14 Elements Of A Successful Safety & Health Program :: essays research papers

Element 1: Hazard Recognition, Evaluation and Control. Establishing and maintaining safe and healthful conditions required indenifing hazards, evaluating their pontential effects, developing ways to eliminate or control them and planning action priorities.This process is the essence of successful safety and health management. Element 2:Workplace Design and Engineering Safety and health issues are most easily and economically addressed when facilities, processes and equipment are being designed. Organizations must incorporate safety into workplace design, production processes and selection.They also need to evaluate and modify or replace exisiting processes, equipment and facilities to make them safer. We explore how the design and function of the workplace can complement safety and health goals, minimize exposure to hazards and promote safe practices. Element 3: Safety Performance Management As in all areas of operations, standards must be set for safety performance. They should reflect applicable regulatory requirements, additional voluntary guidelines and best business practices. We describe how managers, supervisors and employees can be made responsible and held accountable for meeting standards within their control. We look at how job performance appraisals can reflect performance in safety and health, as well as in other areas. Element 4: Regulatory Compliance Management The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and state safety and health agencies establish and enforce safety and health regulations.Other agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, also issue and enforce regulations relating to safety and health in the United States. We discuss key aspects of international regulations in the European Union, Canada and Mexico. Staying informed about and complying with regulations are essential goals of safety and health programs.We also look briefly at conducting regulatory compliance inspections. Element 5: Occupational Health Occupational health programs range from the simple to the complex. At a minimun, such programs address the immediate needs of injured or ill employees by providing first aid and responce to emergencies. More elaborate medical services may incude medical surveillance programs and provision for an in-house medical capability. In addition, some companies are beginning to focus on off-the-job safety and health through employee wellness and similar programs. ELEMENT 6: Information Collection Safety and health activities, including inspections, record keeping, industrial hygine surveys and other occupational health assessments, injury/illness/incident investigations and performance reviews, produce a large quantity of data. Safety and health professionals must collect and analyze this data. Small incidents often provide early warning of more serious safety or health problems. Complete and accurate records can be used to identify hazards, measure safety performance and improvement, and through analyses, help identify patterns. ELEMENT 7: Employee Involvement Design and engineering controls are limited in their ability to reduce hazards. Companies now understand that their real

Revisiting the Eclectic Theory of the Choice of International Entry Mode

Theoretical Issues on Marketing UIBE PhD Program Juan Pablo Dominguez Fall 2012 Final Examination for Theoretical Issues of Marketing (Doctoral Course) Nov. 28, 2012 Essay questions for â€Å" An Eclectic Theory of Choice of International Entry Mode † 1. What are the major variables that affect the decision of entry mode? Should they be weighted equally? Why yes or why no? 2. Given that different variables may pull the MNC in the different directions, what approach is suggested by the authors? 3. What theories have been taken as the basis for conceptualization? 4.Considering the nine propositions, do they all make sense to you? In case you find any fault with them, state it with your arguments. 5. Review the methodology adopted by this paper and make your comment on its appropriateness. 6. Discuss briefly what contributions this thesis has made to the theory of international entry mode choice. 7. What do you think of the limitation of this thesis? Revisiting the Eclectic Theor y of the Choice of International Entry Mode During the internationalization process of a company, the decision of entry mode to a particular market is determined by a set of different considerations.The paper â€Å"An Eclectic Theory of Choice of International Entry mode† is a theoretical approach to answer the questions of which factors are relevant and which are not. It reflects on how contemporary studies (particularly, Transaction Cost Theory) had a limited view of the problem by not including a globalstrategy factor in the analysis, therefore the authors try to advance the discussion by enriching the construct of additional variables that were disregarded by economical orthodoxy at the moment. This short paper is aimed to introduce in part the aforementioned document and present more recent findings in the topic.In that fashion I have divided the paper into 4 main parts besides this short introduction. The first section is a brief literature review of the theoretical bac kground behind the understanding of entry mode in the internationalization process given that the paper was published more than two decades ago. The second section aims at synthesizing the main propositions of the paper and what I consider its limitations and contributions. The third section displays empirical evidence that aimed to negate or confirm the different propositions of the authors and finally, the fourth and last section is a set of concluding remarks. Literary reviewThere is no short list about existing research regarding the internationalization process of MNEs?. When focusing on the entry mode (or ownership strategies), one can begin to see that there are three different streams of thought: one stream of research has often framed such a choice as determined by the need for control to minimize transaction costs arising from asset specificity and potential partner opportunism (Anderson & Gatignon, 1986; Williamson, 1985). According to transaction costs theory, for invest ments characterized by high asset specificity, integrated ownership structures, such as whole owned subsidiaries (WOSs), should be sed to enhance MNEs? strategic and operational control over the assets (Anderson & Gatignon, 1986) and to protect MNEs from the risk of knowledge dissemination to their partners (Davidson & McFetridge, 1985; Hill, Hwang, & Kim, 1990). Thus, transaction costs theory advocates the use of ex ante control mechanisms to minimize transaction costs arising from asset specificity and potential partner opportunism (Williamson, 1985). Another stream of research has suggested that the institutional environment shapes such a choice and proposed that MNEs may exchange ownership for legitimacy in the host country (Chan & Makino, 2007; Yiu & Makino, 2002).When foreign ownership is not prevalent or well accepted in the host country industry, MNEs can partner with local firms or keep the ownership level lower (Chan & Makino, 2007). By doing so, MNEs can show the local co mmunities that their activities are not ethnocentric or harmful to local firms, and they also obtain the local identity and legitimacy to acquire the resources that they need in the local environment (Xu & Shenkar, 2002). On the other hand, when FDI is well accepted in the local market, MNEs can pursue integrated ownership structures and high equity shares.Choice of an ownership structure thus does not necessarily reflect MNEs? deliberate efforts to economize on transaction costs for an efficient governance mechanism but may rather be a response to pressures from the institutional environment (Yiu & Makino, 2002). The third stream is as in the case of Hill et al. which posits that in addition to control and legitimacy, MNE ownership strategy is also fundamentally concerned with the choice between flexibility and commitment (Buckley & Casson, 1998; Chi & McGuire, 1996; Kouvelis, Axarloglou, & Sinha, 2001). More recent papers have taken again the same question.Li & Li in 2010 resuscit ated the topic and made a contribution by not only providing a theoretical background proposing similar hypothesis as in the case of Hill, Hwang and Kim in 1990 but also by analyzing the ownership structure and equity shares of over 5,000 new foreign investments in manufacturing industries in China during 2000 to 2006. Explaining the contents of the paper is outside of the objectives of this short essay, but the Li & Li? s took Hill et al style of theoretical constructions one step further and provided stronger empirical evidence (outside the realm of mall sample surveys) that supports the logic behind such framework. Empirical tests of MNEs' initial entry modes are rather limited, even though existing theoretical research has elaborated on the options features of JVs compared with other investment modes (Buckley & Casson, 1998; Chi, 2000; Lee, 2004; Pennings & Sleuwaegen, 2004). Cuypers and Martin (2010) observed that foreign investors are inclined to take a smaller equity share in a JV when they face strong exogenous uncertainty (e. g. , exchange rate uncertainty) rather than endogenous uncertainty (e. . , cultural uncertainty). Brouthers et al. (2008) showed that, in choosing international entry modes, MNEs tend to adopt JVs (over WOSs) under high demand uncertainty. Synthesis What are the major variables that affect the decision of entry mode? Given that different authors have considered variables like country risk, country familiarity, country development stage, technology, and transaction costs, Hill et al. begin their work with a vision to unify the framework and analyze how different factors affect the decision.The first attempt to create a unified framework was carried out by Anderson and Gatignon in 1986 through the use of transaction cost theory. I believe that the authors see the shortcoming of this initial unified proposal in the Ceteris Paribus assumption of Economics that is used only as a theoretical tool to analyze relations among events or va riables. Any theory that treats related events in isolation will be insufficient and that? s why the authors propose the strategic relationship as another vital element of the decision.Their proposal includes the following factors: !†#$%   ! â€Å"#$! ,! = ! (! â€Å"#$%†&, ! â€Å"#$%&'†   ! â€Å"##$%#&'%, ! â€Å"##$%†&'(â€Å")&   ! â€Å"#$#) Should they be weighted equally? Why yes or why no? Different factors in the decision often suggest different entry modes, it is according to the particular weights each company puts in this factors that the final choice of entry is done. In other words, when deciding entry mode different factors have different weights and according to each company’s strategic considerations, such weights will have different magnitudes.Given that different variables may pull the MNC in the different directions, what approach is suggested by the authors? The authors suggest that instead of focusing in a single var iable, the company will have a set of strategic constraints that will limit their decision options. They focus their attention on how much control the company wants, according to the resource commitment they will provide and taking into consideration the dissemination risks of their knowhow. This can be formulated as the following: ! â€Å"#$%   ! â€Å"#$! ,! = ! !†#$%†&, ! #$%&'†   ! â€Å"##$%#&'%, ! â€Å"##$%†&'(â€Å")&   ! â€Å"#$# !†#$†%&'(   ! â€Å"#$†%&'( = ! !†#$%! â€Å"&   ! â€Å"##$%$&'$(, ! â€Å"#$%   ! †   ! â€Å"#$#%&! ‘, ! â€Å"#$%†   ! â€Å"#! $%&'%(â€Å"# !†#$%&†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ(â€Å")*+   ! â€Å"#$†%&'( = ! !†#$%&'   ! â€Å"#$, ! â€Å"#$%&†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ   ! â€Å"#$%$†&$'(, ! â€Å"#$%! !†#$%&%†#', ! â€Å"#$%&#&%'   ! †   ! â€Å"#$%&'&'†( !†#$%#&'()$   ! â€Å"#! â€Å"#$%& = ! (! à ¢â‚¬Å"#$%   ! †   ! â€Å"#$ ? !†#$%&%$   ! â€Å"#$ ? ?! â€Å", ! â€Å"#$! !†#$%&   ! †   ! â€Å"#$ ? ?! â€Å") These factors come from previous research and theoretical constructs. One important analysis that needs to be done is how these factors correlate to each other.One factor that I? m not sure if it? s included in any of these variables is regulation. For example, many automobile giants in the world wanted to enter the Chinese market as WOSs but because of regulation they are forced to enter as JVs. This makes me believe that there is an unspoken assumption that the markets the authors were conceiving in their constructs were open markets with little participation of the government (maybe they include it with country risk? ). What theories have been taken as the basis for conceptualization? This heoretical construct is a criticism to the Transaction Cost analysis to the entry mode decision, but in the words of Hwan, the theoretical heritage of the Eclectic Theory can be traced in part to the seminal work of Perlmutter [1969], which acknowledged the increasing existence of geocentric approaches to multinational management. The geocentric approach outlined by Perlmutter provided a succinct explanation for the existence of and benefits attached to managing subsidiary units not as a portfolio of independent units but as an interdependent network.Another foundation, upon which their argument rests, is the rich body of literature on global strategy (e. g. , Hout, Porter and Rudden [1982]; Hamel and Prahalad [1985]; Kogut [1985a, 1985b]; Kim and Mauborgne [1988]; Yip, [1989]), which has either explicitly or implicitly built upon Perlmutter's geocentric conception. I believe that the biggest theoretical difference from this global-strategy construct and classical economics theory within the entry mode decision is that the overriding objective is overall corporate success, not the maximization of each individual subsi diary unit's efficiency.The second is that in achieving this objective, interdependencies across subsidiary units must be actively managed, meaning that sometimes it would mean that in order to maintain global strategy, some SBUs might even be required to operate at a loss (which is a rationale outside the boundaries of traditional economics). Considering the nine propositions, do they all make sense to you? In case you find any fault with them, state it with your arguments. The first thing I noticed is why are they called propositions instead of Hypothesis? Any theory is based in hypothesis because its aim is to provide chances for something to be proved or not.The second thing I notices is that the propositions are not â€Å"symmetrical†. By this I mean that when you make such kind of propositions, in order to fully understand the relationship of the explanatory variables with the dependent variable, the author must not only look at one side of the coin but at both. For exa mple, Proposition 1: Other things being equal, firms that pursue a multi-domestic strategy will favor lowcontrol entry modes. That is one side of the coin, the other side would be: Other things being equal, firms that do not pursue multi-domestic strategy will not favor low-control entry modes.The value of such construct is that it gives a more robust base for empirical testing. Each proposition is set to analyze the validity of each factor within the whole unified framework, so its validity remains to be tested empirically. Review the methodology adopted by this paper and make your comment on its appropriateness. This paper is a theoretical construct based upon the works of others with the addition of new factors, it does not apply specific methodological tools for testing its validity. In terms of epistemological value, the theory is constructed in the same fashion as Falsificationism (Popper? ) would propose because the validity of the theory that was accepted previously was put into question by the authors and therefore they provided a new set of hypothesis that should accommodate more accurately to reality than Transaction Costs theory. To discuss the appropriateness of such construct without empirical evidence would be to begin an epistemological debate about the validity of theories and their validity into describing â€Å"Truth†. If it were me who wrote the paper I would have not done a theoretical construct without any experimental study about its validity. I believe that? why some of the authors (specifically Hwan) wrote another paper a couple of years later were with the use of surveys they tried to analyze the validity of such constructs. Methodologically speaking, I believe that is a much more fruitful contribution to science than providing list of propositions that may or may not be of use. Discuss briefly what contributions this thesis has made to the theory of international entry mode choice. The biggest contribution of this paper was th e search of different factors that could explain the decision of mode of entry for the internationalization process of a company.Previous studies at the moment had already identified a diversity of variables that influence the entry mode decision decision, and the authors grouped them into one of two categories: environmental or transaction specific factors. Furthermore, according to the theoretical constructs of the time, the studies of the factors had an underlying assumption that each entry decision is made in isolation and is driven essentially by efficiency considerations at the level of the individual entrant or subsidiary unit.This paper made a case directed towards establishing the importance of a third group of factors: global strategic, namely the strategic relationship it envisages between its operations across borders, in reaching its entry mode decision. For a business manager who is in such internationalization process, this theoretical construct can provide him a road map to which variables he/she should pay attention to in order to make the decision of entry.In my opinion, managers tend to first see how other companies enter the market in their initial stages and see if that would be a viable choice and such â€Å"contextual† approach is not included in the factors. What do you think of the limitation of this thesis? The biggest limitation of any theoretical construct is that it remains just a theory and not be applicable. That? s why I took it upon me to see if someone had tried to prove or deny the Eclectic Theory. The results of that search are shown in section three of this paper.Empirical evidence 2 years after the publication of Hill et al. Eclectic Theory, one of the co-writers, Peter Hwang along with W. Chan Kim published the paper: â€Å"Global Strategy and Multinationals? Entry Mode Choice†. The main objective of the paper was to provide empirical tests to the propositions made by the Eclectic Theory. They used a survey f rom ninety-six multinational managers and had a fundamental result that an express incorporation of global strategic variables into an analysis of the entry mode decision is warranted. DataThe survey was a mail questionnaire composed of four parts: modes of entry, global strategic factors, environmental factors, and transaction-specific factors. It was distributed to 629 U. S. based MNE, mostly from the manufacturing sector and targeted senior-level management. 137 questionnaires were returned (22% response rate), of which 41 were disregarded because of incomplete answers. Another 18 were disregarded because respondents provided a positive response to the control question of whether government regulations imposed restrictions on the mode options available.The respondents operations were geographically wide with 25 located in Asia Pacific, 17 in South America, 25 in Europe, 16 in North America, 4 in Africa and 9 in the Middle East. One big methodological problem to measure the validi ty of the propositions is that such variables are not easy to measure. This translates that the nine key variables recognized to influence the focal decision of foreign entry mode are linked to the empirical world only through indicators.Moreover, they appear to be wide-ranging, multifaced constructs. As such, psychometric measurement based on multiple items rather than a single-item proxy seemed a more fitting approach [Peter 1979; Fomnell 1982; Churchill 1979], and was used in the analyses. I personally believe that psychometric variables do not fully reflect the necessary information, but that is just because I am biased towards more robust statistical data and believe that what people think they know is not actually what they know.Continuing with the questionnaire, the respondents were asked to evaluate the foreign venture under discussion across each of these items on a 7-point Likert-type scale. After data collection, an iterative procedure was employed to refine the set of in dicators for each construct. The item-to-total correlation, i. e. , the correlation between the score of each indicator and the total score of those indicators used to capture each construct, was then examined. Following the steps suggested by Nunnally [1978], those indicators with a low correlation with the total score (i. e. , r Revisiting the Eclectic Theory of the Choice of International Entry Mode Theoretical Issues on Marketing UIBE PhD Program Juan Pablo Dominguez Fall 2012 Final Examination for Theoretical Issues of Marketing (Doctoral Course) Nov. 28, 2012 Essay questions for â€Å" An Eclectic Theory of Choice of International Entry Mode † 1. What are the major variables that affect the decision of entry mode? Should they be weighted equally? Why yes or why no? 2. Given that different variables may pull the MNC in the different directions, what approach is suggested by the authors? 3. What theories have been taken as the basis for conceptualization? 4.Considering the nine propositions, do they all make sense to you? In case you find any fault with them, state it with your arguments. 5. Review the methodology adopted by this paper and make your comment on its appropriateness. 6. Discuss briefly what contributions this thesis has made to the theory of international entry mode choice. 7. What do you think of the limitation of this thesis? Revisiting the Eclectic Theor y of the Choice of International Entry Mode During the internationalization process of a company, the decision of entry mode to a particular market is determined by a set of different considerations.The paper â€Å"An Eclectic Theory of Choice of International Entry mode† is a theoretical approach to answer the questions of which factors are relevant and which are not. It reflects on how contemporary studies (particularly, Transaction Cost Theory) had a limited view of the problem by not including a globalstrategy factor in the analysis, therefore the authors try to advance the discussion by enriching the construct of additional variables that were disregarded by economical orthodoxy at the moment. This short paper is aimed to introduce in part the aforementioned document and present more recent findings in the topic.In that fashion I have divided the paper into 4 main parts besides this short introduction. The first section is a brief literature review of the theoretical bac kground behind the understanding of entry mode in the internationalization process given that the paper was published more than two decades ago. The second section aims at synthesizing the main propositions of the paper and what I consider its limitations and contributions. The third section displays empirical evidence that aimed to negate or confirm the different propositions of the authors and finally, the fourth and last section is a set of concluding remarks. Literary reviewThere is no short list about existing research regarding the internationalization process of MNEs?. When focusing on the entry mode (or ownership strategies), one can begin to see that there are three different streams of thought: one stream of research has often framed such a choice as determined by the need for control to minimize transaction costs arising from asset specificity and potential partner opportunism (Anderson & Gatignon, 1986; Williamson, 1985). According to transaction costs theory, for invest ments characterized by high asset specificity, integrated ownership structures, such as whole owned subsidiaries (WOSs), should be sed to enhance MNEs? strategic and operational control over the assets (Anderson & Gatignon, 1986) and to protect MNEs from the risk of knowledge dissemination to their partners (Davidson & McFetridge, 1985; Hill, Hwang, & Kim, 1990). Thus, transaction costs theory advocates the use of ex ante control mechanisms to minimize transaction costs arising from asset specificity and potential partner opportunism (Williamson, 1985). Another stream of research has suggested that the institutional environment shapes such a choice and proposed that MNEs may exchange ownership for legitimacy in the host country (Chan & Makino, 2007; Yiu & Makino, 2002).When foreign ownership is not prevalent or well accepted in the host country industry, MNEs can partner with local firms or keep the ownership level lower (Chan & Makino, 2007). By doing so, MNEs can show the local co mmunities that their activities are not ethnocentric or harmful to local firms, and they also obtain the local identity and legitimacy to acquire the resources that they need in the local environment (Xu & Shenkar, 2002). On the other hand, when FDI is well accepted in the local market, MNEs can pursue integrated ownership structures and high equity shares.Choice of an ownership structure thus does not necessarily reflect MNEs? deliberate efforts to economize on transaction costs for an efficient governance mechanism but may rather be a response to pressures from the institutional environment (Yiu & Makino, 2002). The third stream is as in the case of Hill et al. which posits that in addition to control and legitimacy, MNE ownership strategy is also fundamentally concerned with the choice between flexibility and commitment (Buckley & Casson, 1998; Chi & McGuire, 1996; Kouvelis, Axarloglou, & Sinha, 2001). More recent papers have taken again the same question.Li & Li in 2010 resuscit ated the topic and made a contribution by not only providing a theoretical background proposing similar hypothesis as in the case of Hill, Hwang and Kim in 1990 but also by analyzing the ownership structure and equity shares of over 5,000 new foreign investments in manufacturing industries in China during 2000 to 2006. Explaining the contents of the paper is outside of the objectives of this short essay, but the Li & Li? s took Hill et al style of theoretical constructions one step further and provided stronger empirical evidence (outside the realm of mall sample surveys) that supports the logic behind such framework. Empirical tests of MNEs' initial entry modes are rather limited, even though existing theoretical research has elaborated on the options features of JVs compared with other investment modes (Buckley & Casson, 1998; Chi, 2000; Lee, 2004; Pennings & Sleuwaegen, 2004). Cuypers and Martin (2010) observed that foreign investors are inclined to take a smaller equity share in a JV when they face strong exogenous uncertainty (e. g. , exchange rate uncertainty) rather than endogenous uncertainty (e. . , cultural uncertainty). Brouthers et al. (2008) showed that, in choosing international entry modes, MNEs tend to adopt JVs (over WOSs) under high demand uncertainty. Synthesis What are the major variables that affect the decision of entry mode? Given that different authors have considered variables like country risk, country familiarity, country development stage, technology, and transaction costs, Hill et al. begin their work with a vision to unify the framework and analyze how different factors affect the decision.The first attempt to create a unified framework was carried out by Anderson and Gatignon in 1986 through the use of transaction cost theory. I believe that the authors see the shortcoming of this initial unified proposal in the Ceteris Paribus assumption of Economics that is used only as a theoretical tool to analyze relations among events or va riables. Any theory that treats related events in isolation will be insufficient and that? s why the authors propose the strategic relationship as another vital element of the decision.Their proposal includes the following factors: !†#$%   ! â€Å"#$! ,! = ! (! â€Å"#$%†&, ! â€Å"#$%&'†   ! â€Å"##$%#&'%, ! â€Å"##$%†&'(â€Å")&   ! â€Å"#$#) Should they be weighted equally? Why yes or why no? Different factors in the decision often suggest different entry modes, it is according to the particular weights each company puts in this factors that the final choice of entry is done. In other words, when deciding entry mode different factors have different weights and according to each company’s strategic considerations, such weights will have different magnitudes.Given that different variables may pull the MNC in the different directions, what approach is suggested by the authors? The authors suggest that instead of focusing in a single var iable, the company will have a set of strategic constraints that will limit their decision options. They focus their attention on how much control the company wants, according to the resource commitment they will provide and taking into consideration the dissemination risks of their knowhow. This can be formulated as the following: ! â€Å"#$%   ! â€Å"#$! ,! = ! !†#$%†&, ! #$%&'†   ! â€Å"##$%#&'%, ! â€Å"##$%†&'(â€Å")&   ! â€Å"#$# !†#$†%&'(   ! â€Å"#$†%&'( = ! !†#$%! â€Å"&   ! â€Å"##$%$&'$(, ! â€Å"#$%   ! †   ! â€Å"#$#%&! ‘, ! â€Å"#$%†   ! â€Å"#! $%&'%(â€Å"# !†#$%&†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ(â€Å")*+   ! â€Å"#$†%&'( = ! !†#$%&'   ! â€Å"#$, ! â€Å"#$%&†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ   ! â€Å"#$%$†&$'(, ! â€Å"#$%! !†#$%&%†#', ! â€Å"#$%&#&%'   ! †   ! â€Å"#$%&'&'†( !†#$%#&'()$   ! â€Å"#! â€Å"#$%& = ! (! à ¢â‚¬Å"#$%   ! †   ! â€Å"#$ ? !†#$%&%$   ! â€Å"#$ ? ?! â€Å", ! â€Å"#$! !†#$%&   ! †   ! â€Å"#$ ? ?! â€Å") These factors come from previous research and theoretical constructs. One important analysis that needs to be done is how these factors correlate to each other.One factor that I? m not sure if it? s included in any of these variables is regulation. For example, many automobile giants in the world wanted to enter the Chinese market as WOSs but because of regulation they are forced to enter as JVs. This makes me believe that there is an unspoken assumption that the markets the authors were conceiving in their constructs were open markets with little participation of the government (maybe they include it with country risk? ). What theories have been taken as the basis for conceptualization? This heoretical construct is a criticism to the Transaction Cost analysis to the entry mode decision, but in the words of Hwan, the theoretical heritage of the Eclectic Theory can be traced in part to the seminal work of Perlmutter [1969], which acknowledged the increasing existence of geocentric approaches to multinational management. The geocentric approach outlined by Perlmutter provided a succinct explanation for the existence of and benefits attached to managing subsidiary units not as a portfolio of independent units but as an interdependent network.Another foundation, upon which their argument rests, is the rich body of literature on global strategy (e. g. , Hout, Porter and Rudden [1982]; Hamel and Prahalad [1985]; Kogut [1985a, 1985b]; Kim and Mauborgne [1988]; Yip, [1989]), which has either explicitly or implicitly built upon Perlmutter's geocentric conception. I believe that the biggest theoretical difference from this global-strategy construct and classical economics theory within the entry mode decision is that the overriding objective is overall corporate success, not the maximization of each individual subsi diary unit's efficiency.The second is that in achieving this objective, interdependencies across subsidiary units must be actively managed, meaning that sometimes it would mean that in order to maintain global strategy, some SBUs might even be required to operate at a loss (which is a rationale outside the boundaries of traditional economics). Considering the nine propositions, do they all make sense to you? In case you find any fault with them, state it with your arguments. The first thing I noticed is why are they called propositions instead of Hypothesis? Any theory is based in hypothesis because its aim is to provide chances for something to be proved or not.The second thing I notices is that the propositions are not â€Å"symmetrical†. By this I mean that when you make such kind of propositions, in order to fully understand the relationship of the explanatory variables with the dependent variable, the author must not only look at one side of the coin but at both. For exa mple, Proposition 1: Other things being equal, firms that pursue a multi-domestic strategy will favor lowcontrol entry modes. That is one side of the coin, the other side would be: Other things being equal, firms that do not pursue multi-domestic strategy will not favor low-control entry modes.The value of such construct is that it gives a more robust base for empirical testing. Each proposition is set to analyze the validity of each factor within the whole unified framework, so its validity remains to be tested empirically. Review the methodology adopted by this paper and make your comment on its appropriateness. This paper is a theoretical construct based upon the works of others with the addition of new factors, it does not apply specific methodological tools for testing its validity. In terms of epistemological value, the theory is constructed in the same fashion as Falsificationism (Popper? ) would propose because the validity of the theory that was accepted previously was put into question by the authors and therefore they provided a new set of hypothesis that should accommodate more accurately to reality than Transaction Costs theory. To discuss the appropriateness of such construct without empirical evidence would be to begin an epistemological debate about the validity of theories and their validity into describing â€Å"Truth†. If it were me who wrote the paper I would have not done a theoretical construct without any experimental study about its validity. I believe that? why some of the authors (specifically Hwan) wrote another paper a couple of years later were with the use of surveys they tried to analyze the validity of such constructs. Methodologically speaking, I believe that is a much more fruitful contribution to science than providing list of propositions that may or may not be of use. Discuss briefly what contributions this thesis has made to the theory of international entry mode choice. The biggest contribution of this paper was th e search of different factors that could explain the decision of mode of entry for the internationalization process of a company.Previous studies at the moment had already identified a diversity of variables that influence the entry mode decision decision, and the authors grouped them into one of two categories: environmental or transaction specific factors. Furthermore, according to the theoretical constructs of the time, the studies of the factors had an underlying assumption that each entry decision is made in isolation and is driven essentially by efficiency considerations at the level of the individual entrant or subsidiary unit.This paper made a case directed towards establishing the importance of a third group of factors: global strategic, namely the strategic relationship it envisages between its operations across borders, in reaching its entry mode decision. For a business manager who is in such internationalization process, this theoretical construct can provide him a road map to which variables he/she should pay attention to in order to make the decision of entry.In my opinion, managers tend to first see how other companies enter the market in their initial stages and see if that would be a viable choice and such â€Å"contextual† approach is not included in the factors. What do you think of the limitation of this thesis? The biggest limitation of any theoretical construct is that it remains just a theory and not be applicable. That? s why I took it upon me to see if someone had tried to prove or deny the Eclectic Theory. The results of that search are shown in section three of this paper.Empirical evidence 2 years after the publication of Hill et al. Eclectic Theory, one of the co-writers, Peter Hwang along with W. Chan Kim published the paper: â€Å"Global Strategy and Multinationals? Entry Mode Choice†. The main objective of the paper was to provide empirical tests to the propositions made by the Eclectic Theory. They used a survey f rom ninety-six multinational managers and had a fundamental result that an express incorporation of global strategic variables into an analysis of the entry mode decision is warranted. DataThe survey was a mail questionnaire composed of four parts: modes of entry, global strategic factors, environmental factors, and transaction-specific factors. It was distributed to 629 U. S. based MNE, mostly from the manufacturing sector and targeted senior-level management. 137 questionnaires were returned (22% response rate), of which 41 were disregarded because of incomplete answers. Another 18 were disregarded because respondents provided a positive response to the control question of whether government regulations imposed restrictions on the mode options available.The respondents operations were geographically wide with 25 located in Asia Pacific, 17 in South America, 25 in Europe, 16 in North America, 4 in Africa and 9 in the Middle East. One big methodological problem to measure the validi ty of the propositions is that such variables are not easy to measure. This translates that the nine key variables recognized to influence the focal decision of foreign entry mode are linked to the empirical world only through indicators.Moreover, they appear to be wide-ranging, multifaced constructs. As such, psychometric measurement based on multiple items rather than a single-item proxy seemed a more fitting approach [Peter 1979; Fomnell 1982; Churchill 1979], and was used in the analyses. I personally believe that psychometric variables do not fully reflect the necessary information, but that is just because I am biased towards more robust statistical data and believe that what people think they know is not actually what they know.Continuing with the questionnaire, the respondents were asked to evaluate the foreign venture under discussion across each of these items on a 7-point Likert-type scale. After data collection, an iterative procedure was employed to refine the set of in dicators for each construct. The item-to-total correlation, i. e. , the correlation between the score of each indicator and the total score of those indicators used to capture each construct, was then examined. Following the steps suggested by Nunnally [1978], those indicators with a low correlation with the total score (i. e. , r

Broken Eggs - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 1 Words: 383 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/09/14 Category Advertising Essay Did you like this example? The painting Broken eggs was created by Jean-Baptise Greuze in 1760 and suggests the beginning of the different direction in the art of painting. His work, free of fantasy, introduces new realism – the realism of daily life. French painting during 18th century was dominated by the Rococo style that was aristocratic in nature, sensual and elegant. From stylistic point of view, it had soft colors in its palette, free brushstrokes and complex surfaces. Created for rich patrons, Rococo concentrated on portraits of aristocrats and mythological themes, often performed in a plyful and erotic manner. Greuze’s moral dramas (one of which is the Broken eggs) reacted against Rococo. By pronouncing feelings and emotion they were also opposed by the rational and science-oriented representatives of Enlightenment. It puts Greuze’s creations exactly along with other artists in the 18th century who developed the same taste in their works– Taste for Natural. In this painting by Greuze, the artist depicts a scene from daily life of the middle class with its middle-class morality. The girl has lost her virginity to the young man who was trying to get away, but was stopped by the old lady. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Broken Eggs" essay for you Create order The girl’s face is sad and the position of her body suggests the frustration. Her shoulders are weighed down by the heaviness of what happened to her. The broken eggs next give the narrative quality to the painting and symbolize the lost virginity. It cannot be helped, and virginity, like the eggs that little boy is trying so hard to put together in the corner, cannot be returned back. The light falls on the girl in the center of the picture, drawing viewer’s attention to the epicenter of the moral story. The boy with the broken egg in his hands is trying very hard to fix it, his face concentrated and body language expressive. Perhaps, the painter intended to highlight the child’s naiveness, though the look in his eyes is far from childish and candid. Stylistically, the painting is performed in invisible brushstrokes, complete and rigid lines, similar to classical. The depth of space is great and many objects of peasants’ domestic life can be seen in the back. The artist made his moral point and with that he stepped aside from purely classical style of painting.

Anabolic Steroids Should Be Banned - 1348 Words

Steroids, more specifically anabolic steroids, are drugs that can be legally prescribed or taken illegally, to boost strength and increase athletic performance. They are based off of the hormone testosterone. On the street where the drug is sold illegally, the common slang names are â€Å"arnolds†, â€Å"gym candy†, â€Å"pumpers†, â€Å"roids†, â€Å"stackers†, â€Å"weight trainers†, and â€Å"juice†. Steroids have a long, long history, especially in regards to sporting events. Anabolic steroids were not really used worldwide until the 20th century. However, the use of pure testosterone can be traced back to the original Olympic Games in Ancient Greece. Raw animal testicles were eaten by the early Olympians. It sounds disgusting, but it did the job. With this in mind, it†¦show more content†¦This made it safe for human use. The discovery was so profound that both Butenandt and Ruzicka were awarded the 1939 Nobel Prize for their achievements in chemistry. By the 1940’s, anabolic steroid use in the Soviet Union was becoming common. Dr. John Ziegler, a US Olympic team physician found a way to develop methandrostenolone; commonly known as Dianabol. United States Olympic lifters would soon find testosterone and Dianabol dosing to be a part of their regular athletic routine. The impact the drugs were having on athletes were nothing short of impressive. Several studies we re published suggesting anabolic steroid use had no positive effect on sports performance. At the time, this was done to discourage the use, but a lot of athletes didn’t know or care. By 1967, anabolic steroid use was pretty common among Olympic athletes, particularly weight lifters. Even though many physicians stated there was no benefit to anabolic steroid use and athletic performance, the International Olympic Council banned the use of anabolic steroids. Shortly afterwards, the majority of major sports governing bodies would follow suit. By 1972, the IOC would begin implementing a full-scale drug testing program for all athletes. The testing was very simple. Testosterone levels were measured, which can easily be done via a blood test or urine sample. If testosterone levels were found to be six times

Essay about Corruption and Neoliberalism in the Philippines

International Development SIS 637-002 International Development Paper #2 November 17, 2013 Despite this year’s onslaught of devastating earthquakes, factional rebel sieges, and most recently, record breaking typhoons, the Philippines is doing surprisingly well for itself. In fact, The Economist Intelligence Unit reports that though the wreckage caused by last week’s Supertyphoon Haiyan will likely slow GDP somewhat, economic damage will not be significant, the Eastern Visayas region accounting for only two per cent of the country’s GDP. Economically, at least, the Philippines has had a good year: the first half of 2013 saw GDP growth at 7.3 percent, the highest growth rate in Asia; it saw seen record foreign direct investment†¦show more content†¦Most recently in the news is the Pork Barrel Scandal, where President Aquino and the ombudsmen have charged 3 senators, 2 former lawmakers, and a businesswoman for misusing over $200 million in state funds (Hookway). Pork Barrel is a state allocation of funds set aside for senators t o use on development projects of their choice, of which the president says the accused used for fabricated project proposals to take personal kickbacks. Public protests against the scandal have been massive, and the people are calling for not only the eradication of the Pork Barrel fund itself, but of the president’s own spending fund as well. President Aquino faces the dilemma of upholding his strict anticorruption agenda, appealing to the public, and maintaining support of powerful lawmakers and congressmen (Hookway). James Hookway argues that Aquino’s decision on the scandal will heavily determine foreign investor confidence in the Philippines, influencing the path of the country’s development. Indeed most development professionals agree that corruption and bad governance are inversely related to the development of a country. The worst indicators in the Philippine Failed States Report outwardly suggest governance issues are a threat to the state and a major c ause of internal violence and conflict. Good governance has been the recent focus of many World Bank projects, the group stating that,Show MoreRelatedThe Roots of Poverty and Globalization2272 Words   |  9 Pagesdeveloping countries exports were of manufacturers (9) entering the neoliberal project. Neoliberalism: opening up markets to trade by privatization. The neoliberal project was seen as a way to aid the financially broke countries. It is economic growth and not redistribution that is the answer for eradicating poverty, according to neoliberalism. Development is a necessary form for the welfare of the countries. Neoliberalism is the core of what happened in the 1980s and it is here where globalization reallyRead MoreWorld Trade Organization ( Wto )2137 Words   |  9 Pagesunions, universities, and regional development agencies with a real commitment to the overall goals of local and national economic development. The reform policies Vietnam had established a project to transform the nation afar from most of the neoliberalism ideals and guidelines introduced during the Post-Washington Consensus while upholding some. Although the state gradually began to give space to the market as it allowed private-owned corporations into the industry, the state and politics of VietnamRead MoreU.s. African Development Foundation6843 Words   |  28 Pagesunder extreme poverty, which basically means under the least amount of income per day per person. For instance, when we look at East Asia Pacific, there are six countries listed on the chart (Cambodia, China, Fiji, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam) and almost all of them, except for Lao PDR who have a population between 20-40 percent who live under $1.25 a day, have a population of less than 20 percent living under the $1.25 poverty line. However, under the $2 a dayRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the Worl d Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesof global liberalism (after 1950 and more worldwide after 1990) did not stop the multiplication of migration controls, the proliferation of identity documents, and ever more complex laws to sift and select the optimal migrant. In this sense, neoliberalism has proved to be more â€Å"quasi† than â€Å"neo,† promoting the free movement of goods, capital, technologies, information, and culture, but not of people. At the most brutal level, the consolidation of borders and purification of   national spaces

SAP Implementation Cost Accounting

Question: Discuss about theSAP Implementation for Cost Accounting. Answer: Introduction This paper aims at giving insight on the meaning of SAP and the distinguishing characteristics of its application in hospitals and other organizations. It also intends to use hospitals in Colombia as a case study in analyzing the correct use of SAP. What is SAP? SAP stands for Systems Applications and Products. It was designed specifically to create a channel that enables customers to interact with a shared database for various applications in an organization. Its applications have the capability to be used in the management of assets, financial documents, production operations, cost accounting, personnel and archived material (Grabski, Leech and Lu 2001). Comparing SAP for Healthcare and the other Organizations SAP can be considered to be the ultimate remedy to many fields including companies, schools, firms, businesses, and healthcare in general. Hospitals demand more connectivity since the information they deliver to people is imperative and becomes active only when it is passed in time. The loss in healthcare is measured regarding human lives while in the business sector; it is measured in monetary terms thus making the healthcare a more delicate sector where a lot of efficiencies should be accorded. This is the best factor that distinguishes SAP implementation in hospitals against implementation in other organizations. The healthcare industry aspires to achieve maximum efficiency in its operations at the minimum costs and finally maximize its profits. All these are associated with management activities in the field of supply, inventories, patient relationship management, finance, billing and human resource management. This aspiration is made possible by business process optimization and technology enablement through the successful and proper use of SAP. It is considered suitable for all types, sizes, and specialties of hospitals whether small, nursing homes, polyclinics or general practitioners. SAP for Healthcare solutions is beneficial regarding helping the organization improve its operational efficiency, mitigate possible risks as well as controlling costs while still making it possible to provide innovative business models and proper patient services (Tsai et al. 2010). The Exact Benefits of SAP in Healthcare Due to the constant and rapid multiplication of hospitals, there is dire need to inflict high levels of professionalism and best practices in the sector. This includes medical equipment and practices. Patients expect services to be better than the last time they were served thus hospitals have to be up to date with new methods as well as modern technology so as to retain their customers loyalty (Seo 2013). As far as SAP is concerned, hospitals have excelled in investing in new technology and the same time keeping in touch with their costs. The increased number of hospitals has given patients the freedom to choose where they are served to their satisfaction. The quality of treatment offered by hospitals is measured by the technology used. Modern and practical technology provides comfort and confidence to patients that they are receiving the best treatment available. SAP is currently one of the best sought after technology by patients hence the need to use it by healthcare service providers. Through this, hospitals can maintain their focus on patients and remain competitive in the healthcare arena which is always changing (Agarwal and Garg 2012). SAP is vital in the reduction of operational costs because it accounts for various functions namely finance, accounts, and human resources and eventually brings all the systems under one shared database of SAP. It can provide real-time data to a hospital which is an aid to departments as they work on making critical decisions about patient care and physical resource management. Hospitals can capitalize on the SAPs automated solutions to replace the slow paper-based procedures and finally do away with the departmental barriers. SAP helps an organization minimize risks and increase the reliability of its solutions because it provides the content, tools, and methodologies one needs to design, measure, analyze, improve, and control their organization. It has an easy integration and unlimited scalability thus making it a sound investment project. SAP Implementation in a Colombian Hospital The country has faced some challenges in the health sector namely; constrained financial resources, legal and regulatory requirements and the use of official diagnosis- related groups for patient billing, increasing patient expectations and demand for more information and quality care. These issues require that the healthcare providers become the first to answer the questions about affordable, efficient and high-quality patient care. Extreme pressure arises from this terrible situation. Implementing new technology, for instance, SAP, gives the hospitals an option of increasing the competitive health of the business operations. SAP will help link patient management, administrative services, and clinical processes into one efficient, manageable solution that supports collaborative processes with other participants in the sector to reduce costs, enhance patient satisfaction and finally strengthen their position in the healthcare market in a cost effectively and efficiently manner (Agarwal and Garg 2012). It offers patient-centric solutions tailored to curb hospital challenges through supporting activities that allow clinicians share information and make accurate rapid decisions, and enabling the hospital administrators to work cooperatively with suppliers, physicians, and public authorities. References Agarwal, D and Garg, P. 2012. ERP implementation in hospitals: a case study. International journal of electronic healthcare, 7(2), 157-180. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23079029 Grabski, S.V., Leech, S.A. and Lu, B., 2001. Risks and controls in the implementation of ERP systems. https://www.uhu.es/ijdar/10.4192/1577-8517-v1_3.pdf Seo, G. 2013. Challenges in implementing enterprise resource planning (ERP) system in large organizations: similarities and differences between corporate and university environment (Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). https://ic3.mit.edu/ResearchSamples/2013-07.pdf Tsai, W.H., Chen, S.P., Hwang, E.T. and Hsu, J.L., 2010. A study of the impact of business process on the ERP system effectiveness. International Journal of Business and Management, 5(9), p.26. https://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ijbm/article/viewFile/7305/5674

Protestant Vs. Socially Engaged Buddhism Essay Example For Students

Protestant Vs. Socially Engaged Buddhism Essay Ben RamseyBuddhist ThoughtProfessor KerinFebruary 27, 2001Protestant vs. Socially Engaged BuddhismSomewhere in the sixth century BCE Buddhism was born, born from a single man Siddhartha Guatama, the Buddha. After gaining his enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, the Buddha didnt think that the rest of the world could handle all that he had learned. He did not want to teach others, nor did he want to spread his wisdom. Until at last his great compassion came over him and he started to gain the respect of few by going to his old peers first. By starting with other intellectuals he secured that they at least had the capacity to learn what he had to teach. From this point on he spread his philosophy on the middle path with everyone who would listen. He preached pacifism and that it was wrong to take any life be it a mans or any lesser beings. He taught that the noble eightfold path was the route to end all suffering, and that the individual was the most important factor in achieving enlightenment. The Buddha taught about the five aggregates, the notion that the human being is made up of matter, sensation, consciousness, perception, and mental formations. In all of his teachings however the Buddha did not do so much as a lay a groundwork for which his followers could build a society on. The Buddha was acting out of compassion in that he had found the way to end his suffering and wanted to help others do the same. He was not however trying to build himself up as a God, and create a religion under which he was the focal point. Since this was not his goal, he did not get into politics, social formations, or anything else of the like. However, sooner or later, with the rapid growth of Buddhism in India, and the whole of Southeast Asi a, these were the things that would determine the survival of its followers. That is, an entire society of Buddhists had emerged, far greater numbers and organization than even the Buddha had imagined. With this emergence of community came more and more problems with which the leaders had no frame of reference to combat. For instance, what to do when pacifism doesnt work in protecting your community. How to maintain peacefulness when outside forces are conquering violently. In many areas, where this sense of a Buddhist community had been created, the members had a great deal of pride in what they had created and were a part of, but their pride was kept in check by their inability to justify the right course of action. For example the Buddhists of Sri Lanka believed that they were the custodians of the teachings of the Buddha. It was there, on their Island, where the Theravadan tradition, the only sect of the Hinayana still around, had been born. Buddhism had prospered in Sri Lanka f or over sixteen hundred years, until the first colonizers came from Portugal in the 1550s CE. Sri Lanka was then ruled, by one or another European colonizers, until the year of 1948. The reason for their inability to rule themselves was not because of lack of numbers, for 75% of all people in Sri Lanka ascribe to Buddhism, but because of the non-violent nature of their resistance. In the contradiction between pride and pacifism they had simply seen pride as a vice and continued to try and live their lives in accordance to non-violent virtues. For nearly four hundred years the Buddhist of Sri Lanka had tolerated the overbearing nature of their western habitants, that is until Anagarika Dharmapala began his career as a Buddhist revivalist. It was Dharmapala who was able to justify a more active resistance; he started by tailoring the innate Sinhala nationalism to correspond to his goals. He cultivated the natives of Sri Lanka to believe in the good old days, the days when Buddhism had prospered under King Aschoke and others. When there was a great link between the rulers of their nation and them, the people, a time when temples, stupa, and great pillars were being erected in the name of the Buddha. And once he had the ear of the people, he used every ounce of knowledge within his plethora of teachings to stimulate change. He integrated the beliefs of Buddhism, with the active nature of Christianity. This Protestant Buddhism was at the heart of the resistance, without the reforms it allowed for, the Buddhists of Sri Lanka might still be struggling under British rule to this day. The original goal of Protestant Buddhism was for the independence of the Sinhala, and for the building of a stronger Buddhism worldwide. By adapting Christian sensibility the revivalists were able to confidently combat the other main religions. No longer where they at a disadvantage in the educational system, because they created Buddhist Sunday school. No longer were they disadvantaged b y lack of uniformity drawn out of oral tradition, for they emphasized scripture much like the Christians put their faith in the Bible. The Protestant Buddhists also took responsibility for this worldly things, such as politics, economics, and other social factors. Therefor, the beliefs of Buddhism were not changed, just adapted to fit the times. Each individuals personal journey was still at the heart of the Theravadan tradition, only the application of its teachings had changed. Another example of the modernization of Buddhism, is the idea of Socially Engaged Buddhism. This seemingly new aged phenomenon has been born out of the ignorance of many to the potential extending effects of Buddhism. From the start, meditation, and self-knowledge has been at the heart of Buddhism. However, this does not mean that Buddhism, as it has evolved today is simply an individual thing. Just as lay people, monks, and nuns make up the sangha, or Buddhist community, creating a give and take relationsh ip among themselves. So should the Buddhist people interact with the outside world in much the same way. Their community fits into a worldly community just as they individually fit into the sangha. And just as the individual can influence, and contribute to the larger group, so can the group influence and contribute on a larger, global forum. The Buddha himself, though selfish and self absorbed at first, did not retreat to the safety and serenity of the Bodhi tree, withdrawing from this world, but rather went out and actively spread his wisdom so that others may also have a chance to become enlightened. Compassion, they seem to say, must ultimately express itself in action, must take form, if it is to be real. The world in the 21st century is inextricably different from that of 2500 years ago in the time of the Buddha. We have innumerous causes to believe in, from the threat of nuclear destruction, to the plight of the rainforests. Buddhism has taught us that it is not just acceptab le, but our duty to put effort into the aid of these things. Our compassion must be expressed through action, Buddhists cannot sit idly while this kind of strife goes on in the world. The socially engaged Buddhist aims to live a life based on pure moral principles, while contributing to the lifting of the suffering of all, not just themselves. One example of a Buddhist view on social reform comes from the Digha-nikaya, where it teaches that poverty breeds many crimes such as theft and violence. And that in order to eradicate this evil, government must not punish the wrongdoers, because this just causes more of the same types of action, but rather should do what it can to help the impoverished people. Once poverty is gone the Buddha says, then these crimes of poverty will also vanish.This is a bit idealistic, but holds much more truth than any other leading party will admit, in that if given the chance to earn an honest living most people would rather accept it than deal with a life of necessary crime. In this way, peaceful, non-intrusive Buddhist ideals can be coupled with activism. .u1a1d0ce94ddb094e1280f8a5b2d69ce3 , .u1a1d0ce94ddb094e1280f8a5b2d69ce3 .postImageUrl , .u1a1d0ce94ddb094e1280f8a5b2d69ce3 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u1a1d0ce94ddb094e1280f8a5b2d69ce3 , .u1a1d0ce94ddb094e1280f8a5b2d69ce3:hover , .u1a1d0ce94ddb094e1280f8a5b2d69ce3:visited , .u1a1d0ce94ddb094e1280f8a5b2d69ce3:active { border:0!important; } .u1a1d0ce94ddb094e1280f8a5b2d69ce3 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u1a1d0ce94ddb094e1280f8a5b2d69ce3 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u1a1d0ce94ddb094e1280f8a5b2d69ce3:active , .u1a1d0ce94ddb094e1280f8a5b2d69ce3:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u1a1d0ce94ddb094e1280f8a5b2d69ce3 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u1a1d0ce94ddb094e1280f8a5b2d69ce3 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u1a1d0ce94ddb094e1280f8a5b2d69ce3 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u1a1d0ce94ddb094e1280f8a5b2d69ce3 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u1a1d0ce94ddb094e1280f8a5b2d69ce3:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u1a1d0ce94ddb094e1280f8a5b2d69ce3 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u1a1d0ce94ddb094e1280f8a5b2d69ce3 .u1a1d0ce94ddb094e1280f8a5b2d69ce3-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u1a1d0ce94ddb094e1280f8a5b2d69ce3:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Romeo and JulietWest Side Story EssayBuddhists want to create a society where there are no distractions, where everyone can afford to direct their attention towards their own journey to enlightenment. However, in order to reach this lofty goal, the individual must take a supporting role for the time being. The idea that although the enlightenment of the individual is the most important thing to that individual, the ultimate enlightenment of any one member of the community is the most important goal of the community as a whole, and must be true of its members as well. This view is very similar to the evolutionary explanation for siblcare, one generation of a type of bird st aying with the parents and helping them rear the young of the next generation. At first there doesnt seem to be any adaptational benefit to that brother bird staying with the family when he could be out spreading his genes directly by means of mating. The benefit to this puzzling behavior was finally discovered, and explained in that the general ability of birds of this kind to successfully mate in their first year away from the nest was very low. They did not have any nest building skills in which to attract a viable mate. They actually had a better chance of indirectly passing on their genes by aiding their parents in the care of the young, because every sibling shares at least 50% of their genes with one another. So in a sense, some of their genes are in fact being added to the world. This is every animals most basic goal in life. Also, this bird learns valuable skills from its father so that it can go out the next year and have a better chance of mating and passing off its genes directly. The Buddhist people are in a sense like the brother bird, looking to further themselves, but doing so while helping the whole society at the same time. This is what Nagarjuna, a second century Buddhist activist, calls the first principle of Buddhist social ethics; individualist transcendentalism. Nagarjuna continues his teachings with that of compassionate socialism, based on a psychology of abundance, achieved by generosity.He insightfully wrote about a number of policies that could be adopted by the government, furthermore he wrote extensively on why they should be adopted and how they would help everything from the economic situation of nations, to the ants and dogs within each community. Nagarjuna was very specific as to how these principles of his could and should be carried out in the building of shelters and the providing of clean water to drink and so forth. The socially engaged Buddhist wants not only to live a life of good karma and further their journey to a st ate of enlightenment, but also wants to create a society that would be beneficial to be born back into. A society where each person helps each other, every person contributes to the greater community, and especially where the community aids the individual. The only way for this goal to be reached is to do something about it in this lifetime. To address the need for a Buddhist perspective on public policy, in essence, to merge the inner with the outer beings. Though they came forth from different stimuli, Protestant Buddhism and Socially Engaged Buddhism share a lot in common, mainly as examples of the evolving nature of Buddhism as a whole. Whereas the integrity of the ancient teachings can be preserved, but not with the rigidity that would prevent them from being applicable to todays world. ReferencesEppsteiner, F. (1988) The Path of Compassion, Berkeley, CA. Parallax Press Buddhist Peace FellowshipLittle, D. (?) Sri Lanka the Invention of Enmity, (ch. 3) Washington, DC. US Instit ute of Peace PressWords/ Pages : 2,039 / 24