Friendship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Friendship - Essay Example It was not a pleasant experience because we were strangers to one another. Even though my uncle was not happy about our lack of knowledge of each other, he introduced us as first cousins after which we became friends. I was also able to meet other cousins during my stay in the city but my friendship with this particular cousin has grown beyond any other personal relationship that I have had and I, in this paper, look at friendship and the extent to which Akst’s writing applies to friendship and possible deviations. Basis of friendships Akst, in his article, noted Aristotle’s explanation of three forms of friendship: â€Å"those based on usefulness (contacts), on pleasure (drinking buddies), and on a shared pursuit of virtue – the highest form of all† (Akst, 24). Our friendship developed from shared goals and dreams that we aspired to achieve in the future. The only contrasting aspect that existed between my cousin and I was our preferred professions. My co usin preferred a business career. He was a self-proclaimed businessperson and believed that business was the only key that could unlock his fortunes. On the contrary, I had education-oriented goals. I aimed at working hard in school to secure good grades that would qualify me to attend top ranking universities in the country. We however shared common goals despite the different paths that we chose to our respective success. A reflection, ten years later, of our friendship echoes Akst’s point that friendship built on shared pursuit of virtue is the highest form of all existing types of friendship basis. (Akst, 24) Advantages of having friends in the society Wilson in his article addressed the positive implications of friendship. According to Wilson, â€Å"living in a society of friends has many advantages. Friendship can moderate our behavior† and â€Å"friends help us establish and maintain norms and can tell us if we are running off when others do not notice, will no t break the news, or lack the necessary credibility† (in Akst, 26). In any given friendship, there exists a common trait. Personal traits among true friends are always in accord in terms of moral beliefs, ethical standards and political or religious affiliations. The concept of moderation of character in friendship was demonstrated through our relationship. Based on our contrasting success strategies, my cousin opted to venture into business while I pursued my undergraduate studies. Over the years, my cousin equipped himself with versatile entrepreneurial skills while I concentrated on my studies. Within a period of two years while I was in college, my cousin was able to establish and run a successful business firm. In his part, my cousin challenged my strategy of success. He argued that I did not have to finish college in order to own a business. My cousin reckoned that I could continue with my studies while operating a small business venture. He was able to instill in me the art and skills of a young entrepreneur while I was still pursuing my childhood dream of becoming a scholar. After considering his advice, I started supplying the college’s administration with stationeries and later expanded my market to cover the entire college and its environs. It was through our friendship that my cousin moderated my obsession with academic studies and established a renewed perspective of business in my character. Friendship concepts overlooked by the author Misunderstandings in friendships In his argument, Akst failed to mention that friendship is not always perfect. His analysis of the concept of friendship overlooked mistakes and misunderstanding among friends. In my personal opinion, mistakes and misunderstanding serve to strengthen friendship. In my relationship with my cousin, we have had

With the increasing pressure following the recession, is CEO pay a Dissertation

With the increasing pressure following the recession, is CEO pay a justifiable way of rewarding CEO's A contrast between the UK - Dissertation Example Thus, with the aim to evaluate the difference in the CEO compensation structure in the US and the UK, three objectives were set. Data was gathered through previous academic papers and studies. The theories on CEO pay are disjointed and competing against each other. At the same time, the study also reveals that there is no consensus on what should be taken as fair pay. As the business environment changed, the macro-economic factors influenced CEO pay. Incentives were needed to attract and retain talent; it was also necessary to be comparable with the peer group. All these led to excessive CEO pay which suggests weak corporate governance structure and lack of management control. Firms could find loopholes even in regulations and codes of conduct. Statistics also reveal wide disparities in CEO pay and the workers’ pay. There is no consensus on the benefits of linking performance to pay and it has been used to suit individual conveniences. A comparison of the practices in the US a nd UK reveal certain differences. More of rent extraction practices can be found among the US firms where shareholders and investors have little knowledge of the firm’s operations. However, in the UK the shareholders are involved in ‘say to pay’ and the decisions are collaborative. ... ories on CEO compensation 5 2.4 CEO Pay history and current trends 7 2.5 Market Forces or Drivers of CEO compensation 9 2.6 Debates on the upward trend in CEO pay 11 2.7 CEO equity-based grants and firm performance 14 Chapter III Methodology 3.1 Chapter Overview 16 3.2 Research Phenomenon 16 3.3 Research Design 16 3.4 Research Methodology 16 3.5 Data Collection 17 3.6 Sources of Data 17 3.7 Data Analysis 18 3.8 Ethical Concerns 18 Chapter IV Findings and Discussions 4.1 Chapter Overview 19 4.2 Agency Theory versus Rent Extraction 19 4.3 Forms of Compensation 19 4.4 Say on Pay 22 4.5 Pay for Performance 23 4.6 Pay Disclosure 24 Chapter V Conclusion and Recommendations 5.1 Conclusion 27 5.2 Recommendation for improving CEO pay 28 5.3 Limitations 29 5.4 Areas for further research 30 References 31 Appendices 34 Chapter I Introduction 1.1 Background Executive pay or chief executive officer (CEO) has come under heavy scrutiny particularly following economic recession and financial turbulen ce. Demand for restricting or regulating CEO pay or the issue of â€Å"fat cats† (Lin, Kuo and Wang, 2013) comes in times of economic crisis (Dittman, Maug and Zhang, 2011). Blinder (2009) refers to the incentives built into the compensation plans of many financial firms as â€Å"perverse† and attributes the financial crises to these â€Å"perverse† incentives (cited in Lin, Kuo and Wang, 2012). CEO pay has received enormous attention not just from the academics but also from the press (Gao, Harford, and Li, 2012). Every other day media reports of the excessively generous pay packages although there are diverse opinions over the pay packages granted to the executives. These arguments suggest that there is little correlation between economic conditions and executive pay. The CEO pay was subject

Decriminalization or Legalization of Marijuana in Canada Essay

Decriminalization or Legalization of Marijuana in Canada - Essay Example When used in moderation marijuana is undeniably less detrimental compared to alcohol and tobacco (Joffe and Yancy 636). The detriment allied with other drugs to a user stems from its worldwide handiness, usage and acceptability in most countries. Therefore, regulating the consumption of a drug by decreasing its obtainability and use can minimize the effect associated with its abuse. There are various health effects associated with abusing drugs. According to research, most doctors agree that marijuana is less addictive than tobacco and alcohol. Therefore, the government should consider legalizing marijuana by get rid of the authorized ban connected with cannabis (Caulkins, Hawken, Kilmer and Kleiman 56). Efforts geared towards legalizing marijuana should not only center on adults but also pay attention on its outcome to the youth. The legalization of marijuana will absolutely result to advertisements which could reassure teenagers to use the drug. Therefore, when considering authorization of marijuana, regulatory measures should be established to prevent promotion of the drug to adolescents. Decriminalization of marijuana in Canada might encourage the youth into abusing the drug since the consequences associated with its possession will be decreased (Joffe and Yancy 636). Canada’s legal framework is in line with the society’s values. Statistics confirm that a greater portion of youth use marijuana as compared to adults in Canada. Furthermore, approximately 600,000 Canadian citizens use marijuana (24% of this number are youths aged 12-17 years). Approximately 30,000 arrests are made yearly translating to $500 million in expenditure used by the government in enforcing drug laws. Leaders such as Stephen Harper who is the Canadian Prime Minister has been involved continuously in pushing reforms to intensify marijuana’s prescription since its criminalization is expensive (Raaflaub 334). The Canadian economy can be significantly

Bestmovies released in the past three years Essay - 1

Bestmovies released in the past three years - Essay Example Kleber Mendonca Filho directed the movie. This film documents a magnificent residential suburb that is located towards the south of the city and borders the Atlantic. There is a significant warning on the beach that warns visitors to be aware of sharks. The community in the Neighboring Sounds suffers from stress caused by the environment that is constantly changing. Apparently, the build environment has complicated the lives of residents in this city (Filho, 2012). The white and black photographs in the movie, the setting portrays a rural community that is coherent and builds around a master house. The presence of a sugar mill and school that is socially mixed further points to the historical times of the community. The film then assumes an urban area that is brightly lit with high apartments and some other ancient buildings. A Rollerblades girl follows a boy through a car park built under the ground until they disappear into an area that is enclosed. When the film opens in part one, Beatrice is shown seated at the kitchen due to lack of sleep. Apparently, some dogs are noisily yelping across the yard of the next door. To overcome this irritating noise, she decides to drug the dogs, an action that surprises her daughter. The director then shows an old, white bearded and widowed patriarch who once owned the entire area. Apparently, this former sugar baron Francisco is now selling the area in bits for purposes of redevelopment. His family lives and run the area. Among them, include the old man’s grandsons, Dinho and Joà £o who are cousins. Apparently, Joà £o took his studies in Europe and acts as the estate agent, albeit with much laxity. On his part, Dinho is a student without good reputation due to his numerous cases of petty theft. Both Dinho and Joà £o share the belief of closeness to the female servants and the boys who mostly do odd jobs. However, a new class has

Morality Shapes our Political Discussions and how Politicians Essay

Morality Shapes our Political Discussions and how Politicians Deliberately Use Frames which Lakoff Discusses - Essay Example This paper aims to discuss the various patterns in which politician’s charting of political intercourse are undertaken. Framing is the basis of analysis in this paper which has been done with the aid of advertisements and other media sources to analyze the moral influence on politician’s conduct. This paper shall also evaluate how a common man is likely to get affected by the framing. The area which has been chosen to analyze the political discourse is immigration. Also, solutions to the issues which are acting greatly as an obstacle towards development will be given in the paper. As evident from the study of George Lakoff regarding different framing patterns have been used by politicians, is it progressive or conservative etc (Lakoff 148). Taking into account, the current scenario of the US political schema, it has been noted that Mitt Romney and Barak Obama has been actually involved in framing their agenda and outlook towards immigration and terrorism in their respec tive manner. By noting down the media clip namely Romney: WeShouldn’t Negotiate with Taliban, We Should Kill Taliban, it becomes quiet easier to ensure that the Mitt Romney has been a conservative in terms of framing his opinions against Taliban. It can be said that Mitt Romney acts like a person who is a naturalist father who does not understand the feelings of other members of the family. A democratic state is more likel to come up with better decisions if consensus is undertaken. The aggression quiet evident from his words when he speaks â€Å"People of America has been targeted by Taliban and for which they deserve to be killed and not negotiated with†, completely states that he is against the foreign policy of United States and he wishes to bring more changes in the policy (BreitbartNews). For most of the people who would actually come to watch the video will claim that Romney has a strict outlook towards terrorism but countries like United States cannot show aggr ession with an open call for war. It is for this reason that the framing as done by Mitt Romney regarding his interests towards terrorism is regarded as weak yet conservative. The impact of such a frame will not have a positive and productive effect of the viewers from all around the world. It should be noted that Mitt Romney must understand the group he is actually referring to before framing. The effect of such a frame is more likely to affect the people who needs assistance and can be able to serve Afghanistan for settling their social status-quo (Karoli 121) On the other hand, another attempt has been noted by the exemption speech of Barack Obama who claimed that United States can actually talk to the Taliban for peace. It has been noted by watching the video namely Obama On "Direct Discussions" With Taliban: "They Can Be A Part Of This Future" that the president has settled an onset and proved that United States is ready to come across with Taliban in the same way as earlier (w ith the aid of videotapes) (Realclearpolitics). On his own part, Barak Obama has tried to prove to the world that United States does not aim to call for a war but his framing seems to affect Romney’s outlook. The view and the position of Barack Obama with the aid of framing is more of a way to loosen down the aggression of the people who think that war is the only solution to the issues of terrorism. Barack Obama is seemingly

Business Law Phase 2 Individual Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business Law Phase 2 Individual Project - Essay Example said contract period, to comply with any provision of this Agreement intended for the client’s protection or benefit, or that that by its sense and context, is intended to survive the completion, expiration or termination of this Agreement. Contractor understands that no work should begin under this agreement until all required signatures on this Agreement have been obtained. Any work performed by contractor prior to such time shall be considered as having been performed at the contractor’s own risk and as a volunteer. Client may terminate this Agreement in whole or in part for its sole Convenience. Upon notice of such termination, Contractor shall immediately stop all work including shipment of goods under this Agreement and cause its suppliers and/or subcontractors to cease their work for this Agreement. In the event of such termination, Contractor shall be entitled to payment, calculated on a pro rata or other equitable basis, determined by the Client in its sole discretion, for work or services satisfactorily performed. In no event shall Contractor be paid for work performed or costs incurred after receipt of notice of termination, or for costs incurred by suppliers or subcontractors, which reasonably could have been avoided. Offer: It is mentioned that the offeror/ contractor offers to perform the house renovation as agreed upon in ‘annex 1’. Basing on the given guidelines, the contractor shall render the service needed by the client in exchange for monetary payment at the end of the contract period. It is also stated how the contractor expects to be compensated in the ‘Terms of Payment’ section. As such, the contractor is able to clearly state what is expected of him while bound by this service contract. Acceptance: The client/ offeree signified his intent to comply with his side of the agreement by signing off the document. With this, the client makes it clear that he understands what is expected of him as a client and agrees to pay for the

Interest groups and Political parties Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Interest groups and Political parties - Essay Example Common good can be referred to as the goodness of an event or a phenomenon that is shared by all communities of a given society. Thus, keeping in view the roles played by interest groups and political parties, it can be stated that both the groups are conducive in working towards common good of a particular society and those elements which make up that society. However, this statement holds certain pre conditions, i.e. the interest groups are not self centered and political parties do not strive for gaining power only over all others. In other words, it is the intent behind the formation of these groups which comes into play and is considered extremely important. Motives, actions and desires yield goodness as long as the driving force behind them remains noble. Same is the case with interest groups and political parties. The reason of stating that the two set of groups are conducive in attaining or working towards the common good is that these groups provide a platform to the general public around through which people can raise their voices, share their opinions, take part in decision making process, highlight their concerns and problems and reach such decisions which are acceptable and beneficial for all. In this regard, work of Rousseau holds a special place. According to him, people should be "sovereign" and the government should only be there to implement laws. He believed that laws shall be enacted by direct democracy, which followed that each person should directly be involved in law making through a platform.