Limiting Factors in a Business Situation

Limiting Factors in a Business Situation (a) Explain what a limiting factor is and what sort of things can become limiting factors in a business situation? (16 marks) Limiting factor is any factor that restricts a company or an organisations activities. In other words, limiting factor is a factor which is limited or not enough provide to the company. Limiting factors in an organisation can be labour hours, raw material, machine hours or space. For example, when sales demand excess the productivity capacity, the company do not have enough resources to produce the products, the scarce resource will be the factor that restricts the companys activities. Hence, the scarce resources should be identified to ensure company has enough resources to produce their products as many as their wish. By using limiting factor, we can maximise the profit when obtained the greatest possible contribution to profit each time. Example1: A B C Contribution per unit of output RM 24 RM 20 RM 12 Machine hours required per unit of output 6 hours 2 hours 1 hours Estimated sales demand 3,000 units 3,000 units 3,000 units Required machine hours 18,000 hours 6,000 hours 3,000 hours The machine hour is limited to 18,000 hours for the period because of the breakdown of one machine. Consider Example 1. From the example 1, we know that the company required total 27,000 machine hours to produce the total sales demand of the product A, B and C that they estimated. However, the company only has 18,000 machine hours for the period because of the breakdown of one machine. In this situation, companys activities are limited by the machine hours. When we looking at the above information, we will think that the company should produce the product A first since the contribution per unit of product A is the highest, but this could be wrong. This is because produce each unit of product A required 6 machine hours, but product B required 2 machine hours and product C required 1 machine hours only. So, the company can produce 3,000 units of product B and C respectively first, after that just produce the product A with the remaining machine hours. In other words, if the company concentrates on produce the product A, there will no machine hours left to the company to produce B and C. In order to maxi mize the companys profit, we should use limiting factor to calculate the greatest possible contribution per profit for each product and rank the profitability of the product to obtain the optimum production plan. (b) Explain the techniques that have been developed to assist in business decision- making when single or multiple limiting factors are encountered (16 marks) Single limiting factor- Limiting factor analysis When single limiting factor are encountered, we have to use limiting factor analysis to help companies to identify the scarce resources and maximise profit by using the best combination of available resources. In limiting factor analysis, we should identify the bottleneck resources first. Secondly, we should calculate the contribution per unit for each product. Next, we can calculate the contribution per unit of the bottleneck resource for each product after we get the contribution per unit of each product. After this, we can rank the products from the highest to the lowest in sequence based on contribution per unit of bottleneck resource. Finally, we can allocate the resources from the highest contribution per profit to the lowest contribution per profit by the ranking until the resources are used up. By doing so, we can obtained the greatest possible profit when resources are limited by single limiting factor. Example 2: X Y Machine hours per units 3 hours 4 hours Sales demand 2,000 units 3000 units RM RM Selling price 32 50 Less : Direct Material 10 20 Direct Labour 5 8 Variable Overhead 5 8 20 36 Contribution 12 14 The supply of materials for the period is unlimited, but the machine hours are limited to 15,000 hours. In order to maximize the profit, we should using limiting factor analysis to solve the problem when there is only one limiting factor. Step 1: Identify the bottleneck resource. At sales demand level: Sales demand Machine hours per unit Total machine hours X 2,000 units 3 hours 6,000 hours Y 3,000 units 4 hours 12,000 hours 18,000 hours Thus, machine hours are the limiting factor. Step 2: Calculate the contribution per unit for each product. The contribution has been given at the above. X Y Contribution per unit RM 12 RM 14 Step 3: Calculate the contribution per unit of the bottleneck resource for each product. To calculate the contribution per unit of the bottleneck resource for each product, the formulae is: Contribution per units of the machine hours = Contribution Machine hours Product X = RM 12 3 hours = RM 4.00 Product Y = RM 14 4 hours = RM 3.50 Step 4: Rank the products from the highest contribution per machine hour to lowest contribution per machine hour. Production should be concentrated on product X first, up to maximum sales available, then product Y. Step 5: Finally, allocate the available resources using that ranking that we decided at step 4 and calculate the maximum contribution. Production plan Units produced Machine hours per unit Total machine hours Balance of machine hours 15,000 hours Product X 2,000 units 3 hours 6,000 hours 9,000 hours Product Y 2,250 units 4 hours 9,000 hours So, the maximum contribution is as follows: RM Product X ( 2,000 units x RM 12) 24,000 Product Y (2,250 units x RM 14) 31,500 55,500 Multiple limiting factors- Linear programming We can use limiting factor analysis when there is one limiting factor. However, when there is more than one of scare resources which restricts organisations activities, we can use linear programming to solve the problem. Firstly, we must define the variances when using linear programming. Then, we can define and formulate the objective. After formulate the objective, we also must formulate the constraints. Next, draw a graph to identify the feasible region and get the optimum production plan from the graph. Finally, we can solve the problem and get the maximum contribution by doing so. Example 3: A B Contribution per unit RM 20 RM 10 Machine hours per unit 6 hours 3 hours Kilos per unit 4 kilos 8 kilos Maximum available : Machine hours = 18,000 hours Kilos = 24,000 kilos What should be the production plan? To answer the example 3, we should use linear programming to get the optimum production plan because there is two or more of scarce resources. Step 1: Define the variances Let x = the number of units of the product A. y = the number of units of the product B. Step 2: Define and formulate the objective function. The objective is to maximize the contribution C, given by: Maximum contribution = 20 x + 10 y Step 3: Formulate the constraints. The limitations here are machine hours and kilos. For the machine hours, product A required 6 hours and product B required 3 hours machine hours. So, total machine hours required = 6 x + 3 y For the kilos, product A required 4 kilos and product B required 8 kilos. So, total kilos required = 4 x + 8 y Constraints Utilised Available Machine hours 6 x + 3 y 18,000 Kilos 4 x + 8 y 24,000 Step 4: Draw a graph and identify a feasible region. For the equation 6 x + 3 y = 18,000 machine hours When x = 0, y = 18,000/ 3 = 6,000 When y = 0, x = 18,000/ 6 = 3,000 Draw a straight line between the point (0, 6000) and (3000, 0) on the graph to represent the line for machine hours constraint. For the equation 4 x + 8 y = 24,000 kilos When x = 0, y = 24,000/ 8 = 3,000 When y = 0, x = 24,000/ 4 = 6,000 Draw a straight line between the point (0, 3000) and (6000, 0) on the graph to represent the line for kilos constraint. The graph is shown as below: The original constraints were Step 5: Determine the optimal solution Calculate the total contribution at each point P, Q and R Point P = RM 20 (0) + RM 10 (3,000) = RM 30,000 Point Q = RM 20 (2,000) + RM10 (2,000) = RM 60,000 Point R = RM 20 (1,500) + RM10 (0) = RM 30,000 Point Q gives the maximum contribution. Step 6: Answer the question The optimal point is at x = 2,000 and y = 2,000. This gives a maximum contribution of C = (20 x 2,000) + (10 x 2,000) = RM60, 000 (c) Explain the management idea known as throughput accounting. State and justify your opinion on whether or not throughput accounting and limiting factors are the same thing. (18 marks) For every company to reduce it costs and improve the profitability of the company, managers will use cost accounting to help them on decision-making. Hence, Theory of constraints (TOC) or Throughput accounting (TA) is another method for decision-making apart from Standard Based Costing, Activity Based Costing and Marginal Costing. TOC/TA is a new management accounting approach based on factors identification when the constraints are restricts companies to achieving their goals and reduces companys profits. Throughput accounting is used when there are few constraints only, usually just one. The constraint can be a resource, company policy or management mindset. According to Goldratts ideas, TOC is forecasting on a limit capacity at certain critical points in any production plan. Therefore, TOC maximise organisations profit by increasing the producing speed through an organisation in order to eliminating bottlenecks. Additionally, throughput accounting is not costing because it does not include variable and fixed expenses, and overheads to products. Thus, throughput accounting helps managers to get better management decision in order to improve organisations profits by three measurements. They are: Throughput (T) is the rate of money that a company produced, throughput is total sales (S) less total variable costs (TVC), usually is cost of raw materials ( T = S TVC ). However, T exists even there is only one product are sold. Besides, finished goods of inventory in a warehouse that not yet sold are not included. Investment (I) is total amount of money that invest in a new system to enhance its ability to improve the capacity, for examples machinery. Operating expenses (OE) is all others expenses except the total variables cost when calculate the throughput. Basically, OE is total costs to operating the production system, for examples maintenance, utilities, rental, etc. Fixed or partially fixed costs are no difference in throughput accounting. On the contrary, there have either total variable cost or operating expenses in throughput accounting. Therefore, throughput accounting use difference formulas to make difference types of accounting decisions by combined the throughput, total variable costs and operating expenses: Net profitÂÂ  (NP) = Throughput Operating Expense = T-OE Return on investmentÂÂ  (ROI) = Net profit / Investment = NP/I ProductivityÂÂ  (P) = Throughput / Operating expense = T/OE Investment turnsÂÂ  (IT) = Throughput / Investment = T/I According to Dr. Goldratt, we can use the above formulas to get the right decision when making a decision that related to changes in revenue, expenses or investments, which must get a positive answer from one out of three questions below: Does it increase throughput? Does it reduce operating expense? Does it improve the return on investment? Finally, there are five steps established by Goldratts in the TOC to help managers maximize the throughput and then achieve organisations goals. The five steps are as follows: Identify the system constraints. There is either an internal constraint (in production, engineering or planning.) or an external constraint (in the market)? The constraint is a resource or a policy? Decide how to maximise the output from the constraint. All other activities are prepared subject to this decision. Non-constraints must be subject to constraints. Consider the appropriate level of resources once the resource constraint has been identified. Therefore, the capacity constraints can be improved. Enhance the systems constraints. Once constraint has been corrected, return to Step 1 to determine the next most serious constraints and duplicate the above steps. In my opinion, throughput accounting and limiting factor is not the same thing but there are similarities and differences in between throughput accounting and limiting factor. For example, throughput accounting and limiting factor are using to assist companies identify bottleneck resources instead to maximise companies profits. However, throughput accounting is used when there are few constraints; normally just one but limiting factor is used when there are one or more than one constraints. Besides, limiting factor is focus on working to obtain greatest contributions while throughput accounting is focus on some critical areas that have limited capacity at any production plan. In addition, limiting factor maximise the organisations profit by using the best combination of available resources but throughput accounting is maximise the profit by increase the producing speed through organisation to eliminate bottlenecks. Throughput accounting calculates the products throughput as sales price minus total variable costs. Variable costs or in other words cost of materials in throughout accounting included direct material costs only, labour and overhead costs are fixed and categories to total factory costs. In contrast, limiting factor calculates contribution as sales price minus variable costs but labour and overhead costs are part of variable costs in limiting factor, this is difference from throughput accounting.

Bonds and The Bond Market Essay -- essays papers

Bonds and The Bond Market Given today's uncertain economy, many people are taking time to examine various options for their financial future. Different types of investments are investigated and bonds are one of the more popular choices considered. Many of the same people who talk about investing in bonds, however, do not fully understand them nor where they place in the economy. Many individuals believe that they should simply buy a bond and wait until it matures before cashing it in. These people fail to realize that they may be losing a lot of money due to the fluctuation of bond prices. At some point it may be more profitable for them to sell their bond than to keep it until the payment date is reached. There are many people who do not understand what bonds really are. A bond is an agreement between two separate entities. One of these bodies gives, to the other, use of their money for a period of time and, in return, may receive a "bond". The bond issuer agrees to a fixed rate of return which he will pay the supporting person or business. This fixed rate of return is an amount, in percentages, which is paid at regular intervals until some future specified time ( the "maturity date"). Upon reaching the maturity date, one's original investment is returned to them. As previously mentioned, bonds are one of the more popular types of financial investment in today's economy. There are many reasons why people invest in bonds. For example, if one chooses a stable and profitable bond, it will provide a steady source of income through interest payments during the lifetime of the bond. As well, the risk when investing in a bond is considerably less than for most other forms of investment. The bond does not, for instance, experience the volatility of a stock on the stock market, like many other forms of investment do. Also, in instances where the issuer fails to pay the principal amount back to the bond holder, legal recourse is available. Furthermore, in cases of bankruptcy within large corporations with stock holders, bond holders take priority and are ... ...onsequently the prices of previously purchased bonds decrease. If you are able to hold onto your bond until the maturity date is reached, temporary changes in interest rates will not affect your financial investment; however, if you need to sell the bond before the marked maturity date, you might have to accept LESS than what you paid for it. This volatility can work to your advantage too, because it is possible that your bond could be worth more at the time you decide to sell. This is why it is important to keep up to date on bond prices. You may be able to make money by simply selling your bond before it's maturity date. In conclusion, I would suggest that bonds are a wise venue for anybody wanting to financially invest in different corporations or governments. I would caution, however that when selecting a bond, one should seek the guidance of an experienced investor. By choosing a bond that is right for you and your lifestyle, you have the potential of increasing your profits greatly and going home wealthier and happier.

Cover Note Essay

â€Å"The Relation of Science and Religion† is a transcript of a talk given by Dr. Feynman at the Caltech YMCA Lunch Forum on May 2, 1956. In this age of specialization men who thoroughly know one field are often incompetent to discuss another. The great problems of the relations between one and another aspect of human activity have for this reason been discussed less and less in public. When we look at the past great debates on these subjects we feel jealous of those times, for we should have liked the excitement of such argument. The old problems, such as the relation of science and religion, are still with us, and I believe present as difficult dilemmas as ever, but they are not often publicly discussed because of the limitations of specialization. But I have been interested in this problem for a long time and would like to discuss it. In view of my very evident lack of knowledge and understanding of religion (a lack which will grow more apparent as we proceed), I will organize the discussion in this way: I will suppose that not one man but a group of men are discussing the problem, that the group consists of specialists in many fields – the various sciences, the various religions and so on – and that we are going to discuss the problem from various sides, like a panel. Each is to give his point of view, which may be molded and modified by the later discussion. Further, I imagine that someone has been chosen by lot to be the first to present his views, and I am he so chosen. I would start by presenting the panel with a problem: A young man, brought up in a religious family, studies a science, and as a result he comes to doubt – and perhaps later to disbelieve in – his father’s God. Now, this is not an isolated example; it happens time and time again. Although I have no statistics on this, I believe that many scientists – in fact, I actually believe that more than half of the scientists – really disbelieve in their father’s God; that is, they don’t believe in a God in a conventional sense. Now, since the belief in a God is a central feature of religion, this problem that I have selected points up most strongly the problem of the relation of science and religion. Why does this young man come to disbelieve? The first answer we might hear is very simple: You see, he is taught by scientists, and (as I have just pointed out) they are all atheists at heart, so the evil is spread from one to another. But if you can entertain this view, I think you know less of science than I know of religion. Another answer may be that a little knowledge is dangerous; this young man has learned a little bit and thinks he knows it all, but soon he will grow out of this sophomoric sophistication and come to realize that the world is more complicated, and he will begin again to understand that there must be a God. I don’t think it is necessary that he come out of it. There are many scientists – men who hope to call themselves mature – who still don’t believe in God. In fact, as I would like to explain later, the answer is not that the young man thinks he knows it all – it is the exact opposite. A third answer you might get is that this young man really doesn’t understand science correctly. I do not believe that science can disprove the existence of God; I think that is impossible. And if it is impossible, is not a belief in science and in a God – an ordinary God of religion — a consistent possibility? Yes, it is consistent. Despite the fact that I said that more than half of the scientists don’t believe in God, many scientists do believe in both science and God, in a perfectly consistent way. But this consistency, although possible, is not easy to attain, and I would like to try to discuss two things: Why it is not easy to attain, and whether it is worth attempting to attain it. When I say â€Å"believe in God,† of course, it is always a puzzle – what is God? What I mean is the kind of personal God, characteristic of the western religions, to whom you pray and who has something to do with creating the universe and guiding you in morals. For the student, when he learns about science, there are two sources of difficulty in trying to weld science and religion together. The first source of difficulty is this – that it is imperative in science to doubt; it is absolutely necessary, for progress in science, to have uncertainty as a fundamental part of your inner nature. To make progress in understanding we must remain modest and allow that we do not know. Nothing is certain or proved beyond all doubt. You investigate for curiosity, because it is unknown, not because you know the answer. And as you develop more information in the sciences, it is not that you are finding out the truth, but that you are finding out that this or that is more or less likely. That is, if we investigate further, we find that the statements of science are not of what is true and what is not true, but statements of what is known to different degrees of certainty: â€Å"It is very much more likely that so and so is true than that it is not true;† or â€Å"such and such is almost certain but there is still a little bit of doubt;† or – at the other extreme – â€Å"well, we really don’t know. † Every one of the concepts of science is on a scale graduated somewhere between, but at neither end of, absolute falsity or absolute truth. It is necessary, I believe, to accept this idea, not only for science, but also for other things; it is of great value to acknowledge ignorance. It is a fact that when we make decisions in our life we don’t necessarily know that we are making them correctly; we only think that we are doing the best we can – and that is what we should do. Attitude of uncertainty I think that when we know that we actually do live in uncertainty, then we ought to admit it; it is of great value to realize that we do not know the answers to different questions. This attitude of mind – this attitude of uncertainty – is vital to the scientist, and it is this attitude of mind which the student must first acquire. It becomes a habit of thought. Once acquired, one cannot retreat from it any more. What happens, then, is that the young man begins to doubt everything because he cannot have it as absolute truth. So the question changes a little bit from â€Å"Is there a God? † to â€Å"How sure is it that there is a God? † This very subtle change is a great stroke and represents a parting of the ways between science and religion. I do not believe a real scientist can ever believe in the same way again. Although there are scientists who believe in God, I do not believe that they think of God in the same way as religious people do. If they are consistent with their science, I think that they say something like this to themselves: â€Å"I am almost certain there is a God. The doubt is very small. † That is quite different from saying, â€Å"I know that there is a God. † I do not believe that a scientist can ever obtain that view – that really religious understanding, that real knowledge that there is a God – that absolute certainty which religious people have. Of course this process of doubt does not always start by attacking the question of the existence of God. Usually special tenets, such as the question of an afterlife, or details of the religious doctrine, such as details of Christ’s life, come under scrutiny first. It is more interesting, however, to go right into the central problem in a frank way, and to discuss the more extreme view which doubts the existence of God. Once the question has been removed from the absolute, and gets to sliding on the scale of uncertainty, it may end up in very different positions. In many cases it comes out very close to being certain. But on the other hand, for some, the net result of close scrutiny of the theory his father held of God may be the claim that it is almost certainly wrong. Belief in God – and the facts of science That brings us to the second difficulty our student has in trying to weld science and religion: Why does it often end up that the belief in God – at least, the God of the religious type – is considered to be very unreasonable, very unlikely? I think that the answer has to do with the scientific things – the facts or partial facts – that the man learns. For instance, the size of the universe is very impressive, with us on a tiny particle whirling around the sun, among a hundred thousand million suns in this galaxy, itself among a billion galaxies. Again, there is the close relation of biological man to the animals, and of one form of life to another. Man is a latecomer in a vast evolving drama; can the rest be but a scaffolding for his creation? Yet again, there are the atoms of which all appears to be constructed, following immutable laws. Nothing can escape it; the stars are made of the same stuff, and the animals are made of the same stuff, but in such complexity as to mysteriously appear alive – like man himself. It is a great adventure to contemplate the universe beyond man, to think of what it means without man – as it was for the great part of its long history, and as it is in the great majority of places. When this objective view is finally attained, and the mystery and majesty of matter are appreciated, to then turn the objective eye back on man viewed as matter, to see life as part of the universal mystery of greatest depth, is to sense an experience which is rarely described. It usually ends in laughter, delight in the futility of trying to understand. These scientific views end in awe and mystery, lost at the edge in uncertainty, but they appear to be so deep and so impressive that the theory that it is all arranged simply as a stage for God to watch man’s struggle for good and evil seems to be inadequate. So let us suppose that this is the case of our particular student, and the conviction grows so that he believes that individual prayer, for example, is not heard. (I am not trying to disprove the reality of God; I am trying to give you some idea of – some sympathy for – the reasons why many come to think that prayer is meaningless. ) Of course, as a result of this doubt, the pattern of doubting is turned next to ethical problems, because, in the religion which he learned, moral problems were connected with the word of God, and if the God doesn’t exist, what is his word? But rather surprisingly, I think, the moral problems ultimately come out relatively unscathed; at first perhaps the student may decide that a few little things were wrong, but he often reverses his opinion later, and ends with no fundamentally different moral view. There seems to be a kind of independence in these ideas. In the end, it is possible to doubt the divinity of Christ, and yet to believe firmly that it is a good thing to do unto your neighbor as you would have him do unto you. It is possible to have both these views at the same time; and I would say that I hope you will find that my atheistic scientific colleagues often carry themselves well in society. Communism and the scientific viewpoint I would like to remark, in passing, since the word â€Å"atheism† is so closely connected with â€Å"communism,† that the communist views are the antithesis of the scientific, in the sense that in communism the answers are given to all the questions – political questions as well as moral ones – without discussion and without doubt. The scientific viewpoint is the exact opposite of this; that is, all questions must be doubted and discussed; we must argue everything out – observe things, check them, and so change them. The democratic government is much closer to this idea, because there is discussion and a chance of modification. One doesn’t launch the ship in a definite direction. It is true that if you have a tyranny of ideas, so that you know exactly what has to be true, you act very decisively, and it looks good – for a while. But soon the ship is heading in the wrong direction, and no one can modify the direction any more. So the uncertainties of life in a democracy are, I think, much more consistent with science. Although science makes some impact on many religious ideas, it does not affect the moral content. Religion has many aspects; it answers all kinds of questions. First, for example, it answers questions about what things are, where they come from, what man is, what God is – the properties of God, and so on. Let me call this the metaphysical aspect of religion. It also tells us another thing – how to behave. Leave out of this the idea of how to behave in certain ceremonies, and what rites to perform; I mean it tells us how to behave in life in general, in a moral way. It gives answers to moral questions; it gives a moral and ethical code. Let me call this the ethical aspect of religion. Now, we know that, even with moral values granted, human beings are very weak; they must be reminded of the moral values in order that they may be able to follow their consciences. It is not simply a matter of having a right conscience; it is also a question of maintaining strength to do what you know is right. And it is necessary that religion give strength and comfort and the inspiration to follow these moral views. This is the inspirational aspect of religion. It gives inspiration not only for moral conduct – it gives inspiration for the arts and for all kinds of great thoughts and actions as well. Interconnections These three aspects of religion are interconnected, and it is generally felt, in view of this close integration of ideas, that to attack one feature of the system is to attack the whole structure. The three aspects are connected more or less as follows: The moral aspect, the moral code, is the word of God – which involves us in a metaphysical question. Then the inspiration comes because one is working the will of God; one is for God; partly one feels that one is with God. And this is a great inspiration because it brings one’s actions in contact with the universe at large. So these three things are very well interconnected. The difficulty is this: that science occasionally conflicts with the first of the three categories – the metaphysical aspect of religion. For instance, in the past there was an argument about whether the earth was the center of the universe – whether the earth moved around the sun or stayed still. The result of all this was a terrible strife and difficulty, but it was finally resolved – with religion retreating in this particular case. More recently there was a conflict over the question of whether man has animal ancestry. The result in many of these situations is a retreat of the religious metaphysical view, but nevertheless, there is no collapse of the religion. And further, there seems to be no appreciable or fundamental change in the moral view. After all, the earth moves around the sun – isn’t it best to torn the other cheek? Does it make any difference whether the earth is standing still or moving around the son? We can expect conflict again. Science is developing and new things will be found out which will he in disagreement with the presentday metaphysical theory of certain religions. In fact, even with all the past retreats of religion, there is still real conflict for particular individuals when they learn about the science and they have heard about the religion. The thing has not been integrated very well; there are real conflicts here – and yet morals are not affected. As a matter of fact, the conflict is doubly difficult in this metaphysical region. Firstly, the facts may be in conflict, but even if the facts were not in conflict, the attitude is different. The spirit of uncertainty in science is an attitude toward the metaphysical questions that is quite different from the certainty and faith that is demanded in religion. There is definitely a conflict, I believe – both in fact and in spirit – over the metaphysical aspects of religion. In my opinion, it is not possible for religion to find a set of metaphysical ideas which will be guaranteed not to get into conflicts with an everadvancing and alwayschanging science which is going into an unknown. We don’t know how to answer the questions; it is impossible to find an answer which someday will not be found to be wrong. The difficulty arises because science and religion are both trying to answer questions in the same realm here. Science and moral questions On the other hand, I don’t believe that a real conflict with science will arise in the ethical aspect, because I believe that moral questions are outside of the scientific realm. Let me give three or four arguments to show why I believe this. In the first place, there have been conflicts in the past between the scientific and the religious view about the metaphysical aspect and, nevertheless, the older moral views did not collapse, did not change. Second, there are good men who practice Christian ethics and who do not believe in the divinity of Christ. They find themselves in no inconsistency here. Thirdly, although I believe that from time to time scientific evidence is found which may be partially interpreted as giving some evidence of some particular aspect of the life of Christ, for example, or of other religious metaphysical ideas, it seems to me that there is no scientific evidence bearing on the golden rule. It seems to me that that is somehow different. Now, let’s see if I can make a little philosophical explanation as to why it is different – how science cannot affect the fundamental basis of morals. The typical human problem, and one whose answer religion aims to supply, is always of the following form: Should I do this? Should we do this? Should the government do this? To answer this question we can resolve it into two parts: First — If I do this, what will happen? – and second – Do I want that to happen? What would come of it of value – of good? Now a question of the form: If I do this, what will happen?is strictly scientific. As a matter of fact, science can be defined as a method for, and a body of information obtained by, trying to answer only questions which can be put into the form: If I do this, what will happen? The technique of it, fundamentally, is: Try it and see. Then you put together a large amount of information from such experiences. All scientists will agree that a question – any question, philosophical or other – which cannot be put into the form that can be tested by experiment (or, in simple terms, that cannot be put into the form: If I do this, what will happen?) is not a scientific question; it is outside the realm of science. I claim that whether you want something to happen or not – what value there is in the result, and how you judge the value of the result (which is the other end of the question: Should I do this? ) – must lie outside of science because it is not a question that you can answer only by knowing what happens; you still have to judge what happens – in a moral way. So, for this theoretical reason I think that there is a complete consistency between the moral view – or the ethical aspect of religion – and scientific information. Turning to the third aspect of religion – the inspirational aspect – brings me to the central question that I would like to present to this imaginary panel. The source of inspiration today – for strength and for comfort – in any religion is very closely knit with the metaphysical aspect; that is, the inspiration comes from working for God, for obeying his will, feeling one with God. Emotional ties to the moral code – based in this manner – begin to be severely weakened when doubt, even a small amount of doubt, is expressed as to the existence of God; so when the belief in God becomes uncertain, this particular method of obtaining inspiration fails. I don’t know the answer to this central problem – the problem of maintaining the real value of religion, as a source of strength and of courage to most men, while, at the same time, not requiring an absolute faith in the metaphysical aspects. The heritages of Western civilization Western civilization, it seems to me, stands by two great heritages. One is the scientific spirit of adventure – the adventure into the unknown, an unknown which must be recognized as being unknown in order to be explored; the demand that the unanswerable mysteries of the universe remain unanswered; the attitude that all is uncertain; to summarize it – the humility of the intellect. The other great heritage is Christian ethics – the basis of action on love, the brotherhood of all men, the value of the individual – the humility of the spirit. These two heritages are logically, thoroughly consistent. But logic is not all; one needs one’s heart to follow an idea. If people are going back to religion, what are they going back to? Is the modern church a place to give comfort to a man who doubts Godmore, one who disbelieves in God? Is the modern church a place to give comfort and encouragement to the value of such doubts? So far, have we not drawn strength and comfort to maintain the one or the other of these consistent heritages in a way which attacks the values of the other? Is this unavoidable? How can we draw inspiration to support these two pillars of western civilization so that they may stand together in full vigor, mutually unafraid? Is this not the central problem of our time? I put it up to the panel for discussion.

A Report On The Underground Railroad - 1259 Words

Tena Walker Mr. Steven McCall U.S. History I June 30, 2015 A Mysterious Train In The Night†¦The Underground Railroad One of the most talked about railroads in the history of the United States was never an actual railroad. â€Å"The Underground Railroad is every route that the enslaved took, or attempted to take to freedom. It is a vast network of paths and road, through swamps and over mountains, along and across rivers and by sea, that cannot be documented with precision [sic].† (Landau 71) The people helping lead the runaway slaves to freedom were called conductors and the houses where the runaway slaves stayed while on their journey to freedom were called stations. People who donated money to help the runaway slaves find freedom were called stockholders. The runaway slaves were the passengers. The success of the Underground Railroad depended on its ability to be an extremely secretive mission. As early as the 1500’s, slave hunters went to Africa, where they captured men and women, often branding them with hot irons befo re locking them in dungeons on ships and sailing them to the American colonies. Prisoners who managed to survive the 10 week trip were then sold as slaves to the American colonies. These slaves were first considered indentured servants destined to serve the people that purchased them for a certain amount of time, usually seven years. The state of Massachusetts passed a law in 1641 that allowed slavery of Africans. In 1639, Maryland passed a law that anyoneShow MoreRelatedBook Report for Underground Railroad1337 Words   |  6 PagesWilliam Wang Mrs. Smart Book Report Midterm Report Underground Railroad Dramatic First-Hand Accounts 1. Alabama a. Narrative of Peter Still i. This narrative appears in stills Underground Railroad Records ii. One of the greatest documents of the underground railroad iii. The life, struggles, and success of Peter and his Family were ably brought before the public in â€Å"The Kidnapped and the Ransoms† iv. His Parents Levin and Sidney were bothRead MoreThe Underground Railroad : The United States History1456 Words   |  6 PagesThe Underground Railroad is a popular topic in United States history, but many of the stories told about it are more myth than fact. Quilts have been often used as a symbol in children s picture books to further the understanding of one of the darkest periods of United States history: slavery. Parents and teachers have eagerly embraced these illustrated books as a way to understand and teach past turmoil. Many of these books suggest that people who participated in the Underground Railroad used quiltsRead MoreThe Life Of A Woman Harriet Tubman1404 Words   |  6 PagesHarriet Tubman suffered but also those who suffered and died in the quest from slavery to freedom. This small yet powerful book of 22 chapters, takes us as passengers on this fictitious railroad, that was truly a historical pathway. While the Underground Railroad must not be seen as an actual railroad underground, it was a secret organization that the slaves would use to escape and that it was a series of paths through land and sea routes so that runaway slaves could become free. If one were to visualizeRead MoreA Brief Look at the Underground Railroad1335 Words   |  5 Pages For 300 years captured slaves in the United States had no hope for freedom. In the 1800s everything changed when the Underground Railroad had gone into effect as the system kept on growing and there were more than 100,000 slaves escaped from the South and gained their freedom. The journey for a slave to gain freedom was difficult and dangerous under the circumstances in the nineteenth century. Not even slave owners were looking for fugitive slaves, governments also imposed laws to restricted theRead MoreUnderground Railroad State Marker At O Dell s Mill Essay1105 Words   |  5 PagesSite 1: Underground Railroad State Marker at O Dell s Mill. The mill was the site where local the di vided parties of Kentucky raiders re-assembled and were surrounded and confronted by abolitionists who convinced the raiders to go to plead their case before the court in Cassopolis. The marker summarizes local historical involvement in the Underground railroad leading up to the Civil War. Site 2: Site not yet researched. Site 3: Birch Lake Cemetery and Meeting House. This is the Quakers’Read MoreEssay on Slavery - Underground Rail Road630 Words   |  3 Pages The underground railroad was a network of northerners that helped slaves reached the north and Canada for safety from their plantation. It was secret and railway terms were used to describe system as a way to hide the real nature of the operation. The underground railroad extended from Maine to Nebraska but was most concentrated in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indian, New York, and The New England States. More of the more specific spots were Detroit, Michigan, Erie, Pennsylvania, Buffalo and New York. Read MoreHarriet Tubman Essay586 Words   |  3 Pagesfirst stop. Then she was taken to Pennsylvania. She settled down in Philadelphia. In Philadelphia, she met William Still, The Philadelphia stationmaster of the Underground Railroad. Still and other members of the Philadelphia Anti-Slavery society, taught Harriet of the Underground Railroad. In 1851, Harriet, started relocating members of her family to her new home, at St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada West. In all she is beleived to have conductedRead MoreEssay African Americans in the Civil War 504 Words   |  3 Pagesthe Union. At the battle of Port Hudson they fought over open ground. They didnt win but they proved that they could fight. Many slaves escaped from the South on the Underground Railroad. Estimated at about 100,000 had escaped using the Railroad. Harriet Tubman was one of many who helped free slaves on the Underground Railroad. She made 13 trips, freeing about 70 slaves. Canada was popular for slaves to go to because once they got out of the country they couldnt be brought back. Many wouldRead MoreDoes Black Architecture Exist?1653 Words   |  7 Pagesinformation with others. I am doing a study on black architecture because many people believe that there is no such thing because no one hardly ever acknowledge them. I am including one reports/essays and two articles to show my research on the existence of African-American architects and their architecture. The report/essay â€Å"Hampton University Brings Color to Architecture† was written by Shannon Chance and published on the 8th of August in 2007. The article â€Å"Tuskegee University Robert R. Taylor SchoolRead MoreSigns, Symbols and Signals of the Underground Railroad Essay3216 Words   |  13 PagesSigns, Symbols and Signals of the Underground Railroad A journey of hundreds of miles lies before you, through swamp, forest and mountain pass. Your supplies are meager, only what can be comfortably carried so as not to slow your progress to the Promised Land – Canada. The stars and coded messages for guidance, you set out through the night, the path illuminated by the intermittent flash of lightning. Without a map and no real knowledge of the surrounding area, your mind races before you