Jane Eyre And Mr Rochester Essays - English-language Films

Jane Eyre And Mr Rochester Jane Eyre, written in 1847, is a novel written in autobiographical style about an orphan girl's quest for love. The novel reflects contemporary life of that period and everything that happens is seen from Jane Eyre's, the protagonists point of view. Although the story reflects the language, customs, and style of the Victorian period, the elements of mystery, emotions and struggles transcend time. The emotion of love is universal to all human beings and in not defined by a period of time. It is written about similarly from century to century. For the most part, people seek to be loved and to love. In this respect, Jane Eyre does not differ. Webster's dictionary defines a relationship as the mutual exchange between two people who have dealings with one another. It is a common observation that human beings have a multitude of different types of relationships with the individuals they deal with. However, these relationships are further delineated by gender, culture, age, social status, and authority. A meaningful relationship between a girl and her girlfriends will generally be different than the relationship of between her and her male peers. Another characteristic of human relationships is that they are dynamic. Relationships can change from day to day, season to season and year to year. At some point in most individuals' life they will seek a meaningful, romantic relationship resulting in love, commitment, companionship and happiness. After a somewhat hard childhood, deprived of affection, security and love, Jane enjoys much comfort and freedom at Thornfield. However she continues to experience restlessness and boredom until the arrival of Mr. Rochester. After a quiet, reserved period, Jane and Mr. Rochester spend many hours in conversation. Jane becomes alive in his attention, is stimulated by the challenges he offers and is comfortable in arguing against his opinions. Throughout the first part of the novel Jane is presented as exhibiting spiritual isolation . However, she seeks to give and receive love from her surroundings and those in her surroundings. To Jane love "is the power which sustains life." Mr. Rochester confides to Jane that he is in despair, believing himself doomed to suffer for his past sins. Although he tells her of a love he once experienced, the love was jaded. Apart from this brief confession, the reader is aware that Jane and Mr. Rochester's conversations are limited to general conversations regarding philosophy. It is very evident to the reader in the first part of the novel that a mutual attraction if felt by both Jane and Mr. Rochester. Although, until they can get through some obstacles that stand in their way, the attraction the share will not progress into a meaningful relationship; it will remain static. Jane Eyre's experiences with the male species is very limited. There do not appear to be any significant males in her life prior to her arrival at Thornfield. Therefore, she has no experience in the art of courting Mr. Rochester. He, on the other hand, appears to have had at least one meaningful romantic relationship (with Celine Varens) which he describes and confesses to Jane. The love relationship ended when Rochester discovered that the woman did not really love him, but loved his money and status. Furthermore, Rochester, from Jane's point of view, is being pursued by Blanche Ingram. At one point he suggests to Jane that he may be marrying Blanche Ingram. The reader, given Jane's analytical observations, feels that Mr. Rochester is trying to get Jane to reveal her feelings for him. However, Jane with her limited experience regarding males and courtship does not see this. What is holding back the progression of the relationship is pride and fear of rejected love. We know that Mr. Rochester is intelligent, proud, and cynical. He hopes that Jane will understand his true feelings about her and even goes to the extreme of dressing up as a gypsy in order to find out if Jane really does love him. However, Jane does not see through the deeper meaning of this deception and tells him very little of her feelings. Once again, it is her pride that stops her. Many people would classify this as a situation of "you tell me first." As Rochester is more experienced, is of higher social status, and in a superior position, he should overcome his pride and reveal his feelings for Jane. Jane could do more to reveal some of her feelings towards Rochester, however she is left with the impression that he will marry Blanche Ingram. They will be in

How to Make a DNA Model Using Candy

How to Make a DNA Model Using Candy Making DNA models can be informative, fun, and in this case tasty. Here you will learn how to construct a DNA model using candy. But first, what is DNA? DNA, like RNA, is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic information for the reproduction of life.  DNA is coiled into chromosomes and tightly packed in the nucleus of our cells. Its shape is that of a double helix and its appearance is somewhat of a twisted ladder or spiral staircase. DNA is composed of nitrogenous bases (adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine), a five-carbon sugar (deoxyribose), and a phosphate molecule. The deoxyribose and phosphate molecules form the sides of the ladder, while the nitrogenous bases form the steps. What You Need: You can make this candy DNA model with just a few simple ingredients. Red and black licorice sticksColored marshmallows or gummy bearsToothpicksNeedleStringScissors Heres How: Gather together red and black licorice sticks, colored marshmallows or gummy bears, toothpicks, needle, string, and scissors.Assign names to the colored marshmallows or gummie bears to represent nucleotide bases. There should be four different colors each representing either adenine, cytosine, guanine or thymine.Assign names to the colored licorice pieces with one color representing the pentose sugar molecule and the other representing the phosphate molecule.Use the scissors to cut the licorice into 1 inch pieces.Using the needle, string half of the licorice pieces together lengthwise alternating between the black and red pieces.Repeat the procedure for the remaining licorice pieces to create a total of two stands of equal length.Connect two different colored marshmallows or gummy bears together using the toothpicks.Connect the toothpicks with the candy to either the red licorice segments only or the black licorice segments only, so that the candy pieces are between the two strands.H olding the ends of the licorice sticks, twist the structure slightly. Tips: When connecting the base pairs be sure to connect the ones that pair naturally in DNA. For example, adenine pairs with thymine and cytosine pairs with guanine.When connecting the candy base pairs to the licorice, the base pairs should be connected to the licorice pieces that represent the pentose sugar molecules. More Fun With DNA The great thing about making DNA models is that you can use almost any type of material. This includes candy, paper, and even jewelry. You might also be interested in learning how to extract DNA from organic sources. In How to Extract DNA From a Banana, you will discover the four basic steps of DNA extraction. DNA Processes DNA replication - DNA unwinds in order that copies can be made for mitosis and meiosis. DNA transcription - DNA is transcribed into an RNA message for protein synthesis. DNA translation - The transcribed RNA message is translated to produce proteins. DNA Mutations - Changes in DNA sequences are known as mutations. Mutations can impact specific genes or entire chromosomes.

Capstone introduction Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Capstone introduction - Research Paper Example There are a number of factors which have affected Africa’s growth and caused it to remain behind. These are as follows; Education Education is the edification of one’s mind with knowledge, skills and even wisdom. In the modern world, education usually takes both formal and informal formats with formal education being the main form of education in today’s world. Despite Africa having a great number of people, most of them young, most of these are not educated. Africa has some of the highest numbers of uneducated and completely illiterate people (Bridges, 2007). Even most of multinational businesses corporations in Africa have to depend on outside countries for experts in different countries. According to Benson, Gospel and Zhu (2013), education is an integral and vital part of the development process. Africa remain the least educated continent, even after the massive missionary work in the previous hundred years which focused on delivering education, healthcare an d religions. Education in Africa is linked with economic prosperity. Only the wealthy can access useful education and only the educated can access wealth. This has left the continent being a continent of one billion extremely poor people and ten thousand billionaires. While the gap between the wealthy and the people is a major concern in almost any economy even in developed countries such as USA and United Kingdom, Africa has the greatest rift between the rich and the poor and this gap has been caused by the education Gap (Curaj, 2012). Most rich people in Africa are those whose families were lucky enough to access education in the pre-colonial era. These were mainly families which sided with colonial masters while the freedom fighters were in the forest fighting for the emancipation of their countries. Freedom fighters and their families never had an opportunity to get education and the wealth-education-wealth cycle never got to them. This has affected the continent ever since. Pol itics Political affects the way a country develops. Good democratic structures help a country to be able to take advantage of its resources and also to be able to help in overcoming its challenges. This is why politics is directly attached to leadership structures. Politicians are at the forefronts of a country’s leadership and therefore affect the way that country is going to develop, or not develop. It goes without saying that Africa is one of the youngest, or constitutes some of the youngest democracies in the world (Obiyan & Amuwo, 2012). In fact, most countries in the African continent can rarely be regarded as democracies. This lack of good political structures perpetuates the issues discussed above. Poor politics means corruption, which will prevent the poor from being able to access resources such as education (Obiyan & Amuwo, 2012). Poor political therefore has helped in maintaining the status quo, which means the maintenance or even expansion of the gap between the rich and the poor in Africa. As Faringer (1991) argues, corruption in many governments in Africa has meant that a few African leaders are prostituting African resources to other countries which mean that African resources only benefit a few already rich African people while the majority continue to suffer. These resources are then exported to other countries where they are used to benefit foreigners. Neo-colonialism Neo-colonialism is termed as a

Law Relating to Payment and Trade Finance Essay

Law Relating to Payment and Trade Finance - Essay Example Hitherto, investors and other traders who wanted to do cross border or international trading (import and export) had to go through stringent bureaucracies and processes that killed the enthusiasm of most of such investors and traders. Today, the situation is quite different as a lot more people are gaining the interest to go into international trading. The need to make cross border trade and commerce as flexible as possible not withstanding, there are certain basic regulations that remain unchanged and would perhaps remain unchanged for a very long time. One of such regulations is the mode of international trade financing and payment. Though the processes are not as stressful as before, international traders are still required to follow basic international trade financing systems that are governed by law. This write-up therefore seeks to examine the role of some of the most common international trade financing and payment methods in addressing the currency global credit crisis. What is international trade finance and payment? Organisation such as the International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organisation have devised laid down procedures and structures that need to be followed whenever trade and business transactions have to take place across borders. Such trade that take place across borders are referred to as international trade whereas the funding or financing of all forms of products, good and services that are involved in such international trades are referred to as international trade finance or simply put, trade finance. According to the Business Money (2011), â€Å"Trade Finance is the science that describes the management of money, banking, credit, investments and assets for international trade transactions.† This means that the financing of trade across borders is just more than giving out monies for goods that one wants to buy. Rather it reaches an extent where the entire process is described as management. Instead of just giving out money t o pay for goods and products, one has to device means and follow processes that ensure that the money is managed by taking the payment process through a couple of processes, involving institutions such as banks and insurance. It is therefore in the right direction that the Investopedia (2009) notes that â€Å"trade finance looks at banks, credit agencies, insurers, forfaiters, and any other person or institution who enables importers and exporters to trade across borders.† Discussion on the present Global Credit Crisis Closely related to the issue of international trade finance is the availability and access to flexible credit. This is because as mentioned already, trade finance goes beyond paying money in hand to a company to including the involvement of institutions such as banks and insurances. This means that issues on credit plays an important role on the success of world trade finance. However, it is common knowledge that the world has in times past suffered and even to day suffers from credit crisis that is not limited to any one country but the world as a whole. Broadly speaking, when a particular nation suffers a breakdown with its credit system, we say credit crisis has hit that country but when the situation expands to include almost all nations of the world – especially the giants like America, China and Germany, we say that there is a global credit crisis. Greewood (2011) explains that global credit cri

A Neighbourhood study of Broughty ferry in Dundee,Scotland Essay

A Neighbourhood study of Broughty ferry in Dundee,Scotland - Essay Example This is done by utilising locally obtained information and national evidence from government statistics and reports. Basic description of the neighbourhood Broughty Ferry is situated on the eastern part of the City of Dundee, which is found on the shores of Firth of Tay in Scotland. Attaran and Sachs (2001) and Barnett and Whiteside (2000, p. 231), note that â€Å"Broughty Ferry is found in the eastern Scotland and has a population of approximately 13, 155 according to the latest population and housing census of Scotland.† The neighbourhood of Broughty Ferry is one that can best be described as a traditional setting with a lot of respect and prestige to customized cultural living. For example the people have their unique forms of music, dressing, dish and educational system (Barnett, 2006 and Bell et al, 2003). The suburb for example has three primary schools that almost every citizen of the suburb attends before going to high school. In their writings, Hummers-Pradier et al ( 2008) and Isaacs (2010) noted that â€Å"these schools are Barnhill Primary School, Forthill Primary School and Eastern Primary School.† Interestingly, all these primary schools feed the Grove Academy, which is a high school with candidates. The neighbourhood of Broughty Ferry is more of a village than a district. ... There also are highly welcoming sites just around Broughty Ferry for golfers and skiers in the St. Andrews and Cairngorms respectively. Perhaps knowing of the kind of welcoming destination their village poses to people all around Dundee and for that matter Scotland, the people present themselves as highly hospitable and welcoming folks. Archer (2003) and Arndt and Lewis (2000, p. 321), has it that â€Å"the rates of visits to the village has made the people one of the fastest learners in Scotland because they are always adapting to the new ways of living that suit their visitors.† Detailed description of key aspect and characteristic of the neighbourhood Employment The employment situation in Broughty Ferry can simply be described as impressive. This is in relation to the average employment rates of Dundee City and Great Britain in general. According to labour supply data from NOMIS for 2001, while the economically active population in Broughty Ferry made up 77.4% of the total population, the same number of economically active population for Dundee City was 68.2% whiles that of Great Britain was 74.0% (NOMIS, 2012). Of the percentages, those in employment in Broughty Ferry were 73.6% when the population of those in employment in Dundee city was 61.2% and those for Great Britain was 69.8% (Mayer et al, 2005and Nugent and Abolafia, 2006). Statistically, it can be said that a lot more of the economically active people in Broughty Ferry are gainfully employed and so have their own sources of income. It has been posited by Ogilvie (2011) and Ploeg et al, (2010 p. 134) â€Å"that the reason for this trend has largely been attributed to the varying economic and employment opportunities that exist in the village†. It is for instance known that of the total number of people

Analysis of Tescos Corporate Governance and Responsibility

Analysis of Tescos Corporate Governance and Responsibility 1.0 INRODUCTION 1.1 Overview of the project Corporate governance and Corporate Responsibility have gained an increasing amount of importance over the last decade due to some of the worlds greatest corporate scandals that have been taking place. These scandals have not been happening to the under developed or developing economies, which have a high rate of corruption, but instead have been taking place in the developed countries, which supposedly have had various safeguards to protect the interests of all the stakeholders. Following the collapse of major multi-nationals such as the Maxwell Empire in the UK, Enron in the United States and Parmalat in Italy to name just a few, findings of fraud, dishonesty, irregular accounting and too much power held by one individual soon came to light. As a result, people and investors have lost the trust they placed in the financial markets and the big corporations to safeguard their assets and interests. The loss in confidence has seen big drops in the stock markets around the world and should the trend continues, the whole world economy would collapse which would lead to devastating consequences. As a result of those alarming situations, governments around the globe have devised frameworks of good corporate governance and passed on various laws, rules and regulations to hold companies responsible for their own actions, known as Corporate Governance and Responsibility in order to ensure that such scandals are not repeated in the future. The main corporate governance frameworks include the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Developments (OECD) principles, the UK revised Combined Code (2003) and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the United States. Some of these are legally binding, such as the one in the United States while others operate on a comply or explain basis. This project will place more emphasis on the governance framework in the UK, namely the revised Combined Code, though I will make brief analyses of other reports and frameworks. Why I chose this particular topic area is for many reasons. Firstly, I believe that there is still scope to improve corporate governance worldwide and hence, wished to learn more about it. Secondly, despite the fact that corporate governance and corporate responsibility have become increasingly important in todays world and that companies have to adhere to the rules or principles, reports of fraud and bad management are still emerging in the developed economies, which lead to the collapse or nationalisation of various organisations. Well known examples in the UK include the nationalisation of Northern Rock bank and the government pumping in money into its various other banks, including Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland among others. It therefore begs the question about the credibility of the corporate governa nce framework. In addition, as a business student, it is now imperative to have a good understanding of the subject and as a taxpayer and citizen, I am both directly and indirectly affected by corporate behaviour. 1.2 The Organisation in question This thesis revolves around Tesco plc, one of the worlds leading retailers. Opened in 1919 by founder Jack Cohen, his first days sales were  £4 with a profit of  £1. By 1947, the company floated on the stock exchange with a share price of 25p and by 1979, its annual sales has reached  £1 billion. In 1983, Tesco Stores (Holdings) Ltd becomes Tesco PLC. Nowadays, the company has entered various other markets including the USA, China, Korea and many other European countries. It has also diversified into other industries, including financial services and is currently making profits in excess of  £2 billion. It is the UKs biggest supermarket in terms of turnover with 2,115 UK stores and employing 280, 373 staff in the UK alone (Tesco annual report 2008) .Such an organisation has been chosen for various reasons, namely because: It is a listed company, and hence according to the London Stock Exchange rules, it needs to adhere to the principles of the UK Combined Code on Corporate Governance on a Comply or Explain basis. Therefore, I will be able to determine whether such a big company is really being a good corporate citizen. Most of the data that I will need to conduct my research is readily accessible through its website, including its financial statements and annual reports. Data on similar organisations, such as Sainsburys plc is also readily accessible, which would prove to be very useful for comparison purposes. This would help me to make an analysis on how those two similar organisations are complying with the UK combined code on corporate Governance and whether the departure from for example a specific code is usual for these companies or ot. Tesco plc has a very large number of stakeholders and hence it is interesting to find out how the company is working towards fulfilling its responsibility towards them. In other words, how it is being corporately responsible, especially how it is dealing with the principal-agent problem. In addition, according to the companys annual report, Tesco follows a diversification strategy, laid down over 10 years ago and which has been the foundation of its enormous success in recent years. Due to the companys size, Tesco has segmented itself into 5 main areas: CORE UK COMMUNITY NON FOOD RETAILING SERVICES INTERNATIONAL The UK is its biggest market and the core of the business. The main aim here is to provide its customers with excellent value and choice. As well as deriving high shareholder value, the company also tries to be a corporate citizen. In addition to its annual report, the company also publishes a Corporate Responsibility report to show that it is a responsible business. Over the past decade, the company diversified into the non-food market whereby it offers a range of products, from laptops to mobile phones, etcThe aim here is to be as strong in food as in non-food, competing on price and value. Following its success into the non-food market, the company went into retailing services, offering financial services to its customers. Again here, this sector has proven to be profitable for the company. Nowadays, Tesco is not only operating in the UK but also in most European countries as well as in the US and Asia. The company has been expanding very quickly and is the number 1 retailer in Thailand today! As can be seen, Tesco has followed through a diversification strategy throughout the last decade, expanding not only into other markets but into other industries as well. Considering that diversification is quite a risky strategy, the company has been performing exceptionally well, defying the current credit crunch to record profits of over 2 billion pounds! Such a big and successful company provides us with ample opportunities to assess whether there are any irregularities in its reports, ie, whether there is good governance or not! 1.3 Research Questions The dissertation is mainly an analytical one, in that an analysis on the companys corporate governance and its corporate responsibility report will be performed. The main objective is to determine whether the company is behaving responsibly, by complying with all the provisions of the code and how is it discharging its duties towards its stakeholders. The main questions that will therefore be investigated are the following: Has Tesco complied in all respect with the principles of Corporate Governance and if not, why has it departed from a particular provision? Is there a link between its Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility and its financial position? Is the company projecting an image of a good corporate citizen? The above will form the main research questions though I will also be looking at various other aspects briefly such as: Variety of directors at the organisation. The difficulty in finding the right people with the right skills for the company. The role of Tescos audit committee, including independence issues. Public relations regarding the effect on the company if seems to flout regulations. The companys budget towards fulfilling its corporate responsibility How the company is working towards being eco-friendly Whether the company provides proper adequate training, pension provisions, etc 1.4 Overall Research Approach The starting point for the thesis indulges firstly into a broad explanation of both corporate governance and corporate responsibility. We will look at various definitions from a few sources in order to provide the reader with an understanding of the subject. Good corporate governance is incorporated into many reports. The main ones that will be the focus of the dissertation are notably the Cadbury report, Hambel report, Greenbury report, Higgs report, Smith report and the Turnbull Committee. The main points of the UK Combined Code (revised July 2003) will be discussed in a bit more detail, since it will form the basis of our first topic of interest of the project. In addition, the London Stock Exchange now requires all its listed companies to comply with the above code, which includes Tesco. As such, the first project objective will be achieved, whereby we can make an analysis whether Tesco has complied fully with the code or not. Whether there is a link between Tescos governance system and its financial performance will be the second part of the project. An analysis of the companys financial statements will be performed to assess its financial performance using various accounting techniques, such as ratio analysis, industry, competitor and international comparisons. Other items, such as share price movements, off balance sheet finance, creative accounting and conflicts of interests between management and shareholders will also be looked at to ensure that the figures provided in the financial statements are not misleading, especially to both current and potential investors. The impact of Tescos corporate governance system on its various stakeholders will form the next point. The main stakeholders that will be investigated here will be: Shareholders Employees Suppliers Customers Loan provider Government Public Each of the above points will be explored in details and an assessment on stakeholders conflicts of interests will be discussed briefly if there are any. Next on the agenda will be the topic of Corporate Responsibility. I will be making an analysis to determine how well Tesco is taking the responsibility to consider the interests of customers, employees, shareholders, society and the environment in its operational activities. Lastly, the thesis will focus on any criticisms and possible recommendations on the organisations corporate governance system and on its corporate social responsibility. 2.0 Information gathering Gathering information and data effectively is key to achieving a good project. A great deal of research is needed and very often there might be data overload. When too much data is collected, it sometimes becomes very difficult to analyse and interpret them properly which may be problematic in doing well in the thesis. On the other hand, not collecting enough data may lead to the wrong conclusion, thus rendering the thesis useless or even misleading. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that one must collect information properly and effectively in order to avoid wasting time and sometimes even money. We should always bear in mind that the data that needs to be collected should be sufficient so as to achieve the research objectives. 2.1 Sources of information There are two types of data, mainly primary and secondary data. Primary data is data that is unique to the researcher, and that is unavailable anywhere else. There are different methods of collecting such types of data. The main ones though are: Survey Questionnaires Observation and Interviews Primary data is often very valuable since it is unavailable anywhere else. However, collecting it is very time consuming and costly. In addition to that, one must always ensure that a proper margin of error is selected and that a good sample size is chosen. Otherwise, all the benefits of primary data will be lost. As can be seen, though valuable, it is often very time consuming and costly. Secondary data, as the name suggests, is data that is not unique. It is data that already exists somewhere else. Secondary data is data that has already been collected and collated by somebody for some reason other than the current study. It can be used to get a new perspective on the current study, to supplement or compare the work or to use parts of it, as another study may prove costly and time consuming e.g. the census. Secondary data can further be divided into two parts, namely qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative data includes biographies, personal letters, diaries, records, documents, published material, computer database, policy statements, etc. Quantitative data would have market research, census, and Economic documents, planning documents or specimens. The list is endless and once the type of secondary data is identified, it becomes easy to locate the source. The following is a list of where data has been collected and scrutinised for the purpose of the thesis: 2.1.1 Textbooks Textbooks have always been a major source of information. In fact, due to the increased importance of corporate governance, corporate responsibility and responsibility accounting, many textbooks have attempted to explain the concept of those topics and their relevance of in todays financial world. In todays accounting profession, it is now recommended that all accountants be familiar with corporate governance and especially ethics. This is mainly due to those scandals such as Enron which shook the whole financial world. It has been one of the most talked topics in the recent decade regarding the top CFOs and CEOs integrity! I found the texts regarding corporate governance and corporate responsibility to be well documented, which has been quite useful in analysing the topics in question. I made use of several textbooks, including many accounting ones. The main one I have used for my research is the BPP textbook for the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants P1, Professional Accountant. The textbook has provided me with a great insight about ethics and corporate governance and has helped a lot in preparing for this analysis. In addition, I also found the Heriot-Watt University MBA textbook regarding corporate governance to be extremely useful. This has helped me to understand from scratch why corporate governance is so important! The MBA textbook goes into much more details on the subject which really broadened my knowledge and provided me an insight from the barriers to improvement on governance systems to the various policy responses. The benefits of using textbooks are that they contained a great deal of literature on the issue of corporate governance, which not only helped me in achieving some of my aims for my project but also opened my eyes on the effects it has on each and every one of us. Unfortunately, textbooks have some drawbacks as well. Firstly, one needs to get the right texts for a particular research topic, which can take a lot of time. Next, there is a lot of reading to do, and if time is a constraint, this can pose a serious problem. In addition, although one may get the right books, one also has to make sure that they are the latest editions, since they tend to contain updated data and information. 2.1.2 Professional magazines Professional magazines are another great source of information. As a regular subscriber to the economist, needless to say that they have been of tremendous help to my thesis. From an economic point of view, I understood how corporate governance impacts on everyones life, no matter where you are or whichever country you are working in. The Enron scandal for example did not only affect its employees and the United States citizens but everyone else in the world. Now one may asks oneself how do i get affected if i live in Nepal for example. The answer to that I understood it by reading the economist! When Enron collapsed, first of all, the employees and shareholders and whoever were directly connected were the first to suffer. But Enron was a major global player in the financial markets, which sent shockwaves across the whole world, meaning we were all impacted by their actions! It is therefore no wonder that legislations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley were quickly brought into force in the United States. A lot of other countries also brought in their own codes of best practice on corporate governance and responsibility accounting. All this knowledge, I gained from those professional magazines, which are a great way of keeping up to date. Other magazines that have been useful in my research include the various accountancy magazines, such as Student Accountant which i receive regularly, since I am also an accountancy student from the association of chartered certified accountants. 2.1.3 Library I visited various libraries in order to be able to collect as much information as possible for my research. There is a local library where I live and this helped a lot. I needed to find journal articles and specific books for corporate governance and corporate responsibility. However, the problem I encountered at the library is that there were far too many books for me to choose from and that was very time consuming. I had no other option but to seek help from the librarians, who were most eager to help. I spent a really long-time reading and summarising all the information that I believe would be useful to me. A big drawback was that there were a lot of outdated information which was very frustrating. However libraries are a great source to get information from and they have been most useful to me. 2.1.4 The internet The internet nowadays is one of the most indispensable tools for information gathering. It is an integral part on everyones life and without it, mankind would be kind of lost! The big advantage of using the internet is the speed at which a large amount of data can be accessed. For that reason, it had been one of my principal sources of information. The information is mostly free and it is easily accessible. Though some websites require a payment to get the information provided, most were free of charge. Most of the information regarding this thesis has been accessed from the internet. As with every good thing, the internet has its drawbacks as well. First, one needs to make sure that by accessing information for our own use, we should make sure that we are not infringing anyones copyright. We also have to be very careful due to the spread of viruses which can damage ones computer and stealing our private information. In any case, the internet remains one of the most powerful tool to gather information. 2.1.5 Tesco plc annual report (2008) The companys annual reports were easily accessible from the website and provided me with a wealth of information in regards to corporate governance and corporate responsibility. I managed to even get a 5 year summary of the companys financial statements which has helped me to draw out a lot of conclusions regarding performance. However, as one would expect, the report portrayed Tesco as a good citizen which does everything ethically. I could not therefore rely a hundred percent on everything the report said about. 3.0 Ethical Issues As in any thesis, ethics play a very important role. Therefore, one needs to make sure to being completely ethical whenever gathering information and using them for ones purpose. 3.1.1 Information gathering Bias and Balance: Recognizing biased information, looking for balanced views, exploring opposing views, recognizing commercial interests in published information. Fact or Opinion: Recognizing factual information, looking for evidence of factual truth, recognizing and valuing opinion. Knowledge Gaps: Identifying missing information, locating missing information, stating research methodologies so that others can search further. 3.1.2 Information Evaluation Accuracy: Is the information accurate when checked against other sources? How reliable and error-free is the information? Authority: Does the information source qualify as an expert? Is the source rightly expected to know the facts and specifics? Are the qualifications of the author/speaker clearly stated? Is the author/speaker affiliated with an institution or organization? Is there contact information available for the author of a written document? Content: What is the purpose of the information, i.e. to inform, convince, or sell? What does it contribute to your understanding of the issues? Who is the intended audience based on content, tone, and style? What is the overall value of the content compared to other resources on the topic? Coverage: Does the information cover the subject adequately? Are there inexplicable omissions? Currency: Is the publication date clearly stated? When was the information last revised? Is it maintained and updated regularly? Are the links on a web page up-to-date and useable? Documentation: Are you certain the information is based on more than hearsay? Does the author explain where the information was obtained? Does the web page or article contain a bibliography or list of sources used? 3.1.3 Information Use Fair Use of Information: Copyright law allows limited copying for educational and archival purposes, but does limit even that to no more than 10% of a work, among other restrictions. Proper Citation: Complete citations of sources used is the most important issue, attributing information to its true author, and including enough information for another to locate the source. The ethical issues above (3.1.1 3.1.3) were compiled by H. Heller-Ross, Plattsburgh State University. They have been included in this thesis to help readers take a grasp on the various ethical issues which may impact upon ones research. 4.0 Results and Analysis Corporate Governance 4.1 Corporate Governance Corporate governance is the system by which organisations are directed and controlled. (Cadbury A. 1992) Corporate governance is a set of relationships between a companys directors, its shareholders and other stakeholders. It also provides the structure through which the objectives of the company are set, and the means of achieving those objectives and monitoring performance are determined. (Johnston D. J OECD Secretary General) Corporate governance, the system by which organisations are directed and controlled, is based on a number of concepts including transparency, independence, accountability and integrity. (BPP, P1 2007) Corporate governance is the system by which companies are directed and controlled. It deals largely with the relationship between the constituent parts of a company the directors, the board (and its sub-committees) and the shareholders. Transparency and accountability are the most important elements of good corporate governance. This includes: the timely provision by companies of good quality information; a clear and credible company decision-making process; Shareholders giving proper consideration to the information provided and making considered judgements. The corporate governance framework in the UK operates at a number of levels: through legislation particularly the Companies Act; Through regulation and in particular for listed companies through the listing rules, which are the responsibilities of theFinancial Services Authority. Through the Combined Code which is the responsibility of the Financial Reporting Council. It contains general principles and more detailed provisions relating to the corporate governance of listed companies. It is appended to the FSAs Listing Rules, which require these companies, in their annual report and accounts to, (i) report on how they apply the principles, and (ii) confirm that they comply with the Codes provisions or, where they do not, provide an explanation: hence the comply or explain principle which, if applied effectively, underpins informed dialogue between directors and shareholders. contains general principles. (http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/businesslaw/corp-governance/page15267.html) What the above definitions are about is that organisations should be managed in the best interest of everyone connected. In other words, directors should not forget that they are the agents of the companies they manage and they have a responsibility towards the various stakeholders. Therefore, they should act with integrity and honesty and should not just be concerned with filling their own pockets. The principal agent problem consists of trust and risk. (Lee, A.T. 2006). This trust may be breached by the agents by pursuing their own interest or through negligence and fraud. History is witness to this abuse, which has resulted in shareholders losing their investments and employees losing their jobs with no fault of theirs. As a consequence, stakeholders now want reassurance that such scandals are not repeated, resulting in corporate governance frameworks around the world. The success of a company based on the principal-agent relationship is dependent on the effectiveness of its corporate governance particularly the competence and independence of its board of directors and various subcommittees. (Lee, A.T. 2006) 4.2 Various Corporate Governance Reports The various scandals around the financial world prompted governments to review corporate governance, especially about those companies that are listed in the stock markets. This lead to a wide range of corporate governance reports being written by scholars around the world. The main ones in the UK are listed below, with a brief explanation about it. 4.2.1 The Cadbury report The Cadbury Report, titled Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance, is a report of a committee chaired by Adrian Cadbury that sets out recommendations on the arrangement of company boards and accounting systems to mitigate corporate governance risks and failures. The report was published in 1992. The reports recommendations have been adopted in varying degree by the European Union, the United States, the World Bank, and others. 4.2.2 The Greenbury Report The Greenbury report was issued in 1995 by a committee under the chairmanship of Sir Richard Greenbury that developed a number of recommendations of the Cadbury Report on directors remuneration. It stressed the importance of a remuneration committee of non executive directors , the provision of information on remuneration policy in the annual report and accounts, and the restriction of notice and contract periods to less than one year. 4.2.3 The Hambel Report This was a committee set up under the chairmanship of Sir Ronald Hampel to review the implementation of the Cadbury Code and the recommendations of the Greenbury report. A report was issued in 1998 emphasizing that the primary duty of directors is to shareholders and that the recommendations of the two earlier reports should be treated as guidelines rather than prescriptive rules. 4.2.4 The Turnbull Report The latest link in the UK corporate governance chain is the September 1999 publication Internal Control: Guidance for Directors on the Combined Code otherwise called, after its chairman (Nigel Turnbull, Executive Director of Reed Plc), the Turnbull Report (Turnbull). Turnbulls guidance is based upon the adoption by a companys board of a risk-based approach to establishing a sound system of internal control, and on Accountability, transparency, corporate social responsibility: a new mantra for a new millennium. reviewing its effectiveness. This should be incorporated by a company within its normal management and governance processes. The span of internal control contemplated by Turnbull stretches wider than financial controls, to encompass social and environmental issues matters that have recently come to be grouped together under the generic heading of reputational risk. 4.2.5 The Higgs Report The Higgs Report, named after its author Derek Higgs focused on the role and effectiveness of the non-executive director so as to consolidate the UKs combined code on corporate governance. The report was published in January 2003 and it was expected that the revised combined code will come into effect in July 2003. 4.2.6 The Smith Report Following the major financial scandals around the world, the Financial Reporting Council invited Sir Robert Smith to chair a report on the role and responsibilities of the audit committees. The aim was to develop the existing Combined Code guidance and to clarify the duties of the non executive directors meant to form the audit committee. 4.2.7 UK Combined Code The Combined Code on Corporate Governance sets out standards of good practice in relation to issues such as board composition and development, remuneration, accountability and audit and relations with shareholders. All companies incorporated in the UK and listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange are required under the Listing Rules to report on how they have applied the Combined Code in their annual report and accounts. Overseas companies listed on the Main Market are required to disclose the significant ways in which their corporate governance practices differ from those set out in the Code. The Combined Code contains broad principles and more specific provisions. Listed companies are required to report on how they have applied the main principles of the Code, and either to confirm that they have complied with the Codes provisions or where they have not to provide an explanation. (http://www.frc.org.uk/corporate/combinedcode.cfm) The combined code on corporate governance will be the benchmark against which an analysis of corporate governance at Tesco will be made. Any areas of the code which have not been followed or where the company has tried to manipulate it will be looked at in detail and conclusions drawn out. 5.0 Analysis of Tescos Governance system 5.1 Directors 5.1.1 The board As at 28 February 2009, the Board of Tesco PLC comprised eight Executive Directors, seven independent Non-executive Directors and David Reid, Non-executive Chairman. The Companys Articles of Association require all new Directors to be submitted for election by shareholders in their first year following appointment. The Board has appointed one Non-executive Director, Rodney Chase, to act as Senior Independent Director. The Senior Independent Director is available to shareholders to assist in resolving concerns, should the alternative channels be inappropriate. The Senior Independent Director is also required to lead the discussion in relation to assessing the effectiveness of the Chairmans performance. The Non-executive Directors bring a wide range of skills and experience, as well as independent judgement on strategy, risk and performance to the Compa Analysis of Tescos Corporate Governance and Responsibility Analysis of Tescos Corporate Governance and Responsibility 1.0 INRODUCTION 1.1 Overview of the project Corporate governance and Corporate Responsibility have gained an increasing amount of importance over the last decade due to some of the worlds greatest corporate scandals that have been taking place. These scandals have not been happening to the under developed or developing economies, which have a high rate of corruption, but instead have been taking place in the developed countries, which supposedly have had various safeguards to protect the interests of all the stakeholders. Following the collapse of major multi-nationals such as the Maxwell Empire in the UK, Enron in the United States and Parmalat in Italy to name just a few, findings of fraud, dishonesty, irregular accounting and too much power held by one individual soon came to light. As a result, people and investors have lost the trust they placed in the financial markets and the big corporations to safeguard their assets and interests. The loss in confidence has seen big drops in the stock markets around the world and should the trend continues, the whole world economy would collapse which would lead to devastating consequences. As a result of those alarming situations, governments around the globe have devised frameworks of good corporate governance and passed on various laws, rules and regulations to hold companies responsible for their own actions, known as Corporate Governance and Responsibility in order to ensure that such scandals are not repeated in the future. The main corporate governance frameworks include the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Developments (OECD) principles, the UK revised Combined Code (2003) and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the United States. Some of these are legally binding, such as the one in the United States while others operate on a comply or explain basis. This project will place more emphasis on the governance framework in the UK, namely the revised Combined Code, though I will make brief analyses of other reports and frameworks. Why I chose this particular topic area is for many reasons. Firstly, I believe that there is still scope to improve corporate governance worldwide and hence, wished to learn more about it. Secondly, despite the fact that corporate governance and corporate responsibility have become increasingly important in todays world and that companies have to adhere to the rules or principles, reports of fraud and bad management are still emerging in the developed economies, which lead to the collapse or nationalisation of various organisations. Well known examples in the UK include the nationalisation of Northern Rock bank and the government pumping in money into its various other banks, including Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland among others. It therefore begs the question about the credibility of the corporate governa nce framework. In addition, as a business student, it is now imperative to have a good understanding of the subject and as a taxpayer and citizen, I am both directly and indirectly affected by corporate behaviour. 1.2 The Organisation in question This thesis revolves around Tesco plc, one of the worlds leading retailers. Opened in 1919 by founder Jack Cohen, his first days sales were  £4 with a profit of  £1. By 1947, the company floated on the stock exchange with a share price of 25p and by 1979, its annual sales has reached  £1 billion. In 1983, Tesco Stores (Holdings) Ltd becomes Tesco PLC. Nowadays, the company has entered various other markets including the USA, China, Korea and many other European countries. It has also diversified into other industries, including financial services and is currently making profits in excess of  £2 billion. It is the UKs biggest supermarket in terms of turnover with 2,115 UK stores and employing 280, 373 staff in the UK alone (Tesco annual report 2008) .Such an organisation has been chosen for various reasons, namely because: It is a listed company, and hence according to the London Stock Exchange rules, it needs to adhere to the principles of the UK Combined Code on Corporate Governance on a Comply or Explain basis. Therefore, I will be able to determine whether such a big company is really being a good corporate citizen. Most of the data that I will need to conduct my research is readily accessible through its website, including its financial statements and annual reports. Data on similar organisations, such as Sainsburys plc is also readily accessible, which would prove to be very useful for comparison purposes. This would help me to make an analysis on how those two similar organisations are complying with the UK combined code on corporate Governance and whether the departure from for example a specific code is usual for these companies or ot. Tesco plc has a very large number of stakeholders and hence it is interesting to find out how the company is working towards fulfilling its responsibility towards them. In other words, how it is being corporately responsible, especially how it is dealing with the principal-agent problem. In addition, according to the companys annual report, Tesco follows a diversification strategy, laid down over 10 years ago and which has been the foundation of its enormous success in recent years. Due to the companys size, Tesco has segmented itself into 5 main areas: CORE UK COMMUNITY NON FOOD RETAILING SERVICES INTERNATIONAL The UK is its biggest market and the core of the business. The main aim here is to provide its customers with excellent value and choice. As well as deriving high shareholder value, the company also tries to be a corporate citizen. In addition to its annual report, the company also publishes a Corporate Responsibility report to show that it is a responsible business. Over the past decade, the company diversified into the non-food market whereby it offers a range of products, from laptops to mobile phones, etcThe aim here is to be as strong in food as in non-food, competing on price and value. Following its success into the non-food market, the company went into retailing services, offering financial services to its customers. Again here, this sector has proven to be profitable for the company. Nowadays, Tesco is not only operating in the UK but also in most European countries as well as in the US and Asia. The company has been expanding very quickly and is the number 1 retailer in Thailand today! As can be seen, Tesco has followed through a diversification strategy throughout the last decade, expanding not only into other markets but into other industries as well. Considering that diversification is quite a risky strategy, the company has been performing exceptionally well, defying the current credit crunch to record profits of over 2 billion pounds! Such a big and successful company provides us with ample opportunities to assess whether there are any irregularities in its reports, ie, whether there is good governance or not! 1.3 Research Questions The dissertation is mainly an analytical one, in that an analysis on the companys corporate governance and its corporate responsibility report will be performed. The main objective is to determine whether the company is behaving responsibly, by complying with all the provisions of the code and how is it discharging its duties towards its stakeholders. The main questions that will therefore be investigated are the following: Has Tesco complied in all respect with the principles of Corporate Governance and if not, why has it departed from a particular provision? Is there a link between its Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility and its financial position? Is the company projecting an image of a good corporate citizen? The above will form the main research questions though I will also be looking at various other aspects briefly such as: Variety of directors at the organisation. The difficulty in finding the right people with the right skills for the company. The role of Tescos audit committee, including independence issues. Public relations regarding the effect on the company if seems to flout regulations. The companys budget towards fulfilling its corporate responsibility How the company is working towards being eco-friendly Whether the company provides proper adequate training, pension provisions, etc 1.4 Overall Research Approach The starting point for the thesis indulges firstly into a broad explanation of both corporate governance and corporate responsibility. We will look at various definitions from a few sources in order to provide the reader with an understanding of the subject. Good corporate governance is incorporated into many reports. The main ones that will be the focus of the dissertation are notably the Cadbury report, Hambel report, Greenbury report, Higgs report, Smith report and the Turnbull Committee. The main points of the UK Combined Code (revised July 2003) will be discussed in a bit more detail, since it will form the basis of our first topic of interest of the project. In addition, the London Stock Exchange now requires all its listed companies to comply with the above code, which includes Tesco. As such, the first project objective will be achieved, whereby we can make an analysis whether Tesco has complied fully with the code or not. Whether there is a link between Tescos governance system and its financial performance will be the second part of the project. An analysis of the companys financial statements will be performed to assess its financial performance using various accounting techniques, such as ratio analysis, industry, competitor and international comparisons. Other items, such as share price movements, off balance sheet finance, creative accounting and conflicts of interests between management and shareholders will also be looked at to ensure that the figures provided in the financial statements are not misleading, especially to both current and potential investors. The impact of Tescos corporate governance system on its various stakeholders will form the next point. The main stakeholders that will be investigated here will be: Shareholders Employees Suppliers Customers Loan provider Government Public Each of the above points will be explored in details and an assessment on stakeholders conflicts of interests will be discussed briefly if there are any. Next on the agenda will be the topic of Corporate Responsibility. I will be making an analysis to determine how well Tesco is taking the responsibility to consider the interests of customers, employees, shareholders, society and the environment in its operational activities. Lastly, the thesis will focus on any criticisms and possible recommendations on the organisations corporate governance system and on its corporate social responsibility. 2.0 Information gathering Gathering information and data effectively is key to achieving a good project. A great deal of research is needed and very often there might be data overload. When too much data is collected, it sometimes becomes very difficult to analyse and interpret them properly which may be problematic in doing well in the thesis. On the other hand, not collecting enough data may lead to the wrong conclusion, thus rendering the thesis useless or even misleading. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that one must collect information properly and effectively in order to avoid wasting time and sometimes even money. We should always bear in mind that the data that needs to be collected should be sufficient so as to achieve the research objectives. 2.1 Sources of information There are two types of data, mainly primary and secondary data. Primary data is data that is unique to the researcher, and that is unavailable anywhere else. There are different methods of collecting such types of data. The main ones though are: Survey Questionnaires Observation and Interviews Primary data is often very valuable since it is unavailable anywhere else. However, collecting it is very time consuming and costly. In addition to that, one must always ensure that a proper margin of error is selected and that a good sample size is chosen. Otherwise, all the benefits of primary data will be lost. As can be seen, though valuable, it is often very time consuming and costly. Secondary data, as the name suggests, is data that is not unique. It is data that already exists somewhere else. Secondary data is data that has already been collected and collated by somebody for some reason other than the current study. It can be used to get a new perspective on the current study, to supplement or compare the work or to use parts of it, as another study may prove costly and time consuming e.g. the census. Secondary data can further be divided into two parts, namely qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative data includes biographies, personal letters, diaries, records, documents, published material, computer database, policy statements, etc. Quantitative data would have market research, census, and Economic documents, planning documents or specimens. The list is endless and once the type of secondary data is identified, it becomes easy to locate the source. The following is a list of where data has been collected and scrutinised for the purpose of the thesis: 2.1.1 Textbooks Textbooks have always been a major source of information. In fact, due to the increased importance of corporate governance, corporate responsibility and responsibility accounting, many textbooks have attempted to explain the concept of those topics and their relevance of in todays financial world. In todays accounting profession, it is now recommended that all accountants be familiar with corporate governance and especially ethics. This is mainly due to those scandals such as Enron which shook the whole financial world. It has been one of the most talked topics in the recent decade regarding the top CFOs and CEOs integrity! I found the texts regarding corporate governance and corporate responsibility to be well documented, which has been quite useful in analysing the topics in question. I made use of several textbooks, including many accounting ones. The main one I have used for my research is the BPP textbook for the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants P1, Professional Accountant. The textbook has provided me with a great insight about ethics and corporate governance and has helped a lot in preparing for this analysis. In addition, I also found the Heriot-Watt University MBA textbook regarding corporate governance to be extremely useful. This has helped me to understand from scratch why corporate governance is so important! The MBA textbook goes into much more details on the subject which really broadened my knowledge and provided me an insight from the barriers to improvement on governance systems to the various policy responses. The benefits of using textbooks are that they contained a great deal of literature on the issue of corporate governance, which not only helped me in achieving some of my aims for my project but also opened my eyes on the effects it has on each and every one of us. Unfortunately, textbooks have some drawbacks as well. Firstly, one needs to get the right texts for a particular research topic, which can take a lot of time. Next, there is a lot of reading to do, and if time is a constraint, this can pose a serious problem. In addition, although one may get the right books, one also has to make sure that they are the latest editions, since they tend to contain updated data and information. 2.1.2 Professional magazines Professional magazines are another great source of information. As a regular subscriber to the economist, needless to say that they have been of tremendous help to my thesis. From an economic point of view, I understood how corporate governance impacts on everyones life, no matter where you are or whichever country you are working in. The Enron scandal for example did not only affect its employees and the United States citizens but everyone else in the world. Now one may asks oneself how do i get affected if i live in Nepal for example. The answer to that I understood it by reading the economist! When Enron collapsed, first of all, the employees and shareholders and whoever were directly connected were the first to suffer. But Enron was a major global player in the financial markets, which sent shockwaves across the whole world, meaning we were all impacted by their actions! It is therefore no wonder that legislations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley were quickly brought into force in the United States. A lot of other countries also brought in their own codes of best practice on corporate governance and responsibility accounting. All this knowledge, I gained from those professional magazines, which are a great way of keeping up to date. Other magazines that have been useful in my research include the various accountancy magazines, such as Student Accountant which i receive regularly, since I am also an accountancy student from the association of chartered certified accountants. 2.1.3 Library I visited various libraries in order to be able to collect as much information as possible for my research. There is a local library where I live and this helped a lot. I needed to find journal articles and specific books for corporate governance and corporate responsibility. However, the problem I encountered at the library is that there were far too many books for me to choose from and that was very time consuming. I had no other option but to seek help from the librarians, who were most eager to help. I spent a really long-time reading and summarising all the information that I believe would be useful to me. A big drawback was that there were a lot of outdated information which was very frustrating. However libraries are a great source to get information from and they have been most useful to me. 2.1.4 The internet The internet nowadays is one of the most indispensable tools for information gathering. It is an integral part on everyones life and without it, mankind would be kind of lost! The big advantage of using the internet is the speed at which a large amount of data can be accessed. For that reason, it had been one of my principal sources of information. The information is mostly free and it is easily accessible. Though some websites require a payment to get the information provided, most were free of charge. Most of the information regarding this thesis has been accessed from the internet. As with every good thing, the internet has its drawbacks as well. First, one needs to make sure that by accessing information for our own use, we should make sure that we are not infringing anyones copyright. We also have to be very careful due to the spread of viruses which can damage ones computer and stealing our private information. In any case, the internet remains one of the most powerful tool to gather information. 2.1.5 Tesco plc annual report (2008) The companys annual reports were easily accessible from the website and provided me with a wealth of information in regards to corporate governance and corporate responsibility. I managed to even get a 5 year summary of the companys financial statements which has helped me to draw out a lot of conclusions regarding performance. However, as one would expect, the report portrayed Tesco as a good citizen which does everything ethically. I could not therefore rely a hundred percent on everything the report said about. 3.0 Ethical Issues As in any thesis, ethics play a very important role. Therefore, one needs to make sure to being completely ethical whenever gathering information and using them for ones purpose. 3.1.1 Information gathering Bias and Balance: Recognizing biased information, looking for balanced views, exploring opposing views, recognizing commercial interests in published information. Fact or Opinion: Recognizing factual information, looking for evidence of factual truth, recognizing and valuing opinion. Knowledge Gaps: Identifying missing information, locating missing information, stating research methodologies so that others can search further. 3.1.2 Information Evaluation Accuracy: Is the information accurate when checked against other sources? How reliable and error-free is the information? Authority: Does the information source qualify as an expert? Is the source rightly expected to know the facts and specifics? Are the qualifications of the author/speaker clearly stated? Is the author/speaker affiliated with an institution or organization? Is there contact information available for the author of a written document? Content: What is the purpose of the information, i.e. to inform, convince, or sell? What does it contribute to your understanding of the issues? Who is the intended audience based on content, tone, and style? What is the overall value of the content compared to other resources on the topic? Coverage: Does the information cover the subject adequately? Are there inexplicable omissions? Currency: Is the publication date clearly stated? When was the information last revised? Is it maintained and updated regularly? Are the links on a web page up-to-date and useable? Documentation: Are you certain the information is based on more than hearsay? Does the author explain where the information was obtained? Does the web page or article contain a bibliography or list of sources used? 3.1.3 Information Use Fair Use of Information: Copyright law allows limited copying for educational and archival purposes, but does limit even that to no more than 10% of a work, among other restrictions. Proper Citation: Complete citations of sources used is the most important issue, attributing information to its true author, and including enough information for another to locate the source. The ethical issues above (3.1.1 3.1.3) were compiled by H. Heller-Ross, Plattsburgh State University. They have been included in this thesis to help readers take a grasp on the various ethical issues which may impact upon ones research. 4.0 Results and Analysis Corporate Governance 4.1 Corporate Governance Corporate governance is the system by which organisations are directed and controlled. (Cadbury A. 1992) Corporate governance is a set of relationships between a companys directors, its shareholders and other stakeholders. It also provides the structure through which the objectives of the company are set, and the means of achieving those objectives and monitoring performance are determined. (Johnston D. J OECD Secretary General) Corporate governance, the system by which organisations are directed and controlled, is based on a number of concepts including transparency, independence, accountability and integrity. (BPP, P1 2007) Corporate governance is the system by which companies are directed and controlled. It deals largely with the relationship between the constituent parts of a company the directors, the board (and its sub-committees) and the shareholders. Transparency and accountability are the most important elements of good corporate governance. This includes: the timely provision by companies of good quality information; a clear and credible company decision-making process; Shareholders giving proper consideration to the information provided and making considered judgements. The corporate governance framework in the UK operates at a number of levels: through legislation particularly the Companies Act; Through regulation and in particular for listed companies through the listing rules, which are the responsibilities of theFinancial Services Authority. Through the Combined Code which is the responsibility of the Financial Reporting Council. It contains general principles and more detailed provisions relating to the corporate governance of listed companies. It is appended to the FSAs Listing Rules, which require these companies, in their annual report and accounts to, (i) report on how they apply the principles, and (ii) confirm that they comply with the Codes provisions or, where they do not, provide an explanation: hence the comply or explain principle which, if applied effectively, underpins informed dialogue between directors and shareholders. contains general principles. (http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/businesslaw/corp-governance/page15267.html) What the above definitions are about is that organisations should be managed in the best interest of everyone connected. In other words, directors should not forget that they are the agents of the companies they manage and they have a responsibility towards the various stakeholders. Therefore, they should act with integrity and honesty and should not just be concerned with filling their own pockets. The principal agent problem consists of trust and risk. (Lee, A.T. 2006). This trust may be breached by the agents by pursuing their own interest or through negligence and fraud. History is witness to this abuse, which has resulted in shareholders losing their investments and employees losing their jobs with no fault of theirs. As a consequence, stakeholders now want reassurance that such scandals are not repeated, resulting in corporate governance frameworks around the world. The success of a company based on the principal-agent relationship is dependent on the effectiveness of its corporate governance particularly the competence and independence of its board of directors and various subcommittees. (Lee, A.T. 2006) 4.2 Various Corporate Governance Reports The various scandals around the financial world prompted governments to review corporate governance, especially about those companies that are listed in the stock markets. This lead to a wide range of corporate governance reports being written by scholars around the world. The main ones in the UK are listed below, with a brief explanation about it. 4.2.1 The Cadbury report The Cadbury Report, titled Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance, is a report of a committee chaired by Adrian Cadbury that sets out recommendations on the arrangement of company boards and accounting systems to mitigate corporate governance risks and failures. The report was published in 1992. The reports recommendations have been adopted in varying degree by the European Union, the United States, the World Bank, and others. 4.2.2 The Greenbury Report The Greenbury report was issued in 1995 by a committee under the chairmanship of Sir Richard Greenbury that developed a number of recommendations of the Cadbury Report on directors remuneration. It stressed the importance of a remuneration committee of non executive directors , the provision of information on remuneration policy in the annual report and accounts, and the restriction of notice and contract periods to less than one year. 4.2.3 The Hambel Report This was a committee set up under the chairmanship of Sir Ronald Hampel to review the implementation of the Cadbury Code and the recommendations of the Greenbury report. A report was issued in 1998 emphasizing that the primary duty of directors is to shareholders and that the recommendations of the two earlier reports should be treated as guidelines rather than prescriptive rules. 4.2.4 The Turnbull Report The latest link in the UK corporate governance chain is the September 1999 publication Internal Control: Guidance for Directors on the Combined Code otherwise called, after its chairman (Nigel Turnbull, Executive Director of Reed Plc), the Turnbull Report (Turnbull). Turnbulls guidance is based upon the adoption by a companys board of a risk-based approach to establishing a sound system of internal control, and on Accountability, transparency, corporate social responsibility: a new mantra for a new millennium. reviewing its effectiveness. This should be incorporated by a company within its normal management and governance processes. The span of internal control contemplated by Turnbull stretches wider than financial controls, to encompass social and environmental issues matters that have recently come to be grouped together under the generic heading of reputational risk. 4.2.5 The Higgs Report The Higgs Report, named after its author Derek Higgs focused on the role and effectiveness of the non-executive director so as to consolidate the UKs combined code on corporate governance. The report was published in January 2003 and it was expected that the revised combined code will come into effect in July 2003. 4.2.6 The Smith Report Following the major financial scandals around the world, the Financial Reporting Council invited Sir Robert Smith to chair a report on the role and responsibilities of the audit committees. The aim was to develop the existing Combined Code guidance and to clarify the duties of the non executive directors meant to form the audit committee. 4.2.7 UK Combined Code The Combined Code on Corporate Governance sets out standards of good practice in relation to issues such as board composition and development, remuneration, accountability and audit and relations with shareholders. All companies incorporated in the UK and listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange are required under the Listing Rules to report on how they have applied the Combined Code in their annual report and accounts. Overseas companies listed on the Main Market are required to disclose the significant ways in which their corporate governance practices differ from those set out in the Code. The Combined Code contains broad principles and more specific provisions. Listed companies are required to report on how they have applied the main principles of the Code, and either to confirm that they have complied with the Codes provisions or where they have not to provide an explanation. (http://www.frc.org.uk/corporate/combinedcode.cfm) The combined code on corporate governance will be the benchmark against which an analysis of corporate governance at Tesco will be made. Any areas of the code which have not been followed or where the company has tried to manipulate it will be looked at in detail and conclusions drawn out. 5.0 Analysis of Tescos Governance system 5.1 Directors 5.1.1 The board As at 28 February 2009, the Board of Tesco PLC comprised eight Executive Directors, seven independent Non-executive Directors and David Reid, Non-executive Chairman. The Companys Articles of Association require all new Directors to be submitted for election by shareholders in their first year following appointment. The Board has appointed one Non-executive Director, Rodney Chase, to act as Senior Independent Director. The Senior Independent Director is available to shareholders to assist in resolving concerns, should the alternative channels be inappropriate. The Senior Independent Director is also required to lead the discussion in relation to assessing the effectiveness of the Chairmans performance. The Non-executive Directors bring a wide range of skills and experience, as well as independent judgement on strategy, risk and performance to the Compa

Canterbury Tales - Comparison of the Millers Tale and the Knights Tal

A Comparison of the Miller's Tale and the Knight's Tale  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   It is common when considering The Canterbury Tales to discuss how some tales seem designed to emphasise the themes of others. Two such tales are the Miller's Tale2 and the Knight's Tale3. At first glance these two tales seem an incongruous pairing. The Knight's Tale is told by an eminent person, is an historical romance which barely escapes a tragic ending, and its themes are universal: the relationship of individuals to providence, fortune and free will. The Miller's Tale is told by a drunken "cherl" (MT 3182), is a farcical fabliau, and has "a plot, not themes"4. And yet, in my opinion, there is much to be gained by reading the Miller's Tale with the themes and characters of the Knight's Tale firmly in mind. The juxtaposition of the Miller's Tale to "the Knight's Tale makes its very lack of significance significant"5. These two tales have seemingly opposite doctrines, and yet, it seems to me, both have the same object: to encourage us to survive the misfortunes and uncertainties of life as best we can. The Knight's Tale tells us to "maken vertu of necessitee"(KT 3042) while the Miller's Tale expects "every wight" to "laughen at this stryf"(MT 3849). The Miller's Tale is designed to "quite" (MT 3127) the Knight's Tale. It certainly matches it in quality of composition, but 'repays' the other tale mainly through its use of comedy. Humour throws new light on the characters and actions of the preceeding tale. The folly of the carpenter in the Miller's Tale is by no means the only comic device used by Chaucer to create humour, but it is central in many ways. "He is, in theory, the 'authority figure' of the tale, and it therefore opens with him; ... ...e Chaucer: Third Edition (Oxford: OUP, 1987), The Miller's Tale. All line references to the Miller's Tale will be given in text, preceded by the initials "MT". 3. Larry Benson, The Riverside Chaucer: Third Edition (Oxford: OUP, 1987), The Knight's Tale. All line references to the Knight's Tale will be given in text, preceded by the initials "KT". 4. Helen Cooper, Oxford Guides to Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales (Oxford: OUP, 1989), p. 101. 5. Cooper, p. 101. 6. Cooper, p. 99. 7. Robert Miller, "The Miller's Tale as a Complaint," Chaucer Review, 5 (1970), p. 147-160. This from p. 150. 8. Derek Pearsall, "The Canterbury Tales II: Comedy," In Piero Boitani and Jill Mann (eds), The Cambridge Chaucer Companion (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986), p. 125-142. This from, p. 131. 9. Cooper, 99. 10. Pearsall, p. 129.      

Awareness of an Organic Food Essay

I. Introduction A. What is awareness of an organic food? 1. How curious are consumers toward buying an organic food? 2. Are organic foods providing more than health benefits for consumer and environment? 3. What are the reasons for choosing an organic food throughout our daily life? B. Understanding the awareness of consuming an organic food. II. What is an organic food? A. Organic foods are considered to be more nutrient dense than their counterparts produced via modern farming practices. B. The word an organic is a labeling term that denotes products produced under the authority of the Organic Foods Production Act. C. The definition shades the meaning most people associate with the term, such as the use of non-chemical fertilizers and pesticides as the food is being grown. III. How curious are consumers toward buying an organic food? A. The fastest growing segment of U. S. agriculture. B. A physician and researcher; Dr. David Thomas, studied and compared the United States government guidelines and tables for the nutritional content of various foods. C. Data shows that the decision to shop an organic food. D. What you eat builds and maintains your body. IV. Are organic foods providing more than health benefits for consumer and environment? A. Eating an organic food will provide vital foundations for health. B. How they are farmed. 1. Levels of certain nutrients in relation to the commercially available counterparts produced via modern farming practices. C. Conventional agricultural methods can cause water contamination. V. What are the reasons for choosing an organic food throughout our daily life? A. Effect on health. 1. You are what you eat a. Eat an apple, and you eat life: vitamins, minerals, water, and more. Eat pesticide residue, and you fill your body with poisons 2. Food is your best medicine a. Choose foods that are known to bring us health, energy, and peace of mind 3. Pay now or pay later a. Pay now for delicious, healing food or pay later for medical bills, illness, and suffering 4. We prefer life over death a. Choose which will bring us greatest energy, happiness, and health b. Not choose which will bring us fatigue, depression or anxiety, ailments, illnesses, diseases, or death. 5. Earth needs your help a. Every choice we make has an impact on environment b. Your choices make a difference 6. Healthy plants mean healthier soil, water, birds, worms, animals, plants, air, and you a. The natural path honors nature and works in harmony with earth as we achieve harmonious health VI. Conclusions A. Not cost effective considering the damage to health. B. There are choices in our own hand whether to choose an organic food or a conventional food as we consuming and taste it by ourselves. REFERENCES Havey, H. (February 16, 2009). Top Six Reasons To Eat Only Organic Fruits And Vegetables. Retrieved September 21, 2010 from http://www. naturalnews. com/025643_food_organic_health. html Minton, B. L. (February 10, 2009). Buying Organic Is Well Worth The Cost Even When Times Are Tough. Retrieved September 21, 2010 from http://www. naturalnews. com/025570_food_organic_health. html Walters, S. (May 15, 2009). Organic Foods Provide More Than Health Benefits. Retrieved September 21, 2010 from http://www. naturalnews. com/026266_food_organic_health. html.

How Not To Go Through Hell English Literature Essay Essay Example

How Not To Go Through Hell English Literature Essay Essay Example How Not To Go Through Hell English Literature Essay Essay How Not To Go Through Hell English Literature Essay Essay Hell [ shakes ] aˆÂ ¦violently, striking panic into Dante s bosom ( III.128 ) . Or does it? The reply is both yes and no ; while the shudder is surely terrorizing, the shudder is used to physically expose Dante s interior panic, and add to his agony ( which had up until this point, been merely in his caput ) . After the shudder, jets of fire shoot up from the tear-soaked land, and while these cryings may non hold belonged to Dante ( though many likely did ) , it is clear that they represent the strong emotional conflict being fought on those shores both by Dante and the damned ; a conflict that Hell easy wins ( III.130 ) . The combination of the monstrous temblor and Dante s already stressed emotional province reaches its flood tide when it [ shatters Dante s ] senses, doing him to conk ( III.132 ) . Merely as the damned are driven towards ageless agony, Dante is willed on through Hell by Divine Love ; he crosses the Acheron against his will, pull of all time closer to that which he fears the most. This first ordeal sets an interesting case in point for us, and farther supports the theory that whenever possible, balance is sought between the physical and emotional torture of Hell ; when Dante is emotionally weak, Hell responds with a physically strong barrier, and when Dante is physically strong, Hell seeks to weaken his emotions. As with any regulation there are, of class, exclusions. The lone exclusion to this 1, nevertheless, occurs in Limbo where Hell does non seek to torture, simply to learn. After his [ stumble ] into darkness, on the beach of Acheron, Dante is awakened by a bang of boom, that brings him out of the darkness of his head, and into the darkness of Limbo ( III.134, IV.1 ) . While this passage does non ab initio sound good or optimistic, its deductions are immense. While unconscious, Dante is unable to go on his journey. Because of this obvious hindrance, it would look that Dante s unconscious province becomes the following barrier he must confront. Before we can understand how Dante overcomes the barrier, we must look at the factors that caused it. From anterior analysis we know that Dante felt 1 ) damned to a destiny he did non desire, and 2 ) overwhelmed by Hell to the point of prostration. Because Dante s head was truly merely focused on how much he did non desire to be in Hell, his head subconsciously removed itself from Hell, pin downing Dante inside his ain head ( a province of Limbo if I may be permitted to utilize the term ) . It was his head that did non desire to go on, and it is his head that continues to keep him in the dark. While it may look that Dante s consciousness is the issue, what truly affairs is Dante s mentality. Without the proper mentality ( and because of the rational division of Limbo ) , it would non count if Dante was asleep or wake up, he would be in the darkness of Limbo either manner ( I point this out to uncover a form of ambiguity, and to once more back up the desire for balance ) . As Da nte makes his manner through the darkness of Limbo it is besides of import to observe that the darkness represents the ignorance of the evildoers who did non cognize God, and Dante s initial 2nd ideas about his journey. While he walks with Virgil towards the Citadel ( Human Reason, or a better mentality ) , Dante notices that sounds of sighing, are emitted by practically every dweller of Limbo ( IV.26 ) . These suspirations show that the citizens of Limbo have given up hope, and they are easy accepting their destiny. Because his environment is filled with slow, gradual credence, it merely stands to ground that Dante is sing something similar to this in his ain head ( which is besides arguably Limbo ) as he grows closer and closer to the Light of Human Reason. Once he reaches the Citadel, Dante is able to easy traverse the creek that serves as the physical barrier between the ignorant, and those who wish to cognize . By physically traversing this little and un-daunting barrier, Dante affirms that he has now achieved a proper mentality, and that non merely does he accept his destiny, but he wishes to happen the good in his journey through Hell and turn the experience into a positive. With this barrier overcome and a new end in head, Dante and Virgil set off for Circle 2. A big job Dante experiences during his clip in Hell is the commiseration he feels for those who have sinned. This extra commiseration hinders Dante s ability to appreciate his journey and merely causes him undue adversity. During his clip in Circle 2, Dante s emotions get the best of him once more, ensuing in yet another 1 of his faints . While walking through Circle 2, Dante feels swept by commiseration and confusion, at both the penalty, and the punished ( V.72 ) . He takes these two dominant emotions and spreads them throughout the Circle ; the twirling air currents stand foring confusion and the self-pitying dwellers truly serve to pump Circle 2 full of bad sentiments and high-pitched whining. While Dante has adjusted to a more positive mind-frame, he is still human, and he still feels commiseration for those who suffer ( particularly when they are in mass measures ) . Compound that fact with the fact that this is technically merely the 2nd penalty he has seen in Hell, everyone s narrative is a melodrama, etc. and it merely makes sense that one time he got about to Paolo and Francesca, Paolo s [ hapless ] , crying pushed him over the border. That being said, by this clip in the Comedy, Dante has swooned twice-both times overpowering commiseration was involved. Each of Dante s faints marks a passage in his thought procedure ; the first changes his mentality so he can break header with Hell, the 2nd helps him better header with wickedness. Once he begins to indurate his bosom to transgress, it becomes harder and harder to tie in Dante s emotions with his environment ( with the exclusion of Cocytus ) . When this occurs, Dante is able to outwit the system, maintain himself in control, and demo us all how to travel through Hell with grace, poise, and a bit on the shoulder.

Hypersexual disorders Essays

Hypersexual disorders Essays Hypersexual disorders Essay Hypersexual disorders Essay Another problem of porn addiction is codependence. What is codependence? In a relationship where one individual has an addiction, the other partner often becomes over involved in the addicts life. They frequently demonstrate enabling behaviors such as trying to fix the addict or to rescue them. Very often the codependent person feels deeply responsible for the addicted person.Codependents have difficulty with experiencing appropriate levels of self-esteem, setting their functional boundaries, owning and expressing their own reality, taking care of their needs and wants. Stein DJ et al. (2001) reported case of hypersexual disorder and preoccupation with Internet pornography. Their patient, Mr. A, was a 42-year-old married man, an academic sociologist, who was seen with the chief complaint of a recurring depressed mood, despite ongoing treatment with an antidepressant agent.He indicated that although treatment with fluoxetine had been successful in treating major depression in the past, in recent months, in parallel with new stressors in his life, his depressed mood had returned. This had been accompanied by irritability, anhedonia, decreased concentration, and changes in sleep and appetite. On further exploration, patient also revealed that during this period he had increased his use of the Internet, spending several hours a day searching for particular pornographic images.He clearly articulated distress at the loss of control this behavior represented for him and also noted that he was spending more money on Internet downloads than he could afford. His behavior had also led to a marked decline in research productivity, but he had a reputation as an excellent teacher, and there was no immediate danger of losing his post. He felt his marital relationship was unaffected, although when he masturbated to orgasm during the day he was often unable to achieve orgasm if he and his wife had sex that night.Initially, Mr. A had mostly used this for research purposes. On occasion, however, he spent time in Internet sex chat rooms, typically adopting a rather macho persona, one that contrasted strongly with his own generally more timid and retiring demeanor. Over time, however, the bulk of his use of the Internet had become devoted to searching for particular kinds of pornographic photographs; these involved a man who he felt was macho or dominant in some way having sex with a woman.He would then use this picture as the basis for a sexual fantasy in which he was the dominant male partner of the women in the picture, and he would then masturb ate to orgasm. In past years he had occasionally visited pornography shops to look for these kinds of pictures, but he generally avoided these for fear that one of his students would see him. But some differences exist between paraphilic sexual disorders and nonparaphilic including porn addiction. Kafka MP and Prentky R.A (1992) reviewed the literature suggesting comorbidity between non-paraphilic sexual addictions (NPSAs) and paraphilias. Authors found that the most prevalent lifetime sexual behaviors were NPSAs, especially compulsive masturbation, ego-dystonic promiscuity, and dependence on pornography. The cormorbid presence of multiple NPSAs in 93% of the paraphilic men was accompanied by comparable sexual and psychosocial sequelae suggests that NPSAs may represent a culturally adapted form of psychopathology that can also be manifested as paraphilic addiction.Some psychiatrists (Myers, 1995) speculate that some adults with addictive sexual behavior may have underlying attention deficit disorders. This sexual behavior served the self-regulatory function of alleviating inner feelings of anhedonia and depression. Another experts (Keller, 1992) reviews psychoanalytic theories of addiction and present an alternative concept comprising biological, behavioral, and psychological characteristics. They compare the structural similarities between addiction and perversion and describe the use of the addictive object as a fetish.More than one hundred years ago, German scientist Krafft-Ebbing’s described so called pathological sexuality: It permeates all his thoughts and feelings, allowing of no other aims in life, tumultuously, and in a rut-like fashion demanding gratification without granting the possibility of moral and righteous counter-presentations, and resolving itself into an impulsive, insatiable succession of sexual enjoyments. This pathological sexuality is a dreadful scourge for its victim, for he is in constant danger of violating the laws of the st ate and of morality, of losing his honor, his freedom and even his life.

Food Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Food - Assignment Example Moreover, the taking of the red wine is used as a remembrance of the blood spilled during Pesach offering (Strassfeld, 2006). This is an offering conducted while a child is being circumcised. The festive are fancy and enjoyable and people drink wine four times to remain awake throughout the celebration. The Passover, just like brit Milah is cerebrated with foods that have significant meaning to the Jewish faith. The festival last for a period of eight days and elderly people tell the story of the Passover to the younger generation. The food taken during this time include wine, hard boiled eggs, apple, bitter herbs, sweet potatoes and carrots and each has a special significance. Boiled egg symbolizes the end and beginning of a fresh year since the last Passover. The unleavened bread symbolizes hastiness a term synonymous with slavery and redemption. During Passover the Jewish prepare green vegetables which are taken raw or cooked to symbolize bitter herbs. The bitter herb arouses the unusualness and curiosity of children, as well as, remind of difficult and sad event in the history of the Jew (Strassfeld,

FINAL PROJECT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

FINAL PROJECT - Essay Example The singers of these songs confess longings, sins, cry out against the conventional, and crave escape from the immediate. ("Urban dictionary: Emo," 2012) This is easily reflective in the image presented in Paige Bradley’s â€Å"Expansion.† This is beautiful visual representation of the desire for or potential of the human being to ascend from the confines of its physical form. The ultimate and ideal form of escape. It is not just music that can be influenced by societal concerns, but, both, philosophy and religion, as well. There is an innate freedom of the modern era that allows the freedom of thought. The variation of beliefs and philosophies that exist and are expressed are immense. That said there is so much potential thought, so much potential creativity, so much possibility that, eventually, all of man-kind will have no choice but to burst from the restrictive confines it no longer needs. This, also, can be compared to the image and message of Bradley’s â€Å"Expansion.† This is that moment when this person is released into a new existence whatever it may be. It is like a rebirth. Lastly, most religions have been established for centuries and are difficult to influence to change. However, even some of the world’s strictest and unchanging religions could find an agreeable familiarity in viewing the image that is â€Å"Expansion.† Here we see a restive, peaceful , person transcending from their mortal human shell to become their natural ethereal state. This is an expression that can easily be perceived as supporting of many religious views. In the end, as with literature, film, and television, the areas of philosophy, music, and religion are affected by the needs, wants, and concerns of the people who live within that society. The theme of this age seems to be escapism. The potential and enticement to be able to go beyond what we are is an underlying and largely shared desire. Human