Corporate Development During The Industrial Revolution :: essays research papers fc

Corporate Development During the Industrial Revolution The Standard Oil Company founded by John D. Rockefeller and the U.S. Steel Company founded by Andrew Carnegie. The Standard Oil Company and U.S. Steel Company were made successful in different ways due to the actions of their different owners. The companies differed in their labor relations, market control, and structural organization. In the steel industry, Carnegie developed a system known as vertical integration. This means that he cut out the middle man. Carnegie bought his own iron and coal mines because using independent companies cost too much and were inefficient. By doing this he was able to undersell his competetors because they had to pay the competitors they went through to get the raw materials. Unlike Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller integrated his oil business from top to bottom, his distinctive innovation in movement of American industry was horizontal. This meant he followed one product through all its stages. For example, rockrfeller controlled the oil when it was drilled, through the refining stage, and he maintained control over the refining process turning it into gasoline. Although these two powerful men used two different methods of management their businesses were still very successful (Conlin, 425-426). Tycoons like Andrew Carnegie, "the steel king," and John D. Rockefeller, "the oil baron," exercised their genius in devising ways to circument competition. Although, Carnegie inclined to be tough-fisted in business, he was not a monopolist and disliked monopolistic trusts. John D. Rockefeller came to dominate the oil industry. With one upward stride after another he organized the Standard Oil Company, which was the nucleus of the great trust that was formed. Rockefeller showed little mercy. He believed primitive savagery prevailed in the jungle world of business, where only the fittest survived. He persued the policy of "ruin or rule." Rockefeller's oil monopoly did turn out a superior product at a relatively cheap price. Rockefeller belived in ruthless business, Carnegie didn't, yet they both had the most successful companies in their industries. (The American Pageant, pages 515-518) Rockefeller treated his customers in the same manner that Andrew Carnegie treated his workers: cruel and harsh. The Standard Oil Company desperately wanted every possible company to buy their products. Standard Oil used ruthless tactics when Rockefeller threatenedto start his own chain of grocery stores and put local merchants out of business if they did not buy oil from Standard Oil Company. Carnegie dealt with his workers with the same cold lack of diplomacy and consideration. Carnegie would encourage an unfriendly competition between two of his workers and he goaded them into outdoing one another. Some of his employees found working under Carnegie unbearable.

Fin515 Wk 4

7-2 – Boehm Incorporated is expected to pay a $1. 50 per share dividend at the end of this year (i. e. , D1 = $1. 50). The dividend is expected to grow at a constant rate of 7% a year. The required  rate of return  on the stock, rs, is 15%. What is the value per share of Boehm’s stock? D1= $1. 50 per share g = 7% rs= 15% What is the value of a share of Boehm Stock? P^0 =    D1 /(rs – g) P^0 =    1. 50/(0. 15-0. 07) P^0 =    $18. 75 7-4 – Nick’s Enchiladas Incorporated has preferred stock outstanding that pays a dividend of $5 at the end of each year. The preferred sells for $50 a share.What is the stock’s required rate of return? Dividend = $5 Preferred    = $50 What is the stock’s required rate of return ^P 0 = D/rs rs = D/^P 0 rs = 5/50 rs = 0. 10 or 10% 7-5 – A company currently pays a dividend of $2 per share (D0 = $2). It is estimated that the company’s dividend will grow at a rate of 20% per year for the next 2 years, then at a constant rate of 7% thereafter. The company’s stock has a beta of 1. 2, the risk- free rate is 7. 5%, and the market risk premium is 4%. What is your estimate of the stock’s current price? D0 = $2. 00 g = 20% for 2 years g = 7% there after Bi = 1. 2 Rf = 7. 5%RPm = 4% Rs = Rf +(bi* RPm) Rs = 7. 5 +(1. 2*4) Rs = 12. 3 What is your estimate of the stock’s current price? D0 $2. 00 g0 to 1 20. 0% g1 to 2 20. 0% gn 7. 0% rs 12. 3% Year 1 2 D1 D2 Expected dividends $2. 40 $2. 88 Expected P2 $58. 14 PV of expected dividends $4. 42 PV of expected P2 $46. 10 Expected P0 $50. 53 Problems (p. 371) 9-2 After-Tax Cost of Debt LL Incorporated’s currently outstanding 11% coupon bonds have a yield to maturity of 8%. LL believes it could issue new bonds at par that would provide a similar yield to maturity. If its marginal tax rate is 35%, what is LL’s after-tax cost of debt?After Tax cost of debt = rd * (1- tx rate) 0. 08 * (1 – 0. 35) = 0. 08 * (0. 65) = 0. 052 Answer: 5. 2% 9-4 Cost of Preferred Stock with Flottion Costs Burnwood Tech plans to issue some $60 par preferred stock with a 6% dividend. A similar stock is selling on the market for $70. Burnwood must pay flotation costs of 5% of the issue price. What is the cost of the preferred stock? E= Dividend/ (Market price-Flotation Costs)=(60/6)/(70-(70X0. 05)=0. 0541=5. 41 Answer: 5. 41% 9-5 Cost of Equity – DCF Summerdahl Resorts' common stock is currently trading at $36 a share. The stock is expected to pay a dividend of $3. 0 a share at the end of the year (D1 _ $3. 00), and the dividend is expected to grow at a constant rate of 5% a year. What is the   cost of common equity? P0 = $36; D1 = $3. 00; g = 5%; rs = ? rs = D1/P0+g=(3/36)+0. 05=0. 01333 Answer: 13. 33% 9-6 Cost of Equity – CAPM Booher Book Stores has a beta of 0. 8. The yield on a 3-month T-bill is 4% and the yield on a 10-year T-bond is 6%. The market risk premium is 5. 5%, an d the return on an average stock in the market last year was 15%. What is the estimated cost of common equity using the CAPM? rs = rRF + bi(RPM) = 0. 06 + 0. 8(0. 55) = 0. 14 Answer: 10. 4% 9-7 WACC Shi Importers' balance sheet shows $300 million in debt, $50 million in preferred stock, and $250 million in total common equity. Shi faces a 40% tax rate and the following data: rd _ 6%, rps _ 5. 8%, and rs _ 12%. If Shi has a target capital structure of 30% debt, 5% preferred stock, and 65% common stock, what is Shi's WACC? 30% Debt; 5% Preferred Stock; 65% Equity; rd = 6%; T = 40%; rps = 5. 8%; rs = 12%. WACC = (wd)(rd)(1 – T) + (wps)(rps) + (wce)(rs) WACC = 0. 30(0. 06)(1-0. 40) + 0. 05(0. 058) + 0. 65(0. 12) = 0. 0917 Answer: 9. 17%

Ethical Dilemmas Facing Non-Profit Hospital Ceo Compensation

Ethical Dilemmas Facing Non-Profit Hospital CEO Compensation Ethical Dilemmas Facing Non-Profit Hospital CEO Compensation Executive Summary This essay deals with the unethical prevalence of excessive compensation packages granted to nonprofit hospital executives. Nonprofits are highly complex organizations and are vital to the community’s in which they serves. Therefore, it is essential for these organizations to appoint highly motivated individuals knowledgeable of the healthcare industry and capable of managing and leading a hospital during a national recession while health reform is changing the culture of the US healthcare system.However, many nonprofit organization’s tax-exempt statuses should be rescinded for allocating leftover resources to hospital executives in the form of exorbitant salaries, benefits, and other incentives. It is these hefty salaries and benefits that are restricting hospitals from carrying out their priority mission as public charities. These CEO’s exorbitant compensation packages are further straining the hospital’s ability to provide a social benefit, suggestion that these tax-exempt organizations are acting unethically, in that financial gain is taking precedents over social responsibilities.Ethical Dilemmas Facing Non-Profit Hospital CEO Compensation Communities across the nation have seen the coarse effects of the delicate financial status of our country and the effects it has on healthcare organization within their community. In a time difficult for nonprofit healthcare organizations to operate at a profit, many organizations are left with no choice but to cut essential departments, programs, and employees, leaving many patients that have relied on these organizations, out in the cold.Recently, because of these financial issues, the ethical principles of nonprofits regarding CEO compensation have been under heavy scrutiny by both the public, and the Internal Revenue Service for excessive salaries and benefits. Nonprofit hospitals are organization that are exempt from paying income, sales, and property taxes, and receive charitable donations and massive government subsidies with the understanding that these subsidies are issued in order for these hospitals to fulfill their duty as a community service and benefit.Excessively high compensation for hospital executives is an unethical epidemic facing many organizations, particularly large and urban hospitals, that is restricting hospitals from carrying out its duties because of additional financial constraint. Salaries for nonprofit hospital executives should be capped as they limit and often restrict hospitals to better fulfill their charitable, social missions. Healthcare is beginning to mirror corporate businesses with many hospital CEO salaries competitively rivaling those of corporate executives.However, organizational goals and missions are nearly completely diametrical. Healthcare organizations are unlike other corporations i n that corporations are in existence with the ultimate goal of financial gain. Nonprofit hospitals carry missions such as to provide high-quality, cost-effective healthcare services to all patients regardless of ability to pay,  to offer training, to conduct clinical research, to serve the community as a public health advocate, and to provide support and services which respond to the area's health care needs through health education, health promotion, and access to care.Hospitals have the ethical responsibility to pursue a social mission, including providing uncompensated care and community outreach, but when their executives boast salaries with staggering seven figure salaries, the charitable work of the organization becomes obnubilated by an unmistakable pursuit of financial gain. The IRS reported that the average hospital CEO received $490,000 in total compensation in 2006, and top executives at twenty of the larger hospitals in the nation raked in an average of $1. 4 million a year, whereas uncompensated and free care expenditures as a percentage of hospital revenues averaged about 7 percent (Terry, K. 009). There is a large margin in executive compensation that is dependent on features such as geographical location and size. According to the â€Å"Charity Navigator,† in 2008, the median CEO salary in the Northeast was $351,000 for large hospitals, and $120,000 for small hospitals. In the Mountain West region of the US, the median salaries for a large hospital was $194,374, and only $80,790 for small hospitals (Charity Navigator 2010) Seven figure salaries are not a normal occurrence among hospital and health system executives.However, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, which does an annual national survey of nonprofit salaries, found that the five top-paid nonprofit chief executives in 2003 all worked for hospitals. On top of these exaggerated salaries are the attractive benefits such as bonuses, deferred income, retirement plans, countr y club memberships, and countless other perks that are attracting the wrong kind of leaders to these organizations. Hospitals must provide their social responsibility to the community before spending outrageous salaries for chief executives.It is an unethical practice to pay executive teams more than the total spending on the necessitous care of the community. For example, the survey identified 17 hospitals in California where the total compensation to CEO’s alone exceeded the total cost of charity care of their respective organizations. These excessive salaries could have easily paid hospital bills for uninsured individuals, or could have been used to fund educational programs for the community, provide free immunizations to the public, and or many other beneficial alternatives that could have had a big impact on the community’s health (Mahar, M. 011). It is unjustified for executives to be compensated in amounts greater than $1 million. By capping executive salary at this figure, funds can be reprioritized into community programs such as parenting support programs, screening programs, women, children and infant development clinics, which can be implemented to provide nutrition and educational information for new mothers, and social work programs that could assist individuals and families that face medical related problems, and those who need emotional support.Instead, greed has played a big factor in CEO initiatives. It has not been of rare occurrence for Chief executives to siphon off millions of tax dollars that should be going towards access and quality care. It is unethical for executives at nonprofit organizations to exploit their federally granted nontaxable status to enrich themselves (Swiatek, J. , 2005) Attorney General Michael A. Delaney of New Hampshire announced in May of 2010 that he would review the compensation of CEO’s at more than twenty nonprofit hospitals throughout the state.In a report that reviewed the proposed merg er of two health systems, Mr. Delaney expressed his concern about the pay for Alyson Pitman Giles, President ; CEO of Catholic Medical Center, who earned $1. 4 million in 2009. He stated, â€Å"Nonprofit leaders must be aware that they are the stewards of the charitable assets they oversee, and those assets are held in trust for charitable purposes, not individual gain,† (Gose, B. , 2010)Non-profit hospitals must provide a minimum of charity care in order to receive its tax-free title and its federal grants. However, many hospitals, although they meet the minimum, make no effort to go above and beyond this threshold, instead rewarding these left over funds to be dispersed to the organization’s high-end executives in the form of company cars and country club memberships (Mahar, M. , 2011). These lavish executive benefits in no way benefit the organization. They are unethical and borderline unlawful.Federal law states that non-profit, tax-exempt organizations cannot oper ate to the financial benefit of any individual. In the mid-1990s, Congress passed intermediate sanctions laws that have given the IRS authority to require individuals who make excessive compensation from a non-profit to pay the money back, plus a 25% fin. (Appleby, J. , 2004). It is a common suggestion to compensate executives to match their performance at the organization in which they lead. However there are different ways to measure hospital performance.There is a measure of how well a CEO does in leading his or her hospital in providing beneficial programs to the community; for example, uncompensated care for the poor. Another way to measure or his or her success is by how well CEO’s implement new programs and services that will in hopes attract private pay customers like specialized surgery centers, imaging centers, and cardiac centers. Many healthcare organizations across the nation are expanding and adding unique services that are attracting private pay customers, givi ng hospitals the opportunity to increase profits.This practice has its benefits in both providing a wider range of care for those who can pay, and offering the hospital more means of financial gain, however, in many organizations, this has established precedence over the social missions of nonprofit organizations. In a study conducted by Jeffrey Kramer, PHD, and Rexford E. Santerre, PhD, 30 hospitals in Connecticut were examined on how various measures of performance affect the compensation of CEO’s, which throughout the state, range from a modest $136,000 to an exorbitant $2 million plus salary.The study shows that CEO compensation is directly related to organizational size, stating, â€Å"A 10 percent increase in the number of beds results in an 8 percent increase in CEO pay. † Another 8% increase in pay is attributed to the CEO if the occupancy rate rises by 10%. â€Å"In contrast, providing more uncompensated care and admitting an additional public-pay patient low ers the compensation of hospital CEOs. The results of the study reveal that hospital CEO’s (certainly in the state of Connecticut) have financial incentive to increase the occupancy of privately insured patients rather than uncompensated care and public paid insurance patients, also suggesting that economic performance takes priority over charitable performance (Kramer, J. , ; Santerre, R. E). Notwithstanding, A non-distribution constraint on nonprofit organizations means that excessive profits cannot be distributed among those who make decisions within the organization; this includes employees, managers, and board members.Hence, the nonprofit distinction ought to mean hospital executives are paid based upon their attainment at fulfilling the charitable and social mission of the organization. Nonprofit hospitals have ethical responsibilities and obligations to serve the community, even in times of financial struggle. It is important for these organizations to recruit professi onals that demonstrate the same ideals and values of the organization. Healthcare leaders whose goal is to produce a healthier population through increased public programs and access to care is the type of leader that hospitals and health systems should strive to obtain.Accomplished leaders can be found and appointed as a nonprofit CEO for a more reasonable (6 figure) salary if he or she is in the healthcare industry not for riches, but for offering a greater good. The American Red Cross for example, took in $3. 3 billion in revenue in 2009, however Red Cross CEO Gail McGovern took in only $456,000, according to the organization's IRS filing (Hancock, J. , 2011). McGovern is an example of a leader who recognizes the ethical financial dilemmas of her organization, and will willingly take a more appropriate salary in order to accomplish the organization’s goals.There is no mention of executive compensation in the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act besides the suggestion t hat compensation should be â€Å"reasonable†. Hospital executives should be paid based on their production within the organization and their contribution to their community. As a nonprofit organization, pursuing the charitable mission should take greatest importance in determining final executive compensation. This aspect of an organization’s mission should never be overshadowed by hospital expansion, financial well-being, or increased services and technology.Although these elements are incredibly important for the organization, the insured population, and the advancement of medicine, it is unethical for charitable organizations to use government subsidies for anything other than charity care and social benefit. Budget cuts, along with a feeble economy has resulted in hospitals engaging in mass layoffs to conserve resources. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the month of August (2011) consisted of thirteen mass layoffs in hospitals, totaling in over 1,000 jobs lost. The month before consisted of ten mass layoffs with over 600 lost jobs.This puts hospitals on pace for nearly 130 mass layoffs and over 8,000 jobs lost in 2011. To make matters seem worse, in an article posted by FierceHealthcare, a leading source of healthcare management news for healthcare industry executives, AMA data claims that a 2 percent cut in the Medicare program would lead to the loss of 195,000 jobs by 2021 (Caramenico, A. , 2011). These layoffs would be decreased immensely if hospital executives received more appropriate salaries. Excessive salaries are not only draining resources from the hospital, but are also threatening the jobs of nurses, administrators, and other hospital employees.These staff members, who are on an opposite spectrum in terms of salary, face the possibility of layoffs at any time of financial vulnerability. The decision to cut jobs in non-profit hospitals while executives are still receiving Wall Street salaries is unethical of the boar d of trustees. In financially difficult times, executives have the ethical responsibility to take pay cuts in order to maintain the organization’s social reputation. Hospitals are extremely complex organizations that more often than not are the single largest employers in communities across the country.Hospital executives are responsible for making important decisions that will ultimately affect thousands of people. Many CEO’s and members of boards of trustees argue that executive roles are far too important to not have competitive compensation packages. It is argued that million dollar salaries, added bonuses, hefty retirement plans, and other attractive perks are the only way to attract highly effective leaders capable of running a hospital in a time of economic struggle and health reform. Many hospitals have net revenues exceeding the billion-dollar mark, making it easier of Board members to justify seven-figure salaries for CEO’s.President and CEO of New Yor k-Presbyterian Hospital, Dr. Herbert Pardes inherited a $9. 8 million package in 2008 that included $6. 8 million of previously awarded retirement benefits, which he'll receive when he retires at the end of 2011. If Dr. Pardes worked at a public company of about the same size, his salary would be outrageously low. In 2009, Nasdaq CEO Robert Griefeld's total compensation exceeded $13 million while his company's revenues were only $3. 4 billion. New York-Presbyterian has 2,353 beds and pulled in $3 billion in revenue in 2008, up 3% from 2007. A The Greater New York Hospital Association spokesman defended Dr.Pardes’ salary, stating, â€Å"Dr. Pardes' pay reflects his extraordinary success leading this large and complex organization, and exceeding objectives to enhance patient care, strengthen financial stability and promote community health in a very challenging environment. † (Benson, B. , 2010) The Greater New York Hospital Association stated that â€Å"CEO salaries re flect not only a national demand for their services, but also the skills and leadership necessary to operate large, extremely complex medical centers that are open 24/7, generate millions and sometimes billions in revenue, and are often the largest employer in the community. (Benson 2010) Leading one of these charities requires an individual that possesses an understanding of the issues that are unique to the charity’s mission as well as a high level of fundraising and management expertise. Attracting and retaining that type of talent requires a competitive level of compensation as dictated by the marketplace. It is important for donors to understand that since the average charity CEO earns roughly $150,000, a six-figure salary is not necessarily a sign of excessive pay for a mid to large sized charity. Charity Navigator 2010) Today, executives are being paid to keep their organizations afloat amid closings of many hospitals nationwide due to persistently poor financial perfo rmances. CEO’s face constant pressure to hire more staff, increase nurses’ salaries, implement more community programs, and invest in expensive technologies, while at the same time they are aware that insurers want to pay as little as possible. The CEO undoubtedly faces many challenges, and the responsibilities are incredibly complex.Even with a nonprofit status, many oppose executive compensation cuts, arguing that these organizational leaders deserve salaries competitive to corporate pay. Trustees pay executives based on total revenues, as well as how effective they are in providing patient safety, clinical quality, attentive service, and cost effectiveness. Hospital executive compensation should be based on a number of elements, such as total revenue, the size of the organization, as well as the amount and effectiveness of community benefit.Instead of offering company cars and extravagant country club memberships, executives should be entitled to financial incentive s to implement more community benefit programs. Peter Baristone, President & CEO of Mission Hospital located in Laguna Beach, CA referred to his own compensation strategy stating: Collaborating with the community to identify, understand, and respond to community needs that have an impact on health and quality of life is a major goal for all CEO’s. We establish specific quantifiable targets for each goal.One-seventh of my bonus depends on reaching the targets for community health and benefit. (Bogue, R, 1999). I recommend that all nonprofit Boards assemble an independent compensation committee, responsible for reviewing the CEO’s performance and ensuring that the CEO’s pay is appropriate. At its highest, CEO compensation should be capped at $1 million, thus allowing these large, urban hospitals to recycle resources back into the hospital and community programs, while at the same time offering executives a market competitive salary, fit for a CEO.At a time where n early 20% of adults are uninsured and community residents are in need of help in the form of various programs, it is more important than ever for nonprofit hospitals to perform its duty of being a â€Å"non-profit† organization and be of greater service to the community in which it serves. Nonprofits not only have the legal responsibility to implement such benefits, but also have the moral and ethical duty to carry out their social missions to the best of their ability, and as far as their recourses let them.By capping executive compensation, these resources can be better allocated to provide more charity care, to implement more community programs and benefits to produce a healthier community, and ensure fairness among staff salaries. â€Å"Hospitals are unquestionably complex institutions that require skilled managers, but there's no place for Wall Street-level salaries if we want an affordable health care system. † –Mark Scherzer (Benson, B. , 2010) Works Cite d: Terry, K. (2009, February 13). IRS Report Puts Tax-Exempt Hospitals Under Microscope – CBS News.Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News – CBS News. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from http://www. cbsnews. com/8301-505123_162- 43840159/irs-report-puts-tax-exempt-hospitals-under-microscope/? tag=bnetdoma in Charity Navigator. (n. d. ). 2010 Compensation Study. Retrieved October 15, 2011, from www. charitynavigator. org/__asset__/st Mahar, M. (2011, March 24). Health Beat: High CEO Salaries at Nonprofit Hospitals Under Scrutiny†¦Once Again. Health Beat. Retrieved November 5, 2011, from http://www. healthbeatblog. om/2011/03/high-ceo-salaries-at- Swiatek, J. (2005, February 6). Pay is healthy for hospitals' executives Corporate-like salaries seen at nonprofits' top jobs. The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved September 29, 2011, from www2. indystar. com/articles/6/220029-4276-P. html Gose, B. (2010). Nonprofit CEO Pay Under Scrutiny. Chronicle Of Phila nthropy, 22(16), 8. Appleby, J. , & TODAY, U. (2004, September 30). USATODAY. com – IRS looking closely at what non-profits pay. News, Travel, Weather, Entertainment, Sports, Technology, U. S. & World – USATODAY. com.Retrieved November 5, 2011, from http://www. usatoday. com/money/companies/management/2004-09-30-salary- Kramer, J. , & Santerre, R. E. (2010). Not-for-Profit Hospital CEO Performance and Pay: Some Evidence from Connecticut. Inquiry, 47(3), 242-251 Hancock, J. (2011, August 28). For hospitals, ‘nonprofit' stops with CEO's paycheck – Baltimore Sun. Featured Articles From The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved November 4, 2011, from http://articles. baltimoresun. com/2010-08-29/health/bs-bz-hancock-hospital-pay-20100829_1_hospitals-executive-compensation-ceos Caramenico, A. 2011, October 4). More mass layoffs as hospitals face payment cuts – FierceHealthcare. Healthcare News, Hospital News, Healthcare Companies — Fierce Healthcare. Retrieved October 26, 2011, from http://www. fiercehealthcare. com/story/more-mass-layoffs- hospitals-face-payment-cuts/2011-10-04 Benson, B. (2010). Hospital execs enjoy healthy paydays. (cover story). Crain's New York Business, 26(12), 1-15. Bogue, R. (1999). An incentive for community health. Linking CEO compensation to community goals. Trustee: The Journal For Hospital Governing Boards, 52(5), 15-19.

Pick a historical related film and analyse its historical accuracy.

Pick a historical related film and analyse its historical accuracy. The historical accuracy of gladiator in some aspects was quite good but in others, quite bad. Even right from the opening scene, the inaccuracies start. First, there was no last great battle with the Germanic tribes on the eve of Marcus Aurelius' death. There was a great daylong battle late in the campaigning season of A.D. 179, but Marcus died on March 17 of 180, just as he was about to launch another great military campaign. It is most probable that the scriptwriters needed to shorten the chronology here to save time in a long movie, but that wasn't their only mistake relating to battles. The use of fire-hurling catapults and mechanical dart launchers against the oncoming barbarians was certainly dramatic but probably unhistorical. Such weapons were too burdensome for use on the open battlefield, thus were confined to more static siege warfare.I have found no proof corresponding to the Roman commander Maximus, the movie's hero, and if there were one, it would not have been a German shepherd, a breed that did not exist in ancient times.Portrait of Emperor Lucius Verus. Marble, ca. 161-...Marcus Aurelius was not quite 59 when he died, perhaps of plague. "Gladiator" does capture his kindly and philosophical nature, but his decrepit frailty, thin beard, and wispy fly-away hair in the movie bear little resemblance to his statues and portraits on coins. They show him as a fairly vigorous man with a full beard and a thick head of curly hair.The whole movie in addition radically compresses the chronology of the Emperor Commodus' reign. He became sole emperor upon his father's death in March of 180AD and was assassinated almost thirteen years later on December 31, 192AD. Although the time covered by "Gladiator" is not precisely indicated, it would appear that no more than two years could...

18-year-olds Going OTR Are They Ready Are You

18-year-olds Going OTR Are They Ready Are You The demands on the trucking industry are increasing every year- many companies are running at full capacity with daily shipments in need of experienced, licensed CDLs to pull their weight.  Might the 18-20 year old set offer the potential to fulfill urgent delivery schedules? While most states require drivers to be 21 to acquire their commercial driver’s licenses, some do allow 18-20 year olds to take regional trucking jobs. But they can’t cross state lines, and there’s a frustrating lag between graduating from high school, getting your CDL, and being eligible to take most jobs in the industry. Many young drivers move on to careers that are more readily available, which means the industry is missing out.An Argument AgainstOne of the best tools for handling stressful job situations is maturity and experience- a teenager fresh out of high school probably hasn’t had to bounce back from so much as a fender-bender. Trucking requires the utmost professionalism and responsibility. Most teenagers make inadequate interns, but should we really trust them on the road?Brain Development in Progress: Both a Pro and a ConMaybe their reflexes are slightly sharper and they need less sleep, but the human brain continues to develop until age 25! Teens have underdeveloped frontal lobe, which is where impulse control, memory, attention, and consciousness are stored. On the flip side, they have a great capacity for learning, and by the time they’ve grown into full maturity as drivers, their skills will be ingrained.Plan for the FutureWhile executives, dispatchers, and company owners may feel its in their best interests to get young drivers on the road as soon as possible, in the interests of safety and performance, more training measures should  be developed before it becomes a viable industry-wide goal. Innovations like semi-automated trucking might help alleviate the risks of less-experienced young drivers (or benefit from their likely life-l ong fluency with new technology), and  ride-along training programs may help get the younger workforce up to speed faster and safer.

Attitude Formation

†¢ The affective component consists of the emotional feelings stimulated by the object of the attitude. †¢ The behavioral component consists of predispositions to act in certain ways toward an attitude object. The object of an attitude can be anything people have opinions about. Therefore, individual people, groups of people, institutions, products, social trends, consumer products, etc. all can be attitudinal objects. †¢ Attitudes involve social judgments. They are either for, or against, pro, or con, positive, or negative; however, it is possible to be ambivalent about the attitudinal object and have a mix of positive and negative feelings and thoughts about it. †¢ Attitudes involve a readiness (or predisposition) to respond; however, for a variety of reasons we don’t always act on our attitudes. †¢ Attitudes vary along dimensions of strength and accessibility. Strong attitudes are very important to the individual and tend to be durable and have a powerful impact on behavior, whereas weak attitudes are not very important and have little impact. Accessible attitudes come to mind quickly, whereas other attitudes may rarely be noticed. †¢ Attitudes tend to be stable over time, but a number of factors can cause attitudes to change. †¢ Stereotypes are widely held beliefs that people have certain characteristics because of their membership in a particular group. †¢ A prejudice is an arbitrary belief, or feeling, directed toward a group of people or its individual members. Prejudices can be either positive or negative; however, the term is usually used to refer to a negative attitude held toward members of a group. Prejudice may lead to discrimination, which involves behaving differently, usually unfairly, toward the members of a group. Psychological factors involved in Attitude Formation and Attitude Change 1. Direct Instruction involves being told what attitudes to have by parents, schools, community organizations, religious doctrine, friends, etc. 2. Operant Conditioning is a simple form of learning. It is based on the â€Å"Law of Effect† and involves voluntary responses. Behaviors (including verbal behaviors and maybe even thoughts) tend to be repeated if they are reinforced (i. e. , followed by a positive experience). Conversely, behaviors tend to be stopped when they are punished (i. e. , followed by an unpleasant experience). Thus, if one expresses, or acts out an attitude toward some group, and this is reinforced by one’s peers, the attitude is strengthened and is likely to be expressed again. The reinforcement can be as subtle as a smile or as obvious as a raise in salary. Operant conditioning is especially involved with the behavioral component of attitudes. 3. Classical conditioning is another simple form of learning. It involves involuntary responses and is acquired through the pairing of two stimuli. Two events that repeatedly occur close together in time become fused and before long the person responds in the same way to both events. Originally studied by Pavlov, the process requires an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) that produces an involuntary (reflexive) response (UCR). If a neutral stimulus (NS) is paired, either very dramatically on one occasion, or repeatedly for several acquisition trials, the neutral stimulus will lead to the same response elicited by the unconditioned stimulus. At this point the stimulus is no longer neutral and so is referred to as a conditioned stimulus (CS) and the response has now become a learned response and so is referred to as a conditioned response (CR). In Pavlov’s research the UCS was meat powder which led to an UCR of salivation. The NS was a bell. At first the bell elicited no response from the dog, but eventually the bell alone caused the dog to salivate. Advertisers create positive attitudes towards their products by presenting attractive models in their ads. In this case the model is the UCS and our reaction to him, or her, is an automatic positive response. The product is the original NS which through pairing comes to elicit a positive conditioned response. In a similar fashion, pleasant or unpleasant experiences with members of a particular group could lead to positive or negative attitudes toward that group. Classical conditioning is especially involved with the emotional, or affective, component of attitudes. 4. Social (Observational) Learning is based on modeling. We observe others. If they are getting reinforced for certain behaviors or the expression of certain attitudes, this serves as vicarious reinforcement and makes it more ikely that we, too, will behave in this manner or express this attitude. Classical conditioning can also occur vicariously through observation of others. 5. Cognitive Dissonance exists when related cognitions, feelings or behaviors are inconsistent or contradictory. Cognitive dissonance creates an unpleasant state of tension that motivates people to reduce their dissonance by changing their cognitions, feel ing, or behaviors. For example, a person who starts out with a negative attitude toward marijuana will experience cognitive dissonance if they start smoking marijuana and find themselves enjoying the experience. The dissonance they experience is thus likely to motivate them to either change their attitude toward marijuana, or to stop using marijuana. This process can be conscious, but often occurs without conscious awareness. 6. Unconscious Motivation. Some attitudes are held because they serve some unconscious function for an individual. For example, a person who is threatened by his homosexual feelings may employ the defense mechanism of reaction formation and become a crusader against homosexuals. Or, someone who feels inferior may feel somewhat better by putting down a group other than her own. Because it is unconscious, the person will not be aware of the unconscious motivation at the time it is operative, but may become aware of it as some later point in time. 7. Rational Analysis involves the careful weighing of evidence for, and against, a particular attitude. For example, a person may carefully listen to the presidential debates and read opinions of political experts in order to decide which candidate to vote for in an election. Attitude Formation †¢ The affective component consists of the emotional feelings stimulated by the object of the attitude. †¢ The behavioral component consists of predispositions to act in certain ways toward an attitude object. The object of an attitude can be anything people have opinions about. Therefore, individual people, groups of people, institutions, products, social trends, consumer products, etc. all can be attitudinal objects. †¢ Attitudes involve social judgments. They are either for, or against, pro, or con, positive, or negative; however, it is possible to be ambivalent about the attitudinal object and have a mix of positive and negative feelings and thoughts about it. †¢ Attitudes involve a readiness (or predisposition) to respond; however, for a variety of reasons we don’t always act on our attitudes. †¢ Attitudes vary along dimensions of strength and accessibility. Strong attitudes are very important to the individual and tend to be durable and have a powerful impact on behavior, whereas weak attitudes are not very important and have little impact. Accessible attitudes come to mind quickly, whereas other attitudes may rarely be noticed. †¢ Attitudes tend to be stable over time, but a number of factors can cause attitudes to change. †¢ Stereotypes are widely held beliefs that people have certain characteristics because of their membership in a particular group. †¢ A prejudice is an arbitrary belief, or feeling, directed toward a group of people or its individual members. Prejudices can be either positive or negative; however, the term is usually used to refer to a negative attitude held toward members of a group. Prejudice may lead to discrimination, which involves behaving differently, usually unfairly, toward the members of a group. Psychological factors involved in Attitude Formation and Attitude Change 1. Direct Instruction involves being told what attitudes to have by parents, schools, community organizations, religious doctrine, friends, etc. 2. Operant Conditioning is a simple form of learning. It is based on the â€Å"Law of Effect† and involves voluntary responses. Behaviors (including verbal behaviors and maybe even thoughts) tend to be repeated if they are reinforced (i. e. , followed by a positive experience). Conversely, behaviors tend to be stopped when they are punished (i. e. , followed by an unpleasant experience). Thus, if one expresses, or acts out an attitude toward some group, and this is reinforced by one’s peers, the attitude is strengthened and is likely to be expressed again. The reinforcement can be as subtle as a smile or as obvious as a raise in salary. Operant conditioning is especially involved with the behavioral component of attitudes. 3. Classical conditioning is another simple form of learning. It involves involuntary responses and is acquired through the pairing of two stimuli. Two events that repeatedly occur close together in time become fused and before long the person responds in the same way to both events. Originally studied by Pavlov, the process requires an unconditioned stimulus (UCS) that produces an involuntary (reflexive) response (UCR). If a neutral stimulus (NS) is paired, either very dramatically on one occasion, or repeatedly for several acquisition trials, the neutral stimulus will lead to the same response elicited by the unconditioned stimulus. At this point the stimulus is no longer neutral and so is referred to as a conditioned stimulus (CS) and the response has now become a learned response and so is referred to as a conditioned response (CR). In Pavlov’s research the UCS was meat powder which led to an UCR of salivation. The NS was a bell. At first the bell elicited no response from the dog, but eventually the bell alone caused the dog to salivate. Advertisers create positive attitudes towards their products by presenting attractive models in their ads. In this case the model is the UCS and our reaction to him, or her, is an automatic positive response. The product is the original NS which through pairing comes to elicit a positive conditioned response. In a similar fashion, pleasant or unpleasant experiences with members of a particular group could lead to positive or negative attitudes toward that group. Classical conditioning is especially involved with the emotional, or affective, component of attitudes. 4. Social (Observational) Learning is based on modeling. We observe others. If they are getting reinforced for certain behaviors or the expression of certain attitudes, this serves as vicarious reinforcement and makes it more ikely that we, too, will behave in this manner or express this attitude. Classical conditioning can also occur vicariously through observation of others. 5. Cognitive Dissonance exists when related cognitions, feelings or behaviors are inconsistent or contradictory. Cognitive dissonance creates an unpleasant state of tension that motivates people to reduce their dissonance by changing their cognitions, feel ing, or behaviors. For example, a person who starts out with a negative attitude toward marijuana will experience cognitive dissonance if they start smoking marijuana and find themselves enjoying the experience. The dissonance they experience is thus likely to motivate them to either change their attitude toward marijuana, or to stop using marijuana. This process can be conscious, but often occurs without conscious awareness. 6. Unconscious Motivation. Some attitudes are held because they serve some unconscious function for an individual. For example, a person who is threatened by his homosexual feelings may employ the defense mechanism of reaction formation and become a crusader against homosexuals. Or, someone who feels inferior may feel somewhat better by putting down a group other than her own. Because it is unconscious, the person will not be aware of the unconscious motivation at the time it is operative, but may become aware of it as some later point in time. 7. Rational Analysis involves the careful weighing of evidence for, and against, a particular attitude. For example, a person may carefully listen to the presidential debates and read opinions of political experts in order to decide which candidate to vote for in an election.

The changing nature of advertising from traditional print and Research Paper

The changing nature of advertising from traditional print and broadcast to interactive and web based - Research Paper Example This essay "The changing nature of advertising from traditional print and broadcast to interactive and web based" how advertisement is presented in various types of media, how it changed and how the advent of the Internet affected it. Traditional mass media involve advertising through the newspaper, books, magazines, radio and television. This type of advertising is one- to- many type of communication that does not allow direct feedback from the audiences. For instance when people read the magazines or turn on the television ,there is no way to directly respond to advertisements unless they write to or call the company themselves but this way they will be using another form of advertising. Radio advertising cost is very attractive advertising vehicle for many small business owners. Radio advertising has a wide scale appeal to consumers and it reaches thousand of target audience at the right time and right message. However, radio was primarily an entertainment medium and advertising is considered an interruption. This has resulted in an industry called satellite which provides entertainment without commercials because consumers are willing to pay for them. With the emergence of satellite radios the popularity of radio advertising is slowly decreasing. Radios have also evolved into entertainment source for background noise at work and for primarily driving. At homes, there has been a drop in radio use because people can play their CDs where they have the freedom to choose their music and programmes free of commercial interruption. This has led to low popularity in radio advertising. Television Advertising Television is a form of entertainment that brings the family together to enjoy public amusement without leaving home. Research has shown that an average person spends more time with the television than with newspaper and radio combined. This shows that television has a very huge audience making it the most powerful advertising choice for many manufacturers and retailers. This has been so for a very long time but all the same the television advertising is slowly dying. The television audience has been fragmented into few local channels where major companies would choose their advertiser but with the introduction of cable and satellite television the audience has further been fragmented into over 200 channels. This fragmentation has led to dramatic reduction of audience in the local channels. Television advertising has limited lifespan for any advertisement this makes the advertisers to not do their advertising on television because once the advertisement has aired its gone for good hence a viewer may not remember the advertisement after all. The television audience as well has a way of avoiding commercial interruption because there has been an introduction of TIVO, pay per view, public broadcasting stations and the multitude of satellite. This has seen a great number of audiences paying for those services because they are avoiding the commercial interruptions (Stafford, & Ronald, 2001,65). At homes, families are opting to watch a common movie as a form of entertainment since they are free of interruption. Although television advertising has decreased for the small business for the big businesses it is now possible to make world -wide advertisement this show that television advertisement has developed and has is yielding more benefits for