The Unethical Business Practices Of Shell Commerce Essay

The Unethical Business Practices Of Shell Commerce Essay Unethical practices by organizations are frequently increasing as the pressure to compete and succeed compels them to ignore the ethical and moral aspects of their practices and decision-making. In order to maximize value for its shareholders and gain profitability, Shell ended up bribing the Nigerian officials to  make it easier to import their goods and equipment, in order to avoid customs duties, extend contracts and lower tax etc. Therefore this report investigates and scrutinizes Shells unethical practices in context to its the moral code of ethics and recommends Shell to be more ethical in their practice. 1.3 Introduction As globalization increases many organizations indulge in unethical practices to achieve growth and profit maximization. Consequently, the examples of such companies include LOreal, Nike, Wal-Mart, Shell etc. Shell, is a global group of energy and petrochemical companies. They have their headquarters situated in Hague, the Netherlands.  The parent company of the Shell group is Royal Dutch Shell plc, which is incorporated in England and Wales. Shells operated in more than 90 countries and has an approximate of 93000 employees. Their production mainly consists of forty eight percent of natural gas and around 3.3million barrels of gas and oil is produced per day. Shell has established forty three service stations worldwide. According to a survey conducted in 2010, theyve sold an estimated 145 billion litres of fuel. The Company has two main streams, upstream which explores for and extracts crude oil and natural gas and Downstream which refines supplies, trades and ships crude worldwi de, manufactures and markets a range of products, and produces petrochemicals for industrial customers. According to their financial report of 2010, with the capital invested of $30.6 billion and $1 billion in Investment in research and development, they had an income of $20.5billion with revenue of $368.1 billion (Shell, 2010). 1.4 Historical Background Shell was born during days of the oil boom and started out in the shadow of John D. Rockefellers Standard oil monopoly. Royal Dutch/Shell was the result of a merger in 1907 between the British-based Shell Transport and Trading Company, which pioneered the use of seagoing oil tankers and the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company, which made its fortune developing new oil fields in Borneo and Sumatra. Marcus Samuel was an enterprising fellow who decided to greet ships returning to England from India, Japan, Africa, and the Middle East and offer to buy any trinkets and curious that sailors had collected abroad. In the 1890s, the French Rothchild family decided to go into business exploiting the oil fields opening up in Baku in Russia. Needing a partner to help them transport and sell the oil, they turned to Marcus Samuel the younger. After a brief trip to the Caucasus, Marcus Samuel decided that the only way to take on the near monopoly grip that Standard Oil held was to radically reduce oil tr ansportation costs. During that time kerosene was transported in crates of tin containers. Loading the fuel into these relatively small containers, crating them, and loading them onto ship as time consuming, expensive and inefficient, Samuel argued. It would be much preferable to just pipe the oil into a tanker ship. In 1907, Sir Marcus Samuel and Henri Deterding merged the Shell Transport and Trading Company with the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company to create Royal Dutch/Shell. The company is owned forty percent by the Shell Transport and Trading Company and sixty percent by the Royal Dutch Petroleum (History of Business, 2010). In the 1980s, Shell sought to grow through acquisition. It bought out the remaining 30% shareholding in Shell Oil in 1985 to consolidate its American operations. The 1980s saw the development of offshore exploration projects, which were in much more challenging conditions than had previously been attempted.  The 1990s Shell saw the technology of biomass fuels and Gas to Liquids make giant leaps forward.  Shell was criticized over the Brent Spar episode in 1995, which centered on its plans to dispose of the storage platform. The Group learned that public opinion had become much more sensitive to environmental issues. In the next decade, the Group worked much harder to open a dialogue with interested parties regarding its environmental impact and to develop good relations with the communities affected by its work. Another problem to hit the Group arose from its presence in the Nigerian region of Ogoniland. The tribal minority in the Ogoni were aggrieved with the Nigerian government because they felt denied a proper share of federal revenues from the oil, and what they saw as other fundamental human rights. Their champion was the writer Ken Saro-Wiwa. The oil companies were targeted as collaborators with the corrupt government. Shell was accused of environmental despoliation. The story achieved international notoriety when Saro-Wiwa and eight of his colleagues were sentenced to death by hanging for their activities. Shell has since strived to follow a policy of demonstrating its community of interests and reciprocal good feeling with both the governments and the local populaces it deals with. The 1990s were notable for Shell for the development of the LNG gas business. Improved transportation and rising demand made this area of the Groups activities increasingly important and are expected to continue to do so in the first decades of the twenty-first century (Shell, 2010). 1.5 Report Preview This report examines various unethical practices of Shell. Firstly, it investigates upon the historical background of Shell. Moreover, we have related Shells immoral issues to the ethical theories. Along with these principles we also suggest some recommendations which could be reasonably essential for Shell to operate in a better and efficient manner. Finally, the report concludes with importance on ethics, corporate social responsibility and with our suggestion on its unethical action. 2.0 Shells Unethical practices: In 2010, Shell was accused of bribery practice with Nigerian officials in order to gain profit. Shell bribed Nigerian officials to make it easier for them to import goods and equipment, get lower taxes and avoid the customs. Shell said that it paid 2 million U.S Dollars to its Nigerian Workers in its deep water Bonga Project. Shell actually knew that part of the money will go to Nigerian officials whom will make shell avoid the customs process. This will give shell an obvious competitive advantage in the market. Shell actually gained $14million profit from this bribery of the Bonga project. Shell will pay $48.1 million dollars in order to settle probes by the U.S Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission. In January 2004, fraudulent overstatement of proven hydrocarbon reserves by Shell in Form F20 returns filed with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission(John Donovan,2007). Shell has given misleading and wrong statements about its reserves. It paid a $120 million fine for this claims settlement. One of the famous unethical practices by Shell was causing the high levels of pollution in Nigeria.40% of shells oil spills worldwide was in Nigeria. The oil spill also caused water contamination. It caused oil pollution in the Ogoniland region for the past 40 years or so. The pipelines were built in front of the peoples houses and in their farmlands. They suffered oil leaks through the pipelines. This has totally destroyed the environment over there. It killed the aquatic life; killing many fishes. Also enveloped the land with oil. This has been really devastating for the Ogoni people, economically and healthy, since their economy depends mainly on fishing and farming. People suffered respiratory diseases such as bronchial asthma; and cancer. Lots of vegetation is dying, especially Mangrove swamps, due to wastes of oil in the Niger River. The reason Shell has been successful in doing these unethical practices in Nigeria is because they used to bribe the Nigerian officials frequently to ease the process. Royal Dutch Shell Blames oil spills on sabotage to its equipment ( Chima Williams,2009). This explains how rude and unethically they take responsibility for their awful actions. According to the Covalence ethical ranking in 2008, saw Shell in the 510 position out of 541 multinational companies. Covalence s ethical quotation system is a reputation index based on quantifying qualitative data and It is a barometer of how multinationals are perceived in the ethical field(John Donovan 2009). The covalence ethical ranking is based on important issues such as Human rights policy, Waste Management, Labor standards and product social utility. A research done by Management and Excellence in 2005 sees Shell as the number 1 most ethical oil company in the world. But by the end of 2011, Shells position is expected to deteriorate much due to the bribery scandal it suffered for the last few months. 2.1 Conoco Phillips: Conoco Phillips is a Non-government owned American oil and Gas Corporation. Its the 3rd largest of the oil majors worldwide. It works in all different aspects in oil and natural gas industry such as Midstream, Petrochemicals, and Refining and Marketing. The company was formed as a result of a merger between Conoco and Philips in 2002. Its major competitors are Shell, British Petroleum and Exxon Mobil. Conoco Philips is one of the few Oil companies that suffer unethical issues. According to Conoco Philips, Our mission is to do more than to deliver energy. It has a long term commitment to achieve the top ethical standards and create a culture that encourages honesty and responsibility in everything they do. Conoco Philips values the importance of corporate transparency and ethics as they are a major drive for consumers and stakeholders confidence. A proof of ConocoPhillipss environmental concern is that it spent $80 million dollars to develop new technologies for unconventional and alt ernative energy sources. ConocoPhillips is a member of the U.S Climate Action Partnership, which is a group of businesses, major corporations and environmental organization with a goal to pressure the U.S Government to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions. ConocoPhillips spent around $150 million dollars 2007 on research and development of alternative energy sources and new technologies- which is almost a 50% increase compared to the $80 million dollar spent in 2006. 2.2 Shell vs. ConocoPhillips Shell is the 2nd biggest company in the world in terms of revenue, which makes it more profitable than ConocoPhillips (16th). Actually, after the recent bribery issues about Shell, its position will eventually drop in the next few years. They will suffer from employee turnover, loss of company reputation and lots of other disadvantages which will not enable them to be more profitable like before. Whilst for ConocoPhillips, its very predictable that this company will get closer to Shell in terms of revenue and why not surpass it, due to its ethical practices! Thats why Shell should have good ethical policies like that of ConocoPhillips and actually adapt this policy and not violate it. 3.0 Recommendations and Facts: 3.1 Recommendations First of all if Shell wants to get back its reputation after the Nigeria bribery incident, they have to change their vision, not the written vision statement, in fact they have to change their insight toward the business they are doing and try to change their practices in a way that help and satisfy people instead of hurting them. They should keep in mind that business is not about gaining profit from whatever way, rather it is about gaining profit from providing services in a way that satisfies customers and if they act ethically eventually they will gain enough profit as they have satisfied people behind their back who support the company (Tempo, 2005). Shell should be considered guilty in this case and be fined for their unethical business practice. Furthermore, Nigerian government should be accountable and responsible for their action as well. The amount of fine that usually determined by courts should be either used for research purposes or as financial aid to help people around the globe. If they do so, Shell will force to do something that they escaped from and try to improve their instruments and facilities by doing research and development instead of trying to gain profit without thinking about safety and effects of their action on stakeholders (Tempo, 2005). More strict rules and regulations regarding the bribery issue and control of governments over their companies can lead to termination of bribery in long term. If Shell maintains a strict No Bribe policy, in long term bribe takers wont ask for it anymore. Then even if they fail in their business they wont blame themselves for paying bribes and they will know that there was something wrong with their facilities and services. 3.2 Facts The main reason that shell wanted to bribe Nigerian government was that they wanted to pay less taxes and easier import of their needed equipment, which eventually leads to higher profit. Thus they only looked for profit and to reach that, they choose bribery as an unethical practice. They shouldnt do that because even if we dont consider bribery as an unethical practice it was illegal and against law in Nigeria, however we know that bribery is an unethical practice indeed. The next thing is that bribery encourages corruption, and this action hurts the poor the most as they have to pay for something which is free and they get into trouble for paying the amount, because they cannot afford it. When a large company like Shell practices, in this case bribery, which is defiantly unethical, this act will spread to the whole society and affect the society in large (Tempo, 2005). Moreover when you start paying bribe for the first time it leads to demand for more bribes and work as a kind of temptation. So it is better never start it. Aid agencies trying to provide free services for those who need help and it is not morally accepted and expected from officials to try to make money from those services that supposed to be free. We believe and agree that Shell did something which is morally wrong and ethical person wont advocate it, but there is a positive point in shells case. Shell accepted that they did and unethical and wrong action and admitted their mistake, they also agreed to pay $48m in criminal and civil fines. However shell had to admit their mistake but still we can consider it as a positive movement from shell and we can hope that Shell try to be an ethical company from now onwards, stop their unethical business practices and try to gain profit while following ethical business practices (Temp,2005). 4.0 Conclusion In conclusion, we all agree that bribery is an unethical business practice and it is not expected from large company such as Shell to practice such actions. It is not only the case that Shell paid bribe, the most important thing is that such actions, eventually leads to corruption of society which all of us believe to be destructive. Shell can follow Conoco Phillips and invest in research and development and try to improve its facilities, and by doing this they might earn less profit in the short term but they can be proud of themselves by being an ethical company and gaining more profit than their competitors in the long term as they will have new technologies and facilities in future because they invest in research and development today. Shell Should be accountable for what they did and be responsible for their unethical behavior and try to stop such acts in future if they want to build their reputation again as people and stakeholders wont trust Shell as long as they continue bein g unethical. However if Shell really wants to be changed and get back its reputation they can do it by clarifying their vision among themselves and act ethically.

Bill Gates :: essays research papers

Bill Gates On October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington a boy was born. This child would grow up to be one of the most successful people in the history of man. His name, William (Bill) Henry Gates. Bill a.k.a. Trey was a different child from the beginning of his life. His first five years were normal just like most kids. Once he turned six his parents would almost go crazy. He declared war on his mother and always talked back to her as in this example; She would call him up to dinner from his basement bedroom and he would not respond. "What are you doing?" she once demanded over the intercom. "I'm thinking," he shouted back. "You're thinking?" "Yes, Mom, I'm thinking," he said fiercely. "Have you ever tried thinking?" His mother sent him to a psychologist, after a year of tests and studies the doctor came up with a solution. His answer was, "There is nothing you can do. Just give up and live with it." Bill attended Lakeside School. It was a very nice private school. There he learned how to use a computer. His friend, Paul Allen and he would start their computer programming there. The first programs they made were a math program and tic-tac- toe. Bill and three other friends joined forces to make the Lakeside Programmers Group. Bill then went out to a store, which just received a new IBM. He convinced the boss to let him and his friends use the computer. In exchange, he would have to debug the computer. Bill got so obsessed in it that he went to the store late at night and worked on the computer! A little later that year, Bill attended Harvard. To most people there he was considered a snob and idiot. He would order pizza every day and go to many bars. In 1974, Bill and Paul Allen created BASIC, a computer language. MITS then bought a license to have the product. At the age of twenty-one, Bill dropped out of Harvard to work on Microsoft all the time. Within three months, MITS ripped up the contract. Bill found a person in Japan who would help him. Bill and Paul then set up a building in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They then renamed their company Microsoft. The original name was Allen&Gates. Bill loved New Mexico. He had his favorite Porsche, which he called Sand Buggy.

Contribution of Clausewitz to the Development of Military Strategy Essay

Carl von Clausewitz or known as General Carl Phillip Gottfried von Clausewitz was born in Magdenburg in July 1, 1780 and died of cholera at the age of 51 in Breslau, Germany in November 16, 1831. He left a legacy that until this day his writings are still compulsory for reading in military academies both in the US and Europe. He famous book â€Å"Von Kriege† or translated in English as â€Å"On War† discusses many of his optimisms in considering war as an extension of political thoughts rather than pure readings for military strategies. Analysts say Clausewitz’s theories of war were considerations during war and not provocations on how to stage war against the enemies. In fact, he is not the total war strategist of the â€Å"absolute war† as other people branded him but even though his thoughts does not provoke the art of making war our armed forces until today consider them as great contributions to the development of military strategies because of his concepts in advising technical discussion in the event of war. Although Clausewitz wrote about different battle conditions, he goes further in relating battles to psychological and political considerations. He became popular in connecting his principles of war to be regarded as motivation for military strategies because his theories inspire military leaders to act on certain situations according to the demand of the situation. Therefore his theories must never be applied as models of committing war but to serve as aids to judgment during wars. However, through the passing of time most of his tactical views were altered or replaced by other political and strategic thoughts but what he left about military systems and political strategies are regarded as pure standard for military strategic commitments (Teijebakker, 2008). Clausewitz served as a Prussian soldier, military historian and military theorist whose influence was most famous for military treatise. Although participated in military campaigns, his sole purpose was to be a military theorist and do examinations of war.   During his time, other soldiers also examined the war during the Napoleonic era but not any of them has undertook the greatest philosophical examination of war other than Clausewitz and Tolstoy did. Another great writer, Jomini also took the same observation as Clausewitz but while Jomini based his theories on the system of war, Clausewitz writes on the philosophical view of it. If we are going to asses Clausewitz’s philosophical view that militaries based the development of their strategies, we can see that Clausewitz has been able to introduced systematic philosophical inspection into Western and European military thinking. His strategic principles have powerful implications that are used for historical and analytical writing but also for logical policy, military education and planning on operations. Clausewitz believes that war is just a natural event that is part of social organisms such as man and always part of practical experience. He underlined that warfare is just as changeable as our societies that is why there is the need for the distinction in manipulating strategies and tactics. He also asserted that there are no fixed principles that are adapted for tactical calculations and no laws for strategies either because wars are not all the same. This kind of philosophy motivates military leaders to assume that because of the changeable attitude and conditions of war, Clausewitz provokes on the idea that defense is a stronger form of strategic principle than offense. This is because as Clausewitz warned, once offensive advantage has an imbalance of momentum such as a weakened or divided forces, the offensive stance can transform into a defensive orientation. So the general principle, as he stresses, is that defense is a prerequisite for good offense (Abegglen, 2003). Moreover, Clausewitz great emphasis on military strategies is that he wants to emphasize that wars are the continuation of government policies or in other words an extension of politics. There is warfare because war is motivated by political objectives and the only means to achieve these political objectives is the commitment of war. Therefore he argues that what determines the character and activities of military operations are what the military leaders do in following the authority given to them by the state driven by political aims. In this manner, since the military are under the ruling governing body of the state, the states which compose of the public sector can also exercise their authority over military activities. But what was the most important message Clausewitz wants to convey is that although war is not extraordinary, the waging of war must be dependent on the political situation of those who wages it and with their allies and enemies. The strength of the military is not an assurance for victory but a defensive war seems to be the contributory factor in achieving victory. The machines that man made for human destruction and the skill those soldiers learned were all part of human endeavor to achieve victory. But these machines are useless unless use in the battlefield and maneuvered with precise realistic approach to warfare which include the art of defense and offense and military skills (Jolley, 2003). As a Prussian staff officer with political and military responsibility and with combat experience against armies of Revolutionary France, Clausewitz is prominently a military educator. Having to rise to the rank of a Major-General at the age of 38, his book On War which was written in Germanic language became the most important work that is written that deals on the theory of warfare and strategy. The book tells of theories on the area of interest of military strategists, historians, political thinkers and political scientists. Clausewitz has met so many oppositions with his theories contain in his books but his influence is so great that even the Marxists-Leninists, the great navalists Sir Julian Stafford Corbett and the American nuclear strategists apply his principles to their own theoretical application. Although they have different culture, background and military orientation they all share the same belief that Clausewitz’s writings are of fundamental importance not because only of their content but because of the influential his great mind has perceived. The book On War itself is always very hard to read and comprehend because it was still in its unfinished state and so the subjects seem too hard to follow. So many nations and great minds have failed to master it because of its unfamiliar style. But because Clausewitz’s statements define great political thinking, precise military planning with principles of strategic calculations that are used by organizations in developing different strategies, Clausewitz’s ideas evoke superiority in leadership and management in war and of societies. His continuation of defining policy with politics by other means happens to be misunderstood because probably his perception provokes alarm and opposition. According to him he objects on the role of policy makers because these so-called policy makers always tend to create war just to achieve their goals when they cannot achieve it through peaceful means. On the other hand, experienced politicians and soldiers are against it because they know that war becomes really dangerous, chaotic and unpredictable when it is created for political goals. Another great significance of Clausewitz’s theory to the advantage on the development of military strategy is that his ideas integrates a vast range of military concerns which include political, strategic, operational, analytical, tactical, pedagogical and historical concern that are in relation with the fundamental socio-political framework of the military. The good things about his theories is that they also successfully interrelates to a wide range of consideration and can adapt to any political and historical changes that is why until today, Clausewitz’s concept of strategies on war and politics are still being utilized as fundamental in military statesmanship (Bassford, 1996). But what are the main teachings of Clausewitz that they are still utilized in the management of military strategies today?   In teaching Clausewitz’s concept of strategies, military officials try to imbue to their soldiers how to analyze Clausewitz’s theory of war so that they can check on its applicability on the military power on any given time. The soldiers must be able to assess the learning concepts with thorough examination such as learning the nature of warfare as compared during the French revolution against today’s practical application of military concept. As Clausewitz advised, mission analysis is essential to provide the learners or soldiers the sophisticated understanding of war, the nature of war, the purpose of war and the conduct of war. Assessing these activities help the soldiers develop in internalizing their way of thinking so that they may be critical in all areas of war and discover the characteristic of the opponent. Understanding the adversary makes the soldiers be critical on what analytical approach they can do to gain advantage during war. Then the essential points of engagement and following policies must be conveyed to the soldiers. These essential points include how to interact with war and its policy, understanding absolute war vs. the real war, perception on the moral and physical dimensions of war, strategic effects for the future leaders of war, understanding the sources of power and the dialectics of offense and defense. By assessing the principles of Clausewitz, we can now measure success according to the management of war (Bassford, 1985). As a conclusion, as Clausewitz always say that as wars are conceived, the generals of war must have clear idea on what are the goal of this wars. The militaries are learning from Clausewitz’s admonition that no one starts a war or rather nobody in his right mind ought to start a war without prioritizing what the objectives are. The objectives of war can be of political purpose which the military must be aware while the conduct of war is the operational part wherein the military must operate accordingly. This governing principle of Clausewitz will set every war on its course and thus contributory to the development of military strategy. References: ABEGGLEN, C. M. V. (2003) The Influence of Clausewitz on Jomini’s Prà ©cis de l’Art de la Guerre Erlenstrasse 3   4414 Fà ¼llinsdorf, King’s College London. Available from URL: http://www.homepage.bluewin.ch/abegglen/papers/clausewitz_influence_on_jomini.pdf BASSFORD, C. (1985) An Instructor’s Guide To Teaching Clausewitz. Available from URL: http://www.clausewitz.com/CWZHOME/KassNWC/KassNotes3.html BASSFORD, C. (1996) Review Essay: Carl von Clausewitz, On War (Berlin, 1832). Available from URL: http://www.clausewitz.com/CWZHOME/CREV/CWZREV.htm

Open Racism Essay Example

Open Racism Essay Example Open Racism Paper Open Racism Paper When I think about is racism still alive today, a particular poem comes into mind its entitled:â€Å"Racism Is Around Me Everywhere†. I do recall There is no such a thing as a fair go for all. Though we live in a so called democracy Of racism we never will be free They judge you by where you come from and the color of your skin For many equality and respect seems impossible to win. Its been awhile since the days of Martin Luther King His name to it has a familiar ring If against racism he did not choose to strive Today the great man he would be alive. So many holding the reins of power not spiritually aware And racism is around me everywhere And racism only leads to division and war Just goes to show how ignorant some are. † (Frances Duggar) | | Racism is a belief held by some that there are characteristics and abilities can be attributed to people simply on the basis of their race and that some racial groups are superior to others. Racism and discrimination have been used as powerful weapons encouraging fear or hatred of others in times of conflict and war, and even during economic downturns. For people throughout the world, the election of Barak Obama to the U. S. presidency seemed to signal in a new era, that of the end of racism. Indeed, Obamas election was a momentous occasion and, one would have hoped, a milestone on the road to reconciliation. However, some recent, very ominous events cast a worrisome veil over the democratic process in the United States. These events points out how racism is still a problem in the United States. Racism occurs often times out of fear. Many people fear what is different to them and what they do not know. This in turn, makes it scary when you see people who look different than you do and sometimes, you treat those individuals differently because you do not know them. Racism occurs in different facets of society. Schools, the government and the workplace are sometimes the worst examples of racism. Racism in schools Millions of African American and Latino young people in the United States don’t get an education equal to that of most whites, partly because the urban schools they go to don’t have as much money as the schools in the white suburbs. This is because the country has decided that much of the money for schools should come from local property taxes. So in communities where the houses and businesses are less expensive, the schools don’t get enough money to provide a high quality education. This is unfair. This is institutional racism. If we financed schools differently every student, regardless of his or her race, could go to a high quality school that was the equal of the schools other students attend. The Government Hurricane Katrina: The government had known for years that a big hurricane was likely to cause dangerous flooding in New Orleans. The plans they made didn’t include any way to get poor people (predominately African Americans) out of the city to safety. When the storm and the flooding did come with Hurricane Katrina in 2005, much of the country saw on TV that thousands of people of color were stranded in the city without food, water, housing or safety. The government was incredibly slow to rescue people, to provide food and shelter, and to help them rebuild their houses. Many people believe that if those stranded had been mostly white people the rescue efforts would have been much quicker and effective. Racism in the Workplace Racism in the form of discrimination persists in society also. A case in point is that blacks have traditionally suffered from higher rates of unemployment than whites. In June 2009, black employment was at 15. 3 % compared to an 8. 8% unemployment rate for whites. Do blacks simply not take the initiative that whites do to find work? Studies indicate that, in actuality, discrimination likely contributes to the black-white unemployment gap. (Thompson) Critics will say how can racism still exists with the election of the United States first black president. Since President Obama took office he has been a rise of subtle racism against our president. It can be seen in the supporters of the new birthers movement, who stir up doubts about Obamas citizenship. During the 2008 presidential campaign, there was no impetus to question John McCain’s birthplace even though it was common knowledge that McCain was born in Panama; because he is white. The president’s birthplace should not have been an issue at all but yet to this day you still have a lot of Americans who still question his birthplace. Critics also say with electing our first minority president, and minorities reaching higher levels of education, obtaining more earnings and more distinguished careers, one might infer that prejudice is dead. I contend that it is alive and flourishing while lurking beneath the shadows of figures that naturally inflate with the growth of a burgeoning society. If racism does not exist then what accounts for â€Å" the wide range of disparities that still exist in society, most of which show black Americans with worse outcomes than whites in areas such as income, home ownership, health and employment, study researcher Samuel Sommers, a psychologist at Tufts University, said in a statement. When most Americans think of racism they think of the open racism back in the Civil Rights movement and during slavery times when crosses were burned in African-American yards. They think of the KKK when they think of racism which was upfront and in your face. The fact that the KKK and groups such as these that still exist prove the point that racism still occurs in the United States. While racism may not be as widespread as before, it exists, without a doubt. While we like to think that those unfortunate days of racism are behind us, it still exists. Today, racism is much less obvious and less prevalent. However, we are still reminded that racism is alive and well, and we must continue working to do away with it. Every day in the news there are stories dealing with the unfair treatment of minorities, women, and gays. America is the best country in the world because of the opportunity given to every individual and because of its constant struggle for equality of all. Any person, of any race, creed, or religion can succeed with hard work and determination. The problem is that the level of those individual’s success is sometimes determined, by the color of their skin. The race for social equality is persistent here, but there are still problems with the system. So, unfortunately racism does still exist today in the United States. References William-White, L. , White, J. (2011). Color Marks the Site/Sight of Social Difference: Dysconscious Racism in the Age of Obama. Qualitative Inquiry, 17(9), 837. Retrieved December 12, 2011, from Research Library. (Document ID: 2495960131). William March. (16 May). Researcher: Evidence shows racism in opposition to Obama. McClatchy Tribune Business News,. Retrieved December 12, 2011, from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 2348227321). Thompson Matthew (2011). Does Racism still exist today? Answers from Men. Retrived December 12, 2011 answersfrommen. com/2011/01/does-racism-still-exist-today/ Mosser, K. (2011). An introduction to logic. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. (https://content. ashford. edu) Pappas Stephanie. (2001) Study: Whites say they are racists’ victims. Retrieved December 12, 2011. cbsnews. com/stories/2011/05/24/scitech/main20065864. shtml http://poemhunter. com/poem/racism-is-around-me-everywhere/ politicususa. com/en/political-racism

Create an Internet Shortcut (.URL) File Using Delphi

Create an Internet Shortcut (.URL) File Using Delphi Unlike regular .LNK shortcuts (that point to a document or an application), Internet Shortcuts point to a URL (web document). Heres how to create a .URL file, or  Internet Shortcut, using Delphi. The Internet Shortcut object is used to create shortcuts to Internet sites or web documents. Internet shortcuts are diverse from regular shortcuts (which contain data in a binary file) that point to a document or an application. Such text files with a .URL extension have their content in INI file format. The easiest way to look inside a .URL file is to open it inside Notepad. The content (in its simplest form) of an Internet Shortcut could look like this: [InternetShortcut] URLhttp://delphi.about.com As you can see, .URL files have an INI file format. The URL represents the address location of the page to load. It must specify a fully qualifying URL with the format protocol://server/page.. Simple Delphi Function to Create an .URL File You can easily programmatically create an Internet shortcut if you have the URL of the page to which you want to link. When double-clicked, the default browser is launched and displays the site (or a web document) associated with the shortcut. Heres a simple Delphi function to create a .URL file. The CreateInterentShortcut procedure creates a URL shortcut file with the provided file name (FileName parameter) for the given URL (LocationURL), overwriting any existing Internet Shortcut with the same name. uses IniFiles;...procedure CreateInternetShortcut(const FileName, LocationURL : string) ;begin   Ã‚  with TIniFile.Create(FileName) do   Ã‚  try   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  WriteString(   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  InternetShortcut,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  URL,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  LocationURL) ;   Ã‚  finally   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Free;  Ã‚  end;end; (*CreateInterentShortcut*) Heres a sample usage: //create an .URL file named About Delphi Programming //in the root folder of the C drive //let it point to http://delphi.about.com CreateInterentShortcut(c:\About Delphi Programming.URL , http://delphi.about.com ) ; A few notes: You could save a web page as MHT (web archive) and then create a .URL shortcut to be able to access an offline version of a web document.You must provide a full file name, along with the .URL extension, for the FileName parameter.If you already have an Internet Shortcut you are interested in, you can easily extract the URL from an Internet Shortcut (.url) file. Specifying the .URL Icon One of the neater features of the .URL file format is that you can change the shortcuts associated icon. By default the .URL will carry the icon of the default browser. If you want to change the icon, you only have to add two additional fields to the .URL file, as in: [InternetShortcut] URLhttp://delphi.about.com IconIndex0 IconFileC:\MyFolder\MyDelphiProgram.exe The IconIndex and IconFile fields let you specify the icon for the .URL shortcut. The IconFile could point to your applications exe file (IconIndex is the index of the icon as a resource inside the exe). Internet Shortcut to Open a Regular Document or an Application Being called an Internet Shortcut, a .URL file format does not permit you to use it for something else- such as a standard application shortcut. Note that the URL field must be specified in the protocol://server/page format. For example, you could create an Internet Shortcut icon on the Desktop that points to your programs exe file. You only need to specify the file:/// for the protocol. When you double click on such a .URL file, your application will be executed. Heres an example of such an Internet Shortcut: [InternetShortcut] URL file:///c:\MyApps\MySuperDelphiProgram.exe IconIndex 0 IconFile C:\MyFolder\MyDelphiProgram.exe Heres a procedure that places an Internet Shortcut on the Desktop, the shortcut points to the *current* application. You can use this code to create a shortcut to your program: uses IniFiles, ShlObj;...function GetDesktopPath: string;//get the location of the Desktop foldervar   Ã‚  DesktopPidl: PItemIDList;   Ã‚  DesktopPath: array [0..MAX_PATH] of Char;begin   Ã‚  SHGetSpecialFolderLocation(0, CSIDL_DESKTOP, DesktopPidl) ;   Ã‚  SHGetPathFromIDList(DesktopPidl, DesktopPath) ;   Ã‚  Result : IncludeTrailingPathDelimiter(DesktopPath) ; end; (*GetDesktopPath*) procedure CreateSelfShortcut;const   Ã‚  FileProtocol file:///; var   Ã‚  ShortcutTitle : string;begin   Ã‚  ShortcutTitle : Application.Title .URL;   Ã‚  with TIniFile.Create(GetDesktopPath ShortcutTitle) do   Ã‚  try   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  WriteString(   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  InternetShortcut,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  URL,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  FileProtocol Application.ExeName) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  WriteString(   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  InternetShortcut,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  IconIndex,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  0) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  WriteString(   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  InternetShortcut,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  IconFile,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Application.ExeName) ;   Ã‚  finally   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Free;   Ã‚  end;end; (*CreateSelfShortcut*) Note: simply call CreateSelfShortcut to create a shortcut to your program on the Desktop. When to Use .URL Those handy .URL files will be useful for virtually every project. When you create a setup for your applications, include a .URL shortcut inside the Start menu- let users have the most convenient way to visit your website for updates, examples, or help files.

Firewall Applications Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Firewall Applications - Essay Example Firewalls protect a computing device throughout its connection to the internet by continuously monitoring all its activity. The software reduces popups by allowing only the trusted set of programs to access the internet. It determines the set of trusted and non- trusted programs by maintaining a set of sites that may attract potential scam. The Firewall passes all the known leak tests in order to protect the host computing device. Survives spy attempts and transfer of diseased files that may sometimes survive system reboots. Detects and acts against applications that assign themselves substantial system privileges. â€Å"Banking Mode† is a salient feature. In it, the firewall remains in a banking mode throughout the time the computing device is connected to the internet. During its connection the banking mode of the firewall prevents the host from scams and also from entering the phishing websites. It is a two-way firewall that monitors every connection to a computing device. It provides Protection from Trojan Horses, Viruses and Worms. Spyware and Adware are restricted. The firewall Scans files, Internet services and all connections for any possible intrusion. It also Prevents access to unwanted websites. An edge that it has over other firewalls is that if a computer is already infected it restores the computer to its prior state. It is recommended to my elder sibling that Online Armor Premium Firewall be installed in his home PC. This is because in a reasonable cost it provides adequate support that should be present in any firewall software. Especially its feature of maintaining a databank of trustable and non-trustable sites reduces the number of popups for the system user thus increasing its usability. Top Ten Reviews (2011) Kaspersky Internet Security 2011. Personal Firewall Software Review. Retrieved from http://personal-firewall-software-review.toptenreviews.com/kaspersky-internet-security-details.html Top Ten Reviews

All Immigrants need better support programs for cultural transition in Essay

All Immigrants need better support programs for cultural transition in the United States - Essay Example Significantly, the opportunity for economic improvement has been one of the most important motivations for immigrants in the United States. However, the immigrants have long been experiencing numerous challenges which turn up several issues, including work, education, and marital relationships. Cultural transition has been one of the most significant processes affecting the immigrants in the United States and this process of cross-cultural transition has given rise to several pertinent researches in the area. Immigrants in the United States belong to different countries of origin and dialects, and every group of immigrants has specific economic resources, educational systems, and class structures which keep the group distinct from other groups in the nation. The diversity in the cultural aspects of every immigrant population brings about numerous challenges with regard to cultural transition and the experience of the immigrants of Hmong culture in the nation illustrates these challen ges. The current system of support programs for the cultural transition in United States prove to be deficient in meeting the numerous challenges raised by the cultural practices and beliefs of various immigrant groups. Therefore, a reflective exploration of the experience of the immigrants in the nation, especially the people of Hmong culture, affirms that all immigrants need better support programs for the cultural transition in United States. Cultural transition has been one of the most dominant processes affecting the immigrants in the United States and the various groups of immigrants experience unmerited incidents which affect the process of cultural transition. Most often, difference in the cultural aspects of the individual cultures come to conflict with one another and the culture of the immigrant population usually suffer great loss. The role of social and cultural support programs to deal with these issues of cultural transition is often emphasized in various