Prayer in Islam Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Prayer in Islam - Research Paper Example Prayer is that spiritual communication to God or an object that is being worshiped, it is making a petition to God, an object of worship or a god. Prayer has different meanings and practices around the world where there is the use of postures like kneeling, walking and bowing the head which is seen as a way of showing devotion. In some places prayer involves asking for forgiveness, praise and worship and thanks giving. Some religions have a certain or standard way of praying, for example, the Lord’s Prayer which is often said by a group of worshipers. Islam is based on the five pillars which are the foundation of the Islamic life. The first pillar is the I-man or faith where Muslims believe in the oneness of Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger. This declaration or Shahada is the believe that serving and obeying Allah is the only purpose one has in their life and this is normally achieved through the teachings and practices of Prophet Muhammad. Prayer is the second pillar which involves declaring a testimony of faith. Prayer in Muslim is seen to be important since it is a way of worshiping and establishing a close relationship with Allah who is the creator. It is seen as way of acknowledgement ones weakness and need to ask for Devine grace, forgiveness, mercy and abundance which is believed to be of interest to every Muslim. Prayer in Islam is referred to as Salat and is believed to have been made a mandatory obligation by Allah for every Muslim to follow it as per the Hadith where Prophet Muhammad was asked, â€Å"which of the actions is best?† ... ayer is also believed to be able to prevent one from all immoral or sinful deeds and strengthens the relationship and bond between Muslims, that bond of unity and love. Prayer breaks all differences that exist among Muslims because every individual prays at the same time, facing the same direction and this can also be seen when all Muslims gather together in Mosques to pray and listen to sermons. Prayer involves certain body movement while reciting passages of the Quran and consists of defined movements and recitations of passages of the Quran. For the Muslim community prayers can be done in any place that is considered to be clean; however, it is believed that prayers done from a mosque will bring 27 times more blessings. Muslims believe that when one begins a prayer session, they should not stop until they are through but there is an exception, for example, in a situation where a woman sees her child in danger, she can save her child while reciting the prayer as per the teachings o f the Quran [2:239] "Under unusual circumstances, one may pray while walking or even riding. Once one is safe, one shall commemorate God as He taught them what they never knew."    There are several pre-requisites to make a prayer valid which include; the prayer time where prayers have to be during the specific times of the day. Mosques normally help the congregation note the prayer time through the Adan or call to prayer which translates to; God is the greatest (x 3) I confirm that there is no one worthy of worship except God (x2) I testify that Prophet Muhammad is the messenger of God (x2) Come for prayer (x2) Come for success (x2) God is the greatest (x2) there is no one worthy of worship except God. Pre-requisites in making a prayer valid also include the purification rituals or Taharah

Diversity in the workplace Essay Example for Free

Diversity in the workplace Essay a.) Diversity in the workplace is recognized positively in many different ways, and can make up a strong workforce of all aspects inside different organizations. These include a variety of age, gender, their background, race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, and personality or even the style of how somebody works. All these factors create a diverse work force. By embracing these factors into the daily running of an organization it can be beneficial for both employer and employee, working pleasantly where everybody feels valued and respected. New talents are discovered and people are treated as individuals and are not stereotyped due to popular beliefs. see more:explain the principle of informed choice Employers must abide by, practice and integrate all aspects of the Equality Act 2010 as a legal requirement. Employees of the organization can help to create and carry out these policies and have the responsibility of ensuring a positive outcome in workforce tasks. Having a wider area of skills and talents to choose from will help generate new ideas helping the organization to run smoothly and exceed success on new levels. The workplace becomes host to diversity’s benefits recognizing the different terms of knowledge and differences in all work related areas. In feeling valued and respected as an individual this reflects on that persons work persona in a positive way, sympathizing with customers and working better in general to achieve the organizations crucial targets and goals. The Equality Act 2010 was introduced on 1st October 2010 and is a key piece of legislation. This Act provides the overall legal guidelines that protect the individual’s rights in the workplace and provides the correct legislation that promotes opportunity amongst all diverse platforms. The key acts that comprise the act as a whole are: * Equal Pay Act 1970 * Sex Discrimination Act 1975 * Race Relations Act 1976 * Disability Discrimination Act 1995 * Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 * Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 * Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 * Equality Act 2006, Part 2 * Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 Within the workplace there are policies/procedures and legislation materials that employers and employees can have easy access to on a day to day basis by using the organizations in house systems such as intranet or company website which will have sections specifically targeted to that area of the business. These sources of information can be readily available at the click of a button. By having access to the human resources department this also can offer a wealth of information in regards to company policies, company legislations, handbooks and information with regards to the courses and training that can further background knowledge on this information and can then allow both parties to put what they have learnt into practice. b.) It is of the highest importance to make sure we are all working in a healthy and safe environment and it is the responsibility of all staff to take reasonable care of your own health and safety and of others. It is important to follow instructions and cooperate with the health and safety department on regulatory matters that will arise and to attend relevant health and safety training where necessary. We must also familiarize with the health safety at work manuals these can be found on the DRI intranet or the Human Resources department. We must report any injuries, strains or illnesses as a result of your job role or potential hazards and defects observed in the workplace to the health safety department, so they can be resolved before it can lead to potential escalation. In recognition of these problems it is important that you utilize the company facilities for example this could be in the form of using of VDU’s (visual display unit) which could potentially cause eye strain as a result of prolonged use. The company can reimburse the cost of spectacles and lenses. If in specific departments you require personal protective equipment (PPE) or adequate welfare facilities, these are used free of charge and it is important you notify health safety department, should you need to order more. This is a fundamental rule when working with abrasive products. It is also vitally important to us you that you have the correct amount of rest breaks during the working day. Security of all employees is crucial, so we must make sure to fob in and out of the building when arriving or leaving the building so as to safely access the building and have a record of when and what times you leave during the day. If you happen to leave the fob at home or lose it you must contact reception to be provided with a temporary or a replacement from payroll. If you are expecting a visitor you must request they sign in and out of the building at all costs this ensures we have a record of who has been in and out of the building should an incident occur. By working in a healthy and safe environment we can remain motivated and enthused in order to prevent incidents occurring. We can be confident in our workplace surroundings striving for a much better working atmosphere. The two types of decision making made at DRI (Diamond Resorts International) are those of operational decisions which are carried out on the everyday running of the business, and decisions derived from other departments (strategically) which factors in senior management staff to make long term decisions for the business and to pin point the direction the business is going to take with more beneficial effects. Operational decisions are made up of key stages that we strategically follow; firstly we identify the decision and analyze all factors. Grid Analysis is one stage in the process that helps you to decide between several options, where you need to take many different factors into account. An alternative way is also writing out the pros and cons of that area presenting it to you in balance. An example of using grid analysis; in the key stages of making decisions. By consulting a team leader and organizing a group meeting you will be able to obtain ideas and advice from all knowledgeable bodies and consult with senior staff before a decision is made. This can give you wider pool of avenues to consider whilst going through the key stages. If the decision to be made is predominantly made by two people from separate parties they must have the knowledge to negotiate with each other to implement the decision and be satisfied in all areas. The use of feedback is important in these key stages as it allows us to gain feedback from people who hold down different job roles and responsibilities; therefore are given a variation of information that may assist in the final decision. Most operational decisions are being made day to day by team leaders and departmental managers which factor in team member’s assistance and views. Departments that deal with more executive decisions will have a larger span of control; when a manager oversees the day to da y smooth running of his/her department of staff. When training on the job role we are trained to identify what decision would need to be referred through for approval. An example of this would be the procedure that Human resources department at Diamond Resorts follow which is known as a Recruitment Authorisation form (SRAF), this is used for the recruitment of any new member of staff. If the Resort Manager at Pine Lake wanted to recruit a new housekeeper she would fill this form in and send it to the HR department. Human Resources review this by checking we are paying the correct wage or the number of hours worked is reasonable. It is then sent to the Regional Director (Carmina Saiz) for approval. Once returned to us with approval we ask Vice President of European Resort Operations (Suzana Gomercic) for approval. Once approved HR then send the form, to Executive Vice-President Steve Bell, for final approval only when these processes happen can the recruitment process begin. At each of these levels the approver has the potential to decline the request or to make a change, for example, to suggest the hours worked should be 40 hours instead of 37 hours. This would implicate the span of control going through the different processes identifying who would approve each decision before a permanent decision is made. Task 2 a.) The Importance of planning prioritizing work at DRI – Notes for guidance To help support you and achieve to the highest standard here at Diamond Resorts International it is important you are able to plan and be organized in order to meet the set deadlines for the daily running of all the departments. It is important that you are able to use your time correctly to ensure that all deadlines are met and so that you can achieve the required goals and objectives’ in daily set tasks to help other people in their responsibilities to others. We have a number of facilities at DRI and it is important we use them in order to be timely and efficient, and allow all outcomes of the day be less stressful for you and your team members. * The online mailing system is a key part of the organization and is vitally important for the outside communications and communicating inside all departments around the building. Diary systems are very useful for booking/referring back to appointments and can be used to schedule any tasks or work you may need to prioritize before the end of the day. * You may have access to different calendars’ for meeting rooms around the building. By gaining this access it allows you to see who and what time a room is booked out for, enabling you to book in and around it for yourself or upon a request via another team member. This could include any visitors meeting with you or senior management. The calendar sends you reminder so you can make the necessary arrangements for their arrival. * To do lists can be simple and easy to do on paper or electronically. If for any reason IT department is having issues via the computer software and you become unable to access your computer and cannot use the software to input your data. You can do a simple to do list on paper this will be a temporary measure to remind you and help your day run more smoothly whilst the repairs are underway. Under some circumstances we take under consideration the reasons deadlines could be late, interrupted and may not potentially be met due to certain contributing fa ctors inside the office. * Communication is important throughout working hours, between team members, and is important to have the right level at all times to ensure work is communicated effectively around the office. Too much communication can cause distractions if certain topics are not work related and can be discussed out of office times. This can be avoided by talking about unrelated work topics out of office hours, on lunch breaks or short breaks throughout the day. * It is possible you may be interrupted frequently throughout the day. This could simply be to help another team member, due to technical difficulties or answering the telephone to a customer which could unfortunately take you off task. Make sure you log where you are in order to resume where you left off. The technical difficulties can have a knock on effect for everyone in your department and it is important to try and do as much paper based work as possible to get you up to speed and prepared for the deadline so you are ready to carry on once the issues have been resolved. * There may be times when there is lack of resources around the office if you feel this will have a significant effect on areas of your work then you need to notify a member of the senior management team so they can replenish stock or locate resources from an alternative means. If the department you are working in is short staffed, senior management may want to hire temporary staff to complete clerical/admin tasks. If there are unforeseen circumstances for example you are unable to get to work on time due to problems with public transport, family emergencies or problems etc. In this case some issues cannot always be helped; you must notify your department of issues and if possible explain what work may need to be completed in order to help contribute with the work that is being delayed. b.) After three months of working for Diamond Resorts International it is company procedure to have an appraisal after three months service. I first received a letter from my head of department a week before my appraisal was due. Stating where the meeting was to be held, what time and who it would be with. It was held on the 23rd of October at 3.00 pm with the Human Resources manager. Before I was to attend the meeting I did a small self assessment on paper to remind me what needed to be outlined during the discussion. Once we sat down to commence the meeting I was asked if I was enjoying the new job role also if there was any ongoing problems that needed to be resolved. I explained that I had been enjoying the job role very much and found the prospects for working for DRI very exciting. I was told during my appraisal that all my hard work had been satisfactory and what I had been achieving was more than up to standard. As the job role was new to the company I felt proud to say that I had built the reception area up by myself and enjoyed co-coordinating the maintenance of the building. Making the area more organized and flow with the filed systems I had created. Whilst in the meeting I thought that it would be a good idea to discuss what I had planned for the future, as although I like the job role I require something more challenging and something that can test and push my abilities to what I am more capable of. This meeting was vital for the communication between manager and employee as is important to see where can be improved and problems can be raised and dealt with properly to the discretion of the employee. c.) My career goals illustrated via the SMART technique Complete Level 3 Diploma in Business Administration course with all distinctions aiming for the highest mark possible and pass the functional skills math’s exam, after attending all after hours classes and get back up to speed with mathematic skills. Consider moving job roles/departments after completion of the six month probationary period. All technical certificates will be prepared, passed and achieved in order to start the NVQ level units. Keep practicing for the functional skills math’s test, continuing the drop in math’s sessions allowing learning and improvement on the subject. I will be looking at different job role summaries and familiarizing with them. All the technical certificates have been prepared for and have the correct resources and information to achieve each unit. Each certificate will have a specific time to achieve handouts and activities to complete in order to gather all the information required to achieve set target scores. By completing and concentrating on each unit at once I can put 100% into each unit, also enabling me the flexibility of fulfilling my own job role. There will be points in the day where I will have to break of and do my duties that are required of me as an employee of DRI. I will also be completing functional skills out of office hours. Each unit I have set myself minimum of 2 weeks to complete. This is ample time to have completed each individual unit and have the feedback comments sent over to me via email from my assessor. Each 2 weeks my assessor will come and visit and discuss my progress. Section B 1. a) The key points that are included in a contract of employment could be any of the following; the contract will have the name of your employer and the employee also the date the employment commenced. The number of working hours you will be required to work during the week. The contract will inform you of how much holiday entitlement you are allocated annually, also how they will calculate them yearly. The details of sick pay and statutory pay will be enclosed in a contract of employment also the pension details. The contract will describe the job title and the brief job description of the work, and the location of where work has to be carried out. b.) A contract of employment is an agreement between employer and employee which determines the relationship between both parties. A written contract can include one short handwritten page or a lengthy document containing detailed components. Each business should take the time to carefully prepare a contract of employment for each employee. All businesses have different needs and outlooks, the style and content of each contract of employment will be different. 2. There are a number of representative resources that can assist employees with information and support them where necessary; The Equal Opportunities commission (EOC) is a regulatory body that promotes statutory rights within the employment sector and monitors human rights; offers on hand legislation and legal frameworks to the members of the public informing them of their rights. ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) is a regulatory body available online and is available for employees/employers that aim to improve organisations through better employment relationships. They also help by updating their website with the most current forms of legislation, and offering free independent advice. 3. a.) There are many factors that can lead to being under pressure in a workplace environment, where a professional manner can become difficult to maintain. If you are running by a tight deadline it could become increasingly difficult to reach, due to lack of resources or due to your organizations department being understaffed. The nature of your work could become strained as a result of more elements being added to a task than originally identified. There could be fundamental changes in your job role with new standards that need to be met in order to meet company deadlines pressuring the work environment further. b.) It is important in any departments of organizations that we declare our work progress; this is so we can keep up to date with targets and deadlines also so that team members can utilize the use of support they may need in the work processes, where necessary in order to complete tasks. It is also important to log our progress of work so we can anticipate any problems that we could encounter, and identify them before them before they happen. To identify our progress we are not impacting on others workloads in a negative way, we are working alongside them resulting in a positive outcome. 4. By continuously seeking to improve our performances at work we are able to assess and consider the possible options going forward in the work place, you are exceeding your own limitations/performance, learning new skills and producing quality work that meets the high standards of your organization. By achieving targets and goals are of a higher standard because you are putting more effort into your work. This not only gives the employer a good impression but can give you more chance of increasing your income or getting a promotion, it also gives you the motivation needed to proceed with your work. The efficiency and effectiveness in producing work can give you a sense of satisfaction, as well as receiving positive feedback from the people around you. By using certain analytical procedures we can assess our progress and see where would be the need for improvement. By using SWOT analysis or SMART techniques we can identify our skills, threats, our strengths which can be used to our advantages helping us to focus on our career pathways. Feedback (whether formal or informal) is a key way of enabling us to improve our own performances in the workplace whether it be positive or negative feedback we can take pointers away and work on them to improve work place performances inside of office hours. 5. There could potentially be problems in the workplace which cannot be solved without the interjection of another member of staff. This could be caused by lack of resources for example being short staffed, which is the responsibility of senior management who overlook the Rota’s to make sure there is significant cover ensuring the team can operate as a whole. If the department you are working in has frequent interaction with customers; there may be customer complaints that are not being dealt with correctly. Customers may wish to speak to senior members of staff who can investigate further taking the customer down a different route to solve their query, which only they will have the authorization to do. You may need to refer a problem if the solution involves reimbursement of company funds, or the problem may have a serious impact on an overall company targets. If there is a serious risk to a person’s life or the problem is in breach of a Health and Safety procedure, you must ensure that the information is passed on and dealt with by a member of the correct department as they will be familiar with all the policies and be able to devise a solution.

The Corporate Social Responsibility of Motorola

The Corporate Social Responsibility of Motorola Corporate Social Responsibility also referred to as CSR can be defined as the notion that corporations have an obligation to society to take into account not just their economic impact but also their social and environmental impact. Motorola defines corporate social responsibility as a means of harnessing the power of our global business to benefit people.It means doing the right thing in all aspects of our business, including how we treat the environment, our employees, our customers,our partners and our communities. ROLE OF CORPORATE SOCAIL RESPONSIBILITY In recent years Corporate Social Responsibility is being linked to Business Ethics. Ethics? There are rules that indicate the difference between right and wrong. Ethics encourages the business to do what is right there by conforming the organization to ethical behaviour. CSR has brought about Code Of Ethics , a document that organisations write to set out standards of behaviour that is expected by a set of stakeholders. Some code of ethics include principles such as honesty, integrity, loyalty, fairness, trustworthiness, law abiding, leadership, accountability, values, morales and respect and concern for others. These incorporate characteristics and behaviour of principles that are expected by organizations. Many companies previously viewed Corporate Socail Responsibility in terms of a form of administrative compliance with standards that are legal and in keeping with rules and regulation internal to the company. It must be noted that this have since changed and for businesses to survive in todays global world companies must pay attention to earning trust, confidence and respect of their customers. In todays global world businesses are being demanded to practice ethical behaviour. It can then be said that CSR is interested with ways an organisation exceeds the minimum obligations to stakeholders specified through regulations and corporate governance. It takes into consideration as to how demands of different stakeholders can be reconciled. CSR should improve corporate operations as it relates to human rights, environmental protection, sponsorship to local communities and diversity among others in the work place. HISTORY OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY It has been argued that social responsibility movement came about during the 1960s or 1970s, the public consciousness was increased about the role of business, helping to grow and maintain highly ethical practices in society and particularly in the natural environment. GROWTH OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY In most recent years CSR have become very popular globally and the contributing factors include public awareness and technology. The public have now become aware through technological mechanisium such as the internet, sattalite viewing, mobile phones and the ability to communicate through the use of programmes such as skype and video conferencing. The ability to get information on a real time bases has allowed the public to be informed of global issues. Issues such as bribery and corruption in other countries and how this have impacted on their citizens. The public is also able to get information about businesses around the world and in most cases the business that make headlines are the ones that is not seeking the welfare of the natural environment and human resources alike. Business that may have had incidences of harm to natural environment or to human resources have caused some NGOs to be born. The strikes and pickets and bad publicity the the business may receive would have serious long term consequences on the exsistance and survival of the business. BRIBERY AND CORUPTION Sue Hawley (2000) stated that some businesses pay massive amounts of money to gain contracts or concessions they would not have otherwise won. She estimated that about US$80billion a year is paid and that this amount is about the amount that is needed by the UN. The UN believes that this amount would be needed to eradicate world poverty. These bribes and the cost attached to it falls mainly on the poor,whether it is through the diversion of aid money into corrupt officials pockets or through hiking up prices when the cost of bribes is passed on in raised prices to consumers. Bribery and corruption undermine the proper workings of a market economy which can seriously reduce GDP in the poorest countries. It reflects false price and cost considerations so that sources of wealth or resources are not used efficiently. Decisions are being made based on who pays the biggest bribes rather than quality, price, innovation and service. Causing prices to rise for everyone the impact is felt by the poor. It can be noted that resources are frequently diverted away from smaller projects that assist in development of a country but rather placed in big projects that are said to be high profile, where there is more scope for improper payments and practices. This impacts on the poor who are denied basic vital public services. Being involved in corruption is ethically wrong, here power is misused or abused undermining the intergrity of all concerned. Corruptions however undermines the democratic process as well the rule of law. Government must earn its licience to operate just as any other business that operates. Government officials and politicians all lose their legitimacy in a climate of corruption.Againwith the poor being affected the most. Environmental issues are likely to suffer in an regime that corruption is predominant, environmental legislations usually is lacking as corrupt officials is paid for turning a blind eye. Business are also at risk when there is bribery and corruption in a country. There are legal implications and risk, this type of behaviour id illegal where ever it occurs but even if it were not, because of international pressure example the UN convention against corruption it is becoming increasingly illegal to engage in these type of practices in many countries. Accusations of corruption whether proven or not can cause reputations to be lost or tarnished and the risk of a falling business is very possible. Example Nike where accused of using children to work in sweat shops to produce high end products that were very costly to cunsumers. Nike have since spent millions of dollars to rebuild its reputation as losses started to be realised. As a business that may be cheating, it may encourage other businesses to cheat to have a competitive advantage or simply to survive. This makes doing business much more difficult. There is added substantability to the cost of doing business. There can be loss of trust by all stakeholders involved employess, suppliers and customers. Transparency International every year produces the Corruption Perception Index. This Index ranks one hundred and seventy eight countries according to the level of corruption perceived to exist among public officials and politicians. A score indicating zero means that the country is highly corrupt and a score of ten indicates highly clean. The following diagram is the 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index. RANK COUNTRY/ TERRITORY SCORE RANK COUNTRY/ TERRITORY SCORE RANK COUNTRY/ TERRITORY SCORE 1 Denmark 9.3 30 Spain 6.1 59 Tunisia 4.3 1 New Zealand 9.3 32 Portugal 6.0 62 Croatia 4.1 1 Singapore 9.3 33 Botswana 5.8 62 FYR Macedonia 4.1 4 Finland 9.2 33 Puerto Rico 5.8 62 Ghana 4.1 4 Sweden 9.2 33 Taiwan 5.8 62 Samoa 4.1 6 Canada 8.9 36 Bhutan 5.7 66 Rwanda 4.0 7 Netherlands 8.8 37 Malta 5.6 67 Italy 3.9 8 Australia 8.7 38 Brunel 5.5 68 Georgia 3.8 8 Switzerland 8.7 39 Korea (South) 5.4 69 Brazil 3.7 10 Norway 8.6 39 Mauritius 5.4 69 Cuba 3.7 11 Iceland 8.5 41 Costa Rica 5.3 69 Montenegro 3.7 11 Luxembourg 8.5 41 Oman 5.3 69 Romania 3.7 13 Hong Kong 8.4 41 Poland 5.3 73 Bulgaria 3.6 14 Ireland 8.0 44 Dominica 5.2 73 El Salvador 3.6 15 Austria 7.9 45 Cape Verde 5.1 73 Panama 3.6 15 Germany 7.9 46 Lithuania 5.0 73 Trinidad and Tobago 3.6 17 Barbados 7.8 46 Macau 5.0 73 Vanuatu 3.6 17 Japan 7.8 48 Bahrain 4.9 78 China 3.5 19 Qatar 7.7 49 Seychelles 4.8 78 Colombia 3.5 20 United Kingdom 7.6 50 Hungary 4.7 78 Greece 3.5 21 Chile 7.2 50 Jordan 4.7 78 Lesotho 3.5 22 Belgium 7.1 50 Saudi Arabia 4.7 78 Peru 3.5 22 United States 7.1 53 Czech Republic 4.6 78 Serbia 3.5 24 Uruguay 6.9 54 Kuwait 4.5 78 Thailand 3.5 25 France 6.8 54 South Africa 4.5 85 Malawi 3.4 26 Estonia 6.5 56 Malaysia 4.4 85 Morocco 3.4 27 Slovenia 6.4 56 Namibia 4.4 87 Albania 3.3 28 Cyprus 6.3 56 Turkey 4.4 87 India 3.3 28 United Arab Emirates 6.3 59 Latvia 4.3 87 Jamaica 3.3 30 Israel 6.1 59 Slovakia 4.3 87 Liberia 3.3 RANK COUNTRY/ TERRITORY SCORE RANK COUNTRY/ TERRITORY SCORE RANK COUNTRY/ TERRITORY SCORE 91 Bosnia and Herzegovina 3.2 116 Tanzania 2.7 146 Nepal 2.2 91 Djibouti 3.2 116 Vietnam 2.7 146 Paraguay 2.2 91 Gambia 3.2 123 Armenia 2.6 146 Yemen 2.2 91 Guatemala 3.2 123 Eritrea 2.6 154 Cambodia 2.1 91 Kiribati 3.2 123 Madagascar 2.6 154 Central African Republic 2.1 91 Sri Lanka 3.2 123 Niger 2.6 154 Comoros 2.1 91 Swaziland 3.2 127 Belarus 2.5 154 Congo-Brazzaville 2.1 98 Burkina Faso 3.1 127 Ecuador 2.5 154 Guinea-Bissau 2.1 98 Egypt 3.1 127 Lebanon 2.5 154 Kenya 2.1 98 Mexico 3.1 127 Nicaragua 2.5 154 Laos 2.1 101 Dominican Republic 3.0 127 Syria 2.5 154 Papua New Guinea 2.1 101 Sao Tome Principle 3.0 127 Timor-Leste 2.5 154 Russia 2.1 101 Tonga 3.0 127 Uganda 2.5 154 Tajikistan 2.1 101 Zambia 3.0 134 Azerbaijan 2.4 164 Democratic Republic of the Congo 2.0 105 Algeria 2.9 134 Bangladesh 2.4 164 Guinea 2.0 105 Argentina 2.9 134 Honduras 2.4 164 Kyrgyzstan 2.0 105 Kazakhstan 2.9 134 Nigeria 2.4 164 Venezuela 2.0 105 Moldova 2.9 134 Philippines 2.4 168 Angola 1.9 105 Senegal 2.9 134 Sierra Leone 2.4 168 Equatorial Guinea 1.9 110 Benin 2.8 134 Togo 2.4 170 Burundi 1.8 110 Bolivia 2.8 134 Ukraine 2.4 171 Chad 1.7 110 Gabon 2.8 134 Zimbabwe 2.4 172 Sudan 1.6 110 Indonesia 2.8 143 Maldives 2.3 172 Turkmenistan 1.6 110 Kosovo 2.8 143 Mauritania 2.3 172 Uzbekistan 1.6 110 Solomon Islands 2.8 143 Pakistan 2.3 175 Iraq 1.5 116 Ethiopia 2.7 146 Cameroon 2.2 176 Afghanistan 1.4 116 Guyana 2.7 146 Cote dlvoire 2.2 176 Myanmar 1.4 116 Mali 2.7 146 Haiti 2.2 178 Somalia 1.1 116 Mongolia 2.7 146 Iran 2.2 116 Mozambique 2.7 146 Libya 2.2 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index. (Nearly three quarter of the 178 countries in the index score below five, on a scale from ten to zero. These results indicate a serious corruption problem in the world.) THE HISTORY OF ALCOA Aluminium was considered to be a semi-precious metal, this metal was so scarce that silver was much more popular during the middle of the1880s. Charles Martin Hall was a chemistry student at Oberlin College in Ohio, here he meet Professor Frank Jewett whom introduced his students to a small piece of aluminium and informed them that anyone producing this metal in an economical way would become rich. Halls passion for experimenting with minerals continued after his graduation, and he learnt how to produce alumina, aluminium oxide and created his own carbon crucible. On a February day in 1886 he discovered pure aluminium, for Hall to continue to produce this on a large scale he needed financial assistance. He gained assistance through a group of six industrialist led by Alfred Hunt. A company called Pittsburgh Reduction company was formed as part of the venture, and a small plant was built. In 1888 on Thanksgiving day Hall and Arthur Vining Davis, Halls first employee produced the first commercial aluminium using Halls technology. The company had out grown its name as it grew to include bauxite mines, a refinery and three aluminium smelters. The companies names was then changed by its owners to what they felt were more appropriate; Aluminum Company of America. As the company grew and became more global its name changed again and is currently called Alcoa Inc. Alcoa see itself as the worlds leading producer and manager of primary aluminium, alumina facilities and fabricated aluminium. Some of the industries that Alcoa Servers include aerospace,automotive, building, construction, packaging, commercial transportation,engineering and Alcoa also promotes brands such as Reynolds Wrap (foil and plastic). Alcoa presently have approximately 123,000 employees in 44 countries in the world. Alcoa has been named by the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland as one of the top sustainable corporations in the world.

Insider Trading Essay example -- Business, Investment

Insider trading relates the investment behavior of corporate insiders with their own stock. Insider trading topic not only attracts finance literature (see, e.g., Lorie and Niederhoffer 1968, Jaffe 1974, Seyhun 1986, 1998, Rozeff and Zaman 1988, Lin and Howe 1990, and Lakonishok and Lee 2001), but also attracts law and economics literature (see, e.g., Manna 1966, Georgeakopoulos 1993, and Carlton and Fischel 1983). The finance literature on insider trading had started with an examination of the strong market efficiency hypothesis. Subsequently, researchers gave their attention towards the determinations of insider trades’ profitability. Furthermore, another set of researcher also gave an attempt to find the information contents of insider trading to outsiders, which is an application to test the semi-strong market efficiency hypothesis. The third group of researchers measured insider trading activities around the corporate announcements, for example, merger and acquisitions, dividend announcements. In the following section, we will summarize studies that focus on the information content (abnormal return) of insider trading. Finnerty (1974) measured the strong market efficiency hypothesis condition on insider trading. The period of his study was from January 1969 to December 1972. He considered only open market trade for NYSE firms. To measure the strong market efficiency hypothesis, he formed two portfolios- buy and sale for each month; the buy (sale) portfolio for month t comprised of those firms for which any insiders were buyer (seller). Thereafter, he calculated portfolio returns for the portfolio formation month and subsequent eleven months. Using the CAPM to calculate abnormal return to insider trades, Finnerty (1974) ... ...ir timely disclosure of insider trades from 10 days after the month in which the trade had occurred regime to 2 days regime on August 29, 2002. He stated that if the information content of insider trades is relevant to outsiders, the timeliness announcement of insider trades will improve the information content of insider trades. And he found that the abnormal return (CAAR=1%) of pre-amendment associated with announcement of insider buys was lower than the abnormal return (CAAR=2.3%) of post-amendment. However, he did not find similar results for insider sales, hence; he again reinvestigated insider sales after taking litigation risk into consideration. And he concluded that insiders of firms those are associated with more litigation risk more likely to refrain from sales on private information than insiders of firms those are associated with low litigation risk.

Philosophy †epistemology Essay

Descartes is very successful philosophers in 17th century. Rene Descartes is widely accepted as the father of modern philosophy. He tried to create fundamental philosophy for natural sciences. Descartes mainly focus on his philosophical contributions in the theory of knowledge and his famous work focus on the epistemological project, Meditations on First Philosophy. He wants to explain his thought in Meditations on First Philosophy which is as original in philosophical modus as in content. Meditations on First Philosophy examine Descartes’ arguments and opinion. Although there are 6 meditations in this book, this paper points out the search for a foundation of knowledge (the question of truth) and doubt the â€Å"Cogito† (I think; therefore I am). First of all, in the First Meditation, Descartes demonstrates that several arguments for doubting all of his previously basic beliefs. Everything that he thought is the doubt. He has started to doubt from everything and he wanted to find the question of truth with own ideas. Descartes defines knowledge in terms of doubt and he aims ‘to reach certain’. At the same time, we have to use five senses but Descartes believes the senses sometimes deceive us concerning things. Also Descartes is often convinced when he is dreaming that he is sensing real objects. For instance, he said that â€Å"There is the fact that I am here, seated by the fire, and attired in a dressing gown, having this paper in my hands and other similar matters. And how could I deny that these hands and this body are mine (†¦)† (146). Descartes believes that we can achieve certain truth when we will doubt everything. Descartes uses some question to help prove one of his main arguments and ideas to find truth. For example, how we know certain, what is true, what we see, what we hear? As we can see, according to Descartes, the senses are not enough to decide what is real. He believes the truth is in his mind and he must use his mind. Descartes’ Second Meditation discusses some parts. First part explain that how a â€Å"body† can understand things, such as objects. Descartes examined how the mind should know better that human body. Although we need senses for everything, the mind is more important because all knowledge accumulate in our mind. Second part includes Descartes opinion about thinking. According to Descartes, thinking is very significant point because thinking is the ability to doubt, use imagination and reach certain truth. His famous theory is â€Å"Cogito Ergo Sum† which called ‘I think, therefore I am’. Descartes said that, â€Å"I don’t yet know clearly enough what I am. † (151) It means that, sometimes he has convinced himself that there is absolutely nothing in the world such as no sky, no earth also no mind no body. Descartes believes that if people convinced themselves of something then they existed. To conclude, we can infer that Descartes defend the certain truth is our knowledge and thought. These meditations are considered about modern philosophy. At the same time, Descartes wants to create gripping subject to study science.

Free Essays on Favorite Restaurants Comparison

My Favorite Restaurants As far back as I can remember, I have always liked going out to eat. When deciding where to go to eat, I have three things to think about. I must consider the atmosphere of where I want to go. The amount of time I have is another consideration. The amount of money that I am able to spend is an additional influence. Two of my favorite restaurants are Jake’s and McDonald’s. Though both are places to dine, they have their differences in ambiance, waiting, and expense. The atmosphere at Jake’s is casual, and has a rustic sense. Jake’s has a waiting room with long, leather-topped benches to sit on while waiting. Some tables in the restaurant are round and some are long rectangles, so everything can fit on them. The floor is hardwood, and it is covered with empty peanut hulls. The restaurant has smoking and non-smoking section. Music, usually alternative or country, is playing at a medium level. Sometimes customers can barely hear the person sitting right next to them Laughter is present, and usually people are sitting around in small groups. At McDonald’s, the surroundings are casual as well, but the modern feel is quite different from Jake’s. Generally, there is no wait, but if you do have to wait, you stand in line behind the cash register rather than sitting in a waiting room. When dining in, people are seated at small booths. The tables are not big enough for everything so tables my have to be moved together, people may have to sit apart, or some food may have to be left in the bag. Sometimes there are greasy floors. McDonald’s does not have a smoking section. McDonald’s usually has some elevator music playing at a decent level. Because of the low level of the music, it is easy to hear conversation throughout the restaurant. Unlike Jake’s, McDonald’s customers are usually in a rush. Typically, they come in, alone or in large groups, order their food, and storm out without visiti... Free Essays on Favorite Restaurants Comparison Free Essays on Favorite Restaurants Comparison My Favorite Restaurants As far back as I can remember, I have always liked going out to eat. When deciding where to go to eat, I have three things to think about. I must consider the atmosphere of where I want to go. The amount of time I have is another consideration. The amount of money that I am able to spend is an additional influence. Two of my favorite restaurants are Jake’s and McDonald’s. Though both are places to dine, they have their differences in ambiance, waiting, and expense. The atmosphere at Jake’s is casual, and has a rustic sense. Jake’s has a waiting room with long, leather-topped benches to sit on while waiting. Some tables in the restaurant are round and some are long rectangles, so everything can fit on them. The floor is hardwood, and it is covered with empty peanut hulls. The restaurant has smoking and non-smoking section. Music, usually alternative or country, is playing at a medium level. Sometimes customers can barely hear the person sitting right next to them Laughter is present, and usually people are sitting around in small groups. At McDonald’s, the surroundings are casual as well, but the modern feel is quite different from Jake’s. Generally, there is no wait, but if you do have to wait, you stand in line behind the cash register rather than sitting in a waiting room. When dining in, people are seated at small booths. The tables are not big enough for everything so tables my have to be moved together, people may have to sit apart, or some food may have to be left in the bag. Sometimes there are greasy floors. McDonald’s does not have a smoking section. McDonald’s usually has some elevator music playing at a decent level. Because of the low level of the music, it is easy to hear conversation throughout the restaurant. Unlike Jake’s, McDonald’s customers are usually in a rush. Typically, they come in, alone or in large groups, order their food, and storm out without visiti...