Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 29

Case Study Example Hiring a new worker, training them, and ensuring that they perform better than the previous employee is very expensive and time-consuming (Shaer 6). 2. Even if the underperforming employee is fired and a replacement is brought in, there is no guarantee that the new employee will perform better and the manager might be forced to again fire the new employee and find a replacement (Shaer 8). Such a trend will prove detrimental to the company’s progress. Once the manager decides to give an underperforming employee the chance to redeem themselves and reach an acceptable performance, the former is forced to come up with a counseling strategy. According to Shaer, counseling involves setting goals and objectives for the employee, then advising and coaching them on how to achieve the set goals (25). During the counseling process, the manager should remember to: 2. Clearly explain to the employee the areas in which they are failing and make them understand exactly what is expected of them. It may be that although the employee is productive, they lack certain personality traits that are vital to good performance (Shaer 35). 3. Assure the employee of continuous support from the management throughout the performance improvement period. Support from the manager makes the employee feel important to the company and increases their motivation to perform better. In most cases, underperforming employees do not realize that they are underperforming until they are given a bad review or fired. These employees believe that their performance is good and consider the bad review or firing as unfair by rationalizing that: 1. Their performance is not bad but rather find fault in the methods used to measure performance. According to Shaer, such employees demand to be evaluated using different criteria other than the normal criteria used in the company (29). 2. Although their performance might be bad, the underperforming employees see no need

Do you think IQ will determine your success in life Essay Example for Free

Do you think IQ will determine your success in life Essay Have a successful life is everyone’s goal. Most of people think people who have higher IQ would always have a successful life. They believe that people who had talent is always better than people who don’t. However I think IQ would not determine people’s success in life. I would say have a higher IQ just can help people easier to do things but this doesn’t mean that people can do everything without they try hard and work hard. There are so many people that have higher IQ but they don’t even work hard to try their best. They never try to improve themselves, they just keep waste their precious talent. On the other hand there are people who don’t have higher IQ but they always work hard and try to improve themselves. I think people who never work hard will never success even they have a smart brain. I believe that if I want to have a successful life the only one thing I should do is to try my best. No matter I am a smart person or not, if I want to success in my life I better work as much as I can. Because in this world there is no one can get everything without hard working. Life is just like a race, you have to keep running away from destiny and never let destiny catch you. If you win this race, destiny will not affect you anymore and you will be the boss of your life. Nothing can make you fear and nothing can defeat you. Therefore I think life is based on choice. Because when people really want to change something in their life they can always defeat their destiny. I believe that life is led by myself and I am the guy who will decide where to go in my future. Every decision I make would all depend on my willingness and nothing can affect me except myself.

Issues on Patent and Copyright Laws In China Essay -- China Patent Cop

Issues on Patent and Copyright Laws In China This site contains information on China's patent and copyright law. It goes on to discuss some ethical issues about China's lack of law enforcement on intellectual property protection. History of Patent System China’s patent system can be traced back to the late Qing Dynasty when China began signing international treaties. For example, on August 18, 1903, China and the United States agreed on a treaty on navigation and commerce. The treaty provided for a â€Å"reciprocal patent-granting arrangement whereby citizens of one contracting party could apply for and secure patent rights for their inventions in the other contracting party.†1 After the Qing Dynasty was over thrown in 1911, the Nationalist government created the Interim Charter on Rewarding Industrial and Artistic Products. And soon thereafter, in 1944, the Patent Law of modern sense was created. Although the Patent Law was adopted in China, the Nationalist government was forced to Taiwan and thus the Patent Law had no effect in mainland China. In 1949, the new government adopted the Provisional Regulations on the Protection of the Invention Rights and Patent Rights, whose purpose was to encourage invention. In 1978, t he government reissued the Regulations on Awards for Technical Improvements and the Regulations on Awards for Inventions which were first issued in 1963 and abolished soon after. Then in 1985 the Patent Law was introduced. China’s Patent Law went through a critical revision in 1992. Amendments were focused on the areas pharmaceutics, chemicals, food, beverages and condiments.1 Current Patent Law The Patent Law of the People’s Republic of China was adopted at the Fourth Session of the Standing Committ... ...g, 1994) p. 64-65. 3 Brahm, p. 65. 4 Brahm, p.116. 5 Brahm, p. 110-111. 6 Brahm, p. 111. 7 Brahm, 17. 8 China Daily Online, IN BRIEF (Page: 3, Date: 04/22/2003), <http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2003-04-22/112904.html> 9 Noah J. Smith, China Implements New Software Regulation To Streamline Registration, Boost Protection, Patent, Trademark & Copyright Law Daily, 6 Mar. 2002, <http://subscript.bna.com/SAMPLES/ptd.nsf/85256269004a99228525625400656cb3/ 4d9c50eea1edd85185256b740006aecb?OpenDocument> 10 China says "no" to pirated software, China Daily, 5 Apr. 2002, <http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/news/cn/2002-04-05/64442.html> 11 Solving the problem of pirating, etaiwannews.com, 5 May 2001, <http://www.etaiwannews.com/Editorial/2001/05/05/989030288.htm>

Age Of Technology Essay

We are certainly in the age of technology, but with all technology that is available, where does the line of privacy lie? More and more technical gadgets are being tested and manufactured for the convenience of individuals to enjoy them in the privacy of their own homes. Also, any business or public place you visit with most likely be ran by the aid of some sort of technical gadget. Society has become so used to this, no one really questions when personal information is asked to be shared to a complete stranger and typed or scanned into a piece of technology. Who knows where all of this information is going? With emails, cell phones, and google, it’s virtually impossible NOT to get someone’s personal information. Emails are something that’s getting sent on a daily basis all day every day. With having to set up email accounts, which ask for your social security numbers are basically your fingerprint, is an open door for people to find out any information they want to about you. Typically, some companies use company email addresses for memos that need to get to employees or company executives or any personal emails that need to be shared. With company emails come company email policies that will explain why the emails were provided and what is not acceptable content to pass through email. In the Michael A. Smyth v. The Pillsbury Company case, Mr. Smith and another employee were terminated for exchanging emails that made threats to sales managers and made rude comments about certain company events. Mr. Smith sued the Pillsbury Company for violating public policy by committing a tort known as â€Å"invasion of privacy†. In the policy, Pillsbury stated that all employee emails were going to remain confidential and privileged including plaintiff. On these grounds, Smith thought he had a case against the Pillsbury Company, but as the defendant (Pillsbury) pointed out, the company wants to keep their employees safe so the frequent email checks to ensure that nothing illegal or disrespectful is being sent to any member of the company employees that utilize the email provided by the company. To Pillsbury this was a liable enough reason and invasion of privacy was not relevant. To me, this goes along with other popular gadgets and social networks such as smartphones, Facebook, and Google. All of these are intertwined because they all are things that society virtually live off of but it can give you the birth place of any human being if you just knew a few simple things. With Smartphones you can surf the web, sign your phone onto any email account (where your social security number is ALWAYS need), and satellite waves called Wi-Fi or Wireless Local Area Network. Wi-Fi can pick up anyone’s smartphone and or computer and can receive the carrier’s information like telephone numbers or even where this individual lives! This could probably be a disadvantage or an advantage depending on the situation. If I was lost, say for instance, if I used a smartphone, my actions could be traced and I could possibly be found. On the other hand, if I was trying to stay away from someone, they could use Wi-Fi or internet to track me and see where my last location was. With Google and Facebook these are things I feel are inevitable. If you have ever paid a bill online, signed up for anything, or searched for something via web, your personal information is already out there for the grabbing! Billions and billions people use Google and Facebook on a daily basis. If you have signed up for facebook and you have conceived a Facebook page, you can be googled! The USA Patriot Act that stands for, Uniting (and) Strengthening America (by) Providing Appropriate Tools Required (to) Intercept (and) Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001. This Act was enforced and signed by President Bush after the September 11th disaster. A four year extension of the Act was also signed via autopen by President Obama which gave protection to government officials when roving wiretaps, business records, and other personal information that could possibly help government relations in the long run. I personally agree with the law. We are in the world of electronics and technology. Everything we own, every business we run or visit, and every website we search is tracking us. If a serial Facebook rapist was out to get me, by him sending me an inbox message on Facebook or even being my friend on Facebook, he could easily be tracked down through those just seemingly small thing. There are other things like ancestors.com that could help you finish the missing piece of your family tree. Even though privacy is a big part of being an individual, you have to be mindful of the things you do when it comes to the internet and technology. There are certain ways for you to maintain individual privacy such as not putting your phone on speaker or using headphones when you listen to music. The law doesn’t prohibit the right to conversation but when the conversation is done through texting, if it gets leaked, who’s at fault? It’s your right to have a cell phone but is it the other person you text their right to repeat it? When the send button was pressed you gave up your right to the confidentiality of that conversation. So to me, it’s just life. I try to keep what I can to myself but once I cross that line of â€Å"internet service† I give up a little piece of privacy with every search, download, or sign up.

Impact of Brand Image and Advertisement on Consumer Buying Behavior Essay

Impact of Brand Image and Advertisement on Consumer Buying Behavior Impact of Brand Image and Advertisement on Consumer Buying Behavior Muhammad Ehsan Malik, Muhammad 1 2 Mudasar Ghafoor, 3Hafiz Kashif Iqbal, 4Qasim Ali, 4Hira Hunbal, 4Muhammad Noman and 4Bilal Ahmad 1Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan Dean Economics and Management Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan 2School of Business, University of Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom 3School of Business and Economics, University of Management and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan 4Department of Business Administration, University of the Punjab Gujranwala Campus, Pakistan Submitted: Apr 27, 2013; Accepted: Jun 3, 2013; Published: Jun 20, 2013 Abstract: Brand image and advertisement play a crucial role to boost up any business performance as brand image is an implied tool which can positively change people’s buying behaviors and advertisement is behaving as a driving force for any business as it’s an effective source to convey your message and stay in customer’s mind. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of brand image and advertisement on consumer buying behavior in the general public at Gujranwala city. Questionnaire survey was used to collect the data by using non probability convenient sampling technique. A sample of 200 questionnaires was used in which 175 responses were collected within the period of one month. Findings show that brand image and advertisement have strong positive influence and significant relationship with Consumer buying behavior. People perceive the brand image with positive attitude. Study depicted that teenagers in Gujranwala are more conscious about their social status so they prefer branded products and advertisement affects their Consumer Buying Behavior positively. In the last of article limitations of research, implications and suggestions for further research also included. Key words: Brand image Advertisement Consumer Buying Behavior INTRODUCTION can build long term profitable relations with customers. People in our society are so conscious about their any business can positively affect the behaviors of status and they prefer to use branded products to show people regarding brand image, satisfaction and loyalty. off their status symbol. Brand is considered as implied At present time in global and emerging markets device through which any business can attain the business war is not only on price but customer attraction, attraction of people and can enjoy the competitive edge. loyalty and relationship matters a lot. Companies are so In our local scenario it also considered as a valuable asset conscious about their customer’s satisfaction. for any business as it can change peoples’ buying Advertisement plays a crucial role for any business to behavior. It can play a vital role to expand any business. boost up its performance graph as it is a powerful strategy Brand image development is a long term process and it to attract your customers toward your product. In can prove a strong weapon to fight with your competitors. Pakistan advertisement also becoming a driving force for Customers rely on branded products and mostly prefer to any business because it can force people to change their buy products with well known brand name. Marketing behavior regarding your product in positive sense. valuable strategies and tools can develop the brand of Advertisement is a dominant and leading weapon in all any product. If brand is managed in effective ways, a marketing tools due to its positive impact on consumers’ business can enjoy maximum number of customers and buying behavior. It’s an effective way to communicate Refine quality of products and social

Reaction #9 Example

Reaction #9 Example Reaction #9 – Assignment Example Aspects of Emotions Various psychologists have developed different models that try to explain the process of emotional feelings. The phenomenon one, according to Bryant, (2009), is the pinwheel model. The pinwheel model has been developed to assist individuals in understanding different aspects of emotions. The model has been designed as a spin wheel since each aspect of emotion is preceded by another. Aspects of emotion involve a process that starts with experiencing emotions followed by sending emotions and then receiving emotions. This article looks at the three stages of emotions, how it starts until other people are able to perceive that a person has emotional feelings.Experiencing emotion takes place when a person identifies his or her own feelings. In this case, individuals try to control the amount of feeling to avoid expressing the same to other people. For example, when a person is burning with guilt, he is experiencing an emotional feeling. Fundamentally, a person experien ces emotional feeling that can be termed as temperament. Since emotions can lead to poor judgment, it is important for a person experiencing emotional imbalances to seek professional cancelling. Experiencing emotion is always proceeded by sending emotional signal.Sending emotional signals happens when a person expresses emotions in a manner that is appropriate in a given situation. After the signal is sent, another person receives it. Receiving emotions occurs when the second person is able to notice the emotions expressed by the first person. After noticing the expression, it is significant to understand and show concern to the person’s emotional feeling. A good example of sending and receiving emotional feeling is when you wrongly interpret someone as hostile, and hence fear overwhelms you (emotions). Understanding the aspects of emotion has changed my perspective concerning emotions. In fact, I am equipped with information on how to handle emotional feelings and preventing them from disintegrating to a level that can hurt other people. In addition, the class has helped me because I have learnt that communication key in controlling extreme case of emotions.ReferenceBryant, T. (2009). Stress and strong feelings management. : NY Scholars Press.

buy custom Operating Systems essay

buy custom Operating Systems essay An operating system is a software program in a computer that provides the interface between the user and the computer (Smolka Kifer, 2007). It also manages the very many applications. An operating system can be installed by the owner of the computer, but most computers are sold with an operating system already installed in them. Operating systems are said to be proprietary source and open source. The varied operating systems have different capabilities in terms of their functions. This paper shows the two types of operating systems as well as the basic functions of any operating system. There are generally two classes of operating systems based on their program code accessibility. These two classes of operating system are the open source operating systems and the proprietary source operating systems. In programming the term open source refers to any software development project operating in the public domain (Hill, 2005). Following this notion then, an open source operating system code is not owned, but rather it can be available freely and any one can alter it. Linux and BSD are two examples of Open source operating systems (Hill, 2005). In line with Hill (2005), no body owns Linux although several companies own their respectve operating system products based on it. This therefore means that Linux is a family of operating systems, all with similar features. Like wise, BSD is an open source family of operating system based on UNIX (Hill, 2005). BSD is an acronym for Berkeley Software Distribution. Proprietary operating systems have their source codes closed or they are only available to a select few. Microsoft Windows and Macintosh operating systems are excellent examples of proprietary operating systems (Lucas, 2008). Different operating systems have varied operations but there are basic operations that any operating system is capable of performing. For example, any operating system should be able to manage resources. The programs that manage resources coordinate all the computers resources including mouse, keyboard, memory and storage devices. Another function of an operating system is to provide support for built-in utility (Dhamdhere, 2006). The utility programs are used by the operating systems for maintenance and repairs. More over the utility programs locate lost files, backup data and identify problems in the computer. Computer operating systems also have the basic function of running applications. Programs such as spread sheets and word processors are run by these programs. All operating systems provide a user interface which enables the user to interact with application programs and computer hardware (Dhamdhere, 2006). Most of the operating systems provide the windows Graphical User Interface (GUI) whereby icons objects are used to represent the commonly used features. According to Dhamdhere (2006), it is a feature to all operating systems to enable control to the computer hardware. The operating system links the programs and the Basic Input Output System (BIOS). It is the BIOS that control the hardware. Because all the programs that must execute through the hardware devices must pass through the operating system, then the operating system is vital for the communication between the BIOS and the programs. The operating system links the user and the computer. All operating systems manage the resources in a computer, provide support for built-in utility and enable control to the computer hardware. Open sourced and the proprietary sourced are the two categories of the operating systems. Linux and BSD are examples of open sourced operating system while Microsoft Windows and Macintosh are examples of proprietary sourced operating system. Buy custom Operating Systems essay

Introducing LinkedIns New Home and Profile Pages

Introducing LinkedIns New Home and Profile Pages On Thursday, December 11th, LinkedIn ® started rolling out its latest Home and Profile page design changes. For those of you who arent yet seeing the redesign when you log in, you can email LinkedIn ® to get a sneak peak at SeeNewHP@linkedin.com. Home Page Across the top of your Home page you will now enjoy instant access to the most important information regarding your account, including a quick link to your profile page, your stats and your Keep in Touch feed. Directly below this section, you will find the latest news and updates from Pulse. You can even sort your Pulse feed by the most popular or most recent. You will then see your regular feed of activity from your groups and connections, aesthetically revamped for quick connection identification, content preview, following, joining and connecting. Throughout your news feed you will notice suggestions by LinkedIn ® regarding connections you might like to make and jobs that might interest you. Profile LinkedIn has updated all profile pages to automatically appear in edit mode when accessed by the owner of the profile. After all, when we visit our own profile page, it is usually to make edits, so LinkedIn ® is saving us a step! To see your profile the way a connection would see it, click the View profile as button. In this view, you will notice a new option at the top of the page. Similar to Google+ or Facebook, you can choose to view your profile as a connection or non-connection (or a connection who is not logged into LinkedIn ®) would. LinkedIns suggestions for including additional sections are now located directly below the top portion of your profile. This information used to appear in the right-hand column in Edit Profile mode. Old: New: Your notification setting are also now available in the right-hand column so that changes to your profile can easily be hidden or shared with your network with the click of a button. Note the redesigned sections. For example, Recommendations no longer have 2 access points, but one. Old: (Profile mode) (Profile Edit mode) New: LinkedIns new streamlined design was created to enhance our experience as members and will likely be further enhanced in the future based on our response to these updates. I hope you enjoy the new changes. They are certainly presenting challenges to me as the author of a book about LinkedIn ®! But look for updates in the 11th edition of How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn ® Profile, still slated for release in January! Save Save

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

International human resource management - Essay Example The questions about how people are managed , are the substance of "human resource management" and key to organizational success. Management theorists have long argued that there is a 'right' way of managing people that can be implemented by management consultants throughout the world. The development of HRM theories in the US tended to reply on the examples of a small number of large private sector firms was based on a culturally typical US typical US independent , individualistic ,suffered from a poorly thought out approach to rigorous theory, failed to link theory to general practise and relied heavily on selected aspects of what was thought to be "Japanese" practice. Because of the hedgemony of the USA in management thinking ,their visions of HRM have tended to be the touchstone for HRM in other countries. However ,the US theories with their implications of virtually autonomous organizations , sit uncomfortably with the European reality. So,is the American vision of HRM a universal one that will apply anywhere in the world or is it a US-bounded one Organisational behaviour is influenced by social processes beyond the organisation's boundaries. Thus firms are located in settings not only of legislation but also of culture and social norms to which they have to react. Culture provides meaning and purpose , rules and norms. Each nation constitutes a unique institutional setting that skews firm behaviour in particular ways. American notions of HRM may have limited relevance to nations which do not possess identical or similar cultures. And there are clear differences , in Europe , HRM is less dependent , companies have less autonomy and freedom of action , trade unionism is more important , the social partners have more influence ,legal regulations are more important and there is a stronger tradition of employee involvement.Are European firms moving towards a North American HRM approach to managing their personnel Or is it that owing to the ongoing economic and political integration of European Union countries , a convergence towards a distinctly European practise is underway For this, w e have the convergence and divergence arguments. There are two distinct versions of the convergence thesis , the free market US model and the institutional European model. There is an underlying similarity to these theses. They all view firms' latitude in regard to selecting and developing personnel management strategies as being shaped , governed and given impetus by a mix of factors which may be broadly defined as either technological ,economic or institutional. The Market Force or US Convergence Model: This theory argues that the differences in management systems

Individual BUISINESS REPORT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Individual BUISINESS REPORT - Essay Example However, the success of food enterprise in the UK is not guaranteed following the bloated number of operators, ranging from manufacturers, to wholesalers, to retailers. Nature Foods plays the role of a retailer in the UK market. The company engages in the manufacture and packaging of imported raw food before distributing their products across the UK. The General Market Environment and Market Findings in the U.K Processed foods have increasingly become popular across the globe. Variant food products are manufactured to meet different consumer needs, tastes, and preferences. The food market environment is generally competitive, characterized by myriad players and operators. The creativity and innovativeness of an enterprise is the primary basis of survival in the food industry, especially in relation to capturing a significant market share (Brennan & Grandison, 2012, p.426). Firms undertake continuous strategic planning in order to design ways and means of luring customers to buy. The core objective of a food enterprise is creating a reliable customer base by providing products that meet their expectations in terms of price, quality, and utility. The UK food market has been found to prefer to go local due to a number of factors. Firstly, following environmental concerns, consumers prefer locally grown, produced, or manufactured food products. This finding substantially affects food imports in whatever state; raw or processed. On the same note, food distribution over long distance has also been put at stake. Secondly, the manufacturing and packaging processes are becoming increasingly important to assess for costs. This aspect centrally affects the operational spending of an enterprise, and subsequently influences revenue generation and profitability. Finally, consumers of food products are going natural, meaning that food products containing artificial ingredients are consistently losing their position in the food industry (Jack, 2009, p.279). This implies that t he tastes and preferences of customers are shifting from artificial food ingredients to natural ingredients. Impacts of the Findings on the Economic Future of Nature Foods Ltd The environmental concerns by consumers have resulted in prioritizing local food products over imported raw and/or processed foods. Nature Foods Ltd imports raw food from different countries before it undertakes manufacturing, packaging, and distribution of the final food products across the UK. When consumers prefer locally grown, produced, or manufactured food products while the company imports raw food for further processing threatens the overall operations and business aspects of the company (Sinha, 2007, p.798). In other words, if necessary steps, actions, strategies, and plans are not taken, the company is likely to run out of business. It is important to note that consumers are rational when it comes to spending. This implies that consumers seek to maximize their utility at the minimum cost possible (Hu tter, 2011, p.111). In so doing, they factor in their needs, tastes, and preferences. The pricing policies that Nature Foods has adopted and the quality of its products can take the company a long way in terms of operational success. However, the opposite is true if the company fails to adjust to consumer needs. In other words the economic future of the company is in jeopardy if the company fails to make adjustments and meet consumer needs as they change. Low

Organizational Change and Effective Leadership Essay

Organizational Change and Effective Leadership - Essay Example This essay identifies specific leadership characteristics and skills which contribute in effectively facilitating organizational change in the business arena. It will specifically focus on the start-up phase or the introduction of changes. Examples will also be utilized to illustrate significant points further. Changes happen to all organizations. However, many organisational changes fail to accomplish what they are meant to: they cost so much that their value is compromised; they take so long that opportunities are missed; or degenerate into chaos, leaving everyone discouraged and confused. What organisational change ultimately requires is that leaders develop not just new skills and knowledge but a whole new way of looking at things. Indeed, in today's organisations, without experiencing and successfully managing a difficult transition, no leader can be effective for very long. That suggests reinventing most models of leadership development. The best leadership development programs implicitly address the challenge of understanding change they are experiential, tailored, to the needs of the leader, and based on delivering real-world results. The business arena is currently undergoing a modification in terms leadership styles. Most notable is the high acceptance of transformational as opposed to transactional leadership.

Operations Decision Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Operations Decision - Assignment Example le is very common with those people with high incomes; that is, those who can afford to use microwaves as a substitute to the traditional cooking methods. Since the use of microwaves has become so popular, microwavable food products have become popular too. Some of the leading brands in microwavable low calorie foods, which will be analyzed in this paper, include Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice. Lean Cuisine, which belongs to Nestle,  was formed in 1998, and it is currently being sold in Canada, US, and Australia.   On the other hand, Healthy Choice is a leading low calorie food brand, which gives Lean Cuisine a run for its money. The brand is owned by ConAgra Foods, and its idea was generated in order to offer a line of healthier frozen foods in 1985 (Gregson 25).   Ã‚  Ã‚     There are several factors that determine the effectiveness of low-calorie microwavable food industry’s market structure. The first one is the number of buyers and sellers. If there are few sellers of the commodities in the market, then the firms will have an ability to influence price of the commodities, but if the sellers are many, then they will lose the ability to have a great control over the prices. The second determinant is the nature of the commodity. In this case, if the microwavable food products produced by different suppliers are homogenous, then all the suppliers will be forced to sell it at the same price. However, if the food products are differentiated, then different producers may have different prices. Unfortunately, food products do not lack close substitutes, and hence the producers may not be able to charge higher prices on such a basis. Third, if there would be no restriction of entry and exit of firms, then it would be most suitable if prices are stabilized. On the other hand, if there is no freedom of entry and exit of firms, then the threat of competition will be minimal, hence the existing firms can practice a control over their prices. Fourth, knowledge of the

Comparison of Literature Respecting Fascism during the Nazi Party Era Essay

Comparison of Literature Respecting Fascism during the Nazi Party Era - Essay Example Fascism is: ''A form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation or victim hood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion.''1 Fascism is generally associated with mysterium inguitatis, or sin. There are similarities with fascism and terrorism, which unfortunately citizens of the United States are concerned about more than ever since the events that occurred on September 11, 2001, which was an example of inspiring intimidation through force. While there are unfortunately many fascist leaders in the world today, many may recall most of all a fascist leader named Adolph Hitler, who was a leader of Germany before and during World War II. Over the past few years, two books have been published addressing fascism that focused in large part on Hitler and World War II. One book, "Austerlitz", which is a fictional book whose main character's last name is the title of the book, was written by W. G. Sebald, who is a knowledge expert of the Holocaust in particular2. Basically, the book focuses on one man's journey through this part of European history and its fascist leaders. The other book, "The Anatomy of Fascism", by Robert O. Paxton, is a non-fiction book that dissects the components of fascism quite thoroughly, such as the history and cause of fascism, past fascist leaders and how they operated, and predicts the future of fascism in the world3. So, what exactly is fascism and how was it overtly demonstrated by Adolph Hitler Fascism is also correlated with evil. One accepted definition of fascism is a political paradigm that involves the implementation of a militaristic and autocratic government. Fascists are also creators of right wing authoritarian regimes. Why is it correlated with evil Because historically the citizens of fascist leaders, such as Hitler, experience the same consequences and human emotions of evil, such as calamity, suffering, sorrow, and distress. This evil delivered by fascist leaders typically and initially develops the perception of total innocence and assurance of prosperity of these citizens when they follow their objectives. Yet on every occasion of fascist leaderships, mercilessness occurs if not coerced by the fascist leaders eventually, such as Hitler, whose Holocaust deaths are believed to be by many as a true definition of evil. These leaders typically use the same tactics as those who desire to brainwash others, such as: 1. Keeping their citizens unaware and ignorant of certain events and knowledge. 2. Fascist leaders attempt to control their citizen's time and environment as much as they can. 3. These leaders create dependency and fear among their citizens. 4. The leaders suppress if not outlaw the ways things were done in the past. 5. Fascist leaders instill new beliefs that they claim are necessary for the

Operations Decision Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Operations Decision - Assignment Example le is very common with those people with high incomes; that is, those who can afford to use microwaves as a substitute to the traditional cooking methods. Since the use of microwaves has become so popular, microwavable food products have become popular too. Some of the leading brands in microwavable low calorie foods, which will be analyzed in this paper, include Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice. Lean Cuisine, which belongs to Nestle,  was formed in 1998, and it is currently being sold in Canada, US, and Australia.   On the other hand, Healthy Choice is a leading low calorie food brand, which gives Lean Cuisine a run for its money. The brand is owned by ConAgra Foods, and its idea was generated in order to offer a line of healthier frozen foods in 1985 (Gregson 25).   Ã‚  Ã‚     There are several factors that determine the effectiveness of low-calorie microwavable food industry’s market structure. The first one is the number of buyers and sellers. If there are few sellers of the commodities in the market, then the firms will have an ability to influence price of the commodities, but if the sellers are many, then they will lose the ability to have a great control over the prices. The second determinant is the nature of the commodity. In this case, if the microwavable food products produced by different suppliers are homogenous, then all the suppliers will be forced to sell it at the same price. However, if the food products are differentiated, then different producers may have different prices. Unfortunately, food products do not lack close substitutes, and hence the producers may not be able to charge higher prices on such a basis. Third, if there would be no restriction of entry and exit of firms, then it would be most suitable if prices are stabilized. On the other hand, if there is no freedom of entry and exit of firms, then the threat of competition will be minimal, hence the existing firms can practice a control over their prices. Fourth, knowledge of the

Los Vendidos by Luis Valdez Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Los Vendidos by Luis Valdez - Research Paper Example It is clear from the study that in his play Luis Valdez highlights racism, social injustice, stereotyping and corruption of social identity as key problems faced by the Mexican and Mexican- American groups. The perpetrators are the Americans. The Mexican stereotypes are not accepted by the American society thus face constant disapproval and discrimination. This case is demonstrated by the proceedings of the secretary-Miss Jimenez who goes to buy a â€Å"brown-skinned† robot that has a Mexican appeal. However, she focuses on a model that is likely to be accepted by the American society for having certain characteristics such as the English speaking ability, sophistication and hard-working. The secretary highlights these characteristics as the ideal representation of the American. These characteristics are completely opposite to those associated with Mexicans or Mexicans-Americans. They are known as lazy, stupid and illiterate. As much as the Americans are blamed for these acts against the community having Mexicans roots, they are also to blame for its spread. The shop owner and the secretary have Mexican roots but instead, continue to stick to the stereotypes set by the Americans. This proves to a certain point that they are also inclined to believe it is the actual case with people of Mexican roots. The author focuses much on the effects of the Americans in perpetrating this kind of discrimination while also failing to recognize the role played by the Mexicans and the Mexican-American society. While buying the models Miss Jimenez- a Latina, but she play-acts as an American, and for that matter she is inclined or rather believes that products made in the U.S.A are way better. In fact she wishes to buy a Mexican-American product only made in the USA are because they thought to be of better quality than those made by Mexicans. After going past a Mexican a revolutionist, a pachuco, a farmworker and a college-educated Mexican-American, the secretary decides t o take the last one. She buys the model, but just after making the monetary disbursement he acts in an unforeseen way. Terrified, she leaves the model shop without taking the merchandise she had bought (Valdez, 1995). This explains that she had conflicts with how the office would like her purchase. Perhaps it would not please them enough. This shows that the Latinos have to great extent become subject to enabling the spread of this stereotyping. The author does not dwell much on it though it is an indispensable part of the play. It is very notable. Until this instant in the text â€Å"Los Vendidos†the reader can see the diverse stereotypes about Latinos themselves, comprising those who act as if they are not Latinos like the secretary. If the play ended at that point, it would be anassessment on the relationships based on stereotypes. However, Luis Valdez goes ahead and displays the set of Latinos who act like robots distributing the money they had got from the secretary and seeingas stupid those people who

Kids Health Essay Example for Free

Kids Health Essay 1.1:- Explain what it means to have a duty of care in own work role. 1.2:- Explain how a duty of care contributes to safeguarding or protection of individuals. Having a duty of care is an obligation to a professional, a child and family. Any family placing a child within an early years setting should feel that staff members will take full care of their child and that they will be safe. Any professional caring for a child would be held responsible if the minimum standard of care is not met. â€Å"If a duty of care is not met in a role that requires it, then the responsible person can be held accountable for allowing negligence to occur.† Meggit (2011) Providing a duty of care to a child is to ensure that they are at no harm. This would mean that a professional would need to be aware of giving the child right amount of attention, watching for potential hazards and making wise choices in the steps taken to ensure a child’s safety. There are legislations that early years setting must take full consideration of when proving a duty of care. Such as the Child Care Act 2006. This act incorporates the welfare standards in which all staff who look after children under the age of 8 should comply with. In September 2008 it became a legal responsible for care givers to ensure that all provisions are met. The welfare requirements of this are that within setting there should be an adult to child ratio. Every child matters used to be a government requirement but now it is guidance. This framework helps to safeguard and protect children. This framework says that children must be; Safe Healthy Achieve economically Contribute to society positively Enjoy life Safeguarding is very important within any early year’s setting. Safeguarding helps to protect children from malnutrition and negligence. Some safeguarding procedures within my own work placement are signing in and out books and everyday security checks. This means on my arrival I am asked to present my student ID or any other form to prove who I am. I cannot enter the child care setting at all, as all doors are controlled from the office inside. All doors are kept locked, and have pin locks on them. This ensures that even if an adult was able to get into the setting doors would be sealed. One example of duty of care not being given is about a small girl that died. Molly Cunliffe was unlawfully killed, in a nursery setting, in July 2007 when she was left in the care of an unqualified 17-year old student. The 16 month old child choked on a cloth bag tie when in her cot. Mr. Cunliffe says that â€Å"This is the result in unforgivable negligence and the needless death of our daughter Molly.† Nursery world (10/3/2014) There are a number of ways that providing a duty of care contributes to the safe guarding or protection of individuals. These include; Adult to child ratio’s Procedures Indoor and outdoor checks Security checks (ID), sign in and out book Trained first aiders Unqualified staff always supervised Uniform CCTV CRB/DBS checks Counting children on a regular basis/ registers Look belongings away/ phones locked away Visitor badge On arrival at my placement I am let in when a member of staff recognises me. I am then instantly told to sign myself in and security check to ensure that I am who I say I am. This means I need to present my student ID. This helps to protect children from strange people coming into the building. The setting is also a looked premises. This helps staff to know who is in the building. When arriving into my room, I am asked to sign into the room. Children are also signed in and out of the room. Children are also counted regular throughout the day. This ensures that no child is missing. When going to placement I am expected to wear my uniform. On my uniform its states when I am from and when course I am doing. With my uniform I am asked to wear a student badge. This helps to protect children because they are aware that I am supposed to be there. Adults and parents can also see that I am working with their children for a reason and that I am no danger. When arriving at placement I place all my items in a locker. This has to have  my phone in and any other valuables. This ensures safeguarding because it prevents me and other professionals from taking photographs of children or adding confidential information on social networking sites. Procedures such as accident, illness and injury forms help to protect children and members of staff. These forms are kept confidential but parents are able to look at these records as and when they like. It also protects staff from allegations. At my placement they have CCTV and open nappy changing rooms. CCTV helps to ensure that all children are protected and are always visible to staff. This can help when an adult or child may make an allegation. Open changing rooms help protect children and their confidentiality. CCTV means that staff are visible at all times but children being changed cannot be seen on the camera. As I am an unqualified adult in the setting, I am always supervised by qualified members of staff. This protects children because they will always be supervised by someone that they know and feel safe around. There is also a trained first aider within the setting that will be able to assist when a child is injured. 2.1:- Describe potential conflicts or dilemmas that may arise between the duty of care and the individual’s rights. Everyone is entitled to their basic human rights. These are the right to food, shelter, health care, safety and protection from abuse. Children in generally will not be able to stand up for themselves. United Nations drew up a charter ‘The United Convention’ on the rights of a child. â€Å"The Children and Young Persons Act 1933 consolidated all existing â€Å"child protection† work at that time into one act† Child protection (17/11/11) The children and young people’s act 1933 imposes a criminal responsibility for adults. This means that if an adult chooses to leave their child in the care of someone, and something was to happen, they would be held responsible. Choosing inadequate care for a child would be seen as neglect. Potential dilemmas or conflicts that could arise within a setting could be; A child’s appearance and hygiene: Dirty clothes, unkempt, smelly Constant and unexplained bruises and injuries Change in personality and behaviour: Changing from quiet to very unsettled or aggressive. Dramatic change in weigh, food problems: Change in appetite or stealing food. Continuously saying and reporting things that happen: Telling members of staff that they have been hit. Dilemmas or conflict would be managed within setting by arranging regular meetings. This wouldnt just focus on a child’s concerns but also a child’s achievements. Regular meetings would keep a parent updated in any changes. This also offers an opportunity for professionals to support a parent if they need the support and advice. Policies and procedures such as confidentiality and safeguarding are always available for parents to read and understand. Parents would read and sign the policies and procedures to show that they understand and agree with what they settings do in relevance to safeguarding and providing a duty of care to their child. Having policies and procedures helps to ensure that that parents are fully informed of any action they would need to take if an issue was bought up. Although professionals will keep things confidential, if a child is at risk someone else would needs to be informed. Forms and information regarding a parent’s child are always available for them to read. Professionals will build up a strong trust worthy relationship with parents and child so that they feel any issues or concerns can be dealt with calmly. This will help to ensure that if conflict does happen, the adults knows that they are talking to someone that trust them, understands them and will offer professional advice. Some situations such as behaviour, health and safety and confidentiality can or may cause conflict. These may arise between an individual’s rights and the duty of care. Confidentiality: The possible risk may be that the child is a risk of significant harm. It isn’t always possible to keep confidentiality if concerns are raised about a child’s safety. If confidentiality is broken, conflict could arise though losing the trust of the parent. Ways of managing the risks are settings having policies and procedures regarding confidentiality and safeguarding. Parents should be aware of the procedures professionals may need to take when a concern is bought up. Health and safety: A health and safety risk may be a child being left un supervised at home alone. This could but the child in serious danger. Also if a child is regularly absent for nursery/school, this could cause a concern. Ways of managing the risks are to offer guidance and support to adult/parents about breakfast clubs and after school clubs. Additional support could be giving them leaflets to help with financial and child care cost. Behaviour: If a child has a dramatic change in behaviour; for example changing from very calm to unsettled or aggressive, could be signs of a further medical condition such as ADHD. It can also affect a child’s learning and development if they are progressively finding it hard to concentrate on activities or group reading time. A way settings would manage this would be to have a good behavioural management and to speak to parents about there prefer way of dealing with bad behaviour. If a setting felt that  a parent’s behaviour management wasn’t affective enough, professionals could other strategies. 2.3:- Explain where to get additional support and advice about conflicts and dilemmas. There is a wide range of additional support that can offer advice about conflicts and dilemmas such as LEA (Local Educational Authority) This authority offers advice on special educational needs. They are educational advisors. These advisors will draw up an individual plan for a child. This should be reviewed every year. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) will work in partner shit with settings, children and parents to find the right support the child needs. â€Å"Parents should be involved in developing the individual’s educational plan, and the child should also get the chance for input.† Young Minds (2014) Another place professionals can get additional advice from is health services such as school nurses and play therapists. School nurses not only deal with children being ill, they also have an important role in promoting good health. â€Å"School nurses do vision and hearing screenings and a children how to take care of themselves.† Kids Health (2014) School nurses also work with children with special needs such as diabetes and teach them about their condition and monitor them while they are in the setting. Nurses give patients and families compassionate support when they need it. A play therapist also works with children that may have problems such as; Loss through bereavements, family breakups and separation Illness or disability Experienced neglect and abuse Children with low self esteem and anxiety issues Play therapist will adapt to suit individual needs and appropriate age. Play therapist helps children to explore their feelings and emotions and make sense of them. Play therapists work with children through role play, sensory play and different toys to help build a trust relationship between them. Social service work closely in partnership to help advise about conflict and dilemmas. â€Å"Social services have a statutory obligation to safeguard and promote the welfare of vulnerable children and can provide a wide range of services to children and their parents.† Family lives (2014) Charities offer addition support to practitioners and advise through different groups of people. Some charities that offer addition support are; Barnado’s NSPCC Save the children Noah’s arch bereavement support The NSPCC (National Society For Prevention Of cruelty To Children.) offer addition support through a help line. They are a 24 hour service. This allows practitioners to discuss child pretention concerns. They also offer and information service where practitioners can find out changes in child protection policies, practice and research. Noah’s ark is a charity based on offer support to children with limited or life threatening illness. This charity works closely in partnership with families and other agencies by offering flexible support. They help families live positively and support them through bereavement. They offer emotional and physical support through the child’s life. 3.1:- Describe how to respond to complaints. When responding to complaints, there are things practitioners should and should not do. Should: Practitioners should always remain in a professional manor. This would mean following set procedures and remaining calm when dealing with any complaints made. It is also important so that bonds and relationships are not broken. Remaining confidential is very important. People remain confidential to avoid conflict. The only time when confidentiality is broken is when there is a safeguarding issue. Following the confidentiality procedure will prevent people taking sides and gossiping about the situation. It is important that practitioner always explain the importance of the issue. This means making people aware of what is going on. By following policies and procedures, the situation can be resolved. When responding to complaints, good body language will show that a practitioner is listening to what the other person has to say. Being attentive will show that their views are being listened to and understood. Making eye contact and informs the speaker that they are being listened to and will show that they are empathising them. â€Å". people will usually make eye contact as a signal that they are ready to listen.† Meggit (2011) Shouldn’t :- When responding to complaints there are many things that practitioners should not do. Practitioners should not dismiss people’s opinions and views. This can cause them to feel threatened and make them think that their views and opinion are not valued. Do not interrupt when the other person is speaking. This can seem rude and make them feel that they are in the wrong. All opinions should be valued and dealt with fairly. Practitioners should not be judgemental. If people are judged they may feel that their opinion is being dismissed and they are in the wrong. Practitioners should never compare. If an individual is compare to another can make them feel out casted and different. It is important to remember that all children are different and develop at different stages. No child is unable to do something; they are working towards achieving it. 3.2:- Explanation of main points of agreed procedures for handling complaints. Policies and procedures: All early years settings will have policies and procedures for making complaints. This will make people aware that if they have complaints to make they know where to go and how it will be dealt with. Have relevant forms for complaint makings. This will allow the setting to deal with the complaint quickly and effectively. All complaints should be treated as important no matter what the complaint is about. When a complaint is made, it should be dealt with immediately. This will prevent the situation getting worst. Depending on the seriousness of complaint, it would be made to the manager or a named person. For example the safeguarding officer, governors or local authorities. If the report is made against the manager is should be taken to the person next in command. A meeting should be help separately for the relevant people to talk about the situation. This meeting should be held in privacy. Both staff/adult should be allowed a witness with them so that they feel safe. During a meeting notes should be taken on the situation, but they should always be repeated and explained. No meeting should end without an action or review date. This could be signing an agreement of the action taken and to agree that they complaint has been resolved.

Relationship between philosophy and science

Relationship between philosophy and science The essence of philosophy lies in know thyself as Greek philosopher Socrates defined his motto of life. Indeed, this search for self identity arose when human race first experienced consciousness in the course of evolution. So, it may be argued that philosophy (which comes from the Greek word, phileÃÆ'Â ®n, which means to love) is as old as the very beginning of human civilization.If we analyze the works of great ancient philosophers, for example, Aristotle and Plato, then it will reveal that their scientific attempt was also significant. In fact, they were the predecessors of modern science. Until the medieval ages, the separation between philosophy and science (which comes from a Latin word for knowledge) was not distinctive. However, due to stubbornness of the church controlled society in Europe the severe conflict between science and theology was set off, especially during 17th century, when the era of historical unfriendliness between philosophy, and science began. During this time, due to fast development of science, the independence of science from philosophy became clear. Unlike theology both philosophy and science follow logical methods to gather knowledge. However, the methods they use are a lot different. Philosophy naturally highlights on a biased mould in gaining knowledge as it states the importance of an individual in the universe as well as in the society. On the other hand, science concentrates on the realistic world and tries to find out relationships among measurements of various facts in the real world. Science and philosophy are very different things. Science tells us the facts of the universe, where philosophy helps us interpret them. I think that there is certainly a mutual effect between the two, philosophy may help determine what science investigates, and science may support or prove false philosophy with factual exposure, but in many ways they do not have common characteristics. A philosophy explanation is based on reasoning and argu ments from values, whereas a scientific explanation is based on reasoning from observed facts. I find that philosophy is the reasonable, and sometimes unreasonable, search of the truth. They question what is true, how does one test that something is true, what are good ways to search for truth and how should the truth be structured? The biggest question tends to be, what is? These are all philosophical questions. Science is the study to find how things work, but must assume a certain philosophical basis. First, it must assume that what we observe is real and not imagined. Second, it must assume that what we are observing is objective and repeatable. Finally, science states that all the knowledge it gathers is testable. If I declare that something is true, then I must be able to observe something that can tell me whether or not it is true. The truly interesting fact about science is that nothing can ever be considered really true, just not falsified. Scientific theories are always ca utious, and they are always either improved upon or abandoned in favour of new ones. So then I find myself thinking, how come we are willing to live with uncertainty and constant revision in science, but demand some sort of definitive truth from philosophy? Now why is it that so many people take sides on a dispute that doesnt make much sense, rather than be pleased about what the mind can achieve through the joint efforts of two of its most familiar intellectual traditions? I think the answer here is that scientists have been made conceited in recent times by their acquired status and improved financial resources, so that they dont think they need to bother with activities that dont bring in large amounts of money in funding every year. Philosophy, on the other hand, ismuch harder to define. Generally speaking, it can be thought of as an activity that uses reason to explore issues that include the nature of reality (metaphysics), (The first philosophy (Metaphysics) is universal and is exclusively concerned with primary substance. And here we will have the science to study that which is just as that which is, both in its essence and in the properties which, just as a thing that is, it has. (Aristotle, 340BC)) the structure of reasonable thinking (logic), the limits of our understanding (epistemology), the meaning implied by our thoughts (philosophy of language), the nature of the moral good (ethics), the nature of beauty (aesthetics), and the internal workings of other disciplines (philosophy of science, philosophy of history, etc.). Philosophy does this by methods of study and questioning that include rational arguments. Now, it seems to me that: a) philosophy and science are two distinct activities, b) they work by different methods (observation-based hypothesis testing vs. reason-based logical analysis), and c) they inform each other in a co-dependent manner. Science depends on philosophical theories that are outside the range of experimental validation, bu t philosophical investigations should be informed by the best science available in a range of situations, from metaphysics to ethics and philosophy of mind. So when some critic for instance defends that science can start an attack on all religious beliefs, they are surrendering too much to science and too little to philosophy. Yes, science can experimentally test specific religious claims, but the best objections against the thought are philosophical in nature. The issue is can philosophy advance by itself, without the support of science? Can science work without philosophy? The answer is even though philosophy and science are now two unique areas, to achieve significant knowledge, mix together the outcomes of both domains is a must. In fact, philosophy and science have always learned from each other. Scientists filter what they observe as best they can. They hypothesize, waiting for someone to make a more sophisticated estimate. Scientists consider doubt as a condition they must li ve with. They can live with mistaken belief. For example, a scientist might see only grey squirrels all his life and conclude that all squirrels are grey. His theory is then destroyed when he sees a red squirrel. There is a difference between science as a method and the philosophy of science. Although the scientific method has origins in philosophy, people are free to use the scientific method which rejects the philosophy of science. The science of biology can be educated in a classroom without teaching the philosophy of science. Science as a method tackles experimental questions, and an individual can work at science without believing in the supernatural. The philosophy of science holds that people should limit their beliefs to that which is experimental, in other words rule out the supernatural. The philosophy of science is sceptical about matters away from the untested. The function of philosophy draws imaginary pictures of whatever we observe or feel. Philosophy should be concer ned as much with generating questions as to the finding of answers. Philosophy is biased by nature, but to be biased does not mean to be inferior. Science certainly has its qualities. It is logical and highly organized and it pays attention to the evidential truth. It has producedtechnological surprises and speeded up the materialistic progress of human civilization. It is also basically whatever can be proved independently. And whatever can be proved without bias, as at first it was known to humans in a prejudiced style. Though science has a major relevance in the world, philosophy is much broader than science. I feel that science is what questions have been objectively answered. Whereas philosophy is what could be the more and more questions and what could be all the possible answers to those more and more questions. Philosophy takes priority over science because it is philosophy which has to raise questions and then to propose answers. Science takes only the answers, out of all t he proposed answers, which can be experimentally proved by using the accessible experimental procedures. It is often said that philosophers create knowledge by simply thinking, whereas scientists create knowledge by observing. Galileos experiments about speed of falling objects having different weights as well as about the projectile motion were actually his purposeful attempts to just check the legitimacy of the previously well-known Greek philosophical views regarding these matters. In my opinion, the formation of knowledge is not the role of the scientist. To create new knowledge is actually the role of the philosopher. The role of the scientist is just to extract the objective truths out of already existing ideas. Through experimentation the scientist would bring alterations in many already existing vague philosophical ideas by setting up the exact quantitative relationships between already existing variables. There is a positive role of a scientist. He has to put into operation his advanced theories by discovering and applying new technologies. Science, without philosophical process, turns into no reasonable findings. But, philosophy, without the logical methods of science, results in nonsense. One compliments the other and both are essential to the systematic growth of knowledge. In conclusion, I believe that if a study does not pass the tests of reason, and experimentation, where practical, we have accomplished nothing. Science and philosophy both posses their own qualities and faults in unique ways. Their relationship is competitive at times but neither one would stand at the level of development they have achieved today, without the other.

Feminist Theology :: essays research papers

3Write what you know, the pundits say, and I agree, we are conditioned to take the road less traveled by with only the different drummer to keep us company. As a student, I often find myself stumbling around in the theological woods, feeling lost, losing hope and ending up with mud everywhere, but especially on my face. However, the journey, while it lasts, is more interesting than the interstate highway of common knowledge; it certainly has a way of keeping complacency at bay. For me, that seed has often been something theological. I also often find myself playing the ‘devils advocate’ asking, â€Å"What does God look like to those who belong to the rigid social order of the orthodox church, look like in the twentieth-first century?† When modern feminist theologians look at the text of the scriptures, they are quick to point out neglected aspects of the Word and are quick to challenge the "patriarchal" worldviews and assumptions that many consider to b e biblical, but may indeed only be cultural. Evangelical feminists who uphold the integrity of the biblical text as the Word of God have done much to cause the Church to reexamine its views on the role of women in the Church. The challenge has come not from social movements but from the biblical texts themselves. It is essential that we as students look beyond the hermeneutical value, to that which is ingrained in the text not because of truth but rather because of tradition. Professor Trible's research on Adam and Eve notes that the Fall created an inequality in the family relationship that had not existed before. And if Christ has become a cure for us (Galatians 3:13), that curse of inequality is undone in Him as well as in the text in which she refers our attention. Feminist theologians have also recovered the neglected feminine references to God in scripture (noting: the word for Spirit, Ruach, in Hebrew, is feminine) and pointed out the roles of women in the Bible as deacons, co-laborers with Paul in ministry, judges of the nation (Deborah), and possibly even apostles (Junia of Romans 16:7). There are, of course, other things going on in Professor Trible’s writing, but the subtext of theologic al issues gives each story its texture as the abstract ideas intertwine with the actual plot. If I write about nomadic Arabs in 1919 Palestine and describe the tents and daily tea ritual, how can I fail to bring in the Qur'an?

APUSH Extra Credit

In the United State s of America . From 1998 to the present, this country has strayed away from the ideals pre sensed within the Declaration of Independence. Three major ideas expressed in the Declared ion were the natural laws giving the people the right to assert political independence as long as the e reason for doing so is Justified, the Inalienable rights of people to life liberty and the pursuit of h peppiness, and the purpose of government to protect these rights and In case of failure to do so e abolished.These three examples, the Republic of Lookout, the excellently Issue, and the numb ere of militias around the united States give evidence to the claim that the united States ha s moved further away from the main ideas within the Declaration of Independence. The Republic of Lookout claims to exist today in the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, and Wyoming. It is the supposed homeland of the Alack a Native American tribe.It is not recognized by the feder al government of the United States. I n 2007, the Lookout Freedom delegation, led by Russell Means, traveled to Washington where he submitted statement declaring Independence from the U. S. The reason professed by the Alack ah Is that they were never a part of the country and were being ruled by force. From a legal sat endpoint the Lookout claim to have always been a sovereign nation under Article Six of the Consist caution.The Lookout have provided legitimate reasons to exercise their right to secede from the U. S. Claims made by the Lookout have not been taken seriously by Congress. By seemingly ignoring Eng the pleas of the Lookout, Congress Is Ignoring the natural law outlined In the Declaration of Independence thus making it's way further from the ideals held sacred in the dotcom

Evaluate the appropriateness of business information Essay

In this task I will be evaluating the appropriateness of business information used to make a strategic decision. In this part of the task I will be focusing on Tesco business. I will be talking about the importance in strategic decisions within Tesco and how they use the decisions for their business. Also I will be evaluating how the strategic decisions affect the financial performance of Tesco. Tesco Price Promise Website: Tesco uses the price checker to show customers that they are the cheapest supermarket out of the three leading supermarkets, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Asda. This is an important strategy for Tesco as they are able to gain customers as well as being competitors this leads to Tesco being able to make more profit compared to Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s. Tesco has given this facility to people so that they are able to see where they have saved money and what they have got cheaper. Tesco has mainly got the price checker facility for themselves and this would be so that they can see what they need to do to be able to gain more customers as they are able to see what there consumers like. Tesco’s provide information which is valid and up to date so that it is easy and fast for the customers to compare the prices of every product they buy. This strategy is used to create marketing plans which then leads on to the strategic decisions made for Tesco. This is done by using the information as part of their marketing plan which will gain customers and maintain their business. Tesco Price Promise Receipt: Tesco doesn’t only provide their customers with the facility to go home and check on the internet how much they are saving but they also give their customer the opportunity to check how much they have saved compared to Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s. This is done when they buy 10 or more items, they would automatically compare your final prices with the other supermarkets and give you two receipt of which one contains your main shopping list and prices and one says you have ‘ £ (something amount) off your next shop’ and this something amount is the amount of money you have saved in your shopping that same day. You are given two options at the bottom of the receipt which is where you can go to the customer service desk and get a voucher for the  amount you have shopped of using the code go onto online. Most importantly Tesco is giving the chance for you to do everything while shopping this is an advantage towards the customers as they would not want to go home and go through a long process whereas they can do it fast and much more easily. This increase profits the profit within the business as Tesco is providing you with products for cheaper and helping you. This also becomes more competitive against a rival as they have a way to increase customers and steal the customers there rivals have. This concludes to a positive financial performance as Tesco are gaining customers and earning a profit compared to other supermarkets. Tesco Club Card: Tesco has a club card facility, and this is a card which can be kept as a key ring as well as a card in your wallet. This allows you to gain points every time you shop at Tesco. This is also beneficial to Tesco as well because they are able to see what you have bought in your shopping basket and according to that they send you vouchers on your most bought items, allowing you to buy more. Also they give you vouchers so that you come back to Tesco as your shopping would be cheaper than it normally is, this attracts customers as they are saving money on their shop and this is what they want. This information Tesco is gaining helps them as they are able to achieve more customers so this increase the rival competitors and they are also gaining an increase in profit and customers due to the fact more people are shopping at Tesco and using the services they provide, this also means Tesco are able to develop even more. Tesco’s financial accounts from 2011-2012 The image above shows the financial highlights of Tesco within the world and the image on the right shows the financial highlights of Tesco in the UK. These figures reflect on the strategic decision as it would help Tesco to make future budgets and it also shows whether the services and facilities they have set up actually help make a profit for the business. Also it helps make long term decision like where they should expand next and how they would meet their aims. Also the price checker would has contributed to this as it has increased the amount of customers that shop at Tesco also it has shown people awareness of the Tesco business itself and this has increased the sales of Tesco which has been able to increase the sales revenue. Conclusion: Overall, I believe that Tesco has many strategies and these strategies help Tesco to make further decisions on what they will be doing as they would be aiming to increase profit, and become the better rivals. Tesco’s financial performance is getting better due to the better strategic decisions made within the company to increase profit and gain customers. Tesco uses the clever tools for them to be an effective company so that financial performances increase, which allows marketing plans to be made. This allows Tesco to create their strategic decisions, proving the information is appropriate.

Business information and their sources Essay

This report aims to show the different forms of information used in H&M. It will tell us if we need to improve on any of our methods of communication, or if we need to enhance any methods we use. Internal information is when it can be found from inside the business, such as previous sales records. External information is when the information needs to be found from outside the company, for example in books or customer feedback forms. Primary information is when you have received the information fist hand, either through a report or through surveys. We need internal information for evidence so nothing is mis interpreted within the business. Internal information can be previous records, we need these to write reports and to make sure the business isn’t at a loss. H&M need external information to monitor new trends so we can stay ahead of fashion. We do this by getting our internal and external customers to complete questionnaires. It is important that we do this so our customers always stay interested in the clothes that we have on offer so we do not lose any business. Combining internal and external information is very effective because your ideas can be expanded by using existing ideas but with our own unique twist. So we can take an existing idea on a clothing range, but then add something to it based on the feedback and ideas we get from our customers. Internal information can be more important for H&M than external information because it includes private details and information of the company that cannot be found anywhere else. This would be needed if we were to start a sale because we’d have to know what products are not selling well to put them in the sale. However, external information can be seen as more important that internal information because it includes new information from customer feedback. This is much needed because it would help our business form fresh ideas and to help us move forward. Internal information cannot help us do this. H&M need primary information to help the business run smoother and gain new  ideas. We can do this by getting surveys from the public to get more ideas on things we can sell or do in store. Primary information is very useful because it can be used for a lot of different things, for example customer service or new clothing ranges. Also it is usually very reliable because you have created it. Secondary information can also be used to gain new ideas. We can use secondary information to do this because the information has already been created so we could just expand on the information to make it unique and our own. A combination of primary and secondary information is important because it means that we can monitor our own records and also monitor our competitor’s records so that we can always try to stay on top. Primary can be more important than secondary information because we are actually creating the informatio9n so it is 100% reliable whereas secondary information is not always be reliable because it was created by an unknown source. Verbal information is when it can be spoken, for example a phone call. In our company, we give verbal information to our staff and customers. We verbally give information to our staff because it is quick and easy. Written information is written down to pass information, for example a letter or email. We use written information to communicate because it can be used as confirmation and it is harder to be forgotten if you have it written down. We also give written confirmation to our customers all the time, for example receipts. We do this so there is proof of purchase and there is no mis understanding between the business and the customers. Multimedia can be shown through moving adverts or audio. It is a very effective way to present information because it engages the reader a lot more than a bit of writing on a piece of paper. We use multimedia in different ways, for example, on our website there are videos of our products being modelled and shown on the catwalk. We use multimedia in this way so our customers will stay engaged and will be more interested in our products if they see them on top models. Using a combination of verbal and written information is more effective than just using either one of them. Having a staff meeting is quick, easy and usually there isn’t any miscommunication. To guarantee that there has been no mis communication, you can send an email after the meeting has taken place just too highlight was said in the meeting. Verbal information is  sometimes better than written information because if we needed to pass information on to our team, having a meeting where we could easily speak to them all at once is more appropriate than using written information by sending an e-mail or letter where there could be mis-communication. Written information can be better than verbal information when for example we needed to confirm a purchase with a customer. We would need to give them a type of written confirmation because if the sale was done verbally, information could easily be forgotten or mis-communication could occur. To conclude I am going to summarise this report. The way we use internal and external information is very successful because H&M uses original ideas combined with ideas from customer feedback to improve the way the company functions. How primary and secondary information is used in the company is also successful. This is due to us using our own reliable information (primary) and comparing it to our competitor’s information (secondary) to monitor whether we are currently popular or not. Verbal and written information is the most effective way of transferring information within H&M. This is because there is a very small chance of mis-communication if verbal and written information is given properly. To fully conclude, H&M are transferring information successfully in all different ways.

Success with Agile Project Management in General Dynamics Essay

Success with Agile Project Management in General Dynamics - Essay Example It allows the allocation of different tasks to each individual, and a creation of a discussion forum to evaluate the progress of each of the development team members (Cockburn, 2007). The stand-up meetings in the Agile Project Management are essential in the provision of information on the individually allocated responsibilities, as well as provision of a proper communication platform for discussion on the software development information. In agile software development, stand-up meetings have significant value in delivering crucial information to the individuals involved within the project. The concept of agile software development revolves around providing solutions through assessment of operational problems, through constantly and continuously reviewing the essential requirements (Schuh, 2005). In Agile project management, the projects are normally broken down into pieces for faster completion and the individuals divided into numerous teams working on different sections of the proj ect (Cockburn, 2007). The projects cycle normally remains the same and is repeated on the various sections identified by the project managers, and team leaders. Agile project management in software development ensures that the software development cycle is unaltered, and hence the project is completed on time and within the allocated resources (Cockburn, 2007). ... gile project management facilitates and encourages continued communication, which remains a fundamental component for any agile software development methods (Cockburn, 2007). In the General Dynamics, the use of the Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM) proved suitable to the Defence Equipment and Support, in addition provide for a study ground for testing the effectiveness and possible future use of DSDM in other software development projects. The Dynamic Systems Development Method proved effective in the General Dynamics due to ensuring the delivery of the Combat Identification Server (CIdS) Technology Demonstrator Project (TDP) within the stipulated time, allocated resources, and high quality (General Dynamics, 2010). Dynamic Systems Development Method helped in the swapping of requirements, and hence the provision of flexibility that ensured delivery within the stipulated time and within the allocated budget and other resources. This is contrary to the traditional project mana gement that mainly focused on meeting the technical requirements of the project and ended up compromising on the project cost and duration (General Dynamics, 2010). The Dynamic Systems Development Method is a fixed process that strictly adheres to the allocated time, budget and quality assurance, regardless of the economic and technology trends. The only dynamic factor in Dynamic Systems Development Method is the features. However, the traditional project management methods tend to have the features as the fixed factor in the project, with uncertainty on quality and suitability of the resultant software and the need for additional time and resources for the project completion (General Dynamics, 2010). In other words, the traditional project management is inconsistent in the terms of

African american and Immigrant Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

African american and Immigrant - Essay Example opinion this subordination primarily involves Black Americans and is used as some form of initiation for an immigrant to be admitted and assimilated into the United States. This paper explores the significance of Ahmad’s perspective on immigration and race issues in America to understanding Ralph Ellison’s story, the Battle Royal and specifically identify what the young African Americans experience today in this context. In Ahmad’s discussion of Morrison’s model of immigrant assimilation, he suggested that Blacks are no longer the sole subjects of the subordination framework in the immigration and assimilation tradition in the US as claimed by Morrison. He attributed this development primarily to the dramatic change in demographic shift, which transforms a largely European-composed American society into one that is predominantly Latino and Asian. According to Ahmad, â€Å"immigrants today are made American not only when they learn to subordinate African Americans, but when they are racialized as subordinates as well.† (102) In Battle Royal, Ralph Ellison illustrated through the Invisible Man what was the ideal African-American individual - one who knows his place, docile and follows the standards that was set for him by the white community. He is equal with the others when we talk of the common good but excluded like the finger of the hand in everything social.1 After the black protagonist’s speech near the end of the story, the white school superintendent exulted on his speech with its impassioned affirmation to the racial stereotype with these words: Gentlemen, you see that I did not overpraise this boy. He makes a good speech and some day he’ll lead his people in the proper paths. And I don’t have to tell you that that is important in these days and times. This is a good, smart boy, and so to encourage him in the right direction, in the name of education I wish to present him a prize†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (281) The young Negro was overjoyed with the approval

Criminology Theories. A glimpse into the future Case Study

Criminology Theories. A glimpse into the future - Case Study Example . However, because of the stigma attached to the primary deviance, these same people often consciously considered a form of secondary deviance behavior that reinforced the beliefs of the same mainstream society that shunned them in the first place. It is my contention that with smoking outlawed, that the people who had been addicted to the substance before it was made illegal would have continued to smoke, but the process would have involved a number of illegal activities and hidden behaviors given the social condemnation of the act. These would include behaviors such as growing tobacco plants, harvesting and selling the substances, much in the same way marijuana is being grown and distributed in society today. It is clear that the changes mentioned in this case scenario would impact the types of laws that are of importance to society. For example it would appear that traffic offences and deaths would be substantially reduced due to the changes in transportation, and that inner urban areas would become more crowded as people moved from high population areas such as Florida for example, inland to where they were less likely to be affected by flooding.

A woman's right to choose abortion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

A woman's right to choose abortion - Essay Example Though most of the people think that abortion is a moral concern but it is a constitutional issue as well. It is a legal right of women to decide what they want to do with their body and their life without any interference or influence from any other individual. The ninth amendment of the United States of America’s constitution states that: â€Å"The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.† (9th amendment of U.S. constitution). This amendment guarantees the right to have an abortion to the women. Women are legally allowed to have an abortion up to the end of first trimester. If a woman is willing to have an abortion then no one according to the constitution has the right to stop her. It is her private issue and she has complete legal authority to take a decision about it. If anyone goes against the constitution and tries to stop her then he legally is worthy of a punishment. The pro-l ife movement view abortion as a murder and a moral issue. They argue that a woman having an abortion is killing a life. But this not the case as up till the first trimester the fetus is not a baby. So women have complete liberty to have an abortion according to the constitution.

Summarize Strategic Management in a Healthcare Organization Research Paper

Summarize Strategic Management in a Healthcare Organization - Research Paper Example Additionally, Strategic management has a combination of elements that are correlated and are crucial to achieving the predetermined objectives. Strategic management is important in healthcare organizations because it plays a fundamental role in correctly predicting the future and establishing mechanisms for dealing with emerging issues (Hunger & Wheelen 2010). Ideally, strategic management assist healthcare organizations in identifying potential opportunities as well as challenges and establishes mechanisms for dealing with the inherent situations (Hunger & Wheelen 2010). Strategic management is essential for healthcare organizations because it aids in planning for various activities and operations effectively discarding frustrations. Healthcare organizations are constantly faced with external threats, and strategic management provides a solution to this challenging event. Ideally, strategic management aid in determining external pressure by coming up with effective solutions to deal with the issues (Hunger & Wheelen 2010). Strategic management is important in a healthcare organization because it is growth oriented. Essentially, the role of strategic management is to constantly seek for opportunities that are effective for success (Hill et al., 2012). Healthcare organizations require strategic management plans as a consequence of remaining relevant in a dynamic environment. The tool can aid healthcare organizations in planning, monitoring development programs and the implementation of processes. Consequently, healthcare organizations are capable of predicting the future and responding to the inherent challenges and

Chinese Nationalist Party Essay Example for Free

Chinese Nationalist Party Essay On 1 October 1949, Mao Zedong, leader of the Chinese Communist Party declared victory over the Nationalist Party (Guomindang) and brought an end to four brutally long years of Civil War. The Communist victory in the Civil War has however, created significant debate among historians, namely: was a Communist victory inevitable and if so is it more sensible to see the Chinese Civil War as a Communist victory or as a Nationalist defeat?When researching these questions it becomes blatantly obvious that the Guomindang government led by Chiang Kai-Shek was riddled with problems and they are very much the cause of their own downfall. Widespread government corruption, spiraling inflation, loss of public confidence and intractable poverty are just a few of the failings the Guomindang afflicted upon the Chinese people. These monumental failings make a Communist victory seem almost inevitable, in that they just happened to be there to assume power as the Nationalists lost support and drowned in their own mistakes. In this sense it is more sensible to view the Civil War as a Nationalist defeat, rather than a Communist victory. On the other hand, the Communists were able to turn dismal rural poverty and the Japanese invasion into assets, using them to convince villagers that radical change was imperative and that the Communist Party was best qualified to bring about this change. Seen in this light, superior strategy and organisational methods allowed the Communists to achieve victory and not just move into a vacuum as suggested by Barnett (Barnett, 1965: 1). There is certainly an element of inevitability with regard to the Communist victory, however, in this essay I will argue that not only was the outcome of the Chinese Civil War not preordained, but I will also critically evaluate the reasons the Guomindang lost the Civil War and explain that given their policy mistakes, the Civil War should be seen as a Nationalist defeat rather than a Communist victory. If the Nationalists had been willing to adapt and had they initiated some changes in their strategies, the Communist Party, no matter what its internal organisation or external strategies, would not have been able to bring revolution to China. This theory is not supported by Kubek, who argues that the cause of the  Nationalist defeat was due to a lack of aid from the United States, declaring sovietisation of China and Manchuria could be the only logical outcome of post-war United States policy in China (Kubek, 1965: 62). This view point is unduly simplistic and overvalues Americas role in China, an opinion supported by Chang, who believes the Guomindang governments failure was due not so much to lack of American support, but to its inherent defects (Chang, 1965: 40). Before analysing these inherent defects and the reasons that the Nationalist Party lost the Civil War, it is important to understand the fundamentals of the situation in China at the end of World War Two; specifically the consequences of the eight year war with Japan that totally exhausted the Guomindang militarily, economically and spiritually. Hsu argues that the war with Japan is the single most important cause for the downfall of the Nationalists and had there been no Japanese war, the situation in China would have been very different (Hsu, 1990: 734). Many of the Guomindangs problems such as factionalism, corruption and leadership were prevalent prior to the Sino-Japanese War; however it was during the last phases of the Sino-Japanese War that these problems reached crisis proportions and in hindsight it seems impossible that the Guomindang could have overcome these problems to defeat the Communists (Service, 1965: 29). Chang also believes that the Guomindang faced insurmountable problems prior to the Civil War, stating that the government of Chiang Kai-Shek was built on quicksand and clay. How can it stand? Is it any wonder that it fell like a house of cards when it had to face the Communist crisis? (Chang, C. 1965: 41). Westad, (2003: 7) however argues that in spite of the Guomindangs weaknesses, the outcome of the post-war conflict with the Communists was no way predetermined in 1945. At the end of the Sino-Japanese War the Guomindang held significant advantages over the Communists, with its widely recognised legitimate government controlling China, giving it the power to tax and conscript. On the other hand, the Communists could not match the Guomindangs troops in terms of training and equipment and could be  outgunned and outmanoeuvred in all major regions of the country (Westad, 2003: 8). Furthermore, the Communist party was hardly represented in the cities at all, which of course was the power base of the Guomindang. However, the Communists also had successes resulting from the war with Japan including increasing their area of control and practiced evolving their strategies of protracted guerrilla warfare against the Japanese which in turn generated public support. Despite this the partys main forces were still located in North-west China and they were not in such a powerful position that a civil war with the Guomindang would be a mere formality in securing control of the country. The Civil War is therefore simply not a case of the imminent decline of the Guomindang and the Communists irresistible rise. Rather the Sino-Japanese War provided the framework for the decisions and strategies that would ultimately lead to Nationalist defeat. The war with Japan left the Guomindang decimated and they did need to undergo reform in order to survive; however the factionalism and corruption within the Guomindang resulted in increasingly repressive controls being implemented upon the war weary Chinese people. At a time when new strategies were needed, the government instead continued its repressive controls and when war again broke out, the government lost even more support and collapsed with cataclysmic speed. This was due in no small part to the leadership of the Guomindang, whose perpetuation of their own power dominated over all other considerations (Service, 1965: 28). The arrogance and mismanagement of the Guomindang alienated the Chinese people and caused a loss of public confidence and respect. This loss of respect not only resulted in the Nationalists losing influence in their own power bases, but made it easier for the Communists to exploit this public disharmony and encourage the Chinese people to think that a change in administration would bring about a change in their fortunes. An example of the Guomindangs poor leadership strategies can be seen in their occupation of former Japanese colonies (Service, 1965: 29). The Chinese citizens within these Japanese occupied territories had waited eight  years for the return of Nationalist rule, but instead of being treated as victims of war, they were exploited. The Guomindang leaders did not return their land but acquired it as their own property; moreover, they virtually eliminated the monetary assets of these people. This was caused by the currency in the occupied territories going through extreme inflation as the government only offered the exorbitant exchange rate of two hundred to one; when a more reasonable rate would have been half that much (Phillips, 1996: 158). Furthermore, the puppet leaders that had been installed by the Japanese often kept their positions or became members of the Guomindang. Poor policy decisions such as this would lead to the downfall of the Guomindang, as it is impossible to fight a n effective war without the support of the people and the economic policies of the government alienated millions of suffering people. The Guomindangs economic problems were not limited to the territories formerly occupied by the Japanese. All over China inflation was an exceptionally large problem, for as the increases seen during the Japanese War were allowed to spiral out of control during the Civil War. Service, (1965: 29) argues that this is a direct result of corruption within the Guomindang, and that they refused to take any effective steps to check inflation or implement agricultural reforms for fear of losing the support of the landlord class in China. In view of this, the Guomindang developed urban industry at the expense of agricultural and financed this by simply printing more bank notes. Their economic mismanagement was disastrous for the majority of the Chinese people and meant that by 1948 government expenditure had become thirty times larger when compared to its pre-war level; the budget deficit had also blown out to thirty times it pre-war level and inflation was increasing at the rate of thirty per cent a month (Chang, K. 1965: 23). The Nationalist government faced imminent financial doom and the Chinese people were becoming aware of the selfish nature of their government whose economic policies and financial mismanagement destroyed the livelihood of hundreds of millions of Chinese. The failings of the Guomindang would provide the Communist party with ample opportunities to exploit the discontent of the Chinese people. This was one of the reasons for the Communist victory in that they were able to gain the support of people from the rural areas who the Guomindang had alienated. An example of this can be seen in the rural land reforms implemented in newly gained territories. In these areas the Communists promoted production and ensured supplies by creating a self-sufficient economy. To rouse the productive enthusiasm of the peasants, they launched a campaign to reduce rent and interest. Peasant associations and other organisations were urged to demand and enforce a 25 percent rent reduction, with a rent ceiling set at 37.5 percent of the crops. The interest rate on loans was limited to 1.5 percent a month, or 18 percent a year, much lower that the excessive rate formerly charged by the landlords (Westad, 2003: 11 and Fielding, 1999: 134). They were able to achieve these reforms without confiscating large amounts of land, as considerable redistribution of land to the peasants was accomplished by impo sing graduated taxes in such a way that larger landholders voluntarily sold land because it was no longer profitable. It is arguable that the Communists had no intention of eliminating the economic power of the landlords, but instead they showed the peasants that they could exercise their power locally and play an active role in the war against a government that some had come to despise. The Communists gave the peasants what they wanted: an army of friendly troops who not only did not steal their crops but helped them bring in the harvest and who implemented popular but gradual economic reforms (Ebrey, 1996: 289). This is in stark contrast to the Guomindang who did not understand the peasants and showed no interest in aiding them. They failed to see the revolutionary potential of the peasant masses and unlike the Communist Party never attempted to organise them. This situation was best summarised by Hsu: the stone that one builder had rejected became the cornerstone of the others house (Hsu, 1990: 738). However, many of the most important cause of the Nationalist defeat during the Civil War were military ones. Despite emerging from the Japanese War better equipped and trained, the Nationalist Army was a tired force (Hsu, 1990: 734). This war-weariness was felt throughout China and there was  widespread recognition that full scale civil war would be a tragedy for the country. It is therefore, not surprising that the Guomindangs persistence in military aggression towards the Communists, who were Chinese after all, failed to arouse the same patriotic loyalty as when the enemies were Japanese (Stuart, 1965: 19). Given this situation the Nationalist Army needed good leadership and to gain the support of the people; they were unsuccessful on both counts. This was largely due to the leadership system created by Chiang Kai-Shek that was a congerie of conservative political cliques concerned primarily with maintaining their own power (Service, 1965: 30). Furthermore, the highest military posts were reserved for those who like Chiang Kai-Shek had graduated from the Whampoa military academy and this often meant that more talented officers were turned away. General Barr of the United States said of the Guomindang leadership in 1949 that, their military debacles in my opinion can all be attributed to the worlds worst leadership and many other morale destroying factors that lead to a complete loss of will to fight (Barr, 1949: x quoted in Bianco, 1971: 180). In fact, many battles were lost by the Nationalists without a fight, as hundreds of thousands of troops simply defected or surrendered to the Communists (Barnett, 1965: 5). An example of this may be seen during the Huai-Huai Campaign, where poor military leadership caused the Nationalist troops to become surrounded and resulted in an irreparable loss of manpower without a fight (Phillips, 1996: 158). Rather than undertaking offensives to seek out and destroy the main mobile guerrilla units of the Communists, they holed up for the most part in isolated, vulnerable, defensive positions allowing the Communists to concentrate their forces and attack and overwhelm Nationalists positions one by one (Barnett, 1965: 5). This strategy played into the hands of the Communists whose primary goal was to reduce the numbers of the Nationalist army. They were not concerned with holding specific geographic areas and this allowed them to be a lot more flexible in their attacks. Moreover, the Communist troops were ordered to avoid large battles and to engage the enemy only when there was a high probability of victory. Mao Zedong argued that the only way guerrilla warfare could succeed  is if the army had the support of the people, and the Communists certainly had this (Mao Zedong, 1940: x cited in Bianco, 1971: 184). The Communists successfully achieved this through the use of propaganda. They portrayed themselves as defenders of the nation and the Guomindang as enemies of all levels of society, from peasant to scholar (Chang, C. 1965: 40). Chiang Kai-shek himself admitted that the Nationalists failure in propaganda was a major defect in our struggle against Communism (Kai-shek, 1965: 77). Despite this, the Nationalist army had many opportunities to seriously weaken the Communists. However, their leadership too often committed crucial tactical mistakes, which were the result of lack of communication and disputes within the party caused by the factionalism that riddled the Guomindang leadership (Westad, 2003: 11). Clique politics and factionalism would eventually lead to the situation where unified action to either solve the problems in Nationalist held territory or to fight against the Communists became virtually impossible (Barnett, 1965: 6). This is in stark contrast to the leadership of the Communist armies, whose generals were not concerned with personal gain, but instead co-operated with each other and gained the support of the Chinese people and worked towards a united goal (Westad, 2003: 9). These superior military tactics and aforementioned economic reforms brought the Communists wide spread support and ultimately victory. However, this victory would never have been achievable were it not for the military, economic and social failings of the Guomindang. Chiang Kai-Shek himself admitted major defects in organisation and technique in the Nationalists war against Communism, however he argued that these defects were remediable, so long as our strategy and policy were correct, I believe we still could have won (Kai-Shek, 1965: 82). It is in this light that the Chinese Civil War should be viewed not as a Communist victory, but as a Nationalist defeat. There is no doubt that the war against Japan was a crushing blow to the Nationalists economic and military power, however it was not fatal. The  Nationalist government could have continued to consolidate its power and authority by the sheer weight of its military strength and financial resources (Tsou, 1965: 28). Even though the Nationalist government was far from popular, it was the most powerful military and economic force in China and could have survived if it had been willing to regain the support of the people. Defeat to the Communists was therefore, far from inevitable, and the Nationalists were very much the engineers of their own demise. BIBLIOGRAPHY Barnett, A. (1965), Multiple factors, in Pichon Loh (ed.) The Kuomintang Debacle of 1949: Conquest or Collapse? D.C. Heath Company, BostonBianco, Lucien. (1971), Origins of the Chinese Revolution, 1915-1949 Stanford University Press, StanfordChang, Carsun. (1965), Chiang Kai-shek and Kuomintang dictatorship, in PichonLoh (ed.) The Kuomintang Debacle of 1949: Conquest or Collapse? D.C. Heath Company, BostonChang, Kia-Ngua. (1965) War and Inflation in Pichon Loh (ed.) The Kuomintang Debacle of 1949: Conquest or Collapse? D.C. Heath Company, BostonEbrey, Patricia. (1996), Cambridge Illustrated History: China, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, EnglandFielding, Mark Morcombe, Margot. (1999), The Spirit of Change China in Revolution McGraw Hill Book Company, Roseville, NSWHsu, Immanuel C.Y. (1990), The Rise of Modern China Oxford University Press, New YorkKai-shek, Chiang 1965, Communist designs and Kuomintang blunders, inPichon Loh (ed.) The Kuomintang Debacle of 1949: Conquest o r Collapse?, D.C. Heath Company, BostonKubek, Anthony 1965, Communist subversion and American appeasement, inPichon Loh (ed.) The Kuomintang Debacle of 1949: Conquest or Collapse?, D.C. Heath Company, BostonPhillips, Richard. (1996) China since 1911 St Martins Press, New York. Service, John S. 1965, The enthronement of reaction, in Pichon Loh (ed.)The Kuomintang Debacle of 1949: Conquest or Collapse?, D.C. Heath Company,BostonStuart, John L. (1965), Popular Discontent and Creeping Paralysis, in Pichon Loh (ed.)The Kuomintang Debacle of 1949: Conquest or Collapse?, D.C. Heath Company,BostonTsou, Tang 1965, Contradictions between program and practise, in PichonLoh (ed.) The Kuomintang Debacle of 1949: Conquest or Collapse?, D.C. Heath Company, BostonWestad, Odd Arne 2003, Decisive Encounters: the Chinese Civil War 1946 -1950, Stanford University Press, California