The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini essays

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini papers ?The Kite Runner is a disastrous novel of family, fellowship, dependability, selling out, quality of character, connection among fathers and children, separation, bigotry, and class structure in Afghan culture. In the wake of perusing two or three parts I immediately understood that this novel probably won't be as exhausting as I anticipated. As I kept on getting farther into the book it turned into a fascinating, and captivating story. While understanding it, I felt myself not having any desire to put the book down in light of the fact that I needed to discover what occurred straightaway. In this paper I will discuss two little youngsters ( Amir and Hassan), and how their cozy relationship was lessened, as ethnic and political pressures emerge in Afghanistan. Amir is a Pashtun and Hassan is a Hazara. Pashtuns are the absolute most extravagant individuals in Afghanistan. The Pastuns have consistently been the high society and the Hazaras had a place with the much lower class. They regularly worked for more extravagant Afghanis (Pashtuns), attempting to make due with a pitiful living. The story begins with an upbeat start, where Amir and his closest companion and hireling Hassan live respectively in concordance regardless of racial and financial contrasts. Furthermore, in light of the fact that Hassan is Amirs Hazara, or his hireling, they effectively pull off getting to know one another. Amir and Hassan are closest companions, yet in their general public this is routinely inadmissible, and particularly after the fall of the Afghan ruler, things started to change. Pashtuns and Hazaras began to act in fierce, clash ways; Kabul gets profane and terrible. As social and political strains develop in Afghanistan, Amir and his companion start to become separated. In general, their companionship was a mind boggling embroidery of affection, misfortune, benefit, and disgrace. Khaled Hosseini works superbly of showing how social weights and a social mentality towards certain ethnic gatherings can influence a childs mind at an early age and destroy long haul companions. For example, a kid named Assef (who is Pashtun), at... <!

Leadership and Cross Culture Management Article - 1

Authority and Cross Culture Management - Article Example They built up a few characteristics of authority to adapt up to the changing workplace of outside nations (Regent University, 2011). Honda, the biggest Japanese based makers of bikes has been an effective name in the worldwide vehicle industry. Because of their authority capacity, they are so fruitful over the globe. The auxiliary of Honda Motor in India is named Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India Ltd (HMSI). It came to India in 1999. They have faith in cooperation and incredible administration viewpoints are the purposes behind their prosperity. Despite the fact that they are all inclusive fruitful for their items and administrations yet the administration of HMSI isn't at all concerned in regards to the laborers and different representatives of the association. They are seen as abusing and making trouble with the laborers. They are ceaselessly bugging and humiliating a considerable lot of the working faculty in the association. Towards the female workers, their conduct isn't soli d. A couple of female workers exited their positions because of insufferable conduct from the Vice President of the organization. HMSI administrators are utilizing negative authority characteristics just to humiliate the representatives rather persuading and impacting them in their work (Labor File, n.d.). The higher administrative staff of HMSI should build up the subjective conduct and great manners while treating both male and female laborers. This will assist them with being a pioneer in the worldwide condition. A wide range of relational, enlightening and decisional jobs can be created by the supervisors of HMSI to inspire and impact the representatives and laborers of the association. As a pioneer, they can make the great working relationship with the individuals since HR are the advantages of the association. The authority characteristics ought to be used for the prevalent reason for the representatives rather annihilate it.

Im sitting at work right now

I’m sitting at work right now It occurs to me that I havent told you much about what Im doing this summer, which is sort of embarrassing since I keep making reference to it. So, heres a snapshot of what Im doing RIGHT NOW, at 11:52am on a typical day at work. Im in an office with four other undergrads, from all over the place: BU, University of Kansas, UVA, Macalester College. Theyre all rising seniors in physics or astronomy; Im the baby here. The name plate on our door has four slots, taken up by AWESOME PEOPLE ARE HERE which is, in fact, just as accurate as having our names up there. We are summer students at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) headquarters in Charlottesville, Virginia. Trey over there by the window is looking at hydrogen regions in the galaxy (actually, he just walked out of the room to talk with his supervisor), Stephen sitting across from me is doing some crazy-impressive mapping of the Whirlpool galaxy (for his birthday, we made a Whirlpool Galaxy out of cake, frosting, and disgusting quantities of food coloring), Linus* behind me is reading a paper right now but can usually be found graphing properties of ORGANIC MOLECULES IN SPACE (presumably because he realized that adding in space to the end of something makes it awesome) and Arlo to my left is making models** of infall and other processes in protostars, with his headphones on as usual. There are nine summer students in total (the others are in an office down the hall) all doing original research under different supervisors, all from different universities. I actually applied to this program last year, but didnt get in which makes being here now even more satisfying. *His name isnt actually Linus, but he made a lot of PEOPLE ARE GOING TO STALK ME THROUGH THE INTERNET NOW jokes when I used his real name, so Ive given him a pseudonym. **Arlo: When people ask what I do, I say: super models. Of space. Our windows are open, because its a nice day outside for once Virginia has been ridiculously hot recently (104 degrees over the weekend, in my new Fahrenheit vocabulary. Im slowly getting used to the fact that, when I speak in Celsius, people either (a) think I have no concept of temperature or (b) think Im a liar) but finally cooled down to a respectable temperature. Theres a calendar on the wall, with a picture of a spiral galaxy, and a Frisbee on the shelf. Each of us has two sheets of Emacs commands taped to the wall, because were geeks, and a cup of Something Caffeinated on our desks, because were astronomers. Now, to my computer, since I spend 90% of my day looking in this direction. I currently have four windows open: one in Firefox, proudly displaying the blogger interface, and three in the Terminal, displaying two Python scripts and the directory in which those scripts reside. Without Firefox, it looks something like this: Oooooooooh, colors. I spend most of my day doing stuff in Unix and Python, which is surprising, since I knew next to nothing about either when I arrived. A couple of days ago, I knew I had been using the Terminal WAY too much when I struggled for half an hour to open and print an image (WHY ARE THERE SO MANY DIFFERENT IMAGE FORMATS) before Stephen pointed out that I could just double-click on the Desktop icon. .oh, man. Embarrassing nerd moments aside, heres a little science interlude on my topic of research (actually, I guess this is just another nerd momentforgive me): every website ever will tell you that a pulsar is a rotating, highly-magnetized neutron star. What they often fail to mention is that pulsars are well-acknowledged among Sensible People to be the most awesome objects in the universe. Basically: a star runs out of fuel, and can no longer prevent gravity from taking over. Gravity steps in, and the stars collapses in on itself while expelling its outer layers this is called a supernova. If the original star had a particular mass (a mass in a particular range) then it becomes a tiny little neutron star, with a radius of about 12km. Its name comes from the fact that its SO RIDICULOUSLY DENSE that the electromagnetic force is no longer *in charge* (get it? get it?) atoms and nuclei are crushed together, and protons and electrons combine to form neutrons. Also, as the star collapses, it starts spinning faster (you know, that whole angular momentum conservation thing). So, were left with a (VERY) dense, (VERY) rapidly-spinning, sphere of neutrons. I read online that the density is comparable to what youd get if you squashed all of humanity down to the size of a sugarcubenot sure who figured that one out. Pulsars are a subset of neutron stars. They have a strong magnetic field (a dipole) which causes a jet of radiation to be emitted from each pole. As they spin, that jet passes into and out of our line of sight, so the pulsars seems to blink or, one might be inclined to say, pulse just like a lighthouse. One of my projects this summer is to find new pulsars using brand new data from the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia. Another project is to calculate something called Rotation Measure, but since Im not doing that RIGHT NOW its not relevant to this blog post. This is, after all, intended to be a snapshot + the requisite background information. In ten minutes, well break for lunch. Sounds of the office: typing, rhythmic desk-tapping, a circular saw (from outside, that isno ones project involves the use of a circular saw, although it WOULD be pretty effective stress relief), the occasional footsteps from the hallway, and the occasional scream of joy from me when my code finally compiles. Every now and then, someone throws a foam cup at someone else, for no particular reason. In case you cant tell, Im geeking out here, and loving every second of it.

10 Fascinating Facts About Fleas

Fleas?! Theyve (literally) plagued humankind for centuries, but how much do you know about these common insects? Lets start with these 10 fascinating facts about fleas. Fleas Are Infamous for Their Role in Transmitting the Black Death During the Middle Ages, tens of millions of people died of the plague, or Black Death, as it spread across Asia and Europe. Cities were particularly hard hit. London lost 20% of its population to the plague in just two years during the mid-1600s. It wasnt until the dawn of the 20th century, however, that we identified the cause of the plague – a bacterium called Yersinia pestis. What does this have to do with fleas? Fleas carry the plague bacteria and transmit it to humans. An outbreak of the plague often kills a large number of rodents, particularly rats, and those bloodthirsty, plague-infected fleas are forced to find a new food source – humans. And the plague isnt a disease of the past, either. Were fortunate to live in an age when antibiotics and good sanitation practices keep plague deaths to a minimum. Fleas Lay Their Eggs on Other Animals, Not in Your Carpet A common misunderstanding about fleas is that they lay their eggs in your carpeting and furniture. Fleas actually lay their eggs on their animal host, meaning if your dog Fido has adult fleas living in his fur, those adult fleas are doing their best to keep him infested with their offspring. Flea eggs, however, arent particularly sticky or well suited for staying put, so they mostly roll off your pet and land in his dog bed or on the carpet. Fleas Lay a Lot of Eggs Without intervention, a few fleas on Fido can quickly become a maddening flea infestation that feels impossible to defeat. Thats because fleas, like bed bugs and other bloodsucking pests, will multiply quickly once theyve found a good host animal. A single adult flea can lay 50 eggs per day if its well fed on Fidos blood, and in its short lifespan can produce 2,000 eggs. Adult Fleas Poop Blood Fleas feed exclusively on blood, using their piercing, sucking mouthparts to siphon it from their hosts. An adult flea may take as many as 15 blood meals in a single day. And like any animal, a flea produces waste at the end of the digestion process. Flea feces are essentially dried blood residue. When they hatch, flea larvae feed on this dried blood waste, which is usually left in the host animals bedding. Fleas Are Skinny Fleas typically inhabit the fur or feathers of host animals. If they were built like most bugs, they would quickly become entangled. Flea bodies are quite thin and smooth, making it easy for a flea to move freely between pieces of fur or feathers on their hosts. A fleas proboscis, the straw-shaped beak that enables it to pierce skin and siphon blood from its host, remains tucked under its belly and between its legs when not in use. Most Flea Infestations in Homes Are Cat Fleas, Even in Homes Without Cats Remarkably, scientists estimate there are over 2,500 species of fleas on the planet. Within the lower 48 U.S. states, flea species number approximately 325. But when fleas infest a human habitation, theyre almost always cat fleas, Ctenocephalides felis. Dont blame kitties for this annoyance, though, because despite their common name, cat fleas are just as likely to feed on dogs as they are on cats. Dog fleas (Ctenocephalides canis) can also be a pest problem but are mainly found on dogs that spend all or most of their time outdoors. Giant Fleas Plagued Dinosaurs as Early as 165 Million Years Ago Compression fossils from Inner Mongolia and China suggest that fleas pestered the dinosaurs, too. Two species, dubbed Pseudopulex jurassicus  and  Pseudopulex magnus, lived in the Mesozoic era.  The larger of the two dino flea species, Pseudopulex magnus, was an impressive 0.8 inches long, with equally impressive mouthparts capable of piercing dinosaur skin. These ancestors of todays fleas lacked the ability to jump, however. Fleas Prefer Humid Environments Fleas dont thrive in low humidity, which is why they arent as much of a pest problem in arid areas like the Southwest. Dry air prolongs the flea life cycle, and when the relative humidity falls below 60 or 70%, flea larvae may not survive. Conversely, the flea life cycle accelerates when the humidity is high, so keep that in mind when trying to control a flea infestation. Anything you can do to dry out the air in your home will help you win the battle against these bloodthirsty pests. Fleas Are Skilled Jumpers Fleas dont fly, and they would never be able to catch your dog in a foot race (despite having six legs to Fidos four). So how are these tiny insects able to get around? Fleas are amazingly adept at flinging themselves into the air. Cat fleas, our most common flea pest, can propel themselves a full 12 inches forward or upward. Thats a jumping distance equal to roughly 150 times its own height. Some sources compare this to a human landing a long jump of nearly 1,000 feet. Fleas Arent Picky About Whose Blood Theyll Drink In 1895, the Los Angeles Herald offered some facts about fleas to its readers. The flea, the Herald writer declared, shows a preference for women, children, and persons with thin skins. Thick-skinned men may have been offered a false sense of security by this column because fleas will gladly drink whatever blood is available to them. Fleas are sensitive to the vibrations that travel through the floor as people and pets walk through the house. They can also detect the presence of carbon dioxide we exhale. Should a sound or scent suggest a potential blood host is nearby, the hungry flea will jump in its direction, without considering first whether the host is a man, woman, or child. Sources: Plague: The Black Death, National Geographic website. Accessed online October 18, 2016.Plague: Ecology and Transmission, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. Accessed online October 18, 2016.Ridding Your Home of Fleas, by Mike Potter, University of Kentucky Department of Entomology, fact sheet #602. Accessed online October 18, 2016.Some Facts About Fleas, Los Angeles Herald, Volume 44, Number 73, 23 June 1895, page 21.Physicians Guide to Arthropods of Medical Importance, 6th edition, by Jerome Goddard.Fleas, Purdue University Department of Entomology. Accessed online October 18, 2016.Giant Bloodsuckers! Oldest Fleas Discovered, by Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience website, February 29, 2012. Accessed online October 18, 2016.Monster Fleas Put the Bite on Dinosaurs, by Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience website, May 2, 2012. Accessed online October 18, 2016.

Descartes Free Will - 1986 Words

In Meditations on First Philosophy Descartes attempts to explain the cause of errors in human beings. Descartes says that error occurs since the will extends further than the intellect (Descartes p.39). Thats because our intellect is something that is finite; it is limited to the perception of only certain things. Whereas our will, ability to choose is not limited; it is has an infinite capacity. Therefore we sometimes attempt to will things which we do not have a complete understanding of. Descartes argument, as I will briefly describe, is quite sound, if you agree to all his conditions (being that the intellect is limited and the will infinite). I am not, as of yet, sure if I necessarily agree to the later of his two†¦show more content†¦The first aspect I would like to navigate through is the constraints placed on the ability to choose. One does not have the opportunity to choose freely in an organized society, community or institute. There seems to always be a res triction to the actual amount of choices one has. If Descartes was correct in his assumption of complete freedom of choice and will every option would be available to someone at any given time, in any given situation. But this is not necessarily the condition. There are a few different examples that one can view to comprehend this facet of my argument. Take for instance, perhaps an extreme but an occurrence none the less, people born of poverty do not have the ability to choose to acquire certain things. It is impossible simply by the fact that they do not have the means to get it. There is no choice of purchasing a fifty dollar object if all one has is twenty dollars. I feel though that perhaps Descartes was speaking of another free will, a non-materialistic aspect. Another example one can then try to explain is how in many middle eastern nations individuals are born into a society where one religion is forced upon them. They must live to follow this religion or risk outcas t by the community or even death. In such a decision one does not have the opportunity to choose to not follow the religion because, although it may seem available, most choices against the norm bring with them an extreme consequences.Show MoreRelated The Free Will in Meditations on First Philosophy by Descartes3767 Words   |  16 PagesThe Free Will in Meditations on First Philosophy by Descartes I In Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes takes the reader through a methodological exercise in philosophical enquiry. After stripping the intellect of all doubtful and false beliefs, he re-examines the nature and structure of being in an attempt to secure a universally valid epistemology free from skepticism. Hoping for the successful reconciliation of science and theology, Descartes works to reconstruct a new foundationRead MoreThe Question of Free Will: Descartes, Hume, and Nietzsche Essay2067 Words   |  9 Pagesnecessity and acting on one’s own discretions, free will still enamors debates today, as it did in the past with philosophers Nietzsche, Descartes, and Hume. There are two strong opposing views on the topic, one being determinism and the other â€Å"free will†. Determinism, or the belief a person lacks free will and all events including human actions are determined by forces outside the will of an individual contrasts the entire premise of free will. R ene Descartes formulates his philosophical work throughRead MoreDescartes s Meditations On First Philosophy1295 Words   |  6 Pagesback for centuries, millennia even. Over the years, many great thinkers have struggled to either defend or discredit this belief, a belief that has managed to spread to every corner of the globe. 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Second, if God created him, God is responsible for hisRead MoreThe Philosophy Of Descartes Meditations1698 Words   |  7 PagesDescartes Meditations is said to be the beginning of Western Philosophy. His writings are still greatly referred to to this day, and he is most famous for his quote â€Å"cogito ergo sum† which translates to â€Å"I think, therefore I am.† Each of Descartes’ meditations are followed by objections from other theologists and philosophers, and thereon followed by replies from Descartes. Some objections are made stronger than others, for example, Thomas Hobbes, and it could be doubted whether or not DescartesRead MoreDescartes Meditations Is The Beginning Of Western Philosophy1690 Words   |  7 PagesDescartes Meditations is the beginning of Western Philosophy. His writings as still greatly referred to to this day, and he is most famous for his quote â€Å"cogito ergo sum† which translates to â€Å"I think, therefore I am.† Each of Descartes’ Meditations is followed by objections from other theologists and philosophers, and thereon followed by replies from Descartes. Some objections are made stronger than others, for example, Thomas Hobbes, and it could be doubted whether or not Descartes truly was ableRead MoreEssay about Rene Descartes Faith and Reason1292 Words   |  6 PagesRene Descartes Faith and Reason The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries witnessed a colossal transition in the scientific view of the universe. During this period a profound rethinking of scientific theory as well as moral and religious matters took place. Traditional ideas were reconsidered by religious thinkers. Philosophers began applying rational scientific thought to problems that they considered. The main concept of the Scientific Revolution was to question everything. The ScientificRead MoreEssay on Descartes vs Locke1257 Words   |  6 Pageslargely by experience, observation, and sensory perception. Renà © Descartes and John Locke, both seventeenth century philosophers, are often seen as two of the first early modern philosophers. Both Descartes and Locke attempt to find answers to the same questions in metaphysics and epistemology; among these: What is knowledge? Is there certainty in knowledge? What roles do the mind and body play in the acquisition of knowledge? Descartes and Locke do not provide the same answers to these questions. InRead More The Meditations by Rene Descartes1003 Words   |  5 PagesIn Descartes’ Meditations, his goal to prove the existence of things could only be accomplished if he was logical, clear, and correct in his thoughts and writings. The most important issues he noted were the threat of being deceived and the potential of being incorrect in his judgments, both of which would lead him into error. Error exists as a problem that individuals encounter on a regular basis, and it also exists as a focal point in Descartes’ Meditations. Descartes defines error as â€Å"a privationRead MoreDescartes And Spinoza On The Freedom Of Human Will904 Words   |  4 Pagesour own decisions and judgements or is our will powerless and our actions and decisions are predetermined by prior causes? Well, there are two philosophers named Descartes and Spinoza that have had some disagreements about the human will and will give you their accounts about why their argument is stronger than the other. Descartes account of the will starts from the very nature of the will. The nature of will is given from God to give or withhold assent; to act on desires. When the will and

Lamb The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 13 Free Essays

string(200) " that iron door now, but once you have training, you will not only know, but you will gain great power from the knowledge\? When I think you are ready, I promise to show you what is behind that door\." Chapter 13 â€Å"I could kick that punk’s punk ass,† the angel said, jumping on the bed, shaking a fist at the television screen. â€Å"Raziel,† I said, â€Å"you are an angel of the Lord, he is a professional wrestler, I think it’s understood that you could kick his punk ass.† This has gone on for a couple of days now. We will write a custom essay sample on Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 13 or any similar topic only for you Order Now The angel has found a new passion. The front desk has called a dozen times and sent a bellman up twice to tell the angel to quiet down. â€Å"Besides, it’s just pretend.† Raziel looked at me as if I had slapped him. â€Å"Don’t start with that again, these are not actors.† The angel back flipped on the bed. â€Å"Ooo, ooo, you see that? Ho popped him with a chair. Thaz right, you go girl. She nasty.† It’s like that now. Talk shows featuring the screaming ignorant, soap operas, and wrestling. And the angel guards the remote control like it’s the Ark of the Covenant. â€Å"This,† I told him, â€Å"is why the angels were never given free will. This right here. Because you would spend your time watching this.† â€Å"Really?† Raziel said, and he muted the TV for what seemed like the first time in days. â€Å"Then tell me, Levi who is called Biff, if by watching this I am abusing the little freedom I’ve been given while carrying out this task, then what would you say of your people?† â€Å"By my people you mean human beings?† I was stalling. I didn’t remember the angel ever making a valid point before and I wasn’t prepared for it. â€Å"Hey, don’t blame me, I’ve been dead for two thousand years. I wouldn’t have let this sort of thing happen.† â€Å"Uh-huh,† said the angel, crossing his arms and striking a pose of incredulity that he had learned from a gangster rapper on MTV. If there was anything I learned from John the Baptist, it was that the sooner you confess a mistake, the quicker you can get on to making new and better mistakes. Oh, that and don’t piss off Salome, that was a big one too. â€Å"Okay, we’ve fucked up,† I said. â€Å"Thaz whut I’m talkin’ about,† said the angel, entirely too satisfied with himself. Yeah? Where was he when we needed him and his sword of justice at Balthasar’s fortress? Probably in Greece, watching wrestling. Meanwhile, when we got to the library, Balthasar was sitting before the heavy dragon table, eating a bit of cheese and sipping wine while Tunnels and Pea Pods poured a sticky yellow wax on his bald head, then spread it around with small wooden paddles. The easels and slates from my lessons had been stacked out of the way against the shelves full of scrolls and codices. â€Å"You look good blue,† Balthasar said. â€Å"Yeah, everybody says that.† The paint, once set, didn’t wash off, but at least my skin had stopped itching. â€Å"Come in, sit. Have wine. They brought cheese from Kabul this morning. Try some.† Joshua and I sat in chairs across the table from the magus. Josh, completely true to form, disregarded my advice and asked Balthasar outright about the iron door. The aspect of the jolly wizard became suddenly grave. â€Å"There are some mysteries one must learn to live with. Did not your own God tell Moses that no one must look upon his face, and the prophet accepted that? So you must accept that you cannot know what is in the room with the iron door.† â€Å"He knows his Torah, and Prophets and Writings too,† Joshua said to me. â€Å"Balthasar knows more about Solomon than any of the rabbis or priests in Israel.† â€Å"That’s swell, Josh.† I handed him a hunk of cheese to keep him amused. To Balthasar I said, â€Å"But you forget God’s butt.† You don’t hang out with the Messiah for most of your life without picking up a little Torah knowledge yourself. â€Å"What?† said the magus. Just then the girls grabbed the edges of the hardened wax shell they’d made on Balthasar’s head and ripped it off in one swift movement. â€Å"Ouch, you vicious harpies! Can’t you warn me when you’re going to do that? Get out.† The girls tittered and hid their satisfied grins behind delicate fans painted with pheasants and plum blossoms. They fled the library leaving a trail of girlish laughter in the hall as they passed. â€Å"Isn’t there an easier way to do that?† asked Joshua. Balthasar scowled at him. â€Å"Don’t you think that after two hundred years, if there was an easier way to do it I would have found it?† Joshua dropped his cheese. â€Å"Two hundred years?† I chimed in. â€Å"You get a hairstyle you like, stick with it. Not that you could call that hair, per se.† Balthasar wasn’t amused. â€Å"What’s this about God’s butt?† â€Å"Or that you could call that style, for that matter,† I added, rising and going to a copy of the Torah that I’d seen on the shelves. Fortunately it was a codex – like a modern book – otherwise I’d have been unwinding a scroll for twenty minutes and the drama would have been lost. I quickly flipped to Exodus. â€Å"Right, here’s the part you were talking about. ‘And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.’ Right? Well, then God puts his hand over Moses as he passes, but he says, ‘I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.'† â€Å"So?† said Balthasar. â€Å"So, God let Moses see his butt, so using your example, you owe us God’s butt. So tell us, what’s going on with that room with the iron door?† Brilliant. I paused and studied the blueness of my fingernails while savoring my victory. â€Å"That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard,† said Balthasar. His momentary loss of composure was replaced by the calm and slightly amused attitude of the master. â€Å"What if I told you that it is dangerous for you to know about what is behind that iron door now, but once you have training, you will not only know, but you will gain great power from the knowledge? When I think you are ready, I promise to show you what is behind that door. You read "Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 13" in category "Essay examples" But you must promise to study and learn your lessons. Can you do that?† â€Å"Are you forbidding us to ask questions?† asked Joshua. â€Å"Oh no, I’m simply denying you some of the answers for the time being. And trust me, time is the one thing that I have plenty of.† Joshua turned to me. â€Å"I still don’t know what I am supposed to learn here, but I’m sure I haven’t learned it yet.† He was pleading me with his eyes to not push the issue. I decided to let it drop; besides, I didn’t relish the idea of being poisoned again. â€Å"How long is this going to take?† I asked. â€Å"These lessons, I mean?† â€Å"Some students take many years to learn the nature of Chi. You will be provided for while you are here.† â€Å"Years? Can we think about it?† â€Å"Take as long as you like,† Balthasar stood. â€Å"Now I must go to the girls’ quarters. They like to rub their naked breasts over my scalp right after it’s been waxed and is at its smoothest.† I gulped. Joshua grinned and looked at the table in front of him. I often wondered, not just then, but most of the time, if Joshua had the ability to turn off his imagination when he needed to. He must have. Otherwise I don’t know how he would have ever triumphed over temptation. I, on the other hand, was a slave to my imagination and it was running wild with the image of Balthasar’s scalp massage. â€Å"We’ll stay. We’ll learn. We’ll do what is needed,† I said. Joshua burst out laughing, then calmed himself enough to speak. â€Å"Yes, we will stay and learn, Balthasar, but first I have to go to Kabul and finish some business.† â€Å"Of course you do,† said Balthasar. â€Å"You can leave tomorrow. I’ll have one of the girls show you the way, but for now, I must say good night.† The wizard stalked off, leaving Joshua to collapse into a fit of giggles and me to wonder how I might look with my head shaved. In the morning Joy came to our rooms wearing the garb of a desert trader: a loose tunic, soft leather boots, and pantaloons. Her hair was tied up under a turban and she carried a long riding crop in her hand. She led us through a long narrow passageway that went deep into the mountain, then emerged out of the side of a sheer cliff. We climbed a rope ladder to the top of the plateau where Pillows and Sue waited with three camels saddled and outfitted for a short journey. There was a small farm on the plateau, with several pens full of chickens, some goats, and a few pigs in a pen. â€Å"We’re going to have a tough time getting these camels down that ladder,† I said. Joy scowled and wrapped the tail of her turban around her face so that only her eyes showed. â€Å"There’s a path down,† she said. Then she tapped her camel on the shoulder with her crop and rode off, leaving Joshua and me to scramble onto our animals and follow. The road down from the plateau was just wide enough for a single camel to sway his way down without falling, but once down on the desert floor, much like the entrance to the canyon where the fortress’s entrance lay, if you didn’t know it was there, you would never have found it. An added measure of security for a fortress that had no guards, I thought. Joshua and I tried to engage Joy in conversation several times during the journey to Kabul, but she was cranky and abrupt and often just rode away from us. â€Å"Probably depressed that she’s not torturing me,† I speculated. â€Å"I can see how that might bring her down,† said Joshua. â€Å"Maybe if you could get your camel to bite you. I know that always brightens my mood.† I rode on ahead without another word. It’s wildly irritating to have invented something as revolutionary as sarcasm, only to have it abused by amateurs. Once in Kabul, Joy led the search for the blinded guard by asking every blind beggar that we passed in the marketplace. â€Å"Have you seen a blind bowman who arrived by camel caravan a little more than a week ago?† Joshua and I trailed several steps behind her, trying desperately to keep from grinning whenever she looked back. Joshua had wanted to point out the flaw in Joy’s method, while I, on the other hand, wanted to savor her doofuscosity as passive revenge for having been poisoned. There was none of the competence and self-assured nature she showed at the fortress. She was clearly out of her element and I was enjoying it. â€Å"You see,† I explained to Joshua, â€Å"what Joy is doing is ironic, yet that’s not her intent. That’s the difference between irony and sarcasm. Irony can be spontaneous, while sarcasm requires volition. You have to create sarcasm.† â€Å"No kidding?† said Josh. â€Å"Why do I waste my time with you?† We indulged Joy’s search for the blind man for another hour before directing her inquiries to the sighted, and to men from the camel caravans in particular. Once she started asking sighted people, it was a short time before we were directed to a temple where the blinded guard was said to have staked his begging territory. â€Å"There he is,† said Joshua, pointing to a ragged pile of human being beckoning to the worshipers as they moved in and out of the temple. â€Å"It looks like things have been tough on him,† I said, amazed that the guard, who had been one of the most vital (and frightening) men I’d ever seen, had been reduced to such a pathetic creature in so short a time. Then again, I was discounting the theatrics of it all. â€Å"A great injustice has been done here,† said Josh. He moved to the guard and gently put his hand on the blind man’s shoulder. â€Å"Brother, I am here to relieve your suffering.† â€Å"Pity on the blind,† said the guard, waving around a wooden bowl. â€Å"Calm now,† said Joshua, placing his hand over the blind man’s eyes. â€Å"When I remove my hand you will see again.† I could see the strain in Joshua’s face as he concentrated on healing the guard. Tears trickled down his cheeks and dripped on the flagstones. I thought of how effortless his healings had been in Antioch, and realized that the strain was not coming from the healing, but from the guilt he carried for having blinded the man in the first place. When he removed his hand and stepped away, both he and the guard shivered. Joy stepped away from us and covered her face as if to ward off bad air. The guard stared into space just as he had while he had been begging, but his eyes were no longer white. â€Å"Can you see?† Joshua said. â€Å"I can see, but everything is wrong. People’s skin appears blue.† â€Å"No, he is blue. Remember, my friend Biff.† â€Å"Were you always blue?† â€Å"No, only recently.† Then the guard seemed to see Joshua for the first time and his expression of wonderment was replaced by hatred. He leapt at Joshua, drawing a dagger from his rags as he moved. He would have split my friend’s rib cage in a single swift blow if Joy hadn’t swept his feet out from under him at the last second. Even so, he was up in an instant, going for a second attack. I managed to get my hand up in time to poke him in the eyes, just as Joy kicked him in the back of the neck, driving him to the ground in agony. â€Å"My eyes!† he cried. â€Å"Sorry,† I said. Joy kicked the knife out of the guard’s reach. I put an arm around Joshua’s chest and pushed him back. â€Å"You need to put some distance between you and him before he can see again.† â€Å"But I only meant to help him,† said Joshua. â€Å"Blinding him was a mistake.† â€Å"Josh, he doesn’t care. All he knows is that you are the enemy. All he knows is that he wants to destroy you.† â€Å"I don’t know what I’m doing. Even when I try to do the right thing it goes wrong.† â€Å"We need to go,† said Joy. She took one of Joshua’s arms while I took the other and we led him away before the guard could gather his senses for another attack. Joy had a list of supplies that Balthasar wanted her to bring back to the fortress, so we spent some time tracking down large baskets of a mineral called cinnabar, from which we would extract quicksilver, as well as some spices and pigments. Joshua followed us through the market in a daze until we passed a merchant who was selling the black beans from which was made the dark drink we’d had in Antioch. â€Å"Buy me some,† Joshua said. â€Å"Joy, buy me some of those.† She did, and Joshua cradled the bag of beans like an infant all the way back to the fortress. We rode most of the way in silence, but when the sun had gone down and we were almost to the hidden road that led up to the plateau, Joy galloped up beside me. â€Å"How did he do it?† she asked. â€Å"What?† â€Å"I saw him heal that man’s eyes. How did he do it? I know many kinds of magic, but I saw no spells cast, no potions mixed.† â€Å"It’s very powerful magic all right.† I checked over my shoulder to see if Joshua was paying attention. He was hugging his coffee beans and mumbling to himself as he had for the whole trip. Praying, I presume. â€Å"Tell me how it’s done,† Joy said. â€Å"I asked Joshua, but he’s just chanting and looking stunned.† â€Å"Well, I could tell you how it’s done, but you have to tell me what’s going on behind the ironclad door.† â€Å"I can’t tell you that, but perhaps we can trade other things.† She pulled the tail of her turban away from her face and smiled. She was stunningly beautiful in the moonlight, even in men’s clothes. â€Å"I know over a thousand ways to bring pleasure to a man, and that’s only what I know personally. The other girls have as many tricks that they’d be willing to show you too.† â€Å"Yeah, but how is that useful to me? What do I need to know about pleasing a man?† Joy ripped her turban off her head and smacked me across the back of the head with it, sending a small cloud of dust drifting into the night. â€Å"You’re stupid and you’re blue and the next time I poison you I will be sure to use something without an antidote.† Even the wise and inscrutable Joy could be goaded, I guess. I smiled. â€Å"I will accept your paltry offerings,† I said with as much pomposity as an adolescent boy can muster. â€Å"And in return I will teach the greatest secret of our magic. A secret of my own invention. We call it sarcasm.† â€Å"Let’s make coffee when we get home,† said Joshua. It was some challenge to try to drag out the process of how Joshua had returned the guard’s sight, especially since I hadn’t the slightest idea myself, but through careful misdirection, obfuscation, subterfuge, guile, and complete balderdash, I was able to barter that lack of knowledge into months of outrageous knob polishing by the beauteous Joy and her comely minions. Somehow, the urgency of knowing what was behind the ironclad door and the answers to other enigmas of Balthasar’s fortress abated, and I found myself quite content pursuing the lessons the wizard assigned me during the day, while stretching my imagination to its limit with the mathematical combinations of the night. There was the drawback that Balthasar would kill me if he knew that I was availing myself of the charms of his concubines, but is the pilfered fruit not sweetened by the stealing? Oh, to be young and in love (with eight Chinese concubines). Meanwhile Joshua took to his studies with characteristic zeal, fueled in no little bit by the coffee he drank every morning until he nearly vibrated through the floor with enthusiasm. â€Å"Look at this, do you see, Biff? When asked, the master Confucius says, ‘Recompense injury with justice, and kindness with kindness.’ Yet Lao-tzu says, ‘Recompense injury with kindness.’ Don’t you see?† Joshua would dance around, scrolls trailing out behind him, hoping that somehow I would share his enthusiasm for the ancient texts. And I tried. I really did. â€Å"No, I don’t see. The Torah says, ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,’ that is justice.† â€Å"Exactly,† said Joshua. â€Å"I think Lao-tzu is correct. Kindness precedes justice. As long as you seek justice by punishment you can only cause more suffering. How can that be right? This is a revelation!† â€Å"I learned how to boil down goat urine to make explosives today,† I said. â€Å"That’s good too,† said Joshua. It could happen like that any time of the day or night. Joshua would come blazing out of the library in the middle of the night, interrupt me in the midst of some complex oily tangle of Pea Pod and Pillows and Tunnels – while Number Six familiarized us with the five hundred jade gods of various depths and textures – and he’d avert his eyes just long enough for me to towel off before he’d shove some codex in my hand and force me to read a passage while he waxed enthusiastic on the thoughts of some long-dead sage. â€Å"The Master says that ‘the superior man may indeed endure want, but the inferior man, when he experiences want, will give into unbridled excess.’ He’s talking about you, Biff. You’re the inferior man.† â€Å"I’m so proud,† I told him, as I watched Number Six forlornly pack her gods into the warmed brass case where they resided. â€Å"Thank you for coming here to tell me that.† I was given the task of learning waidan, which is the alchemy of the external. My knowledge would come from the manipulation of the physical elements. Joshua, on the other hand, was learning neidan, the alchemy of the internal. His knowledge would come from the study of his own inner nature through the contemplation of the masters. So while Joshua read scrolls and books, I spent my time mixing quicksilver and lead, phosphorous and brimstone, charcoal and philosopher’s stone, trying somehow to divine the nature of the Tao. Joshua was learning to be the Messiah and I was learning to poison people and blow stuff up. The world seemed very much in order. I was happy, Joshua was happy, Balthasar was happy, and the girls – well, the girls were busy. Although I passed the iron door every day (and the niggling voice persisted), what was behind it wasn’t important to me, and neither were the answers to the dozen or so questions that Joshua and I should have put to our gene rous master. Before we knew it a year had passed, then two more, and we were celebrating the passage of Joshua’s seventeenth birthday in the fortress. Balthasar had the girls prepare a feast of Chinese delicacies and we drank wine late into the night. (And long after that, and even when we had returned to Israel, we always ate Chinese food on Joshua’s birthday. I’m told it became a tradition not only with those of us who knew Joshua, but with Jews everywhere.) â€Å"Do you ever think of home?† Joshua asked me the night of his birthday feast. â€Å"Sometimes,† I said. â€Å"What do you think of?† â€Å"Maggie,† I said. â€Å"Sometimes my brothers. Sometimes my mother and father, but always Maggie.† â€Å"Even with all your experiences since, you still think of Maggie?† Joshua had become less and less curious about the essence of lust. Initially I thought that his lack of interest had to do with the depth of his studies, but I then realized that his interest was fading along with the memory of Maggie. â€Å"Joshua, my memory of Maggie isn’t about what happened the night before we left. I didn’t go to see her thinking that we would make love. A kiss was more than I expected. I think of Maggie because I made a place in my heart for her to live, and it’s empty. It always will be. It always was. She loved you.† â€Å"I’m sorry, Biff. I don’t know how to heal that. I would if I could.† â€Å"I know, Josh. I know.† I didn’t want to talk about home anymore, but Josh deserved to get off his chest whatever it was that was bothering him, and if not to me, to whom? â€Å"Do you ever think of home?† â€Å"Yes. That’s why I asked. You know, the girls were cooking bacon today, and that made me think of home.† â€Å"Why? I don’t remember anyone ever cooking bacon at home.† â€Å"I know, but if we ate some bacon, no one at home would ever know.† I got up and walked over to the half-wall that divided our rooms. There was moonlight coming through the window and Joshua’s face had caught it and was glowing in that annoying way that it sometimes did. â€Å"Joshua, you’re the Son of God. You’re the Messiah. That implies – oh, I don’t know – that you’re a Jew! You can’t eat bacon.† â€Å"God doesn’t care if we eat bacon. I can just feel it.† â€Å"Really. He still feel the same way about fornication?† â€Å"Yep.† â€Å"Masturbation?† â€Å"Yep.† â€Å"Killing? Stealing? Bearing false witness? Coveting thy neighbor’s wife, et cetera? No change of heart on those?† â€Å"Nope.† â€Å"Just bacon. Interesting. You would have thought there’d be something about bacon in the prophecies of Isaiah.† â€Å"Yeah, makes you wonder, doesn’t it?† â€Å"You’re going to need more than that to usher in the kingdom of God, Josh, no offense. We can’t go home with, ‘Hi, I’m the Messiah, God wanted you to have this bacon.'† â€Å"I know. We have much more to learn. But breakfasts will be more interesting.† â€Å"Go to sleep, Josh.† As time passed, I seldom saw Joshua except at mealtimes and before we went to sleep. Nearly all my time was taken up with my studies and helping the girls maintain the fortress, while nearly all of Joshua’s time was spent with Balthasar, which would eventually become a problem. â€Å"This is not good, Biff,† Joy said in Chinese. I’d learned to speak her language well enough that she seldom spoke Greek or Latin anymore. â€Å"Balthasar is getting too close with Joshua. He seldom sends for one of us to join him in his bed now.† â€Å"You’re not implying that Joshua and Balthasar are, uh, playing shepherd, are you? Because I know that’s not true. Joshua isn’t allowed.† Of course the angel had said he couldn’t know a woman, he hadn’t said anything about a creepy old African wizard. â€Å"Oh, I don’t care if they’re buggering their eyeballs out,† said Joy. â€Å"Balthasar mustn’t fall in love. Why do you think that there are eight of us?† â€Å"I thought it was a matter of budget,† I said. â€Å"You haven’t noticed that one of us will never spend two nights in a row with Balthasar, or that we don’t speak with him beyond what is required for our duties and lessons?† I had noticed, but it never occurred to me that there was something out of the ordinary. We hadn’t gotten to the chapter on wizard – concubine behavior in the book yet. â€Å"So?† â€Å"So I think he is falling in love with Joshua. That is not good.† â€Å"Well, I’m with you on that one. I wasn’t happy the last time someone fell in love with him. But why does it matter here?† â€Å"I can’t tell you. But there has been more commotion coming from the house of doom,† said Joy. â€Å"You have to help me. If I’m right, we have to stop Balthasar. We’ll observe them tomorrow while we adjust the flow of Chi in the library.† â€Å"No, Joy. Not library Chi. The stuff in the library is too heavy. I hate library Chi.† Chi or Qi: the breath of the dragon, the eternal energy that flows through all things; in balance, as it should be, it was half yin, half yang, half light, half dark, half male, half female. The Chi in the library was always getting fucked up, while the Chi in the rooms with just cushions, or with lightweight furniture, seemed well adjusted and balanced. I don’t know why, but I suspected it had a lot to do with Joy’s need to make me move heavy things. The next morning Joy and I went to the library to spy on Joshua and Balthasar while we redirected the library’s Chi. Joy carried a complex brass instrument she called a Chi clock, which was supposed to be able to detect the flow of Chi. The magus was noticeably irritated as soon as we entered the room. â€Å"Must this be done now?† Joy bowed. â€Å"Very sorry, master, but this is an emergency.† She turned and barked commands at me like a Roman centurion. â€Å"Move that table over there, can’t you see that it rests on the tiger’s testicles? Then point those chairs so they face the doorway, they lie on the dragon’s navel. We’re lucky someone hasn’t broken a leg.† â€Å"Yeah, lucky,† I said, straining to move the huge carved table, wishing that Joy had recruited a couple of the other girls to help. I’d been studying feng shui for more than three years now and I still couldn’t detect the least bit of Chi, coming or going. Joshua had reconciled the elusive energy by saying that it was just an Oriental way to express God all around us and in all things. That may have helped him toward some sort of spiritual understanding, but it was about as effective as trained sheep when it came to arranging furniture. â€Å"Can I help?† Joshua asked. â€Å"No!† shouted Balthasar, standing up. â€Å"We will continue in my quarters.† The old wizard turned and glared at Joy and me. â€Å"And we are not to be disturbed, under any circumstances.† He took Joshua by the shoulder and led him out of the room. â€Å"So much for spying,† I said. Joy consulted the Chi clock and patted a cabinet filled with calligraphy materials. â€Å"This most certainly rides on the horn of the ox, it must be moved,† she pronounced. â€Å"They are gone,† I said. â€Å"We don’t have to pretend at this anymore.† â€Å"Who is pretending? That cabinet channels all the yin into the hall, while the yang circles like a bird of prey.† â€Å"Joy, stop it. I know you’re making this stuff up.† She dropped the brass instrument to her side. â€Å"I am not.† â€Å"Yes, you are.† And here I thought I’d push my credibility a bit, just to see. â€Å"I checked the yang in this room yesterday. It is in perfect balance.† Joy dropped to her hands and knees, crawled under one of the huge carved dragon tables, curled up into a ball, and began to cry. â€Å"I’m no good at this. Balthasar wants us all to know it, but I’ve never understood it. If you want the Elegant Torture of a Thousand Pleasant Touches, I can do it, you want someone poisoned, castrated, or blown up, I’m your man, but this feng shui stuff is just, just†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Stupid?† I supplied. â€Å"No, I was going to say difficult. Now I’ve angered Balthasar and we have no way of knowing what is happening between him and Joshua. And we must know.† â€Å"I can find out,† I said, polishing my nails on my tunic. â€Å"But I have to know why I’m finding out.† â€Å"How will you find out?† â€Å"I have ways that are more subtle and crafty than all your Chinese alchemy and direction of energies.† â€Å"Now who’s making things up?† I’d lost most of my credibility by dragging out the arcane-Hebrew-knowledge-for-sexual-favors ruse until I had actually claimed credit for receiving the tablets of the Ten Commandments as well as constructing the Ark of the Covenant. (What? It’s not my fault. Joshua was the one who would never let me be Moses when we were kids.) â€Å"If I find out, will you tell me what is going on?† The head concubine chewed at an elegantly lacquered nail as she thought about it. â€Å"You promise not to tell anyone if I tell you? Not even your friend Joshua?† â€Å"I promise.† â€Å"Then do what you will. But remember your lessons from The Art of War.† I considered the words of Sun-tzu, which Joy had taught me: Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby, you can be the director of the opponent’s fate. So after considering strategy carefully, running and rejecting the various scenarios in my head, working out what seemed a nearly foolproof plan, and making sure the timing was perfect, I went into action. That very night, as I lay in my bed and Joshua in his, I called forth all my powers of subtlety and mysteriousness. â€Å"Hey Josh,† I said. â€Å"Balthasar sodomizing you?† â€Å"No!† â€Å"Vice versa?† â€Å"Absolutely not!† â€Å"You get the feeling he’d like to?† He was quiet for a second, then he said, â€Å"He’s been very attentive lately. And he giggles at everything I say, why?† â€Å"Because Joy says it’s not good if he falls in love with you.† â€Å"Well, it’s not if he’s expecting any sodomizing, I’ll tell you that. That’s going to be one disappointed magus.† â€Å"No, worse than that. She won’t tell me what, but it’s really, really bad.† â€Å"Biff, I realize you may not think so, but from my way of thinking, sodomizing the Son of God is really, really bad.† â€Å"Good point. But I think she means something to do with whatever is behind the iron door. Until I find out, you have to keep Balthasar from falling in love with you.† â€Å"I’ll bet he was myrrh,† said Josh. â€Å"Bastard, he brings the cheapest gift and now he wants to sodomize me. My mother told me the myrrh went bad after a week too.† Did I mention that Joshua was not a myrrh fan? How to cite Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 13, Essay examples

Economics Assignment- Fish & Plants Exchange Economy

Questions: Xenos and Yvonne are marooned on an island. Each castaway cares only about their own consumption. They are surviving by fishing and gathering plants to eat. Both have diminishing marginal rates of substitution of fish for plants. However, due to differing abilities, Yvonne catches most of the fish and Xenos gathers most of the plants. In each period, the results of their own work constitute their initial endowment. 1. Draw an Edgeworth box showing the two castaways exchange economy for fish and plants. The dimensions of the box represent the fish and gathered plants that they assemble in a single period. Mark an appropriate endowment point before trade, given their relative abilities in fishing and gathering stated above. 2. The castaways then trade fish for plants. Sketch onto your box two or three indifference curves for each castaway, and a contract curve. Identify points on the contract curve that could be reached via trade where both Xenos and Yvonne would be better off. Explain your answer. 3. Sketch a budget constraint and, if necessary, additional indifference curves to identify an exchange optimum after trade. Explain your answer. 4. What can you say about the efficiency of this outcome? Explain your answer in full. 5. Assume Yvonnes preferences change such that she becomes more caring. Explain, using a diagram, how these new preferences might affect the contract curve and the equilibrium point in their exchange economy. Answers: 1. Xenos and Yvonne are marooned in an island. They are surviving by fishing and gathering plants and both of them have diminishing marginal rates of substitution of fish for plants. But Yvonne catches most of the fish and Xenos gathers most of the plants (Bernheim and Rangel, 2005). In the following diagram, the Edgeworth box diagram can be drawn for showing the exchange economy for fish and plants. In the above diagram, the economy for fish and plants are shown between the two survivors. Ox is the origin of consumption of Xenos and Oy is the origin of consumption for Yvonne (Simonetti et al., 2010). In the above diagram the endowment point for both the survivors are given as A. It is known that Yvonne collects most of the fish and Xenos collects most of the plants. So, before trade their endowment point will be at A (Bernheim and Rangel, 2005). 2. Now, the castaway trades fish for plants. So, in the following diagram, the indifference curves can be drawn for each castaway along with the contract curve (Helm, 1989). In the above diagram the two origins of both the survivors are shown. The quantities of Fish are measured horizontally and the quantities of plants are measured vertically. The total height of the box measures the total plants in the economy whereas the width of the box measures the total fish in the economy. X1, X2 and X3 represents Xenoss indifference curves whereas Y1, Y2 and Y3 represent Yvonnes indifference curves. A higher indifference curve represents higher level of utility (Kay, 2003). OxOy is the contract curve that is the locus of all tangent points of the indifference curves of both the survivors. B is an optimal point than A. If the consumption moves from point A to point B then both Xenos and Yvonne will move to higher indifference curve and thus both of them will be better off (Persky, 1989). 3. Now a budget constraint can be drawn between both the survivors. In the above diagram the budget line is shown for the survivors. AD is the budget line that passes through the initial endowment point. In the above diagram, it can be seen that for Xenos, the initial endowment of plants was Op1 and the initial endowment of fish was Of1. Xenos can trade plants for fish (Wilkinson, 1996). Thus, after trade between both the survivors, Xenos can move to point B where he consumes Of2 units of fish and Op2 amount of plants. Similarly from Yvonnes point of view he trades fish for plants and point B is the optimal point for both the survivors in the island. 4. Here it can be said that the outcome is efficient for both the survivors. It is known that fish and plants are both required for a healthy diet in the island. It is known that the marginal rates of substitution are diminishing of fish for plants. That means, lower amount of fish will be given up by Yvonne for gaining more plants. On the other hand, the welfare of both the person should be taken into consideration. It is known that higher indifference curve means higher welfare of a person and thus it is very important to achieve the highest possible indifference curve for the individuals (Wilkinson and Pickett, 2009). So, it is very important to achieve the pareto optimal point. It is evident that if they move from the pareto optimal point then no one can be made better off without making anyone worse off. Thus it can be said that the outcome is efficient as the point is a pareto optimal point. 5. If Yvonnes preference changes and she becomes more caring then she will consider not only her preference but she will also take into account the preference of Xenos. Now, in the following diagram the change in the contract curve can be shown. If the preference changes to more altruistic nature then the optimal point for Yvonne will be at B and similarly the optimal point for Xenos will be C. Thus the section of the contract curve from Ox to B will not be effective and similarly the section Oy to point C will not be effective. In this case the section B to C of the contract curve will now be pareto efficient for both the survivors (Wilkinson and Pickett, 2009). References Bernheim, B. and Rangel, A. (2005).Behavioral public economics. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. Helm, D. (1989).The Economic borders of the state. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Kay, J. (2003).The truth about markets. London: Allen Lane. Persky, J. (1989). Retrospectives: Adam Smith's Invisible Hands.Journal of Economic Perspectives, 3(4), pp.195-201. Simonetti, R., Himmelweit, S., Mackintosh, M. and Stone, H. (2010).Doing economics : people, markets and policy. Book 1. Milton Keynes : Open University Wilkinson, R. (1996).Unhealthy societies. London: Routledge. Wilkinson, R. and Pickett, K. (2009).The spirit level. London: Allen Lane.

A Study of Hr Practice Essay Example

A Study of Hr Practice Essay On A Study of HR Practices in ITC Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of degree Of Master of Business Administration OF [pic] ITC Ghaziabad [pic] SESSION 2009 Submitted by: Raibahadur Singh Parihar Under the guidance of: MR. Ravi karan singh Contents 1. Declaration 2. Acknowledgement 3. Preamble 4. Objective 5. Certification of ITC 6. Policies of ITC 7. Company profile 8. Growth history 9. SWOT Analysis 10. ITC Philosophy 11. HR Management 12. HR Practices at ITC 13. Action Plan 14. Graphical representation of data 15. Research Methodology 16. Questionnaire 7. Results Conclusion 18. Suggestion DECLARATION This project report on â€Å"a study of HR practices in ITC† in ITC Ghaziabad is submitted by me for the partial fulfillment of the course of M. B. A from Sikkim Manipal University. This is an original work done by me expected the guidance received which has been properly acknowledgement in the report. This is not the copy of any other report or any part of it hasn’t been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma. Raibahadur Singh Parihar Sikkim Manipal University ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to express my gratitude towards Mr. Ravi Karan Singh for the valuable guidance, supervision and keen interest in study, progress and completion of this project. I would like to acknowledge the precious contribution General Manager H. R. who had been in continuous support through out the training period. I am also graceful to our faculty member Mr. Vishal whose precious guidance throughout the session has been of undaunted help to us in grooming our self and without which this work wasnt possible. I am also thankful to my friend Mr. Nitin Shukla (Senior HR Executive) whose help has given this shape to the report. We will write a custom essay sample on A Study of Hr Practice specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on A Study of Hr Practice specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on A Study of Hr Practice specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Submitted by Raibahadur Singh Parihar Sikkim Manipal University Preamble I have made this report as an essential part of IV semester course curriculum of MBA. The title of project is â€Å"a study of HR practices in ITC† at ITC Ghaziabad. In the course of my training I have had the golden opportunity of seeing the practical application of what ever theoretical knowledge was imparted to me in a class room studies at Learning Point Sec- 16 Noida I have had the good fortune in interacting with the executive and employee of ITC Ghaziabad who were very warm and cordial in their conduct toward me. My report mainly focuses on â€Å"study of HR practices in ITC†. I hope that the finding of the project work must conform with the companies expectation suggestion made on that basis must be useful for the total performance of the employees of the â€Å"ITC Ghaziabad. † Raibahadur Singh Parihar Sikkim Manipal University OBJECTIVE The main objective of the study is as follows: ? To know the recruitment selection procedures adopted in this company. ? To improve training and development programs used in the company. To know how the performance of the employees is being appraised. ? To provide better employee welfare. ? To increase the labor productivity. Certification of ITC ITC constantly endeavors to benchmark its products, services and processes to global standards. The Companys pursuit of excellence has earned it national and international honors. ITC is one of the eight Indian companies to figure in Forbes A-List for 2004, featuring 400 of the worlds best big compan ies. Forbes has also named ITC among AsiasFab 50 and the Worlds Most Reputable Companies ITC is the first Indian company and the second in the world to win the prestigious Development Gateway Award. It won the $100,000 Award for the year 2005 for its trailblazing ITC e-Choupal initiative which has achieved the scale of a movement in rural India. The Development Gateway Award recognizes ITCs e-Choupal as the most exemplary contribution in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for development during the last 10 years. ITC e-Choupal won the Award for the importance of its contribution to development priorities like poverty reduction, its scale and replicability, sustainability and transparency. [pic]ITC has won the inaugural World Business Award, the worldwide business award recognizing companies who have made significant efforts to create sustainable livelihood opportunities and enduring wealth in developing countries. The award has been instituted jointly by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the HRH Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF). pic]ITC is the first Corporate to receive the Annual FICCI Outstanding Vision Corporate Triple Impact Award in 2007 for its invaluable contribution to the triple bottom line benchmarks of building economic, social and natural capital for the nation. [pic]  ITC has won the Golden Peacock Awards for Corporate Social Responsibility (Asia) in 2007, the Award for ‘CSR in Emerging Economies 2005’ and ‘Excellence in Corporate Governance in the same year. These Awards have been instituted by the Institute of Directors, New Delhi, in association with the World Council for Corporate Governance and Centre for Corporate Governance ITCs cigarette factory in Kolkata is the first such unit in India to get ISO 9000 quality certification and the first among cigarette factories in the world to be awarded the ISO 14001 certification [pic]  ITC Maurya in New Delhi is the first hotel in India to get the coveted ISO 14001 Environment Management Systems certification. pic]  ITC Filtrona is the first cigarette filter company in the world to obtain ISO 14001 [pic]  ITC Infotech finds pride of place among a select group of SEI CMM Level 5 companies in the world. [pic]  ITCs Green Leaf Threshing plant in Chirala is the first in India and among the first 10 units in the world to bag the Social Accountability (SA 8000) certification ITC Chairman Y C Deveshwar has received several honors over the years. Notable among them are: |Year |Award | | | | |2007 |SAM/SPG Sustainability Leadership Award conferred at the International Sustainability Leadership| | |Symposium, Zurich. | |2006 |Business Person of the Year from UK Trade Investment, the UK Government organisation that | | |supports overseas businesses in that country. |2006 |Inducted into the `Hall of Pride by the 93rd Indian Science Congress | |2005 |Honoured with the Teachers Lifetime Achievement Award | |2001 |Manager Entrepreneur of the Year from Ernst Young Retail Visionary of the Year from Images, | | |Indias only fashion and retail trade magazine | |1998 |Honorary Fellowship from the All India Management Association | |1996 |Distinguished Alumni Award from IIT, Delhi | |1994 |Marketing Man of the Year from AM, the leading marketing magazine | |1986 |Meridien Hotelier of the Year | ITC has won the Enterprise Business Transformation Award for Asia Pacific (Apac), instituted by Infosys Technologies and Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania for its celebrated e-Choupal initiative. [pic]  ITC is the only Indian FMCG Company to have featured in the Forbes 2000 list. The Forbes 2000 is a comprehensive ranking of the worlds biggest companies, measured by a composite of sales, profits, assets and market value. The list spans 51 countries and 27 industries. [pic]ITC continues its dominance of The Economic Times Brand Equity listing of Indias 100 Biggest FMCG Brands, with three brands from its stable making it to the top five. Gold Flake remains Indias biggest FMCG brand in terms of sales. Navy Cut ranks at No. 4. ITCs Scissors brand ranks at No 5 and is the only new entrant into the top 10. pic]Restaurant magazine has chosen Bukhara at the ITC Maurya, New Delhi as the best Indian restaurant in the world and the best restaurant in Asia. Bukhara has also been adjudged one of the top 50 restaurants in the world by the London based magazine The Good Food Guide. Bukhara is the only South Asian restaurant to figure in the list. [pic]ITCs Lifestyle Retailing Business Division (LRBD) has won the Best Supply Chain Practices Award for time-effective and cost-efficient Logistics Management in Organized Retail. The awards were organized by Retailers Association of India (rai) in association with ITW Signode the International leaders in packaging solutions. ITC’s market strategies are: pic]  Create multiple drivers of growth by developing a portfolio of world class businesses that best matches organizational capability with opportunities in domestic and export markets. [pic]  Continue to focus on the chosen portfolio of FMCG, Hotels, Paper, Paperboards Packaging, Agri Business and Information Technology. Benchmark the health of each business comprehensively across the criteria of Market Standing, Profitability and Internal Vitality. [pic]  Ensure that each of its businesses is world class and internationally competitive. [pic]  Enhance the competitive power of the portfolio through synergies derived by blending the diverse skills and capabilities residing in ITC’s various businesses. pic]  Create distributed leadership within the organisation by nurturing talented and focused top management teams for each of the businesses. [pic]Continuously strengthen and refine Corporate Governance processes and systems to catalyse the entrepreneurial energies of management by striking the golden balance between executive freedom and the need for effective control and accountability. |[pic] | |Sustain ITCs position as one of Indias most valuable corporations through world class performance, creating growing value for the Indian | |economy and the Company’s stakeholders | [pic] | |To enhance the wealth generating capability of the enterprise in a globalising environment, delivering superior and sustainable stakeholder| |value | ITCs EHS Policy ITC’s mission is to sustain and enhance the wealth-generating capacity of its portfolio of businesses in a progressively globalising environment. As one of India’s premier corporations employing a vast quantum of societal resources, ITC seeks to fulfil a larger role by enlarging its contribution to the society of which it is a part. The trusteeship role related to social and environmental resources, aligned to the pursuit of economic objectives, is the cornerstone of ITC’s Environment, Health and Safety philosophy. ITC’s EHS philosophy cognises for the twin needs of conservation and creation of productive resources. In the multi-business context of ITC, Corporate Strategies are designed to create enduring value for the nation and the shareholder, through leadership in each business and the attainment of world-class competitive capabilities across the value chain. The objective of leadership extends to all facets of business operations including Environment, Health and Safety. ITC is, therefore, committed to conducting its operations with due regard for the environment, and providing a safe and healthy workplace for each employee. Various international and national awards and accreditations stand testimony to ITC’s commitment to EHS. Such external recognition further reinforces the need to direct the collective endeavour of the Company’s employees at all levels towards sustaining and continuously improving standards of Environment, Health and Safety in a bid to attain and exceed benchmarked standards, whether regulatory or otherwise. In particular, it is ITC’s EHS policy †¢ To contribute to sustainable development through the establishment and implementation of environment standards that are scientifically tested and meet the requirement of relevant laws, regulations and codes of practice. †¢ To take account of environment, occupational health and safety in planning and decision-making. †¢ To provide appropriate training and disseminate information to enable all employees to accept individual responsibility for Environment, Health and Safety, implement best practices, and work in partnership to create a culture of continuous improvement. To instil a sense of duty in every employee to wards personal safety, as well as that of others who may be affected by the employee’s actions. †¢ To provide and maintain facilities, equipment, operations and working conditions which are safe for employees, visitors and contractors at the Company’s premises. †¢ To ensure safe handling, storage, use and disposal of all substances and materials that are classified as hazardous to health and environment. †¢ To reduce waste, conserve energy, and promote recycling of materials wherever possible. †¢ To institute and implement a system of regular EHS audit in order to assure compliance with laid down policy, benchmarked standards, and requirements of laws, regulations and applicable codes of practice. To proactively share information with business partners towards inculcating world-class EHS standards across the value chain of which ITC is a part. All employees of ITC are expected to adhere to and comply with the EHS Policy and Corporate Standards on EH S. ITC’s EHS Policy extends to all sites of the Company. It will be the overall responsibility of the Divisional/SBU Chief Executives, through the members of their Divisional Management Committees, General Managers and Unit Heads, to ensure implementation of this Policy and Corporate Standards on EHS, including formation of various committees and designating individuals for specific responsibilities in respect of their Division/SBU. The Corporate EHS Department is responsible for reviewing and updating Corporate Standards on EHS, and for providing guidance and support to all concern. Corporate Governance P  r  e  a  m  b  l  e Over the years, ITC has evolved from a single product company to a multi-business corporation. Its businesses are spread over a wide spectrum, ranging from cigarettes and tobacco to hotels, packaging, paper and paperboards and international commodities trading. Each of these businesses is vastly different from the others in its type, the state of its evolution and the basic nature of its activity, all of which influence the choice of the form of governance. The challenge of governance for ITC therefore lies in fashioning a model that addresses the uniqueness of each of its businesses and yet strengthens the unity of purpose of the Company as a whole. Since the commencement of the liberalisation process, Indias economic scenario has begun to alter radically. Globalisation will not only significantly heighten business risks, but will also compel Indian companies to adopt international norms of transparency and good governance. Equally, in the resultant competitive context, freedom of executive management and its ability to respond to the dynamics of a fast changing business environment will be the new success factors. ITCs governance policy recognises the challenge of this new business reality in India. DEFINITION AND PURPOSE ITC defines Corporate Governance as a systemic process by which companies are directed and controlled to enhance their wealth generating capacity. Since large corporations employ vast quantum of societal resources, we believe that the governance process should ensure that these companies are managed in a manner that meets stakeholders aspirations and societal expectations. [pic] CORE PRINCIPLES ITCs Corporate Governance initiative is based on two core principles. These are : i. Management must have the executive freedom to drive the enterprise forward without undue restraints; and ii. This freedom of management should be exercised within a framework of effective accountability. ITC believes that any meaningful policy on Corporate Governance must provide empowerment to the executive management of the Company, and simultaneously create a mechanism of checks and balances which ensures that the decision making powers vested in the executive management is not only not misused, but is used with care and responsibility to meet stakeholder aspirations and societal expectations. Cornerstones From the above definition and core principles of Corporate Governance emerge the cornerstones of ITCs governance philosophy, namely trusteeship, transparency, empowerment and accountability, control and ethical corporate citizenship. ITC believes that the practice of each of these leads to the creation of the right corporate culture in which the company is managed in a manner that fulfils the purpose of Corporate Governance. Trusteeship : ITC believes that large corporations like itself have both a social and economic purpose. They represent a coalition of interests, namely those of the shareholders, other providers of capital, business associates and employees. This belief therefore casts a responsibility of trusteeship on the Companys Board of Directors. They are to act as trustees to protect and enhance shareholder value, as well as to ensure that the Company fulfils its obligations and responsibilities to its other stakeholders. Inherent in the concept of trusteeship is the responsibility to ensure equity, namely, that the rights of all shareholders, large or small, are protected. Transparency : ITC believes that transparency means explaining Companys policies and actions to those to whom it has responsibilities. Therefore transparency must lead to maximum appropriate disclosures without jeopardising the Companys strategic interests. Internally, transparency means openness in Companys relationship with its employees, as well as the conduct of its business in a manner that will bear scrutiny. We believe transparency enhances accountability. Empowerment and Accountability : Empowerment is an essential concomitant of ITCs first core principle of governance that management must have the freedom to drive the enterprise forward. ITC believes that empowerment is a process of actualising the potential of its employees. Empowerment unleashes creativity and innovation throughout the organisation by truly vesting decision-making powers at the most appropriate levels in the organisational hierarchy. ITC believes that the Board of Directors are accountable to the shareholders, and the management is accountable to the Board of Directors. We believe that empowerment, combined with accountability, provides an impetus to performance and improves effectiveness, thereby enhancing shareholder value. Control : ITC believes that control is a necessary concomitant of its second core principle of governance that the freedom of management should be exercised within a framework of appropriate checks and balances. Control should prevent misuse of power, facilitate timely management response to change, and ensure that business risks are pre-emptively and effectively managed. Ethical Corporate Citizenship : ITC believes that corporations like itself have a responsibility to set exemplary standards of ethical behaviour, both internally within the organisation, as well as in their external relationships. We believe that unethical behaviour corrupts organisational culture and undermines stakeholder value. ITC Ltd. Policy on Human Rights ITC believes that all its employees must live with social and economic dignity and freedom, regardless of nationality, gender, race, economic status or religion. In the management of its businesses and operations therefore, ITC ensures that it upholds the spirit of human rights as enshrined in existing international standards such as the Universal Declaration and the Fundamental Human Rights Conventions of the ILO. Policy ITC upholds international human rights standards, does not condone human rights abuses, and creates and nurtures a working environment where human rights are respected without prejudice. Implementation The Corporate Human Resources function of ITC is responsible for the Human Rights Policy design, implementation and updation. The policy is implemented at all locations of ITC through a set of separate policies and procedures covering each of the main constituents of human rights applicable at the workplaces. MonitoringAudit The assessment procedures for different constituents of this policy are defined against each specific policy. Consideration of Human Rights Impacts Across the Supply Chain As a large and multi-product enterprise whose products are benchmarked nationally and internationally, ITCs main supply chains can be grouped as follows: 1. For all its operations, technology, machinery and equipment are sourced from reputed and globally benchmarked suppliers/vendors who are expected to follow internationally accepted norms and standards on human rights. 2. ITCs major businesses are vertically integrated across several Divisions. A substantial part of the supply chain is therefore internal through strategic backward linkages. Common values relating to human rights performance are shared across this supply chain. 3. Being a major agri-based company, the agriculture sector is a major supplier of inputs for its operations. The bulk of agricultural commodities are procured from state controlled trading platforms and the open market. A very small proportion of ITCs business consists of supply chains comprising local vendors and suppliers. The policy framework for such entities is enunciated separately in Policy to Ensure Respect for Human Rights across the Supply Chain. Policy to Prevent Discrimination at Workplace ITC acknowledges that every individual brings a different and unique set of perspectives and capabilities to the team. A discrimination-free workplace for employees provides the environment in which diverse talents can bloom and be nurtured. This is achieved by ensuring that a non-discrimination policy and practice is embedded across the Company in line with corporate principles and benchmarked business practices. Policy ITCs approach to its human resources is premised on the fundamental belief in fostering meritocracy in the organisation which, pari passu, promotes diversity and offers equality of opportunity to all employees. ITC does not engage in or support direct or indirect discrimination in recruitment, compensation, access to training, promotion, termination or retirement based on caste, religion, disability, gender, age, race, colour, ancestry, marital status or affiliation with a political, religious, or union organization or minority group. Implementation The policy is communicated to all employees through induction programmes, policy manuals and intranet portals. The custodian of this policy is the head of each operational unit and Divisional Chief Executives of the respective business. ITCs complaints resolution procedure is premised on the freedom of employees to approach higher officials beyond his/her immediate superior. For the unionised employees, compliance of the policy is ensured through a robust grievance handling procedure and the presence of a union that brings violations to the notice of the unit HR head. MonitoringAuditing The accountability for the application of the non-discrimination employment policy rests with the Unit Head who reviews anti-discriminatory complaints annually or on a case-by-case basis. The Corporate Human Resources function conducts non-discrimination reviews annually on a sample basis with unit heads and through on-site assessments ITCs Core Values are aimed at developing a customer-focused, high-performance organisation which creates value for all its stakeholders: Trusteeship As professional managers, we are conscious that ITC has been given to us in trust by all our stakeholders. We will actualise stakeholder value and interest on a long term sustainable basis. Customer Focus We are always customer focused and will deliver what the customer needs in terms of value, quality and satisfaction. Respect For People We are result oriented, setting high performance standards for ourselves as individuals and teams. We will simultaneously respect and value people and uphold humanness and human dignity. We acknowledge that every individual brings different perspectives and capabilities to the team and that a strong team is founded on a variety of perspectives. We want individuals to dream, value differences, create and experiment in pursuit of opportunities and achieve leadership through teamwork. Excellence We do what is right, do it well and win. We will strive for excellence in whatever we do. Innovation We will constantly pursue newer and better processes, products, services and management practices. Nation Orientation We are aware of our responsibility to generate economic value for the Nation. In pursuit of our goals, we will make no compromise in complying with applicable laws and regulations at all levels ITC believes that all its employees must live with social and economic dignity and freedom, regardless of nationality, gender, race, economic status or religion. In the management of its businesses and operations therefore, ITC ensures that it upholds the spirit of human rights as enshrined in existing international standards such as the Universal Declaration and the Fundamental Human Rights Conventions of the ILO. Policy ITC upholds international human rights standards, does not condone human rights abuses, and creates and nurtures a working environment where human rights are respected without prejudice. Implementation The Corporate Human Resources function of ITC is responsible for the Human Rights Policy design, implementation and updation. The policy is implemented at all locations of ITC through a set of separate policies and procedures covering each of the main constituents of human rights applicable at the workplaces. Monitoring Audit The assessment procedures for different constituents of this policy are defined against each specific policy. Consideration of Human Rights Impacts Across the Supply Chain As a large and multi-product enterprise whose products are benchmarked nationally and internationally, ITCs main supply chains can be grouped as follows: 1. For all its operations, technology, machinery and equipment are sourced from reputed and globally benchmarked suppliers/vendors who are expected to follow internationally accepted norms and standards on human rights. 2. ITCs major businesses are vertically integrated across several Divisions. A substantial part of the supply chain is therefore internal through strategic backward linkages. Common values relating to human rights performance are shared across this supply chain. 3. Being a major agri-based company, the agriculture sector is a major supplier of inputs for its operations. The bulk of agricultural commodities are procured from state controlled trading platforms and the open market. A very small proportion of ITCs business consists of supply chains comprising local vendors and suppliers. The policy framework for such entities is enunciated separately in Policy to Ensure Respect for Human Rights across the Supply Chain Policy to Ensure Respect for Human Rights Policy across the Supply Chain ITC provides products and services of superior quality and value by sourcing its technologies, equipment and inputs from reputed international and Indian manufacturers and suppliers. Common values, relating to human rights performance, are shared across the entire supply chain because ITC is committed to the importance of a socially responsible and accountable supply chain. Policy ITC nurtures an internal working environment which respects human rights without prejudice. Likewise, it expects its business partners to establish a human rights compliant business environment at the workplace. Implementation The responsibility for implementation of this policy rests with the Divisional Chief Executive of the concerned business and the Unit Manager. The policy is communicated internally through policy manuals and intranet portals, and externally by the HR personnel of concerned units to vendors/suppliers. Monitoring Audit ITC has established a policy intent for mapping/monitoring progress and performance of existing and potential vendors/suppliers on human rights performance. Policy to Prevent Discrimination at Workplace ITC acknowledges that every individual brings a different and unique set of perspectives and capabilities to the team. A discrimination-free workplace for employees provides the environment in which diverse talents can bloom and be nurtured. This is achieved by ensuring that a non-discrimination policy and practice is embedded across the Company in line with corporate principles and benchmarked business practices. Policy ITCs approach to its human resources is premised on the fundamental belief in fostering meritocracy in the organisation which, pari passu, promotes diversity and offers equality of opportunity to all employees. ITC does not engage in or support direct or indirect discrimination in recruitment, compensation, access to training, promotion, termination or retirement based on caste, religion, disability, gender, age, race, colour, ancestry, marital status or affiliation with a political, religious, or union organization or minority group. Implementation The policy is communicated to all employees through induction programmes, policy manuals and intranet portals. The custodian of this policy is the head of each operational unit and Divisional Chief Executives of the respective business. ITCs complaints resolution procedure is premised on the freedom of employees to approach higher officials beyond his/her immediate superior. For the unionised employees, compliance of the policy is ensured through a robust grievance handling procedure and the presence of a union that brings violations to the notice of the unit HR head. Monitoring Auditing The accountability for the application of the non-discrimination employment policy rests with the Unit Head who reviews anti-discriminatory complaints annually or on a case-by-case basis. The Corporate Human Resources function conducts non-discrimination reviews annually on a sample basis with unit heads and through on-site assessments. Policy on Freedom of Association ITCs culture is characterized by cooperative relationships and high employee involvement that relies on building partnerships and interdependence. Adhering to these principles has helped build, sustain and strengthen harmonious employee relations in the organisation. Policy ITC respects the employees right to organize themselves into interest groups as initiatives of the workers, independent from supervision by the management. In keeping with the spirit of this Policy, employees are not discriminated against for exercising this right. Implementation The policy is communicated to all employees through induction programmes, policy manuals and intranet portals. The custodian of this policy is the HR head of each operational unit who reports directly to Unit Head on such issues. The actualisation of this policy is evident from the joint agreements and minutes that are signed between the union and the management. Monitoring Audit Each ITC Unit has appropriate systems and checks to ensure compliance with the Policy and statutory provisions, including means for filing of grievances, collective bargaining agreements and minutes from worker meetings. Compliance with the Policy is regularly monitored by Divisional and Corporate HR. Policy Prohibiting Child Labour and Preventing Forced Labour from Workplace The foundation of ITCs No Child or Forced Labour policy is based on the Companys commitment to find practical, meaningful and culturally appropriate responses to support the elimination of such labour practices. It thus endorses the need for appropriate initiatives to progressively eliminate these abuses. Policy ITC does not employ any person below the age of eighteen years in the workplace. ITC prohibits the use of forced or compulsory labour at all its units. No employee is made to work against his/her will or work as bonded/forced labour, or subject to corporal punishment or coercion of any type related to work. Implementation This policy is publicly available throughout the Company and clearly communicated to all employees in a manner in which it can be understood through induction programmes, policy manuals and intranet portals. The responsibility for the implementation of the policy rests with the Units HR Department and the security staff who do not permit underage persons to enter the factory as workers. Employment contracts and other records documenting all relevant details of the employees, including age, are maintained at all units and are open to verification by any authorized personnel or relevant statutory

Health, Safety, and Nutrition Worksheets for Kids

Health, Safety, and Nutrition Worksheets for Kids Nutrition, health, and safety are important topics to discuss with your children. Youll naturally discuss many facts about these subjects as you go about your daily life. However, spending some time focusing specifically on each can help children understand why their eating habits, hygiene, and exercise are vital to their overall well-being.   Additionally, talking about safety topics with your children helps to ensure that they know what to do in the event of an emergency or natural disaster.   Worksheets and coloring pages can make discussing these topics more engaging and easier to understand for young children. Use some of these free printable collections to guide or enhance your study of nutrition, health, and safety. Nutrition Worksheets Proper nutrition is an important part of a  healthy lifestyle. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), people should consume foods from the fruit, vegetable, grains, protein, and dairy groups every day for optimal health. The USDA suggests eating a variety of foods and limiting those with added sugar, sodium, and higher levels of saturated fats.   They may not be a students favorite topic, but fun printable worksheets about vegetables, which introduce children to a wide variety of veggies, can make learning better eating habits a bit more fun. So can following the USDAs recommendation to vary the way you eat vegetables. They suggest trying them raw, cooked, fresh, frozen, or canned. Roasting veggies in the oven or on the grill is a tasty treat, too! Dental Health Worksheets According to the American Dental Association (ADA), cavities remain the most prevalent chronic disease of childhood. Because they are so common, cavities may not seem like a big deal, but oral health is an important part of overall physical health. Poor oral health can increase a persons risk for health problems such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory infections, and certain types of cancer.   Use a fun set of  dental health  printables  to introduce your children to the basics of good oral hygiene. Some of the simplest ways to ensure good oral health include brushing your teeth at least twice a day, flossing, eating a healthy diet, and visiting your dentist regularly.   Physical Education Worksheets Physical Education  is vital to a students understanding of the benefits of an active lifestyle. A good PE program will teach kids about health, physical fitness, and the importance of regular physical activity. One option for teaching PE is an  online physical education  course. Other options may include combining a personal health course with individual or team athletics to ensure that students remain active.   Individual sports may include golf, gymnastics, skateboarding, or swimming. Other sports such as tennis, badminton, and volleyball can also be played with only one or two players on each team. Kids may also enjoy getting active with team sports such as baseball, softball, basketball, or hockey. Safety Worksheets It can be frightening to think about emergencies and natural disasters, but knowing what to do in the event of such a situation can save lives. According to the American Red Cross, children under the age of five are twice as likely as other people to die in a house fire. It is important to teach children fire precautions as well as what to do in the event of a fire. Combine  fire prevention worksheets  that  introduce  terms such as fire drill and escape route with other tools to teach children potentially life-saving fire safety tips. These tips should include stop, drop, and roll if a childs clothing catches on fire and where to go in the event of a fire. Have an escape plan in place and practice it at least twice a year.   Teach your children what your homes fire alarms sound like, how to call 911, and the importance of going to fire fighters and getting and staying out of the house if there is a fire. Its also important to teach your children what to do in the event of a natural disaster based on what is most likely in your area of the country. Your children may need to know what to do in the event of a hurricane, tornado, or earthquake. For example, you might use a free set of  earthquake worksheets  to learn more about where earthquakes typically happen, what causes them and what safety steps to take if an earthquake strikes. Updated by Kris Bales