Generalized Social Marginal Welfare Weights

Question: Discuss about the Generalized Social Marginal Welfare Weights. Answer: Introduction: During the year 2015, the Federal Government of Australia declared backpacker tax under new arrangements of taxation scheme. This taxation scheme will be imposed for working holiday makers (WHMs) who will be taxed at the rate of 15% on the income earned during the stay in Australia (Ato.gov.au. 2016). The objective behind the imposition of backpacker tax was to eliminate WHMs option to be referred as resident of Australia for the purpose of tax on personal income effectively from July 1 2016. It has been observed that the new taxation scheme would eliminate the tax- free threshold for WHMs while 32.2% marginal rate revenue would be earned on first dollar (Ato.gov.au. 2016). Accordingly, there are various favorable and unfavorable arguments on the introduction of backpacker tax as per the Australian Federal Government from the year 2016. Favorable argument: One of the significant benefits anticipated from the imposition of backpacker tax was generation of tax revenue amounted to $540 million approximately over the period of three years. It has been argued that the proposed scheme of taxation on the foreign visitors under the working holiday visa would assist in economic recovery with respect to the financial revenue (DeBacker, Heim Tran, 2015). Since, the number of visa applications has been increasing rapidly including rising cost of visa applications; imposition of backpacker tax would control the increase in cost of processing visa applications. Currently, Australian government evaluated budget deficit with respect to the financial value of Australia therefore, imposition of backpacker tax @15% would increase the revenue while removing the exempted threshold up to $18,200 (Kachurina et al., 2015). Further, increase of visa application fee to $440 from July 2016 would incorporate rise in revenue of the country. Th e business through WHMs would include the expenses and costs of around 30% in Australia and provides significant source of agricultural labor and tourism operators by improving knowledge and skills along with the revenue factors (Sharkey, 2016). In addition, inclusion of backpacker tax would result in developing the global competitiveness for the country with respect to the high- cost destination and rental accommodation for the travelers. Unfavorable arguments:Publicationof backpacker tax proposed various negative effects on the business organizations in Australia. Most importantly, the proposed taxation scheme affected the tourism industry as well as the agricultural sectors. It has been anticipated that the number of visitors in Australia would decline as a result of which the country will experience labor shortages in the sectors of tourism, agriculture and other primary business sectors (Singh, 2016). Due to the backpacker taxation scheme, cost of visa application will increase including the cost of other schemes of working holiday in other countries. It has been analyzed that the imposition of taxation scheme for backpackers would affect the employment through working holiday visa in Australian country while other countries would experience the increase in employment in similar industry (Bird, Edwards Shevlin, 2015). It has been observed that the introduction of backpacker tax would result in losing around one- third of total earnings while the rate of income tax would be high. Such high rate of taxes would affect and hamper the accessing of social services and other support services for meeting the remuneration requirements (Shah, 2015). In view of the decrease in visas for working holiday makers, the productivity and competitiveness of the Australian industry declined resulting in decrease of employment number by around 43%. It has been observed that the increase in regional revenue would take place if the government of Australia adopts other schemes including tourism or hospitality occupation with the visa extension facility. It has also been analyzed that the expansion of program of WHMs visa in other countries would assist the Australian Government to earn more revenue along with the inclusion of simple procedures for visa applications (Broocks Hannam, 2016). Analysis of good tax system features in backpacker tax Good taxation system refers to the tax allocation process for the taxpayers as per their capability to pay tax by fair and simple means of taxation system. The important features of the good taxation system include productivity adequacy, taxation elasticity, diversity, economic growth instrument, improvement in income distribution as well as economic stability. In order to develop the countrys economy, it is essential to maintain the characteristics of good taxation system (Ivanov, Idzhylova Webster, 2016). Productivity adequacy is one of the key features of good taxation system that requires yielding of adequate amount of production resources for the Australian Government to develop the activities and welfare. Taxation elasticity is an important feature that states the growth of countrys economy with the increase in national income of the country. It is essential to maintain the appropriate tax revenue share along with the appropriate national income proportion to develop the count ry and financial requirements of the government (Tang, 2016). Similarly, good taxation system involves diversity principle with respect to various sources of tax collection from the assessees that controls high rate of tax as well as eliminates tax evasion process. If there is single source of taxation system the burden of tax liability as well as tax rate would be high that would affect the governmental revenue. Additionally, a good taxation system should be considered as an instrument for growth of countrys economy. Capital formation rate, financial value and adequate resources depends on the growth of countrys economy therefore, a good taxation system must consider appropriate taxation rates and sources. It is essential to consider the mobilization of sources of economy, management of saving ratio and other factors should be considered while processing the taxation procedure (James, Sawyer Wallschutzky, 2015). Accordingly, different taxation scheme should be formed in such a way that incorporates the characteristics of good taxation system. Backpacker tax has been the proposed taxation scheme introduced by the Federal Government involves several criticisms. According to the current taxation system, backpackers in Australia are taxed as per the same taxation system available to the residents of Australia i.e. they are exempted from paying taxes up to the amount of AU$ 18,200. Therefore, Australian Taxation Office introduced 15% tax on the income earned by backpackers as per the marginal rate of 32% on each of the dollar earned by them (Egger et al., 2015). Considering the characteristics of good taxation system, it can be said that the backpacker tax exhibits certain features with respect to simplicity, diversity, elasticity and an instrument for the growth of economy. It has been observed through the recent budget report, the financial value of the country experienced deficit balance therefore, introduction of backpacker tax would generate revenue to the country with around $540 million. Hence, instrument for economic g rowth is one of the features of the good taxation system in incorporated in the backpacker tax (Kleven, Kreiner Saez, 2016). The scheme of backpacker tax also includes the feature of elasticity since it is expected to increase the national income of Australia as a result of increase in the governmental revenue. However, the tourism sector, agricultural sector and some other sectors expected to be affected in terms of employment rates, remuneration payments, yet it has been noted that the new source of taxation falls under the diversity feature of good taxation system. As the backpacker tax at the rate of 15% expects to generate increase in government revenue, it can be said that it is considered as an instrument to improve the income distribution (Alexeev, Good Krutilla, 2016). It has been anticipated that the introduction of backpacker tax by the federal government would assist in eliminating the countrys economic inequalities. Accordingly, it can be said that the backpacker tax contains several features of good tax system though the scheme lacks the principle on ensuring Australias economic stability in accordance with the economic fluctuations. Reasons for proposing changes in tax treatment of holiday makers The budget papers during the year 2015 announced several changes in the tax treatment of holiday- makers in Australia in order to differentiate the tax status of Australian residents and non- residents. The Liberal/ National coalition government proposed the changes to eliminate the tax- free threshold for the foreign travelers along with the reduction on tax evasion practice. Since the current budget reflects deficit financial balance, the coalition government considered the changes to increase the tax evasion incentives while decrease in the number of working holiday makers (WHMs) to improve the Australian economic benefit (Sheridan Lee, 2015). It has been observed that the introduction of backpacker tax as well as introduction of proposed changes in the taxation for holiday- makers would affect various business sectors in the country. However, the proposed changes in tax treatment would increase the economic revenue and national income in consideration with the foreign employment (Jorgenson, Gollop Fraumeni, 2016). Further, the government of Australia proposed the changes in taxation system in order to boost the investment returns. It has been anticipated that the structural change in tax treatment for holiday- makers would encourage the investors to invest higher funds, appointing employees at increased rate as well as acquisition of new equipments to improve the business production system. The proposed change in the tax treatment by the Liberal coalition government would result in generation of higher wages through increase in economic activity to boost the national income by around 40% over the period of two decades (Saez Stantcheva, 2016). Additionally, the projected changes in the tax treatment expected to increase the productivity, resource allocation and income for small business organizations in Australia. It has been anticipated that the growth in employment through new taxation schemes would increase by around 5% as compared to the year 2014 (Heng, Niblock Harrison, 2015). Therefore , proposed changes in the tax treatment of holiday- makers in Australia have been considered in accordance with several economical factors. Tax treatment of Jais income According to the regulations of Australian Taxation Office, if an individual visits Australia for the purpose of travelling and working in various locations, then the individual would be considered as foreign resident (Ato.gov.au. 2016). In the present case, Jai was a Malaysian citizen visited Australia on working holiday visa during the year 2014 and worked as a fruit picker in Tasmania. Considering the principles on Residential Status in Australia, Jai would not be referred as an Australian resident since he visited the country on working holiday visa as well as his permanent establishment was not in Australia. Further, as per the recent budget announcement, federal government of Australia introduced the new taxation scheme called backpacker tax for working holiday- makers. The regulations on backpacker tax states that individuals who visit Australia based on the visa 417 or 462 would be considered as backpackers and their income during the period of stay would not be taxed as per the tax- rates of Australian residents. It states that even if the individual stays in Australia for more than six months, the primary purpose of stay is holidaying and temporary working during their stay. Accordingly, the new taxation system would be affected from January 1 2017 on the income generated by the backpackers and taxable at the rate of 15% until the amount of $37,000 during the income year (Ato.gov.au. 2016). According to the current taxation system for Australian resident, individuals are exempted from the tax liability up to the income amounted to $18,200 therefore, the new taxation scheme on foreign travelers has been introduced to eliminate the tax- free threshold (Ato.gov.au. 2016). In the present case, Jai visited Australia based on 12-month visa for working holiday while his primary purpose was to holiday as well as temporary work as a fruit picker. Moreover, after his 12 months stay in Australia during the year 2014- 2015 Jai decided to come back in the financial year 2017 based on working holiday visa. This behavior of Jai reflects the temporary visit in Australia and do not qualify for the Australian resident for tax purposes during the relevant year. Moreover, the present situation mentions that the income earned Jai from fruit picking during the year 2014-15 amounted to $17,500, which is excluding the amount of living and travelling expenses during his stay. In addition, Jai planned to return to Australia and expects the same amount of income during the year 2017. Therefore, Jai would be referred as foreign resident in Australia for the purpose of taxation system during the year 2014-15 and income generated from fruit picking in Tasmania would be assessed for taxable income as per the tax rates of the year 2015-16. The following tax rate for 2015-16 would be applicable on the income by Jai for the period of his stay in Australia. Amount of taxable income Tax rate on the income earned 0- $80,000 32.5 cents for each dollar $80,001- $180,000 $26,000 plus 37 cents for each dollar exceeding $80,000 $180,001 and above $63,000 plus 45 cents for each dollar above $180,000 (Source: Ato.gov.au. 2016) Therefore, income of Jai amounted to $17,500 would be taxable as per the tax rates for 2015-2016 at the rate of 32.5% since the amount falls in the first slab i.e. income up to $80,000. Hence, the amount of tax payable for the period of his stay is equal to 32.5% of $17,500 i.e. $5,687.50. On the contrary, during the year 2017, if Jai returns to Australia then he will be assessed as per the new taxation scheme i.e. backpacker tax and the provision on working holiday- makers would be applicable. As per Jais expectations, if the income is earned based on the previous years income then 15% tax up to income $37,000 would be applicable. Therefore, the expected amount of tax payable for the financial year 2017 would be amounted to 15% on $17,500 i.e. $2,625. Reference List Alexeev, A., Good, D. H., Krutilla, K. (2016). Environmental taxation and the double dividend in decentralized jurisdictions.Ecological Economics,122, 90-100. Ato.gov.au. (2016). Ato.gov.au. Retrieved 16 December 2016, from https://www.ato.gov.au Bird, A., Edwards, A., Shevlin, T. J. (2015). Does the US System of Taxation on Multinationals Advantage Foreign Acquirers?.Rotman School of Management Working Paper, (2550819). Broocks, A. K., Hannam, K. (2016). The artisan backpacker: a development in Latin American backpacker tourism.International Journal of Tourism Anthropology,5(1-2), 152-164. DeBacker, J., Heim, B. T., Tran, A. (2015). Importing corruption culture from overseas: Evidence from corporate tax evasion in the United States.Journal of Financial Economics,117(1), 122-138. Egger, P., Merlo, V., Ruf, M., Wamser, G. (2015). Consequences of the New UK Tax Exemption System: Evidence from Micro?level Data.The Economic Journal,125(589), 1764-1789. Heng, P., Niblock, S. J., Harrison, J. L. (2015). Retirement policy: a review of the role, characteristics, and contribution of the Australian superannuation system.Asian?Pacific Economic Literature,29(2), 1-17. Ivanov, S., Idzhylova, K., Webster, C. (2016). Impacts of the entry of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea into the Russian Federation on its tourism industry: An exploratory study.Tourism Management,54, 162-169. James, S., Sawyer, A., Wallschutzky, I. (2015). Tax simplification: A review of initiatives in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.eJournal of Tax Research,13(1), 280. Jorgenson, D., Gollop, F. M., Fraumeni, B. (2016).Productivity and US economic growth(Vol. 169). Elsevier. Kachurina, M. M., Sharkova, A. V., Konovalova, E. E., Gubanova, N. V., Razumovskiy, S. L. (2015). The Concept of Development of the Tourism Industry under the Present System of Taxation.Asian Social Science,11(1), 268. Kleven, H. J., Kreiner, C. T., Saez, E. (2016). Why can modern governments tax so much? An agency model of firms as fiscal intermediaries.Economica,83(330), 219-246. Saez, E., Stantcheva, S. (2016). Generalized social marginal welfare weights for optimal tax theory.The American Economic Review,106(1), 24-45. Shah, A. (2015). TAXING CHOICES FOR ECNOMIC GROWTH WITH SOCIAL JUSTICE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA.Public Finance and Management,15(4), 326. Sharkey, N. C. (2016). Simplicity in the Chinese Context: The Categories of Differential Income Tax Treatment and Their Complications. InThe Complexity of Tax Simplification(pp. 45-69). Palgrave Macmillan UK. Sheridan, N., Lee, E. (2015). Tax changes on the horizon for expatriates working in Australia.Governance Directions,67(7), 428. Singh, M. K. (2016). Conflict of Source versus Residence-Based Taxation in India with Reference to Fees for Technical Service.Intertax,44(6), 525-537. Tang, X. (2016). The historical evolution of China's tourism development policies (19492013)A quantitative research approach.Tourism Management.

Mcdonald Erp Implementation †Free Sample Assignment Solution

Question: Discuss about theMcdonald Erp Implementation. Answer: Introduction McDonald being a globally present company has to take care of its operations in varied markets across different geographies and regions. By using modern Information System such as ERP systems for managing its operations McDonald has set an excellent example in the business world. McDonald is a well-known name in the industry of fast food which is characterized by its dynamic nature and extremely high competition. The companies operating in this industry have to deal with complexities of ever changing preferences and tastes of the consumers. Thus McDonald faces and fairly manages the stiff industry competition (Shanks, 2013). Nevertheless the advantage enjoyed by McDonald is that it has great opportunities for business in the still developing countries. Main fast food competitors for McDonald are companies like Pizza Hut, Dominos etc. At McDonald's Information Technology has grown to become one of the key functions of business. The knowledge gained from the ERP system is utilized by t he McDonald's management to make critical decisions of future expansions and devise company's strategies for growth. ERP Implementation with Business Intelligence McDonald was among the leading companies which came forward to adopt the Information Technology and the ERP system is being used by them for very long time. In the year 2002 they began a big bang ERP implementation project. In the beginning they faced several challenges in the implementation of ERP but nevertheless they were successful in this endeavor. The usefulness of the ERP systems is very wide for McDonald. The main modules of the ERP system utilized throughout McDonald include Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Finance (Cash flows and Accounting) and Operations (Inventory Logistics). These ERP systems at McDonald are also closely linked to their Business Intelligence software (Alshawi, 2012). According to the company's management they believe in strategic implementation of the ERP system. That is the outputs or the resulting reports generated by the ERP systems is utilized in making strategic company decisions along with their use for operational decision. Business Intel ligence is the integrated information technology which plays a pivotal role in the company. The future related decisions are made by the company by using the knowledge provided by the business intelligence. Some examples like the deciding upon the target markets in a particular city or location of upcoming stores etc are done on the basis of data mining provided by the business intelligence. It effectively uses the historic data in order to make strategic decisions for the future. McDonald has integrated its ERP system in a very successful manner with its Business Intelligence Software. There is an integration which is two-way between companys Business Intelligence (BI) software and ERP system. That is the exchange of information and data is two way by interaction between these two systems. The data is mainly consumed by the BI software in this exchange of data. The data regarding previous and historical customer preferences or volume of sales is fed in the ERP system which is then fetched and utilized by BI software. The results given by the BI software helps company to make growth decisions for the future (Ainin, 2011). The data so provided is analyzed by the company management and senior leaders to come up with decisions regarding strategies for expansion. One of the most used modules of the ERP system at McDonald's is its CRM module. The critical data like profitability, customer preferences, consumer segments and target markets are collected and stored by this module. The important trend analysis by the BI software is done by accessing this data. Finally the results given by the leaders of the company to make informative strategic decisions for the company utilize the BI for the trend analysis. The company has custom ERP implementation. The entire areas that are covered by ERP implementation can be shown as: Issues with ERP Implementation McDonald acknowledges that the implementation of ERP system has proved to be advantageous for its business. Though, initially company faced many challenges in implementation of the ERP system. Among various challenges the main were financial, technological and cultural challenges. Another important challenge faced by the company after implementation of the ERP system was to impart essential training to its employees and users. For the successful implementation of the ERP system it is essential to impart suitable training in duration and also after the implementation (Hwang, 2012). It is very important that the employees are comfortable with the new applications otherwise it would rebound and increase inefficiencies in functions and redundancy in operations. Thus it would be right to acknowledge change management as the biggest challenge at McDonald. Classically the ERP implementation in a company is characterized by challenges in the operations of business which are both elementary a s well as radical. Therefore, the management must convey to all the stakeholders details of the drivers of the advantage of this change. This was also one of the challenges at McDonald. Advantages of ERP Implementation and Integration with BI Software The ERP systems integration with the Business Intelligence Software has been successfully utilized at McDonald in making strategic decision. There are many key advantages of ERP implementation as well as its integration for the company. The improved efficiency is undoubtedly the biggest advantage of this ERP implementation (Cuenca, 2013). The repetition of processes is successfully eliminated and also the requirement of manually entering information is greatly reduced because of the ERP implementation. It also enables companies to easily and efficiently collect data and also to effectively streamline the business processes. This integration is also utilized by the company to attain the cost advantage. In long run by using the ERP and BI software integration McDonald is also saving the cost. Even though in short term the implementation involved cost but in the long term the savings of the cost proved the investment on Information Technology to be beneficial for McDonald. Conclusion As discussed above, we can conclude that for McDonald Information Technology has grown into a pivotal organizational function. The company has gained advantages in its operations by using the ERP systems. Also the critical decision making for the business is greatly assisted by the useful data provided by the integration of the ERP system with the BI software. References Ahmad, M. M., Cuenca, R. P. (2013). Critical success factors for ERP implementation in SMEs.Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing,29(3), 104-111. Alrashid, W., Alshawi, M., Al-Mashari, M. (2012). EXPLORING ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING (ERP) IMPLEMENTATION FROM STAKE-HOLDER PERSPECTIVE. In5th International Conference on Communications, Computers and Applications (MIC-CCA 2012)(Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 125-124). Mosharaka for Research and Studies. Dezdar, S., Ainin, S. (2011). The influence of organizational factors on successful ERP implementation.Management Decision,49(6), 911-926. HassabElnaby, H. R., Hwang, W., Vonderembse, M. A. (2012). The impact of ERP implementation on organizational capabilities and firm performance.Benchmarking: An International Journal,19(4/5), 618-633. Parr, A. N., Shanks, G., Darke, P. (2013). 8 IDENTIFICATION OF NECESSARY FACTORS FOR SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF ERP SYSTEMS.New Information Technologies in Organizational Processes: Field Studies and Theoretical Reflections on the Future of Work,20, 99.

Start-Up Plan For Wedding Internet Business Essays - E-commerce

Start-Up Plan For Wedding Internet Business Frequent Shopper Programs Card Programs, or Frequent Shoppers Programs (FSP) are increasing in supermarkets around the country. FSPs are bringing more consumers into the grocery stores more often and studies show that these cardholders are more likely to spend than non card members. One study shows that over 80% of customers shop less than once a week in the same store. Most consumers have low customer loyalty, so retailers are looking for a way to reward them in order to get them to continually shop in their stores. Retailers are looking for a way to increase their profits by having repeat customers. Studies show that cardholders account for 75% of the stores sales. Main goals of using a FSP are to retain customers, have them visit frequently and spend more money. Targeted demographics for card programs consist of larger, upscale, educated families of three or more. Studies show that the top five reasons for a consumer to choose a retail store are due to: 1). Convenient Location 2.) Store Deals 3.) Frequent Shopper Programs 4.) Assortment of Merchadise 5.) Store Cleanliness Consumers who have cards spend 4xs more each transaction than a non card member. The average non card holding consumer in the store spends $7 versus a card holder who spends $28 per transaction. By using frequent shopper programs, retailers can keep a database to segment their customers by their buying habits in order to better market themselves to the needs of their customers. Databases can help with marketing efforts geared at differentiating themselves from competitors by segmenting customers by how often they shop, how much they spend, and what their shopping patterns are. Grocery retailers are seeing benefits from these programs but there are some glitches to joining one. FSPs are expansive programs to initiate. The program costs anywhere from $15,000 to $20,000 a year. Retailers must consider whether their ready to initiate a program and monitor the database in order to create a variety of marketing schemes to follow through on. The program does not capture every transaction of the store knowing who each consumer is so a retailer must consider whether or not they think such a program would be beneficial. Currently FSPs are growing with 25% of retailers having them. Over 30% of all supermarkets in the U.S have some type of FSP. With mergers and acquisitions, we wont know what the fate of the program will be, but they are paying off for many retailers and for the time being, growing. Business Essays

Free Essays on Uncle Toms Cabin

While reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin, I have received more of a sense of feminism than abolition. Though Stowe proudly professes the evils of slavery, I believe that it is her profound feelings on the place of women within society that envelops Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Through the development of the female characters, Stowe enforces the ideal of women as the â€Å"Angel of the House†, yet asserts their role of importance in the events that surround them. With motherhood as a central theme, Stowe works to indirectly influence her readers to recognize the importance of women within society. Looking directly at the text, evidence is clear on page 52, when Stowe introduces her readers to Mrs. Shelby for the first time. â€Å"Mrs. Shelby was a woman of high class, both intellectually and morally. To that natural magnanimity and generosity of mind which one often marks as characteristic of the women of Kentucky, she added high moral and religious sensibility and principle, carried out with great energy and ability into practical results.† She quickly contrasts Mrs. Shelby with her husband, to demonstrate the difference between men and women. â€Å"Her husband, who made no professions to any particular religious character, nevertheless reverenced and respected the consistency of her, and stood, perhaps, a little in awe of her opinion. Certain it was that gave her unlimited scope in all her benevolent efforts for the comfort, instruction, and improvement of her servants, though he never took any decided part in them himself.†1 Right away, Stowe implies t he saintly Christian qualities of the woman to gain the respect of the reader, while the male of the household is classified as an atheist. Through this religious-based opposition, the female is ultimately placed above the male on the hierarchy of the family. This is just one of the many female characters that stand above their male partner within the novel. Mrs. Shelby’s place as the... Free Essays on Uncle Tom's Cabin Free Essays on Uncle Tom's Cabin While reading Uncle Tom’s Cabin, I have received more of a sense of feminism than abolition. Though Stowe proudly professes the evils of slavery, I believe that it is her profound feelings on the place of women within society that envelops Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Through the development of the female characters, Stowe enforces the ideal of women as the â€Å"Angel of the House†, yet asserts their role of importance in the events that surround them. With motherhood as a central theme, Stowe works to indirectly influence her readers to recognize the importance of women within society. Looking directly at the text, evidence is clear on page 52, when Stowe introduces her readers to Mrs. Shelby for the first time. â€Å"Mrs. Shelby was a woman of high class, both intellectually and morally. To that natural magnanimity and generosity of mind which one often marks as characteristic of the women of Kentucky, she added high moral and religious sensibility and principle, carried out with great energy and ability into practical results.† She quickly contrasts Mrs. Shelby with her husband, to demonstrate the difference between men and women. â€Å"Her husband, who made no professions to any particular religious character, nevertheless reverenced and respected the consistency of her, and stood, perhaps, a little in awe of her opinion. Certain it was that gave her unlimited scope in all her benevolent efforts for the comfort, instruction, and improvement of her servants, though he never took any decided part in them himself.†1 Right away, Stowe implies t he saintly Christian qualities of the woman to gain the respect of the reader, while the male of the household is classified as an atheist. Through this religious-based opposition, the female is ultimately placed above the male on the hierarchy of the family. This is just one of the many female characters that stand above their male partner within the novel. Mrs. Shelby’s place as the...

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 30

Case Study Example Steven further states that the modern business environment does not have many managers firing their employees, and this is because there are many legal processes that may follow which may impede the operations and performance of the organization. An example is if an employee files a lawsuit citing wrongful employment termination and this has the repercussion of slowing down the development of the organization (Shaer 10). There are various important concepts to understand when counseling an underperforming employee and one of these concepts is ensuring that the employee does not rationalize his or her performance. Many employees offer excuses for their underperformance, and consequently many managers end up not guiding these employees to quality performance. Eliminating rationalization ensures that the employees accept the fact that they have performed poorly and thus generate a plan through which they can improve their performance (Shaer 25). Another concept to comprehend when carrying out the counseling process is offering the employees a chance to state their views regarding the manager’s perception of the performance. Many times the employees have influential, quality views regarding the counseling did, and it is essential that the managers offer them a chance to air views (Shaer 25). Underperforming employees rationalize their state in an organization through many different ways. One of the ways through which employees do this is by denying the fact that they have performed poorly. Most of the employees that deny the subtle performance state that the method used by the manager to determine the state of the employee’s performance is fraud, and the measurement is rather wrong. Another way through which employees rationalize subtle performance is by accepting but offering an excuse where they state that they may be performing poorly but that they make up for this through other different ways. Another way through which underperforming employees rationalize

The Relationship Between Religion and Morality Essay

The Relationship Between Religion and Morality - Essay Example This paper approves that A man is not strong enough to resist the feeling of fear. Instead, the absence of friendship and universal virtues are closely connected with low morals and fear of people to be abandoned by God. In this case, killing of enemies deals with self-preservation of people. It means that a person could easily lie in order to avoid punishment even if it is resulted in the death of other people. When one person's actions begin to affect another person, we have moved from personal ethics to social ethics and often have to place some limits on human behavior. So, neither of the facts mentioned above can be interpreted as goodness and moral. So, it is possible to say that God and religion is not moral. The main problem caused by human sacrifice ritual is that people had no choice: they had to commit suicide in order to please their God. This essay makes a conclusion that historically, the mixing of morality and religion is not accidental. It helps to strengthen power and gain personal economic benefit. It is equally wrong for religion to impose morals on others by force. In either case the religious arena becomes a battleground, between right and wrong morals, so about right and wrong dogmas. So, fundamental values are denied humans are turned into corpses at astounding rates. At the more basic level, religion is an attempt to legislate morality. The distinction between religion and morality creates a space for freedom, in which an individual can feel free. In many cases, followers need emotional support for their morality, and this can come only from religion.

Foundation Stage Curriculum in Design and Technology

Foundation Stage Curriculum in Design and Technology Introduction The following study is designed to be a very brief introduction to one distinct area of the Foundation Stage Curriculum. It would be impossible to fully discuss all the issues which have been raised by my study, nonetheless, it will attempt to provide a succinct introduction to each of the main points. Rationale I have chosen to research the Designing and Making aspect of Knowledge and Understanding of the World from the Foundation Stage Curriculum (DFES 2000, 91). I have chosen this particular area of Learning because I feel that I have had limited experience of teaching Design and Technology at any point in the Primary age range, and as such wish to develop extend and develop my understanding through further research. The Foundation Stage Curriculum could be considered to be the basis for all other learning throughout a child’s life, and as such a thorough grounding in teaching and learning Knowledge and Understanding of the World, should provide a sound basis for teaching Design and Technology in other phases of the Primary school, as this quote demonstrates: ‘In this area of learning, children are developing the crucial knowledge,  skills and understanding that help them to make sense of the world. This  forms the foundation for later work in science, design and technology,  history, geography, and information and communication technology  (ICT).’ (DFES 2000, 82) In addition to the reason given above, I am also unsure how to best support a child as they develop designing and making skills at such a young age, with regard to providing them with a wide range of opportunities, yet taking health and safety into consideration. ‘Understanding design work will come from using a variety of joining methods and materials,’ (DFES 2000, 82), yet how should these methods be taught to best effect? It is also difficult to know which specific designing and making skills will be useful to the child, and what range of skills should be taught to the child. Should each child be taught a range of skills which are specific to them? My final reason for choosing to study this particular aspect of the Foundation Stage Curriculum has been derived from looking at the Ofsted Subject Reports for 1999-2000 (Ofsted 2000). ‘In one quarter of schools standards and the quality of DT have risen markedly since the previous inspection, but in one school in six DT provisions have deteriorated,’ (Ofsted 2000, 1), this shows that although the provision of design and technology has improved in a quarter of our primary schools, it has either stayed the same, or deteriorated badly in three quarters of primary settings. This would seem to support the assertion that the provision of good quality design and technology teaching and learning, should be of paramount importance to out schools, starting with facilitating children as they access the Knowledge and Understanding of the World portion of the Foundation Stage Curriculum. A solid base on which to build, as discussed above, should ensure that children are better place d to access the design and technology curriculum as they progress through school. Evidence The following is a summary of the evidence collected concerning the teaching of designing and making skills in the Foundation stage settings of two different Primary schools. The schools will henceforth be referred to as School A and School B. School A is a large Primary school with an integrated Foundation Unit. The majority of the staff in the Foundation Unit are ‘High/Scope’ trained and as such the setting follows the High/Scope daily routine, as outlined by Hohmann and Weikart (2002, 151-165). ‘In the High/Scope approach to early childhood education, adults and  children share control. We recognize that the power to learn resides  in the child, hence the focus on active learning practices. When we  accept that learning comes from within, we achieve a critical balance  in educating young children. The adult’s role is to support and guide  young children through their active learning adventures and  experiences. I believe this is what makes our program work so well.’ (Hohmann and Weikart 2002, 3) The above quote neatly summarises the main reasons which prompt different settings to adopt a High/Scope or ‘active learning,’ approach to the Foundation Stage Curriculum, the main idea being that children learn best from first hand experiences and from self-generated learning opportunities. This idea is further supported by the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage, for instance, ‘they learn effectively by doing,’ (DFES 2000, 82). I observed a plan-do-review session, as part of the daily routine at School A. During such sessions the children choose where they wish to work, for example in the water area, and formulate a plan which they will execute once they start work in their chosen area. Following the main, ‘doing,’ part of the session the children are encouraged to ‘review,’ what they have done and comment on the relative success or failure of the plan. In this way the children are encouraged to learn from their mistakes, and also to gain encouragement from their successes, (Hohmann and Weikart 2002, 167-243). I observed one child during the aforementioned session, Child A, and followed her through the entire process. She had planned to work in the construction area with the large bricks, and had decided to build a boat. Before beginning work she collected a piece of paper and a pencil and sat down to plan her boat. Child A worked for some time on this design before starting work. She used the large bricks to build her boat and then started to collect other equipment from around the setting to place ‘onboard,’ including large quantities of plastic food from the role play area. When asked about this Child A explained that she was going on a long journey and needed to take lots of food with her. During review time Child A explained to the rest of her group and the adults who were present, that she felt she had successfully carried out her plan, however, she would have preferred to build a boat that would float. The class teacher explained to her that this might be possible in th e following plan-do-review session. Indeed for the following session, the teacher collected lots of materials, such as plastic bottles and corks to give Child A the scope to build her own floating boat: ‘When adults seek out and support children’s interests, children are free  to follow through on interests and activities they are already highly  motivated to pursue. They are also willing to try new things and to  build on what they are already doing.’ (Hohmann and Weikart 2002, 55) The evidence outlined above shows a good example of how children can be supported in developing their own designing and making skills, and indeed can be highly motivated to do so. Child A was given the opportunity to meet an early learning goal through the medium of play: ‘Provide opportunities for children to practise their skills, initiate and  plan simple projects and select, choose and devise their own solutions  in design and making processes†¦.’ (DFES 2000, 91) In School B, I was able to observe the teaching of designing and making skills in a completely different way to that outlined above. I observed a Reception teacher leading a planned lesson in which the aim was for each child to produce a money box. The children were taken in small groups to sit with a classroom assistant to make their money boxes, while the rest of the children played. The children were asked to assemble the net of a box, which had already been cut out for them, by gluing the flaps and sticking them together. They were then permitted to decorate their boxes as they chose. It was difficult to assess whether any true learning had taken place during the lesson as the children were all producing exactly the same piece of work, and in many cases much of the actual assembly work was carried out by the teaching assistant. School B does not appear to have embraced the key features of the Foundation Stage Curriculum as outlined by Tassoni (2002, 1) in Appendix I, as such the children are unlikely to meet the Early learning goals for designing and making skills, one of which is detailed above (DFES 2000, 91). They would benefit from developing a child initiated approach to teaching design and technology in the early years, as advocated by the High/Scope approach (Hohmann and Weikart 2002) and the Foundation Stage Curriculum (DFES 2000). It is obvious from the evidence given that no real learning took place in the design and technology lesson which was observed in School B. Such a directed activity can leave no room for the child’s initiative and the development of their individual designing and making skills. Conclusion In conclusion, the evidence outlined above has led me to conclude that designing and making skills can be best taught through child initiated learning. The adult can support the child’s learning by providing further opportunities and materials once they have highlighted the child’s own interests. A directed approach to teaching design and technology in the Early Years does not follow the guidance given in the Foundation Stage Curriculum (DFES 2000), and as such should have no place in our schools as it does nothing to further the children’s learning. I now feel more confident that I would know how to approach the teaching of designing and making skills if placed in a Foundation Stage setting. Appendix I ‘Key Features of the Foundation Stage: Recognition that young children need to learn through practical experiences rather than being taught. Play is emphasised as the vehicle of learning for children. The importance of working from children’s interests and needs is highlighted. It is the first curriculum in England to cross the divide between pre-schools and schools. Personal, social and emotional development of children is recognised as providing the backdrop for other learning. The role of parents is promoted as that of being an equal partner.’ (Tassoni 2002, 1) Bibliography DFES (2000) Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage London: Department for Education and Skills. Hohmann, Mary and Weikart, David P. (2002) Educating Young Children London: High/Scope Educational Research Foundation Ofsted (2000) Ofsted Subject Reports, 1999-2000: Primary Design and Technology (DT) London:Ofsted Tassoni, Penny (2002) Planning for the Foundation Stage: Ideas for themes and activities Oxford: Heinemann Educational Publishers