Genocide in Bosnia Essay Example for Free

Genocide in Bosnia Essay The Bosnian genocide is often referred to as the hidden genocide, yet it had catastrophic effects on humanity. Over 100,000 people were killed and it displaced millions of people. The genocide occurred between 1992 and 1995. The Social Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was made up of six nations under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito. Once Tito passed away in 1990, there was a power vacuum, and politicians began a nationalistic campaign pitting Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks against each other. Hence, the beginning of an â€Å"ethnic cleansing† war (Campbell, 2003 p. 511). Once Milosevic was the President of Republic of Serbia, he encouraged formation of violent uprisings by Serb nationals. Milosevic was interested in creating an ethnically pure Serb nation. Milosevic’s ambition worried the nations in the federal government; hence Croatia and Slovenia declared themselves independent from the republic. However, Croatia was not allowed to leave because it had 12% of the Serbian population. Hence Croatia became a battlefield between 1991- 1996. Bosnia-Herzegovina watched the horrors in Croatia as they worried about themselves being the next victim. Bosnia-Herzegovina held a referendum in 1992 and declared itself free from the republic. The Serbs in Bosnia were not happy about it, and they began fighting with the support of the Yugoslavian National Army. Bosnia and Croatia lacked weapons to defend themselves because the UN had enacted an embargo, thus they were victims of an endless cycle of violence, displacement and death (Schott, 2011 p.19). Serbian plan of attack entailed the following steps; concentration, decapitation, separation, evacuation ad liquidation. During concentration stage, Serbian soldiers would warn Serbians to leave the town they were about to attack and surround the city with artillery fire. The second stage involved execution of the town’s leaders, military and intelligence. On the third stage, Serbian soldiers would separate women, children and old people from â€Å"fighting group†. Women, children and old people would be taken to concentration camps, while the young people were executed. This brings me to the subject of this essay. Women were targeted in specific ways when compa red to men. Unlike, the young male soldiers who were executed, women lived longer to and experience  untold suffering under the Serb soldiers. Women were interchangeably used by soldiers as sexual trophies (Lentin, 1997). This essay analyses the genocide on a gendered frame, so as to shine light on the awful atrocities women faced in the hands of Serbian militia. From a gender frame, sexual violence in war cannot be reduced to psychological attributes of the perpetrators. Genocidal rape has to be analyzed in terms of social structures. Rape in Bosnia was systematic, since it was planned. Bosnian genocide is the only genocide that women bodies were used as a battlefield. This genocide trampled upon all women rights. The Serbian militants lacked respect and sympathy for women. The Yugoslav army, Bosnian Serb forces and Chetniks came up with a sexual violence campaign against Croats and Muslim women. They killed, imprisoned, terrorized and raped women in the hope that they would leave and never come back. The attack on women was not an accident. It was premeditated as a lot of soldiers took part in sexual violence campaign. Th eir commanders were aware of what was going on, and they turned a blind eye. The attackers used the Ram Brana plan of attack (1991). The plan said that successful attacks should be the one carried out on the enemy’s weakest point. The weakest point during wars is usually women and children. By attacking the weakest point, they were able to spread panic and fear in the population hence Croats and Bosnians could only run away for safety (Abreu, 2005 p.5). Since this was an â€Å"ethnic cleansing war†, the Serbian armed forces believed that sexual violence against women was an act of tainting the bloods of the Croats and Bosnians (Allen, 1996 p. 23). Culture and religion played a big part in this war; hence the attackers believed that they were annihilating their culture through sexual violence. The Serbians waged a psychological warfare on their enemies, such that they believed that by raping women, impregnating them and forcefully aborting their fetuses they were cleansing them. The Serbian armed forces also carried out sexual assaults against m en. Serbia, Bosnia and almost all Balkan nations are lawfully heterosexual nations. Hence by raping men, they were degrading them or feminizing them and making them powerless. By raping their victims, the victims were gendered as feminine or attached with feminine qualities of vulnerability. Apart from the psychological effects of sexual violence on women, women faced a lot of physical suffering in the â€Å"rape camps†. The Serbian forces had created rape camps as a substitute for  concentration camps, so that they would use them to sexually violate women. In fact the Serbian forces had a modus operandi for sexually assaulting women (Abreu, 2005 p.11). The modus operandi was characterized by three patterns; public rape of children and women in their villages, sporadic rape of women and children in concentration camps and lastly rape in death/ rape camps. During the three stages women were subjected to all kinds of violence. Women went through gang rapes, sexual mutilations, forced impregnation and childbirth, sexual abuse with foreign objects and family me mbers were forced to rape their women. The extreme sexual violence was meant to defile, destroy the community and to make them leave. It is obvious that the war was motivated by nationalistic intentions, but the way the war was carried out, misogyny is another probable cause of the war. Most atrocities that took place in Bosnia genocide have been termed as â€Å"femicidal† (Turpin 1998 p. 67). Bosnians and Croats have traditional cultures. Women are supposed to be pure, and when they are not pure they are ostracized from the society. After the genocide, women who were victim of sexual violence were avoided. The tainted women were no longer acceptable by their friends and families, and this was the goal of the Serbian perpetrators. This justifies the fact that misogyny could have been another reason for the war. In a gendered frame analysis, it is clear that there was feminization of the genocide (MacKinnon, 2006 p.18). In genocide, women are usually seen as universal victims. Sexual violence against women is seen as a mortal sin against motherhood. The notion of ‘combat’ and battlefields are constructs of masculinity. The Serbian armed forces believed that through sexual violence campaign, they would turn their victims powerless (Femininity) analysis of war is often carried out from a masculine point of view. However, Bosnia genocide is gendered, as it represents women as victims, sexual objects, symbolic of their nation and repositories of their families. The Serbs militia believed that by defiling the women, they would be defiling the nations (Bosnia and Croatia) Collins (1996) attempts to explain genocidal rape from a feminist perspective, he says that women are the ones who hold families and the community. Their physical and emotional destruction through rape is a symbol of destruction of the social and cultural stability of a nation. The sexual violence involved heightened sadism, for instance forceful rape with family members. The sexual violence  aimed at destroying the victims emotionally, destroying the community and imposing restrictions on women so as to control births. The sexual genocide did not only target the individual victim, but it targeted the group too. Rape as a genocide strategy destroys women’s role as mothers and caregivers, hence the pivotal source of the life to the community is destroyed. According to Mc Kinnon (2006, 187), sexual campaign was used by the Serbian military as a tool for political campaign, soldiers were to rape under orders. The sexual violence campaign was characterized by forced rape and forced impregnation. After the Croatian and muslim women were sexually abuse, they were denied abortions so that they would give birth to â€Å"Serb† babies. Forced impregnation was seen as a way of destroying the maternal community as they gave birth to the child of the enemy ( Allen, 1996 p.76). The rapists violated the rights of women through forceful procreation, which is a deliberate and a sadist act. The children of the rapists often stigmatized or abandoned as they brought negative memories to their mothers. The forced pregnancies on rape victims were seen as a way of preventing births among the Croats and Muslims. The perpetrators of rape believed that they were producing â€Å"Little Chetniks†. From a feminist perspective, the act of forced imp regnation is like imposing a social death on the victims. The women were tortured, and they did not want those children. It turned Croatian and Muslim women as gestating beings for the enemy. Stories from the war show a lot of women who recounted how they were raped repeatedly until they were pregnant, and the women wanted nothing to do with the children. Another explanation of forced rape is the fact that rape was used as a tool of biological warfare. Forced rape and impregnation meets the requirement of biological warfare according to international law (Seifet, 1996 p.42). MacKinnon also analyzes Bosnian rape by comparing it with pornography. In the 1990s, pornography was very common in Yugoslavia. When porn is common in a society, the whole population learns to dehumanize women and inflict sexual assault. Pornographic materials provided the need motivation and materials for Serbian forces. In the rape camps, women were ordered to perform for men; in fact some rapes were filmed and sold as pornographic products since they could not be differentiated from actual pornography. The films were even released in the media so as to amass popularity for Bosnian war. The dialogue s in the pornography were used to  implicate Croatian soldiers. According to MacKinnon (2006), sexual violence was used so consciously and cynically in a way that destroyed people. Once pornography was released, more Serbian forces were encouraged to continually assault women. Genocidal rape in Bosnia was seen as an ethno marker. Ethnic markers are things such as dressing, lifestyle and language. The Serbians, Croats and Bosnians had almost similar ethnic markers. Since they were a part of Yugoslavia republic, the ethnic lines had been blurred. Rape was used by the Serbs to act as a moral ethno marker, as it separated them from the Croats and Muslims. They felt that it created cultural superiority of the Serbians. In fact Serbian law was amended to include ethnic rape, and they believed that the differences in ethnicity aggravated the crime. The mass rapes occurred in places where Serbs were a minority when compared to the size of Croats and Muslims (Allen, 1996 p.19). This was a way of asserting their superiority in the region. Sexual violence was also used to socialize new military recruits. Rape isolated the new recruits from the community and prepared them for battlefield. In Bosnia, sexual violence perpetrated by new recruits occurred in front of other soldiers and the victims even know their perpetrators. The Bosnian war was used by the Serbs to renegotiate their relationship with the other Balkan nations. Rape was seen as a way of establishing new boundaries, as they felt that they were the superior ethnic group. From a gender based analysis it is evident that the legal framework did not address the sexual violence against women in Bosnia well (MacKinnon, 2006 p.89). The law blamed the genocide on ethnicity, and disregarded the fact that it was sex based. The Serb military attack on women was premeditated and executed in three stages. The creation of rape camps shows that the intent was sexually based, in as much as it was ethnically motivated. Failure by the law to acknowledge this is a huge set back on women rights. The law perpetuates patriarchy in legal constructs in violation of women rights. Failure to acknowledge it also prevents the law from addressing the genocidal rape adequately. The law is ignoring the existence and horrifying effects of genocidal sexual terrorism to women (Abreu, 2005 p. 16). This is quite cowardly as the law uses ethnicity to cover the severe harm that women suffered in the hands of Serbian militants. The law enables the perpetrators to hide under ethnic crimes, yet they committed more inhumane atrocities. The law usually acknowledges sexual  crimes, but sexual crimes during genocides were only termed as other inhumane acts. This is blatant sex discrimination propagated by the law. In conclusion, analyzing genocide on a gender framed perspective gives various explanations and perspectives on the violence against women in Bosnia. The sexual violence against women in Bosnia genocide is distinct. Many women can recount the horror they went through in the hands of the Serbian perpetrators. The violence against women was planned as a war strategy. International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) should recognize genocidal sex terrorism, rather than hiding it under ethnic-based persecutions (Campbell, 2003 p.509). Serbian militants reduced women as a means of achieving their goals for the genocide. Addressing this problem will help the victim feel like they have achieved some semblance of justice, though nothing can compare to what they went through. Genocide sexual terrorism should be acknowledged by the law, and the legal elements regarding it should be outlined. Using a gender frame to analyze genocide helps us learn about the psychological and soc ial reasons for rape during genocides, rather than just saying that they were raped because they belonged to the enemy’s side. References Abreu, Veronica. (2005) Women’s Bodies as Battlefields In The Former Yugoslavia: An Argument For The Prosecution Of Sexual Terrorism As Genocide And For The Recognition of Genocidal Sexual Terrorism As A Violation Of Jusc Cogens Under International Law. The Georgetown Journal of Gender and Law, Vol. V1:1 Allen, B (1996) Rape Warfare: The Hidden Genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Campbell, K., 2003, â€Å"Rape as a ‘Crime Against Humanity’: Trauma, Law and Justice in the ICTY†, Journal of Human Rights, 2(4): 507–515. Caringella, S., (2008) Addressing Rape Reform in Law and Practice, New York: Columbia University Press. Jones, Adam (2006) Genocide: A Comprehensive Introduction. New York City: Routledge, 2006. MacKinnon, C., (2006) Are Women Human? And Other International Dialogues, Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press. Ringelheim, J.M. (1997) Genocide and gender: a split memory in R. Lentin (editor ) Gender and Catastrophe. London: Zed Books. Schott, R. (2011), â€Å"War Rape, Natality and Genocide†, Journal of Genocide Research, 13(1/2): 5-21. Seifert, R., (1996), â€Å"The Second Front: The Logic of Sexual Violence in Wars†, Womens Studies International Forum, 19(1/2): 35–43. Turpin, J. (1998) Many faces: women confronting war in L.A. Lorentzen and J. Turpin (editors) The Women and War Reader. New York: New York University Press.

Lucky Jim :: essays research papers

Characters There is more than a touch of the picaresque rogue in Jim Dixon. Jim perpetrates a succession of practical jokes, tricks, and deceptions on other characters in the novel, especially those who offend his democratic sensibility. He has a talent for "pulling faces" and projecting voices gestures Amis uses to enhance Jim's social commentary. He is sometimes aided and abetted in his roguery by his fellow boarder, the salesman Bill Atkinson. On campus, in addition to Welch, Johns, and Margaret, Jim is seen interacting with certain female students to whom he is attracted and with Mr. Michie, an ardent overachiever who keeps pushing Jim to provide him with the syllabus for Jim's honors tutorial. Off campus, Jim meets Christine Callaghan and eventually steals her away from Bertrand Welch. Through Christine he meets her uncle Julius GoreUrquhart, a wealthy entrepreneur and critic who hires Jim as his personal secretary. Themes As in all good comedy, the theme of this book is the difference between appearance and truth, between illusion and reality. The theme plays itself out through the conventional concerns of romantic love. Jim is caught between the falsity of Margaret Peel and the freshness of Christine Callaghan. He is caught between one job, the future of which involves kowtowing to Welch until he becomes an historical fossil like his superior, and another job the prospect of which offers a supportive employer and interesting work. Amis projects Jim through a series of complications during the course of which the author critiques the stodginess of England's moribund social system. The obligatory happy ending is fulfilled when Jim ends up with the proper woman and the proper work. Techniques/Literary Precedents Lucky Jim is a conventional novel; its narration is third person, its development is chronological, and its style is a conventional mixture of dialogue and description. The characterizations are clearly and sharply drawn. The novel abounds in verbal wit, comic gesture, and good natured satire. One of its most distinguished qualities is the pacing and power of key descriptive passages. Amis controls and builds excruciatingly comic tension in such descriptions as Welch attempting to pass a van on a curve with a Lucky Jim :: essays research papers Characters There is more than a touch of the picaresque rogue in Jim Dixon. Jim perpetrates a succession of practical jokes, tricks, and deceptions on other characters in the novel, especially those who offend his democratic sensibility. He has a talent for "pulling faces" and projecting voices gestures Amis uses to enhance Jim's social commentary. He is sometimes aided and abetted in his roguery by his fellow boarder, the salesman Bill Atkinson. On campus, in addition to Welch, Johns, and Margaret, Jim is seen interacting with certain female students to whom he is attracted and with Mr. Michie, an ardent overachiever who keeps pushing Jim to provide him with the syllabus for Jim's honors tutorial. Off campus, Jim meets Christine Callaghan and eventually steals her away from Bertrand Welch. Through Christine he meets her uncle Julius GoreUrquhart, a wealthy entrepreneur and critic who hires Jim as his personal secretary. Themes As in all good comedy, the theme of this book is the difference between appearance and truth, between illusion and reality. The theme plays itself out through the conventional concerns of romantic love. Jim is caught between the falsity of Margaret Peel and the freshness of Christine Callaghan. He is caught between one job, the future of which involves kowtowing to Welch until he becomes an historical fossil like his superior, and another job the prospect of which offers a supportive employer and interesting work. Amis projects Jim through a series of complications during the course of which the author critiques the stodginess of England's moribund social system. The obligatory happy ending is fulfilled when Jim ends up with the proper woman and the proper work. Techniques/Literary Precedents Lucky Jim is a conventional novel; its narration is third person, its development is chronological, and its style is a conventional mixture of dialogue and description. The characterizations are clearly and sharply drawn. The novel abounds in verbal wit, comic gesture, and good natured satire. One of its most distinguished qualities is the pacing and power of key descriptive passages. Amis controls and builds excruciatingly comic tension in such descriptions as Welch attempting to pass a van on a curve with a

Cola Wars Continue: Coke and Pepsi in 2010 Essay

Analysis of the US carbonated soft drinks (CSD) industry (a) Strategic issues The CSD market in the US (approx. $74 billion) is dominated by two concentrate manufacturers – namely Coke and Pepsi –. Both companies have been competing intensely since the 1970s, yet have thrived from this competition and have grown the business very profitably, as both have benefitted from the CSD market growth rates of around 10% p.a. until the early 2000s, when domestic consumption started to decline and in 2009 fell back to levels of 19901: U.S. Liquid consumption Trends (gallons/capita): 1970 Carbonated soft drinks 1990 2000 2009 22.7 46.9 53.0 46.0 U.S. Soft Drink Market Share (Unit Case Volume %): 1970 Coca-Cola Company PepsiCo, Inc 1990 2000 2009e 34.7 19.8 41.1 32.4 44.1 31.4 41.9 29.9 In order to understand the strategic issues of the concentrate manufacturers in the US market, an analysis of the CSD industry structure appears necessary. A practical tool for assessing strategic issues is Porter’s Five Forces, as this tool supports analyses of competition, as strategy is fundamentally about competition2. The model of Porter is an outside-in business unit strategy tool that analyses the attractiveness (value) of an industry structure, capturing the key elements of industry competition. Source: HBS case study ‘Cola Wars Continue: Coke and Pepsi in 2010’ May 26, 2011, Exhibit 1 Source: Porter, ‘Competitive Strategy’ Figure 1: Porter’s Five Forces Analysis Summary on figure 1 Barriers to entry are very high due to the following key factors: (1) anybody trying to break into the CSD market must compete with Coke’s and Pepsi’s combined market share of >75%; (2) the market leaders have – over decades – built up strategically critical supply, production and sales channels, which would require enormous investments for followers to copy and (3) the strong brand recognition in the market mainly developed via the cumulative effect of long-time advertising and the geographical availability of their products. Understanding the CSD industry and its competitive landscape and – given that the overarching goal of the concentrate manufacturers is to secure profitable growth – the primary strategic issue (central problem) for the concentrate manufacturers is the declining demand for CSDs, as these manufacturers have built their strategy over the decades on large volume production and distribution involving high amounts of investments (fixed assets) which are now (1) underutilized and (2) are not designed for alternative products (‘non-carb’). (b) Macro-environmental factors shaping the US CSD industry Since the early 2000s several macro-environmental factors have started re-shaping the US CSD industry. To obtain a full picture of the potential macro-environmental impact on this industry, I used the PESTLE framework. PESTLE stands for – Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Legal and Environmental. This framework is a tool for identifying, tracking, projecting and assessing macro-environmental trends and patterns which helps decision-making and to plan for future events. Figure 2: PESTLE Analysis Summary on figure 2 Based on the PESTLE analysis, 4 major trends that have already shaped respectively will continue to shape the current US CSD industry and influence the attractiveness of this industry are: (1) Shift in consumption  patterns towards healthier nutrition (non-carbs such as juices and juice drinks, sports and energy drinks and tea-based drinks but also bottled water) causing the CSD to fizzle (2) US Government fighting the US #1 health problem obesity by tightened nutrition guidelines and imposing taxes on CSDs (3) Increasing pricing power of emerging mass-merchandisers (e.g. Wal-Mart) posing a new threat to profitability for Coke, Pepsi and their bottlers (4) Non-carb market is open to new market entrants, as it is a stronger fragmented market not dominated by the ‘classical’ CSD companies (Coke, Pepsi, DPS, etc.) The PESTLE analysis also reveals that the change in the US CSD industry is not a one-timeimpact but rather an ongoing process: 2000s (early): start of a declining domestic consumption of CSDs 2005: new federal guidelines to fight obesity 2010: already 29 states introduced a ‘soda tax’ (c) Future attractiveness of the US CSD industry The US CSD industry will continue to be a very attractive market for the established players alone considering the size of the market and the strong position in the market of these players. The 3 A’s (Advertising, Addiction, Availability) continue to be the main purchasing criteria for consumers. Still these players will have to adapt their strategies to maintain market levels for CSDs. Possible strategic moves to act / react on the trends stated above should be based on the findings of the Five Forces Analysis and the PESTLE Analysis and could include: (1) Development of (approved by the US F&D Admin.) alternative sweeteners to reduce obesitycausing sugars (2) Compete on availability (through their impressive geographical reach) (3) Create a fragmented bottling network but give territorial exclusivity to bottlers as incentive to ‘grow the pie’ and use the bottling network as a competitive firewall (especially against massmerchandisers) (4) Escalate advertising sp ending to keep out entry Further market analysis can be carried out by using proven tools such as ’Ansoff’s Growth Strategy Matrix’ (market present vs. market future / product present vs. product future) or the brand analysis (brand strength = differentiation + relevance vs. brand stature = knowledge + esteem) but which I have not described in this report. The competition in the CSD industry is a stronghold between Coke and Pepsi with a few minor players together holding approx. 25% market share. Coke and Pepsi leverage their strong market position and build on economies of scale crowding out smaller players or – if necessary – acquire them. Competition between Coke and Pepsi is reciprocal, with both responding to each other’s strategy shifts. Most prominent were the development of diet and flavored varieties of CSDs. To further support the analysis of the future attractiveness of the US CSD industry, the following Force Field Analysis is useful, as it also reveals potential ‘restraining forces’ of change. As figure 3 shows, especially the market disruptions coming from domestic consumption of CSDs continuously declining have caught – to a certain extent – the ‘classical’ CSD companies by surprise, as they cannot respond to this development by standard measures – such as increasing advertisement or bringing new CSDs to the market – but are now facing a structural change in the beverage market with an uncertain outcome. Figure 3: Force Field Analysis The Force Field Analysis – as described in literature – is especially useful to identify â€Å"resistance to change†, providing a systematized framework that supports identify factors that hinder change (restraining forces) and factors that support change (driving forces). Kurt Lewin developed the principle, which is a significant contribution to the fields of social science, organizational development, process management, and change  management. (d) Potential impact of the four pressures (industry dynamics, globalization, risk and ethics) on the future attractiveness of the US CSD industry The insights gained from the analyses carried out under 1(a), 1(b) and 1(c) summarize the potential impact of the four pressures as follows: (1) Industry dynamics (defined as understanding how industries and companies change over time and understand their drivers of these changes): The environment in which CSD companies have been operating until the early 2000s was 5  characterized by competition but the industry dynamics tended to be ‘evolutionary’. The PESTLE analysis has shown, that since that time, market dynamics have dramatically picked up and several lasting disruptive changes (e.g. introduction of a ‘soda tax’) have happened. Subsequently this has had an impact on top and bottom line of the CSD industry (‘Cola Wars’ business case, Exhibit 3a). (2) Globalization (defined as when an industry globalizes, it undergoes structural shifts, so that the organizations within it find that their position in one country is significantly affected by their position in another country): Even if the aforementioned analyses are aimed to the US CSD industry, the data provided by the case study reveals that Coke’s share of US business in % of total global business is around 20% while Pepsi’s share is around 50%. The international business – in contrast to the US market – has been growing nicely given the strong population growth in emerging countries and the establishment of a ‘middle class’ in large nations such as India and China that can now afford CSDs. Coke has stronger benefitted from this growth as Pepsi has. This should give Coke further potential for economies of scale which should benefit bottom line considerably. (3) Risk (defined as the evaluation of levels of risk and reward attached to each potential business opportunity): The exposure of risk in the CSD industry – given that especially Coke and Pepsi (a) have a significant share of business in the single largest CSD market worldwide, which is the US and (b) rely on the success of a single type of product (carbonated soft drink) – is high. Impacts coming from macro-environmental factors – as shown in the PESTLE analysis – can be game changing for this industry, as already happening since the early 2000s. (4) Ethics (defined as a set of values and beliefs that do transcend cultures, time and economic conditions): Again stressing PESTLE, environmental protection has become one of these values that have affected the CSD industry and have at least forced the CSD companies to re-think their packaging strategy and in consequence potential changes in the production and bottling process. From the aforementioned I would draw, that industry dynamics has the major impact on the future attractiveness of the US CSD industry. General observations on using module concepts Engaging with theory and applying this to day-to-day business life has many advantages of which I would highlight: best quality: proven concepts efficiency: not to â€Å"re-invent the wheel† for free: applying theory in daily business life is – from an intellectual property stand point – basically not linked to any cost [except costs for implementation] The challenge left for every corporation is to understand, select and implement the theories, methods and tools that best suit their purpose. This requires experienced managers and experts that are capable of making use of theory to change practice. 1. Module concept I: Porter’s Five Forces Strategy is fundamentally about competition. Competition comes from many places. Therefore it is essential to carry out an ‘environmental scan’ in a systematic way. Porter Five Forces model is a proven outside-in business unit strategy tool that analyses the attractiveness (value) of an industry structure, capturing the key elements of industry competition. (a) Strengths of the framework Porter refers to these forces as the micro environment or line-of-business industry level (those forces that are close to the company and that drive the business). If changes happen in one of these forces, the company should re-assess their strategic position and – if required – take corrective action. Also it provides useful input for performing a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis. (b) Limitations of the framework The framework does not look at strategy from the inside-out. Consequently the view on core competencies on a company are ignored. I would have found it useful to understand where Coke has developed a competitive advantage vs. Pepsi and vice-versa. Therefore a SWOT analysis should always complement the Five Forces Analysis. Another critique I would make to the framework is the fact, that the 4 forces (1) entrants, (2) substitutes, (3) customers and (4) suppliers only relate to the center (competitors) but do not ‘interact’ among themselves. In the ‘Cola Wars’ e.g. the interaction between substitutes and customers would have been of interest. Last I would criticize the framework is not very useful for environments that are characterized by rapid, systemic and radical change which requires more flexible or emergent approaches to strategy formulation (this often happening with industries where disruptive innovation is foreseeable). This is also true for disruptions that give the possibility to create completely new markets (how to create uncontested market space and make the competition irrelevant)3. 2. Module concept II: PESTLE framework The PESTLE framework is a powerful tool and I used it to weigh up the wide range of factors in an organization’s environment that will impact on its strategy. Reading through the ‘Cola Wars’ business case it quickly became evident, that it is not one but several factors that are influencing the US CSD industry. PESTLE very much serves as a checklist of macro-environmental factors that can influence strategy. I personally prefer using the PESTLE framework in combination with the Force Field Analysis as I believe that PESTLE covers well the ‘driving forces’ of change but does not address the ‘restraining forces’. This becomes particularly evident in the analysis carried out under 1(c). (a) Strengths of the framework Similar to the Risk Management System, PESTLE provides a comprehensive ‘checklist’ of macro-environmental factors to make sure, that all ‘dimensions’ have been thought of and have been documented systematically. Also these factors can be classified as opportunities  and risks in the SWOT analysis as well as a risk register. Last but not least, PESTLE is easy to use and adaptable to any business. (b) Limitations of the framework Except for the stated under 2., I have not identified any major limitations of the framework, making it a tool I prefer working with. 3. Module concept III: Lewin’s Forces Field Analysis Lewin’s Force Field Analysis belongs to the great change management tools. He saw the drivers for and against change as a moving equilibrium and developed a way to analyse these drivers, giving birth to what he called a ‘force field analysis’. By knowing the driving and restraining forces of change, strategies can be developed to reduce the impact of the restraining forces and strengthen the driving forces. Even if the Force Field Analysis looks simple at a first glance, the following benefits are built into the system: Dynamics on action vs. reaction Allows different perspectives Highlights most critical matters (size of the arrow) (a) Strengths of the framework The Force Field Analysis complements the PESTLE framework as PESTLE covers well the ‘driving forces’ of change but does not address the ‘restraining forces’ in a structured or transparent manner. It is easy to use and adaptable to many situations in business. Especially I would like to highlight, that one has to put himself in the shoes of the other to understand drivers and restrainers for change. This can make a difference in outlining a strategy. (b) Limitations of the framework The Force Field Analysis is – different to e.g. a Risk Management System – by far not so sophistically developed. One generally starts the analysis on a white piece of paper with only very few supporting guidelines. ‘Checklists’ to avoid omissions of major drivers / restrainers are not known to me.

Movie Review We Were Soldiers Once Essay - 2684 Words

Movie Review: We Were Soldiers Once Angela Lewis Student ID# 5849 Mountain State University, GIDS 504 Dr. Kenneth Miller There is a plethora of exemplary leadership examples depicted in the movie entitled We Were Soldiers Once. Mel Gibson was brilliant in his leading role as Lt. Colonel Hal Moore who led his brigade into battle in Vietnam by being and doing exactly what he expected of his troops. He led by example. He modeled the way. He also exemplified the same leadership qualities portrayed on the battlefield in his roles as father and husband. Not only did Moore signify leadership qualities in his roles, but he expressed his commitment to leadership at all levels of his battalion by delegating that responsibility to all†¦show more content†¦In so doing, they empower their subordinates and build their confidence. This is vital to a thriving organization because empowerment says that the leader will stand behind you and support you when the going gets tough. He was also very direct and honest. He gave them no false hope by being straightforward with them about the possibility of not coming home alive. However, he did promise that they would all come home, dead or alive. Leaders have to be authentic and even at the worst possible outcome show integrity. This is how one creates a climate of trust and creating a climate of trust should be a leader’s first order of business. If there is mutual trust among the leader and his constituents, they can carry out their assignment with diligence, commitment and empowerment; when subordinates feel empowered they can move forward with creativity and initiative. Colonel Moore demonstrated his creativity in the scene where the cannon would not fire because it was too hot and they had no water supply to cool it off. He showed that he was a leader who could think on his feet and improvise. He stood up and starting pissing on the cannon to cool it off and ordered his men to do the same. 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