Humans Possess A Repertoire Of Unique Gifts Which Enable Them To Shape

Humans possess a repertoire of unique gifts which enable them to shape the environment. The most prominent gifts associated with man include adaptation, which is furthermore broken into sub-categories, the conquering of fire, and the ability to foresee thoughts of the future. All of these capabilities of man have had a significant effect on the environment. These main gifts correlated with man are the basis to our physical and cultural evolution. Man is a singular creature which maintains a unique set of gifts for shaping the environment. The most significant of these gifts, adaptation, covers a broad area of topics. Stereoscopic vision, opposable thumbs, the formation of language, and the ability to walk upright all are branched off of this. These components of adaptation are all of great importance to man's set of unique gifts. Man has the ability to adapt to certain environments and conditions. If the weather became cold man would not just sit around and freeze, but rather build a fire, cover up in animal skins, and retreat to the caves. By doing this man is changing the surroundings and conditions to adequately supply his needs. Without this gift humans would not have survived; nature would have conquered and annihilated them. As man evolved and became more human-like, three major biological developments took place which set man above animal. Stereoscopic vision, opposable thumbs, and the ability to walk upright were the most significant evolutionary advancements which put man atop animal. These three gifts also added to the ability to shape the environment. Stereoscopic vision involves taking two pictures, one from each eye, and forming them into a three dimensional viewing area. This advancement to man gave humans several environmental advantages over the animals. Stereoscopic vision allows man to see more in depth images. This proved useful in hunting, walking, and other simple concepts. This major evolutionary change has had a great effect on the environment and its surroundings. Opposable thumbs made life much easier for early humans. The opposable thumbs allowed man to grip with a powerful hold, which led to the development and use of early tools. They also aided in hunting, because spears, rocks, and axes were easily able to be thrown. By using this technique of hunting less injury occurred, which prolonged the life of humans. As cultural advancements followed, the opposable thumb proved quite useful in the building of fire and shelter. The environment was affected greatly by this because tools, fire, and hunting were able to be used where they were not before. The ability to walk upright held a definite edge over animals and the environment. As man began to walk upright, everything became easier. He could see farther into the distance, and know when danger was near, and man had more versatile movements, which aided in hunting. The environment was easily shaped by upright walking because now had the ability to do more activities, such as seeing danger and fleeing to safety, where as before he would have been killed. Language is also another gift which man possesses. Language was developed through hunting because it was needed for communication. It was also used to express feelings and distress. Language allowed man to communicate when danger was near, and man escaped some danger because of this. Another significant gift man acquired was the conquering of fire. Fire was brought upon by natural reasons, such as volcanoes and lightning. Humans used fire for warmth, protection, cooking, and a light source. Cooked meat contained more proteins than raw meat, and these proteins caused the brain to grow, thus speeding up mans evolutionary process. Cooked meat was also easier to chew, so the jaw became smaller and language slowly developed. Fire helped man outlast nature's coldest weather, and it also prolonged their life by protecting them from animals. The last of man's major gifts was the ability to foresee thoughts of the future. Man anticipated the future by drawing pictures of the hunt on the cave walls. He foresaw the domestication and herding of animals, as the Lapps did with the Reindeer, and man saw the use of rocks for tools and expanded on that. This type of reasoning and thinking was unique to humans, and through it man greatly changed the environment; either through subtle ways, as with tools, or in the upmost way, as with the domestication and herding of animals. Since the beginnings of time humans have used a set of unique gifts to shape and configure the landscape and environment which surrounds them. These gifts, adaptation, the conquering of fire, and the

The Advantage of Marginal Analysis for Decision Making

The Advantage of Marginal Analysis for Decision Making From an economists perspective, making choices involves making decisions at the margin that is, making decisions based on small changes in resources: How should I spend the next hour?How should I spend the next dollar? In fact, economist Greg Mankiw lists under the 10 principles of economics in his popular economics textbook the notion that rational people think at the margin.  On the surface, this seems like a strange way of considering the choices made by people and firms. It is rare that someone would consciously ask themselves How will I spend dollar number 24,387? or How will I spend dollar number 24,388? The idea of marginal analysis doesnt require that people explicitly think in this way, just that their actions are consistent with what they would do if they did think in this way.    Approaching decision making from a marginal analysis perspective does have some distinct advantages: Doing so leads to the optimal decisions being made, subject to preferences, resources and informational constraints.It makes the problem less messy from an analytic point of view, as we are not trying to analyze a million decisions at once.While this does not exactly mimic conscious decision-making processes, it does provide results similar to the decisions people actually make. That is, people may not think using this method, but the decisions they make are as if they do. Marginal analysis can be applied to both individual and firm decision making. For firms, profit maximization is achieved by weighing marginal revenue versus marginal cost. For individuals, utility maximization is achieved by weighing the  marginal benefit versus marginal cost. Note, however, that in both contexts the decision maker is performing an incremental form of cost-benefit analysis. Marginal Analysis: An Example To gain some more insight, consider the decision regarding how many hours to work, where the benefits and costs of working are designated by the following chart:Hour - Hourly Wage - Value of TimeHour 1: $10 - $2Hour 2: $10 - $2Hour 3: $10 - $3Hour 4: $10 - $3Hour 5: $10 - $4Hour 6: $10 - $5Hour 7: $10 - $6Hour 8: $10 - $8Hour 9: $15 - $9Hour 10: $15 - $12Hour 11: $15 - $18Hour 12: $15 - $20The hourly wage represents what one earns for working an extra hour - it is the marginal gain or the marginal benefit.The value of time is essentially an opportunity cost   it is how much one values having that hour off. In this example, it represents a marginal cost what it costs an individual to work an additional hour. The increase in marginal costs is a common phenomenon; one usually doesnt mind working a few hours since there are 24 hours in a day. She still has plenty of time to do other things. However, as an individual starts to work more hours, it reduces the number of hours she has for other activities. She has to start giving up more and more valuable opportunities to work those extra hours.It is clear that she should work the first hour, as she gains $10 in marginal benefits and loses only $2 in marginal costs, for a net gain of $8.By the same logic, she should work the second and third hours as well. She will want to work until the time at which the marginal cost exceeds the marginal benefit. She will also want to work the 10th hour as she receives a net benefit of #3 (marginal benefit of $15, marginal cost of $12). However, she will not want to work the 11th hour, as the marginal cost ($18) exceeds the marginal benefit ($15) by three dollars.Thus marginal analysis suggests that rational maximizing behavior is to work for 10 hours. More generally, optimal outcomes are achieved by examining marginal benefit and marginal cost for each incremental action and performing all of the actions where marginal benefit exceeds the  marginal cost and none of the actions where marginal cost exceeds the  marginal benefit. Because marginal benefits tend to decrease as one does more of an activity but marginal costs tend to increase, the  marginal analysis will usually define a unique optimal level of activity.

Emerald Forest Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Emerald Forest - Movie Review Example What is so fascinating about this movie is the way Tommie comfortably adapts to the life of these hunters who had abducted him. In spite of his origin, he learns hunting skills and becomes part of the family of this Indian family. The father’s reunion with the son brings readers to a captivating mood where the person who is least expected to salvage resurfaces at desperate time. However, when the father asks the chief of the Invisible people to release his son so that they can embark on a journey home (to return to civilization), the chief has this to say, â€Å"If I told a man to do what he does not want to do, I would no longer be chief.† This means that the chief held the decisions of the people in high esteem to an extent that he would take no action whatsoever, if it was not in line with the wishes of the subjects. Comparatively, this is different from what would be expected in the American society where leaders tend to hold onto the belief that they are more super ior to their subjects and that the final decisions lie with them. This is why the question of primitivism or civilization, if it were to be critically analyzed, would remain relative (37). Effects of technology with respect to this film are also evident. Whereas technology has made life easy from time immemorial, its negative impact has also been experienced from time to time. Taking a look at the whole episodes in the film, technology is a breakthrough considering the period of Stone Age when man, for instance, solely relied on rubbing of materials together in order to generate heat. This was cumbersome and time consuming. With the discovery of electricity, man was not only able to enhance... The term ‘Termite people’ has been used by the native Indians in the forests to show the effects and influence of this ‘civilized’ community in environmental degradation. Locusts are insects that destroy the soil, vegetations, and anything that they come into contact with. This is similar to effects of the spread of colonists and early explorers. Their spread resulted into the cutting of trees for settlement.The way in which the king reveres the decisions and demands of the people is a replica of how they hold their spiritual lives in high esteem. The movie depicts an indigenous community and their spiritual relationship to the environment. They do everything possible to sustain their evergreen vegetation, a sign of their spiritual connection with their environment. It is can, therefore, be said that there is something in the human genome that draws him into recognition of a healthy ecosystem even without being exposed to outside world. This, however, has ch anged and is contrary to my ‘civilized’ society where people do not uphold respect to the environment. A good example is the constant clearing of land to pave way for construction.The happiness of man is garnered out of respecting oneself and others and showing total concern to the environment. It would be wise to deduce that ultimately I would rather belong to the ‘primitive’ culture where environmental sustainability is prioritized than stick to a ‘civilized’ culture where a man keeps on terrorizing the ecosystem.

Website plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Website plan - Essay Example In fact, e-commerce is believed to the most important and attractive internet supported ideas appeared in the recent times. In this scenario, electronic commerce engages carrying out business over the web with the help of computers that are connected to each other in order to form a network. In simple words, ecommerce deals with selling and buying products and services and transferring funds by making use of digital communications (EcommerceEducation, 2007; Hendershot, 2013). In addition, both the trends e-commerce and e-business are used interchangeably. However, e-business is about the development of businesses which can be run on the Internet, or using Internet systems and technologies to enhance the profitability or productivity of a company. In other words, this term can be employed to explain some structure of electronic business: that is to say, a business that makes use of a computer. This practice is somewhat out-of-date, though, and in most of the cases e-business refers completely to an Internet based business. In this scenario, the most frequent use of this term is for demonstrating a business which offers and sells products and services online, an e-business allows a firm to get access to a huge customer base than some customary brick-and-mortar store could ever expect for. Additionally, e-commerce is believed to be a significant component of e-business. Moreover, e-business can as well make use of the Internet to obtain wholesale products o r supplies intended for in-house manufacturing. This side of e-business is occasionally recognized as online or e-procurement, as well as provides the businesses an excellent opportunity to reduce their costs radically. However, the majority of e-businesses that work without an electronic business platform at the present utilize e-procurement as a key mechanism to effectively track and run their purchasing (McGuigan, 2013). This report

Two Questions 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Two Questions 3 - Essay Example Because of his inability to exert proper cost control, Lopez was relieved of his responsibilities in 2008, and Gabriella Garcia became head of Consumer Products Research. Garcia vowed to improve the performance of CPR and scaled back CPR’s development activities to obtain favorable financial performance reports. In terms of profit, Garcia did a better job than Lopez as a result of scaling back the project development. When profits are low and management is looking to cut costs, spending significant amounts of money on research and development is not the appropriate tactic. R&D is expensive and, as the timeline of two years from project initiation to implementation under Lopez demonstrates, there is no return on investment reflected in the financial statements until well after the products are brought to market. During times of low profit margins, development has to be scaled along with cost initiatives to keep management and investors satisfied. Even though Lopez developed good ideas, his efforts at cost control failed because there was no actual cost cutting and no immediate impact on revenues. While it could be argued that, given enough time, Lopez’s management would have yielded greater profits at lower costs. Management’s focus on profitability, however, precluded the comp any’s ability to focus on R&D to the extent that Lopez intended. Garcia, however, reduced—but did not eliminate—development while simultaneously focusing on cutting the costs related to current market offerings. This had an immediate impact on the company’s profitability and management was no-doubt pleased with the results. The issue here was time. It does take time to develop innovative products and bring them to market. This effort, however, cannot be the sole focus unless the company is currently in a strong financial position and can absorb the R&D costs until the new products are in place. Simply stated, the company could not afford

Employees Motivation of Ernst & Young in Malaysia

Employees Motivation of Ernst & Young in Malaysia The purpose of this research is to study the factors that affect the motivation of Ernst Young employees in Malaysia branches. Also explore how these motivation theories influence Ernst Young to its employees and be able to recommend new motivational programs to the management that will improve the current motivational practices of the employees. Objectives: To identify the motivational factors that motivate Ernst Young employee To investigate how Maslow Hierarchy Theory affect the motivation To understand the important reasons why employees retain or leave in the company and how motivation theories have emerged in attract talent employees To find out the role of leadership and management in motivating employee in Ernst Young Research Question: How the effects of compensation/salary and rewards to employee motivation? How does teamwork affect work performance and motivation? How do achievement and recognition affect motivation and job satisfaction? Introduction: Motivation is define as The willingness to exert high levels of effort toward organizational goals, conditioned by the efforts ability to satisfy some individual need (Stephen P. Robbins, 1998). On the other hand, employee motivation is defined psychological forces that determine the direction of a persons behavior in an organization, a persons level of effort and a persons level of persistence (Gareth R, Jennifer M GEORGE Charles WL HILL, 2000). Employee motivation is a key to the overall effectiveness of an organization. In the Maslows Hierarchy of Needs consists of five different levels, which included physiological, safety, social, esteem and self-actualization. This theory explains that employees at organizations are motivated by the desire to achieve or maintain the various conditions upon which these basic satisfactions rest and by certain more intellectual desires (Maslow, 1943). If a lower level need is not met, the person is less motivates to attend the higher level needs until it has been satisfied. While the expectancy theory attempt to explain workers motivation in terms of rewards. This theory assumes that people make rational decisions based on economic realities (Kreitner, R., Kinicki, A., Cole, N., 2003). According to V. H. Vroom suggested that people on purposely choose particular courses of action, based on perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs, as a consequence of their desires (V. H. Vroom, 1964). In other words, Expectancy theory is emphasizes on individual perceptions of the surroundings and connections arising as a consequence of personal expectations. At the present, compensation is necessary to employee motivation. If a company can satisfied an employee financial needs, the employee would naturally be motivated to work harder. Besides that, leadership also affects employee motivation. A successful leader has a different view in the chain of command. He recognizes the importance of influencing the follower gently towards a desired goal (Miller, 1996). He does not force or pushed the followers to accomplish the goal of the organization (Maccoby, 1996). Company Background: Ernst Young is recognized as one of the largest professional services firms in the world and global organization of member firms in more than 140 countries (Ernst Young, 2010). Its international headquarters are located in London, UK and New York, US. Currently the company surrounded of 144,000 employees globally (Ernst Young, 2010). Ernst Young Malaysia was established in 1909 and it was one of the first internationally linked public accounting firms in the country (Ernst Young Malaysia, 2010). In 2002, one of the first Bumiputra accounting firm in Malaysia founded by Hanafiah, Raslan Mohamad in 1964 are became a member firm of Ernst Young. Ernst Young is now the largest professional services firms with more than 2,300 employees in 17 offices in West and East Malaysia (Ernst Young Malaysia, 2009). Ernst Young Malaysia is a market leader in the provision of assurance and advisory business services, tax and transaction advisory services, serving a board array of clients, cov ering all industries and market segments. Significance of Study: This research aims is to conduct research and examine the current factors that motivates the employees in Ernst Young Malaysia. Besides that, this project also explore the factor influencing work motivation and job satisfaction for getting better performance and high productivity. The essence of that approach is to create basic conditions regarding changing job characteristics that promote high performance motivation, high satisfaction at work and match the job with the individual. Literature Review: Previously employees were considered just another input into the production of goods and services in the organization point of view (James R. Lindner, 2010). Nevertheless the Hawthorne Studies has changed the way for organization to think about the employees (Elton Mayo, 1924 to 1932). These studies found out that monetary needs do not motivate employees toward full potential, but it is the employee attitudes and behavior (Elton Mayo, 1924 to 1932). To better understand the employees motivation, management has to realize the whole concept of motivation. There are many motivation theories developed by the researches and theorists examine on what motivated employees and how they were motivated. The most fundamental theory of motivation is Maslows Hierarchy of Needs. And it has become one of the most popular and frequently cited theories of human motivation. The theory consists of five different levels, which are physiological, safety, social, esteem and self-actualization. This theory explains that employees at organizations are motivated by the desire to achieve or maintain the various conditions upon which these basic satisfactions rest and by certain more intellectual desires (Maslow, 1943). According to Abraham Maslow, the most basic needs are physiological. Physiological needs are refer to those that sustain physical life, such as the need for food. Subsequently are safety needs, the want for physiological safety such as shelter. Next is a social need, is the need for friendship, social and love. In the need for self-esteem is referring to accomplish self-respect or to feel that one is  worthwhile and successful. Finally, there self-actualization is for self-fulfillm ent and to achieve all that one is potentially capable of. These two growths need to drive the person to want recognition from others, development, challenge, and the freedom to be creative and innovative. Daniels (2001) recommended that Maslows final conclusion that the self-actualization is inspiring in their nature may be one of his most important contributions to the study of human behavior and motivation (Daniels, 2001). There are several studies that have been concluded based on Maslow hierarchy to support the suggestions of William James (1892/1962) and Mathes (1981). William James theorized the levels of material, social, and spiritual. While Mathes proposed the three levels were physiological, belonginess, and self-actualization. Nevertheless he considered safety and self-esteem as unnecessary. In addition, Alderfer (1972) has developed a similar hierarchy with his ERG theory, which included Existence, Relatedness, and Growth. He adapted Maslows theory based on the effort of Gordon Allport (1960, 1961) who integrated concepts from systems theory into his work on personality. The expectancy theory assumes that people make rational decisions based on economic realities (Kreitner and Kinicki, 1998). Vaida (2003) claimed that incentives used to reward excellent performance and in work processes. Additionally, Hoy and Miskel (1991) agree that incentives such as money, power, as well as general incentives that are non-material. Acoording to V. H. Vroom (1964) suggested that people intentionally makes certain courses of action, based on their perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs, as a consequence of their desires (V. H. Vroom, 1964). In other words, Expectancy theory is emphasizes individual perceptions of the environment and subsequent interactions arising as a consequence of personal expectations (V. H. Vroom, 1964). These theories on the other hand are motivation theories that focus o n the internal attributes of the individual. Caruth Handlogten (2001) claimed that compensation can enhance the employee motivation. Compensation may refer to monetary or non-monetary, tangible or intangible, and physical or psychological, and these are offered to the employees for more productivity (Caruth Handlogten, 2001). If a company can satisfied an employee financial needs, the employee would naturally be motivated to work harder. However paying an employee will not retain them for a long period in the organization. To retain an employee and to keep him motivated and inspired, an employee must be empowered (Bratton, 1999). Empowered allows employee feels the ownership of business and make decision on their own which can increase its confidence by enhancing decision making power (Bratton, 1999). In the recent research from Watson Wyatt Worldwide, recommends that to attract the greatest employees, companies need to pay more than the average-paying in the market (Ira Kay and Bruce Pfau, 2001). Money provides most basic em ployees motivation. The leadership style of the managers also is important to implementation of the motivation programs. Quantitative studies conducted in the past showed positive relationship between leadership behavior and job satisfaction (Euske et al, 1982; Savery, 1994). A Managers leadership style contributes directly to the employees motivation and work satisfaction, and the work progress in the organization. A successful leader has a different view in the chain of command. He recognizes the importance of influencing the follower gently towards a desired goal (Miller,  1996). He does not force or pushed the followers to accomplish the goal of the organization (Maccoby, 1996). McConnell (1998) suggests that leader should spend more time to get to know his followers better. Leaders should pay attention to details regarding on their followers. Methodology: There are four major components apply into this research and shows its relationship to the employee motivation. This research consists of only 5 variables. The dependant variable would be Employee Motivation and the independent variable is included Maslow Hierarchy, Expectancy Theory, Compensation and Leadership Management. The theoretical framework for this research as bellow: Maslow Hierarchy Expectancy Theory Employee Motivation Compensation Leadership Management INDEPENDENT VARIABLE DEPENDENT VARIABLE The research method is qualitative for this study by a survey method. The total population of employees in Ernst Young Malaysia is 2300 in 2009. Further research will conducted to identify the present population. However, the target population for survey is all employees on the all the 17 office. In the data collection process, primary data is using to accomplish in this research. Employees will be sampled through convenience sampling in this research. So of the employees who do not want to participate in the study will be subtracted from the 100% original samples. A structured questionnaire will be designed for the purpose of this research. The questionnaire will contain 30 questions that would help identify the motivating factors of employees in Ernst Young.

Suicide Bombers: What makes them tick? Essay -- Psychological Traum

Has anyone ever wondered how one individual could kill thousands of individuals, and not feel bad about it? Thousands of people die each year due to suicide bombing, but not too many people know why they do it. Also, no one really wonders about the past and how suicide bombing started. Someone did not just wake up, and decide to strap bombs to themselves, then detonate them inside a building full of people. This essay will discuss the history of suicide bombing, the training of a bomber, the personality of a suicide bomber, the different motivations behind his or her action, and the way culture impacts the bombing and the bomber. In order to understand the motivations behind suicide bombing, society needs to grasp the history of it. Suicide bombing was not really thought of until the 1980’s when one boy named Hossein Fahmiden died with a grenade in his hand during a battle. This incident started to change the way society viewed what the Qur’an said about killing yourself. People of this time, thought that it was bad, but then their views started to change after Fahmiden died. They thought it would help them and their families get into their version of heaven, called paradise. In 1983 suicide bombing became part of their cultural beliefs. Society, before it supported suicide bombing, had a huge debate on whether or not it was religiously supported. The Qur’an says that Muslims cannot kill themselves because they will not go to paradise. However, fighting and dying for one’s country makes them a hero. Suicide bombers of that time, and still today justify their actions using the e xcuse that they are fighting for their country (MacEoin 15-24). One may wonder how you become a suicide bomber. Many people think that these men ... ...culture is completely unhealthy for anyone, and will only breed future problems. Suicide bombers deal with a lot. They suicide bombers in the Muslim society have a expectation to live up to, and struggle to deal with it every day. The history of suicide bombing is very real, along with the debate on whether or not the Qur’an approves of suicide bombing. Suicide bombers are smart people who society would not take a second glance at. They do have certain personality characteristics, but so do non-suicide bombers. Many people believe that they only bomb because of anger or because they are crazy. This may be the case for some, but majority of them honestly believe that they are helping society out. Their culture does not help them in this matter and actually encourages suicide bombing. A combination of all these things is what makes suicide bombers tick.