Virtue Ethics Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Virtue Ethics - Personal Statement Example This is because no man is truly virtuous and everyone has certain deficiencies to appropriate degrees when evaluated against good character. When the question turns towards practices in business, good character and virtuousness do not stand very well in today's world if survival and sustainability are he immediate goals of the business activity. This is because, in accordance with the given situation, one may have to resort to means that may not be harmful to anyone, but do not fall within the framework of righteousness. For example, if there is a severe competition in the market, then it is not desirable to give way to others thinking that everyone should have an equal share of the business. In fact, businesses would not exist for long if they went that way. According to me, the sole aim of any business would be to strive for the generation of good consequences not only for the business, but also for every other entity as far as possible. As such, I believe that this should be the sole guiding path for a business. If I were to adopt this path, then my intentions would be multi-faceted. The quest for good results would make me ensure that I provide for the needy to the maximum extent possible. Likewise, I also feel that the people and other entities I am involved or related to must also benefit as a result of my actions and the business' progress.

Stakeholders for BP (British Petroleum) Essay Example for Free

Stakeholders for BP (British Petroleum) Essay The diagram below (Figure 1.1) is a representation of some of the multifaceted relationships between BP and its publics/stakeholders. It is clear that the assortment of communication channels used to reach key publics is somewhat diverse. Whilst consumers and investors are perhaps most likely to be the primary focus, these two groups are highly influenced by surrounding interrelated groups and channels and generally rely on these sources (not the company) for accurate information. Environmental and other similar lobbying groups are always a concern for oil companies such as BP. It was in fact a combination of such groups and media coverage that led BP to withdraw financial support from Arctic Power: a proposed oil drilling project in Alaska a region in which oil projects will always be shadowed by the ghost of the Exxon Valdez. Chappell (BP Spokesman) cited in Gerth said of the situation Were leaving this to the American public to sort out. BP would perhaps have benefited from having a more primary two-way communication channel with environmental groups such as Greenpeace and the WWF. They would then be able to preempt any unfavourable circumstances and can structure their PR efforts accordingly. In contrast, they can use the media to maximise any good relations with environmental bodies. The benefit of this can be seen in the 1995 situation with Shells disused Brent Spar storage platform which Greenpeace successfully campaigned to have dismantled  instead of sunk (after much debate and physical protest) (http://www.uyseg.org/risked/pages/spar/spar_index.htm). Veer (cited in Einsiedel 2002, p. 11) stated: Initially, Brent Spar for example, was a classic example of what I term the old- fashioned DAD approach to decision-making Decide, Announce, Defend. Genuine dialogue however, requires companies to adopt the DDD approach Dialogue, Decide, Deliver. DDD is an attempt to come to terms with the realities of a new show me world. The days when people trusted business and government to take decisions on their behalf are over. Today, its no longer enough for companies to simply say trust me. Companies are in the spotlight as never before. The show me world has already had profound implications for the way in which Shell and other companies conduct business. Since 1995 Shell has hired PR consultants to help evaluate past incidents and current situations. This strategy has now transformed into a reputation for social responsibility that extends throughout the global Shell network and has certainly placed the company as top performer in this area for the oil industry. This kind of attitude eventually also translates to positive conditions for investors. Through sustainable development we integrate the economic, environmental and societal aspects of our business to achieve sustained financial success, safeguard our environment and develop our reputation as partner and provider of first choice for all of our stakeholders. Sustrainable development is not just about the environment and social concerns; its very much about economic performance too. For these reasons it makes good business sense (www.shell.com 2003).

The Graffiti Exposure in Wynnum Essay example -- essays research paper

The Graffiti Exposure in Wynnum Is it a work of art; or a piece of scrawl sprayed across some bare surface? Ladies and Gentlemen, should Wynnum be exposed to Graffiti? Firstly, I would like to ask you. What is the cost to the government to ‘cover up' this unwanted advertisement? One recent attack placed a school approximately $4000 out of pocket. Further more, over the last twelve months, my school has experienced nine attempts at destroying the asthetic appeal of the buildings within. I could also safely say that most of the other schools in the Wynnum Manly district, both public and private, received similar encounters of degradation. It's not just the cost, it's also the time. What about the cleaners? What about the painters? What about the police? I am sure there are more constructive projects to cover than cleaning up after some graffiti vandal. It is not just our schools who experience the attacks. Scout dens, parks, businesses, trains, just to name a few, all lie in the mercy of the local crew, or graffiti gang. Is there a reason for such an act? Criminologists suggest that there are many motives for graffiti. These motives all point to one main factor. Targeting the higher authority: Revenge towards the authority; Anger towards the authority; Boredom from lack of authority; To convince of self-existence, and To explore prohibited areas placed by authority. The pattern of locations the police established, is that all the tags, or the writer's signature, are pla...

Debate Against School Uniforms Essay

Have you ever played Wheres Waldo? By issuing students school uniforms, finding a problem child would be a lot like playing that game in a real life situation. Just like any other argument you will have your pros and cons of the idea, but in my opinion and many others, the cons highly outweigh the pros of wearing school uniforms. Many intelligent individuals will lose their motivation to excel and be prevalent because they are used to being ordinary like everyone else. School uniforms shout conformity in many ways and to me that isnt the way to get your students to prevail in the classrooms. Individuality is a huge factor for school age children and their chance to grow among their peers. School uniforms will do nothing but cut down on a students individuality. A uniform is not the way to cut down on school violence. The only thing that will cut down on school violence is if parents would pay attention to their children and keep their children out of trouble and give them consequences when they disobey and not to let them run wild. Uniforms cause regularity. We need free thinking children to become the thinkers of tomorrow, not drones who will continue making the mistakes of previous generations. When we argue against school uniforms we argue against an education system that seeks to produce workers and for an education system that seeks to produce open-minded all-around human beings. One major argument of school uniforms is that they will save money for less fortunate families. This statement can also be battled very easily. There are just as many experts who believe that the cost of school uniforms is a negative factor as those who see it as a positive factor. Some experts believe that it increases the amount of clothing parents will have to buy for their children because the children will still want and need clothing for the hours they are not in school. Uniforms can be more expensive for a family who buys from second-hand stores or who relies on hand-me-down clothing from friends and family. Some experts believe cost is a negative aspect of school uniforms because there is no use for them outside of school. Ultimately school uniforms will likely cost equal to higher amounts of money than buying regular clothing for a child. Everyone wants to be comfortable in what they are wearing and school uniforms limit that option significantly. Many people say that different types of clothing feel comfortable to different people. Some children are more comfortable in a specific material or style of clothing. Uniforms reduce ones ability to choose clothing that fits individual comfort needs. Experts believe that children need to feel comfortable in order to maximize learning, and that uniforms can therefore prevent academic success. Another problem would be if the school was required to wear ties. Wearing a tie would put an enormous damper on childrens ability to pay attention. Most students would spend a majority of their time situating and loosening their tie to the desired fitting. The sad part is that by the time it feels comfortable it is against the dress code and they find themselves in trouble. Identification is one of the biggest factors ruled in against school uniforms. Many people state that you could easily site outsiders of the school, and it would also eliminate gang colors. If you have a school full of children with the same clothing on you would find it nearly impossible to identify a child who was causing trouble. One example is if someone caught a glimpse of a child stealing and then tried to give a description. The description would most likely fit a majority of the students in the school. As for eliminating gang colors, there are better ways to take care of that. If you can tell a gang by its colors and the ones affiliated with it, why not send the gang member to a school away from the other children. Any group that will endanger the life of the other students doesnt deserve to learn with them. Instead of taking away their ability to recognize each other by colors they should be sent off to boot camp or somewhere alike. In conclusion school uniforms can easily be avoided by making the right judgments and by working harder to keep our children away from conformity. Each factor for uniforms can also be backed by an even better reason not to put them in action. Our countrys children need to be able to form an individual personality and ability to learn and progress through adolescents. Each area of discussion shows that children would fair more successful without the statement of a school uniform in hand. Works Cited :1)http://www.daytondailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/education/entries/2006/07/29/the_case_agains_1.html2)http://www.communityonline.com/local/educational/schools/uniforms/uniforms.htm3)http://www.geocities.com/school_uniforms/abstract98.html

Detective stories Essay

The Sherlock Holmes stories are the work of Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes first appeared in the story ‘The Study of Scarlet’, which was published in the magazine ‘Beetons Christmas Annual of 1887†². Over the 40 years that followed Holmes appeared in 5 collections of short stories, and 3 other novels. Holmes’ popularity was partly due to the fact that his books were the detective fiction books ever to be published. These books are still read today all over the world, because of the brilliant way in which they are written. The Sherlock Holmes books are written from the point of view of his sidekick Watson. Many modern day detective fiction books and television programmes follow the pattern of a detective and sidekick. The stories of Sherlock Holmes caused him to become a national hero. In all the Sherlock Holmes stories we are given a detailed description of what he looks like, that is a tall gaunt person with long thin legs, a thin hawk like nose a square chin, and of course a pipe and deerstalker hat. The first story I read of Sherlock Holmes was ‘The Red Headed League’. In this story the reader is immedietely introduced to problematic situation, where a pawnbroker has come for advice. The pawnbroker goes on to tell Holmes and Watson his situation. Whilst the man is in the company of Holmes, Holmes begins to deduce things from just looking at the ware and tare of the mans body and clothes. From a very early point in the story we begin to see characteristics in Holmes, such as habits when he id thinking, ‘†¦ relapsing into his armchair, and putting his finger-tips together, as was his custom when in judicial moods. ‘ I was are given the impression that Holmes is the type of person who tries to treat people with respect, but his tolerance level for people who are not as intellectual as him is very low. Holmes becomes agitated at people’s incompetence to understand his complex ideas. I think Holmes pretends to expect every one to be as clever as him to make him look more intelligent and therefore superior. So in that respect I see Holmes as quite an ignorant person. However he does not treat Watson this way, I think he treats Watson more like a younger brother. I think that Holmes would like Watson to be like Holmes. From ‘he Red Headed League’ we can see that Holmes has a short temper, for example when he is in the cellar of the bank and Mr. Merryweather struck rather loudly his stick upon the flags which lined the floor, ‘ I must really ask you to be a little more quiet†¦ You have already imperilled the whole of our expedition. ‘

They Coming! Essays

They Coming! Essays They Coming! Essay They Coming! Essay They Coming!!!!!!!! They Coming!!!! These are the words you hear ringing loud throughout the thousands of supporters and spectators as Junkanoo groups’ approach the starting gate of what is expected to be an exciting parade. Junkanoo is celebrated in the wee hours of the morning on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Scores of people show up from near and far to celebrate in one of the Bahamas’ most talked about cultural events. After waiting all year long, Boxing Day is finally here! The thought of sleep never enters my mind, as the anticipation of who will be victorious resonates in my mind throughout the night.Excitement builds, as all I could think about is the feelings of swaying to and fro while watching the groups â€Å"rush† down Bay Street. Midnight is here†¦ Let the parade begin! As I make my way through the large crowd to get to my seat, I could hear the sounds of the goatskin drums and whistles blowing. The cowbells begin to shake, and I could feel the rhythm deep within my soul. The well-toned brass section chimes in, and it is almost melodious, as the melodies and tunes all mesh together perfectly.The dancers make their way up Bay Street gyrating and moving their bodies to the rhythmic beat of the drums, cowbells, and whistles, demanding all the attention; while dressed in brightly colored costumes. The larger than life costumes adorned with bright, dazzling colors, â€Å"tricks† and feathers threaten to steal the show. I find it extremely difficult to contain myself, as the various Junkanoo groups â€Å"rush† past me in the stands. I can feel the feathers as they rub across my face and the music thump.The energy of the dancers and the beat of the music motivate the large crowds of supporters and spectators to start moving in their seats, or on their feet. Daylight breaks, all too soon, the parade is over. I am so excited and energized that all I could think about is the New Year’s Day Junkanoo Para de. For one week I eagerly wait to hear the words â€Å"they coming† being echoed throughout the stands all over again! My love for Junkanoo is overwhelming from the magnificent, ravishing colors of the costumes to the music which moves throughout every part of me and creates a sound that is too strong to resist, where it almost becomes mesmerizing!

Critique of Pastor Bobs Sermon

Critique of Pastor Bobs Sermon Free Online Research Papers Never having been to this church, I was thoroughly impressed with Pastor Bob’s sermon. It was obvious he prepared extensively for his performance and it made his message that much more memorable. He explained to us that he was visiting from Trenton, NJ so it was nice to have a different perspective, a fresh take on things. Although you go to church knowing you will be preached to about Jesus and God, it is not just that. There are life lessons to be learned, they can be applied to everyday life, and he did a good job at teaching us something meaningful through his speech, which is not easy to do. He used a thesis, posing a question if we truly know what it means to be baptized and if we are truly living our lives as disciples of Jesus Christ. He began by telling a story about the bible and Jesus’ baptism, then explained his own experience in baptizing and finally transitioned back to the message, relating everything to the bible. This made the sermon extremely easy to follow, always tying things together, and restating his thesis from the start of the speech to the conclusion of it. He ended things on a light note with a joke, which kept the message serious, but at the same time kept your attention with a pinch of humor. He used eye contact, switching focus on one side to the other between points because the church is split into two sides. The layout of this church would be very challenging for me because the podium is facing a wall and there are people on the left and right side of it. Pastor Bob, however, utilized his space by not using the podium at all and slightly moving from the left to the right of the stage throughout the sermon. In addition, his gestures made him seem very sure of himself, moving his arms and hands in sync to his words. Not to mention his voice was very impressive, it would lower when saying something very serious at times but then to emphasize a certain sentence or point he would get loud. When speaking on a lighter subject or telling his jokes he spoke in an uplifting manner and had a constant smile on his face which in turn put a smile on everybody else’s faces. The observable reaction of the audience was that everyone was listening very attentively. The audience either smiled or laughed when he gave a joke. Moreover, most apparent, was that everyone was nodding in agreement during most of the sermon, just showing him respect. The climate was a little unsure at first because he was new and began with a standard story. As he continued, the standard story transitioned into a very good point and the climate changed to everyone agreeing and accepting his message with open arms. Some might have thought the sermon was a little drawn out; church did get out ten minutes later than usual. It is possible that people who had somewhere to go either stopped listening at 7:00 or left, those people would not have gotten the whole intended message. He could have improved the speech by cutting those extra ten minutes out and by doing so keeping everyone happy. In addition, he could have started directly with his thesis and then gone into the story instead of beginning with the story, which probably did not interest everyone right away. I learned that practice truly does make perfect, Pastor Bob has years and years of experience, and it showed in his execution of getting his strong message across. I realized that the space you give your speech in can have unexpected obstacles, improvising with the space given and making sure everyone feels included is crucial. Keeping everyone interested is probably most vital and this speech taught me that subtle jokes could increase interest, while also reinforcing the underlying message. I also realized that you do not have to be someone that your audience already knows and likes in order for them to be open to what you are saying. It, in turn, boosted my confidence in myself as a speaker because Pastor Bob was virtually unknown to the entire audience. In future speeches of mine I will try to display more confidence, because I saw such a strong example I know I can do better. Being passionate when speaking can increase interest in your audience as well and in future speeches I wi ll do my best to choose a topic I can put my heart into, not just see it as an assignment. Preparation is imperative and it is something I have slacked on in the past, it really improves fluency and credibility because you have less hang-ups and just sound more informed. So in future speeches I will rehearse and practice as much as I can before giving them. This sermon definitely taught me a lot about public speaking and I would most likely think back and refer to it whenever I write a speech in the future. Research Papers on Critique of Pastor Bob's SermonThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoThe Hockey GameBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XTrailblazing by Eric AndersonWhere Wild and West Meet19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andQuebec and CanadaAnalysis Of A Cosmetics Advertisement