European History Essay Paper †Past Question Plans Essay

This is an ‘explain’ type question – so it’s asking you to do just that, but also a little more. Merely describing the measures Ferdinand and Isabella took to cope with various problems will get some marks, but more marks will be gained if you weigh up the outcomes of these policies, and register how successful they were. For example, you may say in the essay that Ferdinand and Isabella faced economic problems, and you may go on to explain what policy(ies) they introduced to solve the problem. This would be ‘explaining’ how they ‘dealt’ with the problem, but you can go further and say how well they dealt with it compared to other issues, etc. Also, refer to historians and what they said about how they dealt with problems. Always link back to the question. So – you must: a) Show what the problems were b) What measures they took to deal with them c) How successful these measures were, evaluating against other issues, historiographical interpretations, short-term/long-term instances. The essay: PARA 1 – WHAT WERE THE PROBLEMS: i) Civil War in Aragon – decline of Barcelona, civil disorder, social unrest. ii) Lack of Grandee support for Isabella. iii) Lack of Town support for Isabella. iv) Foreign menaces. v) Religious issues – Jews, Muslims, Reconquista. PARA 2 – HOW THEY DEALT WITH THEM: i) Civil War in Aragon: well, King John of Aragon was very much in favour of a marriage alliance of Ferdinand with Isabella. John saw this as a way of engineering territorial security in area like Catalonia, keeping the French at bay. He also saw the possibility of better economic ties that would help halt the decline of Barcelona and peasant unrest. Thus, Chroniclers depicted Ferdinand – King in January 1479 – as the founder of a new Age, a ‘Messiah’. The real problems in Aragon, however, like that of town control over financial policy, were not even attempted to be sorted out until after 1479 when Ferdinand had been King for a few years. However, between 1469 and 1479, we can see the ideal behind John’s plan to marry Ferdinand and Isabella, as it was meant to give Ferdinand a better chance to reviving Aragon’s fortunes – something, in the long-term, which slowly starts to happen, for example with the emergence of town consulados, etc. ii) Lack of Grandee support for Isabella: Isabella had some Grandee support – but she needed more in order to win her succession. The succession crisis was the biggest issue, and within that, the lack of Grandee support – an important problem that needed to be addressed. So, she had to make deals to get support. She needed their support as Grandees had land, money, power and men – they could make or break a monarch. So, she bought them off: Cardinal Mendoza was promised a Chancellorship, his brother was created Duke of Infantado; Enriquez was made Admiral of Castile; Velasco made Constable of Castile. Isabella said – support me and I’ll reward you, and this is how she changed the potentially dangerous situation of only a minority of Nobles supporting her, to a majority in favour of her. iii) Lack of town support: Most towns were in revolt; many ‘bandos’ fought for their own control of the towns and cities, depriving Ferdinand and Isabella of an important power base. Isabella used a variety of techniques to overcome the problem, demonstrating her political aptitude and ability to work out different answers to varying situations. Thus, Burgos was promised Royal protection from liberty-threatening nobles after Burgos’s citizens highlighted this as a major hindrance in their supporting of Isabella. Toledo was offered extensive privileges if they submitted; Seville was threatened with financial and commercial penalties if Isabella’s right as Queen was refused there. Rodrigo declared in favour of Isabella ————————————————————————————————————————- How important was religion in influencing the policies of Ferdinand and Isabella? The only way to avoid narrative is to structure an essay properly and to focus on explaining and arguing, rather than telling the story. It takes a certain amount of courage to accept, but a shorter, focused, analytical answer is much better than a long, narrative one! If you can, use short, snappy quotations to support your analysis, rather than long factual descriptions. Clearly you understand that religion was important and since this is the factor given in the essay title, you need to deal with this in the greatest depth. A brief introduction stressing the piety of Ferdinand and (especially) Isabella (eg ref â€Å"the Catholic monarchs†, the fact that their tomb in Granada Cathedral records only their â€Å"achievements† in religion) should be an followed by an explanation of how the conquest of Granada, the establishment of religious uniformity, the reform of the Spanish Church and even the sponsorship of Columbus were motivated by religious aims. In the context of this essay, the policy of religious uniformity requires particular attention, as the implementation of this policy was politically difficult (eg opposition to the Inquisition, especially in the Aragonese kingdoms and the revolt of the Alpujarras) and economically damaging (eg the loss of the wealth and commercial skills of the Jewish community especially in Barcelona and the disruption to trade and agriculture in Granada after the expulsion of the Moors). It therefore shows the importance of religion in the formation and implementation of policy, given that Ferdinand & Isabella were willing to accept the consequent political and economic difficulties. However, to give your essay balance you will need also to explain that these â€Å"religious† policies had other aims too, given the pressing need to restore and strengthen royal authority (particularly in Castile, after the anarchy of Henry IV’s reign and the civil war). In particular, the conquest of Granada and the sponsorship of Columbus were motivated by economic aims, while the conquest and reform of the Church also had broader political aims (eg the conquest united the nobility behind the new regime and gave it a safe outlet for its aggressive instincts, while ecclesiastical reform went some way to establishing royal authority over the Spanish Church). You should conclude that this complex of motives – religious, political and economic – was inevitable, given the personality of the Catholic monarchs and the context of their reign. I hope all this helps you with your studies. Good luck! ————————————————————————————————————————- How United was Spain by 1516? The main thing with any essay is to be clear in your mind about what you are going to say. Yes, there are different interpretations but the only point of view your exam marker is really interested in is yours! So you must decide right from the beginning what you think the answer is and structure your essay accordingly. If you have time, you can include some discussion of the other views/possibilities in your conclusion! In the case of this essay, there are a number of possible answers: ie Ferdinand & Isabella united Spain more or less completely; they didn’t unite it at all; or they united it in some ways but not others. Common sense will tell you that the last approach is probably the best one! Having decided what your argument is going to be, you can say so in your introduction (ie Ferdinand & Isabella imposed religious uniformity on Spain and created a dynastic union: however measure designed to bring about closer economic ties were half-hearted at best and they never united Spain politically) and structure the rest of the essay accordingly. Start off by explaining those areas where unity was achieved, in particular the implementation of policies designed to bring about religious uniformity (conquest of Granada, expulsion of Jews and Moors, Inquisition) and the dynastic union resulting from the marriage of Ferdinand & Isabella that also enabled the Catholic Kings to pursue common military and foreign policy aims. However, you should be aware that all of this only went so far. For example, the supposedly â€Å"Spanish† conquest of Granada actually resulted in the expansion of the crown of Castile, while toleration of Moorish practices actually continued in Aragon (especially Valencia). Perhaps most telling was the fact that after Isabella’s death, Ferdinand re-married in order to prevent (unsuccessfully) Charles of Burgundy from inheriting Aragon as well as Castile. In other words, Ferdinand did not want the dynastic union created by himself and Isabella to last if it meant that their joint heir would be a Habsburg prince. Consider the economy next: â€Å"unity† is suggested by the equalisation of currencies (often referred to as the introduction of a common currency) and the introduction of a rudimentary postal service. However, internal customs barriers and regulations protecting the privileged status of â€Å"native† merchants in towns like Barcelona, Valencia and Seville remained. Finally, explain that Ferdinand & Isabella certainly didn’t unite Spain in any political sense. Indeed, they probably had no intention of ever doing so (for example they never called themselves the King and Queen of Spain!). The component kingdoms all had their own rights and privileges that made it almost impossible to rule as a single political unit . Indeed, given the potential strength of the crown in Castile (and the weakness of royal authority in Aragon) Ferdinand & Isabella wisely concentrated on restoring the authority of the crown there, leaving Aragon more or less to its own devices. Apart from the Inquisition, there were no common political, administrative, legal or military institutions and the rights of the Aragonese kingdoms, Navarre and the Basque Provinces were fully respected (apart from the imposition of the Inquisition). Conclude this section of your essay by referring to events after Isabella’s death, when Ferdinand was seen as a â€Å"foreign† ruler with no rights in Castile and was consequently excluded from the government of the country. It was only the death of Archduke Philip and the madness of Joanna that forced the Castilian administration under Cisneros to turn (very reluctantly!) to Ferdinand for assistance. As noted above, your conclusion might include discussion of other interpretations/points of view but it is better if you end up reinforcing your own argument! If you can, find a snappy quotation that supports your point of view to end with! I hope this hopes you with your studies. Good luck!

Critical review of Crafting Strategy

Introduction Strategic management contains various subjects and topics, most of which do not have the consistent identity (Ketchen, Boyd and Bergh, 2008). It is no doubt that there are still many debates towards strategy concept. In this essay, the article â€Å"crafting strategy† will be reviewed. This is analysed by putting the article in to a wider debate about strategy, then discussing its main strengths and weaknesses. Placing of the article in the wider strategy debate This article’s view fits the debate of prescriptive and emergent strategy.According to Whittington, prescriptive strategy is a rational approach in which planning plays a vital role, and it is more appropriate for large and mature industries (2002). However, Mintzberg challenged this perspective, saying that the process of strategy is distorted by the planning that misguides the organisations (1987). The differences between prescriptive and emergent strategy can be identified in two points. Prescrip tive strategy means formal planning, which involves an analytic process by top executives to set up a long-term mission and later undertaking by staff (Ansoff, 1965).However, in the view of emergent strategy, â€Å"It is not possible to develop a perspective of the future and formulate explicit objective in an unpredictable environment; instead, it is necessary to react in a flexible, opportunistic and accidental manner to new, unpredictable developments† (Idenburg, 1993: 136). In addition, due to the volatility and variability in market conditions, management decisions depend on information that is imprecise and fluctuated.As a result, an emergent strategic approach is more suitable for forms to conduct and business strategy should be adjustable instead of developing a prescriptive strategy with a foreseen result (Marlo, 2000). Moreover, the difference can also be shown by the attitude towards learning. â€Å"Purely deliberate strategy precludes learning once the strategy i s formulated; emergent strategy fosters it† (Mintzberg, 1987:69). Emergent strategy refers to the strategy formulation process which focuses on understanding of strategic learning and let the firm to experiment in a dynamic environment.Though agreement and compromise are part of the formulation process, there is an evident lack of knowledge in the performance system, which leads to a process featured with the emergency of meaning (Lowe and Jone, 2004). In terms of how learning applies to make the strategy, Mason (2007) states that emergent strategy making means all the employees utilise the flexible and strong adaptability to equalise structure and rapid change rather than responding to external change.The basic problem in strategy making is to achieve innovation and remain consistent and reliable strategy implementation. This may include adapt faster than other companies and responding and learning quickly from flaws. In another word, emerging organisation is able to improve employee 3 effectiveness, resulting in a positive influence to greater creativity and motivation in the organisational processes, and it, in turn, leads to better organisational performance (Huselid, 1995).In this article, it discusses emergent strategy, strategic reorientations and how to manage strategy. This is explained by compare and contrast with the deliberate strategy. Mintzberg’s article clearly belongs to prescriptive and emergent strategy debate and it gives strong support towards emergent strategy. Discussion of Strengths and Weaknesses This article involves some main strengths and weaknesses in terms of the strategy debate. In reality, there is no entirely prescriptive strategy or entirely emergent one, many approaches fall between these two extreme points.Most efficient strategy blends organisational learning with flexibility and deliberation and control, such as umbrella strategy and process strategy (Mintzberg, 1987). This idea fully reflects the complexity fo r the business world, even though Mintzberg has an ardent preference towards emergent strategy, there is no guaranty that this is the most suitable or perfect method for all business. Besides, other analyses also illustrate the importance of strategy-making blends autonomy and planning in emergent strategy mode.To be more specific, by combining those two modes, organisation is able to gain productive adaptive capability and optimal alignment in firm through adapting to unpredictable environment in emergent strategy mode and coordinating business activities to complete company’s efficiency in strategy planning (Andersen and Nielsen. 2009). Another strength of this article is the statement about strategic thinking. Fiona (2002) points out that the central to sustain competitive advantage is to have a creative and divergent strategic thinking.This fresh perspective represents a new way for managers to consider and evaluate the operation of organisation. Just as Mintzberg mention s, strategic thinking is captured by informal learning from diverse sources included experiences, leading to an integrated view towards the firm, and then synthesizing the learning into an image of the business direction (1994). In contrast, many administrators merely analyse the figures and graphs, but those are the analysis of past information and predictions, which hold a substantial risk for business.Moreover, strategic thinking displays a whole perspective of mutual influences between each part of the company and its related environment. It also considers the interlinked relationship of past, present and future in order to think in time and utilise newly emerging chances (Liedtka, 1998). However, there still exists criticism about this article as well. One drawback is Mintzberg failed to study the problems of emergent strategy in the business environment. To begin with, sometimes this strategy may consume too much time. As this process includes various 4 experiments, it keeps t rying to identify new method until it successes.No doubt that this involves a long period since no one can find a suitable compromise every time. Apart from that, each time firm tries a new strategy, it costs an enormous amount of resources such as labours or machines use, which is a waste of capital. As Ansoff point out, Mintzberg does not consider the consequence of using a trial and error approach in various programs. In fact, this approach costs hugely, and research presents that acquisitions can achieve better financial results by conducting a planned approach to diversification instead of trial and error one (1991). ConclusionIn summary, this article presents the crafting strategy that is a metaphor towards strategymaking, and it considers the process of strategy making as craftsmen make their clay, which gives readers a vivid image of how the strategy formulates and implements. This practice is valuable at both beginning of strategy development and strategy review processes ( Heracleous and Jacobs, 2008). However, as this article was written in 1987 and many revolutions have happened in these decades, more researches need to carry out to review whether this strategy still fits well in modern business.

Compensation practices & organizations Essay

Through the use of compensation practices, organizations effort to both reward and motivate diverse types of behavior. Compensation practices comprise pay and benefits, and contemporary total compensation approaches expand the definition of compensation to comprise a variety of favorable outcomes experienced by the employee (Milkovich & Newman, 2002). As of the importance of pay to employees, compensation and benefit programs can provide as a major indicator of possible discrimination in the organization. However, pay policies can also be used to lessen discriminatory behavior and encourage diversity. Though potential race and age discrimination in compensation is a significant concern, most of the applied and research attention has been aimed at sex related issues, particularly comparable worth and pay equity (Treiman & Hartman, 1981). Organizations can lessen the negative effects of their compensation practices by auditing their policies and then, based on the results of the audits, distill their procedures to eliminate bias, and where necessary, regulate the pay of minority group members. The type of audits that organizations can engage in will correspond to the three major theories, approaches, or techniques used in significant pay discrimination. The three major approaches or types of audit are (a) an equal pay audit, (b) a pay equity audit, and (c) an analysis of across-the-board problems. Employee and Labor Relations The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 ( NLRA) specifically stated that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) was empowered to remedy unfair labor practices by the issuance of cease and desist, and reinstatement and back pay orders, and by ordering affirmative action in effectuating the policies of the NLRA. Though the NLRB’s authority is limited by the statutory requisite that its orders should effectuate the policies of the NLRA and should be remedial, not punitive, the principle is one of governmental flexibility and authority to need affirmative acts by a party who has violated the law, so that an unlawful act is efficiently remedied. Such affirmative acts include, inter alia, the employment of individuals who were not hired or were fulfilled for discriminatory reasons, and, in cases linking unfair labor practice strikes, the reinstatement of striking employees yet where the discharge of striker replacements would be necessary. Interestingly, there is little or no evidence that the use and principle of affirmative action in the NLRA framework had any bearing on or resemblance to the use of those words in the context of favored treatment of minorities and women. For employee, performance appraisal can be conceptualized as an organized description of an individual’s job-relevant strengths and weaknesses that is their job performance. Though job performance data can be obtained either objectively (hard criteria) or judgmentally (soft criteria), the term â€Å"performance appraisal† is characteristically used in the context of, albeit not limited to, the latter. Performance evaluations can result in discriminatory outcomes via two mechanisms, (a) poor or ineffective appraisal or rating practices and (b) intentional distortion resulting from motivational and political factors. Concerning the former, two strategies have traditionally been advocated to address the problems with judgmentally based performance data: rating scale development and rater training. The results of rating scale comparisons indicate that format modification alone does not result in much improvement in performance evaluations (Woehr & Miller, 1997). Though, frame-of reference training, which emerged from the social cognitive approach to performance appraisal, appears to be quite effectual as a rater training approach to increasing the accuracy of ratings (Woehr & Huffcutt, 1994). In addition to rater training, job analysis must serve as the basis for constructing the appraisal instrument and the appraisal process so that employees are appraised only on job-related factors. Conclusion EEO and affirmative action in its classic form is mandated for companies entering into agreement with the federal agencies by executive orders 11246 and 11375. Yet the term has come to signify a much broader range of policies. Affirmative action has become a blanket term that refers to any number of active policies approved by organizations to remedy the effects of discrimination. In spite of of the multiplicity of affirmative action program types, however, the perception of affirmative action remains comparatively undifferentiated. In particular, many continue to associate affirmative action with quotas. There seems to be a widespread assumption that affirmative action is little more than favored selection based solely on demographic group membership. The objective of this paper has been to review and confer HR practices that can be used to achieve diversity in organizations. Practices pertaining to staffing and human resource development discussed in terms of reducing negative effects resultant from these practices and altering the behaviors of organizational members by these practices to lessen discrimination and increase diversity. References †¢ AARP (1993). How to recruit older workers. Washington, DC: Author. †¢ Arvey, R. D. , Gordon, M. E. , Massengill, D. P. , & Mussio, S. J. (1975).Differential dropout rates of minority job candidates due to â€Å"time lags† between selection procedures. Personnel Psychology, 28, 175-180. †¢ Avery, D. R. (2003). Reactions to diversity in recruiting advertising—Are differences Black and White? Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 672-679. †¢ Delahoussaye, M. (2001). Leadership in the 21st century. Training, 38, 50-59. †¢ Doverspike, D. , & Arthur, W. Jr. (1995). Race and sex differences in the reactions to simulated selection decisions based on affirmative action. Journal of Black Psychology, 21, 181-200.

Self reflection on culture and communication Assignment

Self reflection on culture and communication - Assignment Example Due to the research work, we came across valuable information regarding Japan. It is known as the â€Å"Land of rising sun†. Japan is a developing country with one of the largest economy as well as largest import-export facilities (MacQueen, 1998). Besides, information that was gathered was that Japan can improve the life expectancy along with lowering the rate of the infant mortality and the total population of Japan is approximately 126 million. With this large amount of population, Japan has an enriched traditional culture, which evolve from the culture of Asia, Europe along with North America. It has the heritage culture in terms of traditional Japanese crafts, paintings, literature as well. During the time of gathering all these information about Japan, we all faced some difficulties but we worked hard to manage the successfulness of the project (MacQueen, 1998). Our teachers give us this type of presentation, in order to enrich our knowledge and learning. Besides, this helps to develop our basic inner selves in terms of group activity, leadership, collectivism, as well as motivation while working in a team. During this research, three of us worked in a team, to find out several cultural determinants, which distinctively differentiated from other culture. My part of job in this presentation is to research about following dimensions, which would show clearly; ‘Power distribution’ is unequal for this Asian country, which means that the country has ‘high power’ as well as ‘low power’ distances. From the understanding gained after collection of research, I can conclude that Japan has a centralised structure, where a former instruct the juniors. The culture of Japan is different from others as they obeyed instructions from seniors and follow collectivism to work efficiently. On the other hand, from the infor mation gathered regarding cultural differences it can be stated that European countries has a flat as well as

Apps of psychology ( application of psychology) Essay

Apps of psychology ( application of psychology) - Essay Example These principles govern the functioning and the growth experienced by the organization. Rationalism is a principle that expresses decision making and analysis in deductive and logical patterns. This principle emphasizes objectivity and logical patterns that are very useful in identifying the best procedures that will lead to enhanced productivity. Pragmatism is a principle that defines the need for emphasis on results, and the need to identify the procedures most effective in delivering the said end goal. Existentialism on the other hand is a principle that guides development towards individual and team growth through enhanced understanding of needs, values and goals. These philosophical constructs are very real to the process of Organizational Development. Freud’s Psychoanalytic constructs are best applied to individuals, but are also useful in understanding the motivations of an individual within an organization. His description of anxiety and defense mechanisms like projection denial and action formation have been found to be applicable to organizational settings; while the concepts of fixation, transference and regression have been found to adequately explain issues faced by individuals in the resolution of these said problems. Freud’s theory breaks life into stages, and the resolution of the dilemmas Faced by the person at each stage becomes a key component in the personality they form by the time they reach adulthood. Using this information, it is possible to select individuals who are equipped for certain jobs, and the avoid placing individuals in positions which will draw out their anxieties and inhibit their ability to work better. The understanding of personality afforded to us by the work of Sigmund Freud helps is in choosing the right individual for the right job, for understanding and resolving the anxiety and dilemmas faced in work groups; and to understand

Privacy and the Enactment of Confidentiality Case Study

Privacy and the Enactment of Confidentiality - Case Study Example This research focuses on specific issues relative to these concerns. In conclusion it gives validation as to why everyone should be allowed to have a right to privacy regardless of what their status in society is. The basis for this is the fact that it is the only logical resolution to keep there from being so many disagreements between news reporters and high celebrities, as well as the basics such as medical doctors and their patients' right to privacy, etc. In whole the final conclusion is the right to privacy should be incorporated to include every facet of life that a person wants kept private as long as it isn't stepping over any legal boundaries. For many decades the citizens in England have assumed that they have an impartial right to complete privacy to their private life. Unfortunately this ideal has seemingly been having serious complications since 2002 when one initial case appeared to provoke controversy into this concept. The case Campbell v. Mirror Group Newspapers changed everyone's position in England on exactly what type of rights to privacy they really are endowed with (Lamont 2004). In this case it was found initially that the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Newspaper in allowing them the ability to report the actions of Campbell but later Campbell continued her arguments that this form of invasion of privacy was against her right to confidentiality and invaded her personal life to the extent that to much information was given to the general public about her comings and goings and personal actions (Lamont 2004).Because Naomi Campbell won out in the long run, the idea for freedom of expression in the newsp apers and other public news source outlets has been quelled and questioned to whether it will be allowed in the future within regard to the extreme way it was conceptualized on in this high profile case. It was the protection of the law situated around Confidentiality that ensured Campbell had the upper hand over MGN, even though initially it seemed she was going to lose her case. In many ways this case helped in guaranteeing that other people would not be up against this same form of invasion into their private life (Lamont 2004). This form of law is not new in England because historically it can be documented where the law of Confidentiality initially stemmed from. There use to be a law against eavesdropping and the reason it existed was in fact to protect people against false accusations and rumors, the same as the law of Confidentiality is meant to do. Many of these laws have not had to be implemented or used until recently and many people claim this is due to the adversity that the Paparazzi are causing. If they would only accept that there is only so far that they should go when publicizing information about people then there would not be the problem that is in existence today.Now the Human Rights Act of 1998 also is a form of law that protects the individual privacy rights of citizens. Again, it is not something that would have to be emphasized if the media would simply quell their obnoxious style in gaining information about people, especially high celebrities. Of course Naomi Campbell's rights to keep her recovery treatment in a personal context makes ample sense since no one would want that broadcasted, and logically it really has no

Language and Intercultural Skills in European SMES Essay

Language and Intercultural Skills in European SMES - Essay Example In effect, this underlines the global approach that business is taking. In this case, globalisation does not only affect the multinational corporations, but also affects SMEs. Thus, remaining competitive and adapting to the modern business environment is the most essential approach towards the global business phenomenon. Adapting to the new business models requires SMEs to acquire new skills essential for remaining competitive. In this regard, SMEs should not continue with the usual methods of transacting business. One important object for these businesses is to ensure that they learned foreign languages enhance their competitiveness in the business world. It is important to point out that, customers will always appreciate conducting business while speaking their language. In effect, managers will always find it competitive to learn foreign languages as an essential skill to conduct their businesses. On the other hand, it is crucial for managers to learn intercultural skills since â €Å"Geography is dead† on a business perspective. However, in order for SMEs' managers to learn foreign languages and intercultural skills, it is important for businesses, governments, and university to collaborate in order to prepare young managers to adapt to the competitive global market effectively. Therefore, the first part of this expose discusses the importance of learning foreign languages in SMEs, in Europe. The second part is a discussion of the importance of intercultural skills for these SMEs. Finally, the final part of the expose is a discussion of the collaborative efforts businesses, governments, and the university can implement to prepare the budding managers to a competitive global business environment. Importance of Foreign Language Skills for European SMEs English is ideally the formal language for conducting business in Europe. However, there are other important languages that an individual should learn in order for them to transact business in an orderly manner. Some of these languages include Spanish, French, and German, among other languages. In this regard, failure to learn foreign languages limits SMEs in terms of market reach and expansion. According to the European Union (2003, p. 39), SMEs are small and medium-sized enterprises, which meet a set definition criteria of staff headcount, annual balance sheet and turnover. On the other hand, skills in foreign languages ensure that the time taken for negotiations is shorter and since managers in SMEs are able to build relationships while communicating in the local language of the countries of their operations. Besides, foreign language skills are crucial in eliminating poor judgement since managers are able to interpret data by understanding the foreign language. According to Maurais and Morris (2003, p.1), â€Å"Global communications challenges are becoming increasingly prominent in a rapidly changing world characterised by rising interdependence.† In this regard, this imp lies that no single business unit can survive on its own without depending on another business. In this case, a business needs suppliers and producers of the goods and services that formed their business operations. Importantly, businesses and customers have a symbiotic relationship enabled by communication. Communication entails passing information and obtaining feedback between two parties, which is possible by understanding

Organizational communication. Focus on BP website Essay

Organizational communication. Focus on BP website - Essay Example They aim to create and enhance value of the shareholders and meet the growing demand of energy. The aim is to create a safer and stronger BP that can utilise its capabilities and strength in their downstream business, value chains, managing the giant fields, deep sea operations and explorations. All these activities are underpinned by innovating through technology and building strong relationship with the communities, partners and the government (BP. 2012). How is computer mediated communication used in this communication domain? Computer mediated Communication facilitates in creating a new communication environment in which individuals can interact. The tools that are used for this computer mediated communication mainly includes the emails, group chats, communication forums such as mail groups, discussion group and billboards that occupies a significant amount and space in peoples life. CMC uses a wide range of technologies for helping individuals to interact by sharing information that includes web pages too. CMC provides a communication media and space in which people can form communities and interact between each other. CMC has become an integral part of everybody’s life (Barnes, 2002). ... Internet brings in the elements of both mass communication and human. Interactivity which is a very important aspect of the CMC; internet is seen to facilitate the process of communication (Rafaeli and Sudweeks, 1997 cite in Thurlow and Tomic et al., 2004). The interactions are not only seen to distribute social goods but also provide clear structure to work. The internet is a medium that provides two ways communication and feedback. In case of BP they are struggling hard to establish themselves as a leader in safety, a responsible corporate citizen, world-class operator and as good employer. They are trying hard to gain back the trust from their stakeholders and provide a growth in their values. They look at maintaining trust among the people present inside and outside the company. Their aim to gain trust is through dealing fairly and responsible in whatever they do. The performance of the organization is closely monitored by the management and the same is reported in a transparent manner. For this they strongly rely on open communication and dialogue are given high importance if they are meant to meet the expectation of the local communities in which they operate, shareholders, customers and the employees. BP is well known among the researchers for using collaborative technology in dealing with communication (Majchrzak and Rice, et al., 2000). Some year ago BP has provided an elaboration in the London Times and regarding their learning about some key technologies that helped them deep sea exploration by collaborating with Shell Oil Company in the Gulf of Mexico. The competitive strategy of BP is their ability to leverage knowledge. Rather than by conducting some basic research by themselves they look for going learning from their partners and the

IP 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

IP 5 - Essay Example 2. The second position is in Maryland, earning $65,000 per year. You found a starter duplex that you can purchase with an assessed value of $135,000. Property taxes average 2.4% of the assessed value. The state sales tax rate is 1% higher than in Pennsylvania, and it also applies to food and clothing. Marylands state income tax rate is 1.5% higher than Pennsylvanias. With the data above, complete the following table, with all values rounded to the nearest cent. Note that the Difference column is the difference between Pennsylvania’s and Maryland’s values. (Hint: Property tax only applies to housing; state sales tax only applies to purchases and food and clothing, when applicable; and income tax only applies to the salary.) The difference in cost of living between the two locations (Maryland and Pennsylvania) based on the differences in sales tax, income tax, and property tax is $3,033.75. In other words, I have to pay an additional $3,033.75 in taxes in Maryland as compared to Pennsylvania. This does not much influence which job to choose, as the difference in taxes (sales tax, income tax, and property tax) of $3,033.75 is much less as compared to the difference in salary $15,000 between the two

Progressive Era during the Great Depression Essay

Progressive Era during the Great Depression - Essay Example These four events marked and established a concrete history that shaped as well as helping in describing the current setup of the world. Progressive era that transpired through 1800s to 1920s established a critical moment of change for the American society and world in general. The period characterized with massive urbanization coupled with high rate of industrialization. In nutshell, the Progressive era became synonymous with high levels of poverty that touched lower class that constituted the biggest percentage of the American population. No sooner had the impacts the Progressive era fade than America and world in general bumped into yet another tempting moment of Great Depression. This period begun in 1929 and ended in the early 1940, before giving way for World War II. According to Sage (2010, p. 1), the spirit of progressive started to signalize in the early 1890s when small businesspersons, farmers and other reform oriented leaders merged to form the Populist Party. The purpose s of the party were to confront and address the problems faced by the American societies such unemployment, injustice, poor leadership among other. It is from Populist Party that Progressives would later develop after the former gained national trust. As mentioned earlier, Progressive era entailed numerous events ranging from urbanization and industrialization that necessitated the need for change in the American societies. The rate at which urbanization took place alongside industrialization could only translate to the effects of poverty. Increased poverty among majority of citizens translated to poor health services, high crime rates, racism, violence, class warfare, and greed, together with corruption. In the description of Burt (2004, p. 3), poor working conditions and environments were also justifiable causes of concern by the Progressives. By 1890, 18% of the total labor in the country constituted of the women and children. Prior to the Progressive era, American experienced hi gh influx of immigrants who in turn compromised the wage rates for the native employees bearing the stiff competition for employment opportunities. To extinguish such misfortunes from the society and ensure growth of the American societies, a group of individuals from higher social class mutinied to form a social movement called â€Å"Progressives†. Members of the Progressive group were mainly city dwellers who had significant college education (Burt 2004, p. 4). According to the Progressives, honest government, safe environment, and education for the country were the only options that would help save and develop the country. Progressive was the only sure way of responding to, and appreciating the industrial revolution that had hit the country. Among the Progressives were Jane Addams, Susan Antony, Margaret Sanger, Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and Carrie Nation among others. The leading journalist of the era who helped spread the message of progress was Ida Tarbell, Thomas, Nast, Upton Sinclair, and Jacob Riis. The political reformers and activists of the time included Theodore Roosevelt, William Dubois, Booker Washington, and Eugene Debs. The great missions of the Progressives included fighting fear among the immigrants, teaching democracy and exposing evil and corrupt acts committed by those holding power. Rauchway (2007, p. 8) remarks that election of Robert La Follette as the governor of Wisconsin

Transformational and Transactional Leadership Essay

Transformational and Transactional Leadership - Essay Example In other words a contingency model is a near approximation of an otherwise intractable continuum which lacks definable contours and a logical conceptual framework of reference. (Antonakis, Cianciolo and Sternberg, 2004).While theoretical constructs underlying the two leadership styles have been presented as a comparative analysis there is very little attention being focused on the qualitative paradigm shift caused by the a priori and a posteriori catalytic changes. Thus the comparative/contrast study is essentially based on these outcomes and the latest calibrations and/or benchmarks enunciated by researchers to establish a conceptual framework for analysis. According to Burns (1978) and Bass (1985) transformational leadership has a set of category constructs such as values, morals, farsightedness, long term goals, principles, acute awareness about the dividing line between causes and symptoms, mission statements, strategic perspectives and human resources. Similarly they identify a set of category constructs in the transactional leadership also. ... Analysis Business organizations operate in their respective environments as determined by organizational structure, culture, leadership, strategic competitive environment and a host of other internal and external influences such as the regulatory framework, PESTEL and SWOT environments. (Gill, 2006). Given the degree of influence under these circumstances, each organization adopts its own leadership style with a view to achieving these organizational goals such as profits, market share growth, higher share prices, quality improvements, brand loyalty, sustainability, benchmarks and so on. These organizational goals can be divided into short term goals and long term goals.Transformational leadership is primarily and immediately concerned with winning the support of those subordinates to achieve predefined organizational goals. (Jones, 2003) While many such objectives are not realized in the short run due to a variety of reasons such as inadequate planning and wrong forecasts about cash flow, s ales revenue and profits, there can be some recovery in the long term. Transformational leader seeks with fervent hope to inculcate a sense of responsibility and pride in achievements among the subordinates while on the other hand transactional leader seeks to inculcate a sense of reciprocity among his subordinates based on realizing mutually beneficial goals such as productivity, performance and target outputs. In return the transaction leader rewards the subordinate with pay, recognition and praise. A critical theoretical perspective that has been developed on this particular aspect looks at the transformational leader's attitude towards hisher subordinates as power-sharing partners whose contribution to the productive process is rewarded with

Outline and Evaluate Research Into the Effects of Day Care on Social Development Essay Example for Free

Outline and Evaluate Research Into the Effects of Day Care on Social Development Essay Belsky and Rovine (1988) conducted a study in order to assess attachment using the strange situation technique. They observed infants who had been receiving 20 hours or more of day care per week before the age of 1. Their findings suggested that, in comparison to children at home, these children were more often insecurely attached. With insecure attachments being associated with poorer social relationships this may be considered a negative effect of day care. The NICHD started a longitudinal study in 1991 to study many aspects of child development. Similarly the NICHD study found that children who were in day care for more than 30 hours a week were 3 times more likely to show behaviour problems when they went to school. By comparing the two studies we can see that the amount of time spent in day care plays an important role in whether or not children showed negative effects. However Violata and Russell’s meta-analysis showed that when time spent in day care exceeds 20 hours a week negative effects become apparent however the NICHD study found this time to be 30 hours therefore the results are contradictory and inconsistent. The EPPE study was a large scale, longitudinal study of the progress and development of 3,000 children in various types of pre-school education across the UK. The results of the EPPE study found that high levels of day care, particularly nursery care in the first 2 years, may elevate the risk of developing anti-social behaviour. To some degree the EPPE study supports the findings of Belsky and Rovine’s study as both found that the age of the child when placed in day care contributed to whether or not it was perceived to have negative implications. However the two studies can only be looked at comparatively to a certain extent as Belsky and Rovine’s study assessed infants under the age of 1 whereas the EPPE study assessed children up to the age of 7. Clarke-Steward et al studied 150 children and found that those who were in day care were consistently more advanced in their social development than  children who stayed home with mothers, enabling them to better deal with peer relationships. Likewise, the EPPE study found increased independence and sociability in the children who attended day care. Field (1991) found that the amount of time spent in full-time day care was positively correlated to the number of friends children has once they went to school. However, although these findings suggest that full-time day care had positive effects on the child, the results clash with studies conducted by Belsky and Rovine. This may be due to individual differences of the children assessed in both studies, for example shy children may have appeared insecure when assessed using the strange situation technique by Belsky and Rovine. Moreover the positive correlation shown in Field’s study cannot accurately be used as grounds to state that full-time day care causes children to be more popular as correlation is not causation.

The performance of Tanzania in international trade

The performance of Tanzania in international trade There are six main theories that govern international trade namely; classical trade theory, factor proportion theory, product life cycle theory, foreign direct investment theories, international production theory and internationalization theory. 1.1 Classical trade theory Countries gain if each devotes resources to the production of goods and services Ricardo (1817) in which it has an advantage Smith (1776). 1.2 Factor proportion theory Countries will tend to specialize in the production of goods and services that Hecksher and Ohlin (1933) utilize their most abundant resources 1.3 Product life cycle theory The cycle follows that: a countrys export strength builds; foreign production Vernon (1971) starts; foreign production becomes competitive in export markets; and Wells (1968, 1969) import competition emerges in the countrys home market 1.4 Foreign direct investment theories Market imperfections theory firms decision to invest overseas is explained as a strategy to capitalize on Hymer (1970) certain capabilities not shared by competitors in foreign countries 1.5 International production theory The propensity of a firm to initiate foreign production will depend on the specific Dunning (1980) attractions of its home country compared with resource implications and Fayerweather (1982) advantages of locating in another country 1.6 Internalization theory Internalization concerns extending the direct operations of the firm and bringing Buckley (1982, 1988) under common ownership and control the activities conducted by intermediate Buckley and Casson markets that link the firm to customers. 2.0 THE IMPORTANCE OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE The importance of international trade to a nations economic welfare and development has been heavily documented in the economics literature since Adam Smiths (1776) inquiry into nature and causes of the wealth of nations. This suggests that economies need to export goods and services in order to generate revenue to finance imported goods and services which cannot be produced indigenously (Coutts and Godley, 1992). The main indicators of a nations economic strength can be gauged from its gross domestic product (GDP), as this measure is an estimate of the value of goods and services produced by an economy in a given period (Tayeb, 1992). The notion that international trade can influence GDP has been explored by several economic theorists (Marin, 1992; Meier, 1984) and culminated in the export-led growth thesis. As export sales increase, other things being equal, the GDP of a nation will rise and provide a stimulus to improved economic well-being and societal prosperity. The way in which this relationship can be interpreted suggests that export performance has a stimulating effect throughout a countrys economy in the form of technological spillovers and other related favourable externalities (Marin, 1992). Export activities may exert these influences because exposure to international markets demands improved efficiency, and supports product and process innovation activities, while increases in specialization encourage profitable exploitation of economies of scale (Temple, 1994). Thus, the export-led growth thesis predicts export growth will cause economy-wide productivity gains in the form of enhanced levels of GDP. Another mechanism through which exports are connected with sustainable rates of economic growth is the balance of payments. The balance of payments constraint can be expressed as follows. In general, economic growth creates a variety of demands which cannot be satisfied solely by domestic output. The faster the rate of domestic demand, the more accelerated the growth of imports (Abdel- Malek, 1969). However, any excess of imports from one country to another, over and above exports requires the trade deficit to be financed by either government borrowing from overseas or drawing on the economys stock of assets. If this situation is sustained, it becomes vital for the home government to address the issue of such a trade imbalance (de Jonquieres, 1994; Hornby, 1994). Classical trade theory dictates that the extent to which a country exports and imports has a direct relationship to the trading pattern of the country with other nations. That is, countries are able to gain if they devote a certain amount of their resources to the generation of goods and services in which they have an economic advantage (Ricardo, 1817). Therefore, classical trade theory argues that a country generates goods and services in which it has an advantage, for consumption indigenously, and subsequently exports the surplus. It is for countries to import goods and services in which they have an economic disadvantage. Economic advantages/ disadvantages may arise from country differences in factors such as resource endowments, labour, capital, technology or entrepreneurship. Classical trade theory contends that the basis for international trade can be sourced to differences in production characteristics and resource endowments which are founded on domestic differences in natural and acquired economic advantages. However, over and above such a general insight into international trade, classical trade theory is unable to offer any explanation as to what causes differences in relative advantages. The factor proportion theory, in contrast to classical trade theory, is able to provide an explanation for the differences in advantage exhibited by trading countries. According to this theory, countries will tend to generate and export goods and services that harness large amounts of abundant production factors that they possess, and import goods that require large amounts of production factors which are scarce (Heckscher and Ohlin, 1933). Both of these theories stated above have been shown to be deficient in explaining more recent patterns of international trade. For example, the 1960s witnessed significant technological progress and the rise of the multinational enterprise, which resulted in a call for new theories of international trade to reflect changing commercial realities (Leontief, 1966). At that time, the product life cycle theory of international trade was found to be a useful framework for explaining and predicting international trade patterns as well as multinational enterprise expansion. This theory suggested that a trade cycle emerges where a product is produced by a parent firm, then by its foreign subsidiaries and finally anywhere in the world where costs are at their lowest possible (Vernon, 1966). Furthermore, it explains how a product may emerge as a countrys export and work through the life cycle to ultimately become an import. The essence of the international product life cycle is that technological innovation and market expansion are critical issues in explaining patterns of international trade. That is, technology is a key factor in creating and developing new products. Market size and structure are influential in determining the extent and type of international trade. While these theories are insightful, a number of modern international trade theories have emerged recently which take account of other important considerations such as government involvement and regulation. However, these theories make assumptions which detract from their potential significance and contribution to international business. For instance, they assume that: factors of production are immobile between countries; perfect information for international trade opportunities exists; and, traditional importing and exporting are the only mechanisms for transferring goods and services across national boundaries (Bradley, 1991). The market imperfections theory states that firms constantly seek market opportunities and their decision to invest overseas is explained as a strategy to capitalize on certain capabilities not shared by competitors in foreign countries (Hymer, 1970). The capabilities or advantages of firms are explained by market imperfections for products and factors of production. That is, the theory of perfect competition dictates that firms produce homogeneous products and enjoy the same level of access to factors of production. However, the reality of imperfect competition, which is reflected in industrial organization theory (Porter, 1985), determines that firms gain different types of competitive advantages and each to varying degrees. Nonetheless, market imperfections theory does not explain why foreign production is considered the most desirable means of harnessing the firms advantage. Dunning (1980) and Fayerweather (1982) have addressed this issue and developed what can be described as international production theory. International production theory suggests that the propensity of a firm to initiate foreign production depend on the specific attractions of its home country compared with resource implications and advantages of locating in another country. This theory makes it explicit that not only do resource differentials and the advantages of the firm play a part in determining overseas investment activities, but foreign government actions may significantly influence the piecemeal attractiveness and entry conditions for firms. This was extensively investigated by Buckley (1982, 1988) and Buckley and Casson (1976, 1985). Internalization theory centers on the notion that firms aspire to develop their own internal markets whenever transactions can be made at lower cost within the firm. Thus, internalization involves a form of vertical integration bringing new operations and activities, formerly carried out by intermediate markets, under the ownership and governance of the firm. 3.0 PERFORMANCE OF TANZANIA IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE AFTER JOINING REGIONAL TRADE PROTOCOLS. 3.1 Factors hindering performance of Tanzania in International trade Tanzania has not benefited as much as would be possible from the generous concessions offered by regional trade protocols. There are several factors that can be attributed to Tanzanias poor performance in international trade one of them being domestic supply constraints. Another factor is poor capacity to negotiate in international trade meetings due to lack of awareness. The issue of awareness is significant because successful participation in international trade matters requires knowledge of global developments in trade issues. Awareness helps to improve effectiveness of trade policy for Tanzania. Also, high level of awareness provides a benchmark based on which the effectiveness of agreements and negotiations can be measured. It has been revealed that many officials who represent Tanzania in international trade negotiations are not aware of some important regional trade protocol issues and thus fail to take advantage of preferences and opportunities that can increase the performance of Tanzania in international trade. Lack of awareness on regional trade protocols leads to poor performance of Tanzania in international trade. The table below shows the extent of awareness on regional trade protocols. Level of awareness among stakeholders on regional trade protocols Type of regional trade protocol Percentage of awareness SADC 18.3% AGOA 14.3% WTO 2.0% COMESA 9.9% EAC 2.0% EU-ACP 7.9% Source: Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF, 2008). The data above shows that the level of awareness on regional trade protocols among stakeholders is highest at 18.3% for SADC and lowest for WTO and EAC at 2.0%. These findings show that the level of awareness on regional trade protocols among stakeholders in Tanzania is very low and this hinders the performance of Tanzania in international trade and FDI. In most cases, the preparations for negotiations are poorly made, including poor consultation and coordination. Negotiators go in the negotiation table with a pre-determined position, a tendency that limits their flexibility to maximize gains from such negotiations. Another problem relates to insufficient analytical work before attending the negotiations. Another reason for poor performance of Tanzania in international trade negotiations is that the coordination of international trade is not centralized. For instance, negotiations and agreements for EAC are handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation while those of SADC are handled by under the Ministry of Industry and Trade that is also responsible for all multilateral trade issues. Another reason for poor performance of Tanzania in international trade is that the private sector in Tanzania has limited participation in international trade negotiations. Also, the private sector in Tanzania is not involved in formulation of international trade policies , hence limiting their experience and level of awareness on international trade issues compared to other countries which involve their private sectors. For instance, Tanzania Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture (TCCIA), Chamber of Industry and Trade (CTI) and Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) are not involved in international trade negotiations, thus limiting the performance of Tanzania in international trade. Due to poor preparation with regard to international trade, Tanzania fails to benefit from international trade agreements. The poor participation of the private sector in Tanzania in regional trade protocols is mainly caused by lack of financial and human resources. To deal with the issue of lack of financial resources among the private sector, the government sometimes includes delegates from the private sector in trade missions especially when the delegations involve high-level government officials. Recently, the government has started to involve the private sector in regional trade negotiations. For instance, the private sector was involved in the EAC negotiations from the very beginning. Also, although CTI was partially involved in the EAC policy formulation, their participation was limited due to lack of awareness and willingness on part of the government. 3.2 Performance of Tanzania in FDI after joining regional trade protocols Among the objectives of Tanzania in joining regional trade protocols is facilitating Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Along with expansion of market opportunities, regional trade protocols encourage FDI because investors are attracted to larger market and may thus anticipate enjoying larger economy of scale. Investors take advantage of wider market and expect their investments to expand. The East African Community for example has put in place a shared investment policy among member states with harmonized investment incentives for investors. The performance of Tanzania with regard to FDI has been much effective especially during the 1990S when the country underwent privatization after Structural Adjustment Programs. The table below shows the performance of FDI after regional trade protocols; FDI inflows to Tanzania from various regional trade protocols in US$ Millions 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 EAC 54.1 22.9 6.9 12.5 94.4 3.3 SADC 122.1 70.5 139.3 181 513 17.6 AGOA 325 151.4 31.6 52.1 560 19.3 EU-ACP 677 86.7 95.8 183 106 36.7 Source: Tanzania Investment Centre (TIC, 2008) The findings above show that Tanzania has attracted FDI mostly through EU-ACP countries followed by FDI from AGOA and SADC. Thus, it can be generalized that EE-ACP and AGOA have been the main source of FDI to Tanzania compared to other regional trade protocols that Tanzania has joined namely; EAC and SADC. This can be explained due to the fact that the African countries have low capital formation. 3.3 Performance of Tanzania under AGOA Regime The performance of Tanzania in AGOA is poor compared to the performance of other countries. For instance, during the first year of AGOA, Tanzania exported goods worth $ 899,000, mostly agricultural and forestry, handicrafts, horticulture and fish products. On the other hand, Kenya exported goods worth $57.1 million mostly textiles and apparel. The main reason for this poor performance is because Tanzania delayed to register for AGOA. On the issue of investments from USA which is also part of the AGOA trade protocol, Tanzania has failed to register meaningful investments from the United States due to several factors such as; corruption, poor infrastructures, high electricity cost and bureaucracy. Another reason is complicated laws regarding land ownership surrounding investment projects. The table below shows the performance of Tanzania under AGOA compared to other countries that participate in AGOA namely; Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Lesotho. The data shows that, besides Uganda, Tanzania has had the worst performance in AGOA. This shows that regional trade protocols have had little impact on participation of Tanzania in international trade. Trade under AGOA for selected countries 000 US$ (2000-2008) Country Total exports to US AGOA export Tanzania 16594 716 Uganda 7282 22 Kenya 120,421 74963 Nigeria 3636192 3366165 South Africa 2646359 831805 Lesotho 208756 206349 Total 8927183 5723216 Source: BOT (2008). 3.4 Market Access and Technical Assistance Tanzanias participation in the WTO issues is through the Least Developed Countries (LDC) group. The countries forming the LDCs group are eligible to receive the special treatment under the WTO rules so as to enhance market access. However, Tanzanias participation in WTO has had little impact on the volume of their trade due to low export volume. On the other hand, Tanzania has benefited from technical assistance through various initiatives such as; Joint Integrated Technical Assistance Program (JITAP), which involves UNCTAD, WTO and ITC. The objectives of such assistance were to improve the performance and capacity stakeholders to understand regional trade protocols. Special and differential treatment has been useful for poor countries such as Tanzania. 3.5 Performance of Tanzania in international trade after joining regional trade protocols. The tables below show the performance of Tanzania in international trade after four regional trade protocols namely EU-ACP, SADC, EAC and AGOA. The findings are shown in terms of exports made by Tanzania to other countries and imports made by Tanzania as shown below; Tanzania exports to different countries in US$ Millions 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU-ACP 226 241 214 362 432 474 SADC 22.3 15.1 13.8 18.4 21 51.3 EAC 22.4 32.8 28.7 40.7 43.6 40.8 USA 21.4 12.8 18 15.2 15.1 13.5 Source: Bank of Tanzania (BOT, 2008). The findings above show that exports from Tanzania to other countries have been mainly to EU-ACP countries followed by exports to EAC countries, SADC countries and to a little extent to the United States of America. This shows that regional trade protocols have had little impact on international trade in Tanzania because exports to EU countries have been there even before Tanzania joined regional trade protocols. Tanzania imports from different countries in US$ Millions 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 EU-ACP 367.1 514 413 344 389 391 SADC 139 179 196 194 221 211 EAC 87.8 108 101 98.9 107 97.8 USA 52.6 81.3 99.2 58.9 65 91 Source: Bank of Tanzania (BOT, 2008). The findings shown in the table above show that imports from Tanzania to other countries have been mostly to EU-ACP countries; followed by those from SADC countries, EAC countries and the United States. These findings again show that regional trade protocols have had little impact on international trade because imports from EU countries were there even before Tanzania joined regional trade protocols. 4.0 THE STATUS OF TANZANIAS IMPLEMENTATION OF REGIONAL TRADE PROTOCOLS Below is a description of the status for Tanzania in the following key issues regarding regional trade protocols. 4.1 Conformity to the WTO rules: Tanzania needs good and timely information about WTO decisions (and their interpretation) and a capacity to influence the new agenda of the WTO at an early stage. The WTO is member-driven and reacts only to member initiatives. 4.2 Import liberalization issues: This is a requirement that the country should comply with the WTO agreement on removal of trade barriers by cutting down tariffs and other non-tariff barriers. Tanzania has already complied with most of the Uruguay Round (UR) requirement on its imports licensing and tariff regimes. The remaining challenge is to transform such reforms into institutions by drafting legislation to support them. 4.3 Agriculture trade: Tanzania is in compliance with the negotiations and agreements on agriculture (subsidies and market access). However, the country needs to closely monitor the forthcoming negotiations on agriculture as the requirements could be tightened. 4.4 Treatment of Non-Tariff Barriers: Since Non Tariff Barriers (NTB) are varied by country own economic measures to control trade, an important issue is whether the NTBs contradict WTO rules. Another one is the extent through which NTB are source of trade disputes between countries. 4.5 Subsidies: As with NTBs, United Republic of Tanzania needs to re-examine all Government measures to see if they are in conflict with the new provisions on subsidies. 4.6 Anti-dumping rules, countervailing actions and safeguards: For formal compliance with the WTO, United Republic of Tanzania must see that the national and regional (EAC and SADC) rules and procedures on anti-dumping, countervailing, and safeguards are reformed to fit the WTO rules, and this appears to be underway. 4.7 Customs valuation and other custom rules: United Republic of Tanzania is fast thriving to complete its customs valuation reforms that should make it conformable to the WTO rule on customs valuation. According to the interview with the officials in the MIT, it is hoped that this exercise will be complete by July 2004. This also includes measures to remove the Pre-shipment inspection procedure to enhance efficiency in custom administration. 4.8 Trade Related Investment Measures (TRIMS): Under GATT 1947, investment law had not been central to its rules, and countries have been able to ignore the rules. Tanzania needs at least to be aware of the rules and its vulnerabilities if it does not adapt to them, given the wide variety of types of investment regime that are used by different countries. 4.9 Standards: International standards are becoming more common, and for countries, which have not yet set their own, adopting these at an early stage may be a particularly efficient step. An alternative for United Republic of Tanzania in a region like the EAC or SADC is to shift to regional standards. However; while this may be cost saving, it still leaves the future costs of adapting such standards when an international standard is eventually set. Notifications of regional standards have been made for the EAC. These need to be made by Tanzania because EAC is not yet a recognized region in the WTO. 4.10 Services: As there were effectively no minimum requirements for services offers in the Uruguay Round, Tanzania formally complied. But there will be much more pressure in the next round to make substantive offers. The WTO has made provision for technical assistance to be availed to the LDCs regarding services liberalization, but for Tanzania has not yet been a clear indication of the type of assistance to be requested. Yet, in future requirements for more offers for service trade liberalization, Tanzania, among other countries, may not have a benchmark upon which to make offers. Even where the WTO may offer one, it may not necessarily be suitable for Tanzania as least developed country. 4.11 Trade Related Intellectual Property (TRIPS): Tanzania must comply with the TRIPS rules within the 2003-2010 period. Tanzania has legal systems that are likely to be adaptable to the standard forms and so the costs of adoption to the TRIPS will not be substantial. 4.12 Government Procurement: There is no obligation to join agreement on Government Procurement, and a few developing countries have. Whether Tanzania should join depends on whether it wants to export to government purchasers who have joined the agreement, and whether it wants to give preference to any local suppliers who would be in competition with potential foreign suppliers. If a substantial proportion of a countrys government expenditure is financed by aid, there may be other constraints on its purchasing. 4.13 Labour and the Environment: There is no need for immediate action on labour or environmental issues to meet international standards (except for the existing environmental protocols and obligations under ILO Conventions). But there will be opportunities for Tanzania to use environmental arguments in trade negotiations, especially when such arguments are useful for some products. 5.0 MEASURES TAKEN TO IMPROVE INTERNATIONAL TRADE Several measures have been taken to improve the performance of Tanzania in international trade with regard to regional trade protocols. Such measures include seeking assistance from donors to facilitate international trade. Donors support regional integration programs and activities under COMESA and SADC and this has benefited members States including Tanzania. Among such donors include; United States Agency for International Development (USAID), GTZ, UNCTAD, UNDP and UNIDO. Also, the European Union is funding a number of projects aimed at improving international trade. Within EAC, projects aimed at improving international trade include; cooperation with UNCTAD, of ASYCUDA (automated system for customs data) and Euro trace. The European Union also supports international trade by offering EAC latest computer hardware, setting up internet networks and offering expert advice in preparing the region for Common External Tariff. EU also provides EAC staff with training regarding WTO matters for member. Support has also been offered to assist in developing the finance and Investment Protocol of EAC. On the other hand, USAID has also assisted SADC in the ratification and implementation process for the SADC trade Protocol. UNCTAD has provided technical assistance for the Trade Negotiation Forum process devoted to the preparation of the SADC trade liberalization program leading to the formation of the desired free trade area. Assistance has also been given to SADC by the Commonwealth Secretariat in such areas as development of a regional industrial policy. 6.0 CONCLUSION This study has analysed characteristics and status of Tanzanias participation in regional trade protocols and its impact on international trade. It also explains the rationale for Tanzania to join regional trade protocols, level of participation and performance in international trade. The study also highlighted issues affecting the performance of Tanzania in international trade. The study found that although Tanzania participates in many regional trade protocols, they have had little impact on Tanzanias participation in international trade. For example, majority of regional trade protocols in which Tanzania is involved had little participation of key actors because of poor participation of the private sector. Another factor is lack of proper trade policy. Other factors that affect the impact of regional trade protocols on the performance of Tanzania in international trade include; poor administration of trade negotiations and agreements, lack of a centralized mechanism to monitor, follow-up nor appraise the performance of Tanzania in regional trade protocols, and multiple handling of international trade issues by different departments/ministries which make it difficult. Another factor that hinder effective participation of Tanzania in regional trade protocols and hence, poor performance in international trade is lack of capacity and awareness of negotiation skills among representatives of Tanzania is regional trade protocols. Due to poor negotiation skills, Tanzania has failed to take advantage of opportunities that arise from international trade. Despite the fact that Tanzania is interested in regional trade protocols, pursuances of such interests are not linked to the objective of widening market access. Often, negotiators adopt a pre-emptive approach to negotiation making the whole strategy less flexible. In addition, the interests of Tanzania are actively negotiated but not actively realized on the ground during negotiations. From the findings above, this study concludes that participation and performance of Tanzania is regional trade protocols has been poor due to various hindrances especially due to poor export capacity and lack of market access due to quality issues Hence, most of the regional trade protocols in which Tanzania has participated have had little or little impact on international trade. 7.0 RECOMMENDATIONS From the findings of the study, the following are recommendations made;  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Tanzanian government should centralize issues related to regional trade protocols so as to enhance the positive impact of the trade protocols on international trade.  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  The government should promote public debate and discussion in the area of international trade protocols.  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  The government should intervene by offering training on negotiation skills so as to improve the performance of Tanzania in international trade.  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  The government in collaboration with stakeholders should take measures to increase production so as to increase the volume of exports and hence, more participation in international trade.  ·Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Regional trade protocols have high impact on attracting FDI, thus, the government should follow up on regional trade protocols for investment opportunities.

The Euthyphro Dilemma

The Euthyphro Dilemma Siddhanth Goyal   Does morality stem from God? Or does it exist independently of his presence, not subject to arbitrary decisions? The first discussion over these questions appeared in Platos Euthyphro, in which Plato chronicles the proceedings of a highly repetitive argument between Socrates and Euthyphro, a prophet and holy man, over the nature of piety and holiness. The questions produced in this dialogue have been expanded to remain relevant even in a modern religious context. It has achieved so much fame that the core question presented in this dialogue is now known as the Euthyphro Dilemma. In the dialogue, Socrates presents Euthyphro with a choice, Is what is holy loved by the gods because it is holy, or is it holy because it is loved [by the gods]?(Plato 10). I will defend the first view: the idea that there are independent moral standards, separate of any deity or their commands, and that there is a sovereign framework by which God understands what is moral. A dilemma is the concept of forcing a choice between two options that are either equally unfavorable (or favorable). To understand why each of the options set out above are objectionable for Euthyphro, we need to comprehend the implications of both. In order to make my argument, I will substitute the word `God for Platos gods, and the word moral for holy. These changes will not affect the strength or cogency of the argument, and will make the dilemma more relevant to the modern reader. The dilemma faced by Euthyphro is this: if we maintain that certain actions are moral only because God approves them, then it seems that the distinction between moral and immoral actions is simply arbitrary; for no predominant reason can be given for why God should favor one kind of action over another. The distinction is simply a matter of Gods whims, just as it is up to me to prefer pencils to pens. As there is no reason provided for why God should favor integrity and generosity, he might equally have favored dishonesty and selfishness, and we must accept his commands as moral. This concept is known as the Divine Command Theory of ethics, where moral actions are mandatory simply because God commands people to do them. According to this theory, there are no moral standards that exist without Gods will, and without his commands, nothing would be right or wrong. God is omnipotent, and therefore, morality itself is derived from Gods nature. Without God, there is no basis for our moral structure and under this, what is moral is so because God has decreed it as such. This theory would stress the complete sovereignty of Gods will, and the concept that morality exists based not on reason, or any logical basis, but simply due to the arbitrary nature of Gods commands. This theory proposes that there is no rationale, moral or immoral, behind divine commands, and hence renders both his commands and morality subject to his whims. On this theory, God could have commanded, for example, for one to kill an innocent child, and it would have been mandatory for a person to do it. Abhorrent acts, or ones we would consider as such, are automatically pious, simply because God has decreed it, though many, including those who might be inclined to side with the this theory, would agree that they are abhorrent. The theory also rules out the option of assuming that God is just an agent of morality, not its progenitor, leaving the devotee with a puzzling quandary. On the other hand, rejecting the divine command theory, and accepting that moral principles exist independently of divine interpretation, destroys the idea of Gods omnipotence. Contrary to common belief, divine power would be restricted to actions allowed by ethical principles, and God would not be permitted to act, or offer commands, outside of these restrictions. I reject divine command theory in support of the idea that there is an independent moral framework, and that is what dictates whether or not something can be construed as being ethical. My findings are supported by the words of Socrates himself, when he is engaged in a discussion with Euthyphro: SOCRATES: And what do you say of piety, Euthyphro. Is not piety, according to your definition, loved by all the gods? EUTHYPHRO: Yes. SOCRATES: Because it is pious or holy, or for some other reason? EUTHYPHRO: No, that is the reason. SOCRATES: It is loved because it is holy, not holy because it is loved? EUTHYPHRO: Yes. SOCRATES: And that which is dear to the gods is loved by them, and is in a state to be loved of them because it is loved of them? EUTHYPHRO: Certainly. SOCRATES: Then that which is dear to the gods, Euthyphro, is not holy, nor is that which is holy loved of God, as you affirm; but they are two different things. EUTHYPHRO: How do you mean, Socrates? SOCRATES: I mean to say that the holy has been acknowledged by us to be loved of God because it is holy, not to be holy because it is loved. EUTHYPHRO: Yes. (Plato 13-14) In this excerpt of the dialogue, Socrates leads Euthyphro to the conclusion that something is holy, or in our case, moral, prior to it being loved by God. It does not become such after being acknowledged by God. The Euthyphro concludes that morality cannot be identified by what is loved by God, as that would leave it an empty concept. If we decide to follow the second horn of this dilemma, then we must accept that God is simply a messenger for morality, not the source of it. He understands what is moral, and what is not, but doesnt directly have the power to change it. Another reason I am convinced of this horn is that this form of morality can exist without the presence of a religious deity. If morality exists indecently of God, then if there is no God, we still have a basis for morality, though that basis may be unknown. My argument is not made to discredit the presence of a religious figure, or to offend those who believe that morality stems from God. It may very well be that this is the case, and that God is truly an omnipotent being who decides what is, and is not, moral, in his all-encompassing wisdom. I only attempt to explain my belief that the second branch of this dilemma is the one I find to be more convincing, and to present evidence explaining my interpretation. I would like to argue, as a closing remark, that humanitys morality should be based on rational dialogue and a reasonable understanding of the consequences of ones actions. It can be boiled down to the concept of act utilitarianism, or the idea that morally justifiable actions are ones where net happiness gained outweighs net happiness lost, though concrete standards for measuring such changes in happiness are not at all possible. I pledge my honor that I have neither received nor provided unauthorized assistance during the completion of this work. Works Cited Plato. Euthyphro; Platos: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phaedo. Trans. Benjamin Jowell; Rev. Albert A. Anderson. Millis, MA: Agora, 2005. 1-18. Print.

Causes, Impact and Management of Tsunamis :: Papers

Causes, Impact and Management of Tsunamis Introduction On the 26th of December at 06:48 Sri Lankan time(11:48) whilst most of the population were just going to sleep after a long Christmas day, one of the worlds largest recorded earthquake struck generating a tsunami which left the Indian ocean countries with more than 162,000 people dead and $675 million(U.S)of damages. The earthquake hit countries that were already troubled with poverty and debt leaving them in need of urgent help. World wide, people responded to help overcome this horrific disaster donating $450million and the British government donated a pledge of $96million. The word ‘Tsunami’ is a Japanese word with the English translation, "harbor wave." Represented by two characters, the top character, "tsu," means harbor, while the bottom character, "nami," means "wave." In the past, tsunamis were sometimes referred to as "tidal waves" by the general public though they are not actually related to tides. Causes The devastating tsunami was caused by an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 on the Richter scale and was estimated to have released the energy of 23,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs. The epicentre of the earthquake was under the Indian Ocean near the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The violent movement of sections of the Earth's crust, known as tectonic plates, displaced an enormous amount of water, sending powerful shock waves in every direction. The earthquake was caused by the sliding of the India plate under the section called the Burma plate which is called a destructive plate boundary. The movement has been going on for a thousand years, one plate pushing against the other until something has to give. The result of this build up of pressure happened on December 26 was a rupture in the earths crust which was estimated more than 600 miles (1,000 kilometres) long, displacing the seafloor above Diagram showing the processes involved in a tsunami approaching a coastlineby 10 meters horizontally and several meters vertically. This small dislodge caused trillions of tons of rock to move along hundreds of Causes, Impact and Management of Tsunamis :: Papers Causes, Impact and Management of Tsunamis Introduction On the 26th of December at 06:48 Sri Lankan time(11:48) whilst most of the population were just going to sleep after a long Christmas day, one of the worlds largest recorded earthquake struck generating a tsunami which left the Indian ocean countries with more than 162,000 people dead and $675 million(U.S)of damages. The earthquake hit countries that were already troubled with poverty and debt leaving them in need of urgent help. World wide, people responded to help overcome this horrific disaster donating $450million and the British government donated a pledge of $96million. The word ‘Tsunami’ is a Japanese word with the English translation, "harbor wave." Represented by two characters, the top character, "tsu," means harbor, while the bottom character, "nami," means "wave." In the past, tsunamis were sometimes referred to as "tidal waves" by the general public though they are not actually related to tides. Causes The devastating tsunami was caused by an earthquake with a magnitude of 9.0 on the Richter scale and was estimated to have released the energy of 23,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs. The epicentre of the earthquake was under the Indian Ocean near the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The violent movement of sections of the Earth's crust, known as tectonic plates, displaced an enormous amount of water, sending powerful shock waves in every direction. The earthquake was caused by the sliding of the India plate under the section called the Burma plate which is called a destructive plate boundary. The movement has been going on for a thousand years, one plate pushing against the other until something has to give. The result of this build up of pressure happened on December 26 was a rupture in the earths crust which was estimated more than 600 miles (1,000 kilometres) long, displacing the seafloor above Diagram showing the processes involved in a tsunami approaching a coastlineby 10 meters horizontally and several meters vertically. This small dislodge caused trillions of tons of rock to move along hundreds of

Essays --

ISP ESSAY Danielle Cheung If you are wondering what is The Secret by Rhonda Byrne is all about, I am going to sum up with three words; nothing is impossible, even though it takes time to manifest desires and thoughts, we should believe and have faith towards what we have asked for. Based on the law of attraction and having positive thinking, as well as following the Creative Process and feeling happy on what we are doing, claims that we can create life-changing results. The great secret of life - Law of Attraction, the most powerful law in the universe. We should learn how to use it in order to pursuit the things that we wished to happen. In addition, we should think positive in order to attract positive feeling. According to the Law of Attraction, likes attract likes, meaning that if we are basically positive in attitude, and positively in chasing our dreams, we will attract and create or situations that conform to our positive expectations. If we think positive, fantastic miracle is then going to happen so soon. Our thoughts are magnetic, and they have frequency. Why said so? We never know our minds are composed of the thoughts we think. These thoughts are like magnetic currents. If we think positively about some event, we will attract positive results. If we harbor negative thoughts, the law of attraction occurs and negativity is drawn to our life. In general, thoughts become things. We should make it absolutely clear in our minds what we want. Law of Attraction is everywhere, it will help us attracts like thoughts. Besides, having things to be nothing-is-impossible, we have to focus on things that we want but not on those we do not want. The Secret will help us manifest the things that we are thinking of.... ...g’ said by Bob Doyle, a scientist, inventor and a philosopher. To sum up, our thoughts and feelings create our life. So, nothing is impossible by learning how to master our feelings by summon them through persistent thoughts. Emotions are valuable tools that instantly tell us what we are thinking. ‘Impossible’; the word itself said ‘I’m possible’; whatever we have chosen is right. The power is all ours. Learn the most powerful theory the Law of Attraction, use it well to become our habit. Be optimistic in everything we do, also learn to use the Creative Process to attract what we want. Let go difficulties from the past, as we are the only one who can create the life we deserve. Our dreams do in fact come true, if we know the Secret. We are in the midst of glorious era. As long as we let go of limiting thoughts, we can experience humanity in every area of creation.

Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Essay

The topic that I have conducted research on involves underage alcohol consumption and various levels of academic achievement. More specifically, my goal is to conceptualize the increasing amounts of underage alcohol abuse by observing the affects effects that it has on individual’s GPA. Data obtained from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism suggests that four out of five college students consume alcohol. Of the students that consume alcohol, approximately fifty percent engage in binge drinking (NIAAA 2012). In consideration of the location where the study was conducted (University of New Hampshire), it seemed appropriate to pursue a topic that would potentially correlate with alcohol consumption. Past studies have attempted to address the issue of alcohol consumption and it’s affects effects on academic achievement, yet none have constricted the independent variable to a specific age rage. Returning back to data gathered from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, information was derived that suggested about seventy percent of minors have had at least one alcoholic beverage by the age of eighteen. In accordance with this finding, it was also recorded that although minors drink less often than adults, they do however tend to binge drink more often during an average drinking episode (NIAAA 2012). The objective of the present study is to better grasp an understanding of underage alcohol consumption and academic achievement. With the focus of the age group being confined to individuals less than twenty one years of age, new findings will be generated. The reduction of underage alcohol consumption is an extremely prevalent topic that many policy implementers and law enforcement agencies are faced with. Hopefully results from this study can establish a causal relationship that will aid professionals in dealing with this dilemma not only at the University of New Hampshire, but at universities across the nation. A plethora of studies have been conducted to observe the many negative effects that come from alcohol consumption. For those that are unaware, alcohol is a powerful depressant that ultimately slows down your thinking and time of reaction (CTC 2013). Also, alcohol consumption can act as a precursor to things such as brain damage, heart disease, liver damage, ulcers and various types of cancer (CTC 2013). Many individuals have been presented with similar facts, but they continue to drink alcohol. At the college level, many of the individuals that are consuming alcohol are under the legal age. Policy makers and law enforcement have been faced with this dilemma for an ongoing period of time. In attempts to control for alcohol consumption, many studies have been conducted to pinpoint the main causes. In a study conducted by Labrie et al. (2010), family history of alcohol abuse and its effects on college student’s alcohol abuse were researched. Findings suggest that family history has a correlation with college student’s personal use making them more prone to abuse (mostly males) (Labrie et al. 2010). With this finding however, minimal policy implications are suggested except for parental monitoring of socialization. In a study conducted by Rasul et al. (2011), the current drinking age is tested. Researchers were curious if a deduction in the current drinking age would have a successful attempt in diminishing heavy episodic drinking periods amongst college students. Findings imply that only in the rare case of high alcohol availability, and low levels of law enforcement, would the reduction of the drinking age have a small positive effect. With the full understanding of the prevalence of alcohol consumption in college in general, the question is posed of the effect that it has on academic performance. There is a brief existence of literature that focuses directly on this topic. In a study conducted by Singleton (2007), he examines the relationship between alcohol consumption and academic performance while controlling for key background factors. When SAT scores and class ranks were controlled, a significant relationship for alcohol consumption and academic performance was observed (Singleton 2007). In a similar study conducted by Singleton and Wolfson (2009), they attempted to observe relationships between alcohol intake, sleep and academic performance. Main findings suggest that the most significant predictor of academic performance was sleep schedule. However, the association that high alcohol intake would result in poor sleep schedule ultimately effecting your academic achievement was established (Singleton and Wolfs on 2009). Although past studies have observed alcohol consumption and its effects on academic achievement, none of them control for age. In the present study, the collegiate population that illegally consumes alcohol is examined. Findings will hopefully suggest that illegal alcohol consumption has a negative effect on academic achievement. If so, I will provide some policy implications that will help address and potentially minimize underage alcohol consumption. * Null Hypothesis: underage alcohol consumption has no affect effect on individual academic achievement. * Alternative Hypothesis: underage alcohol consumption will have a negative effect on academic achievement. To gather the data necessary to study alcohol consumption and its effects on academic achievement, two survey questions were contributed to a general survey composed by the spring 2013 methods of social research class at the University of New Hampshire. Our study was conducted in various classrooms at the University of New Hampshire using the method of convenience sampling. This non-probability sampling method will produce un-representative results. However, considering our limits of time and money, this sampling procedure was deemed the most rational. Professor Rebecca Glauber contacted five sociology professors teaching large discovery courses during the spring semester. These teachers agreed to let students in the methods of social research course field a survey to their students. No compensation was received by the participants. In the middle of April, three to four students in the methods of social research course attended the classes of these professors. During that time, the students stood in front of the class room and read a verbal recruitment statement. Upon completion of the statement, students handed out the surveys to all participants in the classroom. If the students agree to participate, they will anonymously fill out the survey. If at any time an individual felt uncomfortable and wished to remove their consent, that survey was destroyed. After completion, students placed their surveys in a box at the front of the room. Minimal risk is present in our study. On the survey, questions involving illegal substance use were present. This could potentially be considered a criminal liability, but since the survey was completed anonymously that factor is ruled out and the participants were protected. Also, questions involving states of mental health were present which could potentially have negative psychological effects on participants. There is no direct benefit to the participants of the study. However, results of this survey helped individuals in the methods of social research class obtain useful information that helped them draw conclusions that otherwise would not have been possible. In this particular study, no physical harm, and minimal psychological harm to the participants was present. In addition, the assurance of anonymity will help establish the goal of the benefits outweighing the risks. The variables used for this particular study were alcohol consumption and academic achievement. The independent variable, alcohol consumption, was (conceptually) theoretically defined by measuring the amount of alcoholic beverages that are consumed in an average drinking episode. The question used to address this variable was, â€Å"During an average drinking episode, about how many alcoholic drinks do you consume?† There were five mutually exclusive and exhaustive answers for participants to select from. (this sounds like it could be plagiarism so maybe change that sentence.) The dependent variable, academic achievement, was conceptually defined by measuring students GPA’s. The question used to address this variable was, â€Å"What is your overall grade point average (GPA)?† Once again, there were five mutually exclusive and exhaustive answers for participants to select from.