Alibaba Essay Example for Free

Alibaba Essay He and his team have achieved many firsts in the area of Chinese Internet Trade. He founded the first internet commercial website in China, and created a 82B marketplace platform to all small and medium-sized enterprises in Asia and around the world. He promoted the Trust Pass plan on the website, which created the worlds first on-line credit platform for companies. Under Jack Mas leadership, the Alibaba 82B websites have attracted more than 17 million registered members in 220 countries globally, with daily postings exceeding 35 million, making Alibaba. om the most active Internet market place and 82B community worldwide. Since the inception of the company, more than 400 media have reported about Alibaba and Jack Ma, in dozens of languages. In addition to numerous awards presented to Alibaba. com, Jack Ma was lso selected by the World Economic Forum as one of the 100 Young Global Leaders in 2001; was named Business Leader of 2001 by Asia Commerce Association of USA; and was featured on the covers of Forbes Magazine, Nikkei Magazine, and Fortune (China) Magazine. In 2004, Jack Ma was honored as one of the Top 10 Economic Personas of the Year by CCTV. In 2005, Fortune Magazine ranked him one of the 25 Most Powerful Businesspeople in Asia and this year Business 2. 0 ranked him 1 5th among 50 Who Matter Now and Silicon. com ranked him 1 lth among its top 50 Agenda Setters 2006. company, Alibaba. om builds its business success and rapid growth on entrepreneurship, innovation, and service. Says Jack Ma: The company will remain a start-up no matter how long it has been in existence. What ever has been stable, I will disrupt that stability. The company needs to continue to innovate and grow. I want the employees to believe that we are a small company, no matter how big we get. I believe we can create a system and culture to perpetuate this culture of entrepreneurial and start-up spirit. To fuel the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit, along with a service attitude, Jack Ma is looking for people with the following characteristics: 1) People with a dream. Dont let your colleagues work for you. They need to work for their dreams! If people dont believe in the dream and Join the company purely for money, they wont stay long (refer to Appendix 2 for Alibabas vision, mission, and values). 2) People with shared values. The value system is very important at Alibaba. We are crazy for it! In China, we might be the only crazy company who so strongly maintains our value system. People who dont fit our values cannot survive in the company. (Alibabas six ore values are customer comes first, teamwork and cooperation, embracing change, integrity, passion, and honoring your Job). 3) People with a smile. When we hire people, we look for people who are naturally optimistic and happy. In the start-up process we will meet with difficulties and challenges. Optimistic and happy people can better deal with these challenges and succeed. Its hard to make a happy person unhappy, but its even harder to make an unhappy person happy. I am able to tell whether a person is on our staff by their smile. 4) People who enjoy work and can turn stress and challenges into innovation. Employees must be able to handle pressure and challenges, and turn them into positive energy for innovation, not negative energy for depression. 5) People who work together. We dont welcome people who think they are smart because they may think they are above others. This industry is so new that it really doesnt have any real talents. The people who are real talents probably dont know they are talents. Everyone has tremendous potential. We all use other peoples strengths to overcome our weaknesses We are all ordinary people, but our goals are extraordinary. While Alibaba seeks people with strong rofessional skills, these characteristics are even more important in deciding whether a person will Join, stay, and enjoy working in the company. 2 Alibabas Unique Value Proposition † a Smiling Community with a Dream While Alibaba is clear about what kind of talent they need for business success, the question is: how can the company attract, retain, and engage such talent, especially in the startup stage, when Alibaba had limited resources? The answer is a dream, a dream to make a difference in the way people do business, and a dream to create wealth together. During the start-up stage of Alibaba, Jack Ma often told those nterested in working for Alibaba, not of the great working conditions or the high pay, of what they could earn elsewhere. Alibaba also strives to provide a community, where employees can have fun to work together to pursue their dreams with minimal bureaucracy and politics. Ma recently painted a vivid image of his ideal work environment for his employees as follows: Blue Sky Processes, systems, and decisions need to be open and transparent. Theres nothing that should be hidden from employees. We should be transparent. Solid Ground Everything we do should be honest, ethical and contribute to the welfare of the ociety. The company should be on solid financial ground so employees wont worry about the financial future of the company. Free-flowing Ocean Talent must be allowed to rotate Jobs across subsidiaries and departments. Green Forest (R Conducive conditions for continued innovation. Harmonious Community Peers with shared values and simple interpersonal relationships. The ultimate objective of such a community is to offer employees a work environment to grow, contribute, and live out their dreams. Bureaucracy, secrecy, and stagnation are all attributes that inhibit employees, and the company must actively seek out these ehaviors and destroy them. Alibaba from the Eyes of Employees To what extent do employees at Alibaba experience what the company intends to offer? Why do they Join the company and how do they feel as employees working there? Our focus group discussion with employees in different functions and levels confirms that Alibaba is indeed a unique company to work with. The following themes and direct quotations capture their experiences and the feeling of working at Alibaba: A leader with charisma and credibility: Jack Ma is the magnet that draws people into the company and provides them with a credible dream. When I spoke with Jack Ma, I was impressed with his vision and business model. I had been in the internet business for a while but had not seen a successful model like the one Alibaba is employing. Tang Zhenrong, International Website Engineering Department, and one year with the company. Although the objectives for each year seem to be very high, somehow we have always managed to accomplish those objectives. With past success, we have built up confidence that were able to achieve the objectives no matter what they are. Lili Li, Sales Research Department, six years with the company. The passion of Alibaba is from within and radiates outward to others. We can see that they truly believe in the company and the culture of Alibaba is built from there, not by programs or processes. Echo Lu, Director of Organization and People Development. The company is true to its values at all levels. When Jack Ma talks to management about hiring, he told us that we must hire people With the same smell. Zhang Yu, Director of Marketing, Taobao. com Changes, challenges, and growth: People grow under tremendous pressure to change and grow. The speed of change is three to four times that of other organizations. The objectives are crazy, but when we reach and surpass the targets, we then have a profound sense of accomplishment. With the constant pressure and changes, were also forced to evaluate how we do our own Jobs and how we work as a team. Is it sufficient to accomplish the new objectives? Do we need to look at the challenge differently and try different things? Zhang Yu, Director of Marketing, Taobao. om 4 Communication and transparency Jack will meet with all new employees in a group setting, has meetings with management at least quarterly, and bi-annual staff meetings with all employees. On the intranet, theres a BBS that allows staff to post their thoughts and opinions. Jack often interacts with staff on the BBS in an open and casual way. Echo Lu, Director of Organization and People Development A company that cares about employees During the SARS crisis, because of one suspected case, Alibaba made the decision in one day to have all employees work from home and to pass the required isolation period. As a result of this quick action, we contained any possible outbreak, May. Employees continued to perform Jobs tremendously well at home. We encouraged each other through BBS, phone calls, and e-mails. Lili L, Sales Research Department The most positive thing to result from the SARS crisis was an enormous amount of pride for employees who went through this crisis together. They built a strong bond through experiencing this event together. Its still a much talked about event in the company. In fact, some employees have named the day that staff were sent home to contain the outbreak, Alibaba Day, to commemorate the event. The spirit of Alibaba came alive on that day. Echo Lu, Director of Organization and People Development Leadership and Management Practices that Create the Unique Value Proposition Leadership priority: As CEO, Jack Ma invests most of his time in three areas: vision/ mission/strategy, customers, and employees. By clearly articulating and constantly communicating the vision and mission of the company, he creates the most important foundation in attracting outstanding talent. Dont let your colleague work for you, but work for their dreams! Also, it is important to deeply understand customer needs, not competitors actions. Understanding customer needs can help Alibaba develop concrete business plans and focus on realizing its dream. Finally, it is also critical to realistically assess the competencies of employees. It will decide how fast, how far, and how the company can execute its business strategy and targets in the coming year and next three years. His attentiveness to talent is ref lected in two management practices. First, in the monthly senior management meeting, the first question he always asked is How is your team doing? instead of How many sales has your team made? Second, he always spends a lot of time alking around different business units and departments to smell how the people are doing there. If he smells something wrong, he will immediately talk to the unit head to identify problems and improve the situation. As a matter of fact, all senior executives at VP level and above must develop such smelling skills at Alibaba, to make sure that people are being managed properly. Value alignment: Strong shared values are essential in building a harmonious community where people feel comfortable working together and in ensuring that decisions and behaviors are aligned with company direction. Alibaba has gone the extra mile to make sure that people share the same values. When Alibaba hires people, they look for people with the same smell†people who are optimistic, happy, team oriented, ha rd working, and willing to invest their lives to achieve an ideal. When employees Join the company, they attend at least 10 days of orientation, focusing primarily on the companys vision, mission, and values. When the company assesses the performance of employees, 50% is tied to values and 50% is tied to business results. When employees demonstrate behaviors contrary to company core alues, they are asked to leave no matter how strong their business results are, or very important at Alibaba. People who dont fit into our values cannot survive in the company. Stretch opportunities and challenges: While Alibaba offers different training programs for different levels of employees in both technical and management areas, people grow rapidly by achieving impossible targets year after year. Although the objectives for each year seem high and unreasonable, somehow, we have always managed to accomplish those objectives. With past success we have built up the onfidence that we are able to achieve the objectives, no matter what they are, says Lili Li, of the Sales Research Department. At Alibaba I have been stretched and challenged. I have seen myself grow more than in my previous Jobs, says Zhang Yu from Taobao. com. Indeed, Jack Ma believes that all people have potential that can be unleashed in the right environment, allowing them to stretch and challenge themselves. Ma quoted one of his favorite examples, Several years ago when I looked at the current COO Li Qi, there was no way he looked like a COO. Nowadays, from all different angles, he really looks like a COO. Talent has tremendous potential to grow. However, in order for people to grow under challenges, three elements are important. First is teamwork. Alibaba uses teamwork to complement individual strengths and weaknesses to achieve extraordinary goals. Second are the right people, who enjoy challenges and have fun working. Third are line managers who are accountable for personal growth within their teams. Jack Ma remarked that all line managers at Alibaba are entrusted with two scarce resources (capital and talent) to create value for the company. In addition to ensuring good financial returns, they lso need to create value for their talent in terms of their growth and retention. Thats why Jack Ma also walks around the company to smell how people are being managed in different departments, and why he always asks business leaders how their teams are doing in the monthly CEO review. Wealth creation and sharing: All employees of Alibaba receive stock options, and in effect are owners of the organization. At Alibaba, stock options are not a tool for retention but for reward sharing. From five cents per share to five dollars per share in 6 years, many employees have not only shown tremendous pride in the company but also shared the fruits of their collective success for the well-being of both the society and themselves. Transparency and communication: Communication is an important practice within Alibaba that helps maintain a culture of transparency to all employees. Employees have easy access to all executives, including Jack Ma, through the use of email, BBS, and face-to-face meetings (monthly, quarterly or bi-annual staff meetings). Jack Ma sets a high standard for his executives to follow by regularly interacting with employees. All decisions are transparent, and people can see how they are made. This transparency is getting somewhat lost as we get bigger, but were still given a lot of information when possible. Our trust in the leaders has helped us to overcome this change in transparency. Communication is always good and strong from Sales Research Department. Advice to other CEOs When asked about what advice he would like to offer to other CEOs in China, Jack Ma suggested four: 1) Always believe people are the most important asset, and capital comes second. 2) It is not necessary to find the best talent but the talent that best fits your company. 3) Find and groom the talent inside our company rather than keep searching for talent from outside. The best talent is home-groomed people who fit our company culture. It always takes at least three years before people become fully immersed into our company culture 4) Believe in the potential of talent.

Yann Martels Life Of Pi 2001 Literature Essay

Yann Martels Life Of Pi 2001 Literature Essay Yann Martels Booker-Prize winning novel Life of Pi (2001) narrates the nine months odyssey of Piscine Patel on the Pacific Ocean. Far from being only a fascinating adventurous tale, this novel addresses important issues such as faith, identity, universalism, religion, and areas of cultural contact. Although the plot may seem to revolve mainly around Pi and Richard Parker, Life of Pi deals extensively with the great human project of trying to live together. By using Pi as his trans-cultural hero, Martel seems to insist on the need to constructively reformulate the human mind in relation to cosmopolitanism, absolute truth and religious identity. This papers aim is to bring out the cosmopolitan message that Martel seeks to transmit to his readers and to show how the latter focuses on that part of our common human identity that links us, instead of stressing on those identities that only partially define and differentiate us. A cross-reference is also going to be made to Homers The Odyss ey so as to highlight the idea of the equal treatment of all human beings, regardless of religion, culture, ethnicity and values, as prescribed by cosmopolitanism. Life of Pi is a novel which can be read in many different ways; as an adventurous story, as an allegory of power, as a reflection on the superiority of imagination over reason, as an explanation of the intricate and complex life of humans and animals, and, of utmost importance to this essay, as a spiritual journey or a quest for identity and as a metaphor of the cultural and religious conflicts that characterize every known human society. Culture and identity play a key role in many contemporary wars. Many philosophers and cultural theorists argue that the resolution of protracted ethnic and religious conflicts lies in the fostering and nurturing of cosmopolitan identities. First of all, what makes Life of Pi an interesting platform for exploring trans-cultural and interfaith relationships is not merely Martels cosmopolitan background, but also the novels portrayal of the protagonists life before and after the shipwreck. Pi Patel grows up in Pondicherry, a former French territory on the Indian subcontinent, where Eastern and Western cultures inevitably exist in close contact. To the dismay of grownups, particularly the representatives of different religions, the wise men as they are almost satirically referred to in the novel, Pi shows devotion to Hinduism, embraces and practices Christianity and Islam simultaneously. After his nine months in the lifeboat, he is hospitalized in Mexico and the author finally encounters him as an Indian immigrant in Toronto. Pis hybrid, multiple faiths and open-mindedness not only help him survive emotionally and physically but are also strengthened after the events. His house in Canada can be used as a proof to support this statement; the author describes the devotional articles that he finds in the protagonists house, ranging from a framed picture of Ganesha, a plain wooden cross, a small framed picture of the virgin Mary of Guadalupe, to a framed photo of the black-robed Kaaba, holiest sanctum of Islam. Pi is therefore presented as a cosmopolitan, a citizen of the world, as he not only practices three religions but is also at home in the worlds of science and theology, having achieved university degrees in both fields. Martel juxtaposes the young Pi Patels receptiveness to other cultures and religions to the intolerance of the three religious figures encountered on the beach; the priest, the imam and the pandit, each convinced of the singular truth of the path he taught. Each of them apoplectically try to impose the superiority and validity of their respective faiths after discovering that Pi shows devotion to three different, opposing, and often conflicting religions; The priest looked askance at both of them. Piscine, he nearly whispered, there is salvation only in Jesus. Balderdash! Christians know nothing about religion, said the pandit. They strayed long ago from Gods path, said the imam. Wheres God in your religion? snapped the priest. You dont have a single miracle to show for it. What kind of religion is that, without miracles? It isnt a circus with dead people jumping out of tombs all the time, thats what! We Muslims stick to the essential miracle of existence. Birds flying, rain falling, crops growing-these are miracles enough for us. Feathers and rain are all very nice, but we like to know that God is truly with us. Is that so? Well, a whole lot of good it did God to be with you-you tried to kill him! You banged him to a cross with great big nails. Is that a civilized way to treat a prophet? The prophet Muhammad-peace be upon him-brought us the word of God without any undignified nonsense and died at a ripe old age. The word of God? To that illiterate merchant of yours in the middle of the desert? Those were drooling epileptic fits brought on by the swaying of his camel, not divine revelation. That, or the sun frying his brains! Whereas Pi just [wants] to love God, the three religious leaders represent those who insist on believing in one, absolute truth. This situation of world-wide coalition of cultures as Claude Levi- Strauss termed it, can be further elaborated using Richard Burtons famous words; All Faith is false, all Faith is true; Truth is the shattered mirror strown In myriad bits; while each believes His little bit the whole to own. Like Burton, Martel implies that absolute truth is inaccessible to human beings, who will probably never be able to understand it fully. Therefore, adhering slavishly and blindly to one faith without taking an interest in the practices and beliefs of others only contributes to [obstruct] empathy and [makes] ethnocentrism inescapable. The problem with most human beings and civilizations, as highlighted in Life of Pi and as extensively discussed by Appiah, appears to be that everyone believes that their particular faith is the all-comprehending and absolute truth. Everyone seems to be holding their little bit of their shattered mirror, guarding it protectively (almost jealously) from others and trying to see as much as they can in it. Gilroy describes such a situation as being one in which we are all sealed up inside our frozen cultural habits and where there is no workable precedent for adopting a more generous and creative view of how human beings might communicate or act in concert across racial, ethnic, or civilizational divisions. What Appiah in turn proposes to cultural and religious differences reflects Pis own ideologies. For Appiah therefore, there is no agreed-upon answer- and the point is there doesnt need to be. He urges that it is of central importance for the benefit of humanity that we all learn about people in other places, take an interest in their civilizations, not because that will bring us to agreement, but because it will help us get used to one another. In this sense, Pis behavior towards Richard Parker can be read as a metaphor used to promote or idealize a cosmopolitan ideology among human beings. Appiah also carefully points out that we can perfectly live together without agreeing on what the values are that make it good to live together. If the world could share their myriad bits, human beings would have definitely been able to see a lot more clearly. Similarly, there exists no singular truth. There are many truths, depending on our moralities and experience. As Pi reproaches to Mr. Okamoto and Mr. Chiba twice at the end of the novel; Tigers exist, lifeboats exist, oceans exist. Because the three have never come together in your narrow, limited experience, you refuse to believe that they might. Yet the plain fact is that the Tsimtsum brought them together and then sank. And at some later point in the same conversation, Love is hard to believe, ask any lover. Life is hard to believe, ask any scientist. God is hard to believe, ask any believer. What is your problem with hard to believe? Pi here implies that openness and the taking of interest in others lives and experiences are more enriching to human beings rather than further entombing themselves in what they believe is the absolute truth, thereby turning their own lives into yeastless factuality. Inspite of all his misadventures though, Pi not only remains faithful to all three religions but also admires the religious as well as the irreligious. Readers cannot disagree therefore with Pis statement that to choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation. Similarly, closing ourselves into our set of beliefs and closing all doors to the appreciation of other cultures, civilizations and people is akin to living without any enriching human and cultural progress. Sharing a lifeboat with a tiger for 227 days is considered as quasi-impossible both to believe and as a thing likely to occur. However, Martel beautifully uses imagination over reason to drag his readers in a kind of magical realism tour which requires a strong yet willing suspension of disbelief so as to show that such a thing is plausible and was actually experienced by the hero of his novel. Pi renounces to the initial idea of murdering Richard Parker because he realizes that if he does so, he will have no one to provide for, no one to depend on him and no reason at all to live. Thereupon, the tiger shifts from being a source of fear and a mortally threatening creature to a source of peace, purposeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ even wholeness. What Pi does therefore is that he uses his understanding of animals, acquired at the zoo, so as to establish a peaceful cohabitation between himself and Richard. According to June Dwyer, Pis success lies in the fact that he respects the Others instincts, n eeds and values and gives him equal consideration; it is acceptance of the Other without imposing change on him.Since Richard has already claimed his part in the lifeboat, Pi decides to negotiate. So, instead of killing, he shares and instead of giving up his authority he makes it clear to the tiger what is his by also urinating on his territory. The tiger in turn, much to Pis surprise, reacts positively to the latters whistle-blows. What Martel is trying to show here is that the human and the tiger are capable of living together (even in a lifeboat with limited space) as long as each respects the others space. If two completely different creatures are able to live together peacefully, by making compromises and respecting each other, then it becomes very much possible for cosmopolitanism among humans to be completely disregarded as a mere set of utopian ideals, as is often claimed by many,or, put in simpler terms, to be seen as a realistic utopia, as Nancy Fraser puts it. Likewise, Homers most enduring hero, Odysseus, celebrates someone seeking adventure and valuing the unfamiliar and the strange.According to one definition, cosmopolitanism represents the attempt to exhibit a familiarity with, or appreciation of many parts and peoples of the worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ This definition aptly applies to both Life of Pi and The Odyssey. Much like Pi himself, Odysseus is also shipwrecked, which leads him to encounter different people, civilizations, cultures and languages. We witness for example his admiration for the Phaiakians at some point in the book, and we see how he admires the latters polity. The simple swineherd Eumaeus, remarkable for his apparent striking similarity to Odysseus, also helps to better understand the shared human condition at that time. According to Patrick Deneen, Eumaeuss understanding of the situation of humanity relative to the gods is similar to that of Odysseus himself. This understanding leads to his realization that the human con dition leads one to recognize that the parts of our human identity that link us outnumber those identities that differentiate us. As he says to Odysseus, whom he meets as a begger, upon their first encounter, Stranger, I have no right to deny the stranger, not even if one came to me who was meaner than you. All vagabonds and strangers are under Zeus, and the gift is a light and dear oneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Readers are thus able to see how Eumaeus, as well as Odysseus, recognize the protection that Zeus accords to all human beings, even to the most desperate ones. Since readers are able to travel through different civilizations, cultures, mindsets and values in The Odyssey, comparisons between those who show kindness to strangers and those who do not (such as in the case of Polyphemus, Poseidons son) are made possible. In this sense, Telemachuss meetings with Nestor and Menelaus also allow Homer to explore the Greek code of xenia, or hospitality. As Bernard Knox argues in the introduction to Robert Fagless translation of The Odyssey, the obligation of attending to and entertaining travelers is the closest The Odyssey comes to affirming an absolute moral principle. This also reminds of Nussbaums most explicit description of the duties or obligations of any citizen of the world; Our task as citizens of the world, and as educators who prepare people to be citizens of the world, will be to draw the circles somehow toward the center, making all human beings like our fellow city dwellers. In other words, we need not give up our special affections and affiliations and identifications, whether national or ethnic or religious; but we should work to make all human beings part of our community of dialogue and concern, showing respect for the human wherever it occurs, and allowing that respect to constrain our national and local politics. Likewise, the social code of ancient Greek necessitated that one expresses kindness to strangers in foreign regions by receiving them into ones home. This social expectation of hospitality was so culturally crucial and significant that it was believed to be implemented by Zeus, the king of the gods. Both hosts offer their guest a warm welcome even before they learn Telemachuss identity. Furthermore, this adherence and respect for the social norms enforced by the gods sharply demarcates Penelopes careless wooers plundering of Telemachuss home in Ithaca from Telemachus and Odysseus. Homer sets the right against the wrong by portraying the latter as hero and the suitors as villains. Although it is set in 700 BC, The Odyssey certainly sheds light on contemporary debates about cosmopolitanism. Martel on the other hand beautifully uses Pi as the hero of his novel, so as to transmit the innocent yet strong cosmopolitan and universal visions of a child, thereby providing more hope for a cosm opolitan future for the new generations. On a conclusive note, it can be noted that what Martel in a way wants his readers to know is that the persistent barriers of doubt, fear of the Other, ignorance, close-mindedness, racism and imaginative, long- held stereotypes are only vicious obstacles to the creation of a cosmopolitan world and fruitful human relations. In order for the human experience to progress therefore, these constant obstacles have to be destroyed. Indeed this book seems to suggest that the most appropriate and beneficial perspective to be adopted in the 21st century is one of cosmopolitanism.

Christian Ethics And Secular Ethical Systems Theology Religion Essay

Christian Ethics And Secular Ethical Systems Theology Religion Essay In this essay, I will enumerate the differences between Christian and secular ethics. The role of theology on ethical decision making will be indicated, along with secular and diverse religious stands on ethical discourses on abortion and divorce. Miscellaneous Christian views which include those of: the Liberals, the Evangelicals and the Neo-orthodox will also be examined. Furthermore, I will explore the implications of the aforementioned ethical issues on interfaith dialogue involving Buddhism and the Abrahamic faiths. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CHRISTIAN AND SECULAR ETHICS Ethics is a word that originated from the Greek words: ethikos and ethos which respectively implies custom and character.  [1]  However, Collins dictionary defines ethics as a social, religious, or civil code of behaviour considered correct, especially that of a particular group, profession, or individual.  [2]   I found a clear-cut definition of Christian ethics by Dr Harkness (a professor of applied theology) as the systematic study of the way of life set forth by Jesus Christ applied to the daily demands and decisions of human existence.  [3]  It is the Christians code of conduct derived from the scriptures. While Christian ethics aim is to determine what conforms to Gods character and what does not it is more of a practical entity in comparison with theory oriented Christian theology.  [4]   Conversely, James Bernat in his book, Ethical issues in neurology defines secular ethics as the invention of human rational dialogue that assumes that mankind can create a comprehensive and world-wide structure of morality that is void of religious framework.  [5]  The main approaches to secular ethics are predicated on: reason, experience or moral sense.  [6]   Additionally, secular ethics consists of various models as: utilitarianism, egoism or hedonism, emotivism and cultural relativism.  [7]  These models form the framework for most ethical postulations. I will now examine the contrasts between Christian and secular ethics. A dissimilarity between Christian and secular ethics is that the latter serves as a basis for arriving at moral judgments as it appraises existing customs, while supporting the enactment of laws and policies. Secular ethics are used as a yardstick to evaluate religious doctrines by application of a determined set of moral principles.  [8]  Christian ethics are founded on godly revelations. BASES FOR CHRISTIAN ETHICAL DECISIONS Evangelical Christians base moral ethical decisions on Gods revelation which is from nature itself (the general) or from the scriptures (the special). An example derived from the scriptures is the Ten Commandments in Exodus 21-23. Biblical scholars emphasize that the natural law derived from nature itself is inherent in mankind and it is responsible for doing things right without Biblical guidelines. This is referred to in the book of Romans 2:14-15, where Apostle Paul mentioned the clarity of the human conscience in the decision making mechanism. Similarly, Jesus Christ affirms the same principle when he said men should do unto others what they will have done to themselves, (Matt 7:12). This particular view is upheld by renowned philosophers such as Immanuel Kant and Clive Lewis in their writings.  [9]  The application of moral decisions on ethical issues is subject to debate as will be indicated in subsequent paragraphs. SOME ETHICAL ISSUES This range from: abortion, divorce, homosexuality, same sex marriage, war, money, marriage, sexuality, death, forgiveness, euthanasia, business etc. I will be focusing on the ethical theme of abortion and divorce within the: secular, Christian and interfaith discourse. SECULAR VIEWS ON ABORTION Abortion is any artificial means to induce the loss of a pregnancy. An average pregnancy is for forty weeks or nine months. Pregnancy terminated due to natural causes during the first twenty weeks is called a miscarriage, while further than twenty weeks are pre-term delivery.  [10]   Nonetheless, abortion involves the moral choice of the mother, as well as the ethical right of the baby to live. Abortion might be inevitable in: rape, poverty, deformity of baby etc. Abortion supporters see it as a retroactive contraceptive while those against it see it as a little less than prenatal infanticide.  [11]  It has been established that moral justification of abortion is common in the secular world. Under the United Kingdom law (Abortions act 1967); abortion is endorsed within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy as long as certain conditions are fulfilled. It must be in an approved institution, the mother and childs health are considered, and decisions to be made with the consensus of two medical doctors.  [12]   CHRISTIANS ON ABORTION The Liberals are broadminded on abortion, as long as it is done legally and safely.  [13]  The woman has full rights over her own body when it involves the decision to abort or not.  [14]  The Liberals do not deliberate over ethical issues concerning the unborn baby, in contrast to evangelicals position. Evangelical Christians are on strict stand against abortion with scriptural arguments used to portray (babys) life in high esteem. They also support of all social aspects regarding pregnancy care and adoption issues.  [15]  The position of the Neo-orthodox Christians will be examined next. The Neo-Orthodoxy originated from Germany after the First World War when Karl Barth (a protestant theologian) advanced the theology of crisis. It was an era when people were disappointed from most beliefs.  [16]  Neo-Orthodoxy assumes that the scripture can be a faulty human invention, although Gods revelation is continuously present under personal experience.  [17]  Nevertheless, abortion is not allowed except if carried out to protect the pregnant woman. The Christian ethics of divorce will be examined next. CHRISTIAN ETHICS ON DIVORCE Jesus response to the permission given by Moses for the issuance of the bill of divorce to women was followed by the injunction that divorce is a direct covenant-breaking departure from Gods master plan for marriage, (Matt 19:6 Rom 7:2). Jesus also denounces divorce in the dialogue with his disciples in Mark 10: 1-11, while arguments resulting from the exception clause (i.e. Condition for divorce) is interpreted by some scholars in the context to mean fornication established against the wife during the betrothal phase of marriage according to Jewish tradition. Unfortunately, the biblical divorce law interpretation is diverse. Some scholars argue that the exemption clause means adultery which is a leverage to institute divorce. However, a suitable rejoinder is the reaction of the disciples who concluded that it is not advantageous to marry this is interpreted by some Evangelicals as voiding the powers of the husband to divorce a wife under any circumstance, as they are expected to forgive their spouse.  [18]  The ethical issue applicable to the Old Testament bill of divorce allowed by Moses is that the Bill is meant to protect the women from the frivolity of men, so that they can re-marry rather than be outcasts. Some Evangelicals justified grounds for divorce to be desertion (by either spouse) and evidence of physical abuse against the wife. There is also a Pauline privilege in (1st Corinthians 7:15) which allows a believing wife to be free from an unbelieving husband who wants a divorce. There are resultant Christian ethical debates concerning the modalities of the freedom, whether it allows re-marrying or remaining single till death. Contrastingly, Liberal Christians see the scriptural dialogues on divorce as being applicable to the historical contexts of their various times, hence divorce is permitted according to the merit of each case. Marriage characterized with physical abuse is seen as a marriage pledge violation, whereby divorce is granted.  [19]  The American inception of no fault divorce regulation in the 1960s and 1970s weakened the marriage institution, as spouses obtained divorces against their partners wish. Similarly, despite independence from the secular laws of the day, liberal Christians amidst their objective application of divorce laws was criticized for being pro-secular because of contractual approaches used instead of covenant obligation by some Christians.  [20]  The Neo-orthodox view turned out to be permissive. Neo-Orthodox Christians are permissive due to their existential system which sees Bible precepts as only relevant to the culture of when they were admonished; hence they could not be categorically applied to our times. Therefore they established no ethical grounds for opposing divorce.  [21]   THE ABRAHAMIC FAITHS AND INTERFAITH DIALOGUE The Abrahamic faith is used to make reference to Judaism, Christianity, Islam and other religions that trace their spiritual culture back to Abraham.  [22]  The platform which religions and cultures meet to exchange views for better understanding of each other is called the interfaith dialogue. The dialogue was prompted by the WCC (World Council of Churches) in 1961, when fledgling Asian Churches needed to coexist with diverse Asian religions.  [23]   Fundamentally, the existence of diverse social issues such as universal poverty has prompted the study and use of ethical approaches to interfaith dialogues. Examples are medical and economic ethics.  [24]  The Medical ethical considerations are evoked in several issues like Euthanasia, Abortion, Ecology, DNA researches etc. I will be examining the Islamic laws on abortion the next. ISLAMIC FAITH ON ABORTION AND DIVORCE Islamic faith which is based on the Quran and the leadership of Prophet Mohammed is guided by five pillars of faith, of which two are: faith in one God and at least one pilgrimage to Mecca. Other admonitions require taking care of orphans, prisoners and desisting from: adultery, unfair business practices and unwarranted killings.  [25]  Some Muslims prohibit abortion. The area of ethical contention is the actual time soul is given to a formed foetus. This is termed ensoulment which some Muslims take as 16 weeks into the pregnancy. However, abortion performed prior to the completion of 16th week is accepted if the health of the mother is endangered or if the baby is under the threat of mental or physical malformation. Another consideration is if the well-being of the family is not going to be properly sustained because of the child.  [26]  The Islamic religion takes abortion as being immoral in view the revered value of life as indicated in Surah 17:31 which states that: Slay not your Childrenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.killing of them is a great sin. Nevertheless, an Islamic consequentialism holds the mother answerable to the aborted child at judgement day; this is supported by verses from Surah 81, verses 7-14.  [27]  Surah is a supportive reference in Islam. Abortion applied to pre-marital pregnancy is allowed because the sin of having a child out of wedlock is considered worse than abortion.  [28]   Concerning divorce, Islam encourages the termination of irreconcilable marriages in good faith rather than co-existence of spouses in bitterness. There is an injunction for settling differences through relatives of spouses. Nevertheless, where this mediation fails then divorce can be instituted, (Quran 4:35). Mubarat is the term used to describe mutually divorce by couples without court proceedings. Procedures called fasakh or Khula are based on the initiation of divorce by the woman. However, talaq (meaning to separate) is used to denote the divorce instigated by the husband. This can be done without much official protocols but must be verbalized or documented.  [29]  The traditional laws of the Jews will be examined next. JUDAISM ON ABORTION AND DIVORCE Judaism as practiced by the Jews precedes Christianity which became distinct in the first Century at the time when Apostle Paul and Peter had contentions with the Jews. The Bible book of Acts Chapter 15, recorded the deviations of the gentiles from the Law of Moses. This caused an argument about the acceptance of uncircumcised Gentiles into the community of believers. Some scholars take the advent of Judaism to be the Biblical time of Abraham while others choose the time of Moses.  [30]   Nonetheless, two out of the many beliefs of Judaism are as follows: 1) God made a covenant with his people (the Hebrews) through Moses which is the Ten Commandments. 2) Abrahams offspring are to be the ideal model for all nations to emulate in preparation for the coming of the future Messiah who will rule the world in harmony and fairness.  [31]   In similarity to the Islamic faith, high regard is given to the value of life, but the safety of the pregnant woman remains paramount. Nevertheless, the law of Judaism on abortion assumes the insignificance of fertilized egg cells until the 40th day of pregnancy when it is taken as part of the womans body. Judaism allows abortion within the first 40 days of pregnancy but does not permit it thereafter, till full term. Judaism ethically upholds that the foetus is a part of the human body that must not be damaged.  [32]  The Jewish law allows sanction of persons who cause miscarriage due to a physical strife that involve pregnant women. Furthermore, intended abortion on an advance pregnancy that threatens the mother in any circumstances would have to be undoubtedly established. The baby is literally considered as trying to kill the mother, in which case severing the limbs of the baby and other similar acts is allowed to save the mother. A critical aspect of applying the abortion law by the Rabbis (who are in charge of the Judaism laws) is the equal importance given to the life of the baby and the mother at the moment the babys head is on the way out of the mother.  [33]   The issues of divorce cannot be addressed without talking about the marriage tradition of the Jews. Judaism upholds the sanctity and integrity of marriage to such an extent that the Talmud (sacred writings) states that even the altar sheds tears during separation of couples. Although formal grounds for divorce do not exist, it is recognized that some circumstances make it inevitable. The divorce is predicated on the agreement of the couple and it involves documentation called the get which is the certificate of divorce. There are no hindrances placed against divorced couples who want to get back together in marriage. However priests are prohibited from marrying a divorcee. The certificate of divorce (the get) specially written by a scribe (in the presence of a judge) is traditionally kept by the woman, and must be made available whenever she wants to re-marry. In modern times the rabbinic courts keep the get and issue the woman with a certificate in place of it. There is a serious ethical issue that the woman cannot re-marry if there is no evidence of the death of her husband. This situation is called Agunah, which implies that the woman is bound to the husband. It is generally expected that anyone who breaches divorce conditions are not allowed to be integrated into the Jewish community.  [34]   BUDHISM ON ABORTION AND DIVORCE This religion has its origin from India in the 6th Century with Siddhartha Gautama (Known as Buddha, the enlightened one). Buddhism is a spiritual way of life rather than a religion. Beliefs range from non-existence of a deity and that all things are being constantly transformed, hence the belief in re-incarnation, decency, understanding and reflection.  [35]   Over 300 million Buddhists worldwide have no doctrinal guidance on abortion. They however believe in re-incarnation which stands against abortion, therefore consider it ethically wrong, although not too keen on its total prohibition by law. Nevertheless, another Buddhist expectation is the decision of abortion to be exclusively that of the pregnant woman. In Japan abortion is rampant and there is a post abortion ceremony called Mizuko kuyo done by Buddhist priest to assist women in recovering from the after effect of abortion.  [36]  The following paragraph will cover the Buddhist view on divorce. Buddhism does not see marriage as a core religious matter. They view non-entanglement with basic family life as a path to greater levels of monkish Buddhist practice, rather than the low-grade lay position where one is free to raise a family. An example was set by the Buddha himself at 29 years of age when he left his family to remain celibate till the end of his life.  [37]   Buddhist tenets support moral chastity where marriages remain intact for the sake of the children. Separated couples are encouraged to re-unite. The man who chooses celibate life must renounce his wife so that she is free to remarry  [38]  . CONCLUSION Worldwide moral laws made from the Ten Commandments are somewhat entrenched in most religions and secular regulations  [39]  . Needless to say that ethics imparted through religion will have most impact on religious peoples behaviour. I discovered from my findings that most religions have some kind of diversity based on ethical principles (such as hedonism and consequentialism) considered in creating the creed of their subdivisions. Just as the Christians views vary, so is the specific application of certain tenets of the Abrahamic faiths in various countries. These variations are also present in the Buddhist faith where disparities in India, Japan and other countries are considered. All facts point to the use of ethical principles to determine religious creeds. The same fact is applicable to the current trend in interfaith dialogues such that participants unavoidably approach most themes brought forward, within the framework of ethical agendas. This has created awareness for the study of ethics by those already equipped with vast knowledge of their faiths.

Physics Of Bowling Essay -- Physics Bowling Science Essays

Physics Of Bowling The one thing that interests me is bowling. I have been playing all my life and after a whole semester and a half of being in Mr. Fetter’s class, I realized that everything has physics in it. One night after going bowling with my girlfriend(s) I wondered why when I hit the first pin, only seven went down and thus I lost the game. So, I got on the Internet and found a lot of articles and web sites talking about the physics of bowling. A lot of the web sites were brief descriptions. A guy named Paul Durbin wrote many articles on physics. One of his articles he discussed was about bowling. He mentioned one thing we already went over this semester in physics class. But it seems to me that he neglected to mention other forces the play a big role in bowling and the physics behind it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Durbin said â€Å"In order to accelerate, you need a net force. As soon as I let go of the bowling ball, it’s accelerating. As soon as your fingers are out of the holes, the ball is at its highest point of acceleration (p.2).† According to the author, gravity is the net force acting upon an object, which means it is accelerating. The swinging of my arm (back the forward) being the net force. When my fingers leave the hole, it’s accelerating. Now, how fast it goes is determined on how fast you swing your arm and let go. Now that’s all Durbin basically said on bowling. But I realized that Newton’s Laws, momentum, kinetic and potential energy all have their role in bowling too. Durbin was correct when he explained acceleration. Let me tell you a little something on acceleration. Acceleration is the rate at which the velocity is changing. Because acceleration is a rate, it is measured of how fast the velocity is changing with respect to time of course. The key idea that defines acceleration is change. Whenever we change our state of motion, we are accelerating. A bowling ball that can accelerate fast has the ability to change its velocity pretty fast. A bowling ball that can go from zero to 5 mph in .5 seconds has a greater acceleration than another ball let go by another player that can go from zero to 7 mph in 1 second. (We learned about this in class). So having a high acceleration is being quick to change and not always fast. Acceleration applies to changes in direction as well as changes in speed. When you let go of the bowling ball at a constant speed o... ...t the total amount of energy never changes. Let’s assume that the cue ball has 10J of PE. As it’s hit, PE is at its highest (10J). When the ball is going down the alley, the sum of the ball’s PE and KE remains constant at successive positions  ¼,  ½,  ¾, and all the way down. (This I also read ahead and found in the book). As soon as the ball has reached its highest point, PE and KE are equal (5J), and on the way down KE increases as PE decreases. When the ball lands, KE is 10J and PE is 0. Law of Conservation of Momentum:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the absence of an external force, the momentum of a system remains unchanged. When you hit the cue ball, you have a natural follow through. When you apply that torque (extending the elbow), your momentum changes. You can see that if no net force or impulse acts on a system, then the momentum of that system cannot change.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some of things mentioned, are things we know that happen, but we don't know why, and usually never wonder why, but for all things, there are explanations, which some of the secrets of mother nature were revealed here. Just remember that there are physics behind whatever you do or see including bowling with your girlfriend(s).

Flawless Heroes? :: essays research papers

Flawless Heroes? It is important for youth to have heroes but society cannot ignore the facts and only report on the good side of those heroes. Everyone is human, and they are going to make mistakes. Hopefully they learn from those mistakes, and if those mistakes are brought to light and conveyed to the young people then they too learn from those mistakes. History has a duty to report on the entire story. To report anything less would be wrong. To just simply say that Columbus was a perfect man who never did anything wrong would paint an unrealistic picture of the past. Mr. Gibbon, the author of this article seems to think that reality is a bad thing and should not be taught in our classrooms. Today's youth however need to be prepared for life in some way. They cannot be fed everything with a sugar coated spoon. If they were given everything on a silver platter like that then when they walked out into the real world for the first time they would not be able to adjust and become a productive part of society. Today's young people are in search of heroes as Mr. Gibbon suggests, but every person is going to have some skeletons in their closet, hero or no hero. To ask society to ignore the facts just so young people can feel that these people are perfectly squeaky clean is wrong. Society cannot lie to them. There is some value to teaching reality even though Mr. Gibbon doesn't seem to think so. Mr. Gibbon mentions that there is some sort of "tradition of exemplary lives" in society's heroes that used to exist but no longer does. However there never was such a tradition of wonderfully perfect people with perfect lives. Back then people ignored the facts and decided to believe that these people were perfect when the fact was that they were not perfect, they were just human. You cannot shield today's young people. You can't just cover their eyes to reality. Reality must be exposed and studied so they can try to understand the world. I agree with Gibbon that parents are the first and most important educators and they must try to make their lives exemplary so their children will

Use of Night and Darkness in Shakespeares Macbeth :: GCSE Coursework Macbeth Essays

Use of Night and Darkness in Macbeth Shakespeare is known for his descriptively rich plays. He also ways does an excellent job of describing both the characters as well as the setting. One specific area of the play MacBeth is the use of night and darkness to show evil or happening that are not right. Examples of this are the many appearances of the witches, the murders that occur, and the conflicts that MacBeth faces with his mental health. The following three paragraphs will further discuss these topics. The first example of Shakespeare’s use of night and darkness in the appearances of the three witches. The witch sisters are the main sources of evil within the play MacBeth. When the witches are in an act, storms or the darkness of the woods always accompanies them. This shows great evilness. " Thunder and lightning. Enter three witches." This is the opening scene description just before the introduction to the witches. This shows their evil nature as the are followed by rough storms in dark conditions. Another quote is " Fair is fowl and fowl is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air." This is another example of the disgusting and dirty, dark atmosphere around the witches. Then, towards the end of Hecate’s, queen of witches, speech, she says "Hark! I am called. My little spirit, see: Sits a foggy cloud and it stays for me." This shows a clear mental picture of the fogy, ugly conditions, which are prominent, when the witches are around. So this is a very good exampl e of Shakespeare being able to link darkness and stormy conditions with evil. The second example of Shakespeare writing techniques to show evil as darkness is the number of murders and when it was that they occurred. When there was a murder, it was often committed at night or in the dark. This then also ties in with the entire connection of darkness with evil, murder being the source of evil. The most known example of murder is when MacBeth kills Banquo. During his speech where he is proceeding to kill Banquo he says " ...Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse the curtained sleep. Witchcraft celebrates pale Hecate’s offerings , and withered Murder , alarumed by his sentiel , the wolf , who’s howl’s his watch....." The references to the dreams, sleep, witches and the wolf’s howl all depict the nighttime as this is when most of those words are seen.

Ikea Supply chain

How old are the students studying MU 123 ? Knowing that the number of students in MU 123 is 80 a questionair is been made to know the ages of those students as they are consider small segment from the AOU and we can from that know from this study know the avarage age of AOU students. 28 students were in the age of 18 – 21 18 student were in the age of 22 – 28 11 students were in the age of 25 – 28 9 students were in the age of 28 – 31 7 student s were in the age of 32 – 35 6 students were in the age of 35 – 40 1 student on were age above 40Part (b) Collect relevant data needed to answer your question (stage C). This will involve choosing samples or designing questionnaires and key the data into a spreadsheet. Most of the data you will need is secondary data that already exist in the internet or published literature and can be adapted for your investigation. You may refer to your text book, (Book A, pages 183 & 184) and learn more how to deal with data. When presenting your data it is important to provide the reference to the data source you are adapting. (30 marks).As it shows in the table below How old are the Students studying MU 123 Age Range 18-21 22 – 25 26-29 30-33 34-37 38-40 40 + Number 28 18 11 9 7 6 Percentage% 22. 50% 13. 75% 11 . 25% 8. 75% 7. 50% whenever the age increase the number of students decreases. 35% are the highest percentage with 28 students in their fresh years. 1. 25% are the lowest percentage with only 1 student enrolled above the age 40. 27. 5% are the number of students attending between 30 to 40 Part (c) Analyse the data that have been collected (stage A).This stage involves steps in summarising and measuring the collected data. The associated measures that we expect you use in your TMA are the mean, the mode, the median, range, interquartile range and standard deviation. You can use Microsoft Excel in presenting your data in bar charts or graphs as part of summarising your data. (mo re details on how to draw statistical pictures are explained In book D, Unit 1 1) (30 marks) calculating the mean: 1+6+7+9+11+18+28= = 1 1. 4 Calculating the meadian: Arrange the numbers by order: 1 6 7 9 11Range = 28-1 = 27 QI-6 18 IQR= 18-6=12 Standard Deviation: Meadian Deviations (d) d (power of 2) 1-114 . = -10. 4 108. 6 = -5. 4 29. 16 -4. 4 19. 36 = -2. 4 5. 76 11-11. 4 . 4 0. 16 18-11. 4 = 6. 6 43. 56 28-11. 4 = 16. 6 275. 56 The mean of d(to power of 2) 108. 6 + 29. 16 + 19. 36 + 5. 76 + 0. 16 + 43. 56 + 275. 56 = 462. 8/7 66. 11 = 8. 13 is the standard deviasion = 66. 11 Square root of At the end we realize from all the above charts how the number of students will decrease as the age increases.