Examination of Macbeths Character :: essays research papers

Power can be taken, but not given: An Examination of Macbeth's Character in William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Character develops itself in the stream of life. Individuals in society each contain unique character traits that are constantly evolving. In William Shakespeare?s Macbeth, Macbeth undergoes many tremendous changes in his character. Macbeth?s character changes throughout the play because of the murders of King Duncan, Banquo and Macduff?s family. First, Macbeth?s murder of King Duncan changes him by triggering his ambition, revealing his fear and revealing his regret. For example, in his first appearance on stage, the Macbeth described as brave and noble has his ambition triggered: First Witch. All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis! Second Witch. All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! Third Witch. All hail, Macbeth! That shalt be king hereafter! Banquo. Good sir, why do you start [?] (Shakespeare I.iii.48-51) Clearly, Macbeth?s sudden movement at the news that he will be king shows how his ambition is triggered. Macbeth is so excited that he starts, and Banquo notices this. In addition, Macbeth?s soliloquy in scene seven reveals his fears about killing Duncan: Macbeth. But in these cases We still have judgement here, that we but teach Bloody instruction, which being taught, return To plague the inventor. (I.vii.7-10) Evidently, Macbeth is afraid of killing King Duncan because he believes if he performs an act of evil, then it will come back to haunt him. This is the first time in the play where Macbeth shows any sign of fear. Furthermore, the murder of King Duncan reveals a deep sense of regret within Macbeth: ?To know my deed, ?twere best not know myself. / Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou could?st!? (II.ii.73-75). Already, Macbeth is regretting killing King Duncan, and this drastically changes his character (before committing the murder he was confident due to Lady Macbeth?s persuasions). Thus, Macbeth?s murder of King Duncan changes him by triggering his ambition, revealing his fear and revealing his regret. Second, the murder of Banquo changes Macbeth by causing psychological harm, creating unease within Macbeth, and making Macbeth determined to continue with his plan of evil. For example, at the feast Macbeth hosts, he sees the ghost of Banquo: Macbeth. The table?s full. Lennox. Here is a place reserv?d, sir. Macbeth. Where? Lennox. Here, my good lord. What is?t that moves your Highness? Macbeth. Which of you have done this? Lords. What, my good lord? Macbeth. Thou canst not say I did it: never shake Thy gory locks at me.

Problems that sikhs face practicing their religion in Britain today Essay

Sikhism was born in the Punjab area of Asia which falls into present day states as India and Pakistan the main religions of that time were Hinduism and Islam. The Sikh faith began around 500 years ago (1500 CE) when Guru Nanak started preaching a faith that was quite distinct from Hinduism and Islam. Nine gurus followed Guru Nanak and developed faith over the next centuries. Sikhism is the youngest of the six world faiths and is the second smallest of all. Sikhism was formed from Hinduism and Islam. Sikhs follow the teachings of the 10 Gurus, The Gurus (meaning religious leader) are not worshipped. Their teachings are recorded in the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book. The 2001 census recorded 336,000 Sikhs living in Britain. Britain is becoming more and more multicultural and there are more Sikhs now than ever before. As Britain is predominantly Christian, many Sikhs face difficulties in practising their faith. Like some other religions, Sikhs are often discriminated against in Britain today. The war on Iraq brings with it an increase in hostility towards those who wear turbans making it hard for some Sikhs to show pride in their religious clothing. The turban has become an important symbol of the Sikh faith. Most Sikh men wear a turban as well as some Sikh women. Sikhs may experience slurs, isolation, hostility and sometimes even assaults just because of their appearance. Many British people are racists and are unable to accept anybody who are of a different race, this must make it very hard for Sikhs to feel normal and at ease in the place that they live. Some Sikh traditions include not cutting your hair and using tobacco. Sikhs don’t cut their hair because they believe God created you with hair so that is the way he must want you to look. In Britain some people may associate very long with being dirty and/or untidy, and this could also lead to more discrimination against the Sikhs. Male Sikhs wear turbans to cover their hair which can cause problems with certain types of jobs. Due to health and safety you have to wear a helmet/hard hat on a construction/building site. If you’re a Sikh, you are not allowed to take off your turban and the helmet won’t fit over the top of it therefore any strict Sikhs will not become builders or anything associated with construction/building sites. In older times bus conductors were made to wear caps whilst working. Men with turbans were not able to wear this hat so they were not allowed to become bus conductors. Officers in the police force are also required to wear a cap/hat whilst working. Sikhs have been turned down due to refusing to take off their turbans so that they can work as a police officer. The UK Police have spent one hundred thousand pounds trying to adapt a hat that will fit over the Sikh turban. Until then Sikhs are not allowed to join the force unless they are willing to take off their turbans. Schools in Britain teach very little on Sikhism today. The ‘network of Sikh orginisations’ expressed the views of the Sikh community that teaching of Sikhism is being pushed out even in schools where the majority of the population are Sikhs. Apart from a handful of schools there is little provision for pupils to undertake any qualifications in Sikh religious studies. There are many sport professions that Sikhs are unable to take part in such as swimming and football. As a lot of Britain are sport fanatics this must be hard for Sikhs as they cannot take part in any of it. The law has been lifted against helmets for Sikh motorcyclists, so that they can now ride bikes with just a turban on. Many Sikhs are vegetarians. This could be quite difficult in certain situations such as children in school or certain restaurants. Those who are not vegetarians will only eat meat where the animal has been killed in a certain way, unless the Sikhs know that the animal was killed correctly then they will not eat the meat. Eating in restaurants would be tricky because they’re unlikely to have killed their meat in the way Sikhs require. Sikh men and women who are full members of their religion (Khalsa) wear the five K’s. These represent the five articles of faith which distinguish individuals as Sikhs. The five K’s described under Khalsa are KESH, KANGHA, KARA, KIRPAN and KACHERA. The Khalsa was a brotherhood of fighters who would dedicate themselves to the Sikh cause and were given certain distinctive features to identify them as Sikhs. There are five of these features, which Khalsa Sikhs wear today. They are: KESH OR KESHAS: long hair usually worn under the turban to symbolise holiness. KANGA: small wooden comb to keep the hair tidy and symbolise purity. KARA: steel bracelet/bangle worn on the right wrist to protect the sword arm and symbolises eternity. KIRPAN: a small sword symbolising readiness to fight oppression. KACHA or KACHERA: shorts worn as an under garment, to symbolise modesty and sexual restraint. In Britain it is illegal to carry the kirpan identical to the original in public as it is seen as dangerous. However the ‘criminal justice act’ (1996) allows anyone to carry a blade exceeding the length of 3 inches for religious, cultural or work related reasons. The 2003 discrimination act safeguards the Sikhs to carry a kirpan. Some Sikhs wear a necklace that contains charms of the kanga and kirpan so that they do not look threatening. There is a case of a girl from South Wales who was suspended from school for refusing to remove her Kara. The school claimed that her bracelet was against school rules which were set a long time ago. The girl refused to take off her kara as she was proud to wear it because it reflected which religion she was part of. The school was taken to court over the suspension and was declared guilty of indirect discrimination. Sikh temples are known as Gurdwaras. There are not many Gurdwaras in Britain where Sikhs can go to worship. This is a difficulty for the Sikhs to practice their faith as in India part of a Sikhs ritual would include attending the Gurdwara. Religious festivals such as maghi and diwali may not be attented by certain Sikhs due to work. Some jobs may not offer them the time off as Britain is more Christianity orientated with time off for Christmas and easter etc. In Conclusion I think that being a Sikh in Britain must be difficult and hard to practice and will take some getting used to. Those who were born in Britain will not know any different anyway so they will be well adapted to the way in which they live. I think it is probably very hard for those who have emigrated from Asia to adapt to a new way of living.

A Journey Back Home At Home - 957 Words

A Journey Back Home There is no place like home. These are familiar words I often hear from people especially from those who are far away from home. They move or migrate to a different place because of many reasons; it can be a new job, work abroad, or simply to find better opportunity. Canada has been my home for the last 25 years. Living here gave me independence and the ability to improve myself. I’m lucky to be given the chance to stay and live in this beautiful country. All my four children were born and raised here. Growing up, I want them to learn about their roots and family heritage. I and my husband are both Filipinos. At home, they are already exposed to some of the values and traits of our culture. One summer, we planned a vacation, and I thought what better way to learn, understand and embrace the Filipino culture? Go visit the country. All of us were excited and looked forward to this memorable trip back home to my native land, Philippines. Philippines This country was discovered in 1543 by Villalobos, a Spanish explorer. He then named the country in honor of King Philip of Spain, thus; the name Philippines. It is located in Southeast Asia. It is an archipelago between the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea. This country consists of 7,100 island; of which three of them are the largest. 1. Luzon – the largest and most populous island. This is the economic and political center of the nation. This is the National Capital Region in whichShow MoreRelatedOdysseus Journey Back Home1462 Words   |  6 PagesSeptember 2, 2014 Analysis: Odysseus’ Journey Back Home to Ithaca The journey of Odysseus is a complex one, and must be carefully analyzed to see whether Odysseus truly completes a hero’s journey. Homer’s The Odyssey, centers upon Odysseus Laertes, the King of Ithaca. After defeating the Trojans at war, Odysseus is on his homeward voyage when he blinds Polyphemus, a Cyclops. Polyphemus then places a curse upon Odysseus, causing him to take 10 years to return home. After he returns, Odysseus kills theRead MoreOdysseus And The Heroic Cycle In Homers The Odyssey806 Words   |  4 Pagesmythology we have learned that, The Odyssey, demonstrates a prime example of the heroic cycle. The story begins after the defeat of the Trojans in the Trojan War. The greek hero, Odysseus, embarks on his victorious journey back to his home land of Ithaca. Fatefully, Odysseus’s journey goes awry resulting in him being captured and held hostage for seven years by the greek goddess, Calypso. Ultimately, the gods of Mt. Olympus decide the time has com e for Odysseus to return to Ithaca and be reunitedRead MoreOdysseus the Epic by Homer1019 Words   |  5 Pagessomeone with abundant importance whose actions involve perilous journeys and marvelous warrior skills in war or battle (Abram). In Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus, the king of the great island of Ithaca, is called to fight alongside the Greeks in the Trojan War. The Greeks defeated the Trojans with the help of clever Odysseus’ Trojan horse. Odysseus qualifies as an epic hero because, like all epic heroes, Odysseus undertakes a long, dangerous journey, demonstrates his extraordinary speaking skills by speakingRead MoreOdysseus Journey as an Epic Hero1267 Words   |  6 PagesOdysseus Journey as an Epic Hero In the epic poem The Odyssey, the main character Odysseus displays the epic hero. An epic hero is given certain qualities. These qualities make the person (usually male) seem larger than life, he or she embodies the values from their culture, he usually goes on a journey that consist of a series of trials, has an ego, and is able to persuade people with his conversation. 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Odysseus is going through a state of trickery when the cyclops, Polyphemus, depicts kindness by letting Odysseus and his men enter his home. Moments later, the cyclops eats two of Odysseuss men and then traps the rest for a meal later to come. Odysseus says with distress to his peers, â€Å"The cruel monster made no answer, but just jumped up andRead MoreDorothy and Odysseus1297 Words   |  6 Pageswife who is the king of Sparta. Paris and Helen after having a love spell cast on them end up falling in love. When Paris takes Helen back to Troy with him, Menelaus summons Odysseus, Agamemnon, and other soldiers. Menelaus asks them to sail to Troy to get his wife Helen back from Paris. This is where Odysseus must leave his home, wife, and son to go on a long journey. Dorothy Gale from the movie The Wizard of Oz is also a hero. The movie is filmed in Kansas on a farm where Dorothy lives with herRead MoreSimilarities Between The Odyssey And Harry Potter996 Words   |  4 PagesThe Hero’s Journey: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and The Odyssey Published in the 8th century B.C.E and 1997 respectively, both The Odyssey by Homer and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling are universally known arts of literature. The Hero’s Journey is a commonly used trope incorporated in numerous amounts of tales. This trope involves a hero who goes on a journey, finds himself in a crisis, defeats his enemies, and comes home changed. Harry Potter, the main characterRead MoreOdyssey Essay : Heros Journey And Odyssey726 Words   |  3 PagesHero’s Journey and Odyssey Essay The â€Å"Odyssey,† written by Homer, is a long epic that describes King Odysseus’ journey back to his home from Troy. In the â€Å"Hero’s Journey† by Joseph Campbell, the steps a person takes to travel through his or her journey to reach a goal is referred to as a monomyth. In the â€Å"Odyssey,† Homer writes an epic that reflects many stages from Joseph Campbell’s monomyth. The author includes many key points involving a true â€Å"Hero’s Journey,† but the main ones that are illustratedRead MoreThe Wonderful Wizard Of Oz1615 Words   |  7 Pagestransferred into a different world, the world of Oz. After finding out that Dorothy is far away from home, she sets the goal to return back home to her aunt Em and Uncle Henry. From that point on, Dorothy encounters dangerous obstacles along her journey. Despite Dorothy dreaming of a place â€Å"Over the Rainbow,† where she could escape to, she is still trying to figure out h er way home. Going back is a symbol of fulfilling a patriarchal prescription of women. Looking at the history makes it clear to

Wright Surname Meaning and Origin

WRIGHT Surname Meaning Origin: Wright is an occupational surname meaning craftsman, builder, from the Old English wryhta meaning worker. Wright is the 34th most popular surname in the United States and the 14th most common surname in England. Surname Origin: English Alternate Surname Spellings: WRIGHTE, RITE, WRITE, RIGHT, ALWRIGHT, ALLWRIGHT, OLDWRIGHT, WRYTE, WRAIGHT Famous People with the Surname WRIGHT: Wilbur and Orville Wright - flew the first airplane at Kitty Hawk, North CarolinaFrank Lloyd Wright - famous American architectMartha Coffin Wright - Quaker womens rights activist and sister of Lucretia Mott. Genealogy Resources for the Surname WRIGHT: 100 Most Common U.S. Surnames Their MeaningsSmith, Johnson, Williams, Jones, Brown... Are you one of the millions of Americans sporting one of these top 100 common last names from the 2000 census? The Wright Family GenealogyA Web site dedicated to the descendants of William Wright (1707-1776) and his wife, Margaret. They were the original American patriarch and matriarch of a Scotch-Irish Wright family, who resided much of their lives in Augusta Co, Virginia. Wright DNA ProjectWright men (women dont carry Y-DNA) are invited to join this project to help match individual and families who share a common male ancestor of the Wright surname. Wright Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the Wright surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Wright query. FamilySearch - WRIGHT GenealogyFind records, queries, and lineage-linked family trees posted for the Wright surname and its variations. WRIGHT Surname Family Mailing ListsRootsWeb hosts several free mailing lists for researchers of the Wright surname. Cousin Connect - WRIGHT Genealogy QueriesRead or post genealogy queries for the surname Wright, and sign up for free notification when new Wright queries are added. DistantCousin.com - WRIGHT Genealogy Family HistoryFree databases and genealogy links for the last name Wright. -- Looking for the meaning of a given name? Check out First Name Meanings -- Cant find your last name listed? Suggest a surname to be added to the Glossary of Surname Meanings Origins. ----------------------- References: Surname Meanings Origins Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Menk, Lars. A Dictionary of German Jewish Surnames. Avotaynu, 2005. Beider, Alexander. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia. Avotaynu, 2004. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997. Back to Glossary of Surname Meanings Origins

The Importance Of The Public Education System Essay

Specific purpose: After reading my paper, my audience will understand the importance of the public education system in America, as well as the areas in which it could improve to have a more meaningful, lasting effect on the students. I. Introduction A. Background 1. Higher education costs are rising and the demand for basic supplies and services are increasing exponentially, due to a growing population and a consumer society. a. This means that the career path for high school graduates is more diverse than the singular college route that the school system would like every student to believe is the best avenue to success. 2. Many students exit the education system with a lack of employability due to the gap of topics taught in school and the skills needed in entry level jobs. 3. Not all students prevail in the same topics, and as the system currently exists, a child who does not excel in one of the heavily tested subjects will likely fall behind. B. Thesis: The education system in America can be vastly improved if the curriculum is expanded to include vocational studies, teachers are paid more, and students are evaluated by their own skills. II. Body A. Vocational Studies 1. Explanation of current issue: In the article â€Å"Is Algebra necessary?† Andrew Hacker, an emeritus professor at Queens College, explains the immense amount of time and resources that are wasted to teach high school students higher level math that will likely never be used. Hacker expands onShow MoreRelatedHigh School And The Neural And Scholastic Benefits Essay1626 Words   |  7 PagesGerald Ford said, â€Å"Music education opens doors that help children pass from school into the world around them a world of work, culture, intellectual activity, and human involvement. 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Many employers value formal educations, but the majority of lower class citizens are not given the chance to pursue themRead MoreEssentials Of A Good Education By Diane Ravitch996 Words   |  4 Pagesnamed, â€Å"Essentials of a Good Education.† In the article, education activist Diane Ravitch, expresses her opinion about how the public education and schools in the United States are failing society. She indicates that schools are wasting their money and time on preparing students to pass state test instead of teaching them valuable life skills needed to succeed. She provides interesting support for this argument and exp lains why schools need to stop teaching the importance of test scores and focusRead MoreDo Schools Kill Creativity1260 Words   |  6 Pagesappeals. In his eminent Ted Talk, Sir Ken Robinson discusses how public education systems today disregard creativity as an important component within the academic growth of students. Robinson focuses on the importance of creativity by creating a variety of arguments, which persuades the audience to take action upon this heavily ignored issue. His use of pathos, ethos, and logos makes an entertaining case for creating an education system that nurtures rather than undermines creativity. Throughout hisRead MoreScience As An Environment For Learning959 Words   |  4 Pagesin public education this paper will address not only the concepts of coaching and instructing students as they learn the importance of the science world and the role it plays in educating students alone with their parents within the settings of the public school. Science plays a great role in our every day lives. 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The Han dynasty the expansion of a unified empire can be viewed as â€Å"the most momentous and profound impetus for the unprecedented focus on children in early China.† The expectations for girls and boys varied immensely. Young boys wereRead MoreThe Importance of Physical Education and Health Education in the Development of an Individual1639 Words   |  7 PagesTHE IMPORTANCE OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND HEALTH EDUCATION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INDIVIDUAL Physical and health education is a significant aspect of a wholesome education around the world. Ministries of education all over the globe incorporate physical and health education into its curriculum. This clearly indicates that both physical and health education are key aspects in the development of an individual. 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Risk Management Failures of British Petroleum Free Essays

string(117) " in two other major oil-producing nations, Brazil and Norway, as a last resort protection against underwater spills\." BP is a British global energy company which is the third largest energy company and the fourth largest company in the world. As a multinational oil company, BP is the UK’s largest corporation, with its headquarters in St James’s, City of Westminster, London. BP America’s headquarters is in the One Westlake Park in the Energy Corridor area of Houston, Texas; the company is among the largest private sector energy corporations in the world, and one of the six leaders. We will write a custom essay sample on Risk Management Failures of British Petroleum or any similar topic only for you Order Now In order to project social responsibility and improve its image British Petroleum changed its name into BP in year 2000 with a logo of green and yellow sunflower patterns. Paradoxically the same company symbol is now under derision and the object of controversial attacks from environmentalists and damaging court cases. The company’s predicament further worsened when it was listed as one of the â€Å"ten worst corporations† during the year 2001 and 2006. In fact, BP and its competitors Royal Dutch-Shell were considered by activists to be responsible with the threatening phenomenon of climate change. BP was warned before the oil pipeline leak happened in Alaska, but no action was made by the higher officials to mitigate its possible occurrence and reduce damages. In March 2005, BP’s Texas City, Texas refinery, one of its largest refineries, exploded causing 15 deaths, injuring 180 people and forcing thousands of nearby residents to remain sheltered in their homes. A large column filled with hydrocarbon overflowed to form a vapor cloud, which ignited. The explosion caused all the casualties and substantial damage to the rest of the plant. The incident came as the culmination of a series of less serious accidents at the refinery, and the engineering problems were not addressed by the management. Maintenance and safety at the plant had been cut as a cost-saving measure, the responsibility ultimately resting with executives in London. The fall-out from the accident continues to cloud BP’s corporate image because of the mismanagement at the plant. There have been several investigations of the disaster, the most recent being that from the U. S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board which offered a derisive evaluation of the company. The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) found organizational and safety deficiencies at all levels of the BP Corporation and said management failures could be traced from Texas to London. The company pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Clean Air Act, was fined $50 million, and sentenced to three years probation. On October 30, 2009, OSHA fined BP an additional $87 million— the largest fine in OSHA history— for failing to correct safety hazards revealed in the 2005 explosion. Inspectors found 270 safety violations that had been previously cited but not fixed and 439 new violations. BP is appealing that fine. In August 2006, BP shut down oil operations in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, due to corrosion in pipelines leading up to the Alaska Pipeline. The wells were leaking insulating agent called Arctic pack, consisting of crude oil and diesel fuel, between the wells and ice. BP had spilled over one million liters of oil in Alaska’s North Slope. This corrosion is caused by sediment collecting in the bottom of the pipe, protecting corrosive bacteria from chemicals sent through the pipeline to fight this bacteria. There are estimates that about 5000 barrels (790 m3) of oil were released from the pipeline. To date 1513 barrels (240. 5 m3) of liquids, about 5200 cubic yards (4000 m3) of soiled snow and 328 cubic yards (251 m3) of soiled gravel have been recovered. After approval from the DOT, only the eastern portion of the field was shut down, resulting in a reduction of 200000 barrels per day (32000 m3/d) until work began to bring the eastern field to full production on 2 October 2006. In May 2007, the company announced another partial field shutdown owing to leaks of water at a separation plant. Their action was interpreted as another example of fallout from a decision to cut maintenance of the pipeline and associated facilities. On 16 October 2007 Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation officials reported a toxic spill of methanol (methyl alcohol) at the Prudhoe Bay oil field managed by BP PLC. Nearly 2,000 gallons of mostly methanol, mixed with some crude oil and water, spilled onto a frozen tundra pond as well as a gravel pad from a pipeline. Methanol, which is poisonous to plants and animals, is used to clear ice from the insides of the Arctic-based pipelines. From January 2006 to January 2008, three workers were killed at the company’s Texas City, Texas refinery in three separate accidents. In July 2006 a worker was crushed between a pipe stack and mechanical lift, in June 2007, a worker was electrocuted, and in January 2008, a worker was killed by a 500-pound piece of metal that came loose under high pressure and hit him. On April 1 2009, a Bond Offshore Helicopters Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma ferrying workers from BP’s platform in the Miller oilfield in the North Sea off Scotland crashed in good weather killing all 16 on board. On April 20, 2010, a semi-submersible exploratory offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded after a blowout and sank two days later, killing eleven people and causing a massive oil spill threatening the coast of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, and Florida. The rig is owned and operated by Transocean Ltd on behalf of BP, which is the majority owner of the oil field. The company originally estimated the size of the leak at about 1,000 barrels a day but later accepted government estimates of a leak of at least 5000 barrels per day. On April 30, BP stated that it would harness all of its resources to battle the oil spill, spending $7 million a day with its partners to try to contain the disaster. BP was running the well without a remote control shut-off switch used in two other major oil-producing nations, Brazil and Norway, as a last resort protection against underwater spills. You read "Risk Management Failures of British Petroleum" in category "Essay examples" The use of such devices is not mandated by U. S. regulators. The U. S. Government gave the responsibility of the incident to BP and will hold it accountable for costs incurred in containing the situation. On May 11, 2010, Congress called the executives of BP, Transocean, and Halliburton to a hearing regarding the oil spill. When probed for answers regarding the events leading up to the explosion, each company blamed the other. BP blamed Transocean who owned the rig, who then blamed the operators of the rig, BP. They also blamed Halliburton, who built the well casing. Coming to analyze BP’s risk management, it is noted first that BP organization employs the systems of centralized direction and decentralized implementation. The centralized direction system was designed to attain business goals and objectives. The company unifies the corporation by implementing strategic objectives, values, behaviors and standards to be performed and easily understood by their people. On the other hand the systematic objective of BP is decentralized implementation of its operations in order to deliver the best quality of products or services and satisfy the needs of the consumers. The decentralized implementation covered three business segments namely: Exploration and Production, The Gas, Power and Renewable and Refining and Market. As is well known, procedures and controls are a necessary condition for effective risk management, but not a sufficient one. A company’s standards and processes will fail if employees do not feel empowered to follow the standards during times of stress or they fear retaliation for reporting â€Å"unwanted† information. Reading the report of BP and other esources at my disposal I have found that how parts of BP’s culture may have tolerated shortened safety procedures as they fell behind investment schedules and other deadlines. For example, the company cut short a procedure involving drilling fluid that is designed to detect gas in the well and skipped a quality test of the cement around the pipe (another buffer against gas) despite BP’s report finding that there were signs of problems with the cement job and despite a warning from the cement contractor company. The experts also concluded that there was not a strong culture of communication across its own team leaders and partner companies. Having multiple players can restrict access to critical knowledge and slow decision-making processes to a dangerous point. Nor did there appear to be a culture where managers were expected to seek out or share contrary information from a different perspective. These cultural elements allowed issues to continue without the application of comprehensive expertise. It seems to be necessary adding more controls, more checks and balances, with auditable risk management processes new minimum standards, and increased self-audits. While some criteria and thresholds did not exist prior to the accident, it is unclear whether the lack of these controls and audit mechanisms directly caused the accident itself Companies are not able to entirely shift operational or reputational risk to a partner, subcontractor, or supplier. Presumably, BP had in place significant and comprehensive controls and contractual requirements for its contractors and other service providers. However, questions remain about whether these contractual requirements were actually implemented, assessed, and monitored by BP. Anyway, risk management referred to in this paper are the activities related to managing an organization that integrates recognition of risk, risk assessment, developing strategies to manage it, and mitigation of risk using managerial resources. Its primary objective is to reduce the different risks related to threats caused by environment, technology, humans, organizations and politics. Firms usually formulate strategies in order to manage or mitigate risk by transferring the risk to another party, avoiding the risk, reducing the negative effect of the risk, and accepting some or all of the consequences of a particular risk. BP must apply risk management in its corporate financing as the technique for measuring, monitoring and controlling the financial or operational risk on the firm. The commonly used framework breaks risks into market risk (price risk), credit risk and operational risk and also specifies methods for calculating capital requirements for each of these components. In enterprise risk management, a risk is defined as a possible event or circumstance that can have negative influences on the survival of a company. Its impact can be on the very existence, the resources (human and capital), the products and services, or the customers of the enterprise, as well as external impacts on society, markets, or the environment. In a financial institution, enterprise risk management is normally thought of as the combination of credit risk, interest rate risk or asset liability management, market risk, and operational risk. All risks can never be fully avoided or mitigated simply because of financial and practical limitations. Therefore all organizations have to accept some level of residual risks. In the case of BP, the following must also be undertaken in addition and consideration of those discussed above. Firstly, it is of major importance to planning how risk management will be conducted must be undertaken: in this regard the plan must include risk management tasks, responsibilities, activities and budget. Secondly, managers responsible for BP will assign a risk officer who will be responsible for foreseeing potential problems. In this respect, it is important also to maintain the risk database and each risk should have an opening date, a title, a brief description, a probability and a suggestion of importance. Once potential sources of risk have been identified, it will also need preparing a plan for reducing the risk (mitigation plan) for risks that are chosen to be mitigated. In this regard, it is well known that the purpose of the mitigation plan is to describe how this particular risk will be handled what, when, by who and how will it be done to avoid it or minimize consequences if it becomes a liability. BP, in a perspective of reducing the risks described above in the long run as well as in order to optimize and reduce the resources used for that purpose, must eventually summarizing planned and faced risks, effectiveness of mitigation activities, and effort spent for the risk management. How to cite Risk Management Failures of British Petroleum, Essay examples

Marketing in the Late 19th Century free essay sample

Background, theory practice of product promotion advertising in print media. Includes examples (steel, medicine, cigarettes) and looks at the psychological aspect, socioeconomics and ethics. Marketing Practices in the late Nineteenth Century Introduction The development of marketing thought as a theory began early in the twentieth century (Bartels, 1976, p. 9). Before that, market and trade behaviors were explained from a macroeconomic viewpoint (Bartels, 1970, p. 32) that characterized man as a social individual and an economic entity (Bartels, 1976, p. 13). Although such theories did discuss buyer behavior in the market, they did not offer a theory from the standpoint of the market or consumer until the contention that consumption is the end and object of production became the basis for marketing writers taking a more consumer viewpoint (Bartels, 1976, p. 13). Advertising Practices Leading up to the Late Nineteenth Century The seventeenth century marked the development of the..