Criticism Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Criticism Philosophy Essay Not too many people can listen none defensively, or none antagonistically, to criticism. And very few of those who listen admit it when they see that they are wrong. The thing is, we think that admission of guilt, or of being wrong, or that we have made a mistake, is a sign of weakness. Yet true failure is repeatedly refusing to see your faults. Learning to listen to criticism is a life skill that wed all do well to master. It is about keeping our hearts open (deferring judgment), and ensuring that we are not emotionally aroused (intimidated, irritated, etc.) by our critic (this is deferring reaction). Learning to listen to criticism is about carefully absorbing what is being said, and then honestly evaluating if it is fair, true, constructive or destructive. Only after weve carefully listened to and evaluated the criticism can we respond to it. SECTION B: HOW TO TAKE CRITICISM 1). See criticism as an opportunity to work together with the critic to solve the problem; not as an adversarial situation. Even if you cant solve the problem together with the critic, consider the moment they criticize you as an opportunity for all of you to grow from whatever the problem is. See it as an opportunity for straightening things out; as an opportunity to hear them out, question them where you need clarity; and as an opportunity for you to clarify what needs to be clarified. This calls for changing your mindset; for changing your attitude (from an adversarial one to a positive one) towards criticism. 2). View criticism as valuable information about how to do better, not as a personal attack. Criticism, regardless of whether it is used as a constructive or a destructive tool, can provide us with valuable feedback on our performance. It provides us with feedback on where weve fallen short, and that (i.e., knowing what we need to improve on) is important for our learning and growth. So even when your critic uses criticism as a destructive tool (e.g., as a personal attack, or as a way to put you down, or as a way to manipulate you, or as a way to maintain a psychological advantage), identify his intention but decide to pay particular attention to the criticism itself. Evaluate the criticism itself, and identify what feedback you may get from it. To be able to evaluate the criticism, you must 3). Listen carefully to what is being said. This is taking up all the data, and evaluating it to see if it has any validity. 4). Watch the impulse to defend (See Defense Mechanisms): Just listen and evaluate. Know the difference between emotional thinking and rational thinking; use your head, not your heart. Dont give in to your emotions (be it laughter, anger, fear, or whatever): simply listen! 5). And if the criticism is too upsetting, ask to resume the meeting later; after a period to absorb the difficult message, and cool down a bit. SECTION C: HOW TO GIVE CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM 1). BE POLITE AND SENSITIVE. This is a call for empathy; for being attuned to the impact of what you say, and how you say it to the person on the receiving end. The person (on the receiving end) is most likely to be defensive. S/he may resort to loud and angry words, or may even cry. Be ready for whatever reaction (including rebuffs, or attacks to hurt you back; breaking down into tears; begging you for forgiveness and sympathy; and so on. There is a whole catalog of reactions to criticism: be ready for any of them, and maintain your calm). 2). BE SPECIFIC. Dont criticize the whole person (by using global labels or sweeping generalizations). It is demoralizing for people to know that there is something wrong without knowing what the specifics are, so that they can change. Focus on the specifics; saying what the person did well, what was done poorly, and how the situation could be changed. The following approach is very effective (I call it the VWXYZ-approach): V Tell the person what they did well (You did this and that very well.); W Tell the person how happy you are, and/or how beneficial to you (or to the organization) this positive input was; X Tell the person what was poorly done; Y Tell the person what the damage means to you (or to the organization); Z Give the person suggestions, if you have any, as to how the situation can be changed or rescued. Tell them how they would be expected to handle a similar problem in future. 3). OFFER A SOLUTION (See Z above). The critique, like any useful feedback, should point to a way to fix the problem. Show the person other possibilities and alternatives. 4). BE PRESENT. Critiques, like praise, are most effective when given face to face, and in private. Writing a memo, letter, or email robs the person receiving the criticism of an opportunity for response or clarification. In conclusion, you have to differentiate between criticizing someone and fighting them because of your own secret agenda. When you criticize, you want the person to improve, so that s/he can be better, or so that you can live in harmony together. But when you fight someone, you criticize out of hate or resentment: your agenda is to hurt, not to help. SECTION D: THE MYTH OF REALITY We all see reality through different colored glasses. Our feelings, inborn abilities, psychological make-ups, personalities, egos, characteristics, physical or emotional well-being, fears, desires, needs, wants, beliefs, and so forth, all play a role in our perception of reality. The assertion, THERE ARE NONE SO SURE ABOUT (THEIR PERCEPTION OF) REALITY AS THOSE WHO ARE TOTALLY DELUSIONAL, has a grain of truth in it; at least when it comes to things that can be disputed. Since our perceptions of reality differ, those who criticize us do so based on the perceptions (of reality) that they have in their minds. Our critics perception of the reality of what they are criticizing us of usually differs from ours. If one perception can be demonstrated to be 100% correct, then those on the wrong side of perception should admit that they are wrong, without any fear of being conceived as weak! The real truth is that admitting that you are wrong (when you realize that you are) is a sign of being strong minded. If, as in many cases, none of the various perceptions of the conflict-causing situation can be demonstrated to be 100% correct, then we should acknowledge that our perceptions are different, and simply agree to disagree. Before you criticize someone, be sure that your own perception of reality is 100% correct. If you are not so sure, be sure to point out from the onset that you (and the one you are criticizing) have different perceptions of reality, but you are not sure whose perception is correct. You may then criticize the other persons perception, and then defend your own. SECTION E: TYPES OF CRITICISM Behind each criticism, there is an INTENTION to either put down the one being criticized or to help them (i.e., to build them up). Whether one intends to build up or to destroy, they will use STATEMENTS which are either FACTUAL, or FALSE, or (as is usually the case) a MIXTURE of TRUTHS and LIES. To analyze and evaluate someones criticism, we have to LISTEN very carefully to what they say. If we are not sure that we have heard them correctly, we have to SEEK CLARIFICATION. We have to: I). IDENTIFY THEIR INTENTIONS (to help or to put down); II). DETERMINE THE MANNER IN WHICH THEY CRITICIZE US (are they patronizing/condescending/adversarial or tactful/sympathetic/building up?); III). DETERMINE WHETHER THEIR INFORMATION IS ACCURATE OR WRONG. We must SEPARATE FACT FROM FICTION. We now look at the different types of criticism. 1. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM This occurs when your critic is motivated by the desire to help you; that is, when the person who criticizes you means well. Their manner of presenting the criticism may be good or bad, and they may possess facts, or a mixture of facts and fiction, or only inaccurate information. But the important thing is what drives the critic is the desire to help you. 2. DESTRUCTIVE CRITICISM In this kind of criticism, your critics intention may be one or more of the following: 2.1). PUTTING YOU DOWN. This may be in the form of a pointless nagging, or habitual recitation of your failures, or calling you names when they criticize you, or making sweeping generalizations; 2.2). ONE-UPMANSHIP. This occurs when one tries to maintain a psychological advantage over you, or to prove that they are better than you; 2.3). MANIPULATION. The critic may criticize what you are doing in an attempt to get you to do something else. This is often called CHILD PSYCHOLOGY. o SECTION F: RESPONDING TO CRITICISM There are two ways of responding to criticism; one is Ineffective Response, and the other is Effective Response. 1. INEFFECTIVE RESPONSE STYLES These are: 1.1). AGGRESSIVE STYLE. The techniques used include: Counter Attacks; Insulting or name-calling; Loud Denials; Mocking (Cynicism); and Sulking in anger. This style of responding to criticism is adversarial, and often leads to fights and/or resentment. 1.2). PASSIVE STYLE. In this style of response to criticism, you agree, apologize, or surrender at the first sign of (a usually destructive) criticism. You may panic and tremble physically. Or you may remain silent in a coward manner (which is different from sulking angrily). In this response style, you give your critic too much power, while sending your own self-esteem crashing rock-bottom. You do not seek clarity, and you do not even try to defend yourself. You do not try to give clarity, even where you feel you have been misunderstood, or wrongly accused. You may even take responsibility/blame for things that you have not done or said. Your fear overpowers you, and you just wish to be left in peace! 1.3). PASSIVE-AGGRESSIVE STYLE. This may involve being silent, but not fully cooperative. Or you may respond passively by apologizing and agreeing to change, only to get even with your critic later; by not being fully committed to whatever you promised; or by botching it up; etc. 2. EFFECTIVE RESPONSE I). TRY TO DETERMINE YOUR CRITICS PERCEPTION OF REALITY. When someone criticizes you, ask yourself what may be their perception of reality; ask yourself what may be driving him/her to criticize you. Remember that we all see reality through different colored glasses. Resist all urges to respond (aggressively or passively, through panicking or being submissive) before evaluating the criticism. If you are not sure what your critics perception of reality is, and if you are allowed to, ask them (See III below). If you are not in a position to ask them directly, evaluate their criticism; for you may get, from the criticism itself, an idea of what your critics perception of reality is. In any case, it is important to be sure of what your critics perception of reality is. II). EVALUATE THE CRITICISM. It may be possible to tell from your critics tone of voice, from their facial expression, or from their posture, what their intentions of criticizing you are. It may be possible to tell this from context (this applies especially when you get a written critique). It is important to IDENTIFY what your critics INTENTIONS are. Whilst evaluating your critics criticism, do not jump into conclusions, and do not rush to responding. Forget your self-esteem, and concentrate exclusively on the criticism. As already mentioned, you first have to identify your critics perception of whatever they are criticizing you of. Next, identify the critics intention: Do they wish to build up or to destroy/hurt? Is their criticism constructive or destructive? Next, determine the manner in which the critic gives the criticism: is it good or bad? Are they patronizing/condescending, or are they considerate of your own feelings? Hear their tone. Do they want to help or hassle? You may also take into consideration your relationship with the critic. Is it a loved one? Is it your boss or superior? Is it a friend? Or is it someone who doesnt even know you that much? Whatever the case, you want to live in harmony with the critic; but you also want to correct misconceptions. You want to clear the air, and clarify what needs to be clarified. Check whether the criticism is accurate. Is the critic using facts, a mixture of truths and lies, or only lies? III). PROBE. As already pointed out in I), when someone criticizes you, they have a certain perception of what they are criticizing you of, and it is your right to be sure that you correctly understand what they say. Ask your critic to be specific; not to make sweeping generalizations. Ask him to support his claims. Ask him whether he is sure of what he is saying. Ask him what his perception of the situation is, and whether he is sure that his perception is correct. Ask him to give examples of where you went wrong, and to tell you how you should have performed in those instances. Ask your critic to tell you exactly What you must do. Having probed the critic, and having evaluated his criticism, decide whether his criticism is constructive or destructive; decide whether his manner of presenting the criticism is good (considerate) or bad (patronizing/condescending); and whether the information he uses is accurate, inaccurate, or a mixture of truths and lies. We now give guidelines on how to respond to (constructive and destructive) criticism. 2.1 HOW TO RESPOND EFFECTIVELY TO CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM. Depending on your critics nature, he may couch his constructive criticism in terms of good suggestions for change, or he may patronize you. However well-meaning someone may be, patronizing and/or condescending (which occurs when someone tries to appear better) is bad, and is likely to provoke an adversarial reaction. This is because when someone is patronizing us, we are bound to feel uncomfortable, and we may give in to impulsive negative reactions. So even when your critic has good intentions, the MANNER of GIVING the CRITICISM may spoil it all (See HOW TO GIVE CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM in CRITICISM PHILOSOPHY I). In criticizing you, your critic will use some statements which are true or false, and/or some statements whose truth values may be unknown. He may have accurate or wrong information. If, in criticizing you constructively, your critic uses accurate information, or facts, to patronize you, or uses facts in a condescending manner, you may acknowledge the truth or validity of his point(s), but point out that his patronizing (or attempts at appearing better) is spoiling or defeating his good purpose (i.e., to help). If your critic puts his (accurate) information in a good manner, acknowledge the facts and thank him for pointing them out. Tell him that you are going to consider his points. If your critics information is inaccurate, you may correct him. Thank him for trying to help if his manner is good; but if, in addition to using wrong information, your critics manners suck, tell him that not only is his information inaccurate but his patronizing or condescending is really uncalled for. If your critic uses a mixture of facts and lies, acknowledge the facts (and give thanks for them), and correct misconceptions. 2.2 HOW TO RESPOND EFFECTIVELY TO DESTRUCTIVE CRITICISM Lets now suppose that you have determined, to your satisfaction, that your critics intention is not to help you, but: to put you down; or to maintain a psychological advantage over you; or to manipulate you. As in the constructive case, your critic will use some statements; some of which may be true, whilst others may be false. In handling such a critic, simply acknowledge what is true and refute what is a lie. Disprove what needs to be disproved, and state your opinion on what is neither here nor there. It is important not to pick a fight, but to concentrate on the criticism.

Ethical Decision Making: Nike Case Study

Ethical Decision Making: Nike Case Study 1. OBJECTIVE The main objective of writing this report is to help students gain a deeper understanding regarding the course CBEB 3101 Business Ethics. Through this course, we get to learn how to make ethical decisions in a company. Some of the principles that we have learned are the principle of utilitarianism and principle of rights. By writing this report, we get to learn how to apply the theories learned in lectures into real life cases and situations. Different situations have different theories and principles. We also get to learn the proper steps in the decision making model, which are determine the facts, identify the ethical issues involve, identify stakeholders and consider the situation from their point of view, consider available alternative, consider how a decision affects stakeholders, make a decision and monitor outcomes. Besides that, we get to build stronger relationships among our group members. All the time spent together discussing and analyzing the case study helps to strengthen our bond and molds us into becoming a more responsible person in the future. We also get to see the corporate world from a different point of view, whereby being ethical is very important. 2. INTRODUCTION Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman are the founders of Blue Ribbon Sports in the year 1964. Later, it was renamed as Nike in the year 1978 whereby it received its name from the Greek goddess of victory. Nike has become the worlds major supplier for athletic shoes and sport apparels. As to remain competitive in the market, Nike searched for cheaper resources and markets. Therefore, Nike had shifted its production to lower manufacturing cost countries such as Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Later in the 1980s, production had moved to Southern China. However, as Japans economic started expanding, the manufacturing cost increased. Therefore, Nike shifted its contracts to Vietnam, Indonesia and China. Starting from the mid 1990s, there were criticisms from human right protectors and media regarding labour health and safety conditions, low wages and discrimination in the hiring and firing process. Therefore, Nike started to take actions as to rescue its reputation. Since 1991, Nikes corporate social responsibility practices started evolving. As time passed, Nike revised its code of conduct and became more ethical in its manufacturing practices. In 1998, Nikes revenues and stock prices had decreased dramatically. Due to that, Nike laid off 1600 workers. Nike then immediately started to launch several public relations campaigns as to reduce the damage to its reputation. A code of conduct was implemented with Global Alliances to review all of Nikes factories. On August 1996, Nike Corporation joined the Apparel Industry Partnership to draft a code of conduct for the usage of the whole industry. In 1998, audit tools were developed to increase the transparency in order to evaluate the compliance with the company standard, Nikes Code Leadership Standards by those subcontractors. In addition, Bike had disclosed the names and locations of its subcontractors factories in the year 2000. The reason for disclosing its supply chain was to enhance monitoring and make changes. The Corporate Responsibility Board was developed during the year 2001. The purpose of the board is to review the policies and activities and therefore, make recommendations to the board of directors regarding labour and environmental practices. The organizational environment of Nike is a competitive market. In order to remain competitive, Nike had moved the production to poorer nation countries where low cost labour was attainable. Therefore, Nike subcontracted its production to other countries without proper regulation on the working conditions of workers and wages. Simple time line of events Year Descriptions 1964 Phil Knight and William Bowerman founded Blue Ribbon Sports. 1965 Jeff Johnson signed an agreement with Blue Ribbon Sports to be a full time employee. 1966 Jeff Johnson opens the first Blue Ribbon Sports retail outlet in Santa Monica, California. Phil Knight and William Bowerman signed a formal written Partnership. 1967 Company was incorporated and named as Blue Ribbon Sports Inc. 1971 Swoosh trademark is created by a graphic student named Carolyn Davidson for a fee of $35. Jeff Johnson dreams of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. 1972 Litigation on distribution and broke the business relationship between Blue Ribbon Sports and Onitsuka Tiger. 1973 Romanian tennis star Ilie Nastase was the first professional athlete who signed the endorsement contract with Blue Ribbon Sports to wear Nike Shoes. 1977 Blue Ribbon Sports starts the first US track and training club called Athletics West. 1978 Blue Ribbon Sports officially change its name to Nike. 1981 Nike begins promotional efforts in China by supplying the national basketball team with sports apparel and footwear. 1988 Nike acquired Cole Haan which is the producer of mens and womens footwear, outerwear and accessories. 1993 Nike introduced a program called Reuse A Shoe which collects athletic shoes and makes athletic courts and fields. 1995 Reuse A Shoe began to collect old shoes from Nike retail stores. 1998 Phil Knight set standards for Nike subcontracted factories: minimum age, air quality, mandatory education programs, expansion of microloan program, factory monitoring and increase the transparency of Nikes corporate social responsibility practices. 1999 Bill Bowerman died at the age of 88. 2001 Nike developed a Corporate Responsibility (CR) Board to review the policies and make recommendations to the board of directors on labour and environment practices. 2002 Nike partnered with National Recycling Coalition to set up the drop off stations in Europe and Australia. 2004 Phil Knight stepped down as CEO and president of Nike but continues to work as chairman in Nike. 2. ISSUES AND ANALYSIS Issue 1: Nikes Manufacturing Practices on Sweatshop Summary To be competitive in the market as well as keeping the manufacturing costs low, Nike had shifted its contract to low labour cost countries such as China, Vietnam Indonesia, Pakistan and etc. Nikes reputation was damaged especially due to accusations on human and labour rights violations by labour rights activists and the mainstream media. The accusations were deficiencies in working environment, health and safety conditions and low wages and indiscriminate in hiring and firing practices in the factories. Roberta Baskins CBS had reported about the conditions in Nikes manufacturing factories in Indonesia. Even though subcontracted work to poor nations had created employment, the pay was merely $1.60 a day to Vietnam factory workers when the living wage is around $3 per day (Hill, 2009). In this situation, is it ethical for Nike to treat its labourers this way? Analysis We can evaluate the practices by using these principles: Utilitarianism Utilitarianism is a moral theory whereby we should act in ways that produce the most pleasure or happiness for the greatest number of people affected by our actions. By using utilitarian reasoning, the following are the good and bad consequences: Good Consequences Bad Consequences Increase profitability of the company. Labourers welfare are ignored. Shareholders wealth is maximised. Company reputation has been affected badly by those practices. Customers loyalty towards the company becomes a doubt. From the overall consequences, even though increasing profit of the company can ensure the shareholders wealth, it is more important to take care of their employees welfare and gain trust and maintain a profitable relationship with its customers. This is because employees and customers are the primary stakeholders of the company who have the ability to influence the business of the company and especially those whose continual association is necessary for a firms survival. Therefore, in the long term, it is found that the unethical practices of Nike had negatively influenced stakeholders and changed the perception of the shareholders towards the company. Principle of Rights The basic human rights under Kantian are the rights that are the result of particular roles, special relationships or specific circumstances. Nike as an employer should consider the rights of its employees to have a safe working environment and a competitive wage instead of being a sweatshop labour. Although Nike is doing a much better job with foreign labour relations compared to other corporations, Nike should not be comparing itself to other companies. Rather, it should be holding itself to the absolute highest ethical standards it can attain. Principle of Duty Based on this principle, rightness of our actions depends on whether we perform our duties. If we fail to carry out our duties in the society, our acts are considered unethical or wrong. In our opinion, we feel that all the contractual factories in developing countries or any further subcontracted out work of Nike has a moral duty to ensure the health and financial well-being of all the people who work for it. Categorical Imperative Principle of universalizability mentions that we should treat others the way we want to be treated. Nikes management team should put themselves in the labourers shoes and they will find out that they would not want their employers to violate their rights to have safe working conditions and fair wages. As a result, Nikes practice on sweatshop labour is wrong. Therefore, it has to work on its corporate responsibilities to make sure its practices have improved. Besides that, principle of ends means that we must respect humanity and never exploit others to achieve our own benefit or purpose. Nikes act of exploiting other human beings such as the sweatshop practice is to serve its own interest which is to maintain low manufacturing cost. Principle of Equal Liberty Each person has an equal right to be treated equally under the principle of equal liberty. Obviously, Rawls would disagree with Nikes labour and business practices as it is unethical for Nike to overwork its employees or perhaps pay them meager wages just so it can supply shoes to America. Besides that, in order to fulfill the expectation as an employer, it is necessary to appreciate individual diversity and become more dedicated to offering equal opportunity to each individual. Issue 2: Nikes Manufacturing Practices on Child Labours Summary In this issue, Nikes contracted factories hire children to work overtime at below minimum pay as the children are not capable to make right decisions and unable to differentiate pros and cons of certain matters. Hence, children have been exploited to work for the subcontracted factories. The issue being is: whether it is ethical for Nike to hire child labours to reduce manufacturing cost? Analysis Utilitarianism Based on utilitarianism, below is the comparison of good and bad consequences of this issue: Good Consequences Bad Consequences Nike gets cheap labour and low cost facilities and therefore, low cost of production allows Nike to set lower price on its product to attract more consumers. Children suffer psychological and physical harms. Bring in foreign investments and job opportunities and therefore, alleviate poverty level for the countries that Nike are operating in. Denied opportunities for childrens education. Extremely low pay still cannot alleviate poverty of the countries. From the overall consequences to the entire society, Nike had violated the theory of utilitarianism As one of the largest multinational companies, Nike should have carefully evaluated the outcome of using low cost labours. From the analysis, hiring child labours to serve its own interest to keep low labour cost is unethical. Principle of Rights Children have their right to get their education instead of working as they are under age according to the law of the country. Therefore, Nike should not hire child labour which violates their right to stay in school and receive education. Categorical Imperative Under the principle of universalizability, Nike should put itself into the situation of the child and will realize that it also does not want to work under such working conditions with such a low pay. Nike also should not exploit the children to serve its own interest to keep the low labour cost because the act is unethical according to the principle of means. Principle of Equal Liberty Children in Nikes contracted factories countries should be given an equal opportunity and treated as the children in other country as they are underage to work and supposed to have their education. Issue 3: Contract between Nike and University of North Carolina Summary In order to work on CSR after the incident which deeply affected the companys reputation, Nike had entered into a social contract with the University of North Carolina. Nikes contract requires all UNC athletes to wear its brand. In this issue, whether is it ethical to bind all UNC athletes under the contract? Analysis Utilitarianism Based on this concept, there are some benefits from the contract, such as, Nike has pumped in money which brings pleasure to the athletic department and the student athletes by virtue of wearing Nikes brand, improving Nikes reputation and rebuilding their confidence in public. However, the university should consider how the contract would affect the academic integrity and goals of the institution. It is more important to look at the issue from the perspective of athletes and the institution which will bring more consequences to the firm. Rawls theory of individual liberty Under this theory, it will disagree with the contract for the lone reason being the athletes have lost their individual rights to chose whether or not to wear Nikes brand. Even if the institution has maximized pleasure for itself, at the same time it infringes on the choice of its athletes. There is no right for the social institution to take away a basic individual right. Besides that, Nike also should not restrict the individuals right to have their own choice to wear other companys brand. Principle of Duty According to this principle, the University also has a moral responsibility to itself and Nike. It is morally obligated to use its position of power to encourage Nike to work harder to improve its business practices. Besides that, it also has a moral obligation to back out of a contract with any corporation that lacks ethical business integrity. Issue 4: Enhancing Nikes images by using endorsers Summary In this issue, Nike has signed with some well-known athletes as its endorsers to project a better athletic image for itself. For example. Nike has signed an endorser contract with famous basketball legend, Micheal Jordan. According to the contract, Nike has created more revenue from his fans with launching more new series of producst. In return, Nike paid 20 million per year to Micheal Jordan as its endorser. At the same time, labourers at its contract factories were paid low wages which was just above the minimum standard. In this issue, is it ethical for Nike to pay its labors and endorses unfairly? Analysis Utilitarianism Based on this principle, it solely benefits the company and the endorser while the labourers suffer from low wages. It is more beneficial to every party if Nike can use the money paid to the endorser and spend some on its employees welfare. Therefore, we think that Nike is unethical to pay its endorser such a large amount of money instead of taking care of its employees welfare. Principle of Right Under this issue, the employees have the right to get fair wages and deserve to get better treatment. Principle of Universalizability It is unethical for Nike to treat its employees as an end for themselves and never only as a mean to its own ends. Principle of Justice Employees should have fair wages and deserve to get their welfare whereby Nike should treat them equally with its endorsers. It is unfair to pay the endorsers so high but not taking care of its employees welfare. Actions taken From the case study we know that the corporate culture in Nike did not have a strong ethical focus which was to encourage its employees of the factories in many other countries to practice the ethical behaviours in the past. However, Nike then implements some efforts to instil ethical behaviours and practices and later became an ethical corporate in the industry after going through some critical period with negative issues on its business practices. In our opinion, we feel that Nike has used the integrity-based approach which is a value-driven approach with emphasis on employee responsibility for ethical conduct. It is a better approach which the employees are instructed to act with integrity and conduct business dealings honestly. Besides that, Nike may set goals of an integrity-based approach as it is a broader and more expansive application to the firm. For example, maintaining brands and reputation by ensuring the good quality of products and honesty to its consumers, and creating a better working environment for employees whereby the safety of employees is emphasized. Furthermore, we think that currently Nike focuses on the stakeholder theory instead of shareholder theory in its firm. All the stakeholders groups and their well being should be taken into account whenever the company wishes to take any significant managerial decision but not merely focus on financial and economic relationships with owners. In the past decade, Nike has taken CSR as its social contract. For example, University of North Carolina had entered into a corporate sponsorship agreement with Nike. On the other hand, Nike also undertook CSR because of its enlightened self-interest where CSR activities bring commercial returns to the firm. Especially after the damage by the media to the companys reputation, Nike started to undertake CSR activities in order to enhance its reputation and rebuild its good image. However, Nike now meets its standard for being a good corporate citizen after making progress for years. Corporate Social Responsibility It is a reactive concept where businesses try to do the minimum to fulfil the expectation of stakeholders. In the article, there are some discussions on Nikes CSR practices: Environmental Sustainability Nike had developed ReUse-A-Shoe Program and then expanded it by partnering with the National Recycling Coalition to promote environmental-friendly practices and encourage consumer about this issue. Code of Conduct This is the first step taken by Nike to improve the working conditions in its factories. It complies with the principle of justice, fulfils the duties as an employer to reach the desired level of employer responsibility. Other than comply with the laws and regulations, the company also strives to satisfy the expectation as a leader. Factory Transparency This is the corporate social responsiveness undertaken by Nike as it is the proactive actions where the firm anticipate the needs of stakeholders and try to fulfil those needs before the stakeholders demand them to do so. Nike had publicly disclosed its supply chain as it believes that can be more successful in monitoring and making changes as once issues have been uncovered, not only in its own factories but in an industry-wide basis. Furthermore, implementation of Balanced Scorecard for its suppliers helps the firm better assess factory compliance with the code of conduct. Corporate Responsibility Board Nike developed a Corporate Responsibility Board in 2001 to review policies and activities and make recommendations to the board of directors regarding certain important fields. Through the effort of the CR board, there were significant improvements in its business practices whereby the employees are now aware of their rights and have the opportunity to be educated and well-trained. Philanthropy Each year, Nike proactively donates product and contribution in cash to non-profit organizations and NGOs creating social changes through sports disaster relief efforts around the world. Nowadays, Nike has focused on innovation, collaboration, transparency and advocacy to prepare the company to thrive in a sustainable economy. There are some important initiatives for the company that are included in the CR report which includes Considered Design, GreenXchange (GX), Lean and Human Resource Management (HRM), Sport for Social Change, Energy and Climate Change Strategy. In 2008, Nike launched a footwear energy efficiency program with five contract manufacturers. Nikes commitment to collaboration on this project has shown excellent early results where the contract factories absolute CO2 footprint was down 6 percent despite a 9 percent increase in production. 4. RECOMMENDATIONS Due to the ethical issues discussed in the Nike case, we have come up with several recommendations on how to solve the problems occurred throughout the case. We hope that this can also serve as a guideline to other companies as well. First of all, the company management should be stricter on the rules and standards set by themselves. This will make sure that they follow or obey the rules of the company. In this case, the top management of Nike in the US should ensure that all the other retail outlets or factories all around the world follow a standard procedure in everything that they do. This will help them in monitoring all the other outlets around the world. This can also help avoid the issue of poor conditions, child labour, widespread harassment and abuse that has happened in some countries. When other manufacturers all over the world know the standard and code of ethics that they should follow, they will not do what they have done that caused all the issues to arise. This is because they have a guideline to follow and they know that whatever procedure that they are doing will be monitored by the top management. The top management should make sure that they provide a healthy and safe workplace for all its em ployees. This is because their employees have the right to be in a healthy and safe workplace. A poor condition of the workplace is wrong and is one of the main allegations that Nike had to deal with. Next, the management team and employees should also be sent for training once in awhile. This is important as it helps to establish a better corporate culture. This culture shapes the people who are members of the organization as it is a blend of ideas, beliefs, customs, traditional practices, company values, and shared meanings that help define and guide normal behaviour for everyone who work in a company. It is important to continuously train its employees so that the employees become more disciplined and responsible. They will always think of the best interest of the company and not be easily influenced by other factors that might bring the company down. This will help them have a sense of accountability and responsibility towards the company. One of the main issues that Nike was facing was child labour. Therefore, we have come up with an idea that might help solve this problem. Nike began to offshore its production of footwear and other sporting equipment because it wanted to remain competitive and keep manufacturing cost at a low. To solve this, instead of using child labour, Nike can actually install and use machines in it production. At the beginning it might be a little costly but in the long run, it will help the company save a lot of money. It is not only faster, but it also helps Nike save money in the long run and the management does not have to worry about any child labour allegations or poor working conditions. Besides that, the top management of Nike can also perform employee monitoring. The kind of employee monitoring meant over here is checking out the work done by the employees. They could perhaps send some spies or third parties to see how the employees perform their work but at the same time not let the employees know that they are being watched. Lastly, the ethics and compliance system should also be improved. Currently, there is only one person in charge of ten factories and inspection is only done for about 25 percent of the factories. The top management should make sure that it inspects every factory. This can be done by setting up a chart or timeline whereby they have already discussed and come to an agreement on when and which factory should be inspected throughout the year. This is a more systematic approach and the management must make sure that they follow what they have drawn up. CONCLUSION Running a company as big as Nike is definitely not an easy job as the management has to satisfy not only the shareholders of the company, but the stakeholders too. No matter what has happened in the past, Nike has learned its lesson. Remaining competitive and keeping manufacturing costs at a low should not be the only objective of the company. Due to its negligence in certain areas, Nikes allegations of poor conditions and child labour has become a global issue. This is not only bad for Nikes image but it has permanently tarnished its reputation. However, Nike never gave up and has continued to win back the hearts of its stakeholders by carrying out a lot of CSR. Even though it may still have a long way to go in the area of corporate responsibility, it can be seen that it is slowly receiving good responses from the industry. Nike will always continue to be a major brand throughout the whole world.

Medieval Siege Weapons :: European Europe History

Medieval Siege Weapons This is a brief paragraph or two on each of the major siege weapons. For the not just the besiegers but also the defenders. Please note most of these weapons were not used alone and often had many different versions of the same weapon. KNIGHT At age seven a son of a noble family was sent to a nobleman or lord, often who was a relative. Here he was a page and taught how to ride a horse, and his manners. At the age of fourteen he was apprenticed to a knight. As the squire to the knight he would take care of his horse, help him put the knights armor on and keep it clean. In turn he was taught how to use a bow, carve meat, and other knightly skills. The squire would have to go into battle with the knight to help him when he was wounded or unhorsed. If the squire was successful he would be knighted at the age of 21. When there wasn't a war going on knight would have to practice, practice, and practice some more. They would wrestle, fight with blunt swords, do acrobatics, and also do sports like javelin and putting which is throwing a heavy stone as far as you can. Experienced knights would participate in tournaments held by the king. The winner would usually just get bragging rights and sometimes a sum of money. The most common event was jousting. Jousting is a sport where to fully armored knights ride at each other on horses while aiming a long wooden lance at the each other. With speeds reaching 60 miles per hour sometimes there could be fatal accidents. If the person was knocked off the other was victorious. CATAPULTS The catapult, was invented by the Romans, and plays a large role in the siege of any castle. Besiegers could fire 100-200 pound stones up to 1,000 feet. The catapult was used to destroy buildings and walls inside and outside of the castle walls, it could also destroy an enemies moral by throwing severed heads of comrades, they could spread disease by throwing shit and dead animals in, and they could destroy wooden building by throwing bundles of fire in. Earlier models just used a large weight on one end of a pivoting arm. The arm was pulled back the missile was placed and then let go.

Agony Ang The Extacy, Ethical Considerations Concerning Mich Essay exam

Michelangelo Buonarroti was a natural born artist. As an artist he was capable of different mediums of expressing his artistic talent. However he much preferred sculpting out of them all, it made him most satisfied. When Pope Julius II experienced Michelangelo’s painting he insisted that Michelangelo share his talent with the rest of Italy. Julius II also commissioned Buonarroti with other artistic projects but none were as important as that of the Sixtine Capella(Sistine Chapel). Michelangelo didn’t want to paint the ceiling of the chapel, it was too large of a project and even more he didn’t want to paint at all. He was an excellent painter but he just didn’t have the same motivation as he did with sculpting for example.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My goal in this short paper is not to educate the reader with the facts and life of Michelangelo Buonarroti, but to discuss, non-persuasively, the ethical and philosophical situations throughout his life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I will start with his most well known accomplishment, the Sistine Chapel. At the time of his assignment he made it clear to Pope Julius II that he did not want to undertake such a big project. Not only was he concerned with the size of it; he wanted to have complete freedom with what he was to paint. Considering these facts was it ethical for the Pope to force Michelangelo into devoting years of his life to doing this job that he didn’t want to do in the first place? Or one could ask, was it eth...

Truth Revealed in As I Lay Dying :: As I Lay Dying Essays

Truth Revealed in As I Lay Dying       Addie Bundren conjures up the central darkness derived from her death and directly or indirectly causes actions in which each Bundren character takes advantage of Addie. With the character's actions revolving around her death, William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying reveals the truth about the people who surround a person may take advantage of him or her.   The death of Addie Bundren shapes all of the character's actions in life including Addie's final request before her death.   Addie takes advantage of her death by using it for revenge and inflicting final pains upon some characters, while the other characters use her to get what they want for their personal needs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Addie causes all the painful actions around her family either directly or indirectly.   Addie is foremost the prominent abuser of her upcoming death in As I Lay Dying.   She predetermines her time to die, and she makes sure that the people in her family whom she dislikes must experience her wrath before she moves on to the next life.   "Addie is the one who is dying, but she makes revenges run throughout the family and extend beyond" (Wadlington 35). Inflicting pain mostly on Anse, Addie enjoys herself. Anse, a lazy man, is forced by his wife to take her to Jefferson to be buried as her final request.  Ã‚   Addie's revenge on Anse was payback for all the times when he just sat around while Addie, her children, and sometimes neighbors do all the hard work for him.   Also "Addie reacts to Anse's arid conventionality by having a clandestine affair with minister Whitfield" (Wadlington 31). Addie also indirectly hurts one of her favor ite sons, Cash.   Cash is hurt indirectly when he helps ! his kinfolk carry his mother's coffin to Jefferson, where along the path, he breaks his leg while crossing a flooded river.   Although Cash is one of Addie's favorites besides Jewel, Addie's cruel revenge carries over to Cash's broken leg, which later becomes infected.   Besides her indirect action on Cash's leg, Cash is the most favorite of Addie. As Wadlington states, "He is very much his mother's son in expressing his feelings through physical action rather than through words by building a coffin for the mother he loves" (Wadlington 41). Jewel, Addie's second favorite next to Cash, seems to be cursed by his callous mother.

Fiber optics Essay

1.List the basic elements of a Fiber-Optic communication system †¢A fiber optic transmission strand that can carry the signal. †¢A source of invisible infrared radiation modulated to impress digital data or an analog signal on the light beam. †¢A photosensitive detector to convert the optical signal back into an electrical signal at the receiver. †¢Optical connectors at the light source-to-cable interface and at the cable-to-photo detector interface. 2.List Five advantages of an optical communications link †¢Extremely wide system bandwidth when compared with other sources. †¢Lower costs due to the fact that optical fiber costs continue to decline. †¢Elimination of crosstalk because the light in one glass fiber does not interfere with the light in an adjacent fiber. †¢Optical communication links are not as susceptible to corrosion as other forms of data transmission links. †¢An optical communication link can be used in the most secure environments due to its immunity from electromagnetic coupling and radiation. 3.What are the commonly used wavelengths in fiber-optic systems? The three most commonly used wavelengths are 850 nm to 1310 nm, 1310 nm to 1550 nm, and 1600 nm to 1625 nm. 4.A campus network is planning to install fiber-optic cables to replace outdated coaxial cables. They have the choice of installing single-mode, multimode, or combination of single-multimode filer in the ground. Which fiber type should they select and why? Both single-mode and multimode have their own advantages and disadvantages. Because of this, I would suggest that the campus network install a combination of single-mode and multimode. The use of the single-mode fiber can be used to run long distances across campus which is one of the greatest advantages of the single-mode fiber. Similarly, multimode fiber can be used at its best in short distances because it can carry higher bandwidth in shorter distances than single-mode. 5.The networking cables for a new building are being installed. You are asked to prepare a study about which cable type should be used. Discuss the issues related to the cable selection. In order to keep up with the latest technological advances in computer networking, I would like to recommend  that you use fiber optic cable. Fiber optic cable provides substantially increased bandwidth and can handle the combined traffic of PC’s, switches, routers, video and voice services. Fiber optic cable has greater capacity enabling it to transfer data at faster speeds which in turn diminishes congestion problems, but also provides tremendous growth potential for each of the fiber runs.

Review of communication skills Essay

In the group interactions, I was a class room assistant who was meeting the parents of a young child with behavioural problems.  When Mr and Mrs Shaw arrived I called them in to the office using a soft tone and with a hand gesture I offered them a seat in front of my desk. They seemed pleased to be meeting me and were very concerned about their son Matthew. They were both talking in a calm slow voice with varying tone.  I started by asking how Matthews behaviour was at home. Mr Shaw was relaxed and sitting in an open posture. He said Matthews’s behaviour was fine and there was nothing wrong with him. Mrs Shaw became tensed and looked away from her husband and said she had experienced problems at home when Matthew was around other children, as he would become angry and frustrated over simple things. Mr Shaw sat upright and told his wife there was nothing wrong with Matthew’s behaviour and that this was normal. I reassured them both that this could be understandable as he is an only child and may not be use to sharing with other children. Maintaining good eye contact I said I was experiencing the same problems in the class as Matthew is becoming very disruptive and a lot of parents are complain that their children are frightened of Matthew. Mrs Shaw became very upset and did not keep eye contact with me, and Mr Shaw was now in a closed posture. In a strong tone Mr Shaw demanded what was doing to help Matthew. I leaned forward and using a soft tone I told them the school could offer support for Matthew as long as the parents were willing to help, I then showed them some of Matthew’s class work and the areas he was doing good in. His mother seemed pleased and became less tensed. I offered a special needs program pointing out the benefits where Matthew could be taken out of the class room for a few hours a week. Mr Shaw became very tensed and leaned back in his chair as his face muscles became tight. He said his son did not need a special needs program and this was a waste of time, I went over the benefits o the program again, speaking clearly as I read the most important points. Mrs Shaw was unsure and wanted to agree only if her husband would support the program, but she agreed to look at the leaflet and consider it with her husband. I explained how one to one help for Matthew would benefit him in his school work and also the other children, I then said they could discuss the program at home and decide, and then they could arrange another interview if they were happy with the program. Mr Shaw stood up and I handed Mrs Shaw the leaflets. I thanked them for their time and shock their hands, I said using a polite tone they could come see me any time if they were unhappy about any thing. I showed them to the door and Mrs Shaw was very thankful for my advice and agreed to come back and discuss the program for Matthew. Mr Shaw thanked me but did not shake my hand and made no eye contact with me as he left and I said he was very welcome to come back any time.