Is organic produce really healthier than nonorganic - is organic Research Paper

Is organic produce really healthier than nonorganic - is organic really healthier - Research Paper Example xtent, the distinction between the organic produce and the nonorganic produce is realized based on the agricultural methods by which treatment of plant growth is carried out. At this stage, the farming processes for conventionally grown crops essentially differ from those implemented on the organics with respect to specific requirements that set the desired conditions for either approach. Eventually, this becomes the chief ground when traceable chemical substances or post-process residual components are detected on crops, causing possible threat to human health. By ‘organic’, the implications of the term pertain to the utilization of ecologically-balanced self-sustaining agricultural methods which abide by the application of wholly natural resources rather than synthetic derivatives in farming. Organic crops necessitate growth in natural soil and must be kept from alterations and be maintained at a sufficient distance from the slots reserved for the conventional counterparts. Applying pesticides and genetically engineered genes such as those of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) is a prohibited measure. Likewise, farmers are further regulated to get rid of both the sewage sludge-based and the petroleum-based fertilizers in aiding straight organic nourishment. Sources in managing pest control highly depend instead upon natural means with biodiversity through good insects, traps, birds, and other useful elements of nature with related properties. Similarly, restoring soil fertility is conducted using manure and compost whereas regulating weed may be performed manually via hand weeding or employing equally safer options as tilling, crop rotation, and mulching (Paul, et al). On the other hand, herbicides and insecticides are commonly utilized for weed and pest control purposes, respectively, as crops are made to develop in chemically fertilized soil. This way, nonorganic produce is often analyzed to contain significant levels of pesticides from which greater

Is it morally permissible to kill one innocent person as a means to Essay

Is it morally permissible to kill one innocent person as a means to saving some larger number of innocent people's lives Why - Essay Example However, according to Kantian principle, our duty is to do certain things irrespective of the motive, at least not from a sense of duty. Sometimes one may do something he or she thinks is the right thing to do but in the end the act is wrong. For example, killing one person to save more others may seem right but killing is a crime and as such it is wrong no matter what reason it was intended. So what makes right acts right? Is morality relative or absolute? These are questions that we need to ask ourselves in order to standard ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ actions. The specific ethical issue to be tackled by this paper is whether it is permissible to kill one innocent person as a means to saving some larger number of innocent people’s lives. I will argue that it is morally permissible to kill one innocent person as it leads to the greatest good of all at least based on Professor Moore’s moral theory. There is no question that society aims at ensuring the happiness of all and this would be achieved if many lives are saved. The argument in this case, is the means to achieve this goal. Is it by sacrificing an innocent person or allowing others to die? In order to answer this question, we need to understand what it means to be morally permissible. ... In this paper thus it will be taken for granted that morality is relative. As such, it depends on the circumstances at the time of the event. It may not be the act one ‘ought to’ has done thus a duty to do as expressed by Kant but the right action given the circumstances. For example, if one man threatens the life of others it is only right to kill that person to preserve the rights of those others. However, everyone has a duty to protect life and as such killing is wrong. One ought not to take another person’s life irrespective of the situation. The subject of morality is thus very confusing and always leads to ethical dilemmas. According to normative ethical theory such as utilitarianism it is assumed that the right act is always the one that results to greatest possible happiness (PHL 275 Week Six p.1) or according to Professor Moore’s ideal utilitarianism â€Å"actions productive of more good than could have been produced by any other action open to th e agent† (Ross 16). This means that we often do not know what is right or wrong because we cannot tell what the outcomes of doing a certain action will be. Every member of society has an inalienable right to liberty, property and pursuit of happiness and as such, promoting the good of the community is the ultimate aim. Now consider killing an innocent person for the sake of other innocent people. For example, a driver may opt to knock down a pedestrian to avoid colliding with an oncoming vehicle thus saving the lives of many innocent people. Is this morally permissible? According to consequentialist utilitarianism, the act is right only if it leads to producing more good or happiness. I would like to assume that many people would

Criticisms And Arguments Against Transformational Leadership Management Essay

Criticisms And Arguments Against Transformational Leadership Management Essay A person can have many distinctive qualities, leadership is among those qualities, not everyone possess such quality, which made this quality special and extraordinary. In the field of business, a decision often comes down to success and failure, leadership is one of the most important quality for a managerial person to have. As Thomas J. Watson, Jr. had put it: I believe the real difference between success and failure in a corporation can be very often traced to the question of how well the organization brings out the great energies and talents of its people. Leaders that can bring positive or beneficial effect to a group or enterprise are consider as a transformational leader, they are energetic, passionate, not only they focus on the systems and the structure of a business, they also focus on the individual employee to do well and to be successful as well. According to Cox (2001), leadership is divided into two categories: transactional leadership and transformational leadership. The distinction between the two, according to James McGregor Burns work on political leader (1978), are those ones who uses the policy of rewards to motive and earn his/her employees efficiency and loyalty, is called transactional leader; and those ones who gets involve with his/her employee, also possess determination and committed towards success as well as motivates its employees in exchange for their high performance, also their loyalty. However, in this ever changing world, business leaders needs improve his/her skill and ability in order to coordinate wit h the change. In this particular essay, the main focus will be on the transformational leadership and some of the arguments and criticisms against it, as well as some counter arguments in favor of the transformational leadership; along with supporting explanations, facts and various examples. Arguments against Transformational Leadership Theory: Study results shows that Transformational Leadership have its positive effect on organizations, improve its work productivity, performance and as well as the creativities, according to Bass and Avolio (1994), it can be found in every aspect of an enterprise, because sometimes transformational leaders are the type of leaders needed for an company to survive, according to Burn (1978): recognizes and exploits an existing need or demand of a potential followerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ looks for potential motives in followers, seeks to satisfy higher needs, and engages the full person of the follower. A transformational leader in an organization often break through its frame of organization culture and thrive, which made transformational leadership one of the most renewed and popular leadership theory in modern days, nevertheless, its resplendency is not without oppugns. There are many criticisms against the theory of transformational leadership, one of the criticism is transformational theory is very difficult to be trained or taught, because its components are too comprehensive; on the other hands, one of the argument against transformational leadership is that supporters might be handled by leaders. Among them all, one of the important key criticisms against transformational theory is accusing it to be only for the selected individuals, which may lead to abusing of power. As Colonel Mark .A Homig (2001) have stated that: Transformational leadership is a double edged sword. Which means that, when a transformational leader over done his part in terms of leadership, his/her innate defect in personality or even later life experience can turn him/her into another type transformational leadership, the one on the opposite side-Pseudo transformation leadership. According to Mark. A. Homig: has a potential immoral and unethical dimension that could be exp loited by an unscrupulous leader inflicted on naive and unsuspecting followers. For example, Adolf Hitler was elected as the leader of Germany, he came into power during Germanys economic inflation and depression in 1920s, he did pull Germany out of its economic depression, however, after first couple of years honeymoon between him and the country, his follower later become so obsessed with him and followed him blindly into his conquest for his so called Lebensraum for Germany, which brought one of the worst disaster to Europe. Other example is Shoko Asahara, founder and leader of Aum Shinrikyo, also known as Aleph, a Japanese cult that is responsible for the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995. The second key argument against transformational leadership is the un-clarity of its definition and components, since the definitions of the four components (Inspirational, Intellectual, Idealized, and Individualized) associated with transformational leadership are overlapping each other. According to Brayman (1992), the transformational leadership looks more suited to be a set of personality characteristics rather than special requirements. There are other various arguments against transformational leadership as well, like the ones associated with ethics, according to Avolio and Howell (1992), qualities that makes a great leader can lead to unethical act, as the first key point in this section stated, such leader can make his/her follower to make unethical decisions and even commit crimes as well, according to Yukl.G. (1998). One example for this case is Hitler. Within this essay, the focus will be on the above arguments, in the following section, and in-depth analysis will be done. Supports for the Transformational Leadership theory: Two of the key arguments against transformational leadership theory primarily focus on the un-clarity of its concepts, and accusing it to be misleading. However, if we take a closer look at the details and examine the core components of the transformational leadership theory, one can easily notices the arguments against transformational leadership is losing its roots. Based on Benard. M, Bass (2006)s book on Transformational leadership, the qualification of transformational leaders are those who has great personality qualities and the ability to influence others in exchange for their loyalty, it focuses on the processes between the leader and followers. Therefore, those who uses negative examples of transformational leadership such as Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini to fault the transformational leadership theorys core concept is false, because idea or the overall construction of the theory of the transformational leadership is solid, and does not varies when people interpolate it dif ferently. Arguments such as the requirements for transformational leadership are sets of personality traits, and it cannot be taught or learn, Oscar Arias (cited in blog: leadership, 2010) have stated: More than knowledge, leaders need character. Values and ethics are vitally important. The basics of leadership can be taught. What is desperately needed is more responsible leadership a new ethic to confront the challenges of our day. Based on an interview and commentary essay done by Jonathan P. Doh (, many educators believes that transformational leadership can be taught, in fact all types of leadership can be taught and learned. Here are some of the quoted interviews from that report: Jay Conger (Professor of Organizational Behavior at the London Business School and Senior Research Scientist, Center for Organizations at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles) have :Yes, most definitely. Here work experiences, bosses, special projects, and role models, education all play a role in leadership development. Using an analogy with sports, not everyone can become an outstanding player despite coaching, yet most will benefit and improve their game. A few will go on to become stars or outstanding leaders given coaching, extensive experiences, and personal drive. Also from Kim S. Cameron (Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management at the University of Michigan Business School.) said that: Some people have an inclination to learn some competencies faster or better than others, of course, and some people reflect more charismatic or likable characteristics than others. But many great leaders are not those that appear on the covers of Time and Fortune. They have learned to achieve spectacular results in their own circumstances. Think of parents. Can people learn to become better parents, or are we just born either competent or not? Everyone would agree that effective parenting can be learned and improved. So can effective leadership. Leadership can also be taught, according to Jay Conger, Kim Cameron, and Steve Stumpf (cited in Jonathan P. Dohs interview essay), have all agreed that leadership can be taught, but only to a certain extent. The reason behind this is the three dimensions of leadership: skills, perspectives and dispositions. Just like in school, everything can be taught to students, but there are always some students do better than others, in terms of adapting knowledge, and the ability of applying the knowledge that they have learned. Skills can be taught, and perspectives can be trained, however, dispositions such as ambitions, mental capacity, etc.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.is difficult to teach. Bottom line is, leadership can be taught and learned through education and training. There are a lot of examples of leaders that proved valuable to a company, just to name of few in this essay. Steve Jobs is one of the perfect example, he was fired from apple and later came back, and turned Apple into one of the most profitable technology company in the world. Another example is Gordon Bethune, CEO of Continental Airlines (merged with United in 2010), and he joined Continental Airlines during its bankruptcy, during that time, company was losing $55 million dollars per month, he, however, not only eliminated the debt they had at that not, but also increased Continental Airlines stock price from $2 a share to $50 a share. Conclusion: In conclusion, Transformational leadership theory have proved its value throughout the modern days, even if there are some criticisms, it still not enough to effect the core concept of transformational leadership theory. Counter arguments in support for the transformational leadership theory, have proved its aptitude in work performance, quality and earn their loyalty. Key arguments have been vindicated in this essay, even though, motive of a leader sometimes is questionable, but this does not change the core construction of the theory; transformational leadership theory or any leadership theory can be learned or taught, only difference is how well one can adapt and apply the knowledge of leadership. Transformational leadership is surely one of the most popular theory, and most likely will become the resolution for todays organization, as todays enterprises facing many tough challenges such as creativity, sustainability, and uniqueness.

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Growing Your Business Joseph Leoni Bus. Communication Research Paper For a company to reach international status the firm’s foundation must be rock solid. Once you have successfully started your business and continue to maintain the business the next step is to grow the business. Growing the business is essential to going global with the business for a couple reasons. One reason is that the costs alone for going international are substantial. Your business needs to go from being profitable to very lucrative in order to fit the bill for overseas costs. The second reason growing your business is important before going global has to do with the companies success formula. What happens if your business starts booming overseas at an unexpected? With an understanding of how to grow your business here in the U.S. you will be able to reproduce the successful formula overseas as well. Before steps are taken to start growing the company it’s important that the company be as efficient as possible. This means that a very analytical view of the companies operations need to be addressed. Where can the company cut back on costs without hurting the company? Are there any redundancies? Cut back any unnecessary costs that seem fit, but keep in mind your employees morale can be affected by these changes which will in effect hurt the company. Also ask what, if any, technologies you can implement to improve your profit margin. New technology is constantly coming out and it’s usually the companies that best implement it that get ahead and maintain efficiency. Once all the excess spending and redundancies are fixed it’s time to look at the different possibilities as there is always more than one way of doing something. With a successfully maintaine... ... rising another assessment similar to the first one is suggested. With growth of the business comes new variables and changes to the company thus effectively changing the company. Go back again to cut unnecessary spending, keeping in mind employee morale. Franchising your business can be a very rewarding venture especially if your business success formula has been tried and tried again. Franchising can also be your way into the international market although it depends on each businesses needs. Food and consumer businesses usually do very well as the formula can be duplicated easily. Service companies are still possible to franchise but more difficult as they usually require people with special skills or training to get the job done. In general, franchising your business will lead to increased revenues because the customers for the product or service already exist.

Have Technology Taken over Some People Lives Essay

Is there a concern about people becoming too dependent on technology? Do you think too much technology is too much for your children? Does technology affect the brain? Some of us think that there is a possibility that too much technology is affecting our children. They seem to not get the concept of things. Kids today can’t seem to think in a rational way. Everything done for children is through some type of technology. Technology is taught at such a young age that kids don’t get the opportunity to learn on their own and by the time they arrive teenage it seems to become more evident. Sarah Harris in a MailOne article â€Å"Too much internet use ‘can damage teenagers’ brains’† says, â€Å"Excessive internet use may cause parts of teenagers’ brains to waste away, a study reveals. Scientists discovered signs of atrophy of grey matter in the brains of heavy internet users that grew worse over time. This could affect their concentration and memory, as well as their ability to make decisions and set goals. It could also reduce their inhibitions and lead to ‘inappropriate’ behavior. Researchers took MRI brain scans from 18 university students, aged 19, who spent eight to 13 hours a day playing games online, six days a week. The students were classified as internet addicts after answering eight questions, including whether they had tried to give up using computers and whether they had lied to family members about the amount of time they spent online. compared them with a control group of 18 students who spent fewer than two hours a day on the internet. One set of MRI images focused on grey matter at the brain’s wrinkled surface, or cortex, where the processing of memory, emotions, speech, sight, hearing and motor control occurs. Comparing grey matter between the two groups revealed atrophy within several small regions of all the online addicts’ brains. The scans showed that the longer their internet addiction continued, the ‘more serious’ the damage was. The researchers also found changes in deep-brain tissue called white matter, through which messages pass between different areas of grey matter in the nervous system. These ‘structural abnormalities were probably associated with functional impairments in cognitive control’, they say. The researchers added that these abnormalities could have made the teenagers more ‘easily internet dependent’, but concluded they ‘were the consequence of IAD (internet addiction disorder)’. ‘Our results suggested long-term internet addiction would result in brain structural alterations,’ they said. The study, published in the PLoS ONE journal, was carried out by neuroscientists and radiologists at universities and hospitals in China, where 24million youths are estimated to be addicted to the internet. Wake-up call’: Dr Aric Sigman said it was a shame that we needed photos of brains to realise that sitting in front of a screen is not good for children’s health In Britain, children spend an average of five hours and 20 minutes a day in front of TV or computer screens, according to estimates by the market-research agency Childwise. Dr Aric Sigman, a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, described the Chinese research as a ‘wake-up call’. He said: ‘It strikes me as a terrible shame that our society requires photos of brains shrinking in order to take seriously the common-sense assumption that long hours in front of screens is not good for our children’s health. ’ Baroness Greenfield, professor of pharmacology at Oxford University, described the results as ‘very striking’. She said: ‘It shows there’s a very clear relationship between the number of years these young people have been addicted to the internet and changes in their brains. ‘We need to do more experiments and we need to invest more money in research and have more studies like this. The neuroscientist has previously warned there could be a link between children’s poor attention spans and the use of computers and social-networking websites. She is concerned that not enough attention is being paid to evidence that computer use is changing young people’s brains. Professor Karl Friston, a neuroscientist at University College London, told the Scientific American journal the techniques used in the small-scale study were rigorous. He said: ‘It goes against intuition, but you don’t need a large sample size. That the results show anything significant at all is very telling. ’

Natural Resources And The Economy Of Middle East Essay

The role of oil in the economies of the Middle East has altered over time and it is possible to recognize stages in its development. At first the main benefit was financial for the reason that, even though revenues were modest from the 1930s to the 1960s, these met most of the expenditure needs of the royal households in the Gulf and funded the major proportion of government current spending. Since oil production expanded in the 1960s revenues grew, and the quadrupling of oil prices in 1973-4 resulted in an enormous windfall. This could be interpreted as the second stage. Oil revenue was viewed mainly as a means of funding investment rather than just current expenditures, despite the fact that for some of the Gulf states the revenue was so great that it was probable to put some aside into ‘funds for future generations’. Because Middle East production stagnated and declined in several countries, the link between oil prices and development became of crucial significance. This was obvious from the infrastructure boom ensuing from the 1979 oil price rises, and the virtual halt to major investment projects following the price falls of the 1980s. (Mohamed Rabie, 1992). A third phase has now started in which the volume of exports and the price of crude oil is becoming of less importance for the economies of the region. Oil is less vital as an output however more crucial as an input. It is the marketing of refined products and petrochemicals which matters more and more, not the sales of crude oil. In these state of affairs pricing issues turn out to be more complex. Low domestic pricing of oil inputs can assist the international competitiveness of the Middle Eastern refining and petrochemicals industry, particularly during the entry, start-up and infant-industry phases. In the longer term Middle Eastern crude oil may not be internationally traded, instead it is oil products exports which will matter. In this situation OPEC’s declining significance as a cartel is less damaging to the economies of the Middle East than might otherwise have been the case. Diversification into downstream production means that it matters much less that oil prices are performing like those of other main commodities, with cyclical volatility and a long-term tendency to decline. The economies of the Middle East may still be oil-dependent; however the nature of this dependence is altering from output to input dependence. This has the advantage of being more controllable. Some of the issues which were important in the literature on the oil and development link are debatably now less pertinent in a period of lower oil prices. There was a long debate in the 1970s and 1980s regarding whether oil windfalls were a blessing or a curse. One argument for the latter view was the view that oil-dependent economies tended to undergo from ‘Dutch disease’, so called due to the effect of gas exports from the Netherlands in driving up the guilder, making manufacturing exports uncompetitive and imports cheaper, with ensuing adverse consequences for unemployment. Even though this argument is at first sight persuasive, and there was certainty proof in its support in the Netherlands and arguably in Britain, its relevance to the Middle East is open to question. (Mohammed Akacem, 1992). The countries of the Gulf had little local manufacturing capacity in the 1970s which could have been threatened, and the lack of labour was more of an issue than unemployment. Oil exports were in any case denominated in dollars, as were most imports, consequently the level of the exchange rate was of comparatively minor significance for trade. A strong exchange rate checked inflationary pressures, and any depreciation would merely have resulted in imported inflation which would have added to that generated domestically through supply bottlenecks. For countries such as Egypt, with manufacturing capacity and non-oil exports for instance cotton and textiles, Dutch disease was more likely, particularly as oil became more and more the leading export after the return of the Suez fields by Israel, and there was as well the indirect effect of Gulf oil exports on the exchange rate through remittances. Investigation by economists, particularly Bent Hansen, made known little empirical support for Dutch disease in Egypt. Cotton and textiles were mainly exported to Eastern Europe under bilateral trade deals that had administered rather than market prices. Imports were subject to tariffs, quotas, foreign exchange controls and other restrictions. The official exchange rate was itself-controlled, while admittedly at a high, and perhaps overvalued, level in the 1970s. It is uncertain, though, if a lower rate would have done much to boost exports, given the supply constraints in the Egyptian economy. (R. K. Ramazani, 1998). Oil revenues were most likely of more consequence at the political economy level, as they reinforced the role of the state by increasing both its power of patronage and its capability to control economic activity. There was less need to collect other forms of tax revenues due to the significance of oil revenues, and also conceivably less government accountability. All countries in the Gulf adopted some form of development planning, simply so as to find out their expenditure priorities and ascertain how spending plans interacted. The consultation when planning the expenditure of oil revenues merely extended to the government ministries, though, and not to the general public. In addition, governments often ignored their own development plans if circumstances changed, either through new defence and security concerns or due to the changing price of oil. References: John Page (1999). The Impact of Lower Oil Prices on the Economies of Gulf States; Middle East Policy, Vol. 6 Marc J O’Reilly (1999). Oil Monarchies Without Oil: Omani & Bahraini Security in a Post-Oil Era; Middle East Policy, Vol. 6 Mohamed Rabie (1992). The Politics and Economics of Oil; Middle East Policy, Vol. 1