A Comparison of Marxist and Functionalist Views on Society Essay

A Comparison of Marxist and Functionalist Views on Society There is a division between functionalists and Marxists over the functions of the society. Marxism was founded by Karl Marx. Marx saw society as divided into two major parts, the economic base otherwise known as the infrastructure and the super-structure. Functionalists see society as a set of parts which work together to form a whole. Functionalism is also called a consensus theory. Marxism and functionalism are similar in that they see that the way society is structured as an important part in determining the way people have relationships and behave between themselves. This is known as structural perspective. Both functionalists and Marxists believe that people are portrayed as creature within the social system. Functionalists believe that society operates to the benefit of everybody. They stress that societies continue to exist because a lot of the time there is consensus between various aspects of society. They believe that family, education, govern...

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury :: Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 4511 In the futuristic novel Fahrenheit 451, the author, Ray Bradbury, expresses several problems that influence the story. Many of these problems have to do with the behavior of the people in the twenty- fourth century society. One major problem is that firemen have been given the job of burning books in order to stop the spreading of ideas, and to cause all of society to reform and therefore be happy. Many people do not agree with this and they try hard to keep books alive, even though they may be killed for it. Guy Montag, who in the beginning of the story is a proud fireman, later doubts his job and joins those who preserve books. One person who teaches him about books is an old man named Faber who is a retired English professor. During a conversation between Montag and Faber, Montag states, â€Å"That’s the good part of dying; when you’ve nothing to lose, you run any risk you want†(pg.85). What he means by this is that he is willing to risk his l ife to help save books for others to read and enjoy. However, Montag’s wife, Mildred, does not care for books as much as Montag because she knows books are illegal and she fears for her life. Mildred tells Montag how afraid she is by saying, â€Å"They might come and burn the house and the family. Why should I read? What for?(pg.73)† Montag is upset when he hears this because he sees that there is a problem with burning books. Indeed there is a problem because books allow people to express themselves, learn, dream, and have fun. In a society such as the one found in Fahrenheit 451, people are not allowed to experience any of these things and they are less individual. Another problem found in Bradbury’s future is that some schools and businesses have been shut down simply because they encourage and promote reading and books. In the novel, books are made to be thought of as evil and are no longer produced. Book companies along with some schools and publishing agencies have been closed due to the ban of books. On page 75 Bradbury tells of the closing of schools by writing, â€Å"The old man admitted to being a retired English Professor who had been thrown out upon the world forty years ago when the last liberal arts college shut for lack of students and patronage.

Mass marketing

Mass marketing is the process involved in presenting products to the general public using the mass media such as primetime television, radio, national newspapers, or magazines of general circulation.   This is usually done with products which appeal to or perceived to be useful to people from all walks of life such as toothpaste, laundry detergent, or headache pill.   This is referred to as the traditional method of marketing and was in use long before specialized or target-specific products came into being. Compared to the concept of direct marketing, mass marketing is more expensive because it utilizes the traditional mass media which get through to a wider range of audience.   For instance, it was estimated that in the 1960s, a single television spot aired simultaneously over the three television stations CBS, ABC, and NBC could already get a message across to 80% of women in the United States. (Bianco, Lowry, Berner, Arndt, Grover. 2004) Direct marketing, on the other hand, is a relatively new method in marketing where the target customers are contacted directly through mail, electronic mail, or the telephone.   This method relies heavily on a customer list created, maintained, and regularly updated by a company or an advertising firm for the purpose.   Organizations who are engaged in this method claim that their marketing efforts are measurable in terms of responses they receive from their targets. The system also allows them to conduct follow-ups in order to consummate sales, or extend after-sale services such as maintenance assistance or performance rating of their products.   Basically, direct marketing allows you to â€Å"focus limited resources where they are most likely to produce results; measure the success of campaigns accurately by analyzing responses; and test your marketing – you can target a representative sample of your target audience and see what delivers the best response rates before developing a full campaign.† (Business Link)   The concept is catching fire. The result of a transatlantic survey of over 500 direct marketers and service providers conducted in 2006 and released January 11, 2007, showed that â€Å"85% of respondents expect their online direct marketing expenditures to increase in 2007.† (Direct Marketing News) REFERENCES Bianco, A., T. Lowry, R. Berner, M. Arndt, & R. Grover. (2004). The Vanishing Mass Market. BusinessWeek online. (Retrieved from: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_28/b3891001_mz001.htm) Business Link. Direct Marketing: the basics. (Retrieved from: http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotz/action/detail?r.l1=1073861169&r.13=1073902327&type=RESOURCES&itemID=1073790746&r.12=1073858842&r.s=sc) Direct Marketing News. â€Å"Alterian finds 85% of marketing and service providers plan to increase Online spending in 2007†. (Retrieved from: http://www.dmn.ca/Click/articles/vol109/vol109_b.htm)   

Discuss Social Class, Gender, Marital Status, Age, Socio Economics Statues and Their Relationship to Functionality

Discuss social class, gender, marital status, age, socio economics statues and their relationship to functionality. Social class refers to the hierarchical distinctions between individuals or groups in societies or cultures. Anthropologists, historians, and sociologists identify class as universal, although what determines class will vary widely from one society to another. Even within a society, different people or groups may have very different ideas about what makes one â€Å"higher† or â€Å"lower† in the hierarchy. Different defining characteristics have developed in societies around the world and have changed through history. Depending on the definition used, class can also be associated with social status, or one's social position in a culture. Because of the vagaries of the word, the idea of social class has been the object of much study in fields such as sociology and economics. Some of the more famous theorists of class include Karl Marx and Max Weber. Despite the work of these intellectual heavyweights, the value of the notion of social class is still questioned as it becomes even more difficult to define in an increasingly fluid and globalized society. Beyond the problems in theoretical conceptualizations, the practical impact of social class on society is important. Any system that divides people and then assigns different values to the groups is inherently problematic in the establishment and maintenance of a harmonious society. If vertical divisions among people can connote no difference in value, only in role, experience, or responsibility in society, then social class may be considered a useful concept

Do Companies Have a Responsibility Not to Destroy the Environment or Should Profits Be Allowed at Any Environmental Cost Essay

We can see a change in every organizational activities, as in marketing, for example Mc Donald change their previous red logo, in green one, A new one, for a new eco-system protecting plan. In this research we are going to see many element, which will prove that companies have a responsibility to take care about the environment. In this research, a melting pot of arguments will be show, to understand if businesses and factories have to pollute instead of adapting their way to work in function of environment and sustainable development. Real fact will help to understand the point of view. Firm’s activities have big environmental impact, its take a major part of naturals resources and reject in the environment. Oil and chemicals industries are not the only companies, which polluted. Every single firm consumes raw material as water, energy and others. It’s also rejected some substances more or less harmful in the environment. More over the intensive consumption of raw material have big impact on the extinction many species, or animal can become endangered. Deforestation in some country appears because companies want to produce more and more, always more. If firms continue to take resources as now, there will be an exhaustion of raw material as oil and gas. Climate change is partly caused by every reject by firms, in terms of polluting gas, chemical stuff and pollution in the see. As â€Å"good planet† said in their article, a cellulose factory has been closed by the government because they notice that to much pollution as been providing by this factory. In fact, around this factory the Baikal lac was very pollute. The vice Prime Minister Arkadi Dvokovitch announces that the factory will be close as soon as possible: â€Å"We decided to close the plant cellulose Baikalsk†. As the government said, a care project is taking part in this area of Russia. The fact that firms do not respect the environment can be dangerous in different way. In this case, 1700 peoples became unemployed, because it shutting. Population becomes less and less happy because of the different ways of pollution of the country. That is why everyone losing something: government loses reputation, to let factories pollute in the country. Firms have to be shutdown because its disrespect the environment. The reputation is very important for a company; it is one of the most important things to maximize profit. People’s way to speak about a company makes it stronger, if its have a good reputation. More often companies can have a bad rap; When it is important to see what are peoples problems and what are the environmental problems, company are less fascinate. Furthermore, it is usually the bigger business, which pollute the most. It is possible to make profit, and make a maximizing profit not in spit of polluting. But head directors prefer giving money to government as fines, instead of polluting less and earn less money. Refers to the case of Pfizer industry, which is one of the biggest pharmaceutical firms from France. As Bschool wrote in an article, Pfizer has the most important record of polluting action in all categories: â€Å"Pfizer has a bad record on numerous fronts†. This big company has been fined many times by authorities, for environmental violations, in terms of air contamination, because rejected lots of hazardous chemicals into the atmosphere. After many recommendations by government, Pfizer industry did not take care about it, and preferred continued to earned money and maximizing profit. This unconscious act proves that head manager who where at the top of the firm did not think about environmental and social problem, and did not feel concerned by security. According again to Bschool, In 2009, the company became more open minded and aware of what she did, and try to reconsolidated the public opinion with an offer to charity: â€Å"In 2009, Pfizer gave more than $60 million to charity, amounting to an astounding 24,2% of its total net profits for the year. † Thanks to regulation and authority to act in this different case, because we all know that is not the only to act in this way with people and environment. Nowadays, people become more and more involved about the protection of the environment. People, company and government try to find together some alternative to stay on the road in term of ecology. At the begging of the XIX century, the industrial revolution and the economy are based on the absolute search of gain. It is difficult to get back and primary think to the development instead of maximizing profit. Therefore company and government had to make some agreement for sustainable development. For example, according to Jonathan Maxwell, SDCL’s CEO: â€Å"Reducing demand for energy is potentially the most cost- effective and rational way of reducing emissions and improving the security of energy supply. The UK regulator, Ofgem, recently predicted in its first annual Electricity Capacity Assessment that the amount of spare capacity in the system could fall from 14% to 4% in the next 3 years, raising the specter of outages and price rises. This ground-breaking agreement between SDCL, Kingspan and Johnson Controls represents a major step forward towards a scalable and replicable solution, funded through energy savings achieved†. This kind of action is present nationally and internationally. Government want to reduce a lot Co2e emissions in the world; that is why big action concentrate many countries all around the world. States have to sign a convention, and adopt comportment after that. The majority of restriction are involved by the OMC (World Trade Organization). Refers to the professor Michael Porter, teacher in Harvard Business School, the â€Å"Porter hypothesis† (citation). Supporting his thesis from 1991, the main idea of environmental regulation is to institute programs firms reducing some externalities. Mr. Porter said also if companies are doing it by themselves it is considerably normal that business’s profits, by definition necessarily decrease. So the profit of factory can decrease if companies are adopting new rules for sustainable development. In different case, it is better making profit than take care about the environment and sustainable development. The first of a company is to make profit, and more precisely a maximization of profit. A lot of Head business managers prefer pollute and make profit, rather than adopts rules for ecology, and change the global way of the firm. A survey on the green economy post show that around 34% of executives polled preferred to stay on a good move with their company and prefer see the whole economy of the business on prosperity: â€Å"According to this Survey, 34% of executives polled said that their firm’s immediate financial goals were of more importance than practicing sustainability  Ã‚ ». There are lots of problems in changing methods to produce for a company, the management of the polluting rubbish, change machine that will be less dangerous for the environment. So that is why manager do not care about nature and public opinion. Even if there are many inconvenient, it is possible to see company which was able to accept this change in term of environment protection. As we see in the introduction, Mc Donald changes many things in the company. For example the logo, to be in coherence with sustainable development, the logo was red and now its green, the environment color. After that, it is not only a picture of a good company, which wants to have a good behavior with environment; there are some benefits that Mc Donald can catch benefits. Referring to Bob Langert, who is VP, Corporate social responsibility at Mc Donald’s corporation: â€Å"Energy is really our No. issue,† he said. â€Å"When you look at the dollars we spend, and the impact we have on the environment, and the progress we can make to do better, and use our size and influence to make a difference, it’s energy. † Bob Langert tell us this information in an interview, in a US TV channel called alternative channel To conclude , we saw different aspect from making profit instead of taking care about the environment. Along this research it is prove that it is better to contribute to sustainable development and be aware of consequences of pollution. Even if it is hard to renounce to earn lots of money and make a maximize profit for business. Help nature and it will reward you. Bibliography * â€Å"McDonald’s Golden Rules for Energy Efficiency and Sustainability | Sustainable Development and Humanitarian Causes: The Alternative Channel Blog. † McDonald’s Golden Rules for Energy Efficiency and Sustainability | Sustainable Development and Humanitarian Causes: The Alternative Channel Blog. Web. * â€Å"The 10 Most Socially Irresponsible Big Brands | BSchool. com Business Schools Directory. † BSchoolcom Business Schools Directory The 10 Most Socially Irresponsible Big Brands Comments. Web. * â€Å"Une Usine De Cellulose Qui Pollue Le Lac Baikal Va Fermer. † Une Usine De Cellulose Qui Pollue Le Lac Baikal Va Fermer. Web. * â€Å"Corporations and the Environment. † – Global Issues. N. p. , n. d. Web. * â€Å"Sustainable Development Capital LLP. † Sustainable Development Capital LLP. Print 2012 * Robert A. G. Monks and Nell Minow, Power and Accountability, 1991 an on-line book, originally written 1991 * Richard Robbins, Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism (Allyn and Bacon, 1999), pp. 233-236 * â€Å"Resources for the Future – RFF. org. † Resources for the Future – RFF. org. N. p. , n. d. Web

Where Im writting from by Dereck Owens Assignment

Where Im writting from by Dereck Owens - Assignment Example Owens description of Lake Ronkonkoma initiates from the detail he goes into regarding the formulation of the lake, which was mainly from a mile high glacier called the Wisconsinan that bulldozed its way and reached Brookhaven after passing through Canada and New England. Warmer climates caused glaciers such as these to melt and retreat leaving behind detritus that geologists now call Ronkonkoma Terminal Moraine. This was how Lake Ronkonkoma, the freshwater lake came into being. Furthermore Owen describes Lake Ronkonkoma today as a working and middle class suburb, indistinguishable from a hundred other suburbs on the island; most of which spill into each other so that their boundaries seem visually intertwined due to no prominent sense of ‘village limits’. Therefore ones sense of boundaries comes not from any visual sense but from proximity to highways and strip malls. The Long Island Expressway that is located five blocks away from Owens house and he describes it as comp rising of a service road that incorporates 24/7 traffic with its extended HOV lanes so as to accommodate the rapidly growing and close to overflowing ‘high occupancy vehicles’. The detail with which Owen describes the Long Island Expressway is by looking at the HOV Lanes from the Ronkonkoma Avenue overpass located about 45 miles from Manhattan.

Project management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Project management - Essay Example This research shows that the project had clear goals but unclear requirements and the frequent changes required rescheduling and resulted in budget overruns. Although the project had budget overruns, it however met the desired outcomes. This study has shown that the key elements of project management are critically important in meeting the objectives and goals of project and giving the desired outcomes. Project management is an art and a science that involves organizing, securing, planning and managing of resources with an aim to accomplish specified goals. A project can be defined as a short-term or temporary endeavor whose beginning and the end is clearly defined. Project management plays a significant role in facilitating execution of projects such as new software development, installation of new hardware or building a facility. As mentioned by Wessels, project management helps in selecting, managing and supporting of projects that are of significant importance in accomplishment o f an organization’s objectives, making it vibrant at marketplace and maximizing shareholders wealth. In an organization set up, various divisions and departments compete for scarce human and financial resources; project management plays an important role in rational decision framework enabling people to make the appropriate project investment decisions. Project management plays a critical role in management of outcomes mainly the cost, time and performance of the project. Projects are selected based on cost and benefit analysis where their return on investment is evaluated against cost of implementation. Role of project manager According to Lewis (2004, p. 19), project manager has the total responsibility to ensure that all project details are handled properly, this requires them to be highly proactive and not reactive. Project manager should follow up on things ordered or scheduled ensuring that things like requisition and purchasing are effectively running, project manager helps in project planning, controlling, monitoring and organization of project resources. Project manager plays a significant role in giving a project economic approach by determining its (ROI) return on investment. Project manager is also responsible for project risk management; he must identify risks, monitor and design effective response. He is also responsible for project reporting to the management of the organization. Key elements in project management Key elements in project management include managing and controlling project scope through clearly established aims, objectives and goals, managing cost element, managing risks, managing human resources, managing time planning, control and scheduling, and managing quality to meet the desired standards (Lock, 2007, p. 78). Project integration, management communications, procurement processes, and quality are also key element in project management. Managing the project scope Project management plays a critical role in ensuring that the aims, goals and objectives of the project are clearly and articulately established. Many projects fail due to wrong or unclear goals and requirements. With unclear goals, project experiences problems, however, with wrong goals, projects fail spectacularly (Rusell 2007, p. 45). Scottish Parliament has clear and articulate goals and objectives but had no clear requirements. Scottish parliament changed requirements of that projects several times, for instance they increased functions of the building demanding for more size and space, these changes caused various difficulties to the project team causing budget