings a sense of belonging and commitment to the organization. By ensuring ethical values, the security is made certain since the organization ensures that the hacking is illegal and punishable especially in incidences of uncertainty.Fair presentation ensures honesty and fairness in the market to avoid law suits despite the pressure to succeed. This encourages whistle blowing in order to avoid negative publicity that may tarnish the image of the organization in the public eye. For† example it is unethical for an organization to bribe a worker from a competitor company to be their informer on the compe titor’s plans. Ethical values act as a driving force to achieving organization goals and objectives thus increasing productivity.That is ethics provides basic guidelines on which behavior is more likely to achieve the best results in the wrong run instead of mixing wrong and right. An organization upholding ethical values controls misuse of organization resources. For example if the organization considers download if internet material like movies, music for personal gain as un ethical, then its workers may not do that and this would minimize wastage of internet data. Upholding ethical values would create a conducive working environment which would create team work and sense of belonging for the workers.This reduces chances of corruption and malice as everyone would look out for each other from bottom to top and top to bottom. This also reduces supervision of workers thus providing opportunities for innovation. For example in an ethically upright organization, the manager may enjoy leave away from work without worrying about decline of profits in his absence. REFERENCES C. A Raiborn&D. PayneCorporate codes of conduct: A collective conscience and continuum. Journal of Business ethics. 9:879-889, 1990.