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LG Operation Strategy Final Report Essay Example
LG Operation Strategy Final Report Paper Local rivalry drove them to rebuild their activities in early ass, consolidating the two signifi...
Friday, December 27, 2019
The Impact Of Public Opinion On U.S. Foreign Policy Since...
Since the Vietnam War, the publics opinion has played major roles in how policymakers operate. Their opinions may not always support to choices which are best for the country, however they are still factored into the decision making. Richard Sobel discusses several cases on how the publics attitudes have affected policymakers decisions in his book, The Impact of Public Opinion on U.S. Foreign Policy Since Vietnam. During the Persian Gulf War, public opinion ultimately shaped policy. How the policy was attained, not the goals of the policy were shaped by the public opinion. The Persian Gulf War would be the largest use of the U.S. military since Vietnam, thus causing the Bush administration to consider how the public would reactâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦President Bushs implementation of the invasion increased his approval rating from 60 percent to 76 percent in just one month. By November, the majority of the American people, 70 percent felt that the US should wait before going to war. On October 20, President Bush stated his 1988 campaign pledge, no new taxes. People were no longer interested in the Gulf a few months after Bushs speech, but were becoming more interested in domestic policy. The American public was not very supportive of the war near the end, but Bush continued on with it. He had to reassure people that it wouldnt be Vietnam. The Bush administration stated that the reason for fighting the war was the need for a New World Order in the aftermath of the Cold war. The U.S. wanted to get rid of Iraqs nuclear capabilities. The media played a major role in the unfolding of the Persian Gulf War. The media didnt give much attention to the negative parts of the war, such as the protests, and praised the military. During all three of the benchmarks in the Persian Gulf War, public opinion was very influential. The first benchmark was President Bushs decision to send troops to the Gulf in Operation Desert Shield. This was the beginning of a rapid increase in interest by the American people. Secretary of State, James Baker III made statementsShow MoreRelatedU.s. Foreign Policy Policies Essay1312 Words à |à 6 PagesAmerican foreign policy relates to what is done in foreign countries by the United States of America. The foreign policies include controlling of the governments of foreign countries or setting some rules in those countries. The foreign policy of America has always been changing all through the US existence. The changes have stemmed from the dynamics of exogenous and substantial influences of watershed up to the international system and also the effects and changes of endogenous inside the governmentRead MoreAmerican Foreign Policy During The United States Essay1315 Words à |à 6 PagesAmerican Foreign Policy American foreign policy relates to what is done in foreign countries by the United States of America. The foreign policies include controlling of the governments of foreign countries or setting some rules in those countries. The foreign policy of America has always been changing all through the US existence. The changes have stemmed from the dynamics of exogenous and substantial influences of watershed up to the international system and also the effects and changes of endogenousRead MorePublic Sentiment Regarding the Vietnam War1111 Words à |à 5 Pagesattribute it to the growing number of antiwar constituents, while other scholars such as E.M. Schreiber, Burstein and Freudenburg cite the numerous deaths of American soldiers in combat. One democrat by the name of Eugene McCarthy labeled the entire Vietnam War as an ââ¬Å"errorâ⬠and describes the Johnson administration as ââ¬Å"misguided.â⬠McCarthy decides to run for President, but loses in the primaries by a slim m argin to Johnson, further indicating that the antiwar movement was gaining significant momentumRead MoreThe Impact Of Exceptionalism On The United States944 Words à |à 4 PagesHolsti, 2010). The current U.S. President Obama also stresses a similar point by stating that ââ¬Å"I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalismâ⬠(Obama, cited in Ceaser, 2012, p.4). However, exceptionalism purposed by the U.S. is different from those of other countries. Firstly, although each countries believe in their own uniqueness (Hoffmann, 2005), no country but the U.S. claims and attempts toRead MoreThe Media and the Military in the Vietnam War1593 Words à |à 6 PagesThe media and Military The War in Vietnam was the first real ââ¬Å"televisionâ⬠war, meaning it was the first conflict where the U.S. military found itself attempting to control a media which was not fully supportive of the countryââ¬â¢s involvement. (79) It was also the first ââ¬Å"openâ⬠conflict where the media was deployed in force without restriction. (79) The media saw a need to cater to those who opposed the war for the first time. The conflict was taking place in a remote area, and apart from conscriptionRead MoreInfluence of the Media in the Anti-War Movement of the 60s and 70s1600 Words à |à 7 PagesDuring his testimony to the Senate Committee of Foreign Relations, John Kerry mentioned that in his opinion, ââ¬Å"there is nothing in South Vietnam which could have happened that realistically threatens the United States of America.â⬠In that same testimony, Kerry discussed that most people ââ¬Å"did not even know the difference between communism and democracy. They only wanted to work in rice paddies without helicopters strafing them and bombs with napalm burning their villages and tearing their country apartRead MoreThe Algebra Of Infinite Justice Essay1399 Words à |à 6 Pagesnational defense system. In fact, ââ¬Å"the U.S. spends more on defense than the next eight countries combinedâ⬠(citation). However, in the year of 2001, there was an event that cruelly bears in mind the Americans, an strikes of September 11. The consequence is that: two symbolic buildings of the US, the Pentagon and the World Trade Centre, were collapsed along with a huge amount of dead people. This particular incident has ringed the bell of the drawbacks of the USââ¬â¢s policies on its militarily activities. ThereRead MoreConsequences Of The Vitamin War Essay2198 Words à |à 9 PagesVitamin War In 939, Vietnam gained independence from China. An invasion was attempted in 1279 but failed. Success came in 1407 for China, but the reinvasion was short-lived mainly due to the powerful Vietnam army of the time. In 1620, Vietnam was divided. Nguyen in the south and Trinh in the north. Stability remained in Vietnam until the French invaded the country in 1858. The French established a protectorate of China in 1862.2 The French were able to merge Cambodia and Vietnam in 1887 which formedRead MoreThe Investigation, Examining The Situation Of The Vietnam1772 Words à |à 8 Pagessituation of the Vietnam War during Nixonââ¬â¢s presidency, that is the publicââ¬â¢s opinions toward the war and Nixonââ¬â¢s attempts at addressing those opinions while limiting the influence of Communism in Vietnam, will answer the question: To what extent could Nixon have appeased the Peace movement while avoiding the fall of South Vietnam through the implementation of Vietnamization? The sourc es that will be evaluated are a history of the Vietnam War, which presents a comprehensive analysis on U.S interventionRead MoreEssay about Effects Aftermath of the Vietnam War 1562 Words à |à 7 PagesThe Vietnam War was the first major war Americanââ¬â¢s had suffered defeat. The Vietnam war was a war of confusion, competition and biasness. The outcome of the war was far greater than an upset American nation, but a severe breakdown of the Vietnamese culture, economy, environment and government. It also had a tremendous impact on American society even up to present day. It was unclear from the beginning of the war if the Americanââ¬â¢s should even be involved. It was a war between Northern and Southern
Thursday, December 19, 2019
Private Pilot! Essay examples - 779 Words
After 6 months of flying, I was ready for the check-ride. Ive been ready since before Christmas, having completed my training on the 23rd. I scheduled my check-ride on the 28th. That day was quite interesting. I went to the flight school to check everything over with Josh and make sure I was ready. Then we called the examiner to schedule the check-ride. It was about 5pm, and Josh made the call, which was very fortunate for me as it interrupted the examiners dinner. He said to have me to call him later and we would get things squared away. I talked through the paperwork and got a few pointers from some people at the flight school. I got a lot of really good information like where I will most likely be planning to fly andâ⬠¦show more contentâ⬠¦I was planning the flight to Murfreesboro, KMBT. It was an easy enough flight to plan considering I had already done a flight out that way. I even managed to include a little VOR navigation since the Hinch Mountain VOR is along the way. Even though it has been out of service a lot, I felt it couldnt hurt to include it. I did all the requisite calculations since the examiner had given me mock weather. I also planned on waiting until the night before to check the real weather and do real calculations. In the mean time, I did the paperwork and hammered at the little oral exam prep book I had purchased. By Wednesday, I had filled out the IACRA paper work about four times; it is a good idea in theory, but leaves a little to be desired in practice. After ironing out all the details, I was ready to go. Unfortunately, I hadnt considered that the flight school would close on New Years Day which led to a bit of a shock when I got the email about the closure. I immediately called to make sure I was still good to go. As it turns out, the examiner has a key so it wasnt a problem (though it almost became one, more on this later). I studied like crazy for the days running up to the check-ride. I read everything I could find about check-rides on the internet. I studied every little scrap of paper from my training. I carried all that stuff with me everywhere I went. It was pretty easy to manage with the flight bag I have, butShow MoreRelatedCritique Of Aristotle s Poetics1961 Words à |à 8 Pageslost his job as Sheriff decides to stay in town and make a living as a private investigator. Veronica works closely with Keith on many cases and even takes point on several of the local, less intensive jobs that come into the Mars Investigations office. Veronica earns a reputation around school for being a super sleuth and ends up solving many of the injustices and mysteries that occur in the high school. We also learn in the pilot episode, that Veronica lost her virginity at a party where she was druggedRead MoreWomen Should Not Fly Commercial Or Private1397 Words à |à 6 PagesAfter starting flight lessons and seeking a pilots license one of the researchers became aware of the ridicule and negative perceptions that women face in the field aviation. Chances are that when you fly commercial or private that you will not be flying with a female pilot in command. Aviation is a field that continues to be a maleââ¬â¢s career with females making up only five percent of the industry (Goyer, 2016). This particular area tends to focus on being a maleââ¬â¢s career choice and lacking in theRead MoreBrigadier Robin Olds as a Leader of Character Essay1067 Words à |à 5 PagesArmy Air Corps and later an Air Force pilot from 1943 to 1973. From an early age, Olds was surrounded by great fighter pilots who mentored his leadership abilities. He character was also influenced by his father; Robin Olds Sr. Oldsââ¬â¢ character was tested time after time as a cadet at West Point and as an Air Force Officer at the squad and wing levels. Robin Olds was a leader of character because of early influences a nd training, experience as a fighter pilot in World War Two, and his leadership skillsRead MoreDeveloping Savory Rosti-Crsps at1792 Words à |à 8 Pagesnumber of people dedicated to product development. * Whether to invest in a pilot plant. The process technology required for the new project would be unlike any of the divisionââ¬â¢s current technology. Similar technology was used by some companies in the frozen food industry and one option would be to carry out trials at these (non-competitor) companiesââ¬â¢ sites. Alternatively, the Orlando team could build their own pilot plant which would enable them to experiment in-house. As well as the significantRead More Courage is The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe Essay example956 Words à |à 4 PagesCourage is The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe Tom Wolfes novel The Right Stuff, gives an accurate description into the lives of the first astronauts and rocket-powered aircraft test pilots, from their careers before, during, and after their selection to become astronauts, through to their private home lives. All throughout his book, Wolfe refers to the right stuff and this righteous stuff without ever saying upfront what the stuff really is. I have concluded that throughout the story, theRead MorePilot Dreams for my Career659 Words à |à 3 PagesBecoming an Airline Pilot is the right career for me because I like to travel and work with large mechanical machines, and I know this career has lots of benefits for me. In this career has tons stepping stones to go through before reaching what a Captain of your own plane. In order to reach Captain you must show you are ready for the big league. Whatââ¬â¢s better than enjoying what you do while getting paid high amounts. Back in the days, making airplanes wasnââ¬â¢t easy, and getting people to fly themRead More Vouchers and School Choice Meet the Needs of Parents Essay782 Words à |à 4 Pagesmany of the public schools encourages parents to look for other public or private schooling for their children. Dire condition of too many todays public schools, especially in inner cities where disadvantaged families have no alternatives and where the students are stuck in failing schools because of where they live.(Unleashing Pent-up Demand). The quality of of public education is low relative to the quality of private one. For example, only two high schools in Chicago public school system areRead MoreEssay A Case for Vouchers and School Choice1047 Words à |à 5 Pagesand middle-income families, allowing these families to send their children to a private or parochial school of their choice. In most programs, the private or parochial schools would, in turn, receive a tuition stipend from the state which i s subsequently subtracted from the public school systems total budget. nbsp; While popular support for such voucher programs has not been overwhelmingly positive, several pilot programs have already emerged in several cities. Milwaukee and Cleveland, so farRead MoreThe Female Pilots Of The United States During World War II936 Words à |à 4 PagesDuring World War II, the United States had a shortage of pilots, and the leaders decided to train women to fly military aircraft so male pilots could be released for combat duty overseas. The group of female pilots was called the Women Airforce Service Pilots, WASP for short. Young women between the ages of twenty-one to thirty-five, all civilian volunteers, flew almost every type of military aircraft but were not considered to be formally militarized. The program began in 1942, and was closed byRead MoreThe Path Of Becoming A Pilot2035 Words à |à 9 Pagesthe other. This reaction is rather typical for everyone when they hop into the cockpit for the first time. Unfortunately, this happiness is short lived because the path of becoming a pilot is a long and troubling one. In fact, an ample amount of people never completes the courses that are required to become a pilot. For a majority of people, it seems as if there is a long array of walls preventing them from moving forward. But even with those impenetrable walls blocking the way, some people persevere
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Evaluation of a Public Australian Company-Free-Sample for Students
Question: Prepare a critical evaluation of a public Australian company DICKSMITH that has suffered from a severe financial crisis or become insolvent at some time over the past 10-15 years. Answer: Introduction of Dick Smith In the year 1968 Dick Smith started a small business in Sydney for installing car radios with an initial invested capital of $610. The business grew exponentially and by the end of 1980 , Entrepreneur Dick Smith had about 20 stores. These stores expended their product range to include many items such as electronics goods and kits. In the year 1980, one of Australias largest company Woolworths decided to acquire a 60% stake in the Dick Smith operated stores. Two years later Dick Smith personally exited the business by selling the remaining stocks to Woolworth for about $ 25 million. In the Fiscal year 2012 the company announced restructuring of the Dick smith business and decided to close approximately 100 stores. Finally, Anchorage capital paid approximately $115 million to Woolworth to acquire the Dick smith business. Anchorage paid $20 million as an upfront pay of the $115 million. In about a years time by December 2013 the anchorage capital decided to float the Dick Smith business in the ASX. The market valuation of the business was estimated to be $520 million at that time. However, within two years time (November 2015) the business was seen experiencing dwindling sales figures and cash flows and decided to write down 1/5th of the stock amounting to over $60mn. Stock prices of the company declined over 80% in December 2015 and the company decided to undertake a massive stock clearance sale in December 2015. In the month of January, the company was pressed into voluntary administration. At that time the company was operating a total of 393 stores of which nearly 353 stores were designated as Dick Smith stores. Literature Review Dick Smith started the business on the basis of a hobby electronic store which can do individual things and charge different prices. The initial model was to service individual customers and not sell standard electronic equipment because the business was based on a large-scale capital. The business grew and made profits because of its uniqueness of serving customers unique needs. thats how it succeeded in bring the consumers. But once the company was taken over by the Woolworths hey greatly modified the business model to expand the business further alienating the personal touch. However, the Dick smith store never did good business under Woolworths supervision and the company divested the division because it was very unlike the Woolworth business(Belverd E. Needles, 2012, 11TH EDITION). The business of Dick Smith grew under Anchorage initially but were greatly burdened by increasing debts and finance costs. The Company (Dick Smith) that was acquired by Anchorage was for finding the most opportune time to offload the same and make profit. With that view Anchorages nominees ran the company but did not proceed to change the firms capital structure form a predominantly debt oriented structure. The debts kept on increasing. The level of debt in the capital structure in 2013 was 55% and the same increased to 63% in 2014 and 67% in 2015(Dick Smith annual report, 2015). Equity was divested to accommodate more debts because the cash flows generated were less than adequate to run the firm. Increasingly the firms operations were run through using more of the short and long-term debts. in the early parts of 2015 the debt -equity ratio reached 2:1, and this is when the management found it really difficult to manage the business as it became almost impossible to get more debt financing. Current liabilities could not be serviced as per schedule of the inability to get more debts. Two bankers of the co mpany (one being HSBC) declined to lend more and decided to wait until the last quarter of 2015 for the firms management to take steps to increase cash flows and failing which new credit lines were completely stopped by December 2015. At that time the acid test ratio of the company was only .3 which showed how dismal the cash flows of the firm were(Carl S Warren, 2011). In 2012, Anchorage capital paid $115 to acquire Dick Smith business form Woolworth and decided to list the stocks in the ASX. The stock of Dick smith started impressively at $1.9 per share as the company was packaged impressively. It traded at the same value of a year before reaching $2.14. it reached a high of $ 2.2 in the month of January 2015. However soon after trouble started to take uncontrollable proportions and stock prices crashed. In September 2015, the stock was trading for about $.59 when the cash flows became untenable for the company management and inventory was written down by over $60 million. Soon the companys stock fell over to reach a lowly $.35 in January 2016 and ASX decided to halt trading of the stock in the same month(Tony Boyd , 2016). One of the immediate causes of failure of the Dick smith business was the inadequate cash flows generated in 2105 operations. The cash flows suddenly started to dry up in 2015 after impressive shows in the previous two years. while the company had a net cash flow form Operation amounting to $117,621,000 in 2013, the same declined by over 50% to $52,177,000 in 2014 and suddenly turned negative at ($3,940,000) in the fiscal year 2015. While the net cash provided from operations were much larger in 2013 and 2014 the cash flows from operations suddenly became negative in 2105. One of the reason is the sudden increase in the amount of taxes paid and the other is significant increases in payments made to suppliers etc. Simply said the company was not generating enough cash to run the business. Also, the fianc costs became larger in both 2014 and 2015(Dick Smith annual report, 2015). The problems of Dick smith operations initially began as a far as November 2015 as the company intended to write down more than $60 of inventory form the books and the market showed a knee jerk reaction as share prices tumbled. Because the firm was only less than 3 years old and not large by any means the stock write down was seen as fishy. Because of this investor confidence in the management of the firm tanked and resulted in more than 80% devaluation of the forms shares. However, after a lot of investigation it was revealed that the Anchorage Capital which brought the dick smith stores form Woolworth cooked up the books in 2012 itself. In the books of Woolworth the Dick smith inventory was shown at a market valuation of $246 million but after take over the same was valued at $371 million (presumably at market price) and the same stood at $58million higher. However, anchorage valued the stocks at $312 million on listing and the same amounted to overvaluing the stocks by $66 million over what was valued by Woolworth(BAKER CORTRELL, 2011). The book was also cooked up by Anchorage while reporting the value of the plant and equipment. While the Woolworth financial statements showed the plant and equipment at $51mn , the same was revalued by Anchorage at $65 million- thereby increasing values by over $14 million. Deloitte Sydney was the lead auditor for both Woolworth and Anchorage and it appeared prima facie that the book of anchorage was cooked up to show approximately $80mn value in excess of what should have been reported. The transactions remained in the books prior to the companys listing in ASX and is being seen as an attempt by Anchorage to boost the listing price of the stock and the same mistakes were allowed to remain in the book till the inventory was decided to be written off in November 2015(Carl S. Warren, 2012). Prior to its listing the Dick Smiths business was growing, demand was steady and Expansion plans were in place. the failure of the frim occurred in an environment when the firm was growing sizably because of bad planning and massive failure in sourcing inventory at reasonable prices. The environment in the beginning of 2013 was such that the companys management was looking for expanding rapidly even if the cost of expansion was too high and management was thinking in the line of revenue growth and enough profitability to cover the higher costs. however the expansion was rapid and unplanned/unchecked and performance suffered because the profit margin could not be maintained. The management could not plan for a business model which sustains itself and that would eventually turn the business into believing that it can avail more debts to tide over tight situations and payoff when the situation is corrected. Whole of the companys available surpluses of 21012-2014 was used to fund the expansion and debts increased manifold. However the problem that caused major changes in the cash flows was the very fact that the companys management had already bought too much stocks which were bad and customer preferences lied somewhere else and these stocks were procured at much higher prices which resulted in the eventual write down of $60mn in 2015. By the end of 2015 the company went for a clearance sale to free the stores of such items but unfortunately by then the companys stores would have been set in motion strong sales and better margins. As sales declined and cash was not available for payment the management did not have any option but to declare closure. The Dick Smith Business in the mid of 2103 was having a very good sales growth and offered big profits. However, it had actually very little inventory. Thus, Anchorage tried to sell the company before it is too late. 80% of the stocks were sold in its ASX listing which valued the company at $520mn. Comparing the same with what anchorage paid for its made little sense(Carl S Warren, 2011). Anchorage capital actually paid only $20 million to Woolworth at the time of its acquisition and promised to pay the balance of $95mn in a years time. It sold the company to the public by listing the company for $520 million and made huge amount of profit. The venture capital firm also sold the balance 20% of the stocks 10 months after 10 months of the initial listing. When Dick smith went into administration the company was actually worth less than 15% of the market valuation when the company was first listed(Elliott Elliott, 2017). The situation was not funny for any of the 3300 employees of the company. It was their personal disaster. They were suddenly been jobless and must have felt sorry the way the companys affairs were being handled by the management of the company led by Nick Abboud. The employees lost their livelihood and all the companies local suppliers lost a big client. Many jobs would also have been lost at the suppliers end and the same is unreported. Distribution chain jobs were also affected. The gift cards which were issued by the company prior to going into liquidation proceedings suddenly became worthless in the market. Families of the employees which in the base of their jobs have already taken home mortgages were probably hounded by the mortgage banks for recovery. There were widespread fear among shareholders of the company , many of them became depressed and lost millions of their savings and hard earned life earnings(Weiss, 2014). Conclusion Dick Smiths management were grossly negligent in not scouring for a permanent solution to the liquidity inadequacy and firm increasing costs. The Current liabilities Owings to suppliers and wages etc) were difficult to be paid and the management went for more loans from lenders to fill the gap. As the level of stocks dropped and the company did not have enough cash to procure more stocks unless it paid the suppliers in time- the management faced a do or die situation which they failed. The company might have been saved if the wrong doings in evaluating the inventory would have been rectified years ago and thus the company would have been in a better position ( as it would have been less valued and better managed because lack of stocks would have led to lesser debts and lending by banks in the first place. Bibliography BAKER, R., CORTRELL, D. (2011). ADVANCED FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING ,10TH ED. CHICAGO: MCGRAWHILL IRWIN. BARTHOLOMEUSZ, S. (2016). Lessons from Dick Smiths breathtaking implosion. Melbourne: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/stephen-bartholomeusz/lessons-from-dick-smiths-breathtaking-implosion/news-story/b16c95af482bf32b0aee8098a86ae34e. Belverd E. Needles. (2012, 11TH EDITION). PRINCIPLES OF ACCOUNTING. CHICAGO: CENGAGE BRAIN. Brearly , Myers Allen. (2012). Corporate finance (9th ed.). Chicago: McGraw Hill Irwin. Carl S Warren. (2011). principles of corporate financial accounting . NEWYORK: mCGRAWHILL/IRWIN. Carl S. Warren. (2012). Corporate Financial Accounting (12edition ed.). South Western cengage publishing . Chung, F. (2016). McGrathNicol releases Dick Smith report. https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail. Damodaran, A. (2012). APPLIED CORPORATE FINANCE (FOURTH EDITION ed.). Chicago: Wiley Publishers. Dick Smith annual report. (2015). Annual Reprot 2015. Dick Smith. Elliott, B., Elliott, J. (2017). Financial Accounting and Reporting (18th ed.). Harlow: Pearson Educaitonal Publishers . Eugene Brigham Michael Ehrhardt. (2010). corporate finance (13th ed ed.). Chicago: Mcgrawhill Irwin. Schill, R. B. (2015). Cases in finance (6th ed.). NewYork : McgrawHill educaiton . Tony Boyd . (2016). Dick Smith collapse a case study in electronics retailing. Sydney : Afr.com. Watson, D. a. (2012). Corporate Finance Principles and Practice. (6th ed.). Harlow: Pearson Publishers . Weiss, J. W. (2014). BUSINESS ETHICS:A Stakeholder and Issues and Management Approach (6th ed.). SanFransisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. Young, D., Sherman, H. D. (2016, July-august). Where Financial Reporting Still Falls Short. Harvard Business Review , pp. 66-84.
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
Online Hotel Reservation free essay sample
-According to Mrs. Michelle Amir,co-fouder and CEO,says:,â⬠I am proud to say that by the third quarter 2008 we will have succeeded in our goal to become a global hotel booking agency. During three consecutive years our company results have shown a tremendous annual increase of much more than 100 %. Over 2007 we boasted gross sales of over 36 million. We expect to reach 75 million in hotel reservation in 2008. The first quarter in 20087 looks promising. With over 13 million gross sales we start the year ahead of budget. We achieved this with a mere three destinations. Therefore,with so many more destinations,we expect our results to continue to increase significantly. We also expect many more repeat visitors and actual bookers due to the added cities. â⬠-Callista Hospitality is a reservations and management system for motels, lodges and small to mid-sized hotels. It incorporates powerful, easy-to-use features which are normally available only in high-end, expensive reservations software systems. We will write a custom essay sample on Online Hotel Reservation or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Electronic reservations, easy checkin/out, automatic management of online reservations and all changes in room availability, integrated and automatic guest call logging and allocation with user-defined margins per call type, multiple accounts per guest room, automatic confirmation emailing, user-defined in-house charge allocation, on/off peak calendar, complete guest history, integrated guest billing and automatic scheduled reporting for management, statistical analysis, financial analysis and operations and much more are all available in this innovative, inexpensive, easy-to-use system. A fully automated checkin wizard makes checkin fast and efficient even for the most novice user. The online hotel reservation is the only growing section between the different methods of reservation. The 40% of rooms in cities were reserved online in 2009 and this rate is increasing because there is more and more online reservation system. Online reservation systems are very useful because the traveller can compare prices, can see the other travellers opinions and ratings from the hotels and their services. In this way it is easier for the client to choose the right hotel. It saves time and money for travellers.
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Sigmund Freud, Determinism and Free Will Essay Example
Sigmund Freud, Determinism and Free Will Essay Sigmund Freud is considered as the founder of the psychoanalytic tradition in the field of psychology. As an emerging science during his time, psychological theories had been developed from various philosophical schools of thought. Psychology thus, may appropriately be considered as a brainchild of philosophy. Due to the aforementioned reasons, psychology inherited characteristics that are constitutive of what philosophy and the philosophical enterprise are. Psychology inherited among many other things, the characteristic of being both metaphysical and speculative; approaches that are distinctly attributed to the method of doing philosophy. The status of the Nineteenth Century science however, proved to be crucial in the development of Freudââ¬â¢s own thought. As a thinker, Freudââ¬â¢s contributions focused on the core notions of the ââ¬Å"mind, its tripartite structureâ⬠and the theory of the ââ¬Å"unconsciousâ⬠. Influenced by Helmholtzââ¬â¢s discovery of the ââ¬Å"principle of conservation of energyâ⬠, the formulation of which is that in any given physical system, the total amount of energy is always constant, and Ernst Bruckeââ¬â¢s idea that living organisms such as human beings, by virtue of being energy-systems are not excluded from the application of the aforementioned principle, Freud was able to develop his theories of the mind and the unconscious with the contention that he has found a way of going about psychology ââ¬Å"scientificallyâ⬠. We will write a custom essay sample on Sigmund Freud, Determinism and Free Will specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Sigmund Freud, Determinism and Free Will specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Sigmund Freud, Determinism and Free Will specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer What is Freudââ¬â¢s theory of the mind and its tripartite structure? It is interesting to take note of the fact that the tripartite view with regards to the soul is a view held by people even in the ancient times. As a matter of fact, the Greek philosopher Plato had the same view albeit, there are nuances that must be considered in this interpretation. In his book Ten Theories of Human Nature, Stevenson claims that there are certain ââ¬Å"parallelismsâ⬠with regards to Platoââ¬â¢s account of the soul to Freudââ¬â¢s theory of the human psyche. Stevenson writes: ââ¬Å"The Id, like Platoââ¬â¢s Appetite, is made up of the instinctual drives that seek immediate satisfaction; the Ego is not exactly parallel to Platoââ¬â¢s Reason, but it does have the function of dealing with the real world and mediating in the relationship of the world and the Id; the Superego contains the conscience and the social models absorbed as a childâ⬠(Stevenson 74). On a deeper analysis, we can plausibly contend that Freudââ¬â¢s division of the human psyche into the Id, Ego and the Superego is in itself a division that is highly ââ¬Å"metaphysicalâ⬠which stands in direct opposition to one that is ââ¬Å"empiricalâ⬠. However, what is exceptionally brilliant in Freud is the fact that he was able to make his metaphysical assumptions to have a strong hold and to bear an imprint in the minds of the scientists thereby, consequently leading to the idea that his theory of the mind can be understood within the schema of scientific inquiry. The universe is a machine. This metaphor is actually an attempt to explain phenomena by positing different kinds of laws that govern the universe. The universe and the bodies within it are governed by physical and mechanical laws, for instance. A more thought-provoking aspect of this metaphor however, has something to do with the fundamental questions regarding the issues regarding ââ¬Å"determinismâ⬠and the concept of ââ¬Å"free willâ⬠. The mechanistic model of the universe and the formulations in and through which we appropriate and understand phenomena for ourselves depicts a scenario that everything in the universe is determined including thinking and behavior of human beings. Thinking is in itself a mechanistic procedure which can be explained by the firing of neurons in the brain and by taking into consideration the psychological or mental states that a person has. As Freud sees it, it makes sense to say that a personââ¬â¢s action is for instance, determined and is caused by pre-existing psychological or mental states. The valuable contribution then of Freud is the fact that he was able to integrate his theory of the mind into the schema of science. He also made extensive use of the concept of ââ¬Å"causalityâ⬠. Causality, as a scientific principle may be defined as ââ¬Å"the operation of cause and effectâ⬠. Causes and effects are important categories or markers in scientific inquiry. In psychoanalysis for instance, the primordial assumption is that certain neuroses or abnormal behaviors are caused by ââ¬Å"repressedâ⬠psychological or mental states. Freud, to be more particular, traces the causes of these neuroses or abnormal behaviors to ââ¬Å"traumatic experiencesâ⬠that a particular person has experienced in his or her past life. These things might be concealed from the individual, meaning, the individual does not have the knowledge that he or she has had such traumatic experiences or that he or she has had repressed emotions. The person may also not be aware that of a à ¢â¬Å"thoughtâ⬠or a ââ¬Å"desireâ⬠that has long been there, that has long been present in his or her psyche. This brings us to Freudââ¬â¢s theory of the ââ¬Å"unconsciousâ⬠. What is the unconscious? The theory of the unconscious is also a theory patterned from the schema of science and hence, is also characterized as strictly deterministic. When we speak of the mind, we have the tendency to assume that what we are talking about is that which we use when we think of our thoughts. We assume that there are only ââ¬Å"conscious mental statesâ⬠and ââ¬Å"conscious mental processesâ⬠and we identify them with the ââ¬Å"mindâ⬠. Freud sees it in a different way. The usual analogy used to explain this is the analogy between the mind and an iceberg. The mind is like an iceberg; it has parts that can be seen and parts that cannot be seen. The mind or the human psyche, for Freud has two parts; the conscious and the unconscious. On a personal note, the strength of Freudââ¬â¢s theory of the mind and the unconscious is the fact that they are deterministic. This puts them at par with the other sciences albeit we must take into consideration that the object of study of the empirical sciences is different from the object of study of the social sciences such as psychology. Freudââ¬â¢s groundwork on psychology and his attempt to integrate it with the methodology of science paved the way for doing psychology scientifically. Succeeding psychologists have benefited enormously from the scientific way of doing psychology nowadays. Persons afflicted with psychological disorders are now assured of a better and more humane treatment. Aside from these, Freudââ¬â¢s theory illuminates some of the dark areas of our being human. One such example is our tendency to bury deep in our minds certain desires, things or dreams that we want to pursue because most of us are afraid to take risks. Freud makes us see that no matte r how much we try to bury these things deep in our minds, they will creep out eventually and will make manifest on us in different ways. There is no escape from these desires. However, the implications of the theory are disturbing. As stated on the earlier part of this essay, the theory, being based on the scientific model, leads to the idea that everything is determined, that everything is governed by the same scientific and mechanistic laws. This idea also breeds another idea; that human actions, the basis of which is capacity for thought, is determined. Human beings are not free as most of us would like to believe. What we call freedom is merely illusory. In the same vein, what we call free will is also an illusion; a figment of the imagination, a mere hope that is divorced from reality. Philosophy, as I see it, is all about setting the limits. It is about ââ¬Å"being in controlâ⬠. This may be observed even in the ancient Greeksââ¬â¢ treatment of philosophy and rationality. The entity that sets the limits, that which is in control is none other than the faculty of reason. Due to this, it is indeed difficult to accept that what Freud says is true. The mere presence of unconscious mental states and mental processes suggest that there are considerably significant aspects of our lives, behaviors and thoughts that are unknown and hidden to us. The source of the ââ¬Å"uneasinessâ⬠as I reckon it is the fact that if the theory is true, then there are things about ourselves and about our actions that are beyond our control.
Sunday, November 24, 2019
The Curious Murder of Rasputin
The Curious Murder of Rasputin The mysteriousà Grigory Efimovich Rasputin, a peasant who claimed powers of healing and prediction, had the ear of Russian Czarina Alexandra. The aristocracy held negative views about a peasant in such a high position, and peasants disliked the rumors that the czarina was sleeping with such a scoundrel. Rasputin was seen as the dark force who was ruining Mother Russia. To save the monarchy, several members of the aristocracy conspired to murder Rasputin. On the night of Dec. 16, 1916, they tried. The plan was simple. Yet on that fateful night, the conspirators found that killing Rasputin would be very difficult indeed. The Mad Monk Czar Nicholas II and Czarina Alexandra, the emperor and empress of Russia, had tried for years to give birth to a male heir. After four girls were born, the royal couple was desperate. They called in many mystics and holy men. Finally, in 1904, Alexandra gave birth to a baby boy, Aleksei Nikolayevich. Unfortunately, the boy who had been the answer to their prayers was afflicted with the royal disease, hemophilia. Every time Aleksei began to bleed, it would not stop. The royal couple became frantic to find a cure for their son. Again, mystics, holy men, and healers were consulted. Nothing helped until 1908, when Rasputin was called upon to aid the young czarevich during one of his bleeding episodes. Rasputin was a peasant born in the Siberian town of Pokrovskoye on Jan. 10, probably in the year 1869. Rasputin underwent a religious transformation around the age of 18 and spent three months in the Verkhoturye Monastery. When he returned to Pokrovskoye he was a changed man. Though he married Proskovia Fyodorovna and had three children with her (two girls and a boy), he began to wander as a strannik (pilgrim or wanderer). During his wanderings, Rasputin traveled to Greece and Jerusalem. Though he often traveled back to Pokrovskoye, he found himself in St. Petersburg in 1903. By then he was proclaiming himself a starets, or holy man who had healing powers and could predict the future. When Rasputin was summoned to the royal palace in 1908, he proved he had a healing power. Unlike his predecessors, Rasputin was able to help the boy. How he did it is still greatly disputed. Some people say that Rasputin used hypnotism; others say Rasputin didnt know how to hypnotize. Part of Rasputins continued mystique is the remaining question as to whether he really had the powers he claimed. Having proven his holy powers to Alexandra, however, Rasputin did not remain just the healer for Aleksei; Rasputin soon became Alexandras confidant and personal adviser. To the aristocrats, having a peasant advising the czarina, who in turn held a great deal of influence over the czar, was unacceptable. In addition, Rasputin loved alcohol and sex, both of which he consumed in excess. Though Rasputin appeared to be a pious and saintly holy man in front of the royal couple, others saw him as a sex-craved peasant who was ruining Russia and the monarchy. It didnt help that Rasputin was having sex with women in high society in exchange for granting political favors, nor that many in Russia believed Rasputin and the czarina were lovers and wanted to make a separate peace with the Germans; Russia and Germany were enemies during World War I. Many people wanted to get rid of Rasputin. Attempting to enlighten the royal couple about the danger they were in, influential people approached both Nicholas and Alexandra with the truth about Rasputin and the rumors that were circulating. To everyones great dismay, they both refused to listen. So who was going to kill Rasputin before the monarchy was completely destroyed? The Murderers Prince Felix Yusupov seemed an unlikely murderer. Not only was he the heir to a vast family fortune, but he also was married to the czars niece Irina, a beautiful young woman. Yusupovà was also considered very good looking, and with his looks and money, he was able to indulge in his fancies. His fancies usually were in the form of sex, much of which was considered perverse at the time, especially transvestism and homosexuality. Historians think that these attributes helped Yusupovà ensnare Rasputin. Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich was Czar Nicholas IIs cousin. Pavlovich was once engaged to the czars eldest daughter, Olga Nikolaevna, but his continued friendship with the homosexually inclined Yusupov made the royal couple break off the engagement. Vladimir Purishkevich was an outspoken member of the Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament. On Nov. 19, 1916, Purishkevich made a rousing speech in the Duma, in which he said, The czars ministers who have been turned into marionettes, marionettes whose threads have been taken firmly in hand by Rasputin and the Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna- the evil genius of Russia and the czar...who has remained a German on the Russian throne and alien to the country and its people. Yusupovà attended the speech and afterwardà contacted Purishkevich, who quickly agreed to participate in the murder of Rasputin. Others involved wereà Lt. Sergei Mikhailovich Sukhotin, a convalescing young officer of the Preobrazhensky Regiment. Dr. Stanislaus de Lazovert was a friend and Purishkevichs physician. Lazovert was added as the fifth member because they needed someone to drive the car. The Plan The plan was relatively simple. Yusupov was to befriend Rasputin and then lure Rasputin to the Yusupov palace to be killed. Since Pavlovich was busy every night until December 16 and Purishkevich was leaving on a hospital train for the front on December 17, it was decided that the murder would be committed on the night of the 16th and in the early morning hours of the 17th. As for what time, the conspirators wanted the cover of night to hide the murder and the disposal of the body. Plus, Yusupov noticed that Rasputins apartment wasnt guarded after midnight. It was decided that Yusupov would pick up Rasputin at his apartment at half past midnight. Knowingà Rasputinsà love of sex, the conspirators would use Yusupovs beautiful wife, Irina, as bait. Yusupov would tell Rasputin that he could meet her at the palace with the innuendo of a possible sexual liaison. Yusupov wrote his wife, who was staying at their home in the Crimea, to ask her to join him in this important event. After several letters, she wrote back in the beginning of December in hysteria saying that she couldnt follow through with it. The conspirators then had to find a way to lure Rasputin without actually having Irina there. They decided to keep Irina as a lureà but fake her presence. Yusupov and Rasputin would enter a side entrance of the palace with stairs leading down to the basement so that no one could see them enter or leave the palace. Yusupov was having the basement refurbished as a cozy dining room. Since the Yusupov palace was along the Moika Canal and across from a police station, using guns was not possible for fear of them being heard. Thus, they decided to use poison. The dining room in the basement would be set up as if several guests had just left it in a hurry. Noise would be coming from upstairs as if Yusupovs wife was entertaining unexpected company. Yusupov would tell Rasputin that his wife would come down once her guests had left. While waiting for Irina, Yusupov would offer Rasputin potassium cyanide-laced pastries and wine. They needed to make sure that no one knew that Rasputin was going with Yusupov to his palace. Besides urging Rasputin not to tell anyone of his rendezvous with Irina, the plan was for Yusupov to pick up Rasputin via the back stairs of his apartment. Finally, the conspirators decided that they would call the restaurant/inn Villa Rhode on the night of the murder to ask if Rasputin was there yet, hoping to make it seem that he was expected there but never showed up. After Rasputin was killed, the conspirators were going to wrap up the body in a rug, weigh it down, and throw it into a river. Since winter had already come, most of the rivers near St. Petersburg were frozen. The conspirators spent a morning looking for a suitable hole in the ice to dump the body. They found one on the Malaya Nevka River. The Setup In November, about a month before the murder, Yusupov contacted Maria Golovina, a longtime friend of his who also happened to be close to Rasputin. He complained thatà he had been having chest pains that doctors had been unable to cure. She immediately suggested that he should see Rasputin for his healing powers, as Yusupov knew she would. Golovina arranged for them both to meet at her apartment. The contrived friendship began, and Rasputin began calling Yusupov by a nickname, Little One. Rasputin and Yusupov met a number of times during November and December. Since Yusupov had told Rasputin that he didnt want his family to know about their friendship, it was agreed that Yusupov would enter and leave Rasputins apartment via a staircase in the back. Many have speculated that more than just healing went on at these sessions and that the two were sexually involved. At some point, Yusupov mentioned that his wife would be arriving from the Crimea in the middle of December. Rasputin showed interest in meeting her, so they arranged for Rasputin to meet Irina just after midnight on December 17. It was also agreed that Yusupov would pick Rasputin up and drop him off. For several months, Rasputin had been living in fear. He had been drinking even more heavily than usual and constantly dancing to Gypsy music to try to forget his terror. Numerous times, Rasputin mentioned to people that he was going to be killed. Whether this was a true premonition or whether he heard the rumors circulating around St. Petersburg is uncertain. Even onà Rasputins last dayà alive, several people visited him to warn him to stay home and not go out. Around midnight on December 16, Rasputin changed clothes into a light blue shirt, embroidered with cornflowers and blue velvet pants. Though he had agreed not to tell anyone where he was going that night, he had actually told several people, including his daughter Maria and Golovina, who had introduced him to Yusupov. The Murder Near midnight, the conspirators all met at the Yusupov palace in the newly created basement dining room. Pastries and wine adorned the table. Lazovert put on rubber gloves and then crushed the potassium cyanide crystals into powder and placed some in the pastries and a small amount in two wine glasses. They left some pastries unpoisoned so that Yusupov could partake. After everything was ready, Yusupov and Lazovert went to pick up the victim. Around 12:30 a.m. a visitor arrived at Rasputins apartment via the back stairs. Rasputin greeted the man at the door. The maid was still awake and was looking through the kitchen curtains; she later said she saw that it was the Little One (Yusupov). The two men left in a car driven by a chauffeur, who was actually Lazovert. When they arrived at the palace, Yusupov took Rasputin to the side entrance and down the stairs to the basement dining room. As Rasputin entered the room he could hear noise and music upstairs, and Yusupov explained that Irina had been detained by unexpected guests but would be down shortly. The other conspirators waited until after Yusupov and Rasputin entered the dining room, then they stood by the stairs leading down to it, waiting for something to happen. Everything up to this point had been going to plan, but that didnt last much longer. While supposedly waiting for Irina, Yusupov offered Rasputin one of the poisoned pastries. Rasputin refused, saying they were too sweet. Rasputin wouldnt eat or drink anything. Yusupov started to panic and went upstairs to talk to the other conspirators. When Yusupov went back downstairs, Rasputin for some reason had changed his mind and agreed to eat the pastries. Then they started drinking the wine. Though potassium cyanide was supposed to have an immediate effect, nothing happened. Yusupov continued to chat with Rasputin, waiting for something to happen. Noticing a guitar in the corner, Rasputin asked Yusupov to play for him. The time wore on, and Rasputin wasnt showing any effects from the poison. It was now about 2:30 a.m. and Yusupov was worried. Again he made an excuse and went upstairs to talk with the other conspirators. The poison obviously wasnt working. Yusupov took a gun from Pavlovich and went back downstairs. Rasputin didnt notice that Yusupov had returned with a gun behind his back. While Rasputin was looking at a beautiful ebony cabinet, Yusupov said, Grigory Efimovich, you would do better to look at the crucifix and pray to It. Then Yusupov raised the pistol and fired. The other conspirators rushed down the stairs to see Rasputin lying on the ground and Yusupov standing over him with the gun. After a few minutes, Rasputin jerked convulsively and then fell still. Since Rasputin was dead, the conspirators went upstairs to celebrate and to wait for later in the night so that they could dump the body with no witnesses. Still Alive About an hour later, Yusupov felt an inexplicable need to go look at the body. He went back downstairs and felt the body. It still seemed warm. He shook the body. There was no reaction. When Yusupov started turning away, he noticed Rasputins left eye start to flutter open. He was still alive. Rasputin sprang to his feet and rushed at Yusupov, grabbing his shoulders and neck. Yusupov struggled to get free and finally did so. He rushed upstairs shouting, Hes still alive! Purishkevich was upstairs and had just put his Sauvage revolver in his pocket when he saw Yusupov come back up shouting. Yusupov was crazed with fear, [his]à face was literally gone, his handsome...eyes had come out of their sockets...[and] in a semi-conscious state...almost without seeing me, he rushed past with a crazed look. Purishkevich rushed down the stairs, only to find that Rasputin was running across the courtyard. As Rasputin was running, Purishkevichà yelled, Felix, Felix, Ill tell everything to the czarina. Purishkevich was chasing after him. While running, he fired his gun but missed. He fired again and missed again. And then he bit his hand to regain control of himself. Again he fired. This time the bullet found its mark, hitting Rasputin in the back. Rasputin stopped, and Purishkevich fired again. This time the bullet hit Rasputin in the head. Rasputin fell. His head was jerking, but he tried to crawl. Purishkevich had caught up now and kicked Rasputin in the head. Enter the Police Police officerà Vlassiyevà was standing on duty on Moika Street and heard what sounded like three or four shots in quick succession. He headed over to investigate. Standing outside the Yusupov palace he saw two men crossing the courtyard, recognizing them as Yusupov and his servant Buzhinsky. He asked them if they had heard any gunshots, and Buzhinsky answered that he had not. Thinking it had probably just been a car backfiring, Vlassiyev went back to his post. Rasputins body was brought in and placed by the stairs that led to the basement dining room. Yusupov grabbed a 2-pound dumbbell and began indiscriminately hitting Rasputin with it. When others finally pulled Yusupov off Rasputin, the would-be assassin was splattered with blood. Yusupovs servant Buzhinsky then told Purishkevich about the conversation with the policeman. They were worried that the officer might tell his superiors what he had seen and heard. They sent for the policeman to come back to the house. Vlassiyev recalled that when he entered the palace, a man asked him, Have you ever heard of Purishkevich? To which the policeman replied, I have. I am Purishkevich. Have you ever heard of Rasputin? Well, Rasputin is dead. And if you love our Mother Russia, youll keep quiet about it. Yes, sir. And then they let the policeman go. Vlassiyev waited about 20 minutes and then told his superiors everything he had heard and seen. It was amazing and shocking, but after being poisoned, shot three times, and beaten with a dumbbell, Rasputin was still alive. They bound his arms and legs with rope and wrapped his body in a heavy cloth. Since it was almost dawn, the conspirators were now hurrying to dispose of the body. Yusupov stayed at home to clean himself up. The rest of them placed the body in the car, sped off to their chosen location, and heaved Rasputin over the side of the bridge, but they forgot to weigh him down with weights. The conspirators split up and went their separate ways, hoping that they had gotten away with murder. The Next Morning In the morning of Dec. 17, Rasputins daughters woke to find that their father had not returned from his late-night rendezvous with the Little One. Rasputins niece, who had also been living him, called Golovina to say that her uncle had not yet returned. Golovina called Yusupovà but was told he was still sleeping. Yusupov later returned the phone call to say that he hadnt seen Rasputin at all the previous night. Everyone in the Rasputin household knew this was a lie. The police officer who had talked to Yusupov and Purishkevich had told his superior, who in turn told his superior, about the events seen and heard at the palace. Yusupov realized that there was a lot of blood outside, so he shot one of his dogs and placed its corpse on top of the blood. He claimed that a member of his party had thought it was a funny joke to shoot the dog. That didnt fool the policemen. There was too much blood for a dog, and more than one shot was heard. Plus, Purishkevich had told Vlassiyev that they had killed Rasputin. The Czarina was informed, and an investigation was opened immediately. It was obvious to the police early on who the murderers were. There just wasnt a body yet. Finding theBody On Dec. 19, police began looking for a body near the Great Petrovsky Bridge on the Malaya Nevka River, near where a bloody boot had been found the day before. There was a hole in the ice, but they couldnt find the body. Looking a little farther downstream, they came upon the corpse floating in another hole in the ice. When they pulled him out, they found Rasputins hands were frozen in a raised position, leading to the belief that he had still been alive under the water and had tried to untie the rope around his hands. Rasputins body was taken by car to the Academy of Military Medicine, where an autopsy was conducted. The autopsy results showed: Alcohol, but no poison was found.Three bullet wounds. (Theà first bullet entered the chest on the left, hitting Rasputins stomach and liver; the second bullet entered the back on the right, hitting the kidneys; the third bullet entered the head, hitting the brain.)A small amount of water was found in the lungs. The body was buried at the Feodorov Cathedral in Tsarskoe Selo on Dec. 22, and a small funeral was held. What Happened Next? While the accused murderers were under house arrest, many people visited and wrote them letters congratulating them. The accused murderers were hoping for a trial because that would ensure that they would become heroes. Trying to prevent just that, the czar stopped the inquiry and ordered that there be no trial. Though their good friend and confidant had been murdered, their family members were among the accused.à Yusupov was exiled. Pavlovich was sent to Persia to fight in the war. Both survived the Russian Revolution of 1917 and World War I.à Though Rasputins relationship with the czar and czarina had weakened the monarchy, Rasputins death came too late to reverse the damage. If anything, the murder of a peasant by aristocrats sealed the fate of the Russian monarchy. Within three months, Czar Nicholas abdicated, and about a year later the entire Romanov family was also murdered. Sources Rasputin: The Saint Who Sinned, by Brian Moynahan; 1998à The Rasputin File, translated by Judson Rosengrant; 2000
Thursday, November 21, 2019
LandScape of Kuwait Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
LandScape of Kuwait - Essay Example With these features in mind, it is helpful to consider the various components of the physical and cultural landscape of Kuwait that has made the country into the powerful regional force that it is today. Origin of the Landscape On its surface, Kuwait would appear to possess a landscape with quite a few possibilities. This is far from reality, however, as the small area of land, coupled with its lack of fresh water and inability to grow crops have made it is a harsh environment to thrive under for centuries. While it is in the Arabian Gulf, the climate is extremely dry. The landscape of the region has not developed much at all over the years. It is still the flat and barren desert that it was long ago. In fact, it appears that there are only slight elevations of landscape present throughout the relatively small country. The summer is particularly harsh on the landscape, as temperatures can get above 120 degrees F, or 49 degrees C, with relatively little rain to speak of. In addition, because of the barren desert landscape, there are frequent and severe sandstorms that add to the uniqueness of the country and contribute to the difficulty that the land affords daily Kuwaiti life. Ethnic Makeup of the Kuwaiti People It appears that Kuwait has been settled for several thousand years. The early inhabitants of the region actually traded with other Mesopotamian cities. Today, most of the population surrounds itself around Kuwait City. Nearly all Kuwaiti people are Arabs. There is a unique distinction among ethnic Kuwaitiââ¬â¢s, however, in that they are one of the few countries in the world where there own citizens actually form the minority. Only about 45% of the population today is actually Kuwaiti, with the rest being comprised of expatriate workers from around the globe. This certainly creates a unique cultural landscape. It is also important to note that Kuwait is home to numerous Bedoun and Bedoiun tribes. As opposed to the Bedoiun in other countries, however, even the ethnic tribe in Kuwait tend to live in city centers, while still maintaining there conservative and traditional ways of life (Osborn, 1977). They do tend to live in harmony with the ethnic Kuwaitis, yet they maintain their own way of life and cultural traditions. Role of Religion in Forming the Landscape Like many other countries in the Middle East, religion has played an integral part in the development of Kuwait. More than 85% of the population if Muslim. Of this number, nearly all Kuwaitiââ¬â¢s themselves identify with the Islamic faith. One of the primary tenants of this faith is that it impacts nearly aspect of the development of the country, and Kuwait is certainly no exception. The heritage and traditions of the Kuwaiti people, owed to their Islamic roots, remain relatively in tact today. It is interesting to note that Kuwait does guarantee the freedom of religion to all inhabitants, and this is largely honored without question. Remember, however, that most Kuwai tiââ¬â¢s are Muslim, so it definitely forms the foundation for government and social institutions. While this freedom of religion is guaranteed, the constitution of the country also designates Islam as the official religion of the state, and Islamic does largely form the basis for civil law in existence today. These are traditions that
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
What is he demographic transition and why is it important today Essay
What is he demographic transition and why is it important today - Essay Example As the birth and death rates are identical in this phase therefore this phenomenon results in a very slow population growth and the population remains almost stationary over the period of time. The high death rates at this stage are imputed to lack of knowledge about disease prevention and shortages of food supply. Since in the days of yore, there was a lack of clean drinking water, scarcity of good food hygiene, and ineffective sanitary systems therefore it resulted in very high death rates. Diseases pertaining to water and food such as cholera, typhoid, and diarrhoea were discerned as fatal diseases and they were common killers at those times. A handful of child survived their early stages of life. Similarly, high birth rates at those periods are ascribed to all the factors that are linked with high fertility. Since the death rates among the children remained high therefore mothers craved for new children and there was no question as to the need for children even if the measures to control them had existed. The second stage of demographic transition (beginning of industrialization) observes a rapid decline in the death rate while the birth rate remains at the same level. As a consequence of this, the gap between deaths and births grows wider which in turn increases the population of the country. The drastic decline in death is ascribed to different factors. Firstly, economies observe massive improvements in their food supply furnished by higher yields as farming processes are refined and improved. Such improvements include crop rotation, selective breeding, and seed drill technology (Montgomery 2005). Secondly, development in countryââ¬â¢s infrastructure improves the transportation system and hence it saves from death due to starvation. Finally, there are substantial improvements in the realm of public health, specifically during the
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Courts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Courts - Essay Example Generally, this power of judicial review is meant for the Courts to oversee the legislative or executive functions. However, the Court is able to exercise the power to uphold or deny the congressional and executive actions in passing upon the issue of constitutionality. Thus, judicial review can, in effect, nullify the acts of the other branches of the government. This should not be taken that the Supreme Court overpowers the other two branches. Instead, this authority must be understood in the light of the need to uphold the Constitution at all times. After all, in a country where rule of law is observed, the Constitution must be upheld without exception. To state otherwise will only result to the negation of the interests of the people. The power of the Supreme Court to make pronouncements as regards existing laws is not an absolute power. It is a rule that the power to exercise judicial review must be exercised only when there is an actual case or an actual controversy. Thus, to properly request the courts to examine the constitutionality of law, there must be at least one party who stands to benefit or to be injured by the questioned provisions of the law and who shall ask a pronouncement from the Court. This can be properly illustrated in the case of Marbury v. Madison. The case of Marbury v. Madison is considered a very important landmark case in the history of the Unite States Supreme Court. This is the first instance that the U.S. Supreme Court was able to declare and exercise its power of judicial review. What happened in the case of Marbury v. Madison? It was in the year 1800. William Marbury had been nominated, appointed as a justice of peace and given a commission. John Adams, the president of the United States back then, already signed the commission. The United States seals had been affixed to it also.
Friday, November 15, 2019
Competition in the Airline Industry
Competition in the Airline Industry Introduction to airline industry: The airline industry is a very competitive market, in the past 2 decades the industry have expanded and still expanding its routes domestic and globally in the beginning airline industry was partly government owned but in the recent years many privatization with airline industry have taken place. D E L A G (Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-Akiengesellschaft) the first worlds first airline which was on the 16 November 1909 this airline was started mainly with the government owned/assistance this airship manufacturers were the Zeppelin Corporation and their head quarters was in Frankfurt. The two Americans named Rufus and Marriott tried to start the Americas first airline but the attempts were failed due to the airline catching fire. The five airline which was first started still exist these airlines are the oldest ones. KLM its the Netherlands owned, Avianca airlines owned by the Columbia. Qantas is Australians, Czech Airlines operated by the Czech Republic, Mexican Airlines by the Mexico. Af ter the world wars there was some inventions have been made and the demand for new planes the designs and the techniques have greatly constructed and soon after the world wars the air rout throughout the Europe have been set up since the past 15 years the airline route have became a baggiest necessity of both business and common peoples that it is hard to live without the air travel the main pros for the Air travel is it reduces time and making the peoples to visit world in the affordable time. The airline industry can be categorized into four different and main Operations International: This service take more than130 passengers and have them and can take anywhere in the world. In this category the business have its revenue for at least $ 1bn. National: In this category it can take the passengers up to 150 and the business have its revenue for from $100 m $1bn Regional: The small companies which mainly focus on the flights with quick halts and the revenue of this business is less than $ 100 m. Cargo: The main focus of these airlines is to carry goods. Emirates (airline) introduction and its growth: Emirates airline is the major airline of the UAE and it is the subsidiary of the Emirates group it is also the national airline of the UAE (Dubai) its major operations is from the Dubai International Airport. It was founded in the year 25th October 1985 The Hub of the Emirates airlines operates its services to the ninety six (96) destinations and about 56 countries and covering around 6 continents. The company also operates the worlds longest flights to New York, los angles and other two states in Unites States of America including Houston (Texas) the cargo services of this airline is operated by the Emirates Cargo services Division at present the Emirates group has more than 40,000 Employees Employed and it is the one of the top 10 world class airlines in the world. Emirates group as a new and young company faces problems back in 1980s when the gulf airways cut down its flights to Dubai the rescue of help from the Dubai royal family invested $10 million in order to begin, the head of the airlines was sheikh Ahmad Bin Saeed al Makhtoom and he is also the present chairman since then the airlines have made its growth in the fleet and also have expanded its destinations. Emirates Airlines Growth and Incorporation: Emirates group have made tremendous efforts to grow since 1990, research shows that Emirates is one of the fastest growing airline in the world since the Emirates group have made partnership with AA (American Airlines) in 1994 it started providing the world class service to the passengers throughout the world soon after the partnership Emirates revenue turned to $634 M in the end of 2004, then after the airlines ordered 7 new Boeing 777 in 1996 costs about $1 Billion. In May 1998 Emirates enter into the agreement with Sri Lankan Air Lines to manage the airlines for 10 year In the year 2008 Emirates launched its nonstop flight to New York. In the year 2010 Emirates group have launched its flights to many new destinations in UK, Paris, Bangkok, Australia, and Saudi Arabia 1. Do you agree with performance linked reward system? Summarize the recent trends of reward system in your organization or the organization you have chosen. Discuss its impact on productivity in your organization Performance linked reward system: The most important way to impress employees is only by reward to share the profits and allow them incentives by paying them bonuses the theory of reward system says that this is the way the employees will share in your dream when you fulfill their dream. The mechanism of this system can make this possible. The reward system is not just paying the bonuses and letting employees shares in the stock options. It is more likely to do with promotions, benefits and other incentives which can motivate employees unfortunately many companies do not offer this which leads to the failure of their organization so all the employers and I should agree with the reward system to sustain in the market with the competitors. (Donna Dee prose P: 33) The basic principle of reward system is that, you get what you reward the Employees. The main principle of management is things are done quickly if you reward the Employees, they shows positive attitude towards their works and their behavior changes if you reward them for their work. If you set a certain target for the employees and when they achieve it reward them immediately failure to do so will affect the results in the future and never hold behind the employees rewards. Therefore the main principle of motivation is by providing rewards and every organization should agree with this system for a successful organization. Benefits in working with airline industry (Emirates): Individuals interested in finding a job which can provide a good career prospects which will provide the option to travel the entire world and enjoying all the benefits as a part of the Emirates group then its hard to find the better industry than airlines and specially working for the Emirates one of the worlds best flight. There are number of benefits packages for the employees and career development programmers the group provides. In the further studies about the airline industry in the Unites States Of America there are nearly 100 airlines and 500,000 peoples are employed by them many of the positions provide excellent benefit packages, Emirates as world class airlines travels to providing services in 56 countries and expected to be added more in 2010 creates more job opportunities than the USA and runs a great reward system. Emirates Group: Emirates Group as a world class airline provides a very wide range generous benefits to the permanent employees who are employed globally. The group follows a detailed research and analysis on compensation and benefits policies by doing so the group can retain the top talented employees. This case study provides the understanding of the total benefits working for the Emirates, the reward system the company includes the cash and non cash elements. The Summary explains the basic elements of the Emirates group reward for the employees, this explanation for the compensation and reward system provides the information for the candidates working for the emirates group depending on what are their role and the unique skills and personality. The Najm award scheme is the reward and recognition program me of the Emirates Group. The Najm (Star in Arabic) recognizes, motivates and awards employees that either display exceptional behavioral competencies (going the extra mile) or identifies organizational improvements (enhanced safety, reduced cost or improved revenue) Cash elements rewards in emirates group Competitive salary and progression through salary range Emirates employees enjoy the competitive salary into cash; depending on the country they like E.g. The employees working in Dubai and K.S.A enjoy the tax free salary per month and rest all countries pays the normal tax depending on their countys legislations. Salaries are paid depending on their role and knowledge and specialization that the candidate can input into the role, the group carries a research with the relevant businesses and reviews on regular basis in order to remain competitive in providing the rewards to their employees. Employees receives the increase in salary range by the company when the responsibilities have been increased it is provided to keep employees motivates as money is a biggest motivator and used to divert route of employees to a desirable direction. Allowances The Group provides the accommodation for their employees or they give out the allowances for accommodation and it also provides the transport allowance or transport. The candidates in specific roles are only eligible for this role. Profit share schemes The company runs the profit share schemes to the employees depending on the financial statements of the group. Protection in exchange rate scheme The employees who works in the UAE their 50% of the salary is protected against adverse exchange rate towards dirham and your currency classification Professional allowance For the employees who possess the specialization skills company runs the scheme of recognizing their talents. Non Cash elements rewards in Emirates Group Annual leave The company provides 30 days of the annual leave excluding the public holidays. The annual leave will increase depending on the length of service. Gratuity/pension schemes Company runs a gratuity/pension schemes depending of the labor law rules and regulations of the country they work/ live in. For example in UK, if an employee signs up for the pensions Schemes Company deducts certain amount and pays monthly pension after the retirement age. The UAE labor law the employees are provided a gratuity on the end of service. This type of service is available to the candidates depending of the conditions like of employment and circumstances. Free holiday tickets Free holidays tickets are provided to the employees and their dependants/family for the destinations of their holiday and also runs schemes that employees can buy a ticket for the families and friends on the discounted fare. Education allowances Company provides financial support for their employees towards their tuition fees for the employees who are on senior positions to train them to requisite job skills besides these childrens of employees are allowed to claim the education allowance for the time of entire time of service. Insurance Insurances like Medical, Dental, life and Accident are provided to the employees throughout the length of service they are with the company. Provident funds On leaving the company employees are provided the provident fund that they have been saving throughout the service company decides either to pay the Gratuity or provident fund whichever is the higher the provident fund is like the long time savings of an employee with the company employee have to contribute 5% and company inputs 12% of the basic salary. Emirates card Emirates employees enjoy the privilege of being an emirates employee they can enjoys the benefits throughout the 1000s of outlets of the emirates group in UK and around the world. Additional reward system in Emirates Group Recognition reward from supervisors Employees with emirates enjoys the rewards from the supervisors when they feel the value of the candidate that they are performing consistently this the simple way to say thanks by words or by writing a thanks giving letter or by providing them an appraisal. Bibliography 1. The industry handbook Airline Industry available at: www.investopedia.com accessed on 21 February 2010. 2. Linked reward system you get what you reward available at: www.1000ventures.com accessed on 22 February 2010. 3. Donna, D.(2007) :How to recognize and reward employees 2nd ED. New York: AMACOM.(PP 61) 4. The Emirates Grout Company Overview: Available at : www.theemiratesgroup.com accessed on 23 February 2010
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Hemp :: essays research papers
Hemp In the entire world, there has never been a plant quite as amazing as Cannabis Sativa. Being the worldââ¬â¢s only renewable resource capable of solving many of itââ¬â¢s environmental, psychological, and economic problems, it is of no surprise that the plant has made quite an impact in the discovery of the New World. Cannabis Sativa, also known as; Hemp, cannabis hemp, Indian (India) hemp, true hemp, muggles, weed, pot, marijuana, reefer, grass, ganja, bhang, "the kind," dagga, and herb became an ideal plant to cultivate because of its many fine attributes. Depending on the culture, Itââ¬â¢s leaves and flower tops were the first, second, or third most important and most used medicines for at least two thirds of the worldââ¬â¢s people for at least 3,000 years. Cannabis hemp is by far, the strongest, most durable, longest lasting natural soft fiber, and the worlds most advanced plant family on the planet. Because it is Dioecious, having male, female and sometimes hermaphroditic qualities, it is easy to grow and cultivate. This tall, woody, herbaceous annual, reaching anywhere from 12 to 20 feet in one short growing season uses the sun more efficiently that any other plant on earth. It can be grown in any climate or soil condition on Earth, and is a premier renewable natural resource. Many countries found the plant appealing because of itââ¬â¢s abilities to flourish in extreme heat. The Arabs discovered that the sticky goo, or Hashish, that covered the flowers and leaves was a natural protectant against the sun, holding in moisture and repelling damaging heat. Itââ¬â¢s ability to survive in temperatures of 100 degrees Fahrenheit made it ideal for mass production in the New World. Not to mention that it needs no chemicals to grow and has very few natural enemies. The Hemp plant was initially cultivated for itââ¬â¢s main two attributes, itââ¬â¢s hardiness and itââ¬â¢s useful fibers. Until the 1820ââ¬â¢s in America, 80 percent of all textiles and fabrics used for clothing, tents, bed sheets, and linens were made principally from the fibers of Cannabis. Until 1883, from 75-90% of all paper in the world was made with cannabis hemp fiber including that for books, Bibles, maps, paper money, stocks and bonds, newspapers, etc. Everything from rugs, diapers, drapes, quilts, towels, rags, and even our nationââ¬â¢s flag were made possible by Hemp. The rest of the world used itââ¬â¢s fibers well into the 20th century and most countries still rely on it for the bulk of their paper and textile industries.
Sunday, November 10, 2019
Discuss how far you agree with this argument Essay
These all create tension but none of these are in fact the real dramatic climax of ââ¬ËThe Crucibleââ¬â¢. The real dramatic climax of ââ¬ËThe Crucibleââ¬â¢ is when Elizabeth says that Proctor did not commit lechery, which Proctor had already confessed but Elizabeth was un-aware of this. But the build up to this was what really made this scene such a strong climax. After Proctor had confessed, Abigail denied it so Danforth tested Proctorââ¬â¢s judgement when he said, ââ¬Å"In her life, sir, she have never lied. There are them that cannot sing, and them that cannot weep- my wife cannot lie. I have paid so much to learn it, sir. â⬠Tension is built up as proctor convinces Danforth that his wife cannot lie, what also creates tension was when Danforth ordered Proctor and Abigail to turn their backs so that when Elizabeth came in she could not look at her husband or Abigailââ¬â¢s face to get a clue of what she must say. When she does come into the room she is asked, ââ¬Å"has John Proctor ever committed the crime of lechery! â⬠and she replied ââ¬Å"No, sir. â⬠To save her husbands god name. She had lied to Danforth, which made Proctor seem as though he were lying, not only to the high court, but also to god. This was not acceptable in Puritan Salem. The final act of ââ¬ËThe Crucibleââ¬â¢, it is known as the falling point. This means that it is usually where the problems in the play are resolved. This act could be considered more dramatic than Act three, but this is not true. As Act three contains he dramatic climax that made John Proctor worse off than he was at the beginning. It could be argued that this act also has a dramatic climax, when John Proctor confessed to witchcraft. But this was not as dramatic as the climax in Act three because the protagonist was still convicted of witchcraft due to his actions, so this made little or no impact on the final outcome. It soon becomes quite clear that Act four is not about John Proctor being persuaded to confess, but about his close relationship with his dear wife, Elizabeth. With comparison to Act two when John Proctor and Elizabeth had the argument. This Act is much calmer and shows that the Proctorââ¬â¢s can talk in a civil way and are emotionally attracted to each other. In this act Proctor puts his children first when he confesses as he does not want them to have to grow up without a father figure in their life. But soon during the confession Danforth asks for too much when he asks John Proctor to sign the confession. Proctor soon gains his own opinion and realises that once he signs this confession he and his family will not be able to live properly; they will always be under suspicion. John Proctor wishes to die as a martyr and not live the rest of his life in shame so he tries to have his confession removed by testing the nerve of Danforth by taking away the confession and ripping it up. Danforth then tells the marshal to take Proctor away. Elizabeth comes running up to him and cries on his hand, but he says ââ¬Å"Give them no tears! Tears pleasure them! Show honour, show a stony heart and sink them with it! â⬠He then kisses her ââ¬Å"passionatelyâ⬠and goes. Then Danforth says angrily ââ¬Å"Hang them high over the town! Who weeps for these, weeps for corruption! â⬠Therefore, John Proctor dies as a hero, which ends the play very well, as it ends on a proud note. Because John Proctor dies with pride knowing that ââ¬Å"Another judgement awaits us all! â⬠In conclusion, Act three is the dramatic climax of the crucible, as all the tension built up in previous act is all released in this act, which creates a greater climax. Act four is not the dramatic climax because the peak at Act three which was the dramatic climax made sure that it was more dramatic than any other Act. In Act four it was just calming everything down after the climax, but Act fourââ¬â¢s climax was minute compared to Act three. Act four ended the play superbly, as Proctor the protagonist did not finish as the enemy but the martyr, and Danforth ended as the enemy.
Friday, November 8, 2019
Traditions and History of Halloween Celebration
Traditions and History of Halloween Celebration Origin and Traditions of Halloween First associations that come to our mind when thinking about Halloween are popular trick-or-treat tradition, bobbing for apples, costume parades, parties and other family-friendly activities. Though, do you know or have you ever been interested in the true story behind the origin of this holiday? In fact, the origin of Halloween has 2000 years history, when Celtic tribes inhabited lands, nowadays, known as Great Briton and northern France. At that time, November 1st was known as a day of huge celebrations of a festival called Samhain. People were marking the end of the harvest and the beginning dark, cold time of a year. It was believed that the night before Samhain festival, October 31st, the dead return to the world of mortal as ghosts. For this reason, Celts would leave food and wine next to their doors as well as light bonfires in order to protect themselves from the evil. Later, when Celtic territories were conquered by the Roman Empire, the celebrations of Celtic festival acqu ired new traditions of Roman origin. Since then, Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees, and the apple symbol had become an integral part of the festivities. In 609 A.D., Christian church together with Pope Gregory III turned Samhain festival into All Hallows Day or All Saints Day and the night before the feast became known as Hallow Eve, eventually, Halloween. Talking about todays Halloween famous trick-or-treating, most of us dont know that souling and guising were the activities preceding the trick-or treat tradition and originated from Medieval Briton. Souiling was committed on All Souls Day, November 2nd, and included the activity of giving soul cakes for poor people, who in return would pray for peoples dead relatives. While guising was popular among young people, who used to dress up in diverse costumes and accept gifts like food, drinks and other offerings in exchange for reciting works of literature, dancing, performing jokes, and etc. Lots of traditions, though, were nt widely spread among population of colonial New England for a long time. It happened due to the rigid Protestant belief system. However, in 1950s, Halloween customs started to be revived thanks to Irish and Scottish immigrants, who brought the activities of souling and guising back and favored the appearance of trick-or-treating and many other kid-centered activities like bobbing for apples and costume parties. Nowadays, Halloween is considered to be one of Americas most commercial and world-wide know holidays after Christmas, of course. Both family-friendly and children oriented, Halloween festivities create fun for everyone. No matter what age or nationality you are, join the great atmosphere of joy, fear that Halloween traditions have prepared for you on the night of October 31st.
Wednesday, November 6, 2019
buy custom Fraud essay
buy custom Fraud essay Enron Company was formed in 1985 when natural gas pipeline companies of Inter-North and Houston Natural Gas merged. The presence of a free market system in the 1990s allowed traders like Enron to increase their revenues significantly (Healy Krishna, 2003). Enron pursued a diversification strategy in an attempt to expand further leading to a significant increase in its growth rate. The rise in stock value was a clear indication of Enrons stock markets great expectations for the companys future achievements. Nature of Its Fraudulent Activities Enron became nontransparent about its financial statements, failing to depict its finances and operations with all the stakeholders, especially with the shareholders, in the clearest way. The companys unethical practices and its complex and rather difficult business model required an organization to misrepresent its earnings and change them in order to give a favorable picture of the companys performance. As reported by McLean and Elkid, the Enron scandal resulted from the practice of habits actions, and values that started in the preceding years and finally grew out of control. The Companys financial and accounting operations kept its reported cash flow and profits up, reported inflated asset values, and kept liabilities off-balance-sheet (McLean Elkind, 2001). Enron, through the use of accounting loopholes, poor financial reporting, and special purpose entities was able to hide billions in debt from unsuccessful projects and deals. The Enron scandal is not only one of the largest corporate bankruptcies in the U.S. but it is also the biggest audit failure (Healy Krishna, 2003). The Responsibility of the Management to Shield Stakeholders from Fraud Before its fall, Enron was praised for applying sophisticated financial risk management tools. Risk management was a necessity to Enron because of its regulatory environment as well as its business plan. The company put in place long term fixed commitments, which required hedging to prepare for the inevitable change in the future energy prices (McLean Elkind, 2001). Te reckless use of derivatives and special purpose entities were the contributing factors to its bankruptcy downfall. The board of directors was well informed on the rationale for using the entities, and after approving, they received status updates on their operations. However, the companys board and finance committee lacked comprehensive backgrounds in derivatives to understand what was reported to them. With a detailed understanding of the organization of the derivatives, the board would have prevented their use (McLean Elkind, 2001). Corporate Environment and Culture Contributing To the Fraud Enron reported the value of its entire trade as revenue. The company reported inflated trading income, a method that was further adopted by a number of organizations in the trading industry, trying to remain more competitive with the companys rise in revenue. By adopting the same trading revenue and accounting approach as Enron, other energy companies managed to join Enron in the top fifty of the Fortune 500 (Healy Krishna, 2003). The passing of legislation deregulating the sale of natural gas increased energy markets, making it possible for traders like Enron to sell energy at high prices. The resulting price volatility caused decry from producers and local governments, pushing for increased regulation. This resulted in strong lobbying on the part of Enron and other energy companies and succeeded to maintain the free market system (McLean Elkind, 2001). Impact of the Fraud on the Company Loss of Investor Trust Enrons stock kept falling and some observers felt that its investors were in significant need for reassurance. This was because it was difficult to describe Enron in financial statements and also because the companys operations were difficult to understand (Gilpin, 2001). Credit Rating Downgrade One of the short-term effects of the resulting problems seemed to be a possible downgraade in its credit rating. This would force Enron to offer millions of stock shares to cover its enormous loans it had guaranteed, which would further bring down the value of the existing stock. The rating of the company was just one notch above junk status (Gilpin, 2001). Many traders and investors either stopped doing business with Enron or limited their involvement with the company because of the fear of more bad news. Bankruptcy On November 2001, Enrons credit rating fell to junk status and Dynegy Inc. disengaged from the proposed acquisition of the company. These were the two worst possible inevitable outcomes of the company since it lacked cash to run its business as well as satisfy its enormous debts. Enrons creditors and other energy trading companies sustained the loss of several points (Berenson Andrew, 2001). Enron and Anderson Trial A number of executives at Enron Company were indicted for a number of charges with subsequent sentencing. The indictment of Enron covered a wide range of financial crimes, including false statements to auditors and banks, bank fraud, money laundering, insider trading, wire trade, securities fraud, and conspiracy (Healy Krishna, 2003). The fraudulent activities of Enron also affected Arthur Anderson, the Companys auditor firm. He was charged with obstructing justice, although the conviction was later overturned. However, the damage had already been done and the resuming of operations was limited. Enrons creditors, employees, and shareholders received little assistance, if any, apart from severance from the company. Measures That Would Have Assisted to Prevent/Detect the Fraud These fraudulent activities could have been prevented if several measures had been established. Proper legislation regulating the market system was necessary to shield stakeholders from the outcomes of fraud. The auditor and the executives needed to be independent and in a position to comprehend the companys activities. The company should also have disclosed its relationship with unconsolidated entities. Buy custom Fraud essay
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Military Leader Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words
Military Leader - Research Paper Example The military personnel learn many values while they train basic skills in combat. They learn to live and believe in the values. The values define what they become and what they accomplish. From the lowest ranks, these skills are learnt and internalized. Various soldiers have risen up the ranks from adhering to the values. Their hard work in their training and value system has yielded fruits in battle field, bringing victory to nation. This paper will talk about General Henry Harley Arnold who was a General of the Army, and was later made the general of the Air Force. Focus will be placed on attributes of leadership tactical decision in leadership and battle. 2. Military leader According to Davis (5), Henry Harley Arnold (1886-1950) was born of a doctor in Gladwyne. He was also known as Hap, a short form of the name happy since he was known to be jovial. He graduated from the Military Academy in 1907. In the year 1911, he pursued his desire to fly in the air force and completed exams to earn a license. He became an active pilot of the United States Army. He was involved in different training institutions which impacted the traits that caused him to eventually become a military leader. Arnold has been identified as a successful military leader. A successful military leader is one who is capable of showing attributes of a good leader. A military leader presents the motive and direction during operation so that the mission is accomplished. Their ideas are about improving the organization and causing positive change. The leaderââ¬â¢s motivation and objectives gives the subordinates specific goals to attain so that the aspired results are attained. Military leaders have strong values and a reputable character. A military leader has technical skills and human resource skills. Moreover, the military leader should use knowledge and skills to attain effectiveness and efficiency. As a military leader, Henry Arnold was known to be tactical and technically proficient. Be sides having a sense of responsibility towards his subordinates, Arnold was known to look out for their welfare. Arnold was an example to the subordinates, kept good communication and ensured that good and timely decisions were made. One of the most outstanding traits is that Arnold was capable of taking responsibility for own action. During his missions Arnold was keen to ensure that military officers were informed on their mission, trained and understood their assigned tasks. Training done to the teams ensured that they acted as a team. The troops were motivated to follow and answer to Arnold. Arnoldââ¬â¢s performance in the mission was in accordance to his capabilities. At an individual capacity, Arnold was aware of own strengths together with weaknesses, and sought to bring about self improvement. Arnold demonstrated the values of military personnel throughout the course of his work. Henry Arnold was loyal to the United States. He had strong belief and paid his allegiance to the Constitution of United States. He was commitment to the army, specific units assigned and other soldiers he was with in the battle fields. He was devoted to his work and believed in the mission. While working in different units, Arnold provided support to other soldiers and was present to assist in the case of difficulty. Arnold fulfilled his duties as a soldier. In his military service Arnold was able to guide and provide leadership as a general of the army and as a general of the air force. Besides he assigned tasks, an army leader goes beyond their duties to ensure that all the tasks are completed and the teams are maintained. Working in the United States Army can be tasking because a leader must combine all their efforts to actualize the mission. This means that they must be aware and capable of coordinating responsibilities with given tasks to meet the
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