Global Forces and the European Brewing Industry

Penthouse Heinlein seeks to expose not Just its own brand, but the local brands swell, it may be a daunting task because there is a lack of much innovation, especially that it is family controlled with no allowance for outside and new governance. But the brand itself is strong, so it will maintain and/or grow its position. Grossly It is a medium-sized company that has set a niche with products that are new and innovative, and their packaging is striking and different, but they may find it difficult to maintain this position in the market because of the trial and error expense they have created for themselves. N.B. Has the benefit of being the biggest brewer in most countries and continents, so it can afford to test new markets. But with the competitive environment it dwells in, the expense may go well beyond what they can manage, if they fail to market and run their product, brand cooperation. It will be difficult to achieve that because of its size. Scottish & Newcastle Has invested most of its power in an eventual dying market, Europe. The decreasing beer consumption will negate its resources unless it expands it reach overseas to expose its brands.Luckily it is successful and with the European focus it has well attained, it has stability in its position in the market. There also need for them to diversify, instead of having beer on the market. QUESTION 2 (it) Strengths Strong overseas strategy to use locally acquired companies to introduce Heinlein to new markets. The transfer of expertise and technology to local, companies which help economies of scale for both Heinlein and local beers. It is family controlled to help stability and independence for international growth.Weaknesses Its biggest brands are Heinlein and Master. For a big company, it does not diversify very much. It needs to create more brands to help maximize profits in different areas. It is family controlled, which means there is no allowance for ‘new blood' and innovation. Grossly The c ompany is innovative and it has a strong brand, which people rely on, e. G. Its flavored beers and striking green bottles. It has new drinks on the markets and works on new ideas plus, has a trial brewery for testing the market. It Exports many of its drinks which allow more customers.Weaknesses innovation for drinks and cost of production. The new brewery will potentially cost it with failures and trial drinks. Ellen Is a very big company and the merger allowed new ideas and more brands on the market. Wants to transform itself from biggest to best brewer, which means it values consistency and growth. Wants to coordinate all functions internationally. Weaknesses Too many acquisitions mean the cost maintenance is high. The ability to work as one unit for a big company is a difficult task to accomplish.Consistency and synergy may be difficult across continents and countries. Scottish & Newcastle Focusing on Europe as a strategy helps them analyses effectively how to strategies and, he lps unite all acquisitions and run them as one unit. The investments in Baltic Beverages helped them expose their brand to many countries. Closing down inefficient breweries cut down unnecessary costs. Weaknesses Simply focusing on one continent will not expose the products to new markets. Heavily investing in one sector, like the Baltic beverages, has potential consequence for failure cost.

Rogers vs. American Airlines

Cultural perspective considers law as reflection of social cultural beliefs; therefore, it would propose that Rogers should act according to commonly excepted social norms and change her hairstyle. However, conflict perspective sees law as a tool of oppression, and thinks law defends dominant class, American Airline, by coercing Rogers to change hairstyle and by imposing the ideas of suitable hairstyle onto employees. Comparing these two perspectives, prefer conflict perspective because ethnocentric judgment and circular reasoning can be found in the cultural perspectives.Cultural perspective indicates that law reflects cultural beliefs of a society by clarifying and institutionalizing shared customs and values. Although it does to always consist with customs or norms, law mostly grounded in the culture of a society, because law is rooted in how people see the world functions, what people perceive to be good or evil, what people consider to be standards of proper behaviors, and how p eople expect themselves and others behave in daily life.Nevertheless, within a large, complex structured society, many subgroups actually have different beliefs and judgments upon certain behaviors; in this circumstance, law, according to Savaging theory, supposes to express common consciousness of people in this society. Hence, away needs to represent mainstream thoughts that are held by large part of population.Moreover, Minimalists demonstrates that law is a body of binding obligations. When disagreements emerge from different cultural beliefs of subgroups within a society, law is necessary to clarify ambiguousness by illuminating which specific norms and customs have been institutionalized as legitimacy and, subsequently, enforce those legitimate customs by socializing individuals into share values.Additionally, The critiques of cultural perspective arouse from the argument that law derives from norms and it is insistent with norms, pointing out that circular reasoning involves in cultural perspective, and, more importantly, the criterion for institutionalized customs may be ethnocentric or in favor of some particular subgroups (Beer, 9/2). The cultural perspective thinks that law should reflect customs and norms of a society and enforce legitimate norms.Accordingly, as for Rogers case, cultural perspective would say that Rogers need to follow the shared values on appropriate business kick and law need to socialize Rogers into those shared values for three following reasons. First, the social customs expect hat people of certain professions, such as airport operations agents, maintain conservative and business-like images. Thus, to consist with customs, law should ask Rogers to change her characteristic hairstyle into a regular one to fit into expected business images.Second, because Rorer's duties involved extensive passenger contact, she was expected to perform the best to serve her consumers, which included pleasing passengers with an appropriate profes sional, neat look. Since most of people would not consider all-braised hairstyle as confessional and proper look, it is reasonable to quire Rogers to follow social custom and change into an appropriate hairstyle. Third, it is common consciousness that employees of corporate companies are expected to work towards the best interests of companies as long as the companies' interests do not violate their civil rights.American Airline hired and afforded Rorer's living for purpose of enlarging its own revenues. And, as an employee of American Airline, Rogers was expected to work for benefiting her company. Thus, if American Airline thought that Rorer's hairstyle had negative effect on its revenue and its policies did not latte Rogers civil rights as they were applied equally to employees of all races and genders, social Custom would suggest that Rogers should consider changing her hairstyle. Moreover, law is used to socialize individuals with disagreeable norms.In Rogers case, according to cultural perspective, law needs to socialize Rogers by denoting her to fit in the common acceptable social norms. Overall, cultural perspective suggests law to demand Rogers to tone down a discovered identity and fit into the mainstream of social norms. Unlike cultural perspective that views law as reflection of agreeable social ultra beliefs, conflict perspective believes law is linked to struggle over cultural values and material wealth; hence, it views law as a tool of oppression, which promotes the interests of dominant social groups over the interests of subordinate groups.Furthermore, society, by conflict perspectives, is not held together by consensus but by power; and the power comes from property and capital on which economic system and people's survival depends. Besides, economic determinism and hegemony theory are two versions of conflict perspective. Economics determinism focuses on law s a repressive tool controlled by economically dominant class on purpose to maintain their economic power through coercion. Therefore, law is used to exploit and oppress subordinate groups.Hegemony theory considers law as an ideological device, which provides hegemony, which impacts how people understand the world, for capital class to justify their power. Thus, law is used to impose beliefs onto subordinate groups. In a conclusion, all conflict theories commonly state that inequalities in distribution of valuable resound:sees in social system cause tensions between those with and those without resources. Then, conflict emerges from those tensions; and such conflict may be able to change social relations and Structure Of a social system (Beer, 9/9).In the Rogers case, Rogers as an employee, whose living depended on her employer, was a member of subordinate group; and the American Airline as a capitalist class employer was the dominant group. Based on the key tenets of conflict perspective, conflict perspective would view Rogers case as conflict between dominant gro up, American Airline, and subordinate group, Renee Rogers; and the law, in this case, was used as a tool to support the power of American Airline to dominate over its employee, Rogers.As for views from economic determinism, law helped ensure that the capitalist class can do what it thinks can enlarge its revenue, as it forced its employees to have a professional, neat looks in order to please its consumers and, eventually, to attain more revenues. In this case, law oppressed Rorer's rights to control her appearance and freedom to express herself; and employer, as the ruling class, used law as a weapon to exploit Rogers for its own economic interests.Moreover, as for the explanations from hegemony theory, law imposed the justification of American Airline's policies onto Rogers and other employees who sought not to have uniform appearances, which defended the power of dominant class. In this case, law was an ideological device that serves to change Rorer's understanding of how her hai rstyle correlated to her performance on the job.In short, the inequality and dominate-subordinate relation between American Airline and Rogers caused the conflict between them. And, law tends to resolve the conflict by oppressing Rogers. Comparing two perspectives above, conflict perspective is more convincing o me for following reasons. First, ethnocentric judgment about appropriate norms may be employed by cultural perspective. Different insights of social cultures exist among different racial groups, even though these groups are within the same society.For instance, African Americans may consider that the all-braided â€Å"cornrow† hairstyle is neat, clean, and business-like hairstyle that is appropriate for Rorer's position at American Airline. However, since African American is a minor ethnicity, its social norms and customs are rejected when they disagree with mainstream social norms and customs. Therefore, the appropriate hairstyle may be determined by ethnocentric jud gment that disavows African American norms.

Chapter One The Press In Mauritius Media Essay

Chapter One The Press In Mauritius Media Essay For the health of democracy, access to information is really essential. In any democracy, citizens have the rights and responsibilities to participate in public matters. Knowledge about a society is obtained through free debates, newspapers, magazines, television and radio. All these are possible when there is a free and independent press. In all democratic countries, freedom of the press has been a treasured right. Press freedom is a pillar of democracy   [ 1 ]   . Often, the press is referred as the fourth pillar of a country   [ 2 ]   . Such freedom should be free from interference of the state. The preservation of the freedom of the press may be done through constitutional or legal protections. In the present chapter, the definition and the importance of the press freedom will be analyzed first. Then, the evolution and development of the written and audio-visual press in Mauritius will be examined before considering the constitutional foundation of the freedom of the pre ss of the country. 1.1 Freedom of Press 1.1.1 Definition of freedom of the press Everywhere in the world, the meaning of press freedom differs. Different countries possess different degrees of freedom of the press   [ 3 ]   . This suggests that freedom of the press is not absolute in the world   [ 4 ]   . In universal terms, defining freedom of the press is difficult. Various definitions to freedom of the press have been attributed by different scholars and in many text books. Lieberman (1953) defined freedom of the press as the right to serve, without government interference and with police protection, and the most fundamental right of freedom of information   [ 5 ]   . As for Dennis and Merrill (1996), freedom of the press is the right to communicate ideas, opinions, and information through the printed world without government restraint   [ 6 ]   . For both authors, the â€Å"right to share information† and â€Å"no government intrusion† is among the main elements of this freedom. For other scholars, free press is an independent adversary   [ 7 ]   performing the function of watchdog preventing the State from aggrandizing and abusing the rights of its citizen. Freedom of the press is not only the right of media; it is the right of the citizens also. Going back to history, in 1791, freedom of the press was legally guaranteed by the U.S Constitution, â€Å"congress shall make no lawà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦abridging the freedom of speech or of the pressà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  Freedom of the press was recognized by the National Assembly of France in the Article 11 of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. This freedom was considered to be a fundamental right in Europe and in the United States. In 1948, the United Nations declared it a universal right and adopted Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Freedom of the press is derived from the fundamental right of freedom of information. The latter is a à ¢â‚¬Å"human right and the touchstone of all the freedoms. It implies the right to gather, transmit and publish news anywhere and everywhere without fetters†Ã‚   [ 8 ]   . The rights to seek and to disseminate information are of particular importance to the press. Along with freedom of information, freedom of expression also plays an essential role in press freedom. In

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

Bolero - Essay Example Levitin and Wooten look at music how people perceive it within a large paradigm. Bolero is a movement musical piece that was pioneered by Maurice Ravel. It would later stand out as one of his most famous musical compositions of his time. As such, it is appropriate to use this piece to analyse these musical concepts (Levitin 78). The music features unique musical composition with a new style of composition and dance gestures, with the musical instrumentation largely utilizing a sopranino saxophone in F. Furthermore, this form of music has been characterized as having a plain structural composition being in C major of ? timing. In its composition, Bolero music starts with pianissimo progressing in a crescendo and ending up to a fortissimo being played so loud. The music is anchored on a constant ostinato in the entire composition. Wooten’s â€Å"The Music Lesson† brings out a rich collection of concepts that he has come up with over the years in his Bass camps. A combinat ion of the ten ideas seeks to illustrate music as a language all interwoven into musical concepts. Quite distinctively, Wooten identifies these concepts as elements of music that he identifies as notes, articulation, feel, musical technique, rhythm, dynamics, tone, listening, phrasing, and space (Wooten 98). Similarly, Levitin’s â€Å"This is your brain on music† offers insightful information regarding how humans perceive musical sounds and the manner in which the human brain processes musical sounds. In his point of view, humans have been successful in their own standing due to music (Levitin 56). In using these concepts to analyze Bolero music, several issues come into the mind. These issues are related to how music is perceived and how humans interpret it. In a fundamental way, Ravel’s Bolero music takes fifteen minutes repeating each of the song themes’ two sections approximately nine times using the same key. The composition uses various orchestratio ns varying considerably the musical texture. Consequently, it creates crescendo. Using Wooten’s core concepts, Bolero puts into focus a repeat pattern of AA BB four times, and AB being repeated once. All these serve to offer the composition a sort of modulation that creates a cataclysmic musical closure. In putting Levitin’s perspective, the melody used in the compositions makes the music to stick in human brains because of simple rhythm use. The effects of most of the repetitive concepts of Wooten seek to make the musical patterns stick to people’s brain. Therefore, occasionally people can be able to feel the beats and sounds of a particular music without physically listening to it playing (Wooten 45-8). Much of Andre Rieu’s renditions were based on classical music creating a new niche in music from the period ending up to the twentieth century. His approach to classical music was mostly anchored on involving the audience during musical performances so t hat the audience can appreciate music. However, these renditions combined the admired compositions of great classical musicians of the time with rather informal musical performance environment that was mostly associated with pop music. His articulation of music provided a festive atmosphere for the audience where they are encouraged to participate in the performance through dance and song. Wooten would later describe this perception of music as more of a language of the learning process to understand music (Wooten 72). The way the audience

Incidents in the life of a slave girl (1861) by Harriet jacobs Essay

Incidents in the life of a slave girl (1861) by Harriet jacobs - Essay Example The major source of encouragement to such individuals was the dream of establishing families of their own in freedom. A major hindrance was imposed upon the slaves if they already had children or families while under the rule of their slave masters or holders. In Linda’s case, her grandmother was a source of empowerment in her life, acting as both her father and mother. Her free grandmother, who was always there for her and her brother Benjamin reinforced Linda’s economic needs and emotional support (Jacobs 4). In the story, Linda talks of her grandmother endless stream of support and refuge that indebts her to her grandmother. Linda’s grandmother is also her personal confidant to whom she tells all her secrets and dreams. As such, Linda respects her grandmother so much that she does not tell her of the struggle against advances from Dr. Flint, and this marks the first conflict between the two. Since her childhood, Linda’s grandmother was always encouragin g her to assert her sexuality in order to avoid further slavery. This is an effort to pull her out of enslavement. Nevertheless, Linda faces many challenges while maintaining her sexuality, including the advances from Dr. Flint (Jacobs 21). Ultimately, she goes against her grandmother’s wishes and gives herself to Mr. Sands. This move, which she considers as triumph over her master, will have a negative impact on her relationship with her grandmother. Her grandmother is not happy after Linda confesses to her not only because of the importance of gaining freedom by maintaining her purity, but also because of societal values. Both the whites and the slaves held the institution of marriage in high regard. Another reason was the fact that children of slaves were to follow their mother step of servitude. Despite her grandmother’s empowerment, she also acts as a hindrance in her quest to obtain freedom. The relationship between Linda and her grandmother suffer a major blow a s her grandmother does not approve of her path to freedom. Linda’s intimate relationship with Mr. Sands is completely unacceptable before her grandmother’s opinion. Linda eventually has two children with Mr. Sands, who tend to delay her escape mission to freedom. Linda eventually considers another strategy: hiding until Dr. Flint becomes discouraged and sells her and her children to another slave master. In her plan to escape with Mr. Sands, her grandmother discourages her by a mother’s guilt, telling her not to trust the man but rather stick to her kids. She goes ahead to tell her that a woman who leaves her children loses her respect. This persuasion by her grandmother is a dilemma in her escape plan, which might secure the safety of her children and herself. Linda’s grandmother continues to instill the fears of her being a bad mother by relating to her children, Ben and Ellen, like a mother. Her loyalty to her grandmother and the natural fear of forsak ing her kids continues to hinder her escape plans, but not until the safety of Ben and Ellen threatened. Linda views their proposed move to plantations as slaves revive her escape plans. She acknowledges that the slaves in plantation are subject to harsh conditions than those in serving in the urban. The thought of her children suffering cruel treatment and conditions in the plantations forces her to flee disregarding her grandmother feelings and opinions. Linda places her children’s safety before the wishes of her grandmother, opting to remaining hidden in her grandmother’

Managment and Cost Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Managment and Cost Accounting - Essay Example Since the costs of direct material and overheads are not determined accurately, there is a big risk that company might not produce competitive bids and unreasonably high prices are quoted to the insurance company. Therefore it is highly recommended that firstly the entity should classify accurately the costs associated with the product into fixed and variable. Secondly, actual charge is (should be) considered rather than standard costs, as it should be able to measure its actual cost of production. It is recommended that entity should consider using marginal costing method as it will allow the management to derive more relevant & important information for the purpose of decision-making. Information such as Contribution per unit, Break Even Sales (in units & value), Net Profit per unit and total can be of significant value to the management. In the era where companies are moving towards modern and world class business principles and reporting methodologies, there has been, since three decades, a significant debate on the validity of traditional absorption costing method in today’s decision making process. What are relevant costs when taking decisions relating to increasing the velocity of operating cycle and what are costs that are relevant solely when consideration is given to company objectives, goals and strategies? (Samford University, School of Business, Birmingham, Alabama, USA) We at William & Co. Consultants have made a feasibility study on the implications and benefits of implementing throughput accounting at BITE ME. "Throughput Accounting provides managers with a fresh set of eyes to identify and control bottlenecks. The drum, buffer, and rope will become part of the cost accounting lexicon in the future†, says Geoffrey Garland, Controller, StacoSwitch, Inc. (Steven Bragg). Throughput Accounting (TA) is a comprehensive management accounting approach which provides decision support information to managers

White Noise and Movie, Revolutionary Road(dir. Sam Mendes)2008 Essay

White Noise and Movie, Revolutionary Road(dir. Sam Mendes)2008 - Essay Example Each of these themes is used to create a question of the family life and the identity that is a part of this. More specifically, both authors show that the illusions that are a part of white suburbia create problems and complications of living life, specifically because of the desire to reach the American dream. One of the main focuses of both the novel and movie that are presented is the idea of family life. However, each of these presents an illusion of what it means to life in a middle class, white family as a part of suburbia. In both works, there is an ideal that the family life and suburbia is able to create a picture perfect representation of the American dream. For instance, at the beginning of White Noise, the author states â€Å"The well – made faces and wry looks. They feel a sense of renewal, of communal recognition. The women crisp and alert, in diet trim, knowing people’s names. Their husbands content to measure out the time, distant but ungrudging, accomplished in parenthood, something about them suggesting massive insurance coverage† (DeLillo, 3). This opening statement is a presentation of the American white family that lives in suburbia and keeps up a specific impression about family life. In this statement, the author creates an understanding of the identity of suburbia, consumerism that is at the center of the family and the representation of family life. While this particular ideal is set in both the movie and the book, there is also a question of the truth of this identity. The American dream that is pictured in both the book and the movie becomes problematic when the family life is led to illusions that have an undertone of problems. In White Noise this is presented by the husband, Jack, who has been married five times with several children. The main problem arises when the illusion of suburbia and the American dream can no longer present real life.

The motivation of Consumers to purchase luxury goods Research Paper

The motivation of Consumers to purchase luxury goods - Research Paper Example With the rapid growth of national economies in most of the world countries, the purchasing power of the people in the countries has also improved and luxury consumption has improved. The consumption of luxury goods by the consumers calls for guidance in most of the countries. The study will involve data collection, analysis and presentation of findings in the form of a discussion. Based on the rapid development of most of the country’s economy and the improvement of the purchasing power, the consumption of luxuries also has some development. In an example, in 2006, an estimated population of 320,000 Chinese consumers who spend their money on luxury products on an estimated 10% of all the global luxury brand sales (Arifoglu, 2012). After six years, the numbers of consumers went up by double or even triple (Hausman, 2000). The change made the number of consumers rise by a 10% making the Chinese consumers become the largest in the world. A report send by the world luxury association indicated that Chinese overseas luxury goods consumption during 2013 totaled to about $8.5 billion, the Chinese shopping on luxuries increased to 68.8 in 2011 (Hidayat and Diwasasri, 2013). Presently, there has been an understanding that the local indicators of consumer attitudes do not sufficiently to the different volitional, internally motivated, avoidance response tendencies in different consumption or acquire situations (Hausman, 2000). A general critique is that these attitude measures are based on the conceptualizations that are too narrowly focused (Hidayat and Diwasasri, 2013). One area of the criticism has indicated that the symbolic, hedonic, and the esthetic facets of consumption are not adequately shown in these conceptualizations and accordingly in the resultant operationalizations (Arifoglu, 2012. The body of literature that relates to luxury products crops up when another related literature from

Two smillier articles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Two smillier articles - Essay Example One of the components is the transforming growth factor, also known as TGF B-1. This is an immunosuppressive cytokine that is in the heart, meaning that it is a main protein that functions with relation to helping to fight immunity. It has been found that individuals who have a higher concentration of TGF B-1 in the heart also create atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries. Those who have regular coronary artery disease are not as likely to have the plasma concentration of TGF B-1. Those with both degenerative heart valves and regular coronary valves have a lower amount of TGF B-1, as well as a higher distribution amount of the cytokine throughout the body (Attaran et al, 2010). . The article used (Attaran et al, 2010), conducted a study to determine why those with atherosclerosis of coronary arteries create this specific dysfunction, as opposed to a regular coronary artery disease. 158 patients were studied who were undergoing treatment for coronary artery disease for the first time and which were required to have valve surgery. To conduct this survey, the enzyme inhibitors to the heart were stopped. After this was complete for a period of time, the blood from the heart was collected to determine how the plasma functioned within the heart. Enzyme linked chemicals were used to detect the amount of TGF B-1 that was in each patient’s blood. The results were then compared to the amount of TGF B-1 that was in the normal population and from those who had normal functioning of the heart (Attaran et al, 2010). There were several associations found between the dysfunction of atherosclerosis of coronary arteries and TGF B-1. It was found that those with atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries also suffered from hypertension and myocardial infarction in the past. It was also found that the mean concentration for TGF B-1 was lower than the normal population

Google glasses Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Google glasses - Research Paper Example Several people spend a significant amount of time online at the expense of doing other things. The device seeks to solve the problem by freeing people to do other things without being offline (Houghton, 2013). It has a lot of applications in many industries. It remains to be seen whether the device can appeal to the mass market and become a mainstream product as smartphones did. Though it is a great device, it also has faces significant challenges. Google glass is a unique product. It has merged all the features of a computer and hand held mobile devices in a tiny piece of glass and a stylish frame. The device supports natural language features and instructions can be spoken to it (Houghton, 2013). It can take pictures and videos and store them in a 4GB flash memory in the device that can be shared on social sites or emailed. The glass shows text and email messages and enables the user to reply through voice commands. The search process is simple because asking a question will get you answers from the web. The highly integrated product minimizes its physical size as much as possible (Garfinkel, 2014). Users can use Google maps through voice commands (Houghton, 2013). It supports real time video sharing. Google Now is the digital voice assistant that tracks your daily activities such as trade routes and outdoor activities and gives appropriate updates. International travel has been made easy by a feature that enables the device to translate spoken words (Garfinkel, 2014). The device comes with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. It is powered by the Android mobile operating system and will support both Android and IPhone powered mobile devices. The device is fully synched with Google cloud providing safe storage for the user’s data. It is a milestone in human-computer interaction because it is a wearable device (Garfinkel, 2014). It is widely applicable in medicine, manufacturing and education

Workplace Motivation Essay Example for Free

Workplace Motivation Essay In this paper, I will examine many motivational strategies that affect productivity in a workplace. Another will include an explanation of organizational efforts to improve performance, employees’ resistance to increasing productivity and satisfaction, and management’s philosophy of motivation and its practices in the workplace. Motivation is one of the single driving factors in one’s work performance. Organizations take this very seriously and to waste time, and energy and the expense into training someone who is not motivated. Needs Theories, Goal-Setting Theory, Equity Theory and Expectancy Theory are the four specific theories that are used in motivational practice. In addition, I will identify and analyze the implications of applying any two motivational theories not currently used in my selected workplace and how they will influence both management and employees. Organizations are always looking for ways to increase productivity, especially in the growing competitive environment. It is a known fact that when employees are unsatisfied with their current job, productivity decreases, tension builds up in the work environment, and morale is low. Most organizations have motivational programs that provide useful tools to increase motivation, and reduce employee turnover. There are many strategies that are used to influence employee loyalty and these are intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is one’s personal development, self-control over their work without reward. Whereas, extrinsic motivation is having external incentives, pay bonuses, time off, these are some common strategies used to motivate and individual to complete or do a task. I work for a organization mostly based on customer service and to provide nursing care for long-term residents and rehabilitation following a hospital stay; and assisted living communities. As an employee, I am a member of the nursing staff department. Some of the motivational strategies used at Trisun are competitive salaries, health benefits, sign on bonuses, and employee perks. Recently, their census has been very low, so now employees have to take longer lunches or downsized. Thus, they want employees to work shorthanded but at the same time still have the same responsibilities. This tactic only makes employees frustrated and unmotivated to be productive. Only when you reward employees, they become happier, stay longer, and become more productive at the workplace. Many organizations fail to recognize that money is not the biggest factor in motivating employees. An engaged employee comes in early, reaches out to other employees, smiles, and has great customer service. On the other had you have an disengaged employee and they come in late or absent, and doesn’t want to be bothered with and most always leaves right at five. Successful business should have only one kind of employee, engaged. The process is to reward, recognize, and keep those behaviors among employees. If you don’t recognize those behaviors, you won’t get them back. People think that more money is better than a closer parking space. That is not always true. Depending on what you do, even the smallest perk can be bigger than a bonus and would be more valued. There are whole ranges of factors that motivate people. Many organizations have surveys to find out what really motivates employees and learning their values. Are they motivated in intrinsic or extrinsic theories, do they like more money, status, rewards, or do they value what people think of their work instead. Management can sometimes be pulled in different directions, so it is good that other employees see you working hard and are recognized by your supervisors. The two motivational theories that are not used in practice in this workplace were the Goal-setting Theory and the Cognitive Evaluation Theory. Cognitive evaluation theory is the event in which affects individuals’ feelings and self-determination will affect their intrinsic motivation. By using this theory, it will help employees feel self-determined, competent, and intrinsically motivated. Secondly, Goal-setting Theory was not used in the workplace. This theory explains that individuals are able to reach a defined objective. Sometimes this is a reward in itself and primarily a goal’s ffectiveness is implemented by three factors; specificity, proximity, and difficulty. Another theory self-efficacy will enhance an individual’s to achieve the goal. By using the self-efficacy, it will give positive feedback and have impact on applying the goal-setting theory in management and increase productivity. The most noted theory would be Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. The Needs model is where each need is set on a basis of the strength of need. The human needs are physiological, Safety, Social, Esteem, and Actualization. Physiological need is the highest strength and is essential for survival. These form every human motivation and fulfilled more than any other human need. Motivation Strategies The highest levels of motivation for employees are individuals who empower workers, have an effective rewards system, redesign jobs, and create a more flexible work environment. Empowerment is to design the worker to become more responsible and encourage accomplishing a given task. Providing an effective rewards system is to reinforce employee behavior and the reward is when outcome is positive for the individual. There are two ways to receive rewards: Extrinsic rewards are common in the workplace, which are pay bonuses, promotions, time off, and verbal praises. Intrinsic rewards gives people a â€Å"natural high† when completing a job. It gives them a certain personal development and self-control over their work. Managers need to realize that all people are different; managers must provide a range of rewards, time off, recognition, and promotion. Redesigning jobs is a concept that will help employees not get bored with their everyday routine. One attempt would be job enlargement, which increases the job tasks decreases boredom. Job rotation is a practice which people can do different tasks and at the same time be exposed to new interest in the workplace. Job enrichment also includes tasks with more responsibility and authority. In today’s busy world employees value their personal time. Therefore, having a flexible schedule always helps employee’s needs. A full-time job is 40-hour workweek, so most employees get three days off which benefits the individuals lifestyle and give more leisure time and lowers commuting cost. Lastly, job sharing and twinning is when one full-time job is split between two or more people. Job sharing involves working only half a day, thus organizations benefit by employing people who wouldn’t otherwise be a unable to work full-time. In this paper, I explained different motivational strategies that affect productivity in the workplace, and analyzed two theories that are not in affect at my job. I explained organizational efforts to improve performance. By applying these theories and strategies will influence both management and employees to be motivated and be more productive at the workplace.

The Regional Economic Integration

The Regional Economic Integration Introduction: Regional economic integration has existed in most geographical regions since the early days of the multilateral trade system. For example, the European Union was first established as the European Economic Community through the Treaty of Rome in 1957. Latin America and Central America followed soon after with the formation of the Latin American Free Trade Association and the Central American Common Market in 1960. By 1965, regional integration had also begun to take root in North America with the conclusion of the Automobile Products Trade Agreement between Canada and the United States. Regional economic integration is both a process and a state of affairs. Regional economic integration basically approaches a hierarchical model. Free trade area involves the elimination of tariffs and quotas on goods. This is followed by a customs union, in which members of a free trade area also adopt a common external tariff. A common market is the next step and involves creating a single market, with common policies on product regulation and the free movement of goods, services and factors of production. To benefit from regional integration, there are various conditions which has to be fulfilled, they are political commitment of all countries, to higher forms of integration; mutual economic dependence; disparities between countries of the region or narrow economic gaps; similarities at the policy level basically in human development and social policies; lastly, good governance and institutions in order to maximize the benefits of economic integration. Regional economic integration generally leads to greater foreign direct investment (FDI), financial and capital account liberalization, trade liberalization and migration of labour. A region made be regional integration mainly attracts foreign investment and it also reduce the rivalry between the neighbouring regions. Regional Economic Integration in East Asia: In the last two decades, the East Asian economies have achieved substantial liberalisation in Foreign Direct investment (FDI) under the frameworks of WTO and APEC. The result of the expansion of trade and FDI has become the main reason for development and economic growth in East Asia. Trade and FDI openness has also encouraged domestic institutional and governance reforms, which has further promoted trade and investment. Since early 1990s, emerging East Asia has also experienced increasing financial openness. Financial openness helps in rapid economic growth by attracting short term capital and long term capital with trade and FDI openness, with deepened market driven economic interdependence in East Asia. It has been applied as valuable comparative parameters due to a number of its significant characteristics: East Asia is the world largest regional market of 2 billion populations, which is much bigger than the 27 countries of European Union contributing 495 million and NAFTA contributing 405 million populations. After 1960 East Asia has been recorded as the fastest growing region of the world. The region has recorded average annual economic growth rates of around 7%, which is much higher than that of the average 5% growth in the rest of the world. East Asia contents almost half of the worlds foreign exchange reserves and in which China alone recorded a world largest foreign exchange reserve which passed $1.4 trillion in 2007. Along with the European Union and the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), East Asia is one of the worlds three largest economically integrated regions. East Asia has been characterized by extensive economic integration at both regional and global level. Commercial enterprises based in East Asian states particularly Japan, but increasingly also emerging industrial states such as Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan have been at the forefront of processes of regional economic integration, and are increasingly important contributors to global transnational research and development (RD) and production networks. China, a relative latecomer to transnational economic collaboration, is an increasingly prominent participant both regionally and global as well, as it undergoes a transition from a site for low value added assembly and production to advanced production. Regional economic integration in East Asia is notable not only for its extent, but also for the degree to which it transcends the economic and politico military rivalries of the states concerned. The pattern of East Asian economic integration reflects relatively little concern ove r economic objectives stemming from the perceived requirements of national security or intra regional economic competition. The most striking example of this is provided by China and Taiwan, which have managed to develop an extensive and mutually beneficial economic relationship, despite their long standing rivalry. Achievements of Regional Economic Integration in East Asia The prospect of regional economic integration plays a positive role in East Asia after initiating in United States and other western countries. Following are the some of the achievements of regional economic integration in East Asia which can be the proof that East Asia is gathering pace. (i) ASIAN Free Trade Area ASIAN is the important foundation for regional integration in East Asia. This was the first ever regional economic integration of East Asia. It does not affect the intra ASEAN trade and also the regions overall trade with world. The change came in 1992 when ASEAN achieved establish agreement on free trade area in order to help its neighbouring economies to achieve growth in trade. The main aim of ASEAN is to attract investors from foreign and regional as well. Multinational corporations locating in ASEAN would be able to exploit economies of scale and to rationalize production by allocating different segments of production processes among the ASEAN countries according to their respective competitive advantage. He tariff is reduced to 0 5% till 2008 for ASEAN. ASEAN also conduct various agreements focused on enhancing regional integration in transport and communications, trade facilitation, investment, e commerce and intellectual property rights. (ii) Free Trade Agreement Regional Economic Integration in the form of Free Trade Areas has come into existence in the Asia Pasic region. Growing number of bilateral and plurilateral FTAs involving such countries as Japan, China, Singapore, Korea, Canada, New Zealand, Mexico and Chile are currently being negotiated. Significantly, this trend is gathering momentum not much because of a change of sentiments in some of the countries in the region like Japan, China and Korea, which have been strongly opposed to preferential arrangements in the past. In the various Asian countries an important breakthrough was achieved when Japan and Singapore agreed in October 2000 to begin negotiations on a bilateral FTA with a view to concluding the talks by the end of 2001. These results to be gained a little by both countries which already have open investment region, minimum tariff and little trade in the area of agriculture. The important features of Japan and Singapore free Trade Area are establishing the harmonisation of legal frameworks, mutual recognisation of certification authorities for digital signature and coordinated corporate privacy standard. With the help of FTA many Japanese firms find it easier to run their operations in Singapore. This FTA will not only benefit these two signatories but will also have positive effect on various other countries of East Asia. Japan Singapore FTA is also important because it is the first institutionalized link between North East Asian economies and South East Asian economies. It is therefore has a potentially positive demonstration effect that could catalyse closer economic integration in East Asia as a whole. Many times the idea of East Asia FTA was failed few years back. But later East Asia Free Trade Area showed a great pace and attributed not only Japan Singapore FTA but also change the position of other East Asian countries like China. With the successful launch of Japan Singapore FTA, China also decided either creates a free trade zone between China and ASEAN to set up link with the ASEAN Free Trade Area. (iii) ASEAN plus three Unlike other more established regional groupings, cooperation among the ASEAN+3 (i.e. ASEAN plus China, Japan and Korea) thus far has been proceeding more rapidly on financial issues than on trade matters. So for this purpose it is decided to call for a summit on an annual basis which can be a kind of informal meeting. The aim of these summits is to set up the vision to explore ideas for cooperation and has also been holding regular meetings of its Finance Ministers. Trade agreements in East Asia are basically slow to organize as in other regions partly and politically difficult to reach because of the diversity in approaches to trade liberalization. Financial cooperation can proceed more quickly to some extent without discrimination against outsiders. For this purpose, the financial crisis in 1997 provided a strong impetus for East Asia to push ahead with financial cooperation. ASEAN+3 have also implemented a region wide system of currency swaps to help countries in the region which are dealing with possible future financial crises. This currency swap system will helps in the surveillance mechanism that ASEAN has created to anticipate and head off future crises through sophisticated early warning indicators. These achievements are the positive sign that shows the further growth in the region of East Asia after facing financial crisis in 1997. Impact of Regional Economic Integration: Case from China Since ancient China has the hegemonic power in the East Asian region with good relation with neighbouring countries. East Asian region was also influenced by Chinese traditional culture including language and philosophies. Till mid 9th century China has still the largest economy in the world but after mid 19th century till early 20th century China was overwhelmed by static decay, civil instability, famines, military defeats and foreign occupation. During the Cold War period, Chinas social experiments achieved some progresses but suffered serious setbacks due to the internal and external constraints. Since China started the economic reform in late 1970s, the world witnesses the return of Chinas emergence as a regional and global political and economic power. China attracted various large foreign firms when it adopted the open door policy and large amount of foreign currency inflows into China this was not enough after this many industries with latest technology and better infrastructure have established in China. Taking the example of Hong Kong, it has moved almost all of its manufacturing industries to China while. In recent years Taiwan and Mainland China are also came into economic relation after China open doors for foreign investments. Due to the shift of these firms the growth of country as well as firm are coming into existence. In terms of intra regional economic relations in East Asia, since the 1990s there has been a shift away from the previous Japan led flying geese model of vertical economic integration structured on the basis of the Japanese investment, technological transfer and supply of manufacturing parts in line with a hierarchical market exchange and regional division of labour and production networks to a new horizon tal intra regional economic integration. Economic integration helps China to grow in positive way in terms of economy and trade which makes Asia to make stand in the competition with developed nations of EU and NAFTA. The new engine of regional economic growth in China is basically by foreign direct investment which becomes the reason for the developments in the region. It generated networks between domestic firms and other firms in the other countries. This network based exchange of trade and capital has profound impact to East Asian economic integration. One of the key actors in generating dynamic intra regional industrial and economic integrations is the overseas Chinese business communities. Economic integration not only contributing Chinas economy to grow by the sources of foreign direct investment but also contributes to be a network connector which becomes link between Chinese market with rest of the region. With this link many of the developed economies in the region are usi ng China as low cost manufacturing and export base instead of directly exporting finished goods to the Western markets. For this purpose they moved there production in China which results in enhancing the Chinas integration in the regional economy in East Asia. Main factors of these firms in regards to regional integration with China because China act as a source of technology and expertise, Capital and it also brings close business relation between China and rest of the region. The rise of China has met different responses from different corners of the world. With the rapid economic growth due to the regional integration has transformed the Asia in many ways. Talking in economical and political terms Chinas energy and commercial ties with all major regions of the world are expanding. China is one of the main driving forces proliferating regional and bilateral trade agreements and politically, it is often interpreted that China seeks to shape the regions emerging political institutional contours and to encourage movement toward an East Asian community in order to balance the declining influence of the United States. Growth prospects and challenges of China Japan Business Alliance While Japan poses a formidable competitive threat, it also provides a vast opportunity. As the latter aspect of Chinas rise became increasingly apparent around 2002, Chinas perception of Japan became more realistic and balanced. Japans investment in China has been increasing rapidly in recent years: between 1999 and 2004 it grew by 3.5 times. And trade between the two countries has risen steadily over the last six years. Japan China business alliances have begun to cover broader aspects of business activities, from joint ventures and technology tie ups, to contracting aspects of production and consignment arrangements. Although there have been a limited number of examples, Japanese firms have even established comprehensive strategic partnerships with Chinese firms. With major and big Japanese firm small manufacturing firms are also looking towards China as locating their business and with better opportunities with future expansion. But for the successful business alliance between Chi na and Japan, these countries have to work together for several challenges which can become the issue in their alliances 1). There must a rule passed to secure the safety of Japanese firms operating in China and concluding a bilateral investment agreement. The large scale anti Japan demonstrations in China this past April damaged the facilities of some Japanese firms. And while the movement was promptly cooled by the Chinese government, a survey conducted in May following the April disturbances revealed that more than a third (or 36.5%) of respondent firms anticipate the negative impact on their business activities in this fiscal year. For further Japanese FDI in China in future, a bilateral investment agreement needs to be put in place. There is some cautious concern on the Chinese side about concluding such an agreement, but thinking of future technological cooperation between both countries should take a forward looking approach. 2). Another issue between both countries can be regarding the credit. Both China and Japan have to work together to build more credit based business culture. For urban economies to achieve healthy growth, the safety of business transactions must be guaranteed. Various business models can only be fostered in an economy where business transactions are secured and mutual trust is well established. A large number of foreign companies operating in China, however, face difficulties in collecting monies owed to them. This is also a looming issue for Chinese companies, because such problems can hinder future stable economic growth in urban areas, where many of these companies operate. China can resolve this problem by swiftly establishing an antitrust law and also enhancing law enforcement, clamping down on illegal transactions and improving corporate transparency. Japan also faced these issues during its high economic growth in the 1960s. 3). With getting the tough competition and being a rival for some years China and Japan are now understand the importance of come into alliance for the future growth, so for this purpose now Japanese and Chinese firms are coming into collaboration. Some local Chinese companies have recently begun to actively seek business partnerships with Japanese counterparts. In January 2002, Japans Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. (Sanyo) and Chinas Haier Group Company (Haier) agreed on a comprehensive collaboration deal some local Chinese companies have recently begun to actively seek business partnerships with Japanese counterparts. In January 2002, Japans Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. (Sanyo) and Chinas Haier Group Company (Haier) agreed on a comprehensive collaboration deal that included the sale of Sanyo products under either the Sanyo or the Haier brand names. In July 2003, a major Chinese pharmaceutical company announced an agreement with a medium sized Japanese manufacturer of Chinese medicines to purch ase the latter, the first case ever for a Chinese company to buy a Japanese one. These are the few example which shows that Chinese companies provides Japanese company with distribution channel to sell their products in Chinese market and grow their business. Conclusion East Asia will enter the second stage of economic integration by around 2008, when the whole region will aspire to become a free business zone, encompassing all regional FTAs and EPAs, including the FTA/EPA between China and Japan. However, in order to make talks for such an agreement go smoothly, China and Japan must build a firm mutual trust, both on political and private levels. Recent developments and achievements suggest that East Asia is finally coming around to giving more serious consideration to regional economic integration either as a complement or an alternative to the multilateral trading system. As discussed above, the economic grounds for closer economic integration among the East Asian countries have existed for many years. Rapid economic development over the past few decades, reinforced by changes in the global economic environment and an uncertain outlook for the international trading system, appears to have convinced the East Asian countries that potential benefits of closer regional economic cooperation outweigh the costs at least for now.

Social mobility

Social mobility What is social mobility? Drawing on different perspectives, assess the impact of the education system on opportunities and life chances on the basis of social class. What implications does this have for the work of helping agencies? Social mobility simply describes how people move along the social ladder. For this to happen there must necessarily be some form of social class in place. Social class occurs everywhere, even in the poorest communities. Take a typical village in Ghana for example, you will find that probably the village palm wine tapper or renowned farmer may be at the top of the social ladder; by village standards, they are the rich guys; these in addition could also serve as money lenders or movers and shakers. In the middle of the social ladder in the said village you might find the middle class who constitutes probably the majority of villagers with average incomes making just about enough from their farming or other vocations to make ends meet. Of course, at the bottom of this ladder will be the lower classes that have no jobs or qualifications and are at the mercy of the rich palm wine tapper. Social mobility describes how the classes move from their level of class upwards or downwards. This movement could involve the acquisition of new skills or education in the bid to get better jobs and hence get more income. Sometimes movement is caused by for example winning the lottery, an inheritance from parents or relatives or any procedure either deliberate or accidental which moves a person from one class to another. Social mobility or intergenerational mobilityas economists prefer to call it measures the degree to which peoples social status changes between generations. It is seen by many as a measure of the equality of life opportunities, reflecting the extent to which parents influence the success of their children in later life or, on the flipside, the extent to which individuals can make it by virtue of their own talents, motivation and luck. (Blanden J et al 2005) The Sociology guide has described Social mobility as a vital part of social stratification and an inseparable part of social stratification system because the nature, form, range and degree of social mobility depending on the very nature of the stratification system. Stratification system means the process of placing individuals in different layers or strata. In a social mobility paper Stephen Aldridge describes social mobility as a movement or opportunities for movement between different social groups and the advantages that go with this in terms of income, security of employment, opportunities for advancement etc. (Aldridge, 2001) There are types of social mobility. Intra-generation is when there has been a change in a persons social position. A typical example will be clerical assistant who works his/her way up in an organisation. However, if a persons social position changes over a generation it is called inter-generation mobility. An example is Margaret Thatcher and many others. She became prime minister as a grocers daughter. There appears to be significant intergenerational mobility in the United States, although perhaps less than is sometimes believed. Origins significantly affect destinations. Specifically, adult sons and daughters are more likely to look like their parents in terms of occupation or income than one would predict on the basis of chance. Still, there is considerable mobility. Indeed, even when occupations or income categories are broadly defined, a majority of adult offspring occupy a different occupational or income category than their parents.(Daniel P et al 1997) Horizontal mobility is another type of social mobility where a person changes their job-related position but does not change social class. An example is where a clerical assistant moves from Wellingborough to London and becomes an administrative officer. Vertical mobility on the hand takes the stage where people change their job-related position and change their social class as well. An example of vertical mobility will be for example a street cleaner becoming a solicitor or an army officer becoming a cleaner. They have fundamentally changed their socio-economic position. There are types of vertical social mobility. If someone moves down the social ladder it becomes downward mobility. When they move up on the social ladder it becomes upward mobility. For example if an Army officer is promoted in rank it becomes an upward mobility. The magazine Business Week in 2007 wrote an article about how mobile phones in Africa are creating high standards of living and boosting upward mobility. Only a few years ago, places like Muruguru didnt even register in the plans of handset makers and service providers. What would a Kenyan farmer want with a mobile phone? Plenty, as it turns out. To the astonishment of the industry, people living on a few dollars a day have proven avid phone users, and in many parts of the world cellular airtime has become a de facto currency. The reason is simple: A mobile phone can dramatically improve living standards by saving wasted trips, providing information about crop prices, summoning medical help, and even serving as a conduit to banking services. (Business Week, 2007) Another recent example of downward mobility is in this article in the telegraph. Though she is married to a builder, the 27-year-old housewife has rickety wooden planks for walls and covers her roof with plastic sheeting to keep out the rain in Harares Hatcliffe suburb far from the neighbourhood where she used to live. Right now I dont have a housing lot, but we are paying money to local co-operatives (to save for a down payment) so we may get lots to build houses, Chama said. And she is far from alone. According to official estimates, around two million Zimbabweans in this country of 12.2 million need accommodation. (Reagan Mashavave, 2009)- Another type of social mobility is structural mobility which involves vertical mobility but its movement is brought about by a major disorder. It can also be brought on by changes in society that brings improvement to a large number of people. Typical examples will be industrialisation, expansion of education and computerisation. These changes have all brought improvement to people in the UK and around the world. People have through it acquired higher social status and found higher paid jobs than their parents. There is also individual mobility which involves people being hindered from taking opportunities because of where they were live, their colour, gender, religion, their educational background, job, wellbeing and many others. The impact of the education system on opportunities and life chances on the basis of social class is enormous and hasnt changed much since education began. It is still difficult for working class children to access grammar and good comprehensive schools as the middle class and upper class have populated areas where these schools are placed. Childrens social class is still the most significant factor in determining their exam success in state schools, the Governments head of teacher training acknowledges today. In an interview with The Independent, Graham Holley, the chief executive of the Training and Development Agency, said: The performance of a school and a child in it is highly linked to social class. If you turn the clock back on pupils in school today 15 years and predict their outcomes from where they were born, you can do it. (Garner, 2008) Working class families are tied to the low paid jobs and often live in areas where schools are failing. Jobs are hard to find in these areas and its inhabitants are usually heavily dependant on benefits. Their lives are occupied with how to manage everyday living and not on reading to their children and giving them music and language lessons. The poorest children still have little chance of becoming lawyers, doctors, senior civil servants and financiers, a report published by the Liberal Democrats today shows. The Social Mobility Commission, set up by the party, said billions of pounds spent on improving social mobility over the past decade has helped middle-class rather than working-class children. Last year only 35% of pupils eligible for free school meals obtained five or more A* to C GCSE grades, compared with 63% of pupils from wealthier backgrounds.(Shepherd J, 2009) Disadvantaged children have little chance of watching educational programmes on television nor do they have the chance of reading the broad sheets. They are simply not patronised in their households. Libraries are rarely used and mobile libraries are not highly participated in working class areas. Areas in London for instance have seen various housing developments but they are not in the reach of the low paid. Overcrowding has many implications for the already struggling families as there is often no where to do homework. After school clubs charge for their services leaving low paid families out in the cold. Therefore chances of disadvantaged children reaching high levels of achievement in school are slightly dim. Young people in manual social classes remain under-represented in higher education in Great Britain. Despite increasing from a participation rate of 11 per cent in 1991/92 to 19 per cent in 2001/02, participation remains well below that of the non-manual social classes. Participation rates for the non-manual social classes increased from 35 per cent to 50 per cent over the same period. (http://www.statistics.gov.uk) The consequences of the manual or low class remaining under-represented in higher education is unthinkable as children from these background will experience either downwardly mobile or not move on the social ladder at all as a result of them not entering higher education. Todays job market is very competitive and even those with good qualifications are finding it difficult to hold onto their jobs. It means that most all white collar jobs will be held by the middle class and upper class families. All the independent evidence shows overall standards to be rising. But the bad news is that when it comes to the link between educational achievement and social class, Britain is at the bottom of the league for industrialised countries. Today, three-quarters of young people born into the top social class get five or more good GCSEs, but the figure for those born at the bottom is less than one-third. We have one of the highest university entry rates in the developed world, but also one of the highest drop-out rates at 16.(Independent, 8 September 2003) Anthony Giddens writes in Sociology and Social Mobility that education is not necessarily a means to an end. Education would have to work with other factors to foster social mobility. Education shouldnt be seen as a panacea for all societys problems. It has a significant role to play, but we cant hold schools and Universities solely responsible for promoting social mobility. Its important not to think of the education system as if it works in a vacuum factors like changes in employment and the economy, and the social determinants of childrens educational attainment, are critical in determining patterns of mobility.(Giddens, 2007) However, education definitely has opportunities for people to progress along the social ladder by providing relevant new skills, information, courses and therefore creating opportunities in life for them. A few years back a hair dresser did not need know too much about what she/he did as a hair dresser but in today environment he/she would have to know all the science there is to cutting, dressing and managing the business. Technology and other factors have raised the standard of work so high that without continuous professional development opportunities are not stretch far. In this new labour market, the value of college degrees overall is greater than ever before. Between 1984 and 2000, employment in jobs requiring a college degree grew by 20 million in the US, accounting for two-thirds of total job growth. Over the same period, wages for college graduates increased. In contrast, high school graduates in America who did not continue with education saw their wages fall below middle class levels for the first time. As a consequence, the opportunities for Americans with terminal high school diplomas are less than a generation ago.(Social Mobility Foundation, 2008) Although a small percentage of poor families are accessing higher education there is evidence that the UK government for instance is working frantically to improve the chances of the less privileged through innovations like Every Child Matters. This innovation is to give every child the chance of accessing education and other services in the community to give them better outcomes in life. Hence the establishment of Surestart Centres which is a one stop service for early education, childcare, health and family support. This Government has invested heavily in policies designed to give all children the chance to succeed. There have already been significant improvements in educational achievement, and reductions in teenage pregnancy, re-offending and children living in low income households. Todays children and young people experience wider opportunities and benefit from rising prosperity, better health and education than those in previous generations. The implications on the work of helping agencies are many. Helping agencies like Childrens Centres pick up the brunt of any inequalities that lay in society. We bid or vie for large sums of money to run various courses and projects that underpin social mobility. In the bid of helping families read we have set up borrow a chattersack in our childrens centre. This is to encourage parents who might otherwise not access libraries or buy books for their children. The books and toys are expensive but we charge a very minimal fee for them. Often people bring to us various problems like divorce, debt and housing issues which we do our best to refer to other agencies for further assistance. We hold classes with Citizen Advice Bureau to advise people on budgets and other financial incapability. Many of our clients are lone parents or young families struggling on low incomes. They are often in debt and or have little financial knowledge. They often live on large council estates where aspirations are not that great. The recent recession has hit these areas hard and some people are experiencing downwardly mobility. This comes with various demands like counselling, retraining and financial loss. Equality of opportunity is a sine qua non for any modern society and, in Britain, is a principle supported by all mainstream political opinion. Despite this, household income remains the biggest single predictor of a childs future success, and a recent report by the Sutton Trust found that, all too frequently, young people from financially disadvantaged backgrounds end up in a cul de sac of opportunity. (Social Mobility Foundation, 2008) Below is an example of some the types of work some helping agencies do. They use government funds to bridge the gap between rich and poor by organising trips to parks, educational establishment to boost confidence and increase knowledge. Nearly 175,000 bright children on free school meals will be given a chance at the age of 11 to visit a university as part of a drive to lift the aspirations of working-class people and increase stalled social mobility in Britain. Young people in the top 20% of ability based on test results, and who are eligible for free school meals, are about half as likely to go to university as those who are not eligible for free meals. They will now be offered two chances to visit universities. (Wintour, 2007) We organise sporting activities that will encourage the less privileged to put their feet in door of expensive sporting activities. We work with other agencies to bring information and understanding to parents who in effect calve their childrens place on the social ladder. A new report by the British think-tank Demos has hit the headlines, with its claim that Parents are the principal architects of a fairer society. Based on research from the Millennium Cohort Study, the report argues that how children are parented has a more significant impact upon their future life chances than just about anything else, including poverty and the social class into which they are born. (Bristow J, 2009) Helping agencies are faced with many demands for services they can and cannot provide. At our centre for instance there is the demand for certain services like computer classes, some sort of back to work training, cooking classes but we havent got the facilities and the man power to run such courses. We are therefore forced to send clients to other childrens centres in that losing their business. If we do manage to run any of the courses that put pressure on our facilities then we have to limit the numbers which in turn causes us to run the courses several times to fit everyone in. There is also a steady demand for information on sensitive family matters like finance. Education seems to be one the important factors manipulating social mobility. In todays society, education is becoming increasingly important as it used to ascertain the jobs people will end up in. Education is also used to determine peoples social class position. The recent government for instance has introduced many initiatives. Free child care for two year olds was trialed for sometime and is going to be offered to children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Back to work incentive of  £500 and the investment into early years, FE schools and workplace training are all initiatives which research has suggested that has not boosted social mobility. In 1999 Tony Blair told the Labour Conference: If we are in politics for one thing, it is to make sure that all children are given the best chance in life. A decade on, the Government has had to admit that billions of pounds of investment in nurseries and schools and on training has failed to bridge the class divide, and that social mobility in Britain has stalled. (Bennett and Bahra 2007) As mentioned before there are many factors contributing to this fact. One such fact is the advantage that middle class families have over poorer families when it comes to education. References Web Sources Daniel P et al (1997) Intergenerational mobility in the United States [online] Available from: http://www.urban.org/publications/406796.html [Accessed 16/12/09] http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_39/b4051054.htm?campaign_id=rss_tech[ Accessed 27/12/09] http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/everychildmatters/about/background/background/ [Accessed 16/12/09] http://www.polity.co.uk/giddens5/news/sociology-and-social-mobility.asp#intro[Accessed [16/12/09] http://www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/ssdataset.asp?vlnk=7308 [Accessed 27/12/09] Jennie Bristow (2009) There is more to human character than sharing toys [online] Available from: http://www.parentswithattitude.com/parentsforum/tag/social-mobility[19/12/09] Non Web Sources (2003), Class still counts in Britain. Independent, Monday Sept 8 Bennett and Bahra (2009), Social mobility: Labour tries to revive flagging crusade to help poor children. The Times, Wednesday Jan 14 Blanden J et al (2005), Social Mobility in Britain Low and falling, Centrepiece 2005 Mashavave R. (2009) Downwardly mobile in Zimbabwe. Telegraph, Tuesday Dec 15 Richard G (2008), Social class determines childs success. Independent, Thursday Sept 18 Shepherd J (2009), Social class still determines success. Guardian, Monday Social Mobility Foundation (2008) A national project for social mobility Stephen A (2001), Social Mobility , A discussion Paper , Performance and Innovation Unit The Sutton Trust (2008) : Social Mobility and Education. London Wintour P (2009), Social mobility drive focuses on schools. The Guardian, Wednesday Jan 14

Utopia :: essays research papers

Utopia Utopia represents the notion of an ideal commonwealth, as the expression in a fable of what would at once be a standard and touchstone for social and political regulations. Hytholoday begins to talk of his adventures, and to describe how in the course of them he had come across many interesting communities, among them the commonwealth, whose custom on laws might well serve as examples to European Countries. By directs comments on the evils and miseries prevalent in England and Europe with an analysis of their causes and suggestions for their remedies. When More and Giles discover how widely Hythloday had traveled and realized the depth of his understanding of the governments of many nations, the propose that his knowledge is too valuable to waste and he ought to as a counselor in order to employ his knowledge in service of mankind. But Hythloday address so far on the reasons for his reluctance to undertake such employment. He does not believe that , as things stand, his advice would be accepted. The majority of those presently sitting in royal councils invariably practice a system of flattering toward their superiors and of personal aggrandizement and would surely override his idealistic and philosophical proposals. Hythloday proceeds with the argument to a critical analysis of patterns of law, government, economic and more, among European nation, particularly in England. He criticism are directed specifically at the severity of the penal code, the terrible inequities in the distribution of wealth, the unequal participation in productive labor and so on. After which Hythloday gives an account of the whole life pattern of the Utopians. Hythloday argued that a human life is of more worth than money and that is unreasonable to punish equally the taking of a man ¡Ã‚ ¦s life and his property. The Utopians have not only eliminated money from their economy, they have devised psychological methods to teach their people to despise those precious metals that are used for money in other countries. The concept of the romantic love or the grand passion is not brought into the discussion. Though it is evident throughout Utopia that the family relationship is emphatically advocated and the permanence of matrimony is supported. As the final statement, More presents a puzzle that he led to a major controversy over whether or not to contribute the plan for a society such us he had described in the book. The concept of Utopists, was to create a design for a ideal society, one must then discard the existing one and start a new afresh one.

Elizabeth Barrett Brownings Biography Essays -- Biography Biographies

Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Biography Throughout the course of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s life, poetry played the hand of fate. All of the major events that took place in her life seem to coincide with her poetry. Poetry made her famous. It gave her solace, and comfort, somewhere to drown her sorrow. It introduced her to her husband, and (indirectly) divorced her from her father. Poetry was not only a part of her life, but an integral part of her soul. Creative Beginnings It all began in Gosforth Church, with the marriage of Mary Graham Clarke, and Robert Moulton. Soon after their marriage, Edward Moulton inherited his family’s sugar plantations in Jamaica, and took on the name Barrett. Their first daughter was born on March 6, 1806 in Coxhoe Hall, located in Durham, England. She was christened Elizabeth Barrett. She was to be the first of twelve siblings: Edward, Henrietta, Arabella, Samuel, Charles, George, Henry, Alfred, Septimus, Octavius, and Mary. (Mary died at the age of three.) Out of the twelve, Elizabeth Barrett was closest to her younger brother Edward, affectionately dubbing him â€Å"bro.† He in turn, responded by calling her â€Å"ba.† They all resided happily at â€Å"Hope End near Ledbury in Herefordshire, where Edward Barrett had built himself a country house with Moorish windows and turrets† (World Authors 77). Elizabeth Barrett’s education began at the age of eight when she first started receiving lessons from her tutor. It soon became obvious that Barrett was a proficient learner. She could read Homer in the original before she turned nine years old, and when she no longer had a tutor, she taught herself by studying Edward’s lessons, and by reading incessantly. But, more importantly, she developed a passion ... ...e Barretts of Wimpole Street. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1930. â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†. The Bloomsbury Guide to Women’s Literature. 1992. Bolton, Sarah K. Lives of Girls who Become Famous. New York: Thomas Y. Cromwell company publishers, 1886 â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning†. Cyclopedia of World Authors. 3rd ed. 1997. â€Å"Elizabeth Barrett Browning.† The Dictionary of National Biography. 1968 Markus, Julia. Dared and Done: The Marriage of Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995. Moore, Virginia. Distinguished Women Writers. New York: EP Dulton & CO., Inc. Publishers, 1934. Pickering, George. Creative Malady. New York: Oxford University Press, 1974. Radley, Virginia L. Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1972. Roberts, Adam. Robert Browning Revisited. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1996.

Hindenburg :: World War II History

Hindenburg Was the "Hindenburg disaster" a result of sabotage committed by the opponents of the Nazi organization? Did a bolt of lightning strike the zeppelin? Or was one of the most devastating accidents in aviation history nothing but a cunningly planned insurance fraud? Over 60 years ago, airships were the "queens of the skies." In the early 1900s, a stubborn, yet brilliant German count, Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, took keen interest in balloon flights and was devoted to the design and construction of airships. At first, he had many difficulties and setbacks but soon his airships were able to accommodate passengers as well. This lighter-than-air vehicle will later be known as a zeppelin. Blimps and zeppelins were very different. For example, blimps did not have an internal frame; whereas the zeppelin had a "skeleton" which supported the gas bags. During the first World War, German zeppelins were used to bomb London from the air. Thus, they earned the name of "monsters of the purple twilight." Although their bombs damaged English cities, the zeppelins would often fly off course, miss their targets or be shot down by British planes. By the end of the war, so many German zeppelins have been lost that these high altitude warships were declared useless as war machines. To boost spirit, the Germans even made a song for it. Of course, I can't read German so I'll just read off the translation: Zeppelin, flieg, Hilf uns im krieg, Flieg nach England, England wird abgebrannt, Zeppelin, flieg. Zeppelin, fly, Help us win the war, Fly against England, England will be burned, Zeppelin, fly. The Hindenburg, also known as LZ-129, was one of Nazi Germany's finest airships and was the first airship to provide air service across the Atlantic. In fact, it is the largest and most luxurious zeppelin ever built. It represented the greatness of the Third Reich and its leader, Hitler. Construction began in autumn of 1931 but the Zeppelin Company ran out of money for the huge project and stopped. Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany in 1933 and quickly realized that a giant airship could be used to spread the propaganda of the new government so the Nazis provided money and quickly took control of Zeppelin Company. The Hindenburg was complete in 1936 and flew with the Olympic rings painted on its sides that year in honor of the Olympic games in Berlin.

The Relationship Between Policy, Statutes, and Regulations in Environmental Law

Environmental policy is the official stance or statement by a government or organization which provides a framework for its environmental objectives. (C2E2. org, 2011)The US Government Environmental policy is contained in the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Congress declared under section 4331(a) of NEPA that it is â€Å"the continuing policy of the federal government†¦ to create and maintain conditions under which man and nature can exist in productive harmony, and to fulfill the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations of Americans. (U. S. Congress, 1969) Environmental statutes are the written will or act of the legislature with regard to expressing the stated environmental policy. (Lectric Law Library, 2011) NEPA functions in this capacity by enabling the EPA to promulgate regulations in order to set forth guidelines by which other agencies must comply in order to satisfy the intent of NEPA. Environmental regulations act as the forcing mechanism with which to gain compliance with the statute as set forth under the policy. Continuing to use NEPA as an example, the US Government environmental policy is contained in NEPA (the statute) which prescribes regulations that aim at protecting the environment. Most noteably, the EPA issued regulations regarding Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) and Environmental Assessments (AE) assess the possible environmental impacts of proposed government projects and there alternatives – and are required from all federal agencies. (US EPA, 2011)

Two Men’s World – an Analyses of Godfather

Wen 1 Hang Wen Dr. Nirmal Trivedi English 1102 January 30th, 2010 Two Men’s World —-An Analyses of Godfather and Apocalypse Now Godfather and Apocalypse Now, both are great movies, and both are the first windows, through which I first saw America. At the first sight, these two movies seem to have a lot of similarities: both are one of the best hits in history, both starred by Marlon Brando and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, both slow-paced and 3-hour long, and both had a deep influence in the American society.On the other hand, two movies have so little in common: one is talking about the Mafia in New York, yet the other is demonstrating the wars in the Indo-China Peninsula; one is completely rational and calm, where the old Don hearing that his son was killed, just showed his grief for one second and then turned to business, yet the other went to another extreme, showing an entire insane world, where men were either mad or going mad.However, if we examine the two mo vies carefully and only grasp the kernel, we’ll find that both movies are actually between two men Don Vito Corleone and his counterpart in the other film Colonel Kurtz, who are both strong in mind, worshipped by people and is the center of power in his world, Thus, both movies together, the Godfather Wen 2 and Apocalypse Now are demonstrating a two-man world, filled with philosophy, wisdom and a strong will. Let’s look at the Godfather, Don Vito Corleone first.Don Corleone appeared at the very start of the film, which was the wedding party of Don’s daughter Coney, and the beginning scenes already fully demonstrated the Godfather’s high and divine place. As Sicilians never refused any requests on a wedding day, many people came to the Godfather for â€Å"justice†, one of whom was Bonasera, an Italian-American undertaker. The film started by his famous line, â€Å"I believe in America†, at which time the screen was still dark; then his face a nd forehead appeared on the screen, and he continued â€Å"America has made my fortune†.However, America failed to give him justice: His daughter was beaten to disfigurement and almost raped but the suspects only received a suspended sentence. Thus he came to Godfather, who was awed y because of not only his personally charm but also influence and deterrence. Interesting the reply of the Godfather was that he didn’t agree or decline at the beginning, but he began to mock that Bonasera never treated him as a friend and never invited him to cafe. Sadly, the obtuse Bonasera didn’t get Godfather’s message, and proposed that he could pay money.Then the Godfather had implicitly pointed out:†If you'd come to me in friendship, then the scum that ruined your daughter would be suffering this very day†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ † Then the most interesting scene comes: When Bonasera tentatively asked â€Å"be my friend†, Godfather did not answer and was just ca sually looking around; Finally Bonasera realized what he should do: he then bowed, kissed Corleone’s hand and called him â€Å"godfather†. And Corleone replied with â€Å"Good†, which was enough to bring justice to this Wen 3 poor undertaker.From the dialogue above, it is not hard to get the implicit message from the Godfather, that though he was asking people to come in â€Å"friendship† and to treat him to a cafe just like a friend, he did not really want to people do so; Every action he did and every word he spoke was suggesting that they did not deserve to call him â€Å"Corleone†, instead they should call him â€Å"Godfather† and bow and kiss his hand. It is this kind of worship, that though he stays close to you, he is always overlooking at you and that though he never forces you to do anything, he just makes you fear.Colonel Kurtz, also portrayed by Marlon Brando, built a similar worship in the other movie Apocalypse Now. Opposite fro m the Godfather, Colonel Kurtz did not appear until the last part of the movie. His image, however, has been impenetrate through the movie, though is vague most of the time. In this 3-hour-22-minute film, the first 2 hours and 28 minutes was used to describe Willard’s journey up the Nung River from Saigon to the remote Cambodia jungle, in which we only knew that Colonel Kurtz was probably mad and built a so-called colony. However, the feeling of madness and fear was augmenting among Willard’s team.They lost two men and became so nervous that they shot to the innocents. They saw the soldiers along the river losing control and going mad and finally they went mad themselves: Lance painted him with powders and did yoga anomicly. In such condition, they reached their final destination. On the fog-wreathed water, a group of people with mysteriously painted faces disciplinarily lined up in the river-boat; and half-naked corpses were hanged on the trees by the river. With the cryptic background music, the one-minute-long scene for the first time portrayed the colony that Colonel Kurtz had built. Wen 4People seemed to be submissive and unconscious and an atmosphere of fear and sacred was in every corner. Though Colonel Kurtz still did not show up, he had brought an inenarrable horror to everyone, as Willard described: â€Å"Everything I saw told me that Kurtz had gone insane. The place was full of bodies – North Vietnamese, Vietcong, Cambodians. If I was still alive, it was because he wanted me that way. † What a power Kurtz had put on this land. Then appeared the photojournalist, who being a big fan of Colonel Kurtz, crazy himself and hanging 4 cameras on his neck. Through his word, we knew Kurtz’s social standing here. Very cool†¦Very cool†¦But he can be friendly†Ã¢â‚¬ You don’t judge him†Ã¢â‚¬ He’s gone to the jungle. He disappears with his people. He forgets himself for his people†. Colo nel Kurtz was worshipped by the people here; he was their god and mainstay for their lives. He received the same kind of worship as the Godfather and they both demonstrated the same power which is a combination of personal charm and strength, making people coming to them, bowing their backs and bending their knees, without pushing them. They were just like producing a magnetic field around them, separating them from others and making them divine.They were both calm and did not talk too much, because they expected others to get the message from their eyesight and even from any tiny actions of them. And when it comes to a time they had to show their strength, they were still calm and elegant. The Godfather sent Tom Hagen to Hollywood to get his godson Johnny Fontane the leading role of a film. The director Jack Woltz, who was also powerful and even had dinner with the president, obviously did not regard this as a matter and arrogantly rebuked Tom Hagen’s proposal. Tom left peac efully for â€Å"Mr.Corleone is a man who insists on hearing bad Wen 5 news immediately†. But in the next morning, he found the decapitated head of his beloved stud horse in his bed with him. And a week later, Johnny called back to say that he got this role. Godfather himself even didn’t appear in this event, but his great power could be felt. Even fewer scenes were in Apocalypse Now to directly demonstrate the power of Colonel Kurtz, except one midnight Colonel Kurtz grasped the Chef’s (who had been with Willard through the journey) head and silently put it between Willard’s two legs.Willard then woke up and screamed. For the first time in the movie, Willard showed some kind of fear and horror. Colonel Kurtz calmly watched him and walked away. Even without word, Kurtz let Willard know that if anyone was alive it was because that he let him alive and that if he was killed it was because that he let him to be killed. Generally speaking, two films demonstra te the main characters’ power in an indirect way, most from the third person’s angle, partly because that their power was too overwhelm to depict directly.Their power and worship received is essentially the same. Just as I have mentioned above, both are due to their personal character and magnet. However, some people may say that these two characters are essentially different, because Godfather is extremely rational but Colonel Kurtz is always characterized by the word â€Å"mad† or â€Å"insane†. This reasoning is not true. Colonel Kurtz is not that a mad man that you usually see in an asylum. He knows what he is doing and his logic is clear. And most important, he has his own philosophy, such as what he told Willard â€Å"We must kill them.We must incinerate them. Pig after pig. Cow after cow. Village after village. Army after army. And they call me an assassin. What do you call it when the assassins accuse the assassin? Wen 6 They lie. They lie, and w e have to be merciful, for those who lie. Those nabobs. I hate them. I do hate them. † People in the movie say that he is insane because they do not understand his philosophy and the way he speaks: most of the time, he seems to be like talking to himself. He is really in his own spiritual world. But isn’t the Godfather?Don Corleone also has his own view of the world and is stick to it, such as â€Å"be close to your friend but closer to your enemy† and â€Å"Women and children can be careless, but not men†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ † He is so stick to his own value that he refused to get involved into the narcotics business, which resulted in big trouble, and he also conceals himself in his own world by saying â€Å"Never tell anyone outside the Family what you are thinking. † On the other hand, the Godfather and Colonel Kurtz are indeed different. Though with equal power and intelligence, Godfather seems to live in happiness while Kurtz in great pain.The last w ord of Godfather is â€Å"The world is so beautiful†, but the last word of Kurtz is the famous â€Å"The horror†¦The horror†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Then what is it that causes such a difference? The journalist gave one answer, â€Å"He’s clear in mind, but mad in soul†. And my answer is â€Å"the family†. Fighting away from home, Colonel Kurtz got no support from family, where everyone truly loved him. From his letter to his son (â€Å"I'm afraid that both you and your mother would have been worried for not hearing from me these past weeks. But my situation here has become a difficult one. I've been officially accused of murder by the Army.The alleged victims were four Vietnamese double agents. We spent months uncovering and accumulating evidence. When absolute proof was completed, we acted, we acted like soldiers. The charges Wen 7 are unjustified†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †) and his conversation to Willard (â€Å"I worry that my son might not understand what I 've tried to be. And if I were to be killed, Willard, I would want someone to go to my home and tell my son everything – everything I did, everything you saw†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Willard, you will do this for me†) we can derive that he received unjustified charges in military but his wife and son did not understand him.Then he gradually isolated himself and escaped to this little-known place and ruined it. Alone and lonely, great pain he suffered and finally went insane. The Godfather, however, has always been putting the family at the first place, just as he said â€Å"If you never spend time with your family, you would never be a man†. He detested any disloyalty to the family and asked his sons to stick to this rule. He had a wonderful and happy family himself. He died when playing with his grandson, and found â€Å"the world is so beautiful†.In conclusion, both Don Corleone and Colonel Kurtz are great man, who are powerful and influencing people around t hem in a special way. They both have their own philosophy and spiritual word. They are quite similar in many ways except that the Godfather has a happy family, which makes their lives ending in so different ways. Wen 8 Works Cited Godfather. Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. Perf. Marlon Brando and Al Pacino. Paramount Pictures, 1972. DVD. Apocalypse Now (Redux version). Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. Perf. Marlon Brando and Martin Sheen. United Artists, 2001. DVD.