Ethics Assessment Essay Example for Free

Ethics Assessment Essay It is a fact that any business organization must have its principles of code of conduct. These principles must be generally accepted as they act as a mirror to the company’s or organization’s policy of ethics and responsibility, its employees, and the entire marketing team in maintaining consumer as well as community relationships. The organization’s policy has to be based on high-level ethical principles that are fair to all its stake holders. The aim of these principles is to provide a general guidance to the organization without which no meaningful business can take place (Dubois Fattore, 2009). The mission statement, just like the code of ethics or code of conduct, is very essential as part of the organization’s business plan. It is very vital in giving the organization a clear direction concerning how the organization’s plans should be implemented as well as its future plans. The employee handbook Is another equally as important document and it is often used to evaluate the worker’s organization’s overall performance in terms of profitability and its relation with its customers and the general community. The management of any company or organization is supposed to take routine evaluation based on the key areas of the company’s or organizations set-up. These are the Mission Statement, the Ethics Code or Code of Ethics, the Supervisor’s manual as well as the employee handbook. These are the basic things that a company needs so as to be able to survive in the highly competitive world of business where excellent service delivery is the secret to success. The mission statement of any company or organization should be clear to all concerned; the employees, the supervisors and the managers in that order. The mission statement originates from the management and it is here that the managers map out the company’s guide and modes of operation (Stone, 2008). The overall manager or director of the organization should then discuss it thoroughly with fellow managers of the various departments to make sure that it meets the right description of the company before it is released to the employees and subsequently the general public who make up the target market. In order for a mission statement to be deemed successful, it must reach the intended audience as fast as possible and in a clear manner. The services or goods that the company or organization offers are sometimes not well spelt out. This leads to a misunderstanding, miscommunication or misinterpretation . This in turn leads to loss of business because the customers do not know much about the business or exactly what it is that they offer. An example is that of the hospitality industry. Some companies or organization do not care to include in their mission statement full details of what they offer. In such a case a customer may enter a business premise not knowing anything that the organization offers. If prospective customers do not know the full details of the company’s or organizations mission, then disappointment is the result and this The result in most cases is disappointment and loss of prospective customers. Such an oversight should be avoided by setting out clearly on paper what it is that the organization is dealing in instead of leaving it upon customers to guess. A mission statement is the heart of the company’s operations and therefore the managers should make sure that the set code of ethics or conduct is adhered to for the implementation of the company’s or organization’s mission to be successful. Two different companies dealing in the same goods and services were evaluated in terms of how their structures for the communication of their mission statement with relation to their business ethics and standards. In some strange way it was identified that the organization with a wide range of mission statement content performed worse than the organization with a wider range of code of ethics content (Shafritz Hyde, 2007). The above fact is characteristic of the mission and vision statement of the giant Coca Cola company which they describe as enduring, a declaration of their purpose as a corporation. This mission statement acts as the yardstick against which they weigh their decisions and actions. The company acknowledges that the world is fast changing and as such they have to look at the future. They have to understand the forces and trends likely to shape their business in the foreseeable future and the only solution is to move with speed in preparing for any challenges that may come up. The mission statement takes one only a few seconds to go through but the clarity of the message is outstanding. The three point statement reads; ‘To Refresh the World in body, mind, and spirit. , To Inspire Moments of Optimism through our brands and our actions. , To Create Value and Make a Difference everywhere we engage’ (Fry, 1989). The company’s mission is communicated to the public in a clear and simple way and this is the reason for the continued confidence consumers have always had confidence in their brands over the years. Theirs is a perfect example of an inspiring, well-crafted mission statement from a very successful corporation in the world. The company communicates its mission statement through an aggressive campaign aimed at sensitizing the consumers about their aims and goals. The inspiration for everything they do I attributed to their enduring mission. Both the workers and the management find the resolve to go on with the challenges of the corporate world by drawing from the inspiration in the mission statement. Coca Cola has as a result managed to outsmart other well positioned companies like Pepsi Cola and Schweppes Cola which had for sometime rivaled the corporation. The company is socially responsible. It has, through its mission statement managed to create stable communities by manufacturing superb brands that has provided an alternative to other less health-sensitive drinks. The factors behind this are the code of ethics under which the company operates. The customer is the most important person to the company and in essence they strive to keep him satisfied. It is the mission statement, source of their inspiration, which keeps everyone in the company focused with a view to achieving this goal (Kettl James, 2009). Coca cola’s employee manual and the supervisor’s manual provide for all the needs of the employees and the management, ranging from health benefits to reasonable pay allowances. The company has a strict program of ethics and compliance to ensure that its code of ethics is adhered to. This code of conduct requires employees be honest and have integrity in everything they do for the company and has so far been successful in guiding its business conduct (Stone, 2008). This is communicated through reading the manual and all the directors are supposed t understand and exercise them within the company and the outside community at large. The company has an ethics and compliance committee whose job is the evaluation of the compliance with relation to the company’s productivity and its relations with the outside community. This committee determines code violation and recommends the action to be taken against the violator. The code of ethics is routinely revised to improve its effectives. The company needs to improve the code of ethics and update it so as to meet the challenging and changing trends in the business fraternity. Some regulations need to be adjusted so that the employees can interact with the outside community more freely, but this should be done with some regulations so that the people who work in the production department do not leak the company’s production formula to other rival companies (Fry, 1989). Company needs to urgently review mission statement. The statement is too sketchy and many other companies have come up with more catching and better worded mission statements and this has made them sneak their way into the company’s consumer base therefore reducing Coca Cola’s share of the market. Many people all over the world who used to rely on Coca Cola for refreshment have in the recent past turned to other means like tea, water and coffee and therefore the company should redraft its mission statement to reflect the current needs of the consumers. These changes should be communicated in a very aggressive advertisement exercise that will reach all the concerned people (Shafritz Hyde, 2009). This will surely make a change in the consumers’ hearts and renew their confidence in the company’s products. If I were the general manager of the Coca Cola Company, would hire a team of experts to review the company’s ethics, evaluate it and come up with suggestions on how make the existing one better. The team would have to the consumers armed with questionnaires and ask the relevant questions to determine how best the company can improve its services to suit the likes of the consumers. REFERENCES Dubois, H. F. W. Fattore, G. (2009). Definitions and typologies in public administration. Routledge. Fry, R ( 1989). Mastering Public Administration; from Max Weber to Dwight Waldo. Chatham, New Jersey: Chatham House Publishers, Inc. Kettl, D James (2009). The Politics of the Administrative Process. Washington Shafritz, J Hyde, A (2007). Classics of Public Administration. Routledge. Stone, D (2008) Global Public Policy, Transnational Policy Communities and their Networks, Journal of Policy Sciences.

Free Macbeth Essays - Are things as they seem? :: Macbeth essays

Are things as they seem? All things have an appearance, usually a good or a bad one. Depending on the appearance something has we form an opinion about it. Sometimes the appearance something has can mislead one in forming an accurate opinion about it. In Macbeth, Shakespeare shows us that things are not always as they appear to be. This is shown through the duplicity of Macbeth and his wife, the kings sons and the servants being blamed for Duncan's death and King Duncan's inaccurate opinions. In the beginning of the play Macbeth is a well respected hero who appears to be a great guy. However, by the end of the play it is clear that Macbeth is a selfish, troubled man with a conscience that seems to serve no purpose. In lines 81-82 on page 240, Macbeth tells how he must mislead the world and hide his dark side from it. "Away, and mock the time with fairest show: False face must hide what the false heart doth know." On page 249 Macbeth does a good job of hiding his dark side before finding the dead king with Macduff. "Is the king stirring, worthy Thane?" asks Macduff. "Not yet," replies Macbeth. "Goes the king hence today?" asks Macduff. "He does: he did appoint so," answers Macbeth. Although Macbeth has full knowledge of the king's death, he plays it off well and appears to know nothing. Lady Macbeth appears to be a nice hospitable woman. However, her heart is dark and full of evil. On page 236, the king talks to Lady Macbeth, telling her of the honor and love that he has for her. "See, see, our honored hostess! The love that follows us sometime is our trouble, which still we thank as love. Herein I teach you How you shall bid God 'ield us for your pains And thank us for your trouble." His opinion of Lady Macbeth highly exceeds that of which it should. He has such a high opinion of Lady Macbeth because he is mislead by her good appearance. It is ironic that Duncan thinks so highly of Macbeth and his wife, as on page 232 when he says "There's no art To find the mind's construction in the face:" This is ironic because it directly applies to the king and Macbeth. (The king does not know Macbeth's true mind construction.

How much Macbeth’s character changes during the course of the play Essay

By reference to three key scenes, shoe how much Macbeth’s character changes during the course of the play: Act I scene VII, Act III scene IV, Act V scene III The first we hear of Macbeth is when a bloodied soldier looking valiant after battle with great gaping wounds, describes a Great War hero: â€Å"For brave Macbeth well he deserves that name†. Shakespeare uses this speech to show Macbeth’s loyalty by saying he fought off a whole army and all for king and country. He also said their enemy ran away, then launched another attack and that Macbeth and Banquo fought it off even with their severe wounds: â€Å"They meant to bath in reeking wounds† And they still repelled the second attack, as though with renewed strength: â€Å"So they doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe†. We can see from this that Macbeth is a noble, loyal and trusted man, let alone a war hero. After Macbeth meets the witches, his personality begins to change. He becomes consumed with ambitions. In my understanding it was always there, like a petrol station with petrol running everywhere and leaky gas mains (always a fire hazard), the witches just threw in a Zippo. They had given him two predictions: 1) They greeted him as thane of Cawdor â€Å"Hail thane of Cawdor† (which he wasn’t) 2) Then as king â€Å"hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hear after†. After meeting the witches, the King’s messenger came to him and named him thane of Cawdor. He is very surprised at this and writes a letter home to his wife telling her about the things the witches had said, how out of the blue he had become thane of Cawdor and even mentioned about becoming king. This is where Shakespeare introduses Macbeth’s more sinister side: â€Å"Why do I yield to that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix my hair and make my seated heart knock upon my ribs† As we can see Macbeth is starting to think of murder. We get another insight into his character from Lady Macbeth. She says that she thinks that he will be too kind to actually commit murder, and that she will have to do most of it then persuade him: â€Å"Yet I do fear thy nature it is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness† We can see from this quote that Macbeth has a conscience and that his wife believes that he would grieve afterwards. When Duncan arrives at Macbeth’s castle, a banquet is held. We can se in Macbeth’s opening soliloquy (a dramatic technique show the audience what he is thinking) that he doesn’t want to carry on with the murder as he says â€Å"Could trammel up consequences† By Shakespeare’s use of the word â€Å"trammel† we can se he is thinking of death and if he could just be done with it and that was it, it would be fine but he knows there will be consequences for killing the king: â€Å"Hear upon this bank and shoal of time, We’d jump thr life to come† This shows that the Elizabethans believed in the after life. He also refers to the Elizabethan belief of the king being chosen by god: â€Å"His virtues will plead like angels trumpet-tongued against the deep damnation of his taking off† Later on in the scene we see that Macbeth doesn’t want to go through with the murder and want’s to call it off: â€Å"We will proceed no further in this business† And he gives three reasons he is his host â€Å"as his host† He is his kin â€Å"I am his kinsman and his subject† Duncan has been extremely kind to him † Duncan hath borne his faculties so meek† So to make Macbeth commit the murder Lady Macbeth taunts him and calls him a coward: â€Å"When you durst do it then you were a man† And at this Macbeth wants to do it to prove he is not a coward and we can see this from his next line: â€Å"If we should fail† showing he is thinking about the murder. Although Macbeth can wash Duncan’s blood from his hands he cannot wash it from his conscience: â€Å"Will all great Neptune’s oceans wash this blood clear from my hand? No† Macbeth is duly crowned king Banquo reveals his suspicions about Macbeth in a soliloquy: â€Å"Thou hast it now king, Cawdor, Glamis, all the wired women promised and I fear thou play’dst most foully for’t† Macbeth holds a banquet and invites every one. After this Macbeth hires an assassin to kill Banquo and Fleance his son. Macbeth seems to be losing his moral standing the further he gets into the play. Banquo sacrifices his life to save his son and Fleance gets away. The assassin shows up at the banquet and stands at the door to give Macbeth the news â€Å"there is blood upon thy face† The murderer then seeks praise for the murder of Banquo: Macbeth then asks about Fleance and is agitated to hear that he is still alive: â€Å"The worm that’s fled hath nature in time will venom breed, no teeth for the time present† Shakespeare uses a metaphor to show how Macbeth is afraid of Banquo and Fleance Macbeth then goes to sit down at the table but he thinks his place is taken and when the figure stands up it is the ghost of Banquo. No one else can see the ghost. It is only by Macbeth’s speeches that we can tell he can see a ghost. Macbeth is very scared and starts shouting but Lady Macbeth calms everything down. In a stage whisper, She calls him a coward and says that it is just like the dagger he saw pointing to Duncan’s room the ghost vanishes and he calms down and they send every one home saying he will be fine in the morning. Shakespeare usage of a ghost reflects king James’ fascination with the supernatural and the Elizabethans general belief in spirits and ghosts. He also uses stage whispers sililoquy and the idea of no one seeing the ghost except Macbeth, which could just be him hallucinating. So we are not entirely sure whether there really is a ghost there or the pressure of all the killing has got to him and he has flipped and had hallucinations. After this he is still paranoid and so to stop this he goes to see the witches again and this time the show him three visions. 1) Beware Macduff 2) None of woman bore shall harm Macbeth 3) Macbeth shall never vanquished be Until great Birnam wood comes to Dunsunane hill He is woken up by Lenox and decides to kill Macduff to be safe but he has fled to England to help Malcolm at this Macbeth is so angry he orders the assassins to kill his wife and kids and this shows a complete depletion of his morals. He as ordered assassins to go kill innocent children and women without a second thought. There has been a character reversal and now Macbeth has no morals and lady Macbeth as been driven mad with guilt. At the start, Macbeth would not kill Duncan and Lady Macbeth drove him to it. In the next scene Macbeth is getting hundreds of reports of the English force amassing on the horizon, but of-coarse he had the predications from the witches and feels confident. He doesn’t worry about them â€Å"Bring me no more reports, let them fly all. Till Birnam wood remove to Dunsinane† This shows an air of self-confidence and pride. He even accuses Thanes that ran away of being false which was very ironic as he killed the king â€Å"then fly false thanes†. From his opening speech we can see he thinks he is invincible: † The mind I sway by and the heart I bear shall never sag with doubt nor shake with fear†. When his servant comes he is white and pale so Macbeth calls him lily liveried, because the Elizabethans believed that courage came from the liver. When the doctor said that there was no cure for lady Macbeth that she had to cure herself Macbeth insulted him, which is a valid point, as King James 1st didn’t believe in doctors. Macduff and Malcolm’s army burst into the castle and the first wave come to find Macbeth and die until Macduff finds him and they fight. Macduff tells Macbeth he was born by caesarean section and so was not born of woman and he kills Macbeth. In conclusion I would say that Macbeth’s character changes drastically throughout the play. At the start he is a good and noble soldier who would never betray the king but gets persuaded easily by his wife. Then as the story progresses we see him start to lose morals as he orders the killing of Banquo on his own but is still upset about it, we can see that because of his hallucinations (seeing the ghost). Then he orders the killing of lady Macduff and her children showing he has gone of the scale and is totally evil. Whilst fighting Macduff he is arrogant and spares his life at one point in the fight. So when Macbeth is told that Macduff is not born of women he is shocked and dies a wicked fool. So we see the down fall of such a brave character we saw at the start because of a few predictions and the ambition. For if he saw what being king would do to him I doubt he would have wanted to be king and would have been contented but was tricked by the evil of the witches.

Sociological Definition of Degradation Ceremony

Historically, a degradation ceremony is the process by which to lower a persons social status within a group or within society in general, for the purposes of shaming that person for violating norms, rules, or laws, and to inflict punishment by taking away rights and privileges, as well as access to the group or society in some cases. Degradation Ceremonies in History Some of the earliest documented forms of degradation ceremonies are within military history, and this is a practice that still exists today (known within the military as cashiering). When a member of a military unit violates the rules of the branch, he or she may be stripped of rank, perhaps even publicly by the removal of stripes from ones uniform. Doing so results in an immediate demotion in rank or expulsion from the unit. However, degradation ceremonies take many other forms, from the formal and dramatic to the informal and subtle. What unifies them is that they all serve the same purpose: to lower a persons status and limit or revoke their membership in a group, community, or society. Sociologist Harold Garfinkel coined the term (also known as status degradation ceremony)  in the essay Conditions of Successful Degradation Ceremonies, published in  American Journal of Sociology  in 1956. Garfinkel explained that such processes tend to follow moral outrage after a person has committed a violation, or a perceived violation, of norms, rules, or laws. Thus degradation ceremonies can be understood in the context of the sociology of deviance. They mark and punish the deviant, and in the process of doing so, reaffirm the importance and legitimacy of the norms, rules, or laws that were violated (much like other rituals, as discussed by Émile Durkheim). Initiation Ritual On some occasions, degradation ceremonies are  used to initiate people into total institutions like mental hospitals, prisons, or military units. The purpose of a ceremony in this context is to deprive people of their former identities and dignity in order to make them more accepting of external control. The perp walk, wherein a person suspected of committing criminal acts is publicly arrested and led into a police car or station, is a common example of this kind of degradation ceremony. Another common example is the sentencing to jail or prison of an accused criminal in a court of law. In cases like these, arrest and sentencing, the accused or convicted loses their identity as a free citizen and is given a new and lower criminal/deviant identity that deprives them of the social status they previously enjoyed. At the same time, their rights and access to membership of society are limited by their new identity as an accused criminal or a convict. Its important to recognize that degradation ceremonies can also be informal but still quite effective. For example, the act of slut-shaming a girl or woman, whether in person, within her community (like a school), or online produces similar effects to the formal kind. Being labeled a slut by a cohort of peers can lower a girl or womans social status and deny her access to her peer group. This kind of degradation ceremony is the modern-day version of the Puritans forcing people who were thought to have had sex out of marriage to wear AD (for adulterer) on their clothing (the origins of Hawthornes story  The Scarlet Letter). Updated  by Nicki Lisa Cole, Ph.D.