Harvard business publishing Essay Example for Free

Harvard business publishing Essay In mid-September of 2010, Emily Harris, vice president of New Heritage Doll Company’s production division, was weighing project proposals for the company’s upcoming capital budgeting meetings in October. Two proposals stood out based on their potential to strengthen the division’s innovative product lines and drive future growth. However, due to constraints on financial and managerial resources, Harris knew it was possible that the firm’s capital budgeting committee would decline to approve both projects. She also knew that New Heritage’s licensing and retail divisions would promote compelling projects of their own. Consequently, Harris had to be prepared to recommend one of her projects over the other. The Doll Industry Revenues in the U.S. toy and game industry totaled $42 billion in 2008 and were projected to increase by 4.6% per year to $52.5 billion by 2013. The market was divided into two broad segments: video games (48%) and traditional toys and games (52%). The second segment was further divided into infant/preschool toys (14.5%), dolls (14.1%), outdoor sports toys (12.3%), and other toys games (59.1%) including arts and crafts, plush toys, action figures, vehicles, and youth electronics. The U.S. market for toys and games was dominated by large global enterprises that enjoyed economies of scale in design, production, and distribution. Revenues were highly seasonal; the largest selling season in the United States coincided with the winter holiday period. Within the toy and game segment, U.S. retail sales of dolls totaled $3.1 billion in 2008 and were projected to grow by 3% per year to $3.6 billion by 2013. The doll category included large, soft, and mini dolls, as well as doll clothing and other accessories. The phenomenon of â€Å"age compression†Ã¢â‚¬â€ the tendency of younger children to acquire dolls that had traditionally been designed for older girls—reduced growth in the â€Å"baby-doll† sub-segment. Competition among doll producers was vigorous, as a small number of large producers targeted similar demographics and marketed their dolls through the same media. Lasting franchise value for a branded line of dolls was rare; the enormous success of Barbie ® dolls was an obvious exception. More recently and on a much smaller ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ HBS Professor Timothy Luehrman and HBS MBA Heide Abelli prepared this case solely as a basis for class discussion and not as an endorsement, a source of primary data, or an illustration of effective or ineffective management. Th is case, though based on real events, is fictionalized, and any resemblance to actual persons or entities is coincidental. There are occasional references to actual companies in the narration. Copyright  © 2010 Harvard Business School Publishing. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685, write Harvard Business Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of Harvard Business Publishing. Harvard Business Publishing is an affiliate of Harvard Business School. Purchased for use on the MSc Business Valuation, at Imperial College London. Taught by James Sefton, from 21-Aug-2013 to 31-Dec-2013. Order ref F211857. Usage permitted only within these parameters otherwise contact [emailprotected] Educational material supplied by The Case Centre Copyright encoded A76HM-JUJ9K-PJMN9I Order reference F211857 New Heritage Doll Company: Capital Budgeting 4212 | New Heritage Doll Company: Capital Budgeting scale, New Heritage also had created a durable franchise for its line of heirloom dolls. But the popularity of most doll lines waned after a few years. New Heritage Dolls By 2009, New Heritage had grown to 450 employees and generated approximately $245 million of revenue1 and $27 million of operating profit from three divisions: production, retailing, and licensing. The production division, discussed further below, designed and produced dolls and doll accessories. The retailing division offered a unique â€Å"intergenerational experience† for grandmothers, mothers, and daughters, centered upon the character histories and storylines of the company’s dolls and delivered through an online website (42%), a mail-order paper catalog (33%), and a network of retail stores (25%). In fiscal 2009, the retailing division generated roughly $190 million of revenue and $4.8 million of operating profit. The licensing division was started in 1998, and represented the company’s newest and most profitable division. It sought to extend the New Heritage brand and capitalize on high levels of customer loyalty by selectively licensing the company’s doll characters and themes to a variety of media that reached the firm’s target demographic of toddler to pre-teen girls. In fiscal year 2009 the licensing division generated $24.5 million of revenue and $14.5 million in operating profit. New Heritage’s Production Division Production was New Heritage’s largest division as measured by total assets, and easily its most asset-intensive. Approximately 75% of the division’s sales were made to the company’s retailing division, with the remaining 25% comprising private label goods manufactured for other firms. Table 1 summarizes the division’s various sources of revenue and operating income. Table 1 Production Division Data: Revenue ($ millions) Operating Income ($ millions) New Heritage’s dolls and accessories were offered under distinct brands with different price points, targeting girls between the ages of 3 and 12 years. The company’s baby dolls were generally priced from $15–$30, and were offered to younger girls in earlier stages of development. These dolls typically came with a â€Å"birth certificate† and a short personal history. Dolls in the higher-end of this category incorporated technology that produced a limited amount of speech and motion. For the 1 The division revenue figures include approximately $95 million of internal sales within divisions which are eliminated when considering consolidated revenue for the company. BRIEFCASES | HARVARD BUSINESS PUBLISHING Purchased for use on the MSc Business Valuation, at Imperial College London. Taught by James Sefton, from 21-Aug-2013 to 31-Dec-2013. Order ref F211857. Usage permitted only within these parameters otherwise contact [emailprotected] Educational material supplied by The Case Centre Copyright encoded A76HM-JUJ9K-PJMN9I Order reference F211857 The New Heritage Doll Company was founded in 1985 by Ingrid Beckwith, a retired psychologist specializing in child development and the grandmother of two young girls. Dr. Beckwith believed the dolls produced by the major toy companies did little to develop girls’ imagination or foster a positive self-image, so she created a line of dolls with unique storylines and wholesome themes. Dr. Beckwith’s dolls struck a chord among mothers and grandmothers who also rejected the dated, clichà ©d images portrayed by the popular dolls of the day. New Heritage Doll Company: Capital Budgeting | 4212 New Heritage outsourced much of its production to a select number of contract manufacturers in Asia. To ensure product quality and safety, the company maintained a fulltime staff to oversee material sourcing, production, and quality control on site at each of its manufacturing partners. Manufacturing activities that required precise tolerances or proprietary processes, along with all the creative elements (design and product prototyping, for example), were handled in-house at the company’s headquarters facilities in Sacramento, California. Educational material supplied by The Case Centre Copyright encoded A76HM-JUJ9K-PJMN9I Order reference F211857 Capital Budgeting at New Heritage New Heritage’s capital budgeting process retained some of the informality that characterized the company’s early years as an innovative startup. As the company grew, deliberate steps were taken to decentralize some of the project approval process and increase spending authority at the division level. However, large and/or strategic spending proposals were reviewed at the corporate level by a capital budgeting committee consisting of the CEO, CFO, COO, the controller, and the division presidents. The committee examined projects for consistency with New Heritage’s business strategy and sought to balance the needs and priorities of each division against practical financial and organizational constraints. The committee also sought to understand project interdependencies and the potential for a given investment to strengthen the whole company, not solely the division proposing it. New Heritage’s capital budget was set by the board of directors in consultation with top officers, who in turn sought input from each of the divisions. The capital and operating budgets were linked; historically, the capital budget comprised approximately 15% of the company’s EBITDA. The committee had limited discretion to expand or contract the budget, according to its view of the quality of the investment opportunities, competitive dynamics, and general industry conditions. Before being considered by the committee, projects were described, analyzed, and summarized in self-contained proposal documents prepared by each division. These contained business descriptions, at least five years of operating and cash flow forecasts, spending requirements by asset category, personnel requirements, calculations of standard investment metrics, and identification of key project risks and milestones. Financial Analyses Financial analysis began with operating forecasts developed with oversight from New Heritage operating managers. Revenue projections were derived from forecasts of future prices and volumes. Fixed and variable costs were estimated separately, by expense category. Forecasts of working capital requirements were likewise vetted by line managers, who paid particular attention to a project’s requirements for various types of inventory. Forecasts for fixed assets and related depreciation charges were developed in cooperation with analysts reporting to the controller. HARVARD BUSINESS PUBLISHING | BRIEFCASES Purchased for use on the MSc Business Valuation, at Imperial College London. Taught by James Sefton, from 21-Aug-2013 to 31-Dec-2013. Order ref F211857. Usage permitted only within these parameters otherwise contact [emailprotected] $75–$150 price range, New Heritage produced a line of heirloom-quality dolls and accessories. These were designed to appeal to older girls and to convey a sense of cultural and family tradition among grandmothers, mothers, and daughters. The heirloom dolls had more elaborate accessories and personal histories. Finally, the company offered a line of high-end dolls based on fictional â€Å"celebrities,† each associated with a charitable cause and embracing more contemporary fashion trends. These dolls targeted girls in the so-called â€Å"tween† age range of 8–12 years, and also were priced from $75–$150. Like the heirloom dolls, celebrity dolls also came with more elaborate stories and accessories. 4212 | New Heritage Doll Company: Capital Budgeting New Heritage assigned discount rates to projects according to a subjective assessment of each project’s risk. High-, medium-, and low-risk categories for each division were associated with a corresponding discount rate set by the capital budgeting committee in consultation with the corporate treasurer. Assessments of each project’s risk were made at the division level, but subject to review by the capital committee. Factors considered in the assessment of a project’s risk included, for example, whether it required new consumer acceptance or new technology, high levels of fixed costs and hence high breakeven production volumes, the sensitivity of price or volume to macroeconomic recession, the anticipated degree of price competition, and so forth. In 2010, â€Å"medium†-risk projects in the production division received a discount rate of 8.4%. High- and low-risk projects were assessed at 9.0% and 7.7%, respectively. Projects that created value indefinitely, given continuing investment, were treated as going concerns with a perpetual life. That is, NPV calculations included a terminal value computed as the value of a perpetuity growing at a constant rate. However, to preserve an element of conservatism, the capital committee generally insisted on relatively low perpetual growth rates – lower than New Heritage’s historical growth and lower than near-term growth forecasts for a given division. Investment Opportunities in the Production Division Emily Harris was focused on two of the production division’s most attractive current proposals. The first involved expanding the successful Match My Doll Clothing Line to include matching allseason clothing for tween girls and their favorite dolls. The second involved a new initiative, the Design Your Own Doll line, which employed web-based doll-design software to let users â€Å"customize† a doll’s features to the customer’s specifications. Match My Doll Clothing Line Expansion The Match My Doll Clothing line originally consisted of a few sets of matching doll and child clothing and accessories for warm weather. It quickly became successful after the daughters of a few celebrities were spotted and photographed wearing items from the line, and girls’ magazines included some of the line in â€Å"what’s hot to wear† sections. Given recent publicity, Marcy McAdams, the brand manager responsible for the line, believed the timing was perfect to expand. Specifically, McAdams proposed to create an â€Å"All Seasons Collection† of apparel and gear covering all four seasons of the year. She expected the new offerings to be at least as profitable as the existing line, since its current popularity would make it possible to maintain premium prices. She also hoped to take advantage of off-peak discounts offered by some suppliers and contract manufacturers as they tried to smooth their capacity utilization. In the same fashion, McAdams argued the expansion would help reduce, or at least not exacerbate, the seasonality in New Heritage’s sales and earnings. BRIEFCASES | HARVARD BUSINESS PUBLISHING Purchased for use on the MSc Business Valuation, at Imperial College London. Taught by James Sefton, from 21-Aug-2013 to 31-Dec-2013. Order ref F211857. Usage permitted only within these parameters otherwise contact [emailprotected] Educational material supplied by The Case Centre Copyright encoded A76HM-JUJ9K-PJMN9I Order reference F211857 Operating projections for a given project were used to develop cash flow forecasts that would underpin calculations of net present value (NPV), internal rates of return (IRR), payback period, and other investment metrics. Cash flow forecasts were intended to capture the incremental effect of a proposed project on the firm’s cash flow for each year within the forecast period. That is, each project’s cash flow forecasts excluded non-cash items, such as depreciation charges, and nonincremental items such as sunk costs (i.e., costs that would be incurred regardless of whether a given project was undertaken or not). The cash flow forecasts were computed on an after-corporate-tax basis, but excluded all financing charges. Some elements of the cash flow forecasts were prepared with assistance from treasury analysts, but most of the necessary adjustments were well understood by division staff. New Heritage Doll Company: Capital Budgeting | 4212 To exploit the current popularity of the original Match My Doll Clothing line, especially given the fickle nature of children’s fashion trends, McAdams believed the opportunity had to be exploited without delay. Her investment proposal contained relatively large outlays for RD, market research, and marketing to maximize the probability of quick acceptance and longer-term success for the follow-on line. Upfront investment expenditures are summarized in Table 2. Table 2 Match My Doll Clothing Extension Outlays The RD and marketing expenditures would be deductible for tax purposes at New Heritage’s 40% corporate tax rate. The property, plant and equipment was expected to have a useful life of 10 years; the associated depreciation charges, shown in Exhibit 1, were based on the modified accelerated cost recovery system (â€Å"MACRS†) allowed by the IRS. Working capital requirements, shown in Table 2 for 2010 and in Exhibit 1 for subsequent years were based largely on recent historical experience with the original Match My Doll Clothing line. Finally, given the proven success of Match My Doll Clothing, Harris believed the project entailed moderate risk—that is, about the same degree of risk as the production division’s existing business as a whole. Design Your Own Doll This initiative targeted existing New Heritage customers, many of whom owned several of the company’s heirloom dolls. The company’s research showed that, when asked what features (e.g., appearance, ethnicity, â€Å"life story,† etc.) New Heritage should give to future dolls, loyal customers’ responses had a high correlation with their own personal data. That is, girls wanted dolls like themselves. Further research suggested that many loyal customers would purchase yet another doll if they could customize the doll’s features to create a â€Å"one-of-a-kind† addition to a girl’s or family’s existing collection of dolls. It also promised to increase the girl’s pride in and identification with the doll, both because of their shared features and because of the girl’s participation in creating the doll. This in turn further cemented customer loyalty. The customization process would begin with a new section of New Heritage’s website, where proprietary design software enabled the customer to select physical attributes of the doll such as hair color, hair length style, skin color, eye shape, eye color, and other facial features. The software could combine selected features and produce a photo-realistic image showing the finished doll with user-selected accessories. The customer could zoom in or out on the image and rotate it to see different aspects. The software made it easy to try out different combinations of features and accessories before making a purchase. Elizabeth Holtz, brand manager for heirloom dolls, was very excited about the project. She observed, â€Å"A girl’s relationship with her favorite doll is often partly mommy and partly big sister. Either way, having your doll look more like you is really powerful. And there’s excitement in the experience: exploring the website, naming the doll-to-be, selecting her first outfit†¦even the anticipation of waiting for the new doll to arrive. I really think this is big.† Holtz also believed that the dolls could command a premium price. â€Å"Customers will naturally expect to pay more [for a HARVARD BUSINESS PUBLISHING | BRIEFCASES Purchased for use on the MSc Business Valuation, at Imperial College London. Taught by James Sefton, from 21-Aug-2013 to 31-Dec-2013. Order ref F211857. Usage permitted only within these parameters otherwise contact [emailprotected] Initial Expenditures ($ thousands) 4212 | New Heritage Doll Company: Capital Budgeting custom doll],† she said. Market research with focus groups revealed significant enthusiasm for the product concept and supported the notion of premium prices. The web-based software tools and order entry system required New Heritage to make significant modifications to its existing technology infrastructure, expand its webhosting capacity, and modify the terms of its third-party service agreements to ensure a higher level of service quality. The majority of the RD expenditures shown below were related to software development, hardware upgrades, and web design. The development time involved, including product testing, was expected to be approximately 12 months. Initial outlays, some of which occurred in 2010 and some in 2011 As with Match My Doll Clothing, the required RD and marketing costs would be tax deductible. Manufacturing equipment had to be ordered by the end of 2010 to be ready for production at the beginning of 2012. While New Heritage had the option to pay for custom equipment in quarterly installments, the firm could get a substantial discount by paying for the equipment up front, in 2010. Figures in Table 3 and Exhibit 2 reflect the discounted cost of the equipment. To support the forecasted level of sales, substantial investment in working capital (primarily work in process inventory of partially manufactured dolls) would be required beginning in 2011. And still more equipment would have to be purchased and installed no later than 2014. In years 2015 and following, investments in working capital and equipment would revert to patterns familiar from the production division’s traditional lines of dolls. To complete development work, Holtz planned to use some of the company’s existing IT staff. The majority of the work would take place during calendar 2011. The number of people and their fully loaded costs are shown Table 4. These costs were not included by Holtz in the initial outlays shown in Table 3 or in the forecasts presented in Exhibit 2. The development personnel Holtz needed were considered â€Å"corporate† resources and were almost certainly available to work on the project. Table 4 Design Your Own Doll Development Personnel, ($ 000s) Application Development Personnel Costs: Web Application Developers Database Manager Systems Integration Specialist Total Cost BRIEFCASES | HARVARD BUSINESS PUBLISHING Purchased for use on the MSc Business Valuation, at Imperial College London. Taught by James Sefton, from 21-Aug-2013 to 31-Dec-2013. Order ref F211857. Usage permitted only within these parameters otherwise contact [emailprotected] However, even a limited degree of customization increased manufacturing complexity and expense. Further, because of the low production runs and volume, fixed costs on a per unit basis were expected to be relatively high. Consequently, the breakeven volume for the project was also expected to be high. New Heritage Doll Company: Capital Budgeting | 4212 Finally, Holtz needed to give Harris her assessment of the project’s riskiness. On the one hand, Design Your Own Doll had a relatively long payback period, introduced some untested elements into the manufacturing process, and depended on near-flawless operation of new customer-facing software and user interfaces. If the project stumbled for some reason, New Heritage risked damaging relationships with its best customers. On the other hand, the project had a relatively modest fixed cost ratio, and it played to the company’s key strength—creating a unique experience for its consumers. Educational material supplied by The Case Centre Copyright encoded A76HM-JUJ9K-PJMN9I Order reference F211857 Emily Harris still needed to complete her review and financial analysis of the two proposals. McAdams and Holtz were in frequent touch with Harris and both had offered to respond to any questions she might have about the proposals: the business case, the financial projections, the operating details, or anything else. Harris expected that she would indeed have some follow-up questions as she worked through her financial analyses. She also knew that her final recommendation might disappoint some executives within the division, who would scrutinize it closely. It had to be well-supported.

Brains before Beauty in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre Essay -- Jane Eyr

Brains before Beauty  in   Jane Erye    Beauty is generally classified into two main categories: physical and mental. In the Charlotte Bronte's Jane Erye, the protagonist rejects by choice and submission, her own physical beauty in favor of her mental intelligence and humility, and her choice becomes her greatest benefit by allowing her to win the hand of the man of her desires, a man who has the values Jane herself believes in. She values her knowledge and thinking before any of her physical appearances because of her desire as a child to read, the lessons she is taught and the reinforcements of the idea appearing in her adulthood. During the course of the novel she lives at five homes. In each of these places, the idea of inner beauty conquering exterior appearance becomes a lesson, and in her last home she gains her reward, a man who loves her solely for her mind. She reads against her cousins wishes as a child at Gateshead, learns to value her intelligence as a child at the Lowood Institution, her mind and humilit y win the heart of Mr. Rochester at Thornfield Manor, she earns St. John's marriage proposal at Marsh's End, and in the end she wins her prize of Mr. Rochester's hand in marriage at Ferndean Manor. Jane Erye spent the beginning of her childhood at her Aunt's house, where she struggles to become more intelligent by reading books. Jane wants to learn, even though her cousin insists: "You have no business to read our books; you are a dependent" (pg. 42). Shortly after being struck for reading, she lays in bed and requests: "Gulliver's Travels from the library. This book I had again and again perused with delight" (pg. 53). Her ambition to read and better herself meets opposition from her cousins, yet she continu... ...f Love in Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. David Lodge, Fire and Eyre: Charlotte Brontà «'s War of Earthly Elements Fraser, Rebecca. The Brontes. 1st ed. New York:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Crown Publishers, 1988.    Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. 3rd ed. New York: The Modern Library. Bronte, Charlotte. "Charlotte Bronte's Letters". New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1971. Diedrick, James.   Newman on the Gentleman.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/hypertext/landow/victorian/vn/victor10.html. Diedrick, James.   Jane Eyre and A Vindication   of the Rights of Woman.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://spider.albion.edu/fac/engl/diedrick/jeyre1.htm. Dickerson, Vanessa D. Victorian Ghosts in the Noontide.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.system.missouri.edu/upress/fall1996/dickerso.htm. Brownell, Eliza. Age Difference in Marriage: The Context for Jane Eyre   

Competency Differences between Associate degree Nurse and Baccalaureate Essay

This essay will explore the differences in competencies for nurses prepared at the associates and baccalaureate degree levels. Both degrees allow the nurse to enter in to the field of nursing as a Registered Nurse .The American Association of colleges of Nursing believes that education significantly impacts the knowledge base and competencies of nurse (AACN2010). BSN and ADN nurses have the same skills need to care for the patient’s, the BSN prepared nurse builds upon these skills. Educational preparation for both degrees includes a core curriculum focusing on preparing the nurse for acquired to in the clinical setting. There are the educational pathways for Registered Nurses. An associate degree nurse enters a two year community college program, earning a student in associate degree in nursing, a three year diploma program offered by hospitals and a four year university or college program, earning the student a bachelor’s of science degree in nursing. The associate degree program were first introduced in 1958 to relieve the shortage of nurses post world war. The program focused on providing direct care for a patient with a well- defined common diagnosis. Facilities have protocols which the nurse takes direction from and refers to for guidance. ADN curriculum is technical in nature focusing on task oriented clinical skill, while considering patient health conditions and need. ADN nurses understand the needs for standardized data collection and assist in obtaining data in a comprehensive manner Competencies set forth for AND’S intend to center on caregiver, councilor, and educator Activities (LUCY J HOOD 2009).ADN maintains accountability for her own actions and those of other health care peers for which she delegate task. ADN nurses assess, implement and plan patient care from admission to discharge. BSN NURSES BSN educational program last for four years. Baccalaureate curriculums include emphasis on critical thinking, research, leadership, management and community health . BSN nurses have excellent problem solving skills and have independent decision making capacities .The BSN program graduates assume the same responsibilities of the associate degree nurse yet their role is far  more expanded. The baccalaureate nurse incorporates the physical, social, spiritual, intellectual, and emotional components to address the overall health of the individual. Applying theory of nursing knowledge from evidence bases research in a holistic view of the individual, and their community. BSN nursing knowledge is based on theory and research which allows opportunities to teach, assume a leadership role in the health care environment. BSN nurses not only provide more complex aspects of daily care and patient education, but also design and co-ordinate a comprehensive plan of nursing care for the entire length of a patient’s stay from pre-admission to post-discharge , including supervising nurses’ aides and other unlicensed assistive personnel, designing discharge and teaching plans for patient’s and collaborating with patient Physicians, families and of the hospital departments and resource personnel. An example of differences in patient care, ADN and BSN nurse are as follows. (Patient situation) A 76 year old female patient admitted with the diagnosis of breast cancer to the oncology department .Cancer care technician arrives, providing daily care of a patient. An RN Arrives, welcome the patient, oriented the room, call bell, introduced staff, checks the vital signs, assess the skin, treatments given for the wound and evaluate the plan of care. A nurse with BSN degree is responsible for the co-ordination of all care provided, after assessing the patient and family needs. The nurse with a BSN collaborates with the physician, physical therapy pastoral care services, social worker and implement a plan of care for the patients based on their health care needs. The AACN â€Å"states the road to BSN, prepares the new nurse for a broader scope of practice across a variety of inpatient and outpatient setting† (AACN, 2010) .With the increase in complexity of today’s health care system, patient’s ,along with advances in technology, our health care requires more highly educated nurses. We as nurses embrace education that prepares us to provide the best care possible for our patients. References American Association of colleges of health of nursing (2010). The impact of education on nursing practice. Retrieved from American ASSOCIATION OF Nursing website: www.aacn.nche.edu/media/ factsheets/ impactednp.htm HOOD, L.J.(2010).

Life Worth Living By William James - 994 Words

Term Paper There are many philosophers who have views supporting or like William James’. However, there are other concepts holding positions that are in opposition to what James has to say. In this paper, I will answer James’ question in his essay, Is Life Worth Living, by arguing affirmatively that life is worth living. Premises The main argument that William James provides in his essay is that life is worth living. The main supports for this argument are religion, belief, and faith. Another defense James offers is optimism, although he knows this cannot be true for everyone. According to James, optimism is the way of approaching his question. He states that there would be no need to ask questions such as this one if optimism were true†¦show more content†¦The first principle is that when people make decisions they are to be ethical and to consider both the consequences and the intentions of our actions. With Kant, the take away is that individuals are to be concerned with the right intentions as well as the right principles. Kant also describes that â€Å"Everything in nature works according to laws† (Twenty Questions, page 595). The Utilitarian Argument poses that there are for steps: â€Å"recognize the problem, consider options and consequences, and select the outcome† (TJ Consequ ences Outline, 2017). In Kant’s Utilitarian View individuals are to add up the good and bad consequences and subtract the bad consequences from the good consequences. This will then lead to an overall choice. After reading the article â€Å"Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals,† I find that Immanuel Kant suggests that people should be treated as â€Å"ends† rather than â€Å"means.† People deserve respect and everyone has value therefore life is worth living. Kant’s prospective is widely based on practical reason rather than the focus of feelings. From what I understand from Kant, life is worth living but it is widely based on the aspect that everything is based on a fundamental law. Objections Some individuals believe that there is more meaning and promise in their death than the life that they are currently living on earth. Many religions, Christianity included, believe in eternal life. No one except for Christ (i.e. God) knowsShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of William James829 Words   |  4 Pages William James was an American philosopher and psychologist who specialized in Pragmatism and philosophy related to such. He led a philosophical revolution in the USA and would make the philosophy known as  ¨Pragmatism very well known. In his book  ¨The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy, William explains different philosophical beliefs while also challenging them and supporting the right to believe in a religion or even life itself. 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Clifford recognized several difficulties in Emmanuel Kant’s argument related to philosophy, which inspired him to begin a search for answers related to innate belief, personal responsibility of guilt, and overall creation. In the Ethics of Belief, Clifford asserts that it is always wrong to believeRead MoreEssay about Hoarding: Attempt of Affluence, Reality of Affliction 1300 Words   |  6 PagesWilliam James, known as the â€Å"phil osopher of America† (Kaila Kovailanen, 2011), had his own perspective on ownership. In 1918 he described acquisitiveness as â€Å"an instinct, something that is part of human nature, present at birth and with us throughout life. This instinct contributes to our sense of self. What is ‘me’ fuses with what is ‘mine,’ and our ‘self’ consists of what we possess† (Frost and Steketee, pp. 48). It seems that even this brilliant mind, who has been considered the father ofRead MoreThe Effects Of Fracking On The United States1650 Words   |  7 PagesLife: Twenty Years Later In 2026, life in Dimock, Pennsylvania was a lot different than how it was twenty years ago. This is evident by all the new advances in technology within the two decades. However, what changed the town the most was the hydraulic fracturing boom back in the mid-2000s. The town has experienced many ups and downs because of all the gas companies coming in to extract the natural gas from the Marcellus Shale, that lies underneath the land. Dimock had received a lot of attentionRead MorePsychology, Religion, And Religion1397 Words   |  6 Pages as Camus proposes, the meaning of life is the only thing stopping you from committing suicide right now, then religion serves a psychologically useful role in providing meaning and relieving anxiety. This view is reflected by William James in his Varieties of Religious Experiences. James is largely pragmatic in his attitude towards religious experiences. Whereas Freud considered religious experience merely an illusion and not independently verifiable, James considers religious experience realRead MoreFigurative Language in Do No Go Gentle into That Good Night by Dylan Tomas772 Words   |  3 PagesWilliam James, an American philosopher and psychologist once said â€Å"believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.† Life, regardless of how close it lies to death, is worth keeping. The poem â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night†, by Dylan Thomas is a son’s appeal to a fading father. He shows his father that men from all walks of life confront death, however, they still war against it. Thomas uses figurative language to classify men into four different categories to