Ethics and Social Responsibilities of Business Essay Example for Free

Ethics and Social Responsibilities of Business Essay The emergence of management as a distinct and identifiable activity in the modern era has had an important impact on the society with which it developed (Massie 1995). Till the early days of the twentieth century, organizations were predominantly concerned with their respective profit-maximizing activities. However, this singular intention of profit maximization of business farms was protested by the social activists during the later half of the 20th century. They pointed out that, since the organizations drive their business from the society, the former must possess some obligations towards the interests and welfare of the later. The concept of business ethics and corporate responsibility gained immense importance after the publication of Bowen’s Social Responsibilities of Businessman in the year 1953. Bowen opines that business corporations should have certain responsibilities towards the society in which it operates. Often business ethics and its social responsibilities are regarded as their â€Å"science of conduct† (McNamara).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ethics is the study of morality and standards of conducts (Fred and Richard, 480). The term ‘ethics’ is, in generally, used to refer to the rules and principles that define right and wrong conduct. The study of ethics is of immense importance in international management because ethical behavior in a particular country may be considered as an unethical practice in other countries. Ethical behavior of business has become an important aspect in today’s corporate environment. Even in the United States, trading scandals, bribes etc. have gained considerable media exposures and have aroused public concern regarding ethical practices in international business management. Corporate business ethics is primarily concerned with honesty, truth and justice and should consider several aspects like the expectations of society, fair competition, public relations, consumer autonomy, social responsibilities, adherence to the rules in the operating country, and so on. An organization should be always responsible in creating an environment that fosters ethical decision-making. Corporate social responsibility is seriously considering the impact of the company’s actions on society. In the views of Andrews, social responsibility means the intelligent and objective concern for the welfare of society that restrains individuals and corporate behavior from ultimately destructive activities, no matter how immediately profitable and signifies the positive contribution to human betterment. Social responsibility contends that the business organizations are responsible to all the interest groups with which it interacts. All the interests groups such as employees, customers, suppliers, government and society should be given importance equal to that of the shareholders of the respective companies. Thus, ethical and social responsibilities signifies that the management should pay attention to the welfare of the workers, consumers’ needs and safety, the interests and rights of creditors, government’s rules, regulations and policies, and the obligations of the organization towards society as a whole. Thus, in other words, â€Å"Corporate social responsibility indicates the management’s commitment towards upholding the interests of direct stakeholders and to behave in an economically and environmentally responsible manner† (Davis and Robert, 1975). Ethical and Social Responsibility of Corporate Organizations Corporate organizations which are concerned about business ethics and corporate social responsibility need to identify various interest groups which may influence the functioning of a firm and which, in turn, may be affected by the firm’s decisions. In fact, business enterprises are primarily responsible for the well being of six major interest groups which are discussed hereunder one by one: Protecting Shareholders’ Interests The most important responsibility of business organizations is to protect the interests of its shareholders. The shareholders provide the core resource – the capital – that enables an organization to operate and grow. They expect the management to use the capital judiciously and operate the business in an efficient way that would ensure a healthy return on their investment, both through dividends and through increase in stock value. Shareholders should be provided with adequate and timely information about the functioning of the organization. Protecting Employees’ Interests Employees are the biggest assets of the organizations. In the early days, managers regarded employees merely as one of the factors of production and denied them the right to obtain an equal distribution of income. But, with the passage of time, the situation has changed in a considerable way. Now, it is absolutely mandatory for the management to protect its employees’ interests. Government laws and regulations have now define the responsibilities of the employer – ensuring equal employment rights for men and women, offering timely pensions and other retirement benefits, and providing and maintaining a secure and healthy working environment. To protect the interests of employees, management must Treat the employees as the basic pillars of the organization. Develop administrative processes that promote cooperation between employers and employees. Foster a harmonious work atmosphere by adopting a progressive labor policy. This includes allowing the participation of workers in management, creating a sense of involvement, and improving the working conditions and living standards of workers. Provide fair wages (not merely the one determined by the market forces of demand and supply) and other financial benefits to workers to keep them motivated. Fair selection, training and promotion based on quality and merit – without any discrimination on the grounds of sex, race, religion, physical appearance and so on. Protecting Customers’ Interests In the recent times, great attention is delivered to the customers. In the age of cut-throat competition, business firms have rightly begun to realize the importance of maintaining a healthy relationship with the consumers. The growth and development of consumerism has compelled the organizations to become more aware of their duties and responsibilities towards the customers. â€Å"The most successful businesses put the customer first, instead of the investors† (Mackey). Business firms should fulfill their obligations to their customers by Charging reasonable prices for their products. Ensuring the provision of standardized and quality goods and services. Ensuring the easy availability of goods and services, so that customers do not have to spend too much time and energy in procuring them. Abstaining from unethical practices like hoarding, profiteering or creating artificial scarcity, misleading advertisement and so on. Refraining from deceiving customers by making false or misleading claims. Protecting Creditors and Suppliers’ Interests All the inputs productions are provided by the creditors and suppliers in the form of raw materials and capital. Hence, the management must take proper care in fulfilling its obligations towards the former. This can be done by: Creating a long-term and healthy business relationship with them. Making prompt payments to creditors and suppliers. Providing them with accurate, relevant and needed information. Protecting Society’s Interest Organizations function within a social system and draw their resources from this system. Therefore, they have certain obligations towards society. The management of business organizations can fulfill their obligations toward society by preserving and enhancing the well-being of the members of society. Management can do so in the following ways: Using its technical expertise to solve local problems. Setting socially desirable standards of living and avoiding unnecessary and wasteful expenditure. Playing an important role in civic affairs. Helping the society in events of national calamity, famine, war, and so on. Providing basic amenities, healthcare and education facilities, thus creating better living conditions. Establishing development programmers for the benefit of economically weaker sections of  the society. Protecting Governments’ Interests In any country, the Government provides the basic requirements for the survival and growth of business organizations. Most of the rules and policies which the government imposes are mainly in the favor of the businesses. Hence, the business, in turn, must have certain obligations to the business: Be law-abiding – respect the rules, procedures and policies of the government Pay all taxes and other dues fully, timely and honestly. Not bribe government employees and officials to obtain favors for the company. Not try to use political influence in its favor for own interests. Advantages and Disadvantages of Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility In the modern era, the expectations of the consumers and the society have immensely changed and, resultantly, modern corporations have become much aware of their ethical and social responsiveness. However, opinions vary from scholars to scholars as to whether business should possess much, at least any, ethical and social responsibilities. Disadvantages The motive of any business is to maximize its profit. However, much ethical values and social responsibilities may act against this objective. Any investment (or loss) incurred by the business as a result of good social or ethical behavior are adjusted by increasing the selling of its products. Hence, â€Å"the motive would be socially less desirable than in the days before when business were concerned with social responsibilities† (Friedman 1970). Business derives immense power through its social involvements and ethical behavior. This power is generally derived from the government or through other political means. This increment in power can lead to corruption and even conflicts with customers, governments and the society as a whole in the subsequent times. Generally, business people lack the required skills to deal with the problems outside the organization. Social responsibility can be an excess burden of duty to them. Advantages Social involvements and strong ethical behavior boost up the image of the business corporations in the eye of the customers. Being socially responsive, business can increase the number of its loyal customers. A favorable public image helps the business to attract more employees, customers and investors. By being socially responsible, business organizations can easily avoid the attention of regulatory agencies and earn government’s trust; resulting in increasing flexibility and independence in their mode of operations. Businesses can increase conservation of natural resources by being socially responsible. For example, Items that were considered as waste before (like empty soft drink cans and plastic bottles) can be recycled and profitably used again. Society and business are equally benefited if a symbiotic relationship exists between the two. Instead of allowing high rate of unemployment leading to social crisis (which may ruin business operations in subsequent periods), businesses can rather be the source of employment in the economy for qualified and eligible people. Conclusion It is beyond any iota of doubt that every civil citizen must possess some moral or ethical values and responsibilities for the society in which he lives. Business organizations, considered as ‘artificial people’, therefore, should have the same values incorporated in it. Obviously, there are certain principles which is directed against this conclusion, but it is a cardinal truth that business corporations must â€Å"behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large† (Holme and Watts). References Bowen, H.R. (1953), Social Responsibilities of the Businessman, Harper Row, New York, NY Corporate Social Responsibility: Evolution of a Definitional Construct: Carroll Business Society.1999, pp. 268-295 Davis, K. and Robert, L. B. Business and Society, Environment and Responsibility, Revised   Edition, Tata McGraw Hill Book Company Inc. New York, 1975 Friedman, M. The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profit, New York   Times Magazine, 13 September, 1970 Kuhn, J.W. Issues and Analysis, Values in a Business Society, Harcourt Brace Jonanovich, New York, 1968 Holme, L and Watts, R. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development,Making   Good Business Sense† http://www.mallenbaker.net/csr/CSRfiles/definition.html Joseph, L. M. Ethical and Environmental Foundations, Essentials of Management, Fourth Edition, Thirteenth Indian Reprint, Prentice-Hall of India, New Delhi, 1995 Mackey, J. (adapted from) Rethinking the Social Responsibilities of Business, October 2005   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.reason.com/news/show/32239.html McNamara, C. Complete Guide to Ethics Management: An Ethics Toolkit for Managers http://www.managementhelp.org/ethics/ethxgde.htm Richard, M.H. and Fred, L. Ethics and Social Responsibilities, International Management, Third Edition, McGraw Hill International Editions, 1997 Stehi, S.P, Dimensions of Corporate Social Performance, An analytical Framework,   California Management Review, Vol. 17, No. 3, 1975, p. 58 64 The International Seminar on Social Responsibilities of Business: (as quoted by Mukharji, P.B. Social Responsibilities of Business, p. 9

Effect of Technology on Social Interaction

Effect of Technology on Social Interaction INTRODUCTION: Since the presence of technology, humans have ignored themselves and each other. Technology, organized with commerce, which has slowly raided humans and their natural abilities and removed their capabilities. Today, many of us bargain with ourselves in depressed, alienated, drug addicts, stressed out, exhausted, poor health, isolated, alcoholics, and overweight and overworked. We are spending a lesser amount of time together in active face-to-face interaction and conversation with our families, neighbors, colleagues and friends, and more time at working, driving cars, drinking, eating, being online on the computer, sending text messages and emails consuming, eating, watching TV. We have endorsed this situation to change and have not been capable, to find the strength to repel. We have given up so much in conversation for the magnificence and never-ending progress of science, commerce and technology. But we have slight or no time for an insufficient kind statement with a friend or a n eighbor or simply another human being whose conduit we cross throughout our busy days. This condition is in extensive need of our genuine wisdom and attention in order to find elucidations for more congruence, health for human beings everywhere and wellness, and also to establish a balance among our habit of technology and the time we employ in social interaction and conversation with others. CURRENT SITUATION: It is an undeniable fact that the contemporary technologies, particularly the invention of the internet, has transfigured the way people live, work,, entertain and, communicate. To twitch with, the online messages and communication tools such as emails, MSN messenger and teleconference software have enabled the contacts of mutually the loved ones in distant place and associates working in another region. However, it is not unusual to see that news reporting constantly reports on the disadvantageous effect of these fluctuations in telecommunication. Firstly, misusing internet and ignoring the real communication can lead to social separation and segregation. Researches disclose that people, who spend their too much time at the computer cafes, tend to have complications when communicating and interacting with people in the actual world. Furthermore, many family actions which normally help fortify the family bonds cannot be merely replaced by online conversation. Generally, I personally believe that scientific and technological development has transformed our mode of communication in an optimistic and encouraging way, in terms of the expediency, time-efficiency and convenient. However, taken all the above stated negative inspirations into contemplation, we do need to keep poise between the period we employ on line and in actual and real world. DECLINE OF FACE TO FACE CONVERSATION: We are now in the middle of another daunting revolution, which is the Technological Revolution, having a very prodigious effect on the oral word and on societies and their relatives with each other. Only 50 years ago, the computer seemed on the scene. Its arrival and development is instigating the Technological Revolution to interchange ahead at supersonic speed and rapidity as we move profounder into the 21st century. We are forfeiting a very high value to have all these machineries and technologies at our disposal. It is crucial that we evaluate and analyze this situation. Multi-tasking is instigating us to be easily abstracted and diverted. Despite all the machines and technologies for easy interaction and communication with each other, we often sense socially isolated and lonely because most of our acquaintances and contacts are by machines and technology, not close sincere living human acquaintances. SOLUTION TO THIS HORRIBLE SITUATION: In order for us to move forward to the future, it is necessary and essential to go back to the past and history, because we have elapsed, left behind, and unrestricted an essential component that we want so that we can aware about our lives more effusively and with more sympathy. That component is our humanity. We need to get up and observe first what has transpired to us and then to guise deep into past to see what ensued to our ancestors, who, over the millenniums, had to undergo the slow procedure of losing their capabilities and of seeing the deterioration of living face-to-face social interactions and conversation as technology has developed, appeared and developed. All of us have been detached of many of our inherited abilities and of other capabilities that we have assimilated during our lives. The television, media and particularly advertising have influenced us that electronic or written communication is someway better and more precise than our own living spoken statement. W e have been persuaded that somehow inspecting life on a screen is more exciting and interesting than incarnate our own lives. We have become observers, immobile, consumers and seated, who always observers of what we need somewhat separate from ourselves. We have vanished confidence in our institutions, feelings, and abilities, and in our amusing inner resources that we barely know to find or how to exist. It is untainted that we need to re-become contestants in life and not just spectators and observers. By concerning with each other, we could be able to comprehend this goal. There are elucidations to ease up this condition, which we need to contemplate seriously. Many observers and philosophers of life have given us significant messages as to how to achieve this assignment. Communicating with each other can mean bartering concepts about positive and creative action we can take in mandate to resist this modern imperative that is determining us into spectators, users of machines, consumers and non-stop workers. Today, many of us devote a marvelous amount of our time placed in front of a TV or Computer screen or sending messages and emails to each other. It is unblemished that we need to be in touch with everyone, but most of the period our acquaintances are by machine and technologies not by actual life living face-to-face interaction. Before all the technology and machines evolved, people certainly used to employ more time together and as a consequence they were happier and social relations were flatter and more harmonious. IMPORTANCE OF INTER-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION: Today, we come into interaction regularly with other people not only from our own society and country but from all over the sphere and of all eternities and from altered walks of life, political, and religious opinions. This condition requires great sympathy, tolerance, sensitivity and understanding. Intercultural communication assistances can help us to communicate more harmoniously and smoothly with people on a face-to-face root with ease and without arguments or misunderstanding. We need to seek a profounder and more sympathetic understanding of the human knowledge of living a life on this earth and in our world. It can be very obliging to cultivate more familiarity of the many cultures and societies of our world, their past and histories, their characteristics and geographies, and their current states. ENCOURAGING HOSPITALITY INSTEAD OF HOSTALITY: People will communicate with others if they pass smiles and have a friendly expression and appearance. A cold, inimical facial appearance does not offer conversation communication or social interface. Therefore another elucidation to keeping face-to-face conversation and sociability thriving is to encourage and however friendly, pleasant and gracious relations, understanding, kindness, politeness, tolerance, and respect between human beings, irrespective of their age, race, nationality, social backgrounds, and the way of life, the language they express, their facial appearances, religious beliefs and dogmas, or other points of view. If we exercise this mode of behavior, others will follow. In normal conditions, friendly association should find between and among human. After all, we have a great transaction in common with everyone. For instance, we all have two arms, two legs, a head, and a body, and we all breathe, sleep, eat, and have a heart that is continuously beating. We all share the knowledge and information that we are not on this world forever and that we will consent here with nonentity in our hands. So it would seem impeccably reasonable for us to contemplate talking, conversing, communicating and interacting with our corresponding human beings more often and in a friendly and warm manner whenever the occasion presents itself while spending, at work, at shopping, at school, in a bus or road, at the airport, anywhere and everywhere, we often we ignore and avoid each other. So many chances to meet motivating people are conceded by. CONCLUSION: Since, thanks to the growth of e-commerce, people can accomplish a variety of actions, such as booking flights and accommodations, purchasing material ranging from cars to clothing, or even dating a foreigner, without treading out own house. Most prominently, the social links such as the Facebook has even fabricated an entire cybernetic world for us.

Claude Monet: More than an Impression Essay -- Artists Painters Impres

Claude Monet: More than an Impression From Alaska to Australia, Claude Monet is renowned for his contribution to the artistic world. Specifically, Monet is accredited with inspiring the subfield of impressionism. His painting, Impression, Rising Sun, (1873) is said to be the first impressionist painting (Taschen 31). This canvas vaguely pictures a small, lonely boat floating in front of a brilliant orange sun. This sun is surrounded by blue and grey tones that leave the viewer slightly chilled from the brisk early morning sense of the painting. The fact that the lines are blurred and the picture is without graphic detail led Louis Leroy to call its creator an impressionist. The impressionist movement stormed through Europe in the latter part of the 19th century. Today in museums from St. Petersburg to Chicago, people peruse Monet’s vision of the world. What many people do not realize, however, is that he left more than an impression. Aside from pleasing the eye, Monet’s works also paint a picture of 19th ce ntury France. France in the 19th Century Monet’s artistic career started much before the impressionist movement. While today he is famous for his landscapes and nature scenes, it wasn’t until 1858 that Monet began to paint outside, focusing on the natural beauty of France (Interagir.com). At this time, Napoleon III had gained power and France was beginning to feel the affects of the Industrial Revolution, which had started in 1830 (Francegate.com). Napoleon’s right hand man, Baron Haussman, redesigned the Europe District of Paris (Steele 35). He added huge boulevards and transformed Paris’ first train station into the magnificent station, Gare Saint Lazare. The changes that happened in the Europe District eventually spr... ... of his life he wanted to return to God. The speed and virility of trains can be equated with his younger life, while his older years are represented by true monuments of time and piety: cathedrals. Works Cited Francegate.com 17 Sept. 2003. History of France. 2001. http://ydelta.free.fr/history.htm. Interagir.com. 17 Sept. 2003. Biography of Claude Monet. 8 May 1999. http://www.intermonet.com/biograph/index.htm. National Gallery of Art. 17 Sept. 2003. Manet, Monet and the Gar Saint-Lazare. 2003. http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/pjmanet.htm. Steele, Ross, Susan St. Onge, and Ronald St. Onge. La civilisation franà §aise en à ©volution I. Boston : Heinle and Heinle, 1996 Taschen, Benedikt. Monet. Trans. Michael Hulse. Germany: Holhenzollernring, 1994. Wilson-Bareau, Juliet. Manet, Monet, and the Gare Saint-Lazare. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998.

It Is Contagious :: essays papers

It Is Contagious "Traces of the Stealth_c Virus have been found in memory. Reboot to a clean system disk before continuing with this installation." This was the message staring back at me from one of the computer monitors at my office. Questions raced through my mind. "Stealth_c?" "What's a system disk?" "How am I supposed to install anti-virus software if the computer system already has a virus?" As a discouraging feeling of helplessness came over me, I thought of all the people who had loaded something from disk on this box or who had used this box to access the Internet. Because there was no virus protection in the first place, it was going to be very difficult to determine how many floppy disks and hard drives had been infected. I wished I had learned about computer viruses a long time ago. What is a computer virus, anyway? Is it a computer with a cold? A computer "virus" is called a virus because of three distinct similarities to a biological virus. They are: ? They must have the ability to make copies of, or replicate, itself. ? They must have a need for a "host," or functional program to which it can attach. ? The virus must do some kind of harm to the computer system or at least cause some kind of unexpected or unwanted behavior. Sometimes computer viruses just eat up memory or display annoying messages, but the more dangerous ones can destroy data, give false information, or completely freeze up a computer. The Stealth_c virus is a boot sector virus, meaning that it resides in the boot sectors of a computer disk and loads into memory with the normal boot-up programs. The "stealth" in the name comes from the capability of this virus to possibly hide from anti-virus software. Virtually any media that can carry computer data can carry a virus. Computer viruses are usually spread by data diskettes, but can be downloaded from the Internet, private bulletin boards, or over a local area network. This makes it extremely easy for a virus to spread once it has infected a system. The aforementioned Stealth_c virus was transported by the least likely avenue; it was packaged with commercial software. This is an extremely rare occurrence, as most software companies go to great lengths to provide "clean" software. There is a huge commercial interest in keeping computers virus-free. Companies stand to lose literally thousands of dollars if they lose computer data to a virus. An immense amount of time can be lost from more productive endeavors if someone has to check or clean each computer

Design Activities and Environments Essay

1. Review the definitions of architectural and detailed design and the brief descriptions of high-level design activities at the beginning of the chapter. Which activities are clearly architectural? Which are clearly detailed? Which can be architectural or detailed? Designing the support services architecture and deployment environment and designing the software architecture are clearly architectural. Designing use case realizations and designing the database are clearly detailed. Designing the system and user interfaces and designing the system security and controls can be architectural or detailed. 2. Discuss the evolution of client-server computing from file server to multilayer applications to Web-based applications. What has been the driving force causing this evolution? Where do you think network computing will be in the next five years? Ten years? Cheaper computers, and networks, ubiquitous networking, and the desire of companies to increase the accessibility of their systems to increase the customer base/satisfaction, gain efficiencies from greater inter- and intraorganization coordination, and greater flexibility to reorganize people, processes, and systems. 3. Assume that the deployment environment for a high-volume payment processing system consists of the following: †¢ DB2 DBMS running under the OS/390 operating system on an IBM S/390 mainframe †¢ WebSphere application server running under the Z/OS operating system on an IBM zSeries 900 mainframe †¢ CORBA-compliant component-based application software written in Java that will be executed by other internal and external systems What are the key architectural design decisions that must be made for the system? When should the decisions be made and who should make them? Outline the subsequent design tasks that should occur after the key architectural design decisions are made. To what extent can the subsequent steps be performed in parallel? Some key architectural decisions to explore include: the key components and subsystems, where each component will execute and how will all of the pieces interoperate (which requires nailing down how the network, CORBA, and database infrastructure will be configured)? Many of the decisions depend on whether the supporting infrastructure is already in place. If it is, then many of the architectural decisions can be delayed until much code has been written and tested. If not, then the required infrastructure and tools will have to be acquired and configured. Developers will have to be trained, and architectural design will need to occur early to ensure that the developers don’t make any â€Å"mistakes† due to lack of fit with the development or deployment environment. Note that an OO development approach is assumed given the nature of the infrastructure and tools 4. Develop a network diagram that supports the architectural design decisions in your answer to number 2. Answers will vary. Some important points that should be included are: File servers just sent the data across the network. They tended to use lots of bandwidth, because the entire file was sent. Also, since the applications that processed the data were on all the different workstations, deployment and maintenance of these applications was expensive. Application servers moved the applications from the workstations (clients) to the server. This made it easier to maintain a consistent set of applications and to upgrade the applications. This movement was influenced by the appearance of â€Å"thin clients† that had very little storage, but good processing capability. However, due to the drastic reduction in storage costs, thin clients have not caught on. Multi-tier networks are where multiple servers and clients work together to provide the complete functionality of a system. Some processing will be on the clients. Servers such as database servers and application servers provide additional capability. The driving force behind much of this is the rapid growth and capability of the Internet and languages such as JAVA with protocols such as J2EE. Microsoft’s .NET also provides capabilities to have distributed systems. Answers for the future will vary.

Weather and its Effects

At the very least, we want to know how hot or cold it will get, or whether there will be rain or snow. Some of us live in places where severe weather can produce dangerous conditions flooding, tornados, blizzards or fogs, so we pay attention to weather related warnings. And these days, weather reports are getting more sophisticated, with pollen counts and particulates for allergy sufferers, and UP indices to tell you whether you need sunscreen. Since weather affects us so constantly, I put together this page to help understand he science of weather.I am not much interested In weather forecasting, which Is a very technical subject. This information is much more basic, about why weather â€Å"happens†, what's going on in the atmosphere, what weather-related terms we see on TV really mean, how to read weather maps. It's mostly practical Information, from a not very technical perspective. Weather and Climate Before we begin, let's differentiate between weather and climate. Weather is the state of your local atmosphere at any given time, in terms of such measurements as temperature. Wind speed, alarm pressure. Reciprocation, etc. Weather Is very specific – it's about a particular place at a particular time. It varies on a relatively small scale – for example, it could be raining in your area, while it's dry 10 miles away. It could be 72 degrees near your home, but only 65 degrees a few miles away. You could have a thunderstorm at 6 p. M. And have the sky clear by midnight. So when we're talking about weather. We are talking about a relatively small area and a very specific time. Moving to a different area, or going forward in time quickly changes the weather.On the other hand, climate is about long term averages. It concerns the same things as weather measurements like temperature, pressure, rainfall, precipitation but these measurements are averaged over a long period. If you say â€Å"the average high temperature for Boston in April is 56 deg rees†, then you are talking about climate. In order to report that average temperature, someone must have measured the high temperature each day in April, and then averaged those highs. Further, it's not enough to do that for one year, because any given year could be hotter or colder than average.So they must have measured high temperatures ACH day in April for several years, in order to calculate a multi-year average. In fact, in many places, such temperature records go back a century or more. These 100+ year records are used to calculate averages for temperatures, rainfall, weather patterns, etc. , and these long terms averages constitute the climate. It's Important to remember that weather can be very variable, but climate Is not. You could hit a high of 80 degrees on April 4th in Chicago one year, but in another year, the high on the same date might barely reach the freezing point at 32 degrees. There than a year-to-year variability. It doesn't even mean that the whole mon th of April was hotter, or the whole year was hotter. In order to make any long term comparisons, in order to show any trends, you absolutely need multi-year climate data. The Earth's Atmosphere Since weather is the condition of the atmosphere above a certain location, at a certain time of day or night, let's consider the atmosphere in more detail for a bit. The Earth's atmosphere extends from ground surface to the edge of interplanetary space.Most of this atmosphere is contained in a narrow band, about 7-10 kilometers high, which is known as the troposphere. About 80% of the mass of the atmosphere is contained within this thin band. Although 7-10 kilometers (23,000 – 32,000 feet) may not seem like a â€Å"thin† band, but it really is, if you consider how far the Earth's atmosphere extends. Technically, the Earth's atmosphere reaches half way to the moon (about 180,000 km) you have to go about that far before the density of atoms in the atmosphere equals the density of atoms typical of interplanetary space.Much of it is even visible to the naked eye. Astronauts in space can see the Corcoran, which looks like a hazy band surrounding the Earth, extending to about 100,000 km above the Earth. Of course, the upper atmosphere hundreds of miles above the Earth is unbreakable and almost empty. In fact, anything over 100 km is considered space, and if you go there, you are technically considered an astronaut by the World Air Sports Federation (this was the definition of space used for the X-Prize). The International Space Station (SIS) orbits at about 350 km.Low earth orbit, used by a huge number of satellites, extends to about 2000 km at most. These regions are commonly referred to as â€Å"space† by most people, but they are still part of the Earth's atmosphere. There is enough air up there that satellites slow down over time due to air friction, their orbits decay, and they ultimately fall back to the Earth. The SIS needs to be boosted every few months to a higher orbit, or it would also fall back to Earth. The Hubble telescope orbits at 595 km, and although it is more stable than the SIS, its orbit will also decay and fall back to Earth eventually.You have to go as far as geostationary or geosynchronous orbits (about 35,000 km) before the friction of the atmosphere (communications satellites are often in such orbits) becomes a smaller concern than gravitational perturbations. But this is still within the atmosphere. For the discussion of weather, however, we do not usually need to consider such high altitudes. 80% of the Earth's atmosphere is contained within the troposphere, a zone which extends from the surface of the Earth to about 10 km (it varies with latitude about 7 km over the poles, and about 17 km over the equator). 9% of the atmosphere is contained within the troposphere and the next zone outward – the stratosphere. The stratosphere extends from the boundary of the troposphere (known as the troposphere) to about 50 – 55 km from the surface of the Earth. Since the stratosphere), this is where weather happens. Outside this region, the air is not dense enough to display phenomena which are energetic enough to affect the weather. If the Earth's atmosphere were in complete equilibrium, we would have no â€Å"weather†. Conditions would be unchanging – there would be no day or night, no seasons, no rainfall, nothing.The source of changes in weather is changes in some other condition, some other variable. That variable is largely the Sun, although other factors also play a role. The spin of the Earth about its axis produces day and night, which means that energy input from the Sun on any given area of the Earth's surface varies cyclically reaching a peak during the day, and falling at night. This day-night cycle is a major source of weather, but it is modified and added to by many other cycles and factors as well. Some of these other factors vary by time of day or year , while others vary by location on the Earth's surface.In either case, variations are what fuel changes in the atmosphere, which we call weather. What factors cause the energy input of some local area on the Earth to change? Here are some: Latitude How far you are from the equator determines the angle of incidence of the Sun's rays at your location. This is extremely important in determining how much energy you receive from the Sun. The diagram at the right explains how this happens. Note that the diagram is not to scale, it shows the Sun as much smaller than the Earth, but that makes no difference to the explanation. The Sun is roughly spherical.It radiates energy in all directions. A very small portion of this energy is intercepted by the Earth. If we assume that the Sun radiates energy equally in all directions, we can imagine its surface (which radiates the energy) as Ewing divided into patches, measured by degrees of solid angle (usually expressed in stranding). Since the Earth is very far away from the Sun, and very small, it intercepts direct light from a very small patch of Sun. Notice the qualifier â€Å"direct†, as in â€Å"direct light†. This is important because the situation described is a simplification.In reality, the surface of the Sun emits light in all directions; therefore the Earth receives light from all parts of the Sun that are facing the Earth at a given time, not Just a single patch which is closest to the Earth. However, the density or intensity of this light is greatest when it is direct, that is, when a ray of light perpendicular to the Sun's surface intersects the Earth. So the relationship still holds – the more the direct sunlight falls upon some area of the Earth, the greater is the energy that area receives. He equator get progressively colder, because they get less direct sunlight. This creates bands or zones on the Earth's surface, with the hottest zones at the equator and the coldest zones at the poles. A temperature gradient is thus created, with high temperatures near the equator and cold temperatures at the poles. This temperature gradient drives the movement of air, which we perceive as winds. This variation is constant in time, meaning it does not change by time of the year. Latitude 50 North will always receive less installation than latitude 5 North, no matter what season of the year.It is simply a variation by location, that is, dependent upon the latitude location on Earth. Latitude is very important in setting up the permanent winds on Earth. We can divide the Earth (from North to South) into several well-marked zones. The band near the equator (about 5 ON to 5 so) is called the doldrums. It's the hottest part of the Earth, since the equator receives the most direct sunlight every year. On both sides of the equator are the tropics. These stretch roughly from the doldrums to the Tropic of Cancer (23. 5 ON) in the northern hemisphere, and to the Tropic of Capricorn (23. so) in the southern hemisphere. The tropics have a â€Å"tropical† climate – hot in the summers, mild in the winters. Beyond the tropics are the sub-tropical zones, which stretch from the Tropic of Cancer (23. 5 ON) to the Arctic Circle (66. 6 ON) in the northern hemisphere, and from the Tropic of Capricorn (23. 5 so) to the Antarctic Circle (66. 6 so) in the southern hemisphere. The subtropics usually have mild summers and cold winters. Beyond the subtropics lie the polar zones, from the Arctic Circle (66. 6 ON) to the North Pole (90 ON) in the northern hemisphere, and from the Antarctic Circle (66. so) to the South Pole (90 so) in the southern hemisphere. These are the coldest regions on Earth. Although there are many variations between different locations within the same zone (due to other differences, such as altitude, nearness to the sea, etc. Which are described below), the zones do broadly reflect the kind of climates found within. As mentioned earlier, they set up the patterns of the permanent winds – the trade winds, westerly's, polar winds. These permanent winds have a very strong effect on climate, and you can read about them in more detail on this page.Season The Earth's axis is not perpendicular to the plane of the Earth's orbit around the Sun; it is in fact tilted. The angle of tilt varies over time, but at present it is approximately 23. 5 degrees. Because the Earth revolves around the Sun, during the course of a full orbit around the Sun, each of Earth's hemispheres is at times tilted towards the Sun summer) and at other times tilted away from the Sun (Winter). The periods of maximum tilt are the solstices. In the year 2010, Summer solstice is on towards the Sun, which corresponds to summer and the longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere.Winter solstice in 2010 will be on Deck 21st at 1 1 PM (GMT), which corresponds to winter and the shortest day of the year for the northern hemisphere. As can be seen in the accompa nying diagram, a similar effect to the latitude differential described above happens during summer and winter. During summers, since the northern hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun, it receives more direct unlighted, leading to higher temperatures. During winters, since the northern hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun, it receives less direct sunlight, leading to colder temperatures. The effect is reversed in the southern hemisphere.Summer solstice in the northern hemisphere corresponds to winter solstice in the southern hemisphere, and vice versa. This seasonal effect can dramatically change weather patterns, and not Just in terms of temperatures. The change in temperature patterns across the globe shifts the high and low pressure areas of the atmosphere, which can lead to seasonal changes in winds. Indirectly, they can also affect precipitation, if for example, a winter wind which blows from land to land switches to a summer wind, which blows from sea to land. Wind blowing fr om the sea contains more moisture, which can lead to rain or snow.It's important to remember that while we think of seasons as a yearly phenomena, these changes are gradual and are happening constantly. Between the extremes of summer and winter solstice, each day the pattern changes gradually, the day becomes shorter or longer, depending upon whether the area is approaching summer or winter. While such small daily changes may seem miniscule when noninsured in terms of degrees of inclination or tilt, over the large surface of the Earth they correspond to significant shifts in the temperature zones. It's easy to calculate the magnitude of these daily changes. Since the Earth's axis is inclined at 23. Degrees, on summer solstice, latitude 23. 5 North (the Tropic of Cancer) is directly underneath the Sun (meaning, the Sun is directly overhead at noon on summer solstice day, if you happen to be at latitude 23. 5 North on that day). Similarly, on winter solstice day, latitude 23. 5 South (the Tropic of Capricorn) is directly underneath the Sun. So in the 6 months between the summer and winter solstices, the Sun changes its apparent position by 23. 5 + 23. 5 = 47 degrees in the sky. If we assume the Earth's radius to be 6400 km, then 47 degrees of latitude correspond to 47/360 = 5350 km of the Earth's surface.This means that the Earth's sun-directly-overhead-at-noon point migrates 5350 km north and south every 6 months. This is approximately 5350/180 = 29 km per day, or about 18 miles. As you can see, while it didn't seem much when we were simply looking at angles, if you warm front moving 18 miles in a day would definitely be noticed by us. So these hinges are important not Just on a seasonal basis, but also in affecting our day-to- day weather. Altitude The higher you go, the thinner the air gets. Dense air has a greater capacity to absorb and retain heat than thin air, so this is one reason why the temperature is colder at higher altitudes.However, this is insigni ficant compared to another effect, which is the cooling of air as it expands. According to the ideal gas law, the temperature of air is inversely proportional to its temperature, all else being the same. This is because as air expands under low pressure, it does work in expanding, and loses energy as ark done. Since the thermal conductivity of air is very low, it doesn't gain much heat from its surroundings, so the cooling is mostly diabetic, and well approximated by the gas law. The presence of water vapor upsets this relationship a bit, but not by a whole lot.This is the main reason why it's much colder at higher altitudes than it is at sea level. Therefore places which are near sea level and have thick, dense air are hotter than places at the same latitude which are at higher elevations. This is why the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro is covered with ice, even though it's located almost directly on the equator (about 3 so). There is a separate section here which talks about altitude- dependent atmospheric pressure changes in more detail. These changes are very important in determining the local climate of an area.Land and Oceans Land and oceans are heated differentially by the Sun. Land has a smaller thermal capacity than water. This has several interesting effects. First, it means that the same amount of solar heat will raise the temperature of land much more than it will raise the temperature of water. Therefore, during a given day land at the same latitude as water will become much hotter than the water. Since they are at the same latitude, they have received roughly the same amount of solar energy, and absorbed roughly the same amount of energy (actually, the water absorbs a bit more).But because of the difference in thermal capacities, land becomes much hotter than water with the same amount of energy. In terms of local winds, this might mean that the wind direction is from the land towards the water during the day (since air moves from higher temperature a nd low pressures towards colder temperatures and high pressures). Secondly, the greater heating or cooling of land leads to greater temperature preferential. The rate of heat gain or loss of an object depends upon the temperature differential between that object and its environment.For example, if you heat a pot of water to boiling (100 co), and then remove it from the stove and let it 10 co. If room temperature is 20 co, then the water will drop from 100 co to 90 co very quickly, but it will go from 30 co to 20 co much more slowly. This is because the temperature differential between the water and room temperature is much higher when the water is at 100 co than when it is at 30 co. Since land heats up more during he day, the temperature differential is higher, therefore land cools very rapidly as well. Water cools much more slowly, because the temperature differential is lower.We can think of it this way: land has rapid heating/cooling cycles with each day/night cycle. A large body of water, on the other hand, has much slower cycles. In fact, the water cannot lose all the heat it acquired during a summer day overnight, so it starts the next day slightly warmer than it was the previous morning. So as summer progresses, large bodies of water get progressively warmer, and they maintain this eat through the night hours, when the land cools down. For this reason, oceans don't have diurnal peaks and troughs in their temperature like the land; instead, they have seasonal peaks and troughs in their temperature.These things produce very significant effects on weather patterns. The general direction of the effect is towards the moderation of temperatures. Since the water heats more slowly but retains heat longer than land (and cools more slowly but retains coldness longer than land), the presence of oceans tends to moderate the climate of nearby land masses. At the same latitude, an area will be much hotter in he summer and colder in the winter if it's far away from th e sea. Nearness to the sea will moderate temperatures, making it both less hot in the summer and less cold in the winter.Even smaller bodies of water such as lakes can have a moderating effect on temperatures. Check the weather map of the Midwest US, and on many days you'll see that the temperature at the lake front in Chicago is higher or lower than out in the suburbs (by a few degrees), simply because Lake Michigan cools the lake shore during the summers, and warms it during the winters. Smaller bodies of water can also produce local diurnal winds, such as a breeze from lake to shore in the mornings, and a breeze from shore to lake in the evenings.Again, this has to do with the differential heating of land as compared to water during the day. Topography The physical relief of land areas has much to do with weather. There can be many reasons for this. One is simply altitude – mountainous areas will be cooler than areas at the same latitude which are nearer to sea level. But in addition, variation of the terrain can influence wind patterns and therefore the weather. One example is mountains as a barrier to wind flow. If a mountain range interrupts revealing winds, air is forced upwards to pass over the mountains.As it moves upward, it cools down. Since the water carrying capacity of air diminishes as it cools, this results in precipitation on the windward side of the mountains. Conversely, once Therefore, the leeward side of the mountains will be in â€Å"shadow† and receive much less rainfall than if there had been no mountains along the way. This effect can be seen almost anywhere in the world where there are mountains that interrupt some seasonal wind flow. It is very dramatic in the Himalayas in India, where the monsoon winds from the south meet the Himalayas.On the windward side, in the foothills of the Terra, there is very heavy rainfall. Chirruping in the Indian state of Megalith has historically been the wettest place on Earth (450 inches of rain on average per year), as the monsoon winds from the Bay of Bengal hit the Kiosk hills and are forced to rise and shed water. Conversely, the Tibetan plateau, on the leeward side of the Himalayas is very dry, with less than 18 inches of rain/ snow per year. There are other effects of topography as well. Flat land which is uninterrupted by hills or mountains allows wind to build up over long stretches.This is why the Midwest and plains states in the US are generally quite windy. Land which is more uneven breaks up lower level winds, so wind speeds are slower and winds are not as sustained. If a large area of flat lands then borders a hill or mountain range, these high winds can get channeled into valleys between the hills, and reach even higher velocities. You can see this effect on a much smaller scale even with man-made structures. Streets form canyons between skyscrapers in downtown areas of major cities, and wind is channeled through these â€Å"canyons†, reaching much higher speeds Han out in the suburbs.If you've walked through downtown Chicago or downtown Manhattan, you may have experienced this yourself. Low lying troughs, on the other hand, may have days when the air stagnates and does not move, since it is blocked by higher elevations surrounding the trough. Ocean Currents Water, like air, is a fluid medium, which can move from one place to another under temperature differentials. Just as there are winds in the atmosphere, there are water currents in the oceans, which carry warm water or cold water from one place to another, sometimes for thousands of miles.One well-known example of such a current is the Gulf Stream, which carries warm water from the Caribbean to near the shores of northern Europe. The Gulf Stream is largely responsible for the migration of populations into Europe after the last ice age. Without the Gulf Stream, Europe would probably be a sparsely populated wasteland. Consider London, which in terms of latitude is sligh tly farther north than Calgary in Canada. The average January low temperature of Calgary is 8 OF, but the average January low temperature of London is 41 OF. This is a huge difference, and the Gulf Stream is responsible.While latitudes comparable to England and northern Europe are almost tundra-like across Canada or Asia, they are quite warm and habitable in cultures traditionally depend upon hunting, since agriculture is insufficient to provide the necessary calories. But in Europe, there is extensive farming, which can support much larger population densities. The Gulf Stream has made it possible; it is a critical part of Rupee's habitability. Ocean currents are one of the most important contributors to climate, but the topic is fairly complex. I have written a brief explanation here, which you should really read before going ahead.

A Strong Business Leader

Many of us have the perception that a leader is an all- knowing being, who stands and commands his subordinates at all cost; but this perception is archaic.In the 21st century world, where things are more global, and nothing huge gets done without some kind of complicated system, relying on traditional business leadership practices may stunt growth as a successful leader business. Successful business leaders in 21st century are defined and evidenced by some questions. Are you courageous enough? Great business leaders dare to be different. They do not just talk about risk-taking, they actually do it.A business leader should be able to build the emotional stamina to withstand conflict. During my years in high school, I became very passionate about recycling and met a few people who shared the same. We decided to introduce a recycling club called the cleaning committee. Despite the challenges from the students and doubts from the authorities of the school, we still managed to overcome it all and if this doesn't spell out courage I don't know what else would. Where are you looking to create the next change? Is the change relating to your life and environment? Great leaders are not head-down. They see in between problems and shape the future rather than just reacting to it. The cleaning committee was responsible for ensuring cleanliness and recycling of items. This club also went to the extent of providing finance to the boarding school, since we usually sold our recyclable items to companies for money. This little organization brought about a lot of change, providing people some form of responsibility as well as invoking creativity in these students. What is the diversity of your network? A successful business leader should be able to develop relationships with different people. The difference could be in terms of culture or politics. Business leaders should understand that having a more diverse network is a source of pattern identification, because it involves working with different people from different cultures. This experience, as the head of the cleaning committee, helped me get out of my comfort zone. I also got the opportunity to work with different people hence helping me to make long lasting networks, this also motivated my colleagues and I to be more risk averse. In a few years, I see myself becoming a network architect. I will be responsible for designing computer networks and also dealing with network layout. I will also be responsible for developing systems that suit individual company needs. In conclusion, Hult is more than a business university, because it provides a global network for its students to reside in, I believe this will help me establish a more diverse network by participating in rotation programs, hence studying at different parts of the world.Hult gives its students the opportunity to put the theory in to practice. This will allow me to give solutions to some real-life problems, hence allowing me to have a first-hand experience as a network architect.