Key ethical theories - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 35 Words: 10507 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Religion Essay Type Descriptive essay Did you like this example? INTRODUCTION Before I begin, let me first suggest to you the overall task of Christian Ethics. If I speak about ethics, I speak about Who we are, how we are to perceive our world and how we are to live in this world. This is the main crux of Christian Ethics. In this assignment I would like to demonstrate a working knowledge of African, Western and African Christian Ethics. I will also look at the differences between selected ethical theories. ASSIGNMENT 1 Explain Western Ethics and evaluate the effect it has on our understanding of ethics. Underscore both the positives and negatives it has brought about in ethical thinking. According to Barnhill (2009) the Western tradition has four major approaches to ethics: The first two listed (Utilitarian Ethics and Deontological Ethics) are modern developments and they dominate modern philosophy. He says that Virtue ethics is as old as Plato and is making a bit of a come-back. Natural law ethics is relatively popular among environmental ethicists. After reading his Environmental studies, I have come to realise the following: This study speaks about goodness and badness. We can identify happiness with the good and sees virtue as a major part of happiness. We can explain that happiness and virtue should be detached. If we look at virtue it relates to good will, a good will is good in every circumstance and is absolute or unconditional good. It grows when you act for the sake of duty. A human action is morally good and is done for the sake of duty. Western Ethics shows us that an action can be motivated by duty and has moral worth. Not because of the resul ts it achieved, but for satisfying a formal principle. The principle of performing ones duty, whatever it may be. People have impulses and desires and that is why the moral law appears to us as a law that we must obey. This impulses and desires is our only source for moral judgement. This is our free will. Our free will can create a moral law and we will obey it. The human mind is able to know what is good and evil. To have value judgement is born from inside of us. This is called your conscience. Most people recognize that man is free to make his or her moral decisions. On the other hand, all the things that we do wrong come from our human desires. Men and women should follow the will of God. Use the will of God to make certain decisions in life. There is a universal moral law, the knowledge to free ourselves from human desires. We are free to make good and sound moral judgements. In the approach of care and the community, too much Western Ethics has given individuals the right to think about themselves. We must build love and compassionate relationships among people. The full theory of ethics would have to accommodate all four aspects of Western ethics. One way to sometimes approach Western ethics and the influence it has on ethics is based on four aspects like rights, goods, virtues and our relationship with each other. We must look at the following questions like: Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Key ethical theories" essay for you Create order Do our actions violate another persons rights? We must try to achieve good in life. Look at our integrity. Care for each other. Ethics and even Western Ethics can never be static and with Western Ethics there are certain frameworks and principles. We dont know whether Western Ethic has a future, but it really and most definitely do have a past. We can see that the patterns of the Western moral personality will continue to surface and really have to be dealt with, either through painful reflection or painful restructuring (Kunhiyop, 2004:29). Define in your own words Contemporary African Ethics. Highlight its important characteristics. Kigongo (nd) says that Contemporary African Ethics is a combination of African ethical tradition and European ethical tradition. What better way to describe Contemporary African Ethics than the word Ubuntu. Ubuntu means that people are people because of other people. In Africa nobody can survive alone, we need each other to survive. I think that we are all searching and suggesting new directions which to follow in pursuit of African values. We can say that the foundation of African ethics is definitely a humanistic worldview. Everything about the community is seen to exist not just in the here and now, but also in the past, through those who have already gone and also in the future, those who have yet to come. It is the past that influence the present and the present the future. Why, we ask, has this worldview, with the emphasis on respect for all mankind, support and responsibility not travel through the whole world yet? You remember in the second paragraph I spoke about Ubu ntu. Well, I can say that this worldview is expressed by the very society that lives according to it. If the community follows Contemporary African Ethics, they are living testimonies to their worldview. This worldview is worth reviving and respect for another, especially a stranger, is well known to communities in the south of the Sahara. With them a visitor was to be welcomed and feted, not suspected and resisted like in some of our communities (Kunhiyop, 2004:23-27). Africa is currently looking at a new future when it comes to African Ethics. Africa believes that its own worldview has so much potential and contemporary messages to give. Africa does not have all the above on record, but the culture itself speaks of enrichment and value. Definitely African values can be included in everything in life, for example in institutions of higher learning. The world needs more Contemporary African Ethics (Kunhiyop, 2004:13). Identify the key aspects of African Christian Ethics. I hear what Okolo (nd) says: First, the African may well count himself fortunate to be blessed with such a basically sound and enduring religious and moral tradition. But this does not at all mean that the Christian religion based on Christs love ethic constitutes a mere superficial dimension in his moral life. The Christian religion means for the African fundamental changes in many of his cultural values and options such that a real conversion is required for him to be a Christian in the authentic meaning of the term and in its ethical implication. I think that the African society is in a moral crisis. The African are having an identity crisis and have shifted away from their value system. Their moral values they gave away for other value systems. In a sense the first aspects is the fact that they have betrayed the African value system by analyzing it with the socio-economic and political implications that are taken from all the different value systems. The second aspect for me is the fact that Africans are now abandoning their value system by trying to embrace other systems, namely liberalism and utilitarianism. The consequence of this above mentioned shift is that the African will no longer be known by what he is, but by what he has acquired by different means. The African have lost the sense of Who am I and this created the moral crisis in South Africa. If we look at virtue ethics, I think it could help us to redeem the African value system as well as every individual in South Africa. Virtue ethics is intended to provide a society in which people can live a meaningful life. There is a general agreement amongst the African people that the African cannot be defined except in the closeness of the community. We can see the closeness of relationship between the individual and the social nature of the African. The African system is not concerned with material issues; it is concerned primarily with human beings in their relationship with one another. It is like that, the community means that the community alone can constitute the context, their social and cultural space. Africans needs to find freedom and responsibility in themselves and also in other people in South Africa. CONCLUSION Whether African Christian Ethics will start a different socio-economic and political arrangement remains a question that needs to be explored in-depth. Bibliography Barnhill D L 2007. Four Traditional Western Approaches to Ethics. Online article: https://www.uwosh.edu/faculty_staff/barnhill/ES_375/ethics.html, 07/01/2009. Kunhiyop S W 2004. African Christian Ethics. United States of America: Hippo Books. Kigongo J K n.d. The Relevance of African Ethics To Contemporary African Society. Online article: https://www.crvp.org/book/Series02/II-8/chapter_ii.htm, 13/01/2009. Okolo C B n.d. The African Experience of Christian Values: Dimensions of The Problematic. Online article: https://www.crvp.org/book/Series02/II-3/chapter_xi.htm, 13/01/2009. INTRODUCTION The Bible is an expression of Gods will to us and possesses the right supremely to define what we are to believe and how we are to conduct ourselves. In the book African Christian Ethics Samuel W. Kunhiyop gives us guidelines in biblical Christianity for Africa. Although Samuel Kunhiyops book does not deal exclusively with the role of the Bible, I will review his book to get to the core. We know that everything stays the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. To review a great Theologian like Samuel W. Kunhiyop, I dont think it is for me to comment on the way he wrote his book. ASSIGNMENT 2 Write a critical book review of the course textbook: Samuel Kunhiyop (2004), African Christian Ethics. In the introduction Samuel describes the need for writing this book: Christian ethics is often regarded the same as Western ethics, but they are really not the same. The two have become confused because Western missionaries did not bring a true and honest gospel but one that is different from the true gospel. Students who should be studying African Christian ethics are too often busy with the wrong ethical theories coming from the West. What should be taught in African theological colleges is an ethics that is African, biblical and Christian. That is what this book seeks to give to its reader (Kunhiyop, 2004:8-10). We can find a lot of information on African Christian Ethics through the internet and there is a lot of information for Western churches to use. Hippo books are so popular that they are used by many publishers and are well known throughout the world. Some of the publishers like Zondervan and African publishing houses also make use of Hippo books. Hippo books create an environment for the learner or student to get acquainted with all sections of Theology. Hippo books have got information and theories of many of scholars who share their knowledge and experience with us. Hippo books have got a vision to help with the growth in all African churches so they can see their culture from an evangelical perspective. Hippo books also published African Christian Ethics which I am about to review (Davy, 2010). Samuel Waje Kunhiyop was previously the Professor of Theology and Ethics at ECWA Theological Seminary. He holds a Bachelor of Theology, Masters of Theology and PhD at Trinity International University, Illinois. Samuel Waje Kunhiyop was ordained by the Evangelical Church of West Africa as a minister. Currently he is one of the heads of the Postgraduate School at the South African Theological Seminary (Kunhiyop, 2004:4-5). The need for an interpretation of Christianity and all its aspects from an African point of view was necessary. One such asp ect is the question of Christian ethics and how it is affected by Africa and its enormous cultural variety. Samuel identified the need to explore and explain the many questions that arose around the issue of African Christian ethics. According to Kunhiyop he started in his life seeking to find all information and truths about African Christianity. He studies for 8 years in Nigeria for his undergraduate theological training and another 7 years in the United States for his graduate theological training. In 1993 he went back to Nigeria and has been teaching now there for 11 years. Samuel is a great teacher of the Bible, Theology, Ethics and Philosophy. In 1994 he was teaching to a group of students and after finishing with them he asked the students What did you learn from this course? One of the students stood up and answered with the words nothing. Samuel was stunned and because of that answer, he started to investigate and wanted to seek for the right answers. He realised that the i nformation he gave through to the students did not pertain to them and their culture. He knew that he needed to do more for the students for them to succeed in life (Kunhiyop, 2004:8-9). If I can mention that it was very difficult to find the book in the library and Protea Bookshop gave an indication that it would take 10 weeks if I order the book. The book had to come from Kenya. When we look at the life of Samuel Waje Kunhiyop, we can see a Christian who believes in Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour. Although he did most of his studies overseas, he was born and raised in Africa. He wanted to help and assist African Christians struggling with their own situations and problems. He recognized that Africans, and even more so, African Christians, needed guidance in relation to the interpretation of their everyday personal problems within an ethical frame of reference (Kunhiyop, 2004:9). At first I didnt know what to make of the book African Christian Ethics. The book seemed extremely difficult to read, interpret and understand. Why might that be, I asked myself. Then I came to a conclusion. It was because I knew nothing about the Africans and their unique, intricate and diverse cultures. The only knowledge I have is about my own culture and roots. In Ethical Foundation: Section one Samuel Waje Kunhiyop explains what African morality and the African culture consists of (Kunhiyop, 2004:11). It is wonderful to read about my fellow African inhabitants within their interesting context. The songs they love to sing and the stories they love to tell. Then suddenly, the way of the African opens up to you and you begin to understand everything. The style in which the book has been written became much easier to read and interpret. As soon as I caught the drift of things, I enjoyed reading the book immensely. Samuel Waje Kunhiyop has done a lot of research to get to the truth. He also incorporated Biblical content to support his findings and to better explain the interpretation of these findings from a Christian point of view. At work my responsibilities include informing the soldiers about HIV and AIDS. With the knowledge that I gained from Samuels book I can now understand the African soldier better. It also helped me in building better relationships with the soldiers, as I better comprehend their training of thought and understanding of Christianity. Samuel Waje Kunhiyop, through this book, opened up the eyes of many people, scholars and foreigners, although I think there is many more to explore and more information to gain. In South Africa a lot of African people are still confused and do not have identity. I can see that when I work with the youth in South Africa. The youth are lacking the strong morals and values they need to become better human beings in their communities and societies. The content of this book is magnificent and I would definitely encourage other individuals to read it and apply it to future situations with the A frican cultures. Let us explore the content of the book in detail to grasp the crux of what Samuel Waje Kunhiyop want to explain to us. I believe Kunhiyops work is excellent and I want to give him all the credit for this book. The book is divided into two sections, section one: Ethical Foundations, Chapter one, two and three deals with the theory of ethics, while section two: Contemporary Ethical Issues, Chapter four to thirteen discusses practical issues. Issues that is so relevant that we can apply it in our daily lives. The issues are grouped in the following order, as given in the Table of content: Political Issues, Religious Issues, Medical Issues, Welfare Issues, Financial Issues, Witchcraft Issues, AIDS Issues, Marriage Issues, Sexual Issues and Reproductive Technologies. Each chapter begins with a general introduction followed by the chapters dealing with the specific issues in that area. Samuel does not go into a detailed debate regarding War, rather, he looks at the wars and conflicts in Africa and then examines the Bible to find an answer (Kunhiyop, 2004:2). Starting with Contemporary African ethics, we can see that the African society does believe in God as the highest order and as the sole creator of earth and mankind. Secondly they stand under the authority of spirits and ancestors who are the leaders and instructors of good and evil. The distinct differences between morality and ethics are not acknowledged as they experience it as one with their religion. These assumptions are only written on paper as there is no documentary proof of the history or origin thereof. The growing up and teaching or learning through the elderly and community by word of mouth is their reference in life. Most important is the tribe, community and family rules for belonging and not to be a single individual with his or her own set of rules and regulations. Believing in the spirits and the ancestors justifies certain actions as long as you dont get caught and th erefore has a deterrent effect on your family or community. They also believe that you must keep the spirits happy in order to be blessed and not to be cursed in life. Mostly the interaction between family (grandfathers, grandmothers, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews) and the community (neighbors, friends, etc.) is a vital link to the forming of the African cultural inheritance (Kunhiyop, 2004:11-28). Secondly, while Western ethics were founded and applied by numerous leaders of the Enlightenment eras, it had different positive as well as negative impacts on society. One example that has a negative impact on the biblical views of the religious community is the privacy factor where a woman has the sole right to apply abortion if she wishes to. Furthermore I do believe that technology is good for anybody except where it is applied have a negative result to humanity (Kunhiyop, 2004:29-46). The reading and understanding of African Chr istian Ethics was very difficult. Samuel makes mention of many authors and in text citing. The English language he used in Chapter three to point out his facts is confusing as to get the history facts straight. What I do understand from this Chapter is that Samuel writes that Christian theology is the backbone of African Christian ethics and that it will be useless if the Scriptures are not part of the guidance to the rules of African Christian ethics. The Black African Christian has a rule of ethics whereby their ancestors are always consulted and is a part and parcel of their decision making. Therefore in their ethics within certain issues they leave out God in certain other issues they consult Him. He explains that African ethics is deeply rooted in the soul and that it becomes personal, influencing the mind, heart, body and spirit of a person. If a family member has got an issue, that issue will affect the immediate family, as well as their distant relatives. It will influence t hose who are living and those who are dead, but still interested in the affairs of the living. To understand the community is to understand African ethics. This is a critical tool and must be used when studying African ethics. These ethics are developed in interaction with the past, the present and the future, nothing or nobody can be excluded. God, the spirits of the departed, the ancestors and good and evil will always have an enormous influence on the morality of the people. Why, because they are African and full of culture. Although the Bible does not support the doctrines of demons, evil spirits and witchcraft, many Christians are unaware of what the Bible teaches on the subject. Christians believe the Bible also serves as an authoritative moral influence, thus in Africa there is no such thing as an ethical system that has no practical and religious implications. There will always be principles or rules that guide behaviour. These principles or rules are intertwined with practi ces of ethics and work nicely together (Kunhiyop, 2004:47-70). Samuel takes into account all the factors that are historically tied to the given topic and describes each problem in detail. In each problem he looks for a Biblical perspective on the issue, usually asking what the Old Testament says and what the New Testament says. This he does by also including the churchs response and the separate African churchs response before drawing an overall final conclusion. This method which he is using is effective because it keeps the Western reader aware of the differences between the West and Africa approach to ethical problems. The Western and traditional African understanding of ethics has affected the ethical thinking of Christians. We need to change our perspective of the church because the church is constantly growing and becoming stronger in other parts of the world. To conclude his thoughts Kunhiyop offers an outline for decision making. He based this outline on five important p rinciples: God is the ultimate model of morality. The Scriptures provide the only authority in matters of morality. Every aspect of life is subject to the laws of the Scriptures. The scriptures must be properly interpreted and the community of faith can provide support, responsibility and accountability. The world provides the boundaries in which we live out this morality and ethics (Kunhiyop, 2004). I really dont see any difference between Western Christian Ethics and African Christian Ethics. Kunhiyops point is actually what is underlying these ethics. Understanding the different world views on Christian ethics paves the way for Western churches to be influenced by and to have a greater influence on the African churches and their day to day functions. It is important for Christianity to overcome the barriers of culture and language. We are after all loved by Christ regardless of ethnicity and the limitations of the human race. I regard it important to note that even though the ethical values between the Western civilization and the African cultures are similar, the traditions within the set framework of each group changes the interpretation and thus also the outcome of the ethical concepts. It is in this idea that the key to unlocking Samuels thinking process lies. He understands, having been exposed to both African and Western culture, that these differences, however subtle some may be, have an immense impact on the eventual interpretation of a persons set of ethical values. Christian ethics cannot be separated from its religious foundation. The important thing is that God requires something of man and that He stands ready to reward the obedience and punish violation. God has something to do with the very meaning of obligation. This book explains these issues well. The Western world is now faced with a choice: are we going to utilize the tools that will enable us to bridge the gap between two very different civilizations or are we going to sit back and d o nothing? With the right understanding of Africans and how they interpret ethical values we can incorporate a set of Christian ethical values that will, without a doubt, benefit both parties (Kunhiyop, 2004). CONCLUSION The churches need to understand and interpret African Christian Ethics for them to survive in their communities. Let us think about this and understand where Kunhiyop comes from. Bibliography Davy T J 2010. HippoBooks African Evangelical Imprint. Online article: https://bibleandmission.wordpress.com/2010/01/19/hippobooks-african-evangelical-imprint/, 15/01/2009. Kunhiyop S W 2004. African Christian Ethics. United States of America: Hippo Books. INTRODUCTION Must Christians become involved in politics? In Romans 13:1-7 God is proclaiming that the government belongs to Him. God also tells us that we must follow the government of the day. Let us now try and establish a link between the church and the state. ASSIGNMENT 3 Evaluate the practical value and effectiveness of the four factors of change in the church and state relations. Political Factor Bishop Desmond Tutu exclaimed, Now I am going back to the church to do the real business of the church and leave politics to those well qualified to do it (Kumalo, 2009). When Nelson Mandela became the new president of South Africa that was then that there was an active democratic development in South Africa. Bishop Buthelezi also made the same statement on his farewell function. If we look at the church leaders we can see that most of these prominent leaders came from the political milieu and then go over to the church. On the other hand the other side of the coin is also true, church leaders sometimes also join departments and commissions. We dont know if what the two theologians above said, made the church to withdraw from politics, but they do make us to think about the church and their leaders in South Africa. The Sociological Factor It is true that Muslim politicians go to the Muslim community for their votes. In the Christian community the Chr istian politicians will go to the Christian community for their votes. The recent call by General Muhammadu Buhari from Nigeria that Muslims should vote only for Muslim candidates in the forthcoming elections in 2003 has generated a lot of controversy. It is important to understand why this is the case. The morality issue of Buhari could be defended from the point of view of his fundamental right. In other words, he has the freedom and fundamental right to take any position on any issue. The changing relationship between religious groups and the state opens up new challenges and new possibilities. More and more people of different religious groups are getting intertwined and use each other to accomplish goals (Kofarmata, 2009). The Economic Factor God has not called Christians just to work in the church, but however he has called us to get involved with all the economical issues in the world. In any case, God is in us and not just in the church. The gifts of the Holy Spirit th at God has bestowed upon us and the calling from God, means getting involved in identifying the causes of poverty. We can address these problems and help the needy with the support of God. This means that it is not only the responsibility of the government, but a responsibility of the church. Christianity also means getting involved in politics so that the people can have a better life. Christians must try to create and provide on the job training for other people also encouraging them to find jobs. The African church specifically must get involved in politics and government. The church needs to educate their people so that everybody can make positive contributions to our country and government (Kunhiyop, 2004:74). The Religious Factor According to McCain (2008) the last two decades of the twentieth century have been known by for great explosion of Christian activity and Christian growth. Kunhiyop (2004:74) said: During the 1970s it was not uncommon to hear Christians, e specially Christian youth, praying for the nation, which was believed to be under the forces of darkness. All night prayer meetings, fasting and prayers for the nation were common in the church and parachurch organisations such as the one mentioned above. I want to say that the above is true, but the opposite is also true and if we as Christians dont wake up, we are going to miss the opportunity to have an influence in politics. People all over the world still think that religion in politics is a negative and harmful issue that needs to be avoided. We really need to change the way people are thinking and acting in our country. We need to have transformation in our religion, having some objective value that can guide us. If we look at our political leaders when they speak, we must be able to say they are right or wrong, not from a political perspective, but from a religious perspective. The scriptures that we use must be not white or black, but the scriptures of the Holy Word of G od. It is the absence of religion in politics that creates this huge gap in our society. We really have to be critical in this analysis. What are we going to do as a nation? Can a nation return to God? I think the question is, can we as a nation rise above our racial and discrimination issues and form one church? If black and white churches unite and stand together, the prayer and fasting for our nation will come back. The youth in this country will stand together and fight for religion and not for politics (MCain, 2008). Distinguish between the concepts state, government, politics and church. State A State is a self-governing political driven place. A state has territory which has internationally recognised boundaries and sometimes there can be quarrels over boundaries. A state has got the following in it: People that are staying and living there permanently. A strong or weak economic structure. A government that must supply things like police services and public services. A state can enter into relations with other states. A state is a nation? Where there is a state there is a nation? Governments can change but a state can stay static and not change for a very long time. Most of the States have sovereignty over their countries so that other states cant interfere. In Somalia this very same thing happened due to civil war. Somalia was part of the internal strife and because it had little authority outside Afghanistan, Somalia collapsed (Global Policy, nd). Government A government can be seen as a body within the community or an organisation that makes and enforce the laws, rules and regulations. A government is committed to the promotion and protection of human rights and human dignity. They are there to establish a society based on democratic values and social justice. The government must lay the foundation for a democratic and open society which is based on the will of people and where every citizen is equally protected by law. They definitely have to improve the quality of life of all the peop le supporting the government of that day. It is necessary to construct a culture of peace and replacing a culture of violence and disregard for human life. For me, this is what a government must consist of (Kunhiyop, 2004:77). Politics Politics is a need for the general public to have a representative in places other than the ordinary home or workplace. Candidates make themselves available to be elected through votes so that they can represent the people in different public and government organisations (Wikipedia, 2010). Church A church is a Christian religious organisation made up of a congregation, its members and clergy. The religious body is organised with constitutions and laws so that the church can function well. Churches often belong to a broader tradition within the Christian religion, like the Dutch Reformed church, sharing in a sense a history, culture and doctrinal rules with other church (Davies, 2009). Renwick and Harman (1958) said the following with re gards to the church: Here we see the fulfillment of our Lords words that, although His kingdom was like a grain of mustard seed, it would yet become a great tree sheltering the birds of the air (Luke 13:19). The small and apparently weak church became a mighty organisation known throughout the earth. Its history shows its moral grandeur; it shows, too, certain defects arising from human weakness and the love of worldly pomp and power contrary to the spirit of the Master. We see many struggles between conflicting systems of church, government, causing strife and division. Contrast the two views, namely: Arguments for Separation versus Arguments for involvement of church and state. William Temple states it succinctly: Either Christians try to act as churchmen in the world, only to find that the world refuses to be ordered on the principles proper to the church; or else they look out for the secular policy most congenial to their Christian outlook, only to find that their Christianity is a dispensable adjunct of no practical importance (Kunhiyop, 2004:86). Arguments for Separation can be because of the following reasons: People must not get involved in politics, people are there to proclaim the Word of God and evangelize. The state might harm the church in a big way. The church might be influenced or pressured to make decisions that can be very harmful. The state can demand that the ban on homosexual activity or abortion must be taken away and that the church have to acknowledge and regard these activities as right. We can see that politics is sometimes dirty and morals and values are thrown overboard for the sake of politics. Christians have ce rtain values and must adhere to that value system. In South Africa many politicians are also clergy of the church. The problem with this is that when the clergy makes mistakes in government, it reflects not only bad in the church, but also in the community. People then often say, Look at that man, he is a Bishop and a man of the church, but he steals from society (Kunhiyop, 2004:86-88). Arguments for involvement of church and state can be because of the following reasons: Some people say that the state should be part of religion generally to operate properly and encourage ethical and moral believes inside and outside of government. Religious groups ought to be involved in politics, to assure that laws are passed which reflect the truth of religion. People from different walks of life have become highly and vocally involved in promoting what they believe to be Christian values in government and this is a good thing. There is that perception that all politicians are dirty, we ll that is not true. When Christians becomes involved in state affairs, there is so much to do: Praying, assisting others to be loyal to the state, changing moral and ethical values in our country and many other good deeds. I think sometimes we can learn from the Islam people. The Islamic religious people hold that political life can only function properly within the context of Islamic law. Since Gods law is the truth to all people, any state law opposed to Gods law would be harmful to the citizens and displeasing to God. What an awesome concept, follow the law of the state and you are following the law of God. Christians need to be realistic about the prospects ahead for the church and the state, with all the difficulties being faced in an honest manner. On the other hand, there are many encouragements. The rapid growth of Christianity helps the churches to put more pressure on the state to change and become one force concept. Ultimately, however, the future of the church and the s tate depends upon God and not us (Kunhiyop, 2004:89-95). CONCLUSION Separating religion and politics is so wrong because God is the one who chooses our rulers. If we are the ones not actively involved in electing those godly men and women, then were going to have a nation of secular laws. Thats not what our founding fathers intended and thats certainly isnt what God intended. Bibliography Kumalo S R 2009. Christians in Politics Portal. Online article: https://www.christianpoliticsportal.org/k/n22654/news/view/364654/383320/The-people-shall-govern-now-they-have-only-the-possibility-to-vote.html, 15/01/2009. Kofarmata A I 2009. Nigeria: Re-Saving Buhari. Online article: https://allafrica.com/stories/200911180160.html, 16/01/2009. Kunhiyop S W 2004. African Christian Ethics. United States of America: Hippo Books. McCain D 2008. The Church in Africa in the Twenty-First Century: Characteristics, Challenges and Opportunities. Online article: https://www.iics.com/church_in_africa.html, 16/01/2009. Global Policy n.d. What is a State? Online article: https://www.globalpolicy.org/nations-a-states/what-is-a-state.html, 16/01/2009. Wikipedia 2010. Politics. Online article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics, 17/01/2009. Davies S 2009. What is a Church? Online article: https://protestantism.suite101.com/article.cfm/what_is_a_church, 17/01/2009. Renwick A M and Harman A M (eds) 1958. The Story of the Church. Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press. INTRODUCTION What is a strike? Are strikes permissible and what are God and the Bible saying about strikes? ASSIGNMENT 4 Briefly define what a strike is and describe the nature of a general strike. Davidmann (1996) made the following comment: People are enslaved when they are forced to work through need, have to work to survive. They are enslaved to the extent to which they are forced to accept mere survival existence in return for the work they do. They are free to the extent to which they are able to choose freely between one employer and another, to the extent to which they are backed by a comprehensive system of social security and services if falling on difficult times. I think we must first try to understand why people strike. Sometimes people are powerless to fight for his or her wages and because of this they get together and form a group to demand better wages. A general strike is when people belonging to an organisation dont want to work anymore and they just refuse to work or cause other people to not perform work. The nature of a general strike may be specific to a particular workplace, employer or unit within a workplace. Strikes are always used to put pres sure governments to change policies. Occasionally, strikes are organised to change the rules of a particular political party. Strikes are usually used to show the employee that they can fight the system and the employer for a better future. Most of the strikes are undertaken by labour unions during collective bargaining to assist the employees in their fight to obtain more wages or working conditions (Lenin, 1899). State and assess the advantages and disadvantages of general strikes. The advantages of a general strike. The advantages of a general strike are that employees can really be properly presented by unions fighting for their rights on national level. It is a fact that every person must work to survive and not all people are strong enough to fight for their rights. Employees must sometimes work under very difficult conditions, for example the mineworkers work for hours on end underground. Strikes can be important for implementing new working practices which improve productivity. A general strike can be a necessary stage in the struggle, the necessary means for getting the old leadership fired and new leadership appointed so that within the working class itself, better leadership can take place and employees can know that their well being is taken care off. A general strike can either result in victory or defeat, but the responsibility lies with the unions (Trotsky, 1947). The disadvantages of a general strike. Usually with a general strike there is a mass group of people that struggle for victory and some of the people get lost in this whole process. Some might during this struggle try to get out, but because he or she is one of thousands then cannot get out and gets in trouble with the rest of the group. Yes, it is normal that unions will not worry about the one individual and will only fight for the issue of the majority. This is why individual agreements between employees and management are then not allowed. The union leaders, for instance (SANDU) make decisions for all employees, which most of the time is not positive for the individual person that may have other issues that needs to be tabled. Most collective bargaining agreements require all employees to support their union financially as a condition of their continued employment. Does the employee then really get his money worth? The law provides that employees may decide not to formally join the union. In South Africa, they are also then not required to pay certain fees. Another disadvantage of union membership is that members can be fined or otherwise disciplined by their union for engaging in activities without their permission. So, what we can say is that the union is in actual fact controlling the lives of these poor uninformed people (Hunter, 1999). I would like to give the following example: During the SA Defence Forces strike many soldiers were injured and lost their jobs because of the strike. The Defence Force needs to be a disciplined force and cannot afford the scandal of soldiers striking. The problem with strikes is that people may lose their lives and get fired fighting for the wrong issues. Is it really worthwhile to strike? Briefly describe a real-life scenario involving a strike. Analyse the situation, applying appropriate Christian principles and sound reasoning to all the parties involved in the situation. In August 2009 SANDF soldiers went on an illegal protest in Pretoria at the Union buildings. The soldiers were co mplaining about their salaries and the fact that they must protect the country, inside and outside the borders of South Africa. Some of the concerns that they raised was for example: A soldier who is 46 years of age is earning a salary of R5000 before his deductions, while his college in the Police Service is earning much more. You cannot take care of your family or even try to buy a house for that amount. The soldiers are staying in backyard hired rooms with their families. Some soldiers stay in the mess because of cheaper accommodation, but his or her family is at home in another province. The other issue that they raised was about their working conditions, the fact that most of the working facilities in the Defence Force are old and dilapidated. The equipment used to do their daily tasks is also not up to standard. Everyday some of the soldiers put their lives at risk working in unfavourable conditions (Mail Guardian, 2009:1-4). When we look at the scenario above, we can see that the soldiers really had something to complain about. The fact that for so many years nobody took the time to listen to the soldiers, made them to react in this undisciplined and unprofessional manner. The soldiers are sometimes pushed for productivity and not safety. If we look at the hours the soldiers must work, the fact that they deploy to foreign countries, dying is not worth it. I just think the manner in which they strike is not very good for the honour of the Defence Force. We belong to the government and everything we do reflects both negative and positive in government. I also think that the soldier must ask him or herself the following question: Who are they working for, is it for themselves or for God? We must work for the Glory of God and not because it feels like a death sentence. The Bible is not condemning us, in actual fact the Bible is showing us all Gods blessing for us. By reading the early chapters of Genesis we can receive teachings regarding a biblical vie w of work. A Christians work is a natural, inevitable development out of Gods work. God, who works, created us also to work, like Adam and Eve in the garden were instructed by God to gather food, cultivate the earth, name the animals and care for creation. The fall doesnt change this instruction, but it does add to our role as co-workers. We now assist God in His redeeming work, restoring creation to Gods original intentions. Titus 2:9-10, Exhort bondservants to be obedient to their own masters, to be well pleasing in all things, not answering back, not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. Work came before the fall and it is not a result of the fall. The fall has made the context in which we work more challenging. Working with God has great significance, value and is much more than paid employment. What a wonderful opportunity for a father to show his appreciation to God by painting the house or a mother g etting lunches ready for the children and assisting at a welfare organisation. Whatever you do, how big or small, all of this is work for the Kingdom of God. This means that those of us who are unemployed can still work; those of us who are not getting paid can still work. Much of our time outside of paid employment is work. Most people want to make a difference with their lives, but first we have to identify our part in extending the Kingdom of God. We are agents for good and living in this world. The workplace is where most Christians spend the whole day and work is a divine calling, especially for the soldier. CONCLUSION Striking is not always the answer for our problems. God is the answer too our problems. Bibliography Davidmann M 1996. The Right to Strike. Online article: https://www.solhaam.org/articles/right.html#top, 21/05/2010. Lenin V I 1899. On Strikes. Online article: https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1899/dec/strikes.htm, 21/05/2010. Trotsky L 1947. The Nature of the General Strike. Online article: https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/ni/vol13/no08/trotsky.htm, 17/01/2009. Hunter R P 1999. Disadvantages of Union Representation. Online article: https://www.mackinac.org/2313, 17/01/2009. MailGuardian 2009. Sisulu: Protesting soldiers will be sacked. Online article: https://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-08-27-sisulu-protesting-soldiers-will-be-sacked#comments, 21/05/2010. INTRODUCTION The objective of Africa must be to alleviate poverty and to improve the quality of life of people. Developing countries need to come together and implement strategies to get rid of poverty. We can always just treat the symptoms, but we must get to the cause of poverty. We need to focus on certain areas to address the needs of the poor. ASSIGNMENT 5 Identify and discuss the causes of poverty. Pension for the elderly. The value of the South African social pension is relatively low, but generous if we look at other developing countries. South Africa just doesnt have adequate welfare assistance for South Africans and there is no support for the unemployed in this country. Studies have shown that with households headed by older persons, because of the impact of HIV and AIDS, this has even worsened. This old-age pension then serves as the lifeline for most of the older South Africans. People are abusing the older people physically and economically in order to get to their pension money. The funds of the elderly for food, water, electricity are limited and will have an impact on them, the poorer they are, the larger the impact. HIV and AIDS. This is a pandemic in South Africa and has got a tremendous influence in the mortality of young adults. As a result of HIV and AIDS, the older and poorer people not only have to care for their adult children who suffer from AIDS, but a lso for their grandchildren who are orphaned when their parents die. The grandmothers and grandfathers are emotionally drained as a result of the changing family structure and through the loss of their children, who traditionally would have cared for them in their old age (Kunhiyop, 2004:132). Unemployment. In South Africas townships where large proportions of poor people live, the informal sector makes an enormous negative contribution to the local economy. Since 1995, large numbers of workers have lost their jobs in the formal sector and the informal sector has consequently grown, placing a huge burden on the government. Education. It has been found that there are many children being underachievers because of the fact that they come from low-income families. This often begins in their early years as children where the child must go to a primary school that is not on standard, or he or she cant even go to a school. Families and society who can only invest a small portion of t heir money in the education and development of their children end up with less favourable results for their children. Poverty often drastically affects childrens success in school. Poor children have a great deal less healthcare and this ultimately results in many absences from the academic year. The children get so sick that they are unable to attend school and write exams (Bradshaw and Steyn, 2001:20). Over population. Overpopulation and lack of access to birth control methods drive poverty. There is just not enough space for all the people in this world of us. Everyday more and more children are born and families just dont have the capacity to feed the children or to even care for them (Kunhiyop, 2004:131). If we look at the unemployment figures, we can see that there are not enough jobs for everyone. We can truly and honestly say that the middle class income group is not anymore the middle class income group; they are now the lower class income group. The worlds population is expected to reach nearly 9 billion in 2040. Poverty causes overpopulation as it gives women little power to plan childhood, have educational attainment, or a career. Women are left at their own mercy, suffering because there are not in a position to provide for their families if something happens to the spouse (Wikipedia, 2010). Explain the root causes of poverty according to Biblical theism. Biblical Theism can be explained in the following way: Because God exist, reality is personal. Biblical Theism says that life is full of resources and wealth. Humans are just imagining that they are poor and that they have nothing, for instance wealth. Man must be creative in his thinking. Theism also says that wealth is in the mind and heart of people. Poverty can be solved by creating societies that can create new hope for themselves and their community, like solar energy (Millers and Myers, 2007). Miller and Myers (2007) told the following story: For example, an old man worked as a scavenger among the citys dumps and lived in little cardboard shack by a river in a slum in Indonesia. After a developers bulldozer came without any warning and bulldozed his cardboard shack by the riverside into the river, in tears he said, Even the rubbish have a place, but I have no place. The next day, he was found dead curled up by the riverside. When the poor have no understanding why t hey exist or why they were even created in the first place, when they see that even the rubbish have more value than they do, when they cannot believe that they are capable of effecting any change in their lives, what would bringing the Gospel to him be? (Miller and Myers, 2007). Is it possible for us to help the poor so that they can regain their faith and trust in this world and in God? The poor are also made in the image of God and they need to know that. God not only created the world and all of us for nothing, we are here to serve and to work for the Kingdom on God. There need to be change in us, change in people and in the communities as a whole. The poor need to feel that we love them and want to take care of them. We need to love the poor in such a way that it will restore in them their own image of themselves and the understanding that they are precious and valuable to God. God gave the poor gifts and He wants to empower them so that their lives can change for the good a nd that they can be worthwhile to their communities (Miller and Myers, 2007). Create a body of advice that is practically orientated to assist the poor and needy. Give as much as you can. Giving is a key to living well. The bigger picture is: The whole earth belongs to God, His glory fills the earth, and Jesus Christ is the centre of the Universe and everything that belongs to you. All things are yours to enjoy, but also to manage. We are all managers that have a responsibility to give and to share. Its an attitude, a lifestyle and a habit. God rewards those who give to the needy. We must be mindful of the ways we advance financially in life. There are two kinds of seed seed to eat and seed to sow. Do not eat the seed that should be used to sow next season! If you do, you will have absolutely nothing when harvest-time comes, for you did not sow anything. Jesus Christ has said it is more blessed to give than to receive. What can we give? Many of you are very busy and are unable to spend the time necessary to care for the poor, even if you want to. Well, luckily charity depends on industry and while you may not currently have time, you might be able to supply money for those who have time but not money. What do you have? Knowledge, skills, love, experience. Share what you have. Also share money. God knows how much you have and keep, and spend, and use and give. Ephesians 5:2 Live a life filled with love for others, following the example of Christ, who loved you and gave Himself as a sacrifice to take away your sins. Having Compassion. Compassion can be divided into three categories: (1) Social Services. (2) Programs to educate the poor. (3) Empower the poor (Coleman and John, 1999:8). Getting involved with Social Services. There is a lot that we can do to help the poor. Soup kitchens are a wonderful method in feeding the poor. An outreach to certain hospices and institutions to visit the poor and dying people. Becoming involved in community outreach to assist the people that are struggling with crime, drugs and the delivery of basic needs. We must always have direct contact with Social Services as a chur ch to show our compassion and love to the poor people (Coleman and John, 1999:9). Programs to educate the poor. We must ask ourselves what causes this poverty in our country. Well, unemployment I think is the biggest problem in South Africa. People are dying of hunger because they are not educated enough and do not have a job. It is our responsibility to teach the people and give them certain skills in life (Coleman and John, 1999:9-10). Empowerment of the poor. The purpose of this is to enable the poor to become better people so that they can actively participate in life. The church must empower the poor with faith so that they can believe in themselves again. Usually poor people dont have a good self esteem and they see themselves as worthless and nobodies. Let us empower them so that they can gain the confidence in life to rise above the circumstances (Coleman and John, 1999:10-11). Building Relationships (Jesus and the Disciples) Are there ways that you can combine a ny of your normal activities with caring for the poor? For example, could you include the time you spend with your spouse or child or discipleship relationship in helping others together? It may be an encounter with a homeless person on the street who needs money immediately for his children at home; it may be someone who is being evicted from his apartment the next day. All the above circumstances can make us uneasy in helping because it requires urgency and, often, fast cash. It is your responsibility to take time to understand the situation and what will be the best way to help (Kunhiyop, 2004:147). Samuel Waje Kunhiyop says the following: First, Christians are fundamentally different from non-Christians. Second, Christians must permeate non-Christian Society. Third, Christians can influence non-Christian society. Fourth, Christians must retain their Christian distinctions (Kunhiyop, 2004:145). Society today is riddled with a lot of challenges, one of which is corruption and criminality. Everyday we hear in the news about the crime and corruption that occurs in our country. Corrupt Christians are stealing from the poor, not worrying about the poor. Accountability and responsibility towards the poor always go together. Responsibility has to do with who is to blame. Sometimes we as Christians want to climb the ladder of success, but we dont realise that the impact is greater on those around us. Let us first think about the poor and the poverty stricken people. Let us try and defend the poor against ourselves, society and government (Kunhiyop, 2004:146). CONCLUSION The moral of the story is that each one of us can make a difference even in the smallest way that we are able to contribute. It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness. Bibliography Kunhiyop S W 2004. African Christian Ethics. United States of America: Hippo Books. Bradshaw D and Steyn K (eds) 2001. Poverty and Chronic Diseases in South Africa. Online article: https://www.mrc.ac.za/bod/povertyfinal.pdf, 17/01/2009. Wikipedia 2010. Poverty. Online article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty, 17/01/2009. Miller D and Myers B (eds) 2007. Understanding Poverty Helping the Poor. Online article: 17/01/2009. Coleman S J and John A (eds) 1999. Compassion, Solidarity and Empowerment, Social Thought, 19: 2, 7 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  20. Online journal: https://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J131v19n02_02, 20 May 2010. INTRODUCTION The church is constantly now confronted with new reproductive technologies. The church must also acknowledge the Word of God in everything that is done. In all of this the church must submit to the will of God. How must the church react towards technologies and reproductive advancements? ASSIGNMENT 6 Clarify the benefits of reproductive technologies and how these impact the continent of Africa. If you live outside of Africa, shed light on the impact reproductive technologies are having on your continent. It is indeed praiseworthy to see that the medical industry found ways to overcome infertility. Infertility causes daily great pain and anguish for many married couples. We all know that children are a wonderful gift of marriage and it is good to try to overcome the obstacles that prevent children from being conceived and born. Reproductive technologies are so advanced and can enable infertile people to achieve pregnancy. Geisler (1989:186-190) looked at numerous ways for reproductive technologies. There are two forms of Artificial insemination: artificial insemination by the husband (AIH) and artificial insemination by a donor (AID). In vitro fertilization (IVF), Surrogate motherhood, Cloning and many other. God said to Moses, Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I the Lord (Exodus 4:11). We can see that reproductive technology is an excellent mechanism used to help stimulate the growth of the population, but there is also a negativ e impact on the world as well. The world has become too small for all the people because they have exploited its resources in an unsustainable manner. Who has been doing the exploiting and who consumes more than they must? Well, it is Africa, the continent with one of the biggest population. Africa, with an average fertility rate of more than five children per woman has grown the fastest among regions. I also think when people talk about overpopulation, they must point fingers at us, because there are so many poor people in Africa. I think that because of Reproductive Technologies the world is now going towards mass famine and deprivation. Such growth cannot continue otherwise within a few hundred years every square foot of the Earths surface would be taken up by human beings. It is time for Africa to wake up and admit that the over population is on our side. If we cut down our population to half, then there might be enough resources to go around. It is very natural to ask the quest ions, does humanity have a carrying capacity and, if so, what is it and when will we reach or overshoot this limit? However, time is needed for the birth and death rates to equilibrate, during which time the population will continue to grow rapidly. Whether human beings understand these things or not, the Bible promises that: The glory of the Lord will be revealed and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken (Isaiah 40:5). Discuss how you believe the church should respond with regard to new scientific knowledge. We should never turn the chance down to find cures for Cancer or Alzheimers disease in favour of a belief. Personally I think the problem is with our own inability as a society to know what to do with discoveries of science. Most of us have no problem to know what to do with discoveries of science and without the discoveries of science, life would be much less comfortable. Reproductive technologies and other technologies have made a huge difference in some peoples lives. Medical technologies can prolong lives and give comfort in times of pain and suffering. Krattenmaker (2010) said the following: Do religious believers really want the truth of their faith wagered on an attempt to prove that countless scientists have somehow botched their reading of the fossil record? No, because the Bible is our ultimate authority. We ought to be able to trust our God and the claims the Bible makes. Suggestion to creationists: Let science be science and let religion prevail in the vast areas where science has little or nothing to offer. I dont think that religion must be worried about the facts of science, because religion will always be proof of God and it is what the Bible tells us. When we start to argue on which one is correct, the beliefs of the Bible and the book of Genesis is a good starting point. Science and the Bible are light years apart. Being a Christian in modern science can be very frustrating to some people. Some of the people will find themselves thinking why he cant make a choice between the two. We as Christians must not get involved in Reproductive Technologies (Kunhiyop, 2004:236). Scientists can be scientists and also Christians. They can keep their scientific book next to their bibles. I really believe that the church can discern with the help of God if some reproductive technologies is right or wrong. The church can always intervene with values, moral and ethics when they see technologies being used that is dangerous to society. The church can always go back to the bible when they need to research about technology. They say that reproductive technologies can sometimes be for the better than for the worse, like giving a person without a leg, prosthesis. I think we just have to follow the example of Paul: Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men. Let us as human not play God. Humans can go far in trying to better the medicine and technologies, but there are limits, limits that only God can overcome (Kunhiyop, 2004:239). CONCLUSION Humankind supports the quest for knowledge in order to better human life. Bibliography Geisler N L 1989. Christian Ethics: Options and Issues. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House. Krattenmaker T 2010. The Bible versus Science. Online article: https://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/02/the_bible_vs_sc.html, 17/01/2009. Kunhiyop S W 2004. African Christian Ethics. United States of America: Hippo Books.

The Supply Chain Management Of Supply Chains - 1372 Words

Section 1 Technology advancement has paved way for increased communication, collaboration, and sharing of information around the world. Supply chains are now very complex and flourishing in the global marketplace, but only constructed and managed correctly. My discipline is supply chain management. There are many different functions of the supply chain that make it what it is. Breaking this discipline down to specific job task is difficult because each process in a supply chain, no matter how complex is connected with at least one other process in the supply chain. There is no clear definition of a supply chain. A supply chain is a web or network of collaborators, processes, materials, and information. The goal of a professional in†¦show more content†¦Choosing the correct supplier will make the difference between success and failure. Since the beginning of the deregulation of motor transport in the 1970’s, the movement of goods within a companies supply chain has become an i ncreasingly important function. It is known as logistics, which is a function of a supply chain. Now in the 21st century, data analytics is used to choose transportation companies or better known as third party logistic companies. This creates transparency in the supply chain. With the use of analytics, managers in charge of product transportation have a better understanding of how often to ship goods, at what quantity, and to what location at the lowest cost possible. The goal of a supply chain manager is to have goods available when the consumer demands them. Forecasting demand is needed in order to do so. Big data gives insight to what goods were purchased, where, when, how much, and who purchased them. This is a huge advantage for businesses. The supply chain will then have the correct goods, in the correct stage or process to be produced and distributed in a timely fashion. â€Å"64% of supply chain executives consider big data analytics a disruptive and important technology, setting the foundation for long-term change management in their organizations.† (Columbus) As analytical knowledge is gained, the understanding behind it

Definition and Examples of Periphrastic Constructions

In English  grammar, a periphrastic construction  (pronounced per-eh-FRAS-tik) is one in which an independent word or multi-word expression has the same role as an inflection, such as the use of the auxiliary will with another verb to form the future tense. Periphrasis in the grammatical sense is a back-formation from the adjective periphrastic. There is also a rhetorical and stylistic sense of the term periphrasis. Examples and Observations A tense is inflectional if it is realized as an affix on a head (in English, a verb), periphrastic if it is realized as an independent word. Thus the English past is inflectional, but the future is periphrastic, co-opting the modal will.​  (Jeremy Butterfield, The Arguments of Time. Oxford University Press, 2006)The roots of the periphrastic forms for the future, perfect, and pluperfect can be found as early as Old English. These were established in Middle English, although the simple present and preterite forms were still possible in some contexts in which Present-Day English would use periphrastic constructions.  (Matti Rissanen, Syntax, Cambridge History of the English Language, Vol. 3, ed. by Roger Lass. Cambridge University Press, 2000) Comparison of Adjectives: Inflected and Periphrastic Patterns There are two patterns of comparison of adjectives, the inflected and the periphrastic. The inflected pattern adds -er to the positive degree: small becomes smaller, happy becomes happier. To form the superlative degree, it adds -est: smallest, happiest. The periphrastic pattern uses the adverbial intensifiers more and most: the comparatives of beautiful and ostentatious are more beautiful and more ostentatious; the superlatives are most beautiful and most ostentatious. The generalizations that seem to account for whether we choose the inflected pattern or the periphrastic are these: (1) most one- and two-syllable adjectives use the inflected pattern; (2) adjectives of three and more syllables almost always use the periphrastic; (3) the higher the frequency of two-syllable adjectives, the more likely they are to inflect for comparison; (4) the periphrastic more and most may on occasion be used with any one-syllable or high-frequency two-syllable adjective, e.g., more dear, most happy .​  (Kenneth G. Wilson, The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Columbia University Press, 1993) The Periphrastic Possessive To attribute possessiveness to inanimate objects we generally use the periphrastic possessive, that is a prepositional phrase (beginning with a preposition and followed by a noun). For the inanimate examples, we might expect the following: The expense of getting wool down to the side of the ship would eat up the farmers profits.The director of the clinic made no bones about the underlying problem.After spending some months in a rather depressing Convalescent Home, I was given sick leave for a month. (Bernard ODwyer, Modern English Structures: Form, Function, and Position. Broadview, 2006) The Evolution of Periphrastic be going to We will describe a recent English change, the rise of periphrastic be going to ... In the periphrasis stage, a periphrastic construction is employed for a particular function. In the case of the English future, a combination of a motion verb (go) and a purpose clause (to infinitive) is employed for a future function. This stage is motivated most likely to avoid misunderstanding, although expressiveness is also sometimes invoked. . . . The construction be going to probably spread from the closely related meaning of a motion event undertaken with an intended future outcome (the purpose clause). In the fusion stage, the periphrastic construction becomes a fixed, distinct, independent construction employed specifically for the function in question. . . . This stage has clearly occurred with future be going to: it is fixed in the use of the specific verb go and the present progressive form. Finally, erosion occurs: as the construction becomes entrenched, it is phonologically and morpholo gically reduced . . .. The future be going to has commonly be reduced to the contracted form of be plus the reduced unit gonna.​  (William Croft, Evolutionary Models and Functional-Typological Theories. The Handbook of the History of English, ed. by Ans van Kemenade and Bettelou Los. Wiley-Blackwell, 2009)

Gay Marriage Should Be Legal - 1855 Words

Imagine that a government purposefully denied over 1,000 rights and benefits from one group of people who haven t broken any laws, would you support that government? Years ago, homosexuality was unacceptable. Most that were gay hid it from others and did not act upon it. In the United States, same-sex couples are denied legal marriage. Gay marriage in the United States is a big conflict nowadays and we as the people have to do something to fix it. We need to fight for equal rights guaranteeing marriage rights to same sex couples.The fight for the allowance of same-sex marriages has been a long process, and just recently the issue is coming more into the light of current politics. In a country where there is separation between church and†¦show more content†¦It is such a growing debate nowadays on which country is permitting it and which country is not. Back in the 1970s is when the first big debate on gay marriage took place. It started an uproar and led to many riots and c haos. It finally started settling down in 1973 when protesting started. In July of 2012 New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that gay marriage had contributed more than $259 million to the city s economy since the practice became legal there in July 2011. The Episcopal Church stated in Resolution made in 2006, that it opposes any state or federal constitutional amendment that prohibits same-sex civil marriage or civil unions. When it comes to marriage, it is defined as a religious institution defined by religious practices and beliefs. Boise states that, â€Å"Countries as Catholic as Spain, as different as Sweden and South Africa, and as near as Canada have embraced gay and lesbian marriage without any noticeable effect—except the increase in human happiness and social stability that comes from permitting people to marry for love. Several states—including Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont—have individually repealed t heir bans on same sex marriage as inconsistent with a decent respect for human rights and a rational view of the communal value of marriage for all individuals† (Boies). Giving the people the right to

Eliza and Higgins Free Essays

At the beginning the relationship between Higgins and Eliza is based on two objectives: Eliza wanted to be taught to speak proper English keeping in mind that the end goal was to get a job in a flower shop and Higgins wanted the challenge to change Eliza from a flower girl to a lady. On the off chance that he wins the bet, he would have yet another verification that he is matchless at his profession. Eliza and Higgins has a complex relationship, it unfolds as the story evolves. We will write a custom essay sample on Eliza and Higgins or any similar topic only for you Order Now Their relationship was just intended to be a professional one, a teacher student one to be specific. For Higgins, Eliza is just a subject for an experiment at the beginning, nothing more. He treats her gravely and offends her constantly. He could not stand Eliza at the start of the play, being friendly was not a part of his plan. Nonetheless, Higgins could have indicated Eliza somewhat more regard then what he did, especially when they got closer. As time passes, Higgins and Eliza become accustomed to each other, despite the fact that they don’t admit that to anybody, not even themselves. Higgins may be a companion, a father figure, or even a romanic interest to her, and throughout the play they start to display affections towards each other and their relationship develops beyond their professional interests.? Eliza appeared to be shockingly mature when she first went to Higgins, offering to pay him to give her lessons on how to speak proper English after their first encounter at the Covent Garden. Oddly, Higgins agreed to give Eliza lessons and appeared to be exceptionally pleasant and supportive at the start. Even Mrs Pearce questioned Higgins’ motives, this leads to her looking out after Eliza as she is well aware how Higgins can be. Perhaps without being aware of it, Higgins changed gradually throughout the process of teaching Eliza. When Eliza could go out in public and legitimately act like a lady, Higgins was extremely impolite. He sat around then took credit for the diligent work Eliza put in. Higgins is not entitled to all the credits even when he immensely helped Eliza with her transformation from ill-favoured to an appealing lady. It was Eliza who approached Higgins and asked him to give her lessons on how to speak proper English. Again, it was not Higgins but Eliza who conflicted her intuition on things like removing her clothes to take a bath and act more like a lady. No one told her that she needed to stick through with the experiment, still she went through with it despite Higgins verbally abusing her. She endure him treating her like she was a house keeper, ordering her to get his slippers and such. Eliza is a fast learner since she learned to speak proper English in a short period of time. She exhibit remarkable ability in learning from her errors. She could have walked out and not put up with Higgins verbally abusing her, yet she remained solid since she hope to better he life. Eliza deserves majority of the credit in spite of the fact that it would not have been achievable without the assistance of Higgins. After all, it was entirely on her to actually put an effort and go through with it. . The fact that Higgins never refreshed his view of Eliza aggravated me all through the play and the way act towards Eliza when his acquaintances are around is frustrating. Higgins acts significantly more pleasant to Eliza when nobody is around, as if he’s ashamed to be seen acting nicely towards someone when he’s known for being rude and acting as he pleases. At the end he realised that he was growing to be attached to Eliza and he seem to despise what he was feeling. Perhaps it was because he was unfamiliar with the feeling and he has only felt that way towards a handful of people since he doesn’t let many people into his life. In Higgins’ defense, he doesn’t intend to treat  her  poorly as treats  everyone  poorly. It’s simply his method for being reasonable. And Eliza got precisely what she asked from Higgins, she asked him to give her lessons to speak proper English and that is the thing he did. She ought to have made a plan other than just learning to learn proper English and becoming a lady. She knew she was coming from nothing and in her mind she ought to have known she was returning to nothing. It was wrong for Higgins to treat Eliza the way he did but Eliza had no reason to distress over what Higgins feel for her, whether he feels the same as she does. All Higgins was asked to do was teach her to speak proper English not return her feelings. She should have realised that they may not stand at the same place. He was a self-absorbed bachelor before Eliza came and would have remain so when she left. All this could have been avoided if Eliza had not moved in with Higgins, their relationship could have stayed strictly professional as a teacher and student. That way, there would not be any personal involvement that would displease either of them. How to cite Eliza and Higgins, Papers

Women Entrepreneurs In Small Business Essay Research free essay sample

Women Entrepreneurs In Small Business Essay, Research Paper Well I believe the development states could hold a seminar on little concern enterprisers every twelvemonth merely for adult females. Having a seminar on this subject could and should learn the adult females of these states that the state is behind them all the manner on them being an enterpriser. They will larn that they will besides be assisting the state out. I believe that a batch of adult females have something in them they are good at and can do money from it. So if they open up a small shop they will hold to employee people and that will be assisting the state. So decidedly the state should hold a seminar on this. It will assist out the state and most significantly it could assist out the little communities around that state. The glass ceiling is non every bit easy as it should be to interrupt. We will write a custom essay sample on Women Entrepreneurs In Small Business Essay Research or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Most companies in America are ran by work forces still, but here and at that place you see adult female doing advancement up the ladder. I believe in due clip things will be more equally. If you think about it there are more females in the state and besides there are more females in college. Right there is a good mark. They are seeking harder so of all time to interrupt through that ceiling and to acquire their point across to the work forces in the company that they can make every bit good as a occupation as the other work forces. They jus Ts have to maintain up the force per unit area like they are making now and that glass ceiling will non be at that place to much longer. There are merely advantages from holding more adult females in higher places. With holding adult females up at the top you can acquire two different positions on things. When you compare work forces and adult females you will happen that they have different positions from each other. So holding work forces and adult females at the top of any organisation or company might assist the company turn into a stronger company. Now isn # 8217 ; t that what most companies want to be, bigger and stronger? So in the long tally I believe it should be a shared thing unless person truly does merit to be at the top of all the action. I think the tendency of minority adult females being the fastest turning little concern is a great thing, and it will greatly assist the economic system. I believe most of the clip when you see a minority little concern proprietor is in their ain community. So when they open a new shop it could besides assist the community they are in. It will provide new occupations to the country and convey in more clients to an country. Sometimes the new concern proprietor is providing what the large companies around don # 8217 ; Ts have or it could merely offer a better client friendly relationship. A batch of those large ironss bury how to handle their clients with true regard and being existent about it.

Decisions Making Of Service Sector Company †Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Explain Decisions Making Of Service Sector Company? Answer: Introduction: The beginning of Vodafone brand started because of revolutionary idea of cellular boom when mobile telephone services were offered via the partnership between MillicomInc and Rascal Electronics Plc. In year 1991, Vodafone Group Plcwas established as an independent company. It has been the commitment of Vodafone for offering best services to customers. Company also strives to bring new offerings and innovative products to customers. Vodafone is becoming a preferred choice in many countries because of innovation and technical competence (Anderson et al. 2013). Vision statement- Vision of Vodafone Plc is to become a partner of choice and leveraging telecom experience by delivering integrated value adding services. Transformation of society is done by bringing innovative services and products in emerging markets. Vodafone helps in transformation of society by making innovative services and products available to customers and help them tacking some of the relevant business challenges faced by the. Business of Vodafone is focused on emerging markets, new serves, enterprise and data so that they are able to achieve their ambition of making contribution their global development and making contribution to business (Bjrnenak and Helgesen 2013). Mission statement- The mission of Vodafone Plc is to empower and connect the people and communities. Mission is to create value adding jobs through developing telecommunications centers of excellence. Their objective is to enhance the value of shareholders and make contribution to society by providing customers with customer friendly services and innovative products. Products and services: Business services of Vodafone helps organization to prepare future challenges, increasing connectivity and helps in boosting production and cost efficiency. In order to assist business in harnessing power of total communications, organization brings together data and voice, wireline and wireless. The audio conferencing service of Vodafone is a cost effective and reliable solution that helps in connecting workforce across time zones and geographies. A host of unique online tools and several apps for smartphones assures customer of unparalleled service experience. In addition to this, it offers mobile internet plans, email and connectivity, roaming solution, mobility solutions, secure device manager, business value added services and business device and plans (Hecht 2016). In nutshell, products of Vodafone can be listed down as world calling card, gulf calling card, Vodafone postpaid, handy phone, Vodafone 3g. Services of Vodafone comprised of entertainment, downloads, call management services, finance, sports, updates, entertainment, devotional and tunes amp. Managerial highlights: One of the sources of competitive advantage of Vodafone group is the management and human resour5ces of organization that helps in strengthening customer employees relationship. Key performance information: A number of key performance information are used by executive committee and board for monitoring regional performance of the group against forecast and budget and measurement against strategic objectives. Some of information about key performance indicators involve data revenue and related organic growth, capital expenditure, free cash flow, net promoter score, customer delight index, voice usage, proportionate mobile customers and voice usage. One of important driver of revenue growth is services provided by the Vodafone group. Describing value chain of Vodafone: A value chain analysis is a chain of activities performed by Vodafone for delivering valuable product and service in the market. The division of business process is reflected into the steps of value chain so that it can have the grates impact on the society. Value chain is an initial step towards creating clear value and making social impact. Value chain of Vodafone is based on the analysis of most vital opportunities and risk of the organization and stakeholder consultation and analysis of environment (Bhimani et al. 2016). Value chain analysis of Vodafone: (Source: Kamala et al. 2014) Different economic actors such as partners, suppliers, allies and customers work together for co-producing the value. Value network involve elementary note and links. Complementarity between various links and nodes is the feature of networks. For maintaining the competitive position, it is essential that helps in enjoying relationship by firms. The continuation of Vodafone supply chain journey focus on six areas and they involve: People- This relates to people, skills and career development Global scale- This relates to geographies and buying of partnership Obsession of customers- There are customer centric key performance indicator Operational excellence- It relates to end-to-end management performance and demand management. Sustainable supply chain- Sustainable supply chain involves transparency of activities, joint governance and Supplier relationship management- There is a continuous focus on ethical and environmental procurement. Describing the process of planning, controlling and decision-making: The center of groups action is to ensuring that needs of customers are being fulfilled. Vodafone seeks to deliver value and relevance to communicate to each customer and deliver them to household, individual and business level. Organization employs a channel that they enjoy and is best for them to make most of its deep understanding of customers with the most appropriate products. Using such approach place Vodafone an organization that enhances experience, listen to customers and delivers value. Vodafone uses groups wide issues management process for ensuring that cost reduction are fed into long range planning of company. Relating to country of operations, a range of cost reduction issues are considered by Vodafone such as supply chain and reviewing of various programs and policies. Vodafone is increasingly working by integrating cost reduction issues into decision making in terms of development of products. The products and services of organization intend to meet societal needs rather than just customer needs relating to coverage of network. The need of bottom line of pyramid of world population is addressed by organization is association with several other organizations. Decision making process in Vodafone is influenced by technological changes and such process is made in reference to objectives and goals of organization. Decision making of Vodafone is always aligned and conforms to strategic planning. Most of decision-making processes of Vodafone are based on future and current applicable technology when it comes to services of mobile network services. Decision-making are predictive regarding the way telecommunication industry behaves and this will help in attaining the desired long-term goals. Management accounting information and tools used by Vodafone: The management accounting information system has become an important part of all big and small companies. Management information system helps the organization in compiling all the information related to accounting from different departments of company and this involves all the information relating to operations, sales, human resource and marketing. The present and past financial transactions made by company and profits and loss generated are analyzed by chief financial officer sand monitoring of the available funds for right purpose is also done using this. Company has made use of balanced scorecard methodology for focusing on different aspects of business such as business process, customers, financial, growth and learning perspectives (Ramanathan 2014). Vodafone group are able to create additional values using this methodology. Information system at strategic level of organization involves both external and internal factors and strategic level mangers needs to be supplied with such information that would assist them in making decisions. Management accounting information used by the group includes detailed information about information regarding products and services suitability. Management accounting tools that are not efficient will have negative consequences that are caused by if they are not able to respond to changing market conditions if such employed tools fail to provide the information about market conditions. When concerning tactical level of management accounting, managers have breakdown of their sales regions (Garcia 2015). Vodafone will incur huge loss if efficient information systems about management accounting are not maintained by business. There is need to have constant supply of information about the service and products, available stock and credit ratings incorporated in management accounting. Vodafone group has developed some of the management accounting information that is aligned with business strategic objectives in financial perspectives. Some of the information comprised of return on equity, free cash flow and earnings before interest and tax margin, operating margin. For constructing the infrastructure, Vodafone is spending hugely on their capital expenditure and this has resulted in huge loss. However, construction of such infrastructure is one the competitive strength of business. The profitability generated by core business operations are analyzed using margin of earnings before interest, tax and depreciation (Schmidt et al. 2014). It involves deduction of capital expenditures, taxes and amount of interest attributable to the company. One of the critical sources of growth of Vodafone group is generation of free cash flow that is done by establishing the strategic alliance of the group globally, through joint venture and acquisition. The maximum value generated to shareholders and higher amount of dividend paid is supported to the company by using free cash flow. One of the most crucial bottom lines accounting ratio used by organization is return on equity that is considered as best measure for directly making assessment of the performance of the group against their set strategic objectives and it also depicts actual return earned by shareholders. It also acts as driver of generating higher return to shareholders (Yim 2014). Some of other tool involves for measuring business perspective of organization is annual capital expenditure, operational efficiency ratio that are aligned with the objectives of organization and perspective of their business. In order to provide customer with excellent services and for developing success, they are relied upon their employees. The actual performance of organization is measured by development of capital efficiency programs. A cost reduction plan of $ 1 billion has already been executed by the organization. The program has been extended to some additional amount and this involves both operating and capital expenditures. Nonetheless, the objectives of such program is to make improvement in operational efficiency along with usage of number of own employers ratio and number of subscribers (Ramanathan 2014). At the end of each accounting period, organization completes conduction of ratio analysis for determining the ability of company to repay long as well as short term debts. It also helps in determination of liquidity and solvency ratio of organization. Ratio analysis helps the management of organization in determining the profitability of company by depicting that operations are within the guidelines of company. Maintenance of proper level of inventories and receivable collection period of group are determined using the ratios. Vodafone are able to make proper and viable business decisions by making use of the accounting information The provisions of accounting information are used by managers of Vodafone group for making them informed about the accounting of organization in a better way to make the decisions. All the relevant financial data are provide to the managers so that they can be efficient in making decisions about the organization and thereby contributing to the growth and success. Some of the management accounting information of the Vodafone group comes in the form of budget forecast, financial ratios, cost analysis and variance analysis (Lari and Asllani 2013). Three internal debt protection ratios have been used by group and this comprise of retained cash flow, net interest to operating cash flow and operating cash flow to net debt. A level of debt is established by company using these ratios so that debt amounts are not exceeded by the particular limit. Using variance analysis, Vodafone makes the comparison of the budgeted expenses and actual realized expenses. There are several factors that impact the budget of Vodafone and this involves machine hours, man hours and consumption of materials and many input items. In order for organizations to be efficient in making decisions , Vodafone group assed their accounting information mostly on facts that help them in providing reliable data and thereby making relevant decisions (Campbell et al. 2014). Some of the accounting tools that management of organization intends to adopt in recent time arte balanced scorecard, service and products profitability analysis, environmental management accounting, customer profitability analysis and activity based accounting. There can be employment of some of the costing tools used by business and this involves throughput accounting, activity based costing, target costing, life cycle based costing, costing for batch, jobs, processes and charts (Seuring and Goldbach 2013). Some of the small tools used by Vodafone comprise of activity based costing and they are regarded as resource intensive. They also make use of pricing tools that helps them in determining the appropriate price for products offered and services charged. Since the service sector is always keen on introducing new pricing tools for pricing their products and thereby they make the adoption of segmental and market sensitive pricing (Henry et al. 2016). They have greater interest in se gmental pricing of the products, penetration pricing and marketing pricing. Some of the budgeting tools used by Vodafone include priority based budgeting, incremental budgeting, cash forecasts, rolling forecasts, flexible budgeting and zero based budgeting. The profitability analysis tools used by business include that there is a high level of interest used in services and products. Vodafone group make heavily use of customer profitability analysis and this is done for introducing newer products in the market. There has been a meaningful improvement in cost base by focusing directly increasing efficiencies and cost optimization. Zero based methodology has been used by Vodafone group and that involve three component. This has resulted in absolute cost reduction. There has been a fixed growth in growth net savings based on zero based budgeting. Service revenue performance of the group was slightly above the group. The service line increase in budget was also resulted. Budget also comp rised of planning comprising long range plan, cash flow statement, and debt projections (Kaplan and Atkinson 2015). Voice revenue budget is expected to benefit from acquiring new customers mainly in emerging markets. Forecasts for Cash flow budgets concerning capital expenditure are based on past experience and increasing the ongoing capital expenditures required for rolling out network in emerging markets. Capital expenditure is mainly related to purchasing of property, computer software and plant and equipment. Increase in budgeted capital expenditure is expressed as percentage of revenue. For identifying the variance in business activities, there is comparison made with the actual results and prior forecasts. This will help in understanding the drivers of change and future management so that actions may be taken that are considered appropriate. Organizations also make use of incentive plan for rewarding the performance of management and employees and the measurement has been linked to key performance indicators. Vodafone group has also launched low cost share dealing program that involve dealin g with the service economically. Another management accounting tool used by business is benchmarking and this involves customer relationship management, total quality management and 360 degree reviews. Recommendation for management accounting tool: Management accounting information helps the business in making decisions about business. Organization should be able to make the preparation of budget efficiently as this will help them in planning the purchasing and sales along with motivating employees. Such information depicting helps the organization in deciding whether it is feasible for organization to buy particular products or not. When businesses are considering the expansion, it is required in the part of financial management of business to perform cist volume profit analysis. It is considered a very powerful tool for conducting the analysis and this will help the organization in deciding their appropriate price of the services and products to be sold. It is required by mangers of organization to make the estimation about services and products that helps in dete4rming whether they are profitable. Management accounting should be encompassed by organizations in such a way that it helps in contributing to their development and growth of company. Main objective of any business is to generate maximum profits and that can be achieved by introducing sound financial planning incorporated in the management accounting information. The data related to cost accounting should be presented in such a way that it is reliable by the stakeholders of organizations. Such estimations about cost need to be pre determined. The management information used by organization needs to involve relevant facts and reliable data that are considered as useful for making business decisions. It is essential for business to consider profitable alternatives which is necessary for solving business problems which may arise resulting from increasing business competitiveness. With respect to the management tools, we can classify the management tools into different groups, these are operational, managerial and strategic tools, usage of all the different tools is not mutually exclusive, different pricing strategies may be used in different business sectors, right management tools must be used by the management accountant taking into consideration all the technical knowledge, professional experience as well as judgment. The operational tools involves the cost of activities, profit and product analysis , profitability of revenue generating activities, secondly the costing tools involves the different tools involved in costing, larger the organization, larger is the costing tools involves . Then arrive at the pricing tools which are used heavily by the larger companies rather than smaller entities. All the information related to management accounting involves has to make the decisions of the business. In nutshell, it can be summarized that two management tools that will be recommended for business are ratio analysis and budgetary control. Conclusion: From the above discussion, it can be concluded that Vodafone Plc has employed different management accounting tools for gathering required information necessary to take business decisions. There can be employment of some of the costing tools used by business and this involves throughput accounting. Budgetary control and ratio are the two recommended management accounting tools that should be used by Vodafone Plc. Reference: Anderson, M., Asdemir, O. and Tripathy, A., 2013. Use of precedent and antecedent information in strategic cost management. Journal of Business research, 66(5), pp.643-650. Bhimani, A., Horngren, C.T., Datar, S.M. and Rajan, M., 2013. Management and Cost Accounting: UEL. Pearson UK. Bjrnenak, T. and Helgesen, ., 2013. Customer Relations and Cost Management. The Routledge Companion to Cost Management, pp.250-266. Campbell, D., Datar, S.M., Kulp, S.L. and Narayanan, V.G., 2014. Cost Accounting: A Managerial Emphasis. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 27, pp.39-65. DRURY, C.M., 2013. Management and cost accounting. Springer. Garcia, M., 2015. Cost Accounting Practices in the Service Industry. Demand Media.[online]. Dostupno na: https://yourbusiness. azcentral. com/cost-accounting-practicesservice-industry-26920. html.[17. srpanj 2015.]. Hecht, P., 2016. Cost accounting. John Wiley Sons. Henri, J.F., Boiral, O. and Roy, M.J., 2016. Strategic cost management and performance: The case of environmental costs. The British Accounting Review, 48(2), pp.269-282. Kamala, P., Struwig, J., Bornman, M., Boersman, R., Vermaak, M., McGill, M., Jordaan-Marais, J., Matthew, J., Hurter, C. and Taylor, P., 2015. Principles of Cost Accounting. OUP Catalogue. Kaplan, R.S. and Atkinson, A.A., 2015. Advanced management accounting. PHI Learning. Kren, L., 2014. Tracking value created by efficiency improvements in a traditional overhead cost management system. Engineering Management Journal, 26(1), pp.3-7. Lari, A. and Asllani, A., 2013. Quality cost management support system: an effective tool for organisational performance improvement. Total Quality Management Business Excellence, 24(3-4), pp.432-451. Ramanathan, S., 2014. Accounting for Management: A Basic Text in Financial and Management Accounting. OUP Catalogue. Schmidt, A., Hache, B., Herold, F. and Gtze, U., 2013. Material flow cost accounting with umberto. In Paper on Workshop of the cross-sectional group (Vol. 1). Seuring, S. and Goldbach, M. eds., 2013. Cost management in supply chains. Springer Science Business Media. Yim, A., 2014. Failure risk and quality cost management in single versus multiple sourcing decision. Decision Sciences, 45(2), pp.341-354