What is Judaism according to Heschel?

According to Rabbi Heschel Judaism was that whenever somebody mentioned the name Judaism, it was like taking about either somebody citing a poem, God the father or someone who lived a spiritual life. Since many people believed that without God everything is impossible, Heschel tried to come out clearly that people need to be strong in faith despite all the difficulties they are going through. He also stressed out that everyone should be able to live peacefully with each other by forgiving one another whenever there is a problem between them. (Merkel, 1985, p. 2) (Heschel, 1985). The word of God was for everyone no matter what they do, where they come from or whatever language they speak. One way of making people understands the word of God was to write and come out clearly about religious teachings. They were also being taught how to live in harmony and how to confess to one another whenever there is a problem among them. (Merkel, 1985, p. 3) (Heschel, 1985). According to Heschel, Torah’s ways of giving out ideas or explanations about Judaism was like a reflection of what has been happening in our daily lives as it was written in the bible. God the Father also appears as a very bright light to show people that they should believe and have faith in Him all the time. (Merkel, 1985, p. 4) (Heschel, 1985). Heschel join one of the spiritual congregations where he became more spiritual and strong in faith. This attracted very many people as it was a good example of a Jesus follower. It also made many people to listen, understand and believe in the word of God. (Merkel, 1985, p. 5) (Heschel, 1985). Rabbi was so much into Christianity that he could not have time to come together with other people in his congregation. This made the people of his congregation to say that he was over doing the work of Christianity. He also tried to make people have peace, love, and unity and go as far celebrating mass as a sign of commitment to God. . (Merkel, 1985, p. 6) (Heschel, 1985). Everyone was to understand the word of God in the right way and apply in their daily life. This was made to encourage the weak people who were not strong in faith to be able to participate in duties that strengthen their faith. The difficulties that the people of Israel experience on Mount Sinai were a big challenge for them in their life. This is because from there is when man had really believed that God do exist. (Merkel, 1985, p. 7) (Heschel, 1985). He brought the image of God as he appears to Moses on Mount Sinai. This is when Moses’ people had no faith in God and started worshipping other gods. God became angry and appeared to Moses and gave him the Ten Commandments that could guide and make his people believe and trust in God. The Ten Commandments were written so that everyone should believe that all the writings were truly from Jesus but not Moses. (Merkel, 1985, p. 8) (Heschel, 1985). Moses is also portrayed as good leader because he is seen leading his people from Israel to Misery as per instructions given by God. This is when God appeared to him as burning bush when he was looking after the cattle. By then they had no commandments to follow but they still believed in God as their creator and source of inspiration in their life. (Merkel, 1985, p. 9) (Heschel, 1985). As it is seen in the bible that by the time God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, his people had already lost their faith and started worshipping other gods. This made it very difficult for Moses to make all of them believe in the Ten Commandments given the God. It implies that not all Moses’ people accepted the Ten Commandments. That, s why there are always new laws every generation. (Merkel, 1985, p. 10) (Heschel, 1985). Though there were some people who disagreed with Moses as he gave them the Ten Commandments, majority believed on the Ten Commandments that made many generations that comes after them to accept and follow the Ten Commandments as it was meant to strengthen people’s faith in their daily life. (Merkel, 1985, p. 1) (Heschel, 1985). People should be in a position to understand and believe in Jesus’ signs as it was written in the bible. They need to accept that even though they can’t see some of these things happening now, they had already happened before and their fore fathers believed in them. So it’s a big challenge to them to accept the reality of the past. (Merkel, 1985, p. 12) (Heschel , 1985). As it is written in the bible that when Jesus went to Cana and wine got finished during the wedding, He asked for water and turned it into wine for the people who were in the wedding. And also when there was a lot of wind when he was with James and John in a boat, He stopped the wind. These two signs show that God is always there for his people and He will always present in them wherever they go. (Merkel, 1985, p. 13) (Heschel, 1985). It is good to believe in what you understand best than to believe in what you don’t know. This only comes out when you really accept, believe and have faith in the scriptures of the bible. You should be able to relate the scriptures of the bible into your daily life and try to practice them in your life because this is only way to strengthened your faith. Merkel, 1985, p. 14) (Heschel, 1985). Moses was one of the most prominent leaders that God used to show people the right way of life that will remain a remembrance in life to everyone. These are written in the bible so that everyone can understand whatever happened in the past during the reign of their fore fathers. (Merkel, 1985, p. 15) (Heschel, 1985). It is also important to preach or translate the scriptures of the bible according what was written rather than preaching the things which do not exist to people. This is because whatever is being taught now will remain as a history for the coming generations. They should understand that the scriptures of the bible are holy words from God the father but just a normal human being. (Merkel, 1985, p. 16) (Heschel, 1985). God communicated to his people through the scriptures by sending prophets to perform various signs. This can be seen as he ordered Abraham to sacrifice his only son, appearing to Moses as burning bush, saving his disciple from drowning during the strong wind and raising Larus from death after four days. All these events remain as a history to every generation that comes and it will always be there to guide them in their life. (Merkel, 1985, p. 17) (Heschel, 1985). The covenant between God and Moses on Mount Sinai was a sign of an agreement between the people of Israel and God. It made easier for the people of Israel to communicate to God and adored Him as their only savior. So for the people of Israel to communicate to God they had to understand the scripture, translate it and relate to their daily life. Merkel, 1985, p. 18) (Heschel, 1985). The covenant made on Mount Sinai lead to various activities to be performed by man. This is where man had to obey the holy Sunday, do not kill, do not steal, obey their parents so that you can live longer, believe in God all the time and always standing firm to tell truth. Even the people of Israel went as far as fasting in order to strengthen their faith which remained as history to all the coming generations. (Merkel, 1985, p. 19) (Heschel, 19 85). When Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, it does not mean it was the end of everything that God had to give his people. It implies that the door was still open for more teachings in the future. This encourages people to believe and trust in God as their only comforter during the trial moments in their lives. (Merkel, 1985, p. 20) (Heschel, 1985). The bible was not written as book to be read but as scripture to guide people in their lives. It was supposed to be read, understand the meaning of the scriptures and translate and then preach the right words of God to the people. This would inspire many people to read the scriptures of the bible and know the reason why Jesus sacrificed to suffer on their behalf. (Merkel, 1985, p. 21) (Heschel, 1985). As seen that it is very easier for the people to live as God’s people when they both understand the bible very well. Therefore it is good to make people believe in Jesus as their only guidance in life. When you follow the right path that is God’s foot steps, you will find life interesting and encouraging no matter what difficulties you may be going through. It also makes man become a strong Christian which remains as an example to his forth coming generations. (Merkel, 1985, p. 22) (Heschel, 1985). Jesus loves the world so much that he bled and died for the human kind. So it is the work of the man to be able to follow God’s commandments in order to fulfill God’s promises. It does mean that God made it so difficult for the man not to enjoy life but to have good life both in the world and in heaven. That is why Jesus forbids man not to do some of the things in life. It is not a punishment but a lesson to prepare them for both life in the world and the kingdom of God. (Merkel, 1985, p. 23) (Heschel, 1985). Everyone should be able to carry his own cross when it comes to serving God because you will be judged according your own deeds but not on the behalf of someone else. Man must be able to know the scriptures of the bible so that it can able to apply it any time in his or her life. This will also help people to have time worship God because everyone is a position to read and interpret whatever information which is in the bible. Merkel, 1985, p. 24) (Heschel, 1985). Conclusion: Judaism is all about the past events that happened during the reign of the prophets like Moses, Elijah and Abraham. These are the days when God used to communicate to man through prophets. The prophets could see God in visions, signs and symbols then go and communicate to the people according what they have seen in their visions or symbols they had received. They had to exp lain all the details of what God told them. So that is how man communicated to god in older days.

Review Of Herman And Chomsky Essay

The ‘Manufacturing Consent’ of media operations written and applied by Edward Herman and   Noam Chomsky say   that elite mass media are united and interlocked with other institutional sectors in ownership, management and social circles. In democratic societies mass media plays an important role. They respond to public concerns and create awareness to the state policies important events and view points. The fundamental principles of democracy depend upon the notion of a reasonably informed electorate   that reflects   public opinion and respond to public concerns Media is an integral part of the society, media need not be controlled or set to a pattern they work united with other sectors.(European Journal of Communication; 2002, pg.147). Herman and Chomsky’s propaganda model has been named as ‘conspiracy theory’ because of its determined view of media behavior, according to them mass media are instruments of power that mobilize support for special interests that dominate the state and private activity and mass media acts in unison with other sectors, i.e. the academy, to establish, enforce, reinforce and police corporate hegemony. (European Journal of Communication 2002, pg148) .   Herman and Chomsky reject the ‘conspiracy label’ however ‘the Manufacturing Consent’s emphasis is on motives of media behavior, in relation to institutional controls.(Herman and Chomsky ;1988,pg 1-35). The model assumes that media designs should be explained in structural terms. According to Herman and Chomsky there are five major ‘filtering’ mechanisms which structure the news content. The authors admit that propaganda model cannot give every detail of such a complex matter as the working of the national mass media, the model does not assume that news reporters, editors and other workers are instructed or typically compelled to omit some voices and emphasize others, the model outlines circumstances under which media will be comparatively ‘open’ or ‘closed’. As micro-analysis is not the task of the Propaganda Model, it only provides an overview of the system at work, making sense out of a confusing picture by removing the main principles of the system, the basic argument in this context   is that meanings are easily ‘filtered’ by restrictions that are made in the system. The authors argue that meanings are formed at odd levels, as the decisions are understood to be natural and sensible, however the authors do not imply that newsroom workers always make decisions to align themselves with the interests of the dominant elites.(Rai,1995:pg46) Herman and Chomsky write that all news material goes through five inter related filter restrictions. Leaving only cleansed residue fit to be printed.(Herman and Chomsky;1988:pg 3-14). The five filter elements are: (1) the size, concentrated ownership, owner’s wealth, and profit orientation of the dominant mass-media; (2) advertising as the primary income source of the mass media. (3) the reliance of the media on information provided by government, business, and experts funded and approved by the primary sources and agents of power. (Martin and Knight 1997,pg 253-254). (4) Opposition as means of disciplining the media; (5) anti-communism as a national religion and control mechanism.(Herman ,cited in Wintonick and Achbar,1994:pg108). The first filter restriction emphasizes that media are closely interlinked and share common interests with other dominant sectors as corporations, the state, and banks. The dominant media sectors are large firms with large businesses; they are controlled by very wealthy people or by their managers who are subject to sharp restrictions by the owners. The second filter emphasizes that the news production process is highly influenced by advertising values ,most media must sell markets(readers) to buyers(advertisers).This dependency can directly influence media   performance, Chomsky   remarks   that media content reflects the interests of the sellers, the buyers, and the product . Herman contends that the application of the first and second filters of the   propaganda model has greatly influenced the economy the communications industries, and politics went through dramatic changes the two filters ,ownership and advertising have become even more important. The third filter is the news gathering process, the dominant elite provide press releases, copies of speeches, periodicals, photos, and thus government and corporate sources are attractive to media only for economic reasons. The third filter stresses that the opinions by corporate and state sources are adapted to class interest and market force. Herman and Chomsky stress that the nature of the mutual relationship between media and sources directly affect the media performance. The powerful can use personal relationships, threats, rewards, to influence media. The media under obligations may carry untrue stories in order not to offend their close relationship with the sources. The fourth filter, flak, means the state the dominant social institution which has power and resources to force the media to play a propagandistic role in society Herman and Chomsky explain that flak refers to negative responses to media statement, it may involve individuals or independent action, and the authors contend that preferred meanings are structured by dominating official sources, in this way news may be skewed in the desired direction. The fifth filter, the anti-communism has been replaced by ‘otherness’ It’s the idea of scaring people, creating fear, hatred, and discontent aroused by social and economic conditions, to prevent them from realizing to what is really happening to them.(Chomsky 1998: pg48).The authors maintain that media shapes public opinion by controlling how ideas are presented; the five filters curb the flow of the news as it passes through its gates and can easily limit what can be big news. Herman and Chomsky state that these five filter constraints are the essentials of propaganda model, the members of the power elite try to shape the beliefs and attitudes and opinions of the people through the media, free and open discussions are part of the process but leaders utilize deceit and violence to combat individuals and institutions as the public does not agree with the opinion of the power elite. The world politics has seen radical changes since the demise of communism in the former Soviet Union as mentioned in the Manufacturing Consent. The fifth filter is termed ‘the dominant ideology ’through out this book, however,   anti –communism   has been emphasized as the ideological elements that are most important in terms of discipline and control mechanisms. The Manufacturing Consent, gives a vague description of the fifth filter its ideology helps to mobilize people against an enemy it can be used against any policies that threaten property interests or support the communist states and radicalism, the model presumes that media performance is understood as the outcome of market forces, the dominant media are deeply and firmly imbedded in the market system, the main information sources ,the media depends on   are the government and major business firms. Herman and Chomsky view media as dominant ideological apparatus same   as mentioned in the thesis by William Domhoff in his book ,The Powers That Be: Processes of Ruling Class Domination in America. (Domhoff 1979,pg 169). Domhoff contends that the   four basic processes through which the ruling class ‘rules’ are (1)the special interest process;(2)policy formation process;(3)candidate selection; and(4)the ideological process, the Herman and Chomsky’s theory is the mirror of Domhoff’s theory of ideological apparatus for dominant elites.(Domhoff;1979,179-183). The Canadian sociologist Wallace Clement writes about the ruling class of Canada, he states through observation that the ruling elite have remained consistent over the past century. The institutional links within Canada are at elite level, ownership of capital is highly concentrated.(Canadian Corporate Elite;1975). Another Canadian sociologist Patricia Marchak (1988;pg122),stresses that the main question is under what conditions the state would be obliged to act only with reference to the interests of the capital. When such conditions are obtained universally, and when they do, the validity of Propaganda Model is likely to increase.(Patricia Marchak;1988,pg34). Herman and Chomsky do not claim that media acts only to circulate propaganda. The Propaganda Model   Ã‚  describes ‘the forces that cause the mass media to play a propaganda role’ they also argue that media not only serve the political and economic interests of dominant elite but also of the state. The authors admit that the propaganda model does not explain everything in every context it deals with the patterns of media behavior and performance. The elite media decides what topics, issues, and events that are to be considered ‘news worthy’ by the lower-tier media and establish the general discourse, they determine, they select,   they shape,   they control, they restrict in order   to serve the dominant elite groups in the society. This system is at odds with reality as the powerful are able to decide what the general public is allowed to see, hear, think and create public opinion by regular control. Individual powerlessness grows in the face of globalizing market; support organizations as the labor unions are weakened .In the final pages of Manufacturing Consent Herman and Chomsky acknowledge that the system is not all powerful, the domination of media by government and the elite have not overcome Vietnam syndrome and public hostility to direct US involvement in destabilization and over throw of foreign governments.   Herman and Chomsky took the phrase ‘manufacturing consent’ from the influential American journalist Walter Lippman who advocated consent engineering. He said common good should be managed by small specialized class. The creation of consent is not a new art, it was supposed to have died out with the birth of democracy but it is very much alive, it is now based on analysis rather than on rule of thumb. The engineering of consent is the essence of democratic process, (Bernays; 1947, cited in Wintonick and Achbar, 1994; pg41). the freedom of speech, press, petition, and assembly; the freedoms to make the engineering of consent possible are the most cherished guarantees of the Constitution of the United States.(Lippman, cited inRai,1995;pg23).   John Jay was the first chief justice of the Supreme Court he said ‘those who own the country ought to govern it’ in other words it is necessary to ensure that those who own the country are happy or else all will suffer, for they control investment and determine what is produced and distributed and what benefits will trickle down to those who rent themselves to the owners when the y can. The propaganda model contends that media content is organized to manufacture consent and to prevent opposition media content serves political ends the media makes choices that establish and define ‘worthy’ and ‘unworthy’ causes. The news coverage devoted to government(state)policy in general(foreign and domestic) by the elite to generate audience interest and sympathy in some stories while directing attention away from other stories Media take close interest in the Third World and their interconnections with the   government.(Herman and Chomsky,1988;pg13-14). The authors write that media treats victims of oppression and state terrorism differently, depending on the perpetrators. The ‘unworthy victims’ (victims of oppression and /or state terrorism perpetrated by us (Canada, the US and the other capitalist democracies), and ‘worthy victims’ (victims of oppression and/or state terrorism perpetrated by official enemy states).Different treatment is observed in sourcing and evaluating stories, full swing investigation in search of villain and of high officials, to humane treatment more prominent coverage. In case of ‘unworthy victims’ of enemy crimes, allegations are simply invented they have to rely on official US. sources unless they prove it wrong in which case they are avoided(Cambodia under Pol Pot is a case in point).It predicts that the victims of state terrorism/violence that is perpetuated by the democracies or client states will be given treatment that can be seen to serve political ends (Chomsky, 1988; pg34). The writers as moral agents are trying to bring the truth about matters of human significance to an audience that can do something about them. My personal view is that citizens of democratic societies should take a definite course of self- defense to protect their rights with the help of radio and television, advertising and public relations to safe guard their rights from being manipulated. The Independent mind must be allowed to develop and grow in a free society it is a difficult task as in today’s free society, consent is manipulation of public opinion. I do agree with the writers, in my view the young minds should separate themselves from the official manipulative system. Thus the writers are invested with a moral responsibility to tell the truth, it is a very difficult task to perform today even in our free society. Works Cited Clement, W. (1975) Canadian Corporate Elite: Analysis of Economic Power. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart. Domhoff, William G. (1979) The Powers That Be: Processes of Ruling Class Domination in America. New York: Vintage Books. European Journal of Communication (2002) SAGE Publications (London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi), Vol 17(2): 147–182. [0267–3231(200206)17:2; 147–182; 023691] Martin, Michele with Graham Knight (1997) Communication and Mass Media: Culture, Domination and Opposition. Toronto: Prentice-Hall. Wintonick, Peter and Mark Achbar (1994) Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media. Montreal: Black Rose.

Discussion 707 5 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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Why Did the Labour Party Win Power in 1945 and Lose It in 1951 Essay

Why Did the Labour Party Win Power in 1945 and Lose It in 1951 - Essay Example The Labour Party was formed by the agreement of several labour unions to come together to form a political party. Back then, trade unions were powerful organizations and had the solid following of their members in order to push for their interests in one common and solid voice. The Labour Party has had its shares of success and failures since it was first established. The last prime minister representing the Labour Party was Gordon Brown, who took over from Tony Blair, also from the Labour Party in 2007 (Lynch 25-65, 2008). However, one of the most successful victories for the Labour Party in the history of UK elections was in 1945, when the party won its biggest majority, led by Clement Attlee, who was deputy prime minister under the coalition government headed by Winston Churchill. Winston Churchill was the conservative party head, and Prime Minister of Britain, and he was the one who led Britain to victory in the second world war that ended in 1942. Under these circumstances, it w as expected that he would win another term as prime minister in the 1945 elections. However, this was not the case as was dictated by many factors. First, there was the intergenerational difference between the masses and the leaders in power. While the former was made of younger people, many of whom had served in the war, the latter was made up of a minority few of the older generation (Butler and Stokes 1-35, 1974). The older generation was outnumbered due to deaths, emigrations to other countries and resignations. In these circumstances, the masses felt that they were not well represented. The conservative party had a majority of this older generation, while the Labour Party’s leadership was made up of fairly younger people, whom the masses could identify with. This increased the Labour Party’s popularity leading to their landslide victory in 1945. Issues of class also had a hand in aiding the Labour Party win the 1945 elections. The post-second world war environment in Britain was such that majority of the people were trying to rebuild their lives by working in different places to make ends meet. Many of these people were labourers and had to work long hours in order to earn their living. The general feeling was that the then current government was not doing enough to expedite changes that could improve their lives (Heath, Jowell, and Curtice 12-58, 1985). Within this atmosphere, the Labour Party came up with a manifesto that promised to do all these and more for the people. Their campaigns were effective and the people decided to give them a chance, hence a majority voted for the Labour Party. Attlee is considered one of the Labour Party’s most significant figures, because he managed to steer England from more problems during the Second World War by stopping Churchill from carrying out some schemes considered wild and dangerous, both to the United Kingdom and its allies, as well as to its enemies. Attlee was prime minister of UK for 6 years, until 1951, when he lost in the general elections of 1951. However, in his time in office, Attlee affected a lot of changes in the social and economical environment in the UK. For instance, he nationalized many industries that had been privatized, making them out of reach for many regular citizens. These included the steel, electricity, gas, coal, wireless and cable services, aviation, and road and railway industries. Attlee was also the one responsible for nationalizing the Bank of England which still stands to date. Attlee introduced a national health scheme by the passing of the National

Saudi Aramco Procurement Process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

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Racism (Walleye Warrior) Reading and Questions Coursework

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Standard Costing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Standard Costing - Essay Example This paper considers the other side or the side in which standard costing has found its inappropriateness and unsuitability. Furthermore, the outcome of the critical analysis of how standard costing works is also evaluated in terms of its effectiveness as a means of control in the global industry and the increase in consumer wealth. As a general idea, standard costing is a system of cost ascertainment and control in which predetermined and preset standard costs and income for products and operations are set. This standard costs and income for products and operations are periodically and from time to time compared with the actual costs incurred and income generated for the purpose of establishing any variances. Standard costing system is used by many organizations as a management tool in estimating the overall and general cost of production with the assumption of normal operations. While it has standard costing has been widely used by most production and manufacturing companies, the system has found its great importance and appropriate significance in most organizations and firms whose operations involved are common and repetitive. Standard costing generally involves the development of a product or service cost wit the use of estimates of both the resources consumed as well as the prices of those resources. In producing a standard selling price, the standard cost may then be increased by an estimated profit margin. These estimates of cost and revenue then provide and build up a foundation for additional and supplementary planning and control (Mitchinson 2000 July 1). Traditionally, standard costing is often and frequently associated with manufacturing though it also can be used in other area like the service sector. In support to Drury's (2004) claim that standard costing is appropriate and suitable in common or repetitive operation of an organization, Mitchinson (2000) asserted and alleged that the system, as a method, is essentially apt and fitting to task which is repeated many times. To provide a rationale for this allegation, repeated tasks or operations give organizations and firms the means to estimate the nature of how tasks will be performed in the future and upcoming operation. Information gained previously in a repetitive operation can be used in predicting the income and expense for any period. 1. Problems with Standard Costing The reported setbacks and inappropriateness of standard costing have been spotted in the part of lean companies. Baggaley (2003) strongly argues that the system's measurements motivates and encourage behaviors that are harmful and inappropriate to lean environments. Additionally, standard costing does not provide reliable cost information for decision-making that is important in a lean situation. As a result, Baggaley (2003) suggested an alternative costing approach that goes in line with the goals of lean that also provides the basis for sound management decisions. There are problems with standard costing when used as a system of control in a lean environment that Baggaley (2003) has identified. First predicament is the problem regarding the people and the workforce. Naturally, standard costing sets standard performance that cause people on the shop floor to do the wrong things when just to meet the preset performance level. In further illustrating his contention, Baggaley (2003) specifies the in-depth reason for

Strategy Implementation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Strategy Implementation - Essay Example This paper compares and contrasts the roles for strategy implementation, identifies the resources required for its implementation and assesses what measures and timescales can be used to achieve this strategy implementation for British Airways. Strategy Direction Defining and determining strategic direction involve specifying the images, structures and characters that the firm thinks to develop over time. As Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson (2008, p. 350) pointed, strategic direction is normally framed within the contexts of the conditions like opportunities and threats that strategic leaders expect their organization to face in its near future. Daft (2009, p. 58) has also put forward almost similar view that strategy direction is a process that typically begins with the assessment of opportunities and threats in the external environment, including change, uncertainty, resources available etc. Matha, Boehm and Silverman (2008, p. 47) found that strategy direction is based on how employees hear about the strategy and how they do involve in it. A firm with long-term strategic direction probably will have to consider two basic elements, they are core ideology and an envisioned future. The first one is to motivate its people through the organization al culture and company’s heritage, and the second one encourages them to draw out of their expectations of accomplishments (Hitt, Ireland and Hoskisson 2008, p. 350). As depicted in the figure above, managing a firm’s resource portfolio, maintaining organizational culture and emphasizing ethical practices are highly critical factors affecting determining of the strategic direction. Roles and Responsibilities of strategy implementation Strategy implementation is connected with creating a portfolio of the strategic programs and secondly it involves attracting, allocating and managing all the necessary resources to deliver these strategic programs. Strategy implementation represents a specific pattern of decisions and actions that are intended to carry out a particular plan in an organization. When it comes to the case of British Airways, the company is widely known for effective corporate strategies like technology and business innovation, customer-enabled business strat egy or customer focus (Egger and Buhalis, 2008, p. 272), supreme customer services, service orientation etc. At British Airways, once the strategy has been determined, the management team responsible for the strategy implementation must translate the strategy program in to appropriate tactical plans, processes, programs and budgets. Operating plans and programs for each function are to be developed in this stage. In implementing the strategy of customer focus or innovation, the management of the British Airways prepares a plan including timetables, milestones and details of the organization’s risk management as well (Atkin and Brooks, 2009, p. 22). As compared to this, the strategy implementation in Virgin Atlantic is mainly influenced by the strategic vision of its top management and quality and entrepreneurial drive of the management teams (Aaker and Joachimsthaler, 2000, p. 34). The strategy implementation in Virgin Atlantic is thus closely linked to the top managementâ₠¬â„¢s vision and it takes those steps that the management instructs. A strategy is planned and developed mainly

Risk and uncertainty, the key public relations issues in the Essay

Risk and uncertainty, the key public relations issues in the contemporary era - Essay Example Notably, the public relations practice ensures that an organization can assess the potential impact of its policies on the public. After the implementation of the organizational policies, public relations practitioners seek feedback from the public concerning the policies. Public relations practitioners must understand the opinions held by different sectors of the public if they are to keep the organization well informed. In addition, public relations practitioners play critical cultural and social roles as they strive to serve as a link between the organization and the customers. In the contemporary era, risks and uncertainty are some of the defining aspects of business in the modern world. Risk and uncertainty prove to be highly ambivalent. Therefore, organizations have tasked public relations practitioners with handling risks and uncertainties in the organization. Evidently, the public relations practice is of critical importance to any organization in the modern day. This paper w ill focus on describing some of the cultural and social roles played by public relations, as well as the influence of public relations practice on the society. Finally, the paper will tackle risk and uncertainty as some of the leading issues in public relations in the modern day. Public relations practitioners play critical roles in an organization and in the community. It is the role of public relations practitioners to communicate the policies of an organization to the public. Notably, organizations need to determine the potential impacts of their policies on the community and the public. Therefore, public relations practitioners create the necessary intermediary between the organization and the public. In addition, public relations practitioners offer informed advice to the organization’s management. The daily activities of a public relations practitioner involve a continued interaction with different sectors of the public. Through the

Trends in Fiscal Policy of India Essay Example for Free

Trends in Fiscal Policy of India Essay ABSTRACT This essay traces the major developments in India’s fiscal policy from the early stages of planned development in the 1950s, through the country’s balance of payments crisis of 1991, the subsequent economic liberalisation and rapid growth phase, the response to the global financial crisis of 2008 and the recent post-crisis moves to return to a path of fiscal consolidation. The initial years of India’s planned Development strategy were characterised by a conservative fiscal policy whereby deficits were kept under control. The tax system was geared to transfer resources from the private sector to fund the large public sector driven industrialization process and also cover social welfare schemes. However, growth was anaemic and the system was prone to inefficiencies. In the 1980s some attempts were made to reform particular sectors. But the public debt increased, as did the fiscal deficit. India’s balance of payments crisis of 1991 led to economic liberalisation. The reform of the tax system commenced. The fiscal deficit was brought under control. When the deficit and debt situation again threatened to go out of control in the early 2000s, fiscal discipline legalisations were instituted. The deficit was brought under control and by 2007-08 a benign macro-fiscal situation with high growth and moderate inflation prevailed. During the global financial crisis fiscal policy responded with counter-cyclical measures including tax cuts and increases in expenditures. The post-crisis recovery of the Indian economy is witnessing a correction of the fiscal policy path towards a regime of prudence. In the future, the focus would probably be on bringing in new tax reforms and better targeting of social expenditures. INTRODUCTION Fiscal policy is the means by which a government adjusts its levels of spending in order to monitor and influence a nations economy. It is the sister strategy to monetary policy with which a central bank influences a nations money supply. These two policies are used in various combinations in an effort to direct a countrys economic goals. Here we take a look at how fiscal policy works, how it must be monitored and how its implementation may affect different people in an economy. Fiscal policy deals with the taxation and expenditure decisions of the government.Monetary policy, deals with the supply of money in the economy and the rate of interest.These are the main policy approaches used by economic managers to steer the broad aspects of the economy. In most modern economies, the government deals with fiscal policy while the central bank is responsible for monetary policy. Fiscal policy is composed of several parts. These include, tax policy, expenditure policy, investment or disinvestment strategies and debt or surplus management. Fiscal policy is an important constituent of the overall economic framework of a country and is therefore intimately linked with its general economic policy strategy. For example, if taxes were to increase, consumers would have less disposable income and in turn would have less money to spend on goods and services. This difference in disposable income would go to the government instead of going to consumers, who would pass the money onto companies. Or, the government could choose to increase government spending by directly purchasing goods and services from private companies. This would increase the flow of money through the economy and would eventually increase the disposable income available to consumers. Unfortunately, this process takes time, as the money needs to wind its way through the economy, creating a significant lag between the implementation of fiscal pol icy and its effect on the economy. In broad term fiscal policy refers to that segment of national economic policy which is primarily concerned with the receipts and expenditure of central government. The importance of fiscal policy is high in underdeveloped countries. The state has to play active and important role. In a democratic society direct methods are not approved. So, the government has to depend on indirect methods of regulations. In this way, fiscal policy is a powerful weapon in the hands of government by means of which it can achieve the objectives of development. BASIC CONCEPTS : A spending item is a capital expenditure if it relates to the creation of an asset that is likely to last for a considerable period of time and includes loan disbursements. Such expenditures are generally not routine in nature. By the same logic a capital receipt arises from the liquidation of an asset including the sale of government shares in public sector companies (disinvestments), the return of funds given on loan or the receipt of a loan. This again usually arises from a comparatively irregular event and is not routine. In contrast, revenue expenditures are fairly regular and generally intended to meet certain routine requirements like salaries, pensions, subsidies, interest payments, and the like. Revenue receipts represent regular earnings for instance tax receipts and non-tax revenues including from sale of telecom spectrums. There are various ways to represent and interpret a government’s deficit. The simplest is the revenue deficit which is just the difference between revenue receipts and revenue expenditures. Revenue Deficit = Revenue Expenditure – Revenue Receipts (that is Tax + Non-tax Revenue) A more comprehensive indicator of the government’s deficit is the fiscal deficit. This is the sum of revenue and capital expenditure less all revenue and capital receipts other than 6loans taken. This gives a more holistic view of the government’s funding situation since it gives the difference between all receipts and expenditures other than loans taken to meet such expenditures. Fiscal Deficit = Total Expenditure (that is Revenue Expenditure + Capital Expenditure) –(Revenue Receipts + Recoveries of Loans + Other Capital Receipts (that is all Revenue and Capital Receipts other than loans taken)) â€Å"The gross fiscal deficit (GFD) of government is the excess of its total expenditure, current and capital, including loans net of recovery, over revenue receipts (including external grants) and non-debt capital receipts.† The net fiscal deficit is the gross fiscal deficit reduced by net lending by government (Dasgupta and De, 2011). The gross primary deficit is the GFD less interest payments while the primary revenue deficit is the revenue deficit less interest payments. ARCHITECTURE: The Indian Constitution provides the overarching framework for the country’s fiscal policy. India has a federal form of government with taxing powers and spending responsibilities being divided between the central and the state governments according to the Constitution. There is also a third tier of government at the local level. Since the taxing abilities of the states are not necessarily commensurate with their spending responsibilities, some of the centre’s revenues need to be assigned to the state governments. To provide the basis for this assignment and give medium term guidance on fiscal matters, the Constitution provides for the formation of a Finance Commission (FC) every five years. Based on the report of the FC the central taxes are devolved to the state governments. The Constitution also provides that for every financial year, the government shall place before the legislature a statement of its proposed taxing and spending provisions for legislative debate an d approval. This is referred to as the Budget. The central and the state governments each have their own budgets. The central government is responsible for issues that usually concern the country as a whole like national defense, foreign policy, railways, national highways, shipping, airways, post and telegraphs, foreign trade and banking. The state governments are responsible for other items including, law and order, agriculture, fisheries, water supply and irrigation, and public health. Some items for which responsibility vests in both the Centre and the states include forests, economic and social planning, education, trade unions and industrial disputes, price control and electricity. There is now increasing devolution of some powers to local governments at the city, town and village levels. The taxing powers of the central government encompass taxes on income (except agricultural income), excise on goods produced (other than alcohol), customs duties, and inter-state sale of goods. The state governments are vested with the power to tax agricultural income, land and buildings, sale of goods (other than inter-state), and excise on alcohol. Besides the annual budgetary process, since 1950, India has followed a system of five-year plans for ensuring long-term economic objectives. This process is steered by the Planning Commission for which there is no specific provision in the Constitution. The main fiscal impact of the planning process is the division of expenditures into plan and non-plan components. The plan components relate to items dealing with long-term socioeconomic goals as determined by the ongoing plan process. They often relate to specific schemes and projects. Furthermore, they are usually routed through central ministries to state governments for achieving certain desired objectives. These funds are generally in addition to the assignment of central taxes as determined by the Finance Commissions. In some cases, the state governments also contribute their own funds to the schemes. Non-plan expenditures broadly relate to routine expenditures of the government for administration, salaries, and the like. While these institutional arrangements initially appeared adequate for driving the development agenda, the sharp deterioration of the fiscal situation in the 1980s resulted in the balance of payments crisis of 1991, which would be discussed later. Following economic liberalization in 1991, when the fiscal deficit and debt situation again seemed to head towards unsustainable levels around 2000, a new fiscal discipline framework was instituted. At the central level this framework was initiated in 2003 when the Parliament passed the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBMA). Taxes are the main source of government revenues. Direct taxes are so named since they are charged upon and collected directly from the person or organization that ultimately pays the tax (in a leg al sense).Taxes on personal and corporate incomes, personal wealth and professions are direct taxes. In India the main direct taxes at the central level are the personal and corporate income tax. Both are till date levied through the same piece of legislation, the Income Tax Act of 1961. Income taxes are levied on various head of income, namely, incomes from business and professions, salaries, house property, capital gains and other sources (like interest and dividends).Other direct taxes include the wealth tax and the securities transactions tax. Some other forms of direct taxation that existed in India from time to time but were removed as part of various reforms include the estate duty, gift tax, expenditure tax and fringe benefits tax. The estate duty was levied on the estate of a deceased person. The fringe benefits tax was charged on employers on the value of in-kind non-cash benefits or perquisites received by employees from their employers. Such perquisites are now largely taxed directly in the hands of employees and added to their personal income tax. Some states charge a tax on professions. Most local governments also charge property owners a tax on land and buildings. Indirect taxes are charged and collected from persons other than those who finally end up paying the tax (again in a legal sense). For instance, a tax on sale of goods is collected by the seller from the buyer. The legal responsibility of paying the tax to government lies with the seller, but the tax is paid by the buyer. The current central level indirect taxes are the central excise (a tax on manufactured goods), the service tax, the customs duty (a tax on imports) and the central sales tax on inter-state sale of goods. The main state level indirect tax is the post-manufacturing (that is wholesale and retail levels) sales tax (now largely a value added tax with intra-state tax credit). The complications and economic inefficiencies of this multiple cascading taxation across the economic value chain (necessitated by the constitutional assignment of taxing powers) are discussed later in the context of the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST). EVOLUTION (TILL 1991) India commenced on the path of planned development with the setting up of the Planning Commission in 1950. That was also the year when the country adopted a federal Constitution with strong unitary features giving the central government primacy in terms of planning for economic development (Singh and Srinivasan, 2004). The subsequent planning process laid emphasis on strengthening public sector enterprises as a means to achieve economic growth and industrial development. The resulting economic framework imposed administrative controls on various industries and a system of licensing and quotas for private industries. Consequently, the main role of fiscal policy was to transfer private savings to cater to the growing consumption and investment needs of the public sector. Other goals included the reduction of income and wealth inequalities through taxes and transfers, encouraging balanced regional development, fostering small scale industries and sometimes influencing the trends in econ omic activities towards desired goals (Rao and Rao, 2006). In terms of tax policy, this meant that both direct and indirect taxes were focussed on extracting revenues from the private sector to fund the public sector and achieve redistributive goals. The combined centre and state tax revenue to GDP ratio increased from 6.3 percent in 1950-51 to 16.1 percent in 1987-88.For the central government this ratio was 4.1 percent of GDP in 1950-51 with the larger share coming from indirect taxes at 2.3 percent of GDP and direct taxes at 1.8 percent of GDP. Given their low direct tax levers, the states had 0.6 percent of GDP as direct taxes and 1.7 percent of GDP as indirect taxes in 1950-51. The government authorised a comprehensive review of the tax system culminating in the Taxation Enquiry Commission Report of 1953. However, the government then invited the British economist Nicholas Kaldor to examine the possibility of reforming the tax system. Kaldor found the system inefficient and inequitable given the narrow tax base and inadequate reporting o f property income and taxation. He also found the maximum marginal income tax rate at 92 percent to be too high and suggested it be reduced to 45 percent. In view of his recommendations, the government revived capital gains taxation, brought in a gift tax, a wealth tax and an expenditure tax (which was not continued due to administrative complexities) (Herd and Leibfritz, 2008). Despite Kaldor’s recommendations income and corporate taxes at the highest marginal rate continued to be extraordinarily high. In 1973-74, the maximum rate taking in to account the surcharge was 97.5 percent for personal income above Rs. 0.2 million. The system was also complex with as many as eleven tax brackets. The corporate income tax was differential for widely held and closely held companies with the tax rate varying from 45 to 65 percent for some widely held companies. Though the statutory tax rates were high, given a large number of special allowances and depreciation, effective tax rates were much lower. The Direct Taxes Enquiry Committee of 1971 found that the high tax rates encouraged tax evasion. Following its recommendations in 1974-75 the personal income tax rate was brought down to 77 percent but the wealth tax rate was increased. The next major simplification was in 1985-86 when the number of tax brackets was reduced from eight to four and the highest income tax rate was brought down to 50 percent. In indirect taxes, a major component was the central excise duty. This was initially used to tax raw materials and intermediate goods and not final consumer goods. But by 1975-76 it was extended to cover all manufactured goods. The excise duty structure at this time was complicated and tended to distort economic decisions. Some commodities had specific duties while others had ad valorem rates. The tax also had a major †cascading effect‟ since it was imposed not just on final consumer goods but also on inputs and capital goods. In effect, the tax on the input was again ta xed at the next point of manufacture resulting in double taxation of the input. Considering that the states were separately imposing sales tax at the post-manufacturing wholesale and retail levels, this cascading impact was considerable. The Indirect Tax Enquiry Report of 1977 recommended introduction of input tax credits to convert the cascading manufacturing tax into a manufacturing value added tax (MANVAT). Instead, the modified value added tax (MODVAT) was introduced in a phased manner from 1986 covering only selected commodities. The other main central indirect tax is the customs duty. Given that imports into India were restricted, this was not a very large source of revenue. The tariffs were high and differentiated. Items at later stages of production like finished goods were taxed at higher rates than those at earlier stages, like raw materials. Rates also differed on the basis of perceived income elasticities with necessities taxed at lower rates than luxury goods. In 1985-86 the government presented its Long-Term Fiscal Policy stressing on the need to reduce tariffs, have fewer rates and eventually remove quantitative limits on imports. Some reforms were attempted but due to revenue raising considerations the tariffs in terms of the weighted average rate increased from 38 percent in 1980-81 to 87 percent in 1989-90. By 1990-91 the tariff structure had a range of 0 to 400 percent with over 10 percent of imports subjected to tariffs of 120 percent or more. Further complications arose from exemptions granted outside the budgetary process.In 1970-71, direct taxes contributed to around 16 percent of the central government’s revenues, indirect taxes about 58 percent and the remaining 26 percent came from nontax revenues. By 1990-91, the share of indirect taxes had increased to 65 percent, direct taxes shrank to 13 percent and non-tax revenues were at 22 percent. COMPOSITION OF CENTRAL GOVERNMENT REVENUES (1970-71): SOURCE: , http://dbie.rbi.org.in (Reserve Bank of India, 2011) COMPOSTION OF CENTRAL GOVERNMENT REVENUES(1990-91): SOURCE: , http://dbie.rbi.org.in (Reserve Bank of India, 2011) India’s expenditure norms remained conservative till the 1980s. From 1973-74 to 1978-79 the central government continuously ran revenue surpluses. Its gross fiscal deficit also showed a slow growth with certain episodes of downward movements.The state governments also ran revenue surpluses from 1974-75 to 1986-87, barring only 1984-85. Thereafter, limited reforms in specific areas including trade liberalisation, export promotion and investment in modern technologies were accompanied by increased expenditures financed by domestic and foreign borrowing (Singh and Srinivasan, 2004). The central revenue deficit climbed from 1.4 percent of GDP in 1980-81 to 2.44 percent of GDP by 1989-90. Across the same period the centre‟s gross fiscal deficit (GFD) climbed from 5.71 percent to 7.31 percent of GDP. Though the external liabilities of the centre fell from 7.16 percent of GDP in 1982-83 to 5.53 percent of GDP by 1990-91, in absolute terms the liabilities were large. Across the same period the total liabilities of the centre and the states increased from 51.43 percent of GDP to 64.75 percent of GDP. This came at the cost of social and capital expenditures. The interest component of aggregate central and state government disbursements reflects this quite clearly. The capital disbursements decreased from around 30 percent in 1980-81 to about 20 percent by 1990-91. In contrast, the interest component increased from around 8 percent to about 15 percent across the same period.Within revenue expenditures, in 1970-71, defence expenditures had the highest share of 34 percent; interest component was 19 percent while subsidies were only 3 percent. However, by 1990-91, the largest component was the interest share of 29 percent with subsidies constituting 17 percent and defence only 15 percent. Therefore, besides the burden of servicing the public debt, the subsidy burden was also quite great. While India‟s external debt and expenditure patterns were heading for unsustainable levels, the proximate causes of the balance of payments crisis came from certain unforeseen external and domestic political events. The First Gulf War caused a spike in oil prices leading to a sharp increase in the government‟s fuel subsidy burden. Furthermore, the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi increased political uncertainties leading to the withdrawal of some foreign funds. The subsequent economic reforms changed the Indian economy forever. LIBERALIZATION ,GROWTH ,INCLUSION AND FISCAL CONSOLIDATION (1991-2008): Following the balance of payments crisis of 1991, the government commenced on a path of economic liberalisation whereby the economy was opened up to foreign investment and trade, the private sector was encouraged and the system of quotas and licences was dismantled. Fiscal policy was re-oriented to cohere with these changes. The Tax Reforms Committee provided a blue print for reforming both direct and indirect taxes. Its main strategy was to reduce the proportion of trade taxes in total tax revenue, increase the share of domestic consumption taxes by converting the excise into a VAT and enhance the contribution of direct taxes to total revenue. It recommended reducing the rates of all major taxes, minimizing exemptions and deductions, simplifying laws and procedures, improving tax administration and increasing computerisation and information system modernisation. As a part of the subsequent direct tax reforms, the personal income tax brackets were reduced to three with rates of 20, 30 and 40 percent in 1992-93. Financial assets were removed from the imposition of wealth tax and the maximum rate of wealth tax was reduced to 1 percent. Personal income tax rates were reduced again to 10, 20, and 30 percent in 1997-98. The rates have largely remained the same since with the exemption limit being increased and slab structure raised from time to time. A subsequent 2 percent surcharge to fund education was later made applicable to all taxes. The basic corporate tax rate was reduced to 50 percent and the rates for different closely held companies made uniform at 55 percent. In 1993-94, the distinction between the closely held and the widely held companies was removed and the uniform tax rate was brought down to 40 percent. The rate was further reduced to 35 percent with a 10 percent tax on distributed dividends in 1997-98 (Rao and Rao, 2006). Despite these reforms, the tax system continued to have preferential exemptions and deductions as tax incentives for various socio-economic goals including location of industries in backward areas, export promotion and technology development. This led to the phenomenon of „zero-tax companies‟ whereby imaginative arrangements were use to leverage all these tax incentives with an intent to minimise tax liabilities. To counter this trend,the Minimum Alternative Tax (MAT) was introduced in 1996-97. It required a company to pay a minimum of 30 percent of book profits as tax. Further attempts to expand the tax base and increase revenues were the introduction of the securities transaction tax (STT) in 2004 and the fringe benefit tax (FBT) in the budget of 2005-06 In indirect taxes, the MODVAT credit system for excise was expanded to cover most commodities and provide a comprehensive credit system by 1996-97. The eleven rates were merged into three with a few luxury items subject to additional non-rebatable tax in 1999-2000. In 2000-01, the three rates were merged in to a single rate and renamed as central VAT (CENVAT). There remained three additional excises of 8, 16 and 24 percent. In case of custom duties, in 1991-92 all duties on non-agriculture goods that were above 150 percent were brought down to this rate. The „peak rate‟ was brought down to 40 percent in 1997-98, 30 percent in 2002-03, 25 percent in 2003-04, and 15 percent in 2005-06. The number of major duty rates was also brought down from 22 in 1990-91 to 4 in 2003-04. These four rates covered almost 90 percent of customs collected from items. This period also saw the introduction of the service tax in 1994-95, which was subsequently expanded to cover more and more services. Given that the Indian economy was having an increasingly large service component this increasingly became a major source of revenue. Eventually, provisions were made for allowing input tax credits for both goods and services at the central indirect tax level. Despite the reforms in central taxes, even after the economic reforms of 1991, state government tax reforms were inadequate and sporadic. A major move in this direction was the coordinated simplification of the state sales tax system in 1999. This eventually led to the introduction of a VAT in 21 states in 2005. The value added tax gives credit to taxes paid on inputs and provides relief from cascading. Implemented at the retail level this replaced the cascading sales tax providing great relief to consumers and traders alike while enhancing the revenues of the state government. The administrative design of the VAT ensures reporting of inputs and outputs resulting in substantial reduction in tax evasion. The basic features of the tax include two rates of 4 percent for common consumption commodities and inputs and 12.5 percent for the others. Some essential items are exempted and precious metals are taxed at 1 percent. The credit system covers inputs and purchases as also capital goods for manufacturers as well as dealers. Credit for capital goods taxes can be availed over three years of sales. The tax credit operates fully only for intra-state sales (Rao and Rao, 2006). This is a major hindrance to the formation of a smooth nationwide market and is to be addressed by the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST). In consonance with the tax reform plans, the sources of central government revenue shifted from indirect taxes towards direct taxes. In 1995-96, about 54 percent of revenues came from indirect taxes while around 20 percent were from direct taxes (Figure 8). In 2000-01, the share of indirect taxes had gone down dramatically to around 45 percent while the contribution from direct taxes had increased to about 26 percent (Figure 9). By 2005-06, indirect taxes accounted for approximately 43 percent while the direct taxes share was about 35 percent.

Obesity: Causes, Effects and Treatments

Obesity: Causes, Effects and Treatments Obesity , is one of the common and serious disease over the world. There must be cases of obesity no matter in urban or rural area, as it is a widespread and escalating concern. It does not just happen in adults as children also may have the possibility because they are less concern about their health nowadays. Obesity is actually a condition whereby abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health and also the genetic and environmental factors that are difficult to control when dieting. For the rate of obesity has been increasing in both adults and children. Obesity has twice increment around the world since 1980 and more than 1.4 billion adults, 20 and older were overweight. From these overweight adults, it has over 200 million men and approximately 300 million women were obese. According to a hefty new analysis from the Global Burden Of Disease Study 2013, it is stated that the number of overweight and obese people rising from 857 million in 1980 to 2.1 billion in 201 3. However, the rate change greatly throughout the world . More than half of the world’s 671 million obese individuals living in only ten countries, which is 15% combined at China and India, more than 13% at USA, Egypt, Brazil, Pakistan, Mexico, Russia, Germany and Indonesia. USA, one of the high-salary countries, has the highest increases in adult obesity, where approximately one third of the adult population are obese. In Australia, it is estimated around 28% of men and 30% of women are obese, and in UK is about a quarter of the population are obese. [ Refrence 1,2 ] There are mainly many risk factors of obesity. Obesity is mainly due to the overindulging unhealthy diet and eating habits. Many people just eat whatever they like without concern about the value of nutritious. Nowadays, many fast food outlets are opened and it is getting more and more all around the corner of the world. Those fast foods are a diet which is high in calories and the trans fats contained may raise the LDL cholesterol, or known as bad cholesterol and leads to heart attack or any other cardiovascular diseases. Examples of such food high in trans fats include French fries and cheese. Eating canned food and drinking too much sugary drinks or alcohol will also cause obesity, as the food and drinks contain high value in fat and sugar. Eating in a large portion and habits of comfort eating are also not good, since forcing yourself to eat much will cause an incomplete digestion. In order to reduce this risk, a healthy and balanced diet must be well-planned daily. A healthy and balanced diet should be consist of 7 main classes of food and the most important thing is to eat more vegetables and fruits. Reduce the intake on foods that are high in sugar and fat and you can also try replace kilojoule heavy desserts with fruits. Eat in a proper portion too to maintain a healthy body and weight. Other than that, lack of physical activity is also the vital factor leads to obesity. Nowadays, many people have jobs that involve sitting at a desk for most a day and also hectic lifestyle. They also rely on transportation such as bus or car rather than walking or cycling. Sometimes, even when the peoples have stress, the ways they choose to relax is by watching TV, playing computer games, and also surfing the internet. This kind of lifestyle can be known as sedentary lifestyle and so did not burn the calories in their body. Besides, if the energy provided by food is not used, the extra energy intake will be stored as fat in the body. Hence, regular exercise must be don e because it helps in burning away the calories in human’s body. To maintain a good health, moderate intensity exercise should be done for at least 1 hour most days of the week. During the day, simple exercise such as take the stairs and also get up often from your chair or sofa may helps too. [ Refrence 3,4,5] Obesity normally occurs when adipose cells, which adipose cells are cells that provide storage for extra energy, are increasing absurdly in size and also the number (hyperplasia). An increase in the size of adipose cell is called hypertrophic, while an increase in number of fat cell is known as hyperplastic. Thus, an increase in hypertrophic or hyperplastic resulting in obesity. Besides, adipose cells also follow a normal pattern of growth and development. For infance, adipose cells more developed and each cell grows greatly, which resulting in hypertrophic or hyperplastic obesity. While for adulthood, a person usually has a normal number of adipose cells, but there is large amount of fat in each cell. In certain extreme cases, adult-onset obesity can be both hypertrophic or hyperplastic. Then, the fat cells do not disappear in adult state once it developed. Furthermore, obesity also develops regularly as weight is gained over a period of time. When amount of energy which also means calories consumed in food and drinks exceed the energy used for exercise and metabolic processes in body, weight gain will occur. This is also known as positive energy balance. The excess energy will be stored as fat. Each kilogram of fat stores around 9000 kcal. When body needs more energy than available from food, the fat can be lost or reduced from the energy stores. This is well known as negative energy balance. So, a lack of energy balance may eventually cause obesity. [ Refrence 6,7 ] Obesity has significant effects for health and it is linked to a wide range of diseases. One of the disease that is normally caused by obesity is coronary heart disease. Coronary heart disease is usually caused by a build-up of fatty deposits on the walls of the arteries around the heart. This layer of build-up acid is normally accumulated from the food that we eat daily. Foods contain high fat value will eventually build up the fatty deposit called atheroma. It is also made up of cholesterol and other waste substances. Once the atheroma build-up on the walls of the coronary arteries, this will make the arteries become narrower and reduce the blood flow to the heart muscle. This process is called atherosclerosis. If more severe, obesity can lead to heart failure which your heart cannot pump enough blood to meet your body requirement. In addition, type 2 diabetes is also one of the health problem caused by obesity. Those who are obese are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes disease . Being overweights will add more pressure on body’s ability to control blood sugar using insulin and so makes it much more likely to develop diabetes. In type 2 diabetes, body produces insulin but its insulin cannot be used properly. The body overproduce insulin at first to keep the blood sugar normal. But overtime, this cause the body to lose ability to produce enough insulin to keep blood sugar level at a normal rate, and will eventually lead to kidney failure and heart disease. Furthermore, obesity may also lead to high blood pressure, which is known as silent killer.The blood wessels need to circulate more blood to the fat tissue, as the extra fat tissue in the body needs nutrient and oxygen to survive. Due to this, the workload of the heart will be increasing because more blood is needed to pump through the additional blood vessels. The more the circulating blood, then there is more pressure on the wall of the artery. Consequently, the higher pressure on the artery wall will increase the blood pressure. [ Refrences 8,9,10] There are actually several ways to treat obesity. Obesity can be cured either by drug therapy or bariatric surgery, as it is a more effective treatment. For drug therapy treatment, there are two types of drug which are recommended as it can be used for long-term, which is orlistat and sibutramine. Orlistat is a gastrointestinal lipase inhibitor which helps to reduce patient’s weight around 3 kg on average and also decrease patients to be high risk in diabetes. It will be effective if low-calorie diet is alongside the treatment. In orlistat way of treatment, the fat is absorbed and digested into body. It then works on small intestine and stomach to avoid the action of two enzymes found in digestive juices. The enzyme is normally to break down the fat which consumed in meal. So, orlistat block the fat from being digested as it will passed out as faeces instead of being absorbed into body. Another drug, sibutramine which is known as a monoamine-reuptake inhibitor, can help to red uce weight and the mean of weight losses is around 4-5 kg, but is related to increase of pulse rate and blood pressure. Sibutramine is called as appetite suppressants in medication class and it works to decrease appetite by acting on appetite control centers in the brain. Furthermore, bariatric surgery , also known as gastrointestinal surgery helps to reduce weight in a rapid way, by altering the digestive process. The operation can be divided into two that is malabsorptive and restrictive. Malabsorptive weight loss surgery exclude almost all of the nutrients of small intestine from digestive tract to decrease amount of nutrients and calories absorbed. For restrictive weight loss surgery, it creates a narrow passage from the upper part stomach to larger lower part to reduce the intake of food and also slowing the passage of food to stomach. [ Refrence 11,12,13 ] In conclusion, obesity disease should be more concerned and awared by everyone in the society as this disease increasingly on the rise nowadays. So, everyone must have well-planned for a health-enhancing lifestyle. Bad habit must be quited as fast as possible to save own life for a good health. There is a saying that healthy food is not tasty but however this is the golden phrase which leads everyone to a long-life span. References Obesity and overweight http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/ [ Accessed 1 October 2014 ] Obesity rates climbing worldwide, most comprehensive global study to date shows. ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 28 May 2014. Available at www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140528204215.htm [ Accessed 1 October 2014 ] Causes of obesity. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/obesity/basics/causes/con-20014834 [ Accessed 2 October 2014 ] Mahshia Dehgan, Noori Akthar-Danesh, Anwar T Merchant. 2005. Childhood obesity, prevalence and prevention. Available from http://www.nutritionj.com/content/4/1/24 [ Accessed 2 October 2014 ] Causes of obesity. http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Obesity/Pages/Causes.aspx [ Accessed 2 October 2014 ] David Jone. Development Of Obesity. Available from http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Development_Of_Obesity.html [ Accessed 3 October 2014 ] Obesity. How Obesity Develop. http://www.acumedic.com/onestophealth/obesity.htm#article [ Accessed 3 October 2014 ] Health Risk Of Overweight And Obesity. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/obe/risks.html [ Accessed 3 October 2014 ] Coronary Heart Disease. http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Coronary-heart-disease/Pages/Causes.aspx [ Accessed 3 October 2014 ] Health Effects Of Obesity. http://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-conditions/healthy-living/obesity/symptoms.html [ Accessed 3 October 2014 ] Paul E O’Brien, Wendy A Brown and John B Dixon.2005. Obesity, weight loss and bariatric surgery. Available from https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2005/183/6/obesity-weight-loss-and-bariatric-surgery [ Accessed 7 October 2014 ] Orlistat. http://www.patient.co.uk/medicine/Orlistat.htm [ Accessed 7 October 2014 ] Weight loss surgery. http://www.obesityhelp.com/content/wlsurgery.html [ Accessed 8 October 2014 ]