Affirmitive Action In The College Admissions Process Essay -- essays r

Every year millions of high school seniors apply to colleges and universities across the country. Some get in, some don’t. These schools have strict policies on the criteria for the acceptance of such students. The criteria involve many aspects of a student’s prior academic career, such as their academic standing, extra curricular activities and work ethic. These are criteria that put everyone on the same level because everyone has the ability to work harder or join more athletics. However, no one can change the color of their skin, and colleges base their admissions on these variables as well. So racism, in a sense, affects even the most basic of human ideals, education. If all men are truly created equal, as it is written, then race should not matter. Why aren’t college admissions based solely on merit? No person should be given an advantage based solely on the color of his or her skin.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Racism is the belief that one particular race is superior to another. Throughout history people have been persecuted or singled out because of the color of their skin, even in our own country. How can this be in a country that claims that all men are created equal? Racism is so much a part of American culture now that we have claims of reverse racism and programs implemented, such as affirmative action, not just to protect the rights of a different person but to further them along in life and to make things easier for them. When this country was founded, it was believed that people that were born with a different color skin were inferior to those with white skin. They were in fact enslaved before America was actually founded, and this treatment continued until the country was nearly a hundred years old. Since then African Americans and other races have been attempting to reach equality in this country. One such method has been through education. In America, intell igence for the most part is respected, just as much as hard work. College in this country is the epitome of both.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the university setting young adults are pushed to their limits. Their intelligence is tested on a daily basis in many different ways. Some classes involve heavy writing and still others involve written exams as their form of grading. Work ethic is also pushed. Homework is assigned and the true student does these assignments to maintain th... ... Lomotey. The Racial Crisis in American Higher Education. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1991. Browne-Miller, Angela. Shameful Admissions. San Franscisco: Jossey Bass Inc., 1996. Kleiner, Carolyn. â€Å"Wanted: a whole rainbow of talent Colleges are vying for minority students.† U.S. News and World Report 18 Volume 129 Sep. 2000. Marcus, Amy Dockser. â€Å"Class struggle.† Money Volume 29 Oct. 2000. Meacham, Jon. â€Å"The new face of race† Newsweek Volume 136 Sep/ 18, 2000. Reisberg, Leo. â€Å"A professor’s controversial analysis of why black students are losing the race† The Chronicle of Higher Education Volume 46 11 Aug. 2000. Selingo, Jeffrey. Florida’s universities see rise in minority enrollment after end of racial preferences.† The Chronicle of Higher Education Volume 47 8 Sep. 2000. Pages 1-3. Walsh, Laurie A. et al. â€Å"Affirmative action in American higher education and the goal of diversity in physical therapy programs† Journal of Physical Therapy Volume 14 Spring 2000.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Macroeconomics: comments

One of the advantages of using monetary policy would be the fact that all of the policies under this regime are all highly impersonal since all of the decisions to make regarding the condition of the economy are all based on the empirical data and not on the value judgment of the government authorities. Moreover, monetary policy is more flexible than fiscal policy since the Federal Open Market Committee meets about every six weeks to make decisions regarding the condition of the economy and the immediate implementation of the said decisions (Faculty.etsu.edu, 2007). On the other hand, one of the possible draw back from using monetary policy would be the fact that monetary policy only offers short term economic activity and do not guarantee a sustainable activity in the long run. Moreover, monetary policy can easily be affected by external factors such as oil price hike and exchange rate which has a direct effect on the performance of any monetary policy the federal government currently have. As for the advantages of fiscal policy, this can increase the government revenue through the process of raising the tax rate and/or tariff on import goods. Moreover, fiscal policy can also attract productivity as the government provides incentives to those domestic and foreign investors just to keep the economy in balance. On the other hand, fiscal policy, is relatively less flexible a compared to the monetary policy since it takes a long time before the government officials make decisions regarding the economic conditions of the country. Oftentimes, they only meet once a year to settle all of the economic policies that the federal government will implement for the rest of the year. Moreover, fiscal policy intervenes into the private sector which sometimes causes economic losses on the part of the consumers and the producers, like tax. Fiscal policy is also highly subjective and usually based on the value judgment of the federal officials even if there are empirical facts at hand. Answer 1.2 One of the possible factors that trigger crowding out would be through expanding the government borrowing in order to finance an increase in expenditure. Cutting of tax can also lead to crowding out since private sector is being ‘crowd out’ from their investment through higher interest rate. In other words, when the government raises its borrowing in the money market, it causes an increase of the interest rate in the market which ‘crowds out’ private investors and individuals from the lending market. Answer 1.3 Automatic stabilizers like reduction on tax rate tend to mitigate output fluctuation without any explicit government action; therefore, there is no need for the government to make discretionary policies or make value judgment regarding a certain economic situation since automatic stabilizers already reduces the ‘economic problems’ that the government officials will have to solve. Answer 2.1 Whenever there is a high inflation rate existing in the economy, what then government usually does is to lower down its spending in order to put pressure for the aggregate demand of the economy to depreciate making way for the decrease in market prices. At the end of the day, inflation rate starts to slow down as the aggregate spending decreases due to the cutting of government spending. In other words, high inflation rate causes budget surplus since the government has to regulate its spending. On the other hand, whenever there is a low inflation rate in the economy, the tendency of the government is to intentionally acquire budget deficit since it has to increase its spending to create additional market for the business sector which eventually stabilize the market price condition. In short, if there is a low inflation rate, it is expected that the government will incur budget deficit due to the increase of its spending to stabilize the market price. Answer 2.2 I believe yes, size of assets must serves as basis in judging the budget deficit, in order to determine how the government spends with respect to the amount of assets that it presently holds. Having a large government asset can give way for a higher budget deficit since the government can use those assets as collaterals for those persons or financial institutions where the government will borrow money just to finance its activities. In short, having a large budget deficit is not a problem for as long as the government has large amount of assets on its hands. Answer 2.3 Pay-as-you-go is a system of paying a debt as they incurred, or it is a system of paying a good or service as it is used than as n outright purchase. One of the possible applications of this would be the pay-as-you-go tax wherein it is a system of paying a debt of businesses or individuals on an installment basis of their expected tax liability. Answer 3 Now I understand why the government sometimes acquires budget deficits and how inflation rate is related to the budget condition of our government. I find this issue interesting since although there is no direct relationship between inflation rate and government budget condition, still, after noting all of the economic factors in our country, it is clear that inflation affects the government budget condition indirectly and vice versa. Moreover, I learned that the federal government uses either monetary or fiscal policy depending on the type of economic condition is at hand based from the identified strengths and weaknesses of the two policy regime. It is surprising how these policies affects all the economic activities in the country although we cannot see it through our own eyes. It’s just like; these policies are acting invisible in our economy and solving economic turmoil of our country. At the end of the day, whichever policy regime will the government implement, what is important would be the end effect of all of the policies that the government will put into action to solve a given economic problem. References Faculty.etsu.edu. (2007). Fiscal versus Monetary Policy. Retrieved March 19, 2008, from http://faculty.etsu.edu/hipples/FPvsMP.htm

Determinism and the benefits of Taylor’s theory Essay

In Metaphysics Richard Taylor outlines the different views on the concept of freedom. The traditional view is that of the compatibilists which states that freedom is the ability to act, or not to act, according to the determinations of the will. It is so defined to make it compatible with the theory of determinism, which essentially states that all actions have a causal explanation due to the state of the world in the moment previous. However, the definition is clearly inadequate due to the fundamental flaws of determinism and its failure to account for deliberation or personal choice. A superior alternative is offered by what Taylor calls the theory of agency, but is more commonly known as libertarianism. In discussing a theory one must start with some data in order to prove the validity of the theory, and in discussing determinism this is no different. Two suitable criteria dealing with the decision making process are: firstly that we at times deliberate with the view of making a decision , and secondly regardless of whether I deliberate I sometimes have a personal choice in the decision making process. These criteria are ideal because they are both things that we as individuals are fairly certain of so any acceptable theory must account for them in some way. For common sense, a virtue in argumentation, suggests that it is easier to accept the veracity of partial self-determination in the decision making process than an abstract philosophical theory. To asses the applicability of the data to determinism a more in depth examination of determinism is needed, which Taylor defines as having three tenets: Firstly, that the theory of determinism is true. Secondly, that voluntary behaviour is free unless constrained, and finally that causes of voluntary behaviour are certain states, condition, decisions, and desires. The principle problem of determinism is precisely this last tenet, for what are the causes of the inner states that cause my actions? Where do they come from? Are they under my control? If determinism is true then the problem of infinite causality arises for the causes of the actions must themselves have causes. When applied to the two original data the infinite causality of determinism  renders these data false. Take deliberation as an example. I can deliberate only about future actions, but there are always causes to everything I do making the outcome of the deliberation inevitable and the process itself irrelevant. The incompatibility of determinism and deliberation does not bode well for the second datum, as if I am to have a personal choice in an action then I must be able to concretely execute any of the options associated with the action. But if determinism is true there can again only be one option due to the chain of causes thus negating the option of personal choice. A better theory, one that incorporates these two essential data is what Taylor calls the theory of agency, but is more commonly known as libertarianism, which postulates that human beings are frequently, but not always, self-determining beings. To further understand the theory of agency and thus its advantages it is first necessary to examine how it deals with the causation of actions. If an individual is relatively free in his decision making it follows that the individual agent can be considered a cause for the resulting action. For example, if I move my hand then the obvious cause of the motion is me and not some infinite series of causes. The lack of such a sequence of causes, unlike the one put forward by determinism, is an advantage for it allows the theory of agency to be rid of the problems of determinism discussed above. Moreover this allows libertarianism to incorporate the two criteria originally put forth. Under libertarianism deliberation becomes not just possible, but quite logical as it makes sense to ponder a matter over which I have control of the outcome. Then obviously, if I am at least a partially self-determining entity then I have a fair amount of personal choice in what course of action I should pursue. Aside from avoiding the problems of determinism, perhaps libertarianism’s greatest advantage is its common sense appeal. For example, if I am considering whether to order a Big Mac for lunch or a McChicken, it makes much more sense to me that through deliberation I can choose which sandwich I would like to eat, rather than the existence of some infinite chain of events that pre-determines that I will eat a Big Mac. It is of course necessary to acknowledge that common sense and simplicity are not absolute truths, but as Bertrand Russell wrote, in support of common sense,  in The Problems of Philosophy, â€Å"Since this belief [in the existence of physical objects] does not lead to any difficulties, but on the contrary tends to simplify and systemize our account of our experiences, there seems no good reason for rejecting it.† (Russell, 24) While Russell was addressing another problem the logic of common sense he applied most definitely applies to the case at hand as well. As a concluding argument in favour of libertarianism consider, the very fact of reading and grading this essay. If determinism were true then this essay’s grade would have long been pre-determined by a series of causes stretching back to before its very creation thus rendering useless the whole process. Texts Cited Russell, B. Problems of Philosophy. Oxford University Press: Oxford, 1997. Taylor, R. Metaphysics. Englewood Cliffs NJ: Prentice Hall, 1993

The Design of Microsoft® Support Network 1.0

Microsoft Corporation Microsoft Corporation: The Design of Microsoft ® Support Network 1. 0 1. What factors suggest that Microsoft's PSS Division needs a more comprehensive and flexible approach for its service offerings? Admittedly, Microsoft's support services were not as good as those offered by some competitors. Several factors contributed to the nondescript nature of Microsoft services. Previous support service policy had been determined at the product level. Annually, each product manager negotiated with PSS over the type, extent, and pricing of services to be offered to customers along with their products. Because Microsoft had 150 products, the result was a hodgepodge of service offerings. Some products had no support services, some offered unlimited â€Å"free† service that was accessed by phone via a â€Å"toll† number, and still others provided extensive telephone service â€Å"for fee†. For customers, particularly those that owned and used several Microsoft products, the service offerings were confusing because it was difficult to know which service came with which product. Moreover, expert users felt that they were paying for services they didn't need on basic applications. At the same time, they could not get sophisticated support services on some of Microsoft's newly introduced line of highly technical advanced systems, even if they were willing to pay extra. 2. Based upon the guidelines that senior management has provided to Trish May, what product support strategy has Microsoft envisioned? Before the PSS task force started its work in December 1992, Patty Stonesifer, Trish May, and key team members, along with the input of Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, and Mike Maples, devised a set of goals that were to guide efforts and serve as the basis for all technical support programs. These included: †¢Microsoft technical support services should reinforce and enhance the high quality of Microsoft products. Bill Gates insisted on this goal. He maintained that Microsoft needed to deliver a comprehensive offering to the marketplace that was comprised of both high quality products and support services. Gates was willing to invest significant resources into technical support services to improve their overall quality and customer perceptions of them. †¢Choice, Quality, and Simplicity should characterize all technical support programs. Based upon several market research studies and experience, the task force concluded that customer satisfaction would be sustained by delivering technical support that met customer needs in three ways. First, support programs should offer customers a choice. Those who â€Å"did not want to pay for support they didn't need† should be able to buy software alone, at a price that did not include service costs. At the same time, customers that â€Å"wanted more support and were willing to pay extra for it† could also do so. Second, all technical support provided by Microsoft should meet or exceed industry standards for quality. Third, all technical support programs should be marked by simplicity; that is, customers should have little difficulty understanding Microsoft's offering and how it applied specifically to their needs. †¢Technical support services should be a â€Å"cost center† for the Microsoft Corporation. On this point, there was uniform agreement in the company. As managers saw it, Microsoft's â€Å"core competence† was its technology. Though important, technical support services were not seen as a potential source of corporate profits. Instead, Microsoft was prepared to invest in them in the short run, with the eventual goal of breaking even. †¢The Microsoft Corporation should be the technical service provider of â€Å"last resort†. Microsoft managers took progressive steps to leverage the work of PSS engineers. First, the development group engaged in continuous efforts to make all software as â€Å"user-friendly† as possible. Resulting reductions in user problems would lower demand for service. Second, managers initiated special efforts to give customers tools and information, so that they could resolve as many problems themselves as possible. Third, the firm would inform customers about and encourage them to use third party service providers (e. g. , VARs, dealers, ISVs) in their communities and industries. Finally, if the first three methods proved ineffective, then managers would actively directed customers to PSS personnel. 3. How should the Microsoft Support Network 1. 0 matrix be structured in terms of rows and columns? Early on in their analyses, the task force hit upon the idea of using a matrix to summarize the various service offerings. Members referred to it as the Microsoft Support Network 1. 0. The rows of the matrix would consist of major service groupings, while the columns would capture the differences in those services across product or customer segment categories. In turn, each element in the matrix would describe a specific service offering and include a fee structure. To avoid customer confusion, the group concluded that 4 rows and 4 columns should be the largest size of the matrix; however, no research had been done to confirm this. Although the concept of a service-offering matrix received enthusiastic and universal approval among Microsoft managers, there was widespread disagreement over the make-up of the rows, columns, and elements. Trish noted that the matrix could be constructed in several ways. Each had distinct advantages. 4. What implementation problems should PSS managers anticipate? How can PSS managers successfully overcome them? Main problem – to offer some free services for its software and if yes which ones. Such services should be implemented and delivered to customers, some for free and some for a little fee. Also there exist many different competitors who offer rivalry products for the better terms. For example Adobe gives its customers some cards on which they get bonus points and then have the opportunity to exchange them for the service delivered. Company also has a problem with communication and making its customer to understand what they are selling. There are cases when customers did not clearly understand what they are paying for or what problems will this software solve for them. Management first of all should allocate priorities, based on the overall corporate goal of the company. As far as I can see from the case company management clearly understands that they need something to change, they know that this something is the new support system more frequently working one. Also hey know that this would need investment and are ready to pay for it, because the most important they understand that without that system harmonic development of the company would be almost impossible. So as I think Microsoft first should listen to heir customers understand their needs clearly and deliver the value that way, cause without clear understanding what your customer wants good, workable strategy will be impossible to implement. And the last one Microsoft should understand that they do not need complicated software with many gadgets and etc. neither they are the experts (all of them) in the field of IT, so the one thing they want in easier solving of problem. If Microsoft will manage to this by better communication, more user friendly programs etc. it does not matter for the customer. Customer need problem solving not the exact product.

American Poetry Interpretation Paper Research Proposal

American Poetry Interpretation Paper - Research Proposal Example It is quite intriguing to know that the speaker in this poem questions through several inquisitive remarks the need for building walls to his laconic neighbor, but at the same time the speaker takes the initiative every year to let his neighbor know about the wall-building task. Besides that, the speaker also repairs the walls that have been destroyed by the hunters. It is also shocking the way the seemingly peaceful neighbor is described by the speaker 'like an old-stone savage armed' (1914). John C. Kemp explains the irony in this poem as follows: 'Ironically (and there is much irony in this poem), although the speaker complains about his neighbor's unfriendliness, his own susceptibility to subjective vision and his willingness to let his imagination run away with him predispose him also to prejudicial attitudes.' (Kemp, 1979, in Modern American Poetry, 2002a). It is obvious that "Mending Wall" is concerned with the state of incommunication between the neighbors (Montiero, 1988, in Modern American Poetry, 2002a), but a central theme of this poem is related to the critical spirit of the speaker that echoes some kind of influence from authors like Emerson and Thoreau. Analyzing the speaker's attitude towards his neighbor, Racher Hadas makes the following assertations: 'What he objects to is not so much the sentiment itself as the unwillingness or inability of the other to think for himself, to "go beyond his father's saying."' (Hadas, 1976, in Modern American Poetry, 2002a). Furthermore, the use of irony, ambiguity, and critical thinking in Frost's poetry can be understood from his remarks in the essay "Education by Poetry" as follows: 'Poetry provides the one permissible way of saying one thing and meaning another. People say, "Why don't you say what you mean" We never do that, we being all of us too much poets. We like to talk in parables and in hints and indirections--whether from diffidence or some other instinct.' (Frost quoted by Raab, 1996, in Modern American Poetry, 2002a). On the other hand, in "The Road Not Taken" there is a subtle irony hidden through some ambigous lines that many readers fail to understand in their right dimension. The speaker had been faced with the challenge of choosing between two paths that in essence are equivalent ('...Then took the other, as just as fair...', '...really about the same...', '...equally lay / In leaves no step had trodden black...' (Frost, 1916)). The final stanza can be interpreted with a deeper meaning that the one that lies in the surface as Jay Parini points out: 'My guess is that Frost, the wily ironist, is saying something like this: "When I am old, like all old men, I shall make a myth of my life. I shall pretend, as we all do, that I took the less traveled road. But I shall be lying."' (Parini, 1988, in Modern American Poetry, 2002c). Indeed, the speaker chose the "road less traveled" but this doesn't mean that it was in fact the best decision in the long run (Richardson, 1997, in Modern American Poetry, 2002c). For Robert Faggen, the hidden implications of this poem can be found in the fact that 'It parodies and demurs from the biblical idea

Sherwin Williams (SHW0 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Sherwin Williams (SHW0 - Research Paper Example There are various methods which have been postulated by scholars such as Gordon; Gordon postulated a growth model which is used to ascertain or estimate the value of stock in the future. In the Gordon growth model it is assumed that the company cash flows experiences constant growth t to perpetuity from the period immediately proceeding the valuation date. In the Gordon method the present value of the terminal benefit is then added to the summation of the present value of all project cash flows so as to arrive at the total value of stock (Stavans, 2007). The second approach to stock valuation in order to ascertain the total returns to the investor is the constant growth model. Using model it is assumed that earnings of the stock a constant growth, that is, dividend experience a constant which is usually ascertained from the growth in the earnings of the company then using a capitalization rate which is given by the difference between the company cost of equity and the growth. Then, the expected earning to the stock (then multiplied by one plus the growth rate) is divided by the capitalization rate so as to arrive at the total earnings attributed to the stock. Then, this figure is added to the current market so as to ascertain the total returns that would accrue to the investor at the end of the five year period. In order to achieve the objectives of this paper we will employ a hybrid of Gordon growth model so as to arrive at the total returns that the stocks of Sherwin Williams company. This method was adapted due to it is consideration of the time value of money concept. Moreover, this method is more efficient than the constant growth assumption method. Total present value of earnings = 8.3431 plus 86.00 assuming the market price of shares grows at the same rate like the dividend such that the market price per share at the end of five years will be 86 (1.11)5 = 145.57 the present value would be 145.57 x 0.5428 = 79.02. Therefore, the total return

Impact of Labour Turnover in the Hospitality Industry on Guest Essay

Impact of Labour Turnover in the Hospitality Industry on Guest Satisfaction - Essay Example The aim was to prove that the hypothesis of acceptance of this culture leads to devastating consequences and that high turnover must be prevented, minimized, and managed. In order to meet the aims of the study, it was necessary to examine the causes and nature of turnover, whether it is considered to be bad or if it is considered to be good and necessary in the operation of companies. Existing arguments were examined as some believe that high turnover is desired in the hospitality industry yet some do not believe it to be a positive thing. Another argument included turnover as a culture of the industry. The Greek market was used as a case study to provide examples and illustrations which proved the writer’s hypotheses and aims. The Greek hospitality industry’s study also allowed the examination, evaluation, and findings of this study. In order to meet the objectives of this study, a literature review was conducted to define high turnover and various aspects of the topic in relation to the hospitality industry. Turnover is when employees stay only for a short time before moving on or becoming dismissed for one reason or another. (D’Announzio-Green, Maxwell, & Watson 2002, quote Barron and Maxwell, 1993, p. 5). â€Å"Turnover is the result of both quits and layoffs.   Thus, some turnover is a result of jobs in one firm being destroyed and jobs in another firm being created  Ã¢â‚¬â€ and hence due to the reallocation of jobs across the economy in response to changes in product demand.   A majority of job changes, however, are because workers reshuffle across the same set of jobs, and this worker reallocation occurs over and above job reallocation,† as written by Lane (2000).   Some hospitality industry sources report that turnover rate is between 100 and 150 percent each year.   This causes poor attitude amongst staff and affects the quality of service and care that is given to the customers.   (Crabtree, 2005.)   It is usually considered to be a bad thing; however, as Stark (2004) states â€Å"research has demonstrated that some turnover is healthy, indeed essential to organizational well being.†Ã‚   Scholtz (n.d.) reports that there are companies who have a turnover rate of ten percent or more and think it is a good thing because â€Å"they are replacing the bottom performers with new people will improve organizational performance.†