Economic Case For Launch Of New Product (Gluten Free Bread)

Honour and identity in Pride and Prejudice: online essay help

In ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ the mother, Mrs Bennet, becomes a caricature of motherhood, desiring for her daughters first and foremost a “secure” marriage—by which she means one which is monetarily advantageous or raises the family’s social standing. Her primary objective following the first ball at the local assembly rooms, is to show off that her daughter Jane had three dances with Mr Bingley, quite overtly to Mrs Lucas, even putting on a show of pity for Caroline Lucas’s being plain. Mrs Bennet’s monologues are full of the kind of thoughtless juxtapositions of concern for her Lydia’s honour and concern for Lydia’s wedding outfit. She cried about “Such flutterings all over me” but quickly follows it with the direct command “Lydia [is] not to give any directions about clothes”, suggesting it could cause a disaster similar in scale to that of her running off with Mr Wickham. However, even that which could be seen as a positive caring for the daughter’s honour could be a simple act of vanity, worrying that “we will be much talked of”. Her theatricality means that the reader must continually doubt whether anything she says is true t oho she feels. Mrs Bennet first exclaims that she is “sick of Mr Bingley” but six lines later says she “Always knew I should persuade you at last” to visit Mr Bingley such that the Bennet daughters may be introduced.

Though usually unaware of what she is doing, Mrs. Bennet consistently promotes connections threatened by her daughters’ modesty or pride. Early in the novel she forces Elizabeth to defend Darcy by responding at such length to an imagined slight that Elizabeth feels compelled to intervene: “Indeed, mamma, you are mistaken,” said Elizabeth, blushing for her mother.

”You quite mistook Mr. Darcy. He only meant that there was not such a variety of people to be met with in the country as in town, which you must acknowledge to be true.”

This defence anticipates the broader support of Darcy which Elizabeth undertakes toward the end of the novel and it presents Mrs. Bennet as a useful, though inadvertent, instructor. Unwittingly, Mrs. Bennet offers her eldest daughters a flattering contrast. Darcy assures Elizabeth in his explanatory letter, that her and Jane failing to act like their mother has reflected very positively on their prospects.

Mrs Reed’s treatment of Jane is what is often presented as the source of Jane’s anger or desire to rebel, the memories of Mrs Reed and her abusive son John erupting in an incendiary manner, common with imagery of fire throughout the novel. The position she places Jane in the household does not belong to either the family since “she is not a gentleman’s son” nor do the majority of the servants look kindly on her. In fact, Abbot considers Jane even below her status in the household, since she does “no work for her due”. From the beginning of the novel, Jane is made to suffer from isolation which mirrors the very same isolation of Bertha, Rochester’s wife and prisoner. Jane very noisily and with much resistance suffers her punishments wanting “Escape from insupportable oppression” however Helen teaches her at Lowood that by submitting to punishment and taking it silently, as she does when Miss Scatcherd canes her in front of the whole school and she stifles tears, does she claim the most power. This paradox, whereby submission causes a gaining of agency, is one that Jane wrangles with and never fully accepts shown by her not being able to trust in a god who loves her, yet one that she learns to value once she is admonished by Mr Brocklehurst and yet receives the support of all her peers and teachers.

Wanting to identify with high society is a facet of Clarissa’s insecurity about her identity, and how she fits in, and therefore whether she should conform to society’s expectations of her. This cause a real feeling of isolation as she remains trapped between different lifestyle and ultimately struggles to be completely content with the path she has chosen. Highlighted by her marriage with Richard Dalloway, a politician, who cannot even say ‘I love you’ to his wife. He is by no means unloving rather showing affection through flowers and gifts, but Clarissa has chosen for herself an incredibly conventional marriage. Reminded by the arrival of Peter Walsh, she has repressed significant desires and as a result “had the oddest sense of being herself invisible…being Mrs Richard Dalloway.” Peter presents himself in opposition to Richard, as a “bucaneer” who was an “adventurer, reckless…swift and dareing”. She demonstrates restraint within her marriage, and the meeting with Peter Walsh evokes sadness at what could have been, since she cries when Peter calls her “the perfect hostess”, summarising the domestic role she has taken up in this life. Nonetheless, she has entirely constructed this obdurate alternate reality with Peter who is in truth lame: he has his own faltering relationship with Daisy, he criticises everything, such as the British in India, yet comes from an entirely mainstream and ignorant perspective and he fidgets with a pen knife.

8.1.2019

Core Jewish beliefs – afterlife

The Jewish belief revolves around the concept of the afterlife. We have the Torah which teaches us mitzvos and aveiros. Mitzvos are in order to teach us what is the correct way to live our lives so that we can then move on to the next stage of our life: heaven. Aveiros are telling us what not to do; they are incorrect and when we do them, we will be sent to Gahenem after we die. This world was created in order for us, the Jewish people, to conquer the test that God has given us of doing right or wrong. The obdurate actions that we do in this world determine our destiny in the world to come either for reward or punishment.

To be Jewish you technically need to believe in the afterlife; that your deeds in this world will cause you to be rewarded or punished in the afterlife, because otherwise there isn’t any inclination to follow the Torah. However, many Jews don’t believe in it; yet we were still raised with good morals, therefore we do the mitzvos anyways. Moreover, Hashem created this world to test us because He didn’t want to just give everyone the reward. He decided that people need to deserve it so he created olam hazeh. So, in this world, earth, everyone was created in order to move on to the better world, olam habah. We have a choice; either follow Hashem’s Torah and do His mitzvos to get into the world to come or do bad things and go to Gahenem. Depending on the person, each one will truly get what’s coming to them. However, Hashem wants everyone to go to heaven, but sometimes people choose material things/pleasure in this world over the greater good in the world to come.

This view on the afterlife is hard to believe because we have no physical evidence that the afterlife exists. We have a blind faith that we have to behave and follow a set of rules because the world after this one’s apparently pleasurable and unfathomable or incomparable to anything in this world. However, in Daniel (12:2) it states, “וְרַבִּ֕ים מִיְּשֵׁנֵ֥י אַדְמַת־עָפָ֖ר יָקִ֑יצוּ אֵ֚לֶּה לְחַיֵּ֣י עוֹלָ֔ם וְאֵ֥לֶּה לַחֲרָפ֖וֹת לְדִרְא֥וֹן עוֹלָֽם.” That means, “Many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life, others to reproaches, to everlasting abhorrence.” This implies that once you die, you, your neshama, will be judged. Those judged favorably will live forever and those judged bad will be punished.

The non Jewish belief on the afterlife depends on if u believe in g-d or not. The typical atheist believes that they were born with no specific purpose and the world just happened. That lead them to believe that there is no afterlife and there are no consequences for their actions. But other religions that do have a g-d for example Christianity, since its a break off of an Abrahamic religion, also believe in the afterlife and that you are judged for what you do. Additionally, to them, they also have to listen to JC and if they do then they will go to heaven. This shows the Christian belief involving the afterlife.

The Jewish belief on olam haba is that its filled with unbelievable measures of pleasure and everyone’s going to be learning all day. There are 7 levels and on the top level you can learn there, with Hashem, but you can’t see Him of course because we aren’t worthy enough for that. Gahenem though is full of suffering.There are seven levels there too, with the bottom one being the worst. Jews believe that everyone goes to Gahenem just for a little because it’s a cleaning slate for the neshama. However, no one is ever there for more than 11 months. Therefore, we never say Kaddish for a passed one after that extended period of time because kaddish is supposed to elevate one that is in Gahenem.

The non Jewish belief on heaven and Gahenem is that you are at either one for eternity. There are some people that believe in purgatory which is neither good or bad for if you were neither good or bad and if you pass and go there you just walk aimlessly for eternity.

Overall, this world was created as a test for us, the Jewish people, to follow in the way of Hashem. However, if you fail to do so, you will end up in Gahenem. Hashem wants all of us to strive, to be the best we can be because after all, we are in this world to help us get into the better world, olam habah. Hashem doesn’t give anyone a test that they can’t handle. Because at the end of day he wants all of us to be in olam habah, we just need to deserve it first.

8.1.2019

A Separate Peace – John Knowles: college application essay help

A Separate Peace is a fiction book written by the famous American author, John Knowles. Gene Forrester looks back at his former school, Devon, mainly his confusing friendship with his best friend, Finny. The two young men are appeared to have direct inverse viewpoints on the world. Though Finny sees the world as basically agreeable and humane, the skeptical Gene considers the world as overflowing with divisions. Finny’s feeling of culmination attracts individuals to him. However, the novel likewise recommends that he has an untainted method for identifying with the world, one that can’t endure the cruel realities of war.

The themes of “wholeness” and “separateness” keep running all through the novel, with Finny speaking to the previous and Gene the last mentioned. Finny appears to exist in ideal concordance with his general surroundings; a trademark Gene notes over and over when he depicts his companion’s stroll as a “stream.” Finny’s body is by all accounts a single, consistent element, and his body thus is at one with the entire world, floated along by its ebbs and flows and free of pressure from outside powers. This feeling of concordance with the physical world reaches out to Finny’s associations with other individuals. Dissimilar to alternate young men, whom Gene depicts as continually building “Maginot Lines” against their genuine and imaged adversaries, Finny never sets himself against others. Even though he cherishes games, for instance, he comes up short on the drive to separate himself. He declines to give Gene a chance to tell the specialists that he has beaten the school swimming record, and afterward later develops an amusement, blitzball, where nobody wins. Partitioning individuals into classifications, for example, “champs” and “failures” would nullify the valid point of games, in Finny’s eyes: physically communing with the air and sky and connecting with a gathering of different players. For Finny, sports are a demonstration of interfacing, not of separating. Unsurprisingly, every one of the prizes he succeeded at Devon was for sportsmanship, not for athletic ability.

Quality, then again, persistently separates the world into unfriendly and well-disposed camps. In Gene’s eyes, even secondary school sports amusements cover lethal hostilities. Class portrays how he does not confide in different competitors, distinctively envisioning football players “truly keen on pulverizing the life out of one another,” boxers came down within battles to the terrible bug, and tennis balls transforming into projectiles. Though Finny trusts that “when you truly love something, at that point it adores you back,” Gene considers everybody to be a potential adversary—even his closest companion. Quality’s question emerges from the way that he does not just trust that individuals can isolate against each other, yet added that individuals could separate against their extremely selves. He considers Devon to be where everybody has “numerous open faces,” seeming like researchers in the classroom, similar to “blameless outgoing individuals” on the playing field, and like “crooks” in the smoking room. He believes that it is difficult to recognize what anybody may genuinely resemble within, and this uneasiness persuades that Finny harbors a mystery obdurate disdain for him. Through the span of the novel, in any case, Gene comes to understand that his companion’s open and private selves combine into one entire.

While Gene remains wracked with blame over his job in Finny’s mishap and inevitable demise, the novel appears to propose that Finny could not have endured life after Devon. Quality realizes that Finny’s familiar feeling of sympathy would be an obligation on the war zone; he prods him that he would make a horrible warrior since he would be everlastingly befuddling the lines among companion and foe, welcoming the Germans or Japanese to play baseball or coincidentally exchanging regalia with them. In a world unfortunately portrayed by hatred and ruthlessness, Finny’s optimistic perspective of human instinct appears a simple idea more qualified to students than to warriors. Finny himself seems to comprehend this when, for all his emphasis on solidarity and wholeness, he draws an apparent division between his reality and the more prominent truth of the war. The “independent harmony” of the title alludes to Devon, the Eden-like enclave where young fellows can live as guiltless kids. In any case, while the more significant part of the understudies comprehends the division among Devon and whatever is left of the world to be a false one, developed for their enthusiastic advantage, Finny eagerly denies that the war even exists. He compartmentalizes his insight about outside occasions with the goal that he can live entirely and entirely at the time, however as the young men grow up and start enrolling, it turns out to be evident that Finny cannot continue propagating this lie and hope to endure the war.

As Gene takes note of, the various young men of Devon encountered a minute when they got themselves “fiercely hollowed against their general surroundings.” Finny alone “got away from” this destiny—the destiny, that is, of growing up. Finny’s demise, however awful, additionally figures out how to safeguard his honesty, transforming him into an endless image of amicable adolescence.

9.1.2019

The Power Of Persuasion – Animal Farm by George Orwell

Literature And Composition 1H-4

07 December 2017

The Power Of Persuasion

    According to Cathy Benjamin, a reporter for Mental Floss, sixty percent of people can’t go ten minutes without telling a lie (Benjamin 1). Persuasion can be a large part of dishonesty and lying. If you can't convince someone of your lie then they won't believe you. Throughout the past, persuasion and dishonesty has won wars and started them. It has made both friends and enemies alike. So it is obvious that persuasion is a powerful weapon in anyone’s hands. Shiv Khera, an Indian author said “There are good leaders who actively guide and bad leaders who actively misguide. Hence, leadership is about persuasion and presentation.” The novella Animal Farm by George Orwell (1946) is about an animal uprising. Napoleon, a pig from the farm started the book as one of the leaders of the rebellion against power and ended the book with all the power as the clear leader of the farm. He is the kind of leader who actively misguides his followers. You might even call him a dictator. Yet how he keeps his control is due to multiple things that can be rolled into one idea: persuasion. Persuasion, in Napoleon’s case, includes propaganda through Squealer, threats and violence, and changing the past for his benefit.

    The way in which Napoleon, through Squealer, makes use of propaganda proves that propaganda is one way Napoleon keeps control of his followers. Propaganda is a mixture of truth and lies and can be very misleading. In Animal Farm, it is clear that the pigs are smart—smarter than all the other animals. Squealer is one of these. He is Napoleon’s right hoof man and spreader of all propaganda on the farm. After Snowball, another pig that was leading with Napoleon, was driven from the farm and changes were made, Squealer was sent to reassure the animals. He said, “Comrades, I trust that every animal here appreciates the sacrifice that Comrade Napoleon has made in taking this extra labour upon himself. Do not imagine, comrades, that leadership is a pleasure! On the contrary, it is a deep and heavy responsibility.” (Orwell 69). In effect, he is saying that leadership is a struggle and that Napoleon is working very hard for all the animals, when in reality the pigs didn't work at all. This is all just a big lie, exactly what propaganda should be. In a way, Squealer is twisting all the other animals thoughts around. He says that he trusts that they appreciate Napoleon. This makes them think, “well of course I appreciate Napoleon,” because no one wants to be the one to stand up and say, “I don't appreciate Napoleon. What has he done for us?” No one wants to be that person. Later, Squealer is sent to convince the animals again. Orwell writes, “but Squealer spoke so persuasively,…that they accepted his explanation without further questions” (Orwell 72). This also show how ignorant the other animals are. They just accept what Napoleon through Squealer is saying only because of a persuasive voice. And Squealer is very persuasive. There are many times in the book when Squealer convinces the animals of something and he is even described as being able to “turn black into white” (Orwell 36). It is clear that Squealer is a very powerful weapon of propaganda, and through propaganda, persuasion for Napoleon. Napoleon, through Squealer, uses propaganda to control his followers on the farm.

    The vicious dogs that Napoleon has control over and the way that he threatens animals with physical harm, is one way that Napoleon keeps control of the animals on the farm. The dogs that Napoleon took and raised soon became big, terrifying creatures. And that's how they were meant to end up. When Napoleon took them from their mother at a young age, he planned for them to be both his protectors and the enforcers of his laws. When we first see them in the book, they are the ones who chase Snowball off the farm. In a meeting in the barn, when four young pigs voice their dissent, “the dogs sitting round Napoleon let out deep, menacing growls, and the pigs fell silent and sat down again” (Orwell 69). In these scene the dogs are the enforcers. The pigs didn't like what Napoleon was saying but when the dogs start growling, they shut up. The pigs are obviously scared of the dogs. And if the pigs, the most powerful animals on the farm, are scared of the dogs, isn't the one with control of the dogs, Napoleon, even more powerful than they are? And if Napoleon has control of the dogs, he also has a way to control others. If another animal is out of line, all Napoleon has to do is threaten them with the dogs. There is a time when he does use the dogs to kill countless other animals. Napoleon calls another meeting to find out which animals had been “helping” Snowball. The four pigs from earlier were dragged forward and, being scared by the dogs, confessed to everything (be it true or false). Orwell writes, “When they had finished their confession, the dogs promptly tore their throats out, and in a terrible voice Napoleon demanded whether any other animal had anything to confess” (Orwell 93). This shows that not only did Napoleon use the dogs to threaten and control the other animals, but he also acted upon those threats (after this quote was the slaughtering of more animals including chickens, geese, and sheep). And after this happens, the animals are even more afraid of the dogs. If Napoleon wanted his followers to follow him because of their loyalty and respect for him, not because they were afraid of him (or the dogs), he wouldn't have placed himself in a position that made him seem distant and far from all of the other animals. The distance is caused by the violence of the dogs. The threats of violence from the dogs and the fear they create are one way that Napoleon controls the animals.

           Because Napoleon twists the past for his own benefit to make him seem more infallible, he has better control of the animals on the farm. When the rebellion against the humans at the beginning of the book is over, seven commandments are written on the barn. However it seems that as you progress through the book, the commandments seem to change. For example, “No animal shall sleep in a bed” (Orwell 43) became “No animal shall sleep in a bed with sheets” (Orwell 79). This commandment does not give the pigs a great deal of power, but this next one does. “All animals are equal” (Orwell 43) turned into “All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others” (Orwell 133). This eventually becomes the only commandment and all all others are abolished. The pigs now have total control over the farm because of this commandment because they can claim that they are more equal than the other animals. The way it was before, all animals were the same, but now the pigs are more than the others. Napoleon also uses this to suppress any thoughts of rebellion against him for Snowball. Boxer, a horse, thinks he remembers Snowball as a hero of the Farm, but Squealer quashes this with “Our leader, Comrade Napoleon, announced Squealer, speaking very slowly and firmly, has stated categorically – categorically, Comrade – that Snowball was Jones's agent from the very beginning” (Orwell 91). Actually, Boxer was right and Snowball was a hero, but this just goes to show what Napoleon will do for power. He lies to his followers about what actually happens, just to stay in power. He “changed” the past so that he would stay in power for a better future. Because Napoleon changes the past for his benefit, he stays in power and has control of his followers.

            So, sixty percent of people can't go ten minutes without telling a lie. That means that if you

go have a conversation with almost anyone, they will probably have lied to you in the next ten minutes and maybe more. Napoleon must be part of that sixty percent, because his lies and deception are some that occur everyday. Animal Farm is an allegory of life in many different ways. Orwell wrote it as a political allegory, but it also is an allegory of life at school, at work, and at home. The stories always end the same: with people in power lying to control others. They spread those lies through gossip, through propaganda, and through various other means. People persuade others to do things that they may or may not want to do. Napoleon kept control of the farm through some of these kinds of persuasion. He used propaganda, threats and violence and the use of false history to keep control of the farm. Whether or not you agree that persuasion is good or bad, persuasion can accomplish almost anything, good or bad.

Works Cited

Benjamin, Kathy. "60% of People Can't Go 10 Minutes Without Lying." Mental Floss, 7 May

             2012, p. 1, mentalfloss.com/article/30609/60-people-cant-go-10-minutes-without-lying.

Orwell, George. Animal Farm. Signet Classics, 1996.

"Persuasion Quotes." Brainy Quote, 11 Dec. 2017, www.brainyquote.com/topics/persuasion.

AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, is a disease in which your body’s immune system loses its ability to fight infection.  AIDS is caused by a virus called HIV, human immunodeficiency virus.  The virus is spread through sexual contact.  Viruses cannot be treated with antibiotics.  The prevalence of this disease is becoming more and more common.  Viruses are typically left for your body to fight on its own, due to the inability of antibiotics to cure it.  However, because AIDS is an immunodeficiency syndrome, it makes your immune system unable to fight infection and thus, the immune system is unable to fight away the virus.  AIDS has shown up throughout the world.  More than 65 million people have been infected with HIV and more than 25 million people have died of AIDS (The General Assembly, 2006).  Many people do not know that they are infected with AIDS, due to the possible lack of symptoms, and are continuing to spread it blindly.  The AIDS epidemic is threatening development, social, and political stability, food security and life expectancy, imposing an economic burden.  UNAIDS is a branch of the United Nations that is dedicated to the eradication of AIDS.  UNAIDS is working to reduce the prevalence of new infections and protect future generations from acquiring AIDS (UNAIDS, 2016).  If they are successful, the burden caused by AIDS will be lifted.

It has been argued that lack of access to proper healthcare is the cause of the AIDS epidemic, and if that problem can be solved, then AIDS is not the real issue.  However, it has been estimated that of all the HIV infected individuals in the United States of America, approximately 14% are unaware of their infection, and only 19%-30% are virally suppressed (Gisslen, 2016).  The United States is one of the leading nations in the country.  Lack of access to proper healthcare is not a problem in the United States, but still the number of AIDS cases in the United States are high.  AIDS can remain asymptomatic for a number of years.  During the first few months of being infected you will not be able to be diagnosed by a physician.  It take a few months for your body to start making anti-HIV antibodies, and until this happens, AIDS can not be diagnosed.  This continues to fight the ‘lack of access to proper healthcare’ theme.  Bacterial diseases can be made a claim for that case, but not AIDS.

AIDS constitutes a global emergency and poses one of the most formidable challenges to the development, progress, and stability of our respective societies and the world at large, and requires an exceptional and comprehensive global response (The General Assembly, 2006).  UNAIDS has created the ’90-90-90 treatment targets’ as one of their 10 targets for 2020.  The 90-90-90 treatment targets aims to have 90% of people (children, adolescence, and adults) living with HIV know their status, 90% of people living with HIV who know their status receive treatment, and 90% of people on treatment suppress viral loads (UNAIDS, 2016).  Sweden is the first country to achieve this.  The Public Health Agency of Sweden has recently estimated that 90% of those in Sweden infected with HIV have been diagnosed, so that less then 8,000 individuals are now living with HIV in Sweden.  99.8% of patients diagnosed with HIV during 2014 were linked to HIV care (Gisslen, 2016).  

UNAIDS is the United Nations branch dedicated to eradication of AIDS.  UNAIDS has partnered with “the United Nations system, intergovernmental organizations, people living with HIV and vulnerable groups, medical, scientific and educational institutions, non-governmental organizations, the business sector, including generic and research-based pharmaceutical companies, trade unions, the media, parliamentarians, foundations, community organizations, faith based organizations and traditional leaders (The General Assembly, 2006).”  UNAIDS dedicated themselves to work hand-in-hand with the Global Fund and PEPFAR.  PEPFAR stands for The United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.  A new address has been released that states their current plan for accelerating AIDS epidemic control.  Their plan is “first, to maintain life-saving treatment for those we currently support, while making essential services like testing linked to treatment more accessible. Second, to provide even more services for orphans and vulnerable children – those who are immediately and permanently affected when a parent or caretaker is lost to this disease. Finally, to accelerate progress toward controlling the pandemic in a subset of 13 countries, which represent the most vulnerable communities to HIV/AIDS and have the potential to achieve control by 2020 (Tillerson, 2017).”  The Global Fund is a United States organization that invests money globally in order to eradicate different diseases,  AIDS is included.

Countries globally are working together in this.  A lot of the funding is coming through the United States global fund and through the world bank.  These funds are funding antiretroviral therapy (ART) testing.  Like stated previously, because HIV is a virus, antibiotics are not able to cure a patient.  Other methods must be invented and tested.  HIV works by incorporating its DNA into our human cells.  The HIV DNA becomes intertwined with our human DNA, allowing it to replicate during the normal process of cell replication.  Once HIV DNA is replicated there is now double the amount of HIV in the host’s body than there was originally.  If this process is able to continue, the amount go HIV can grow exponentially in a short amount of time.  In the time span of one week one strand of HIV can end up as sixty four strands.  ART works by inhibiting the different enzymes needed for the HIV cells to replicate (Thompson, 2010).  ART is the drug that they used in Sweden in order to achieve the 90-90-90 goals.  ART was able to reduce the severity and consequences of the infection.

AIDS is most prevalent in Africa.  60% of the world’s cases of AIDS reside in Africa.  The International Partnership against AIDS in Africa (IPAA) has been working under the leadership of African governments and using the resources provided by the United Nations, donors, and private business sectors in order to help relieve Africa from the AIDS epidemic.  When trying to help others, it is important to be in direct communication with those in need to see what will actually be helpful to those infected.  This happens in mission work a lot of the time.  Missionaries often go into third world countries and build new schools and hospitals.  Then the missionaries leave.  The people are now left with a big, shiny and new building that they are not able to afford to maintain, they do not have the electricity to keep it running, and they have no knowledge of how to staff the place.  The hospital becomes pointless when there is no doctors or nurses to help any potential patients.  That is why is important to be in contact with the country and patients that are being helped.  Ask them directly what their needs are.  The IPAA is doing that by working under African governments.  The African governments are not able to solve the problem on their own due to lack of resources and knowledge.  However, only the African government is able to provide an account of what the situation is actually like.  In December 2012, 7.6 million people were receiving ART in Africa (UNAIDS, 2012).

The most efficient plans in an environment are created when different perspectives are able to be combined.  UNAIDS is the biggest, most well known, organization working toward reducing the prevalence of AIDS.  The United Nations was created to ensure peace and security globally.  They ar

e able to accomplish this goal by having over 150 nations join the United Nations.  When there is an international problem to be discussed, each country comes to the table with their own vested interests and priorities.  If one country was in charge of making a decision, they would choose the solution that benefitted themselves the most.  Having over 150 nations, and thus over 150 perspectives makes the decision as pleasing as possible to the majority.  That makes the United Nations AIDS effort, UNAIDS, more reliable.

It is important that UNAIDS has decided to reach out to "intergovernmental organizations, people living with HIV and vulnerable groups, medical, scientific and educational institutions, non-governmental organizations, the business sector, including generic and research-based pharmaceutical companies, trade unions, the media, parliamentarians, foundations, community organizations, faith based organizations and traditional leaders (The General Assembly, 2006).” The following interrelationships are important because:

Intergovernmental organizations- These groups are made up of many governments.  They bring different wants, needs, perspectives, and thoughts to be addressed concerning their nation’s needs regarding AIDS.

People living with HIV and vulnerable groups-  These groups are those being directly impacted by AIDS.  It is important to know what will make them feel the most relieved and able to avoid AIDS in the future generations.  Included in this group is the IPAA.

Medical-  Medical professionals are able to know how AIDS is contracted and how it spreads throughout the body.  Medical professionals can suggest the best form of treatment and prevention.  Included here is the public health agency of Sweden.

Scientific and educational institutions-  Research groups are testing different methods to cure AIDS.  Since AIDS cannot be cured by antibiotics, it is the scientific community that needs to come up with a solution.  It is this group that has recently created ART.

Non-governmental organizations- NGO’s are non-profited volunteer groups.  The people in this group really have a heart for AIDS.  They use their free time to help and receive no reward for doing so.

Without outlining every partner the United Nations paired with, it is easy to see the trend.  Every group is able to provide something different in battling the AIDS epidemic.  It would not be a wicked problem if there was an easy solution.  The United Nations has created a strategy called ‘On the Fast-Track to end AIDS.’  UNAIDS has developed the 90-90-90 treatment plan.  Rex Tillerson, the United States Secretary of State, has announced a strategy fro accelerating AIDS Epidemic Control.  Sweden has taken action and was the first country to achieve the 90-90-90 goals.  Africa has tested ART treatment.  The combination of these programs and nations have reduced the number of AIDS cases.  Hopefully a permanent cure can be found and AIDS will no longer be able to be contracted.

Application of constructs and frameworks to real-world problem / Telematic Business Model: writing essay help

Application of constructs and frameworks to real -world problem

Telematic Business Model

Johnson et al ,2008 described the importance of a business model and its application to a viable business.  Using this construct, a startup Telematic firm is proposed to launch technology product for insurance industry and fleet management. The business model consists of four interwoven and related elements, together, create and deliver value. Business model is the framework for a thriving enterprise to align to changes through its operation mechanism. There are diverse uncertainties in business and its architecture of operation give an edge when it is obvious the business needs sustenance or prevented from collapsing.  Innovation comes through the understanding of the key factors of the business and utilizing it to capture value for both the firm and its customer. Traditionally, firms posit a value propositions(Anderson,2006), but the interaction and influence of the customer bring an innovation to the product or service being rendered.  A firm must innovate for the business to thrive and scale in the business model. The growth engine in this instance are the four key areas of the business model and each is mutually independent on one another to create and deliver value.  There is need for clarify of functions of values in a business development. Understanding of the existing business model creates awareness for strength and limitations where adjustments may be inevitable.  Characteristically, a startup like SRcom Telematics Inc looks unattractive to both internal and external stakeholders at the beginning of operation(Blank,2013), hence a need of blueprint to figure out the business existence. A good construct from business model is concerned with opportunity to meet the customer needs at a profit.   Four (4) elements were identified from this literature.

Customer proposition value- This is a way to create value for the customers for the job done. In this scenario, the value for SRcom Telematics firm target customers are the auto insurance companies and the motorists.  Because of the functional capability of the product, the insurance monitors and use driving data record for premium underwriting and also to predict the user risk levels- medium, low or high risk. However, the motorist needs such as speed limit compliance, mapping and navigational use are met using the telematic technology.

Customer proposition value can arguably be the most important tool in the product marketer’s toolset, because it provides the basis for understanding how the product will be realistically valued by the customer. Understanding how the product will provide unique value to the customer will be key to selling the product (Hudadoff, 2009).

Profit formula- This is the blueprint on how company creates and capture values to itself while meeting the customer needs. It is a payoff of the customer value proposition in term of financial gain, brand and market size.  Large customer base increases the volume of sales, thereby bringing down the cost and associated expenses.  The revenue model is therefore the product of price and volume of sales. However, the profit formula suggests and support how resources are utilized to aid expected volume of sales and achieve profit. Hence, profit formula derives value for the company.

Key Resources- In SRcom Telematics, our key resources include talents, technology, sales channel and brand. They are core resources required to deliver value to the customers. Business resources also include the capital from stakeholder to ensure smooth running of the business.  All these together must be harnessed for proper take off and value proposition forecasting. These resources allow the enterprise to reach markets, maintain relationships with customer segments and earn revenues. The key resources constitute the major inputs that the company will use to create its value proposition, service its customer segment and deliver the product to the customer (Strategyzer, 2017).

KEY PROCESS: This is how the company able to deliver value through a repeatable process, creating a community platforms as sales channels (Edelman,2013 and Muegge, 2013).  Other process that are facilitate productivity such as training of staff, development and R &D constituent the key process for the firm. It may sometimes include the company norms, metric and rules for proper management of the affairs of the business. Management looks at the key process and key resource to Innovate and advance value proposition for the company and the company.  Executives look at key process and resource to deliver value for the customer. This can be subdivided into operational and managerial process. The former considers in depths of daily affairs of the company, from sales channels to branding.  To succeed in business, managers need to understand how the opportunity relates with existing business model. An acceptable solution in the market will change over time, hence there the company need the capability to innovate in a competitive market. Business model make this change easy. According to Bob Higgins, a venture capitalist, business failed when it is back with technology. Success comes when we back business model in an organization.

Key processes will ensure that the company maintains a competitive advantage and deliver results that are directed towards specific and measurable business goals. Critical success factors that will achieve the laid down objectives of the company must be identified. Metrics to identify benchmarks must be established and a constant process of auditing must also be set in place to assess productivity (Falite, 2013).

Question 2

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” ― Alvin Toffler

With a colored Mandala portrait in focus, learning technology innovation management from TIMG 5001 course is a total paradigm shift from class learning where students are just given a set of instructions to have a half-baked knowledge on the topic taught.  An artistic coloring of mandala could be interpreted for the degree of value, perspectives and reflections for managerial grooming or better still an entrepreneur. Often, the objectives of the class have always been to add value to student in term of knowledge, leadership, integrity and networking (TIMG section 2 lecture). The resonating focus of the TIMG  5001 course not only impacted knowledge to students but also create a radically development in potentials and managerial thinking that will eventually give an edge to one’s professional pursuit.  This course was loaded with opportunities, spanning the technology domains and management for a successful new startups entrepreneur. In this stream, students access domains in engineering, business school and industry experts.

The focus of TIMG 5001 lecture has been taught in the capacity of managers and entrepreneurs. It coalesced into studying process development of products and services. As a product development manager, this course has extensively covered products and services lifecycle. Shane and Ulrich, (2004) described the concept development has a constituent of working principles and elements in pursing products and services.  This encompasses of aggregate of innovative ideas toward new products or services. Also, it focuses on guidelines for performing testing of new products and services. The scope of service and product development include its development, introduction, its growth, maturity and declining phase in the market. Product manager applies his knowledge of products functionalities to market needs to capture value for both customer and the firm.   Product development can be view as a rational plan (Brown and Eisenhardt, 1995).  A well planned and implemented makes a successful product development. Success in product development can be attributed to team organization of work and product effectiveness as depicted in the model.

Decision making.

Another lesson for product development managers is the ability to make decision in pursue of product strategy and planning, product development organization and project management (Krishnan and Ulrich,2001). Effectiveness of a product development manager is in the ability to make decision from market discovery and product strategy. This decision should be with the context of product Lifecyle to impact on the productivity and services. Other variable such as the team composition, investment, infrastructures and tools are the choice of decision for an effective product development manager.  The effectiveness of a manager can be deduced from the product effectiveness in the market.

The decision making provides the basis for the design and qualification of both the development and the operational systems during the development process (Powell & Buede, 2006). Product development managers may need to come up with decision matrices unique to their environment in order to make good product decisions. It can be a combination of technical feasibility and brand alignment or customer preference. e.g. when trying to add several possible new features to the product, stakeholders may need to be involved in the decision-making process (Beltowska, 2014).

B)   Entrepreneurship

A product development manager is an entrepreneur in situ be the experience and capability. Having possessed a vast experience in product innovation management, effectiveness and ability can be seen in the area of competency of decision making, strategy and performance, organization design and venture financing (Shane and Ulrich, 2004). Entrepreneur decision on venture finance can be used to explain how to exploit business opportunities.

Question 3.

Research proposals and Thesis to be examined.

Suresh et al (2017). Adopting Blockchain to improve interoperability in Healthcare. TIMResearch proposal.
Christopher Doré and  Stephen Shaw (2017). Identifying Barriers to Implementing AI: a        Mangement Perspective. TIM Research proposal.
Olukayode Adegboyega (2015), Representing Botnet-enabled Cyber-attacks and Botnet-takedowns using Club Theory.  TIM master thesis Observations.

Adegboyega,(2015)  make a formal presentation of perspectives in the cyber attacks and botnet breakdowns. .  Dore & Shaw (2017) also presented views to Al barriers to implementation but most of the writing were informal. Suresh et al (2017) also gave an insight to blockchain application in healthcare industry but the not capture the inputs of the other stake holders in the industry. Adegboyega ,(2015) provided the research from management point of view.

Question A

Relevance of topic modeling in academic and research work

Information retrieval:

Topic modeling can be described as a method of finding and tracing associated group of words from a very large body of unlabeled text. For students, research time is of the essence and topic modeling provide the tools of managing search time in research domains.  Topic modeling techniques lecture gave insights on justification and discovery of large data for research and academic purposes.  As a tool in continuous improvement for students, research topic analysis is made easy with various possibilities of transforming source data into models for general use.   This can be done using topic modeling software to identify relevant words in a research with topic labeling.  Frequently occurring words within the same document often receive the same label. Topic subjects are found in the clusters of words that have similar meanings and degree of association.  Trend of a research topic can be studied at a glance within a short time and across a global perspective.

Topic Modelling is an unsupervised Machine Learning (ML) technique that does not require a training dataset of manually tagged documents from which to learn; this implies that it can work directly with the targeted document (Liu et al, 2016).

Topic modeling can prove to be a useful method to enhance a researcher’s ability to interpret information. It can help to:

Discover hidden topical patterns that are present across the collection
Annotating documents according to these topics
Using these annotations to organize, search and summarize texts(KDNuggets, 2017) 

Building research topic

Students can make topic model tools such as machine language called mallet to coin and re-coin academic research topics for thesis writing. Mallet format is applicable to statistical enumerations of a probable research topics.   Documents can be imported into the mallet format through a topic command to build a model. A hands-on example was performed during the lecture for cloning of topics which are similar in nature to the research problem.

While still an active research field in machine learning, topic modeling offers an effective means of data mining where samples represent documents (Zhao et al, 2015). Given a collection of unstructured text documents, topic modeling assumes that there are a certain number of latent topics in the collection of documents (corpus) and that each document contains multiple topics in different proportions (Zhao et al, 2015). Several topic models have been developed such as Latent Semantic Indexing (LSA), Probabilistic Latent Semantic Analysis (PLSA), and Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA). (Zhao et al, 2015)

Topic output probability.

Using this tool for analysis, new documents may present in form of probability estimation. LDA is the most commonly used topic modeling method. It is an unsupervised probabilistic method for modeling a corpus (Zhao et al, 2015).

Essentially, LDA takes the assumption that each document can be represented as a probabilistic distribution over latent topics, and that topic distribution in all document share a common Dirichlet prior, therefore each latent topic in the LDA model is also represented as a probabilistic distribution over words and the word distributions of topics share a common Dirichlet prior as well (Zhao et al, 2015).

Question B.

Peer Review report

Practitioner article:  Peter Walma, 2017. Designing self -driving vehicles with everyone in mind. TIM Review. TIMG 5001

Reviewer Name and Address: Adeseun Ilori, Review board Member, TIM Review, Carleton University,   Ottawa.

Review Date: December 22,2017

Introduction

Designing self -driving vehicles with everyone in mind article is of scope of society concerns in the viability and usefulness of the technology.   The author elaborated much more on the society perspectives toward the safety concern, acceptability of the technology by the policy makers and the coverage of the self-driving vehicles through the auto insurance and life insurance under writing. The author likely objective was to look in the designing features that answers the general concerns of the society in tandem to the existing policy. Most importantly, the author mirrored the existing   auto policies in comparison to self-driving vehicles to highlight the major concern. The author also veered through the adoption of self-driving vehicles without a referencing to the contextual and diffusion theories (TAM) that was pioneer by Davies, (1989) who gave instances to the influencing adoption factors to a technology product. The author contributions did not cover the green ecosystem to the society by the self-driving vehicle.

The following observations were also made:

The article slighted some practical ethical issues such as decision making in an accident scenario and placing importance on individual life. The author also mentioned the application of telematics instruments to aid compliance to the existing regulation and make an alternative savings in term of a colossal loss.

Article strengths: The article sensitize the audience abstraction of self-driving vehicles in relation to the sighted concerns.

Weakness:  One of the weakness is the author sentence structure which either informal to semi informal in nature.  The organization of ideas were not coherently related to excite the audience mind. The topic structure needs some restructuring to capture the contextual theme of the article

Area of concentration for improvement: The author should concentrate on the contextual theme of self-driving vehicles to excite the audience who are of technology perspectives and how the technology answers the society questions.  Also, there is a need of improvement in the management context of self-driving vehicles and how it relates to weighted values for the stakeholders.

Inference/ Deductions

The research topic should resonate with the streams to convince the readers usefulness of the self-driving vehicles in the society and also provide more of management perspectives of the technology to meet TIM review context guidelines in the subsequent edition.

Exam questions on congress and bureaucracy

POLITICAL SCIENCE 338

FINAL EXAMINATION–Written Component

1. How do the standards and burdens of proof affect the efficacy of delegation?

The standards and burden of proof negatively affect the efficacy of delegation, and examples as mentioned in class discussion include the EPA and FDA. First, the EPA assumes a large burden of proof due to their responsibility to prove if a chemical, or process like hydraulic fracturing, is bad for the environment. These procedures make it increasingly difficult for the EPA to produce effective legislation, and they often take a lot of time to research. On the other hand, the FDA has an easier time delegating legislation because the multiple organizations the FDA monitors are responsible for the burden of proof. While some bureaucracies have to advocate their positions to defend their burden of proof, others have the opportunity to delegate those burdens to the organizations they monitor.

2. How is the dilemma Congress faces in delegation to bureaucracy similar to the dilemma the public faces in assigning policy making authority to Congress?

The issue that Congress has delegating out to the bureaucracy has been referred to as Madison’s dilemma, where the authority given to an actor is too weak, and they do not have the resources or ability to accomplish the task, or it they are too strong, and do not take their delegation seriously. Similarly, the public deals with this when assigning policy making authority to Congress. For both to work, the delegating party is placing their trust in a everchanging system, and once the powers have been delegated there is little oversight. Once power has been given to either a bureaucratic agency, or a congressperson, it ultimately depends on the strength of they have, and ability to make meaningful action as a result.

3. Please discuss Robert Reich’s thoughts on Congress and bureaucracy.

As former Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton, Robert Reich has had plenty experience dealing with both Congress and the Bureaucracy. Recently, Reich has released a few documentaries that paint each governmental component in a negative light. In his documentary Inequality For All, Reich shows that legislation passed by Congress has disproportionately affected the economic development of the middle class in America. Additionally, he proves the the bureaucracy is not without fault because they exercise blindness to the issues a majority of American citizens are facing, and are not implementing regulations to aid U.S. economic development. Having been criticized as a ‘communist’, Robert Reich aims to prove that in fact he is a moderate capitalist that wishes for Congress and bureaucracy to take the needs of the American people seriously.

4. Please explain the meaning of the title of the documentary, A Perfect Candidate.

Looking at the documentary, Virginia was tasked with choosing between the better of two evils, Charles Robb or Oliver North. Also, initially a candidate may seem like a great choice, and will later be found to be morally questionable. For example, Bill Clinton was a Rhodes Scholar and had graduated from Yale Law School, he was charismatic, charming, and a good ol’ southern boy. However, as we saw in the 1990’s, Clinton made several headlines for sexual relations with White House staff, and infidelity towards his wife. As a title, A Perfect Candidate is perfectly satirical in that in reality there can never be a perfect candidate. Somewhere, someone will find a flaw in a candidate’s credentials and therefore they cannot be perfect.

5. Please comment on the power of OIRA.

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs is a subdivision of the Office of MAnagement and Budget tasked with the power of reviewing regulations set forth by the Executive branch. Through Regulatory Impact Analysis, the OIRA processes and analyzes regulations produced by any part of the executive branch, including the bureaucracies. Additionally, OIRA oversees information policy, privacy, and statistical policy recommendations that are made by agencies, and if the policy recommendations do not comply, then OIRA eliminate the policy or shut the agency down. Also, because OIRA is apart of the executive bureaucracy in and of itself it gives the executive branch the power of overseeing itself essentially. This is controversial, and retains power without have an outside source of oversight that can make sure OIRA is actually testing the validity of policy changes.

6. Why do McCubbins and Cox refer to parties as legislative cartels?

McCubbins and Cox refer to parties as legislative cartels for multiple reasons. First and foremost, parties are interested in advancing their agenda and making themselves more powerful. Second, they have to squash other parties that threaten their position in Washington. Then, parties battle within Congress to make self-serving legislation and attempt to place party members in key committee roles to increase the chances of getting a policy passed. For cartels, the name of the game is power, and even if members do not completely align with the party, they are better off to stay loyal to a party with power, than to leave to a party with less influence.

7. What is the basic logic of the argument that McCubbins & Cox make about the medians of the political parties?

McCubbins and Cox believe that parties impose their members into leadership positions to pursue the collective interests of the party, thereby giving the party more power. Majority party medians are tasked with promoting party interests without also promoting fringe interests from opposing parties. Party medians often hold a significant amount of power as they’ve worked through the party, and have proven to represent the interests of their district.

8. What is the difference between fire alarm and police patrol oversight? How does the APA help “stack the deck” to favor the constituency a law was passed to benefit?

The primary difference between fire alarm and police oversight is that fire alarm oversight is retroactive and police oversight is proactive. Fire alarm oversight handles minimizing problems that have already arisen, and through investigations, hearings, and mandatory reports the problem can be solved. Then, in police oversight preventative measures are put in place such as rules and regulations set by the APA, so that issues do not occur. Furthermore, the APA “stacks the deck” to favor the constituency a law benefits by controlling what regulations are set, and softening regulations to benefit the constituents of legislation that was passed.

9. How has the U.S. Congress lost power to the executive and judicial branches of the government?

First, Congress lost power to the executive by giving regulatory authority to the executive so that they essentially self govern without an outside power check. Then, the judicial branch has the right strike down anything Congress does as unconstitutional, also known as judicial review. This overview grants the Supreme Court incredible amount of discretion when concerning the actions taken by Congress and has decreased Congressional power.

10. What issues are raised by the 20th and 21st century diminution of the U.S. Congress?

In the 20th and 21st century, issues of checks and balances and burden of proof have arisen in regards to Congress. To begin, the separation of powers has become an issue because the executive branch regulates its own bureaucracies and agencies with little Congressional oversight. Moreover, the burden of proof rests on Congress when drafting and passing legislation that can be overturned by the judicial branch. It also does not help that Congress often gets caught in gridlock with a two-party system that cannot agree to pass legislation in the first place.

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Education system in Pakistan. Highlight key issues, problems and future challenges.: college essay help

Education system in Pakistan. Highlight key issues, problems and future challenges.

Education system in Pakistan.

“Education shows the guidance in the society. The education system of Pakistan is not in a good state because there is very low literacy rate in Pakistan society are not aware from education and the benefits of education. Government rules are not in the favor of education. The elements of the educational foundations are to build up the general population physically, rationally, mentally, socially and profoundly. At  this point the part of optional and school training in Pakistan has been essentially planning for tertiary instruction, which in the worries of most individuals implies entirely a college training In a more extensive definition the framework likewise incorporates the establishments that are straightforwardly associated with financing, overseeing, working or managing such foundations (like government services and administrative bodies, focal testing associations, course reading sheets and accreditation sheets). The strategies that are used guide the individual and institutional public services inside the set up are also part of the instruction framework.”

Types of school systems

“There are many school systems like private, government, and charter or so on. Guardians for the most part have a decision on where to send their kids to class. Factors, for example, quality, area, cost, and logic all play into their basic leadership. The choices are not simply open or tuition based schools. There are different sorts of other school alternatives, including sanction schools, professional schools, and separation learning schools.”

Private school system:

As we have seen so far in private school system and their establishments are strict principles and controls. Private schools are controlled by privately owned businesses and have excessive costs just exclusive class individuals manage the cost of its training. Completely consideration is paid on every last individual amid ponders. Private foundations are having finished possibilities which are required by the understudies. The vast majority of the private establishment course structures depends on British Education System. All the private schools are English medium and not in every single private organization but rather in a few they have strict lead to talk and write in English. In private school system the teachers are talented, responsible to their duties and educate and give legitimate time to every single individual similarly. Pay rates of different private instructive establishments are great that relies upon the capability of applying educator and on encounter everything is settle based on justify. As for time every last timetable is made due with instructors and additionally for understudies. Guardians meeting and other co-curricular exercises are composed for understudies keeping in mind the end goal to watch the exhibitions of understudies. Participation is additionally viewed as mandatory.

Government school system:

Now I am going to tell you about government school system that Government school system are controlled by government support which isn’t given by the foundations appropriately as a result of defilement and a great many kids stay uneducated and endure. Government school system have to some degree strict principles generally very poor and weaken condition is seen. No any sort of charge is paid by the understudies. Government organizations are best for unremarkable and poor class people groups. There is no any promptness in instructor and educator are not dependable of time and rest of the things. All the staff of government dependably experienced rashness of instructors and thusly just poor kids endures and educator get their compensations without giving any learning. There is co-curricular exercises are likewise performed for understudies however no guardians meeting. Pay rates are paid by Government to the staffs it is possible that they instruct or not. The time is settled for off and coming time. Understudies are additionally given cash and get free books from government.

Charter school system:

A charter school system is a freely run state funded school conceded more noteworthy adaptability in its operations, as a result of more prominent responsibility for execution. They are autonomously worked government funded schools began by guardians, educators, group associations, and revenue driven organizations. These schools get assess funds, yet the supporting gathering may likewise think of private subsidizing. Charter schools don’t charge educational cost. These schools must stick to the essential curricular necessities of the state yet are free from a considerable lot of the directions that apply to ordinary schools. They are not subject to the examination of school sheets or government specialists. The charter school system is building up each school is an implementation contract itemizing the school’s central goal, program, understudies served, execution objectives, and strategies for evaluation.

Use of Native Vs International Language

During the British frontier period the language in teaching arrangement was that Urdu ought to be the medium of guideline for the majority and that English to be the medium for the first class. In contemporary Pakistan then Urdu is the medium of guideline of Government school. English is the medium in tip top private schools. At exhibit, in the education system of Pakistan, English and Urdu are being elevated and the instruction to the youngsters is given in these two languages. In private schools, the whole training is given to the students in English, while in the government schools, Urdu is utilized. In a multilingual nation like Pakistan, students originate from various groups and ethnicities for whom neither one of the English’s is their first dialect nor is Urdu. They get their essential and optional training in dialects that are second or third dialects to them. As for more than 90% population of Pakistan, neither of these languages are the native languages, students struggle to comprehend the knowledge provided to them.

One system for all

Government should take step for implementation of there should be one system for all like introduce discovery learning both in government and private sectors everyone can worked for their goals not only depend on the organizations. Now days our educational system is so lousy. It is just because of we have created different ways of schooling for poor and rich students. Pakistan hates one system for all education framework. There are diverse frameworks of instruction working at the same time. Open, private and Deeni Madaris (religious theological schools) are in opposition to each other. This prepared for polarization making wide holes among the general population. A separated country can’t assemble their demonstration, and this prompts impasse to all sort of improvement. The government have to remove this distance. Government would actualize one system for all through the nation and all residents whether they were rich or poor would need to get instruction under one framework.

Quality and quantity

A quality education means an education that provide students all services that become a student economically productive, develop sustainable livelihoods. For Pakistan to enhance its people’s lives and lift monetary advancement, the concentration of leaders must be on the quality of teaching and picking up being conferred the nation over, with specific consideration towards educators’ preparation and development in the division. For quality education we government should focus in three basic things that play an important role first one is an education system, second is on teachers and third is teaching quality and learning. Specially, quality of education depend on the teachers that what they teach their students.

Gender bias in education system

The socialization of sexual orientation (gender) inside our schools guarantees that girls are made mindful that they are unequal to boys. There are professors who advance sexual orientation value and trust all understudies have to to get similar chances to classroom assets and cooperation an exercises. There are cases of sexual orientation separation in schools and society, at work, and even by the traders of training. Each time understudies are situated or arranged by sex, educators are attesting that young ladies and young men ought to be dealt with in an unexpected way. At the point when a chairman overlooks a demonstration of lewd behavior, he or she is permitting the corruption of young ladies. When distinctive practices are endured for young men than for young ladies on the grounds that ‘ men will be men’, schools are sustaining the persecution of females. There is some proof that  women are winding up more scholastically fruitful than men, however examination of the classroom demonstrates that women and men keep on being associated in ways that conflict with sexual orientation value.

Sexual orientation Bias in Education is a tricky issue that makes not very many individuals stand up and pay heed. Here’s a great deal of confirmation that shows women and men are not being given the same instructive open doors. Did you ever have an educator who was less demanding on the women, however gave the men more sadness? Or on the other hand, perhaps the men got a more extended break since they had more vitality. These are for the most part cases of sex inclination.

Other factors

There are many factors that influence education system of Pakistan some are following below:

Poverty is another factor that restricts the guardians to send their kids to non-public school where the nature of education is high. Needy individuals get their kids admitted to Government schools. The lecturers in Government schools are not skillfully prepared. They even don’t take addresses and waste the valuable time of the learners. The designation of assets for training area by the Government of Pakistan are low; just 2% of the aggregate GDP. Government should build this rate to enhance the nature of instructive framework.

Another factor is which very important is Lack of basic infrastructure  40 for every penny of the instructive establishments don’t have fundamental offices, for example, power, water, watchmen, can and limit divider. Far and away more terrible, they don’t have tables, seats and even slates. It is this absence of framework that makes these students simple prey for religious fundamentalist to enlist and show them a wide range of detest.

Conclusion

An education system of poor quality may be one of the main reason why poor country are not growing. It may not be feasible for the legislature right now to actualize uniform instruction framework in the nation, however a uniform educational programs can be presented in instructive organizations of the nation. This will give break even with chance to the understudies of provincial regions to contend with students of urban zones in the activity showcase. The changes required in the training arrangement of Pakistan is impossible by the administration alone, open private support and a blend of formal and also non-formal instruction can haul out larger part of nation’s populace from lack of education. Correspondingly, to make the young of the nation a benefit, consideration ought to likewise be paid to professional and specialized preparing.

The Analysis of Chelsea Manning: essay help online

18 November 2017

The Analysis of Chelsea Manning

There are over a billion of people on this earth within a variety. Each individual has a choice to make when growing up with what they want to do with their body. They can chose how they want to express themselves as individuals whether it’s their gender identity, or sexual orientation, or simply expressing themselves as someone they are proud of being.  Whether it’s either choosing to be feminine or masculine or what sex they are attracted to, or simply what makes them feel more like themselves. People drive to say, “this is who i’ve been born to be”. Everyone is different in their own way, whether it’s their characteristics, sexuality or biology that differ from one another. Within the billion of people on this earth, I will examine the connections that have been drawn by Chelsea Manning between the heteronormative and homonormative ideals that she was not constructed into and the dominance she faced in public spheres.

While facing the world with her gender identity, she stumbles upon many challenges such as misgendering which restricts her from expressing herself because just like society has a difficult time understanding her due to her unconformity, she also has a hard time fitting in. Chelsea Manning is a transgender, which she was born a man but transitioned into a woman, therefore, I will refer her as a women in this essay.  Growing up, which she states she was, “an easy target by kindergarten… grew up in a highly evangelical town with more church pews than people… so, I got pretty messed up at school … ‘girly boy’ ‘teacher’s pet’, etc” (MLCL, 5-6) I will begin to emphasize the word, ‘girly boy’ in this statement because we can see the confusion in Chelsea’s classmates from when she was younger. Many people saw how Chelsea, before named Bradley, was acting more feminine because of the way she expressed herself. In society, people determine others by their gender by distinguishing the way they act, the way they dress, speak and what culture has conform many people to think. With this being said, when we see a boy act feminine, we begin to make fun of what we cannot understand. These expectations that we link gender to sex are cultural conditioning. Explained by Margaret Mead in her article, Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies, “the differences between individuals who are members of different cultures, like the differences between individuals within a culture, are almost entirely to be laid to differences in conditioning, especially during early childhood, and the form of this conditioning is culturally determined.” (39) As children, we are grown into a culture, depending where we are from. Within this culture that we are conformed into, it conditions us to certain expectations. Just like our society has tied Men into being masculine and women being feminine, we are believed that that’s the only way we can determine each sex. If we see otherwise, we will not be able to understand it and simply see it as abnormal.

As difficult as this is for Chelsea to be bullied as a little kid, she had seen herself as abnormal as well and felt like she had to “fix” herself. Once she was out of high school, she wanted to join the army in order to fix her “identity issues”. She believed that if she joined the army where she was surrounded by men, she would be able to act more masculine and hopefully come to the conclusion of how she wanted to express herself. Once she had realized her gender identity was not “fixable” she accepted that she was a man in a woman’s body. Chelsea expressed to the mass media that, “As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me. I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female. I also request that, starting today, you refer to me by my new name and use the feminine pronoun.” (par 2.)  As Chelsea announced that she was female and requested to be referred by the feminine pronoun, media outlets turned to exposing deep seated transphobic attitude toward gender nonconforming people and continued the longstanding tradition of pathologizing and medicalizing transgender as a  psychological disease. The erasure of her transgender subjectivity and the prevalence of pathologizing and marginalizing discourses, confirm the reductionist, if not outright denialist idea of gender fluidity.

Following this gender fluidity, Chelsea Manning becomes isolated and demoralized by a heteronormative and homonationalism ideals. These ideals become obstacles that restrict her from transitioning into a woman, physically and mentally. Once Chelsea had released confidential information from wikileaks to the public about what was going in the Iraq war, the media tied speculations about why she sent WikiLeaks the nation’s ‘most guarded secrets’ to her struggles with her sexuality and gender identity. They focused on a troubled, unstable and bullied gay soldier coming from a broken home. The media tying Chelsea’s gender identity to being a criminal, is set to believe that transgenders are not stable, therefore, leading to the assumption that they are more likely to be criminal or unreliable people. Eventually once Chelsea wanted to continue her transition to a women, she requested to receive hormone therapy. Although, prison spokeswoman Kimberly Lewis told NBCA, “In regards to hormone therapy, such treatment is provided in civilian federal prisons when it is found to be medically necessary, but it is not available in military prisons.” Reading this obligation that the military prison had possessed on transgender, took the ability for Chelsea to continue her transition as a women and to express herself the way she wanted to. Chelsea later on filed a lawsuit due to her being denied access to medically necessary treatment following the army not granting her hormone therapy. They later on accepted this as a medical condition as Chelsea Manning having Gender Dysphoria, although they did not agree to let Chelsea to follow female grooming standards even though it was provided by her health care. With the military not complying with these standards, it shows their inability to conform to the needs of transgenders especially since such a request had not been asked for before. In Nancy Duncans article, Renegotiating Gender and Sexuality in Public and private spaces, Surveys have shown that the majority of respondents have no objection to homosexuals as long as they ‘do not flaunt their sexuality in public’ (Herek 1987 as quoted in Valentine 1993). Duncan argues that the binary distraction between private and public spaces and the relations of private and public spheres is problematic. Transgenders experience tensions between dominance and social practices. She explains how public and private conflict is made to construct and confine and suppress gender and sexual differences by using power structures. In this case, the military does not want to abide to letting Chelsea receive hormones, let alone let her practice feminine grooming because it is not heteronormative. People are confromed to bleieve that hetero sexuality is the only “normal” and “natural” orientation out there and if anyone sets out of this binary than they are seen as abnormal and wrong.

Later on, San Francisco Pride Board of Directors, planners of the city’s annual LGBT Pride parade held in June, announced the names of the grand marshals for San Francisco’s 2013 Pride Parade. SF Pride president Lisa Williams blamed a rogue employee for Manning’s nomination, selection, and announcement as a grand marshall. “A mistake and should never had been allowed to happen… even the hint of support for actions which placed in harm’s way the lives of our men and women in uniform– and countless others, military and civilian alike– will not be tolerated by the leadership of San Francisco Pride.” (par. 4) Chelseas shifting identities throughout the trial made it difficult for people to see her as an activist. Even though her intentions from leaking confidential information was made in good intentions to bring out political and social change, people thought otherwise. For this reason, she gave a rise of questions and assumptions to the LGB community. Autumn Sandeen, a transgender activist and US Navy veteran, argued that, “Chelsea didn’t respect the trans community– the trans community of which I am apart– in how she came out… There is no honor in harming the community to which you are entering.” Sandeen felt that Chelsea defended herself but made the community question the LGB community because of how she came out and that she did not consider other people’s lives. Chelsea’s gender nonconformity was seen as detrimental to the LGB movement because she did not represent ideals of homonormativity. The way Chelsea demonstrated herself, Sandeem felt as if people were going to question the LGB community because of her actions. Chelsea was not part of the mainstream gay and lesbian agenda which included gay marriage and was number one priority for the homonormative ideal. The mainstream queer community seemed to be silent in defending Chelsea when she was placed in prison and treated poorly. The LGB community focused more in lesbian, gay and bi sexuals rather than trans due to the hierarchy that was established in the mainstream. Not only were hierarchies established in the LGB community but it was also integrated in masculinity.

The gender that Chelsea expressed created homophobia by diminishing the ideals of masculinity. Since Chelsea was born a man and is transitioning into a woman, men around her, especially in the army, were making fun of her. Lida Maxwell, Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science stated that, “She was also very lonely. She came out to her fellow soldiers, but wasn’t particularly closeted about her SEXUALITY. She kept a fairy wand on her desk, posted fearlessly on FB about her sexuality and opposition to DADT. So she was ignored and disliked by her soldiers.” (par. 7) Chelsea found it difficult to fit in with the other guys due to traditional masculine gender and hetero-sexuality. The men try to enforce these normalities through harassment because they see her as improperly gendered, therefore they don’t see her as a person that is powerful which leaves her without a voice. The men around her felt the need to harass her due to homophobia. They picked on what they did not understand, which went against what they know as men or what they felt like made them a man. Michael S. Kimmel explained in his article, Masculinity as Homophobia, that “Homophobia is the fear that other men will unmask us, emasculate us, reveal to us and the world that we do not measure up, that we are not real men.” (215)  Men have been set into a gender boundary that if they set foot out of it then they are seen as “sissies” which makes them seen as less of a man. Men are constantly competing with each other for power. Whoever shows to be the most aggressive, showing no emotion, and seemed to act less of a girl, was seen to be more of a man. Men built up structural hierarchies for each other which brought a lot of men pressure to conform to. Therefore, when the men in the army seen Chelsea Manning acting more feminine, they felt empowered. Masculinity was a defense of their fear of humiliation to being perceived as gay.

Following these connections to Chelsea Manning’s experience has lead to important societal conversations. Although one thing is certain, even though we are all human and deserve the same respect that’s given to each person despite each other’s differences, Chelsea had to fight for her rights as a human and to achieve happiness in order to become who she wants to be. She had to face societies conformities and the inability of others understanding and accepting the way she wanted to live her life. She had to overcome power structures and hierarchies in order for her voice to become heard and bring her private sphere into the public and make it into something that is acceptable.

Leadership skills required for engineers

Upon facing the trend of development, the reliability of the society on engineers can no longer be denied. Society demands the maximum interaction with technology which makes science to be nearly synonymous with innovation. But technical skills alone are not enough. Leaders are required in order to turn ideas into solutions, to bring innovations to life as well as to influence the governments and societies. In order to achieve that level, leadership must be a key component advancing for the engineering profession to sustain, remain relevant and associated in a period of increased outsourcing and global rivalry. According to Paul and Falls (2015), students define a leader in an engineering context as someone who can possess strong personal and influential character, able to lead and work in a team and proficient in technical skills. Nowadays, corporate companies who intent on maintaining a competitive edge are looking for engineers that are capable of leading multidisciplinary teams and combine technical ingenuity with business intuition (Warnick, Schmidt & Bowden, 2014). The changing nature of engineering in a globally competitive environment need to be explored. This writing will address on the engineering leadership knowledge that will equips future engineers to meet the needs of 21st century engineering which includes identity development, technical skills and innovative thinking skills.

Leadership identity reflects one’s values, mindset, actions and responses. Since leaderships starts from within, it is very crucial to develop one’s personal character before anything else. The keyword to this matter is the sense of responsibility which is the foundation and backbone of the leadership skills (Paul & Falls, 2015). Responsibility can be broaden to many scope which includes responsibility to self and others. By developing self-awareness, leaders can understand their strengths and weaknesses in a balanced way. Acknowledging weaknesses or areas of development in a constructive manner helps engineers to improve themselves and to see them as challenges rather than obstacles. A confident and positive leader, will make the employees find reassurance and security. Therefore, it is important for leaders to have high tolerance of ambiguity and the ability to remain calm and composed despite the situations. By doing so, they will be able to think, act and lead rationally, orderly and in a purposeful manner in times of uncertainty. Great leaders ‘walk the talk’. They are honest and transparent, and have high integrity–they do what they say they are going to do. The importance of being conscious of their own leadership behaviours and how they are impacting others cannot be neglected. Engineers are not meant to be readily perfect. There is always a door for learning. They can learn to lead from the example of other role models around and anticipate in building and enhancing their subordinators because a good leader creates a better leader than himself. They must be able to lead by example, inspire and motivate through actions.

The best leaders possess great communication skills to get their message across and really inspire others. It is about time for engineers to work on how to break the stereotype that engineers are lack of social skills (Villa, Esquinca, Mein, Golding & Hug, 2015). Maria Montessori, a physicist who are known for her philosophy of education stated that words are the natural means of expressing thoughts and establishing understanding between people. Therefore, it is compulsory for engineers to be able to conduct a presentation to the level of understanding of the audiences (Warnick, Schmidt & Bowden, 2014). Persuading technical professionals can be challenging. Listening which might probably be one of the most underrated communication skills can be a good starting point to master this branch. Coming back to the engineering student perspectives, faculty needs to increase student’s participation when it comes to technical skills rather than maintaining the traditional way which is lecture-based approach to maximize learning outcome (Warnick, Schmidt & Bowden, 2014). Next, leaders need to know the importance of networking which involves connecting with people, sharing ideas and accessing anything helpful, for mutual benefit. A leader engineer act as the middle point of all relation in business terms (Villa, Esquinca, Mein, Golding & Hug, 2015). Building a network of contacts is a powerful and effective way of managing one’s career. For engineers, it is particularly effective as it enables them to achieve more in a shorter timeframe. As time waits for no one especially in business terms which is very related with engineering career, a leader need to excel in prioritization to ensure smooth flow of management. This includes the ability to analyse the processes and select the simplest way to finish a task as well as good adaptation when there is a sudden change of plan.

A good leader who keeps the main goal in focus is able to think innovatively, display excellent strategic vision and create purposeful image of the future. According to Paul and Falls (2015), an engineer leader should not only view a situation as a whole, but is able to break it down into sub parts for closer inspection. Not only is the goal in view but a good leader should be able to break it down into manageable steps and make progress towards it.

Importance of effectively planning (reflective): college essay help

1. Introduction

Meredith and Mantel simply describe projects as “messy” (2009. Page 113) as no two projects are the same, yet all run the risk of failure. Rory Burke (2009) describes the project manager as “responsible for delivering the project on time, within budget, and to the required quality.” However, I believe that his description should be extended further to include their role as a leader, encouraging and inspiring their team (Barron & Burke, 2014. Page 143), and maintaining the project’s integrity despite conflicts of demands (Meredith, 2009. Page 111). A project is only as good as the end product, and a successful project manager can assure the quality of their project prior to completion. To ensure that this meets the standards outlined in the statement of requirements, one must constantly review the quality, especially in the planning stage.

1.1 Project description

U Social Venture, a Lancaster University society, promotes social entrepreneurship through different projects each term. As Project Manager (PM), I guide the projects and engage the members to teach them about social entrepreneurship. The most recent project was creating a sustainable Fairtrade stall at Lancaster University. The team is divided into three departments: Strategy, Communications and Logistics, with one team member acting as Team Director to chair meetings in my absence. The brief was simple but open, allowing the opportunity to interpret the project but with a clear end, like a Quest style project (Obeng, 1994 page 54). After the initial research, it was discovered that the scope of the project was larger than the original constraints, which I will explain further in Section 3.1. To produce a quality end product, the team decided that they would first focus on fundraising events to raise awareness of Fairtrade and generate enough profit to fund an independent stall. As this was a highly ambiguous project, there was a greater risk of problems, increasing the demand for management and contingency planning.

1.2 Project Issue

Every project is susceptible to risk (McManus, 2011. Page 18). Utilising risk assessment tools, such as the P-I matrix (PMBOK, 2008. Page 291), we examined possible risks that may occur during the project life cycle. I worked closely with the logistics team to identify risks and contingency plans, allocating one person responsibility of ensuring that the risk does not transpire. An example of this was for our first fundraiser event, a Fairtrade lecture on 30th November 2017. If the guest speaker did not have adequate material to last the event duration, the strategy department prepared activities for the attendees as a contingency. However, a problem developed that had not been identified as a risk in the planning phase. When booking a venue for the lecture, the correct documents were not submitted to the Student Union and so until they were processed, two days before the event, the venue had to remain unconfirmed. As publicity was crucial for enticing people to come, it meant that we had fewer people attend. Subsequently, we only made a small profit towards the stall which compromised the quality of the project, as the time and human resources used were more valuable than the outcome.

1.3 Aims of the Reflective Report

In this reflective report, I will examine how to assure quality within a project reflecting upon relevant literature and real-life experiences, highlighting how issues that emerged could have been avoided if instead I conformed to successful project management practices. I will define the difference between efficiency and effectiveness and how this links to quality, detailing some ways in which the PM can determine quality within the project, then focusing on two management tools that appear in the early stages of a project which I believe affect the project and its quality, using examples from my project to show how I could have managed it differently. To conclude, I will look at how to put these theories and measures into action and what I have learnt while writing this report.

2. Defining Quality

2.1 Effective vs. Efficient

The difference between efficiency and effectiveness is that to be effective, you are “doing the right things” but to be efficient you are “doing the thing right” (Geel, 2011. Page 200). One must always strive for both. From a business perspective, the PM must always aim to complete the project efficiently: on schedule and within budget (Lock, 2003. Page 6) however this is not possible without also being effective. To do the “right thing” and complete a quality end product, the completed product must be “in accordance with the requirement” (Reiss, 2007. Page 42).

2.2 Determining Project Quality Requirements

The quality of the project should be assured at the beginning through conformance to the stakeholder requirements (Burke, 2009) and the subsequent revisions based on what the stakeholder wants compared to what is achievable. For the Fairtrade project, U Social Venture, the main stakeholder, provided a basic timeline to the project team outlining their requirements over a ten-week period.

Figure 1: Basic Project Timeline

The original brief stated that they wanted a Fairtrade stall at Lancaster University within ten weeks, which proved to be impossible (see section 3.1). Therefore, we pitched a counter proposal to the society in Week 5 with an extended timeline including fundraising activities to increase the budget.

Figure 2: Revised Project Timeline

With the revised timeline, the project team were now able to establish weekly targets. The requirements of the stakeholder changed in terms of time, and the extra money generated from the two proposed events would increase the budget for the stall without costing the society more money. This decision was taken to improve the quality of the end product, as the deliverables in the first ten weeks would provide extra information useful to the delivery of the end product, such as the opinions of other stakeholders, like students.

Figure 3: Semi-Structure process (Remington and Pollack, 2007).

The new timeline resembles Remington and Pollack’s ‘Semi-structure’ (2007. Page 137). The timeline outlined in this structure shows that immediately the project objectives are defined alongside the roles and responsibilities of each team member, and weekly milestones clearly express the quality expected for the end product. The initial aim of the Fairtrade project was the creation of a stall, however budget restraints expanded this to include fundraising. Regular meetings each week facilitated the communication within the project team to report progress and allowed for sufficient time to prevent risks that may arise. Beside submitting meeting minutes, the team completed weekly feedback forms, which queried the level of support that they felt they had from their PM, what lessons they had learnt, and what they were tasked with in the upcoming week. To be able to communicate effectively is one of the PM’s key skills (Barron, 2014) and so this model shows a good way of assuring quality effectively through regular meetings in which goals are clearly stated and reinforced. However, the extensive communication through the revised timeline did not fully safeguard the project from issues (Section 1.2).

2.3 Processes to develop and establish quality

2.3.1 Milestones

Milestones are “control stations in the project” and give the stakeholders assurance that the project is moving in the correct direction. (Anderson, 2017). As seen in Figure 2, milestones are an effective way of showing a project’s process but can also be used as evaluation points to see if there any parts of the project that are not functioning properly. However, Beckford (2010. Page 33) labels milestones as ‘unreliable’, as only the essential activities to achieve the milestone are completed, allowing opportunities to ignore other important tasks, resulting in crisis. This is a perfect description of the problem that occurred within the Fairtrade project. The task list did not state specifically that the logistics department needed to complete certain documentation to host an external speaker prior to booking the venue, therefore the project fell behind schedule. Milestones and targets are useful to motivate the team to continue making progress within the projects, however, even though human resources arguably hold the most important role in the project, they are undependable (Ireland, 1999. Chapter 5) and unless these milestones include all activities and are regularly reviewed, the process loses credibility as omitted details can jeopardize quality.

2.3.2. Evaluation

APM Framework 21A1 states that a good PM establishes, schedules and conducts reviews at key milestones. In meetings, the entire team should evaluate the progress and quality of the product and whether the project still maintains clear goals that align with the stakeholder agreement. It gives the PM a chance to communicate directly with the team and discuss any personal problems. These progress meetings may consist of the full team after completing a project milestone, however these could be individual progress meetings. A PM needs emotional intelligence to be able to successfully conduct these meetings (Barron and Burke, 2014. Page 138) to correctly gage the reactions of each of the team members and determine any underlying issues.

3. Analysis of management planning tool that help to ensure that the PM delivers a quality project both effectively and efficiently.

3.1. The Iron Triangle

The ‘Iron Triangle’ is used to measure the success of a project: time, cost and quality/performance. In his 1999 article, Atkinson critiques the use of the iron triangle, stating that it is merely “two best guesses and a phenomenon”, yet the tool has long been a success criteria within project management. The triangle shows how the project balances its three principle requirements and helps the PM and their team to visualise the scope and what is lacking within the first stages of the planning process.

Figure 4: Traditional Iron Triangle (Atkinson, 1999)

Figure 5: Wysocki’s Triangle (2011. Page 13)

Figure 4 shows a traditional version of the iron triangle, but upon further research I discovered Figure 5. By using the triangle to measure the scope and quality of the project, is easier to visualise the resources available, the schedule and budget. Once the time and cost constraints were fixed and the relevant research had been conducted, using Wysocki’s triangle it was discovered that they were too restrictive and would impede the quality of the end product. Although the time scale was possible, the initial cost of a stall in Alexandra Square was greater than the overall budget, and resources were limited. Therefore, the team went back to the society executives with a counter pitch, stating that the stall was still the final goal, but this term the team would focus on raising sufficient funds and awareness. The deliverables collected, both monetary and through publicity, would then provide a better quality end product.

Figure 6: Fairtrade Project Iron Triangle

This proved the most effective solution to the project constraints, as it means that the project can raise extra funds to solve budgetary problems through selling Fairtrade items and applications for additional funding. By changing the time constraint to increase the cost allowance, this does not affect the quality of the project because the end product remained consistent, and the stakeholders were informed of any changes.

3.2 The Hassle Graph: Levels of Management Effort and how that contributes to the success of the project.

“The purpose of planning is to facilitate later accomplishment” (Meredith, 2009. Page 214). More effort in the planning phase leads to a more effective project in the delivery phase, which can be proved using a hassle graph. Figure 7 (Lowry, 2011) shows three different scenarios for management effort within a project. A good project manager strives to put in as much effort at the beginning of the project so it becomes self-sufficient, and “coasts home”. Effort is the “driving force” behind a good PM (Reiss, 2007 page 16-18) whereas a bad PM wields minimum effort at first, yet will exert increased effort later to manage the subsequent problems and crisis that ensue. This usually results in a poor-quality product, over-budget and behind schedule. Naturally, each project requires different amounts of effort; if the project is bigger or more complex, the PM will need to apply more effort than a ‘paint by numbers’ style project. (Barron, 2014 page 174). Complex projects are much more vulnerable to crisis, which in turn leads to the higher risk of project failure (Wang, 2011). Yet, regardless of the project size, the graph shows that more management effort planning ahead to avoid problems increases the likelihood of the project’s success.

Figure 7: The Hassle Graph (Lowry, 2011)

Not considering the second-hand effects of decisions made within a project is a danger for the PM, like in “The Moros” experiment (Dörner, 1996. Page 86.). If the PM makes decisions as if every action was independent of the other, the repercussions of these effects quickly turn into problems leading to more effort in the middle of the project. Problems are rectified through long periods of crisis management before the project becomes self-sufficient, known as “Hectic Change Control”. This stresses the need for effective management planning at the beginning, especially concerning organisation, scheduling and managing the scope. (Harpum, 2011. Page 109).

Figure 8: Effort levels of the PM and Fairtrade project team.

Figure 8 shows the weekly effort levels throughout the Fairtrade project. Following the consensus of the literature studied, more effort was applied within the first stages, and the level of PM effort was steadily declining, like Figure 7, before the problem occurred. The problem (See Section 1.2) meant that the management effort level increased, as I staged an intervention in the logistics department to help rectify the issue. However, there were repercussions for dependent variables, such as insufficient advertising, resulting in longer-term effects on the quality, and the level of effort for the PM continued to increase two weeks after the problem occurred.

The need to increase management effort halfway through the project, leads to several different conclusions. The first being that there was insufficient management planning. To increase the learning curve of the project team I tried to use a less ‘hands on’ approach, leaving them to make most of the decisions after the project brief had been set. My communication with them to ensure progression was through weekly meetings, individual feedback forms and one-to-one sessions. Here, I worked alongside each department to create personal goals and milestones to complete each week. Had I been more involved with the process past the initial planning and WBS, I could have spotted that there were gaps within our requirements, and I would have been able to rectify these before the issue became a problem. Dörner writes in his book that “human planning and decision-making processes can go awry if we do not pay enough attention to possible side effects and long-term repercussions, […] or if we ignore premises we should have considered” (Dörner, 1996. Page 2). By giving the team more ownership of the project, it negatively impacted my role as PM because I could not fully anticipate repercussions of earlier decisions within the planning process.

The second conclusion is that, as stated on the PMI website, all projects are ‘unique’ and regardless of size, all projects run the risk of failure. Although I have studied RACI and other risk assessment methods in a classroom context, I am considered as an unexperienced PM making both me and the project more vulnerable to risk. I was unprepared for the high amount of effort that is needed in the planning process in order to deliver a complex project effectively and efficiently. Fortunately, the problem was easily rectified and the deadline for the Fairtrade lecture was fixed, meaning the project has not fallen behind schedule. More effort during the management planning phase would have decreased the risk’s probability, and could have prevented negative results such as the poor attendance due to reduced advertising.

4. Looking Forward

4.1. Implementing the processes and management tools analysed in my future projects.

Analysing different processes and tools that are used to ensure quality has highlighted areas within my technique as a PM that need improvement. The combination of more management effort at the beginning and the use of clear, achievable milestones followed by review meetings to check the ongoing progress of the project would improve the end quality of the project. The difference between the traditional iron triangle (Figure 4), and Wysoki’s (2011) version showed a new way to visualise scope and quality in relation to other important factors of PM planning.  Once the scope was clear and quality achievable within the constraints, it is easier to then divide the project into milestones, which can then be reviewed. The main point to draw from this, which Barron and Burke (2014) state numerous times, is that communication is key in the successful management of a project.

Constant review points to remind the team of the project quality leave less margin for scope creep and problems arising. I used a significant amount of different methods of communication, such as individual meetings and feedback forms, nevertheless I feel that this could be further improved within the next stages of the project. Setting up weekly meeting to review progress would mean that I had first-hand information from every team member regarding their individual developments, strengths and weaknesses. It is much easier to gage the reactions and emotions of different team members in person, and by listening to what they are saying and analysing their body language, it will be easier to pick up on underlying problems which may be taking place without having been reported.

4.2 A New Timeline

Using Remington and Pollack’s 2007 Semi-Structure model to shape the project timeline and meetings gives a clearer structure to the way that my project will be managed. Whereas Figures 1 and 2 state deadlines for each week, Figure 9 places milestones and tasks for each week on the same timeline, showing what needs to be completed so the project can remain at a good standard of quality in the eyes of the stakeholder.

Figure 9: A New Timeline

Unlike the Semi-Structure model (Remington and Pollack, 2007. Page 137), this timeline is horizontal for visual purposes. Each week outlines meetings supported by the PM, whose involvement is highlighted in the red boxes. If this model proves effective, the management effort should follow the ‘Good Practice’ line on the hassle graph, slowly making the project more independent of leadership. As the project will be closely monitored on a one-to-one basis, the likelihood of risk will decrease. Having the project end in Week 17 allows several weeks before the end of term as contingency in case of an unpredictable external factor, such as exams, which could affect a team member.

5. Conclusion

To conclude, by looking at several different management processes and tools, I was able to identify reasons why my style of project management lead to a detriment in the project quality, and how I can use the techniques studied to effectively and efficiently manage future projects to ensure the quality of the end product. By planning ahead, one can ensure the mitigation of risk through clear research and setting each team member specific goals and milestones to safeguard the project from errors that occur. I feel that to develop my skills as PM I need to put more effort into the planning phase and utilise management tools, such as the Iron Triangle and milestones. Throughout this reflective report, it has come to my attention the true importance of effectively planning without losing sight of the stakeholder requirements in order for the delivery to be a quality product.

Styles and practices in training authority.

Sports as a subject is known for including mostly physical activities aiming to improve the physical abilities or skills of an individual or a group of people by using the biomechanics, physiology, kinesiology and psychology (Wikipedia, 2017). As sport is developing, a new science was exposed to help in the process of improving the performance of the athletes called sport psychology. This science aims to assist athletes and coaching in acknowledging various fields that study the effect of psychology on the performance and participation in sports as well as effecting the psychological and physical factors of participation.

1.2 Rationale:

Nowadays, psychology is involving in every field. One of the fields that psychology was mainly involved is sports. Sport psychology is a proficiency to use the science and skill of psychology to address flawless and well-being athletes to associate with sports settings and organizations using developmental and social aspects of sports participation. But on the other hand, people with physical challenges needs more psychological and mental support to help them to overcome their challenges and achieve more in their special competitions and in their non-athlete life as they need special treatment from experts and non-tempered coaches and psychologists in order to be able to understand their needs and to be more aware of the consequences of every move they take when it comes to treating them.

1.3 Research problem/gap:

Many studies have been involved in the topic of sport psychology. But it didn’t link it to the concept of how to let disabled children reach their highest peak of performance using the methods of sport psychology or how should coaches use the sport psychology methods to reach that peak. Likewise, investigations carried out about those variables relation to sport psychology were all done based on studies done in European countries not in African countries especially Egypt. The observation and data collection method intended for the study will be in performed on a sample of disabled Egyptian swimmers.

1.4 Variables and keywords:

Sport psychology is a skill that uses psychological knowledge and skills in order to reach optimal performance of athletes including its developmental and social aspects of sports participation and organizations. (American Psychological Association, 2017).

Sport performance is a perplexing blend of biomechanical work, passionate factors, and preparing methods. Execution in an athletic setting has a well-known meaning of speaking to the quest for magnificence, where a competitor measures his or her execution as a movement toward brilliance or accomplishment (Gale, 2007).

Children with disabilities are a standout amongst the most minimized and barred gatherings in the public eye. Confronting every day segregation as negative states of mind, absence of satisfactory approaches and enactment, they are adequately banished from understanding their rights to human services, instruction, and even survival (UNICEF, 2017).

1.5 Aim of the study:

The examination looks to offer more data on styles and practices in training authority. The outcomes could give mentors who are most certainly not working with competitors with physical inabilities. Further, this data will offer experiences into how seen initiative style considers competitors’ fulfillment, prompting more compelling training practices. It aims to give the children more influence to achieve their goals in being champions as well as being successful in their sport life and academic life. They would need the influence of their coaches in order to let them know how to deal with them in the ways of talking, reacting and train.

2 Literature Review

First of all, the study “Coach’s Leadership Behavior as a Predictor of Satisfaction with Leadership: Perceptions of Athletes with Physical Disabilities”, Hatamleh, Abu Al-Ruz, and Hindawi attempt to examine the perception of physically disabled children to their coaches’ actions. 63 disabled Jordanian male athletes participating in five different national sports were involved in the data collection process. Various types of analysis were used in analyzing data to answer the study questions. The results showed a moderate-to-high satisfaction among disabled athletes with their coaches’ leadership across all actions and subsequences.

To support the previous study, this study discusses the desire to participate and enjoy physical activities inside and outside the school with children with physical disabilities. It includes activities they are participating. How often, with whom, where, and how enjoyable they find these activities. The data are based on interviews with 149 children who were subjected to three weeks of rehabilitation at Beitostølen Healthsports Centre in Norway. The scale of participation for activities was determined at the start of the rehabilitation period. The study shows a high level of activity, participation and enjoyment during the three weeks period. It also showed that they wanted to be more active that what they already are.

In addition to the support, this study aims to investigate the outcome of feedback on the freestyle swimming learning and performance. Sixty first year male students were randomly conducted to four groups: self-modeling, expert-modeling, verbal, and control group. The research program lasted for seven weeks. Participants were evaluated by a 25m freestyle swim through three tests: a pre-test, a post-test and a retention test. The results showed that the self-modeling group was the most effective in comparison with the other groups. It also showed that there are no differences between the groups when it comes to the speed performance of a 25m freestyle swimming. Overall, the study provides the evidence needed for the effects of self-modeling on their performance and encourages research to further explore such effects between different types of feedback in real training conditions.

Likewise, Bantjesa, Swartz, Conchara, Dermanc (2015) are promoting how young athletes with disabilities in countries that are developing and have a limited access to sport opportunities and comparing it to their living experience. The interviews were set to 15 youngsters with cerebral palsy living in South Africa. Data were analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The research suggested that sporting directors should allow participants with physical disabilities to involve in sporting programs.

Moreover, Gaskin, Andersen, Morris (2009) used a life experience of the life of a 25 years old woman with a cerebral palsy. They interviewed her and mother about her life involvement in sports and physical activity. The interview was recorded and transcribed. For her, engagement in physical activity she became more physically active in her adultery than her childhood. She had been using a psychodynamic theory. It helped her raise her self-esteem.

By the same token, Pontifex, Fine, Da Cruz, Parks, Smith, physical activity can be an effective approach for children mental disorder development. It also indicated that physical activity improves mental health and class performance with ADHD and autism spectrum disorder. The review identifies the challenges to the promote physical activity clinical practice and educational police.

After what is previously mentioned, this leads us to conclude that sport psychology is widely studied. But it wasn’t studied well in a country like Egypt where disabled children don’t

Leadership and communication

Two of the most important topics covered this semester are regarding leadership and communication. As defined by dictionary.com, the meaning of leadership is a person who guides or directs a group. This definition is very broad, so to take the definition to another level, leadership means to influence and support others to work enthusiastically in order to achieve a common goal. The role of the leader in an organization is to set up a series of goals and to motivate and assist employees to achieve these goals. The definition has three important elements to it: influence, individual effort, and goal achievement. Without a true leader in a company, employees would be confused of what the task at hand is, just as a band is confused without a conductor. On the other hand, we have communication. In today’s world, employees have more of a desire to know what is going on, and most importantly, how they will fit into the big picture of the organization. According to dictionary.com, they define communication in a sense of biology: the transfer of information from one cell or molecule to another, as by chemical or electrical signals. This definition could be translated to the world of an organization: the transfer of information from one person to another person, as by face-to-face or through emails, text messages, phone calls, etc. The main idea behind communication is that the transfer of ideas, facts, thoughts, feelings, and/or values are clearly transferred from one person to another. “Communication is what the receiver understands, not what the sender says” (Newstrom, 2015).

There are certain traits that can differentiate leaders from non-leaders. The first trait is that leaders have a high level of personal drive. This drive is ignited from energy, determination, willpower, and tenacity. The second trait is that leaders have a desire to lead. Once you come to the point of your life where you have to do something, you should stop doing that thing because you no longer have a passion for that thing since it has now become a burden. Having a desire to lead means you have a motivation to influence others. The third trait of a leader is that there is personal integrity. Integrity means that you are the same person whether you are at home by yourself or with a group of friends/family. It essentially means that there is a sense of ethics, honesty, and authenticity. The fourth trait of a leader is that he or she has self-confidence. In the baseball world, we are taught at an early age to have confidence while playing because if you don’t, you will miss the pitch, strike out, make an error, etc. It is the same way in business. If as a leader you do not have confidence, you will start to second guess your decisions and become unsure of what you are trying to do. You need to have optimism and belief in self-efficacy. The fifth, and last, trait of a leader is authenticity. As a leader you must be real and genuine about the position you are in.

Just because you have all these leadership traits does not guarantee successful leadership. These traits are more like qualifications or resources that may, or may not, be developed and later used. There are plenty of people that have these traits but either chooses not to use the traits or the opportunities never arise for them to use the traits. One important topic in leadership is if some of these traits can be learned/acquired over time if someone has a real passion in becoming a leader. In the short run, this could be extremely difficult, but there are some that could be acquired if you are dedicated, such as self-confidence and knowledge of the industry.

Successful leadership depends more on appropriate behavior, skills, and actions, and less on personal traits. The differences of traits and of behaviors, skills, and actions, are that traits provide the basic potentials, and behaviors, skills, and actions are the successful release and execution of the traits. The difference is that, unlike traits, behaviors/skills can be learned and changed. These behaviors/skills are interrelated while in practice, but can also be considered separately. The first skill is technical skill. This skill refers to a person’s knowledge and ability in any type of process/technique. Technical skills are the differentiating features of job performance and professional level. As employees are promoted, the less their technical skills become important. The second skill is human skill. This skill is the ability to work effectively with people and to build teamwork. There are several behavioral traits one must have to have human skill, such as giving feedback, coaching, showing compassion and support, etc. These requirements are a major part of leadership behavior and a lack of these skills will lead to a downfall middle and top management. The third skill is conceptual skill. This is the ability to think in terms of models, frameworks, and broad relationships. These skills are more for top management and C-level executives. These skills are more related to ideas, rather than people and/or things.

Two of the Harvard Business Reviews come to mind when talking about leadership. The first is “How Successful Leaders Think” by Roger Martin and “Leading Change” by John P. Kotter. In the first review of “How Successful Leaders Think,” the author talks about the secret of becoming a great leader. Martin says, “Don’t act like one… Instead, think like one” (Martin, 2007). Throughout the review, he distinguishes how successful leader thinks through integrative think and a non-successful leader thinks through conventional thinking. Integrative thinking is having two different ideas and making a third idea that has elements of the two different ideas. A conventional thinker has the same two ideas and just chooses between the two. To become an integrative think was must stay away from the easy solutions of “either-or” decisions, and instead embrace the complexity of opposing ideas to make it one great idea. The article goes on to putting the idea into practice. The first step is to identify key factors. A conventional thinker may only consider the obvious factors to weigh the options and how they will positively or negatively affect the organization. An integrative thinker would look for an option that is not so obvious, but has more relevant considerations. The second step is analyzing causality. As an integrative thinker, we must consider multidirectional relationships, whereas conventional thinkers would consider a linear relationship between the factors (Martin, 2007). The third step is envisioning the decision’s overall structure. Conventional thinkers see a problem and will divide it into little parts and attack them separately. On the other hand, integrative thinkers will look at the problem as a whole and see different trends on how each step/area affects the other. The last step is achieving resolution. As stated before, this is the mentality of either-or (conventional) versus complexity (integrative).

In the second Harvard Business Review of “Leading Change,” the author, John P. Kotter, studied over 100 companies for 10 years to see how they would try to make themselves relevant against their competitors. In his overall study, he saw that most of the companies made the same eight errors. The first error these companies were making is that they failed to establish a sense of urgency. When in a leadership position/role and you are trying to change the direction of an organization, you must not underestimate how fast competitors will jump on your mistakes. At the same time, you must not overestimate the previous successes of the organization. The second error is the companies did not create a powerful guiding coalition. A successful transformation includes the coalition of leaders grows more and more over time. “But whenever some minimum mass is not achieved early in the effort, nothing much worthwhile happens” (Kotter, 2007). The third error is that there was a lack of vision. This is one of the more important things that you must get right when trying to change the direction of a company because it directs the change effort and creates strategies to make sure the vision comes true. The fourth error is communicating the vision. When in a leadership role, you must use all resources available to communicate the new vision and strategies. The fifth error is empowering others to act on the vision. In this step, the companies fail to get rid any obstacles, change anything that undermines the vision, and encourage taking risks. The sixth error is that they failed to plan for and make short-term wins. This meant that we must plan for performance and create improvements and reward the employees that were directly involved in making improvements. The seventh error is declaring victory too soon. After having a few months, or maybe even a year, of success, managers tend to be tempted in declaring victory too soon when there are x amount of different short- or long-term goals to be accomplished. Lastly, the eighth error is not anchoring changes in the corporation’s culture. Change will become the norm when it becomes the way the company does things. In other terms, once employees start acting the way the change is supposed to be, you have created a new culture in the company and now you know that your employees are all in for the change.

What compliments a good leader is a good communicator. Organizations could not run properly if there is no communication involved; if there is no communication than employees would not know than management would never know what they are inputting and supervisors and executive cannot give proper instructions. “When communication is effective, it tends to facilitate better performance and improve job satisfaction” (Newstrom, 2015).

There is something called the two-way communication process, where a sender sends a message to a receiver. In this process there are eight steps to where and how the two parties send and receive the information. The first step is to develop an idea that the sender wants to send. The second step is to make the idea you have into words to be able to send. Here the sender must put whatever is in his or her mind into words or graphs so that the person(s) receiving the message have a clear understanding of what the sender is try to say. The third step is used once the message is formed and it is to transmit the message through email, memo, conference call/meeting, etc. The fourth step is the allowance of having others receive the message. From this step forward, it is now the receivers’ job to know how to handle what is being communicated. The fifth step is to decode what the sender is trying to communicate. This is important for both parties because the sender is trying to make the receiver understand exactly what he or she is trying to say. The sixth step is to either accept or reject the message. Acceptance is always the goal of the sender but depending on the accuracy of the message and/or the authority and credibility of the sender, the receiver with take in as much information as they believe is needed. The seventh step is to use the information. This is one of the few steps where the receiver is in complete control of what may happen next. Since the receiver decides whether to accept or reject the message, he or she can decide on whether to use the information or to disregard it and move on. The eighth step is to provide feedback. This step completes the communication process since the receiver will now become the sender once he or she provides the feedback.

There are three barriers to communication that could cause disruption and/or a misunderstanding of what is being transmitted. The first barrier is the personal barrier. These barriers can come from any different scenarios; from human emotions values, and poor listening skills, to a difference in education, race, sex, or status. Personal barriers are created through distracting verbal habits, such as continuous repetition of a word or phrase, or from physical actions, such as clicking a pen. The second barrier is a physical barrier. “Physical barriers are communication interferences that occur in the environment in which the communication takes place” (Newstrom, 2015). These barriers arise when there are noises going on outside the office that are distracting and cause employees to lose focus on what is being said. Another cause is the distance between two people that are trying to communicate. Imagine talking to someone that is extremely close to you. You would probably feel a bit uncomfortable because they are in your comfort zone, or your personal space. This could cause you to feel uncomfortable and distract you in receiving or sending information. “In the United States, general practice allows intimate communications between close friends to occur at very short recanted (e.g., 6 to 18 inches). Conversations with acquaintances are often held at a 3- or 4-foot personal distance. Work-related discussion between colleagues may occur at a social distance of 4 to 12 feet, with more impersonal and formal conversations in public occurring at even greater distances” (Newstrom, 2015). The third barrier is a semantic barrier. These barriers occur when there are symbols or words being used in communication that we do not understand. This goes along with having a jargon in the workplace. Each company has there own way in communicating messages in there own way. For example, with the Miami Marlins, whenever they give us money to have as change, they call it a bank, but working with my mom at her pharmacy, she calls that money petty cash (Barriers to Effective Communication, 2017). This is a very simple example but could become complex when talking about the “nitty-gritty” of a company.

All-in-all leadership and communication are intertwined. A good leader must be able to communicate the information that he or she may have to employees so that the day-to-day functions of a business could be run as clean and smooth as possible. Becoming a good leader and a good communicator does not happen over night. These are things that you must put into practice on a daily basis so that when the time comes, you will be a master at being a leader and a master of communication.

World War Z by Max Brooks (book) – heroes: online essay help

A hero is someone who is courageous enough to take a risk to benefit themselves and the people around them. In World War Z, the heroes are called to adventure when a zombie apocalypse shocks the world. In the movie, Gerry Lane takes it among himself to travel through the underworld to cure the plague that has struck the world. In the novel, the interviewer collects information from a series of heroes that fought to preserve their lives and the people around them. Although the book and movie use different tactics to demonstrate a hero’s journey, through their respective use of character development and growth, the journey remains intact.

The hero’s journey is a set of stages that all literary heroes experience throughout their travels. It evolved from Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with A Thousand Faces, and consists of 12 stages the hero goes through. These stages consist of Ordinary World, Call to Adventure, Refusal, Meeting with the Mentor, Crossing the Threshold, Tests, Allies, Enemies, Approach to Inmost cave, Ordeal, Reward (Seizing the Sword), The Road Back, Resurrection, and Return with Elixir. The novel and film World War Z offer two different forms of the hero’s journey.

The reader is introduced to Gerry Lane and his family in the opening scene of World War Z as they are enjoying a nice family breakfast in the peace of their home. This gives the reader a look at Gerry’s ordinary world until this crumbles to pieces when the apocalypse hits the U.S. Gerry manages to fight off the zombies and get his family to safety on a naval ship, and then receives his call to adventure. His former co-worker from the United Nations informs Gerry that he needs his help traveling through the underworld to cure the plague that has overcome the place they call home.

Gerry refuses because he knows he cannot bare to leave his family, but Gerry then realizes he has met his mentor. A mentor figure is the character in the hero’s journey that convinces the hero to accept the call by giving the hero exactly what he needs. Gerry’s mentor informs him that if he does not fight, then he will be forced to kick Gerry and his family off the boat. This encourages Gerry to cross the threshold into the underworld to attempt to cure the plague and save the world.

Gerry’s tests, allies, and enemies are very present in this apocalyptic world as he fights to find the cure of this plague through zombies, plane crashes, and the injuries and infections of himself and his peers. Gerry approaches the inmost cave when he makes his voyage to acquire the medicine which is guarded by a plethora of hungry zombies. He runs and fights off the zombies until he makes it into the room where he hopes the medicine that can cure the plague lies.

Gerry acquires the medicine he has been looking for, but one ordeal stands in the way of him and safety. He turns around to see a former doctor turned zombie eyeing him down through the glass door. Gerry looks around in horror wondering if this could be the end. He holds up a sign to his observing peers which reads, “TELL MY FAMILY I LOVE THEM.” (“World War Z.”) Gerry then builds up some courage and decides to face his greatest fear. He infects himself with the potential “zombie camouflage” infection. He takes a deep breath and opens the door which once separated himself from the undead.

The zombie approaches him, identifying Gerry closely, and allows Gerry to walk right by him with no interest. Gerry is rewarded with his life, but still has to walk the road back through the zombie infested hallways. Gerry, hoping with all his might that the camouflage will fool the rest of the hungry flesh-eaters, takes a sip of Pepsi and starts his quest. He is greeted by a herd of hungry zombies, and somehow walks by them untouched and filled with confidence.

Gerry has found the cure, but his work is far from done. Gerry says, “We have bought our self some time.” (World War Z.”) This is the resurrection. They have found the cure to the plague, but they still need to save the rest of the world. The hero has done everything he could and more. He finally returns to his family with the elixir of his life and the cure of the plague. All the hardships, zombie battles, and separation paid off. Gerry returns a new man who has become wiser, stronger, and braver.

In the novel, the interviewer travels all across the world to hear first-hand insight from each hero’s journey. One of the many hero stories the interviewer collects comes from Todd Wainio. Todd’s call to adventure strikes when he decides to join the military before the apocalypse’s climax. He didn’t know exactly what he was getting into at that time. His crossing of the threshold occurs during the Battle of Yonkers when he is finally greeted by the living dead. Todd approaches countless tests, allies, and enemies while fighting for survival all throughout the U.S., and being forced to watch his fellow militants turn into flesh-eating monsters. Todd’s approach to the inmost cave occurs when Todd’s squad leader, and close friend, is diagnosed with PTSD. This creates an ordeal for Todd as he is forced to take over the position as squad leader. Todd is already stressed enough having to fight just to live another day, and now he has to look out for his entire squad. The squad manages to achieve some success under Todd’s leadership and takes on the road back to where they started the adventures in Yonkers, New York. They continue fighting on the path of where they crossed the first threshold, and eventually return safely. Todd and his squad realize they have returned with the gift of strength and independence.

Todd and Gerry are two heroes who sacrifice everything in order to protect the ones around them. They both come from backgrounds that have to do with protecting this country, and feel it is their duty to find a way to cease the madness plaguing their country. Gerry battles to find a cure for the plague, and Todd is called to adventure because he is a militant who serves to protect the citizens of the country he loves. Todd and Gerry both return to their ordinary world after overcoming tests, ordeals, and their roads back to return with the elixir. A major similarity between the two protagonists is that they returned with the elixir of becoming better individuals. They realize what they have gone through and how much bravery, strength, and independence they have shown in their journey to become heroes.

Another hero from the novel the interviewer introduces to is Travis D’Ambrosia. Like Gerry and Todd, Travis is a military hero that didn’t exactly sign up for the call to adventure to exterminate these lifeless creatures. Travis is a Supreme Allied Commander who finds himself in the midst of the militaries war campaign to put a stop to this plague. Travis is more than aware about the militaries plans and tactics, but he is not the one to say they are perfect. Like Todd, he doesn’t agree with the militaries every move, but his heroic tendencies allow him to cross the threshold and fight for what is right. Travis is the man in charge who calls the shots for other hero’s journeys. His flesh-eating tests, allies, and enemies force him to become the strong hero who leads his troops towards the rewards of protection and survival.

Heroes are the individuals we look for to stand up in the times of crisis. Todd, Gerry, and Travis all accept their calls to adventure, and are rewarded with self-improvement. World War Z illustrates to us how heroes all grow from the same seed even though there reasoning for their journey might differ. In the end, our heroes are all fighting towards the same objective while investing in themselves as an improved individual. World War Z indicates to us that crises show our heroes the values necessary to improve the quantity of life.

Women’s presence in the armed forces

The Military’s view to fight wars has traditionally been interpreted as masculine, with the goal for peace seen as feminine. Historically, women have served in numerous positions in the military. Dating back to 1948, women have been limited by the Department of Defense (DOD) policies from being eligible to more than “220,000 of over one-million positions despite their exceptional service in combat (McSally, 2011).” DOD policies are riddled with discrepancies that result in confusion and frankly are in violation of voluntary restrictions by the military. “These policies are incongruent with two of America’s democratic tenets and have limited full participation in the military by women. One, the armed forces, whether conscripted or volunteer, should reflect the society they defend. Women are nearly fifty-one percent of the U.S. population; however, fourteen percent of which are volunteer force and six percent are senior officers. Two, the U.S. Constitution is now interpreted to prohibit discrimination or lack of equal opportunity solely based on gender (McSally, 2011).”

The DOD implemented a ground combat exclusion policy that was in effect until January 2016. It stated, “service members are eligible to be assigned to all positions for which they are qualified, except that women shall be excluded from assignment to units below the brigade level whose primary mission is to engage in direct combat on the ground (McSally, 2011).” This theory is justified because all-male combat units are necessary. Although women are not officially assigned to positions due to this exclusion policy, they are employed every day in combat. For example, in the Afghanistan war, women have been necessary to fill the ranks that require the proper execution of assigned jobs, such as search women and children. Moreover, women are critical in winning the populations over as part of strategies to win wars. Hence, these are roles that just cannot be filled by men due to many cultural sensitivities.

It is arguable that women’s presence in the armed forces would interfere with military readiness and disturb unit cohesion according to scholars. Task cohesion is most important in mission effectiveness and is “the ability for group members to work together and accomplish shared goals (Segal, Smith, Segal, & Canuso, 2016)”. In turn, this translates to trust and confidence in each other that the job will be executed appropriately. Numerous trials have been conducted to see if women could be integrated into combat positions effectively. Results reflected that mixed-gender units outperformed all-male units.  Leaders have also noticed that female recruits were doing better on aptitude tests. “Although data presented reflects that women pose a higher risk for musculoskeletal injuries within military training and operational environments due to inherent genetic dissimilarities between genders; women who are strength trained and endurance trained can and will increase their performance in combat positions (Nindl, Jones, Arsdale, Kelly, &Kraemer, 2016)”. “Traditional conventional military field training is conducive to preparing large groups for war. However, this method fails to address strength and power capabilities needed to optimize a soldier’s performance required in a combat environment (Nindl, Jones, Arsdale, Kelly, &Kraemer, 2016)”. The need to tailor training methods towards exact tactical requirements will address specific needs of the individual, therefore optimizing performance and contributing to women’s abilities to perform physically demanding ground combat positions.

Conversely, social cohesion is “the degree to which members of a group are willing to spend time together (McSally, 2011).” “Arguments discussing the inclusion of minorities such as women are “social experimentation,” which will result in a less effective military. This argument is rooted in the importance of high social cohesion (McSally, 2011)” and studies have disproved this assumption. Although research reflects that integration of women into our armed forces does not affect task cohesion, males have resisted allowing women into combat positions because they fear they will lower drive amongst units. Men also believe that standards will be lowered to accommodate women; thus, they are less willing to work and spend time with their female counterparts. Also, leadership’s “traditional” opinion towards wives, mothers, and daughters in combat has led to the controversy of gender roles in the military. For example, General Merrill McPeak stated, “even though logic tells us that women can conduct combat operations as well as men, I have a very traditional attitude about wives, mothers, and daughters ordered to kill (McSally, 2011).”  Leaders are willing to accept underqualified forces to fit with personal attitudes on the proper roles of women. Therefore, gender norms drive a women’s place in our national military. “While diversity may pose numerous challenges for leadership, ultimately it has had a positive effect on mission success across military organizations (McSally, 2011).” Finally, excess social cohesion within large groups can be unfavorable to performance as a whole.

Various assumptions and theories according to scholars as to why women should remain exempt from full participation in ground combat positions such as affecting military readiness and mission success due to physical restrictions and social cohesion have been rejected. With reevaluating military training programs to allow women the opportunity to improve physical fitness to conduct ground combat operations effectively as-well-as being given equal opportunity to advance in rank to promote diverse environments is imperative to embracing change and developing a well-integrated military. America must decide to change its traditional democratic philosophy by shaping the role of women in national defense and decision-making, rather than continuing old traditions about gender norms, because these inconsistencies in our military result in ineffective mission readiness.

Journalism and the American Policy: essay help online free

Journalism and the American Policy

Journalism has always played a critical role in the society by advancing political agenda and other issues that need to be in the public domain at any particular time. However, the profession has undergone significant changes in history, at one time being totally partisan, then changing to a reliable professional in the twentieth century, and has since come under threat in the twenty-first century due to the dependence on technology for information. However, one of the roles that have been consistent throughout the years has been the spreading of important information to the society. Most importantly, it has always served as a source of information on the American lifestyle, and a gauge using which the world could evaluate the American society viewed itself and thought the world should work. Dispatches, a product of journalistic work in the Vietnam War offers important insight on the American war and international policy post-World War II, and despite the timing of the book coming later after the war, it gives a clear insight of the American policy and the role played by the media in the issues.

In Dispatches, Herr (1987) categorically indicates that “sitting in Saigon was like sitting inside the folded petals of a poisonous flower” (p. 35). The assertion serves as an allegory that could be akin to being in an environment that could appear to be appealing from the outside, but only those within the said environment completely understand the peril therein. Essentially, the American involvement in Vietnam escalated the conflict in the country from a mere civil conflict between two parties to a fully-fledged war once President Johnson took over leadership from President Kennedy. Consequently, the events of the war were a clear sign that the United States was committed to the Marshal Plan by President Truman, and would do everything to present the expansion of communist ideas by the Soviet Union. However, the effort came at the expense of the American soldiers in Vietnam, who had to navigate the unknown Vietnamese territory amid shells and bombings from the North Vietnamese army and southern insurgents.

Journalism on the frontlines was one of the only ways that information about the events on the frontline would get to the Americans back home. However, the support at home for the war was significantly dismal, with the protests against involvement in Vietnam reaching fever pitch in the 1960s. According to Hall (2004) “complaints about U.S policy in Vietnam occasionally arose in the early 1960s.” Essentially, people at home viewed the war as unnecessary, with the media playing a critical role in advancing information about the war to the public. Consequently, the interaction between the media and the public was consequential in making clear the view among Americans on the country’s War and foreign policy at the time. There was no internet or social media at the time using which President Johnson could communicate to the Americans on issues related to the war and its necessity, which left the media and the journalists as key players through whom the people could express their opinion regarding actions by the government.

Dispatches offer a perspective of the Vietnam War from the warfront, and the experiences of the American troops in the country. Despite obeying the command, the troops had their opinions of the war, which when combined with the perspectives of those at home provide important insight of the Americans’ view of how the country ought to have related with the international society. Essentially, the citizens were significantly vocal about the appropriate policies, which necessitated an exchange between the stakeholders that was facilitated by the press. Consequently, the press played a critical role in exemplifying the American perception of the views related to war and other foreign policies by the government in the post-World War II era and beyond.

The United States has always positioned itself as one of the most progressive and democratic countries in the world. Consequently, public support is always a necessity in the various activities in which the country engages itself. The steady position on democracy was one of the reasons for the United States interventions in various countries during the cold war with the primary intent of tilting the aftermath of the war in favor of Capitalism and the American ideology. Notably, the cold war was all about differences in ideology between the Soviet Union and the United States. According to Huntley (1993), American success in the cold war was a result of “long term policy of Containment first implemented by the Truman administration eventually crippled the Soviet system and was the reason for U.S. success.” The end of the cold war in 1991 was one of the most important positive developments in the American war en foreign policy post the Second World War, and largely impacted the American image among international authorities.

However, the American foreign policy post the cold war was not as elaborate and did not reflect much of the country’s democratic position. The American invasion of Iraq under the pretext that the country’s manufacture of weapons of mass destruction posed a threat to the world serves as one incidence in which clarity of American foreign policy was unclear. However, much of what the public heard from the government was that the war was necessary to restore a democratic governance in the Middle Eastern country since the government present at the time appeared to neglect the rights of its citizens. However, later uproar from the world in face of the American invasion passed a clear message about the wrongful nature of the American approach and significantly affected the world’s perception of the American war and foreign policy.

According to the local evaluation of the poll performances, President Bush’s was so popular in the country that “few elected criticize him as the country moved toward war” (Byrd, 2003, p.285). Consequently, such information reflected the swill of the American citizens and, again, it would not have been in the public domain without the help of the press. However, while making such considerations, the people forgot insights about the war initially made by Herr in Dispatches. Those at home would have no idea of the sleepless nights and fatigue that the soldiers who would go to Iraq would have to face in a country that had done nothing to provoke the Americans. The war in Iraq ought to have been with the Al Qaeda and not an effort to overthrow the government.

However, the role of the press in passing messages related to the war and foreign policy had evolved significantly. Coverage not only focused on the situation at home and its relation to the American society but also included sentiments from the larger international community. For instance, most of the negative sentiments to the American invasion of Iraq came from the international community with the solitary nature in which the United State made the decision to invade the Middle Eastern country being a primary issue. Ultimately, this portrayed the American citizens, led by the government, as being less concerned about the welfare of other countries in their actions, since the invasion of Iraq significantly questioned the American respect or the sovereignty of other nations.

While the press may have played a critical role in advancing the international policy agenda and information about the government to citizens in the country in the twentieth century, the role of the press has changed significantly in the twenty-first century. For instance, politicians no longer need the press to pass information to the public about various issues. Baughman (2011), asserts that there was a time in history when “stories that might flatter the opposition went unreported.” However, the trend has since changed since, among other changes in the perception of the news, the politicians can just as e

ffectively pass such information using social media platforms such as Twitter and make the same impact they would have made had they opted to use the traditional media. While there was a need for a reporter to go to Vietnam to get a personalized story on the experiences at the war front, soldiers in modern conflict situations could just as easily take images of the experiences and share them on social media.

Information passed to the citizens always has a significant effect on their perception of issues in the society. For instance, were it not for the press reports on issues related to the Vietnam war, there would not have been opposed to the invasion sometime after the American troops made the trip to the Middle Eastern country. However, information about the challenges associated with the narrative the people was initially made to believe initiated a dialogue that significantly challenged the popularity of the American presence in Iraq within the country.

In conclusion, journalists have always played a pivotal role in advancing the American war agenda as is exemplified by the impact of the publication of the Dispatches book on the account of the Vietnam War. However, the position has most recently been largely challenged by the role played by social media in exemplifying issues facing the society directly from the sources of such policy measures. As the society continues to experience changes in communication, the role of the press in communication could experience significant decline as information passage becomes more decentralized.

What factors resulted in the UK’s vote to leave the EU? (inc media analysis): college application essay help

In her September 2017 Florence speech, Theresa May stated that ‘the United Kingdom has never totally felt at home being in the European Union’ and that as a result of ‘history’ and ‘geography’, the EU has ‘never felt to us an integral part of our national story in the way it does to so many elsewhere in Europe’ (GOV, 2017). Here, May taps into a well-established narrative concerning the incompatibility of British and European identity. This disjuncture of identity forms the basis of this essay, whereby Britain’s unique hostility towards the European Project became the gateway to vote Leave in 2016. However, this gateway was paved with a multitude of other factors, most notably British ‘exceptionalism’, the media and the arguments of vote Leave. It was the cumulative impact of these factors that resulted in the UK’s vote to leave the EU.

However, and as this essay will demonstrate, the vote to leave was not inevitable. The outcome of the referendum was both structural and contingent, whereby structural factors made the UK’s vote to leave possible and contingent factors made this vote probable. This essay will present the case that structural and long-term factors – primarily that of identity – allowed for Euroscepticism to be embedded within British culture, and that the media built upon this sentiment to set the stage for a successful Leave campaign. This will be done through exploration of British and European identities, and chronological analysis of Britain’s relationship with the EU (from its reasons in entering back in 1973 and the media’s Euroscepticism thereafter, to the 2016 campaign itself), thus proving that the synergy of long-term and short-term factors is integral to understanding Britain’s vote to leave. After all, the Leave campaign’s ability to draw upon a long-established, structural and media-based Euroscepticism, and the Remain camp’s inability to draw upon a comparable long-established pro-European feeling, meant that the Remain campaign were inevitably starting on the back foot. This was, not least, because as May notes Britain has never felt entirely at ‘home’ in Europe – and it is this insecurity of identity, which underpins Britain’s decision to vote to leave the European Union.

The incompatibility of British and European Identity

Like any state-building project, in order for the political union of Europe to succeed, a ‘European Identity’ had to be carefully crafted and exported transnationally, as a means of ensuring a perpetual want to maintain the ‘imagined community’ of the European Union. Paolo Bellucci, David Sanders and Fabio Serricchio present this identity as having intersecting political and social aspects based on principles such as the pooling of sovereignty, freedom of movement and trade, the standardization of rights and European integration (Belluci et al, 2017). Their research concludes that such a European identity is political as it is linked to ‘an attachment to a salient supranational community’ – namely the EU (Bellucci et al. 2017: 63). It is social, they argue, because certain sections of society feel more European due to their cosmopolitanism and social capital. This is what enables ‘people with the resources necessary to understand, evaluate and develop feelings of attachment to a supranational community’ (Bellucci et al. 2017: 77). Those who cannot identify as European are those whom Goodwin and Heath consider to be ‘left behind’ (Goodwin & Heath, 2016).

However, the ‘left behind’ narrative – although going some way towards explaining why those on the periphery of globalization may have voted leave – can be said to focus too much on the individual level, neglecting Britain’s long-standing ‘semi-detached’ relationship with Europe (Copsey & Haughton, 2014). The isolation of those ‘left behind’ by Europe, is mirrored by Britain’s own structural – political, cultural and even geographical – isolation from the European project, born of a long and tempestuous relationship with the EU. After all, this was not a great love affair, but a volatile marriage – perhaps even an ‘arranged’ one, if we are to adopt the language of Boris Johnson  (The Telegraph, 2016) that looks set to end in divorce. This was a relationship built on distrust and hostility, with years of compromise and to and fro leading to a process of ‘otherness’, as opposed to a process of unity between British and European identities.

Dario Castiglione explores the difficulties facing the notion of a European identity by calling upon Weber’s definition of the state – namely a ‘human community that [successfully] claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of violence within a given territory’ (Weber 2013: 76). Castiglione explains that an individual’s attachment to Europe is never entirely complete due to the fact that, as a European, one lives in a vast ‘community of strangers’ (Castiglione 2009: 29). Reconciling British and European identity, therefore, had a very fundamental stumbling block because, ‘as a historical construct’ the emergence of a European political identity is ‘bound up with historical contingencies and with the way in which competing narratives and ideologies shape the self-perceptions of members of the community,’ (Castiglione, 2009: 29). This has taken on a very unique form within Britain, whereby – as May explains – Europe is not seen as part of our ‘national story’ (Gov, 2017).  Indeed, by 2013, Britain ranked at the bottom of a citizenship survey conducted by the European Commission. When asked ‘do you feel you are a citizen of the EU?’ (a ‘supranational community’ which Bellucci et al. see as a form of identity), only 42% answered ‘yes’ (Belluci et al. 2017: 63). The lack of traditional state infrastructure at the hands of the European Union has meant that it has been difficult to cultivate a consolidated European identity – especially so, when Britain has become to perceive being ‘European’ as a rival identity.

Despite growing Euroscepticism in both France and Germany (nations who understand the significance of a united Europe after the horrors of war), both nations seem to have overcome this identity barrier. National and European identities have been able to co-exist precisely because Europe has become, and always has been, part of their ‘national story’.  As the Heinrich Böll Foundation note, this is because of the ‘commonality of experience, past and present, [that] is at the very core of the European project’ (Heinrich Böll, 2014). The Second World War, for example, prompted the need for a united Europe based on collective memory and a desire for peace. Britain’s entry, in contrast, was based on economic and identity-based factors – as will be explained in the next section. Thus, Britain has never felt truly at home in Europe, with it being a ‘place to which Britons go rather than belong,’ (Copsey and Haughton, 81, 2014).  There has long been a metaphysical distance, therefore, between Britain and Europe, whereby – unlike nations such as France and Germany – Britishness has never fitted comfortably alongside or within a European identity.

In her exploration of British identity, Christina Julios cites political theorist Sir Bernard Crick in which he defines being British as an ‘overarching political and legal concept; it signifies allegiance to the laws, government and broad moral and political concepts – like tolerance and freedom of expression – that hold the United Kingdom together,’ (Crick in Julios, Introduction 2008). One may argue that, in stressing the importance of the notion of ‘freedom’ and of self-governance, many Britons see Europe as being a threat to national – and Parliamentary – sovereignty. As Thomas Sampson notes, ‘when leave voters are asked to explain their vote, national sovereignty and immigration are the most frequently cited reasons’ (LSE, 2016). From this, one can identity a disjuncture between the principles that constitute being British (including, for example, Parliamentary sovereignty) and the EU (and its principle of the pooling of sovereignty).

One aspect omitted by Crick in his definition of Britishness, is its historical component. Indeed, this is what ethnosymbolists such as Anthony D. Smith would identify as being a key principle underpinning national identity – the construction of a ‘glorious past’ and of myths which strengthen ‘Britishness’. As Benjamin Grob-Fitzgibbon notes, Europe was seen as obscuring the possibility of returning to Britain’s ‘golden age’, an age ‘defined by British imperialism, even if present-day Eurosceptics do not call the Empire by its name’(Grob-Fitzibbon 2016: 468). This is important in the sense that European identity is often delineated as conflicting with our historic understanding of Britain and British exceptionalism within the international community. Indeed, this ‘exceptionalism’ is a fundamental part of British history – and thus ‘national story’. As the next three sections will demonstrate, it is the threat to British identity that firstly, made the UK’s relationship with the EU a hostile one from the very beginning and secondly, helped fuel both the Eurosceptic campaigns of the media and of politicians.

Britain in Europe – an exceptional relationship

Britain’s exceptionalism comes in manifold forms – the most obvious of which being that it held a referendum to remain or leave the European Union in the first place. To understand Britain’s long-standing reticence, one need only consider its interactions with the ‘European Project’ during the 20th century, with its unwillingness to join the Coal and Steel Community in 1952 and its unsuccessful attempts to join the EEC in 1963 and 1967. Even after joining in 1973, neither public nor the ruling elite were entirely convinced by membership, which – teamed with Wilson’s need to settle the European question within his own party – prompted the referendum in 1975 on renegotiated terms. As Oliver notes, ‘the history [of Britain and Europe] is a well-documented one of aloofness, vetoes and opt-outs’ (Oliver 2015: 78). Britain’s relationship with the EU has been described as ‘semi-detached’, so much so that Sara Hobolt claims that ‘In many ways… the outcome of the UK’s referendum on EU membership was not surprising… British public has consistently been the most Eurosceptic electorate in the EU ever since the UK joined in 1973,’ (Hobolt 2016: 2) –so, why then, taking into account the apparent suspicion and apprehension towards the European project, did the UK decide to join in the first place?

Issues of identity not only played a part in our vote to leave the European Union, but also in our drive to join the EEC back in the 1970s. After all, identity is relational, malleable, and subject to many contingent factors and, as such, national identities may face moments of insecurity and even crisis. This occurred to Britain, according to Ward, during the 1970s as a result of the loss of imperial power and its perceived loss of purpose and authority on the global stage. This was a time where British identity was ‘no longer seen as innate, static and permanent. Indeed, it was seen as under threat’ (Ward 2004: 1). The answer, was to re-evaluate Britain’s place in the world – and to join the EEC.

Benjamin Grob-Fitzgibbon also notes that the government’s decision to pursue European membership had been determined by the government’s handling of the end of Empire. They were prompted to address Europe as a result of the changing public perceptions of Britain’s place in the world, and the nation’s attempt to define what it means to be ‘British’ and ‘European’ in a world where Britain held increasingly less power. Enoch Powell, for example, had ‘begun to argue that post-imperial Britain was just as much a new nation as the post-colonial states that the empire’s collapse had created,’ (Grob-Fitzgibbon, 2016: 378).  He believed that Britain had to forge a new post-imperial national identity before consideration of joining the EEC. Both sides of the debate in the 1970s used imperialist arguments to support their perspective, with Powell and the Daily Express using Britain’s imperial self-identity as a reason against membership, and Edward Heath seeing European identity as complementing Britain’s past. In his first speech after Britain joined the EEC, Heath proclaimed that ‘we have all come to recognize our common European heritage, our mutual interests and our European destiny’(CVCE, 2017). However, it is important to acknowledge that membership was not sought merely on the grounds of an identity crisis. After all, British entry in 1973 came at an economically difficult time – especially due to the rise in food prices – and as such, the country voted to join as an attempt to reverse these. Membership was not solely based on a belief in the European project, but rather a result of identifying economic potential within European markets, and as an opportunity to recover a sense of authority on the global stage. This interpretation of EEC as a cure-all for Britain’s troubles meant that incredibly high expectations were set from the very beginning of Britain’s involvement with Europe.

The first test of the success of this approach, came during the 1975 referendum. Fitzgibbon-Grob argues that during the campaign, ‘many Britons began to suspect that it was the decline of empire in combination with entry into the EEC that had thwarted Britain’s place in the world’ (Fitzgibbon-Grob 2016: 6).  Just some six months before the referendum, Britain looked set to leave the EEC, with public opinion only shifting as a result of external factors (such as the increase in food prices). After the referendum result, however, anti-European sentiment returned – only some 50% of the public believing membership to be a ‘good thing’ by January 1976, with this figure dropping to 35% by January 1977 (Grob-Fitzgibbon 2016: 401). Responsibility to guide the country in the years after the referendum fell to Margaret Thatcher, who presented European integration as the ‘next stage of British expansion’(Grob-Fitzgibbon 2016: 403). However, the fall of Thatcher, the controversy caused by the Maastricht treaty, and Britain’s crashing out of the ERM after only two years, simply fueled the interpretation that the European project served to undermine British interests.

This was an argument that, during the late 1980s, the British media became more and more receptive to and then began to propagate. Europe was no longer the answer to solving Britain’s identity crisis, but merely seemed to be perpetuating it, and – by 2016 – those at the heart of the Leave campaign made certain to highlight this, especially through the medium of the print press. This is where we begin to see the importance of structural factors in laying the basis for Euroscepticism to rise within Britain, whereby the media were able to draw upon long-standing issues of identity to foreground the need to leave the European Union.

The long-term role of the print media

Britain has never been fully convinced of its place within Europe, with the public’s relationship with the EEC and later the EU being one of indifference verging on hostility. One must therefore examine the way in which ordinary Britons came to understand Europe and how this Eurosceptic sentiment became Euro-cynical. Much of the responsibility can be placed in the hands of the British media, and in particular the press who have long influenced political opinion and set the political agenda with regards to Britain’s relationship with Europe. Bellucci et al. hypothesize that in order to create a strong European identity, citizens must actively engage with the ‘social and political sphere’, namely through the media and by acquiring knowledge of ‘European peoples and institutions’ (Belluci et al. 2012: 76). The lack of a serious ‘European-level’ press has meant that the public never came to understand events through a European lens, resulting in the suppression of the flow of information from Europe to the British public. Tim Oliver gives the lack of awareness of developments to the European constitution as an example of this (Oliver, 2015). The British press itself, underwent a transformation from pro to anti-European. Daddow analyses the conversion ‘from general support for membership manifest during the time of the 1975 membership referendum, [to] a combination of dissatisfaction with the EU Project and a questioning attitude towards membership itself has come to characterise the default media setting’ (Daddow 2012: 5). The attainment of this ‘default media setting’ can be linked to the symbiosis of Thatcherite Eurosceptisim and the rise of the Murdoch Press.

Baimbridge charts this transition, stating that “during the [1975] campaign, virtually all the mainstream national British press supported the Yes Campaign,’ with only the Morning Star supporting the ‘no’ campaign. Baimbirdge also explores the Daily Express’s relationship with Europe (who, although officially supported the ‘yes’ campaign), he sees as being in line with its ‘empire-first conception of Britain’s world role and concomitant criticism of Britain’s membership bids in the 1960s’ (Baimbridge in Daddow 2012: 6). However, what was, prior and during the 1975 referendum, a sentiment that bubbled beneath the surface, soon became the media’s ‘norm’. This anti-European equilibrium, Daddow postulates, became consolidated by the 1990s, where we begin to see the full extent of the “Murdoch Effect” which built upon the Eurosceptic groundwork laid out by Margaret Thatcher. This refers to the ‘vigorously anti-European agenda of the Murdoch Empire’ (Daddow, 2012: 10) alongside other bastions of the press such as the Telegraph Group and the Harmsworth Group. Such groups, according to Baimbridge, became faithful Eurosceptics partly due to economic reasons, partly due to ideational reasons and partly because of editors’ support of Margaret Thatcher until her political demise (Daddow, 2012). As a result, the sceptic discourse continued to follow thereafter.

Put simply, the 1980s and 1990s saw an increasing number of British people consuming actively anti-EU (as opposed to pro or neutral) information. This is mirrored by data from the Eurobarometer in 1999, whereby 57% of Britons felt ‘not very attached’ or ‘not at all attached’ to Europe – a trend that can be traced back to the 1970s (Eurobarometer, 2016).  Increased Euroscepticism across the British press prompted long-standing anti-EU papers (such as The Express) to further the extremity of their opposition. For example, in November 2010, The Express launched its ‘Get Britain Out of Europe’ campaign – a campaign carefully framed as a struggle to ‘repatriate British sovereignty from a political project that had comprehensively failed’ to help the British ‘win back their country’ (The Express, 2010). It is no surprise then, that the likes of David Olusoga see Brexit as the pursuit of ‘Empire 2.0’ (Guardian, 2017), when we are to consider the media’s focus on British identity as being paradoxical to that of European identity. The media were therefore able to build upon pre-existing structural factors by using arguments of identity, sovereignty and being ‘British’ to compound Euroscpetic feeling.

(Economist, 2016)

Another facet of the media’s long-term campaign, was the creation and maintenance of myths or – what The Economist called ‘little white lies, half-truths and disinformation’, ranging from the surreal to the bizarre. The graph below outlines the kind of myth printed in the British press after the consolidation of the British media’s Euroscepticism in the early 1990s, all of which were proved to be inaccurate by the European Commission (after the creation of a website dedicated to the debunking of anti-EU myths). However, arguably one of the most interesting myths published by a British tabloid, came in the form of the Sun’s claim that ‘the Queen would suddenly have to make her own tea because of new EU rules’ (The Economist, 2016). One could argue that this was an attack on British identity – with the EU presented as a threat to two of Britain’s most notable institutions – the monarchy and tea. Furthermore, in 1998, the Daily Telegraph seethed that ‘new bus safety rules could ban [double-decker buses] from Britain’s streets,’ with ‘the British symbol, recognized worldwide, [now under] threat’ (The EC in the UK, 1998).  Myths, as such, acted as a vehicle for the continuation of easy to digest anti-EU sentiment within the British press.

The print media’s long-term campaign harnessed the interpretation that Europe was a threat to British identity. The promulgation of myths concerning the European Union simply reiterated Europe’s ‘otherness’ in relation to Britain by presenting the institution as detrimental to British sovereignty. The longevity of this campaign (spanning over twenty five years) ensured that the public were well accustomed to anti-European sentiment – thus ensuring that those advocating Leave had plenty of material from which to start their campaign and convert those who were indifferent towards Europe, to leave voters.

The 2016 Referendum

The British press’s sustained attack on Europe and the ‘drip, drip of anti-European propaganda,’ (Shipman, 2016) built upon Britain’s long-established structural Euroscepticism to consolidate anti-European feeling within British culture. As such, and due to the ‘cumulative influence of the media’ (Berry, 2016), the short-term Leave campaign was the final push needed to convert a public already ‘primed by the media to be Eurosceptic’ to vote leave (Berry, 2016). Analysis of a sample of over 3,000 articles published in the months leading up to the referendum found that 41% of articles were pro-leave, 27% were pro-Remain, 8% had no position and 24% were undecided (Levy et al, 2017). Six out of the nine most prominent papers in the UK adopted a staunch ‘Leave’ approach, and thus, it is possible to identify a greater level of public engagement with and consumption of pro-Brexit newspapers. The media’s approach in the final months and days before the referendum was identity based. For example, David A.L. Levy, Billur Aslan and Diego Bironzo stress the importance of the headlines that newspapers chose to run on the day of the election. Although it is impossible to predict the impact that such headlines may have had upon the way people vote, their findings go some way in identifying the rhetorical context that framed the referendum itself.

Newspaper

Headline on Referendum Day

The Sun

Independence Day

Daily Express

Your country needs you; vote leave today

Daily Star

Your country, your vote. Grab your future by the ballots.

(Levy et al 2017: 33).

Above is a sample of such headlines, all three of which have a definite nationalistic undertone. The Daily Express’s ‘Your country needs you’, is particularly evocative – with its harking back to Kitchener- and could be said to uphold the narrative that the European Union is to the detriment of Britain and Britishness. ‘Independence’ (according to the Sun) and as such British freedom, is presented as being only guaranteed by a vote to leave the EU.  Furthermore, Levy et al. also highlight the way in which the Leave-supporting press used arguments of sovereignty, with 29% of ‘arguments’ alluding to the European Union’s stifling of British and Parliamentary Sovereignty (Levy et al. 2017: 21). Issues of Britishness, identity, sovereignty – and thus the long-standing structural factors that contributed to Britain’s EU-hostility – became fuel to feed the media’s Eurosceptic message. Just as in the long-campaign, the media’s short-term campaign focused on the EU as being in opposition to British identity – we needed to ‘take back control’ and regain our independence. The shift in approach by the press from 1975 to 2016 allowed for the creation myths and narratives that constructed and emphasised the ‘otherness’ of Europe in relation to the accepted norms of British culture and identity.

The media’s ability to utilize Britain’s structural insecurities towards Europe meant that the stage was set for the emergence of an effective Leave campaign. The media’s presentation of Britain’s ‘otherness’ was incorporated into the approach of those campaigning to Leave (for example Vote Leave and the non-official campaigns of Leave.EU and UKIP). Using the arguments already presented by the media, the Leave campaign stressed both the otherness of Britain in Europe alongside the otherness of those immigrating to the UK. Arguments with which the public were already familiar, were therefore merely reinforced during the short-campaign by politicians such as Michael Gove, Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage.

Vote Leave could be said to have had a far clearer message than their Stronger IN counterparts – with the main thrust of their case revolving around the clearly identifiable principles of sovereignty, money and immigration. Put simply but effectively, by the pollster of the Remain campaign Andrew Cooper, ‘the leave campaign seemed to have all the best tunes’ (The Guardian, 2016). This, combined with a media-friendly approach to presenting such ‘tunes’, with charismatic leaders to sing such ‘tunes’, meant that the Remain campaign (who were unable to build-upon long-established pro-EU sentiment), had an uphill battle. The messages advocated by proponents of Brexit during the campaign resonated with the public precisely because of the groundwork provided by long-term factors (such as the media and issues of identity).

Leave had a simple message, and the advantage of presenting an anti-immigration discourse already familiar to the public. The ‘weaponizing’ of immigration, in this sense, can be seen as not only the questioning of whether Britain ‘belongs’ in Europe, but also whether ‘others’ belong in Britain. Such narratives were pursued by Vote Leave, Leave.EU and UKIP to great effect – even in parts of the country with very little immigration. The key here was the synergy of the Eurosceptic press and prominent Leave campaigners, who – together – were able to utilize British identity as a platform from which to highlight the ‘otherness’ of Europe. Kerry Moore, when analyzing Wales’s vote to Leave, stressed the importance of the media and of politicians’ long-term campaign of introducing anti-immigration sentiment, even in parts of the country where immigration was not an issue.  She notes that ‘it was not just a xenophobic campaign, arguably, but the cumulative force of an anti-immigration sentiment, long legitimated by the political mainstream and reproduced in the news media that won it for Leave’ (Moore 2016: 28).  Although this argument does not necessarily correspond with Scotland’s referendum result, it points at the cultivation of a certain culture towards Europe, whereby in other parts of the country a British sense of ‘pride’ allowed for the absolution of responsibility for our nation’s social-ills. This ‘cultivation’ is the result of the media’s capitalizing upon structural Euroscepticism, and the Leave campaign’s ability to further communicate this anti-immigration sentiment to the British public.

Stronger IN, on the other hand failed to make the positive case for immigration. Instead, they prioritized arguments concerning the economy, for which they were accused of scare-mongering. The Remain camp also failed to deal with the consequences of the ONS’s figures concerning net migration in 2015: 333,000 (ONS, 2016). The publication of such figures came at precisely the wrong time for those advocating continued EU membership, with Will Straw admitting that, ‘immigration was snuffling out our opportunity to talk about the economy,’ (The Guardian, 2016). At this point, Remain did not change tactic – they continued stressing the line that Britain would be ‘stronger, safer, and better off in the EU’ (a phrase which Shipman rightly notes, ‘needed explaining’). Vote Leave – under the leadership of Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, used such figures to their benefit, with a leaked joint-letter to David Cameron (published in The Sunday Times), attacking the Conservatives’ immigration targets. They wrote that ‘this promise is plainly not achievable as long as the UK is a member of the EU and the failure to keep it is corrosive of public trust in politics’ (The Guardian, 2016). The language of trust is important here as it feeds into the presentation of a vote to leave as being a vote against the ‘establishment’. Such an approach was seen as advantageous to Leave, and was thus echoed by numerous Brexiteers, including Priti Patel who labelled Cameron and Osborne ‘too rich’ to understand the impact of immigration on ordinary people (Financial Times, 2016).

It is clear therefore that it was not only what was said that is important, but also the way in which arguments were framed. Leave figures such as Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Nigel Farage were able to do this by tapping into the pre-existing worries surrounding British identity. For example, the Leave campaign remodeled colonial and imperial language by exalting the pride that the nation felt after winning World War II and defeating the Nazis. Elliott Green notes that references to the war ‘featured prominently in the Leave campaign’ (LSE, 2017), such as Nigel Farage’s proclamation that ‘That’s what we need, isn’t it? A great escape from the European Union” (Reuters, 2016). Another example given is that of Boris Johnson, who compared the European project and the notion of an ‘ever closer union’ to the work of Napoleon and Hitler. He claimed ‘various people tried this out, and it ends tragically. The EU is an attempt to do this [unite Europe] by different methods’ (The Telegraph, 2016). The notion of an ‘ever closer union’ – which itself was born from the horrors of World Wars and the desire for a peaceful Europe, was dismissed by Eurosceptics as being counter to Britain’s post-war spirit. Leave tapped into the understanding of Europe within the British psyche.

Analysing leadership – Princess Diana and Henry IV

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them” (Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, III.iv.39-43).

Replace “greatness” with “leadership,” and the meaning of these famous lines remains intact: leadership is a complex, multi-facetted concept that arises from many different situations. The born leader, or great man, is believed to have innate leadership skills. The “Great Man theory” created by Thomas Carlyle “assumes that the traits of leadership are intrinsic. That simply means that great leaders are born, not made” and “great leaders will rise when confronted with the appropriate situation” (Leadership Theories- Leadership Central). Those who achieve leadership often undergo some form of training to develop strong leadership skills. Where does that leave those with leadership thrust upon them? They could find themselves in a precarious situation in which followers rely on them for direction, but they may not have extensive experience with leadership. Henry IV is one of these leaders. Henry was born into a royal family and grew to be a wild adolescent, but found himself crowned as king of England after his father’s sudden death. Diana, Princess of Wales was in a similar situation after her marriage to Charles, Prince of Wales. She was suddenly a public figure subject to the scrutiny applied to royalty. Henry and Diana dealt specifically with social issues and the politics related to those issues, both of which were thrust upon them after they assumed a position of power. They developed a leadership approach based on inspiring their followers to action.

Henry and Diana’s responses to being thrust into a position of power speak volumes about their strong leadership abilities. Although Henry was a royal by blood, he showed no signs of being a born leader, and as a youth, he favored associating with lowlifes and getting into mischief over his duties as a future king. His reputation precedes him, as the clergymen Canterbury and Ely marvel at his sudden turnaround from reveler to ruler: “The breath no sooner left his father’s body / But that his wildness, mortified in him, / Seemed to die too.” (Shakespeare, Henry V, I.i.27-29). The clergymen are not the only ones who recognize this change. The French king and his son, the Dauphin, doubt Henry is capable of ruling England. The Dauphin says England “is so idly kinged, / Her scepter so fantastically borne / By a vain, giddy, shallow, humorous youth” (Shakespeare, Henry V, II.iv.27-29) but a Constable quickly rebukes them, saying they “are too much mistaken in this king” (Shakespeare, Henry V, II.iv.32) and mentions how well he treated the French ambassadors: “with what great state he heard their embassy, / How well supplied with noble councillors, / How modest in exception, and withal / How terrible in constant resolution” (Shakespeare, Henry V, II.iv.34-37). The popular opinion of Henry was not in his favor at the beginning of his rule, and he would have to prove his ability as a leader when France and England clash later on in the play.

Diana grew up in an aristocratic family. Despite her socio-economic status, her home life as a youth was rather tumultuous, thanks to her parents’ divorce and her struggles in school (Panorama Interview, BBC). When she married Prince Charles, she had no intention of using her marriage as a means to gain power. In an interview for the Panorama series on BBC, she said “as for becoming Queen… it was never at the forefront of my mind when I married my husband: it was a long way off, that thought” (Panorama Interview, BBC). The most troubling aspect of her rise to the title of Princess was the drastic amount of media attention she and her husband received. She describes an incident where a personal remark became wildly circulated in the media, “I made the grave mistake once of saying to a child I was thick as a plank, in order to ease the child’s nervousness, which it did. But that headline went all round the world, and I rather regret saying it.” (Panorama Interview, BBC). This harsh scrutiny worked against her because the media tried to paint her as foolish and incapable of having the same leadership abilities as any other royal. She was determined to define herself beyond what others said about her create an honest public image, so she looked to humanitarian efforts to show her gifts for compassion generosity, and inspiration.

Both Henry and Diana had tumultuous upbringings that did not include fostering of innate skills or extensive learning of leadership. Their public image was not highly favorable at the beginning of their ascent to power, but they recognized the deficit between their real character and the one the public perceived, and sought to close the gap. Their method of gaining and building trust with their followers was to inspire others to unite for a cause. As they became more accustomed to their leadership roles, both leaders had visions for their followers- to create social change. Not only did they inspire their followers to unite over their causes, but they also backed up their visions with actions and leading by example.

The most decisive moment for Henry was his inspiring speech at the Battle of Agincourt. His address to his troops in the face of near-certain defeat is probably one of the most well known motivational speeches of all time. Henry understands the fear of slaughter at the hands of the French and seizes that moment to lead his troops into battle. “If we are marked to die, we are enough / To do our country loss, and if to live, / … the greater share of honour” (Shakespeare, Henry V, IV.iii.20-22), and encourages his troops that if they succeed in this battle, every Saint Crispin’s day “[f]rom this day to the ending of the world / But we in it shall be remembered” (Shakespeare, Henry V, IV.iii.58-59). He motivated his troops to fight, and also fights alongside them in battle so that he places himself in the same danger as his troops, which shows how he values England and his subjects over his own life.  Business expert John Whitney analyses why this speech is so effective in his book Power Plays (co-authored by Tina Packer): “A great leader must persuade his followers that they are a part of a team with a joint mission. He must convince them that at the end of their labors, there will be large rewards.” He continues, “most employees want to be inspired; they would prefer their work to have meaning” (Power Plays, 170). In Henry’s case, his employees are his troops. He uses the power of persuasion to inspire and lead his troops to victory.

A major goal of each leader is to create social change for the benefit of their respective subjects. Henry V wanted to protect England from destructive forces and allow the country to prosper under his rule. In order to further protect his subjects from threat of foreign powers, namely France, he negotiates a marriage between himself and Princess Catherine of France. “Take her, fair son, and from her blood raise up / Issue to me, that the contending kingdoms / Of France and England, whose very shores look pale / With envy of each other’s happiness, / May cease their hatred” (Shakespeare, Henry V, V.ii.360-363).

This union allows Charles VI to keep his throne over France while keeping France under English control. Thanks to Henry and his leadership and decisive victory at Agincourt, England no longer feels the unrest of civil wars and tensions with France as they did when Henry assumed the throne. The favorable result will also inspire faith and support for Henry from his subjects because he has successfully proven himself as a leader who puts his country before himself.

While Diana did not lead troops to battle as Henry did, she led another valiant front line effort in the forms of humanitarian work and championing social change. During the height of Diana’s publicity in the late 1980’s to mid 1990’s, the HIV/AIDS epidemic was at crisis levels, especially in developing countries. The belief that the disease could be spread through brief physical contact (such as a handshake), combined with inaccurate media coverage of the issue, created a widespread panic. Those suffering from the disease were subject to immense scrutiny and shame, which prevented them from seeking testing and life-saving treatment. (Witness, BBC). Media, technology, and the fast-paced culture of the late 20th century made information travel much faster than in the days of Henry V, meaning information could reach just about anywhere in a short amount of time. Unfortunately, this lightning fast communication also worked to spread inaccurate information, which is one of the main reasons why the AIDS epidemic caused such widespread paranoia.

In an interview for the BBC series Witness, John O’Reilly, who was a nurse in the HIV/AIDS ward of London Middlesex Hospital in 1995, describes his firsthand account of how Diana helped to dispel inaccurate information about the disease and caused immense social change for the better. “The headlines were scare-mongering, ignorant, misleading to the public… the ‘gay plague’ was the homophobia, not the virus,” (Witness, BBC) O’Reilly said of the social attitudes at the time. He witnessed Diana shake the hand of an AIDS patient and described the effect she had on how the public viewed AIDS and those who suffered from it. “If a royal was allowed to go in and shake a patient’s hand, somebody at the bus stop or the supermarket could do the same, that really educated people” (Witness, BBC). One simple act of human kindness in her own nation sparked a global awareness of the reality of AIDS and inspired people to treat others with compassion. It also encouraged those who were bombarded with misinformation about AIDS to seek facts about the disease and the social stigma surrounding it.

While leadership is a dynamic concept that can be examined from many different perspectives and theories, the truth of the matter is if a leader has characteristics such as intelligence, determination, awareness, motivation, persuasion, etc. but does not inspire followers to action, that leader is simply not effective. It takes more than checking boxes on a list to incite followers to unite over a cause and make an effort to achieve a goal. Ideally, these individuals who truly embody the requirements as well as the spirit of a leader will inspire their followers and create a lasting impact on them. As Henry inspired his soldiers to fight at Agincourt for themselves and their country and Diana brought about significant social change, they have created a legacy of strength, goodwill, and encouragement because they proved their worth as leaders by backing their statements up with action. They pushed their followers to unite for a cause that would benefit their society. Even though they did not ask for or seek a position of leadership initially, they rose to the challenge when they were put in that role and succeeded. Their successes as leaders through inspiring followers required them to set an example for others to follow, and even today, people still look up to Henry and Diana as visionaries of their times because of the tremendous impact they had on their societies.

Organizational ambidexterity – a balance between exploration and exploitation: online essay help

INTRODUCTION

How an organization is structured is of immense importance as it directly relates to the survival and the performance of that organization. A well-structured organization facilitates improved communications and enhanced productivity with a scope of inspiring innovation. It is capable of developing distinct competitive advantages by boosting the efficiency and increasing the productivity in response to outside pressures. It can be defined as the “outcome of shaping and aligning all the components of an enterprise towards the achievement of an agreed mission, is a straightforward business process the is “so critical it should be on the agenda of every meeting in every single department”.” (Stanford, n.d.).

Kodak, a world renown company fizzed out of the industry it once led. For the previous generation, a moment worth cherishing and treasuring forever was celebrated as a “Kodak moment”. The same term today comes across as a corporate bogeyman in the market when new, ground-breaking advancements come encroaching. While the core business of the firm was selling film, as cameras went digital and social media slowly became the new trend, people shifted from clicking pictures and storing their hardy copies in albums, to posting them online. This led to the bankruptcy of the once remained most powerful companies in the world. All this was an outcome of the myopic sight of the company which underestimated the rise of digital technologies. Kodak in fact did invent technology, however did not invest in it thus falling behind in the rat race. Another leader from the same industry, Fuji Photo Film on the other hand aggressively explored new opportunities as a result if which it created adjacent products to its film business like magnetic tape optics, videotape and also collaborated in a venture with Xerox. This sailed the boat for Fuji, whereas Kodak continued to drown in the sea of advancements.

Through this essay, our aim is to explore how an organization can be designed without compromising its competence and working efficiency, while preserving the flexibility and promoting innovation.

FIRM PERFORMANCE AND AMBIDEXTERITY

Organizational ambidexterity has been shown to be positively associated with firm performance, growth of sales, subjective ratings of performance innovation and firm survival (Cottrell & Nault, 2004;  Bierly & Daly, 2007; Auh & Menguc, 2005; Adler, Goldoftas & Levine, 1999). It is argud that the effects of ambidexterity on a firm’s performance are liable to the firm’s environment, and proves to be more beneficial where there is uncertainty and a sufficient flow of resources, hence, sometimes proving more beneficial for larger firms. Organizational ambidexterity in firms with uncertain environments creates a positive atmosphere for increased innovation within the firm, enhanced financial performance, all contributing to better survival rates in the market.

Figure 1: Organizational ambidexterity and firm performance

Figure 1 shows the relationship between Organizational Ambidexterity and Firm Performance. The curve displays an upward slope which points out to positive firm performance when accompanied with organizational ambidexterity. This throws light on a somewhat directly proportionate relationship between firm performance and organizational ambidexterity.

Ambidexterity is alternatively understood as the adroit use of both hands. Today, ambidexterity is a phenomenon which companies are increasingly adopting in order to reduce the tension between the different units of exploration and exploitation.

According to O’Reilly and Tushman, 2004, an ambidextrous organisation succeeds in both exploiting the present and exploring the future. Over the years, various scholars have suggested different structures and strategies to run and divide resources appropriately between the processes of exploration and exploitation. Largely, these strategies focus on either separation or integration tactics (Andriopoulos & Lewis. 2009).

THE BALANCE BETWEEN EXPLORATION AND EXPLOITATION

“As described by Andriopoulos & Lewis (2009), a strategic intent paradox is created where commercial success, exploitation, is caught in a tug of war against artistic expression, exploration.” (Veronica Johansson And Louise Trens, 2013). Organizations that solely engage in exploration processes tend to suffer the experimentation costs and do not gain many of its benefits. Such organizations frequently exhibit undeveloped ideas and lack distinctive competence. One such example is of the telecom giant, Ericsson, which in the 20th century led the global system development for mobile communications. The company went into decline as it continued to focus exclusively on exploration.

Chen and Katila (2008) observe, “Exploration and exploitation need not always be competing activities, but can and should be complementary (p. 208).”

The right balance between exploiting the existing competencies and ensuring the survival of the organisation in the dynamic business environment by exploring new opportunities is what is needed for an organization to sail its boat successfully without drowning. “Exploiting” old certainties and “Exploring” new opportunities is the key to long term sustainability for any organisation. An example of one such organization which to struck the right chord between balancing exploring and exploiting is Ciba Vision. Led by Glen Bradley in the early 1990s, Ciba Vision manufactured contact lenses and was gradually losing ground to Johnson & Johnson which had the economies of scale for contact lenses. To cope with the situation, the organizational resources of Ciba Vision were redirected towards developing innovations and the company came up extended-wear contact lenses which killed the old ones. Ten years after Bradley’s move to ambidexterity, the annual revenues of Ciba Vision grew from $300 million to more than $1 billion.

Figure 2: Exploration, Exploitation and Firm Performance

Figure 2 shows us the relationship between the firm performance, exploration and exploitation in three dimensions. As it can be observed, high levels of exploitation coupled with low levels of exploration (indicating sole focus on exploitative activities) gives us a moderate performance of the firm (surface of the plot). On the contrary, the firm attains the highest level of performance when high exploitative activities are coupled with high explorative activities, thus yielding rising levels of organizational ambidexterity.

When medium levels of exploitation are combined with medium levels of exploration, the graph shows a convex dint which points out towards companies which don’t possess either exploitative, or explorative activities. Organizations that implement organizational ambidexterity of medium levels, are less successful in comparison to those which practice high levels of ambidexterity. This is why such organizations are often “stuck in the middle” with very bleak, or almost no scope of betterment.

Ambidextrous firms that maintain comparatively higher levels of exploitative as well as explorative activities are capable of enhancing their performance to a much greater degree, as compared to those firms which tend to either focus on only exploitative or only explorative capabilities, thus lowering their levels of ambidexterity. To add to this, organizations which don’t focus on ambidexterity and don’t follow a clear and focused strategy invites the risk of remaining “stuck in the middle”. Creating a working environment which conducts explorative and exploitative activities of medium level are less ideal in comparison to a firm which stays focused on its strategies.

1.HOW TO ACHIEVE AMBIDEXTERITY

1.1 STRUCTURAL AMBIDEXTERITY:

A way to strike the balance between exploration and exploitation is through what we call Structural or Simultaneous ambidexterity. O’Reilly and Tushman in 2008 noted that this “entails not only separate structural units for exploration and exploitation but also different competencies, systems, incentives, processes, and cultures—each internally aligned (p. 192).” In this, common strategic aims and values, and several various mechanisms facilitating their association would hold the two sub units together.

Structural ambidexterity emphasises on the organization’s capability to sense and clench new prospects and upcoming opportunities through simultaneous exploration and exploitation. In this, the processes of explorations and exploitation are structurally divided amongst the separated organizational units which are overlooked and synchronised by the higher level managers(O’Reilly & Tushman, 2004, 2016; Tushman & O’Reilly, 1996). Structural ambidexterity thus facilitates different units of the organization to use strategies, processes and structures which best suit them. As practical and promising it seems, simultaneous ambidexterity does place a gigantic load of responsibilities on top executives. This shows its dependence on a strong leadership as also noted by by Tushman and O’Reilly themselves (2011). Also, in sequential ambidexterity because we separate the processes of exploration and exploitation into different units, the flow of knowledge and information is hindered in the organisation. Limiting a single unit to innovation while the other is solely focusing on exploiting would lead to lack or no communication among individuals within the organization thus isolating rather than integrating them (Gibson and Birkinshaw, 2004).

One example of a successful ambidextrous is Alphabet. The two subsidiaries owned by Alphabet, Google and the new X focus on different businesses. Google focuses on exploiting the core business that is Android and search ads. On the other hand, X focuses on projects like self-driven cars. Dividing the exploration and exploitation into different subsidiaries helps achieve excellence in exploration as well as exploitation in the organization.

1.2 SEQUENTIAL AMBIDEXTERITY:

Over the years, many scholars have stressed over the importance of balancing exploitation with sufficient levels of exploration (Levinthal and March, 1993; March, 1991, 2006).  Sequential ambidexterity aims to utilize both exploration and exploitation in the same unit, but at different times (Andriopoulos & Lewis, 2009).

Organisations which solely stress on exploitation by allocating resources towards the refinement of existing technologies instead of prioritising the development of new skills and enhancing the capabilities, might be able to achieve success in the short term at the risk of becoming an obsolete in the future (Holmqvist, 2004; Leonard-Barton, 19920.

In his paper in 1976, Duncan threw light on the need for firms restructure themselves in a sequential manner. It highlighted how it is possible for an organization to achieve sequential ambidexterity by shifting their structure to align with the organisation’s strategies, which are bound to change as a consequence of the changing environment and business dynamics.

Sequential ambidexterity presents itself as a viable option for small and medium sized organizations which might fall short of resources to pursue simultaneous ambidexterity. By oscillating between the phases of exploration and exploitation, it   creates a balance between the exploration and exploitation processes of a slow and relatively stable organization (Chen & Katila, 2008; Goosen, et al., 2012; Ramachandran & Lengnick-Hall, 2010; Rosenkopf & Nerkar, 2001; Tempelaar & Van De Vrande, 2012). This strategy is best fit for units with scarce resources (Eriksson, 2012) because the separation of a single unit into two smaller units can be costly to manage and carry out further (Liu and Leitner, 2012).

They key advantage of sequential ambidexterity is that is allows the organization in supervising projects at different stages by utilizing diverse managerial practices. Though effective at the project level, sequential ambidexterity proves to be problematic when it comes to larger units and organizations. If firms constantly switch back and forth between exploration and exploitation in order to achieve sequential ambidexterity, it can lead to dislocation in the firm and destruction of core organizational capabilities (Christensen & Overdorf, 2000). In some cases, firms might not be able to survive such frequent transition and reconfiguration of strategies and structures in the short run too.

1.3 CONTEXTUAL AMBIDEXTERITY:

In some ways, contextual ambidexterity can be similar to sequential and structural, however a few things make it stand apart from the two. Gibson and Birkinshaw theorised contextual ambidexterity in 2004 and defined it as “the behavioural capacity to simultaneously demonstrate alignment and adaptability across an entire business unit.” (Gibson and Birkinshaw, 2004, p. 209). They stressed on the interaction of stretch, discipline an trust through contextual ambidexterity in order to achieve the balance between exploitation and exploration. According to Gibson and Birkinshaw, by creating a supportive organization, it is the decision of individuals about how to divide their time appropriately between the conflicting demands of alignment and adaptability (Gibson and Birkinshaw, 2004, p. 211). Thus, the emphasis of contextual ambidexterity lies upon the individuals, rather than the units in making adjustments between exploitation and exploration.

One such example of a successful ambidextrous firm is Toyota. Toyota tries to achieve contextual ambidexterity by using the “meta-routines” as termed by Adler, or “harmonic” ambidexterity as referred by Simsek (Simsek, et al., 2009). In this, the workers carry out the routine tasks automobile assembly (exploitation), and at the same time they are expected to keep changing or rotating their jobs (exploration), thus making them more efficient. Here, the firm culture and the larger management system promotes individuals to practise exploration and exploitation. [http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/PublicationFiles/OReillyandTushmanAMPMs051413_c66b0c53-5fcd-46d5-aa16-943eab6aa4a1.pdf]

Khazanchi, Lewis and Boyer (2007) view alignment and adaptability as a consequence of an environment which promotes both control and flexibility in the unit at the same time.

As easy as it seems to imagine contextual ambidexterity in a given organisation, it can actually be tough for some organisation structures to be able to successfully adapt into it. Decisions that weigh more importance to the organisation cannot be left to be taken care of by the lower level employees or the employees with lesser experience. Sooner or later, the interference of a senior manager will be required to ensure the well-being of the organisation and to carry out the complex structural changes.

2. CHALLENGES

Research has shown that ambidexterity leads to higher performance but at the same time it emphasises that the tension between two distinct capabilities is a key challenge. Most organisations fail to strike the correct balance between exploration and exploitation and thus are unsuccessful in achieving ambidexterity. One of the most famous example of a previously successful organization which took a considerable amount of time before it struck the right balance in exploration and exploitation is Nokia. In spite of its exploitation focused strategy, it was a while before the company perfected its structure, as well as strategy.

A firm’s dynamic capabilities is its “ability to integrate, build and reconfigure internal and external competencies to address rapidly changing environments (Teece, Pisano & Shuen, 1997, p. 516)”. These capabilities contribute to the decision making of the Senior Managers in the organization, helping them to reallocate and reconfigure their skills and assets in order to explore new innovations and exploit the existing competencies (O’Reilly & Tushman, 2008; Taylor & Helfat, 2009). This may come across as a complex decisions for the Senior Manager to be able to successfully sense and grasp upcoming oppurtunities.

Disagreements and conflicts may come across as a challenge at the top level of managers in some organizations. This makes the implementation of ambidexterity in the organization a relatively tough task.

3.CONCLUSION

In conclusion to the above discussion, we understand that it is imperative for the long term survival of an organization to be designed with flexibility for change without cutting down on its ongoing operations and competencies. This is a achieved through organizational ambidexterity. Organizations need to keep up with new innovations and ideas in order to become more viable in the long term. This will ensure the longevity of the firm and not only its short sighted profits. Future success is promised when sufficient exploration is coupled with sufficient exploitation. It is of great importance that firms orchestrate their assets allowing them to further mature their capabilities to be able to compete with other organizations. Though not a full proof road to success for every organization, ambidexterity does play the role of a guiding light which can lead many to the road to long term success and profits.

References

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London Business School. (2018). Organisational ambidexterity | London Business School. [online] Available at: https://www.london.edu/faculty-and-research/lbsr/organisational-ambidexterity#.Wubvxy-ZNAZ [Accessed 27 Apr. 2018].

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Strategies for training (Bright Technologies, software development organisation)

Overview of the Organization

Training is very crucial to the success of any organization. The process is key to ensuring that the organizational knowledge gaps are filled to improve productivity. The training will focus on Bright Technologies which is one of the largest software development organisations in the world focusing on enterprise resource planning solutions for businesses. The headquarters of the company is in San Francisco with office presence in 10 other markets globally. The mission of the organisation is to ensure value addition to the customers primarily by providing the highest level of efficiency in managing their processes. The vision is to become the number one global leader in the provision of business solution systems.

As a multinational, the management structure of Bright Technologies is both at a group level, and a country level since the company has branches in different countries across the world. Due to its global presence hence the group structure of the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Finance Officer, Chief Operations Officer, Chief of Brand, Chief Technology Officer and the Chief Strategy Officer is replicated across the countries. Bright Technologies has an intimate involvement with the activities of the organisation primarily about engaging in corporate social events such as sponsoring health care activities, education and even technology literacy across the countries which it is located. Moreover, the company through the human resource development has invested in a lot of training activities for the executives, the senior management and even the employees.

Training Tasks

The training tasks always need to be matched by the training objectives to ensure that the process is successful (Olivella, Corominas & Pastor, 2012). The goals of the training for the executives, senior management and the employees was to achieve three key objectives of enhancing the leadership qualities of the executives and senior managers, improving innovation of the company and enhancing teamwork. Hence, tasks were developed around these objectives to ensure that the training is successful. With the aim of leadership, the critical functions include the self-assessment of the leaders on their strengths and weaknesses and answering leadership questions relevant to Bright Technologies. For the work of the self-assessment, the leaders were to conduct a 360-degree assessment of their strengths and share them with the team members who would confirm. Based on the feedback, the members would then determine how to improve on their weaknesses and maximise their strengths. The leadership questionnaire task is to assess the knowledge of the executives on how to apply leadership principles to improve the performance of the organisation.

The tasks on enhancing innovation were revolved around product knowledge. The employees will take a test to determine how knowledgeable they are on the product. Additionally, they will also participate in a competition which will focus on innovation and the group of employees that develop the best product within the training period will be awarded. Then the final task is to revolve around team building activities with the members participating in tasks that test how well they know about their colleagues and to identify any barriers that may prevent them from achieving their collective goals.

Characteristics of the audience for training

The training is likely to cover fifty learners in the organisation across the different countries and the different levels of the organisation structure. Hence the learners will be divided into three categories which are the top-level executives, the senior management and the employees. Regarding their academic qualifications, the minimum is a bachelor’s degree with a couple of doctorate holders which provides an excellent mix regarding the diversity of the audience. Moreover, there is also a diversity regarding the ages with the youngest member of the audience at 28 years and the oldest at 65. Due to the multi-country presence of the organisation, there is an also a variety of cultures with the audience comprising of African American’s, Whites and Hispanics depicting the diversity in culture and the languages. However, the training is to be conducted in English. Due to the collective objectives that the organisation aims to achieve the attitude of the learners towards the training should be positive. Moreover, since the learners work for a global technology company, they have a high level of familiarity with technology.

Degree of Self-Directedness of the Audience

The training process is more effective when the learners are more aware of the objectives and the results which the training aims to achieve as opposed to when they are not (Hiemstra, 2006). Consequently, the learners who are attending the training become more self-directed to the tasks and high results are achieved (Hiemstra, 2006). Hence, the fact that the members of the staff of Bright Technologies are aware of the objectives of the training, there is a high likelihood that they will be self-directed in the process. Moreover, there is the intention to incorporate the results of the training in their performance assessment results hence the move will ensure that they are self-directed in the training process. As a result, there is a high likelihood that the training will be a great success since the employees are aware of the objectives which the training aims to achieve.

Theoretical Basis for Training

The theoretical model of andragogy is one of the fundamental basis of adult training. The theory will be applied to the training mainly due to its focus on ensuring that the learning process focuses on improving the skills of the individual. Moreover, the training model focuses on motivation which is one of its crucial learning principles. Hence, the learners need motivation primarily to ensure that they improve their leadership, innovation and motivation skills (Hartree, 2006). Moreover, without motivation, there is no learning that can take place which hence explains the core focus of the theory especially with regards to ensuring that adult learning takes place to improve the results of the organisation. Moreover, andragogy incorporates the principle of self-concept which is very crucial especially with regards to ensuring that the learner understands themselves, their strengths, weaknesses together with their personality (Knowles, 1978). The concept hence makes the model the most suitable especially when linked to the objectives of the training. Moreover, the model also factors in the learner’s experience and how they can be related to the learning process with the intention of ensuring that they become better in their tasks and roles (Knowles, 1978). As a result, the theoretical model of andragogy will be the most suitable model for training.

Strategies for the Training

Training strategies are essential especially with regards to ensuring that the design and the delivery of the training are effective (Foshay & Tinkey, 2007). Additionally, the strategy of the training should provide that it is in line with the theoretical model for it to be effective. Hence the two strategies that will be applied to the training is needs assessment and performance assessment (Foshay & Tinkey, 2007). The needs assessment will ensure that the gaps that the learners have been incorporated into the training. Additionally, the learners will be motivated once they realise that the training addresses some of the needs that they have which will reassure them that the training process will add value to them. Moreover, the strategy of needs assessment will ensure that the training model and tasks are relevant and practical to the learners who will ensure that the training is efficient. The second strategy of performance assessment will ensure that the adult learners take the training seriously. Moreover, evaluation is critical since it will ensure that the objectives which were set out from the onset of training have been achieved or not. Furthermore, the learners will be able to determine whether they have been able to add value to their skillset and knowledge.

Evaluating three options for a software company to increase sales

Introduction

This essay is about the merits and demerits of three of options that an entrepreneur jay and Seymour Butt a software engineer encountered when their business jayware, which was four year old company that designs and sells software which make it easier for sales team to record and analyze their critical information of the company or sales. The company was founded in the year 2010 and released the software in late 2015. The company had challenge in converting free users into paying clients. Even with a newly hired sales team, Jay ware’s sales were terrible and the company had yet to crack a profit. In this essay we break down and look at three options which may increase the sales or structure the sales team to get more users supporting and which one has less demerits and more merits than the other which may successfully be implemented with minimum loss in the company. The options are that Jay the co-founder to step in as manager sales for Jayware and supervise and coach the employees and hire a chief operating officer serve in his place, secondly hire a new manager of sales who would be in charge of employing, coaching, dismissing employees and thirdly jay would promote a candidate within the company who had experience and coaching leadership and coaching qualities.

Introducing a New Chief Operating Officer

Almost all the people involved in managing a business have difficulties in handing work responsibilities to other employee when there are changes in the business. Hiring a chief operating officer is the best choice for a company in order to manage employees. Chief Operating Officer manages the daily running and operations of the business and informs the chief executive officer if that company has and act as the second in command. Hiring a chief operating officer may be costly that would weaken your budget

Merits and Detriments of Hiring Chief Operating Officer

Chief Operating Officer is responsible for ensuring that business operations are efficient and effective and that there is proper management of resources, delivery of goods and services to clients which would benefit the company. Responsibilities of the Chief Operations officer may depends on the strengths and choices of the company chief executive officer management. If you classify the common day to day duties of a chief operating officer communication with the chief executive officer of the company daily understanding of working strategies and sharing that with the employees and creating policies and operations plans that the employees would follow, they would include supervision the company’s daily operations and supervising human resource development and building employee position with company goals which the new COO would step by step monitor and gain respect. Hiring a chief operating officer takes time and company resources because the time it take to finally get the perfect chief operating officer to suit the specified position within a company. Firing all seven of the ten employee would over load the firm with work, rather learn weaknesses and strengths of everyone in the team and start there the process to fire.

Merits and Detriments of Hiring Sales Manager

Business managers have variety of duties depending on the size of the business. The hiring and firing of the employees is often related duty of the manager commonly shared with the HR manager or department. When stepping in as manager of sales and devoting the necessary time to training and supervision would inherit some advantages and disadvantages because manager may have to undergo additional training and listen to long speeches at countless seminars which sometimes he will have to attend he will not be able to supervise during that time meaning business will be slow. There is even be a need to offer hands on training for other employees and the task that can reduce massive resources of patience and understanding. It is also advantageous to have an experienced sales manager who knows the competition and would continuous network with the clients and up to date with the market trends and pending developments within your industry. An advantage if managed to appoint, a good and right manager takes charge of every one when work must be done and flexible sometimes which is good than manager who always give their relax all the time. Which means that he would be able manage the employees due to the number of them being dismissed.

The new  manager would when it comes to recruiting they would recruit the right people, appropriate training and development would be offered in time to create a strong team also notice underperforming employees and offer mentorship and coaching where needed. Manager that creates a base for customer loyalty.

Merits and Detriments of Promoting

Promoting of the best sales person among the three employees he considered worthy of keeping to manage the team would have its merits and demerits which would either benefit the company or cause a loss within the company.

Some of the advantages of hiring an employee internally is that the jobs can be occupied faster and have the insight of current situation the business is in and the performance of employee hired within the company is much better than hiring new person. There is no need to spend money in advertising the post and the time to slot and prepare for interviews for external candidates and wait for weeks to choose the perfect candidate. Internal candidates have knowledge about they would take or appreciate what company is putting in the table or offering and might have no external job offers at that time. Promoting inside enables the company to hire outside as startup or beginner in the company which allows the company to train and evaluate the employee if that user desires higher position and by doing this the company saves because beginner salaries rate low meaning it’s not expensive to hire. Also letting employees know that there are possibilities of being promoted lead them not looking for vacancies elsewhere. As we all know that all our advantages are always followed by disadvantages which will be listed below.

I will be looking at the risks of hiring within the company and how it may effect choice of doing that. Employees that are not promoted could be irritated and try to discredit the other which may be negative and bring poor service to the company. The most experienced person sometimes does not constantly mean the applicant will successful. Skilled applicant mostly became not as active or good as manager or supervisor which could cause the applicant to be demoted when He / She was promoted to the position. The candidate might not offer new or fresh ideas that are required by the company where as an external applicant come with fresh ideas that are needed. Employees that just started and new most of the time, training them is need for the to familiarize them with their jobs for them to be perfect.

Conclusion

Having looking at all the three options finally will conclude with one that I thought would be the best solution out of the three because I learned that is the best because if jay hires a manager that would benefit because he also has experience a manage which means the manager would bring fresh ideas, new activities because in sales you also have to think outside the box and due to time there are changes that you have to adapt from. Hiring a manager would also save more money and resources than hiring a chief operating officer which requires more salary out of the budget. The negative thing about hiring it can take up to six months of which jay can manage using tools to keep track of sale of employee performance and motivate them. Jay and the new manager could work together in building a more efficient sales team. The manager could even work with jay to look at their own employees who has weak spot monitor, motivate and even dismissing them to form a strong team that could close deals and create and attract more sales. Also the manager should show strong will to lead and take charge

Fourth Crusade (1202-4): custom essay help

Fewer periods of European history have attracted modern scholarly attention than that of the series of Christian wars now formally known as the Crusades. This is very much reflected in the fact that there has been no century since that of the eleventh in which scholarly publications on the crusades have not been published. Of particular controversy is the Fourth Crusade (1202-4), widely regarded as the ’most infamous episode of the age’. Part of the fascination with the Fourth Crusade undoubtedly lies in the extraordinary reversal of its original intention. The diversion or, in the opinion of many, the perversion from its original goals in Egypt culminated in the capture and eventual sack of the ‘greatest’ Christian City, Constantinople. Historians, such as Steve Runciman and John Godfrey, have since labelled the Fourth Crusade as ‘ungodly’ and ‘unholy’. Runciman furthers his condemnation by suggesting that the Fourth Crusade was the ‘ultimate perversion of the crusading ideal’. The historical problem we face as historians when considering this notion lays not within the decision to divert to Constantinople but within the evolution of the crusading concept, should it even exist. Debate as to the religious credibility of the expedition is essentially subjective to this problem. We must therefore firstly aim to define the crusading ideal. From this, we can then consider the arguments proposed by advocates and critics of Runciman’s notion.

Despite the efforts of historians, a single set definition of the concept of crusading remains yet to be seen. We can however look to the accounts of contemporaries to identify the fundamental aspects of the crusading ideal. Crusading rhetoric was first partially conceived by Pope Urban II in his call to arms at the Council of Clermont, 1095. Although no surviving material of Urban’s speech has yet to surface, we can employ the reactions of contemporaries to envisage the key aspects of the early crusading ideal. For example, in William of Malmesbury’s account, all those who take up the cross would enjoy ‘absolution from all their crimes’. Robert the Monk also wrote that anyone who would ‘set out on this journey [would] obtain the remission of sins and be sure of the incorruptible glory of the kingdom of heaven’. From this, we can identify two fundamental aspects; the taking of the cross and the remission of sins. Historians have since emphasised that the prime motivator for crusaders was the opportunity to serve God. Norman Housley for example, suggests this was the intrinsic link from the first until the very last crusade, in which all crusaders were ‘united by the common bond of assuming the cross for penitential service in Christs war’. The final feature of the early crusading ideal is that expeditions to recapture Holy Lands could only be declared by the pope in his capacity as Christ’s vicar or representative. Riley Smith suggests ‘from its inception, crusading represented a practical expression of papal ideology, leadership and power’. It is important to also acknowledge the evolution of the crusading ideal, of which Jabowski argues is partially due to the ‘failure of the papacy to truly define crusade’. Whilst traditionalists such as Hans Mayer, stress that the utmost defining aspect of a crusade was in the recapture or defence of Jerusalem. Pluralists on the other hand, insist that the evolution of the crusading rhetoric encompassed the holy expeditions that ventured to different lands. From establishing these fundamental aspects, we can compare and contrast the Fourth Crusade with the crusading ideal.

Exploring the financial motivations of the crusaders is essential to understanding the extent to which the participants of the Fourth Crusade remained true to their religious commitments. We must firstly look to the developments prior to the decision to attack Constantinople. Most significantly, the attitudes of the crusaders and the justifications of the decision to accept the Treaty of Zara. Savvas Neocleous, argues that the ‘real reason’ behind the diversion to Constantinople was ‘the payment of outstanding debts’. R.H Schmandt on the other hand, contests Neocleous’ view and instead argues that a ‘major factor of a religious nature counted for much with the crusaders’ in reference to the decision to accept Prince Alexios’ proposal. Madden and Queller reiterate Schmandt’s views, suggesting ‘certainly the proponents of the German proposal urged the virtue of reuniting the Greek Church to Rome’. In support of his claim, Necleous relies upon the account of Robert of Clari, who states that the crusaders did not have money because of ‘the great sum which they had given to the (Venetian) fleet.’ Clari’s account is substantiated by a baronial letter sent to the West in late August 1203, following Alexios’ accession to the Byzantine throne. In this letter, Baldwin of Flanders, Hugh of Saint Pol and Louis of Blois, addressed Pope Innocent III, Otto of Brunswick and ‘all the Christian faithful’, claiming that the crusading army would not be able to ‘effectively land in the territory of Saracens’ as a result of ‘lacking all foodstuffs and supplies’. Both Clari’s account and the letter reveal that those in favour of Alexios’ proposal were insistent on the crusaders lack of supplies and monies. The generous nature of Alexios’ proposition (200,000 silver marks) must be considered. It is therefore no surprise that the financially stricken crusaders were keen to accept the proposal. Queller on the other hand disregards the financial motives of the crusaders and insists that in reference to the reparation payments owed to the Venetians, the crusaders ‘paid no attention to them’. This claim can be debased when considering that the repayment of the debts owed to the Venetians was concealed by the crusade leaders during the discussions at Zara as well as the letter sent to the West. An explicit reference to the crusaders’ outstanding debt would compromise the positions of the leading barons such as Baldwin of Flanders and Louis of Blois. This therefore emphasises that the faction in favour of Alexios’ proposal prioritised their financial motives and ignored their religious commitments by deliberately masking their debts when communicating with the Roman Curia.

Religious commitments did not entirely exit the fray of discussions made prior to the acceptance of Alexios’ agreement (the Treaty of Zara, 1203). Schmandt can be supported by Villehardouin’s account of the discussion. According to Villehardouin, those in favour of Alexios’ proposal claimed ‘by way of Cairo or Greece, the (Holy) land will be recovered’. This engages with the traditionalist definition of the concept of crusading — the capture or defence of Jerusalem. Villehardouin also recorded the motivations of the Cistercian abbots of the faction favouring Alexios’ proposal. Abbot of Simon for example, urged the crusaders to ‘accept this (Alexios’) agreeement, because it was the means by which they could better recover the land of outremer.’ Neocleous acknowledges that the faction in favour of Alexios’ proposal advanced the argument regarding the strategic importance of the Byzantine Empire in the recapture of Jerusalem. Although, Neocleous remains critical of their arguments by questioning the strategic importance of the Greek peninsula and instead suggests ‘it was something much more’ in reference to the Frankish barons decision to support Alexios’ proposal. Although, we can compare this to the Second Crusade (), in which Housley suggests the prime target – Edessa, had ‘no significant religious connotations’.

Schmandt also relies upon Hystoria Constantinopolina, an account produced by Cistercian monk Gunter of Pairis. According to Gunther, the crusaders ‘knew that this very city (Constantinople) was rebellious and offensive to the Holy Roman Church’. We must however consider that Gunther wrote with hindsight in which the crusaders, portrayed as knowing Constantinople was rebellis et odiosa, simply serving his apologetic purposes for the Latin conquest of the city. Gunther further suggests the crusaders did not think the capture of Constantinople would ‘displease very much either the supreme pontiff or even God’. This suggestion in itself is enough to discredit the source. Although, according to Madden, the reunification of the Church was a ‘papal priority’ for Innocent III which implies that the crusaders may have been attempting to prioritise the ambitions of the Pope in their diversion to Constantinople. From the surface, Hugh of Saint Pol’s letter to Henry of Brabant appears to further support Schmandt’s claim. In reference to the decision to divert to Constantinople, Saint Pol suggests the crusaders advanced the business of Christ, in that the Eastern Church – whose chief city was erstwhile Constantinople – along with the emperor and his entire empire…acknowledges itself to be the daughter of the Roman Church.

The origins and nature of the source can however be used to discredit Schmandt’s argument. The letter was drafted by a learned cleric in the crusading army and derives its argument from the eleventh century reforming popes view of all individual Christian churches as daughters of the Roman Curia. It therefore, likewise with Gunther’s account, merely serves as a propaganda piece to legitimise the diversion to Constantinople. Religious commitments can also be evidenced by the reactions of the crusaders to both the initial proposal and the decision to accept the proposal. Jonathan Phillips for example argues there was a ‘huge split within ranks’. This is supported the account of Clari, who records that, in May 1203,  dissent among the crusaders erupted on the Byzantine island of Corfu ‘the detour to the Byzantine capital was still far from acceptable to the majority of the crusaders’.

Neocleous’ argument is far more convincing than that of Schmandt when considering the notion that the Fourth Crusaders was ‘ungodly’ and ‘uholy’. This is primarily because the leadership of the Fourth Crusade deliberately concealed their ulterior motives of the leading barons from Pope Innocent III, defying papal authority. Whilst this argument can be countered using examples of dissent amongst the crusading party, we can also re-use the account of Villehardouin, who reveals the Treaty of Zara was ‘executed by only 11 Frankish nobles’, suggesting that the crusade was conducted on the behalf of a minority group. In addition, in his letter to Henry of Brabant, Hugh of Saint Pol recorded that those in favour of the proposal were ‘few more than 20’. In a different version of the same letter, Hugh listed the names of thirteen Frankish nobles, eleven of which were belonged to Baldwin of Flanders and Louis of Blois, whose representatives had agreed the Treaty of Venice. Clari also reveals that these representatives had negotiated that the treaty of Venice had granted them (Blois and Flanders) ‘full authority to act, as if they were lords in person’. This demonstrates that those bound to the Treaty of Venice were strongly inclined to pursue the Treaty of Zara in pursuit of personal gain. Secondly, Villehardouin’s account reveals that under the terms of the treaty of Venice, the Venetians were obliged to ‘carry food for nine months’, of which the crusaders only consumed two months worth. The subsequent attack on the city of Zara also exposes the false claims of shortage in provisions as the city, ‘well furnished with all goods’, provided a surplus of supplies for the Frankish crusaders. Lastly, the examination of the primary sources used by Schmandt reveal that the desire to seek ecclesiastical union was falsely promoted in an attempt to gain papal authorisation. Instead, the true concerns were that of Alexios’ reinstatement and the generous returns promised. The crusading barons were however fully aware of the fact that from a byzantine constitutional perspective, Prince Alexios’ claim to the throne was weak but it still served as a ‘good and reasonable excuse’. This therefore emphasises that the most pressing concern of the crusading barons in the decision to divert to Constantinople and accept the Treaty of Zara was the pursuit of financial gains. In turn, the crusading party abandoned their religious commitments thus undermining the religious credibility of the crusade itself and significantly contributing to the notion that the Fourth Crusade was in fact a perversion of the crusading ideal.

The defiance of Pope Innocent III in both the decision to accept the proposal of Prince Alexios’ and the subsequent attack on the city of Constantinople further substantiates the idea that the Fourth Crusade was a perversion of the crusading ideal. Controversy surrounding the Pope’s involvement is first seen prior to the siege of Zara. Achille Luchaire accepted Villehardouin’s claim that Innocent welcomed the treaty of Venice and argued that Innocent was ‘willing to accept anything to keep the army together’. Luchaire cited Gunther of Pairis, who claimed that the papal legate with the crusade, Peter of Capuano, refused to let Abbot of Martin of Pairis abandon the crusade. Innocent, Harris argues, was therefore ‘anxious to publicly discountenance the deed but was in fact eager to let it run its course to profit from its consequences and to establish papal primacy over Constantinople.’ Housley disputes Luchaire’s argument and instead argues that Innocent instructed Peter to ‘forbid the assault’ (on Zara) and ‘threaten them with excommunication’. In addition, Housley instead claims that Peter ignored the will of the Pope thus giving ‘tacit endorsement’ to the crusading leaders. Housley claims are well founded when considering Innocent’s letter to the crusaders in 1203. Innocent warned the crusaders ‘not one of you should rashly flatter himself that he is allowed to attack or pillage the land of the Greeks’. Andrea also suggests ‘the letter, when it did arrive, forced the crusaders to choose between obedience to the pope and fulfilling their vows to the Venetians’. Clearly, from the decision to attack Zara as well as the decision to overlook Innocent’s last ditch attempt to prevent the diversion to Constantinople, the Crusaders chose to defy the will of the Roman Curia. More importantly, in his reformation of papal policy, Innocent declared himself Christ’s vicar.  At the time, the Crusaders were therefore resisting the word of Christ himself, further supporting the notion that the crusade was a perversion due to its unholy nature.

The justification of the attack on Constantinople following Alexios’ IV assassination was a significant insult to the authority of the papacy and further undermines the religious credibility of the crusade. Neocleous argues ‘the pope had expressly forbidden an assault on the Byzantine capital.’ Kenneth M. Setton on the other hand, argues ‘Innocent III…undoubtedly saw the Fourth Crusade primarily from a religious standpoint, and took immense satisfaction in the prospect of concluding the long schism by conquest’. Neocleous centres his claim around the scheming actions of the crusade clergy, of whom he argues manipulated the crusaders by denouncing the Greeks as enemies of the faith.Robert of Clari detailed the clergy’s attempts to inspire hatred against the Greeks;

The bishops and priests in the camp conferred together, and their opinion was that the battle was just and it was right to attack them (the Byzantines). For in times past the people of the city had obeyed the creed of Rome, and now they were disobeying it.

Setton instead argues that the justifications advanced by the clergy were derived from Innocent himself. Drawing upon the clash of civilisations thesis, initially composed by Walter Norden and later advocated by Runciman, Setton argues that the papacy hoped for the destruction of the Byzantine states to facilitate Greek recognition of papal primacy in Christendom. Setton cites that centuries of conflict, dating beyond the Cerularian schism of 1054, particularly the Byzantine imperial claim to universal temporary sovereignty (challenged by the popes crowning of Charlemange in 800 and of Otto in 962) acted as a catalyst in the division of Christendom into the Greek East and Latin West. Contemporary evidence for Setton’s argument is however somewhat questionable. The fourteenth century Chronicles of the Morea, speak of Innocent’s justifications for the attack to be carried out; how the expedition to Constantinople would be more honourable and more profitable than that to Jerusalem, because the Greeks were Christians and yet, for some error which had got into them, they were rebellious and unwilling to receive the sacraments of the Holy Church of Rome, and that it was better to regain and covert the Greeks and return them to the obedience of Holy Church.

The source must be approached with caution as it romanticises the Venetian tale of events. Neocleous’ argument remains more favourable than that of Setton’s. The nature of the sources cited by Setton and the flaws of the clash of civilisations theory casts doubts as to the credibility of his argument. We can also look to the account of Clari, who detailed the agreements made in the treaty of March 1204;

All those in camp were made…to swear on relics…they would not use force on any women or rob her of her clothes…For anyone who was guilty of this would be killed.

This reveals that the clergy were fully aware of their treason against the papacy thus they sought to prevent any severe abuse of their fellow Christians. Neocleous also argues that Clari’s account demonstrates that despite their attempts to ‘dechristianise’ the Greeks, they still were still acknowledged as members of the Christian community, rather than enemies of the faith. We can therefore conclude that not only did the clergy actively work against the authority of Pope Innocent III in spite of his position as Christ’s vicar, they also encouraged the crusaders to attack fellow members of the faith.

Managing Human Behavior in the Organization – AT&T Inc.

Executive Summary

Dating back to Bell Telephone Company in the late 19th century, AT&T Inc. transformed itself from a company that focused on landlines to a multinational conglomerate that penetrate almost every aspect that relates to telecommunication.1 Now with its headquarter in downtown Dallas, Taxes, AT&T Inc. is the second largest telephone provider in the United States with services such as U-verse internet and AT&T Inc. entertainment.2 The company has a complicated and multi-layer corporate structure with both a divisional and a functional organizational structure. Despite AT&T’s success, being such an enormous conglomerate, human relation issues consequently arise. We found that the company has been constantly innovating and improving its products constantly. However, criticism and controversies regarding AT&T Inc.’s handling of human relation never stopped since the division was created. The company faces challenges such as employees’ motivation, international management relations and decisions, and organizational culture.

Introduction

The AT&T Inc. is the largest multinational telecommunications provider of wireline voice communication services mainly in the U.S. It is a world leader in communications, media and entertainment, and technology. The company was founded in October 5th, 1983 and headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The current iteration of AT&T Inc. began its existence as Southwestern Bell Corporation. Moreover, AT&T has powerful network resources, including the nation’s fastest mobile broadband network. Moreover, it is also one of the top suppliers of mobile, wi-fi, digital TV, high-speed Internet and voice services.

When we were researching for our target company, we found that AT&T has encountered many issues across different business sectors, one of the problem relates to its human resource. According to Indeed, which is an American worldwide employment-related search engine for job listings, one of their employee said that At&t has an extremely unprofessional environment. Their management support unethical business practices.

Moreover, we also saw customer’s review on Indeed. In this customer review, we found that this lady has encountered one of the most serious consumers can experienced, the billing issue. So, she contacted the customer service in order to solve her problem, yet her situation got even more complicated after.  After connecting multiple times, each customer representative had a different story and solution for her. This does not only complicate the whole situation which makes her more confused, this also raises the concerns that At&t does not have a consistent business practice. This has proven that At&t customer service lacks a good managerial governance oversight, and the company lacks effective internal communication.

The objective of the paper is to analyze three scopes of managerial issues of AT&T and provide recommendations on how the company can improve in these areas:

1.     Employees’ motivation

2.     International Management relations and decision

3.     Organizational Culture

Motivation: Being the world’s largest telecommunications company is not easy, especially having to manage more than 250,000 employees around the world.  AT&T has spent millions on employee education and professional development programs, but to motivate them to realize their fullest potentials is still a very much challenging task even to AT&T.

Internal management relations and decisions: The multiple layers of management structure are not likely to simplify the work decisions and the vast range of social aspects relational issues. Management teams’ decision could affect business functions and processes in organizations across a range of industries. With many factors affecting the future of business, where should leaders focus? What should they prioritize?

Organization culture engagement: Changing the culture of the company to be more innovative, adaptive, and resilient is not easy. It takes leadership and cultural transformation.  AT&T is struggling with employee engagement, the collective morale of employees is low and they have a hard time on engaging their action into the company cultures. How the company can lead and inspire them into organization culture have become the main problem.

Focal Theories and Related Problems

According to Glassdoor, AT&T receives a 3.4 out of 5 overall rating from its employees; 60% would recommend working at AT&T to a friend, 66% approve of the CEO, and 49% share a positive business outlook. In addition, the compensation and benefits of AT&T only got 3.8 out of 5 from its employees.3 Most comments mentioned about that AT&T sales are suffering from high stress and less compensation.

Based on the research, although AT&T is one of the world’s largest telecommunications company, it seems their employee treatment is not good. On May 19th, 2017, tens of thousands AT&T workers went on strike, including 400 people in San Francisco Workers. From that Friday to Sunday, hundreds of people gathered in front of the AT&T flagship retail store located on 1 Powell St., in San Francisco. And about 40 people made a protest outside the administrative office.4 They vowed to fight against AT&T with two main points: Increase sales commission and health/welfare benefits.

This case shows how ineffectively the management of AT&T is at motivating their employees. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, there are five levels of employee needs, ranging from physiological on the bottom, to self-actualization on the top of the hierarchy.  Based on the information found in the article, we know that the workers are demanding for higher sales commission and health/welfare benefits. This aligns with Maslow’s theory because the workers are demanding for physiological needs and sense of safety in the strike.  Those are the two bottom needs in the hierarchy that need to be addressed first before they are advancing to self-esteem and self-actualization. With that being said, it is fair to say that the AT&T management has failed as a governing body to provide basic needs for its employees, and the resulted strike has caused the company a lot more money than to provide those basic needs for its workers.

Recommendation Theory: Frederick Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory

Herzberg stated that remedying the causes of dissatisfaction will not create satisfaction. Nor will adding the factors of job satisfaction eliminate job dissatisfaction, as illustrated in figure 2. The factors related to dissatisfaction levels are the hygiene factors, which are extrinsic.5 He suggested that in order to motivate people, an organization should focus on the intrinsically rewarding factors such as achievement, recognition, rewarding work, responsibility, advancement and growth. Based on the case above, we discovered that inner satisfaction will eventually result in a more efficient production process.

Managing style

There are many managing styles as well as managers, but only one characteristic that sets apart one from the rest.  The concept of “discover what is unique about each person and then capitalize on it” most times differentiates one from the rest of the managers. Managers need to plan and coordinate their movements, certainly, but they all move at the same pace, on parallel paths. Great managers know and value the unique abilities and even the eccentricities of their employees, and they learn how best to integrate them into a coordinated plan of attack.

According to research, in AT&T there are cases on rotating series of bad managers. On corporate level, they had a policy of changing and rotating managers around places every six to twelve months, which leaves a loss of instability to the coworkers and employees. As well as the sales goals were set by people from different levels, or levels above the frontline representatives in the stores, which that sales representatives were constantly required to sell services and products no one wanted and aggressively reprimanded when they inevitably fell short.6

Recommendation Theory: Path-Goal Theory

The superior and the team leader is supposed to be supportive, communicate and help the workers to achieve their performance goals at work instead of acting passive aggressively, as they did in this case.7 There are two main concepts involved: setting goals and improve the path to the goal to ensure the goal is achieved. Setting realistic goal is the subject of successful performance, which can be used to measure the performance standard of individuals and groups. Group members need to feel that their goals are valuable and they can achieve that goal under existing resources and leadership. If there is no common goal, different members will go in different directions.

Management should help staffs on resources, budgets, and other factors that help to complete the task, eliminate hazardous to employee performance environmental restrictions, showed a positive impact, performance and efforts for the effective and timely recognition: the second is the psychological support, leaders must stimulate staff willing to work.

According to the path-goal theory, the extent to which a management’s behavior is accepted by a subordinate depends on whether the subordinate perceives such behavior as an immediate source of satisfaction or as a means of obtaining gratification in the future. Leader behavior incentive effect, that satisfies the needs of the subordinates and associated with effective job performance, and provide the necessary for effective job performance counseling, guidance, support and reward.

Business Culture

Another case related to AT&T’s business culture. At AT&T, sales are told to not only retain existing customers after their promotions expire, but to also sell more to these people. The high pressure and high target created a culture of reps promising promos, but not adding them. Or telling the customer they are disconnecting the service, but just not doing it.8 The employees are becoming sleazes and liars, creating a culture vulnerable to corruption. And because of the strict sales target and cold management, it’s hard for sales representatives to be ethical and not making any mistakes. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy theory, the second top level is the needs pertain to esteem. This deals with the emotional fulfillment of the individual: self-esteem, the respect of others, confidence in his abilities, and a sense of achievement. The level below esteem needs is the social needs. The social needs in Maslow’s hierarchy include such things as love, work relations with co-workers, and belonging.9 Maslow believed that these needs play a major role in motivating behavior. When it comes to poor self- confidence and lack of sense of achievement, sometimes employees often try to fake the account numbers to make them look nice on paper. When it comes to lack of cares and harsh work requirements, employees tend to have high turnover intention. Each level of Maslow’s hierarchy needs to be full filled in order to go to the next higher level. If one is not doing good in the esteem needs and social needs levels, he or she will not be able to achieve their final goals.

Recommendation

Provide high level of job engagement and participation

Employees has the desire to participate in management, creating and providing all opportunities for employees to participate in management is an effective way to mobilize their enthusiasm.

Through participation, employees’ sense of belonging and identity of the enterprise can further meet the needs of self-esteem and self-realization.

In order to give full play to the enthusiasm of employees, AT&T should consider how to make the work more intrinsic and challenging, and give employees a sense of self-realization. Instead of unrealistic sales goals and creating high stress environment.

This requires AT&T to design their work to enrich and enlarge their work content. The managers should let employees feel five senses: first is to allow employees to feel that they are important and meaningful in their work. The second is to let employees feel that the boss has been paying attention to him; Third, let the staff feel that his position is the best use of his talents; The fourth is to allow employees to feel that they have feedback on everything they do; The fifth is to enable employees to feel the integrity of the work.

Apply correct managing style to manage employees and increase productivity.

AT&T often used wrong managing style, the company should apply different style with different situation. AT&T should implement the imperative leadership style only to those employees who lack the ability to work but willing to work. For example, new employees are enthusiastic but inexperienced. Managers should use imperative leadership styles to help employees identify problems, provide clear responsibilities and target positions, develop action plans, and track feedback in time.

In addition to selecting leadership styles based on employee types, AT&T needs to understand the common characteristics of the leadership styles. Whatever leadership style the company use, managers should set clear goals, observe and track employee performance, and give feedback in the process of performance tracking. When setting goals, managers can listen to employees’ opinions and involve them in setting goals. At the same time, in the process of performance tracking, managers should give feedback timely. Unlike the first two, the feedback in the tracking process, no matter what type of employee the managers need to be sufficient, so that all types of employees can be improved.

Building corporate values and enhance corporate culture.

The impact of enterprise culture to enterprise, communicate important one is to promote the fusion, employees a minor misconduct could damage the image of the enterprise as a whole, which requires the enterprise culture and enterprise system integration.

Only when the corporate culture and management system are coordinated and complemented and integrated, can the external tree brand image and internal coordination and coordination be realized, so as to enhance the core competitiveness of enterprises.

Corporate values can be shaped from two aspects: leaders and employees.

In the aspect of leaders, one is that the enterprise leaders must make their employees actively support and participate in the construction of corporate culture through their own advocacy and demonstration, and create a unique corporate culture.

Awareness, 2 it is to cultivate staff’s enterprise employees’ understanding and knowledge to our enterprise values, including the understanding of the nature and characteristics of enterprise, to the enterprise survival and development, the rise and fall of the sense of responsibility, etc.

Third, we should strive to create a good internal environment for enterprises, and optimize their environment, cooperation environment and competitive environment.

Create an atmosphere of knowledge sharing and harmony among employees;

To provide training opportunities for employees, to train them to be good employees who believe in the core values of the enterprise and have excellent performance in the actual work;

Establish a reward system consistent with the core values of the enterprise and implement it strictly.

Conclusion

As our society and organizations start to recognize employees as individuals rather than to objectify them as assets, the focus on self-satisfaction and culture become preeminent. The problems related to motivation, internal management, and business culture that AT&T Inc. possesses represent the universal struggles of big organizations. With harsh and cruel management styles, employees scramble to express their opinions upward and often slack on their work. In order to work for a company that achieves high sales goals, employees often experience low self-esteem, inner satisfaction, and sense of belonging. Therefore, our team urges to use Herzberg Dual Factor, Path-Goal Theory and Maslow’s Hierarchy theories to improve AT&T’s employee motivation, organization management, and company culture.  High levels of employee engagement foster customer loyalty and improve organizational performance and stakeholder value. Self-realized employees will equate improved productivity and better working environment. Helping employees feel rewarded, recognized, and appreciated is the key to become a successful manage and for them to manage human behaviors.

Regular road repair and preservation is underfunded (leadership context): custom essay help

For decades now, states have invested disproportionately in road expansion and left regular repair and preservation underfunded. As a result of these spending decisions, road conditions in many states, South Carolina in particular, are getting worse and may threaten taxpayers with billions of dollars in expenses. These expenses are skyrocketing but the issue isn’t being handled to the residents satisfaction. Between the years 2004 and 2008, states collectively spent $37.9 billion on road repair and expansion projects. The majority of these funds, 57% went to just 1.3% of roads during this time. The remaining 99% of states’ road networks received only 43% of funding. Not surprisingly, without adequate funding for repair many roads across the country fell out of good condition during this time.

Investing in expansion at the cost of repair doesn’t just mean a bumpier ride on some roads, it’s a transportation investment strategy that poses huge financial liabilities for states. Putting off repairs today means spending much more on those repairs in the future. Not fixing the issues now will only prolong the repairing time. During the time of debates on whether funds should go towards roads or not, the roads are gradually getting worse from the excessive traffic passing by, cars losing hubcaps because of these potholes, and overall making the holes more insufficient then there already are. Repair costs rise exponentially as road conditions decline. According to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, repairing a road that has fallen into poor condition can cost up to 14 times as much as preserving a road in good condition to begin with. Compounding these costs is the fact that with every dollar spent on road expansion, states add to a system they are already failing to adequately maintain. Understanding there is a problem with the roads of our town is the first step. Understanding taxpayers are paying for things to be done in our community rather than prolonging the issues is the second step in solving this issue.

When faced with the task of increasing awareness for the improvement of road conditions in South Carolina, there are many solutions that can be implemented. A task force can be formed within the county government to identify and prioritize the worst roads in the county. This task force can then draw up a preliminary budget estimate for the costs of improving these roads’ conditions. Community awareness can be heightened through a fundraiser. A fundraiser for road improvement would likely draw a large crowd of county residents from a multitude of backgrounds because poor roads affect everyone equally. The funds raised through this event would be gifted to the Chamber of Commerce or Public Works department and specified as for use in the improvement of county roads. A group of volunteers from the community would also be able to raise awareness for the advocacy of a road improvement campaign that would bring attention to government officials. These volunteers could lead a phone-a-thon or letter writing campaign to let government officials know how important the road improvement campaign is to them. These options for raising awareness would almost certainly be an effective means by which to implement a solution to the poor condition of roads in South Carolina.

Leadership can be used in many different ways, in our communities especially. With the problem we proposed  road safety in Spartanburg, South Carolina and specifically the potholes. The first leadership skill that can be used is consciousness of context. In order to lead our problem, one must be aware of the road conditions. The roads are a safety hazard in Spartanburg. There are approximately  39,035 wrecks in South Carolina involving injuries (Smith). Some of these are caused by the conditions of the roads. Being aware of these conditions makes leading our problem easier. Consciousness of context also includes being aware of the problem’s background. This could include who is in charge of the roads, specifically cleaning them up. It could also include how the problems are caused, and how they can be fixed.  Leadership can also be used in fixing our problems by using our specific strengths. All of our strengths can be used for different aspects of completing our solution and bring awareness to road safety. For example, our top strengths included responsibility and significance. These two strengths are very important because if you are responsible, you are capable of getting tasks done. This is important because to make others aware of the problem in South Carolina, you must be able to achieve tasks and bring awareness to our communities to solve the problem. Significance is also important because since the problem is in our own community, it is significant to us. This strength is also important because those leaders tend to want to make a big impact, and that is exactly what we are trying to do. The most important part of leadership being used in our problem is that there needs to be a leader to be in charge of the problem. Without leadership, nothing would ever be solved. We need leaders in our communities to fix these issues.

Tesla consumer research planning: college essay help online

Introduction

Nowadays, technological progress has affected all the globe by giving it both advantages and disadvantages. The more cars are produced, the more chemical emissions are evaporated into the air. Tesla Motors is an automotive manufacturer, which has contributed to the movement of making the world greener by introducing and electric cars. Every corporation must create the system of Corporate Social Responsibility to guarantee customer’s and shareholders’ satisfaction regarding the impact of company’s products. For Tesla Motors, the central concept of the CSR is the implementation of practices in Corporate Environmental Responsibility. The executives have established CER to ensure the gas emissions are reduced. Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER) is the process when companies are striving to decrease the level of air, water, soil, and thermal pollution by designing an electric car with engines that do not require fuel to operate (Hilson, 2017). Tesla’s vehicles not only maintain the environmentally friendly program, but also conform to all the regulations of the United States, such as safety, durability, and comfortability.

Climate change and global warming have changed the whole world and made these concepts prioritizes for the society. As a result, companies started to consider policies, regulations, and codes which would change some of their strategies with regards to the operations (Hilson, 2017). CER is a chain of methods and activities which include the research of current and new approaches for the business to minimize the impact of the corporation on ecology.

In 2010, Tesla Motors received an award from Global Green USA for being the leading company which offers an advanced and innovative version of vehicles. The president of the association claimed that Tesla Motors had made a considerable contribution to the history of car manufacturing industry (“Tesla Motors Receives ‘Environmental Leadership’ Award from Global Green USA”, 2010). In response to that award, Tesla executives asserted that soon they would expand the range of products to meet the need of customers of different levels of income, preferences, and goals.

Customers, as well as companies, reveal a great deal of interest in this topic. Knowing that mother nature is suffering from human’s harmful practices, people now tend to choose products which have less harm to the environment. Therefore, Tesla’s electric cars gathered dozens of fans, thus, the value of the corporation, as well as its revenues, increased (Greenspan, 2017). As long as CER is not only aimed at practices which protect the environment but also consider customer’s interest, it will result in obtaining more respect and recognition to the company to be able to meet their expectations.

The research on this particular topic was aimed at investigating the attitude of the customer towards Tesla’s CER and the corporation itself. As customers are the driving force of the corporation, it was crucial to detect their preferences, buying behavior, and how do they evaluate the company’s practices in general (Greenspan, 2017). Moreover, electric cars become a successful vehicle all over the world not only due to the absence of gas emissions but also due to durability it was essential to find out whether electric cars are affordable for people or not.

The hypothesis for this particular survey is that people are more likely to chose Tesla’s cars due to their strong system of Corporate Social Responsibility. Based on the questionnaires, it will be detected whether consumers appreciate Tesla implementing the CER as their CSR practice to protect the environment from chemical evaporations.

Methods

The research on the topic was conducted through questionnaires to investigate the importance of the issue, discover consumers’ attitude towards Tesla and its products.  For this research, the group has created a list of questions which included the general information about the participant and the questions on the topic. The group has distributed forms with questions to the San Diego State University students in the campus. Some of the questionnaires were conducted via email, in an electronic way, however, mainly people obtained a paper version of the questionnaire to fill in.

In this survey, people were required to indicate their gender, age, the college they attend, how do they commute, and their position for politics. However, the most specific questions were if participants value company’s practices to decrease the level of gas emissions, how do they respond to CER in Tesla, do they have an intention to purchase an electric car in future, what is their opinion about Tesla operating globally and other. The last question in the survey included the rank to evaluate price, design, speed, size, environmental impact, gas mileage of the car they would probably purchase. The questions gave a definite picture of the consumer’s preferences, their attitude towards Tesla, how they evaluate their practices, and would they buy an Electric Tesla car.

References

Greenspan, R. (2017). Tesla Motors, Inc. Corporate Social Responsibility, Stakeholders. Panmore Institute. Retrieved 5 April 2018, from http://panmore.com/tesla-motors-inc-stakeholders-corporate-social-responsibility

Hilson, A. (2017). Corporate Environmental Responsibility. International Encyclopedia Of Geography: People, The Earth, Environment And Technology, 1-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781118786352.wbieg1141

Tesla Motors Receives ‘Environmental Leadership’ Award from Global Green USA. (2010). Tesla.com. Retrieved 5 April 2018, from https://www.tesla.com/blog/tesla-motors-receives-environmental-leadership-award-global-green-usa

The Age of Uncertainty – John Kenneth Galbraith

The television series, “the Age of Uncertainty”, written and presented by Harvard Economist, John Kenneth Galbraith, was developed in an attempt to focus on the consequences following the unrest of traditional economic and political principles. Galbraith analyzes these consequences by delving into the evolution of economic history, events from previous centuries to contrast the standard of living between the rich and the poor, the Communist Manifesto, and on the role of money. He does this for the purpose of comparing these events and identifying how it has impacted modern day. Galbraith further articulates the perspectives of capitalism and socialism, including their motives during this time period. One of the issues that he examines throughout the series includes how a capitalist economy can result in unpredictability in the future, despite its conceived notion of the economy operates behind earnings and in marketplaces; along with the ambiguity that still exists when confronting the ideology following socialism.

Opening the series, Galbraith expresses his thoughts on the evolution of economic history. It is revealed that Adam Smith, arguably one of the greatest economists of all time, had published The Wealth of Nations, conveying his thoughts in how labour will impact the outcome of a nation’s prosperity. Smith further concludes that it is in the guidance through self-interest, that motivates one to pursue success. He discusses his belief that workers will perform at their peak should their reward directly correlate to the efforts they put into their production. He continues by describing how the marketplace in itself will eventually become the ultimate regulator of economic life, also known as the invisible hand, including the recognition those who produce quality goods at an affordable price and punishment of those who produce unworthy goods at an unjust price without state interference. An example that emphasizes the importance of efficient productivity and division of labour is illustrated in the making of pins. This example determines that with specialization, workers can make approximately 48,000 pins daily, whereas one man is said to only make anywhere from 1 to 20 pins. Galbraith delves into the aftermath of Smith’s death in how his theories and ideas were becoming evident. Eventually, people will able to trade so that there would be an abundance of food for residents as long as self-interest remained a driving force, particularly when settling the American communities.

Galbraith continues his sequence by analyzing the contrast that existed amongst the rich and the poor. He does this to compare the past events to the modern age of uncertainty. He underlines the amusement of the rich from the previous century and how their actions impacted the poor. In agreement with the discussion of David Ricardo, who argued against the overproduction of goods, Galbraith reminisces incidents related to the scarcities that impact society. Primarily analyzing the behaviour of the rich, he quotes Herbert Spencer, who was an English philosopher and classical liberal political theorist of the Victorian area, of his view in how the rich will often justify their behaviour through the Darwinian view of natural selection and survival of the fittest – including those that survive financially. Galbraith further examines the rich in America, emphasizing how critical the railroads are when stabilizing a wealthy class. With the imbalance of control associated in maintaining the railroads, he illustrates examples of the types of conflicts that will emerge. One example consisted of his view on Thorstein Vebelm, who was a Norwegian-American economist and sociologist; also deriving the concept behind a conspicuous consumer and explores the history of Vebelm himself. With conspicuous spending, extravagant parties were often thrown by the rich to display their economic power.

Next, Galbraith discusses the history of Karl Marx. The Communist Manifesto is introduced to contrast the capitalist perspective. A few of the ideas behind the Communist Manifesto included progressive taxation, elimination of inheritance, the right to free education, monopolies amongst banking institutions, and the eradication of child labour. Despite how many of these demands are currently being met, disagreement still exists. Galbraith concludes his thoughts on Marx and social reforms by concluding that to have an effective revolution, there a dominant sense of leadership must be present, calculated course of action, devoted following, and weak opposition. The role of money is also introduced throughout the series. Galbraith articulates the consequences deriving from abuse and success that surfaces from banking, such as the anxieties that emerged in the Western World because of the Dutch East Indian Company. He continues to analyze John Meynard Keynes’ Keynesian theory by highlighting its conflicts in how increasing spending deficits can remedy unemployment within situations; however, the problem in Keynes’ theory does not clarify what actions to take in other situations, such as the problem with inflation.

It is critical to recognize Galbraith as a public intellectual, economist, and a social philosopher. This background allows him to conduct his efforts towards an ingenious view on the social economic issues that are under scrutiny today. The complicated nature behind the contents presented in the Age of Uncertainty may be unsuitable for the faint of heart; however, it is important to respect the work of literary art that was involved in its creation. The concepts introduced from economic evolution, the feeling of superiority from the wealthy, and the beginning of socialism from Marx’s Communist Manifesto leaves the viewer to ponder what the future holds for modern society and if there is a possibility that harmony between different views can co-exist.

The Coca-Cola Company – overview, mission, vision: essay help online free

The Coca-Cola Company is the largest beverage enterprise in the world. Through its portfolio of 500+ brands, and the most massive beverage distribution system on the planet, consumers in more than 200 countries and territories enjoy approximately 1.600 drinks a day. Not only carbonated drinks, juices and juice-based drinks, but also coffee, water or tea ready to take the benefit of the company’s commitment to innovating.

Since the year 1886 the pharmacist John Pemberton invented the original famous drink –Coca-Cola, which is the second most recognized word after “okey”, the company has always been aware of what their customers have to say. Today it continues to grow, and aspire to become a total beverage company that responds to the tastes and needs of people, covering all the moments of consumption. In fact, the new road to the future of Coca-Cola focuses on serving the wishes of consumers to have more choices of drinks, less sugar, more information and smaller containers.

A future that should be sustainable for the next generations. From this conviction, Coca-Cola has always tried to generate a positive impact on society. Not only in the purely economic and labor aspect, but also contributing to social and environmental development. We move forward, its new sustainability strategy, sets a range of very specific goals for 2025 in six main areas: beverages. packing, society, water, climate and supply chain.

Since the arrival of Coca-Cola in Spain in 1953, it has been generating employment and directly through its work centers- nearly 100% of beverages it sells in our country are locally produced, but also indirect. With .57% of GDP and employs 0.48% of the active population.

But the influence on Coca-Cola, with 14 brands in Spain, goes far beyond being an engine of employment and progress in the country, since it has always been close to communities generating social value. In 2016, it made an investment in 14,450 projects and sports, cultural, environmental and social events, in which 8.7 million people participated, 19% of the population.

It also focuses its efforts on caring for the environment and reducing its environmental footprint. Therefore, in its environmental strategy it has set important commitments in matters such as packaging, water, climate and suppliers.

The principles that have led Coca-Cola to become, since the end of the 19th century, a global company, but with great local roots, are reflected in the mission, vision and values of the company. With the  aligned their VISION 2020, which seeks to be prepared for a more sustainable future.

Coca Cola’s Mission

Defines the long-term goal of the company, and is the criterion of weight of its actions and decisions it takes to achieve three fundamental goals:

Refresh the world
Inspire moments of optimism and happiness
Create value and make a difference

Coca Cola’s values guide the actions and behavior of Coca-Cola in the world, and they are:

Leadership: striving to shape a better future.
Collaboration: empower collective talent.
Integrity: be transparent.
Accountability: be responsible.
Passion: be committed to the heart and mind.
Diversity: have a wide range of brands and be as inclusive as they are.
Quality: search for excellence.

Coca-Cola’s Vision

It is the framework of the work plan that describes what needs to be achieved to achieve maximum sustainability, quality and growth. With it, it is intended to achieve objectives adapted to different areas:

People: Being a good place to work, that people feel inspired to give each day the best of themselves
Beverages: offers a varied portfolio of quality products that anticipate and satisfy desires and need of consumers.
Partners: develop a network of work to create a common lasting value.
Planet: be a responsible citizen that makes a difference by helping to build and support sustainable communities.
Benefit: Maximize performance for shareholders while keeping the general responsibilities of the company in mind.
Productivity: to be an effective and dynamic organization.

A winning culture will define the attitudes and behaviors that will be necessary to make the VISION 2020 of Coca-Cola a reality. In the market they focus on the needs of the consumers, customers, and franchises. They physically go to the market, listen, observe and learn, which makes them have a global point of view. They focus on the execution in the market every day, being able to work intelligently.

Nationalization / privatization in the United Kingdom following World War II

Following the end of World War II in Europe, June 1945, the United Kingdom government, which was controlled by the Labour Party, moved to nationalize industries. Nationalization is when control over industries are transferred from private owners to the government. The government also decides how the profits are spent. During Clement Atlee’s tenure as Prime Minister, Great Britain nationalized the coal, electricity, gas and railway industries. The political and economic policy — or theory — of privatization was adopted by the Conservative Party, under the leadership of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, during Great Britain’s 1979 election. The broad definition of privatization is the transferal of the manufacturing of goods and services from the public sector to the private sector. However, privatization also includes charging for state-provided services, education vouchers, tax concessions for healthcare, and establishing freeports. The policy also reduces the influence trade unions had in the government. Opposition to the policy came from the Labour Party who believed economic and industrial strength could only come through public enterprise – an organization owned and managed by the government. Party members also believed the policy harms citizens because it benefits the upper class and hinders the lower class.

During the 1979 election the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party – under the guidance of Margaret Thatcher – grew tired of the nationalization policy championed by the Labour Party. “The British people strongly oppose Labour’s plans to nationalise yet more firms and industries such as building, banking, insurance, pharmaceuticals and road haulage.” Nationalization is when the government owns industries and make the decisions on how profits will be spent. In the United Kingdom, profits were typically spent on public services. In post-World War II Britain, under the guidance of Prime Minister Clement Atlee, the Labour Party nationalized industries such as coal, gas, railways, and electricity.

Historians and economists do not agree on the genesis of the nationalization policy in Britain after World War II. They are mixed between it being based on ideology or economic reasons. According to Robert Millward, one of the reasons for the debate is not every industry was nationalized. He said eighty percent of the enterprises that were nationalized occurred in the 1940s.  The enterprises that were nationalized after the war needed government intervention during the war. Therefore, the Labour Party possibly believed nationalization was the best way to ensure the country maintained stability.

Before the election in 1979 conservative politicians attempted to move the country away from nationalization, but failed to make the attempts to be permanent. Therefore, nationalized policies remained during conservative governments before 1979. However, after the “Winter of Discontent” in 1978, the momentum of popularity and trust began to swing from the Labour Party to the Conservative Party. James Callaghan, the Labour prime minister, pursued policies that led to massive unemployment rates, which in turn led to the union strikes of 1978. Thatcher and the Conservative Party was able to use this information as a way to showcase the Labour Party’s inability to maintain economic control. “More nationalisation would further impoverish us and further undermine our freedom.” The manifesto of the Conservative Party never mentioned the word privatization — which will later be referred to as “Thatcherism” — but their solution does indirectly advocate the policy. “We will offer to sell back to private ownership the recently nationalised aerospace and shipbuilding concerns, giving their employees the opportunity to purchase shares.”

One of the driving forces behind privatization was to allow businesses control how its profits are spent and make management decisions. As a result, the market would become more competitive, and employees would make more money. As a result of Thatcher’s win in the 1979 election, industries such as Britoil, British Airways, British Steel, British Gas, and British Telecom have been sold to private owners. According to Stephen Martin and David Parker, shortly after an announcement was made that an industry would be privatized, a period of increased production followed. This period led to more profits. However, following privatization, production declined while profits still remained higher than when the business was state owned.

Historians and economists also argue about why the country maintained the nationalization policy after industries recovered from the war. One possible reason is the country’s market transitioned to a mixed economy. If Britain was to remain economically prosperous, the Labour Party believed the government had to help the industries. The Labour Party argued for nationalization because it will help the people and the country. “The Conservatives will not admit that nowadays governments must step in to help create employment, to limit prices rises, to assist industry to modernize itself.” In fact, the Labour Party claimed the Conservative Party was detached from what a modern Britain needed to survive. The policy of privatization would drag the country back into an outdated way of life. “They are ready to gamble the people’s future on a return to the nineteenth century free market’ – despite its pitiless social consequences.”

The Labour Party and the Conservative Party have been at odds for years over the policy of privatization. One Party enforced it when they won the 1979 elections, and the other continually fight to reverse it today. One Party claims state-owned enterprises impoverish citizens. The other claims private-owned enterprises benefit the upper class and take public services away from the lower class. There is some economic proof that the policy has helped the country of Britain. Profits for businesses have been proven to be higher when private owners are in control. However, there is also proof showing otherwise. Under nationalization, industry profits were spent on items such as public service. Today opponents of privatizations claim basic public services are underfunded and British citizens are not receiving necessary help. Political policies need to adapt. Privatization helped Britain when nationalization was reaching its limits. However, if privatization is to continue helping Britain, changes need to be adopted.

Columbus Day

On the second Monday of every October, there is a federal holiday in which we celebrate Columbus Day. We celebrate Christopher Columbus as a daring and path-breaking explorer who transformed the New World. Most U.S. history textbooks portray him as our first great hero. However, these textbooks leave out just about everything that we do know about Columbus and the European exploration of the Americas. They omit the cause, most of what Columbus actually did, and some of the results of his voyages. Moreover, they hide the fact that Columbus was a mass murderer and would have done anything to get his gold and riches.

While there is very little known about Columbus’s early life, it is believed that he was born in Genoa, Italy in 1451 to a Christian household. Columbus was the eldest son to Domenico Colombo, a Genoese wool worker and merchant and Susanna Fantanarossa, his wife.1 At a very young age, Columbus started working in the seas. In 1476, on a particular voyage sailing north along the Portuguese coast, the fleet Columbus was sailing was attacked by French privateers. The ship sank and Columbus had to swim to the Portuguese shore. He eventually made his way to Lisbon, Portugal.2 At Lisbon, Columbus studied navigation, astronomy, cartography and mathematics. His near-death experience definitely did not stop him as he participated in “several other expeditions to Africa, [where he] gained knowledge of the Atlantic currents flowing east and west from the Canary Islands.”3

Towards the end of the 15th century, the route to reach Asia from Europe by land was narrowly impossible. Not only was the route long, but it included many encounters with hostile armies that were difficult to avoid. Many explorers solved this problem by sailing along the west African coast and around the Cape of Good Hope. However, Columbus proposed a different idea. He suggested to sail west across the Atlantic instead of around the African continent. “The young navigator’s logic was sound, but his math was faulty. He argued (incorrectly) that the circumference of the Earth was much smaller . . . [and thus] he believed that the journey by boat from Europe to Asia should be not only possible but comparatively easy.”4 Columbus presented his plan to the Portuguese king, then to Genoa and finally to Venice, but was rejected every time. In 1486, he asked for support from the Spanish monarchy of Isabella of Castille and Ferdinand of Aragon.5 Nonetheless, Columbus was able to obtain royal support in January 1492. Ferdinand and Isabella had a similar goal as Columbus – fame and fortune. According to a contract with the Spanish rulers, Columbus could keep 10% of the riches he found as well as ownership of any lands that he encountered.

Shortly after being financed, Columbus left Spain with three ships – the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. After sailing for a few months, Columbus and several crewmen set foot on an island. They met a group of natives called the Taínos who were open to trade glass beads, cotton balls, parrots and spears. Columbus noticed that these natives looked trusting in nature and also wore gold jewelry.  Based on writings from his journal, he believed that they would make good servants. “They beat no arms, nor know thereof; for I showed them swords and they grasped them by the blade and cut themselves through ignorance . . . With fifty men, we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.”6 The idea of making the natives slaves came as desirable to Columbus. Within his first day on the new land, Columbus ordered for six of the natives to be seized and presented to the Ferdinand and Isabella.

In March 1493, Columbus left the new land and returned to Spain. After seeing everything that Columbus brought, Queen Isabella ordered for one shipment of the enslaved Indians to be returned to the Americas. Nevertheless, her resistance to slavery did not stop Columbus from enslaving Indians and sending them across the Atlantic. Nor did it stop his second voyage to the Americas. On his second voyage, Columbus and his men captured 1,500 Taínos at the island of the Hispaniola. Approximately 500 of these Taínos were selected as “best specimens” and sent back to Spain as slaves. Many as 200 died en route. A Spanish eyewitness described the panic as follows. “Among them were many women who had infants at the breast. They, in order to escape us . . . left their infants anywhere on the ground and started to flee like desperate people.”7

As per his contract with the Spanish monarchy, Columbus has ownership of any new lands he encountered. Under Columbus’s leadership, the Spanish attacked the Taíno, sparing neither women nor children. He even implemented a forced labor system in which the Natives has to mine gold for the colonists, raise Spanish food and even carry them everywhere they went. Unable to love under these conditions many Natives chose the path of suicide. “Occasionally a hundred have committed mass suicide . . . The women exhausted by labor, have shunned conception and childbirth.”8 As a response to the Native revolt and disruption, Columbus ordered for many Natives to be killed. Additionally in an attempt to further end the rebellion, Columbus ordered their dismembered bodies to be paraded through the streets. Before Columbus, the Taíno population estimated at two million. 25 years after he arrived, only 12,000 remained. Within 30 years, the population went to extinction.

For decades now historians glorified Columbus’s many accomplishments – particularly his “discovery” of the New World – yet, in doing so they have opted to minimize the extent of his violence or have utterly disregarded it. Christopher Columbus did not discover America. He was not even the first European to visit the New World. What his voyages did do was create a path of utter destruction. His actions unleashed changes that devastated the native populations. They caused the death of hundreds of thousands of people purely for the sake of the riches and treasures. In 1492 and the years following, Christopher Columbus has not done anything worthy of the admiration and honor he is receiving in the 21st century.

The High Tech cases: Reimagining Criminal Enforcement for Wage Fixing & No-Poaching: college admission essay help

The High Tech cases: Reimagining Criminal Enforcement for Wage Fixing & No-Poaching

A case study for criminal antitrust enforcement Policy

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION 1

II. HISTORICAL EXAMINATION OF ANTITRUST § 1 SHERMAN ACT “RESTRAINTS OF TRADE” 2

III. THE 2010 HIGH TECH CASES 2

IV. SURVEY OF STATE ENFORCEMENT ACTION & PRIVATE CLASS ACTIONS 3

A. Private Class Action Litigation 3

B. State Enforcement Action 3

V. DOJ SHIFT TO CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT 4

A. Civil Prosecution of No Poach Agreements 4

B. Prosecutorial Discretion 5

VI. REIMAGINE 2010 HIGH TECH CASES UNDER CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT FRAMEWORK 6

A. Standard of Review (distinction from civil analysis) 6

B. Criminal Liability 6

C. Possible Defenses 6

D. Court’s Posture 6

VII. OUTLOOK FOR FEDERAL CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT POLICY 6

A. Judicial Concern about False Positives 6

B. Impact on Competition 6

C. International Antitrust Framework 6

D. Policy Alternatives 6



* J.D. Candidate, The George Washington University Law School, May 2020. Editorial Staff, Federal Communications Law Journal.

I. INTRODUCTION

“People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.” – Adam Smith

The economic effects that no-poach agreements have on labor markets are undoubtedly analogous to the recognized effects that price-fixing and market allocation agreements have on economic markets–which has supported the per se condemnation for centuries. The presumption of per se illegality means that the DOJ may prosecute these agreements without considering their justifications or competitive effects.

The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have regularly investigated and prosecuted companies for participating in no-poaching and wage-fixing agreements; however, historically these agreements have been treated as civil, rather than criminal, antitrust violations.

In 2010, for example, the Antitrust Division brought a series of civil lawsuits against several technology companies for entering into no-poach agreements with their competitors. These cases resulted in settlements enjoining the companies from participating in these types of agreements and requiring them to institute appropriate training and compliance programs. These companies also had to collectively pay nearly $1 billion in order to settle several follow-on private lawsuits.

In 2016, the DOJ announced its intent to pursue no-poach agreements criminally.  This article considers whether criminal enforcement is an effective tool, by imagining what defenses would be raised and whether they would be regarded as legitimate.

Part II of this Article will provide a historical explanation of antitrust development in labor markets. Part III will review federal enforcement action on no-poach agreements, examining the High Tech cases. Thereafter, Part IV will then discuss state enforcement action and private class actions on anti-poaching. Part V will consider recent DOJ criminal enforcement. Part VI will imagine potential defenses and consider whether they would be regarded as legitimate. Finally, Part VII will consider the competitive implications of criminal enforcement and recommend policy alternatives.

II. HISTORICAL EXAMINATION OF ANTITRUST § 1 SHERMAN ACT “RESTRAINTS OF TRADE”

“Every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce . . . is declared to be illegal.”   On its face, the statutory language, is concerning given the myriad of procompetitive ways that companies cooperate and share information. In 1911, consistent with the legislative history of the Sherman Act, which revealed that Congress purposefully drew the phrase “restraint of trade” from the common law, the Supreme Court held that “[t]he statute . . . evidenced the intent. . . to protect [] commerce from . . . an undue restraint.”   Further, the Court presumed Congressional intent to apply the rule of reason, a common law standard, under which only an “unreasonable” “contract, combination . . . or conspiracy” can violate § 1 of the Sherman Act.

The rule of reason requires the plaintiff to present evidence of a restraint’s anticompetitive effects and permits the defendant to present procompetitive justifications. Ultimately, the fact-finder weighs all the circumstances to determine whether the restraint is one that suppresses competition or promotes it.

“Any combination which tampers with price structures is engaged in an unlawful activity.”

Wages as dimension of competition. “Wage-fixing restraints which affect the labor market are considered price-fixing restraints subject to the antitrust laws. Section 6, 15 U.S.C.S. § 17, of the Clayton Act does not exempt such restraints from antitrust liability.

While most challenges brought under § 1 are analyzed under the “rule of reason” of Standard Oil, the Court has also held that certain classes of conduct are so obviously a detrimental restraint on trade that they are automatically presumed unreasonable and are thus per se illegal. Horizontal price fixing, horizontal market allocations, and some concerted actions have historically been treated as per se illegal.

Rule of reason as a continuum.

III. THE 2010 HIGH TECH CASES

A 2009 Federal Trade Commission investigation into the relationship between the boards of Apple and Google led to reports of an alleged “gentleman’s agreement” between the two companies not to hire away each other’s workers. In 2010, the DOJ investigated alleged no-poach agreements between Adobe, Apple, Google, Intel, Intuit, and Pixar. These investigations collectively became known as the High Tech cases. In the High Tech cases, the DOJ determined that the companies reached “facially anticompetitive” or “naked” agreements that eliminated a significant form of competition that harmed employees who lost access to information about salary levels and better job opportunities. The DOJ renounced the conduct as “blatant and egregious” noting that the agreement served “no purpose but to limit competition between the two firms for employees….”

That case was settled quietly, and the companies involved did not admit any wrongdoing but agreed not to enter into such agreements in the future.

In a separate, federal class-action antitrust suit, the companies reportedly made pacts not to have recruiters “cold call” each other’s employees. The suit alleges that the firms agreed to notify each other when making an offer to another company’s employee without the employee’s consent or knowledge. Another alleged agreement between the companies set a cap on pay packages offered to prospective employees.

The employees argued that in the market for skilled labor, where cold calling to lure employees away from competitors played an important role in determining salaries and labor mobility, their employers’ conspiracy to restrain trade was a per se violation of the Sherman Act and a violation of Clayton Act. The complaint asserted that that the labor market for skilled high-tech labor was national, and that employers had succeeded in lowering the compensation and mobility of their employees below what would have prevailed in a lawful and properly functioning labor market.

IV. SURVEY OF STATE ENFORCEMENT ACTION & PRIVATE CLASS ACTIONS

A. Private Class Action Litigation

B. State Enforcement Action

State AGs Probe fast food chains. Jurisdictions in the probe include California, District of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

Currently, 11 attorneys generals are investigating the use of anti-poaching provisions by franchisors.  Four other plaintiffs have sued U.S. franchisors for anti-poaching violations, seeking class action certification.

V. DOJ SHIFT TO CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT

In October 2016, the Antitrust Division and FTC announced that going forward no-poach and wage-fixing agreements will generally be treated as criminal antitrust offenses in its release of “Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professionals.”

In January 2018, head of the Antitrust Division, Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim, publicly stated that the Division has several ongoing no-poach investigations and would soon be bringing enforcement actions in these investigations: “In the coming couple of months, you will see some announcements, and to be honest with you, I’ve been shocked about how many of these [no-poach agreements] there are, but they’re real.” This warning followed public remarks by the Antitrust Division’s second-in-command—Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Andrew Finch—late last year indicating that companies and their executives “should be on notice” that they could be criminally prosecuted for participating in no-poach or wage-fixing agreements regardless of whether they compete to sell the same products or services.

Delhrahim stated that: “A nearly ubiquitous element of corporate conduct, thought to be legal and competitively harmless, now faces the prospect of criminal prosecution by the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division.”

A. Civil Prosecution of No Poach Agreements

On April 3, 2018, the DOJ Antitrust Division announced its first challenge to a “no-poaching” agreement.  The government filed a civil antitrust complaint alleging that Knorr-Bremse AG and Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation entered into unlawful agreements not to poach each other’s employees in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act.

In United States v. Knorr-Bremse, two rail equipment manufacturers, who competed with one another to attract, hire and retain skilled employees had entered into a series of no-poach agreements between 2009 and 2016. According to the complaint, the companies agreed not to solicit, recruit, hire without prior approval, or otherwise compete for employees, collectively referred to as No-Poach Agreements.

Noting the “high demand for and limited supply of skilled employees who have rail industry experience”, the DOJ asserted that the agreements restrained competition to attract workers and “denied employees access to better job opportunities, restricted their mobility, and deprived them of competitively significant information that they could have used to negotiate for better terms of employment”.  The DOJ asserted that No-Poach Agreements unlawfully allocated employees between the companies and are per se unlawful restraints of trade that violate Section 1 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1.

B. Prosecutorial Discretion

The Division opted to treat the companies’ no-poaching agreement as a civil antitrust violation despite indications from senior leadership and HR guidelines that such agreements would be treated as criminal violations.

In announcing its recent United States v. Knorr-Bremse AG and Westinghouse Air Brakes Technologies no-poach settlement, the Antitrust Division explained that it exercised its prosecutorial discretion to treat the no-poach agreements as civil, rather than criminal, violations because the settling companies “formed and terminated [these agreements] before” the Antitrust Division and FTC issued their Antitrust Guidance for Human Resource Professionals. The DOJ stressed, however: “The department has made clear that it intends to bring criminal, felony charges against culpable companies and individuals who enter into naked no-poach agreements…where the underlying no-poach agreements began or continued after October 2016.”  Thus, no-poach agreements that either were entered into or continued after the agency guidance are likely to be prosecuted as criminal antitrust offenses, which significantly increases the risks for companies and executives involved in such agreements.

VI. REIMAGINE 2010 HIGH TECH CASES UNDER CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT FRAMEWORK

A. Standard of Review (distinction from civil analysis)

B. Criminal Liability

Corporations found guilty of participating in a criminal no-poaching or wage-fixing agreement could be required to pay up to $100 million in fines while individuals could be required to pay up $1 million in fines. Alternatively, prosecutors could seek a fine up to twice the gross financial loss or gain resulting from the violation. Moreover, individuals criminally prosecuted for participating in a no-poach or wage-fixing agreement could face up to 10 years in prison. In recent years, prison sentences for criminal antitrust violations have averaged approximately two years.

C. Possible Defenses

D. Court’s Posture

VII. OUTLOOK FOR FEDERAL CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT POLICY

A. Judicial Concern about False Positives

Courts have long been concerned about false positives in antitrust enforcement.  Heightened pleading standard, Twombly, treble damages.

B. Impact on Competition

Moreover, criminal prosecution, jail time, reputational damage would hamper the position of US firms in the global market.

C. International Antitrust Framework

D. Policy Alternatives

Policy alternatives

Negative externalities

Persuasive arguments – is so effective

Case study comparing Silicon Valley versus MA tech corridor.  See Vox article.

balance on one hand. Provide incentive for employers to invest in employees. Capital investment, full certainty that the machine is going to stay.

Fear that employees to use training to boost their earning potential elsewhere.

justify in very-specific circumstances: high level access to proprietary trade secrets)

Policy agreement in lieu of NC agreement – tax deductions for training (can deduct business investment) however he rules around worker training (can only deduct $5K, and only for current training (not development of new skills).

Knowledge diffusion (Google driverless car technology and the spill over that spurs innovation with other companies.  Google

Rae Yang’s story, “Spider Eaters: A Memoir”

Rae Yang’s story, “Spider Eaters: A Memoir”, overlaps the periods of three diverse decades. She was from a revolutionary cadre’s family. Following spending her early life in Switzerland, she joined the Beijing 101 Middle School, which was a school for the elites. After the Cultural Revolution emerged, she vigorously joined in Red Guard activities in Beijing, as well as her peers in China. Yang later devoted five years working on a pig farm in a village situated in northern China, herding pigs and doing other physical labor. Although she grew up with faith in the Communist party and a love for Chairman Mao, her passion for revolution and devotion to the new China ceased after suffering from the hardships of physical labor. Yang’s story effortlessly demonstrates how the influences of the Cultural Revolution can change a person’s life.

Inside the Communist China after the revolution of 1949, power was consolidated in the state government. Maintaining control over everyday Chinese life, Chairman Mao pursued to inspire and introduce revolutionary ideals specifically among the youth. With the Cultural Revolution campaign beginning in 1966, youthful members like Rae Yang, sought out as a duty to protect the revolution from a backward transition into bourgeois capitalism by working as Red Guards. While introducing passionate revolutionary commitment, young revolutionaries operating as vanguards of the proletarian struggle wanted to ideologically cleanse the masses through varying strategies of violence. Violence was intended for all levels of society; Red Guards acted under the defense of Mao’s call to arms and an exceptional devotion to their progressing views of revolutionary ideals. Through Yang’s personal encounters, she advocates that the development of a culture based on premises of fear and paranoia would eventually change such justification into demanding the practice of violence as a strategy of sustaining Red Guard power and security.

Yang recalls on the ideological construction of her youth as being the foundation for her development into a successful Red Guard corps member. As the daughter of revolutionary cadres, Yang grew up in a household of Party structures and ideals. In addition to the recall of her parents’ revolutionary careers, she also writes of her familys’ living quarters and the practices taught within the jiguan, the revolutionary cadre yard compound (pg. 31). She expresses, “Everything in this big yard was a state secret” and that as she grew older, she came to “admire the unyielding revolutionary heroes and despise the traitors” (pg. 50). The order of the jiguan replicated the material manifestation of socialist order in China at the peak of Party power. The secrecy, hierarchy, and sense of ideological loyalty symbolized by the yards were attributes instilled in the youth who grew up within them. Revolutionary ideals and commitment was also instilled within the Beijing 101 Middle School. The students of the middle school were educated as the nation’s “most reliable, most courageous, and most brilliant youths” who would eventually take power at state leadership and control (pg. 92). This environmental influence placed on young Chinese, like Yang, early established their development into Red Guard ideological purists who would sincerely believe in the strict implementation of Party ideals, no matter the situation. The sense of ideological elitism at an early age prearranged the youth as perfect contenders to develop into Mao’s army of ideological purists and vanguards in 1966, expressing the little control Yang had over her direction in life; it was prearranged.

Yang growing up during the era of the Cultural Revolution played many of roles on the life she would later live. She was introduced to violence as a means of bargaining for a communist society. Her initiation into the Red Guards gave her the authority to implement the violence. Overall, she did not the live out her youth years the same way an American child in this century would, which makes this an eye-opening story on Chinese history.

The Call of the Wild and The Metamorphosis – the pursuit of money: college essay help online

Money is one of the most powerful materials in the world. In the plots of both, The Call of the Wild and The Metamorphosis, the main underlying concern for the characters is the pursuit of money. While The Call of the Wild is a story oriented around a dog, his life changes into that of a sled dog because of the search for gold. Also in The Metamorphosis, there is a search for money. The family falls into an impoverished state because Gregor, the financial provider, turns into a bug and loses his job. The effect of money is commonly shown on human relationships. However, these two stories show its effect on people and also non-human animals. The drive for money creates similar effects on nonhuman animals like arguments and controversy. In The Call of the Wild and The Metamorphosis, the drive for money through work causes violence and ultimately creates transformations in Buck and Gregor.

In The Call of the Wild, the pursuit of money is driven by gold. The sled dog owners are motivated with a “testimony” of “nuggets” as “no living man had looted this treasure house, and the dead were dead” (London 73). Men who have previously sought the gold were said to have never “looted” the treasure. Looted is a term anonymous to stealing, meaning this pursuit of money is not only dangerous but also illegal. While the search for gold is a risky endeavor of humans, due to the low probability of actually finding gold, the search for gold also has a huge impact on dogs. This search for gold is physically driven by sled dogs; “Buck and half a dozen other dogs, faced into the East on an unknown trail to achieve where men and dogs as good as themselves had failed” (73). The path to this gold is “unknown” and currently impossible as everyone else who has attempted has “failed.” The pursuit of money in all situations is simple, to make more money and gain wealth.

In The Metamorphosis, the drive of money is simply to support Gregor and his family. The family’s income up until Gregor’s transformation is solely from Gregor’s job and “his family depended on it” (Kafka 84). Gregor has the stress of keeping his family financially stable, which is a heavy weight to carry. The work life of Gregor is described quite bluntly, “The porter was a creature of the chief’s, spineless and stupid” (69). Gregor was simply just an object to his boss as he’s described with no human defying organs, like a backbone. While we do not know why Gregor suddenly woke up as a large insect we can infer it had something to do with how hard he worked or his lack of sleep. Even before his transformation, Gregor was just a mere, inanimate tool, which is considered equal to or worse than being an insect. After his transformation, Gregor’s father is forced into the workforce. Both stories are ultimately driven by money and work and create interesting effects on Buck and Gregor.

The pursuit of money causes the dog owners and the dogs themselves to become selfish and turn to violence against one another. Buck’s abuse started from the man in the red sweater and since then he no longer fears it. Buck is abused again by Francois, who “threw down the club, thinking that Buck feared a thrashing. But Buck was in open revolt. He wanted, not to escape a clubbing, but to have the leadership. It was his by right. He had earned it, and he would not be content with less” (38). The competitive lifestyle of gold rushing leads to violence inflicted upon the dogs. They need to act better and move faster. However, Buck didn’t fear “thrashing” because the dogs are also motivated to be the best at their job. This leads to interesting violence between the dogs themselves. Conflict begins when the dogs start to bully each other. The dogs are “striving constantly to start the fight which could end only in the death of one or the other” (London 24). The dogs want to be the leader of the pack and to become a leader they need to kill the others to show dominance. Money leads to foggy minds of the humans, as they lose intention and care for the dogs. The same thing is happening here with the dogs, they will fight no matter if it leads to the death of “one or the other,” meaning they do it at the cost of their own life too. The humans will abuse the dogs if it leads to money and the dogs will hurt each other if it means they will be the leader on the search for gold.

In The Metamorphosis, the drive for money leads to family turmoil and violence inflicted upon Gregor. Gregor’s father, upset because Gregor can no longer support the family financially, repeatedly threatens Gregor. In one of their first interactions, “Gregor’s father drove him back, hissing and crying “Shoo!” like a savage” (Kafka 86). Glimpsing over this sentence one might think Gregor was the one hissing, however, it was his father. His father turns to animal noises mixed with violence to scare him off. His father is also referred to as a “savage.” Savage is a word most commonly used to describe wild animals. His father is called a savage because of his violent and threatening actions. Gregor becomes deprived of life’s necessities and lives in horrible conditions. Gregor’s current physical state is described, “He too was covered with dust; fluff and hair and remnants of food trailed with him, caught on his back and along his sides” (120). While Gregor’s family’s treatment of him is violent it is also a result of their poor financial state. They may not have the time or resources to take care of him in this state anymore. Gregor is imagined having “hair and remnants of food trailed with him,” which is ironic as he is no longer a human anymore, yet appears to have hair. This hair and food trailing behind him are a representation of poverty and filth but also his old human life.

The humans’ drive for money lead Buck, in The Call of the Wild, to find a drive of his own. He senses a primitive call, which leads him to a transformation to the natural world. The gold rush led to violence among Buck and other dogs where “he fought by instinct” (London 36). Instincts are traits associated with nonhuman animals. Buck is initially drawn to the wild because of the camaraderie he feels with the wolves he crosses paths with. Buck turns this pursuit of money by the humans to a personal pursuit to kill animals. Buck experiences a high peak of vitality when killing a rabbit; “This ecstasy, this forgetfulness of living, comes to the artist, caught up and out of himself in a sheet of flame; it comes to the soldier, war-mad on a stricken field and refusing quarter; and it came to Buck, leading the pack, sounding the old wolf-cry, straining after the food that was alive” (34). Buck experiences a primitive lifestyle and turns “war-mad,” exemplifying a change of character within him. Turning into a sled dog and helping search for gold leads him on his own personal pursuit. Like money can cause humans to forget about the real world, Buck has “forgetfulness of living.” There is a “flame” and “ecstasy” resulted from connecting with the wild and from answering his “wolf-cry.” The drive of his leaders, the men, for gold led Buck to be controlled, however, he says, “the claims of man no longer bound him” (86). Buck was once bounded by “man” but was able to escape their pursuit and transform into his primitive side.

The Metamorphosis portrays Gregor’s happiness to come from his job, however, once his ability to make money gets taken away he undergoes a transformation. This fulfillment from Gregor’s work is mentioned, “he felt great pride in the fact that he has been able to provide such a life for his parents and sister[…] But what if all the quiet, the comfort, the contentment were now to end in horror” (Kafka 89)? As he looks back on his past life he finds joy in how he was the money-maker of his family. Gregor contemplates life now, replacing positive words of “comfort” and “contentment” with something extremely negative like “horror.” Gregor’s extreme drive for money ultimately led him to be a savage. His own reaction to his new image is captured, “This made him realize how repulsive the sight of him still was to her, and that it was bound to go on being repulsive” (99). This mainly expresses the extent of his physical transformation. Gregor, overworking as a stressed businessman, drove himself into a “repulsive” body. Gregor, in his words “repulsive the sight of him still was to her” makes one question how long his mother has thought of Gregor’s looks as repulsive or unsettling to the eye. Maybe this appearance was always how he was perceived as a workaholic. Money drove Gregor into a place where everyone around him depended on him, making him look like a tool or a savage, somebody with no respect for themselves. While Gregor’s obvious transformation is from human to insect, his personality and values also change. As an insect, Gregor realizes a change in self, “He felt hardly any surprise at his growing lack of consideration for the others; there had been a time when he prided himself on being considerate” (120). Gregor’s new feelings expressed in the phrase, “he felt hardly,” makes the reader first realize how worn down emotionally Gregor is without money. He worked his whole life up until this point for others, for his family.

Now that he has lost that purpose, Gregor transforms from priding himself on helping others to lacking the desire to help others.

Buck in, The Call of the Wild, and Gregor, in The Metamorphosis, are involved in violent relationships driven from the need and desire for money. This pursuit of money causes Buck to be able to pursue his own transformation into the wild and Gregor undergoes a transformation due to overworking. The effect of money is frequently looked at in relation to humans and how it changes motives, personalities, and relationships. However, these two stories are unique. They show how humans, who are driven by money, affect others, specifically nonhuman animals. Analyzing these stories around money and work show that humans’ drive for money can drastically affect the lives of others. Pursuing money made Buck find a new drive in life much like the humans’ drive for money. Also, pursuing money brought realization to how work can negatively take over and consume one’s life, like it did to Gregor and his family. Ultimately, both stories bring light to the idea of how all lives are oriented around money and how there will always be a constant pursuit for more.

Leadership Identity Paper (reflective after Leadership Program): essay help site:edu

When discussing leadership, it may seem hard to verbalize what one may appreciate in a leader. Upon my entrance into the Leadership Program, I was exposed to a wide variety of information concerning leadership, that I believe has allowed me to further explore what type of leader I hope to become. While I am aware I have not, and possibly may never fully understand my leadership identity, I do believe that with further exploration I will continue to learn more about myself and my role in relationships with others.

Like most of my peers, my childhood was a fairly average one, consisting of the normal play and exploration encountered at a young age. As an only child, I never encountered the convenience of having a playmate in the same home, so I often relied on the companionship of my neighbors. However, the number of children in my neighborhood seemed to constantly grow smaller, leaving me in the company of my parents and other neighbors in their age group. While my parents worked their hardest to make themselves present in my life, their work often came first, somewhat forcing me into a position of independence at a young age. This early independence lead my younger self to view leadership as a solitary endeavor, rather than something that requires the work and enthusiasm of a group. It was not until I began my involvement in clubs and sports that I realized the strength of a leadership really relies on the relationships between leader and follower.

Although my step from reliance to autonomy was quite fast-paced, I do believe it taught me a great amount of responsibility and gave me the confidence in myself that has allowed me to succeed throughout different stages in life. While my parents did offer love and support to me throughout my development, they did not always make the most responsible decisions. Because of this, I was somewhat thrust into the role of my parent’s caregiver and began to adopt this role in my friendships as well. As my friends and I matured throughout the years, my role as the caregiver grew along with us, and has become a pretty sedimented role I tend to play in all relationships. While I do enjoy taking care of others, I recognize that I often spend more time focusing on the needs of others over my own. Although this may not be a pressing issue, I often find myself feeling weighed down by the various complications I am attempting to resolve. Described as compassion fatigue, this feeling of exhaustion takes place in those who tend to immerse themselves in the suffering of those around them. In order to continue growing as a leader, I need to make time for handling my own problems before burying myself in the issues of others (Wren, 1995). While I do believe a good leader should be deeply involved in the lives of their followers, the leader should also maintain a sense of stability in themselves before they may offer any true help to others.

While my parents played both present and positive roles in my life, I believe my first true model of leadership was my boss, Rick Lyons. As the owner and operator of a popular local restaurant, Rick put his heart and soul into his success of his business and the morale of the staff.  Whenever a coworker was facing issues that impacted their work, Rick always made himself available to talk and attempt to understand the situation, without burying himself in their lives. It was viewing this dynamic that made me realize I could remain compassionate and concerned for others while still maintaining my own mental health. As mentioned before, I often find it difficult to draw a line between caring for someone and completely adopting their issues as my own. However, while watching Rick I was able to gain a better understanding of the necessary balance between care for others and care for self. Along with offering me a better understanding of self-care, Rick was also the first leader I viewed who maintained a level of comfort with his followers. As a young girl, I had always envisioned leaders to be cold and distanced from their followers in order to maintain a level of superiority. It had never crossed my mind that a leader could also be a friend to those around them, until I began my employment at Lunch and Supper. Although Rick was the owner of the restaurant, he treated my coworkers and I like family, often making jokes and casual conversation during slower shifts. This dynamic between him and the workers really offered a sense of warmth and belonging throughout the staff and is something I hope to cultivate in my future leader and follower relationships.

Although I have taken the Myers Briggs test before, I always look forward to reading the results, as the test offers interesting information concerning one’s natural strengths, weaknesses, and tendencies. As an ENFP, my personality type is often described as energetic, free spirited, and emotional. Extravert was my most surprising result, as I have usually been deemed an introvert in the past. While I believe I am a rather balanced mixture of both, it is possible that my entrance to college has allowed me to explore more of my extraverted side, and thus slightly changed my results. On the other hand, being more intuitive over observant was not surprising, as I have always considered myself a fairly creative person. While I do think creativity is a strength in problem solving, it is important for me to remember that not everyone learns in the same way. With such an unbalanced score between intuitive and observant, it is important for me to consider applying more practical skills in my everyday life, rather than simply relying on being innovative in times of crisis. In my opinion, the least surprising result I received was the feeling, as I feel my emotions play an incredibly significant part in my personality. While I believe being so emotionally driven does offer me an increased awareness of the feelings of those around me, it is important to recognize that this can also present itself as a weakness. As an emotional person, I do not always think with my head, and instead simply act based on what I am feeling at the time. As I go forward, it is important that I take a step back from my feelings and consider the practical implications of my choices. Finally, I was deemed the prospecting type over the judging type. As a prospecting personality, I believe I have a heightened capability when it comes to adaptation in times of stress. However, my lack of planning is also a large weakness, as it makes projects more difficult for those who work beside me. After my short time at university, I have already encountered problems around this personality trait. While my lack of critical planning may not have been a large issue in high school, I have more things to juggle in college, and have frequently found myself stressing over things that I could have handled weeks prior. As I continue to grow as a leader, I think I will focus most on this trait, as it is important to remain composed and organized while leading a larger group.

After taking the Life Values Inventory, I discovered my two most important values were belonging and concern for others. To me, the belonging value stresses the importance of belonging to, and seeking comfort in a group. As an only child with a very limited extended family, I originally never felt as though I truly belonged to any tight knit collection of people. I believe this early onset isolation is one of the main reasons I now cling so heavily to the small trusted groups of friends I create. With both parents working for the majority of my childhood, I had to explore outside my home in order to find a group that I could seek comfort in and was lucky enough to find that in a few friends. As I grew older, the individuals that I held closest changed, but the sense of belonging and safety I felt with them did not. This emphasis I place on belonging made the transition between high school and college extremely difficult, as I felt incredibly stressed without my original support group beside me. While the first few weeks on campus were difficult, I was soon able to forge new friendships and have since began creating a new group to find solace in. As I move forward in life, it is important to recognize the possible threats that can accompany maintaining individuality in a tight knit group. As a collection of friends continues to become closer, it is possible for groupthink to develop, leading the members to a minimized view of self and maximized view of the group dynamic (Wren, 1995). Despite the comfort that belonging to a group can offer, it is important to also be able to find comfort in the presence of my own person (Loehr, 2017). This comfort with self is something I have not yet mastered but hope to better understand as I grow as a leader.

Along with the value I place in belonging, I also place a large emphasis on concern for others. Even as a young girl, I was always an extremely empathetic person, often resulting in my actions being driven by my heart, rather than my head. This pattern has followed me throughout the years and is something I need to constantly monitor. Although I do believe my concern for others allows me to create more personal connections with those around me, it is important for me to maintain a sense of objective analysis in times of emotional reaction. While I have always stressed my concern for others, objective analysis was my least influential life value, and is something I intend to work on as I mature.

Although my leadership identity is nowhere near fully formed, I do believe I have a slight understanding of who I am and who I want to be to those who may follow me. In the few leadership roles I have taken, I have never been a very strong or forceful leader, as it is simply not in my nature to act in that manner. Around two years after I was hired as a hostess at Lunch and Supper, I was appointed Front of House General Manager, a role I was incredibly intimidated by due to my young age. Because I had been working there since age fourteen, I had always been referred to as the baby of the restaurant and had never really been seen as an intimidating force, making my step up to my new position much more difficult. After an extended amount of time, I was finally able to gain the respect of the staff and began noticing my coworkers actively listening to and appreciating my commentary. While I had finally gained the respect of my coworkers, I still found immense stress in delivering criticism or bad news. At a young age, I had to learn how to balance being kind for the sake of being kind and being stern with a friend or coworker in order to improve their performance. As I explored how to approach this dynamic, I often observed Rick in his communications with my coworkers. While Rick was a kind boss, there was still a level of respect that the entire staff held for him, and I knew this relationship was something I wanted to cultivate in my future leadership experiences.

In my life, the leader I most identify with is my first boss, Rick Lyons, as he was the first true leader I experienced. Because my parents never were great examples of leadership, I never truly understood what leadership consisted of, or even how to be a good leader. It was not until I began my employment at Lunch and Supper that I was finally exposed to what I believe is the type of leader I hope to become. As I have stated, Rick was the first leader I encountered that was able to balance offering compassion and receiving respect from his followers. In my time at Christopher Newport University, I hope that any leadership role I take on will be as balanced as the one I experienced with Rick.

While I do not expect to become the president of any organization on campus, I do hope to act as a leader in minor ways throughout my four years. After learning about servant leadership, I have decided to focus on refining that aspect of my own leadership identity (Komives, 2013). While I do not believe I participate in service for any malicious intent, I would like to focus my service work on others, rather than myself. It is important to remember that service is not simply fulling a certain number of hours set by the university, but rather assisting others who can no longer assist themselves. Along with this, I also hope to begin the cultivation of a growth mindset (Dweck, 2008). After discussing the difference between growth and fixed mindsets, I became aware of how far away I truly am from achieving a growth mindset. After years of focusing on simply succeeding in school and work, I fear that I have become slightly sedimented in a fixed mindset. In order to fix this, I need to begin focusing more on the journey to success, rather than the final destination. While this transition of mindsets will be incredibly difficult, I believe that with time, I will move much closer to having a growth mindset for my future.

While I recognize that I am nowhere near the point of finding my own true leadership identity, I hope to at least move a little closer towards understanding it in my four years on campus. Although I have only been away from home for one semester, I am already able to recognize changes I have made for the betterment of myself and those around me. With a better understanding of my strengths and weaknesses, I feel more prepared to continue my journey in understanding myself and how I will impact the world around me.

References

Dweck, Carol S. (2008) Mindset :the new psychology of success New York : Ballantine Books

Komives, S. r. (2013). Exploring leadership: for college students who want to make a difference. Third edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Loehr, A. (2017) How to live with purpose, identify your values and improve your leadership. Huffington Post

Wren, J. T. (1995). The leader’s companion: Insights on leadership through the ages. New York: Free Press.

Influence of Roman Catholic Religion on medical institutions

Medical institutions have evolved due to help from the Roman Catholic Religion. Leaders, specifically nuns, set precedents for how medical facilities should care for their patients. Religious groups set their focus on helping the sick. Most nonreligious people would outcast the sick. The bible tells us that God looked after the sick (Matthew 25:34-40). Roman Catholics strive to act like God in the best way they can. They thought we must not ignore the sick, but help them. Therefore, the nuns voluntarily helped poor people that were sick, without expecting anything in return. When you think of a hospital, you think of sick people, but the medical facilities ran by Catholics did more than help the sick. They cared for single mothers and children. They fed the hungry and clothed the poor. Any hospitality that one needed, they were happy to help (nursing.upenn.edu). When these religious groups came to America, they set up institutions to provide their services, which we now know today as hospitals.

The issue we have at hand here is that with the further separation of Church and state in the United States, hospitals have taken a turn and are now more readily under the supervision of the public. The focus of most medical centers is primarily monetary profit. If you are uninsured or underinsured, you most likely cannot walk into your local hospital and receive care. Hospital bills during this day and age are extremely unaffordable without insurance, which on its own, is also expensive. Therefore, many people just suffer with their illnesses. The values modeled by Roman Catholics in medicine are starting to decline.

In this paper, I will discuss the role the Roman Catholic took in medical institutions, the ways in which they sustain their identity in the medical setting today, and how medicine has changed since the public/government took leadership over most medical facilities. To do this, I analyzed 3 source and will use them to support my claims.

Many women practiced medicine throughout their towns/villages. Most of their healing was through faith and prayer. They would start to prepare a person’s soul for the meeting of God. In 1727, the French sisters of Ursuline were the first to arrive to America. Years after that, many other sisters from different countries arrived as well. They performed ministries of teaching and nursing. Hospitals arose as needed such as times of war and disaster, but they were usually temporary until the late 1700s. These hospitals had staff that was made up of mostly sisters, but they were overseen by a priest. As for the care they performed, it was mostly hands-off because they had many rules they had to follow regarding how they could touch patients. For example, sisters would deliver meals and medications. Spiritually, sisters would perform prayers and rituals. As advancements were made in science and technology, women working as nurses could further their education of medicine to provide better care for their patients (Catholic Hospitals in American Healthcare).

Today the role of sisters has changed, as well as the number of sisters in the medical industry has decreased. Members of the laity now take on the jobs that were once done by sisters. Therefore, the mission of the Roman Catholic Church is still carried out. Sister Roch said, “Now our focus has changed. We have established the institutions to go forward and are keeping them sponsored so that they are true to who we are, why we are and how we are” (osv.com). As of 2011, Catholic care hospitals account for 1 in 9 hospital beds in the United States (Pro Publica). But what exactly makes a healthcare institution Catholic? Catholic health care facilities have the goal of helping the underserved; those who wouldn’t otherwise be able to receive care. They provide “pastoral care” and “mission-related services” that wouldn’t usually be provided due to poor reimbursement from the government or other public sources (covenanthealth.net).

For medical facilities that are not ran by Catholic leaders, they are much different. Of the 5,724 hospitals in the US, about 630 are Catholic. It is difficult for the Catholic institutions to compete due to health insurance plans such as Medicare and Medicaid. In addition, as nuns retire from their leadership positions in hospitals, they are usually replaced by non-Catholic leaders (huffingtonpost). The fact that Catholic ran hospitals are declining has both pros and cons. For example, Catholic hospitals are usually in poorer areas for that people who are in need can receive deserved healthcare service. On the negative ends of things, Catholic hospitals refuse to prescribe certain medications or perform certain procedures that go against their religious beliefs. For example, Jennafer Norris experienced life-threatening conditions during her two previous pregnancies. She used birth control in the form of a IUD, but when that failed and she got pregnant again, her health started declining once again. After her emergency C-section, she asked her doctor to tie her tubes. Since it was a Catholic hospital, the doctor refused (nytimes.com). If Jennafer had gone to a non-Catholic hospital, the medical professionals could have granted her wishes. Clearly Catholic and non-Catholic hospitals have different rules and procedures that they must follow. The beliefs of the different institutions can be seen as good or bad depending on the patient’s own thoughts on the matter at hand.

Leadership, character, truth, service, community, scholarship, excellence (Liberty): writing essay help

Leadership

Leadership can be commonly described as being in a state or position of being a leader. You are providing guidance and counsel to people who respect you and are in need of your opinion. Leadership can be displayed in many different ways. You do not have to be out spoken to be a leader. You can silently lead in the way you act and the words you choose to speak with around your friends and family. You can be a leader in how you treat the people who love and care about you. If you treat people with disrespect, then people will not turn to you for guidance. People under you look up to your actions, words and how you treat others. A leader displays these qualities in a positive light and they do their best to display Christ-like character and leadership.

The word leadership comes from its root word leader. Leader comes from the old English word lædere which is defined as one who leads and one first or prominent in a team or society (Etymology Dictionary, 2001). It is a guide or conductor of a group that people can draw their attention to. The Old Frisian word ledera was given to a leader in a governmental state or in upper level society (Etymology Dictionary, 2001).

Abraham Lincoln was a historical figure that created a big difference within our country. He had to make many large decisions that would affect many people in a short period of time, but he stayed calm and collected and did not make rash decisions (Hubbard, 1998). He may have made some poor decisions, but looking at his presidency as a whole he led America to the light at the end of the tunnel during the civil war (Hubbard, 1998).

At Liberty we can act as leaders and display leadership within our classes, teams, and grades. We can lead in a positive direction that other people will want to follow. In the Upper School we have our class presidents and student body presidents but students can still be leaders within their friend groups and classes. On your teams you can lead and be an example of what the expectation in the sport looks like. As you grow older you are looked up to more in the school. As seniors we are looked as role models for the lower and middle school students. They look at us for what guidance on how to go through Liberty with a positive influence on life.

Character

Character is known as possessing mental and moral qualities that are distinctive of a certain individual. This is known as having qualities that make you unique as an individual in the human race.

The word character come from the mid 14th century word carecter meaning a symbol marked or branded on the body (Etymology Dictionary, 2001). In Old French the world caratere means a specific feature, symbol or character. We get the word character from these roots because they are meaning something that is unique to you. These features characterize you as a specific human being (Etymology Dictionary, 2001).

Character can be described as a characteristic or quality that is completely unique to you. It is something that you can be identified by. In the Bible we can compare the way we live our lives and our character to the life of Jesus (ESV). He demonstrated perfect character and He is someone we should aspire to be. He never was jealous, boastful, or hateful towards any human being or animal. Our character should show that we are disciples of the Biblical Jesus (ESV). We should be unique in our qualities and the people around us should notice that there is something different about our personalities (ESV).

In Liberty, we can use character to demonstrate the words of Christ. If we have Christ-like character, we shed a light on the dark world. If we have character of the world, then we conform to the dark ways of people who live in secular ways. Character can be large and effective changing factor in relationships, friendships, and in your leadership. In Liberty, character is something that draws attention. It can either be in a good way or in a bad way. But, people are drawn to good character. It is something that parents look for in friends for their kids, it is something teachers look for to find representatives for their subjects and it is something that administrators look for in representatives for their school and community.

Truth

Truth can be defined as something being in accordance with fact or reality and known as being true. Truth can be found from something that is validated in society or from the Word of our Father above.

Truth comes from the Old English word triewõ meaning faith, fidelity, loyalty (Etymology Dictionary, 2001). It also has a meaning of a quality of being true. Being in truth or living out truthfulness takes faith. There is no way with the human heart and human mind that we can fully live in truth with no mistakes (Etymology Dictionary, 2001). People are born with a sinful nature and we cannot live in truth without help from our Heavenly power. He will help people through anything but trust goes hand in hand with truth. Truth can be difficult for humans because we will try multiple times on our own but we will fail each time because we do not have the will power or self-discipline to fully live in truth.

Billy Graham was an evangelist that spread the gospel around our great nation and around the world (Biography.com Editors, 2018). We led many people to Christ. We lived out the truth in that he fully embraced Gods calling for him and he when full force into it with no hesitation. He displayed truth on a large scale and he was a great example of how to lie out truth with no holding back. Truth is not just telling the truth when people are counting on you to give the correct answer (Biography.com Editors, 2018). Truth is living in a way that reflects the truth of the Word of God in a positive way. It is doing the right thing when no one is looking. This means you choose to do the right thing even when no one is depending on you do to the right thing, people should just want to do it out of the goodness of their heart. This is what Billy Graham displayed (Biography.com Editors, 2018).

This is an amazing example of how people should exemplify truth at Liberty Christian School. Students, teachers, and staff members should love and treat others with respect even when no one is watching. Student should feel the conviction and not cheat in school even when they feel that no one would see. Teachers should award the correct grades to students even if they feel that no one would notice if they changed a few to make them look better as a teacher. This is living in truth and striving to live in the truth that God has provided us.

Service

Service is the action of doing work or helping someone with an act of a helpful heart. Service is doing something out of your own heart and not out of personal gain or selfish ambition.

Service derives from workers in the 1890s doing ‘servicing’ which means to perform work on or work with (Etymology Dictionary, 2001). The word service was also meant for people who needed work done on their cars, in their houses, or at their job they would call for service (Etymology Dictionary, 2001).

Martin Luther King Jr is a true servant leader (Perry, 2010). He risked his life every day to provide the best service to the people around him. He used his power for good and not to gain personal power or to boost us his ego. He created a legacy that makes him be remembered as a true servant leader. He did not make decisions to draw attention to himself, but instead he made important, lost lasting decisions that affect the country in a positive way (Perry, 2010). He put the people around him before himself and did everything with selfless intentions and made choices that affected many people forever. The choices he made truly made a difference in the community and for the people around. He was an inspiration to all people and people should strive to live in a way that made a difference and not just go through life hoping something will happen but making it happen so that people can truly make a change (Perry, 2010).

At Liberty people can demonstrate service in the little things. Such as picking up trash, taking others plates to the cafeteria, and offering help in any way possible. Service is offering help not so that someone will see, but just because you feel like you should out of the goodness of your heart. Students should not help others just so that the boy or girl they like will see them do it, but it should be done because they believe it is the right thing to do. Helping people is a big way to show love and affection towards someone because people can show that they care for someone and their needs and want to offer help in all ways that are needed.

Community

Community is defined as a group of people living together or living near one another and or having a similar characteristic in common. This could be a youth group, team, or neighborhood family.

The word community comes from the Latin word communitatem meaning fellowship, relations and or feelings (Etymology Dictionary, 2001). This could have been used to describe a division or society of people within a community. These would be people who had a common possession or enjoyed something of the same factor or style (Etymology Dictionary, 2001).

Community is something that many people strive to have and are in need of but do not always know that they need it. Community provides a safe place for people to dwell and share deep thoughts and feeling without judgment or resentment. The disciples in the Bible had community with one another because they trusted each other (ESV). They loved each other through everything and created a bond that could not be broken by things of this world. They trusted each other because they were followers of the Biblical Jesus and he bonded them together and as a group they made many changes that last even to today (ESV). They changed lives and this was only because they had community with one another and they created community with the people they met and worked with (ESV).

In Liberty it is very important to be in community with one another because together we are stronger. As students, many take difficult classes and it is important to work together as a team to build a strong school and community. Students have clubs that bring in the community to help student serve others around them and give back. It is important to give back because people at liberty are very fortunate and as a community people need to spread the love and joy that God puts inside of us through the way that we give back. At Liberty people can find community in clubs, teams, and academic activities. There is a place for every student to thrive and students can find what they need in each area of life at Liberty.

Scholarship

Scholarship can be defined as academic study or achievement and learning at the highest level. Scholarship can be earned, given or rewarded.

Scholarship comes from the Medieval Latin world scholaris meaning of a school or of a college (Etymology Dictionary, 2001). Scholarship is said to have been attained when you achieve academic excellence. Many scholars in older times were known to be the highest ranked and wisent people in the whole community and they would have many different celebrations for scholars once they would receive certain awards (Etymology Dictionary, 2001).

Albert Einstein is an amazing example of receiving scholarship (History.com Editors, 2009). He had groundbreaking studies that changes the way modern science is conducted (History.com Editors, 2009). He changed the thinking of many scientists and pushed boundaries that many people thought could not be overcome. Einstein did not grow up in an extremely wealthy family (History.com Editors, 2009). He was middle class in Germany but he worked his way up to be a respected scientist. This shows all people that if they really want something they have the opportunity to achieve it if they just work hard.

In Liberty, scholarship and academic excellence is something that is expected and wanted by both students and staff members. It is something that the school as a whole is known for. As students we are expected to uphold those standards break the perimeters that are set before people because children are always trying to be better than the person next to them.

Excellence

The word excellence can be defined as the quality of being outstanding or extremely good and have an outstanding quality.

Excellence was derived from the Old French term excellence meaning superiority, greatness and distinction (Etymology Dictionary, 2001). Also from the Latin tern excellentia meaning superiority and excellence. These terms can be defined as needing and wanting to rise above and to surpass others (Etymology Dictionary, 2001).

A good example of people who achieve excellence would be member of the National Honor Society (National Association of Secondary School Principals [NASSP], 2018). To be inducted into this community you have to be successful in academic, extracurricular activities, and volunteer projects. All of these activities come in when making the decision of being inducted (NASSP, 2018). This is why NHS has the best of the best when it comes to students (NASSP, 2018).

At Liberty, it is an honor to be inducted into NHS and it is an honor to uphold this s community for all of high school. To be in NHS you have to be responsible, successful, and honest when it come to school, sports, and volunteer opportunities. All of these things can help to achieve excellence in many different areas of life such as getting a job, preparing to buy a first home, and raising a family. All of these things will need to be considered when working on and completing these milestones in life. Each of these things serves a different purpose but they are all important to life and to the people who are the supporters.

Womenomics – using gender equality as a mask for economic motives

Introduction

According to the Global Gender Gap Report in 2017, Japan ranks 114 out of 144 countries surveyed for gender equality (Economic World Forum, 2017, p. 11). Japan specifically struggles in terms of economic participation and opportunity, and political empowerment. In recent years, particularly since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s election in 2012, the Japanese government has been taking steps to address the problem of gender equality both domestically and internationally (Gelb and Kumagai 2018). This paper will focus on domestic efforts at promoting gender equality.

There are three problems the Japanese government is trying to fix by addressing gender equality domestically: the lagging economy resulting from a labor shortage, the low birth rate that is leading to an increasingly aging society, and the image of Japan among the international community as a country that does not place emphasis on women’s empowerment (Macnaughten 2015). Abe’s economic policy, “Womenomics,” is considered to be the solution to all three of these problems, although primarily it is focused on fixing the most pressing problem of a labor shortage in the Japanese economy. “Womenomics” is focused on increasing the number of women entering the work force, staying in the work force after getting married and having kids, and advancing higher in leadership positions (Dalton 2017).

By encouraging more women to enter the work force, the labor shortage can be filled. By encouraging women to stay in the work force even after getting married and having children, women will not have to choose between a career and a family, leading to an increase in the birth rate. By having more women in leadership positions at major companies, Japan’s image internationally as a country that champions women’s rights will be recognized.

The steps taken to address the problem of gender equality domestically in Japan are superficial and ineffective, because ultimately the main goal of “Womenomics” is economic improvement rather than human rights improvement. More specifically, the policies reinforce gender norms, and they rely too heavily on the willingness of companies to voluntarily cooperate to dismantle the toxic work culture.  This paper will examine some of the specific policies enacted by the Japanese government under “Womenomics” to reveal their superficiality and ineffectiveness.

Company cooperation and toxic work culture

One of the main policies enacted by the Abe administration that displays its dependence on company cooperation for gender equality improvement is the “30% target” plan. The “30% target” plan looks to increase the status of women in the Japanese work force by creating a goal of women making up 30% of leadership positions in all sectors. As of 2012, women made up only 10% of managers in Japanese companies, compared to 43% in the United States, and 35% in the United Kingdom (Nemoto, 2013, p.515). This plan has been a goal of the Gender Equality Bureau since its creation in 2001, was reaffirmed in the Second Basic Plan for Gender Equality created in 2005, and again was confirmed in 2014 as a part of Abe’s “Womenomics” (Macnaughten, 2015, p.7; Gelb and Kumagai, 2018, p.338). While this is an admirable benchmark to aim for, the policy’s lack of actual legislation to help women reach this 30% target soon became evident. After only one year of Abe’s “Womenomics” policy, the 30% target was lowered to be only 7% in the government, and 15% in the private sector (Gelb and Kumagai, 2018, p.342). This lowering of the target numbers shows that the government knew that this goal was ineffective in actually helping women in the work force, but did nothing to fix the policy itself.  Rather than look for ways to actually motivate companies to make changes and to support women further in reaching the original targets, the government simply decreased the targets to more reasonable numbers within the male-dominated ideology of the Japanese work force.

The failure of these initiatives is partially due to the patriarchal structure of Japanese society, which manifests itself in workplace practices that inherently favor men. Some of these practices include long work hours, pay cuts following time off for childcare, and a double-track hiring system with women often confined to the clerical rather than professional track (Gelb and Kumagai, 2018). Promotions are often determined based on overtime hours and loyalty to the company; because women are expected to take care of the home and children, they cannot work overtime as long as men, and taking maternity leave is considered to be a “break” from the company (Nemoto 2013). If the government was truly interested in the human rights aspect of gender equality, they would put more pressure on companies to change these patriarchal notions in the work place to reach the original 30% goals. The government would place penalties on the companies that did not reach the goals, rather than simply decreasing the target so that it appears the companies “successfully” reached them. This policy seems to be more of a superficial publicity stunt for international recognition rather than a true attempt to improve gender equality.

Policies reinforcing archaic gender roles

The archaic belief of “separate spheres” for men and women has greatly influenced Japanese culture, particularly in the division of labor between men and women. Men are expected to be the main breadwinner, placing their job above everything else, including family. Women, on the other hand, are expected to fulfill a dual role, first and foremost as the caretaker of the children and home, but also as an ideal worker (Nemoto 2013). The policies of the Japanese government do not effectively target dismantling these archaic gender roles prevalent in Japanese businesses and society, but in fact reinforce them.

The “Womenomics” policy to expand available childcare facilities with its “zero childcare waiting-list policy” is an example of reinforcing gender roles in society. This policy looks to increase childcare capacity by 400,000 children by 2017 using a variety of methods (Chanlett-Avery and Nelson, 2014, p.415). Although increased childcare options would help relieve the stress placed on working mothers, this policy reinforces the idea that it is the woman’s job to take care of the children (Goto 2016). Additionally, Abe proposed extending childcare leave from one year to three years. This policy, similarly, does not fully address the gender equality problem; it would make it more difficult for men to accept paternal leave, and it would make it more difficult for women to return to work after a three year absence (Macnaughten 2015). A policy that was centered on human rights rather than the economy would take a more nuanced approach and attempt to increase the father’s role in raising children rather than continuing to place this responsibility on the mother. The “Womenomics” policies are solely focused on keeping women in the work force after having children, but do not adequately attack the harmful ideology of women as homemakers and men as breadwinners.

In addition to implementing policies that reinforce gender roles, Abe’s government is also failing to change existing policies that reinforce these roles. The spousal tax system, developed in 1961, is an archaic law that allows companies to pay lower wages to their married female employees (Macnaughten 2015). The spousal tax system allows a husband to claim his wife as a dependent, and the wife to claim a national pension without paying any premiums, as long as the wife’s income does not exceed 1.03 million yen (Chanlett-Avery and Nelson, 2014, p.416). Although the Japanese government attempted to change this system in March 2017, it was unsuccessful due to backlash (Gelb and Kumagai, 2018, p.343). The resistance to changing the spousal tax and social security system comes mainly from businesses who do not want to adjust employer compensation packages or be required to pay higher wages to married female workers (Macnaughten 2015). Some women also do not want the spousal tax system to change, as they enjoy the benefits and flexibility as a dependent (Macnaughten 2015). The resistance to changing this archaic and gendered policy shows the pushback from both men and women in Japanese society to change the “separate spheres” ideology of their culture. The government must work to change the patriarchal mindset of Japanese society if they want to fix the root of the problem of gender equality in Japan.

Conclusion

“Womenomics” policies employed by the Japanese government are based on archaic ideas of gender identity present in Japanese society. These policies should be challenging these ideas and biases if they are truly trying to address the problem of gender equality, rather than being solely focused on economic improvement. Additionally, the Japanese government’s policies towards improving gender equality are more aspirations and goals, with no concrete sanctions if companies do not succeed in meeting them. They are focused only on incorporating women into the economy, and not on changing the harmful work culture for both men and women. These long working hours are harmful for men as well as women. Karoshi, or suicide due to overworking, remains common in Japan among men (Nemoto 2013). Only policies that focus on changing the archaic gender roles and toxic workplace culture for both men and women will succed in improving the gender equality issue in Japan. With the current policies of “Womenomics,” the Japanese government is simply using “improving gender equality” as a mask for their ulterior motives of fixing economic problems domestically and improving Japan’s image and influence internationally.