Business entities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Business entities - Essay Example The former is considered to be a prescriptive approach, and the latter an explanatory, descriptive, or predictive approach. Normative business ethics is the domain of philosophers and theologians, while empirical business ethics is considered to be the domain of management consultants and business school professors. Scholars who represent these different domains are said to be guided by different theories, assumptions, and norms which often result in misunderstanding or lack of appreciation for each others endeavors. The normative approach, rooted in philosophy and the liberal arts, focuses its attention on questions of what ought to be, and how an individual or business ought to behave in order to be ethical. The empirical approach, rooted in management and the social sciences, is generally concerned with questions of what is, assuming that the organizational world is basically objective and "out there" awaiting impartial exploration and discovery. Empiricist answer questions of what is by attempting to describe, explain, or predict phenomena in the natural world using the agreed-upon methodologies of their social scientific training. The social scientist may devalue the philosophers moral judgments because these judgments cannot be understood in empirical terms and cannot be verified by empirical testing or be used to predict or explain behavior. The social scientists statements about morality, on the other hand, are seen to be of little value to the philosopher because such statements do not address the essential questions of right and wrong. Normative ethical theories develop standards by which the propriety of certain practices in the business world can be evaluated. In contrast, the empirical approach focuses on identifying definable and measurable factors within the individual psyches and social contexts that influence individual and organizational ethical behavior. (Trevino 1994) Gary Weaver and Linda Tevino have outlined three

Perception of McDonald’s Essay -- Business, Unhealthy Food

Perception of McDonald’s McDonald’s has expanded globally into 31,000 worldwide outlets and employed more than 1.5 million people in more than 119 countries (Kulkarni, Lassar, Sridhar & Venkitachalam, 2009). Nevertheless, McDonald’s always faces negative perception and commonly related in serving unhealthy and junk foods amongst its customers around the world (Currie, Dellavigna, Moretti, & Pathania, 2009). It is not only the negative perception of public, but McDonald’s have been attacked and accused of selling unhealthy food in several countries, including the US, China, Belgium, Holland, India, Russia, Sweden and the United Kingdom (Wilson, 2009). Meanwhile, the core of the current problem is that customers’ still buy fast foods, even though they have negative perceptions on McDonald’s as regards to unhealthy foods. At this point, customers are confused about fast food nutrition messages provided by McDonald’s, while it is still perceived as bad images (Deng, 2 009). In order to overcome this issue, there are changes in McDonald’s marketing and communication strategies as they have started to plan strategic action with two objectives; first, to change the image of McDonald’s from junk food restaurant to a healthy food restaurant, as this will attract health conscious customers and at the same time can enlarge the market scope. Secondly, to change behavior of the existing customers who keep on taking only junk foods, and to persuade frequent fast food users to change their lifestyle by buying balanced meal with McDonald’s new healthy foods (Deng, 2009). ). Perception of McDonald’s Icon-Based Nutrition Label The increasing number of developments in the nutrition field and technologies give a great contribution and invol... ... protein, fat, carbohydrates, and salt (Hoffmann, 2007). Illustration in the Table 1 below shows the icon-based nutritional label used by McDonald’s on their food wrapper, pamphlet and restaurant website. Similar thought can be argued on the display area or position that McDonald’s present their nutrition label. For instance, McDonald’s posted their nutrition label through diverse medium such as in restaurant website, on tray liners, pamphlet, in-store displays and interestingly printed on the food wrappers. As compared to other fast food, McDonald’s take an active steps to create an awareness of nutrition label through different channel and this is explained by Hoffman (2007) that this different channel purposely to generate repeated exposure to the nutrition label, and customers should eventually grasp their meaning, with or without printed labels presented.

Amy Chua Hanna Rosen Essay

Amy Chua and Hannah Rosin: a comparison and contrast of parenting styles In recent years, Yale professor Amy Chua has drawn a great deal of attention due to her focus on a parenting style that is foreign – both figuratively and literally – to most Western parents. This style centers on a Chinese model that Chua espouses, and that has become famous, or infamous, for the stern and rigorous practices that Chua enforced with her own two daughters. Chua has received a large amount of criticism; one of her critics is Hannah Rosin, a prominent writer and editor. In response to Chua, Rosin outlines an alternative method of parenting. It can be argued that while both Chua and Rosin are involved and devoted mothers, they have distinctly contrasting views on how to raise children. There are three areas in which this contrast can be most clearly seen: attitudes to success, attitudes to self-esteem, and attitudes to happiness. Amy Chua’s model of parenting has success at its core. Chua sums up the Chinese approach to activities in this way: â€Å"What Chinese parents understand is that nothing is fun until you’re good at it† (Chua, 2011). With this as a mantra, Chua promotes an extremely rigorous approach to such activities as learning a musical instrument; she believes that two or three hours of practicing an instrument daily is appropriate for young children. Furthermore, Chua believes that parents should not give their children any choice over which musical instruments to learn; the violin and piano are the only acceptable choices, regardless of the child’s natural talent or predilection. This approach is also evident in academics. Chua says, â€Å"†¦the vast majority of Chinese mothers†¦believe their children can be ‘the best’ students, that ‘academic achievement reflects successful parenting’ and that if children did not excel at school there was ‘a problem’ and parents ‘were not doing their job’† (Chua, 2011). Hannah Rosin takes a distinctly different approach to success, one that is arguably more reflective of Western attitudes in general. Rosin says, â€Å"Ms. Chua has the diagnosis of American childhood exactly backward. What privileged American children need is not more skills and rules and math drills. They need to lighten up and roam free, to express themselves in ways  not dictated by their uptight, over-invested parents† (Rosin, 2011). In Rosin’s view, Chua’s version of success is ultimately very limiting. Rosin doesn’t argue that success is a negative thing in and of itself; however, her looser, freer approach suggests that it can be achieved differently. Another area where Rosin and Chua differ from each other is in their approach to self-esteem and the way in which parents should treat their children. Chua openly admits that it is common for Chinese parents to make comments to their children that Western parents find reprehensible, such as â€Å"Hey fatty, lose some weight†, or referring to a child as â€Å"garbage† (Chua, 2011). However, Chua defends these comments by arguing that in fact, Chinese parents speak in this way because ultimately, they believe that their children are capable of being the â€Å"best†. She contends that Chinese children know that their parents think highly of them, and criticize them only because they have high expectations and know that their children can meet them. Hannah Rosin disagrees. She says, â€Å"†¦there is no reason to believe that calling your child ‘lazy’ or ‘stupid’ or ‘worthless’ is a better way to motivate her to be good than some other more gentle but persistent mode’† (Rosin, 2011). She believes that a parent’s role is not to act as a harsh critic and task master, but rather to guide them through the inevitable difficulties of life that arise. Unlike Chua, Rosin is not concerned with forcing her children to be â€Å"the best†. Rather, she says that â€Å"It is better to have a happy, moderately successful child than a miserable high-achiever† (Rosin, 2011). It is in this area, pertaining to notions of happiness that Chua and Rosin depart most distinctly from each other. It can be argued that the idea of happiness is almost completely absent from Amy Chua’s template. Chua says, â€Å"Chinese parents believe that they know that is best for their children and therefore override all of their children’s own desires and preferences† (Chua, 2011). In other words, the feelings or preference of the child as an individual are lacking completely from the Chinese framework of parenting. The child’s happiness, or misery, is completely irrelevant, because the  parent is the supreme authority, acting in the child’s best interest. Chua claims, â€Å"It’s not that Chinese parents don’t care about their children , just the opposite. They would give up anything for their children† (Chua, 2011). However, the one thing that Chua and other parents will not give up is complete authoritarian control. Rosin takes an entirely different approach to the value of individual happiness. She observes that happiness does not come through being successful; furthermore, â€Å"happiness is the great human quest† (Rosin, 2011). Parents cannot possibly always be in a position to know what will make a child happy or not; children must work out their own path to happiness (Rosin, 2011). Rosin believes that an over-emphasis on perfection will not lead to greater happiness and may even create less happiness in the end. In conclusion, it is undeniable that both Amy Chua and Hannah Rosin love their children and believe that their approach to parenting is based on a desire to do what is best for those children. However, the two approaches present a sharp contrast to each other. Amy Chua believes that success, perfection and being â€Å"the best† are of paramount importance, and will ultimately build a child’s self-esteem (Chua, 2011). Hannah Rosin is critical of the harshness of the Chinese template and argues for a gentler approach, one that takes the natural interests and talent of the child into account (Rosin, 2011). Rosin notes that the idea of enjoyment or happiness is strikingly absent from Chua’s parenting style; in turn, Chua observes that many Western parents are disappointed with the choices that their children make in their lives (Rosin, 2011; Chua, 2011). It can be argued that both the Eastern approach and Western approach have a great deal to offer each other; a wise parent knows how to walk a middle ground.

The Epic Of The Odyssey By Homer, The King, Father Of Gods...

Zeus is portrayed as the all-powerful holder of the golden scales, the king, father, husband and ruler of the gods of Olympus. His role as the purveyor of fate is repeatedly demonstrated throughout The Iliad, guiding battles to ensure the desired outcome of the Moirae. There are limitations on his power as in all his many roles, however the main is fate. To maintain his dominion over the gods and by extension the mortal realm he is forced stand by and watch his mortal child die a fated death whilst he cries tears of blood. Zeus in his guise as the â€Å"father of gods and men†, (Homer, Iliad XI. 182) holds to a familiar human paternal power base. His power within his family structure ensures the ongoing aid of his children acting as his intermediaries to shape the outcome of the Trojan conflict to ensure the resultant dispute follows the dictates of fate, such as when he orders Athena to ensure the Trojans are the first to break their oath during the truce (Homer, Iliad IV. 70-2). These words are initially spoken by Hera (Homer, Iliad IV. 64-7), and the very act of Zeus choosing to obey Hera can be viewed as a limitation, a sign that the Homeric Zeus has been domesticated in comparison to the Zeus provided by tradition (Alvis 1995, 5). This is exemplified in the open expressions of fatherly love towards his â€Å"own son, shining Sarpedon† (Homer, Iliad XV. 67). In describing Sarpedon as â€Å"the dearest of men† (Homer, Iliad XVI. 433) Zeus has set the tone of a loving father, onlyShow MoreRelatedTheme of Revenge in Homers Odyssey Essay878 Words   |  4 PagesHomer’s The Odyssey is not just a tale of a man’s struggle on his journey home from the Trojan War, but of his struggle from the consequences of revenge. The Odyssey weaves in different characters’ tales of revenge from the gods and what impact revenge actually had on those characters. Revenge is an important underlying theme in The Odyssey because, in essence, it explains why Odysseus’ journey was so prolonged and treacherous. A few examples of revenge in the poem include Orestes’ revenge onRead MoreEssay about Homers The Odyssey1646 Words   |  7 PagesHomers The Odyssey The Odyssey is a companion to The Iliad, a story of the Trojan War. Both The Iliad and The Odyssey are epic poems written by Homer. In The Odyssey, Homer relates the misadventures of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, that occur during the decade following the defeat of Troy. In doing so, the fates of his fellow warriors are also made known. The Odyssey begins on Mount Olympus, in the palace of Zeus, king of the gods, where a discussion takes place regarding the woes of humans andRead MoreThe Iliad and the Odyssey1510 Words   |  7 Pagesand the Odyssey are two classic stories told by Homer. 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Similarly in the Aeneid, we s ee that goddess Juno dislikes Aeneas as he is destined to destroy the city of Carthage lovedRead MoreEssay An Epic Odyssey1544 Words   |  7 PagesThe stories of epic heroes remain important to many cultures, the Greeks in particular. These tales of heroic men not only entertain, but they teach people about morals and values that most epic heroes exemplify, such as intelligence and bravery. To be an epic hero, characters are usually highly born, favored by the gods, perform great deeds, and have flaws. These tales are told in heightened style and occur in grand settings. 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Hence, the concept of kleos formed an essential part of the bardic tradition which helped the people to maintain the heroic stature of the mythical heroes from generation to generation. This is why, it has got an important place in the Greek epics also. In The Odyssey by Homer also