Seven Virtues vs. Seven Sins :: essays research papers

Seven Virtues versus Seven Sins   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Virtues are character strengths consistently applied to moral decision making. They show positive patterns of behavior. However, vices are negative patterns of behavior, often harmful to one’s self or others. The seven virtues are faith, hope, charity, prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. The seven deadly sins are pride, envy, gluttony, lust, wrath, greed, and sloth. Practicing one virtue can protect one from the temptation to perform an act which is sinful.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Charity is love. It is devotion to others, which requires strength, effort, conviction and courage on our part. People who are generous and helpful to others don’t have many signs of envy; their charity protects them from it. Envy is the opposite of charity; it is the desire to have things that other people have, such as possessions, traits, and abilities. Charity, however, helps protect from envy, keeping one away from envious temptations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Prudence is basically common sense. A prudent person thinks â€Å"What is the right thing for me to do?† rather than rushing in without thinking. A prudent person is protected from being prideful. Pride is extreme belief in one’s own abilities to the extent that it interferes with the recognition of the grace of god. Pride is the sin that other sins come from, because if you are prideful, you believe that what you are doing is the right thing, and you cannot be dissuaded from it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Temperance is control; doing things in moderation, rather than allowing oneself to go to extremes. A temperate person does not overindulge himself. Gluttony is the opposite; it means to overindulge oneself. Gluttony can also be shown as selfishness, because a gluttonous person always wants more.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Faith is to be firmly attached to something or someone by love. A faithful person truly loves and commits to their partner. Lust is the opposite of faith. It is sexual craving and obsessive desire. Lust promotes the like that â€Å"this is all there is†. Lust blinds people and prevents them from seeing true love and commitment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fortitude is courage. It is when we are called on to stand up for what we believe is right, while going against the grain. Someone who has fortitude can bear something unpleasant rather than becoming irritated and wrathful. Wrath is anger; it is the opposite of fortitude. Wrath is in a person who rejects love, choosing anger instead.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Justice reminds us that all people deserve to have their basic needs met.

white fang :: essays research papers

White Fang By Jack London   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  White Fang, by Jack London is an amazing tail of survival and the wild. White fang is a wolf born into a cruel life, but endures it and becomes stronger because of it. He finds hate, but then finds love in the epic tail of this amazing animal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Two men, Henry and Bill go sledding with six dogs. Each night they camp in the merciless wilderness, a dog is killed by a wolf pack. The wolves come closer to camp every night, until there are three dogs left. One of the wolves is different and bigger then the rest, a she-wolf, who’s use to people and afraid of guns. One day the men’s sled overturned and got caught up in trees. They had to untie the dogs to fix things. One of the dogs saw the she-wolf and took off after her, only to be ambushed by a dozen wolves. The dog ran for his life, while Bill went with his gun to save him. Bill and the dog both became a meal to the wolves. A couple of nights later, so did the rest of the dogs. The only thing that saved Henry was sheltering in the middle of a fire he’d made. By the time the fire had died, other men came with sled dogs to his rescue.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The she-wolf had taken off with her pack, only to abandon them to be with her one-eyed mate. They traveled to an Indian camp and stayed a few nights, then found a cave where the she-wolf had her five puppies. The father loyally went out hunting for them and let them eat before he did. Sometimes food got scarce though and all but one pup died from hunger. The father also died from tangling with a sphinx. The last pup was curious one day, While his mother was hunting, he went out of the cave and got his first kill, baby birds. He also fought with the mother bird, but lost the battle from getting pecked. Later a hawk ate that bird. Then the pup walked up to a stream and accidentally fell in. he was quickly swept downstream. Downstream the cub swam to shore and was met by a weasel and her babies. The pup attacked and was nearly killed by the mother weasel, but his mother came to the rescue. She killed the weasel and they ate it.

Belonging in The Simple Gift and Arthur Essay

Every person needs a sense of belonging. Belonging is defined as acceptance as a natural member or part. Scientific research has found that man’s need to belong is a pre-coded instinct found in the primitive brain or amygdale. Without a sense of belonging a person’s well being can be seriously affected. In the book The Simple Gift by Steven Herrick, the main theme is belonging as it follows a boy’s journey to find a place where he feels he belongs. In the book Arthur by Amanda Graham, the author shows the feelings displayed by someone when they don’t belong and then their feelings when they do belong. E.T. is a movie directed by Steven Spielberg which also has the main theme of belonging. The two main protagonists, Elliot and E.T., don’t feel a sense of belonging with anyone until they meet each other. The Simple Gift shows how much people need to belong. Billy is only 15 when he runs away from home. He finds a place to stay temporarily in Bendarat, but it isn’t long until he realises that Bendarat is a town where he feels he belongs. Billy uses descriptive language to show that he feels he belongs in Bendarat. He says â€Å"Bendarat is the perfect town. A friendly librarian, a warm McDonald’s, luxury train accommodation, and the town is surrounded by apple and pear orchids. The real strength of the feeling of belonging is shown through the character Caitlin. Caitlin has got everything from her wealthy parents that she has ever asked for. It is only until she meets Billy that she realises that there has been something missing from her life, something that money can’t buy. Caitlin describes this feeling after she reads a note Billy had left her, and she says, â€Å"I read this and felt something in my stomach, a slight ache, a twinge, and I knew it was hunger but not a hunger for food. And I blushed with the knowledge.† She finds her own sense of belonging with Billy, which makes her happier than she has ever been. Billy and Caitlin are brought together by their wishes to belong. Although they are opposites in society, this difference means nothing to them. Arthur is a picture book written by Amanda Graham. In this book Arthur is a dog in a pet store. Arthur desperately wants to belong to a family and not to be stuck in the pet store. He sees many other animals be sold to families, but he just doesn’t get sold. He impersonates the other animals that are being sold as he thinks that this could give him more of a chance of belonging. Arthur is finally bought by a family and he finds himself happier than he has ever been before. Arthur shows how much everyone needs to belong, and how much you would try to belong if you were lonely. He also shows the benefits of belonging through his new found happiness. Arthur is similar to Billy in The Simple Gift as they are both willing to do almost anything to belong and when they do belong they both find themselves happier than they have ever been. E.T. shows how many differences can be overcome in order to belong. E.T. is an alien that is left behind after travelling to Earth with his friends. He is lonely and scared, and has no idea how he will get home. E.T. meets Elliot and both E.T. and Elliot immediately form a friendship greater than either had felt before. E.T. feels that he doesn’t belong on Earth, but Elliot does everything he can to make E.T. feel like he does belong. E.T is very similar to Billy in the Simple Gift as he is in a place where he knows nobody, has no home and wishes to belong. Both Billy and E.T. are lonely until they meet someone they both form a strong connection with. Billy finds Caitlin and with Caitlin he feels he belongs. E.T. finds Elliot and he feels he belongs. In all of these texts, the main characters have been found someone they belong with and a place where they belong. In every case the feeling of belonging has made them happier and made their lives feel more purposeful.

What Is The Value Of Keeping An Accurate Inventory

Inventory keeping plays an important role in the supply chain of many companies and organizations. Efficient inventory control and management to a large extent depends on the way and manner inventory records are kept. Good record keeping makes it easier for inventory to be kept properly, whereas bad or inaccurate record keeping unduly stalls movement of raw materials and finished goods in the supply chain. In this paper, an attempt shall be made to highlight the value of keeping one’s inventory accurate. Helps in achieving Operational excellence The value of keeping one’s inventory records accurate has been emphasized by several research workers (Kok and Shang, 2006; Smaros, Lehtonen, Appelgyist and Holmstrom, 2003; Cachon and Fisher, 2000). Commenting on this subject, Kok and Shang (2006) for example, pointed out that inventory record inaccuracy is a major obstacle to achieving operational excellence. To these authors, for one to achieve operational excellence, every effort should be made to keep one’s inventory records consistently accurate. Helps in lowering total distribution costs According to the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) (1994), total distribution cost is the summation of the costs incurred in transporting, warehousing, order processing and documentation, inventory, packaging, lost sales for failing to meet set standards of goods. The relationship between these variables and distribution can be expressed mathematically as: D= T + W + O + I + P + S where: D is total distribution cost T is transportation cost W is warehousing cost O is order processing and documentation cost I is inventory cost P is packaging cost. S is lost sales as a result of failing to meet required standards From this formula, any undertaking which lowers the cost of these variables in the supply chain would also contribute in making the total distribution cost lower and therefore more cost-effective. Keeping a company’s inventory accurate therefore helps in this direction. The reverse is what takes place when inaccurate inventory is kept. Distribution is component of the classical marketing model known as the 4Ps. Distribution can therefore be a good source of competitive advantage at the marketplace. Companies that make their distribution network more cost-effective can have a huge advantage over their competitors. Helps in building trust in the supply chain In today’s business world, it is not uncommon to find companies share their inventory records with partners, some of which could even be competitors. Some of these information exchanges take place in real time and also defies geographical boundaries. Many of these relationships and arrangements are founded on trust. As such, the value of keeping accurate record cannot be over-emphasized. This is because inaccurate presentations do not only undermine the work of the company in question but also all the significant others which used that piece of information to plan and manage their work. Helps in demand estimation For existing companies, past inventory records greatly assist in estimating future Demand for goods and services at the beginning of the financial year. From such information, the quantity of goods that should be manufactured at any given time can be estimated accurately. Helps in sourcing and procurement for cheaper raw materials. Accurate inventory records also help in sourcing for and procurement of cheaper raw materials for the company. The cost savings from such undertakings can then be passed on to the final customer in cheaper prices. On the other hand, inaccurate records hinder procurement departments in establishing present stock levels and the replenishments that must be procured. Helps in the arrangement of logistics Similarly, inventory records assist the distribution outfit of the company to arrange for transportation and other logistics to convey the manufactured goods to the final customers in the value-chain. In situations therefore, where the inventory information provided to the aforementioned departments are inaccurate, it can seriously hamper their work which can be lead to severe losses to the company. Let us consider a scenario where the company’s stocks are full at the storage depots but her significant partners are informed that stock levels are at 50 percent. A raw material supplier to this company would make arrangements for materials to be sent to this company, only to be told that the company does not need these materials until the present stocks have been cleared. Equally, the company’s outsourced logistics partner would restrict herself to transporting goods equivalent to half the capacity of the company’s warehouse to the retailing units. The transporters get to the warehouse to find that they are not adequately resourced to carry out the logistical task ahead. If they are not fortunate to find that all the available transports have been booked, clearing the warehouse of existing stocks would be a Herculean task, if not impossible to the outsourcee company. Helps in Business planning and coordination. Apart from helping to estimate demand accurately, keeping accurate inventory records also help in business planning and coordination itself. With accurate inventory records, it is easier for a company to plan its way forward. For example, if it is learnt from past inventory records that the company obtained its highest sales in the first quarter of the year and not the last quarter, it can plan to augment its sales personnel during this period. By employing several part-time and temporal workers, it can comfortably fulfill customer demands at such peak periods. Similarly, it can use the low- through periods to train its staff or allow them to take their vacations. Wilson (1995) has pointed out that susceptibility of materials planning systems to record errors reduce their effectiveness. Thus, in situations where remedial steps such as cycle counting programmes are not implemented to correct deficiencies, the performance of the company can seriously deteriorate. Helps in production scheduling The importance of keeping accurate inventory records to the producer in sourcing for raw materials has already been stressed. Another value such an undertaking brings to the producer or manufacturer is in the area of scheduling the production itself. Mass customization of goods has become the order of day in many market sectors and industries. Whereas this system de-emphasizes storage of goods, in some instances it depends on inventory records to determine whether a specific request should be manufactured or one is ready available to be sent to the customer. In that respect, accurate inventory records contribute greatly in scheduling production of goods cost-effectively. Helps in Inventory control. Accurate records help in controlling inventory itself. According to Lamb, Hair and McDaniel (2000) an inventory control system develops and maintains an adequate assortment of materials and products to meet the demands of manufacturers and the final consumer. If the input furnished the inventory is inaccurate, that deficiency can seriously affect the manufacturer and the customer alike. A typical example of this distortion is when too many goods are kept in the inventory. This development leads to increases in storage cost and in some cases losses attributable to theft and spoilage. In the same vein, when goods are under stocked, it can lead to severe shortages and also angry and unfulfilled customers. A reflection of Managerial capabilities The way and manner inventory records are kept in a company is also a reflection on inventory managerial capabilities of the management team of the company or the logistics and distribution department. If available records are full of errors and inconsistencies, it simply tells any cursory reviewer that sufficient supervisory oversight is not being administered. On the other hand, an accurately kept inventory records is indicative that the managerial staff are up to the task. Helps in warehouse management Warehouse management plays a vital role in the supply chain of some companies. They serve as an effective link between manufacturers and market intermediaries such as wholesales, middlemen, retailers, etc. Accurate keeping of inventory records constitutes an integral part of warehouse management. It is difficult to manage warehouses properly if records of inventory are not properly kept. If that occurs the warehouses could be receiving newer stock when in fact they should be rejecting on the basis of present stock levels. In like manner they could be rejecting stocks when they should be accepting them. Any of these scenarios place additional costs to the warehouse manager. In the same vein, it also makes the handling of materials difficult. Helps in the identification, sorting and labeling of goods Accurate inventory records helps in identifying, sorting and labeling goods (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel, 2000) either for storage or to the distribution and manufacturing centers. Goods that are properly identified sorted out and labeled are easier to handle than those which are not. They also save material handlers or workers valuable time and thereby increase their productivity. Helps in securing financial assistance As with every segment of a business entity, good record keeping, including that of inventory, helps greatly in securing financial assistance. For existing companies, the financing institution may review existing records to gain insight into how the company has been managed. If inventory records have been badly kept, it indirectly tells how the company has been managed. Furthermore, if management of inventory were one the criteria being used to decide whether financial assistance should be extended to the company or not, it is obvious that the company with an accurately kept inventory shall receive the assistance whereas those with improperly kept data refused the needed financial help. Inventory records themselves are also useful in the preparation of business proposals and plans for financial assistance. Helps in order processing Keeping accurate inventory records also helps in processing received orders correctly. If an order is received and the information is relayed to the manufacturing centre, whether that order gets fulfilled immediately depends on whether accurate inventory records have been kept. If the inventory records are inaccurate, the customer may be sold a good that does not match his requirements or the fulfillment of that order may be unduly delayed. Helps in Replenishment of stocks Accurate inventory makes replenishment of goods either at the warehouse or in store shelves easier to suppliers, be they manufacturers, wholesalers or retailers. Whereas, if doubts are expressed about inventory records, they make replenishment extremely difficult. The difficulty stems from the fact one is not entirely sure about the quantity of goods that should be supplied at any given period. Consequently, over- and under-replenishment becomes common. This development has cost implication to the supplier. For example, if goods are sent to their desired destination and it is found that there is no space to accommodate them because stock levels were understated, those goods would have to be transported back to the supplier. On the other hand, if inventory records were accurate, the goods supplied would be delivered with no extra cost to the supplier. Helps in lowering supply chain costs Generally, it has been established that accurate inventory records reduces order processing and supply chain costs (Cachon and Fisher, 2000). For example, if the time taken to identify inaccurate inventory records and have them rectified is 20 percent of the total time spent at customer-seller interface by the customer, that figure represents the extent of convenience and also loss of man-hours experienced by the customer and sales personnel, respectively. Helps in providing excellent customer service Accurate inventory records also help in providing excellent services to customers. It makes it easier for goods actually needed by customers to be known and supplied with. Furthermore, it enables the needs of customers to be identified and promptly catered for. It also prevents wastage of store shelves by filling them up with goods that are in great demand by customers. Conclusion From the foregoing account, it has been clearly shown that keeping a company’s inventory accurate is a valuable undertaking. Companies with inventory that adhere to set inventory practices reap several benefits, whereas those which do not incur losses. In an era where inventory building is being de-emphasized, the need for companies to keep their inventory records accurate has become even more paramount.

Psychosocial Development as Seen in the Movie the Blind Side

Psychosocial Development Psychosocial development is an integration of the principles of personal, psychological and cultural or social development. The psychosocial view of problems focuses on the idea that problems are rooted in relationship issues. Heinz Kohut said humans have narcissistic needs that are satisfied by other people, represented as self-objects. If the child receives enough mirroring (positive attention) from self-objects (chiefly the mother), the sense of self develops appropriately and affects their social life.If there's too much mirroring, the child won't be able to deal with frustrations. If there's too little, the development of the self is stunted. In the movie â€Å"The Blind Side† Before meeting Tuohys, Michael was reserved and had very few friends. It is apparent that he did not receive sufficient mirroring from his parents while growing up which resulted in his ‘psychosocial dysfunction’. At school he was ridiculed because they thought he was dumb in the sense that he did not speak to anyone and he wasn’t cognitively smart.As he gradually bonded with Sean Junior he ‘came out of his shell’ and began expressing himself and communicating with others even more effectively than before. For example when he saw the children at the park playing and he went towards them, his approach scared them away, but after he was told to smile and present a warm approach to the children to let them know that he is friendly the children were willing to allow Big Mike to play with them. This improved his social abilities to a great extent. Michael was introduced to a different milieu, he not only learnt from the new family that adopted him but he also taught them something.This is seen when Michael stayed over for Thanksgiving and while everyone else was watching television and eating their meal in the living room he was seated around the table. When Mrs Tuohy saw him around the table she demanded that the entire fam ily sit around the table. This goes to show that this was a social grace or something customary to Michael that was not a part of the Tuohy’s socialization. One other theorist, Karen Horney suggested that Psychoanalytic Social Theory is built on the assumption that social and cultural conditions, especially childhood experiences, are largely responsible for shaping personality.People who do not have their needs for love and affection satisfied during childhood develop basic hostility toward their parents and others and, as a consequence, suffer from basic anxiety. In addition, watching the movie â€Å"The Blind Side†, I have observed the main character Michael as being socially handicapped as a result of his family background and experiences. Michael’s hostility was that of silence as it can be assumed that his need for love and affection was not satisfied during his childhood due to his parents’ absence.His father was not involved in his life at all but his mother was there for him or she wanted to be there for him but because of her drug addiction it disabled her ability to supply his needs as a child. According to Albert Bandura most human learning is observational learning, not conditioning and occurs by observing what others do and imitating what one sees. One need not actually perform the behaviour oneself. Taking for example in the movie where Michael was not cognitively intelligent in other subject areas but he was tested 98% in protective instincts.This might have been because of his past experience as a child and growing up he had to fend for himself, not because he saw persons fending for themselves but because he was left with no other option. This especially was due to the fact that he was a ward of the state and was placed in foster care but did not want to stay. His protective instinct could also have been adapted from observing how the gangsters from his community would defend themselves in gang fights , hustling in the streets etc. Therefore, his strong area of social development was in protecting himself/ his blind side.Another instance in which Big Mike’s psychosocial development was evident was in the connection between the time Mrs Tuohy saw him walking in the cold and asked him if he had somewhere to stay. Because of his hesitation she said â€Å"don’t you dear lie to me. † He ended up developing meaning from this dialogue and learnt that lying is wrong. In the ending after being questioned by Mrs Granger, out of rage and anger he repeated the same phrase to Mrs Tuohy (â€Å"don’t you dear lie to me†) when he tried to find out from her whether or not she was forcing Big Mike to go to the college of Mississippi.

Interview Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Interview - Article Example In the budget, the expected needs of each department in the institution are outlined and matched with the existing resources. In addition, budgeting makes the decision-making process expeditious as all capital structure decisions are always made during budgeting. It is paramount to note that the budget instrument is the only recognized tool for communicating financial requirements to the funders of public institutions. Apart from internal organizations that influence the budgeting process, there exist external forces that determine the allotment in each department. In this case, these forces usually influence the budgeting process by making recommendations and distributing circulars that dictate on various items in the budget statement. It should be noted that public institutions are mainly funded from the public coffer and hence the entire budgeting process is often subjected too much oversight and supervision. Apart from the oversight practices, the board of directors managing a given institution seeks to their interests in the budget. Their main interest is to influence and to have control over the fee pooled from the learner. In this case, the independence of the budgeting officers is not guaranteed. When filling vacant positions in the budgeting offices, all interested parties in a given institution often feel comfortable when their choices are picked. In this case, there exist situations where some candidates with good credentials miss these vacancies. For the obvious reason, every interested party seeks to have people they are comfortable with on budgeting table. History always exonerates diligent officials who occupy budgeting offices at any given time. In most case, the end products justify the process used. In this case, when an institution is hard hit by bad economic time, the budgeting office carries all the blame. Going with the history, many budgets fail to

Midterm Assignment Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Midterm Assignment - Term Paper Example Others have talked of the rise of the erstwhile colonies and their need for increasing their rates of economic growth as reasons for which there would be a lot of competition in the world without there being any significant cases of violence or anarchy. The rise different sources of power in the world would therefore result in the twentieth century being one where there is violence but not of a significant enough magnitude. This means that there would be middle ground that exists throughout the twentieth century. The events that took place in the twentieth century would affect significantly the outcome of the events of the twenty first. For instance, the two world wars that led to the loss of millions of lives would affect the way in which the world views violence. The way the nations of the world would look at collective violence sanctioned by a group of nation states would be different in the twentieth century. This can be seen in the clout that the United Nations has in dealing with decisions in the twentieth century. Even though there are situations where its authority is flouted, the international community more often than not supports its decisions. The mandate of the United Nations is considered to be synonymous with the mandate of the international community. This mandate is more often than not, geared towards the maintenance of peace in the world. This shall lead to situations where it has to be in conflict with certain interests. This shall lead to friction which shall not however, escalate to a condition where the mandate of the international community can or shall be collectively violated. The chances of two fronts forming in the world in the way it was in the twentieth century is not likely. Robert Jackson refers to the impossibility of extreme anarchy or extreme peace in his book Classical and Modern Thought