Siddhartha Climax Apotheosis and Ultimate Boon

The climax of a novel or another literary work, such as a play, can be defined as the turning point at which the conflict begins to resolve itself for better or worse. The climax of Siddhartha occurs in the chapter entitled â€Å"By the River,† when Siddhartha hears the word Om while standing at the river as he considers drowning himself. This mystical sound heartens him, restoring his will to live. The moment represents a turning point that eventually leads to his achievement of nirvana. One day Siddhartha’s pain becomes too much and Siddhartha sets off in a desperate search of his son, but stops as he hears the river laughing at him. He looks into the river, sees his own father whom he had left, and turns back, concluding that â€Å"everything that was not suffered to the end and finally concluded, recurred, and the same sorrows were undergone†. Returning to his hut, Siddhartha tells Vasuveda all of this, but as he does, Siddhartha notices a remarkable change in the old man. After listening to Siddhartha, Vasuveda leads Siddhartha back to the river, telling him to listen deeply. At first Siddhartha hears only the voices of sorrow, but these voices are soon joined by voices of joy, and at last all the voices are under the great sound of â€Å"Om. Realizing the unity of these voices, Siddhartha's pain fades away and â€Å"his Self had merged into unity†. He has at last found salvation. Recognizing his friend's achievement, Vasuveda departs into the woods to die, thereby joining the unity he had helped Siddhartha find at last. Siddhartha realizes the unity of all things in the world which is the apoth eosis of the novel. The ferryman is a guide for both the river and the path to enlightenment. The ferryman is positioned between ordinary world and enlightenment, and those who seek enlightenment and are open to guidance will find what they need within the ferryman. The ferryman, however, shows Siddhartha how to find enlightenment within himself. The first time Vasudeva meets Siddhartha, Siddhartha wants only to cross the river, and that is all Vasudeva helps him do. Vasudeva is not a teacher who will simply tell Siddhartha what he should know, but a guide who will lead him where he wishes to go. Years later, Siddhartha searches for knowledge from the river itself, and Vasudeva guides him in his attempts to hear what the river has to say. Siddhartha himself becomes a ferryman after he achieved his goal of attaining nirvana.

Connections Les Murray Essay

A connection is an avenue of interaction that establishes and develops a relationship between people, places, and culture. Connections as social constructs may be positive or negative, impacted by internal beliefs, values and ideas that underlie the external determinants of environment, attitudes and culture within society. Poet Les Murray and educator Jane Elliott critically explore in their texts the cultural disconnection in the Australian and Canadian communities in response to the interaction of these factors and their effect on the avenues of interaction between people. Les Murray’s Sydney and the Bush embodies the poet’s personal connection and attachment to the ‘farmer lifestyle’ as he blames the disconnection of urban and rural Australia entirely on the city’s infatuation with materialistic pleasure. This consequently emphasises his value of the nature of rural society. Murray perceives the infatuation as an external attitude of the modernised and corrupted urban society, factored by the city individual’s internal values of luxury, wealth and power being the unmistakable cause of the cultural divide. He reinforces this notion through the technique of repetition, using the phrase ‘When Sydney’ in order to periodically mark the progression of cultural disconnection and accentuate the attributing internal and external factors. â€Å"When Sydney ordered lavish books, and warmed her feet with coal† reiterates the internal necessity for comfort and sophistication as few of limited sources of satisfaction. Les Murray further develops the concept of disconnection in the poem when â€Å"then bushman sank and factories rose, and warders set the tone†, contextualising this to reveal a loss of cultural identity for the rural community through industrialisation. â€Å"Then convicts bled and warders bred, the bush went back and back† whereby the poet suggests that nature is the central value of the farmer lifestyle, governing the internal and external factors of their connections, which in this poem is a disconnection to the urban society. Thus, Murray demonstrates that our connections are negatively impacted by internal and external factors, expressing a critical perspective that reflects his own value of and connection to nature and its simplicity as a source of contentment. creates another social critique of the urban social hierarchy contrast he begins the poem with â€Å"When Sydney and the Bush first met, there was no open ground† and ends with a juxtaposing â€Å"When Sydney and the Bush meet now, There is no common ground† enabling readers to identify the divided Australia in its urban and rural communities.

The Treaty of Versailles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Treaty of Versailles - Essay Example Certainly after President Wilson’s 14 points speech, it was clear though that the U.S. interest went beyond the defense of its marine. Out of the famous ‘Fourteen Point’ 1918 speech from which the President hoped to bring a ‘‘peace without victory’’, eight of the points directly dealt with territorial and political settlements. These points extended to the ideology of self-rule nationalism in various ethnic populations in Europe. The rest focused on prevention of future war. As stated by Roark et al. (p.25-9), when negotiating the Versailles Treaty, Wilson used the Fourteen Points as the foundation that ended the First World War. His role in the conference that led to the Treaty felt like some of his points were adopted while others were not. In what seemed like failed American ratification of the war, League of Nations was created, freedom of the sea, creation of Poland, reduction of armaments, and independence for Turkey and other nations were agreed upon from Wilson’s Fourteen points scheme. However, the political interest with which the President negotiated using his Fourteen Points scheme failed to be adopted fully. Even though the treaty was not fully keen on the U.S. ‘‘unselfish’’ vision, Wilson’s Fourteen Points is still memorial and powerful assertion of the real strain in the American diplomatic

Pulp Fiction Review Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Pulp Fiction Review - Research Paper Example Tarantino’s application of style in the Pulp Fiction is a representation of emerging approaches. It is centered on a movie context rather than real life. The use of alteration and paradox gives new energy to the film and gives its audience a new experience. The infamous Pulp Fiction is a tale of a number of connected lives of two men who make a living from killing, a boxer who is aging, a mob boss, accompanied with his wife. The story revolves around the lives of these individuals as they experience a number of unsettling, intense, memorable, comic and emotional situations. In a review of the film, Ebert Roger describes it as being a comic film that revolves around drugs, violence, blood, unusual sex, dead bodies and other graphic details. The plot of events and the theme of the film seem to be strange. Tarantino matures every scene sufficiently by the use of a variety of cinematic aspects, which transforms the film into an iconic and a memorable masterpiece (LoBrutto, 76). Ta rantino applies cinematography, editing, affectivity of sound and mise-en-scene to warn the audience of any events transitioning, introduce scenes, enlighten the audience hidden traits about the characters and enhance anticipation while maintaining suspense. This is evident in a scene where Vincent has to pick up Mia from Wallace’s house for the night. The scene commences with a tracking shot of him making his way to the front door in which his body forms a silhouette in the front door. The cameras capture for a brief moment the note that has been taped to the door and then make a zoom in on the note. The interests of the audience are maintained by the shift to Mia’s voice which narrates the note and this explains the content to the audience. Vincent enters the door and Tarantino’s expertise when it comes to mise-en-scence becomes apparent (Jewers, 99). The effect that immediately captures the eye is the color scheme of the house. Almost every item is white in c olor, which the inclusion of the couch, carpets, walls, lamps to even the shirt that Mia is wearing. For the enhancement of the white color scheme, key front lighting is used in the scene. This color also adds irony to the film since white in often linked to purity, yet the inhabitants of the house are far from innocent. One addicted to crack while the other is a mob boss. Juxtaposition is also introduced with regard to the fact that Vincent is wearing a black suit yet the rest of the house is white in color. Analysts may suggest that this is a premonition that he has no place in the house and that bad misfortune will befall him if he stays in the house. The house has also been designed to appear to be very modern since various forms of modern technologies have been incorporated into the house such as cameras that are able to watch over the main rooms (Polan, 133). While Vincent if unaware that he is being watched by Mia through a camera viewing station, he walks around the house at ease. To maintain the entertainment value of such a scene, Tarantino makes use of non-dietetic sound, despite the fact that it was coming from the record player, but the audience is not aware of that aspect until the end of the scene. The song is about a about a girl that is in love with the son of the

Environmental Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 6

Environmental - Essay Example trillion, Germany $3.383 trillion, Japan $5.88 trillion and United States $16.02 trillion are higher than that of the Arab World 2641.6819, constituting of twenty-two states (The World Factbook n.p). This is a clear indication that Arab world benefits less from the Middle East Oil. Additionally, comparison between the Palestine GDP (6.641) to Israel (254) shows that Israeli is on the lead. A countries GDP (official exchange rate) is determined by dividing the home-currency-denominated yearly GDP amount with the mutual standard of US $ exchange rate (The World Factbook n.p). This helps in determining the accurate value of output of a particular country. The Arab World’s GDP measure clearly shows that it enjoys less economic power from the Middle East Oil compared to other countries. The information obtained from the CIA World Factbook is credible in challenging stereotypes that many individuals and countries hold about the 22 Arab League members. The information clearly shows that the Arab World enjoys very little from the Middle East Oil while countries like United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, and the United States reaping more from the marketplace (The World Factbook n.p). This is because the Arab World enjoys less purchasing power at international marketplace and thus has little economic

Alchol and its effects on health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Alchol and its effects on health - Essay Example Binge drinking has become rampant in many parts of the world including Europe (Picture-1). According to a study by Anderson & Baumberg (2006), 55 million adults are estimated to drink at harmful levels in the Europe. Harmful consumption of alcohol means more than 40g of alcohol i.e. 4 drinks a day for men and over 20g i.e. 2 drinks a day by women (Anderson & Baumberg, 2006). To understand the effects of alcohol on the health of humans, it is important to first understand the metabolism of alcohol. The cell membranes of human body are highly permeable to alcohol. Once alcohol is absorbed from the stomach, it reaches every tissue in the body. It is mainly metabolized in the liver. The mode of metabolism is oxidation. The first step in the oxidation is conversion of ethanol to acetaldehyde and this is catalyzed by alcohol dehydrogenase. During this process, NADH (NAD, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) is released. The acetaldehyde is further oxidized to acetic acid which then enters the citric acid cycle and metabolized to carbondioxide and water. NADH is used up in the conversion of pyruvic acid to lactic acid, in the synthesis of lipids and in the electron transport chain (Paton, 2005). Most of the damage to cells caused by ethanol is due to acetaldehyde and NADH. Acetaldehyde causes damage due to immune response and increased NADH causes altered NADH/N AD ratio leading to increased oxygen consumption and hypermetabolic state (Tome & Lucey, 2004). The effects of alcohol change over time. This is known as biphasic effect. The side effects depend on the level of intoxication which is again dependent on many other factors like the amount and circumstances of consumption, whether taken before or after meals and also the hydration status of the body. Consumption of alcohol after a heavy meal does not produce much intoxication while consuming on empty stomach leads to increased side

The Role of Leadership in Building Successful Organizations Assignment

The Role of Leadership in Building Successful Organizations - Assignment Example With this ambitious agenda for expansion, Aramex has been facing challenges concerning employee loyalty and engagement with an increasingly diverse and international workforce. This paper will seek to analyze Aramex’s specific strengths and weaknesses in leadership, in light of their current expansion strategy, as well as areas that need improvement, through interviews with Hussein Hachem and Laith Tahboub. The paper will also outline specific actions to address these issues as identified. Interviews with Executives Hussein Hachem After working for 20 years, Mr. Hussein Hachem serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Aramex in the Middle East and Africa (MEN) region. With his extensive knowledge about the logistics and transportation industry, Mr. Hachem is a representative on several decision boards of the industry. Laith Tahboub Mr. Laith Tahboub has worked at Aramex for nine years as an operations supervisor and a Business Improvement and Efficiency manager, prior to his cu rrent position as Operations Manager. With experience in team management and process management, Mr. Tahboub has been managing and leading teams in successful service standards and procedure developments for business success and excellence. Leadership Challenges and Strengths at Aramex At Aramex, the current style of leadership is a hybrid between task-oriented and distributed leadership. In task-oriented leadership, the leader focuses on tasks that require to be performed to meet a specific goal, in which the leading and following acts interlock across three levels; organizational, relational, and task (Derue, 2011: p38). A task-oriented leader is more concerned with producing solutions at every step for a goal or specific problem, ensuring the team meets deadlines and achieves outcomes. This is important for Aramex as a logistic company since the services have to be offered on time to maintain their competitive advantage and success. However, task-oriented leadership neglects the welfare and engagement of the team-members, harming their productivity. Distributed leadership works hand-in-hand with task-oriented leadership at Aramex. This form of leadership removes hierarchy from the leadership structure with requisite functions distributed among various teams by dividing labor across time and space (Derue, 2011: p135). One actor serves as the basic originator of action and other team-members respond with subsequent following acts. These acts of leading and following move from group to group over time and space. According to Mr. Hachem, engaging new employees in new geographical operations has proved challenging for the organization, especially since they have to communicate outside of their comfort zone (Personal communication, 2013). The biggest challenge is enabling them to understand the culture and values that drive Aramex. Expanding into new markets has seen Aramex leave operations to local talent, which has necessitated the organization to bring them up to speed with regards to their cultures and values. With these challenges, Mr. Hachem contended that the senior leadership team has decided to assess employee engagement with the results being used to align their goals with what was important for the organization (Personal communi

United States's role in outsourcing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

United States's role in outsourcing - Essay Example Outsourcing presents both direct and indirect advantages and disadvantages. Several unfavorable conditions in the country make American companies outsource foreign employees and overseas locations. This paper explores United States role in outsourcing and its impact. The current  U.S. corporate tax code encourages companies to move their operations to foreign locations. It results in the offshoring of jobs that could currently be located in the United States. The government condemns the outsourcing of jobs out of the country by U.S. multinational corporations because it fails to solve issues the employment crisis in the country. In addition, outsourcing weakens the U.S. competitiveness in the international economy. The government tries to attract multinational companies in the country through tax incentives and formulation of policies that provide a favorable work environment. An increase in taxes for multinational business triggers an exodus of business, investments, and work opportunities (Wolverson 1). Multinationals often shift to low-tax countries in which they can maximize their profits. Commonly referred to as ‘tax havens’, such countries offer small corporate tax rates to persuade multinational corporations to transfer inc ome abroad. Production and labor costs are a cause for outsourcing. Other countries offer cheaper sources of labor as compared to American workers who demand high wages. China, for example, has an unrivaled large and reliable labor base that accepts lower pays. While unemployment is rampant in the U.S., it is worse in developing countries such as China, Singapore and Malaysia (Wolverson 1). As companies outsource to China, Americans remain unemployed because of limited job opportunities at home. The companies benefit because they reduce their capital and operating costs. Regrettably, the country loses its productivity and competitiveness in the global economy. Outsourcing

Strategic Management, What Is It Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Strategic Management, What Is It - Essay Example Essentially, strategic management is a vehicle for giving forward-looking leadership concerning the most essential issues of concern to an organization and its surroundings in a very determined, efficient, and valuable manner. At the heart of the progression is "the communal management of a strategic agenda that transforms as an organization's problems and opportunities transform. Effective strategic management needs intensive, continuous, and collective concern of senior management" (Eadie and Stein bacher , 1985, p. 425 ). The purpose of strategic management is to help formulate, implement, and evaluate cross-functional decisions in such a way as to assist the organization in achieving its long-term objectives. The strategic management process is seen as "an objective, logical and systematic approach for making major decisions in an organization" (David, 1997: 6) in which both analysis and intuition have a role to play. Effective strategic management entails the configuration of a strategic management group to give leadership for the process. Characteristically, the framework of this group will comprise the C.E.O., top-line managers, and key executive staff members. In a small organization, for example, the strategic management group might comprise the mayor or the city manager and the heads of numerous operating departments. It is the responsibility of the strategic management team to give the configuration for developing and modernizing strategic plans and for guiding their realization in all areas. As strategic management is a continuous process, the strategic management group must meet on a usual basis to confer strategies, monitor development, evaluate efficiency, and generally sustain a shared focus on the strategic agenda. This comprises identifying newly promising strategic issues, estimate problems and opportunities as they develop, adapting strategies, and giving direction and control over completion plans to preceding the strategic agenda efficiently. Sporadically, it may consequence in the development of new strategic initiatives. The strategic management process also may rivet a strategic planning systems approach in which planning efforts at different levels are centrally coordinated within the frame of an organization wide strategic planning process. With the acceptance of this overall plan, the strategic management group might well direct the operating departments to originate their own strategic plans, which counter to mandates established in the overall plan and also address strategic concerns at their own level. The strategic management convenes cross-departmental task forces or action teams to plan more

The Virgin Mary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Virgin Mary - Essay Example The Virgin Mary has a great many aspects in the world of Christianity because of her humility, piety and role as the mother of the Savior of humanity. Yet, in Protestantism, she would be quite different in her portrayal than she would be in Catholicism. Yes, she is still seen as the Virgin Mary, but in quite a different light. In the Roman Catholic Churches, Mary is the pre-eminent saint and the focus of much popular devotion. "This article explores historical and modern Christian beliefs about Mary (known as "Mariology"), which includes such doctrines as the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the Virgin Birth of Christ, the perpetual virginity of Mary, the Assumption of Mary, Mary as "Theotokos," and Mary as Coredemptrix and Mediatrix". (1. Religion Facts) The Virgin Mary plays a prominent role in some of the Gospels; these would include the birth stories of Jesus found in the books of Mark in chapters one and two, as well as the book of Luke in chapters one and two. Within the text of the Gospel of Luke, The Virgin Mary would have been part of the tribe of Judah within the lineage of David. In her first appearance in the Gospel of Luke, when an angel appears to her, Gabriel, where she is told that she, through the power of the Holy Spirit, will give birth to the Son of God. The Gospel of Luke in actuality goes no further in describing Mary at all, withholding credentials and more of her worthiness to be the Mother of God. Gaventa, in Religion Facts: Just the Facts in the World's Religions, points this out in many locations throughout the piece. "Really, Luke tells us nothing about her," Gaventa said. Gaventa goes further in saying that no credentials are given to make us think Mary would actually be worthy of being chosen by God. Or that what happens in the story is that Mary is chosen entirely by God's own initiative. This would be an excellent example of what Protestants would emphasize as being part of God's divine grace or God's initiative. "Mary, regardless of this unfathomable news, was engaged to Joseph and Mary, according to all accounts, humbly accepts the fact that she will give birth to the Son of God." (2. Religion Facts) The reason it is considered Immaculate Conception and delivery was the fact that the hymen would have remained intact dur ing labor and delivery, an unheard of capacity. This information was first divulged within the treatises of Gnostic Ascension of Isaiah in the late 1st Century and would also have been found in the late 2nd century Protoevangelium of James. When Mary was a young woman engaged to Joseph, the Angel Gabriel announced to her that she would give birth to a son that would be born of the Holy Spirit. Mary humbly accepted her divinely-appointed role, saying, "May it be unto me as you have said." She then conceived and gave birth to Jesus while remaining a virgin (Lk 1:31f; Mt 1:20, 23). Mary gave birth in a way as to avoid labor pains and leave her hymen intact. This was first found in the Gnostic Ascension of Isaiah (late 1st century), 1 and also found in the late 2nd century Protoevangelium of James. Christian writers in the earliest writings including Clement of Alexandria of the 3rd Century would have

GM crops Essay Example for Free

GM crops Essay For thousands of years farmers have used a process of selection and cross breeding to improve the quality of our crops. The problem with GM crops is that there is little known about what effect they will have in 20 years’ time. The genetic structure of any living organism is complex and GM crop tests focus on short-term effects. Not all the effects of introducing a foreign gene into the intricate genetic structure of an organism are tested. Will the pests that a crop was created to resist eventually become resistant to this crop? GM crops may also pose a health risk to native animals that eat them. The animals may be poisoned by the built-in pesticides. Tests in the U. S. showed that 44% of caterpillars of the monarch butterfly died when fed large amounts of pollen from GM corn. Very little scientific information exists about the risk of GM food on human health. One major report by Dr. Arpad Pusztai, explains how GM foods could trigger new allergies and contain toxins that may be harmful. Another concern is disease. Since some crops are modified using the DNA from viruses and bacteria, will we see new diseases emerge? What about the GM crops that have antibiotic-resistant marker genes? Marker genes are used by scientists to determine whether their genetic modification of a plant was successful. Will these antibiotic-resistant genes be transferred to microorganisms that cause disease? We already have a problem with ineffective antibiotics. How can we develop new drugs to fight these new bugs? Then there is always the possibility that we may not be able to destroy GM crops once they spread into the environment. Proponents of GM crops claim that advantages may be many, such as: Improved storage and nutritional quality Pest and disease resistance Selective herbicide tolerance Tolerance of water, temperature and saline extremes Improved animal welfare Higher yields and quality Cross-pollination is a concern for both GM crops and conventional breeding, especially with the more serious weeds that are closely related to the crops. With careful management this may be avoided. They are an ever-increasing problem and genetic engineering promises to stop it. But will genes from GM plants spread to other plants, creating superweeds and superbugs we won’t be able to control? When looking at the environmental impacts of grass- and grain-fed beef, there is a 500% increase in greenhouse gas emissions for each pound of beef produced from grass-fed compared to grain-fed cattle. Uncontrolled nitrogen and phosphate release to the environment, 35% more water use, and 30% more land use for grass-fed cattle compared to grain-fed increases the environmental impact of strictly grass feeding. Cholesterol content does not differ between grass- or grain-fed beef. Today, there is an estimated two-thirds of all our products in supermarkets contain genetically engineered ingredients, including; tortilla chips, drink mixes, taco shells, veggie burgers, muffin mix, and baby formulas. But only one-third of Americans are aware that their food contain genetically engineered ingredients, despite the findings of surveys that 85 to 90% of consumers want clear labeling of all genetically engineered foods. Because labeling is not yet required by government regulations, nor practiced by biotech companies, there is absolutely no way for consumers to know what it is that they are eating. The public has not been educated of the inadequacy of genetically modified ingredients in their diets and the possible risks that these foods may entail. The credibility of these geneticists is also questionable because almost all established molecular geneticists have some industrial ties limiting what they can research on, particularly with regard to safety. There is no way of knowing the overall, long-term effects of genetically engineered foods on human health. This unpredictability appears to be causing the most controversy over genetically modified foods, as there is insufficient evidence and need for further research. The effect of the insertion on the biochemistry of the host organism is unknown. The effect of the genetically engineered organism on the environment is unknown. The effect of eating genetically engineered foods is unknown. There is no basis for meaningful risk assessment. There is no recovery plan in case of disaster. It is not even clear, who, if anyone will be legally liable for the negative consequences. There are no consequences among scientists on the safety or on the risks associated with genetic engineering in agriculture. The international community is deeply divided on the issue. In addition to these, genetically engineered foods may cause the removal of important food elements. For example, genetic engineers may intentionally remove or inactivate a substance they consider undesirable in a food, which may have unknown but crucial qualities, such as cancer-inhibiting abilities. Examples such as this are perhaps especially frightening because of the potential to find cures to some of the illnesses and diseases that have already laid claim to many lives. Failure to do further research in this case would be a shame, as it could lead to an elimination of possible breakthroughs in medicine and health. The current state of biotechnology must be fixed because every living organism is affected by it because everything is composed of genes. If the food being consumed contains products of genetic modification, the public is at risk to the unpredictable effects on their own physiology and biochemistry-effects that may not be reversible. Not only could this cause problems in their own lives presently, but it could also affect future generations, in ways that are unforeseen yet preventable. Moreover there is not enough understanding of the principles of genetic engineering to categorize those genetic modifications that may pose a risk and those that may not because genes appear to react in diverse ways when spliced with other genes. Genes are a part of an extremely complex and interconnected network and are constantly reacting to their environment. Further research must be enacted, and biotech companies and the government must do their moral/ethical duty to inform the public, because ultimately, they are the ones making the decisions.

English Essays House of Mirth

English Essays House of Mirth Analysis Extracted from the text of Chapter 6, House of Mirth. Lily mused. Dont you think, she rejoined after a moment, that the people who find fault with society are too apt to regard it as an end and not a means, just as the people who despise money speak as if its only use were to be kept in bags and gloated over? Isnt it fairer to look at them both as opportunities, which may be used either stupidly or intelligently, according to the capacity of the user? That is certainly the sane view; but the queer thing about society is that the people who regard it as an end are those who are in it, and not the critics on the fence. Its just the other way with most shows the audience may be under the illusion, but the actors know that real life is on the other side of the footlights. (Wharton 69-70)† Edith Wharton’s House of Mirth is unique among its British counterparts. Wharton’s American â€Å"novel of manners† presents a distorted protagonist when compared to contemporaries such as Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility; unlike British novels of the age, House of Mirth unfolds in an American setting, where issues such as class have a substantially weaker hold over society than in Europe. Wharton’s protagonist falls victim to a grim, realist destiny so common to American literature. Unlike Sense and Sensibility where the bourgeois lifestyle is overcome, House of Mirth concludes with Lily Bart taking her own life, her dream of marrying into wealth unfulfilled. Lily is a tragic character, one whose condescendence and adoration of the bourgeois lifestyle overpower her sense of happiness as she turns away from her true love, a man named Lawrence Selden whose meager holdings cannot satisfy Lily’s need to marry into New York’s elite circ les. Lily and Selden discuss status and the impetus of wealth during time spent on their own, away from Bertha Dorset. Wharton presents the conversation in the aforementioned context so that it the true intentions, feelings, and opinions of Lily and Selden can emerge. Through her conversation with Selden, Lily indirectly defends her drive to ascend through the ranks of New York’s social coteries. She is not completely forthright, and never states in clear language that she uses society as a means and not an end. Rather, she criticizes those who â€Å"find fault with society,† and in doing refrains from condemning the New York caste system in which she partakes. That Lily is understated in her social contentions serves to illustrate her high regard for Selden, despite his relatively low standing and meager lifestyle. Just as Lily figuratively tiptoes around Bertha due to her high social rank, she also gingerly approaches issues with Selden, a man for whom she has great affection. Lily’s reverence for Selden, however, cannot be for his ability to climb social ranks; he is an enlightened figure, representing a new social age, an irrevocably American stance on egalitarianism. The conversation between Lily and Selden marks the only point in the novel that empowers Lily to communicate her true feelings for Selden and her wishes to be completely aloof of her situation. Richard Chase, author of The American Novel and Its Tradition, writes that American novelists are â€Å"not [interested] in social manners but in ‘personalities of transcendent value’, as† communicated through Wharton’s portrayal of the enlightened Selden (Chase 159). The prevailing theme in Lily’s stance is the reflection of Lily’s situation. She is perennially one of the â€Å"critics on the fence†, never able to achieve the life of social class that she so desires (Wharton 70). Ironically, she never has a chance to live the detached life Selden leads, and she is forced to wistfully long for an alternative to the situation in which she finds herself. Selden remains opposite Lily as a representative of the common American people; he is detached from the hustle of high society. The actors he describes in his metaphor for people who understand life is poignant in reflecting the general malaise of certain members of the upper class. The actors represent the bourgeois, the audience the proletariat. Selden’s metaphor aptly describes the class struggle in which Lily finds herself firmly entrenched.   Selden’s metaphor effectively portrays the elite as staging a farcical system, one that serves only to distract the rest of the world that is trying desperately to take part in the reality given to them by a small group of people. The actors, or the elite, look wistfully beyond, knowing full well that a â€Å"transcendent value† lies outside the stage. Therefore, the actors put two faces forward: one they show to keep up the masquerade for the public (the audience), and another that reflects their true happiness. Chas e describes this eclipsing characteristic as a natural tendency of virtue, implicit in the personalities of those who are transcendent of â€Å"the amenities and discipline of social intercourse† (Chase 159). This duplicity of character is most embodied by Bertha and her love affair with Ned. Bertha, the archetypal social elitist, maintains the facade of a healthy relationship with her â€Å"upper crust† husband. Bertha realizes there is a deeper happiness, that her social relationship and marriage (presumably arranged according to her ascension up the social ladder) is secondary to her true happiness, an affair with Ned. If discovered, her affair would ruin her marriage, something Bertha must surely know. That she is willing to be discovered is a testament to her drive for happiness; in this instant, Bertha is among the enlightened, partially detached from her life in the social chain. Selden also presents the theme that social constraints are a product of the people; there is no obligation to follow it as he proves to Lily through his existence. His affection for Lily despite the knowledge that she will marry solely for means he cannot provide is a testament to his insistence that the world is bigger than the New York strata. Selden’s metaphor postulates the existence of the bourgeois in the hands of the proletariat; though the bourgeois are perceived to be â€Å"in control†, they would not exist were it not for the pandering of the lower classes. It is the lower classes (such as Lily) that promulgate the existence of the social hierarchy. The bourgeois (such as Bertha) do not restrain lower classes any more than they are given license to. Unlike Europe where ancestry dictated social class, American â€Å"manners† were â€Å"nearly uniform among all Americans,† exemplified by Bertha’s trite condescension, which in many ways mirro rs that of Lily’s toward the high life’s critics (Chase 158).  Ã‚   House of Mirth transcends the â€Å"novel of manners† label. Chase states that the novel, like its peers cannot â€Å"sustain the tone† and that there is â€Å"something else more arresting than the observation of manners† (Chase 158). The uniformity of humanity amongst the American publication and the realism behind life’s situations is best exemplified in Lily’s failure as a character. She is almost a tragic character as she takes her life following her inability to secure the life for which she had set out. The antagonist, Bertha, constantly set out to sabotage Lily’s emergence as one of the social elite. Lily never fully realizes her illogical approach to society; her flippant attitude toward those who â€Å"find fault with society† as an end is the greatest irony of the conversation. In treating society and class as an end, Lily enslaves herself under the whims of those in the elite. It is the elite, such as Bertha, that ultimatel y decide her fate. Therefore, the more Lily strove to become a part of the New York social elite, the more deviant Bertha’s subterfuge became. Her attempts to become assimilated backfired, further cementing her lower class status. Had Lily refuted the importance of class and rejected materialism’s wares, she may have recognized that society existed to serve as a means to her end and not vice versa. Lily becomes a victim â€Å"at the mercy of [her] environment,† her fate decided not by how she conducted herself but rather by the choices she made (Chase 160). Lily’s failure to enter the most elite New York social circle was not because she was ungainly, unfit. House of Mirth’s most poignant themes surround the similarities between the American bourgeois and the proletariat. Lily failed to achieve all that she set out because of Bertha. Bertha is a factor of the realist environment Wharton weaves throughout the plot; Lily is a victim of the consequenc es of her actions, not a flaw in her nature. American realism sets Wharton apart from writers like Austen. Contrary to conventional â€Å"manner novels†, Wharton focuses on literary foils such as Selden to accentuate the similarities between the classes and the futility of social strata. To an extent, Wharton shows that it is impossible to change one’s social status. It is more viable to deny the system altogether, as society and its organization ultimately exist to serve the populous. The conversation shared by Lily and Selden exemplifies such a stance; Lily, who spends her adult life trying to break her way into circles of the elite, dies a woman who never realizes her life’s aim. Selden insists that the only people who regard society as all encompassing and all-important are those who remain at the top of social chains, and that even they realize that life is not what society makes of it. The logical entity between the two, Selden proves through his language and use of metaphors the undeniable fact that if the bourgeois seek a transcendent life, then so should the common man. BIBLIOGRAPHY Chase, Richard. (1957) The American Novel and Its Tradition. London, G. Bell and  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sons, Ltd. Wharton, Edith. (1994) The House of Mirth. New York, Oxford U P.

The power of transnational corporations

The power of transnational corporations Footloose can be defined as free to go wherever one likes or to do as one likes. According to Taggart (2010), he said that organizations which are flexible and no national loyalties in moving their businesses or operations to anywhere quickly freely and have different nations of consumers. Transnational Corporation can be defined as a company that operates in more than one country. According to UNCTAD (2004), a Transnational Corporation (TNC) is an organizations which control the foreign assets other than its home countries, they usually owning certain of equity capital stake. Nestle and Ford is the example of TNCs in the international country. Based to Fox, Tom and Prescott (2004), they stated that globalization has lead the organizations to spread or operate widely to search for cost efficiency and to implement production strategies across states and regions. Nowadays, Transnational Corporations (TNCs) are central players in the economic environment. According to Macleod and Lewis (2004), TNCs has affect the governments policies which not only local but also include international, besides they also affect the agenda of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Moreover, TNCs also affect the economies and eco-system in the developing world, the wage-levels set by them can influence the purchasing power and demand of goods as well. Power of TNCs According to Dunning and Rugman (1985), TNCs has the capabilities to overcome or reduce market imperfections, improving local and international markets, and to develop systemic, network-related rather than just asset-based only. Furthermore, the power or strength of TNCs also include they can support the global market in terms of survival, profitability and growth. According to Christian Aid (2001), he stated that TNCs has increased and growth quickly and dramatically over the past 30 years, there were only 7,000 TNCs available during 1970, however today there are 63,000 parent companies which operating with about 690,000 subsidiaries in the world. (Further information refers to Appendix 1 2). TNCs have involved themselves in different sectors, industries, economic activities in the global market. Most of the TNCs are mainly from Western economies, TNCs now occupy a powerful position in the global economy, which around two-third of international trade. General Electric which is one of the TNCs, had revenues of $126 billion in year 2001, which is more than the combined national incomes of sub-Saharan African countries, except the Republic of South Africa. TNCs are playing important roles in the global economies and it might be possible that they have the power to control over the economy in the future. As Michael Kitson (No date) states, TNCs are very powerful than the previously, nowadays they are playing an important roles and act as powerful players in the global economy. TNCs not only affect the local economic but it is also involve the global economic because they operate in large business which surrounding the world, it would affect the global employment rate and economics. Factors to Move As Footloose The factor that drive TNCs move and operate freely in the international country is the cost of production and also labor cost. This issue usually will be the first and most important reason for TNCs to consider with. According to Schaub (2004), he states that TNCs are profit from a division of labor, they tend to concentrates their operations in those countries which are usually allocate labor-intensive and specialized tasks to peripheral countries. They invest in different geographical areas to get multiple advantages from other countries so that they able to improve their operation in their home country. Many of the US firms are prefer to set up production facilities in the foreign market because they saw an opportunity to reduce production and distribution costs or low threat of their market position. For example, Renault-Nissan is one of the examples of TNCs which manufactures its product in China, Taiwan, and the Philippines, to profit from low-cost, high quality labor. Other than generate huge profits, resources available will be also one of the factors that lead TNCs to operate freely and globally. The resources are referring to human resource management, technology resources and also the resources to build up the products. This can be explaining by the technology advancement, human capital and capabilities, rich of the resources in a country. TNCs will consider all these factors in a country only will decide to operate or set up their manufacturing factory in a new place. Due to limited of capital resources, Intel actually relies extensively on the global manufacturing network, they set up manufacturing company at Penang, Malaysia is because they can get the resources at there and the human capabilities is high. On the other hand, political conditions will also affect the TNCs to operate freely in a country. Since China opens their market to the foreign investors and enters into the international trade, China has become the new and favorite place for TNCs and FDI to make investment and set up new subsidiaries and factories. Chinas rapid integration into the global economy has created many investment and trade opportunities between China and the rest of the world. It has created a lot of business opportunities and employment opportunities for the local people of China. China is a country which has the advance infrastructure, reasonable levels of taxation, cheap labor cost and production cost, and also the conditions that support personal security and the most important is stable political. Examples of TNCs which operate their business in China include Wal-Mart Stores, BP, Royal Dutch/Shell Group, Toyota Motor, Ford Motor and many others. TNCs will rather invest in China than Middle East Count ries as they always suffer with political unstable as well as race discriminations. Barries That Restrict TNCs to Move However, there are some factors such as Trade Barriers that will restrict TNCs to move freely in the international countries. It is usually refers to the external factors that is unable to be control by them. The most common sorts of trade barriers are things like subsidies, tariffs, quotas, duties, and embargoes. While TNCs enjoy the profits they earn, governments are usually concern with the consequences of these products have produced, and these consequences is usually caused by smoking, drinking, asbestos, chemicals and fertilizer/pesticide that can seriously lead to water pollution. Many countries are suffer 80% of their water is polluted by the chemical toxic such as pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides with consequential effects and the nations have to pay higher price for their water. Besides, the other TNCs needs to overcome this entire problem before the consumer can use it or consumed it safely. In this situation, profits of TNCs will be reduce when the citizen pay for w hat an unpolluted and healthy resources or goods, they always have a human right to consumed clean, safe and drinkable water. Besides that, some of the governments argue that TNCs locate in third countries or poor countries just want to make a profit only, they usually pay low wages, especially to those innocent such as women and young children. Some of the people said that TNCs usually look after themselves rather than them. Local labors usually poorly paid, most of the profits will go overseas, and products often of little value to local people and TNCs may pull out anytime. In order to guarantee the life and also the rights of local people, government usually will restrict some rules to protect their peoples. Senegal is the example that the government and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of International concern with the workers rights and health. For your information, Senegalese workers are employed with low wage and do not provide basic social services such as social security, medical check up and health insurance. Hence, TNCs wish to offshore to Senegal must be able to fulfill the requirement of the government whereby treat the local labors fairly. Besides that, culture will be also one of the barriers for the TNCs to offshore or move abroad. Cultural issues would not affect all the TNCs, it is usually refer to the food industry. For example, McDonald is carefully selected suppliers and also producers of their ingredient. The food of McDonald is including beef, chicken, pork, egg, milk, coffee and potatoes. However, pork is not accepted by the people, who are religious Islam; they are anti-pork due to the religious. Hence, if McDonald wishes to franchise their business to those Middle East countries or Islamic countries, they could not sell pork meal and get any pork supplier at there. It is the same case in India, Hindu state that cow are a gift of the gods to human race. Hence, for Hindus do not eat the meat of the sacred cow. McDonalds is the worlds largest user of beef. Therefore, all foods are strictly segregated into vegetarian and nonvegetarian lines to conform with preferences in a country where many Hindus are vegetari an. McDonalds has had to customize its offerings to the tastes and preferences of a Hindu culture that venerates the cow, will not eat beef, and has a large vegetarian population. Cultural factor will affect McDonald to operate their business in a new place such as Islamic country and India. Next, the other barriers that TNCs might face also include customer preferences. Customer preferences are refers to the consumers buying habits, product usage and so on. Nowadays, the living standards and income of peoples have been increase and they tend to enjoy their life. As income increase, so the purchasing power has been increase as well. China would be the best example; Chinas luxury car market is mainly controlled by Audi and Mercedes-Benz. Previously, Toyota will be the first choice for the China as this is more affordable for them. China does have their own automobiles produced such as BYD, Chery, Hafei, Roewe and so on. As the income and lifestyle have been improve, many of the Chinese tend to purchase high quality and foreign car as this is the status recognition for them. Hence, in this case it is a barriers for Toyota as they have the own manufacturing in China. Customer preferences change has cause negative effect to Toyota as it will affect their profits. Customer pr eferences would change anytime and TNCs could not estimate about it, hence before they want to set up new business in a country they need to encounter this problem and think of solutions. Fact to Support TNCs Move As Footloose After analyzing the factors to drive TNCs operate freely and globally, it show that Transnational Corporation can move footloose within the global economy. However, it is not all the TNCs able to move freely, some of the industry might be difficult to move. According to Ha-joon Chang, who is a South Korean economist in Economics and Politics faculty at the University of Cambridge (UK), he notes that there are some industries such as cloth, shoes, foods and garments where the sunk costs are low and firms can be easily footloose, while for the high elements of sunk cost such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals are more difficult to move. Overall, majority of TNCs are moving as footloose in the global economic, and this is support by Dicken (1998), he outlined that TNCs are becoming global corporations, stateless, placeless and locally embedded. Many authors suggest that the ideas of transnational manufacturing investments are footloose and not tied to particular locations and regions. For example, TNCs located in the Republic of Ireland also show signs of being highly footloose. Ireland is a country which their manufacturing industry is heavily dependent on foreign TNCs. The importance of TNCs for the Irish economy is now reflected in the fact that in the manufacturing sector, foreign plants accounted for 47 percent of employment, 77 percent of net output produced and 83 percent of total exports in Ireland in 1995 (Central Statistics Office, 1997). Ikeas Successful Footloose Manufacturing Network (Ferdowsi, 2009) With a network of 1300 suppliers in 53 countries, IKEA which is a Swedish furniture company with à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬14.8 billion sales in 2005 and growing at 15% annually and like to find the right manufacturer for its 9500 products. Ikea usually look for new suppliers with its own 46 trading offices in 32 countries. Major are in Europe, but IKEA want to add suppliers from other regions, especially Asia. In 2005, China, with 18% of all its purchases tops the list, followed by Poland (12%), Sweden (9%), Italy (7%), and Germany (6%). IKEAs suppliers are an integral part of this unique and intelligence system. IKEA design their products with standards modules and procures similar pieces used in different product from the same suppliers. It is a brilliant use of footloose manufacturing. IKEA simplifies what it needs from factories, hence has many potential bidders and gets competitive prices, and does not reveal design of its new products to its widespread and leak-prone supply network. Impact of TNCs to Move As Footloose Besides benefits to TNCs itself, they actually also bring benefits to the country that they operate other than home country. TNCs and the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) bring in able to improve employment rate, increase productivity, enhance skills transfer and technology transfer, increase volume of exports and also contribute to the long term economic development of the developing countries. The impact for the TNCs itself, they can earn more profits, increasing market share, becoming market leader and so on. While for the local labor, it will create employment opportunities for them, improve their living standards, opportunities for them to learn new skills and knowledge. While for the host country, TNCs actually help to improve the economy conditions, reduce unemployment rate, enhance advancement of technology and attract FDI to invest in their country. Furthermore, TNCs also improve conditions of the private sectors in the countries where they operate, a process which is very important to overall economic growth and economic health. They also bring benefits to the government as they invest money into an economy where it can supplement or free-up government revenues and development assistance funds. Many of the Government tend to welcoming for the TNCs to set up new business of manufacturing factory in their country because they can create more employment opportunities, improve the economy conditions and so on. According to Christian Aid (2001), TNCs bring benefits to the economies of developing countries and improve poor peoples living standard, invest money to build up infrastructure and facilities, provide employment opportunities, their investments can aids in local businesses and also boost up the local economic activities. As a conclusion, TNCs move as footloose has brought a lot of advantages to the community. In this free trade century, many firms tend to expand further in order to gain more profits as well as looking for the opportunities to growth. Although footloose may not suitable to some of the industry, however TNCs tend to move forward and further hence they will try to reduce threats to restrict them to expand globally. In the future, there will be more competitive in the global economics due to the growth of TNCs. (2503 words)

Military Governments Essay -- essays research papers

Military Governments   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Military governments have been around since the days of feudalism. It is the oldest and most common political state. According to Shively, a military government is one in which a group of officers use their troops to take over the governmental apparatus and run it themselves. Military governments are usually weak in appeasing the masses for they are known to be brutal and power hungry and are also rather fragile, both internally and externally.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In its primitive state, existing as feudalism, the high ranking officials/nobility and the military itself was composed solely of the elite ruling class. But as society became more complex, the role of the elite was slightly altered as technology progressed and the nobility and kings no longer controlled weapons nor could prevent the disintegration of the feudal society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Modern military governments usually occur after the military stages a coup. A coup is the forceful deposition of a government by all or a portion of the armed forces and installation of a new military government. Coups ordinarily take place when the present government poses a threat to the state or the status quo. Because the military controls more armed power than anyone in a state, they have the ability to take over the government at any given time. In Power and Choice, Shively questions the notion of the infrequency of military governments. Yes, they are common, but why aren't they more common? The reason being that as societies advance and become more complex, it is necessary for the ruling elite to be more knowledgeable of the processes by which a government is operated. This explains the recurrence of civilian-run governments. The military may have a few leaders who are skilled politically, but the armed forces are not customarily trained to run governments. Recall that the role of the military is to protect and serve the state, therefore there is usually a cycle, known as the Barracks cycle, in which the military brings about a coup, but later reestablishes civilian control, and is the new state threatens governmental stability, the military stages yet another coup, etc. The longer the military stays in power, the more the political state exists unstably.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Nigeria, for ... ... form of government or evolve to a new sophisticated government.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In any case, military governments are weak internally and externally. They pose as forms of transitional governments, not necessarily in times of revolution, but in times when the state itself becomes weak or poses a threat to the status quo. Though some military governments do perservere for years and years without being overthrown, their inability to run the state efficiently forces the military to restore democracy or to stage another overthrow of the government. Also, because the military government itself takes power through no regular process as other, more stable forms of government, but simply seizes it, they encounter the problem of legitimacy. Lastly, coalitions internally are in itself a whole other government. The weakness and competition present between these coalitions usually causes the downfall of the military government and installment of a new civilian-run government decided so by the general consensus. Generally, all military governments will fail in time and return to it previous government or evolve to a whole new governmental system with a revolution.

Night :: essays research papers

Night, by Elie Wiesel is an autobiography including the main characters Elie, his family, and all the victims of the holocaust. The main idea of this book is to get people to realize the pain and suffering of the Jewish people during the Holocaust. Because of cruel incidents, people’s emotions go numb. They had no lives. The Jewish prisoners went to any length to stay alive; lying, killing, and even betraying family. Jewish prisoners knew nothing about how to survive the deadly camp of Auschwitz. Most Jewish prisoners were thrown into ditches to burn if not the right age or if they looked too weak to work. Elie and his father lied about their ages to pass the first selection. By lying about their ages, they were viewed as more fit to work. The prisoners actually came to realize â€Å"Work is liberty† at Auschwitz. Lying became common among the Jews to pass selections. Rations of food were scarce, thus killing for crumbs were occurrences that happened daily. For instance, a son fought his father for bread. â€Å"Meir. Meir, my boy! Don’t you recognize me? I’m your father... you’re hurting me...you’re killing your father! I’ve got some bread...for you too...for you too....† This shows how the Holocaust made people genocidal. Feelings left their souls on the first day at camp, for when someone died no one cared. Family betraying family took place during marches to new camps. A boy and his father had to run as fast as they could for as long as possible until the S.S. soldiers said they could stop. The penalty would be death if a prisoner decided to slow down. A boy realized his father was weak and starting to slow down with him and instead of slowing down with him, the boy decided to run faster and leave his father for dead, for his own protection. Could you even imagine what the

The Crisis in American Education

The crisis in American education Every American is required to attend and complete public school education. A person needs to be literate and properly educated to progress in life. However, there are many things that can impact a person’s education and personal life. These issues include illiteracy, drug abuse and violence at school. These issues combined with others create the crisis of American education. Getting an education today is very important because jobs are demanding in their criteria for job applicants. It is vital to survival that everyone knows and understands the English language.We have all gone to public school at one point or another, so we have all seen the dangers lurking about in our public schools. School violence is an issue that plagues each and every high school in the world. Teens are sometimes so afraid that they will skip school. Drug abuse is also getting to be a terrible problem in public schools as it affects the education of the student. As we h ave seen through Columbine and the Virginia tech massacre, there are some issues surrounding safety of schools and their children. There is a question of â€Å"who’s next? It’s very important that we recognize the warning signs in our students early on so that we can stop the violence before it ever happens. There are many solutions to the issues that affect our public schools ranging from gathering volunteers to just loving your child. In this essay, we will examine three main issues in public schools along with the causes, effects and solutions of each issue. There is a multitude of problems facing the public schools today including teen violence, drug abuse, and illiteracy and we need to find the tools necessary to rebuild a more positive learning environment.Illiteracy is the inability to use language, read, write, listen and speak. Illiteracy is one of the main problems facing our public schools today. It has only been getting worse over the years. In the colonia l days, parents were responsible for teaching their kids how to read. If they failed to teach them, they were fined by the state. Boy, have times changed. The three main causes of illiteracy are poverty, learning disabilities, and lack of family literacy. These problems have contributed to the whopping 32 million Americans who are illiterate today.Children in every public school are affected by illiteracy, sometimes because of a learning disability, like dyslexia. Between 1992 and 2003, there were 23 million people added to the population. 3. 6 million of those people were illiterate (enotalon. com). People have been illiterate for as long as the earth has been around. An incredible 75% of unemployed adults cannot read and write at a basic level. There was an organization formed called ProLiteracy. It is a group that teaches adults to read and write.It also distributes materials used to help teach the adults reading and writing. Illiteracy costs about $60 billion in lost productivit y due to illiteracy. The U. S . has not made any progress in changing the illiteracy rates. Illiteracy affects every aspect of a person’s life. They may be ashamed or feel inadequate in life due to their literacy problem. There are solutions to the literacy problem in America. A first solution can be training our teachers better so they can better teach our children. A second solution can be to offer after school help for children.A third solution would be to change the environment at home. In 1985, Six Flags Marine World designed â€Å"read to succeed†. Read to succeed is a three unit program for third through eighth graders. It has grown to 209,000 students from 166,000 students in the year 1989. Read to succeed is designed to introduce youngsters to a lifetime of fun through reading independently. The program presents kids with interesting and fun topics. Each and every one of these solutions will be a definite help in solving the literacy problem.They will work tog ether to create a working educational system comprised of adults and children. Children will no longer suffer from shame of being illiterate. Adults can gain the tools they need to survive in the real world. Illiteracy is an international problem that affects the student, family, community and the economy. With these solutions, we can learn to successfully combat the war against illiteracy. Bullying and school violence is a very scary, but real part of our everyday lives. Bullying is when kids use their power to control or harm others intentionally.Bullying includes making threats, name-calling, spreading rumors, or attacking someone verbally or physically. 1 in 4 kids are bullied every year. It has been proven that bullying affects a child’s ability to learn because they become so preoccupied with escaping a bully or feeling depressed about an incident that they cannot focus on their schoolwork. There are many causes to bullying, most dealing with outside influences. A first cause of bullying could be a history of family violence. Another cause could be learned racial, social, or religious prejudice.Another factor could be the violence portrayed in the media. Substance abuse is another cause of bullying. Bullying has many causes and many effects, so what can we do about it? We can assess bullying by participating in surveys that help determine the frequency and locations of bullying. First, you choose the survey you want, then, you obtain consent to take the survey. After you gain consent, you will administer the survey. When it is done, you will analyze and distribute your findings. You should always have a clear plan ready.Surveys can also gauge the effectiveness of a current prevention or intervention effort. Surveys also ask the schools and their communities about their experience and thoughts on bullying. This is a great way to understand the underlying causes and effects of bullying and who its victims are. Engaging the youth and parents can make a student feel safer, focus more on learning, and have the parent worrying less. Ways that a student can help is to contribute their experiences or views on bullying. They can promote respect and communicate regularly with their peers about the dangers of bullying.Parents can contribute by volunteering at school improvement events. School staff can keep parents informed about bullying and set up meetings convenient for the parent and child. School safety committees are groups of people focused on the concerns of school safety; where teachers can give their insights and administrators can answer questions. School safety committees plan prevention programs, develop communicate, and enforce bullying prevention policies and rules. They educate the public on bullying and evaluate bullying prevention efforts.It is very important that we build a comfortable environment for our students everywhere. We need to establish a culture of positivity and safety. We need to promote respect in every classroom. To make sure that our bullying prevention efforts are working, our school staff needs to be trained on what bullying is, what the school’s policies are, and how to enforce the rules. Training is most successful when a teacher feels their voice has been heard. I think that everyone would feel successful if they felt their voice was heard.

Comparing and Contrasting Between Certified Nurse-Midwife and Certified Midwife Essay

Comparing and Contrasting between Certified Nurse-Midwife and Certified Midwife Every profession has its own beauty. Nursing is a professional industry with responsibility for important tasks in medical systems. For a long time, professional â€Å"nurses†, especially midwife nurses, were considered low-status; they usually did the extra work as assistants in the army. They helped with cleaning, cooking, laundry, etc . A 2012 research by Marjie Bloy found that Florence Nightingale is presented as a public health nurse to promote the modern industry. Because she was the child of a wealthy family, Nightingale’s parents were surprised and disappointed when she decided to become a nurse. Then she demanded medical care improvements for the poor and the industry gradually took important steps to help nurses in health professional ranks. There are several misunderstandings between what a Certified Nurse-Midwife and Certified Midwife are. This essay will analyze this confusion by comparing and contrasting between Certified Nurse Midwives and Certified Midwives. First of all, to understand clearly what Certified Nurse Midwife and Certified Midwife are, we will look at their definitions. According to Hartley Heather, a Certified Nurse Midwife is an individual trained and licensed in both nursing and midwifery, whereas a Certified Midwife is an individual trained and certified in midwifery only. Secondly, what study path should students follow if they would like to become Midwife? The requirement for admission to the Midwifery Education Program for CNM is quite different to CM. In her article Different direction, opportunities, Susan Trossman describes the difference, the requirement for Admission to Midwifery Education Program between CM and CNM: a CM needs a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university and successful completion of specific science courses, while in CNM, there are 2 cases. If the applicant has a bachelor’s degree, but not an RN license, some programs will require attainment of an RN license prior to entry into the midwife program; others will allow the student to attain an RN license prior to graduate study. However, if the applicant is an RN but doesn’t have a bachelor’s degree, some programs provide a bridge program to a bachelor’s degree prior to the midwifery portion of the program. Other programs require a bachelor’s degree before entry into the midwifery program. In addition, after studying for 5 years, the degree the students are granted are quite different: the CM will have a Master’s degree; whereas, the CNM will have a Master’s or Doctoral degree. Finally, after getting Licensed, Jolivet Rima maintained in her article Nurse-Midwives committed to women throughout the lifespan that although CNMs are licensed in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia and US territories, CMs are only licensed in New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island. A 2002 journal by Lois McClosky said CNMs would work in Boards of Nursing, Boards of Midwifery/Nurse-Midwifery, Board of Midwifery, Board of Medicine, and Department of Health. Unlike CNMs, however, CMs would work in Board of Midwifery, Board of Medicine, and Department of Health. On the other hand, in her journal, Lisa L Paine describes what CNMs and CMs have in common. First of all, they both share the Clinical Experience Skills Requirement which includes the management of primary care for women throughout the lifespan, including reproductive health care, pregnancy, and birth; care of the normal newborn; and management of sexually transmitted infections in male partners. Secondly, CNMs, like CMs, Saraswathi Vedam wrote that both are independent management of women’s health care through the lifespan, from adolescence through menopause. Finally, a 2006 article story by Michelle Nolin Flewell discusses the similarities of work places, CNMs and CMs both work in hospitals, birth centers, homes, and offices. The majority of CNMs and CMs attend to births in hospitals. In conclusion, the differences between Certified Nurse Midwives and Certified Midwives are: definitions, study paths and licensures. However, they share some similarities such as Clinical Experience Requirement, Range of Care Provided, and Practice Settings.

Dell Corporation

Dell Corporation 1. Introduction A . Company History In 1983, Michael Dell, an 18-year-old freshman at the University of Texas at Austin, Spent his evenings and weekends pre-formatting hard disks for IBM-compatible PC upgrades. A year later, he dropped out of college to continue with his rapidly expanding business, which had grown from zero to $6 million in 1985, simply by upgrading IBM compatibles for local businesses. In 1985, Dell shifted its focus to assembling it own brand of computers which led to a dramatic growth of the business, with $70 million in sales at the end of 1985.By the year 1990 sales had grown to more than $500 million and Dell was able to supply a number of Fortune 500 Companies. The company now had a broad product line of desktop and portable computers with Intel processors and had earned a strong reputation for quality products and service. Throughout the company’s history, a big part of Dell’s success was due to its unique and distinctive  "Dell Direct Model. † This model took efficiency to new heights by eliminating the intermediaries between maker and user of PC’s and lowered costs by eliminating inventory with the help of an efficient supply-chain management system and internet sales.Today, as the world’s largest PC manufacturer, Dell Computer Corporation offers a great variety of computing products directly to customers, with build-to-order systems and Comprehensive services that fulfill the needs of its customers. Dell’s customers range from Major corporations to individuals all over the world. Efficient cash management has enabled Dell to have both extremely high inventory returns and a â€Å"negative cash conversion cycle. † This cash flow system permits Dell to pass on cost savings to customers in the form of lower prices for the best technology available.These competitive advantages have helped the company achieve a solid cash position with outstanding liquidity B.. In search of a company culture The culture at Dell had always been driven by a continuous program to drive down costs And improve the â€Å"customer experience. † Facts were more important and more highly valued than emotions and personal feelings. As the company grew and succeeded, the company culture that pushed the drive to be number one and to make a personal fortune was based solely on economic terms.But in the year 2000, Dell’s margins in the hardware business began to decline due to a slowing demand for PC’s and a price war with competitors. Investors were disappointed, layoffs were frequent, and employees began to wonder why they worked in a high-tech industry, and why they worked for Dell. Kevin Rollins was aware that all great companies have great cultures. They have a Purpose and a leadership model. Aware of an urgent need to define his company’s culture, he Looked for inspiration, reading books on Franklin, Jefferson, Monroe, and Washington.He soon dis covered that what the founding fathers of the United States believed in went well beyond logic. They were passionate, very idealistic, and had a vision that exceeded their personal gain and involved the risk of losing their lives. Mr. Rollins found this remarkable, and it caused him to think about the country’s soul and its leaders. He believed this was an â€Å"interesting paradigm for a company to examine, as opposed to simply adopting the business paradigm. † With this foundation, he began to develop what became known as The Soul of Dell. C. . Key Players Michael Dell is the founder and CEO of Dell Computers.During the past 18 years, he Has grown the company’s sales from $6 Million to $33. 7 Billion and opened sales offices Worldwide, employing more than 38,000 people around the world. In 1992, Michael Dell Became the youngest CEO of a company to be ranked as a Fortune 500 firm. He has been Honored in numerous occasions for his vision and leadership. One of t he main goals for his Company is to double company profits by 2005 Kevin Rollins became Dell’s President and Chief Operating Officer in March of 2001. Before then, he was president of Dell Americas. He managed all company operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Latin America.During Mr. Rollins’ tenure at Dell, the Company has gone through a dramatic growth process increasing revenues from $5 Billion to $31 billion in just five years. Before joining the company, he functioned as vice president and Managing partner of Bain & Company Management Consultants, where he specialized in Corporate strategy and the management of high-tech companies. With his development of The Soul of Dell, he would like people to refer to Dell as a place where respect, integrity, honesty, and forthrightness are valued. Elizabeth Allen is currently the vice president of Corporate Communications at Dell.Her Responsibilities include the direction and global management of Dell’s corporate communications functions, including media relations, employee communication, and liaison with brand and product advertising divisions. Allen has spent more 20 years of her career in corporate communications. Before joining Dell, she was vice president of corporate communications at Staples Inc. , where she expanded investor, government, community and media relations. Previously, she worked for Raytheon Company and Loral Corporation as vice president of corporate communications in each.Allen has the responsibility of diffusing The Soul of Dell both inside the company and externally. 2. Current situation A. Vision statement It’s the way we do business. It's the way we interact with the community. It's the way we interpret the world around us– our customers needs, the future of technology, and the global business climate. Whatever changes the future may bring our vision — Dell Vision —    will be our guiding force. So Dell needs full customer sat isfaction. In order to become the most successful computer company, they need the newest technology and loyal customers. B.Mission Statement Dell's mission is to be the most successful Computer Company in the world at delivering the best customer experience in markets we serve. In doing so, Dell will meet customer expectations of: †¢Highest quality †¢Leading technology †¢Competitive pricing †¢Individual and company accountability †¢Best-in-class service and support †¢Flexible customization capability †¢Superior corporate citizenship †¢Financial stability 1- Customer The customer of dell according to the mission statement is the whole world because their aim is to be the most successful computer company in the world 2- MarketDue to the point that Dell wants to be the most successful computer company in the world it is automatically understood that their market is the whole world 3- Concern for profitability and growth Due to aiming to conquer t he whole world their will always be a place for growth which leads to more profitability 4- Concern for employees The mission statement does not talk at all about the employees I think this is the only flaw in the mission statement but if a company has such big goals the employees must be very qualified especially in this filed. The filed of computers because it is very competitive market with the other competitors. . Philosophy: From day one, Dell has built his company up on the premise that what the customer says goes. When he first started Dell Computer at the age of 19 in his University of Texas dorm room, Dell says his concept was simple: buy parts, assemble them, and sell the finished products directly to customers. He effectively eliminated big distributors and was able to reduce the end price he could charge. â€Å"You tell us what you want – how fast you want the programs to operate, how much memory, how expandable – and we will build it for you and ship it o ut, usually within three days,† he says. And if ever you have a question or a problem about your system, you call us direct. We take direct responsibility for the complete satisfaction of each and every customer. † After his company had been in business for three years, Dell created the industry’s first on-site-service program. If there was a problem with your computer, you didn’t have to return to the store to have it looked at. You simply called Dell and a serviceman would come to your house and fix it. â€Å"That was a pretty important plus because we didn’t have any stores,† Dell jokingly recalls.Dell claims that his company operates on a relatively simple concept: â€Å"The most important thing is to satisfy our customers,† he says. â€Å"The second most important is to be profitable. If we don't do the first one well, the second one won't happen. † Thus, the focus of his company remains on concrete issues, such as improving delivery time, cutting operating costs and maintaining customer service. Dell believes in the importance of adding value â€Å"beyond the box†, looking at the customer’s total experience. To this end, he often aligns his company with complementary partners for increased efficiency.Today, Dell builds computers only in response to orders that the company has actually received from users, either by phone or the Internet. Users are able to dictate the company’s supply, relieving Dell of the risk that comes along with trying to predict market demand in the extremely unpredictable computer industry. Because Dell customizes its products, the company is also able to provide unmatched levels of customer service. For instance, on October 27, 1997, after the Asian economic crisis overwhelmed Nasdaq’s online trading site, Nasdaq called Dell, which proceeded to build eight custom-made PowerEdge servers in just 36 hours.Three days later, they were up and running for N asdaq. By prioritizing his customers, Dell was rewarded with their business and loyalty. http://www. evancarmichael. com/Famous-Entrepreneurs/646/Lesson-2-Develop-a-CustomerFocused-Philosophy. html 6. Concern for public image The point that â€Å"Dell's mission is to be the most successful Computer Company in the world† means only one thing and that is the public image for the company must be very good not only domestically but also internationally. 7. Production servicesThe way how dell operates is actually a very smart way to cut of cost and inventory accounting wise leading to more profit for the company also the quote â€Å"Best-in-class service and support† convinces you that any service this company does can only be the best. 8. Technology Technology plays a very important role for dell simply because of the nature of the business. The computer filed is all about technology and service that is what gives any company the edge of survival in this filed so technolog y must be very high. â€Å"Leading technology†, http://www. samples-help. org. uk/mission-statements/dell-mission-statement. htm http://retailindustry. bout. com/od/topusretailcompanies/p/dellincprofile. htm C. Values statement Extending Our Global Success Leadership. Performance. A commitment to expansion. These are the principles that have secured our success in the marketplace and enhanced our ability to anticipate and address the industry’s needs. Our unique position as a technology leader ensures that you’ll always be challenged in your work and supported in reaching your most ambitious goals. [pic][pic][pic][pic] Showing results 1-2 of 2 1. Collaboration. Ambition. A commitment to unique solutions. When you work at Dell, you embody these principles every day. 2.Commitment to Diversity Collaboration. Empowerment. Opportunity. These are the tenets of Dell's strong commitment to diversity. http://content. dell. com/us/en/corp/careers-our-values. aspx D. Dell policies 1. Dell Global Environmental Policy Dell aspires to be a company in which environmental excellence is a priority in  everything we do. Our goal is to fully integrate environmental stewardship into the business of providing quality products, best-in-class services and the best customer experience at the best value. http://content. dell. com/us/en/corp/d/corporate~corp-comm~en/Documents~dell-global-environmental-policy. df. aspx 2. Global social media policy Scope This Global Policy on Social Media (Policy) is a Corporate Compliance Policy and applies to all Dell employees, employees of any Dell subsidiary, assigned workers, as well as to third parties performing services on Dell's behalf (hereinafter collectively referred to as â€Å"You†). For employees, compliance with this Policy is an expectation of employment (subject to local legal requirements). For assigned workers and third parties, compliance with this Policy is a condition of access to Dell facilities and resources, and of being permitted to perform services forDell. Definitions for capitalized terms used in this Policy may be found at the end of the Policy. Purpose Dell recognizes that Social Media tools such as blogs, micro-blogs, online forums, content-sharing Websites and other digital channels established for online interaction and connection are increasingly used to: promote Dell to colleagues, customers, the media and other Dell stakeholders; and/or share personal opinions and participate in online dialogue as individuals.The purpose of this Policy is to establish standards and expectations regarding any Dell-related use of Social Media. Dell's commitment to being direct, supports open communications, provided such communications adhere to this Policy. Policy Statement You must adhere to the following when engaging in Social Media: †¢ Appropriate Use of Information Technology Resources. Dell's Information Technology (IT) resources are company property dedicated to achiev ing Dell's business objectives. Inappropriate use is not acceptable.This includes, but is not limited to, using Dell IT assets to post offensive material on content-sharing websites, publish defamatory remarks about colleagues or customers on web forums or blogs, and leaking Confidential Information. †¢ Speaking On Behalf of Dell. Blogging and other online dialogue are far-reaching forms of communication; distribution is meant for a vast public audience. Information purported to be published by Dell contained within blogs and other Websites could have a negative impact to Dell and our stakeholders, with potential legal implications.Unless You have successfully completed Dell's Social Media training courses and have been certified to speak on behalf of the company  using Social Media, You shall never claim to be speaking on behalf of Dell or expressing an official company position in such communications. †¢ Ethical Conduct. You shall not conduct activities that are illega l or contrary to Dell's Code of Conduct, Privacy Statement Regarding Customer and Online User Information, or other Dell policies. Always respect the dignity and privacy of colleagues, customers, other Dell stakeholders and Dell competitors.Harassing, intimidating, offensive, abusive, threatening, menacing or hostile content communicated through blogs and other online communications is prohibited. Data related to others, including, but not limited to, personal details and pictures, shall only be posted with that party's consent. †¢ Transparency of Origin. You shall disclose Your connection to Dell in all communications with customers, the media or other Dell stakeholders when speaking on behalf of Dell (if authorized to do so) or discussing or recommending Dell or its products or services (even when doing so in Your personal capacity).You must also provide Your Dell contact information upon request. Unless you are certified to speak on behalf of Dell, You should make it clear t hat the opinions are Yours alone and do not necessarily reflect Dell's views or positions. †¢ Accurate Information. Never knowingly communicate information that is untrue or deceptive. Communications shall be based on current, accurate, complete and relevant data. Dell will take all reasonable steps to assure the validity of information communicated  using any channel but it is Your responsibility to assure accuracy in the first instance.Anecdotes and opinions shall be identified as such. †¢ Protection of Confidential Information. You shall protect Confidential Information as such information represents one of Dell's most important assets. It is never appropriate to share, post, publish or otherwise disclose Confidential Information unless You are explicitly authorized to do so. You must respect securities and financial disclosure laws, and must not post or otherwise comment in any capacity on Confidential Information that may be considered financial information (such as earnings, future business performance, business plans or prospects). Accountability. You will be held accountable for the information You share in online activities. Be careful what You share, publish, post or otherwise disclose. You are personally responsible for what You share and should remember that anything You post may be public for an indefinite period of time (even if You attempt to modify or delete). Try to ensure Your online communications reflect Dell's brand attributes of openness, responsiveness, integrity and optimism. Procedures and Training Dell has adopted training materials to assist You in complying with this Policy.Dell's Social Media  and Communities (SMaC) Team will deliver role-appropriate training. Asking Questions You are encouraged to ask any questions You may have about this Policy. To learn more about how to use Social Media in accordance with this Policy, contact Dell's SMaC Team at [email  protected] com. You may also ask Your leader or Human Resou rces representative, or contact the Global Ethics  and Compliance Office at [email  protected] com, or the Legal Department. Reporting and Investigation It is very important that You immediately report any suspicious behavior regarding Dell employees or Dell third parties.To report known or suspected violations of this Policy, contact your leader or another member of management, your Human Resources representative, an Ethics  and Compliance team member, or call the Ethics Helpline, a confidential toll-free, third party-operated telephone service, You may also submit a report  using the Ethicsline, a confidential Web-based online reporting vehicle. Reports made  using the telephone Helpline or the Web-based Ethicsline may be made anonymously where permitted by local law. Anyone reporting a suspected or actual violation of this Policy is protected from retaliation under Dell's Code of Conduct.All good faith allegations of violations of this Policy will be fully and confident ially investigated pursuant to Dell's Global Policy on Raising and Investigating Potential Ethics  and Compliance Violations. You are required to cooperate with all investigations of alleged Policy violations. Discipline and Other Consequences Employees who violate this Policy will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action or other remedial measures up to and including termination of employment if warranted under the circumstances and permissible under applicable law.Assigned workers and third parties who violate this Policy are subject to being denied access to Dell facilities, personnel and assets, and permission to perform services on Dell's behalf. Waivers The provisions of this policy cannot be waived. Dell management does not have the authority to approve waivers to this Policy. Revision and Revocation This Policy is not a contract between Dell and any employee, assigned worker, or third party. This Policy may be revised or revoked by Dell at any time, without advance no tice or cause. Local Policies and ProceduresDell operates in many countries and it is Dell's intention to comply with all applicable legal requirements. Accordingly, if a provision of this Policy conflicts with applicable local legal requirements, Dell will follow the local legal requirement (provided the local requirement does not conflict with U. S. law). In addition, Dell may adopt regional or country-specific policies on this subject to accommodate local conditions or legal requirements, and will inform employees in the applicable region or country of the terms of any such policy. DefinitionsConfidential Information  Ã¢â‚¬â€ Important or valuable business information that is not available to the public. It includes trade secrets and other intellectual property that has been developed, licensed or acquired by Dell. It can also include information of customers, business partners or others that has been disclosed to Dell under obligations of confidentiality. Examples include una nnounced financial information, strategic business plans, unannounced product or services and solutions offerings, planned or contemplated mergers or acquisitions, lawsuits and other legal proceedings, roduct design and technical knowledge, customer and team member personal information. Social Media  Ã¢â‚¬â€ Web-based technologies used to broadcast messages and participate in dialogues. Examples of Social Media software applications on the Internet include social networking applications such as Facebook; video-sharing applications such as YouTube; micro-blogging applications such as Twitter; collaboration applications such as Wikipedia; and Dell's official corporate blog, Direct2Dell. Examples of Social Media applications used within Dell are Dell's internal blog, One Dell Way, and Dell's internal networking tool, Chatter.Global Policy on Social Media Effective Date: August 5, 2010 http://content. dell. com/us/en/corp/d/corp-comm/social-media-policy. aspx 3. Privacy and Data Secu rity At Dell, your right to privacy and data security is a primary concern. That's why, when you visit dell. com, we help you maintain control over your personal data on the Internet. Below are the guidelines we use for protecting the information you provide us during a visit to our Internet sites (www. dell. com/ap) or when you use our online support offerings such as support. ap. dell. com.Other Dell and Dell Co-branded sites may operate under their own privacy and security policies. 3. External scanning A. PEST ANALYSIS PEST analysis is very important that an organization considers its environment before beginning the marketing process. In fact, environmental analysis should be continuous and feed all aspects of planning. The organization's marketing environment is made up from: PEST analysis stands for â€Å"Political, Economic, Social, and Technological analysis† and describes a framework of macro environmental factors used in environmental scanning.It is also referred t o as the STEP, STEEP or PESTLE analysis (Political, Economic, Socio-cultural, Technological, Legal, and Ethical). It is a part of the external analysis when doing market research and gives a certain overview of the different macro environmental factors that the company has to take into consideration. Political factors include areas such as tax policy, employment laws, environmental regulations, trade restrictions and tariffs and political stability. The economic factors are the economic growth, interest rates, exchange rates and inflation rate.Social factors often look at the cultural aspects and include health consciousness, population growth rate, age distribution, career attitudes and emphasis on safety. The technological factors also include ecological and environmental aspects and can determine the barriers to entry, minimum efficient production level and influence outsourcing decisions. It looks at elements such as R&D activity, automation, technology incentives and the rate o f technological change. The internal environment e. g. staff (or internal customers), office technology, wages and finance, etc.The microenvironment e. g. our external customers, agents and distributors, suppliers, our competitors, etc. The macro-environment e. g. Political (and legal) forces, Economic forces, Socio cultural forces, and Technological forces. These are known as PEST factors. Political Factors The political arena has a huge influence upon the regulation of businesses, and the spending power of consumers and other businesses. You must consider issues such as: .How stable is the political environment? For example what is happening because of 25 of January revolution? Will government policy influence laws that regulate or tax your business? .What is the government's position on marketing ethics? And this is not clear in Egypt those days What is the government's policy on the economy? Does the government have a view on culture and religion? Is the government involved in t rading agreements such as EU, NAFTA, ASEAN, or others? Economic Factors Marketers need to consider the state of a trading economy in the short and long-terms. This is especially true when planning for international marketing. You need to look at: . Interest rates 2. The level of inflation Employment level per capital Sociocultural Factors The social and cultural influences on business vary from country to country. It is very important that such factors are considered. Factors include: l. What is the dominant religion? 2. What are attitudes to foreign products and services? 3. Does language impact upon the diffusion of products onto markets? 4. How much time do consumers have for leisure? 5. What are the roles of men and women within society? 6. How long are the population living?Are the older generations wealthy? 7. Do the population have a strong/weak opinion on green issues? Technological Factors Technology is vital for competitive advantage, and is a major driver of globalization . Consider the following points: 1. Does technology allow for products and services to be made more cheaply and to a better standard of quality? 2. Do the technologies offer consumers and businesses more innovative products and services such as Internet banking, new generation mobile telephones, etc? 3. How is distribution changed by new technologies e. g. ooks via the Internet, flight tickets, auctions, etc? 4. Does technology offer companies a new way to communicate with consumers e. g. banners, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), etc? http://www. nishanw. org/Corporate%20Strategy%20lession%202%20tools. doc B. Porter’s model 1. New entrants:- From the point of view of Dell this is considered a low risk simply because to enter a market like this you need a lot of capital, to start up and to get the latest technology. Seconded of all there are a lot of established companies in this field so entering it would be nearly impossible. ttp://www. photopla. net/wwp0503/entry. ph p 2. Rivalry:- Rivalry will always exist in such a market because there are lot of establish competitors such as HP, Sony, Toshiba. And many more. www. csus. edu/indiv/h/†¦ /ComputerIndustryAnalysis8-06. ppt – 3. Threat of substitute products:- In the computer filed you would think there are no substitute products. It matters on exactly what the customer wants if the customer wants a computer just to serf the internet there are substitute products. Like the high tech mobiles and I-Pad.However if the consumer uses a computer to play games or other things computer a pretty much the only product you can buy to do these stuff therefor the computer becomes a nessatiy . In the case of dell laptops are not considered a substitute products compared to the normal Personal computer. Due to that dell is one of the main players in the computer market and are aiming to be the best in all computers as to oppose of Gamma or Philips for example. http://www. vodafone. co. uk/personal/ind ex. htm 4. Bargaining power of buyers:-The consumer or buyer in this case has a lot of power therefore any company that wants to serve has to play by one rule an that rule is. To produce a product at the lowest cost possible selling that same product at the highest cost possible. The highest cost possible is the selling price your competitors sell there product. Consider if you will that the cost the competitor sells his product that to be your ceiling of a price there for you will always find that competitors all there prices are very close if not even the same.Only if there is a huge difference in quality. 5. Bargaining power of suppliers. As for suppliers bargaining power this is a very high risk for any company because a supplier may rise prices or less the quality of the product. There for it is a must for every company to have an excellent relation with its supplier. Relative power or other stakeholders Governments play a big role on any company with law and Terries and so on there for it might not be that easy to enter a new market. C. Strategic groupsIn the case of dell or in general the computer industry you will find that there are a lot of players in the market such as Sony, HP, Compaq, all of these companies just mentioned all work under the IBM Bracket as to oppose of apple which uses Macintosh a completely different operation system. This is more used by advanced users such as engineers and musicians. So from by point of view if we were to compare price of the final product and quality you will find Apple in the top right while dell and all the others will be under apple also on the right because dell always thrive on the highest quality product. pic] D. Strategic types Dell is a reactor company because in this filed of computers all of them work as a reactor company simply because all what dell does is that is manufactures and assembles the computer the only thing that changes in this field is the technology and power of the computer example for the companies that create that technology is Intel and AMD E. Issue priority Matrix Impact on organizationHigh Medium Low | | | | | |Medium priority | |Increasing Turn over |high | | |High priority |rate | | | | | | | |Low priority |Financial crisis |High priority |Medium | | | |Medium priority | | |Swine flu |Low priority | |low | Probability of occurrence The issue priority matrix is a matrix that helps you measure the priority of external factors and its effect on the organization. the financial crisis have a medium level of occurrence, while it have a medium priority, while the swine flu has a low level of occurrence with a low priority, the rate of turn over rate has a high priority with a high rate of occurrence. F. Industry success matrix In the industry we have decided to place all the direct competitors in our bubble according to the Strategic groups. Picking only 3 companies for convenience Key factors |weight |Dell |score |sony |score | |1 | Increased internet |. 20 |3 | . 6 |Increases dell profit | | |access in Egypt | | | |by reaching more | | | | | | |customers | |2 |Outsourcing |. 05 |4 |. |Improve the quality of | | | | | | |services offered by | | | | | | |dell | |3 |Ecommerce |. 10 |4 |. 4 |Increasing profits | | | | | | |through usage of dell | | | | | | |direct model | |4 |Maintaining Low Price |. 05 |2 |. 1 |Questionable as it's an| | Leadership | | | |old strategy used for | | | | | | |companies in growth | | | | | | |stage | |THREATS | |THREATS | | | | |1 |I. T. Advancement |. 0 |4 |. 8 |Well positioned | |2 |Price Wars |. 10 |3 |. 3 |Questionable | |3 |Strong Brands in The |. 10 |3 |. 3 |Dell brand name is also| | |Market (IBM) | | | |a strong ones | |4 |HP / Compaq Merger | . 20 |4 |. |Well positioned | |Total |1. 00 |3. 5 | | | | The 3. 50 WEIGHTED SCORE in Dell’s EFE Matrix is above average and represents that Dell is responding in an excellent way to its opportunities and threats in the I. T industry. In other words we can c onclude that Dell’s strategies efficiently and effectively take advantage of its opportunities and take serious steps to minimize the potential threats. http://www. ijazconsulting. com/uploads/Dell-Strategic_Case-Analysis_by_Ijaz_and_Muffich. pdf 4. Internal scanning A. Organizational structureDell Corporation’s organizational structure is a functional, decentralized structure. The company encourages different departments and functional components to contribute ideas to enhance the strength of the organization. The hierarchical structure provides defines the various functions provided by Dell Corporation, including Business Development, Education, and Global. A decentralized structure provides more learning availability for all members of the enterprise, as decisions come from various levels; in contrast, the centralized structure has more of the decision-making coming from the upper levels of the enterprise, such as the CEO and Vice Presidents.In the divisional organi zation, every division has its own groups to support that specific division (such as purchasing units and human resources units). [pic] 2. Culture: |Dell believes in being direct in everything we do. Our ultimate success is based on maintaining direct | |relationships built on trust. Our relationships with diverse partners help us reach multicultural consumer groups| |across the world and recruit the best and brightest talent to achieve success in the marketplace. | |Dell's Winning Culture and comprehensive diversity initiatives create a corporate environment based on | |meritocracy, personal achievement and equal access to all available opportunities.We focus our internal efforts | |on cultivating and promoting best practices among our global workforce in the areas of policy development, | |training, recruitment, mentoring, development, advancement and culture change. Furthermore, our Work/Life | |Effectiveness and career management programs enhance our ability to retain and develo p valuable team members and | |demonstrate our commitment to the Dell Team. | |Networking Groups | |Dell sponsors a community of networking groups formed by employees with common interests in areas such as | |ethnicity, gender, nationality, lifestyle, and sexual orientation.These groups offer Dell employees the | |opportunity to network with other employees from around the company, while providing encouragement and an | |enhanced sense of belonging through informal mentoring, professional and community events and access to personal | |and professional development and growth. Additionally, networking groups help foster a more inclusive work | |environment, improve communication among employees and enhance understanding of all employees about the value of | |diversity. | |Networking Groups currently chartered: | |BRIDGE – Building Relationships in Diverse Group Environments (African-American Networking Group) | |W. I. S. E. Women In Search of Excellence | |aDellante – Hispanic Networking Group | |PRIDE – Partnering for Respect of Individuality in the Dell Environment (A Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender & | |Straight Alliance) | |A. I. M. – Asians in Motion | | | |Work/Life Effectiveness | |At Dell, our people are our most valuable asset and we are committed to fostering a culture that exhibits this | |value. Our goal is to enable employees to maximize their contribution to the company while also maintaining | |effectiveness between their work and personal lives.We advocate flexibility in the workplace to empower | |employees, teams and managers to hold discussions about both the needs of the business and each employee's | |individual Work/Life Effectiveness goals, and then to construct a plan for fulfilling both priorities. As | |individual circumstances vary, solutions that enable flexibility can be different, including informal and formal | |flexible work arrangements such as variable daily work times, work-from-home, and par t-time work arrangements. | |Additionally, Dell offers corporate employee resources that enable employees to better manage their Work/Life | |situations, such as: | |Employee Assistance Program | |Dependent Care ReferralResources | |Mothers Rooms | |Staying Well at Dell Initiatives like â€Å"Weight Watchers at Work† | | | | | | | | | | | |Career Management Program | |Dell is committed to developing our workforce and helping employees achieve their personal and professional best. | |Through an intensive, six-month Career Management Program, we strive to develop, fully engage, and retain | |high-performing talent. Specifically, participants in the program spend 6-8 hours per month developing and | |strengthening network and mentoring relationships; engaging in new activities; and exploring new assignments or | |positions at Dell. Managers participate in a kickoff session and a mid-program discussion with the coach and | |participant, in addition to holding monthly career- related discussions with participants. | http://www. dell. com/content/topics/global. spx/corp/diversity/en/culture? c=us=en 3. Resources (Value chain): 1. Typical value chain |Raw materials | |Primary | |manufacturing | |Fabrication | |Distributor | |Retailer | In this case dell here saves a lot of cost compared to any other competitor in the market simply because dell acts as a distributor and retailer, leading to a huge reduction of cost. As it is dells signature to deliver their product right to your door as ordered over the internet. This is how it works in America but of course this does not occur here in Egypt. As here in Egypt it only seems enough to have the name dell in the market.This point has many other factors because here in Egypt the income level is lower than in the America so people here such as my self for example would rather want to customize his personal computer. Rather than buying a brand name. 2. Corporate Value chain [pic] Dell Company here in Egypt doesnâ €™t work as a full company, but only works in Egypt as a distributor only. The company works with agents and people have the possibility to buy through the internet as the company use its direct model to deliver customized products anywhere in the world. Dell Company has 2 of the primary activities here in Egypt they are marketing and sales, and services. Marketing and sales:I have seen with my own eyes that Dell Company does marketing activities to increase awareness and sales in booths in computer mall Also they provide discounts on their products to increase sales. Services There are for any dell products after sales services and repair possibilities incase anything could go wrong with a dell computer. IFAS |Internal Factor |INTERNAL STRENGTHS |WEIGHTS |RATINGS |WEIGHTED |Comment | |Evaluation Matrix | | | |SCORE | | |3 |Product Reliability |. 0 | 4 |. 8 |Important as product | | | | | | |reliability leads to good | | | | | | |reputation of dell | |4 |C. Relationship |. 10 | 2 |. 2 |Questionable | |7 |Leading tech |. 10 | 3 |. |Good ,but there are more | | | | | | |powerful technologies | |8 |Supply Chain |. 20 | 4 |. 8 |Excellent supply chain by | | | | | | |using dell direct model | |Internal weaknesses | | | | | | |1 |Little Product Diversification |. 20 | 4 |. |Focusing on laptop | | | | | | |manufacturing | |2 |No in house repair capability |. 10 | 3 |. 3 |Bad service | |3 |No Business Diversification |. 20 | 4 |. 8 |The company doesn't produce | | | | | | |anything rather than | | | | | | |electronics | |Total | | 1. 0 | |4 | | |6 | |5 |duration | |Opportunities (O) |O1. changes in life style |S1. strong brand name |W. 1 low variety of products | | |O2. technology innovation |S2. Huge capital investment |W. 2 low quality products | | |O3. Expand market share |S3. Affordable prices | | | |O4. New Market entrance |S4.High qualified employees | | |Treats (T) |T1. High competition | | | | |T2. finacail recession | | | | |T3. Market entrance (in Middle | | | | |East) | | | S1&O1 as dell has a very strong brand name dell can use its brand name in a way that affects changes in life style.For example entering a new product to compete with the I-pod. S1&O2 In the computer bossiness technological invention is created by the companied that do process the microchips such as Intel and AMD Dell just gives you the final product of the computer. Dell can use this to their advantage to collaborate with tease companies and create a technology that is only available to dell only. S1&T1 in the computer there is a lot of completion so dell can use their high qualified employees to compete with the other companies. W2&O4 one of the weaknesses of dell is their low quality products dell can use this to their advantage to enter new markets for example the African market. Porter’s model |Lower cost |Differentiation | |Broad target |Cost leadership |Differentiation | |Narrow target |Cost focus |Differentiation focus | It is believe that dell ha s more then 1 characteristic according to porter’s model dell has a lot of more products then Acer for example. Laptops, PCs, Monitors ext. While Acer only do laptops For this example dell is certainly in the differentiation for broad target row. While as in the case of Dell and Apple. Dell certainly has a cost leadership over Apple. I would also like to highlight something that in computers there is no cheap or expensive computers. It is all about the power you have in the computer. The more power you have the more expensive it would be. 6-Strategy Formulation 1.Corporate strategy Directional:- It seems that Dell Company is in the stability stage in its life cycle. Dell Company has achieved a lot in its years and is a very well know brand that is why you will find their brand name as strength in the TOWS Matrix. We also believe that the company uses 2 strategies in the stability bracket. It is always the case in the technology filed that if any company does something new a c ompetitor would at least do the same if not even better so in this case Dell is always on the look out for what their competitors do. The seconded strategy Dell uses is the profit strategy by cutting down any unnecessary expensive Portfolio:-Product line of dell 1. Laptops & Tablets 2. Personal computer &workstation 3. Speakers 4. Monitors 5. Monitors LCD 6. Keyboard 7. Mouse 8. Servers BCG Matrix | | | | | Relative Market Share | | | | | | | | | | |High 1. 0 | Medium . 50 | | | | | | | |Low 0. | | | | | | | | | |High +20 |Stars |Question Marks | | | | | |Speakers | | | | | | | | | | |Laptops & Tablets |Keyboard | | | | |Monitor LCD | | | | | | |Mouse | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Industry Sales | | | | | |Growth Rate | | | | | | | |Medium 0 |Cash Cows |Dogs | | | |Personal computers & workstations |Monitors | | | |Servers | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Low -20 | | | Laptops where chosen as stars simply because they have a large market share and a high growth rate. The same is also on the LCD monitors because every computer needs a monitor. The other types of monitors which are the old style are considered to be almost obsolete therefore the original monitors where put in the dogs sector.As for the personal computers because most of the people prefer laptops the demand for personal computers over the years has dropped tremendously. There are more for custom users because you can get more power from a personal computer then a laptop therefore you can say that personal computers have a high market share while the growth rate is dropping. Speaker, keyboards, mice are all considered to be an essential for any computer there froe they have a high growth but a low market share as they are not specialist in these products. 2. Cooperative strategies Strategic alliance: Dell and Perot Systems Announce Strategic Alliance To Provide Fully-Integrated Virtualized Healthcare Technology Solutions To Reduce Cost and Improve Patient Care: Ne w Solutions will Promote Electronic Health Records (EHR) Implementation Dell and Perot Systems today announced a strategic alliance where their combined delivery teams will provide fully-integrated global IT solutions that unite their best-in-class technology and services solutions to provide virtualized desktop, storage and server solutions for hospitals, health systems and physician practices – virtualized on premises or hosted either off-site or in secure, private clouds. Dell, a leading technology provider to commercial enterprises around the world, and Perot Systems, the leading healthcare technology solutions provider in the U. S. , are jointly introducing their first series of innovative solutions that bring desktop mobility and virtual storage and server scalability to the Healthcare Industry at the HIMSS Annual Event in Chicago, Ill.These solutions are designed to help improve patient care and to help healthcare organizations achieve the standard of â€Å"meaningful use† for EHRs established in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). TheNews: Mobile Clinical Computing †¢ Puts virtual technology in the hands of healthcare professionals at the point of care for improved clinical decision-making and efficiency †¢ Improves healthcare delivery with EHR implementation and usability †¢ Improves staff productivity by eliminating repeated, time consuming log-ins and improving application response time for remote users   †¢ Can reduce up-front capital expense and improve TCO Virtual Server Platform Simplifies the provisioning and scaling of health information systems, including servers and storage, by using standardized and virtualized public and private virtual computing environments †¢ Features structured technology assessment and consulting to optimize applications that will benefit most from virtualization   †¢ Addresses technology obsolescence issues by enabling dynamic compute workloads †¢ Ca n reduce up-front capital expense and improve TCO  Ã‚  Ã‚   †¢ Makes compute power a variable expense by aligning technology to business needs Virtual EHR Solutions †¢ Dell and Perot Systems will create hosted and secure private cloud-based EHR  alternatives to dedicated, on-premise EHR solutions †¢ Makes EHR adoption easier by eliminating the need to purchase, deploy and maintain hardware and software onsite †¢ Reduces up-front capital requirements and accelerates time to positive ROI †¢ Reduces burden of systems management for IT staff †¢ Simplifies the challenge of achieving â€Å"meaningful use† as defined in the ARRA Virtual Medical Archiving Solution Simplifies data management by storing patient records, images and other information in a virtual or secure private cloud environment †¢ Reduces capital outlay and total cost of ownership with world-class advisory and consulting services  Ã‚   †¢ Addresses myriad of healthcare ar chiving needs and budgets †¢ Scales as archiving requirements change †¢ Aligns cost and data availability to the regulatory requirements of various types of data produced in healthcare What this means for customers: †¢ Healthcare today is more sophisticated, with more cost pressures and operational complexity than ever before. Healthcare providers need secure access to reliable, real-time and easy-to-use information technology that enables them to obtain and manage treatment information, patient histories and other clinical resources to improve productivity and patient care while reducing costs. These new Dell and Perot Systems virtualized solutions will address these needs while simplifying and reducing the cost of EHR adoption so that healthcare providers can more easily achieve â€Å"meaningful use† for EHR Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments under the   American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Quotes: Dr. James Coffin, vice president an d general manager, Dell Healthcare and Life Sciences:    â€Å"The role technology plays in shaping the future of healthcare around the globe has never been as important as it is today with medical professionals and government leaders looking for ways to improve the quality of healthcare and reduce its cost to citizens, employers and government.Our partnership with Perot Systems is focused on developing new solutions and delivering them in new ways to improve delivery of healthcare and patient outcomes. † Chuck Lyles, president of Perot Systems healthcare group: â€Å"In the current environment, clients are seeking solutions which improve services while reducing expenses. With the combined capabilities of Dell and Perot systems, these virtual solutions will increase user satisfaction and ease administration effort while reducing cost and preserving capital. † About Dell Dell listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services they trust and value. De ll serves those who serve with next generation infrastructure for healthcare. About Perot SystemsPerot Systems is a worldwide provider of information technology services and business solutions. Through its flexible and collaborative approach, Perot Systems integrates expertise from across the company to deliver custom solutions that enable clients to accelerate growth, streamline operations and create new levels of customer value. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, Perot Systems reported 2008 revenue of $2. 8 billion. The company has more than 23,000 associates located in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific. Additional information on Perot Systems is available at http://www. perotsystems. com/. http://content. dell. com/us/en/corp/d/press-releases/DellandPerotSystemsStrategicAlliance. aspx 3. Functional: Manufacturing and Operations at Dell | | | | | |Dell is committed to fully integrating environmental performance into overall business and operational management. Dell | |manufacturing and operations facilities around the globe maintain a strong focus on minimizing impact on the environment| |while providing a safe workplace environment for our employees. | |Dell's direct business model yields strong production inventory and capital investment efficiencies that translate into | |tangible benefits for the environment.Because all products are made to order, Dell currently maintains only three days | |of inventory for most parts and equipment, which keeps the environmental impact of warehousing to a minimum. Components | |and parts are only ordered and shipped to Dell when they are ready to be assembled into the final computer product, | |thereby saving energy and operational costs associated with storing inventory. | |Keeping our employees healthy and well is a high priority, and Dell is committed to providing a safe workplace for our | |employees. Dell's occupational health, safety, and wellness programs are designed to meet our employees' needs, | |motivating them to stay healthy and safe as they go about their daily activities both at work and at home.The | |Environmental, Health, and Safety team works closely with manufacturing, facilities, design, and process engineers, with| |a goal to continually improve the safety of our operations. | http://www1. euro. dell. com/content/topics/global. aspx/corp/environment/en/mfg_ops_main? c=ma=ar | Human resources : | |The Human Resources department has long been the Rodney Dangerfield of the enterprise. â€Å"I can’t get no respect! † the comedian | |complained to anyone who’d listen. And so it goes with HR in the enterprise. | |There are lots of reasons for this.For some of rank-and-file employees, HR embodies the pettiness of corporate life and a slavish | |devotion to inane rules and outmoded processes. Others see it in a more sinister light: the CFO’s enforcer that slashes jobs and | |benefits, all in service of the bottom line. | |Just three years ag o, a business magazine published an article  Ã¢â‚¬â€ â€Å"Why We Hate HR† — that portrayed HR executives as mindless | |bureaucrats. â€Å"I’m the cork in the bottom of the boat,† complained one HR director on a popular Web forum. â€Å"We get no respect until we | |save them from themselves and some of the bad choices they make when our back is turned,† said another. |Fortunately, at least at forward-thinking companies, that stereotype is as out of date as the secretarial pool on â€Å"Mad Men. † Many of | |today’s HR leaders are now accepted among the upper ranks of corporate leadership and act as trusted advisers to their CEOs. | |And increasingly, these HR leaders are turning to their enterprise IT colleagues to pry open the boardroom door and get the respect | |they deserve. A new generation of HR management tools makes it easier to find new talent, enable existing employees, and track trends | |that have an impact far beyond the HR department’s traditional boundaries. | |Of course, any competent HR executive uses the Internet to recruit and select employees.