BALANCED SCORECARD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

BALANCED SCORECARD - Essay Example It is headquartered at Ohio, United States. The company is engaged in the business of offering consumer goods to its customers in packaged form. The sales and marketing division of P&G group is committed towards providing best services to its customers. This study entails the preparation of a balanced scorecard for the strategies to be implemented in the sales and marketing division of the company keeping it aligned with the overall strategy of P&G. The Balanced Scorecard includes all the four perspectives of a balanced scorecard namely, the financial, customers, learning and internal business process perspectives. The purpose of this Balanced Scorecard is to look at three objectives in this organizational unit. These objectives will be measured using metrics appropriate for this discipline. Financial The primary goal or objective of this business unit is to increase the sales and add to the profits of the company. A lot of sales personnel are involved in the marketing of products of P&G and it needs to look at the objective of reducing the costs incurred in the various processes involved in this department as well. Customer Customers are the key towards the success and profitability of the company. Hence the company needs to have a well devised strategy leading to complete satisfaction of its customers. Internal Business The strategy related to this perspective would be to increase the efficiency of the marketing division so that it can serve for the better performance of the company. Learning and Development A well devised strategy related to this perspective is also required to be devised by the company. It would include various objectives like imparting training to the personnel in the department so that they can carry on their activities efficiently and help the company to have a sustainable growth and development. Table of Contents Table of Contents 4 Formulation and Implementation of Balanced Scorecard of Procter & Gamble 6 Financial Perspective 8 Sales Growth 9 Growth in Operating Activities 9 Free Cash Flow Productivity 9 Customer Perspective 10 Increase in Customer Retention 10 Improved Customer Service 10 Increase in number of Customers 11 Internal Perspective 11 Reductions in Inventory 11 New Product Developments 12 Improvement in Distribution Efficiency 12 Learning and Growth Perspective 12 Employee Turnover 13 High Skill Levels 13 Employee Satisfaction 13 References 16 Formulation and Implementation of Balanced Scorecard of Procter & Gamble Balance Scorecard was developed by Robert Kaplan and Dr. David Norton in the year 1992. It is a tool developed to measure the level of performance mainly of the employees in an organization. In a Balanced Scorecard system performance is measured on the basis of four perspectives, namely, financial, customers, learning and development, and internal business process perspectives. It contains both the target scores and the scores achieved based on the given category. So it becomes easy to me asure high as well as low performances using Balanced Scorecard (Balance Scorecard Institute, 2012). This study entails about the preparation of a Balanced Scorecard for the sales and marketing division of Procter and Gamble (P&G). P&G is a reputed company which operates its business activities worldwide. It is headquartered at Ohio, United States. P&G is engaged in the business of offering wide range of FMCG products to its customers and they are delivered to them in packaged forms (Yahoo Finance, 2012). The sales and market division of the company constitutes a critical unit of the organization and Balanced Scorecard prepared in this study can help analyze and measure its effectiveness, thereby helping the company to have well devised strategy to attain the objectives of the company. The first step towards

Should nuclear power be revived in California and the United States Research Paper

Should nuclear power be revived in California and the United States - Research Paper Example The aftermath of using fossil fuel as a source of energy has recently revived the interest of incorporating nuclear power as a major source of energy. The need of reviving the use of nuclear power has further being aggravated by the ever-increasing population, thus increasing the demand of energy. Reliable operations and safety are the main requirements that lead to the approval of nuclear energy as a source of power generation (Rosen and Glasser, 1992, p. 308). Importance of nuclear power †¢ Development imperative On attaining a wealth of information from the US senate, senator Domenici indicated that human development is the creation of a surrounding where individuals can establish their maximum potential, as humans are considered the real wealth of the world; indeed, human development supersedes economic growth. The fact remains that we need energy to not only drive our industries, but also support our current trends of living. Lack of electricity has been identified as one of the perpetrators of poverty. In 1999, the United States was noted to consume approximately 25 percent of the world’s energy. Nevertheless, high consumption of electricity indicates the ever-changing lifestyle in United States’ growing population. Nuclear power generation as a way of diversifying the sources of electricity generation can not only free up fossil fuel, but also ensure the uses have no other substitutes. The result of use of nuclear power is a cleaner environment, creation of more job opportu nities and maximum use of available raw material. . According to Sir Ingham, based on rational discourse, nuclear power should be viewed based as the foundation of man’s sustainable power that has no offence to the surrounding. environment (Domenici, Lyons and Steyn, 2004, p. 182, 183 & 184). Substitute for natural gas and oil imports. Increase in population brings about high demand of energy. This high demand of energy hence forces the country to import energy, which could lead to political instability and lack of cost control. According to Domenici, Lyons and Steyn (2004), reliance of imported energy has been predicted to rise from 50 percent to 70 percent in the decades to come within the European countries. Heavy reliance of imported energy may have negative global impact and hence United States should have an equilibrium energy policy that incorporates healthy reliance on nuclear power in order to suppress the ever-increasing competition of fossil fuel supply in the deca des to come. America will encounter stiff competition from fast developing countries and the European Union countries for supply of imported energy and hence the best option will be for the country to incorporate the nuclear energy option and attain the diversification of electricity. The heavy reliance of natural gas and oil imports will not only lead the United States to a dangerous path but also return the nation to the situation it was fifty years ago regarding foreign oil imports. According to the research undertaken by EIA, 39 percent of US’ energy is bound to be imported as indicated statistically in 2002 when 29 percent of the country’

Mentoring Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Mentoring - Assignment Example One of the most important ways to integrate with one’s audience or with other shareholders is seeking to hone the skills of intimacy with those that one integrates with. However, as with many skills, the ability to increase one’s ability within this area requires practice and dedication in order to effect. However, one can easily estimate the one of the prime determinants towards affecting a positive effect on intimacy with respect to one’s audience is seeking to integrate an understanding and level of empathy with the particular approach. As such, the best way to coach an increase in this ability would be to seek to increase an increase in the relationship development that the speaker and/or teacher has with regards to the students (Yildiz, 2013). Although one might argue that â€Å"intimacy† in speaking is not something that can be learned to such a great degree and is either something that is innately gifted, learning how to speak with a level of ease and comfort can be learned as one develops more appropriate and effective relational skills with regards to how they can appreciate and interact with their audience. Without such a level of appreciation, coaching on such a topic would be utterly fruitless. However, due to the fact that the teacher must first realize that they stand to improve within the given area prior to any changes or remedial help being given or integrated, it is incumbent upon the reader to realize that cooperation from all members within the process is required in order to effect a positive change.

Black Americans Essay Example for Free

Black Americans Essay Firstly black Americans faced problems in the south because of lynching and the Jim Crow Laws. Lynching meant that racist white Americans would put the law into their own hands and punish black people whenever they please. They would hang the victim from a tree. In 1897 123 black people were lynched in the south, 84 in 1903 and 61 in 1921. The police would turn a blind eye and made no effort to stop lynching from happening. Even though slavery ended in 1865 black people faced the threat of violence, intimidation and racial discrimination on almost a daily bases. The Jim Crow Laws were created to keep whites and coloured people away from each other. The Jim Crow Laws covered all the aspects of life. Black Americans were stopped from using the same restaurants, hotels, libries, taxis, and even cemeteries. If black people wanted to vote the Jim Crow Law made them have to pass a difficult literacy test and they would have to pay high taxes. Nearly 2million black Americans moved from the southern states to the north in hope of a better life. This was called the Great Migration They thought they would be able to escape the Jim Crow Laws and racism as a whole, they wanted to go to the north for a better chance at jobs and education but little did they know. Secondly black Americans faced problems in the south because of the KKK. The KKK stands for the Ku Klux Klan; they were a racist group and were part of a secret society. The leader of the KKK in the 1920’s was a dentist called Hiram Wesley Evans whose name in the KKK was Imperial Wizard. Only WASP’s could belong to the KKK- White Anglo Saxon Protestants. The KKK targeted blacks mainly, but they also hated Jews, Catholics and Liberals but there main focus was poor black families that were very vulnerable. 5 million white Americans joined the KKK between 1920 to 1925. Most members where poor white people because they were afraid that black people would take over their jobs. Some of the KKK members were judges, policemen and lawyers. They would dress in white sheets and white hoods to cover their identities. The KKK used a variety of different methods such as intimidation, murders, raping, whipping, lynching, castration and tar burning. The Black Americans tried to fight back using non-violent methods. The NAACP -National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People- asked the president for new laws to help combat the KKK violence but received very little results. In the 1920’s Black Americans started to turn to the ‘Back to Africa’ movement which told blacks that they should return to their native America. This was started by Marcus Garvey but the whole movement faltered when he was arrested for fraud and sent to prison. In 1926 membership of the KKK dropped from 2million to 300,000 people. Lastly black Americans faced problems in the north because there was still racism around. Black people would be sent to live in the worst parts of the poorest cities. They were last to be hired and first to be fired from any jobs that they could get their hands on. Factory owners in northern cities knew that huge numbers of black people knew how to work well because of the slavery era. So they sent people down South to encourage them to take jobs in their factories up North with promises of good salaries. They wanted to add to the pool of white workers to keep down wages. So the black workers were encouraged to move North to compete with white workers. The white workers did not welcome the black workers with open arms because they naturally saw them as a threat. The black workers were willing to work for less money at least at first. So this led to racial tension. The white Americans refused to accept black members to protect the jobs. Another thing was that white neighbourhoods did not want poor black people and the problems that came with them moving into their neighbourhoods. It was a bad situation all around and led to much racial issues and even race riots These are the problems black people faced in the USA during the 1920s.

History of the Inca Religion

History of the Inca Religion Perhaps one of the most fascinating and awe inspiring religions in human history is that of the Incas.  Countless people have been captivated by this religion over many generations.  Many books have been written and movies made to capture the essence of this religion.  After reading about this paper, it will be clear how incredible these people and their religion was. To first understand the religion of the Incas, you must first know the history of the people.  The Incan civilization originated from a tribe in the Cuzco area of Peru.  The Incas were one of the largest, richest and most powerful empires before pre-Columbian America as their territory covered a massive area at its peak.  The Inca Empire crossed many boundaries as it conquered many countries and areas through a variety of means:  from conquest to peaceful assimilation.  This lead to the Inca Empire gaining a large part of South America. By its height in the 1520s, the Inca Empire stretched 3,500 miles from present day Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador to the area in which the Incas originated, Peru.  It was the largest empire on earth at the time.  After each area had been conquered, the Incas would take control of the area by imposing their language and organizational skills on the people.  This would be followed by building improvements to the area such a s creating roads for the people to travel on, irrigation canals, stone buildings and fortresses.  The Incas had astonishing and technologically advanced masonry techniques for their time.  The estimated population of the Inca Empire at its peak was around twenty million people with the official language being Quechua. To control such a huge area, the Incas built roads, including both mountainous and coastal routes.  The Inca Empire was ruled with efficiency in part because of a superb highway system that included intermittently paved roads up to 24 feet wide, tunnels, bridges, and stepped pathways cut into living rock. The principal highland road atop the spine of the Andes, ran 3,450 miles from the Colombia-Ecuador border to central Chile. Lateral roads linked it to the coastal highway. Ironically, the very roadways that made it possible for the Inca to control their vast empire, rapidly moving an army to quell a rebellion, were also the avenue of the empires downfall, giving the Spanish conquistadors under Pizarro direct access to the heart of the kingdom.  One existing part of the road between Cusco and the palace of Machu Picchu is called the Inca Trail.  The amount of control exercised by Cusco over the rest of the empire varied from place to place.  Tribute paid to the Inca rulers ca me from farmers of cotton, potatoes, and maize, herders of alpacas and llamas, and craft specialists who made polychrome pottery, brewed beer from maize, wove fine wool tapestries, and made wooden, stone, and gold, silver and copper objects.  Inca cities were as large as those of Europe, but more orderly and by all accounts much cleaner and more pleasant places in which to live (McEwan, 56). The Inca were organized along a complex hierarchical and hereditary lineage system called the Ayllu system. Ayllus ranged in size from a few hundred to tens of thousands of people, and they governed access to such things as land, political roles, marriage, and ritual ceremonies. Among other important duties, Ayllus took maintenance and ceremonial roles involving the preservation and care of honored mummies of the ancestors of their communities.  In Inca social structure, the ruler Sapa Inca, and his wives, the Coyas, had supreme control over the empire. The High Priest and the Army Commander in Chief were next. Then came the Four Apus, the regional army commanders. Next, were temple priests, architects, administrators and army generals.  After them, were artisans, musicians, army captains and the quipucamayoc, the Incan accountants. At the bottom were sorcerers, farmers, herding families and conscripts. The only written records about the Inca that we can read today are documents from the Spanish conquistadors of Francisco Pizarro.  Records were kept by the Inca in the form of knotted strings called quipu.  The Spanish reported that historical records, particularly the deeds of the rulers, were sung, chanted, and painted on wooden tablets as well. In the Inca Empirec several polytheistic religions were practiced by its different people. Most religions had common traits such as the existence of a Pachamama and Viracocha. The Incas controlled religion to give the empire cohesion by having conquered peoples add the Inca deities to their pantheon.  Inca deities occupied the three realms:  Hanan Pacha, the celestial realm in the sky, Uku Pacha, the inner earth, and Cay Pacha, the outer earth where humans live.  The most important deities of Hanan Pacha were Inti, the sun god, and Mama Quilla, the moon goddess. Inti Raymi was the festival of the sun god, the largest and most important Inca festival. The lightning deity also resided in Hanan Pacha.  Uku Pacha was the domain of Pachamama, the Earth mother, who is universal to Andean mythologies. Kanopa was the God of Pregnancy.  Con-Tici Viracocha Pachayachachic, The first god, creator of the three realms and their inhabitants, was also the father of Inti. Many ancient Andean peoples traced their origins to ancestral deities. Multiple Ayllus could share similar ancestral origins. The Inca claimed descent from the Sun and the Moon, their Father and Mother. Many Ayllus claimed descent from early proto-humans that emerged from local sites in nature, called Pacarinas.  The earliest ancestors of the Inca were known as Ayar, the first of which was Manco Capac or Ayar Manco. Inca mythology tells of his travels, in which he and the Ayar shaped and marked the land and introduced the cultivation of maize. A prominent theme in Inca mythology is the duality of the Cosmos. The realms were separated into the upper and lower realms, the Hanan Pacha and the Ukhu Pacha and Hurin Pacha. Hanan Pacha, the upper world, consisted of the deities of the sun, moon, stars, rainbow, and lightning.  Ukhu Pacha and Hurin Pacha were the realms of Pachamama, the earth mother, and the ancestors and heroes of the Inca or other Ayllus. Kay Pacha, the realm of the outer earth where humans resided, was viewed as an intermediary realm between Hanan Pacha and Ukhu Pacha. The realms were represented by the condor (upper world), puma (outer earth) and snake (inner earth). Huacas were widespread around the Inca Empire. Huacas were deific entities that resided in natural objects such as mountains, boulders, streams, battle fields, other meeting places, and any type of place that was connected with past Incan rulers. Huacas could also be inanimate objects such as pottery that were believed to be vessels carrying deities. Spiritual leaders in a community would use prayer and offerings to communicate with a Huaca for advice or assistance. Human sacrifice was a part of Incan rituals.  Priests presided over sacrifices, an essential part of many rituals and ceremonies.  The majority of the sacrifices involved animals, such as llamas or guinea pigs.  However, in times of disaster or at very sacred ceremonies, a woman or a child might be sacrificed to the gods.  These people would be given Chicha, a thick beer made from fermented corn to drink in golden goblets while the priest sang songs of their virtue before they were strangled.  The bodies of the sacrificed were then buried in a cocoon of fine textiles and surrounded by gold and silver statues, bags of corn and other offerings. The ancient Inca chose children as young as 6, but also as old as 15, fattened them up for a year and sent them on a sacrifice pilgrimage (Inca Human Sacrifices).  The Incan people thought it was an honor to die for an offering.  The Incas also used divination. They used it to inform people in the city of social events, predict battle outcomes, and ask for intervention. The Inca were a deeply religious people. They feared that evil would come at any time. Sorcerors held positions in society as protectors from the spirits. They also believed in reincarnation, saving their nail clippings, hair cuttings and teeth in case the returning spirit needed them.  The religious and societal center of Inca life was contained in the middle of the sprawling fortress known as Sacsahuaman. Here was located Cuzco, The Naval of the World the home of the Inca Lord and site of the sacred Temple of the Sun. At such a place the immense wealth of the Inca was clear with gold and silver decorating every edifice. The secret of Inca wealth was the Mita. This was a labor program imposed upon every Inca by the Inca ruler. Since it only took about 65 days a year for a family to farm for its own needs, the rest of the time was devoted to working on Temple-owned fields, building bridges, roads, temples, and terraces, or extracting gold and silver from the mines. The work was con trolled through chiefs of thousands, hundreds and tens. Ancestor worship was a central part of Incan theology.  The souls of the dead played a protective role in the lives of their descendants.  The bodies of ancestors were mummified and entombed.  Often they were buried with their most prized possessions, women, servants, weapons, and ornaments in addition to an abundance of food and Chicha. Some groups of Incas placed the deceased on a large carved stone where they were mourned before burial. In some areas, the dead were sewn into fresh llama-hide and kept at their familys home.  Descendants of the deceased would regularly visit the tombs of their loved ones in order to bring them food and precious goods.  Mummies of dead rulers were the holiest Huacas in the empire.  They were treated as if they were still alive: continuing to own the property they had when alive, eating with their descendants and each other, and enjoying important ceremonies.  They were also considered to be oracles and were therefore consulted on a regu lar basis. This information listed in this paper is just but a taste of the rich history of these people and their religion. After reading this, it is clear why they are such a fascinating people and why they have been studied for so many years Works Cited/Bibliography Cobo, BernabeÃÅ' , and Roland Hamilton. Inca Religion and Customs. Austin: U of Texas, 1990. Print. Conrad, Geoffrey W., and Arthur Andrew. Demarest. Religion and Empire: The Dynamics of Aztec and Inca Expansionism. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1984. Print. McEwan, Gordon Francis. The Incas: New Perspectives. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2006. Print. Anitei, Stefan. Inca Human Sacrifices. Softpedia. N.p., 20 Feb. 2008. Web. 28 Oct. 2014.

A Studentss Guide to First-Year Writing :: Personal Narrative Suicide Death

A Students's Guide to First-Year Writing Now, and at the Hour I was not with You I. Laurie is crying again, â€Å"You are not with me,† she says. â€Å"Wait, Rae, don’t move.† I watch the silver image of the Virgin Mary on a swaying chain around her neck as she snaps the shutter to trap me in black and white. Laurie is the photographer of our little society; Michael is the sculptor, Stacy and I are the painters, and George has had a thing for performance art lately. We’re smoking cigarettes in the moldy bowling alley. George says: â€Å"I’m bored of this- all of it. Everyday’s the same shit. We need to fucking do something before my skin rots off.† Laurie is quiet, but Mike shrugs his shoulders, â€Å"What do you propose that we do, George?† â€Å"I don’t know, rob a bank, be punk rock and spread some anarchy... man, I don’t know, just anything.† I look at Laurie. She’s quiet. I motion to the bathroom to take her from George’s little angst party. We stand together in the stall, so I kiss her and touch her hair and say, â€Å"You okay, swe etie?† â€Å"Do you want the truth?† she asks. I nod and she replies, â€Å"No, Rae, I’m not okay. I’m really very, very not okay. I’m losing my shit over absolutely nothing... Rae, I just can’t do it anymore.† I’ve heard Laurie like this before; it makes my stomach go sharp and black because I want her to be okay. I need her to be okay. But she hurts so deep; her depressions come in torrents. Her tears stream the Chanel foundation off of her cheeks into puddles on her black dress, all in such slow motion. She brings a bottle from her bag, clicking and childproof, to her burgundy lips and then shares it with me. We return to the group with hydracodone breath, so that the rest of the day will be a senseless opiate dream. You are not with me. You are not with me. None of you. You stand around and let words drool out of your lips. You speak of punk rock and of anarchy, but you don’t even care... about anything. You don’t even care. You can’t even see me crying. You say, "Laurie, you okay, sweetie?

Psychologists describe motivation Essay

Obedience typically denotes something which describes dogs and kids fond of pleasing those they are in particular fond of. It is akin to being docile or domesticated and synonymous to tamed and controlled. It is a necessity where servants and workers are concerned and an anti-thesis to anyone who studies and breathes of terrorism and wreaking small scale havoc. Personally, it is expected of me as an employee, and as a citizen of this country. However, in real life, it can also be threatening if the individual has obedience as a dominating trait in his life; he could be prey to one who is working against the law if and when he intends to be the whistleblower of sorts. The paper attempts to share understanding of obedience in context of two major cultural milieus: India and America. There are important considerations to establish this understanding. It is in laying down the arguments such as providing contrasts to the concepts, extrapolating from a variety of illustrations, and taking on the moral issue as a motivating factor to manifest this trait. In explaining the behavior of people, we start our description with reference to some kind of active driving force: the individual seeks, the individual wants, the individual fears. Various psychologists describe motivation, in other words, as the driving force behind our behavior (Atkinson, et al. 1983). Smith, et al. labels their discussion on motivation as the â€Å"Why† of behavior (1982). Why does the tardy student in mathematics spend the rest of the period outside instead of inside the mathematics classroom? Emotions or strong feelings usually accompany motivated behavior. Often, emotions direct behavior toward goals (Atkinson, et al. 1983). In specific and familiar cases, the need to be accepted is acceptably present especially in collectivistic societies. The paper then attempts to examine this aspect of motivation in a person’s life in contrast to the notion that people move or are persuaded to do something if there is that authority figure to supervise or check on the tasks assigned. It examines theoretical perspectives to help elaborate the nuances of these two general aspects. II. DISCUSSION India is said to be a nation which is characterized by remarkable obedience. Studies have shown repeatedly the landscape of poverty and the primary factor is the value of obedience. America is known for liberty, democracy and freedom of speech, as well religiosity of the best and worst kinds. However, instances that reveal the deep-rootedness of obedience within subcultures described as American help paint a better and bigger picture on this observation. There are similarities and there are distinctions that make each culture stand out in terms of how obedience comes to the fore in decision-making. In addition, the distinctiveness come usually with the flavour that is identified clearly in each of the cultural backgrounds each country represents. a. Studies on Obedience i. Deviance in contrast: Illustrations and comparisons The world of humans is oftentimes unpredictable, changing and wondrously exciting. However, when these attributes become extremely bizarre and painfully detrimental, humans become sick and worried about to what extent can other humans afford to inflict harm against them. Suicide bombing is, if not the most, one of the most gruesome acts anybody can commit. It is outright crazy and stupid. One must be beside the normal to be entertaining such a thought in mind. Ironically, fanatics who have committed and attempted suicide bombings in the past, were deemed normal until the day when the execution of their ultimate plans were made public whether foiled or completed. People who are afflicted with mental disorder may, as other people, travel for the same reasons – vacation, visiting friends or relatives, business, recreation, and sometimes for religious or spiritual focus (Miller & Zarcone, 1968). Others indeed may travel for reasons other than the normal – for reasons triggered by malformed mental state such as the men who carried out the 911 attack of the Twin Towers in New York. Along the 911 attack, suicide bombing through aircraft came to prominence resulting in the stirring of the awareness among the international public of the fact that the regular traveler might not be that â€Å"regular† anyway. It is probable that some of them are driven by excessive anger or motivated by utopic hope as taught in the communities wherein they have pledged their life allegiance (Silke, 2003). In a recent turn of events in Pakistan, upon the return of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto to her home country, 124 were killed and 320 plus got injured as a result of another suicide bombing. The bomber threw grenades among crowds of people and afterwards blasted himself to death (CNN update, Oct. 18, 2007). It’s difficult to think of sensible reasons why a sane person (if that person was ever considered sane by his colleagues) has committed such an act in the first place. To spend and expend one’s self for a noble cause is commendable only if they benefit people outside one’s own community. It’s never an ideal to advance a religion’s cause at the expense of the lives of other people. A suicide bomber is demented in that even in the logic of religion, all religions presupposed a benevolent god who is both powerful and loving. There must be distortions somewhere within the suicide bomber’s mind to have associated the act of delivering a bomb and acts of piety. ii. American Context: Milgram Study The world came to know about the kind of research that Stanley Milgram had just started to explore in 1963 when he started to make his experiments known to the public. One of the major consequences of his studies was the development and establishment of ethics in research especially those involving human subjects. However, that became more like a serendipitous outcome of an entirely different pursuit in studying behavior. What Milgram set out to study was the issue of obedience in retrospect of the holocaust and the probable reasons that many people then under the Nazi regime followed orders that were inhuman or barbaric. It was approximately around the investigation of Adolf Eichmann who manned the Gestapo persecutions during the said Holocaust; this person had to face charges of genocide which was held in Jerusalem (Milgram, 1963). The experiment involved what Milgram called the learner, the teacher and the experimenter who authorized the course and duration of the study. The learner is the person who actually was employed to help the experiment (assumingly with the consent and guidance of Milgram). The â€Å"naive† or innocent person (the learner) will work with the same group of people but one who was actually a good actor. The teachers will conduct the tasks assigned to him about the memory exercise he was to supervise which was the learner will be able to accomplish; later an evaluation takes place of what that person (the learner) may have retained. If the learner commits mistakes, varied or graduated shocks were to be applied with matching painful and agonizing sounds that can be heard (Morris & Maisto, 1999). The experiment showed that despite attempts by the learner to communicate to the teacher/volunteer that the painful shocks should be stopped, whenever the experimenter (e. g. Milgram) was asked about stopping the treatment and the latter affirming that this was a part of the experiment, an overwhelming approximately 65% continued administering the shocks. What was even astounding was that when the person playacting as if in sheer agony and even almost dying or breathless, the teacher continued to administer these shocks which were increasing in intensity (Morris & Maisto, 1999). What were the implications of the study? An important lesson could be gaining insight as to people’s reasons why they may subject other people who were innocent to these painful episodes. Like the SS men of Eichmann during the captivity of the Jews in the early 40s, men who were deeply religious to a large degree, obey the orders despite what have been obvious clashes of understanding (Morris & Maisto, 1999). Authority figures cannot be denied as people who ought to be listened. Factors for a brief view on the implications point to people’s previous upbringing or how they were inculcated on by caregivers and figures who acted as people in authority and the value of obedience. iii. Indian (East) Context An example of collectivist culture, India, like Japan and other similar cultures and countries, obedience is a given in this nation (Rajagopalan, 1992). . Collectivism values the contributions of every member of the family and that support of whatever kind is expected from all family constituents. Obedience is then understood in the light of cultural influences. Culture influences our perception both directly and indirectly. Indirectly, because culture influences our personal needs and motives. Directly, because a person’s habits of looking at and interpreting things, objects, persons, and situations depend partly on his culture (Rajagopalan, 1992). A person’s social experiences exert a strong influence on how he sees or interprets a situation, specially a social situation. In his contact with his family, friend, school or business associates his responses to situations are influenced by experiences with these social groups. In other words, his perception of situation depends upon his social interactions with people and (Rajagopalan, 1992). Because of this a person’s social relations, family structure, and his working relationships are greatly impacted depending on whether he comes from an individualist or collectivist background or milieu. A person’s personal identity will be vastly different if he was brought by a culture which is collectivist in nature. His analysis of the things that occur around him, his values on possessions, money and family set-up will be filtered through the collectivist point of view. A person who is raised this way tends to see himself as functioning well only in relation to the valued members of the clan or the community which he belongs. The needs of the rest of the members of his community will always be a consideration. In contrast, the same person when raised and bred in an individualist culture such as in the American setting, tends to only see his function and identity through the training of his parents and community to look out for himself first and the needs of the rest of the family or community come second (Rajagopalan, 1992). Women are expected to occupy the role subordinate to their husbands or men. Consequently role expectations involved that of obedience and nurturance. Alongside this, children need to exhibit strong obedience traits to the mother (Rajagopalan, 1992). iv. Acceptance or obedience George Herbert Mead is a major influencer to many theorists who developed his major concepts into equally powerful viewpoints. His works although never published even during his lifetime had been influential to many of those who followed the path that he carved not only for himself but others close to him. Mead coined a lot of phrases and terminology. An important consideration when attempting to understand â€Å"obedience or conformity† and the idea that all that a person needs is his relationship be improved and eventually show that what motivated an individual is either because of a basic human need which is acceptance or that forces kept a person from committing a deed which is within the bounds of almost modern day type of living. To George Mead, an all important consideration when responding to stimuli of various forms, may actually come from this so-called â€Å"looking glass self† which is a mental picture resulting from assuming if a role of another person. In other words, social interaction is more than the mere contextualization of present experience; rather it takes into account that there is the importance of how the social exchanges take place. This looking glass self is an approach into getting insights in many of a person’s decision-making processes and how that person responds depend a lot to the degree of reality-based kind of relationship (http://www. afirstlook. com/manual6/ed6man04. pdf_). SYNTHESIS AND CONCLUSION Common knowledges are often inane talks. They are handed from generation to generation through word of mouth and are thus accepted as they are without clear scientific bases. They are not a good source of information because they are often misleading. They often prevent people from seeking laudable information and at times could be lethal. It should be noted that psychologists now utilize careful measures and specialized research techniques and procedures to avoid pitfalls of the so-called common knowledge (Aronson, 1972). Psychologists, being scientists, are concerned with investigating and explaining behavior. They make use of scientific inquiries in gathering data for obtaining facts about human behavior. These facts are collated, organized, and interpreted or analyzed according to the aims of the research (Aronson, 1972). Experimentation and direct observation are two modes that are employed in the empirical approach to investigation – the approach that is guided by experience. They propose hypotheses or propositions to be tested, which may either be derived from theories or formulated from observations. Hypotheses may be tested by experimental or non-experimental methods (Bower et al. , 1987). There are several well-known methods in social psychological research. Although not all are used for a given research project, a knowledge of these approaches will help one to choose the most suitable way to obtain most data and the most effective technique to use especially when studying individual behavior in groups (Aronson, 1972). Reference: Aronson, E (1972). The Social Animal. San Francisco Freeman. Atkinson, Rita L. , Richard C. Atkinson, and Ernest R. Hilgard (1983). Introduction to Psychology. 8th ed. , New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. Berkowitz, L. (1972). Social Psychology, Glenview, Ill. Scott. Foresman. Bower, G. H. , R. R. Bootzin, R. B. Zajonc (1987). Principles of psychology today. New York: Random House.