Assessing an Organization's Effectiveness at Managing Diversity Research Paper

Assessing an Organization's Effectiveness at Managing Diversity - Research Paper Example The company on its 170th anniversary stands as a potential voice in the American economy with record breaking financial gain from the policy sales. The management of New York Life thanks the unshakable values like integrity, humanity, humanity and financial strength for all the achievements the company has gained so far (New York Life: â€Å"Celebrating 170 years of strength†). The Company provides its services by way of multiple insurance and investment products, all of them assuring the customer’s safety in choosing the smartest way they can secure their prospective life and save their hard-earned money. The official website of the company provides the most reliable and accurate details of the management and operations of the organization. It has an impressive design with provisions for information links and clearly authenticated access points. The homepage is attractive with the color combination of light oceanic blue and light grey on the background gives the texts an embossing effect while they are printed on the flash file format. Moreover, the literature of the documentations is highly attractive and pleasant even for the moderately educated readers. The details are easy to understand and the interactive language is transparent in nature. There is no complex intervention of legal terminology or technical jargons in the communicative language of the entire website of the company. These attributes give the advertisement a smart look and that is how the company succeeds in grasping the new customers’ attention. The Company believes in doing value-based business within the conceptual framework established by the mission statement and the value statements. The association of mission and values alone can take a company to the road of progress and sustainability especially when it deals with the public’s investment. New York Life Insurance Company identifies this and keeps trying to best incorporate the virtues of being the most reliable provider of

The Role of Standards in Photography

The Role of Standards in Photography   Tian Xing (Bill) He Steve McCurry is a world-famous photographer who rose to prominence after his Afghan Girl photograph appeared on the cover of National Geographic back in 1985. The photo has been called one of the iconic images of the 20th century (Cole, 971) and arguably the most famous ever taken by a news photographer (Letzter). His previous photojournalistic efforts won him a Robert Capa Gold Medal in 1980 for documenting the Soviet-Afghan War. In fact, hes one of the most-awarded photojournalists ever, and is also a member of the prestigious Magnum Photos international photographic cooperative. Given his superstar status, when reports in the media revealed some of his photographs had been digitally manipulated, a firestorm of outrage spread quickly throughout the photojournalistic community. The controversy started a fascinating debate about the role of objectivity, truth, integrity and ethics in photography. Should any of these concepts be applied to photography? If so, when and why? Some argue that trying to apply words like objectivity and truth to photography is futile because the very act of taking a photograph is inherently subjective. Photographers make all kinds of decisions when they go about capturing a moment using their cameras: Style, lens choice, position, what to show and what to exclude in the framing, editing equipment choice, toning, sequence are all manipulative and subjective (Agtmael). And yet when photography is intended for journalistic reporting, there is an expectation that it will objectively represent the moment captured. In light of the recent focus on fake news and alternative facts, ethical standards for photojournalism are perhaps more important than ever. Excerpts from the Associated Press Code of Ethics for Photojournalists is relevant: The content of a photograph must not be altered in Photoshop or by any other means. No element should be digitally added to or subtracted from any photograph. The faces or identities of individuals must not be obscured by Photoshop or any other editing tool. Only retouching or the use of the cloning tool to eliminate dust on camera sensors and scratches on scanned negatives or scanned prints are acceptable. Minor adjustments in Photoshop are acceptable. These include cropping, dodging and burning, conversion into grayscale, and normal toning and color adjustments that should be limited to those minimally necessary for clear and accurate reproduction (analogous to the burning and dodging previously used in darkroom processing of images) and that restore the authentic nature of the photograph. Changes in density, contrast, color and saturation levels that substantially alter the original scene are not acceptable. Backgrounds should not be digitally blurred or eliminated by burning down or by aggressive toning. The removal of red eye from photographs is not permissible (qtd. in Cooke). There is still a question, however, whether or not McCurry should rightfully be held to these kinds of standards. None of the photos identified as manipulated were produced for photojournalistic purposes. Does the mere fact that he built his reputation in photojournalism mean he must forever be held to such standards? Is he not allowed to engage in a more artistic photography? McCurrys own response to the controversy was to say, Today I would define my work as visual storytelling, because the pictures have been shot in many places, for many reasons, and in many situations (qtd. in Letzter). But he also went on to say the manipulations occurred in his studio without his approval and were mistakes. McCurry himself seems to be on the fence about his position; excusing himself from photojournalistic standards while still offering a mea culpa. While it seems reasonable to relieve McCurry from being held hostage by photojournalistic codes of ethics for non-photojournalistic photography, his own positioning of his work as visual storytelling deserves further consideration, for even this aspect of his work has been roundly criticized as lacking integrity. In A Too-Perfect Picture, Teju Cole compares the Indian culture photography of McCurry with that of Raghubir Singh and finds McCurrys work deficient. McCurrys series of Indian photographs from 1978 to 2012 aimed to evoke an earlier time in Indian history, as well as old ideas of what photographs of Indians should look like (Cole, 972). Based on this statement, one might be led to believe that McCurry is genuinely interested in documenting Indian culture and presenting it authentically in photographs, but Cole makes a case to the contrary. He considers McCurrys style as one that so compromises photography as to render his work astonishingly boring (Cole, 971). Cole insists that what makes a nation unique is a combination of its traditions, customs, history, and how these elements mesh together with the present. Therefore, McCurry provides the spectator with a completely mythologized history of culture, as if it has been violently broken off from the present. McCurrys consideration of a place largely from the perspective of a permanent anthological pastà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ [is] fantasy (Cole, 972). McCurrys methods are therefore dull bec ause they repackage old ideas as if they are exotic and distant, which aside from dull, is wholly inaccurate. Cole even compares McCurrys vision of peacocks, holy men, painted children, and incense to Coldplays Hymn for the Weekend music video; he describes it as a colorful backdrop to the fantasies of Western visitors (Cole, 974). Cole then argues that McCurry and other Western photographers seem to paint the picture they want to see, not what is actually there, and uses fantasy as a way to make exotic something that is still very real and present in these respective societies. When Cole evaluates Singhs work, he holds it up as an exemplar of what photographers shoulddo. As he writes, [Singhs] work shares formal content with McCurrys: the subcontinental terrain, the eye-popping color, the human presenceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Singh gives [his audience] photographs charged with life: not only beautiful experiences or painful scenes but also those in-between moments of drift that make up most of our days (Cole, 972). Because of this style, Cole argues that Singh has a democratic eye and goes above and beyond to take pictures of the entirety of the social space from cities, towns, villages, shops, rivers, worshippers, workers, construction sites, motorbikes, statues, modern furniture, dresses, and the like (Cole, 972). Singh takes approaches from highly sophisticated influences such as Edgar Degas and Helen Levitt, and it shows. Singh is able to tell a story with his photographs in ways McCurry fails to do because McCurry does not capture the wider social space. Rather than using compositional clichà ©s, Singh is able to produce a story that is truly dedicated to providing a more objective account that attempts to break away from preconceived notions. Coles contrast of these two photographers is stark. While Single is always emotionally generous when it comes to acknowledging his subjects for what they are, McCurrys work lacks depth and is a quick message [of] sweetness, pathos, humor that fails to deliver beyond its self-imposed limitations (Cole, 974). McCurrys fantastical portrayals of ancient cultures lack integrity in the eyes of Cole, although this problem is by no means unique to his work. It is a common Western narrative structure. In How to Write About Africa, Binyavanga Wainainaspeaks of the stereotypical images Westerners superimpose onto Africa in their descriptions. Africa is satirized by Wainaia as nothing more than depraved conditions. He writes of an AK-47, prominent ribs, naked breasts as if these subjects are utterly helpless people who are starving to death and rotting (Wainaina, 543 544). He goes into satiric detail about how Africans apparently eat things no other humans eatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and how they wait for the benevolence of the West (Wainaina, 544). While these are all exaggerations, they do make a point: The West is preoccupied with preserving stereotypical Africa. They are obsessed with conservationism and its nature, but they care little beyond this because it is all they see. For Wainaina, however, the real conservationists are the peoples in Africa who truly know the land. Cole and Wainaina both discuss stereotypes as they relate to cultures in India and Africa, which are fueled by Western fantasies. It seems Westerners enjoy telling stories and painting pictures of a lost cultural past, but this is only to maintain their own preconceived notions. They have little to do with the actual lived experiences of these peoples. Masked by these stereotypes, Western spectators see India and Africa as consisting entirely of these brazen caricatures. For Cole, this is just outright bad photography since peoples stories must be told through the photo. If not, then the photo is a mere manipulation of real life. Because any photograph cannot capture the entire social scope of any particular culture, what is chosen for portrayal can paint a distorted, oftentimes dramatized look at marginalized peoples as if they lack agency. This kind of photography most certainly supports a world view with a decidedly Western bent. Like any art, photography embodies subjectivity and bias. What shapes the story of the image goes beyond the subject it captures it also includes the setting, the camera chosen, lighting, and innumerable other elements that go into composing and taking a photograph. If a photographers work falls squarely under the umbrella of photojournalism, there is a responsibility to adhere to a code of ethics to mitigate the subjective aspects. Outside the realm of photojournalism, while Coles criticisms of McCurry related to integrity are well-founded given Western photographys penchant for stereotypes and fantasy in the depiction of other cultures, demanding that photographers always capture the fullness of a peoples culture and story in each photograph goes too far. Besides being unrealistic, photography that is more artistic than journalistic should be judged by standards of aesthetics rather than standards revolving around such concepts as objectivity and truth. Finally, aesthetic standard s are themselves subjective and will differ from person to person, which helps explain why much of McCurrys work can be loved by so many but can also invoke criticisms such as those offered by Cole. Works Cited Agtmael, Peter van. Why Facts Arent Always Truths in Photography. Time, Time, 12 May 2016, time.com/4326791/fact-truth-photography-steve-mccurry/. Cole, Teju. A Too-Perfect Picture. The Broadview Anthology of Expository Prose, Edited by Laura Buzzard et al., Third, Broadview Press, Peterborough, 2016, pp. 971-974. Cooke, Alex. The Case of Steve McCurry: What Is Truth in Photography? Fstoppers, Fstoppers, 12 May 2016, fstoppers.com/editorial/case-steve-mccurry-what-truth-photography-129505. Letzter, Rafi. The Afghan Girl Photographer Faked Some of His Photos. Does It Matter? Business Insider, Business Insider, 21 May 2016, www.businessinsider.com/steve-mccurry-photo-editing-scandal-2016-5. Wainaina, Binyavanga. How To Write About Africa. The Broadview Anthology of Expository Prose, Edited by Laura Buzzard et al., Third, Broadview Press, Peterborough, 2016, pp. 543-546.

Adapting to Our Environment or Harming It? :: Comparison Compare Comparative Essays

Adapting to Our Environment or Harming It? I went to do my Thanksgiving shopping on Monday. I figured that if I bought the turkey, turkey stuffing, and pumpkin pie at the beginning of the week, I would avoid the long lines that build up in supermarkets the day before Thanksgiving, while not having to freeze and unfreeze the turkey. I was in aisle 4, trying to decide whether my family would prefer microwaveable Stove Top stuffing or the kind you actually insert into the turkey’s insides when I remembered that I also had to get canned cranberry sauce†¦ my favorite! I quickly grabbed the Stove Top and headed to another aisle when, right next to the coconut milk, eagerly waiting for me to notice them, were six cans of tamarind nectar. I just had to grab the 12-ounce cans to read the words: â€Å"Excellent source of Vitamin C!† It is amazing how I had never noticed the tamarind nectar cans, yet every time I go to the supermarket I see the coconut milk. I know that if Dr. Graham had never pointed out the Tamar ind tree in class, the tamarind nectar cans would have never popped out at me. My mind wandered off to last Friday, when I stuffed an unripe tamarind seed in my mouth. It tasted like hard lime candy and I did not like it. How easy it is, I wondered, to go to a supermarket where everything is ripe and ready for you to buy! Even the water comes pre-packaged in attractive bottles. Living on a mangrove island in the Ten-Thousand Islands must have been frustrating. The water had to be collected, drop by drop, in a high-maintenance cistern, the fruit and vegetables had to be gathered after they had taken their time to get ripe, even the sugar had to be grown in canes, collected, and then made into syrup: it did not come in convenient 1-lb or 5-lbs bags. Just imagine how labor intensive a meal such as the one in Thanksgiving would have been! I can just imagine Mister Watson working the land where the sugar cane is growing, while Netta scrapes the salt off the Black Mangrove leaves to flavor the mashed potatoes, and the Frenchman gathers some Agave plants to make te quila. Meanwhile, turkeys brought from Key West are running wild, waiting for their death in a few months.

Msc Accounting & Finance at LSE

During this dire economic times, the emphasis on quality accounting and finance practice is greater than ever. These two areas have been my area of focus in my education and career goals. I am looking to take another step towards my aspirations by gaining more knowledge through enrolling in the MSc Accounting and Finance program. I believe I have what it takes to do well as well as contribute to LSE during my graduate study. I was born and raised in Indonesia until I was ten when I went to Singapore seeking better education while my family remained in Indonesia. After graduating at the top of my class from my secondary school, I decided to pursue my college education in the US despite of my family's strong disapproval. In March 2009, I graduated from University of California, Los Angeles with a Summa Cum Laude and College Honors after spending only three years, instead of the customary four years, pursuing my Bachelor's Degree in Business Economics with Minor in Accounting. I managed to stay on the Dean's List while being active in extra-curricular activities in clubs such as the Golden Key International Honors Society as well as the UCLA Student Accounting Society. I also volunteered at Special Olympics Southern California, a non-profit organization that provides activities to mentally challenged individuals. Here, I learnt the different accounting system involved in running a non-profit organization as compared to a for-profit. My initial interest in accounting and finance started when I was young. I observed how my parents, who were running an electrical supplies distributing company, struggled through the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997. Many businesses closed down and it finally led to a riot, as people demanded political reforms, which made it even more difficult for us, being a Chinese minority in a 90% Muslim population. After a couple of years, my parents managed to bring the company out of financial troubles through proper budget planning and restructuring. At UCLA, I had the privilege to interact with people from different cultural backgrounds through organizing events and project work. This gave me an insight to how people work and opened my mind to other perspectives. My professors are experts in their fields and the teaching programs are very flexible and diverse. My courses span across economics, finance, management as well as accounting. My passion in finance was further developed during my college years, particularly in hedge fund investments, real estate and currency exchange. I have been keeping track of the current updates through news and articles ever since. I always have a deep curiosity in the relationship between countries and how they interact for finance and business purposes. With the situation in the global market getting more complicated and volatile, it has become increasingly important to make informed decisions to minimize risks. When I graduated in 2009, the US was in the middle of the biggest financial meltdown and it was difficult to find a promising job when thousands were losing theirs each day. I was glad when I found one though not a well-known firm in my field of interest but it unexpectedly gave me a peek at the education system in the US. It was a supplemental education service provider that has contracts with government schools to provide extra tutorials to underachieving students with financial difficulties. The whole system looks good on paper, but on practice, I think the policy has numerous flaws. As soon as I learned the ropes and the business operations there, I decided to explore other opportunities. My professional goal is to have a strong career in financial consulting and finally able to run my own business. I will continue to seek and gain valuable experience through education and work experience. I turned to Singapore, which has increasingly become one of the strongest economies in the Asian region. I am now working as Accounts Consultant in a management services firm, providing accounting and corporate tax consultancy to small and medium enterprises. My work scope includes meeting clients, preparing financial reports, analyzing their financial conditions and giving tax-saving advices. From the job, I get to practice what I learned in school and apply it in real-world situation as well as gain skills in leadership, management and analytical thinking. The learning curve is very steep especially when I had to master Singapore's accounting and tax policies in a short time to make practical recommendations to my clients. Through my two years of work experience, the learning curve is very steep. I am glad that I have great supervisors that are willing to guide me. I am not afraid of hard work and I am very independent. I want to be able to make a difference one step at a time. With my knowledge, I hope to assist people to achieve better standards and help propel other businesses through proper practice. LSE is a leading world-class research institution that I believe will help me advance to the next step in my long-term goals. I thrive on challenges and having lived in many countries, I am used to being out of my comfort zone and adapt well to atypical situations. I have experienced the US and Asia, and now I am looking to delve into another region. What better way to do that than to immerse myself in the international community at the heart of London.

Implications of Gambling Industry on UK Business Environment Essay

Gambling opportunities have sharply increased all over the UK in a short period of a couple of years. It has been transforming into a socially acceptable means of entertainment due to the increasing leniency in laws regarding gambling. Gambling has been made available in all areas of the city and special facilities have opened for this purpose. Betting offices, clubs, and casinos are just a few examples of such places. â€Å"Gambling is playing games involving chance or placing bets in the hope or expectation of winning money. Gambling takes many forms, from buying lottery tickets in a raffle to playing the football pools or betting on the Grand National to table gaming in casinos. † (Basic facts about the British Gambling Industry, pg. 2) Developments in science and technology have open new gates for gamblers on a global scale. Nowadays, gamblers can take advantage of online gambling facilities to indulge themselves in these activities without leaving their houses just by using their credit cards. The government has further opened opportunities to gamble on telephones if you have activated an account with a bookmaker. According to a report prepared by KPMG, the total amount betted on gambling activities in Britain in the year 1998 reached 42,121 million pounds. The amount spent in casinos was the topmost which calculated up to 18,547 million pounds. A Brief History of Gambling in Britain â€Å"The high point of gambling in Britain is considered to be a period of aristocratic excess in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Upper-class gaming was characterized by â€Å"deep play† (defined by the philosopher Jeremy Bentham as gambling for stakes so high that it becomes irrational) and crazy, eccentric wagers, such as the one apparently struck by the northern baron who bet he could make it to Lapland and back within an allotted time, accompanied by two reindeer and two native females. He won his bet. † (Atherton, pg. 28+) The Gaming Act of 1845 declared the games of chance as illegitimate. For a long period of time until 1960, gambling carried on inside the UK as an illegal business. It was in 1960 that the government took a major step in the legalization of this industry. Hence, the betting and gaming Act of 1960 was introduced for this legalization process. The Betting and Gaming Act of 1960 altered the previous laws and paved the way for the development of gambling outlets especially casinos all over the UK. Since this was the first time that gambling was permitted in the UK, the government did not take necessary precautions to control the side effects that are associated with gambling activities. This was the major cause of the rise in crimes in Britain at that time since criminals found these new legalized gambling outlets and casinos as a good place to strengthen their footholds. Moreover, loans and losses in gambling gave birth to new criminals as addicted gamblers adopted thefts, burglaries, and other money-making crimes to fulfill their gambling compulsions. As time passed, lawmakers realized the need for a new act that would focus on these issues that have risen after the legalization of gambling. Therefore, the Gaming Act of 1968 was brought in to impose certain restrictions on the gambling industry. With the introduction of the Gaming Act of 1968, the Gaming Board was seriously planning to put a ban on Roulette but they succumbed to the demands of the gambling industry. (http://www. hca. heacademy. ac. uk/resources/TDG/reports/gaming-example-wolfe. ppt) The launching of the National Lottery and the increasing trend in online gambling during the 1990s led to the revision of betting duty by the British government. Afterwards, the government decreased the taxation on betting activities by a considerable amount. General Betting Duty (GBD), a particular type of tax on betting activities that was charged on the percentage of stakes has been replaced by another one, known as Gross Profits Tax (GPT). This new type of tax is charged on the net profits that a bookmaker makes. They also decided to replace the current general betting duty (GBD), levied as a proportion of betting stakes, with a gross profits tax (GPT), based on the net revenue of bookmakers. (Paton, et. Al, pg. F296)