Scene Analysis - The Big Lebowski - 1516 Words

GE3401 – TB2 Exploring English Cinema Scene Analysis â€Å"Scattering Donny’s Ashes† Scene in The Big Lebowski (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1998) Student Name: Fan Ho Nga, Gloria Student ID: 52948216 â€Å"Scattering Donny’s Ashes† Scene in The Big Lebowski (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1998) The Big Lebowski (1998) by the Coen Brothers is no doubt a comedy film about friendships between three bowling buddies with differing personalities who met and stuck together as friends by choice in Los Angeles when the U.S. army invaded the Middle East. The Coen Brothers managed to capture the spirit of friendship bonding, conflicts, characters’ internal struggles as well as personal desires with exceptional cinematography and mise-en-scene†¦show more content†¦In your wisdom, Lord, you took him. As you took so many bright flowering young men at Khe Sanh, at Langdok, at Hill 364! These young men gave their lives. And so did Donny. Donny, who loved bowling.’ The reason why the director placed this line in the eulogy is to show how Walter considered this an opportunity to a closure of years and years wasted in memories. The Coen Brothers put a vivid, living proof of Walter being stuck in the past on screen via his costume throughout the movie with his trademark safari vest, amber lens aviator sunglasses and the military dog tag that he always kept close in the film. Apart from the genuine friendship between the Dude, Walter and Donny, the eulogy dialogue also implies another layer of meaning from the movie concerning generation loss, changes and the cycle of life. Although the three main characters are bound together by bowling but Donny is the only one we ever do see bowl, in fact, we only seem to notice his existence at the bowling alley but his bowling results never did come to the Dude nor Walter’s notice. From the way how Donny let Walter call him names, swear at him and never really get to enjoy bowling’s fun, to Donny being scared to death with an heart attack caused by Nihilists attack or even after Donny’s death, when there is no family member but only Walter and the Dude to take care of his remains indicates a generation ignored and lost. In the eulogy scene, the director used an unusual composition thanShow MoreRelated Country Music in O Brother, Where Art Thou? Essay3561 Words   |  15 Pagescountry music. Whether it be through white trash country music narratives or the use of country music on film soundtracks to signify white trashness, it is undeniable that white trash has a special affinity with country music. For this reason my analysis of O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2001) will demonstrate the way early forms of U.S. country music emphasise the white trashness of the film s characters. What exactly is white trash? U.S. cultural critics Annalee Newitz and

A Research Firm Regarding For Profit Essay - 1703 Words

Preface: Thomas Kane, I am writing this letter to you to inform you of the findings of my research firm regarding for-profit, also known as private, prisons. I personally hold a Ph.D. in Sociology and am the CEO of the research firm that is providing this information. I hope that this letter helps you to decide to cut down on the number of privately owned prisons in the United States. Introduction: With such a large population in our country, it is no surprise that we have many prisons here in the United States; large numbers of crimes are committed every day, some more severe than others, and the people arrested and charged with these crimes must be kept in prisons. According to Sociology: The Essentials by Andersen, Taylor and Logio (2015), state â€Å"...is an organized system of power and authority in society† (pg. 376). Within the state is the government, military, courts, laws, police forces, and prisons (Andersen, M.L., Taylor, H.F., Logio, K.A., 2015). Why is it, then, that prisons are allowed to be privatized when they are defined as a part of the state? Do the private prisons still function within the best interests of our nation? Unfortunately, outsourcing a portion of the state to a private entity is not the only complaint to be heard. Private prisons do not always meet the same standards that federally owned prisons do; they are driven by the lucrative business that prisons provide and try to save money wherever possible to increase their profits. TheseShow MoreRelatedEffects Of Abnormal Profits On The Long Run Essay1530 Words   |  7 Pages2. Abnormal Profits in the Long Run Normal Profit occurs when the average revenue is equal to the average total cost. Abnormal profit is therefore defined as extra profit above normal profit. In the long run, oligopolies make abnormal profits, due to the assumption of high barriers to entry. 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Contemporary Accounting Theory

Questions: Task 1. Provide a report summarising the purpose of Corporate Sustainability Reporting (CSR) by referring to the Global Reporting Initiatives' (GRI) Sustainability Framework (G3.1). Task 2. Identify two ASX Top-500 companies multinational companies and compare their reporting on economic, environmental and social aspects in their annual reports and standalone sustainability reports for the reporting year ending 2014. [Note: Download their annual report for the reporting period ending 2014. Task 3. Discuss how the two companies (discussed in Task 2 above) managed 'legitimacy' through reporting (i.e. CSR information disclosure) from the perspectives of systems oriented theories. Answers: Introduction This report is focused on the subject area of environmental and sustainability reporting of the companies. The report has mainly divided in to three tasks. In the first task, the report has discussed about the purpose of corporate sustainability reporting done by the business organizations. At the time of discussion on this topic, the steps of Global Reporting Initiatives are also discussed in respect to the sustainability Framework. In the second task of the report, comparison is made on the reporting techniques of Woolworths and New Zealand and Australian Bank or NAB in respect to the economic, environmental and social context. The third task is concern about the discussion on the management of legitimacy done by the management of two companies from the system oriented theories perspectives Task 1 Summarized report regarding the purpose of Corporate Sustainability Reporting The purpose of sustainability reporting can be better understood by understanding the meaning of sustainability reporting. Barkemeyer et al. (2015) stated that the report through which the corporate or business organizations provides or discloses the information related to their economic, social, environmental and corporate governance performance. According to Kjaergaard et al. (2016), with the help of sustainability reporting, the business firms can identify and disclose the impacts of their business operations on the different sustainability issues. In the other words, it can be said that sustainability reporting helps the organizations to become more transparent about the opportunities and risks that they face. On the other side, de Villiers et al. (2016) mentioned that the sustainability reporting not only discloses the information related to the different social, environmental and economic aspects but also it helps in improving the sustainable development strategies of the companies. In general, there are different purposes due to which the organizations in the international market use to do sustainability reporting in each financial year. These purposes are stated as below: The first and foremost purpose of sustainability reporting of the companies is to fulfill the commitments done by the business organizations to the society, environment and economy of the country. At the same time, maintaining the proper transparency level is another main reason or purpose of sustainability reporting (Patel and Rayner 2015). As per the part 2 of GRI standards, the company must disclose the strategy and profile along with the corporate governance structure in the sustainability report. The next purpose of sustainability reporting is to plan for different activities related to the future sustainability of the companies. As per the principles of sustainability reporting stated by GRI, the companies must include the performance indicators in their sustainability reporting. These performance indicators of the companies help in identifying in which area how much the company has improved its performance (Siew 2015). This disclosure helps the management to set the strategies for the improvement of future sustainability of the company. There are many companies where the preparation of the sustainability report is the tool that helps them in understanding the extent to which they are successful in solving the issues in the society. The sustainability report of the company shows what are the strategies taken by the company in a particular financial year and what are the benefits that the stakeholders of the company gained from those strategies (Cho et al. 2015). Therefore, the sustainability report of the company indicates the areas in which the company is lacking behind in fulfilling the needs of its stakeholders and by this identification the company can take better strategies for improvement (De Klerk et al. 2015). The standards provided by GRI also stated that the sustainability reports of the companies must represent the needs of both the report users and report maker. Another reason of preparing the sustainability report is to maintain the regulations. At present scenario, the preparation of sustainability report has become mandatory for all the listed companies in Australia as well as in other parts of the world (van Staden 2015). There are few countries like Denmark, Netherlands and Sweden etc where the companies are bound to provide the sustainability reports along with their annual reports. It shows how much the company is careful about the society or about the stakeholders of them. As per the current report, the number of companies in international market those are publishing the sustainability report in each year is increasing day by day. For example, as per KPMG report, 70% of the top 500 companies in ASX (Australian Securities Exchange) are producing the sustainability report in each year regularly. On the other side, in case of UK, the governments regulations like, Climate Change Act, 2008 and Carbon Reduction Commitment, 2010 influence the companies to prepare the sustainability reports (Murakami and Kimbara 2015). There is another purpose of preparing the sustainable report by the companies and that is to survive in this competitive market (Siew 2015). As the sustainability report of the company shows the transparency level of the company, the popularity of the company depends on this. In the international market, the customers, suppliers, government and other stakeholders are very much curious about the business operations and activities done by the companies (de Villiers et al. 2016). Therefore, if a company does not provide the sustainability report, then the stakeholders of it will not know what the steps or activities done by the companies. This will affect the trust of the stakeholders on that company. Hence, in long run it will affect the competitive position of the company in the market. The understanding of the risks and the externalities is another reason of preparing the sustainable report. According to Cho et al. (2015), by preparing the sustainable report, the management of the company can clearly understand what ate the risks and externalities that they may face in future. As per the G4 guidelines of GRI, the companies must do sustainability reporting in order to minimize their risks. Therefore, from the above discussion, it can be said that there are many reasons or purposes for which the companies in the modern business world prepare the sustainability report or do sustainability reporting. However, in this context, the steps taken by GRI for sustainability reporting can be stated. The steps of GRI are as under: GRI has arranged for several events and programs in order to make the companies aware about the importance of sustainability reporting (De Klerk et al. 2015). Recently, GRI has arranged for 5th GRI global conference, where 1500 leading companies took part and shared their knowledge regarding the benefits that they have achieved due to sustainable reporting. GRI has taken the agenda of together for a better tomorrow. With the help of this particular agenda, GRI has tried to influence the companies towards the non-financial reporting (van Staden 2015). GRI has tried to influence the companies towards the disclosure of all the positive and negative impacts of their operations on the society, environment and economy. The part 1 and part 2 of G4 guidelines of GRI has indicated the importance of disclosure of non-financial aspects by applying the reporting principles. GRI has initiated the Certified Training Program in order to make the people aware regarding the guideline as well as the reporting of non-financial aspects. This program has included number of topics and the training is being provided by the specialized training organizations in the local languages of different places (De Klerk et al. 2015). During this training program, the people not only get the knowledge about the GRI guidelines but also they become aware of the process of GRI sustainability reporting including 5 different phases. GRI has also prepared the support suite. The main purpose of providing this support suite is to give the people the knowledge of each tool and the services that are offered by each phase of GRI. This support suite is actually like cycle that includes each phase of GRI sustainability reporting process. Therefore, from the above discussion, it can be said that GRI has taken several steps in order to make the people aware regarding sustainable reporting. The benefits of sustainable reporting are also mentioned by GRI. However, if the analysis is made on the success of the efforts made by the GRI, then it can be seen that in many countries, the activities of GRI has achieved success. In this regards, the example of Australia can be mentioned (Globalreporting.org. 2016). It has been stated above that presently, 70% of the top 500 companies listed on Australian Security Exchange are regularly providing the sustainability reports. On the other side, GRI has achieved much success in Denmark and France. As per KPMG report, in the year 2013, there are many companies those joined in sustainability reporting for the first time. Few of these countries are Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, US, India, China, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Belgium, Finland, Italy, Greece, Norway, Russia, Taiwan, Poland, Nigeria, UAE etc. The KPMG reporting has also disclosed that GRI has also achieved tremendous success in Asia Pacific region. There are more or less 71% of the companies in Asia Pacific region has provided sustainability reports in the year 2013. The percentage is also high in case of America and Europe. In case of America, the percentage of sustainability reporting is 76% and in Europe it is 73% (Globalreporting.org. 2016). However, in this context, de Villiers et al. (2016) mentioned that the success of GRI is mostly seen in the developed countries. In case of the developing countries, the success rate is not so high. For example, in China, the rate of sustainability reporting increased by only 16%, which is much lower. The rate is also poor in Taiwan that is 19%. However, in the words of Kjaergaard et al. (2016), GRI has brought new phase in sustainable development. GRI became successful in achieving several developments in communities also. Therefore, from these points of views, it can be said that the efforts made of GRI are successful in overall context. However, it needs to make more focus on the developing countries. Task 2 Comparison between the economic, environmental and social aspects reporting of two Australian companies New Zealand and Australian Bank and Woolworths Australia are the two companies in the top 500 multinational companies, having a worldwide operation. The Annual Reports of both the companies are studied and analyzed to find the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of the companies are compared on the basis of social, environmental and economic parameters. CSR is an important part of the Annual Report, which shows the different actions of the company, which impacts the stakeholders and the community at large (Annual Report 2016). NAB, is a financial institution and is a market leader in their own field. At the same time, this company is well known for their CSR activities. The CSR of this company can be divided into social cause, economic factors and the environmental parameters. This company is well for the social benefit welfare programs like the reduction in the carbon emissions across the operations of the company. The activities of the concern revolve around cutting the emission of the carbon and make the world a better place to live (www.woolworths.com.au 2016). The financial services industry has to take care of the different environment issues as the impact of this sector on the overall economy is huge and this company makes enough contribution to the economy. The issues of the customer satisfaction and security are of prime importance to the company (Shin 2014). The safety measures include the checking and re-checking of the products so that the products delivered do not harm the safety measures of the customers and they are safe and are not harmed by the use of the different products of the company. There is a transparency and disclosure measures of the company, which takes care of the clarity of the performance of the company. Clarity helps in conducting the business with a flawless ability and makes the performance of the business smooth and flawless. Moreover, the business conducted by the company in the wake of the clarity makes it easier for the company to conduct business. This affects the overall image of the business and makes it worthwhile to do business. The strategy and the vision of the company revolves around the strong culture base of the company and at the same time effective and successful execution of the strategies of the company. Understanding the values of the different cultures are an integral part of this company and this helps in building a strong bond in the company and at the same time helps the company in positively affecting the society (Takkar 2015). The economic factors that lead to the contribution in the economic factors include the risk mitigation and the risk management of the company. Managing risk is an important consideration in the economic factors. Risk appetite of the company, strategic planning of the company and the operational planning process help the economy in achieving the true potential of the company and make the company more competitive. The risk culture of the company helps the company in achieving the goals and the objectives of the firm thereby making the company achieve the targets and objectives of the company (Kobzar et al 2015). Analyzing the annual report of this company, it can be analyzed that the company focuses on the overall aspects of the concerns and all the details are looked into. The cutting of the carbon emissions, providing health care facilities to the needy, mitigating and managing the risks of the concern is few of the instances, which focuses on the complete nature of the CSR activities of the company. Internal Audit done by the company brings about clarity in the overall activities of the concern (Greening et al 2012). The next company whose Annual Report is analyzed is Woolworth Australia. This company is active in the retail space and is one of the leading retailing concerns. In terms of turnover, the company comes among the top 100 global companies. This company is concerned about the different regulations of the regulatory bodies like the Commonwealth of Australia. This sort of the regulations help the company in obliging to the different rules and regulations. On the other Annual Report states that the company has not incurred any sort of significant amount of liabilities in their portfolio. This highlights the fact that the company is serious about the workings of their and they achieve the performance of the company (Nab.com.au 2016). This company has a strong governance framework, which makes the achievement of the social responsibilities of the company all the more important. Moreover, this company has to achieve the governance standards and achieve those objectives. The Board of Directors governs the committee and the governance committee has different committee inside it. Few of the examples of the committee are audit and risk committee, nomination committee and the people policy committee. With the advent of such committee, the company has to deliver the social responsibility program and meet the requirements of the clients (Pedersen 2015). Moreover, this company aims to reduce the wastages of water by 200m litres within a specific period, as to meet the water scarcity levels and make sustainable efforts to reduce the wastage of the water. As this company is involved in the retailing sector and deals with food products, this company aims to waste zero food products by 2016. Apart from this, the sustainable and the ethical sourcing of the products is an important factor in the corporate social responsibility of the company. Different policies regards to the Animal products, paper, timber and pulp and other labor policies of the company (Luc 2016). The activities of the company serve millions of the customers and make the life of the people fulfilling. This company employs about 200,000 peoples and at the same time, providing safety and security is a top priority to the company. Mutual benefit is the main priority of the company and they provide a focused and collaborative nature of work to deal with the different stakeholders, particularly the employees. On the other hand, the long-term value creation of the shareholders is an important criterion of the company. They aim to build a long lasting relationship with the shareholders and continue that relation for a long period (Schneider and Schmidpeter 2012). In times of crisis, this company tries to be the light at the end of the tunnel in matters of different critical issues. They want to drive changes in the social community, business and in the society through their different endeavors. The customers, stakeholders and the community members are listened closely and the critical issues are worked upon to reach to a solution. Moreover, the creation of the long lasting relationships with the different business partners makes the value creation an effective tool for the company and does different social responsibility (Preuss 2013). This company tries not to conduct any sort of corruption or immoral behaviour, breaching the law, conflict of the interest. This sort of behaviour on the part of this company provides for a greater opportunity in the social responsibility space and at the same time, helps the company to achieve greater heights in the corporate space. This company has a good reputation in the social responsibility space and they try to hold on to the performance and reach the pinnacle of success. If the company holds on to the current performance then it will be esier for the company to retain the customers, achieve different milestones (Kumar 2015). On analyzing the Annual Reports of the two companies, there is found to be many similarities between the two companies regarding the different social, environmental and economic initiatives. Both the companies are active in a social scale and they try to contribute at a sustainable level. The main target of the companies is to reduce the negative impact of the company on the society. The common activity of the companies is to use a sustainable method in the approaches like reducing the carbon emissions, taking care of the safety regulations of the customers and implementing the risk management practices in place. Proper management of the risks helps the company to properly mitigate the risks and make proper changes as per the needs. The use of such methods and models reflects on the responsibility of the company in protecting the interests of the different stakeholders and both the companies are sincere in protecting the interests of the stakeholders. The strategies of both the companies revolve around setting a complete strategy that helps the company in delivering fair and transparent results, thus making strong impacts on the different stakeholders of the company. Moreover, they try to make long lasting relationships with the business partners so that the business of the company can run for a long time and the sustainability factors of the company are met. At the same time, both the companies focuses on the economic benefit factors of the company so that the economic conditions are improved and the social responsibility factors of the company are also met (Servaes and Tamayo 2013). Task 3 Discussion on the techniques of managing legitimacy through reporting In todays business context, the disclosure of all the information related to the corporate social responsibility activities of the company is very important in order to manage the legitimacy in the business. Presently, the activities related to the corporate social responsibilities are becoming one of the most important parts of each company (Murakami and Kimbara 2015). The CSR disclosure not only discloses the activities done by the company but also shows how much the company is responsible towards the society. However, in order to understand the techniques applied by Woolworths Limited and New Zealand and Australia Bank to manage the legitimacy through reporting from the system oriented theory perspectives, it is very important to know about the system oriented theories at first. The system oriented theories are stated below: Legitimacy theory: In the words of Luger et al. (2015), the Legitimacy theory explains the attitudes of the companies in respect to the implementing and improving the voluntary information disclosure related to the environmental and social context. The theory also states that the disclosure of environmental and social information is made by the companies in order to meet the objectives of the companies towards the society and in order to ensure the sustainability in the problematic situation (Nurhayati et al. 2016). According to this particular theory, the organizations report about their corporate responsibilities as per the expectations or needs of the society. At the same time, the theory also indicates that the organizations discloses or reports about their corporate responsibility activities in order to maintain the legitimacy in a better manner. Dagiliene (2015) believed that legitimacy theory provides better knowledge about the corporate social and environmental disclosures of the companies. Stakeholder theory: Mitchell and Cohen (2015) suggested that stakeholder theory states about the relationship between the companies and their external as well as internal environments. In the other words, it can also be said that the stakeholder theory indicates the responsibilities of the business organizations towards their internal and external stakeholders. Miles (2015) mentioned that this theory talks about the business ethics. According to Freeman (2015), the business organizations are responsible towards the society and the environment or its stakeholders and the company needs to balance the interest of each stakeholder. However, on the contrary, Mitchell and Cohen (2015) argued that the interests of the stakeholders of the company are balanced against each other. In oppose to this argument, Miles (2015) commented that it is not possible to balance between the interests of the managers and shareholders if there is no steps taken or policy made by the company. Therefore, from t his point of view, it cannot be said that the interests of the stakeholders are balanced against each other. However, the Stakeholder theory suggests that the company must maintain or operate its business by satisfying the interests of each stakeholder. Institutional theory: This particular theory suggests that the formal structure of a business organization largely dependent on the institutional environment. In this respect, Cornelissen et al. (2015) stated that the Institutional theory emphasizes on the policy-making of the organization by considering the legal as well as formal aspects provided by government. At the same time Hoffman (2016) opined that the Institutional theory shows how the rules, policies, norms and internal structure of the business organizations are established as per the social behavior guidelines. On the other side, the Institutional theory also suggests that there is no particular concept that can define the structure of an institute. It is the social structure that helps to achieve higher level of resilience and this social structure includes the normative, regulative and cultural-cognitive elements of social life. Therefore, in respect to the Institutional theory, it can be said that it is very important for the business organizations to formulate their structure or business structure as per the social regulations and these social regulations can be maintained by fulfilling the needs of all the stakeholders of them. However, from the above discussion on three different theories, it can be understood that all these system oriented theories mainly provides a common suggestion and that is fulfill the needs of society. This suggestion is also applicable in case of the two ASX Top 500 companies that are Woolworths Australia and New Zealand and Australian Bank (NAB). However, in order to check how these two organizations manage legitimacy through reporting, it is important to understand how far their business operations consider the social needs. The New Zealand and Australian Bank or NAB manages the legitimacy by disclosing its financial and market position along with its Corporate Social Responsibility activities in each years annual report. If the annual report, 2015 of the company is considered then it can be seen that the management of the organization has disclosed that the capital management of the company is mainly focused on the efficiency, adequacy and flexibility. Along with this, the annual report 2015 of the company also disclosed that as the company maintains the adequacy for its capital, the risks involved in this company is lower (Nab.com.au. 2016). On the other side, the company has also disclosed that the business activities of the company have followed the ASX Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations, third edition. At the same time, the company has also mentioned that the business activities of the company have maintained the Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 and in the financial year 2015, the company has used 60% of the energy that is permitted by the NGER Act of the country. It is also mentioned that the company has implemented and followed some energy efficiency programs in 2015. On the other side, the company has introduced the Energy Savings Opportunity schemes in United Kingdom during 2015 (Nab.com.au. 2016). Therefore, from the above it can be said that the company that is New Zealand and Australian Bank has disclosed all the possible information related to the social context. By disclosing the risk factors and the information related to the financial information, the company has helped the stakeholders like, shareholders, government, investors and suppliers etc to understand the actual level of sustainability of it. On the other side, by disclosing the percentage of energy usage, it has made clear how much the company is responsible to the environment and society. Therefore, by disclosing all the facts and figures the company has tried to fulfill the interests of all the stakeholders and by this, the company has also maintained the legitimacy and stakeholder theories. On the other side, the different types of disclosures have also represented that the decisions taken by the board of directors of the company were influenced by the social needs. In this respect, it can also be said that t he company has also followed the institutional theory. On the other side, if the annual report of Woolworths Limited can be seen, then it can be identified that the management of the company has taken several steps in order to fulfill the needs of all the stakeholders or society. This particular company has also followed the three above mentioned theories to manage the legitimacy. The 2015s annual report of the company disclosed that the company has followed the Corporation Act 2001 in order to manage the business risks and the company has followed the ASCI Regulatory Guide 247 for the effective disclosure of the business risks. The company has also agreed that it is responsible towards the environmental liabilities due to the petrol and meat processing plants as well as the winemaking operations of it (Woolworths Online. 2016). At the same time, the company has also disclosed that their winemaking operations and meat processing plants have affected the environment negatively and due to that the company has faced adverse effects on its operations. The company has also disclosed that few of its brands may not get that much success in the future and involvement in joint venture and strategic alliances have created high uncertainties. On the other side, the company has mentioned that it has appointed talented people and has planned for several performances development activities in order to manage the performances of the employees. The company has also taken care of the workplace environment (Woolworths Online. 2016). Therefore, from the above it can be said that the company has made full disclosure of each information that is relevant for managing the legitimacy. Along with this, the steps taken by the company for disclosing the information relevant to the society and stakeholders denote that the company has followed the theories like legitimacy, stakeholder and institutional. Conclusion The above discussions under the three tasks of this assignment have disclosed that corporate sustainability reporting is very important in order to maintain the transparence of the business operations. At the same time, it is also important for identifying the future risks of the business. GRI has taken several steps in order to make the organizations understand the importance of corporate sustainability reporting. On the other side, the annual reports of NAB and Woolworths have disclosed that both the companies have maintained transparence and good relationship with the stakeholders. At the same time, both the companies have disclosed all the importance information in order to manage the legitimacy and for that the companies has followed the system oriented theories. Reference List: Barkemeyer, R., Preuss, L. and Lee, L., 2015. On the effectiveness of private transnational governance regimesevaluating corporate sustainability reporting according to the global reporting initiative.Journal of World Business,50(2), pp.312-325. Cho, C.H., Michelon, G., Patten, D.M. and Roberts, R.W., 2015. CSR disclosure: the more things change?.Accounting, Auditing Accountability Journal,28(1), pp.14-35. Cornelissen, J.P., Durand, R., Fiss, P.C., Lammers, J.C. and Vaara, E., 2015. Putting communication front and center in institutional theory and analysis.Academy of Management Review,40(1), pp.10-27. Dagiliene, L., 2015. The research of corporate social responsibility disclosures in annual reports.Engineering Economics,21(2). De Klerk, M., de Villiers, C. and van Staden, C., 2015. The influence of corporate social responsibility disclosure on share prices: evidence from the United Kingdom.Pacific Accounting Review,27(2), pp.208-228. de Villiers, C., Rouse, P. and Kerr, J., 2016. A new conceptual model of influences driving sustainability based on case evidence of the integration of corporate sustainability management control and reporting.Journal of Cleaner Production. Freeman, R.E., 2015. Stakeholder Theory.Wiley Encyclopedia of Management. Globalreporting.org. 2016. Global Reporting Initiative. Greening, D.W., Wall, J. and Elias, S.R., 2012, December. Developing Theory in Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Entrepreneurship. InProceedings of the International Association for Business and Society(Vol. 23, pp. 91-97). Hoffman, A.J., 2016. Institutional Theory and the Natural Environment: Building Research Through Tensions and Paradoxes. Kjaergaard, T., Schleper, M.C. and Schmidt, C.G., 2016. Current Deficiencies and Paths for Future Improvement in Corporate Sustainability Reporting. InLogistics and Supply Chain Innovation(pp. 67-83). Springer International Publishing. Kobzar, T., Nikolayeva, V. and Shvets, O., 2014. CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. Korschun, D., Bhattacharya, C.B. and Swain, S.D., 2014. Corporate social responsibility, customer orientation, and the job performance of frontline employees.Journal of Marketing,78(3), pp.20-37. Kumar, S., 2015.Corporate Social Responsibility. ICFAI University Press. Luc, J., 2016. Corporate Social Responsibility. Luger, J., Mammen, J. and Haleblian, J., 2015. Security Analaysts' Influence on Acquisition Decisions: A Joint Agency and Legitimacy Theory Approach. Miles, S., 2015. Stakeholder theory classification: a theoretical and empirical evaluation of definitions.Journal of Business Ethics, pp.1-23. Mitchell, R.K. and Cohen, B., 2015. Stakeholder theory and the entrepreneurial firm.Journal of small business strategy,17(1), pp.1-16. Murakami, K. and Kimbara, T., 2015. Does CSR Enhance the Transfer of Environmental Practices to Overseas Subsidiaries?.

Locke And Rousseau Essays (1492 words) - Political Philosophy

Locke And Rousseau The idea of consent is a key element in the works of John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. In the "Second Treatise of Government," Locke puts forth his conception of the ideal form of government based on a social contract. As Locke develops his theory of consent, he also incorporates theories of political obligation on the part of all citizens of his state as well as his theory of revolution and the conditions under which rebellion is permissible. Though Locke may appear to have explored the notion of consent completely, there are some problems with his theory that weaken its impact. Despite the possible problems encountered with Locke's idea of consent in a political society, Rousseau, in his essay "On the Social Contract," seems to agree with Locke with regards to the concept of consent as it applies to the use of money. The works of Locke and Rousseau explore political foundations that depend on a social contract which requires consent above all things in order to secure liberty for the people. John Locke powerfully details the benefits of consent as a principle element of government, guaranteed by a social contract. Locke believes in the establishment of a social compact among people of a society that is unique in its ability to eliminate the state of nature. Locke feels the contract must end the state of nature agreeably because in the state of nature "every one has executive power of the law of nature"(742). This is a problem because men are then partial to their own cases and those of their friends and may become vindictive in punishments of enemies. Therefore, Locke maintains that a government must be established with the consent of all that will "restrain the partiality and violence of men"(744). People must agree to remove themselves from the punishing and judging processes and create impartiality in a government so that the true equality of men can be preserved. Without this unanimous consent to government as holder of executive power, men who attempt to establish absolute power will throw society into a state of war(745). The importance of freedom and security to man is the reason he gives consent to the government. He then protects himself from any one partial body from getting power over him. He can appeal to a higher authority in his community once the consent of the people sets up a judiciary(746). As Locke develops his theory of consent, he addresses the issue of liberty and states that in giving consent, men do give up their"natural liberty," which involves being free from the will of any man and living by the law of nature. However, in the social contract we exchange this natural liberty for "freedom of men under government," in which we have a natural, standing rule to live by, common to everyone, made by the legislative(747). With consent to government, men still have the liberty to follow their own will in matters where the law does not dictate otherwise. Therefore, men do not have to suffer enslavement to political institutions. For Locke, this justifies consent to government and ordered society. Locke incorporates his views on money into his consent theory, for he feels that men have agreed tacitly, with the invention of money, to put a value on property and establish rights to it(751). The consent of men to place a value on money has allowed men to support themselves with property and labor and also"increase[s] the common stock of mankind"(751). Consent makes industry and the accumulation of the wealth of society possible and Locke considers this a positive achievement. Involved deeply in the theory of consent is Locke's interpretation of political obligation. Locke views government as essential to the evolution of a civil society in which the inconveniences of the state of nature are rejected while the safety and security men desire are protected by government. Therefore, the people, as part of the social contract, have a duty to obey the laws instituted by government and to accept the concept of majority rule as fundamental to the continued equality of the society. In consenting to political authority, men agree to allow the "body with the greater force" to influence policy(769). Men must have confidence in the proper functioning of government because they rely on the social compact. Their obligation is to abide by the terms of the compact so that both people and government enjoy smooth sailing. Locke also explores the idea of revolution and insists that the people who have created government with unanimous consent in

Strikes in the Union Essay Example

Strikes in the Union Essay Labour unions are, as we know, specifically exempted from the antitrust laws, and so the proposal is natural enough merely to remove the exemption. This would clearly be desirable in a number of situations in which unions do with impunity in the product market what business men may not do, and in others where unions become virtually agents in mutually beneficial deals with business men whereby the law is circumvented. But it is not clear to me how the courts would apply the law in the crucial areas of collective bargaining, strikes, boycotts, and picketing, for instance. The anti-trust laws as they stand are not directed to these matters, and sooner or later a set of principles appropriate to them must be evolved. It would seem to me that it is specific legislation designed for the labor area that is needed, and that only the greatest confusion could result from merely asking the courts to apply the anti-trust laws as they stand to labor unions.The weapons of labor in its struggle ag ainst capital arefew, but powerfulthe strike, picketing, the boycott, sabotage, mass protest and demonstration. However, changes have occurred in the form and the extent of their application. These changes have been the result, in large part, of labors increasing awareness of the strength of the weapons and of a greater knowledge of their use; in part, these changes have been adaptations to aggressions or recessions by employers and to interference by the government or intrusion by social agencies. Thus a strike can be the spontaneous, scattered, and chaotic walkouts of the railroad strikes in 1877, or the disciplined and well-organized walkout of the textile workers at Lawrence in 1912; it can take the form of the localized and isolated protest by the southern Colorado coal miners in 1913, or the federated nation-wide drive by all the steel crafts in 1919; it can serve as a symbol of sympathy and support, like the refusal of the railway workers in 1894 to handle Pullman cars, or as a demand for the release of political prisoners, like the demonstration strike of 1912 in behalf of Ettor and Giovannitti, or as a mass defense against a concerted employer-offensive, like the San Francisco general strike of 1934 (Babson, 1984).Capital, on its side, likewise has developed methods of controlling labor during times of peace and of defeating it in times of strife. Some of these methods are overt, such as the lockout, the hiring of armed guards, and the importation of strike-breakers; others, like espionage and the blacklist, are covert. Furthermore, in welfare work and the company union, capital has found more subtle and insidious means of controlling labor, splitting its ranks, and dissipating its force. Any doubt concerning the effect of welfare work, whether so intended or not, is dissolved by a study of the absolute domination over labor gained by the Pullman Palace Car Company or the United States Steel Corporation through their welfare systems. Any uncertainty c oncerning the purpose of the company union, no matter what its alleged intention, is clarified by a study of the conception and birth of the Rockefeller Industrial Representation Plan during and after the Colorado coal strike of 1913-1914. During the progress of the struggle between capital and labor, the government, whether city, county, state, or federal, has interfered often and has rarely proved itself impartial or neutral (Jeffrey-Jones, 1978).Nor should this intervention be unexpected, if it is remembered that the government was established on the principles of freedom of contract (at least for labor) and private property (Frazier, 1962). No amount of verbal artifice can conceal the fundamental opposition of organized labor to these two principles. When workers demand the eight-hour day or an increase in wages, they automatically invade the right of the employer to the full use of his property and the freedom of other workers to work a longer day or for lower wages if they so choose. When workers strike for recognition of their union and then picket in order to render the strike effective, they at once restrict the freedom of other workers to work where they please, with or without union affiliation, and the employers expectancy (which has been decreed a property right by the Supreme Court) to hire workmen. It is not strange, therefore, that in protecting the principles of private property and freedom of contract the government, almost without exception, sends its police, sheriffs, militia, and federal troops to help crush strikes. Nor is it strange that the courts sustain the dispatch of the governments forces against the strikes, by causing the arrest of workers on such charges as vagrancy, picketing, contempt of court, riot, and rebellion. Even legislation, perhaps in a more oblique manner, frequently operates against labor during a strike; for example, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and the Interstate Commerce Act, while ostensibly enacted to curb the mo nopolistic tendencies of industry and commerce, served to father the labor injunction at the time of the Pullman strike of 1894 (Foulkes, 1980).In the same way, such social agencies as the press, the radio, the pulpit, the movies, and the schools are conservative, in the sense that they act to conserve the existing economic and political set-up of society, and to defend the principles upon which it is erected. As a result, they assist in suppressing any serious outbreak of labor that occurs, whether in the deliberate and conscious manner of the council of newspaper publishers that directed the San Francisco press in its onslaught upon the general strike of 1934, or in the naà ¯ve and unconscious manner of the New England clergyman who, in vindication of the 12-hour day in the steel industry, cited the words of the Toiler of Galilee-I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day; for the night cometh when no man can work† (Foulkes, 1980).The struggles of labor for b etter working and living conditions have led it to combine in organizations both for mutual assistance and for mutual protection. While many of these organizations were short-lived, as was the American Railway Union founded in 1893 by Eugene V. Debs, others existed over a period of years (and continue to exist) and exercised a steady influence upon the ideology and practice of organized labor in the United States. All degrees of attitude toward capital, the government, and society are represented in these organizations. The Brotherhoods of railroad workers, originally fraternal societies which slowly acquired the trade-union function of collective bargaining, have retreated gradually from the principle of collective bargaining to the policy of partial collaboration with capital and regulation by the government. Likewise, a large part of the American Federation of Labor has exhibited an inclination toward the idea of coà ¶peration with capital and the practice of mediation and arbit ration. On the other hand, the Chicago anarchists of 1886 and the Industrial Workers of the World renounced coà ¶peration with employers and condemned arbitration as enervators and partitioners of the ranks of labor. Between these two groups there developed a sharp conflict; one group was conservative, the other radical, in the sense that it wished to get at the root of labors difficulties in the existing society and, if necessary, to change the basis of that society. As a consequence, interwoven in the struggles of labor can be detected the influences of anarchism, syndicalism, communism, and other doctrines for the conversion of society. In other words, labor was led from its immediate desire for higher wages and fewer hours to an examination of causative defects in the structure of society (Foulkes, 1980).Besides the primary cleavage in organized labor between the conservative and radical factions, other secondary cleavages appeared as new problems of procedure and theory arose, bringing with them corresponding differences of opinion concerning their proper solution. Tactics were tried, discarded, tried again. Violence was answered at different times with the boycott, sabotage, counter-violence. Mass picketing was the reply to the labor injunction, mass protest and demonstration to the partiality of the courts. Certain problems recurred again and again, and some of them still trouble American labor organizations. One is the question of the Negro. Unless organized labor can agree upon a method of including him in its ranks, he will continue to be, as in the steel strike of 1919, a depressor of wages and a potential strike-breaker. Another problem, even more pressing, is that of craft versus industrial unionism. Shall craft unions, like most of those in the steel industry, be the structural unit of a nation-wide organization of labor? Or shall all the workers in an industry, regardless of skill or special craft, be included in one industrial union, capable o f united and simultaneous action? A third problem is dual unionism. Dissatisfaction with the conservatism of existing organizations, uneasiness concerning the official scabbing induced by craft unionism, inability to get rid of the wellestablished officialdom of trade-unionsall these have led to the formation of rival unions. Thus in 1912, the I.W.W., in opposition to the existing United Textile Workers of America, organized the workers in the entire textile industry of Lawrence, Massachusetts. More recently, the Communists have organized such dual unions as the National Textile Workers Union and the National Marine Workers Union (Barrett, 1987).An increasing number of unions and employee associations in public service are reexamining the use of strikes to resolve contract disputes. For many years, government employee unions voluntarily included no-strike pledges in their constitutions or operated under longstanding resolutions condemning strikes. However, at their 1968 conventions, two postal unions, the Fire Fighters, and the National Association of Government Employees deleted their no-strike clauses and directed further studies on the strike issue.These changes in attitude toward the strike occur at the end of a decade during which the number of strikes by public employees has risen steadily. In 1966-67 alone, strikes in the public sector, at the state and local levels, caused more idle man-days and involved more workers than strikes in all the preceding eight years ( 1958-65).Federal antistrike laws date from a 1912 prohibition directed at postal employees, who were granted the right to organize but were not allowed to join unions asserting the right to strike. Over the years this bar was extended to cover other Federal employees.Nearly two million school children throughout the country were denied critical days of education when the fall term began. . . [in 1967] because of disagreements between their teachers and boards of education. Breakdowns in negot iations between the parties over wages, classroom discipline, and managerial responsibility brought a rash of teachers strikes in New York, Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky, Florida and elsewhere. These strikes, and those of other public employees such as firemen, policemen, transit workers, garbage collectors, and social workers. . . raise serious questions for the public. Are such strikes increasing in number? Why do they occur? Can they be avoided, or hopefully even eliminated? (Barrett, 1987)We have all learned to live with occasional strikes in private industry. Why do we inject a different standard in public employment? Certainly the airline strike in the summer of 1966 caused some disappointment among vacationers and businessmen alike, and the Ford strike of 1967 delayed sporting new auto models to our neighbors. But by and large, these interruptions in industrial service and production are sufficiently irregular and sufficiently remote from our immediate needs, that we have come to accept them as a cost of the free labor market.Employees of Federal, state and local governments long protected by civil service rules have belatedly awakened to the fact that workers holding the same jobs in private industry have for a third of a century had the legal protection of the right to form, join and assist labor organizations of their own choosing, to engage in collective bargaining, and to withhold their services if offered conditions of employment that were judged unacceptable. As the services of government move more and more into tasks traditionally performed by privately employed workers, such as provision of light and power, housing, and recreational facilities, there are bound to be more demands for those rights long guaranteed to private industry employees.This is coupled with the fact that conditions of workers in private industry have surpassed or caught up with those of the public employee. Employees in private industry can win higher pay, shorter hours and better working conditions much more rapidly in an expanding economy, particularly in an era of even mild inflation. Any increased costs are easily passed on to the consumer. Government workers, on the other hand, once wage leaders, tend to be held back in their wage expansion by increasing demands for government services, and protests over rising budgets and tax rates. The existing legislative process of fixing civil service wages is slower, less responsive to direct worker pressures than is collective bargaining. These factors all help to create a wider and wider disparity between levels of compensation for comparable work in private industry and public employment. But, if this difference is not enough to spark public employee unrest, there are also wage disparities within the public employment industry itself (Jeffrey-Jones, 1978).A few craft unions in public employment, such as building-trades and building-service unions, have been successful through legislation and political pre ssure in achieving agreement to pay to those in public employment the prevailing rates obtainable by their union brethren in private industry. This tends to arouse further the jealousy of other public employees who have lacked the political strength to obtain concessions matching private employment benefits. This disparity may well increase in the future if wages in private industry take an inflationary turn.This contrast in levels of compensation has led trade unions traditionally active only in private industry, such as the Teamsters Union, the Common Laborers and District Fifty of the United Mine Workers, to begin organizational activities among public employees, particularly as their private industry membership remains constant or shrinks. Public employment is the fastest growing industry in the United States, making it an attractive area for the unions to begin organizing. More and more unions are likely to enter this field, thus increasing competition among unions to gain cont rol of this unorganized group.

Planters and Sharecroppers essays

Planters and Sharecroppers essays The two works, Lanterns on the Levee: the Recollections of Planter's Son by William A. Percy and All God's Dangers: The Life of Nate Shaw by Theodore Rosengarten are very representative of the mind of the South during the era in which they were written. Though they are simply the stories of two men the works have often been used as a reasonable comparison between the lives of the social elite whites in the rural south and the lives of the financially and socially oppressed blacks. Although it is impossible to create a complete picture of the lives of all people living within the conditions of the antebellum south, through the stories of just two men, the messages of these two works express some hints of the ideals of each class represented. Additionally, within these two works can be found reasons for individual successes of these two men and by default those who shared their respective statuses. Within the text of these two works there are many points of comparison that leave the reader with both questions and answers to some of the most perplexing questions of the antebellum era. The comparison, between these two works and specifically between these two men gives many people, reared within today's politically correct educational system, a foundation for the reality of oppression after emancipation. The ways in which some people were kept down while others were elevated is often a fascination of historians and even novice readers interested in the era. Not the least of which, is the striking impression that these two groups lived in completely separate worlds interwoven only The most foundational expressions of the answers to the reasons for the evaluation of both Percy and Shaw as the ideal representatives of their class can be summated in a few social distinctions. The one distinction that rises to the top, is clearly the distinction of economic succ...

Charlemagne as a Christian king Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Charlemagne as a Christian king - Essay Example th the papacy and various ecclesiastical and administrative reforms, he managed to stop the cultural and political collapse of the early, Middle periods and establish a basis for extensive central administration north of the Alps, (Barbero 34). Charlemagne was a prominent military conqueror, and he directed his talent into the church service, for in winning some of the Western Europe and some parts of east, he utilized military forces to coerce all his subjects to turn to Christianity. In addition, he supported various, subtle missionary attempts and motivated the expansion of Benedict monasteries mostly the duplication of theological manuscripts. Charlemagne’s religiosity made him visualize himself as having a spiritual responsibility to establish the kingdom of God on the earth, but he used brutal, intrigue and extreme hostility to the latter. He invested all his crucial campaigns with religious significance. Charlemagne abolished the pagan idols and Saxons’ grooves and offered them a choice of converting to Christianity or dying, (Sypeck 67). Charlemagne offered a better deal of alms to the needy in his country and beyond. Whenever he realized that Christians were languishing in poverty- such as Jerusalem, Africa and Egypt – he had benevolence on the people, and sent resources oversea to assist them. Through this support, he strove to establish friendships with alien kings to be able to provide relief to Christians under their rule. He adored the Saint. Peter’s Church at Rome and bombarded its treasury with extensive riches of Gold, precious stones as well as Silver. He also sent various valuable endowments to the popes and in the whole of his leadership, his most desirable wish was to restore the traditional Roman authority by his influence and under his authority. He also longed to preserve and defend St. Peter’s Church, beautifying and enhancing himself over all other Christian churches. The military conquest, subtlety and efforts to enforce