Paper #2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Paper #2 - Essay Example For instance demonstrations against the war in Iraq, or campaigning on environmental issues by the environmentalist lobby shows that there is plenty of political activity in the United States that bypasses the main political parties. The Democrats and Republicans have made efforts in recent elections to increase voter turnout particularly in marginal states or the larger states such as California and New York. The political parties sometimes target particular social groups to increase their share of the popular vote, for instance African – Americans, Hispanic –Americans, and women. In marginal states or close elections extra turnout in these groups makes all the difference between victory and defeat. The actual electoral system for presidential elections came under greater scrutiny in the wake of the 2000 election which hung in the balance for weeks whilst judges considered the validity of spoilt ballot papers in Miami. Even the strongest supporters of the Electoral College have never claimed it is a proportional system, though the candidate with the largest number of votes generally wins. However neither of the main political parties would support another electoral system, as they would not expect such a close result again. Another problem is related to the time between the presidential election and the inauguration of the next president, there is only three months for legal decisions to be made in. Patterson notes that pressure groups, the media, and television coverage can have a profound affect on American politics and society. Those influences can sometimes be regarded as beneficial and sometimes detrimental (the category chosen can depend on personal subjective opinion). Patterson is not alone in suggesting that some pressure groups seem to have an unhealthy influence upon American society and politics. The media has great influence over public opinion, and has the power to

Corporate governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Corporate governance - Essay Example bility and performance of the product and services are sustained and improved so that firms are not only able to retain existing customers but also attract new consumers. Thus risk management through effective governance, innovation, knowledge management and value addition become critical elements for protecting and sustaining the value of the products for consumers. All people directly or indirectly associated with the company are called stakeholders. Thus, customers, employees, shareholders, creditors, debtors, suppliers, regulators action groups etc. all become stakeholders in the company as they are, one way or another, affected by the business’ activities (Solomon, 2007. The identification of various stakeholders is important they are linkages that significantly impact the performance of the firm and promote development of society in general. In the contemporary environment of competitive business, the firms are not only motivated by financial benefits but play wider roles in the development of the society as a whole. Various stakeholders ensure that the business is having positive impact on the wider imperatives of social causes like environment, better HR practices, effective CSR practices etc. The analysis of stakeholders also helps the firm to proactively support the community welfare and at the same time, meet the changing preferences of the customers, thereby significantly impacting it productive outcome and improving its image and credibility amongst the stakeholders. The corporate governance gatekeepers are people who are in position to influence the decisions and activities of the management for improved and ethically delivered objectives and goals of the company. The main gatekeepers of the firm are: independent and competent board; independent and competent auditors; objective and competent legal council; and competent financial advisors. The responsibilities of different gatekeepers is to ensure that board is given the right advice regarding