Thursday, October 31, 2019

Operation management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 1

Operation management - Assignment Example The bank also offers business related services to business clients that maintain both business personal and savings accounts with the bank. Banking at the Harrods Bank has been dramatically changed in the recent years. This dramatic change in banking services at Harrods Bank Limited is associated with the introduction of the efficient and fast modern system. The management of the bank believes that the advancement of the modern system must never be at the cost of customer service. Personal relationships maintained by the bank with its customers are considered the cornerstone of the bank’s ability to provide quality service (Berger, 2011). Harrods Bank Limited has had many years of banking experience. One of the areas of primary focus to the bank has been the changing customers’ banking needs that must be accurately forecasted. There are five broad categories of stakeholders at any organisation (Buckle and Thompson, 2014). A stakeholder refers to any individual who has concrete interest in the organisation or is affected by the operations of the organisation. There are five key stakeholders at Harrods Bank. These are: Customers- Customers are the group of stakeholders that are majorly affected by the operations of the organisation (Iyer, 2008). At Harrods Bank, the customers include the account holders, business clients, the loaned and all kinds of people and clients that rely on the banks’ services. Suppliers-The individual prosperity of a supplier and how efficiently they supply the required commodities to the business organisation depends on the effectiveness of the client (Ghosh, 2012). Suppliers at Harrods Bank would range from the people or companies that supply stationary to the bank, to those that supply the electronic machines used in the bank. Shareholders-people invests in businesses to earn a return on their investments in the end (Greasley, 2008). The efficiency and

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

The Great American Dream Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Great American Dream - Essay Example The dream has limits and has its own laws which is something Jay Gatsby learns to his unfortunate detriment at the end of the story. America is known as the new world, a land of immigrants. So many people came to America, leaving their poor old lives behind. They came from countries with few economic opportunities, with little freedom. Some came with only five dollars in their pocket. In America, because of capitalism, they could become almost anything if they worked hard and had a good idea. In one generation a family could change from peasants or paupers to a rich and well-heeled family. There was enough money for almost everyone. This was all part of the good side of the American dream: that if you worked hard you could achieve anything for yourself and your family. However, there is also a sadder, darker side to the dream. Some people fall in love with the dream itself rather than the self-improvement and hard work that are the foundation of the dream. Gatsby is one of these people. He is very charming and suave but he holds a big secret. He is living a life only on the surface. Gatsby may be rich, but in a way he is living a dream. He thinks he can go back in the past and make the wrong things right again, he thinks he can make Daisy love him again. One of the most famous scenes in the novel unfolds like this: In a way Gatsby is delusional. He has bought into a dream that financially rewarded him, but the substance of the dream is gone—all that is left is the material husk, shiny and rich, but with nothing real inside it. He has bought the shape of the dream, but not the American dream itself. This is especially brought home at the end of the novel when Nick tries to piece together Gatsby’s life from what he has learned. Gatsby is now dead, and Nick is sympathetic. He imagines the young Gatsby for whom the world once

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Traditional Budgeting in Modern Business

Traditional Budgeting in Modern Business The essay below is an attempt to analyse the issue of Traditional budgeting and discusses the fact that how now-a-days formal, traditional budgeting does not prove quite apt for modern businesses. To begin with, the essay will give a brief explanation of what is a budget and what is budgeting. This will be followed by a short note on modern budgeting and there will be a concise induction on traditional budgeting. Furthermore, the essay will throw light on the strengths and weaknesses of traditional budgeting; following which it will explain and evaluate the alternatives to traditional budgeting in modern businesses. A budget is a business plan for the short term-typically one year(Atrill McLaney,2007) . It is mainly expressed in financial terms and it is designed to meet strategic purposes. Budgeting plays a vital role in business success as it helps in the organizations operational planning, performance evaluation, communication of goals, strategy formation, and controlling cost which helps the organization to achieve its overall objective. But it seems it is unsuitable for the modern business.The term modern business stands for a business which operates in a global economy and practises all modern techniques to survive in a highly competitive environment. In todays era of information technology, it is impossible for a business to compete globally without continuous innovation, updated information and controlled activity. In management accounting, budgeting is quite a vast and important concept. There are different kinds of budgeting. The essay will now focus on Traditional budgeting and its working in modern businesses. What is traditional budgeting? Budget is a part of strategic planning process. It lays down business objectives, targets and decides activities required to achieve these objectives. Traditional budgeting is based on previous year data, decisions, uncertain estimates and forecast (Drury,2009).Traditional budgeting is basically one year planning which lays down targets for the business and at the end of the year these targets are compared with actual results and deviations, if any, are reported to the budgeting team which uses them as an important source of information for current year budgeting. Traditional budgeting creates boundaries for the business operations and sets targets for its employees, which motivates employees to work hard and earn rewards for their achievement. Importance of Traditional Budgeting: Kennedy and Dugdale (1999) in his study on budgeting found out that 99% of all companies in Europe still using formal budgeting system. Budgeting provides a direction which can be used as a framework for planning and controlling the overall activity of the business. Budgeting is often used as an important tool for controlling cost and expenditure of the business, which is very essential for an organization to survive in a competitive world. It is also used as a tool to maintain liquidity position of the firm by matching business revenue against expenditure, which gives an actual position and requirement of cash at a definite time period. Kennedy and Dugdale (2009) in his study also points out that it is the multiple function of budgeting which makes it an important tool for management. Budgeting provides a system of authorization, a means of forecasting and planning, it also provides a channel of communication and coordination through which the actions of different parts of an organi zation can be brought together and reconciled into a common plan. Kennedys study also states that budgeting serves as a tool of motivation, a system of evaluation and control, which acts as a useful source of information for decision- making. Limitations of Traditional budgeting: Budgeting is always being criticized for its high cost and the longer time it takes for its preparation. These two limitations are always a point of consideration for modern business organizations, which require a long working of financial managers and which incurs heavy charges on the company. In addition to this, budgeting is criticized in many other aspects as well. Dugdale and Lyne (2006) in his study on budgeting points out that budgeting being an important tool for an organization has many limitations like, it meets only the lowest targets, it uses more resources than required, it competes against other divisions, business units and departments, also it spends only what is in the budget, provides inaccurate forecasts, has motives only to meet the budget but not to beat it and finally it also avoids risk element. Bourne et al. (2002) conducted a survey on limitations of traditional budgeting in which he criticizes traditional budgeting on a number of issues. From the survey resu lt, he pointed out the following criticisms against budgeting ; its time consuming, costly, restricts flexibility in operation, its very often focused on target and often misaligned with strategy, it focuses more on cost rather than value creation, it often encourages gaming between superiors and subordinates, it is hardly updated and is based on unrealistic assumptions and guesswork which make it unsuitable for modern business. Traditional budgeting and modern business: Budgets have long had a bad press, but they have attracted even more flak recently for being at best inappropriate to modern business practice and at worst potentially harmful (Marginson and Ogden,2005). Hope (2000), in his study on traditional budgeting, points out four important reasons of incapability of traditional budgeting in modern business. he pointed out that in modern business, innovation is more essential rather than incremental, focuses more on faster learning rather than faster working, customer focus is on product satisfaction rather than increasing sale and knowledge- sharing and use of talent given more importance, rather than physical or financial capital. Modern business requires innovation along with cost saving in order to be competitive enough to fight with its rival company. Marginson and Ogden (2005) in his study on budgeting and innovation argues how firms are balancing the need to control costs on the one hand with the pursuit of innovation on the other. That is, modern business is an era of global business and competition which requires continuous innovation and huge spending on R D for its survival. And if modern business follows the budgeting tool it will restrict the business from spending a huge amount on innovation and this becomes a major criticism of budgeting. Hopes Fraser, 1999a, cited in Ekholm and Wallin (2000) added that traditional budgeting is incapable of meeting the demand of the competitive environment in the information age. This means, traditional budgeting is a useful accounting model with its focus on command and control but it lacks in providing useful updated information like market changes, change in taste and preference, change in technology, etc. which makes traditional budgeting unsuitable for modern business. Traditional budgeting is a time consuming process and therefore fails in reflecting changes fails in the companys organization process. As a result it produces inadequate variance reports leaving the how and when question unanswered. That is, it ignores shareholders value and focuses more on short term financial numbers. It follows a risk avoiding culture and therefore faces a false sense of security as a yearly, rigid process and as being a toy of the accounting department.( Hopes Fraser, 1999a, cited in Ekholm and Wallin, 2000). Ekholm and wallin (2000) in his study about budget found out that traditional budget seems to be a burden, and therefore must be removed from financial reports, before improving financial performance. Dugdale and Lyne (2006) say that if companies want to meet the modern business challenges then they must dismantle their rigid command and control structure, which means scrapping their budget and should adopt a policy of radical decentralization and implement appropriate key performance indicators, scorecards and rolling forecast. Alternatives to budgeting: Traditional budgeting is described as a Bane of Corporate America and a tool of repression, by modern businesses which look for alternatives. Rolling forecasts produced on a monthly or quarterly basis, are suggested to be the main alternative to the annual budget (Arterion 1998, Hope and Fraser 1990-20 cited in Ekholm and Wallin, 2000). Limitations of traditional budgeting give rise to many beyond budgeting techniques. Fanning (2000), in his article titled evolution or Revolution, explained beyond budgeting as a technique that restrict gaming, focuses on other business performance in addition to financial performance and uses insightful forecasts that accurately predict companys performance for a shorter period of time like, rolling forecast. In addition there are some better budgeting techniques like, zero based budgeting, activity based budgeting, process based budgeting and performance based budgeting. Rolling forecast serves as a best alternative to traditional budgeting, as stated earlier. In this the budget is prepared for a short period of time which ranges from a month to a year. The main advantage of this method i s that it encourages the manager of a company to look ahead and review their plans on a regular basis. Zero based budgeting is also emerged as a good alternative to incremental budgets. Unlike traditional budgeting zero based budgeting justifies and prioritizes all the activities before allocating amount of resources to them. In addition it focuses on activities instead of functional department which is a feature of traditional budgeting (Drury, 2008). Activity based budgeting authorize the supply of only those resources that are needed to perform activities required to meet the budget production and sales volume. This overcome traditional budgeting limitation which works on incremental basis to predict year expenses on the basis of last year expenses. Traditional budget systems focus on expenditures. Performance Based Budgeting focuses on final result by fixing desired performances goal to each department. The purpose of Performance-Based Budgeting is to provide a sound basis, upon which resource allocation decisions can be done; to communicate the measurable results expected to be achieved from a budget allocation; and to build a connection between budget and program performance results for the same operational unit over same period of measurement. Importance of budgeting in modern business: Dugdale and Hanseen ( two writers ) from their study on find out that in budgeting; operational planning, performance evaluation, communication of goals and strategy formation are the important functions which help it in being alive in modern business. Ekholm and Wallin (2000) from a questionnaire survey on budgeting stated that traditional budgeting is needed in modern business as it is an important tool for maintaining internal effectiveness which is needed to maintain long term equilibrium position of the company. He also finds out that modern business still requires traditional budgeting because its targets cant be set for the people. This means that, no control and no performance evaluation can be done. Hanseen and Van der Stede (2004) from his study on Multiple facets of budgeting finds out that there are different reasons to budgeting like market related performance (sales growth, market share) and internal operation related performance (cost effectiveness, quality), which see ms to be important reason for its wide use in modern business as it will help company to achieve competitive advantage over its rival. Dugdale and Lyne (2006) as a conclusion of case study point out that budget is an important tool to set resources limit for function such as service and RD, which will help business to make efficient use of their limited resources that will lead to success for a company in this competitive world. Conclusion: After a detailed study about budgeting it can be concluded here that, budgeting is an important tool for any business organization which helps the organization in operational planning, performance evaluation, communication of goal, strategy formulation and fixing targets which serve as a basis for organizational working and control. Inspite of its importance in organization, its become a matter of great concern to change or abandon traditional budgeting from modern business. It is because of some budgeting limitations which make it somehow rigid to be used in flexible and compatible modern business. It can be seen that traditional budgeting lacks in providing updated information, flexible operations, restricts huge expenditure on innovation and in addition to this, it is time consuming and a costly method, which binds a company to a 12 month agreement with budgeting expenditure and income list which restrict flexibility of modern business. On the other hand, budgeting helps modern bu sinesses in setting their targets for the year and cost controlling measures which play a vital role in the competitive market. So, seeing budgeting limitations and benefits to modern business, many economists and business managers suggest that traditional budgeting is an important tool which cannot be fully removed from an organization but some changes or beyond budgeting techniques like rolling forecast budgeting, zero based budgeting, activity based budgeting, process based budgeting and performance based budgeting, help in solving business organization problem. Refrences Atrill, P and McLaney, E.(2008). Accounting And Finance For Non- Specialists. England: FT Prentice Hall. Bourne M, Neely A and Heyns H (2002) Lore Reform, Financial Management,January,p.23. Drury, C. (2009). Management Accounting For Business.UK: South- Western. Dugdale, D. and Lyne, s.(2006)Are budgets still needed?, Financial Management, November,pp 32-35. Ekholm B and Wallin J(2000), Is the annual budget really dead? The European Accounting Review,volume 9,number 4,pages 519-539. Fanning J (2000) Evolution or Revolution?,Accountancy, October. Hansen, S.C. and Van der Stede, W.A. (2004), Multiple facets of budgeting: an exploratory analysis, Management Accounting Research vol. 15, pp 415-439. Hope T (2000), Conflict Resolution, Accountancy, November. Kennedy A and Dugdale D (1999), Getting the most from budgeting, Management Accounting, February. Maginson, D. and Orden, S. (2005)Budgeting and Innovation, Financial Management, April, pp 29-31.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Romans 14 Essay -- The Book of Romans

The book of Romans was written by Paul. It is actually a letter that Paul wrote to the Romans telling them about his understanding of the Gospel. In this book his explains our sins and how we can achieve forgiveness through Christ. The most specific sin that he explains is that of judging one another. He helps address the problem of religious disagreements about different customs or religious convictions. These customs or religious convictions include the days on which people worship the Lord and the things that people will and will not eat. He wrote about the fact that we should not judge each other for God is going to judge us all in the end. "For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the lord of both the dead and the living." (Ro 14:9). The first distinction I want to make about this passage is the wording Paul used to describe Christ. He states that Christ died and than lived. His resurrection is what gives Him grounds to rule over the living and the dead. His power is as mighty in the living world as it is in the afterlife. We are never going to be on our own for he is there to reign over us for all of eternity. "You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat." (Ro 14:10). Paul is saying that we should not look down upon or judge a fellow believer. If what they are doing is truly in worship of the Lord, then who are we to judge them as though they are the ones who are wrong? The choices that he is dealing with are those of many people's religious traditions. One of these is the choice of which day different believers decide to worship the Lord. The other is whether or not a perso... ...he one who is going to judge us all in the end. Paul is letting us know that who we judge and how we judge them is going to be the same way that we are going to be judged on our day of reckoning. Everyone shall give an account of his life to the Lord. (Ro 14:12) This ending verse is basically a summary of what Paul has been writing about through most of chapter 14. It is there to say that in the end we will not be the ones who judge each other. Whether or not I have passed my judgment upon you in life will have no bearing on what happen to you in the afterlife. The same goes for if you are to pass your judgment on me. Our judgments have no affect on each other once we are brought before the Lord on our day of judgment. I will not be there to judge you and you will not be there to judge me. The Lord is going to be there to judge us all for our lives.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Citizenship

The issue that we have been researching and investigating in class is alcohol education in school, so that we can campaign and raise some kind of awareness for alcohol education as a regular lesson in all schools throughout Britain. The reason for this is because we feel and have noticed that young adults in their teen years are drinking regularly on a daily basis and a part of that main reason might actually be the fact that we don't have any real education to teach us about the dangerous effects of alcohol and this leaves them vulnerable when drinking.Robert Prefer, under of the rehab centre Sober College, said,† Vive seen an increase in risky behavior in young adults over the last year, I think that alcohol education programs should be introduced â€Å". Alcohol abuse is becoming an increasing important topic among teenage school students. Although we try to teach students to not to EVER start drinking and that it's illegal to for a minor to consume alcohol, the reality is that they will be likely to try it before they finish secondary school college. â€Å"Let's pay Dry.Curry, who is the dean of the College of Public Health at the University of Iowa. You may want to take a look at how you are drinking. If it escalates, you're at risk, but you can change that now. † I know what most young adults drink for social reasons or because they want to ‘impress' some people they may know, but they don't know any of the negative effects that can happen afterwards. Drinking today is much more open than it has been years ago. It's only because of the numerous equipments that have access to the media and advertisements.Whilst researching the current law regarding alcohol I found out that the teen must be 18 or up before he or she can u or drink alcohol beverages. Lastly, it is against the law for your teenager/sees to possess alcohol on any street, highway, or public place, carry alcohol in a car, or be a passenger in carrying alcohol unless accompani ed by parent of legal guardian. The problems that can arise from drinking, can involve around sicknesses, addiction, social behavior and even death!When we buy alcohol we have the responsibility to look after ourselves and not drink way too much but then again we have the right to purchase alcohol at the age of 18. My first argument is about getting behind the wheel while being drunk. Statistics suggest that 60 percent of teenage deaths in car accidents are related to alcohol. Motor vehicle crashes remain the number one cause of death among teens aged 1 5 to 20. A few reasons why a drunk teenager might get behind the wheel is not wanting to get in trouble by calling parents, friends, etc.Another reason can be that the teenage boy or girl might feel that there isn't another way to get home. I'm pretty sure that teens that get behind the wheel after consuming major amounts of alcohol don't even think about any of the consequences that can occur. They might also think that is not a big deal and that it's alright to do if other teens do the same. For all teens, the risk of involvement in a motor vehicle accident is greater than it is for older drivers. Teens that drink and drive are more likely to get into an accident than if their parents drink and drive.In fact, a teenage boy with a . 05 blood alcohol concentration is 18 times more likely to suffer an accident than a teen that does not drink. Also three out of four teen drivers that were killed in a crash as a result from drinking and riving were not wearing their stables. Teens, such as African Americans, are even less likely to wear their settable in the car than their Caucasian friends are. Teens are more likely to participate in dangerous situations and terrible circumstances. I also read studies by SAD that found out 28. Percent of teens from the age of 14-19, rode one or more times in a car with someone who had been drinking as the driver. Half of teen deaths from motor vehicle accidents happen between 3:0 0 P. M. And midnight. Moreover, 54 percent happen on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Eight teens ii daily as the result of an alcohol related car accident. 1,500 teens, ages 15-20 die in car accidents every year. There is no reason why a teen should drink and drive. We shouldn't let teenage peer pressure or other influences affect the decision to not drink and drive.Being part of a teenager is making mistakes and growing up; drunk driving is a mistake that someone may have to carry with themselves for the rest of their life. ‘There is no reason why a teen should drink and drive. There are always other things that can be done rather than getting behind the wheel† says Dry. Tania Doorman from the University of Bath. This argument is telling us we need alcohol education because teenagers from our school shouldn't be dieing in car accidents, because they weren't taught anything about risks.Also we need to be more positive and stress that most our of students are responsible a nd that we are are not worried about them drinking and driving when we really are. Research shows that 1 out of 8 people have sex under the influence of alcohol. Mixing sex with too much alcohol could leave you with more than you earned for. The SE of alcohol can affect anything and it's very easy to forget about using a condom or taking the pill which could leave you vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections, an unwanted pregnancy or a night you regret with someone that you're not even attracted to.Choosing to have sex for the first time can make you feel different kinds of emotions. You might feel excited, stressed, scared and nervous all at once. Drinking to deal with these conflicting feelings may be an important factor when people lose their virginity. Like other drugs, alcohol drinking can seem like a good dead if you're nervous about being naked in front of another person, or worried about ‘getting it right' in bed. But studies show that nearly one third of teens sa id they were unhappy with the way they lost their virginity, because they were too drunk.It also doesn't help that too much alcohol can affect men's sexual performance. Dry. Joyce Bam of INCH commented on the â€Å"increased and intensified† message in schools concerning the down side of teen sex: â€Å"Given how many of those efforts are going on,† Bam said, â€Å"it is probably making an impact on both abstinence and responsible sexual behavior. † Also, the consequence of not using some kind of birth control pills is that you or your partner could get pregnant. The I-J currently has one of the highest teenage pregnancies.Not using a condom because you've been drinking could mean facing parenthood longing before you feel ready. Also, a SACS reporter stated, â€Å"60 percent of college women, who have acquired sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS and genital herpes, were under the influence of alcohol at the time they had intercourse. Planning ahead is a good idea. If you think hat you're likely to have sex, stay away from too much alcohol. † This is telling us we need alcohol education because we could warn students about the effects of sex that I have listed above.Another reason why we need alcohol education for this argument is to keep our students safe, make them not do decisions they will regret in the future. They might not have support at home from their parents or guardians but they could rely on us if we had these types of organizations. We could either protect a female student from getting pregnant while alcohol education in BECK is formed or to which would then make us really weak and no one would support our campaign. Adolescents should be the healthiest people on the planet, the â€Å"almost grown ups† still young and full of dreams for the future.But today's adolescents are a troubled generation. Far from being the healthiest time of life, adolescence is instead a period of risk and vulnerability. Accor ding to scientists, bodies that are still growing and undeveloped are the ones that get involved with drinking, drugs and sex. And evidence shows British teenagers are among those exposed to the greatest threats. While puberty takes adolescents into a period of risky behavior powered by their hormones, their brains are still vulnerable to the effects of activities such as drinking and drug taking.Scientist, Jay Square said â€Å"the adolescent brain is handicapped in the rational assessment of risk and prone to â€Å"hot cognitions†. These decisions are influenced by exciting or stressful conditions which adults are better able to get rid of than teens. The modern teenager is taking longer than ever to grow up as social changes have added years to education and delayed marriage. Or basically the average teen is taking longer to ‘settle down'. Eighteen years of age is no longer regarded as the start of adulthood.Fifty years ago, people married and started families at th is age. Today over three times more young people are in further education and most spend years in work before marrying and ‘settling down'. US researchers warned I-J researchers last year that heavy drinking during the teenage years, when the brain is still growing, can affect the brain, particularly the development of memory and the ability to tell what is on a map. Adolescents should vive life, and have fun.Diseases from drinking alcohol need to be mentioned in alcohol education, not to scare the students and never make them drink alcohol but to let them know they're responsible for how much they want to drink and when they feel like doing it. Alcohol metabolism could be explained later on how the body breaks down and eliminates alcohol from the body because everyone's bodies are different. Our Job would be to let them know everything about what happens after you drink alcohol under-age when you're brain and other parts of your body are still developing.My last argument is a bout what happens to your body after you drink a few glasses or shots of alcohol and if you really want all that to happen to you. When you take a drink, about 20 percent of the alcohol is absorbed in your stomach and the remaining 80 percent is absorbed in your small intestine. But usually after the alcohol is absorbed, it enters your bloodstream and is carried throughout your body. As the alcohol acts upon the body, the body is working really hard to remove it. The kidneys and lungs remove about 10 percent of the alcohol in the urine and the Citizenship This part of the essay will focus on why citizenship has become such a significant political issue in the UK. It will highlight what citizenship Is, who gets the citizenship and what the problems are that are affecting the country. Citizenship Is about being actively Involved In society; It Is a clear concept concerning migration and legal status which Is formed of having the rights to stay In the country, rights to enter freely and rights to welfare and education.Citizenship has become a significant political issue in the UK because of the mass majority of people who grant here from their countries in order to build a life in the I-J. The country is getting over populated with immigrants and eastern European people, these individuals are coming to the country and are taking on work which pays less than the minimum wage which can at times deprive citizens getting Jobs.Doing the life In the UK test to qualify for citizenship has proven to be insignificant due to the Inconsistency of t he questions one ought to study: The report Is endorsed by the Revered. Lord Roberts, the Vice-Chalk of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Migration quote ‘examining the test and Its role In British Immigration policy. My report concluded that the test Is impractical;' published the first independent and comprehensive report examining the test and its role in British immigration policy.My report concluded that the test is impractical, inconsistent and contains serious gender imbalance rendering it unfit for purpose' (migrants rights). Furthermore less than the majority even knows how to fluently speak English which invalidates how or what the questions on the SOL version of the life in the UK test teaches, although the government introduced these test to enforce migrants to participate in society it isn't worked well, these people are studying for the test in order to pass and benefit from what the country has to offer to those who are British citizens.Although the governmen t has been reinforcing new rules and regulation that makes It hard for immigrants to obtain visas and are tougher on Asylum seekers now days, the country Is still growing In migrants who either come and do labor work for low wages which impacts on those skilled workers getting good paid work and those migrants have no sense of dependency, they come to the UK expecting a better life for no hard work NY type of work at all, this is where the political problem occurs. Citizenship By Loretta political issue in the I-J.It will highlight what citizenship is, who gets the citizenship Citizenship is about being actively involved in society; it is a clear concept concerning migration and legal status which is formed of having the rights to stay in the country, significant political issue in the I-J because of the mass majority of people who Doing the life in the UK test to qualify for citizenship has proven to be insignificant due to the inconsistency of the questions one ought to study: The report is endorsed y the Revered.Lord Roberts, the Vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Migration quote ‘examining the test and its role in British immigration policy. My report concluded that the test is impractical;' published the first independent and what the questions on the SOL version of the life in the I-J test teaches, although government has been reinforcing new rules and regulation that makes it hard for is still growing in migrants who either come and do labor work for low wages which sense of dependency, they come to the I-J expecting a better life for no hard work. Citizenship Citizenship and Friendship is a piece from †Habits of the Heart’, which is written by Robert N. Bellah and associates. This passage talks about how the definition of friendship changes over time in American communities. Bellah says that classical ideas of friendship in early America contains three important elements that †Friends must enjoy one another’s company, friends must be useful to one another, and friends must share a common commitment to the good†. According to Bellah, the first two elements still exist at present days, but the third component seems being abandoned by people today.I disagree with Bellah’s idea because I think the third component, sharing a common commitment to the good, is still regarded as an important part of friendship. People reveal the third trait by donating, by volunteering and by agreeing to political stands. (T) Many people donate funds to foreign countries for helping them, and therefore, they establish an int ernational friendship. (R) According to the passage, traditional view of friendship is â€Å"not merely private: they are public, even political,for a civic order†. E)Like Bellah mentions, some people combine resources with only one goal and that is to help others, regardless their backgrounds. (E)For example, in the earthquake in 2008 in China, Japanese Government donated 5,300,000,000 Yen(approximately 5000,000 USD) to the earthquake. It was the second largest donation from all of the foreign countries. As we all know, Japan had aggressed China in World War II. These two countries had a really bad relationship in recent hundred years. However, Japan gave such a great help regardless the political disagreements, when China suffered disasters.Besides Japan donating money, they also sent volunteers , food supplies, shelters and medical attentions. (A) Japan placed the public good ahead of its political conflicts. They developed a friendship by providing resources such as money and volunteers to help china to recover from the earthquake. (C) The third element of friendship is maintained by providing helps without politics standing in the way. (T) People who work together for volunteer can establish a strong friendship. R) †But friendships were by no means confined to local communities in early American society,† Bellah says, â€Å"Particularly where a common cause united them, people of quire different backgrounds could become friends. † (E) The friendship derived from volunteering has a great strength because those volunteers are sharing the common goal, which is to serve for the society. (E)Tracing back to my high school year, I had an experience to be a volunteer to teach kids who could not afford the tuition. At that time, I met one of my best friends. We worked together for several weeks, but we seldom talked to each other.Until one day, we were assigned a work, which was designing an activity for children’s day. We became c lose through discussing and working on the assignment. We started chatting about the reason we came for the volunteer and the view for the future. Surprisingly, she understand my thought better than any of my friends. I felt our heart was so close in touch. We kept contacting each other after the volunteer and exchanged our views frequently. She was acting like a soulmate in life. (A)I think the reason we can be so close is because we have the same value and same concern to the public good. Volunteer is the linkage bind us together. C)Volunteering shows that the third component of friendship is important for people to establish a friendship and maintain the strength of that friendship. (T) In front of political disagreement, people choose to put common concern for the public good ahead of any individual conflicts. (R)The passage says †Their reconciliation after a period of bitter estrangement illustrates their capacity to put their common concern for the public good ahead of t heir Partisan disagreements† (e) Some people choose to abandon their original political stand and put the common concern on the first place for benefiting the nation. E)Here, I want to talk about Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton. This two people were both candidates for the election five years ago. Even though they were both in Democratic party, they emphasized the different point of views. Obama and Clinton disagreed on few issues since 2005. For instance, Obama voted the Mandate, which forces automaker to achieve 40 mile-per-gallon average fuel economy by the year 2017. Meanwhile, Clinton rejected it. Moreover, Clinton voted for using force in Iraq. However, Obama fought against Wars. Cliton and Obama became friends after they work together. I consider Hillary a strong friend. † Obama said in CBS 60’ minutes. (A) Clinton put away her original view and functioned as a coherent unit with Obama for benefiting the people in America. (C)As a result, Obama and Clinton developed their friendship because they worked for the same goal for their nation. Overall, the third component can be shown by donating, volunteering, and agreeing to political stands. Sharing the same commitment to the good are still one of the most important elements of friendship today. It’s the key of establishing and maintaining a true friendship.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Drugs Addiction

Al Akhawayn University Center for Academic Development Information Literacy Skills 1212 Fall 2010 The causes of drugs addiction Prepared by: ABDELAZIZ Under the supervision of: Dr. AHMED KABEL The causes of drugs addiction: AddictionNowadays, drugs addiction is considered as one of the most widespread phenomena in our modern societies. Everyone in this modern world has become aware of the dangerous consequences of being drug addicted, yet opium, cocaine, marijuana, cannabis, and many other kinds of drugs have been used for centuries and are still widely used today by a large proportion of people from different age, sex, and economic status. But, before looking at the factors that push people to take drugs, let us first define drug addiction.According to Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER), â€Å"Drug addiction is a dependence on a street drug or a medication. When you're addicted, you may not be able to control your drug use and you may continue using the drug despite the harm it causes. Drug addiction can cause an intense craving for the drug. You may want to quit, but most people find they can't do it on their own. † In fact, people often underestimate the complexity of drugs addiction and the fact that it has become a contemporary illness that is similar to other chronic diseases such as diabetes, asthma, or heart disease.Moreover, many people used to think that people addicted to drugs were just morally weak; hence, they believe that drug abusers are able to stop â€Å"this habit† if they are only willing to do so. However, recent scientific advances have allowed us to know much more about how exactly addictive drugs impact and change the brain, and how stopping drug abuse is very complex and not only a matter of willpower. But, the real problem is that many people still do not have a clear idea about the causes behind addiction.For most of them, according to Hamid Ghodse, â€Å"the cause or causes of drug dependence ar e not known, or more specifically, it is not known why do some people become addicted while others in the same situation do not† (10). The causes of drugs addiction are numerous and very attached with each other, but the most important factors that interact to lead to this phenomenon are: person’s biology, social environment, and age or stage of development.It is, obviously, very important to determine whether genetic factors play a significant role in the process of addiction or not at all. Actually, finding genes which predispose to drugs addiction may undoubtedly be very helpful since it will â€Å"aid in the identification of the biological processes involved in the addiction condition and ultimately allow the development of treatments to counteract the abnormal end-point of the processes† (Paul R. Buckland, 1769).Therefore, countless researches, studies, and genetic approaches have been ongoing for many years in order to find any association or linkage betwe en genetic factors and drugs addiction. As a matter of fact, many of these researches could come up with great results and very useful conclusions. For instance, Hamid Ghodse stated in his book â€Å"Drugs and Addictive Behaviour: A Guide to treatment† that â€Å"the discovery within the body of endogenous receptor systems for a number of psychoactive substances has revived interest in a link between drug dependency and genetic predisposition† (19).In addition, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), â€Å"genes that people are born with, in combination with environmental influences, account for about half of their addiction vulnerability. † In the same context and quoting from experts, Abramovitz, Melissa wrote in her article titled â€Å"Addiction† that â€Å"genetic factors that affect how the brain responds to drugs play a big part in pushing people toward drug addiction, and researches have found several genes linked to nicotine, c ocaine, and alcohol addiction. Also, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER) reported that â€Å"once a person has started using a drug, the development into addiction may be influenced by inherited traits. † Therefore, most of researchers confirm the idea that genetic factors play a crucial rule in the process of addiction. However, Paul R. Buckland came up with so many important results, which are in fact a little bit different from the ones stated above, by reviewing and evaluating almost all the studies and evidence that claim the existence of genetic factors in the process of addiction.So, he found that â€Å"the phenotype for addiction to drugs is not well defined, and the heritability of addiction to drugs of abuse is far from clear and may be small compared to that of many other complex disorders† (1773). Moreover, he concluded saying that â€Å"many candidate genes put forward so far as susceptibility genes may be unrelated to the underlyin g process referred to as addiction but, rather, are related to the propensity to take drugs in the first place† (1769, 1770). But, that does not mean that there is no association between genetic factors and addiction process.In fact, Paul R. Buckland himself has confirmed that there are some genetic studies that have reported a great number of success and could ultimately find some linkage between genes and addiction, but he ended highlighting â€Å"the need for even larger samples and new statistical methods or new experimental approaches to identify fully the genes involved in the disease process† (1771, 1772). Of course, genetic factors are not the only cause behind drug addiction; no one can become addicted to drugs if s/he has never started using drugs.Accordingly, there may be other factors that affect the predisposition to drugs abuse. Actually, a person’s environment includes many different influences that seem to play a significant role in initial drug u se. At the first glance, it may spring to many people’s minds that local social problems such as poverty, ignorance, unemployment, break-up of local communities, drug pushers are the main causes of drugs addiction, but according to Hamid Ghodse â€Å"these often-repeated phrases may well be contributory factors,†¦but they are not the causes of drug dependence† (11).On the other hand, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER) both consider environmental factors, including one’s family’s beliefs and attitudes, exposure to a peer group that encourages drug use, the socioeconomic status and quality of life in general, as the most important influencers that shape addictive behaviour.In fact, Hamid Ghodse, also, illustrates these factors clearly by showing us how â€Å"peer networks can provide opportunities for drug use and support this behaviour† (16) and how â€Å"the importanc e of peer networks reflect the support or lack of support that the child is receiving at home and the importance of the parent-child relationship as a protective factor against the use of drugs† (16).Therefore, he gives us some situations in which family may play a significant role in the initiation of drug abuse: Factors such as family disruption, criminality and drug abuse of parents and siblings have all been identified as important predisposing factors for drug abuse later on, as have inadequate or ineffective parental supervision and enforcement of rules†¦while satisfactory family relationships and climate, and emotional support to adolescents are influences that appear to delay or diminish initiation into drug use, they can only be developed over a long period of time and attempts to make up for their absence by measures such as a sharp increase in parental control of the adolescent’s behaviour may lead to increased rather than diminished drug abuse (16). In addition to genetic and environmental factors, the age or the stage at which a person starts consuming drugs may have a considerable impact on the process of becoming drugs addicted. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), â€Å"Although taking drugs at any age can lead to addiction, the earlier that drug use begins, the more likely it is to progress to more serious abuse. For instance, one study concerning alcohol addiction which is almost the same as the case of drug addiction showed that â€Å"teens who begin drinking alcohol with their friends before age 15 are four times likelier to become alcoholic than are people who wait until age 21 to drink† (National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), quoted in Abramovitz, Melissa). In the same context, Hamid Ghodse said that â€Å"adolescent drug abuse is of particular importance not only because of the potential for drug-induced harm in a young person but also because taking drugs in childhood and adolescence is a strong predictor for drug abuse in adulthood† (17). Moreover, observations as such, he said, â€Å"have led to theories that suggest that using one drug leads on the consumption of more dangerous drugs with a higher dependence liability† (17).Besides, one other reason that we may discover when seeking causes that are related to the stage of initiating using drugs is prescriptions. According to Hamid Ghodse, most of drug-dependent individuals have personality disorders such as low self-esteem and confidence, high anxiety, low assertiveness, and tendency towards hypochondria, so they begin to take some sedatives and tranquillizers or even drugs as self-medication or as treatment prescribed by a doctor to overcome these problems (15, 17). The problem is that many people become addicted to these treatments by continuing using them as Jeffrey Kluger shows in his article The New Drug Crisis: Addiction by Prescription.According to Kluger many people become addicted to some p rescriptions such as Opioid, Oxycontin, Vicodin, and Hydrocodone while trying to find a treatment to some diseases like cancer pain. In conclusion, it is true that taking drugs for the first time may be a voluntary decision, but factors such us person’s biology, social environment, and age or stage of development undoubtedly play a considerable role in the process of addiction. Genetic factors that affect how the brain responds to drugs and environmental factors, including family’s beliefs and attitudes, peers’ ethics and behaviour, and socioeconomic status, in addition to the culture and the age or the stage at which a person starts using drugs all contribute in shaping addictive behaviour.The problem with drugs is that once a person starts consuming them, s/he may not be able to give up abusing them; hence, we should all be aware that drugs addiction is not just a normal habit that we can stop whenever we want, but rather a complex illness and a serious diseas e that makes the consumer lose self-control and ability to make right decisions. In fact, drugs addiction is a contemporary chronic disease that can cause harmful long-term consequences not only on the user but also on those around him, but as a matter of fact we can prevent ourselves from all these troubles by just avoiding initiating its causes. Works Cited Abramovitz, Melissa. â€Å"Addiction. † Current Health 2; Sep 1999: 26. Print. Buckland, Paul R. â€Å"Will We Ever Find the Genes for Addiction? Addiction, volume 103 number 11, November 2008, pp 1768-1776. Jeffrey, Kluger. â€Å"The New Drug Crisis: Addiction by Prescription†. Time September 13, 2010: p46-49. Print. Ghodse, Hamid. â€Å"Drugs and Addictive Behaviour: A Guide to Treatment. † London: University of Cambridge Press. 2002. Print. Mayo Clinic staff. Drug Addiction, MayoClinic. com, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2009, web. November 2010. (http://www. mayoclinic. com/ healt h/ drug-addiction/DS00183). National Institute on Drug Abuse, Drug Abuse and Addiction, MedicineNet. com, MedicineNet. Inc, 2010, Web. 21 November 2010. (http://www. medicinenet. com/ drug_abuse/article. htm).