Police Functions Essay

Over the years, police have been portrayed in the media, television shows, and the local newspaper as crime fighting heroes. This portrayal would make one think a police officer is always out doing a dangerous job, which may require shooting, beating up, or arrested the bad guy. The truth is, most officers will not make a felony arrest in a given year, and there are also many officers who have never fired their weapon. There are various perspectives of the policing functions. I will examine these perspectives from the local, state, and federal organizational levels. I will identify and address possible future changes in laws and the overall impact these changes will have on the field of policing. Local Police Police, usually called law enforcement officers, apprehend criminals and investigate crimes. There are several other functions that the police perform. Local police have three main functions: maintaining order, controlling crime, and providing basic social services. Local police maintain order in different activities, such as traffic control in power outages, crowd control outside of a local football game, resolving domestic disputes, and removing drunken patrons from the streets. Police officers serve and protect. The main focus of maintaining order is keeping the peace rather than enforcing the law, so to speak. In different situations, officers may have to make an arrest to ensure the peace, but the appropriate order-maintenance solution often consists of less formal actions, like clearing crowds after a big game. Controlling crime is basically patrol and criminal investigation. Basic social service is calling police in an emergency situation. The majority of phone calls to the police are in need of social service as opposed to those relating to crimes. There are several factors that shape what police do. Police officers are available 24 hours a day seven days a week. People call on the police when they find themselves in an emergency situation and there is not another agency available. Because of this availability, it sometimes gives officers a heavy workload. Police work is different and unique from other jobs because these men and women are permitted to use force. Force in this case is deadly or physical force as well as arresting someone. Police officers have to be ready to shoot in a split second, if need be. Discretion is used in all areas of policing. Officers rely on their training as well as experiences to decide what to do when dealing with citizens. A wonderful example of discretion is an officer giving you a warning for speeding as oppose to upholding the law and issuing you a citation. State Police State police are a part of The Department of Public Safety. Every state with the exception of Hawaii has its own police force possessing statewide jurisdiction. The nation’s largest state police force is California Highway Patrol. The directors of highway patrols or state police are appointed by the Governors. Tasks done by state police agencies include assisting the local police departments in criminal investigations, patrolling the state’s highways, training municipal and country police, maintaining centralized crime records for the state, and operate a crime lab. Federal Police Within the executive branch of the national government lies the federal law enforcement. The FBI, or Federal Bureau of Investigation, is a part of this federal organization. The FBI investigates several categories of federal crimes. Their focus is on protecting the nation from threats, such as terrorism, organized crime, drug trafficking, white collar crimes, and violent crimes, such as kidnappings and bank robberies as well as civil-rights crimes. The FBI is equipped with crime labs, fingerprint files, crime statistics, and a training academy, which enables them to assist state, local, and other federal agencies. Due to the increases in organized crimes, the FBI also has wiretapping authority. Federal officers have jurisdiction nationwide. The Department of Homeland Security is another branch containing federal law enforcement agencies. Some of DHS agencies are: United States Secret Service- which is responsible for apprehending anyone caught counterfeiting U. S. money. They are also responsible for the protection of other officials of the federal government and for protecting the president. Immigration and Customs Enforcement- enforces the flow of immigrants into the United States. INS agents deport aliens who break the United States naturalization laws. They are also responsible for the patrol of the United States border to stop illegal immigrants from entering the country. In the 1990s, INS agents focused on the Mexican-U. S. border, where large numbers of illegal immigrants and huge amounts of illicit drugs entered the United States. INS agents arrest hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants each year, but the number making it safely into the United States still exceeded the number arrested. † (The Nature of Police Work) Customs and Border Protection and Transportation Security Administration also fall under this agency. Conclusion Patrol and criminal investigation used to dominate policing. Uniformed officers would roam the streets interrupting crime and trying to prevent them from happening. There are different strategies to policing. These strategies include patrol, special operations, and investigations. There are changes that can be made in laws to impact the field of policing. Local police departments can reduce corruption by keeping a closer eye on the department and listening to the community. Bad seeds would have to be removed from all areas of policing. These departments can also form a positive relationship with the public by showing they are doing more than making arrests. Federal agencies are sometimes limited in the information they can share with other departments, but if there is something useful, they can pass the information along to help all agencies out. There are many functions to policing. While police are heroes to a lot of people, they are not just out fighting crime and locking up the bad guys. They are there for us when we need them, regardless if our cat is stuck in a tree or we have a runaway teenager. Different agencies perform at different levels each having different duties. Once we understand what different agencies are able to do, we understand policing better.

Greek Mythology Essay

Odysseus was considered to be the epitome of what a Greek man should strive to be. He was a courageous and clever warrior who earned arete through his feats during the Trojan War. The ancient Achaean male modeled themselves after great men like Odysseus, but the real question is who do Greek woman model themselves after. Clytemnestra’s plight and eventual death is a perfect example of how married women were expected act compared to married men. Also, women like Penelope in The Odyssey were criticized for being untruthful, but men like Odysseus were praised for exceptional cunning in the same epic poem. Calypso is a goddess who is aware of these double standards and makes an eloquent plea to the gods of Olympus, but her speech falls on deaf ears. Essentially Ancient Greek culture had staggering gender inequalities that led to females being confined to the whims of males. Many tales demonstrate how differently married women were expected to act compared to men. When King Agamemnon departed from Mycenae to siege Troy he tricked his wife, Clytemnestra, into sacrificing their daughter to the gods. During the ten years Agamemnon was gone Clytemnestra plotted with her lover, Aegisthus, revenge. Once King Agamemnon returned, he was murdered by the duo, but the gods deemed this act unacceptable. If Clytemnestra were a man the tale would have most likely ended here. But Apollo and Athena hid Orestes until he was of age and convinced that he should follow with the worst crime any Greek could ever commit, matricide. After the murdering his mother, Orestes was haunted by the Furies (who were known for pursuing particularly heinous criminals and exacting revenge, Chiekova, 10/23) until nearly succumbing to madness. Eventually Orestes was given trial, and Athena’s deciding vote expunged his horrible deed. A woman taking a lover was disgraceful in Achaean culture, and a women killing her husband simply unheard of. Women were viewed as objects than could be possessed or traded like Helen of Troy was, and so Clytemnestra needed to be punished. On the other hand married men like Zeus had dozens of affairs (including deceiving Clytemnestra’s mother Leda by appearing as a swan Chiekova, 10/23) while Hera remained faithful to him. The tale of Aphrodite and Hephaestus is another prime example, in which Aphrodite was shamed before all the gods for laying with Ares. The examples of similar myths can be listed ad nauseam, but essentially Greek women were forced to be loyal and obedient while the men took whatever lovers they so desired. Another example of gender inequalities in ancient Greek Culture can be seen in Penelope’s tribulations with the suitors. As Odysseus left for the Trojan War and did not return with Nestor and Menelaus, some assumed he was dead. Under the pretext of courting Penelope, the suitors proceed to spend their days at Odysseus house and feasting on the livestock. They disrespected and abused the traditional host-traveler relationship and yet still Penelope was left to be the antagonist (Chiekova, 10/26). If she agreed to marry a suitor, she would be dishonoring Odysseus but the longer she did not pick a suitor the more damage they caused. In Richmond Lattimore’s translation of The Odyssey the suitors verbally attack Penelope, â€Å"For she holds out great hope to all, and makes promises to each man, sending us messages but her mind has other intentions. And here is here is another stratagem of her heart’s devising (The Odyssey, Book 2, page 41, lines 90-93). † The suitor goes on to describe her cleverness; Penelope declares she will marry a suitor once she finished knitting a funeral shall, but every night she would secretly un-wind the threads, effectively stalling the suitors. These suitors claim that Penelope is being disrespectful for not choosing one of them to marry and call her a liar for supposedly leading them on but never choosing a man. In the same epic poem commended Odysseus for outsmarting and escaping the Cyclops, evading the sirens, and eventually killing the suitors. Both Odysseus and Penelope were incredibly intelligent but because of Achaean double standards, Penelope was portrayed as a liar (at least to the suitors) and Odysseus a hero. Calypso seems to be the only individual aware of, or at least concerned with the mistreatment of Greek women. When Odysseus retells his time spent with Calypso, he adjusts the story to give the perception that he was held prisoner and bemoaned every moment on the island. However, Homer gives insight of how Odysseus actually felt and writes, â€Å"the nymph was no longer  pleasing to him, (The Odyssey, Book 9, page 92, line 150). † This statement implies that at some point Odysseus did enjoy himself with the goddess on the island, but has become bored with her. After seven years Odysseus finally decides that he should return home, but Calypso insists that he should stay and enjoy the extravagance of immortality with her. This is against the ideals of Homeric Greek women as she displays a dominant and manipulative side, which threatens male supremacy. Eventually Zeus sends Hermes as a messenger to command Calypso to allow Odysseus to return home. Calypso retaliates by making a passionate plea, â€Å" You are hard-hearted, you gods, and jealous beyond all creatures beside, when you are resentful toward the goddesses for sleeping openly with such men as each has made her true husband, (The Odyssey, Book 9, page 91, lines 118-120). † Calypso continues to give three examples of past goddesses being chastised for taking a lover, but ultimately her speech does nothing. She is forced to yield Odysseus or risk angering the all mighty Zeus. Calypso embodied the struggle of Homeric women and pleas with the gods to see the double standard Greek culture imposed. Ultimately she is viewed as an object of physical pleasure and must yield to Zeus and Odysseus’s wishes, further stigmatizing women as being inferior. Analyzing Homeric culture through the lens of a woman provides a stark contrast to the life of a man. Women were subjugated to the commands of men, with little or no personal freedom. The females who broke the culture mold, paid the price. Clytemnestra eventually was murdered by her own son for exacting revenge on her deceitful husband, Penelope was ridiculed for using intelligence to navigate her way through a difficult situation, and Calypso was bullied into giving up the man she loved. Ultimately Achaean women were meant to be objects of desire that exist to satisfy men and the Homeric myths only propagated this idea. Works Cited Chiekova, Professor â€Å"Introduction to Greek Mythology† Lecture. Bliss Hall. Ewing. 10/23, 10/26, . Oral. Lattimore, Richmond, trans. The Odyssey. New York: Harper and Row Books, 1967.

Acknowledgement

Chapter 1 The Problem and its Background Introduction The term RFID refers to Radio Frequency Identification, a technology which uses radio waves to automatically identify items or people. Most commonly this involves the use of an RFID tag and a reader device. In general terms, Radio Frequency Identification systems consist of an RFID tag (typically many tags) and an interrogator or reader. The interrogator emits a field of electromagnetic waves from an antenna, which are absorbed by the tag. The absorbed energy is used to power the tag’s microchip and a signal that includes the tag identification number is sent back to the interrogator.The use of a wireless non-contact system that uses radio frequency  electromagnetic fields  to transfer data from a tag attached to an object, for the purposes of automatic identification and tracking. Some tags require no battery and are powered and read at short ranges via magnetic fields (electromagnetic induction). Backround of the Stud y Tanauan Institute has already been using the Library System. Since the institution is already using such technology, these will be the first time for the institution to use Radio Frequency Identification.The researchers thought of maximizing its use by creating a system that will track the students who borrowed books, which will be having RFID stickers for monitoring purposes, in the library. Currently, the school’s library is using the â€Å"Library System† in monitoring the books, which has a number of limitations. It is not capable of generating reports that can determine the books that are mostly borrowed which can help them decide on the number of a particular book they will be purchasing in the future. It is also using Microsoft Visual Basic for the system’s database which can only store very limited information.On the other hand, the system that the library is using in recording the attendance of the users cannot help them in identifying the library use rs of the month. The librarians need to manually count the number of times each student had logged in the system. Lastly, they have also no means of reminding the library users regarding their borrowed book Statement of the Problem Not capable of generating reports that can determine the books that are mostly borrowed. No means of reminding the library users regarding about their borrowed books. Manual counting the number of times each student had logged in the system. Objectives of the StudyGenerally, the researchers aim to design and develop a system that would enhance the use of the current Library System with the help of RFID in the said Institute. Specifically, the study aims to: Design and develop a system that will generate reports to determine the trend in book borrowing Use MySQL for the system’s database Determine the library users of the month in just a click of a button Remind the students and faculty members regarding their borrowed books Test and evaluate the sy stem’s accuracy and reliability Scope and Delimitation There would be some limitations to the project that should be taken into consideration.This study limits its coverage to the students of the Tanauan Institute only. It will be conducted for two semesters which consists of 10 months. Two low frequency ACR122U Smart Card Readers will be used for the system: one for the monitoring of books and the other one for the recording of the attendance. The system will be written in Microsoft Visual Basic 2010. The database that will be incorporated with such is Microsoft My SQL. It will execute only in platforms running Windows Operating System. The applications of the system will only cover the monitoring of books and tracking of the borrowers.Other unavoidable circumstances, such as power interruptions and speed of access, and other more complex areas of RFID Technology, such as securing the data, are no longer part of the study. Conceptual Framework For the researchers to be able to come up with a Radio Frequency Identification Reloading System, they will need very flexible and versatile knowledge in using the VB. NET programming language and in using the MS Server 2008. They will also be needing materials such as ACS Readers, tags which should be compatible with the reader and a desktop running Windows operating system.The related foreign and local studies and literature would also be of big aid to them because of the given information and problems with solutions of these materials. With all the knowledge, the materials to be used and the related resources, the researchers will need to carefully plan the whole study which is going to be the foundation of their research as a whole, gather and analyze data before they design and code the system. After the coding stage, the researchers need to test and evaluate their study. If necessary, modifications should be done to perfect the system. Conceptual ParadigmBelow is the figure of the conceptual paradigm of the study: NOTE:::: REVISED PARADIGM MAKE A NEW DIAGRAM.. PLACE IT HERE!!!.. Figure 2. Paradigm of the study Definition of Terms Accuracy – is a characteristic of a reliable system achieved from a number of tests and evaluation. Circulation Management – is a division in the library which is in charge of managing the borrowing and the returning of library materials. Collection Management- is a division in the library which is in charge of maintaining the collection of the library materials through adding or updating records.Database – is an organized collection of data needed for storing, updating, retrieving and viewing information for a particular system. Library Management System – is the system which will be an aid for monitoring the books and tracking and reminding the borrowers in a certain library. Radio Frequency Identification – is one of the newest identification technologies that use electromagnetic fields to transfer and read data that will be integrated by the researchers in this study. Chapter 2 Related Literature and Studies A. Related Literature Foreign LiteratureHolloway (June 2006), Microsoft EMEA Manufacturing Industry Solutions Architect, wrote a white paper which explained the components of a basic RFID system and how it works. According to him, an RFID system is composed of three important pieces of equipment such as: (1) a small radio device called a tag, or the transponder, which contains the data, (2) the reader, or the interrogator, that transmits and collects data to be downloaded from and uploaded to the tag, and (3) the host computer installed with an RFID software to process the data into valuable information.Daniel (2004) summarizes the operation in a basic RFID system as discussed below: First, the tag will enter the RF field of the Reader then, the RF signal will power the Tag that will transmit the ID with other data which, on the other hand, will be sent to the computer by the Reader. Then, the computer will be the one sending data to the Reader which will be transmitted to the tag. In a paper published by Mitrokotsa and Douligeri (2009), â€Å"Integrated RFID and Sensor Networks: Architectures and Applications†, they discussed and differentiate RFID and Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) Technologies.They also discussed why these technologies should be implemented to various fields of business and their requirements. Since the proponents will be using RFID, the tips, which are proven effective, given in this study on how to have better RFID-based systems will be of big help in conducting their study. Soldatos (2010) formulated a study entitled Rich Client Application for RFID EPCIS Repository wherein he created software which intended to provide a UML-like graphical representation of the business locations, and read points of an enterprise with a more user friendly RFID-based software system.Dhanalakshmi and Mamatha (n. d. ) wrote a paper wherein they discussed the proj ect that they created entitled â€Å"RFID Based Library Management System† which is very similar to the study being conducted by the proponents. In their study’s conclusion, they have indicated and proven that RFID in the library speeds up its transactions such as book borrowing, returning, searching thus enables staff to do more of its responsibilities. Mutigwe and Aghdasi (n. d. also conducted a study entitled â€Å"Research Trends in RFID Technology† wherein they have given attention at continuing research activities in the field of RFID and talked about the possible major burdens that RFID Technology is facing today such as privacy, high costs, and social and legal concerns. Local Literature Garcia (2009) made a study, â€Å"Student Recognition Using Radio Frequency Identification for Tarlac State University†, which was undertaken to develop a system that would support and improve the current way of identifying students at Tarlac State University.The system is capable of importing excel files to update student records. Through the images and the information displayed by the system, security officers find it easy to identify the students entering the school campus. Reports can be generated for administration and filing purposes. The concern of security was also addressed because the system can control users and produce integral records. Similar to the study of the proponents, the system that they will create can also generate reports for monitoring and inventory purposes.Another study which also focused on the record keeping of students who enter and exit the school premises is the â€Å"Design of RFID Interface System: A Prototype† conducted by Engr. Dellosa (2007). He designed a circuitry capable of indicating the arrival and departure of the students in such a way that the students can also be notified. He also developed software capable of capturing and recording the student’s names together with their time of a rrival and departure within the school premises. B. Related Studies Foreign StudiesA study of Botterman and Oranje (May 2009) entitled â€Å"Study on The Requirements and Options For RFID Application in Healthcare† proved that RFID Technology is versatile and can also bring improvements in the field of healthcare. It also proved that the speed of access and speed of processing of transactions, the inventory of equipment, and the monitoring of the patience and employees can be improved by RFID. Lastly, Zherdev (2011) performed a study, â€Å"Storing and Reading Sensor Data from Battery Assisted Passive RFID†, which dealt with tags of battery assisted passive-type and ISO 18000-6C standard.His study evaluated and improved a system designed to transmit information about the bearings status of railway wagons. It is related to this study being conducted by the proponents since they will also be using the passive type of RFID tags. Shariff of Longitude Consultancy Services m ade a proposal for schools to implement systems incorporated with RFID Technology for attendance monitoring, library management, and logging in school buses. He reasoned out the needs for such advancement which made the proponents more eager in pursuing this study.Local Studies Studies were not only done in other countries but also in the Philippines as well. Filipinos also hunger for knowledge and improvements in the field of Technology. One of the pioneers in using RFID Technology to make its transactions faster and more efficient is the Mapua Institute of Technology with its Cardinal Plus Model which made many transactions convenient ever since it was introduced to the Institute such as securing student identification upon entering the campus and online grade access of students.This study is somehow related because both implementation targets are in universities. A study conducted by Balbacal (2005) entitled â€Å"Automated Bus Fare System† is related to the system that th e researchers is planning to create. In Balbacal’s system, she used reloadable cards which used barcodes in riding a bus and paying for the fare. The amount to be reloaded on a card depends on the user’s capability to pay. However, Aquino et. al’s (October 2009) â€Å"Automation of the Movie TheaterCharging Procedures Through the Use of RFID† proved that RFID Technology can also improve the field of entertainment. Their system was able to eliminate queuing problems & improve charging operations of the system implied on improvement in the efficiency, reliability & accuracy of the operation. Even though the field of implementations of their study and the researchers’ are not the same, the purposes of both are identical. The researchers want to eliminate the redundancy in recording the attendance of the students which the existing system is not capable of.In Villame’s (2010) research entitled â€Å"Carrier Suppression Locked Loop Mechanism for UHF RFID Readers†, he made an improvement on the front-end architecture of UHF RFID readers to address the problem of having the performance of the reader limited as the active components in the receiver become saturated due to having the readers being exposed to strong carrier leakage signals because of the antenna reflections and limited isolation of circulators and directional couplers.This would be of great help but the researchers indicated that other complex aspects of RFID such as isolation of signals will not be covered by this study. Chapter 3 Methodology Research Design In every study, the method of research to be used is very important. The whole study somehow depends on such method because it will determine how the data collected will be handled. The goal is of this method is to acquire accurate and systematic data which are based on facts that can be used in averages, frequencies and similar statistical calculations.It often uses visual aids such as graphs and ch arts to aid the reader in understanding the data distribution. The researchers are also taking into consideration the use of developmental research. In a paper published by James D. Klein et. al, (n. d. ) they define it as studies that involve the production of information with the goal to improve the development of instructional design, development, and evaluation. Such research is based on either situation-speci? c problem solving or generalized inquiry actions. SamplingThe researching process will take place at the Tanauan Institute, a institute located at J. V. Gonzales St. Pagaspas Tanauan City. The researchers have chosen this institution because it is where they are currently studying and it was the first time the school will use the RFID system. Instruments/Tools The primary tools that will be used in gathering the needed information for this study are researching and browsing from the net. The secondary tools will be the related foreign and local literature and studies that the researchers have gathered.Gathering Data The process of the data we gathered is divided into five phases namely: Identify and Analyze the Requirements. In this phase, the proponents will gather all possible requirements that the end user expects from the system to be developed. These requirements will dictate the functions that will be integrated in the system. Design the System. Upon gathering and analyzing the requirements of the end user, the designing of the system will follow. This phase is important because the system’s design will dictate the overall system architecture.If the proponents have inquiries about the system, they can gather and analyze the requirements again. Code the System. After designing what the system will look like, the proponents will start the actual coding of the system. This design of the system will be the basis of how the system will look like. Test the System. To ensure that the system is efficient and reliable, several tests will be cond ucted. If the system fails the testing phase, the proponents will go back to the second phase which is designing of the system. 5. Acceptance of the System.After having proven that the system is functioning well, it will be deployed to the end user and they will be trained on how to use it. They will evaluate if their requirements and expectations have been met. If not, the proponents have to go back to the first phase again and start all over. Software Specification |Operating System |Microsoft Windows XP or higher | |Microsoft SQL Sever |2008 or higher | |Microsoft .Net Framework |4. 0 or higher | |Windows Internet Explorer |7 or higher | |ACS CCID Driver | | Hardware Specification |Memory |2 GB or higher | |Processor |2. GHz or faster | |Hard Disk |At least 3GB of available space | |Monitor |1024Ãâ€"768 or higher resolution | |Printer | | |ACR122U NFC Reader | | Gantt Chart ILAGAY DITO†¦ Chapter4 The Proposed SystemUser and Needs of the Study Proposed system is the T anauan Institute New College Library Management System. Through our software user can add books, update books, search books, update information, edit information, record the attendance of the borrowers, borrow and return books in quick time. Our proposed system has the following advantages. ? User friendly interface ? Fast access to database ? Less error ? More Storage Capacity ? Search facility ? Look and Feel Environment ? Quick transaction All the manual difficulties in managing the Library have been rectified by implementing computerization.Analysis General Features of the System RFID technology has been applied in libraries just over a decade, though the technology is not yet mature but its rapid development allows more and more functions to be achieved. RFID is still in its developing stage in libraries, the technology originally can only simply achieve the self-check-in and check-out function, but till now, the effectively inventory, logistics and sorting the returned books a re all able to be achieved. The library can adopt RFID technology aim of improving the self-service.Patrons can borrow and return the items using automatic lending machines, which require a library card and a PIN. Self-service becomes much easier with this new technology as it does not require line of sight and max. 3 items can be borrowed at a time. So far, the frequency of self-service is nearly 100%. Besides, sorting the returned books greatly reduces the library staffs manual work. As RFID label has anti-theft function, there is no need for an extra alarm strip to be attached to the item, which makes the borrowing and tagging tasks a lot easier accordingly. Chapter 5 ImplementationProgram Testing We the researchers have come up to test the system with different specifications to know the compatibility of it to the system. The researcher make sure that they will not have any problem during implementation and also we asked the end user to see and to test the system, if they had an y wanted to changed or add on the system. To ensured that the system is efficient. Documentation Plan The documentation has seven chapters. The first three chapters were made during the first part of the study, these three chapters guide the researcher to create a system what look alike.The last four chapters were made at the second part together with the system proposal. Data Management Plan We the researchers gathered data by acquiring information on some schools, browsing the net, getting some ideas with the old system, library research, asking personal questions and getting information through handouts. Resource Management Plan The development of the software would not be possible without the following components: A. Computer – an electronic device uses to manipulate data. B. USB Flash Drive – is a data storage device that includes flash memory with an integrated Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface.C. Hard Disk – wherein the system is stored and the soft co py of the documentation is saved. D. Ballpen & Paper – use for writing down the documentation and other important information. E. Internet – the primary tool of the researchers that used to gathered the needed information or data. F. Printed Materials – used for additional reference. G. Printer – used to provide hard copy of the program code and documentation. All the data which were manipulated throughout the process of the study were stored in the computer hard disk drive with back up on several flash drives.Quality Assurance Plan The researchers ensure the most precise and direct method of providing the software with highest regard on procedures thereby providing easy access for end user. Accuracy and efficiency of the software is likewise ensured thereby providing the end users guaranteed reliable software. Security Plan The researchers ensure that all data, documentation, codes and system were provided sets of back up. And though the system, the rese archers put a login form on the system to ensure that no one can access or view, only the end user can use it.Training Plan Formal training on how to use the program for end users will be provided by the researcher, if needed. The system is intended to use by an end-user acting as the administrator and could add another administrator that will do the same task to facilitate all their activities. Chapter 6 Maintenance Upon the implementation of the system, that is downloading and debugging the entire system, the researchers assures extension of services for future modifications or updates of information already published responsibilities: 1.Provided with the necessary updates on information, the researchers will plan the necessary layout modification, if needed. 2. According to the layout planned, necessary changes in the codes follows. 3. Appropriate testing of the modified code is to be done to ensure efficiency and accuracy. 4. Updating other details is provided by the system 5. P roviding back-up of the modified code 6. Providing updated documentation 7. Entrusting all the used resources to the appropriate authorities. Hardware maintenance is beyond the duty of the researcher. Chapter 7 The Summary of Findings, Conclusions and RecommendationSummary Library Management, particularly Circulation and Collection, in Tanauan Institute uses a semi-automated system which has a number of limitations such as incapability of automatically generating reports and statistics, and loss, inconsistency, and in accuracy of data. Since this institution is already using RFID Technology in monitoring the attendance of its students, the researchers attempted to resolve such issues by creating an RFID-Based Library Management System using Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 and Microsoft SQL Server 2008 with the students and the librarians as the target beneficiaries in mind.Modified waterfall was the research model used by the researchers which helped them in the distribution of the tas ks they need to accomplish. Descriptive method of research was also utilized in order to gather data more accurately and systematically with the use of data gathering tools such as surveys with open and close ended questions, interviews, and time motion study represented by graphs and tables to test and evaluate the system’s reliability and the user’s acceptance. ConclusionThrough months of conducting this study, starting from the data-gathering-phase up to the deployment-phase, with the aid of the surveys, interviews, and time motion study analyzed, the researchers concluded the following statements about their Tanauan Institute New Library RFID-Based Library Management System: †¢ The system was able to generate statistics and reports by just a click of a button which can help them in forecasting and identifying the library users of the month.They can now finally be assured regarding the accuracy and reliability of the data generated. †¢ The system can cater larger amount of data which is what the library practically needed at this time that they are upgrading the amount of their collection. Data loss will now be finally eliminated. †¢ The system was able to track whom librarian is accountable for the loss of a returned material. †¢ The system was able to help them in reminding the students regarding their unreturned materials. RecommendationsFor the future researchers to improve, the researchers suggest the following: †¢ Module for printing of a receipt-like for library users as a confirmation of the material that they have returned or borrowed †¢ Module for printing of a book-card-like after adding or updating a particular library material so that librarians can now generate it with just a click of a button †¢ Module to Include visitors who don’t have RFIDs LAGYAN PA NG RECOMMENDATION YUNG NDI NYO NAGAWA..

Free Market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Free Market - Essay Example It has been highly controversial whether free market is suitable for the present world economy. It is still unknown which economic policy would solve the fundamental economic problems of the present economy. It is time to analyze whether the concept of mixed economy would find success in this present world. It is again controversial up to what extent the governmental regulation must be allowed in a mixed economy. Moreover, it is also important to review the amount of access of free market and its validity and significance in the present world economy. It will be useful if we analyze the concepts of Adam Smith and Milton Friedman and the opposition of Keynes and Karl Marx in the context of the present world economy. Adam Smith advocated the concepts of free market and explained in his work An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations the mechanism that he believed being operated in the economic society. According to Adam Smith, individuals strive to attain wealth by aiming only on their personal gain. These individuals however cannot consume everything that they produce and has to share it with others who value it and pay the price for it. So the public interests of the society can be satisfied by this system of division of labor and free market. Smith, the father of economics, have authored the invisible hand which is able to explain all sorts of economic phenomena in all fields. The book has included the valuable views of Adam Smith about free market. Adam Smith explained the concept and told that businessmen or entrepreneurs always aim for the best profit and consumers always do aim for the lowest price. Consumer choice thus would become the force that influences the price in the market. Consumers would demonstrate their demand or negligence towards products that appear in the market. These consumer demand or pressure would thus encourage entrepreneurs or producers to invest more on the same product and bring more of them into the markets. T hus it is nothing but the consumer demand that pressurize the producers to invest their money into the profitable industry. Thus industry brings the most demanded goods to the markets and consumers also receive their favorable products, thereby resulting in the general economic well being of the society. Adam Smith considered this market-based system as a great advantage as people are forced to respond (producers) according to the want and demands of other people. Free market is the concept in which price is regulated by the corresponding demand or supply. Trade and business would be completely voluntary in free market concept without any interference from force, rule or fraud. In a free market system, the theory of supply and demand would rule the economy bringing the prices of the products towards a typical equilibrium state that would balance the demand and the supply. Another major advocate of free market system is Milton Friedman. He opined that that there is a close and direct relationship between economic freedom and economic growth. Milton Friedman, the American economist (famous for his macro and microeconomics) was of the opinion that free markets would challenge and destroy away political centralization and political control completely. In his book, Capitalism and Freedom he mentioned that the role of a government in free market economy is to maintain political and social freedom. Freidman highly supported free market concept and explained several of its advantages. According to him, â€Å"The most important single central fact about a free market is that no exchange takes place unless both parties benefit.† He opined that the one and only way to get a lot of people cooperate together jointly is through free market. As a

For this part of the assignment you must research a Serious Case Essay

For this part of the assignment you must research a Serious Case Review concerning a child in the UK aged between birth and 16 y - Essay Example The court proceeding were held on 4th August, 2011 and was presided over by Judge Caddick. Child D was born in 2010 in Kent. The child and her mother resided at the same address immediately after birth. Kent County Council had raised concerns of the child even before its birth. The local authority raised fears that the child was not in good hands since her mother was viewed as her child herself. Her mother was under police protection in Surrey County Council but she principally resided in Kent. The only option left in regards to the custody of child was for the child to be taken up by foster parents in a location where they resided. After birth, Child D and the mother stayed under foster care in Kent after which the mother was transferred to police protection in Surrey County Council. However, Child D remained under the care of foster parents in Kent County Council (Family Justice Review, 2011). Kent Count Council had applied for the Custody of the child and they were granted. The ru ling was made in regards to Section 31(1) (a) of the Children Act 1989: â€Å"placing the child with respect to whom the application is made in the care of the designated local authority†. The 4th August, 2011 court ruling was an appeal on the case made by the Surrey County Council. ... At the same time Surrey County Council could not release the mother since she was under protective custody in the address. However, Kent County Council argues that they had the right to grant the child a proper family to enable it to grow in a normal family setting. Additionally, under protective custody the mother was not in the right position to raise the child effectively considering the limitations she had at protected custody (Family Justice Review, 2011). Legally, the case was against the arguments by Surrey County Council as the law stipulates custody should be granted to the local authority which requested for custody and the local authority to which the child was given birth to (Howe, 2009). In this case, the child and her mother were principally residents of Kent County Council and this was enough to grant the local authority custody of child D under the provisions of Section 31(1) (a) of the Children Act 1989. In this particular case, with the mother of child in protected custody and the child at a critical age the case became a serious case review with a lot at stake in regards to the most appropriate decision that would make the child comfortable. In an argument by Mawby (2008) a case concerning a child immediately from birth makes the case critical since its future life will greatly depend on the care it’s given at its first stages of life. The case of custody in regards to local authorities has been provided for by numerous legislations. In the U.K the role authorities in child care and protection is significant as the bodies are given great mandate to determine the status of each and every child in the counties. In the Children Act 1989, Local authorities are given great mandate to claim

City of God Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

City of God Analysis - Essay Example From the beginning to the end of the film, the characters are trapped in their own destinies, only with the difference that it is not determined by God but by the corrupt and insensitive rulers of their country. It is reminded by each frame of the film that there is not even a speck of dignity in the life the slum dwellers live as they lack education as well as social and economic provisions to attain it. By raising the question, â€Å"when is a movie great?†, Thomson (year) has stressed the power of realism and the mundane in movies (p.39). He (Thomson, year) has stricken a cord with the real element of success of a film by establishing that a really great film need not have so-called 'serious' content but only need to have the ability to touch the heart and emotions of the viewers. In the film, City of God, also, it is the silly incident of a chicken running away from being butchered and being chased by gangsters that stands as one among the most impressive scenes. The film through its depiction of life and crime in the urban slums, has proven enough that there is no meaning in violence. This can be seen as the great role realism plays in making the art of film a social vehicle, as Thomson (year) said- â€Å"the idea of wanting to be there and believing the screened world was real or fit to be shared imaginatively† (p.38). In the case of this particular film, this observation can be re-worded as the idea of not wanting to be there and also sharing the anguish to make a difference in the world as members of the society. From the opening scene itself, the film has made clear that the events were happening in an urban slum. This is realized through showing the tin roofs and dirty walls of the dwellings as well as the chaotic and raw interactions of the people. The presence of forest is always there in the backyard of the slum, reminding the greenery that once might have supported the livelihood of the slum dwellers. After the motel shoot out, when two gangster youth hide inside the forest, one of them is seen expressing his wish to leave the life of the gangster. There are also many other similar incidents in the film. Thus the image of slum evolves into a political statement that questions the status quo involved. Another aspect of the use of images of slum and its physical settings in this Brazilian film is the identification that an individual in a developing world would feel with the life in this film. When the youth gang, the triad, was looting the motel, a woman inside the motel could be heard asking them why they were not studying, and she was reminding them that they were still kids. The next moment, youngest kid of the gang, Li'l Dice, has shot the people inside the motel, including the woman, giving a shocker to the viewers. This is the kind of violence and crime depicted in the film. It can be seen in this film that frustration caused by poverty and lack of opportunities was the leading emotion of the kids who beco me gangsters. This is why Li'l Dice is depicted killing the same person who was handing him over a gun for the first time. The theme of the film, in this sense is very close to reality of Latin American urban slums that comprises of â€Å"poverty that stunts the lives of children who labor long hours each day, who work as prostitutes, or who fall victim

HRM of Tesco and Sainsbury Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

HRM of Tesco and Sainsbury - Case Study Example The top managers are the ones who make the most crucial decisions of the organisation. The workers and the customers have no say in the decision making process. The writer now looks at the ways that the workers of these two organisations are motivated by the human resource personnel. This will help the writer in identifying the weaknesses and strengths of each motivation procedure. This is very important considering the fact that the business that the writer wants to embark on will be in the line of these two organisations. Tesco and Sainsbury are the competitors that the writer's grocery store will be up against. In this light, it becomes very important to study the dynamics of two organisations that are at extremes; one a success while the other can be described as a kind of a failure. The writer will examine the motivation that the Tesco management uses on their workers to motivate them to be one of the best in the industry. He will also embarking on checking why Sainsbury workers are not as motivated. At the end of the examination, the writer will have a very good idea of how to motivate his workers. He will combine the best aspects of these two different giants while avoiding or modifying the places that the two had gone wrong. The first task will be to examine the motivation theories that the two sets of managers use to motivate their workers. The strengths and weaknesses of both will be noted. This will be made possible by an examination of the leadership styles employed by the two companies. The second task will be to identify the structure, nature and functioning of groups within the organisations. This is because groups and group dynamics is very important to the operations of an organisation. The writer will note the opportunities and threats that these groups and how they are handled poses to the organisations. Lastly, the impacts of the technology on the functioning of the groups will also be examined. Task 1: An Examination of Motivational Theories in Leadership within Sainsbury and Tesco Companies There are many leadership styles as there are leaders. The style that a particular leader opts to employ will depend on his personality, believes and convictions and also the situation under which he is operating. The type of leadership employed is very important since it is going to determine the fate of the organization: whether it will succeed or not. The different forms of leadership styles that are employed by different managers in motivating their staff account for the varying performance that is found between two or more organizations that employ different approaches to leadership. And this explains the different picture that is Tesco chain of stores and Sainsbury, both in Europe. They are both giants, as far as retail market share is concerned. But Sainsbury is more of a small giant in comparison with Tesco. The latter is the market leader in U.K. But Sainsbury comes a distant third, after Asda. It is not far fetched to claim that the difference between the two performances h as been partly as a result of the different leadership styles that are employed by their leaders in motivating their employees. Task 1a: Leadership Style in Tesco and Sainsbury Tesco The word leadership in Tesco's context brings to mind the leadership style that is practiced by Sir Terry Leahy (Heller: 2005). This is the chief executive who has been on the helm of this giant since 1997 (Heller: 2005). Under his

Quiz Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Quiz - Assignment Example Even though the concept of neoclassical economics has gained fame through the implementation by various economists, there are critics on the principle. The economists who were majorly involved in the neoclassical concept in economics are George Stigler, John Hicks, William Stanley, John Bates Clark, and Carl Menger (Frostater, 23). Neoclassical approach is based on several features that are common in various schools of economic thought. A prominent economist called Roy Weintraub argued that the neoclassical economic concept if based on three assumptions that; consumers concentrate on utility maximization while firms concentrate on profit maximization, people are always operating independently due to the fact of relying on the relevant information and there is also a great perception in the aspect of rationale preferences in the individuals. The idea of neoclassical criticism brings the element of imperfect completion in the market. This happens in various ways such as; large business organizations may come together with a goal of neoclassical profit maximization but if there is a rejection in social issues, there is a problem, making the neoclassical equilibrium theory companionable with the economic situation delays thus creating chances for poor performance. There are complex mathematical concepts that are challenging to relate with the current economic situations in the markets. This section concentrates on some three strategic programs that are required in order to meet the long-term economic policies and goals of Stockholm such as becoming a state that is carbon neutral, clean technology and facilitating the economic opportunities from green innovation technology (Frostater, 71). The three sectors are improving urban transport and accessibility, production of energy resources that are free from carbon and creativity or innovation in the business premises. Maintenance of

Use of Power and Political Acumen in the Organization Term Paper

Use of Power and Political Acumen in the Organization - Term Paper Example A good example demonstrating how a politically astute strategy was used to enhance a nurses power base involved a nurse acting as a policy advocate in a bid to improve health care delivery in a health organization. According to Parker (2007), "A nurse gains power through establishing positive, collegial, working relationships with physicians, other nurses, and all the members of the health care team. Productive relationships increase a nurses power to base care decisions on ethical principles". The nurse therefore advocating for the rights of the patients engaged effective skills particularly her convincing skills, negotiation skills, and decision making capabilities in seeking the support of all individuals involved in health care delivery. In doing so, the nurse created a productive relationship with all stakeholders and hence expanding her power base (Paynton, 2008). There are numerous strategies that can be used to enhance or leverage power and political acumen in the nursing profession. One of these strategies as elucidated by Pfeffer (2010) is being in charge of all resources within the organization that are of significance to other employees. Good examples of such resources include finances and information. Political acumen and power in nursing denotes the ability of a nurse to garner the support of others. Assisting other nurses and physicians to access the resources they require to conduct their activities and obligations can work in favor of a nurse as it is easy to convince them to return the favor when their support is needed (Pfeffer, 2010). Another strategy to enhance or leverage power and political acumen includes the use of rewards and punishment (Pfeffer, 2010). Since time immemorial, individuals in positions of management have issued rewards for individuals who support them in their endeavors and subsequently chastise those who work against them. Nursing leaders can therefore make it known that those who give

Green and Gracious Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Green and Gracious - Essay Example greases from machinery and equipment, used or leftover paints containing heavy metals or organic solvents, used or spent lead-acid batteries, used explosive tool cartridge. The responsible person (engineer or supervisor) shall determine the volume of concrete, in addition to determining the last balance area, to be used before placing an order. A material wastage control form shall be attached while ordering concrete. The responsible person (engineer or supervisor) shall ensure that the quantity of rebar delivered is in conformance with the order. Sub-contractors shall use cut and bent rebar on site as far as practicable. Shelter must be erected at site for safe storage of pre-packed cement by prevention of direct contact with sunlight or rain water. The responsible person (supervisor) shall be responsible for monitoring the quantity ordered and delivered on site. The responsible person (ECO or SO) shall record waste disposal, and maintain and update the waste register at each project. Wastes such as steel, concrete, or wood shall be recycled for minimization of waste disposal. The responsible person (ECO, SO, HS, SS) shall inform the PM or PIC if any irregularities such as mixing of wastes are discovered. The responsible person (PM or PIC) shall initiate EHS non-conformance, corrective and preventive action, and other necessary action for prevention of recurrence when there is failure in reduction of materials. The responsible person (QS) shall review and update the material quantity schedule based on project progress, and forward the revised material quantity schedule to the concerned personnel for monitoring. Metal formwork that can be re-used for several projects shall be used. Formwork shall be supported by aluminium â€Å"I† beams and steel rectangular hollow sections instead of timber sections. Precast pre-tensioned slab or hollow core slab shall be used as an integral slab system that also acts as a formwork system. The responsible person (PM) shall

BIOTECHNOLOGY & GENETIC ANALYSIS PRACTICAL ASSESSMENT Essay

BIOTECHNOLOGY & GENETIC ANALYSIS PRACTICAL ASSESSMENT - Essay Example As most of these kind of catabolic genes found on plasmid observed bacterial population obtains from origin of river having very few plasmids. While in case of second sample which was obtained from nearby site of UWIC having large number of plasmid bearing bacteria. This is mainly attributed to accumulation of pollutant along the path of river and hence bacterial population need to evolved catabolic capability to survive and hence more plasmid bearing bacterial population were found in second sample. Similarly most of the plasmid was found to be in size range more than 35 KB clearly indicates most of them are Conjugative plasmids as this group of plasmid has more number of genes compared to non-conjugative plasmid to carryout conjugation process and hence larger the size. Re-suspension solution constitutes of glucose, EDTA and Tris each have its own role. Glucose provides osmotic stress and EDTA as chelating agents which binds to heavy metals and helps in disintegration of cell wall. Tris act as buffering agent and maintains pH of over all reactions to avoid any pH dependent side reaction. In this stage cells become highly fragile and some are break open. This solution is mixture of SDS and NaOH.

Jacob Marley Essay Example for Free

Jacob Marley Essay This year the Citizens Theatre, which is a professional theatre, performed the well known pantomime Scrooge. I have been to the Citizens Theatre many times previous to seeing Scrooge. The Citizens Theatre is internationally recognized theatre with a proscenium arch stage and shows a variety of different plays, some very traditional and some very contemporary. As a child I was always amazed by the set and costumes used in the Citzs pantomimes, it seamed that no corners were cut. So with this in mind I expected, not so much of a panto, but more of a theatrical performance with great visuals and I would say I was correct to say this. I am fairly familiar with the pantomime Scrooge adapted from the Charles Dickens book A Christmas Carol as I have seen it in other theatres prior to this year at the Citz. The Citzs, I thought was maybe not as traditional as the other versions but it was equally, if not more so, entertaining. I went to the pantomime twice whilst it was on, first with my peers and then with young children. IT was very interesting to see how they both reacted. The Story of Scrooge is about a man called Ebenezer Scrooge, a wealthy business man full of greed counting every penny entering and parting his pocket. On Christmas Eve he is visited by the ghost of his deceased business partner Jacob Marley, who has come to warn Scrooge of what awaits him if he carries on with his greediness. That evening Scrooge is to be visited by the three ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. Firstly the ghost of Christmas past comes to show him of the happy times before his self-inflicted loneliness caused by his greed, as a child and as a young man. Then the ghost Christmas present shows Scrooge the Cratchit family. The Cratchit family is very poor and consists of Bob Cratchit, Scrooges employee, his wife and their four children including their son Tiny Tim who is extremely ill. Scrooge is forced to realize that all the people around his fine it difficult to speak well of him. The ghost of Christmas future tells scrooge nothing but shows him of his death burdening all the people around him with the greed he left behind as they celebrate his death. Seeing this awful future that he himself could be creating, Scrooge decides to change for the better, rewarding workers with a pay rise and giving money to charity he had previously changed and donating a rich Christmas feast to the Cratchit family. The quality of the set was amazing as it was very grand and the size of the stage meant that the set could be quite big without being pretentious. All around the stage is painted Scrooges favorite phrase Bah Humbug in italic writing. At first there was just an office set up with a window through which you could see all the Characters entering the scene, I thought that this made the action more realistic and was quite interesting. The window was also used for carol singers and the audience could just faintly hear then which made it feel like you were actually in the office. When Scrooge goes home the office wall is raised to reveal a whole new set which is even more spectacular. A set of stone stairs lead up to Scrooges bedroom, luxuriously decorated compared to his office that is on a 15 foot tall platform. The most exciting part of the set was when Christmas present arrives with his set, a whole new room painted red into which he is camouflaged, just rolling on moving Scrooges room away. This room is decorated with lots of Christmas decorations. The one prop used by Scrooge a lot was a light bulb which showed how grudging he was because he would remove it with such care whenever leaving the room. Obviously the main character in the play was Ebenezer scrooge. He was an old, selfish, grumpy, bitter old man. We could tell this by his facial expressions that were always very twisted. Although dressed in a suite his long scraggly hair and unshaven face showed that he wasnt all that concerned with his appearance. This rugged look indicated his age as well as his movement which was hunched over and slow. At the end however we see a very different scrooge that stands up tall with his head in the air to show his confidence has been gained and he is proud of his changes. I think this couldve been shown by making a greater contrast as I didnt think the change in Scrooge was very dramatic. At the end of the play we are made aware that Scrooge does care about the people around him. He may have realized in a selfish manner, but he changed before it was too late which is what matters, leaving us with a fairy tale ending. I think one of the most dramatic characters in the play has to have been Jacob Marley, Scrooges deceased business partner. He appears from the floor when Scrooges light suddenly cuts out. His costume is amazing with a death gown shredded with blood smeared across it to signify that he is dead and has been tortured for his sinful life. Although impressive, Jacob Marleys entrance was quite alarming and younger children found it quite scary, especially along with the chains on his wrists and ankles acting as the chains binding him to hell. Compared the quietness of the room before, this huge explosion of noise is very effective. He comes to warn scrooge and is desperate to get the message to him, we can tell this by the way in which he attempts to get closer to him but the chains stop him, there is also wind blowing against him stopping him making contact with Scrooge.

Ethics of the US in the Vietnam War

Ethics of the US in the Vietnam War Aaron Sanders I think that OBrien says that courage is something that is gained once and as you encounter times where you have to break through your fears to do what is right, your courage slowly gains. His specific point of, stashing it away alternatively shows that you have to not be courageous all the time. He says that We must steadily increase our moral capital in preparation for that day when the account must be drawn out. meaning that there is that one time where all of your previous experiences that gained you courage, now lead you past a major barrier, unlike anything you had ever dealt with before. I wasnt exactly that surprised that he was a coward to enter the war, mainly in the sense that this was a war that many people had been opposed to, OBrien specifically stated on page 38 that, I was drafted to fight a war I hated Young, yes, and politically naive, but even so the American War in Vietnam seemed to me wrong.. If you dont want to do something, like go to war, then, of course, you were cowardly. Do I agree on these grounds? Yes, and No. First off, this is possibly the choice between living as a coward for the rest of your life, or by joining your brothers as they get slaughtered in the jungle a whole hemisphere away from home. Both sides of which I have an equal opinion for. It may be cowardice to not join in a fight overseas, but at least you get to live out your life at home but be labeled a coward. I also think though that you shouldnt be forced to fight for a cause that you dont believe in. However, if you get drafted, then you do have a moral obligation to go and fight for Americas beliefs. If you are drafted, you should think about the broader impact of what you not answering the draft call entails. When America enters a war it is always supposed to be for what is right. If you then dont answer that call you aid the enemy because they have a more dedicated military and citizen population all fighting for what they believe is right. Shame has a major role within the lives of the soldiers, because they feel that killing people is shameful and something that no one should have to do, or watching a buddy die and feeling as though you couldve stopped it. OBrien especially feels shame after he killed his first Viet Cong soldier, [Kiowa] told me that it was a good kill, that I was a soldier, and this was war, that I should shape up and stop staring Sometimes I try to forgive myself and other times I dont. (OBrien, 127-128). I would say that heroism and stupidity is both a result of the shame they feel. Heroism is shown in the sense that it gives the soldiers something more to fight for. Take the Alpha company after Kiowa died, Move it, [Mitchell Sanders] said. Kiowas waiting on us'(OBrien, 160). They had all felt shame that he had died in such a cruel way, having drowned in the villages latrine during a mortar strike. After that he is used as a rallying cry for the rest of the soldiers. However shame also caused stupi dity, The next morning [Rat Kiley] shot himself. He took off his boots and socks, laid out his medical kit, doped himself up then shot himself in the foot. (OBrien, 212) Rat was so shamed by the war that he would do anything to get out of it, even shoot himself in the foot. Its sad the lengths someone would go to rid themselves of the burden of shame. It ends up being stupid what it will drive them too, it may not even be a conscious decision that pushes them off the edge though in Rat Kileys case he fully made the decision. Shame can and should be used though as a rallying cry of sorts, because it gives you a reason more powerful than anything else to make the shame go away. In my mind the relationship that OBrien is talking about, between shame and courage is that the shame in life helps you grow courage if you use, like in question 3, put it away and let it grow. These little acts of heroism that may even seem like stupidity at times, though but not stupidity in the sense of shoo ting yourself in the foot or injuring yourself in other ways, but it is these acts of heroism that will grow your courage. After reading the chapter entitled Speaking of Courage and then getting sort of an analysis in Notes, the effect is actually quite powerful. I felt as though what OBrien had explained in Notes about some parts being fake and others real, couldnt take away from the empathy that I had developed with Norman. I think since some parts had to be fabricated, it actually made it more connectable mainly in the sense that you have a character in a town that takes you along and makes you feel what he is feeling through him reliving the memories. He had to keep thinking to himself because no one had let him just spill his guts, and its just an emotion mix of loneliness and shame. The feeling of shame of The truth, Norman Bowker wouldve said, is I let the guy go.' (OBrien, 147). My appreciation actually doesnt change for the story. The important parts are completely there and they are backed up by incredibly life-like storytelling, a town that doesnt feel much at home, and just being alone with t he thoughts of the character as he relives one of his most shameful moments. With Notes after it, the message of just how lost Norman was feeling that late evening on July 4th as he drove around the lake becomes painfully clear, [OBrien] received a long, disjointed letter in which Bowker described the problem of finding a meaningful use for his life after the war. (OBrien, 149). This reality check that Mr. OBrien put into the first few paragraphs of Notes really hit home what soldiers that come home from the war filled with shame and confusion really put up with. For me Speaking of Courage was really sealed as being completely true in my mind when Mr. OBrien said Speaking of Courage was written in 1975 at the suggestion of Norman Bowker, who three years later hanged himself in the locker room of a YMCA in his hometown in central Iowa. (OBrien, 149). I think Norman ending up committing suicide after all of his pain and suffering finally got to him, fit with how Speaking of Courage en ded, with him deciding that,. It was a pretty good show. (OBrien 148), it was this easing of pain that he wanted so badly after witnessing his best friend and comrade drown while he just stood and essentially watched helplessly, that made him decide to hang himself. Overall I think that Mr. OBrien really made me appreciate Speaking of Courage by making it believable with just the powerful simplicity of the complex feelingsÂÂ   Norman was experiencing. It was this simplicity that made it so easy and believable to be Norman, and feel what he was feeling. His narration of the reasoning behind how he got the idea also added to the authenticity because he tried to make it sound as though Norman was telling his story, perfectly relaying what he felt at every revolution around that lake. WORKS CITED OBrien, Tim. The Things They Carried: A Work of Fiction. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010. Print.

Causes of Increased Corporate Social Responsibility

Causes of Increased Corporate Social Responsibility Abstract Aim The main aim of this research was to establish the extent to which the increased priority of CSR is in actuality a reflection of companies acting to meet the interests of society or simply a means for generating profits in a marketing oriented way. In this regard, the research sought to explore CSR behaviour in depth and in turn tried to establish companies rationales for CSR behaviour in the UK food retail industry. Methods A mixed methodology with both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis were used in the research. Qualitative content analysis was used for analysing the contents of food retailers websites pertaining to CSR. Store Audits were conducted in order to identify the CSR practices and extent to which they are exercised by different food retailers. In depth formal interviews were conducted with key decision makers with the goal of obtaining information on CSR activities. Lastly, a questionnaire survey was used with the UK consumer population as the population of interest. Results The members of the UK Food Retail Industry showed that they have given paramount importance to CSR in order to somehow become a better neighbour to their customers, render them effective public services and at the same time contribute to the preservation and protection of the environment. The responses to the questions revealed a common rationale behind their CSR policies and ensured that the organisation established a good reputation amongst the members of the community, thereby enabling the latter to maintain a certain level of trust for the UK food retailers. Conclusion The study supported the fact highlighted by previous studies that companies have become more aware and mindful of their responsibilities, roles and rights towards the society. They were seen to have implemented activities, practices and guidelines in order to fulfill their legal, ethical, social and environmental roles and responsibilities towards stakeholders, employees, customers, and environment and society in general. However, it can also be realised that these policies contribute to the building of trust in the customers towards the organisations. Thus, as the trust is established, it is more likely that the customers will remain loyal to the organisation, thereby increasing their chances of generating profit. Chapter 1: Introduction For many years Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been associated with related terms like business ethics, corporate performance, corporate accountability, corporate responsibility and stake holder involvement. In recent years CSR has grown into a well-known collective expression. The growth of CSR has been a result of organisations realising their responsibility toward their stake holders in the context of business scandals (e.g. Enron) and a growing concern for environmental changes (e.g. global warming). The European Union defines CSR as a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interactions with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis (European Commission, 2002). According to Vernon and Mackenzie (2007), the question of whether companies should seek to do good by exercising CSR, rather than concentrate solely on wealth creation, is no longer interesting and in fact the focus today is on how well companies do good. Increasingly stake holders expect companies to take on public responsibility. Companies engage in CSR through diverse activities such as donating to charitable organisations (e.g. Ben and Jerrys), green activities (e.g. moves by major retailers to eliminate plastic bags and promote green bags) and by implementing environment friendly purchase and supply policies. A survey conducted by Research International, however, found that while CSR practices are commendable, they need to be viewed with caution as these activities are not sufficient in and of themselves (Social Funds, 2000). The scepticism about CSR activities is related to the growing trend for organisations to drift away from the hard issues and concentrate more on soft issues. The Research International survey revealed that despite ignoring crucial issues such as treatment of employees, and commitment to the local community, some companies portray themselves as socially responsible using charity and other CSR activities, which deal with soft issues (Social Funds, 2000). Sceptics also believe that CSR is often used purely as a marketing tool to improving business performance. In the context of CSR being rated as a priority by companies in the last few years (Cost Sector, 2009), this research aims to study the changing nature of CSR, with particular focus on an organisations motivation for engaging in socially responsible activities (whether it is a response to societys expectations or a strategic move by a company). By contributing to a deeper understanding of rationales, notions, risks and effects of CSR, the proposed research provides strategic insights on the subject. With findings based on both corporate and stake holder perspectives on the subject, this research aims to contribute to useful and interesting reading for both businesses and stake holders. The findings of this study are based on the UK food retail industry. Food retailers make a good context for study especially considering the several socially and environmentally responsible schemes that they are involved in and the significance of CSR asserted by industry standards. In this attempt Chapter Two provides the background and review of literature conducted in order to extensively analyse previous works published with regard to Corporate Social Responsibility and the manner by which it applies to the members of the UK food retail industry. Chapter Three discusses the different methods used in order to obtain data for the study to obtain relevant results. Chapter Four then presents the results obtained from the use of the different methodologies enumerated in the study. The results shall then be discussed in relation to the aim of the study in Chapter Five and conclusions would be provided by answering the research questions. Lastly in Chapter 6 we will give us an understanding of the scope and limitations of this study. Chapter 2: Background and Literature Review 2.1 Background of the study Societys preoccupation with the social responsibility of organisations has existed since at least the early 1930s and probably even before. Wells (2002) notes that it is perhaps the infamous Dodd-Berle correspondence contained within the Harvard Law Review Issue of 1931-32 that launched the debate on corporate social responsibility. The debate started when corporate law professor Adolf A. Berle Jr. published an article arguing for the imposition of legal control on management so that only their shareholders would benefit from their decisions (Berle, 1931). E.M. Dodd, another professor from Harvard, published an article that addressed the issue raised by Berle. He argues that besides focusing on the interests of the shareholders, managers must also take into consideration the concerns of the employees, consumers and the organisations stakeholders. Berle (1931) responded by saying that companies should â€Å"not abandon emphasis on the view that business corporations exist for the sol e purpose of making profits for their stockholders until such time as [one is] prepared to offer a clear and reasonably enforceable scheme of responsibilities to someone else† (Berle, 1932, p. 1365). Since the idea of corporate social responsibility has its roots in the legal community, several academic disciplines have followed the debate with little discussion occurring between and among them (Radin, 1999). More specifically, researchers in the field of business ethics have spent substantial effort in the past two decades to come up with a stakeholder theory that would eventually fall under corporate social responsibility, existing as a separate approach to management. The issue of corporate social responsibility was not discussed after the argument between Berle and Dodd. It resurfaced in the 1960s and the 1970s against the backdrop of the civil rights movement in America. This is due to the fact that the top agendas of politicians, public interest groups, individual citizens and corporations have been largely influenced by concerns about the environment, product safety, workplace health and safety, racial and sex discrimination, urban congestion, political corruption and technological advances. Apart from this, the increasing influence and power that organisations possessed during this period (this period being the 60s and 70s?) has eventually led to a widespread societal belief that large businesses have a duty towards ensuring the betterment of society (Banner, 1979). The power and influence of corporations, actual or perceived, and the impact of their economic, social and political actions on society in general, has led to a broad societal expectation that corporations be held accountable for their actions. Simply put, there is growing public sentiment that organisations must be responsible enough to weigh the impact of their decisions on the different parties involved. As a result, they must be able to eliminate, minimize or compensate for the harmful damages that they may inflict on society. The above mentioned justification is basically derived from a moral position that corporations are expected, and should, behave like any citizen in society. This expectation is also justified on the basis that corresponding responsibilities always accompany power. As Dodd (1932) asserts, â€Å"power over the lives of others tends to create on the part of those most worthy to exercise it a sense of responsibility.† Moreover, the increasing power of organisations has resulted in a societal expectation that corporations act proactively and at the same time, carry out a leadership role in order to provide solutions to problems that the world faces (CSR Survey, 2003). This means that given that organisations frequently have more resources than governments, they should give something back to the society. In the same manner, they are also called to allocate and offer some of their resources to carry out good works and help the less fortunate sectors of society. Overall, this CSR goal is justified as follows: initially, a societal need is identified. For instance, areas such as education, healthcare, low-income housing or the arts may require funding that cannot be generated privately or that government is unable to provide to enable these institutions to continue making goods or services available or even to exist. Second, corporations are identified as capable of filling the gap by providing either funds or infrastructure to address the need. In other words, an appeal to organisations is made because they frequently have the capacity, in accordance with their size and reach, to act as agents of â€Å"social progress† (Kahn, 1997). As repeatedly mentioned earlier, corporate social responsibility has been required of companies that have both, actual or perceived power and influence. This is why multinational corporations that operate parts of the globe where people fear the effects and consequences of Globalisation are expected to perform such duties. This, according to Zinkin (2004) is usually brought about by the fact that these corporations are usually seen as enemies rather than friends. Thus, to regain the trust and confidence of the people, the company must be able to make their social responsibility known as this is said to give them legitimacy to operate in a given country (Zinkins, 2004). 2.2 Literature Review In order to gain a better understanding of the concepts and principles of CSR, the review of literature is divided into the following sections: 1. Corporate Social Responsibility: Definitions and History, 2. Corporate Social Responsibility and the UK Food Retail Industry, and 3. Summary 2.2.1 Corporate Social Responsibility: Definitions and History Globalisation, the increasing influence of companies including small and medium enterprises, a change in the position and opinion of governments, and a paradigm shift in working with and appreciating the importance of building solid relations with stakeholders- are all factors that have contributed to changing the dynamics of the relationship between businesses and society. Businesses have always been mindful of their responsibilities towards society. The concept of companies sharing their resources and influence with other groups has been repeatedly spoken about for centuries (Bowe, 1953). Nowadays, companies have become more aware and mindful of their responsibilities, roles and rights towards the society. They are seen to have implemented activities, practices and guidelines in order to fulfill their legal, ethical, social and environmental responsibilities to stakeholders, which include shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers and the environment and society in general. These actions have been given many terms, including: (1) Corporate Responsibility or CR, (2) Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility or CSER, (3) Corporate Citizenship, (4) Corporate Accountability, and lastly, (5) Socially Responsible Business (SRB) (Raynard Forstater, 2002). However, the most famous terminology would have to be Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR. CSR first began to be written about by academics in the 20th century. The term Corporate Social Responsibility and the modern view on CSR are largely attributed to Howard Bowen, who is considered by many scholars, especially Carroll, as the father of CSR. Bowen conceived CSR as an integral part of a larger vision of a better American society with a robust and socially responsible business sector. Before Bowen wrote his book in 1953, CSR was not a generally accepted practice among businesses in the United States. Carroll (1991) writes that in the early years, businesses believed that their only obligation was to their shareholders and their only function was the quest of financial improvement in order to provide the greatest financial return to their shareholders. The errors of this way of thinking soon became apparent. For one, businesses still had to work within laws set down by governments. In the 1960s, groups advocating social issues pushed for a more extensive concept of responsibilities for businesses. In the 1970s, various organisations in charge of the social issues pushed by the activist groups were created in the U.S. Some of these organisations were the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). These governmental organisations allowed the establishment of national public policy that now acknowledged the legality of environmen tal issues. The new policies forced businesses to re-examine their own strategies and to learn how to develop a balance between making a profit and the legal and ethical responsibilities placed on them by a widening range of stakeholders. For Bowen (1953), businesses become prominent in society because society needs the products and services provided by these companies. This grants businesses vital decision-making power in the way they affect the lives of many people. Therefore, for a balanced business-society relationship to continue, Bowen (1953) asks what responsibilities society can reasonably expect businessmen to assume. The answer to this question, Bowen states, is corporate social responsibility. He defines CSR as a social obligation that necessitates businessmen to engage in policies, formulate decisions, and implement actions that are considered desirable when connected with the objectives and values of society. He took a broad view when defining what business responsibilities include—responsiveness, stewardship, social audit, corporate citizenship and rudimentary stakeholder theory. Bowens concept of a mutual relationship between business and society is echoed by Porter and Kramer (2006), who point out that the value of CSR lies in the values companies share with societies they exist in. Businesses operate in social contexts and societies need the products and services that businesses provide, thus there is a mutual need for each entity. CSR, therefore, makes it possible to promote a collaborative relationship between business and society. Many have tried to create a definition of corporate social responsibility that encompasses its functions and the range of responsibilities it entails. One of the most comprehensive is that of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (2007), which defines CSR as the long-lasting commitment that businesses create which compels them to behave in an ethical manner and to add to the development of the economy while helping improve the quality of life of their employees and their families in addition to the lives of those in the local communities and society in general. This definition is specific enough to imply the holistic and philanthropic maxim of CSR. It is also broad enough to include activities or programs that companies engage in that do not directly yield income but bring visible and long-term benefits to both the companies and the recipients of the programs and activities such as youth and partner communities. With this definition programs such as scholarships and funds for research, advocacy programs for the environment, and livelihood programs can be considered as CSR. One of the earliest authors on CSR, Carroll (1979) was the first to propose the four categories of ordered layers of CSR—economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary—when he wrote that the social responsibility of businesses includes the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that society puts upon enterprises. Aupperle, Carroll, and Hatfield (1985) further defined these categories into: * Economic responsibilities showcase the principle that businesses have the primary responsibility to generate products and profits and fulfill the desires of their customers; * Legal responsibilities highlight the issue that economic responsibilities must be performed within the restriction of rules and regulations as mandated by the laws of the land; * Ethical responsibilities takes into consideration the codes, norms, and values that are not written into laws but are still followed implicitly by society; these responsibilities rise above the complexities of written laws and encompass activities that are vigorously carried out without any clear and defined statements made about them; * Discretionary or philanthropic responsibilities reflect the voluntary nature of actions that are not easy to establish and assess, but are still expected by society. These categories are still widely cited and frequently reproduced in management and CSR journals by researchers and authors on CSR. The reason for its lasting acknowledgement may be the simplicity of the model. Carrolls (1979) categories are logical and easy to understand. The author himself writes that these categories are merely guidelines or reminders that the motives or actions of businesses can be generally classified into any of the categories he presented. The arrangement and relative influence of each category was intended to imply the basic role each had in the progression of significance. When it first came out, Carrolls model reflected a point of view that was simultaneously retrospective and developmental. It was based on the assertion that historically businesses first emphasised only the economic aspects of their trade. The legal aspect came next, and the ethical and discretionary were only emphasised in recent years. Juholin (2004) suggests that companies practice corporate social responsibility (CSR) because of long-term profits that CSR brings to companies. Other reasons may also include the commitment of top management to the moral and ethical standards promoted by CSR, competitiveness of the market today, and the visionary skills of many business leaders that allows them to anticipate the needs of the future. Porter and Kramer (2006) agree that CSR provides long-term profits. The authors note that companies should practice CSR and integrate it in their core strategic plans to ensure long-term prosperity. This is because socially responsible activities can return goodwill for companies. On the other hand, activities that harm the environment or result in any disadvantage to stakeholders can only result in bad karma in the form of bad financial operation, low brand positioning, and, worse, a rift in the relationship between companies and their consumers and suppliers and even expensive litigations. Porter and Kramer (2006) write that corporations are not obligated to solve the problems of the world. They do not have resources to do this. But, a company that is well managed can have a greater impact than any other organisation or charity group when they do something good for society. CSR does not merely imply profitability for companies. Its results go beyond the costs or constraint of altruistic actions. CSR can be a source of market opportunity, improvement, and an edge over the competition (Porter Kramer, 2006). It also does not mean engaging in activities for the sake of doing what is socially required and expected of these companies based on legal and social laws, especially those on environmental issues. CSR implies taking action to go beyond these laws to minimize any harm towards and maximize benefits for all stakeholders in order to fulfill what society desires (Raynard Forstater, 2002). Warhurst (2001) identifies three major elements of CSR—product use, business practice, and distribution of profits. Product use entails the positive involvement of products from businesses that assist in the promotion of welfare and better quality of life for members of society. Business practice entails business governance that observes the rules and regulations and presents a high level of thrust towards welfare of the natural environment and equity for all generations and species. Distribution of profits entails equal distribution of profits across a varied range of sectors of society, with emphasis on local communities. Bowen (1953) also notes that CSR should not be seen as a primary solution to the many problems of society. CSR can only do so much, and it should only be seen by companies and society as a set of guidelines for businesses in the way they perform and carry on their operations within the context of a larger society and the many issues that abound within the social milieu that they operate in. A key concept of CSR is the idea of stakeholders. Stakeholders are all groups or individuals who have an impact on or are affected by the attainment of any organisations goals (Freeman, 1984). It can be said that stakeholders are any entity who have a big â€Å"stake† in what businesses do. The concept of stakeholders therefore goes beyond the shareholders, employees, and clients or customers of a company. It includes communities, public interest groups, social activist groups, environmental groups, and the media which, according to Freeman, author of the Stakeholder Theory, businesses are accountable to. Other researchers (Marcus, 1996; Munilla Miles, 2005) list specific stakeholders as: owners; customers; employees; local, regional and national communities; competitors; suppliers; social activists; public at large; creditors; non-government organisations (NGOs); and even the natural environment, which, although unable to state its opinions, has become a major stakeholder today because of the many laws promulgated to care for the Earth in a sustainable way. Hopkins (2003) writes that CSR primarily deals with ensuring that businesses treat stakeholders in an ethical or responsible way which means treating them in a manner considered suitable by members of any civilized society. The social context of this definition includes economic responsibility. Stakeholders can be both within businesses and outside it. This signifies the natural environment as a stakeholder. In a broader sense, the objective of social responsibility is to establish better and higher standards of living while maintaining the capability of businesses to make a profit. These two components of the objective of social responsibility are both done for the stakeholders within and outside companies. According to Freeman (1984) for successful transactions with stakeholders, businesses must accept the authority and procedures of various stakeholders. Stakeholders will thus have the freedom to communicate their concerns. Furthermore, to manage and develop a strong relationship with stakeholders, businesses must understand their concerns and develop programs that will address these concerns. Stakeholders have various ways to ensure that businesses fulfill societys expectations. Some may opt to organize rallies, some may opt for more peaceful negotiations, some may engage in joint activities such as seminars or tree-planting sessions or other awareness raising activities, and some may use the media to further disseminate their issues. For example, the environmental group Greenpeace printed leaflets and wrote articles against genetically modified food, which led some food manufacturing corporations to either stop production of certain products or to develop new, healthier items. Freeman (1984) points out that the term â€Å"stakeholder† first appeared in management literature in a 1963 international memorandum published by the Stanford Research Institute. The term then was strictly yet broadly defined as the peoples or groups who give their support to companies and without whom businesses would stop to surviving. The main idea in this initial context already shows a measure of the importance of stakeholders. In a way, this definition states that without the support of stakeholders, businesses would not be able to survive. Of course, the limitation of this definition lies in the fact that stakeholders here may mean only the groups that are influential for companies such as the shareholders or government groups or investors. Each business activity has a different group of stakeholders. This is because each individual in society is interested in and promotes a varied and widely different range of concerns (Freeman, 1984). Some are more interested in environmental issues, while others advocate employment benefits, and still others fight for education. One way to determine which stakeholder is relevant to which particular aspect of business is through the generation of a generic stakeholder map, which is a diagram of the various groups relevant to the whole organisation broken down into levels and subdivisions in order to divide big groups into small groups based on specific interests. Some experts, however, think that this mapping procedure does not encapsulate the complex linkages between businesses and the various individuals and groups in society. An approach of corporate social responsibility that centers on stakeholders emphasizes the strategic and effective management of relationships and promotion of what Freeman and McVea (2001) call shared interests. The stakeholder model also puts some emphasis on persuading businesses to rebuild or restore relationships with groups or organisations that they have been at odds with. A good stakeholder management program also involves open communication, negotiation, management, and motivation. The end result of all of these actions leads to the establishment of an attitude of partnership, mutual association and interdependence between businesses and stakeholders. All of these activities are held together by the values and ethical standards that businesses stand for. Freeman and McVea (2001) further emphasise that good stakeholder management promotes a business own company values. CSR does not mean catering to the interests of stakeholders while abandoning all other aspects of business. Rather it entails in-depth deliberations taking into account all factors of social expectations. A well-developed stakeholder management program also allows businesses to create approaches that can serve stakeholders even in the long run. Although some individuals may not be happy with short-term decisions and feel that their causes need more attention, a good stakeholder management program takes all things into considerations so that all stakeholders, not just a chosen few, continue to be firm supporters of businesses. Besides understanding stakeholders concerns, businesses must also look at the other components of CSR to determine the entire range of responsibilities that stakeholders expect them to embrace. When discussing and identifying these components of CSR, scholars and authors have been turning to the CSR pyramid presented by Carroll (1991). The CSR pyramid is arranged to follow the levels of Carrolls (1979) earlier work of the four categories of CSR. The arrangement is in accordance with the degrees of social expectations that have been connected with each category. It has been used to assess businesses performance in terms of quantity, quality, effectiveness, and efficiency in their implementation of CSR initiatives. Table 2.2.1 The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility Be a Good Corporate Citizen Philanthropic Responsibility Contribute Resources to the community; Improve Quality of Life Be Ethical Ethical Responsibility Obligation to do what is right, just and fair; Avoid Harm Obey the Law Legal Responsibility Law is Societys codification of right and wrong; Play the Rules of the game Be Profitable Economic Responsibility The Foundation on which all the others rest (Source : Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility (Carroll, 1991, p. 39)) Obligations or responsibilities included in the pyramid have always existed in the business world. But the importance of philanthropic and ethical responsibilities has only received attention in recent years. Through this pyramid, Carroll (1991) hoped to show that a good CSR program can be broken down into well-defined components that make up a complete package. It can be seen as a framework for comprehending companies ever-evolving CSR activities. In addition, looking at each component can help leaders to distinguish and understand the various obligations of businesses that are in constant conflict with each other but which are mutually exclusive. Based on the expected activities for each level, economic responsibilities seem to be always in tension with the other responsibilities. Carroll (1991) also included the concept of stakeholders in this model, pointing out that taking their perspective into account would allow businesses to recognize the tension between all levels of the pyramid as realities of any organisation. This perspective can also allow businesses to see the pyramid as a united basis or framework of how firms will implement their decisions, actions, and programs. As can be seen, economic profit forms the foundation of the whole pyramid. Carroll (1991) acknowledges the basic fact that businesses were created historically as economic entities that are primarily concerned with making money and creating profit. Without this component, all other responsibilities become moot. Carroll states that the idea he was proposing was that CSR, to be acknowledged as a legitimate action for businesses, had to deal with the whole range of responsibilities these businesses had to answer for to society. Of course this would have to include the most basic responsibility—economic. The next level shows that businesses are obligated to follow the rules of law—various national and international laws—that socie Causes of Increased Corporate Social Responsibility Causes of Increased Corporate Social Responsibility Abstract Aim The main aim of this research was to establish the extent to which the increased priority of CSR is in actuality a reflection of companies acting to meet the interests of society or simply a means for generating profits in a marketing oriented way. In this regard, the research sought to explore CSR behaviour in depth and in turn tried to establish companies rationales for CSR behaviour in the UK food retail industry. Methods A mixed methodology with both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis were used in the research. Qualitative content analysis was used for analysing the contents of food retailers websites pertaining to CSR. Store Audits were conducted in order to identify the CSR practices and extent to which they are exercised by different food retailers. In depth formal interviews were conducted with key decision makers with the goal of obtaining information on CSR activities. Lastly, a questionnaire survey was used with the UK consumer population as the population of interest. Results The members of the UK Food Retail Industry showed that they have given paramount importance to CSR in order to somehow become a better neighbour to their customers, render them effective public services and at the same time contribute to the preservation and protection of the environment. The responses to the questions revealed a common rationale behind their CSR policies and ensured that the organisation established a good reputation amongst the members of the community, thereby enabling the latter to maintain a certain level of trust for the UK food retailers. Conclusion The study supported the fact highlighted by previous studies that companies have become more aware and mindful of their responsibilities, roles and rights towards the society. They were seen to have implemented activities, practices and guidelines in order to fulfill their legal, ethical, social and environmental roles and responsibilities towards stakeholders, employees, customers, and environment and society in general. However, it can also be realised that these policies contribute to the building of trust in the customers towards the organisations. Thus, as the trust is established, it is more likely that the customers will remain loyal to the organisation, thereby increasing their chances of generating profit. Chapter 1: Introduction For many years Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been associated with related terms like business ethics, corporate performance, corporate accountability, corporate responsibility and stake holder involvement. In recent years CSR has grown into a well-known collective expression. The growth of CSR has been a result of organisations realising their responsibility toward their stake holders in the context of business scandals (e.g. Enron) and a growing concern for environmental changes (e.g. global warming). The European Union defines CSR as a concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in their interactions with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis (European Commission, 2002). According to Vernon and Mackenzie (2007), the question of whether companies should seek to do good by exercising CSR, rather than concentrate solely on wealth creation, is no longer interesting and in fact the focus today is on how well companies do good. Increasingly stake holders expect companies to take on public responsibility. Companies engage in CSR through diverse activities such as donating to charitable organisations (e.g. Ben and Jerrys), green activities (e.g. moves by major retailers to eliminate plastic bags and promote green bags) and by implementing environment friendly purchase and supply policies. A survey conducted by Research International, however, found that while CSR practices are commendable, they need to be viewed with caution as these activities are not sufficient in and of themselves (Social Funds, 2000). The scepticism about CSR activities is related to the growing trend for organisations to drift away from the hard issues and concentrate more on soft issues. The Research International survey revealed that despite ignoring crucial issues such as treatment of employees, and commitment to the local community, some companies portray themselves as socially responsible using charity and other CSR activities, which deal with soft issues (Social Funds, 2000). Sceptics also believe that CSR is often used purely as a marketing tool to improving business performance. In the context of CSR being rated as a priority by companies in the last few years (Cost Sector, 2009), this research aims to study the changing nature of CSR, with particular focus on an organisations motivation for engaging in socially responsible activities (whether it is a response to societys expectations or a strategic move by a company). By contributing to a deeper understanding of rationales, notions, risks and effects of CSR, the proposed research provides strategic insights on the subject. With findings based on both corporate and stake holder perspectives on the subject, this research aims to contribute to useful and interesting reading for both businesses and stake holders. The findings of this study are based on the UK food retail industry. Food retailers make a good context for study especially considering the several socially and environmentally responsible schemes that they are involved in and the significance of CSR asserted by industry standards. In this attempt Chapter Two provides the background and review of literature conducted in order to extensively analyse previous works published with regard to Corporate Social Responsibility and the manner by which it applies to the members of the UK food retail industry. Chapter Three discusses the different methods used in order to obtain data for the study to obtain relevant results. Chapter Four then presents the results obtained from the use of the different methodologies enumerated in the study. The results shall then be discussed in relation to the aim of the study in Chapter Five and conclusions would be provided by answering the research questions. Lastly in Chapter 6 we will give us an understanding of the scope and limitations of this study. Chapter 2: Background and Literature Review 2.1 Background of the study Societys preoccupation with the social responsibility of organisations has existed since at least the early 1930s and probably even before. Wells (2002) notes that it is perhaps the infamous Dodd-Berle correspondence contained within the Harvard Law Review Issue of 1931-32 that launched the debate on corporate social responsibility. The debate started when corporate law professor Adolf A. Berle Jr. published an article arguing for the imposition of legal control on management so that only their shareholders would benefit from their decisions (Berle, 1931). E.M. Dodd, another professor from Harvard, published an article that addressed the issue raised by Berle. He argues that besides focusing on the interests of the shareholders, managers must also take into consideration the concerns of the employees, consumers and the organisations stakeholders. Berle (1931) responded by saying that companies should â€Å"not abandon emphasis on the view that business corporations exist for the sol e purpose of making profits for their stockholders until such time as [one is] prepared to offer a clear and reasonably enforceable scheme of responsibilities to someone else† (Berle, 1932, p. 1365). Since the idea of corporate social responsibility has its roots in the legal community, several academic disciplines have followed the debate with little discussion occurring between and among them (Radin, 1999). More specifically, researchers in the field of business ethics have spent substantial effort in the past two decades to come up with a stakeholder theory that would eventually fall under corporate social responsibility, existing as a separate approach to management. The issue of corporate social responsibility was not discussed after the argument between Berle and Dodd. It resurfaced in the 1960s and the 1970s against the backdrop of the civil rights movement in America. This is due to the fact that the top agendas of politicians, public interest groups, individual citizens and corporations have been largely influenced by concerns about the environment, product safety, workplace health and safety, racial and sex discrimination, urban congestion, political corruption and technological advances. Apart from this, the increasing influence and power that organisations possessed during this period (this period being the 60s and 70s?) has eventually led to a widespread societal belief that large businesses have a duty towards ensuring the betterment of society (Banner, 1979). The power and influence of corporations, actual or perceived, and the impact of their economic, social and political actions on society in general, has led to a broad societal expectation that corporations be held accountable for their actions. Simply put, there is growing public sentiment that organisations must be responsible enough to weigh the impact of their decisions on the different parties involved. As a result, they must be able to eliminate, minimize or compensate for the harmful damages that they may inflict on society. The above mentioned justification is basically derived from a moral position that corporations are expected, and should, behave like any citizen in society. This expectation is also justified on the basis that corresponding responsibilities always accompany power. As Dodd (1932) asserts, â€Å"power over the lives of others tends to create on the part of those most worthy to exercise it a sense of responsibility.† Moreover, the increasing power of organisations has resulted in a societal expectation that corporations act proactively and at the same time, carry out a leadership role in order to provide solutions to problems that the world faces (CSR Survey, 2003). This means that given that organisations frequently have more resources than governments, they should give something back to the society. In the same manner, they are also called to allocate and offer some of their resources to carry out good works and help the less fortunate sectors of society. Overall, this CSR goal is justified as follows: initially, a societal need is identified. For instance, areas such as education, healthcare, low-income housing or the arts may require funding that cannot be generated privately or that government is unable to provide to enable these institutions to continue making goods or services available or even to exist. Second, corporations are identified as capable of filling the gap by providing either funds or infrastructure to address the need. In other words, an appeal to organisations is made because they frequently have the capacity, in accordance with their size and reach, to act as agents of â€Å"social progress† (Kahn, 1997). As repeatedly mentioned earlier, corporate social responsibility has been required of companies that have both, actual or perceived power and influence. This is why multinational corporations that operate parts of the globe where people fear the effects and consequences of Globalisation are expected to perform such duties. This, according to Zinkin (2004) is usually brought about by the fact that these corporations are usually seen as enemies rather than friends. Thus, to regain the trust and confidence of the people, the company must be able to make their social responsibility known as this is said to give them legitimacy to operate in a given country (Zinkins, 2004). 2.2 Literature Review In order to gain a better understanding of the concepts and principles of CSR, the review of literature is divided into the following sections: 1. Corporate Social Responsibility: Definitions and History, 2. Corporate Social Responsibility and the UK Food Retail Industry, and 3. Summary 2.2.1 Corporate Social Responsibility: Definitions and History Globalisation, the increasing influence of companies including small and medium enterprises, a change in the position and opinion of governments, and a paradigm shift in working with and appreciating the importance of building solid relations with stakeholders- are all factors that have contributed to changing the dynamics of the relationship between businesses and society. Businesses have always been mindful of their responsibilities towards society. The concept of companies sharing their resources and influence with other groups has been repeatedly spoken about for centuries (Bowe, 1953). Nowadays, companies have become more aware and mindful of their responsibilities, roles and rights towards the society. They are seen to have implemented activities, practices and guidelines in order to fulfill their legal, ethical, social and environmental responsibilities to stakeholders, which include shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers and the environment and society in general. These actions have been given many terms, including: (1) Corporate Responsibility or CR, (2) Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility or CSER, (3) Corporate Citizenship, (4) Corporate Accountability, and lastly, (5) Socially Responsible Business (SRB) (Raynard Forstater, 2002). However, the most famous terminology would have to be Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR. CSR first began to be written about by academics in the 20th century. The term Corporate Social Responsibility and the modern view on CSR are largely attributed to Howard Bowen, who is considered by many scholars, especially Carroll, as the father of CSR. Bowen conceived CSR as an integral part of a larger vision of a better American society with a robust and socially responsible business sector. Before Bowen wrote his book in 1953, CSR was not a generally accepted practice among businesses in the United States. Carroll (1991) writes that in the early years, businesses believed that their only obligation was to their shareholders and their only function was the quest of financial improvement in order to provide the greatest financial return to their shareholders. The errors of this way of thinking soon became apparent. For one, businesses still had to work within laws set down by governments. In the 1960s, groups advocating social issues pushed for a more extensive concept of responsibilities for businesses. In the 1970s, various organisations in charge of the social issues pushed by the activist groups were created in the U.S. Some of these organisations were the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). These governmental organisations allowed the establishment of national public policy that now acknowledged the legality of environmen tal issues. The new policies forced businesses to re-examine their own strategies and to learn how to develop a balance between making a profit and the legal and ethical responsibilities placed on them by a widening range of stakeholders. For Bowen (1953), businesses become prominent in society because society needs the products and services provided by these companies. This grants businesses vital decision-making power in the way they affect the lives of many people. Therefore, for a balanced business-society relationship to continue, Bowen (1953) asks what responsibilities society can reasonably expect businessmen to assume. The answer to this question, Bowen states, is corporate social responsibility. He defines CSR as a social obligation that necessitates businessmen to engage in policies, formulate decisions, and implement actions that are considered desirable when connected with the objectives and values of society. He took a broad view when defining what business responsibilities include—responsiveness, stewardship, social audit, corporate citizenship and rudimentary stakeholder theory. Bowens concept of a mutual relationship between business and society is echoed by Porter and Kramer (2006), who point out that the value of CSR lies in the values companies share with societies they exist in. Businesses operate in social contexts and societies need the products and services that businesses provide, thus there is a mutual need for each entity. CSR, therefore, makes it possible to promote a collaborative relationship between business and society. Many have tried to create a definition of corporate social responsibility that encompasses its functions and the range of responsibilities it entails. One of the most comprehensive is that of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (2007), which defines CSR as the long-lasting commitment that businesses create which compels them to behave in an ethical manner and to add to the development of the economy while helping improve the quality of life of their employees and their families in addition to the lives of those in the local communities and society in general. This definition is specific enough to imply the holistic and philanthropic maxim of CSR. It is also broad enough to include activities or programs that companies engage in that do not directly yield income but bring visible and long-term benefits to both the companies and the recipients of the programs and activities such as youth and partner communities. With this definition programs such as scholarships and funds for research, advocacy programs for the environment, and livelihood programs can be considered as CSR. One of the earliest authors on CSR, Carroll (1979) was the first to propose the four categories of ordered layers of CSR—economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary—when he wrote that the social responsibility of businesses includes the economic, legal, ethical, and discretionary expectations that society puts upon enterprises. Aupperle, Carroll, and Hatfield (1985) further defined these categories into: * Economic responsibilities showcase the principle that businesses have the primary responsibility to generate products and profits and fulfill the desires of their customers; * Legal responsibilities highlight the issue that economic responsibilities must be performed within the restriction of rules and regulations as mandated by the laws of the land; * Ethical responsibilities takes into consideration the codes, norms, and values that are not written into laws but are still followed implicitly by society; these responsibilities rise above the complexities of written laws and encompass activities that are vigorously carried out without any clear and defined statements made about them; * Discretionary or philanthropic responsibilities reflect the voluntary nature of actions that are not easy to establish and assess, but are still expected by society. These categories are still widely cited and frequently reproduced in management and CSR journals by researchers and authors on CSR. The reason for its lasting acknowledgement may be the simplicity of the model. Carrolls (1979) categories are logical and easy to understand. The author himself writes that these categories are merely guidelines or reminders that the motives or actions of businesses can be generally classified into any of the categories he presented. The arrangement and relative influence of each category was intended to imply the basic role each had in the progression of significance. When it first came out, Carrolls model reflected a point of view that was simultaneously retrospective and developmental. It was based on the assertion that historically businesses first emphasised only the economic aspects of their trade. The legal aspect came next, and the ethical and discretionary were only emphasised in recent years. Juholin (2004) suggests that companies practice corporate social responsibility (CSR) because of long-term profits that CSR brings to companies. Other reasons may also include the commitment of top management to the moral and ethical standards promoted by CSR, competitiveness of the market today, and the visionary skills of many business leaders that allows them to anticipate the needs of the future. Porter and Kramer (2006) agree that CSR provides long-term profits. The authors note that companies should practice CSR and integrate it in their core strategic plans to ensure long-term prosperity. This is because socially responsible activities can return goodwill for companies. On the other hand, activities that harm the environment or result in any disadvantage to stakeholders can only result in bad karma in the form of bad financial operation, low brand positioning, and, worse, a rift in the relationship between companies and their consumers and suppliers and even expensive litigations. Porter and Kramer (2006) write that corporations are not obligated to solve the problems of the world. They do not have resources to do this. But, a company that is well managed can have a greater impact than any other organisation or charity group when they do something good for society. CSR does not merely imply profitability for companies. Its results go beyond the costs or constraint of altruistic actions. CSR can be a source of market opportunity, improvement, and an edge over the competition (Porter Kramer, 2006). It also does not mean engaging in activities for the sake of doing what is socially required and expected of these companies based on legal and social laws, especially those on environmental issues. CSR implies taking action to go beyond these laws to minimize any harm towards and maximize benefits for all stakeholders in order to fulfill what society desires (Raynard Forstater, 2002). Warhurst (2001) identifies three major elements of CSR—product use, business practice, and distribution of profits. Product use entails the positive involvement of products from businesses that assist in the promotion of welfare and better quality of life for members of society. Business practice entails business governance that observes the rules and regulations and presents a high level of thrust towards welfare of the natural environment and equity for all generations and species. Distribution of profits entails equal distribution of profits across a varied range of sectors of society, with emphasis on local communities. Bowen (1953) also notes that CSR should not be seen as a primary solution to the many problems of society. CSR can only do so much, and it should only be seen by companies and society as a set of guidelines for businesses in the way they perform and carry on their operations within the context of a larger society and the many issues that abound within the social milieu that they operate in. A key concept of CSR is the idea of stakeholders. Stakeholders are all groups or individuals who have an impact on or are affected by the attainment of any organisations goals (Freeman, 1984). It can be said that stakeholders are any entity who have a big â€Å"stake† in what businesses do. The concept of stakeholders therefore goes beyond the shareholders, employees, and clients or customers of a company. It includes communities, public interest groups, social activist groups, environmental groups, and the media which, according to Freeman, author of the Stakeholder Theory, businesses are accountable to. Other researchers (Marcus, 1996; Munilla Miles, 2005) list specific stakeholders as: owners; customers; employees; local, regional and national communities; competitors; suppliers; social activists; public at large; creditors; non-government organisations (NGOs); and even the natural environment, which, although unable to state its opinions, has become a major stakeholder today because of the many laws promulgated to care for the Earth in a sustainable way. Hopkins (2003) writes that CSR primarily deals with ensuring that businesses treat stakeholders in an ethical or responsible way which means treating them in a manner considered suitable by members of any civilized society. The social context of this definition includes economic responsibility. Stakeholders can be both within businesses and outside it. This signifies the natural environment as a stakeholder. In a broader sense, the objective of social responsibility is to establish better and higher standards of living while maintaining the capability of businesses to make a profit. These two components of the objective of social responsibility are both done for the stakeholders within and outside companies. According to Freeman (1984) for successful transactions with stakeholders, businesses must accept the authority and procedures of various stakeholders. Stakeholders will thus have the freedom to communicate their concerns. Furthermore, to manage and develop a strong relationship with stakeholders, businesses must understand their concerns and develop programs that will address these concerns. Stakeholders have various ways to ensure that businesses fulfill societys expectations. Some may opt to organize rallies, some may opt for more peaceful negotiations, some may engage in joint activities such as seminars or tree-planting sessions or other awareness raising activities, and some may use the media to further disseminate their issues. For example, the environmental group Greenpeace printed leaflets and wrote articles against genetically modified food, which led some food manufacturing corporations to either stop production of certain products or to develop new, healthier items. Freeman (1984) points out that the term â€Å"stakeholder† first appeared in management literature in a 1963 international memorandum published by the Stanford Research Institute. The term then was strictly yet broadly defined as the peoples or groups who give their support to companies and without whom businesses would stop to surviving. The main idea in this initial context already shows a measure of the importance of stakeholders. In a way, this definition states that without the support of stakeholders, businesses would not be able to survive. Of course, the limitation of this definition lies in the fact that stakeholders here may mean only the groups that are influential for companies such as the shareholders or government groups or investors. Each business activity has a different group of stakeholders. This is because each individual in society is interested in and promotes a varied and widely different range of concerns (Freeman, 1984). Some are more interested in environmental issues, while others advocate employment benefits, and still others fight for education. One way to determine which stakeholder is relevant to which particular aspect of business is through the generation of a generic stakeholder map, which is a diagram of the various groups relevant to the whole organisation broken down into levels and subdivisions in order to divide big groups into small groups based on specific interests. Some experts, however, think that this mapping procedure does not encapsulate the complex linkages between businesses and the various individuals and groups in society. An approach of corporate social responsibility that centers on stakeholders emphasizes the strategic and effective management of relationships and promotion of what Freeman and McVea (2001) call shared interests. The stakeholder model also puts some emphasis on persuading businesses to rebuild or restore relationships with groups or organisations that they have been at odds with. A good stakeholder management program also involves open communication, negotiation, management, and motivation. The end result of all of these actions leads to the establishment of an attitude of partnership, mutual association and interdependence between businesses and stakeholders. All of these activities are held together by the values and ethical standards that businesses stand for. Freeman and McVea (2001) further emphasise that good stakeholder management promotes a business own company values. CSR does not mean catering to the interests of stakeholders while abandoning all other aspects of business. Rather it entails in-depth deliberations taking into account all factors of social expectations. A well-developed stakeholder management program also allows businesses to create approaches that can serve stakeholders even in the long run. Although some individuals may not be happy with short-term decisions and feel that their causes need more attention, a good stakeholder management program takes all things into considerations so that all stakeholders, not just a chosen few, continue to be firm supporters of businesses. Besides understanding stakeholders concerns, businesses must also look at the other components of CSR to determine the entire range of responsibilities that stakeholders expect them to embrace. When discussing and identifying these components of CSR, scholars and authors have been turning to the CSR pyramid presented by Carroll (1991). The CSR pyramid is arranged to follow the levels of Carrolls (1979) earlier work of the four categories of CSR. The arrangement is in accordance with the degrees of social expectations that have been connected with each category. It has been used to assess businesses performance in terms of quantity, quality, effectiveness, and efficiency in their implementation of CSR initiatives. Table 2.2.1 The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility Be a Good Corporate Citizen Philanthropic Responsibility Contribute Resources to the community; Improve Quality of Life Be Ethical Ethical Responsibility Obligation to do what is right, just and fair; Avoid Harm Obey the Law Legal Responsibility Law is Societys codification of right and wrong; Play the Rules of the game Be Profitable Economic Responsibility The Foundation on which all the others rest (Source : Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility (Carroll, 1991, p. 39)) Obligations or responsibilities included in the pyramid have always existed in the business world. But the importance of philanthropic and ethical responsibilities has only received attention in recent years. Through this pyramid, Carroll (1991) hoped to show that a good CSR program can be broken down into well-defined components that make up a complete package. It can be seen as a framework for comprehending companies ever-evolving CSR activities. In addition, looking at each component can help leaders to distinguish and understand the various obligations of businesses that are in constant conflict with each other but which are mutually exclusive. Based on the expected activities for each level, economic responsibilities seem to be always in tension with the other responsibilities. Carroll (1991) also included the concept of stakeholders in this model, pointing out that taking their perspective into account would allow businesses to recognize the tension between all levels of the pyramid as realities of any organisation. This perspective can also allow businesses to see the pyramid as a united basis or framework of how firms will implement their decisions, actions, and programs. As can be seen, economic profit forms the foundation of the whole pyramid. Carroll (1991) acknowledges the basic fact that businesses were created historically as economic entities that are primarily concerned with making money and creating profit. Without this component, all other responsibilities become moot. Carroll states that the idea he was proposing was that CSR, to be acknowledged as a legitimate action for businesses, had to deal with the whole range of responsibilities these businesses had to answer for to society. Of course this would have to include the most basic responsibility—economic. The next level shows that businesses are obligated to follow the rules of law—various national and international laws—that socie