World War I Essays - Military History By Country,

World War I The name commonly given to the war of 1914-1918, which began in Europe and was fought principally on that continent but eventually involved all the continents of the world. While the wars between Great Britain and France from 1689 to 1815 had been extended to North America, Africa, and Asia, they remained wars between European governments. The term "world war" is properly applied to the conflict of 1914-1918 because the various parts of the British Empire in all continents as well as many countries in Asia and North and South America participated in it. For the first time, all the great powers of the world were engaged: Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, and Russia in Europe; Japan in Asia; and the United States in North America. It is estimated that by the end of the war about 93 percent of the population of the world was in greater or less degree involved. The two opposing sides in the war were; The Allies Or Entente Powers Britain, France, Russia (left December 1917), Italy (entered May 1915), Serbia, Belgium, Romania (entered August 1916), USA (entered April 1917) The Central Powers Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey (entered November 1914), Bulgaria (entered 1915) THE ENTERY OF THE USA TO THE WORLD WAR I The United States was never neutral throughout The Great War, despite the President Woodrow Wilson's declaration of neutrality, and a direct declaration of war against the Central Powers was an inescapable occurrence. When war was come into existence in Europe in 1914, it was impossible for the United States, an emerging world power, to avoid conflict despite its efforts to. President Wilson immediately issued a declaration of neutrality because entering into a war would be against the prevalent progressive spirit of the time and America had a tradition of avoiding European conflicts whenever possible. Nevertheless, The United States remained completely neutral from 1914-1917. " Continued interruption of trade and travel on the seas by both the allies and central powers, especially attacks by German submarines, which was the main reason for the United States to enter the war in 1917." Great Britain's powerful navy quickly took control of the Atlantic and set up a blockade, cutting off American trade with Germany. Germany, on the other hand, attacked British supply lines with their new invention, the U-boat. The United States accepted Great Britain's blockade and stopped trade with Germany, although a demand by the United States that free trade allowed surely have been agreed to. On the other hand, instead of accepting Germany's attempt to stop American shipping to the Allies, Wilson demanded that Germany stop all attacks on American ships, but accepted nearly the same thing when perpetrated by the British. The population of America, although against involvement in the war, supported the Allied cause. This was due to both the cultural similarities and roots shared between the United States and Great Britain and the large scale British propaganda campaign in America, in an attempt to get the United States involved in the war. The propaganda along with German practices of sinking ships without giving passengers a chance to escape and attacking the neutral country of Belgium (both of which violated international law) led to an intense Anti-German sentiment throughout the population. America was clearly not a neutral country, but Americans did not wish to become directly involved in the war. German U-boats had taken many American lives with their attacks on merchant ships, including the Lusitania where 128 Americans were killed, which lead to America demanding an end to the U-boat attacks. The Germans responded by temporally ceasing submarine warfare in 1916 under the Sussex Pledge until 1917 when Germany announced the continuation of submarine warfare and ended diplomatic relations with the United States. In an attempt to eliminate the threat of American involvement in Europe, Foreign Minister Alfred Zimmerman of Germany attempted to provoke Mexico into attacking the United States with the promising her Texas, New Mexico and Arizona in return. The British decoded a message containing Zimmerman's intent and sent to the US, further swaying Americans to action. Berlin, January 19, 1917 "On the first of February we intend to begin submarine warfare unrestricted. In spite of this, it is our intention to endeavor to keep neutral the United States of America. If this attempt is not successful, we propose an alliance on the following basis with Mexico: That we shall make war together and together make peace. We shall give general financial support, and it is understood that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in New

Bacillus Anthracis essays

Bacillus Anthracis essays The bacteria Bacillus anthracis, the etiologic agent of Anthrax, is a large, gram positive, sporulating rod. Approximately 2-6 Â µm in length, this bacterium can be cultivated in ordinary nutrient medium under aerobic or anaerobic conditions. More commonly recognized by the name Anthrax, this bacterial pathogen is primarily a disease of domesticated and wild animals, particularly herbivorous animals, such as cattle, sheep, horses, mules, and goats. Humans become infected incidentally when brought into contact with diseased animals, which includes their flesh, bones, hides, hair and excrement. Recent bio-terrorism events in history dictate the necessity for a complete understanding of Anthrax and its infectious abilities. Unfortunately, the road to such discovery is long and arduous. The virulence of Anthrax depends on two factors: the bacterial capsule and the toxin complex. All virulent strains of B. anthracis form a single antigenic type of capsule consisting of a poly-D-glutamate polypeptide. The unusual poly-D-glutamyl acid capsule is itself nontoxic, but functions to protect the organism against the bactericidal components of serum and phagocytes and against phagocytic engulfment. Capsule production depends on a 60-megadalton plasmid, pX02; its transfer to nonencapsulated B. anthracis via transduction produces the encapsulated phenotype. The capsule plays its most important role during the establishment of the infection and a less significant role in the terminal phases of the disease, which are mediated by the Anthrax toxin. The Anthrax toxins are composed of three proteins: the protective antigen, the lethal factor and the edema factor. The protective antigen is an 83-kd protein that binds to the target cell receptors. Once bound, a 20-kd fragment is proteolysed, thus exposing an additional binding site. This binding site can combine with either edema factor (89-kd protein) to form edema toxin, or lethal factor...

Withdrawal Are Soliders from Iraq or Stay Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Withdrawal Are Soliders from Iraq or Stay - Essay Example The war has created an unexpectedly resilient insurgency in Iraq as well as sectarian violence. Although a new Iraqi government was formed, government in the Anbar province has collapsed and a Marine analyst has recently concluded there is nothing the U.S. can do to improve the situation politically or socially there (Ricks A01). Without a clear rationale or evidence of weapons of mass destruction, and with more proof that Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with Al Qaeda, the Iraq war is looking more and more irrelevant to the war on terror in the eyes of the American public. If U.S. troops are not somehow extricated from Iraq, it appears the situation there will only worsen. Daily bombings of U.S. troops can continue to be expected, as there seems to be no way to eliminate this type of attack. The insurgency grows stronger as a generation of people in the Middle East view the U.S. as occupiers. The growing violence between Sunnis and Shiites is increasingly endangering the ordinary people of Iraq. Opponents of pulling out of Iraq have many legitimate concerns and claims. For instance, some insist America would be admitting defeat to the terrorists by leaving Iraq. Some claim the U.S. troops are needed in Iraq in order to ensure a democratic government is established there. There is also the claim that since there have been no more attacks on American soil since 9-11, this shows that the war in Iraq is working as a deterrent. Another claim is that keeping troops in Iraq provides Al Qaeda groups with an overseas target in the ongoing terror war, making the American public safer at home, by bringing the war to the enemy. Each of these concerns and claims should be considered during a pullout of troops from Iraq. The stigma of defeat is harmful to the U.S. image, but the message sent to the world when America conducted a pre-emptive strike against a country was far more damaging to its image and set a destabilizing

Togo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Togo - Essay Example The first elected president of Togo is Sylvanus Olympio on the elections of 1960 by beating Nicolas Grunitizky, the candidate supported by France. On January 13, 1963, the Olympio government is reversed by a military putsch organized by Nicolas Grunitizky and Etienne Gnassingb Eyadema then simple sergeant. After the assassination of Olympio, Grunitizky proclaims president. Its reign will be short, because in 1967 he is relieved by Gnassingb Eyadema who decided to seize power himself. His dictatorial attitude common to many African dirigants enables him to direct the country during 38 years he dies on February 5, 2005, which will enable him to dispute to Fidel Castro the title of "dictator longest in activity". The current president is the son of the former dictator Faure Gnassinbe, having taken the capacity after "elections". From an economic point of view Togo is one of the poorest countries of Africa. The situation could however have been different. The beginnings of the Eyadema reign of were lucky as well on the political than the economical point of view. It is unfortunately an economy made a long time of corruption, amateurism and improvisations. All the models were copied with more or less failure. From the "Chinese" economical plans, without any budgetary provision, to the Israeli co-operative plan, a common point characterizes all its stages: the absence of long-term prospect and ideological or theoretical bases. In 1967 the new port stimulated the economy, the extraction of phosphate had just been grinds and the modest industrialization still started by the first president seemed to succeed. The courses of the cocoa and the coffee were excellent. During 19 years Togo will know a certain stability period and even a relative prosperity because of very great phosphate resources (4th world producer, the resources are exploited by alien companies which pay a royalty to the Togolese government). However at the end of 1982, the country is in crisis and strongly involves in debt. President does not have other choices than respect the conditions of the experts of the International Monetary International Monetary Fund as well as the World Bank and France," The purse being empty". Alas as it is current in African countries, measurements are awkwardly applied with the result that the economic situation of the country is not improved on the contrary. The agricultural revolution for example starts by the president is by a failure, until our days Togo is still not self-sufficing in food goods. It is a result which however was foreseeable; it is indeed foolish to think that one can make pass directly to tractor a farmer who, all its life, ever uses hoe and machete without any preliminary formation. Hundreds of tractors were thus bought while the hangars where they would have being preserves had not been even built. The only positive point of this revolution was a considerable increase in the cotton production, from 1959 to 1989 the production increased: 2000 to 40000 tons. The industrialization or rather the attempt at industrialization of the country was quite as catastrophic. Until the phosphates boom of the country followed a careful course of industrialization which really succeeded, however later the president launched out in a series of useless and very expensive projects which

Latin influence in America social and cultural differences in Business Essay

Latin influence in America social and cultural differences in Business - Essay Example With regard to them, inside cohesiveness is important in that they want to guarantee that there are no betrayals within business. Apart from these attitudes of loyalty and brotherhood in a business, they also tend to have a sense of fair competition which is achieved through agreeing with the competitors and setting the standard of competition. These cultural attitudes towards business are founded on the earlier foundation of Latin business which would be more included to mafia like associations with string completion which went beyond just business competition. Americans have a different culture with regard business which conducts open competition, open membership which mean that the associates of a business do not necessarily have to be close members. Dogmatic loyalty is not necessary as the business are driven by a common agreement which is professional and written on paper as per the ay the business is supposed to be run. The Latin culture has been regarded by Americans as wrong and not good for business. It has also influenced American business in a number of ways. To begin with, most of these businesses have also invested in the American economy. Most mafia-like organizations which are of Latin origin and run in accordance with Latin culture can be seen as establishing their businesses in United States America. Unlike in earlier days where such businesses would operate unofficially and in most cases illegally due to their nature which was more criminal than anything else, today most of these businesses can invest in legitimate businesses such as the real estate (Forbes, Inc). In the modern America, these mafia-like busses own a substantive amount of the real estate wealth in major cities such as Los Angeles. They are able to operate legitimately and to have assets that are legal. This has influenced the way business is done in America, especially

Are Same Sex Sexual Relationships Morally Permissible?

Are Same Sex Sexual Relationships Morally Permissible? Homosexuality has been for much of recorded human history a controversial topic, and has become even more so with the advent of religion. Most, if not all religious systems vehemently oppose homosexuality, so far as to condemn homosexuals to everlasting torture in the fires of hell. However, judging the immorality of a deed simply by referring to divine sources is fallacious; it runs contrary to established modern intellectual systems of determining what actions are right and what actions are wrong. In the twentieth century world, reason and well thought out and expressed arguments alone dictate the moral standing of deeds, and any other decision for that matter. The most appropriate method of arguing for or against an ethical issue in the context of its applicability to society is to test it against well-established moral/ethical theories and see how it stacks up. Thus, in this paper I shall argue that homosexuality doesnt contradict the major ethical theories, namely Utilitarianism , Kantian ethics (deontological perspective) followed by a rebuttal of some common arguments against homosexuality. Utilitarianism is a fundamentally consequentialist position, claiming that actions should be judged by their consequences, specifically the level of general happiness they bring about. Hence, in accordance with utilitarianism, one should evaluate the level of general happiness an action brings about versus the amount of pain/suffering it causes. All actions that increase the level of general happiness are morally permissible, and actions that bring about suffering are morally not permissible. To discuss homosexuality on utilitarian grounds, we must therefore first and foremost decide on its consequentialist standing i.e. where it stands on the utilitarian meter of increasing happiness and decreasing pain vs. increasing pain and decreasing pleasure. People who feel that that is what pleases them practice homosexuality. They do so out of personal choice and after much self-deliberation. In fact, since heterosexuality is the norm, converting to homosexuality would be akin to being a mas ochist, i.e. choosing to indulge in that which causes us displeasure in addition to having to face heavy opposition from relatives and society, and those types of homosexuals are beyond the scope of my paper. Hence, if you choose to accept that no individual who prefers a heterosexual lifestyle would adopt a homosexual one, then you agree that those who chose a homosexual lifestyle do so because it is what pleases them. Thus, homosexuality brings about pleasure to homosexuals, and so long as these homosexuals do not attempt to impose their homosexuality on heterosexuals (by harassing or raping them), then the heterosexual population has no right to claim that homosexuality causes them displeasure. For them to claim so, the only means by which homosexuality would have caused them displeasure is by disgusting them i.e. it is distasteful to their senses (since obviously it is not displeasuring them directly, it can only do so then indirectly by being distasteful). Such an argument woul d be fallacious and of the form: P1) All disgusting actions are immoral. P2) Homosexuality is disgusting. C) Homosexuality is immoral. While this argument is valid, it is unsound since the first premise is false. Not all disgusting actions are immoral. For example, collecting the trash is disgusting, does that make it immoral? Homosexuality does not cause any pain or displeasure. Stigmatizing homosexuality on the grounds that it is disgusting is faulty as we argued above. (Common arguments such as homosexual rapists harm children and other victims, homosexuality brings about STDs and so on are irrelevant since they apply to heterosexual acts in the same way they apply to homosexual actions.) Thus, homosexuality does not, and for that matter cannot, harm homosexuals. All it can do is bring pleasure to the people who willfully practice it (because it is what brings them pleasure). On utilitarian grounds, homosexuality increases pleasure (although for a specific part of the population) and does not cause any displeasure or pain. It satisfies the criteria for a moral act as outlined by the Utilitarian ethical system. Kantian ethics is a moral philosophy that is not a consequentialist one. It judges acts not by what their consequences are, but by how they hold under certain imperatives, and maintain the rational and free nature of humans. The principle of universizablity commits us to acting only on those maxims that do not lead to a self-contradictory maxim, and also, when universalized do not undermine the point of the action (class slides.) To test homosexuality against the categorical imperative we begin by formulating our maxim. Note that a common misconception is to formulate the maxim Practice homosexuality or some form of that. This is incorrect as this paper does not seek to argue that all people should be homosexuals, but rather that people that are homosexual are justified in acting homosexually. Let us suppose our maxim is Practice whichever sexual acts that bring you pleasure. Upon consideration, we see that this maxim brings about pleasure to whoever abides by it. Next we generalize this principle to a universal law and see its consequences. Assume a world where people practice whichever sexual acts please them, of course, without imposing their sexual desires on others. Such a world would be very similar to the world in which we live in, which is remarkably pleasant to live in as opposed to one that is a very morally tight society. Moreover, we note that such a maxim, when generalized does not lead to a contradictory world. Furthermore, as we shall see next, homosexuality holds under scrutiny by the principle of humanity. The principle of humanity defines a rightful or moral deed as one that does not use any other person as a mere means, but as an end in themselves. As discussed above, homosexual people choose homosexual acts because it brings them pleasure. Thus, when homosexual people indulge in homosexual activities as consenting adults, they both choose to do so. Since they both chose to indulge in this, and so long as theyre both content with this, then n either is using the other as a mere means, but as an end in themselves. To argue otherwise would be similar to arguing against other heterosexual acts. Other cases where the people do not consent to indulging in the sex are similar to cases of heterosexual people who do not consent to the sex they are having. Finally, we shall consider some common arguments against homosexuality and offer possible response to them in the context of the Utilitarian and Kantian moral theories. To begin with we shall consider the unnaturalness argument and its derivatives. A commonplace argument against homosexuality is that it is a misuse of the bodys organs. Such an argument violates the categorical imperative. To show this, let us attempt to generalize it into a universal law. We begin by formulating a maxim That action which violates the principal use of an organ is immoral. After generalizing this into a universal law, we run into a contradiction, as this yields a world we cannot live in. Consider for example applying this rule to any other body organ. The mouth is primarily for eating, and thus any other action apart from eating is immoral, and hence kissing, speaking, breathing from your mouth and so on would all become immoral. Thus the argument that homosexuality is immoral because it violates the p rincipal use of an organ is not applicable since it violates the categorical imperative. Furthermore, if the misuse of the reproductive organs is immoral because it doesnt lead to procreation, where does that place religious figures that take vows of celibacy? The nonuse of an organ is just as immoral as the misuse of one, since the immorality is based on its failure to result in reproduction. Moreover, another derivative of the unnaturalness of homosexuality argument is that homosexuality is unnatural in that it is not found in nature, i.e. animals do not practice homosexuality. First and foremost, the premise on which this argument rests is invalid, as studies have shown that there are certain animals that practice homosexuality. Moreover, basing our moral standards on the practices of animals is an incredibly fragile argument as one can easily observe that many of human practices are not practiced by animals, such as brushing our teeth, showering and so on. In addition, many prop onents of homosexuality argue that labeling homosexuality as not immoral would lead to the extinction of the human race. This argument is a gross exaggeration. An argument of the form P1) Homosexuals cannot reproduce. P2) If homosexuality were deemed not immoral then many people would become homosexual. C) The human race will eventually become extinct. Such an argument is invalid, and unsound as the second premise is faulty. If homosexuality were not to be frowned upon it does not follow that many people would become homosexuals. No heterosexual person would willfully choose to become a homosexual simply because it is not immoral to do so. This is because one chooses to indulge in homosexuality because it is a sexual preference. Moreover, while not a fundamental argument against the extinction of the human race argument, it would be thoughtful to consider whether a decrease in the rate of human reproduction would not actually be beneficial to the human society given the problems of overpopulation that we suffer from now. In conclusion, homosexuality cannot be deemed immoral as it holds under scrutiny by the major ethical systems: Utilitarianism and Kantian ethics. It increases the happiness of the homosexual community without causing any pain or displeasure to the heterosexual community. This of course is contingent upon the homosexual people not imposing their sexuality on others i.e. rape or harassment. It should be duly noted that even if some homosexuals raped or harassed other individuals, be him/her a homosexual or a heterosexual, this cannot be an argument against homosexuality per se as heterosexuals also rape and harass other heterosexuals. Moreover, it satisfies the categorical imperative in addition to the principle of humanity by not using anyone as a mere means. Homosexuals should not be discriminated against, as their sexual preference is their own personal choice, and solely their business. Given our rights to freedom of choice that we so proudly advocate and vehemently defend, we shou ld extend this right to include the freedom of sexual preference. Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio: Themes and Effects Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio: Themes and Effects Title: Discuss the implications of Sherwood Anderson’s introduction to Winesburg, Ohio: ‘The Book of the Grotesque’. Sherwood Anderson’s post-war ‘novel’ of America in microcosm, Winesburg, Ohio, was first published in 1919. Undoubtedly, the timing of the collection of linked stories all set in Anderson’s fictional ‘Winesburg’ (like Hardy’s Wessex) influenced the critical approbation it received. It represents a dislocated people torn and shattered by war: a ‘wasteland’ such as T.S. Eliot had created in his 1922 poem of that name. Like Joyce’s Dubliners (1914) the sequence of tales is connected by major themes which Anderson sees as either representative of, or a threat to, modern life. He creates a presence from an absence, a connected representative vision from a fragmented centre. Most of the themes, and their implications, on which Anderson focuses are revealed in the introductory story to the collection, ‘The Book of the Grotesque’ which was the original title of the collection. The fact that Anderson wanted to pla ce such emphasis on the ‘grotesque’ is of primary importance when attempting to locate the author’s themes and their implications. For Anderson, like the writer in the first story, ‘salvation’ from immersion into the grotesque comes not merely from the experience of moments of vision but also from the ability to incorporate them within life in order to re-vitalise it. Strikingly, theme and method interweave to create the consciousness of the visionary or surreal within the recognition of the espoused impossibility of completion. Anderson was determined that the real and the imagined should remain separate forces but also that both should maintain importance. Again, like the writer in his tale, he is constantly reminded of the intrusion upon each ‘world’ by the other and the implications of this: The distinction that he is making [†¦] is not between truth and lie, or between fiction and nonfiction, but between separate spheres of reality. Fancy for Anderson suggests imaginative and compassionate understanding of the beauty within the most grotesque of human actions.[1] The writer in the tale might survive becoming a ‘grotesque’ but he also fails to complete his writing and the immense implication of this is that even when the ‘grotesque’ is avoided, it appears inevitable that the intrusions of reality cause humanity’s plans to fail just as they are continuously altered by social, historical and political events. In a country so recently ravaged by war and about to undergo radical social upheaval, the implications of this are clear. Anderson chooses to make this implicit connection by citing the example of a man whose plans to have a carpenter alter his bed irrevocably change his life: The writer, an old man with a white mustache, had some difficulty in getting into bed. The windows of the house in which he lived were high and he wanted to look at the trees when he awoke in the morning. A carpenter came to fix the bed so that it would be on a level with the window. (p. 1). The full importance of this opening statement, with its beautifully simple syntax, does not strike the reader until much later in the story, perhaps not even until the completion of the reading of the stories as a whole. With the benefit of hindsight, the reader sees that Anderson’s theme is manifest from the first: the ‘old man’, physically impeded, desires to see further, to see ‘the trees when he awoke in the morning’, yet, what the subliminal reading invokes is that the desire to see beyond what we realise is not always present in our intentions; indeed, we may not even be aware of them. The ‘awakening’ comes not with the ‘morning’ but with the recognition of the interiorisation of longings influencing the human directive but being constantly obscured. Thus, though the ‘carpenter’ does indeed come to ‘fix the bed’ he does a lot more besides, in which the old man plays no directive part: ‘fo r a time the two men talked of the raising of the bed and then they talked of other things’ (p. 1). The ‘other things’, are what initiate the directive of the tale, as, Anderson seems to imply, they do with life, serendipity playing more of a role than we realize in our lives: Sherwood Anderson [†¦] was and still is a man of his times. His life and his career are a pictorial history of the unique mood of the modern America which produced them and made them possible.[2]. We are told that the carpenter ‘had been a soldier in the Civil War’ (p. 1) and this immediately gifts the narrative with a textual historicity which deepens its resonance (the Civil War is also referred to in another of the tales, ‘Godliness’: Part 1). Many of Anderson’s readers, after all, were within living memory of the war that split the American nation and again, its profound recognition of the nature of war, so fresh in the minds of those of the post World War era, to inflict pain beyond the immediate is recognized as significant: The carpenter had once been a prisoner in Andersonville prison and had lost a brother. The brother had died of starvation, and whenever the carpenter got upon that subject he cried. (p. 1) Again, the simplicity inestimably aids the poignancy of the telling; Anderson has no need to dwell upon the melancholy, it is self-evident. Moreover, the idea that the ‘ordinary man’, which the carpenter represents, has personal experience of the pain of loss in a past which continues to intrude upon the present; he cannot escape. Although Anderson states clearly that ‘the weeping old man with the cigar in his mouth was ludicrous’ (p. 2), avoiding the faux sentimentality of other contemporary writers, nevertheless, the writer’s plans are widely changed by him and the carpenter alters the bed ‘his own way’ (p. 2). The implication is not just that our plans are changed by present and future events but also that the past is never merely a memory but a constantly present inhabitant of life, a ‘reality’ beyond our reach to restrict or deny, and ‘stamped upon much of our contemporary fiction’[3]. Anderson has already l aid the foundation of the interchanging but ostensibly rigid boundaries of the actual and the imagined which are to cause perpetual interplay within the stories and in some sense all the characters and events are connected with himself: Sherwood Anderson is to be grouped among the most subjective of writers. He has created heroes with many different names; but each of them is the same man a projection in one direction or another of Anderson himself.[4]. Anderson begins now to build on these implications by obscuring life’s most basic and fearful boundary, death, by means of the old man’s imaginative sensibility. The carpenter has been instrumental in this, since he has brought into the narrative a death that is real, remembered and imagined; his memory is the conduit for this mutation of time and of feeling. The irony is that the author is haunted by death, yet: ‘ It did not alarm him’ (p.2 ). Death is inverted as a presence which revitalises the old man as ‘a special thing and not easily explained’ (p.2). Moreover, ‘something inside him was altogether young’ (p.2) and extraordinarily that ‘something’ is a ‘woman, young’. Anderson writes of this as like a pregnancy but what he gives birth to is an idea of the ‘grotesques’ of his previous life and relationships. Significantly, the writer switches subtly to address the reader more directly here, emphasising the idea that: It is absurd, you see, to try to tell what was inside the old writer as he lay on his high bed and listened to the fluttering of his heart. The thing to get at is what the writer, or the young thing within the writer, was thinking about. (p. 2) The ambivalent sexuality of the image is one of many which disturbed careful readers of the time, ‘back in 1919 the book was talked about only in whispers’[5].. Yet, its implications for authorship are important since an author is perpetually ‘giving birth’ and the idea of being both mother and father of his creations informs not just the sexual imagery of this story but also of others in the sequence, such as ‘Hands’ where the protagonist is accused of molestation: ‘Anderson sensed a mystery in human sexuality that defies an easy reduction’[6]. This represents a significant challenge to contemporary social attitudes towards sexuality, as women were accorded status principally allied to that of their male partners and sexual preferences were predisposed indisputably towards the heterosexual. As is typical of Anderson, he refuses to adopt or adhere to the rigidity of a society so recently war-torn and about to undergo a momentous per iod in its history from which it would not emerged unscathed or unchanged. By anticipating and pre-empting these changes, Anderson places his writing ahead of its time both in style and socio-political context. The old man in the tale now proceeds to invite into his consciousness the images of past passions, a theme he also alludes to in another of the stories, ‘Mother’. The reader is told that the old man has known people ‘in a peculiar intimate way [†¦] different from the way in which you and I know people’ (p. 3) and subsequently that ‘the writer had a dream that was not a dream’ (p. 3): this dream is the key to the subliminal implications of the tale as it is the precursor of the writing which does and does not take place: You see the interest in all this lies in the figures that went before the eyes of the writer. They were all grotesques. All of the men and women the writer had ever known had become grotesques. (p. 3). The introduction of the ‘grotesques’, not ‘all horrible’, is a pivotal moment in the tale, just as all the grotesques’ lives will be turned by such a moment in time, and the old man/writer’s perception of this is, like the reactions of the grotesques, crucial in their lives. In many ways, it is less significant that the book is not published than that it has been ‘seen’ by the author, who is gripped by ‘one central thought that is very strange and has always remained with [him]’, facilitating, we are encouraged to believe, the writing of his own book: The old man had listed hundreds of the truths in his book. I will not try to tell you of all of them. There was the truth of virginity and the truth of passion, the truth of wealth and of poverty, of thrift and of profligacy, of carelessness and abandon. Hundreds and hundreds were the truths and they were all beautiful. (p. 4) Hence, the imagined and the real feed one another but remain separate, for ‘truths’ are not the same as facts and ‘it was the truths that made the people grotesques’ (p. 5). Moreover, Anderson lays bare, here, the principal informatives of his sequence: The old man had quite an elaborate theory concerning the matter. It was his notion that the moment one of the people took one of the truths to himself, called it his truth, and tried to live his life by it, he became a grotesque and the truth he embraced became a falsehood. (p. 5) Anderson concludes his tale by making brief reference to the carpenter, one of ‘what are called the very common people’ (p. 5) yet contradicting this description by making him extraordinary as ‘the nearest thing to what is understandable and lovable of all the grotesques in the writers book’. (p. 5) Certainly, Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio set in ‘the critical decade which followed the world war’[7] can be seen as a groundbreaking novel, both in structure and content and ‘the failure of [Anderson’s] heterosexual relationships has often been cited as the reason for the â€Å"grotesque† nature of several of Winesburgs inhabitants’[8]. The stories confront issues that were to inform American writing and the socio-political post-war infrastructure as well as the realization of Modernist and post-Modernist fiction. A writer ahead of his time, Anderson is clearly shaped by the era in which he lived and was thus representative of the past, present and future as is the sequence of stories in his seminal ‘novel’ of ‘the troubled lives of the small-town individuals’[9]. Sources [1]  Adams, Timothy Dow, Telling Lies in Modern American Autobiography, (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1990), p. 44. [2]  Hatcher, Harlan, Creating the Modern American Novel, (New York: Hatcher, Farrar Rinehart, 1935), P. 155. [3] Hatcher, Harlan, Creating the Modern American Novel, (New York: Hatcher, Farrar Rinehart, 1935), P. 157. [4]  Loggins, Vernon, I Hear America : Literature in the United States since 1900, (New York: Biblo and Tannen, 1967), p. 151. [5]  Loggins, Vernon, I Hear America : Literature in the United States since 1900, (New York: Biblo and Tannen, 1967), p. 157. [6] Ellis, James, ‘Sherwood Andersons Fear of Sexuality: Horses, Men, and Homosexuality’, Studies in Short Fiction, Vol. 30, 1993 (Michigan: Gale Group). [7] Van Doren, Carl, The American Novel, 1789-1939, (New York: Macmillan, 1940), p. 334. [8] Whalan, Mark, ‘Dreams of Manhood: Narrative, Gender, and History in Winesburg, Ohio’, Studies in American Fiction, Vol 30, 2002 (Boston: Northeastern University). [9] Thomas, F. Richard, Literary Admirers of Alfred Stieglitz, (Carbondale, IL.: Southern Illinois University Press, 1983), p. 65. Bibliography: Adams, Timothy Dow, Telling Lies in Modern American Autobiography, (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1990). Anderson, Sherwood, Winesburg, Ohio: A Group of Tales of Ohio Small-Town Life, (New York: Modern Library, 1919). Angoff, Allan, American Writing Today: Its Independence and Vigor, (New York: New York University Press, 1957). Bryer, Jackson R., Sixteen Modern American Authors: A Survey of Research and Criticism, (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1974). Elliott, Emery, ed., The Columbia History of the American Novel, (New York: Columbia University Press, 1991). Ellis, James, ‘Sherwood Andersons Fear of Sexuality: Horses, Men, and Homosexuality’, Studies in Short Fiction, Vol. 30, 1993 (Michigan: Gale Group). Fiedler, Leslie A., Love and Death in the American Novel, (Stein and Day, 1966). Fisher, Philip, Hard Facts: Setting and Form in the American Novel, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987). Hatcher, Harlan, Creating the Modern American Novel, (New York: Hatcher, Farrar Rinehart, 1935). Loggins, Vernon, I Hear America : Literature in the United States since 1900, (New York: Biblo and Tannen, 1967). Noe, Marcia, ed., Exploring the Midwestern Literary Imagination: Essays in Honor of David D. Anderson, (Troy, N.Y.: Whitston Publishing Company, 1993). Thomas, F. Richard, Literary Admirers of Alfred Stieglitz, (Carbondale, IL.: Southern Illinois University Press, 1983). Wagenknecht, Edward, Cavalcade of the American Novel: From the Birth of the Nation to the Middle of the Twentieth Century, (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1952). Whalan, Mark, ‘Dreams of Manhood: Narrative, Gender, and History in Winesburg, Ohio, Studies in American Fiction, Vol 30, 2002 (Boston: Northeastern University). Van Doren, Carl, The American Novel, 1789-1939, (New York: Macmillan, 1940).

Hitlers Weltanschauung (world View) :: essays research papers fc

In the early quarter of the twentieth century, a young man was beginning to fill his mind with ideas of a unification of all Germanic countries. That young man was Adolf Hitler, and what he learned in his youth would surface again as he struggled to become the leader of this movement. Hitler formed views of countries and even certain cities early in his life, those views often affecting his dictation of foreign policy as he grew older. What was Hitler's view of the world before the Nazi Party came to power? Based in large part on incidents occurring in his boyhood, Hitler's view included the belief that Jews should be eliminated, and that European countries were merely pawns for him to use in his game of world dominion.Adolf Hitler grew up the son of a respectable imperial customhouse official, who refused to let his son do what he was most interested in-art. Hitler never excelled in school, and took interest only in art, gymnastics and a casual interest in geography and history due to a liking he had taken to his teacher. It was his history teacher who would fill Adolf's mind with a simple thought: "The day will come, that all of us, of German descent, will once more belong to one mighty Teutonic nation that will stretch from the Mediterranean to the Baltic, just like the Empire of the Middle Ages, and that will stand supreme among the peoples of this earth." Already the young Adolf could envision himself in such a position.Much of the ideology that Adolf Hitler used was not original by any means. There were many thinkers and writers who laid the groundwork for what would become not just Hitler's, but the Nazi Party's Weltanschauung (world view). Three primary writers were Dietrich Eckart, editor of a harshly anti-Semitic periodical, Auf gut deutsch (Agd), Alfred Rosenberg, a Baltic German and contributor to Agd, and Gottfried Feder, an opponent of finance capitalism. These three men molded the political outlook of the German Worker's Party before Hitler encountered it in 1919, and would become quite influential in Adolf's ideology. Rosenberg contributed largely to Hitler's view of the Jews on an international perspective, suggesting the existence of a Jewish conspiracy to overthrow established nation-states on a worldwide scale. In 1924, Hitler proclaimed that he had departed from Vienna as an absolute anti-Semitic, a deadly enemy of the whole Marxist outlook, and as a Pan-German in his political persuasion.

Geert Hofstede Organization Culture Essay

I. Analysis Every one of us already realizes and knows that we are living in a global age. Technology has brought everyone much closer together. This means that people of different cultures find themselves working together and communicating more and more. This is exciting, but it can also be frustrating and fraught with uncertainty. How do you relate to someone of another culture? What do you say, or not say, to start a conversation right? Are there cultural taboos that you need to be aware of? Building connections with people from around the world is just one dimension of cultural diversity. You will also need to factor it into motivating people, structuring projects, and developing strategy. Of course there are so many question on our head how can we understand cultural differences? Are we relegated to learning from our mistakes, or are there generalized guidelines to follow? Fortunately, psychologist Dr. Geert Hofstede asked himself this question in the 1970s. What emerged after a decade of r esearch and thousands of interviews is a model of cultural dimensions that has become an internationally recognized standard. Before we talk about the theory further further let us know more about Geert Hofstede deeper. Geert Hofstede, a widely known Dutch researcher of culture, has defined culture as â€Å"the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another.† During 1978-83, he conducted detailed interviews with hundreds of IBM employees in 53 countries. Through standard statistical analysis of large data sets, he determined patterns of similarities and differences among the replies. From this data analysis, he developed five dimensions of culture. In the 1990s, Hofstede published results of his research in publication Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind. Initially he developed four dimensions in culture, but added a fifth dimension in 1991. Moreover Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory is a framework for cross-cultural communication, developed by Geert. It describes the effects of a society’s culture on t he values of its members, and how these values relate to behavior, using a structure derived from factor  analysis. The theory has been widely used in several fields as a paradigm for research, particularly in cross-cultural psychology, international management, and cross-cultural communication. The original theory proposed four dimensions along which cultural values could be analyzed: individualism-collectivism; uncertainty avoidance; power distance (strength of social hierarchy) and masculinity-femininity (task orientation versus person-orientation). Independent research in Hong Kong led Hofstede to add a fifth dimension, long-term orientation, to cover aspects of values not discussed in the original paradigm. In the 2010 edition of Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind Hofstede added a sixth dimension, indulgence versus self-restraint, as a result of co-author Michael Minkov’s analysis of data from the World Values Survey. Before we jump further, let us see what is the identification of culture itself in terms of Hofstede termination, culture to be mental programming of the mind: every person carries within him or herself patterns of thinking; feeling; and potential acting which were learned throughout their lifetime (Hofstede, 2005 p4). He identified 3 layers of mental programming that are: individual, collective and universal. Based on these 3 layers he constructed his culture triangle (see figure 1). The Individual level (personality) is focused on the mental programming exclusive to each person. Hofstede suggests that this level is at least partly inherited. The Collective Level (culture) is focused on the mental programming that is learned from others, that is specific to a group of people. The Universal level (human nature) is focused on all humans, and is also likely inherited: instincts for survival et cetera. Figure 1: Hofstede’s Culture Triangle With access to people working for the same organization in over 40 countries of the world, Hofstede collected cultural data and analyzed his findings. He initially identified four distinct cultural dimensions that served to distinguish one culture from another. Later he added a fifth dimension, and that is how the model stands today. He scored each country using a scale of roughly 0 to 100 for each dimension. The higher the score, the more that dimension is exhibited in society. The Five Dimensions of Culture Armed with a large database of cultural statistics, Hofstede analyzed the  results and found clear patterns of similarity and difference amid the responses along these five dimensions. Interestingly, his research was done on employees of IBM only, which allowed him to attribute the patterns to national differences in culture, largely eliminating the problem of differences in company culture. The five dimensions are: 1. Power/Distance (PD) This refers to the degree of inequality that exists – and is accepted – among people with and without power. Power distance is the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally.† Cultures that endorse low power distance expect and accept power relations that are more consultative or democratic. A high PD score indicates that society accepts an unequal distribution of power, and that people understand â€Å"their place† in the system. Low PD means that power is shared and well dispersed. It also means that society members view themselves as equals. Application: According to Hofstede’s model, in a high PD country such as Malaysia (104), you would probably send reports only to top management and have closed-door meetings where only select powerful leaders were in attendance. PD| Characteristics| Tips| High PD| * Centralized companies. * Strong hierarchies. * Large gaps in compensation, authority, and respect.| * Acknowledge a leader’s power. * Be aware that you may need to go to the top for answers| Low PD| * Flatter organizations. * Supervisors and employees are considered almost as equals.| * Use teamwork. * Involve as many people as possible in decision making.| 2. Individualism (IDV) This refers to the strength of the ties people have to others within the community. A high IDV score indicates loose connections. People have large extended families, which are used as a protection in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. In countries with a high IDV score there is a lack of interpersonal connection, and little sharing of responsibility beyond family and perhaps a few close friends. A society with a low IDV score would have strong group cohesion, and there would be a large amount of loyalty and  respect for members of the group. The group itself is also larger and people take more responsibility for each other’s well being. Application: Hofstede’s analysis suggests that in the Central American countries of Panama and Guatemala where the IDV scores are very low (11 and 6, respectively), a marketing campaign that emphasized benefits to the community or that tied into a popular political movement would likely be understood and well received. This talks about how much a society sticks with values, traditional male and female roles. Masculine cultures’ values are competitiveness, assertiveness, materialism, ambition and power, whereas feminine cultures place more value on relationships and quality of life. In masculine cultures, the differences between gender roles are more dramatic and less fluid than in feminine cultures where men and women have the same values emphasizing modesty and caring. High MAS scores are found in countries where men are expected to be â€Å"tough,† to be the provider, and to be assertive. If women work outside the home, they tend to have separate professions from men. Low MAS scores do not reverse the gender roles. In a low MAS society, the roles are simply blurred. You see women and men working together equally across many professions. Men are allowed to be sensitive, and women can work hard for professional success. Application: Japan is highly masculine with a score of 95, whereas Sweden has  the lowest measured value (5). According to Hofstede’s analysis, if you were to open an office in Japan, you might have greater success if you appointed a male employee to lead the team and had a strong male contingent on the team. In Sweden, on the other hand, you would aim for a team that was balanced in terms of skill rather than gender. MAS| Characteristics| Tips| High MAS| * Men are masculine and women are feminine. * There is a well-defined distinction between men’s work and women’s work.| * Be aware that people may expect male and female roles to be distinct. * Advise men to avoid discussing emotions or making emotionally based decisions or arguments.| Low MAS| * A woman can do anything a man can do. * Powerful and successful women are admired and respected.| * Avoid an â€Å"old boys’ club† mentality. * Ensure job design and practices are not discriminatory to gender * Treat men and women equally.| 4. Uncertainty/Avoidance Index (UAI) This relates to the degree of anxiety that society members feel when in uncertain or unknown situations. High UAI-scoring nations try to avoid ambiguous situations whenever possible. It reflects the extent to which members of a society attempt to cope with anxiety by minimizing uncertainty. People in cultures with high uncertainty avoidance tend to be more emotional. In contrast, low uncertainty avoidance cultures accept and feel comfortable in unstructured situations or changeable environments and try to have as few rules as possible. People in these cultures tend to be more pragmatic, they are more tolerant of changeThey are governed by rules and order and they seek a collective â€Å"truth.† Low UAI scores indicate that the society enjoys novel events and values differences. There are very few rules, and people are encouraged to discover their own truth. Application: Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions imply that when discussing a project with people in Belgium, whose country scored a 94 on the UAI scale, you should investigate the various options and then present a limited number of choices, but have very detailed information available on your contingency and risk plans. (Note that there will be cultural differences between French  and Dutch speakers in Belgium.) 5. Long Term Orientation (LTO) This is the fifth dimension that Hofstede added in the 1990s, after finding that Asian countries with a strong link to Confucian philosophy acted differently from Western cultures. In countries with a high LTO score, delivering on social obligations and avoiding â€Å"loss of face† are considered very important. This refers to how much society values long-standing – as opposed to short-term – traditions and values. It describes societies’ time horizon. Long-term oriented societies attach more importance to the future. They foster pragmatic oriented towards rewards, including persistence, saving and capacity for adaptation. In short term oriented societies, values promoted are related to the past and the present, including steadiness, respect for tradition, preservation of one’s face, reciprocation and fulfilling social obligations. Application: According to Hofstede’s analysis, people in the United States and United Kingdom have low LTO scores. This suggests that you can pretty much expect anything in this culture in terms of creative expression and novel ideas. The model implies that people in the U.S. and U.K. don’t value tradition as much as many others, and are therefore likely to be willing to help you execute the most innovative plans as long as they get to  participate fully. (This may be surprising to people in the U.K., with its associations of tradition.) LTO| Characteristics| Tips| High LTO| * Family is the basis of society. * Parents and men have more authority than young people and women. * Strong work ethic and high value placed on education and training.| * Show respect for traditions. * Do not display extravagance or act frivolously. * Reward perseverance, loyalty, and commitment.| Low LTO| * Promotion of equality. * High creativity, individualism. * Treat others as you would like to be treated. * Self-actualization is sought.| * Expect to live by the same standards and rules you create. * Be respectful of others. * Do not hesitate to introduce necessary changes.| The latest one that has just been added by Geert itself is Indulgence versus restraint (IVR): The extent to which member in society tries to control their desires and impulses. Whereas indulgent societies have a tendency to allow relatively free gratification of basic and natural human desires related to enjoying life and having fun, restrained societies have a conviction that such gratification needs to be curbed and regulated by strict norms. II. Implication After the publications of the theory I especially directly know the evidence that organization or family are different from each other, we used to believe that deep inside all people everywhere anytime are the same. In fact, as we are generally not aware of other countries’ cultures, we tend to minimize cultural differences. This leads to misunderstandings and misinterpretation between people from different countries. Instead of the convergence phenomena, cultural differences are still significant today and diversity tends to increase. The in order to be able to have respectful cross-cultural relations, we have to be aware of these cultural differences. So here I would like to analyze of those 5-dimension theory of Geert Hofstede and also the spirit of leadership in the application of my community, organization, and family. First, regarding  to the power or hierarchy, I can see that the organization even family I had now is got very high score of power or hierarchy. Asian co untry especially south East Asia country included Indonesia widely known as the east part of the world has very long hierarchy process in organization. It needs to follow so much unbiased rules and regulation that never existed in western country. Another thing in my organization or family is centralized meaning the leader is everything; the leader in a group or family (parents, father especially) can do what they want. They take control of every single thing and execute all of things that they think it is right to be executed. The leader power here is also get tons of acknowledgements of power also compensation, authority, and respect in the way they behave in the community. And not many things you can really do over there unless you have top Harvard quality student of opinion or sight. Second, it is regarding to the individualism. This individualism model can be positive or negative. Its position is more in the between good and bad, depends on the condition that an individual face. Widely known in Indonesia that it has relatively low score. Indonesia as part of the Eastern country world is very low on facing the condition of being individual. It also here in my organization and family where the entire member included leader and sub ordinaries are not really independent in terms of individual people’s eye. They here one hundred percent have totality in suppress feelings and emotions to work in harmony Besides that tradition are the main habit of my community to be respected even it cost slow changes. This thing is also inter-related with showing respect for age and wisdom. Another good thing about having low individualism is the willing of my mates in emphasizing on building skills and becoming master or pro of a specific skill on something detail. They also have very high appreciation of intrinsic rewards. Lastly what I have been seeing in the community I have been involved in that they really support the creation of harmony in the community even it needs to scarify the honesty. Third thing is masculinity. Once again as the historical and geographical background of most Indonesian majority is Islamic people which really praise the superiority of men. Same also with the minority, Chinese people of Indonesian really put more eyes on men compared to women. Men in Indonesia  can be said has higher status than the women. They are different from each other. Both men and women is really distinguish and well defined in work, job, attitude, and behavior in the neighborhood. Some people really praise this condition so they really have high expectation on putting men over women which men advised is really being a high terminology on discussing emotion or making emotionally based argument even decision. Fourth, regarding to the uncertainty method, what I face in my organization or family is really in between. I really mean that it is in the middle, not really high not even low. But somehow if it is calculated deeply I can conclude it is more on the low side with the c omparison of 60:40 for low uncertainty. I can say it is low because there is some informal business attitude in executing the activities in family even organization. They act not really formal like in army but it is more enjoyable and fun but still serious. Then another why I say it is informal that mostly the organization mates do not really impose rules or structure unnecessarily. Besides that also can be seen there is minimization in controlling emotional response by being calm and contemplating situations before speaking. Las thing is people do not really afraid of expressing curiosity when some differences or irrelevant concept found. Another supporting condition but not I found which also make the 40 percent disagreement are there are more concern with long term strategy than what is happening on a daily basis and also accepting of change and risk. Both thing are hardly founded in my organization, they prefer to be stick on what have drawn before. Fifth is regarding to the long-term orientation that has been just added by Geert. This condition is 100 percent high. Easily founded everywhere not only in my organization and family that family, family, and family is based on everything in the society. It should be on the top of priority compared to another element in the society. In the family itself parents especially has absolute power and authority compared another member which also another member without demanded give respect for tradition terms. Another thing that the terms of an individual displaying extravagance or acting frivolously is reaching zero percent in behavior action that has high reward perseverance, loyal, and total commitment. This condition exactly leads to strong work ethic and high valued placed on the training and education. Last method is just recently developed can be said not really playing important role but worth slightly  to be discussed which is indulgence versus restraint. This is quite high in Indonesia that everyone needs to control desire and also impulses of what there flesh demand. In other word in organization, family, group, and also community that I have been involved in in Indonesia are being super strict to many traditional views of law and norm that exist in neighborhood which also the inheritance of the ancestor created and did. So being totally freedom as in the heaven is hardly found. III. Conclusion The creation of this theory really become valuable for everyone as there is differences between culture in family and also organization from one and other. Thus people can prepare for it. Another thing of this creation model theory can provide us the chance of demonstrating management competencies such as personal motivation, time management, organization and communication. The knowledge we get also important to evaluate and compare community, organization, management, nation, continent, and an era. Furthermore it is hoped that the skill and ability gained from this paper can be added to rich our multi cultural point of view and be useful from high value consulting standpoint.

Short Selling Essays

Short Selling Essays Short Selling Essay Short Selling Essay Short selling Short selling is a practice of selling a borrowed security that the seller does not necessarily own. Short sellers are generally betting that the price of security will go down, and  assume that they will be able to lock of short selling Short seller borrows the security for a given fee and sells it short on the market for Rs 40000. If tomorrow the price of security drops to Rs 38000, short seller could buy it back in order to return the security and lock a profit of 2000 (the price difference between 40000 and 38000), less the borrowing fee. Islamic Point of View Short selling is prohibited (Haram) from the Shariah perspective. Shariah scholars found several reasons behind which, short selling is considered haram, and the reasons are as follows:- 1- selling something you doesn’t own:-In Islamic transactions; to sell something you must first have the ownership of what is being sold or the subject of the sale. Therefore in order to sell a security, the security must be owned by the seller and not borrowed which is the case in short selling. 2- Riba:-Short selling is associated with the conventional borrowing and lending system of securities which includes a series of interest-based charges for services, and interested payments on borrowed securities. And as we all know, charging interest on services and borrowed securities is considered as Riba. 3- Speculation: Since short sellers are watching out for fluctuations in the markets, to sell the share at a higher price and buy it back at a lower price and pocket the difference. Speculation has been perceived negatively due to its resemblance with gambling. 4- Gharar/ Ghobun :- there is uncertainty in the contract and the buyer is also deceived. 5- unjust deeds Hamish Jiddiya Token money, down payment  by a party  intending to purchase certain goods who wishes to confirm the intention to do so by paying an amount to the seller as token money or down payment to secure the goods. Hamish Jiddiya is a collateral given for a promise to purchase. If the buyer is not proceeding to purchase, the seller can demand compensation for the actual damage, if the collateral is higher, the buyer receives an amount back, if the actual damage is higher, the the seller can demand additional compensation above the collateral. Arba’un The term Arba’un means an amount of money that the customer as purchase orderer pays to the Bank after concluding the Murabahah sale, with the provision that if the sale is completed during a prescribed period, the amount will be counted as part of the price. If the customer fails to execute the Murabahah sale, then the Bank may retain the whole amount. Waqf A Wakf is an unconditional and permanent dedication of property with implied detention in the ownership of God in such a manner, that the property of the owner may be extinguished and its profits may revert to or be applied for the benefit of mankind except for purposes prohibited by Islam. Examples of Waqf Land Buildings: one or more persons provide Cash as waqf to purchase land and buildings, e. g. a small shopping complex. Once the complex is purchased, the property may be classified as a waqf property and waqf rules apply. The property may not be sold (except to replace), be gifted, or inherited. The property remains intact and may not be spent. The rental income that is produced by the complex may be used for any shariah compliant purpose. Valid contract The remedy of specific performance presupposes the existence of a valid contract between the parties to the controversy. The terms of the contract must be definite and certain. This is significant because equity cannot be expected to enforce either an invalid contract or one that is so vague in its terms that equity cannot determine exactly what it must order each party to perform. It would be unjust for a court to compel the performance of a contract according to ambiguous terms interpreted by the court, since the court might erroneously order what the parties never intended or contemplated. Example A homeowner (who is over the age of 18 and of sound mind) signed a contract with the appliance store to buy a refrigerator. The homeowner pays for the refrigerator and the appliance store presents the refrigerator for the homeowner to take home. Void contract A void contract is not a contract and has no effect in a court of law and cannot be enforced in a court of law. Most commonly, a void contract will be missing one or all of the essential elements needed for a valid contract. Neither party needs to take action to terminate it, since it was never a contract to begin with. Example A contract that was between an illegal drug dealer and an illegal drug supplier to purchase a specified amount of drugs for a specified amount. Either one of the parties could void the contract since there is no lawful objective and hence missing one of the elements of a valid contract. Voidable Contracts A voidable contract is a contract, which may appear to be valid, and has all of the necessary elements to be enforceable, but has some type of flaw, which could cause one or both of the parties to void the contract. The contract is legally binding, but could become void. If there is an injured party involved, the injured party or the defrauded must take action, otherwise the contract is considered valid. Example A contract entered into with a minor could be voidable. Bai Tawliyah Bai Tawliyah Is a sale and buy-back agreement, is a type of Islamic finance that is a banking activity that is congruent with Shariah, which are the principles of Islamic law. Bai Tawliyah is a part of Islamic finance, such as a Muslim mortgage, where there is transaction of buying and selling between the customer and the financial institution. The financial institution, or the financier, will purchase an asset from a customer and the price that they pay for the asset will be disbursed by the terms that the financial institution lays out. Because of this the asset that is purchased is one that the payments are deferred and the price paid will be done so in installments. The second sale in this type of Islamic finance is done so in order to make the customer obliged to the financial institution. Commutative contracts Commutative contracts are those in which what is done, given, or promised by one party is considered same as the other or in consideration of what is done, given or promised by the other. A contract of sale is an example of a commutative contract. Put in a simple form, commutative contracts are contracts where the contracting parties give and receive something similar or an equivalent. An Example is a sale at less than two thirds of the value. Non-Commutative contract A non-compensatory contract in which a property is donated by one party to another against no consideration. The donor transfers ownership of the property to the done free of any commitment or obligation. Refrences ukessays. com/essays/economics/short-selling. php http://jazaa. rg/knowledge-center/islamic-finance-terminology/h/hamish-jiddiyah/ almustafatrust. org/content/Donate/Islamic/types/waqf. htm http://legal-dictionary. thefreedictionary. com/Valid+Contract trainagents. com/DesktopModules/EngageCampus/CourseContent. aspx? ModuleType=StudentMyCourses;CrsPageType=Topic;CourseRecordID=107;LessonRecordID=1372;TopicRecordID=24861;Demo=True http://definitions. uslegal. com/c/commutative-contracts/ http://majdbakir. com/islamic-finance/n/noncommutative-contract . html

TQM Process Improvement Strategies Essays

TQM Process Improvement Strategies Essays TQM Process Improvement Strategies Essay TQM Process Improvement Strategies Essay Name: Course: Instructor: Date: TQM Process Improvement Strategies There is an unprecedented increase in the level of competition in the various business fields and markets. This has been driven largely by the presence of technological improvements and changes in the consumer needs resulting in diversified products for satisfaction of such consumer needs and wants. Hence, in an increasingly competitive society, in the business world, there is a dire need by organizations and modern manufacturers to ensure continued evaluation of their management principles. Constant evaluation of the existent strategies of management, operation and other practices in the organization aims at providing the highest management process in line with the trends in the market in terms of changes. Hence, success in the modern business world is achieved through efficiencies brought about by improvements through total quality management. Essentially, total quality management is defined as the chronological approach used by management in continuous improvements in operations, organizational process and functions. This is usually achieved by understanding the consumer needs and wants and striving to exceed such consumer expectations through efficiencies in the organizational processes. In addition, the main objectives for the use of TQM are to ensure adequate focus on the consumer, continuous improvement of the organizational processes, and participation of all individuals in the organization, in the TQM activities (Gupta, Shakti Kant, 2). Accreditation is an essential asset to an organization irrespective of the field of operation. Hence, organizations usually select and aim for goals, which are realistic and achievable with the resources available to the organization. Establishment of standards enables an organization achieve the select goals and objectives and thus in the process ensuring the satisfaction of the consumer needs and wants. Hence, the presence of goals with respect to the existent standards provides managers in an organization with the opportunity to focus on achievement of such on a holistic platform. Hence, daily activities in the organization are relegated to the lower hierarchal executives for execution. This focus is essential as it entails the need for constant evaluation of the existent standards and goals in the organization (Imai, 19). The effectiveness or appraisal of the standards in existence, in an organization, is evaluated through the focus on either the structural aspect or the outcomes because of the existent standards. Accreditation programs in the contemporary organizations focus on three essential aspects in the execution of tasks in the organization. The first is the focus on the structural aspect of the issue of services or the development of products. The second is the focus on the process aspect in an organization. The third and last focus is on the outcome of the procedures in the organization during execution of tasks (Gupta, Shakti Kant, 5). Accreditation is usually used as a means of achievement of quality in the organization. Accreditation programs in organizations play a significant role in continued updating of standards of quality in any organization. Continued evaluation and subsequent improvements in organizational processes and products is essential for the achievement of the consumer satisfaction. This is achieved because of the guaranteed high quality, considerable costs and the delivery of the service by an organization. This is a means of seeking and subsequently achieving and ensuring consumer satisfaction. Hence, the means of constant evaluation of the existent goals and standards in organizations is a means of ensuring the achievement of competitive advantage. Thus, the improvement of quality in the organizational processes and thus ensuing that the efficiencies accrue numerous benefits to the organization such as reduced process costs, increased profitability, better consumer relationships from satisfaction through high quality goods and services and the achievement of a strong brand image. Hence, improvements are used to align the existent resources such as the skills, labor and funds with the organization’s strategic goals and objectives (Gouranourimi, 48). For instance, manufacturing organizations around the world have increased their use of Total Quality Management practices and business process re-engineering (BPR) programs aimed at achievement of the consumer satisfaction. The advantages accrued form the use of such programs is the need to ensure a strong relationship based on consumer experiences. Consumer experiences are essential in that they determine they determine the relationship of the organization with the existent consumers of the services and products issued by the organization. It is an express indication of the ability of the organization to provide high value goods and services that provide the much needed consumer satisfaction. In an organization, the management is tasked with initiating and talking up the act of decision-making in order to align the organizational processes with the organizational goals and objectives. This is considered as the provision of the strategic direction with the aim of accruing long-term results, which are usually achieved in terms of the financial position of the organization. This entails the decision-making in terms of the competitive priorities of the organization, the policies used in the various processes in the organization and other sectors, as well (Powell, 21). The second phase is the improvement planning which involves the identification and prioritization of the improvement actions, which essentially contribute to the achievement of the overall strategic goals and objectives. Improvements could take the form of new designs or ensuring continued improvements in the organizational processes to achieve the goals and objectives of the entity in its market of operation. Essentially improvement projects are selected based on their levels of contribution to the organizational efficiencies and effectiveness of the processes in the competitiveness of the organization in its market of operation. Prioritization of such essential processes provides the organization with the much-needed focus for the achievement of the strategic goals and objectives. It is also essential to ensure refined select competitive priorities, which should undergo continuous improvement (Powell, 21). This is also actualized on continued investigations into the consumer needs, wants, expectations and preferences and how such relate to the performance of the organization when compared to other organizations in the market of operation. Additionally, the processes, which are prioritized for continuous improvement, are selected based on their level of impact related competitive priorities of the organization identified for improvement. TQM is a process, which applies quantitative models and human resources to improve the resources supplied by an organization to the consumers. Such ensures that the consumers of the goods and services are the primary targets of the TQM processes and activities. The execution and implementation of the TQM strategies has several salient features. Such include the presence of a distinct approach or TQM model, elements of quality in the process, the leadership in the TQM processes, multifaceted and dimensioned approach in the TQM process for maximization of the benefits or results of the process. Leadership in an organization is essential to ensure the success of the TQM processes. Leadership is at times characterized as animalistic in terms of the approach used by the organization. Commitment from the top management of the hierarchal order of the organization in terms of provision of the direction of the TQM processes. Good management is essential in the processes to ensure the achievement of the organization’s strategic goals and objectives. Involvement of the organization’s top management falls as a critical aspect in the TQM processes because of the issue of guidance and direction in the entire process. The involvement of top management ensures the ability of evaluation of all the organizational processes to gain information of the priorities in the organization. Such priorities are related to the relationship of the organization with consumers and the entire market in general. They usually provide the direction in terms of obvious areas as which accrue larger costs to the organization. Additionally other issues such as quality of services and products rest with the various organizational departments (Powell, 27). The commitment of the management should be driven by a strong desire by the organization to ensure improved quality in the processes, services and products to consumers for eventual satisfaction of the consumer needs and wants. TQM results usually focus on the presence of long-term benefits. Hence, there is a dire need to delegate duties, responsibilities and tasks to the senior mangers for the overall achievement of the strategic goals and objectives. Such should also be replicated in the entire organization to ensure that all employees are in active participation, in the TQM processes. Top management provides monitoring and control as it acts as an oversight authority towards the achievement of the possible benefits of the TQM process. Management also provides direction in terms of the corrective actions required as well as the adoption of new processes in the organization from the TQM processes. The involvement of the top management of the organization is essential in TQM in that it enforces the gravity of the need for evaluation of the processes in the organization using TQM processes. Contemporary organizations identify that customer needs, wants and expectations in terms of the services and products provided by the organization are the primary drivers of the need for evaluation of the processes in the organization. Additionally, connection between the improvement deployment process and the strategic competitive priorities of the organization is needed. TQM focuses on the presence of incremental changes and the eventual improvement, even though gradual, of the process in an organization. Such could be considered as a forward-looking approach as it aims at the achievement of positive results (Gouranourimi, 49). The results of TQM are usually measured best from an economic perspective. Such effects could lead to bankruptcy or financial success based on the approach used in the TQM process. Results of TQM are at times determined by the resources held by an individual organization. The differences in terms of results and benefits are due to the presence of imperfect imitability. This means that organizations are exposed to different conditions and resources leading to the difference in circumstances and thus the results of the TQM process. This is brought about by the presence of what is described as isolating mechanisms. Isolating mechanisms include time compression diseconomies whereby issues such as skills and experience may take longer to accrue leading to slow realization of the benefits of the TQM process (Imai, 41). Others include the presence of connectedness of resources in that an organization might acquire resources, which might require additional resources, which an organization mi ght be unable to achieve or acquire. Hence, resources cannot be imitated by an organization resulting into varied benefits of possibly failure of the TQM. TQM requires dedication in terms of the allocation of resources by the organization for actual achievement of the goals and objectives in target by the organization. The goals and objectives should be formulated with respect to the available resources. Dedication of the resources is based on the uniqueness of the organization in terms of its ability to achieve the provided goals and objectives form the use of the TQM (Yousaf, 9). This requires adequate top management involvement, as well as the general employee population in terms of understanding their roles in the achievement of the provided goals and objectives using the TQM processes provided. Work Cited Imai, Masaaki. Kaizen (ky’zen), the Key to Japan’s Competitive Success. New York: Random House Business Division, 1986. Print. Gouranourimi, Farshad. â€Å"Total Quality Management, Business Process Reengineering Integrating Them for Organizations’ Improvement† American Journal of Scientific Research, 46 (2012): 47-59. Print. Gupta, Shakti Kant, Sunil. â€Å"Total Quality Management and Accreditation Strategic Essentials for the next Millennium† Hospital Notes, 2. 2. (April-June 1999): 1-6. Print. Powell, C. Thomas. â€Å"Total Quality Management as Competitive Advantage: A review and Empirical Study† Strategic Management Journal, 16. 1. (1995): 15-37. Yousaf, Nadeem. â€Å"Top Management Commitment for TQM-a process model† Pakistan’s 10th International Convention on Quality Improvement. (2006): 1-11. Print.

Choose one of the specifeic food u like, make an argument, and write Essay

Choose one of the specifeic food u like, make an argument, and write about it - Essay Example In that context, it may sound strange, but canned and frozen foods and vegetables are a veritable source of nutrition, which satisfy a range of consumer choices and expectations. Though canned and frozen foods and vegetables happen to be processed foods, yet the good thing is that they provide people with the much needed nutrition, in a safe, convenient and cost effective manner, while complying with the environmental norms and criteria. The one amazing thing about canned and frozen foods and vegetables is that they have a high nutrition value and content (Belasco 57). It is a fact that fresh foods like fruits and vegetables do lose much nutrition during transit to the stores. In contrast, the canned and frozen foods and vegetables are processed when the food items are still fresh and thereby have a high nutrition value. The processing of fruits and vegetables resorts to an array of traditional activities like peeling and cutting and the subsequent boiling or freezing of the available fresh foods. Thereby, once the fresh fruits and vegetables are canned or frozen, their nutrition potential gets preserved and remains intact for a long period of time. The consumers can consume these canned and frozen foods while benefiting from their high nutrition value. Going by the hectic schedules and scarcity of time that the contemporary consumers have to contend with, canned and frozen foods and vegetables are indeed convenient and save on time (Belasco 70). Canned and frozen foods do save on time in the sense that they are cut, peeled and cooked in advance, and can thereby be readily consumed without resorting to any elaborate processing or cooking procedure. The same cannot be said of the fresh foods, vegetables and fruits. Besides, canned and frozen foods and vegetables are also convenient as they allow the consumers an

Three Pillars Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Three Pillars - Essay Example Servant leadership entails leading others into achieving organizational objectives whilst incorporating everyone on board. This type of leadership seeks to empower all the involved parties and making them ‘semi-leaders.’ A good servant leader understands the need to serve as a key element to successful management. As a servant leader, the leader carries the corporate vision and then nurtures everybody to realize the vision through tapping of each individual talent. In simple terms, servant leadership aims at walking the walk together with the rest. Successful servant leadership is defined by ethical behavior, charisma, and the desire to inspire and empower others (Boone & Makhani, 2013). It is worth noting that successful servant leaders spend more time listening, understanding and critically analyzing ideas from subordinates. Servant leaders are defined by the ability to scavenge for individual talents and articulating those individual talents towards organizational goa l. As a financial analyst for a health insurance company, I have unlimited opportunity to exercise servant leadership. First, I demonstrate submissiveness to higher leadership and help them tap into my skills and talents. Instead of competing with fellow workmates, I aim at creating a team work where everybody feels appreciated and respected. Whenever I find faults during my financial analysis, I help the affected personnel to identify the problem and then show them how to do it better next time. I have seen this work more often than just scolding and rebuking a person for their mistakes. By serving as an example, others are able to follow willingly. With globalization bringing new array of challenges especially in managing organizations, entrepreneurial skills needed to sustain organizations in 21st century have gone high. Entrepreneurial skills require understanding of complex array of tenets of management. Therefore, entrepreneurship needs to understand the relationship between