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December 10 is the annual UN Human Rights Day, which marks the date in 1948 on which the UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This year's slogan, Human Rights 365, expresses the idea that every day of the year, every human being in the world should have a full range of freedoms, rights, and entitlements that are the same for all humanity.
The formal inception of Human Rights Day dates from 1950, after the Assembly passed resolution 423 (V) inviting all States and interested organizations to adopt 10 December of each year as Human Rights Day.
When the General Assembly adopted the Declaration, with 48 states in favour and eight abstentions, it was proclaimed as a "common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations", towards which individuals and societies should "strive by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance". Although the Declaration with its broad range of political, civil, social, cultural and economic rights is not a binding document, it inspired more than 60 human rights instruments which together constitute an international standard of human rights. Today the general consent of all United Nations Member States on the basic Human Rights laid down in the Declaration makes it even stronger and emphasizes the relevance of Human Rights in our daily lives.
The High Commissioner for Human Rights, as the main United Nations rights official, and her Office play a major role in coordinating efforts for the yearly observation of Human Rights Day.
There is no question that since 1948, many people have more rights than ever before. Yet there is still a very long way to go before every human being in the world has a full range of rights. In fact, on December 8, UNICEF declared that 2014 has been one of the worst years ever for the world's children. (See more disturbing data below)
To mark Human Rights Day 2014, we present a selection of GCGI posted articles from the past year. It is our firm belief that if the ideas, vision and recommendations made in these articles are adopted and adhered to, then, we can expect a great improvement in human rights all over the world.
Lest we forget: human rights are all about, peace, justice, ethics, morality, spirituality, happiness and well-being. In short, it is all about the common good.
Be Inspired: The Wisdom Corner
The links noted below are amongst my Blog postings which are there to provide ideas for inspirational stories for everyone, encouraging contemplation, soul searching and spiritual enrichment.
Whenever you get a chance, please take a few minutes to watch, listen and read some of the amazing narratives below: They are some examples of the many gems I have discovered in my life journey from the wisdom of others. They have opened new horizons in my life. Here, by sharing their wisdom with you, I hope they will do the same for you.
Transforming Lives for the Common Good: From Consumerism to Sustainability
Thanksgiving vs. Black Friday: Where is the Gratitude?
What might an Economy for the Common Good look like?
Wisdom of Lao Tzu: The Path to Virtue, Happiness, and Harmony
The Meaning of Life: tuesdays with Morrie
The Good Life: Lessons from Benjamin Franklin
Adam Smith and the Pursuit of Happiness
Ten Virtues to Lead a Good Life
Build a Better World: The Healing Power of Doing Good
The Story of a Businessman for the Common Good
Sam Berns: ‘My Philosophy For A Happy Life’
In Search of Meaning in Life: Happiness Revealed
The Value of Values: Why Values Matter
The GCGI: How It Began
Lest We Forget
“An estimated 27 million people are currently enslaved in the human trafficking trade globally.
In 2012, 112 countries tortured their citizens and 101 countries repressed their people's right to freedom of expression.
There are 3.5 million children living in poverty in the UK today, which is around 27% of children, or more than one in four. According to Unicef, 22,000 children worldwide die each day due to poverty.
More than 300,000 children under the age of 18 are being exploited as child soldiers in armed conflicts worldwide.
Women make up 80% of all refugees and displaced people and are at heightened risk of physical or sexual violence or trafficking.
Around 15 million girls are forced into child marriage around the world every year. One in three girls in the developing world are married by their 18th birthday, increasing their risk of isolation and violence, and limiting their chance to have an education.
The total number of child labourers remains high, with Unicef and the International Labour Organisation acknowledging an estimated 168 million children aged five to 17 are involved worldwide.
Every 90 seconds, a woman dies during pregnancy or childbirth. Most of these deaths are preventable, but due to gender-based discrimination many women are not given the proper education or care they need.
At least 20.9 million people are victims of forced labour worldwide.
More than 3.2 million Syrians are currently living as refugees, in the largest displacement crisis in a generation.”- ibtimes.co.uk
And finally, when it comes to “Human Rights” we must not forget the following:
Photo: youtube.com
BBC News - CIA report: 'Brutal' interrogation tactics by the numbers
And Now read about what has been dubbed as the “First Declaration of Human Rights”:
First Declaration of Human Rights by Cyrus the Great
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Modern Economics: The Dismal Science of mumbo-jumbo
Photo:theworks.co.uk
Dear Economics and MBA Students,
Your MBA does not come cheap. It costs you thousands and thousands of £s and $s. You must therefore remain on your guard. You must be critical, observant and vigilant. You must ask why are you still taught 'The World's Dumbest Idea', years after the crash of the 2008, the crash that was mainly caused by 'The World's Dumbest Idea'.
You must also ask why is it that you are forced to buy the most expensive text books that teaches you and celebrates 'The World's Dumbest Idea'.
If you don’t ask these questions, then, who would? Universities now call you the Dumbest thing ever: The Customers! Show them who you are: The Customer is always right!
You know, you must not pay so much to be trained to become the Dumbest CEOs. I am sure you agree with me.
Now let me explain more to you about the dreaded 'The World's Dumbest Idea', which has so tragically affected all of us: you, me, our communities, societies, environment, ecology, and yes, the businesses that it was supposed to benefit most.
How Modern Economics Is Built On 'The World's Dumbest Idea'
'The World's Dumbest Idea' is when you are taught at your business schools that the goal of a firm is to maximize short-term shareholder value.
As noted in a Financial Times article: “While there is growing consensus that focusing on short-term shareholder value is not only bad for society but also leads to poor business results, much MBA teaching remains shaped by the shareholder primacy model.”
The challenge, as Steve Denning writing in the Forbes has commented, is massive, because shareholder value is now deeply embedded in the basic economics that is taught in business schools and economics faculties around the world. Moving on from the shareholder value theory, which even its foremost exemplar, Jack Welch, has called “the dumbest idea in the world”, will entail re-thinking and re-writing much of the basics of modern economics.
Photo:Is Shareholder Value Maximization the Dumbest Idea in the World?
Two prime textbooks on managerial economics
Now to understand the depth of the problem, let us look at a couple of the best-selling textbooks on managerial economics. One is Managerial Economics and Business Strategy, by Professor Michael Baye, the Bert Elwert Professor of Business Economics in the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and Jeffrey T. Prince, Associate Professor of Business Economics & Public Policy also at the Kelley School of Business.
The other is Managerial Economics, by William Samuelson, Professor of Economics and Finance at Boston University School of Management and Stephen G. Marks, Associate Professor of Law, Boston University.
I don’t know about you, but, I feel sick how much they charge the students for sharing their “Dumbest Ideas” with them!!
The latest edition of the Baye/Prince book (8 edition February 21, 2013) will set you back $200.24 on Amazon.com, whilst the latest edition of the Samuelson/Marks book (7th edition in 2012) is cheaper–a mere $161.12. Fortunately for the authors, sales of their books are not determined by the kind of free markets that they advocate in their books, which are required reading in myriad college courses around the world.
One might have expected, as Denning notes, that books at such prices would come with the very latest in cutting-edge thinking. Sadly, both books are, like most mainstream economics textbooks when you look at them closely, imbued with, and indeed built on, the obsolete shareholder value theory and the idea that the whole job of the manager is to maximize profit for the company and its shareholders…
**The above excerpts are from an excellent article by Steve Denning writing in the Forbes on 22 July 2013:
How Modern Economics Is Built On 'The World's Dumbest Idea' - Forbes
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Markets: Selling, Buying, Profit& Loss, Values, Family, Friends, Cash, Credit, What to do? Where to go? What to say? Who to trust?...
Can the Bastard of Billingsgate teach a thing or two to our MBA students?
Roger Barton, the Bastard of Billingsgate
Photo: broadcastnow.co.uk
Charismatic market trader, Roger Barton, has worked in London's Billingsgate Fish Market for 50 years. Tough-talking and ruthless, he revels in the nickname the Bastard of Billingsgate. After just five weeks off in five decades, he takes the trip of a lifetime, visiting the world's greatest food markets
From The London Markets, we had learned that markets could tell us about the city and its people too. “From the fattest fat cat to the poorest slum dog, markets are a mainline for commerce and culture at every level of society.”
Travelling has made Barton come over all philosophical, “I’ve got the taste for seeing other people and the way they trade,” says Barton, “It made me think about what I’ve done in life, and made me wonder if I’ve been on the right trail? "The pound sign is not the be all and end all."
“In Billingsgate it’s nice to know you can make a few quid (£), and it’s nice to know that, at times, you’re the top man. In the places we visited for the show it didn’t seem to matter. It’s nice to be important, but it’s important to be nice.”
Hands-on learning
At our universities - by and large - students are disciplined to concentrate on one school of thought, focus on a case and stick to their limited academic territory and theories, which may look OK in the class rooms, but, totally irrelevant in the real world.
This is why I firmly believe that the ‘Learning through Practice’ or hands-on learning approach should be embedded in the MBA’s core values. MBA students, if we really wish to give them the best education, should be taught to understand the limitations of theories and tackle the wicked problems and uncertainty of the actual business world. Hands-on learning helps to ask questions such as: What is behind the theories and frameworks one can detect? What are the business’ motivations? Should they change and if so why and how? How markets act and react? These are the type of questions students should be encouraged to ask. Putting theories into practice is not to adjust one for another. Practical approaches to problems may be found by seeing through the lenses of various theories and frameworks, individuals and groups.
And Now Our MBA Marketing Module: A Three-Hour Module on How Markets Function in the Real World!
Billingsgate fish market in London, New York's New Fulton market, Mexico City's Central de Abasto, the largest food market on the planet, and Delhi's Azadpur Mandi, a market so big it provides food for the whole of India.
Following a dream of visiting - and trading in - the world's greatest food markets, Billingsgate trader Roger Barton heads across the Atlantic to New York's New Fulton market, the biggest and roughest fish market in America. Can he compete with its ruthless traders and the worst winter storms in decades to make a profit?
Hour One: Introduction to the series and the Episide 1:New Yourk
BBC Worlds Greatest Food Markets 1of3 New York 720p HDTV x264 AAC MVGroup org - YouTube
Hour Two: Mexico City
Roger travels to Mexico City's Central de Abasto as he pits himself against some of the world's sharpest traders. The food market is the largest of its kind in the world.
BBC Worlds Greatest Food Markets 2of3 Mexico 720p HDTV x264 AAC MVGroup org - YouTube
Hour Three: Delhi and Conclusions
On this trip the Bastard of Billingsgate is off to Delhi
INDIA -World's Greatest Food Markets // Full Documentary 2014 - YouTube
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