Frankenstein Mary Shelly Essay

   She is a reminder that even though he gave his monster life she is still dead. It is possible he feels responsible for her death on some level, and now he’s responsible for this monster. Shelly focuses the entire dream on death and those close to Frankenstein. It gives the impression that everyone close to Frankenstein’s heart is tainted even his child and creation. In this paragraph Frankenstein is described as being trapped, too scared to venture into his house. Instead he is confined to the courtyard, waiting with wide eyes to escape onto the streets. Shelly describes the morning just as dismally as the night; rain, cold, depressed atmosphere, but the light is growing. Morning arriving is a portrayal of hope. Once Frankenstein is released onto the streets he walks around quickly, with some unknown purpose. His eyes are ringed with sleep, he moves almost erratically, trying to find something and yet avoiding his monster. Shelly shows a paranoid man, running. He’s drenched and shivering from cold, on the point of breaking down. The picture is unwelcoming and uncomforting. Frankenstein is isolated by the rain and darkness of the black sky. Frankenstein’s aimless expedition continues, he speeds along pelted by rain, but time only trickles by. It seems he hopes that his stinging eyes and aching legs will numb his troubled mind. Mary Shelly quotes a poem â€Å"The Ancient Mariner†. It fits the story so perfectly it appears as though it could have been her inspiration for this description. It describes a terrified man scared of what’s following him. His follower is said to be a â€Å"frightful fiend†, like Frankenstein’s monster, close to him like a friend but evil, waiting to creep up on him. The poem itself is about sailors searching for land, searching for an albatross to lead them to safety. Frankenstein is also lost in the dark winding streets of Ingolstadt desperate for help. Mary Shelly brings the tension up almost as high as it can go in this section of the chapter. To keep the story flowing she cuts through the suspense with a stinger. Cleval arrives signifying the start of a new stage in the story. Frankenstein is on the point of breaking down when his old friend appears. Cleval’s arrival brings Frankenstein around and lightens the mood; soon the monster is almost forgotten. Shelly stops using oppressive descriptions and starts describing Frankenstein’s interactions with his old friend. The reader moves from Frankenstein’s shoes to an outsider, watching the story unfold. Frankenstein is twitching and restless, terrified that the monster is still in his apartment. He acts childishly in front of Cleval making him wait downstairs while he checks to see if his nightmare is gone. Frankenstein throws open doors and charges into rooms ready to confront his ghouls and demons. Once he realizes that the monster isn’t there he becomes giddy with joy. Mary Shelly procedes too describe him as feverish and unsettled. This is noticed by Cleval, alarmed by his ostentatious laughter and wild darting eyes. Frankenstein’s mind may be more at ease, like the reader’s, but he’s obviously feeling uncomfortable showing that the threat isn’t gone. Frankenstein had been malnourished and sleep deprived for many months, and in the last few weeks leading up to the reanimation of his assembled body his life was barely there. Mary Shelly shows Frankenstein as being delirious and senseless, almost wild in the way he moved and did things. Frankenstein is finally overcome by exhaustion and he breaks down, which in turn develops into a feverish illness that renders Frankenstein helplessly weak for months. Shelly allows the necessary time for him to recover which is vital for the story. She had made the story so tense but it needed to continue on, so Frankenstein’s illness allows the tension to simmer and the plot to progress onto the next chapter. As he slowly recovers things finally return to normal. Shelly gradually stops using depressing worlds like â€Å"gloom and â€Å"dismal† which were frequent occurrences in the winter months. Instead she describes the holly springtime and plants with buds growing symbolizing new life and a new beginning for Frankenstein. In conclusion, Mary Shelly uses numerous techniques to achieve the right amount of suspense and atmosphere in this chapter. She frequently applies gothic machinery to her descriptions. Shelly distorts the light the increase suspense and consistently describes drab and dreary weather to give an underlying base of gloom. Shelly continuously shows Frankenstein as being terrified, mad with fear yet relentless. His strange behaviour unnerves the reader. Shelly uses longer sentences throughout this chapter to make it appear that the time spent between the reanimation and meeting Cleval even longer. Shelly carefully uses the poem â€Å"The Ancient Mariner† (which mirrors the Frankenstein’s situation) to cut the tension in the middle of the chapter allowing it to peak then plateau. Shelly moves the reader from the point of view of Frankenstein to the point of an outsider several times, not literally, but by increasing the tension and allowing it to fall, the reader occasionally feels as though they are there with Frankenstein. Shelly does all of this seamlessly, not letting any style or technique stand out and draw away from the seemingly natural flow of the chapter, and still developing the atmosphere terrifically throughout.   Jessica Williamson English – 1574 24/10/2005 Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mary Shelley section.

The Pantheon: Temple Dedicated to All Gods

Pantheon, temple dedicated to all the gods. The Pantheon of Rome is the best-preserved major edifice of ancient Rome and one of the most significant buildings in architectural history. In shape it is an immense cylinder concealing eight piers, topped with a dome and fronted by a rectangular colonnaded porch. The great vaulted dome is 43. 2 m (142 ft) in diameter, and the entire structure is lighted through one aperture, called an oculus, in the center of the dome.The Pantheon was erected by the Roman emperor Hadrian between AD 118 and 128, replacing a smaller temple built by the statesman Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa in 27 BC. In the early 7th century it was consecrated as a church, Santa Maria ad Martyres, to which act it owes its survival (see Architecture). The term pantheon also refers to a building that serves as a mausoleum or memorial for eminent personages of a country. The most famous example is the Church of Sainte Genevieve in Paris, designed (1764) in the classical style by t he French architect Jacques Germain Soufflot.It was later secularized, renamed the Pantheon, and used as a temple to honor the great of France. Built in Rome, AD c. 118-28, in the reign of Emperor Hadrian, the Pantheon is the best preserved and most impressive of all Roman buildings. It has exerted an enormous influence on all subsequent Western architecture. The Pantheon asserts the primacy of space as contained volume over structure in the most dramatic fashion.From the time of the Pantheon onward, Roman architecture was to be one of spatial volumes. The Pantheon was designed and built by Hadrian to replace an earlier temple established by Agrippa (the misleading inscription in the entrance frieze refers to this earlier edifice). The existing structure is an immense round temple covered by a single dome, fronted by a transitional block and a traditional temple portico of eight Corinthian columns carrying a triangular pediment.

Instructional adjustment Essay

Introduction: A survey polled some 770 students and asked how much effort they felt they were putting into their schoolwork. To everyone’s surprise, the students with low grades thought they worked as hard as anybody! Yet when their study habits were examined, it was discovered that they actually did far less homework than their high-achieving schoolmates (Awake, 7). It appears that their teachers were at least partially responsible for this delusion. Perhaps they felt that these low-achieving children were not capable of much to begin with. Or they may have felt that merely being warm and friendly toward them was enough to motivate them to excel. Whatever the case, it seems that the teachers highly praised the students’ most minimal efforts. Passing grades were routinely given out merely for attending class. The children were made to feel that they already worked as hard as they could. Thus they did little to improve. This is among the problems occurring in schools and other training institutes for children. According to surveys, there should be more creative and interesting strategical approaches that They polled some 770 students and asked how much effort they felt they were putting into their schoolwork. To everyone’s surprise, the students with low grades thought they worked as hard as anybody! Yet when their study habits were examined, it was discovered that they actually did far less homework than their high-achieving schoolmates. It appears that their teachers were at least partially responsible for this delusion. Perhaps they felt that these low-achieving children were not capable of much to begin with. Or they may have felt that merely being warm and friendly toward them was enough to motivate them to excel. Whatever the case, it seems that the teachers highly praised the students’ most minimal efforts. Passing grades were routinely given out merely for attending class. The children were made to feel that they already worked as hard as they could. Thus they did little to improve. teachers should use to be able to attain a better result from teaching students who are both considered slow and advance learners. In short, both groups of students should be able to be catered by the strategies to be applied. In this paper, a wide array of choices and steps shall be discussed to answer the said problem in teaching and training. The Teaching Strategies: Every study time must include reviews of the past learned lessons. This will help the students remember the lessons that were learned during the last meeting for the class and thus refresh in their memories the overall content of the subject. After the review, the presentation of the new concept must be performed by the teacher. The following are some examples of being able to do so in such an interesting way for both the slow and advance learners: †¢ Presentation using illustrative drawings-children and students of all ages often enjoy the drawings shown to introduce a certain topic. †¢ Usage of Mind games- as an introduction let the students think in a fun way. †¢ Introduction using a story- this will help the students think and analyze what is going to be discussed. Aside from this, the students’ attention will be caught by the story. †¢ Usage of Media- there available VCDs and DVDs provided for several subjects in school. This could help the students enjoy while they learn. †¢ Usage of technology- computer presentations and other presentations using technology inventions could help the learners find a way to understand the topic in their own pace. †¢ Relate the topic to reality-Usually the certain topics discussed in school are based in real life †¢ Use key words to introduce the topic-Usually one word keys that introduce a whole topic helps the students remember the lessons easier. †¢ Use open-ended questions- letting the students think will help them comprehend better on what is being discussed in class. †¢ Encouraging a role play activity- this will allow the students have a refreshing start for a new lesson †¢ Giving handouts about the new lesson After introducing the lesson for the day a guided procedure must follow through to help the students go along with the topic for the day. Here are some hints in guiding students effectively: †¢ Using a diagram- an illustrated and colorful diagram could help the students visualize the activities †¢ Use guided questions- give the students the chance to decide on how they are going to go about the lesson. †¢ Go beyond the book- do not just use the book as a source, instead let the students prepare their own sources and let them share it in class for classroom participation. †¢ Prepare handouts Aside from classroom discussions though, students who are assumed to be slow learners must be encouraged to do independent practices which may include the following: †¢ Remedial Classes †¢ Extra Homework Activities †¢ Extended class sessions for a group of students †¢ Students assist students program †¢ Extra project for make-up home works for classroom activities which they could not cope up with. †¢ Encourage home reading activities †¢ Making considerable time adjustments for a student’s completion of school requirements With all these guidelines, a student is supposed to comply with the teacher’s strategies and if that doesnn’t happen, some interventions might be necessary for the teacher to use like: †¢ Finding the root cause of the problem †¢ Identifying the student’s learning stage or learning pace †¢ Match students to appropeiate levels of learning †¢ Adopt evidence-based intervention strategies †¢ Require active response †¢ Review, review. Review. If all this things shall be considered in teaching a group of students comprising of both the advance and the slow learners, agreeable results are to be gained since all these are already proven effective by many teachers worldwide. Hence, the teacher must always see to it that every learning need of each student in a class is sufficiently provided. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Magazines and Journals: â€Å"Pay constant attention to your teaching†. (August 8, 1984). Awake! Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. Brooklyn, New York. 13-15. â€Å"How can I Improve my study habits†. (March 15,1999). Awake! Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. Brooklyn, New York. 7. â€Å"How important are grades? † (March 8, 1984). Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. Brooklyn, New York. 12-15. Internet Source: Steven R. Shaw, Ph. D. , NCSP. (2005). Academic Interventions for Slow Learners. http://www. nasponline. org/publications/cq285slowlearn. html. (17 June 2006). Books: Castillo, R. 1991. Teaching learners to learn. English Teaching Forum, 29, 3, pp. 28-30. Mercer, C. and A. Mercer. 1989. Teaching students with learning problems. Columbus, Ohio: Merril Publishing Co.

Labor Theory of Value Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Labor Theory of Value - Essay Example ffort to transform the product from start to completion. Ricardo here was very concerned about the possible difference between the natural price of labor and the market price of labor. He believed that in a market economy, even if natural price, for example, exceeds the market price, then the equilibrium will move due to the change in demand and supply market forces and therefore the natural and market price will be equal eventually. Ricardo believed that this theory is a correction of the mistakes done by Adam Smith while determining the value of products. Adam Smith believed that the value of a commodity is determined by the total of the essential and necessary payments to labor, capital and land. Smith had the idea that it was necessary to take all of the factors into account and only then will the total costs per unit can be calculated which will determine the value of the product. Contrary to Adam Smith’s theory, Ricardo believed that the indirect costs of labor should al so be accounted in the determination process of value. By indirect costs, Ricardo meant that even the labor costs of production or extraction of raw materials and machinery should be accounted for in this process. Similarly, even the labor costs of development of land to make it suitable for use should be considered if the true value of a product is to be determined. David Ricardo believed that labor is the sole source of value addition to a product or service, and therefore all other factors and costs are either not necessary to add or are themselves dependent upon the value of the product to be calculated. His emphasis on the labor to be the sole and prominent input can also be realized on the fact that his theory of competitive advantage is based on the assumption that only labor exists as the factor of production. Since the proposal of this theory from David Ricardo, several economists have passed on their opinions over the credibility of the labor theory of value. Some economis ts have proposed slight adjustments to this theory by adding up some new elements in the determination of the true value which were ignored by Ricardo, but they have regarded this theory as a decent theory. On the other hand, several economists have heavily criticized the labor value of theory believing that the theory fails to address the issues of the contemporary world and hence it is in no way a practical theory. Limitations Some economists have argued that only the involvement of labor costs as the determinant of value of products and services is not good enough and that several dynamic aspects have been ignored. The first argument presented by the economists and critics is that some production methods are capital intensive and therefore a majority of costs and value is added by the work done by the machinery. These costs cannot be left out and therefore this proves to be ignorance on part of Ricardo. Even if the labor costs of manufacturing that machinery are taken into accoun t, even then the value of the firm can

Goals of auditing and Risk Management Research Paper

Goals of auditing and Risk Management - Research Paper Example The people involved in this process are certified practitioners, as they dig down the application connected to a networked environment for known and unknown threats. Organizations are now adding an extra layer of defense against intelligent threats that are now called as advanced persistent threats. One of the examples for this added security is the inclusion of Intrusion detection system that continuously monitors anomalies on the network. The auditor must incorporate reviews for activity of the culprit from the World Wide Web, remote connections, real time applications performing financial transactions, and interaction with the intranet i.e. the inbound network. Moreover, code audits are very important because vendors cannot be completely trusted, and the patches along with security updates must be tested prior to deploying them to the lie environment. Furthermore, testing documentation with standardized practices is also essential in this regards. Configuration management has a lo t to offer, as it strongly contributes in the process of securing applications and demonstrates configuration items that may conflict with each other, resulting in exposing a vulnerability to cyber criminals. In addition, primarily change management practices will east the tasks for the auditor, as all the related documentation must be reviewed with the current scenario. Today, advance persistent threats are using specialized codes that are capable of bypassing the firewall, as well as, the updated antivirus programs. Passive attacks utilize a script with techniques such as obfuscation, polymorphism and encryption (Gharibi & Mirza, 2011). All these techniques are used for making the detection mechanism fail, resulting in a successful security

San Francisco Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

San Francisco - Research Paper Example the dimension of natural beauty and steady lifestyle has been a lucrative advantage to visitors who prefer spending vacations or organising events in this city. Understanding these appraisals in the global forefront, the government of California has also been taking credible measures to support the growth in San Francisco. The paper focuses on the different aspects of the city located at the lap of the marshland, giving an overview of the different travel destinations within the periphery of San Francisco. A complete detailing has been provided in the content of this paper, on the various travel modes and the accommodation facilities available in the port city. San Francisco is positioned on a beautiful geographical location, having sea on one side and mountains on the other. The beautiful city hosting a number of activities, acts as an attraction to adventure lovers as well as nature lovers. Being the financial hub for Northern California, the city has also got its fame of being the financial hub of the state, which attracts a number of entrepreneurs and business heads to take interest of holding meetings here, boosting its Meetings, Expositions, Events & Conventions (MEEC) industry (U.S. News Travel, â€Å"Best Things to do in San Francisco†). The city also holds the competency to host a variety of tourist groups ranging from vocational tourists visiting the city to eco-tourists having special interests in wildlife and marine life. For instance, the city offers splendid natural beauty through its national parks, among which, Yosemite national park, the Point Reyes national seashore and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGN RA) are world famous and attract millions of visitors round the year (Morton, â€Å"Top 10 national parks in California†). In 3000 BC, the Europeans arrived at the California coast, when the area was inhabited by the ‘Ohlone’ speaking ‘Yelamu’ tribes. Later on, Juan Bautiza de Anza trooped in from north and established a

Evaluation Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Evaluation Argument - Essay Example Regulations that would control production of materials in media that do not meet ethical requirements have not been made. Where these regulations exist, very few people have confidence in them. The major cause of worry is the fact that these media products are accessed by small children who are easy to influence. With education and training, children access these social media services. Media sites are made available to these children because they come in a wide variety. Many organizations and groups have risen in opposition to media sites that advance immoral behaviors, but still a lot is left to be done. Organizations that are opposed to these media sites raise the question of who allows these unethical materials and the motives of producers. In the current world, technological advancement has saturated the world reaching to young children. Children are allowed to watch games that emphasize on winning and losing. Although these values are good to adults, it takes away the values of loyalty for seniors from the value system of children. On the other hand, time on social media has taken the time for family discussion. Dinner conversations have been overtaken by facebook, twitter, emails, and websites. Watching movies and TV shows have taken the place of counseling for children by parents. This has resulted in children who have no value for ethics (Carter 29). The technological advancement has made media devices too available for young children. This way, young children are able to operate computers and access sites that are not showing ethical materials. Sites that show naked people are popular among children as a result of peer influence. These have resulted in decay of morals of these young children. Use of media has not been subjected to social ethic scrutiny. This has resulted in production of materials that are against widely accepted morals within a society. Regardless of this, there are no functionally reliable laws to regulate materials that are posted i n social media. In America, TV industry was allowed to employ free rating in production of their programs. This allowed them to regulate what they produce regardless of who they reach. In return, the TV industry has resulted in production of programs that are indecent morals. Many of American citizens believe that this law will help reduce the rates of indecency acts in media (PR Newswire par 3). Awareness of existence of these media sites that show immoral materials are known by all people including policy makers yet little has been done about them. Religious organizations raise alarm but little response is realized. On the other hand, individuals who have been found guilty of publicizing immoral materials have not been convicted because are there are no laws that regulate materials to be published. There are few states that have regulations laws that bind violators of moral values. According to PR Newswire (par 5), TV industries accept payment for morally indecent materials that m ay promote moral decay of the people who consume them. Federal Communications Commission allowed these productions to go on air arguing that these programs should be run at a time that is later than midnight. On other cases, internet service providers receive money from producers of immoral programs and blogs and websites. This has deteriorated the case of immorality levels in the world (PR Newswire par 5-7). The behavior of children and adults who consume these materials continue

Were the Anti-Federalists correct Was the 1787 Constitution a betrayal Essay

Were the Anti-Federalists correct Was the 1787 Constitution a betrayal of the American Revolution - Essay Example According to the events that led to the formation of the new constitution, it is only right to note that the new Constitution was a step forward in strengthening the revolution. The main aim of the revolution was to achieve independence from the British, but it did not mean that United States of America could not form its own government or manage itself. The new constitution is a representation of the strength of the revolution, by recognising its weaknesses and strengthening them to form a national government, and not a betrayal to what the people of the United States fought against. This essay will describe how the new constitution was a means to strengthening the American Revolution. 1780s is referred to as the critical period. It is during this period that American Revolution faced intense challenges. America already had a Constitution (the Articles of Confederation) which helped the government win the revolutionary war, establish a territorial governance system in the Northwest Territories, resolve conflicting state land claims, and negotiate the 1783 treaty of Paris.[This is a brief description of the benefits of the previous constitution. what was this?] Under this Constitution however, the confederation Congress was unable to protect the nation’s commerce, could not pay the interest owed on national debt, and had no power to fight economic depression. America, after achieving its independence, was in chaos. It had a national debt which it was unable to pay because of lack of congressional powers to raise the money. Congress could ask states to contribute revenue, but could not force them to do so. America needed a sure way of getting revenue to pay i ts debts and govern the nation well. It experienced inflation which was as a result of a move to clear the national debt. Instead of collecting revenue through taxation, state and national governments printed money. Taxing the people was not an option at the time. This is

U.S and the world Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

U.S and the world - Research Paper Example Get directly to the point, prove the point critically from the evidence, and conclude your paper. This paper should be between 8-10 pages, the cumulative work from both papers.   One of the key focal points in the American history that aim to solve the enigma of the isolationist policy of American politics is indeed very interesting to study. The birth of a new nation undoubtedly sparked the interest of international nations as well. After the Spanish American war, the Americans wanted peace and stability of mind. Undoubtedly, the US could remain as an isolationist as it continued to expand outward. Even looking back at history, the country’s attempt to remain an isolationist during both World War II was not susceptible. The US verily had to enter both World Wars since it became a leader in the Western frontier. The United States returned to isolationist foreign policy since domestic problems plagued the country. Furthermore, Europe was in chaos itself and the US could not afford to indulge itself in such petty issues. However, one can argue that the isolationist policy did have some ramifications towards American diplomacy. The United States embodied the foreign policy of isolationism into an international role because it wanted to strengthen its capitalistic economy, address reform, acknowledge immigration and continue to pursue its beautiful American dream even though it lost threshold in foreign affairs. The colonies themselves wanted to be domestically involved as many had entered American in search of new provisions. The roots of isolationism were well established years before independence [2]. A brilliant testament towards this theory can be clearly seen through the decision of the Continental Congress to reject help from France during the War of 1812 [4]. The notion of America to remain independent was because of the exerted influence by the forefathers and Thomas Paine’s Common Sense.

Operations and Enterprise Resource Planning Essay - 1

Operations and Enterprise Resource Planning - Essay Example However, Oxfam seeks to ensure that no aid is lost based on past experiences. In order to manage its operations, the recommendation is Systems Applications and Products. SAP Business ByDesign will offer a solution to the best i to Oxfam’s operations and enterprise resource planning. Using this solution, SAP business ByDesign will offer accounting and financial support, processes and distribution, CRM, reporting and administration. SAP business ByDesign offers financial accounting, banking, budgeting, and financial reporting; and web-oriented customer management, sales opportunity, customer support, and Microsoft outlook integration. In operations, SAP Business ByDesign offers inventory management and production planning, while reporting and administration involve automatic alerts, dashboard reports, and customization and incorporation. Through the integration of this and other services, Oxfam will obtain one precise source of each of its critical data for the entire organization. Additionally, the software will enhance the organization’s donors and volunteer-base through web oriented CRM and e-commerce abilities. Additionally, Oxfam’s publicity campaign implementation will take a proactive approach through workflows, automatic alerts, and effective response to the needs of its customers and events. For a user friendly, responsive, and robust system, I recommend SAP supply chain management (SAP SCM). This application will assist Oxfam in its disaster management through adapting specific organization’s supply chain processes, especially given the fast changing and unpredictable environment, given that the specific level of disaster is normally unknown for most emergency and disaster cases. However, Oxfam has to ensure that none of the aid taken to the hit areas goes to waste and this means that real-time data can be obtained. The implication of using SAP ByDesign is so as to

The British Way of Town-making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The British Way of Town-making - Essay Example The elements which have influenced Egyptian, Chinese and Islamic architecture will be explored. The influence. The elements which compose places will be explored with regards to urban design. The influence of philanthropic organizations on built constructions. The philanthropic organization which will be discussed is the Prince of Wales Foundation. Introduction To each individual, a town represents a variety of concepts. It may be the place of residence or occupational endeavors, a town may also represent a public policy structure. These concepts are implicit, especially today when many residents of the United Kingdom reside in a municipality of some classification. A town may be perceived as a collection of edifices surrounded by a park which form a silhouette with the sky. A town may also be perceived as a political structure which is composed of constables and a cul de sac. What are the characteristics of a village? If an area is established as a town, what are the factors that in fluence its development and how long may the locality be designated a town? This becomes a subject of deeper inquiry. The responses have been clarified by archaeologists who discuss the attributes. (De La Bedoyer 1992). The concept of town in the society which has been demonstrated from the legacies of the Graeco- Roman civilization continue to exist today. In Britain, there is a pronounced distinction from the oriental, central and southern regions of the landscape. There has been a geographical dividing line which is characterized as â€Å"Fosse Way†. The manner in which a town develops is equated with the environment in which it inhabits. Greece has been administered by the city- state government in where cities administered their suburbs. The city and the land which composed it became the elements of a constitution system. The same phenomenon occurred in the formation of Rome. Rome became the geographical capitol of Italy. The fact that the location of Rome enabled the fo rmation of a military system. The location of Rome also enabled the sense of citizenship and community which was expressed in the Senatus Populus Romanus which is translated into the Senate and People of Rome. Rome was acknowledged as â€Å"the City† (De La Bedoyer 1992). Discussion The construction of municipalities is one of the most recognized accomplishments of modern society. Cities have always been demonstrative of the conditions of the society in which they partake. This demonstration is manifested by the number of decisions which must be made by its inhabitants on a daily basis. In some situations, these decisions have become integrated to synthesize the perspective of clarity and form which is worthy of what has been conceived. It is the premise of concept which enables the additional comprehension of the implications of these choices. These concepts may be applied to the formation of cities in the present day. This perspective will explore the motivations of these c hoices as they have transpired in the history. The external factors which have caused the formation of cities will also be examined. The changing nature with which cities have been conceived and their synthesis will be explored. The aspiration is to dissipate the concept which has been traditionally perceived, that the cities are a unique phenomenon which occur outside of the scope of consciousness of its members. The members of these cities

Relocating Margaret Thatchers in the Workplace Essay Example for Free

Relocating Margaret Thatchers in the Workplace Essay Working environments are dimensions in which the individual’s skills, talents and production capabilities are put into the test. The war-like situation manifested in corporate arenas continues to post a challenge to each and every individual. It is a legitimized jungle wherein only the strong remains and the weak perish. Thus, for every struggle that is addressed, this spells sweet victory for the triumphant warrior. It is for this aspect that Karsten described the workplace a source of one’s â€Å"sense of self, power and prestige (162). † As the individual continue to climb the corporate ladder, his or her â€Å"sense of self, power and prestige (Karsten 162)† continue to increase. This is most especially true in scenarios wherein leadership roles are assumed and performed. However, a critical examination shows that holding power, garnering respect and expressing authority have exclusively remained in the hands of men. The opportunity to lead has been an exclusive right of males and women, despite of the strong campaign to uphold equality, are continuously pushed to the periphery. Women leadership remains a critical issue in the corporate environment. Despite of the efforts to render equal opportunities to both men and women, the actions taken, remained futile. Women as leaders are still seen from a derogatory perspective. As Spade and Valentine described, work places are no less than â€Å"gendered institutions† that operate under â€Å"inequality regimes (341). † Under this context, it can be argued that the so-called â€Å"inequality regimes† mentioned in this discussion, is no less than the hegemonic and oppressive patriarchal orientations that are highly manifested in various work spaces. Drawing on Dahrendorf’s distribution of power and authority (Lemell Noll, 52), it is evident that many working environments deprive women from having equal chances or access to positions that demand an exercise of power and control. Also, power legitimacy as for the case of women leaders are often questioned or blatantly ignored. While it is true that women have managed to acquire managerial positions, Ely et. al expressed that only 1 % of these females are CEOs of Fortune 500 companies or establishments (161). Likewise, Ely et. al mentioned that in terms of governmental positions and functions, only a small percentage of women can be observed. The seemingly under representation and to a certain extent—total absence of women leaders in the corporate world is triggered by society’s patriarchal culture. The practices seen in the business world reflect the manipulative and discriminating orientation of the patriarchal system. Under this context, societal roles and functions are highly determined by gender. Men are seen as the stronger sex whereas women are the exact opposite. Women are constantly confined into domestic roles. They are mothers and wives whose values and worth are best exemplified in the bedroom and kitchen. Thus, their entries into the workplace or business environments are often seen as a threat. In addition to that, this scenario highly contradicts the so-called â€Å"normative behaviors (Ridgeway 223)† of world. Leadership in business environments translates to performing firm decision, asserting authority and showing direct control, if necessary. Needless to say, these traits or characteristics are often played or portrayed by men. On the other hand, the idea of being a mere â€Å"follower† is relegated to women. Therefore, in the event wherein a woman leader practices authority, utilizes power and make decisions, these scenario is immediately dismissed as a violation of the canonical norms not only of the workplace, but also of the overall social structure (Ridgeway 223). The problem with women executives or leaders is that their socially-constructed roles are mixed with their corporate or work-related functions. The merit of their leadership skills and capabilities are based on how well they perform their overtly stereotyped duties and obligations. When women act like leaders, the patriarchal system immediately questions their efficiency via insisting the women’s highly biased and gender-based tasks (Ridgeway 223). As Ridgeway stressed, women leaders are initially seen as a woman, then a leader (223). Gender would always come first and leadership capabilities are only secondary. There are several ways in which women are prevented from acquiring leadership positions in the workplace. The first one is illustrated by the â€Å"glass ceiling concept (Goethals Burns 77). Under this context, women are blatantly deprived of acquiring leadership positions via unequal distribution of chances and opportunities (Goethals Burns 77). This is despite of eliciting commendable work-related achievements and success. The glass ceiling acts as a barricade that prevents women from being hailed as managers and executives despite delivering good results and performances (Haslett, Geis Carter 128). In addition to that, it is also evident that women are placed into positions or departments in which they cannot possibly harness their leadership skills (Goethals, Sorenson Burns 77). They are subjected into roles that do not engage into actual corporate management and decision making. Therefore, in the event in which women are recommended for promotions, their skills and experience readily lag behind. Or in such cases, a woman must shoulder the entire burden of exerting efforts and energy to prove themselves, but with no assurance that they will be selected. But then again even if some women were able to secure their positions on the corporate hierarchy, Goethal, Sorenson and Burns shared that this is no less than a defense mechanism used to avoid accusations of gender discrimination and inequality (77). Aside from the glass ceiling, the persistence of the seemingly omnipotent â€Å"old boy network (Goethals, Sorenson Burns 77)† is also instrumental in the under representation of women leaders. A critical examination of the old boy network clearly shows the strong attempt of men to protect their own interests (Sanchez et. al 240). There is the intention to keep power in the hands of the few and eliminate new players. This basically explains the degree of favoritism in promotions. Men often receive high preference compared to women not because they are better or more productive. Instead, this is just a way to preserve the patriarchal rule. Since majority of senior executives are men, their power legitimacy is highly acknowledged and recognized. This kind of prestige is then used by males to control, manipulate and safeguard their interests. Thus, to ensure that their power and authority shall remain, these executives are more likely to choose male protegees—individuals, who like them, present a common set of beliefs, ideologies and value systems. Lastly, the limited access of women to building social networks lessens their chances of being corporate leaders (Goethals, Sorenson Burns 78). Goethals, Sorenson and Burns mentioned that â€Å"informal gatherings† is a way for women to connect with other individuals in the business organizations (78). It is through these activities that women can further improve their social and communication skills—two of the most significant traits that leaders should acquire. However, these opportunities are hardly given to women. Other than obstructing women to create meaningful relationships and camaraderie, this scenario also inhibits females from having their own mentors and role models (Klenke 185). Mentors and role models serve as a support system. Through them, valuable knowledge and insights are shared and transmitted. Mentoring relationships help potential leaders devise sound decisions and appropriate solutions. Unfortunately, this right is highly exclusive to men. The struggles and challenges faced by women leaders in the corporate system is yet another gender issue that should be readily addressed. Leadership roles should not be equated to gender-based functions. Equal rights and opportunities should be provided to both genders and should not be an exclusive privilege of men. It should be stressed and remembered that leadership efficiency is determined by skills and performances, never by gender. Works Cited Sanchez, Penny; Philip Hucles; Janis Sanchez-Hucles and Sanjay Mehta. â€Å"Increasing Diverse Women Leadership in Corporate America: Climbing Concrete Walls and Shattering Glass Ceilings. † Women and Leadership Transforming Visions and Diverse Voices Eds. Jean Lau Chin; Bernice Lott; Joy Rice and Janis Sanchez-Hucles. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2007 Ely, Robin; Erica Foldy; Maureen Scully and The Center for Gender in Organizations Simmons School of Management. Reader in Gender, Work and Organization. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2003 Goethal, George; Georgia Sorenson and James MacGregor Burns. Encyclopedia of Leadership. California: Sage Publications Inc, 2004 Haslett, Beth; Florence Geis and Mae Carter. The Organizational Woman. New Jersey: Ablex Publishing Corporation, 1992 Karsten, Margaret. Gender, Race and Ethnicity in the Workplace. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006 Klenke, Karin. Women Leadership. New York: Springer Publishing Company, 1996 Lemell, Yannick and Heinz-Herbert Noll. Changing Structures of Inequality: A Comparative Perspective. Canada: Mc-Gill Queen’s University Press, 2002 Ridgeway, Cecilia. Gender Interaction and Inequality. New York: Springer –Verlag New York Inc. , 1992 Spade, Joan and Catherine Valentine. The Ka

Black Representation in Postbellum Era Art

Black Representation in Postbellum Era Art Heroes in art and imagery in post-bellum 19th century America Following the abolition of slavery in 1865, it took a substantial amount of time for the representation of African-American people in American art to establish itself beyond the grotesque and the caricatured. Before slavery and the plantations were outlawed due to the civil war, American representation of blacks were shown as cartoon caricatures; as generic, racial stereotypes with no individuality of their own. This is demonstrated by a number of artworks prevalent at the time. Blackness was either relegated to the sidelines of the paintings, sculpture and engravings, or else excluded completely from the image. And although the outlawing of slavery was done in order to generate equality and liberty across the United States, racism was still prevalent, and it would also take some time before the actual identity of blackness in the United States managed to transcend that of an oppressed, racial stereotype, and began to take on and represent a history and a culture of its own, instead of merely providing the negative for the representation of whiteness. A great many critics argue that this breakthrough was made ironically by a sculpture made and funded by white people, in the Shaws Memorial by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Despite Saint-Gaudens obvious inclinations towards racial stereotyping in words (his memoirs justify this statement), thanks to a number of coincidences, his artistic credibility, and the amount of time he was given to produce this sculpture, he managed to represent blackness not as caricatured, but as a disparate but unified whole. But some critics of the Shaw Memorial still uphold the belief that it is inherently racist. In the following essay, I will look briefly at the history of black representation in the art of post-bellum America, than engage in a closer analysis of the Shaw Memorial, in order to see exactly what is being represented and how. Monumental sculpture in particular had a great history in providing people with allusions to the real, held as less of an illusion than the representations made in other arts, such as painting. The representation of Apollo in the famous sculpture had provided people with a benchmark for human aesthetic beauty for thousands of years, and sculpture seemed conducive to the production and the replication of this ideal human form. This has serious implications for the evolution of how Black American slaves in postbellum America were represented. Kirk Savage suggests that: â€Å"Sculptures relation to the human body had always been more direct and intimate than paintings: the sculptors main task was not to create illusions on a flat surface but to reproduce three-dimensional bodies in real space.†[1] Additionally, because of the importance by which public sculpture was held at the time, as a monument dedicated to, rather than imposed upon the community, the development of a realisti c representation of the African American body in the art of the time is not to be underestimated. Savage goes on to say: â€Å"The sculpture of antiquity thus became an authenticating document of a normative white body, a race of white men.†[2] The fair representation of blackness in sculpture was therefore central to the cause of representing blackness as equal in America. However, it would still be some time before the representation of the hero would be anything but white. This white hero occurred on both sides of the slavery divide, as those from the South would paint a picture of the generous, selfless plantation owner, whereas those from the North would paint an equally white picture of figures fighting for the liberty of black slaves. From the Journal of Popular Culture: â€Å"In the postbellum reminiscences, a slaveholders chivalric spirit was manifested through feats of selfless generosity.†[3] Also, representations of the South didnt differ: â€Å"refusing to concede an exclusive grant of heroic title to the friends and relatives of slaveholders, those who had gloried in the 1865 Union victory demanded an equal chance to create their own champions of popular culture. In the manner of their southern counterparts, they sought to rescue from oblivion the true history of an unpretending, liberty-loving and Christian people.†[4] So, despite the liberal intentions of the North, their representations of blacks were still stuck in a post-plantation world: the blacks were to be represented as symbols of otherness – of cartoon caricatures, and only there to represent their emancipation by the heroes of white culture that had freed them. Sculpture is also a particularly difficult medium with which to represent skin colour, because the tone of the skin cannot directly be represented: â€Å"Since sculpture was understood then to be monochromatic, sculptors could not represent skin color directly.†[5] How then, was skin colour represented in the medium? In John Rogers Slave Auction (1859) blackness is represented as a series of facial features. He is identified by his position in front of the stand, but also by his curly hair and his full lips. By representing the Negro as defiant, with arms crossed, â€Å"the work attracted the attention of some local abolitionist newspapers and acquired a limited public reputation.†[6] However, the problem was still unresolved: of how to represent an image of blacks in sculpture that wasnt patronising, denigrating or clichà ©d, which still represented the identity of blackness in what was essentially a monochromatic medium. Savage continues: â€Å"artists after the Civ il War faced the great challenge of representing a society recently emancipated from slavery, that brought to the task various assumptions and images that had been deeply ingrained by the system of slavery and by the long campaign to abolish it.†[7] Blackness was, in effect, so heavily linking to its white-established origins of slavery, that it was a seemingly impossible task to represent it in any other way, never mind to represent blackness in a heroic light. Due to the uniform way in which blackness was represented, it was impossible to reconcile the image of a black hero with this symbol of the homogenised masses, either there to be emancipated, or else enslaved by the dominant white society that controlled politics, society and the power mechanisms of postbellum America. If blacks were represented at all, they would be seen as stereotypes of a series of white-defined black assumptions concerning black facial imagery. Fryd suggests that: â€Å"It is possible that because of the continuous threat of disunion from slavery, both northerners and southerners felt that they needed to banish blacks from the artworks.†[8] Because of the knotty subject matter concerning black autonomy, it took a while before blacks could be represented as heroic even in the slightest. This representation is epitomised by the painting Cornwallis Sues for Cessation of Hostilities under the Flag of Truce (1857). In it, a black man is seen hiding in the far r ight corner of the painting, his face obscured by a hat, wedged behind two white officials. The dark background, coupled with his dark clothing and dark face disguises his presence in the picture. He is also seen with an earring, curly black hair and thick lips; a typically stereotypical representation of blackness. Fryd suggests that: â€Å"The figure is barely visible given the prominence of the three central figures, and the importance of Washington in this ceremonial painting celebrating the generals astute ploy to force the British surrender.†[9] So, the image of the hero is used here to grab the attention and, while the other white people rally round and bask in the nobility and the light of Washington, the black man is confined to the far right of the page, looking somewhat sheepish, and ostracised from the composition by his colour and his position in the painting. So, postbellum art, in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War, was still primarily concerned with representing blackness as something passive; something to which things had to be done, whether this thing was emancipation or else slavery. The development of Shaws Memorial, and the numerous copies that Saint-Gaudens later made in an attempt to perfect his masterpiece, in many ways marks a turning point in the development of an autonomous series of black characters, noted for their individuality, as well as their allegiance to a particular racial and socio-economic group. However, the presence of Shaw, and the titling of the monument (the Shaw Memorial dictates that Shaw is the most important character), as well as his composition, leads us into thinking about the following question: Is the Shaw Memorial a sophisticated representation of blackness in post-bellum art, or is it simply a similar propagation of the racist values of whiteness held previously? Of course, it is impossible to divorce the Shaw Memorial entirely from perceiving the African Americans as an oppressed group because, historically, they were. Savage argues that: â€Å"The Shaw Memorial introduced the element of black recognition into the more conventional worship of white heroism.†[10] Indeed, the depiction of heroism is intrinsic to the understanding of this piece: although the African-Americans are seen as a group of people, they are also, thanks to the meticulous and painstaking sculptural perfectionism of Saint-Gaudens, seen as individuals, as Saint-Gaudens used models found on the streets of New York to develop a realistic depiction of a great variety of black people. However, Saint-Gaudens choice of developing and individuating the black soldiers at the bottom of the piece was also due to economics and artistic integrity, more than actually consciously trying to represent blackness: he says in his memoirs that â€Å"through my extreme interest in it and its opportunity, [I] incre ased the conception until the rider grew almost to a statue in the ground and the Negroes assumed far more importance than I had originally intended.†[11] The prejudices of the sculptor was also clear, and releases all manner of underlying problems with the authenticity behind how blackness is represented in the piece: â€Å"It is fascinating that this exploration of black diversity came from the hands of a white man who shared the common racial prejudices of the white elite. In his memoirs, Saint-Gaudens writes quite disparagingly about his black models, who are brought into the story merely as comic relief. They come odd as foolish, deceptive, and superstitious, though Saint-Gaudens is careful to say that he likes them for their imaginative, though simple, minds.†[12] Indeed, Saint-Gaudens textual representation of Negroes was as fraught in stereotype as the average member of the white elite, but somehow, due to the nature of his artistic perfectionism, as well as the conditions for producing a statue with the singular intention of promoting racial awareness, he managed to transcend these barriers of personal prejudice and made something that helps not simply to represent blackness as a patronising simulacrum of white values, but represents blacks as they are, in a way that is not patronising or denigrating. It is also fair to assume that the economic conditions of the artwork surpassed the actual intentions of the master sculptor, which was, at least according to early drafts, simply to represent Shaw as a great leader, without any direct or detailed representation of blackness. But, as time passed, Saint-Gaudens became more interested in representing blackness: â€Å"Deciding instead to represent the soldiers as distinct individuals, he became fascinated with the material reality of their own diversity. He wanted the defy military uniformity, on the one hand, and racial caricature on the other; both in their own ways were strategies of standardization. For the sculptor, blackness did not become a leveling trait but a field in which to create a rich interplay of internal differences.†[13] It was this rich interplay that served to develop the heroic quality of blackness in art in 19th century American art. As the statue stands, the individuation of blacks serves to treat them as heroes, albeit heroes of a group, rather than a singular hero held in noble esteem. The white officer, however, is still glorified over and above the black soldiers that march underneath. Despite his lowly position in the ranks of the army, he is glorified simply because of his position leading the â€Å"despised race†. This is a problematic issue: â€Å"racial difference [of making Shaw representative of a group of black soldiers] made this idea of representation problematic at best. Could Shaw, a high-born white man, represent a regiment of black troops?†[14] Thus, the position of Shaw as hero, towering above the distinct blacks, renders the usage of the standard equestrian imagery slightly uncomfortable. However, Saint-Gaudens also uses rhythm in a sense to convey that Shaw does not dominate the black soldiers, but leads them instead. Shaw holds a sword that is angled in rhythm to the marching soldiers. The horse is strained, but Shaw holds it back, and the whole image is composed to generate both diversity, and homogeneity. In the representation of blackness, for instance: â€Å"we see the drummer boy juxtaposed with the sergeant behind him, the youngest member of the group with the oldest, smooth skin with beard, short stature with height; but if we read into depth, other more subtle contrasts emerge too, of facial hair, cheekbone, nose and eye shape. [] In this way the overall impression of uniformity – of identically clad soldiers marching perfectly in step, rhyming each others body movements – is changed and enriched by a kind of contrapuntal rhythm of diversity.†[15] In postbellum art, the concern was primarily with establishing the autonomous and individuated identity of a previously oppressed group of people, while maintaining the traditional structures of the depiction of the hero, with respective notions of beauty, leadership and nobility, that proved to be a problematic mix to endeavour to achieve. Thus, the South turned to the plantation owners for their heroes – the chivalric and generous heroes, displaying their generosity towards the blacks, and treating their assumed inferiority with compassion and grace. Similarly, in the North, the contemporary hero of postbellum art was the white emancipator of the blacks, fighting for the freedom of this oppressed race of people. The result was that the hero didnt particularly change race, and that common perceptions of human aesthetic beauty, a notion that went back to Greek times, remained largely the same. However, despite taking on the traditional format of the equestrian hero statue, the Shaw Memorial assists in combining these two glaringly contrasting issues, by depicting both the individuality and the homogeneity of the black cause, as well as preserving the image of the white hero – Saint-Gaudens does this using subtle techniques of composition, by combining rhythm, and by representing a great swathe of meticulously studied, and strikingly different black faces, that ultimately combine to produce â€Å"interplay† in racial profiling. Savage comments that: â€Å"In this monument Saint-Gaudens was able to elevate the white hero without demoting the black troops.†[16] and it is testament to his genius that, despite his personal prejudices, he managed to fully articulate and display through the medium of monumental art, the autonomy, yet the solidarity of an entire race of people, within the context of the traditional white hero monument. Bibliography Berlin, I., Slaves Without Masters, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1974 Burchard, P., One Gallant Rush, St. Martins Press, New York, 1965 Deburg, W. L. V., The Battleground of Historical Memory: Creating Alternative Culture Heroes in Postbellum America, from Journal of Popular Culture, vol. 20, pp. 49 62 Dryfhout, J. H., The Work Of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, University Press of New England, London, 1982 Fryd, V. G., Art and Empire: The Poltics of Ethnicity in the United States Capitol, 1815-1860, Yale University Press, London, 1992 Saint-Gaudens, A., Reminiscences, Vol 1., Century Co, New York: 1913 Savage, K., Standing Soldiers, Kneeling Slaves: Race, War, and Monument in Nineteenth-Century America, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1997 Appendix: Images referred to the text: The Slave Auction (1859) by John Rogers Cornwallis Sues for Cessation of Hostilities under the Flag Of Truce (1957) by Constantino Brumidi Robert Gould Shaw Memorial (1897) by Augustus Saint-Gaudens 9 Footnotes [1]Savage, K., Standing Soldiers, Kneeling Slaves: Race, War and Monument in Nineteenth-Century America, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1997, p. 8 [2]Ibid. [3]Deburg, W. L. V., The Battleground of Historical Memory: Creating Alternative Culture Heroes in Postbellum America, from Journal of Popular Culture, Vol. 20, p 51 [4]Ibid. p. 53 [5]Savage, K., 1997, p. 17 [6]Ibid., p. 17 [7]Ibid. p. 21 [8]Fryd, V. G., Art and Empire: The Politics of Ethnicity in the United States Capitol, 1815-1860, Yale University Press, London, 1992, p. 208 [9]Ibid. p. 207 [10]Savage, K., Standing Soldiers, Kneeling Slaves: Race, War and Monument in Nineteenth-Century America, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1997, p. 197 [11]Saint-Gaudens, A., Reminiscences Vol. 1., Century Co., New York: 1913, p. 333 [12]Savage, K., Standing Soldiers, Kneeling Slaves: Race, War and Monument in Nineteenth-Century America, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1997, p. 201 [13]Ibid. [14]Ibid. p. 196 [15]Ibid. p. 201 [16]Savage, K., Standing Soldiers, Kneeling Slaves: Race, War, and Monument in Nineteenth-Century America, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1997, p. 204

Defining Mills Harm Principle Philosophy Essay

Defining Mills Harm Principle Philosophy Essay The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. John Stuart Mill. The above sentence has been the one significant principle as asserted by Mill in his famous On Liberty, commonly called the harm principle. Harm, in his context, means only direct harm, by means of actions and inaction, onto others. Harm that one done to others by harming himself does not count unless one has failed to fulfil some specific and concrete obligation that ought to be done initially. Interference should not be placed on someone as long as the things done do not harm others. Legal penalties and sanctions can only be justified if they are imposed to prevent harm to others. Mill mentioned that the time where the society or the individual as a whole can impose influences on particular individual liberty is when it is for self-protection. If a person is placing himself in a position that is dangerous solely to him, society has no right to interfere. He believes that every individual is autonomous, nothing can be compelled upon him/her, for his/her own benefit/welfare, as long as the thing done does not impose threats to others even though it is harming himself. This is what Mill meant from Over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign  [1]  . However, this does not apply to children and some backward states of society, who are not capable to take care of themselves and to make sensible decisions, such as the undeveloped races. Furthermore, Mill thought that human liberty should encompass first, the inward domain of conscience, and liberty of thought and feeling. Second, the liberty of tastes and pursuits in planning ones own life and lastly, the liberty of individuals in uniting with other consenting collective groups for any purposes which do not harm others. He believed that a good society can only exist through the granting of all the liberties to the people in pursuing their own good lives in their own good ways.  [2]   In Mills works, they were inevitably much influenced by his thought on utilitarianism  [3]  . Obviously, in which he regarded utility as the ultimate appeal on all ethical questionsin the largest sense, grounded on the permanent interests of man  [4]  Utility, or the Greatest Happiness Principle, would be the permanent interests of mankind. This can be seen much clearer where he held that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.  [5]   What did the legal theorists think? In an influential defence of the harm principle, Raz has challenged on the precept on how the state should promote the well-being of people and in the pursuit of moral ideas, how far, the state in coercing the society should be determined by the harm principle. He suggested that it is a perfectionist ideal which presupposes specific moral conceptions which are not indifferent towards criteria of moral worth or moral virtue  [6]  . Also, as we have seen, Mill ruled out the compulsion and control of the state to prevent harmless wrongdoing although that could be what the state think is in the best interest of the society in obtaining pleasures and happiness. By acting as a guiding principle in terms of political restraint, this will not lead Raz to non-perfectionist position  [7]  . Raz supported Mills harm principle not by his utilitarian path, but by the autonomy principle. He claimed that the autonomy principle is an important ingredient for the state to pursue a moral good and to promote a good life for the citizens in such societies. Autonomous life is valuable only if it is spent in the pursuit of acceptable and valuable projects and relationships.  [8]   Ultimately, Razs central claim is to defend the harm principle through the principle of autonomy for one simple reason: The means used, coercive interference, violates the autonomy of its victim because it violates the condition of independence and expresses a relation of domination and an attitude of disrespect for the coerced individual and, coercion by criminal penalties is a global and indiscriminate invasion of autonomy.  [9]  To complete a personal autonomy, condition of independence  [10]  must be present, too. Slavery, moral censorship, sale of contraceptives  [11]  , etc could be the more common examples. Dan-Cohen has also come out with a similar structure of Razs arguments on the harm principle but a rather more different and inconsistent conclusion, in which he focused more on criminal law. He suggested that the harm principle should be replaced by the dignity principle  [12]  because dignity demands that our actions, practices, and institutions convey an attitude of respect to people.  [13]  He has made a hypothetical example of happy slavery in contradicting with Razs argument on the independence is part and parcel of autonomy but his point is, a dignity principle altogether independent of autonomy.  [14]  

The Jonestown Massacre: Jim Jones Essay -- mass suicide, church

Have you ever heard the term, â€Å"Don’t drink the Kool-Aid?† or â€Å"You have drank the Kool-Aid.†? Well, †Drinking the Kool-Aid† means you have done something that others have told you to do or did yourself. This saying comes from the cult society led by Reverend Jim Jones, named Jonestown. Jonestown was a small community in the jungle of Guyana, South America. After getting word of people coming to investigate the society, Jones had committed a mass suicide by poisoning Kool-Aid and giving it to the people of Jonestown. A cult society is an organization that basically disguises itself as a religion. In a cult, they normally perform rituals. There are usually many people in these societies. In Jim Jones’s cult, there were at least one thousand people in this community. Jim Jones was the notorious cult leader of the Peoples Temple. Jones was born on May 13, 1931 in Crete, Indiana. He was a self-appointed pastor from a church in the Midwest. Jim had been popular for always wearing dark glasses, black suits and slicked-back hair, which made a splendid impression on the pulpit of the churches he had preached at or had been to. He then, in the mid-1960s, moved his congregation to California to, what he had wished, avoid the start of a nuclear war. Then, in 1974, he moved his people to Guyana after he was faced with financial abuses, criticism, and church beatings. Guyana, South America is South America’s monarch. It is located on the northern border of South America and is also part of the Anglophone Islands. After Jones and his flock moved to this country, he started a cult. He named this the Peoples Temple.They were located in the jungle of Guyana. In this community, Jones proclaimed that all men, except for him, were homosexual. He... ...s already small portions of food and horrible tasks given to those who didn’t obey Jim Jones. Also, Reverend jones clearly didn’t mind the fact that he was forcing more than nine hundred people to commit suicide, a third if them children. Being me, I feel like the way Jim Jones treated these people, and the way he led this cult compound was completely wrong. I feel like Peoples Temple was a humungous mistake. I also feel truly sorry for those who lose friends and family in this horrible event and for those who went through this. Although this is all over the Jim jones Massacre will forever be remembered and never be forgotten. Works Cited â€Å"Inside the Jonestown Massacre.† CNN.com/US. 13 November 2008. â€Å"Jim Jones Biography.† Bio.. 15 May 2014

Borders :: essays research papers

Borders are concepts which encompass and exclude. They exist everywhere. Some are literal visible physical lines whereas others go beyond sight and exist in terms of characteristics such as monetary wealth, or even humanity. Over time these boundaries are redefined and in turn change the flow of daily life for the individuals they effect. In many cases it is the powerful governments which are in control of the pen which outline these symbolic and physical lines. However as history can prove even though it is these powerful governments which give definition to these borders, it is very often them (the governmental officials) who are the ones who cross them. This hypocritical characteristic is blatantly apparent in regards to Central America. Both the ruling elite and the United States government has infringed upon the many levels of borders which exist in this part of the world. Numerous atrocities have been committed, thousands of lives have been shattered, countless victims have suffered all due to lack of respect for the borders which exist. All levels have been touched; political, economic, and even human. No outline is safe from being infringed upon or even shattered in Central America. While many of us may point fingers it is indeed our very own United States government which has not respected the political borders present in this part of the world. We have stepped into territory in this area that we have no business being involved with. Under our government’s supervision, the CIA carried out a coup in Guatemala in which it installed a self-perpetuation pro-American gang of military criminals who have held power for almost forty years. Their reproductive mechanism has been murder of hundreds of thousands of Guatemalams. After this unnecessary interaction of the CIA, US national security planners saw "Cuba as a highly inflammable element which unchecked, could spread communism - now interchangeable with revolution" (Landau 30). In response to this President Eisenhower ordered the CIA to repeat its ‘success’ in Guatemala. "Throughout the continent, US police and military advisers worked with torturers, murderers and Fascists to repress not only revolution, but all forms of democracy" (Landau 31). Our government officials have such extreme fears of the uprising of the poor in these nations that it did not care out of place it was to get involved. Their economic investments and trade guided our foreign relations. They would enter and cross the borders of this seemingly innocent third world section of the continent and intervene regardless of the fact that they did not belong there in the sense that it is not thier country and should not be involved.

Probability: Playing Card and Vocational Training Essay

Q1). You draw a card at random from a standard deck of 52 cards. Neither you nor anyone else looked at the card you picked. You keep it face down. Your friend then picks a card at random from a remaining 51 cards. a) What is the probability that your card is ace of spades? 1/52 b) What is the probability that your friend’s card is ace of spades? (Hint: Construct the sample space for what your friend’s card can be.) 1/51 c) You turn over your card and it is 10 of diamonds. Now what is the probability that your friend’s card is the ace of spades? 1/51 Q2). Suppose that 25% of the population in your area is exposed to a television commercial of Ford Automotive, and 34% is exposed to Ford’s radio advertisements. Also it is known that 10% of the population is exposed to both means of advertising. If a person is randomly chosen out of the entire population in this area, what is the probability that he or she was exposed to at least one of the two modes of advertising? ANS: P(A) = 0.25 P(B) = 0.34 P(A^B) = 0.10. Probability that he/she was exposed to at least one mode of advertising = 0.25 + 0.34 + 0.1 = 69% Q3). A Firm has 550 employees, 380 of them have had at least some college education, and 412 of the employees underwent a vocational training program. Furthermore, 357 employees are both college educated and have had vocational training. If an employee is chosen at random, what is the probability that he or she is college educated or has had the vocational training or both? Q4). A bank loan officer knows that 12% of the bank’s mortgage holders lose their jobs and default on the loan in the course of 5 years. She also knows that 20% of the bank’s mortgage holders lose their jobs during this period. Given that one of her mortgage holders just lost his job, what is the probability that he will now default on the loan? Q5). A Recent survey conducted by Towers Perrin and published in the Financial Times showed that among 460 organizations in 13 European Countries, 93% have bonus plans, 55% have cafeteria-style benefits, and 70% employ home-based workers. If the types of benefits are independent, what is the probability that an organization selected at random will have at least one of the three types of benefits? P(A) = 0.93, P(B) = 0.55, P(C) = 0.70. P(Not A) = 1 – 0.93, P(Not B) = 1-0.55, P(Not C)= 1-0.70 P(Not A B C) = 0.07 * 0.45 * 0.30 = 0.01155 P(atleast 1 event occurring) = 1-0.01155 = 0.988.

Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (DEIA) Essay

Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (DEIA) is one of the procedures of EIA adopted in Malaysia. The DEIA report will be prepared after the Preliminary EIA was approved by the Department Of Environmental. Detailed EIA is a procedure undertaken for those projects with major or significant impacts to the environment. The Procedure for Detailed EIA. Figure 1 shows the procedure involved in DEIA The detailed assessment involves EIA report display for the public and affected community to comment. The examples of activities which need to go through the Detailed EIA procedure are listed in List 1. Notwithstanding the list in List 1, the Director General of Environment has the prerogative to request a detailed assessment of a project which has significant impacts to the environment of projects which are located in or adjacent to environmentally sensitive areas. List of Prescribed Activities Which Require Detailed EIA 1. Iron and steel industry. 2. Pulp and paper mills. 3. Cement plant. 4. Construction of coal fired power plant. 5. Construction of dams for water supply and hydroelectric power schemes. 6. Land reclamation. 7. Incineration plant (scheduled wastes & solid wastes). 8. Construction of municipal solid waste landfill facility (including municipal solid waste transfer station). 9. Project involving land clearing where 50% of the area or more having slopes exceeding 25 degrees (except quarry). 10. Logging covering an area exceeding 500 hectares or more. 11. Development of tourist or recreational facilities on islands in surrounding waters which are gazetted as national marine parks. 12. Construction of recovery plant (off-site) for lead-acid battery wastes 13. Scheduled wastes recovery or treatment facility generating significant amount of wastewater which is located upstream of public water supply intake. 14. Non-ferrous – Primary smelting. List 1 shows examples of activities that need DEIA After the DEIA report being approved by the DOE approval, a paper advertisement is carries out for public’s comment. The DEIA report could be purchased for any individual parties that interested into it. For example, a DEIA report could be purchased with RM 1,000.00. The advertisement is opened for the public view in a certain period of time. After the duration for the public’s comments on the prescribed activities related with the DEIA report, the construction process is started. Prescribed Activity started DEIA amendment prior to public’s comment Paper advertisement for public’s comment DEIA approved Submission of DEIA for approval Preparation of DEIA PEIA approved

Comprehensive Analysis of Staples

Comprehensive Analysis of Staples Harding University Angela Maloch Ashley Perez Keith Miller Ricky Griffin Abstract This paper will review Staples, Inc. comprehensively. The authors will discuss Staples’ visions, missions, and objectives, in addition to outlining the firm’s internal strengths and weaknesses and their external opportunities and threats. Several matrices will be included to provide visual aid and better observations of the operations and current practices of the company. Recommendations will be provided on new courses of action that may benefit the company and help increase sales and brand awareness.Vision and Mission Staples, is the world’s largest office product organization, and a reliable source for office solutions. The company products and services include office supplies, copy and print supplies, and technology to support these products. Staples, also provides supplies for facilities, break-room, and furniture (Staples, Inc, 2012). Staples c onceptualized the office superstore in 1986. It has more than 88,000 associates worldwide, in 26 countries, and fosters annual sales of 25 billion (Staples, Inc, 2012).Many organizations foundations began with a vision and an organizational mission. The vision and mission are set to be accomplished by setting objectives, and implementing strategies to achieve the goals set by the organization. According to Business Improvement Architects: Creating a compelling vision and developing the strategies to achieve it is one of the organization's most difficult challenges. The vision is more than a dream; it must convey a larger sense of organizational purpose, so that employees are able to picture themselves â€Å"building the dream company† rather than â€Å"laying the stones. It is an ambitious view of the future that everyone in the organization can believe in, one that can be realistically achieved, yet offers a future that is better in important ways than what now exists. (Bus iness Improvement Architects, n. d. ) Staples mission is â€Å"to make it easy to buy office products (David, 2013). † The mission is simple yet it encompasses what the organization strives to do with the products and services it provides to its customers throughout the world. Staples, does not have a written vision, but he the organization utilizes a unique approach in identifying the future direction of the company.Staples Soul program is a program designed by Staples, Inc. to help make the organization an employer and neighbor of choice, and sets Staples brand apart from competitors. The program is also aimed at allowing Staples to grow profitably and responsibly (Staples, Inc, 2012). Objectives and Strategies In Staples 2011 Annual Report, Ron Sargent who serves as the organization’s Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer stated: At Staples, we take great pride in our consistent execution and our ability to evolve and meet the changing needs of our custo mers.Throughout our 25 year history we’ve succeeded by setting aggressive goals, acquiring and retaining customers, and being accountable for our performance. We took the same approach in 2011 and made progress on many of our key initiatives, despite the challenging economic environment. (Staples, Inc, 2012) Staples has established goals and objectives to keep the organization viable in the fast changing market, and the sluggish economy. The Staples Soul program, separates the organizations objectives into four pillars, and outlines the strategies to obtaining those objectives.The four pillars of focus of the Staples Soul Program are community, ethics, diversity, and environment (Staples, Inc, 2012). Staples Community Objectives and Strategies Staples is dedicated to bring education, hope and opportunity to the communities of where their customers live. The community efforts are strategically approached through local grassroots programs, and large scale initiatives that build ties in the global community (Staples, Inc, 2012). Staples has donated more than $17 million to nonprofit organizations, in the United States, and around the world in 2011.Through its Choose a Charity program, Staples has enabled associates to donate nearly $1. 9 million to organizations, in which they care about (Staples, Inc, 2012). Staples has also been established volunteer programs, and associate volunteer programs which has led to more than 33,000 hours of volunteer work to being performed in 26 countries (Staples, Inc, 2012). Staples and Ethics and Strategies Staples 2011 Annual report discusses their objective to meeting the ethical component of the organization.The report states: We believe that doing right is just as important as doing well. We hold ourselves to the highest standards of honesty, fairness and integrity, and continually implement strategies to ensure ethical conduct from the boardroom to the supply chain to the store. Our strong ethical foundation, demonstr ated in the daily relationships with our stakeholders, and ensures our continued success. (Staples, Inc, 2012) Staples stress the importance of ethics in the business organization. The good business ethics must span throughout the entire organization.In efforts to achieve and maintain an ethical environment Staples has done the following: * Ethics, helpline, and training and awareness program in every business unit and function worldwide (Staples, Inc, 2012). * Established a new Ethics scorecard that allows senior leaders and the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors to monitor compliance with program requirements (Staples, Inc, 2012). * Created and established a monitoring and measurement framework to assess how well we are preventing, detecting and responding to ethics and compliance risks (Staples, Inc, 2012). Updated the Staples Suppliers Code of Conduct, by adding an Environmental and Business Ethics section, while modifying other sections (Staples, Inc, 2012). Staples, the Environment and Strategies Staples Annual Report focused on environment as its third organizational objective. The organization’s 2011 report states: At Staples, our vision is to generate business and environmental benefits for ourselves, our customers and our communities by leading the way in sustainable business practices. his vision through a continued focus on sourcing more sustainable products; improving our offering of recycling and other green services; maximizing our energy efficiency and renewable energy use; and eliminating waste. In 2011, we communicated several new global sustainability goals and continued to work in several program areas to help move us closer to our sustainability vision. (Staples, Inc, 2012) As mentioned before the environmental pillar of the Staples Soul programs is beneficial to the organization, the environment, the community and the customer.Staples has been instrumental in environmental progress by: recycling more than 67 million ink and toner cartridges, and 13 million pounds of technology waste in the United States. Staples has continued the implementation of its Race to the Top Initiative, which is focused on key suppliers reducing the environmental impact of their product (Staples, Inc, 2012). At the end of 2011, Staples had 286 facilities in the U. S. that have received the ENERGY STAR ® for buildings certification. By the close of 2011 Staples had 36 solar installations at 33 facilities and purchased a large sum of renewable energy certificates.Staples has a goal of reducing operational electrical intensity by 25%, and global carbon emissions by 50% by 2020 from a 2010 baseline (Staples, Inc, 2012). Staples, Diversity and Objectives Staples believes that being a successful company is dependent on people with rich backgrounds and diverse views. Staples commitment to diversity and inclusion opens the doors for the people of different races, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, physical ability, background and thinking styles. This in turn allows the company to be more innovative, because the organizations associate base reflects the diversity of the customers.Staples’ diverse workforce and suppliers help to build and enrich relationships with customers. While building upon these customer relationships, the organization is able to adapt to the ever changing global market place (Staples, Inc, 2012). Although Staples does not have a written vision statement, the Staples Soul Program has outlined the path, in which the organization wants to proceed over its business life. Fred R. David states: â€Å"A vision statement should answer the basic question, â€Å"What do we want to become? † (David, 2013, p. 45) David also states that a comprehensive mission statement is formulated by a clear vision.It is suggested that the vision statement be established first, and should be short approximately one sentence (David, 2013, p. 45). Many organizations have both a vision and a missi on statement. David states that an organization’s mission statement distinguishes one organization from another in the same industry. An organization’s mission statement is â€Å"its reason for being. A mission statement is important for effectively establishing objectives and forming strategies (David, 2013, p. 45). It is important when formulating a vision and mission statement, it is important to include the managers and the employees.When employees and managers work together to formulate the organizations vision and mission, the statements will reflect the personal visions that employees and managers alike feel passionate towards, and sets the foundation for the future. The shared vision leads to a common objective and can motivate employees and remove the mundane atmosphere in the work environment (David, 2013, p. 47). An organization’s vision and mission statement can: * Ensure unanimity of organizational purpose * Provide a standard for allocation of org anizational resources * Establish organizational climate or general tone Serve as a focal point for people to identify with the organization’s purpose * To help translate objectives into a work structure assignments and task * To specify organizational purpose and translate those into organizational objectives (David, 2013, p. 48). The Staples Soul Program sets the tone for a vision statement for the organization. Staples vision statement could read: â€Å"Staples vision is to be a world leader in providing easy assessable office supplies while being committed to improvements in ethics, environment, community, and diversity for those we serve. The Staples mission as stated before states that the company’s mission is â€Å"to make it easy to buy office products. † (David, 2013, p. 69) Staples mission and vision projected through its Staples Soul Program has set then foundation for the organizational to expand and utilize its strengths and opportunities to contin ue to be a leader in its industry. The organization can also utilize this foundation set to identify weaknesses, and potential industry threats. Eternal Opportunities and Threats External Opportunities Opportunities can give an organization an edge over the competition. Staples, Inc. isplays the potential to increase its growth in additional countries. Currently Staples has 300 stores internationally. An international expansion would increase the profits for the organization. According to David (2013) â€Å"Growth is forecast to reach almost $88 billion by 2013, reflecting a five-year average growth rate of less than 1 percent† (p. SM-66). The advancement in technology can provide Staples with a balanced diversity for its shoppers. New technological gadgets continue to bring additional efficiency for individuals in a number of ways such as online shopping, reading books, and playing games. Staples, Inc. artnered with Barnes and Noble to offer an alternate color reader commonl y known as The NOOK. This technological device competes with Amazon’s Kindle and the Apple’s iPad. The partnership with Barnes and Noble will provide Staples with the opportunity to expand within the digital era. External Threats Threats are external and could occur at any time. Threats most often occur from other competing companies. Staples, Inc. continually competes with a number of organizations in regard to price competition and retail competition. Price competition occurs with equal ground stores such as Office Depot and OfficeMax. Staples, Inc. s the largest office supply company compared to Office Depot classified as the second place organization. David (2013) stated the following interesting fact, â€Å"Staples is larger than Office Depot and OfficeMax combined† (p. SM-76). The three organizations display similar challenges in regard to the reduction of sales because of businesses going paperless. The retail competition includes stores such as Wal-Mart, Kmart, and Target. These organizations display the need to obtain additional market share. As stated earlier, Staples, Inc. began the route of digital services with the latest product from Barnes and Noble commonly known as The NOOK.With the consumer trend of digital services reduces the need for traditional supplies. Green initiatives continue to be another factor for the reduction of traditional supplies, which reduces the need to stock a lot of cases of copy paper in the distribution centers. Competitive Profile Matrix External Factors External Factor Evaluation Matrix (EFE) Key External Factors WeightRatingScore Opportunities International growth (only 300 stores overseas). 12 4. 48 Trends towards digital items. 12 4. 48 New partnerships (Barnes & Nobles). 11 3. 33 Implement research/development. 15 4. 60Threats Price competition. 10 3. 30 Retail competition. 12 4. 48 Unemployment rates. 06 2. 12 Oil prices. 06 2. 12 New technologies reduce need for traditional supplies . 10 3. 30 Green’ initiatives might shift demand for products . 06 2. 12 Totals12. 04 The External Factor Evaluation Matrix (EFE) demonstrates how opportunities and threats may affect the company. Similar to the IFE, this gives a visual rating of the importance of external factors that may contribute to or inhibit the success of Staples. Seen in the matrix above, new opportunities can greatly contribute to the success of Staples.With such broad expansion opportunities, it would be easy for Staples to make new connections overseas, whether in creating new locations or promoting online sales. New partnerships should be looked into as well. Staples has already teamed up with Barnes & Nobles, but opportunities with other major brands might impact Staples’ sales in a positive way as well. Implementing a research and development team can give Staples the opportunity to study consumer patterns, marketing techniques, and what products to offer to better meet the needs of society.Comp eting companies that offer similar products are the greatest threat the Staples. To best combat this, Staples needs to be prepared to offer the best customer service and technologies to stay in the competition. New technologies are changing what consumers need in regards to office supplies. For example, most consumers have switched to computer filing, rather than paper filing. This reduces the need for so much paper, files, folders, and filing cabinets. While some may still need this, Staples may want to look at reducing their inventory of these items and offering a larger supply of more current and modern items.Internal Strengths and Weaknesses Internal Strengths Strengths refer to the factors that exist within the company and exhibits formations of competitive advantage. The organization has dominance worldwide in more than 22,000 locations to include China, Australia, Germany, North America, and a number of other countries. Staples, Inc. is an established organization with a well developed infrastructure that offers business services such as supplies, technology, furniture, and office machines inside the stores as well as online. Staples, Inc. has a competitive advantage with the use of its online sales market.Instead of keeping a large inventory, the majority of the retail store locations stock approximately 7,000 products. When customers do not find a particular item inside the store, he or she can receive next day service at the local store when ordering from Staples. com. This avenue provides customers the option to review over 30,000 products in approximately 125 distributions. When the customer orders a product, he or she can request to receive shipment at the local store, at work, or at a home address. This type of service provides convenience for Staples, Inc. shoppers. In addition, Staples, Inc. ade an investment in regard to its delivery system with a purchase of small fleet of electric trucks. The purpose of this investment was to improve the org anization’s efficiency and cost minimization by reducing fuel cost by 75% compared to diesel trucks. Internal Weaknesses Weaknesses are the areas an organization needs to try to correct imperfections for improvement. Understanding potential weaknesses can help an organization to both manage and remove possible threats. In contrast to a limited inventory as strength, this concept can be a weakness in regard to customers not wanting to wait for a specific product.Customers may go to a competitor to purchase the needed product or purchase it online. A number of challenges exist because of the advanced technological era. For instance, Staples, Inc. reported a seven percent decline in stock prices according to its 2010 Annual Report. Internal Factors Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix (IFE) Key Internal FactorsWeight RateScore Strengths Strong international growth and partners. 12 4. 48 Advertising and marketing. 12 4. 48 Strong Online sales market. 10 3. 30 Many convenient Locatio ns. 10 3. 30 Staples Delivery System. 11 3. 33 Weaknesses Only 1. % increase in Sales (2010). 06 2. 12 Stock price fell 7% (2010). 06 2. 10 Poor executive compensation plans. 12 4. 48 Poor inventory management. 11 3. 33 No research/development Budget. 10 3. 30 Totals13. 19 As seen above, the Internal Factor Evaluation Matrix (IFE) is used to provide a numerical and visual score of key factors of the internal strengths and weaknesses. This gives management an idea of how to prioritize any issues that may be affecting or attributing the growth or success of the company. With more than 1500 locations throughout the United States, Staples is easily accessible to the population.Their advertising and marketing campaigns are successful and catchy; this creates brand awareness, and can potentially bring in more consumers. The internal weaknesses have caused such financial stresses on the company that it is very important that these issues are addressed. For instance, in 2010, there was only a 1. 1% increase in sales and stock prices fell 7%; however, the CEO of Staples, Ron Sargent, took a 41% pay increase. Moves like this can set Staples up for failure, so it is important for management to be aware of these internal issues through the use of an IFE.With no research and development budget, Staples is falling behind the trends of fast-paced society. They are not current on what is popular and what issues may be hurting their sales. * SWOT Analysis According to Thompson, Gamble, and Strickland (2006), â€Å"A SWOT analysis is a simple but powerful tool for sizing up a company’s resource capabilities and deficiencies, its market opportunities, and the external threats to its future well-being (Chap. 3, p. 85). A SWOT analysis is a significant portion of the strategic planning model.An organization uses a SWOT analysis that consists of strengths as internal forces of the organization to accomplish the objective; weaknesses are internal forces of the organization t hat harm the objective; opportunities are external forces that can expand the organization; threats are external forces that can destroy the organization’s success. In developing a strategic plan, leaders must ask if the current strategic plan is adequate to achieve the goal and are there allowances for contingency plans if the current plan is not working.Therefore, an effective strategy will consider the internal and external factors of the SWOT analysis by looking at the big picture of what an organization will face in the course of goal achievement. SWOT Matrix Space Matrix Current Strategies Inventory Staples is looking to reduce physical inventory in stores and offer a wider variety via Staples. com (Donoher as cited in David, 2013). In doing this, they can limit the size of store locations and be able to cut building costs, utilities and floor space on new locations.In addition, research done by Shankar, Rangaswamy & Pusateri (1999) indicates that online shopping is mor e convenient than offline shopping and allows consumers to find products to best fit their needs. This strategy, once fully implemented may promote more business to the website and offer better selections. The only issue that may arise is not having an item in stock that competitors might have. It would helpful to research buying trends and patterns of this industry and keep those items stocked. Prices Low prices have been the ultimate focus of Staples.This is understandable in retail today, however customer service and loyalty programs are just as desirable to consumers. Indicated by Shankar, Rangaswamy & Pusateri (1999), customers are not sensitive just to price increases, but rather a mixture of factors that contribute to the overall buying experience. Slightly raising prices and focusing more on customer service can produce a better experience for in-store shoppers and may encourage them to return. Also, in some cases, low prices can correlate with low quality.When Staples offer s their own brand items for extremely low prices, consumers may consider the price in relation to the quality. Recommended Strategies Based on the case study, Staples, Staples has seen gradually declining sales and profits in recent years (Donoher, as cited in David, 2013). In order to turn that around and be a successful office supply company, they need to implement new strategies. Staples is not a competitor with other office supply companies. They cannot maintain desirable inventories of what consumers are looking for and they cannot beat the prices and leverage that other similar stores offer.If left alone, Staples will go out of business. Suggestions on strategies that may offer aid to Staples are outlined below. Retrenchment â€Å"Retrenchment occurs when an organization regroups through cost and asset reduction to reverse declining profits† (David, 2013, P. 146). If Staples would try this strategy, they might be able to save the company and turn it around. In order to implement this strategy, they would stop opening new stores, and perhaps even close stores throughout the United States. Closing stores throughout the United States can greatly reduce costs and increase revenues.It would be most logical to close the locations with the lowest annual sales. In addition, by reducing the number of store openings would allow for more focus to be within what Staples already has. This means there would be more time to focus on customer service, inventory management, product display, management, and online sales. Online sales are such a large portion of their business, it may be more effective to put more efforts into obtaining sales through that medium, rather than brick and mortar locations. Related DiversificationIn order to remain in the competition, Staples must be open to diversifying the products they currently offer. Staples needs to revamp their current inventory and look at what it is consumers want today. With such a boom in technology, there is a consumer desire for new and up-to-date items. The items they rarely sell need to be taken off the shelves or offer a very limited inventory in stores. That clears up space for new items, and a greater inventory capacity. By stocking items that customers want can increase the traffic flow through the store.Often, consumers know competing stores, such as Office Depot and Wal-Mart have more of what they need, so Staples is eliminated completely. Recommended Annual Objectives and Policies Organizational Annual Business reports are a vital tool in making recommendations for annual objectives, and policies. The annual report identifies the company’s short falls, but more importantly it shines the light on the organizations achievements. The annual report also illustrates the plans and strategies to rectify its weaknesses, and refute potential threats.According an article by Jill Leviticus, an annual report; â€Å"provide information on the health of your company to shareholders, stakeholders, the media and your community. † (Leviticus, 2012) The article also states that the organizational annual report provides financial information, highlights achievements, promotes the organization, and other key information to the stakeholders (Leviticus, 2012). Staples 2011 Annual Business Report outlines the organization’s recommended annual objectives and policies, which is based on the needs of the employees, shareholders, and customers.Annual Business Reports and meetings cover a broad range of objectives and policies. Staples 2011 Annual Business Report covered topics on beneficial of ownership of common stock, corporate governance, and election of directors, employee stock plans, and long-term cash plans (Staples, Inc, 2012). Adjustments to these specific objectives and policies will specifically impact the viability of Staples, Inc. The aforementioned Staples Soul Program has been instrumental in making the organization the â€Å"employer and neigh bor of choice. † (Staples, Inc, 2012) Staples has been proactive in implementing policies and objectives to acilitate the organization in achieving goals centered around the four pillars of the Staples Soul Program, which are community, ethics, diversity, and environment (Staples, Inc, 2012). Strategy Review and Evaluation Defining a strategy is an educated guess. The guess is a key process in any organization. The changes that occur in today’s society can make or break an organization. Strategy, as any other process improvement, cannot be determined unless it is measured. There is an old saying that says it is hard to know where you are going until you know where you have been.Strategy has to be evaluated to determine if the direction of change is favorable or unfavorable to the organization. There are acronyms of famous cycles to help lead an organization to improve. PDCA, PDSA or DMAIC are some of the well-known cycles. These cycles define a basic process of evaluati ng changes made to determine if the actions taken reflect the desired results. A similar process of planning, doing, studying and acting has to be defined in each organization. Organizations can vary in the data used but the process will be the same. DataThere are a number of inputs that need to be included into strategy development. External inputs include items such as customer needs, customer survey results, industry trends, regulatory requirements, technological advancements, market risks and competitive intelligence to name a few. Internal inputs include company vision, mission, goals, philosophies, employee survey results, SWOT analysis and balanced scorecard results. These inputs will help determine what a company’s balanced scorecard should be. The balanced scorecard could be used by location moving up to the organizational level.It could also translate down to specific goals and objectives for individual performance management. Measure Once the balanced scorecard has been developed then it is time to capture the results. In most cases these results are measured monthly. There are some cases where the time frame may extend to a longer period of time depending on the metric being measured. For instance, financial information would probably be calculated monthly by an internal team. An external assessment could be used to challenge or protect your company such as Sarbanes-Oxley audit. These measurements help determine direction.Review Periodic reviews of balanced scorecard information are required to determine if the actions taken are effective or not effective. These reviews can occur at different time intervals. Changes or actions taken can immediately take effect or it could be a period of time before the change is realized. An example of immediate effect could be actions taken to reduce inventory levels. Depending on the action the company may see the results on the following month. An example of a longer term effect may be implementing an â⠂¬Å"open door† policy which involves a cultural change that may not be seen immediately.A general understanding of the metric and the anticipated impact time should be rationalized during the review process. Adjustment Once the review has been analyzed actions should be taken to correct metrics that are not performing to the desired results. There are several methods of problem-solving that can be used to help work through the possible contributors of poor performance. The A3 process was derived by Toyota. The process is a collaborative problem-solving tool used to manage individual issues from beginning to end.The A3 process identifies the team, the problem, the metrics used to measure the issue, potential causes, countermeasures to potential causes, responsible party assigned and results. The cycle starts again similar to the Plan, Do, Study and Act cycle mentioned earlier. Recommendation The recommendation for Staples is to have monthly reviews as well as annual reviews. Th e monthly reviews would consist of A3’s developed for each of the metrics. The A3’s would be reviewed to see how the countermeasures are impacting the metric. This type of review will help monitor performance in the short-term time frame.Annual reviews should be conducted on the internal and external inputs and balanced scorecard results. The annual review would be designed to develop the strategic plan for the following year or longer. References Business Improvement Architects. (n. d. ). Understand the organization's vision. Retrieved November 22, 2012, from www. bia. ca: http://www. bia. ca/vision. htm David, F. R. (2013). Strategic Managment: A Competitive Advantage Approach (14 ed. ). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Leviticus, J. (2012). What Is the Purpose of Company Annual Reports? Retrieved November 23, 2012, from www. smallbusiness. hron. com: http://smallbusiness. chron. com/purpose-company-annual-reports-57428. html Shankar, V; Rangaswamy, A. & Pusateri, M. (1999). The online medium and customer price sensitivity. Penn State School of Information Sciences and Technology. Staples, Inc. (2012, April). 2011 Annual Report. Retrieved November 22, 2012, from www. thomson. mobular. net: http://thomson. mobular. net/thomson/7/3218/4642/document_0/SPLS_2011AR. pdf Staples, Inc. (2012, November 14). Corporate Profile. Retrieved November 22, 2012, from www. staples. com: http://investor. staples. com/phoenix. zhtml? c=96244&p=irol-IRHome