ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
The book “Classical Social Theory: Investigation and Application” by Tim Delaney presents biographies and works of many scientists and philosophers who have been exploring sociological thought. It describes the life of each of the theorists, their contributions, and the influence of other scholars on their works. Chapter 7 of the book deals with the life and achievements of German sociologist Max Weber, one of the greatest sociologists of the end of the 19 th – beginning of the 20 th century. The book “Classical Social Theory: Investigation and Application” can be accessible to even a non-specialist who wishes to enhance his/her knowledge in the sphere of sociology; the chapter presenting the information about Max Weber describes some of the socialist’s concepts and contains a rather complicated section “Intellectual Influences”. To begin with, the section “Intellectual Influences” may seem to be the most difficult, since it leaves the reader in thoughts. The section presents the theory of Auguste Comte, a French sociologist who worked out the term “sociology”. His theory of the “Hierarchy of Sciences” states that all the sciences are dependent upon each other with social sciences deriving from the natural ones. The hierarchy goes from the simplest (which evolve the quickest) to the most complex forms of science. These are, from bottom to top: astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology, and sociology. The sciences above others rely on and borrow from the ones below, which makes the sciences higher on the hierarchy more difficult and abstract. (Delaney 134) Max Weber did not agree with this theory, which, constitutes the difficulty of the section. He kept to the point that “there can be as many sciences as there are different avenues to approach a problem, and we have no right to assume that we have exhausted all possible avenues of approach.” (Delaney 134) This makes the readers think which of the sociologists was right and induces them to think over the possible hierarchy of sciences. Among Weber’s concepts discussed in the book, the most significant is the concept “verstehen”, the concept of social action, and the concept of causality. The whole of Weber’s sociology is based on verstehen , which is the German word for “understand”. “Weber recognized that sociologists had an advantage over natural scientists in that they possessed the ability to understand the phenomena under study.” (Delaney136) The essence of this concept lies in the necessity of understanding the meaning of each person’s actions. As far as the concept of social action is concerned, Weber used it to observe the modifications of human behaviors in society. “Weber distinguishes between four major types of social action: zweckrational, wertrational, effective action, and traditional action” (Delaney 138) Finally, Weber’s concept of causality presupposes that each action of a person is followed by another action. He stated that causality may be both historical and sociological. “Weber believed that it was not enough to simply record events as historians do; rather sociologists should report the reasons for, and the meanings behind the action taken by the parti
Introduction The citizens of English-speaking countries are more obsessed with the idea of obtaining property. Since early childhood, people are taught how to benefit and succeed in the game of property. The majority of people assume that investment is the best way to spend money and the safest one. For a long time, the mortgage was the most common and substantial source of the budget for a new business. In the financial world, it is considered that lending to people with property is safe and banks didn’t restrain the citizens from borrowing money for property purchase. In the USA since the second half of the 20th century, the mortgage debt increased over fifty times. Main body During the English history, only aristocrats could be homeowners and only they had the right to vote. This coterie made the first step taken towards the establishment of the property-owning democracy. The political power of aristocracy decreased as they faced economic decline and started to misuse and exceed budgets. The necessity to purchase property is imposed by governmental policies and commercialized culture. The long-term and low-interest mortgages appeared as the Roosevelt’s administration tried to improve the situation in the market. For the government, mortgage investments seemed even safer, and the idea of the goodness of homeownership was widely promoted. This idea was also opposed to the Communist concept of “a society in which there would be no private property” (Ferguson, 2008). Nevertheless, inequality in federal lending took place in the USA. In1941 Detroit was divided into two parts: one part with black citizens, and another one with mainly white citizens. The loans were provided only in the white part of the city. These financial tensions were a background of the struggle for Civil Rights. As a political response to the situation, banks couldn’t refuse to lend to poorer social groups. The FNMA was divided into several departments: the Government National Mortgage Association and the government sponsored enterprise. During the post-war period, the Brit
Introduction The purpose of this study will be to analyze the structure and governance of a national or international union that addresses the plight of workers. The union that will be focused on in this study will be the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) which is a labor union representing the needs of workers employed in the electrical industry in the United States, Panama and Canada as well as other workers employed in the public utility and electrical manufacturing industry. The union also represents the interests of workers employed in computer, broadcasting and telecommunications sector. The main objective of the IBEW is to promote reasonable working conditions for all electrical workers under the union and also cultivate feelings of brotherhood/friendship among the various employees that fall under the union (Hill, 2008). History of the Union The beginning of IBEW can be traced back to the Electrical Wiremen and Linemen’s Union which was founded in 1890 in St. Louis, Missouri. Both wiremen and linemen flocked to St. Louis to demonstrate their trade by wiring the buildings in the city with electricity lines so as to exhibit their trade. During the exhibition, the workers got together to talk about their jobs and also the working conditions of electricians in the electrical industry. There was a general consensus that their jobs were hard and they worked for long hours with little pay (12 hours a day for 15 to 20 cents per hour). The workers did not receive any training or apprenticeship during the first week of their jobs and the safety standards especially for the wiremen were nonexistent which meant that they were exposed to dangerous working conditions. These poor working conditions led to the industry having the highest mortality rates of one out of two hired employees in the whole of America. The Convention and the growing electrical industry were basically the starting points of the Brotherhood (IBEW, 2005). The following year, 1891, saw a growing interest to have a national union that would address the plight of electrical workers in the US. The Convention that took place in St. Louis approached the American Federation of Labor (AFL) to receive a charter that would operationalise the Electrical Wiremen and Linemen’s Union. The Electrical Wiremen and Linemen’s Union under the charter No. 5221 was established in 1981 as a national organization that would address the labor needs of electrical work
The southwest airline, which was founded by Herb Keller the then CEO in June 1971, has been one of the most profitable businesses since it commenced its operations. It was ranked among the top admired airlines in the past as per a survey conducted by the American customer satisfaction index from 1997 to 2001 in terms of satisfactory customer service. The southwest airlines applied a shorthaul approach, which entailed a 55 minutes flight time. It also paid its crews by each trip and used the less congested airports for its operations. In addition, the southwest pilots were not members of a national union that limited the number of hours a pilot could fly an airplane. The duration between landing of a plane and its takeoff was about 20 minutes, in which four ground crew and two gate agents were required, as opposed to the united airlines, which required approximately 30 minutes with an additional ground crew of 12 and 3 gate agents. The CEO’s philosophy of putting employees’ needs first contributed to satisfying the employees, who resulted to being dedicated and motivated, thus working towards satisfying the customers’ needs. When customers are pleased with the services offered, they definitely come back for more services (Achtmeyer, 2002). In June 2010, Southwest Airline celebrated 40 years of service, which is remarkable. Industry Analysis of Southwest Airlines Southwest Airline has been constantly profitable, as opposed to other airlines, some of which have been declared bankrupt. Its reputation hails from low-affordable fares, timely flights, and an attractive corporate culture. Nevertheless, each business is influenced by Michael porter’s five forces, which include; “supplier power, buyer power, threats of substitutes, degree of rivalry and threats of new entrants” (Orcullo, 2007, p. 49). Rivalry A competitive market is always associated with rivalry, because of market concentration. As a result, each airline fights to achieve a competitive advantage. The southwest Airlines offer low fares as one of their competition strategies and offers many on-time flights to its customers. Price wars are evident in the airline industry as a means of attracting customers; for instance, Southwest Airlines offers low cost fares that are readily available on the internet. In addition, Southwest Airline has managed to beat Delta Airlines in terms of fares, since the latter’s fares are quiet high. In addition, Delta Airlines has outweighed Southwest Airlines due to the acquiring of Northwest Airlines, hence capable of offering passenger access to all cities in the United States and across all corners of the world. United Airlines recently merged with Continental, posing as a threat to the Southwest Airlines. Nevertheless, Southwest Airline knows that low fares alone cannot guarantee a competitive advantage; therefore, it pays its pilots handsomely, 40% higher as compared to other airlines, hence motivating the pilots to fly at least an extra hour as opposed to other airlines (Mouawad, 2010). In addition, Southwest Airline does
Research Design In this section, the researcher will focus on the methods used to collect, analyze, interpret, and present data collected in this study. Looting of oil by non-state actors, as Ocakli and Scotch (2017) observe is common in countries or regions with a weak and unstable government. These insurgencies thrive in places suffering from political instability. The article by Ocakli and Scotch (2017) was a comparative analysis that looked at the looting of oil in Syria by the Islamic State and in Nigeria by MEND and found out that the problem is likely to be more common in regions controlled by the insurgencies. However, it is interesting to note that the study revealed that despite the similarity in the strategy used by these looters, the two groups differ about religious, ethnic, ideological, and organizational structures (Tang, Xiong, & Li, 2017). This study seeks to investigate the same problem of oil looting in Libya, which is also affected by political instability just like the two states in the article. It would be necessary to determine the applicability of Ocakli and Scotch (2017) conclusion and assumptions to the Libyan case. Methods Used In Addressing Research Questions In this study, the researcher will use Ocakli and Scotch (2017) to work as a framework for the study. It means that the researcher will not collect primary data from the respondents in Libya. The time available and resources at the disposal of the researcher makes it impossible to travel to the specific regions of interest to collect data from the respondents. As such, the study will rely on published sources about the issue under investigation. Secondary data will be collected from reliable sources to help in addressing the research questions. The sources will include books, journal articles, and reliable online sources. It is important to note that the problem in Libya started after the long-time leader, Muammar Mohammed Abu Minyar Gaddafi was forced out of power (Findley & Marineau, 2015). As such, the secondary data collected must be as current as possible, especially the specific information about the current problems in Libya. According to Fowler (2013), when using secondary sources as the only source of data, it is always critical to address some of the confli
What is strategy and why is it important? Find here the answers to these questions. The strategic planning essay below explains the impact of strategy on the spheres of marketing and logistics as well as on small businesses in general. Introduction Strategic planning is a process of making certain choices within an organization. It can be defined as a designed process that is meant to support organizational leaders both locally and internationally in terms of operations methods, goals and objectives. Alternatively, strategic planning can be defined as a management tool used for the purpose of enabling an organization to work effectively and efficiently towards achieving its goals and objectives. The process of managing the operations of a business is referred to as strategic because it entails how best a business organization respond to the circumstances arising from a dynamic and in other cases hostile business environment. Meanwhile, Small business is a kind of business entity that is owned privately by an individual or a group of partners and that which operates with a small number of labor forces. Small business may include privately owned partnerships, sole proprietorships and corporations. Nonetheless, it is important to note that the legal definition of a small business varies greatly according various nations of the world; this also depends on the type of industry in which a business entity may be categorized into. This research paper will examine strategic planning; with regards to this, the essay will examine the strategic planning, practices, importance of strategic planning and the pitfalls of strategic planning amongst small businesses and finally provides a conclusion about strategic planning in small businesses. What Is Strategy in Business? It has always been falsely thought strategic planning is only for big and multinational corporations. It is important to note that strategic planning is crucial for every organization, both for profit and non-profit organizations. In this case, strategic planning is very crucial for small business organizations. Small business organizations require to be more committed to strategic thinking and actions more than the large scale established business entities. In the process of conducting strategic planning, small organizations are preparing to meet future business challenges as they remain focused in meeting their strategic goals and objectives. Strategic planning prepares small businesses to deal with the future in five steps. The first one is that the firm foresees both potential opportunities and threats in order to meet its vision and mission. The second step is that the small businesses make decisions on how best they can respond to potential business opportunities and threats that they will encounter. The third step is for the small businesses to single out the likely sources from which the opportunities and threats will originate from. The fourth step entails examining the viability of an opportunity and the likelihood of the ris
Abstract The main focus of this study is to examine organizational learning and knowledge among Indian companies. The study also pays special attention on the influence of the local culture, customs, traditions and business practices on the organizational learning and knowledge among Indian firms. The study relied mainly on the secondary data and personal experience in collecting and analyzing information relating to organizational learning practices in India and how they are affected by culture and customs. This paper does not investigate the probability of an organizational performance impacting on the learning capacity, which may be possible, and the researcher acknowledges this as a limitation of the study. Future studies carried out on the same subject may explore this further. Introduction Indian economy in the in the recent years have seen considerably transformation in its business environment. Since independence, the Indian economy was state controlled until the World Bank and IMF intervened in 1990 that it became a free market economy. A number of reforms have been witnessed in all sectors of its economy including liberalization of its foreign market (Leitch et al. 1996). This study is based on the work of the earlier scholars who explored the nature of organizational learning in the Indian firms, their main features and the challenges these organizations were facing following liberalization of the Indian economy (Budhwar 2003). In the early 90’s, Indian organizations were very closed to competition and were operating in a secure and steady business environment and therefore any learning that was taking place within these organizations was at a singlet loop learning. However, with the liberalization of the Indian economy many organizations started experiencing myriad challenges of globalization, portfolio management, advancement in technology, introduction of novel systems and professionalism, thus the need to transform into doubled loop learning (Budhwar 2003). Liberalized Indian economy and the stiff global competition have put a lot of pressure on the Indian firms, thus are making a lot of effort to improve and develop their staff to counter these challenges (Budhwar 2003). Expatriates in India are known to be very knowledgeable and skillful. The Indian Human Resources departments are also in relentless pressure to establish wide scale professional transformation in line with the new technology and the global market. Therefore, drawing of the organization learning of the Indian leadership from the strategic Human Resources perspective is very important in this study (Jakubik 2008). Literature Review Cases where organization learning can be a disaster Organization learning can either be beneficial or disastrous to a business entity. Organizations can learn wrong ideas for instance manufacturing products with low demand in the market or making false conclusions. Thus, learning process does not always have t o be beneficial in all cases and scholars should move away from the conception of organization learning as an effective and efficient instrument in achieving organizational
Prior to Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and now Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA), the regulation of interstate commerce can be seen through the commerce clause of Article 1 Section n8 of the Constitution. This clause provided the powers to the congress to regulate commerce “with foreign Nations, and with the Indian Tribes” (U.S. Constitution, 2010). Among the examples of exercising such power was the passage of Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, which provisions applied to any common carrier or carriers engaged in the transportation of passengers across the united States (Civics Online, 2010). Although there are potentially overlapping areas between Article 2 of UCC and UCITA, there are key distinctions between the two acts. The first and the main distinction are the types of goods involved in the transactions. In Article 2 of UCC, the law governs the sale of tangible goods, in which information transferred in computer information transaction, e.g. software purchase, “does not necessarily meet the definition of a “good.”” (Grier, Keane, & Gilbert, 2001). UCITA, on the other hand, as the title of the acct implies are totally concerned with governing the transactions related to computer information. Thus, if the goods fall under the definition of computer information, defined as “information in electronic form which is obtained from or through the use of a computer or which is in a form capable of being processed by a computer”, then it is automatically governed by UCITA (Grier, et al., 2001). Additionally, UCC is mainly concerned with selling goods, while UCITA governs licensing as a form of commercial transaction and a particular type of transfer of rights. The legal differences between selling and licensing are constituted in the amount of rights transferred from owner to consumer. Sales involve a complete transfer of ownership rights from the owner to the consumer, or the parties in the contract. Accordingly, such transfer of ownership gives the right for the buyer to lend, rent, resell, the purchased product. Licensing, on the other hand, involves a limited transfer of rights to use (CNI, 2001). Thus, the purchaser does not own the product, where ownership rights are retained by the seller. It can be stated that the potential overlapping areas might have caused legislators to consider drafting a separate act in UCITA, rather than modifying Article 2 of UCC. Considering the developments in the area of computer information, in which for example the medium itself has changed over the last 10 years, with instances emerged when such medium is absent, it can be assumed that further modification for the act will be necessary. In that regard, it might be more feasible to take a different direction for computer related information, separating them from tangible goods. There is a controversy currently on the right given to software developers,