Comparing the Voice of Frost in Mending Wall, After Apple-Picking, and

The Voice of Frost in Mending Wall, After Apple-Picking, and The Wood-Pile    The "persona" narratives from the book - "Mending Wall," "After Apple-Picking," and "The Wood-Pile" - also strive for inclusiveness although they are spoken throughout by a voice we are tempted to call "Frost." This voice has no particular back-country identity, nor is it obsessed or limited in its point of view; it seems rather to be exploring nature, other people, ideas, ways of saying things, for the sheer entertainment they can provide. Unlike poems such as "Home Burial" and "A Servant to Servants," which are inclined toward the tragic or the pathetic, nothing "terrible" happens in the personal narratives, nor does some ominous secret lie behind them. In "The Wood-Pile," for example, almost nothing happens at all; its story, its achieved idea or wisdom, the whole air with which it carries itself, is quite unmemorable. A man out walking in a frozen swamp decides to turn back, then decides instead to go farther and see what will happen. He notes a bird in front of him and spends so me time musing on what the bird must be thinking, then sees it settle behind a pile of wood. The pile is described so as to bring out the fact that it has been around for some time. With a reflection about whoever it was who left it there, "far from a useful fireplace," the poem concludes. And the reader looks up from the text, wonders if he has missed something, perhaps goes back and reads it again to see if he can catch some meaning which has eluded him. But "The Wood-Pile" remains stubbornly unyielding to any attempt at ransacking it for a meaning not evidently on the surface. This surface is a busy one, as when the speaker meets the bird: A small bird flew be... ...essing it, when he has no audience to be bullied or flattered, when he is free, and speech takes one form and no other." Despite the presence of back-country characters and scenes in this "book of people," it is as a book of sentence sounds that it most truly exists, as a triumphant vindication of the poetic theory Frost had designed, and as a monument to how much could be accomplished by trusting to the rendering of speech. At the end of "Home Burial," the wife lashes out at her husband in exasperation: "You - oh, you think the talk is all . . ." But for the composer of these poems, the talk is all, whether that of his imagined characters or of himself speaking aloud. Works Cited Frost, Robert. "Mending Wall." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Julia Reidhead. 5th ed. 2 vols. New York: Norton, 1998. Frost: A Literary Life Reconsidered.

Inactivity and Obesity Essay

Review the article â€Å"Physical activity and sedentary activity patterns among children and adolescents: A latent class analysis approach† for this assignment. As individuals and families spend more time in front of televisions, playing video games, surfing the internet, etc., incidence and prevalence rates of overweight and obese people in throughout the world increase. Based on the article, describe family, community, and school level strategies you would use in planning an obesity prevention program. The following items in particular will be assessed: 1. Identify two specific strategies (family, community, or school level) you would use to plan an obesity prevention program. Include evidence-based information as to why you believe these strategies will be the best ones to use. 2. In your opinion, when should obesity prevention start? What should be the ideal age to start obesity prevention, knowing that lifestyle has a great impact on whether individuals will become obese? 3. Provide empirical evidence to support your position as to when obesity prevention should start. Make sure to cite your sources. Introduction Studies of the health behavior of healthy individuals and families are closely correlated since without the support of a family, an individual would not prosper in healthy behaviors. This example hit close to home since there was someone at home always trying to gear my brother, sister, and myself in the right way. This might not be the case for other families and they might have different types of issues that are involved in the studies of health behavior of individuals and families. Human behavior plays a central role in the maintenance of health and the prevention of disease. Issues Involved Some of the issues involved in the studies of the health behavior of healthy individuals and families are the different strategies for establishing healthy eating habits in children and adolescents might be quite ineffective for changing maladaptive eating behaviors. This seems to be a major issue with families of all types of financial background. The majority of individuals that lack the monetary resource to buy healthier food choices seem to be at riskiest end. Also, maintaining a particular behavior over time might require different strategies than will establishing behavior. Studies Accomplished/Reasons they are Important Studies can be accomplished through different age groups and addressing certain behaviors cues associated with healthy families and individuals. For example, one might ask a teenage group if they have ever tried smoking or drinking. From this study, they can find out information concerning the individual behavior and why it is not conducive to healthy family behaviors. Two examples of studies accomplished from the reading are classical conditioning and operant-conditioning which each has its own way of learning behaviors. For example, classical conditioning modifies behavior by repeatedly pairing a neutral stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus that elicits the desired response. This type of learning behavior is important it allows the studies to see what mechanisms triggers different people to behave a certain way. One of the most famous classical conditioning was taught in a previous class that mentioned the salivation of dog in response to a bell being rung. The reason behind this was that every time individual brought in food for the dog, they would ring a bell. Later, they found out that just the ringing alone would set of excitement in the dog. This is important because we find out what triggers an individual’s happiness and with little help, their behavior can be geared towards a healthier one. In individuals, if someone is praised on how well they look and that they are maintaining their bodies well, the compliments alone can trigger an individual to want more praises, thus maintaining a great physique. The second type of study conducted was the operant-conditioning which builds on classical conditioning and focuses on the hypothesis that the frequency of a behavior is determined by its consequences. One example would be that of rewards for positive behavior as well as decreasing behavior from punishment. If an individual, gets praises for cleaning their room and is told that if they discontinue cleaning their room, they will make their parents disappointed, that individual might not want the negative responses thus making them decrease their negative behaviors. Contribution to Existing Knowledge These studies contribute to the existing knowledge by showing us that health behaviors can be changed by the way we treat each other. Also, with the studies, we are able to see how an individual’s health behavior can be controlled by praises and can also eliminate negative behavior by adding negative consequences.

Report into the financial performance of sage group - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2132 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? The sage report discusses the financial performance of the Sage Group as a whole for the financial year 2007. The group has a significant presence in 20 countries worldwide, providing services to 5.8m customers to help managing their businesses more efficiently and effectively through the provision of their products and quality services. Sage is one of the efficient leading and prominent worldwide supplier of business management software to SMEs. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Report into the financial performance of sage group" essay for you Create order It is the leading supplier in chosen market segments concentrating primarily on customers whose business has less than 500 employees. Main highlights are: Group Revenue rose to  £1157.60m showing a growth of 23.73% over the last year with organic growth of 7%. Operating profit rose to  £255.30m showing an increase of 8.27%. Dividend per share rose by 95% to 7p per share from the last year figure of 3.59p. New customers gained during the year were 40,000 12,000 new contracts received. Net cash generated was  £220.2m from their operating activities compared with the last year of  £192.8m. Earnings per share increased to 11.85pfor financial year 2007. Introduction Sage group is one of the most leading suppliers of business management software to 5.8 million customers worldwide. It found in 1981; the core business of software group sage is the development and distribution of accounting, salary check management software for different type of businesses. From small setup to large the organisations, the company is giving opportunity to makes it easier to handle their business processes. Research and analysis Objectives The purpose of this report is the detailed analysis of the current financial position and the future prediction of the sage group from the investment point of view. An investor is more interested in the profitability, liquidity and return on investment, its rapid growth and growth in market share, its current financial position and future prospects of the company and management competency and strategies. As the purpose of the report is to make an analysis from investors point of view, so I focused on the following aspects as primary objectives of my report. Analyses of the current position the Sage Group. Review of the changes and reasons for them. Future of the company. Whether the company is worthwhile from investors point of view In order to achieve these objectives I will carry out the detailed ratio analysis of the financial position and growth of the company such as. Liquidity ratios. Profitability and return ratios. Investment ratios. Long te rm solvency, gearing and leverage ratios. Methods of Analysis The basic and common methods of analysis of a company about its financial position are as follows; Investor analysis; Trend (vertical analysis); Horizontal Analysis; Ratios Analysis. Horizontal Analysis This method is a comparison of an entitys performance over a particular period of time to that of a similar entity. Comparisons are only effective, if the companies operate at same level and in same market. Even if the companies are similar, Competitor Company might have not performed to its full capacity. Trend Analysis or Vertical Analysis This is where the companys performance is compared in a period of time. This can identify the trends e.g. revenue or profitability growth as well as decline or seasonality. Ratio Analysis The ratio analysis is classified into four categories; Liquidity Ratios Liquidity means a liquid asset is one which can be easily converted into cash at a market value. It helps in financing and investing decisions of the company. It actually measures the short term solvency of a company, it includes following; Current ratio is current assets/current liabilities. Ideally it is thought that it should be between 1.0 1.5, but it can vary depending upon the sector. Quick ratio expresses the proportion of current asset minus(less) stock to current liabilities. This is expected to be Parity so that liabilities (short-term) can be met. Debtors days is the number of days taken by trade debtors to make a payment Creditors day is the numbers of days given by creditors to give them payment. Profitability and Return: Gross and net profit margins show the relationship between the profit turnover (sales). Comparing the gross profit margins will show the efficiency, whereas net profit margin indicates its overheads and administration have been well-managed. Returns can be indicated by Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) or Return on Shareholders Funds (ROSF), this is more commonly demonstrated as earning per share (EPS) or dividend yield. ROCE is a ratio with two elements, profit margin multiplied by asset turnover. This ratio gives a more comprehensive view of trading performance. Long-term Solvency, Gearing and Leverage: Gearing shows the long-term debt in relation to shareholders funds. Highly geared companies are much more risky in their financial position, because interest payments have to be met, regardless of profitability and because of this reason further financing might be difficult and expensive to obtain. However interest payments are the payments in which tax deduction making debt cheaper than equity. Equally, a company with low gearing may have an inefficient capital structure because equity is more expensive. Debt ratio comprises of total debts to total assets, which is mostly important for the companies with high proportions of liabilities in their balance sheet. Interest cover indicates if the company is in position to manage its interest demands and positions how many times a company can repay the interest of its current earnings. Investment Ratios: Price earning (PE) is highly used investor ratio. It is the ratio of current share price to the EPS. High price ratio indicates strong confidence in the company. Dividend yield is the yield a company pays out to its shareholders in form of dividends. This ratio is more useful for investors who are looking for a steady dividend income rather than just capital growth. TREND RATIO ANALYSIS OF SAGE GROUP Sage Groups performance over the last three years is steady as its published accounts show an increase in its revenue, operating profit, its cash and Asset growth. PROFITABILITY RETURN Revenue The revenue has grown from FY2005 ( £759.60m) to FY2006 ( £935.60m) by 23.17% and a further increase of 23.73% in FY2006 ( £935.60m) to FY2007 ( £1157.60m). North America Region was the one highest contributing towards Revenue of  £508.10m this year compared to last year of  £361.5m showing an increase of over 40%, with Mainland Europe on 2nd place showing an increase of around  £50m i.e. 16.44% over the year 2006. Profits Gross profit of the company is nearly the same compared to last year. In FY2006, it was 91.41% and this year it is nearly the same figure as the last year. i.e. 91.04%. it has increased by 23.23% from FY2007 ( £855.20m) to FY2008 ( £1053.90m). The pre-tax profit has grown from FY2005 ( £193.60m) to FY2006 ( £221.20m) by14.26% and a further increase of just around by 1%from FY2006 to FY2007. The highest operating profit came from the Region of Mainland Europe showing a percentage increase of 20.89% over FY2006 giving a net increased figure of  £12.3m. Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) ROCE has increased from 15.09% in FY2006 to 17.35% in FY2007 which shows a steady increase from investors point of view. Gearing Gearing of the group for YR2006 was 35.45%, which dropped to 30.70% in FY2007. The low gearing ratio shows that the company is enrich in its funds to meet its long-term liabilities. The company is in less financial risk. Furthermore decrease in the gearing and an increase in the profit shows that company is in strong financial position. Return on Shareholders Funds (ROSF) ROSF for FY2006 was 15.61% which dropped just by 0.90% to 14.67% for FY2007. It is due to the increase in shareholders funds even though the profitability has improved over the last year but it is not in line with the increase in funds. LIQUIDITY RATIOS Current Ratio Current ratio of the company for the current year was 0.524. For the FY2007, it was 0.543. It is because of slight decrease in cash cash equivalents from  £81.4m to  £64.3m payables were increased by  £9.9m over the previous year. As compared to the threshold of 1:1, it is well behind the standard which means the company might be unable to pay its debt on time. In, practice the comfortably in excess of 1 should be expected but it can be varied depending on the types of businesses. Quick Ratio / Acid Test Ratio The quick ratio of the group for the current year is 0.514 compared to last year of 0.553 for the same reason as mentioned in current ratio. Debtors Days Receivable conversion period for the current period is 61 days (60.81 days), compared to the last year of 72 days (72.21 days). It shows the improvement of cash collections over the last year to increase the liquidity. Creditors Days Payable conversion period for the current period is 352 days compared to the last year of 432 days. Once again the longer the period of creditors days, the longer will be the liquidity resources availability. INVESTMENT RATIOS Earnings Per Share (EPS) EPS have slightly increased by 0.04p from 11.81p to 11.85p which shows the increased profits over the previous period. It can also be seen through increased payment of dividends to shareholders worth  £49.0m compared to last year of  £39.1m. Price Earnings Price Earnings ratio for the current year is 18.7 compared to last year which was 21.3. The higher the P/E ratio suggests the investors expect high earning growth in future. P/E Ratio cant itself give the whole picture until compared with the other company in the market or industry average. Dividend Per Share (DPS) Dividend per share for the current year was 7.0p compared to last year of 3.59p, showing an increase of 95% over last year. Increase in dividend per share means that the companys management believes that growth can be sustained for foreseeable future. Dividend Yield Dividend Cover Dividend yield for the current period is 2.8% for the current year compared to last year of 1.4% which is doubled. The higher is the yield, the more desirable among investors. Dividend cover of the company for the current period is 1.693X for the current period compared to the last year of 3.2X. A ratio of 2X is considered to be safe in industry as the company can well afford the dividend. LONG TERM SOLVENCY, GEARING LEVERAGE Gearing Gearing of the group for YR2006 was 35.45%, which dropped to 30.70% in FY2007. The low gearing ratio shows that the company has sufficient funds to meet its long-term liabilities. The company is in less financial risk. Furthermore decrease in the gearing and an increase in the profit shows that company is in strong financial position. Debt Ratio (Leverage) Debt ratio for the current year is 0.5241 compared to the last year of 0.5578. A ratio less than 1 indicates that the group has more assets than its debts representing the low level of risk attached to the group. Interest Cover Interest Cover for the current period is 7.98X compared to the last year of 13.77X which is still quite high to cover its interest costs. CONCLUSION The group has shown growth in all the sectors of economy. It has been producing consistent results over the years. The revenue has increased significantly over the last few years. The company has healthy operating profits for the current period. Compared to the last periods, its progress is not as good as it was in the past few periods. Overall the group has performed well against the benchmarks set by the company and was in line with the groups forecasts set. Another key thing observed the customer satisfaction renewal level for the group was above 80% for the year 2007. It has low gearing which represents the low financial risk and groups ability to meet its obligations in case of emergency. Its ROCE has increased which again is good from investors perspective. The group is paying dividends consistently over the past few years which again attract the shareholders investors. Debt ratio of the company is 0.52 which indicates that the assets of the company are nearly doubled to its liabilities which once again are an indication of low financial risk. APPENDIX Sage Group Plc. 2007 2006 ( £m) ( £m) Revenue 1157.60 935.60 Gross Profit 1053.90 855.20 Operating Profit/loss 255.30 235.80 EBITA 283.20 249.30 Interest Expense 35.50 18.10 Profit before tax 223.30 221.20 Profit after tax 154.10 152.60 Shareholders Funds 1050.80 977.60 Creditors: Due in 1 year 982.40 777.70 Creditors: Due more than 1 year 561.30 660.90 Total Debt 1157.00 1233.30 Fixed Assets 1544.40 1475.70 Current Assets 301.40 303.30 Total Assets 2207.80 2210.90 Current Liabilities 575.50 558.40 Trade Receivables Net 200.70 185.10 Trade Payables 105.0 95.10 RATIO ANALYSIS PROFITABILITY RETURN Operating profit 255.30 235.80 Operating Margin 22.05% 25.20% Net Margin 13.31% 16.31% Interest Cover 7.98X 13.77X ROCE 17.35% 15.09% Debt Ratio 0.5241 0.5578 ROSF 14.67% 15.61% Gearing 30.79% 35.45% MARKET RATIOS EPS 11.85p 11.81p Dividend Per Share 7.00p 3.59p Dividend Cover 1.693 3.29 Dividend Yield 2.8 1.4 PE Ratio 18.7p 21.3p LIQUIDITY Current Ratio 0.524 0.543 Acid test Ratio 0.514 0.553 Efficiency Ratios Average Collection Period 60.81 days 72.21 days Payable Conversion Period 352.15 days 431.74 days Inventory Conversion Period 19.36 days 25.42 days Segmental Revenue Segment 2007 2006 %age Increase UK 224.1m 205.2m 9.21% Mainland Europe 349.1m 299.8m 16.44% North America 508.1m 361.5m 40.55% Rest of the world 76.3m 69.1m 10.42% Segmental Operating Profit 2007 2006 %age Increase UK 80.8m 76.5m 5.62 Mainland Europe 71.2m 58.9m 20.89 North America 83.4m 82.4m 1.21 Rest of the world 19.8m 18.2m 8.79

Greed in a Simple Plan by Alfred A. Knopf - 893 Words

Greed is undeniably a characteristic of being human. Even two hundred thousand years ago, when the first examples of modern humans were in a competition for food and survival, they naturally had to be greedy in order to survive and contribute to the gene pool in order for further generations to evolve and adapt. Darwin proved this with his theory of evolution stating that the species that are better adapted to the environment would be able to spend less time looking for food and more time mating (contributing to the gene pool), while the species who are not as well adapted would die off. The play â€Å"Macbeth† and the motion picture based on the book â€Å"A Simple Plan† display these themes of greed profusely as the main characters from each are affected by the same characteristic that had previously allowed for human survival. Macbeth in Shakespeare’s â€Å"Macbeth† and Hank in the film â€Å"A Simple Plan† are both affected by greed as they bot h turn into murders who backstab their friends, they both ruin their relationship with their wives, and they both end up destroying their lives. The many mafias around the world have a few things in common, they are all greedy but they are also all loyal. Even criminals like them understand that loyalty is the most important trait. The quote â€Å"Who do you think he’s gonna believe, huh? You? A year old unemployed high school dropout, who’s proud when people call him the town drunk, or me?† (Raimi, A Simple Plan) shows the lengths that Hank goes to, inShow MoreRelatedLangston Hughes Research Paper25309 Words   |  102 Pageswell-to-do Mexicans. He taught English at a private girls school and also at a business college. Tension between Langston and his father eased somewhat until the two of them journeyed by horseback to Jims ranch. 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Physical Treatment Of Physical Therapy - 2285 Words

Physical Therapy in Sports Physical therapy is trying to help someone overcome a bad obstacle in their life. Some people may think physical therapy isn’t important when recovering, but it is important. â€Å"Physical therapy is primarily concerned with the promotion of mobility, functional ability, quality of life, movement through examination and evaluation, diagnosis, and physical intervention† (Policastro et. al.). So basically therapy tries to help people get everything back to normal. There was once a freshman in high school who hurt his knee, and without the help from the physical therapist, he would have never have recovered from tearing his knee. For this reason, in order to understand physical therapy, one must know the†¦show more content†¦According to researcher Michael Mithoefer, the evaluation period can be described as, â€Å"To ensure optimal care, the rehabilitation team should be familiar with the surgical and biological principles that d etermine the protection of the postoperative join and apply them for each individual athlete’s unique set of circumstances† (Mithoefer et. al). This means that depending on the injury and where it is located, there might be different ideas on how to start the therapy or recovery process. This part of the process can be very important, because if the evaluation period is rushed and the patient is diagnosed wrong, they could be paying for appointments and medications that isn’t even needed. When going to the see the physical therapist, the patient will most likely have to go to the doctor first. Not all of the time, but most of the time people will need a referral from a doctor in order to have physical therapy. This is because of the issue of dealing with the insurance and having them pay for it (Kelley). Without a referral from the doctor, the tolerant won’t be able to get in, because the therapist is afraid of getting in trouble with the insurance. When going to an appointment for physical therapy, people should expect being tested, being asked questions, and even doing the exercises on their own. According to Maura

Costs of Corporate Social Responsibility †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Costs of Corporate Social Responsibility. Answer: Introduction Ethics are the basic values and morals on the basis of which an entity functions. Ethics are what govern the actions of an individual and the same is also true for the organizations. The role of ethics is enhanced in businesses as the adherence of ethics results in additional advantage for a company (Smith, 2008). An ethical company is more likely to be successful in comparison to an unethical company, which would be constantly faced with issues from different stakeholders, particularly government, customers and employees. As a result of this, the work of the organizations is conducted by following the leading ethical theories, to the line of utilitarianism, virtue ethics, and deontology (Chonko, 2012). Governance is another crucial component which has to be kept into consideration when the business of an entity is undertaken. Governance, in its literal terms, refers to the process whereby decisions are made on the basis of expectations, management and proper systems (Grindle, 2014). A concept stemmed from governance is corporate governance which relates to the processes, rules and practices which are used for directing and controlling the company. So, in essence, corporate governance is the manner of governing the corporation in terms of the impact of its actions over the different stakeholders (Fukuyama, 2013). In the following parts, an attempt has been made to cover these concepts in reference to the practices being followed by Puma. In doing so, the organizational culture of Puma would be discussed particularly in context of its objectives related to ethics and governance. The discussion would then move on to the social responsible activities of the company, followed by the ethical perspective of the company. Before concluding the assignment, the justification would be given on the focus of the company on its triple bottom line. Organisational culture refers to the behaviours and the values, which make a contribution towards the unique social and psychological environment of any company or business entity. It is based on the expectations, values, philosophies and experiences of the organization, which it upholds and is usually express in terms of interactions with outside world, expression of self-image, internal working and future expectations (Huhtala, Feldt, Hyvnen and Mauno, 2013). Needle (2004) has highlighted that organizational culture shows the collective beliefs, principles and values of the members of the organizational and is a product of factors including the history of the organization, its people, market, product, type, technology, management style, kind of employees, strategy and the like. Rosauer (2013) stated that it was an emergence, which was a complex and an incalculable state, which results from mixing a handful of simple ingredients. In view of Ravasi and Schultz (2006), it was a set of shared assumptions which act as a guidance to what takes place in a company through defining proper behaviour for different situations. The organizational culture at Puma is such which promotes creativity, as well as, new ideas which help Puma being placed before the other brands. The company focuses on personal commitment, passion and responsibility. In the culture of the company, diversity, individuality and internationality are deemed as key components and this helps the company in producing unique teams which help it in making certain that the company is successful and is aligned with the tag line of the company, i.e., forever fast (Puma, 2017a). In doing so, the company recruits and promotes talent from across the globe. The company also emphasis on the local knowledge towards the success of the company and so, it works on empowering the people for allowing them to make the decisions. The company has a developed structure which allows the local managers in getting real time responsibility and also in making certain that the company provides tailored results based on the demand of the market. And in doing so, the standards have to be maintained in addition to the management of risks across the group (Puma Energy, 2017a). The corporate governance at Puma as an entire group is deemed as a major corporate policy. In terms of the theme of this discussion, the objectives of the company for its governance aspects resolve around three points. First, the company aims to support performance driven business across the globe where the focus is on growth. Second, the company looks forward at maximising the operational flexibility for promoting an approach which is light touched based for central management for empowering the individuals at local levels. And lastly, company aims to work towards promoting accountability and transparency in every aspect of the operations of the company (Puma Energy, 2017b). The company recognizes that it has to follow different standards and regulations cross the globe. And irrespective of these regulatory compliances, the company deems it crucial for upholding ethical standards and operate as per the applicable laws. Hence, for the company, compliance is a crucial factor which translates into the success of the company. There are simple objectives with regards to the ethical conduct. And these are summarized in the Code of Ethics drawn by the company. The goal is for the employees, suppliers and customers, on which the basic framework of this code is applicable, are expected to read these codes and act on them properly and included in these are areas like conflicts of interests and anti-corruption. This is because the company recognizes that attaining its goals is only possible when everyone plays the game by rules (Puma, 2014). Corporate Social Responsibility Social responsible activities of a company can be best located in the corporate social responsibility related activities undertaken by the companies. Corporate Social Responsibility, or CSR, refers to the duty of the companies with regards to the impact of their actions and decisions on the different stakeholders of the company (Dima, 2016). Crowther (2008) describes it as a curial management strategy, where the social, economic and environmental benefits for all the stakeholders are combined. Zhao (2014) highlighted that owing to the increase in the interest and awareness surrounding CSR the companies are putting efforts and enhanced focus on CSR related activities. Crane (2008) believes that CSR is going beyond the obligations of the company and mitigating the consequences of the actions of the business on the environment and the society, while at the same time, earning profits for the company. As per Sprinkle and Maines (2010), it focuses on making the environment and the society better by the company, and given emphasis to sustainability. Mallin (2009) highlighted the benefits of adopting CSR activities, in terms of getting enhanced goodwill, which attracts stakeholders towards the company. This includes attracting and retaining talent, particularly when the company is focused on ensuring the safety and health of the workers as a priority, amongst the other things (Gomez and Crowther, 2012). The efforts employed by Puma have resulted in rewards for the company, where Puma Energy, which is one of the companies of Puma group, won 2014 Award for Corporate Social Responsibility. The company got this award from Communitas as it was nominated for reducing fatalities in developing nations. This submission was based on the efforts of the company in its Global Road Safety Campaign (Puma Energy, 2014). The company follows German Corporate Governance Code and adjusts its objectives based on the composition of the Administrative Board which addresses the present developments in this code. This code covers the mandatory statutory requirements, recommendations and regulations for supervising and managing the listed companies for responsible corporate governance. The sustainability function of the company was integrated in the Group Sourcing of Puma in 2016 for making certain that the environmental and social issues, along with the standards of corporate governance were properly integr ated into the daily activities of the company (Puma, 2016a). The companys corporate policy effectively implements corporate governance principles. In this regard, responsibility and transparency are deemed as prerequisites for attaining the targets of the company and for increasing the value if the company in context of sustainability (Puma, 2017c). As a measure of CSR, the company is focused on reducing its CO2 emissions and working towards reducing its waste. The Administrative Board and the Managing Directors of Puma work in a manner that the interests of the company are aligned with CSR, where the company is monitored and managed in an effective manner for making certain that sustainability results in value addition for the company. So from discharging duties of the board to use of powers, everything is properly recorded and done as per the standards of corporate governance (Puma, 2016a). The company has taken numerous steps towards the environment, where it has worked towards improving energy and water efficiency, waste management, climate change, zero discharge of hazardous chemicals and chemicals management. A leading step in this regard by the company is setting up solar modules in the front window of the Puma store located in Herzongenaurach as a step towards using renewable energy (Puma, 2017e). The company relies on quantitative metrics to capture the performance of the company in terms of its CSR performance (Anderson, 2011). And in this lies the shortfalls of Puma. The company is so focused on numbers that it does not focus on the social aspects in its theme. The above mentioned activities of the company do show the work which the company carries on towards the issues of sustainability, CSR, corporate governance, where each of these have components of benefits to society and environment, it does not take any specific steps in improving the life of such individuals who do not form a part of the stakeholders of the company. The biggest group in this regard are the people belonging to poor background. Instead of working towards improving their lives, the company has face wrath owing to the incidents of poor work conditions (China Labor Watch, 2008). To make the matters worse, the company has also been accused of child labour which shows the utter disregard towards the human component of society (Fischer, 2016). Ethical Perspective When it comes to the ethical perspective for Puma, the company adopts Code of Ethics, which has to be followed across the organization irrespective of the nation in which it operates. The Code of Ethics, which were introduced back in 2005 have to be properly followed, which shows the commitment of the company to ethics and towards responsible corporate and ethical behaviour, which has to be complied by all the employees, business partners and affiliated brands of the company. In case any employee comes across a situation or has a doubt regarding the breach of the ethical standards of the company, they are required to raise their voice on a toll free hotline for whistleblowers, which works globally (Puma 2017f). The Code of Ethics, as stated earlier, is the basic framework which regulates the behaviour of the suppliers, employees and customers of the company. This code sets out basic principles of the company in key areas and basically works towards raising awareness. A key part of the code of ethics of Puma is on issue of antitrust where the company focuses on making contributions towards fair competition and avoiding any such behaviour where the antitrust laws are breached. Puma has a strict policy about accepting gifts and hospitality, and also about accepting the same. The code of ethics also covers the topics like insider information, data protection and data confidentiality, a proper code of conduct speaking about regarding contraventions and about seeking assistance in cases of possible violation of ethical code of the company (Puma, 2014). Despite such high ethical standards, the company has been accused of being unethical and in indulging in unethical conduct. Child labour is something which is deemed as a major unethical issue and should not take place anywhere in the world. Yet, Puma has been associated with child labour allegations. This is in addition to the workers being made to work in bad conditions. Some workers have stated about being provided bad working environment at Puma. Apart from this, the Clever Little Bag, which was launched by the company a few years back, was overshadowed by violations of human rights (Marati, 2012). In January 2011, the El Salvador producer of Puma came under fire when the working conditions included 60 plus hour shifts (The Local, 2011). In April 2011, at Huey Chuen factory in Phnom Penh, 101 Cambodian garment workers were reported to have been unconsciousness owing to prolonged working hours, in addition to poor health and safety. Just a few months before that in Phnom Penh, a woman was shot during the labour protests, for asking for higher pay and better working conditions (Reuters, 2012). During March 2012, an independent study revealed the poor working conditions in Bangladeshi factors where apparels for Puma were being produced (Kaur, 2016). Had there been isolated incidents, these could have been ignored. But the repetition of such incidents puts a question mark over the real ethics being followed by Puma. The actions undertaken by Puma flout the different ethical theories. Utilitarianism denotes that such actions are correct, which result in maximization of utility of an action. So, an act is ethical when it makes the majority happy (Albee, 2014). However, the poor working conditions making the workers unhappy is an unethical task, as it also results in a breach of human rights, which makes the human right activists unhappy. The virtue ethics require the companies to work in a manner which shows different virtues like that of justice, honesty and integrity. So, when the actions are such where virtues are shown, they would be ethical (Hooft, 2014). The acts of Puma highlighted above have no aspect of virtue. In addition to this, they are just opposite to virtues which are required for an act to be ethical. Coming to another ethical theory which is deontological theory, organizations are required to fulfil their obligations and duties when making decisions (Ferrell and Fraedrich, 2015). Puma here failed to fulfil its human rights obligations, in addition to those associated with work, health and safety, making it an unethical company. A Kantian view would require the companies to treat people as an end, instead of being means to an end (Beiser, 2014). Puma did not follow the Kantian view as it treated the labour force as simply means to an end. Emphasis on Triple Bottom Line Triple bottom line is a concept which is born from the theory of CSR and was given in 1994 by John Elkington. It is based on the focus of the organizations on three aspects, i.e., people, planet and profit, in terms of social, environmental and financial obligations of a company (Savitz, 2013). This concept denotes that the companies have to carry work with the objective of earning profits, working towards the environment and betterment of the people. Through this concept, the focus is laid on the financial bottom line of the company, where the environmental and social responsibilities are included. Hence, the triple bottom line helps in measuring the degree of a company towards its environmental impact, economic value and social responsibility (Henriques and Richardson, 2013). The previous parts have highlighted that Puma, as an organization, has been focused on working towards its triple bottom line. In this regard, the company takes different environmental initiatives, has worked towards people by being an ethical company, and at the same time continues to work on it being a profit making entity. However, there have been instances where the company had the face the wrath of different stakeholders owing to its unethical conduct in context of its labour force. This is one of the reasons why Puma emphasizes upon working towards triple bottom line. By adhering to triple bottom line, the company would work towards improving its image before the different stakeholders, by showing itself as a compliant company. Triple bottom line model helps in sharing the agenda of CSR (McWilliams and Parhankangas, 2016). And by engaging in activities under triple bottom line, Puma is working in line of damage control. However, the sole purpose of the company is not towards improving its image. The company does genuinely work towards CSR related activities and this can be proved from the award which its group company got back in 2014 for its CSR activities. It also helps the company in reducing legal risks and risks to its brand reputation, in addition to increasing efficiency and goodwill (Beute, 2017). Conclusion The discussion covered in the previous segments highlighted the governance and ethical aspects of Puma. The organizational culture as its very basics, in addition to the one followed by Puma was discussed at the very beginning of this discussion. This was followed by critical analysis of the CSR and ethical activities of Puma. This analysis revealed that even though the company has taken a lot of steps towards these issues, it has faced problems in the past due to its unethical labour issues in China and Bangladesh. This has resulted in the companys image being affected and creating uncertainties for the stakeholders of the company. However, to overcome these issues, the company has initiated its emphasis on triple bottom line, which not only allows the company to work for society and towards the planet, but also towards the profits of the company. On the basis of this, certain recommendations can be drawn for Puma, for its future, in context of its governance and ethical perspectives. The company needs to ensure that the incidents which took place in Bangladesh and China, regarding the poor working conditions and the child labour involvement are not repeated. Also, the company should, as a recuperating measure, should work on education and rehabilitation of the workers affected in the incidents which took place. This would serve dual purpose where not only damage control would be done, but also the company would be working towards improving the society. In addition to this, the company needs to re-evaluate its current processes across the globe to check if such instances are occurring in other associated entities of the company. Even though this is a tough task to do, but it would ensure that the company is truly ethical and also makes its associated companies in being ethical. References Albee, E. (2014)A history of English utilitarianism. Oxon: Routledge. Anderson, R. (2011) Puma first to publish environmental impact costs. [Online] BBC News. 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(2016) Comparative Perspectives on Global Corporate Social Responsibility. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. Ferrell, O. C., and Fraedrich, J. (2015)Business ethics: Ethical decision making cases. Scarborough: Nelson Education. Fischer, M. (2016) 20 huge fashion brands got graded for slave labor. [Online] Revelist. Available from: https://www.revelist.com/style-news/fashion-brands-slave-labor/6190 [Accessed on: 15/11/17] Fukuyama, F. (2013) What is governance?.Governance,26(3), pp. 347-368. Gomez, A.M.D., and Crowther, D. (2012) Human Dignity and Managerial Responsibility: Diversity, Rights, and Sustainability. Surrey, England: Gower Publishing Ltd. Grindle, M. S. (2004) Good enough governance: poverty reduction and reform in developing countries.Governance,17(4), pp. 525-548. Henriques, A., and Richardson, J. (Eds.). (2013)The triple bottom line: Does it all add up. Oxon: Routledge. Hooft, S.V. (2014) Understanding virtue ethics. Oxon: Routledge. 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(2004) Business in Context: An Introduction to Business and Its Environment. 4th ed. London: Thomson Learning. Puma Energy. (2014) Puma Wins Corporate Social Responsibility Award. [Online] Puma Energy. Available from: https://www.pumaenergy.com/press-releases/2014/03/20/puma-wins-award-for-corporate-social-responsibility/ [Accessed on: 15/11/17] Puma Energy. (2017a) Culture and Values. [Online] Puma Energy. Available from: https://www.pumaenergy.com.au/about-puma-energy/culture-and-values/ [Accessed on: 15/11/17] Puma Energy. (2017b) Corporate governance. [Online] Puma Energy. Available from: https://www.pumaenergy.com/en/about-us/corporate-governance/ [Accessed on: 15/11/17] Puma. (2014) Code of Ethics. [Online] Puma. Available from: https://about.puma.com/damfiles/default/sustainability/standards/code-of-ethics/PUMA-Group-Code-of-Ethics-aca47c81df24c3e4d80003e92d3b27f0.pdf [Accessed on: 15/11/17] Puma. (2016a) Annual Report. [Online] Puma. 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Ronan by Taylor Swift free essay sample

We live in an era where music and art are two very different things. It is a world where music mostly revolves around how attractive a woman is, or promote drinking. This is the age of inappropriate songs. All the singers do is sing about partying and getting drunk, or just swear, swear, swear. But not all songs fall into that category. Such a song is Ronan. It was released in September 2012 as a charity single by Taylor Swift, who was inspired by Maya Thompson, a woman who wrote a blog for her son who had cancer and died in 2011. Swift read the blog, and was inspired by it, and the lyrics are taken completely from Thompsons blog, which is why Swift credited her as the co-writer of the song. The title of the song is the name of the 4-year old boy, Ronan. It was written in memory of him, and it seems as if Taylor Swift was the voice of Maya Thompson. We will write a custom essay sample on Ronan by Taylor Swift or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The lyrics are heartbreaking and will definitely bring tears to your eyes. The words literally paint the picture for you and you can see Ronan running around in front of you, playing with his toys. Swift has been acclaimed by critics, who call it her best work and the song as heartbreaking. Even though you do not know the boy, nor his family you still feel the pain his mother feels and what the boy went through. It is not just a song. It is a masterpiece. And it encapsulates beauty and emotion better than any song youve ever heard.