Monday, December 30, 2019

The Crimes of Child Killer Angela McAnulty

Angela McAnulty sits on death row at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Oregon after pleading guilty to the murder of her 15-year-old daughter Jeanette Maples, whom she literally tortured, beat, and starved to death. McAnulty also pled guilty to altering and destroying evidence in the case. Angela McAnultys Formative Years Angela McAnulty was born on October 2, 1968, in California. When she was 5 years old, her mother was murdered. She spent the remainder of her childhood living with her father and two brothers. Her father was abusive, often withholding food from the children as a form of punishment. At the age of 16, McAnulty began a relationship with a carnival worker and left home. It was during this time that she became involved with drugs. She later met Anthony Maples, with whom she had three children, two boys, Anthony Jr. and Brandon, and her daughter, Jeanette. She also had another child, a daughter named Patience, by another father. When Maples and McAnulty were incarcerated on drug charges, the children were placed in foster care. After her release from jail in 2001, McAnulty regained custody of Jeanette and Patience. In 2002, Angela met and married a long-haul truck driver named Richard McAnulty. They had a son soon after the marriage. By October 2006, the family relocated to Oregon, leaving Anthony Jr. and Brandon behind. The boys had sent letters to a judge requesting to stay in foster care rather than be returned to their abusive mother. Cries for Help Born on August 9, 1994, Jeanette Maples spent six of her first seven years in foster care prior to being returned to her mother. According to interviews with family members, Angela began abusing Jeanette soon after the two were reunited. Described as a good child, Jeanette attended public school and took her studies seriously. She was given perfect attendance awards in the seventh and eighth grade. However, in social interactions, Jeanette had a difficult time. Sent to school wearing torn, dirty tops and worn-out sweatpants, she was sometimes teased by her classmates. Despite her shyness, she managed to make a few friends, although she would only see them at school. Her mother did not allow her to invite friends to her home. In 2008, after a friend spotted several bruises on Jeanette during gym class, she admitted that her mother did not allow her to eat and that she was abused. The friend told her parents and Child Protection Services (CPS) was contacted but the agency representatives were reluctant to respond to what they called second-hand information. A teacher was contacted who spoke to Jeanette who again admitted to being abused. She said was terrified of her mother. The teacher contacted CPS and reported her concerns. CPS went to the McAnulty home but closed the case after McAnulty denied abusing her daughter and blamed the accusations on Jeanette, whom she described as a compulsive liar. McAnulty subsequently pulled Jeanette out of school, saying that she was going to home school her daughter. This left Jeanette completely isolated and greatly reduced any chances of her getting the help she so badly needed. In 2009 another call was made to the CPS, this time by an anonymous caller who later turned out to be Lee McAnulty, Jeanettes grandmother. She called CPS after seeing how grossly underweight Jeanette had become. The child also had a split lip, both conditions Angela McAnulty dismissed when it was suggested that she should take her daughter to a doctor. Over the following months, Jeanettes grandmother called CPS several times but the agency did not follow up on the calls. Her last call was made within days of Jeanettes death. The Death of Jeanette Maples On December 9, 2009, at around 8 p.m., Angela McAnulty told emergency personnel responding to a 9-1-1 call made from her home that her daughter Jeanette was not breathing. Paramedics found the small, thin-framed 15-year-old girl in the living room. Jeanettes hair was wet and she wasnt wearing a top. She had no pulse. McAnulty told the paramedics that Jeanette had fallen down and seemed fine an hour before she stopped breathing. However, a brief exam of the dying girl told a different story. Jeanette had multiple bruises on her face, cuts above her eye, and scars on her lips. She was so emaciated that she looked much younger than her age. Jeanette was transferred to the hospital where she was pronounced dead at 8:42 p.m. The Criminal Investigation At the hospital, Dr. Elizabeth Hilton examined Jeanette and found that her face was disfigured from severe bruising. There were scars and deep wounds on her head, legs and back, including an exposed femur. Her front teeth were broken and her lips were pulverized. It was determined that Jeanettes dehydrated, starved and beaten body was not a result of a simple fall. The police searched the McAnulty home and found a blood-splattered bedroom that family members admitted McAnulty tried to clean before calling 9-1-1 to come to the aid of her dying daughter. Richard McAnulty also admitted that Angela wanted to bury Jeanette rather than call 9-1-1 but he had insisted on calling for help. He made the call while Angela attempted to hide evidence of the abuse that had gone on inside the home. The two children in the McAnulty home were interviewed. Patience told police that Angela and Richard were starving Jeanette and that Angela beat Jeanette repeatedly. She later said that Richard and Angela often struck Jeanette across the mouth with shoes or their hands. Police Interview of Angela McAnulty During the first police interview, Angela McAnulty tried to convince detectives that Jeanettes injuries were caused by a fall. She said her husband was responsible for disciplining the children and that she had never hurt Angela. She changed her story only after investigators apprised her that they had spoken to other family members whod described the abuse Angela routinely inflicted on Jeanette. When questioned about Jeanettes dehydrated and starved condition, McAnulty said it was a result of ignorance, not neglect. She told detectives, The reason why shes so skinny, honest to God, is when she split her lip awhile back, I did not know exactly how to feed her. The investigators continued to challenge McAnultys version of the facts until she eventually broke and began to tell them what really happened. I did wrong, she said. I should never have spanked my daughter with a belt. I shouldnt have done that. That was horrible of me. I shouldnt have done any of that stuff that I did. I shouldnt have done hands up. I understand that. I am very sorry. I dont know how I can take it back. But when it came to what McAnulty assumed was the final blow that caused her daughters death, she refused to take the blame. I didnt do the injury on the head. I did not do that, she told detectives. I know that she probably died because of the injury on her head, through the skull when she fell down. I did not kill my daughter over a spanking. I didnt do that. McAnulty told detectives that maybe she should have taken up smoking to help relieve the stress that Jeanette caused. I guess the things she did just got to me, she went on to explain. I dont know. Honest to God, I dont know. Im sorry. I am sorry. Torture and Starvation Angela and Richard McAnulty were arrested and charged with aggravated murder by intentionally maiming and torturing Jeanette Maple. Based on the evidence found at the McAnulty home, autopsy reports, and interviews with the Angela and Richard McAnulty, their children, and other relatives, prosecutors determined that the following took place over the course of several months: McAnulty punished Jeanette regularly using different methods of abuse and torture. To hide the abuse from the other children in the home, she would bring Jeanette into her bedroom, later described by prosecutors as the torture room, turn on the vacuum cleaner to mask the sounds, force Jeanette to strip naked, and then she would repeatedly beat her with leather belts, sticks, and torture her with pliers.Tests on various objects found in the home would later show that they contained blood and pieces of Jeanettes flesh.Jeanette was deprived of food and water for days at a time. She was forced to drink water from the dogs bowl and the toilet bowl to quench her thirst.Dying tissue had been cut away, likely with a knife, from wounds that had become infected to the point of exposing bone on Jeanettes hip.Jeanette was forced to sleep on cardboard so that blood would not seep into the carpet. She was often left tied up after being beaten or forced to kneel with her arms behind her back as if handcuffed.McAnulty forced Patience to collect dog feces from the yard which McAnulty would smear over Jeanettes face and mouth.McAnulty forced Jeanette to stand facing the walls with her arms raised for hours at a time. Often she could only stand on one foot because her other foot was too injured from Angela stomping on it.Angela and Richard McAnulty hit Jeanette across the mouth with shoes and the backs of their hands, which pulverized her lips. Angela refused to get medical help for Jeanette which resulted in her lips healing from the inside out. The scar tissue that formed left her mouth deformed.McAnulty purposely beat Jeanette in areas that she had already caused severe damage, resulting in old wounds opening up and becoming infected. ​Disturbing Testimony by Jeanette Maples Half Sister ​According to testimony given by Patience, the half-sister of Jeanette Maples, Angela McAnulty began abusing Jeanette as soon as she regained custody of the child who was 7 years old at that time. Patience also spoke about an incident just days before Jeanette died, during which McAnulty showed her a wound about the size of a quarter on the back of Jeanettes head. McAnulty made the comment that if someone was  Ã¢â‚¬Å"stabbed in the back of the head with a branch, it would cause brain damage.†Ã‚  Patience went on to testify that by that time, Jeanette was acting strange and was incoherent. When asked about what she remembered during the time that Jeanette was first returned to McAnulty, Patience said that after McAnulty married Richard McAnulty in 2002, Jeanette was locked in a back bedroom so that she would â€Å"not really be part of the family.† She went on to describe how she witnessed both Angela and Richard abusing Jeanette, which including beating her with shoes and depriving her of food.​ Sentencing Angela McAnulty was sentenced to death for the torture and murder of her daughter. Richard McAnulty was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole until serving 25 years. He denied directly abusing Jeanette but admitted that he failed to protect her from her mother or to report the abuse to authorities. Anthony Maples v. Oregon Department of Human Services The State of Oregon agreed to pay $1.5 million to the estate of Jeanette Maples in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by her biological father, Anthony Maples, who was the sole heir to Jeanette Maples estate. It was determined that beginning in 2006, and ending with a call that was received the week before her death, CPS agents failed to investigate four reports of possible abuse of Jeanette Maples by her mother. Anthony Maples had no contact with his daughter for nearly 10 years prior to her murder, nor did he attend her memorial service. Under Oregon law, only a deceased persons parents, spouse, or children can be considered legal heirs. Siblings, who are not considered legal heirs, are unable to share in an estate.

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Management Of International Mobility - 1352 Words

This model identifies that management of international mobility entails the need to take a holistic approach to all aspects of the assignment process. (Sparrow, Brewster and Harris, 2004) However, although the model has its advantages in terms of pre-assignment preparation, some of the stages however do bring about some complexities for IM managers as outlined for by (Sparrow, Brewster and Harris, 2004) Selection- the need for precise recruitment and selection is needed; IM managers need to pay close attention to interpersonal and cross-cultural skills in potential assignees. As this will determine how they interact with locals and the subsequent success of the assignment. (Barham Wills, 1992) In practise however, the criteria for the majority of assignment candidates tends to be based on their technical competence and job knowledge. Rather than paired with the previously mentioned skills. This puts a great importance on the practise in use of ‘soft skills’ and ‘hard skills’ mixture for a successful assignment. (Sparrow, Brewster and Harris, 2004; Morley and Flynn, 2003) A MNC has many choices regarding their staffing policies when recruiting for assignments; these come under different forms depending on the company’s preferences in terms of skills. †¢ Ethnocentric approach- Using Home country staff †¢ Polycentric approach- Using Host country staff †¢ Geocentric approach- Using staff from any parts of the world (Pelmutters, 1969) Performance measurement- (Fenwick, 2004)Show MoreRelated1. Abstract . We Have Little Knowledge About The Report,1693 Words   |  7 Pages1. ABSTRACT We have little knowledge about the report, we are discussing about the global talent management (GTM) and the role of the corporate human resource function in multinational corporations. International mobility its new forms, increased global talents hunting are the two perspectives of GTM. 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Saturday, December 14, 2019

Egoism and Altruism Free Essays

string(32) " to show benevolence to others\." 1. Metaethics The term â€Å"meta† means after or beyond, and, consequently, the notion of metaethics involves a removed, or bird’s eye view of the entire project of ethics. We may define metaethics as the study of the origin and meaning of ethical concepts. We will write a custom essay sample on Egoism and Altruism or any similar topic only for you Order Now When compared to normative ethics and applied ethics, the field of metaethics is the least precisely defined area of moral philosophy. It covers issues from moral semantics to moral epistemology[-0]. Two issues, though, are prominent: (1) metaphysical issues concerning whether morality exists independently of humans, and (2) psychological issues concerning the underlying mental basis of our moral judgments and conduct. a. Metaphysical Issues: Objectivism and Relativism Metaphysics is the study of the kinds of things that exist in the universe. Some things in the universe are made of physical stuff, such as rocks; and perhaps other things are nonphysical in nature, such as thoughts, spirits, and gods. The metaphysical component of metaethics involves discovering specifically whether moral values are eternal truths that exist in a spirit-like realm, or simply human conventions. There are two general directions that discussions of this topic take, one other-worldly and one this-worldly. Proponents of the other-worldly view typically hold that moral values are objective[-1] in the sense that they exist in a spirit-like realm beyond subjective human conventions. They also hold that they are absolute, or eternal, in that they never change, and also that they are universal insofar as they apply to all rational creatures around the world and throughout time[-2]. The most dramatic example of this view is Plato[-3], who was inspired by the field of mathematics. When we look at numbers and mathematical relations, such as 1+1=2, they seem to be timeless concepts that never change, and apply everywhere in the universe. Humans do not invent numbers, and humans cannot alter them. Plato explained the eternal character of mathematics by stating that they are abstract entities that exist in a spirit-like realm. He noted that moral values also are absolute truths and thus are also abstract, spirit-like entities. In this sense, for Plato, moral values are spiritual objects. Medieval philosophers commonly grouped all moral principles together under the heading of â€Å"eternal law† which were also frequently seen as spirit-like objects. 17th century British philosopher Samuel Clarke described them as spirit-like relationships rather than spirit-like objects. In either case, though, they exist in a sprit-like realm. A different other-worldly approach to the metaphysical status of morality is divine commands issuing from God’s will. Sometimes called voluntarism (or divine command theory[-4]), this view was inspired by the notion of an all-powerful God[-5] who is in control of everything. God simply wills things, and they become reality. He wills the physical world into existence, he wills human life into existence and, similarly, he wills all moral values into existence. Proponents of this view, such as medieval philosopher William of Ockham[-6], believe that God wills moral principles, such as â€Å"murder is wrong,† and these exist in God’s mind as commands. God informs humans of these commands by implanting us with moral intuitions or revealing these commands in scripture. The second and more this-worldly approach to the metaphysical status of morality follows in the skeptical philosophical tradition, such as that articulated by Greek philosopher Sextus Empiricus, and denies the objective status of moral values. Technically, skeptics did not reject moral values themselves, but only denied that values exist as spirit-like objects, or as divine commands in the mind of God. Moral values, they argued, are strictly human inventions, a position that has since been called moral relativism[-7]. There are two distinct forms of moral relativism. The first is individual relativism, which holds that individual people create their own moral standards. Friedrich Nietzsche, for example, argued that the superhuman creates his or her morality distinct from and in reaction to the slave-like value system of the masses. The second is cultural relativism which maintains that morality is grounded in the approval of one’s society – and not simply in the preferences of individual people. This view was advocated by Sextus, and in more recent centuries by Michel Montaigne and William Graham Sumner. In addition to espousing skepticism and relativism, this-worldly approaches to the metaphysical status of morality deny the absolute and universal nature of morality and hold instead that moral values in fact change from society to society throughout time and throughout the world. They frequently attempt to defend their position by citing examples of values that differ dramatically from one culture to another, such as attitudes about polygamy, homosexuality and human sacrifice. b. Psychological Issues in Metaethics A second area of metaethics involves the psychological basis of our moral judgments and conduct, particularly understanding what motivates us to be moral. We might explore this subject by asking the simple question, â€Å"Why be moral? † Even if I am aware of basic moral standards, such as don’t kill and don’t steal, this does not necessarily mean that I will be psychologically compelled to act on them. Some answers to the question â€Å"Why be moral? † are to avoid punishment, to gain praise[-8], to attain happiness, to be dignified, or to fit in with society. i. Egoism and Altruism One important area of moral psychology concerns the inherent selfishness of humans. 17th century British philosopher Thomas Hobbes[-9] held that many, if not all, of our actions are prompted by selfish desires. Even if an action seems selfless, such as donating to charity, there are still selfish causes for this, such as experiencing power over other people. This view is called psychological egoism[-10] and maintains that self-oriented interests ultimately motivate all human actions. Closely related to psychological egoism is a view called psychological hedonism which is the view that pleasure is the specific driving force behind all of our actions. 18th century British philosopher Joseph Butler[-11] agreed that instinctive selfishness and pleasure prompt much of our conduct. However, Butler argued that we also have an inherent psychological capacity to show benevolence to others. You read "Egoism and Altruism" in category "Essay examples" This view is called psychological altruism and maintains that at least some of our actions are motivated by instinctive benevolence. ii. Emotion and Reason A second area of moral psychology involves a dispute concerning the role of reason in motivating moral actions. If, for example, I make the statement â€Å"abortion is morally wrong,† am I making a rational assessment or only expressing my feelings? On the one side of the dispute, 18th century British philosopher David Hume[-12] argued that moral assessments involve our emotions, and not our reason. We can amass all the reasons we want, but that alone will not constitute a moral assessment. We need a distinctly emotional reaction in order to make a moral pronouncement. Reason might be of service in giving us the relevant data, but, in Hume’s words, â€Å"reason is, and ought to be, the slave of the passions. † Inspired by Hume’s anti-rationalist views, some 20th century philosophers, most notably A. J. Ayer, similarly denied that moral assessments are factual descriptions. For example, although the statement â€Å"it is good to donate to charity† may on the surface look as though it is a factual description about charity, it is not. Instead, a moral utterance like this involves two things. First, I (the speaker) I am expressing my personal feelings of approval about charitable donations and I am in essence saying â€Å"Hooray for charity! † This is called the emotive element insofar as I am expressing my emotions about some specific behavior. Second, I (the speaker) am trying to get you to donate to charity and am essentially giving the command, â€Å"Donate to charity! † This is called the prescriptive element in the sense that I am prescribing some specific behavior. From Hume’s day forward, more rationally-minded philosophers have opposed these emotive theories of ethics (see non-cognitivism in ethics[-13]) and instead argued that moral assessments are indeed acts of reason. 18th century German philosopher Immanuel Kant[-14] is a case in point. Although emotional factors often do influence our conduct, he argued, we should nevertheless resist that kind of sway. Instead, true moral action is motivated only by reason when it is free from emotions and desires. A recent rationalist approach, offered by Kurt Baier (1958), was proposed in direct opposition to the emotivist and prescriptivist theories of Ayer and others. Baier focuses more broadly on the reasoning and argumentation process that takes place when making moral choices. All of our moral choices are, or at least can be, backed by some reason or justification. If I claim that it is wrong to steal someone’s car, then I should be able to justify my claim with some kind of argument. For example, I could argue that stealing Smith’s car is wrong since this would upset her, violate her ownership rights, or put the thief at risk of getting caught. According to Baier, then, proper moral decision making involves giving the best reasons in support of one course of action versus another. iii. Male and Female Morality A third area of moral psychology focuses on whether there is a distinctly female approach to ethics that is grounded in the psychological differences between men and women. Discussions of this issue focus on two claims: (1) traditional morality is male-centered, and (2) there is a unique female perspective of the world which can be shaped into a value theory. According to many feminist philosophers, traditional morality is male-centered since it is modeled after practices that have been traditionally male-dominated, such as acquiring property, engaging in business contracts, and governing societies. The rigid systems of rules required for trade and government were then taken as models for the creation of equally rigid systems of moral rules, such as lists of rights and duties. Women, by contrast, have traditionally had a nurturing role by raising children and overseeing domestic life. These tasks require less rule following, and more spontaneous and creative action. Using the woman’s experience as a model for moral theory, then, the basis of morality would be spontaneously caring for others as would be appropriate in each unique circumstance. On this model, the agent becomes part of the situation and acts caringly within that context. This stands in contrast with male-modeled morality where the agent is a mechanical actor who performs his required duty, but can remain distanced from and unaffected by the situation. A care-based approach to morality, as it is sometimes called, is offered by feminist ethicists as either a replacement for or a supplement to traditional male-modeled moral systems. . Normative Ethics Normative ethics involves arriving at moral standards that regulate right and wrong conduct. In a sense, it is a search for an ideal litmus test of proper behavior. The Golden Rule is a classic example of a normative principle: We should do to others what we would want others to do to us. Since I do not want my neighbor to steal m y car, then it is wrong for me to steal her car. Since I would want people to feed me if I was starving, then I should help feed starving people. Using this same reasoning, I can theoretically determine whether any possible action is right or wrong. So, based on the Golden Rule, it would also be wrong for me to lie to, harass, victimize, assault, or kill others. The Golden Rule is an example of a normative theory that establishes a single principle against which we judge all actions. Other normative theories focus on a set of foundational principles, or a set of good character traits. The key assumption in normative ethics is that there is only one ultimate criterion of moral conduct, whether it is a single rule or a set of principles. Three strategies will be noted here: (1) virtue theories, (2) duty theories, and (3) consequentialist theories. . Virtue Theories Many philosophers believe that morality consists of following precisely defined rules of conduct, such as â€Å"don’t kill,† or â€Å"don’t steal. † Presumably, I must learn these rules, and then make sure each of my actions live up to the rules. Virtue ethics[-15], however, places less emphasis on learning rules, and instead stresses the imp ortance of developing good habits of character, such as benevolence (see moral character[-16]). Once I’ve acquired benevolence, for example, I will then habitually act in a benevolent manner. Historically, virtue theory is one of the oldest normative traditions in Western philosophy, having its roots in ancient Greek civilization. Plato emphasized four virtues in particular, which were later called cardinal virtues: wisdom, courage, temperance and justice. Other important virtues are fortitude, generosity, self-respect, good temper, and sincerity. In addition to advocating good habits of character, virtue theorists hold that we should avoid acquiring bad character traits, or vices, such as cowardice, insensibility, injustice, and vanity. Virtue theory emphasizes moral education since virtuous character traits are developed in one’s youth. Adults, therefore, are responsible for instilling virtues in the young. Aristotle[-17] argued that virtues are good habits that we acquire, which regulate our emotions. For example, in response to my natural feelings of fear, I should develop the virtue of courage which allows me to be firm when facing danger. Analyzing 11 specific virtues, Aristotle argued that most virtues fall at a mean between more extreme character traits. With courage, for example, if I do not have enough courage, I develop the disposition of cowardice, which is a vice. If I have too much courage I develop the disposition of rashness which is also a vice. According to Aristotle, it is not an easy task to find the perfect mean between extreme character traits. In fact, we need assistance from our reason to do this. After Aristotle, medieval theologians supplemented Greek lists of virtues with three Christian ones, or theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity. Interest in virtue theory continued through the middle ages and declined in the 19th century with the rise of alternative moral theories below. In the mid 20th century virtue theory received special attention from philosophers who believed that more recent approaches ethical theories were misguided for focusing too heavily on rules and actions, rather than on virtuous character traits. Alasdaire MacIntyre (1984) defended the central role of virtues in moral theory and argued that virtues are grounded in and emerge from within social traditions. . Duty Theories Many of us feel that there are clear obligations we have as human beings, such as to care for our children, and to not commit murder. Duty theories base morality on specific, foundational principles of obligation. These theories are sometimes called deontological, from the Greek word deon, or duty, in view of the foundational nature of our duty or obligation. They are also sometimes called nonconsequentialist since these princi ples are obligatory, irrespective of the consequences that might follow from our actions. For example, it is wrong to not care for our children even if it results in some great benefit, such as financial savings. There are four central duty theories. The first is that championed by 17th century German philosopher Samuel Pufendorf, who classified dozens of duties under three headings: duties to God, duties to oneself, and duties to others. Concerning our duties towards God, he argued that there are two kinds: a theoretical duty to know the existence and nature of God, and a practical duty to both inwardly and outwardly worship God. Concerning our duties towards oneself, these are also of two sorts: duties of the soul, which involve developing one’s skills and talents, and duties of the body, which involve not harming our bodies, as we might through gluttony or drunkenness, and not killing oneself. Concerning our duties towards others, Pufendorf divides these between absolute duties, which are universally binding on people, and conditional duties, which are the result of contracts between people. Absolute duties are of three sorts: avoid wronging others, treat people as equals, and romote the good of others. Conditional duties involve various types of agreements, the principal one of which is the duty is to keep one’s promises. A second duty-based approach to ethics is rights theory. Most generally, a â€Å"right† is a justified claim against another person’s behavior – such as my right to not be harmed by you (see also human rights[-18]). Rights and duties are related in such a way that the rights of one person implies the duties of another person. For example, if I have a right to payment of $10 by Smith, then Smith has a duty to pay me $10. This is called the correlativity of rights and duties. The most influential early account of rights theory is that of 17th century British philosopher John Locke[-19], who argued that the laws of nature mandate that we should not harm anyone’s life, health, liberty or possessions. For Locke, these are our natural rights, given to us by God. Following Locke, the United States Declaration of Independence authored by Thomas Jefferson recognizes three foundational rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Jefferson and others rights theorists maintained that we deduce other more specific rights from these, including the rights of property, movement, speech, and religious expression. There are four features traditionally associated with moral rights. First, rights are natural insofar as they are not invented or created by governments. Second, they are universal insofar as they do not change from country to country. Third, they are equal in the sense that rights are the same for all people, irrespective of gender, race, or handicap. Fourth, they are inalienable which means that I ca not hand over my rights to another person, such as by selling myself into slavery. A third duty-based theory is that by Kant, which emphasizes a single principle of duty. Influenced by Pufendorf, Kant agreed that we have moral duties to oneself and others, such as developing one’s talents, and keeping our promises to others. However, Kant argued that there is a more foundational principle of duty that encompasses our particular duties. It is a single, self-evident principle of reason that he calls the â€Å"categorical imperative. A categorical imperative, he argued, is fundamentally different from hypothetical imperatives that hinge on some personal desire that we have, for example, â€Å"If you want to get a good job, then you ought to go to college. † By contrast, a categorical imperative simply mandates an action, irrespective of one’s personal desires, such as â€Å"You ought to do X. † Kant gives at least four versions of the categorical imperative, but one is especially direct: Treat people as an end, and never as a means to an end. That is, we should always treat people with dignity, nd never use them as mere instruments. For Kant, we treat people as an end whenever our actions toward someone reflect the inherent value of that person. Donating to charity, for example, is morally correct since this acknowledges the inherent value of the recipient. By contrast, we treat someone as a means to an end whenever we treat that person as a tool to achieve something else. It is wrong, for example, to steal my neighbor’s car since I would be treating her as a means to my own happiness. The categorical imperative also regulates the morality of actions that affect us individually. Suicide, for example, would be wrong since I would be treating my life as a means to the alleviation of my misery. Kant believes that the morality of all actions can be determined by appealing to this single principle of duty. A fourth and more recent duty-based theory is that by British philosopher W. D. Ross, which emphasizes prima facie duties. Like his 17th and 18th century counterparts, Ross argues that our duties are â€Å"part of the fundamental nature of the universe. † However, Ross’s list of duties is much shorter, which he believes reflects our actual moral convictions:  ·Fidelity: the duty to keep promises Reparation: the duty to compensate others when we harm them  ·Gratitude: the duty to thank those who help us  ·Justice: the duty to recognize merit  ·Beneficence: the duty to improve the conditions of others  ·Self-improvement: the duty to improve our virtue and intelligence  ·Nonmaleficence: the duty to not injure others Ross recognizes that s ituations will arise when we must choose between two conflicting duties. In a classic example, suppose I borrow my neighbor’s gun and promise to return it when he asks for it. One day, in a fit of rage, my neighbor pounds on my door and asks for the gun so that he can take vengeance on someone. On the one hand, the duty of fidelity obligates me to return the gun; on the other hand, the duty of nonmaleficence obligates me to avoid injuring others and thus not return the gun. According to Ross, I will intuitively know which of these duties is my actual duty, and which is my apparent or prima facie duty. In this case, my duty of nonmaleficence emerges as my actual duty and I should not return the gun. c. Consequentialist Theories It is common for us to determine our moral responsibility by weighing the consequences of our actions. According to consequentialism[-20], correct moral conduct is determined solely by a cost-benefit analysis of an action’s consequences: Consequentialism: An action is morally right if the consequences of that action are more favorable than unfavorable. Consequentialist normative principles require that we first tally both the good and bad consequences of an action. Second, we then determine whether the total good consequences outweigh the total bad consequences. If the good consequences are greater, then the action is morally proper. If the bad consequences are greater, then the action is morally improper. Consequentialist theories are sometimes called teleological theories, from the Greek word telos, or end, since the end result of the action is the sole determining factor of its morality. Consequentialist theories became popular in the 18th century by philosophers who wanted a quick way to morally assess an action by appealing to experience, rather than by appealing to gut intuitions or long lists of questionable duties. In fact, the most attractive feature of consequentialism is that it appeals to publicly observable consequences of actions. Most versions of consequentialism are more precisely formulated than the general principle above. In particular, competing consequentialist theories specify which consequences for affected groups of people are relevant. Three subdivisions of consequentialism emerge:  ·Ethical Egoism: an action is morally right if the consequences of that action are more favorable than unfavorable only to the agent performing the action.  ·Ethical Altruism: an action is morally right if the consequences of that action are more favorable than unfavorable to everyone except the agent. Utilitarianism: an action is morally right if the consequences of that action are more favorable than unfavorable to everyone. All three of these theories focus on the consequences of actions for different groups of people. But, like all normative theories, the above three theories are rivals of each other. They also yield different conclusions. Consider the following example. A woman was traveling through a developing country when she witnessed a car in front of her run off the road and roll over several times. She asked the hired driver to pull over to assist, but, to her surprise, the driver accelerated nervously past the scene. A few miles down the road the driver explained that in his country if someone assists an accident victim, then the police often hold the assisting person responsible for the accident itself. If the victim dies, then the assisting person could be held responsible for the death. The driver continued explaining that road accident victims are therefore usually left unattended and often die from exposure to the country’s harsh desert conditions. On the principle of ethical egoism[-21], the woman in this illustration would only be concerned with the consequences of her attempted assistance as she would be affected. Clearly, the decision to drive on would be the morally proper choice. On the principle of ethical altruism, she would be concerned only with the consequences of her action as others are affected, particularly the accident victim. Tallying only those consequences reveals that assisting the victim would be the morally correct choice, irrespective of the negative consequences that result for her. On the principle of utilitarianism, she must consider the consequences for both herself and the victim. The outcome here is less clear, and the woman would need to precisely calculate the overall benefit versus disbenefit of her action. i. Types of Utilitarianism Jeremy Bentham[-22] presented one of the earliest fully developed systems of utilitarianism. Two features of his theory are noteworty. First, Bentham proposed that we tally the consequences of each action we perform and thereby determine on a case by case basis whether an action is morally right or wrong. This aspect of Bentham’s theory is known as act-utilitiarianism. Second, Bentham also proposed that we tally the pleasure and pain which results from our actions. For Bentham, pleasure and pain are the only consequences that matter in determining whether our conduct is moral. This aspect of Bentham’s theory is known as hedonistic utilitarianism. Critics point out limitations in both of these aspects. First, according to act-utilitarianism, it would be morally wrong to waste time on leisure activities such as watching television, since our time could be spent in ways that produced a greater social benefit, such as charity work. But prohibiting leisure activities doesn’t seem reasonable. More significantly, according to act-utilitarianism, specific acts of torture or slavery would be morally permissible if the social benefit of these actions outweighed the disbenefit. A revised version of utilitarianism called rule-utilitarianism addresses these problems. According to rule-utilitarianism, a behavioral code or rule is morally right if the consequences of adopting that rule are more favorable than unfavorable to everyone. Unlike act utilitarianism, which weighs the consequences of each particular action, rule-utilitarianism offers a litmus test only for the morality of moral rules, such as â€Å"stealing is wrong. Adopting a rule against theft clearly has more favorable consequences than unfavorable consequences for everyone. The same is true for moral rules against lying or murdering. Rule-utilitarianism, then, offers a three-tiered method for judging conduct. A particular action, such as stealing my neighbor’s car, is judged wrong since it violates a moral ru le against theft. In turn, the rule against theft is morally binding because adopting this rule produces favorable consequences for everyone. John Stuart Mill’s version of utilitarianism is rule-oriented. Second, according to hedonistic utilitarianism, pleasurable consequences are the only factors that matter, morally speaking. This, though, seems too restrictive since it ignores other morally significant consequences that are not necessarily pleasing or painful. For example, acts which foster loyalty and friendship are valued, yet they are not always pleasing. In response to this problem, G. E. Moore [-23]proposed ideal utilitarianism, which involves tallying any consequence that we intuitively recognize as good or bad (and not simply as pleasurable or painful). Also, R. M. Hare proposed preference utilitarianism, which involves tallying any consequence that fulfills our preferences. ii. Ethical Egoism and Social Contract Theory We have seen (in Section 1. b. i) that Hobbes was an advocate of the methaethical theory of psychological egoism—the view that all of our actions are selfishly motivated. Upon that foundation, Hobbes developed a normative theory known as social contract theory[-24], which is a type of rule-ethical-egoism. According to Hobbes, for purely selfish reasons, the agent is better off living in a world with moral rules than one without moral rules. For without moral rules, we are subject to the whims of other people’s selfish interests. Our property, our families, and even our lives are at continual risk. Selfishness alone will therefore motivate each agent to adopt a basic set of rules which will allow for a civilized community. Not surprisingly, these rules would include prohibitions against lying, stealing and killing. However, these rules will ensure safety for each agent only if the rules are enforced. As selfish creatures, each of us would plunder our neighbors’ property once their guards were down. Each agent would then be at risk from his neighbor. Therefore, for selfish reasons alone, we devise a means of enforcing these rules: we create a policing agency which punishes us if we violate these rules. 3. Applied Ethics Applied ethics is the branch of ethics which consists of the analysis of specific, controversial moral issues such as abortion, animal rights, or euthanasia. In recent years applied ethical issues have been subdivided into convenient groups such as medical ethics, business ethics, environmental ethics[-25], and sexual ethics[-26]. Generally speaking, two features are necessary for an issue to be considered an â€Å"applied ethical issue. † First, the issue needs to be controversial in the sense that there are significant groups of people both for and against the issue at hand. The issue of drive-by shooting, for example, is not an applied ethical issue, since everyone agrees that this practice is grossly immoral. By contrast, the issue of gun control would be an applied ethical issue since there are significant groups of people both for and against gun control. The second requirement for an issue to be an applied ethical issue is that it must be a distinctly moral issue. On any given day, the media presents us with an array of sensitive issues such as affirmative action policies, gays in the military, involuntary commitment of the mentally impaired, capitalistic versus socialistic business practices, public versus private health care systems, or energy conservation. Although all of these issues are controversial and have an important impact on society, they are not all moral issues. Some are only issues of social policy. The aim of social policy is to help make a given society run efficiently by devising conventions, such as traffic laws, tax laws, and zoning codes. Moral issues, by contrast, concern more universally obligatory practices, such as our duty to avoid lying, and are not confined to individual societies. Frequently, issues of social policy and morality overlap, as with murder which is both socially prohibited and immoral. However, the two groups of issues are often distinct. For example, many people would argue that sexual promiscuity is mmoral, but may not feel that there should be social policies regulating sexual conduct, or laws punishing us for promiscuity. Similarly, some social policies forbid residents in certain neighborhoods from having yard sales. But, so long as the neighbors are not offended, there is nothing immoral in itself about a resident having a yard sale in one of these neighborhoods. Thus, to qualify as an applied ethical issue, the issue must be more than one of mer e social policy: it must be morally relevant as well. In theory, resolving particular applied ethical issues should be easy. With the issue of abortion, for example, we would simply determine its morality by consulting our normative principle of choice, such as act-utilitarianism. If a given abortion produces greater benefit than disbenefit, then, according to act-utilitarianism, it would be morally acceptable to have the abortion. Unfortunately, there are perhaps hundreds of rival normative principles from which to choose, many of which yield opposite conclusions. Thus, the stalemate in normative ethics between conflicting theories prevents us from using a single decisive procedure for determining the morality of a specific issue. The usual solution today to this stalemate is to consult several representative normative principles on a given issue and see where the weight of the evidence lies. a. Normative Principles in Applied Ethics Arriving at a short list of representative normative principles is itself a challenging task. The principles selected must not be too narrowly focused, such as a version of act-egoism that might focus only on an action’s short-term benefit. The principles must also be seen as having merit by people on both sides of an applied ethical issue. For this reason, principles that appeal to duty to God are not usually cited since this would have no impact on a nonbeliever engaged in the debate. The following principles are the ones most commonly appealed to in applied ethical discussions:  ·Personal benefit: acknowledge the extent to which an action produces beneficial consequences for the individual in question.  ·Social benefit: acknowledge the extent to which an action produces beneficial consequences for society.  ·Principle of benevolence: help those in need. Principle of paternalism: assist others in pursuing their best interests when they cannot do so themselves.  ·Principle of harm: do not harm others.  ·Principle of honesty: do not deceive others.  ·Principle of lawfulness: do not violate the law.  ·Principle of autonomy: acknowledge a person’s freedom over his/her actions or physical body.  ·Principle of justice: acknowledge a person’s right to due process, fair compensation for harm done , and fair distribution of benefits.  ·Rights: acknowledge a person’s rights to life, information, privacy, free expression, and safety. The above principles represent a spectrum of traditional normative principles and are derived from both consequentialist and duty-based approaches. The first two principles, personal benefit and social benefit, are consequentialist since they appeal to the consequences of an action as it affects the individual or society. The remaining principles are duty-based. The principles of benevolence, paternalism, harm, honesty, and lawfulness are based on duties we have toward others. The principles of autonomy, justice, and the various rights are based on moral rights. An example will help illustrate the function of these principles in an applied ethical discussion. In 1982, a couple from Bloomington, Indiana gave birth to a baby with severe mental and physical disabilities. Among other complications, the infant, known as Baby Doe, had its stomach disconnected from its throat and was thus unable to receive nourishment. Although this stomach deformity was correctable through surgery, the couple did not want to raise a severely disabled child and therefore chose to deny surgery, food, and water for the infant. Local courts supported the parents’ decision, and six days later Baby Doe died. Should corrective surgery have been performed for Baby Doe? Arguments in favor of corrective surgery derive from the infant’s right to life and the principle of paternalism which stipulates that we should pursue the best interests of others when they are incapable of doing so themselves. Arguments against corrective surgery derive from the personal and social disbenefit which would result from such surgery. If Baby Doe survived, its quality of life would have been poor and in any case it probably would have died at an early age. Also, from the parent’s perspective, Baby Doe’s survival would have been a significant emotional and financial burden. When examining both sides of the issue, the parents and the courts concluded that the arguments against surgery were stronger than the arguments for surgery. First, foregoing surgery appeared to be in the best interests of the infant, given the poor quality of life it would endure. Second, the status of Baby Doe’s right to life was not clear given the severity of the infant’s mental impairment. For, to possess moral rights, it takes more than merely having a human body: certain cognitive functions must also be present. The issue here involves what is often referred to as moral personhood, and is central to many applied ethical discussions. b. Issues in Applied Ethics As noted, there are many controversial issues discussed by ethicists today, some of which will be briefly mentioned here. Biomedical ethics focuses on a range of issues which arise in clinical settings. Health care workers are in an unusual position of continually dealing with life and death situations. It is not surprising, then, that medical ethics issues are more extreme and diverse than other areas of applied ethics. Prenatal issues arise about the morality of surrogate mothering, genetic manipulation of fetuses, the status of unused frozen embryos, and abortion. Other issues arise about patient rights and physician’s responsibilities, such as the confidentiality of the patient’s records and the physician’s responsibility to tell the truth to dying patients. The AIDS crisis has raised the specific issues of the mandatory screening of all patients for AIDS, and whether physicians can refuse to treat AIDS patients. Additional issues concern medical experimentation on humans, the morality of involuntary commitment, and the rights of the mentally disabled. Finally, end of life issues arise about the morality of suicide, the justifiability of suicide intervention, physician assisted suicide, and euthanasia. The field of business ethics examines moral controversies relating to the social responsibilities of capitalist business practices, the moral status of corporate entities, deceptive advertising, insider trading, basic employee rights, job discrimination, affirmative action, drug testing, and whistle blowing. Issues in environmental ethics often overlaps with business and medical issues. These include the rights of animals, the morality of animal experimentation, preserving endangered species, pollution control, management of environmental resources, whether eco-systems are entitled to direct moral consideration, and our obligation to future generations. Controversial issues of sexual morality include monogamy versus polygamy, sexual relations without love, homosexual relations, and extramarital affairs. Finally, there are issues of social morality which examine capital punishment, nuclear war, gun control, the recreational use of drugs, welfare rights, and racism. 4. References and Further Reading Anscombe,Elizabeth â€Å"Modern Moral Philosophy,† Philosophy, 1958, Vol. 33, reprinted in her Ethics, Religion and Politics (Oxford: Blackwell, 1981).  ·Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics, in Barnes, Jonathan, ed. , The Complete Works of Aristotle (Princeton, N. J. : Princeton University Press, 1984).  ·Ayer, A. J. , Language, Truth and Logic (New York: Dover Publi cations, 1946).  ·Baier, Kurt, The Moral Point of View: A Rational Basis of Ethics (Cornell University Press, 1958).  ·Bentham, Jeremy, Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (1789), in The Works of Jeremy Bentham, edited by John Bowring (London: 1838-1843). Hare, R. M. , Moral Thinking, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1981).  ·Hare, R. M. , The Language of Morals (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1952).  ·Hobbes, Thomas, Leviathan, ed. , E. Curley, (Chicago, IL: Hackett Publishing Company, 1994).  ·Hume, David, A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-1740), eds. David Fate Norton, Mary J. Norton (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2000).  ·Kant, Immanuel, Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, tr, James W. Ellington (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1985).  ·Locke, John, Two Treatises, ed. Peter Laslett (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1963).  ·MacIntyre, Alasdair, After Virtue, second edition, (Notre Dame: Notre Dame University Press, 1984).  ·Mackie, John L. , Ethics: Inventing Right and Wrong, (New York: Penguin Books, 1977).  ·Mill, John Stuart, â€Å"Utilitarianism,† in Collected Works of John Stuart Mill, ed. , J. M. Robson (London: Routledge and Toronto, Ont. : University of Toronto Press, 1991).  ·Moore, G. E. , Principia Ethica, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1903).  ·Noddings, Nel, â€Å"Ethics from the Stand Point Of Women,† in Deborah L. Rhode, ed. , Theoretical Perspectives on Sexual Difference (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1990).  ·Ockham, William of, Fourth Book of the Sentences, tr. Lucan Freppert, The Basis of Morality According to William Ockham (Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1988).  ·Plato, Republic, 6:510-511, in Cooper, John M. , ed. , Plato: Complete Works (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 1997).  ·Samuel Pufendorf, De Jure Naturae et Gentium (1762), tr. Of the Law of Nature and Nations  ·Samuel Pufendorf, De officio hominis et civis juxta legem naturalem (1673), tr. The Whole Duty of Man according to the Law of Nature (London, 1691).  ·Sextus Empiricus, Outlines of Pyrrhonism, trs. J. Annas and J. Barnes, Outlines of Scepticism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).  ·Stevenson, Charles L. , The Ethics of Language, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1944).  ·Sumner, William Graham, Folkways (Boston: Guinn, 1906). Author Information James Fieser Email: jfieser@utm . edu[-27] University of Tennessee at Martin Last updated: May 10, 2009 | Originally published: June 29, 2003 [-0] – .. /mor-epis [-1] – .. /objectiv [-2] – .. /time [-3] – .. plato [-4] – .. /divine-c [-5] – .. /god-west [-6] – .. /ockham [-7] – .. /relativi [-8] – .. /praise [-9] – .. /hobmoral [-10] – .. /psychego/ [-11] – .. /butler [-12] – .. /humemora [-13] – .. /non-cogn [-14] – .. /kantmeta [-15] – .. /virtue [-16] – .. /moral-ch [-17] – .. /aris-eth [-18] – .. /hum-rts [-19] – .. /locke [-20] – .. /conseque [-21] – .. /egoism [-22] – .. /bentham [-23] – .. /moore [-24] – .. /soc-cont [-25] – .. /envi-eth [-26] – .. /sexualit [-27] – mailto:jfieser@utm. edu How to cite Egoism and Altruism, Essay examples

Friday, December 6, 2019

Corporate Governance Themes and Variations

Question: Discuss about the Corporate Governance for Themes and Variations. Answer: Introduction A ground breaking booklet of guidelines regarding the operation of organizations and the governance structures in South Africa is the King Report on Corporate Governance (King, 2016). The King committee on cooperate governance issues this report. Till now, four of these reports have been issued, i.e., King I in 1994, King II in 2002, King III in 2009 and King IV in 2016 (Maleszewski, 2017). The following parts compare and contrast between the latest two reports. And based on this, the opinion has been drawn to suggest the improvements which can be made to improve the code of corporate governance, highlighting the key areas which need improvement. Similarities and Differences between King III and King IV Bases Similarities Differences Apply and explain Both followed the approach of apply or explain There is a shift from the approach taken under King III to the one contained in King IV. So, as per the King IV approach, the organizations would have to not only apply these principles, but also explain the measures and its results. Number of Principles The number of principles contained in King III, have been reduced from 75 to 17 in King IV. Remuneration Both these contained the provisions regarding the remuneration policies of the organizations. King IV goes further and addresses this controversial issue in a more concise way, as it ensures that the remuneration of the executive management remains responsible and fair. Independence of directors Even though both the approaches contained this provision, but the manner of the same has been changed. In King III, the approach was to provide a set of criteria for judging the independence of the non-executive directors. In King IV, a list of indicators has been introduced for the same. Enclosed Disclosure Both these contained the requirement of enhanced disclosure. The disclosure requirements introduced through King IV are quite broader in comparison to those of King III. King IV specifies the disclosure in relation to the audit committee, each committee of the governing body, etc. Social and ethics committee There was a common provision social and ethics committee in both the approaches (Myburgh and Costa, 2017). King IV went on a further step and encouraged the formation of a specific committee for this (Myburgh and Costa, 2017). Improvements to Code for Corporate Governance through King IV King III provided with a strong foundation for the corporate governance of the world-class level. Even though King IV does not entirely depart from the principles and ethos underlying in King III, it does represent a development in both content, as well as, approach to the King Code in a manner of framing the corporate governance. Hence, the organizations that were following King III would not face many issues in following King IV (Institute of Directors, 2016). King IV raised the bar upon the implementation and shifted the focus on disclosures and outcomes. This new code was a positive step forward due to its outcomes-based and principles-based and it also considers the realities and challenges which are faced by the business at the present time. King IV bettered the shortfalls of King III and a key example of this is the notion of apply and explain. Under King III the organizations were called to apply or explain but under King IV, the organizations are required to explain the manner in which they have applied the principles. This ensures that the corporate governance is not seen as mindless compliance but something which bears the results when approached in a careful manner, and when the due consideration is given to the situation being faced by the organization (Institute of Directors, 2016). The approach has changed from rules based to outcome and principle based. And the corporate governance is now concerned with ethical behavior, mindset, attitude and leadership. So, the focus is targeted and is on transparency due to the properly considered disclosure requirements. In line with the international developments, the remuneration now receives greater importance. There is also a new emphasis over the responsibilities, as well as, the roles of the stakeholders. King IV also recognizes the information in isolation of technology as an asset of corporate governance as it is a part of the stock of intellectual capital of the company, and it also confirms the requirement of the governance structure so as to enhance and protect this very asset (Deloitte, 2017). The underpinning philosophies of King IV include integrated thinking and sustainable development. Even though these concepts were there in King III, but with King IV, an emphasis has been laid down on their interconnectedness. The objective of King IV is to promote corporate governance as a vital part of running the companies and in delivering the governance outcomes for instance, legitimacy, effective control, good performance and ethical culture. The principles of corporate governance given under King IV had made it fit for implementation and accessible across the different organization types and a range of sectors (Coppenhagen and Naidoo, 2017). King IV has reinforced corporate governance as an interrelated and holistic set of arrangements which have to be implemented and understood in an integrated manner, and has also encouraged meaningful and transparent reporting to the stakeholders. Due to King IV, the current corporate governance has changed not only with its process and structure, but also with the conduct and ethical consciousness. It also links the responsible corporate citizenship to the responsibility of the governing body, do as to make sure that the tax policy of the organization is both transparent and responsible and also takes in account the repercussions to the reputation (EY, 2016). Areas of Improvement Even though King IV has brought forward a bold and revolutionary set of code for corporate governance, yet is has failed to address certain key areas relating to this issue. There was a missed opportunity by the King IV code regarding directing the boards in South Africa to focus specifically over the issues of governance which would help the directors in a practical manner for their outgoing activities, in addition to ensuring the ongoing compliance with the Companies Act 2008s provisions (Levenstein, 2017). There have been various noble principles in King IV but what is missing, are the specific guidelines which were present in King III. In the approach taken up by King IV, these guidelines have been lost in the mind-shift change. In the transition from King III to King IV, the opportunity to build on, as well as, to highlight the obligations of the directors, regarding making certain the value and financial preservation of the entity has been lost (Levenstein, 2017). For instance, a great care was taken to make an emphasis over the obligations which the directors had in King III as per the terms of the Companies Act 2008 regarding consideration the business rescue proceedings or the other turnaround mechanisms upon the corporation becoming distressed financially. These codes were placed earlier so as to counter the possible liabilities arising on part of the directors trading in the company under insolvent situations. The directions given in King III were very helpful and ensured that the troubled organizations were in a position to elevate the prospective of these organizations being rescued, along with retaining of jobs and a viable entity being brought back in the economy of South Africa (Levenstein, 2017). Hence, there is a need to include these provisions, so as to improve the code of corporate governance. This would ensure that the spirit of such codes is met, and the shortfalls are dealt with accordingly. Conclusion To sum up this discussion, King III was quite a power packed code for corporate governance, but to improve upon its shortfalls, King IV was introduced. This was a remarkable improvement from the earlier codes and introduced options like apply and explain, which have brought a reform to the corporate governance codes. Though, some of the key points, which worked for the benefit of King III, like the guidelines, are missing from King IV. Hence, there are still areas of improvement needed for these codes. References Coppenhagen, V.V., and Naidoo, S. (2017) South Africa: The South African King IV Report On Corporate Governance: Themes And Variations. [Online] Mondaq. Available from: https://www.mondaq.com/southafrica/x/565808/Shareholders/The+South+African+King+IV+Report+On+Corporate+Governance+Themes+And+Variations [Accessed on: 16/03/17] Deloitte. (2017) King IV: Bolder Than Ever. [Online] Deloitte. Available from: https://www2.deloitte.com/za/en/pages/africa-centre-for-corporate-governance/articles/kingiv-report-on-corporate-governance.html# [Accessed on: 16/03/17] (2016) Are you ready to implement King IVTM?. [Online] EY. Available from: https://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/ey-governance-with-king-iv-2016/$FILE/ey-governance-with-king-iv-2016.pdf [Accessed on: 16/03/17] Institute of Directors. (2016) Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa. [Online] Institute of Directors. Available from: https://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.iodsa.co.za/resource/resmgr/king_iv/King_IV_Report/IoDSA_King_IV_Report_-_WebVe.pdf [Accessed on: 16/03/17] King, M. (2016) The Chief Value Officer: Accountants Can Save the Planet. Saltaire, UK: Greenleaf Publishing. Levenstein, E. (2017) King IV misses chance to focus on governance issues. [Online] Business Day. Available from: https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/opinion/2017-03-01-king-iv-misses-chance-to-focus-on-governance-issues/ [Accessed on: 16/03/17] Maleszewski, J. (2017) Corporate Governance Spotlight The King Reports. [Online] TCIIA News L Ine. Available from: https://chapters.theiia.org/tallahassee/News/ChapterDocuments/TCIIA_Newsline.pdf [Accessed on: 16/03/17] Myburgh, F., and Costa, A.D. (2017) The key differences between King III and King IV. [Online] Polity. Available from: https://www.polity.org.za/article/the-key-differences-between-king-iii-and-king-iv-2017-01-11 [Accessed on: 16/03/17]

Friday, November 29, 2019

Reform the welfare system an Example of the Topic Government and Law Essays by

Reform the welfare system Reform the welfare system: According to the researches of the Wisconsin university, the main problems of the society is due to a mans individual responsibility, unemployment of most people, family problems, and incapability of having the quality of life ("Child and Family Well-Being"). Need essay sample on "Reform the welfare system" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed PROBLEM: Economical dilemma The economical issue of alleviating poverty was addressed by the public policy of the United States during the year of 1930. The first priority is the nuclear unit of a community which is the family, mostly those married couples that have a lot of children to support but are not able to provide for their family (Jackson). Reform Proposal: One-child policy This states that a couple should not have more than one child. It is already one of the policies in china but the interval of it lasts for five years. In this reform, we would lessen the span of time to three years of intervals. In that way the couple will learn more about family planning. In this situation, the couple or parent will be able to provide the most need of the child. They would have enough for food, shelter and clothing unlike when they are providing for a big family. The couple will not have any difficulty in raring an only child (Burns). Evidence: The image below is an example in chinas one child policy. This policy helped prevent the rapid growth of population in china. It then helped prevent the problem of malnutrition in children (Burns). PROBLEM: Being dependent of a single parent with the help of the government is also a one big welfare problem. There are lots of single female parents who are expecting the only help they could get that the AFDC which stands for Aid to Families with Dependent Children could offer them ("Welfare Reform in Pennsylvania "). Reform Proposal: Job employment for single parent Evidence: With this reform, the government will be able to help single parent earn money for their child. The reform will also prevent the people from being dependent from the help that they could get from the other people. The effect of this in the children is that their future will be ensured that they would be able to have a good education when they grew up because the parent can already provide them one (Pasawarat). PROBLEM: Lack of good education Education is one of the peoples basic needs; it will prevent us from being nave. Its why every people should be given the equal right for a good education. Public schools are always competing with the standard of private schools; they are always being questioned about the quality of learning. The basic problem is that the public schools are not fully equipped and does not have enough books to be used by the students for researches ("Education and Child Welfare Program"). Reform Proposal: Totally-free college education with monthly allowance This should be given for those children who are interested to study college but are not able to afford tuition and other school fees. With this reform, a lot of unfortunate people would be given a chance to change their way of living. Evidence: Giving a totally free education will help lessen the burdens of those students who wanted to study that though there are free scholarships, they still could not afford to go to school because they still could not provide money for their other expenses in school. It will also lead children out from being no-knowledge and naivety. This will bring a future that is full of hope for all of the people equally. Work Cited Burns, Alicia. "China's One-Child Policy". 2004. Digital Freedom Network. "Child and Family Well-Being". 2005. Institute of Research on Poverty. April 30 2007. "Education and Child Welfare Program". Reason Public Policy Institute. April 29 2007. Jackson, Robert Max. "Policy Recommendation on Welfare Reform". 2000. New York University. April 29 2007. Pasawarat, John. "Employment and Earnings of Milwaukee County Single Parent Afdc Families: Establishing Benchmarks for Measuring Employment Outcomes Under". 1997. University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Free Essays on Memories

Memories Every known living person has memories. Some are memories of time full of happiness, and some are filled with death, destruction, and pain. But, are our memories ours? Do we own what we think, or are they manufactured by our brains in a twisted chain of neurological events? If we can create memories, all forms of argument based on memory will become null and void. This is beginning to show more and more in society, causing uproar nationwide. A Harvard University study of post-traumatic stress disorder in claimed alien â€Å"abductees† tested each person by recounting their individual experience. A strong reaction was confirmed in each test subject, a reaction similarly seen in war veterans. The idea that these memories could actually be manufactured, and false, brings to the surface the plausible thought that we as humans can, for lack of better terminology, create ourselves. Many would say that everyone creates themselves, that we attain an identity by the creation of our personality. This is true, but, with this ideal of false memories, a weakness can be found. Our actual identity could, in theory, be completely different from the identity we perceive to be ours; we hold ourselves to a name, a home, a childhood that may have never existed. The implications of these false perceptions of our identities are monumental. As humans, we define ourselves by the memories we have. These memories are the building blocks of our individuality. We base the decisions we make daily on the memories of past situations. For example, if one receives punishment for a crime, or a simple rule being broken in a professional or educational environment, one immediately knows not to commit said offense again. A link between our feelings, thoughts, and memories is created to make us realize what to do, and what not to do. As with the post-traumatic stress disorder study, scientists have also begun looking into the aspects of the legal w... Free Essays on Memories Free Essays on Memories Memories Every known living person has memories. Some are memories of time full of happiness, and some are filled with death, destruction, and pain. But, are our memories ours? Do we own what we think, or are they manufactured by our brains in a twisted chain of neurological events? If we can create memories, all forms of argument based on memory will become null and void. This is beginning to show more and more in society, causing uproar nationwide. A Harvard University study of post-traumatic stress disorder in claimed alien â€Å"abductees† tested each person by recounting their individual experience. A strong reaction was confirmed in each test subject, a reaction similarly seen in war veterans. The idea that these memories could actually be manufactured, and false, brings to the surface the plausible thought that we as humans can, for lack of better terminology, create ourselves. Many would say that everyone creates themselves, that we attain an identity by the creation of our personality. This is true, but, with this ideal of false memories, a weakness can be found. Our actual identity could, in theory, be completely different from the identity we perceive to be ours; we hold ourselves to a name, a home, a childhood that may have never existed. The implications of these false perceptions of our identities are monumental. As humans, we define ourselves by the memories we have. These memories are the building blocks of our individuality. We base the decisions we make daily on the memories of past situations. For example, if one receives punishment for a crime, or a simple rule being broken in a professional or educational environment, one immediately knows not to commit said offense again. A link between our feelings, thoughts, and memories is created to make us realize what to do, and what not to do. As with the post-traumatic stress disorder study, scientists have also begun looking into the aspects of the legal w...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Adidas Value Chain Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Adidas Value Chain Analysis - Research Paper Example The value chain analysis of Adidas strongly borrows from Michael Porter’s perspective in that the company strongly maintains its primary activities since its beginning. For instance, the inbound and outbound logistics are increasingly strongly in the company and this ensures that it operates optimally in the current environment. Adidas Group has certain inbound logistics chain for raw material movement as well as un assembled products inside the organization. Further, the outbound systems logistics for finished products transportation is effective and timely. The main operations, sales, marketing, and related operations are increasingly strong and this has pushed the company to be the main sport industry in the sector. The team of researchers responsible for new and innovative product development and shifting market demands has been increasingly sustainable, and has assisted Adidas to maintain its position in the market and attain competitive advantage. Adidas Group has introd uced electronic sales, and continued to dominate the strategic marketing in e-sales. The company monitors service quality, staff training, and satisfaction of customers through the franchisees as a crucial aspect of value chain. Additionally, the supporting activities of Adidas Group, which includes procurements, research, human resource management and development as well as development of the company’s infrastructure and is well operated to ensure strong reputation of the company, value of the brand and status of market. Adidas mainly emphasize on materials procurement and all other activities related in the cost effective mode, making necessary use of worldwide strategies of off shoring and sourcing. For instance, Adidas Group put more emphasis, effort and resources on product innovation in ensuring competitive advantage in sport industry. Research and development will make the company produce better products and meet the goals and expected customer demands and preferences. Each year, the Adidas Group expands and procures new and innovative techniques to satisfy consumer needs. Similarly, Adidas has expanded some of its activities of manufacturing to nations such as China and Vietnam, considering c osts of labor. Additionally, the Adidas company workers are well treated and always satisfied, (Kaplinsky & University of Sussex. 2000). The organization believes that their workers an increasingly crucial resource for the organization and therefore, has a very string human resource management unit that performs activities such as recruitment, hiring, development, training, discipline, reward and dismissal of personnel. To attain employees’ welfare needs and attain the target in sporting product industry that is entirely depended on employees’ enthusiasm, well-being, and talents, the company boosts employees’ morale. This is done through compensations, medical insurance, and transport allowances. Moreover, Adidas

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Mod # BUStwo feedback loops in your organization (HP INC.) Essay

Mod # BUStwo feedback loops in your organization (HP INC.) - Essay Example In a move to improve profitability the company is planning to outsource PC manufacturing facilities worldwide. This would help the company to increase profitability by focusing on its core strengths which includes supply chain management, new products and services development and supplier management. (www.hp.com) Management Intent: The management believes that as everything as a Service evolves, there is an opportunity to reshape the computing industry forever and, more importantly, create more dynamic services that enrich our everyday lives and improve how we do business. To realize this potential, the technology industry must innovate at a higher level of intelligence into the next generation of devices, networks and software. When we are successful in providing better user experience, we will be poised for the next wave of growth. (www.hp.com) Feedback loops Employed by HP: Customer groups in various markets - Speed quality and flexibility are some of the requirements of the customer groups as far as technology is concerned. Manufacturers like HP would like to classify their customers as large businesses, individuals with home office and the younger generation. Further this would also give an insight to the market size and location, stage of the product life cycle in each of these consumer groups and characteristics and influences of the buyers (demographic details).Global marketers like HP will would resort to this method of feedback which brings into focus the basic information necessary for development of a strategic plan for production.Survey on Product technology - This form of feedback involves the markets being broken down into segments. Volumes of requirement are forecast to identify and explore the requirements for niche products and otherwise. This feedback would also give the companies required product mixes, c omplexity, differentiation and frequency of manufacturing required. The purpose of selecting these loops was to bring to attention that the major deciding factors of cost in production are related to these. Balancing feedback brings in optimum product quality at the lowest possible pricing leads to goal seeking behavior. Complex systems are composed of multiple feedback loops laid upon one another. How this can be used in OD Hp can make use of these loops by empowering the team of people involved in these activities, by which the results would be extraordinary. The company can help teams involved to manage culture, process, systems and relationships which in turn would be effective and would also reflect on Organizational development. People learn together by submitting their shared vision to testing. When complex dynamics exist, a shared vision allows organizational members to examine assumptions, search for leverage points, and test different policy alternatives. This level of learning often requires simulation, which is a much more specialized systems technique. (Larsen, K., McInerney) Effects of feedback loops on Org Effectiveness Long and Short Term: The effects of these feedback loops on organization effectiveness are as follows Long Term: Organizations strive to reach their potential by sharing this vision of worthy goals with employees. There is a Lifelong commitment to high quality work can result when teams work

Monday, November 18, 2019

1968 Democratic Convention Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

1968 Democratic Convention - Research Paper Example Despite of its rich legacy, there have been some events related to the history of this party, which still haunt the stakeholders (Campbell, 2008). One of these events is the â€Å"Democratic National Convention of 1968 at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois† (Campbell, 2008). This paper is an attempt to present a brief account of the events that led to this convention, the happenings during the convention and events that took place in the aftermath. Discussion Before light is shed on the convention, it is important to draw a rough and succinct sketch of the events leading to Democratic Convention of 1968 that would help in better understanding of the entire event and its happenings. Events leading to 1968 Democratic Convention Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Without any doubts, the man who saw the dream, Martin Luther King, Jr. remains as one of the most influential personalities in the American history (Hoffman, Leary & Mailer, 2008). During the late 1950s and 1960s, he had become the icon of American liberalism, anti Vietnam War advocate, civil right activist and leader of the peace movement (Dautrich & Yalof, 2009). It was on April 4, 1968 when he was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. This created widespread anger, frustration and rage in the public and riots spread in major United States, such as â€Å"Washington D.C., Kansas City, Baltimore, Louisville, Chicago, and various 100 other major cities causing damage of more than 50 million US dollars† (Farber, 1988). In fact, Chicago has not witnessed such magnitude of riots since 1968. During these disturbances, â€Å"11 citizens lost their lives, 48 injured, 90 police officers were wounded, and more than 2156 were taken into police custody† (Kusch, 2004). Despite the fact that the city appeared to be getting back to the normal after a week or so but this event installed the first wave of anger and frustration within the hearts of minds, par ts of which became evident during the convention as well (Edy, 2006). Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy After the death of Luther King, Jr. Robert F. Kennedy was the first political leader, who was also running for the Democratic Party nomination for President. Kennedy had lost his brother John F. Kennedy earlier in the decade (Farber, 1988). Shortly after addressing his supporters at midnight in a ballroom at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, he left for addressing a press conference (Kusch, 2004). On his way to the conference, he took the route that went through the kitchen and a Palestinian immigrant, Sirhan Bishara Sirhan, who shoot Kennedy in the chest three times. He died after 26 hours, thus depriving the democratic party of a charismatic and influential leader who would have gone on to win the Democratic convention (Campbell, 2008; Hoffman, Leary & Mailer, 2008). Decision of Lyndon B. Johnson not to contest for the second term Lyndon B. Johnson, one of the four political personalities in the history of United States to serve as the President, Vice President, Representative, and Senator during his career, was the 36th president of the United States who served during the 1963-1969 era. He served as the vice president during the Kennedy era and took over the job as the president of the country after his assassination. He ran for the office after completing that term and won with an overwhelming majority. Johnson is still praised by critics and observers for his domestic policies such as â€Å"Great Society legislations† (McGowen, 2003). However, he paid the price for increasing American involvement in Vietnam War in form of his sharply declining popularity, both in the American

Saturday, November 16, 2019

The Kinship Of The Sans Culture Sociology Essay

The Kinship Of The Sans Culture Sociology Essay To start off, the San culture is the kind of people that share food with the other families in their culture, the women, and the men work their butts off going out everyday hunting or even planting and growing crops like: berries, nuts, and fruits the women do most of the work. All the men do is go out and hunt for meat and all that adds up to 20% of the work and the other 80% belongs to the hard work the women put in to taking care of their culture. Another thing that I want to say about the San culture is, the San culture is known as (Bushmen) of the Kalahari Desert, and they Is this essay helpful? Upgrade your account to read more and access more than 650,000 just like it! get better grades have lived in that region for thousands of years. There are a couple of more things I want to talk to you about this San culture is, after they get all of their work done the rest of the time is spent in leisurely pursuits: visiting, playing, sleeping, and just enjoying each others company. Not only do families pool the days production, but the entire camp, residents and visitors alike, shares equally in the total quantity of food available. The evening meal of any one family is made up of portions of food from each of the other families in the band. Foodstuffs are distributed raw or are prepared by the collectors and then distributed. The three examples of how the kinship system of the San culture impacts the way this culture behaves is: Generalized Reciprocity, Negative Reciprocity, Balanced Reciprocity and first the Generalized Reciprocity impacts the way they behave is, a form of exchange in which there is no expectation for the immediate return of an item in exchange for something else; in the long Kinship of the San Tribe Kinship of the San Tribe Kinship of the San Tribe The San tribe of South Africa has an amazing story. Their way of life and the ability to survive in the desert speaks volumes to their kinship system. They are a people that have built their entire life on the ability to survive on what the land provides and the families they create. The following summary of the San will comprise of who the San are and the ties that bind them together. How does an indigenous tribe with limited resources live in the desert? The San, or also known as the Bushmen, are a small yet mobile foraging band that resides in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa (NowakLaird, 2010, p. 3.1). As foragers the San hunt for their food, whether it is berries, nuts, or meat. The women of the San spend their time taking care of their children and searching for food. The men of the San spend their time hunting either individually or in groups. Because the San is a Is this essay helpful? Upgrade your account to read more and access more than 650,000 just like it! get better grades foraging band this means they are required to move from place to place in order to find food when resources become scarce. However, they arent always hunting for food. The San find it very important to take time out of their day to spend visiting with family and friends. Family is very important to the San as will be described later in this summary. In addition to family, water is just as important as family. Because of the desert environment in which they live, it requires them to be aware of their resources and call upon other San tribes if assistance is needed. When resources are scarce, thats where the Sans kinship structure comes in to play. The Sans kinship system is structured is considered bilateral. Nowak and Laird (2010) describe bilateral descent as the kinship connections through both the mother and the father are equally important (p. 3.7). In the United States, a bilateral descent system exists. Individuals are related to both parents equally. Foragers, San Tribe The San Tribe When compared to our society, the San people have similar value systems. The San are the oldest inhabitants of Southern Africa, where they have lived for thousands of years. The term San is commonly used to refer to a diverse group of hunter-gatherers living in Southern Africa who share historical and linguistic connections. Some foragers have lived in their present location for thousands of years, such as the San in southwest Africa (Nowak and Laird, 2010, p. 3.2). The San were also referred to as Bushmen, but this term has since been abandoned as it is considered derogatory. Here are three examples of how the San are like many American societies. Like many American families, the San people have no true leader. Leadership among the San is kept for those who have lived within that group for a long time, who have achieved a respectable age, and Is this essay helpful? Upgrade your account to read more and access more than 650,000 just like it! get better grades good character. In many American families this is also true. The eldest person is treated with the most respect and families often try to discuss their problems together in order to keep peace in the family. The San also believe there is one powerful God. In our circles this belief is also true. They also respect the dead; we pay our respects to the dead as well by the various small things we do. We pull our vehicles over during a funeral procession, we do not walk on anyones grave, we lower flags for dead dignitaries, and we have large lists of things that we consider respect for the dead. Lastly, the San have religious aspirations. We also share this trait. There have a person they hold in high regards as we would a priest of preacher. They call their holy man a Shaman or medicine man. The San are big on having strong family ties and bonds. Lets look at how the family is thought to work or structure itself. Most foraging societies consist of a nuclear family setting. When looking how a The San Tribe The San Tribe One of the best-known hunting and gathering communities in the modern world are the San (Bushmen) of the Kalahari Desert. The San have been living in this region for thousands of years. Their diets are composed primarily of nuts, fruit, melons, and berries gathered by the women. The women are the primary gatherers and are responsible for contributing nearly 80 percent of the San diet. Men, the hunters, provide the remaining 20 percent of the diet in the form of meat. Even though they live in one of the most marginal environments in the world, the San search for food only two or three days a week. Women can collect enough food in one day to feed their families for a full week, while men hunt two or three days a week. The rest of the time is spent in leisurely pursuits: visiting, playing, sleeping, and just enjoying each others company. (Lee, Is this essay helpful? Upgrade your account to read more and access more than 650,000 just like it! get better grades 1979) The San use Generalized Reciprocity, sharing what they have with other people in their band. Each San is not an island unto himself or herself, each is part of a collective. The group pools the resources that are brought into the camp so that everyone receives an equitable share. They do not do this out of nobility of soul or because they are made of better stuff than we are, they do it because it works for them and it enhances their survival. Without this core of sharing, life for the San would be harder and infinitely less pleasant. The San have rights to waterholes, and if others need to use them, they must obtain permission from the group holding the rights. Among the San, the owner of a hunted animal is not the hunter who killed the animal but rather the owner of the arrow or spear. The San migrate based on water availability and their shelters are built quickly, typically in one day, and are made from materials found locally and available to anyone. Amon g the San, the oldest woman in a San Tribe San Tribe San Tribe The San tribe of South Africa has an astonishing story. Their way of life and the aptitude to survive in the desert endowers wonders to their kinship system. They are a people that have built their entire life on the ability to live on what the land provides and the families they design. The following synopsis of the San will include who the San are and the ties that bind them together. How does a native tribe with scarce resources live in the desert? The San, or also known as the Bushmen, are a small yet mobile foraging band that resides in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa (Nowak Laird, 2010, p. 3.1). As foragers the San search for their food, whether it is berries, nuts, or meat. The women of the San devote their time taking care of their children and exploring for food. The men of the San devote their time hunting either individually or in groups. Because the San is a foraging band Is this essay helpful? Upgrade your account to read more and access more than 650,000 just like it! get better grades this means that its necessary for them to move from place to place in order to find food when sources become limited. However, they are not continuously hunting for food. The San find it very significant to take time out of their day to spend visiting with family and friends. Kinfolk are very important to the San as will be described later in this synopsis. In addition to family, water is just as significant as family. Because of the desert environment in which they live, it makes them to be aware of their resources and call upon other San tribes if help is needed. When resources are scarce, thats where the Sans kinship binding comes to the surface. The Sans kinship system is considered bilateral. Nowak and Laird (2010) describe bilateral descent as the kinship connections through both the mother and the father are equally important (p. 3.7). In the United States, a bilateral descent system do exists. Individuals are related to both parents alike. Foragers, like the San, Kinship System of the San People Kinship of the San Bushmen The San or Bushmen people as they are sometimes called are a foraging group. Most foraging societies consist of a nuclear family setting. When looking how a family is laid out you must pay attention to descent. Descent is the passage of kinship though the parent-child links and the joining of the people into groups. There are two patterns for identifying descent: unilateral and bilateral. When looking at unilateral descent the relationships are followed through the mother and the father. The descent within the bilateral relationship is just as important. Most of all the foraging bands have bilateral descent. A San tribe member can find a blood relative in every tribe that he/she visits. This type of kinship is important if the family is low on resources, they can relocate, find family, and survive until they are once again able to thrive on their own. Is this essay helpful? Upgrade your account to read more and access more than 650,000 just like it! get better grades To have a family member in every band that you travel to, a marriage has had to occur. Marriage between the men and women between the bands helps strengthen the social links. Once again these types of family ties are a survival tool for the bands desolate times. When a man is to consider marriage in the San tribe he must first make sure that the woman he is considering to marry does not have the same name as a parent or sibling. Marrying of a second cousin or closer is also prohibited. By doing this the tribe insures that there is no incest helping create future generations of children that can marry without the high chance of incest. With these rules in place it limits the number of women that can be married though out the region. Women would gather, and men hunted using poison arrows and spears in laborious days-long excursions. Children had no duties besides to play, and leisure was very important to the Bushmen. They spent large amounts of time with conversation , joking around, music, and sacred dances. The San Kinship System KINSHIP OF THE SAN PEOPLE 1 KINSHIP OF THE SAN PEOPLE 2 KINSHIP OF THE SAN PEOPLE The San people are indigenous cultures that are referred to as the Bushmen they live and have lived in the deserts of the Kalahari for many thousands of years. The San people are foraging band of families that gather and hunt for their livelihood traditionally women are responsible for eighty percent of the food gathering which consists of nuts, fruits, melons and berries while the men are responsible for twenty percent of the meat Nowak, B. Laird, P (2010). The family structure of the San people is one of kinship in which could include many family member such as uncles, aunts, cousins, brothers, sisters, maternal, paternal grandparent and their parents. It is a band of families that work together as a group Is this essay helpful? Upgrade your account to read more and access more than 650,000 just like it! get better grades to provide food for all family members if another person killed a big animal they will share it with another family who wasnt as fortunate in hunting that day this is their way of life. This kinship reinforces the importance of family and keeps them close thus providing safety and comfort for all involved. The numbers of the San people can include over 30 members in their group or village; families can live in other parts of neighboring camps are usually interconnected by kinship and marriage: a brother and sister can live with spouses in one camp and in troubled times when food and their basic necessities are scare they have the option to move to another camp and live with their in-laws this type of family connections is referred to as a bilateral kinship. In bilateral kinship one cannot marry another family member who consists of second cousins or even people whom share the same name as her or his parents. KINSHIP OF THE SAN PEOPLE 3 The kinship of the family is very important to them the children The Sans Kinship System The Sans 1 The San 2 The San Kinship System The San are foragers who reside in the Kalahari Desert in Africa. The San people have survived and flourished here for thousands of years. In a foraging culture the people live in mobile groups called Bands (Nowak Laird, 2010). Typically, they move every few weeks to location were food and water is thriving. In foraging cultures continuous movement and the sharing of food and water are part of what builds kinship ties. These kinship ties build a greater sense of obligation to each other (Nowak Laird, 2010). I will explore a general reciprocal kinship system between the San people. I will provide three examples of this kinship system to display how it affects the San culture. General Reciprocal Exchange The San people live in a reciprocal economic system. This is defined as a mutual exchange Is this essay helpful? Upgrade your account to read more and access more than 650,000 just like it! get better grades of goods and services which occurs between members of a kinship group (Nowak Laird, 2010). To be more specific the San people live in a generalized reciprocity. A generalized reciprocity is a form of exchange where there are no expectations for an immediate return of an item in exchange for something else (Nowak Laird, 2010). Sharing of Food and Water One example of generalized reciprocal culture lived by the San is their sharing and pooling together of food gathered for the day with all members of the Band. This sharing helps to ensure the survival of the camp. For example, a hunters family will not go hungry if he is unable to make a kill. Another hunter who was successful will provide equal shares of his kill with all members of the camp. This generalized reciprocity is The San 3 based on family and kin relationships (Nowak Laird, 2010). Typically, the neighbor they are sharing with is a parent, parent-in-law, or sibling. When thinking about how the San people The San Kinship System Introduction The San are foragers who reside in the Kalahari Desert in Africa. The San people have survived and flourished here for thousands of years. In a foraging culture the people live in mobile groups called Bands (Nowak Laird, 2010). Typically, they move every few weeks to location were food and water is thriving. In foraging cultures continuous move Sin Kinship System ment and the sharing of food and water are part of what builds kinship ties. These kinship ties build a greater sense of obligation to each other (Nowak Laird, 2010). I will explore a general reciprocal kinship system between the San people. I will provide three examples of this kinship system to display how it affects the San culture. General Reciprocal Exchange The San people live in a reciprocal economic system. This is defined as a mutual ex change of goods and services which occurs between Is this essay helpful? Upgrade your account to read more and access more than 650,000 just like it! get better grades members of a kinship group (Nowak Laird, 2010). To be more specific the San people live in a generalized reciprocity. A generalized reciprocity is a form of exchange where there are no expectations for an immediate return of an item in exchange for something else (Nowak Laird, 2010). Sharing of Food and Water One example of generalized reciprocal culture lived by the San is their sharing and pooling together of food gathered for the day with all members of the Band. This sharing helps to ensure the survival of the camp. For example, a hunters family will not go hungry if he is unable to make a kill. Another hunter who was successful will provide equal shares of his kill with all members of the camp. This generalized reciprocity is based on family and kin relationships (Nowak Laird, 2010). Typically, the neighbor they are sharing with is a parent, parent-in-law, or sibling. Environment When thinking about how the San people The men and the women work together to make their Kinship System Cultural Thinking Paper: Kinship Organization Kinship remains at the core of social relations, but marriage customs and other kin-related rules change to deal with new relationships in terms of property, denser population, and conflict. People are related to each other as sharing a common ancestor or as in-laws. The way people are related, determines how they behave towards each other. In general there are two basic patterns for calculating descents: unilineal and bilateral. San kinship system is based on bilateral descent. In bilateral descents, the kinship connections through both the mother and the father are equally important. Because of this kinship relationship, a San will find a relative in every band he or she visits. If a family is facing shortage where they live, the can go to another bands territory and find kin, a place to stay, and access to water. San society Is this essay helpful? Upgrade your account to read more and access more than 650,000 just like it! get better grades is groups of people whom love each others company. San live in the most marginal environments in the world. Hunters and gathers such as the San, who live in the desert, migrate based on water availability. San have many hours of free time for leisure activities, including socializing with their kin and friends. San is a very generous society; evening meals are shared among all families. Generosity maintains kin and social relationships while providing a safety net. Each San does not have an island unto him or herself, each is part of a collective. Because the San is apart of a band and are very generous you would think they share with no problem, in fact the often gripe about sharing. Without the core of sharing, life for the San would be harder and infinitely less pleasant. The way our cultures kinship system works is based on the way one is raised. One may have been raise to only give to you relatives and friends if the were to receive something back, on the other hand, one may have been raised Kinship System of the San People Kinship of the San Bushmen The San or Bushmen people as they are sometimes called are a foraging group. Most foraging societies consist of a nuclear family setting. When looking how a family is laid out you must pay attention to descent. Descent is the passage of kinship though the parent-child links and the joining of the people into groups. There are two patterns for identifying descent: unilateral and bilateral. When looking at unilateral descent the relationships are followed through the mother and the father. The descent within the bilateral relationship is just as important. Most of all the foraging bands have bilateral descent. A San tribe member can find a blood relative in every tribe that he/she visits. This type of kinship is important if the family is low on resources, they can relocate, find family, and survive until they are once again able to thrive on their own. Is this essay helpful? Upgrade your account to read more and access more than 650,000 just like it! get better grades To have a family member in every band that you travel to, a marriage has had to occur. Marriage between the men and women between the bands helps strengthen the social links. Once again these types of family ties are a survival tool for the bands desolate times. When a man is to consider marriage in the San tribe he must first make sure that the woman he is considering to marry does not have the same name as a parent or sibling. Marrying of a second cousin or closer is also prohibited. By doing this the tribe insures that there is no incest helping create future generations of children that can marry without the high chance of incest. With these rules in place it limits the number of women that can be married though out the region. Women would gather, and men hunted using poison arrows and spears in laborious days-long excursions. Children had no duties besides to play, and leisure was very important to the Bushmen. They spent large amounts of time with conversation , joking around, music, and sacred dances. Impact of the Kinship System on San Culture Impact of the Kinship System on San Culture ANT 101: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology August 21, 2011 Impact of the Kinship System on San Culture In this paper I will describe the kinship system of the San (Bushmen) and how it impacts their lives. First I will give a brief description of their culture. Then I will provide three examples of how the kinship system impacts the way the culture behaves. Following each of these examples I will discuss how this aspect of the kinship system compares with American society and also how it may impact behaviors in my life. Finally I will summarize the papers key points. Let us begin by learning a little about the San. The San live in the Kalahari Desert of South Africa which is one of the most inhospitable regions of the world. They survive on hunting wild game and also gathering roots and tubers. They are considered to be one of the oldest cultures in the world. The culture is expected to be over a Is this essay helpful? Upgrade your account to read more and access more than 650,000 just like it! get better grades hundred thousand years old. Only until the last two thousand years have the San began living in the inhospitable desert. They have gradually been pushed here by modernization and farmers that have taken their old, more fertile lands (Tishkoff, 2009). I will now provide some examples of their kinship system and how it relates to Americans today. Generalized reciprocity plays a huge role in the San Culture. They do a very good job of making sure that everyone in the camp has equal amounts of food. This includes both family and visitors alike. The evening meal of any one family is made up of portions of food from each of the other families in the band. Food can be distributed either raw or will be prepared by whoever has collected the food and then it will be distributed. There is a constant flow of nuts, berries, roots and melons from one family to another. This will continue until everyone has an equal amount of food (Nowak Laird, 2010). This continuous movement of goods between families Kinship of the San Throughout the southern land of Africa live the native Bushmen also known as the San. According to the National Geographic video on The Bushmen, the San are recognized as one of the oldest cultural societies that still remain active. One of the strongest qualities epitomized by the society is their cohesive support system they operate in order to survive on a daily basis. As indicated by our text, the San are a foraging culture, meaning they generate only enough food and resources to consume for a day or two; lessening the amount of surplus and need for storage. The San believe in maintaining strong unions within their nuclear families and often joining with related nuclear families to assemble their bands. These bands look to each other for support within their community while harvesting, gathering, and operating daily duties within the community. Since the San are considered a band society, they are habitually on the move in search of new grounds to cultivate and develop. But regar dless of where Is this essay helpful? Upgrade your account to read more and access more than 650,000 just like it! get better grades they move and who joins them, the San continue to stay linked with family that is near or far. Since the San believe in strong bonds with related kin, the choices made in their communities are decisions made as a group. Their preference for leaders comes from within their kinships. The San delegate a leader from inside their band as their informal headman or woman. San people look to their own people to find that one person who can help lead them in times of decision-making. San kinships look to elderly members to be their leaders. They use their age as a sign of experience and knowledge. There is no formal or political organization of leadership, but instead they choose a member who is well respected, has lots of charisma, and has been experienced through age. Since both genders are equally respected within their culture for their contributions, the headman or woman can be a male or female. This leader is the person they look to when in search of new territory or I Chose the San In this paper I have chosen to write about the San. I will be telling you about many different things that I have read in this the beginning of our studies in anthropology. I will cover kinship as it relates to the San tribe, and how it impacts their lives. I will make a comparison in how current day culture and kinship differs from theirs also how kinship today impacts our daily living. Residing in South West Africa the San are foragers. The San are considered to be one of the best-known hunting and gathering communities in the modern world (Nowak Laird, 2010); they are also known as the San (Bushmen) of the Kalahari Desert (Nowak Laird, 2010). The San are a foraging band of families, they live off of what they can either hunt or gather from their surroundings this is part of the reason that they move every so often as not to put a strain on the environment also to be Is this essay helpful? Upgrade your account to read more and access more than 650,000 just like it! get better grades able to provide for them self. women are responsible for eighty percent of the food gathering which consists of nuts, fruits, melons and berries while the men are responsible for twenty percent of the meat (Nowak Laird, 2010). The type of kinship that the San follow starts as nuclear and can go as far as the extended family. This seems to make the idea of general reciprocal exchange easier to deal with. The San live in an economic system of general reciprocal exchange. In the text generalized reciprocity is defined as a form of exchange where there are no expectations for an immediate return of an item in exchange for something else (Nowak Laird, 2010). The members of the San would hunt and gather food and share the wealth with everyone in the band, making sure that everyone can eat even if they were unable to contribute, Sharing of this kind helps strengthen ties.