A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan Essay

This essay will emphasize on whether or not the author of the story, â€Å"A Visit from the Goon Squad†, Jennifer Egan, thinks that adult behavior is shaped by one’s youth. The essay will focus on discussing the view of the author concerning whether one’s youth is responsible for shaping his or her adult behaviors. The author has taken time to show her feelings and connections in relation to ones youthful experiences and their ultimate old age. In the short story, the connections between the characters are all based on the fact that they were all friends and had connections to each other in the past. The connection is still there many years later. The story revolves around elaborating the lives of key characters so as to show that the author supports the notion one’s youth is responsible for shaping his or her adult behaviors. The one factor that has changed is how they perceive themselves and the journey that they have taken. This is because they are all at the story begins with great emphasis on Bennie. Salazar has been a music producer for a very long time. He has met very many people in his life and he has helped them produce the music that they were interested in, rock and roll. At the time, it was the genre of music that had the power to communicate to very many people. The connect ion to Sasha is drawn from the fact that Bennie hired her to work for him a very long time ago. The journey for both of them has been long and tiring. In A Visit from the Goon Squad, Jennifer Egan notes that each and every character is as a result of the journey that he or she took during their youth. This has shaped their thoughts, opinions and all the things that make them who they are in the novel. The term goon has been used to denote the silent robber that has reversed the general perception of the timeline that family, friends, acquaintances and loved ones had together. At each and every step, the author shows that the negative thoughts and sentiments represented are as a result of the difficult years that they have had to go through. â€Å"Times a goon, right? The sentiments presented show that the progress of each and every character may not be where they intended it to be. This is because of the very many things that they have experienced. Sasha has lived a life where she went from being a runaway in a foreign country who had battled with theft urges to a prostitute and many other emotional destabilizing factors. She also has a problem of kleptomania. This is represented by the fact that she grew up in a very violent home. The aspects of the things that she did all her life were a representation of what she had witnessed while goring up. As much as Bennie had hired her, there were very many secrets between the two as they rarely discussed their personal life. There are a lot of twists and turns with their relationship because Sasha sleeps with a young man named Alex. Bennie came to hire Alex to engineer the comeback of Scott, Bennie’s high school friend. The author therefore shows that Sasha has hardly changed the behaviors that she had as a youth. She is still doing the same things that she did when she was young. For example, the author notes that, â€Å"Sasha lived in a foreign country where she battled with urges of theft and being a prostitute†. She has not changed most of these behaviors because the author notes that she still has a problem with kleptomania. She also sleeps with a young man named Alex. The story by the author focuses on a few key characters that seem to reappear more frequently than the other characters. These are the characters that have been mentioned above such as Bennie and Lou. Lou has been described by the author as a coke-snorting music producer who loves to seduce teenage girls. Lou slowly became the mentor of Bennie, who was simply seen as a young and untalented bass player. The author has depicted most of the characters as being the same throughout the novel. For example, Lou used to snort coke and seduce teenage girls. This tells us a lot about his character. In the story, he is later described as a pimp who convinces young and under age Jocelyn to accompany him to Los Angeles. Lou is even seen imparting his theories about women to his son Rolph who is only eleven years old. This is evident when he takes his mistress and his two young children on a tour to Africa. Bennie is later depicted as an aging executive for rock music. The characters that he depicted as a youth are the same characters that he has now. This shows that his adult behaviors have been shaped by his youth. The author has used characters who are self destructive so as to show how one’s character can lead to their own destruction. As characters such as Bennie, Sasha and Lou grow older, fate is seen to lead them in directions they did not intend to go. This shows that they had no control over who they turned up to be. They are simply a product of what they were during their youth. Another way that the author has used to show the world that one’s adult behaviors are shaped by the youth is through shifting the story back and forth in time. The author has used different timelines. For example, the author has depicted some of the characters in the late sixties through music that was popular at that time. The author then shifts to present day and also the near future so as to show us the similarities and differences in the characters during that period of time. The main aim of doing this by the author is to show that most of the characters have not changed and they are not about to change in the near future. Conclusion In conclusion, the author supports the idea that one’s youth shapes his or her adult behaviors. Jennifer Egan has managed to do a great job of creating underdog characters that are self destructive and bring themselves down. I agree with the author that one’s behavior during adulthood has a lot to do with how they were during their youth. The characters that have been reviewed in this story have been seen to remain the same from their youth to their adulthood. This can be used as evidence that one’s youth indeed shapes their behaviors as adults. Characters like Lou, Bennie and Sasha have not changed throughout the story.

Considering Your Audience Essay

The three views to wri? ng to an audience are classical, cogni? ve, and social views. They all vary in their own aspects, but all of them have great methods for wri? ng. Classical view is the same as classical wri? ng from our classical world. It is comprised of di? erent components: theory, analysis and imita? on, and prac? ce, classical view has to do with an audience that is iden able age, demographics, religion is appropriate for and audience that we do not know. It helps writers prac? ce gramma? cal, logical, and rhetorical skills, as well as  thoughts of imita? on and persuasive communica? on. A cogni? ve view has to do with the way a writer transfers his ideas together to an unknown audience. In this view, writers analyze how people process and read the informa? on presented to them, in term the writer uses his mo? va? on to consider the level of his audience. A good example would be reading a textbook, the ideas designed to teach or inform unknown audiences. There are highlighted ideas as if a textbook would have to help guide you through the book to make it a whole. Social view is more speci?  c and dependent on what one is wri? ng. Social view style comes from some type of interac? on, which is predominantly used to a%ract readers on a speci? c topic from talking about things that audience is interested in. I thinking that maybe a social view would be like wri? ng a biography. Alterna? vely, maybe social media? The view that I o’en use in wri? ng is normally cogni? ve. due to the fact that I serve in the military I like to develop my ideas and thoughts ? rst, then guide my audience through my process and possibly to my conclusion.

Evaluation of Data and System Security Coursework

Evaluation of Data and System Security - Coursework Example The difficulty in getting this right depends upon the company and its products, if it manufactures then there is an added problem building security into its Information Technology and Telecoms (IT & T) structure on the shop floor which is not present if it is something like a bank or college which has a whole set of differing demands on security and who and where to watch for major attacks. Key words: security, networks, PC Humans in the Loop Like so many areas of IT, security would be invincible if it were not for letting people use the systems and applications, sadly this has to happen and so systems get corrupted, hacked and generally brought to their knees. Both by users and external attacks by hackers, etc. Security has been stepped up over many years as better understanding of where problems can come from and what must be done to stop them. But, now very often the very security is itself the biggest problem as it gets in the way of productive work and can cause major problems f or IT personnel trying to control users and still give them sufficient mobility to do their job well. Problems come from areas such as giving someone permissions to do a task on a mission critical application, the person goes on holiday and gives another person in the department the passwords to get into the application, that person is not well trained and promptly crashes the system on Monday morning, what then? The holidayer and substitute person will be punished then they say â€Å"oh well its impossible to get permissions for something as short as a week off, but the reports have to be done† what should managers think, it has been done for the best of motives, but the outcome is a disaster for the company security systems and for productivity. Making staff aware there can be bad outcomes is all very well, but if they find they cannot work well then human nature says find a way around the problem system or process as it’s no good. The other way will be for staff to say well we cannot do it because of the system and then productivity takes a tumble. Managers are left swearing at the whole mess, which has an apparently impossible set of outcomes. Security officers in various companies have tried some very harsh tactics to ensure they get rid of the bad guys, Carol Dibattiste states that as security officer in ChoicePoint where it had been attacked by a Nigerian person by the name of Olatunji Oluwatosin, who had posed as a legitimate set of enterprises and he was then able to set up 50 bogus accounts and got hold of ChoicePoints’ customers personal data, including names, addresses and social security numbers. When he was arrested he had to pay back $6.5 million in restitution. The problems for ChoicePoint had barely begun though, as the customers had no confidence and disappeared in droves. It was only when the company could show how well it had beefed up security that customers started to return. It now has a very harsh security system bu t feels that is better than being lax. But is it being to harsh, according to reports it will now check existing customers and if it finds something it feels is questionable even though the customer has already been through rigorous vetting it will cut them off, human nature though shows that things can get away from a small, busy company. So maybe a little to harsh today? There are measures that must be taken and then there are those that

Fashion Retail in the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fashion Retail in the UK - Essay Example The paper "Fashion Retail in the UK"discovers the the ideas behind the BCG business strategy in the context of UK fashion retail. The BCG strategy suggests that the resources of an organization be allocated depending on its relative position on the grid. The grid has four sections/ positions. These are cash cow, star, question mark, and dog. The BCG strategy is diagrammatically represented as follows. The relative market share is a dimension that is utilized in evaluating a business portfolio. A corporate that enjoys high market share would ultimately get a high return of cash. This can be explained in terms of economies of scales. A firm that manufactures large quantities of goods has benefits of economies of scale and thus they enjoy higher profits. On the other hand, the market growth rate is a representation that earnings and profits increase. An increase in the growth rate means that large amounts of cash would be utilized to stimulate further growth. This means that an organiza tion in the rapidly growing industries use up a lot of cash and one should only invest in such organizations when there is an underlying growth or a sustained market share. Dogs: the brand in this quadrant is in a slow growing market. Furthermore, such brands are not the market leaders: they hold a low market share. Such brands generate nil or sometimes negative cash on returns. It is not wise for one to invest in such brands unless one opts for a long-term investment. As such, one may opt for retrenchment.

Modelling Unknown System 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Modelling Unknown System 2 - Essay Example There are various design methods of IIR filter used, with the analogue reference prototype filter being the most commonly used method, as it is suitable for the design of low pass filters, high pass, band stop filters and band pass filters. Reference type, analog prototype filter, to be used is specified according to its requirements and specification then there is design of the analog prototype filter. Scaling of the analog prototype filter into the required frequency range succeeds the design phase. The scaling process converts the analogue prototype into an analog filter. The last step is the conversion from analog to digital filter. Bilinear transformation method converts analogue filters to digital filters. The resulting filter, obtained is always stable, but, instability of the resulting filter may only be caused by the finite word-length side-effect [1]. The design process of the desirable IIR filter commences with the specification and requirements. The reference prototype analogue filter is chosen based on the specification. Scaling of the analogue prototype filter frequency into the desired range succeeds the design phase. The prototype filter is, thus, converted into an analogue filter. The final step is the conversion to digital filter from the analogue filter type by the use of the bilinear transformation method for conversion. The conversion process achieves a stable filter though instability may result from finite word length side effects [1]. Finite impulse response filter equalizes the natural channel response into a partial response target to reduce the complexity of the corresponding maximum sequence detector in magnetic recording. The natural channel response may vary due to changes such as variation in the head medium separation, therefore, requiring the adaptation of finite impulse response. LMS algorithm based adaptation can also be used. It should be known that conflicting interactions among the LMS loop, the AGC (automatic gain control)

Business Planning and Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Business Planning and Development - Essay Example The company mainly operates in Asia, Europe and North America with its headquarters in New York. Research and analysis has shown that PVH currently has high level of debt and interest payments which is reflected in its high debt-to-equity ratio (showing that the company is highly geared). Furthermore, the company has a relatively small, concentrated customer base, intense competition which could lead to volatility in earnings and an underfunded pension plan. Therefore, it is increasingly important for PVH to secure its market position and reduce its dependence on debt rather than increasing it. Discussion Liquidity It is important to analyze the financial liquidity of PVH in order to ascertain its ability to take on more debt. The current ratio of a company reflects its ability to take on short term debts or debts within a period of 12 months (Baker & Powell, 2005). Usually a current ratio of PVH’s current ratio is 2.39 (NASDAQ, 2013) which reflects that for every $2.39 of cur rent assets, the company has $1 of current liabilities. Normally, companies having a current ratio over 1 are considered to have strong liquidity position or ability to pay off short term debts (Weil et al., 2012). This is visible in the case of PVH. Although the short term liquidity of PVH seems to be high (as indicated in the research), its long term liquidity remains very weak. Furthermore, the high current ratio may not be a good indication as a review of PVH’s Balance Sheet shows that majority of its current assets (almost a third of the dollar value) are tied up in inventory which indicates a major problem. This is because inventory may take time to convert to cash and may, therefore, negatively affect the company’s ability to pay off its short term liabilities (Ross et al., 2012). Therefore, the high liquidity indicated by the high current ratio may, in effect, be insignificant because of too much inventory being held. Furthermore, PVH’s cash flow stateme nt indicates a positive operating cash flow of 453m which, in itself (Yahoo! Finance, 2013), indicates a high level of cash availability and liquidity. However, the relevant figure in this case is not operating cash flow but levered free cash flow as the latter takes interest on debt into account. In short, levered free cash flow indicates a cash position of a firm after it pays off the interest on its debt (Penman, 2009) . This is a negative value (-45m) for PVH (Yahoo! Finance, 2013) which indicates high interest payments and suggests that the cash generated may not be sufficient to ensure continuity of the business in future. Debt position PVH’s financial position indicates an already high level of long term debt as a percentage of its total liabilities (roughly 58%). Furthermore, it is important to understand the financial leverage of PVH in order to further determine its ability take on the additional ?20 million. This is explained by the total debt to equity ratio which describes the relative proportion of debt and equity that the firm uses for financing its assets (Heitger et al., 2008). A higher ratio typically suggests an aggressive growth strategy with the effect of increased earnings, albeit often with high interest charges. Normally, a debt-to-equity ratio over 20% is not considered a healthy sign (NASDAQ, 2013). The total debt to equity ratio of PVH is very high (108.65) which suggests that the company is highly geared (NASDAQ, 2013). This already high debt indicates the high interest cha

Kamehameha I versus Kamehameha V Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Kamehameha I versus Kamehameha V - Essay Example The first war he waged was in Hana area of Maui, to fight with Kalanikupule’s army under the leadership of Kapakilili. With the war evenly leveled out and with no definite winner, Kamehameha used the British acquired cannons to his advantage, and completely massacred Kapililis army. 3 Kamehemeha’s greatest enemy was Keaua in Hile; who at that time was dividing land among his chiefs, and declared war on the reign of Kamehamela I. With the fierce rivalry between them, Kamehameha I sought for trickery and invited Keaua to come for a peace sacrifice to the god of war, Heiau. Keaua attended the sacrifice ignoring advice from his generals of Kamehameha intentions, and his canoe was attacked and he was eventually killed.. In 1795, Kemehameha’s war party went to Maui, then Molakai, and he later sailed to Oahu where he conquered these lands. Kalanikupule’s forces were routed at Naauanu, and his chiefs and warriors were all killed. Kalanikupules escaped and hid for two years, and was later captured by Kamehameha and killed. This signified the end of war and the entire island of Hawaii were unified and enjoyed peace under the reign of Kamehameha. Kamehameha used the rule of law based on the traditional religion to control the island, and one of the majo r laws in place was the rule of the splintering paddle.4 The rule stated that punishment for robbery and murder was death by the paddle in public. Not new to treachery, Kamehameha kept his chiefs near his court as he closely observed them. 5 George Vancouver, a British emissary to North West coast became a great friend to Kamehameha and eventually Kamehameha ceded Hawaii to British rule. Kamehameha had to restructure his government to be in accordance to the British Empire demands; on the agreement, the British Empire was not to interfere with the running of the islands. Kamehameha had to seek advice from two of the British counsels in

E-Commerce Challenges and Solutions Research Paper

E-Commerce Challenges and Solutions - Research Paper Example The author of the essay "E-Commerce Challenges and Solutions" begins with that E-Commerce is the cutting edge for today’s business. It is a modern business style which deals with the needs of organizations and consumers. E-Commerce helps to reduce the costs, develop the quality of goods and raise the speed of delivery. It is related with buying or selling products and information through internet. Nowadays, business institutions want the flexibility for changing business partners, platform and network at their will. Organizations want to form unique business strategy which includes creating a personal electronic communication to customers, suppliers, distributors and competitors for upgrading the effectiveness of their business communication. It will lead the organizations to increase market share, maintain long term viability in today’s business condition. It will help to exchange valuable information to customers constantly. E-Commerce enables business organizations t o exchange valuable information related to business and their offerings among their continuously varying sets of consumers. E-Commerce offers organizations opportunity to perform online business activities as well as utilize it as an integrated marketing with promotional tool in order to increase the sales. E-Commerce provides an option of efficient processing of orders from consumers. E-commerce as a powerful tool has an insurmountable importance and organizations on a worldwide basis have started to recognize its significance as a cutting edge technology. (eCommerceProgram, 2007). Ethical Challenges of E-Commerce There are certain ethical issues regarding internet marketing and E-Commerce, which are described below: Privacy Issue Business organizations using E-Commerce should keep in mind that the customer’s personal information must be safe. This will help to build the trust of the customer in the field of safety and security of e-business and also to maintain the honesty of the organization (Botha, 2004). The ‘power of information technology’ to store as well as retrieve information often has harmful effect on the privacy of consumers. Several companies at times monitor the confidential emails of employees. Every time a person visits ‘World Wide Web’ the personal information about that person may be stored by the use of ‘C ookie’. At times several secret information of government bureaus, credit organizations or private business organizations are misused which can result in invasion of privacy or fraud. Computer Crimes Internet is an easy tool for committing crimes. Any person can commit crime by using the tools of internet. It is a

Justice within Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Justice within Business - Essay Example This allusion to the new Testament teaching to do unto others as one would have done unto oneself places a moral context to the description. Mandeville will describe a group of people who are basically dishonest They are full of those who have "conceal'd" defects within the products they are selling, or who sell their "Ware beyond their Worth:. Here is the basic principle that a businessman seems to adhere to according to Mandeville: making a profit at any cost, whether the means are honest or otherwise. In the story of Decio and Alcander, Mandeville showswhat complications may occur when two equally dishonest businessmen attempt to take advantage of the other. In many ways there is no "right" or "wrong" within this story but rather kind of Machiavellian story of the manipulation of one person by another (Machiavelli, 1982). The story of the buyer and the seller of sugar both attempting to manipulate the other in order to get eh best price possible for what they consider to be the situation is both funny and revealing. The fact they both will use "inside information" to attempt to deceive the other is a common practice today as much as it was in the Renaissance period. The irony that "both understood the market very well" and yet also seem to have been self-deceived as to the surety of what they are hearing is wonderful. Alcander hears that a large shipment of sugar is about to come from the Indies and so realizes that the price is about to fall and thus seeks to remove Decio from knowledge of it. Decio of course hears that the fleet has in fact sunk, and so the prices are expected to increase 25%. Both men attempt to manipulate the other, and are essentially portrayed as rather skilled actors. So "how desirous soever he was to sell, the other was yet more eager to buy; yet both of them afraid of one another, for a considerable time, counterfeited all the Indifference imaginable". There is an element of gamesmanship present within the businessmen as Mandeville describes them. They appear to enjoy the cheating and manipulation that is part and parcel of the business world that they inhabit. Neither is influenced by conscience in any way. 2) Discuss how persons with such a character has reason to act fairly (appendix b) With characteristic irony and pragmatism, Hume tackles the question of how the "knave" should act in particular situations and also as a general rule. Hume states that the idea "that honesty is the best policy, may be a good general rule, but is liable to exceptions". The knave has a reason to act fairly when his specific circumstances mean that he will gain the most through doing so. Thus the knave will observe the "general rule" whenever possible, as this is the safest course within life and people will think well of him. But when the "exceptions" arise, as they often seem to do within Hume's observations, he should take advantage of them. To be simple, a knave will only act fairly when it is in his best interests to do so. A Kantian prism may help in understanding how fairness can possible occur among such apparently selfish and purely individualistic people. Kant's idea of the categorical

Criminal Justice System College Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Criminal Justice System College - Essay Example Indeed, as early as mid-1990's criminal justice constituents such as law firms, independent lawyers, national agencies and law enforcement personnel have had an eye on emerging potentials of Internet and computer not only as tools for cost effectiveness and performance enhancement but also as tools for wider community awareness and decision making. A 1997 keynote speech by Jeremy Travis - Director of National Institute of Justice Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences - for example, has addressed, among other issues, IT question as of deep impact on criminal justice and law enforcement practices ("Technology in Criminal Justice"). Specifically, With the click of a mouse, we can enter the libraries of the research institutions of the world, retrieve a document in foreign language, have it translated into English, and print it in our home. Police officers responding to a 911 call can access the crime history of a particular location [online], check the background of a particular suspect using fingerprints, fill out what we used to call paperwork in the squad car by using a hand-sized computer, and return to patrol. ... Probation officers can track the movements of probationers using electronic monitoring devices; victims of domestic violence or stalking can be alerted when monitored individuals get within a specified range; community groups can access computerized crime maps to understand the patterns of crime and disorder in their neighborhoods; investigators can quickly scan hundreds of databases to learn about the most intimate details of people under investigation. (Travis) This is apt ultimately, according to Travis, to spread knowledge and awareness about crime and justice within and between constituents. Interestingly, new breeds of law firms have been emerging specifically offering advice on retrieval of electronic legal data as well as training for law enforcement personnel on managing electronic resources. According to one authority - Michael Arkfeld - on electronic document retention, discovery, production and admissibility of electronic information, Arizona has been a leading state in providing Internet access to justice system data, forms and legal tools to citizens and practitioners free of charge. Moreover, State Bar of Arizona has provided fully searchable ethics opinions as of 1985 online as well as an online facility for clients to locate lawyers by last or first name, firm/organization, practice area, area of specialization, section membership, language spoken, city, or state. Arkfeld suggests a range of ideas for a more effective crime and justice system such as settlement and pretrial conferences on-line, ordering court documents over Internet, electronic filing, actual court documents searchable on-line, witness appearances via Internet, e-mail DATA MANAGEMENT ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 5 notification of court orders, jury

Report on Tesco location Essay Example for Free

Report on Tesco location Essay Introduction For the last six months I have been carrying out a thorough investigation into the suitability of a superstore in Slough. In this report I have outlined most of the key factors in this report that could contribute to the success of a superstore in Slough. Trading Estate Slough currently has the second largest trading estate in Europe, which employs over 25,000 people. Due to this there is a very high employment rate in Slough: Unemployment between 2000 2500 people (this equates to 3%) is amongst the lowest in the country. The very high employment rate in Slough means the public has a lot more spending power. This is why there is such high business activity in Slough which can only be beneficial for Tesco as they will be much more likely to get higher sales and profit. The trading estate is also reason to many people commuting into Slough regularly; Tesco could be the shop they pop into on the way home. The trading estate shows that Slough isnt a developing area rather it is a well-developed industrial area with a well-established and healthy economy, consisting of high business activity. This is one of the reasons it is a rich prosperous area, which is ideal to invest in. The Trading Estate also means that a lot of people travel into the town regularly because of the massive number of jobs available and over 32% of these jobs come from the trading estate. I believe that the number of jobs the Trading Estate currently offers is a huge benefactor to the existence of a superstore in Slough. The spending power is very high in this town and mainly due to the trading estate, there is a gap in this market in Slough and I believe Tesco should act quickly to saturate it. Ever Increasing Population Over the last 10 years the population of Slough has been increasing hugely because of interchangeable factors consisting of its closeness to London, as it is only 20 miles away. Slough Population 106600 108100 110400 112400 114500 116000 117200 117700 118600 119001 Year 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Above is a table showing the increase in population in Slough from 1992 2001. One of the main causes for this increase as mentioned before is the closeness to the capital, London. House prices are generally much cheaper in Slough in comparison to London and because of the little distance between the two areas, many people live in Slough and look to commute into London. As well the cheaper house prices, Slough also provides a much lower cost of living whereas London is one of the most expensive places to live in the world. In addition to this the commuters are also benefited by the fact that Slough has a lot of transport links including Bus Train stations as well as being next to the motorway. A highlight of the transport from Slough to London is that an Intercity train leaves every 15 minutes in the morning and it takes 20 minutes from Slough to Paddington. Furthermore due to the massive increase of population in Slough companies like Kingsow, Barrats and Redrow have developed and built over 2000 homes in Slough. This shows how Slough is still expanding and is a very good prospect to invest into. Due to these companies there has been huge developments in housing estates in Slough an example of this is Windsor Meadows which has been developed and accommodates much more families and as we, Tesco sell an everyday consumer product, this can only benefit us. The increasing population also relates to the amount of jobs currently offered by Slough. Slough currently provides 78,000 jobs The fact that Slough currently provides 78,000 jobs is astonishing and it is one of the key factors for so much people seeking residence in the town, attracting people from all over the country. I believe that the increase of the population is very positive and convincing. I am therefore led to believe that the population will further increase, increasing the necessity to many for a supermarket providing food and drink, Tesco. Competition Another favourable aspect of opening a superstore in Slough is the lack of competition in the area. The nearest competitor for Tesco is Sainsburys, which is around 3 miles away from the Tesco store, and it is very small in comparison to the Tesco store. The only other competitor in the Slough area is Asda which is around 3 miles away from the Tesco store and tucked away in a housing estate. This demonstrates the real lack of competition in the area and shows how easy it is for Tesco to take over the Slough supermarket share. As well as the lack of competition there is no real superstore in Slough or in any surrounding town for that matter, this will help Tesco to capture the public of Maidenhead, Marlow and Windsor etc. as well as the Slough public. This is another reason why a Tesco superstore would have no problem coping with any competition as there isnt another superstore for miles. Due to these two factors in competition, I can conclude that there is minimal risk of the investment into a superstore into Slough. I can also say that I would completely expect Tesco to get a brilliant return on their investment; it would help us to meet our Aims and Objectives and strive towards becoming a bigger and better company. I hope the information enclosed in this report is of use to you and I truly hope you decide to invest into such a prosperous location that can only take the company forward. If you should require any further information please do not hesitate to contact me.

The History And Background On Martha Graham

The History And Background On Martha Graham Martha Graham, the outstanding 20th century dancer, choreographer and teacher was born on May 11, 1894 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as one among the three daughters of George and Jane Beers Graham (Martha Graham, 2010). During her life time she spent most of her decisive years on the west coast region. Media have often regarded Martha Graham as one of the well recognized dancers and choreographers ever lived in America. Martha Grahams father was a psychiatrist who concentrated much in his study and analysis of physical movement. He was a third generation American of Irish descent and her mother Jane Beers was one of the tenth generations of puritan Miles Standish. Dr. Graham and family had a high standard living because of the negotiable salary they saved from their works. The Graham family had a reputed position in the society on account of their high standard living and good educational background. From the very tender age itself, Martha had the support of her family in matters rela ted to education and career opportunities. Though her family was ever ready to provide her excellent guidance in education, Martha preferred her career as a dancing performer-disapproving her parents wish. After the completion of her educational career from Cumnock School, a junior college, she enrolled in the Denishawn Studio, a dancing school operated by Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn (1891-1972) (Martha Graham, 2010). Analysing the biographical note of Martha, it is identfiable that after getting enrolled in Denishawn Studio, she devoted herself entirely for dancing and choreography. She married dancer Erick Hawkins in 1948 but their marriage proved to be failure and divorced in 1954. Later, as we see, she became proficient in dancing and tried her best to attain the highest position in this field. She focused her attention essentially in performing arts and practiced much by contributing her own methods to dancing. She tried her preeminent to open the new way for modern dance. Special attraction/feature of her dancing Martha Graham was a wonderful performer and good choreographer in America. Her choreography is very surprising and amazing to viewers that she created new style of body movements and facial expressions. While observing Marthas performances, it is well evident that she always attempted to expose real passion and human experiences which helped her to stand aloof from other performers of her time. Martha Grahams dance has often been compared to Picassos painting and Stravinskys music, and so on. One may not feel it as an exaggeration to reveal that her choreography and dance performances are incredibly attractive and stunning. Her contributions have transformed to different art forms which exerted notable influence in changing the old method of dancing. Marthas innovative style of dancing has paved the way for expanding the style of word around dancing. She expressed herself very liberally and truthfully in almost all her dance performances. It was the sincere attempt from her part to d evelop dancing profession resulted for the establishment of Martha Graham Dance Company in 1926 (Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance, 2006). As her profession was dancing, she could compose many dance programs. Her dance company offers support to the entire American dance students by including other brilliant dance teachers also in her dance troupe. Freedman (1998) rightly enlists Grahams performance when he writes, Graham invented a revolutionary new language of dance, an original way of moving that she use to reveal the joy, passions, and sorrows common to all human experience. She had a genius for connecting movement with emotion. Martha Graham is not only a resourceful dancer but also an excellent choreographer. Graham created new trends and attractive style for dancing by reminding the fact that dancing has significant role in society as a pure method of entertainment. Dance is a one of the important and transitory forms of expression. Martha Graham attempted to convey her ideas so naturally and translated these ideas to expression with facial and body movements. Graham strongly believed that body and facial expressions must be there in an excellent dance. Graham controlled her body movements and facial expressions with music. These movements attracted the attention of many modern observers and as such, they accepted this new style and recognized this performance as a modern dance. A good dance performer should be capable of creating different types expressions on his/her face. The idea produced by the dancing body can include physical identity and physical representations of thoughts. So Martha Grahams new style of dancing can be considered as a representation and result of her thoughts. The performer and choreographer Martha Graham produced different gestures images, stances and poses. She had also included the physical representation of the feelings, moods and impulses. These styles or movements attracted a great deal of audience. Marthas Dance is a real representation of her personality- expression, and it conveyed different messages. Majority of the modern and traditional dancing forms tell a story which clearly coveyed the observer a message. Choreographer Martha Graham expressed her ideas in different ways and in different style. Thus one can infer that most of her performances were self expressive and self explanatory. During her life span, Graham had composed and presented a large number of dance programs. Her 180 dancing performances in America within the period of fifty years acknowledge this fact. She had won many awards and achievements. Some of them include the Kennedy Center Honors in 1978, the French Legion of Honor in 1984 and presidential Medal of Freedom in 1976. She could maintain her status as a good dancer and choreographer till the end of her life. Her last dance performance, Maple Leaf Rag presented in 1990, a year before her death, was also a grant success. It is such grant performances that earned her the name, 20th century revolutionary artist. She has exerted a significant influence in relieving the dance form from the traditional methods or concepts, presented with comparatively dawdling movements. 20th century dance forms are fast and it also tells the theoretical form of the story instead of merely retelling a story. Contribution to dancing Graham had given remarkable contribution to dancing field by developing distinctive style of training. She founded Martha Graham Dance Company, one of the oldest modern dance groups in America, which provides the best training for new generation dancers and choreographers. Martha Grahams new techniques and modern methods are really helpful to create classical ballet in the world. She avoided traditional and old methods, techniques and steps of classical ballet. Then her dancing form of classical ballet includes natural motion and music. She established different type style of dancing such as mobile scenery, symbolic props, and etc. Vision of the Apocalypse is the first large group piece of Martha Graham and it was performed in 1929. Other remarkable contributions are Dance Repertory Theater in New York in 1930 and Bennington School of Arts in Vermont, and so on. Her students and her co-worker helped to spread her ideas and style in the rest of the world. What was her inspiration? Though there are different things that attracted Graham to dancing, the most important among them were the classical mythologies she read. Other inspirations are the American past, biblical stories, historical figures, contemporary social problems, poems, stories, and so on. These motivations really helped her to develop new ideas and thoughts. These inspirations facilitate to found new music and gradually she won in her attempts to bring out new movements to express her own ideas.

Strategies of Performance Management in the Workplace

Strategies of Performance Management in the Workplace Human Resource Management (HRM) is a function in an organization that focuses on recruitment and management, providing direction for the people who work in the organization. HRM can be performed by line managers as well. HRM is a function that deals with issues within the organization related with its workers such as hiring; matching available human resources to jobs, appraisal; performance management, rewards; the reward system is one of the most under-utilized and mishandled managerial tools for driving organizational performance, organization development; developing high quality employees, employee issues; compensation, safety, benefits, wellness, employee motivation, training, communication and administration. The overall purpose of human resource management is to ensure that the organization is able to increase its success through its employees. As Ulrich and Lake (1990) say: ‘HRM systems can be the source of organizational capabilities that allow firms to learn and capitalize on new opportunities. HRM is expected to bring more efficiency in some areas which is shown in below. Organizational effectiveness: ‘Distinctive human resource practices shape the core competencies that determine how firms compete Capelli and Crocker-Hefter (1996). This drastic research has shown that such practices can make a significant impact on company performance. HRM strategies aim to supports the practices in the company for improving effectiveness by developing methods in such areas as knowledge management, talent management and generally creating a perfect place for workers. Human capital management: The human capital of an organization consists on the people who work in that company and on whom the company depends. Bontis et al (1999) defined human capital management as; human capital represents the human factor in the organization; the combined intelligence, skills and expertise that give the organization its distinctive character. The human elements of the organization are those that are capable of learning, changing, innovating and proving the creative thrust which if properly motivated can ensure the long-term survival of the organization. Knowledge Management: ‘Knowledge management is any process or practice of creating, acquiring, capturing, sharing and using knowledge, whenever it resides to enhance learning and performance in organizations (Scarborough et al, 1999). HRM enables supporting the developments of an organization specifically the knowledge and skills which are the practices of organizational processes. Reward Management: HRM aims to enhance the motivation, job engagement and commitment by introducing the employees that they are valued and rewarded for their work performances and achievements also the levels of their skills and competences that they reach. Employee Relations: The aim is in employee interactions to create a great work climate which increases the productivity and harmonious within the organization. HRM also supports enhancing through partnerships between management and employees and their trade unions. A common substance within the HRM literature in recent years has been designed to achieve high levels of employee flexibility, commitment and performance. Human resource practices are located in a much more direct relationship with organizational policy making and performance issues than traditional approaches to personnel management (Bach and Sisson, 2000). More and more, the management of change is seen like permanent function of businesses to improve the effectiveness and maintain organizations adaptable to the competitive market. Many organizations strategically employ the change to improve the effectiveness of organization. But to bring the successful change of the condition of competition of today requires pensive planning, the effective communication and the acceptance of the employees. In this context there has been discussion about the alleged strategic contribution of HRM to the actual processes of change. This is dominated by the accounts of positivist which treat the organization while a concrete entity and practices as regards HRM as being relatively easily definable and measurable (Delaney and Huselid, 1996). Changes are occurring today that are requiring human resource managers to play an increasingly central role in managing companies. These changes or trends include globalization, changes in the nature of work, and technology. This research allows for a wider understanding of the role of HRM in change processes. A great number of questions were identified as having the negative impact on effective change management. Some of the principal topics are identified below, which cover the questions of organization and individual resistance to the change. Various initiatives of change are not always undertaken as an element of a broader logical change plan, for example by considering linkages between the strategy, the structure and the questions of systems. Consequently a change which considers a new structure but does not establish the fact that they must present new systems to support such a structure is less to succeed. The lack of effective disciplines and project management of programs can lead to ice-skating in synchronizations, in the achievement of the wished results, by making sure that the projects deliver as envisaged. The insufficient and relevant training, for example in the project management, change management qualifications, leadership qualifications can all carry out negatively on the effectiveness of any initiative of change. The poor communication was related to the questions surrounding the effectiveness in carrying out the effective change in various ways. For example, the imposed change can lead to a greater resi stance of the employees. In conclusion, the lack of effective leadership was identified like effective inhibitor of change. The resistance to change can be defined as an individual or groups beginning in the acts to block or disturb an attempt to present the change. Resistance itself can take many forms different from the mining subtle of the change initiatives, refusal of information to active resistance (via strikes). The resistance to change can be considered along various dimensions: Passive versus active, direct versus indirect, individual versus collective, behavioural versus verbal or attitudinal, minor versus major. Similarly two broad types of resistance can be considered: Resistance to the introduction of a particular reward system and to the content of change (for example to a specific change in technology) Resistance to the process of the change: This relates to the manner that a change is presented rather than the object of the change intrinsically. For example, management restructure work, without pre-consultation of the affected employees. Management need to be aware of these various criteria to ensure they respond suitably. Stated reasons for resistance are: Shock of new, loss of control, inconvenience, uncertainty, competence fears, and threat to status. It is important to try to diagnose the cause of the resistance of the employees which this will help to determine the centre of the effort in trying to remove/reduce the issue. In practice, the management of diversity comprises forced and voluntary actions. For example, there are many legally forced measurements that the employers must take to the minimum to reduce discrimination at the time of recruitment. But while such forced actions can reduce the more obvious barriers of diversity, by mixing a various labour in a closely bound community and productive also require other stages. Such a control program of diversity usually means to begin from top, as follows. Provide Strong Leadership: The companies with exemplary reputations in the diversity of management typically have CEOs who support the advantages of diversity. For example, they take the strong positions on recommending the need for and the advantages of a diverse workforce, and act as models of role for the behaviour of pro-diversity of exemplification, as by promoting even-handedly employees. Assess the Situation: The control program of diversity itself starts typically with the company evaluating the progress achieved running with regard to diversity. In particular, how much various we are, and are there diversity-related questions which we must address? The common tools here include the equal and metric use of hiring and conservation, investigations of attitude of the employees, evaluations of management and employees, and focus groups (Patricia Digh, 1999). Provide Diversity Training and Education: To assume the evaluation indicates questions the needs for company to address, a certain type of program of change is in rule. This frequently implies a certain type of the staff training and program of education, for example by having employees discuss with the expert trainers the values of diversity and the types of the behaviours and damages which can undermine it (Robert Grossman, 2000). The formation of diversity often aims sensitizing all the employees with the need for evaluating differences and for creating the self-esteem, and at building generally more without jolt an operation and a hospital environment for the various labour of the company Change Culture and Management Systems: To reinforce the formation, the needs for management also to reinforce the words of the formation with contracts. In the best of the cases, combine the training schemes with other concrete stages aimed by changing the values of the organization, the culture, and the systems of management. For example, change the plan of allowance to motivate directors points for the attitudes investigation of the employees conflict in intergroup to improve their attitude survey scores. Evaluate the Diversity Management Program: For example, do the surveys of employee attitude now show any improvements in employees manners to the diversity? By creating control programs of diversity, do not be unaware of the obvious questions. For example, the immigrants being exerted in their mother languages can facilitate to learn and ensure conformity the subjects such as rules of safety and policies of harassing, and thus relieve their entry in your labour (Carol Hastings, 2002). The resistance of supervisor is another issue. One of the large British retailer found in their study that typical diversity prescriptions like â€Å"recognize and respond to individual differences† conflicted with the supervisors tendency to treat people even-handedly in the organization (Foster and Harris, 2005). Does it pay to invest the time and the resources of the employer by widening the diversity, and setting its employees to work together more harmoniously? The blatant answer would be ‘yes. IBM created several minority task forces focusing on group such as woman and Native Americans. In ensuring a decade or more, the task forces have expended IBMs multicultural markets. For example, somebody decided to focus on expanding IBMs market amongst multicultural and woman-owned business. As a result of that, this market has grown from $10 million to more than $300 million in revenue in just 3 years (David Thomas, 2004). Longo Toyota in El Monte, California, built its competitive strategy on diversity (Richard Orlando 1995). In regard to 60-person sales- force that can speak more than 20 languages, Longos employees provide a great rivalry advantage for serving a progressively diverse customer base. The human resources department of Longo accordingly has much to do with strategic success of Longo (J. T. Childs Jr., 2005). A survey of 113 MBA job seekers showed that women and ethnic minorities have seen diversity management to be important when accepting job offers (Eddy Ng and Bu rke, 2005). Furthermore, a recent study showed that â€Å"few positive or negative direct effects of diversity on performance,† so presenting an effective diversity program seems to be key point (Thomas Kochen et al 2003). How one can it indicate if the diversity initiatives are effective? There are some questions of good direction to ask: Are there women and minorities reporting directly to the senior executive? Do the women and the minorities have a fair equal opportunity to access for the international tasks? Do the women and the minorities have an equitable part of the tasks of work which are their traditional stepping-stones to the successful careers within the company? Does the employer take measurements (including evaluations of execution directed by development and to provide developmental occasions) which ensure the female and of the minority candidates will be in the drain of the professional life development in the company? Are the rates of sales turnover for directors for female and minority same or they are lower than those for the white male directors (Bill Leonard, 2002)? Even for a company with several hundreds of employees, to maintain such metric is expensive. The director of HR therefore may want to count on various automated solutions. One of those packages â€Å"Measuring Diversity Results† provides to directors of HR several diversity-related options of software aimed amplifying the exactitude of information at the disposal of the director, and reducing the costs to gather it and compile. In the other packages in suppliers diversity management which let the director more easily calculate: the cost by hiring of diversity; an index of profile of labour; numerical impact of the voluntary sales turnover among the various groups of the employees; effectiveness of the initiatives of diversity of the supplier of the company [employment]; current measurements of diversity; and the things such as direct as a replacement cost direct per hiring. The concept of the reengineering again traces its origins with the developed theories of management for the purpose of reengineering is to maximising all the processes to best-in-class. Frederick Taylor suggested in the 1880s, managers use such reengineering methods for discovering the best processes to carry out work, and these processes are reengineered to optimize the productivity. BPR shows the classical thought that the tasks were conducted with only one way. In Taylors time, technology was not enough high for big companies to create processes in a cross-functional or cross-departmental attitude. Specialization was the method of the last cry to improve the effectiveness given technology of time. (Lloyd, Tom, 1994) In the 1900s, Henri Fayol inspired the concept of reengineering: To lead the company towards its objectives while seeking to derive the optimum advantage from all the resources available. Although the technological resources of our age changed, the concept is always held. Meanwhile, the other business engineer, Lyndall Urwick stated It is not enough to hold people accountable for certain activities, it is also essential to delegate to them the necessary authority to discharge that responsibility. (Lloyd, Tom, Giant, Clay, 1994) This remonstrance announces the idea of the enabling of workman who is central with the reengineering. Nowadays, some of the successful business corporations around the world seem to be hit upon a great solution: Business Process Reengineering. However, it may be highly likely to fail in reengineering process unless the demonstration of how to reengineer the human resource in conjunction with reengineering processes is made clearly. In order to collision these tendencies, the top management must provide a perpetual information flow throughout the organization according to reengineering successes and expectations, and revised the job evaluation system to impress on the new values of team work and co-operation. When speaking about processes importance as most of the companies have their charts, they must also be dealing with what is called process road map for a picture to show how the work will be going through the company. This picture will provide some tools and methodologies to identify the companys actual business process and also which can be used to be a road map when implementing a reengineering process of products and business enterprise service functions. It can be a critical link that reengineering team of the companies can apply for a better understanding and sharply develop the companies business processes and bottom-line efficiency. The processes that they are taken mapped and identified, deciding on what needs to be reengineered, and in what operation million pounds will be invested important questions. Companies are not willing to take up disagreeable task of reengineering all the processes at the same time. Usually company decisions based on three criteria: Feasibility: wha t are the processes that have the highest possibility to be successful in reengineering process? Importance: what are the most accurate and efficient terms based on customer satisfaction? Dysfunction: what processes are not functioning as it is expected (Hammer,M., Champy.J, 1993)? If you fail to plan, you plan to fail (http://www.ecademy.com). Both processes Planning and Preparation are essential factors for any implementation to success it as well as reengineering process requires these factors. Before starting for reengineering, the question must be asked if BPR is necessary. When there is a significant need for the reengineering process, the confirmation of this need indicates the starting of the Preparation activity. This activity starts with the improvement of the executive consensus on the importance of the reengineering and the bond between the business goals and the projects of reengineering. A mandate for the change is produced and a cross-functional calculus team is established with a plan for the process of the reengineering. While training the cross-functional calculus team, measurements should be taken to make sure that the company continues to function in the absence of several principal players. Because the typical projects of BPR comprise the c o-operation cross-functional calculus and the crucial changes with the status quo, it is difficult to lead planning for the changes of organization without strategic direction starting from the top. The impact of the environmental changes which are used the impulse for the effort as reengineering must also be considered by establishing directives for the project of reengineering. Another factor that is important to consider while establishing the strategic goals for the effort of reengineering process is to include/understand the hopes of your customers and where your existing process is missing to answer these requirements. Having an identification of the objectives led by customer, the mission or the report/ratio of vision is formulated. The vision which company believes and wants to carry out when made a well defined vision will support the resolution of a company by the effort of the process of reengineering. The company believes in a vision and wants to achieve its success in t he future and in additional the company can resolve the stress through operations of sustaining the reengineering process. Training programs for the workers must be included within the preparation phase in order to clarify the job clearance to let workers to understand their duty to harmonize with the reengineering process of the company. Performance review is also a vital part to be monitored of the company whilst implementing a reengineering process. There are two important things which have to be monitored; first is the action progress and the results. The action progress is measured while seeing how much more peoples feeling informed, how much more engagement the management shows and at which point the teams of change are accepted from the broader point of view for the organization. This can be carried out by leading investigations of survey attitude. As monitoring the results, the monitoring should include measurements such as attitudes of the employees, perceptions of customer , answer of supplier etc. The communication is reinforced in all the organization, the measurement continuous is launched, reviewing teams execution against the well defined targets is made and a loop of feedback which placed to the top of 5 where the process re-analysed that re-organized and re-mapped. Therefore the improvement of this efficiency is made sure by a system of execution track and an application of the qualifications of the problems resolution. â€Å"The human resources function can help the organization develop the capability to weather the changes that will continue to be part of the organizational landscape. It can help with the ongoing learning processes required to assess the impact of change and enable the organization to make corrections and enhancements to the change. It can help the organization develop a new psychological contract and ways to give employees a stake in the changes that are occurring and in the performance of the organization (Mohrman and Lawler 1998).† Human resource activities that are involved when implementing reengineering process as follows: The formation is ineffective if the trainee misses of capacity or motivation to draw benefit from it. In terms of capacity, the trainee needs inter alia qualifications required for reading, writing and mathematics and needed the base of knowledge and intelligence, level of education. The effective selection of the employees is obviously important here. Some employers use miniature work training to introduce it for the new potential trainees. Sample tasks from training program of the firm involved by it to support ensure who will or not will carry on the training program (Wexley, Latham, 2002). The employer can have several measurements to increase the motivation of the trainee to learn. The municipalities functioning undertaking programs of education know that there is often more efficiently to obtain the attention of a student only by presenting in form graphs a filmed automatic accident. In other words, start the formation by making the material meaningful. For example, show why it is important, provide an overall picture of the material, and employ the familiar examples to illustrate the key points. Presenting opportunities to practice, and letting the trainee make errors also improve the motivation and the study (Wexley, Latham, 2002). Feedback including/understanding periodic evaluations of execution and criticisms verbal more frequent is also important. Performance management means taking an integrated, goal oriented approach to assigning, training, assessing and rewarding employees performance. Taking a performance management approach to training means that the training effort must make sense in terms of what the company wants each employee to contribute to achieving the companys goals. These emphases on strategic, performance management oriented training help explain why training is booming. Companies spent about $826 per employee for training in one recent year and offered each about 28 hours of training (American Salesman, Jan 2004). Training has a fairly impressive record of influencing organizational effectiveness, scoring higher than appraisal and feedback and feedback and just below goal setting in its effect on productivity (Bulletinto, 2002). One survey found that ‘establishing a linkage between learning and organizational performance was the number one pressing issue facing training professionals (DeViney, Sugrue, 2004). Training experts today increasingly use the phrase ‘work place learning and performance in lieu of training to underscore trainings dual aims dual aims of employee learning and organizational performance (Brenda Sugrue, 2005). Since several studies on a large scale showed that HRM is a critical conductive in the financial execution of an organization, it is imperative so that the HR and other chiefs include/understand critical nature and the greatest importance of arrangement the effectiveness of all the activities of HR by creating the value for the organization. It is only by the measurement of HRM that one can really articulate the advantages of the strategies of HR by carrying out the marketing strategy of the organization and in the process increase the credibility of the profession of HR. The profession of HR is at the joint where the measurement of HRs efforts is not simply a nice thing to make, but should be an integral part of the HR departments efforts. There will be people who would resist naturally this important aspect of HR, but by giving particular lessons, while forming, and the practice, the expertise will be developed and by finally improving their execution and the effectiveness of the function of HR. It is only by such efforts that HR can validate that is a strategic associate and a department with value added in the organization.

Pearl Harbor Essay -- World War II WWII

Bombing of Pearl Harbor World War II was a war that everyone will remember and will be remembered for many years to come. It could even be said that it killed more people, destroyed more property, and had far more reaching effects than any other war in history. New technologies were used in the war, such as the Atomic bomb, which opened up the nuclear age. Pearl Harbor was one of those events that will never be forgotten by Americans. Pearl Harbor was especially memorable to America because that caused us to get involved in the war and it outraged everyone in the country. The United States played a key role in the war. The bombing of Pearl Harbor was a major turning point in World War II. The United States planned not to get involved in the war. The majority of the population in the country thought we should stay out of the war and remain neutral, although most American hoped that the Allies would be victorious. The Allies consisted of 50 different countries by the end of the war. The United States, Soviet Union, China, and Great Britain were among the Allies. Germany, Italy, and Japan made up the alliance known as the Axis. Six other nations joined the Axis later in the war. In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced the neutrality of the United States after the war had started. Roosevelt and other interventionists wanted to aid other Allie nations in fighting the Axis. Isolationists opposed the UNITED STATES aid to warring nations. Roosevelt was then accused of steering the UNITED STATES into a war they were not prepared to fight. Roosevelt’s strategy to defeat the Axis was to equip the nation, fight the Axis with ships, tanks, aircrafts and other war technologies. The whole situation of Pearl Harbor started in 1940; the Japanese forces were in China. The Chinese government leader, Chiang Kai-Shek and his government fled to central China. To force China to surrender, Japan cut off Chinas supplies reaching Southeast Asia to China. Japan also wanted the resources of Southeast Asia to themselves. Japan began building an empire called the Great Asia Co.- Prosperity Sphere. The United States opposed Japans expansion. Then in 1941 the Japanese began moving into Northern Indochina. The United States responded by cutting exports to Japan. This was very bad for Japan because the Japanese industries heavily relied on scrap metal, petroleum, and ot... ...rican people. It was desirable to make sure that the Japanese would be the ones to do this so that there should remain no doubt in any ones mind as to who were the aggressors†Ã¢â‚¬ . (Cavendish, 643). By Roosevelt saying this it makes him seem like he has control over human life. I think that Roosevelt did have a role to play in causing the bombing of Pearl Harbor but IM not for sure. In conclusion, the bombing of Pearl Harbor was a memorable event for Americans. The Allied forces benefited greatly from the United States involvement in The Allied forces later went on to win the war. The United States World War II involvement insured the Allied victory concluding that the bombing of Pearl Harbor was a major turning point in the war. Work Cited Cavendish Publishing Limited, America and Pearl Harbor, New York: Cavendish Press, 1986 Internet. 2001. Http//: www.letsfindout.com/Pearl Harbor May 19, 2001 Internet 2001. Http//: www.USWars.com/roadtopearlharbor. May 19,2001 Pearl Harbor’s History, Filmstrip Rice, Robert. The Pearl Harbor Story. Los Angeles: Van Rees Press, 1990 Wisniewski, Paul. Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial. New York: Citadel Press, 1999 Pearl Harbor Essay -- World War II WWII Bombing of Pearl Harbor World War II was a war that everyone will remember and will be remembered for many years to come. It could even be said that it killed more people, destroyed more property, and had far more reaching effects than any other war in history. New technologies were used in the war, such as the Atomic bomb, which opened up the nuclear age. Pearl Harbor was one of those events that will never be forgotten by Americans. Pearl Harbor was especially memorable to America because that caused us to get involved in the war and it outraged everyone in the country. The United States played a key role in the war. The bombing of Pearl Harbor was a major turning point in World War II. The United States planned not to get involved in the war. The majority of the population in the country thought we should stay out of the war and remain neutral, although most American hoped that the Allies would be victorious. The Allies consisted of 50 different countries by the end of the war. The United States, Soviet Union, China, and Great Britain were among the Allies. Germany, Italy, and Japan made up the alliance known as the Axis. Six other nations joined the Axis later in the war. In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced the neutrality of the United States after the war had started. Roosevelt and other interventionists wanted to aid other Allie nations in fighting the Axis. Isolationists opposed the UNITED STATES aid to warring nations. Roosevelt was then accused of steering the UNITED STATES into a war they were not prepared to fight. Roosevelt’s strategy to defeat the Axis was to equip the nation, fight the Axis with ships, tanks, aircrafts and other war technologies. The whole situation of Pearl Harbor started in 1940; the Japanese forces were in China. The Chinese government leader, Chiang Kai-Shek and his government fled to central China. To force China to surrender, Japan cut off Chinas supplies reaching Southeast Asia to China. Japan also wanted the resources of Southeast Asia to themselves. Japan began building an empire called the Great Asia Co.- Prosperity Sphere. The United States opposed Japans expansion. Then in 1941 the Japanese began moving into Northern Indochina. The United States responded by cutting exports to Japan. This was very bad for Japan because the Japanese industries heavily relied on scrap metal, petroleum, and ot... ...rican people. It was desirable to make sure that the Japanese would be the ones to do this so that there should remain no doubt in any ones mind as to who were the aggressors†Ã¢â‚¬ . (Cavendish, 643). By Roosevelt saying this it makes him seem like he has control over human life. I think that Roosevelt did have a role to play in causing the bombing of Pearl Harbor but IM not for sure. In conclusion, the bombing of Pearl Harbor was a memorable event for Americans. The Allied forces benefited greatly from the United States involvement in The Allied forces later went on to win the war. The United States World War II involvement insured the Allied victory concluding that the bombing of Pearl Harbor was a major turning point in the war. Work Cited Cavendish Publishing Limited, America and Pearl Harbor, New York: Cavendish Press, 1986 Internet. 2001. Http//: www.letsfindout.com/Pearl Harbor May 19, 2001 Internet 2001. Http//: www.USWars.com/roadtopearlharbor. May 19,2001 Pearl Harbor’s History, Filmstrip Rice, Robert. The Pearl Harbor Story. Los Angeles: Van Rees Press, 1990 Wisniewski, Paul. Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial. New York: Citadel Press, 1999

The McCarthy Period :: Joseph McCarthy McCarthyism Communism

The McCarthy Period As a result of the "Red Scare" from the Cold War between the USA and the Soviet Union, Americans were concerned that Communists were threatening their country from within. Senator Joseph McCarthy, operating under the House Un-American Activities Committee, directed his search towards Hollywood and the intellectual community. McCarthy's committee called many members of the film and theatre community to testifiy about Communist activities, and to name any individuals who were believed to have been involved with Communist groups. Many artists and intellectuals had been involved with "leftist" ideas and causes, including Arthur Miller himself. Miller was held on trial for his previous support of left-wing causes and was found guilty for contempt of Congress. This was reversed two years later when an appeal proved he wasn't adequately informed about the risks surrounding the charges of contempt. Miller states that he was "motivated in some great part by the paralysis that had set in among many liberals who, despite their discomfort with the inquisitions' violations of civil rights, were fearful, and with good reason, of being identified as covert Communists if they should protect too strongly" (Bender, 21). He goes on to say that he feels the play still holds some relevancy today in that "its paranoid center is still pumping out the same darkly attractive warning that it did in the fifties" (Bender, 21). Miller felt that _The Crucible_ works on the basis that "where evidence is only circumstantial, the dividing line between delusion and reality is difficult to draw" (Welland, 55). During the McCarthy trials, many people were named and called before courts

Biography of Robert Frost Essay -- American Poets Robert Frost Biograp

â€Å"Rightly or wrongly, Robert Frost has achieved a reputation as a poet of nature†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Gerber 155). Yes, Frost does use imagery of nature in his poems, but to say he is a â€Å"nature poet† is distorting his poetry by overlooking the poem’s darker complexions (Gerber 155). An aspect of his poems that is frequently overlooked is the main character’s internal conflict. In â€Å"The Road Not Taken† and â€Å"Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening† characters are faced with an inner conflict metaphorically described by nature. In these two poems Frost uses nature to hide the reality of how self-conscious the main character actually is. Robert Frost was born in San Francisco, California on March 26, 1874. When his father died in 1885 he moved to Massachusetts with his mom and sister (Sweeny and Lindroth 5). He spent his whole life in the Massachusetts area. â€Å"Frost attended high school in that state, and then Dartmouth College, but remained less than one semester† (Michalowski). At the age of thirty-eight Frost decided to move him and his family to England. While in England his first book, A Boy’s Will, was published in 1913. A few years later he returned to America where his second book, North of Boston, was published (Michalowski). Although he spent three years of his life in England, â€Å"†¦little of his verse reflects any specific English imagery† (Sweeny and Lindroth 11). Massachusetts and other New England areas were the setting for the majority of Frost’s poetry. The nature in the New England area played a big role in his life and influenced his poetry a lot (Sweeny and Lindroth 7). â€Å"Nine generations of New Englanders had produced Robert Frost, and he in turn produced in his poetry a distillation of all that is New Engla... ...chusetts. 1982 Michalowski, Jay. â€Å"Biography of Robert Frost†. The Robert Frost Web Page. 3 May 2015 http://www.robertfrost.org/indexgood.html Richardson, Mark â€Å"Robert Frost† Modern American Poetry. 5 April 2015. http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/frost/frost.htm Sweeny, John David and Lindroth, James. The Poetry of Robert Frost. New York: Monarch Press, 1965 Van Doren, Mark. â€Å"Robert Frost’s America: June 1951† The Atlantic Online. 5 April 2015. The Atlantic Monthly http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/poetry/frost/vand.html Wakefield, Richard. â€Å"Thomas Eakins and Robert Frost: â€Å"To be a natural man in a man-made world.† Proquest Online. 5 April 2015. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?TS=1049560053&RQT=309&TS=1049559567&Did=000000056482194&Fmt=3&Deli=1&Mtd=1&Idx =20&Sid=3&Button.x=0&Button.y=0&TS=1049559631&Button.x=0&Button.y=0&TS=1049560082

Rhetoric

Scott started a seminal debate within the rhetoric community with his essay, â€Å"On Viewing Rhetoric as Epistemic. † His argument – rhetoric is epistemic – has been analyzed and/or criticized by many scholars. Scott himself followed up in 1976 with an article titled, â€Å"On Viewing Rhetoric as Epistemic: Ten Years Later† in order to address some of these concerns, and add to his original thoughts. Despite this follow-up, authors still continue criticize and defend his work.This essay will focus on three responses in particular, each focusing on a different aspect of Coot's argument, in order to prove that rhetoric is in fact epistemic. First, Brunette's, Three Meanings of Epistemic Rhetoric (1979) will examine three possible meanings and implications of Coot's claim. Second, Harping's What Do You Mean, Rhetoric is Epistemic? (2004) will hone in on the debate between Scott and Cheerier and Haskins, defining the positions of each.Finally, Banshee's The C artesian Anxiety in Epistemic Rhetoric: An Assessment of the Literature (1990) will address four key positions within the debate, and bring them together with his Bernstein term, â€Å"Cartesian Anxiety. From these responses it will become clear that while many scholars agree that rhetoric is epistemic, their definitions and viewpoints still vary. Before Jumping into the responses of other scholars, it is probably worth examining Coot's own response, especially since it predates the essays soon to be examined.In this essay, Scott attempts to address three questions: â€Å"Is there one way of knowing or many? What sort of knowing does rhetoric strive to achieve? Is rhetorical relativism vicious? † (1976, 259). He states that there are many ways of knowing, emphasizing the lyricist nature of Ways of knowing. ‘ He believes that rhetoric should strive to achieve an actuality, or an agreed social construction (later it will become apparent that this facet of his argument is the one sparking the most debate).Finally, he attempts to dispel the positivist argument against him, that rhetorical relativism is vicious. This leads to some deeper discussion on the nature of subjective knowledge, of which his defining argument seems to be: â€Å"Relativism, supposedly, means a standard-less society, or at least a maze of differing standards, and thus a cacophony f disparate, and likely selfish interests.Rather than a standard-less society, which is the same as saying no society at all, relativism indicates circumstances in which standards have to be established cooperatively and renewed repeatedly' (1976, 264) Brume seeks to offer up what he deems to be the three prevailing philosophies on epistemology. The first is what is considered the positivist view, which is essentially that there is a truth out there, and that people are either right or wrong about what they think is true. He emphasizes that rhetoric is the path to reaching that truth.The second is the classic interpretive approach, that different groups have different realities, and there knowledge within them. This means that within a group, someone can be wrong, although that doesn't necessarily mean they're wrong in all groups. Finally, he addresses the view that the world is much too complicated for humans to understand, which is evidenced by our need to define and label everything. Harping focus on defining terms, as he sees this as the most critical step in defining hitherto as epistemic.Specially, he examines the nature of â€Å"certainty' and the implications of various definitions and views. Next he examines the term â€Å"rhetoric,† whose definitions has implications not Just in this debate, but for all rhetorical theory. Here he addresses the pros and cons of defining rhetoric in a broad or specific sense. Finally, Harping examines Justification, and how various scholar use justification within the realm of epistemology. Bingham compares four positions within à ¢â‚¬Ëœrhetoric as epistemic' literature.

Globalizing an Australian Wine Company Essay

The company’s strategic vision is to become the world’s first truly global wine company. As CEO and managing director of BRL Hardy Europe, Carson’s contribution and achievements had been significant with a 10 fold increase in sales volume, in a tenure spanning just seven years. He successfully turned around Hardy’s U. K. business by implementing cost cutting initiatives and ensuring strong systems, policies, and control. Millar, CEO and managing director at BRL Hardy followed a decentralized approach to management. He believed in delegation and adequately integrated culture and management style into the merged corporation. The U. K. market contributed significantly to BRL Hardy’s revenues and represented 40% of Australian wine exports. In U. K. , the fighting brands, namely, Stamps and Nottage Hill, were positioned at price points of 2. 99 and 3. 69 pounds respectively. As low price good quality wines, they accounted for 80% of the value and volume of the Hardy brand sales. As the image of these brands began to erode, Carson decided to relaunch them by relabeling and repositioning the wines. Carson insisted that sales performance in U. K. depended on efficient labeling that should not be completely dictated by the Australian management. Although management was skeptical about local control over branding, labeling, and pricing decisions, the move significantly boosted the fighting brands’ sales. As the fighting brands gradually moved up the price points, there was an opportunity for an entry level wine that could be priced lower than 4. 9 pounds. In line with the company’s vision of becoming an international wine company, Carson decided to tap non-Australian wine sources and develop a line of branded products that could utilize the company’s strong distribution channels. This strategy would provide vital scale economies, minimize harvest risk, capture rationalizing suppliers, and avoid currency-driven price variations. Carson propose d the brand D’istinto, an Italian venture with a Sicilian based winery. He wanted to develop a recognizable brand which was easy to buy and had global potential. The wine would be positioned to the average wine consumer and would help the company leverage distribution. The Australian headquarters believed that D’istinto would eat into the fighting brands’ share as they were positioned at almost similar price points. Carson’s earlier Chilean venture, Mapocho had proven troublesome and Millar was doubtful if the European unit could support another brand. While Millar recognized U. K. s strong performance and wanted to give Carson as much freedom as possible, the reality was that the Italian venture would stretch the tight human resources of the European unit and dilute focus from the overall corporate strategy. While the Italian venture was being proposed, the Australian headquarters had launched Banrock Station, an environmentally responsible product at a similar price point. Australian management believed that the brand had global po tential and had instructed areas to launch it appropriately. Miller, away from the frontline and external demands of the local customers, has to support Carson’s entrepreneurial experimentation and dynamism. However, the proposal to launch D’istinto should not be approved. It is imperative that the business strategy fit within the broader corporate strategy of the organization. Although Carson’s proposal represented strategic interests, it ran counter the corporate strategy of maximizing global efficiency. D’istinto’s launch would certainly come with financial implications and would also stretch the operating capabilities of the European unit. On the other hand, Banrock Station had already established itself in a few markets and a strong launch in Europe would only increase scale economies. D’istinto had an innovative strategy with catchy and attractive labeling and a distinct image capturing the Mediterranean lifestyle. This positioning would definitely appeal to the mature U. K. consumer and also to the U. K. retailers, who represented the majority of sales. However, there is no certainty that this strategy would prove equally successful globally. While D’istinto would provide short term results, it is important to understand the long term viability that Banrock Station offers. Global consumers are increasingly emerging into environmentally conscious populations that expect corporations to take responsibility of natural resources and the environment. Although through D’istinto, Carson aims to build a global brand, Banrock Station appears to be better positioned in a converging global market. In order to build a true global brand, Miller must establish consistency across organizational units and ensure that the vision is shared by all.

Harnessing the Science of Persuasion Article Critique/Analysis

Harnessing the Science of Persuasion Article Critique/Analysis I chose to critique the article â€Å"Harnessing the Science of Persuasion† by Robert B. Cialdini. As an undergraduate I was planning on a profession in the medical field, and I enjoy exploring how the science and business worlds correlate. In this article, Cialdini describes six scientific/psychological factors that contribute to enhancing one’s ability to increase influence on others. I interpret that pure motives are the main success factor in building influence at the underlying theme of Cialdini’s principles. I can only be as persuasive as I am sincere in my desires to know, and help others. In this paper I will overview some of the principles that Cialdini presents, and apply them to my strategy for my personal, and professional advancement. Liking/Similarity Though the conscious mind may seek diversity, there is an undeniable human behavioral trait to associate with people who are â€Å"like me†. At first glance this principle suggests that we should stick to doing business with people who look, act, believe similarly to how we do and avoid other people because we will not be successful with them. I feel that I have always had an ability to relate to people, whether it is in line at a Motley Crew concert, or in an executive meeting. I believe that humans are more similar than different. The skill is identifying common ground quickly in interactions, because everyone is in a hurry. I have attempted and will continue to apply this principal in my business interactions by showing a little personality in the first few seconds that I interact with my customers. The trick is to do this without being perceived as smug or an apathetic. I can say a quick line from a song that is stuck in my head, and say â€Å"sorry I’ll try to focus better throughout the remainder of this transaction;† or asking a detailed question about a project that the customer is working on. It is important to adjust the tone, and etiquette to the person, and situation that is presented. I have found that when the person that I joked around with comes back, they seek me out to help them more often than not. Like all of Cialdini’s principles these techniques ill only work if I am sincerely interested in the person that I’m interacting with. Humans are very skilled at detecting apathy, so if I have to fake it, it’s better to not to try. Consistency/Commitment I am a pretty witty, creative guy, as such I am fairly successful with the principle of liking/similarity as stated above. I honestly struggle with the principle of consistency. Consistency, as discussed by Cialdini, describes influencing others to firmly commit to do what you desire of them. This principle is mostly applicable in my interactions with my co-workers. I place such a high emphasis on relationships with people that I often leave the opportunity open to be taken advantage of. I have many responsibilities that go unaccomplished if I consistently do the job of a co-worker. In today’s business culture, hierarchal flowcharts are decreasing in authoritative efficacy, and behavior is influenced more strongly by persuasion skills. Getting people to buy in and commit to it because it is in the best interest of the customer, the company, and the person you are trying to convince is the goal of consistency. There are levels of commitment. A person can mentally commit, verbally commit to the issuer of the request, or publicly commit in front of peers. Each increased level of commitment results in higher likelihood that the person will keep their word. The challenge in applying this principle for me is to not come across as overbearing, or not willing to lead by example. I will apply this principle by discussing with my co-workers their desires to do a good job. I will ask those whom I direct to explain their thoughts about how we should best serve our customers, and apply their suggestions as best I can to procedural changes. I will also better describe the process from the perspective of people who work primarily inside the store, so that we can all better understand and assist each other. The success of consistency, perhaps even more so than the principle of liking, is dependent on motives. If it is perceived that you are more interested in throwing your authority around than working for the common good, resentment and non-compliance will result. I will avoid resentment by expressing sincere gratitude, and praise for a job well done. I will also show a willingness to go outside, and help when appropriate. I have read a few articles about enhancing persuasion in business, and to be honest, most of them come across as phony ways to trick people to do what you want. Cialdini certainly has some elements of convincing people that they want to do what you desire, but he introduces the idea that these techniques only really work if you have pure motives. I really like the idea that being an effective/persuasive leader starts with being an honest/authentic person.

Comparison of Modern Women and of Ancient Greece

Greece were a little more than virtual slaves, themselves. From the day of their birth, up to their deaths, females were constantly controlled by a master, normally the father than overtaken by her husband. Girls approximately the age of 1 5 were chosen an appropriate suitor by their fathers, usually a man already more than twice her age (p. 75). Most men spent little time at home; therefore, the wives dominated home life through her skills of sewing, cooking, spinning, weaving, and preserving the slaves of the family household.On average there were plenty of slaves to help with the dally chores, only the most destitute homes was the lady responsible for these duties alone. Therefore, wives In some aspect were more privileged than women in our present society, where the domestic labor Is generally completed single-handedly. Women had specific boundaries in society and the events that took place there. Women didn't have the privilege of voting, and were allowed no entitlement into pub lic office. Although women were forbidden in political positions, they were Greek citizens and could not be violated or sold into slavery (p. 4). They were prohibited from watching the Olympic Games as they contained fragments of nudity, and were only permitted to participate in chariot racing. (Graham) Public roles that women were encouraged to take role in were funerals, weddings, and religious celebrations where they could socialize outside of the home. â€Å"A wife's main duty, apart from managing the household, was to provide a male heir n order to maintain the family's hold over its property,† The Western Experience.Since men dictated all property in classical Greece, it was a necessity to produce boys in addition to girls. It is difficult to depict the ancient feminine lives of the Greeks exactly, as we have no recorded verification documented directly by them. A number of Greek gods and written Greek epics portray women as leaders, and are sharply admired by men. Sour ces.

Computers and Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Computers and Learning - Essay Example Majority of the PCs in the college use Microsoft Operating System although some of the computers are still running on Office 97. The college has achieved a milestone in networking all the computers although not all PCs have been networked but there is increased trend of networking them. With a population of about 3000 students, the University has been thinking of providing laptop to the student the expense of which will be reduced from their fees. There has been increased pressure to make sure that the students accept the offer of the laptops because whether they accept them or not, they will still be charged in the school fees. This has been in line with the introduction of my Course system in the university website which is used by lecturers to post notes and exercises. There has also been declining number of student who are attending lecturer since they can download everything from the internet. How can the college achieve a competitive edge through the harmonization of the usage of the internet The aim of the university in introducing the use of computers has been to ensure that there is efficient delivery of services. ... tion this is one of the most important strategies that the university can use in order to achieve maximum use of computer technology in the university. If the university chose to sell the existing PCs and buying new ones, then the first step would be to find a way of storing the data based in the computers and then selling all of them. Then they would come up with a procurement procedure that will ensure that all the constituent colleges buys from one supplier. With a central supply system the university will be able to standardize the computer which is supplied to all the colleges. The university would then install all the computers with the require programs. This strategy would lead to loss of most of the data which may lead to distribution of the system though this may be the most efficient way of achieving the strategy, it will come with many disadvantages. However the greatest risk to the option remains in the way the university will be able to handle the risk of loss of the data contained in the PCs. One of the advantages with the option would be that the university will be able to acquire standardize computers and hence it would be easy for maintenance since the same company can be hired for the operation. (Bardini, 1995, p. 43) But on the other hand the university can choose to upgrade the current PCs that they are using in order to come up with new ones. The will involve increasing the various component of the computer instead of buying new ones. Therefore the best strategy would be hiring of IT specialist who will upgrade the PCs to use more upgraded memory and operating speed One advantage with this strategy will be that it will be easy to handle the database since it wills income upgrading one computer at a time. Therefore the data can be transferred

A Modest Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

A Modest Proposal - Essay Example He probably has some hidden agenda for making the proposals that he did. Maybe it is not in his interest to have all of those babies born, but I think that it should be up to the parents to decide what to do with their child. About the only good thing to come out of his proposal is that, as he says, it would reduce the number of abortions that took place. Parents would even be able to make some money out of it! Swift get a little inhumane when he says that children should be roasted like pigs because no butcher would want to have anything to do with them. This is correct and this shows that his proposal would not work at all. To back up his point of view, Swift lists out six reasons why his plan would be a good one. I agree with all of his reasons but I do not agree with the method to get there. At the end he reveals the real reason why he believes this; his youngest child is nine and so would not