Scapegoat Theory of Prejudice Essay Example

Scapegoat Theory of Prejudice Paper A theory refers to a set of beliefs or perceptions that people have over certain issues and they have either been proved or not. There are many theories that many philosophers and psychologists have come up with and among them are those that relate to prejudice. Prejudice is an irrational and rigid term that is used to categorize those people who are termed as rigid and irrational. There are terms that are associated with prejudice and they are include a stereotype-which is a belief of a group of people, prejudice-are negative prejudgments of a group and its individual members, discrimination-means a negative behaviour which is directed to a particular member of a group due to the perception of a negative behaviour he or she exhibits. From these definitions stereotypes can be positive or negative, accurate or inaccurate while prejudice is normally in a negative direction only. Discrimination however is the behaviour that an individual portrays in one of these conditions. Prejudices are therefore prejudgments about individuals and can either be negative or positive. Prejudice can be measured by looking at an individual’s behaviour or assessing an individual and coming up with a report. The theories that are related to prejudice include the cultural theory, the conflict theory, the scapegoat theory and the authoritarian personality theory. The scapegoat theory is a theory that suggests that people who are frustrated are driven to prejudice. We will write a custom essay sample on Scapegoat Theory of Prejudice specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Scapegoat Theory of Prejudice specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Scapegoat Theory of Prejudice specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer This theory has a strong perception that prejudice is more common among people who are more disadvantaged in the society, in essence this theory indicates that a scapegoat is a person or a group of people who have less influence in the society and are always complaining because of their own troubles. The term scapegoat obtained its meaning from the ‘scapegoat’ which is a goat that was used for ceremonial purposes in Jerusalem and other religious centers. The goat was driven off to the wilderness and sacrificed so that its blood could be used to cleanse. More often, because of the innocence of the scapegoat i. e. the individual whose character is driven by prejudice, he is punished and blamed because of others wrong doings. When a problem occurs to a normal human being he likes to blame others. The scapegoats normally take aggressions of other people, who are often regarded as bullies because they use their power to outdo those who cannot resist. A character of an individual is often shaped by scapegoatism because once an individual has been termed as a scapegoat; it can be difficult to shake off the title away from him. The origin of the word scapegoatism has a connection with Christianity; the original usage of the term therefore gave the word the current meaning and usage that is attributed to the term today. There are several fields that the theory of scapegoatism can be applied today and it includes Christianity, sports, psychoanalytic theory and sociological/ political orientations. In Christianity the theory of scapegoat is very relevant because it signifies the taking away of the human kind sins by Jesus Christ on the Cross. The story is told in the bible in the book of Leviticus where Christ is symbolized as a goat taken to wilderness outside the city and killed so that its blood can be used to appease the clan that had sinned. Scapegoat’s theory according to Girard states man as having a problem with violence. The constant want for more by an individual often makes an individual to cause conflict in the society because of lack. This scenario is caused because both parties between individuals can involve themselves in a conflict that is meant to make them satisfy their needs. This issue, as it grows in the society causes the individuals to indulge in scapegoatism mechanism, i. e. the point when an individual is sidelined in the society because of the trouble that he has caused in the society. The punishment often involves killing or expelling the individual from the society. When the scapegoat has been eliminated from the society, the balance of power and order comes back again and the cycle begins i. e. new scapegoats develop this character and the same process of expelling repeats itself. Political and social organizations utilize the use of this term majorly in situations which the individual is out at a risk of death or lack of performance. In politics, scapegoatism is a good tool for propaganda i. e. spreading wrong information about someone in the society. An example is the use of the term in the modern history of the Jews where the Nazi group singled out the Jews as the source of the German post world war one political collapse and problems in the economic and social structure. In the social setup the use of the theory of scapegoatism has undesirably effects to the minority group who are less able to defend themselves. In developed societies the use of negative use of the term to sideline the minority groups is increasingly being addressed. In sports issues the theory of scapegoatism is evident in some historic scenarios ever recorded. One case is the scapegoat of Buckner in the 1986 World Series baseball that he was the responsible for the loss of the game. In 2003 national league championships, Bartman Steven was blamed for interfering with a ball that would have been recorded as a foul in the Chicago basketball. Another case also was the loss of the 2004 ice hockey championships by the Canadian team; the blame was directed to Fleury who was the goalkeeper. There are other several cases that this theory applies in sports. Psychoanalytic theory has reservations that the feelings and reasoning of an individual can be directed to an individual in a particular situation thus making the person whom the aggression is directed to as the scapegoat. In this case the individual becomes the source of the problem and will therefore bear the consequences.

Write The Topic Here When You Decide What My Proposal Will Be Talking

Write The Topic Here When You Decide What My Proposal Will Be Talking Write The Topic Here When You Decide What My Proposal Will Be Talking About – Research Proposal Example Political Party Identification: Predicting Party Affiliations based on Age and Economic Outlook. My research captures three variables used in determining the performance of the current and past ruling parties. Through the associations determined, I will develop a linear regression model based on the ages of respondents, and economic outlook over the past twelve months to determine the individual’s party affiliation. I will run correlations between each of the independent variables and the dependent to ascertain whether as postulated, older, more conservative Americans are more likely to be associated with the more conservative Republican Party; and whether either Democrats or Republicans have a more biased outlook of the economic situation in the country. Based on the outcome, it will be possible to determine which party has a higher likelihood of winning the 2016 Presidential elections based statistical evidence. The dependent variable for this research is party affiliation ( PID_X). It will be determined using respondents’ perceived economic status of the country between the time of the survey and the previous one year (ECON_ECPAST_X), which is the first independent variable for this study. Age (DEM-AGEGRP_IWDATE), the other independent variable, will serve as a moderating factor for the relationship between party affiliation and economic outlook. Hypothetically, by older people being more conservative and more pro-Republican, age could be a source of unaccounted-for bias, which advised the decision to use it as a moderating factor. This way, the bias will be eliminated, and obtain a fairer prediction of party affiliation based on economic outlook.

1960's Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

1960's - Essay Example The conflict, of course, began when the French decided to release their colonial claims to Vietnam. The French army was driven from Vietnam in 1954, resulting in the Geneva Peace Accords. This created a temporary partition of Vietnam at the seventeenth parallel, until 1956, when nationwide elections would be held. While the Communist powers in the Soviet Union and China did want the entire nation of Vietnam to become Communist, they predicted that the 1956 election would accomplish their aims without bringing the United States into the conflict (The Wars for Vietnam: 1945 to 1975). Rather than initiate another conflict similar to Korea, the American government began a concerted effort to win the political minds of those living to the south of the Communist zone. A major part of this effort was the creation of SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization). Initially, the American efforts were successful: the 1956 elections brought Ngo Dinh Diem, a firm opponent of Communism, to power in South Vietnam. However, Diem claimed that the North Vietnamese were preparing to take the southern half of Vietnam by force, and the Americans began aiding his military maneuvers against the northern half in 1957. Diem used a variety of brutal internal measures in South Vietnam to quell the Communist insurgency, including Law 10/59, which permitted authorities to hold anyone who was suspected of being a Communist indefinitely, without bringing charges. Over time, Diem became increasingly autocratic, which made him an increasingly difficult leader for the United States to support. In response, the Communist insurgency began to increase the amount of violence in its protests (The Wars for Vietnam: 1945 to 1975). The National Liberation Front was the official organization for those in South Vietnam who wanted to overthrow

Environments of organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Environments of organization - Essay Example To create the fruit of this cooperative enterprise, LEJ employs about eleven full time staff and employs approximately fifty paid youth interns each year. Pfeffer & Salancik argue that Organizations are inescapably bound up with the conditions of their environment & they engage in activities which lead them to quicker adjustment in their environment (Pfeffer p.233). The Resource Dependency Theory (RDT) developed by Pfeffer & Salancik highlights that most important task of an organization is to survive & the most influencing factor on the shape of an organization is not how it consumes resources but how it acquires it (Pfeffer p.234). Therefore according to Pfeffer & Salancik, the effective organization is the one which satisfies the demand of those in the environment from whom it requires support for its continued existence (Pfeffer p.242) DiMaggio & Powell similarly argue in their seminal article on institutional isomorphism & collective rationality that organizations tend to look more and more similar the more an organizational field develops (DiMaggio & Powell, P.147). This process which they name Isomorphism in organization not necessarily drives it towards more efficiency but more acceptability. They argue that the major factor which organizations must take into account is other organizations as they not only compete for resources and customers but also political power & institutional legitimacy (DiMaggio & Powell, P.150). They suggest three mechanisms for this change which they term as coercive, mimetic & normative isomorphism. The biggest survival issue for any non-profit organization like LEJ is the constant supply of funding to various projects. With propping up of new non-profit organization with the same domain of work & the temporary down turn in economy post 9/11 caused LEJ to reconsider its funding issues. The leadership decided to stick to its mission principle and reject any funding & project proposals which are outside its scope to create an image of a principled organization which appeals to donors having environment related donations. This required restructuring, introducing processes within the organization which makes channelizing of ideas easily into grants proposals and actively pursuing potential donors for grants and ideas which can quickly be converted to grant proposals. This resulted into creation of a slot for full time grant writer, who can convert ideas into grant proposals. This was a classical attempt to improve their chances of securing their resources which in case of non-profi ts is extremely important. As Pfeffer & Salancik have argues that organizations always attempt to secure their resources without owning it (Pfeffer & Salancik, p. 236) in the environments once continuous availability of a resource is a problematic issue. Coercive Isomorphism always comes into play while dealing with Government & Donors (in case of non-profits). The constant change of government's procedures to ensure check and balances in non-profit organizations, LEJ has to constantly transform how it works through employee orientation and training for the departments which deal with government like taxations and audits etc. Moreover funding by donors also comes with certain compulsions in denial of donations to certain projects and emphasis on certain others, LEJ has to ensure that they constantly satisfy their

The London Toile Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The London Toile - Essay Example The urban landscape in many UK cities seems to be changing all the time, modern buildings have become icons that give us a strong sense of identity, and there fore the London Toile seemed a perfect expression of where we were coming from.I could go on and on, but to sum things up we do love some of the traditional designs from the past, but its great fun to give them a new angle, to make them speak to us in the present.   This fabric speaks so much about the lifestyle of the romantic, peaceful and carefree London. Printed in the fabric, were green different images of the romantic and carefree lifestyles in contrast to a cream linen which made it more beautiful and attractive.  There are 8 images injected to a bright cream fabric, showered with flying and feeding doves were a images of lovers overlooking the Great London Bridge across the lake under the tree infront of bench. It is such a very romantic site which made this fabric perfectly ideal for lovers, designed to fit on sofa sets, love rests or even   curtains in a lovers bedroom.  Next to this image is the city itself, overlooked across the ocean with a lone man walking away from it. This peaceful and solemn serenity of the scene depicts the mood of the sunset, being ready for a relaxing dinner and sleep on your way to your home. Having this fabric hanged in your living room makes you feel that you are glad to be home with your family, celebrating the union before the end of the day.Timorous Beasties have not actually changed much in the Toile concept.

Abortion And The View Of Richard Selzer

Abortion And The View Of Richard Selzer In his essay, What I Saw at the Abortion, Dr. Richard Selzer writes about his experience witnessing an abortion for the first time. Selzers article persuade readers from the side of pro-life point of view by using very powerful technique without includes anything that standing against pro-choice or effusively agreeing pro-life. His writing has neither fair nor biased in this article because it simply expresses how he witnessed a procedure of the pro-choice operation and let the readers feel how he had felt- a very powerful persuasive. Although, Selzers writing style is rubbing with a sandpaper on the readers mind at the beginning, his assertive tone and interesting language choosing in the article leads reader to the end without needing much of rhetorical tools. But he does use a rhetorical statement when he writes, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦is tugged, like a fishing line nibbled by a sunfish to visualize how the needle in the womans belly trembles. Even though this article needed more technical terms than as it is, Selzer minimizes those and gets the readers attention. When he uses the technical or biological terms, he explains what those are at once. For example he writes, prostaglandin- a substance found normally in the body.(3) or outpourings of disease-phlegm, pus, vomitus, (1) makes easy to understand and stay focus on article without needing of flipping pages of dictionary. Selzer makes his article easy to understanding. However, sometime he gives his readers to think what his expression is and that makes readers dissolve in his stand point. The statement, We are not six, I think. I think we are seven(2) gives rise to readers to think where the seventh person came from, then realize that the baby inside the womb is not just a fetus but it is another living human being. Sometime he unknowingly pushes the readers in the place of his characters feeling as one would take its own: it is not pain the she feels. It is more a recognition that the deed is being done. (1). Selzer knows like a wizard, what would be floating around on the readers head during the story goes. He shows that he knows what readers are thinking by, I know, I know. The thing is normally done at sixteen weeks. and explains the reason. He does not say that he stands on the pro-life viewpoint directly. But he indirectly states he is a pro-life in the middle of the article, where everyone in the operation room wants the jerked needle where it is. Six do then he count-off himself, No, five do.(2) Over all in his article, he is describing that he has witnessed a scene of murdering a helpless unborn baby who was defending for its life -as much as he or she could-inside the womb until effort away.(3) His emphasis in the introduction of the article, that he is a surgeon who have seen undesirable scene on daily basic, reinforces how that scene is so much painful for a person to watch. Abortion is termination of pregnancy by accidentally or a woman makes the decision to end by means of surgical procedure as states by Selzer. Abortion has been a social controversy since the procedure was invented, and has arisen since 1973 when the government legalized and over 3.5 million legal abortions have been reported in according with CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Communities are constantly debating over the pro-life or pro-choice and how many weeks of pregnancy is not to have the procedure preformed. A person believes in pro-life would say abortion is a murder because the moment of conception, the fetus is alive. On the other hand, a pro-choice person would feel that decision to abort pregnancy is solely to mothers and the government has no right to intervene. And a fetus doesnt become real human being until it is physically delivered from a mothers womb. Abortion is one of the most controversial topics of all times and yet, is still in the gray zone. In early societies before legalizing the abortion, unwanted children were often abandoned or even killed after they were born; or seeking back alley abortions which are usually located in an unhealthy area and done by unlicensed operators. Many of women died from infection and incompetent operator. We all know that abortion is demeans the value of human life in social and religion point of view, but what all the consequences would happened if the unwanted child to bring into the world? It is probably for the society to let the unwanted pregnancy to abort than have them be brought up poor and neglected or abused. That would not only for the child and mother to suffer throughout their life but also for the society. A child who is neglected or abused are higher probability to get in to crime, drug addiction, lifelong government aid recipients, etc. (Masserli). Do we want the child to left in that kind of miserable life? Do we want to add such burden to our over loaded society? Some people might say, If the mother cannot raise her child, she could be giving up the child for adoption. Giving up the child for adoption makes tremendous emotional effect, much more than aborts the baby inside the womb, to the mother for the rest of her life. We all make mistakes in our life, especially in teenage life. But sometime, one mistake can cause a whole life living with a big scar across the face. With lack of sex education or may be with peer pressures to have sex at an early age, could drain down the great life plan for a teenage girl. We shouldnt penalize someone for life for one mistake by holding pro-life agenda without justification. A blogger/ poet, Sandra Kay expresses how much emotionally and psychologically effects to be a pregnant teenager comparing with her own experience in her article A Pro-Choice Perspective, she writes, I can tell you-and I am not guessing, but I know-that without access to legal abortions, suicides will increase and women will resort to dangerous, life-threatening, self-inflicted abortions.(Kay) Although many people say a woman has to make ultimately her own decision whether to choose pro-choice or pro-life, when the situation arises, they should carefully consider both points of view to reduce the impact of regret in the future. Pregnancy is very difficult time for many people. Some are planned; most are unintentional, thus leaving the mother frustrated with a decision to make. The decision is a matter of life and death. If you think having abortion is murder, then letting suicides of pregnant woman will make DOUBLE murder!

Affirmative Action :: Quotas Race Minority Academics Essays

Affirmative Action In Texas, acceptance to public universities for high school students is now based on academic achievement - if a student is at the top ten percent of his or her class, he or she will be automatically accepted. This is a way to counter the unfairness of affirmative action causes because the admission has nothing to do with race or sex. Arguably, this policy is reasonable because students studying at the same high school receive equal opportunity to learn and educate themselves. This may seem fair, but the same problem still exists. If a student has to work part-time just to make a living because his or her family is unable to sustain financially, how is this student going to find time to study and be successful in school, and therefore, be in the top ten percent? In recent supreme court ruling, the point system that were using in admitting law students at the University of Michigan was ruled unconstitutional and therefore taken out. The university used a point system that quantified the qualification of the applicant's status. If a student's points exceed a certain number, he or she is admitted to the school. The university gives an extra twenty points to the minorities in terms of enforcing affirmative action and helping the disadvantaged. The six of the judges believe that the defined number system is in many ways similar as having a set quota in admitting minority students, which was banned in the case of University of California v. Bakke of 1978. The judges believe that having a rule in admitting students strictly by race is impersonal. In Bakke's case, the University defends itself for having such quota with the fact that admitting minority students into medical school can help improve social discrimination because the minority are less likely to have the education or the financial status to go to a medical school. As a result, being a doctor becomes majority profession. The judges at the time countered the university's statements by stating that the school is being unfair to the non-minority applicants, who are not directly responsible of the social discrimination. The Supreme Court ruled the University of Michigan's point system unconstitutional in the undergraduate level, but kept the same system for the Law school. They believe race should be taken into consideration, but should not quantify qualification. Although the judges opposing this ruling stated that "A fixed numerical score for racial minority status has the virtue of honesty.

Demand in Life

Life is not just about being happy and being able to enjoy what we love to do. We all have a lot of things that we need to get done, but many of us have absolutely nothing to do with what is truly important in our lives with so many demands on our time. For this reason, it is easy to feel like we are losing control in our life. Time itself will not going to slow down and demands on our time will not go away too. If we want the situation to be change, it is going to be up to us to change it. Time management is the best tool that we can use that can will help us to accomplish our demands in life. There is only one life to be able to spend my lives in my own way. So, I am setting my priorities to achieve my demands in life. Whatever I do in my life is essential to make my life easier. It is important that I can manage to face the challenges that come in my way that will take a huge amount of my time such as hobbies, job and family. Generally, many of us let go some of our interest and hobbies to meet our demands in life. My hobbies help me release my stress. I know that stress can destroy me and it can also drain my mental and physical energy. In my case, I am rather being with my son’s baseball practice and games instead of going to the gym and work out. I don’t want to miss any important event in his life. I want to be there to support and cheer him up. Likewise, I also gave up my hobby as a dance choreographer to be able to spend quality time with my family especially weekend. Furthermore, my job takes lots of my time because I need to make my handmade creations and sell it online. Each and every one of us has different aspect in life. I make decision based on the situation that demands my priorities. Therefore, I know that demand in life will takes lots of time to reach my goals. For instance, working at home as an entrepreneur risks my time, but I need to work to support my school and family expenses. Even though the risk is high but I still successfully establish my own business that gives me the opportunity to have full control over it. Finally, how do I fit roles such as a mother, a wife and a friend into my hectic schedule? Since, time is precious for me and there’s one life to live, keeping a balance between my career and family can be challenge. As a mother, a wife, a student and a businesswoman takes up a huge amount of time from doing my school obligation. Family demands more attention and devotion because they are my priority. I believe that being a mother is the most expensive job in the world. In these instances, support from my family has to be there and understanding. Additionally, when my son is involved, I need to adjust my lives so I can have time to spend quality time with him. As a mother and a wife, it is my responsibility to make sure that they have delicious and healthy meal on the table, clean clothes to wear and most of all a happy, clean and relaxing home to stay. Therefore, the biggest challenge that I am facing is how to balance the demands of my hobbies, job and family. I have to make sacrifice in order to achieve my aspirations. In addition, doing the thing I love will have the opportunity to explore new challenges. It also helps me grow as individuals and learn new things about myself. I believe that my life is a gift and I want to treasure every moment of it to live my life to the fullest.

Free Essays on Candide

In the beginning of Voltaire’s Candide, Candide is expelled from the Baron's castle for kissing Cunà ©gonde. After forced enlistment in the Bulgarian army Candide fled to Holland where he met Jacques the Anabaptist, and found the philosopher, Dr. Pangloss. Pangloss told Candide that the Bulgarians raped and disemboweled Cunà ©gonde. Following the news, Candide, Jacques, and Pangloss sailed to Lisbon. A storm destroyed the ship leaving Jacques to drown, and Candide and Pangloss survived only to watch as an earthquake and tidal wave level Lisbon. Pangloss insisted that despite the total ruin of Lisbon, the world is still the best of all possible worlds. For making such a heretical statement, Pangloss is hung while Candide is beaten during a ceremony of the Spanish Inquisition. Later, an old woman reunited Candide with Cunà ©gonde, who survived the Bulgarian invasion. Cunà ©gonde was then the mistress of both Don Issachar and the Grand Inquisitor of Lisbon. Candide ended up killing them both because of their jealous rage. Then Candide, Cunà ©gonde, and the old woman fled to Cadiz and Candide volunteered to fight against the Jesuits in Paraguay. After the fights the three sailed to Buenos Aires and upon arrival the old woman spotted a ship from Spain in hot pursuit, so once again Candide had to flee. Candide and his valet Cacambo then joined the Jesuits. The Commandant of the Jesuits was actually Cunà ©gonde's brother, the Baron's son. The reunion turned sour when the Baron's son forbade Candide to marry Cunà ©gonde. The commandant attacked Candide and unfortunately was stabbed in the process. Candide and Cacambo escaped only to be captured by the Oreillons, a tribe of natives, but luckily, the diplomatic Cacambo convinced the natives to release them. Next, Candide and Cacambo happen upon the Utopian kingdom of Eldorado. After a short stay, Candide and Cacambo left, with 102 red sheep covered in jewels, to find Cunà ©gonde. They arrived ... Free Essays on Candide Free Essays on Candide Voltaire's Candide is a novel which contains conceptual ideas and at the same time is also exaggerated. Voltaire offers sad themes disguised by jokes and witticism, and the story itself presents a distinctive outlook on life. The crucial contrast in the story deals with irrational ideas as taught to Candide about being optimistic, versus reality as viewed by the rest of the world. The main theme which is presented throughout the novel is optimism. Out of every unfortunate situation in the story, Candide, the main character, has been advised by his philosopher-teacher that everything in the world happens for the better, because "Private misfortunes contribute to the general good, so that the more private misfortunes there are, the more we find that all is well" (Voltaire, p. 31). Pangloss, the philosopher, tries to defend his theories by determining the positive from the negative situations and by showing that misfortunes bring some privileges. As Candide grows up, whenever something unfortunate happens, Pangloss would turn the situation around, bringing out the good in it. Candide learns that optimism is "The passion for maintaining that all is right when all goes wrong " (Voltaire, p.86). According to Rene Pomeau, "Voltaire-Candide...have made him [Candide] acquainted with the bad and the good side of human existence. The moral of Candide is born out of its style; it is the art of extracting happiness from the desolate hopping-about of the human insect" (Adams; Pomeau p.137). Pomeau explains that Candide shows both sides of humanity; how both great and terrible events are standard in a human life. Also according to Pomeau, the whole point of the story is to debate between good and bad; for example, as Candide becomes more independent, he starts to doubt that only good comes out of life. Pangloss is a very hopeful character in the story because he refuses to accept bad. He is also somewhat naive and believes that he could make... Free Essays on Candide In the book â€Å"Candide† by Voltaire we are introduced to the main character Candide who was born and raised in a castle in Westphalia. Candide has been brought up under the teachings of the great philosopher Pangloss who is basically a philosopher of everything. Pangloss’ main philosophical view is that â€Å"everything is for the best in this best of all possible worlds.† Pangloss demonstrates this by using an example of the reason we have a nose is for glasses to be placed upon it. However Candide gets kicked out of the castle that he grew up in and as he continues to believe in Pangloss’ theory it is starting to be contradicted greatly with the events that have been occurring in Candide’s life. From the very first chapter in the book we are presented with events that Candide’s faith in Pangloss’ theory. He faces a wide variety of tragedies one after another including rapes, robberies, unjust executions, disease, earthquake, and betrayal. Yet as I read through all these terrible events I felt that it was almost necessary for Candide to keep faith in Pangloss’ theory because it is the only explanation that he has so far as to why these horrible things are happening to him and others around him. In life when we lack reasoning for the tragic events that occur we are often left very angry and confused. It is good for Candide’s spirit to hold on to this theory that Pangloss has given him no matter how unreasonable it is. On the other hand Pangloss struggles to find justification for the unimaginable things in the world and his arguments are simply absurd. For example, he says that syphilis is necessary and is needed to be transmitted from the Americans to Europe so that Europeans could enjoy new world delicacies such as chocolate. How bizarre is that explanation? So no matter how good of an idea Pangloss thought he might have had with his theory that â€Å"everything is for the best in this best of ... Free Essays on Candide In the beginning of Voltaire’s Candide, Candide is expelled from the Baron's castle for kissing Cunà ©gonde. After forced enlistment in the Bulgarian army Candide fled to Holland where he met Jacques the Anabaptist, and found the philosopher, Dr. Pangloss. Pangloss told Candide that the Bulgarians raped and disemboweled Cunà ©gonde. Following the news, Candide, Jacques, and Pangloss sailed to Lisbon. A storm destroyed the ship leaving Jacques to drown, and Candide and Pangloss survived only to watch as an earthquake and tidal wave level Lisbon. Pangloss insisted that despite the total ruin of Lisbon, the world is still the best of all possible worlds. For making such a heretical statement, Pangloss is hung while Candide is beaten during a ceremony of the Spanish Inquisition. Later, an old woman reunited Candide with Cunà ©gonde, who survived the Bulgarian invasion. Cunà ©gonde was then the mistress of both Don Issachar and the Grand Inquisitor of Lisbon. Candide ended up killing them both because of their jealous rage. Then Candide, Cunà ©gonde, and the old woman fled to Cadiz and Candide volunteered to fight against the Jesuits in Paraguay. After the fights the three sailed to Buenos Aires and upon arrival the old woman spotted a ship from Spain in hot pursuit, so once again Candide had to flee. Candide and his valet Cacambo then joined the Jesuits. The Commandant of the Jesuits was actually Cunà ©gonde's brother, the Baron's son. The reunion turned sour when the Baron's son forbade Candide to marry Cunà ©gonde. The commandant attacked Candide and unfortunately was stabbed in the process. Candide and Cacambo escaped only to be captured by the Oreillons, a tribe of natives, but luckily, the diplomatic Cacambo convinced the natives to release them. Next, Candide and Cacambo happen upon the Utopian kingdom of Eldorado. After a short stay, Candide and Cacambo left, with 102 red sheep covered in jewels, to find Cunà ©gonde. They arrived ...

Evaluating Pret a Mangers Ethical Policies Essay Example

Evaluating Pret a Mangers Ethical Policies Essay Example Evaluating Pret a Mangers Ethical Policies Essay Evaluating Pret a Mangers Ethical Policies Essay Pret a Manger (informally known as Pret), founded in 1986 by Julian Metcalfe and Sinclair Beecham, is a private partnership that never franchises out and therefore its accounts are not open to the public (Pret, 2007).   The company sees this as an advantage as it allows it to grow at a speed it feels is appropriate without the pressure that is afforded a company accountable to the public (Pret, 2007).   Pret has incorporated strict ethics in its company policies governing the sourcing of fresh produce to be utilised in their handmade products, the treatment of their workers and the working atmosphere they created and more recently have included policies on the now popular environmental subject â€Å"sustainability† (Pret, 2007).   However, there have been actions taken by the company that customers and observers have criticised as being in contrast to their supposed ethical policies.   This includes the selling of one third of the company to McDonalds, and establishmen t renowned for its policy of putting profit before ethics band being involved in environmental destruction, cheap labour and packing their food full of additives (Walsh, 2006). Produce and Products Pret a Manger has a self serving reputation for being fanatical about the freshness and cleanness of the produce they use.   They favour natural products, utilise organic milk and freedom farm meats (endorsed by the RSPCA).   They have made improvements to cater their sustainability drive and now have the so called â€Å"bio box† and use recyclable packaging as well as sourcing sustainable sources of food and avoiding the use of chemicals which they term as â€Å"sacred† to Pret (Pret, 2007).   It is a characteristic that they only use the freshest of products and never keep food over night. Staff and Customers Pret a Manger also go to great lengths to keep their staff content in their jobs and in an industry that notoriously forces staff to work longer hours for low wages, Pret pays well above the minimum wage and offers work in manageable shifts, as well as offering perks such as increased wages, bonuses and items including silver Tiffany stars for achievements or when a customer recommends their work.   It is an interesting fact that over 60% of Pret managers started out as team members (Pret, 2007).   In addition, Pret is a partner with Forum for the Future in particular reference to their exceptional behaviour as an employer (Forum for the Future, 2007).   Staff and customers are welcome to give input into the running of the company.   Every week a mystery shopper visits each store to check on the quality of the produce and the level of customer service provided (Pret, 2007). Charity and Social Work As pret does not keep food over night, something has to be done with any leftover at the end of the day.   Instead of sending them to landfill, Pret runs a drive to offer their food to homeless people through shelters and charitable donations.   In fact, they distribute approximately 12000 meals each week (Pret, 2007).   The spare food is either collected by particular charities or distributed by the Pret Foundation Trust set up in 1995 which, is funded by customer donations and income from particular products and is a fleet of electric vans (in another effort to offset carbon emissions) (Pret, 2007).   The company is always on the lookout for more homeless charities to support, especially where certain stores as yet, do not have a designated charity. McDonalds Investment For the most part, Pret a Manger have been arguably, one of the most ethical brand names to date in many areas, there is no question that they carry out their policies as far as is possible.   There is one major sticking point however, and for most people that is the third share held by the multi-conglomerate corporation McDonalds   Albeit a minority share, at 33 per cent, it is a large slice of the company (Walsh, 2006).   Many Pret admirers are sceptical of McDonalds input into the company.   The concept of a comparatively small, socially aware retail outlet, teaming up with a multinational company known for its social, environmental and ethical ineptitude and singular focus on on wealth accumulation, seems to be a contradiction in terms, although with McDonalds input, Pret has been able to expand over seas, which may be good for Pret financially, but the question remains, have they sold out, ethically?   It may be fair to say that it is certainly looking as though Pret h as sold out on its ethical policies although it maintains that it still has full control over its activities despite McDonalds involvement. Conclusion Pret a Manger has a range of prominent and competent ethical policies covering all aspects of relevant corporate social responsibility, from the welfare of their workforce to sourcing their produce with due care to the environment and environmental standards, making charitable donations and searching for advances in recycling and and ways to reduce their carbon emissions and providing a â€Å"cradle to grave† attitude towards the packaging and non-edible waste they produce.   Despite this ethical proficiency, a question mark continues to hang over the decision to sell one third of the company to McDonalds fast food chain and the possible negative affects on Prets ethical policy that this association may have.

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