Aristotelian ethics Essay

Aristotelian ethics is focused on the search for happiness through virtue. Happiness functions as the chief and final end of man while virtue is a mediated state in between the irrational tendencies of man. The Aristotelian ethical system is primarily focused on the notion of virtue and value of the golden mean which focuses on practicality as a method of achieving happiness in opposition to self-realization. According to Aristotle, ethical knowledge is not precise compared to the study of mathematics or the sciences, but a practical discipline; that in order to be good or virtuous is not to quantify it as a study but to actually experience becoming good or virtuous. In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle’s work breaks away from the reason-centered philosophies of his predecessors namely Plato and Aristotle concerning the reason-based pursuit of the highest form of good through an empirical and a goal-centered approach. The attainment of the ‘good’ is the foundation of Aristotelian ethical principles; ethics during the context of classical Greek philosophy is primarily concerned on living the ‘good’ life through the moderation of actions. This notion of good however is different from the hedonistic perspectives concerning the happiness. Hedonism centers its beliefs on pleasure as the purpose or final end of man while Aristotle’s ethics are primarily directed to the practice and experience of life through virtue and mediation. He argues that the rational and irrational tendencies of the soul such as aspirations, desires, wants, and needs, have an ultimate end. Happiness is the final end of such tendencies; however, the process in which happiness may be achieved may go against the dictates of the soul because of subjectivity. Contrary to Plato’s self-existing good, happiness is practical rather than an ideal; it can be attained in the sense that an individual must experience it. The highest form of good must be desirable in itself and not to function to some other self-serving purpose. For Aristotle, happiness is found in the everyday experiences of life and work that is unique to rationalistic human soul. The individual’s purpose is to act upon what is inherently human, that is, to attain happiness through experience. The fulfillment of such end leads to the state of eudaimonia, literally meaning happiness. Eudaimonia is a state of state of mind rather than an interpretative or emotive understanding of happiness per se. In order to achieve such, Aristotle first defines the distinct parts of the human soul, the notion of virtue and its function as part of experience. Happiness is subjective to the individual since there are many forms and concepts wherein happiness can be interpreted; pleasure leads to a state of temporal and physical happiness but does not eternally reside on the individual. The multitude of perspectives concerning the attainment of a universal idea of happiness is a dilemma; since experience provides a subjective interpretation of a phenomenon, there may be no existing ‘universal’ idea. As narrated in the Ethics: â€Å"And so the man who has been educated in a subject is a good judge of that subject, and the man who has received an all-round education is a good judge in general. Hence a young man is not a proper hearer of lectures on political science; for he is inexperienced in the actions that occur in life† (Aristotle 3). For Aristotle, experience and practicality are the foundations of ethical belief. In contrast with his predecessor’s mode of ethical discipline, Aristotle argues that ethics cannot be derived from an abstract notion such as Plato’s Theory of Forms where the self-existing good remains self-evident and unchangeable. This reason-based or rationalistic approach is refuted with Aristotle’s empirical standpoint. Experience, according to Aristotle, is a unique human condition and its uniqueness provides the basis for the formation of a practical ethical system of belief. In order to understand the concept of virtue, Aristotle first divides the parts of the human soul into two parts, the rational and irrational soul which is further subdivided into three categories, namely: the vegetative, appetitive, and calculative value. The irrational ‘part’ of the human person is related to the animalistic soul or instinct (nutritive value), while the rational soul is the distinguishing factor against pure instinctive tendencies. Thus, rational nature of the soul is the definition of the human persona humans has the ability to reason (calculative/appetitive) and impose control on irrational tendencies. The normative control over irrational desires is also a part of Aristotle’s biological differentiation between man and animal. Animals rely on instinct or desire which is irrational, to maintain their survival. The control of the irrational nature (appetitive) leads to the formation of moral virtue while the perfection of the pure rationalistic soul which provides intellect and reason (calculative) is known as an intellectual virtue. Thus, moral virtue falls under the middle ground between the intellect, which regulates it, and the passions, which virtue attempts to control. Virtue is defined as â€Å"a state of character concerned with choice, lying in a mean, i. e. the mean relative to us, this being determined by a rational principle, and by that principle by which the man of practical wisdom would determine it† (Aristotle 35). Virtue, in accordance with experience, is based from practical knowledge. Contradicting the notion of the self-existing good, practical knowledge replaces the notion of self-existing truths. The Platonic notion of understanding these truths is through self-recognition of ignorance as an obstacle of intellectual illumination. In contrast, the practicality of experience acts as the foundation of virtue that is learned through the uniqueness of human experience. Experience is then essential in acquiring these virtues rather than acknowledge the presence of such through the affirmation of doubt. Plato’s theory as exemplified in the Allegory of the Cave calls for the self-affirmation of ‘I know nothing’ in order to determine the absolute or ideal knowledge that exists in the realm of the forms. Aristotle deviates from this rationalistic approach as he emphasizes on practicality in determining truths. Further, Aristotle explains: â€Å"since things that are found in the soul are of three kinds – passions, faculties, states of character, virtue must be one of these† (Aristotle 43) The soul as expressed in its dualistic rational and irrational parts, contain passions, faculties, and other states of character. The passions consist of the emotional either accompanied by pleasure or pain (e. g. joy, sorrow). The faculties of the soul is the capability of these emotions (e. g. being happy, joyful, etc. ), while the states of character is the middle ground in-between the emotional opposites (e. g. consumed or weakened by anger). Virtue is then a mediation of the passions which acts upon the faculties of the soul and leads to the essence on the states of character. One of the important notions in Aristotelian ethics is the notion of the Golden Mean. The golden mean separates human action (e. g. passions) into virtue and vice. The mean, in context with experience, provides the avenue of practicing virtue in the process of attaining happiness. Virtues are either at mean or in opposition (virtue and vice). Vices are further categorized either in its extreme or deficient sense while moral virtue functions as the regulating principle situates action in moderation. For example, the virtue of modesty is the mean between the vice of deficiency (shamelessness) and extreme (bashfulness). The virtue of courage is the middle ground between rashness and cowardice. The concept of the golden mean is dictated by the functions of rationality wherein behavior is formed through experience. It however cannot be quantified through a mathematical or logical proposition; meaning to eat 100 times in excess means it cannot be justified by starving oneself in 50. This ethical system is solely dependent on the conception of rationality on the part of the individual in relation to the uniqueness of experience. The value of virtue is the understanding of mediation in action rather than performing in excess or deficiency. To understand the middle ground of opposite actions leads to intellectual calmness or realization; that to be in excess and deficient leads either through temporary happiness (pleasure) or the lack of it (pain). In addition, the task of finding the middle ground in vices is a difficult task. According to Aristotle: Hence also it is no easy task to be good. For in everything it is no easy task to find the middle, e. g. to find the middle of a circle is not for everyone but for him who knows; so, too, any one can get angry – that is easy – or give or spend money; but to do this to the right person, to the right extent, at the right time with the right motive, and in the right way, that is not for everyone, nor it is easy. (Aristotle 49) To easily determine the middle ground of vices cannot be applied for the totality of every individual since the irrational soul still acts upon its instinctive nature. In relation to the Platonic challenged posed by the Theory of Forms, the attainment of the good is solely dependent on the individual to countermand the irrational passions in order to redirect the soul and purpose in attaining its final end. Plato’s challenge is focused on the breakaway from ignorance to understand the ‘ideal’ world in which the world of illusions is based from. Aristotle on the other hand, focuses on the importance of experience and practical knowledge; to know happiness means we have to experience happiness. Aristotle’s happiness is attained through the practice of virtue and the regulation of the golden mean. However, Aristotle argues: â€Å"So much, then, is plain that the intermediate state is in all things to be praised, but that we must incline sometimes towards the excess, sometimes towards the deficiency, for so shall we most easily hit the mean and what is right† (Aristotle 50). In order to understand the mean, Aristotle again notes the importance of experience. The individual must therefore experience the extreme opposites of the passions (vice) in order to determine the golden mean. For example, one cannot know the virtue of courage if one does not become a coward (deficient) or be rash (excess) in actions. It is only after experience teaches the individual the value of virtue and virtue in turn, leads to the attainment of eudaimonia in which happiness is eternal. Reference Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics (M. Ostwald, Trans. ) New York: Collier Macmillan. 1962

Google Hacking

Google Hacking Abstract: Google hacking is the term used when a hacker tries to find vulnerable targets or sensitive data by using the Google search engine. In Google hacking hackers use search engine commands or complex search queries to locate sensitive data and vulnerable devices on the Internet. Keywords: hacking, hack, Google, Google hack, hacking techniques, attack, ethical hacking, search engines, search engine hacking What is Google Hacking? Google hacking is the term used when a hacker tries to find vulnerable targets or sensitive data by using the Google search engine. In Google hacking hackers use search engine commands or complex search queries to locate sensitive data and vulnerable devices on the Internet. Although Google hacking techniques are against Google terms of service1 and Google blocks wellknown Google hacking queries, nothing can stop hackers from crawling websites and launching Google queries. Google hacking can be used to locate vulnerable web servers and websites which are listed in the Google search engine database. In other words, hackers can locate many thousands of vulnerable websites, web servers and online devices all around the world and select their targets randomly. This kind of attack is most commonly launched by applying Google hacking techniques to satisfy junior hackers. It is obvious that the Google hacking procedure is based on certain keywords, which could be used effectively if they are used by some internal commands of the Google search engine. These commands can be used to help hackers narrow down their search to locate sensitive data or vulnerable devices. Nevertheless, the success of Google hacking techniques depends on the existence of vulnerable sites, servers and devices. However, we should not ignore the power of the search engines in providing information about the targets to the hackers in the reconnaissance phase. Beyond Vulnerability Malicious hackers can use Google hacking techniques to identify vulnerable sites and web servers for known vulnerabilities. In addition, they can look for error pages with the help of technical Page 1 of 8 nformation or retrieve files and directories with sensitive contents such as databases, passwords, log files, login pages or online devices such as IP cameras and network storage. Google Proxy Hackers can use the Google Translate service (http://translate. google. com/translate_t) as a proxy server to visit a website or translate the contents of the website or URLs without leaving any footprints. Figure 1: Google Translate Service. Google Cash Google copies the content of a website in its databa se. This function helps users to access the content of the website if the site is not available. However, a hacker can use this function to access and visit a targeted website without leaving any footprint and in complete anonymity. Figure 2: The red cycle indicates the link to access the Cached page. Page 2 of 8 Directory Listings Web server applications such as Apache and IIS provide facilities that a user can browse and navigate website directories by clicking on the directory name and links such as Parent Directories. The directories and their content can be listed if directory listing or directory browsing are enabled by the administrator. This vulnerability gives an unauthorized access to the files and it may help hackers to gain access to the information which can help them to hack a website or a web server or download its contents. Directory listings make the parent directory links available to browse directories and files. Hackers can locate the sensitive information and files just by simple browsing. In Google it is easy to find websites or web servers with enabled directory listings because the title of the pages start with the â€Å"index of† phrase so we can use index of in the search box to find the directory listings-enabled website. If we want to get better result from our search we can use this combination in the search box intitle:index. of or we can use intitle:index. of â€Å"Parent Directory†. Figure 3: The result of using intitle:index. of â€Å"Parent Directory†. It is obvious that with the first command we used the Google search engine to search in its database for the websites which have been listed with the title of â€Å"Index of†. In the second command we used Google to search for sites with the directory listings and with the keyword which is often found in the directory listings. Specific Directory Hackers can locate specific directories by using the directory name in their search queries. For instance to locate an â€Å"admin† directory in addition to directory listings, the hacker can use these commands: intitle:index. of. admin or intitle:index. of inurl:admin. Page 3 of 8 Figure 4: The result of using intitle:index. of. admin. Specific File It is possible to search for a certain file by directory listings. For instance, to search for the password. mdb file, this search query can be used: intitle:index. of password. mdb . Figure 5: The result of using intitle:index. of. password. mdb. Specific File Extension Google lets users search its database for a specific file extension by using the filetype: command. For instance, if you want to search for pdf files, then you can use the query filetype:pdf in the search box. Server Information It is possible to use Google hacking techniques to determine the version of the web server application along with directory listings. This kind of information is vital to an attacker because it will  © Ali Jahangiri www. alijahangiri. rg Page 4 of 8 help him or her to use the best way to attack the web server. For instance, hackers can use the search query intitle:index. of â€Å"server at† to find the web sites with vulnerable directory listings which are operated by an Apache server. Figure 6: The result of intitle:index. of â€Å"server at†. Different versions of Microsoft IIS servers have wide usage all around the world. It would be easy to find the ser vers which are operated by Microsoft IIS 6. 0 servers, which are listed in the Google database by using the query â€Å"Microsoft IIS/6. server at† on the Google search engine. Error Pages The error pages and warning pages are informative for hackers because these pages could be used to determine the vulnerability of the target. Most of the time hackers use the error messages as keywords or search phrase to find their targets. For instance, if you use â€Å"Syntax error in query expression † –the in the Google search box, you can find the websites which have this error message as an Access error message; this message can display path names, function names and filenames which are helpful for the hackers. Page 5 of 8 Figure 7: The result of â€Å"Syntax error in query expression † –the. Hackers may use Google to locate vulnerable servers by searching for the error pages of web servers such as IIS. The queries intitle:†the page cannot be found†and â€Å"internet information services† can be used to search for IIS servers that present error 404. Default Pages Default pages are major sources of information about targets for hackers. They use Google to find live servers which are on the default page; most of the time, these servers have default configurations with many vulnerabilities. Login Pages The login pages can be use for brute force attacks and gain unauthorized access to the target. In addition, the login pages can be useful to provide information about the target server. For instance, if we use the search query allinurl:†exchange/logon. asp† in the Google search box, we can find the login page of the Microsoft Outlook Web Access. For the typical login page in the web applications or portals which have been programmed by ASP, you can use inurl:login. asp or inurl:/admin/login. asp. Figure 8: The result of allinurl:†exchange/logon. asp†. Locating CGI-BIN Common Gateway Interface (CGI) is a standard protocol for interfacing external application software with web servers. Hackers can use Google to locate the CGI-BIN applications or pages to target. For instance, the search query inurl:/cgi-bin/login. cgi locates the login pages base on CGI-BIN. Online Devices It is possible to create special search phrases to locate online devices such as IP cameras, network storage and printers with Google. In this technique hackers use the default pages or the application names which vendors used for hardware and that have been supplied by vendors.  © Ali Jahangiri www. alijahangiri. org Page 6 of 8 For instance, if you want to locate AXIS Network cameras then you can apply the search phrase inurl:indexFrame. shtml Axis to find online AXIS cameras. Here is another example: to locate online Linksys network storage with the GigaDrive Utility, you can use the search phrase intitle:†GigaDrive Utility† in the Google Search box. Figure 9: The result of inurl:indexFrame. html Axis. Google Hacking Database There is an unofficial website (http://johnny. ihackstuff. com/ghdb. php) which acts as a database for hacking of Google. This database has been used since its creation in 2004 by the Google hacking community. You would be able to develop your own Google hacking database by studying the behaviour of the equipment and identifying the pages, page titles and files which can be cal led and accessed by user and which will be listed in Google. Disclaimer: ? This document is to educate, introduce and demonstrate Google hacking. You should not use the information which has been presented in this document for illegal or malicious attacks and you should not use the described techniques in an attempt to compromise any computer system. Ali Jahangiri operates a policy of continuous development. The information which this document contains reflects his understanding at the time when presented. Ali Jahangiri reserves the right to revise this document or withdraw it at any time without prior notice and states no obligation to update the data included in his document. The contents of this document are provided â€Å"as is†. No warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of solutions and instructions for a particular purpose, are made in relation to the accuracy, reliability or contents of this document. Under no circumstances shall Ali Jahangiri be responsible for any loss of data or income or any special, incidental, consequential or indirect damage s howsoever caused.

Progressive Reformers

10/08/12 Progressive Reformers The Progressive movement has had a tremendous impact on society and preserving the doctrine of a democratic nation. The Progressive Era, which initiated between the years 1890 through 1920, was instituted because progressives who wanted to rid politics of corruption and inefficiency. Progressives wanted to curtail the power of the business trusts, and protect the general welfare of the public. The Progressive name derived from forward-thinking or â€Å"progressive† goals that its supporters sought to advance.John Dewey, who is known as the father of Progressive education, has been most influential in Educational Progressivism. His vision for schools tied to a larger vision, leading towards a good society. His focus on education was on teaching the â€Å"whole child†. This learning extended beyond the subject matter and the attention was on the needs and interest of the child. I like to look at this as a form of nature vs. nurturing. Progre ssivism and Pragmatism are similar in its aims.They both contained the same educational aims, needs and interest, in educating the whole child. Pragmatic philosophers, such as Rousseau, looked at the correlation of education and politics. Progressivism, as I interpret it, was more of a movement. This movement formulated interest groups, like unions, which seek interest around the progressive philosophy. These interest groups protected the needs of the people. Organizations such as American Federation of Teachers began in 1916, during the time of the Progressive Era.Interest groups like American Federation of Labor, founded in 1881, focused on skilled workers (such as painters and electricians) and Congress of Industrial Organizations (early 1930s) advocating the organization of workers in the basic mass-production industries (such as steel, auto, and rubber). A lot of the people, on the frontline, in this progressive movement were women, farmers, and African American. This movement made a profound impact on education. In a publication of Progressive Education, George Counts wrote an article which focuses attention upon the child.He states that â€Å"progressive education has recognized the fundamental importance of the interest of the learner; it has defended the thesis that activity lies at the root of all true education; it has conceived learning in terms of life situations and growth of character; it has championed the rights of the child as a free personality†. Child-centered educational practices are shared by progressive educators. The pedagogical method is object teaching. The teacher begins with an object related to the child's world in order to initiate the child into the world of the educator. The focus is on thinking and doing.Problem-solving skills are required to overcome obstacles between a given and desired set of circumstances. Education is not simply a means to a future life, but instead it represents a life to the fullest. Progressive educators view existing schools as being formal, not focusing on real life situations, and strict. They prefer variety in classroom preparations and informal interaction between the teacher and their student. Progressives prefer schools teach useful subjects (including occupations) and emphasize â€Å"learning by doing† rather than instruction purely from textbooks. This brought about schools such as trade and vocational schools.The student was placed at the center of thinking, â€Å"teach the child not the subject. † John Dewey’s model of learning is to: become aware of the problem, define the problem, propose hypotheses to solve, evaluate the consequences of the hypotheses from one's past experience, and test the most likely solution. Progressive like Dewey felt that children, if taught to understand the relationship between thinking and doing, they would be fully equipped for active participation in a democratic society. The educational program depended on cl ose student – teacher interactions that required altering of traditional subject matter.

Barilla Spa (A) Case Study Essay

Executive Summary Sales representatives at the Barilla SpA, world’s largest pasta producer, are seeing customers changing due to long re-order lead-time and frequent stock-outs. Even with a high inventory levels, Barilla is still not able to cope with the fluctuating demand. The fluctuation in demand is seen as the bullwhip effect that is caused by sales strategies that have been put into place that is very product focused. This causes excessive demand from week to week depending on the product that the promotion or incentive is been aimed towards. There is also a lack of data sharing and poor communication throughout the whole supply chain which does not bring visibility for production forecast. With the Just-in-Time Distribution (JITD) that was brought in from the logistics manager, neither internally nor externally is supporting the new system. With the lack of understanding of the new system and the positive results it will bring, it will be hard to convince buy-ins from different angles. The initiative should be tested first from Barilla’s own facilities and prove out the methods and be able to visualize the improvements to the rest of its supply chain. During the implementation and test phase, there should be dedicated teams which monitor the data and metrics coming from the new system. Daily meetings should be held to discuss issues and resolve them as quickly as possible. As inventory levels drop, issues with the distribution system will arise which provides a priority of issues to resolve. Once the system has been proven, the results will be the biggest selling points to have the implementation through the whole supply chain and for everyone to understand its benefits. Issues Identification Barilla is experiencing issues to meet their fluctuating demand from the distribution centers even when carrying additional inventory throughout the supply chain. Brando Vitali has came with a proposal of a Just-in-time Distribution (JITD) but neither the sales team in Barilla or the buyers at the distribution centers are agreeing with the approach. At the same time, these teams are already noticing that our customers are leaving due to the lack of servicing we are able to provide. Distribution centers were asked to carry more inventories to prevent occurrences of stock outs but the suggestion was not accepted. In return, they issued a complaint regarding the number of SKUs Barilla has which makes it impossible to manage and the long manufacturing lead-time due to the tight heat and humidity specifications. Environmental and Root Cause Analysis Fluctuating Demand: The fluctuation in demand is caused by a combination of reasons. The trade promotions and volume discounts that Barilla uses as sales strategies are one of the biggest influences. There were also no limits to the quantities that the distributors are allowed to order per each â€Å"canvass† period. The incentive program for Barilla’s sales representatives is also causing inconsistency to the demand; they would be pushing for the SKU’s that would bring them a higher incentive. Barilla is also experience a growth in their export market; it was expected to reach 20-25% per year. With this increasing growth, Barilla does not have any sophisticated forecasting technique that would prepare them to meet the demand. There is a minimal visibility for Barilla to see where the volatility is in the demand is coming from. This is creating the Bullwhip Effect throughout their whole supply chain. The poor communication and cooperation between retailers, distribution centers and manufacturer is the reason that they all are maintaining higher inventory than required. Resistance to Changes: There were many resistances to this new initiative when it was being brought up internally and externally. When there is a lack of understanding of the results that a new initiative will bring, there will always be resistance to change. Sales team fears that that they would see a reduction of responsibilities and distribution centers were defensive when they misinterpret the approach as saying they don’t know what they are doing. Alternative and/or Options Alternative #1 – Continue to promote the Just-in-time Distribution (JITD) initiative To be able to eliminate the Bullwhip Effect, there must be an increase in visibility through the whole supply chain. With better communication and an understanding and trust between vendors, it will eliminate the volatility in demand. This will improve the service levels from distributors to retailers and at the same time reduce the inventory carrying cost. With the visibility, it will better Barilla to forecast their demand and improve their production planning process. While achieving this, it will reduce their manufacturing cost and their inventory cycle. Alternative #2 – Eliminate product focus sales strategies Instead of promoting particular products in each canvass period that will cause excessive demand, Barilla should maintain a constant competitive pricing through the year. Barilla should also eliminate their product-focus incentive policy for their sales representative and create incentive programs that will not allow them to focus on a particular SKU. Recommendations and Implementation Barilla should continue to promote the Just-in-Time Distribution initiative. As this is a new concept for the distributors and retailers, Barilla should prove out this initiative at their own facility. With the results, they can then have bigger bargaining power to promote this idea to its whole supply chain. As for anything else to be successful in a company, it is important for top management to be actively involved. Employees need to be aware of the importance of this project in order for it to be successful and for them to understand positive results it will bring to the company. During the implementation, there would be decrease in inventory levels. Before, the inventory levels were used as a buffer to hide the problems that prevents us from working with a lower inventory level. As we decrease the inventory levels, the problems will arise and it will identify for us what issues we need to resolve as a priority. If the problem requires a longer time to resolve, then the inventory levels can be raise to prevent affecting customers from stock-outs. Then the focus would be to resolve the issue and the inventory levels can be lowered again. With this approach, it will help prioritize the issues that need to be address and which ones will help lower our inventory levels. Monitor and Control To monitor the affects of this initiative, there are a few key performance indicators that need to be set-up. Stock Out Rate – This will immediately show the trend with the current system and be able to visualize that JITD will increase service levels. Inventory Levels – Visualize inventory levels at all firms to demonstrate the win-win scenario that this initiative will bring. Re-order Lead-time – To show with the increase communication, it helps for manufacturers to respond faster There should be daily meetings held with the key departments to ensure that the information is communicated in an effective manner. The meeting should be held at the same time in the same form to create a drum-beat system that will create a habit for the stakeholders to inform of any issues that they have encounter and to gather as a group to resolve.

Readers Response to Writing Badly Essay

In his essay, â€Å"The Importance of Writing Badly,† Bruce Ballenger encourages students to write freely and to not worry about finding the â€Å"perfect way of saying it.† I feel by saying this he means to not worry about what you’re writing and it may not necessarily be perfect, but that you write what you are thinking and continue writing even if it’s bad or may not make sense. He means to put all your thoughts down on paper and start from there. Ballenger gives his students permission to write badly. He expresses that â€Å"when the writing stops, so does the thinking.† He also states that he is far more interested in encouraging thinking than error-free sentences and concise, clear writing. Do I agree with Bruce Ballenger? I feel that I absolutely agree with him. If you would have asked me in High School if I agreed, I would have said no. My English teacher in High School was much like the teacher Ballenger describes in this essay as Mrs. Oâ⠂¬â„¢Neill. Every paper we had to write had nothing but red pen marks correcting bad sentences. Or as Ballenger put it â€Å"some high priest of good grammar whose angry scribbling occupied the margins of our papers.† She was much more critical of our grammar and punctuation then what we were writing. This was very discouraging to me and a lot of my fellow classmates. I then became more critical of myself as a writer and how I was writing and not what I was writing. I was paying more attention to other details instead of what I was thinking about writing, which ended up making it very stressful to write. So by the end of my English class, I was fairly decent with grammar. In fact friends and family of mine occasionally have asked me to proof read papers of theirs, and I find myself doing nothing but fixing grammar issues instead of actually reading the paper for the story it is. I agree with Ballenger when he says that clear writing matters and should be demanded, but that it should not be the first thing important when you start writing a paper. You can always go back a nd fix grammar and punctuation issues, but you sometimes may not get your thoughts or ideas back that you were thinking of to be able to express what you wanted to write after lifting the pen from the paper. Before reading the text, just looking at the title I thought this was just going to be about writing bad and not worrying about what you are writing. And really it is, but the text was more than that and made me realize that writing isn’t about how you write; it is more about what you write about. It’s about getting to what you are writing about and the process it takes to get there. More than just writing words down and making sure you use the words correctly. It’s about expressing what you are really thinking about and writing down your thoughts to begin with. I will take Ballenger’s advice because I feel I will have more to say after free writing and brainstorming my topics and by doing that I will have more effective essays. Ballenger ends this es say with â€Å"And what matters in this journey-at least initially-is not what kind of car you’re driving, but where you end up.† I think what Ballenger means by this is that it doesn’t matter how perfect you write. What matters is that you get the ideas you have and the point you are trying to make across in your writing. And in the end having your thoughts down, you will write the paper you are trying to write even if that means that the writing you initially write is not perfect.

Impact of Technology on Sales Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Impact of Technology on Sales - Essay Example W. Pergault. The company spent $20 million upgrading its website but this change did not have a great impact on sales and profitability. Managers are not interested in website and online sales because they "don't earn any commission". On the other hand, customer did not like the new website because of "distracting graphics", "the bells and whistles" (Spiro et al 2004). Resistance comes from the customer since they are not the beneficiary of organizational changes. Some of the reasons for resistance to change are; excessive focus on cost, failure to recognize benefits, lack of organizational synchronization, and individual uncertainty denial and fear of loss. In order to improve the e-commerce plan, Celia Fiorni, the company president, should restructure current compensation system and reward those managers who use the website and sell products through the Internet. Also, Celia Fiorni should encourage and motivate sales representatives to use the Internet and sell products through the Internet. Training programs will help to improve skills and knowledge of employees and reduce resistance to change. Salespeople will accept the new initiative ensured in fair compensation and computer skills. Technology can create new design options for various processes because it can be used to challenge longstanding as assumptions about work arrangements that used to inhibit organizations. Good understanding of end-user needs by system developers is another important factor, as are mechanisms for communication with the business users of the system. Senior management sponsorship and commitment is another success factor, but dependent also on the existence of a champion. Technically, the requirements of the system change to include reliability and its delivery to users in a suitable form. This process of continual selection and rejection of potential projects contrasts strongly with the tendency in many companies towards early formal approval of information technology projects whose costs and benefits are assumed to be certain. The results from the research broadly confirm that the factors identified for technical innovation also apply to information systems projects. For G. W. Pergault, CRM plays a crucial role helping to improve customer service and meet customers' needs and expectations. "G. W. Pergault offers more than 500,000 different products, which can be overwhelming to sort through. Sutton believes that some of his reps may have trouble finding specific products on the website" (Spiro et al 2004). An established information technology infrastructure obviously helps provide a base for delivery as well as making it clearer when new hardware and system software will be needed. Personnel should be connected directly to the concept of CRM, an approach that stresses the importance of developing long-term partnerships with customers. In developing personal and relationship strategies on an international level, the representative is wise to take a step back and understand how CRM strategies will likely fit in the environment. CRM requires an organization to first develop a transformation system that

Gay Men U.S. vs China Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Gay Men U.S. vs China - Research Paper Example In addition, the U S is putting policies in place with prospects of protecting the rights of the gay community. Unlike the US, China has had a dull history regarding its gay community. The subject of homosexuality had been treated as a taboo for a long time in most countries including China. However, the Chinese people are changing their attitude concerning homosexuality. This essay will compare the views of the Chinese and US society in regards to the gay community. In China, Hong Kong is always ahead of the mainland China in terms of information and interactions with the outside world. However, this does not prevent homosexuality from being branded as an illegal behavior in Hong Kong. Until 1991, homosexuality was illegal in Hong Kong. In mainland China, homosexuality was considered both a crime against humanity and a form of mental illness. This indicates that the Chinese gay society was still stigmatized by the community in 1990s. Unlike China, the US has a more liberalized socie ty where people have extreme expectations. the US society acknowledged the existence of Gay community long before the Chinese society acknowledge the gay people are part of every society. In 1997, the Chinese government shot down the hooligan law. This law had been the main source of discrimination against gay society from the Chinese society. Although Chinese people are slowly accepting the existence of gay community in their midst, they are still behind the US community (Lau web). This change can be noted by an increase in the number of self-proclaimed gay communities around the country. China has also recorded an increase in the number of gay people hangouts. There is however, a significant difference between the mainland China and Hong Kong in terms of accepting the existence of the gay community. The existence of special or secluded hangouts for gay people indicates that the Chinese society has not fully accepted the existence of the gay society. Unlike the Chinese society, the US society has high level of tolerance for the gay community. Gay people living in the US are free to mingle and interact with other people who have normal sexual affiliation. However, there are specific joints and hangout that are more popular with the gay society than with the ordinary people. This indicates that the US society has no negative feelings about the gay people. Although the US and China have the biggest economies in the world, the two countries have great variation in terms of access to information and multiculturalism. Most people in United States live in urban areas while China has most of its population living in rural areas. Rural and urban societies have contradicting views towards gay people living in their midst. While people in major cities such as Hong Kong and Beijing have almost accepted the existence and the rights of the gay society, people living in rural areas still live in denial concerning the existence of gay people. A person living in a Chinese vil lage still views homosexuality as mental illness or abnormal behavior. Unlike China, the US society has a homogenous attitude towards the gay community. This indicates that the society has no greatly varying views towards homosexuals and lesbians living in their midst. The main problem that gay people face in any liberalized society is the fact that they are a minority society. This