Rene Descartes in Philosophy - the Distinction between Mind and Body Essay

Rene Descartes in Philosophy - the Distinction between Mind and Body - Essay Example The book contains six different meditations and opens with Descartes discarding away all information and knowledge he had ever known before. This laid ground for him to begin a new search for knowledge and wisdom. The distinction between mind and body and the existence of other material things is the last piece of meditation in the book (Rozemond, 2006). The sixth meditation deals with the existence of material things and the difference between mind and body. This meditation has two main arguments that Descartes uses to prove that the mind and the body are two distinct realities. The first argument states that since it is possible to conceive the mind and the body as two different things, God can cause them to exist independently. This argument fulfils the traditional criteria for metaphysical real distinctions. The second argument states that while the body is divisible, infinite and extended into space, the mind is unitary, indivisible and un-extended into space. These two distinct natures of mind and body distinguish the two elements as distinct and independent realities. In this meditation, Descartes attempts to find proof about whether material things can exist out of self and God. He then proceeds to prove that the mind is distinct from the body. With regard to the latter, Descartes begins his proof by asserting that God is capable of creating anything that Descartes himself can clearly and distinctly perceive. He follows this argument by stating that if God is capable of creating things that are independent of the other, then such things are distinct and different from each other.

Lean Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Lean Management - Essay Example From the research it can be comprehended that the models and concepts which influence the pricing decisions of a firm are management accounting decisions. The pricing strategy of a firm is influenced by several factors which include the fixed and variable costs of the firm and the environmental factors which include legal analysis and competitor analysis. Some of the specific concepts in cost accounting are lean accounting, resource consumption accounting, transfer pricing etc. Manufacturers need to consider various fields like the supply chain process, the assets risk to low cost etc. while determining an appropriate costing strategy for the firm. The term Lean Management means the principles that are used for lean production. The basic idea of the concept of lean manufacturing is to reduce the wastages incurred in any form in the firm. The wastages of the firm which can be minimized through the use of Lean Management principles are the defects in production as there is no proper ut ility of the product. The overproduction factor in firms usually leads to excess finished stock, inappropriate inventory control and the efficient less production system used. The concept of Lean Management is a derivative of the Toyota Production Systems (TPS). The TPS policy reduces the time gap between the customers’ order and the delivery to the customer. The JIT system of inventory also helps in nil wastage of stocks. Resource consumption accounting is a type of principle based management accounting which provides the managers with a decision sustain system for the organization. Another concept which affects the pricing decision is transfer pricing. Transfer pricing is quite applicable in case of the manufacturing organizations. Transfer pricing helps in reducing the operating costs and also helps in lowering the effective tax cost of global operations. â€Å"Using transfer pricing economics to map all the transactions in which the new plant will participate, with suppl iers and customers as well as with related parties, reveals hidden opportunities† (Transfer Pricing in the Automotive Industry 2006, p. 3). Resource consumption accounting is another model which provides managers with adequate management accounting system in order to support pricing or costing decisions in a firm. This concept was specially developed for advanced manufacturing. The resource based cost accounting involves resources, their costs, the quantity based modeling, the cost behavior. Lean management accounting and Toyota Production System are the most suitable models which can be quickly and beneficially applied in Maniac Plc. The lean management system will be useful in taking pricing decisions of the firm. â€Å"The lean management system is structured around three necessities of lean production: strategic planning, organizational structure and human resource capabilities† (Jackson & Jones 1996, p. 18). 2) Maniac Plc practices both standard costing as well as activity based costing system. Standard costing and variance costing are both costing types which play an important role in management accounting. The standard costing system is the estimation of the costs which are necessary for the procedure of

Proposal for CROSS CULTURAL EFFECTIVENESS CULTURE GAP AND EXPATRIATE Research Paper

Proposal for CROSS CULTURAL EFFECTIVENESS CULTURE GAP AND EXPATRIATE TRAINING - Research Paper Example I picked this topic because it will help me outline the need for an international organization to have leaders who can adjust to different environments quickly and work with partners and employees of other culture. With globalization, it is not wise to assume that a manager who does well in a given a country will automatically succeed in another different country. International Corporations, therefore, need needs an explicit measure of ensuring efficient cross culture integration in its management. This integration can help understand leaders who work in the newly globalized market After outlining my proposal, I will review relevant sources of information to prepare an annotated bibliography. To compile annotated bibliography I will take into consideration various books such as Handbook of Intercultural Training by Dan Landis, Reading and Cases in International human management by Mendenhall, Mand Expatriate Journeying: A holistic perspective on the care and development of overseas personnel by Westwood,D. Once the annotated bibliography is developed and submitted, the paper will be completed by making educated recommendations on how to integrate the difference in culture and globalization. I will also make clear suggestions on what the future steps international organization must make to ensure cross-cultural effectiveness. The paper will also make a recommendation on further area of the subject that needs further

Serious Game Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Serious Game Critique - Essay Example Therefore, the game should have different access levels such as Starter, Experienced, Advanced and expert levels. As portrayed here, the game accessible to a player should be commensurate to the level of gaming skill posed. To graduate from one education level to the next, one must portray the expertise by passing a series of exams. In the game, the game activities within a level should move from simplistic ones to complex ones. It is actually very interesting the way the Kenyan Education system is designed to run. The system incorporates several concepts that are used to run it and see a child start and finish the process well. In the Kenyan education system, the child starts their formal education at Nursery. Here the child has to be of age to proceed with their education. The children then have to go through the process which includes exams, tests, practicals and evaluations that if they pass then they can proceed to the next class or level of education (Mukudi, 2004). In the game , there should be competition either with an â€Å"internally simulated player† or with another physical player at each level. ... These rewards are according to their performance. Therefore in the game, if there are say three players, the winner should get a larger reward than the second while the second best player should get a considerably larger reward than the third player. Here there should be a variety of bounties to win and they can be won during the game not just at the end of the gaming level. As the player progresses with the game, he/she should know the bounties and rewards available in competition. This aims at encouraging them desire and work harder towards winning more. The education sector has several major regulatory bodies that monitor the system progress. These have given guidelines and regulations on how the system is supposed to be run. Additionally, the industry players should clearly understand the rules of the system. Taken as such, the game should also have rules which all the players should be informed of before they begin the game. In the game for instance, a pop-up window might be pos itioned at the entry of every level prompting the player to read the instructions of the game. However, this should not be made as a compulsory requirement. In the education system, the regulations create a fair playing ground for all the institutions within a specific level (Mukudi, 2004). Therefore, the set rules should apply to all the players within a given level. This is aimed at ensuring fairness in the game as well as instilling a sense of ownership of the game by the players. In the Kenyan education system, in graduating from one education level to the next, one becomes more improved. To match this, in the game, the gaming facilities accessible to the players should advance with

Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 14250 words

Dissertation Example However, several barriers hinder the route to successful implementation of cross-border acquisitions. Different authors and scholars have provided many factors hindering cross border acquisitions. In its entirety, cultural factors need the biggest attention because of their influence in changing the fate of the merger or acquisition activity. Cross border M&A are termed as ‘marriage between two culturally separate entities’ and endeavours to manage M&A’s arise more from the tenets of cross-cultural management than any other factor. Cultural knowledge has been found to facilitate organizations to come together for M&A with their partners. This view has been propounded by various theories like Hofstede’s and Trompenaars dimensions, Schwartz Value survey, Kluckhohn and Strodbeck Framework , and many others. Application of cultural factors are involved across various activities and different functions that include expatriate management, leadership, motivation, decision making, managing diversity and developing intercultural communications through managerial competencies. Taking examples of some successful and unsuccessful cross-border mergers and acquisitions and relating these with related theories and models, a study has been conducted to determine how cross-cultural knowledge, awareness and responsiveness helped the successful parties and vice versa. This research has investigated the cultural issues which are often not given utmost importance in regard to cross border M&A. The study has helped to gain an understanding of the significance of determination of cultural factors affecting cross border M&A and the necessity to deal with them before entering into a merger or an acquisition. Also, with perceived and identified gaps, recommendations have been suggested which might improve upon the way cross-border mergers and acquisitions should be implemented and dealt with. The research has been based completely on secondary sources and case studies. Real life M&A have been taken into consideration based on which a detailed analysis has been done thus determining the cultural factors that may affect cross border M&A. Recommendations have been provided for those organizations that tend to ignore the importance of such cultural differences, often leading to failure. Table of Contents Topic Page no. Introduction 7 Research Aims and Objectives 10 -Aim of the research 10 -Objectives of the research 10 Literature Review 11 Limitations of the Study 30 Research Methodology 31 -Research Philosophy 31 -Research technique 32 -Sources of information 32 -Credibility & Verification 33 Findings & Analysis 35 -Study of real life M&A 36 -Key features of success or failure 43 -Comparison of actual scenario with theoretical models 44 -Discussion 49 Conclusion 51 Recommendation 54 References 57 List of Figures Figure Page no. Figure 1. Different types of mergers and acquisitions 15 Figure 2. Consequences of differences in individualist or collectivist scores for work and organizations 18 Figure 3. Consequences of differences in power distance cores for work and organizations 19 Figure 4. Consequences of differences in masculinity or femininity scores for work and organizations 20 Figure 5. Consequences of differences in uncertainty avoidance scores for work and organizations 21 Figure 6. Acculturative model for the implementation of mergers 23 Figure 7. Reasons

Spintronics and it's use with Computers Research Paper

Spintronics and it's use with Computers - Research Paper Example An example of such a material is zinc oxide in which cobalt replaces some of the zinc atoms. Spintronics incorporates new discoveries in semiconductor world to bring changes in the electronic makeup and powering of computers. The spin transport and spin relaxation phenomena in metals and semiconductors will soon be used by devices to replace current electrical technology. The technology aims at developing faster circuits that operate on heat and magnetic energy rather than conventional electricity. This topic is critical because, without a revolutionary approach such as, spintronics, the computer industry will soon face a lot of challenges concerning processor speed. Cobalt-doped zinc diode, or such like materials, could be fundamental in manufacturing of computer chips for spintronics to be realized. With this new innovatory approach, circuits will use the electron spin instead of electron charge to carry signals and process information. For such chips to be developed, semiconductors that cannot lose magnetism at or above room temperature must be found. With this phenomenon, the electron’s spin that the signal is embedded on is preferentially unidirectional. Other such solid-state materials are already in existence, but they fail to maintain their crucial magnetic properties at room temperature, thus limiting their importance. Almost everything ranging from scientific discoveries to consumer electronics is affected by advances in computer technologies. For instance, further discoveries in science depend on ever fast computers to perform computations that can’t be done now. Researchers could avoid many challenges in their work if computers that are based on spintronics could be economically developed. This paper is going to look at three main points in spintronics. The first point is about transistors and the heat they generate. It’s quite clear that today’s technology for making high

An organisation requires strong leadership rather than sound Essay

An organisation requires strong leadership rather than sound management if it is to become a learning organisation. Critic - Essay Example Strong leadership influences positive behaviour and strong belief among people in an organisation thus improving the overall performance of the organisation. Learning organisations are companies or organisations that develop programs to facilitate the learning of its people with the objective of continuously transforming itself to enable the company remain competitive in the harsh current business environment. Building an organisation into learning organisations begins with changing people’s rational of thinking and how they act to different business situations. Strong leadership is essential in shaping the working mentality of people in organisation, an element which is essential in shaping an institution to become a learning organisation. Sound management influences how different employees at different levels of management in the organisation relate with each other towards achieving the objectives of growing into a learning organisation (Gosling and Dennison, 2003). The succ ess of institution is however hinged on a number of factors that are under the control of the management and the people in the organization as whole. Sound management refers to the practical plan and control mechanisms put in place by an organisation to enable it implement its policies and organisational programs. Organizations struggle to adopt sound management practices hoping that such practices will improve their chances of growing into greater institutions that can be emulated by other organisations. Success in an organization however requires strong leadership capabilities as opposed to the adoption of sound management practices without improving the leadership abilities of the organization (Gosling and Dennison, 2003). The presence of good leadership in an organization can be felt throughout the entire organization through the sound policies that the organization implements and its ability to handle different challenging situations surrounding the business. Good leadership de velops a great corporate and organizational culture that guide the progress made by the organization and its success in the future decisions. The traits and features of a successful leader are quite evident in the way they handle different situations in an organization that affects the development of an organization. This paper will evaluate the traits of a great leader in organizations and how these traits shape the image of the business and its success. In providing the basis for the conclusion that strong leadership is important for an organisation that intends to grow into a learning organisation, this paper will analyse the various strong leadership theories and how they influences the development of an organisation. To demonstrate the choice of strong leadership as the best way of ensuring the growth of a company into a learning organisation, this paper will discuss three dimensions of strong leadership. In these dimensions, the different theories of leaderships will be discus sed to demonstrate my choice of strong leadership. The attributes of strong leadership is the second dimension that the paper will discuss with bias towards how these attributes can enable an organisation to grow into a learning organisation. In the final dimension, the weaknesses of sound management will be evaluated as compared to the strengths of strong leaders