Human Resource Management Process1 Essay

The role of a Human Resource department is ever changing in today’s volatile business environment. Over the years HR have become strong strategic partners within an organization by providing functions such as recruitment, training and development and retention. Human Resource, in order to be strategic, works directly with all levels of management in an effort to help with strategy and the growth of the company to meet their vision. One very important aspect is talent acquisition. Having the right people in key roles within the organization is vital to the success and growth of any company. Performing this function includes job analysis, task and KSA statements, preparing job descriptions, recruiting, and then setting compensation. The entire process from job analysis to compensation is discussed as follows; Job analysis                      When a new job is created or a vacancy occurs, it is the role of a HR representative to fill that void. In order to perform this function they need to first understand what role they are trying fill is and what skills and responsibilities this new role would require. By conducting a job analysis they are able to further define important elements of any job and then search for the person or people that are the most qualified and would be a good fit for the company. Job analysis is the process of describing and recording aspects of jobs and stipulating the skills and other requirements necessary to perform the job. It refers to the process of Gathering and collecting information about responsibilities, duties, skills, the outcomes and the environment that influences working in a particular job field. The job analysis process will help the HR managers find the ideal candidate for the position. Task statement                      Task analysis is the process by which a task statement is derived. The task statement is the most important element of task analysis process because it provides a standardized, concise format to describe worker actions. It is a document that defines and describes the specific job to be performed by the candidate. The creation of these task statements may take considerable thought and insight. However, the rewards of conducting this due diligence before taking on the task of hiring a new employee, makes the process very simple and less stressful. Everything is clearly defined and above all, measurable in the future. KSA statement                      KSA statements are the job related knowledge, skills and abilities that an applicant must perform successfully in a certain position. It is a statement that helps employees in the process of identifying the employee who best fits in a particular field. KSA statements help hiring managers identify the knowledge, skills and attributes needed to successfully perform a specific job. Knowing the tasks that have to be performed, helps you to identify the KSA that the candidate must possess in order to perform to the companies standards and in return hire the right candidate. Job description                      Writing a job description is an important step in the human resource staffing plan. A job description typically outlines the necessary skills, training and education needed by a potential employee for a specified job. It provides an outline of what should be done by a particular employee in a specific position. It should give a brief overview of the role, how it relates to the organizational vision, a list of key responsibilities, requirements and qualifications.Once a job description is prepared, it can serve a basis for interviewing candidates, orienting a new employee and finally in the evaluation of overall job performance. By incorporating and utilizing job descriptions, an organization can better understand the experience and skill set needed to enhance the overall success of the company. Recruitment plan                      Once the Job analysis, Task statements, KSA statements and the job description are completed, the next step is to search for candidates. A complete recruitment plan identifies vacant positions in an organization that need to be filled so that so that an adequate job advertisement can be created and placed appropriately for a specific period of time. Most recruitment plans include searching both internally and externally from the organization. When organizations choose the right people for the job, these people are not only great performers with their job, but also tend to stay with the organization longer. Selection method                      The key to the selection process is to choose a strategy for screening candidates that will allow an organization to view the most qualified candidates for the vacant position. Employee selection process usually entails reviewing, screening, interviewing, testing then selecting the best available candidates for theavailable position. Organizations also make use of many outside agencies when completing the selection process. Drug screening and reference checks are often done by a third party. Many companies are beginning to incorporate assessment tests and activities into the selection process to insure additional training is not necessary for potential candidates. A selection method chosen by the organization should allow the selection panel of a company to pick the candidate that is most suited to fill the vacant position. Performance evaluation                      A performance evaluation is a review and discussion of an employee’s performance of assigned duties and responsibilities. Performance evaluations need to be in place to support decisions made by management and the HR department. The appraisal is based on results obtained by the employee in their job. These evaluations can also be used to teach as they may show areas that need improvement as well as provide backup for recognition of a job well done. It measures skills and accomplishments with reasonable accuracy and uniformity.The performance evaluations need to be structured and performed in a timely manner as well and managers need to be trained appropriately has to how to conduct these evaluations. Compensation plan                      Compensation is a systematic approach to proving monetary value to employees in exchange for work performed.Compensation may achieve several purposes assisting in recruitment, job performance, and job satisfaction. Job analysis can be used in compensation to identify or determine skill levels, compensable job factors, fiscal and supervisory responsibilities and required level of education which is related to salary level. Job descriptions are used as a tool for determining salary ranges.Many people associate compensation with money but when looking for a job, many compensation packages are designed with a package of products in mind. Due to the fact that compensation isn’t just about the dollar figure, compensation packages need to be discussed in great detail when hiring new employees.Overall compensation strategies have to be designed to meet the overall objectives of the organization. Would you change anything in your process at this point? No I wouldn’t change anything. This is because of the following reasons: I don’t think that I would change anything about my paper because I did do extensive research on a HR Receptionist position to determining the skills, qualifications and experience needed for this type of positions. There is a legal need to do a job analysis. Employers who wish to demonstrate that their selection processes are valid will need to start with the job analysis. There are also management reasons for doing the analysis. It yields an improved process for obtaining, retaining and managing organization’s work. Job description communicates the organization’s expectations to its employees. Conclusion                      In conclusion, we have discussed the importance of the job analysis process which includes task statement, KSA statement and job description. Job analysis is the procedure used to determine tasks, duties and responsibilities of each job, and identify knowledge, skills and abilities appropriate to perform the job.The job analysis process can render positive outcomes like increased profits, employee retention and reaching overall organizational goals when implemented successfully within an organization. We have also discussed importance of human resource department’s ability to recruit, select candidates appropriately and continue ongoing performance evaluations with the organization’s employees.An organization cannot build a good team of working professionals without good Human Resources. The key functions of the Human Resources Management team include recruiting people, training them, performance appraisals, motivating employees as well as workplace communication, workplace safety, and much more. As you can see, human resource plays a very big role in the foundation of an organization. Literature review on compensation                      Compensation can be defined as any rewards obtained by employees in return for their labor. Compensation can be divided into three aspects, that is; direct financial compensation, indirect financial compensation and non-financial compensation. Direct financial compensation consists of pay received in the form of wages, salaries, bonuses and commissions provided at regular intervals. Indirect financial compensation includes all financial rewards which are not included in direct compensation, and form part of the social contract between the employer and employee such as benefits, leaves, retirement plans, education and employee services. Non financial compensation refers to topics such as career development and advancement opportunities, opportunities for recognition as well as work environment and conditions. As much as many employees focus on direct financial compensation, it is the non-financial rewards that are more effective in the long term employee engagement. Job position covers the various duties such as interesting duties and responsibilities, autonomy, challenges, authority feeling of achievement, advancement opportunities and opportunities for recognition. Work environment focuses on; competent supervision, fun and effective co-workers, flexible scheduling, modified retirement and fair and consistent practices and policies. Scholarly review                      Levels of firms’ productivity widely depend on good compensation strategies. In small businesses, coordination between general resource management practices lacked, hence, diminished productivity levels. Besides, personnel related problems are arising as a result of unclear, outlined policies on human resource management and compensation in small businesses. Inadequate and inefficient management of human resources often adversely affects employee’s perception of equity, resulting in dissatisfaction, inadequate motivation, higher turnover and lower productivity (Tate, et al, 1982). Unlike small businesses, large businesses rely on a well organized, formal personnel development to ensure effective human resource management. There are various policies that aid in proper human resource management and increment of productivity levels. These policies are based on both wage payment and other fringe benefits. In order for these policies to effectively work, one need to enact proper maintenance practices which include; appropriate induction of an employee, conducting performances review, providing employee service and instituting governance. However, the surveys were done to come to a conclusion on the gap that was observed between ‘what could be’ and ‘what was’ (in terms of professional human resource management) might be caused by at least four factors; a lack of formal personnel management training, a lack of perception on the part of decision makers that productivity is improved by use of generally accepted human resource management practices, a lack of incentive because employers are family members or an inability to use human resource management practices effectively because of size and monetary constraints. Compensation can also be achieved through recognition of personnel. Recognition of personnel is done by considering the following; the length of service, above and beyond program, peer to peer, retirements and sales. Rewarding of the recognized personnel is done through; certification and or plaques, cash gifts, certification and company logo merchandise. Recognition is meant to; salute years of service, create a positive work environment, encourage high performance, foster a culture of recognition and raise personnel morale. Not all gestures succeed. Celebrating employees can also backfire, as far as the research conducted by Business Scholars at Harvard Business School. There were two reasons that emerged; first, â€Å"employees strategically gave the program improving timelines only when eligible for the reward, and call in sick to retain eligibility,† scholars explain. Secondly, â€Å"employees with perfect pre-program attendance or high productivity suffered 6.8% productivity decrease after program introduction, suggesting they were de-motivated by awards for good behavior they already exhibited.† Compensation related issues have called for relevant compensation plans and decisions in order to cater equally for personnel. There are various decisions that human resource management makes concerning compensation as highlighted below; Compensation decisions are essential in compensation strategies. Compensation of personnel depends on the market position (level of pay relative to competitors), internal versus external orientation, hierarchy (the pay structure and the basic-job versus skills-for the pay structure reward mix, and the basis of research performance versus seniority, groups versus individual and criteria used) (Lawler 1981). These are issues that determine decision of salary increment. Increasing list of decisions has raised doubts about the efficacy of a strategic perspective. It brings to mind the multiple facts of job satisfaction that made the constraint more complex than originally conceived (Heneman, 1985), hence, t is necessary to differentiate decision which are strategic from those that are not. Compensation decision making widely depends on the strategic policies as highlighted below; Competitiveness, whose degrees vary among various organizations and among occupations within them, from a strategic perspective, competitiveness refers to positioning a firm’s compensation relative to its competitors (Belcher, et al, 1987). It deals with total return trade off decision. Internal structure- the internal pay structure is a fundamental policy that requires strategic decisions. Typically it refers to the distribution of rates or internal pay differentials. (Simon, et al, 1987.) Decisions involved depend on the issue of pay, equity and slope of the hierarchies. Forms of pay- this is another policy that pertains the forms of the mix of various elements of total compensation (Heneman, et al, 1973). Decisions include the number of forms to offer, the degree to which each is contingent to employees maintaining their membership in the organization like entitlement, or performance like incentives, relative importance of each form and the proportion of the workforce eligible for each firm. Basis for increase-decisions based on the strategic policies involved in granting pay increase are also involved; they range from an emphasis on short versus long term incentives (Caroll, et al, 1987). Role in the human resource strategy- description of firm’s human resources strategies plays a very important role in decision making (Dyer, 1985). Administrative style- this process is used to administer compensation decision also referred to as strategic properties. It deals with issues such as employee participation, communication centralization and dispute resolutions mechanisms. Compensation planning and administration has various challenges which require efficient decision making criteria. These compensation related decisions are formulated to do away with disputes that may result from pre hiring pay, ongoing employment, legal compliance, equal pay out and fair labor standards acts. Conclusion                      From what we have seen in the scholarly articles, for one to improve business productivity, it is essential to have relevant compensation strategies to provide guidelines on personnel compensation. Many small businesses are characterized by inadequate and insufficient management of human resources which tend to affect employee’s perception of equity, resulting to dissatisfaction, inadequate motivation and lower productivity, hence, proper human resource management strategies are essential in building a well organized, formal, personnel department to ensure high productivity levels. Compensation can also be achieved through proper recognition of personnel by considering different aspects as highlighted in the articles above. Recognition is essential as it fosters work environment and also encourages high performance through appraisal of morale among the staff. In order to come up to a proper compensation plan, the human resource department needs to formulate clear policies and procedures to follow. These policies aid in decision making regarding various compensation incentives to personnel or employees. These decisions involve financial compensation which is in form of wages, salaries, bonuses and commissions, leaves, retirement plans and other employee services; non financial compensation decision on job positions and working environment related factors. In short, it is essential for a good human resource management to have relevant policies which are essential in identifying when and how to compensate personnel properly. References Amba-Rao, S. C. & Pendse, D. (1985). Human Resource Compensation and Maintenance Practices. American Journal of Small Business, 10(2), 19-29. Belcher, D., & Atchison, T. (1987). Compensation administration (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. Caroll S. (1987). Business strategies and Compensation Systems. In D.B Balkin &L.R. Gomez Mgia, New Perspectives in Compensation, Pp 343- 355, Prentice Hall. Ellig, B. R. (1981), Compensation Elements: Market Phase Determines the Mix. Compensation Review. Third Quarter, 30-38. Freedman, S. (1978). Some Determinants of Compensation Decisions. Academy of Management Journal, 397-409. Heneman, H. G. (1985), Pay Satisfaction in K. M. Rowland & G. R. Ferns (eds), Research in Personnel and Human Resource Management, vol 3, p 115-139. Lawler, E. E., III. 1981. Pay and organizational development. Reading, Mass.: AddisonWesley. Simon, H. (1950). Public administration. New York: Knopf. Tate, J. 1957. Suggestions toward a reformulation of wage theory. Reprinted in Mahoney,1979. Thompson, K. (2014). Honoring Employees is Good Business. Phi Kappa Phi Forum, 94(2), 26. Source document

Employee Training and Career Development Essay

In this Employee Training and Career Development Paper a number of topics will be discussed pertaining to development. Explaining the role of training in an organizations development and describing different employee development methods and its benefits will be reviewed. The paper will address analyzing the relationship between employee and organizational development, as well as, describing the role of human resource management in career development. Resources for this information will come for the eBook; Fundamentals of human resources management text. Included in this paper will also be a reflection on the writers’ personal career development, and where they see themselves in 5 years. Along with it will be the writers’ opinion on how their present and/or future company can assist in their career development and if the company’s career development opportunities are sufficient. Bullet 2 Employee development is future oriented and concerned with the education of an employee rather than job training. By education, this means enhancing an employee’s ability to understand and interpret knowledge. Employee development focuses on personal growth to aid in the success of preparing for greater responsibility positions, have analytical, human, conceptual and specialized skill. There are three methods of employee development that will be reviewed; job rotation, assistant-to positions, and lecture coursed and seminars. Each of these methods are either on-the-job techniques or off-the-job techniques. Job Rotation involves moving employees throughout the company to different positions with the intent of expanding skills, knowledge and abilities. This  method can be done either horizontally or vertically. Job Rotation is a great method, its benefits such as broadening the employee’s exposure to the organizations operations, increasing experience, reducing boredom, and stimulating new ideas are excellent avenues to have within a company. This also allows management the opportunity to observe the employee for reliability. The Assistant-To Positions method is when employee’s with potential work under someone with a higher position in other areas of the organization. These employees may be staff assistants or serve on a particular board. Whichever duty it is, it is done under the eye of a supportive coach. Benefits for this method is that the employee will gain a numerous amount of experience in management activities and grooming duties for a higher leveled position. Lastly the Lecture Course and Seminars method is one many organizations offer either in-house or through outside sources. This method involves traditiona forms of instruction, revolving around lecture courses and seminars. Employees acquire knowledge and develop DeCenso, D., & Robbins, S. (2007). Fundamentals of human resource management (9th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection.

Twilight 5. BLOOD TYPE

5. BLOOD TYPE I made my way to English in a daze. I didn't even realize when I first walked in that class had already started. â€Å"Thank you for joining us, Miss Swan,† Mr. Mason said in a disparaging tone. I flushed and hurried to my seat. It wasn't till class ended that I realized Mike wasn't sitting in his usual seat next to me. I felt a twinge of guilt. But he and Eric both met me at the door as usual, so I figured I wasn't totally unforgiven. Mike seemed to become more himself as we walked, gaining enthusiasm as he talked about the weather report for this weekend. The rain was supposed to take a minor break, and so maybe his beach trip would be possible. I tried to sound eager, to make up for disappointing him yesterday. It was hard; rain or no rain, it would still only be in the high forties, if we were lucky. The rest of the morning passed in a blur. It was difficult to believe that I hadn't just imagined what Edward had said, and the way his eyes had looked. Maybe it was just a very convincing dream that I'd confused with reality. That seemed more probable than that I really appealed to him on any level. So I was impatient and frightened as Jessica and I entered the cafeteria. I wanted to see his face, to see if he'd gone back to the cold, indifferent person I'd known for the last several weeks. Or if, by some miracle, I'd really heard what I thought I'd heard this morning. Jessica babbled on and on about her dance plans – Lauren and Angela had asked the other boys and they were all going together – completely unaware of my inattention. Disappointment flooded through me as my eyes unerringly focused on his table. The other four were there, but he was absent. Had he gone home? I followed the still-babbling Jessica through the line, crushed. I'd lost my appetite – I bought nothing but a bottle of lemonade. I just wanted to go sit down and sulk. â€Å"Edward Cullen is staring at you again,† Jessica said, finally breaking through my abstraction with his name. â€Å"I wonder why he's sitting alone today.† My head snapped up. I followed her gaze to see Edward, smiling crookedly, staring at me from an empty table across the cafeteria from where he usually sat. Once he'd caught my eye, he raised one hand and motioned with his index finger for me to join him. As I stared in disbelief, he winked. â€Å"Does he mean you?† Jessica asked with insulting astonishment in her voice. â€Å"Maybe he needs help with his Biology homework,† I muttered for her benefit. â€Å"Um, I'd better go see what he wants.† I could feel her staring after me as I walked away. When I reached his table, I stood behind the chair across from him, unsure. â€Å"Why don't you sit with me today?† he asked, smiling. I sat down automatically, watching him with caution. He was still smiling. It was hard to believe that someone so beautiful could be real. I was afraid that he might disappear in a sudden puff of smoke, and I would wake up. He seemed to be waiting for me to say something. â€Å"This is different,† I finally managed. â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He paused, and then the rest of the words followed in a rush. â€Å"I decided as long as I was going to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly.† I waited for him to say something that made sense. The seconds ticked by. â€Å"You know I don't have any idea what you mean,† I eventually pointed out. â€Å"I know.† He smiled again, and then he changed the subject. â€Å"I think your friends are angry with me for stealing you.† â€Å"They'll survive.† I could feel their stares boring into my back. â€Å"I may not give you back, though,† he said with a wicked glint in his eyes. I gulped. He laughed. â€Å"You look worried.† â€Å"No,† I said, but, ridiculously, my voice broke. â€Å"Surprised, actually†¦ what brought all this on?† â€Å"I told you – I got tired of trying to stay away from you. So I'm giving up.† He was still smiling, but his ocher eyes were serious. â€Å"Giving up?† I repeated in confusion. â€Å"Yes – giving up trying to be good. I'm just going to do what I want now, and let the chips fall where they may.† His smile faded as he explained, and a hard edge crept into his voice. â€Å"You lost me again.† The breathtaking crooked smile reappeared. â€Å"I always say too much when I'm talking to you – that's one of the problems.† â€Å"Don't worry – I don't understand any of it,† I said wryly. â€Å"I'm counting on that.† â€Å"So, in plain English, are we friends now?† â€Å"Friends†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he mused, dubious. â€Å"Or not,† I muttered. He grinned. â€Å"Well, we can try, I suppose. But I'm warning you now that I'm not a good friend for you.† Behind his smile, the warning was real. â€Å"You say that a lot,† I noted, trying to ignore the sudden trembling in my stomach and keep my voice even. â€Å"Yes, because you're not listening to me. I'm still waiting for you to believe it. If you're smart, you'll avoid me.† â€Å"I think you've made your opinion on the subject of my intellect clear, too.† My eyes narrowed. He smiled apologetically. â€Å"So, as long as I'm being†¦ not smart, we'll try to be friends?† I struggled to sum up the confusing exchange. â€Å"That sounds about right.† I looked down at my hands wrapped around the lemonade bottle, not sure what to do now. â€Å"What are you thinking?† he asked curiously. I looked up into his deep gold eyes, became befuddled, and, as usual, blurted out the truth. â€Å"I'm trying to figure out what you are.† His jaw tightened, but he kept his smile in place with some effort. â€Å"Are you having any luck with that?† he asked in an offhand tone. â€Å"Not too much,† I admitted. He chuckled. â€Å"What are your theories?† I blushed. I had been vacillating during the last month between Bruce Wayne and Peter Parker. There was no way I was going to own up to that. â€Å"Won't you tell me?† he asked, tilting his head to one side with a shockingly tempting smile. I shook my head. â€Å"Too embarrassing.† â€Å"That's really frustrating, you know,† he complained. â€Å"No,† I disagreed quickly, my eyes narrowing, â€Å"I can't imagine why that would be frustrating at all – just because someone refuses to tell you what they're thinking, even if all the while they're making cryptic little remarks specifically designed to keep you up at night wondering what they could possibly mean†¦ now, why would that be frustrating?† He grimaced. â€Å"Or better,† I continued, the pent-up annoyance flowing freely now, â€Å"say that person also did a wide range of bizarre things – from saving your life under impossible circumstances one day to treating you like a pariah the next, and he never explained any of that, either, even after he promised. That, also, would be very non-frustrating.† â€Å"You've got a bit of a temper, don't you?† â€Å"I don't like double standards.† We stared at each other, unsmiling. He glanced over my shoulder, and then, unexpectedly, he snickered. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Your boyfriend seems to think I'm being unpleasant to you – he's debating whether or not to come break up our fight.† He snickered again. â€Å"I don't know who you're talking about,† I said frostily. â€Å"But I'm sure you're wrong, anyway.† â€Å"I'm not. I told you, most people are easy to read.† â€Å"Except me, of course.† â€Å"Yes. Except for you.† His mood shifted suddenly; his eyes turned brooding. â€Å"I wonder why that is.† I had to look away from the intensity of his stare. I concentrated on unscrewing the lid of my lemonade. I took a swig, staring at the table without seeing it. â€Å"Aren't you hungry?† he asked, distracted. â€Å"No.† I didn't feel like mentioning that my stomach was already full – of butterflies. â€Å"You?† I looked at the empty table in front of him. â€Å"No, I'm not hungry.† I didn't understand his expression – it looked like he was enjoying some private joke. â€Å"Can you do me a favor?† I asked after a second of hesitation. He was suddenly wary. â€Å"That depends on what you want.† â€Å"It's not much,† I assured him. He waited, guarded but curious. â€Å"I just wondered†¦ if you could warn me beforehand the next time you decide to ignore me for my own good. Just so I'm prepared.† I looked at the lemonade bottle as I spoke, tracing the circle of the opening with my pinkie finger. â€Å"That sounds fair.† He was pressing his lips together to keep from laughing when I looked up. â€Å"Thanks.† â€Å"Then can I have one answer in return?† he demanded. â€Å"One.† â€Å"Tell me one theory.† Whoops. â€Å"Not that one.† â€Å"You didn't qualify, you just promised one answer,† he reminded me. â€Å"And you've broken promises yourself,† I reminded him back. â€Å"Just one theory – I won't laugh.† â€Å"Yes, you will.† I was positive about that. He looked down, and then glanced up at me through his long black lashes, his ocher eyes scorching. â€Å"Please?† he breathed, leaning toward me. I blinked, my mind going blank. Holy crow, how did he do that? â€Å"Er, what?† I asked, dazed. â€Å"Please tell me just one little theory.† His eyes still smoldered at me. â€Å"Um, well, bitten by a radioactive spider?† Was he a hypnotist, too? Or was I just a hopeless pushover? â€Å"That's not very creative,† he scoffed. â€Å"I'm sorry, that's all I've got,† I said, miffed. â€Å"You're not even close,† he teased. â€Å"No spiders?† â€Å"Nope.† â€Å"And no radioactivity?† â€Å"None.† â€Å"Dang,† I sighed. â€Å"Kryptonite doesn't bother me, either,† he chuckled. â€Å"You're not supposed to laugh, remember?† He struggled to compose his face. â€Å"I'll figure it out eventually,† I warned him. â€Å"I wish you wouldn't try.† He was serious again. â€Å"Because†¦ ?† â€Å"What if I'm not a superhero? What if I'm the bad guy?† He smiled playfully, but his eyes were impenetrable. â€Å"Oh,† I said, as several things he'd hinted fell suddenly into place. â€Å"I see.† â€Å"Do you?† His face was abruptly severe, as if he were afraid that he'd accidentally said too much. â€Å"You're dangerous?† I guessed, my pulse quickening as I intuitively realized the truth of my own words. He was dangerous. He'd been trying to tell me that all along. He just looked at me, eyes full of some emotion I couldn't comprehend. â€Å"But not bad,† I whispered, shaking my head. â€Å"No, I don't believe that you're bad.† â€Å"You're wrong.† His voice was almost inaudible. He looked down, stealing my bottle lid and then spinning it on its side between his fingers. I stared at him, wondering why I didn't feel afraid. He meant what he was saying – that was obvious. But I just felt anxious, on edge†¦ and, more than anything else, fascinated. The same way I always felt when I was near him. The silence lasted until I noticed that the cafeteria was almost empty. I jumped to my feet. â€Å"We're going to be late.† â€Å"I'm not going to class today,† he said, twirling the lid so fast it was just a blur. â€Å"Why not?† â€Å"It's healthy to ditch class now and then.† He smiled up at me, but his eyes were still troubled. â€Å"Well, I'm going,† I told him. I was far too big a coward to risk getting caught. He turned his attention back to his makeshift top. â€Å"I'll see you later, then.† I hesitated, torn, but then the first bell sent me hurrying out the door – with a last glance confirming that he hadn't moved a centimeter. As I half-ran to class, my head was spinning faster than the bottle cap. So few questions had been answered in comparison to how many new questions had been raised. At least the rain had stopped. I was lucky; Mr. Banner wasn't in the room yet when I arrived. I settled quickly into my seat, aware that both Mike and Angela were staring at me. Mike looked resentful; Angela looked surprised, and slightly awed. Mr. Banner came in the room then, calling the class to order. He was juggling a few small cardboard boxes in his arms. He put them down on Mike's table, telling him to start passing them around the class. â€Å"Okay, guys, I want you all to take one piece from each box,† he said as he produced a pair of rubber gloves from the pocket of his lab jacket and pulled them on. The sharp sound as the gloves snapped into place against his wrists seemed ominous to me. â€Å"The first should be an indicator card,† he went on, grabbing a white card with four squares marked on it and displaying it. â€Å"The second is a four-pronged applicator -† he held up something that looked like a nearly toothless hair pick â€Å"- and the third is a sterile micro-lancet.† He held up a small piece of blue plastic and split it open. The barb was invisible from this distance, but my stomach flipped. â€Å"I'll be coming around with a dropper of water to prepare your cards, so please don't start until I get to you.† He began at Mike's table again, carefully putting one drop of water in each of the four squares. â€Å"Then I want you to carefully prick your finger with the lancet†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He grabbed Mike's hand and jabbed the spike into the tip of Mike's middle finger. Oh no. Clammy moisture broke out across my forehead. â€Å"Put a small drop of blood on each of the prongs.† He demonstrated, squeezing Mike's finger till the blood flowed. I swallowed convulsively, my stomach heaving. â€Å"And then apply it to the card,† he finished, holding up the dripping red card for us to see. I closed my eyes, trying to hear through the ringing in my ears. â€Å"The Red Cross is having a blood drive in Port Angeles next weekend, so I thought you should all know your blood type.† He sounded proud of himself. â€Å"Those of you who aren't eighteen yet will need a parent's permission – I have slips at my desk.† He continued through the room with his water drops. I put my cheek against the cool black tabletop and tried to hold on to my consciousness. All around me I could hear squeals, complaints, and giggles as my classmates skewered their fingers. I breathed slowly in and out through my mouth. â€Å"Bella, are you all right?† Mr. Banner asked. His voice was close to my head, and it sounded alarmed. â€Å"I already know my blood type, Mr. Banner,† I said in a weak voice. I was afraid to raise my head. â€Å"Are you feeling faint?† â€Å"Yes, sir,† I muttered, internally kicking myself for not ditching when I had the chance. â€Å"Can someone take Bella to the nurse, please?† he called. I didn't have to look up to know that it would be Mike who volunteered. â€Å"Can you walk?† Mr. Banner asked. â€Å"Yes,† I whispered. Just let me get out of here, I thought. I'll crawl. Mike seemed eager as he put his arm around my waist and pulled my arm over his shoulder. I leaned against him heavily on the way out of the classroom. Mike towed me slowly across campus. When we were around the edge of the cafeteria, out of sight of building four in case Mr. Banner was watching, I stopped. â€Å"Just let me sit for a minute, please?† I begged. He helped me sit on the edge of the walk. â€Å"And whatever you do, keep your hand in your pocket,† I warned. I was still so dizzy. I slumped over on my side, putting my cheek against the freezing, damp cement of the sidewalk, closing my eyes. That seemed to help a little. â€Å"Wow, you're green, Bella,† Mike said nervously. â€Å"Bella?† a different voice called from the distance. No! Please let me be imagining that horribly familiar voice. â€Å"What's wrong – is she hurt?† His voice was closer now, and he sounded upset. I wasn't imagining it. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping to die. Or, at the very least, not to throw up. Mike seemed stressed. â€Å"I think she's fainted. I don't know what happened, she didn't even stick her finger.† â€Å"Bella.† Edward's voice was right beside me, relieved now. â€Å"Can you hear me?† â€Å"No,† I groaned. â€Å"Go away.† He chuckled. â€Å"I was taking her to the nurse,† Mike explained in a defensive tone, â€Å"but she wouldn't go any farther.† â€Å"I'll take her,† Edward said. I could hear the smile still in his voice. â€Å"You can go back to class.† â€Å"No,† Mike protested. â€Å"I'm supposed to do it.† Suddenly the sidewalk disappeared from beneath me. My eyes flew open in shock. Edward had scooped me up in his arms, as easily as if I weighed ten pounds instead of a hundred and ten. â€Å"Put me down!† Please, please let me not vomit on him. He was walking before I was finished talking. â€Å"Hey!† Mike called, already ten paces behind us. Edward ignored him. â€Å"You look awful,† he told me, grinning. â€Å"Put me back on the sidewalk,† I moaned. The rocking movement of his walk was not helping. He held me away from his body, gingerly, supporting all my weight with just his arms – it didn't seem to bother him. â€Å"So you faint at the sight of blood?† he asked. This seemed to entertain him. I didn't answer. I closed my eyes again and fought the nausea with all my strength, clamping my lips together. â€Å"And not even your own blood,† he continued, enjoying himself. I don't know how he opened the door while carrying me, but it was suddenly warm, so I knew we were inside. â€Å"Oh my,† I heard a female voice gasp. â€Å"She fainted in Biology,† Edward explained. I opened my eyes. I was in the office, and Edward was striding past the front counter toward the nurse's door. Ms. Cope, the redheaded front office receptionist, ran ahead of him to hold it open. The grandmotherly nurse looked up from a novel, astonished, as Edward swung me into the room and placed me gently on the crackly paper that covered the brown vinyl mattress on the one cot. Then he moved to stand against the wall as far across the narrow room as possible. His eyes were bright, excited. â€Å"She's just a little faint,† he reassured the startled nurse. â€Å"They're blood typing in Biology.† The nurse nodded sagely. â€Å"There's always one.† He muffled a snicker. â€Å"Just lie down for a minute, honey; it'll pass.† â€Å"I know,† I sighed. The nausea was already fading. â€Å"Does this happen a lot?† she asked. â€Å"Sometimes,† I admitted. Edward coughed to hide another laugh. â€Å"You can go back to class now,† she told him. â€Å"I'm supposed to stay with her.† He said this with such assured authority that – even though she pursed her lips – the nurse didn't argue it further. â€Å"I'll go get you some ice for your forehead, dear,† she said to me, and then bustled out of the room. â€Å"You were right,† I moaned, letting my eyes close. â€Å"I usually am – but about what in particular this time?† â€Å"Ditching is healthy.† I practiced breathing evenly. â€Å"You scared me for a minute there,† he admitted after a pause. His tone made it sound like he was confessing a humiliating weakness. â€Å"I thought Newton was dragging your dead body off to bury it in the woods.† â€Å"Ha ha.† I still had my eyes closed, but I was feeling more normal every minute. â€Å"Honestly – I've seen corpses with better color. I was concerned that I might have to avenge your murder.† â€Å"Poor Mike. I'll bet he's mad.† â€Å"He absolutely loathes me,† Edward said cheerfully. â€Å"You can't know that,† I argued, but then I wondered suddenly if he could. â€Å"I saw his face – I could tell.† â€Å"How did you see me? I thought you were ditching.† I was almost fine now, though the queasiness would probably pass faster if I'd eaten something for lunch. On the other hand, maybe it was lucky my stomach was empty. â€Å"I was in my car, listening to a CD.† Such a normal response – it surprised me. I heard the door and opened my eyes to see the nurse with a cold compress in her hand. â€Å"Here you go, dear.† She laid it across my forehead. â€Å"You're looking better,† she added. â€Å"I think I'm fine,† I said, sitting up. Just a little ringing in my ears, no spinning. The mint green walls stayed where they should. I could see she was about to make me lie back down, but the door opened just then, and Ms. Cope stuck her head in. â€Å"We've got another one,† she warned. I hopped down to free up the cot for the next invalid. I handed the compress back to the nurse. â€Å"Here, I don't need this.† And then Mike staggered through the door, now supporting a sallow-looking Lee Stephens, another boy in our Biology class. Edward and I drew back against the wall to give them room. â€Å"Oh no,† Edward muttered. â€Å"Go out to the office, Bella.† I looked up at him, bewildered. â€Å"Trust me – go.† I spun and caught the door before it closed, darting out of the infirmary. I could feel Edward right behind me. â€Å"You actually listened to me.† He was stunned. â€Å"I smelled the blood,† I said, wrinkling my nose. Lee wasn't sick from watching other people, like me. â€Å"People can't smell blood,† he contradicted. â€Å"Well, I can – that's what makes me sick. It smells like rust†¦ and salt.† He was staring at me with an unfathomable expression. â€Å"What?† I asked. â€Å"It's nothing.† Mike came through the door then, glancing from me to Edward. The look he gave Edward confirmed what Edward had said about loathing. He looked back at me, his eyes glum. â€Å"You look better,† he accused. â€Å"Just keep your hand in your pocket,† I warned him again. â€Å"It's not bleeding anymore,† he muttered. â€Å"Are you going back to class?† â€Å"Are you kidding? I'd just have to turn around and come back.† â€Å"Yeah, I guess†¦ So are you going this weekend? To the beach?† While he spoke, he flashed another glare toward Edward, who was standing against the cluttered counter, motionless as a sculpture, staring off into space. I tried to sound as friendly as possible. â€Å"Sure, I said I was in.† â€Å"We're meeting at my dad's store, at ten.† His eyes flickered to Edward again, wondering if he was giving out too much information. His body language made it clear that it wasn't an open invitation. â€Å"I'll be there,† I promised. â€Å"I'll see you in Gym, then,† he said, moving uncertainly toward the door. â€Å"See you,† I replied. He looked at me once more, his round face slightly pouting, and then as he walked slowly through the door, his shoulders slumped. A swell of sympathy washed over me. I pondered seeing his disappointed face again†¦ in Gym. â€Å"Gym,† I groaned. â€Å"I can take care of that.† I hadn't noticed Edward moving to my side, but he spoke now in my ear. â€Å"Go sit down and look pale,† he muttered. That wasn't a challenge; I was always pale, and my recent swoon had left a light sheen of sweat on my face. I sat in one of the creaky folding chairs and rested my head against the wall with my eyes closed. Fainting spells always exhausted me. I heard Edward speaking softly at the counter. â€Å"Ms. Cope?† â€Å"Yes?† I hadn't heard her return to her desk. â€Å"Bella has Gym next hour, and I don't think she feels well enough. Actually, I was thinking I should take her home now. Do you think you could excuse her from class?† His voice was like melting honey. I could imagine how much more overwhelming his eyes would be. â€Å"Do you need to be excused, too, Edward?† Ms. Cope fluttered. Why couldn't I do that? â€Å"No, I have Mrs. Goff, she won't mind.† â€Å"Okay, it's all taken care of. You feel better, Bella,† she called to me. I nodded weakly, hamming it up just a bit. â€Å"Can you walk, or do you want me to carry you again?† With his back to the receptionist, his expression became sarcastic. â€Å"I'll walk.† I stood carefully, and I was still fine. He held the door for me, his smile polite but his eyes mocking. I walked out into the cold, fine mist that had just begun to fall. It felt nice – the first time I'd enjoyed the constant moisture falling out of the sky – as it washed my face clean of the sticky perspiration. â€Å"Thanks,† I said as he followed me out. â€Å"It's almost worth getting sick to miss Gym.† â€Å"Anytime.† He was staring straight forward, squinting into the rain. â€Å"So are you going? This Saturday, I mean?† I was hoping he would, though it seemed unlikely. I couldn't picture him loading up to carpool with the rest of the kids from school; he didn't belong in the same world. But just hoping that he might gave me the first twinge of enthusiasm I'd felt for the outing. â€Å"Where are you all going, exactly?† He was still looking ahead, expressionless. â€Å"Down to La Push, to First Beach.† I studied his face, trying to read it. His eyes seemed to narrow infinitesimally. He glanced down at me from the corner of his eye, smiling wryly. â€Å"I really don't think I was invited.† I sighed. â€Å"I just invited you.† â€Å"Let's you and I not push poor Mike any further this week. We don't want him to snap.† His eyes danced; he was enjoying the idea more than he should. â€Å"Mike-schmike.† I muttered, preoccupied by the way he'd said â€Å"you and I.† I liked it more than I should. We were near the parking lot now. I veered left, toward my truck. Something caught my jacket, yanking me back. â€Å"Where do you think you're going?† he asked, outraged. He was gripping a fistful of my jacket in one hand. I was confused. â€Å"I'm going home.† â€Å"Didn't you hear me promise to take you safely home? Do you think I'm going to let you drive in your condition?† His voice was still indignant. â€Å"What condition? And what about my truck?† I complained. â€Å"I'll have Alice drop it off after school.† He was towing me toward his car now, pulling me by my jacket. It was all I could do to keep from falling backward. He'd probably just drag me along anyway if I did. â€Å"Let go!† I insisted. He ignored me. I staggered along sideways across the wet sidewalk until we reached the Volvo. Then he finally freed me – I stumbled against the passenger door. â€Å"You are so pushy!† I grumbled. â€Å"It's open,† was all he responded. He got in the driver's side. â€Å"I am perfectly capable of driving myself home!† I stood by the car, fuming. It was raining harder now, and I'd never put my hood up, so my hair was dripping down my back. He lowered the automatic window and leaned toward me across the seat. â€Å"Get in, Bella.† I didn't answer. I was mentally calculating my chances of reaching the truck before he could catch me. I had to admit, they weren't good. â€Å"I'll just drag you back,† he threatened, guessing my plan. I tried to maintain what dignity I could as I got into his car. I wasn't very successful – I looked like a half-drowned cat and my boots squeaked. â€Å"This is completely unnecessary,† I said stiffly. He didn't answer. He fiddled with the controls, turning the heater up and the music down. As he pulled out of the parking lot, I was preparing to give him the silent treatment – my face in full pout mode – but then I recognized the music playing, and my curiosity got the better of my intentions. â€Å"Clair de Lune?† I asked, surprised. â€Å"You know Debussy?† He sounded surprised, too. â€Å"Not well,† I admitted. â€Å"My mother plays a lot of classical music around the house – I only know my favorites.† â€Å"It's one of my favorites, too.† He stared out through the rain, lost in thought. I listened to the music, relaxing against the light gray leather seat. It was impossible not to respond to the familiar, soothing melody. The rain blurred everything outside the window into gray and green smudges. I began to realize we were driving very fast; the car moved so steadily, so evenly, though, I didn't feel the speed. Only the town flashing by gave it away. â€Å"What is your mother like?† he asked me suddenly. I glanced over to see him studying me with curious eyes. â€Å"She looks a lot like me, but she's prettier,† I said. He raised his eyebrows. â€Å"I have too much Charlie in me. She's more outgoing than I am, and braver. She's irresponsible and slightly eccentric, and she's a very unpredictable cook. She's my best friend.† I stopped. Talking about her was making me depressed. â€Å"How old are you, Bella?† His voice sounded frustrated for some reason I couldn't imagine. He'd stopped the car, and I realized we were at Charlie's house already. The rain was so heavy that I could barely see the house at all. It was like the car was submerged under a river. â€Å"I'm seventeen,† I responded, a little confused. â€Å"You don't seem seventeen.† His tone was reproachful; it made me laugh. â€Å"What?† he asked, curious again. â€Å"My mom always says I was born thirty-five years old and that I get more middle-aged every year.† I laughed, and then sighed. â€Å"Well, someone has to be the adult.† I paused for a second. â€Å"You don't seem much like a junior in high school yourself,† I noted. He made a face and changed the subject. â€Å"So why did your mother marry Phil?† I was surprised he would remember the name; I'd mentioned it just once, almost two months ago. It took me a moment to answer. â€Å"My mother†¦ she's very young for her age. I think Phil makes her feel even younger. At any rate, she's crazy about him.† I shook my head. The attraction was a mystery to me. â€Å"Do you approve?† he asked. â€Å"Does it matter?† I countered. â€Å"I want her to be happy†¦ and he is who she wants.† â€Å"That's very generous†¦ I wonder,† he mused. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Would she extend the same courtesy to you, do you think? No matter who your choice was?† He was suddenly intent, his eyes searching mine. â€Å"I-I think so,† I stuttered. â€Å"But she's the parent, after all. It's a little bit different.† â€Å"No one too scary then,† he teased. I grinned in response. â€Å"What do you mean by scary? Multiple facial piercings and extensive tattoos?† â€Å"That's one definition, I suppose.† â€Å"What's your definition?† But he ignored my question and asked me another. â€Å"Do you think that I could be scary?† He raised one eyebrow, and the faint trace of a smile lightened his face. I thought for a moment, wondering whether the truth or a lie would go over better. I decided to go with the truth. â€Å"Hmmm†¦ I think you could be, if you wanted to.† â€Å"Are you frightened of me now?† The smile vanished, and his heavenly face was suddenly serious. â€Å"No.† But I answered too quickly. The smile returned. â€Å"So, now are you going to tell me about your family?† I asked to distract him. â€Å"It's got to be a much more interesting story than mine.† He was instantly cautious. â€Å"What do you want to know?† â€Å"The Cullens adopted you?† I verified. â€Å"Yes.† I hesitated for a moment. â€Å"What happened to your parents?† â€Å"They died many years ago.† His tone was matter-of-fact. â€Å"I'm sorry,† I mumbled. â€Å"I don't really remember them that clearly. Carlisle and Esme have been my parents for a long time now.† â€Å"And you love them.† It wasn't a question. It was obvious in the way he spoke of them. â€Å"Yes.† He smiled. â€Å"I couldn't imagine two better people.† â€Å"You're very lucky.† â€Å"I know I am.† â€Å"And your brother and sister?† He glanced at the clock on the dashboard. â€Å"My brother and sister, and Jasper and Rosalie for that matter, are going to be quite upset if they have to stand in the rain waiting for me.† â€Å"Oh, sorry, I guess you have to go.† I didn't want to get out of the car. â€Å"And you probably want your truck back before Chief Swan gets home, so you don't have to tell him about the Biology incident.† He grinned at me. â€Å"I'm sure he's already heard. There are no secrets in Forks.† I sighed. He laughed, and there was an edge to his laughter. â€Å"Have fun at the beach†¦ good weather for sunbathing.† He glanced out at the sheeting rain. â€Å"Won't I see you tomorrow?† â€Å"No. Emmett and I are starting the weekend early.† â€Å"What are you going to do?† A friend could ask that, right? I hoped the disappointment wasn't too apparent in my voice. â€Å"We're going to be hiking in the Goat Rocks Wilderness, just south of Rainier.† I remembered Charlie had said the Cullens went camping frequently. â€Å"Oh, well, have fun.† I tried to sound enthusiastic. I don't think I fooled him, though. A smile was playing around the edges of his lips. â€Å"Will you do something for me this weekend?† He turned to look me straight in the face, utilizing the full power of his burning gold eyes. I nodded helplessly. â€Å"Don't be offended, but you seem to be one of those people who just attract accidents like a magnet. So†¦ try not to fall into the ocean or get run over or anything, all right?† He smiled crookedly. The helplessness had faded as he spoke. I glared at him. â€Å"I'll see what I can do,† I snapped as I jumped out into the rain. I slammed the door behind me with excessive force. He was still smiling as he drove away.

Economic Development of Japan after World War II Essay

Economic Development of Japan after World War II - Essay Example This essay presents a comprehensive historical analysis of the reasons behind the Japanese post-war economic miracle. Japan was among the few countries that suffered the brunt of the Second World War. The atomic bombs that hit Japan’s cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki did not just leave rubbles but also typified the effect of the war in the country. Nevertheless, after the war, Japan experienced a rapid economic boom. Soon after the war, the Japanese government implemented effective foreign relation policies, which enhanced the country’s interaction with various countries. Key among the countries was the United States. The expenses of the war threatened to cripple the economy of Japan. The post war inflation coupled with its inherent unemployment threatened the stability of the country. However, the United States formed friendly ties with the country by setting base in the country with the view to maintaining the spreading influence of the Soviet Union. The US provided the country with colossal amounts of money to help it restock and reinforce its military thus protect its borders from the Korean aggression. The money revamped economic activity in the country as the country made large-scale purchase of military equipment from both local and foreign companies. Such government spending enhanced the liquidity of the economy thus cushioning the country from the post war inflation. The US facilitated the inclusion of Japan into the GATT though as a temporary member, which enhanced its relationship with other western countries.

Managing Organizational Design and Change Essay

Managing Organizational Design and Change - Essay Example Developing the scenarios is one of the main strategic planning processes for the managers of a company. A company needs to develop its business strategy based on the analysis of different possible scenarios in order to get an awareness of threats and challenges that may occur in future. This process of analyzing all possible future scenarios while developing strategies or defining short-term and long-term goals holds an important place in ensuring success of a company. The planners need to rank the possible scenarios considering all internal and external factors and positive and negative consequences of each factor. The planners also need to identify commonness in all possible future scenarios in order to prepare in advance for the potential outcomes of the scenarios. Some of the most common benefits of ranking the scenarios include selecting the best possible business strategy, identification of possible threats and challenges to the business, identification of the competitors, desi gning a result-oriented marketing strategy, and achievement of business goals and objectives by designing a good business strategy based on the analysis of scenarios. Answer: No: 2 Strategic drift refers to the flaws in a strategy, which prove their existence when the strategy cannot go along with the changes in the environment. Strategic drift occurs when the pace of strategy is not fast enough to keep up with the pace of the changing environment. Two important factors, which create strategic drift for a company, include culture and history. History of a company plays a significant role in shaping the overall culture of the company. If the managers neglect the importance of history while developing a strategy for the company,... This essay stresses that a company’s goals never depend on design and strategy of a company rather it is design, which depends on a company’s goals because organizational design is developed to meet the company’s goals. Understanding of goals makes it easy to organize the company’s functions accordingly. A balanced scorecard focuses on entire business strategy in order to judge the performance of the organizations. It translates business strategies into measurable objectives and outcomes. The four main perspectives measured by balanced scorecard system include internal business processes, customer relations, financial processes, and innovation and growth. This report makes a conclusion that management of organizational design and change is a very important aspect of managing an organization. Strategy of a business plays a vital role in the success of a business. No company can ever be successful without developing an effective business strategy. A number of issues are related to business strategies, which managers need to understand properly in order to run the businesses successfully. Some of those issues include ranking of scenarios, strategic drift, lack of proper knowledge, integration of quality systems in business strategies, and business scorecards. Managers need to consider these issues while developing business strategies in order to make the strategies effective and successful.

Examining the Foreign Policy of Brazil Research Paper

Examining the Foreign Policy of Brazil - Research Paper Example In the early 21st century this subject is demonstrated in the movement to be involved in the United Nations Security Council. For the Brazilian people, this would suggest that the nation has finally gained its legitimate place among the world’s power blocs.2 This paper analyzes the foreign policy of Brazil. Analyzing the Brazilian Foreign Policy In earlier times, this aspiration to acquire credit and appreciation outside of South America has tended to isolate Brazil from its nearby fellow Latin American countries. The emphasis on relations with the world’s giants has existed for a long time. In the 19th century, the diplomatic focus was on preserving a strong relationship with Great Britain. In the 20th century focuses shifted and the United States came to be the goal of Brazilian foreign policy.3 In both instances political and economic concerns shaped Brazil’s foreign policy agenda. In the 19th and earlier 20th century Great Britain was the financier of Brazil, and in the 20th century, the U.S. became the leading source of foreign capital and trade partner.4 Relations with the U.S. have been the major element of Brazilian foreign policy over the years and interrelate with almost all other features of Brazilian diplomacy. There have been numerous agreements and disagreements between the U.S. and Brazil, the latter has not consistently embraced the American goals. During the post-Cold War period these gaps have been more noticeable, but the aspiration to develop an autonomous foreign policy agenda has been present for a long time. The motivating factors underlying this aspiration to differentiate themselves from the United States are diverse and are not embraced unanimously among Brazil’s powerful individuals. In Brazil, like in other South American countries, there is an emerging sentiment against the United States.5 It is a propensity that receives attention from time to time. The Brazilian foreign policy is also characterized by a Latin Americanist perspective. Yet, with regard to this, the Brazilian case to some degree differs to that of its Southern Cone’s neighbors.6 Primarily, there are the remnants of Brazil’s colonial history. From the latter half of the 18th century, Brazil was a colony of Portugal and this positioned the country in a unique set of geopolitical ties and, particularly, guaranteed unusually close relations with Britain. Furthermore, Brazil stayed under a monarchical government for the most part of the 19th century and hence was less motivated to recognize principles coming from the republican governments elsewhere on the region.7 Over time, this historical trend has nourished those political predispositions that have intended to separate Brazil from the rest of Latin America. Moreover, Brazil’s size has a massive influence. This has generated quite specific assumptions among the Brazilian politicians. Primarily, it pushes them to be internally oriented since expansi on has occurred within the country. Brazil had to struggle with its boundaries and remove internal barriers. Brazil’s size has also created difficulties, and effective governance has been difficult to attain with domestic elites being an unfailing part of Brazil’s political sector.8 In the 20th century, Brazil’

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How does the history of India's textile industries reflect the growth and decline of colonialism - Term Paper Example This has also comprised of a significant component of trade in Portugal.1 Traditionally, the textile industry in India is the only industry that generated huge employment in the country after agriculture. Textile industry is the second largest income and employment generating sector in India. Textile industry occupies a special position in India, and accounts for over 14 percent of total production. This approximates to 30 percent total exports. The industry provides one of the basic needs in the country, hence enhance maintenance of sustainable growth and improve the quality of life. The industry holds a unique position as a self reliant industry, ranging from raw material production to delivery of finished products, accompanied by the addition of value at every stage. This paper evaluates how the textile industry in India reflects the growth and decline of colonialism.1 History of Textile Industry India’s textile industry remains remarkable worldwide for production and suppl y of textile goods. The industry was virtually decayed during the colonial period. Nevertheless, the modern textile industry dates back at the beginning of 19th century after the establishment of the first textile mill in Calcutta in 1818. The textile industry, however, made a real beginning in 1850s in Bombay, with the first textile mill established in 1854 by the Parsi cotton merchant who engaged in internal and overseas trade afterwards. Indeed, vast majority of early mills were by handiwork merchants who engaged in the cloth trade in markets at home and in African2 markets. The cotton mill in Ahmedabad was established in 1871 and emerged as a rival centre to the one in Bombay. The Gujarati trading class facilitated the development of the cotton mills at Ahmedabad. The industry has since then expanded rapidly, especially during the second half of 19th century that saw the establishment of 178 cotton mills. However, in 1900, the textile industry was in a very bad state due to incr eased due to famine leading to mot mills in Bombay and Ahmedabad closed for long periods. By 1945, the mills had employed more than 5.10 lahk workers. The industry is described as Swadesh as it was developed from the indigenous entrepreneurship as well as capital in the pre-independence era when the Swedish movement stimulated the demand for the Indian textile. The country’s partition during independence affected the textile industry when the Indian union gotten 409 out of available 423 mills in undivided India. This saw 14 mills and 22 percent of the land going to Pakistan. Also, some mills were closed down making most Indian mills import their cotton from Pakistan and other countries after independence. After independence, the country made more rapid strides under the plans. This saw doubling of the spindles from 11 to 22 million between 1951 and 1982. This further increased during 1989-90. The colonialists used textile industry for their own personal gain where they exploi ted the weavers and created a cultural hotch-potch. This affected native cultures where the indigenous production moulds and design patterns underwent major modifications at the onslaught of the alien culture. This sometimes encouraged virtual extinction of some valuable native crafts. The colonial history of the textile industry in India can be split into two phases; 17th and 18th centuries. During this period, Indian muslins and calicoes enhanced commerce in the European East India Companies. The second phase of

SMC Orchestra Concerto Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

SMC Orchestra Concerto - Essay Example The first piece was Overture to â€Å"Don Giovanni,† K.257 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with the conductor of the piece being Fang-Ning Lim. The piece authored by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, in 1787 consisted of ten instruments each connected to the other. In the first part, the conductor introduced the andante with the flute 1 being the instrument of choice with the part ending in C major with a flute 2. Conversely, the second pair of instruments used in part was oboes, with oboe one starting in the andante while oboe 2 ended in D major. After the oboes, the clarinets started with the first clarinet in A major starting whereby the oboe 2 ended. Thereafter, the second clarinet took over in F major. Other instruments used in the piece were two bassoons, horns, violins, trumpets, horns, timpani, violas, cellos and basses. Importantly, slow movements all through marked this andante and the entire piece and by the end of the piece, I had a feeling that the show had just started. After the first piece, the second piece introduced by James Martin was Keyboard Concerto in D Minor, BWV 1052 by Johan Sebastian Bach. James Martin told us that Johan composed the piece in 1734. Importantly, the piece included three movements, which are allegro, adagio, and then back to allegro with the piano as the instrument of choice in this piece, which was played by Yuko Terashima playing the instrument. This movement is marked by a tempo that is faster than the tempo in the first piece. In effect, the tempo made the place and the hall livelier, and it was evident that those attending the concert were beginning to appreciate the show as I was doing. After the first movement, an adagio followed the allegro and the tempo became more leisurely. In effect, I experienced a relaxed feeling and I appreciated the good music playing all along. The conductor, Fang-Ning Lim introduced the third piece as the Double Concerto, which is played in E Major and was composed by Max Bruch in 1734. April Sh ih played the violin while Douglas Rezende was playing the viola. With these two instruments, I expected the tempo to be relaxing and slow since the movement of this piece was moderato. I realized that the tempo progressively rose with the shape of the volume increasing in a crescendo. I I felt calm as this piece played while I was also filled with enthusiasm and anticipation at the same time. After the piece was over, the next piece followed since the conductor was the same although the violin was the only instrument used. In this case, the piece was Concerto in G Minor composed by Max Bruch with Lim telling the audience that the piece was composed between 1739 and 1738. Paul Lee played the only instrument in this movement, which was the violin with the movement being in andante allegro. In this case, the violin played in a slow tempo at the beginning and ended in a tempo that were fast and energetic. I realized that many people who had attended the concert were singing in apprecia tion as the movement progressed to a fast tempo. The fourth piece was the Concerto in D Minor, K.466 composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1785 as Lim told the audience. In this piece, Aidan Short played the piano in the movement that was an allegro. The movement

Fear Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Fear - Essay Example However, I can now attest that my most terrifying experiences of fear began with just one disturbing adventure in house cleaning that I had. At that time fear entered my heart never to leave again. This first fear experienced in early childhood now seems to have permanently scarred my mind with the shock, never to be undone. While it has now been over 30 years, I remember the event as if it were yesterday. Even writing about it now sends a chill thorough me and I can feel my flesh crawl just thinking about it. This all happened when I had just turned 8 years old. There was a cleaning trip to what I had heard was a haunted house. My cousins had been there and talked about it for many weeks prior and I wanted to see it for myself so I volunteered to help my family clean out this spooky old house which they had inherited. It had been closed for several years and was filled with junk, dust, and mold. My parents did not want me to go, they said I was too young for such work and would probably just slow them down. My cousin, Peter, who was only a year older, was already going to go and I thought that it was just unfair of them not to allow me the same experience of exploring this house. I was not really much of a tomboy, but I really wanted to see this place and see if there were ghosts there. So, I grabbed a broom and dustpan and proceeded to the car, my parents shook their heads and gave in to me, since they knew I was headstrong and would sulk for weeks if I did not get my way, a trait I som etime exhibit to this day, much to the chagrin of most of my friends and family. We arrived at the house in the early morning; the sun was casting long shadows from the banana trees that surrounded the property and the shadow of the house itself folded over us as we parked the car. There was a slight mist in the air and a cool chill, my mother was right as usual I should have worn a sweater, but I did not want to get it dirty. The front of the house had a

Reflection on the book 'The White Castle' Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reflection on the book 'The White Castle' - Essay Example Like in the story Hoja, a Muslim, made the western slave tell him about their life styles and he preferred these western styles over theirs. Pamuk portrays religion with great care in the book and shows how the two different thoughts of West and East can merge together. The Ottoman society follows the old traditions according to their religion and thus do not take any sanitary precautions when a plague hits Istanbul, however the Italian slave advises the Sultan to use such measures for the end of plague and the Sultan does eventually follow the Western way of removing the plague which proves to be successful. Pamuk in his story White Castle tells about the realities of life in the 17th century. It describes different events taking place in the Ottoman Empire. Cruelty is prevalent through out the plot of the story and can be clearly viewed in the characters. The Italian Scholar seems to be laid into a trap by the Eastern world but is saved by his own intellect. Similarly Pamuk is portraying the Eastern world with great uncertainty and cruelness. The pirates who capture the Italian scholar are cruel in nature and are supposedly going to kill the scholar. However the scholar’s intellect helps him to misguide the pirates into thinking that he is a doctor and this saves his life. But on the other hand the pirates do not free the scholar; they rather gift him as a slave to Hoja. The character of Hoja can also be viewed to be cruel as he absorbs all the information from the Italian scholar about his lifestyle and even then does not let him free. The cruel nature of Hoja can yet again be seen in his aim of designing a deadly weapon which would help his empire to conquer other states. And furthermore, when the weapon does not work as expected by him he steals the identity of the Italian scholar and runs away leaving him in the Ottoman

Project Management Essay Example for Free

Project Management Essay Let’s consider finding a new house as our personal project since we can’t sustain to live in our current residence. We will take the traditional technique of project management for this personal project. A traditional technique involves a series of steps or stages that has to be completed. For this technique, there are five different phases during the development or until the project is completed. The first phase of the traditional technique is the project initiation stage. During this stage, we have to map all our current scenarios or our current situation to our future situation. In this phase, we have to gather all the information about our current situation (i.e. rent, size of place, location, etc). We should also be able to quantify the scope of our project. We must know what our limitations are (i.e. budget, location, etc) and other relevant information. Then we have to gather information for our future home. We have to use the same set of questions (present and future situation) to set the same point of comparison when we compare, or in project methodology terms, when we match and map our current scenario to our future scenario. After matching and mapping, it is now time for us to plan for our future residence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The second phase of the traditional technique is the project planning or the design stage. Now, in case the future residence needs a few repairs (i.e. adding another bedroom, installing a new telephone line, painting the fence white, buying more curtains for the several windows, etc) since it was picked because it has the most number of pros than the rest and is marginally better than the current, then this phase will make the future residence better suit our needs. After repairing, the future residence can now be tested if it is already safe to live at. It is now time for our next stage.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The project execution or production stage is where we initially move in to our place to test how we feel about our new house. We must be able to deliver everything that was set as our scope or our task-to-accomplish even before the initiation stage. Now, to make this efficient and measurable or quantifiable, we have to list down a set of questionnaire or a set of steps to do and test our new house against it. This phase is called the project monitoring. In this phase, processes are performed to anticipate and correct the potential problems that may arise upon project completion before it happens. To make our personal project quantifiable, we must subject it to a series of questions where it can pass or fail. Questions should be targeted about the changes that we made during the design stage (i.e. if the future scenario served its purpose, etc). For this stage, if there are some questions that our future house was not able to resolve, these will be treated as issues which should be resolved before we will be able to move on to our completion stage. For our project to be quantifiable, profitable, or justifiable, the future scenarios should be subjected to questions that are based, but not limited, to the changes that the current scenarios were subjected to. And the future scenarios should be able to remedy most, if not all, of the remiss of the current scenario. In short, our future scenario should be able to pass all monitoring stage questions in order for our project to be a success. After all issues are closed, or all problems are resolved, we can now move on to our project completion stage. For the project completion stage, our project passed the monitoring stage and all issues are already resolved. Our future residence is finally ready to be moved in and called a home. Reference: LEWIS, James. 2002. Fundamentals of Project Management. New York: AMACOM

Respect Essay Essay Example for Free

Respect Essay Essay Respect can be defined as a positive feeling of esteem for a person or entity. It denotes the regard and consideration shown by an individual towards others. Respect cannot be demanded, it is an asset that has to be earned. From the very childhood kids are taught to respect their parents, elders, teachers and an unending list of social obligations. This is because as people, we tend to respect other people who has more experience with an abundance of things such as life. Also, people tend to respect others that teach them the most through life. First, I would like to start off with my respect for my father, the most important man in my life. A lot of children of today’s society are not able to say those words, due to the absence of a father figure. Not to boast about the situation, but it’s no other feeling in the world like it, especially when you are a young man growing up into adulthood. I see my father every day in his older age and weary condition, going to work to provide for our family. I can tell and even seethe physical and emotional toll, that life is subduing him. All of this pressure and weight that is put on his back and he still strives through the barriers to provide. Taking on every responsibility for himself, and even the responsibilities of others: that’s a hero. One who deserves to be look at and admired with the highest level of respect. Although I speak about my father with pride, I also respect many other male fathers. In the same breath, I also have tremendous respect for my karate instructor. Not only is he a father of three children in his immediate family, but he is really a father to hundreds of people in his karate school. I look at my instructor as a respectable, and great man because it takes a lot to bring in and teach hundreds of people the art of karate. Some people may never understand this significance, but when you are able to take young men and women off of the streets and turn their life around for the better, it is a blessing and only commendable by respect. With the discipline learned from the karate school many people was able to avoid controversy with others, a process which saved many lives from being harmed. Being a hero can mean pulling someone out of a deadly situation or giving someone a place to stay. It can also mean making better young men and women of society, and I believe this deserves great respect. The final person that I have the greatest respect for, is myself. I believe that innocence ends when the illusion that the liking of oneself is taken away from him. Self-Respect is a quality which is extremely important for the dignity, confidence and personality of an individual. People with self-respect have the courage of accepting their mistakes. They exhibit certain toughness, a kind of moral courage and they display character. It is important to respect yourself because if you are not able to who will? Nobody can be you, besides you. For acquiring self-respect, we need to learn who we really are and to accept ourselves as we are and live with that. It is better to displease people by doing what is right rather than to temporarily please them by doing what you know is wrong. To sum up this point, Self-respect is necessary for the happiness of Man. In the final analysis, every person has his own standards of judging people. Yet, there are certain set of qualities that are common and popular to gain respect in society. An individual who possess high moral values and shows compassion and solidarity towards other human beings is respected by a large section of society. Then there are other traits like general behavior, reaction, response and a personal growth. All these factors contribute to effectively comprehend the term, â€Å"respect†. It is a natural response or reaction towards an individual. To earn respect is a matter of individualistic integrity and rational behavior. It’s not easy nor hard to receive, but it is something that you would like from others. So go out and challenge yourself to be the best person you can possibly be. Who knows you may earn respect from an infinite amount of people.

Financial Sector Crm In The Financial Sector Marketing Essay

Financial Sector Crm In The Financial Sector Marketing Essay Like every other industry the financial services sector is also witnessing a plethora of changes. Facing umpteen challenges, the industry despite its phenomenal growth, has witnessed a slump in some areas. The main reason? Changes, vast competition, increased costs, decreased efficiency, inadequate client relationships and poor sales processes. Something vital is needed to cut through the waves and make the sector boom. Organizations need to basically better their relations with their customers in an effort to sustain them. Financial firms find it almost impossible to have a complete and holistic view of their customers and that puts them at a disadvantage when knowing their customers is a criteria. More often than not selling financial services and products is infinitely more difficult than the work other industries face. The past decade has seen companies in this sector slowly realizing that there is an answer. The financial services industry is now looking at customer focus as a means by which it can achieve lost profits. The result ? An acute focus on customer relationship management CRM. Adopting this strategy has slowly resulted in financial firms, venture capital, private equity, investment banking institutions etc, achieving an increase in overall productivity. CRM for financial services enables the financial firm to know the customer better. In addition it helps uncover potential customers and improves overall customer service. It helps build an advantage over competitors as firms are enabled to increase their intelligence about the customer. CRM manages to provide this information to almost every employee. CRM for financial services endeavors to improve and encourage relationship building with existing and potential customers, the various departments within the organization, management etc. The dilemma that most financial institutions face is that they do not store their valuable customer data in a comprehensible or easily assessable manner. In financial firms this intelligence is generally scattered throughout the firm and is almost unusable. CRM encourages financial services firms in changing their scattered data into something that can be used by every employee in an easy manner. Who does it benefit? Analysts, asset managers, financial professionals all stand to benefit from the implementation of customer relationship management. CRMS BENEFITS TO THE FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY IN A NUTSHELL ARE: Identification of potential customers Provision of data regarding history and preferences of investors Increase of customer knowledge of employees Provision of an excellent view of customer relationships Encouraging customer relationships Increasing and improving financial productivity Storage and provision of financial data of customers Easy assess to collated financial data Managing financial deals Evaluation of a potential investment Aiding client acquisition Investment selling Tracking and monitoring financial deals Aiding the sales team in the provision of customers needs Encouraging and assisting the increase of cross selling and upselling Enabling the building of trust for brokers, agents and financial planners etc GUIDELINES FOR FINANCIAL FIRMS OPTING FOR CRM: It is imperative to pay additional attention to what other means the organization can adopt in order to maintain and build customer relationships. Every possible means by which this can be achieved should be scrutinized and indulged in. Financial institutions implementing CRM need to realize the importance of online banking and indulge in it. Since almost 55 million is being spent on it firms opting for CRM need to focus more on online banking and understand that it benefits the customer enormously , indirectly giving a hand to customer management. It is highly important for financial institutions to analyze and understand the needs and preferences of their customers. The data that CRM provides should be scrutinized and studied sufficiently so as to really know the customer. Segmentation should be undertaken with sufficient focus being made on each segment and the right communication within the segment .The right marketing efforts should be made as well so that the adequate balance between customer focus and profitability is achieved. Firms need to focus their marketing efforts far more on the customer than on the product itself. It is imperative that sufficient and frequent customer retention programs are initiated. Technology should always be incorporated in all business efforts to ensure the right implementation of CRM. Focusing more on the hottest trend relationship banking will go a long way in the successful implementation of CRM. Sales and service should be carried out only after sufficient customer knowledge is obtained and scrutinized. Holding onto traditional practices is something most banks do. This should be avoided as much as possible. PITFALLS OF CRM FOR THE FINANCIAL SECTOR : The complexity and magnanimity of this particular industry makes it harder to adopt a holistic and integrated customer approach. Financial firms tend to focus more on the product than on the customer. In this respect they are almost oblivious to them. Since most financial organizations are considerably big in size, the cost involved is considerably higher. There are various challenges facing the industry and these all need to be overcome in order to actually succeed at the implementation of CRM. THE BOTTOM LINE? Is CRM for financial services actually benefiting the financial services sector? The answer is yes. Obtaining, maintaining and basically utilizing a customer database in an effort to maximize or improve customer relationships will go a long way in increasing overall productivity. A failure to focus on these relationships can prove detrimental while knowing and indulging your customer preferences can go a long way in securing and raising profitability. The financial services sector has been perceived by many as leading the adoption of CRM, and defining many leading practices, and there are certainly case studies to support this notion. However, while financial services companies, have pioneered in some cases, in others they have fallen victim to common mistakes in there approach to CRM investments. I would generally categorize these short comings as relating to how they went about applying CRM services to their CRM program, and on what objectives they focused these activities. THEHOW: A recently published global survey (conducted by IBM Business Consulting Services in conjunction with The Economist Intelligence Unit) revealed the primary culprits responsible for under performing CRM programs. The study was able to statistically define 79% of the difference between success and failure, and of this percentage, 70% of the difference between high performing and low performing CRM initiatives were attributable to how well, or badly they executed in the below five dimensions of a typical CRM project approach: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ CRM strategy and value prop development (22%) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Budget process management (20%) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Process change (12%) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Governance (9%) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Change management (7.1%) What immediately jumps out of this analysis is that project execution in areas like IT implementation, and customer data integration and data ownership had a much lower impact on success or failure of the initiative, yet, most would agree that these were the precise areas where most of the CRM services investment was made. The What: So, one might conclude that shoring up the services effort in the softer project dimensions would make CRM the sustainable competitive advantage it was promised to be. Unfortunately, emerging research suggests that this will not be enough, and that competitive advantage depends increasingly on what the company defines as the ultimate aims of the CRM program. Most of the CRM investments to date have focused on improving internal measures of customer management success such as cross sell conversion rates, and sales force productivity. To be sure, these are worthy goals, and have delivered much in terms of the efficiency and reliability of customer facing operations. One might call these the hygiene aims. Over time, however, these efforts have become table stakes in how a company interacts with a customer, and have proven to be easily replicable by competitors, therefore producing little sustainable competitiveadvantage. So to move ahead of the pack again, leading financial sector companies are beginning to direct attention, and CRM services effort to gaining deeper insight into what motivates a customer to become a true advocate of the company and its services. These are often referred to as the emotive attributes of the customer relationship. New customer insight techniques, enterprise communications frameworks, and human performance programs are the means to this end. Understanding and applying CRM services investments to these areas are where the financial sector will gain real competitive advantage.

Gothic Novels Essay -- Literary Analysis, The Castle of Otranto

Gothic is described as something that is destructive and barbaric which attracts and disrupts what is considered civilised. Therefore to a certain extent Jackson is right. however the â€Å"very act of speaking about these socially unspeakable is an ambiguous gesture (Punter p.417).† This is where the element of superstition and the paranormal come in. In Horace Walpole’s The Castle Otranto and Matthew Lewis’ The Monk this element of paranormal and superstition gives way or embodies the contradiction of society which Jackson speaks of, or at least some of them. Its is important to recognise however, that though the message or the plot of these stories are sometimes sarcastic or even impractical they do manage to interrogate society and its social norms. But still, while some things are addressed others are repeated and left unsolved and this is what I will try to explore. What does The Monk and The Castle of Otranto have to say about their society as well as how plot and character might impact on the message the reader ends up receiving. The Castle of Otranto brings to light many aspect concerning society but in a way the reader is not sure whether or not to take it seriously; firstly, from Conrad being struck down by an helmet to Matilda being killed. As Markman Ellis (p.32) argues, â€Å"the handling of these elements is somewhat unusual.† The whole plot of the story is build around an enigma, for example the prophecy that states, â€Å"the castle and lordship of Otranto should pass from the present family, whenever the real owner should be grown too large to inhabit it (p.109)† The handling of these supernatural elements though form the base of the main plot, distracts the readers from the seriousness of the reality. Manfred driven by the... ...ntonia and immediately falls for her not realising that what he feels is the bond of siblings recognising each other. Both novels seem to take a stand against evoking morals by repressing education. In The Monk both the church and Elvira play a role in their children's down fall. Antonio is not permitted to read certain parts of the Bible for fear that she will be curupted. The Castle of Otranto and The Monk seems to be about evil and the problem of externalising it. An example of this is the mob's behaviour in The Monk "which provides some kind of justification for violence and at the same time emphasizes the ease with which revenge can be incontrollably excessive( James Watt, 1999, p.92)." This is true for both novel as well as other (Frankenstein and Zofloya). In The Castle of Otranto Manfred kills Matilda, mistakenly, by trying to kill Isabella.

Chinas Rise Essays -- Chinese History, Mao

China’s last dynasty ended one hundred years ago, and the last great dynasty ended one thousand years ago. (Dharmananda)Nonetheless, China is rising out of the ashes in modern times. China became a communist nation in nineteen hundred and forty nine. (Woods, 2009) With the help of the U.S.S.R., China made multiple nuclear weapons in the nineteen fifties. This sparked the start of China’s military modernization and their reemergence to the international community. China’s international policy is to promote world peace. They hope to do so by staying neutral and only defending their interests, and not instigating. The only contradiction in China’s policy is that it interferes with Tibet and Taiwan. If Taiwan ever tries declaring independence, China will declare war on them and it just so happens the United States is an ally of Taiwan. The global superpower of today is the United States of America. (Vale, 2010) The United States has the strongest military for ce in the world, with the most funding of any country by billions of dollars. The United States is also China’s number one trading partner, so if China were to oppose the United States, China’s economy would crumble. China’s rise is not a threat to global security. Pre-communist China was a nation in turmoil. In the nineteen forties the country was in a civil war, between the Nationalist’s and Communist’s. China’s economy was in shambles. The weapons that the Communist’s used were primarily from the U.S.S.R. and the Nationalist’s used weapons from the U.S.A. (Global Security, 2005) When the Communist’s won the war, the U.S.S.R. continued to support the Communist regime of China. In the nineteen fifties China began their nuclear weapons program, building multiple nuclear bombs... ...ates they would lose their number one trading partner by almost $70 billion dollars. (Prasad & Gu, 2009)The loss of the United States would devastate the Chinese economy. China at this point in time isn’t ready to oppose the United States. China’s rise is not a threat to global security. They promote peace and international development. Their international policy is not a threat to global security. The only issue they have is if Taiwan ever declares independence. If China declares war on Taiwan then the United States would declare war on China. Global security relies on the United States for their military force. If China were to oppose the United States they would lose. Since China depends on United States for trade they wouldn’t go to war against them. Global security is not threatened by China’s rise because China and the United States depend on each other.

Essay --

Popular representations of war encompass how different generations and societies have seen, witnessed and explained or justified wars through the use of language, literature, visual arts and later, films. Contemporary war refers to the new concepts, weaponry, and technologies that have been used at the beginning of WWII to the present time period. Over the years that have passed, the methods and concepts have assumed newer complex forms, mainly due to widespread use of information and technology and also modern armies that have constantly upgraded to preserve their battle worthiness. Furthermore, contemporary war has sought the greater inclusion of civilians and civilian infrastructure as targets in destroying a nations capability of waging war. As an apt corollary of popular representations of war, Homer’s epic poem, ‘The Iliad’, tries to show its audience the suffering and loss caused by war, in his time period. In addition, some of the main themes in popular re presentations of war are, for example, the theme of wrath and revenge, motives that have been the start of many wars; and the theme of military prowess. However, ‘The Iliad’ can also be seen as a misleading corollary that disconnects from popular representations of war through the centuries, due to the fact that it excludes the theme of battle or combat suffering, since in ‘The Iliad’, soldiers die instantly, whereas the author does not expose to the readers the suffering accompanying so many wounded soldiers, who die a slow and un-hero like death. Using adequate quotes from ‘The Iliad’, Lokesson, Shay, and other outside sources, we will try to understand how ‘The Iliad’ is an apt and a misleading corollary to understand popular representations of war. The Greek ancient ... ...wn us a less tidy affair, involving many conflicting needs and many more possibilities of dissent. Overall, one thing remains clear, whether in The Iliad or in other depictions of war through the times, it is the young that are sent to the battlefield, either to gain glory or to die, thus, as Herbert Hoover once said: â€Å"Old men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die.† The Iliad is no different, as it clearly shows us that war is waged by those that can physically fight it, that show the bravery and masculine love for the affair and that have something to gain (or lose) from it. The Iliad thus, becomes perhaps, one of the greatest depictions of how war is fought and why it is fought, and the pathos it brings to all it touches. If we still read it 2,500 years or so, after it was written, it must conjure powerful feelings with which we still identify. Essay -- Popular representations of war encompass how different generations and societies have seen, witnessed and explained or justified wars through the use of language, literature, visual arts and later, films. Contemporary war refers to the new concepts, weaponry, and technologies that have been used at the beginning of WWII to the present time period. Over the years that have passed, the methods and concepts have assumed newer complex forms, mainly due to widespread use of information and technology and also modern armies that have constantly upgraded to preserve their battle worthiness. Furthermore, contemporary war has sought the greater inclusion of civilians and civilian infrastructure as targets in destroying a nations capability of waging war. As an apt corollary of popular representations of war, Homer’s epic poem, ‘The Iliad’, tries to show its audience the suffering and loss caused by war, in his time period. In addition, some of the main themes in popular re presentations of war are, for example, the theme of wrath and revenge, motives that have been the start of many wars; and the theme of military prowess. However, ‘The Iliad’ can also be seen as a misleading corollary that disconnects from popular representations of war through the centuries, due to the fact that it excludes the theme of battle or combat suffering, since in ‘The Iliad’, soldiers die instantly, whereas the author does not expose to the readers the suffering accompanying so many wounded soldiers, who die a slow and un-hero like death. Using adequate quotes from ‘The Iliad’, Lokesson, Shay, and other outside sources, we will try to understand how ‘The Iliad’ is an apt and a misleading corollary to understand popular representations of war. The Greek ancient ... ...wn us a less tidy affair, involving many conflicting needs and many more possibilities of dissent. Overall, one thing remains clear, whether in The Iliad or in other depictions of war through the times, it is the young that are sent to the battlefield, either to gain glory or to die, thus, as Herbert Hoover once said: â€Å"Old men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die.† The Iliad is no different, as it clearly shows us that war is waged by those that can physically fight it, that show the bravery and masculine love for the affair and that have something to gain (or lose) from it. The Iliad thus, becomes perhaps, one of the greatest depictions of how war is fought and why it is fought, and the pathos it brings to all it touches. If we still read it 2,500 years or so, after it was written, it must conjure powerful feelings with which we still identify.