Global citizenship is an idea whose time has finally come Discuss Essay

Global citizenship is an idea whose time has finally come Discuss - Essay Example It also aims at studying the underlying assumptions and ideology behind the two concepts supported by evidences. The Idea of Global Citizenship In recent times the idea of global citizenship in its various forms is fast gaining momentum all around the globe. It is inspiring youngsters to grow into global citizens; it requires them to be morally responsible, intellectually competent and culturally perceptive to diverse cultures. The trend for global citizenship started with social movements like eradication of poverty, labor rights, environmental protection etc. These organizations claim that they work for the welfare of humanity by ensuring social justice and democratic accountability in the world economy. These organizations claim the global citizenship and hence welfare for the humanity (Giddens, 2010). Global corporations also are working for the propagation of concept of global citizenship by projecting socially responsible public image through their corporate social responsibili ty (CSR) activities. The concept of global citizenship has also seeped into the kind of human capital. The graduates of prestigious universities not only study but also work in global organizations different from their country of origin and have contacts literally all over the world. Such human capital also claims to be global citizens. Global citizenship is not a new phenomenon but it dates back to ancient Greece history. It is reflected in the fact that the word â€Å"Cosmopolitan† is a composite of Greek words for â€Å"order†, â€Å"universe† and â€Å"citizen†. In fact the idea of global citizenship is older than the concept of nationalism. This concept of global citizenship can be attributed to the growing public awareness about the global interdependence. However opponents of this theory which constitutes the intellectuals and political agents discard it as an impractical theory. They claim the concept of global citizenship is not possible in the a bsence of international or global governing bodies and global governments. The proponents of national government find global citizenship especially weak in the realm of politics, political science and legal issues where nationalism plays a vital role (Schattle, 2008). On the wake of global platform for digital communication and the interdependency of world the concept of global citizenship may flourish in other ways in educational institutions, global corporations and social organizations for humanity etc. Globalization and Citizenship Globalization and migration is seen as major threat or challenge to identity, belonging, humanitarian laws and human rights. As the world is becoming more global and open, the need for the protection of citizenship is growing. The major threats to citizenship are political threats, immigration or international migration and mobility, the growing trend of intolerance and religious fundamentalism and the endangered environmental and social security. The re is a trend of restructuring of welfare system to match the changes in demographics. The

Macbeth- Character Connection Essay Example for Free

Macbeth- Character Connection Essay William Shakespere:MacBeth- Character Connection (feelings) The feeling toward Macbeth and reaction to the end of the play differ amongst readers. Although everyone perceives the horrifying tone that ends the play, the feeling of sympathy for Macbeth is also present. Sympathy might be expressed toward Macbeth because of the fact that something or someone else caused the beginning of his downfall. The witches and Lady Macbeth are to blame for this. Relating to Macbeths character and understanding how he feels and acts is a crucial aspect in understanding the play fully. Shakespeares method of letting the readers react and connect to Macbeths character is one of the many concepts that makes Shakespeare such a great author, and makes Macbeth such a remarkable play. Macbeths complete self-destruction originated with his encounter with the witches. In the beginning of the play, he is a soldier with good intentions and no aspiration for harm. At this point, Macbeth has not yet been influenced by the witches and the ambition they provoked. As soon as he meets the witches his demise begins. Being truly interested in the witches predictions, Macbeth quickly rises in power and begins to neglect his conscience. The witches seem to have total control over his mind and his behavior. They trigger Macbeths destructive actions, which ultimately become his habit to kill. Macbeths wrongdoing did not originate in his mind and soul, but rather resulted from him being a victim of circumstance and misfortune, and therefore, he deserves sympathy. Lady Macbeths aggressive and ambitious nature is another key influence on Macbeths behavior. Lady Macbeth challenges her husbands manhood by taunting him and forcing him to kill Duncan. Since he fulfilled her order, he started losing his integrity and relying less on his conscience. It is easier to have sympathy for a person who is not entirely to blame for his actions. In Macbeths case, his wife was at least partly responsible for his demise. As a reader of Macbeth, I can indirectly relate to Macbeths character. I recognize that it is possible to be influenced by someone into acting immoral. Under the affect of peer pressure, for instance, a person can act irresponsibly causing harm. Although we cannot justify the wrongdoing of a person, we feel sympathy for him or her, realizing that their decisions were not created solely by their mind, but rather resulted from other multiple factors. Macbeth is at the mercy of the witches and Lady Macbeth and therefore not entirely responsible for all his actions. Despite his wrongful actions, Macbeth does not exemplify pure evil. Thus, sympathy toward him is not uncommon. His being weak and imperfect gives us the ability to relate to him as a human being. -a1b2c3ff

Leonardo Da Vinci :: essays research papers

It was the period of the renaissance when Leonardo da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452. Leonardo was born a farmhouse in Anchiano, which is 2 Â ½ miles away from Vinci. The family of Leonardo lived in this area since the 13th century. The father of Leonardo da Vinci, Ser Piero, was 25 years old; he was a public notary when Leonardo was born. The mother of Leonardo was called Catarina. Her first name is all what is known today. The Baptismal chapel in Vinci is where Leonardo was christened. Leonardo was christened from the name Piero da Bartholomew to the name Lionardo not Leonardo. The chapel is inside the church of Vinci. The church beside the castle of Vinci are formed the skyline of his town. Leonardo lived in Anchiano for five years until he settled to Vinci. Vinci is a small town, placed at the foot of Monte Albano. From this time he was member of his fathers family, but he was never considered born to his mother and father. In Vinci Leonardo went to school. It was told that teachers of Leonardo da Vinci were despaired about all the questions and doubts of Leonardo. Leonardo learned at school to read write and mathematics. He also learned geometry and Latin. Later Leonardo tried to improve his knowledge in Latin, because he thought that he didn't learn enough Latin in school. This may be the reason why Leonardo did his notes in Italian. Leonardo lived in Vinci until 1466. With the age of 14 Leonardo moved to Florence where he began to work in the workshop of Verrocchio. Verrocchio was at this time the most gifted artist in Florence. He was a sculptor, painter, goldsmith, bronze caster and more. Verrocchio had a lot of influence on Leonardo. Verrocchio was fascinated by the drawings of Leonardo so he gave him a place in his workshop. Leonardo worked at the workshop of Verrocchio with some other famous artists like Botticelli. Leonardo started working with mixing of colors and then he painted simple parts of paintings. There are no works of Leonardo known between 1466 and 1472, but Leonardo taught himself to paint in oils at this time. In June 1472 Leonardo was listed in the red book of painters from Florence. With the membership in the painters’ guild of Florence ended the apprenticeship of Leonardo.

Immelt: Reinventing General Electric

This case study was part of a strategy assignment taken at the SDA Bocconi School of Management. I’d like to thank my fellows Gouri Wagle, Felipe dell’Oro, Andrea Masina, Paolo Cerchiario, Ashna Suri-Sasmal and myself for the insights that contributed to put through this work. The issue: In September 2009, Ge’s Board of Directors reappointed Jeff Immelt as CEO. My team was asked to prepare a memo providing guidance on the following four qustions: 1. The key features of Immelt’s strategy for GE, in compariso to that of his predecessor, Jack Welch.While Jack Welch was mainly focused on short-term objectives, his successor, Jeff Immelt was more concerned about the long-term strategy. Welch’s leadership was characterized by risky projects that led to technological revolutions, aggressive cost cutting schemes and accurate performance measurements. On the other hand, Immelt emphasized organic growth, technological innovations and exploiting emerging oppor tunities. 2. To what extent has Immelt’s strategy been aligned (a) with developments in the external business environment since 2001 and (b) GE’s resources and capabilities?Jack Immelt’s strategy was very much aligned with the external business development and its key resources and capabilities. External business events that occurred during the period 2001-9 included: the destruction of the Twin Towers, Enron’s collapse, the Tyco International Scandal and the 2008-9 financial crisis which brought to light an increased awareness in corporate governance issues. The investment community believed GE hasn’t been transparent with the sources of their profits and subsequently short GE’s shares. GE was then downgraded from AAA to AA+.GE’s response was two fold with the aim of restoring investor confidence and maximizing their value. Firstly, GE improved communication with investors through more detailed financial reporting. Secondly, GE lever aged on its diversified portfolio in order to exploit strategic synergies that would lead to growth in emerging economies. Some of the initiatives included using brand reputation to gain floor in emerging economies such as India and China. In addition, its massive investments in R&Dresulted in new products such as â€Å"Smart Grid† and sodium battery.GE also exploited itsmanagerial capability to increase efficiency and reduce costs. Consequently, customer satisfaction and coherency within the organization ensued. 3. How well is the strategy performing? Complexity remains a significant challenge for many mega-institutions. The larger and more complex the company, the harder it is to perform extremely well. When Immelt took over from Jack Welch almost 8 years ago (as of April 2009), GE stock was trading at $53 a share. 8 years later, it’s at around $12.The company’s rating was AAA, the best, awarded to only a handful of enterprises, now it’s AA+. Looking at GE’s share price may give the impression the company destroyed value, but a close look at the company’s ROE shows that over the period, GE registered an average 19% ROE, which is quite impressive taking into consideration the company’s exposure to external business environments. Figure 1: GE’s stock against the S&P 500 and Siemens AG (2001-2009) Immelt may have made some mistakes during his tenure as GE’s CEO.GE’s financial arm invested into too risky businesses, including consumer credit cards and real estate. But one should note that before the financial crisis, GE made considerable profits coming primarily from the now-questioned investments in its financial division and no one could have predicted that the financial crisis could have been so pervasive. GE has been investing heavily in R&D and focusing in what it believed would be the business of tomorrow.Since his appointment, Immelt has been busy reshaping GE into one of the world†™s biggest problem solvers through its infrastructure, energy, transportation and health care divisions in a broad, high-payoff scope. Immelt made some smart divestitures. GE got out of subprime mortgages in 2007 and exited insurance before the sector depressed. Though GE Capital unit suffered huge reversals during the financial crisis, it never registered a loss and the company was able to limit its exposure.Overall, if we take into account the dividends GE paid to investors and all the meltdowns that occurred between 2001 and 2008, Immelt’s performance looks respectable and the company external and forward focus strategy may pay-off. 4. Is there a case for a radical change in strategy—specifically, should GE be broken up into a number of more specialized businesses (some of which would be floated as independent quoted companies, others might be sold to existing competitors)? A radical change wouldn’t be a solution for GE’s fate.GE is surely suffering a conglomerate discount because there’s a lack of tangible and intangible interrelationships among some of its business units. The emergence of GE Capital has created another significant business for GE. GE should therefore try to focus on its two core businesses and get rid of what is not related either to the industrial or to the financial businesses. GE Capital should be horizontally integrated to GE’s industrial business. In addition, GE should keep divesting underperforming and non-core businesses unless they create synergies within the conglomerate.GE should divest NBC Universal, the commercial lending and leasing, and the consumer and industrial businesses, which have registered negative growth since 2004. This could provide required capital to invest in high growth businesses. GE’s future as a successful conglomerate depends on its ability to harness cross-selling and cross-promotion between divisions, exploit scale advantages, differentiate itself from its direct competitors, maintain its role as a national champion, and be coherent with its culture and brand. Immelt: Reinventing General Electric This case study was part of a strategy assignment taken at the SDA Bocconi School of Management. I’d like to thank my fellows Gouri Wagle, Felipe dell’Oro, Andrea Masina, Paolo Cerchiario, Ashna Suri-Sasmal and myself for the insights that contributed to put through this work. The issue: In September 2009, Ge’s Board of Directors reappointed Jeff Immelt as CEO. My team was asked to prepare a memo providing guidance on the following four qustions: 1. The key features of Immelt’s strategy for GE, in compariso to that of his predecessor, Jack Welch.While Jack Welch was mainly focused on short-term objectives, his successor, Jeff Immelt was more concerned about the long-term strategy. Welch’s leadership was characterized by risky projects that led to technological revolutions, aggressive cost cutting schemes and accurate performance measurements. On the other hand, Immelt emphasized organic growth, technological innovations and exploiting emerging oppor tunities. 2. To what extent has Immelt’s strategy been aligned (a) with developments in the external business environment since 2001 and (b) GE’s resources and capabilities?Jack Immelt’s strategy was very much aligned with the external business development and its key resources and capabilities. External business events that occurred during the period 2001-9 included: the destruction of the Twin Towers, Enron’s collapse, the Tyco International Scandal and the 2008-9 financial crisis which brought to light an increased awareness in corporate governance issues. The investment community believed GE hasn’t been transparent with the sources of their profits and subsequently short GE’s shares. GE was then downgraded from AAA to AA+.GE’s response was two fold with the aim of restoring investor confidence and maximizing their value. Firstly, GE improved communication with investors through more detailed financial reporting. Secondly, GE lever aged on its diversified portfolio in order to exploit strategic synergies that would lead to growth in emerging economies. Some of the initiatives included using brand reputation to gain floor in emerging economies such as India and China. In addition, its massive investments in R&Dresulted in new products such as â€Å"Smart Grid† and sodium battery.GE also exploited itsmanagerial capability to increase efficiency and reduce costs. Consequently, customer satisfaction and coherency within the organization ensued. 3. How well is the strategy performing? Complexity remains a significant challenge for many mega-institutions. The larger and more complex the company, the harder it is to perform extremely well. When Immelt took over from Jack Welch almost 8 years ago (as of April 2009), GE stock was trading at $53 a share. 8 years later, it’s at around $12.The company’s rating was AAA, the best, awarded to only a handful of enterprises, now it’s AA+. Looking at GE’s share price may give the impression the company destroyed value, but a close look at the company’s ROE shows that over the period, GE registered an average 19% ROE, which is quite impressive taking into consideration the company’s exposure to external business environments. Figure 1: GE’s stock against the S&P 500 and Siemens AG (2001-2009) Immelt may have made some mistakes during his tenure as GE’s CEO.GE’s financial arm invested into too risky businesses, including consumer credit cards and real estate. But one should note that before the financial crisis, GE made considerable profits coming primarily from the now-questioned investments in its financial division and no one could have predicted that the financial crisis could have been so pervasive. GE has been investing heavily in R&D and focusing in what it believed would be the business of tomorrow.Since his appointment, Immelt has been busy reshaping GE into one of the world†™s biggest problem solvers through its infrastructure, energy, transportation and health care divisions in a broad, high-payoff scope. Immelt made some smart divestitures. GE got out of subprime mortgages in 2007 and exited insurance before the sector depressed. Though GE Capital unit suffered huge reversals during the financial crisis, it never registered a loss and the company was able to limit its exposure.Overall, if we take into account the dividends GE paid to investors and all the meltdowns that occurred between 2001 and 2008, Immelt’s performance looks respectable and the company external and forward focus strategy may pay-off. 4. Is there a case for a radical change in strategy—specifically, should GE be broken up into a number of more specialized businesses (some of which would be floated as independent quoted companies, others might be sold to existing competitors)? A radical change wouldn’t be a solution for GE’s fate.GE is surely suffering a conglomerate discount because there’s a lack of tangible and intangible interrelationships among some of its business units. The emergence of GE Capital has created another significant business for GE. GE should therefore try to focus on its two core businesses and get rid of what is not related either to the industrial or to the financial businesses. GE Capital should be horizontally integrated to GE’s industrial business. In addition, GE should keep divesting underperforming and non-core businesses unless they create synergies within the conglomerate.GE should divest NBC Universal, the commercial lending and leasing, and the consumer and industrial businesses, which have registered negative growth since 2004. This could provide required capital to invest in high growth businesses. GE’s future as a successful conglomerate depends on its ability to harness cross-selling and cross-promotion between divisions, exploit scale advantages, differentiate itself from its direct competitors, maintain its role as a national champion, and be coherent with its culture and brand.

Guidelines for Proposal Writings

When it comes to the human service field grant funding and the funding programs are both very important to the different organizations and agencies. In the paper it will provide the reader with the different definitions of a needs statement, grants or proposals and quantitative and qualitative data. It will also state what the purpose of a needs assessment is. Further along in the paper the basic format for writing a proposal or grant will be explained. There then will be steps explaining why each of the elements is important. How and where do you use quantitative and qualitative data in a proposal will conclude the paper. A need statement sets the framework for the entire proposal, as it will describe a critical set of conditions or a social need affecting people or things in a specific place at a specific time (Carlson& O’Neal- McElrath, 2008). One of the main purposes of a need assessment is to help assist with some agencies planning. A need statement can be the turning point that will help the funder to give thought on a non- profit request. When it comes to developing a need statement the writer has to address the organization purpose and mission statement. Within the need statement it should generally approach what type of clients their specific organization will or already serving. When there is a need for your specific organization you and the organization have to be well supported and have evidence to back it up. The facts can be on the views or trends found in the experience of doing the work (Carlson & O’Neal- McElrath, 2008). The statement should be easy to understand, by keeping it sweet and simple you can accomplish the goal of making sure the reader understand your true need. When stating your agency need the writer has to make sure there are true facts and good sources. Also never assume and use documents that do not have those legitimate facts. Make sure you state who have spoken on your specific topic, also make sure all data are documented, use touching stories of different individuals for an example and give the funder a clear view of the urgency of your request (Carlson & O’ Neal- McElrath, 2008). When using people to provide the different touching stories within the grant, you have to make sure the agency and the specific individual have data to back up the story. By giving the funder a clear view of your need they will then see how urgent your request is for funds for your specific agency. There is a difference between an assessment and a needs assessment in the examination of learning. A regular assessment will move you forward to academic or professional awards which normally will include measurement of the performance, adequacy by an accessor and information that has been gathered. As for the needs statement it may have some similarities but once again it is mainly based off of professional judgment and data. The need assessment methods are limited by the standards of the assessment but it will eventually fall into the trap of assessing only a narrow range of needs (Learning Needs Assessment, 2013). After you have your need assessment and other things such as the mission and vision statement, you then go on to create the grant or proposal. A grant is an award made to an individual or an institution to support the specific costs of the project implementation or continuation (Grant Writing Guidelines, 2013). Every grant has to make a compelling case. The presentation of the grant must be well spoken on as well as the ideas of the organization. The grant should also be clearly organized, well planned and goal oriented. When the grant has these in order the chance of getting accepted is higher. The basic format for writing a standard grant or proposal includes the following: cover letter, proposal summary or abstract, introduction describing the grant seeker or organization, problem statement or need statement, project objectives, methods or design project evaluation, the future funding and project budget (How to Develop and Write A Grant Proposal, 2007). To start the grant you have the cover letter. On the cover letter it will include who the letter will be addressed to at the funding source. The cover will have the mission of the agency and discuss in which ways their project can add asset to the current goals. Also within the cover letter you should limit the paragraphs to no more than four. In a federal or state grant a cover letter is normally not needed unless they ask for one. The cover letter is important in the grant writing process due to it is your chance to let the funder know up front about the agency goals and to let them know the grant will fulfill the requirements. The introduction of the application will let the agency describe their organization and demonstrate that they are qualified for the project at hand (How to Develop and Write a Grant Proposal, 2007). In this section the history of the organization, goals and mission, how significant it is and the accomplishments and any success stories will be inserted. If the agency have received any endorsements, press coverage or previous grants it should be used as a reference with supporting documents. You also will need to speak on the staff and the list of board directors. The summary part is important due to it is the part where the agency can establish their credibility and get their point across (How to Develop and Write a Grant Proposal, 2007). The next section of the proposal would be the need statement. The need statement is important due to it states the problem that you are addressing and the main reason of your proposal. The need statement which was previously discussed covers the areas as follows: recipients, who they are and how they benefit and receive services, social economic cost, the problem at hand with facts to support, stress what gaps exist in addressing the problem that is talked about in the proposal (How to Develop and Write a Grant Proposal, 2007). Also at the end of the need statement you should explain the time frame of the program to the funder and why securing the funds is critical to your organization. The goals and objective is important to the proposal because it states what your organization hope to achieve. It will also help when you use powerful language that will be persuasive to the reader. The agency should always make sure that all goals and objectives are measureable. Also make sure the objective explains who and what you will be serving. The next part of the grant is the program design. This section shows how the project will work and solve the current problem at hand (How to Develop and Write a Grant Proposal, 2007). Within this section you will have to be explicit, and be able to explain why the methods that you have chosen are the best and how they will make your objectives reachable. Within the program design you will state the supplies such as the equipment services required and the resources for this project. An evaluation plan should be a consideration in every stage of the proposal development (How to Develop And Write a Grant Proposal, 2007). Sometimes the evaluation is where some organizations fall short. The evaluation is important to the proposal due to this is the main part where grant reviewers will look. The evaluation states how you will measure your results for your project. You also as an organization have to make sure methods and the objectives are consistent and explain how you will use the findings. The project sustainability is where the grant funder has funded the agency and now wants to see the results through the project sustainability (How to Develop And Write A Grant Proposal, 2007). In the project sustainability section you and the agency should restate the goals or plans for the project that you are trying to promote. You should also as an agency state how funds will continue to flow in the future for the program. Some of the plans for the agency future could be things such as blueprints of how the plans will work, and include the hiring staff and other contractors if needed. The budget section is very important due to this is where you ask for the money for your organization program. The format of the budget should be clear for the funder to understand. In the budget section it will include personal expenses and project expenses. The budget section should always start with a proposal statement. Generally budgets are divided into two categories one being the personnel cost and the second being the non-personnel cost (How to Develop And Write A Grant Proposal, 2007). In the personnel cost this is where the salaries on the employees come in and the health care as well. The non-personnel section will include utilities, equipment and the rental or the cost of leasing you agency building. When writing a grant you will always use quantitative and qualitative data within your research. Quantitative methods will output hard numbers while qualitative methods use descriptive data (Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluation Methods, 2013). Qualitative data can sometimes include audio recordings, photos and other data. Qualitative methods have been used in research to explain specific methods, but can also show examples of the different applications at the same time. Qualitative method can be used in many complex settings for different interactions. Some of the interactions can be among professional groups and different organizations. Qualitative data will help clarify values, language and meanings attributed to people who play different roles in organizations and communities (Qualitative Methods, 2013). Qualitative data are gathered by interviews and observations. The qualitative involve small numbers and can use open ended questionnaires when needed. A strength that qualitative data has is it can gather multiple methods and provide information on more difficult issues. Some of the limitations could be the time it would take to collect the data. Another limitation is it can sometimes be difficult to analyze. As an organization you can collect qualitative data by observation, interviews and focus groups (Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluation Methods, 2013). Quantitative data can be analyzed by using statistical methods. Some census, government statistics can include quantitative evaluations. Quantitative can have strengths and weakness as well as Qualitative did. A strength that it has is data that is usually collected is efficient and easy to analyze. One limitation that is has is sometimes the data can be too large to explain some of the complex that issues that will arise. Within the grant for the organization the quantitative can come in handy when it comes to surveys or questionnaires, post-test, existing databases and statistical analysis. Qualitative data will be used for observations, interviews and non- statistical focus groups (Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluation Methods, 2013). In the paper it provided the reader with the different definitions of a needs statement, grants or proposals and quantitative and qualitative data. It also stated what the purpose of a needs assessment is. Further along in the paper the basic format for writing a proposal or grant was explained. There then were steps explaining why each of the elements of the grant is important. Then to conclude there was how and where you use quantitative and qualitative data in a proposal. With this information provided in the paper the reader would now be able to complete a successful proposal. References Carlson, M., & O'Neal- McElrath, T. (2008). Winning Grants. Step by Step (3rd ed.). San Francisco, California: Jossey- Bass. How to Develop and Write a Grant Proposal. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.mikulski.senate.gov Grant Writing Guidelines. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.web.riverdeep.net Qualitative Methods. (2013). Retrieved from http://www/ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Quantitative and Qualitative Evaluation Methods. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.civicpartnerships.org