Audubon zoo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Audubon zoo - Essay Example Park personnel need new challenges and the zoo needs to be constantly improved to prevent falling into a pattern that could lead to a decline. The recent political decision to give control to the City of New Orleans offers an opportunity for reorganization towards a more learning organization which would be flexible enough to make future adjustments as needed. The organization is actually getting too large not to be flexible. Currently, the Audubon Park Zoo operates within the revenues it generates, which is actually a plus, since most such projects require more public support. Financial data is found on the graph below. A questionable suggestion to lease the concessions to third party vendors needs to be examined. The concessions operated at a tiny fraction of current volume before the Friends of the Zoo took it over. While the fact that the labor is volunteer may account for some of the profit, giving up control is probably not advisable. Financially, the zoo is doing well, but it any improvements or expansions are done the funding needs to be developed. New projects are needed in order to maintain momentum. Anything that does not move forward stagnates. The vertically hierarchical structure has worked for the park until now, but the park has grown and will continue to grow, and large organizations which stick strictly to this kind of structure sacrifice flexibility for a sense of stability due to the efficient nature of this organizational structure. In the beginning of a company or during the time when it is being revamped, efficiency is of prime importance. However, as an organization matures, it must become a â€Å"learning organization† so that it can make changes as needed in response to changes in the marketplace. Becoming a learning organization is essential to the bottom line, as Hanvanich et al proved in their study. â€Å"Specifically, under low environmental turbulence, learning orientation and organizational memory

Eiffel Tower by Robert Dalaunay Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Eiffel Tower by Robert Dalaunay - Essay Example The essay "Eiffel Tower by Robert Dalaunay" explores Eiffel Tower, created by Robert Dalaunay. The piece has very little white space, which gives it a crowded, crushed feeling not normally associated with the Eifel Tower, which is usually shown majestically scraping an open sky. The painting plays with point of view in very interesting ways. Firstly, the aerial view and low contrast between the tower and the ground make the tower seem small, minute. Not being able to tell where the ground ends and the structure begins at first glance seems to shrink it. This, combined with the aerial view, gives the tower a smallness, showing how minute it really is when put in its context (even though the tower dominates the painting). This could make the viewer reflect on how big they are – if this tower, so large and majestic, can seem so small and crushed when viewed from a different angle, how small indeed must the viewer be, who is so much smaller than the tower? It puts human works, pai ns and troubles in the context of the wider world, and chastises our self-importance. This work does a very good job accomplishing what it sets out to do. The colors are bold and well chosen, and the play of contrast is especially interesting. Furthermore, it serves several purposes – as mentioned previously it seems to be making a poignant point about the paucity of human existence, but on the other hand it is still a very aesthetically pleasing work, using only bright colors that complement each other very well.

Three Negative Impacts Of Information Systems Information Technology Essay

Three Negative Impacts Of Information Systems Information Technology Essay Information systems are a basis for running business today. In many industries, survival and even existence without extensive use of IT is implausible and IT plays a vital role in increasing productivity. Although information technology has become more of a commodity, when coupled with corresponding changes in organization ad management, it can give the basis for new product, services, and ways of conducting business that provide firms with a strategic advantage. Information technology has become the largest constituent of capital investment for firms in the United States and many industrialized societies. On the other hand, there are the challenges for management when constructing and using information systems. Although information systems have provided vast benefits and efficiencies, they have also generated new ethical and social problems and challenges, such as threats to individual privacy and intellectual property rights; hence, managers face an ongoing struggle to maintain security and control, they have to design systems that people can control, understand, and use in a socially and ethically responsible way. Acquiring business value from information systems is another key challenge for management. Because not all companies realize good returns from information systems investments, in which the greatest challenge managers encountering today, they ensure that their companies indeed obtain meaningful returns on the money they spend on information systems. Besides, managers should understand the system requirements of a global business environment. Since the rapid growth in intern ational trade and the emergence of a global economy require information systems that can support both producing and selling goods in many different countries; however, it may result in chaos and the failure of central management controls. Therefore, management has to develop integrated, multinational or create cross-cultural accounting and reporting structures and design transnational business processes. Distinguish between and describe the uses of and advantages/disadvantages in HTML and XML. HTML is the main format used on the World Wide Web that stands for Hypertext markup language, which is a page description language for indicating how text, graphics, video, and sound are placed on a Web page document; however, HTML is limited to describing how data should be presented in the form of Web pages. HTML is actually a loosely defined subset of XML. However, whereas XML is a strict language, HTML takes liberties that may have helped it become the popular presentation tool it is today. Although the spirit of the young Internet encouraged freedom, developers have now recognized that the freedom of HTML has ramifications. Because HTML is so flexible, many browsers and Web applications have added their own functionality to the base HTML protocol. As all enhanced functionality is, this comes with additional security risks. XML stands for Extensible Markup Language that is the fundamental technology for Web services. XML can perform presentation, communication, and storage of data; however, in XML a number is not simply a number the XML tag specifies whether the number represents a price, a date, or a ZIP code. XML allows certain elements of the content of documents possible for computers to manipulate and interpret their data automatically and perform operations and the data without human intervention. Besides, XML offers a standard format for data exchange, enabling Web service to pass data from one process to another. Provide an explanation of the five layers of the TCP IP reference model. TCP/IP uses a suite of protocols, the main one being TCP and IP. TCP refers to the Transmission Control Protocol, which handles the movement of data between computers. TCP establishes a connection between the computers, sequences the transfer of packets, and recognizes the packets sent. IP refers to the Internet Protocol, which is responsible for the delivery of packets and includes the disassembling and reassembling of packets during transmission. There consists of five layers for the TCP/IP reference model, they are: application layer, transport layer, internet layer, network interface layer and physical layer. Application layer allows client application programs to access the other layers and defines the protocols that application use to exchange data. One of these application protocols is the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) that is used to transfer Web page files. On the other hand, transport layer is accountable for providing the application layer with communication and packet services. This layer includes TCP and other protocols. Internet layer is the third layer that is responsible for addressing, routing, and packaging data packets called IP datagrams. The Internet Protocol (IP) is one of the protocols used in this layer. Besides, network interface layer is responsible for placing packets on and receiving them from the physical network medium, which could be any networking technology. At the bottom of the reference model is physical layer, which is the physical connection whether using a Network Interface Card (NIC) or with a modem to connect to the local network. 7. What steps do the authors recommend be taken to develop an international information systems architecture? International information systems architecture contains the basic information systems required by organizations to coordinate worldwide trade and other activities. Recommend by the authors, there are five major steps for developing of an international information systems architecture, which included business drivers and challenges, corporate global strategies, organization structure, management and business processes, and technology platform. A business driver is a force in the environment to which businesses must respond and that influences the direction of the business. Meanwhile, examine carefully the inhibitors or negative factors that generate management challenges that could ruin the development of a global business. Once the global environment is examined, consider a corporate strategy for competing in that environment. After developing a strategy, it is then time to think how to structure organization so it can practice the strategy. Next, consider the management issues in implementing strategy and making the organization design come alive, the key here will be the design of business processes. The last issue to consider is the technology platform. Although changing technology is a key driving factor leading toward global markets, it may need to have a corporate strategy and structure before it can rationally choose the right technology. Once the process of reasoning have completed, it will be well on the way towa rd appropriate international information systems architecture capable of achieving corporate goals.

Thorstein Veblen: Short Bio & Economic Theories & Ideas Essay -- essay

Thorstein Bunde Veblen (1857-1929) was born in Cato, Wisconsin. He attended Carleton College, as well as the universities of John Hopkins, Yale, and Cornell. He taught political economy and economics from 1892 to 1918 at the University of Chicago, Stanford University, and the University of Misssouri. He retired in 1926 after working for seven years at New York City’s New School for Social Research. He was noted for his significant analysis of our economic system and, by Mark Blaug, for his mastery of the art of satire.# Veblen went against the modern economic beliefs of his day. He identified a problem in our society that most did not. He noticed that the industrialists increased production of goods by hiring engineers to improve efficiency. This, in turn, drove prices down and cut profits, so the industry captains cut production to save profits. Ideas like this were prevalent in most of his writings and economic theories. Society, to Veblen, could be described as a division of classes. The "leisure class" and the "industrious class", the former being described as a predator, parasitic and harmful to society, and the latter being the members who produce goods. This mostly came from his most famous work, The Theory of the Leisure Class, in which he coined the phrase "conspicuous consumption"...

Andrew Carnegie Essay

The rise of capitalism was characterised by exploitation and opportunity. Opportunities, if taken at the chance, enabled men to access wealth. Andrew Carnegie is the perfect example of an entrepreneur and man who built the roots of American infrastructure. He can also lived the ‘perfect’ American dream. He has a typical ‘rags to riches’ story, which makes him a historical icon and an admirable man. Carnegie is known to have built a fortune on steel. However, the ways in which he made money could be considered an abuse to ethics and moral rights. Toward the end of his life, Carnegie decided to use his wealth for the greater good of the community and encouraged learning. For the above reasons, he can be considered as a robber baron, but I believed that he also worked for the greater good of human nature. Carnegie was able to take opportunities to create a vast fortune. He came from absolutely nothing, but is known as a captain of industry. He monopolised wealth, transport and infrastructure. He was born in Scotland in 1835. His family migrated to America in 1848 when he was thirteen. As a young boy, he worked in a cotton factory in Pittsburgh. He did not have many years of schooling nor attended university but he became the richest man on the planet during the industrial revolution. In this sense, he is the incarnation of the American Dream. One of Carnegie’s sayings; â€Å"The first man gets the oyster, the second gets the shell† explains his career fully. Carnegie had the ability to identify and seize opportunities, to foresee what would happen to industries and to take risks. He also stated that; â€Å"people who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity no matter how impressive their other talents† show his ambitiousness. Carnegie was not content with commonplace. His ability to seize opportunities and invest in them helped greatly his career. He saw potential in telegraphing and transport. While he was working in the railroad industry, in 1859, he saw a connection between steel and infrastructure. Carnegie grabbed the opportunity and created a successful steel company, a great example of capitalist exploitation. Carnegie’s steel company, Carnegie Steel, which opened near Pittsburgh in the 1870s, is an example exploitation during the rise of capitalism. Carnegie created employment. The way he ran his company can be believed to be an  abuse of manpower and human capacities. His workplace was similar to modern day sweatshops. He made men work hard. They had long hours, twelve hours per day, six days per week, in extremely poor working conditions. Because steel was in demand at the time, due to the advancements in steam engines, Carnegie decided to keep costs low to attract more people. However that meant that he kept his workers’ wages low as well. This resulted in violent labour strike in 1892. Carnegie always preached for rights of workers and unions. However his actions did not match his rhetoric. A major strike at Carnegie Steel was a clash between capitalism and workers’ unions. It was bloody and violent. It lasted five month. During that time Carnegie went to Scotland and left the company’s general manager, Henry Clay Frick in charge. 300 Pinkerton armed guards were posted around the factory and ten men were killed. Carnegie’s only way out of this dilemma was to sell his factory. He sold it to J. Pier Morgan, for $480 million, in 1901. Andrew Carnegie turned his career from capitalism to philanthropy. When Carnegie sold his steel company to Morgan, he became the â€Å"richest man on earth†, said Morgan the day he bought the company. In 1889, Carnegie had published an essay, in which he stated that, â€Å"the rich have a moral obligation to distribute their money in ways to promote the welfare and happiness of the common man†. He also said that, â€Å"the man who dies rich thus dies disgraced†. During his life he gave away more than $350 millions. Carnegie supported education and reading. He donated money to 2500 libraries around the world. The particular thing about Carnegie’s philanthropist career is that he did not just want to help people; he wanted to help others help themselves. He gave away his money for the improvement of mankind. For example, giving money away to libraries instead of people allowed mankind educate themselves. Consequently, education became easier to access for everyone. Carnegie became one of the most famous philanthropists, a complete opposite to the man whom exploited people in his factory. Andrew Carnegie was both a robber baron and a philanthropist. In my opinion, he worked for the greater good of human nature. He was a man who took opportunities to make his career, as well as giving other opportunities. Even though he exploited people, and the working conditions in his steel  factory are an example of that, he offered them jobs, and a way to make money for their families. I agree that in the end he â€Å"helped others to help themselves†. His massive donation of $350 millions shows his change of heart towards the end of his life. As Carnegie, grew up in a poor social class, I believe that he wanted to give others similar opportunities as he strived for. Giving them a chance for education and free access to libraries. The millions of dollars that he donated gave others a chance to improve their lives. I believe that Andrew Carnegie is a man to be remembered as one whom sought better mankind.

Police Ethics Essay

All professions operate within a certain broad framework of code of ethics. These are rules that govern the conduct of a particular group of professionals, the conduct amongst themselves and most importantly with the rest of the society. Some of these codes of ethics may be legally enforceable and their violation may lead to criminal proceedings instituted against the violator. Contravening of the code of ethics may also lead to an individual’s name being struck off the professionals’ list like in the case of auditors, engineers and accountants amongst others.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The police force has its own distinct code of ethics both implied and express. It is these ethics that regulate the conduct of all law enforcement officers in their day to day running of their duties. These ethics may be unique to one state or universal as they are a product of social and political environment. The United Nations has its own framework of ethics within which the police or law enforcement officers are supposed to operate. These are ethics that have been fine tuned and can be universally applied (United Nations, 1989).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Police is a broad term used to denote all officers mandated to enforce the law, officers that can make arrests as well as detain a suspect.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is agreeable that police officers are charged with the delicate duty of maintaining law and order. In the course of maintaining such order, they are bound to come across various challenges and impediments that may make them compromise their legal duties. Police exist in an environment filled with suspicion and hostility and with the powers they possess; they are likely to intimidate the rest of the citizens. They also have discretionary powers as it is not possible to spell out and dictate in the law how a certain issue is to be handled. They are expected to make split decision over who is innocent and who needs to be questioned (Hirst, M.J., 1990).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To carry out these duties, they are governed by professional ethics that guide them when carrying out their duties. In the process of carrying out these duties, police officers are expected to uphold and protect the human rights of the civilians and suspects. This is in conformity to both the national and international law. Their duty is to safeguard the interests of the public and assist public officials in the execution of their duties. These duties and responsibilities should be carried out in line with the laid procedures. Objectivity and fairness are two key ideals that should be upheld and personal interests should not conflict the efficiency in carrying out of such responsibilities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Key to police ethics is the issue of discrimination. Police officers and other law enforcement officers are expected to carry out their duties indiscriminately. They are guided by the law and it should not be applied selectively. Gender, race, social and political status, creed or ethnic background should not be used as a basis to accord somebody harsh or preferential treatment. Almost all professions are expected to uphold confidentiality in their interactions with the public. Police officers too are not expected to reveal private details not unless it has been established that publicizing such details will help in the line of duty, for example in apprehending a suspect. The procedures and operations of the police officers should remain within the forces precincts as the release of such information can lead to jeopardizing of important missions. Every police officer is hence bound to confidentiality. No data regarding the police should be released to another party without proper authorization (Miller, S. et al, 1997.)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Police officers are expected to use reasonable force in carrying out their duties. This however does not extend to malicious damage to property, unwarranted harassment of the pubic and any other measures that are not within the precincts of what is unavoidable in the line of duty. The force applied should not go beyond what is necessary and reasonable in carrying out such kind of an activity. The police ethics are against the subjection of suspected criminals to brutality that is outside the stipulations of the law.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hierarchy in the police force is legally and ethically emphasized. Orders and commands in the force always take downward route. As long as the orders given are lawful and do not contravene the ethics, an officer is under obligation carry them out. The superiors on the other hand are expected to have full responsibility of the actions of their juniors in regard to the instruction that they have issued. Codes of ethics also do not allow police officers to accept gifts that are attached to their work, in case of such an offer; they are expected to notify their superiors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is also against police ethics for officers to carry out investigations into issues that they have personal connections with unless such involvement is not likely to have a bearing on the investigations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Objectivity is to be upheld at all times. As far as suspects are concerned, police ethics require the officers to treat suspects humanely in the knowledge that they are innocent until proven guilty. There should also be enough grounds to necessitate the arrests of such suspects (Bracey, D.H, 1992).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Like in any other profession, personal feelings and prejudices are bound to get into the way of efficiency and professionalism. Law enforcement officers sometimes find themselves in ethical dilemmas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are four classifications of dilemmas; among these discretion and loyalty are the most common. Police are allowed discretionary authority in their line of duty. These are powers to choose the most appropriate decision to make in a specific case. This is where personal intuition comes at play and in many cases lead to selective application of the law. A policeman is supposed to chose who to charge with a certain crime and who to leave. In making such a decision, personal preferences and prejudices may impede on the process of making of the right judgment as required by law. This is a very common dilemma (Blalock, J., 1992.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Blacks and Hispanic community have been complaining of harassment by the police. The crime rates in the United States are that these two communities have a high prevalence rate in crime, with such a notion in the back of a policeman mind; an officer is bound to have a clouded judgment in his view of any person from these communities. With his or her discretionary authority, a police officer is more likely to arrest a black in the midst of whites in case of a fracas more than he would to a white who is amongst blacks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Personal interests are also likely to stand in the way of executing proper judgments. This is complicated by the temptation to take bribes. It is against police ethics and also against the law for police officers to solicit or accept a bribe. References Hirst, M.J., 1990. Setting the Standards for Policing: Meeting Community Expectations, London, Association of Chief Police Officers. United Nations, 1989. United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, New York Miller, Seumas, Blackler, John, & Alexandra, Andrew, 1997. Police Ethics, Sydney: Allen & Unwin.. Blalock, J., 1992. Mismanagement and Corruption. Police Studies 15(4). Bracey, D.H, 1992. Police Corruption and Community Relations: Community Policing. Police Studies 15(4).