Violence cannot be properly understood if it is approached as an Essay - 1

Violence cannot be properly understood if it is approached as an evolutionary aspect of human nature'. Discuss - Essay Example It is therefore pretty correct to state that violence is the basis of a number of human-related problems which have come about of age, and that too have lingered on in the longest time. What needs to be understood is the proper role of violence within the midst of human comprehension because it shall make the good and the bad souls within any society get the hang of how things shape up within violent realms. This paper discusses the basis of violence and how it is dealt within an evolutionary aspect of human nature or the lack thereof. It is important that violence is understood exactly in the way it should be done. How violence comes of age here is the fact that its repercussions are varied on the people and it is manifested in a number of different ways. What remains significant is the fact that it is something which is abhorred in essence. The element of hatred with regards to violence is because no one appreciates its incorporation within his/her life. There is immense negativity that comes in the way of violence and quite rightly so. Since the domains of violence are now being seen as elements of extreme disruption, people usually understand the related dictums more than ever. This is because violence brings about destruction and problems for all and sundry, creating a sense of negative upheaval within any society of the world where the aspect of violence is on the rise (Wrangham, 1997). How human beings decipher the notion of violence is understood differently because the people who are close to such levels believe that it is something drastic and could easily destruct the basis of not only their own lives but the ones around them as well. It is indeed an inherent feeling within the people all over the world that violence can ransack their peace, destruct the basis of their tranquility and turn their serene environments into wrath-filled zones. More than anything else, violence is something that is a definitive no-no from all sides and should always be ke pt at a safe distance from the lives of the commoners. Whether or not human beings are intrinsically violent in their regimes is an unsubstantiated feeling. This is because many people are of the view that there are aggressive individuals spread all around them but whether they possess the violent streak in them is something that needs to be understood in the most proper sense. Violence can be a part of an individual’s personality but it might not be a vital facet within his own domains. People are of the view that violence is usually something that creates anarchy within the society, though not in a fast-paced way. It does create anarchy of sorts because it is an element which stirs up emotions and sentiments, all of which are deemed in a negative fashion. The evolution of human beings is such that violence can affect or literally break their basis. It is something that makes them think and thus find out ways which can deal with the foundation of violence in the first place (Ferguson, 2004). There have been critical views regarding the essence of violence creeping into the different societies of the world. It is yet to be established whether or not violence is the root cause of many a problem within the national regimes, and more so in an area to area basis. This is because locals

How a Bill Becomes a Law Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

How a Bill Becomes a Law - Research Paper Example In order for a bill to become law a number of steps have to be followed. The legislative process A bill can only be introduced by a member of Congress – House of Representative or the Senate. A number is assigned to each bill based on its origin. Bills which originate in the House of Representatives have H.R. affixed to them while those which originate in the Senate has S. affixed to them. This is an indication that the bill has been officially introduced (Longley n.d.). It is then printed by the Government Printing Office in the Congressional Record. Bills are referred to one or more Houses based on their specific rules. The Speaker of the House of Representative or President of the Senate refers this Bill to various committees that have the responsibility of considering them. If the bill is approved by the committee it is then debated and voted on in the process of becoming law. Bills that are not acted on are deemed to have died in committee. The Bill is then reported to th e House or Senate by the committee where it is initially read and amended where necessary and then read a second time. The Bill is then read a third time when it is debated and voted on by members (Longley n.d.). ... The respective House will enter the objection on their journal and start the process of reconsidering it. If two thirds of the house agrees to pass the bill after reconsideration then it should be sent along with the objections to the other House for reconsideration and the same process of approval be sought. If two thirds of the House approves the bill then it becomes law. There is also a requirement that the names of each person who votes for and against the bill be entered in the Journal of the respective Houses. If the bill having passed to the President of the United States is not returned by the President within ten days, with the exception of Sundays, then the bill will become law as if it was signed by the President. However, if Congress is adjourned and in so doing prevents its return, then it does not become law even though the President has not sent any objections to Congress. Unless a different date is expressly specified a bill becomes law when it is approved by the Pres ident – signed and dated or by passage over the President’s veto. The role of the judiciary The Judiciary plays a key role after the legislative process is completed. The judiciary is given the sole power of interpreting the law, determining its constitutionality and applying it to individual cases (The White House). As a branch of the government its foremost role is to defend and uphold the U.S. Constitution (Ladner 2000). It provides the framework in which the rights of investors are protected as in the case of different laws such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is provided by the court. At every level, the role of the judiciary is to protect the

Juvenile Delinquency Theories Case Study

Juvenile Delinquency Theories Case Study For many years now the real causes of juvenile delinquency have attracted the attention of many people. What causes juvenile delinquency is a major aspect of sociological and criminological studies. By understanding what really causes the delinquency, the community will reduce the continuity of the act by implementing prevention strategies. There are several criminological theories that are used to define and assist in understanding the causes of the offending act. Some of the juvenile delinquency contributors that has attracted the attention of many researchers are family environment, peer influence, parenting styles, community structure and school environment. There are several juvenile crimes that have occurred in the U.S. for example the juvenile crime perpetrated by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold that left the residence of Littleton town, Colorado terrified and the murder committed by Menendez brothers against their parents just to mention but a few. The paper will focus on the juvenile crime committed by the Menendez brothers as the case under study. First, an overview of the case shall be considered before turning into delinquency/criminological theories to explain what might have led the two to kill their parents in relation to juvenile delinquency. Much attention shall be focused on the strength and weaknesses of the chosen theory. Finally, an alternative theory that could be used to analyze the case will be reviewed. Overview of the Menendez brothers’ juvenile crime Erik Menendez conspired with his brother Joseph Menendez to kill their parents. Erik shot Kitty and Jose Lyle Menendez using a 12-gauge shotgun. First the first trail fail to convict the two brothers, the jury in the retrial found them guilty on the two accounts: the first-degree murder and the conspiracy to carry out murder. But what could have led the two brothers to kill their parents? Both Erik and Lyle were brought up in Princeton, New Jersey where they attended Princeton Day School. Lyle went further to attend Princeton University. In 1987 when their family relocated to California Erik enrolled at the Calabasas High School while Lyle was under disciplinary probation because of poor grades. Lyle later dropped out of school after he was faced with plagiarism allegations. This clearly shows that he was under some form of stress. Jose and Kitty were murdered on 20th August 1989 in their home. Their neighbors said that they heard firecrackers sound on the fateful night. Jose was shot in the head while Kitty was shot while trying to escape after being awakened by the gun shoots beyond recognition. To make the crime appear as a mob related one, both of them were shot around the kneecap. The two brothers then left and later dumped the shotgun along the way before heading to a movie theater. Upon returning home at around 11 pm in the night Lyle called 911 claiming that somebody had killed their parents. Although, the police considered them as suspects, there was no evidence linking them to the crime. This was until the wife of a therapist that the two boys used to visit unearthed a recording that had incriminating evidence. The brothers had opened up to the therapist by telling him that they were experiencing suicidal tendencies due to their guilty conscience and the thoughts of having killed their own parents. Analysis In order to understand the reason(s) behind such a cold-blooded murder, we need to consider the available facts. Erik told the jury that they decided to kill their parents because they thought that their parents were going to kill them. Erik said that his father had been sexually molesting him since he was a child and had insisted on him staying home a few days of the week despite Erik having being enrolled to a college. Lyle, the elder brother, had also been molested but his father had stopped when he was eight years old. Lyle was threatening to expose their father if he did not stop molesting Erik. This confrontation made the two boys think that their parents were plotting to kill them. One of the many theories that can be used to explain this scenario is the deterrence theory. It puts forward the idea that juveniles commit crime because they choose to. Their actions are based on calculated risks and benefits. In the Menendez case, the two brothers did not kill their parents accidentally. They had the whole murder planned as evidenced by prior purchase of the shotguns. They also knew their parents room well enough to aim for a head shot despite the fact that only the TV was on. However, the real question is why did they choose to kill their parents instead of reporting to the police or any other relevant authority? There are several answers that can answer that question. They had fear. They feared their parents especially their father who had dominated and controlled their lives since childhood. Their father was also very strict when it came to tennis and Erik hated being under constant pressure to play better. He feared failing his father by performing poorly in the tennis court. Lyle, on the other hand, feared that if he did not do something to stop his father from molesting his younger brother, the sexual abuse would continue well into their adulthood and would impact negatively on Erik in school as it had done to him. Additionally, he also feared what people would say when such news was revealed to the public. Their family name would be tainted. It was these fears combined that led them to make a choice- a choice to kill their parents. This was the only method that would act as a solution for each of the brother’s fears. This is because it would eliminate their abusive and strict father without the public ever knowing the real reason behin d the brutal elimination. The decision to arrive at this choice may also have been greatly influenced by the fact that the brothers held the belief that their parents were going to kill them. It was only fair to kill the parents before they killed them. However, from the prosecution’s point of view, the brothers did not murder their parents so as to end years of sexual molestation and strict parenting. The court claimed that their sole motive for the murder was the large and attractive inheritance left behind by the parents. Their family owned a $14 million estate. This accusation was based on the fact that barely six months after the murder, Erik bought himself a Rolex, a Jeep, a house and some clothes which were far too expensive given his age of 22. In his defense, Erik said that he had feelings of regret and remorse whenever he spent their parents’ money knowing that he was the one who had committed the murder. According to the brothers, the benefit of getting rid of their molesting parents was greater than the risk of a lifelong prison sentence. This reinforces the deterrence theory which suggests that when the benefits of committing a crime outweigh the risks, juvenile delinquency increases. It is not possible to analyze the entire case by using only one theory. Another possible theory that could explain the juvenile behavior exhibited by the brothers is Sheldon’s somatype theory. This theory explains that our individual body shapes and structures can contribute greatly to our criminal tendencies. He suggests that mesomorphs, or muscular, strong and firm people are more aggressive and assertive when it comes to reacting to situations in life. Their bodies allow them to commit crimes much easier than their larger counterparts, the endomorphs. This theory is useful in this case study since Erik was a fairly good tennis player. That means that his body bore athletic features making him a mesomorph. His physical appearance may have contributed in the murder in that he considered himself fit to handle a shotgun and he was ready to fight back should there be any resistance from the parents. Another theory that might help shed some light on this murder is Lombroso’s atavism theory which suggests that some children are born with criminal traits inherited from their parents. Erik’s father exhibited criminal tendencies with his sexual abuse. It is only fair to assume that Erik and Lyle got their delinquent behavior from their father. References Juvenile Delinquency Theories. Retrieved from http://juvenilejustice190.blogspot.com/2012/10/oncea-criminal-always-criminal-this-is.html Menendez Brothers on Trial: Erik Testifies He Feared Parents. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/law/12/10/court.archive.menendez5/index.html?_s=PM:US Menendez brothers trial hinges on tape: Two rich young men who shot their parents have gained supporters as their bizarre story unfolded. Now the two juries must decide, reports Phil Reeves. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/menendez-brothers-trial-hinges-on-tape-two-rich-young-men-who-shot-their-parents-have-gained-supporters-as-their-bizarre-story-unfolded-now-the-two-juries-must-decide-reports-phil-reeves-1505930.html

Anointed King :: essays research papers

Within Shakespeare’s play Richard II there are many questionable and untrusting characters. Truth and duty are only illusions within the play. Lust for power and control override the order of England and its ordained king. It’s believed that it is by the will of God that Richard is king. No mortal man can come between what God has set before them as rule. The final decision is God’s and the only way that God’s choice can be changed is by God himself, and no one else. God takes the Garden of Eden from Adam, and like Adam, England is taken from Richard. It is questionable if Bolingbroke acts against God’s will or through God’s will. Richard is king, and though a sad choice, he has been ordained by God as king and ruler of England. It is not for his followers to decide if he is to be replaced by someone that they feel would be a better caretaker of the “garden';. In Richard II , by overtaking the crown and replacing R ichard with Bolingbroke, society is going against its own belief that Richard is ordained by God. From an Englishman’s point of view it could be argued that God is somewhat responsible for the state that England is in, because they believe Richard was chosen by God. Within Richard II , God is believed to be forsaken so that England can become a great kingdom again, and this is done in hope that Richard’s wrongs can be made right by Bolingbroke. Richard’s opposition - York, Bolingbroke, and Northumberland - believe that what they are doing is done to regenerate the badly tended “garden';. They want to replant it with Bolingbroke as king, and this they believe will restore England to order. By judging and replacing Richard they are going against what their society believes is God’s will. This is the worst mistake of all, because as the saying goes “two wrongs don’t make a right';. They are playing against a power fa r greater than anything they could imagine Richard being able to do. Their worries should not be of what Richard will do to them if they do not succeed, but what God will do to them at any given time. Northumberland tells of how the kingship will be restored and the garden revived. "If then we shall shake off our slavish yoke,/ Imp out our drooping country’s broken wing,/ Redeem from broking pawn the blemished crown,/ Wipe off the dust that hides our scepter’s gilt,/ And make high majesty look like itself," (Richard II II.

ASIC v Adler Essay

The case of ASIC v Adler is very unique as well as complicated since it involved several breach of duties in the Corporations Act 2001. The HIH collapse was caused by very bad corporate governance. Such breach of duties are, section 9 (director’s duties), section 180 (duty to act with care and diligence), section 181 (duty to act in good faith and for a proper purpose), section 182 (improper use of position), section 182(2) (business judgement rule), section 183 (duty not to improperly use information) and section 260A (financial assistance). All of these contraventions under the Corporations Act 2001 will be discussed in detail below. Section 9 – Who Is A Director And Their Duties Under section 9, a director of a company is defined as a person who is appointed to that position such as a director or alternate director, regardless of what name it is given to that position. Section 9 also includes certain people to be directors even though they are not properly appointed. Such people can act as a director even though without proper appointment of director position. This is where they act in the position of a director (which can be also known as de facto director) or the directors are used to act in accordance with the person’s instructions (which also known as a â€Å"shadow director†). Directors’ duties need to be existed in order to protect shareholders from the risks of directors giving harm towards the company. Shareholders basically have risks such as fraud, where the directors took control over the assets belonging to the company by using it for their personal interest, and mismanagement, whereby directors made an incompetent decision with the financial standing of the company. Furthermore, section 9 also defines the â€Å"officer of a corporation†, which basically includes company executives who held senior positions in the board  level. Such persons can be identified in certain situations where that person (the executives) makes or joins participation into making decisions in which affects the whole or substantial part of the company’s business activities or, the person who has the authority to affect in a significant way towards the company’s financial standings or, basically the same definition of a â€Å"shadow director† where the person are acting towards the instructions given to them to act. In the case of ASIC v Adler, the court held that Adler, the director of HIH, was also an officer of wholly-owned HIH subsidiary which can be related under the section 9 definition of directors. This applies to Adler even though he was not properly appointed as a director or an officer of the subsidiary. Since he has the role of director, the subsidiary holding company and also a member of HIH investment committee, this has showed that he participated in the decision making of the company’s business in which affected it the whole or substantial part of the business. As Santow J gave his judgement on this case, he gave a good summary of principles applicable to directors’ duties. Some of it are; a director must continuously kept informed of the activities of the company, they must be familiar with the fundamentals of the business whereby the company is doing. Section 180 – Duty To Act With Care And Diligence In the section 180(1), it provides that a director or other officer of a company need to exercise their powers and discharge their duties with a standard of care and diligence in which a reasonable person will do if they were the director or officer of a company due to company’s circumstances (section 180(1)(a)) and occupied the office and had the same responsibilities in the company as the director or officer (section 180(1)(b)). Executive directors are full time employees of the company who involved in the day-to-day management of the company. They have special responsibilities with their position and have a high knowledge of daily operations of the company. Non-executive directors, on the other hand, do part-time and have regular involvements in the company. In the case of ASIC v Adler, Williams who was the managing director for HIH and HIHC as well, contravened section 180(1) as he failed to ensure there were proper safeguard before HIHC gave the loan to PEE. Fodera, who was the finance director of HIH, contravened section 180 as he failed to discuss a proposal to give $10 million loan to PEE to the HIH board or its investment committee. As the executive directors of the company, both Fodera and Williams failed to carry out their role properly without informing the HIH board of their intention. Section 180 (2) – The Business Judgement Rule In the section of 180(2), the section provides that a director or any other officer who makes a business judgement rule, will not be held liable in respect of the judgement under the statutory, common law or equitable duties of care and diligence, in which all of the elements can be shown. Such elements are, the judgement was properly made in good faith and for proper purpose, there was not material personal interest in the subject as of the matter of the judgement, the directors and the officers informed themselves about the subject matter of the judgement to the extent they appropriately believed to be reasonable and also the judgement was believed to be in rational in the best interest of the whole company. All of these would be reasonably justified unless any other person in such position thinks that it is completely unreasonable. The business judgement rule basically gives the directors with a â€Å"safe protection† from a personal liability in the relation of the business judgements that they take are valid which is in a good faith and in the best interest of the company. This is because some of their business decisions may turn out to be profit-making or a total loss in honest and rational way. Some of the main reasons for the business judgement rule defences are risk taking and activities in entrepreneurial activities will be encouraged since directors are aware of the specific legislation that if they act honestly,  they will not be punished or personally liable as a result of adverse judicial review. Another rule defence is that better business judgement will be made as a result of removing of some uncertainty of liability under the statutory duty of care and finally, the shareholders interest are better provided by engaging risk taking activities. To make directors be liable for such small erro rs of decision will promote risk-adverse decision-making with contrast effect on the economy. If the directors or other officers are able to satisfy the above requirements, they will have â€Å"safe protection† which makes them to be protected from liability for any breach of their duties of care and diligence. This means that their business judgement in such situations will be reviewed by court. Under section 180(3), the business judgement is defined that any decisions to take or not to take action with respect to matter that is relevant to business activities of the company. This only refers to business decisions that has made relevant to the business activities. It does not include any decisions made in the position of directors powers such as the power to issue shares or pay dividends. By referring to the case ASIC v Adler, the court held that all three Adler, Williams and Fodera breached their statutory duty of care as stated in section 180(1). They also, however could not rely on the business judgement rule as their defence. Firstly for Adler, the business judgement rule did not applicable for him since he cannot satisfy the section 180(2)(b) since he had a conflict of interest in the relation of his decision to invest the $10 million payment from HIHC in PEE. Secondly for Williams, the business judgement rule did not apply to him because of his failed to ensure the correct safeguards were enforced was not business judgement for the purpose in section 180(3). However, even this was a business judgement, since he was a major shareholder of HIH, he basically has material personal interest as in the section 180(2)(b). Other than that, Williams also failed to present any evidence that his judgement was done in good faith for the proper purpose as stated in section 18 0(2)(a). Finally, Fodera cannot rely on his business judgement rule as he failed to refer the transaction of PEE to the HIH board or its investment committee. This was not a business judgement as  stated in section 180(3). Section 181 – Statutory Duty To Act In Good Faith And For A Proper Purpose Under section 181(1), it says that a director or other officer of a corporation to exercise their powers and discharge their duties in bona fide (good faith) for the best interest of the company and also for a proper purpose. The section 181(1) can be contravened if the director thinks that they are actually doing their duties for the best interest of the company in which any other director, in that situation, thinks that is clearly unacceptable approach to do it. This may be happen when a director have a conflict of interest personally with the interest of the company they are handling. In the case of ASIC v Adler, it can clearly be seen that Adler, had contravened the section 181(1) to act in good faith by properly excising his powers and discharging his duties for the best interest of the company. This is because, the transactions that occurred in the HIH, HIHC and PEE had been improperly used, for the sake of his personal interest. Section 182 – Improper Use Of Position Under section 182, the section states that it restricts officers or the employees of a company from improperly using their power to gain advantage for themselves or for any other persons to the company. In the case of ASIC v Adler, the court held that Adler had contravened the section 182 due to the arrangement of $10 million loan from HIHC to PEE which was then to be used to acquire HIH shares on the stock market. This transaction was merely done for the purpose of supporting the HIH shares to increase the price and thereby selling the HIH shares owned by Adler Corporation before PEE could sell off their HIH shares. Because of this transaction, PEE had incurred a total loss of investment by reselling on the HIH shares. In regard of this transaction, Adler was held that he had improperly used his position as a director of HIH, officer of HIHC and director of PEE to gain advantage for the Adler Corporation. The court also held that Williams, also had breached his duties as a director for both HIH and HIHC under section 182, to help gaining advantage for Adler Corporation. This is because Williams, used his position improperly by authorising the $10 million load payment without proper approval from the HIH’s investment committee, which he was required to disclose under the HIH’s investment guidelines. Other than that, the court also held that Adler improperly used his position as a director in the PEE transactions of acquiring a number of unlisted capitals at the cost price from Adler Corporation without obtaining independent valuations of these ventures. With these transactions successful, Adler and Adler Corporation was able to exclude himself from these commercially unviable business operations. Adler basically knew that each of those businesses were having major cash flow problems and each had a significant risk that they would ultimately collapse. Adler, however, failed to disclose his personal interest to the HIH board other than Williams and Fodera. Section 183 – Improper Use of Information As stated in section 183, a person who gets information because they are or are not director, officer or employee of a company, must not misuse the information just to gain advantage for themselves or to any other person whereby causing failure in the company. Section 183 also applies towards resigned or retired directors, officers and employees as well. Informations such as insider information can be taken as an advantage by any person in order to gain benefit by using it to themselves or by giving to other person. In the case of ASIC v Vizard, the court held that Vizard involved in the contravention of section 183, whereby he gained the insider information as he was the non-executive director of Telstra. He misused the information in order to gain advantage for CTI, Brigham and himself as well whereby based on the information that he receives (Telstra board’s decision to acquire  other company and selling their interest on another company), he would act accordingly to buy or sell off his shares ahead of Telstra. S260A – Financial Assistance In section 260A, the section states that it forbids a company financially assisting a person to obtain or acquire shares in the same company of its holding company. However, if some of the conditions are met then the company may proceed to do such transaction. Some of the conditions are, giving the financial assistance will not materially prejudice the interest of the company, its shareholders or the company’s ability to pay its creditors (under section 260A(1)(a)), the financial assistance is validated by the shareholders (under section 260B) or the financial assistance is relieved or exempted (under section 260C). Financial assistance is can be basically referred to where a company is lending money to a person to buy the company shares. This means that the company gives a certain amount of money to a person so that the person buys some of the company’s shares. Another example is where a company gives a surety or guaranteed a person’s loan in which the sum of the loan will be proceeded to buy shares in the company. The company is basically providing a loan to a person for the sake of buying back its own shares off the stock market. Another example is where the company is giving its own assets as a security to a person’s loan in which the loan money will be used to buy the shares of the company given its assets as security. The section 260A clearly states that a company is restricted from giving financial assistance to a person to buy its own shares in the stock market as it will cause material prejudice. By analysing the case of ASIC V Adler, it can be seen that Adler, who was controlling PEE, was clearly contravened the section of 260A by which giving financial assistance to PEE through HIHC, a subsdiary of HIH, which is also a company controlled by Adler. This financial assistance given to PEE, was then used to buy the HIH shares on the stock market. This transaction gives a false impression over the stock market as well as its investors that Adler was supporting the falling share  price of its company, HIH, by buying the shares personally. However, the court found out that Adler does not have the intention to make easy profit and reselling the HIH shares. The real purpose was to increase the HIH share price in benefit of Alder Corporation Limited as substantial shareholding in HIH. The actual evidence is that when PEE went to sell off the HIH shares, it was done only after Adler Corporation decided to sell off its HIH shares in which leads to total loss for PEE’s investment. The Supreme Court of New South Wales held that the main intention of the transaction was that HIHC gave PEE financial assistance in order to acquire the shares in HIH which is HIHC’s holding company. Due to this transaction, according to Santow J, both HIHC and HIH suffered material prejudice, which therefore, contravening section 260A.

A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters

A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters has an unusual plot. It describes the story of a monk detective, Cadfael, who is a Benedictine monk at the Shrewbury Abbey at Shrewbury.A monk of the monastery, Brother Columbanus becomes prone to various hallucinations that compel him to think that he has come across St. Winifred (who was a Welsh girls in her mundane life and was elevated to the level of sainthood after being executed by a malevolent feudal.His assertion about the unhappiness due to indifferent attitude of the local Welsh people and wish for reposition compels the monastery’s head to set an expedition to bring the relics of the saint.As Cadfael is a master of all trades and a Welsh native, so he is chosen by the monastic authorities for this excursion. The whole story revolves around his efforts for the acquisition of bones from a village in Wales.Peters set the story in the historical perspective of 12th century and correlates the socio-cultural, political and economi c milieu of the contemporary era with the major thematic expression of the story. The movement of the plot takes place against the background of civil war between King Stephen and Empress Maud.Peters clearly illustrates the effect of this power struggle for the throne on the common folks of England and Wales.Peters does not directly refers to this struggle but characters converse the course of this event and its effect on them.It further manifests the political power that Church holds in the lives of the people and how they ploy to augment and expand their power. Time and again, it is illustrated that acquisition of relics is not to honor the plea of the saint but it is motivated by Prior Robert’s craving to consolidate his political power.It further referes to rivalry and hatred between Welsh, Normans as well as Saxons and also highlights Crusades in its historical perspective. This book beautifully unifies the original plot with the contemporary history in a way that does n ot seem inapproriate.ReferencesEllis, Peters. (1979). Morbid Taste for Bones: The First Chronicle of Brother Cadfael.

History of Relationship Marketing Essays

History of Relationship Marketing Essays History of Relationship Marketing Paper History of Relationship Marketing Paper Since the early beginnings of the formalization of the modern industries a need for a sales approach that addresses the specific requirements of different industries from their suppliers’ side emerged. In the early stages all efforts in this arena were individual, not formulated and depend largely on the situation, personal influences and relations. 2. 1. 1The past As early as late 19th century and the beginnings of the 20th century the need to serve mass markets started to influence, and sometimes burden, the industrial community. This situation was driven by, as well as driving at many cases, the advancements in technology and production capabilities of industries across the board. This created a production driven environment where whoever can produce and supply will be selling and profitably. By mid 20th century (post WWII) the production driven scene was changing; technological advancements pace was getting faster and the world started to see products that have comparable performance, specifications, and simply serves the purpose and this created what we know now as commoditization and fired the first bullet in modern price wars. Producers realised this shift and started to concentrate on sales and marketing activities on their quest to capture bigger market share and ensure continuity and profitability. Again there was an upwards trend in the sales and marketing theories and concept evolution, the same what happened with production earlier. This trend was driven by, and again driving at many cases, how markets perceive products and react towards certain approach. Till this point in time marketers and academics were not distinguishing between consumer markets and industrial markets; serving mass markets was the main focus. As O’Malley and Patterson (1998) note ‘there was a great need to formalize marketing; to guarantee that it worked every time’. In 1954 Borden introduced what is considered to be an early version of what we know now as the marketing management mix; a 12 variable list that marketers would have to consider in any specific circumstance of market encounter and translate them to an integrated marketing program. By 1960 McCarthy reconstructed the original variables of Borden into our well-known 4P’s framework (Price – Product – Placement – Promotion). Although this model has been heavily questioned and criticized for the fact that it is an oversimplification of market realities which is by definition complex, the same simple nature of the 4Ps ensured its increasing popularity and the rise of the ‘Marketing Mix’ theory. As a result of consolidating it under the (P) of ‘Promotion’, sales also followed the same transactional paradigm of marketing and the focus was on the transactional nature of the customer encounter; simply finishing the sales transaction in favour of the product was the target. Other marketing theories that was developed within the same period of time and took different approaches than the transactional one had no chance for survival due to the dominance of the marketing mix theory. The marketing mix (transactional theory) was developed in rather specific circumstance; it was developed in the United States to address the consumer goods markets in post (WWII) period, so it was tailored based on the needs and conditions of a specific geographical market, a specific segment, and a specific time zone with very high growth rates. Primarily, criticism originated from people operating within environments that are different from those that influenced the development of the theory, for example from Europe, especially the Nordic school, and from marketers working within the industrial (business-to-business) and service sectors. As time passed and markets evolved, pressure on the marketing mix theory started to come from the United States itself. The intra-market competition intensified considerably as the number of firms increased and the consumer goods markets changed from a growth status to one of maturity. Firms had to battle for an unvarying number of customers within markets that were becoming increasingly saturated with products. This uncovered transactional marketing as a theory and an approach developed out of growth, not stagnation or super-competitiveness, and that it was showing as not fitting in numerous, but perhaps not all, situations. Later, and in order to provide the transactional theory with dimensions to cope with the changing scene, scholars started to add elements to the mix that followed the same 4Ps legacy. Other Ps were added (public relations and politics (Kotler, 1986); people, physical evidence and process (Booms and Bitner, 1982); people (Judd, 1987); preservation (LeDoux, 1991), and some went out of the (P) way and added terms like the 4Cs (Kotler, 1991) and S 2Cs (Berry, 1990). All these attempts were only expanding on the existing approach rather than challenging the conceptual foundation of transactional marketing. In industrial and services environments the practice of transactional marketing was limiting to companies capabilities. Marketing department within a typical organizational structure has key responsibilities of market analysis, advertising, sales promotion, pricing, packaging design and distribution, where it is expected to align and integrate all other functions of the business while the reality in most cases is that ‘the rest of the organisation is alienated from marketing, and the marketers are isolated from design, production, deliveries, technical service, complaints handling, and other activities of the firm’ (Gronroos, 1994). In this context, and within an industrial (B2B) firm, the sales force should be programmed to deliver solutions designed by the ‘alienated’ marketing department while in fact they should be advocating the firm to design solutions based on customer needs since they are in direct contact with the customer, and on the other hand advocate the customer on the best fitting solution to his case based on his needs not on the firm’s marketing or production capabilities. Under the transactional approach, the sales force was required to understand the company competences (4Ps) and communicate them to their customers in order to convince with the importance of the purchase and how their offering fits the customer needs. The main qualifications of a salesperson then would be good presentational skills and in some cases sound technical knowledge if he is selling a product that involve a technical dimension. This was by far overlooking what the customer really needs, instead this approach wanted to bend the customer to fit the offering (product/service). At the end the transactional paradigm became a practice that is not a customer oriented approach to business but rather a product oriented one (Gronroos, 1994). 2. 1. 2The rise or relationship marketing By the 70s of the 20th century, the differential in the needs and the purpose of buyer-seller exchange between consumer markets and B2B markets was obvious and initiated an approach were customer retention and long-term relationship are the goal for marketing. Customers in B2B (unlike consumer markets) are limited in number and with much more sophisticated requirements and in so many cases require a tailor made solution as far as their product/service is concerned, and in so many cases the customer is an active part of the exchange where his/her opinions and needs have to be integrated within the solution rather than being delivered a standardized offering. And also, while the marketing objectives were met at the point of exchange in transactional marketing, B2B and services firms were looking to extend the relationship and ensure a continuous flow of business from their customers. Relationship marketing emerged as an alternative paradigm to transactional, where marketing efforts focus on attracting, maintaining and improving customer relationships rather than just attracting customers and making the exchange. The sales function under this new paradigm has a totally new role of relationship management where the sales force focus is to initiate, develop and enhance customers’ relationships rather than simply delivering the company offerings. In their attempt to formulate a framework for companies to adopt to be able to engage in relationship marketing, academics presented numerous theories and models in the beginning that placed transactional marketing on one side of the marketing continuum and relationship marketing on the other side and defined them as opposites. The speculation was that the new paradigm will replace the old one, and that the alternative paradigms have to be competitive when employing them into the practice rather than complementary; they simply cannot coexist. With time and more work in this area, the views changed into more developed thoughts and scholars saw that these paradigms can be used as moderators to each other where in some situations the transactional paradigm would be more effective (like in consumer goods) but utilizing relationship marketing will assist in the development of bonds and thus creation of competitive advantage. Looking on to B2B and service sectors we will notice that most of the attention generated was towards the sales function as the core for relationship building. In these sectors the one-on-one encounter is the dominating event for exchange between the buyer company and the seller company (and in many cases the only event), thus utilizing the encounter to build a long-term relationship was the focus of many literature addressing this approach. Salespeople under the new rationale are required to engage in relations and not in exchange events and nurture it and enhance it over time. This relational approach not just transformed how the salespeople work but as well highlighted some new requirements for how a salesperson profile should be and consequently how in this new environment sales management eflect the new approach and encourage it. For example working in teams including other salespeople and probably members from production, RD, supply chain, and even marketing is the approach that helps full engagement in the customer situation by the company. This requires that ‘salespeople must be orchestrators of their companies’ resourc es, directing the necessary information and expertise to solve customers’ problems and fully develop joint opportunities’ (Ingram, 1996). This requires that salespeople should be team and customer oriented to be able to perform their new role and that sales management encourage the team performance and reward it. As well sales people are required to transform into relationship managers where their main goal is to maintain long-term profitable relationships. This requires a different set of behaviours and personal qualities than that of the earlier short-term sales revenue oriented ones. Again this has its own implications of sales management where it is asked to reword not just the short-term tangible revenue but also the long-term relationship building efforts that is in most cases intangible. Under relationship marketing paradigm salespeople transformed into consultants who help their customers achieve their strategic goals. This approach to markets has been adopted by major corporations like DuPont, Starbucks, IBM, Dell, HP, 3M and Siemens among others, and the progress made by these leading sales organizations sends a clear message to others that relationship selling works and it will continue to do in the future.

Verb tenses Essay Example

Verb tenses Essay Example Verb tenses Essay Verb tenses Essay A Put in the verbs in brackets in the correct tenses. Example: The sun now. (to shine) Answer: The sun is shining now. 1) We TV when it started to rain. (to watch) 2) I to visit you yesterday, but you not at home. (to want) (to be) 3) Look! It , so we cant to the beach. (to rain) (to go) 4) There are a lot of clouds! It soon. (to rain) 5) The sun in the East. (to rise) 6) Since 2003 they their son every year. (to visit) 7) While the doctor Mr Jones, his son outside this morning. (to examine) (to wait) 8) I for my girlfriend for two hours. (to wait) ) After Larry the film on TV, he decided to buy the book. to see) 10) Wait a minute, I this box for you. (to carry) B Tense Recognition John has always traveled Tense? a lot. In fact, when he was Tense? only two years old when he first flew Tense? to the US. His mother is Tense? Italian and his father is Tense? American. John was born Tense? in France, but his parents had met Tense? in Cologne, Germany after they had been living Tense? the re for five years. They met Tense? one day while Johns father was reading a book in the library and his mother sat down Tense? beside him. Tense? Anyway, John travels Tense? lot because his parents also travel Tense? a lot. As a matter of fact, John is visiting Tense? his parents in France at the moment. He lives Tense? in New York now, but has been visiting Tense? his parents for the past few weeks. He really enjoys Tense? living in New York, but he also loves coming to visit his parents at least once a year. This year he has flown over 50,000 miles for his Job. He has been working Tense? for Jackson Co. for almost two years now. Hes Tense? pretty sure that hell be working for them next year as well. His Job requires Tense? lot of travel. In fact, by the end of this year, hell have traveled Tense? over 120,000 miles! His next Journey will be Tense? to Australia. He really doesnt like Tense? going to Australia because it is so far. This time he is going to fly Tense? from Paris after a meeting with the companys French partner. Hell have been sitting Tense? over 18 hours by the time he arrives! John was talking Tense? with his parents earlier this evening when his girlfriend from New York telephoned Tense? to let him know that Jackson Co. had decided Tense? to merge with a company in Australia. The two companies had been negotiating Tense? for the past month, so it really wasnt Tense? much of a surprise. Of course, this means Tense? that John will have to catch Tense? the next plane back to New York. Hell be meeting with his boss at this time tomorrow. C Tense Conjugation when he first Tense? (fly) to the US. His mother Tense? (be) Italian and his father Tense? (be) American. John Tense? _(be) born in France, but his (meet) in Cologne, Germany after they Tense? (live) there for parents Tense? five years. They Tense? (meet) one day while Johns father Tense? read) a ook in the library and his mother Tense? (sit down) beside him. Anyway, John (travel) a lot because his parents also Tense? (travel) a lot. As a matter of fact, John Tense? (visit) his parents in France at the moment. He Tense? (live) in New York now, but Tense? (visit) his parents for the past few weeks. He really Tense? (enjoy) living in New York, but he also Tense? (love) coming to visit his parents at least on ce a year. This year Tense? (fly) over 50,000 miles for his Job. He Tense? (work) for Jackson Co. for almost two years now. He (be) pretty sure that heTense? ork) for them next year as well. His job Tense? _(require) a lot of travel. In fact, by the end of this year, heTense? (travel) over 120,000 miles! His next Journey Tense? (be) to Australia. He really (not like) going to Australia because it is so far. This time he Tense? (fly) from Paris after a meeting with the companys French partner. He Tense? (fly) for over 18 hours by the time he Tense? (arrive)! John Tense? (talk) with his parents earlier this evening when his girlfriend from New York Tense? (telephone) to let him know that Jackson Co. Tense? (decide) to merge with a ompany in Australia. The two companies Tense? (negotiate) for the past month, so it really Tense? (not be) much of a surprise. Of course, this Tense? (mean) that John Tense? (have to catch) the next plane back to New York. He (meet) with his boss at this time tomorrow. C Complete this letter. Dear John: Well, I (arrive) † safely two weeks ago. The flight (be) † fine, but a bit long. I (watch) † two films and (eat) † two breakfasts! Thank you for everything. I (have) † a really good time with you in London. Everything here 0k now. I (send) † Just † you some photos of my town. Please (be) † very different from your city. I (write) this letter outside in the garden and I (sit) under a big umbrella because the sun is very hot today. It (be) so difficult for me to start work after my holiday, but it (be) † (reply) me soon, and thank you again for the wonderful time. Best wishes! Peter D Rewrite these sentences. 1 She made tea. Then she washed the dishes. (after) 2 Sally came to live here 20 years ago. (for) 3 Do you know how to play tennis? (ever) 4 1 haven t seen him since we finished school (last time) 5 Thanks, but I had lunch earlier. (already) Exercise A: Answer key 1) We were watching TV when it started to rain. 2) I wanted to visit you yesterday, but you were not at home. 3) Look! It is raining, so we cant go to the beach. 4) There are a lot of clouds! It is going to rain soon. 5) The sun rises in the East. 6) Since 2003 they have visited their son every year. 7) While the doctor was examining Mr Jones, his son was waiting outside this morning. 8) I have been waiting for my girlfriend for two hours. 9) After Larry had seen the film on TV, he decided to buy the book. 10) Wait a minute, I will carry this box for you.

Ask an Expert How to Boost your Author SEO Reedsy

Ask an Expert How to Boost your Author SEO Reedsy How to Boost your Author SEO: An Interview with Murray Izenwasser As an author in the beginning stages of a marketing strategy, where do you start when it comes to author Search Engine Optimization (SEO)? It can be very daunting having to compete with large publishing houses as well as already successful and well-known authors. To help tackle this really important topic, we had SEO expert Murray Izenwasser give his insights on how exactly author SEO works.Click play below to watch the video chat or read the transcript below! Hi Murray, I really appreciate you talking with me today. Why don’t you start out by giving us a bit of background on yourself and Biztegra?Thank you! I’ve been doing the online stuff since the 90s so a long time, but Biztegra has been around for about 6 or 7 years now. When we started Biztegra we wanted to bring the digital agency and the way we approach it to a smaller organization. We do two things: marketing on one side and technology on the other. With marketing, we do the optimizations for searches on social and mobile applications and for technology we have developers in Argentina who build out the web, social, and mobile applications we need to support those marketing programs.Last year, we launched a product called Publishr, which is a platform where our publishing clients will be able to move their websites over and onto. In the publishing industry, we’ve found that there’s a lot of opportunities for websites to improve. Historically, people in p ublishing were â€Å"bound† to traditional printing and now the people who are left are the onesThat's great and I agree with you that it really just does come down to time and not annoying your audience. This has been very helpful for our authors who are either trying to rank higher on Google or building their author website or trying to gain traffic on their blogs. Thank you so much, Murray!Follow Murray Izenwasser and Reedsy on Twitter: @MurrayIz and @ReedsyHQHave you experimented with SEO and Content Marketing? Do you have a marketing strategy for your next book launch? Let us know your thoughts, or ask Murray any question you want, in the comments below!

Civil society and religious figures in Saudi Arabia - literature review

Civil society and religious figures in Saudi Arabia - review2 - Literature review Example Finally, some see civil society as a loose public arena for deliberation and reason rather than ascription or inherited advocacies (Hermida, 2013; Karskens, 2008). Throughout the spectrum of definitions, the most salient characteristic of civil society is that it represents the interest and benefit of the general population. The definitions vary in terms of nature (bureaucratic and institutional versus grassroots), origin (government-established or spontaneously organised), and source of funding (government or private). The overlap with state bureaucracy and funding often raises the question as to the independence of civil service organisation. Arab monarchies generally see no problem with CSOs pursuing the civil goals of government, as government goals should be aligned with the people’s best interest (Bellin, 1994). Western countries on the other hand feel that CSOs must be a party separate from the government and free from intervention, in order to truly represent the welfa re of the public free from political interest. It is evident that the concept of civil society continues to remain ambiguous, and the particular meaning given to it shall be imbued with the context of the society in which the civil society organisation operates. 2. Soviet Union Democracy transformation in 1998 There are two notable aspects of civil society in the context of post-soviet Russia, according to Jagudina (2002). One is the â€Å"doubled† character of the Soviet public sphere, and the other is about solidarity through exchange of favours. The so-called double character refers to the co-existence of (1) a ‘rigidly regulated economic and social framework’ under Soviet leadership, and (2) the ‘dynamic disparate networks and local environments’ comprised of families, neighbours, colleagues, and close acquaintances. When the rigid political framework collapsed in the late 1980s, the public sphere evolved into a vacuum that was quickly turned int o a space where new informational technologies took over, fostering confrontation, ambiguity, and manipulation by clerics and activists (Jagudina, 2002). The other aspect is that of â€Å"solidarity through exchange of favours.† The aforementioned disparate networks of families and close associates operating beyond the range of the heavily regulated social framework, and provided reference points and communication channels for circulating information that were considered more reliable than official channels which towed the government line (Jagudina, 2002). This â€Å"traditional society† is comprised of â€Å"networks of solidarity based on primordial communities, kinship and patronage† (Roy, 2005, p. 1006). In the early 2000s, after the collapse of the Soviet regime, there eventually arose 250-300 organisations that perceived themselves to be the new burgeoning Russian civil society, springing from the underground networks that former operated under the radar o f the Soviet regulatory framework. Explicitly political, these organisations provided a critical voice in government by airing the grievances of the broad segment of the population. These organisations operate in an environment where mass media is unsupportive, state authorities are unresponsive, a general

The Anti Fedralist Papers vs The Federalist Papers Essay

The Anti Fedralist Papers vs The Federalist Papers - Essay Example The term, Anti-federalists, catches both a connection to certain political standards and additionally remaining in favor and against patterns that were showing up in late eighteenth-century America. It will help in our understanding of who the Anti-federalists were to realize that in 1787, the saying "elected" had two implications. One was all inclusive or situated on a fundamental level and alternate was specific and particular to the American circumstance. The vital contentions energetic about it were expressed in the arrangement composed by Madison, as well as Jay as per the Federalist Papers, in spite of the fact that they were not as broadly perused as various autonomous nearby discourses and articles. The contentions against sanction showed up in different structures, by different creators, the vast majority of who utilized a pen name. Aggregately, these works for several years have been known as the Anti-Federalist Papers. The most paramount approach to peruse the professional and hostile to federalist papers is as a verbal confrontation on how the procurements of the Constitution might be translated, or "built". Those contradicting endorsement, or at any rate raising questions about it, were less contending against the sanction or something to that effect of elected constitution, as against sweeping development of procurements assigning forces to the national government, and the reactions from ace generally comprised of affirmations that the assignments of force might be developed strictly and barely. Subsequently, to win the backing of their adversaries, the star ratificationists basically needed to agree to a convention of elucidation that must be viewed as a piece of the Constitution, and that along these lines must be the support for translation today.  

Different Aspects of Statistics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Different Aspects of Statistics - Research Paper Example man about his likes and dislikes. For these different methods of statistics like sampling, probability, index numbers and others are used. Different aspects of statistics There are various aspects of statistics that are used in the business and cover different areas. All those aspects differ in their use and application. From policy making to administration and from raw material to the final production and sales, from demand forecasting to the supply of the product, statistical methods are required in every kind of business. However, the fact cannot be denied that there are certain limitations of statistics as well where it cannot work however in most of the cases the use of statistics has been made possible by the renowned statisticians and policy makers. Statistics is not only used by the private entrepreneurs but also by the government entities in formulating the policies. Those include both the short term and long term policies. (Keller, 2008) Demand forecasting Demand forecastin g is an analysis about the demand of a specific product in a given locality. Many factors likewise per capital income and economic condition of the country and similar others are considered before forecasting the demand. This is mainly done by the sales and marketing departments of the entity. This enables the production department to work more effectively. The due care must be taken before doing such a forecast because if it is underestimated it means the company has lost its sales and if it is over estimated this can result in waste of resources. Therefore it is recommended that demand forecasting must be done by specialists after reviewing all the necessary information available with them. Though the forecasting is very difficult and seems impossible however if information available with the forecasters is accurate and also they possess the required skills they may forecast the demand up to almost accurate level. This makes the company competitive in the market and helps in bette r provision of services and meets the real demand of the market. Some unusual factors like seasonal changes, promotional schemes and discount for valued customers may also cause an error in accurate forecasting of demand as these would attract more customers. All such factors should also be considered before collecting any kind of data. Concept of demand forecasting can better be understood by the following example. (Keller, 2008) Example: The demand for a product in each of the last five months is shown below. Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Demand 10 13 18 27 29 26 20 We can see that demand for a specific product is increasing slowly for the first three months but there is a sudden increase in the demand in the 4th month. This may be because many factors like seasonal change, a promotional scheme or some other however demand starts decreasing from the 6th month. At the time of forecasting demand professionals consider all the factors that what would be the demand of the product in a particula r time. Decision makers then use different kinds of statistical methods which are

Success in Social Commerce Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Success in Social Commerce - Research Paper Example As the result, Google Analytics and Facebook Connect (Tonkin, Whitmore, & Cutroni, 2011) have now come up with tools and strategies that are showing positive ROI to marketers. In addition, a number of market research companies have carried out researches to understand the relationship of social media experience with consumers’ purchasing decisions. The results indicated that ‘like’ button acts as a significant factor that influences users to purchase a product/service from a specific retailer. In this regard, marketers are now looking at different ways of transforming experiences into measurable returns that will allow a rapid evolution of social commerce (Blanchard, 2011).While the paper is focusing primarily on ‘return on investment’, it is imperative to understand that ‘return on investment’ is usually considered as metrics that is not the case. ROI itself requires metrics for measurement of its business value, and business experts hav e come up with the following equation to calculate return on investment of something:ROI = Benefits - Costs x 100 = Percentage Return on the InvestmentThe equation of ROI is self-explanatory; however, the paper will now include an example that will clarify the applicability of ROI in social commerce largely. Sea World San Antonio is a venture of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment (2013). The company created different content based on interests and attitudes of these roller coaster fans.... This paper is an attempt to understand different aspects of social commerce that will allow a comprehensive understanding of complexities that revolve around success of the notion. Discussion While social commerce presents an interactive shopping platform to consumers, it is imperative to see the potential of social commerce from businesses’ perspective. From retailers’ point of view, it has been an understanding that the social commerce has been successful in providing opportunities to retailers to engage people in exploration of their products by creating viral experiences (Ickler, Schulke, Wilfling, & Baumol, 2009). In addition, social commerce enables retailers to bring their products to a place where people interact with each other that is contrary to traditional shopping trend where people have to reach to the place to buy something. Another distinction from traditional commerce is that social commerce focuses on socially enriched relationships rather than one-to- one relationships that usually exist in traditional commerce settings. Rather, social commerce promotes dependence on interaction and experience of users with users; in other words, consumer-to-consumer communication that results in buying or selling of any product or service. The reason this paper is including detailed discussion on distinction of social commerce from other traditional types of commerce is the need for realizing the complexity that exist in social commerce, which will only enable its critical understanding that is essential for understanding different aspects of its success. For instance, as discussed earlier, ‘return on investment’ (Marsden, 2010) is the metric that business organizations usually use in traditional commerce setting, and

Comparing the consequences of 1990s reforms in Latin America and East Essay - 1

Comparing the consequences of 1990s reforms in Latin America and East Europe - Essay Example After the adoption of the macroeconomic strategies in the 1990s, both regions had high hopes that the new models would produce dynamic economies and abandon the legacy of sluggish growth, which was evident in the 1980s. However, in practice, the results of the macroeconomic strategies were neither as effective as economic enthusiasts expected, nor as bad as economic critics predicted. Therefore, there is a need to take stock of the implications of policy implementation in the regions in the 1990s. This paper will examine the consequences of the 1990s reforms in East Europe and Latin America by examining the policies and anticipated outcomes for the reforms, as well as the consequences of these strategies. Latin America is among the world’s developing region. The region attained political autonomy roughly in the early 19th century. The colonial past, as well as the variety of primary products available for export, strongly influenced the economic development of the region’s societies. This is largely because it was through these export products that the societies entered the global system of production specialization during the last half of the 20th century. The marginal position of Latin American nations, which exported extractive or tropical agricultural crop to the developed world, was not conducive to interdependence among the region’s economies, particularly in the areas of investment and trade (Pop- Eleches 64). As a consequence, during the initial half of the 20th century, the region’s economies responded to economic crises through industrialization oriented towards domestic markets. The beginning of the 1980s witnessed massive economic changes in de veloped economies such as Great Britain and the US. Global inflation adversely affected the price of primary products produced in Latin America. This resulted in massive

Personal Statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 33

Personal Statement - Essay Example Therefore, I have decided to take a step to pursue the next level of education in order to continue acquiring more knowledge that is beneficial to the society and me. In this case, in order to realize my full potential, I had to apply in one of the best institutions offering the PhD program that I need to proceed with pursuing of my academic goals. After identifying this institution, I had to apply hoping that I stand a chance to be one of your students, having met all the requirements for pursuing the program. Knowledge  acquired from my degree and master’s program has facilitated interaction with different people and sharing of relevant ideas with them. After graduating in 2002, I worked as an English teacher under the ministry of education until 2006. Later in 2009, I joined the Arab Open University, where I became a part-time lecture until 2010. During the same year, I worked with the Training center of public security as a part time English Instructor. I later joined Taif University under the ministry of higher education working as English lecturer. Therefore, throughout this career path, I have faced challenges, which serve as a source of inspiration to acquire more knowledge in the field, in order to develop other ways of dealing with the problems in my field. In this case, I believe that by pursuing the PhD program, I will be able to acquire more knowledge that will benefit others people and me. I have spent a significant part of my life acquiring knowledge, and spending time and energy on gaining experience in the field of linguistics. I had set objectives such as laying a good foundation of knowledge by acquiring basics from the degree program, which facilitated achievement my long-term goals to pursue my PhD program. Therefore, through this way, I have been able to learn and cope with the rate of changes occurring in this field. In this case, my perception towards achievement of career objective is not about making a good living, but has

Comparing the consequences of 1990s reforms in Latin America and East Essay - 1

Comparing the consequences of 1990s reforms in Latin America and East Europe - Essay Example After the adoption of the macroeconomic strategies in the 1990s, both regions had high hopes that the new models would produce dynamic economies and abandon the legacy of sluggish growth, which was evident in the 1980s. However, in practice, the results of the macroeconomic strategies were neither as effective as economic enthusiasts expected, nor as bad as economic critics predicted. Therefore, there is a need to take stock of the implications of policy implementation in the regions in the 1990s. This paper will examine the consequences of the 1990s reforms in East Europe and Latin America by examining the policies and anticipated outcomes for the reforms, as well as the consequences of these strategies. Latin America is among the world’s developing region. The region attained political autonomy roughly in the early 19th century. The colonial past, as well as the variety of primary products available for export, strongly influenced the economic development of the region’s societies. This is largely because it was through these export products that the societies entered the global system of production specialization during the last half of the 20th century. The marginal position of Latin American nations, which exported extractive or tropical agricultural crop to the developed world, was not conducive to interdependence among the region’s economies, particularly in the areas of investment and trade (Pop- Eleches 64). As a consequence, during the initial half of the 20th century, the region’s economies responded to economic crises through industrialization oriented towards domestic markets. The beginning of the 1980s witnessed massive economic changes in de veloped economies such as Great Britain and the US. Global inflation adversely affected the price of primary products produced in Latin America. This resulted in massive

European learning institutions in the Middle Ages Essay Example for Free

European learning institutions in the Middle Ages Essay The Monastic schools provided the basis for the universities. The main purpose for the establishment of schools was to develop literacy in the society. Through the schools people were educated and hence became wiser. These schools led to the formation of universities as many individuals begun to pursue deeper meanings, verbal clarity and places for doing analysis. During the scholasticism period, the need for a place where intellectuals could do their studies increased greatly as the number of scholars and philosophers rose. Scholars started to analyze books and other information sources through reason and argumentation. Individuals who had gone through schooling had no place to further their studies and their number was increasing. This therefore led to the rise of universities as they provided a place for further studies. During the scholastic period there were many discoveries which were meant to enhance learning. The universities came up because of the need to have intellectuals together so that they can share ideas and opinions thereby leading to more discoveries. The university was a good place to do research and for individuals to learn from others. Additionally, individuals wanted to understand the Bible better and thus get closer to its truth. The university provided a good place where people could study the Bible and hence understand it better. Background of the students During this period, education was the privilege of the members of the upper classes and thus most of the students were from the upper classes in the society. There were few students from the lower classes who had the opportunity to have formal education. This could be attributed to insufficient educational resources thereby making them expensive and thus not affordable to the lower class members. Curriculum The schools curriculum was divided into two trivium and quadrivium. Trivium was composed of grammar, dialectic and rhetoric while qaudrivium contained geometry, arithmetic, astronomy and music. In grammar, texts written by the Priscian who was a Latin grammarian were studied and applied. In dialectic, the works done by Aristotle were read while in rhetoric, the works of Cicero were studied. Arithmetic involved the study of multiplication and division, and in addition to that abacus and chronology were learned. Geometry mainly involved the study of Euclid while Astronomy involved studying the works of Bede and Pliny who was a Roman writer. In Music, the students were taught proportion, scale, music of the spheres and the harmony of the universe. During the Charlemagne period education was mainly based on written texts (Cunningham Reich, 2006). During the scholasticism period, learning was based on reasoning and argumentation. Books were chosen, read and subjected to investigation. Points of disagreements between books and other sources of information were written down and subjected to analysis using dialectics. Through the dialectics a common ground was found. During this period universities were formed and the curriculum of most universities primarily involved the study of philosophy, science, ancient culture and mathematics. In addition to studying the students were allowed to do research in their field of preference. The effects of formal educational institutions on the European society These institutions increased the gap between the rich and the poor people in the society. This can be attributed to background of the most students. Education was primarily the privilege of the upper class members and thus most of the lower class member never had the opportunity to have formal education. However, in spite of the gap in the society, the formal educational institutions provided the basis for more discoveries and developments in the European society. Through the institutions literacy in the society increased as more people improved their knowledge and skills. Additionally, the institutions reconciled different societies as translators and intermediaries were required. For instance, in translating Greek to English Muslims and Jews were utilized as translators and intermediaries. This therefore led to reconciliation between different religions as they dependent on each in enhancing learning. Furthermore, the learning institutions led to change in character as individuals begun to see things differently. This led to changes in the political scene as authoritative governments collapsed paving way for the democratic ones. Powers of the monasteries were reduced as democratic governments came into power. This is because more individuals understood their rights and hence started to fight for their rights. Word count: 717. Reference list Cunningham L. S. and J. Reich, (2006). Culture and values. Edition: 6. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. p. 199.

Importance of Play in Children Development

Importance of Play in Children Development Play is special. Not only is it fun, but it is very important to childrens development. Play is one of the most important means by which children learn. Through natural activity they create roles that imitate adult behavior. Children think, create, imagine, communicate, make choices, solve problems, take risks, build physical skills and take on a variety of roles as they interact socially. Play is essentially motivating and offers children the freedom to explore an activity tolerant by adult parameters of measured outcomes, testing and accountability. Play supports learning, promotes language and social development and enhances creativity in children and adults. Children who learn healthy play skills feel capable, have successes, make friends and learn non-violent ways to interact with others. Children learn more efficiently and effectively through play than one can imagine. The beauty of this learning and growing time is that the motivation for a young child to do it is already ther e-its enjoyable. The Development of Play The surreptitious to helping young children succeed, is to keep the spirit of creativity and of playful learning alive and active. Childrens learning is a mixture of their own deep inner force to grow and learn attached with their imitation of the adults in their environment. An important milestone in play, the capacity for make-believe play also known as fantasy play occurs at around two and a half or three years of age. Before that, children are more oriented to the real world: their own bodies, simple household objects like pots, pans, and wooden spoons, and simple toys like dolls, trucks, and balls. Toddlers imitate what they see around them; common play themes include cooking, caring for baby, driving cars or trucks, and other everyday events. These themes continue and develop after age three, but now children are less dependent on real objects and create what they need from anything that is at hand. Their ability to enter into make-believe allows them to transform a simple object into a play prop. The three-year-old becomes so engaged in make-believe play that objects seem to be in a regular state of transformation. No play episode is ever finished; it is always in the process of becoming something else. The playful three-year-old often leaves a trail of objects as her play evolves from one theme to the next. In contrast, four-year-olds are generally more stationary and thematic in their play. They like to have a house to play in, which might also be a ship or a shop, and many enter the pack-rat stage where they fill their houses with objects so that it seems they cannot freely move around. This does not bother them at all, however. Like three-year olds, they are inspired in the moment by the objects before them. They are quite spontaneous in their ideas for play. The fantasy play of the five-year old is characterized by the ability to have an idea and then play it out rather than being encouraged in the moment by the object at hand as is the case with three and four year olds. Often, five-year olds will say what they want to play as they enter the kindergarten. There is one more important aspect to the development of make-believe plays that usually does not occur until children are six years old. At this age they will often play out a situation without the use of props. They may build a house but leave it unfurnished, then sit inside it and talk through their play, for now they are able to see the images clearly in their minds eyes. This stage can be described as imaginative play, for the children now have the capacity to form a well expressed inner image. In all of these stages of dramatic play children may play alone or with others. However, the way children engage in social play with others changes over the years. The one year old tends to play alone, while social play of two year-olds is generally called parallel play for young children play side by side without fully interacting with each other. The children enjoy playing with each other, but generally they are not deeply invested in each other. They enjoy playing together when they are in nursery school, but tend to forget about each other when they are apart. The social play of five and six year olds is different. The doors to deeper social relationships are opening for them. They form friendships and talk about their friends at home. They think about their friends when they are apart. They may want to call them on the phone or visit in their homes. Rationale for Play Informal play settings allow children to practice language skills involving vocabulary, syntax and grammar. English language learners particularly benefit from language interactions during play. These language skills later assist with reading, writing and math development. All the processes involved in plays such as repeating actions, making connections, extending skills, combining materials and taking risks provide the essential electrical impulses to help make connections and interconnections between neural networks, thus extending childrens capabilities as learners, thinkers and communicators. Physical: Play is an integral part of the growth of a healthy child. lt fosters opportunities to develop large and small motor skills as well as coordination, balance and muscle tone. Active Movement provides an outlet for children to release energy and challenges their developing physical bodies. The ancient Greeks recognised the value of play in the developmental and growth period of childhood. Experts in todays world of education also believe that play is essential. Social: Educators know children learn best in situations that are non-threatening, flexible and fun. Self-selected play joins children of like interests in situations where they can engage in self-directed conversations. Creating opportunities for play can lower stress and help prevent violence by offering safe and acceptable situations for interaction. In the early childhood classroom most students engage in age-appropriate conversation with their peers. Shared interests encourage them to pay attention to others, ask questions, offer help, make suggestions and provide feedback. Intellectual: Children benefit greatly when they are occupied in interactive play and are free to share their k knowledge with other children. Curriculum is more effective when presented with materials that are open-ended can be easily manipulated. Through spontaneous and creative play with a minimum of teacher intervention children are free to grow and manifest their understanding of concepts. Emotional During play children are able to control situations that are not theirs in the real world. By exploring possibilities in play situations, children display confidence and competence as they plan and make decisions. Play provides a place where children can act out feelings about difficult emotional events they may face. Vygotsky believed that children involved in imaginative play will renounce what they want, and willingly subordinate themselves to rules in order to gain the pleasure of the play. He argues that in play they exercise their greatest self-control. ln a Vygotskian model, if we accept the distinction between play as such and play in schools we can see that in order for play to be valued it needs to be located securely within the curriculum structure and organizational framework. Clarifying the role of adults in this process is, therefore, essential. Stages of Play Play is spontaneous, observables, solitary or parallel, associative, symbolic and cooperative. Positive unrestricted play can be a joyous activity that reaps many rewards. Children generally play by building on their previous experiences. They may engage in any of the different types of play at any time. When children are in a healthy environment, they progress through each stage at their own level of development. . Unoccupied Play. Children learn by observing others without interaction. . Onlookers. Children focus intently on watching others play. They may engage in conversation but do not otherwise participate. . Solitary or independent play. Children play by themselves with no interest in what others are doing even if they are physically close. . Parallel play. Children play alongside others with similar objects such as blocks; however, they do not play with each other but side by side separately. . Associative play. Children engage in the same play activity without an organised goal. They may share blocks or tools but do not build the same structure. . Cooperative Play. Children are organised, have a specific goal and have a sense of belonging to a group. It is the beginning of teamwork and doing projects where they work or play together Conclusion As play disappears from the background of childhood, we need to recognise that its downfall will have a lasting impact. Decades of persuasive research have shown that without play, childrens physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development is compromised. They will develop without much imagination and creativity. Their capacity for communication will be reduced and their affinity towards aggressiveness and violence will increase. In short, human nature as we have known it will be deeply changed, increasing many of the problems that are already afflicting children and society. If we do not invest in play, we will find ourselves investing much more in prisons and hospitals, as the incidence of physical, and mental illness, as well as aggressive and violent behavior increases.

Rose :: essays research papers

Choices made in â€Å"The Road Not Taken† Everyone is a traveler, choosing the roads to follow on the map of their continuous life. A straight path never leaves speaker with one sole direction on which to travel. Robert Frost’s poem "The Road Not Taken" is about how the choices affect speaker’s life. Frost illustrates speaker to make a difficult decision about choosing one of two equally promising roads to travel on. When speaker comes to a fork road, a decision needs to be made. Both paths are different and choosing the right one will depend on his past experience. It is this way that he chooses to decide where he is going to travel. Throughout this poem, it is obvious that decisions are not easy to make, and each decision will lead him down a different road to travel. In any case however, this poem clearly demonstrates Frost’s belief that it is the road that speaker chooses that makes him who he is. Speaker had two roads to choose from and wonders what would have happened if he had taken the other road. The poem begins with simple sentence, "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood," as the speaker sees two roads before him and obviously he cannot travel on both at the same time. He tries to consider the consequences as he "looked down one as far as I could." However, each road "bent in the undergrowth" as where each road obviously different. It is unclear to him what the consequences would be if he chooses either road. Frost states "And sorry I could not travel both," that shows the point in which speaker will choose only one path in which to travel on. It is always difficult to make a decision, because it is impossible not to wonder what will be missed out. There is a strong sense of wonder before the choice is made because he knows that in one lifetime he cannot travel down on every road. In an attempt to make a decision, the speaker "l ooked down one as far as I could". The road he chooses leads to the unknown choice in life. In the first stanza, the emphasis is on the road that was not traveled, but he cannot â€Å"and be one traveler† on both paths. The speaker has a difficult choice to make and is carefully considering his options, but he must choose one of the roads to travel.

Infectious Mononucleosis (Mono) :: essays research papers

Infectious mononucleosis is caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). It is a double stranded DNA virus indistinguishable from other members of the herpes virus group. It get its’ name from the mononuclear (single nucleus) cells. It is also known as the â€Å"kissing disease†, because the most frequent mode of transmission is intimate salivary contact. It can also be transmitted from shared drinking and eating utensils, toothbrushes, etc. Mono is not likely to spread by aerosol (ex. sneezing) or fomites (ex. doorknobs). About half the population is not exposed to this virus until late adolescence. The peak incidence for girls is 14-16 and boys 16-18. After initial contact with the virus, there is an incubation period of 4-6 weeks and then the symptoms start appearing. Symptoms include fever, sore throat and lymph adenopathy (swollen and tender lymph nodes). Mono may be called glandular fever as well because of the swelling in the lymph nodes. Fevers can get as high as 102 degrees Fahrenheit and may remain high for 3-4 weeks. Other symptoms include enlargement of the spleen and liver, fatigue, loss of appetite, periorbital edema (swelling of the tissue around the eyes), petechiae (tiny bruising like spots on the roof of mouth), and a fine rash. The white blood cell and liver enzyme counts are elevated, and anemia can occur with low platelet counts. Diagnosis is made based on the clinical picture and the hematological features. A sample of the patients’ blood is mixed with sheep’s blood and if the patient has mono, the sheep’s blood cells will stick together. Antibodies to sheep or horse red blood cells are positive in 90% of cases. Mono is not a fatal disease, but there is no specific antiviral therapy. Doctors will most likely prescribe much rest. Acetaminophen and ibuprofen are sometimes used to relieve aches and manage the fevers, but the use of aspirin is not recommended due to the link to Reye’s syndrome. Corticosteroids are used to reduce the amount of tonsillar swelling and intravenous rehydration is necessary. Patients are cautioned to avoid contact sports for 6 weeks after recovery to avoid the risk of spleen rupture. Most cases of mono resolve without complication, but some rarely occur. Complications are tonsillar enlargement, which can cause respiratory obstruction; rupture of spleen; encephalitis, an infection of the brain tissue; Galen-Barer syndrome, a progressive and sequential worsening syndrome of weakness and paralysis; hemolytic anemia, the red blood cells are destroyed; uvetis, an eye involvement; myocarditis, an inflammation of heart muscle; pneumonia; hephritis, a kidney infection; and Reye’s syndrome; a severe neurological syndrome.

Impacts of Internet to Youth Essay

The Internet is a household word in the West and is responsible for the wide dissemination of information all over the world. It is perhaps the greatest invention of the 20th century and gives great power to its users; with great power comes great responsibility, especially for youths. The Internet is a new medium for distributing information. It has its own culture, its own way of communicating, no law enforcement, no national boundaries as well as free access to every kind of information known to mankind. Its potential for good and evil is mind-boggling with the possibility of every household being connected. After the September 11th attacks on the United States, it was rumored that Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda organization used the Internet to covertly exchange messages to prepare for the attacks [Kelley, Jack. Terror groups hide behind Web encryption. USA today. 2001.05.20. Available on life. http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2001-02-05-binladen.htm]. But the Internet has so far mainly served as a very valuable tool to bring mankind closer together and to remove some of the barriers inherent in the â€Å"real† world (such as expensive textbooks and far distances to travel to see someone). It has had a great impact on those countries that have adopted its use and provides some kind of measure of the gap between First World and Third World countries. But what exactly is the Internet? And what are some of its uses? And what are its impacts to the society especially youth? 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Many computer literate children and youth access the Internet daily for both educational and recreational purposes. While the Internet provides a wealth of positive information, there has been increased awareness of its potential dangers, especially to young people. To address concerns surrounding Internet safety, in 1999 the Internet Safety Group of New Zealand was established. The Internet Safety Group is comprised of a number of Community groups and government agencies. Their objective â€Å"is to offer Schools and libraries resources that will help them educate and protect children and Young people, and educate parents/caregivers on the safe use of the Internet.† (Internet Safety Group, 2000, p.3). There has been much discussion to date about the ‘unsafe’ Internet practices of youth. Empirical research in this area is however limited. Auckland Rape Crisis, as a member of the Internet Safety Group, wanted to increase their knowledge and understanding of how you th use the Internet, and more specifically what youth may or may not be doing to place themselves at risk as a result of being on-line. Thus, it is imperative to study on the impacts of Internet to youth in Tanzania. 1.3 IMPORTANCE THE STUDY 1. The study will help the researcher to have practical skills on conducting research. 2. The study will open room for other researches to be conducted on the field so as to identify what should be done to prepare youth to overcome the challenges of Internet. 3. The study will also help the government and stakeholders in policy making to review country policies concerning the usage of Internet. 4. The study will also reveal the danger associate to internet usage among youth in Tanzania. 5. The study will also reveal the danger associate to internet usage among youth in Tanzania as far as our culture is concerned. 1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY Specifically the study will focus on the following objectives: 1)To find out and analyze the level of youth awareness and competence in the use of Internet. 2)To identify different types of Internet services and their uses to youth in Tanzania. 3)To identify what are the positive and negative impact of internet to youth in Tanzania. 4)To identify what youth in Tanzania benefit from Internet usage. 1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY The study will focus mainly on identifying uses of internet among youth in Tanzania and how internet affect their behavior and their day to day activity plus revealing the advantages that they will obtain from the internet. To meet the goal the researcher will study and analyze critically youth behavior on using the internet, what services they prefer to use on the internet, what kind of Webpages they prefer to visit and how internet affects them. 1.6 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY The study is affected by the following limitations: a)Fund provided by the sponsor is limited hence the researcher will conduct the study in accordance to the fund available. b)Availability respondents and response from respondents will limit the researcher form getting relevant information at the right time. c)There is no enough proof of the information given by respondents, which might limit the research from meeting the objective of the research d)The availability of literature will affect the study. Few literatures may hinder the efficiency of the study. 1.7 RESEARCH QUESTIONS The study will investigate on the following questions: 1.Are youth in Tanzania aware of the Internet and to what extent? 2.What service offered by Internet (web) do youth prefers? 3.How Internet influences youth behavior? 4.How does youth benefit from the Internet? STATISTICAL HYPOTHESIS 1.Are youth in Tanzania aware of the Internet and to what extent? Hypothesis †¢Youth in Tanzania are aware of internet †¢Youth in Tanzania are not aware of internet 2.What service offered by Internet/web do youth prefers? Hypothesis †¢Youth prefer most of the services offered by the web. †¢Youth do not prefer most of the services offered by the web. 3.How Internet influences youth behavior? Hypothesis †¢Internet does influence youth behavior. †¢Internet does not influence youth behavior. 4.How does youth benefit from the Internet? Hypothesis †¢Youth does benefit from the Internet. †¢Youth does not benefit from the Internet.

Wal-Mart Performance

Globalization has had a positive impact on planning in Wal-mart organization. This is because Wal-mart stakeholders are able to estimate the profit it can make by allowing its cheaply manufactured and inexpensive goods and services to cross the borders and reach other countries of the world. (James, 1999) defines industry attractiveness as the prevailing situation in the core business of an organization which favors the specific organization for example in monotheistic business environment, a business is more likely to be favor in terms of business performance since it can manipulate market forces to its advantage. Even in a market environment, less than 4 competitors are likely to influence the market situation to their advantage hence creating an attractive market environment. Wal-Mart’s performance has been termed as sterling by many business analysts. The chain has recorded a profit after taxes of above $200 billion. By applying concepts like vendor managed inventories as well as just-in-time concept, Wal-Mart has continued to maintain leadership in the retail market in the US. Wal-Mart endeavors to remain a low-cost retailer, and by that it has been very effective in maintaining market attractiveness. By all means Wal-Mart has achieved low cost retail prices mostly because it manages to source goods at the best possible market prices. This is possible through the strategy of replenishing stock daily in which it allows its key suppliers to access data on sales, which in turn ensures that stocks are supplied just in time. Wal-Mart has successfully cut expenses in that it is able to save costs which would otherwise have gone to hiring warehouses, paying for the storage and security of the goods in warehouses, the costs which goes with insurance as well as the risk of destruction resulting from fire, and other natural calamities as well as expiry of perishable goods. By paying the suppliers based on what is sold the company ensures a zero cost in inventories, this in turns affords the company an opportunity to lower prices since there are less expenditures. In long term, this contributes to industry attractiveness. The other area in which the company has achieved competitive advantage is in terms of adapting information systems. By doing that, Wal-Mart, has become a low cost producer in that it achieves effectiveness and therefore minimizing losses. The organization has set out to be a market leader. In terms of incorporating information technology, Wal-Mart has computerized its purchasing systems to incorporate E-purchasing. As a purchasing strategy, e-purchasing is economically reliable and cost effective. Compared to a competitor who does have not adopted the e-purchasing concept, Wal-mart has been able to save a lot of money and time. According to (Kendel, 2004), competitive advantage also depends on how companies utilize and take advantage of the buyer power. To this end, Wal-Mart has outshone all its competitors in that, it is refuted to be one of the organizations in the US, which has been able to get suppliers to act according to its terms. In fact some have argued that, it manipulates and coerces suppliers to enter into concessions, which end up benefiting the retailer but harming the suppliers. In terms of the threat of substitutes, it is widely believed that, Wal-Mart no longer competes with any one, it has taken virtual control and is a major player of the US economy leave alone the retail business. In terms of supplier power, the suppliers are no longer able to contain the pressure from Wal-Mart; there have been reports of CEO’s agreeing to terms, which end up harming their businesses. Wal-Mart as earlier mentioned often coerces its suppliers into deals, this is not the case with its competitors which do not necessarily have the power to match it. Finally Wal-Mart unlike so many of its rivals have been able to penetrate with ease and so far commands a good share of the retail business in the US. However, it is Wal-Mart’s expansive sales returns that continue to put it ahead of competitors in that, they can powerfully bargain with suppliers for best offers, which on their part the competitors cannot match. By integrating IT through out the whole retail chain Wal-mart ensures that, its partners are free and feel respected and therefore trade is done in an environment of cordial relationships. With a retail network of over 140 branches all over the world, the management styles as well Wal-Mart's purchasing, distribution and warehousing, in-store operations, marketing, Information Technology, Human Resource Management, and organization and management systems/style have to be maintained at a high notch. Otherwise, it would be impossible for the outlets to achieve unity of purpose. With such a huge work force, success can only be achieved only if there is proper human resource management. The organization has introduced performance based pay, which has gone down very well with the employees. A well motivated staff is the greatest asset for a company and therefore Wal-Mart has been able to achieve that through introducing modern employee management systems which aims at ensuring that, the best staff are retained and also that, staff get well compensated for their hard-work. This has given Wal-Mart a cutting edge advantage, in that, it is able to attract and keep the best workers. In terms of supplies, Wal-Mart has been able to cut lead time after streamlining its supply chain management. By doing that, Wal-Mart have come to be regarded as the industries leaders in terms of efficiency and cost cutting. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc is the world’s largest retailer with over $200 billion worthy of annual sales. The organization has adopted various strategies to become and remain a market leader in the industry. Of all strategies, it is its low cost of products that has made the biggest contribution to its market attractiveness as well as its competitive advantage. Human resource management. According to available statistics, the company has over 1. 3 million employees also known as associates, it is spends a lot on employee development something which gives it a competitive edge as one of the most preferred employers. Wal-Mart has been ranked by the Fortune magazine as one of the most admired places in the world. This translates to attractiveness to both business partners and customers. Also as a strategy in supplies management the organization has avoided reliance on single suppliers but has instead engaged different suppliers. This helps in ensuring that, the suppliers do not dictate the terms since they are aware that they can be substituted. This is effective in that, it becomes very hard for suppliers to collaborate and decide the terms for the organization. Wal-Mart also ensures proper communication through the setting up of a satellite network, which interlinks all its branches to a central command. This has seen the company investing heavily in information technology, which in return has ensured that the company achieves economies of scale. Competitive advantage. Kmart is one of the key competitors which has found the going getting tough and has almost been left struggling to remain in business. The fact that, Wal-Mart controls over 70% of the retail business clearly shows that, the competition is not as stiff. Therefore, Wal-Mart is poised to remain a force even into the foreseeable future. The threats which it should deal with and undertake to solve include: negative publicity in that, the fact that it drives many other businesses out of business can lead to harmful price wars which could lead to the company loosing its current market share. Management Systems Several, problems and challenges such as shoplifting caused the company to invest in costly surveillance systems aimed at addressing the arising issues. Managers at Wal-Mart are motivated in that, the organization always rewards creativity and effort as well as originality. This has been a plus for the company as productivity is always related with highly motivated staff as well as employees who can identify well with the organization. Its people-friendly approach has led to such a good relationships with customers that, a very loyal client base has been achieved. By adopting new technology, production, administration and leadership in the company are one of the best in the world. The styles from other successful organizations of the world so that it can experience great success. Wal-Mart has now heavily invested in technology like computerized tracking systems, which enables them to track supply and monitor progress. Wal-Mart has experienced rapid growth partly due to a human resource policy, which handles. Globalization has enabled the organnization to expand the organization from rural small towns to urban areas. Also Wal-Mart enjoys a very loyal consumer base. Globalization has also enabled the leadership of Wal-Mart to expand the organization to so many areas externally, where they attract a lot of customers therefore making lots of profit. This has been achieved by lowering the prices of the goods, as a result of global nature of manufacturing. In terms of sustainability, Wal-Mart’s strategy is market tested and it is very likely that, customers will always go for cheaper quality and therefore the strategy of low-cost will lead the organization from success to success. The fact that, Wal-Mart does not spend on inventories but uses a system where by delivery of goods is done by the suppliers saves the company a lot of money. This affects prices f commodities in that, so many suppliers want to engage the organization in business and therefore are willing to operate under terms that the organization dictates. Wal-Mart although has been favored by globalization needs to be wary of emerging issues such as the ones touching on ethics. Other threats for Wal-Mart include: Ethically, it has been accused of oppressing suppliers to an extent whereby, they are forced to lay-off employees hence causing joblessness as well as leading to closure of manufacturing plants on the US in favor of imports which are cheaper and therefore can be distributed to the retailer at much cheaper rates. Bargaining power is another crucial strength for the company, it virtually controls all the decisions or contracts entered with other companies that is, suppliers. Wal-Mart engages in a continuous improvement campaign in what consumers view as being on the move every time. To consumers and customers, this is viewed as an advantage since they know that every time the retailer makes a move, prices drop and therefore the company is seen as a better option by many. Efficiency is one factor that Wal-Mart has achieved by investing in modern systems. The company has been able to transact business worldwide with ease while at the same time minimizing cost. The fact that Wal-Mart has created a positive image for itself has ensured a constant demand for services and goods something which competitors have not been able to match. Wal-Mart has maintained a public image and therefore this helps.