Beauty and the Beast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Beauty and the Beast - Essay Example In addition to women equality, Rich also broadened her writing to promote equality for gays, those disenfranchised by race and class (Rich 5). From the title â€Å"When we dead awaken: writing as a revision† it is practically difficult to believe how many people have been affected including women and those who don’t have an idea of what is happening (Rich 5). According to Rich, it is exhilarating to be alive at the time of awakening consciousness since it leads to confusion, disorientation and pain (Rich 7). By the virtue that the work is a revision, the main idea is to look back and seeing with fresh eyes of entering an old text from a new critical direction (Rich 7). Relatively, the main idea is to create self knowledge for women who keep searching for identity and refusal to self-destructiveness in the male dominated world (Rich 7). Cupid and Psyche is a well known tales written by Lucius Apuleius in C.E. 150 (Apuleius 1). The tale narrates about a major obstacle that was overcoming to the love between Psyche (which means breath of life or soul) and Cupid (which means desire) (Apuleius 3). The main obstacle was affecting the ultimate attachment of the two in marriage. The story elaborately describes theme of dangerous curiosity, punishment, tests and redemption through divine favor (Apuleius 5). Tiger’s bride by Angela Carter is another love story of a woman who moved in with a mysterious masked Milord (Carter 2). The Milord was a beast and the marriage ended up after her father lost in a gambled game of cards forcing him to award the Milord with his daughter (Carter 3). The Milord was eventually revealed to be a tiger (Carter 5). However, a happy ending is exhibited when â€Å"The courtship of Mr. Lyon,† the heroin transformed into a glorious tiger a proper mate to the beast (Carter 5). The lady and the lion is another short tale about a man who had three

MKTG 3000 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

MKTG 3000 - Essay Example changing consumer behaviour highlights that approximately 65-70% of consumers fall within the category of â€Å"multichannel shoppers† and increasingly has the highest purchasing power (Weinberg et al, 2007). As a result, Weinberg et al posit that it is â€Å"critical that organisations effectively employ a multichannel marketing approach, as consumers in B2C contexts now expect it† (Weinberg et al, 2007, p.385). It is evident that retailers are now moving away from the conventional economics based approach to consider the benefit of integrating effective customer relationship management (CRM) into business strategy to create value for its customers For example, Vollmer and Precourt argue that the underlying basis for marketing is rooted in economic principles of exchanging goods for value (2008). It is precisely this concept of â€Å"value† that has been at the heart of marketing strategy in persuading consumers to exchange value for goods in conventional business strategy. However, as the business models continue to evolve in line with changing consumer habits and retail channels, Vargo and Lusch point to the fact that economical basis for traditional marketing strategy has been forced to adapt to remain relevant (2004). â€Å"very nature of network organisation†¦..and the potential impact on the organisation of consumption all suggest that a paradigm shift for marketing may not be far over the horizon†(in Vargo and Lusch, 2004). They highlight the point that retailers have been forced to move away from the focus on tangible goods in light of the increasing consumer value attached to intangibles, thereby underpinning the â€Å"paradigm shift† in providing value in marketing. A significant part of this has been the move away from the economic model to the recognition of marketing as a social and economic process (Vargo and Lusch, 2004). In evaluating this â€Å"paradigm shift†, Gronroos refers to the fact that customer relationship economics presses the need for

Sociological Explanations for Gender Differences in Crime

Sociological Explanations for Gender Differences in Crime Outline and assess sociological explanations for gender differences in patterns of crime. In recent years, based on the official statistics collected and recorded by the police, the number of people committing crime has increased rapidly. There are striking gender differences in the patterns of recorded crime. Women appear to commit fewer crimes than men and, when they do offend, women tend to commit different kinds of crime from men. The question is, does women really commit fewer crimes than men? Or men were born to have a criminal instinct inside them? From functionalists perspective, women do not commit crime because of sexual theory and differences in the socialisation. For example, women perform the expressive role in the home where they take the responsibility for socialising the children while men are socialised to be tough, rough and risk taking and this mean they are likely to commit acts of violence or take advantage of criminal opportunities when they present themselves. In addition, functionalists argue that gender differences in patterns of crime are due to the control theory. For example, women are controlled and more likely to be at home, they are not in the pubs or clubs getting drunk which makes them hardly exposed to commit crimes. While Interactionists refuse official statistics on crime and believe they are socially constructed. What is classed as crime or deviance is based on subjective decisions by agents of social controls (e.g. police and jury) which is also called as labelling theory. For instance, based on labeling theory, men get labeled as being violent and a criminal while women do not. Feminism, on the other hand, disagrees with both functionalism and interactionism, feminists theory is a radical theory. They accept that women do commit crime but they commit crime because of different reasons in comparison with other sociologists.There are a number of feminist perspectives. First and foremost, according to Marxist feminists, they claim that women are under oppression of a dominant power structure (patriarchal society). Marxist feminists argue that men often take advantage and greater control over women which indirectly reduces women opportunities to commit crime.We can see women are controlled by men not just in a wider society but also at home and work.For example, housewives are required to spend most of their time at home taking care of the children and do all the house chores which impose severe restrictions on their time and movement and indirectly minimise their opportunities to offend.Women who try to reject their role as housewives may find that their partners will force them to do it through domestic violence. As Dobash and Dobash (1979) show, many violent attacks result from mens dissatisfaction with their wives performance of domestic duties. These automatically shows that domestic violence are mostly committed by men. While at work, womens b ehaviour are controlled by male supervisors and managers and keep women in their places as most of them only given the opportunity to be in subordinate position.However, eventhough they are only given the lower position compare to men at work, women reduces their opportunities to involve in major criminal activity at work. Women are also controlled in public spaces by the threat or fear of male violence against them, especially sexual violence.Frances Heidensohn (1996) notes that sensationalist media reporting of rapes add to womens fear and frighten them into staying indoors. For example, Women are more likely to stay at home before night as they are afraid something will happen if they are outside.Furthermore, women are controlled in public by their fear of being defined as not respectable. These eventually prevent women from committing crime such as prostitution as it will deviate them from the norms of the society. In general, these patriarchal restrictions on womens lives mean they have fewer chances for crime. However Heidensohn recognizes that male dominated society can also push women into crime.For example, women are more likely to be poor as they did not get the opportunity to get a job in a higher position due to inequalities in gender. As a result, they will commit crime such as being a dru g dealer or prostitution for them to live in a decent life. Next, based on the results of unstructured interviews carried by Pat Carlen (1988) most convicted serious crime female criminals are working-class. People will turn to crime if they do not believe the rewards will be forthcoming and if the rewards of crime appear greater than the risks.Women are generally led to comform through the promise of two types of rewards or deals.Firstly, women will find a job which will give them material rewards with a comfortable standard of living and leisure opportunities which also called the class deal.Secondly, the gender deal for example, men promises their wives with material and emotional rewards if they conform to the norms of a traditional domestic gender role such as taking care of the children and doing housework. In return, if these rewards are not available or worth the effort women will choose to commit crime to replace the rewards. However in terms of class deal, women in working-class are more likely to offend than middle-class women.So even if working-class women put on efforts more than middle-class women do, they still have a limited way or could not even find an allowed way of earning a decent living and this will bring them to commit crime as a way for them to run from poverty. In terms of gender deal, because of the patriarchal family norms, most of the women either not had the chance to make the deal or saw few rewards and many disadvantages in family. As example, some of them might be subjected to domestic violence by partners.Many women cocluded that crime was the only route to a decent standard of living. They had nothing to lose and everything to gain, which is the reason why they do offend. Carlen conclude that, for these women, poverty and oppressive family life were the main causes of their criminality.In general, Heidonsohn shows that male dominated society which control women helps to prevent w omen from deviating while Carlen shows that the failure of patriarchal society in delivering the promised deals to some women removes the controls which prevent them from offending. Last but not least, according to liberation feminist which is the closest type of feminism to the consensus view of society, nowadays women has become liberated from patriarchy and led to a new type of female criminal and eventually rises the crime rate. As now women get the same opportunities received by men which have become more equal, such as in education, employment, and political activity they are now more likely to commit more serious crime such as violence and white-collar crimes. Women no longer commit traditional female crimes such as shoplifting and prostitution because they now have greater opportunities in the society.However, not all women got liberated, most of female criminals are working class who still commit traditional crimes.Liberation feminist point of view shows us the importance of investigating the relationship between changes in womens role affects changes in patterns of women offending.

Ireland :: essays research papers

Why are the Irish so lucky? What is a leprechaun? Is there really gold at the end of a rainbow? And why does everyone drink green beer on St. Patrick's Day? These questions all have one thing in common, they are myths from the Emerald Isle we all call Ireland. In this paper I will try to explain these myths through Ireland's people, their Celtic tradition, and their religion. To understand the people of Ireland, you first need to understand where Ireland is and what it's like there. Ireland is an island, to the West of England. The climate in Ireland is rainy, year round. Ireland has a little bit of everything from the mountains and castles, to the coasts and pastures. People first came to Ireland about 10,000 years ago. Ireland was one of the last parts of Europe to become inhabited. The people who came to Ireland probably went across the land bridges that linked England to Scotland, and Scotland to Ireland. These first people lived mostly along the coasts of Ireland eating berries, small animals, and shell fish. Then about 6,000 years ago, these tribes of people started to become more advanced and civilized. They raised cattle and sheep and farmed the land for crops. They also moved further inland and had very extravagant burial grounds. Next around 2000 BC, the Bronze age came upon Ireland. The Irish people quickly became infamous for their weapons made of metal, especially their swords. This encouraged trade amongst other European countries, mainly England, Spain, and Portugal. By 500 BC the Celtic people had started to invade Ireland. The Celts as they were known were a very aggressive tribal group that originated as a Germanic tribe. They had defeated the Romans for a slight time period, but eventually they were run out of Europe. Their only safe haven was Ireland. For some reason, the Romans stopped their Empire at England. In Ireland, the Celtic people easily over threw the simple Irish tribes. This happened for two main reasons, 1) The Celts were much better fighters, and 2) There was about five times as many Celts as there were Irish tribes men. The Celts were not just great fighters though, Roman writers described them as being 'lively, imaginative people fond of fighting and hunting as well as poetry and storytelling. They had a complex tribal community made up of chieftains, warriors, poets, and Druids, (the priests of their mystical

American Airlines and US Airway’s Merger Essay

Abstract American Airlines has suffered tremendous profit losses over the last few years. The losses have been so great that the company filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The news for the Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection was a shock to many, considering the fact that they had enough money to operate and cover their losses through the following year. The merger indeed was great decision on behalf of American Airlines. The merger itself was questionable. The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against regarding concerns that it could raise prices for consumers. A settlement was reached and the world largest airline has been formed. American Airlines has been suffering for many years. The company has suffered more losses than profits. Jobs have been cut; benefits have been scaled back, and the pilots of American Airlines are paid a lot lower salaries than their competitors. Many of them have been furloughed. All of these and many other factors have contributed to American deciding to create the world largest airlines with US Airways. In this essay I will discuss the circumstances that resulted in the merger, assess the significant positive (or negative) effects of the merger, and examine the organizational structure that has resulted from the merger. American Airlines filed for bankruptcy in November 2011. According to an interview with Richard Quest of CNN, Thomas Horton the new CEO of American Airlines stated that the company was forced into bankruptcy because of the cost disadvantages it faced compared to it’s competitors that had already gone through a bankruptcy. The news came as a shock to many. The company had enough money  to sustain the losses that it may incur through the next year. Although the company had the money to operate, the company still decided to go through with filing for bankruptcy (Isidore & Ellis, 2011). At one time American was the world largest carrier, it had dropped to third in the recent years. The company has reported only one quarter where a profit was made since 2007, and lost 4.8 billion over those three and a half years. The company was projected to continue to suffer losses. Now that the merger has been approved, American will be able to get themselves out of their Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (Isidore & Ellis, 2011). Now that the merger is complete, the new American Airlines has ordered over 600 new aircrafts that are updated and more modern. The new aircrafts will allow them to compete with their competitors. In the past they have lost a great deal of money from their business class travelers due to their lack of the amenities that their competitors carry on their aircrafts (American, US Airways reach merger deal., 2013). The two joining airlines will offer over 6,700 daily flights to 336 destinations in 56 countries. The merger will not distress any of the hubs presently served by American Airlines and US Airways. American Airlines has been in bankruptcy for a little over a year, and the merger will be effected pursuant to a plan of reorganization under Chapter 11. â€Å"The combination of American and US Airways brings together two highly complementary networks with access to the best destinations around the globe and gives us a strong platform to provide our customers the most connected, comfortable travel experience available,† Horton said â€Å"The operational and financial strength of the combined airline is expected to enable continued investment in new products and technologies and will create exciting new opportunities for our people, even as we deliver strong cash flow and sustainable profitability.† (American, US Airways reach merger deal., 2013). The merger with Us Airways allowed American Airlines to come out of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December. Being able to do so was the first time that a major airline has been able to satisfy a bankruptcy with a return on equity for its shareholders. By deciding to partner with a smaller, but stable US Airways, the company was able to raise the value of the combine stock. Pursuant to the plan of reorganization, so-called double-dip, single-dip, and intercompany claims were settled through a delivery process which distributed the proceeds of America Airlines’ estate based on the  trading price of the new company’s common shares. This quick fix solution lessens the opportunity of appraisal disputes by guaranteeing creditors got a current market value. When it was all said and done, American Airlines creditors, including its unsecured creditors were given payment in full. For the first time in a major airline reformation, shareholders were able to accept a return on their equity. The approved stock exchange merger left American Airlines shareholders with 72% of the new company and the US Airway investors with the lingering 28%.US Airways decided to do what most company who are going through a merger wouldn’t. They negotiated with American Airlines unions before finalizing the merger. This established a foundation of a cooperative negotiating agreement for the new company, so that labor disagreements would not disrupt or lengthen the merger development. Following numerous noteworthy airline merges it was predictable that the formation of one of the world’s largest carriers would raise some anti-tr ust hurdles. The first curtailed from the US government. The airline seized a proactive tactic, agreeing to surrender some of it apertures at airports around the US, leading to court approval of the merger (Thomas, 2014). Although the two companies have merged and are legally one entity, they have both agreed to operate separately until they can integrate both systems successfully. As with any merger, both sides will suffer losses of their employees. Majority of the top leadership positions will be held by US Airways top executives in the new American Airlines. US Airways CEO Doug Parker will head the merged carrier. Of the top eight executive positions, five of those positions come from the US Airways’ side. American CEO Tom Horton will be the chairman of the board, and will continue on through until the first meeting of the new board next year. Parker will keep the executives that he is more familiar with. The new leadership team includes US Airways President Scott Kirby and others who have worked alongside Parker for several years (American and US Airways name merged airline leadership, 2013). American Airlines has suffered tremendously over the last few years. Us Airway which is a smaller company, was in a better position financially than American. Although Us Airway was more stable, they didn’t have access to many of the locations that American Airlines did. The merger was a great idea for both. American was able to get out of their Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier than anticipated. They have switched over from the Star  Alliance and move to One world global alliance. The new company now has over a 100,000 employees worldwide. Nothing but positive results seems to be coming from the merger of the two. In the beginning, the merger was questionable, and the Justice Department along with six other states filed a lawsuit against the company. The reason for the lawsuit is that they were in fear of the creation of the world largest airline raising prices on travelers. The slight raise in ticket sales, fees for flight changes, check bags, would be detrimental to consumers. American Airlines and US Airways were able to settle the suit and bring everyone to ease. In summary, the merger has run smoothly thus so far and according to plan. Currently both companies are operating individually although they are legally identified as one entity. The companies are working to collaborate their systems together as well. At the point in time, they are honoring each other’s flier miles and plan. Some of them have been eliminated to coincide with the polices of the company. American Airlines decided to merge with Us Airways to regain its place as the world largest airline. The reason for the merger has been negative on American’s side, but will benefit their company in the long run. In my essay, I have attempted to explain In the circumstances that resulted in the merger, assess the significant positive (or negative) effects of the merger, and examine the organizational structure that has resulted from the merger.

A Comparison of Four Literary Works Essay

Great writing does not necessarily make a great work of literature. More often than not, there has to be something special about a writer’s work of art. This could be also considered their trademarks, signatures that had set them on canonical status. Shakespeare has his soliloquies, Hawthorne attacks the Puritans, Hemmingway uses symbols, Borges possesses fondness for infinity, and the list goes on. However, there could be some similarities between these literary signatures of writers. It is important to take note that having similarities does not render a writer less special than others. What is remarkable about the works sharing similarities in their trademarks is that they all express a common concern—concerns that could be considered as major issues in the society. The selected works had all talked about women and social status.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The literary works that this paper would feature are Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"The Birthmark†, Flannery O’Connor’s â€Å"A Goodman Is Hard To Find†, William Faulkner’s â€Å"A Rose For Emily†, and James Joyce’s â€Å"The Dead.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hawthorne’s â€Å"The Birthmark† had shown us how the male-dominated society perceives women. In the narrative, there was a beautiful woman named Georgiana. She was almost perfect, however, her most visible flaw was her hand-shaped birthmark on her cheek—thus the title. She was married to a scientist named Aylmer who is not pleased with Georgiana’s birthmark. Since he was a scientist, Aylmer conducted a procedure to supposedly fix his wife’s face. As a consequence of the Aylmer’s discontent, Georgiana died while under operation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hawthorne story tells us that women are commonly judged according to their physical appearance and not according to the beauty of their intellect and character. Moreover, the story suggested to us that the pride of the male specie is on of the main reason for the oppression of women in the society. It is very likely that Aylmer had treated his beautiful wife as a mere accessory to display to the public. As we could observe in the history of societies, husbands are judged according to their wives, and vice-versa.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In William Faulkner’s â€Å"A Rose For Emily†, women are presented in a rather disturbing manner. The story is basically about a former aristocrat woman who had kept the corpse of her beloved in her bedroom. That is not to mention that she is the one who killed her beloved and she had slept with the dead corpse—â€Å"slept†, with all the connotations of the word.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Faulkner has this talent to disturb people with seemingly harmless countryside scenarios. But what is remarkable about this particular work is the depiction of how a woman could love a man. A woman’s version of love is a topic that is rarely touched throughout the long history of literature. â€Å"A Rose For Emily† tells us that a woman could love unconditionally even if their love is unrequited. Moreover, â€Å"A Rose For Emily† touches the topic of social status. In the story, Emily came from a family of aristocrat status. The object of her affection, Homer Barron, came from a common family. The difference in their social status had somehow prevented them from getting married. In addition to that, it is Emily’s social status that had made the townspeople treat her differently. On a different tone, Flannery O’Connor’s â€Å"A Goodman Is Hard To Find† had depicted women and social status on a less favorable stance. The protagonist of the story was an annoying grandmother. The family in the story wanted to go to Florida, but the grandmother insisted that they go to Tennessee. The grandmother cited the news that there was a roaming criminal along the way to Florida just to scare off the family. On their way to Florida, the grandmother’s words became true that she and the family had actually encountered the criminal. As a ploy to save herself, the grandmother constantly tells the criminal sarcastic remarks like â€Å"you are a nice person.† With regards to social status, the criminal was aware that the grandmother was just pretending to treat him as a nice person. The criminal already knows what to expect from the society with regards to place of criminals within the social thread. The criminal knows that people like him would always be discriminated by people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is almost the same case for James Joyce’s â€Å"The Dead.† The author had reiterated the notion that women are good at telling lies. The disturbing ending of the narrative tells the readers that Gretta, the wife of the protagonist (Gabriel), was deeply in love with someone who already died. The conflict was she was already married with an insecure man. The ending of the story shows us how Gretta’s action of not telling her husband her past had such a tragic impact on his insecurities. On the note of social status, Gabriel’s insecurities were highlighted during the gathering, where most of the plot had developed. His insecurities were most rooted from his social status. When he was interacting with people of higher social status, he would be insecure of his intellect, language, and physical appearance. There is a subtle hint in the story that social status has some effects on a person’s confidence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   All in all, the recurring themes of women and social status could be roughly considered as clichà ©s. However, it is important to take into consideration that these issues should not be forgotten. It is just remarkable for these great writers to reiterate these issues that the society is seemingly eluding. Moreover, the recurrence of these themes tells us that the issues of women and social status are still unresolved by the society. Perhaps if people would read these stories, the society could come up with solutions to the problems at hand.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If I were made to choose a favorite among the feature stories, I would have to choose Faulkner’s â€Å"A Rose For Emily.† Aside from its innovative use of point of view through the townspeople, the story touches themes that are both close to heart, like love, and socially relevant like social status. Works Cited Faulkner, William. A Rose for Emily. An Introduction to Literature. Ed. Joseph Terry. New York: Longman, 2001 Hawthorne, Nathaniel. â€Å"The Birthmark†. Demas, C. Various, Mjf. Great American Short Stories: From Hawthorne to Hemingway.   Spark Educational Publishing: USA, 2004 Joyce, James.   Dubliners. Penguin Books: England, 1993 O’Connor, Flannery. A Good Man is Hard to Find. NJ:   Rutgers University Press, 1993

Corporate Citizenship - Becks Theory of the World Risk Society

Corporate Citizenship - Becks Theory of the World Risk Society Lucianne WhiteCorporate CitizenshipAssignment 1IntroductionCorporate citizenship is based on the premise that businesses will actresponsibly towards society, thus proving to be socially responsible.This essay will look at the three theories of citizenship.Risk in society is viewed by three main approaches, human behaviourapproach, techno-scientific approach and sociocultural approach.Each of these approaches puts yet another spin on the definition ofrisk and how it affects our population. This essay will look at riskfrom the 'world risk society' point of view.It will endeavour to explain Beck's theory of the 'risk society' anddiscuss how his theory might be applied as a useful framework forexamining the level of corporate citizenship in organisations.It will also include a look at how other theorists define risk. Inconclusion it will evaluate and comment on the usefulness of Beck'smodel.Corporate CitizenshipA citizen is a member of a modern political community (i.e.Corporation: Peopl ethenation-state) who posesses formally defined rights and responsibilitiesby virute of membership to that nation, typically including the right tobe involved in selecting governments (Bessant Watts, 1999).Corporate citizenship is therefore corporations which have rights andresponsibilites of their own, as well as obligations to their community.Corporate citizenship is based on three theories; minimalist,communitarian and universal rights. We will look briefly at what eachtheory means.Minimalist is where citizens strive towards their own goals with verylittle interference. They realise there are rules which regulate theirbehaviour and are able to function individually.Communitarian is where the communitys' well being outweighs theindividuals rights. Everyone works towards reaching the communitygoals rather than focusing on personal goals.Universal rights is where everyone pursues their own goals andinterests but makes sure to consider others rights. Being aware...

War for Talent

War for Talent Introduction The global economy has significantly expanded within the last decade. Human resource managers, business leaders, and other entrepreneurs at large have found it increasingly challenging to recruit new and skilled workforce in their business institutions.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on War for Talent specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These business organisations need skilled employees for critical entrepreneurial processes such as decision-making and strategic planning in order to gain competitive advantage in both local and global markets. However, the gap between the need for skilled workers and available employment positions is seemingly becoming a challenge for many business organizations around the globe. This phenomenon has crowned into a war for talent that has challenged the accomplishment of goals and objectives for many businesses and organisations. This paper provides insight to the extent to wh ich war for talent has become both a local and global challenge for businesses and organizations. The Global War for Talent Numerous researchers have unveiled that many organisations, especially in America, Nordic region, and Asia, have gradually fallen short of competitive talents (Chambers, Foulon, Handfield-Jones, Hankin, Michaels 1998). The world underwent an immense revolution in terms of technology during the last decade. Apparently, technology has led to the expansion of businesses and the invention of new ones. As a result, many companies have sprouted within this technological revolution leading to new brands in the market. However, Klein (2013) claims that there is no adequate professional talent to fill the labour gap that is associated with this nature of organisational dynamism. There is an increasing demand for expertise knowledge about a variety of professional dimensions such as information and technology literacy, free and private enterprise skills, strategic plann ing, and international shrewdness (Chambers et al. 1998). Lately, due to the aforementioned trend of events, multinational companies have begun to seek talents from foreign countries where quality education is highly regarded. In their research, the authors note that the shortage of talents in business organisations has forced some executive directors to serve an increasing number of companies in their career life.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This situation is due to the urge for companies to seek the best business leaders to manage their companies. According to Chambers et al. (1998), many companies extend less weight to the practice of nurturing talents within their business organisations. Global Leadership Many multinational corporations across the globe have championed to secure the world’s best business executives to lead their businesses (Ju 2013). There is a need for organisations to maintain competitive leaders in order to improve their bottom lines. Despite the urge for highly qualified professionals, many human resource managers of contemporary business firms face a hard time in search for brilliant talents from the twenty-first century generation (Larkan 2009). Due to competition and emergence of new markets for products, leaders of these business firms have to recruit professionals to take charge of the managerial jobs. However, the human resource managers meet the recruitment of business executives with the possibility of unforeseen shortcomings of taking on under qualified individuals, masked in volatile skills and knowledge about their anticipated responsibilities (Martin 2013). Furthermore, international firms have to persevere costly hiring of executives due to extreme competition, especially in emerging markets. According to the authors, the emerging markets have more war for talent than the developed markets. The quality of the products and size of the market depends on the expertise knowledge of the employees. The author unveils that multinationals have lately found difficulties to recruit and maintain highly talented personnel in their business organizations. A survey conducted by Klein (2013) to investigate the confidence of employees in their companies indicated that 71 percent of business executives were confident that they would be retained in their current positions for at least two to three years. Aging Population and Global Demographics Researchers have attested that there an increasing gap between the number of aged persons who leave the workforce and the availability of new talents to occupy the vacant positions (Burkus Osula 2011). The authors project that the global aging population will rise from 10 percent to 20 percent in the next three decades. Such demographics trend reflects a tremendous decrease of skilled labour force.Advertising We will write a custom essay sa mple on War for Talent specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The growth economies entirely hinge on the magnitude and superiority of the available workforce. Therefore, the foreseen decrease in qualified talents will lead to loss of human capital in many multinational corporations that drive the economies of many nations, both in the developing and developed world. As well, such loss of human capital will pose a very serious risk for growing and emerging economies. The demographic patterns of the world have also changed variably in nearly every geographic region of the world. The major factors that have affected the demographic patterns include improved longevity, reduced birth rates, and governance laws on birth control. The above factors reflect a decline in the overall productive population in the next few decades (Spitulnik 2009). Further research has revealed that, if the demographic trend continues, there will reach a time when the elderly people will have to remain in the workforce for considerably more years than today. The author reveals that several countries have changed the retirement laws for future economic security. For instance, China is the magnitude of local talents has reduced in the past five years due to higher retirement rates than the employment rates. The situation has forced employers to hire experts from other countries to supplement the low number of existing local workforce (Levy, Beechler, Taylor, Boyacigiller 2007). Skills Gap and Diversity Irrespective of the declining workforce, there is still an outsized worldwide population of both literate and illiterate people that does meet the minimum threshold for employment (Levy et al. 2007). The quest for tech-savvy workforce to take hold of technologically aligned employment positions in computing, information technology, and most engineering industries has created a questionable skills gap. The authors attest that there is a global shortage of te chnologists to take on employment in automated industries due to insufficiency of high-level technology skills. Moreover, the diversification of global business firms and industries has raised the demand for all-round workforce that can adjust to different business environments with little or no challenges. Workers participating in international business affairs have to acquire diverse proficiency skills in disciplines such as culture relations, information technology, linguistics, and general enterprise skills. Furthermore, contemporary multinational companies thrive in a world that is highly globalized (Larkan 2009).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Mobility of Talents Because of globalisation, Levy et al. (2007) reveals that most international regulations that govern emigration have been waivered to pave a way for business activities across the different spheres of the globe. The loosening of emigration laws has challenged individuals worldwide to venture into global labour markets. As a result, there has been mobility of talents from one country to another as individuals get employment both in mainland or overseas countries. Ng (2013) claims that globalisation has eased the process of hiring brilliant talents from foreign countries. In the aforementioned, China and Japan are leading examples in the importation of the labour force to fill in their employment gaps due to their state of declining productive population. Many researchers have posited that mobility because of the war for talent has led to elevated emigration rates (Levy et al. 2007). This phenomenon has resulted in brain drain for the majority of the talented worke rs who leave their own countries for employment in foreign nations. However, in a number of cases, some countries, especially in the Unites States, have encouraged the need for talent flow, contrary to brain drain. This practice has promoted the return of skills to home countries in order to boost local talents. Integration of Mobility and Global Talent Undoubtedly, mobility is an important business opportunity that many leaders highly prioritise. Ju (2013) speculates that the magnitude of globally mobile workforce will rise significantly in the next 5 years. There is a need for business leaders to integrate mobility and global talents in order to compensate for skill gaps. Multinational organisations have to develop new leaders and acquaint them with the necessary skills, knowledge, and experience to establish new markets. The importance of integrating mobility and global talents is to nurture future talents that can save the global economy from suffering enormous losses due to ski ll gap. In a survey conducted by Chambers et al. (1998) to seek opinions on global mobility, the authors revealed that 61 percent of the respondents perceived global mobility as a crucial strategy for developing their talents and life careers. Apparently, 38 percent suggested that progressive global mobility could become more important for multinationals if business leaders could give the idea much more weight. According to Martin (2013), business leaders need to understand the importance of integrating mobility and talents in an attempt to improve global talent competency. Development of Talents According to Klein (2013), there are potential recruits for diverse employment opportunities worldwide. However, the challenge of recruiting and retaining such potential employees is the biggest question from many organisations. Researchers have revealed that there is a global pool of university graduates, who bear unreliable expertise for industrial and/or commercial activities. As a resul t, some organisations have sought new ways of maintaining their personnel through talent development. For instance, McDonnell (2011) reveals the Asian case where leaders emphasize the development of employee talents more than in any other place on the globe. A survey conducted by Levy et al. (2007) revealed that over 60 percent of the companies in Asian countries reported less satisfaction experienced from the performance of new employees. As a result, these companies advocate for the development of employee skills in order to nurture and maintain their talents. This strategy builds the companies’ confidence in the performance of their employees, and thus enhances the need to retain them. Besides Asia, other countries such as China, India, Latin America, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe have recently embraced the development of talents for employees. Concisely, the development of talents develops the overall specialisation skills and experience of employees. Hence, it impr oves both personal and organisational performance (Spitulnik 2011). The Local War on Talent War for talent is not only a challenge at the global arena but also an impasse at the local level. Many local companies have also found themselves in the fight for skilled professionals to take on crucial managerial positions (Levy et al. 2007). The local companies are as good as the multinational corporations. While the multinational corporations rule the global economy, the local business firms and enterprises run the regional economy. A major challenge that faces the local companies is the mobility of talents to foreign countries. Many companies underpay their skilled workforce owing to varying economic status quos for diverse countries across the globe. Consequently, skilled workers seek better compensations from the global labour market. To a considerable extent, mobility deprives the local companies of competent talents. Ng (2013) confirms that there is improper coordination of local ta lents in many countries across continents. There is a misalignment of the education system with the employment sector. So many scholars graduate from local universities only to miss their career job opportunities due to unavailable opportunities for their pursued degree programme. Others end up in underemployment in very different sectors that do not match with their learned skills. Leaders of local companies have to develop and retain local talents in order to foster job specialisation and adequacy of the required skills. Conclusion The war for talent remains an inevitable practice for multinational companies. Local companies have no exception too. The competition for experts is the determinant for the accomplishment of organisational goals and objectives. Therefore, worldwide multinational companies will continue investing huge sums of their finances to facilitate the recruitment of talented workforce through rigorous examination of their skills and leadership abilities. In additi on, the mobility of talents is an ever-growing phenomenon as companies seek talents from the best workforce developers of the world. China, in particular, is the world’s leading importer of talents due to its state of declining population. Researchers and policymakers have to deliberate on the best ways that companies could use in order to integrate global talents and mobility. Development of proper strategies and approaches to talent management is unavoidable for the success of both local and global businesses. Reference List Burkus, D Osula, B 2011, ‘Faulty Intel in the War for Talent: Replacing the Assumptions of Talent Management with Evidence-based Strategies’, Journal of Business Studies Quarterly, vol. 3 no. 2, pp. 1-9. Chambers, E.G, Foulon, M, Handfield-Jones, H, Hankin, M Michaels, G 1998, ‘The War for Talent’, The McKinsey Quarterly, vol. 1 no. 3, pp. 44-57. Ju, S 2013, ‘Global Talent War 2.0: From Hiring to Utilization’, SE RI Quarterly, vol. 6 no. 1, pp. 79-82. Klein, S 2013, ‘If you want to survive the talent war’, Smart Business Houston, vol. 8 no. 7, pp.11-11. Larkan, K 2009, Winning the Talent War: The 8 Essentials, Marshall Cavendish Business, Singapore. Levy, O, Beechler, S, Taylor, S Boyacigiller, N 2007, ‘What we talk about when we talk about ‘global mindset’: managerial cognition in multinational corporations’, Journal of International Business Studies, vol. 38 no. 2, pp. 231–258. Martin, A 2013, ‘New War on Talent’, Leadership Excellence, vol. 30 no.9, p. 7. McDonnell, A 2011, ‘Still Fighting the War for Talent? Bridging the Science Versus Practice Gap’, Journal of Business Psychology, vol. 26 no. 2, pp. 169-173. Ng, T 2013, ‘The global war for talent: responses and challenges in the Singapore higher education system’, Journal of Higher Education Policy Management, vol. 35 no. 3, pp. 280-292. Spitulnik, J 2006, ‘Cognitive development needs and performance in and aging workforce’, Organization Development Journal, vol. 24 no. 3, pp. 44–53.

Dont call me a cougar

Don't call me a cougar Although the term cougar has become synonymous with older women who date younger men, its predatory image is neither accurate nor acceptable in the opinion of many women tagged with the label. Since theres no similar word to describe an older man who dates younger women, many feel its far from complimentary. In fact, they say it is ageist, sexist, and certainly not empowering to women. Celebrities from Demi Moore (whose husband Ashton Kutcher is 16 years her junior) to Kim Cattrall have emphatically stated, Dont call me a cougar! Cattrall in particular rejects the the idea that Samantha, the iconic character she played for six seasons on Sex and the City, is a cougar, saying that some who are uncomfortable with strong women use the term to label women. As Cattrall told the celebrity news show Extra, I dont see anything negative about Samantha and her sexuality, sensuality and choice. Long before Moore or Cattrall took a public anti-cougar stand, UK artist and entrepreneur Julia Macmillan defied the label by making the domain name dontcallmeacougar.com her own. There, she started a blog supportive of women in relationships with younger men because, as she sees it, it should be as normal for a woman to date a younger man as it always has been for a man to date or marry a younger women. Like many attractive and intelligent women who look younger than their years, Macmillan typically dated younger men not because she sought them out but because they had approached her and were more compatible than men her age. When she tried online dating in 2006, she found she wasnt connecting with the same type of men she had met in person; and those that were contacting her didnt suit her at all. Thinking that there had to be a better way, in 2007 she founded a UK dating website with a deliberately sassy, tongue-in-cheek name ToyboyWarehouse.com where members abide by one simple rule: that women date men at least a year younger, and men date women at least a year older. Nowhere on the website is the word cougar ever used. As Macmillan says, Its not empowering to women. She seems to have hit a nerve. Three years later, the site is so successful shes planning to launch a US version of ToyboyWarehouse in late 2010 in the New York City area. I spoke with Julia Macmillan about the cougar stereotype, the reasons why it persists even as women reject the term in growing numbers, and whether theres greater cultural acceptance in the UK or the US toward older female/younger male relationships. You avoid the term cougar and have said, In my view there should be no label. After all, there isnt one for a man who dates a younger woman. What is that stereotype that people have regarding cougars thats offensive to you? Its a stereotype of a woman whos looking for younger men for casual sex which is how the term started originally. I think theres so much more to it than that. The attraction is an enormous part a relationship but sometimes two people can be attracted to each other because they have so much in common. Cougar is too oversexualized and too predatory an image to apply to a broad section of women. Its just one particular type of woman, not all the types of women that necessarily date younger men. Quite a lot of women find it offensive because theyre not the predators. In fact, I know on our site its the young men who are chasing the women. These women are just fabulous. Theyre independent, attractive, but theyre not pouncing on young men. So I think its inaccurate and limiting. Women who routinely date younger men have told me its not as if either side is asking about their partners age. In fact, they say that age doesnt come up in the discussion. The men take the women at face value. Do you find this to be true? That is so true that comment is so spot on. Age doesnt really come up in the conversation. Women are looking fantastic; theyre looking better than before and taking care of their bodies. Its not like 10-15 years ago when a woman over 45 found herself abandoned by a husband who had left her for some young secretary. Today women have the same choices as men. I think cougar is a bit demeaning. Many women say it doesnt apply to them at all. They wouldnt want to be called a cougar and never refer to themselves as cougars. When you look at all the dating sites with cougar in the title there are pictures of attractive middle-aged women in a state of undress. Theres something slightly tacky about that. Theres a lot of really classy women out there who wouldnt want that label attached to them. When an older man dates a younger woman, nobody blinks. Yet not too long ago, if a woman dated a man just 3-5 years younger than herself, she faced disgust and outrage. Back then, shed have been called a cradle robber. Why does this double standard exist? Why is there such animosity towards women? I really think it has to do with whos losing ground in this whole thing. When you look at news articles in the online media referring to some new celebrity whos going out with a younger man, you get a lot of really unpleasant aggressive comments from men because theyre the ones who are going to be left out. Theyve had it their own way for so long; theyve always been able to play the field with women their own age or younger. For women, its been very restricting and socially unacceptable until fairly recently although I do think its been going on longer in a more secretive way for women to date younger men. And I dont mean to be racist about this, but it tends to be older white men that are upset. More and more women are acknowledging their sexuality which before they had to keep in a closed closet. And older white men dont like the kind of freedom that women have been gaining because they dont have so much power anymore. Unfortunately theyre the ones who tend to run the whole establishment and their views have been the predominant views. Women are becoming more powerful in more and more areas, including business and in their choice of partners. Men are going to have to accept the fact that theyre going to lose ground but that its going to be better for all of us in the end. What do you think younger men appreciate about older women? Older women, younger women thats all relative too. Ive got younger women signing up on ToyboyWarehouse who are 30 years old. Its the type of women they are. Theyre independent; theyve got great jobs; they arent looking for a man as a meal ticket because they can take care of themselves. Instead, theyre looking for a man to have a connection with. It could be a purely physical connection; it could be a mental and physical connection (which is obviously the best); but theyre not looking to be dependent on a man. I think that is what the men absolutely love. Older women tend not to have the ticking clock young women have who are looking for husband material. Older women tend to take the relationship as it comes and see how it develops. Most cougar dating websites treat women as if were simply sexual toys; they dont take the whole woman into account. Thats not the case with your website. What did you want to create in ToyboyWarehouse that you had not found on other existing sites? Ive had feedback from other women that confirmed my own bad experiences with online dating. I was 46 when tried it for the first time in the summer of 2006. On the mainstream sites I found that a woman over 40 would tend to get messages from rather boring older men. Id always dated younger men and I just wasnt interested in the type of men I was meeting. Although Id never done anything in the dating industry, I thought, well it cant be too difficult to create the kind of site that I would actually like to be on. The very name ToyboyWarehouse is humorous and witty, and thats an essential part of attraction. The idea was to be fun and playful its from a womans point of view. It evokes the image of a woman going around with a shopping cart and saying, That one looks nice on the shelf. Ill have that one. When the site went live in 2007 there was literally nothing out there for women in their late 30s or older who wanted something a little more exciting than a pipe-and-slippers man whose highlight of the week was probably watching his car in his drive. That was what was missing for me. Do you see any cultural differences in the way older woman/younger man relationships are perceived in the UK vs. the US? It seems that in the UK these women are seen as cheeky and playful, whereas in the US were much more judgmental and make moral assumptions about women who date younger men. I think there are two slightly different issues here. Theres the issue of the actual word cougar. My feeling is that its more acceptable in the US than the UK. We did a survey to see what women thought of the word whether theyd like to be labeled as that. And 95% said, No, it doesnt apply to us. We dont like that word. Possibly in the UK its more acceptable that a older woman should go out with a younger man. Every time a film star or pop star dates a younger man it puts the idea out there. In the US some might see the word cougar as positive because its a beautiful animal; they like the idea of it and they dont see it as a stereotyped label whereas in the UK we fight labels more and its not a badge of honor to be called a cougar its seen as really derogatory. Were going through a transition period. In the next generation it will be as normal for a woman to date a younger man as it always has been the other way around. Were fighting for equality in how were being referred to as well as acceptance that a women can express her own sexuality. Women are so critical of themselves when theyre younger. But as we get older, particularly once were into our 40s and 50s, we tend to become free of those former constraints. Wed like to see that freedom reflected in the partner were with. Yet it seems that at the same time women become more free and liberated within themselves, men seem to shut down. Youve absolutely hit the nail on the head. Young men dont close down but older men do. Ive heard from women who say that if they go out with a man their age, generally hes been through a marriage and hes got a lot of baggage and the kids and the awful ex-wife that he goes on about. Its not much fun for a woman to deal with all of that. Younger men dont tend to have that. Theyre much freer to appreciate a woman. We get a lot of divorcees on the site that have just come out of a 15-year marriage. Maybe their husband hasnt paid them much attention and they havent had sex for years and their self-esteem is at rock bottom; they think theyre not attractive. But then they get adoring emails from young men who say, Youre so beautiful, and suddenly they realize how attractive they really are. Its the most enormous ego boost. They begin dressing up again and then relationships start and suddenly its a whole new world for them. Your website understands what a woman past a certain age wants, and you emphasize intelligence, elegance, and wit. How is it that you get this when so many mainstream sites completely miss this? I think its because Im one of the very few site owners thats a woman. Most sites are run by corporations with all-male boards. There are only a couple of sites that I know of that are founded by women, and women know what other women want. All the marketing I do tends to be social media marketing aimed at women because weve never had problems getting men. There are three times as many men on the site as women. The more you move towards classy, intelligent, elegant, the more women will come. The more you move towards its just about sex the more you cut out a whole swath of women who wouldnt join that kind of site. You can be sexy and intelligent thats going to come through in a site but you cant just push it as a sex site, because that will put a lot of women off. Ive tried to make sure that ToyboyWarehouse is responsive to our UK members. Ive been good at listening to what they ask for. Id like to hear what women want in the US version of ToyboyWarehouse. The tagline in the States will be Where smart meets sexy and I think that encapsulates what its really all about.

Md5-8 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Md5-8 - Coursework Example Also, it will be essential for them to monitor continually how the internet use development affects consumers and competition (Paley, 2005). Concentrating on the pricing strategies, Rolex watches employed a marketing strategy by using a premium pricing strategy. Rolex positioned its price distinctively from its competitors. The role of the pricing strategy adopted by Rolex watches was to portray its product as unique in terms of its quality and the reputable Swiss watches brand name. In contrast, Timex watches adopted a penetrating price strategy. Timex to penetrate the market resorted to having its watches priced slowly compared to its competitors like Rolex. It was meant to attract buyers and capture the share of the watch market. Both Timex and Rolex employed different pricing strategies. The difference is that Rolex highly priced its watches so as to have a distinct competitive advantage. On the other hand, Timex lowly priced its watches to raise awareness and penetrate the market. Basing on the Direct Marketing Strategies, there is a possibility that the internet or electronic direct marketing may replace old direct mail options and conventional catalogues promotions. The switch is because the internet as a direct electronic marketing tool is a more direct marketing tool compared to the conventional catalogues. The Internet enables consumers to be reached in an interactive manner. The rationale behind the switch to internet use as a direct marketing tool is because of its ability to communicate and carry out a promotion in a better way. Besides, the internet has proved to be less costly and enabled monitoring of the progress of the promotion and marketing (Paley, 2005). There is a justification to the reason there is a need to carry out a marketing audit of an in a unit of business even though its performance may be indeed

Understanding the Concepts Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Understanding the Concepts - Assignment Example Understanding the Concepts Quick ratios are the other important ratios for the small business, where the current assets of a business entity, with an exception of the inventories, are compared to the current liabilities to determine how best the business is placed in meeting its current cash payment obligations. Profitability ratios are also vital for a small business, since they help the business determine how much profits it has generated within a specified period of business operation (Bangs, 1992). In so doing, the business understands its performance, ranging from the effectiveness of its operations to how well the business is placed to compete with other businesses of its nature, serving the same market segment. Through the creation of such insights, developed from the analysis of financial ratios, a business makes suitable, tactical and strategic decisions that help it thrive in the market while improving on its operations effectiveness; customer needs satisfaction and profitability (Horcher, 2005). These ratios compares with those applied by large corporations in that, the same ratios are applied by the large corporations for the same reasons, as are for the small businesses. Thus, such ratios are equally important to the managers of large corporations, as they are to the owner managers of small businesses. However, some financial ratios are more appropriate to aid the process of making decisions in large corporations. Such ratios, which are more useful to the managers of large business entities include the debt to asset ratios, which compares the debts that an organization has, to the assets owned by the organization, thus determining how well the organization is placed to meet its debt obligations (Bangs, 1992). Return on asset ratios are the other important ratios for the large corporations. These ratios analyses how the assets of the organization has been generating returns. Such ratios, which are more appropriate for the large corporations, differs from those most suitable for small businesses in that, the financial ratios for larger organizations mostly deals with the assets and the debts owed by the entity, as most of the large organizations owns many assets as well as debt obligations. This is in contrast to the small businesses, which owns fewer assets, and which are mostly financed from the pockets of the owners, making such ratios not very vital for such businesses (Horcher, 2005). Debt financing is mostly applied by business owners who do not have sufficient finances to establish or to finance the operations of their business, yet they prefer to have total control of their business, at the expense of inviting investors into their business, who will take some control. There are various advantages associated with this type of business financing. First, the owner of the business retains the full control of the business, while obtaining the required financing to run the operations of the business (Bangs, 1992). Therefore, the owner of the business reserves the whole privilege of making the business decisions to himself. The other advantage associated with debt financing is the fact that the interest paid by the owner of

Current Events Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Current Events - Research Paper Example Many of the private equity fund managers and other stakeholders in the equity industry feared that the tax code could be changed if Barrack Obama was elected as the president. Nevertheless, private equity funds investors and limited partners have fought back to stop these tax code changes (Fifield & McCrum, 2012). Many general partners in the equity industry receive incomes from carried interest deals. This is typically valued about 20% of the fund’s yearly profit. The carried interests are usually charged at a rate of 15% on all capital gains. The Obama administration proposed different changes that could see carried interests being charged equally as incomes, normally 35 percent. Due to these possibilities in changing taxation, many general partners introduced general clauses in the partnership agreements that would enable them to change the terms in case the tax regime was altered (Fifield & McCrum, 2012). On the other hand, general partners stated that their investors showed minimum interest in their tax rates and had declined requests for controlling the industry in the event that tax breaks emerged. Evidently, these tax breaks benefited buyout groups only. According to Steve Judge, premier of the Private Equity Growth Capital Council, â€Å"the political rhetoric surrounding the presidential election certainly brought attention to many aspects of the tax code including carried interest† (Nyhan, 2011). If treatments of capital gain could be accessible to individuals who have money to invest, a policy putting higher values on financial contributions than hard work and vision would be advanced (Fifield & McCrum, 2012). Due to the ruling made by the European court in France on dividend taxation policies, exchange trade fund providers and securities, lending agents are facing a lot of problems in their revenues. The court stated that France dividend taxation policies favoring domestic funds, was

Exercise 5.3 and 5.4 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Exercise 5.3 and 5.4 - Assignment Example He said that many drivers had removed their winter snow tires and the dusting was enough to create conditions in which cars slid off the road.                   A call to the National Weather Service at Fargos Hector International airport also yielded that a narrow band of storm clouds rolled across central North Dakota, dumping just a tenth of an inch of snow. The NWS spokesperson Todd Drizzle said, â€Å"We got a bit more than we expected," adding that forecasters had expected "mere flurries." D. B. Dotty, 124 W. Breedlaw Road, who also witnessed the accident, testified that the ground froze fast the previous night to near zero. â€Å"The concrete was so cold this morning that instead of melting, the snow turned to ice. Nobody expected it. It got slick all of a sudden," She said. When I arrived there, motorists had fled the scene of the accident and backed up half a mile on both sides of the scene. Responding also to the accident were a water-tanker truck, a paramedics unit, a rescue squad, two fire engines, state and county troopers and a tow truck. The other car driver John Washburn, a 22-year-old undergraduate at North Dakota State University, was unhurt after driving his white Geo Metro into a mailbox on Poplar Avenue. Mr.Washbum regretted having pulled off his snow tires the previous week. â€Å"I guess Ill wait a few more weeks next year. Sure stinks to get stuck in the snow," he said. A police spokesperson observed that most of the 60 accidents occurred between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Melinda Frades, a 69-year-old woman has lost to fire a home and small barn at 384 Serramonte Ave. The estimated value of the property was $1.2 million. The fire began at about 4 p.m. at the bottom of a hill near the highway and spread up to the top, where it reached the single-story ranch-style house. According to Woodside Fire Capt. Jan Spiegel, it looked like it might have been something somebody threw from a car, although this is yet to be

International management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International management - Essay Example ................................... 13 1. Introduction It is often said that international companies which have become tools for globalization have made the world a marketplace where peoples and countries have no recourse but to buy what they do not want to buy. Globalization, despite its many setbacks, has also positive benefits. Due to globalization national borders are not very important now, and there is the interconnectedness of organizations and businesses, while countries focus more on deregulation, privatization and liberalization of industries, and the importance of world markets. Global firms have the whole world as its market field that they can offer a wide array of products and services - firms keep growing while others downsize or rightsize. One aspect of globalization is that firms can assign departmental functions, such as marketing, finance, operations, human resource management, and accounting to other firms – this is known as outsourcing. Global firms use ma ny different structural forms in dealing with globalization. They can use the horizontal structure which is made easier with the availability of the internet and Information Technology. It is still possible with the old structure, i.e., the vertical structure where the top echelon of the organization can dictate or take hold of the reins of business even if they are in the other side of the world. Whether we see this as positive or negative, globalization has change the world in terms of commerce and trade and how we see the world in different perspectives. After the world economic downturn, some of Europe’s giant firms have continued to keep watch the playing arena of businesses in terms of acquisitions and mergers. They have turned their eyes on the emerging markets of China, India and other countries of Asia. This is because these emerging markets survived and made remarkable steps during the financial crisis. And this is one of the reasons why Bernard Arnault, who is beli eved to be Europe’s wealthiest man, has shifted business focus to Asia, particularly the emerging markets of China and India. Combine these two countries in terms of population, you have approximately one third of the world’s peoples who have the urge and the motivation to buy consumer products. In China, particularly Shanghai, the motivation is on luxury products, which is why Bernard Arnault has his own ambassador there in the person of John Galliano. Arnault has made business trips using his private jet to wherever he wants to promote the latest of his treasured bags and perfumes. He has made instant visits to places as far as Morocco not only to promote but to measure how much profits the company has earned there. 2. Background of Bernard Arnault and LVMH Bernard Arnault is not only Europe’s wealthiest businessman with an estimated worth of $39 billion, he is a multi-talented and product-oriented artist. He has acquired brands from bags to perfume and has ma de corporate acquisitions one after another. He describes his quest for perfection as a ‘duality’ which should be reinforced immediately with â€Å"timelessness and utmost modernity†. His desire to acquire businesses is not only motivated by finances but by his dream to infuse art on commerce (or commerce on art). And he is doing this because he believes he is doing it for France and the people who patronize LVMH. His modernity and art includes a collection of modern and contemporary art which will soon be housed in a grand museum designed by Frank Gehry, which Arnault has

Toulmin Model Argument about the Environment Essay

Toulmin Model Argument about the Environment - Essay Example Christianity as a religion has pulled many people who share the faith together, to emphasize on the need of treating the environment with respect. Different Christians have varying interpretations of the Bible; hence some have been reluctant, while others are active in protecting and promoting the works of creation on the environment. These Christians have been spurred by the works and attitude of the creator towards the environment, making them to engage in environmentalist tasks as worship to God, besides the in-church devotion and activities. God himself created every little and big object, he loved and valued his creations. He looked at everything he had made and was satisfied it was indeed good (Gen. 1:31). Just as he loved man, he also loved his creation and moved forward to give man responsibility over the creation, beginning with Adam in the Garden of Eden. His love and goodness extends to all creations, â€Å"he has compassion on all he has made†. Christians who live by emulating the will of God have hence the role to be merciful and gracious to all God’s works (the environment). Christians demonstrate their mindfulness of God by trying the best to take care of the environment and its components as the will of God. There are many environmental injustices taking occurring on the surrounding; reckless deforestation, wildlife destruction and disposal of waste, industrial pollution and other unfriendly human activities to the environments, which are often carried out because of humans’ greed and selfishness. ... His love and goodness extends to all creations, â€Å"he has compassion on all he has made† (Psalms.145: 9). Christians who live by emulating the will of God have hence the role to be merciful and gracious to all God’s works (the environment). Christians demonstrate their mindfulness of God by trying the best to take care of the environment and its components as the will of God. There are many environmental injustices taking occurring on the surrounding; reckless deforestation, wildlife destruction and disposal of waste, industrial pollution and other unfriendly human activities to the environments, which are often carried out because of humans’ greed and selfishness. According to Henderson, the NCC proposed several actions entailing; disposing or recycling of trash properly, minimizing energy consumption, ensuring responsible recreation, reducing the use of fertilizers and pesticides and participating in public witnessing on the federal, local, and state level a s ways to live appropriately, while safeguarding the environment (n.d.). These actions would enable man to practice justice and unselfishness in their activities on the environment. Actions Christians Should Take on Environmental Preservation Recycling and disposition The governments have been on the fore front campaigning on reuse of waste materials to minimize the pollution; Christians have a role to play to share the same vision with their authorities and demonstrate the actions to spur others. From the scripture, Hebrews 13: 17, Christians are guided to obey and be submissive to those who rule over them; this gives Christians the joy to work together with their governments for a profitable course. In many societies, people have neglected their responsibilities on caring for the

International management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International management - Essay Example ................................... 13 1. Introduction It is often said that international companies which have become tools for globalization have made the world a marketplace where peoples and countries have no recourse but to buy what they do not want to buy. Globalization, despite its many setbacks, has also positive benefits. Due to globalization national borders are not very important now, and there is the interconnectedness of organizations and businesses, while countries focus more on deregulation, privatization and liberalization of industries, and the importance of world markets. Global firms have the whole world as its market field that they can offer a wide array of products and services - firms keep growing while others downsize or rightsize. One aspect of globalization is that firms can assign departmental functions, such as marketing, finance, operations, human resource management, and accounting to other firms – this is known as outsourcing. Global firms use ma ny different structural forms in dealing with globalization. They can use the horizontal structure which is made easier with the availability of the internet and Information Technology. It is still possible with the old structure, i.e., the vertical structure where the top echelon of the organization can dictate or take hold of the reins of business even if they are in the other side of the world. Whether we see this as positive or negative, globalization has change the world in terms of commerce and trade and how we see the world in different perspectives. After the world economic downturn, some of Europe’s giant firms have continued to keep watch the playing arena of businesses in terms of acquisitions and mergers. They have turned their eyes on the emerging markets of China, India and other countries of Asia. This is because these emerging markets survived and made remarkable steps during the financial crisis. And this is one of the reasons why Bernard Arnault, who is beli eved to be Europe’s wealthiest man, has shifted business focus to Asia, particularly the emerging markets of China and India. Combine these two countries in terms of population, you have approximately one third of the world’s peoples who have the urge and the motivation to buy consumer products. In China, particularly Shanghai, the motivation is on luxury products, which is why Bernard Arnault has his own ambassador there in the person of John Galliano. Arnault has made business trips using his private jet to wherever he wants to promote the latest of his treasured bags and perfumes. He has made instant visits to places as far as Morocco not only to promote but to measure how much profits the company has earned there. 2. Background of Bernard Arnault and LVMH Bernard Arnault is not only Europe’s wealthiest businessman with an estimated worth of $39 billion, he is a multi-talented and product-oriented artist. He has acquired brands from bags to perfume and has ma de corporate acquisitions one after another. He describes his quest for perfection as a ‘duality’ which should be reinforced immediately with â€Å"timelessness and utmost modernity†. His desire to acquire businesses is not only motivated by finances but by his dream to infuse art on commerce (or commerce on art). And he is doing this because he believes he is doing it for France and the people who patronize LVMH. His modernity and art includes a collection of modern and contemporary art which will soon be housed in a grand museum designed by Frank Gehry, which Arnault has

Adult Learning Essay Example for Free

Adult Learning Essay Adult learning is a complex subject that in recent years has become more of a necessity than a personal pursuit. There are three factors present in the American society today that necessitate the need for adult learning. These factors are: Dramatic changes in demographics, the global economy, and technology. (5) Demographics are concerned with growth and development of adult learners and emerging groups of learners with special needs. There are more adults in our society than ever before and the population will continue to age and increase in the number of older adults. This fact along with the growing cultural and ethnic diversity existing in America today, although, provides many benefits for the society by mixing talents from many lands, but it also, requires a certain amount of familiarization and education to minimize the risks involved by diversification. The second factor influencing the need for adult learning is the global economy. The birth of global interdependent economy has led to changing work practices, which require different kinds of preparation and training. The emphasis has been shifted to improved product and service quality, having more educated workers with more responsibility and stronger team work. This has resulted in control of education shifting more to business. More and more companies opt to provide work place literacy programs, training and development packages, and encouraging their employees to learn how to learn, to keep up with a constantly changing global service based economy. Ethnic make up and increased number of women in the work force are also contributing factors for adult learning. (5) The third factor that should be considered is the explosion in the information technology sector. With the development and advancement of computers within the last decade or two, an environment has been created in which the settings for a formal training session, has been outdated. The society is experiencing an increase in mental ability which is growing drastically with the availability of horizontal networks and the advancement of telecommunications. Information is rapidly distributed and easily available and accessible. This causes for efficient use of information. This allows the learner to have better access with those who teach information access skills, it helps the development of higher levels of thinking skills while at the same time, it creates a comfortable environment for the educators. Although consideration must be given to the ethical implication of the information access creates. (1) The three factors above have become intertwined forces. Demographics, the global economy, and technology have come together in adult education in the blurring of the field’s content and delivery mechanisms, dividing up the setting for adult education into formal, non-formal and informal activities. Blurring is also occurring in higher education sector where older students are now making up for about 50 percent of the college attendees, and finally, a blurring of content and delivery is found in such popular slogans as â€Å"workplace literacy† and â€Å"critical thinking. † which focuses on development of skills needed to be productive and informed members of a highly technical society. There are three types of opportunities in which learning occurs for adult: Formal institutional setting, non-formal setting and informal setting. For most adult, learning in adulthood brings to mind a classroom setting. Yet when we ask these same adult about what they have learned informally over the last year, they typically respond with descriptions of learning activities outside these formal settings. However, the use of technology has increase the delivery of learning programs, expanding our picture of learning in an informal setting. Informal learning occurs most often in ones natural setting in which we learn things from our daily experiences. On the other hand, non-formal settings have been used most often to describe learning opportunities outside the formal educational setting that complement the needs of underserved adults such as churches. Knowing why some adults participate in adult education does not tell us why many don’t . The two often cited reasons for non participation are lack of time and money. There is no single theory or model that can explain or predict participation in adults education . The main reasons most commonly used are cite job-related motives, achieving some other personal goal, sake of the activity itself, social relationship (making a new friend), external expectation (complying with the wishes) and cognitive interest engaged for sake of learning itself. Nonparticipation has been from the perspective of the individual’s motivation, attitudes, beliefs, and so on .However they may be social factors that influence the decision . This can also be family-related. (2) Whatever the stated or actual purposes of a learning activity, adult education is usually a form of social intervention that often begins with a problem that needs to be solved . What is seen as problematic depends on one’s values, social position, and perspective. The purpose of adult education today for which there is public support, clusters around the ability of the United States to sustain a competitive edge in the global economy. Purpose of adult education is to improve the self and to improve society. In America all individuals have access and the opportunity to benefit through education. (4) In total the answer to the question of who benefits is clear: It is those who have benefited in the past, and those who have the â€Å"cultural capital†. Those most likely to be the recipients of the dominant cultures are those who, as a result of birth and upbringing, have already acquired the cultural capital to receive it and to take advantage of opportunities. Everyone can improve his/her life situation through learning, every adult can choose to participate in any adult learning activity . There are other reason that certain adults have more access to learning opportunities than other adult . Where one happens to live, what color, age, or sex one happens to be, what one does for a living, all contribute to the participation pattern in adult education (framework) by way of illustrating how these framework conditions can determine who is more likely to benefit from adult learning opportunities. Where and how one lives makes a difference. (3) Individual educators and individual learners are likely to be fairly explicit about why they are engaged in a particular learning activity. Such easily identified objectives are usually aligned with the content of the activity. Underlying many of the state purposes of adult education in America is the assumption that the idea of a society must be maintained, and that education is one way to do this. Individualism, Independence, and a protestant-capitalist work ethic frame the actual provision of adult education in America. (1) Several things are known about self-directed learning: (a) Individual learners can become empowered to take increasingly more responsibility for various decisions associated with the learning endeavor; (b) Self-direction is best viewed as a continuum or characteristic that  exists to some degree in every person and learning situation; (c) Self-direction does not necessarily mean all learning will take place in isolation from others; (d) Self-directed learners appear able to transfer learning, in terms of both knowledge and study skill, from one situation to another; (e) self-directed study can involve various activities and resources, such as self-guided reading, participation in study groups, internships, electronic dialogues, and reflective writing activities; (f) Effective roles for teachers in self-directed learning are possible, such as dialogue with learners, securing resources, evaluating outcomes, and promoting critical thinking. (g) Some educational institutions are finding ways to support self-directed study through open-learning programs, individualized study options, non-traditional course offerings, and other innovative programs. ( 1) self –directed learning as a process of learning , in which people take the primary initiative for planning, carrying out, and evaluating their own learning experiences, has received a great deal of attention in the literature. This form of learning can take place in both inside and outside institutionally based learning programs. (2) Staff development that improves the learning of all students applies knowledge about human learning and change. No matter the age at which it occurs, human learning is based on a common set of principles. While adults have more life experience to draw on than younger learners and are often clearer about what they want to learn and why it is important, the means by which the learning occurs is remarkably similar. Consequently, it is important that the learning methods used in professional development mirror as closely as possible the methods teachers are expected to use with their students. It is essential that staff development assist educators in moving beyond comprehension of the surface features of a new idea or innovation to a fuller and more complete understanding of its purposes, critical attributes, meaning, and connection to other approaches. To improve student achievement, adult learning under most circumstances must promote deep understanding of a topic and provide many opportunities for teachers and administrators to practice new skills with feedback on their performance until those skills become automatic and habitual. Such deeper understanding typically requires a number of opportunities to interact with the idea or procedure through active learning processes that promote reflection such as discussion and dialogue, writing, demonstrations, practice with feedback, and group problem solving. Because people have different learning styles and strengths, professional development must include opportunities to see, hear, and do various actions in relation to the content. It is also important those educators are able to learn alone and with others and, whenever possible, have choices among learning activities. Another important dimension of adult engagement in change processes is the feelings that such change often evokes in individuals. Even under the best of circumstances, pressure for change, no matter what its source, may produce feelings of anxiety, fear, and anger. Such feelings are most effectively addressed through skillful listening and problem solving within a respectful and trusting school culture. It is helpful for educational leaders to appreciate that, to some degree, such feelings are natural and an inevitable part of the change process. Such appreciation is aided when leaders have a deep understanding of the change literature, particularly the Concerns- Based Adoption Model, and are able to apply its insights when planning and implementing new practices in schools. A third dimension of change is the life stage of individuals engaged in the change process. While recognition of life stage differences would not alter expectations for performance, it may affect an individuals availability and interest in additional work responsibilities during different phases of his or her life. Recognition of life stage differences may also help staff development leaders in tapping educators strengths and talents, such as asking skillful veteran teachers to serve as mentors or coaches for their peers. Electronic forms of learning may prove particularly helpful in providing alternatives that respond to differences in learning styles and availability due to life stage issues. Staff development content may be accessed via the Internet or other forms of distance technology that will enable learning throughout the day in various settings using media that appeals to different learning preferences. (6) References: 1-What is self directed learning? Http://home. twcny. rr. com/hiemstra/sdlhdbk. html 2-Read write plus, DFES, Quality and Training Http://www. dfes. gov. uk/readwriteplus/quality 3-Finding from a national survey of States Directors of Adult Http://www. ncsall. net/fileadmin/resources/reasearch/rep9. pdf 4-Acve-Race and Gender in Adult Education Http://www. calpro-online. org/ERIC/docgen. asp? tbl=tiaID=92 5-How adults learn: Ageless learner Http://www. agelesslearner. com/intros/adultlearning. html 6-NSDC-Standards: About the Standards-Learning Http://www. nsdc. org/standards/learning. cfm.

Influence Of Italy on the English Renaissance

Influence Of Italy on the English Renaissance The Italian renaissance is said to be a phenomenon of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and is explained as an outgrowth of the rise of the independent city-states. It is a cultural phenomenon where the humanist ethos finds expression in culture and the arts, especially in the fields of painting and poetry. Starting from the Italian city-states, the same phenomenon is seen to have spread across Europe in the succeeding centuries, and the English renaissance is located in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. It is only natural that poets and playwrights of the English renaissance be fascinated by the Italian experience, and there are several dimensions to this fascination. The renaissance itself meant a revival of classicism, where the standards of art, thought, and culture in general, are sought in the antiquity of Greece and Rome. Therefore, the gaze towards the Mediterranean shores took into account not only the present situation, but also a distant and glorious past. In fact, the inherent tensions in the comparison between past and present are what principally dictates the direction of the English renaissance, and eventually lends to it its unique character. We will study aspects of Ben Jonsons play Volpone in order to identify some of the key dynamics of the English experience in regard to its relationship with Italy. It is an ideal play to study in this respect. Ben Jonson was the foremost classicist of his age, and in the play Volpone are present many of the tensions that inform the English renaissance. According to R. V. Young, [W]ith the exception of John Milton, there is no English poet more learned than Ben Jonson, and none who makes learning such an integral part of his literary work.  [1]  The principle concern of Jonson is to find the right balance between the old and the new. This is a newly emerging concern, and something that most characterizes the English experience. The renaissance was initially informed by a blind devotion towards antiquity, but in turn produced its own exemplars in the likes of Petrarch, Dante, Aristo and Tasso. Hadfield defines the renaissance as reinterpretation and reusing of what had gone before.  [2]  Jonson believes firmly in rules of art laid down in antiquity by the likes of Aristotle and Horace, whereas the new achievements remain enigmatic to him. There is more freshness and delight in the new, but it is always accompanied by a tendency to corrupt, and Jonson intends to advocate caution in this regard. His advice, in Discoveries, is to absorb the classics before the new: When their judgments are firm and out of danger, let them read both the old and the new; but no less take heed that their new flowers and sweetness do not as much corrupt as others dryness and squalor, if they choose not carefully.  [3]   The ultimate effect of the new is that it transforms the devotional approach to antiquity into a more critical one. The Poetaster is an early play of Jonsons in which the clash between the old and the new takes centre stage. The verdict is firmly in favour of the old, but the dispute has the effect of eliminating blind devotion and putting in its place a more discriminatory approach to the classics. One result of the critical approach is that it reveals that there was criticism among the ancients too, and that the rules laid down does not make for a homogeneous set. Aristotle lays down his rules of poetics from pure considerations, whereas Horace, coming three centuries later, believes that there should be an element of entertainment mixed with strict purposefulness: But he hath every suffrage, can apply / Sweet mixd with sowre, to his Reader, so / As doctrine, and delight together go.  [4]  The above lines are taken from Jonsons own translation of Horaces Ars Poetica, and it des cribes an approach that the Jacobean writer adopts himself. Volpone is introduced as aiming to mix profit with your pleasure.  [5]   The play is essentially a farce, with an abundance of incidence, and with a plethora of unsavoury characters, practicing their wiles on each other and ending up in convoluted situations. There is an explicit and straightforward moral message in the end, because Volpone and all those who covet his wealth end up caught and punished by law. However, there are more subtle readings possible, which concern the conflict between the classical order and the emerging ethos of the times. The setting in Venice is the first significant detail. The city was viewed as the epicentre of the renaissance, and therefore a perfect backdrop in which to present the new fashions. A large number of the Elizabethan and Jacobean plays are set in the prosperous and mercantile cities of Italy, and with the same object of alluding to the emerging trends at home. Jonson is more ambitious, however, and therefore introduces the travelling nobles Sir Politic and Lady Would-be, who exemplify all the abuses of classici sm that Jonson would highlight. They are negative examples, like almost everything else in the play. Their presence is incidental to the plot, and the incessant chattering of Lady Would-be only infuriates Volpone. However, Jonsons purpose is served best through them. Early in the play Sir Politic is asked to elaborate on the purpose of his travels, and he explains that the wise man should not be limited to his native country, or even to Europe, and he essentially conveys the modern wisdom that travelling broadens the mind. In this context it must be remembered that the wisdom is essentially a modern one, and that insularity was the norm in the days when travelling was arduous and expensive. The renaissance itself can be described as a journey, from the old to the new, and to the English it most of all represented a breaking away from insularity. The travellers do indeed represent the renaissance spirit, and the rationale of Sir Politic expresses it perfectly: Yet, I protest, it is no salt desire Of seeing countries, shifting a religion, Nor any disaffection to the state Where I was bred, and unto which I owe My dearest plots, hath brought me out.  [6]   But Jonson is always ready to point out the dangers of picking up fashions in the place of wisdom or knowledge, and this is the particular talent of Lady Would-be. Her husband points out that she is slightly different in her intentions, which are to observe, / To quote, to learn the language, and so forth  [7]   To Lady Would-be it is all fashion. She delights in quoting the classical authors, even though she quotes inaccurately, and is unable to differentiate one from the other. She is particular about her behaviour, and does not want to exchange animated words in public because It comes too near rusticity in a lady, / Which I would shun, by all means (Ibid 77). To this end she quotes Castigliones Courtier, a renaissance manual to proper conduct. At another place she elaborates on her concept of the enlightened lady: I would have A lady, indeed, to have all letters and arts, Be able to discourse, to write, to paint, But principal (as Plato holds) your music (And, so does wise Pythagoras, I take it) Is your true rapture.  [8]   Plato and Pythagoras do indeed advance theories of music, but they are very different from each other, and have very little to do with the actual practice of music. Through Lady Would-bes cavalier quoting Jonson intends to show how classicism can be reduced to mere fashion. The Itinerary of Fynes Moryson provides some support for Jonsons portrayal of Lady Would-be. After observing the feminine traits across the continent he declares the English woman to be the most liberated among them: England is the hell of horses, the purgatory of servants, and the paradise of women; because the English men ride Horses without measure, and use their Servants imperiously, and their Women obsequiously.  [9]  He also lends support to Jonsons portrayal of the English renaissance man as a traveller. [T]hey have worn out all the fashions of France and all the nations of Europe, he says regarding the Englishman, who is so fond of fashion that he borrows from all the nations and settles on a motley composite.  [10]  In a more philosophical vein, this is the attitude of Sir Politic. In conclusion, Jonson satirizes some traits of the English renaissance through the incidental characters of Sir Politic and Lady Would-be in his comedy Volpone. He makes classical allusions throughout the play, generally to highlight the abuses of the classical heritage, and also to impress the importance of it in relation to the English renaissance. In the final analysis, Jonsons accomplishment is to have introduced a critical approach to classicism, which was crucial to the cultural evolution in England.