Going Green in the GCC

Argos and Corinth essays

Argos and Corinth essays Argos was founded by Phoroneus; he named it after his son, Argos. It was the second largest city-state in Ancient Greece, and for centuries, the most important one. Argos was subsidiary to Mycenae until the Dorian invasion in the 12th century BC. Then Argos became the most prominent Greek city-state in the northeastern Peloponnese. Argos and the Early Hoplite Greek lists begin in 680 BC proper, which coincides with the dates attributed to the rise of King Pheidon of Argos, who is attributed with formalizing the hoplite system and reuniting the Argolid city-states under Argive rule.Though, Argos became held in disgrace by other city-states in 480 BC when Athens and Sparta asked Argos polis to send supplies, and Argos refused. Argos had a very successful military. Argos has always been productive during times of war and peace. Argos and Sparta were competing city-states Argos weather is usually hot since its polis is located on a plain. The Argives soil is not very fertile, compelling them to fight the elements for food. This was a major hardship for them, but inspite of this, Argives were superior and an envy to th0e other Greek city-states. In 146 BC Argos became part of the Roman province of Achaea (province of Argos) and flourished as a center of arts and trade during the Roman period. Argos was most famous for its statues of athletes; magnificent and rippling with muscle. The were also famous for their wonderful musicians and poets. Argos was the first place in all of Greece where plays were performed in open-air theatres; they drew crowds of over 20,000. Drama reached new heights in Argos polis. Corinth, as a coastal city, had its own bank and successful works program. From this, their history flourished. Though, Corinth was never the mo ...

Marcia.ehret_inspiration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Marcia.ehret_inspiration - Essay Example However, we can set parameters and working definitions, but the importance and impact of these biblical inspirations will only be manifested depending upon the individual’s personal belief. To the atheist/ agnostics, no matter how defined the subject matter of biblical inspiration is, it will be impossible to come to point where he levels off and agrees with a believer. A believer, on the other hand, will perpetually argue on the grounds of established facts such as Jesus being able to acknowledge and refer to specific scriptures in his teachings, in the way he prepared his apostles to document his existence and the various lessons he taught, in the way all these survived despite dramatic efforts to destroy it, and the way how the teachings, virtues, lessons are true and applicable regardless of era or period. This religious relativity is difficult to compromise especially that the trend nowadays focuses on two extremes: religious pluralism at one end and denomination-centered belief on the other end. In a gist, the bible is a worthy and credible source of God’s word since its contents were written and recorded by people who embodied the authorized representative of god to deliver a specific message.

Importance Of The Tea Party Movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Importance Of The Tea Party Movement - Essay Example Tea Party disrupts the political process and it does not help America move forward. Instead of contributing to the national government, it thoroughly muddles policymaking to the point of paralysis. It’s the reason for existence is redundant, echoing that of the Republican, although in a noisier and more populist manner not unlike the voice of the rabble. A core component of the argument that the Tea Party is not a helpful addition to American politics is the fact that it does not have a single uniform agenda. The leaders and organizers try to rationalize this by saying that such fragmentation and decentralization prevents the party from being co-opted and corrupted from within (Rauch 2010). But, unfortunately, this is not the case. The lack of leadership and unifying principles paved the way for divergent goals and priorities among the various groups that constitute the party. The result is raucous agenda that even confounded the very Tea Party members or those affiliated with the group. Consider, for example, the rally that some of Tea Party members staged amidst the debt limit deadline while the Senate is deadlocked and nowhere near the resolution of the crisis. The group converged on the World War II memorial on the National Mall and did some damage to some facilities before proceeding to stage their antics near the White House. As speaker after speaker spoke in unorganized fashion either on a platform or before television cameras, the different messages were vying for the public’s attention. At one point, someone was talking about the government closing down the national park. Then, an attendee interviewed by the members of the media covering the event was calling for civil disobedience, demanding that Obama is removed from office (Cooper 2013).

EXPLICATION OF A SONG Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

EXPLICATION OF A SONG - Essay Example It was sung by â€Å"The Beatles† for their album â€Å"Help† in 1965. Since then, the song has achieved milestones over the years. It is a melancholy about a broken love relationship sung by a single member of â€Å"The Beatles†. The story symbolizes the yesterday for the happy days of the past when there used to be joys all around. The basic theme of the song is the message which tells never to lose your love and try to maintain it for the whole of your life. It is love that beautifies the life and nothing else. When there remains no love, one earnestly waits and desires for it to come back. But that never happens as the time once gone never returns. The small lyrical ballad is outstanding in the sense that it narrates the whole story from the very beginning to the end. It has the memories of the golden days, of the separation and the longings for the days to return. The song is complete in nature to the extent that it covers the whole of turns and twists a lov e-story brings with it. The song begins with the title word, â€Å"yesterday†. The poet starts to tell the story of his failure. He tells the reader that there was a time when everything went right for him. There was beauty and love. Life was magnificent. He adds: â€Å"all my troubles seemed so far away† informing the audience that his life had no miseries, sorrows and concerns. What he had to care for was the sweet moments he could enjoy with his girl-friend. Life was no more than a story of the dreamland where all the demands were accord approval. But he knows nothing what happened to his life? The charm of life then was get up from the deep sleep. The troubles which he bade â€Å"good bye† had arrived again. They had the intentions to live there forever: â€Å"now it looks as though they are here to stay†. But as is the nature of love and the story with every lover, hope plays its role does not letting the lover leave its rope; just stick to it. He be lieves in the honesty of the â€Å"yesterday† in the words: â€Å"oh, I believe in yesterday†. The way the â€Å"yesterday† is appealed here is heart-touching. It looks like he is negotiating with the yesterday to persuade her to bring the gone glory to his life once again. Then comes the part of the story where the poet tells us the situation at the present. He tells: â€Å"suddenly, I am not half the man I used to be†. The poet shows us the ruins of his dream valley in the words that he is no more the perfect person. He is living with a broken heart. He sees no attraction in life any more. He convinces us that life comes from inside and it does not matter what looks outside. A man hit at heart can never be taken as alive though walking like a live man. He goes further explaining that: â€Å"there’s a shadow hanging over me†. The darkness prevails over him. He sees no light to proceed in the course of life. Something ugly like shadow has ta ken possession of him. He is not able to see beyond that shadow and for him; the world is a place of anxiety. The poet goes further and complains against the instability of the world and all that is inside it including humans. He weeps that the routine of life did not give him enough time to get to the taste of joys to his full. It was so much a short time for the enjoyment of his love. The troubles were in a very much hurry as to replace the pleasures. The poet’s desire for the â€Å"yesterday†

The effects of comorbid psychopathy

The effects of comorbid psychopathy Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatments Criminal Behavior and Cognitive Processing in Male Offenders With Antisocial Personality Disorder With and Without Comorbid Psychopathy Topic: Effects of Comorbid Psychopathy Introduction Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and psychopathy are two syndromes which are effective in predicting antisocial behavior and identifying dangerous subsets of criminal offenders (Serin, 1991). The distinction between both disorders is often blurred, with DSM-IV–TR suggesting that ASPD and psychopathy can be used interchangeably (American Psychiatric Association, 2006). The two syndromes share important correlates, which does raise the distinct possibility that both ASPD and psychopathy may reflect the same underlying disorder. Conversely, there is evidence that suggests that both syndromes contrast with regards to cognitive and affective correlates. Individuals with psychopathy display adequate cognitive functioning under normal conditions but performance suffers on a variety of cognitive tasks when heavy demand is placed on the brain’s Left Hemisphere (LH); deficits not associated with ASPD (Llanes Kosson, 2006). Prior research has also revealed that individuals with both ASPD and psychopathy exhibit greater criminal activity and weaker affective facilitation than those with ASPD only, suggesting the notion that a qualitative distinction exists between ASPD and psychopathy (Kosson, Lorenz, Newman, 2006). Consequently, it is uncertain if the two disorders reflect the same underlying pathophysiologies, whether they are two distinct syndromes, or whether one is simply a more severe expression of the other. The current study was carried out to address this issue and it does so by measuring the variance in criminal behavior and cognitive processing in an independent sample with regards to the presence of ASPD with versus without comorbid psychopathy. The study, which utilized six-hundred-and-seventy-four [674] male inmates of an Illinois county jail as its sample, was subdivided into two portions; the first which measured criminal behavior based on participant’s prior criminal records and the second which utilized data from a global-local processing task (conducted on a prior occasion) as a laboratory measure of cognitive processing. Participants exhibited either ASPD and comorbid psychopathy, ASPD but not psychopathy, or neither ASPD nor psychopathy. Associated Theories The criminal behavior analysis was conducted under the supposition that the presence of ASPD with comorbid psychopathy in participants would exhibit more severe and varied criminal histories when compared to control or participants with ASPD only. For the cognitive processing portion of the study, the LHA hypothesis was utilized. This theory predicts that psychopaths will display general cognitive ineptness and will respond more slowly than non-psychopaths when primary LH processing systems, specifically the attention, motor, language, and perceptual systems, are substantially and differentially activated. Hypotheses The study evaluates three perspectives. The primary hypothesis of the experiment (H1: ASPD with and without comorbid psychopathy are disorders characterized by distinctly different underlying mechanisms) would be proven if ASPD with and without psychopathy reveal different patterns of performance in cognitive processing and show differences in criminal behavior. If both groups manifest similar measures of both criminal behavior and cognitive processing, it provides evidence for the null hypothesis (H0: ASPD with and without comorbid psychopathy are disorders that reflect the same underlying mechanism). The study also specifies a co-primary hypothesis (H2: ASPD with and without comorbid psychopathy are disorders that are distinct only in their severity) where criminal behavior and cognitive task performance impairments differ only in degree. Sample and Selection Procedure A stringent criterion was utilized in the selection of the six-hundred-and-seventy-four [674] detainees of an Illinois county jail whom comprised the primary sample used for the study. One-hundred-and-fifty-six [156] men from this primary sample, all whom had previously completed the global-local task, further comprised a secondary sub-sample which was used in the analyses of cognitive processing. In accordance to the inclusion criteria, all subjects were eighteen [18] – forty-five [45] year old males who had estimated IQ levels above seventy [70], could read English, were informed about their prior criminal histories, did not currently take medication that displayed neurocognitive side effects, did not exhibit psychotic symptoms, and were right handed (for analyses of cognitive processing task). Before being classified into groups, the primary sample was subject to a series of interviews and evaluations in order for diagnosis of the relevant disorders. Following an in-depth i nterview and review of available files, the Hare Psychopathy Checklist – Revised (PCL-R) was used to assess the presence of psychopathy in the participants. Inmates had to score at least 30/40 to be diagnosed with the disorder. PCL-R scores were slightly modified in order to avoid overlap between psychopathy scores and antisocial behavior The DSM-IV diagnostic criterion was used to assess ASPD. Following an interview and a review of available file material, inmates had to display at least 3 of 7 symptoms be diagnosed with the disorder. Inmates were then subdivided into one of three groups: ASPD with comorbid psychopathy (ASPD + PSY; n = 145), ASPD without comorbid psychopathy (ASPD-only; n = 201), and neither ASPD nor psychopathy (controls; n = 328). Outliers in both portions of the study were identified and dealt with accordingly, resulting in a final sample of one-hundred-and-fifty-three [153] inmates for cognitive analyses with no change to the primary sample (where extrem ities were not excluded but modified). Procedure For the criminal history analysis, the ASPD-only, ASPD+PSY and control groups were evaluated based on three distinctions of criminal behavior: violent crime (murder, sexual assault, armed robbery), nonviolent crime (theft, forgery, arson), and criminal versatility (the variety of offences the inmates were charged with). The Independent variable (IV) in this case would be the grouping of inmates based on their disorders, and the Dependent variable (DV) would be their corresponding criminal charges. The global-local processing task was utilized for the measurement of cognitive processing. This task is designed in such a way that the frequency of presented stimuli on global or local levels could be varied to differentially activate the relevant hemisphere-specific perceptual system. Each participant was provided a computer which displayed stimuli in the form of alphabet letters on the screen; specifically the target stimulus (S or H) presented on a local or global level, and a distraction stimulus (A or E) at the opposite level. Each stimulus was presented for a duration of one-hundred-and-fifty [150] milliseconds and participants responded by pressing the corresponding key (S or H) on the keyboard. Target frequency, the Independent Variable (IV), was fluctuated to manipulate LH versus RH processing while response latency and accuracy of the inmates, the Dependent Variable (DV), was calculated. Under Local Bias conditions (L) the targets had an appearance rate of 80% at the local level and 20% at the global level. The opposite occurred in Global Bias conditions (G). In the Neutral condition (N), the target had chance to appear equally as often at either global or local levels. Participants completed eight [8] practice runs and sixty-four [64] trials per condition. Results A variety of statistical tests were utilized throughout the current study. Chi-square (X2) distribution was used to show that no relationship existed between ethnicity and group membership, and Welch F’ and t’ tests were used to demonstrate that demographic variables such as IQ, and age were not associated with any indices of criminal behavior or cognitive processing in any condition. Analyses of variance (ANOVAs) and complement t’ tests were the primary means of comparing groups on both the criminal behavior and cognitive processing portions. Cohen’s measure of effect size was used throughout to measure the impacts of the IV in both portions of the study. All the obtained results had very low p values, suggesting that they were not due to simple chance. Primary analyses of criminal behavior expressed that both ASPD-only and ASPD+PSY groups were charged with more violent, more nonviolent, and more types of criminal offences than control groups with a relatively small effect size. Furthermore, ASPD+PSY inmates showed more severity on all three distinctions of measured criminal conduct compared to ASPD-only inmates with small to medium effects. Additionally, the above analyses was repeated but this time involving a much more stringent criteria to diagnose ASPD (5 of 7 symptoms or 71.4%) to make it more comparable to the strict selection criteria for psychopathy (PCL-R score of 30/40 or 75%). The new analyses which involved the updated ‘severe’ ASPD inmates did not bring about any significant change to the results. Primary analyses of cognitive processing illustrated that, for local targets in local bias conditions, the response latencies of ASPD+PSY inmates were greater than both control and ASPD-only inmates to a large effect. However, the ASPD-only group did not differ from the control. The groups also differed in response latencies for global targets in local bias conditions with ASPD+PSY inmates responding more slowly than the ASPD-only group, but not slower than the control group (to a small effect). There were no significant group differences in response latencies for local or global targets under both neutral and global bias conditions. Discussion Dear Dr. Neo Cortex Over the course of writing this paper, I have learnt quite a few things about these two particular personality disorders. Rarely have the relationships between ASPD and psychopathy been explored within the same study, so this particular research provides plenty of new evidence and perspectives into the nature of both syndromes. I would like to discuss with you the end results of the study, which of the observed hypotheses are substantiated, and the implications it might have. Both before and after the stringent criteria was utilized to re-diagnose ASPD, inmates with ASPD with comorbid psychopathy averaged more violent charges and a greater variety of charges than ASPD only inmates. From this, it can be inferred that criminal behavior does not indeed correlate to the severity of the criteria used to diagnose psychopathy. This invalidates the co-primary hypothesis H2 that psychopathy is merely a severe form of ASPD. Also, the results from the cognitive processing analyses are inconsistent with the null hypothesis H0 which states that ASPD with and without comorbid psychopathy are disorders that reflect the same underlying mechanism. Under local bias conditions (L), the ASPD+PSY group demonstrated poor response latencies in accordance to LHA hypothesis. However, not only did the ASPD-only group not show similar deficits in cognitive processing, they performed on par with the controls and even better than the ASPD+PSY group in responding to global and local targets under local bias conditions (L). This demonstrates that individuals with psychopathy may host a neurocognitive defect that is not shared by those with antisocial personality disorder only. These results obtained from both the criminal behavior and cognitive processing analyses provide validation for the primary hypothesis H1, that ASPD with and without comorbid psychopathy are not two syndromes which reflect the same underlying pathophysiology but are disorders characterized by distinct mechanisms. The implications of this study are worthy of note, as such findings are inconsistent with the personality disorder revisions in Section II of DSM –V, which continues to categorize psychopathy and ASPD as a singular diagnosis. This would undoubtedly lead to a reduction of diagnostic specificity, especially since this and other studies have (somewhat) established that ASPD with and without comorbid psychopathy are different on the neural, cognitive, and emotional levels. Having said that, this study is not in any way without its flaws and limitations, despite the numerous precautions taken by the researchers. The biggest limitation that I find in this study is that it is restricted within a male population. The study could have greatly benefited from including female participants, or have held separate analyses for women. I assume that females with ASPD and psychopathy would behave in ways different enough (due to social roles, etc.) to warrant study. Understandably, this first limitation is a direct result of the next one; the sample was restricted to one country jail in Illinois. A felony conviction is required for a sentence into such state prisons, making the sample less representative of criminal offenders as a whole (as most convicts with nonviolent or minor offences don’t get sent to maximum security prisons). Also, Illinois is hardly representative of the entire United States, so studies that set out to replicate this one should look i nto collecting samples from correctional facilities across state lines. This sort of study would also be aided if samples (mostly control groups) are obtained from outside of correctional settings. Finding nonclinical participants could help set baseline readings with regards to criminal behavior and cognitive processing. I would also suggest that future studies try to test other variables between ASPD and psychopathy, such as the level of self-esteem, age of onset of criminal behavior, or perhaps something physiological such as structural differences in the brain. I believe that this is just the beginning of research into this topic and would like to see where researchers such as yourself would take the field with the information you have today. Best of luck on your next scheme to rule the world References American Psychiatric Association. (2006). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorder: Test revisions (4th ed.). Washington, DC. Kosson, D. S., Lorenz, A. R., Newman, J. P. (2006, November). Effects of comorbid psychopathy on criminal offending and emotion processing in male offenders with antisocial personality disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 115(4), 798-806. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.115.4.798 Llanes, S., Kosson, D. S. (2006). Divided visual attention and left hemisphere activation among psychopathic and non-psychopathic offenders. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 28, 9-18. doi:10.1007/s10862-006-4533-2 Riser, R. E., Kosson, D. S. (2013). Criminal behavior and cognitive processing in male offenders with antisocial personality disorder with and without comorbid psychopathy. Personality Disorders:Theory, Research, and Treatment, 4(4), 332-340. doi:10.1037/a0033303 Serin, R. C. (1991). Psychopathy and violence in criminals. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 6, 423-431. doi:10.1177/0886260910060040021991

Power and Politics in Organizations Essay -- Power and Politics in the

Power and Politics in Organizations Introduction Have you ever wondered what role politics and power play in organizations? When used effectively they can be compatible in reaching the organizations goals. Power is defined as the ability to get someone to do something you want done or the ability to make things happen in the way you want them. (Schermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn, Chap. 15). Power is important within organizations because it is the way in which management influences individuals to make things happen. When power and influence combine, most of the time 'politics' become involved in some manner which may pose some problems. Organizational politics is best described as management influenced by self-interest through the use of means not necessarily authorized by the organization. Organizational politics have been viewed as an organizations enhancement tool to survive and fulfill goals. Power and Politics, though closely related, share similarities and differences but ultimately work together for the success of an organizatio n. Types of Power There are two types of power that influence both individual and organizational behaviors. The first one, known as Position Power is widely used by the managers as a direct result of their position in the organization. There are six bases under position power in which the management uses to effectively motivate their employees. Reward power is probably the most successful in controlling employees. There are several typ... Power and Politics in Organizations Essay -- Power and Politics in the Power and Politics in Organizations Introduction Have you ever wondered what role politics and power play in organizations? When used effectively they can be compatible in reaching the organizations goals. Power is defined as the ability to get someone to do something you want done or the ability to make things happen in the way you want them. (Schermerhorn, Hunt, and Osborn, Chap. 15). Power is important within organizations because it is the way in which management influences individuals to make things happen. When power and influence combine, most of the time 'politics' become involved in some manner which may pose some problems. Organizational politics is best described as management influenced by self-interest through the use of means not necessarily authorized by the organization. Organizational politics have been viewed as an organizations enhancement tool to survive and fulfill goals. Power and Politics, though closely related, share similarities and differences but ultimately work together for the success of an organizatio n. Types of Power There are two types of power that influence both individual and organizational behaviors. The first one, known as Position Power is widely used by the managers as a direct result of their position in the organization. There are six bases under position power in which the management uses to effectively motivate their employees. Reward power is probably the most successful in controlling employees. There are several typ...

King Arthur Literary Analysis Essay

The name King Arthur appears throughout a countless amount of literature, stories, cinema, and legend. King Arthur has always been a long-standing icon of heroism, and heroism is a theme mankind takes pleasure in romanticizing. Arthurian Romance is the classic example of good versus evil, knights in shining armor, forbidden love, and sorcery; the basic elements of a romanticized tale. And in a dark time where religion clashed, empires fought in epic battles, and the people of Britain suffered from poverty and disease, Arthurian legend was needed to lift the spirits of the hopeless. Arthurian Romance is an accurate portrayal of the time period better known as the Medieval Ages because it takes the woes and misfortunate events of that time and twists them into a heroic soap opera full of love, tragedy, and triumph. The Medieval Ages began around 476 AD, when the Roman emperor of the West abdicated. The period ends in the late fifteenth century with the discovery of the New World. During this period, different nations conquered and collapsed, society changed, and religion was further divided. During the Middle Ages, the Holy Roman Empire had begun an effort to occupy Britain. They wanted to drive out the Anglo-Saxons and convert the Pagans to Catholicism. A long lasting relic of Roman involvement in Britain is Hadrian’s Wall, which was a heavily fortified wall running west to east and was probably used to keep barbarian tribes out and regulate trade and passage into Romano-Britain territory. Along with military involvement, Rome also spread Catholicism to a Pagan Britain. Catholicism involves a hierarchy of religious leaders, with the Pope at the top. There are also bishops, priests, monks, and nuns who are apart of the clergy. Other than the clergy, Medieval society was composed of nobles, knights and serfs. Nobles commonly owned fiefs, an estate of land, and the serfs who worked there. Knights were employed to guard the fief and fight wars with other nobles. This was called Feudalism. When nobles declared a war on each other, many different warfare tactics were used to take down castles. Siege warfare was common, in which scaling ladders, battering rams, siege towers and catapults were utilized in order to enter a fortress. Infantry included archers and cavalry, and there was a broad assortment of weapons used; daggers, long swords, crossbows, throwing axes, clubs, maces, halberds, lances, and many more. While knights commonly fought for a noble or king, a group of fearsome knights known as the Templar Knights fought in the crusades for religious conquest. The Templar Knights are associated with King Arthur’s quest for the Holy Grail, and some of the knights of the round table are portrayed wearing a large red cross on their breastplate (which is the symbol of the Templar Knights). Knights were also involved with jousting. Jousting was a martial game between two knights mounted on horses and using lances. This was often part of a chivalrous tournament or used as a military tactic of heavily armed cavalry. Knights and nobles also were encompassed in courtly love, a conception of nobly and chivalrously expressing love and admiration. Courtly love often did not take place between a husband and wife. Instead, a man would shower another woman in gifts and symbols of his love to her and they would keep their affair secret. A famous example of courtly love is the affair between Lancelot du Lac and Queen Guinevere. The Middle Ages had many lows. Many people associate these times with the Black Plague or the Bubonic Plague. When the Mongols from the east attacked Europe, they brought with them a terrible disease that wiped out about 138 million people. Also during the Middle Ages, there was decrease in scholarly thinking and the quality of art. Religion is blamed for stunting the growth of new ideas and inventions. In fact, religion is the overlying cause for many of the events of the Medieval Ages. The greatest dispute over religion was the East-West Schism that split Christianity into the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. This split was born from disputes over whether the Pope could marry and iconoclasm (similar to worshipping false idols) and the use of local languages in church. They were even in dispute regarding the nature of God. The Crusades were another religious dispute. The Crusades were military campaigns undertaken by European Christians of the eleventh through the fourteenth centuries to take other the Holy Land and convert Muslims to Christianity. The First Crusade was a response to the Seljuk Turks conquering the â€Å"Holy Land† (present-day Israel and Palestine). However, most of these conquests were failures and achieved nothing except for interactions with the Arab world (in both beneficial and devastating ways). Lastly, there was the Inquisition. This was a formalized interrogation and persecution process of heretics (including satanic or witch-like behavior). Punishment for people suspected of heresy was torture and execution. The Church in the Middle Ages is clearly an influential factor of these times. The Medieval Ages also saw quite a bit of political changes. The Carolingian, established by Charles Martel, ruled present-day France, Belgium, Germany and Northern Italy. His grandson, Charlemagne established the Holy Roman Empire. In the North, Vikings and other Scandinavian became notorious for raiding Roman Catholic monasteries. In France, Vikings were referred to as Normans. They conquered Anglo-Saxon England in 1066. As mentioned before, Feudalism was the social, political, and economic system of the Middle Ages. England became a feudalistic society because there was not a unifying force bringing the people together. Many claims to the throne of all Britain were made, which is actually the premise of the King Arthur legend. Nobles and Kings owned land and had armies of Knights who pledged a code of chivalry to them. This was an honor system that strongly condemned betrayal and promoted mutual respect. In the Feudal society, only males could inherit the land. The land was passed down through primogeniture (to the eldest son). Noblewomen had limited rights. They could sometimes inherit fiefs but could not rule it. Noblewomen were only educated in domestic skills and were supposed to display feminine traits such as compassion and beauty. Peasants, male or female, had almost no rights. They couldn’t leave the manor without the permission of their lord. Over time, serfs (peasants) developed skills other than farming and slowly created a middle class that led Europe into the Renaissance. In the long run, all of these characteristics of the Medieval Ages are incorporated in the vast collection of Arthurian Romance. In the 1975 King Arthur Parody â€Å"Monty Python and The Holy Grail†, there is a scene that describes Arthur quite perfectly. In the scene, Arthur is traveling in a Feudal manor and comes across peasants working in a field outside of a castle. He asks a woman, â€Å"I am Arthur, King of the Britons. Whose castle is that? † The peasant woman looks up and asks, â€Å"King of the who? † Arthur repeats himself to which she replies, â€Å"Who are the Britons? † Arthur, stumped by her ignorance, tells her, â€Å"Well, we all are. We’re all Britons and I am your king. † The peasant woman shrugs and says, â€Å"I didn’t know we had a king. I thought we were an autonomous collective! † They argue about this for a moment and then the woman asked, â€Å"Well, how did you become king then? † Arthur dramatically respond with, â€Å"The Lady of the Lake, her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite, held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water signifying by Divine Providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur. That is why I am your king! † Another peasant nearby shouts, â€Å"Listen — strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony! † The meaning of the scene is that at the time King Arthur was created as a legend to legitimize the unifying king of Britain that would pull the people out of the Dark Ages. The punch line is that the land was so divided from feudalism and nobles trying to claim a non-existent throne that no one really took anyone seriously. However, Arthurian Romance became the bedtime story born out of the fantastical notion that Britain could be amalgamated into a strong empire. But let’s start at the beginning of the Arthurian legend. In most legends, Uther Pendragon is portrayed as Arthur’s father and Igraine as his mother. In Sir Thomas Malory’s The Crowning of King Arthur, the prophet Merlin helps a love-stricken Uther get with Igraine for a night. Arthur is born, but part of the agreement with Merlin was to have Arthur raised by another. Many years pass in which Arthur does not know his own nobility until he by chance, pulls the famous sword in the stone (the legend goes: â€Å"Who so Pulleth Out This Sword of this Stone and Anvil, is Rightwise King Born of all England. † (Malory, 1069)). Young Arthur accepts his role as King and unites Britain, defeats the Saxons, and establishes Camelot. In the first fictional story of Arthur’s life (Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the kings of Britain) by Geoffrey of Monmouth), Arthur is placed into a post-Roman Britain. Geoffrey uses the same fable of Arthur’s birth through the deception of Igraine. In this legend, Arthur also defeats the Saxons but he also expands his empire to Norway, Denmark and Gaul, and defeats Roman armies in order to do this. In the end, Arthur returns to Britain to defeat his nephew Modredus (Mordred) who was left in charge of Britain but betrayed Arthur. Arthur is mortally wounded, taken to Avalon and it is implied he passed away. Arthurian legend, however, is not only about Arthur. There are many huge characters in the stories. One widely known knight is Sir Lancelot du Lac. Lancelot is a tragic figure in Arthurian Romance. He was a Knight of the Round Table and one of King Arthur’s closest friends. His tragedy is that he was in love with Arthur’s wife, Guinevere. Lancelot was the son of the King Ban on Benwick and Elaine, but he was raised by the Lady of the Lake (â€Å"du lac† actually means â€Å"the lake†). The Lady of the Lake sent Lancelot off to become a Knight of the Round Table. In doing so, he meets and instantly falls in love with Guinevere. Their affair ultimately proves to be destructive. Lancelot is actually tricked by Elaine of Corbenic and sleeps with her, thinking it is Guinevere. When Guinevere hears of this, she is repulsed and banishes Lancelot. Later, Lancelot returns to assist Arthur in the quest for the Holy Grail. Other characters in Arthurian legend are Merlin and Morgaine. Merlin is sometimes a prophet, sometimes a magician, and always an advisor to King Arthur. Merlin’s earliest character depiction was as a bard driven mad by the terrors of war, who become a â€Å"man of the woods†. However, Geoffrey of Monmouth based his Merlin on Myrddin Wyllt (a prophet and a madman) and Aurelius Ambrosius (a fictional version of the historical war leader Ambrosius Aurelianus. Morgaine (also Morgan le Fay) is a sorceress in Arthurian legend. She is the half-sister of Arthur and the daughter of Igraine. In both The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley) and The Vulgate Cycle (13th century French prose) tell of how Morgaine lives in Avalon (mystical island in Arthurian legend) and trains under Merlin and the Lady of the Lake. Again in the Mists of Avalon, Morgaine is credited with having an unknown affair with Arthur. She gives birth to Mordred, who, in the end, turns out to be the enemy and murderer of King Arthur. In Arthurian Romance, King Arthur’s court is called Camelot. Camelot is where the Knights of the Round Table dwell and it is described as being a utopian land of beauty and peace. Throughout literature, Camelot has been located in many different areas of Britain, giving it no grounded location. An easy way to understand the basic ideology of Camelot, one can compare the presidency of John F.  Kennedy to the term Camelot. His presidency was regarded as a guarantee for a successful future, just like King Arthur gave Britain hope and unification. Kennedy’s assassination is like the fall of Arthur in that both had short lasting but wonderful terms in power that set the bar high for the future. Ultimately, these characters and concepts stem from Medieval life and paint a portrait of what the goals of Middle Age rulers wanted for society at the time. All Arthurian Romance contains the same specific elements: enchantment, quest, conquest, heroic behavior, utopian society, fatal passion and love. These elements, applied with Medieval life and history, equals a solid Arthurian story. The best example of all of these elements is The Crowning of Arthur from Le Morte d’Arthur (Malory, 1065). In the story, Arthur is conceived through the enchantment Merlin uses on Igraine to trick her into thinking Uther Pendragon is her husband, the Duke. Uther, who is fatally in love with Igraine, makes a deal with Merlin in that he will give the child he and Igraine produce to the wizard. Baby Arthur is taken away and grows up with Sir Ector, whom he grows to love as a father. The next part of the story is about the sword in the stone. In the story, â€Å"many of the nobles tried to pull the sword out the stone† (1069), but failed. When Arthur is sent to find Sir Kay (Ector’s son) a sword, he unknowing grabs the legendary sword from the stone and tugs it free without any effort. When Arthur comes back with the famous sword, everyone is in awe and asks him to demonstrate for them that he really pulled it. To their surprise, it is true. They ask Arthur to assume the role of king and he agrees, establishing the utopian court of Camelot. Le Morte d’Arthur is â€Å"the carefully constructed myth of the rise and fall of a powerful kingdom — a legendary kingdom, but perhaps also, obliquely, the real English kingdom which in Malory’s day seemed as surely doomed by its own corruption as the ancient realm of King Arthur† (Cliffs Notes). What this means is that Arthur’s court reflects the realistic courts of actual kings because it eventually falls. The Crowning of Arthur seems naive in that a boy who just so happens to pull a sword from a stone makes him king. In the end, his kingdom falls. Crowning only sets it up. The outcome of the Arthurian Legend is quite similar to the reality of kingdoms in England of the Middle Ages, which proves Arthurian Romance is an accurate portrayal. Another story from Le Morte d’Arthur is called Sir Launcelot du Lake. It is a hectic story about Lancelot’s adventure, kidnapping, and battles with enemy knights. In the story, Lancelot decides he is fed up with his ennui and decides to go out with his nephew, Sir Lyonel. Possibly due to enchantment, Lancelot declares, â€Å"not for seven years have I felt so sleepy† (1074) and he lies down for a nap. When he awakes, he realizes three women have kidnapped him. They tell him he has to pick one of them or face his doom. Lancelot picks his death because his is loyal to his lover, Guinevere. Later, the daughter of King Badgemagus rescues him and in return he gives his services to the king. At the end of the story, Lancelot fights off Kind Badgemagus’ enemies. He displays incredible and fictitious strength when he â€Å"took another spear and unhorsed sixteen more men†¦ King of North Galys’ knight and, with his next, unhorsed another twelve† (1078). This story demonstrates chivalry and heroism, and exaggerates Lancelot’s abilities to fight. Literary critic Charles Moorman says â€Å"much of the Morte d’Arthur is thus concerned with revealing the corrupt reality beneath the fair chivalric surface. † However, Sir Launcelot du Lake contradicts that assumption by merely telling a simple story of a great knight who is loyal to his higher-up and to his lady. The story makes the knights of the Medieval Ages appear to bask in honor, goodness and strength. And in a way, they did in real life. Knights did have a strict code of chivalry as well as total loyalty to their nobles and their lovers. Again, this story gives merit to the fact Arthurian legend portrays Medieval society. The poem The Lady of Shalott by Alfred Lord Tennyson is loose depiction of Arthurian Legend. In the poem, a woman is cursed to live in a tower and watch the world of Camelot from a mirror. â€Å"And moving through a mirror clear; That hangs before her all the year; Shadows of a world appear; There she sees the highway near; Winding down to Camelot† (verses 46 through 50). Then one day she sees Sir Lancelot riding in all his beauty and loveliness, and she decides she wants to leave the tower. The Lady of Shalott â€Å"left the web† (109) and gets into a boat. Unfortunately, she dies and floats on down to Camelot. Muriel Mellown says â€Å"she has chosen contact with Camelot, even at the price of her own destruction. † This quote illustrates that Camelot seemed like such a perfect utopian world that everyone sought its perfection and illustriousness. However, the Lady of Shalott kicks the bucket, similar to the way Camelot eventually falls. All good things never last. Lastly, a more modern and feminist take of Arthurian legend is The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. In Mists, the story of Arthur is told through the worlds of Morgaine, Arthur’s half-sister. In the excerpt read in class, Morgaine and Arthur are children neglected by their parents. Morgaine realizes her role to be Arthur’s protector, even though she feels disdain towards the child at first. When she says, â€Å"Mother’s gone, she’s with the king, but I’ll take care of you, brother,† (1085), Morgaine displays a bond of love towards her little brother. Morgaine is also depicted as a strong feminine character in both this scene and the entire story. Although â€Å"this book†¦ wasn’t so much a retelling of the Arthurian legend but only a bunch of Arthurian characters sitting around arguing about Christianity and Paganism,† (LaShawn), â€Å"Morgaine’s depiction as a powerful, savvy woman shows her to be the type of woman the feminists would champion as a prime example of what women should aspire to be, in spite of the biases still in place against them† (Ellis). Mists shines a new light and a new perspective on the events of the Medieval Ages, specifically the disputes of religion. It also represents how women did have influence over what happened in the kingdoms. In real life, noblewomen did have influence over the decisions their husbands made, though not legally. The Mists of Avalon yet again portrays a factor of the Medieval Ages. When push comes to shove, Arthurian Romance generally is regarded as a tall tale of a lost era. However, the tales depict a clear portrait of Medieval Life. Tragedy, honor, fatal passion and quest all dwell in the Middle Ages and Arthurian Romance. The characters of Arthurian Romance experience the tragedy of life like real life people and Camelot ends up failing, just like many of the empires and kingdoms of the world. The stories represent the dark times of the Medieval Ages and show that nothing is perfect. Therefore, Arthurian Romance is an accurate portrayal of the Medieval Ages.

Leon Trotsky Arguments essays

Leon Trotsky Arguments essays One argument of many Stalinists is: "If Trotsky had taken power instead of Stalin, it's very possible Germany would have defeated the USSR in WWII." This is one of the most absurd speculations I have ever heard. In the first place it was very possible Stalin could have lost the war since he purged all the old Bolshevik generals who served during the civil war, leaving him with a very impotent military staff. Secondly, had Trotsky been head of the CPSU it is quite probable that the ferment in Germany would not have taken the reactionary form of fascism, but on the contrary guided by genuine Marxist internationalism under Trotsky would have lead to the German Proletarian Revolution. Trotsky did not even have a fair chance of protecting the USSR against deformation in the first place. History doesn't just happen by chance, Stalin was not just a madman, if it was not Stalin in the USSR it may have been someone else. The reason by the USSR became a deformed workers' state was based in h istoric reasons, Russia was still a semi-feudal country, the proletarians only made up about 10% of the population. History simply was not on Trotsky's side. As Lenin said in his Letter to American Workers "We are banking on the inevitability of the world revolution, but this does not mean that we are such fools as to bank on the revolution inevitably coming on a definite and early date." Meaning, had Lenin not died, and had Trotsky by some incredible chance defeated Stalin in the power struggle he would have also industrialized the USSR, and to a degree, a bureaucracy may very well have formed to a degree, a direct result of Russia not being a developed capitalist nation. So even "if" Trotsky had "won", the key to a healthy workers' state in Russia and internationally was/is the spread of the revolution globally. despite of his better economic policy and his 5 years plan, i find stalin as a dictator that he causes so many disasters to his country and t...

An Understanding of Managment Tools The WritePass Journal

An Understanding of Managment Tools An Understanding of Managment Tools IntroductionReferencesRelated Introduction With some 740 stores in 54 countries, the Spanish clothing retailer Zara has hit on a formula for supply chain management that works by challenging conventional wisdom. This excerpt from a recent Harvard Business Review profile on how Zara’s supply chain communicates, allowing it to design, produce, and deliver a garment in fifteen days. Zara’s history began in 1963 when Amancio Ortega Gaona opened Confecciones GOA in La Coruà ±a, to manufacture women’s pyjamas and lingerie products for garment wholesalers. In 1975, after a German customer cancelled a sizable order, the firm opened its first Zara retail shop in La Coruà ±a. The original intention was simply to have an outlet for cancelled orders. However, the experience taught the firm the importance of a ‘marriage’ between manufacturing and retailing a lesson that has guided the evolution of the company ever since. From a starting point of six stores in 1979, the company established retail operations in all the major Spanish cities during the 1980’s. In 1985, Confecciones GOA created Inditex as the head of the corporate group. In 1988, the first Zara store outside Spain opened in Porto, Portugal, followed shortly by a store in New York City in 1989 and Paris in 1990. However, the real ‘step-up’ in foreign expansion took place during the 1990s when Inditex entered 29 countries in Europe, the Americas and Asia. In parallel with its overseas expansion, Inditex diversified its retail offering by another adjacency expansion with new brands like Pull and Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka and Stradivarius to meet new customer segments. However, Zara still count for eighty per cent of Inditex’s revenue. Each of Inditex’s brands operates independently, but shares the commitment to supply fashion at affordable prices and all employ similar management models for the control of the total supply chain to maximize speed to market. Fig 1 illustrates Inditex’s expansion. The figure imitates the stem of a tree, which gain a new circle for every year that goes by. The circles indicate the different expansion Inditex has accomplished, moving from being a fabric to opening its first store and to opening other clothing chains. These types of expansions justify as adjacency expansion. Adjacency expansion draws the skills in the core business to build a competitive advantage in a new adjacent competitive arena in order to target different customer segments. This adjacency expansion has lead to the need of changing Inditex’s core business. Inditex has shifted from being a fabric working towards several retailers, to becoming a big concern covering most parts of the production as well as the final sale. To grow into a new adjacency around a once-successful core business is the critical factor in 75 per cent of today’s total business disasters. The American grocery chains Wal-Mart and Kmart illustrate an example on difficulties in adjacency expansion. They both open their first grocery store in 1962. Wal-Mart successfully moved into adjacency such as Sam’s Club, electronics and Mexico, one by one. Kmart however, struggled more with the expansion. They moved from books to sporting goods and even to a chain of department stores in Czechoslovakia. This drifted Kmart into bankruptcy. Showing that even though they started out equally, the different choose of steps in adjacency expansion lead one to be a big failure and the other to be one of USA most respected companies. Another example is Nike versus Reebok, which in 1990 had almost equal revenue. While Nike had a clear strategy, consisting of a repeatable process it had developed and refined over a decade, to attack one sport after another with the help of different famous athletes, Reebok’s path was a mystery to those covering the company. They expanded in different directions and as their core shoe business was doing badly, they kept on expanding into new unconnected arias. In addition, Nike’s strong adjacencies expansion made it even harder for Reebok to increase the total sale and ended up decreasing its revenue. It is not easy to know which expansion that is the right expansion. However, after studying adjacencies expansion in over 100 companies, Chris Zook presents primary six ways to expand the boundaries of business .Fig 2 illustrates these expansions. This is trough new businesses, forward integration, new geographies, new channels, new customer segments or new products. In parallel to Inditex’s, Zara has accomplished several adjacencies expansions during its history. One of two main expansions is by moving from selling women’s underwear and pyjamas to regular clothes, shoes, handbags and even make-up. This signifies product adjacencies by marketing a new product or service to core customers. This is one of the most commonly pursued and highest potential adjacencies. The other main growth is by expanding into selling men’s wear and children’s wear. These customer adjacencies modifying a proven product or technology to enter a very new market segment and are a major adjacency move for most companies. In addition, Zara continuously expand their business by successfully opening new stores around the world and at the same time enlarge their local industry by expanding the focused production in Spain. Geographic adjacencies move into new geographic areas, is a type of adjacency expansion that companies consistently underestimate in complexity. Zara has also achieved new business adjacencies by opening Zara Home, a store that sell accessories to the home like kitchen wear and bedclothes. With this, it builds a new business around a strong capability and essentially repositioning it. This is the rarest form of adjacency move, and the most difficult to achieve success with. In addition, Zara has also expanded with channel adjacencies by offering a small proportion of its collection on Internet sale. Although this is more for promotion, it is still a channel adjacency expansion. All of Zara’s different expansion fits into the primary six ways to expire the boundaries of business. Fig. 3 illustrated that Zara has expanded in every direction. Finding a repeatable method of moving into new adjacencies, one after the other has a clear benefit in the learning curve. This contributes to competitive advantage making the adjacencies better and faster each time. Zara’s supply chain In an interview with CNN, Jose Maria Castellano, chief executive at Inditex, talked about Zara’s supply chain and indicated its unusual structure by saying: Investment banks used to say that this model did not work, but we have shown that it gives us more flexibility in production, sales and stock management, At a Zara store, customers can several times a week find new products. The whole collection is in limited supply and they achieve a tempting exclusivity by only displaying a few items, even though the stores are spacious. It makes the customer think, This green shirt fits me, and there is only one on the rack. If I dont buy it now, Ill lose my chance. Zara has built a concept around ‘fast fashion’. Moving away from the traditionally one collection per session, Zara continually design, produce and deliver new styles. They base their business on demand instead of forecasting. Picking up what people wear on the street, at the university or at a nightclub, Zara’s designer’s catches ideas for new styles and can present them in a Zara store only two weeks later, while most of the competitors has a lead-time over three months. This makes Zara always able to offer the latest fashion in it store, leading to more sale and fewer discounts. Such a retail concept depends on the regular creation and rapid replacement of small batches of new goods. Zara’s designers create approximately 40,000 new designs annually and select 10,000 of them for production. Some of them resemble the latest fashion design creations. Zara often beats the high-fashion houses to the market and offers almost the same products, made with less expensive fabric, to much lower prices. This fast fashion system depends on a constant exchange of information throughout every part of Zara’s supply chain. From customers to store managers, store managers to market specialists and designers, designers to production staff, buyers to subcontractors, warehouse managers to distributors, and so on. Most companies insert layers of bureaucracy that can bog down communication between departments. Zaras organization, operational procedures, performance measures, and even its office layouts, all are designed to make information transfer easy. Zaras single, centralized design and production centre is in Inditex headquarters in La Coruà ±a. It consists of three spacious halls, one for each of the three clothing lines, women, men and children. Unlike most companies, which try to remove unnecessary labour to cut costs, Zara makes a point of running three parallel, but operationally distinct, product families. Though it is more expensive to operate three channels, the information flow for each channel is fast, direct, and unencumbered by problems in other channels, making the overall supply chain more responsive. Each clothing line has separate design, sales, and procurement and production-planning staffs. A store may receive three different calls from La Coruà ±a in one week from a market specialist in each channel; a factory making shirts may deal simultaneously with two Zara managers, one for mens shirts and another for childrens shirts. In each hall, floor to ceiling windows overlooking the Spanish countryside reinforce a sense of cheery informality and openness. Unlike companies that sequester their design staffs, Zaras cadre of 200 designers sits right in the centre of the production process. The designers are usually in their twenties and got the job because of their enthusiasm and talent, no prima donnas allowed. Split among the three lines, they work next to the market specialists and procurement and production planners. Large circular tables play host to spontaneous meetings. Racks of the latest fashion magazines and catalogues fill the walls. A small prototype shop has been set up in the corner of each hall, which encourages everyone to comment on new garments as they evolve. The physical and organizational proximity of the three groups increases both the speed and the quality of the design process. Designers can fast and easy check initial sketches with colleagues. Market specialists, who are in constant touch with store managers and many of whom have been store managers themselves, provide quick feedback about the look of the new designs (style, colour, fabric, and so on) and suggest possible market price points. Procurement and production planners make preliminary, but crucial, estimates of manufacturing costs and available capacity. The cross-functional teams can examine prototypes in the hall, choose a design, and commit resources for its production and introduction in a few hours, if necessary. Once the team selects a prototype for production, the designers refine colours and textures on a computer-aided design system. If the item is to be made in one of Zara’s factories, they transmit the specs directly to the relevant cutting machines and other systems in that factory. Bar codes track the cut pieces as they converts into garments through the various steps involved in production, including sewing operations, distribution, and delivery to the stores, where the communication cycle began. Zara manufacture approximately fifty per cent of its products in its own network of 22 Spanish factories, 18 of which are located in and around the La Coruà ±a complex, and use around 500 subcontractors located close to the head office for all sewing operations. Zara closely monitor these sewing operations to ensure quality, compliance with labour laws, and adherence to the production schedule. The subcontractors are responsible for picking up and deliver the production items to the factory. Here each piece is inspected during ironing, placed in plastic bags and sent to the distribution centre. The other half of its products are procured from 400 outside suppliers, seventy per cent of which are in Europe, and most of the rest in Asia. Many of the European suppliers are located in Spain and Portugal, close to the headquarters. Zara exploits this geographical proximity in order to ensure quick response to Zara’s orders. From Asia, Zara procures basic products and those for which the region has a clear cost or quality advantage. Having the factories in and near Spain gives Zara a tremendous amount of control and flexibility. The location of the production can be seen as a cost trade-off with the cost saved on transportation. Although the increased cost in production will not be offset by the cost reduction in transportation concerning the labour cost is on average 17-20 times the cost in Asia. For its in-house production, Zara obtain forty per cent of its fabric supply from another Inditex-owned subsidiary. The rest of the fabrics come from a range of 260 other suppliers, none account for more than four per cent of Zara’s total production in order to minimize any dependency on single suppliers and encourage maximum responsiveness from them. Most of the fabrics are ordered un-dyed and dyed in one of Inditex manufacturing facilities. By having its own dying facility Zara can quicker respond to demands and it gain less inventory by not storing every fabric in a range of colours. Moreover, if one fabric is not used it can easily be used next season independent of the colures of the next trend. All products pass through Zara’s major distribution centre in La Coruà ±a. In addition, it also has a smaller distribution centre in Zaragoza. The trucks, which run on a bus schedule, deliver to the stores twice a week, using a maximum of 24 hours to stores inside Europe and 48 hours in America. All in all this supply chain, as illustrated in Fig 4, is giving a lead-time on two to four weeks, with a price thirty per cent higher than its competitors and a need to discount only 18 percent of its production. Outsource Zara is careful about the way it deploys the latest information technology tools to facilitate these informal exchanges. Customized handheld computers support the connection between the retail stores and La Coruà ±a. These PDA’s supplement regular, often weekly, phone conversations between the store managers and the market specialists assigned to them. Through the PDA’s and telephone conversations, stores transmit all kinds of information to La Coruà ±a, such hard data as orders and sales trends and such soft data as customer reactions and the buzz around a new style. While any company can use PDA’s to communicate, Zara’s flat organization ensures that important conversations do not fall through the bureaucratic cracks. The constant flow of updated data eases the bullwhip effect, the tendency of supply chains and all open-loop information systems to amplify small disturbances. A small change in retail orders, for example, can result in wide fluctuations in factory orders after transmitting through wholesalers and distributors. In an industry that traditionally allows retailers to change a maximum of twenty per cent of their orders once the season has started, Zara lets them adjust forty to fifty percent. In this way, Zara avoids costly overproduction and the subsequent sales and discounting prevalent in the industry. The insistent introduction of new products in small quantities, ironically, reduces the usual costs associated with running out of any particular item. Indeed, Zara makes a virtue of stock-outs. Empty racks do not drive customers to other stores because the shoppers can always choose form new things. Being out of stock in one item helps sell another, since people are often happy to snatch what they can. In fact, Zara has an informal policy of moving unsold items after two or three weeks. This can be an expensive practice for a typical store, but since Zara stores receive small shipments and carry little inventory, the risks are small, unsold items account for less than ten per cent of stock, compared with the industry average of 17 to twenty per cent. Furthermore, new merchandise displayed in limited quantities and the short window of opportunity for purchasing items motivate people to visit Zara’s shops more frequently than they visit other stores. Consumers in central London , for example, visit the average store four times annually, but Zaras customers visit its shops an average of 17 times a year. The high traffic in the stores circumvents the need for advertising: Zara devotes just 0.3 per cent of its sales on ads, while its rivals spend three to four per cent. References ZARA Outsourcing = http://industrialeducation.blogspot.com/2009/08/study-of-supply-chain-zara-fast-fashion.html (31/03/11)

International Human Resources Practice in the United States Assignment

International Human Resources Practice in the United States - Assignment Example employees. Human resource managers tend to develop various strategies to improve the qualities of the employees through training and development. Traditionally, the role of human resource managers was associated with recruitment and selecting the right candidate for the job. However, modern day requirements are much higher than the traditional processes. The managers require developing strategies for the employees in order to support the overall organisational objectives. A few factors have influenced HR Managers while deciding upon the appropriate approaches to effective management of the employees. The external factors are influencing largely to the human resource practices such as recruitment, induction and customer service. These factors may include the cultural, political, social and economical situations of a country that largely need to be considered while practicing human resource management. Thus, these factors prevalent within the United States need to be assessed by the or ganisations before an appropriate model for optimum utilisation of human resources can be designed. As suggested by Mueller and Clarke (1998), the US based HRM approach is a merit-based reward system that focuses on the incremental compensation for the exchange of performance. They further added that this approach cannot be applied in all countries. It is the culture and nationality that play an imperative role in decision making and distribution processes. According to Armstrong (2006), the prime goal of human resource management is to enable strategic planning which will develop the employees to contribute on the organisations success. As observed by Hofstede (n.d.), through the 5-D model, the national culture of the US is individualistic in nature, which has influenced the organisational culture. Thus, it can be said that individualism prevails among the employees of the organisation. Furthermore, it can be assumed that HRM in the US is focussed on the individual employees, rathe r than teams. Thus, strategies that will benefit an individual employee, and motivate him/her for producing efficient working skills are designed by HR professionals. Internationalisation of companies has led to following various cultures based on the local culture of the US. The US is the headquartered to many international companies which are spread all over the world. Therefore, it can be assumed that the culture of US is followed in majority of the companies branches spread across the globe. Thus, it is equally essential for HR managers to find a healthy balance between the global organisational culture and local culture of the country. Cultural Aspects Related to International Human Resource Management Recruitment It has been observed that the initial stage in the International Human Resource Management (IHRM) process is the recruitment of the appropriate candidate exclusively for the job. This is an important task of the HR personnel as the candidate’s behaviour and kno wledge will be reflected in the working environment of the organisation. As observed by Denning (1998), cultural differences have embarked on the recruitment procedures of employees by HR professiona

Substantive EU Law-Free Movement of Goods and Parallel Imports Essay

Substantive EU Law-Free Movement of Goods and Parallel Imports - Essay Example As a result, EU states will not impose any trade restriction on member states in relation to imports and exports of goods (Dedman 2010). Even after fifty years, the objectives of EU have not been achieved. The free movement of goods within the EU is still a complicated perspective. There are various hurdles which impede the free movement of goods in the European Union. The main hurdle among them is interpretating general provision of the technical barriers under Article 28 and 29 by the European Court of Justice (the ECJ). Another hurdle is related to the exceptions to the general provisions of Article 28 and 29 that is based on Article 30 and the mandatory requirements of Cassis de Dijon which is arising from the ECJ (Lelieveldt and Princen 2011). Furthermore, parallel import is one of the major phenomena in the international trade because on one hand, it follows market laws strictly and on the other, it is not completely controlled by the law. The dilemma is that producers want to maintain a difference in the prices of goods among different countries, whereas consumers want to pay same price. Here, parallel import can be defined as goods which are produced and sold legally and then exported. There is nothing illegal about the parallel imported goods but as native entrepreneurs sell same goods at higher price, they don’t like this completion. ... free movement of goods, services, capital and people. EU’s internal market is very favorable to increased competition, larger economies of scales and increased specialisation, hence factors of production and goods are freely moved in areas where they are highly valued. Free Movement of Goods One of the major principles of the European Union’s internal market is free movement of goods. This principle deals with removal of national barriers to the free movement of goods within EU. In various fields, such barriers have been removed through harmonisation, like medical devices, vehicles, gas appliances, pharmaceuticals, metrology, chemicals, electrical equipments, construction products, toys, textiles, pressure equipments, footwear, and cosmetics. Excluding special circumstances, harmonisation of legislation and provisions of Articles 28 and 29 of the EC treaty control the member states in relation to imposing intra-community trade barriers. These articles can exercise direc t effect and applied by national courts (Pitiyasak 2010). Mutual recognition principle also leads its way through these provisions. It implies that if the sector is non-harmonised then goods which are legally marketed and accepted in another member state must be accepted by every member state. The application of this principle can only be challenged in some exceptional cases, like environmental issue, health and public safety. In such cases, even the derogatory measures are considered to control the free movement of goods (Andenas and Roth 2002). All measures along with Article 28 and Article 29 are having equivalent effect between the member states in relation to imposing quantitative restrictions on imports, exports and