Political Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Political Economy - Essay Example In addition, markets provide a framework where people voluntarily exchange their goods and services for an agreed compensation.In analyzing the Australian manufacturing industry, Freebairn uses a combination of the Keynesian and the neoclassical theories to drive his point home. The Keynesian theory, which is based on the works of the British economist john Maynard Keynes, is an economic theory that advocates for a system of a mixed economy. According to Keynesianism, the state as well as the private sector has their own roles to play in order to hasten the process of economic development. According to Freebairn, the government has the duty of providing a stable macro economic environment as well as the provision of conducive fiscal and monetary policies. On the other hand, the private sector is charged with the duty of carrying out research and development in order to come up with less labor-intensive modes of production as well as the use of less carbon intensive processes. In so d oing the government will compensate for what the private sector lacks in the production systems. In addition, since the government is well equipped to increase aggregate demand, especially at the macro level then the government through increased spending will indirectly increase the demand for industrial goods within the economy.

The Paralegal Profession Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Paralegal Profession - Essay Example Lawyers who handle high profile, media-friendly cases gain the distinct advantage of demanding higher pay and accolades, particularly those who win more cases than their peers. Becoming a lawyer involves a lot of hard work and preparation for students who wish to pursue this career. To begin with, prospective law students must take up a pre-law course, majoring in any field of their choice, before they can proceed to their law degree. Law schools do not require any prerequisite courses for admission. However, most students choose among accounting, economics, philosophy, history, composition and literature, psychology, sociology, political science, religion and logic as their pre-law courses (Abernethy. 1996). Potential law students have many options at their disposal that will enable them to make an informed decision on whether or not to proceed with their desire to pursue a law degree or not. For example, they can sit in on a class or two to get a feel for what is expected from students in a typical law class. They may also join a tour of any law school of their choice or meet with current law students, if they are interested. Abernethy, A. J.D. Ph.D. mentions another option, which is, to â€Å"shadow† a lawyer, following him around for a day or two, just to have an idea of what a typical day for a legal professional is like. It is vital to remember that a lawyer’s daily schedule differs from one day to the next, ranging from a day in court to a long day at the library researching for a case. It is also important to note that the legal profession offers a wide range of fields—from commercial law to tax law to human rights law—so it would help the student considerably if he or she can shadow more than one lawyer (1996). Some students also get the chance to work as â€Å"runners† in a law office before they begin law school. â€Å"Runners offer general clerical assistance but their function usually entails filing papers at the

Consequences of Outsourcing Human Resources

Consequences of Outsourcing Human Resources This essay will attempt to highlight the issues pertaining to the effects of outsourcing human resource management. The essay will be structured as follows: An Overview on Outsourcing of HRM The Rationale of Outsourcing The advantages of Outsourcing The disadvantages of Outsourcing An analysis on effect of Outsourcing An Overview on Outsourcing of HRM-The HRO The Outsourcing is the new management mantra which came into existence during the turbulent times of 90s, where it was seen as an effective tool for cost cutting. Outsourcing basically means hiring of the relevant business function from a third party. This phenomenon made rapid advancement and very soon engulfed nearly all area of the business. The function of Human Resource management has also been affected by it. Although in HRM outsourcing is a relatively newer term but the economic crisis of global meltdown has helped it to a stage where more and more organisations and businesses are opting for it. Following are main findings of the survey carried out by CIPD (2009) in the UK- HR outsourcing (HRO) is used by 29% of the survey respondents. Most organisations are increasing their use of HRO. Over the last five years, 20% reported significant increases in HRO activity, and 44% reported a slight increase in HRO activity. Only 11% have reduced their reliance on HRO. Only 44% of those organisations that outsource other business functions also outsource HR. HR outsourcing is used predominantly in private sector organisations, with 69% of those outsourcing HR working in this sector. HRO is pursued by 25% of public sector organisations in this sample. The private service industry dominates the use of HRO, with 50% currently undertaking HRO activities. Twenty-four per cent of HRO activity is in manufacturing, 22% in public services, and 4% in voluntary and charitable organisations The top drivers for HRO include access to skills and knowledge (71%), quality (64%) and cost reduction (61%). Organisations stressing clear objectives and targets in these areas are also more likely to have achieved them. The top three wholly outsourced areas include legal activity (69%), payroll (66%) and pensions (64%). The areas partially outsourced the most include training (49%) and recruitment and selection (47%). HRO is not relieving pressure for the internal HR team, with 43% confirming HRO failure in this case. Source- CIPD survey 2009 Introduction to HRO HRO is often confused with the two more associated terms -HR shared services and HR expert leasing. To begin, it is necessary to distinguish HRO from HR shared services and HR expert leasing. The main reason for this confusion is the complexity involved in Shared Services and HR expert leasing. HR shared services are also known as co-sourcing (Shen et al. 2003). The shared service has two forms. First, there is a shared service set up by large organizations to provide assistance and services not only to their own departments or subsidiaries, but also to external client organizations as an outsourcing business. Second, the other type of shared service refers to those set up, again by large and often multinational or multi-establishment organizations, aimed at restructuring their service provision through recentralization and of a creation of an internal market system. This is very popular in large enterprises, such as Motorola, Fuji, HSBC, IBM and Nokia. HR expert Leasing refers to the concept used by some professional employer organizations of leasing HR experts to clients (Laabs 1996) due to the fact that when the option of leasing employees is used, HR is more likely to be kept in-house, thus HR expert leasing should not be regarded as HRO. Similarly the shared services which are designed at providing services to internal and external clients cannot be in strict sense be regarded as HRO. Thus we see that in both the cases, i.e. HR expert leasing and the Shared services, there is no significance of the third party, which as per the definition of HRO is an prerequisite for them to be classified as Outsourcing. Hence we see that there is a clear demarcation between all the three services being used to provide HR support to the organisation. The commencement of Outsourcing in HR functions commenced primarily with the field of Recruitment. The Business organisations felt the need for recruitment as an independent function which could be transferred to third party for a measure of cost cutting and bettered shared service. Soon the functions such as Pay roll management, benefits and legal advice, were also outsourced. If we analyse the key decision for whether the particular function is outsource or not is based on the fact that whether the function is a core function or not? The rationale behind the Outsourcing The five competitive forces (Charles R Greer; Stuart A Youngblood; David A Gray, 1999) that can be called as the driving force for the companies to outsource some or all of their HR activities are: downsizing, rapid growth or decline, globalization, increased competition, and restructuring. Downsizing: The inevitable restructuring of entire industries has recast HR departments as formulators and implementers of downsizing. The pressure of reducing costs has now made HR themselves as targets of downsizing due to the overwhelming demands for reduced costs for HR services. Rapid Growth or Decline: Again the Costs as a major factor, the retrenched firms, or those in decline, face incredible pressures to reduce costs, while high-growth firms face similar pressures to monitor costs. HR outsourcing presents the option of cost reduction Globalization: Due to this, the companies now staff comprising of host country or third party nationals, this required harmonizing pay and benefit packages in accordance with the local laws demands specialized expertise. Larger vendors that focus on compensation and benefits offer these specialized services and deliver expertise built on experience and concentration in particular regions of the world. Increased Competition: Increased competition, both on domestic and international front, emphasizes the value-added role of products and services. Firms that subscribe to the balanced scorecard approach to measure effectiveness look not only at financial measures of firm success, but also at customer and employee measures of service quality. As per General Electrics CEO Jack Welch- He pays attention to only three measures of firm effectiveness-cash flow, customer satisfaction, and employee satisfaction. If HR departments are to be responsive to both internal and external customers, they  must look for ways to improve the quality and responsiveness of their services. Proponents argue that outsourcing offers HR an option to satisfy competing demands for improved service and responsiveness at a reasonable cost. Structuring: Firms that redeploy HR generalists to serve key divisions or business units of the organization can transform HR into a service role. Such a transformation serves as a source of competitive advantage for the firm. These new, service-quality cultures are not easy to build and sustain, particularly among established, traditional, or entrenched HR departments. Strategically, HR outsourcing decisions can potentially be part of a larger pattern of responses designed to deliver hard-to-imitate, hard-to-substitute, value-added services that enhance the value and quality of the firms products and services. After having seen the driving force behind the HRO we will now try to analyse various models of HRO as conceptualised by the resource-based view (RBV) (e.g. Barney 1991; Ulrich 1996); that suggests that the resources of a firm are rare and valuable and cannot easily be substitutable, are more likely to achieve sustained competitive advantage. According to the RBV, a firm should only outsource those resources which are replaceable or imitable not its core functions. This concept is in line with the core and periphery concept (Atkinson 1984), which can be applied to evaluate what HR activities are more likely to be outsourced. According to Atkinson, the core is defined as a numerically stable core group which will conduct the organizations key, firm-specific activities (Atkinson 1984: 29). The core can be redeployed easily between activities and tasks and has functional flexibility. All other function which support the core are known as the periphery, this provides the organization wit h an advantage to vary the numbers with fluctuation in labour demand (known as numerical flexibility). Ulrich (1998) suggested that core activities creates unique value to employees, customers and investors and are transformational in nature. Non-core activities are easily duplicated and replicated and are of transactional nature. Thus we find that HR core activities include top-level strategy, HR policies, employee relations, and line management responsibilities (e.g. appraisal and discipline) and the peripheral activities include specialist activities (e.g. recruitment and outplacement), routine personnel administration (e.g. payroll and pensions), relocation, and professional HR advice (e.g. legal advice related to employment regulations) {Finn (1999) and Lepak and Snell (1998)}. Thus according to the core and periphery theory, while the administrative and transactional functions (periphery) can be outsourced, it is in the interest of the firm to keep the strategic parts of HR (c ore) remain in-house. However, in practise, the core and periphery concept is difficult to distinguish as some HR activities appear to be purely administrative, but actually are not. For instance, recruitment is often seen as suitable for outsourcing, but its a key function that should stay in-house. To ascertain these arguments, we next shall analyse the advantages and the disadvantages of Outsourcing of HR functions. The advantages of Outsourcing As mentioned above one of the major benefits of HR outsourcing is Cost Saving but is not the only advantages of the Outsourcing. It provides a wide array of advantages specially to the small and rapidly growing businesses with limited resources, to achieve the same level of efficiency and service consistency in their HR functions as larger companies, without having to invest in large amounts of capital. The advantages of outsourcing can be enumerated as follows:- Cost Savings. Companies can realise substantial cost savings by outsourcing HR activities and functions. Torode (2000: 2) reported a success story about cost reduction about Trident Inc. reducing its HR administrative burden by 65 per cent and uncovering US$40,000 in overpayments for insurance premiums by using Employease Inc.s web-based human-resources application. The same is also supported by Gilley et al. (2004) that outsourcing training and payroll could lower administrative and overhead costs of training staff. Greater Focus on Core Business Activities. Due to globalisation companies face aggressive competition both locally and from abroad and thus can incur a tremendous amount in terms of lost business and loss of competitive advantage by spending more than required time and resources in non-core or administrative functions. Outsourcing enables companies to focus on their core competencies and to direct their full attention towards market dynamics and business strategy. Greater Participation by HR in Value-Adding Activities. Outsourcing certain HR administrative tasks enables the HR department to free themselves of time-consuming administrative tasks and direct their attention towards helping to improve their companys business performance thus fulfilling there roles as that of a strategic partner. Greater Efficiency. Due to the vertical specialisation and intense competition the outsourcing providers can usually perform the task more efficiently than the internal HR department. This is also due to the fact that service provider has a specialised team and since provides wide array of services to various outsourcer, hence at times can have more resources as well as experience to deal with any situation. This is specially true for medium and small firm which have a smaller HR department. Greater Flexibility of a Decentralized Structure. The business environment is very volatile, presenting newer challenges to companies. Outsourcing provides flexibility by removing those responsibilities and constraints that make it difficult to react effectively to changing conditions and issues. A leaner, more focused company engaged in fewer activities, is better able to react to environmental changes. Risk Reduction. Risk reduction is a major benefit of HR outsourcing. As the outsourced tasks are the outsourcing providers core competency, they are unlikely to make lesser mistakes as compared with the clients internal HR staff. Furthermore in case of eventuality of mistakes, the service provider can be held accountable for losses to its client thus lowering the level of risk. More so ever the firms can enjoy the benefits of the HR functions without having to invest heavily in those HR functions, at the same time also keeping the option to change the outsourcing supplier if required. More Objective Process. Outsourcing provides a certain degree of objectivity to the functions of HR department as service providers are not affected by political, cultural and bureaucratic conflicts intrinsic to the firm, which prevents the department from being fully productive and aligned with the strategic goals of the organisation. Outsourcing HR functions brings the objectivity of a third party into the process. Disadvantages of Outsourcing Cost-Savings Not Always Achieved. Laabs (1996) argued that HRO in fact leads to increasing costs because it may be less expensive to administer HR functions in-house, the same is also supported by Friel (2003),who argues that one major reason for higher costs of HR outsourcing is that HRO is still in its infancy. For example, software products must be tailored to organizations requirements, pushing up development costs. The following are examples showing increasing costs as a result of HRO. BP Amocos international contract with Exult increased costs by one third in 2001 (Broad 2002). BT admitted that costs were on the rise in its contract for HR service provision with Accenture HR Services in 2002 (Broad 2002). The September 2002 audit revealed that Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in the United States paid up US$2.6 million to VA sytems well above the original estimate of US$1.2 million.(Friel 2003). Transportation Security Administration (TSA) of America paid NCS Pearson, US$700 million as against originally estimate of US$103 million,by the end of 2002. (Friel 2003). Greer et al. (1999) found in their study that specialized vendors were unable to achieve greater economies of scale and cost savings due to the magnitude of the internal HR operations of some large companies,. More importantly, as Greer et al. (1999) warned, outsourcing produced no cost savings when only two or three vendors dominate a specialized market. Caulkin (2002: 10) has supported Greer et al. by arguing that the argument of economies of scale and specialization is self-serving, benefiting providers, not purchasers. People Issues. This is one of the most debatable aspects of Outsourcing. An extensive study by Hackett Benchmarking Research revealed that companies consider the greatest obstacles to outsourcing to be cultural and political factors. The services being outsourced to an outside entity poses a threat to the employee trust in the system. Further more the vendor working environment and ethics might not be commiserating with the firms which would bring out contention of issues. For example (Broad 2002), when Bank of America formed an alliance with Exult which included a major outsourcing arrangement, employees were worried about the implications of the deal for their positions. It is only when they understood that it was Exult, and not Bank of America, that would make the required investments, that they became reassured and accepted the alliance Problems with the Outsourcing Provider. The providers might be faced with issue where he is forced to cover up for any mistakes for which the service provider can be held liable. Further more the organisational culture of the provider would also be a binding factor as they can be a cause low service standardsr, a lack of attention to regulatory and business requirements, or unmet objectives and timeframes by the outsourcing provider. Loss of Control. Outsourcing HR functions can lead to a loss of control by the buying company. According to recent study by Accenture, 48% of executives surveyed stated that the fear of a loss of operational control was the greatest impediment to expanding their use of outsourcing. Their can be a fundamental mismatch of hierarchy in the firm as the line manager and the service provider might not be able to synchronise their working. Consequences of outsourcing Major implication, both in terms of their (changing) roles and their experience of the HR services of Outsourcing have been felt by HR professionals, line managers, employees who receive the services, and outsourced HR staff who provide the services. In-house HR Professionals. Most noticeable impact on in-house HR professionals will be in terms of the nature of their work and their career patterns, although due to scarce literature, the extent is difficult to predict. Ulrich (1998) proposes four new roles for HR; among those he recommends sharing of HR work in varying proportions among the line management, employees, external consultants, and other groups. But he does not really discuss the rationale by which this distribution of work would be determined (Procter Currie, 1999). Nor have the implications for their career prospects been contemplated. Greer et al.s (1999) study suggests that as a consequence of outsourcing of HR activities, the user company would mandatorily have to deploy in-house HR generalists who know can manage the outsourcing relationships. However, this also poses a threat of work intensification for these HR professionals, as they might still be relied by their colleagues to provide the service because they may be used to it or are unfamiliar with the new system. For example, Shen et al.s study (2004) indicates that the job content for the NHS maintenance manager of National Health Services (NHS) trust hospital in the United Kingdom has undergone severe work intensification and radical change ever since the outsourcing of maintenance. The same can also happen to the HR managers when outsourcing HR takes place, since both functions require intimate knowledge of the organization and a relatively high level of relationship management. HR outsourcing also raises concerns about the career prospects of the HR staff. One of the significant changes to career prospect would be Availability of fewer career development options for specialists as compared to generalist. At the same time, as there would be only a limited activities being performed in-house, general HR experience would be hard to gain. This will also raise question about the type of training to be provided to HR professionals that existing training for the HR profession is generalist-oriented, while in future the service provider would need specialists. Therefore, outsourcing HR could affect the in-house HR staff in ways such as job intensification, change in job content, reduction of career development opportunity, and increased levels of stress, especially when the relationship with the service provider is strained and the quality of services unsatisfactory. More broadly, the role that HR professionals play will be dependent upon their interaction with other groups both within and outside the organization (Procter Currie, 1999). Communication can be more difficult, especially when there is geographical, as well as organizational, separation. But if the onward march of HR outsourcing is a given, then the HR professionals will need to learn how to play the game (Turnbull, 2002). Line Managers. One of the apparent rationales of Outsourcing has been to delegate the softer aspects of the HR function to the line management ie involvement in and ownership of HR decisions. For example, Vernon et al. (2000) found that in Europe it is a common practise for sharing responsibilities between the HR specialists and the line management, in regard to the policy making: About a third of senior HR specialists reported an increase in line management responsibility for HR issues over the last three years (Vernon et al.,2000, p. 7). The role of line managers in executing HR policies and shaping HR practices has long been acknowledged (e.g., Currie Procter, 2001; Marchington Parker,1990; McConville Holden, 1999; Procter Currie, 1999). This has resulted in line managers taking on additional responsibilities, thus intensifying their role. This can at times all draw away or cloud the focus of line manager from their primary role. Also in reality, some of the smaller tasks may take longer to explain via electronic devices and are easier for the line managers to do themselves. The lack of HR support on-site seemed to have caused work intensification for the line managers, since they no longer have easy access to the HR staff. Another aspect which is pertinent to mention here is the competence of line manager. Line managers in the United Kingdom have been criticized for their lack of HR skills and competence, especially on legal matters such as discipline, dismissal, redundancy, and equal opportunities (e.g., Currie Procter, 2001; Hall Torrington, 1998; Mc-Conville Holden, 1999). They have also been criticized for their lack of interest in managing human resources, as HRM tends to be low down in their operational priority. In addition, they tend to focus on the hard, rather than soft, aspects of the HRM issues. Employees Receiving HR Services. The most significant outcome of this has been on the employees as they find difficulty in divulging confidential or private information with unknown HR person over the phone or online. This can also be termed as loss of Human touch from the term Human Resources. Research carried out by Feng Lee Cook (2006) about the employees response in Consult-Corp UK also indicates the same. Number of employees felt loss of emotional aspect as they felt that staff in the services centre, provide answers by reading off the screen or the manual and the entire process is mechanical. Another consequence of the outsourcing has been the lack of clarity of ownership of problems that may occur in HR services. With no HR department, at times the employees could find a void for issues such as grievance against their line manager itself especially when the grievance concerned the line manager or if the line manager responsible for their performance appraisal. All these change s may cause some fear and resistance among the workforce. BP Amocos outsourcing of HR is a case in point (see Higginbottom, 2001). As a result, it may actually be more costly for the organization to acquire the HR services from the external provider when all the indirect costs (both financial and emotional) that may incur in-house are calculated. This is especially true for large organizations in which employees are highly professional and highly paid. Outsourced HR Staff. Traditionally, skilled and knowledge-intensive work such as HR activities has been provided by workers of status. Employers tend to have an employment relationship with these employees that is characterized by relatively high levels of trust in order to elicit greater commitment and effort from the workers (Streeck, 1987). It has been argued that the tacit knowledge possessed by these workers is vital for the organizational competitiveness (Cooke, 2002; Manwaring, 1984; Pavitt, 1991; Polanyi, 1966; Willman, 1997). Outsourcing of this type of work replaces the status approach by a (short-term) contractual relationship of tight specifications of all aspects as a predominant mechanism of control. This mode of employment relationship does not encourage workers to provide extra-functional contribution to enhance the firms competitiveness (Fox, 1974). In fact, the potential problem of gaining commitment from the nonemployee workers is well recognized by organizations a nd academics (Cooke, Hebson, Carroll, 2005). For the employees of the service provider, job security may be low and firm-specific knowledge may be lacking as a result of multiclient services and the standardization of work processes. Indeed, lack of critical expertise and a customer service focus, or failure to take the interests of their client into account when delivering their HR services, have been found to be some of the main reasons for the failure of the HR outsourcing relationships (Greer et al., 1999). Additional complications in the employment relationships may occur where the HR outsourcing decision involves the transfer of existing HR staff to the external service provider (see Table 1). For the employees concerned, the transferred HR staff are likely to be protected, at least in principle, by some sort of employment regulation of the specific country (e.g., the Transfer of Undertaking Protection of Employment [TUPE] regulations in the United Kingdom). In theory, the em ployment contract of the transferred workers is preserved intact under TUPE regulations. In reality, however, their terms and conditions and other experience of work may change significantly, albeit incrementally (Cooke et al., 2004), since the impact of TUPE has proven to be only marginal to date (Colling, 1999; Wenlock Purcell, 1990). As Domberger pointed out, the principal effect of TUPE is to ensure minimum standards are maintained in negotiated transfers. The legislation is designed merely to assure the continuity of employment (Domberger, 1998, p. 143). For example, Cooke et al.s (2004) study of outsourcing in the public sector reveals that work intensification and increased performance monitoring are common features of post-transfer working life. Outsourcing offers the new employers opportunities to improve organizational performance by creating change through reducing staff numbers; introducing new skills and working practices; and by modifying individual incentives, employ ment terms and conditions, and attitudes to the workplace Domberger, 1998). None of these changes can be prevented effectively by TUPE, although not all of these changes necessarily point to a worsening scenario to the disadvantage of the workers (Cooke et al., 2004). However, this raises a question as to the extent to which the client organization can expect their ex-employees to (continue to) demonstrate loyalty and commitment in providing their services. These employees may be resentful that they are being dumped by their former employer and/or may have taken on their new employers organizational values that are not necessarily in line with those of their former employer. These issues may be exacerbated if the new employer has also taken on staff from other client organizations, thus creating a work environment with multiple cultures, multiple identities, and competing demands for preferential treatment from client organizations (Rubery et al., 2003). These issues also present a serious challenge for the new employer. The outsourcing firm has to manage a fragmented workforce, one where employees have different employment packages. At the same time, the outsourcing firm is trying to implement a coherent HR strategy and a consistent organizational culture while delivering customized HR services to its client organizations. Conclusions The aim of this article has been to provide an overview of the various aspects of HR outsourcing with a combination of empirical evidence and academic debate. The intention has been to provide a critical review of the state of affairs in the practice of HR outsourcing and to raise issues that require further academic research and attention from organizations interested in HR outsourcing. Existing literature on HR outsourcing appears  to be rather limited in general. This is perhaps due to both research and practice in HR outsourcing being in its early stages of development. There is a longer tradition of firms outsourcing discretional aspects of HR (e.g., payroll, training, health and safety,  legal advice), areas in which they lack inhouse expertise and that are deemed noncost- effective to develop and maintain inhouse. Existing evidence suggests that HR outsourcing has increased substantially over the last decade, although some authors remain cautious about the future growth of HR outsourcing. Training and payroll appear to be the favorite aspects of HR outsourcing. In addition, recruitment, taxation, and legal compliance are often outsourced. However, employee relations, HR planning, career  management, and performance appraisal are less likely to be outsourced, as they are more likely to be seen as core competencies or activities. Even so, there are no clear patterns of the types of HR activities that are outsourced. Existing evidence also suggests that the primary motives for HR outsourcing are to reduce cost, to gain external expertise, to enhance strategic focus of the in-house HR function, and to improve service quality. Cost reduction and sell-out strategy are also important factors for making decisions. While the overwhelming objective for outsourcing appears to be cost reduction, both the transaction-cost economics model (Williamson, 1985) and the resource-based view of the firm (Barney, 1991) seem to influence firms HR outsourcing decisions. T he diverse evidence as to whether the HR outsourcing trend is set to grow or not and/or at what rate implies pragmatic decision making by firms when considering whether to outsource HR activities. Due to the limited number of empirical studies on various aspects of HR outsourcing and the fragmented and inconclusive evidence they have yielded, it is difficult to draw clear conclusions on the types of HR activities that should be outsourced and the effectiveness of HR outsourcing. In fact, evidence seems to suggest that organizations decisions in outsourcing are not always rational  (Vernon et al., 2000), nor is their process successful or the outcome effective. It is possible, however, to identify a number of research issues and practical implications that require further attention from academics and practitioners. Conclusion The resource-based view (RBV) (e.g. Barney 1991; Ulrich 1996) suggests  that a firms resources that are valuable, rare, and not easily imitable or  substitutable are more likely to achieve sustained competitive advantage. According to the RBV, a firm should focus on its core competencies and  outsource those not valuable, and imitable or substitutable resources. The  RBV is consistent with the core and periphery concept (Atkinson  1984), which can be applied to analysing what HR activities are more  likely to be outsourced. According to Atkinson, the core is defined as a  numerically stable core group which will conduct the organizations key,  firm-specific activities (Atkinson 1984: 29). The core can be redeployed  easily between activities and tasks, by means of multiskilling or through  flexible career structures, known as functional flexibility. The periphery,  however, provides the organization with the ability to increase or decrease  the organizations headcount in response to every fluctuation in demand  for labour (known as

Conflicting Visions :: Politics Political Essays

Conflicting Visions Generally, people share common goals. Most of us want: poor people to enjoy higher standards of living, greater traffic safety, fewer wars and more world peace, greater racial harmony, cleaner air and water, and less crime. Despite the fact that people have common goals, more often than not, we see them grouped into contentious factions, fighting tooth and nail to promote differing government policies in the name of achieving those commonly held goals. Often the policies may be unproductive and often have the unintended consequence of sabotaging the goal. Almost always the conflict is centered around the means to achieve goals rather than the goals themselves. A good example of conflict surrounding means is found in the periodic debates over minimum wage and tariffs. Many people profess concern for the welfare of low-skilled workers. To achieve their goal, one group adamantly demands that Congress legislate higher minimum wages. Another group professing the identical concern, are just as adamant in demanding that Congress not legislate higher minimum wages. Similarly, one group of advocates for greater employment opportunities might lobby Congress for higher tariffs and stricter quotas on foreign imports. Another group of people sharing the identical goal will fight against tariffs and quotas and lobby for fewer trade restrictions. How is it that people who share identical goals come to advocate polar opposite policies? One possible explanation is that they are dishonest and simply promoting their personal interests. Their political strategy is to express concern for the unskilled and greater employment opportunities simply as a ruse to conceal their true agenda: higher wages, profits and monopoly wealth. The more interesting question is why do people, who are assumed to be honest, intelligent, selfless and not motivated by a hidden agenda, arrive at polar opposite policy proposals as a means to achieve commonly shared goals, that may indeed produce polar opposite results? Part of the answer is that they share different visions of how the world works. Consider the effects of different visions by going back to a time prior to Pythagoras' and Ptolemy's proofs that the earth was round. Imagine two honest and intelligent people in 1000 B.C. One person's initial premise is that the earth is flat. Based upon that premise, he would argue strenuously it is not possible to sail west from Greece and reach the Orient. The other person, whose initial premise is that the world is round, would argue just as strenuously that it is possible to reach the Orient by sailing west from Greece.

SPR Based Fiber Optic Sensor

SPR Based Fiber Optic Sensor Utilizing Thin Film of Nickel Kruti Shah and Navneet K. Sharma Department of Physics and Materials Science and Engineering, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, A-10, Sector-62, Noida-201307, India Corresponding author: [email  protected]ac.in Abstract. Fiber optic sensor based on surface plasmon resonance, employing thin film of nickel is presented analytically. Increase in thickness of nickel film results in the enhancement of sensitivity of the sensor. SPR Sensor supported by large thickness of nickel film possesses maximum sensitivity.INTRODUCTIONSurface plasmon resonance i.e. SPR principle has been an important sensing method since last thirty years. In the beginning, chemical sensing utilizing SPR is demonstrated by Liedberg et al. [1]. Collective resonating oscillations of free electrons survive on metal layer. It produces charge density wave moving along the metal layer. This charge density wave is transverse wave in nature and is identified as surface plasmon wave. Surface plasmon wave is excited by incident p-polarized light. For examining surface plasmon resonance, Kretschmann geometry is exercised [2, 3]. Optical fiber based SPR sensors offer many advantages than prism based SPR sensors [4-6]. In the past, lot of research is conducted on optical fiber based SPR sensors [7-10]. In recent times, nickel (Ni) is shown to exhibit sensing relevance because of its excellent magneto optical merits [11]. Apart from this, Ni is chemically inactive and the cost of Ni is lower than that of noble metals. Hence, the use of Ni instead of noble metals decreases the price of SPR sensor. Current study discusses a SPR based fiber optic sensor utilizing thin film of Ni. Effect of thickness of Ni film on the sensitivity of SPR sensor is illustrated. Sensitivity is enhanced with the increase in the thickness of Ni film.THEORYSensing system of the sensor contains fiber core-Ni layer-sample medium. Plastic cladding about the core from the central part of step index multimode PCS fiber is eradicated and is covered with thin layer of Ni. This layer of Ni is ultimately enclosed by the sample medium. Incident light from a white light source is allowed to enter into one end of the optical fiber and th e transmitted light is noticed at the opposite end of the optical fiber. The core of optical fiber is formed by fused silica. Refractive index of fused silica alters with wavelength as, 23 22322 22221 22111b ab ab a) ( n? +? +? + = (1) Here, ? is the wavelength of incident light in  µm and a1, a2, a3, b1, b2 and b3 are Sellmeier coefficients. The values of coefficients, used in (1) are specified as, a1 = 0.6961663, a2 = 0.4079426, a3 = 0.8974794, b1 = 0.0684043  µm, b2 = 0.1162414  µm and b3 = 9.896161  µm [12]. The dielectric constant of a metal can be mentioned as, ) ( 1 ) (22? ? ? ? ?i ic pcmi mr m+ ? = + = (2) Where, ?p and ?c are plasma and collision wavelengths of the metal respectively. For, Ni: p?= 2.5381 x 10-7 m andc?= 2.8409 x 10-5 m. Also, the dielectric constant of sample medium is written as,2s sn =? where, sn is refractive index of the sample medium. Resonance condition for the surface plasmon wave is written as, } K Re{ sin nsp=12 (3) Here, 2 22s ms ms ms mspn nc K+ =+ =? is the wave vector of surface plasmon wave and c is the velocity of light in vacuum. Reflection coefficient of p-polarized light is calculated by using matrix method [13]. Normalized transmitted power from the sensor is computed as [14]. Further, the sensitivity of sensor can be described as change in resonance wavelength per unit change in refractive index of sample medium [15]. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION For simulation, refractive index of sample medium is presumed to be altered from 1.33 to 1.37. Values of various parameters used are mentioned as; fiber's numerical aperture = 0.24, core diameter of fiber = 600  µm and exposed sensing region length = 15 mm. Transmitted power from the sensor is measured for different thicknesses (20 nm-80 nm) of Ni layer and consequent resonance wavelengths are measured. Resonance wavelengths for different thicknesses increase linearly with increase in the refractive index of the sample medium. 20 40 60 80 0 15003000 4500 6000 7500Sensitivity (nm/RIU)Thickness of Ni layer (nm) FIGURE 1. Variation of sensitivity with thickness of Ni layer. Figure 1 represents the variation of sensitivity with Ni layer thickness. Ni layer thickness is increased from 20 nm to 80 nm. Sensitivity is enlarged with increase in Ni layer thickness. The reason for this enhancement in sensitivity is ascribed to high value of real part of dielectric constant of Ni. Therefore for a fixed change in refractive index of sample medium, Ni enhances the shift between resonance wavelengths. This results in enhanced sensitivity of sensor with increase in Ni layer thickness. Thus, large Ni layer thickness leads in high sensitivity of SPR based sensor.CONCLUSIONS Theoretical analysis of SPR based fiber optic sensor with thin layer of Ni is carried out. Sensitivity of SPR based sensor is enlarged with increase in Ni layer thickness. In order to achieve highest sensitivity of the sensor, large thickness of Ni layer is advised. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Navneet K. Sharma wishes to thank Defence Research ; Development Organization (DRDO), India for the financial grant provided through the project number ERIP/ER/DG-ECS/990116205/M/01/1687.REFERENCESB. Liedberg, C. Nylander and I. Sundstrom, Sens. Actuat. B 4, 299-304 (1983).R. D. Harris and J. S. Wilkinson, Sens. Actuat. B 29, 261-267 (1995).E. Kretschmann and H. Reather, Zeits. Natur. 23, 2135-2136 (1968).J. Homola, Sens. Actuat. B 29, 401-405 (1995). 5. W. B. Lin, N. Jaffrezic-Renault, A. Gagnaire and H. Gagnaire, Sens. Actuat. A 84, 198-204 (2000).A. K. Sharma and B. D. Gupta, Sens. Actuat. B 100, 423-431 (2004).S. Singh, S. K. Mishra and B. D. Gupta, Sens. Actuat. A 193, 136-140 (2013).N. K. Sharma, M. Rani, and V. Sajal, Sens. Actuat. B 188, 326-333 (2013).S. Shukla, M. Rani, N. K. Sharma and V. Sajal, Opt. 126, 4636-4639 (2015).S. Shukla, N. K. Sharma and V. Sajal, Sens. Actuat. B 206, 463-470 (2015).S. Shukla, N. K. Sharma and V. Sajal, Braz. J. Phy. 46, 288-293 (2016).A. K. Ghatak and K. Thyagarajan, An Introduction To Fiber Optics(Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1999), pp. 82-83.K. Sharma and B. D. Gupta, J. Appl. Phys. 101, 093111 (2007).B. D. Gupta, A. Sharma and C. D. Singh, Int. J. Optoelectron. 8, 409-418 (1993). 15. A. K. Sharma and B. D. Gupta, Opt. Commun. 245, 159-169 (2005).

Education in Ancient Athens

No civilization can exist without education. All that didn’t perished quickly without a significant mark. Ancient Athens had an excellent system of education and therefore was able to prevail and live for a long time. Education was offered to boys in Athens and schooling started at the age of seven. All Athenians valued education. Even though schools have tuition fees, many poor people paid the money (McAllister). Students from ages seven to fourteen learned three main subjects. They learned grammar, which consisted of reading, writing and math.Music was an important subject to the Athenians and so was gymnastics (Dunkle). Reading and writing that was taught was useful for trade and business (Dunkle). Athenians learned gymnastics to promote health and strength (Dunkle). Music built up characteristics, and entertained friends, and was used to purify their souls (McAllister). The sensible education system of Athens was beneficial to their civilization. Too all students in Greece , the basic reading, writing and math were taught. Being taught reading and writing was helpful in trade.Traders all over the world commonly spoke Greek. It second language for educated people outside of Greece (Mazour). Learning Greek, would help communicate with traders in the world that don’t have Greek as their first language. After elementary school, sophists usually taught the students (Mazour). From them they learned about poetry, the government, ethics, astronomy and rhetoric (Mazour). Rhetoric was the study was public speaking and debating. Rhetoric was helpful to the democratic system that was Athens’ government.This was beneficial to the government because people could speak well in front of people and creating good arguments. Reading and writing isn’t all they valued. They also thought that music was important. The ancient philosopher, Aristole said that music served as education, but also as a pastime and amusement (Dunkle). In music class, they lea rned to sing, and play an instrument. By doing so, they were able to entertain guests at a party (Mazour). Music wasn’t always for these shows, but they supported a calm mind in a healthy body (Mazour). The type of music that a erson listened too also built the characteristics of that person, or so Plato says, â€Å"Teach them the poems of other morally good poets, setting them to the music of the kithara and compel rhythms and harmonies to dwell in the souls of the boys to make them more civilized, more orderly and more harmonious so that they will be good in speech and action† (Dunkle). Plato’s student, Aristotle also agreed to this, â€Å"Therefore it is evident that music is able to produce a certain effect on the character of the soul, and if it is able to do this, it is plain that the young must be introduced to and educated in [music]† (Dunkle).Aristotle stressed that the students must love music, and â€Å"mere appreciation would not be sufficien t† (Dunkle). Training in singing and the playing of an instrument was important. Students that learned went on competitions called Mouseia (Dunkle). This built their confidence and their morale. The Athenians had a special curriculum of gymnastics. In our time, it would be called physical education. Students had athletic training because it promoted good health, strength, courage, and it prepared them for warfare (Dunkle).Unlike Sparta that trained their children to death (Crystal), Athens were not concerned with specialization for a specific job, but to have a wide range of education (McAllister). Good health would lead to longer lifetimes and so Athen’s would be healthier overall. Strength and courage would be useful in battle or it public speeches. This means that Athenians wouldn’t be nervous and would look intimidating because of their good physique. Many kids studied from an early age. There were intelligent students that benefited Athens. The system of edu cation the Athenians had been well made and because of that Athens was able to thrive.It is similar to how our system works today, with College and able to be taught/ or tutored by teachers who are hired. How we have music classes like orchestra and choir. Also like how we have dance classes and physical education classes at school. It is a good system that our education system is based off of. Reading and writing taught the students to communicate and so they could communicate with traders. Music brought peace to the soul, but also served as entertainment. Physical education brought good health and children were able to prepare for warfare. These features of Athenian education made the Athenians stronger and more powerful.

Management of Information Security and Control

Management of Information Security and Control Abstract Information is a very important ingredient of any organization. This is because no business can operate without it. In the current business environment whereby the computer has interconnected businesses and transactions are no longer carried out through paperwork, information system has become a very important part of an organization.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Management of Information Security and Control specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Therefore the management of information should be one of the priorities if the organization is to be successful. However, the concern for information security has also risen in the recent past. In some business the need to protect information assets has even surpassed that of physical assets. This is so because any business in the current information environment that intends to be competitive and sustain growth must be ready to develop and exploit as well as protect its information assets. Information Security Needs of an organization Information security needs of an organization refer to reasons why an organization may find it necessary to have information security and control. They are as follows: To protect the functionality of the business because when operations are interrupted, costs that could otherwise have been avoided are incurred. Organizations need to have a system that ensures that operations are carried out smoothly which means there are no interruptions and work also goes according to plan. As such, the general manager and the IT managers need to design and implement an information system that cuts out intruders as well as human error that might interrupt operations (Whitman Mattord, 2008) Secondly, an organization needs to ensure that its operation applications are safe. These applications include electronic mail, operating system platforms as well as instant messaging. The laws governing information security award dama ges to the plaintiff and these damages are at times punitive. Therefore any organization needs to ensure that its information system cannot be used to infringe other peoples’ rights as this ends up costing the organization. This means that all information system applications need to be assessed to ensure that they do not pose a security threat to users (Whitman Mattord, 2008). Thirdly, there is the need for safeguarding technology assets in order to sustain growth. As an organization grows it needs to come up with secure software and infrastructure that helps it to sustain that growth. For instance an organization may develop innovations that help it to have an edge over its competitors.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As such, its networks must grow to be able to accommodate its changing needs otherwise the competitors will easily have access to i ts new technologies and use them to outdo the company. Some of the measures that can be taken to shield an organization from its competitors include protection of manufacturing procedures, chemical formulae and technological innovations (Kouns Minoli, 2010). Fourthly, there is the need to protect data that is used by organizations. An organization cannot plan effectively and deliver value to clients if it losses its record of transactions. Any business entity, government agency or any other institution that is operating in the modern business environment, where responsive services depend on information systems to provide support to transactions, must protect its data. For that data to be reliable, the management needs to ensure that the processes of collection, storage and usage cannot be interfered with. Otherwise the decisions made will not be effective or even beneficial to the organization (Kouns Minoli, 2010). Types of threats involved in the management of information securit y and appropriate control measures Threats refer to any entity person or object that poses a security risk to an organization’s assets. There are various threats that face information, systems or people of an organization. This means that the management needs to be aware of transport, processing and storage systems that need protection from threats. For instance, when an organization connects to the internet then threats that originate from the external sources are bound to increase. There are various categorizations that show the types of threats and what in the organization is faced by that threat. However, each organization needs to find out the priority threats that it needs to deal with. The prioritization will depend on the security situation of its operating environment, the exposure levels of its assets and its risk strategy (Whitman Mattord, 2008). The categories of threats include acts of human error, which refers to acts done without malicious intentions. People are likely to do mistakes when using information systems. This may be due to inadequate training, making of assumptions that are incorrect or even working under fatigue. Employees feature among the greatest security threats because they use organization’s data on a daily basis hence making them the closest threat agents. This means that their mistakes can undermine the integrity, availability as well as the confidentiality of data. Their mistakes can also pose a threat to the organization or to outsiders. For instance they can accidentally reveal classified information, delete or even modify data (Whitman Mattord, 2008)Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Management of Information Security and Control specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Most of the mistakes can be prevented by carrying out continuous awareness activities, training and also setting up controls. The controls can range from the requirement t hat a user types an important command twice to the requirement that a particular command be verified by a second party. The second category of threat is debate act of trespass. This refers to an act where an unauthorized individual intentionally gains access to an organization’s protected information. Although some information gathering techniques are acceptable, some information gatherers use techniques that are beyond the legal or ethical threshold. Some of these attacks can cost the firm financially or dent its reputation with clients. This threat can be prevented by putting up controls that notify a trespasser whenever they try to access unauthorized areas. Valuable information and systems can also be protected by using sound authentication and authorization principles. Such controls use multiple factors or layers to prevent the unauthorized users from gaining access (Alberts Dorofee, 2002). Forces of nature or acts of God are another form of threats. These types of thre ats are very dangerous as they usually take place with little on no warning at all. They can interfere with data storage, its transmission or even its usage. They include the following: fire, which can burn down the building that houses part or all of the information system. Secondly, there is floods which refers to water that is overflowing to areas that are expected to be dry under normal circumstances. This can end up destroying part or all of the information system. It can also prevent access to the building that houses the system. Thirdly, there is earthquake which refers to an abrupt shaking of the earth’s crust as a result of the volcanic activity below the earth surface. This directly affects the system as it can destroy part or all of the system, as well as the building where the system is housed (Vacca, 2009). Lastly, there is lightening, which refers to a sudden natural electric discharge within the atmosphere. This also has a direct effect on the system as it can destroy part or all of the system or its power components. All these risks cannot be controlled per se; however they can be mitigated by purchasing insurance policies that address each of the insurance risks (Vacca, 2009) A software attack is another information security threat and it involves an individual or group coming up with a malicious code or malicious software to attack an organization’s information system. These programs are designed in such a way that they can damage the target systems or even deny access.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More They take various forms which include viruses, which are software that attach themselves on other programs and can destroy the system when activated. Viruses can be controlled by using anti-viruses which prevent them from accessing a computer system. Secondly are worms, which are able to replicate themselves several times such that they fill the computer memory. Anti-viruses can also be used to control them as they are capable of detecting them and inhibiting their performance (Vacca, 2009) Technical hardware failure is another type of threat whereby an organization purchases equipment that has a defect from a manufacturer. The defect can be known or unknown. Such flaws can result in unexpected performance of the system such as unreliable service. These can therefore lead to losses to the organization, some which are irrevocable. The best control measure is to ensure that the organization purchases from reliable vendors who can offer products with guarantees as well as quality produ cts. However, it is also important that regular check ups and service be done to the equipments so as to be able to detect defects in advance and correct them (Vacca, 2009). Risk management Before defining risk management it is important to define the key terms that make up its definition. Threat: refers to any event, object or circumstance which has the possibility and capability of adversely affecting an organizations asset, through destruction, denial of service or unauthorized access. Vulnerability: refers to the â€Å"existence of a weakness in design or implementation or an error that can result in undesirable or unexpected event that may compromise the security of the information system† (Alberts Dorofee, 2002 p. 28). Therefore, risk management is a process whereby vulnerabilities as well as threats and potential impacts that are as result of security incidents are evaluated against safeguard implementation costs (Alberts Dorofee, 2002). Risk management strategies ar e developed and implemented so as to reduce adverse impacts and to provide a framework that can be used to make consistent decisions concerning the options of risk mitigation. Risk management is broadly divided in to two phases: the first one is risk assessment which involves identifying threats and assessing the possibility and ability that the threats can exploit some vulnerability of the organization as well as the impact in the event that the threat happens. The other stage involves risk treatment; where an organization responds to the risks identified earlier. Risk management is important to the organization because it helps the management to determine the protection needed by various assets at the most efficient cost. Investment in risk management is beneficial both now and in the future and to everyone that deals with the organization (Alberts Dorofee, 2002). Risk Assessment This process has various stages which include: first identification of assets where the assets of the organization are identified and their value is determined. Secondly, there is threat identification and assessment of threats. This involves identifying the categories of threats and the adversaries that pose the threats as well as their motives. Such threats can be terrorists who want attention, political activists fighting for some rights or disgruntled employees who feel wronged by the company. The next step in assessment of threats is determining the adversary’s capability, how frequent the threat can occur and the extent of damage it can cause on the related asset (Kouns Minoli, 2010). When documenting the adversaries it is important to consider technical and human capabilities as well as their modes of operation. These include even those parties that are able to cooperate with them as well as how easy they can communicate with them. Being that threat is the most difficult to assess, it is important that both facts and assumptions are recorded. Lastly there is the dete rmination of vulnerability level of each of the assets that need protection. Here an in depth knowledge of the capabilities of countermeasures that an organization has is important. As a result an appropriate scale can be developed for measuring (Kouns Minoli, 2010). The third stage of risk assessment is analytical risk management. Here the threats and vulnerabilities are evaluated in regard to the respective assets so as to provide an expert opinion on the possibility of loss and the impact as guideline for action. In order to asses the risk effectively and to determine what to prioritize in asset protection one should do the following: first, estimate what level of impact the undesirable events have compared to each target asset. This involves reviewing the impacts based on the information acquired on vulnerabilities and threats. As a result the ratings can either increase or reduce (Calder, Watkins Watkins, 2010). Secondly, estimate how likely an attack can happen from the pote ntial threats. This involves evaluating the adversary’s capabilities, his intentions and other details of their history. After this, rating is done to determine the most and least likely threat. Thirdly, estimate the probability that a given vulnerability will be taken advantage of by a given threat. Here a review is done on the vulnerability ratings that were done previously. Armed with information from all the ratings done, an overall level of risk of the information system is done. As a result suggestions of measures to be taken are made (Calder, Watkins Watkins, 2010). Risk Treatment This is the ultimate goal of risk management as information from the assessment stage is used to determine the appropriate treatment measures that will be implemented. There are various options available in treating risk. It can be reduced, avoided, accepted or even transferred. However a combination of more than one option is also possible. There are various factors that determine which opt ions to pick and these include the cost incurred each time the event associated with the risk happens, the expected frequency with which it will happen, the attitude of the organization concerning risk, availability of resources and the current priorities of the organization concerning technology (Roper, 1999). When an organization chooses to reduce risk, it will have to choose whether to reduce the chances of occurring or reduce the chances of the adversary exploiting vulnerability or even reduce the effect of the threat should it successfully occur. The organization can also choose to accept the risk when reducing is not possible. This includes lack of appropriate measures to be implemented, whose costs outweigh the losses to be prevented. In cases where the risk cannot be reduced to acceptable levels it can be transferred to a third party, for instance to an insurance firm by buying a policy to protect the property against the threat (Roper, 1999). Risk avoidance is another optio n, whereby the firm chooses to avoid all business dealings that are associated with the risk. After identifying the risk treatment decisions to use, the next step is implementing the decisions. This is later followed with monitoring and reviewing stage, which is a continuous process as long as the organization is in operation. However, risk cannot be eliminated completely and instead it can only be minimized to acceptable levels. What remains after minimization is referred to as residual risk. There are chances that the residual risk can grow to unacceptable levels and this shows another importance of monitoring and reviewing (Roper, 1999). Importance of information security and control management Research has shown that most managers as well as employees do not regard information as a primary priority particularly because it seems not to have a direct impact as effectiveness and efficiency. This calls for training to create awareness on its importance and its roles. Different level s of management should be given specialized training on the relevance of information security in their level. Then the link between the training and the organization needs at each level should be established. In addition the training should be customized to focus on specific security issues (Isaca, 2010). An organization’s failures related to security can really be costly to a business. These costs can be recovery costs or even reputation costs. When an organization’s system is easily accessed by intruders, it ends up losing confidence from the public. As a result customers will be reluctant to deal with them. Therefore it is important that an organization invest in designing and development of effective information system. This calls for an organization to develop an information security policy which defines its information system as well as the access to its information property. It also explains the control measures that are appropriate for the organization. As a re sult the company increases its efficiency in managing its information assets (Kadam, 2002). In addition, an information system that has effective security and control measures in place can be an area of competitive advantage to an organization. This is because in such a system customers’ and suppliers’ documents will not be lost or be destroyed. Particularly because access to the system is controlled and incase part or all of the system is destroyed, back ups are available. Stakeholders are therefore attracted to such an organization as they feel that their documents will be secure. On the other hand the organization is able to plan how to better meet the stakeholders’ needs using the reliable information (Kadam, 2002). Conclusion Every organization has a need for information security and control. Therefore, when designing and implementing the information system the management must ensure that it meets those needs. An assessment of the organization should be don e to find out the needs and get information that will help in addressing the needs effectively. The assessment includes assessing the assets of the organization, the threats it is facing and its vulnerable areas. As a result the organization becomes equipped with adequate information that can help it come up with effective treatment decisions and in the end these decisions are implemented. In addition, the system should be monitored and evaluated continuously to ensure that the system is actually meeting the objectives which it is meant to. References Alberts, C. J. and Dorofee, A. J. (2002). Managing information security risks: the OCTAVE approach. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education. Calder, A., Watkins, S. and Watkins, S. G. (2010). Information Security Risk Management for ISO27001/ISO27002. Cambridgeshire: IT Governance Ltd. Isaca. (2010). CISA Review Manual 2011. Rolling Meadows, IL: ISACA. Kadam, A. (2002, September). Why Information Security is important for your organi zation: Network Magazine. Retrieved from networkmagazineindia.com/200209/security2.shtml Kouns, J. and Minoli, D. (2010). Information Technology Risk Management in Enterprise Environments: A Review of Industry Practices and a Practical Guide to Risk Management Teams. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Son. Roper, C. A., (1999). Risk management for security professionals. Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann. Vacca, J. R. (2009). Computer and information security handbook. Burlington, MA: Morgan Kaufmann. Whitman, M. and Mattord, H. J. (2008). Principles of Information Security. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning EMEA.

Dantes Canto XXVIII Essays - Divine Comedy, Afterlife, Italy, Virgil

Dantes Canto XXVIII Essays - Divine Comedy, Afterlife, Italy, Virgil Dante's Canto XXVIII Dante begins the opening of Canto XXVIII with a rhetorical question. Virgil and he have just arrived in the Ninth Abyss of the Eighth Circle of hell. In this pouch the Sowers of Discord and Schism are continually wounded by a demon with a sword. Dante poses a question to the reader: Who, even with untrammeled words and many attempts at telling, ever could recount in full the blood and wounds that I now saw? (Lines 1-3) The rhetorical question draws the reader into the passage because we know by this point in the Divine Comedy that Dante is a great poet. What is it that Dante sees before him on the brink of the Ninth Abyss that is so ineffable that he, as a poet, feels he cannot handle? In the following lines Dante expands on this rhetorical position. He elaborates on why it is important for any man to offer a good description of what he sees. No poet can achieve this description: ?Each tongue that tried would certainly fall short...? (L. 4) It is not just poetic talent that is at stake; poets do not have the background to give them the poetic power for such description. His reasoning is "the shallowness of both our speech and intellect cannot contain so much." (Lines 5-6) Once again the reader is intrigued; how could a man of Dante's stature criticize language which is the very tool he uses to create the epic work of La Commedia ? If we cannot take Dante seriously with these opening statements, we must pose the question of what Dante is trying to do by teasing us with this artificial beginning to Canto XVIII? Dante will now contradict himself and try to describe what he says is impossible. But, if he were to go right into a description of the Ninth Abyss, it would deflate his rhetorical position. Instead, Dante first sets up a quite lengthy comparison of the sights he has just witnessed with examples of bloodshed throughout human history. Were you to reassemble all the men who once, within Apulia1's fateful land, had mourned their blood, shed at the Trojans' hands, as well as those who fell in the long war where massive mounds of rings were battle spoils even as Livy write, who does not err and those who felt the thrust of painful blows when they fought hard against Robert Guiscard; with all the rest whose bones are still piled up at Ceperanoeach Apulian was a traitor thereand, and too, at Tabliacozzo, where old Alardo conquered without weapons; and then, were one to show his limb pierced through and one his limb hacked off, that would not match the hideousness of the ninth abyss. (Lines 7-21) Dante gives historical examples of the destruction of war. This is in contrast to the heroic qualities of war which Dante's predecessors most often focus on. Dante is acting less as a poet and more as an historian. He takes the reader on a mini journey through these wars. His first stop are the Trojan wars (Line 9). These wars Dante refers to actually represent the final books of Virgil's Aeneid. Part of my experience in reading the Inferno, has been that there is a great connection between the Inferno and the Aeneid. Furthermore, Dante's guide through hell is the author of the Aeneid, Virgil. (While this topic is much too broad to address in these pages, it is important too take note of this relationship.) On the one hand it is important that Virgil is Dante's first example because it is necessary for him to leave the world of the poet (poets do not have enough talent) and move to the world of the historian, whose objectivity is supposedly more trusted in front of this horror. By this time the reader can see the irony of what Dante is doing in this opening passage. Dante the poet must give up to historical fact, but the reader knows that Dante the poet is playing this game to entice the reader into listening to him. Dante moves on to the wars at Carthage in his next example. This is material which Virgil deliberately does not deal with in

Choose the Right Setting for Your Play

Choose the Right Setting for Your Play Before you sit down to write a play, consider this: Where does the story take place? Developing the right setting is essential to creating a successful stage play. For example, suppose you wanted to create a play about a James Bond-styled globe-trotter who travels to exotic locations and gets involved with lots of intense action sequences. It might be impossible to effectively bring all of those settings to life on the stage. Ask yourself: Is a play the best way to tell my story? If not, perhaps you may want to start working on a movie script. Single Location Settings Many plays take place in a single location. The characters are drawn to a specific place, and the action unfolds without dozens of scene changes. If the playwright can invent a plot that focuses on a limited amount of settings, half the battle of writing is already won. Sophocles of Ancient Greece has the right idea. In his play, Oedipus the King, all of the characters interact on the steps of the palace; no other set is needed.  What started in ancient Greece still works in modern theater bring the action to the setting.   Kitchen Sink Dramas A kitchen sink drama is typically a single location play that takes place in a familys home.  Often time, that means that the audience will see only one room in the house (such as the kitchen or dining room).  This is the case with such dramas as A Raisin in the Sun.   Multiple Location Plays Plays with a wide variety of dazzling set pieces are sometimes impossible to produce. British author Thomas Hardy wrote an enormously long play entitled The Dynasts. It begins in the farthest reaches of the universe, and then zooms down to earth, revealing various generals from the Napoleonic Wars. Due to its length and the complexity of the setting, it has yet to be performed in its entirety. Some playwrights don’t mind that. In fact, playwrights such as George Bernard Shaw and Eugene O’Neil often wrote complex works that they never expected to be performed. However, most dramatists want to see their work brought to life on stage. In that case, it is essential for playwrights to narrow down the number of settings. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. Some plays take place on an empty stage. The actors pantomime objects. Simple props are used to convey the surroundings. Sometimes, if a script is brilliant and the actors are talented, the audience will suspend its disbelief. They will believe that the protagonist is traveling to Hawaii and then on to Cairo. So, playwrights must consider: will the play work best with actual sets? Or should the play rely upon the audience’s imagination? Relationship Between Setting and Character If you would like to read an example of how details about setting can enhance the play (and even reveal the nature of the characters), read the analysis of August Wilsons Fences.  Youll notice that each part of the setting description (the garbage cans, the unfinished fence post, the baseball hanging from a string) represents the past and present experiences of Troy Maxson, the plays protagonist. In the end, the choice of setting is up to the playwright. So where do you want to take your audience?

Stable Angina Pectoris Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Stable Angina Pectoris - Essay Example Although there are efforts to specify use of angina pectoris for chest area discomfort caused by myocardial ischaemia linked with coronary artery disease, there are also known causes like aortic stenosis and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (Task Force of European Society of Cardiology 395; Fox et al. 3-9). Angina pectoris is considered stable if it has been occurring for over a number of weeks without any major worsening. Stable angina pectoris normally occur in situations related to increased myocardial oxygen usage. Factors such as ambient temperature and emotional stress can, however, influence symptoms of stable angina pectoris from time to time (Crea & Gaspardone 3767; Christensen 10-11). On the other hand, unstable angina pectoris is characterized by a suddenly deteriorating pre-existing angina pectoris or abrupt appearance of angina during rest or light work. This is generally caused by atherosclerotic plaque rupture which leads to intracoronary thrombus formation. Some patients experience heightened coronary artery tone or spasm (Fox et al 4). The pathological condition giving rise to this imbalance is most often the atheromatous narrowing of the coronary arteries. To attain this medical condition, also referred to as stenosis, there must be at least 50 to 70 percent narrowing of the coronary artery. In such decrease in the inner diameter, the coronary blood flow is rendered inadequate to reach the metabolic demands of the heart during strenuous activities or exercise. The impact of stenosis is not limited to the degree of narrowing of the luminal diameter but also on the length and quantity of stenoses present in the coronary artery (Crea & Gaspardone 3767; Christensen 10-11). Vasoconstriction at the area of the atheromatous narrowing normally results to segmental abnormal function and dilatation of the left ventricle which cause a sudden drop in coronary blood flow. Coronary vasoconstriction, on the other hand, occurs because of curtailed diastolic filling period due to tachycardia and different hormonal actions. Patients with coronary artery disease have the potential risk of acquiring fissuring or rupturing plaque which usually results in platelet aggregation, abnormality of coronary blood flow or thrombotic coronary occlusion. Increased vasomotor tone or spasm arises from the release of substances from activated platelets. This condition crosses the threshold in which a diagnosis of unstable angina pectoris or evolving myocardial infarction is given (Fox et al 5). It is estimated that 30,000 to 40,000 per 1 million persons suffering from angina pectoris in countries with high number of patients with coronary heart disease. The incidence of angina pectoris is notably twice as high as in middle-aged men as in middle-aged women. This medical condition severely limits the lifestyle of patients such that those of working age are forced to apply for early retirement (Christensen 10; Fox et al. 3-9; Crea & Gaspardone 3767). Symptoms Stable angina pectoris symptoms are grouped into four major features. These are in terms of location, association with exercise, characteristics, and

How has Japanese Cinema been Informed by Nuclear Disaster Term Paper

How has Japanese Cinema been Informed by Nuclear Disaster - Term Paper Example The style of the day is one of modern casual wear, except when our young protagonist and his friend go to school, then, they wear uniforms.   Whereas in other films, such as Akira Kurosawa’s (1990) Dreams, there is a stark contrast to the actors’ traditional kimono dress that is worn in those vignettes that portray even modern life in Japan, such as Sunshine Through the Rain, where the dress in the home is kimonos, which is presented against a backdrop of modern Japanese architecture reflecting the traditional architecture with modern materials.   The result is striking and beautiful cinematography that is spellbinding as the story in this short vignette. In Kikujiro (Kitaro, 2000), if there is anything that denotes the impact of the nuclear holocaust suffered by Japan at the end of the war, it is in the westernization of the society that is conveyed through the film.   However, it should be noted that Japan was, prior to the onset of the war, looking towards the west as a model of economic success (Keyser & Kumagai, 1996, 1).   Still, with the postwar occupation of Japan by the Allied forces, it might be logical to conclude that the westernization of Japan took on a different direction than the pre-war model.   Kikujiro (Kitaro, 2000) portrays the move away from tradition, into a modern society with modern social problems, such as gambling first and second family identity problems.   While these problems may have existed in Japan since the medieval times, it is the distinct westernized appearance of them in this modern day film that breaks with the tradition of what is usually both perceived and seen in the film as being Japanese. Whereas Japan’s move toward away from the traditional towards a more western model might have been the path in a pre-world WWII setting, nuclear holocaust and the presence of a western occupation following that event probably helped bring Japan to a western present much quicker than they might have arrived had it not been for western occupation following the war. Kikujiro (Kitaro, 2000) is the film that demonstrates modern Japan’s westernization.

Role Of A Lawyer In Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Role Of A Lawyer In Business - Essay Example Provision of ideas to the client- The lawyer may provide the necessary ideas and the advice to the client. However, the nature and the type of advice may differ depending upon the type of the client. In certain areas, the client may be extremely knowledgeable exhibiting complete mastery over the particular issue. In those cases, the advice may be limited to certain trivial and core operational areas. On the other hand, there are certain businesses where the lawyer assumes a much larger role when compared to the current role. As for example, in the areas where the business is dependent on the IPR (Intellectual Property Rights), the legality of the case become increasingly important. Thus, in cases like this, the lawyer basically plays the role of a business advisor. Other areas that can be included in the following gamut are the businesses that run out of multiple countries or sell products in multiple countries. Implementation of the determined business objectives- The successful operation of any business is dependent on the achievement of the stipulated business objectives. The attainment of those business objectives is a function of proper business decisions in the relevant areas. The lawyer has to get a fair idea about the long term goals, the mission, the vision and the objectives of the business. This may help in the determination of proper steps towards the outcome. The financial implication can also be better understood if the lawyer devises the proper strategy and the roadmap for the same. This will help the businesses to determine what is important, what is relevant and what could be used to achieve those objectives. The lawyer should help in demarcating the business issues from the legal issue so that the necessary steps could be taken without any problem. The lawyer could also look into the possible alternatives for running any business. Thereby, all the stop gap arrangements coul d be done to ensure that the business keeps on running. Protection of the interests of the client- The first and the foremost responsibility of all the lawyers is to protect the interest of the clients. The interests of the clients are varied and different. Therefore, the necessary areas of the contention are also different. The lawyer must always ensure that the proper directions are given to the client. Limitation of risk to the client- One of the most important activities of the lawyer is to ensure that the risk to the business is mitigated at all costs. All the measures should be taken by the lawyer to see that at any point of time, the business does not suffer any kind of loss. The lawyer and the business head must be able to develop a consensus on the business needs. This includes two steps, looking at the ability to diminish the effects of the quantitative risk and the effects of the risk on the business. Therefore, this complete procedure ensures that the clients and the ind ividuals are on the same page in terms of the proliferation of business.

Geography of US and Canada Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Geography of US and Canada - Essay Example This essay discusses that  the geological centre of Northern America has landscape made up from rocks which are up to 3 billion years old and is called the Canadian Shield. This Canadian Shield cover ups the areas from Nunavut which is south to Minnesota and is on the North East of Labrador. The human inhabitants in this vast area are very few and the agricultural opportunities in this area is very limited because of the defective soils and the extremely severe climatic conditions which are very similar to the climatic conditions that are found in the North Eastern Siberia. The Canadian Shield is now dotted with various big lakes and even more small lakes. The surface of the Canadian Shield is mostly rolling, but in the Canadian Shield there are regions of small hills and short mountains such as the Superior Upland of Minnesota and Wisconsin. The area is used to produce hydroelectricity and wood, uranium, nickel and iron are the chief natural resources that are found in the Canadia n Shield.This paper outlines that  the North American continent has more natural risks as compared to any other continent. While the United States has more natural risks as compares to any other country on this planet. The highest mountain in Rockies is Mount Elbert in Colorado which stands 14,433 feet (that is 4,399m). The Rockies has a high and rough landscape from which many chief rivers flow including the Fraser, Colorado, Saskatchewan, Missouri, Columbia and Rio Grande.

A Comparison between Male and Female Organizational Commitment and Dissertation

A Comparison between Male and Female Organizational Commitment and Turnover - Dissertation Example While various researches have been conducted on organizational commitment in the Western world, the Eastern corporate world, such as that of Qatar still lacks research on this topic. This research aims to uncover who organizational commitment differs among employees in terms of factors including but not limited to gender. In order to understand the concept of organizational commitment, this research depends largely on the contribution of Meyer and Allen and their three types of organizational commitment, affective, normative and continuance commitment. This research further takes inspiration from the organizational commitment scale developed by Meyer and Allen that is based on a Likert scale. The method of conducting the research was quantitative in nature where the questionnaire was inspired from Meyer and Allen’s organizational scale that was distributed among all the employees of XYZ Co., a leading gas company in Qatar. The results of the survey were analyzed using percenta ges and descriptive analysis. The results pointed to the fact that organizational commitment among males and females differs by the type; that is, males are more normatively committed with the organization while females are continually commitment. Affective commitment increases as employees move higher up in the organization because the organization gives more power in their hands. Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction 4 1.1. Background of the Study 4 1.2. Significance of the Study 5 1.3. Research Methodologies and Theories 6 1.4. Research Aims and Objectives 7 1.5. Ethical Considerations 9 Chapter 2: Literature Review 11 2.1. Gender Difference in the Workplace 11 2.1.1. Female Characteristics 11 2.1.1.1. Work Style 12 2.1.1.2 Conflict Resolution 12 2.1.1.3 Management Style 12 2.1.2. Male Characteristics 13 2.1.2.1. Work Style 13 2.1.2.2 Conflict Resolution 14 2.1.2.3 Management Style 14 2.2. Organizational Commitment 15 2.2.1 Impact of Organizational Commitment 15 2.2.2. 3 Comp onent Model of Organizational Commitment 16 2.2.2.1. Affective Commitment 16 2.2.2.2. Continuance Commitment 17 2.2.2.3. Normative Commitment 17 2.2.3 Levels of Organizational Commitment 18 2.2.3.1.1 The Level of Accordance 18 2.2.3.1.2 The Level of Identification 19 2.2.3.1.3 The Level of Internalization 19 2.2.4 Antecedents of Organizational Commitment 19 2.2.4.1. Personal Characteristics 20 2.2.4.2. Work Experiences 21 2.2.4.3. Job and Role Related Characteristics 22 2.2.4.4 Assessing Organizational Commitment 23 2.2.5. Male Organizational Commitment 24 2.2.6. Female Organizational Commitment 25 2.2.7 Comparison Between Male and Female OC 26 2.2.8. Organizational culture in Qatar†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 28 2.3. Employee Turnover 28 2.3.1.Definition of Employee Turnover 28 2.3.2. Types of Employee Turnover 29 2.3.2.1 Involuntary Turnover 29 2.3.2.2 Voluntary Turnover 30 2.3.2.3Positive Turnover 30 2.3.2.4 Negative Turnover 30 2.3.3 Reasons behind E mployee Turnover. 31 2.3.4. Impact of Employee Turnover 33 2.3.4.1 Negative Consequences 33 2.3.5 Male Employee Turnover and its Reasons 34 2.3.6Female Employee Turnover and its Reasons 34 2.3.7 Comparison Between Male and Female Turnover. 36 2.3.7 Reducing Employee Turnover. 37 2.4. Conclusion 39 Chapter 3: Methods 42 Chapter 4: Results 52 Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusion 67 Chapter 7: References 73 Appendix 1 78 Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Background of the Study Today’s corporate world is becoming increasingly competitive as people from all gender, ages and races have entered the workforce in large numbers. In terms of gender, the attitudes of

Different Portrayals of David by Different Artists Essay

Different Portrayals of David by Different Artists - Essay Example The essay "Different Portrayals of David by Different Artists" compares three paintings of David by such artists as Donatello, Michelangelo and Bernini. The most prominent similarity in the three art pieces is the nudity of the subject. Donatello and Michelangelo’s works shamelessly show even the private parts of their subject. Donatello shows David holding Goliath’s sword which he used to cut the head of the giant which he was standing on. He wears sandals and a helmet but his body is not covered at all. Seen on the front, the details of his body are obvious. A viewer can see David’s testicles and his well-built body. The details on his face draw curiosity from viewers because he seems to be looking far with deep thoughts. Michelangelo on the other hand pictures his subject with more details. He is also standing tall and nude but unlike Donatello’s sculpture, the second David has no covering on his feet or head. Michelangelo made more intricate details in his artwork that it seems very real. For instance, the muscular arms show evident veins, the abdomen and chest are well-chiseled to show a natural look. In addition, the face is also very detailed so as to show the facial expression of the subject. Bernini on the other hand covered the private part of his figure. His David is not simply standing but is shown to be in action, almost ready to fight Goliath with a slingshot. On the front view, part of his back is seen and his chest is covered as he positions himself to shoot his enemy.

A Comparison between Male and Female Organizational Commitment and Dissertation

A Comparison between Male and Female Organizational Commitment and Turnover - Dissertation Example While various researches have been conducted on organizational commitment in the Western world, the Eastern corporate world, such as that of Qatar still lacks research on this topic. This research aims to uncover who organizational commitment differs among employees in terms of factors including but not limited to gender. In order to understand the concept of organizational commitment, this research depends largely on the contribution of Meyer and Allen and their three types of organizational commitment, affective, normative and continuance commitment. This research further takes inspiration from the organizational commitment scale developed by Meyer and Allen that is based on a Likert scale. The method of conducting the research was quantitative in nature where the questionnaire was inspired from Meyer and Allen’s organizational scale that was distributed among all the employees of XYZ Co., a leading gas company in Qatar. The results of the survey were analyzed using percenta ges and descriptive analysis. The results pointed to the fact that organizational commitment among males and females differs by the type; that is, males are more normatively committed with the organization while females are continually commitment. Affective commitment increases as employees move higher up in the organization because the organization gives more power in their hands. Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction 4 1.1. Background of the Study 4 1.2. Significance of the Study 5 1.3. Research Methodologies and Theories 6 1.4. Research Aims and Objectives 7 1.5. Ethical Considerations 9 Chapter 2: Literature Review 11 2.1. Gender Difference in the Workplace 11 2.1.1. Female Characteristics 11 2.1.1.1. Work Style 12 2.1.1.2 Conflict Resolution 12 2.1.1.3 Management Style 12 2.1.2. Male Characteristics 13 2.1.2.1. Work Style 13 2.1.2.2 Conflict Resolution 14 2.1.2.3 Management Style 14 2.2. Organizational Commitment 15 2.2.1 Impact of Organizational Commitment 15 2.2.2. 3 Comp onent Model of Organizational Commitment 16 2.2.2.1. Affective Commitment 16 2.2.2.2. Continuance Commitment 17 2.2.2.3. Normative Commitment 17 2.2.3 Levels of Organizational Commitment 18 2.2.3.1.1 The Level of Accordance 18 2.2.3.1.2 The Level of Identification 19 2.2.3.1.3 The Level of Internalization 19 2.2.4 Antecedents of Organizational Commitment 19 2.2.4.1. Personal Characteristics 20 2.2.4.2. Work Experiences 21 2.2.4.3. Job and Role Related Characteristics 22 2.2.4.4 Assessing Organizational Commitment 23 2.2.5. Male Organizational Commitment 24 2.2.6. Female Organizational Commitment 25 2.2.7 Comparison Between Male and Female OC 26 2.2.8. Organizational culture in Qatar†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 28 2.3. Employee Turnover 28 2.3.1.Definition of Employee Turnover 28 2.3.2. Types of Employee Turnover 29 2.3.2.1 Involuntary Turnover 29 2.3.2.2 Voluntary Turnover 30 2.3.2.3Positive Turnover 30 2.3.2.4 Negative Turnover 30 2.3.3 Reasons behind E mployee Turnover. 31 2.3.4. Impact of Employee Turnover 33 2.3.4.1 Negative Consequences 33 2.3.5 Male Employee Turnover and its Reasons 34 2.3.6Female Employee Turnover and its Reasons 34 2.3.7 Comparison Between Male and Female Turnover. 36 2.3.7 Reducing Employee Turnover. 37 2.4. Conclusion 39 Chapter 3: Methods 42 Chapter 4: Results 52 Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusion 67 Chapter 7: References 73 Appendix 1 78 Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Background of the Study Today’s corporate world is becoming increasingly competitive as people from all gender, ages and races have entered the workforce in large numbers. In terms of gender, the attitudes of

Sophocles` Oedipus The King And Shakespeare`S Othello Essay Example for Free

Sophocles` Oedipus The King And Shakespeare`S Othello Essay Greek literature was rich in dramas and tragic heroes.  The main rules for defining the real tragic hero were summarized and sharply distinguished by Aristotle; he worked out six important characteristics for the true tragic hero: hamartia, hubris, anagnorisis, peripeteia, nemesis and catharsis; hamartia – a serious mistake, which is the main reason of downfall of the hero, this mistake is often made because of hubris – extreme pride, after the downfall the hero learns a lesson or makes a discovery this is defined by the notion anagnorisis, reversal of fortune is called peripeteia, nemesis means some circumstances, which the hero could not avoid, practically his fate. Aristotle, 13). The last one – catharsis – denotes the feeling of fear and pity experienced by the audience; in closing this should be a person who is â€Å"between these extremes . . . a person who is neither perfect in virtue and justice, nor one who falls into misfortune through vice and depravity, but rather, one who succumbs through some miscalculation (Aristotle, 18). Guided by the above-mentioned instructions we are going to analyze two famous plays: Sophocles’s Oedipus the king and Shakespeare’s Othello, namely their main heroes. Both Oedipus and Othello are tragic heroes. They both show signs of hubris, yet they have admirable qualities that have raised them to the position they have. In fact, their very strengths are also their weaknesses. Most critics consider Oedipus the perfect example of tragic hero. Indeed if to evaluate the correspondence of Oedipus to the characteristics of Aristotle he meets all the parameters. His nobility is out of question, as he was born in a royal family, although raised by adoptive parents, who were also the King and Queen of Corinth, and finally, when he managed to solve the riddle of Sphinx, he got the dominion over the city. Shakespeare’s Othello is also a tragic hero and also corresponds to the Aristotle’s characteristics. Othello, as well as Oedipus, had to come through pride, fatal mistake and self-destruction. Othello is a noble man and an outstanding military leader. But in reality his greatness was combined with his weakness: on the one hand he was brave and intelligent, on the other hand he was somewhat passive and fell under the influence and allowed Iago manipulate him. Oedipus’s hubris could be seen in his desire to prove to his city that he was able to solve the mystery and save the citizens from the plague. Besides he was rather self -assured, which can be confirmed by his own words in the opening lines of the prologue, when he states Here I am myselfyou all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus. (Sophocles, 11). Oedipus had every reason to believe that he was a prominent personality and he wanted to support his high status for his subordinates, in this way his strength unexpectedly for him turned into his weak side. Hamartia of Oedipus is very important and sophisticated. His tragic flows rooted from his lack of knowledge about his true identity, but he could not be responsible for his flow as he was not able to change anything with his actions. In fact, Oedipus didn’t make any mistakes, he suffered the consequences of somebody else’s old mistake in the past. Actually the peripetea is closely related to hamartia of Oedipus, as the bad fortune followed the hero from his very birth. Othello’s hamartia or downfall, when she killed his beloved wife, was the result of his hubris – he was so much afraid that his pride could be hurt in case of Desdemona’s unfaithfulness that he didn’t even stop to think whether all the Iago’s arguments were correct or not – â€Å"Thy honesty and love doth mince this matter My friend, thy husband, honest, honest Iago† (Shakespeare, 8). Moreover he preferred to trust Iago instead of listening to his wife. In this case such virtue as trust turned out to have a destructing force for the hero. In contrast to Oedipus Othello could avoid his tragic flow, if only his reaction to the words of Iago were different. Catharsis of the audience is characterized by very profound emotions and feelings of sympathy towards Oedipus, when he instead of committing suicide, chose terrible tortures for himself. When Oedipus realized what had happened to him in reality, he said: Oh, oh, then everything has come out true. Light, I shall not look on you Again. I have been born where I should not be born, I have been married where I should not marry, I have killed whom I should not kill; now all is clear (Sophocles, 32). Being blind he belonged neither to this word nor to the other word, thus his suffering was not finished even at the end of the play. No doubts, that the audience experienced sympathy and pity for Othello after his murder. The realization of his awful deed hurt Othello deeply, but as distinct from Oedipus he chose suicide. Overall, both heroes Othello and Oedipus could be referred to as classical examples of Aristotle’s tragic hero. They are both very strong and outstanding personalities, noble and fair; after getting their high positions they however developed such features as obstinacy, self-assurance, mightiness. Both of them took wrong decisions and became the victims of their fatal mistakes, which finally transformed their strengths into their weak points and led to tragic finals.