Aristotle view on politics Essay Example for Free

Aristotle view on politics Essay Political science studies the tasks of the politician or statesman (politikos), in much the way that medical science concerns the work of the physician (see Politics IV. 1). It is, in fact, the body of knowledge that such practitioners, if truly expert, will also wield in pursuing their tasks. The most important task for the politician is, in the role of lawgiver (nomothetes), to frame the appropriate constitution for the city-state. This involves enduring laws, customs, and institutions (including a system of moral education) for the citizens. Once the constitution is in place, the politician needs to take the appropriate measures to maintain it, to introduce reforms when he finds them necessary, and to prevent developments which might subvert the political system. This is the province of legislative science, which Aristotle regards as more important than politics as exercised in everyday political activity such as the passing of decrees (see EN VI. 8). Aristotle frequently compares the politician to a craftsman. The analogy is imprecise because politics, in the strict sense of legislative science, is a form of practical knowledge, while a craft like architecture or medicine is a form of productive knowledge. However, the comparison is valid to the extent that the politician produces, operates, maintains a legal system according to universal principles (EN VI. 8 and X. 9). In order to appreciate this analogy it is helpful to observe that Aristotle explains the production of an artifact in terms of four causes: the material, formal, efficient, and final causes (Phys.II. 3 and Met. A. 2). For example, clay (material cause) is molded into a vase shape (formal cause) by a potter (efficient or moving cause) so that it can contain liquid (final cause). (For discussion of the four causes see the entry on Aristotles physics. ) One can also explain the existence of the city-state in terms of the four causes. It is a kind of community (koinonia), that is, a collection of parts having some functions and interests in common (Pol. II. 1. 1261a18, III. 1. 1275b20). Hence, it is made up of parts, which Aristotle describes in various ways in different contexts: as households, or economic classes (e. g. , the rich and the poor), or demes (i. e. , local political units). But, ultimately, the city-state is composed of individual citizens (see III. 1. 1274a38–41), who, along with natural resources, are the â€Å"material† or â€Å"equipment† out of which the city-state is fashioned (see VII. 14. 1325b38-41). The formal cause of the city-state is its constitution (politeia). Aristotle defines the constitution as â€Å"a certain ordering of the inhabitants of the city-state† (III. 1. 1274b32-41). He also speaks of the constitution of a community as â€Å"the form of the compound† and argues that whether the community is the same over time depends on whether it has the same constitution (III. 3. 1276b1–11). The constitution is not a written document, but an immanent organizing principle, analogous to the soul of an organism. Hence, the constitution is also â€Å"the way of life† of the citizens (IV. 11.1295a40-b1, VII. 8. 1328b1-2). Here the citizens are that minority of the resident population who possess full political rights (III. 1. 1275b17–20). The existence of the city-state also requires an efficient cause, namely, its ruler. On Aristotles view, a community of any sort can possess order only if it has a ruling element or authority. This ruling principle is defined by the constitution, which sets criteria for political offices, particularly the sovereign office (III. 6. 1278b8–10; cf. IV. 1. 1289a15–18). However, on a deeper level, there must be an efficient cause to explain why a city-state acquires its constitution in the first place. Aristotle states that â€Å"the person who first established [the city-state] is the cause of very great benefits† (I. 2. 1253a30–1). This person was evidently the lawgiver (nomothetes), someone like Solon of Athens or Lycurgus of Sparta, who founded the constitution. Aristotle compares the lawgiver, or the politician more generally, to a craftsman (demiourgos) like a weaver or shipbuilder, who fashions material into a finished product (II.12. 1273b32–3, VII. 4. 1325b40–1365a5). The notion of final cause dominates Aristotles Politics from the opening lines: Since we see that every city-state is a sort of community and that every community is established for the sake of some good (for everyone does everything for the sake of what they believe to be good), it is clear that every community aims at some good, and the community which has the most authority of all and includes all the others aims highest, that is, at the good with the most authority. This is what is called the city-state or political community. [I. 1. 1252a1–7] Soon after, he states that the city-state comes into being for the sake of life but exists for the sake of the good life (2. 1252b29–30). The theme that the good life or happiness is the proper end of the city-state recurs throughout the Politics (III. 6. 1278b17-24, 9. 1280b39; VII. 2. 1325a7–10). To sum up, the city-state is a hylomorphic (i. e., matter-form) compound of a particular population (i. e. , citizen-body) in a given territory (material cause) and a constitution (formal cause). The constitution itself is fashioned by the lawgiver and is governed by politicians, who are like craftsmen (efficient cause), and the constitution defines the aim of the city-state (final cause, IV. 1. 1289a17–18). For a further discussion of this topic, see the following supplementary document:

Media Propaganda and Stereotypes Essay -- Media Stereotypes Stereotypi

Our society consists of consumers that buy into stereotypes and the propaganda that is being fed by the government and the media. Stereotypes steer individual's perceptions of a group of people in a certain way, usually negative, and generalize that opinion to all members of the group. Aware of the influence stereotypes have on people's views, governments use stereotypes already imbedded in society as a propaganda tactic to persuade people's thoughts, opinions and beliefs in order to benefit their cause. The media was used for disseminating stereotypes the effect violent music has on teenager's behaviours such as in the shootings at Columbine. After the September 11 attacks, the U.S. government used the media as an outlet to emphasize Muslim stereotypes to influence people to support the invasion of Iraq. Stereotypes and other propaganda techniques such as "name-calling, manicheanism, and censorship" are powerful instruments used in propaganda, because it tactfully influences the pop ulation to think in the way that the government and media want them to think (Shah, 2003). However, its success depends on how strong the stereotypes are instilled in society, how well they are maintained within propaganda and if the public is unaware of the propaganda techniques used. Propaganda is most often used during times of conflict, such as the most recent example regarding the September 11th terrorist attacks on the United States. When news broke out all over the media that the terrorists responsible for the atrocity were of Muslim origin, many racist individuals probably thought 'it figures.' Ever since the fact that Saddam Hussein "used chemical weapons to poison tens of thousands Kurds in 1988" was exposed to the public via the media, t... ...1402>, consulted on March 30, 2004. Mediascope (2000). "Youth and Violent Music." Online at: http://www.mediascope.org/pubs/ibriefs/yvm.htm, consulted on March 29, 2004. Poiesis.org (1997). "The Peace Journalist Option." Online at: http://www.globalissues.org/HumanRights/Media/Propaganda/Iraq.asp, consulted on March 28. SCHECHTER, Danny (2001). "Covering Violence: How Should Media Handle Conflict?" mediachannel.org. Online at: http://www.mediachannel.org/views/dissector/coveringviolence.shtml, consulted on March 27, 2004. SHAH, Anup (2003). "War, Propaganda and the Media." Global Issues. Online at: http://www.globalissues.org/HumanRights/Media/Military.asp, consulted on March 27, 2004. The Disaster Center (2000). "Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold: Stop the Violence, Remember Littleton." Online at: http://www.cnn.com/video, consulted on April 1, 2004.

Benefits to having a CFO as CEO Essay

Part IIn today’s complex business environment, more and more companies are turning to Chief Finance Officers (CFO) to assume the premier position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company. However, the qualities required of a CEO are not always in line with the training and experiences of a former CFO. Yet the CFO can bring many qualities to the CEO position to help a company succeed. What are the benefits to having a CFO as CEO, and what are the required qualities of a CEO that may hamper the CFO’s success in this position?As the leader of a corporation, the CEO must be a well rounded leader. The CEO’s key responsibility is â€Å"making critical strategic decisions and creating conditions for those to be well-executed† He must have the people skills to motivate and build consensus both among the employees, shareholders, and board members. He must be able to develop a strategy and swiftly and effectively implement it. â€Å"A CEO must think at a higher level of abstraction – more inductively and less deductively. A CEO must be more willing and able to act on key decisions with fewer facts, relying more on grounded assumptions. And a CEO must be able to communicate effectively to a broader constituency – in particular, he must be far more politically attuned.† John Dasburg, CEO of Burger King and former CFO of Marriott International IncGenerally the CEO is more concerned with the â€Å"Big Picture† of the company, and can not afford to immerse themselves in the details of any specific area. They are the motivators and leaders. Often the CEO can be successful simply by selling his vision and strategic plan, while letting others such as the CFO work out the details. In contrast, people expect the CFO to be detailed and analytical, even critical in their examination of the strategic plan, by examining it for financial flaws. Probably the biggest barrier preventing CFOs from succeeding as CEOs is that of management skills. The CFO is an expert in the financial underpinnings of the company, but often is not required to display skill in people or project management. CEOs often make decisions based on the analytics, as well as intangibles learned from these skills; intuition, personal knowledge of those involved, and consumer opinion for example. In addition, the CEO is often required to make decisions with limited time to examine the details,  something the CFO is trained to specifically not do. The CFO is trained collect and analyze all the data before coming to a decision. They look at different factors, from NPV to the timing of cash flow and returns; then calculate the risk of the investment. The CEO will often look at the same data, yet will not give the hard numbers the same weight as the CFO. Instead, those intangibles may weigh heavily in the making of the decision. The CEO is often willing to accept take more risk than the CFO. The transition to being able to make the hard decision without all the data may be a difficult one for the analytically oriented CFO to make. Another functional area the CFO will have little experience in is marketing. Sales and marketing will always be an important part of business. Many CFOs are hired to cut costs to increase the efficiency of a company. Marketing is generally a favorite target of the cost cutters. In a sluggish market, this may be effective, but in a growth market such as seen in recent years, focusing more on marketing can led a company to success. CFOs rarely have experience or understanding of marketing and sales, and their relationship to the market. This lack of dedicated experience can harm a company when it needs to grow to succeed. However, the recent economic down-turn, to include the fall of the dot-coms and telecommunications companies, the numerous high-profile scandals that have racked prominent companies and the global growth that continues in all business has led to financial expertise being a top priority for a new CEO. The CFO can bring many skill sets to the CEO position to mitigate the complexity and public, and government, oversight prevalent in today’s business environment. By definition, CFOs are more focused on the finances than a CEO normally is. However a financial background can greatly help a CEO to understand the status of the company, and can lead to enhanced success, while at the same time staying out of the scandals. The responsibility for regulatory compliance is the domain of the CFO. They are trained in the details required to keep the company within the legal bounds. As stated by Deborah Thomas, head of treasury at Michael Page International:†The CFO has had to pick up responsibility for responding to regulatory changes. And with regulation, compliance and corporate risk at the forefront of everyone’s minds, the CFO makes the perfect choice for CEO†By the time a person is promoted to CFO, they possess an innate understanding of the regulations, legal requirements, and a comprehensive knowledge of the financial status of the company. These are all skills that a CEO needs to possess to be successful. As a CEO, the CFO may be capable of managing the regulatory complexities, while still finding opportunities for growth. Today’s CFO is better-rounded than those in the past. Partly due to the recent scandals, the CFO works closely with the CEO in developing and executing strategy. It is often the CFO who is now the face of the company, managing the daily relationships with the shareholders. Today’s CFO is invested in the daily operations of the company, and will now come to the CEO seat with a full understanding of operations and strategy. With business becoming increasingly complex, due to increased public oversight, regulation, and global growth; it is imperative that a CEO have a strong financial background. Having the financial background can lead a company to increased success. Rather than trusting those intangibles, the CFO may make decisions based more higher probabilities of success. He may avoid the big risks, and subsequent big payoffs, but will often show a steady growth and return. In fact, according to a study by Duke University, companies that are run by optimistic, dynamic CEOs often run a higher level of short-term debt and attempt to time the debt market, a sign of taking risks. Whereas companies run by former CFOs tend to have higher debt to equity ratios, an indication of stability. It is this ability to negotiate the risks that places the CFO as a highly  desirable CEO candidate. The CFO is able to assess the risks and their impact on financial performance. The CFO seems to perform well overall as a CEO. So well that the trend is growing, according to CFO Magazine in 2005, 20 percent of Fortune 100 CEOs were once CFOs, up from 12 percent in 1995. The key to success for the CFO seeking to become a CEO is to round out their experiences. They will possess they technical expertise to perform the job, they just need to be able to supplement that skill with the management and visionary skills requisite for a good CEO. References 1. Durfee, Don. SAY YES TO DR NO: New research suggests that CFOs are an essential counterweight to optimistic CEOs. CFO Asia, 7 Sep 2006http://www.cfoasia.com/archives/200609-07.htm2. Favaro, Paul. Making the Leap from CFO to CEO. Financial Executives Online. November 2001http://www.favaro.net/publications/cfo-to-ceo/CFOtoCEO.htm3. Durfee, Don. The Top Spot: Why more companies are tapping their finance chiefs for CEO. CFO Magazine. 1 October 2005http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/44444684. Corporate Finance. CFO to CEO1 April 2005http://www.cristassociates.com/press/CorpFin_CFOtoCEO_040105.pdf

The Work Of An Occupational Therapist - 1677 Words

Activities of daily living are the main focus of an Occupational Therapist. When people are doing their habits and routines do not think about the way they do something or why they are doing it in a certain way. An Occupational Therapist, however, will watch a person perform an activity and think on the steps he/she is taking and the reason behind the way they are performing it. For OTs, the way people perform a certain task or how they behave is extremely important because according to the theorists of behavior, motor control, and cognitive development each individual most perform and behave according to their stage in life. OT is all about client-centered care and if they would not know how a person is supposed to behave at a certain age how would they realize there is something wrong. In this paper, we are going to try to implement those theories in the behavior of a child. The observation of Eddy, a 43 months old child born in the United States but whose parents were born and raised in Cuba took place on a Saturday early afternoon in the living room of the kid’s house. The house from front to back was covered with toys of different colors and shapes along with security measures for the kid’s safety in every room. According to the mother, the family is trying to continue with parent’s traditions along with some acquires in the States like Christmas and Thanksgivings. Also, the mother explained that the child has been raised talking a mix of Spanish and English and theyShow MoreRelatedOccupational Therapy : A Fun, Active, And Exciting Way Of Helping Children With Disabilities1566 Words   |  7 PagesOccupational therapy is a fun, active, and interesting way of helping children with disabilities. 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