Interest of the United States of America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Interest of the United States of America - Essay Example Whereas Theodore Roosevelt, Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger are usually remembered as having viewed foreign policy primarily as a tool for the use in the pursuit f power and national interests. Realism in its most concentrated form argues that the head f state should solely be interested in achieving things which will further national interests, with complete disregard for things like human rights if they don't directly contribute to this achievement. A common explanation for the realist way f thinking is concisely put when it is stated that, 'leaders must deal with the world the way it is, not as they would wish it to be. The key assumptions f realism say that; states are the main components f the international system and that these states are motivated and ought to be motivated by their own interests and the search for power. It is also assumed that; the balance f power is imperative to international stability and that relations between states should be trying to obtain this international balance f power, not to change other states policies. (Ikenberry 2006) During the presidential debate f 11th f October 2000, when George W. Bush was asked to speak about what the guidin g principle for his foreign policy would be, he took a classic realist line: "The first question is what's in the best interest f the United States What's in the best interest f our people When it comes to foreign policy that will be my guiding question. Is it in our nation's interests" A true realist will oppose giving 'moral' concerns priority over foreign policy objectives. They object to what is often seen by other states as unwanted 'medalling' in idealist approaches to foreign policy, as there are both practical and political difficulties when intervening in the domestic affairs f other states. Interference in the internal affairs f another state is seen as an infringement f its sovereignty. This sort f behaviour would only make the USA unpopular in the wider world and this does not serve American interests, in fact it would obstruct its ability to pursue them. In realist terms humanitarianism is an often-unaffordable luxury, as is the ability to only align themselves with states f common moral and political beliefs. However the practice f power politics cannot often oblige. The USA has in the past been willing to support extreme right-wing regimes, even when they are known to be violators f human rights, so long as the regime was pro-America, or at least anti - communist, (the 'lesser f two evils' strategy). It can be summarised in one sentence; the world must be taken as it is found and statesmen should stay faithful to moral principles where possible but must always be willing to bend these principles when necessary to protect the interests f the state. Modern day realism tends to reject the multilateral approach to action, as favoured by the Clinton administration. It is unclear, however, if this change in favour f American unilateralism will be a lasting one. (Mead 2007) Pure idealism argues that one should take the moral route under all circumstances, regardless f the effect it has on the states national interests. Idealism is motivated by the key assumptions that; the state is only one f the

DMC Review Papers Essay Example for Free

DMC Review Papers Essay As Mr. Grant, CEO of DMC has realized, the current growth strategy of the company is insufficient. DMC needs to identify their primary business problems and prepare a new or revised strategy with alternative tactics to address it. Even though DMC had grown to become a multi-billion dollar company and consistently ranked in the top five in their industry, DMC’s returns between 2008 and 2012 showed great profits and loss swings unpredictably. These ranged from a net income loss of $1.5 billion in 2008, . 9 billion in 2009, to a profit of $1.9 billion in 2010, $1.7 billion in 2011 then a loss of 1 billion in net income in 2012, the most recent year. (Table 1) Despite of the up-side-down net income and over $3 billion in long-term debt, DMC was able to make financial arrangements for a line of credit of from $500 million to nearly $2 billion to finance potential acquisitions of major competitors whose financial situations made them available. DMC’s top management team is well aware that a major change in strategy causes other changes. This also causes each manager concerned how his/her own area will change, even while they all know they have to help determine a direction that is the best overall choice for the company. They are well aware that the current growth strategy is insufficient. Top management team also need to consider whether or not a chosen target segment is profitable enough to pursue, and how these changes might influence manufacturing, supply chain, and personnel. Depending upon future direction, there will likely be an impact on information system as well. While IT is a progressive management team who is always willing to implement technical solutions to expedite product development and sales, their budget has been constrained along with all departments over the course of recent recession and the variability of returns to the company. Finance and accounting remain concerned about cash flow demands a nd financial activity for major company undertakings. HR knows from experience that major change can have a significant impact on staffing and morale. Besides company own business problems, DMC also faces industry’s issues as well. In the highly volatile electronics industry, international competition put pressure on the way DMC traditionally did business, including with whom, where, and at what price levels. Their ability to respond rapidly to market change is always difficult, based upon the nature of the product and the heavy investment required for future technologies. As a result, development costs continue to rise while sale margins have dropped steadily. In their industry, innovation is not an option, but an absolute necessity and maintaining a competitive advantage and building market share comes slowly and only to the best and smartest companies. DMC needs to consider the selling to wholesale distributor, particularly VAR. The VAR group always has irregular demand, as they react to the supply chain cycle of their small manufacturing customers and budget cycles for equipment upgrade customers. This segment is highly price sensitive, demanding attractive discounts and low delivery costs. Because of their reactions to the change in the market, DMC will be affected as numbers of demand increase or decrease irregularly, increasing unit cost of production. Now with DMC’s business problems, including within industry problems, have been issued they need a new or revised strategy, which, obviously, would lead to the best overall outcomes. With the problem of net income up and down dramatically and COGS as percentage of sales being a large number affecting net income, DMC needs to find a way to prove selling. They need a more effective way to sell product. Besides, new product development is always important to DMC. The founders believed that the experience of an entrepreneurial driver or team had to start from scratch and create success. They did not believe the future evolved from forecasting or planning in the technology world. The company identified outstanding managers coming up through the ranks, selected a few each year, and gave each $5 million to â€Å"make something happen.† With three or four new product efforts each year, they recognized most might fail, but hoped the winners would make up for the losers. With that in mind, DMC tries to create the own personal computer and touch screen products. It might fail  most of the time but it only needs one success to build up the brand and the future direc tion of the company. DMC really needs to take direct sales to the end user customer into consideration. Even though the Business-to-consumer (B2C) is not common in the electronic components industry, it is well worth the try. After an informal meeting with VP of IT, CEO Grant understands the possibility of moving into B2C without a large capital outlay if they could allocate some dedicated programming time to the project. There are still some concerns over the fact that the sales team would have to be heavily involved in any project like this and smaller orders would not be cost effective and would require too much support for product selection. However, the IT team’s view of sales on the web was that it could a relatively automated process, with a built-in digital configurator tool to help customers choose the right parts with minimal human intervention overall. With the B2C on the line, DMC can seriously consider cutting wholesale distributor like VAR. They not only can save the dollars-turn in every product but also avoid the irregular demand from VAR. With the B2C interface, DMC has the advantage knowing what customers need and the way they thinking. DMC can react quickly to market change and therefore save a lot of money in cost of unit production. B2C e-commerce has a lot of advantages in the business world nowadays. By using B2C, DMC can easily reach worldwide market with unlimited volume of customers. They also can display information, pictures, and prices of products or services without spending a fortune on colorful advertisements. By reducing the cost of advertisements, DMC can save a lot of money and use that to spend for new product development and make up the cost of changing strategies toward each functional division effectively. In some cases, B2C e-commerce makes order processing an easier task than before. With that, DMC als o can save up a lot of cost production and use that to make the selling more effective. One of the biggest advantages of B2C e-commerce is that DMC can operate on decreased, little, or even no overhead. Also, as VP of manufacturing Bret Hendricks expresses, DMC manufactured  division already do a great job of controlling costs and improving processes. He strongly feels his group cannot achieve any more efficiencies from the manufacturing lines unless they do a major overhaul and replace some of the manufacturing systems. With the strong competition from foreign suppliers who receiving funding from government, DMC really needs to find a way to make the manufacturing processes strongly effective. That should be done even it takes a great cost and time to do a major change. In the financial aspect, DMC has been good of negotiating deals with the company’s line credit to create resource and capital for the company major moves like acquisitions and mergers. However, the financial team needs to work on more areas to explore to lower general operating expenses that create problems for the bottom line. The idea of direct sales floating around is very promising. This can create pricing to wash any increased handling costs and significantly exceed the margin offered to their larger wholesale customers to make the new venture worthwhile. However, the difficulty lies on calculating ROI on any type of IT project. There were many variables and intangible benefits to consider. Lastly, if DMC is going to do a major change in strategy, they need to consider the large expenses of doing so. One of the major changes can be made is that DMC might consider insourcing. While outsourcing saves money in the short term, over the long run the company may suffer from not having a large enough employee pool to promote from in certain areas. The IT division of DMC has been doing well over the past. They need to continue to do so and try to explore in some new Business Intelligence tools. That includes the process of running the electronic commerce site. The IT team is a talented team, VP of IT division could try to create things that keep them motivated and create more ideas to help the company’s success. Overall, the main business problems of DMC is their ineffective selling led to dramatically up and down income and their COGS being a large number affecting sales; the functional division that requires lot of things in order to create a change in strategy, this includes cost, time and human resources; management problems of choosing a right market segment; DMC’s  problems within the industry such as international competition, the adaption of market changes response and the increase of development cost. However, DMC also has many opportunities and advantages such as the ability to deal with financial institution with credit card in order to have capital preparing for acquisitions or merger. They also have a good IT team, manufacturing process and talented human resources. DMC already established their reputation as one of the dominant computer component manufacturers in the world. Recommendation for DMC is that they should consider creating a major change in strategy and manufacturing process to make the company sales more effective. In order to do so, they would need to prepare a brief and careful plan because it requires much of cost and time involving all of the company divisions. DMC also needs to invent and explore more to create new products and choose the right market segment. They need to find a way to deal with international competition’s pressure and respond quickly to market change. COGS as percentage of sales needs to be adjusted so that the net income and sales of the company don’t be affected in a wrong way. Lastly, because DMC has problems with market changing and wholesale distributor’s irregular demands, they should seriously consider starting B2C e-commerce. The advantages of B2C e-commerce could really change the status of the company and make sales and manufacturing process more effective.

Vegetarian Diet: Health Benefits of Vegetarianism Essay -- Healthy Life

Many Americans are eating unhealthy diets in the typical American style characterized by lack of moderation. This average diet is defined by high contents of red meat and other fatty foods. Eating these types of food, and the following factor of being overweight, can lead to heart disease and other health problems. A vegetarian lifestyle, on the other hand, limits the intake of meat and other fatty animal products and is known to confer a wide range of health benefits. However, there are many different types of vegetarianism. First, there is the semi vegetarian, who is someone who simply limits meat intake to some degree, the lacto-ovovegetarian, who cuts out all meat, but not animal products such as cheese and eggs, and then the vegan, who chooses not to eat any animal products or byproducts such as honey or gelatin. Each type of vegetarianism has specific benefits, all of which outweigh the benefits of the average American’s diet. I am going to look primarily at the benefits of the lacto-ovovegetarian lifestyle. By eating this type of diet, Americans can balance out their food intake with more fruits, vegetables, and grains and create a diet that is healthier overall. A typical vegetarian diet closely matches expert dietary recommendations for healthy eating, being low in saturated fat and high in fiber, complex carbohydrates, and fresh fruit and vegetables (VSUK). A more balanced diet leads to a healthier lifestyle and a longer, happier life. Therefore, more Americans should be eating a vegetarian diet, specifically a lacto-ovovegetarian style. It must be noted that simply changing to a meatless diet will not necessarily create a healthier, happier lifestyle. A vegetarian diet still has unhealthy components that must be avoi... ...clude careful, complex planning to reduce the risks of the most prevalent diseases. If Americans would simply start by cutting red meat out of their diets and then from there finding a point on the scope of vegetarianism where they are comfortable, overall health in this country would improve. This could be started with something as simple as eating one vegetable oriented meal a week and slowly spread out until all meals are oriented around vegetables, fruits, and grains instead of a main dish of meat. By eating in this manner Americans can start to create a healthier living style and learn moderation. Bibliography *Journal of the American Dietetic Association, November 1993, Volume 93, Number 11 *Techline Vegetarian Facts, users.techline.com *The Vegetarian Society (VSUK), www.vegsoc.org *Yahoo Health-Diseases and Conditions, health.yahoo.com/health

Privatization vs Public Sector

What is privatization? It is the process of transferring ownership of a  business, enterprise, agency, public service or public property from the  public sector  (a government) to the  private sector, either to a business that operates for a profit or to a  non-profit organization. The term can also mean government outsourcing  of services or functions to private firms, What is public sector undertaking? In India, public sector undertaking (PSU) is a term used for a government-owned corporation (company in the public sector). From my point of view, privatization is going to be a remedy for the financial ailments of our public sector undertaking.Let’s discuss some factors about these two types of organizations. 1. Performance. Public sector undertaking tends to be  bureaucratic. A political government may only be motivated to improve a function when its poor performance becomes politically sensitive. 2. Increased efficiency. Private companies and firms have a grea ter incentive to produce more  goods and services  for the sake of reaching  customer satisfaction  and hence increasing profits. A public organization would not be as productive due to the lack of financing allocated by the entire government's budget that must consider other areas of the economy. . Specialization. A private  business  has the ability to focus all relevant human and financial resources onto specific functions. A public sector undertaking does not have the necessary resources to  specialize  its goods and services as a result of the general products provided to the greatest number of people in the  population. 4. Corruption. A public sector undertaking is prone to  corruption; decisions are made primarily for political reasons, personal gain of the decision-maker, rather than economic ones.Corruption in a public sector undertaking affects the ongoing asset stream and company performance, whereas any corruption that may occur during the privatizati on process is a one-time event and does not affect ongoing cash flow or performance of the company. 5. Accountability. Managers of privately owned companies are accountable to their owners/shareholders and to the consumer, and can only exist and thrive where needs are met. Managers of publicly owned companies are required to be more accountable to the broader community and to political â€Å"stakeholders†.This can reduce their ability to directly and specifically serve the needs of their customers, and can bias investment decisions away from otherwise profitable areas. 6. Goals. A political government tends to run an industry or company for  political  goals rather than  economic  ones. 7. Capital. Privately held companies can sometimes more easily raise investment capital in the financial markets. public sector undertaking industries have to compete with demands from other government departments and special interests. 8. Lack of market discipline.Poorly managed publi c sector undertaking companies are insulated from the same discipline as private companies, which could go bankrupt, have their management removed, or be taken over by competitors. Publicly owned enterprises in competitive environments would not perform better than privately owned companies in the same circumstances in terms of profitability, Privatization reduces the net transfer to public sector undertaking from government as unnecessary subsidies. These transfers become positive if the government actually starts collecting taxes from privatized firms. Thank you.

Foundation and Empire 17. The Visi-Sonor

Ebling Mis's house in a not-so-pretentious neighborhood of Terminus City was well known to the intelligentsia, literati, and just-plain-well-read of the Foundation. Its notable characteristics depended, subjectively, upon the source material that was read. To a thoughtful biographer, it was the â€Å"symbolization of a retreat from a nonacademic reality,† a society columnist gushed silkily at its â€Å"frightfully masculine atmosphere of careless disorder,† a University Ph.D. called it brusquely, â€Å"bookish, but unorganized,† a nonuniversity friend said, â€Å"good for a drink anytime and you can put your feet on the sofa,† and a breezy newsweekly broadcast, that went in for color, spoke of the â€Å"rocky, down-to-earth, no-nonsense living quarters of blaspheming, Leftish, balding Ebling Mis.† To Bayta, who thought for no audience but herself at the moment, and who had the advantage of first-hand information, it was merely sloppy. Except for the first few days, her imprisonment had been a light burden. Far lighter, it seemed, that this half-hour wait in the psychologist's home – under secret observation, perhaps? She had been with Toran then, at least. Perhaps she might have grown wearier of the strain, had not Magnifico's long nose drooped in a gesture that plainly showed his own far greater tension. Magnifico's pipe-stem legs were folded up under a pointed, sagging chin, as if he were trying to huddle himself into disappearance, and Bayta's hand went out in a gentle and automatic gesture of reassurance. Magnifico winced, then smiled. â€Å"Surely, my lady, it would seem that even yet my body denies the knowledge of my mind and expects of others' hands a blow.† â€Å"There's no need for worry, Magnifico. I'm with you, and I won't let anyone hurt you.† The clown's eyes sidled towards her, then drew away quickly. â€Å"But they kept me away from you earlier – and from your kind husband – and, on my word, you may laugh, but I was lonely for missing friendship.† â€Å"I wouldn't laugh at that. I was, too.† The clown brightened, and he hugged his knees closer. He said, â€Å"You have not met this man who will see us?† It was a cautious question. â€Å"No. But he is a famous man. I have seen him in the newscasts and heard quite a good deal of him. I think he's a good man, Magnifico, who means us no harm.† â€Å"Yes?† The clown stirred uneasily. â€Å"That may be, my lady, but he has questioned me before, and his manner is of an abruptness and loudness that bequivers me. He is full of strange words, so that the answers to his questions could not worm out of my throat. Almost, I might believe the romancer who once played on my ignorance with a tale that, at such moments, the heart lodged in the windpipe and prevented speech.† â€Å"But it's different now. We're two to his one, and he won't be able to frighten the both of us, will he?† â€Å"No, my lady.† A door slammed somewheres, and the roaring of a voice entered the house. Just outside the room, it coagulated into words with a fierce, â€Å"Get the â€Å"Ga-LAX-y out of here!† and two uniformed guards were momentarily visible through the opening door, in quick retreat. Ebling Mis entered frowning, deposited a carefully wrapped bundle on the floor, and approached to shake Bayta's hand with careless pressure. Bayta returned it vigorously, man-fashion. Mis did a double-take as he turned to the clown, and favored the girl with a longer look. He said, â€Å"Married?† â€Å"Yes. We went through the legal formalities.† Mis paused. Then, â€Å"Happy about it?† â€Å"So far.† Mis shrugged, and turned again to Magnifico. He unwrapped the package, â€Å"Know what this is, boy?† Magnifico fairly hurled himself out of his seat and caught the multi-keyed instrument. He fingered the myriad knobby contacts and threw a sudden back somersault of joy, to the imminent destruction of the nearby furniture. He croaked, â€Å"A Visi-Sonor – and of a make to distill joy out of a dead man's heart.† His long fingers caressed softly and slowly, pressing lightly on contacts with a rippling motion, resting momentarily on one key then another – and in the air before them there was a soft glowing rosiness, just inside the range of vision. Ebling Mis said, â€Å"All right, boy, you said you could pound on one of those gadgets, and there's your chance. You'd better tune it, though. It's out of a museum.† Then, in an aside to Bayta, â€Å"Near as I can make it, no one on the Foundation can make it talk right.† He leaned closer and said quickly, â€Å"The clown won't talk without you. Will you help?† She nodded. â€Å"Good!† he said. â€Å"His state of fear is almost fixed, and I doubt that his mental strength would possibly stand a psychic probe. If I'm to get anything out of him otherwise, he's got to feel absolutely at ease. You understand?† She nodded again. â€Å"This Visi-Sonor is the first step in the process. He says he can play it; and his reaction now makes it pretty certain that it's one of the great joys of his life. So whether the playing is good or bad, be interested and appreciative. Then exhibit friendliness and confidence in me. Above all, follow my lead in everything.† There was a swift glance at Magnifico, huddled in a comer of the sofa, making rapid adjustments in the interior of the instrument. He was completely absorbed. Mis said in a conversational tone to Bayta, â€Å"Ever hear a Visi-Sonor?† â€Å"Once,† said Bayta, equally casually, â€Å"at a concert of rare instruments. I wasn't impressed.† â€Å"Well, I doubt that you came across good playing. There are very few really good players. It's not so much that it requires physical co-ordination – a multi-bank piano requires more, for instance – as a certain type of free-wheeling mentality.† In a lower voice, â€Å"That's why our living skeleton there might be better than we think. More often than not, good players are idiots otherwise. It's one of those queer setups that makes psychology interesting.† He added, in a patent effort to manufacture light conversation, â€Å"You know how the beblistered thing works? I looked it up for this purpose, and all I've made out so far is that its radiations stimulate the optic center of the brain directly, without ever touching the optic nerve. It's actually the utilization of a sense never met with in ordinary nature. Remarkable, when you come to think of it. What you hear is all right. That's ordinary. Eardrum, cochlea, all that. But – Shh! He's ready. Will you kick that switch. It works better in the dark.† In the darkness, Magnifico was a mere blob, Ebling Mis a heavy-breathing mass. Bayta found herself straining her eyes anxiously, and at first with no effect. There was a thin, reedy quaver in the air, that wavered raggedly up the scale. It hovered, dropped and caught itself, gained in body, and swooped into a booming crash that had the effect of a thunderous split in a veiling curtain. A little globe of pulsing color grew in rhythmic spurts and burst in midair into formless gouts that swirled high and came down as curving streamers in interfacing patterns. They coalesced into little spheres, no two alike in color – and Bayta began discovering things. She noticed that closing her eyes made the color pattern all the clearer; that each little movement of color had its own little pattern of sound; that she could not identify the colors; and, lastly, that the globes were not globes but little figures. Little figures; little shifting flames, that danced and flickered in their myriads; that dropped out of sight and returned from nowhere; that whipped about one another and coalesced then into a new color. Incongruously, Bayta thought of the little blobs of color that come at night when you close your eyelids till they hurt, and stare patiently. There was the old familiar effect of the marching polka dots of shifting color, of the contracting concentric circles, of the shapeless masses that quiver momentarily. All that, larger, multivaried – and each little dot of color a tiny figure. They darted at her in pairs, and she lifted her hands with a sudden gasp, but they tumbled and for an instant she was the center of a brilliant snowstorm, while cold light slipped off her shoulders and down her arm in a luminous ski-slide, shooting off her stiff fingers and meeting slowly in a shining midair focus. Beneath it all, the sound of a hundred instruments flowed in liquid streams until she could not tell it from the light. She wondered if Ebling Mis were seeing the same thing, and if not, what he did see, The wonder passed, and then- She was watching again. The little figures-were they little figures? -little tiny women with burning hair that turned and bent too quickly for the mind to focus? -seized one another in star-shaped groups that turned – and the music was faint laughter – girls' laughter that began inside the ear. The stars drew together, sparked towards one another, grew slowly into structure – and from below, a palace shot upward in rapid evolution. Each brick a tiny color, each color a tiny spark, each spark a stabbing light that shifted patterns and led the eye skyward to twenty jeweled minarets. A glittering carpet shot out and about, whirling, spinning an insubstantial web that engulfed all space, and from it luminous shoots stabbed upward and branched into trees that sang with a music all their own. Bayta sat inclosed in it. The music welled about her in rapid, lyrical flights. She reached out to touch a fragile tree and blossoming spicules floated downwards and faded, each with its clear, tiny tinkle. The music crashed in twenty cymbals, and before her an area flamed up in a spout and cascaded down invisible steps into Bayta's lap, where it spilled over and flowed in rapid current, raising the fiery sparkle to her waist, while across her lap was a rainbow bridge and upon it the little figures- A palace, and a garden, and tiny men and women on a bridge, stretching out as far as she could see, swimming through the stately swells of stringed music converging in upon her- And then – there seemed a frightened pause, a hesitant, indrawn motion, a swift collapse. The colors fled, spun into a globe that shrank, and rose, and disappeared. And it was merely dark again. A heavy foot scratched for the pedal, reached it, and the light flooded in; the flat light of a prosy sun. Bayta blinked until the tears came, as though for the longing of what was gone. Ebling Mis was a podgy inertness with his eyes still round and his mouth still open. Only Magnifico himself was alive, and he fondled his Visi-Sonor in a crooning ecstasy. â€Å"My lady,† he gasped, â€Å"it is indeed of an effect the most magical. It is of balance and response almost beyond hope in its delicacy and stability. On this, it would seem I could work wonders. How liked you my composition, my lady?† â€Å"Was it yours?† breathed Bayta. â€Å"Your own?† At her awe, his thin face turned a glowing red to the tip of his mighty nose. â€Å"My very own, my lady. The Mule liked it not, but often and often I have played it for my own amusement. It was once, in my youth, that I saw the palace – a gigantic place of jeweled riches that I saw from a distance at a time of high carnival. There were people of a splendor undreamed of – and magnificence more than ever I saw afterwards, even in the Mule's service. It is but a poor makeshift I have created, but my mind's poverty precludes more. I call it, ‘The Memory of Heaven.'† Now through the midst of the chatter, Mis shook himself to active life. â€Å"Here,† he said, â€Å"here, Magnifico, would you like to do that same thing for others?† For a moment, the clown drew back. â€Å"For others?† he quavered. â€Å"For thousands,† cried Mis, â€Å"in the great Halls of the Foundation. Would you like to be your own master, and honored by all, wealthy, and†¦ and-† his imagination failed him. â€Å"And all that? Eh? What do you say?† â€Å"But how may I be all that, mighty sir, for indeed I am but a poor clown ungiven to the great things of the world?† The psychologist puffed out his lips, and passed the back of his hand across his brow. He said, â€Å"But your playing, man. The world is yours if you would play so for the mayor and his Trading Trusts. Wouldn't you like that?† The clown glanced briefly at Bayta, â€Å"Would she stay with me?† Bayta laughed, â€Å"Of course, silly. Would it be likely that I'd leave you now that you're on the point of becoming rich and famous?† â€Å"It would all be yours,† he replied earnestly, â€Å"and surely the wealth of Galaxy itself would be yours before I could repay my debt to your kindness.† â€Å"But,† said Mis, casually, â€Å"if you would first help me-â€Å" â€Å"What is that?† The psychologist paused, and smiled, â€Å"A little surface probe that doesn't hurt. It wouldn't touch but the peel of your brain.† There was a flare of deadly fear in Magnifico's eyes. â€Å"Not a probe. I have seen it used. It drains the mind and leaves an empty skull. The Mule did use it upon traitors and let them wander mindless through the streets, until out of mercy, they were killed.† He held up his hand to push Mis away. â€Å"That was a psychic probe,† explained Mis, patiently, â€Å"and even that would only harm a person when misused. This probe I have is a surface probe that wouldn't hurt a baby. â€Å" â€Å"That's right, Magnifico,† urged Bayta. â€Å"It's only to help beat the Mule and keep him far away. Once that's done, you and I will be rich and famous all our lives.† Magnifico held out a trembling hand, â€Å"Will you hold my hand, then?† Bayta took it in both her own, and the clown watched the approach of the burnished terminal plates with large eyes. Ebling Mis rested carelessly on the too-lavish chair in Mayor Indbur's private quarters, unregenerately unthankful for the condescension shown him and watched the small mayor's fidgeting unsympathetically. He tossed away a cigar stub and spat out a shred of tobacco. â€Å"And, incidentally, if you want something for your next concert at Mallow Hall, Indbur,† he said, â€Å"you can dump out those electronic gadgeteers into the sewers they came from and have this little freak play the Visi-Sonor for you. Indbur – it's out of this world.† Indbur said peevishly, â€Å"I did not call you here to listen to your lectures on music. What of the Mule? Tell me that. What of the Mule?† â€Å"The Mule? Well, I'll tell you – I used a surface probe and got little. Can't use the psychic probe because the freak is scared blind of it, so that his resistance will probably blow his unprintable mental fuses as soon as contact is made. But this is what I've got, if you'll just stop tapping your fingernails- â€Å"First place, de-stress the Mule's physical strength. He's probably strong, but most of the freak's fairy tales about it are probably considerably blown up by his own fearful memory, He wears queer glasses and his eyes kill, he evidently has mental powers.† â€Å"So much we had at the start,† commented the mayor, sourly. â€Å"Then the probe confirms it, and from there on I've been working mathematically.† â€Å"So? And how long will all this take? Your word-rattling will deafen me yet.† â€Å"About a month, I should say, and I may have something for you. And I may not, of course. But what of it? If this is all outside Seldon's plans, our chances are precious little, unprintable little.† Indbur whirled on the psychologist fiercely, â€Å"Now I have you, traitor. Lie! Say you're not one of these criminal rumormongers that are spreading defeatism and panic through the Foundation, and making my work doubly hard.† â€Å"I? I?† Mis gathered anger slowly. Indbur swore at him, â€Å"Because by the dust-clouds of space, the Foundation will win – the Foundation must win.† â€Å"Despite the loss at Horleggor?† â€Å"It was not a loss. You have swallowed that spreading lie, too? We were outnumbered and betreasoned-â€Å" â€Å"By whom?† demanded Mis, contemptuously. â€Å"By the lice-ridden democrats of the gutter,† shouted Indbur back at him. â€Å"I have known for long that the fleet has been riddled by democratic cells. Most have been wiped out, but enough remain for the unexplained surrender of twenty ships in the thickest of the swarming fight. Enough to force an apparent defeat. â€Å"For that matter, my rough-tongued, simple patriot and epitome of the primitive virtues, what are your own connections with the democrats?† Ebling Mis shrugged it off, â€Å"You rave, do you know that? What of the retreat since, and the loss of half of Siwenna? Democrats again?† â€Å"No. Not democrats,† the little man smiled sharply. â€Å"We retreat – as the Foundation has always retreated under attack, until the inevitable march of history turns with us. Already, I see the outcome. Already, the so-called underground of the democrats has issued manifestoes swearing aid and allegiance to the Government. It could be a feint, a cover for a deeper treachery, but I make good use of it, and the propaganda distilled from it will have its effect, whatever the crawling traitors scheme. And better than that-â€Å" â€Å"Even better than that, Indbur?† â€Å"Judge for yourself. Two days ago, the so-called Association of Independent Traders declared war on the Mule, and the Foundation fleet is strengthened, at a stroke, by a thousand ships. You see, this Mule goes too far. He finds us divided and quarreling among ourselves and under the pressure of his attack we unite and grow strong. He must lose. It is inevitable – as always.† Mis still exuded skepticism, â€Å"Then you tell me that Seldon planned even for the fortuitous occurrence of a mutant.† â€Å"A mutant! I can't tell him from a human, nor could you but for the ravings of a rebel captain, some outland youngsters, and an addled juggler and clown. You forget the most conclusive evidence of all – your own.† â€Å"My own?† For just a moment, Mis was startled. â€Å"Your own,† sneered the mayor. â€Å"The Time Vault opens in nine weeks. What of that? It opens for a crisis. If this attack of the Mule is not the crisis, where is the ‘real' one, the one the Vault is opening for? Answer me, you lardish ball.† The psychologist shrugged, â€Å"All tight. If it keeps you happy. Do me a favor, though. Just in case†¦ just in case old Seldon makes his speech and it does go sour, suppose you let me attend the Grand Opening.† â€Å"All right. Get out of here. And stay out of my sight for nine weeks.† â€Å"With unprintable pleasure, you wizened horror,† muttered Mis to himself as he left.

Marketing Plan for the Internationalisation Project of Huawei Technologies Ltd The WritePass Journal

Marketing Plan for the Internationalisation Project of Huawei Technologies Ltd Executive Summary Marketing Plan for the Internationalisation Project of Huawei Technologies Ltd ). This means that Huawei would have to contend with the challenge of establishing trust with potential Indian partners and customers, and prove that its products and services are of high quality contrary to prevailing negative perceptions of Chinese companies in India. There are also infrastructural deficits in many part of India, especially the rural areas, which may affect Huaweis servicing of the Indian market. Many parts of India lack not only key telecom infrastructure, but also basic infrastructures such as power supply and roads (DB, 2010). It may therefore be challenging for new entrants such as Huawei to operate successfully in such areas. In spite of the challenges associated with the Indian market environment in general and the telecom market segment in particular, this market is suitable to target because of the considerable opportunities it offers and the resources available. The sheer size of the market and the number of telecommunications carriers in the country offers a potentially huge customer base for Huawei to exploit. The socio-political stability of India is also an advantage, as it would facilitate a conducive business climate for new entrants into the Indian market. Marketing Objectives Marketing objectives refer to the measures of accomplishment by which the organisation can measure the degree of success of its marketing strategies. Marketing objectives may therefore include elements such as retention, market leadership, rate of new sales growth, and other indices (Joshi, 2005). In essence, marketing objectives clarify what the organisation wants to accomplish through its marketing activities. In order for marketing objectives to help the organisation achieve the required aims and successfully implement the marketing plan, they need to meet the SMART criteria, which means that they should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (Doran, 1981). Huaweis marketing objectives in seeking to enter the Indian market can be discussed in terms of the Ansoff Matrix – a conceptual model and marketing planning tool that describes how the organisation links its marketing strategy with its strategic direction. The Ansoff Matrix suggests four distinct growth strategies in marketing planning, namely market penetration, market development, product development, and diversification. Table 1: Ansoff Matrix *Adapted from Ansoff (1967) In line with the provisions of the Ansoff Matrix, Huawei’s marketing objectives are mainly based on market development, which involves seeking to achieve growth by selling existing products or services in new markets (Ibid). Accordingly, Huawei’s key marketing objectives are to enlarge its customer base and increase revenues by establishing itself strongly in the Indian market within the first three years of market entry. These objectives are specific because they are straight-forward and clear. They are measurable because the total revenues and incremental number of customers can be quantified to determine how much progress is being made. The objectives are also achievable and realistic because Huawei already has significant experience, proven capability, and superior technologies that allow it settle quickly and make an impact in the new market within the projected time frame. They objectives are also time-bound, given that the projected three-year period for realisin g the objectives provides sufficient opportunity to set timelines, monitor progress, and adjust the plan where necessary in order to ensure that the objectives are realised within the set period. Marketing Strategy In order to determine the most appropriate marketing strategies best combination of the Marketing Mix to adopt for the planned internationalisation project, it is important to note that Huawei Technologies would be entering the Indian market as a latecomer, as opposed to a pioneer. Pioneers refer to the firms that are first to introduce a product or service in a given market and establish themselves early on. On the other hand, late comers refer to later entrants who enter a market with products or services that are already in existence or provided by existing firms (Kalyanaram and Gurumurthy, 1998). Given that being a pioneer can provide significant market-share advantages over latecomers, later entrants often need to adopt distinctive marketing strategies and positioning in order to compete favourably with the existing firms (Gao et al., 2007). Based on this reality, the marketing mix (i.e. price, products, promotion, and place) would have to be carefully evaluated to select the most effective combination suitable for Huawei as a latecomer in the Indian market. As such, the combination of product and promotion is suggested as the appropriate combination of the marketing mix that should be used in Huaweis market entry plan. A product strategy should be central to the marketing strategy, particularly in terms of defining the product range as well as product standardisation in order to ensure the same quality products and services that the Huawei brand is renowned for in the existing markets in which it operates. This should also involve improving product and service quality through incremental innovation in order to compete favourably with existing rival products and services. This product strategy should also be combined with a promotions strategy that involves repackaging product and service offerings through effective adve rtising and marketing to penetrate the new market. This is best achieved by segmenting the market and focusing on specific target demographics where high impact promotional activities would generate customers seeking varieties or enhanced substitutes to existing products or services (see Matthews, 2002). The Action Plan Action January February March April Who Conduct preliminary assessment of preferred operational base and acquire suitable office(s) 15th – 20th Administrative Staff in conjunction with local agents Commence process of recruiting qualified personnel 15st HR/Recruitment Agency Establish contact with preferred agents, suppliers, and partners 20th – 5th Regional Manager/Business development Managers/Logistics Department Profile target customers and establish contacts with them though presentations and proposals 20th – 30th Business Manager/Marketing Department Commence positioning attempts and repackaging of products and services to suit the needs of identified potential customers and targets 16th – Business Development Manager/Operations Department Begin promotional activities through focused advertising and public relations 20th – Marketing Department/Marketing Communications Agency/Industry Contacts Marketing Budget The marketing budget for Huaweis planned market entry should be sufficient to ensure the realisation of the marketing plan objectives, while also being cost efficient at the same time. Considering that there are competing marketing initiatives and needs in the proposed plan, allocated funds must be dedicated to each aspect of the marketing effort to ensure that objectives are achieved in a measurable and timely manner (Luke, 2009). The elements of the marketing budget for Huawei’s market entry as well as the amount allocated to each category are outlined as follows: Activity Allocation (US$) Advertising and promotional activities (in telecom and ICT industry-focused journals, social media, etc) 380,000 Advertising and promotional materials (e.g. Brochures, fliers, banners, pens, calendars) 55,000 Product Repackaging Redevelopment 550,000 Research Development 400,000 Recurring expenses 420,000 Total Budget 1,805,000 Monitoring and Evaluation Monitoring and evaluation is a critical phase of the marketing plan, since it helps ensure that the plan is being implemented as designed, and meeting the projected objectives. It is also useful in making it possible to adjust or modify sections of the plan in response to observed shortcomings and external unforeseen contingencies (Tourism NT, 2007). There are a number of approaches that can be used for monitoring and evaluation, but for the present purpose, it is sufficient to adopt the McKinsey 7S Framework to monitor and assess the progress being made by the organisation towards achieving set objectives. The framework comprises strategy, structure, systems, staff, style, skills, and super-ordinate goals (or shared values). It is based on the premise that these seven components must be aligned and mutually reinforce each other in order to help the organisation determine where to realign needs to improve performance, or maintain alignment   in order to sustain performance (Peters, 2011; Waterman et al, 1980). Figure 1: The McKinsey 7S Framework Source: Peters (2011) The McKinsey 7S framework would be useful in monitoring and evaluating the implementation of Huaweis marketing plan, as each of the seven elements in the framework would be examined to determine where problems may arise along the line, and where further planning may be necessary. In specific terms, the performance of Huaweis marketing efforts in its international expansion plan would be based on measurable elements such as extent of customer awareness and feedback in response to advertising and promotional efforts, sales response to portfolio of products and services, customer satisfaction with product and service quality, and ROI on marketing investments in relation to quarterly earnings. Keys to Success Targeted product redevelopment and repackaging to meet the specific needs of high-value ICT and telecom customers Focused promotional and marketing activities for maximum exposure to the targeted demographic of potential customers Reliable customer service and after sales maintenance support Faithful implementation of elements of the marketing plan in line with the time-line Critical Issues The emphasis of product and promotion based marketing strategy is crucial for the success of the marketing plan. Since the telecom and ICT/telecom industry is highly dependent on quality of products and services, it is important to ensure that Huawei maintains its high product/service standard, and make necessary modifications to product formulation and packaging based on the location-specific requirements of the Indian market. Promotion is also vital, as the adopted promotional and marketing activities must be effectively implemented to establish the companys presence quickly among potential customers. Lastly, the monitoring and evaluation process must ensure that the marketing plan facilitates Huaweis incremental growth to a position of competitive advantage in terms of superior product offering, market share, and revenues within 3 years of entering the market. References Alli, A.M., Winter, G.S. and May, D.L. (2007) â€Å"Globalization: Its Effects†, International Business Economics Research Journal, 6(1), 89-96. Ansoff, I. (1967) Strategies for Diversification, Harvard Business Review, 35(5), Sep-Oct, 113-124 Bartlett, C. A., and Ghoshal, S.   (2005) â€Å"Transactional management, text, cases, and readings in cross-border management†, Journal of Management, 69(2), 99–120 Child, J. and Rodrigues, S.B. (2005) The internationalisation of Chinese firms, Management and Organisation Review, 1(3), 381-410 DB (2010) Issues and Opportunities of the Indian Telecom Industry [online], Available at: dnb.co.in/IndianTelecomIndustry/issues.asp [Accessed 10 November 2012] Dess, G, Lumpkin, T. and Taylor, M. (2004) Strategic Management: Creating Competitive Advantages, New York: McGraw Hill Professional. Doran, G.T. (1981) Theres a S.M.A.R.T. way to write managements goals and objectives, Management Review, 70(11), 35-36. Gao, X.D, Liu, J.X., Chai, K.H., and Li, J.Z. (2007) Overcoming latecomer disadvantages in small and medium-sized firms: Evidence from China, International Journal of Technology and Globalisation, 3(4), 364-383. Hill, C. (2009) International Business: Competing in the Global Marketplace, New York:   McGraw-Hill/Irwin Johnson, S. and Turner, J. (2003) International Business: themes and issues in the modern global economy, London: Routledge Joshi, R.M. (2005) International Marketing, New York: Oxford University Press. Kalyanaram, G. and Gurumurthy, R. (1998) Market Entry Strategies: Pioneers Versus Late Arrivals, Best Practice, Third Quarter, 1-11. Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G. (2006) Principles of Marketing, New Jersey: Pearson Education. Luke, K. (2009) How to Construct a Marketing Plan and Budget, Advisor Perspectives [online], Available at: advisorperspectives.com/newsletters09/pdfs/How_to_Construct_a_Marketing_Plan_and_Budget.pdf [Accessed 12 November 2012] Mathews, J.A. (2002) Competitive Advantages of the Latecomer Firm: A Resource-Based Account of Industrial Catch-Up Strategies, Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 19, 467-488. Nakai, Y. and Tanaka, Y. (2010) Chinese Company’s IPR Strategy: How Huawei Technologies Succeeded in Dominating Overseas Market by Sideward-Crawl Crab Strategy, Tokyo, Japan: Tokyo Institute of Technology. Parker, B. (1998) Globalization and Business Practice: Managing Across Boundaries, London: Sage Publications Peters, T.J. (2011) A Brief History of the 7-S (McKinsey 7-S) Model, [online], Available at: tompeters.com/dispatches/012016.php [Accessed 11 November 2012] Svensson, G. (2002) Beyond global marketing and the globalisation of marketing activities, Management Decision, 40(6), 574–83 Tourism NT (2007) Monitoring and Evaluation, [online], Available at: tourismnt.com.au/Portals/3/docs/industry/business/FS_monitoring_your_product.pdf [Accessed 12 November 2012] Vernon, R. (1996) â€Å"International investment and international trade in the product cycle†, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 80, 190-207 Waterman, R.H., Peters, T.J., and Phillips, J.R. (1980) Structure is not Organisation, Business Horizons, June, 14-26) Witzel, M. and Goswami, T. (2012) Huaweis entry to India, Financial Times [online], Available at: ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/a7c4d656-fe89-11e1-8028-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2C0acYoon [Accessed 10 November 2012]

Free Essays on A Dream

â€Å"IF A PERSON WERE TO WAKE UP IN ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE, WOULD THAT PERSON STILL BE THE SAME?† It was an average night in mid-July, nothing was different, the same as many nights before. Usually I spend my summer nights drifting in and out of consciousness, but on this night, I can't sleep. I'm lying in my bed, eyes closed. The television is playing off in the distance; loud enough to make its presence known, but too soft to decipher what program is playing. In a cold sweat I sit up, I was dreaming with my eyes closed and my mind focused on none other than this girl. She doesn’t know I am thinking about her. That’s the way it is with thought, nobody knows for sure what you are thinking. They can guess, but they are always wrong. Anyway, this girl has no idea. She knows I exist; we’re friends. This is not one of those pitiful love stories you see on the big screen. I am not the sappy character played by some up and coming actor. But I digress. This girl has the most beautiful smile and when smiles she stretches her lips from ear to ear. It is as if heaven and hell were separating diametrically. The bridge of her nose appears to be the bridge between the greatest good and the greatest evil. On one side, there is a hoop of gold, symbolizing a halo, the ultimate sign of heaven. The other ear is pierced seven times. She would tell me that there is one ring for every deadly sin. As pretty as she is when she smiles, when she is mad her beauty transcends. It is as if when her lips perk together in an angry frown, heaven and hell collide and at that instant, even G-d is vulnerable. The basic principle of which the universe revolves around states that G-d is infallible. If the Devil were to defeat G-d, the world, as we know it, would cease to exist, and therefore every time she moves her lips, the fate of the world rests solely in her beautiful smile. She’s a model of perfection. Everything reminds... Free Essays on A Dream Free Essays on A Dream â€Å"IF A PERSON WERE TO WAKE UP IN ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER PLACE, WOULD THAT PERSON STILL BE THE SAME?† It was an average night in mid-July, nothing was different, the same as many nights before. Usually I spend my summer nights drifting in and out of consciousness, but on this night, I can't sleep. I'm lying in my bed, eyes closed. The television is playing off in the distance; loud enough to make its presence known, but too soft to decipher what program is playing. In a cold sweat I sit up, I was dreaming with my eyes closed and my mind focused on none other than this girl. She doesn’t know I am thinking about her. That’s the way it is with thought, nobody knows for sure what you are thinking. They can guess, but they are always wrong. Anyway, this girl has no idea. She knows I exist; we’re friends. This is not one of those pitiful love stories you see on the big screen. I am not the sappy character played by some up and coming actor. But I digress. This girl has the most beautiful smile and when smiles she stretches her lips from ear to ear. It is as if heaven and hell were separating diametrically. The bridge of her nose appears to be the bridge between the greatest good and the greatest evil. On one side, there is a hoop of gold, symbolizing a halo, the ultimate sign of heaven. The other ear is pierced seven times. She would tell me that there is one ring for every deadly sin. As pretty as she is when she smiles, when she is mad her beauty transcends. It is as if when her lips perk together in an angry frown, heaven and hell collide and at that instant, even G-d is vulnerable. The basic principle of which the universe revolves around states that G-d is infallible. If the Devil were to defeat G-d, the world, as we know it, would cease to exist, and therefore every time she moves her lips, the fate of the world rests solely in her beautiful smile. She’s a model of perfection. Everything reminds...

The Definition of Deviance Amplification

The Definition of Deviance Amplification Deviance amplification is a process, often performed by the mass media, in which the extent and seriousness of deviant behavior is exaggerated. The effect is to create a greater awareness and interest in deviance which results in more deviance being uncovered, giving the impression that the initial exaggeration was actually a true representation. Leslie T. Wilkins originally reported on the process of deviant amplification in 1964 but it was popularized by Stanely Cohens book  Folk Devils and Moral Panic,  published in 1972. What Is Deviant Behavior? Deviant behavior is a broad term because it covers anything that goes against social norms. This could mean anything from minor crimes like graffiti  to more serious crimes like robbery. Adolescent deviant behavior is often a source of deviance amplification. Local news will sometimes report on a something like a new teen drinking game, implying it is a popular trend instead of the actions of one group. This kind of reporting can sometimes start the trends they were reporting on although each new act will add credence to the initial report.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Deviant Amplification Process Deviant amplification usually starts when one act that is either illegal or against social morals that wouldnt normally be worth of media attention becomes newsworthy. The incident is reported on as being part of a pattern. Once an incident becomes the focus of the media, other similar stories that normally wouldnt make the news fall under this new media focus and become newsworthy. This begins to create the pattern that was initially reported on. The reports can also make the action seem cool or socially acceptable, leading to more people to try it, which reinforces the pattern. It can be hard to prove when deviant amplification is happening because each new event seems to validate the initial claim.   Sometimes citizens will pressure law enforcement and government to take action against the perceived  deviant threat. This can mean anything from the passage of new laws to harsher punishments and sentences on existing laws. This pressure from the citizens often requires  law enforcement to put more resources into an issue that it actually warrants. One of the main problems with deviance amplification is that it makes a problem seem much larger than it is. Which in the process can help create a problem where there was none.  Deviance amplification can be part of a moral panic but they do not always cause them.   This hyper-focus on minor issues can also cause communities to miss larger issues they need to be focusing attention and resources on. It can make social issues harder to solve because all of the focus is going to an event that was artificially created. The deviant amplification process can also cause certain social groups to be discriminated against if the behavior is tied to that group.

Creating strategy for company Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Creating strategy for company - Case Study Example Acquisition-led growth strategy This is one of the major strategic issues stated in the case which was said to be suited in a widely globalizing market. Prior to digging on this issue further, let us examine first other important strategic issues. ABB tried to adapt certain capacity to be global in coverage and this resulted to its strategic move to optimize resources in order to have competitive edge in cost leadership. For instance, the company tried to improve its economies of scale and scope by specializing in the production of major product’s components around the world. Not only that, ABB also tried to come up with feasible cost saving measures such as component outsourcing and overhead cuts. Based on the idea of Levitt (1984) on globalization, the idea of ABB to go global is therefore a matter of necessity. The very reason is the fact that in globalization, there is an attempt on the part of an organization to come up with goods of the best quality and reliability yet a t the lowest price possible in order to compete. This is the very reason why ABB needs to consider two important dimensions in its structure: products and region just prior to be highly competitive in the global setting. It is implied that in order to obtain competitive advantage according to Porter (1998), the two factors that need to be taken into account are attractiveness of industries and relative competitive position. According to Porter, it is not an assurance that certain competitive advantage can be achieved if only one of these two factors is considered. In other words, certain firm aiming to reach its competitive advantage needs to be certain about the competitiveness of industries and its relative competitive position. This is also the very reason why ABB eventually needs to consider operating local. The local presence of a certain company contributes to its potential to top in the competition especially in the industry where ABB belongs. Thus, ABB finally decided to con sider an acquisition-led growth strategy, a sort of its focus competitive strategy based on Porter’s generic competitive strategies (Porter, 1998). ABB believes that with this strategy while it stays in its goal to be global, it can also increase its local presence in order to enhance its competitive advantage. However, there is basically a contradiction in this. ABB aiming to go global needs also to stand local is a form of contradiction at some point. Levitt (1984) pointed out that poor execution may be a significant problem in this situation due to the fact that what exists in the local trend may not be what is in the global setting and vice versa. This is a potential reason why ABB failed with its acquisition-led growth strategy and to some extent, the management considered having incurred bad purchases of some of its acquired companies. In this case, Porter and Levitt’s theories of competitive advantage and globalization proved to be highly significant in understa nding the success of ABB in the midst of ongoing competition in the global setting. The very proofs are specific situations just presented earlier in this section. In fact, based on these theories, ABB’s success can be significantly assessed and the reasons of its failures may be substantially explained. This proves further that the theories of Porter and Levitt are useful in formulating future strategies for various firms in both local and global context. Novel structure Another issue facing ABB is its ability

Creating a Policy Map Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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Employment law for hr managers - Essay Example Furthermore, indirect discrimination arises when a person discriminates against another person through applying a ‘provision, criteria or practice’ that is discriminatory against another person. For example, an employer only advertises jobs in magazines aimed at young people. The first two issues that may arise with regards to showing photographs of white and Asian people are that this is considered by statutory laws to be racial discrimination. However, it could be argued through the use of the principle of positive action which states that racial discrimination is only applicable when a person reasonably believes that he/she would suffer a disadvantage in relation to the characteristic shared. Therefore, in this case it could be argued that races other than white or Asian are not reasonably disadvantaged.2 The second issue in this case is the use of a specified term â€Å"young† to relate to the age of the suitable applicants. This could result in age discrimination as mentioned in Equality Act. Age discrimination happens when a person refers to another person in relation to a specified age group3. In this case it could be argued that Outrageous has discriminated by referring to a specific age group. It could be concluded by the usage of all arguments mentioned above that Outrageous may face problems in relation to the age discriminating terms used in the advertisement. However, the photographs of white and Asian seem to be less important as there are no reasonable grounds to believe that a certain race is being disadvantaged. So it is advisable that Outrageous changes the language used in the advertisement and in the same time keep the photographs as it is. b) The fact of the case above shows that Outrageous has already done the first round of interviews for the trainee position and has rejected three interviewees, one of them was a male who wears turban another was a Muslim woman aged 21 who wears a hijab the and

Human Resources Project 1&2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Human Resources Project 1 - Assignment Example This information can be used to understand the career opportunities in the company. A deeper analysis reveals that the HR policies are guided by the main HR policy statement of Nestec Ltd (2002). This is the Nestle Human Resources Policy, implemental to all subsidiaries of the company including those in USA. 2. The company is Nestle Waters North America, and its HR policies appear to be based on the Nestle Human Resources Policy document. I think some updating is needed for this set of HR policies. 3. In order to update the set of HR policies of Nestle Waters North America to optimize its North American operations flexibly with respect to the main policy framework of Nestec Ltd, it is mandatory to embark on a qualitative research followed by a number of activities for drafting and proposing some viable HR policy updates. The activities are described below: I. Interview of the current employees II. Interview of and discussion with the HR managers III. Analysis of current policies with regard to existing academic and business literature IV. Preparation and presentation of the new and/or updated policies in a proposal format V. Briefing the top HR managers 4. In this section, a proposal that describes the types of policies that are to be prepared and/or changed will be discussed. A close examination of Nestle Waters NA’s (2006) HR policies reveals that they are highly dependent on the HR policy manual of Nestec Ltd. First of all, one of the biggest drawbacks of these policies is that they put certain restrictions on the role of the HR managers. According to Nestec Ltd (2002, p. 4), â€Å"HR managers and their staff are there to provide professional support in handling people matters but should not substitute themselves to the responsible manager.† This sort of approach is rather traditionalistic. The second point is that Nestle Waters NA (2006) maintains strict control over its all hiring and training operations. However, relatively recent experience of certain companies shows that outsourcing the HR responsibilities can bring about more concentration on the vertical specialties of the company (Tornbohm and Da Rold 2005). So these two HR approaches need to be changed. A tentative timeline of the proposed HR policy updating and implementation task is provided in Table – 1. Table – 1 A Tentative Timeline of HR Policy Update and Implementation Program Task Time Task – 1: Interview of current employees (at least 20 to 30 employees randomly selected) 7 days Task – 2: Interview of and discussion with the company’s current HR managers. This will involve one to one interaction 7 days Task – 3: Existing policies are to be analyzed. This will involve correlating the existing practices with external case studies as available in different business journals, magazines, etc. 4 days Task – 4: Preparation and presentation of new policies (final draft) 3 days Task – 5: Briefing the HR mana gers before the plan is rolled out. 2 days Total time taken +2 reserve days to compensate loss of time (if any) in the course of the project Total 3 weeks and 4 days (approx) Project Part 2 Updating the existing HR policies First, HR managers must not be constrained in their HR specific roles only with such a strict regulatory approach. At the first place this makes the hierarchic system of the corporation too strong. The HR managers must be given some of the company’s specialties based training. For example, HR managers can be given some basic training on mineral water processing and manufacturing at

Competitive Analysis - Questionnaire Research Paper

Competitive Analysis - Questionnaire - Research Paper Example p and based on its international expansion in different regions like Portugal, New York and Paris it tended to reflect a fashion icon of Spanish fashion (Loeb, 2013). Total number of stores created by Zara by the close of 2013 amounted to 1,763 which along with its other family brands like Pull and Bear, Oysho and Massimo Dutti tend to meet the demands of customers reflecting different attitudes and preferences (don Quijote Salamanca S.L., 2014). Potential competitors of Zara relate to Hennes and Mauritz (H&M) and Topshop that specifically operate to meet the needs of the luxury and women customers (Doran, 2014). Another potential competitor of Zara relate to Mango that operates in meeting the demands of trendy wear for both male and female customers. Both Zara and Mango operate in the luxury segment through exclusive retail outlets and also departmental stores. The two companies focus on promoting its merchandises based on the use of website and Facebook as the primary advertising m ediums (Zara, 2013). 2. Direct competitors of Zara relates to the fashion retail companies like H&M, Topshop and Mango that essentially operate in the fashion retail segment. These companies are identified as direct competitors in that they directly compete with Zara in the luxury fashion garment. On the contrary the indirect competitors are identified to be such companies that though belong to the same business as the company cater to related customers outside the market periphery of the initial company (Glassman, 2010). Cortefiel is observed to be an indirect competitor to the Spanish fashion retailer Zara in that it operates as a Spanish fashion retailer that offers different products and brands to the regional customer base (Grupo Cortefiel , 2010). The background of the research is to understand the competitive potential of Zara both in the Spanish and the global retail market. It would aim to understand and evaluate the areas where Zara is losing its market to its competitors

Report on recruitment and selection processes Assignment - 1

Report on recruitment and selection processes - Assignment Example A company then selects successful applicants from any of these recruitments methods and takes them through interviews. The company often updates recruitment and selection processes in order to set acceptable standards that meet the demands of the company (Hobson, et al 2010). Like any other company or organisation, Healthcare United has had it recruitment, and selection processes changed. Its recruitment and selection process of 2000 is not the same to that of 2010. There are certain changes introduced to the selection of 2010. Some of the changes affected the timeframes, personnel involved, documentation, training, and monitoring and evaluation. There are some news features that the organisation introduced to its selection and recruitment process of 2010, which were not in that of 2000. Again, there are those, which it exempted on its recruitment and selection process of 2010 and were in that of 2000. In the recruitment and selection policy of 2000, the manager had two to three days to analyse the necessity of a vacant position and then notify and request the Human Resource department for a from allowing recruitment. After receiving the form that permits recruitment, a manager had to complete his/her section of the form in the same period of two to three days. After that, the senior management validates the form permitting recruitment, and then the HR department uses three to five days to fill the description of the position. After description, advertisement of the position took 20 to 25 days whereby internal advertisement used the first ten days and while external advertisement took the remaining ten days. Short-listing of applicants took a minimum of five days while preparation of interviews took one to two days just as the interviews, which the organisation also allocated one to two days. Reference checks consumed a period of one to two days. Job offer took a time of one to fi ve days while feedback to failed applicants

Competitive Analysis - Questionnaire Research Paper

Competitive Analysis - Questionnaire - Research Paper Example p and based on its international expansion in different regions like Portugal, New York and Paris it tended to reflect a fashion icon of Spanish fashion (Loeb, 2013). Total number of stores created by Zara by the close of 2013 amounted to 1,763 which along with its other family brands like Pull and Bear, Oysho and Massimo Dutti tend to meet the demands of customers reflecting different attitudes and preferences (don Quijote Salamanca S.L., 2014). Potential competitors of Zara relate to Hennes and Mauritz (H&M) and Topshop that specifically operate to meet the needs of the luxury and women customers (Doran, 2014). Another potential competitor of Zara relate to Mango that operates in meeting the demands of trendy wear for both male and female customers. Both Zara and Mango operate in the luxury segment through exclusive retail outlets and also departmental stores. The two companies focus on promoting its merchandises based on the use of website and Facebook as the primary advertising m ediums (Zara, 2013). 2. Direct competitors of Zara relates to the fashion retail companies like H&M, Topshop and Mango that essentially operate in the fashion retail segment. These companies are identified as direct competitors in that they directly compete with Zara in the luxury fashion garment. On the contrary the indirect competitors are identified to be such companies that though belong to the same business as the company cater to related customers outside the market periphery of the initial company (Glassman, 2010). Cortefiel is observed to be an indirect competitor to the Spanish fashion retailer Zara in that it operates as a Spanish fashion retailer that offers different products and brands to the regional customer base (Grupo Cortefiel , 2010). The background of the research is to understand the competitive potential of Zara both in the Spanish and the global retail market. It would aim to understand and evaluate the areas where Zara is losing its market to its competitors

Competitive Antagonism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Competitive Antagonism - Essay Example Here, ACh is the agonist of muscarinic receptors. Mechanism of smooth muscle contraction – When ACh stimulates the G-protein coupled muscarinic receptors, a conformational change occurs, leading to the activation of the G-protein. The activated G-protein activates the intracellular enzyme, PLC (phospholipase C). This enzyme in turn hydrolyses PI(4,5)P2 (phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate). This hydrolysis results in the production of two compounds – DAG (diacylglycerol) and IP3 (inositol-1,4,5-triphosphate). IP3 is soluble and diffuses through the cytosol. It binds to receptors on the endoplasmic reticulum resulting in the release of calcium ions (Ca2+) from the intracellular stores. The rise in intracellular calcium ions results in contraction of the smooth muscle. This happens when the intracellular calcium ions bind to calmodulin and activate it. Activation of calmodulin results in activation of the myosin light-chain kinase (MLCK) enzyme by the calcium-calmodulin complex, which then catalyzes the transfer of ph osphate group from ATP to myosin cross bridges. The phosphorylated myosin cross bridges then interact with actin, causing shortening of the fiber. This results in muscle contraction. The cross-bridge cycle is powered by ATP. Second messenger involved - IP3 (inositol-1,4,5-triphosphate) is the second messenger, as it relays the signal from outside the cell to the inside, resulting in the release of calcium ions that cause muscle contraction. Acetylcholine (ACh) and adrenaline (Ad) are two agonists whose actions are independent of one another and result in opposite effects. Ad brings about the relaxation of pre-contracted smooth muscle by acting via the G-protein coupled ÃŽ ²-adrenergic receptors on the cells. Mechanism of Ad induced relaxation of pre-contracted smooth muscle – Ad binds to the G-protein linked ÃŽ ²-adrenergic receptor causing a conformational change in the G-protein. This activates the enzyme adenylate cyclase.

The poem Hide and Seek Essay Example for Free

The poem Hide and Seek Essay The poem Hide and Seek was written by Vernon Scannel and is about a child playing hide and seek with his friends. The main theme of this poem is isolation. There are a few subthemes as well, such as difficulties in life, competition and abandonment. The poet uses a vast amount of literary devices, like similes, metaphors and personification, and writes the poem as an extended metaphor for life. He also uses a variety of punctuation which helps build up tension throughout the poem. I will be discussing the effect the poet Scannel creates by using these devices in the next few paragraphs. Vernon Scannels poem has two meanings. The obvious one is about a child playing hide and seek and then realising that his friends have left him, showing abandonment. But the deeper meaning of this poem is that the poet is actually describing what happens in life. As he shows the child starting out with full confidence at the beginning of the game, he means to say that when someone starts off a new life they are confident and strong (Im ready! Come and find me! ). The exclamation marks show the child is full of energy and assurance that he cannot lose the game and if we go deeper we can see that someone who starts a new life will have the same attitude. There are difficulties, of course, like the cold floor and the salty dark. This metaphor gives the effect of some place harsh and uncomfortable, in a real life situation this would be any obstacle that is come across. The child though, takes it all in and stays silent about it because he knows this is what he has to do to win. What in real life would be accepting any difficult challenge and accomplishing it, to get ahead in life. Scannel even presents one of the greatest fears in life isolation, in the phrase, But where are they who sought you? This shows how the hiding child gets abandoned by his friends after they could not find him. Rather than let him win, they gave up and left him alone. Vernon is trying to advise the audience that when in life you face a difficult situation when you are lonely, you have to fend for yourself. Who knows when your friends can leave you? No one will care enough or only you can be trusted to take care of yourself. One last thing Scannel wanted his audience to follow was to grab every opportunity in life, rather than wait too long and have them go away. In the poem when the child waits too long to uncover himself he was too late because his friends had already gone. If he would have done sooner, he might have won the game. In the same way, if you wait too long to grab an opportunity, you just might miss it out altogether.

Existence of the soul

Existence of the soul Introduction There are a number of big philosophical questions that commonly interest philosophers. Chief among these questions is the existence of the soul. What will become of me when I die? Will I cease to exist or not? And if I do continue to exist will I remain in my current form or that of another life form? These are questions which are frequently discussed when talking about the soul. Platos work on life after death is regarded as one of the very first pieces of written philosophical work on the existence of the soul. Platos Phaedo is an attempt to answer these questions; an attempt to prove that the soul pre-exist the body and that it continues to live after death. Platos Phaedo must therefore be discussed if a conclusion is to be reached on whether the soul pre-exist the body. Much of Platos work, unlike many other philosophical writings, is in dialogue. Platos dialogues are named after the central character, which in this case, is Phaedo. Besides Phaedo, other important characters in t he dialogue are Echecrates with whom the dialogue begins with, Socrates who is the main character in the dialogue, Simmias of Thebes, a follower of the philosopher Pythagoras and Cebes whom also is a follower Pythagoras. Phaedo centres on the death of Socrates, who was sentenced to death in 399BC for corrupting the minds of the youth and denouncing the gods. After the trial, Socrates is in prison waiting to be condemned by drinking Hemlock and this is the point of Platos Phaedo which begins to look at life after death. It is clear that the introductory section of the dialogue takes place from (60a) whereby Socrates after massaging his leg states that pleasure and pain are closely related, despite the fact they are opposites. The point Socrates makes here seems logical as empirical experience shows that people cannot appreciate the ups of life without having the downs. Socrates then goes on to claim that anyone wise will follow him to death, as a wise person or a philosopher long to be released from the body. This is an important point of Platos dialogue as it ignites the discussion of the immortality of the soul. Why would Socrates claim that those who are wise should follow him to death shortly? For Socrates death is simply a release of the soul from the body. Socrates believes that firstly he will be entering the company of good and wise gods and secondly he expects to enter the company of dead people that are better than those still alive, thus it is good to leave life (Daniel Hill lecture notes, 2008). Furthermore the body for Socrates is a hindrance for a philosopher seeking the truth. The bodys demands such as food, drink and sex are not the concerns of a true philosopher and more so the body cannot provide reliable information, our senses constantly deceive us. (A fine examplemaybe example). The truth is the real nature of any given thing i.e. justice in itself, which has never been perceived by anybody. In order to reach the uncontaminated truth one mu st be pure and uncontaminated. Socrates goes as far to say the philosophers occupation consists precisely in the freeing and separation of the soul from body (Daniel Hill lecture notes, 2008). However by arguing this point Socrates is presuming that life exist after death, something which provokes Cebes to raise an objection questioning Socrates line of thought by highlighting that it is widely accepted that when one dies the soul may be released from the body and dispersed like smoke and so destroyed Cebes challenge is one which Socrates must respond to and he does so by producing four arguments to support his claim that the soul is immortal. First is the Argument from Opposites which aims to show the cycle of death and rebirth must go on forever. Secondly is the Theory of Recollection which aims to show that the reasoning part of the soul did exist before birth, thus making it plausible to hold that it will also exist after death. Third is the affinity argument, which concerns its elf too with the reasoning part of the soul, in particular the nature of the Forms and the control of desires. The final argument Plato introduces considers the soul as the cause of life. The Argument of Recollection is what must be discussed in detail due to as stated above it concerns itself with the pre-existence of the soul. Theory of Recollection The Theory of Recollection is introduced by Cebes, who briefly outlines the argument as follows: that all learning is just really recollection and that by recollecting it shows that we must have learned sometime before; which is impossible unless our souls existed somewhere before they entered this human shape. So it seems that the soul is immortal (Daniel Hill Lecture Notes 2008). Simmias then asks Cebes to remind him how the proof of Socrates theory of learning as recollection goes and Cebes provides two reasons. Firstly Cebes puts forth that when people are asked questions, if the question is put in the right way they can answer everything correctly, which they could not possibly do unless they were in possession of knowledge (Daniel Hill Lecture Notes 2008); and secondly if you confront people with a diagram or anything like that, the way in which they react provides the clearest proof that the theory is correct (Daniel Hill Lecture Notes 2008). Cebes argument is very vague; howe ver the point he seems to be trying to make can be understood by using a mathematical question. For example if you were asked, what is 6+33? You would give the answer of 39, yet it is unlikely that you would have learnt that exact sum beforehand, so the fact that you recognised it shows that you must have learnt it in a previous life. Cebes answer for Simminas is allusive thus Plato introduces Socrates to give the argument in full detail. In Phaedo Socrates begins with the suggestion that one can only recollect what one has learnt at some previous point. Socrates too understands that recollection is the process of being reminded of something and uses the example of lovers who are reminded of the person they love, when they recognise a piece of clothing or any other private property owned by their lover (Plato 2003). However to have prior knowledge of all things gained from experience within the world would be absurd, thus Plato outlines what he means is that we have knowledge of abs tract entities or as Plato describes the knowledge of Forms. What does Plato mean by abstract entities or Forms? Plato means entities such as justice, beauty, goodness and holiness etc. The example he gives is equality. Plato writes in Pheado We admit, I suppose, that there is such a thing as equality not equality of stick to stick and stone to stone and so on, but something beyond all that and distinct from it absolute equality (Plato 2003). Its seems what Platos argument is trying to show is that there is a concept of equality which is recollected when we view certain objects, such as two sticks of similar length or if we feel the weight of two stones of similar weight and we know whether or not they are of equal weight because we understand the concept of equality without it ever being taught. However what must be understood is that Plato is not saying that equality is within the sticks and stones themselves, as they may appear equal to me but unequal to another; but rather by seeing the sticks and the stones that we get the idea of absolute equality.Socrates then continues to highlight that we are aware that sticks and stones do fall short of being equal, but to be conscious of the fact that they fall short means that we must have a the concept of what it is to be perfectly equal. However how do we know of this equality when Plato denies empirical knowledge as reliable? Socrates answers That we must have had some previous knowledge of equality before the time when we first realised (Plato 2003). Therefore Socrates deduces that we obtained our knowledge of equality before birth. So if this holds true with equality then it must hold true with all other abstract entities or Forms such as beauty and justice. However Socrates continues claiming that Each of us loses this knowledge at the moment of birth, but afterwards by pertinent exercise of our senses, recover the knowledge which we once had before, I suppose that we call learning (Plato 2003). Hence Socra tes concludes that all learning is recollection. Socrates then moves on to present an alternative explanation to support his argument claiming that someone who truly knows a subject ought to be able to explain it to others, yet most people cannot explain the things that he (Socrates) has been explaining to Simmias (http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/phaedo/section5.rhtml). Socrates explains that if someone can be brought to recollect knowledge of the kind he is explaining and then able to explain that knowledge to others, then it goes to show that knowledge existed in a past life and it was forgotten the at birth. Simmias raises an objection to this point stating that perhaps we gain knowledge at birth, but Socrates simply reminds him that if we possessed it at birth then surely it would be absurd to lose it at the exact same moment we gained that knowledge. Socrates then concludes that the existence of the soul before birth is as certain as the existence of beauty, goodness, and all things in themselves that the soul supplies knowledge of when we see the physical things that approximate to them Platos argument Platos argument seems to be coherent and reaches a sound conclusion that the soul pre-exist birth. However the argument has been criticised by many philosophers due to the gaps within the argument. These gaps within Platos argument must be explored in order to come to a conclusion on whether the Theory of Recollection does prove that the soul pre-exist the body. A chief criticism of Platos theory of recollection stems from the foundation of his argument. Plato discusses two different kinds of knowledge; intrinsic knowledge of the Forms (goodness, beauty and equality etc.) and the recollection of knowledge, and this is where the problem lies. In Phaedo Socrates is intent on showing that what we know was present before birth However Plato gives no explanation of when before birth we acquire this knowledge or how. Further, if we did come into this world knowing of abstract qualities such as justice, holiness and equality etc, the next thought would be that when did we first come into co ntact with these abstract qualities?. Plato gives no time frame and this is important as it obvious that when we, as humans get to a certain age all of us tend to know similar concepts such as those of the Forms described by Socrates in Phaedo. Further, Plato maintains that no true knowledge can come about from experience and that knowledge is innate; therefore experience from a previous life could not have given us the knowledge of the Forms, such as equality, beauty and justice etc. On the other hand in Platos defence that it could be said that our very first soul was created with such knowledge; that is our first soul was created with the knowledge of Forms. However there are those that object to this line of view claiming that Plato does not provide an answer on how the cycle of birth and death of the soul begin? And if it has a beginning how can it end? (http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/phaedo/section5.rhtml). Owen Mcleod highlights this fact stating If the soul cannot die, then the soul is indestructible. The general principle being assumed here seems to be that if x cannot die, then x is indestructible. But.If x is destructible, then x can die. This is clearly false. Inanimate objects of all sorts rocks, shoes, corporations can be destroyed, and hence are destructible, but they do not literally die upon destructionMore so is Platos meaning of equality. Plato advances equality not just as a relation to two objects but as a property in itself. Yet we wouldnt normally think of a single stick on its own of being able to have the property of equality and so forthFurther Platos knowledge as discussed above is not that of future events or empirical knowledge but that of the knowledge of the Forms. Therefore for the Argument from Recollection to work the Theory of Forms must be accepted. This is as Hackforth states: the doctrine of Forms is with that of the souls existence before its incarnation: in other words, they stand and fall together. Attempts to p rove the Theory of the Forms may succeed or fail, but what the significance here is that Platonised Socrates does not explicitly prove or justify the Theory of the Forms Another problem of Platos argument is regarding the type of judgment that Recollection of the Forms leads us to make.If as Plato states that everything we perceive in the world, including those sense perceived judgments; are sustained by the Forms, it would suggest that all human beings judgments are correct, as the Forms are pure truth. Yet this conclusion would be widely inaccurate as human beings make many incorrect judgments, the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster is a testament to this as it was human errors which resulted in destroying the lives of thousands of people. Conclusion Platos Theory of Recollection is a coherent argument and one which attempts to prove that the soul does pre-exist the body. Plato Phaedo works on many grounds due to the fact that we as human beings can relate too much of what Plato has written. It is widely accepted that when humans look at an object we can be reminded of a particular person or event. Therefore it does not seem strange to think of abstract qualities such as equality in the same way. Nonetheless, the Theory of Recollection rest upon premises which once examined shows misgivings within the argument. Plato Argument from Recollection relies heavy on his Theory of Forms which he assumes are not doubtable and due to this the Theory of Recollection automatically proves the existence of the soul. Yet the Forms are susceptible to doubt, as discussed before if humans decisions are imbued by the Forms then surely the Forms are doubtable as human beings decisions are incorrect time after time. Further modern day philosophy has simply described Phaedo as a religious doctrine supported by poets (Hackforth 1992), suggesting that Phaedo may have proved the pre-existence of the soul in Ancient Greek, yet now in the modern era it is must be seen as no more than a religious doctrine which was widely accepted at the time. Against modern philosophy Platos argument does not appear to be justified. Karl Poppers falsification theory, for example, demands that any suggestion that is put forward must be done so in terms that allows it to be falsified. If the idea requires certain assumptions that are impossible to prove, like the Theory of the Forms, then we cannot consider it as being valid Yet the context in which the dialogue was written must be considered when evaluating the Theory of Recollection. Socrates is condemned to death and his final hours are upon him, it is clear that Socrates purpose in the dialogue is to explain his views on death to his friends. Socrates lack of concern in the face of death surprises Cebes and Simminas and this prompts Socrates to convey his views on the immortality of the soul. Furthermore the period the dialogue was written, it was universally accepted that life existed after death. Thus Plato task is to link life after death to life before death. Therefore a modern reader must bare this in mind when considering Platos Theory of Recollection. Thus after examining Platos Theory of Recollection it can be concluded that though the argument is coherent, key premises are subject to criticism which undermines Platos argument. Furthermore with development of modern philosophy and developments in science the Theory of Recollection is subject to further failings, thus to a modern reader it would be difficult to accept the Theory of Recollection as golden proof for the pre-existence of the soul, yet at the time Plato wrote Phaedo the argument would have been accepted by a great number of people.

Hostile Takeover of the New World Essay -- Native American History Ind

Hostile Takeover of the New World The Effects of the United States Government on the Indians "The responsibility of any nation, and the particular responsibility of elected officials of any nation, is not to justify what has passed for legality but to anticipate the conditions and problems of tomorrow and attempt to deal with them. The current confusion and violence in Indian Country are a result of the failure to do so by generations of elected officials in this country. To continue to perpetuate myths about American Indians which have no basis in fact or in law is merely avoiding the larger issues confronting the nations of the world," said author Vine Deloria, Jr. (Deloria, Prologue) The United States government failed miserably in its attempt to deal with the Indians. By pushing them further and further West, they pushed the Indians to hate and distrust the white man to the point of war. These wars resulted in hundreds of white deaths. However, the wars resulted in the destruction of several entire Indian tribes and the near extinction of Indian spirit throughout America. The tale is a sad one, one that Americans should not be proud of. After every broken treaty, the Americans blamed the Indians for existing, despite the want of the Indians to simply live on their lands peacefully. The "Trail of Tears" was a great tragedy and many thought it would be the last now that all of the Indians were out of the eastern United States. But the U.S. government became land hungry and due to their idealism of "Manifest Destiny," the ... ... guide them as time passes and the Indians are further stereotyped as drunks and crooked casino owners. Alas, the ways of the Indians were replaced. Sacred hunting territories gave way to railroads and ranches. Buffalo are an animal of the past and often thought of as an animal of mysticism. Both the buffalo and the Indian culture are romanticized in movies that are neither truthful nor accurate. Stereotypes and prejudices replaced unity and togetherness. Pollution haunts every city on the planet. Respect of one's fellow man gave way to crimes unthought of by the Indians. They lived their lives honorably. They died honorably. Even despite hardships and misconceptions, they will continue to live honorably. That is one thing the government can never take away from them.