Business Process Management Architectures - MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Business Process Management Enterprise Architectures. Answer: Introduction Business process architecture includes a blueprint for the organization that help analyse the strategic objectives as against the demands that are put across(Weske, 2012). Business architecture enables development of a bridge in the enterprise model as against the various functionalities to include the diversified range of aspects that is catered to by the organization goals. Thus, this structure incorporates operational, motivational as well as analytical frameworks that can help extend a competitive structure. The scope of the current business report is for a medium sized business located in Brisbane in Queensland that has approximately between 20 to 200 employees. There are 7 formal functional departments within the organization. The business provides entertainment packages to clients and also refunds them in case they are not satisfied with their services(Jeston, 2014). Though the business was functioning well but recent trends depicts a downward trend that might be due to global financial crisis. The business architecture provided will allow the business to come outside the purview of this challenge faced and overcome the situation. The report highlights the importance of business process architecture to this client by identifying potential process solutions. The implementation aspects of such business processes in enhancing effectiveness of the client organization and certain recommendations are encompassed in the discussion(Ko, 2009). The recreational business of the firm had been operating in a good manner experiencing growth however recent trends have been depicts various challenges of the business. The organization has several departments consisting of operations, human resources, procurement, sales, accounting, marketing, research and development(Choi, 2008). All these separate departments is headed by the CEO of the organization, who has over 10 years of experience within the industry. Though there are separate departments and allocation of tasks and responsibilities there is a lag in knowledge and experience of each of departmental managers. Each and every departmental heads do not have adequate skills and responsibilities that can match effectiveness to the current structure present. There is a delusion of roles and responsibilities amongst managers and lag in leadership qualities that have hampered the business and caused diversions to meet its designated goals(Becker, 2013). The organization is currently experiencing immense competitive threats and pressures due to lag in professionalism and leadership qualities. It is facing immense threats from tackling issues pertaining to delivery for each departments to meet designated goals. Thus, the proposed solution is aimed at suggesting an appropriate business process architecture framework. Business Process Architecture and its effectiveness Globalization along with technological advent has led to complex structure and diversified customers as well as employee bases(Caetano, 2009). The challenges faced by current business are more complex in nature hence requires greater capabilities that require organization to adopt an integrated approach towards their businesses and customers. Thus, the relevance and importance of Business Architecture. Business architecture presents a view of the organization such that all aspects of the business can be presented in an integrated manner. A business process architecture comprises of a blueprint for the organization such that strategic initiatives can be aligned to meet its demands and goals(Muller, 2008). The scope of the current organization involves providing leisure based services to its diversified customer base, which are its goals. Thus, its vision is to satisfy client by providing appropriate packages at adequate price levels that allows to perform various functionalities. In o rder to cater to various functionalities of the business each departments needs to work in a coordinated manner and align their strategies accordingly. Business process architecture allows for capturing business strategies within its capabilities such that each and every department of the business can perform various functions(Smart, 2009). All such strategies are aligned to value streams such that knowledge is shared in a semantic manner from customers, supplier, orders and feedback as well. Within the organizational view various roles, composition and business units along with capabilities are captured in a manner such that internal and external units can be properly handled. In the business process architecture each segment of the business is well segmented to allow for strategical filtration(Ren, 2012). A business strategy is divided and sub divided into people processes and technology and the core business processes deliver such that they can meet these diversified functions. strategies are formed by taking into account customer needs and dispositions. As the scope of the current business is to deliver and cater to leisure activities, in order to be competitive it needs to understand and undertake extensive competition analysis(Schelp, 2007). Customer market research for demands of specific products can lead to understand the diminishing market share for the Company. Instead of relying on global trends of decreasing market share, market research regarding recent trends in travel and tourism can allow fruitful insights. Understanding of customer needs by marketing department will help provide relevant insights to the research team who will be able to un dertake innovation in similar lines. Then sales team can target individuals according to STP techniques. Particular Segmentation Target Positioning techniques will help achieve success and generate revenue for the purpose of the organization(Vom Brocke, 2010). Further operational team can undertake relevant tie-ups will suppliers such that overall costs reduction can be easily achieved. Suppliers and other vendors of the business can deliver cost effectiveness by Value Chain Analysis for the business. Operations can be enhanced by means of technology and process integration within the same infrastructure. Value from the business can only be derived in terms of integrated management conducted by the business. Once all relevant and separate aspects of the business is integrated then effectiveness can easily be delivered(Simon, 2014). Steady communication needs to be maintained within each aspects of the organization such that there are no conflicts and one department can work in accor dance to another department. Thus, implementation of business process architecture will allow for customer satisfaction and catering to services in a value based manner such that efficiency can be established. Gaps in Processes Accommodating in business process architecture can help get higher efficiency and management in existing goals(Pulkkinen, 2007). Business process architecture allows for integration of business higher levels strategies into the existing framework to derive values within the scopes of the business. The current organization has various gaps within its departments that can prevent from accommodating for business process architecture. Various gaps in the business processes have already been identified before. The following are some of the diagnosed gaps as ; At the top management level: Though the current CEO is managing the business for a prolonged period of years, yet there are various gaps in his skills. The CEO lacks leadership skills and strategies adopted by him in highly competitive markets are fragmented by means of differentiated terms(Kurpjuweit, 2009). The Company under his leadership has accepted external strategic influences for functioning which opens up the Company to more strategic threats. Strategic goals of the Company needs to analyse external and internal factors to capabilities to devise strategies thus, there is a gap which needs to be accommodated within the scope of the organization such that it is able to make effective strategies. At managerial levels: there are tremendous levels of gaps as well hindrances that exist at the managerial levels of the organization. Though there is departmentalization within the organization yet there prevail immense amounts of lags in capabilities of each personnel(Al-Debei, 2010). Departments within the organization consist of operations, human resources, procurement, sales, accounting, marketing and research and development. Firstly Operations manager is the only organized department within the scope of the organization, but there are frequent conflicts that they have with human resources manager. The Operations manager manages responsibilities of 10 staffs reporting directly to the CEO, handling all necessary paper works. The functionality of the operations department is lagging and as the department works efficiently it can be allocated greater responsibilities to coordinate work processes in regards to customer bookings and other work aspects(Amit, 2015). The Human Resource Departmental manager has no prior experiences in the field and has responsibilities in areas of finance. Though the department is responsible for carrying on responsibilities of recruitment, induction, HR legislative compliance, employee departures but it seldom cater to its responsibilities well. Further, there are no functionalities of the department in respect to performance appraisals and training or other pertinent aspects that can enrich employees and bring about engagement process such that they can contribute to the business architecture(Myrick, 2007). Procurement manager is highly inefficient as it is not able to cater to its responsibilities and handle supplier relationships well. Though he reports to the Sales Manager such line of authority is invalid for the current organizational scope. As procurement is not directly related to sales also there are conflicts of procurement manager with that of sales manager and operations manager. Sales manager comes with no formal degrees or education and has differences with accounting manager. Lines of authority for Sales Manager is also poorly defined, also there are various conflicts between each departments. Process Integration: Due to communication gaps existing amongst various departments and conflicts amongst them there is lack in process integration. In order to render value to customers various processes within the organization needs to be integrated and delivered value. Information needs to flow dynamically and rapidly throughout the organization such that decisions can be taken in an informed manner. BPMN Process Flow Diagram The below is a BPMN process flow diagram that includes various aspects of the business into its framework. For the purpose of catering to customer needs all departments needs to take integrated decisions and process flow has to be enhanced to increase effectiveness. The business processes includes customers one side and suppliers on the other to cater to needs and demands of its various customers. Further as revenues is generated by the sales department specific targets needs to be provided to them such that they can meet the aims and objectives for the organization. The marketing department is responsible for delivering services to customers. human resource department needs to frequently evaluate performance of employees and staffs such that they are able to increase productivity and engage in the business in a motivated manner. The role of the HR department also includes catering to job design, employee motivation and employee engagement for enhanced effectiveness to the business. There are certain business changes that are proposed for the current business process architecture. Such processes that can be integrated into the business includes Master Data, support and Management Processes. A master data will allow to integrate various concepts and data that is provided within the business. Master data will allow scope of Data analytics and formation of strategies accordingly. Support systems by a professional consultant will allow to integrate external factors and competitive strategizing for the business scope. A Management Processes needs to be followed for the entire business such that information and communication flows effectively and customer satisfaction goals are met. Management processes that needs to be included is primarily focused on professionalism aspects such that tasks are completed and conflicts are avoided. Management processes for conflicts and grievances settlement procedures needs to be followed. Solution Considerations Analyzing the scope of performance and reviewing current situation at the organization reflects that there is improper framework within the same(Van Der Aalst, 2007). The Company needs to adopt a proper Business Process Framework that allows delegation of roles and responsibilities for compliance on duties such that it can generate revenues for its business and gain customer satisfaction regarding the same. The proposed solution that involves incorporating in a Management Processes along with support system will allow to integrate separate departments and processes within the business enterprise framework and generate high amounts of impact for the same. Once the consideration has been taken into being for the scope and purpose of the business there will be immense amounts of impact that will be created. The Management Processes and support system will help attain to customers generate revenues and sales for the business. Thus, employee time will be utilized in an effective and in efficient manner(Wang, 2008). High levels of productivity within the scope of the organization will lead to generating returns on investment and creating opportunities in terms of exploring market opportunities. Generating high amounts of profits and revenues for the business according to roles will allow accommodating in risks aspects associated with the business. As travel and tourism markets often fluctuates along with a large number of competing companies there are various risks associated with the business. Business Process Architecture will help overcome the same risks of business fluctuations by designing products and services in a manner and by deli vering values accordingly. In case the business is able to adopt its processes accordingly then it will be able to extend its competencies and occupying a stable market space(Trkman, 2010). Stable sources of revenues will allow the Company to take advantage of creating a sustainable advantage in the market. Overarching Way Proposed process changes can deliver immense amounts of benefits and value addition to the business. The proposed change will allow to integrate with the clients and enable understanding their needs as against market and industry standards. In case markets are fluctuating then the Company can devise a low costs solution for the customers such that they are able to purchase services of the Company(Jung, 2007). These process changes needs to be adopted by the Company in a rapid manner by means of staff training, technological updation and system changes. The newly designed and formed technological solutions will enable the business to adopt and cater to a large and diversified numbers of customers. Further each and every staffs as well as employees has to be given knowledge and skill updation such that they are able to accommodate and apply the new systems and structures. The most important aspect of this type of change is that employee base is able to integrate and accommodate for the same. There will be multiple processes that will be applied in the business and each and every aspect of the process application will need to be evaluated. Evaluation of processes will help accommodate for changes incorporated such that success of changes can be measured. The business process will integrate key process indicators (KPI) scores for reflecting on success of the various changes that is accommodated(Gharajedaghi, 2011). Each and every process as staff training, application of new technology, client acquisition, sales, services and other factors will have set indicators against which performance of each and every dimensions will be measured. Achievements of KPI scores will be evaluated in a periodic manner with a gap of 6 months period and thereafter a period of a year. Such targets will help meet expectations of the business and overcome the challenges that are faced previously. Recommendations Analyzing the above framework and diagnosing the pertinent challenges that are faced by the business it can easily be understood that business architecture can benefit the business a lot. The following recommendations can enable the Company overcome its current crisis situation and gain back business effectiveness such that it can reinsure profitability and professionalism in its current scopes. The current organization needs to delegate responsibilities appropriately and while adopting business architecture has to form a strategizing framework. While the lines of authority within the business still remain delusional, such needs to be reframed to allow for better strategic integration. There needs to be application of strategy brought about by business strategic and structural framework that can provide the business with value addition. While the business aims to make profits, such terms and concepts needs to be figured rather than conceptualizing. Sales figures which are prominent for the organization needs to be ascertained for generating greater amounts of revenues. Business process architecture needs to be followed diligently to allow for value integration with that of supplier and customers as well. Customer feedback needs to be taken by marketing team and not by research and development team to act on it. The organizations HR framework needs to be followed diligently such that functionalities can be performed accordingly. There are tremendous amount of clashes and irregularities in roles and responsibilities which needs to be sorted accordingly to allow for greater role performances. Overall business process framework will allow the company to adopt strategies and follow a methodical framework for the same. Reference Lists Al-Debei, M. M. 2010. Developing a unified framework of the business model concept. European Journal of Information Systems, 359-376. Amit, R. . 2015. Crafting business architecture: The antecedents of business model design. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 331-350. Becker, J. K. 2013. Process management: a guide for the design of business processes. Springer Science Business Media. Caetano, A. S. 2009. A role-based enterprise architecture framework. In Proceedings of the 2009 ACM symposium on Applied Computing. ACM., 253-258. Choi, Y. K. 2008. An enterprise architecture framework for collaboration of virtual enterprise chains. The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 1065-1078. Gharajedaghi, J. 2011. Systems thinking: Managing chaos and complexity: A platform for designing business architecture. . Elsevier. Jeston, J. . 2014. Business process management. Routledge. Jung, J. C. 2007. An integration architecture for knowledge management systems and business process management systems. Computers in industry, 21-34. Ko, R. K. 2009. Business process management (BPM) standards: a survey. Business Process Management Journal, 744-791. Kurpjuweit, S. . 2009. Concern-oriented business architecture engineering. In Proceedings of the 2009 ACM symposium on Applied Computing. ACM., 265-272. Muller, G. 2008. A reference architecture primer. . Eindhoven Univ. of Techn., Eindhoven, White paper. Myrick, C. B. 2007. U.S. Patent No. 7,162,427. . Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Nayak, N. L. 2007. Core business architecture for a service-oriented enterprise. IBM Systems Journal, 723-742. Pulkkinen, M. N. 2007. Managing information security in a business network of machinery maintenance services businessEnterprise architecture as a coordination tool. Journal of Systems and Software, 1607-1620. Ren, G. J. 2012. Identifying information assets for open data: The role of business architecture and information quality. In Commerce and Enterprise Computing (CEC). 2012 IEEE 14th International Conference on. IEEE., 94-100. Schelp, J. . 2007. A balanced scorecard approach to measure the value of enterprise architecture. Simon, D. F. 2014. Enterprise architecture management and its role in corporate strategic management. Information Systems and e-Business Management, 5-42. Smart, P. A. 2009. Understanding business process management: implications for theory and practice. British Journal of Management, 491-507. Smolander, K. . 2008. Conflicts, compromises, and political decisions: methodological challenges of enterprise-wide e-business architecture creation. Journal of Database Management, 19. Trkman, P. 2010. The critical success factors of business process management. International journal of information management, 125-134. Van Der Aalst, W. M. 2007. An SOA-based architecture framework. International Journal of Business Process Integration and Management, 91-101. Vom Brocke, J. . 2010. Handbook on business process management. Heidelberg: Springer. Wang, X. Z. 2008. A method of business and IT alignment based on enterprise architecture. In Service Operations and Logistics, and Informatics, 2008. IEEE/SOLI 2008. IEEE International Conference on (Vol. 1, pp. 740-745). IEEE., 740-745. Weske, M. 2012. Business process management architectures. In Business Process Management (pp. 333-371). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

King Lear Essays (1251 words) - Literature, King Lear, British Films

King Lear King Lear, by William Shakespeare, is a tragic tale of filial conflict, personal transformation, and loss. The story revolves around the King who foolishly alienates his only truly devoted daughter and realizes too late the true nature of his other two daughters. A major subplot involves the illegitimate son of Gloucester, Edmund, who plans to discredit his brother Edgar and betray his father. With these and other major characters in the play, Shakespeare clearly asserts that human nature is either entirely good, or entirely evil. Some characters experience a transformative phase, where by some trial or ordeal their nature is profoundly changed. We shall examine Shakespeare's stand on human nature in King Lear by looking at specific characters in the play: Cordelia who is wholly good, Edmund who is wholly evil, and Lear whose nature is transformed by the realization of his folly and his descent into madness. The play begins with Lear, an old king ready for retirement, preparing to divide the kingdom among his three daughters. Lear has his daughters compete for their inheritance by judging who can proclaim their love for him in the grandest possible fashion. Cordelia finds that she is unable to show her love with mere words: Cordelia. [Aside] What shall Cordelia speak? Love, and be silent. Act I, scene i, lines 63-64. Cordelia's nature is such that she is unable to engage in even so forgivable a deception as to satisfy an old king's vanity and pride, as we see again in the following quotation: Cordelia. [Aside] Then poor cordelia! And not so, since I am sure my love's More ponderous than my tongue. Act I, Scene i, lines 78-80. Cordelia clearly loves her father, and yet realizes that her honesty will not please him. Her nature is too good to allow even the slightest deviation from her morals. An impressive speech similar to her sisters' would have prevented much tragedy, but Shakespeare has crafted Cordelia such that she could never consider such an act. Later in the play Cordelia, now banished for her honesty, still loves her father and displays great compassion and grief for him as we see in the following: Cordelia. O my dear father, restoration hang Thy medicine on my lips, and let this kiss Repair those violent harms that my two sisters Have in reverence made. Act IV, Scene vii, lines 26-29. Cordelia could be expected to display bitterness or even satisfaction at her father's plight, which was his own doing. However, she still loves him, and does not fault him for the injustice he did her. Clearly, Shakespeare has crafted Cordelia as a character whose nature is entirely good, unblemished by any trace of evil throughout the entire play. As an example of one of the wholly evil characters in the play, we shall turn to the subplot of Edmund's betrayal of his father and brother. Edmund has devised a scheme to discredit his brother Edgar in the eyes of their father Gloucester. Edmund is fully aware of his evil nature, and revels in it as seen in the following quotation: Edmund. This is the excellent foppery of the world, that when we are sick in fortune, often the surfeits of our own behaviour, we make guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon, and stars; as if we were villains on necessity; fools by heavenly compulsion; knaves, thieves, and treachers by spherical predominance; drunkards, liars, and adulterers by an enforced obedience of planetary influence; and all that we are evil in, by a divine thrusting on. ... I should have been that I am, had the maidenliest star in the firmament twinkled on my bastardizing. Act I, scene ii, lines 127-137, 143-145. Clearly, Edmund recognizes his own evil nature and decides to use it to his advantage. He mocks the notion of any kind of supernatural or divine influence over one's destiny. Edgar must go into hiding because of Edmund's deception, and later Edmund betrays Gloucester himself, naming him a traitor which results in Gloucester's eyes being put out. Edmund feels not the slightest remorse for any of his actions. Later on, after the invading French army has been repelled, Lear and Cordelia have been taken captive and Edmund gives these chilling words to his captain: Edmund. Come hither captain; hark. Take thou this note: go follow them to prison; One step

Free Essays on The 13th Warrior Vs. Beowulf

The 13th Warrior Vs. Beowulf Michael Crichton intertwined some aspects of Beowulf with his own thoughts to produce the drama, â€Å"The 13th Warrior.† Beowulf, written down by an unnamed Christian monk in the 8th century, served as a framework for the plot of â€Å"The 13th Warrior.† Beowulf and â€Å"The 13th Warrior† have many differences but the similarities that they share are more abundant through out the two pieces. Instead of doing a direct translation of Beowulf, the writer of the â€Å"The 13th Warrior† used his creativity to fabricate a new story. To start off, â€Å"The 13th Warrior† is seen through the eyes of Antonio Banderas’ character, Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan, while Beowulf told the story of Beowulf from a third person point of view. The protagonists, Beowulf (Beowulf), and Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan (â€Å"The 13th Warrior†) are of different ethnic groups; Beowulf is Swedish and Ahmed is Arabic. In â€Å"The 13th Warrior† groups of men fight the evil which is in the form of men dressed up as bears, possibly to seem more frightening, and their mother, who is an evil witch. Beowulf generally fights the evil, which is represented by Grendel and his mother, who are both monsters, descendants of Cain, alone. The warriors of â€Å"The 13th Warrior† and Beowulf, clearly, had incongruous reasons for fighting the bear men. Beowulf wanted to be famous and with fame com es fortune. Beowulf was supercilious unlike the men in â€Å"The 13th Warrior.† Ahmed and his comrades were not offered money or any reward; they did not, necessarily, want to be remembered for their heroic deeds at Herot; they just wanted to help save the villagers. Like Beowulf and Ahmed, Grendel and the bear men had incongruous reasons for attacking Herot. Every night the men of Beowulf would stay up late laughing, dancing, drinking; celebrating their greatness. Grendel grew weary of this night after night and eventually sought his revenge. Grendel attacked because he... Free Essays on The 13th Warrior Vs. Beowulf Free Essays on The 13th Warrior Vs. Beowulf The 13th Warrior Vs. Beowulf Michael Crichton intertwined some aspects of Beowulf with his own thoughts to produce the drama, â€Å"The 13th Warrior.† Beowulf, written down by an unnamed Christian monk in the 8th century, served as a framework for the plot of â€Å"The 13th Warrior.† Beowulf and â€Å"The 13th Warrior† have many differences but the similarities that they share are more abundant through out the two pieces. Instead of doing a direct translation of Beowulf, the writer of the â€Å"The 13th Warrior† used his creativity to fabricate a new story. To start off, â€Å"The 13th Warrior† is seen through the eyes of Antonio Banderas’ character, Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan, while Beowulf told the story of Beowulf from a third person point of view. The protagonists, Beowulf (Beowulf), and Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan (â€Å"The 13th Warrior†) are of different ethnic groups; Beowulf is Swedish and Ahmed is Arabic. In â€Å"The 13th Warrior† groups of men fight the evil which is in the form of men dressed up as bears, possibly to seem more frightening, and their mother, who is an evil witch. Beowulf generally fights the evil, which is represented by Grendel and his mother, who are both monsters, descendants of Cain, alone. The warriors of â€Å"The 13th Warrior† and Beowulf, clearly, had incongruous reasons for fighting the bear men. Beowulf wanted to be famous and with fame com es fortune. Beowulf was supercilious unlike the men in â€Å"The 13th Warrior.† Ahmed and his comrades were not offered money or any reward; they did not, necessarily, want to be remembered for their heroic deeds at Herot; they just wanted to help save the villagers. Like Beowulf and Ahmed, Grendel and the bear men had incongruous reasons for attacking Herot. Every night the men of Beowulf would stay up late laughing, dancing, drinking; celebrating their greatness. Grendel grew weary of this night after night and eventually sought his revenge. Grendel attacked because he...

The Maltese Youth Policy 2004 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Maltese Youth Policy 2004 - Essay Example The policy covers the psychological, mental and physical realms of young people's health. Since the policy focuses on prevention rather than treatment, this is a wise approach by the Maltese government because it implies that they have realised that good health starts at an early age. This objective is to be implemented through establishment of health education. (Youth Forum, 2006a) The Maltese Youth Policy is also quite unswerving in its approach because it focuses on some of the dangerous activities that youth engage in and those that can be detrimental to their health. This has been achieved through placement of professionals to deal with those dangerous issues e.g. unprotected sex, addiction, promiscuity, careless driving, malnutrition and dangerous leisure activities. The Policy also considers the fact that youth need to be protected in their work places and therefore introduces the issue of promotion of safety standards within workplaces. There are some weaknesses in the policy too. The first is the fact that very little has been done to address the issue of diversity within the nation yet there are a number of foreign youth in the country. Additionally, the policy has described all the issues that need to be addressed but it has not implemented some of these issues. Part of the reason why implementation has been slow was because some of the terms in the policy are ambiguous. For example, the policy claims that it will 'promote' health as part of the holistic approach to health. However, details on how this can be achieved have not been clearly laid out. Additionally, the policy has not specified which age groups or classes will need health education. The policy has made a sweeping statement about the importance of early education as a base for healthy living yet there are various interpretations to the term 'early'. (Eurodesk, 2004) A Critique of the Youth Health policy in Slovakia, Britain and Finland The Youth Policy in Britain focuses on a number of issues facing young members of society. Some of them include; embracing diversity within the nations' youth agenda, promoting participation of the youth in activities that affect their country including sports and many others. However, there is very little focus on health. Despite giving numerous suggestions on how the overall well being of the youth can be improved, there is still little effort to link those suggestions to health. (ESPNsoccernet, 2008) However, there are some positive aspects about the policy too. The policy initiated a campaign against unhealthy eating habits and childhood obesity. It also created a personal health initiative where there would be focus on the young people between the ages of twelve and thirteen. This was introduced in order to assist young people in the process of making a transition from their teenage years into later stages of life. However, even this initiative is not all encompassing as it has not looked at emotional and mental aspects of health. All in all, one can conclude that the Youth Policy in Britain is quite elaborate but lacks precision under the health agenda. The Youth Policy in Finland is examined after every ten years through the Youth Act. The last change was

Discuss the role of nature, its character and its significance in the Essay - 1

Discuss the role of nature, its character and its significance in the fellowship of the ring. from the book lord of the rings - Essay Example Nature has its own characterization that features a unique duality: one, ideal and benign; and, aggressively cruel in the other. The reader first learns about nature during Bilbo’s birthday celebration when village talk drifts towards the Old Forest, a â€Å"dark bad place† and unfit to be lived in. As the story unfolded later on, this side to nature would be reinforced by how Mirkwood and Fangorn were described. When Merry and Pippin, for instance, find themselves deep in the Fangorn Forest, their impression demonstrates the perceived hostility of the place. At one point, Pippin quips, â€Å"It is all very dim, and stuffy, in here† later on commenting about the â€Å"weeping, trailing, beards and whiskers of lichen,† underscoring the â€Å"frightfully tree-ish† environs wherein no animals or hobbits could endure. In the Fellowship of the Ring, the bad nature has been sufficiently covered. Gimli, at some point in the quest remarks about the reputation of Caradhras as a cruel mountain and that, true to the stories, it has, indeed, attempted to impede their quest as well. Then there is, of course, Old Man Willow who lulls the Hobbits to sleep and traps Merry and Pippin inside. Without the intervention of Tom Bombadill, they would have been eaten and crushed. Tom admonished the miscreant tree, saying â€Å"you should not be waking. Eat earth! Dig deep! Drink water! Go to sleep!† According to Treebeard, later on in the story in his conversation with his Hobbit friends, some trees â€Å"have bad hearts† as well and so when people are not friendly towards them, they become aggressive in response. The other character of nature is demonstrated in the way the author paints an ecological utopia such as that of the Shire. It is inhabited by peaceful creatures who loathe machines and are content with tilling the earth. This characterization is a potent demonstration of how nature at its best is supposed to be, untouched by man’s greed and abuse. Take for instance

Comparative Study Of Corruption Study Essay Example for Free

Comparative Study Of Corruption Study Essay ABSTRACT   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Having Nordic countries consistently on top of the CPIs least corrupt countries for years, there must be something in this culture and tradition that make them highly regarded as having a clean and honest government. Based on the 2006 Corruption Perception Index, Finland and Iceland are the top two least corrupt countries while Haiti and Burma hailed as the two most corrupt countries in the world. This paper aims to find the reasons why these countries were in their current position in the CPI by comparing their government system, culture and tradition. This paper also aims to find solid evidences that will prove that the culture of corruption is not a matter of effective and efficient policies but on the culture of strict implementation of such policies, the moral and ethical standards of the people and the collective concern of the people to their country.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A brief background of the 2006 CPI report is included in the first part of this paper. A separate section, discussing thoroughly the different elements which may contribute to each country’s culture of corruption is the main focus of this paper. Data from competent writers and qualified analysts were compared in order to make readers further understand the economic, political and social status of each country. A brief conclusion is also included, summarizing the main points of comparison between countries. BACKGROUND ON CPI’s 2006 RESULTS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the 2006 Corruption Perception Index, Finland emerged on top as the least corrupt country in the world, scoring 9.6 out of the 10 clean score. Scoring equally are Iceland and New Zealand. In the CPI 2006 published by the Transparency International, Haiti turned out to be the most corrupt of the 163 countries involved in the survey scoring only 1.8 while slightly on top is Myanmar with 1.9 score. If we are to look into the previous CPI results, we can see that the top Finland and other Nordic countries, Iceland and New Zealand have been consistently on the five least corrupt countries. The question here is who or what makes a country the least or the most corrupt country in the world? â€Å"The CPI is a composite index which uses survey results from business people and country analysts as with their assessment and perception of corruption among public officials and political figures† (J.G. Lambsdorff). This means that the CPI is considered as a competent and reliable material considering that it makes use of qualified people in assessing the existence of corruption. It utilizes different sets of polls relative to perception of corruption, had them compiled and analyzed before it came up with the figures published in the CPI. In 2006, Transparency International made use of 112 sets of polls and survey from independent bodies listed below:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Freedom House: â€Å"Nations in Transit†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Economist Intelligence Unit   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   United Nations Commission for Africa   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   World Economic Forum   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   World Markets Research Center (London)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Merchant International Group Limited (London)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (Hong Kong)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   International Institute for Management and Development (Laussane)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (IDA and IBRD of World Bank)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is also important to note that bribery among public officials and servants is one of the major factors considered by analysts as the major indicator of corruption. â€Å"Political culture and political institutions determine the level of corruption† (P. Tiihonen). It is therefore but fair enough to conclude that corruption begins when bribery is tolerated by anyone in the government or any public office. To have a deeper understanding of corruption, we will try to compare two of the most corrupt countries in the world with that of the two least corrupt countries using different areas and aspects. By doing so, we will be able to assess what factors make Finland and Iceland’s government clean and the factors that brought Haiti and Myanmar on top of the list of the most corrupt countries. ELEMENTS THAT MAKE A COUNTRY CLEAN OR CORRUPT Government and Political System   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Finland has the culture of good governance. Based on the political structure of Finland, we can say that it has one of the best, if not the best system of government. First, Finland is a country that does not recognize social class. This is what they referred to as â€Å"Egalitarian Society† where everyone, regardless of social status is given equal opportunity to avail of the services of the government and to be of service to the people (Tiihonen). Education is compulsory, women are given the full rights for suffrage and political participation as candidates, pension is provided for all citizens who reached 65 years old, healthcare services are free for everyone and education is free from basic to higher education. If all people are able to experience this kind of welfare in their country, it would be far from their means of finding comfort to bribe and accept bribe. Nordic countries like Finland and Iceland live up to their political culture of transparency and corruption free society2. Considering the legal framework of Finland, one can immediately conclude that their government is serious with combating corruption as bribery, which includes both giving and accepting bribe, is a criminal offense (Criminal Code: R1 101/19.12.89). For them money, jewelry, household, special or low interest loans, trips, honorary titles and recommendations are forms of bribes (J. Brady). Nordic countries also have the collective decision structure, wherein decisions are in the hands of a collegiate body making hard for bribery to be tolerated. In complete contrast, Haiti is a country of faltering democratic institutions and unstable political situation making it the poorest country in the Americas5. Recent reports involved government officials in the issue of drug trafficking, particularly the Presidential Security Unit and the Palace Guard4. Reported incidents of violence against anti-government demonstrators, said to be demanding to better public services like water and highways, are clear indicators of the country’s political instability. Growing counts of human rights violations and the Aristede’s government’s disrespect for the people’s freedom of expression are regarded by analysts as â€Å"political humanitarian catastrophe† (J. Regan). Another indicator of the country’s unclean government is the incident of credit union pyramid scheme involving banks which money allegedly came from drug money. It turned out later that the scheme is a scam where the government promised to pay depositors who lost $200 million dollars and so far has not yet been fulfilled6. As with Myanmar, political instability is not too obvious as that of Haiti.   A political observer, in his article entitled â€Å"Magnificent, Troubled Myanmar† the writer described the country as â€Å"beautiful, tragic, natural, and chaotic place†7. In his article, he made mention of the people’s fear of the government by strictly avoiding discussion or making comments about their government even by merely consorting foreigners. In this situation, we can say that freedom and civil liberty is not honored by the government of Myanmar. As with corruption, the author stressed the severely low income of the people of the country, with as low as half a dollar per day for most citizens. Considering their 883% literacy rate, this is a tragic economic situation. Based on this situation alone, corruption, especially bribery is highly expected. In fact, Myanmar’s public servants have negative real earnings (M. Maung). According to Maung, the iniquities in Burma today are driving its people into corruption. Such iniquities include: 9the growing power and wealth of the military rulers at the expense of impoverished masses, the sub-human conditions and plight of hundreds of thousands of displaced refugees stranded along Burmas borders. Ethical and Moral Standards   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Nordic countries like Finland and Iceland, to be a public servant means to of real service to the public. Civil servants in these countries take pride of being a member of a generally honest government. For Finnish society, having a good name means a lot so they really do their best to avoid being accused of any malpractice especially that of related to dishonesty (P. Tiihonen). The Finnish society also maintained their administrative culture of creating efficient civil servants by reserving senior civil service post to lawyers or at least those who earned degrees in law10. The government of Finland also gives its civil servants the responsibility for every decision and action they make. They are left independent in their tasks and do their individual duties with the least supervisory intervention. This is the reason why Finnish government employs highly-educated individuals in the civil service posts11.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Highly in contrast is the situation in the Burmese civil society. In a country as poor as Burma, to accept bribe is a matter of practicality. Bribery is normal in their everyday life where even the service of a lineman needs bribe. Accepting bribe for them is of being resourceful7. Like the people of Burma, Haiti citizens are evidently of low morale since most of them do not take courage to express their dislike and frustrations to their government. The continuing reports of chaos and demonstrations of few brave citizens are indications that these people resort to violence just to seek for the government’s attention. Quality of Life   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Finland is a moral and welfare society where almost everyone enjoys a comfortable life. With free education, pension, health care benefits and honest and dedicated civil servants, I would say that Finnish people might have been the luckiest people in the world. They enjoy their civil rights and political freedoms especially in participating in public issues. For them, everything that concerns the public must be open to all citizens. This means that they are all given the right to question any government policy or decision. Even diaries and records concerning public transactions are literally open to everybody2. Finland also takes pride of their culture of being environment friendly. For them, taking care of their natural resources are powerful means of maintaining their economic edge. As evidence Finland still tops the Environmental Sustainability Index along with Norway, Canada and Sweden11. Considering violence in Haiti and the severe poverty in Burma, it is evident that their citizens are far from enjoying a good quality of life. Political instability, rampant and open bribery, environmental degradation and disrespect of individual freedom are the frustrating realities of life of the people of Haiti and Burma. With widespread unemployment and a negative real wage for most people, Burma is a picture of a real poor country whose government does not seem to care for its people. CONCLUSION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By comparing the two least corrupt and two most corrupt countries in the world, based on the 2006 Corruption Perception Index, we were able to have an idea of how these countries differ on several areas. In our analysis of such areas we were able to draw some information that relates to their system of government and their philosophies which somehow define their stand in the issue of corruption. To summarize the major points of comparison, Nordic countries like Finland and Iceland have the following philosophies for a corruption-free society: Nordic countries strictly do not tolerate dishonesty especially corruption, a principle they call â€Å"ethicality.† Finland and other Nordic countries strictly implement transparency on public records and transactions by literally opening all pubic documents to every citizen. The government also opens its door to criticisms and regard public administration as privilege being a member of an honest and highly regarded circle of civil servants. The Finnish government’s collective decision structure makes it hard for bribery and corruption to enter into the system. Nordic countries maintain a low hierarchical structure where civil servants are highly educated and were left independent and individually responsible for their decisions and actions. This structure also encourages civil servants to maintain a good status in the society by having a clean name. Nordic countries’ legacy of egalitarian society ensures that every citizen enjoys the benefits of being a citizen of a moral and welfare society.   In contrast, this paper have presented the proofs of Haiti and Burma’s political instability, severe poverty, absence of political and civil rights and the government’s lack of concern for its people as causes and at the same time indicators of their corrupt government. By comparing the political and economic situations of the four countries, we were able to find out that corruption is not a matter of policy and laws but the strict implementation of it. Also, that poverty is not an indicator of corruption but a reflection of it. Making Finland as a perfect example, the world must make considerable efforts in implementing its laws and begin to nurture an honest society starting at the public administration. REFERENCES    1Transparency International.â€Å"Corruptions Perception Index 2006†. Retrieved on July 14, 2007 from http://www.transparency.org/publications/gcr/download_gcr#19 2â€Å"Nordics Least Corrupted Nations in the World† Retrieved on July 14, 2007 from http://www.scandinavica.com/culture/society/corruption.htm 4â€Å"Jamaica Still Leading Caribbean Drug Route†CNN News. March 01, 2003. Retrieved on July 14, 2007 from http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/americas/03/01/drugs.caribbean.reut/index.html 5â€Å"Haiti Tops World Corruption Table† BBC News. November 06, 2006. Retrieved on July 14, 2007 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6120522.stm 6â€Å"Aid To Haiti is Unfrozen, but Corruption and Chaos Remain† Retrieved on July 14, 2007 from http://www.allbusiness.com/central-america/289066-1.html?yahss=114-2974554-289066 7â€Å"Magnificent, Troubled Myanmar† Retrieved on July 14, 2007 from http://www.vagabonding.com/travelogue/000038.html 8â€Å"Myanmar† Retrieved on July 14, 2007 from http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107808.html 9Maung, Maya. â€Å"The State of Burmese Economy under Military Management† Retrieved on July 14, 2007 from http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs/HRDU%201995/The%20state%20of%20Burmese%20Economy.htm 10Brady, Joe. â€Å"Corruption-Nearly None at All† Retrieved on July 14, 2007 from   http://virtual.finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=25892 11Tiihonen, Paula. â€Å"Good Governance and Corruption in Finland† Retrieved on July 14 2007 from http://virtual.finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=25891 Lambsdorff, Johann Graf. â€Å"The Corruptions Perceptions Index 2006†. Pages 324-330 Lavers ,Tom. â€Å"The Global Corruption Barometer† pg. 13 â€Å"Finland Ranks as Least Corrupt† CNN News. October 08, 2003. Retrieved on July 14 2007 from http://www.cnn.com/2003/BUSINESS/10/08/corruption.index/index.html

Essay --

Role of renewable energy sources in environmental protection. Munthir ALMoslem Student # 1001020682 Course: EES1100 Date: 9th December 2013 Area of interests The Saudi Arabia economy is highly dependent on oil exports; the country has approximately â€Å"one-fifth of the world's proven oil reserves, and it is the largest producer and exporter of oil†, producing 12 million barrels per day (Saudi Arabia Country Profile, 2013). Saudi Arabia is the biggest consumer of oil in the Middle East; in 2009, the country was ranked as the world’s 13th highest consumer of energy, of which about 60 percent was petroleum-based and the other 40 percent was natural gas (Saudi Arabia Country Profile, 2013). From all the accessible sources, the current capacity of producing energy in Saudi Arabia is about 55 gigawatts and grows by 3 gigawatts annually (Alaindroos & He, 2012). The Saudi Arabian government invests about 1,125 billion dollars to cater to its energy needs between now and 2018 (Alaindroos & He, 2012). In the year 2009 alone, the country used about 100 million barrels of oil to produce energy and this implies that they consume one q uarter of all their oil in domestic uses. The demand for electricity in Saudi Arabia is estimated to increase by 70 GW in the next twenty years (Saudi Arabia Country Profile, 2013). The current dependence on unsustainable energy sources has a different effect on the environment due to gases they emit into the atmosphere. If the country fully implements the use of sustainable sources of energy, it will help to expand the use of energy for security purposes. The use of sustainable sources of energy would lead to reduced emissions of greenhouse gases, effluents and other wastes that have a negative im... ...s. Environment, 37(9): 6-15. Maithani, P. (2008). Renewable Energy in the Global Context. New York: Concept Publishing Company. Mani. (2013). Saudi Arabia Invests $109B To Meet 1/3 Energy Needs From Renewables. ValueWalk. Retrieved from http://www.valuewalk.com/2013/07/saudi-arabia-invests-109b/ Nogee , A . , Clemmer, S. , Donovan, D. ,& Deyette, J. (2002). Clean Energy Blueprint: Increasing Energy Security, Saving Money, and Protecting the Environment with Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 22(2): 100-109. Olivier, J. , Janssens-Maenhout , G. , Muntean, M. ,& Peters, J. (2013) . Trends in global CO2 emissions: 2013 Report. Retrieved from http://www.pbl.nl/sites/default/files/cms/publicaties/pbl-2013-trends-in-global-co2-emissions-2013-report-1148.pdf Saudi Arabia Country Profile. (2013). Environmental Analysis. MEED