Ethical and Legal Issues in the Couseling Profession Research Paper

Ethical and Legal Issues in the Couseling Profession - Research Paper Example All in all, these dilemmas and decisions have made me more prudent and more discerning in my approaches to patient care. This essay will now serve as my reflective ethical autobiography with various sources and theories used to help support and evaluate the choices I have made during my immersion. Discussion One of the main teachings which were drilled to us by our professors was the fact that there were various ethical principles which we had to follow and consider with each patient that we cared for. These main ethical principles include: beneficence, patient autonomy or self-determination, non-maleficence, and justice. These principles helped me develop my sense of right or wrong. Whenever I doubted my actions or did not know whether my actions were right or wrong, I always considered these four ethical principles as a guide or as a foundation for my decisions. Beauchamp and Childress identified these ethical principles which should govern the ethical practice of our profession. T hey discuss that the principle of autonomy is basically about the personal rule of oneself which is apart or free from the influences of others and from the limitations which negate meaningful choice (Beauchamp and Childress, 1994). This autonomous decision making process allows the individual to act in accordance with his plans and his choices. Without such autonomy, an individual is dictated by others and is incapable of acting on his desires or plans (Beauchamp and Childress, 1994). In other words, patient autonomy is about allowing the patient to make his own decisions about his care – without forcing him or influencing him to decide in a particular way. In my practice, I often had to explain to patients the different types of care or interventions which can be implemented in their favor. There were times when I was tempted to influence their choices and to sway them towards making decisions which, I felt, were more favorable to the patients and to me. But noting that I m ight be unjustly and unfairly influencing them to make decisions on their care, I ended up being more restrained and being more balanced in explaining possible choices in their care. By allowing them to make their own choices, I was able to afford more respect to my patients as individuals. Patient autonomy is also about respecting the patient’s decision even if such decision is not the best decision for him. One time, I encountered a patient who refused further care and counseling. I knew that he needed to be in therapy and he needed to undergo intensive rehabilitation. However he wanted to undergo a less structured rehabilitation process and he wanted to do it outside the mental health institution. Even if I knew that his choices may not be effective in rehabilitating him, ethics dictated that I had to respect his choice. And so we released him and allowed him to make his own choices of care. The principle of beneficence is based on doing acts of kindness for others (Beauch amp and Childress, 1994). In essence, this principle â€Å"asserts an obligation to help others further their important and legitimate interests† (Beauchamp and Childress, 1994, p. 260). In applying this principle to my counseling practice, I often encountered situations where I knew that my patients needed more intensive counseling. One time, I encountered a high school student whom I assessed to be depressed. She had significant self-image

THE ALTERNATIVE CITY Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

THE ALTERNATIVE CITY - Term Paper Example The main ambition of Hammar Sjostad planners was to extend the city, in order to meet the growing demand for urban living. Expansion of city center was also done to meet Sweden acknowledged environmental, energy, social and economical goals for the future. In retort to environmental and other forces, the Swedish government stated that it wanted to develop the concept of a â€Å"green welfare state,† where everyone lives in good housing, reasonable cost, and secure environment within a long-term sustainable framework. The environment program in the city was politically driven making it spread to an international legendary maintainable program (Ahlroth, 2011). The program included targets for refinement, use of Brownfield land, discouraging use of cars and providing public transport options, energy consumption and recycling of water and waste. Recycling of energy, waste and water management was developed jointly by Stockholm Water Company, Birka Enrgy and the City of Stockholm w aste management bureau. In Hammarby Sjostad city, the sewage water is recycled and purified at large sewage plants and the waste recycled into natural gas, which is channeled to be used as an energy source for the district (Ahlroth, 2011). Purification process produces heat, which is recycled for use at neighborhood-heating units. Hammarly Sjostad city has its own sewage treatment centre where nutrients from the sewage are recycled and used in agricultural land. The city management makes sure that all combustible waste products are recycled into heat energy to be used in apartments. The aim of the planners of hammarby Sjostad city is to minimize environmental pollution and maximize the use of waste products produced by city dwellers. Transport system is essential for a new city success. Planners of Hammarly Sjostad considered the integration of a master transit plan to meet social and environmental anxiety of the project (Ahlroth, 2011). Public transport is encouraged to ease conges tions in the city by private vehicles. The use of many transport technologies has made Hammarly Sjostad city accessible. There is a ferry link system, which takes people across the lake and it runs through from morning to midnight. Planners of Hammarly Sjostad goals were to design a city that is unique. The goal was to make a residential environment based on maintainable resource usage, where energy consumption and waste products are reduced while resource saving and recycling concurrently maximized. The city’s authority made efforts to meet the population increase in Stockholm, and were able to bring high quality housing onto the market at a time when demand was increasing. Good planning brought high standards in design quality and environmental performance of the building (Ahlroth, 2011). Planning application in Sjostad is based on the life cycle cost analysis hence making it simpler to justify higher initial investment in good performing building designs. The heating, tran sport and waste collection systems were planned to work together to reduce the amount of energy and resources required to maintain them in the long run (Ahlroth, 2011). Hammarly city planning administration predicted that residents would be older people and after completion of apartment blocks, people moving in were young families. The development did not meet its target for car owners because of limited parking spaces. References

Understand Different Approaches To Management And Leadership Commerce Essay

Understand Different Approaches To Management And Leadership Commerce Essay steve Ballmer, Microsoft.   Without a doubt, Mr. Ballmer is the worst CEO of a large publicly traded American company today.   Not only has he singlehandedly steered Microsoft out of some of the fastest growing and most lucrative tech markets (mobile music, handsets and tablets) but in the process he has sacrificed the growth and profits of not only his company but ecosystem companies such as Dell, Hewlett Packard and even Nokia.   The reach of his bad leadership has extended far beyond Microsoft when it comes to destroying shareholder value and jobs. Microsoft peaked at $60/share in 2000, just as Mr. Ballmer took the reins.   By 2002 it had fallen into the $20s, and has only rarely made it back to its current low $30s value.   And no wonder, since execution of new rollouts were constantly delayed, and ended up with products so lacking in any enhanced value that they left customers scrambling to find ways to avoid upgrades.   By Mr. Ballmers own admission Vista had over 200 man-years too much cost, and its launch, years late, met users avoiding upgrades.   Windows 7 and Office 2010 did nothing to excite tech users, in corporations or at home, as Apple took the leadership position in personal technology. So today Microsoft, after dumping Zune, dumping its tablet, dumping Windows CE and other mobile products, is still the same company Mr. Ballmer took control over a decade ago.   Microsoft is   PC company, nothing more, as demand for PCs shifts to mobile.   Years late to market, he has bet the company on Windows 8 as well as the future of Dell, HP, Nokia and others.   An insane bet for any CEO and one that would have been avoided entirely had the Microsoft Board replaced Mr. Ballmer years ago with a CEO that understands the fast pace of technology shifts and would have kept Microsoft current with market trends. Although hes #19 on Forbes list of billionaires, Mr. Ballmer should not be allowed to take such incredible risks with investor money and employee jobs.   Best he be retired to enjoy his fortune rather than deprive investors and employees of building theirs. There were a lot of notable CEO departures in 2012.   Research in Motion, Best Buy and American Airlines are just three examples.   But the 5 CEOs in this column are well on the way to leading their companies into the kind of problems those 3 have already discovered.   Hopefully the Boards will start to pay closer attention, and take action before things worsen. Some say that Steve Sinofsky, credited with bringing order to the sometimes-chaotic software development process at Microsoft partly by cutting layers of management, should be the man to replace Steve Ballmer. Meetings with Sinofsky can be tough, colleagues say, but he doesnt swear like Gates or scream like Ballmer. Sinofsky has blogged at length about his management ideas, and even taught a management class at Harvard Business School. Some of his best blogs were used as the basis for a book called One Strategy: Organization, Planning, and Decision Making, published by Wiley in 2010, which he co-authored with a Harvard academic. Sinofsky writes in his blog about cutting the number of managers between him and the lowest rung of the Windows unit to three or four from seven previously. This streamlining, along with rigorous planning, has become his signature at Microsoft, but has ruffled some feathers at the company because it has reduced the number of general manager positions, where people got to use a wide variety of skills, and focused instead on the core functions of making software: developing, testing and managing specific programs. But few dispute the results. For sure it flattens the organization, it definitely eliminates fiefdoms, said the former Windows executive. Bill Gates had the most amazing mind Ive ever encountered. You could show him a PowerPoint slide and he would ask why it was different from the one you showed him three years ago, said another former Microsoft executive. Steve Ballmer is the most intuitively mathematical person Ive ever worked with. Steve (Sinofsky) is neither of those things. Sources: http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamhartung/2012/05/12/oops-5-ceos-that-should-have-already-been-fired-cisco-ge-walmart-sears-microsoft/3/ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46556568/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/t/microsofts-next-steve-windows-boss-faces-biggest-test/#.UAVLf_Wqnm4 Role An executive in the committee tasked to adviseMicrosoft CEO Steve Ballmer has just assigned you to conduct an investigation into how a sample of organisations, including Microsoft and one other company of your choosing, approach the management of their activities. Your analysis will extend into an examination of organisation structure and culture, as well as management style. Tasks: Using the facts of the company presented in the case above and that of another company of your choosing, compare and contrast different organisational structures and cultures (1.1) Explain how the relationship between an organisations structure and culture can impact on the performance of the business (1.2) Discuss the factors which influence individual behaviour at work (1.3) Compare the effectiveness of different leadership styles in different organisations (2.1) Explain how organisational theory is the foundation for the practice of management (2.2) Evaluate the different approaches to management used by different organisation (2.3) GRADING Pass is achieved by meeting all the requirements defined in the assessment criteria. Merit Identify and apply strategies to find appropriate solutions (M1) Characteristics / Possible Evidence Use of comparative chart that is sufficiently detailed to show that an effective approach to study and research has been applied to both organizations. Select and apply appropriate methods/techniques (M2) Characteristics / Possible Evidence Appropriate methods have been applied in organizational structure, culture and approaches to management related to given organizations as well as sources are justified. Distinction Use critical reflection to evaluate own work and justify valid conclusions (D1) Characteristics / Possible Evidence creativity has been used to generate and justify valid comments on approaches to management and styles of leadership. Take responsibility for managing and organizing activities (D2) Characteristics / Possible Evidence independence demonstrated and substantial activities have been planned, managed, and organised related to the practice of management and leadership. A REPORT ON MICROSOFT AND FEDEXS ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES AND CULTURES Prepared for: Mr. John Andre (Lecturer) Organizations and Behavior Banking Academy, Hanoi BTEC HND in Business (Finance) Prepared by: TRAN MAI TRANG AMY Registration No.: ITP F05-229 (F05A) Submit Day: 21st November, 2012 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION The assignment is about six outcomes of Organizations and Behavior subject. The scenario company is Microsoft, founded in 1975, which is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential (Microsoft, n.d.).The other company to compare with Microsoft is Federal Express Corporation (FedEx Express), the largest company in providing a portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services under the FedEx brand. FedEx Express is an express transportation company, offering time-certain delivery within one to three business days and serving markets. FedEx Ground Package System, Inc. (FedEx Ground) is a provider of small-package ground delivery service. FedEx Freight Inc (FedEx Freight) is a provider of less-than-truckload (LTL) freight services. FedEx Corporate Services, Inc. (FedEx Services) provides the Companys other companies with sales, marketing, information technology, communications and back-office support (Fe dEx, n.d.). This assignment is going to explain and compare the organizational structures, cultures, leadership styles and performance of these two companies to find out about the organizational theories that underpin the practice of management. 1.1 Compare and contrast different organizational structures and culture 1.1.1 Microsofts structure and culture Microsofts Organizational Chart (The Official Board, 2012) According to the chart above, Microsoft has a flat structure. We can see that Microsoft has five product groups are Windows Live Windows Group, Server Software, Online Services, Microsoft Business and Entertainment and Devices. Each product group, which focuses on a specific line of goods and services, has one executive reports directly to the CEO. Each group has its own RD, sales, and customer service staff (Daft, 2009). This structure allows larger spans of control. Microsoft also has a matrix structure which works alongside the flat structure. The  matrix structure is a structure where project teams are made up of workers with various specialisms from different functions of a business (BPP, 2004). The legal structure of Microsoft is Limited Liability Company because the company went public on March 13, 1986 (Time, n.d.). Microsoft has a task culture because it is a huge company with 94,420 employees around the world, just 56,934 in USA only (Microsoft, n.d.). It is impossible to manage a firm of that huge amount of workers with a person culture or a power culture. A two-time award-winning journalist Kurt Eichenwald described Microsofts work culture as the cannibalistic culture; a management system known as stack-ranking a program that forces every unit to declare a certain percentage of employees as top performers, good performers, average, and poor effectively crippled Microsofts ability to innovate, leading employees to compete with each other rather than competing with other companies (Vanity Fair, 2012). 1.1.2 FedExs structure and culture FedExs Organizational Chart (The Official Board, 2012) FedEx Corporation FedEx, introduced express delivery to the world in 1973, and is the worlds top express delivery service. The organizational structure of FedEx is flat. According to Organizational Behavior A Strategic Approach, FedEx Corporation should change their structure, because it adopted a multi-divisional structure (Hitt, Miller Colella, 2005). The corporation gives significant authorities to the subsidiaries. Operating independently, each subsidiary manages its own specialized network of services. FedEx employed over 280,000 employees worldwide (FedEx, n.d.), so obviously they have a task culture. The culture of FedEx is also market driven culture. All they care about is the customers; their culture center on the customer. They possess a strong customer-service organizational culture (McNeal, 2011). In short, both Microsoft and FedEx Corp. have a new style of management which is flat structure and task culture. However, FedEx is flatter than Microsoft in organizational structure. To look deeper, we can see differences in their culture as one cares about money, the other one cares about the customer. 1.2 Explain how the relationship between an organizations structure and culture can impact on the performance of the business 1.2.1 Microsoft Microsoft has a flat organizational structure and a task culture which is consider the new method of management. It is believed to be the right way to manage a company. This seems to works well when Microsofts 2011 revenue reached $69 billion (Microsoft, 2011). They make a very huge amount of money. The flat structure creates a lower hierarchy of power in Microsoft. It also allows CEOs direct involvement to make decision process quicker and less time consuming. Microsoft was topped ranking of the worlds 25 best multinational workplaces released by The Great Place to Work Institute (Industry Week, 2011). It is noticeable that employees satisfy their working environment in Microsoft. However, the stack ranking program can kill Microsofts creativity. The destructive management technique can be seen the key problem in Microsoft its management system (Frederick Allen, 2012). It can lead to risk of losing big amount of money. 1.2.2 FedEx FedEx increased revenue 12% in the February-to-May quarter and 13% in the fiscal year that ended May 31, reporting total annual revenue of $39.3 billion (William Cassidy, 2011). It is a large amount of money. The culture of FedEx influences its employees to work more effectively. It encourages them not only work hard but also work smart. FedExs managers also make right decisions, catching up with market trends and changing business needs. 1.3 Discuss the factors which influence individual behaviour at work The factors which influence individual behavior at work are: personality, perception, attitude, ability and aptitude, conflict, stress, and change. For the people of Microsoft, their personality is highly competitive. As discussed above, it is obviously that Microsoft has the culture of competition so the people who are working in a competitive culture will become competitive. If they are not yet competitive, the culture will itself make them competitive. Because they are competitive, they know how to get the money from customers and they will do it so well. Microsoft had always been characterized by a culture that was extremely competitive. When the company introduced new products then rocketing sales, the people responsible for the products did not meet to celebrate. Instead, they found what could have been done better instantly. Therefore, the company had always been a leading competitor, and Gates often sent out memos to remind employees about the competitive threats ahead. Gates truly drove a culture of innovation and vision (Microsoft People Problems, 2003). Thus, people were promoted to strive for the highest standards. However, when Gates left, Steve Ballmer has been a new CEO. Steve has been driving a culture of production rather than innovation (Kurt Eichenwald, 2012). For example, two ex-employees reviewd on Glassdor (Glassdoor is a website that collects information about workplaces and companies) that stack ranking made Microsoft be a less desirable place to work and higher stress workplace (Julie Bort, 2012). One more thing is that, Microsoft has discrimination between black and white workers of the corporation. In 2001, a group of current and former employees accused Microsoft of racism. The seven African American people required $5 billion in compensation, claiming they were paid less than their fellow employees and repeatedly passed over for promotions given to less-qualified white workers. The workers also claimed to have been subjected to racial harassment and retaliation when they complained. According to Willie Gary, who is a lawyer, pointed to 1999, government statistics that showed only 2.6% of Microsofts 21,429 employees, and only 1.6% of the companys 5,155 managers, were black (BBC, 2001). 2.1 Compare the effectiveness of different leadership style in different organizations 2.1.1 Microsoft Bill Gatess leadership styles are participative style and authoritative style. The reason is that, Gates involved his subordinates in decision making so they were good at delegating. He is a flexible person and he recognized his role was to be visionary of the company. Whenever needed, he brought professional managers for managing. Gates is a strong and energizing person. His enthusiasm, hard working nature and judgment skills reflect his personality. His motivating power and involving his friends to working with him became the success of Microsoft (Dip Kumar Dey,n.d.). Besides, Gates paid special attention to recruit and retain the best talent. He believed that the recruitment of talented software engineers was one of the most critical elements in the software industry. Gates looked for recruits who included the capacity to grasp new knowledge quickly and deep familiarity with programming structures. Despite a great number of potential recruits applied for jobs at Microsoft, Gates a ssumed that the best talent would never apply directly. Consequently, Microsofts HR managers had to hunt for the best talent and offer them a job. Giving autonomy to his managers, Gates delegated authorities to managers to run their independent departments. Gates involved a little in autocratic style, because control is basic to his nature and his management practice. He had an obsession with detail and with checking up. He tried to monopolize the World Wide Web software market and had legal problems with the department of justice. Also he did not like complaints (Dhananjay Kumar, n.d.). Microsoft used these styles of leadership very well as the company has great performance with net income of $14.569 billion (2009). 2.1.2 FedEx FedEx has a complex leadership style. The leadership style is combined between affiliative style, participative style and democratic style. Because FedEx has a flat structure; the managers give their subordinates authorities so they are good at delegating. Also, to be able to give subordinates authorities, they must trust their workers. Workers at FedEx are smart people so they do not want to be told what and how to do things. FedEx Corp. under the guidance of CEO Fred Smith has been named the Top  Corporation of the Decade by Fortune magazine (Dumain, 2004). Smith  was determined to make employees an integral part of the decision-making  process, due to his belief that when people are placed first they will provide the highest possible service and profits will follow (FedEx, n.d.). Microsoft and FedEx have different leadership styles so they apply it differently to create different working environment for their workers. However, they both earn a huge amount of profit and manage their company so well. FedEx seems to have the right way to apply its leadership style on its employees than Microsoft. 2.2 Explain how organisational theory underpins the practice of management 2.2.1 Theory X and Y It can be easily seen that Microsoft and FedEx use the Y theory. Because both companies care about how their employees feel. Furthermore, workers at Microsoft and FedEx are smart people so they do not want to be told things. Workers at Microsoft and FedEx are very ambitious, passionate and committed to their work. Because the work load at Microsoft is very pressure but there are still many people wish to work at Microsoft. Because the salary they pay is high, $87,965 for normal employees and much higher for managers, engineers or directors. They all have a regular salary over $100,000 each person (Salary List, 2011). Theory Y is about trust. Both Microsoft and FedEx have flat structure; authorities are given through the chain. Therefore, they must trust the workers. It creates not only the trust of managers in workers, but also the trust of workers in managers. This theory helps to build a strong relationship among workers and managers and then it leads to a strong organization. It i s obviously that Microsoft and FedEx are both strong in structure, culture and financial. 2.2.2 Scientific management FedEx doesnt apply this theory in its management. Because based on the theory, the application of this approach was to break each job down into its smallest and simplest component parts or motions (BPP, 2004). Although the theory improves productivity, it creates de-humanity in the organization. Moreover, everyone at FedEx is smart and talented. Therefore, it is wastes to hire smart people to tell them just do the same job day by day. Scientific management doesnt work in an organization that needs innovation and ideas like FedEx. 2.2.3 Bureaucracy Under the dominated decade of CEO Steve Ballmer, Microsoft applied this theory in its management. For this reason, Microsoft was complained that toxic environment and bad managers for anyone who want to join the corporation. Current and former employees in Microsoft were affected seriously by bureaucracy and management of the company for years (Matt Rosoff, 2011). According an article, employees in Microsoft were more concerned with impressing bosses than creating things (Rebecca Greenfield, 2012). They have no incentive to innovate. Nothing has changed at all since the departure of former CEO Bill Gates. It seems to be Steve Ballmer applied an inefficient management system. All things have not worked out. 2.3 Evaluate the different approaches to management used by different organisations 2.3.1 Human relation approach Both Microsoft and FedEx use this management approach to manage their organization. As analyzed above, Microsoft cares about its employees in a wrong way. Steve Ballmer applied a management system which damage peoples creativity, making them to be bored with their work. Now the dominant tech company belongs to Apple. For FedEx, they care about their employees in a different way. They give employees passion and convenient facilities that allows workers to be more develop. Both Microsoft and FedEx know that how workers feel affects how well they work. However, this method is about what workers think, doesnt matter how the leader thinks about the workers. It is matter that the leader can create an image in the workers mind that they are what the leader wants them to believe they are. 2.3.2 The contingency approach It all depends is what we can define this theory. Managers of both Microsoft and FedEx have find out what is the suitable way to manage, not to find out what is the one right way to manage. This is considered the new management way. Microsoft and FedEx are the new organizations: everything is international, everything is new, everything is faster and everything is turbulent (BPP, 2004). This managing method fits these two organizations because organizations change all the time. This method worked very well for FedEx as the leader of FedEx lead the company through the economic crisis in 2008 to survive (The New York Times, 2012) In total, contingency approach is the correct choice for their management. CONCLUSION How an organization achieves its goals and become successful is the managers and leaders concern. Therefore, leaders and managers should build good relationship with their subordinates as well as good organizational structure, culture and good leadership style.

Romatic Era :: essays research papers

19th Century Romanticism in Europe- Books related to 19th Century Romanticism in Europe- 19th Century Romanticism in Europe- Romanticism began in the early 19th century and radically changed the way people perceived themselves and the state of nature around them. Unlike Classicism, which stood for order and established the foundation for architecture, literature, painting and music, Romanticism allowed people to get away from the constricted, rational views of life and concentrate on an emotional and sentimental side of humanity. This not only influenced political doctrines and ideology, but was also a sharp contrast from ideas and harmony featured during the Enlightenment. The Romantic era grew alongside the Enlightenment, but concentrated on human diversity and looking at life in a new way. It was the combination of modern Science and Classicism that gave birth to Romanticism and introduced a new outlook on life that embraced emotion before rationality. Romanticism was a reactionary period of history when its seeds became planted in poetry, artwork and literature. The Romantics turned to the poet before the scientist to harbor their convictions (they found that the orderly, mechanistic universe that the Science thrived under was too narrow-minded, systematic and downright heartless in terms of feeling or emotional thought) and it was men such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in Germany who wrote "The Sorrows of Young Werther" which epitomized what Romanticism stood for. His character expressed feelings from the heart and gave way to a new trend of expressing emotions through individuality as opposed to collectivism. In England, there was a resurgence into Shakespearean drama since many Romantics believed that Shakespeare had not been fully appreciated during the 18th century. His style of drama and expression had been downplayed and ignored by the Enlightenment's narrow classical view of drama. Friedrich von Schlegel and Samuel Taylorleridge (from Germany and England respectively) were two critics of literature who believed that because of the Enlightenment's suppression of individual emotion as being free and imaginative, Shakespeare who have never written his material in the 19th century as opposed to the 18th century. The perception that the Enlightenment was destroying the natural human soul and substituting it with the mechanical, artificial heart was becoming prevalent across Europe. The Lyrical Ballads, published in 1798, was a series of poems that examined the beauty of nature and explored the actions of people in natural settings. Written by William Woodsworth, this form of

Music - Bonos Path Towards Spiritual Enlightenment Essay -- Explorato

Bono's Path Towards Spiritual Enlightenment While most celebrities keep their religious beliefs private, the music of the Irish rock group U2, with lyrics written by lead singer Bono, contains many religious references and ideas. A closer analysis of the song lyrics shows an evolution of the religious ideas contained within. The changing and development of these ideas corresponds to many psychological and sociological theories of faith evolution, including those of Alfred Adler and James Fowler. Adlerian theory posits that "Our ideas about God are important indicators of how we view the world. According to Adler these ideas have changed over time, as our vision of the world—and our place in it—has changed" (Nielson). There are two kinds of changes that may occur: those that advance the faith, and those that incite doubt or stagnation, as reported by Paul Fritz. Fritz, a minister, incorporated the ideas of sociologist Jean Merton into his theory of faith evolution. Fowler, in Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Hum an Development and the Quest for Meaning, states that faith evolves as individuals move through life, changing at each stage the way they make sense of existence. Commenting on Fowler's theory, John Testerman writes, "The stages of faith can be thought of as the different lenses through which we view the world as we journey through life." A careful study of Bono's lyrics can show what kind of "spiritual glasses" he wears at that stage of his life, and how his outlook on the world shapes the portrayal of his beliefs. While the evolution of faith and spiritual beliefs may be divided into stages, a person may be in between stages at any time, exhibiting the characteristics of more than one stage. In Fritz's model, a b... ... Cambridge Bible. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Fowler, James W. Stages of Faith: the Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning. Harper: San Francisco, 1995. Fritz, Paul. Home page. 10 Mar, 2002. "8 Stages of Faith." . Nielsen, Michael. Home page. 3 Nov. 2003. Psychology of Religion Pages. . "The Stages of Faith." The Journal of Religion and Society. Home page. 1 Nov. 2002. . 2 Nov. 2002. Testerman, John. Home page. Mar. 1995. The Stages of Faith. . U2. Achtung, Baby. Island, 1991. U2. All That You Can't Leave Behind. Island, 2000. U2. The Joshua Tree. Island, 1987. U2. October. Island, 1982. U2. POP. Island, 1997. U2. War. Island, 1980.

The phenomenon of city as a symbol of a modern way of life

The phenomenon of city as a symbol of a modern way of life is as complex as the structure of modern societies. In fact, city can be seen as a miniature version of a smaller society within a larger one, as most people living in cities tend to strongly identify themselves with them. And if we take into account the fact that in the Western world the percentage of city dwellers in contrast to people living in the countryside is continuing to grow due to the process of urbanisation (Hayward, 2004, pp.17-18), the phenomenon of city as a of dominant life style of humans deserves the most attentive examination.In particular, the urgent topic in the study of the ways in which city functions is the problem of its inner structure and dynamics in light of the often voiced concerns that the contemporary city is becoming more fractured and polarised than ever. The disturbing degree of this polarisation can be appreciated with the help of the so-called ‘dual city theory’, which, among other things, aims to show how the changes in economy, such as the removal of most of manufacturing jobs from the urban areas coupled with the state`s minimal involvement into the social sphere, lead to significant changes in the social structure of modern cities â€Å"in which the richer get richer, the poorer more poor and the middle classes are shrinking† (Holt-Jensen, 2002, p.3).Still, even without this socio-economic aspect of the city life, there is a plenty of reasons why the contemporary city may become fractured. One of them is the presence of ethnic sub-groups in many cities that occupy distinct areas and in this way in essence form isolated cultural islands. This peculiarity of many modern cities is reinforced by the more traditional but very important division between their functional parts, such as historical districts, usually attractive for tourists, downtown, industrial areas, and bedroom communities. This internal structure also inevitably shapes the economic and social structure of cities, as being historically perpetuated this type of division forms corresponding social patterns, represented by correspondence of a certain city district to a certain social class of people inhabiting it. As a sad example of such a firm correspondence may serve districts with the increased criminal activity, which cannot be exterminated by any legal enforcements.As the result of the working of the mentioned factors, it is indeed possible to say that the contemporary city in many respects resembles a fractured and polarized environment, in which it is possible for people to feel themselves lonely even in the crowd (Clarke, 2003, pp.192-195).By the way, speaking about specific problems stemming from the high density of population in most modern cities, such as ubiquitous traffic jams or the issue of environmental pollution, it is worth to mention that it is perhaps one of the unifying factors for all the city communities as such challenges require a cohere nt and unanimous action. Also, in relation to the positive roles that cities play in the modern world, it should be said that in their frames a lot of opportunities exist for the cultural exchange and development, so that cities can be seen as miniature melting pots of languages and cultures.As we can see, the view that the contemporary city is becoming more fractured and polarised is indeed not devoid of the truth. However, it seems safe to claim that this is happening not so much due to the peculiarities of the life in cities as such, but rather due to the natural processes of social interaction. Thus, city is an environment in which all the forms of social change are just manifested and amplified in a very clear form. SourcesClarke, D., B. (2003). Consumer Society and the Postmodern City. RoutledgeHayward, K. (2004). City Limits: Crime, Consumer Culture and the Urban Experience.

“the Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Profit”

Businesses have many responsibilities, the primary role being, to make profit and then in turn grow and expand as a business in the hope that they increase profits. After all, not many people want to be in the business of losing money, it is simply the function of a business †¦ to make money. However, in saying that, I would disagree in saying that this is entirely a â€Å"social† responsibility. Businesses have a responsibility to their stakeholders and/or their shareholders to increase profits, but socially they are required to do so much more. In terms of â€Å"social† responsibility, in this current day and age, businesses have a responsibility to society. I believe consumers are generally not concerned about the profit businesses makes, they are more concerned about the quality, service and value they receive from dealing with a business, and more importantly whether the success of the business was gained by them following socially and ethically responsible business practices. In the past, businesses would forfeit their social responsibility at the cost of increasing profit. A good example of this is multinational conglomerate, Proctor & Gamble, identified by PETA as a corporation that actively participates in animal testing1 to ensure that their products are safe for people to use. Yes, they are fulfilling their â€Å"social† responsibility in ensuring that their products do not harm their consumers, but now society and organisations are pointing the finger and actively boycotting companies such as Proctor & Gamble, for ignoring their social responsibility. Businesses have had to turn things around to adapt to the views of changing society. Being socially responsible is now a costly exercise. Due to their previous poor business ethics, they have to date invested almost $250 million in alternative testing methods in an effort to abolish all forms of animal testing. 2 Not only now is it socially unacceptable to practice â€Å"bad† business ethics, but it is socially unacceptable for businesses that make too much money to ignore the needs of the needy. Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft together with the efforts of his wife Melinda have established the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation donates millions of dollars every year, aiding many projects with their slogan being â€Å"all lives have equal value†. It is now the duty of businesses and many large corporations to be socially responsible and contribute to society on a larger scale. It is simply incorrect to say that increasing profit is the sole responsibility of a business. It is the social responsibility of a business to be socially responsible, in all facets. Portraying a ‘socially responsible’ image is detrimental to increasing profits, this has not always been the case, many companies that were once selfless entities who’s only mission was to profiteer at any cost have realised that with the changes in society, they have had to change the way they conduct their business. Sadly, many businesses and corporations participate in â€Å"socially responsible† activities for the purpose of increasing profit, businesses are not changing their packaging to pink to ‘secretly’ support breast cancer, they do so, so that you and I know about it. These so called acts of social responsibility are a form of advertising and they are done to show consumers just how â€Å"good† they can be. It is not the social responsibility of businesses to increase profit, but it is the social responsibility of companies to be socially responsible to increase profit.