The Role of Strategic PR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Role of Strategic PR - Essay Example The first priority will be entrenching the image of Unilever UK as a healthy, eco-friendly, and happiness-inducing company. With this foundation should come smaller, internal and external campaigns to spread the firm declaration of these ideas to the Government, trendsetters within the community, investors, Unilever UK employees, and both traditional and social media outlets. Each situation has unique challenges and potential rewards, and thus must have tailored campaigns. In addition, Unilever UK will push into the young boy and girl deodorant market with the introduction of Dove Boy and Dove Girl. This will utilize some of the strategies of Unilever UK as a whole, with the addition of some specific marketing moves. The first step is to analyze the position and necessary response for Unilever UK to achieve its goals in 2011. A combination of anti-corporatism and fiscal restraint by individuals and the government alike has resulted in a new set of problems for Unilever UK. The UK had a .5% decrease in the fourth quarter of 2010, and expected GDP for 2011 was recently reduced to 1.5% (Archer, 2011). Because of this, consumers in the UK will spend less than before the global recession. Thus, marketing techniques and results must be upgraded if Unilever UK is to maintain or expand its current position. Positively, commensurate with the decline in the global economy came a decline in demand for advertisements, making advertising prices in the UK through traditional media fall significantly (Daily Mail Reporter, 2009). But pure economics will not make Unilever UK’s advertising plans successful- it will take a seasonal, trendy, and multi-genre campaign to ensure Unilever UK improves its sales and image as much as possible. Also, Unilever UK needs to maintain positive relations with the government of the UK, which has taken the middle ground on corporate relations, both prosecuting (Murphy, 2011) and permitting (Sweney, 2011) anti-competitive practices. Good re lations with the media, influential individuals, investors, employees and the traditional media will depend on a personal relationship with each, coupled with the enforcement of the companies values across the spectrum of society. Next, it is necessary to determine the aim of Unilever UK for this year. 2011 needs to be a year of enforcing the values of Unilever UK. That is: always working with integrity, positive impact, continuous commitment, setting out our aspirations, and working with others (Unilever). To promote all of these values, Unilever UK should utilize a widespread campaign to garner public support. This should include traditional and nontraditional media. Also, Unilever UK should ensure the support of the government, influential individuals, investors, employees, and the media. Some specific objectives of the campaign should be increasing the positive public opinion of Unilever UK, to be determined through non-invasive surveys and scouring opinions on the Internet. If an instance of a negative public image of Unilever UK comes about, Unilever UK should respond with a reasonable out showing of goodwill, addressing the problem directly, on as personal a level as possible, and positively. Another of Unilever UK’s objectives for 2011 should be to establish a personal relationship and dialogue with as many players in the UK marketplace as possible. This means Unilever UK must establish itself as an available resource on social media, as well as

Sociology families and households

Sociology families and households Functionalism is a structuralist theory. This means it sees the individual as less important as the social structure of society. It is a top down theory. The family can be defined as an intimate domestic group composed of people related to each other by blood, sexual relations and legal ties. When assessing how useful functionalism is when looking at the family, other views/perspectives need to be taken into account before making an overall conclusion. Views from Talcott Parsons, George Murdock, Ann Oakley, Edmund Leach, R.D Laing, David Cooper and Friedrich Engels will be taken into account as well as perspectives from Marxism, feminism, family diversity and radical psychiatrists. This will help draw the final conclusion. Functionalist sociologists suggest that the nuclear family is the norm in modern day industrial societies. George Peter Murdock (1949) supports the idea of functionalism. After analysing 250 societies, Murdock argues that the family performs four basic functions; sexual, reproductive, economic and educational. These are the essentials for social life, since without sexual and reproductive functions there would be no members of society, without economic functions life would cease, and without education there would be no culture. Human society without culture could not function. Clearly, the family cannot perform these functions exclusively. However, it makes important contributions to them all and no other institution has yet been devised to match its efficiency in this respect. A weakness of Murdocks view is that some sociologists may find his description of the family almost too good to be true. Some of his views on harmony and integration are not shared be other researchers. He also does not examine alternatives to the family, not considering whether its functions could be carried out b y other social institutions. Murdock is criticised for being Euro-centric, as he is only concerned about the Western families. However, he is supported by anthropologists; Morris (1968) said the family was a result of biology and culture over generations (socio-biology). This could be a strength as it shows some researchers have the same view. Talcott Parsons bases his ideas on the family in modern American society. However, despite this his ideas have more general application since he claims the American family has two basic and irreducible functions which are common to the family in all societies, unlike Murdock who argued there were four. These were, the primary socialization of children, where culture is learned and accepted by children so they know the norms and values that allow society to exist. Secondly the stabilization of adult personalities, which is where a marriage relationship and emotional security a couple provide for each other keeps a personality stable, and acts as a counterweight to everyday stresses and strains that can make a personality unstable. This process is otherwise known as the warm bath theory, where the family provide a relaxing environment for the male worker to immerse himself in after a hard day at work. A criticism of Parsons view would be that he idealises the family, much like Murdock, with his view of well adjusted children and sympathetic spouses caring for each others every need, when in reality not all families are like this. Also Parsons fails to explore the differences between working/middle class families, as his ideas are generally based on the American middle class family. Parsons perspective supports that of functionalism, that the nuclear family is the norm in society. Ann Oakley has described the typical or conventional family. She says conventional families are nuclear families composed of legally married couples, voluntarily choosing the parenthood of one or more children. This shows support for functionalism. Leach (1967) has called this the cereal packet image of the family. This image of a happily married couple with two children is prominent in advertising and the family sized packets of cereal and other products are aimed at this group. The family is functional for both its members and society as a whole. Increasingly this picture of the family is coming under strong criticism. Some observers are suggesting that on balance, the family may well be dysfunctional both for society and its individual members. This criticism has mainly been directed at the family in Western industrial society. The Marxist view on the family opposes that of the functionalists. It is seen to challenge the idea that the family is universal or natural, but instead that it is human creation; a social invention that has served a specific economic purpose. The Marxist theory on the family emerged from the work of Friedrich Engels. It is argued by Marxists that the working-class extended family has been deliberately discouraged by the capitalist ruling class, because its emphasis on a mutual support system and collective action encourages its members to be aware of their social class position. It is believed that the nuclear family under capitalist law in an anti-social family. It labels all other forms of family life as inferior and abnormal. However, a weakness of the Marxist view is that there is a tendency to talk about the family in capitalist society without regard to possible variations in family life between social classes. Family diversity supports the fact that the conventional family no longer makes up the majority of households or families. For example, women no longer aspire exclusively to romantic love, marriage and children. There are now acceptable alternative life styles some people prefer, such as pre-marital sex, serial monogamy, cohabitation, single-sex relationships, childlessness etc. Mens roles too are no longer clear in a postmodern society, and the resulting crisis of masculinity has lead to man redefining both their sexuality and family commitments. Others disagree with this view. They argue that family diversity is exaggerated, and that the basic features of family life have remained largely unchanged for the majority of the population. Nuclear families are still very common but alternate types of family are steadily increasing. When looking at a critical view of the family, radical psychiatry mat be taken into account. Edmund Leach supported the idea in the family there is too much emotional pressure on each individual to live up to expectations. R.D Laing associated schizophrenia with the emotional pressure and anxiety of the nuclear family. David Cooper suggested the personality of the individual is controlled by the family, forcing them to conform to the rules of both the family, forcing them to conform to the rules of both the family and wider society. These three radical researchers all agree that the family is a dangerous place and mental illness could be the result of pressures laid down to the individual. From this angle it can be seen that the family has a negative, this view does not agree with the view of functionalism. Friedrich Engels acknowledges that the position of women within the family is an important aspect of what the Marxists see as its harmful effects. However, he emphasizes the relationship between family and capitalism, and is less concerned with its effects on women. Feminism has broken itself down into different perspectives, Marxist feminists, liberal feminists and radical feminists. Friedrich Engels speaks for the Marxist feminist view. Liberal feminists believe that both sexes contribute to domestic chores in an atmosphere of mutual support and hegemony, and there is an equal division of labour. Radical feminist beliefs are that the nuclear family is based upon male power and serves to support that. Male power is often expressed in the home as domestic violence. It is seen that patriarchy is transhistorical; it is ever present in all societies and cultures. A weakness is that feminists often do not take into account the possible differences in family life, for example, social clas ses, ethnic groups, heterosexual and gay families etc. They just seem to assume every family is a nuclear family, so may exaggerate the effect of families to women. They therefore ignore the possibility of women fighting back against exploitation and do not see the positive side to the family. Now that perspectives and ideas criticising and supporting functionalism have been illustrated. A conclusion can be made. If looking at Murdock and Parsons it can be seen that they both tend to only take into account Western societies, and tend to generalise. Apart from that they both have strong, similar ideas on what the family is. Oakley and Leach support their ideas on the nuclear family being the majority of society. However, although the argument supporting functionalism is sound, other views need to be taken into perspective. For example Marxism, questioning the idea of a universal/natural family. Family diversity offering different options to how people choose to live, feminists saying the family exploits women and radical psychiatry claiming the family is a dangerous place and causes mental illness

Devotee Autoethnography ::

Devotee Autoethnography Eyes closed on cherubic faces of holy devotion, chanting Hindu gibberish to wheezing harmoniums, clanging tambourines, untuned guitars, rattles, bells, sticks, and perhaps a vigorous but poorly-rehearsed set of tablas†¦ â€Å"She’s a breather,† they say, either in friendliness to jest, or patronizingly to criticize. And usually, not much evidence is revealed to complicate the minimized label. â€Å"Well, basically, we get together, breathe, and then sing a little bit.† This is usually the line into which I condense my participation in The Art of Living—to cram it into a nut shell, and to present it as outsiders would be likely to perceive it if spying from a fly’s perch. My own introduction to this culture happened slowly, and not too long ago, so I still feel the tension of sliding into an unknown community as an outsider, and still experience hesitation describing the group to others for fear of bad reactions or scathing judgment. I think it has much to do with the big, bad g-word. When people, especially in independence-loving USA, hear the word â€Å"guru,† an oozing blanket of mistrust, disgust, and dismissal creeps up from the nether regions of media consciousness and visions of kool-aid, snake-dancers, and comet-chasers seem to choke the life of any words possibly to follow. The g-word however, when followed—as is inevitable—by the c-word, often shuts out the possibility of following words all together. As my mother would say, â€Å"It smells like a cult to me.† Despite my adamant denials that I could be involved with anything remotely resembling a cult, the first time I realized that I was definitely a part o f this culture had to do with the chilling consideration that a cult was exactly what this was and, somehow.†¦I belonged to it. I had traveled from San Diego with a few members of my Art of Living family (as many grow accustomed to referring one another) to an â€Å"advanced course† in LA. Such a course is offered occasionally to graduates of the â€Å"introductory course†Ã¢â‚¬â€a six-day workshop of yoga postures, yogic breathing, and introspection. We knew not what to expect of this upcoming workshop, other than that it would be â€Å"challenging.† Perhaps our first taste of this manifested on the first evening, when we waded through seventy pairs of shoes piled at the entryway of a private house toward a living room crammed with the shoes’ owners. Devotee Autoethnography :: Devotee Autoethnography Eyes closed on cherubic faces of holy devotion, chanting Hindu gibberish to wheezing harmoniums, clanging tambourines, untuned guitars, rattles, bells, sticks, and perhaps a vigorous but poorly-rehearsed set of tablas†¦ â€Å"She’s a breather,† they say, either in friendliness to jest, or patronizingly to criticize. And usually, not much evidence is revealed to complicate the minimized label. â€Å"Well, basically, we get together, breathe, and then sing a little bit.† This is usually the line into which I condense my participation in The Art of Living—to cram it into a nut shell, and to present it as outsiders would be likely to perceive it if spying from a fly’s perch. My own introduction to this culture happened slowly, and not too long ago, so I still feel the tension of sliding into an unknown community as an outsider, and still experience hesitation describing the group to others for fear of bad reactions or scathing judgment. I think it has much to do with the big, bad g-word. When people, especially in independence-loving USA, hear the word â€Å"guru,† an oozing blanket of mistrust, disgust, and dismissal creeps up from the nether regions of media consciousness and visions of kool-aid, snake-dancers, and comet-chasers seem to choke the life of any words possibly to follow. The g-word however, when followed—as is inevitable—by the c-word, often shuts out the possibility of following words all together. As my mother would say, â€Å"It smells like a cult to me.† Despite my adamant denials that I could be involved with anything remotely resembling a cult, the first time I realized that I was definitely a part o f this culture had to do with the chilling consideration that a cult was exactly what this was and, somehow.†¦I belonged to it. I had traveled from San Diego with a few members of my Art of Living family (as many grow accustomed to referring one another) to an â€Å"advanced course† in LA. Such a course is offered occasionally to graduates of the â€Å"introductory course†Ã¢â‚¬â€a six-day workshop of yoga postures, yogic breathing, and introspection. We knew not what to expect of this upcoming workshop, other than that it would be â€Å"challenging.† Perhaps our first taste of this manifested on the first evening, when we waded through seventy pairs of shoes piled at the entryway of a private house toward a living room crammed with the shoes’ owners.

Total Poor Middle Rich

Discuss with the help of examples the four key levels of measurement. What mathematical operations/statistical techniques are and are not permissible on data from each type of scale? [Meaning of Measurement scales Types of Measurement scales with examples Mathematical operations/statistical techniques] 4. Processing of data involves editing, coding, classifying and tabulating. Explain each of these steps by taking an appropriate example. [Explanation 5. Distinguish between the following: a. Null hypothesis and Alternative hypothesis b. One tailed and two tailed tests .Type I and Type II error d. One way and two way analysis of variance e. Descriptive and inferential analysis of data [Differences] 6. A. What is Chi-square test of goodness of fit? What precautions are necessary while applying this test? Point out its role in business decision making. B. Two research workers classified some people in income groups on the basis of sampling studies. Their results are as follow: Investigat ors Income groups Total Poor Middle Rich 160 10 200 140 120 300 150 50 Show that the sampling technique of tallest one research worker is defective. [Meaning PrecautionsRole Formula/Solution/Interpretation to the problem] MEMBER-Legal Aspects of Business 1 . Explain the performance of contracts [Definition Offer of performance Onus of performance] 2. Elaborate the rights of surety. [Rights against the creditor Rights against the principal debtor Rights against co-sureties] 3. Discuss the termination of bailsmen. [Explanation] 4. Explain the performance of a contract of sale of goods. Explanation] 5. Discuss the law related to the prohibition of anti-competitive agreements. 6. Explain the need and types of meetings. [Need for meeting Statutory meetingsAnnual General Meetings Extraordinary meetings Class meetings] INFORM – SECURITY ANALYSIS AND PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT 1. Financial markets bring the providers and users in direct contact without any intermediary. Financial markets p ermits the businesses and governments to raise the funds needed by sale of securities. Describe the money market/capital market – features and its composition. [Money market- features and composition Capital market-features and composition] 2. Risk is the likelihood that your investment will either earn money or lose money. Explain the factors that affect risk. Mr.. Rural invests in equity shares of Wiper.Its anticipated returns and associated probabilities are given below: Return -10 5 15 20 probability 0. 05 0. 10 0. 15 0. 25 0. 30 0. 10 0. 05 You are required to calculate the expected ROR and risk in terms of standard deviation. [Explanation of all the 4 factors that affect risk Calculation of expected ROR and risk in terms of standard deviation] 3. Explain the business cycle and leading coincidental & lagging indicators. Analyses the issues in fundamental analysis. [Explanation of business cycle-leading coincidental and lagging indicators Analysis ND explanation of the is sues in fundamental analysis all the four points] 4.Discuss the implications of MME for security analysis and portfolio management. [Implications for active and passive investment Implications for investors and companies] 5. Explain about the interest rate risk and the two components in it. An investor is considering the purchase of a share of EX. Ltd. If his required rate of return is 10%, the year-end expected dividend is RSI. 5 and year-end price is expected to be RSI. 24, Compute the value of the share. [Introduction of interest rate risk Explanation of two components of interest rate risk Calculation of value of the share] 6.Elucidate the risk and returns of foreign investing. Analyses international listing. [Explanation of all the points in risks and returns from foreign investing Introduction of international listing] MAFIOSI – MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS 1 . Give the meaning of advantages and disadvantages of mergers and acquisitions. Explain the types of Mergers and Acqui sitions. [Advantages and disadvantages of mergers and acquisitions Explanation of types of mergers and acquisitions] 2. Write a note on the five-stage model of mergers and acquisitions. [Explanation on vive stage model of mergers and acquisitions] 3.What do you understand by creating synergy? Give the prerequisites for the creation of synergy. Describe the important forces contributing to mergers and acquisitions. [Introduction of creating synergy Pre requisites for the creation of synergy Important forces contributing to mergers and acquisitions] 4. Demurrer results in the transfer by a company of one or more of its undertakings to another company. Give the meaning of demurrer. What are the characteristics of demurrer? Explain the structure of demurrer with an example. [Introduction of demurrer Characteristics of demurrer Structure of demurrer with example] 5.Explain Employee Stock Ownership Plans (SOP). Write down the rules of SOP and types of SOP. [Introduction of SOP Rules of SO P Types of SOP] 6. Explain the factors in Post-merger Integration. Write down the five rules of Integration Process. [Factors in Post-merger Integration Five rules of Integration Process] MUMMIFY – TAXATION MANAGEMENT 1 . Explain the concept of tax planning and the factors to be considered in tax planning. Give the difference between tax planning and tax evasion. [Concept of tax planning Factors in tax planning Differences between tax planning and tax evasion] 2.Explain the process of tax payment. [Explanation of whole process of tax payment through: Individuals Partnerships Companies] 3. Write short notes on: Capital gain Cost of acquisition Cost of improvement Expenditure on transfer Transfer [Each short note carries 2 marks each-(5*2= 10 marks)] 4. Explain the computations of Tax in two aspects given below: Tax provision for Computation of Total income of firms Computation of partnership firms' book profit. [Steps to be explained for the computation of total income of firm s Steps for amputation of partnership firms] 5.

Why Are We Losing All Our Good People?

This is all about a very common trend prevailing in most of the companies, Attrition of employees. Very often employees leave a company when they find a better job or some other career option. This is the case of a company named Sambian Partners, where Mary, the head of HR and Helen, the CEO face a lot of problem when Tom, one of their trusted employees quits their company and joins J&N which is supposed to be their competitor. Then the administration tries to figure out what exactly went wrong with him and go for surveys which would enable them to understand employees better. The other employees on hearing this sudden departure of Tom give their own views as to what lead Tom to take such a big decision. A month later Helene comes to know that another employee named Adrienne is planning to quit the job and join J&N. Unable to think of what is right or wrong she immediately promotes her to a higher post and succeeds in retaining her. In the end we find another survey report being discussed by Mary and Helen where they find that although the employees are overall satisfied there are still some grievances that need to be addressed. Here is a detailed report about the persons involved in the case study. 1. Helen Gasbarian She is the daughter of Peter, the founder of the company and is currently the CEO of the company. Being a very responsible person she wonders what is causing the employees to quit. She feels that they take care of the employees and treat them well. Although she couldn’t do anything to retain Tom, when Adrienne decided to quit she took a very bold decision by giving her a promotion and finally saved one of the company’s valuable employees. Being the CEO of the company she took a vital decision without any making any delay. One negative aspect of her character is that at times she likes to blame others for the failures of the company without considering the exact case. 2. Mary Donillo. Being the head of the human resources, she shows great devotion towards the company when she interviews and tries to convince Tom to stay back in the company. At the same time she maintains a very good relationship with her CEO as well as the employees of the company. The survey she took to understand the employees better shows her ability to tackle the difficult situation. 3. Tom Forsythe After serving for Sambian Partners for nearly eight years with a very good reputation in the company, his decision to quit the job and join J&N seems pretty normal. Although he didn’t reveal the exact cause of leaving the company in a lucid manner, we can infer that his primary motive was to get a higher post and a better salary which he felt was not possible in the near future in this company. We can’t call him a loyal employee and he is likely to change companies frequently in the near future. 4. Adrienne Perle In the beginning when she justifies the decision of Tom to quit the job we can notice that she is also somewhat dissatisfied with the management and administration of the company. Later when her plans of following Tom come to limelight she admits the truth when confronted by Helen. We can conclude that she has a bit of loyalty towards the company which made her stay back when offered with a promotion. 5. Bob Wortham He is the vice president of engineering and also the one who first told Helen about Adrienne’s plans of quitting the job. He is really worried about the huge project of which Adrienne is a part of. He is desperate to retain her and sought the help of Helen and Mary.

Domestic Violence in Chile Essays

Domestic Violence in Chile Essays Domestic Violence in Chile Essay Domestic Violence in Chile Essay Today, women of color on average receive the lowest wages, hold the worst jobs, and are more likely to be unemployed. They have the highest rates of infant mortality and births out of wedlock. They are more likely to live in poverty and to be single mothers than their White counterparts. These issues brought women of color to distinction between them and the white women for they do not have the same opportunities and freedom as what white women get in the society of the United States.However, we, as women of color just do what we need to do and have our duty in every work that we have because it is better to contented in what we have rather than nothing. Reflecting to what had happened to our community in the past; I realized that we learned from history because now, we have our organizations that helped our community in order to stop or to lessen the racial discrimination that we continue to experience until now. In spite of the obstacles, women of color have shaped their lives and those of their families through acts of quiet dignity and steadfast determination.Their actions have included revolt and rebellion, creative conflict and social change, adaptation and accommodation. These actions can be seen that women of color wanted to stop or minimize their struggle towards racial discrimination. I personally become upset when people labeling and generalizing all women of color into a low class status, slaves, and unknowledgeable kind of women, which they do not have any evidence for they do not see capacity because they do not give us some chance to show our capabilities.People often judge us because they knew from our historical back ground that we became slaves and until now, we are still slaves and we will be slaves into their eyes forever. The lives of women of color are not variation of a more general model of American womanhood. Instead, their experiences are formed by many of the same forces that shape the lives of others. In given historical moments, those forces combine to create differences among women.As time passes by, women of color became more active into different organizations that helped them reshape their identity not only as women but also as an individual with its own ideology and creativity. For me, it is better that we have experienced the tragic moments in our community when almost all of us suffer from distress, hatred, sorrow, and pain because these experiences made us stronger and brighter in our everyday life so even if we continue to struggle until now, we are more rational in terms of balancing our needs and aspirations to fulfill our goals.Even if we cannot see our sunrise today, we are doing our best to show the sunrise to our next generation. Lorene Garrett-Browder, founder of Woman as Allies said, I believe that we cannot survive as a people or country if we believe that we are separate from each other, if we believe that one group holds the moral values for all of us, but continue to practice exclusion of other groups, where war and death is not seen as a racist act of supremacy in which we are all fatally wounded, but where we are seen as the liberators of an oppressed people forgetting that we have many times in our history been the oppressors.This statement from Garrett-Browder is simply an ideology of a woman who wanted peace and freedom having its own culture, identity, and belief. As part of the African American community, I want to have the right kind of justice that we need. We are not animals but also a human – a human who needs equality, freedom, and peace. These simple things are what we need in order to obtain our own identity because as long as we continue to suffer from racial discrimination, our identity is still unreachable.As a whole, women of color should not be discriminated as people who are incapable of doing things because due to their struggle and amazing experiences in life, they are more capable of doing more work and more job than others if they would only be given a chance to show their talent, strength, creativity, strategy, and knowledge. I am one of those women and will always be proud to be part of them.I am proud with who I am and with what I have for I know that I am doing my best not only for myself as an individual but also for other future generations who want to see the sunrise into their happy, free, and contented face.Sources:Culliton, K. (1994) 183 Legal Remedies for Domestic Violence in Chile and the United States: Cultural Relativism, Myths, and Realities. Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law Garrett-Browder, L. ( ). Overcoming Barriers That Separate Us. women-as-allies. o rg/index. htm Zinn, M. B. and Dill, B. T. ( ) Difference and Domination. temple.edu/tempress/chapters/657_ch1.pdf.

The bauhaus related fashion Essays

The bauhaus related fashion Essays The bauhaus related fashion Essay The bauhaus related fashion Essay Bauhaus thrived as a revolutionary, Inspired and unique School breaking down the perceived class barriers between craftsmen and fine artists. Founded in 191 9 by Architect Walter Groping, Bauhaus modernized the Art Industry and Education, influencing all aspects of design today. As fashion, like art, progresses in cycles, inspiring and influencing each other through the creation of their designs, it would have been an ideal for Bauhaus and its collective education. The communal teaching of design basics to all iris year students meant all disciplines adopted a visionary approach to composition integrating simplicity, functionality and bare boned structure. The Wassail Chair Is an Iconic example of Bauhaus aesthetic, completely reducing the classic club chair to Its fundamental form whilst retaining comfort and style. Inspired by the tubular steel framing of his bicycle, Marcel Brewer created the Wassail chair to be seamless. Engaged with the transparency of the form, Brewer created a mere structural outline of what then was considered the standard, contributing immensely o the Bauhaus aesthetic we know today. In Fashion we see the same structural aesthetic in pieces like La File DOs One Bra. The singular steel undermine sculpts the body leaving only the bare necessities of the common bra, focusing on its foundation. Using minimal detailing in the cups, opting for a soft mesh, the bra focuses on the structure; the monomers and straps. Both Brewer and La File DO keep color to the minimum, using black or plain monochromatic schemes to further accentuate the framework of the designs. Instead took the opposite direction. By completely striping back all decoration, even reducing color back to primary and shades, they created a new take on architecture. Using geometric blocks and unconventional materials they constructed simple yet intriguing designs. The same can be said for modern fashion. Structured outfits in block colors are always popular as they provide a sleek and sophisticated look, such as with 3. 1 Phillip Limbs SIS 14 collection. As Bauhaus students used geometric boxes to create interesting shapes for buildings, Limp does the same for women. The square boxed white Jacket although seemingly plain creates an incredibly smooth and angular silhouette, the oversized structure building off her body emulating perfectly the white cubic buildings most associated with the Bauhaus aesthetic. During the first year of Bauhaus education, Color Theory was intensely studied. Josef Teen, teacher of said subject and inventor of the 12-hue color wheel believed Color is life; for a world without color appears to us as dead. Colors are primordial ideas, the children of light. The psychology and audience perception of lour developed at Bauhaus is still an extremely relevant source to all designers today, helping designers portray different emotion through color and hue. Whilst at Bauhaus, Teen developed a series of seven methodologies for coordinating color using hue. One methodology in particular, saturation, was adopted into so me of the most famous artworks to come out of Bauhaus such as Josef Albert Homage to the Square in which Albert created the exact same square filled with consistently smaller squares and changed the feeling of each art work using only hue and saturation of the color. This saturation is best shown in an exercise from Paul Kales color class depicting the different shades of red moving down the scale. In Channels S/S 14 collection we also see the emotional effect of saturating colors. On the pure white canvas of flowing capes and summer dresses Karl Laagered paints graduating swatches, each color swiftly moving from dark to barely there light, while the dress graduates from dark forest greens to soft pastels. Paintbrushes and pallets adorn the models hands as they walk and the youth and creativity of the collection shines through instantly. Bauhaus considered typography to be another kind of building, literally studying the structure of letters and characters, the flexibility each character held and the visual effect they had on the audience. The Bauhaus font otherwise known as the Universal font was a meticulously sculpted style that was simple, clean and modern. The rise of typography heralded the rise of graphic advertising, a strategy that would quickly be picked up by most if not all design disciplines, none so ferociously as recognizable but intrinsically valuable for bearing their particular typeface as part of heir branding. In fashion, Typography is used as a hook for customer engagement, often aimed at teenage girls. Typography is the quickest way to get your demographic to relate to your brand. Although not considered a typically high-class trait in fashion, brands like Mission, DENY and Jeremy Scott have taken up the typography trend successfully with their graphic fonts plastered over Jumpers, dresses and anything you can print on. Although nearly one century old, Bauhaus continues to influence many aspects of design.

An Overview of the Book Democracy in America

An Overview of the Book Democracy in America Democracy in America, written by Alexis de Tocqueville between 1835 and 1840, is considered one of the most comprehensive and insightful books ever written about the U.S. Having seen the failed attempts at a democratic government in his native France, Tocqueville set out to study a stable and prosperous democracy in order to gain insight into how it worked. Democracy in America is the result of his studies. The book was and still remains, so popular because it deals with issues such as religion, the press, money, class structure, racism, the role of government, and the judicial system – issues that are just as relevant today as they were then. ​Many colleges in the U.S. continue to use Democracy in America in political science and history courses. There are two volumes to Democracy in America. Volume one was published in 1835 and is more optimistic of the two. It focuses mainly on the structure of government and the institutions that help maintain freedom in the United States. Volume two, published in 1840, focuses more on individuals and the effects that the democratic mentality has on the norms and thoughts that exist in society. Tocqueville’s main purpose in writing Democracy in America was to analyze the functioning of political society and the various forms of political associations, although he also had some reflections on civil society as well as the relations between political and civil society. He ultimately seeks to understand the true nature of American political life and why it was so different from Europe. Topics Covered Democracy in America covers a vast array of topics. In Volume I, Tocqueville discusses things such as: the social condition of Anglo-Americans; judicial power in the United States and its influence on political society; the United States Constitution; freedom of press; political associations; the advantages of a democratic government; the consequences of democracy; and the future of the races in the United States. In Volume II of the book, Tocqueville covers topics such as: How religion in the United States avails itself to democratic tendencies; Roman Catholicism in the United States; pantheism; equality and the perfectibility of man; science; literature; art; how democracy has modified the English language; spiritual fanaticism; education; and equality of the sexes. Features of American Democracy Tocqueville’s studies of democracy in the United States led him to the conclusion that American society is characterized by five key features: 1. Love of equality: Americans love equality even more than we love individual liberty or freedom (Volume 2, Part 2, Chapter 1). 2. Absence of tradition: Americans inhabit a landscape largely without inherited institutions and traditions (family, class, religion) that define their relations to one another (Volume 2, Part 1, Chapter 1). 3. Individualism: Because no person is intrinsically better than another, Americans begin to seek all reasons in themselves, looking not to tradition nor to the wisdom of singular individuals, but to their own opinion for guidance (Volume 2, Part 2, Chapter 2). 4. Tyranny of the majority: At the same time, Americans give great weight to, and feel great pressure from, the opinion of the majority. Precisely because they are all equal, they feel insignificant and weak in contrast to the greater number (Volume 1, Part 2, Chapter 7). 5. Importance of free association: Americans have a happy impulse to work together to improve their common life, most obviously by forming voluntary associations. This uniquely American art of association tempers their tendencies towards individualism and gives them a habit and taste for serving others (Volume 2, Part 2, Chapters 4 and 5). Predictions for America Tocqueville is often acclaimed for making a number of correct predictions in Democracy in America. First, he anticipated that the debate over the abolition of slavery could potentially tear apart the United States, which it did during the American Civil War. Second, he predicted that the United States and Russia would rise as rival superpowers, and they did after World War II. Some scholars also argue that Tocqueville, in his discussion of the rise of the industrial sector in the American economy, correctly predicted that an industrial aristocracy would rise from the ownership of labor. In the book, he warned that â€Å"friends of democracy must keep an anxious eye peeled in this direction at all times† and went on to say that a new found wealthy class may potentially dominate society. According to Tocqueville, democracy would also have some unfavorable consequences, including the tyranny of the majority over thought, a preoccupation with material goods, and isolating individuals from each other and society. Source: Tocqueville, Democracy in America (Harvey Mansfield and Delba Winthrop, trans., ed.; Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000)

Communication Final Exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Communication Final Exam - Essay Example He organized the National Farm Workers Association in 1962 and the union became known for its use of mass mobilizing method and alliance with other labor organizations. Among his accomplishments are wage increase and improvement of working conditions of farm workers in Arizona, California, Florida and Texas (Foner and Garraty 1991). His legacy includes being a great leader, humanitarian and communicator which expressed his motto â€Å"Yes, it can be done!† (Si se puede!). He established projects and continued his advocacies through his foundation regarding labor issues for farmers and received the highest civilian honor from President Clinton in 1994. He helped â€Å"ordinary people do extraordinary things† (â€Å"About Cesar† Cesar Chavez Foundation). Kenneth Bancroft Clark was an educator and psychologist who dedicated his life fighting for educational improvement and against racial discrimination of black children. He was the first black professor at the City University of New York. He also became a professor emeritus at City College. He also taught at other educational institution including Harvard, Columbia and University of California. His biggest contribution is in the field of education, overseeing the public education in the state as part of the New York State Board of Regents and as consultant to the personnel department of the U.S. State Department in the 1960s (Associated Press 2005). He was able to uplift his image by fighting racism by being educated. He promoted his campaigns through authoring highly influential books that tackle ghetto life, education and poverty. He became known for advocating integrated schooling. He also cofounded the Northside Center for Child Development which looks after children with persona lity disturbances (Martin 1994). Fred Korematsu was a Japanese-American civil rights activist and a National Civil Rights hero (NPR, 2014). He was born in California and one of the 4 children of Japanese immigrants. He

Cultural values and other factors within America Essay

Cultural values and other factors within America - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that America is the country of choice as far as relocation is concerned here. This is because America is a free society in entirety and people can enjoy whatever they feel like doing. America is a haven as far as work domains are concerned because it gives an individual so much in terms of learning and acquiring of skills that other people from the rest of the world can only think of. America is a free world. This has been proven with time and research. Its culture is such that people are allowed the space to interact with one another, enjoy the respective spaces, mingle with the different practices and realms, and basically enjoy life’s varied offerings. The cultural; values that are most widespread within America comprise of the respect that the people show to one another. They do not like to interfere in another man’s job. Hence the reason that there is a lot of empathy for one another, and people like to cherish each other ’s company. What is best about America is how these people are able to turn a new leaf with each passing day, and thus remain committed to the cause of growth and development, both within the professional entities as well as their personal selves. The social practices that are present in America are such that people enjoy them immensely. They like to go to parties, on beaches, enjoy different games and sports, varied activities, and so on.

Fundamentals of business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Fundamentals of business - Essay Example From that initial initiative, the company grew manifold and in that time, changed the name from PC’s Limited to "Dell Computer Corporation" in 1988 Dell Inc. Corporation is a computer company located in Round Rock, Texas. It builds and sells personal computers and other products, which are related computers. â€Å"The company currently sells personal computers, servers, data storage devices, network switches, software, computer peripherals and televisions.† (crunchbase.com). Presently, close to 100,000 people work in Dell and its worldwide operations. Dell had its best growth during 1980s and 1990s, and thus its optimal growth elevated it as the largest seller of Personal Computers and servers. But, in early 2000’s, Dell’s was overtaken by Hewlett-Packard. So after 2008, it held the second spot in computer-sales within the industry behind the Hewlett-Packard Company. Dell has been a pioneer in the business of manufacturing made to order PCs and laptops and manufacture of x86 servers. To diversify its portfolio it has expanded its product range to include data storage hardware, printers and their cartridges, networking switches and hand held PCs as well as proving software solutions. The company has a global reach and has offices in Europe, Asia and Japan besides America. The company aims to produce high quality products at a low cost and use this strategy to achieve profitability. Michael Dell, who is the founder and currently the Chairman and CEO, held around 10% of the company’s shares. Rest of the key stake holders are institutional and mutual fund owners besides the small time investors. Customers: We believe in creating loyal customers by providing a superior experience at a great value. We are committed to direct relationships, providing the best products and services based on standards-based technology, and outperforming the competition with value and a superior

An environmental accident for which a company was liable. It can also Term Paper

An environmental accident for which a company was liable. It can also be a deliberate environmental incident for which a compan - Term Paper Example Sea water breached the tsunami walls protecting the facility after a tsunami that followed the earthquake. The tsunami wave was 13 meters while the tsunami walls protecting the facility were only 10 meters high. TEPCO had predicted a possibility of a tsunami wave breaching the wall in case of an earthquake of a high magnitude. The paper seeks to establish the liability of the company in regard to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Table of contents 1. Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦4 1.1 Fukushima I nuclear power plant†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..4 2. Causes of the Fukushima I nuclear plant disaster†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦...5 3. Safety issues r elating to the Fukushima nuclear plant prior to the disaster.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦..6 3.1 Changed layout of the emergency cooling system†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 3.2 Falsified safety records by TEPCO†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦..†¦6 3.3 Prior failure of the backup generator †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦6 3.4 Ignored tsunami warning†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..7 3.5 Location of the reactor†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..7 4. ... Unit 3†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..9 4.4 Issues in Unit 4†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦.10 5 Release of radioactive substances into the environment†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...10 6. Liability for the Fukushima nuclear disaster†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦11 6.1 Assessing TEPCO’S liability†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦...12 Work cited †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦14 1. Introduction The Great East Japan Earthquake with magnitude of 9.0 did a substantial damage to Japan and its environs. The gigantic tsunami that followed the quake resulted in more damage. The earthquake was complex and unusual double quake with a severe period of around 3 minutes. As a result of the earthquake Japan shifted a few meters east and the country's coastline sank half a meter. The death toll from the earthquake is recorded at 19,000, and much of the coastal area was destroyed. 1.1 Fukushima I nuclear power plant The Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant comprised of six boiling water reactors. These reactors were designed by General Electric. During its activity, the plant produced a total power of 4.7 gigawatts. The plant was among the largest nuclear plants around the world. It was run by TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company). At the time of the earthquake unit 1, 2 and 3 of the plant were operational while unit 4 had been de-fueled and both unit 5 and 6 had been shut down for maintenance. After the earthquake the functioning units in all nuclear plants, including unit 1, 2 and 3 in the Fukushima I plant were shut down following government regulations (Ohnishi, 12). A 13

Legal Decision Making Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Legal Decision Making - Case Study Example Prosecution for crimes is always conducted in the name of the state; the case being styled as State versus the name of the defendant. The prosecutor has a duty of establishing the guilt of the accused beyond any reasonable doubt. A crime usually includes offences like rape, robbery, murder, theft etc where the penalty for these cases ranges from hanging to fine. On the other hand, civil law concerns the violation of private rights belonging to an individual in his capacity as an individual for example refusing to pay a loan or defaming someone. Unlike criminal cases, the proceedings in civil cases are instituted in the court of law by the plaintiff himself and the burden of proving his claim rests on him. If the plaintiff succeeds in a civil action, the defendant will be ordered by the court to compensate him by paying damages. 2 Although there are already written consequences a person who has been proved guilty is subjected to, the decision of cases varies on the argument of both the defendant and the plaintiff in case of civil case; and in case of a criminal case, and outcome of the case depends on the argument of the prosecutor and the accused. For this case, the judgement of each particular case depends on the uniqueness a particular case. It happens that cases that are similar in nature, t... A contract is usually defined as an agreement between two or more persons which is intended to create legally binding obligations. The word binding is used for there are some contracts which are valid but are not enforceable in a court of law. There are already predetermined consequences that follow suit in case on breaches a contract but it does not mean that all those who breach a law of contract will be subject to the same consequence. The outcome of the case will depend on the uniqueness of a particular case. 3 One of essentials of a valid contract is that a contract is created with an intention of creating a legal relation. Agreements of a purely domestic or social nature are generally not enforceable contracts. Whether or not the parties intended to create legal relations is a question of fact to be inferred from all the circumstances of a case. For example in a case between Balfour vs. Balfour held in 1919. In this case, the defendant was civil servant in Ceylon. While he and his wife were on leave in England, it became apparent that because of ill-health, the wife would not be able to return to Ceylon. The husband promised to pay her thirty pounds a month whilst forced to live apart. He failed to pay, and his wife sued on the contract. It was held that the husband was not liable because there was no necessary implication from the circumstances of the parties that they intended to make a legally binding contract. It was more like a domestic arrangement between husband and wife rather tha n a contract. (Penrose, 2005) On the other hand, if on examining the facts of a family agreement, the court reaches the conclusion that legal relations can be inferred, the contract will be enforced. For example, a case held between Simpkins vs. Pays in 1955. In this

The 7 Variables of Culture during Chinese and American Business Essay

The 7 Variables of Culture during Chinese and American Business Negiotiations in a Corporate Law Firm - Essay Example â€Å"Negotiation is a process whereby two or more parties--be they individuals, groups, or larger social units--interact in developing potential agreements to provide guidance and regulation of their future behavior. Such negotiation can be conducted between nations; between companies; or between any two or more parties that need to cooperate or bargain to attain certain common or conflicting ends.† (Phatak & Habib, 1996) Most of the international negotiations are between two companies or two nations. Because of lot of differences like social, cultural, linguistic, environmental legal and technological, international business negotiations is not an easy task. Both the parties should have considered lot of factors before arriving at an agreement. The cultural dimensions of international business negotiations are defined by former professor of Eastern Michigan University, David A. Victor in his famous LESCANT model of cultural variables. They are Language, Environment, Social organization, Contexting, Authority, Nonverbal behavior, and Temporal conception. (The cultural variables for development of models of culture) Language is an important entity in every business negotiations especially in international business negotiations. The views and opinions of each party can be communicated properly if both the parties don’t have a language barrier. Language fluency and accent can affect a business deal. Both the parties must understand clearly what others are trying to communicate or convince. English is an international language or global language used in almost every country and in most of the international business negotiations it is used as the medium for communications. The competency of Chinese people in English language is less compared to some other countries like India, Japan or Pakistan. â€Å"English has no legacy in the land of China. In fact, China had a long history of deliberately avoiding contact with the

Legal Decision Making Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Legal Decision Making - Case Study Example Prosecution for crimes is always conducted in the name of the state; the case being styled as State versus the name of the defendant. The prosecutor has a duty of establishing the guilt of the accused beyond any reasonable doubt. A crime usually includes offences like rape, robbery, murder, theft etc where the penalty for these cases ranges from hanging to fine. On the other hand, civil law concerns the violation of private rights belonging to an individual in his capacity as an individual for example refusing to pay a loan or defaming someone. Unlike criminal cases, the proceedings in civil cases are instituted in the court of law by the plaintiff himself and the burden of proving his claim rests on him. If the plaintiff succeeds in a civil action, the defendant will be ordered by the court to compensate him by paying damages. 2 Although there are already written consequences a person who has been proved guilty is subjected to, the decision of cases varies on the argument of both the defendant and the plaintiff in case of civil case; and in case of a criminal case, and outcome of the case depends on the argument of the prosecutor and the accused. For this case, the judgement of each particular case depends on the uniqueness a particular case. It happens that cases that are similar in nature, t... A contract is usually defined as an agreement between two or more persons which is intended to create legally binding obligations. The word binding is used for there are some contracts which are valid but are not enforceable in a court of law. There are already predetermined consequences that follow suit in case on breaches a contract but it does not mean that all those who breach a law of contract will be subject to the same consequence. The outcome of the case will depend on the uniqueness of a particular case. 3 One of essentials of a valid contract is that a contract is created with an intention of creating a legal relation. Agreements of a purely domestic or social nature are generally not enforceable contracts. Whether or not the parties intended to create legal relations is a question of fact to be inferred from all the circumstances of a case. For example in a case between Balfour vs. Balfour held in 1919. In this case, the defendant was civil servant in Ceylon. While he and his wife were on leave in England, it became apparent that because of ill-health, the wife would not be able to return to Ceylon. The husband promised to pay her thirty pounds a month whilst forced to live apart. He failed to pay, and his wife sued on the contract. It was held that the husband was not liable because there was no necessary implication from the circumstances of the parties that they intended to make a legally binding contract. It was more like a domestic arrangement between husband and wife rather tha n a contract. (Penrose, 2005) On the other hand, if on examining the facts of a family agreement, the court reaches the conclusion that legal relations can be inferred, the contract will be enforced. For example, a case held between Simpkins vs. Pays in 1955. In this

Strategic Managment for new busniess in state of Qatar is it really Essay

Strategic Managment for new busniess in state of Qatar is it really applied - Essay Example To find out how effective strategy implementation is taking place by the proper choice of strategies and tasks which are essentially concerned with effectively managing the resources, and those that are deployed in the limited part of the country within the context and guidance of the existing ones. The previous strategic management study was based on various areas like corporate finance, strategic planning, which is mainly concerned with world class industries and oil companies. The share trading was also a major part in dealing with the strategic choices and various market transactions taking place in the country. â€Å"The most efficient way of evaluating Qatar is to consider key dimensions which themselves are composites of multiple factors. Composite portfolio approaches have long been used by strategic planners. The biggest challenge in this approach is to choose the appropriate factors that are the most relevant to international planning. The two measures of greatest relevance are â€Å"latent demand† and â€Å"market accessibility.† (Executive Report on Strategies in Qatar: How to Strategically Evaluate Qatar, 2007). The main aim and the intention of strategic learning and management process is mainly to accomplish the strategic options and choices to make the markable changes and to primarily focus on the strategic point. The cross functional management makes the practical brilliance and specializations to make much greater contributions to the organizational process. (Mohamed Zain, 1985) The economic data obtainable from Qatar is the result of a choice of spatial econometric and timely forecasting models that are useful to forecast and distribute dormant demand diagonally to countries of the world and key distribution centers of prevailing authority within a country. This calls for proficiency in knowing the economic basics like the

Analysing Organization Change at Tesco

Analysing Organization Change at Tesco INTRODUCTION Tesco is a multinational chain of stores for retail with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. In 2008, Tesco became the fourth largest retailer in the world, displacing the fifth largest distributor Metro AG, the first movement of positions among the top five companies in the sector since 2003. Although originally specializing in food and drinks, it has diversified into areas such as clothing, electronics, financial services, selling and renting DVDs, compact discs, digital downloads , Internet service , telecommunications , medical and dental insurance and software. Companies that are able to compete successfully in todays rapidly changing business environment, which is characterized by globalization of the economy, exploding information technology, downsizing, restructuring, and new employer-employee relationships, must be ready to make significant changes in the way they operate. Changes can be realized in a number of areas. They can, for example, be observed in attitude or behaviour. Many major organizational changes, however, are technological ones. Sometimes these changes are not intended to change behaviour, but they almost always do in some respect. Another type of change is replacement of personnel; when top management is impatient with the pace of productivity, they often replace key individuals. Changes also occur in organizational structure, formal roles and jobs, control systems, work processes, and other elements of the organizations internal environment (Hough, 2003). The motivation for change typically stems from the fact that something is not working (e.g., continued negative feedback from customers, reduced profitability, threats of acquisition, or other market pressures). For most organizations, a crisis is the catalyst for change. While a crisis may be sufficient to initiate a change, it takes much more to successfully integrate the change into the work processes. Managers must have more than an extensive knowledge of the marketplace, how to compete in it, and what internal structures must be in place to make the company successful (Atuahene-Giman, Li, 2004). SIGNIFICANT ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE AT TESCO Organizational change is defined as the ability to adapt to different organizations transformations suffered by the environment inside or outside, through learning. Another definition is the set of variations on the structure of organizations and suffering that result in a new organizational behaviour. Recently, TESCO has come across a significant change in terms of introducing and implementing a self-service check out system throughout its network. The implementation of this new payment system at Tesco is undoubtedly a strategic plan change. This is because the self-check-out system is a new system that differs from normal or traditional payment terms in terms of carrying out transactions. The cash payment required operating through a teller, but the checkout system does not need any cashier. This Self-service brings a new procedure or method to facilitate the customers. The use of the new system serves customers in a better way and provides better service without having to spend so much time in the store. When introduced into Tesco, this self-checkout system helps clients improve shopping experience and also facilitate them for easy shopping. This was done to make customers feel part of Tesco. The customer in store will select the shopping from the shelves and move to the self ch eckout, scan and pay for the items. The intended effect is the synergy of both the self checkout and the cashier checkout. The objective of this task is to investigate the Tesco self-service machine. This introduction of self-service check outs was a strategic shift. It was first introduced in Dereham, Norfolk in 2003. The purpose of the system was to accelerate check out processes and reduce labour costs associated with retail outlets. This work is to study the triggers of change, the process involved and the benefits for the organization. MANAGING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE Lately, TESCO has confronted a substantial change in terms of introduction and implementation of self-service check out system throughout its branch network. Organizational change occurs when a company makes a transition from its current state to some desired future state. Managing organizational change is the process of planning and implementing change in organizations in such a way as to minimize employee resistance and cost to the organization, while also maximizing the effectiveness of the change effort. Therefore, the objective of this report revolves around the process used by TESCO to manage the implementation of the check-out system. Todays business environment requires companies to undergo changes almost constantly if they are to remain competitive. Factors such as globalization of markets and rapidly evolving technology force businesses to respond in order to survive. Such changes may be relatively minor-as in the case of installing a new software program-or quite major-as in the case of refocusing an overall marketing strategy. Organizations must change because their environments change, according to Thomas S. Bateman and Carl P. Zeithaml in their book Management: Function and Strategy. Today, businesses are bombarded by incredibly high rates of change from a frustratingly large number of sourcesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Inside pressures come from top managers and lower-level employees who push for change. Outside pressures come from changes in the legal, competitive, technological, and economic environments. (Bateman, Thomas , Zeithaml, 1989). In case of TESCO, both the internal and factors played their role in bring ing about the change. Organizational change initiatives often arise out of problems faced by a company. In some cases, however, companies are encouraged to change for other, more positive reasons. Change commonly occurs because the organization experiences some difficulty, Bateman and Zeithaml wrote. But sometimes the most constructive change takes place not because of problems but because of opportunities. The authors used the term performance gap to describe the difference between a companys actual performance and the performance of which it is capable. Recognition of a performance gap often provides the impetus for change, as companies strive to improve their performance to expected levels. This sort of gap is also where many entrepreneurs find opportunities to begin new businesses (Bateman, Thomas , Zeithaml, 1989). Unfortunately, as Thomas (1993) noted in an article for HR Focus, statistics show that many organizational change efforts fail. For example, 50 percent of quality improvement programs fail to meet their goals, and 30 percent of process reengineering efforts are unsuccessful. The most common reason that change efforts fail is that they encounter resistance from employees. Change appears threatening to many people, which makes it difficult to gain their support and commitment to implementing changes. Consequently, the ability to manage change effectively is a highly sought-after skill in managers. Companies need people who can contribute positively to their inevitable change efforts. The management at TESCO developed a set of objectives sales increment, cost effectiveness, customer satisfaction before implementing the change and measured these developed objectives to ensure success through the attainment of these developed objectives. AREAS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE Bateman and Zeithaml identified four major areas of organizational change: strategy, technology, structure, and people. All four areas are related, and companies often must institute changes in the other areas when they attempt to change one area. The first area, strategy changes, can take place on a large scale-for example, when a company shifts its resources to enter a new line of business-or on a small scale-for example, when a company makes productivity improvements in order to reduce costs (Bateman, Thomas , Zeithaml, 1989). There are three basic stages for a company making a strategic change:1) realizing that the current strategy is no longer suitable for the companys situation; 2) establishing a vision for the companys future direction; and 3) implementing the change and setting up new systems to support it. At TESCO, the management has followed the same process and stand efficacious in implanting the new system successfully. DRIVERS OF CHANGE There are four primary drivers of major work-place change. They are a change to the organizational structure, a new product or service, new management, and new technology. Organizational structure may change through major downsizing, outsourcing, acquisitions, or mergers. These actions are often accompanied by layoffs, particularly as certain positions become redundant. A new product or service has implications for changes in production, sales, and customer service. Additionally, by changing product or service the organization may face new competitors or new markets. New management, such as a change in chief executive officer or president, often brings a period of transition during which upper-level managers are likely to alter existing business processes and personnel policies. Finally, new technology can create vast changes to the organization. Technology can change the production process or the working conditions (i.e., telecommuting), and these changes may influence the skills th at employees use on the job (Gioia, Dennis , Thomas, James , 1996). The changes are caused by the interaction of forces, these are classified as: INTERNAL DRIVERS Internal drivers are those from within the organization, arising from the analysis of behaviour organizational and presented as alternative solutions, representing conditions of equilibrium, creating the need for structural rearrangement, is an example of these technological adaptations, changing strategies, methodological, policy changes, etc. EXTERNAL DRIVERS External drivers are those from outside the organization, creating the need for internal order changes are examples of this force: The government decrees, the standards of quality, limitations on the environment both physical and economic etc. DRIVERS OF CHANGE IN TESCO Over the years TESCO has been able to apply its strategies effectively and efficiently to become one of the big Global retailers in the world. Both, internal and external drivers have played their role in sparking the change at TESCO. The main triggers are discussed below: CREATION OF VALUE FOR CUSTOMER As part of TESCO strategy to retain existing customers and attract new ones, the Company decided to create more value for its customers. This resulted in the Implementation of the self-checkout system. TESCO wanted to make the shopping experience Exciting for the customers. GROWING CUSTOMER BASE The success of TESCO can be attributed to numerous factors one of which is its fast growing customer base. The self-checkout was implemented to ease congestion on Checkouts. With the implementation of the self-checkout customers do not have to stand in long boring queues to pay for their shopping. They can use the self-checkout which is simple and faster especially if the customer has purchased only a few items. TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS In view of the growing age of technology, it is essential for all organizations to enhance their technologies if they want to be successful. TESCO implemented the self-checkout to improve upon its operational efficiency. COMPETITION Competition among organizations is one of the common triggers of change in most Industries. TESCO implemented the self-checkout system to gain a competitive Advantage against its competitors. This also led to differentiation in the market as TESCO distinguished itself from the other retailers by the use of the self-checkout System. COST OF LABOUR One of the major aims of every business is to maximize profit. TESCO wanted to Increase its operational capacity at the front end and at the same time saves cost hence the use of the self-checkout. For instance instead of employing five cashiers to operate Five cashier checkout, only one cashier will be required to assist customers on five Self-checkouts. THE PROCESS OF ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE Every change effort should be accompanied by an action plan. Once a compelling reason to change has been identified, it is necessary to create a picture of what the change will require, how the organization will effect it, and what the organization will look like when the change has been implemented. Although each action plan for change will be unique, all plans should follow a basic structure: (1) identification of a course of action and allocation of resources to achieve the organizations change goals; (2) designation of the authority, responsibility, and relationships that will drive the change efforts; (3) determination of who will lead the change effort and the specific roles and responsibilities of these individuals; (4) a description of the procedures and processes that will expedite implementation of the change; (5) identification of the training that will be required to enable people to incorporate the change into their work processes; and (6) identification of the equipment , tools, or machinery that will affect the way work is accomplished (Atuahene-Giman, Li, 2004). Many organizational changes are initiated and implemented through the authority of top levels of management. The problems are defined and solutions are developed by top-level managers based on information that is gathered by others with help from a limited number of people. Once a decision is made, the changes are often communicated to people in the organization through memo, speech, policy statement, or verbal command. Since only a few people, usually at the top, are involved in making the decisions, the change is usually introduced very rapidly. However, this strategy has proved to be largely ineffective in dealing with organizational change processes, particularly for successful integration. A common misconception about carrying out a change is that it must be directed from the top. The foundation of successful change management lies in involving the people who will be affected by the change. Sharing responsibility for change is a process whereby those at the top and those at lower levels are jointly involved in identifying problems and/or developing solutions. Virtually continual interaction takes place between top and bottom levels. The shared responsibility or participative approach can be addressed in several ways: (1) Top management defines the problem and uses staff groups or consultants to gather information and develop solutions. These identified solutions are then communicated to lower-level groups in order to obtain reactions. The feedback from the lower levels is then used to modify the solution, and the communication process starts again. The assumption underlying this approach is that although involving others in the definition of the problem or its solution may be impractical, the solution can be improved and commitment obtained by involving lower levels. (2) Top management defines the problem but seeks involvement from lower levels by appointing task forces to develop solutions. The task forces provide recommendations to top management, where the final decision is made. These task forces are composed of people who will be affected by the change and have some level of expertise in the areas that will be affected by the proposed change. The assumption here is that those who have the expertise to solve the problems are those groups that are closer to the situation. Also, the groups commitment to the change may be made deeper by this involvement. (3) Task forces composed of people from all levels are formed to collect information about problems in the organization and to develop solutions. The underlying assumptions in this approach are that people at the top, middle, and lower levels are needed to develop quality solutions and that commitment must build at about the same rate at all levels. These approaches emphasizing shared responsibility usually take longer to implement but result in more commitment from all levels of the organization and more successful integration of the change into the work processes (Hough, 2003). CHANGE MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES TESCO Before, implementing the change, TESCO devised the following objectives to measure the effectiveness of the organisational change. The developed objectives were: A significant increase in customer satisfaction To achieve cost effectiveness A substential increase in sales THE IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS The implementation of the TESCO self-checkout systems could be said to be a strategic Change. This is because the self-checkout is a new system which differs from the Normal checkout in terms of the way transactions are carried out. The cashier checkout requires a cashier to operate but the self-checkout does not require a cashier. The self-checkout brings a new procedure or method of serving Customers. The use of the self-checkout and the normal checkout give the customers an enhanced service without having to spend so much time in the store. The self-checkout when introduced in TESCO was to help improve upon the customers Shopping experience and also to make the shopping very easy. This was done to make the customers feel a part of TESCO. The customer in store will select the shopping from the shelves and move to the self-checkout, scan and pay for the items. The intended Effect is the synergy of both the self-checkout and the cashier checkout. RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Understanding the factors that drive change and how people react to change is critical to the successful implementation of change. It is part of human nature to resist change. People prefer the security of familiar surroundings and often do not react well to changes in their work or social environment. Resistance to change often takes some typical forms. One typical reaction is denial, which individuals use to protect themselves. Many managers assume that if people think the change is a good idea, they will not resist it. Why would the work force resist changes if the changes will fix what they wanted fixed? People may want change, but not necessarily the changes that have been identified in the plan. Workers may have their own ideas about what should change, and frequently the changes they think fix the problem involve someone else changing, not them. In addition workers may think the ways to make things better is simply to adjust and manipulate their work processes, not to implement the drastic changes identified in the proposed plan. Alternatively, workers may not think that is wrong with the current way of working. Often the process of changing looks too hard, looks like it will take too much energy, and seems confusing. A strictly structured change process often ignores the ingrained human resistance to change. When that happens, people who are affected by the change end up expending most of their time a nd energy figuring out how to stop the change or altering the change until it looks like something they can live with. If the desired change is not very desirable to the work force, managers need to find out why. Insufficient information about the driving force behind the change and the benefits expected from it is likely to cause distress among those affected by the change. People tend to act in their own perceived self-interest. Managers often think of change initiatives in broader terms, while the work force tends to think of it differently, in more narrow terms of how the change will affect their work. Sometimes managers forget or overlook this reaction to change. Effective strategies for organizational change involve an understanding of the human beings in the work force. RESISTENCE MANAGEMENT AT TESCO Effective planning is imperative in any organization if it is going to be successful in Its activities. The management of TESCO had to decide on the number of self-checkout they were going to begin with and in which of their stores they would be introduced first. The checkout leaders were trained to operate the self-checkout as they would be assisting the customers to use the new system although the self-checkout has a screen Demo which makes the system user friendly and easy to understand and operate. Some cashiers thought that the self-checkout was going to put them out of their jobs As automation of a system normally leads to the elimination of the manual aspect of The system and this made them insecure with their jobs. The managers had to educate the cashiers on the purpose of the self-checkout and the Potential benefits it was going to bring to both customers and the organization as a Whole. The purpose was to motivate the cashiers to be confident and welcome the Change. The ini tial implementation was a form of feasibility studies. The customers were encouraged to use the self-checkout with the assistance of the trained front end Leaders. Management observed the system for a period of time to determine the Number of customers that patronized it and also to get feedback from both the Customers and staffs. The positive feedback gave management the green light to introduce the self-checkout in other TESCO outlets. EXTENT TO WHICH CHANGE WAS SUCCESSFUL IN MEETING ITS OBJECTIVES This change management process (implementation of the self-checkout) has had an immense effect on the entire organization as it serves a major role in the customer Shopping experience and also impact positively on the sales of TESCO as an Organization. The major benefits of the self-checkout will be discussed below. INCREASE IN SALES In this marketing era where the customer is the focus of most companies, customers will always go to shops where they can get a good and timely service. TESCO being one of the worlds leading international retailers currently has 3000 self-checkouts in 750 stores. This is a great improvement since the self-checkout was first implemented. The number of self-checkouts in stores attracts more new customers as they know They can always leave the store in time through the use of the self-checkout. This Increases customer base which impacts positively on sales. 25% of TESCOs UK Transactions are through self-checkout (TESCO plc). This means that a quarter of UK TESCO sales can be accounted for by the use of the self-checkout systems. This is represented in the pie chart below as blue. COST EFFECTIVENESS This is an important factor to consider when planning any change management Process in any organization. According to TESCOs annual statement 2005, the self-checkout was introduced into 130 stores and over 850,000 customers use them every Week. The use of the self-checkout helps to save on labour cost as a number of the self-checkout systems could be operated without the need for a corresponding number of Cashiers. The self-checkout can compensate for the shortage of staff. However a Trained supervisor may be required to assist customers with the self-checkout in case Of any malfunctioning. CUSTOMER SATISFACTION The self-checkout has brought about good customer services as customers dont have To spend time in the store queuing to pay for their shopping. Datamonitor (2008) stated that the use of technology is one of the greatest ways to improve upon customer Satisfaction. This helps to build a good relationship with the customers which results in customer loyalty. In TESCOs annual report and financial statement, 1.5million customers prefer to use the self-checkout in more than 200 stores weekly. This shows that customers are very satisfied with the system and this also has a huge Impact on sales. CONCLUSION Although the self-checkout has been well received by retailers and their customers, there are a few challenges with the system. When customers buy loose items like tomatoes in a small bag without a barcode, it will be priced by the weight. The customer has to go through the menu of the self-checkout which often gets customers confused and frustrated especially those without any IT knowledge. Another problem is when a customer has only one item and scans it the system gives a warning if it is not placed in the bagging area. This often irritates customers. Minors also use the self-checkout to purchase alcohol and this could result in Tesco losing its License to sell alcohol. NEED FOR FURTHER CHANGES IN THE FUTURE In light of the difficulties discussed above, it is suggested that a supervisor or expert staff is positioned at the checkout area from the maiden of the store to closing to assist customers who come upon any difficulties using the system to circumvent any delays in transactions and also to check the id of anyone alleged to be a minor. The self-checkout should be upgraded to make it further users friendly and also to lessen the rate at which it reports errors.

The Spread of Television in 1950s, in America Essay -- Television

The ‘Golden Age of Television’ is what many refer to as the period between the 1950s and 60s when the television began to establish itself as a prevalent medium in the United States. In 1947, the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), and the Du Mont Network were the four main television networks that ran stations with regular programming taking place. (Television, 2003) While regular television programming was a new innovation, the television itself had been commercially available for over twenty years prior to the 50s. It was conceived by many worldly innovators and went through several testing stages before it was finally completed in the late twenties. The three main innovators were Niplow - who first developed a rotating disk with small holes arranged in a spiral pattern in 1884, Zworykin - who developed the Iconoscope which could scan pictures and break them into electronic signals (a primi tive form of the Cathode Ray Tube) in 1923, and lastly Fansworth - who demonstrated for the first time that it was possible to transmit an electrical image in 1927. (Rollo, 2011) However, one of the many reasons why this medium was successful in the 50s was due to the fact that it became more accessible to the public. Television sets were more affordable to middle class citizens which created further interest in the new technology. Through an historical account of the medium, the spread of television across America throughout this particular decade will be examined. Firstly, for the purposes of illustrating the cultural context of this decade, I will refer to Lynn Spigel’s writing entitled â€Å"Welcome to the Dreamhouse: Popular Media and Postwar Suburb†. After WWII... ...t has not stopped television from being one of the most successful mediums for the dissemination of information. Works Cited Paul S. Boyer. "Television." The Oxford Companion to United States History. 2001. Retrieved November 24, 2011 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O119-Television.html Bretz, Rudy , 1957 â€Å"Video Tape: A TV Revolution† The Quarterly of Film Radio and Television , Vol. 11, No. 4 pp. 399-415 Published by: University of California Press Article Stable URL: www.jstor.org/stable/1210000 Ganzel, Bill. (2007). Television during the 1950s and 60s. Retrieved from http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe50s/life_17.html Rollo, Mike. 2011  ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"Video History† Film/Video I Lecture Notes Spigel, Lynn. 2001 Welcome to the dreamhouse : popular media and postwar suburbs / Lynn Spigel Duke University Press, Durham, N.C. :

Friendship - A Bond of Love and Hate Essay -- Personal Narrative Writi

Friendship - A Bond of Love and Hate Sarah and I had a fight about two weeks ago. We hadn’t fought in a while so we were due for a battle. Sarah complained that a girl at my party was â€Å"talking about her,† and, obviously, if I was a real friend, I should have kicked her out. Funny thing is I wouldn’t have kicked the girl out even if I had known that she was talking about Sarah. This, in turn, caused Sarah to tell that she hated me and never wanted to speak to me again. And, before you know it, we were the stars of our own episode of (insert title of melodramatic television show here). I started running around my house, idiotic and drunk, proclaiming that Sarah was the stupidest bitch I’ve ever met--well, I said a whole slew of bad words much worse than that but I’m trying to keep this clean--and that she needs to be run over by a bus, while Sarah ran up my street chasing her boyfriend (a subplot I won’t dare mention here) and text messaging me to let me know that I was a lyi ng piece of garbage. And, folks, this was just the beginning. I often relate my friendship to Sarah to the short story â€Å"Bartleby the Scrivener† by Herman Melville. Simply summed up, the story is about an unique friendship between two men that has a profound impact on each of their lives—a classic story of the one that gave too much and the one who could not help but to give too little. In my experience with Sarah, this role taking tends to rotate back and forth, which makes our friendship exciting, bewildering and, ultimately, both challenging and rewarding. To say that Sarah’s friendship has had an impact on my life would be like saying the Grand Canyon is a large gash in a rock that happens to be pretty. She has helped shape who I am and taught me r... ...d from his memory but during the expunging process realizes how much his memories, both positive and negative, of her are extremely valuable and worthwhile. Sarah and I, though our relationship is anything but romantic, agreed we would probably try to erase each other from our memories only to realize how much we care for one another after it is too late. Clearly, we are drawn to each other because of our similar immature, theatrical and, intermittently, pretentious personalities and through this bond of love and hate, up and down, back and forth, we learn from each other and grow as people in our relationship with not only one another but with others as well. She has been one of my greatest teachers, most annoying nemesis and unsurpassed melodramatic role-playing partner. More importantly, our ungodly fights have given me some of the best stories I’ve ever told.

Preschool Observation Essay

My observation was October 18, 2011. It was about 8:00 in the morning when I began my observation. I went to Baptist Health Preschool. The observation enjoyable than the last. Just to see how active the children are at this age. The children had great imaginations when they were playing. The preschooler that I observed was three years old, had blonde hair, blue eyes she had on a red shirt, black pants, pink shoes and was female. She had no limitations or physical and made her a ghost for Halloween in the art area. When the caregiver asked about the colors she knew all the colors that the caregiver asked her. The setting was a very warm and welcoming environment. This classroom environment prepared the children for kindergarten with charts of numbers, days of the week, colors and shapes the children’s names were placed in an individual section of on the cubby shelf for their blankets. The room had a variety of bright colors which display a parent information board, daily schedule, labeled learning centers. They had the learning center in the right middle by the wall. The music area on the left on by the wall in the corner. The science area was in the middle of the room. The art area was in the right corner by the wall and supplies and also the walls had many pictures of the children creative art work. The play area was in the other left corner by the wall this area includes a play stove and refrigerator with plastic food. On the wall were different pieces of clothing that represented various professions and cultures. The supplies and also the walls had many pictures of the children creative art work. The floor was half different color carpet and half wooden.

The Concept of Globalisation

There are a plethora of factors that have played a role in influencing world politics in the 20th century. There are the political ideologies, each with their own agenda, conflicting or similar, such as Communism, Fascism, Nationalism, Capitalism and Socialism. There are the various worldwide treaties and agreements, such as the Treaty of Versailles, the League of Nations and the United Nations. Accompanying these are economic agreements, which have an ever-increasing role in world politics, like the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), plus regional trade agreements and customs unions such as the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA), the European Union (EU) and the Asia Pacific Economic Community (APEC). Even the two World Wars have had an influence. However, the single force that has had the greatest impact on world politics in the 20th century is Globalisation. Globalisation is a concept with many differing definitions. Bayliss & Smith (1998, p. 15) define globalisation as the ‘intensification of worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa. † Globalisation is a process that entails the movement of capital, goods, services and labour around the world. Globalisation is the massive control of the world†s economy by big business, transcending national boundaries. The underlying factors in all of these definitions are that globalisation involves worldwide integration of both political and economic ideals. Furthermore, Strachan (1998, p. 159) argues that it involves legal and cultural integration also. But does such integration undermine a country†s sovereignty? Can such integration be achieved without violence and conflict? In order to answer these questions, this essay will examine the driving forces behind globalisation, its downfalls and cultural adaptability. Globalisation is an ever-increasing force, even today, as technological advances literally make the world smaller by increasing communication and decreasing travel times, or what can be referred to as the ‘Communication Revolution† (Durst, 2000, p. 5). Through massive and rapid improvements in the Information Technology industry; telecommunications, exponential increases in computing power coupled with lower costs and the development of electronic communications and information networks such as the Internet, communications are now possible almost instantaneously between any two points on the globe. The threads of global web are computers, facsimile machines, satellites, monitors and modems-all of them linking designers, engineers, contractors, licensees and dealers worldwide (Sims, 1989, p. 21). Physical distance is now irrelevant. This improvement of communications this century from sailing ship to satellite has contributed directly to the globalisation of the world†s economies and political systems (Rimmer, 2000, p. 3). This has taken place across cultural and physical boundaries, effectively eliminating the capacity of countries to isolate themselves from the rest of the world. A prime example of this is China. For most of its existence, China has kept its doors closed to the rest of the world. No outside influences reached China and it remained unchanged and untouched. In recent times however, China has relaxed its legislation to accommodate foreign investment and trade. Its economy has improved and new information on how to do things more efficiently has been introduced. Borders no longer act as boundaries, especially with respect to the movement of information and finance. Furthermore, borders are becoming increasingly difficult for governments to define and maintain. Regional conflicts are arising everywhere; Sierra Leone, the coup in Fiji, Chechnya, Southern Lebanon and Kosovo. As a result, national governments are being forced to redefine their roles, responsibilities and policy relationships. Thus, globalisation has raised fears that the sovereignty of nation states is being undermined. If sovereignty can be defined as the ability to exercise control without outside interference, then nation states are clearly experiencing diminished sovereignty. Governments have no choice but to recognise and work on the assumption that most issues they are required to deal with are affected by or will affect the international competitiveness of the country. Government†s own responses to globalisation or the search for joint solutions to global problems have further effects on sovereignty. Participation in international organisations or the adoption of international agreements puts limits on policy options available to governments (Rimmer, 2000, p. 5). Instead of independence, the world is now pursuing interdependence. Proponents of globalisation argue that unilateral action is not the most effective way to achieve policy goals. In combating environmental problems and international crime, the interests of individual nations can only be protected by collective action. This belief has led to competition between countries on almost all fronts. International investment is encouraged by the activities and mobility of multinational corporations, meaning that most domestic policies such as education and training, taxation, social protection, economic regulation and labour legislation have become international. Even a country†s domestic management policy is a matter of great concern to its trading rivals, because this will ultimately affect a country†s efficiency and competitiveness. Therefore, government policies must increasingly be made more consistent with, or competitive to, those of their trading rivals. Robert Reich is a strong supporter of globalisation, publishing the book entitled ‘The Work of Nations†. In his book, Reich argues that it is already too late to stop globalisation. His view is supported by Joan Spero, US Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, who states that capital now moves around the world with startling speed. Each day over US $1 trillion is traded in a global foreign exchange market that never closes. (Spero in Strachan, 1998, p. 156). Reich (1991, p. 112) argues that there is no such thing as an American product anymore, giving the example of an ice hockey stick. It is designed in Sweden, financed in Canada, assembled in Cleveland and Denmark out of alloys patented in Delaware and fabricated in Japan and finally distributed in North America and Europe. There are many criticisms of globalisation and Edward Herman (1999, pp. 3-5) classifies his criticisms into a number of categories. Two of those are that, firstly, globalisation is undemocratic and secondly, that it is an assault on labour. In the United States, public opinion polls showed the general public was against NAFTA, even after incessant propaganda, but the mass media supported it and it was passed. In Europe as well, polls have shown persistent majorities opposed to the introduction of the Euro, but a powerful elite supports it, so it moves forward. Globalisation has been a tool serving elite interests. This contradicts the democratic and egalitarian utopia that these regions have been relentlessly encouraging during the 20th century. Globalisation has also steadily weakened democracy because the containment of labour costs and scaling down of the welfare state has required the business minority to establish firm control of the state and remove its capacity to respond to the demands of the majority (Herman, 1999, p. ). One of the main objectives of Transnational Corporations (TNC†s) movement abroad, for example Nike manufacturing shoes in Korea, has been to tap cheaper labour sources. Labour is often cheapest, and least prone to cause employer problems, in authoritarian states that curb unions and enter into virtual joint venture arrangements with foreign capital, as in Suharto's Indonesia and PRI's Mexico. Once again, this directly contradicts government†s agendas. Publicly, politicians speak out in support of foreign aid, human rights and equality, while behind closed doors they are endorsing and funding TNC†s operations that exploit cheap labour in third world countries. Another criticism of globalisation is that it is against the very nature of culture. Culture derives its diversity from the differences between different human communities and the distinctions between their respective geographical roots and historical experiences. Globalisation disregards these factors and ultimately aims to treat the entire world population as if they have the same tastes, personalities, customs, traditions and language, through a universal government system. If this were to be so, the world would be a very boring, robotic, monotonous place, devoid of any form of culture. The ramifications of this are wide-ranging. Diversity, variety and room for change are lost and forgotten. Identities of oneself are lost; ‘I† is replaced with ‘we†. Power is placed into the hands of a select elite few, very oligarchic and undemocratic. If a group of countries were to unite under a common government, equality would not be established. Such a grouping would encompass a wide spectrum of political views, ideologies, religions, races and colours. Instead of one whole body, there would be many minority groups. This transfers an unequal balance of power throughout the states. As the regional conflicts in East Timor, Yugoslavia and Chechnya have shown, conflict shall arise. There are too many barriers to overcome which only leads to frustration and violence. A Commission on Global Governance (COGG) has been established since 1992. In a report published in 1995 entitled ‘Our Global Neighbourhood†, the commission argued that countries have to accept that in certain fields, sovereignty has to be exercised collectively (Strachan, 1998, p. 155). Once again we have a contradiction in terms; by definition, collective and sovereign are exact opposites that are mutually exclusive. Having stated all the above criticisms, it is important to mention that there is no perfect system in society today that is capable of running a country absolutely efficiently. In fact, conflicting ideologies often correct each other. Communism corrects the equality problem of democracy and democracy corrects the problem of efficiency of communism. By choosing one system or the other, up risal and discontent from the people is inevitable. But is it possible to combine the two? Hitler and Mussolini argued that fascism was the ‘third way†; an alternative to capitalism and socialism. However, fascism led to the death of more than six million Jewish people, so it justifiable to be wary of anyone offering a third alternative. So globalisation has had the greatest impact on world politics in the 20th century, mainly because of the technological advances in telecommunications and information technology. This is most likely to continue through this the 21st century. The criticisms of globalisation are that it undermines sovereignty, exploits third word countries and is undemocratic. However, there is no feasible alternative at this time and globalisation is already well-spread and embedded in economics and politics. For now, the world will just have to go with it.