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Technology has changed people's life in many different ways but not always for the best or even to improve their life but to do badly in the world. Like they say that a person can change behind closed doors so can peoples ethics. As for example the No Electronic Theft (NET) Act in 1997, how many of us sometimes are will wait for a CD or movie to come out and when we think about going to buy it or even see it the movie n theater, especially if we have a normal size family of people.There easy could be a hundred dollars for a trip to the movie but when there might be a place where you know they sell black market or even a website online. That where the No Electronic Theft (NET) Act in 1997 comes in place for people make or even reproduce or share copies of copyrighted work. Before this law people would sell and copied software programs, movies, games and even songs for profit gain. It carries a maximum anally of three years and a huge fine of 250,000.But if it shows that person was doi ng it for nonprofit gain they could face no chargers or minimum penalties but still if we sit down and realize where the ethics are. The other law that caught my eye during the homework assignment was Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCP), 1991 since right after working in a call center for two years after my high school day with all honestly I didn't seem to know what was important that our personal honestly ND ethics is more important than the companies and if that company doesn't have the honest ethics maybe isn't the right place for someone.I know that sometimes be get call by telemarketer all day and sometimes we tell them we want to be on the Do Not Call Registry. Because of the problem with telemarketing that they call to early or two late they have rules and it's where the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCP), 1991 comes in two place where if you telemarketer you want on the Do Not Call List and from there on it take 31 days from the date you asked to be on the list for it in order to be removed and it have a 5 year register .

Management: Literacy and Information Systems Essay

1. Describe three (3) ways in which information system are transforming business. (33 points) Three ways in which information systems are transforming are as followed. The first way is the way in which communication is now being delivered. Landline communication was once the only and main communication tool however with the increase in technology there is now mobile and internet. I also refer to travel agencies who no longer have to provide over the counter service because technology has grown so big that persons can now order and book their own flight. I also refer back to the telephones which are now coming internet ready. My Second point is, while technology is quickly improving organizations reduces the amount of employees. As a result, multi-level management structure is being eliminated and obviously various manual labors are being replaced by technological machines. Responsibilities and duties are also becoming flexible among employees as Management Information Systems help their duties become easier and faster to complete and most especially, software allows them conduct major decisions with less supervision. My final point is services and products are not restricted to one location however is now being offered worldwide. Modern day technology provides reliable cheap and efficient communication systems. The internet has now become the best way to introduce a company and its products. 2. What is information systems literacy? How does it differ from computer literacy? (34 points) Information Systems Literacy is having knowledge of the hardware, software, peripherals and network components common to most Information Systems according to the business dictionary. In my words it means the ability to access, organize and evaluate information from different sources. In differentiated the two, Computer literacy is defined as having knowledge of how to use technology in order to manipulate software and hardware. Having the both definition we can see although the definitions are different there is a link between the both. With the Information Literacy one analyzes what has been read and learned and then apply it while Computer Literacy can have the knowledge but don’t know how to apply it. So I concluded that information literacy takes the knowledge to the next step by organizing and evaluating what has been found while Computer Literacy has the technology to manipulate the computer but might not be able to complete the transaction. 3. List and describe the organizational, management, and technology dimensions of in-formation systems. (33 points) The organization dimension of information systems comprise of issues such as the Organization’s hierarchy, functional specialties, business processes, culture, and political interest groups. The management dimension of information systems involves setting Organizational strategies, allocating human and financial resources, creating new products and services and re-creating the organization if necessary. The technology dimension consists of computer hardware, software, data management technology, and network-ing/telecommunications technology. References Laudon, J. P. (2013). Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm: Text Boston: Pearson Learning Solution.

Education Essay

Someone once told me that â€Å"Education is the building blocks of one’s character†. As much as it sounds too much of a cliche’ I couldn’t help but agree with this well known quotation. Although it may be true, that one’s education cannot define a man, it also holds true that different forms of education is readily available and it makes or breaks a man into who he is in his current disposition and into who he may want to be in the future. Some people claim that education is a matter of circumstance and privilege, that in this modern day and age, only those with the proper resources can have the proper education that one may need in order to be successful. If you ask me, this is only true in the terms of getting a degree to get all the right opportunities. But in reality, real education that will lead you towards the ends of your goals in life is the education you gain in life experiences. Let’s take Bill Gates and Albert Einstein who both didn’t finish college for example, they only succeeded in their personal aspirations by learning in the arena of their life and living itself. It may be important to note that in life, one must need a model to see how life is lived and how we learn from everything we see and experience in our day to day living. It may not always be formal education that we may attribute our learnings all the time, but it is imperative that any form of education should take place in order for us to grow in all different aspects of our lives. May it be in our professional lives, personal lives or for social reasons, a learning curb can be gained by us through the years because we were educated not only on how to live life, but most importantly how to be continuously educated till there is nothing more to learn in this life which may bring us to the breaking point of death or suicide. But in both scenarios, we still know that it is an imperative that a learning experience should be observed for us to prosper in a game called life.

Marketing Questions Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marketing Questions - Research Paper Example The universal emotions of welcoming them will allow them to gain my trust, therefore work on understanding my points or point of view, as I also do the same. Secondly, I will need to slow down my speech and expressions when explaining about the commodity, so that they do not mix-up everything, which they can amplify their fear of investing in the product (Lilley, 2013). Additionally, I may need to demonstrate my points using pictures or showing the product; ask for a person that can understand their language or culture better; try to confirm that they understood my explanations, exercise patience and maintain a sense of humor, so as to ensure that they remain interested. In dealing with older customers, I would ensure that I show respect to them, because that would be the first quality they may expect from a young attendant. Secondly, I would need to be kind and to show empathy for their incapacities in the case they have any. More importantly, I would need to adjust to their tempo of speech, so that they can understand me well and connect with me (Lilley, 2013). Additionally, showing them cheer will help them feel comfortable in my company, which will affect their buying behavior. In dealing with very talkative customers, first I will need to direct the talk in the direction of the sale, and immediately they pause their talk, I give them a summary of the talk and then I switch to the product and all its benefits. Apart from the explanation, a sample would help, and then I ask him to check it out a little (Lilley, 2013). After he has talked about it for a while, I will have all the information on his needs, therefore will mention them repeatedly, so that they purchase it. 2. Many employees are motivated by getting more money, in the form of bonuses or raises, but it is not always possible to increase the pay of employees – as a way of motivating them. This is particularly the case, due to the adverse financial situation facing many companies and institutions (Dow, 2012). However, money is not the strongest and not the only source of motivation. Recognition, which is the practice of congratulating an employee or acknowledging their input and good performance, empowers them by making them feel happier about themselves and their performance, which triggers improved performance. Recognition lies at the subconscious desires of all individuals; making them feel appreciated and valued for their contribution as an employee and for their uniqueness as a people who make a difference triggers their suppressed abilities (Dow, 2012). Valuing workers implies that the employer sees them as individuals that contribute towards the overa ll accomplishment and the goals of the company. When an employer makes his employees feel appreciated, he pushes them to pursue doing well and ensuring that their input and contribution will continue to be appreciated (Dow, 2012). Appealing to the human need for recognition makes employees to take more interest in the performance of their job, which contributes to the overall success of their organization. In many cases, when the employees of an organization are happy about their job, they are more likely to serve their customers well, which contributes to further success for the organization (Dow, 2012). The critical need played by money and recognition shows that employees are motivated by both money and recognition; therefore employees should offer both – so as to increase employee satisfaction. 3. The three qualities of a good leader that strengthen customer service abilities include

History of Modern Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

History of Modern Art - Essay Example The essay "History of Modern Art" examines Philadelphia Savings Fund Society building. This is one of the features that make the building standout among other buildings. It depicts a piece of art that had been well designed to match the exact mental imagery of the designers. It can also be said to represent the minds of many people especially from the perspective of creativity. This is because of the remarkable landmarks available in this area. The exact materials used to make the building include but not limited to brass, copper, glass, glazed brick. While the glass is working to ensure the continued beautification of the building, other factors were in play such as stainless steel that was seriously working on the strength as well as the durability of the building. It is free standing and strategically placed to fulfill the duties that it was originally put up for. With regard to iconography of the structure, the building can be said to have three main parts that make it unique in the area. Here, the structure appears as if the lower part, which is the widest and protruding, is separate from the rest of the building. The west part of the building also appears distinct from the other part of the building in that it is even taller than the main building. This can be said to be the flanked art of the building. This style makes it the only building with a distinctive sand unique style in Philadelphia. It can also be easily spotted even by an outsider because it bears its name at the top most part.

Business Analysis using PESTEL Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Business Analysis using PESTEL - Essay Example The main part of the report has used PESTLE framework to identify the factors that are important to be considered by the electric car manufacturers. The listed factors are then classified as highly relevant and less relevant. An impact analysis is then performed on the highly relevant factors to arrive at the most important trend to be considered. The trends as identified by the impact analysis are Government spending, Government deficit, Economic Growth, Research spending, Innovations, Safety regulations and Environmental awareness. Based on the analysis of the above factors, it is identified that the main opportunity for the electric car companies in the next 5 years is the increased environmental awareness among the people. Similarly, the main threat for electric car markets is the uncertainty about government policies. Sl. No. Topic Page No. 1 Introduction 4 - 5 2 Main body 2.1 PESTLE Analysis 2.2 Analysis of four trends 6 – 10 10 – 15 3 Conclusion 15 – 16 1. Introduction Developing a powerful battery for electric cars is a challenging task for all electric car manufacturers due to the various challenges associated with it. Those main challenges will be discussed here in this report. The topic is â€Å"A new type of battery that can extend the range of electric cars between charges from about 100 miles to about 500 miles.† This study will deal specifically about the electric car market in UK. The various aspects that are relating to the UK car market are dealt in detail in this report. The objective of the study is to identify and analyse the four key factors that are important for the electric car market in UK. A very comprehensive PESTLE analysis is done in order to identify the key factors affecting the UK electric car segment. Before getting into the core area, it is important to have an idea about the UK electric car market. British automobile industry is one of the most established and fastest growing automobile industries in the world. UK shows good growth figures for all car segments. The trend until some years back has been the small car segment. But now, the trend is getting shifted to the electric cars irrespective of whether it is big or small. The main motivating factors for such a shift in trend is the continued awareness regarding the ill effects caused by vehicle emissions and the low cost of operations. Due to this high potential that exists in the region, companies from across the world are targeting to introduce electric cars for the UK market. This is evident from the fact that the even the super luxury car maker Rolls Royce will unveil the electric version of their Phantom in the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. As of 2008 electric cars represented around 0.004 percent of cars on the UK roads. The committee on climate change then expected this figure to reach around 40 percent by 2020. (Webster, 2008) (Ref. 1). The following chart gives the electric car growth estimate by region. (Reed, 2010) (R ef 22) To make things easier for the car manufacturers as well as the potential buyers, the UK Government is very keen on supporting the segment through their subsidy programme and other policies. The government has planned to provide subsidy of up to ?5000 to those who acquire an electric car in future. (House of Commons, Page 40) (Ref. 2) But when it comes to the sales of electric cars, government support is not the only factor that works out. The practicality of the car is the most important success

We Googled You Case Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

We Googled You Case Assignment - Essay Example acquire the high ended rich clients in the three main cities in the China where people are known to be rich enough to purchase their designer products. This can only be achieved through finding ways to penetrate the Chinese market and be accepted by the Chinese people in order to excel. The goals and objectives of the company are clear and they all point towards the direction of infiltrating Chinese market and establishing their products there. The only way it can accomplish this goal and the ones mentioned above is by having a team of experts on Chinese culture and their business market in order to smooth the way for their entry as well as help in establishing the best strategic locations to set up their stores in the three suggested Chinese cities. The main issue that has raised questions and needs a decision and a quick one for that matter is on the matter of Mimi and her information on the internet. Mimi is a very qualified team member for the Chinese market entry and her input is highly necessary if the takeover is to be without hitches as her experience of China together with her Chinese education can come in handy. The only problem is that eight years ago, Mimi was involved in non-violent demonstrations between the Chinese and the American government and this information was uploaded on Google and was found by the Human Resource Manager. The first alternative is for Fred who is the CEO and the HR manager to call Mimi back and ask her to explain about the information on Google in order to get clarification. The other alternative is for them to assume the whole issue as it happened eight years ago and sweep it under the rag and still hire Mimi for the position in the China team. Lastly, they can regard the matter heavily and not hire Mimi as it will bring bad publicity to the company since anybody can find the information online and it can lead to them losing their business in the long run or affect market relations especially with the Chinese. I

Human Resources Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Human Resources Management - Essay Example He planned to hire an office administrator, two route drivers, and a warehouse worker. Beginning in the third quarter of 2009, he toyed with the idea of hiring an operations manager who could handle some of the day-to-day tasks that were starting to drain him professionally and personally. â€Å"There was no one to take work off Mark’s plate,† said Dan Price, who is founder of  Gravity Payments, a credit card processor, and has served as an informal adviser to Mr. Sims through their chapter of  Entrepreneurs’ Organization. â€Å"A first senior hire is daunting for an entrepreneur,† Mr. Price said. In fact, the prospect of carving out time to make hires was daunting to Mr. Sims. He recalled spending three days sorting through resumes when he could have been out getting business. With the unemployment rate high, the number of job applicants has surged, making screening even more time-consuming. â€Å"I get resumes for driver positions from applicants wh o don’t even have a license,† he said. In addition, Mr. Sims conceded that he did not have the best record of accomplishment when it came to hiring. Last year, for example, he brought on employees who seemed â€Å"fine† but did not last. A driver he found on  Craigslist  wrecked a new vehicle. ... Sims considered running ads and browsing resumes posted on state employment agency Web sites. At first glance, this seemed the least expensive way to go. However, after factoring in the time for culling resumes, Mr. Sims was less convinced that this was the best way to find candidates, particularly a strong No. 2. His other option was to hire a recruiter, at least to find the operations manager. However, Mr. Sims was not enthusiastic about spending that kind of money — typically, 20 to 30 percent of the hire’s six-figure salary. He had worked previously with a recruiter who had charged much less ($1,500 per placement), but offered little value. THE DECISION  In consultation with Mr. Price, who had taken his own company to 53 employees, from 10, in the previous four years, Mr. Sims decided to use a recruiter to find his operations manager, beginning the process last November. The agency began by interviewing Mr. Sims, who said he was surprised to realize during the con versation just how much he disliked operations. Once the agency understood his needs, it sent him the resumes of 12 candidates. Of those, Mr. Sims selected six and spent a day interviewing them back-to-back. He then ranked them and scheduled second interviews with the top two — a former chief financial officer and a former tech entrepreneur who had built a business from three to 35 employees before selling it. Mr. Sims, Mr. Price and a human resources employee from Gravity Payments conducted second interviews at the agency. The process took half a day. Mr. Sims interviewed one candidate, while Mr. Price and his colleague interviewed the other, and then

Western civilization paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Western civilization paper - Essay Example While some causes for doubt were natural processes quite beyond the scope or prevention of the church of the times, such as in the case of the Black Death and subsequent plagues that periodically decimated the European population, others were undoubtedly the result of greed and bids for power, such as could be seen in the Western Schism. Finally, social changes ranged far out of the control of the church through a variety of factors. A growth in the population leading up to the reformation, coupled with significant changes in economic structures as agrarian workers moved to towns and villages began to produce a more literary public. This was encouraged by the invention of the printing press that made the production of books faster and more economical and thus making them more accessible to a wider audience. This, in turn, promoted the spread of Humanitarian ideas throughout the general public following a period of church failures. Thus, while it can be argued that Martin Luther was t he biggest catalyst for change, he was heavily assisted by a variety of factors that came together at just the right time and place for his words to have maximum impact. The most recognized figure of the Protestant Reformation is that of Martin Luther (1483-1546), although this was not necessarily what the humble monk envisioned when he posted his 95 theses in 1517. His early life was spent in preparation for a career in law, but his adolescence gave him a jolt of divine inspiration when he was struck by a bolt of lightening and he turned to a life of serving God. Reports indicate he was a very devout monk, pious and humble, devoted to discovering God. This is revealed in his letters as he addresses the Archbishop regarding his concerns over the sale of indulgencies. Despite his strong feelings on the matter, he still addresses the Archibishop with excessive-seeming humility: â€Å"Spare me, More Reverend Father in Christ and Most Illustrious Prince, that I,

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Essay Example for Free

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Essay The American Dream is true equality and freedom of the citizens of The United States. In Maya Angelous I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Marguerite struggles with the thought of feeling unwanted as a child and the discrimination against blacks. As Marguerite grows up, she experiences first-hand the cruelty of racism. Her struggles reflect on all the hardships the citizens of America went through when they were fighting for equality as well. It first started in 1607 when English settlers travelled to America for religious freedom. The freedom they sought out for eventually grew to be something more important than just religious freedom. Marguerite defies authority and segregation and eventually gains the equality she deserves. Even though the era of slavery has ended, segregation between blacks and whites were still present. The town that Marguerite lives in is separated from where the white population is and she barely knows what they are like and she wonders if they are even human. Early on in the story, Marguerite first experiences the cruelty of the local powhitetrash when her family is warned of the white men searching her town for a scapegoat. This causes her Uncle Willie to hide in a potato bin even though he is innocent. In chapter blank, Marguerite watches three white girls mock Momma and she feels anger towards their cruelty and unfairness. As Momma finds her crying in anger, this is the first time she felt the need to defy the white people and fight against them. This encounter foreshadows Marguerites future acts of defiance against white people, as the English settlers defied their kind and moves to America. Marguerites first true act of defiance was when she was working for a white woman named Viola Cullinan. Mrs. Viola Cullinan is rude and her friends mistreat Marguerite. In order for Marguerite to stop working for her, she broke her prized china. This was a sign of Marguerite finally taking a stand against being mistreated. Her resistance gains Marguerite back her pride and she is getting closer to the freedom that she yearns for. There are times in the story where Marguerite feels an extreme sense of pride for her and her people. At Marguerites graduation, a white man named Edward Donleavy degrades the black population by stating that they can only excel in sports. He causes the eighth grade class to feel ashamed of themselves because they feel unintelligent. Marguerite starts to regret the fact that Columbus discovered the new world and she wishes that he hadnt. She feels so embarrassed, but Henry Reed, the valedictorian of her class brings their spirit back up. He has the crowd sing the Negro National Anthem and as his speech ends, everyone feels great pride swell inside of them. Marguerite feels proud of her heritage and education and ignores what harsh words of Mr. Donleavy. Another time when Marguerite feels proud of the black population is when she envisions Ms. Henderson standing up to Dr. Lincoln. She pictures Ms. Henderson turning into a superhero and scaring Dr. Lincoln. She states that she feels proud to be her granddaughter. The American Dream cannot be fulfilled unless the people have an extreme sense of pride of who they are and their country. Marguerite’s feelings were the start of the journey towards equality between all races. Marguerite first experiences a sense of equality when she attends a school in San Francisco. All the students are rude to her and act as if she is inferior to all of them. On the other hand, Marguerite meets a teacher names Mrs. Kirwin who doesnt discriminate. She treats every single one of her students the same, no matter what their race is. She only remembers Mrs. Kirwin because she didnt treat her differently. Marguerite experiences one final act of equality when she runs away from her father. She discovers a mix of young teens consisting of several races working together in equality. They give her certain rules that allow her to appreciate diversity and how everyone is the same. For example, everyone must work and put in an equal amount of effort to survive. Like the American Dream, everyone living in the junkyard is equal and treated fairly. There was no oppression or segregation when Marguerite lived in the junkyard. As it says in The Declaration of Independence, every American citizen is endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. In chapter 19, the Store is filled people listening to the boxing match with Joe Louis, a hero from the black population. When he wins, Marguerite feels that he proved that black people are powerful people. The black population develops a sense of hope, feeling that things will start to change because Joe Louis made a difference and because he is a black man. They feel as if they finally took a stand to all the unjust lynching and discrimination against blacks. Near the end of the story, Marguerite becomes the first black person to have a job as a streetcar conductor. At first, there was a policy forbidding any black person to have this job, but Marguerite fights and against all odds, she is successful. This proves that regardless of social standing, one can achieve what they desire if he or she really wants it. Just as us Americans fought for freedom, Marguerite fought for equality.

A More Perfect Union Speech | Barack Obama

A More Perfect Union Speech | Barack Obama The speech titled A More Perfect Union was delivered by Senator Barack Obama on March 18, 2008 at the National Constitution Centerin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The speech responds to the video of Barack Obamas pastor, reverend Jeremiah Wright, in which Wright denounced the United States and accused the government of crimes against people of colour. The pundits and various news media outlets played the clip repeatedly on the television and YouTube. First, the Obamas speech attempts to address the nation on their concerns of his affiliation with Reverend Wright. Second, the speech addresses the sustaining and prevailing issues of race within America and how it paralyses our nation. The speech is compelling because it possesses the necessary elements of effective and persuasive rhetoric; in summation, Obamas rhetoric works. Rhetoric is the study of opposing arguments, misunderstanding, and miscommunication. By addressing the misunderstanding and miscommunication connected to and perpetrated by racism in America, the audience sees precisely how effective Obamas speech is when examined through such lenses as the classical and 20th century rhetorical theories and concepts from Aristotle, Richard Weaver, Stephen Toulmin, Chaim Perelman, and Michel Foucault. Barack Obamas speech echoes the rhetorical concepts of ethos, pathos, and logos that explicitly discussed within Aristotles The Rhetoric. Ethos is how the speakers character and authenticity aids his or her influence of the audience; whereas pathos is a rhetorical device that alters the audiences perceptions through storytelling and emotional appeals (181). Logos uses reason to construct an argument and to covey an idea (182). Finally, kairos attempts to conceptualize the need for the correct timing (201). Therefore, ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos are within the speech and expressed in various ways, striking language and repetition, and through different receptors, emotions and sense. Ethos is accomplished on intellectual, spiritual, and biological levels. Obama does this by giving factual information. He interjects historical references; he explains the extent of his family tree. Thus, Obama gives creditability to his speech and validity to his message. He acknowledges that the press routinely looks for the latest evidence of racial polarization, not just in terms of white and black, but black and brown as well (Obama, par. 7). From this quote, the audience is being persuaded by the theoretical concepts of opposing arguments. The audience is fully aware of the partition between the races, and the speech is very effective due to the fact that Barack Obama is willing to speak of what is often unspoken. When addressing his intellectual ethos, Obama mentions that he has gone to some of the best schools in America (Obama, par. 6). Secondly, he recites, We the people, in order to form a more perfect union, which is easily recognized as the first line in the U.S. Constitution (Obama, par. 2). Even those who do not possess complete knowledge of the famous line immediately understand that something of importance is being conveyed to them. Thirdly, he demonstrates his awareness of past occurrences and present concerns on the global scale. Senator Obama recalls the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow within our nation (Obama, par. 24). He acknowledges the present dangers of conflicts in the Middle East and explains the cause of such conflict (Obama, par. 10). The audience is given evidence that he understands the role of history as well as the present-day global concerns affecting our nation. Furthermore, Senator Obama uses ethos to gain credibility with his knowledge of social issues that pervade our society today. He states, The most segregated hour of American life occurs on Sunday morning (Obama, par. 12). He acknowledges that the resentments of the black and white communities arent always expressed in polite company, but these resentments are manifested within our society in destructive ways, like racism (Obama, par. 31). The audience feels that he is knowledgeable and credible on the immediate topics affecting our future and our daily lives. Ethos is also applied on a spiritual level by mentioning his present faith and making Biblical references. He states that more than twenty years ago [he was] introduce[d] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦to Christian faith [with] obligations to love one another, to care for the sick and lift up the poor (Obama, par. 13). He noted how black people merged with the stories of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh, the Christians in the lions den, [and] Ezekiels field of dry bones (Obama, par. 16). Senator Obama is altering the language. Christians did not exist in the Old Testament story of Ezekiel, but Senator Obama is effectively connecting with every major religion. Simultaneously, he is reaching out to the secular world as well. Being cognizant that everyone does not actively practice a religious faith, Obama chooses stories that everyone, Christians and non-Christians, could identify and recognize. Thus, these religious references connect with masses as well as members of the three major religions. Finally, Senator Obama gains ethos by explaining his own genetic makeup. He states that he is the son of a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansasà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ [He continues that he] is married to a Black American who carries within her the blood of slaves and slave ownersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ [Then, he acknowledges that he has] brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles and cousins of every race and every hue scattered across three continents (Obama, par. 6). In essence, he reveals that he has the blood of Africa, the birthplace of humanity, and the blood of a woman of French descent within him. He has married a woman who has both slave and slave owner flowing within her. Moreover, he has fathered children who have the blood of humanity: African, European, slave, and the Caucasian slave owner within them. Thus, he is an authority on race. He states, [his] story [is] seared into [his] genetic makeup the idea that this nation is more that the sum of its partsthat out of many, we are truly one (Obama, par. 6). The audience revels at his remarkable story, and ethos is achieved through storytelling. In essence, Obama forges a biological connection with his audience. The connection is strengthened through Senator Obamas use of pathos. It is achieved through the use of emotional appeals. He alters the thoughts and feelings of his audience through storytelling, imagery, and allusion. The topic of race, within itself, evokes strong emotions, even to this very moment, this very second. The senator begins by telling a story of his grandfather who survived a Depression to serve in Pattons army during World War II (Obama, par. 6). The use of key terms such as Depression, Pattons army, and World War II evoke the emotional responses of patriotism and self-sacrifice. Toward the end of his speech, Obama shares another story; he tells of a young, white, Southern campaignerAshley Baiawho inspires an old, black, Southern man to vote (Obama, par. 45-46). In essence, Baia encourages pathos by telling her story. Barack Obama uses Baias story of inspiration to highlight the power in sharing his own story. The audience is able to connect through the emotional appeals that take place at the very core of humanity. It is easy to disrespect and dishonour something that is foreign and unknown, but it is hard to turn away from the essence of another mans soul. As fellow humans, the audience recognizes the sheer humanity in the story. Pathos is also achieved through the use of allusion and imagery. The imagery that is provoked with terms such as slave or slavery is still poignant today. Most people are cognizant of the plight of slaves within this country. The audience would be aware of the racism that ensued and the devastation and isolation that slavery caused in American history. When Barack Obama describes the various ways that racism manifested within our society, pathos is achieved because of the powerful imagery of the allusions to race and racial conflicts within our community. The audience is trapped and becomes aware of the prejudices and experiences of race and racism within their own lives, thus causing emotions to surge and overflow. Pathos, being the weakest form of rhetoric, is utilized by Senator Obama sparingly. Instead, he overwhelmingly utilizes the most powerful form of rhetoric, logos. Logos is the ability to embody rational, logical, methodical thoughts and persuasions. As it relates to Obamas speech, examples of logos are found throughout the text. For example, by displaying objectivity, the element of logos is achieved. Senator Barack Obama methodically explains the problems with race within America, and he gives logical, reasoned resolutions to the problems. He explains, The anger [of Blacks and] the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away, nor has the anger and bitterness of those yearsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ [Later he offers resolution and states that] the African-American community [must embrace] our past without becoming victims of our past (Obama, par. 34). Many African-Americans will identify with Obamas assessment of race within the African-American community, and they will be inspired to act in a positive manner. Simultaneously, he acknowledges a similar anger within the white community. They [feel] theyve worked hard all their livesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦They are anxious about their future, and they feel their dreams slipping away [and] resentment builds over timeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ [Furthermore, he offers resolution and urges that] the white community [must acknowledge] that what ails the African-American community does not just exist in the minds of black people; that the legacy of discrimination [exists] (Obama, par. 36). From these lines, the audience is persuaded to respond in a positive manner as well, and they are urged to approach the subject of racism both subjectively and objectively. Senator Obama recognizes the duality of both plights and asks the American people not to blame each other but investigate and seek out the true reason of conflict within our nation. Thus, Obama is using inductive and deductive reasoning, which is indicative of logos. By utilizing Aristotles method and system, Obamas appeals to logic are beyond reproach. Once his reasons are defined, he states that this is the time that we must take action and secure our future together, and Obama begins to preach on the importance of time. The issue of time and timing directly correlates with the classical rhetorical term kairos. Obama conveys time in a powerful fashion. In the beginning of his speech, he states, Two hundred and twenty one years ago [our forefathers]à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦produced [a document that was] eventually signed, but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by the nations original sin of slavery [that] brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least 20 more years, and leave any final resolution to future generations (Obama, par. 3). Later, he explains how people often manipulate race to win political elections and prevent unity. Barack Obama speaks of the continual war between segments of our community. Then he states, But race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now (Obama, par. 23). Furthermore, he acknowledges the complexities of race in America have never been resolved. He urges Americans to come together and solve [the] challenges [in America] (Obama, par. 33). He persuades the audience to racial relations within America a priority. In summary, kairos is aggressively addressed and highlighted. The audience realizes that the problem at hand may have been ignored by our forefathers, but these problems must be addressed now. Toward the end, kairos reaches its peak of effectiveness. Obama states that what has been effectively dividing the races in the past will not happen again: Not this time. This time we want to talk about crumbling schoolsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦This time we want to reject the cynicismà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦This time we want to talk about [healthcare]à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦This time we want to talk about [jobs]à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦This time we want to talk about [race]à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦This time-This time we want to talk about the men and women of every colour and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag (Obama, par. 40-41). From these lines, the audience feels the urgency of time; the listeners realize that this time America must act. Obama effectually uses the sophistic rhetorical theories and concepts to ignite and unite the audience; however, he also incorporates modern-day rhetorical theories and concepts as well. Specifically, Senator Obama utilizes the hierarchy of definition, analogy, cause and effect, and testimony of the 20th century rhetorician, Richard Weaver. In the introduction of Language Is Sermonic, the narrator summates Weaver as stating, Rhetoricà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦is a positive act with consequences in the worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Every utterance is an attempt to make others see the world in a particular way and accept the values implicit in that point of view (1348). Similarly, Obama desires to persuade the audience to see the world from a different perspective, a different lens. First, toward the beginning of the text, Obama defines the Black church. He states, Black churches across the country embody the community in its entirety-the doctor and the welfare mom, the model student and the former gang-bangerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Services are full of raucous laughter and sometimes bawdy humour Full of kindness and cruelty, the fierce intelligence and the shocking ignorance, the struggles and successes, the love [as well as] the bitterness and biases (Obama, par. 18). If one really looks closely at the definition, it is also a definition of America as well as the Black church. By explaining the polarity within the Black church, he explains the polarity within America as a whole. In this way, Obama uses rhetoric in a positive way to impact his audience and highlights that every utterance is an attempt to make others see the world in a particular way [through definition]. Second, Weaver asserts, Rhetoric [is] the most important of all ends, the persuading of human beings to adopt right attitudes and act in response to them (1351). From these lines, one can examine Senator Obamas use of twentieth century rhetorical theories and concepts. Obama uses cause-and-effect by illustrating the history of racism within the United States (1354). He states: We do not need to recite here the history of racial injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that existed between the African-American community and the larger American community today can be traced directly to inequalities passed from an earlier generation that suffered under the brutal legacy of slavery and Jim Crow (Obama, par. 24). In essence, Obama is stating that the racism today has a sordid past in our history; it can not be ignored, but it must be confronted, discussed, and acted upon. Obama is using this cause-and-effect to play on the emotions of his audience. Everyone is aware of the gruesome history, yet, as Weaver puts it, Humanity includes emotionality or the capacity to feel and suffer, to know pleasure (1352). From these lines, it is obvious that Senator Obama uses cause-and-effect to evoke an emotional response and sway the audience to his point of view. Furthermore, Barack Obama utilizes the elements outlined by Stephen Toulmins The Uses of Argument. He uses the schema of the six components in analysing arguments: qualifier, claim, data, warrant, backing, and rebuttal. The qualifier is the word or phrase [that] expresses the speakers degree of force or certainty concerning the claim (1418). Next, the claim is the conclusion whose merit must be established (1417). Then, the data is the fact we appeal to as a foundation for the claim (1417). The warrant is the statement authorizing our movement from the data to the claim (1419). The backing is the credential designed to certify the statement expressed in the warrant; backing must be introduced when the warrant itself is not convincing enough to the readers or the listeners (1420). Finally, the rebuttal is the statement recognizing the restrictions to which the claim may legitimately be applied (1421). The following examples show how Obamas speech utilizes these principles as well: First, by working together, we can move beyond some (qualifier) of our old racial wounds (claim) by virtue of asserting a firm conviction, a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people (data), because we have no choice if we are to continue on a path of a more perfect union (warrant), as we know its a racial stalemate weve been struck in for years (backing)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Second, the vast majority (qualifier) of Americans want the issue of race to be resolved (claim) by virtue of the desire to perfect our society by young people whose attitudes and beliefs and openness to change have already made history in this election (data), because there is hope in the next generation (warrant)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(Obama, par. 33, 42) Similarly, as a rhetoric, Obama uses Chaim Perelmans techniques to connect to his audience. Perelmans The Realm of Rhetoric states, The importance of rhetoric, of the psychological technique which acts upon the hearers will in order to obtain his adherenceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦[B]y showing that for any subject there are two opposing discoursesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the existences of one single truth [is denied] (1379). From these lines, the audience can assume that Senator Obama verbalizes the plight of black, white, and brown Americans. He dismisses a single truth, and Obama accepts multiple truths within a society. He promotes inclusion and commonality among all people despite socio-economics or race, and Obama encourages them to look at both sides of the argument. Thus, he uses psychological techniques in order to connect with his audience. Similar to Aristotles rhetorical concept of kairos, in Chaim Perelmans The New Rhetoric: A Theory of Practical Reasoning he states, Political speakingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦urges us either to do or not to do something (1387). Not this time. This time we want to talk about crumbling schoolsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦This time we want to reject the cynicismà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦This time we want to talk about [healthcare]à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦This time we want to talk about [jobs]à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦This time we want to talk about [race]à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦This time-This time we want to talk about the men and women of every colour and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag (Obama, par. 40-41). From these lines, Obama is calling for action. He is urging the audience to respond and respond now. Using anaphora, the importance of acting now is echoed over and over again. It provokes emotion, pathos. He is promoting social cohesion in his audience. Furthermore, Perelman states, Things present, things near to us in space and time, act directly on our sensibility (1395). Obamas speech parallels this concept. Obama begins by making allusions to Americas historic past: Two hundred and twenty one years ago [our forefathers]à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦in a hall that still stands across the streetà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦produced [a document that was] eventually signed, but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by the nations original sin of slavery [that] brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least 20 more years, and leave any final resolution to future generations (Obama, par. 23). From this quote, Obama even reflects the idea of time, past and present, in the very location in which the speech is given. He is connecting the past to the present. This quote highlights the importance of the location of Obamas speech on race, and how the event at the location has made the present setting possible. Finally, Michel Foucaults The Order of Discourse can easily be applied to Senator Barack Obamas speech on race in America; the political speech delivered in March 2008 concerned the taboo subjects of racism and how racism affected our religious rhetoric. According to the text, Foucault remarks, The desire to locate truth in something other than discourse itself hasà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦spawned several mistaken beliefsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ [Foucault questions] the will to truth [and attempts to] restore to discourse its character as an event (1432). Likewise Obama seeks to locate truth in his own experiences and through the invitation of discourse with the audience. Senator Obama discusses the discourse of race in America in a reasonable and logical manner, yet he also seems sincere, full of character, and an expert on the topic. Toward the beginning of The Order of Discourse, Foucault states, I should not like to have to enter this risky order of discourse (1460). Obamas speech is a risky order of discourse. Racism in America is, in many ways, ingrained and embedded within the culture. There are deep wounds that accompany a deeply wounded history. Foucault remarks, In a society like oursà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦We know quite well that we do not have the right to say everything, that we cannot speak of just anything in any circumstances whatever, and that not everyone has the right to speak of anything (1461). Foucaults statement sums up Senator Obamas dilemma. His pastor has spoken words that should not have been uttered-publically at least. Obama states, Weve heard my former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, use incendiary language to express views that have the potential not only to widen the racial divide, but views that denigrate both the greatness and the goodness of our nation and that rightly offend white and black alike (Obama, par. 8). In our society, it is simply not acceptable to transmit racism in a public and formal manner. Racism exists, but it is most often in the subtleties and comforts of familiar spaces and private homes. Thus, Obamas willingness to have an honest conversation on the taboo subject of racism in America is a risky order of discourse. To reiterate, the speech delivered by Barack Obama in March 2008 exemplifies effective rhetorical theories and concepts. Obama hopes to heal Americas turbulent racial legacy and move forward, from the negativity of the past, in a positive, logical manner through ethos, pathos, and logos appeals. First, Senator Obama argues against the long standing racial climate that exists within American society. Second, he broaches subjects that are often discussed in the private sphere but rarely discussed openly. Third, he wants the audience to know that he is an articulate, vibrant, and diverse African-American man who is capable of leading this country forward. Finally, he uses rhetoric to calm the misunderstanding of his personage and his controversial affiliation. In essence, he uses many elements that are exemplified in the classical and modern-day study of rhetoric, blends and expands new rhetorical devices in order to elevate the message, and effectively reaches a broad audience composed of multiple ethnic groups, multiple religions, and multiple socio-economic divisions. Through the rhetoric of language in the speech, Senator Obama proposes to have an honest conversation on race and unite the historical racial divide. In summary, the speech effectively connects to the audience through the multi-media of rhetoric.

American Indian Stories Essay -- essays research papers

In her book American Indian Stories, Zitkala-Sa's central role as both an activist and writer surfaces, which uniquely combines autobiography and fiction and represents an attempt to merge cultural critique with aesthetic form, especially surrounding such fundamental matters as religion. In the tradition of sentimental, autobiographical fiction, this work addresses keen issues for American Indians' dilemmas with assimilation. In Parts IV and V of "School Days," for example, she vividly describes a little girl's nightmares of paleface devils and delineates her bitterness when her classmate died with an open Bible on her bed. In this groundbreaking scene, she inverts the allegation of Indian religion as superstition by labeling Christianity. Also, the book as a whole reflects her empowerment, but also speaks eloquently in a conquering culture's language of what it is to have no power over your destiny or selfhood. Her integration of several competing selves led her to write this, in "The Great Spirit": "The racial lines, which once were bitterly real, now serve nothing more than marking out a living mosaic of human beings." In "The Great Spirit" she demonstrates her rhetorical savvy in embedding palatably her critique of oppressive hierarchy. She evokes this theme again in "Sun Dance Opera," which she composed later in life. Here and elsewhere, she illustrates that the...

Essay --

Evidence of foreign aids ineffectiveness is easily seen by the fact that there are more than thirty six countries who have received more than ten percent of their Gross National Income from foreign aid for at least the last three decades. In this amount of time the goals of creating economic growth and self-sufficiency have yet to transpire. Historically aid has never lasted this long. The times where aid has been shown to be effective in meeting its goals, like the Marshall Plan, it only lasted a few years. Not only that, during times where aid was successful it never topped three percent of the recipient countries GDP. Historically when aid has been given for longer periods of time, like it was in the Cold War, it was slowly decreased until no longer needed. The foreign aid that is seen today has not only lasted longer but has also increased and grown larger over the past three decades. This ineffectiveness has not gone unnoticed. This is why programs like the Millennium Challenge Account have been created. The idea behind these programs is to be more selective with what countries aid is given to and to monitor the aids value in helping those countries (Clemens, Radelet, and Bhavani, 2004). It is important to understand that not all aid has been futile. There are many times where aid has been successful. As research done by the Center for Global Development has shown, the commonality found in its success stories is when aid is given with an objective (Levine, 2004). William Easterly cites in â€Å"CGD Working Paper 65† that both South Korea and Botswana as two examples of where aid was given to help local efforts financially temporarily and turned in long term success where institutions were formed that were self-propelling and fore... ...ry’s government having less of an incentive to tax because aid is a non-earned source of revenue. The idea is less taxation will open markets and cause more consuming and investing. This may be effective, but only as long as the aid is being given. During this process the lack of taxes causes the recipient country’s government’s institutions and administration to weaken because they lost their legitimacy. Taxes are the only way to assure that both a country’s government and its citizens are accountable to one another. Self-reliance is positively correlated with the integrity of a country’s sovereignty (Brautigam and Knack, 2004). Thus the more aid a recipient country receives, the less accountable the government and citizens are to one another, resulting in the less sovereignty which drives the need for more foreign aid and creates a dependency on donor countries.

Betrayal :: Personal Narrative Writing

Betrayal 1.Desire It is easy to fall in love with bodies. I Breathe skin, lose time to anticipation and pleasure, hair, lips, thighs; tangled in another person, I am lost in a jungle. Transcendence. Society teaches us to break a body down: we love legs, butts, breasts; we take images and splice them into the form of our perfect desire. Like Pygmalion we are desperate to breathe life into our conception of beauty, our imagination of a perfect creature. Reality is easily redrawn around a body whose presence in a place reorganizes the map of the world. Nothing exists but the texture of skin, its taste thick in the mind's imagination. Against our animal world, ideas and numbers seem strange, misplaced, insignificant to desire and love, to connecting with another's warmth. Trying to fulfill a fantasy, it is the dreamer who is recreated. It is time that is filled in. 2. Characters To a moment we are only characters. In this moment: David, the long-term boyfriend (now). Moa, at first betrayer, then clown, then you (then). There is the self who perceives, creates, and ultimately longs for the deep and endless fall of vertigo (lost between the now and then). And there is Love, so mysterious and evasive that I sometimes believe it is a character, alive, weaving tendrils around us (love plays with time). But the descriptions might switch names. I could be the clown, and it could be you who plunges yourself into vertigo. And maybe only one character could play all the parts. There are several combinations to fit several moods (this is my version that fits my now). 3. Eternity The moment has a way of leaking into other moments. Other moments with other lovers leak into the memory. The lovers, like muddying watercolors, swirl into each other. I wonder if I only have relationships with myself. I ask myself the same question over and over till it feels like I am banging my head against a wall, "What do I want?" I look into my heart but it is hard to see through the haze of time and desire. Sartre writes that we are indoctrinated with the values of our societies. We can never be or know ourselves till we escape these. Sartre draws one single path to freedom, this is radical choice, choosing something totally unconnected to anything, in practice this could only be a random choice.

The Attitude of Confucius towards Women

No one would not recognize that Confucius until now has a great impact not only to China and to its neighbors such as Japan, Korea, and Vietnam but as well as to other countries that his teachings had traveled through. His thoughts had deeply penetrated into their culture believing that they were the right virtues to do for their daily living. But one of his teachings is now questioned and this is his attitude against women. Looking ahead†¦ The Attitude of Confucius towards Women IntroductionNo one would not recognize that Confucius until now has a great impact not only to China and to its neighbors such as Japan, Korea, and Vietnam but as well as to other countries that his teachings had traveled through. His thoughts had deeply penetrated into their culture believing that they were the right virtues to do for their daily living. But one of his teachings is now questioned and this is his attitude against women. As change of time goes by, even his descendants had now realized wh at women should be in this changing society. Biography of Confucius and the role of women in his lifeConfucius was believed to have been born 551 BC, at the city of Qufu, of the state of Lu (now modern day province of Shandong). His ancestry is said to have originated from the Royal State of Song, but had fled because of turmoil. It is also believed that Confucius was an illegitimate child because his father had not been given a healthy son by his first wife. According to Peterson (2008), Confucius belongs to the gentry or those who owned a large farm. But contrary to this, it is also believed that three years after Confucius was born, his father died and he together with his mother lived in poverty (Chien, 1978).Confucius then strived hard to rise starting from being a livestock caretaker, clerk and bookkeeper. At an early age of 19, he married Qi Quan then they had a child when he was 20. At the age of 23, his mother died and he had offered a three years mourning for her. Accordin g to the Temples of Confucius, he had became a Justice Minister of Lu at 53 but the sources of Peterson contradicts to this event saying that though Confucius wanted to had a position, he never had at least one and he had only spent his life teaching others who had the same wish to gain position.These discrepancies about the biography of Confucius is said to have its root to the many legendary accounts being attributed unto him by his historian followers later in his life. His ideas about wives in relation to husbands As a teacher of men who wants to rule, one discipline he had taught unto them is their relation to their wives. To start, he had a perception that women are the lone producers of disorders and this should not be blamed as something sent by the heaven. He regards them as cannot be taught nor instructed thus making them inferior to man.He also then gave an advice that â€Å"husbands should maintain a certain distance to his wife. † A philosopher from the Han dynas ty wherein Confucian teachings had been first widely adopted, Ban Gu had explained that women should not make the initiative before man, because â€Å"yin is lowly, and it proceeds to the yang in order to be completed. † Known women by that time had also supported this idea of Confucius, Zhao had admitted that women are weak and lowly, and their primary duty is to serve their husband.She also says that men could remarry twice, but women could not. But she ended her passage by paying respect to their gender, saying that as â€Å"man is honored for strength; a woman is beautiful for her gentleness. † Another saying pertains to the acts that should be done by court ladies, stating that â€Å"A husband is heaven, and Heaven cannot be shirked. † According to another record from the Han dynasty entitled Ritual and Book of Rites, daughter-in-laws should act as a lower class to his husband’s parents.Whatever she wants to do, she should first ask permission from t hem. According then to Nu Lun Lu, this one coming from the Tang Dynasty, says that a husband-wife relationship should be of man’s strength and woman’s weakness, that a wife should just be quiet and blame herself every time his husband is angry, that a wife should not leave his husband especially when he is sick. His ideas about the role of mothers in relations to sonsSpeaking of Confucius attitude about mothers, I might suggest that his teachings would had been influenced by his personal experiences with his father assuming that it is true that Confucius is an illegitimate child because his father divorced his first wife because she could not give him at least one healthy son. According to the famous disciple of Confucius named Mencius, â€Å"there are only three uncivil acts, the greatest of them is not producing a son. † But even though a mother could not give a son, he had not excluded her with the respect her child should give back to her.He had also regarde d that mothers are the first source of education of their children. His thinking about contacts with other states, including both trade and war as being affected by his attitude to women As he emphasized that women should be at the lowest level in the human society, his thinking about contacts with other states is that it should only be run by males and not by the inferior females. He strongly suggests that women should only be kept inside the bedroom to serve his husbands after a hard day’s work.Every work outside the house such as trading then is only of male-concerns, so thus also being a soldier at times of war. Justification As time had changed, people are now realizing that Confucius idea about the inferiority of women in the society had also changed. Basing on my opinion, Confucius had stated those teachings just to stress out the need of his province for men who would rule and protect it at times of war. He then perceived that women are belongings of men and a wifeâ⠂¬â„¢s main duty is to give him a healthy son that would make sure the continuance of his bloodline.

Disadvantges of Joint Family

extended family also has some disadvantages just like any other thing. For instance, one’s privacy may be denied in some cases because of the large number of people. There are some things you will want to do alone or sometimes one may want to think or spend time alone in privacy all of which is very hard to do in the extended family especially a very large one. There is also a kind of monarchy in extended family. A decision made by the over head which is usually the grandfather cannot be challenged any other person. This is a disadvantage because one may not be allowed to exercise his rights of freewill to something.Some Children get spoilt in extended family by the grandparents. Because the grandparents so love them, they are given freewill to almost anything for some even the bad deeds are ignored. The grandparents may also prevent the parents from taking action on their children and this brings about disrespect from the child’s end. Trouble, quarrel and conflicts are almost inevitable in extended family. Most times, there are fights especially when there is no mutual understanding among members. You hear about cousins fighting cousins, an uncle hates his nephew and so on and so forth.On the other hand, quarrels are almost null in the nuclear family. Who do you want to fight? Your siblings or parents. But in the extended family, due to the large size and little far relationship between people, these conflicts tend to prevail. Looking at both sides, it can be deduced that even though extended family has some disadvantages, still yet, the advantages outweighs the disadvantages. Its practice in Africa should therefore be preserved. People should realize the value of having family there to help support them when in need and to give them wisdom in ways that were never thought to be possible.

Soft Thinking and Intellectual Capital

{draw:frame} University of Glamorgan MSc International Logistics and Transport Programme/Strategic Procurement Management STRATEGY AS PRACTICE Soft Systems Thinking and Intellectual Capital Assignment 1 *Student No: *08193738 Assignment Date: 5 April 2009 *Submission Date:* 15 May 2009 Module Lecturer: Paul Davis Word Count:* * *2,* 600 Critically evaluate the role that Soft Systems thinking can play in promoting organisations Intellectual Capital. To evaluate the benefits of Soft Systems Thinking (SST) in promoting an organisational intellectual capital it is necessary to understand the concept of Soft Systems Methodology and how this methodology can be used to foster teamwork, communities of practice and social learning, and whether these learning outcomes adds knowledge to employees, and leads to improved professional practice and efficacy. So what price do you put on learning – and as an intangible asset does it need to be measured to promote Intellectual Capital (IC) to support the â€Å"effective delivery of strategic goals by focusing management activities and processes†. Andriessen (2004). Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) advocated by Checkland and Scholes (1990) is a methodology based on applying systems thinking to non system situations. It is a holistic way of dealing not with the problem but the â€Å"situation† in where there are â€Å"social, political and human activities† Checkland and Scholes (1990). As opposed to â€Å"hard system methodologies, which can be quantified, measured and are technology orientated. Soft Systems takes a group of â€Å"actors† through a process of a shared â€Å"problem† appreciation. Learning about the problem, then formulating a root definition of interrelated systems, these examine the relationships of the relevant subsystem: which are the stakeholders, such as customers, employees, the worldview (weltanschauungen) and the management who are â€Å"all active in the system and take collective action to improve the situation† Checkland (1981) Senge (1990) also describes systems thinking as having five learning disciplines, personal mastery, me_ntal models, shared vision, team learning, and the overarching discipline of systems thinking. Therefore, soft systems thinking is a tool that helps in the solving of problems involving human activities where the outcome is learning. Soft systems thinking can enable subjective perceptions of problems and potential solutions. Checkland and Scholes (1990). There are a number of different issues and approaches that can be used to develop a framework for the application of systems thinking for promoting the intellectual capital of any organisation. Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) advocated by Checkland and Scholes (1990) helps to achieve a clearer understanding of organisational issues and problem â€Å"situations†, as it approaches issues holistically. â€Å"System thinking is a discipline for seeking wholes, recognizing patterns and interrelationships, and learning how to structure those relationships in a more effective and efficient way † Senge and Lannon-Kim (1991. Therefore, managers having a range of skills and knowledge can add value to any improvement initiative. Rose and Haynes (2001) developed and used the methodology in a number of settings in the NHS and Iles and Sunderland (2001) cited the potential of SSM as an aid to implementing organisational change initiatives at King’s College Hospital London. (Iles and Sunderland, 2001:35) Soft systems thinking can help organisations to develop new perspectives, as it accounts for factors that otherwise would be ignored. A human activity system, can compliment strategic frameworks, such as the â€Å"Balance Scorecard† to co-ordinate business activities and improve internal and external communications. Kaplan and Norton (1992) However, humans view problems differently because they come from different backgrounds, and have different cultural roots, experience, and education, and as a subsystem, different personalities and philosophies to life. Therefore; if a group of managers at different management levels and different departments are all involved in a complex â€Å"problem situation†, SST maybe an excellent tool to create a conceptual understanding of a problem, but it does not represent the real world, but by using system rules and principles it allows thinking to be structured, to develop some models, and the situation can be expressed as a rich picture Checkland, (1981); Checkland and Scholes (1990) Although, Checkland (1999) contrasts with the emphasis on reductionists thinking on obvious problems with definite solutions. People interpret problem situations from particular standpoints and in terms of distinctive interests. Fortune and Peters (1995) speaks about ‘complex discursive’ networks challenging the understanding of systems, problems and solutions to problems. This system of relationships between people, activities, and the world is defined by Lave and Wenger (1991), as a Community of Practice, (CoP) ‘which develops over time’ and ‘in relation to’ other central and overlapping communities of practice’ and is a fundamental condition for the existence of knowledge. The approach focuses on the â€Å"social interactive dimensions of situated learning†. As people in the group interact with each other, establishing a relationship through mutual engagement and a sense of joint enterprise. Wenger (2000) describes three modes of belonging to a social learning system, as â€Å"engagement, imagination and alignment†. These cannot be formed, but have to evolve overtime, as new members join and others leave. So how can organisations like the NHS establish communities of practice? Brown and Duguid (2001a) suggests managers can seek to structure spontaneity, structuring fragmented practice across the organisation, they can encourage alignments of changing practices between communities thereby assisting the transfer of knowledge across the organisation. (Brown and Duguid 2001a). An equally important view has emerged under the banner of ‘the knowledge-based view of the firm' (Grant 1996), emphasises the necessity of organisations to develop and increase the knowledge and learning capabilities of employees through knowledge gaining, knowledge sharing, and knowledge transfer, to achieve competitive advantage. To take it further Lave and Wenger (1991) saw the gaining of knowledge as a social process, in which people participated in communal learning, but at different levels depending on their authority in the group. It is the shared commitment that binds the members of the CoP in a single social entity, and although members of the CoP build up tangible communal resources, such as written files, procedures, processes and policies, (hard knowledge) intangible resources are also being built up such as experiences rituals and idioms (soft knowledge). Hildreth and Kimble (2002) argued that the underlying problems of managing this knowledge was that Knowledge Management (KM) failed to recognise that knowledge itself consists of both hard and soft knowledge, much like the Chinese concepts of Yin and Yan and are mutually interdependent. â€Å"Knowledge by itself produces nothing; only when it is integrated into a task does knowledge benefit society. (Drucker 1992) Hislop (2004) examined three cases studies of CoP’s in large European organisations and concluded that only one was successful in sharing knowledge between communities. The other two failed to do so because they did not share the same identity. So it could be concluded that although CoP’s are self controlled and self directed, and maybe of value to the business organisation, the actual benefit and contribution to the organisation could also be uncertain. Maybe, because group solidarity in human communities, is often at the price of hostility/non-cooperation towards non-group members. â€Å"There appears to be a natural human inclination for dividing the world into friends and enemies that is the basis of all politics. † (Fukuyama, 1995) So knowledge maybe personified tacitly in the experiences of a community of practitioners in an organisation or explicitly in the written files, but Knowledge Management (KM) is a critical task for any organisation. Reducing tacit knowledge into numbers the organisation stands to lose money, although knowledge can be safely stored on computer systems – the actual value could be lost if an employee leaves with the tacit knowledge on how to use the explicit knowledge. Employee retention/turnover is important as downsizing and retirement can cause a loss of shared knowledge and knowledge could be transferred to competitors and be damaging to an organisations competitive advantage. (Stovel and Bontis (2002). Stovel and Bontis (2002) also advocate that â€Å"productivity will drop for a time due to the learning curve involved as new employees’ gain the knowledge of the tasks involved and understands and learns from the organisational culture. Information and data can be stored but it is not until it has been processed in the minds of an individual and is communicated to others does it become knowledge (Alavi and Leidener 2001) so to make tacit knowledge explicit, there has to be knowledge transfer. Knowledge transfer within and between organisations is not a one-way activity, but a process of trial and error, feedback, and mutual adjustment of both the source and the recipient (Von Krogh, 2003: 373). There have been a number of studies which have shown that some of the benefits of knowledge sharing/transfer can help solve problems and increase performance, adaptation, collaboration and innovation. (Constant, Sproull and Kiesler, 1996; Brown and Duguid, 2000). However, there is a great deal of literature on knowledge management and innumerable definitions of knowledge and what knowledge is, Blackler (1995) describes knowledge as â€Å"multifaceted and complex, being both situated and abstract, implicit and explicit, distributed and individual, physical and mental, developing and static, verbal and encoded. † While Fowler and Pryke’s (2003) views the more human element of knowledge â€Å"as much the perception arising from information and refracted through the individual’s personal lens†. Whereas, Knowledge Management Systems refers to information systems, particularly with the use of technology, which is adopted and designed to support employees, there is an emerging awareness that there is a social element to the area of knowledge management, which focuses on a more human centred approach, as a means of managing knowledge in organisations (Hildreth et el 1999) It is now recognised that the performance of any organisation, private and public is very much dependent upon the knowledge of the employees. But, it is the social element or the concept of â€Å"social capital† and its role in knowledge management for developing and gaining competitive advantage, and more broadly intellectual capital (IC) popularised by Stewart in Fortune magazine (1994) which has relational elements and comprises of human capital, structural capital, and organisational capital (Edvinsson and Malone, 1997; Stewart, 1997; Sveiby, 1997; Guthrie and Petty, 2000) and is viewed also as being central to the sustainability of competitive advantage. Edvinson and Malone (1997) defined human_ capital_ as the value of everything that ‘leaves the company at five p. m. † That is to say that only the shared knowledge assets or the _structural _capital only remains, when employees walk out through the door. Social capital can be defined as a set of informal values or norms shared among members of a group that permits them to cooperate with one another. â€Å"If members of the group come to expect that others will behave reliably and honestly, then they will come to trust one another. Trust acts like a lubricant that makes any group or organisation run more efficiently. † (Fukuyama, 1999, p16) With trust and the co-operation in groups and the social interactions based on informal communication, the building of networks can have economic benefits, with the creation of business opportunities through networking as trust reduces the costs of contracts and legal actions and shared values can make negotiations more successful. Social capital may also create business opportunities by facilitating and exchanging semi – confidential information and mutual ncouragement. (Glaser, Edward L. , Laibson, David, and Sacerdote, Bruce 2002), Intellectual Capital is the intangible economic value of organisational capital (structures, processes and culture) and human capital (skills, behaviour and knowledge) and it is the intangible asset of knowledge that is now being added to the classical production factors of land labour and capital. Growth and innovation are now rel ying on the intellectual capital /knowledge of an organisation, and how it uses the knowledge to compete in the market (Kim and Mauborgine (1999). The field of intellectual capital stems from the need of organisations to have to quantify assets. So efficient management of intellectual capital is directly linked to measurement and valuation (Andrieseen 2004) and has necessitated the introduction of reporting and valuations models for IC (Liebowitz and Suen 2000) and as the literature suggest the most popular measure of IC is the difference between the market value and the book value of a knowledge based firm (Brennan and Connell 2000. ) According to (Tuban and Aronson 2001) Knowledge is critically important because as an asset it appreciates rather than depreciates. Knowledge increases so intellectual capital is going to improve. So by using systems thinking to promote Intellectual Capital could be a powerful approach for understanding the nature of ‘problems situations’ and the way they are dealt with and how to go about improving results. The key benefit of the system is that it involves seeing the whole picture and creates insights to problems and can nurture the way that communities of practice can co-operate and learn through shared knowledge and experiences. System thinking is not an easy approach as it requires a substantial investment of effort, and thought, though the results can be more than worth the investment. Central to these ideas is that intellectual capital is ‘embedded in both people and systems. The stock of human capital consists of humans (the knowledge skills and abilities of people) social (the valuable relationships among people) and organisational (the processes and routines within the firm)’ (Wright et al 2001:716). But there are criticisms of Soft Thinks Thinking as the system is unable to deal with conflicting nature of social systems, and that it is a conceptual methodology and does not represent the real world, and the methodology implies that actors in a situation have the freedom to instigate change and that conflict does exist but the methodology relies on compromise. Douglas and MacGregor 1960 in his book â€Å"Human side of Enterprise â€Å"maintained that there are two fundamental approaches to managing people. Many managers tend towards theory x, and generally get poor results. Enlightened managers use theory y, which produces better performance and results, and allows people to grow and develop. Which demonstrates that you can’t legislate for human behaviour and those humans also by nature can be territorial and will protect their domain, by advocating knowledge is power. Lave and Wenger (1991) fail to explore the implications of the distribution of power when discussing CoP and Marshall and Rollinson (2004) suggests that Lave and Wenger ( 1991) discussions of meaning can be misinterpreted as ‘ excessively quiescent and consensual’ while in reality such activities are plagued by misunderstanding and disagreements. Without trust the members of the community of practice may be reluctant to share knowledge, and may become static in terms of their knowledge base be resistant to change. There are limitations to the communities of practice but, its does allow the means to explore the transfer of tacit knowledge management tools focused on the codification of knowledge. But a community of practice is one of a number of knowledge management tools, and different organisations require different tools. Other tools maybe needed to be developed to manage tacit knowledge as from the critic that soft thinking systems may not always be appropriate as a knowledge management tool. References Alavi, M. and D. Leidner 2001 Knowledge Management and Knowledge Management Systems: Conceptual Foundations and Research Issues MIS Quarterly 25(1): 107-136 Andriessen, D. (2004). IC valuation and measurement: classifying the state of the art. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 5, 230-242. Blacker F (1995) Knowledge, Knowledge work and organisations: An overview and interpretation, Organisation Studies 16 (6) Bontis, N. 1998). Intellectual capital: an exploratory study that develops measures and models. Management Decision, 36, 63-76. Bontis, N. (2002). Managing organizational knowledge by diagnosing intellectual capital: Framing and advancing the state of the field. ?n Nick Bontis (? d. ), World Congress on Intellectual Capital readings (13-56). Woburn, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann. Bontis, N. , Dragonett i, N. C. , Jacobsen, K. & Roos, G. (1999). The knowledge toolbox: A review of the tools available to measure and manage intangible Resources. European Management Journal, 17, 391-402. Brennan, N. and Connell, B. (2000) â€Å"Intellectual capital: current issues and policy implications†, _Journal of Intellectual capital_, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp206-240. Brooking, A. (1996). Intellectual capital: Core asset for the third millennium enterprise. London: International Thomson Business Press. Brown J S and Duguid P (2000a) Structure and Spontaneity; knowledge and organisation – In Nonaka, I and Teece D (Eds) Managing Industrial Knowledge London Sage, 44-67. Checkland, Peter B. , 1981. Systems Thinking, Systems Practice. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons. Checkland, Peter B. , and Jim Scholes, 1990. Soft Systems Methodology in Action. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons Constant, D. , Sproull L. , and Kiesler, S. (1996). The kindness of strangers: The usefulness of electronic weak ties for technical advice. Organization Science, 7(2): 119-135. Drucker P F (1992). The New Society of Organisations: 70(5):95-104 Edvinsson, L. (1997). Developing intellectual capital at Skandia. Long Range Planning, 30, 366-373. Edvinsson, L. and Malone, M. S. (1997), Intellectual Capital, Piatkus, London. Edvinsson, L. & Sullivan, P. (1996). Developing a model for managing intellectual capital. European Management Journal, 14, 356-364. Eisenhardt, K. M. and Santos, F. M. (2002) â€Å"Knowledge-based view: a new theory of strategy? in Pettigrew, A. (Ed. ), Handbook of Strategy and Management, London, Sage, pp. 138-64. Fukuyama, F (1991) The Great Disruption p16 New York Simon and Shuster Fukuyama, F (1995) Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity (New York: Free Press, 1995), chapter 9. Glaser, Edward L. , Laibson, David, and Sacerdote, Bruce (2002), An Economic Approach to Social Capital, Nov. 112, pp 437-458 Grant, R. M. 1996. Towards a knowledge-based theory of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 17 (Winter Special Issue), 108-122. Hildreth P and Kimble C (2002) The Duality of Knowledge â€Å"Information Research 8(1) paper no 142 Hildreth P Wright P and Kimble C (1999) Knowledge management are we missing something? Information Systems – The Next Generation. Hislop D (2004) The Paradox of Communities of Practice: Knowledge Sharing between Communities. Guthrie, J. and Petty, R. (2000), â€Å"Intellectual capital: Australian annual reporting practices. † Journal of Intellectual Capital, vol. no. 3, pp. 241-251. Handy, C. B. (1989). The age of unreason. London: Arrow Books Ltd. Iles V and Sutherlandk K (2001) Organisational Change: A Review of Health Care Managers, Professionals and Researchers, National Coordination Centre for NHS Service Delivery and Organisation R and D London. Kaplan, R. S. & Norton, D. P. (1992). The Balanced Scorecard – measures that drive performance . Harvard Business Review, January-February, 71-79. Kim, W. C. & Mauborgne, R. (1999), ‘Strategy, value innovation, and the knowledge economy’, Sloan Management Review Spring, 41–53. Lave J and Wenger E (1991) Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation Cambridge University Press Liebowitz, J. & Suen, C. (2000). Developing knowledge metrics for measuring. Journal of Intellectual Capital, 1, 54-67. Rose J and Haynes M (2001) A Soft Systems Approach to the Evaluation of Complex Interventions in the Public Sector, Manchester Metropolitan University Press. Senge, P (1990) The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organisation, Doubleday New York 1990. Senge, P. & Lannon-Kim, C. (1991). Recapturing the spirit of learning through a systems approach. Stewart, T. A. (1997), _Intellectual Capital: The New Wealth of _Organizations, Doubleday/Currency, New York, NY. Sveiby, K. E. (1997), The_ New Organizational Wealth: Managing and Measuring_ Knowledge-based Assets, Berrett-Kohler, San Francisco, CA. Krogh von, G. 2003. Knowledge Sharing and the Communal Resource. In M. Easterby-Smith and M. Lyles, A. (Ed. ), Handbook of Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management: 372-392. Malden, Oxford, Melbourne, Berlin: Blackwell Publishing. Mulgan G (2002) Policy-Making in the Global Commons Connect No 5 pp 6-18 Centre for Management and Policy Studies.

Evil in Macbeth Essay

Shakespeare’s powerful play Macbeth effectively explores the nature of evil and its effects and costs. He examines what causes people to commit evil acts such as ambition, greed and lust for power through themes, characters, language and dramatic techniques. The theme of the play is that uncontrolled ambition can make people do evil things but that evil never wins in the end. The play shows the battle between good and evil and the cost of evil. Macbeth breaks the great chain of being by killing the king. Shakespeare provides a lesson for the audience by showing the cost of evil deeds. Macbeth loses the respect of his friends and countrymen, loses interest in life and is killed, while Lady Macbeth’s guilt causes her to commit suicide. In the play there are several motifs which illustrate the theme, including guilt blood. For example, when Lady Macbeth wants to become brave enough to go through with the murder of the king, she says â€Å"Make thick my blood†. Also when Macbeth is about to kill the king he sees an imaginary dagger which has â€Å"gouts of blood† on it. The play’s characters also portray evil and its effects through their actions and words. For example, Macbeth becomes corrupted by his â€Å"vaulting ambition† which turns him from â€Å"noble Macbeth† into an â€Å"untitled tyrant†. The witches know Macbeth has been overtaken by evil they say â€Å"something wicked this way comes† when he approaches them. To get what he wants Macbeth is prepared to do anything. This involves evil deeds like violence and deception. He even kills his friend Banquo when he realizes that Banquo suspects that he killed the king. He says, â€Å"our fears in Banquo stick deep†. Banquo by contrast is not corruptible so Macbeth must kill him. The cost of evil for Macbeth is that he has no peace after his evil deeds. He loses everything he valued – the crown, friendship, respect and his wife and his own life. Along the way he becomes paranoid as we see in the banquet scene where Banquo’s ghost appears as a â€Å"horrible shadow†. This shows us  that his conscience is torturing him and is giving him no peace. He also loses interest in life which is shown in his word,† Out, out, brief candle!/Life’s but a walking shadow† Shakespeare uses a range of figurative language to illustrate that evil deeds can’t bring rewards, Shakespear uses a metaphor â€Å"Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown† which show that even after he kills to get the crown it is an empty victory as he has no children to pass it on to. The cost of evil for Macbeth is also shown through dramatic devices such as the dagger scene where Macbeth resolves to kill the king. Through a soliloquy we find out the inner thoughts of Macbeth when he tells the audience that he can see a dagger floating in the air leading him to the king’s chamber. We are not sure if it’s real which adds to the ghostly and creepy atmosphere. He says, â€Å"I have thee not and yet I see thee still† and we can see that he indeed has a â€Å"heat oppressed brain’. Lady Macbeth badly wants to become queen and is prepared to do evil to get it. Ambition also corrupts her. She is the one who persuades Macbeth when he has second thoughts about killing the king by questioning his masculinity by saying, â€Å"Be so much more the man† and â€Å"To wear a heart so white†. She would have killed the king herself but he resembled her father. This shows how ruthless she has become. Lady Macbeth badly wants to become queen and ambition corrupts her. She is the one who persuades Macbeth to kill the king. She is concerned that M is too full of the â€Å"milk of human kindness† to carry out the murder of the king so she pushes him to do the deed by shaming his sense of manhood, â€Å"Be so much more the man .† She hatches the plot to kill the kill. Her evil is shown through her desire to stop being female. She says is calling to dark spirits to , â€Å"unsex me† and â€Å"fill me† with â€Å"direst cruelty† which means she actually wants to embrace evil completely. Shakespeare uses Figurative language to show Lady Macbeth’s deceitful character, for example he uses the symbol of blood to show her evilness and  her guilt. She says â€Å"Out damned spot† while sleepwalking. This scene also reflects the use of very good dramatic technique, the soliloquy to show the audience that although she does evil when awake, Lady Macbeth is bothered by guilt underneath. In this way Shakespeare further shows that evil cannot win over good and that nothing can hide evil. For example she says, â€Å"all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.† But she knows â€Å"what’s done cannot be undone†. In the end she can’t stand the guilt and kills herself. She pays the ultimate price with her life. The witches are introduced right at the start which tells the audience the play is about evil as witchcraft was considered very real and considered evil in Shakespeare’s times. The witches choose Macbeth to bring evil to life. They know he is corruptible and confirm this by saying â€Å"Something wicked this way comes†. The literary language used by the witches that makes it clear they are evil, for example, â€Å"We hover through the fog in the filthy air† They also say, â€Å"Eye of newt and toe of frog† which tells the audience they are cooking up a supernatural potion. The evil effect is also show in the rhythmic chant, â€Å"Double, double toil and trouble. Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.† All this creates a creepy and sinister atmosphere that suggests evil. The dramatic devices Shakespeare used to portray the witchcraft includes the setting which was a desolate place, the use of the cauldron and its evil ingredients like human body parts â€Å"Nose of Turk†. Shakespeare also uses apparitions which are conjured up as part of the prophecies of Macbeth’s future including a head in armour; the bloody child; and a child wearing a crown, holding a tree, which illustrate the witches’ prophesies. Macbeth by Shakespeare clearly shows the audience that it is not worth doing evil. He does this through exploration of themes, characters, language and  dramatic techniques and convinces the audience that evil never wins in the end. Gives the audience the clear message that evil can never win over good. In the play Macbeth he shows the audience what drives people to commit evil deeds and shows the cost of those actions. He also shows that evil can never bring any good. illustrates the attraction and cost of evil throughout the play through its plot, theme, characters, language and dramatic devices. Shakespeare shows us that evil cannot win and in the end goodness is restored.

Decision-making process in business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Decision-making process in business - Essay Example Sales of electric blankets were unusually high at this time. Sales of grills were also unusually high during the fourth quarter. These financial bungling unfolded the actual state of affairs in Sunbeam. Al Dunlap's four step plan impacting financial, personnel, core business and strategy of Sunbeam had elements of controversy. The changes they brought about were fundamental and drastic. They failed to foresee the long term impact of their actions. They did not cater to the rule that balance is the key to most successes. As for public relations, Al Dunlap's arrogance that his Mean Business policies were accountable for Sunbeam's turnaround caused investors and the public to question Sunbeam's integrity. Dunlap aired his views that his "Dream team" sees opportunities where others see impossibilities. Al Dunlap's management team performance was flawed from the beginning. They failed to: (1) consider that cost cutting on a mass scale is counter productive, (2) realize that cutting down such a huge amount of jobs is actually downsizing business, and (3) categorize core business as profit making exercise rather than link each product with Sunbeam and sell off those that did not fall within the five categories of core business. The lessons that could be learnt from the outcome are that one must exercise more caution and care in turning around companies.

The African National Congress and the South African Communist Party Essay

The African National Congress and the South African Communist Party - Essay Example The relationship between the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party was not always close, especially in the periods starting 1940 to 1950, when the ANC started considering the SACP as a party advancing foreign ideology (SAHO, n.d. web.) . This feeling strongly emanated after Nelson Mandela made a tour throughout Africa, meeting various leaders from different countries in the African continent, whose countries had achieved independence by then (Mandela, 2008 p49). The African leaders perceived the communist ideology, as advocated for by the SACP as anti-African, and more of a foreign ideology, which was perceived to be incongruent with the African ideology of democracy and total independence from the colonialists. Therefore, most of the African leaders were confused by the association of the ANC with the SACP, which they considered unusual, since the SACP was constituted by most foreigners, and its ideologies were not perceived as purely African (Mandela, 2008 p102). Another issue that strained relationship between the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party is its perceived relations with the USSR. Most of the members of the ANC were highly skeptical about working with the SACP, due to the fact that it was not regarded as based on the African ideology, thus raising concerns among the members of the ANC regarding how the other African countries would perceive the working relationship between the ANC and the SACP.... Another issue that strained relationship between the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party is its perceived relations with the USSR. Most of the members of the ANC were highly skeptical about working with the SACP, due to the fact that it was not regarded as based on the African ideology, thus raising concerns among the members of the ANC regarding how the other African countries would perceive the working relationship between the ANC and the SACP. Secondly, there was the issue of concern regarding how the western countries would relate with South Africa, through the consideration of the working relationship between the ANC and the SACP, which was perceived to be USSR oriented, thus creating suspicion that the western countries would not want to work with such a party. Such members of the ANC suspected that the western countries would withdraw their support for South Africa, due to its association with communism (Mandela, 2008 p87)2. Thus, some members of th e ANC would cause conflict, to ensure that the two parties did not work together. Therefore, there has been a long deal of strained relationship between the ANC and the SACP, which ranges from the liberation struggle period, to the post-independence and modern day relationship. Nevertheless, the relationship between the African National Congress and the South African Communist Party has not always been strained and suspicious. There are times when the two parties have had long periods of cordial working relationships, both in the liberation struggle period, and the post-independence period. The cordial and strong positive relationship between the African National Congress and the South African Communist