Saturday, August 31, 2019

Abigail Adams – Short Essay

Former first lady, writer. Born Abigail Smith on November 22, 1744, (by the Gregorian calendar we use today) in Weymouth, Massachusetts. Abigail Adams is best known as the wife of President John Adams and for her extensive correspondence. She was also the mother of John Quincy Adams who became the sixth president of the United States. The daughter of a minister, she was a devoted reader, studying the works of William Shakespeare and John Milton among others. Adams did not, however, attend school, which was common for girls at the time. In 1761, she met a lawyer named John Adams.Three years later, the couple married and soon welcomed their first child, a daughter named Abigail, in 1765. Their family continued to grow with the addition of John Quincy in 1767, Susanna in 1768, Charles in 1770, and Thomas Boylston in 1772. Sadly, Susanna died as a toddler and later the family suffered another tragedy when Abigail delivered a stillborn daughter in 1777. With a busy law practice, her husba nd spent a lot of time away from home. This situation only worsened as John Adams became an active member of the American Revolution and the Revolutionary War.As a result, the couple spent a lot of time apart. She was also left to carry much of the burden at home, raising their children and caring for the family farm. The couple remained closed by corresponding with each other. It is believed that they exchanged more than 1,100 letters. Abigail Adams expressed concern about how the new government would treat women. In one of her many letters to her husband, she requested that he â€Å"Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the Husbands.Remember all Men would be tyrants if they could. If perticuliar care and attention is not paid to the Laidies we are determined to foment a Rebelion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any Laws in which we have no voice, or Representation. † Odd s pellings aside, Abigail Adams often expressed her thoughts on political matters with her husband. Throughout his career, Abigail had served an unofficial advisor to him. Their letters show him seeking her counsel on many issues, including his presidential aspirations.Adams remained a supportive spouse and confidante after her husband became the president in 1797. Some critics objected to Abigail’s influence over her husband, calling her â€Å"Mrs. President. † The nation’s second first lady kept a busy schedule when she was in Philadelphia, the country’s capitol at the time. Adams rose early to tend to family and household matters and spent much of the remainder of the day receiving visitors and hosting events. She still spent a lot of time back in Massachusetts because of her health.Around the time her husband was defeated by Thomas Jefferson in the 1800 election, the Adams learned of the death of their second son Charles, which was related to his alcoho lism. With great sadness, the Adams soon moved to the country’s new capitol, Washington, D. C. , where they became the first residents of the White House. Abigail Adams wrote many letters to family around this time, shedding light on the early days of the new capital and complaining about the unfinished state of their new home.A few months later, after John Adams left office in 1801, they returned to their family farm. With John now retired, the couple was able to spend more time together. She continued to run the farm and to care for the family members, including their eldest child, Nabby (young Abigail’s nickname), who died of cancer at their home in 1814. Struggling with her own health for decades, Abigail Adams had a stroke in October 1818 and died at home with her family on October 28, 1818.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Discuss one Biological and one Psychological Explanation of Aggression Essay

Some biological psychologists point to the role of neural and hormonal mechanisms in aggression. Hormones have already been implicated in a number of other psychological disorders, e.g., depression and eating disorders.  Studies have found a strong, positive correlation between levels of testosterone and aggression. This applies to both men (Olweus et al 1988) and women (Ehlers et al, 1980). Clare (2000) noted that girls with the condition congenital adrenal hyperplasia – which is implicated in high levels of aggression – engaged in more ‘rough and tumble play’. Testosterone appears to be most influential at two stages of life – a few days after birth i.e. ‘the critical time period’ when sensitisation of neural circuits happens and in adulthood when testosterone modulates neurotransmitter pathways. Hormones are definitely at least linked to behaviour – although a problem exists in trying to establish cause and effect, which will be discussed later. Much human and non-human research points to a link between the two. For example, when levels of testosterone peak at the time of puberty in young human males, aggression also peaks.  Many non-human animal studies support the idea that aggression is somehow caused or linked with testosterone. One such method of testing this is to castrate various animals. This always leads to a marked decrease in aggression. Furthermore, when testosterone is replaced by hormone therapy in the castrated animals, the aggression of the animal returns to its pre-castration level (Simpson, 2001). This seems to support a causation effect or at least a link between the two. A similar study on cockerels by Berhold found the same effect. More specifically, it seems that androgen stimulation in the early days after birth (up to ten days) causes changes in the neuronal system, which affects the level of aggression of a person through into adulthood. Women are typically less aggressive because their brains contain beta blockers which block most of the effect of the testosterone in the brain. Male mice who are castrated straight after birth throughout their whole life – even if they are given hormone therapy, i.e. huge doses of testosterone, later on in life. If the castration occurs 10 days after birth, the difference in aggression levels is much less obvious. This is supposed to be because of the androgen stimulation in the neural circuits during the early days after birth (Motelica-Heino et al 1993). The usual explanation for the link between testosterone levels and aggression is that testosterone interacts with androgen or oestrogen receptors. During the critical time period, testosterone sensitises certain neural circuits in the brain. This allows for the effects that testerone have which last into adulthood. Testosterone can affect the effect of neurotransmitters, e.g. how fast they move and the amount of neurotransmitter released. It appears to act upon serotonergic synapses, lowering the amount of serotonin available for synaptic transmission. The significance of this is that serotonin inhibits aggression, so less serotonin means more aggression. To prove this, Simpson (2001) carried out an experiment on rhesus monkeys where he gave them serotonin reuptake inhibitors, leading to a marked decrease in aggression. This has been implicated on humans also and has the same effect (Simpson, 2001). Sapolsky has argued that although there is clearly some kind of link between levels of testosterone and aggression, this tells us nothing about individual differences in how people are affected by testosterone, why men are exceptionally more aggressive than women and does not explain why sometimes the highest levels of aggression are found in those with not an exceptionally large amount of testosterone. The relationship between testosterone and aggression is not straightforward. Does testosterone cause aggression? Does aggression increase testosterone secretion? Does neither have an effect on the other (i.e. a third variable is involved)? Bernhardt et al (1998) has shown that merely watching participants win or lose in sports competitions increases testosterone secretion in those who are interested in the game. Indeed, Bernhardt did an experiment where he measured participants’ testosterone levels before and after sports events. Men who watched their team lose had a decrease of testosterone levels by 20% and those whose team won showed a 20% increase in testosterone levels. Clearly, testosterone does not always cause behaviour/emotion, but rather the opposite can occur too. This somewhat dents the argument that hormones explicitly cause aggression.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Ways to Discipline

There are many simple ways that parents can help encourage their child’s development from an early age. Learning how to effectively discipline your child is an important skill that all parents need to learn. â€Å"To get what we want in life, we have to do what we have never done.† (Derrick 25). Whether the parent is traditional, a stay home parent, or a fulltime worker, the most precious thing a parent can give his or her kids is their time. Here are some ways to discipline, educate, and spend quality time with your children. It is very important to educate your child to succeed. First of all, build up their confidence and ensure that they are happy children. Fuel their imagination by reading bedtime stories. Roy Derrick’s research found that children who are regularly told stories have a better vocabulary, have more idea of sentence structure, and sense of stories (126). Also, nurture their creative skills through play. Some activities can help; like building with plastic bricks, painting, or simply creating items can help a child to build up their confidence. Here are some ways to discipline your children. Avoid physical punishment; it can make your child more aggressive and angry. Also, remember to always give rewards and praise them for good behavior, that way they will know you are happy when they behave well. â€Å"Because of their size, children may be difficult to discipline properly† (Rourke 38). Most importantly, provide your child with a safe environment in which they feel secure and loved. Discipline means to teach and train children family values, right from wrong, to respect the rights of others, and how they are to behave or not behave. Discipline is a positive parenting skill that emphasizes nurturing, guidance, teaching and training that builds a child’s self-confidence and teaches self-control and behavior management. The better you are with discipline, the less you will have to punish (Lin 45) Try to spend some quality time with your kids. Most parents work all day and do not give their child the time they deserve. There are many easy ways to be there with them, like helping them with homework. Make it fun and interesting for them. Plan a picnic, kids love to be outdoor where there is food, games, and they enjoy spending time with family and friends. â€Å"Your children need your presence more than anything else†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Jackson 42). Growing a garden with your child is also interesting and different from other activities, but they will enjoy getting their hands dirty and being accompanied by you. In conclusion, spending quality time with your kids helps both the parent and child to be more open with one another. Also, educating your child to succeed from the early age, will be an advantage for them in the future. Last of all, to discipline your children with the correct manners, it is important for them and yourself as a parent. Remember to always be there for them when they need you, and you will be a great parent.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

International Market Entry and Development Research Paper - 3

International Market Entry and Development - Research Paper Example Market research is crucial before an entry is made into the international market. Research conducted should be realistic and complete. Market research helps in developing an efficient positioning. Overall the analysis should have complete information about the general economic conditions and the market information about the target market. Detail information about the foreign customers should be present related to whom the services and products will be offered, detailed information about the segment and the niche. Detailed information about the suppliers working in that particular country and the details about how the supply chain is managed is also necessary. Also another important factor is the way and method of entering the foreign market, the way we can enter the foreign market and reach to our possible customers. The approach is an indirect approach which is using an intermediary or an agent in order to enter the market or directly entering the market. Another way is through coll ective exporting, trading house and consortium. It is important for the firms to properly examine and adapt different market strategies once they enter the foreign market compared to the strategies they are already working with in the domestic market. The effect of these strategies on the performance of the firm is also an important factor which needs to be analyzed. Marketing mix plays an important role here which once adopted is very useful as it is based on the previous adaption strategies of the firm .Firms need to evaluate the importance if these marketing mix component so that they can analyze and check the possibilities of the firm’s success in it. The promotional strategies are also checked and analyzed again as a proper set of strategies defines the firm’s competitive advantage which is the basic tool for a firm’s success and performance in the foreign market. Market expansion helps a country

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Analysis - Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day Essay

Analysis - Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day - Essay Example Love baffles definition, as each lover sees a new horizon; one may cross the moon, beat the stars but probe one must the tiny heart engulfed in love which is mysterious and fantasises of challenging time to remain forever young.† The generous use of figures of speech Shakespeare is generous in introducing many figures of speech in this poem. He refers to the sun as â€Å"the eye of the heaven.† He is fascinated about youth of the beloved of the young man which he ardently hopes that it shall not fade, by stating, â€Å"But thy eternal summer shall not fade.† He is greatly impressed and believes that it will remain permanent and it will challenge to withstand the vagaries of the nature. His fondly hopes that her beauty will outgrow the normal growth and decay that is evident in nature. Shakespeare through this sonnet glorifies and takes love to unimaginable, rather impossible heights. The challenges of summer are many. The young man is aware of all the tough issues related to the summer, the wear and tear effect it will have on the human body and yet hopes that his beloved will successfully challenge all such adversaries and will retain her youthful bloom. Summers are shaken by â€Å"rough winds† and the sun is â€Å"too hot.† But as for the beloved, his trusts that â€Å"Thy eternal summer shall not fade† and the beauty shall remain preserved forever â€Å"as long as men can breathe or eyes can see.† Poetry and art—the ladders to the divine kingdom Wise people say that poetry, art and music are closest to the heart of God. The best words of love are spoken in simple and hearty language. Simplicity oozes out through the lines of this sonnet and one experiences the loveliness of praise of the beloved and how intelligently Shakespeare keeps the two hearts engaged. Figures of speech are the delicate tools with which he chisels the beauty of the poem. He emphasises the harshness of the summer and admires the mil d and temperate (cool) looks of his beloved. He describes the transition in nature by stating â€Å"darling buds of May,† paving way to the â€Å"eternal summer.† That is the assurance of the young man to his beloved. The power of the poem is in its defiance of time and natural processes of decay and the young man is confident about the youth of his beloved that will last forever, and it will be transmitted to future generations to experience and appreciate. The poet may praise time, taunt it or plead with it, but time will not stop its game. Nature, art and time are great contenders but time is the ultimate victor. The sonnet establishes the inevitable connection between the passage of time, the fleeting, transient life, beauty and the ageing process. Shakespeare’s fervent desire is love should conquer age and time, and at the same time he understands well the futility of his desire. Some backgrounder information relating to sonnets, and this sonnet in particul ar Sonnets are generally associated with romantic love to express feelings for the beloveds and the patrons of poets. Noblemen of the yore loved self-praise and they took the support of poets through their talents to satisfy their inflated ego. Addressing young men in sonnets was prevalent in Elizabethan England and this sonnet falls into that category. Such sonnets, with their idealised love provided the welcome relief to the readers

Culture Change and Aspects of Culture Assignment

Culture Change and Aspects of Culture - Assignment Example In a very broad sense, culture is a cultivated behavior; that is the sum total of an individual's learned and accumulate experience which is hence socially transmitted, or behavior through the process of social learning. In light of the deeper aspect of culture, culture change can be defined as the gradual or sporadic modification of a society’s beliefs and values through the processes of innovation, discovery, or even external contact with other societies. Cultural change can hence be comprehensively defined as the dynamic phenomenon by which various cultures in the world are changing and modifying their usual and common code of conduct and behavior in order to adapt to the external or internal forces acting on the society (Steward, 1973). Culture change is a process that not only occurs at the basic societal level but also has been observed on a wider scope. It can be seen also in organizations such as businesses or educational institutions or any other group of people who may have developed and accumulated experiences and behavior patterns. As a result, culture change may require changes or a complete overhaul of organization practices, physical environments inter-personal relationships at all levels and even communication patterns. In analyzing the whole concept of culture, a question that rarely fails to come up is: what makes up culture? It is with answering this question that one can isolate the various aspects of culture, that is, the very basic elements that culture is comprised of. This hence gives rise to the concept of cultural awareness (Singh, 2009). Various numerous theories have been formulated on the elements that make up culture but similarities have been observed and it can be confidently put down that there are twelve main aspects of culture.  

Monday, August 26, 2019

The Basis for Proper Gender Relations among Jews and in Judaism Essay - 6

The Basis for Proper Gender Relations among Jews and in Judaism - Essay Example The origin of God: Judaism stands on a firm monotheism and faith in one single and inseparable God and they believe that His unity started a long time in their Jewish traditions. They believe that He is the creator of the cosmos and all that the world has .due to this they came to build proper gender relation because they are both (male and female) created in the image and likeness of God (Bleich 23). The scripture also stands out has the key basis for proper gender and relations and this because the Hebrew Bible sometimes called the Tanakh is the Jewish scriptural canon and essential source of Jewish regulation because all the ethical and proper commands of the teachers of the law are found in it. The scripture teaches people to relate well to others and it forbids discrimination. Reward and punishment also stand to be the basis of proper gender relation. Jewish outlook is that God will recompense those who adhere to His commandments and discipline those who deliberately disobey them.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Doctor Faustus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Doctor Faustus - Essay Example Mann characterizes the changes in his society as a manifestation of rot. It is essential to highlight that the novel is an abstract piece that manifests the dark side of concepts that are accepted as ideal for a changing society. This explains why it profiles the life of a maddened intellectual as a person who is unfit for the good of a society and chastises the nationalist ideals taking over Germany in the fascist era. By breaking into Biblical nuances, the novel announces that the end has come. In the beginning of the 20th century, Germany adopts a dangerous nationalistic attitude that defines the attitudes of her young people. In 1919, Zeitblum and Leverkhun attend a salon in the home of a Munich’s art collector. At this time, the war has destroyed the bourgeois values. This signifies an impressive tiding for Germany as the oppressed classes achieve the platform for socio-economic fulfillment in their lives. The professors of the nationalistic ideal, however, hail the era as a revolution for purifying the German nation. Zeitblum manifests this ideal as a savage attitude that will shuffle back Germany to the Dark Ages. In the changing Germany, family life is highly compromised. In Zeitblom’s account of events, there is a notable death for gratifying love relationships. In turn, marriages can only thrive in the realm of society in excluded rural settings. In such settings, there is a sense of purity that still bars the society from the infected climate that pervades the whole country. Inez and Helmut’s union is central to the understanding of a typical relationship that occurs in the 20th century Germany. In the narrative, Inez chooses Helmet for the security of a bourgeois life that he will eventually bestow upon the family. A tendency towards perfection constrains the development of love in such a family life. As the story develops, it emerges that Inez is in love with Rudi

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Theory Of Hegemony Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Theory Of Hegemony - Term Paper Example These studies are also concerned with areas like culture, digital and visual culture, cyberspace, and media and economic and super structural social organizations with the core principal of enabling communication are the core of media studies. Various scholars and researchers have come up with theories explaining critical communication and effects affecting critical communication studies this paper will examine hegemony theory and expounds how it has contributed significantly to the field critical communication studies (Anderson, 2006). An analysis of hegemony theory reveals that cultural institutions are significant in power maintenance, in capitalist societies using cultural institutions. Antonio Gramsci who is an Italian writer, political theorist, linguist, politician, philosopher, writer, and sociologist developed hegemony theory. Gramsci is of considerable significance in the founding of Communist Party of Italy and as one of the fop Marxist thinkers, during his regime Gramsci emerged as a distinguished figure in analyzing culture and political leadership. The theorist is known for the contribution to the use of cultural institutions in maintaining power in capitalist societies by use of his theory of cultural hegemony. ... The theorist views modern intellectuals to be organizers and practically minded directors significant in producing hegemony using ideological devices, for example, education and media and not talkers like the past intellectuals. He went further in bringing a distinction between thinking groups and traditional intellectuals; traditional society views itself being a class and a sector of the society while the thinking groups are products from their own ranks. Cramsci holds a view a believe that need for the creation of a working-class culture to serve the main purpose of renovating and to formulate critical of the status quo in the existing activities of the intellectuals. Gramsci could not manage to pursue his education because of financial and health problems as well have his emerging political commitment by that time he had, however, acquired a sufficient knowledge in various fields like history and philosophy. He had also interacted with thoughts from other thinkers like Antonio La briola, Benedetto Croce, Giovannini Gentile and Rodolfo Mondolfo during his studies at the university. Gramsci’s work on writing socialist including Grido dell Popolo from 1914 boost in earning positive reputation as an outstanding journalist, he later join the Piedmont edition of Avant as a co-editor that is for the Socialist official organ. His eloquence and profilic writing on political theories confirmed his ability of being a formidable commentator participating on writing of features concerning the Turin’s social and political life (Anderson, 2006). During this time, Gramsci ventured into education and the general organization of Turin workers while presenting his speech for the first time in

Friday, August 23, 2019

Duke Ellington Biography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Duke Ellington Biography - Essay Example However, he began to attend concerts and was enthralled by the work of ragtime pianists and from here he began working on his musical style. In 1917, Duke Ellington began his musical career by playing the piano at night. He formed a band, and the drummer of this band later felt it was necessary to move to New York City to join a local orchestra. Duke Ellington followed the drummer, moving to Harlem and becoming an influential figure here, perhaps more so than he had been at home in Washington D.C. In 1924, Duke Ellington made his first eight records, and in 1925 began contributing to the Chocolate Kiddies revue, which was designed to introduce people to African American music. From here, his career really began to bloom. Duke Ellington became very famous, playing a number of important jazz clubs and even being nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. However, unfortunately, he died of lung cancer at the age of 75. Over 12,000 people attended his funeral, including his widow and Ella Fitzgerald, another influential jazz musician of the time. Since his death, Duke Ellington has continued to be recognized as one of the most important figures in 20th-century American music and continues to have an influence over jazz and popular music today.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

The Handmaids Tale Essay Example for Free

The Handmaids Tale Essay The Handmaids Tale, written by Margaret Atwood, is set in two different times simultaneously, both being separate societies, with unlike moral principles. While Atwood describes the pre-Gilead society as one dealing with an unmanageable amount of injustices regarding women, since pornography, prostitution, and violence against women were getting out of the governments hands. Nevertheless, women were allowed to read in the pre-Gilead society, and had a wide amount of liberties compared to the ones handmaids in Gilead receive. Also, the society before Gilead was formed suffered from conflicts between religions and racial tensions, also known as the Sect Wars. On the other hand, Gilead, being the present society in the novel, shows a much more distant difference in liberties between both sexes. Women are used as procreation tools, and cannot have privacy whatsoever with the laws enforced by the system, such as not letting handmaids close their bedrooms door completely. Also, women arent allowed to read, like in the previous society, so that they cannot gain any knowledge. Ironically, it seems that both genders were having a better life in the previous society, which is described as chaotic, rather than in Gilead, even-though men have complete control over the law. Atwood writes about the reason of Gilead arising over the old society being an exponential decrease in birth rates. Another notorious difference between Gilead and pre-Gilead is that pre-Gilead tolerated homosexuality up to certain extent, while Gileads law declares the extermination of homosexual humans. As if the Catholic Church has lost the Sect Wars in the old society, priests or believers of such religion are also killed by the new system. Atwoods novel also describes numerous similarities between our current situation and the anti-utopian Gilead. Atwood describes the contrary of the rights gained by the feminists in the past century, including the legalization of abortion, which is being prohibited in Gilead. Other rights being undone by Gileads system are the right for women to vote, and their access to contraception devices. At the same time, Atwood criticizes the situation experienced in the 1980s regarding the fear towards pollution and infertility, by reflecting such dangers in the pre-Gilead society, and coming up with Gilead as the solution for both problems. A more recent issue mentioned in The Handmaids Tale is North Americas religious policies, which are unfair, and are expressed in an exaggerated way through the wall with the citizens who have suffered death penalty, and the Sect Wars. Elements that arent important in real life carry a large importance in The Handmaids Tale. Language is one of these devices, since its function in Gilead is to label each individual with his tribute to the society, making repression a result of such use. This makes the persecution of black (Children of Ham) people and Jews (Sons of Jacob) easier. Another factor used in Gilead is effective for the citizens of the society to bare the way they are treated. This is accomplished by pleasing women or other rejected or mistreated people with other things, such as power over the household, like it happens with Serena. Also, the romance Offred may have with Nick. Gilead also gives women the image that they are being protected from sexual violence by punishing rapists, but this is clearly false, since they are being used as prostitutes by the elite class. From such view, Gilead may be politically correct, but suffers from a way of corruption. In conclusion, Gilead differs from pre-Gilead because of its limited liberty to women, and its discrimination towards black, Jews, and catholic believers. Nevertheless, it offers more safety, but suffers from an improper use of power coming from men. This may be seen throughout the novel, where you can see that women are treated like objects of procreation. In a sense, Gilead has only brought inconformity into the world, as women cannot read, write, or do things by their own, and men live a boring life, according to their descriptions, as most have had their sexual and philosophical liberties taken away as well. I used to think of my body as an instrument, of pleasure, or a means of transportation, or an implement for the accomplishment of my will Now the flesh arranges itself differently. Im a cloud, congealed around a central object, the shape of a pear, which is hard and more real than I am and glows red within its translucent wrapping. (Chapter 13). This quote expresses that Offred feels her womb is now a states property, and that she has been oppressed by the society so that she appears to be just a superficial part of what she really is. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Margaret Atwood section.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Family on Government and vice versa Essay Example for Free

Family on Government and vice versa Essay As far as the government’s functions go, it is the unit of the family that is able to gain the most benefits. I view the family as the most basic and the most unprotected aspect of society. It is the government’s ability to provide regulations, guidelines, and protection that the family is able to continue its development. It might be raised at this point that the individual should be considered the most unprotected unit of society. However, I persist in believing that it is the family. The individual can still become a member of larger societal units. In fact, the individual can even go so far as to become a member of government. It is because of this fact that the collection of individuals called the family is the most in need of the services offered by the government that presides over it. However, there are forms of government wherein it is the family that comprises it. In oligarchies and monarchies, for example, the royal family comprises the governmental unit. It is in these cases that the interaction is reduced to one of family with family, of ruling class family with non-ruling class family, of bourgeois family with lower class family. This can also be likened to the type of interaction described to exist between the family and the society to which it belongs. In other ways, the family is also able to affect the government. Because the family forms the entirety of society and because it is able to mirror the mechanisms of society, it is also able to mirror and spread the mechanisms of government. The family is in charge of the education of the younger generation with regards to the powers of the government, the need to follow the impositions of the government, and also the specific laws and regulations set forth by the constitution. The task of propagating the ethics and morals of a good citizen that obeys the government lie on the shoulders of the members of the family. The concepts of restriction of behavior, meting punishments for unacceptable actions, and of obeying authority figures are also first understood by the child in the confines of the family. (Hegel, 2001) Society on Government and vice versa The government is said to be the regulating institution of society. It represents the majority of the population and provides frameworks as well as maintains peace and order. However, as I have stipulated, I believe that the inherent state in nature is peace and not war. Why then would a government be needed to maintain peace and order between its constituents and even with other governments? The state of war is not inherent in nature. However, it is also very much present in observable society. Why is this so? I believe that war stems from the inability of society to meet the needs of its members. This is in accordance with the propositions of Habermas (1998). Because of the society’s inability to completely meet the needs of its members, there is unrest and turmoil. War and violent conflict arise from these feelings of dissatisfaction. It is only through a strong power of the will that dissatisfaction is allowed to exist in an individual’s consciousness. I believe that the ineffective structuring of society creates feelings of unrest and dissatisfaction. When those with more are given more and those with less are asked for more, society is placed at an imbalance. This imbalance is unnatural. It is not the natural order of things. There is disequilibrium in society and as a result, there are individuals who are abused and unsatisfied. Again, this is also in accordance with the views of Marx and Engel (1978) regarding ruling class and non-ruling class. There is no chance for equilibrium or stability to be attained because as Marx and Engel (1978) stated, the ruling class practices hegemony. They use their ideologies to maintain power over the lower class. It is only with active revolt from the lower class that the structure of society can be changed. Thus war becomes an option to those whose dissatisfaction has become so great that they can no longer live with it. Without the government, these feelings of dissatisfaction would reign across the world. There would, indeed, be numerous states of war across the globe. Peace would be hard to find and individuals would find it impossible to achieve their true personal goals in life. A government is needed in order to regulate the interaction of the ruling class and the non-ruling class. Without the government, society would be in a constant flux of change and revolt. It is the institution of the government that allows society to remain its peace and as such to progress. However, it may well be the case that the government is simply a tool of the ruling class to maintain power, a means to their option of hegemony. This is exactly why even though there are governments in place today, wars still occur. There is still a disequilibrium in the social structure. Also, the government is not representative of the majority. This is a fact stressed by Kant (1983) to be of the utmost importance in considering government models and systems utilized in a given state. There is, therefore, a type of government that will best serve the purposes of society and the individual. Although there are numerous forms of government, not all are adaptive to society and its members. The mode of government is a point of greater consideration than the type of sovereignty afforded. (Kant, 1983) Society, however, plays a greater role in government. It is more than just a place wherein the functions of government can be practiced. In fact, it is my belief that society and government act in much the same way that the President and the House of Congress act in a Republic government. That is that society and government act as checks and balances of each other. Although it is true that there is no clear definition of legal power that society has on a particular government – in the way that government has on society – it is also true that the dominant form of politics in a state are defined by society. Because most governments rely on society’s good will towards it, society is able to check and balance the processes of the government. In modes of government involving votation, society dictates the candidates to be deemed more capable and reliable to place in position. This is done through the ideologies espoused by society. Thus two different political parties can be chosen from but the thrust of the resulting government will be based on the value systems established by society on its members. For modes of government, on the other, hand that do not include an electoral system, society is able to operate as a larger checks and balances system. Because monarchies and oligarchies and other similar forms of government give the ruler the right to decree laws and statutes by himself, society plays a crucial role. Social agreement or social rejection may be the only difference between a ruler’s decree of implementing the death penalty, for example, as a punishment to a severe crime. Thus we see that society plays a large role in defining government actions even in these individualistic or familial forms of governance. On this point, however, the revision and reconsideration of laws in systems with electoral systems and with more formal methods of passing laws is also highly dependent on society’s moral and ethical stand. The three-strike law for example, wherein criminals convicted of a crime three times receive a heavier sentence or a longer imprisonment period, was not revised because the constituents of the State of California did not agree to the provision that only severe crimes would be subject to this law.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Tata Consultancy Services SWOT and PESTEL Analysis

Tata Consultancy Services SWOT and PESTEL Analysis Tata Consultancy Service (TCS) is the worlds leading global Information Technology consulting firm and business outsourcing organization that envisaged and forged the espousal of the flexible global business practices, which nowadays facilitate organizations to manoeuvre more professionally and construct more value. The IT industry was not has it is now when TCS started in the year 1968. TCS was started as the Tata Computer Centre a dissection of the Tata group whose chief business was to offer computer services to other concerns. TCS marked a tremendous growth with marking its presence in 34 countries across 6 continents, with a absolute range of services across diverse industrial fields. TCS ranked in top ten in the fortunes rank list for the year 2009. The concern shaped consolidated income of US $5.7 billion for economic year ended 31 March 2009 and is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange in India. TCS expanded into China, Hungary, Brazil, and Mexico in order to incarcerate the opportunities in financial services and services like Remote Infrastructure management and BPO in those countries, TCS always offered a unique manner to its global customers by positioning its brand in the worldwide market. The zenith of all these lead to the concerns contributions of TM Global Network Delivery Model(GNDM) across Europe, China, India, US and Latin America as well as incorporated full overhaul offerings, all backed by the promise of certainty of experience for customers. By 2007, the value enunciation of Experience certainty was officially initiated, acknowledged and authenticated by global customers. As the Indian financial system sustained to grow in the new century, the necessity for technology to constrain comprehensive augmentation became part of national schema. TCS, which had been spending additional, time in domestic IT from the time when its commencement was well located to assist the National Government at the central and state level, in its inventive proposals. TCS, by its own initiative shaped a digitized delivery system. In a manifestation of the companys ground-breaking spirit and with an aspiration to extend the benefits of the IT upraise across the country. TCS aptitude to convey high-quality overhauls and resolutions are matchless. It is the worlds first organization to accomplished an enterprise-wide Maturity Level 5 on both P-CMM and CMMI, using the most meticulous assessment methodology SCAMPISM. TCS Integrated Quality Management System integrates process, populace and technology maturity through various ascertained frameworks and traditions including ISO 9001 :2000, IEEE and SW-CMM, CMMI, 6-Sigma and P-CMM. For maximum flexibility, speediness, and competence, a vigorous IT strategy is essential. TCS contribution facilitates companies to construct the most of their IT investments from providing system testing solutions, application development, management services, and integration solutions. COMPANY BACKGROUND: TCS has the wide spread economical boundaries around 36 countries with seven physical centres of operations around the world. TCS was founded by Tata group which was established by jamstji Tata in 1868 an oldest and respected group of companies in India. The First chairman was Jahangir Ratanji Dadabhoy followed by Nani Palkhivala. The first general manager was F.C. Kohli. TCS first assigned to offer punch card services to a sister corporation, Tata Steel (TISCO). It later bagged the nations first domestic software project, the Inter-Branch Reconciliation System (IBRS) for the Central Bank of India. It has also provided bureau services to Unit Trust of India; as a result TCS became one of the first companies to offer BPO services. In the early 1970s; Tata Consultancy Services in full swing exporting its services. TCSs inaugural global order came from Burroughs, one of the first business computer manufacturers. TCS was assigned to write code for the Burroughs machines for numerous US-based clients. This knowledge helped TCS to bag its first onsite project the Institutional Group Information Company (IGIC), a data hub for ten banks, which served to two million clients in the US, TCS was assigned to assert and upgrade its computer systems. TCS holds the credit to set off the first software research and development centre, the Tata Research Development a nd Design Centre (TRDDC) in 1981and in 1985 the first client committed offshore development centre was established for Compaq. Early 90s was golden era for the Indian IT industry; they grew tremendously due to the Y2K virus and the introduction of Euro. TCS lead the way for industrial unit replica for Y2K conversion and built-up software tools which undertook the automatic conversion process and facilitated third-party developers and customers to use. In 1999, TCS fortified the opportunities in outsourcing the E-Commerce and the connected solutions and set up its E-Business division with ten people. In 2004 it illustrated a vigorous development of contributing half a billion US dollars to TCSs total revenue. In the year 2004, TCS was ranked under public sector, though much later than its competitors such as Infosys, Satyam and Wipro. TCS entered into a brand new area of IT services (Bioinformatics). The next two years that followed TCS aced a huge growth in progress both nationally and internationally. TCS assists some of the worlds major MNCs to take up the accurate technology-enabled solution that helps them: Optimize business recital Decrease product progress time Get better product differentiation Smooth the progress of arrangement of business with technology Join their extensive supply chains Offer real-time business handy Lesser functioning costs. Tata Consultancy Service Profile: Type: Public BSE: 532540 Founded: 1968 Headquarters: TCS House, Rave line Street, Fort, Mumbai 400 001 India Key people: Ratan Tata, (Chairman of the Board, Tata  Group) S Ramadorai, (CEO and Managing  Director) Jobhi Mahalingam, (Executive Director  and CFO) N Chandra, (Executive Director, COO, CEO   MD Designate) Phiroz Vandrewala,(Executive Director  and Head, Global Corporate Affairs) Ajoy Mukherjee, (Vice President and  Head, Global Human Resources) K Anantha Krishnan, (Vice President and  Chief Technology Officer) Services: Information Technology Consulting, IT Services, Outsourcing, BPO, Software Products Products: TCS Bancs, Digital Certification Products, Healthcare Management Systems. Revenue: US$ 6.019 billion (in FY 2009-10) Net income: US$ 1.128 billion (in FY 2009-10) Employees: 150,000 (As on 1 April, 2010) Website: http://www.tcs.com FINANCIAL POSE: TCS financially persists to demonstrate the steady stand in the top position of Indian IT firms. As the IT outsourcing market records more rapid growth pace, TCS expressed a steady growth rate in 2008-09, whose consolidated revenue grew by 23% to 27% which helped TCS to cross the $6 billion revenue milestone. TCS operating margins improved to 23.73% by 109 basis points. TCS have also increased its dividend share to Rs.14 in the last financial year. The TCS directors have also recommended an issue of bonus shares in 1:1 ratio and it was the second bonus issue since 2004. TCS completely focused in helping their customers relationship with them simultaneously adding fresh customers and penetrating in novel market segments and emerging verticals which made them to add 163 new customers internationally in the past year. TCSs foremost market North America crossed new high point of revenue above $3 billion and grew 26% in 2008-09 in spite of recession, While Europes branches faced a express growth of 38.5% during the same year. It is very significant for an organization to certify the differentiation of its revenue stand and to uphold its augment impetus. TCS always delivers that the 143,000 TCS employees are the supreme assets of all which includes 50,000 global associates from 67 countries and TCS trained 93,000 software professionals of which, 22,000 college graduates in the past academic year which was tremendous growth. TCS is incessantly investing to unlock new markets and services which made them to invest in emerging markets like Asia-pacific, Middle East, Africa and Latin America. The firms gigantic team of human resources is serving the TCSs panorama not only in business but also its contact on the community. TCS made an effective evolution in corporate sustainability. TCS persists to be a pioneer of growth for the reason of its established ability to reinvent the business and organisation. The concern is placed to exert in collaborative mode, significant assessing all that TCS does. TCS holds a strong position in the future IT global market. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE: A basic structure distributes responsibilities among the members of a company. Its purpose is to contribute to the successful implementation of objectives by allocating people and resources to necessary tasks and designing responsibility and authority for their control and coordination The three levels of organizations are technical level, managerial level and the community level. (Mullins, 2008) The organizations are differentiated based on the task, the employees work and the nature of company and its HR policies and conditions. A hierarchy is handled in order to treat people equally in companies; Treating equal is just that they are literally equal, In order to extract best from an employee, the person above him will treat them as one and the same to extract the maximum and best work from them Functional organization,  matrix organization, and  line organization  are three common types of organizational structure (Mullins, 2008). The main intention of organiza tions is to distribute the tasks; the main aspect is to preserve the relationship between employees of different stages in order to drive them towards the single task and to monitor the progress of the assigned task. The TCS have a very well designed organization. The organizations can be classified into two main divisions they are Centralization. Decentralization. Centralization A simple and effective execution of policies for an entire organization. Gives a reliable approach over the organization. Makes trouble-free organization and administration control Better employ of specialization including better amenities and paraphernalia. Decentralization Facilitated verdict is to be nearer to the operational level of work. Amplified receptiveness to local conditions. It persuades inspiration and confidence of the staff. Observance progress in compliment and more supple structures. TCS offers services in eight areas of service: Business process Outsourcing, Business Intelligence and performance Management, Enterprise Solutions (CRM, ERP, and SCM) IT Consulting, Application Development and Maintenance, Engineering and Industrial Services, IT Infrastructure services, Testing and quality Assurance. TCSs are divided in following divisions Financial Services, Energy and Utility, Banking, Life sciences and Health care, Insurance, Securities trading system, Retail and Consumer goods, Telecommunications, Government and Transportation. TCS follow a standard organizational growth which helps them to organize the vast team under single board of directors; the type they follow is matrix organization. The matrix organization is a combination of functional departments which provide a stable base for specialized activities and a permanent location for staff and units that integrate various activities of different functional departments on a project team, product, programme, geographical or systems basis (mullins 2007). (www.tcs.com) DISADVANTAGES ADVANTAGES More involvement can cause aggravation and uncertainty among team members. Adequate meeting makes this type more time consuming. A detailed understanding is needed in order to be a part else result in bad performance which affects the total team work. A very good ability is needed in order to perform better and draw attention. Distribution of possessions is supple among the organization. Facilitates in intricate verdicts and appropriate for recurrent transformations occurs in unbalanced atmosphere. To meet demands from customers and helps to make unity within the team. Provides an opportunity to extend both practical and product skills. ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE: Even though the organizational culture will look like a similar saying its really solid to describe and elucidate as the word culture is derived from anthropology. In simple it can be described as the reflection of fundamental works about the way by which the work is performed. The collection of traditions, policies, value, attitudes and beliefs that comprises an invasive framework for everything we do and believe in an organization (Mullins, 2008). The corporate cultures can be categorised by two influential factors, The degree of threat coupled with the organizations manners The pace at which organisations and their employees obtain comment on the success of verdict or strategies. If the customs are adopted by the employees, it amplifies the supremacy and rights of management in three ways. Categorizes themselves with their organization and consent to its decree when its the defined fascination to do. To integrate the organizations worth when they are right. Enthused to accomplish the organizations objectives. The types of Organizational culture are Power culture, Task culture, Person culture, Role culture. A well-built organizational culture lies on eight strong pillars of OCTAPACE referring to authenticity, confrontation, autonomy, openness trust, proactive, collaboration and explicitness. Organization cultures can be categorized into strong and weak cultures. The organizational culture of TCS is translucent in stipulations of pay and its HR policies. There is a towering level of employee engagement as the concern pay structure stimulates and supports employees to achieve better to receive an excellent sum of their recital pay. There is an incessant improvement and growth of workforce through different modus operandi like the T model. It is a proficiently managed organization with client fulfilment as its top most precedence. Workforces are given lofty sum of respect and everybody is addressed as an ASSOCIATE to make them believe that their input really matters. But there are some minorities who believe that TCS follows a cold culture, by cold they signify that persons are not concerned about others. Few think that TCS has an energetic culture and there are lots of communal performance which the concern takes on to help the underprivileged and poor. One such initiative is the TCS Maitree, it is a non-profit auxiliary of TCS which utilize the employees to approach further on and educate the under privileged children or seize a camp in a countrys rural area to educate them regarding the knowledge on computers. PS T Model is new software intended by TCS, all the workers information pertaining to his possession, competencies, skill set, etc are fed and then the software gives the three best domains where the employee would best be suited. This model when launched will help in smooth inter- departmental reloc ates. TCS values are ethical, in which TCS have its own set of rules, policies, values which is called TATA Code of Conduct which was explained by HR with immense efforts during induction process, in easy words it can be described as that TCS is not doing business from people but doing business with the people. The TCSs culture is dynamic and favourable for vigorous growth and antagonism. THE NATURE OF ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE: Change is persistent manipulate. It is an unavoidable part of both social and organizational life and we are all subject to continual change of one form or other (Laurie j Mullins 2008) There are factors which are substantial to the organization change are: Global inflation and economic meltdown. Non-availability of resources. The limitations on products lifecycle due to frequent revises in technologies. Very high competition in escalating and capturing new market places. BUSINESS STRATEGIES: TCS names its business divisions as Industry Service Practice. TCS has it maximum revenue from Banking Financial Services and Insurance Sector. GENERIC BUSINESS STRATEGY: Low outlay of Global delivery 24X7 model. Delivery with the help of established release and excellence framework-IQMS in time. A whole focus on customer retention and client relationship in order to uphold the business revenue which is 95.6% Distinguished in low end services in both capital and price A solid protection from the money fluctuations with currency prevarication. Owing to its tough knowledge management system and resource strength, TCS has been triumphant in attaining the cost leadership in the Industry. In recent years TCS has been following a further resolute strategy where they are moving towards the requirements of customer and the nature of business as like Middle East, Europe, and Asia-pacific. TCS focus much on customers and the area rather than being broad. A full Focus on the centres of Excellence(CoE) to strengthen potential in order to build the state-of-art elucidation in particular technologies such as testing, virtualization and architecture. The high end skills and scale will help TCS to embark upon huge projects aimed at converting clients, IT applications and Infrastructures. GLOBAL STRATEGIES: When the global strategy of TCS is being closely observed, it will illustrate an influencing labour cost in South America, China and some parts of Europe. Employing overseas experts into the post of Directors in order to obtain the frequent changes in the business is also can be referred as one of the key strategies of TCS Clayton M Christensen(HSB Professor, joined TCS in 2006) Dr. Ron Sommer (former chairman of the board of management of Deuteshce telecom AG, joined TCS in 2006) Laura M cha (Member of Executive Council of the Hong Kong special Administrative Region(SAR) and Non-Executive Chairman of HSBC investment, Asia ltd) TCS have a keen view in looking US and UK for the Business Revenue markets and India for the skilled employees. TCS is very keen in establishing global delivery centres outside India which can demonstrate TCS as a Global company. TCS was the first one to set the global delivery centre in China which distinguished TCS from other corporate companies. In recent years TCS was frequently changing its approach towards global market; recently TCS reconstructed its structure towards its global operations to implement a Customer centric and integrated approach which is anticipated to assist in avoiding the risk factors arising from the Economic Meltdown in western countries. TCSs operation units are mainly divided into five main divisions. The well established markets are North America, U.K and Western Europe and the new markets are Latin America, Middle East, India and Eastern Europe. The new restructured plan was considered as the very good change by the TCS as it is attaining impetus in Europe and other markets, which is obvious in the companys marked growth rate of 40% every year. The operations In Middle East and Latin America had also seen a substantial growth. TCS had built new delivery and offshore centres in Latin America like Uruguay, Mexico and Brazil. STRATEGIC ALLIANCES: TCS is always keen in upholding the strategic relationships with various International technology vendors. These relations are distinguished in various magnitudes such as service provider, customer, supplier, and alliance partner. The relationships with the international technology vendors have made TCS to maintain a holistic. TCS made a joint venture with these vendors on joint research influencing each other strengths to research and to develop the best breed offerings. Joint advancing engagements. Significantly new or improved solutions. Joint go-to-market strategies for the solutions. ACQUISITION STRATEGY: TCS is concentrating the growth in two ways the organic means and inorganic means. The Inorganic way is in the course of acquisitions of companies which craft business sense to TCS. The concerns should adjoin great value to TCS. The Business with CMC is assisting TCS taking a very sharp gaze to the domestic Industry. Both companies have synergies in the government sector. They made various agreements with various companies some of them are the agreement with the citi group to transfer 12,000 employees in banking sectors for cash and external support in IT. Tata InfoTech Limited (TIL) was merged in early 2006. It was also a software service company like TCS which have branches around the world like America, Europe and Australia. Comparable to the financial venture made greater than, TCS yet again prolonged its banking commodities and shared its European operations after attaining a 75% equity wager in its Switzerland-based partner, TKS-Teknosoft. TKS was the marketing representative f or TCS in Europe. TCS: CO INNOVATION NETWORK (COIN): TCS is following a coin strategy in order to face the competition as the globalisation has created a elevated competition among the IT companies. It is necessary for the IT companies in order to follow an innovative technology thus resulted in the Advanced Information and Communication Technology which made practicable for companies to collaborate and perform Globally Distributed Network (GDN). Disorderly improvements are not the consequence of a solitary technology pretended by the minority of people but the combination of similar technologies may result in getting a combined innovative technology which will be much more effective and useful for the companies to perform globally. This concept of innovation network is not novel; classically it was the technology releasing body e.g. IBMs driven Innovation Networks and Googles Gartner Innovation networks are already been in existence, for TCS it is the customer driven innovation network where the participants are delivery rudiments and explorations. SWOT ANALYSIS: SWOT analysis is a prearranged loom to calculating the strategic position of a business by identifying its strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats. SWOT offers an uncomplicated way of analysing the results of marketing review. Internal strengths and weakness are abridged as they communicated to external opportunities and threats. (Jobbers; 2007) It analysis the complete strategy of the company based on policies and the business method which they follow. This pictures the companies advantages and disadvantages in companies perspective. The SWOT for TCS is as follows, (S)TRENGTHS widespread universal reach Strong economic presentation Human management skills Innovative lab system The Fame of the founder (W)EAKNESSES Momentous publicity to financial service markets. Deficient in level of consulting operations. (O)PPORTUNITIES Expansion in worldwide IT services Focus on SMB segment Expanding maneuvers in countries like china Focus on high end business and consulting (T)HREATS The Hike in Employee costs Powerful competition from overseas firms like Accenture, IBM etc. Merge in the end markets Currency gratitude Increase in competition from low wage. (S)TRENGTHS: The popularity and the reach all over the global markets made TCS a reputed and known firm in the Global IT Market. The TCS had launched the branches all over the world which can be considered as the primary strength for the TCS. TCS made clear and strong economic presentations around the globe which makes its clients a financial confidence about the company. The International base of TCS, India is known for its skilled employees in IT field which naturally made TCS very strong in Human resource. TCS is also skilled in the management skills as its board of directors are from overseas countries in order to adopt the strategies from all the parts of the world. TCS have a very good infrastructures and innovative labs with all the latest technologies which help TCS employees to update the latest technologies and to make research in various fields. The fame of the founder is also an added strength for the TCS. (W)EAKNESS: The excess exposure on the financial service markets which usually need to be kept confidential is considered as the main weakness of TCS. TCS is also lack in effective consulting team which show a strong reflection of decline in the growth cycle of the TCS, Being a company which works on Outsourcing projects usually needs a very good effective consulting team which acts as the bridge between the clients and company. TCS really lacks in that. (O)PPORTUNITIES: TCS being a fast growing IT firm is very keen in establishing and expanding its business to almost all the parts of world right from India, China, Latin American countries, Asia-pacific and etc which opened up a great business opportunity for TCS. The Focus in the SMB segments is also lays a very good business opportunity for TCS. Expanding the global branches to void countries like china, Asia-pacific will extend the business opportunities of TCS in future. TCS have a very good opportunity in high end business and consulting in the future if they rectify their weakness in consulting service. (T)HREATS: The rapid growth and development in India and other global areas, A common demand for employees arise which result in the increase of cost for employees. TCS has to face a very high competition from overseas and well established companies like IBM, Accenture and etc. The complete merge in the End markets is also a biggest threat for TCS. The advantage on rupees always stands as the biggest threat to all IT companies in general. Increase of competition from low wages is another threat. The similar Indian firms like Wipro, Infosys are also at their full phase of capturing global markets. TCS has to face a cold war against the threats which the company faces. As all the competitors of TCS are equally strong and effective in which TCS cant ignore the supple one. PORTERS ANALYSIS ON TCS: Porters tool will help to analyse the main five competitive factors which affects the companys growth (www.emeraldinsight.com) Being TCS itself is an supplier, it do not have problem with the suppliers, the other four forces which are problematic to TCS are the threat of new entrants, the bargaining power of customers, the threat of substitutes and the spirited rivalry between the existence. In the untimely days the software exports, the software wholesale market was overlooked by very few massive like Accenture, EDS and IBM, where the Indian concern were outlined as small level companies in result the TCS and other Indian software companies competed themselves in the lower end of the business, which resulted TCS and other organizations to choose small projects and tasks which are simple to do. TCS also faced a customer market that was conquered by the insurance companies and huge banks. While TCS keenly hunted for alliances with larger sellers as a competitive strategy, TCS most successful approach was to honestly loom clients and admit the minor charges that its competitive pose dictated. The entry of new companies have reduced rapidly as the huge companies like TCS, Infosys and Wipro have developed and grown huge in their market share, size and reliability with their customers. Though, the companies struggle to decrease their straight rivalry through demarcation of manufactured goods, in every market there has been enormous competitors. TCS has to work seriously upon reducing the bargaining power of customers. TCS can prevent price strategy in mixing up with purchase decision. It means that TCS should bring more than undifferentiated indoctrination by moving up the cost sequence. Such approach might be difficult in the software outsourcing business as the clients have an in-depth domain enterprises and rights of inclination to hold on to the work allocated under considered consulting. The clients very well know that the complete bargaining power lies in the strategic consulting; outsourcing that may reduce their bargaining power. TCS have to build up enough knowledge so as to construct outsourcing these errands a convincing worth plan. Of course, it is exactly in this empire that the multinational outsourcing firms such as Accenture, IBM, and EDS are the most vicious customers. Falsifying groupings are often viewed as a superior approach to offset clients bargaining command. Though, constructing alliances with companies functioning in clients sites have to be low-priced as this would advance focus on TCS in application progress. On other side, the attainment of a medium-sized US firm with sturdy customer relations and domain expertises could offer a striking opportunity. Even if expenses per employee would increase, the go up would be minute since workers needs are lesser for higher value-added jobs. The main anxiety for TCS is opposition from existing companies like Wipro, Infosys and CTS as it has produced rivalry for active dealings and twisted noteworthy pricing stress. Internationally, Companies like EDS have sited themselves as competent of handling huge, turnkey ventures which can distinguish themselves from contestants such as Accenture and IBM that spotlights on superior value-added jobs such as consulting. This proposes an organically-driven expansion strategy for TCS: as TCS should persist to do the similar sort of job that it presently do, but should attempt to arrest a better section of the value-addition by accepting huge projects. Although it has exhibited a potential in distant project management, TCS would be requisite to increase the same capability. But, there are also few risks which prevail in this strategy. TCSs huge dimension implies that it might have already exploited wealth to amount in applications improvement. Adding to that, the strategy may tender the latent for huge growth since it essentially engages elevated value-added actions. Before, this was hard, partially owed to the technical complexity in rejecting the value-chain away from the modularization of appliances programming. In recent years, though, systems design, manufacturing services, and systems integration job have increasingly been outsourced suggestive of that, if the abilities are at hand, those works could be completed in India. The threat of substitutes are mainly from the China, Philippines and eastern Europe which emerge as a biggest threats to the Indian IT companies, which is mainly due to the low cost. The companies from these countries quote very low price for the same quality of products as the Indian Companies do, which creates a great impact on medium to long term projects. It is difficult for TCS being operated from India to attain the organic growth. As the globalization

Sexism in Sports Essay -- Sexism Sports Athletics Basketball Essays

Sexism in Sports In 1972 a policy known as Title IX was written and mandated into Federal policy. Title IX states â€Å"no person.....shall, on the basis of sex†¦.be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance† (Glenn Sacks, â€Å"Title IX Lawsuits are Endangering Men’s College Sports,† p. 3). Many high schools and colleges have not been able to comply with the Title IX standards mostly because of money. After more than 30 years since the beginning of Title IX, there is still no gender equality among men and women in sports. Passed in 1972 by United States President Richard Nixon, Title IX was supposed to open the door for women, but feminists have interpretated Title IX in a way to help strengthen women’s athletics (Sacks 1). During the Carter and Clinton administrations Title IX was converted into a weapon to enforce gender quotas, therefore abolishing as many men’s college athletic teams as possible (Phyllis Schlafly, â€Å"Supreme Court wrestles with Title IX,† p. 2). Over the years the words of Title IX author, former U.S. Republican Edith Green, must have been forgotten when he stated that the law is â€Å"exceedingly explicit so that the establishment of quotas would be prohibited (Schlafly 2)†. It has become obvious that quotas are the standard in 2005. Scholarships, spending and funding must somehow equal the ratio of 57% women - 43% men enrolled in college. Schools have been offered two options to meet Title IX – create new women’s teams or cut men†™s teams (Sacks 2). Has the question really been answered yet? Has Title IX changed anything? YES. Between 1972 and 1997, 3.6 male athletes were dropped from their programs. During the same period, female athletes increased by 5,800 while 20,000 male athletes were cut (Sacks 2). Women’s basketball programs are now allotted 15 scholarships, men’s 13.5; women tennis is allotted 8 scholarships, men’s 4.5. By April of 2002, over 350 NCAA men’s programs had been terminated since 1991, over 100 wrestling programs had been eliminated overall, and only 26 colleges still had male gymnastic programs (J.P. Hoornstra, â€Å"Title IX sends teams to grave,† p. 2). It seems to me that Title IX was created with all the good intentions, but it seems that nobody really ever thought it through. On the flip side, coaches for an average college women’s team earns, on av... ...ution is time. Society is still grounded in the old ideals of early Americans. Sexism is a problem that can distort a person’s thought process, young and old. This perception denies the skill, sacrifice, and passion of an athlete based on gender. True today, the female athlete is as celebrated as the male athlete is. And true, female athletes are becoming extremely competitive, but still there is a belief of â€Å"separate and unequal† in the realm of women’s sport. Reference List Egendorf, Laura K. (1999). Sports and Athletes: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press. Geadelmann, Patricia L. (1977). Equality in Sport for Women. Washington: American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. Jacob, Michael Paul. (1993). College women athletes' knowledge and perceptions of Title IX. Iowa: Iowa State University Press. Messner, Michael A., McKay, Jim & Sabo, D. (2000) Masculinities, Gender Relations, and Sport. California: Sage Publications. www.movies.yahoo.com www.nba.com Prince-Blythewood, Gina (Director/Writer) & Kitt, S. & Lee, S. (Producers). (2000). Love & Basketball. [Motion Picture]. United States: New Line Cinema. www.wnba.com

Monday, August 19, 2019

Comparing the Symbology and Imagery in T. S. Eliot’s Poetry Essay

In the poems â€Å"The Love Song by J. Alfred Prufrock,† written in 1910, published in 1915, and â€Å"Rhapsody on a Windy Night,† written in 1917, both of which were written by poet and literary-critic T. S. Eliot, the symbolism and imagery of the women represented in mythological means, the locations and landscapes that both protagonists wander through or plan on going to, and the nature that is used in both poems are very similar, yet uniquely different. â€Å"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock† is about a man with low self-confidence worrying about going to a party in the evening where he is sure that the women there with reject and ridicule him; â€Å"Rhapsody on a Windy Night† is about a man wandering his way back in the early hours of the morning to the place where he is staying. In â€Å"Rhapsody†¦,† the moon is featured as a forgiving woman, one who will not hold a grudge and gentles and watches over everything. She appears as a lonely woman, almost as one whose lover has left her holding and twisting a â€Å"paper rose that smells of dust and eau de Cologne† (Eliot 31). At the end of â€Å"The Love Song†¦,† the women are represented as mermaids, sea-girls. They put the men under a spell, for lack of a better word, â€Å"We have lingered in the chambers of the sea/ By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown/ Till human voices wake us, and we drown.† The last line makes them seem like Sirens. In both poems the women are featured in strong mythological terms. Mythology, legends, etc. have always appealed to the senses. They are timeless, and involve adventure, romance, magic, loyalty, betrayal, wars, and mystery, all of which are qualities that strongly appeal to our senses, while also being riddled with symbol s and hidden meanings (Melinda-Landa... ...Works Cited Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. New York: Avon , 1972. Print. Daly, Kathleen N., and Marian Rengel. "A-to-Z Entries." Greek and Roman Mythology A to Z. New York: Facts On File, 2004. Print Eliot, T. S., and Peter Washington. â€Å"Prufrock and Other Observations.† Eliot: Poems and Prose. New York: A. A. Knopf, 1998. 13-19, 29-32. Print. Hanegraaff, Wouter J. "The Nature of Reality." New Age Religion and Western Culture: Esotericism in the Mirror of Secular Thought. Albany, NY: State University of New York, 1998. 154. Print. Hard, Robin, and H. J. Rose. "The Younger Olympian Gods and Goddesses." The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology" London: Routledge, 2004. 187. Print Homer. "Book Twelve." The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Eagles. London: Penguin Group, 1996. Print.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Discuss Charlotte Bronte’s portrayal of childhood in Jane Eyre. Essay

Discuss Charlotte Bronte’s portrayal of childhood in Jane Eyre. Charlotte Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s ‘Jane Eyre’ was a controversial novel for its time. It traces the heroine from an orphan child to a contented adult woman. Through the trials Jane experiences Brontà « highlights many hypocritical aspects of Victorian society, mainly focusing on the religious hypocrisy of the era. Subtitled ‘An Autobiography’, the novel in parts closely resembles Brontà «Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s own childhood and her evocation of Jane’s experiences of Gateshead and Lowood remain as vivid as ever for the modern reader. Brontà « explores childhood feelings of hurt and loss, focusing on a solitary, suffering child. In these first nine chapters we see Jane at 'Gateshead', where she is the victim of unjust treatment within the Reed family (a 'poor relation'), and then at Lowood, the victim once more of a harsh, tyrannical and unjust regime (despite the good influences of Miss Temple). In these circumstances Jane is shown to be continually subject to harsh and unjust treatment. Yet the narration also establishes Jane as a passionate, emotional, potentially fiery, and morally clear-sighted: she has a strong will, and refuses to let injustice and hypocrisy go by. She comments that ‘conventionality is not morality’. However this unusual and uncontrollable passion in a little girl is abhorred in Victorian society, it goes against the doctrine that states ‘children should be seen and not heard.’ Bessie exclaims ‘Did anybody ever see such a picture of passion!’ when Jane attacks Master Reed. She is often described by the Reed household as an animal: ‘you rat!’; ‘Hold her arms Miss Abbot: she’s like a mad cat.’ She is lowly regarded within the household, they wish she c... ...es represented by Mrs. Reed and Mr Brocklehurst is shown most clearly in the character of Helen Burns, who is most clearly a product of their propagandizing on humility and self-denial. Although Jane respects Helen’s honesty and stoicism, she cannot understand her beliefs and the way in which she accepts her constant chastisement so submissively; she herself ‘should wish the earth to open and swallow me up.’ After talking to Helen, Jane comments that her feelings were ‘better regulated’ and ‘thoughts more harmonious.’ Finally in Mrs. Temple Jane finds someone whom she can respect and admire; a role model. Helen observes that ‘Miss. Temple is full of goodness; it pains her to be severe to anyone.’ The portrayal of Childhood in this novel is utterly convincing and illustrates the triumph of a child’s spirit in spite of difficult circumstances very well.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Compare and Contrast the Way Two Cinderella Texts Explore the Values and Attitudes of the Cultures Reflected in Each

Compare and Contrast the way the two texts explore the values and attitudes of the cultures reflected in each. The two versions of Cinderella provide readers with insight into the values and attitudes of the cultures represented within each. The insight is obtained through the qualities the heroine's possess, the nature of the consequence for the evil character, and the overall moral and purpose of each text. These features are excellent tools for audiences of both the Ancient Chinese culture and a more contemporary, Western style. The two heroine's, Yeh Hsien and Cinderella, each posses different qualities which reflect their culture and values. The earliest version of Cinderella focuses on the talents and values of the characters, where the Western version is more materialistic and focuses more on beauty. The heroine of the Chinese version, Yeh Hsien, is described in the text as intelligent and good at pottery, we also find later in the text that she is kind and gentle- â€Å"She howled with grief in the open countryside†¦ When the fish died she was extremely upset, and when given the fish bones that granted her wishes Yeh Hsien gave herself food, dresses, pearls and gold, only when needed. This shows that she wasn't foolish or greedy and didn't abuse her power. This gives the responder insight into the values and attitudes of the Chinese Culture. We learn that the Ancient Chinese value the personality and talents of people rather than the way they look, and that we should wait for good to happen. Cinde rella, heroine of the Western version, is nice, compliant, hardworking and beautiful. This text is a lot more materialistic than the first version and is very focused on beauty. It is constantly reinforced in the text and beauty is used to depict good from evil. For example, â€Å"Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl called Cinderella and she had two ugly sisters. † This gives the responders the idea that Cinderella is the good character in the story and the ugly sisters are the evil characters. This tells the responder a lot about the Western society's culture and values, that they value beauty and the way people look over things like personality and intelligence. This also portrays a very materialistic society and culture. In each of the texts the evil character(s) are faced with some form of punishment, one more severe than the other. The early version has a harsh, fatal ending for those characters, and the Western version has a less brutal punishment. The Chinese version ends when the two step-sisters and the step-mother are struck by flying stones, resulting in their death. This particularly gruesome act demonstrates the Chinese Culture and is reinforced again by the burying of these characters. â€Å"The cave people were sorry for them and buried them in a stone-pit, which was called the tomb of distressed women. The men of the cave made mating-offerings there; any girl they prayed for there, they got. † The burial is similar to the idea used earlier with the fish Yeh Hsien found, as they both granted wishes to those who deserved it. The evil characters in this version were not forgiven for their wrong-doings and suffered for these actions. The responder learns that the Ancient Chinese people are not forgiving, and they felt that the bad characters should be punished for their evil acts towards the heroine, Yeh Hsien. The Western version of Cinderella ends with a less severe punishment for the evil characters than the earliest version. The ugly sisters and evil step-mother learnt their lesson and no longer had Cinderella to do their housework and chores, they were left to fend for themselves. They were, however forgiven and allowed to attend the wedding to celebrate the happy ending for Cinderella and the Prince. â€Å"Everyone who had gone to the ball was invited, even the ugly sisters. † This punishment reflects the values and attitudes of the Western culture. The responder learns that in modern society people are more forgiving and understanding of acts such as the evil act presented in the Western text, and is it more common than it is in the Ancient Chinese Culture. The Chinese version teaches the responder about the Ancient Chinese purpose and moral. Children can learn from this text, they learn to be good or terrible things will happen to them, it also teaches young children to take the good with the bad and that beauty lies within a person. The step sisters and step mother of Yeh Hsien were evil and because of that were struck by stones and died. The responder learns to take the good with the bad, just like Yeh Hsien did. When her fish died she was rewarded by having all her wishes granted and she eventually got to marry the King. We finally learn that beauty lies within a person. Yeh Hsien wasn't beautiful or pretty, she was hard working and intelligent, in the end she got away from her evil family and lived with the King as his chief wife. From this the responder learns that the Chinese don't care about beauty, but about the traits and values people possess, and that good will come for those who wait. The Western version has a similar purpose and moral to that of the Chinese version. The responder learns that good will come for those who wait, dreams will come true if you keep believing, and if you have faith, good will come. As in the original version, good will come for those who wait. Both heroine's worked hard, never complained and eventually got away from their dreadful life and lived happily ever after. Cinderella always kept believing that some good would come one day, she kept dreaming and her dream came true, she married the man of her dreams. Also if you have faith, good will come. Cinderella had faith that she'd get away from her evil step sisters and step mother, and the prince searched the whole land for a girl like Cinderella. All the good characters got what they wanted in the end because they kept believing and never lost faith. This reflects the culture of Western society, that people don't give up. These two texts provide readers with an understanding of the Chinese and Western culture's, as well as the values and attitudes of those cultures. We learn that the Chinese are not very forgiving, they offer severe punishments and they value people's traits, beliefs and don't care how they look. The responder learns that the Western culture are very materialistic, forgiving and always keep faith in their dreams. Through the heroine's qualities, the consequences given to the evil characters, and the primary purpose and moral of each text, the responder is able to compare the texts and the cultures represented in each.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Motivate or influence behavior Essay

Communication is defined by the text as the process by which information is exchanged and understood by two or more people, usually with the intent to motivate or influence behavior. ____ is necessary for communication to be considered two-way. Feedback Which of the following, in the communication process, has the responsibility to decode the symbols and interpret the meaning of the message? Receiver ____ and ____ are potential sources for communication errors, because knowledge, attitudes, and background act as filters. Decoding, encoding Channel richness refers to the amount of information that can be transmitted during a communication episode. Which communication channel would be most successful to inform managers of impending company-wide layoff? Face-to-face contact When an electronic mail system is installed as part of the communication system, what element of the communication process is changed? Channel ____ does not focus on a single receiver, uses limited information cues, and does not permit feedback. Bulletins Compared to men, women tend to use their unique conversational style to show involvement. Which of the following is the most familiar and obvious flow of formal communication? Downward communication ____ refers to messages designed to motivate employees to adopt the company’s mission and cultural values and to participate in special ceremonies. Indoctrination Many organizations use suggestion boxes, open door policies, and surveys to facilitate centralized Which of the following links employees in all directions, ranging from the president through middle management, support staff, and line employees? The grapevine What percent of the details passed through a grapevine is accurate? 70 to 90 percent According to the text, all of the following are ways managers can improve their writing skills EXCEPT: Write lengthy explanations One of the most important things that a manager can do for the organization, according to the text, is to create a climate of trust and openness. Managers’ communication is _______-directed, in that it directs everyone’s attention toward the vision, values, and desired goals of the team or organization and influences people to act in a way to achieve the goals. purpose Which of the following is the best advice for written communication that is highly important? Get a second opinion To be effective communicators, managers should: Encourage the use of multiple channels of communication

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Harrah’s Entertainment Essay

1. BACKGROUND 2. UPDATING 3. PEOPLE INVOLVED 3.1 Philip Satre: Philip G. Satre, Private investor since 2005. Mr. Satre was Chief Executive Officer of Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., a provider of branded casino entertainment, from 1994 to 2003 and a director of Harrah’s from 1988 to  2005, serving as Chairman of the Board from 1997 to 2005. Mr. Satre has held various other positions of increasing responsibility with Harrah’s since 1980, when he joined the company as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, until his retirement in 2005. Prior to joining Harrah’s, Mr. Satre practiced law in Reno, Nevada. He has been a director of International Game Technology since January 2009 and its Chairman since December 2009, and a director of NV Energy, Inc. since 2005 and its Chairman since 2008. Mr. Satre served as a director of Rite Aid Corporation from 2005 to 2011 and Tabcorp Holdings, Ltd. (Australia) from 2000 to 2007. Phil as CEO of the company is in accordance with the strategies Harrah ´s adopted to give its customers a better service and thus to ensure and increase their loyalty, the first is the independence that the company, ie, does not depend on shops, restaurants, bars and high income has come from their own casinos and second concerns the relationship of the company with his frequent customers because this leads to an increase compared to the benefits that would bring to the company On the other hand Phil chose to invest in the and development intellectuals and technological capabilities that are needed to collect and analyze data on customers. 3.2 Gary Loveman : Gary Loveman has served as a member of Coachs Board of Directors since January 2002. Mr. Loveman is the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Caesars Entertainment Corporation (f/k/a Harrahs Entertainment, Inc.), a casino entertainment company; he has held the position of President since April 2001, Chief Executive since January 2003, and Chairman since January 2005. He held various other executive positions at Caesars Entertainment Corporation from May 1998 to April 2001. From 1989 to 1998, Mr. Loveman was Associate Professor of Business Administration, Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration, where his responsibilities included teaching M.B.A. and executive education students, research and publishing in the field of service management, and consulting  and advising large service companies. Mr. Loveman serves as a Director of Caesars Entertainment Corporation and FedEx Corporation, and is a member of the Board of Trustees at Childrens Hospital Boston. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Wesleyan University and a Ph.D. in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Loveman served as Harrah’s Entertainment’s chief operating officer from 1998 until 2003. Under Loveman’s leadership Harrah’s began to focus on building loyalty and bringing more gamblers to the casino. Loveman also established a rewards program for Harrah’s employees of all levels, based on customer satisfaction. 3.3 Marilyn Winn Marilyn Winn is the President of Wynn Las Vegas, LLC, owner and operator of Wynn Las Vegas and Encore Las Vegas where she oversees the day-to-day operations of the properties. Mrs. Spiegel served in executive positions at Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc., including Senior Vice President and General Manager of Harrah’s Las Vegas and the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Harrah’s Shreveport Hotel & Casino in Louisiana and Vice President of Human Resources for the company’s Southern Nevada operations. Mrs. Spiegel began working for Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. in 1988. Mrs. Spiegel is a member of the Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Bureau board of directors. Marilyn lives and breathes Harrah ´s CRM culture, she says â€Å" My job is to make money for Harrah ´s entertainment by creating a great climate for customers and employees†. 4. ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED 5. MAIN PROBLEM According to that seen in the case, Harrah’s is a company that provides entertainment and accommodation in resorts located in the United States. It  is one of the largest companies that offer entertainment and luxurious accommodations. As we saw in the case, the company is very concerned about the management of client relationships and gathering information through customer service, they generate what they call â€Å"customer insights † which used to contribute to the experience customer on site and the service provided . But there is a problem in all this is that according to the text, are based on surveys of their best customers, those who spend more money on their facilities. This makes the experiences and new trends in customer service are made based only on the opinions that make customers more money. And behold, when the service is bad for customers who rarely attend the place, because they give preference to senior clients and there is no equal treatment to the client. According to a page (www.tripadvisor.com.uk), a website known for the various reviews that users have to say about hotels and tourism, found that Harrah’s has a considerable level of critical customer service as you can see below: Here we can see that there is a high level when the bad reviews, well then we can see that the majority is in customer service: So this is where we see the different views of users as follows: â€Å"Overpriced NO WIFI Dirty Glass in Room – Go Elsewhere!† In conclusion, we can see that the company has flaws in the customer service industry only focuses on improving customer experiences which have more money, but relates to neglect or treat with new clients of the company and this is where most of the complaints are .The company has to conduct a study and improve treatment for all the public, since the treatment for a person with so much money as a new customer who wants to know the hotel has to be the same way because the company cannot stay focused on a group of public, the company must open the focus group to be able to grow so large scale. 6. STRATEGY (SOLUTION) ANALYSIS QUESTIONS   To what extent is Harrah’s in danger of a competitor copying its system? The risk is very high because the world of market competition is always present and always we see companies that want to copy the system of Harrah’s, Harrah’s system is so good that is under scrutiny of other companies, if any competitor is filtered and copy the Harrah’s system could be a serious situation because the competitor could take Harrah customers, it is very easy for a company to be filtered so Harra must make a supervise to ensure that the information is not given to competitors for this they must train employees instilling values ​​of honesty and gives them ​​a friendly and pleasant working environment.

Human history Essay

Human history has witnessed numerous examples of wars. Our history has taught us that wars are unique by nature. Different philosophers at different times were trying to generate solid philosophical understandings of what war and strategy were. As a result, we possess sufficient theoretical basis for discussing the philosophical foundations of war, yet we have not been able to predict our military failures. After the end of WWII the world has finally taken a deep breath, and people were confident that violence would never enter their lives again. However, we are still surrounded by constant risks of war, and continue witnessing the acts of violence, and murders. Certainly, contemporary wars are completely different from those at the beginning of the 20th century: the development of the new weaponry types and communication technologies, have turned the simplest military actions into highly sophisticated acts. The war in Iraq has critically impacted the military balance in the world, and it is interesting to see, how Iraqi war would be explained through the prism of various philosophic works. Clausewitz: On War Carl von Clausewitz has written a well grounded research on the philosophy of war. His theoretical assumptions make it possible to distinguish philosophic implications of military actions. Having evaluated what war is, Clausewitz was able to create a general structure of war, and I think that his ideas are easily applied to the issues of the war in Iraq. â€Å"War is nothing but a duel on an extreme scale. If we would conceive as a unit the countless number of duels which make up a war, we shall do so best by supposing to ourselves two wrestlers. Each strives by physical force to compel the other to submit his will to his will: each endeavours to throw his adversary, and thus render him incapable of further resistance† (Clausewitz 1989, p. 4). Although, this Clausewitz’ definition is very objective, grounded, and universally applicable (any war implies the fight of several opponents for power), there are some amendments which should be made in terms of war in Iraq. It is difficult to admit, but it is true, that the war in Iraq is nothing more than the fight for power: Clausewitz does not distinguish whether this might be economic, social, or military power, or some other different aspect of political superiority. Clausewitz risks applying limited perspectives to discussing what war is. In the fight between the two wrestlers, only one of them initially seeks superiority. As a result, at the initial stage of war, only one of the opponents fights for power and superiority. Clausewitz supports this line stating that â€Å"two motives lead men to war: instinctive hostility and hostile intention. In our definition of war, we have chosen as its characteristic the latter of these elements, because it is the most general†. Has the U. S. started the war in Iraq with hostile intentions? Probably, it has. Many of us argue the fact that the U. S. military actions in Iraq were primarily aimed at promoting democracy in the country. To be objective, hardly any democracy can survive in the whirl of blood, murders, terrorist acts and violence caused by military actions. However, in the fight between Iraq and the U. S. Clausewitz seems to have neglected one essential stage of developing military actions: the first stage is the military intervention, and it hardly looks as the fight of the two wrestlers. On the contrary, its image is similar to unexpected blow on the side of the opponent to which another wrestler cannot stand and falls. The situation described by Clausewitz is actually the next stage of war. Iraq required certain period of time to gather it strength and to enter the war as an equal. At the stage when we started to receive the reports on murders and terrorist acts against American soldiers, one could suggest that the war has turned into the discussed fight. However, in this fight one of the opponents was trying to prove his superiority, while the other tried his best to defend the integrity of his physical territory and peace in the country. We cannot but agree with Clausewitz that war is never an isolated act, and it is never a separated single military blow. â€Å"War does not spring up suddenly, it does not spread to the full in a moment; each of the two opponents can, therefore, form an opinion of the other, in a great measure, from what he is and what he does, instead of judging of him according to what he, strictly speaking, should be or should do† (Clausewitz 1989, 5) The war in Iraq had long prehistory. The United States were continuously trying to defend their position in this military conflict. It was evident that the war was inevitable. As a result it is difficult to argue the position of Clausewitz. Actually, the work of Clausewitz seems to be very close to what we currently witness in Iraq. Of course, we do not know much as none of us has fortunately participated in this campaign. All we have at our disposal are news reports and other secondary information, but this secondary information allows analyzing the events in Iraq from the viewpoints of several philosophers. Clausewitz creates a philosophic picture of war. He implies that war does not change its face, and the structure of military actions and interactions remains unchanged, no matter at what historical period of our development a war may occur. This does not really matter, whether we use nuclear weapons or fight in the open sea – the war is always the utmost use of force, which does not break out of sudden, and which is the means of proving one’s superiority. Jablonski: Roots of Strategy In his work, David Jablonski has evaluated the works of the four theorists, as applied to military actions and military strategies. It is surprising, that Jablonski was able to avoid bias in his discussion. It is even more surprising, that the works of philosophers written at the beginning of the 20th century seem to have predicted the exact course of events during the war in Iraq. This, on the one hand, continues the line found in the work of Clausewitz: the essence of military actions remains unchanged through the centuries. On the other hand, Jablonski’s selection helps us understand WHY the U. S. was involved into the war in Iraq, and has actually initiated it. â€Å"In the United States our people have been slow to realize the changed conditions. Isolated as we have been from possible enemies, the people could see little chance for aggression by others. Separated as we are from Europe by the Atlantic, and from Asia by the Pacific which form most certain and tremendously strong defensive barriers, we seemed to be protected by the design of the Almighty. [†¦] The vulnerability of the whole country to aircraft as distinguished from the old conditions that obtained when the frontiers or the coast had to be penetrated before an invasion of the country could be made, has greatly interested the people of the nation† (Jablonski 1999, 452) What facts do we have in the war against Iraq? First, the U. S. has for long been isolated from others’ aggression. Even during WWII the U. S. was not directly involved into military actions. The terrorist acts of 2001 have been a tremendous shocking therapy to the whole American nation. The continuous isolation from the direct aggression has made the U. S. senseless towards possible military and terrorist threats. The image of the almighty nation was rather exaggerated, and the events of 9/11 have proved this assumption. The terrorist attacks had to attract the attention of the U. S. to its vulnerability and to eliminate the discussed senselessness, but the country has misinterpreted these events. The senselessness has turned into aggression against the states which were suspected in promoting terrorism (Iraq is in the top list of such ‘promoters’). As far as the United States has not experienced any acts of continuous aggression, which it could not stand, it has not fully realized the continuous effects of military actions brought into Iraqi land. In the introduction to his book, David Jablonski puts emphases on the most critical elements of war. â€Å"Modern military forces normally work in an environment in which the major dilemma is that of properly matching continuity and change. [†¦] the core attribute to such thinking is to imagine the future as it may be when it becomes the past – a thing of complex continuity. † Thus, planning continuity and looking at military actions through the prism of the past is the crucial element in making this strategy reasonable and justified. What are continuous impacts that the U. S. has caused onto the Iraqi population? These are economic defeat, and the need to restore all social and political structures of the country. It is still unclear whether the U. S. was able to promote democratic ideals in Iraq, but it is evident that it has failed to apply the principles of â€Å"continuity through the past† to planning the Iraqi military strategy. Jablonski states that the significance of the theoretical works he discussed in his book is in that they are presented in a structured manner, and can be easily understood and applied in practice. It seems that both the U. S. in its war in Iraq, and the terrorists in their 9/11 attacks have applied the principles discussed by Jablonski: â€Å"sometimes implicitly, more often explicitly, they created images of how aerial destruction of ‘vital centers’, could bring a nation to its knees. After all, there were the examples of mass panic on the home fronts and mutiny in the trenches during the recent war. † Similar to Clausewitz, who creates parallels between military actions and wrestling, Jablonski also underlines the importance of the sudden effect. Consequentially, we come to understanding an interesting military controversy: military campaigns cannot be sudden, but the â€Å"sudden effect† of aerial or other destruction often determines the success of the planned military campaign. These two elements are integral to the U. S. intervention to Iraq, too. Liddell-Hart: Strategy There are the two crucial elements which make Liddell-Hart’s view applicable to the war in Iraq: first, the author extensively researches the historical implications of specific military actions, and second, he does not expand his research to broader notions, but is rather concentrated on the ‘cause-effect’ research. His book is in many instances similar to that of Clausewitz. This is why the author is initially biased. In both works the reader meets identical philosophical parallels: â€Å"To move along the line of natural expectation consolidates the opponent’s balance and thus increases his resisting power. In war, as in wrestling, the attempt to throw the opponent without loosening his foothold and upsetting the balance results in self-exhaustion, increasing in disproportionate ration to the effective strain upon him. Success by such method only becomes possible through an immense margin of superior strength in some form – and, even so, tends to lose decisiveness. † (Liddell-Hart 1991, 5) In this citation, we find many elements which have already been found in other philosophical works: loosening foothold may be paralleled to the sudden aerial attacks, while moving along the line of natural expectation is similar to complying with the principles of continuity and thorough planning. Simultaneously, it is difficult to apply this statement to the military actions in Iraq. If the U. S. used Liddell-Hart’s philosophical implications in developing its strategy in Iraq, it would never apply the means of sudden attack against the Iraqi nation. People in Iraq would not know what means being bombed. As a result, the U. S. would risk losing its powerful positions. The philosophic perspective created by Liddell-Hart is hardly applicable to the war in Iraq or to any other military campaign in contemporary world. In addition, when Liddell-Hart speaks about morale in war, he represents its too idealistic image: the violence of American soldiers against Iraqi people eliminates any possibility to link morale to the war in Iraq. Niccolo Machiavelli: The Prince â€Å"A prince ought to have no other aim or thought, nor select anything else for his study, than war and its rules and discipline; for this is the sole art that belongs to him who rules, and it is of such force that it not only upholds those who are born princes, but it often enables men to rise from a private station to that rank. † This is another aspect of the war in Iraq, described in the terms of Niccolo Machiavelli’s â€Å"The Prince†. As Hitler used the war to prove his superiority and to create the nation of Aryans, the U. S. seems to be in constant need to prove its superiority to other nations. Several recent decades have turned into the years of constant fight, in which the U. S. always positioned itself as the leading and powerful nation: Vietnam, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Yugoslavia, and finally, Iraq; who is going to be the next? Machiavelli makes special emphasis on the importance for the prince to understand and to possess the art of war: â€Å"a prince who does not understand the art of war, over and above other misfortunes already mentioned, cannot be respected by his soldiers, nor can he rely on them. † (Machiavelli, 2006) The best information and intelligence resources have been employed to develop a sound military strategy towards Iraq, yet the U. S. was not able to display a skilful approach towards Iraqi intervention. Numerous deaths of the American soldiers and their inability to find common language with the native population, whom they had to protect, suggest that the United States did not possess any sound military skills. Expectation of easy victory usually leads to easy failure. The war in Iraq has displayed the U. S. inability to analyze the world military history, about which Machiavelli speaks. The author refers to the importance for the prince to study the actions of illustrious men and to see how they behaved themselves during war. Being powerful does not mean being non-educated; being powerful means being skillful, reasonable, and objective. Military failures in Vietnam and Yugoslavia have not taught the U. S. any meaningful lessons. In distinction from Clausewitz, Liddell-Hart, and Jablonski, Machiavelli did not apply any historical perspectives to evaluating military strategies, but he was wise enough to emphasize the importance of historical lessons, and of the ability to properly evaluate these lessons. Peter Paret: Makers of Modern Strategy While Clausewitz applied the painting parallels to researching war, Paret has performed a profound research of several philosophic writings related to the topic of war. All authors he discussed in his book sought to answer several crucial questions: whether it was possible to evaluate war, whether it was a viable tool of foreign policy, and how ethical war was. Paret’s views are directly connected with the understanding of nuclear threats as applied to military strategies. Paret’s book is actually the selection of the major philosophic works and their evaluation. It seems that modern philosophers try to distance themselves from creating their own ideas about war, but prefer analyzing the ideas of others as applied to contemporary political and military environment. In the introduction to his book, Paret writes that â€Å"strategy is the use of armed force to achieve the military objectives and, by extension, the political purpose of the war. To those engaged in the direction and conduct of war, strategy has often appeared more simply, in Moltke’s phrase, as a system of expedients† Thus, war is initially the conjunction of political and military ideas. The war in Iraq is also the combination of political and military aims, but which of them prevails? In his book, Paret often cannot make a case. He states that Machiavelli lived during the time when warfare was unregulated and thus the relevance of his assumptions could decrease. However, who says that our warfare is regulated? Paret suggests that while Clausewitz supported the idea of war to be limited in time, goals, and strategies, there was no place to global military campaigns. Does this mean that local military conflicts similar to those in Iraq cannot expand beyond the geographical borders of the Iraqi nation? They can, and the conflict in Iraq has already stretched itself across the world. The war in Iraq has already turned into the political fight between the two opposing political camps, and the perspective of the global war has never been so close since the end of WWII. This is why it is difficult to understand the aim of Paret’s analysis. For the aims of objective military research, one should rather read the original works of philosophers, than their subjective interpretations made by contemporary authors. Sun Tzu: The Art of War â€Å"Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight; whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle will arrive exhausted. Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy’s will to be imposed on him. [†¦] If we do not wish to fight, we can prevent the enemy from engaging us even though the lines of our encampment be merely traced out on the ground. All we need do is to throw something odd and unaccountable in his way† (Sun Tzu 1971, 24) The ideas of war produced by Sun Tzu, partially seem as odd as the instruments he offers to use if one does not want to fight. On the one hand, being first to the field also implies using ‘sudden’ tactics. On the other hand, what odd instruments could Iraqi people use to openly claim their desire not to start war with the U. S.? One should not repeat its tactics which had been successful earlier, but it should be regulated according to the constantly changing military environments. Moreover, using the tactics which has already proved to be a failure is a guaranteed double failure. The U. S. has not taken into account numerous important elements of an effective military strategy: being sudden does not always mean being successful. Aerial attacks make people fall to their knees, but do not break them completely. The U. S. develops a sound strategy of removing its military from the Iraqi territory. The aim is to turn retreat into a victory, which is virtually impossible. Until the U. S. is able to re-evaluate its defeats and tactics in previous military campaigns, it will have to be prepared to new military failures. Conclusion I think that each of the analyzed philosophers has something to say about the war in Iraq. Each of them discussed interesting elements of military strategy which could be applied to Iraqi military campaigns. Although certain views are limited, some risk being biased, and some cannot make the case at all, all of them deserve attention at least for having researched the question which we will hardly ever answer: What is War? It is never stable, it is always changeable, it always has a different face, and sometimes we even fail to recognize it from the start. One thing is evident: no matter how difficult a war can be, no excuses can justify our inability to fight well. BIBLIOGRAPHY Clausewitz, C. On War. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989. Jablonski, D. Roots of Strategy. Book 4. Merchanicsburg: Stackpole Books, 1999. Liddel-Hart, Basil H. Strategy: Second Revised Edition. New York: Meridian Books, 1991. Machiavelli, N. The Prince. The Project Gutenberg, 2006. Available from http://www. gutenberg. org/files/1232/1232-h/1232-h. htm Paret, P. , G. A. Craig & F. Gilbert. Makers of Modern Strategy: From Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986. Sun Tzu. The Art of War. Translated by Samueal B. Griffith. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971.