Monday, August 19, 2019
Kinos Lust for Money in The Pearl by John Stienbeck :: essays research papers
Kino's Lust for Money in The Pearl by John Stienbeck In the novel The Pearl, written by John Steinbeck, Kino is a poor, hardworking man who dives for pearls as a living. Kino?s lover, Juana, fathered his baby boy, Coyotito. One day while fishing, Kino finds a giant pearl referred to in the story as ?The Pearl of the World?. He thinks it will bring him great wealth and status. Kino planned to marry Juana in a church and send Coyotito to school with the enormous profit he would gain from the pearl. While trying to sell the pearl, Kino?s greed and lust for money turned out to cause the destruction of his family. One of the ways we can see Kino?s lust for money was after he found the pearl and took it to get an appraisal. When the dealer offered a fraction of the pearl?s real value, Kino became angry thinking that they were trying to swindle him. Instead of taking the money offered by the dealer, which was a considerable amount to a man of Kino?s status, Kino rejected the offer. Each step to find a buyer brought more trouble and danger. When Kino was leaving to go to the capital to get his pearl appraised, he was attacked by thieves and was forced to kill them out of self-defense. He lost the pearl in the struggle, but his wife, Juana, found it again. Even though it was evident that the pearl was causing evil, instead of throwing the pearl back from where it came, his greed drove him to continue his journey to the capital to sell it. Now that Kino had killed a man, he believed he was being followed by a group of trackers sent to bring him back to La Paz. Kino?s greed scared him to believe that the trackers wanted the pearl for their own and he would be forced to murder them. As Kino, Juana, and Coyotito began their journey up the mountain, the trackers were getting closer and closer. Finally, Kino decided he must do something to get rid of the trackers. After leaving Juana and Coyotito in a cave, he crept to the trackers? campsite and waited. While waiting, he observed that only one of the trackers had a gun. He made a mental note to attack that man first so that he might obtain the gun.
The Three Unique Characters of Poeââ¬â¢s The Fall of the House of Usher Es
The Three Unique Characters of Edgar Allan Poeââ¬â¢s The Fall of the House of Usher In Edgar Allan Poeââ¬â¢s, ââ¬Å"The Fall of the House of Usher,â⬠the three characters are the unknown narrator, the narrators old time friend Roderick Usher, and Roderickââ¬â¢s sister Madeline Usher. The three characters are unique people with distinct characteristics, but they are tied together by the same type of ââ¬Å"mental disorderâ⬠. They all suffer from insanity but they each respond to it differently. Roderick and his sister seem to have a spiritual attatchment, and the narrator begins to get sucked into it. The narrator is called for help by his old time friend Roderick Usher. There is a split feeling in the narratorââ¬â¢s mind between the rational and the supernatural. When he first arrives to the house, he sees a face in the tarn, a split crack in the house and the double image of his own face on the image of the house. Unlike Roderick, the narrator appears to be a man of common sense. He seems to have a good heart in that he comes to help a friend from his boyhood. Being educated and analytical, he observes that his friend Roderick has a mental disorder. The narrator tries to find scientific explanations for what Roderick senses, but when he canââ¬â¢t find one, he criticizes Roderick for his fantasies, and claims that Roderick is ââ¬Å"enchained by certain superstitious impressions in regard to the dwelling which he tenatedâ⬠. The narrator tries his hardest to help but he canââ¬â¢t because he ...
Sunday, August 18, 2019
The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge Essay -- Fifth Discipline Peter Se
The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge à à à à à In his book The Fifth Discipline, Peter Senge emphasizes his model of a "learning organization," which he defines as "an organization that is continually expanding its capacity to create its future." A learning organization excels at both adaptive learning and generative learning. à à à à à Senge describes five disciplines that are necessary for a learning organization. "Learning organization" is a catchphrase covering the ideal of an organization built on vision, teamwork, openness, flexibility, ability to act under changing conditions, and so forth and so on. It is an organization where people don't just promote their limited region and privileges, but where they take risks and responsibilities for their shared future, working on creating maximum synergy and maximum ability to deal with the whole state of affairs. The five disciplines are: team learning, building shared vision, mental models, personal mastery, and systems thinking. Team learning is the proficiency of a group of people to halt their theories and assumptions and freely think together. That involves dialogue in the true meaning of the word, as a flow of meaning. It means going beyond personal defensiveness and presenting ideas openly, even when one is going out on a limb. Building shared vision means members of a group truly share their pictures of the future, if they are excited about what they are creating together, then they will act out of inner motivation an...
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Constantine vs Ashoka
Tamika Wright Constantine vs. Ashoka World Civilization: Jackson State University Dr. Susan S Maneck When reviewing the histories of the religions of Christianity and Buddhism, you can not help but come across the names of Ashoka and Constantine the Great. Even though Ashoka and Constantine aided in the spread of their empires and respective religions they had different reasons for doing so. Constantine, the son of a Roman Army officer was trained as a solider early on in his life. While he was growing up the role of emperor changed hands many times.Until and Roman general name Diocletian seized the throne During the leadership of Diocletian, he made a reform where he appointed Maximian, as a co emperor and two others co-rulers who became known as the Caesares. One of the Casesares was Constantius, Constantine the Greatââ¬â¢s father, to a section of the empire that he divided into four territories. The rules of this new division of land came to be called the Tertiary. With this ne w older of power, the Roman Empire became stable again. Although many years had passed since Diocletian came to rein, he still had one problem that he had not dealt with.He somewhat despised that Christian population of the empire because they would not worship that Roman Emperor as a divine figure. This was a major issue for Diocletian because the Christian population had been steadily growing and if they started to outnumber those who worshipped the emperor as a godly figure then that would put a damper on the Tertiaryââ¬â¢s leadership. Also, the Christians would not declare their loyalty to the state through sacrifices, taxation or imperial service. To fix this dilemma, Diocletian proclaimed that any person that worshipped the Christian faith was an enemy of state.He ordered his subordinates to persecute bishops and priests trying to compel the Christians to become loyal to him. Many Christians stood their grounds, refusing to surrender regardless the ruthless acts of Diocleti an and his subordinates. This battle went on until Diocletian died. Soon after the death of Diocletian, Constantius followed thereafter. Because he had become a skilled fighter, the soldiers under Constantiusââ¬â¢s rule awarded Constantine the role of their new leader. Constantine lead them to many victories, one in particular, the battle of Milan Bridge.After the battle of Milan Bridges, there was only one enemy left name Licinius. Because of Constantinesââ¬â¢s victory against Maxenius at the Battle of Milan Bridge, Licinius decided to accept Constantine as authority and ended the long fought war. The only thing left for Constantine to deal with was the Christian population of his empire. My opinion is that he basically said you cannot beat them join them. According to an artivle I found, ââ¬Å"In 313, Constantine releases an edict for Milan that shocked the Roman world, The Edict of Milan stipulated that henceforth, all religions, including Christianity, would be tolerated by Roman authorities. By doing this, Constantine put himself in a position where he was well liked by the majority of the population. True enough they would not worship him as a god but by accepting their beliefs it gave him another type of power. It was basically like the saying you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Constantine stopped the killing of Christians started by previous leadership, which made the Christian community grateful. This also put them in Constantineââ¬â¢s corner. So from then on, they mostly agreed with anything he wanted to do.He built on the organization of the empire government by mimicking the chain of power in the Christian leadership. He also assigned some of the positions of leadership in the empire to bishops and priests of the Christian Religion because they already understood how to lead and how important a chain of command is to a thriving culture. By doing this would also increase his political control. He exempted the Bishops and ma ny of the churches from imperial taxation. He also pushed the Christian community to come up with one centralized idea of what a Christian is and rules they should live by.Now Ashoka on the other hand, unlike Constantine The Great, did not agree with war at all. He saw war as a waste of time and resources. ââ¬Å"According to his own accounts, Ashoka conquered the Kalinga country in the eighth year of his reign. The sufferings that the war inflicted on the defeated people moved him to such remorse that he renounced armed conquests. It was at this time that he came in touch with Buddhism and adopted it. Under its influences and prompted by his own dynamic temperament, he resolved to live according to and preach the dharma. Ashoka used his power as ruler to spread the teachings of Buddhism by word of mouth. He also wrote some of them down. In my view or opinion, Ashoka was very sincere when it came to the acceptance and spread of the Buddhism religion. He did not necessarily want the power, but he used it in a way that bettered the people he was appointed to control. ââ¬Å"Ashoka Repeatedly declared that he understood dharma to be the energetic practice, of the sociomoral virtues of honestly, truthfulness, compassion.Mercifulness, benevolence, considerate behavior toward all, ââ¬Å"little sin and many good deeds, ââ¬Å" nonextravagance, nonaxquistiveness, and noninjury to animals. : ââ¬Å" He spoke of no particular mode of religious creed or worship, nor of any philosophical doctrines, He spoke of Buddhism only to his coreligionists and not to others. : Like Constantine, Ashoka used the priests and highly appointed people to help him build the empire and the spread of the religion. They both also aiding in the building of hospitals and roads.Ashoka was well liked and remembered because of his leadership and his many writings like the quote; ââ¬Å"All men are my children. As for my own children I desire that they may be provided with all the welfare and happ iness of the worlds and of the next, so do I desire for all men as well. â⬠In conclusive resolution, Ashoka and Constantine are very much similar in which they are very strong leaders who were typically well liked by the people they ruled, their empires thrived with the growth of the religion but in some ways they differ like I believe that Ashoka was more sincere in his belief in Buddhism.Whereas, Constantine I think used the Christian religion to advance his position of power. By tolerating Christianity, he gained the trust of the majority of the population of his empire. So this made them, the people who practiced Christianity like him. There for in a way they still did what he wanted them to do without technically forcing them to do it. It like when you ask someone to do something rather than forcing them or demanding them they are more likely to do what you asked. 1
Friday, August 16, 2019
European Government and Politics Essay
The three forms of government that will be examined in this paper include broadly, the Parliamentary system and the Presidential systems existing in Britain, France and Germany. Any comparative study of governing institutions involves an understanding of the governing institutions prevailing in different countries. All governmental institutions comprise a Legislature, an Executive and a Judiciary. Differences between governmental institutions primarily lie in how these three organs of government are related to each other and the extent of their functions. Traditionally, Britain consists of a parliamentary form of government. A parliamentary government is one where the most important and powerful office belongs to the prime minister. In this form of government, the legislature and the executive arms of the government are closely related, with the executive being involved in the working of the legislature and the executive being formed out of the legislature. In Britain, the legislature comprises the two houses of government, that is, the House of Lords (the upper house) and the House of Commons (the lower house). The House of Lords is a non-elective body and consists of both hereditary and life members who are called ââ¬ËPeersââ¬â¢. The strength of the House of Lords is over 900 members and a quorum of 30 members is the minimum for conducting proceedings in the House. The House of Commons comprises the elected representatives of the country. Since Britain has a bi-party system, members of the legislature mainly come from the two major parties, namely, the Labour and the Conservative. Elections for forming the government are held every five years and the party that secures a majority of votes polled forms the government with the leader of the party assuming the post of prime minister. It falls upon the prime minister to form the executive and he appoints his ministers and Cabinet members with the approval of the British Monarch. While the monarch and the prime minister together form the executive in Britain, the monarch is the constitutional head of the government and his powers are mostly ceremonial. It is the prime minister who is the real head of the government. However, there is a close collaboration between the prime minister and the monarch with the prime minister having to meet with the monarch and discuss matters relating to the running of the government. The House of Commons is more powerful than the House of Lords and money bills can be initiated only in the House of Commons, thus the lower chamber of parliament controls the purse of the government. The judiciary is the third organ of government. In the United Kingdom, there is no single judicial system and the judiciary of Britain consists of the judiciary of England and Wales. The House of Lords is the highest court of appeals both in civil and criminal cases. Since Britain does not have a written constitution, there is an absence of the system of ââ¬Ëjudicial reviewââ¬â¢ which enables the judiciary to act as the interpreter and guardian of the constitution. The courts in England therefore cannot decide on the merit of any law passed by the parliament. An important feature of the judicial system in Britain is ââ¬Ërule of lawââ¬â¢ which implies that every person is governed by the same law, punishment is meted out only if a breach of law has been committed and the law protects the freedom and rights of the person. The British courts use three types of laws ââ¬â the Cannon law, the Statutory law and the law of Equity. The judiciary functions on the basis of a jury system and open trial. Germany : In Germany, which is a Federal Parliamentary Democratic Republic, the parliamentary system of government prevails. In contrast to the two forms of governmental systems discussed above, Germany has a multi-party system unlike Britain and similar to that existing in France. In other words, while the political system in Britain is dominated by two major parties, in Germany there are several parties that contest elections. Among these the two main parties are the Socialist Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. The other parties such as the Alliance 90 or the Greens, the Free Democratic Party and Delinke support the SPD or the CDU. Another important characteristic is that in Germany, coalition politics has dominated and the SDP and CDU, despite being dominant, have failed to secure a complete majority in the elections. Therefore the other parties have systematically supported either the SDP or the CDU in forming the government. The constitutional framework adopted in 1949 known as the Grundgesetz, or the basic law, has been in effect even after 1990. The executive in Germany is comprised of the Chancellor who is equivalent to a prime minister and holds office for a period of four years and the President who holds office for a period of five years. The Chancellor is the head of the government while the President is the head of the state. Like a parliamentary system, the executive functions in close collaboration with the legislature. The legislature in germany consists of the Federal Diet or the Bundestag and the Federal Council or the Bundesrat. The Bundestag is a directly elected body through the system of proportional representation. The Bundesrat consists of the representatives of the 16 federal states who are also members of the state Cabinet. The Bundestag has the power to remove the Chancellor by passing a motion of no-confidence. The judiciary in Germany is independent of both the executive and the legislature and follows the concept of Judicial Review. Almost all state actions are therefore subject to interpretation by the courts. In Germany, a complex and hierarchical system of appeals exists with separate branches dealing with administrative, taxation, labour and security aspects. In addition, there exists a Constitutional Court which handles violation of constitutional rights after the regular appeals system has been exhausted. France : Arguably, France is the seat of modern democracy following the French Revolutions of 1789. Like Germany, politics in France in its present form is of recent origin from 1958 to the Fifth Republic. While the government in Britain and Germany is Prime Ministerial, the French government is semi-Presidential. In effect the executive arm of the government consists of two heads of government where the President is the head of state and the Prime Minister is head of government. On the other hand, unlike in Britain and very much similar to Germany, France has a pluralist and multi-party system of politics. The French Presidency is the oldest in Europe. France has had five Republics and the powers and functions of the President has varied in these five Republics. Parliamentary system of government was in order in the Third and Fourth Republics which made the presidential office a nominal one, where as in the Fifth Republic, the President has been vested with more powers. Thus, although there exist two heads of government, the President is more powerful in comparison to the prime minister unlike in a parliamentary system. In addition, where as previously the Presidential tenure was seven years,, it has been cut down to five years. The prime minister is the leader of the majority party or coalition and can be appointed by the president indefinitely. He has no fixed tenure. The prime minister forms and heads the Council of Ministers whose sessions, in turn are chaired by the president. The legislature consists of the National Assembly which is the lower house and represents single-member constituencies and the Senate which is the upper house and represents mainland France and its 13 overseas territories. The lower house is in charge of conducting the daily proceedings of the government while the Senate looks after constitutional and foreign matters. The judiciary in France is composed of a two-tier system, one relating to the judicial branch dealing with civil and criminal law and the other relating to the administrative branch. France has a written constitution and therefore laws can only be interpreted by the judiciary in accordance with the process of judicial review. The Cour de Cassation is the highest court of appeals which is headed by six chief judges appointed by the president. All judicial appointments to the Supreme Court are appointments for life and all former French presidents are de jure members of the Constitutional Court. In conclusion, it can be said that the merits of the presidential system involving a fixed tenure and separation of powers and more important than a parliamentary system. Similarly, a multi-party system offers more representation and accountability than a bi-party system. Refernces Curtis, Michael & Ammendola, Guiseppe. (2002) Western European Government and Politics. Longman.
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Restrictive health, safety and technical standards Essay
Technical Standards: Standards and standards-related technical regulations are pervasive features of global commerce, affecting an estimated 80 percent of world commodity trade. These technical specifications make up much of the vocabulary in the exacting language of industry, consumer protection, and government regulation. As such, foreign standards and methods used to assess conformity to standards can either facilitate efficient international trade and its resultant benefits, or they can impede access to export markets. Divergent standards peculiar to a nation or region, redundant testing and compliance procedures, unilateral and non-transparent standard setting exercises, and a confusing thicket of other standards-related problems are now recognized as major impediments to free trade. For example: Vietnamââ¬â¢s Ministry of Science and Technology publishes a list of imports and exports requiring mandatory quality inspection. Importers and exporters of the products on the list must subject their products to inspection and obtain a permit from the relevant government agencies (such as the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Fishery, and the Ministry of Science and Technology) at the time they go through customs. In the inspection, some products are subject to national standards, some are subject to regulations of the functional agencies, and some are subject to both. China is very concerned with the transparency of Vietnamââ¬â¢s mandatory quality inspection system. Language Barrier: Communication is the key to building successful business relationships. However, communication becomes complex when more than one language is involved. Interpreters and translators can play a critical role assisting exporters with the delivery of key information to prospective customers and clients. Interpreters and translators fulfill different roles in different cultures. For example, an interpreter in North America or Europe is expected to relay an unbiased account of the information to the audience. In Japan, however, an interpreter will translate the language and quite likely interpret gestures, context and meanings for those in attendance. Exporters should enlist the services of an experienced, fluent translator or interpreter who is also immersed in the culture of the target market. Working as a team, the exporter and the interpreter can review the text, presentation or other materials together to ensure that there will be no difficulties with background information, technical terms or potentially ambiguous messages. Non-tariff Barriers. Non-tariff barriers (NTBs) refer to the wide range of policy interventions other than border tariffs that affect trade of goods, services, and factors of production. Most taxonomies of NTBs include market-specific trade and domestic policies affecting trade in that market. Extended taxonomies include macro-economic policies affecting trade. NTBs have gained importance as tariff levels have been reduced worldwide. Common measures of NTBs include tariff-equivalents of the NTB policy or policies and count and frequency measures of NTBs. These NTB measures are subsequently used in various trade models, including gravity equations, to assess trade and/or welfare effects of the measured NTBs. Conclusion The world has a long history of international trade. In fact, trading among nations can be traced back to the earliest civilizations. Trading activities are directly related to an improved quality of life for the citizens of nations involved in international trade. It is safe to say that nearly every person on earth has benefited from international trading activities. This may be a good time to reinforce the idea that trade barriers are designed to protect some industries but, in fact they may hurt other industries or even consumers. Economists have found that sanctions donââ¬â¢t often reach their political objectives and they come with high costs. A good example is the steel tariff imposed by the Bush administration, on foreign-made steel. President Bush imposed the tariffs, ranging from 8 percent to 30 percent, on some kinds of foreign steel in March 2002, in order to help the U. S. steel industry compete with foreign steel producers. Many U. S. manufacturing companies that use steel, including manufacturers of auto parts and appliances, say that the steel tariffs have raised costs for manufacturers and caused thousands of manufacturing losses. Also, people who buy cars or appliances may have to pay higher prices because of the steel tariffs. The U. S. International Trade Commission recently concluded that the tariffs have caused a $30 million net loss to the U. S. economy. In addition, the European Union is considering retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. TBR (Trade Barrier Regulation) is Europeââ¬â¢s way of removing obstacles to trade, ensuring that countries abide by the rules of international trade, and providing procedures for resolving international trade disputes. Through the European Commission, its procedures interface directly with WTO dispute resolution procedures, affecting all countries subject to WTO rules and agreements notably the United States and Japan and whose industries have been the subject of recent international decisions. Free trade is usually most strongly supported by the most economically powerful nations in the world, though they often engage in selective protectionism for those industries which are politically important domestically, such as the protective tariffs applied to agriculture and textiles by the United States and Europe. The Netherlands and the United Kingdom were both strong advocates of free trade when they were economically dominant, today the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Japan are its greatest proponents. However, many other countries (such as India, China and Russia) are increasingly becoming advocates of free trade as they become more economically powerful themselves. As tariff levels fall there is also an increasing willingness to negotiate non tariff measures, including foreign direct investment, procurement and trade facilitation. The latter looks at the transaction cost associated with meeting trade and customs procedures. Traditionally agricultural interests are usually in favour of free trade while manufacturing sectors often support protectionism. This has changed somewhat in recent years, however. In fact, agricultural lobbies, particularly in the United States, Europe and Japan, are chiefly responsible for particular rules in the major international trade treaties which allow for more protectionist measures in agriculture than for most other goods and services. During recessions there is often strong domestic pressure to increase tariffs to protect domestic industries. This occurred around the world during the Great Depression leading to a collapse in world trade that many believe seriously deepened the depression. The regulation of international trade is done through the World Trade Organization at the global level, and through several other regional arrangements such as MERCOSUR in South America, NAFTA between the United States, Canada and Mexico, and the European Union between 27 independent states. The 2005 Buenos Aires talks on the planned establishment of the FTAA (Free Trade Area of the Americas) failed largely due to opposition from the populations of Latin American nations. Similar agreements such as the MAI (Multilateral Agreement on Investment) have also failed in recent years. Bibliography 1. Barriers to entry: Coping with protectionism. UK Investment. 18 April 2007 2. Boone, L. , and Kurtz, D. Contemporary Marketing. New York: Dryden Press. 2003 3. Brue, S. , and McConnell, C. Economics. New York: McGraw-Hill. 2003 4. Churchill, G. , and Peter, P. Marketing: Creating Value for Customers. Austen Press. 2004 5. Czinkota, M. R. , and Ronkainen, I. A. International Marketing. New York: Dryden Press. 2005 6. Competition and Market Power. Econoclass ââ¬â Sources for Economics Teachers. 18 April 2007 7. Deardorff, Alan V. , and Robert M. Stern. Measurement of Nontariff Barriers: Studies in International Economics. 2005 8. Debra Ann Skaradzinski. Testing chaotic dynamics via Lyapunov exponents. Journal of Applied Econometrics 20:7, (2003): 911. 9. Fisher, Ronald, and Pablo Serra. ââ¬Å"Standards and Protection. â⬠Journal of International Economics 52 (2004): 377-400. 10. Farese, L. , Kimbrell, G. , and Woloszyk, C. Marketing Essentials. Mission Hills, CA: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill. 2003 11. Henson, Spencer, and John S. Wilson, eds. The WTO and Technical Barriers toTrade, in the Critical Perspectives on the Global Trading System and the WTO series, Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. 2005 12. Impact of Standards and Technical Regulations on Trade. Press Release from Commerce Ministry (2003). 18 April 2007 13. Journal of Behavioral Finance, Vol. 4, No. 2, (2003): Pages 65-70 14. Kee, Hiau Looi, Alessandro Nicita, and Marcelo Olarreaga. Estimating Trade Restrictiveness Indices, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper # 3840.2006 15. Kotler, P. , and Armstrong, G. Marketing: An Introduction. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 2004 16. ââ¬Å"Methodologies, Classifications, Quantification and Development Impacts of Non-Tariff Barriers: Note by the UNCTAD Secretariat,â⬠Document TD/B/COM. 1/EM. 27/2. (2004). 18 April 2007 17. Non-tariff Barriers Centre for Rural & Agricultural Development (2003). 18 April 2007 18. RSIE Working Papers. University of Michigan.(2005). 18 April 2007 < http://www. fordschool. umich. edu/rsie/workingpapers/wp. html> 19. The Impact of Regulations on Agricultural Trade. Working Paper, Centre dââ¬â¢Etudes Prospectives et dââ¬â¢Informations Internationales, Paris. (2003). 18 April 2007 20. Trade, Environment and Development. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). (2005). 18 April 2007 21. Vousden, Neil. The Economics of Trade Protection. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 2005.
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
Function and Role of Law in Business and Society
Functions and Roles of Law in Business and Society Patricia Hackley LAW 421 April 15, 2013 C. J. Hughes Abstract A review of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Code of Conduct will be discussed for a better understanding of it role in business. Businesses have operated for years but the interest lies in the development of and reasons for code of conduct; with the Constitution and Bill of Rights identifying the rights of the companies and the people. According to CFA Institute, ââ¬Å"Code of Ethics were first created in the 1960ââ¬â¢sâ⬠.It is the result of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that promoted businesses to hire equal opportunity officers, to ensure compliance with the new law (ââ¬Å"A History of Business Ethicsâ⬠, 2012). The U. S. Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 enforced the mandates and the Environmental Protection Act forced businesses to internalize the cost of discharging toxic effluent (Ibid). In 1977, The U. S. Government enacted the For eign Corrupt Practices Act to control actions of U. S. corporations overseas as a result of a series of scandals involving bribery. In an attempt to address public outcry to get out of South Africa, a group of U.S. companies adopted the Sullivan Principles. It was also hoped that South Africa would change due to these principles. By 1980, most companies in South Africa had started adopting ethical codes and training their employees (Ibid). The Responsible Care was developed as a result of a chemical disaster in India in 1984 and in 1986, the Defense Industry Initiative on Business Ethics and Conduct had written code of ethics, provided training to employees, established monitoring systems, shared best practices and became accountable to the public, due to defense contract irregularities.The 1991 U. S, Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Corporations provided incentives to corporation that incorporated ethical structures. If the company could show they had taken steps to address the et hical behavior of the company, the fines would be reduced, if found guilty. The most significant legislation to date is the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act which was initiated as a result of scandals involving Enron, Arthur Andersen and other corporations.It requires CEO and CFO to certify fairness and accuracy of financial statements and code of ethics for senior financial officers along with public disclosure. The United States developed a voluntary Global Compact for Corporations, with over 1,500 companies worldwide joining, have nine guiding principles including labor standards, human rights and environmental protection. The Community Services Bureau, were I worked as a Site Supervisor, were governed by Federal, State and local laws, along with guidelines from our funding sources.We had annual Code of Conduct training and signing of a new amendment. Middle management and staff were members of the local union that provided arbitration, in the event of employee dispute, or ratify a new co ntract. Now we are acquainted with the development of business ethical conduct, we can make a correlation with the Constitution and Bill of Rights in the puzzle of function and role in business and society. The Constitutionââ¬â¢s Bill of Rights, which include the first ten articles in the Constitution, brings us to the established boundaries of jurisdiction.Congress, under Article I of the Constitution, has the power to regulate commerce, tax the citizens and commercial entities and the spending government funds, bankruptcy, patents, and copyrights and make all laws necessary to carry out its powers under the Constitution. (Melvin, 2011). Under the Executive branch, the President carries out laws, the commander in chief to the armed forces and enters into treaties, pending Senate approval, and appoint federal officers and judges, also requiring Senate approval.Under the Judiciary branch, cases and controversies are decided under federal jurisdiction. The Judicial Review is the ul timate judge of federal constitutional law under the U. S. Supreme Court. (Melvin, 2011). In 1803, the Court ruled that the Constitution was higher than federal and state statutes, the conflicts between the Constitution and federal or state law, the Court has the authority to strike it down as unconstitutional. This authority can be found under Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution.The standards established classifies these actions in three categories: rational basis, intermediate-level scrutiny or strict scrutiny (Melvin, 2011). The Commerce Clause enables Congress to regulate Commerce among several states. It channels interstate commerce such as railways, vehicles used in shipping and articles moved in interstate commerce. The Bill of Rights First, Fourth, Fifth and Eighth Amendments are directly addressing businesses. The First Amendment guarantees the freedom of speech, press and the right to peacefully assemble.In business, the first amendment provides partial protection p rovided the speech is truthful and concerned a lawful activity; State cannot limit the free flow of information to consumers. To address these concerns and others, a four-part test framework was created to decide if certain regulations were constitutional: commercial speech in advertising, with no political implications. If regulations were constitutional, they passed all four parts of the test. Political speech has full First Amendment protection. The Fourth Amendment protects citizen rights to be secure in their personââ¬â¢s, houses, papers and effects.To secure a search warrant they must demonstrate probable cause or if they have cause for administrative violations they must have an administrative warrant to gain access to worksites for compliance inspections. The Fifth Amendment protects individuals from being compelled to be a witness against themselves. The business aspect of the Fifth Amendment allows individuals to remain silent during investigations and court proceedings . The Fourteenth Amendment protects individuals from being deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law and includes restrictions and actions by state governments.The Due Process Clause has certain procedural requirements and that laws passed must be published for inspection by the public and be specific so the individual understands how the law applies. The Equal Protection Clause prohibits government from denying citizensââ¬â¢ equal protection of the law. It is interesting that the Bill of Rights has not been amended since it was established in 1866 and it continues to provide citizens with the rights, due process and establishment of laws to govern the ever increasing industry of business.Functions and Roles of Law in Business and Society References Code of Ethics & Standards of Professional Conduct. (2013). Retrieved from http://www. cfainstitute. org/ethics/codes/ethics/Pages/index. aspx A History of Business Ethics. (2012). Retrieved from http://www. scu . edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/business/conference/presentations/business-ethics-history. html Melvin, S. P. (2011). The Legal Environment of Business: A Managerial Approach: Theory to Practice. Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection.
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