Daughter of Kami: Shinto and Christian themes in ‘Nausica of the Valley of the Wind’

Religion has affected art for centuries, because human responses to art and religion involve similar processes: imagination and emotional involvement (Beit-Hallami, 1983). It seems natural for religion to continue its influence on popular culture, especially film, because of its wide reach. However, looking at Japan, is it possible for a â€Å"non-Japanese† religion like Christianity to exert influence its popular culture, and to what extent? To answer this question, we look at the 1984 animated film of Hayao Miyazaki, Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ of the Valley of the Wind (Kaze no Tani no Nausicaa). Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ is said to be the quintessential Miyazaki film (Osmond, 1998) and it earned 740 million yen, with almost a million viewers. It owes its popularity to the incorporation of universal themes like religion, the environment and industrialisation. It contains so many themes, both Japanese (feudalism, Shinto) and non-Japanese (Greek Mythology, Christianity, European medievalism). It is interesting to note that Miyazaki is often described as a humanist, following no particular religion, yet Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ contains an almost equal amount of references to Shinto and Christianity in the film. There are many English versions of the various terms and names of the characters in the film, partly because there is a more complex manga of the same name. For ease of reference to the film, I use names and terms as they appear in the English-dubbed version of Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ released in 2005, to convey the Shinto and Christian elements found in the film, looking at broad themes as well as symbols. Film synopsis The story in Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ takes place a thousand years after a global war, the â€Å"Seven Days of Fire.† Great Warriors, biological weapons with nuclear capabilities, destroyed everything. However, enclaves of surviving human colonies exist throughout the Fukai, or the Sea of Decay. ,The Fukai is a new ecosystem consisting of a vast toxic forest of giant fungi and giant insects with the Ohmu as guardians. The main protagonist is Princess Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, daughter of the ruler of the Valley, a feudal community protected from toxic spores by strong sea winds. She is a nature-loving pacifist with a gift for communicating with insects and animals. Lord Yupa, a wandering mentor, inspires her to find a way to stop the spread of the Fukai. Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ often explores the Fukai to obtain plant samples and cultivate them in her secret room. One day, an airship carrying a Great Warrior embryo crashes into the Valley. This embryo was first unearthed by the Pejites, but it was stolen by the imperialistic Tolmekians. These two states intend to use the Great Warrior to destroy the Fukai and the insects. In the struggle for the Great Warrior, Tolmekia invades the Valley. The Fukai and the insects are assaulted in this struggle, and the Ohmu are baited to the Valley to destroy it. Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ sacrifices herself before the Ohmu, thereby calming their rage. They bring her back to life and heal her wounds, and then return to the Fukai, leaving life to return to normal in the Valley. Now we will look at two religions that are referred to extensively in the film: Shinto and Christianity. Shinto Traditional Japanese religiosity is a mixture of Shinto, Buddhism, Confucianism and folk religions. â€Å"Shinto†, meaning â€Å"the way of the kami†, refers to the ancient native Japanese religious practices and sentiments. Shinto has four general tenets: worshipping and honouring the kami; love of nature; tradition and the family; and cleanliness (Picken, 1994, as cited in Wright, 2004). Muraoka Tsunetsugu (1964) distinguishes philosophical and ethical distinctive characteristics of Shinto: 1) accepting life and death, good and evil, as inevitable parts of the world we live in, and 2) reverence for the â€Å"bright† and â€Å"pure†, in all matter and thought, endeavoring to overcome physical pollution with rites of exorcism and bad thoughts with a â€Å"pure and bright heart†. The close link between humans, kami and nature, and the significance of purification and rituals are two themes in Japanese religion that carry on even to Japanese contempor ary religions today (Earhart, 1982). For the scope of this essay, I will look at the Shinto themes of harmony with nature, reverence for nature and life, and instance of purification and rituals found in Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. Wa, or harmony with nature is seen to be of utmost importance. One accepts the good and bad with nature, and tries to make peace with it. Miyazaki explains that Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ is based on a Phoenician princess in Homer's Odyssey and a Japanese heroine, a â€Å"princess who loved insects†1. Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ believes that humans and the Fukai can live together in peace. She embodies the â€Å"relational resonance with humanity and the natural world† suggested by Tucker (1999). At any rate, the surviving humans have to learn to live with the Fukai or risk destruction by insects. The telepathic Ohmu and other insects can be seen as kami, animistic spirits with powers. The Ohmu went â€Å"blind with rage† when Pejites speared a baby Ohmu in order to bait the Ohmu towards the Valley and destroy the Tolmekians. Disharmony with nature is seen to have damaging consequences. In Japan, nature is still venerated and exalted, even though the actual state of nature may be the opposite. Shinto is associated with reverence for nature and all forms of life. In the first few minutes of the film, Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ is shown flying on her aircraft into the Fukai. The toxic jungle is rendered beautifully, with glittering poisonous plants, translucent flying insects and serene music in the background. Here we see the unconditional beauty of nature, be it harmless or poisonous. In a following scene Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ comes across a shell of an Ohmu. It takes up almost the whole frame and Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ is miniscule in comparison. She pronounces the shell to be â€Å"perfect† and â€Å"amazing†. Embellished with vivid music, an image of a nature revered for its sacredness and perfection is projected. Reverence for nature also comes from seeing it as sacred, and from knowing its power. In the film, humans fear the lethal spores of the Fukai, and its constant spread. At the same time, as the viewer discovers later on, the Fukai actually has restorative powers. It is in fact cleansing the Earth of mankind's waste left behind from the Great War. Similarly, the Ohmu possess benevolent telepathic powers (although they can only communicate with Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½) as well as the power to destroy humans and civilisation. In another scene, Kushana, commander of the Tolmekian army, announces her plan to burn the Fukai. In response, the Valley people exclaim in hushed tones, â€Å"Burn the Toxic Jungle?†, â€Å"Is it possible?† showing that they consider the Fukai indestructible. These powers of the Fukai and the Ohmu cause humans to fear and respect nature at the same time. Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ reveres the life of both humans and insects. She implores countless times to the warring Pejites and Tolmekians, â€Å"Please, no more killing!† and â€Å"I can't bear to have anyone else die†. Instead of killing insects that attack humans, she uses an insect charm to calm them down and coax them back to the jungle. This was the case with an Ohmu who was chasing Lord Yupa, and a giant insect that caused the crash of a Tolmekian airship. When two Pejites captured a baby Ohmu to use as bait, Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ risked injury and her life to try and return the baby Ohmu back to its herd. Being part of nature, both humans and insects are seen as equally important and worthy of preservation. Hence, we can see the importance of harmony with nature, because of its sanctity, power, and its inclusion of all forms of life. Another main theme in Shinto is the importance of purity and the use of rituals to overcome a state of contamination. In Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, the Earth has been polluted by mankind, the worst being the nuclear-like Great Warriors which ultimately resulted in the Earth's destruction. Nausicaa realises the toxic Fukai is actually purifying the world: wastes are absorbed by the trees, which turn into stone, crystallizing the poison into harmless sand. The Fukai symbolises a purifying ritual, comparable to how a â€Å"bright heart† would continuously purify itself by ridding itself of bad thoughts, or wastes. Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ is an example of a â€Å"pure and bright heart† (Tsunetsugu, 1964) who in her mission for peace, tries to purify the hearts of humans from their lust for war and bloodshed against each other and the Fukai. However, she does not have any clear â€Å"rituals† that she uses to achieve this purification except perhaps, her repeated self-sacrifice. In comparison, Kushana also has a purification ritual of her own. She wants to clear Earth of the Fukai by burning it and destroying it completely in order to build a â€Å"world of prosperity†. This idea of sacrifice brings us to the other religion alluded to repeatedly throughout the film: Christianity. Although Christianity is not native to Japan, and not very well-received throughout the years, its prophetic and theistic messages do have some universal value and some Japanese can relate to them as they are something different from the animistic elements of Shinto. Christianity In many ways, the appearance of strong elements of Christianity, a ‘foreign' religion, is not surprising. Miyazaki's work is strongly Western-influenced due to his education (Osmond, 1998). Christianity still has a relatively small following in Japan, because Shinto and Buddhist rituals are still a major part of Japanese life what it means to be ‘Japanese'. The Christian themes in Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ constitute one of many foreign elements that Miyazaki has appropriated into this film. Here we will look at three doctrines of Christianity: redemption, original sin, and resurrection. Throughout the film, Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ repeatedly saves people. When Lord Yupa, the samurai-like wanderer, returns to the Valley, he praises Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ by saying â€Å"Who else would rescue me when I'm in trouble?† In another scene, the barge carrying Valley hostages comes loose and is about to crash into the Fukai. Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ cries out to them â€Å"Everybody! I'll save you for certain!† These examples show the Messianic nature of Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. To further cement her image as a prophet-like being, in another scene Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ is speeding back to the Valley after escaping from a Tolmekian ship and in desperation she implores â€Å"Please dear God, please hear this prayer! You must protect the people of the Valley!† Obaba, the wise old woman of the valley, realises this explicitly for the benefit of viewers. At the beginning of the film, Obaba, or Grandmother, recounts the ancient legend of the saviour clad in blue who will come to save mankind and â€Å"guide the people†¦at last to a land of purity†. At the end of the film, she realises that Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ is the saviour spoken of in the legend. The theme of redemption is clearly portrayed in the film. However, why does mankind need to be saved? The doctrine of redemption comes hand in hand with the doctrine of the original sin. In the concept of the original sin, mankind is born in a state of sinfulness and is doomed to hell unless he is ‘saved' by accepting Christian beliefs. Lord Yupa explains that he wanders to find out â€Å"if mankind is truly fated to be swallowed up by (the Fukai), or if there is still some hope†. Obaba teases him, claiming that he is in fact looking for the blue-clad Saviour. The film addresses mankind's inevitable doom and the search for a saviour. Symbols play an important part in portraying the doctrine of resurrection. Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ appears twice with her arms outstretched – reminiscent of Jesus being crucified on the cross – when trying to stop Asbel and the Pejites from shooting. Here we see that Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ adopted such a gesture as a symbol of righteous fearlessness (she was determined to stop the killing that she felt was wrong) and surrender (she put herself at the Pejites' mercy). In trying to save her people from an attack by the Ohmus, Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ is shot twice, burned by acid and finally dies facing the Ohmu stampede. The Ohmus, however, revived Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. Her death and resurrection mirrors that of Jesus' after his death and burial. At the end of the film, a chiko plant grows in the pure sand in the Fukai, symbolising the resurrection of nature at last. We see that it is not only Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, but also nature, that is brought back to life. Conclusion In this essay, we have seen that Christianity can indeed influence a Japanese anime, however, the Shinto elements in Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ are far more extensive. The Shinto themes mainly stress mankind's relationship with nature while the Christian themes focus on mankind's destiny. Apparently Miyazaki did not intend to have such religious overtones in Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. However, in the spirit of symbolic interactionism, these religious themes nevertheless have meaning for those who ascribe meanings to them. Viewers (like me) interpret the images and scenes in the film and make sense of them in different frameworks, such as religion. Did Nausicaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ manage to truly unite mankind with nature? Perhaps through the medium of popular cultures, she serves as a â€Å"female Japanese prophet† to remind us to strive towards peace and harmony with nature and mankind.

Tell Tale Heart Study Packet

â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† by Edgar Allan Poe Activity Packet [pic] [pic] Name ____________________________________________ L. A. Period ________ Your score ___________out of 30 points possible ( Covers plot elements, comprehension, figurative language, mood, character traits, , and setting ) Pre-Reading Guide for â€Å"Tell-Tale Heart† Name _________________________________________ Period ___________ (5 pts. ) Describe five things that you usually find in a scary/horror story: 1. ______________________________________________________________ 2. ______________________________________________________________ . _______________________________________________________________ 4. _______________________________________________________________ 5. ________________________________________________________________ Read the following statements. If you agree with them, put a check in the YOU column. Then, AFTER we read the story, go back and put a check in the AUTHOR column if you feel the author agrees with that statement. YOUAUTHORSTATEMENT ____________1. People who are insane know that they are insane. ____________2. Sane people sometimes imagine that they hear things. ___________3. If you commit a crime, the worst punishment is the guilt afterward. ____________4. Often it’s the small annoying things about people that can be the most irritating and infuriating. ____________5. All people are basically afraid of the same things. ____________6. When you’ve done something wrong, wondering if you’ll be caught can cause great stress and anxiety. â€Å"Tell-Tale Heart†comprehension QuestionsName__________________ (20 pts. ) After reading â€Å"Tell-Tale Heart† by Poe, answer the following questions using short answers.They do not need to be complete sentences, but answer each part of the question thoroughly. 1. Who is telling this story (narrating)? Is it first, second, or third person? 2. What is your first impression of the n arrator? What does he try convincing the reader of? 3. How does the narrator feel about the old man in general? What, then, specifically, is it about the old man that troubles/bothers the narrator? Why? How often does the narrator mention this â€Å"thing† in the story? 4. What does the narrator tell us he does every night? Why? 5. How does the narrator feel immediately after he commits the murder?Do his feelings change? If so, how and why? â€Å"Tell-Tale Heart† Comprehension Questions continued†¦Name__________________ 6. What sound drives the narrator to confess to the crime? What do you think causes his paranoia? 7. Give two direct and specific examples from the story that the author uses to create an atmosphere of horror or suspense. These are sentences that set or enhance the MOOD of the story. Give the page number. 8. Give one example where the author uses punctuation or repeated words or phrases in a sentence to show the mood of horror or suspense. . Find o ne example of each of the following: a. Alliteration – Pg. ___ ___________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ b. Simile – Pg. ________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ 10. c. Personification – Pg. _________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________

Thomas Hobbes Natural Right Theory and the State, Social Contract and Method of Inquiry

NATURAL RIGHTS THEORIES THOMAS HOBBES’ DOCTRINE OF NATURAL LAW, NATURAL RIGHTS AND THE STATE Submission Date: 22/03/2013 Student ID: 201105385 Kofiya Willie INTRODUCTION In contradiction with the great philosophers Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas, Thomas Hobbes doctrine of natural rights is a scientific research based emphasis on the rise of negativity in the theory of the classical natural law. In his doctrine, Hobbes rejects natural law as a means of peace attainment in different political communities.This writing seeks to give a detailed outline of Hobbes’s doctrine of natural law, natural rights and the state. In description of these detailed writings, I shall also make an outline description of Hobbes method of inquiry to his study. In conclusion to this writing, Hobbes social contract shall be covered in detail to make a closing to this historical phenomenon. In his opening arguments in support of the new phenomenon of modern natural rights, Hobbes insisted that huma n beings are complex machines influenced by their environmental conditions and prevailing situations.He puts this argument forward as an attack to the classical view of natural law of Aristotle and Aquinas which rather sees man as â€Å"a rational and social animal who has a natural inclination to his proper end, happiness which can be attained by the virtues of mind and character†. Hobbes argues that man have always and will always be competitive and therefore will always strive to attain some form of leadership or political power in all possible ways available to them (Hobbes, 2004). He mentions that humans are selfish anti-social beings who are in pursuit to serve their selfish desires, particularly power.The second argument outlined by Thomas Hobbes in rejection to the classical natural law theory is that human beings are motivated by vanity in a classical natural law state. Thus meaning, in natural law state individuals has a sense of superiority based on their knowledge over others. He exemplifies this view by the olden ways of living where kings or monarchs ruled on the basis of higher power to gain majority obedience from the people. This according to Hobbes theory of natural rights was undermining of political authority (Kraynak, 1990).He therefore due to this reason opted for a rather fair system of the modern human/natural rights. According to Thomas Hobbes, the weakness in the classical natural law doctrine of Aristotle and Aquinas is that, unlike the modern natural rights doctrine, it is easily exploited. This was the primary cause of the English civil war in Behemoth in 1642-60. This according to Hobbes was a result of King Charles being overthrown by the parliamentarians who claimed to have had higher knowledge on natural law.Hobbes sums the lesson from the Behemoth war by making a statement that â€Å"if higher laws are not equated with intangible goods like virtue, wisdom and salvation then the ills of civilization can be avoided and m ankind can enjoy enduring civil peace† (Hobbes, 2004). Thus Hobbes proposed his new doctrine of natural rights to building a better state. In his newly found doctrine of natural rights, Hobbes emphasizes that unlike the classical natural law doctrine, modern rights are not an illusion put forward by the classical theorists of natural law. Natural law is the greatest good by virtues of the perfections of mind and character† (Hobbes, 2004). This notion put forward by the classical theorists of natural law is a dangerous and falsified statement according to Hobbes. He associated this with the then overthrowing of King Charles. He therefore defines modern natural rights doctrine as the only solution to civilization to avoid the dangers that result with natural law doctrine. In his closing arguments, Hobbes proposed a new definition of natural rights which gained vast acceptance worldwide.He emphasizes the natural equality of all mankind in his new definition of natural right s. Hobbes therefore defines natural law as â€Å"right or liberty to preserve oneself†, this according to Hobbes endures the fundamental right of self-preservation. In compilation to these facts about natural rights and the sovereign state, Hobbes used various methods. Hobbes adopted various methods in the field of geometry, physics and mathematics. This he stated as a way to legitimize his doctrine through geometric and scientific proof (Tuck, 1996).The reason behind Thomas Hobbes’ science of politics was to resolve political conflicts which had led his countrymen to war in the era of King Charles (Behemoth Civil war of 1642). His belief was that if politicians came to an agreement in political matters, then peace will be attained. Hobbes’ primary aim to his science of politics was to end the political confusions and the misfortunes that came with the classical natural law doctrine of Aristotle and Aquinas to establish an enduring state of peace.Unlike other sc holars of hi time, Hobbes believed that knowledge is not attained by being submissive to authority, but rather employing an objective method. He believed that such a method avoided conflicts which came about from political speculation and subjective interpretation. Hobbes however never explained his method/s of inquiry to his political research. According to philosophy scholars, Hobbes used a method that they called a Resolutive-Composite method.What this method of inquiry used by Hobbes entails that; for one to understand a given subject, they should first conduct an intellectual step by step process of resolving it into different parts. By doing so, this enables the subjects to be fully examined and make specific conclusions in the subjects without omitting relating information, thus Hobbes adopted this method to his political science study. After the resolution process, the subjects will then be re-composed into a whole again. Hobbes believed in doing so (resolving and recomposin g a subject), one is able to discover its essential qualities (Kraynak, 1990).In his science of politics and study of natural law and the sovereign, he used the method of resolution and re-composition of his study objects. In relation to this, Hobbes first started by resolving his state to its different parts, (that is human beings). He further resolved the human beings into different parts (the motions and the natural body), then resolved this in their different parts (abstract figures). After this resolution, Hobbes re-composed his subjects step by step until he finally came to an examination of political bodies and the natural law doctrine.To demonstrate his philosophical proofs of his science of politics, Hobbes focused on the field of Geometry and physics to understanding human motion and their natural body. He composed a number of geometric figures and then drew conclusions about them. Thomas Hobbes achieved these by using geometric definitions such as space, time, and bodies in motion which he linked to the physical world of politics and human sensation. He thus proposed his doctrine of natural rights based on his scientific proofs through geometry and physical science (physics).In addition to his findings in philosophy and political science, Hobbes gives an insight on his ideal social contract of the sovereign. Hobbes’ ideal social contract entails that it is by far most rational to give up part of individual’s liberty in order to gain security of self-preservation. According to Thomas Hobbes, there are political bodies in a state that governs and ensures the security of these liberties. Such political bodies may include the constitution of the sovereign and its other statutes in relation to the protection of individual liberties i. e. courts of law (Tuck, 1996).He defines social contract as a mutual agreement between participating bodies to mutually transfer their natural rights. What this means is that; individuals in the state come to an agreement to abide by the set rules of political bodies as a means of peace attainment. He emphasizes that without these social rules, life would be â€Å"solitary, nasty, brutish and short†. This notion therefore leads to an instance of limited natural rights. Hobbes notes that at times we are/can be born to find a readymade contract for us to agree on, therefore individuals do not have absolute powers to act outside the limitations of such contracts.Such contract may include the constitution of the state. Hobbes’s social contract has its outmost emphasis on natural equality, scarcity, equality of human power and limited altruism. He says this contract does not however concern the sovereign but rather its subjects (the people). In accordance to Hobbes, there will be injustice if these subjects fail to abide by their contract. That is to say, if one person violates the rights of the other within the sovereign then that will be injustice to the other subject.In a dif ferent view on the issue of natural equality, Hobbes states that inequality is the reason behind the English civil war. He makes an emphasis to say that man must recognize each other as equal so as to avoid a state of war which is a result of inequality. In addition, Hobbes identifies scarcity as another factor that influences man to go to war with each other. According to Hobbes, when there is limited supply of essential needs such as shelter, food and clothing this can trigger conflicts and competition to access such needs, which will eventually break into a war.When a social contract is drawn to how these needs will be accessed equally between the state’s subjects, then civil wars will be avoided in the sovereign. Hobbes states that if every subject in the sovereign is made aware of these essential needs and the legitimate ways of acquiring them, then there will be no injustice. Another complex factor that Hobbes notes is the issue of equality of human power. According to Hobbes, only a few acquire power in the notion of representing the majority i. e. political leaders.He says that, however in the long run this power cannot be sustained as some become more advantageous to others i. e. political leaders have more advantage as leaders, than the majority of the people. This then according to Hobbes creates a situation where everyone is at war against everyone else for the same scarce resource. Lastly, Thomas Hobbes mentions the need for motivational state with the primary goal of increasing another person’s welfare (altruism). In a rather opposite view, Thomas Hobbes states limited altruism as one factor among others that also affects the well-being of the sovereign.He believes that for this to work in a state, we can only rely on the goodness and compassion of strangers since by nature human beings will rarely have compassion towards each other. This mainly results from the limited nature of how altruistic human beings are. In the absence of a social order, all these factors will create major problems. To prevent that from happening, Hobbes denotes that it is only possible if an individual seeks to avoid the state of nature of the classical theorists Aristotle and Aquinas and the â€Å"war of all against all†.This can only be achieved if all individuals come to a mutual agreement to withhold the rights of one another; this according to Hobbes will breed a fertile ground for cooperation both in the social and economic manner. Conclusion Hobbes rejects the natural law doctrine of philosophers Aristotle a Thomas Aquinas as a measure to avoid civil wars/conflicts. He rather sees it fit to adopt a more favorable means of governance as he proposed (modern natural rights) in his doctrine of natural rights.In his inquiries to his doctrine, he used a method most scholars called resolutive-composite form, this was due to how he studied his subjects of research. He presented his findings in a scientific manner making referenc e to geometry and physics. In his social contract he noted scarcity, natural equality, human power and altruism as major factors that influenced the well-being of the sovereign. Hobbes doctrine has attracted vast acceptance in the world at large, though it was highly criticized by most philosophers as being based on morality. Bibliography historical philosophers. (2006, 6 18). Retrieved 3 17, 2013, from Thomas Hobbes Natural Right Theory and the State, Social Contract and Method of Inquiry NATURAL RIGHTS THEORIES THOMAS HOBBES’ DOCTRINE OF NATURAL LAW, NATURAL RIGHTS AND THE STATE Submission Date: 22/03/2013 Student ID: 201105385 Kofiya Willie INTRODUCTION In contradiction with the great philosophers Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas, Thomas Hobbes doctrine of natural rights is a scientific research based emphasis on the rise of negativity in the theory of the classical natural law. In his doctrine, Hobbes rejects natural law as a means of peace attainment in different political communities.This writing seeks to give a detailed outline of Hobbes’s doctrine of natural law, natural rights and the state. In description of these detailed writings, I shall also make an outline description of Hobbes method of inquiry to his study. In conclusion to this writing, Hobbes social contract shall be covered in detail to make a closing to this historical phenomenon. In his opening arguments in support of the new phenomenon of modern natural rights, Hobbes insisted that huma n beings are complex machines influenced by their environmental conditions and prevailing situations.He puts this argument forward as an attack to the classical view of natural law of Aristotle and Aquinas which rather sees man as â€Å"a rational and social animal who has a natural inclination to his proper end, happiness which can be attained by the virtues of mind and character†. Hobbes argues that man have always and will always be competitive and therefore will always strive to attain some form of leadership or political power in all possible ways available to them (Hobbes, 2004). He mentions that humans are selfish anti-social beings who are in pursuit to serve their selfish desires, particularly power.The second argument outlined by Thomas Hobbes in rejection to the classical natural law theory is that human beings are motivated by vanity in a classical natural law state. Thus meaning, in natural law state individuals has a sense of superiority based on their knowledge over others. He exemplifies this view by the olden ways of living where kings or monarchs ruled on the basis of higher power to gain majority obedience from the people. This according to Hobbes theory of natural rights was undermining of political authority (Kraynak, 1990).He therefore due to this reason opted for a rather fair system of the modern human/natural rights. According to Thomas Hobbes, the weakness in the classical natural law doctrine of Aristotle and Aquinas is that, unlike the modern natural rights doctrine, it is easily exploited. This was the primary cause of the English civil war in Behemoth in 1642-60. This according to Hobbes was a result of King Charles being overthrown by the parliamentarians who claimed to have had higher knowledge on natural law.Hobbes sums the lesson from the Behemoth war by making a statement that â€Å"if higher laws are not equated with intangible goods like virtue, wisdom and salvation then the ills of civilization can be avoided and m ankind can enjoy enduring civil peace† (Hobbes, 2004). Thus Hobbes proposed his new doctrine of natural rights to building a better state. In his newly found doctrine of natural rights, Hobbes emphasizes that unlike the classical natural law doctrine, modern rights are not an illusion put forward by the classical theorists of natural law. Natural law is the greatest good by virtues of the perfections of mind and character† (Hobbes, 2004). This notion put forward by the classical theorists of natural law is a dangerous and falsified statement according to Hobbes. He associated this with the then overthrowing of King Charles. He therefore defines modern natural rights doctrine as the only solution to civilization to avoid the dangers that result with natural law doctrine. In his closing arguments, Hobbes proposed a new definition of natural rights which gained vast acceptance worldwide.He emphasizes the natural equality of all mankind in his new definition of natural right s. Hobbes therefore defines natural law as â€Å"right or liberty to preserve oneself†, this according to Hobbes endures the fundamental right of self-preservation. In compilation to these facts about natural rights and the sovereign state, Hobbes used various methods. Hobbes adopted various methods in the field of geometry, physics and mathematics. This he stated as a way to legitimize his doctrine through geometric and scientific proof (Tuck, 1996).The reason behind Thomas Hobbes’ science of politics was to resolve political conflicts which had led his countrymen to war in the era of King Charles (Behemoth Civil war of 1642). His belief was that if politicians came to an agreement in political matters, then peace will be attained. Hobbes’ primary aim to his science of politics was to end the political confusions and the misfortunes that came with the classical natural law doctrine of Aristotle and Aquinas to establish an enduring state of peace.Unlike other sc holars of hi time, Hobbes believed that knowledge is not attained by being submissive to authority, but rather employing an objective method. He believed that such a method avoided conflicts which came about from political speculation and subjective interpretation. Hobbes however never explained his method/s of inquiry to his political research. According to philosophy scholars, Hobbes used a method that they called a Resolutive-Composite method.What this method of inquiry used by Hobbes entails that; for one to understand a given subject, they should first conduct an intellectual step by step process of resolving it into different parts. By doing so, this enables the subjects to be fully examined and make specific conclusions in the subjects without omitting relating information, thus Hobbes adopted this method to his political science study. After the resolution process, the subjects will then be re-composed into a whole again. Hobbes believed in doing so (resolving and recomposin g a subject), one is able to discover its essential qualities (Kraynak, 1990).In his science of politics and study of natural law and the sovereign, he used the method of resolution and re-composition of his study objects. In relation to this, Hobbes first started by resolving his state to its different parts, (that is human beings). He further resolved the human beings into different parts (the motions and the natural body), then resolved this in their different parts (abstract figures). After this resolution, Hobbes re-composed his subjects step by step until he finally came to an examination of political bodies and the natural law doctrine.To demonstrate his philosophical proofs of his science of politics, Hobbes focused on the field of Geometry and physics to understanding human motion and their natural body. He composed a number of geometric figures and then drew conclusions about them. Thomas Hobbes achieved these by using geometric definitions such as space, time, and bodies in motion which he linked to the physical world of politics and human sensation. He thus proposed his doctrine of natural rights based on his scientific proofs through geometry and physical science (physics).In addition to his findings in philosophy and political science, Hobbes gives an insight on his ideal social contract of the sovereign. Hobbes’ ideal social contract entails that it is by far most rational to give up part of individual’s liberty in order to gain security of self-preservation. According to Thomas Hobbes, there are political bodies in a state that governs and ensures the security of these liberties. Such political bodies may include the constitution of the sovereign and its other statutes in relation to the protection of individual liberties i. e. courts of law (Tuck, 1996).He defines social contract as a mutual agreement between participating bodies to mutually transfer their natural rights. What this means is that; individuals in the state come to an agreement to abide by the set rules of political bodies as a means of peace attainment. He emphasizes that without these social rules, life would be â€Å"solitary, nasty, brutish and short†. This notion therefore leads to an instance of limited natural rights. Hobbes notes that at times we are/can be born to find a readymade contract for us to agree on, therefore individuals do not have absolute powers to act outside the limitations of such contracts.Such contract may include the constitution of the state. Hobbes’s social contract has its outmost emphasis on natural equality, scarcity, equality of human power and limited altruism. He says this contract does not however concern the sovereign but rather its subjects (the people). In accordance to Hobbes, there will be injustice if these subjects fail to abide by their contract. That is to say, if one person violates the rights of the other within the sovereign then that will be injustice to the other subject.In a dif ferent view on the issue of natural equality, Hobbes states that inequality is the reason behind the English civil war. He makes an emphasis to say that man must recognize each other as equal so as to avoid a state of war which is a result of inequality. In addition, Hobbes identifies scarcity as another factor that influences man to go to war with each other. According to Hobbes, when there is limited supply of essential needs such as shelter, food and clothing this can trigger conflicts and competition to access such needs, which will eventually break into a war.When a social contract is drawn to how these needs will be accessed equally between the state’s subjects, then civil wars will be avoided in the sovereign. Hobbes states that if every subject in the sovereign is made aware of these essential needs and the legitimate ways of acquiring them, then there will be no injustice. Another complex factor that Hobbes notes is the issue of equality of human power. According to Hobbes, only a few acquire power in the notion of representing the majority i. e. political leaders.He says that, however in the long run this power cannot be sustained as some become more advantageous to others i. e. political leaders have more advantage as leaders, than the majority of the people. This then according to Hobbes creates a situation where everyone is at war against everyone else for the same scarce resource. Lastly, Thomas Hobbes mentions the need for motivational state with the primary goal of increasing another person’s welfare (altruism). In a rather opposite view, Thomas Hobbes states limited altruism as one factor among others that also affects the well-being of the sovereign.He believes that for this to work in a state, we can only rely on the goodness and compassion of strangers since by nature human beings will rarely have compassion towards each other. This mainly results from the limited nature of how altruistic human beings are. In the absence of a social order, all these factors will create major problems. To prevent that from happening, Hobbes denotes that it is only possible if an individual seeks to avoid the state of nature of the classical theorists Aristotle and Aquinas and the â€Å"war of all against all†.This can only be achieved if all individuals come to a mutual agreement to withhold the rights of one another; this according to Hobbes will breed a fertile ground for cooperation both in the social and economic manner. Conclusion Hobbes rejects the natural law doctrine of philosophers Aristotle a Thomas Aquinas as a measure to avoid civil wars/conflicts. He rather sees it fit to adopt a more favorable means of governance as he proposed (modern natural rights) in his doctrine of natural rights.In his inquiries to his doctrine, he used a method most scholars called resolutive-composite form, this was due to how he studied his subjects of research. He presented his findings in a scientific manner making referenc e to geometry and physics. In his social contract he noted scarcity, natural equality, human power and altruism as major factors that influenced the well-being of the sovereign. Hobbes doctrine has attracted vast acceptance in the world at large, though it was highly criticized by most philosophers as being based on morality. Bibliography historical philosophers. (2006, 6 18). Retrieved 3 17, 2013, from

Musical investigation of the Faahae Tabu using concepts of Music Essay

Musical investigation of the Faahae Tabu using concepts of Music - Essay Example The relationship of music to language has been a topic of renewed debate in recent years. Many orientations and methodologies have been applied to musico-linguistic studies, from Chomsky's generative grammar to semiotics. Many writers have felt that such linguistic approaches have been at best limited in their applicability to music, although some recent studies of syntax have generated interest. This article will advance a rationale for the study of music theoretical and perception issues in the light of contemporary advances in the area of linguistic prosody. While some issues in linguistics have been widely discussed in the music psychology and perception literature, much research in prosody has not been addressed. In order to understand the position adopted herein, the reader may find it helpful to review some previous avenues of exploration in the comparison of music and language. While Chomsky has recently rethought his theories of deep structure in language, applications of th is theory to music have held a fascinating lure for musicians and theorists, from Bernstein's Schenkerian speculations to Lerdahl and Jackendoff's Generative Theory of Tonal Music (hereinafter GTTM). One of GTTM's main contributions is a systematized version of the hierarchical structure of meter, incorporating the linguistic studies of Liberman & Prince. (Liberman 249-336) Referencing transformational grammars, GTTM places a good deal of emphasis on the deep structure in composition, particularly in regard to metrical hierarchies and tonality. Lerdahl & Jackendoff are less interested in the 'surface' structure of a piece, which is generally defined to include melody, rhythmic patterns (as opposed to meter), dynamics, timbre, register, etc. In an effort to empirically demonstrate the theories contained in GTTM, many cognitive scholars gave designed experiments to measure performance variables. Often, these experimental performances are judged on their ability to reflect and/or communicate to listeners the deep harmonic structure of a composition. (Deliege 325-60) Contrary to expectation, research in music cognition has faltered when it has attempted to verify musical response in the context of the deep structure of transformational linguistics. Sloboda and Cooke, among others, have found that emotional response occurs in very short fragments of music and in a very short space of time. (Cooke 64-95) Such response is not relevant to the large-scale structural hierarchy of the composition. Factors such as repetition, changes of texture, register or dynamics are much more important in perceptual grouping than such tonal factors as modulations, cadence points, or tonal closure. (Clarke 352-8) Rosner and Meyer have attempted to experimentally document Meyer's theory of melodic processes. (Meyer 1-40) Meyer distinguishes between structural and ornamental melodic notes (much in the manner of Schenker). Wishing to prove that the underlying structure of the melody is more perceptually important to the listener than low-level structures such as contour, the authors instead find a greater perceptual effect for melodic process. They also discover a much more important role for melodic contour than they had predicted. The idea of top-down processing of musical hierarchies been widely verified experimentally, (Narmour 1-26) yet from the standpoint of music theory, the level of surface has been subject to unwarranted neglect. If deep structure is significant in both music theory and language, why can its effects not be verified in music perception research In part, the attention paid to deep structure by scholars of music perception has come about through some confusion of purpose. The aims of theorists are not necessarily those of perception researchers. Theoretical analysis tends to be highly reductive in nature, insofar as

Major civil strife Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Major civil strife - Research Paper Example This civil strife began in 1993 following tension that had been building between the two tribes. Report indicates that the Hutus who were the minority in the country used to oppress the majority Tutsis something, which did not go well with the Tutsis, forcing them to resort to valance in order for their voice to be hard and gain respect. The war lasted in 2005 leaving more than 300,000 people dead2. Lack of democracy has also been another factor that has contributed to the high number of ethnic-related civil strife in different parts of the world3. For instance, the Kenya’s post election valance of 2007/2008 was arguably caused because of lack of democracy as the majority Kikuyu tribe was accused by other tribes of having stolen the election in order to remain in power, thereby resulting in ethnic violence that saw more than 1,300 people death plus millions worth of properties destroyed. Despite some isolated cases still being reported in different parts of the world, such civil strife has declined significantly. There is several reason that explains why this is so. First, world has undergone through high level of the democratization process in which people nowadays feel secure with their neighbors4. The democratization processes have helped bring people from different ethnic groups together thereby easing any tension and subspecies among different tribes in a given country something, which was lacking in the past5. A good example can be seen in Rwanda and Burundi in which the democratization processes witnessed since the end of the civil strife in 2005 has helped bring together the protagonists Hutus and Tutsis together for a common goal, which is the development6. Secondly, several countries around the world have undergone through constitutional arrangements, which have helped bring people from different ethnic communities

How do impulses affect the performer A comparative study between Essay

How do impulses affect the performer A comparative study between Stanislavski and Grotowski - Essay Example This evolutionary development of the art of acting is an effort that gradually developed through time, and the effort of various professionals in the visual arts. Earlier players simply relied on the imitation of characters, but as time went by, empirical observations from individuals interested in the field of acting led to the development of systematized models of training actors. The training of actors is essential for the sake of attaining the ‘make belief effect’ that is the essence of all theatre performances (Wolford, 1996, p. 38). This paper is going to evaluate the theme of imagination while considering how counter impulse and automatic impulse affects the performer in a comparative study between Stanislavski and Grotowski. The major highlight shall be the effect of impulse on theater performers. The development of literature containing principles of training actors has been a materialization that has gradually developed through time by various virtuosos in the field of acting. The process has been gradually and progressive with various professionals building upon other works by their predecessors in the field. The most renown amongst them is Constantine Stanislavski, Grotowski, Brooks, and Chekhov, just to mention but a few. Most of these contributors trace their ideas and their development to Stanislavski’s system of training actors (Wolford 1996). ... The system was designed to use a progression of techniques to aid the actors in drawing believable emotions in their performances. Grotowski’s work is quite different because it introduces the concept of impulses and their effects on the performance ability of the actors. Unlike Stanislavski’s approach that mainly focuses on physical actions, Grotowski’s system mainly emphasizes outward focused approach. In this approach, the actor focuses on channeling his or her inner impulses into action (Wolford 1996). Therefore, actions during acting are inspired or influenced by inner developed impulses. The current approaches to training are a combination of various contributions made by these forerunners in the field of actor training. Stanislavski’s method focuses on both the ‘external’ expression and the ‘internal’ generation of actions that humans engage in and tries to establish the connection between the two (Allen 2000, p .55). Accor ding to Stanislavski, the actions in the acting process generate emotions that are desired for the performance. For this case, each physical action has a psychological element, which is the psychological action which generates it (Allen 2000). On the converse, each inner psychological action gets physical expression in one way or another. This duality is basic to acting, and one may not solely exist without the other. Therefore, in this concept, an actor can begin by simple physical actions and penetrate the deep-most and complex experiences and feelings. The most important thing in ‘physical actions’ in acting is not the memory of the feelings, but rather what takes place that can lead to the creation of a feeling (Benedetti 2010, p. 71). In such

Chinese students learning strategies in EFL and in ESL Essay

Chinese students learning strategies in EFL and in ESL - Essay Example The second strategy that students use in learning EFL is communicative strategies. Qiumei (n.d) highlights that communicative strategies are deliberate efforts by the students to decode or express the meaning in a language and in circumstances where the language rules have not been identified. Some of the communicative strategies that they use include avoiding and adjustment of a message, paraphrasing, approximations, asking for help, repetition, classifications etc. Teachers in this strategy help the students in learning EFL because the students refer to them when they want to ask questions about the language. Alliance for Excellence Education (2005) points out that this method is known as guided interaction because students work together with teachers in order to understand the language. In addition, another strategy used by students in EFL in China, is discussions; therefore, to understand the language better, the students form discussion groups where the teachers assist them and other students to understand English language. Qiumei (n.d) highlights that this method allow students to participate in discussions of meanings so that they can comprehend messages and this help them to learn and acquire the language. Chinese students who join tertiary institutions in Australia have difficulties in learning English as a second language. Thus, due to the difficulty in communication, they employ various strategies in Australian context to understand English as a Second language (ESL). Some of the main strategies include cognitive, metacognitive, social and affective strategies (Samida, 2006). Further, these strategies can be used universally by new students in any country globally because they are equally applicable. The first strategy is the cognitive strategy, and it involves transforming the English language through repeating, analyzing and summarizing messages (Samida, 2006). The

Invisible Hand and Market Equilibrium Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Invisible Hand and Market Equilibrium - Article Example The reason why some long-run average cost curves are steeper on the downside is due to economies of scale. Larger firms try to maximize production output, so the curve would be more positive and steeper than normal. The average fixed cost curve would fall as a larger firm could produce more output. Overall, this would reduce the average fixed cost per unit. The reason why some long-run average cost curves are steeper on the downside is due to economies of scale. Larger firms try to maximize production output, so the curve would be more positive and steeper than normal. The average fixed cost curve would fall as a larger firm could produce more output. Overall, this would reduce the average fixed cost per unit. 5. Explain the relationship between average fixed cost and marginal cost. Marginal cost is the cost to produce one more item, while the average fixed cost is the total cost divided by total production. These two are linked because marginal cost decreases as the average fixed cost also decrease. This is because fixed cost remains the same no matter the production output, so producing more units reduces the average fixed cost overall. Marginal cost also decreases because while the variable cost would go up, the total fixed and variable cost would be divided by more units, thus reducing marginal cost.  Ã‚   6. Explain why a firm's shut-down decision does not incorporate the fixed costs of the production facility. A firm usually chooses to shut down when revenues do not cover the variable costs associated with production. Fixed costs are not considered because they have to be paid regardless of whether the firm is producing anything or not. Just because a firm chooses to shut down does not mean that they will go out of business; they are just temporarily suspending production. If and when the firm decides to resume production, all of the fixed costs will carry on as normal. Because the marginal cost increases, some industries have upward-sloping long-run supply curves even they do not experience diminishing marginal returns. The law of diminishing marginal returns says that for each new worker that is introduced to the workplace, their overall output will be less than the employees already working there. Because a firm can only produce so much, if there are too many workers then this decreases the average output of each worker. Due to economies of scale, some firms that are monopolies can incr ease the supply of labor and will lessen total output in the long term. As a result, the supply curve slopes upward.  

Week 6 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Week 6 - Coursework Example Therefore, most businesses have to accept the existing preordained competition, by developing some unique measures of overcoming it. Organizations have to react by increasing the competition through cutting the price of their products, refining the quality of their products to fit clients preferences, use of new technology to overwhelm the rapid changes in quality and quality in productions. HTC is one of the enterprises that realize competition is growing everyday. The corporation, as a result, decided not to underrate the potential competition coming from different parts of the world. For that reason, HTC strived to provide unique and distinguished quality products through enhancing a creative and innovative environment. The corporation has successful fashioned a tranquil environment that is auspicious in endorsing creativity of it is employees through initiating the â€Å"magic labs† (Robbins, & Coulter, 2010). The personnel are encouraged to work on their own ideas which enable their imagination to turn into innovation. The corporation also has promoted creativity and innovation by studying the change of clients’ preferences. There is a resilient connection between workers happiness and creativity in the workplace. The level of creativity improves when employees are happier. Happy employees are optimistic and work in solidarity, thus strengthening crea tivity through sharing of knowledge; hence promoting inventiveness. Employees’ happiness is of prodigious significant in the workplace as it emboldens staff to be more productivity and high job performance. Happiness among employees remains imperative for they are 25% more effective and well-organized than the unhappy staff thus happy staff endorses high job performance and great productive. Happy workers are also 47% industrious than unhappy staff, as happy staff work in team-spirit and in a more optimistic way thus creating a favorable avenue for sharing concepts

South Carolina and Georgia Essay Example for Free

South Carolina and Georgia Essay When the American colonies rebelled against Great Britain, the rebels gave their reasons in the Declaration of Independence. According to the Declaration, people have unalienable rights to liberty. â€Å"The ideology of the revolutionary generation shaped the later American Bill of Rights. This revolutionary ideology combined and wove together both the natural rights of man and the historic rights of Englishmen†. The colonists emphasized natural rights and historic liberties as a result of their view of government. Government was potentially hostile to human liberty and happiness. Power was essentially aggressive. The rebellious colonists dealt with the problem of aggressive political power by several devices: separation of powers, an independent judiciary, the right of people to have a share in their own government by representatives chosen by themselves, and an insistence on the natural and historical rights and liberties of citizens reflected in revolutionary bills of rights of the several states. These concessions to slavery produced some protests. George Mason, delegate from Virginia and a leading advocate of a federal bill of rights, complained that delegates from South Carolina and Georgia were more interested in protecting the right to import slaves than in promoting the Liberty and Happiness of the people. Some framers rationalized the compromise with slavery on the assumption that the institution would soon die out. In truth, however, a compromise was made in the interest of the Union. While the framers compromised with slavery, they took steps to prevent its spread to new states. Particularly after the adoption of the Bill of Rights the Constitution reflected the Jekyll-and-Hyde character of the nation. The nation sought simultaneously to protect liberty and slavery. All in all, the Bill of Rights was adopted because of the fear of abuses of power by the federal government. It simply had no application to the states. The idea that the federal Bill of Rights protects liberty of speech and press, freedom of religion, and other basic rights from violations by the states has become commonplace, even for lawyers. Indeed, many Americans probably accepted this commonplace when careful lawyers knew it was not so. From 1833 to 1868 the Supreme Court held that none of the rights in the Bill of Rights limited the states. From 1868 to 1925 it found very few of these liberties protected from state action. Those the states were free to flout (so far as federal limitations were concerned) seemed to include free speech, press, religion, the right to jury trial, freedom from self-incrimination, from infliction of cruel and unusual punishments, and more. State constitutions, with their own bills of rights, were available to protect the individual, but too often they proved to be paper barriers. Most, but not all, scholars believe that the Supreme Court was right, at least as a matter of history, up to 1868. They believe, that is, that the founding fathers did not intend for the Bill of Rights to limit the states. In contrast to the English Bill of Rights of 1689, in which the powers of Parliament are protected against the encroachments of the monarch, the American Bill of Rights was created to protect the individual against the intrusions of the legislative and executive branches of the government. As James Madison expressed it, If we advert to the nature of Republican Government we shall find that censorial power is in the people over the Government, and not in the Government over the people. Nowhere in the Bill of Rights is this more sharply affirmed than in the words of the First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Although nine of the thirteen colonies had established churches, four did not (Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware). By the time the First Amendment was adopted, however, only three states had an established church -Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. Of even greater significance is that no two states shared the same religious configuration with respect to its population. Not to be overlooked is that in the decade between the Declaration of Independence and the Constitutional Convention, numerous states had made declarations in support of religious freedom prior to the adoption of the Bill of Rights. In 1868 the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified. Beginning in the 1920s, the U. S. Supreme Court began to apply the Bill of Rights to states through a process now called the incorporation of the Bill of Rights into the Fourteenth Amendment. As originally passed, the Bill of Rights applied only to the federal government and not to state governments. The Fourteenth Amendments equal protection and due process clauses clearly applied to the states. Through a series of lengthy cases, the Court engaged in a piecemeal process of interpreting the Fourteenth Amendment clauses to include the various freedoms protected in the Bill of Rights. In Near v. Minnesota (1931) the Supreme Court applied freedom of the press to the states. In this case, the city of Minneapolis tried to suppress the publication of scandalous, malicious and defamatory material in newspapers. A newspaper publishers association, fearing censorship, challenged the Minnesota law on the grounds of violation of freedom of press. The Supreme Court struck down the law by contending that it represented prior restraint of future issues. The most important freedom given to the press is freedom from prior restraint, the freedom not to be censored. The process of nationalizing the Bill of Rights through the Fourteenth Amendment continued in the area of free exercise of religion. In Hamilton v. Board of Regents (1934), the Court held that freedom of religion was protected by the First Amendment against invasion by the national government and by the states. This decision was confirmed in Cantwell v. Connecticut (1940). This case questioned the constitutionality of a Connecticut law which banned solicitation of money for religious or charitable reasons unless approved by the secretary of the public welfare council. This particular official had the authority to decide whether a fund-raising cause was truly a religious one. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the statute violated religious freedom and the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. From the critical standpoint, the Bill of Rights not only constitutionally protects individual rights of citizens, such as freedom of religion, peaceable assembly, right to keep and bear arms, trial by jury, but it also secures the entire system of American democratic values and implementation of democracy in reality. For instance, freedom of press, declared of in the First Amendment, does not mean only that â€Å"Congress shall make no law†¦ abridging the freedom of†¦press. † Considering the fact independent media is one of the pillars of modern democracy, this constitutional guarantee aims to secure democratic principles of the country. Moreover, the freedom of press implies automatically the absence of any censorship limiting the execution of freedom of speech, which is too declared in the First Amendment and similarly is to protect democratic principles. The Bill of Rights has been created not only to protect freedoms and liberties of American citizens on individual levels, but also to secure the position of a person before the government. For example, the Fifth Amendment provides that no person shall be forced in any criminal case to be a witness against oneself. At the same time, from my personal viewpoint, the fundamental importance of the Bill of Rights is its long lasting effect and its tremendous influence on American legislative and judicial system. Firstly, the Bill triggered the adoption by the Congress of several important acts protecting civil liberties like Civil Rights Act. Secondly, because the Bill is an integral and vital part of US Constitution, and thus the ultimate legal power, legislative and judicial system have been continuously improving constitutional doctrine on individual rights. For example, one can notice during 1960-70s the constitutional rights of public employees to freedom of speech and association, procedural due process, and equal protection have also been vastly expanded. Historically the Constitution has retained its flexibility because interpretations of its meaning have changed. Choosing between two or more sets of competing values, the Supreme Court has played a major role in maintaining this flexibility. A significant trend has been the extension of civil rights to the previously powerless. For instance, the involvement of the U. S. Supreme Court in civil rights for blacks is long-standing, dating back to issues from the days of slavery. In the Dred Scott case (1857), Chief Justice Taney ruled that no blacks, slave or free, were citizens, and that blacks had no citizenship rights (Hall, 38). In 1883, two decades after the Civil War and the official end of slavery, the Court ruled on five separate suits affecting the rights of blacks, and collectively called the Civil Rights Cases (1883). These cases arose in response to the Civil Rights Act of 1875 which prohibited racial discrimination in jury selection and public accommodations. In these cases, the public accommodations portions of the 1875 act were challenged. The Court recognized that the Fourteenth Amendment forbade discrimination by states but it made no mention of discriminatory acts committed by individuals. Since the Civil Rights Act prohibited discrimination by individuals and private businesses, the Court ruled that the act had overstepped congressional authority and was therefore unconstitutional. By the end of World War II, the Supreme Court had become more supportive of civil rights for blacks. It struck down the all-white primary in Smith v. Allright (1944), arguing that the Democratic party was in essence an agent of the state and was therefore subject to the Fifteenth Amendment. During the late 1940s and the 1950s, the Court followed the trends begun earlier of moving away from the doctrine of separate but equal (Hall, 51). This may be seen in the cases of Sipuel v. Oklahoma (1948), Sweatt v. Painter (1950) and McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents (1950). In the Sipuel case, which was similar to the Gaines case, the Court ordered Oklahoma to provide a separate but equal law school for a black woman and stressed the need for equality in facilities. In Sweatt v. Painter, the state of Texas had established a separate black law school but it was inferior to the white law school at the University of Texas in the size of its faculty and the quality of its library and student body. The court ruled that the black law school had to be improved. The Court nearly overturned the separate but equal doctrine in the McLaurin case in which Oklahoma had allowed a black student to attend a white graduate school but had segregated him from the rest of the students by designating separate sections of the library, cafeteria and classrooms for him. The Court struck down these segregation provisions, claiming that they interfered with the ability of the black student to exchange ideas with other students, a requisite for a good education. Although these cases fell short of invalidating the separate but equal principle, they made segregation at the graduate school level more difficult to implement. Perhaps the most significant civil rights cases to aid blacks in the fight for equality were the two Brown cases in the 1950s. Brown v. Board of Education I (1954) arose as the result of a suit against Topeka, Kansas where Linda Brown, a black child, was not permitted to attend a segregated white school four blocks from her home. In Brown I, under the leadership of Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Court overturned the Plessy decision of separate but equal in the public schools by declaring that the separate but equal doctrine made black children feel inferior. In Brown v. Board of Education II (1955), the Court ruled on how to accomplish desegregation, concluding that local school boards should establish plans for desegregation under the supervision of federal district judges and with all deliberate speed. Despite these court rulings, southern school boards were slow to respond and avoided court orders by closing public schools and placing white children in private schools. Consequently, desegregation was only implemented very slowly. Women are not a minority but they have historically experienced legal discrimination based on their gender. The Supreme Court has played an important role in the expansion of rights for women. Overall the Court has been less important in the expansion of womens rights than it has been in the extension of rights to blacks and other racial minorities. A major reason for the less important role of the Court is that womens rights have mostly been broadened through legislation. Many womens rights cases addressed by the Supreme Court have been concerned with employment. Early court decisions followed a trend of protectionism and upheld restrictions on the nature and conditions of employment for women. In Bradwell v. Illinois (1873), the Supreme Court upheld a state law preventing women from practicing law. Not until the 1970s did U. S. Supreme Court rulings begin to move away from the restrictive, protectionist trend of the past. Reed v. Reed (1971) was the first instance of the Court striking down a state law which discriminated against women. Taylor v. Louisiana (1975) overturned the precedent set in Hoyt v. Florida. Phillips v. Martin-Marietta (1971) ruled that employers could not discriminate against mothers of preschool children, despite fears that they might often miss work to care for their children. In Stanton v. Stanton (1975) the Court struck down a Utah law which required divorced fathers to support sons until they were twenty-one under the assumption that they would need support while being educated, while daughters had to be supported only until they were eighteen under the assumption that they would get married and be supported by their husbands. Beginning in the 1920s, the U. S. Supreme Court began to apply the Bill of Rights to states through a process now called the incorporation of the Bill of Rights into the Fourteenth Amendment. As originally passed, the Bill of Rights applied only to the federal government and not to state governments. The Fourteenth Amendments equal protection and due process clauses clearly applied to the states. Through a series of lengthy cases, the Court engaged in a piecemeal process of interpreting the Fourteenth Amendment clauses to include the various freedoms protected in the Bill of Rights. In Near v. Minnesota (1931) the Supreme Court applied freedom of the press to the states. In this case, the city of Minneapolis tried to suppress the publication of scandalous, malicious and defamatory material in newspapers. A newspaper publishers association, fearing censorship, challenged the Minnesota law on the grounds of violation of freedom of press. The Supreme Court struck down the law by contending that it represented prior restraint of future issues. The most important freedom given to the press is freedom from prior restraint, the freedom not to be censored. In many cases the statements embedded in the Bill of Rights are impacted directly or indirectly through the process of governance in the United States. One of the most peculiar examples of this impact is adoption of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001, commonly known as the Patriot Act. This act significantly expands the power of the federal government to investigate, detain, and deport those people who the government suspects are linked to terrorist activity and other crimes. The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution requires the government to prove to a judicial officer that it has probable cause of a crime before it conducts an invasive search to find evidence of that crime or in exact words, this Amendment declares that â€Å"the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Before the enactment of the Patriot Act, if the primary purpose was a criminal investigation, the law enforcement officials had to first prove the higher standard of probable cause. Investigating criminal activity cannot be the primary purpose of surveillance. Now American society witnesses how one of the most fundamental statements of the Bill of Rights, particularly that one protecting individual freedoms from the state, is challenged. The change made by Section 218 of the Patriot Act authorizes uncon stitutional activity by impinging on the Fourth Amendment protection that requires probable cause. Section 218 now provides law enforcement officials with a tool to avoid probable cause when conducting criminal investigation surveillance. The adoption of the Patriot Act has been triggered with the war the United States declared against terrorism. Interestingly, the same event, the war on terrorism, challenged another important element of the Bill of Rights, namely the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment, which states that â€Å"no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. † Practically, this statement aims to secure individuals from unconstitutional exercise on the behalf of the government. Importantly, this article provides Americans with the right to be tried by unprejudiced courts with application of lawful procedures and laws. However, during the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, the US government intentionally deterred in prisons many prisoners of war (identifying them as terrorists) without court orders, indictments and further court hearings. Here one can notice the constitutional collision, in which the rights of the US government during wartime (including deterring of individuals without due process clause) challenges the statements embedded in the Bill of Rights. Works Cited Barnett, Randy E. ed. , 1989. Ninth Amendment. supra note 29, at 18 Bailyn, Bernard. 1967. Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press. Ely, J. 1980. Democracy and Distrust. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Hall, Kermit L. 1989. The Magic Mirror. Law in American History, New York: Oxford University Press. Levine, James P. 1992. Juries and Politics, Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company. Madison, James. November 27, 1794. Republicanism. Speech in Congress. Annals of Congress 934. Nelson, William E. 1988. The Fourteenth Amendment: From Political Principle to Judicial Doctrine. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Schwartz, B. 1971. The Bill of Rights. A Documentary History. pp. 222-226. Wiecek, W. 1976. The Sources of Antislavery Constitutionalism in America, 1760-1848. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. P. 74

Example Essay on CHANGE MANAGEMENT

Example Essay on CHANGE MANAGEMENT Q) What are the strengths and weakness of Kotters 8-stage model, Lewins Planned Change Model, and the Positivist Model? Change management is a planned process for changing a core function or organization of an enterprise. Interestingly, the process of developing taxonomy can result in the need for change. See Quality Assurance (www.twason.com/glossary.html) Change management is important in every project and this change management will help the project to be successful in any business or organization. There are three models which help change management to be successful in an organization or business and further help them to handle them carefully. The three models which explain about the change in an organization are: Lewins model. Kotters 8-stage model. Positive model. Lewins model There three steps of change management in the Lewins model. Unfreezing. Change. Refreezing Unfreezing is a starting process in an organization in which we determine the need of the change, understand and explain why the change is going on and communicate the vision in order to handle change in an organization. In this starting stage of change, the organization should explain the employees why the change is taking place. When this process starts there may be a crisis in the company and the company should balance everything and it is difficult to maintain it among the employees. The second stage is Change and this is a process in which the employee tries to look forward for new ways to do their work and try to accept the new change. This entire change cannot be done overnight and this is a long process. The third stage is Refreeze which helps to re-shape the organization and employees and also find new ways to work in the organization and it also help the organization to gain a change in every- day business life. There should be benefits to the employees who are trying to find new ways to work and the feedback should be taken from the employees regarding the change in the company. Strengths and Weaknesses of lewins model are. The main strength of the lewins model can be specified as easiest and simplest model to implement in any organization. It also helps employees to face new problems and to overcome those. When the change is taken place, the communication between every individual will increase and they work in teams in order to overcome the problems. The weaknesses of this model lead to the crisis in the company and the entire change cannot be done overnight and there may be lot of confusion in the employees and they need to find new ways to do their work. The weaknesses of this model are not in detail. Kotters 8- stage model The 8- stages of kotters model are Create urgency. Form a powerful coalition. Create a vision for change. Communicate the vision. Remove obstacles. Create short-term wins. Building on the change. Anchor the changes in corporate culture. These are 8-stages of kotters stage model. The first stage of kotters helps the organization to find out the changes to be taken place in the organization and helps to find the threats and defaults in the company and also rectify them and this stage shows the opportunities to overcome these. Finally this stage helps the organization in becoming strong. In the second stage, form a powerful coalition which helps to build teams or groups to lead the changes in the organization and also helps to encourage the teams. The third stage creates a vision of change. That is to Create a vision to help direct the change effort (MINDTOOLS, 2006). This also helps to develop the strategies for achieving the goals. The fourth stage is communicating the vision. This stage shows how to communicate the new strategies and new ways to every individual in the organization. The fifth stage is removing obstacles. This stage shows how to remove the obstacles when changes take place and helps to Change systems or structures that seriously undermine the vision. (MINDTOOLS, 2006). The sixth stage shows the Plan for visible performance improvements and creates those improvements (MINDTOOLS, 2006). There should be rewards and benefits to the employees who perform well in the organization. The seventh stage is same as the Change in lewins model. The eighth stage is same as the Refreezing in the lewins model. Strengths and weaknesses of the kotters 8-stages are Strengths: The strengths of the kotters 8-stage is model is very simplistic and easy to understand rather than lewins model. The strength of this model is, it can easily identify the problem and it also helps to clear the problem in very short period. This can be successful when all the employees are communicated well in all the stages. Weaknesses The major weakness of this model is that it may lead to wrong assumptions. Another weakness of this model is, the model itself. This model is not flexible once this model starts its process than it is difficult to change its way. This model is difficult to communicate to the employees and which may lead to frustration among the employees to find the new ways to handle the change occurring in the organization. POSITIVE MODEL Change models are not only having high success in implementing but also have the failures equally. They also have the negativism in planning their organizational change. The positive model helps to criticize the negativism in the organizational planning. This positive model also guides the organization whether it is going in a right way or not and helps the organization to develop. There are 5 stages in this positive model. (Thomas G. Cummings, Christopher G. Worley, 2009) Initiate the inquiry: In this phase the organization team finds out the issue which is going to be change in the organization. (Thomas G. Cummings, Christopher G. Worley, 2009) Inquire the best practices: In this phase the organization team gathers the information about which is the best policy to implement the change. The organization team members collect the information from every individual of the organization and choose the best one to do. (Thomas G. Cummings, Christopher G. Worley, 2009) Discover the themes: In this phase they gather information and stories from each and every employee about their experience this is done by interviews and meetings. This kind of information helps the organization to overcome all the obstacles. (Thomas G. Cummings, Christopher G. Worley, 2009) Envision a preferred future: In this phase the gathered information from the employees is taken into consideration and then the organization support these ideas into the program. (Thomas G. Cummings, Christopher G. Worley, 2009) Design and deliver to create the future: In this phase, the design and deliver for the future is processed. In this phase, slight changes can be made in order to achieve the goals of the organization. (Thomas G. Cummings, Christopher G. Worley, 2009) Strengths and weaknesses of the positive model: Strengths: The strength of this model is, it helps to find out the negativism in the organization when the change is taken place. The employee satisfaction is taken as a main theme in this model. This model is flexible and slight changes can be done during this process. Weaknesses: The weakness of this model is that it will not create urgency in the change process. There may be conflicts between the employees in decision making. There is no specialty in this model. It is same as the remaining models. Conclusion I finally conclude that all the models have their own strengths and weaknesses. The lewins model is the easiest model but it is not explained in detail and it is complicated. Positive model is same as the remaining models and it is slightly different when compared to remaining models. I strongly recommend that kotters 8-stage model is the best model among all the change models as it is explained in detail and it is flexible in changing process and the communication between the employees when compared with the other models. So I finally conclude that, though all are the best models according to my research, but I strongly say that kotters 8-stage model is the best model.

Implementation of Lean Systems in an Organisation

Implementation of Lean Systems in an Organisation Abstract The report describes the significance of value chains, lean system, lean production, and the concepts of eliminating waste from an organisation. Following this the report also illuminates the use of lean productions and lean services in an organisation called as Baxter Healthcare Corporation which manufacture global medical products. It also enlightens the essential goals of implementing lean systems in an organisation. Primarily, a brief overview is given on Operation management. A short explanation about water value stream mapping (VSM) exercise held at a South-eastern United States facility.. Using Lean practices, sometimes integrated with an environmental focus, the company was capable to double in size and revenue while keeping its total waste generation close to 1996 levels is discussed. The Corporate social responsibility and the Porters value chain is described in detail. And at the end a summary of the report is given. Definition A fusion of Japanese and US management principles focusing on the reduction of: waste, inventory and customer response time. http://managers-net.org/Lean.html General Introduction In 2001, Baxter Healthcare Corporation, a worldwide leader in the manufacture of global medical products, was worried that its environmental track per unit output, a key target of efficiency, was rising. To battle this, the company adopted a congregation of business and manufacturing methods. One worked: Lean Manufacturing. As Baxter began to see waste generation drop with the deployment of Lean, the environmental engineering group realized that environmental enhancement was habitually an inadvertent benefit of Lean Manufacturing. In order to make best use of this benefit, this group began to hunt for ways to additional mix environmental metrics and performance into traditional Lean Manufacturing tools. By means of Lean practices, at times integrated with an environmental focus, the company was able to double in size and revenue though keeping its entire waste generation close to 1996 levels. Baxter has been so victorious at sinking waste that many of its biggest facilities are now classified as small quantity or conditionally excepted little magnitude generators under EPAs hazardous waste rules. This learning highlights a water value stream mapping (VSM) exercise held at a Southeastern United States facility. Baxters Key Lesson Learned Based on a value stream mapping (VSM) incident held at this provision, as well as other interconnected events, Baxter has developed a amount of key lessons for building value stream mapping work: The targeted aspect (energy, water, materials, etc.) should be correlated to facility challenges and the company strategic plan. For example, if the facility has boilers or uses steam or distilled water, it should discover opportunities in water and its related energy. In ISO 14001 terms, the facility should be targeting one of its environmentally important aspects. A cross-functional team is crucial to successfully identifying and understanding the challenge. Upper management support is decisive for the follow-up on implementation. |Excellent, perfect data is also crucial. Data can be gathered in a number of creative ways, as simple as a bucket and stopwatch (water), a clip-on current reader (energy), or a portable flow meter for water discharge. Several utilities offer these services for low or no cost. If essential, bring in expertise. If expertise is not available in-house, then utilize the various free resources that states provide, such as energy experts, water engineers, etc. Do not rely on Lean consultants by yourself. Lean is a way of seeing and thinking, not merely a set of tools. Lean consultants can be a great source of tools and training, but a facility cannot truly learn Lean without living Lean. The metrics selected should be proper to measure progress in the targeted processes. The team should be prepared to revise or scrap an ineffective metric. Environmental personnel should be given the same representation and responsibilities as other staff. For example, if an operations manager has to make available a monthly report, so should the EHS officer. The environmental staff is an integral part of the team. Baxter Manufacturing Plant, Southeastern United States Baxters solution plants, which manufacture flexible-container IV and peritoneal dialysis products, often use big quantities of water and energy. With steadily growing energy costs and increasing pressure on clean water supplies, these facilities are encouraged by Baxters Corporate Vice President of Manufacturing to diminish water and energy consumption. Plants were particularly encouraged to perform a utilities value stream map. The plant selected for this study is one of Baxters largest facilities. The facility has received numerous honors, including the Shingo Award for Manufacturing Excellence. In its quest for Perfect Processes, the plant actively uses Lean practices. Because the plant gets its water from its own wells, employees imperfectly assumed that water had slight cost associated with it, thus ignoring the energy use and costs of pumping, storing, heating, filtering, and disposing water. Baxter views water waste as an sign of other costly inefficiencies. For example, water waste is often directly tied to excessive energy consumption. Creating the Current State Value Stream Map for Water To assault the water waste challenge, managers chose to use value stream mapping (VSM), one of four key approaches Baxter uses to incorporate environmental metrics into Lean practices (see appendix). This marked the first time that VSM was used at this facility to track a material resource-in this case, water-through the entire production process. To generate the VSM, a diverse team was preferred that integrated utility and water experts as well as maintenance, production and EHS personnel. The value stream maps and associated implementation plans were developed over a three-day event. The opening day began with introductions, followed by an explanation of the format and process of the VSM event. Then, the mapping began. Using sticky notes, the team graphically walked through the whole production process, highlighting water usage and major processing steps. The first pass of mapping was high-level and general; each subsequent pass would add more detail and refinement. During the second round of mapping, the major processes were wrecked down into sub-processes. Then, using the capability of the participants, the water volumes, cycle-times, value-added calculations (e.g., cost of pumping the water to the next step) and other relevant information were added to the map, with costs normalized per 1,000 gallons. The team also listed the triggers that caused each process step to initiate (e.g., an empty tank might trigger a rinsing/flushing process step). In addition, the team emphasized dissimilaritys between what must happen in theory versus the actual practices on the floor. For example, although standard operating procedure (SOP) was to rinse the floors and surface areas of certain rooms following a shift, frequently the whole room, together with the walls, was rinsed, thus wasting water. Emphasizing the dissimilarity among procedure and practice allowed waste to be better identified, with some SOPs tagged for further evaluation at a later date. The outcome of the mapping was the current state value stream map, a credible outline of the destination, use, value, and waste of the water throughout the production process. Metrics The team then deliberated on which indicators and metrics to use to estimate the water usage. They understood that the accurate choice of metrics was critical to the VSMs success. The option of indicators and metrics had to be consistent with Baxters strategic objectives as well as capable of measuring progress relative to the opportunities developed through the VSM. For this VSM, the key metrics incorporated costs (e.g., the dollar value of energy used to process the water) and water volumes. The amount of water introverted from the on-site well versus the amount of product produced was an additional efficiency metric. In addition, the team had to be equipped to adjust or reinstate these indicators and metrics if they proved ineffective in practice. Ranking Opportunities Through the VSM, the team recognized and prioritized 96 opportunities, with lots of graphically represented by starbursts. These opportunities were categorized by the estimated length of time for implementation (e.g., 6 months, 12 months, 24 months) and potential for improvement. Then, they were visually plotted on a grid with the magnitude of the potential profit on the Y-axis and ease of implementation on the X-axis. After all the starbursts had been appraised on this grid, the results were transferred onto various future state timetables, to prioritize the opportunities and plan for their implementation. Generally, starbursts that can be implemented within 6 months require little or no capital investment (although some may require further analysis to accurately gauge potential benefits). These starbursts are often the first priority for implementation, because of their high return on investment (ROI). Then, the team created three future state VSMs (6 months, 12 months, and 24 months) that incorporated the prioritized opportunities. New teams were created to coordinate the changes. These teams were composed of a mix of personnel that had proper knowledge of the processes involved as well as a solid awareness of how each chosen process fit within Baxters strategic objectives. As some members of these new teams did not participate in creating the VSMs, (for example, quality personnel) it was important to ensure that they all understood the strategy and methods behind the VSM effort. The teams developed specific timelines for implementing the changes using traditional Lean techniques, like kaizen. Projected Savings At the end of the event, Baxter had an action plan that should save 170,000 gallons of water per day and $17,000 within 3 months, with minute or no capital investment. The plan also eliminated the require to expand the plants wastewater treatment plant. Also, since the event, reciprocally the head utilities manager and plant manager have been promoted to positions in the corporate office. Because Baxter makes medical products, changes in a production process might conflict with FDA requirements. Any costs associated with pursuing an adjustment in those requirements would affect the production changes ROI, and thus, its implementation priority. LONG TERM SUSTAINABILITY Long-term sustainability is a business thought that has gained considerable attention following revelations about global warming and dwindling natural resources. At its mainly basic level, long-term sustainability suggests that a company will progress its odds of survival in the future by ensuring that resources used by the business are responsibly managed and maintained. According to a 2010 study by the United Nations, the vast majority of corporate chief executive officers (CEOs) believe that long-term sustainability is a major factor in long term success. The business practices that have fueled the modern global economy were not developed in a time when environmental impacts were understood or even gravely considered. During the Industrial Revolution, when huge scale business truly began to figure the globe, science had not yet developed a extensive means of measuring environmental damage. Yet while environmental science made grand strides in the 20th century, small levels of infrastructure and gaps in communications meant that information about commercial and environmental exploitation in developing nations frequently went unreported or unnoticed for years. As the global economy has developed, so too has a sincere worry for the sustainable use of resources and the practical management of the environment. Long-term sustainability requires a broad point of view as to the impact of doing business.One of the major concerns with the concept is that regulatory measures are often vague and subject to vary. There is certainly an element of threat in long-term sustainability investing, but proponents quarrel this threat should be combated by getting involved in sustainable practices immediately. By proving that a company is interested in protecting resources and conducting business responsibly, the owners of that company stand a higher chance of being involved in or consulted by regulatory committees that will determine future practices. The larger point of long-tern sustainability suggests that, at the bottom level, people are the most essential resource. By ensuring a livable, sustainable environment for humans, companies anticipate to ensure a profitable and sustainable environment for business. Corporate social responsibility Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a conception in the business world. In the late 20th century, a growing number of corporations began to consider about their impacts on society at large, primarily because consumers became extra aware of corporate activities around the world. Many of these corporations decided to get on on Corporate Social Responsibility programs designed to counteract some of their effects on the world while also generally improving corporate practices. CSR has both fans and detractors, as one might visualize; the truth that the issue has become so publicized is viewed as a positive open by many people on both sides. A company which has decided to establish a Corporate Social Responsibility program generally consist of a discussion of the program in its mission statement and code of ethics, making the existence of the program transparent to stockholders and other interested parties. Most corporations also contain a CSR department, which handles the companys social programs and make sure that the companys efforts in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility remain in the eyes of the public. The possibility of a Corporate Social Responsibility program tends to be most varied. Many corporations begin at home, by trying to include conditions for their employees, with offerings like higher wages and health benefits. The next step often addresses corporate suppliers, both at home and abroad, with a focus on creating a sustainable supply chain without the exercise of child labor and other ethically questionable practices. Many corporations also insert a charitable aspect to their Corporate Social Responsibility programs. For example, a company which sells coffee may sponsor community development initiatives in coffee producing regions, while an oil company might contribute to habitat restoration in an region historically used for resource extraction. Other companies simply contribute huge amounts of funds to charities of choice, commonly finding charities which tie in with their own work. Fans of CSR suggest that these voluntary attempts on the part of corporations show a genuine aspiration to do business in an ethical and responsible way. Some more cynical fans also point out that corporations known for their CSR programs tend to retain employees longer and to have the pick of the crop when it comes to employees and suppliers, thanks to an interest in ethical business practices among many new graduates and small companies. Furthermore, because Corporate Social Responsibility is a growing topic of interest, companies which tout such programs frequently perform well on the market, with consumers actively seeking out their products. Detractors trust, however, that Corporate Social Responsibility is simply a smokescreen or window dressing which coats up more egregious issues. By putting their moral initiatives at the forefront, companies can bypass a grand deal of consumer concern. For example, an automobile company may distract consumers with an ad campaign about an environmentally sustainable manufacturing plant, while continuing to produce extremely inefficient vehicles which rely on fossil fuels. The Value Chain The term Value Chain was used by Michael Porter in his book Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining superior Performance (1985). The value chain analysis describes the activities the organization performs and links them to the organizations competitive situation. Value chain analysis describes the activities within and around an organization, and relates them to an analysis of the competitive strength of the organization. Therefore, it evaluates which value every particular activity adds to the organizations products or services. This idea was build upon the insight that an organization is more than a random compilation of machinery, equipment, people and money. Only if these things are arranged into systems and systematic activates it will turns possible to manufacture something for which customers are willing to pay a price. Porter argues that the capability to perform particular activities and to manage the linkages between these activities is a source of competitive advantage. Porter distinguishes between primary activities and support activities. Primary activities are directly concerned with the creation or delivery of a product or service. They can be grouped into five major areas: inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, marketing and sales, and service. Each of these most important activities is linked to support activities which help to improve their effectiveness or efficiency. There are four major areas of support activities: procurement, technology development (including RD), human resource management, and infrastructure (systems for planning, finance, quality, information management etc.). The basic model of Porters Value Chain is as follows The term Margin implies that organizations recognize a profit margin that depends on their ability to handle the linkages between all activities in the value chain. In former words, the organization is able to deliver a product / service for which the customer is willing to pay more than the sum of the costs of all activities in the value chain. Some thought about the linkages between activities: These linkages are crucial for corporate victory. The linkages are flows of information, goods and services, as well as systems and processes for adjusting activities. Their importance is best illustrated with some simple examples: Only if the Marketing Sales function delivers sales forecasts for the next period to all other departments in time and in reliable accuracy, procurement will be capable to order the necessary material for the correct date. And only if procurement does a excellent job and forwards order information to inbound logistics, only than operations will be capable to schedule production in a way that guarantees the delivery of products in a timely and effective manner as pre-determined by marketing.In the outcome, the linkages are about seamless cooperation and information flow among the value chain activities. In most industries, it is rather unusual that a single company performs all activities from product design, production of components, and last assembly to delivery to the final user by itself. Most often, organizations are elements of a value system or supply chain. Hence, value chain analysis must cover the whole value system in which the organization operates. Within the entire value system, there is only a definite value of profit margin available. This is the dissimilarity of the final price the customer pays and the sum of all costs incurred with the production and delivery of the product/service (e.g. raw material, energy etc.). It depends on the configuration of the value system, how this margin spreads across the suppliers, producers, distributors, customers, and other elements of the value system. Every member of the system will utilize its market position and negotiating power to get a higher proportion of this margin. Nevertheless, members of a value system can collaborate to improve their efficiency and to decrease their costs in order to accomplish a higher total margin to the benefit of all of them (e.g. by reducing stocks in a Just-In-Time system). A typical value chain analysis can be executeed in the following steps: ÂÂ · Analysis of own value chain which costs are related to every single activity ÂÂ · Analysis of customers value chains how does our product fit into their value chain ÂÂ · Identification of potential cost advantages in comparison with competitors ÂÂ · Identification of potential value added for the customer how can our product add value to the customers value chain (e.g. lower costs or higher performance) where does the customer see such potential. Conclusion Baxter Healthcare Corporation provides solutions to help other organisations to manage their changing accommodation requirements. Its global medical products are put together using lean production methods. Lean processes provide an environmentally-friendly approach in a world of scarce resources. Materials are used more effectively. Time is used more efficiently. Less waste is generated at every stage of lean production. Baxter Healthcare Corporation global medical products can be put up very quickly. Problems associated with conventional new products a key target of efficiency rising has been eliminated. The net effect is a win/win/win situation for Baxter Healthcare Corporation its customers and the environment.