Thursday, October 31, 2019

Home Depot Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Home Depot - Essay Example the ability is to pay labor and get credit; the less the capital, and the less able an organization is to pay its employees and borrow money (Riesman, 2009). From this regard, it is possible that more personalized selling could be the solution to some of Home Depot’s problems. There is also the attention that needs to be paid to the customer, in terms of putting them first and giving a customer-centric experience. It is the assumption of the current research investigation that intensifying the focus on the customer, while still remaining cost-effective, may be the best course for the organization of Home Depot to take. This involves an expanded awareness of, and attention to, the customer, whose loyalty will be encouraged through the presentation of a clear plan that knows what the customer expects, what they are finding in the competition that they are not currently finding at Home Depot, and other customer-centered factors. More often than not, these factors are based on the perceptions of those who hire the product or service of a large home improvement chain, with certain expectations in mind about what they are getting (and not getting). Home Depot can possibly take advantage of reducing the amount of time a transaction is going to take a customer, centralizing control of this process, and expanding operations without actually building any more brick-and-mortar branches, perhaps even by improving the customer-centric nature of its web operations. In many ways, this can be viewed as a win-win outcome for Home Depot, but there is also the obstacle of initial costs in setting up new operations and getting the operation moving primarily in a place where it can be subjected to external over-regulation. There is also the abovementioned danger of changes in the external environment. In conclusion, there are various factors and outcomes which must be realized in the context of the Home Depot situation. One must think of the worst case scenario, cost

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

China and Inexperienced Industrial Revolution Essay - 1

China and Inexperienced Industrial Revolution - Essay Example Coal was at the time a better form of heat production. It gave constant, reliable amount of heat without giving out a lot of by-products as a waste (McCloskey 2010). The changeover was due to great innovation from individuals and group of people who skilfully devised ways to make work easier and create a better life for everyone (Chai 2011). Most of the innovations were involuntary and automatic, but additionally, there were others that founded through a series of experiments and exploit of science (Duiker and   Spielvogel 2011). This revolution, that is an industry based, commenced in Britain and a few years later it stretched to the United States of America, as well as Western Europe (Chai 2011). It grades one of the most significant turning points in the account of the history of the whole world. Nearly all aspects of the everyday life of the inhabitants of the planet were greatly influenced in one way or another (Nolan 2008). The thing that was mostly experienced was the sharp growth of the human population. The society at this period was exceedingly rural in nature. The revolution changed this to a much modern and urban society for most of the nations at that time (Beele 2002). Many countries experienced this mode of change that spread from the center of origin in Britain. China has had a dynamic economy in terms of its economy in the recent years (Nolan 2008). But why did it delay in achieving better industrialization that other states in Europe and other countries in the regions of the world were developing in the period? This paper is going to assess the reasons why China did not experience ‘industrial revolution’ between c. 1700 and 1949. According to Bayo r (2011), there was a delay in the industrialization in China until later in the century. In order to curb these problems, the country decided to raise its investment significantly together with the signing of a huge number of deals that included overseas companies that offered their services in the construction of some of the chief amenities for compound fertilizer manufacture, steel production and oil mining and processing in the refinery plant.These factors - availability of raw materials in Europe, a lot of richness acquired from the colonies, the widespread trade around the world, the presence of a unwavering form of government that offered support to the effectiveness of real establishments and was optimistic in scientific progress - made the European countries gain an upper advantage in revolutionising earlier in the century. China was not able to compete with these countries owing to the conditions which it was in that period.  

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Relevance of mindfulness to developing interpersonal skills

Relevance of mindfulness to developing interpersonal skills Mindfulness as a psychological concept can be conceptualised as a present centred, non elaborative and non judgemental awareness in which all of the individuals sensations, feelings and thoughts that are present in their field of attention is taken account of and accepted (Bishop et al, 2004). Hargie (2006) states that behaviour that an individual pursues consciously can be said to be mindful, while automatic behaviour must be defined as mindless. Bishop et al go on to state that Mindfulness in contemporary psychology has been adopted as an approach for increasing awareness and responding skilfully to mental processes that contribute to emotional distress and maladaptive behaviour. (p.230). they suggest that operationalising the concept requires that the definition have two components, and that previous definitions do not adequately capture the nature of the concept. The first requires the individual to regulate their attentional mechanisms so that they focus on immediate and present experience, which will allow them to recognise internal events that occur in the present. This necessarily involves the individuals conscious awareness of their own feelings and thoughts as well as their surroundings. A result of this can be metacognitive abilities that allow them to control their powers of concentration. The second component of their definition of mindfulness requires the individual to adopt a certain kind of orientation towards their experience as they occur immediately, which will be characterised by openness, curiosity and acceptance. This orientation component requires the individual to accept their mindstream, to maintain a curious and open attitude, and to think in terms of different categories. Wiemann, Greene and Burleson (2003) note that within the context of interpersonal encounters, mindfulness implies increased attention to each individuals characteristics in new encounters. They suggest that this is particularly important in intercultural settings bec ause in these, it is more important to try to be prepared for unexpected behaviour from others. This essay will consider the relationship between mindfulness and interpersonal behaviour, including relationships as well as whether mindfulness can help people to improve their interpersonal skills. With regard to the relationship between mindfulness and interpersonal behaviour, Brown, Ryan and Creswell (2007) point out that research into the influence of mindfulness has only begun relatively recently, and has also focused largely on how it can enhance romantic relationships. For example, Welwood (1996) proposed that mindfulness encourages connection, closeness and attunement in these kinds of relationships. Goleman (2006) found that it can increase the individuals ability to pay attention to the content of their partners communication and also to be aware of their non-verbal behaviour and affective tone. Brown et al conclude that this scholarship suggests that mindfulness may promote interaction styles that support healthy relationship functioning and enhance overall relationship quality. (p. 225). Barnes et al (2007) used the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (Carlson Brown, 2005; Brown Ryan, 2003), a self-report measure of mindfulness, to look at the relationship between mi ndfulness and relationship satisfaction. They found that increased mindfulness on the scale predicted increased satisfaction in relationships as well as more capacity to respond to relationship stress in a constructive manner. The study was carried out in a sample of dating couples who were not distressed. One possible criticism is that the study relied on self report and there was a danger of participants responding to face validity in some of the questions. These concerns were addressed to a certain extent in a second study, using a paradigm of conflict discussion. The authors found that scores on the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale predicted lower scores of emotional stress to conflict. This effect in turn was explained by the fact that they experienced less emotional stress in advance of the discussion, indicating that mindfulness actually helps protect the couple from stress, and does not just have a simple buffering effect. Objective raters also found that mindfulness wa s associated with better quality of communication, which is consistent with Tickle Degnan and Rosenthals (1990) finding that sustained attention in social exchanges is essential for rapport to be established. More generally, Baer et al (2006) fount that there was a positive association between mindfulness and aspects of emotional intelligence, which are related to improved social skills (see also Brown Ryan, 2003). This can lead to better perspective taking, response patterns that are cooperative and increased satisfaction in marital partners (Schutte et al, 2001). Brown and Kasser (2005; see also Brown Ryan, 2003; 2004) found that mindfulness as measured by the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale had a positive association with, or even predicted, a sense of interpersonal closeness and relatedness. This suggests that mindfulness plays a role in supporting social connections, which can be considered a fundamental psychological need (Deci Ryan, 1991). However, this proposition m ust be tested and confirmed by further research. Furthermore, incipient intervention studies also support the notion that mindfulness has a beneficial role in relationships. Carson et al (2004) adapted the extant Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction programme (Kabat Zinn, 1982) to a couples based intervention, which was named Mindfulness Based Relationship Enhancement. They found that, compared to control couples, those who undertook the intervention showed significantly increased partner acceptance, autonomy, and relationship satisfaction, and significantly reduces relationship and personal distress. These results held both post-test and at a follow up carried out three months later. All couples in the study were non distressed. This indicates that increased mindfulness can lead to positive outcome in terms of interpersonal behaviour. Burgoon, Berger and Waldron (2000)argue that in order to properly consider how mindfulness can help to address social issues, it is necessary to specify the features that characterise the communication context, the individuals communicating, or the messages being communicated that have the potential to increase mindfulness. Langer (1978) and subsequent authors (e.g. Hewes Graham, 1989; Schul Burnstein, 1998) have identified a number of situations that prompt individuals to exhibit more thoughtful behaviour. These include new situations, new formats for communication, and situations that are uninvolving. Waldron (1997) went on to study conversations and found that some of the proposed mindfulness prompts were indeed manifested therein. Conversations that included this kind of behaviour had associated patterns of behaviour that included more questioning, longer turns taken in the conversation, calls for evidence to be given and more interruption, which all indicate that efforts are b eing made to take control of the situation. However, it should be noted that this approach may not necessarily be considered the best for systematically examining the use of mindfulness prompts due to the fairly small number of conversations that were recorded. Dekeyser et al (2008) also looked at the relationship between mindfulness and interpersonal performance and feelings. Firstly, they looked at the factor structure and reliability of a mindfulness measure, the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (Baer et al, 2004), which is also based on self report. They used a sample of Psychology students and parents, all of whom spoke Dutch. They were able to replicate Baer et als finding in terms of the four factors that underlie mindfulness, which are characterised as Describe, Observe, Accept without Judgement and Act with Awareness. These were invariant through the samples tested, and all of these aspects of mindfulness displayed positive associations with self expression during a variety of social situations. Additionally, an increased tendency towards mindful observation was correlated with higher levels of empathy. The other factors of acting with awareness, acceptance without judgement and mindful description were correlated with more accurate description and identification of emotions and feelings, lowered social anxiety, increased body satisfaction and lowered contagion of distress. Thus, this study indicates that several factors, many of which are highly personal in nature, are associated with aspects of mindfulness. This further strengthens the notion that high levels of mindfulness are associated with a number of positive psychological outcomes, although the nature of this relationship is not clear. It must be remembered that correlation in no way infers causation and it is possible that mindfulness exerts more of a moderating or mediating effect. Furthermore, mindfulness may have some clinical applications, such as the relatively recent use of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, which is a treatment programme that was originally devised in order to help to manage chronic pain (Kabat Zinn, Lipworth et al, 1987; Kabat Zinn, Lipworth Burney, 1985). The treatment programme is presently used in order to help to reduce the psychological morbidity that comes along with chronic illnesses, as well as in the treatment of behavioural and emotional disorders (Kabat Zinn, 1998). Bishop (2002) has pointed out that the use of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction has increased in terms of popularity despite the fact that there has been no rigorous scientific evaluation of the treatment programme. However, clinical trials have begun to be carried out. Reibel, Greenson et al (2001) found significant reductions of psychological morbidity in patients with a medical illness using the programme (see also Carlson, Ursuliak et al, 2001; Speca, Carlso n et al, 2000). Williams, Kolar et al (2001) also found that Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction helped to increase individuals psychological well being and mitigate stress in samples that were not clinical (see also Shapiro, Schwartz Bonner, 1998; Astin, 1997). In conclusion, the nature of mindfulness is complex and appears to have two separate but interconnected components; attention and orientation. Mindfulness is related to interpersonal behaviour because it can promote styles of interaction that lead to improved social behaviour and can also have a positive influence on relationships with others. Indeed, the research indicates that mindfulness can have a protective capacity against social stress, although how it does this is not yet clear. Furthermore, early research indicates that interventions that encourage mindfulness can not only reduce stress following illness, but can also have positive impacts on interpersonal relationships. Although the field is relatively young, research is showing more and more positive aspects of mindfulness for interpersonal skills and behaviour. One possible future direction for research would be the development of a more objective way of measuring mindfulness. At present, most studies rely on self-report, which is influenced by the participants concept of themselves. Exploratory studies looking for other indices of mindfulness, perhaps using galvanic skin response, event related potentials or functional magnetic resonance imaging may be of use.

Friday, October 25, 2019

The Tower Of London Essay -- essays research papers

The Tower of London The Tower of London, the oldest fortified palace in Europe, was built by William the Conqueror in the late 1000's. It has served as a fortress, prison, palace, and the final resting-place of many people ("Tower of London" Encarta 1). Its history is full of amazing and horrific stories of life and death. To truly appreciate this magnificent group of structures a look must be taken into its history through it's architecture, uses, and those held in the prisons and dungeons. The Tower Of London is not actually one tower, it is a group of 13 towers located on 7.5 hectares of land known as Tower Hill ("Tower of London" Encarta 1). To the south of the tower is the Thames Rivers, which used to feed a moat that was drained in 1830. The general shape of the tower is a square with two lines of defensive walls surrounding it. The outer wall is defended by six towers on the river face, and there are two semi-circular bastions at the northeast and northwest corners (Tower of London Virtual Tour 3). The original tower, also known as the White Tower, is flanked by four turrets (Encarta 1). By looking carefully at the architecture of the tower you can see the painstaking workmanship put into every little detail. The group of thirteen towers collectively known as the Tower of London has five areas, which are especially interesting. One such tower was...

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Explain how the part of Macbeth should be played to show Essay

Explain how the part of Macbeth should be played to show how he reacts to events and how his relationship with Lady Macbeth develops in this scene. Act two scene two is very significant to the play, as this is where the tragedy of Macbeth really begins. Up until then, Macbeth can still change his mind, but after this scene there is no going back for either him or Lady Macbeth. It marks the point when Macbeth changes from a national hero, loyal to his King and country, into a liar, a murderer and a traitor who embarks on a course of evil that will eventually cause his death. All of this takes place because of ambition, both his own and Lady Macbeth’s. The scene is highly dramatic and full of tension, and although we do not actually witness the murder of King Duncan, it has to be the most violent and intense part of the play. This is the first of many murders to come, and we can only guess that Shakespeare chose to have Macbeth kill Duncan offstage to increase the tension by letting the audience use their imagination to supply the bloody details. The story so far is that Macbeth and Banquo, co-leaders of the Scottish army, whilst returning from a successful battle, are met by three â€Å"weird sisters†. These sisters, who would definitely have been thought of as witches by Jacobean audiences, give several prophecies in the form of riddles, predicting that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor, and later King. Macbeth recoils at this news, and it could be interpreted that this is because he has already a great ambition to become King, and hearing the witches voice aloud what he has been pondering shocks him. They tell Banquo that he will not be King, but that his children will be Kings in the future. They also predict that he will be â€Å"lesser than Macbeth and greater, not so happy and yet much happier†. Later, Macbeth finds that he has been made Thane of Cawdor and because of this, begins to seriously consider the possibility of becoming King. When Duncan names his son Malcolm as heir to the throne, Macbeth’s hopes are dashed. He sees Malcolm as â€Å"A step on which I must fall down, or else o’erleap, for in my way it lies.† Lady Macbeth receives a letter from her husband telling her of the prophecies and his new title. She is determined to help him become King, and when he returns home, she persuades him to kill Duncan, who will be staying with them overnight. Macbeth later chickens out, and so Lady Macbeth agrees to do it. Why then, at the start of the scene do we see Lady Macbeth waiting for her husband to return from killing the King? This would have confused the audience greatly, and increased the tension in the scene. The scene takes place at night, with the darkness representing what is unnatural, cruel, and evil. The curtains would open on Lady Macbeth, standing outside in the courtyard, anxiously pacing up and down carrying a candle. The only other light would be a thin beam of pale blue moonlight. Light represents good, and the light from the candle would show hope, the small chance that Macbeth could still go back and change his mind. There would be lots of shadows cast around the stage, and at the start of the scene, Lady Macbeth would emerge from the darkness in order to represent her guilt. There would also be fleeting silhouettes of birds and animals glimpsed, making Lady Macbeth jump, illustrating her paranoia that they will be caught. These animals could be familiars of the witches, which would show their supernatural influence over everything evil. There shouldn’t be any sound; the theatre should be deathly quiet in order to create the atmosphere of tension in the castle, as the Macbeths would be terrified of someone awakening. By now, the audience would be on the edge of their seats wondering if Macbeth will actually have the nerve to murder his own King. In the audiences view at the time, after committing treason, anything else would be a lesser sin. This was because Jacobeans believed that the whole universe had an order to it, decided by God. Anything unnatural was against this divine order. Kings were second only to God, so a crime against a King would have been a crime against God. Satan had rebelled against God directly, so therefore, he was responsible through witches and evil spirits etc., for all attacks on this divine order. As Lady Macbeth paces about in a nervous state, awaiting Macbeth’s return, she reveals that she has drugged the guards’ hot drinks. She doesn’t know if what she has given them will kill them, and she remarks that they are on the borders of life and death, that death and nature are locked in a battle over them. She should speak in a confident voice as she says that she has been â€Å"made bold† by â€Å"that which hath make them drunk†, meaning alcohol has steadied her nerves. However, all this confidence is shattered when an owl shrieks, and Lady Macbeth jumps, shouting â€Å"Hark! Peace!† Her relief should be visible when she realises what made the noise, and she goes on to make a sinister comparison between the owl and the â€Å"Fatal bellman† who was paid to ring a bell outside the condemned cell of Newgate prison in London at midnight before an execution. On the last line of her speech, on the word â€Å"die†, we would hear the wind blow and Lady Macbeth’s candle would extinguish. This is the actual moment of Duncan’s murder, and the candle going out represents the end of all hope that Macbeth will change his mind. We would hear loud footsteps, and then a nervous, fearful voice exclaim â€Å"Who’s there? What ho?† The person speaking should not be visible to either Lady Macbeth or the audience, making the tension of the scene come to a climax. Lady Macbeth, on hearing this voice, should start frantically looking around and walk even faster, shaking her hands in a state of sheer panic. Her voice should be trembling as she goes over the preparations she had made to ensure that everything would go according to plan. She had laid the daggers ready, so how could Macbeth have missed them? She is sure that they will be caught because Macbeth has botched the murder up in some way. This shows that she already distrusts him, and that cracks in their relationship are now beginning to form. She tries to justify her reasons for not killing Duncan herself as she had promised, saying, † Had he not resembled my Father as he slept, I had done’t† This means that she couldn’t bring herself to kill Duncan, because he looked so much like her own Father as he slept. The audience has now been provided with an answer as to why it is Macbeth who kills Duncan, and not her. It also shows Lady Macbeth’s true character, and that she doesn’t really know herself as well as she thought she did. She had thought that she would be able to steel herself to do what was needed by â€Å"unsexing† herself, and â€Å"replacing her milk with bitterness†. Unfortunately for her, when it came to the crunch, she couldn’t do it. This small reminder of Lady Macbeth’s humanity helps us to empathize more with what happens to her later on in the play. When Macbeth enters, she should run up to him with relief. Macbeth however, should turn away from her and stare into space with his hands trembling. His voice should be full of horror as he chokes out â€Å"I have†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..† and then he should pause, as if to search for a word to describe the unspeakable crime that he has committed. He finally comes up with â€Å"†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦done the deed.†, a euphemism, as he can’t actually bring himself to say that he has killed the King. Here, the audience would share in Macbeth’s complete horror at his crime. Then, he should come out of his trance, turn to Lady Macbeth, and grab her shoulder roughly with one hand as he asks her urgently if she heard a noise. Their next few lines are syncopated and monosyllabic, and should be said with highly charged emotion and edgy nervousness. As they say them, they should move closer together and hold each other, as though giving each other support, but they should not look at each other. Instead, they should be frantically looking around into the shadows, paranoid that they will be caught. The fact that Macbeth still holds the daggers intensifies the uneasiness felt in the scene. His hands are covered in blood, making the drama explosive. When Macbeth sees the blood on his hands as he points toward the second chamber, he should shudder as he says â€Å"This is a sorry sight†. His voice should be full of remorse for what he has done, and he should hang his head with shame and regret. His hands should be shaking. Lady Macbeth tries to reassure him, saying, â€Å"A foolish thought to say a sorry sight†. This should be said in a falsely bright tone of voice, as if to say â€Å"Look this is what we wanted, now you can fulfil your dream of becoming King.† However, Macbeth pays her no attention, as thoughts of the murder plague his mind. He should appear transfixed, and very troubled by his actions, as he stares back into space, and tells himself more than Lady Macbeth, about the two people who woke up and prayed, while he was walking past their door. As he says these lines, he should raise his voice, and begin to talk frantically, ignoring Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth, while he is doing this, should be worried about someone hearing him, and anxiously trying to shut him up. She should be following him around the stage, but not looking at him. She should be more preoccupied with looking around into the shadows, anxious about getting caught. Macbeth should shout the words â€Å"hangman’s hands† in horror, and look at his hands, which should now be shaking uncontrollably. He should say the words â€Å"but wherefore could I not pronounce ‘Amen’?† quieter and pleadingly, and fall to his knees in anguish. He should be nearly in tears as he says the next lines â€Å"I had most need of blessing and ‘Amen’ stuck in my throat† , meaning that he would need a blessing for what he was about to do, but he obviously was not given one as he could not pronounce the word â€Å"Amen†. He has now realised that he is damned to Hell for the terrible crime he has committed. Lady Macbeth should not go to her husband as she says â€Å"These deeds must not be thought of after these ways; so, it will make us mad.† She is trying more to convince herself than Macbeth, and these lines are ironic as later on in the play it is her who goes mad and eventually commits suicide. Macbeth’s nervous ramblings are full of guilt and remorse as he uses several metaphors for sleep, and realises that he will never again sleep peacefully because of what he has done. He likens sleep to the main course of a meal, the â€Å"chief nourisher in life’s feast†, and says that sleep is â€Å"the death of each day’s life†, meaning that after having slept, we are reborn each day and can make a new start. The mysterious voice he thought he heard may have been his own guilty conscience, but the words it spoke may also have been another of the witches chilling prophecies. â€Å"Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more, Macbeth shall sleep no more†. This makes the audience think once more about the theme of the supernatural depicted throughout the play, and lighting or sounds could be used to convey this, such as a witches cackle after Macbeth has said this line, or a silhouette of the witches gathered around a c auldron could be flashed quickly across the stage. With these words about hearing a voice, Lady Macbeth should turn quickly to Macbeth and say the line â€Å"What do you mean† sharply. She thinks he means that someone saw him and knows what he did. Her voice should be on edge and harsh. Macbeth can’t seem to hear her and just ignores her, saying his next lines in a demented tone of voice, still on his knees. Lady Macbeth should then drag him to his feet and shout at him â€Å"Who was it that thus cried?† urgently. Then, realising that it wasn’t a real voice, and remembering that they don’t want to get caught, quietly tries to get him back on track, and firmly tells him to get some water and â€Å"wash this filthy witness from your hand†. As she looks at his hand, she should grab it with a disgusted facial expression. Then it should change to a look of shock, as she sees the daggers, now together in his other hand, and says, in a quivering voice â€Å"Why did you bring these daggers from the place?† The daggers are a visual reminder of what they have done, and Lady Macbeth should close her eyes and swallow after saying this, as if to try and rid herself of a mental picture of what the bloody scene would look like. Then she should get herself together, as she tells Macbeth to return the daggers to the murder scene and smear the King’s grooms with blood. She should say this firmly, but in a voice that shows she can’t believe that Macbeth would be so stupid as to bring the daggers away with him. Macbeth should shout, â€Å"I’ll go no more† desperately, then should say his next lines quieter, in horror and again nearly in tears. Lady Macbeth is really annoyed with Macbeth when she says â€Å"Infirm of purpose† but she should say it in an angry loud whisper instead of shouting, as if to remind him that they need to be quiet so they don’t get caught. Then she should turn away and muster up her courage before saying, â€Å"Give me the daggers† in a resigned tone of voice. She should turn to him and try to take them, but she would have to force them from him, as Macbeth would be gripping them tightly. When she gets them, she should pause, and then say as if to herself â€Å"The sleeping and the dead are but as pictures. ‘Tis the eye of childhood that fears a painted devil.† This means that there is no reason to be afraid of a dead body, because it is only a representation of a living person and it can’t hurt you. It’s like a picture of something scary like the devil. Only children should be afraid of a picture of the devil. She is again trying to convince herself more than her husband when she says this and is trying to steel her nerves to visit the scene. She should look back at Macbeth and say her next lines overconfidently, as if she is trying to prove that she is not afraid, when in fact she is. As she exits she should have her back to the audience so they cannot see her face but her shudder should be visible as she carries the daggers to Duncan’s room. Macbeth should hardly notice his wife’s exit as he is too caught up in his guilt and depression. When the tension is increased yet again by the sudden loud knocking on the door, he should jump up in alarm. He should shout his line â€Å"Whence is that knocking?† in a petrified voice with an unnerved look in his eyes. Then he should fall to his knees and cover his face distraughtly with his hands, as he says â€Å"How is’t with me, when every noise appals me?† When he sees his bloody hands, he should pull them away, jump to his feet and shout his next line, â€Å"What hands are here? Ha! They pluck out mine eyes.† He should close his eyes as he says it, and hold his hands out in front of him in desperation, as if when he opens his eyes the blood will be gone, and it will all have been a dream. We should be able to see his self-hatred as he continues with his nervous ramblings and puts his head down in misery. As he says â€Å"This my hand† he should speak in a disbelieving tone of voice, that says he can’t believe it really is his hand th at killed Duncan. When Lady Macbeth re-enters, she should walk slowly with her head down and she should speak sadly. As she hears the knocking she should jump, and then get moving to get rid of the evidence. In her highly nervous state, she is aware that it is still possible that their acts may be discovered. She says â€Å"A little water clears us of this deed† which is a direct contrast with what Macbeth said earlier, about a whole ocean not being enough to clear the blood from his hands. She speaks again in a falsely bright tone, but also anxiously, as she is trying to hurry while washing her hands. When we see what happens later on in the story, we see the irony in these lines as it is her who sleepwalks in the night, washing her hands over and over, reliving this night in an attempt to cleanse herself of the guilt. With the repetition of the knocks, Lady Macbeth becomes more and more agitated and she should speak in a very highly pitched and nervous voice. However, she still manages to keep her head and tries to speed up Macbeth, who appears to be losing his mind. She tries to usher her disturbed husband to their chamber, where they can rid themselves of the signs of their guilt, but he is still in turmoil over the events of the night and keeps staring into space. In the end, she literally has to drag him off stage. As Macbeth says his final line, he should turn to the direction from which the sound of the knocking is coming and shout in utter despair â€Å"Wake Duncan with thy knocking, I would thou couldst.† His remorse is now at it’s peak, and as the scene ends, the audience would probably be speechless. This scene is definitely pivotal to the story of Macbeth, as everything else that happens throughout the entire play seems to be a result of, or revolve around this particular scene. Not only is it important because it contains the first murderous act, but it also conveys to the audience the beginning of the rapid disintegration of the relationship between the two main characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Their relationship changes in this scene from a trusting one in which both considered each other equal, into one where they lie to each other and neither of them involves the other in their actions. All of the themes of the play are illustrated in this single scene; treason, the supernatural, ambition, light vs. dark, and good vs. evil, and this also shows just how important the scene is. It provides the events on which the whole play is based and after it has taken place, nothing is the same.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Effects of H-1B Visa Program on Employment and Wage in the United States Essay

The United States is the most powerful country in the world. Its dominant culture, military, and economy make it the most influential nation across the globe. The power of the US doesn’t only come from its native citizens but also from the foreigners who come to its shores every day to work and live there. These people play a very significant role in driving the US economy. A number of national programs have been developed in order to influence the influx of these people into the US. One of those programs is called the H-1B visa program. The program, which allows foreigners to work in the US, has critical effects on various sectors of American society, but especially the economy. Based on the data that have been so far collected, it is clear that the H-1B visa program, in terms of employment in the technology sector, is important in maintaining the status of the country as a leader in science and technology. However, the H-1B visa program may also have negative effects on the wage of native citizens because they would have to compete with the low wages of foreign workers. Many companies in the US needed temporary workers, so the H1 category of non-immigrants was created under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. Unlike immigrants, non-immigrants only stay in the US temporarily to accomplish a specific purpose, for instance, education or work. The current H1-B visa program of the United States was created through the Immigration Act of 1990 and the amendment of the 1952 act. The result of the amendment was a program that allows an employer to temporarily hire a foreigner to work in the US provided that he’s under the category of non-immigrants. Also, the worker must have a specialty occupation or be a fashion model with exceptional ability and merit. The law describes a â€Å"specialty occupation† as something that requires theoretical and practical application of a specialized body of knowledge. The worker must also have a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent in specialties such as business, biotechnology, education, health care, medicine, and sciences. The H1-B program currently limits the number of foreign nonimmigrant workers in the US to 65,000 per year (Bartik et al. 134). H-1B’s cap has not always remained the same, however. Congress increased it to 115,000 in 1998 for fiscal years 1999 and 2000. Then in 2000, Congress increased it even further to 195,000 for the 2001 fiscal year. It was maintained during 2002 and 2003, and was slashed to 65,000 again from 2004 onward. Not all foreign workers are affected by the cap, however. The H-1B Visa Reform Act of 2004 states that foreign workers employed by institutions of government research organizations, institutions of higher education and NGOs are exempt from the cap. Also, a separate cap of 20,000 exists on petitions that are filed on behalf of foreigners with master’s or higher degrees earned in the US (Bartik et al. 135). Recently, lobbyists composed of universities and members of the technology industry are pushing for a huge increase in the annual cap of H-1B visas. They argue that H-1B visas otherwise known as â€Å"guest worker visas† serve a crucial role in driving the economy, especially in the high technology sector. According to them, there is a systemic shortage of American engineers and scientists in the country. There is a very high demand domestically for these highly skilled workers and the small supply cannot fill that gap. The only way to solve this problem therefore is through the import of foreign workers through the H-1B visa program (Hira et al. 150). These lobbyists argue that they will be forced to resort to outsourcing jobs to foreign engineers and scientists in their home countries if the H-1B cap is not increased. They also claim that the visa program actually serves as a tool for the country to gather the best and the brightest highly skilled workers in the world. This is supposedly a result that is to be expected if the cap on the H-1B visa program is increased (Hira et al. 150). There are many evidences for the advantages brought about by hiring foreign workers in the technology sector. For example, a 2008 study by the National Research Council looked at the effects of hiring H-1B workers by large US companies Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, Motorola/Freescale, Intel, and IBM. Of the five companies, IBM employed the most number of H-1B workers, granting almost 4,000 in five years. Most applications in the company stated a range of earnings of about $82,072. This was considerably bigger than the other four companies’ average minimum earnings. The researchers thought that the applications were for jobs that were not chip-related since IBM had become a software company from a hardware company (National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering 152). It is clear from the example above that foreign workers in the technology sector do indeed get attracted to the United States through H-1B visas. IBM was hiring more foreign workers than anybody else in the group, and these people were earning higher. However, there are still many â€Å"experts† that love to criticize the H-1B visa program. John McCain and Edward Kennedy defended the H-1B visa program in 2006. The two senators supported the immigration bill that passed the Senate and insisted that their bill required employers to search for workers in the US first. However, their bill actually didn’t have any of these provisions (Hira et al. 152). Indeed, it’s a common misconception that the current law instructs US companies to look for workers in the US first. Many government officials also have this incorrect belief. Senator Norman Coleman, for example, says that he supports the issuance of H-1B visas as long as a number of conditions are met. One, the employer must show that there is not enough US workers qualified for the position; two, that the employer has not laid off a US worker 90 days before or after hiring a foreign worker; three, the employer must demonstrate that they tried to hire US workers before foreign workers; and finally, that the recruitment of H-1B workers will not have adverse effects on the waves, working conditions, and job opportunities of US workers. Even then Senator Barack Obama thinks that the H-1B policy aims to exhaust all means of recruiting US workers before foreign workers. He believed that hiring H1-B workers should be a last recourse for American employers (Hira et al. 152). The truth is however, that the provisions mentioned by the two people above actually don’t exist for the majority of employers who use the H-1B visa program. Even Obama’s wish that employers should hire foreign workers as a last option is not practiced in the real world (Hira et al. 152). Also, according to market indicators, there is not enough evidence of a systemic shortage of resident engineers and scientists in the US, one of the main arguments of lobbyists for the increase in H-1B cap. Also, earnings and wage growth have been moderate and more or less the same as other professions. The unemployment rate, while it sharply increased during the dot-com bubble, has now fallen. Researchers have also supported the idea that there is little evidence of shortage in high technology jobs. Private surveys and public data are also conflicting when it comes to determining shortages. Trade surveys show there are indeed shortages, but public data indicate the opposite (Bartik et al. 137). Determining shortages in scientists and engineers is a real problem because any increase in the number of H-1B visas issued by employers alone is not indicative of a systemic shortage. Other factors contribute to perceived shortages, for example, the growing significance of foreign students in American institutions. These are foreign students who remain in the United States after they graduate to convert their student visa to a working visa. Other equally important factors include: economic growth, cyclical demand in IT industries, especially during the 1990s, and even backlogs in the application process for permanent visa. Employers today are constantly hiring H-1B workers, but that is clearly not enough reason to increase the cap on H-1B visas. Aside from the effects it will have on the wages and earnings of American workers, the increased cap will create some problems in the permanent residency part of immigration because there are already backlogs there (Bartik et al. 137). The influx of H-1B workers into the United States has been going on vigorously since the 1990s. During that time, about 30 million people were able to stay in America through nonimmigrant admissions. The fastest growing nonimmigrant admissions fall under categories where a foreigner first applies as a temporary foreign worker or student. He then tries to find a US sponsor to able to obtain the immigrant visa. Between 1992 and 1998, the number of foreign students admitted into the country with F1 visas rose from 53% to 565,00. The number of trainers and temporary workers also increased from 128% to 372,000 during that period of time (OECD 35).

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Ronald Reagan and the Rise of the Radical Right essays

Ronald Reagan and the Rise of the Radical Right essays Religious and Secular Conservative Politics in America 1960 and its subsequent decades proved to be a remarkable time for the world in general, but very specifically for America. The first Roman Catholic president was elected; the birth control pill was introduced, and we confronted the question of nuclear war. We also saw the emergence of the Civil Rights Movement, the Anti-War Movement and the Womens Rights Movement as we learned first-hand and up close and personal about civil disobedience and political assassinations. During this period, the conservative right was an anti-communist movement that promoted conservatism in government; increased military spending; withdrawal from the United Nations and reducing government funded social programs. They viewed the student demonstrations against the Vietnam War as a communist plot, as were the Civil Rights Movement and the Womens Rights Movement. Conservative Americans called the changes that we sought, and the questions that we asked, un-American and un-patriotic. Eisenhower had disappointed the conservative right. William Buckley charged that he had done nothing for the Republican Party and nothing to develop a Conservative Republican philosophy of government and had, in fact, left the New Deal policies of FDR intact. The election of Kennedy had been a move away from the status quo of the Eisenhower years. He established the Commission on the Status of Women and appointed Eleanor Roosevelt the chair. The Supreme Court issued its ruling banning prayer in public schools. The FDA approved the sell and marketing of the birth control pill. The Equal Pay Act, the first major legislation against sex discrimination was passed and other initiatives for combating sex discrimination were being discussed. The Berlin Wall was build and American pilot Frances Gary Powers was shot down in the U-2 spy plane incident. Perhaps mo...

Monday, October 21, 2019

Change Management in Mobinil Essays

Change Management in Mobinil Essays Change Management in Mobinil Essay Change Management in Mobinil Essay The aim of this project is to present and analyze Organization development that take place in Mobinil 3 years ago First, We will start with an introduction about Mobinil on which we will describe Mobinil mission and vision as well as Mobinil’s 5 brand values (seek excellence – friendly – dynamic simple -human)ending by the Mobinil code of conduct. In the second part, will describe why the organization needs change. While in the third part , we will describe the planned model of change starting by entering and contracting with one of the famous consulting group in the work â€Å"capgemini† , then the practitioners start to make the environmental analysis for Mobinil as a company before making a SWOT analysis for the HR department describing the main strength, weakness, opportunities and threats for the HR in Mobinil, then making the diagnosis for the HR department on which we will focus on the coming pages. The consultant then put the proposal for how the HR department should be. we will discuss Mobinil Hr department in terms of: Mobinil HR mission Mobinil HR commitment Mobinil HR strategies Mobinil HR role and objectives Mobinil HR organization chart Mobinil HR activities guidelines And finally ending by evaluating the current change. 2-INTRODUCTION Since its inception in May 1998, Mobinil has strived to maintain its position as the leading Mobile service operator in Egypt. Honoring the trust of more than 25 million customers, Mobinil is committed to being the leading Mobile service provider in Egypt, providing the best quality service for our customers, the best working environment for our employees, top value for our shareholders, and proudly contributing to the development of the community. Mobinil shareholders, Orange and Orascom Telecom Holding are international leaders in the realm of telecommunication. Mobinil has benefited from years of experience in an international context to become the largest wireless service provider in the Middle East. Over the past ten years, Mobinil has delivered on its promise to millions of customers, whose confidence in the reliability of our services has reinforced this solid leadership position. This confidence was reaffirmed in a recent nationwide survey by the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority [NTRA], where Mobinil customers reported over 97% satisfaction rate in the products, services, and customer service levels offered during 2007 Mobinil is committed to provide the best working environment for over 2000 employees. Mobinil offers an open, challenging and dynamic environment with opportunities of growth not to be found by any other employer in the region. When you are reaching for excellence, you have to build a foundation of excellence. Mobinil’s well-trained and highly skilled employees experience the challenge of working in the most dynamic global industry mobile communications. Vision â€Å"To be part of peoples daily lives by providing reliable and simple products and services that help people interact and communicate better† Mission To maintain our position as the leading mobile service provider in Egypt, providing the best quality service to our customers, the best working environment for our employees, top value for our shareholders and proudly contributing to the development of our community â€Å" Mobinil 5 brand values Mobinil is a reflection of our desire to be part of peoples daily lives. The way we do things internally impacts our services and customers. Mobinil val ues do not only reflect Mobinil identity, but also shape our corporate culture. Seek Excellence Our passion to excel makes our customers at the heart of our business, offering them the best services and the best value for money. We work professionally, push for quality, value loyalty and never settle for anything less. We adopt the highest standards of service to each and every customer, internally or externally. We continuously advance our professional knowledge and capabilities to maintain the competence required to provide top-quality results. Friendly We enjoy working and succeeding together by building good working relationships in a friendly and positive work environment. We enjoy serving our customers and we are delighted when we make them happy and satisfied. We treat everyone with the respect and dignity we desire for ourselves. Dynamic We are passionate about our business and we are committed to meeting the changing needs of our customers. We are trend-setters in everything we do and we work passionately to bring the future to the hands of our customers in a fast-moving, high-tech telecommunications market Simple We communicate with clarity and simplicity. We are always straightforward and easy to understand. We satisfy our customers in the most simple and convenient style. We are committed to ensuring utmost efficiency in all our processes, to ensure we work smoothly and effectively. We say simply and clearly what we do and we ensure that we do what we say Human We genuinely believe in our role to help create a brighter reality for our community. We are proud to be a responsible corporate citizen caring for the public good. The aim of our Corporate Social Responsibility programs is to give back to our community, provide a sense of hope, and bring out our humane side We have a responsibility to balance the needs of our stakeholders as well as meeting our social, ethical and environmental obligations. Corporate responsibility is an integral part of our strategic planning and daily activities. Code of conduct The code of conducts outlines the share set of values that should guide each and every Mobinil employees at any level, from the most junior to the most senior, in their day-to-day work and conduct. This set of values should be adopted individually by employees and collectively by teams, departments, and the company as a whole, Mobinil values are based on human values as devotion to service , honesty, trust cooperation, transparency, respect and tolerance . See appendix (1) for more Details 3- WHY THE COMPANY NEEDED CHANGE In the latest quarter reviews, top management realized that revenues are decreasing and that they are rapidly losing market share to the competition. Competition was found to be greater innovators and having a faster new product to market cycle. In addition, NTRA, the governmental authority controlling the telecom market is putting more pressure on the telecom operators. And finally they realized that the demand of the clients is becoming more sophisticated, and traditional ways of doing business will not allow the company to move further with the same previous rates of growth and success. Accordingly Naguib Sawiris decided that serious change is required. In the general meeting he publicly announced that radical and fundamental change needs to take place. He encouraged all management to Participate In the change process, and at the same time delivered a subtle threatening message to those whom will not get on board the wagon. Mobinil contacted everal OD consultants, and after thorough analysis of the proposals received they decided to go ahead with two reputable OD practitioners: 1- CAPGEMINI 2- Blue Sky We will describe the action taken by the first one focusing on the HR department 4-ENTERING AND CONTRACTING Mobinil has set different criteria to choose the company with which they will do this major step, and they have asked for a technical, financ ial bedding to choose upon the main provider or external OD practitioner. The main intervention was meant in the HR management including a Techno structural Interventions After many meetings, presentation and discussions Capgemini was chosen by Mobinil , they sat with the Mobinil top management to define the main objectives of the change and they agreed that the main objective of the change is turning Mobinil into a competitive advantage in order to compete and generate more revenue to achieve the main vision and mission for the company . They put a time limit of 6 months in order to finish the evaluation of the current status then to discuss it with the top management. Capgemini will get in return about I Million US$ after finishing and implementing the change process. 5-DIAGNOSIS Capgemini started the diagnosis with 2 steps: * First : PESTAL or environment analysis for the forces affecting Mobinil operation * Second: understanding how Mobinil is currently functioning and providing the information necessary to design change interventions focusing on the HR Department A- PESTAL Analysis On the PESTAL analysis, we will describe all environmental forces affecting Mobinil operations as a leading mobile network Competitive Forces : Currently Vodafone and Etisalat represent the major competitors for Mobinil in the mobile operator services. Vodafone is one of the world’s leading Operator Companies, offering an extensive range of service, including voice and data. Established in 2000 in Egypt with a very good network efficiency perception, Vodafone always reacts towards its competitors in terms of offers and services, rarely though does it make its own offers, yet when it does make its own offers they are usually very attractive. Etisalat is the newest operator in the Egyptian market, with a perception of changing the market competition. In addition, it’s the first operator in Egypt providing 3G network with all its application from high data speed and video calling. It seems that no other major competitors will appear in the future; in spite of the existance of telecom Egypt (fixed phone), different internet providers and main mobile retails could be to some extent competitors but each in its own market. * Economic Forces : Egypt is considered one of the developing countries. Egyptian economic indicators are as below -Gross Domestic Product = $142. 8billion GDP per capital = $ 1,870 Real GDP Growth (%) = 3. 2 Share of Private Sector in GDP= 62. 5 billion Unemployment (%) = 10. 6 Inflation rate = 23 % These indicators will drive all mobile operators working in Egypt to offer the lowest price in order to match with the bad economic conditions as most of Egyptian population are pessimistic although mobiles represents one of the luxury and Self-actualization needs. Most of the Egyptian population has a week buying power meanwhile; they have a high spending pattern for mobiles * political forces From 1981, there wasn’t any change in the political environment except some fluctuations between the opposition parties, but with no obvious effect on the political life in Egypt Egypt is currently overhauling its political and democratic systems with the purpose of deepening democracy, promoting freedoms, upholding law and advocating respect of human rights * legal and regulatory forces Pursuant to Law No. 0/2003, the NTRA (National Telecom Regulatory Authority) is in charge of monitoring and protecting competition policy in the Telecom market. Accordingly the NTRA sets the limits for free competition, which if exceeded will result in the occurrence of monopolistic practices in any of the fields regulated by Law. A general framework for free competition policy is issued by NTRA to determine the policy to be followed to ensure a free competitive a nd liberalized environment. * Technological forces Due to the high technological development, mobile technology has developed during the last decade from 2G to 2. G and currently all operators are using the 3G technology with all its parents 3. 5 and 3. 75. Moreover, all operators are now using different software programs in order to have a CRM System. * Socio-Cultural forces With a population exceeding 80 Millions, living on 1 Million square kilometers; Egyptian population is distributed between 43% urban and 57% rural. Egyptian population is divided into different segments in terms of demographical aspects. Demographic indicators show that 58% of the population is under 25, allowing for a better opportunity for consumption. On the other hand, indictors show that adult literacy rate is 57%. Over the years, studies have proven that the Egyptian society is a consumption-driven more than being a production-driven society. For millennia, Egypt maintained a strikingly complex and stable culture. B-Understanding the HR Department CAPgemini made a one to one interview with every staff member, supervisor, manager, and even department head in order to know the daily operations, current process, and provide suggestions for change . After gathering data for over 3 months, they found the below points:- * Lack of alignment within the different departments, and lack of buy-in of the department heads and accordingly with the associates for the overall vision of the company * Telecom industry is a very dynamic field that needs a fast track HR management to bring onboard the best in class employees to enable the growth of the company. This vision was not there in Mobinil as the HR lacked focus, and activities ended up being handled by one person. Lack of clear HR objectives that meet the employee’s expectations; hence employee satisfaction was low, causing a high turnover rate. * Recruitment was influenced by personal relations, creating frustration and lack of trust among employees. These personal relations also spilled over into the evaluation and compensation systems. * From the above, the promotion and bonus criteria and metrics were not clearly stated nor communicated to employees, creating high frustratio n and low morale. * Lack of planning and job forecasting for the full time employees needed on the short and long term basis. No benchmark for the salaries and compensations between Mobinil and the market, creating a large gap between the pay in Mobinil and its competitors. * All training taking place in Mobinil was ad-hoc, with no clear planning or career path development goals. 6- PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTING CHANGE after finishing the diagnosis, Capgemini suggested that the HR department must have a clear mission and objectives. On the next few papers, we will elaborate all the suggestion about HR department in Mobinil done by capgemini HR Mission To foster a challenging, productive, fair, firm and ethical work environment, in which all employee thrive, by offering the best human resources service possible â€Å" HR Commitment to Mobinil employees Mobinil believes that their employees are the most valued asset. Mobinil ability to succeed depends on the integrity, knowledge, skills, diversity, and teamwork of their employees. They are shaping a challenging, fair, firm, and productive work environment, which emphasizes mutual respect and teamwork. They strive to reward high performance and we promise to be responsive to the needs of their employees. The company is committed to providing equitable compensation, excellent working conditions, and a fair atmosphere with great opportunities for professional growth. Equal employment opportunity Mobinil is an equal opportunity employer and we pride ourselves with the Equal Employment Opportunity policy (EEO). All employment applications are considered without regard to age, gender, religion, disability, or marital status. Tolerance and Diversity Mobinil respect others; tolerate differences; and believe in the power of diversity. They strive to create a culture where tolerance and respect exist between employees. The diversity of people brings strength to Mobinil team. Regardless of their differences in backgrounds, roles, age, gender, religion, or physical ability, they all bring value to the company through our work. They shall tolerate and respect our diversity and differences and treat each other fairly. Respect for people They should respect each and every person we interact with during our business dealings including customers, employees, suppliers, and all parties that have a business relationship with the company. They should consistently treat others with the respect and dignity which we desire for ourselves. The company operates a defined contribution pension plan for its employees, in addition to the statutory insurance scheme required by law. Employees who choose to subscribe to this plan pay 3% of their basis salary into the plan. The company will contributes an amount equal to 10 % of the employee’s basic salary to the plan The company has no liabilities or commitment to the plan beyond its defined contribution . employee who leaves through resignation or retirement receive their entitlements for the pension plan according to its terms based on year of services 4- Performance evaluation management: In order to Maintain and enhance growth and development of Mobinil employees. The performance of every employee is measured through setting performance objectives â€Å"What Formsâ€Å" and development of competencies â€Å"how Forms â€Å" What Form: responsible for measuring individual objectives as well as department objectives and its impact on the yearly profit share. KPI’s are set by the head of each department to be approved by HR How Form: responsible for measuring the individual development and its impact on the annual increase of the basic salary. KPI’s are set by HR department 7-EVALUATION AND INSTITULIZATION OF MOBINIL HR DEPARTMENT The evaluation was done in 2 steps: First: Evaluation analysis done by capgemini after the intervention Second: employees online survey to asses the new change of HR First: Evaluation analysis * Strength a well known mission and strategy for the HR department * appropriate management style giving employees a chance to express their point of view * appropriate organizational structure that facilitates k nowledge * a powerful training program * good motivation tools * weakness * late promotion due to setting a maximum of 8% annually of Mobinil staff to be promoted * no formal declaration for the dividends distribution * doesn’t put into its plan the development of second line responsible * no replacements for the people who resign * Depending on a lot of contactors especially in sales and customer services. * the severe intervention in every single detail, even in the operations * opportunities * very good opportunities for growth * very good reputation in the market, which facilitate the recruitment for caliber and a lot of fresh graduates * threats the appearance of Etisalat with its strategies for hunting the calibers in Mobinil * the existing of a lot of old staff whom transfered from Egypt telecom with minor management skills * incapable to compete with the new packages in the telecommunication market * Weak retention plan for resigned staff. * the composition of the compensation committee with 2 members only without putting any solution in case of conflict Second: Employees survey After the announcement of the new change and the importance of it in order to increase Mobinil performance and efficiency; a survey was uploaded on Mobinil intranet to ask people about their perception of the change . The results were unexpected as it showed the following: the new change increased the staff moral as they feel that the company can compete in the new market which affected their productivity and loyalty * they showed understanding for the need of change and gave full support, and they felt that this change was made not only for the shareholder but for the sake of all Mobinil members and stake holders * the change increased the companies transparency in terms of hiring, promotion, compensation package and profit share distribution * the change lead to increase in market share becoming the lea ding company in Egypt and helped increase the staff moral which was reflected in their productivity and efficiency. the survey showed that the new job descriptions helped to minimize the time for searching who is responsible for what as it contained clear responsibilities and authorities for every one working in the HR department * creating the new mission and commitment for HR department helped to achieve the companies over all mission and vision * A new culture has been created among all departments that the HR department has changed for their benefit not against them, as the previous culture before the change, and it increased inter and intra departmental communication 8-Conclusion After all of the above mentioned steps and details of the project that has been implemented, it was very clear that the change was really needed and felt in the organization. Despite the fact that many of the old stuff were very much resisting to the change especially that those people was with the owner hand in hand to build this giant organization, yet the top management was clear enough from the beginning and cascade the message clear that this change should happen and everyone should adhere to the recommendation done by the consultancy. As Mobinil noticed the importance of such a step, they were very cautious in choosing the OD practitioners , they set a clear criteria to chose among them. And they have set a good budget to be invested in such a step. Later on a clear contract and agreement with the OD practitioner was made that serves to make sure that both parties was clear in terms of expectations, resources, time and outcome of the project. That was a core stone to smooth on the whole process later on. The diagnostic phase which was a critical one took 30% of the time where the OD practitioner has meet with almost all the HR staff and the top management to make sure that they have got all the need information, unbiased and direct to serve the purpose of the project. Along with the analysis of the data collected was taken care by the company and they have came to the recommendation to the top management. Here the role of the communication was clear to cascade it to the key stakeholders, they buy in was critical and in manay cases they threaten them. The intervention was partially general standard models and part was tailored for Mobinil and it was focusing on the HR management and the technostrutural interventions. After the implementation majority of the stakeholders and people affected by the project, which happen to be almost all the employees has really touched the importance of taking such an important step and it is really affecting positively their lives and their day to day life. Now we can say that they major initiative has helped Mobinil to maintain its leadership position in the market, it has decreased the turnover of the employees from more than 27% to now less than 10% after the implementation by 8 months. Now the HR is one of the successful departments in the organization and it is well known in the market to be one of the very effective departments in the whole market. That is really the role of the big giant company to educate the market and here is Mobinil playing this role and taking advantage of being the first mover. End of document

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Absolutism under Louis XIV

Louis XIV lived from 1638- 1715 and became the king of France in 1654. At the time he became king, France was financially ruined, politically corrupt, and divided between warring nobles and private armies and under the threat of riots from the people, especially in Paris. Louis XIV was an absolute monarch. Absolutism is the system of rule that allows one or more rulers to maintain absolute power over everything in the land. There is no higher power and even the Parliament could not overrule Louis’ decisions. As absolute monarch, Louis XIV set about reforming the state politically, economically and culturally. Louis XIV’s absolute monarchy had three components: Centralization- this meant that the monarchy was the center of everything. All decisions from the monarchy were undisputable and final. All counties and villages were expected to follow this rule to create a united state and a centralized leadership. Economic reforms- â€Å"Under the guidance of Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619-83) a modern system of accountancy and yearly state budgeting was introduced. Colbert also supervised systematic attacks on corruption, removing, punishing, or paying off office holders. He also introduced tax reforms ending exemptions, tax-farming, and military collection of taxes and state support for industry, science, trade, and the arts. As regards the operations of the state, Colbert raised government income to the point when it could pay for quite massive expenses. Government subsidizing and directing of industry and manufacture increased productivity, raised wages, and brought France into the trade wars with the English and the Dutch. Colbert, like many French officials, repeatedly remarked that the inhabitants must pay the tax not only because it would raise additional funds, but also because paying the levy was the obedience which is due His Majesty. [1] â€Å"Theater of Monarchy†-this is the public representation of royal power and glory. Under the theory of absolutism, sovereignty is grounded in God, not the people. The glory of the monarch is, as it were, the earthly point at which is expressed both the glory of the state as a social whole ordered around and dependent upon the monarch and the glory of God from whom the monarch derives power and role. It was therefore important to show, through royal events and presentations, the state as personified by the king. Louis XIV distinguished between â€Å"nature as it ought to be†, as ordained by God, and â€Å"nature as it is†, disrupted by human activity. As the new, distant and mysterious God no longer intervened directly in the natural order, it fell to the monarch to uphold â€Å"nature as it ought to be† and prevent it disintegrating into disorder.   [2] One of his reforms began with the acquisition of the providence of Roussillonnais in 1659, which was inhabited by a specific ethnic group known as the Catalans. Louis XIV understood that there can be no shared political allegiance without shared cultural values. Thus a government, if it is to exercise its political authority in an area, must first make the region culturally homogeneous with the ruling nation. Louis XIV undertook to replace the Catalan ethnic identity with the French one, mandating the foods, clothing, legal system, language, educational institutions, and religious traditions that should be used in the province.  Ã‚   [3] The Catalans did not agree with Louis and made it clear with smuggling, legal battles and even open rebellion. They wished to maintain their own culture and laws and did not want to accept the monarchy as their ruler. Like all peasants, they were reluctant to pay taxes to the monarchy and many turned to smuggling as an alternative.   By the 1680’s, however, Louis XIV and his government were successful in achieving their goal of political assimilation. The Roussillonais had accepted France as their political rules but continued to conduct their legal, commercial, judicial, and religious business in the Catalan language, continued to dress as Catalans, to give their children Catalan names, and to celebrate traditional feasts. They were quite firmly French in a political sense, and equally firmly Catalan in their culture.  Ã‚   [4] A trend that began in the 17th century was for the ruler to govern from one location versus the many homes and palaces of the past. Louis XIV was one such ruler, moving from the royal palace of the Louvre in Paris to a permanent home in Versailles. It was from this location that he ruled France for his entire reign. Louis XIV was also known as the â€Å"sun king† due to his use of the symbol as his personal emblem. As the highest star, now accepted by science as the centre of the universe, the sun was an obvious choice to symbolize absolutism’s claim to constitute the political centre of earthly life. The sun was both terrifying and awe inspiring, dazzling through its brightness, yet also warming and beneficent, and without its presence all life would whither away. [1] David Stewart, Assimilation and Acculturation in Seventeenth-Century Europe: Roussillon and France, 1659-1715 (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1997) 39, [2] Peter H. Wilson, Absolutism in Central Europe (London: Routledge, 2000) 5. [3] David Stewart, Assimilation and Acculturation in Seventeenth-Century Europe: Roussillon and France, 1659-1715 (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1997) 1. [4] David Stewart, Assimilation and Acculturation in Seventeenth-Century Europe: Roussillon and France, 1659-1715 (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1997) 9.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Emily Dickinson Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Emily Dickinson - Essay Example She spent much of her childhood and on writing letters to her friends and numerous poems. When Emily was only fourteen, she witnessed the death of her second cousin and close friend, Sophia Holland, and became traumatized. Her parents sent her away to live with family in Boston, where she was able to get proper treatment and recover from the horrific event. After she returned home to Amherst, she also returned to school, where she made numerous friends and correspondences, and found solace in her church. When she completed her time at the Academy, she briefly attended Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, which was short lived due to a mixture of Emily’s failing health and her distaste for the evangelical fervor of the school. She returned home and became, more or less, domesticated, cleaning and cooking for her family. At eighteen, Emily was introduced to Benjamin Franklin Newton, who, according to letters written by Emily herself, was believed to play a large role in the majority o f Emily’s writing as she grew older. He encouraged her writing, sharing with her his belief that she had what it took to be an accomplished, published poet. It was Newton that introduced her to other famous writers and poets, such as William Wordsworth, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Lydia Maria Child. Unfortunately, Newton died not too long after from tuberculosis, and Emily’s brother took on the role of ensuring that his sister got all the books she could possibly want, including many works by William Shakespeare. In 1850, Emily’s emotional and mental states took a turn for the worst. In a span of just a few years, Emily lost a handful of close friends to various illnesses. As a result of these deaths, Emily withdrew into herself, keeping out of sight and sound of society. Emily continued to write her poems, though they focused greatly on the subject of death, which came as no surprise. However, the first half of the 1860s, the years following these deaths, â€Å"p roved to be Dickinson’s most productive writing period (Habegger 405).† In the later half of the 1860s, though, Emily became even more withdrawn, never leaving the house unless she absolutely needed to; even her poems became few and far between. In the mid-1870s, Emily lost both of her parents, as well as a few more close friends, plunging her into an even greater depression, where she remained until she died on May 15, 1886, from Bright’s disease. Emily was considered to be an intelligent poet due to the unique ways in which she wrote her poetry. They contained short lines, slant rhythm, unconventional capitalization and punctation, and they seldom had titles (McNeil 2). Emily often rejected pentameter, preferring to use trimeter, tetrameter, and dimeter, the use of all of these is considered to be irregular. She was also used dashes in the place of periods or commas, which would often increase the moods of her poems. The majority of her poems dealt with death a nd immortality; Emily viewed the latter as something attainable through her writing, which was also a thought she conceived during her brief friendship with Newton. Common themes include the use of flowers and gardens, morbidity, and gospel. Many of Emily’s poems were also peppered with psalms and riddles, as well as hymns and song-forms. When

Emerging Viral Diseases Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Emerging Viral Diseases - Research Paper Example The modification of the given genetic makeup of the host has also contributed to make them susceptible to diseases (Beltz 19). The disease causing viral agents have also modified their genetic makeup to increase their survival in the host’s system. Human behavior can also be attributed to the cause of the emergence and re-emergence of viral diseases. Human behavior such as urbanization, population increase, and migration lead to spread of diseases (Beltz 136). As people begin to occupy previously uninhabited areas, they get exposed to new environmental sources of infectious viral agents. Changes in food handling, storage, and processing by humans has also led to new spread (Beltz 145). Human advancement in bio warfare also increases the risk of contracting new and emerging disease threats. Ecological factors such as climate change have also led to emergence and re-emergence of new and old diseases (Beltz 162). Climate changes cause shifts in the geographical distribution of di sease causing agents and vectors. The shift in climatic conditions causes the agents to inhabit new regions causing diseases. Public health response to emerging and re-emerging diseases is vital in controlling and eliminating the threats of the viral agents. The response by public health organizations takes various forms. An enactment of global surveillance systems of the viral diseases is a vital response tool. These surveillance systems contain diagnostic and communication tools that detail disease spread plus its monitoring. Surveillance ensures that public health officials can map out the people affected by the viral disease spread, and how they can undertake their response to stop the disease spread (Beltz 256). Vaccination also presents a response by public health organs. The development of new drugs also gets carried out to nullify the effect of any emerging viral diseases (Beltz 258). The public health sector can also respond to emerging and re-emerging diseases by conductin g public health education. Health education is used as a vital tool to prevent disease spread among the public. Public health officials disseminate health messages concerning the diseases that get spread. The public health sector may also respond by initiating vector and zoonotic control (Beltz 270). Public health officials may employ the use or develop safe insecticides to trap the disease causing agents. The understanding of the reproductive cycle of HIV and other disease causing viruses is vital in stopping the spread of diseases. Infectious diseases can get prevented at a variety of points dependent on the infectious cycle of the diseases (Beltz 300). Understanding an infectious cycle of a virus is vital to allow for the identification of accessible targets for control strategies. The reproductive cycle of the viruses comes in handy in the development of drugs that alleviate their effect on the host’s body. Understanding the reproductive cycles of viruses ensures that sci entists can identify the points within their life cycles where the viruses are most vulnerable to intervention. This allows the scientists to develop tools such as vaccines and drugs that can fight of the spread of the disease causing viruses in the host’s body. Scientists get to design drugs that are more suppressive of the viruses and have fewer side effects on persons with disease. Understanding the life cycle of disease causing viruses also assists scientists to make predictions about the disease, and

Home Burglaries and Forensic Evidence Term Paper

Home Burglaries and Forensic Evidence - Term Paper Example Property crimes make up slightly over 75% of all crimes committed in the United States of America and burglaries constitute approximately 25% of those figures. The average loss of a home burglary is about $ 1,725 and 70% of all burglaries were committed in homes. A curious and perhaps interesting fact is that most burglaries occurred during the daytime, at between 6 am and 6 pm, which is contrary to common belief that burglaries happen at night. Most burglars (34%) entered through the front door (12% of burglaries are due to unlocked doors) because people are careless, too trusting or plainly not security conscious. In the U.S., a burglary happens every 15 seconds and burglars spend on average just 8-12 minutes inside the burgled home (FBI, n.d., p. 1). These crime statistics are certainly very alarming and the next logical question to ask is what is being done about it by the concerned authorities?Burglaries are crimes against property and may merit a lower focus of attention from l aw enforcement authorities who are sometimes stretched to the limit due to constraints to the resources available to them. Nevertheless, most residential burglaries went unsolved with low solution and conviction rates. The figures show only 8.2% of reported cases had resulted in arrests and a dismally 3.2% of referred cases producing a conviction (Baskin and Sommers, 2011, p. 70). These low figures should be a big reason for concern because it affords criminal persons the opportunity to become repeat offenders.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Statutory Interpretation - The Process of a Bill to an Act of Essay

Statutory Interpretation - The Process of a Bill to an Act of Parliament - Essay Example The defendant was, on May 11, 1963, actually within the boundaries of the station, and when within the boundaries of the station, obstructed a member of Her Majesty’s Royal Air Force who was engaged, at the material time, on security duty at and in relation to the station. It was contended by the defendant that because the charge referred to obstruction at Marham in the vicinity of a prohibited place, namely, Marham Royal Air Force station, and the evidence for the prosecution dealt with obstruction which took place when he was actually in the prohibited place, there was no evidence to support the charge. It was contended by the prosecutor that the defendant, being actually within the boundaries of the station at the material time, was in the vicinity of a prohibited place within the meaning of the Act. ... They gave the defendant three months in which to pay the fine and in default of payment sentenced him to two months’ imprisonment†. BBC News, 1998. Reform of assault law, [online] Available at: [Accessed on 22 October 2011]: â€Å"Deliberately infecting someone with a disease is not a specific offence at the moment, although it may be possible to charge an offender under section 18 of the Offences Against the Person Act, 1861. This section says that anyone who causes grievous bodily harm with intent to do so is guilty of an offence punishable with life imprisonment. Nearly 10 years ago, the government's law reform advisers put forward proposals for updating the 1861 Act. The government is now planning to go ahead with most of those reforms†. Caledonian Railway Co. v. North British Railway Co. (1881), 6 App.Cas. 114. – See in: http://www.archive.org/stream/cu31924017175864/cu31924017175864_djvu.txt . Citation on page 114, in Cownie, Bradney, and Burton 2007) . Paragraph 3 (from above). Cownie, F., Bradney, A., and Burton, M., 2007. English legal system in context. 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. - http://books.google.com/books?id=gs-HvA2DO60C&pg=PA335&dq=Cownie,+F.,+Bradney,+A.,+and+Burton,+M.,+2007.+English+legal+system+in+context.+4th+ed.&hl=ru&ei=ake8TtTJLbDS4QTp56iSBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false . Here the discussion on p.117 of the book is summarized, without any direct appropriation. Gifford, D.J., and Salter, J.R., 1996. How to understand an act of Parliament. London: Cavendish Publishing. -

Research the history, demographics, agenda, primary target choice of Paper

The history, demographics, agenda, primary target choice of Irish Republican Army - Research Paper Example In order to let this happen, the Easter Rising, a very significant insurgence in the Irish history was initiated, during the Easter Week. The Easter Rising aimed to revolt against the British rule in Ireland, and claim independence for Ireland. At this point, the Irish Republican Army came into being. Although, the British government appeased the movement of revolution shortly, revolutionists reassembled themselves under leadership of Michael Collins, and became the military part of the Sinn Fein, an Irish political party (Books LLC, 2010). History: After the establishment of the Irish Republican Army, a lot of unrest began; huge campaigns of insurgence were began opposing the British domination over Ireland, which included military raids, bombardments and more operations of the same kind. At last, 1922 bought the much awaited success for the Irish Republican Army and Ireland gained its much anticipated independence. Although the Irish Republican Army succeeded in achieving its await ed independence from the British rule, it came at a huge cost (Books LLC, 2010). The Anglo-Irish treaty signed in 1921, divided the Irish Republican Party itself in two parts. The Anglo-Irish treaty agreed on establishing Ireland as an independent, Free State, but it also considered Ireland as a territory under the British Empire (Derkins, 2003). Moreover, it also gave Northern Ireland the option of opting out of the Irish Free State, which it practiced. As a result, there was much resentment amongst the Irish Republican Army itself, resulting in a partition among the army itself. One of the groups under the management of Michael Collins, supported the treaty; while the other group established the anti-treaty counterpart, petitioned against the signing of the treaty. This headed to further unrest into the Irish lands, resulting in a civil war amongst both the parties of the Irish Republican Army, which lasted for the next nine months. The civil war ended with the defeat of the anti- treaty group of the Irish Republican Army and a huge increase in the death toll at the battlefields from both the sides. After the civil war, the Irish Republican Army, remained mostly irregular with its hangings, until in 1950s, when it again came in the news due to its efforts of regaining the Northern Ireland from the British rule (Derkins, 2003). The Irish Republican Army attacked the British infrastructure in the Northern Ireland to make the British army more vulnerable to the Irish Republican Army attacks. In spite of the series of attempts to conquer the Northern Ireland, and massive support from the Irish political parties and armies, the operation ended up being a massive failure for the Irish Republican Army, resulting in no fruitful results for them (Books LLC. 2010). Later in 1969, the Irish Republican Army split up again in two groups, but this time conspiring of the â€Å"officials† and the â€Å"provisionals† (Shanahan, 2009). The officials advocated the idea of a united and independent state of Ireland, but through peaceful proclamations, provisionals on the other hand, believed terrorism to be a prerequisite to attain an independent state. In accordance to their ideas, the provisionals launched a series of terrorist attacks on the Northern Ireland and on Britain as well. They tried to dismantle the British rule over the Northern Ireland and continued with their terrorist campaigns that aimed to weaken the

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

NUCOR Case Study Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

NUCOR Case Study - Research Paper Example Most importantly, the company should consider going global in order to exploit emerging opportunities with globalization. 1.4 Recommendations: The most commendable action is for the company to go global. This will diversify its operations by establishing business across the world markets. It is also a better hub within which its technological aspects can be fully put to use, thereby enhancing its competitiveness against rival firms and cheap imports. 1.5 Implementation: Plan implementation by Nucor has to identify market and industry gaps, and then take advantage of the situation. This may require the company to reevaluate its strategic and long term planning, and assess both financial and non-financial implications of the operational decisions made. This is more so in relation to acquisition of firms, self-development, product and brand development. The U.S steel industry has become significantly competitive as the number of operating firms increase. Foreign firms continue to dump low-cost steel in the U.S markets, thereby affecting the operations of domestic firms, and most importantly those of Nucor. Nucor has had to compete against low-cost steel imports in the U.S, as China, Russia, Brazil, and India continue to dump their steel in the U.S markets. The analysis of the U.S steel industry and the subsequent position held by Nucor in that industry are based on Porter’s five forces model. Nucor’s integration of this model into its operations can be summarized by the figure below: Competition in the U.S steel industry is intense and characterized by both domestic and foreign firms (Thompson 214). Foreign firms compete with the domestic firms on the basis of supplying steel imports to the United States. Nucor engages Mittal Steel and U.S Steel in stiff competition since all the three firms are set up in the United States. In other words, the two companies are the key

Research the history, demographics, agenda, primary target choice of Paper

The history, demographics, agenda, primary target choice of Irish Republican Army - Research Paper Example In order to let this happen, the Easter Rising, a very significant insurgence in the Irish history was initiated, during the Easter Week. The Easter Rising aimed to revolt against the British rule in Ireland, and claim independence for Ireland. At this point, the Irish Republican Army came into being. Although, the British government appeased the movement of revolution shortly, revolutionists reassembled themselves under leadership of Michael Collins, and became the military part of the Sinn Fein, an Irish political party (Books LLC, 2010). History: After the establishment of the Irish Republican Army, a lot of unrest began; huge campaigns of insurgence were began opposing the British domination over Ireland, which included military raids, bombardments and more operations of the same kind. At last, 1922 bought the much awaited success for the Irish Republican Army and Ireland gained its much anticipated independence. Although the Irish Republican Army succeeded in achieving its await ed independence from the British rule, it came at a huge cost (Books LLC, 2010). The Anglo-Irish treaty signed in 1921, divided the Irish Republican Party itself in two parts. The Anglo-Irish treaty agreed on establishing Ireland as an independent, Free State, but it also considered Ireland as a territory under the British Empire (Derkins, 2003). Moreover, it also gave Northern Ireland the option of opting out of the Irish Free State, which it practiced. As a result, there was much resentment amongst the Irish Republican Army itself, resulting in a partition among the army itself. One of the groups under the management of Michael Collins, supported the treaty; while the other group established the anti-treaty counterpart, petitioned against the signing of the treaty. This headed to further unrest into the Irish lands, resulting in a civil war amongst both the parties of the Irish Republican Army, which lasted for the next nine months. The civil war ended with the defeat of the anti- treaty group of the Irish Republican Army and a huge increase in the death toll at the battlefields from both the sides. After the civil war, the Irish Republican Army, remained mostly irregular with its hangings, until in 1950s, when it again came in the news due to its efforts of regaining the Northern Ireland from the British rule (Derkins, 2003). The Irish Republican Army attacked the British infrastructure in the Northern Ireland to make the British army more vulnerable to the Irish Republican Army attacks. In spite of the series of attempts to conquer the Northern Ireland, and massive support from the Irish political parties and armies, the operation ended up being a massive failure for the Irish Republican Army, resulting in no fruitful results for them (Books LLC. 2010). Later in 1969, the Irish Republican Army split up again in two groups, but this time conspiring of the â€Å"officials† and the â€Å"provisionals† (Shanahan, 2009). The officials advocated the idea of a united and independent state of Ireland, but through peaceful proclamations, provisionals on the other hand, believed terrorism to be a prerequisite to attain an independent state. In accordance to their ideas, the provisionals launched a series of terrorist attacks on the Northern Ireland and on Britain as well. They tried to dismantle the British rule over the Northern Ireland and continued with their terrorist campaigns that aimed to weaken the

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Colorado Creative Music Case Study Essay Example for Free

Colorado Creative Music Case Study Essay Large differences among competitors (advertisement) Necessity of touring across the country (more personal approach) Driving forces Financial Lowered initial investment (technology) Easy to enter the market Digitalization (fixed costs) Non-financial (art) To create a better piece of art Essential for business to happen Attractiveness of the industry from the standpoint of good long-term profit prospects Health problems of Mr. Darren Skanson Instead of 2 planned CDs only 1new CD He found new musicians Need to sell more CDs (no more sales, no profit) for acceptation of the CDs by distributors Direct sales are big part of sales Finding of some responsible and skilful person SWOT analysis strengths decreased expenses due to digital revolution position on the market Darren’s presence at shows the direct sale weaknesses lack of managerial skills insufficient distribution channel reducing profit SWOT analysis con’t opportunities reaching broader audience with promoting various artists and music styles music events outside Colorado cooperation with retail outlets nationwide threats new entrants existing competition minor position on the market iracy Assessment of CCM’s financial performance Not very various financial performance of the company Trends in each year: increasing gross profit of the company/expenses are increasing/net income is decreasing except 1998/sales are increasing – but not very – problem Increased number of work – increased number of money for hiring of new people. He need to sell more CDs if the company wants to be a part of national distribution he had several options: 1. To have several artists and to play as record label 2. Compete with artists on a recording label with Sony Classical 3. To make a new good selling product and to use money from sales for first two goals He found out that needs to increase promotion and publicity process (not quality but image) The biggest dilemma – after having health problems – need to find responsible and skilful person Uncertainties – manager on his position can be weak and not such good as Darren – not beneficial for the company – no profit.

Monday, October 14, 2019

History of the Selective Service and the Draft

History of the Selective Service and the Draft Albeit with some qualifying distinctions, women have always served in the U.S. Military since the birth of America. Their roles, responsibilities and numbers have steadily increased over the years and their strides in equality have afforded them the same opportunities as men. However, they have never been subject to Selective Service registration or a military draft in America. Women continue fighting towards being considered equals in the eyes of the nation even though U. S. Military policies changed, lifting all restriction on combat roles. Some might say it is time while others might say women should never have to register. Women should be given the same legal obligation as men to register for the Selective Service by their 18th birthday. In 1917, Congress passed the Military Selective Service Act (MSSA) at the end of World War I, which authorized them to draft men as troops. President Roosevelt supported amending the act to draft women as nurses during World War II and the act passed in both the House and Senate just before the end of the war. The country came close to drafting women as nurses during World War II, but a surge of volunteers made it unnecessary. The draft, again, was used during both the Korean and Vietnam Wars and pulled from qualified men only. There was a lot of protest against the Vietnam War and the draft during this time. Nobody wanted to send the nations boys off to fight and die in a senseless war. Many men would find ways to dodge the draft. The drafts immense unpopularity during the Vietnam War saw to its end in 1973 and in 1975, whereupon registration for the Selective Service was no longer required. U. S. Military would now and for the next 40 years be considered an All-Volunteer Force. In 1980, the MSSA was reinstated and, once again, men between the ages 18 and 26 would have to register with the Selective Service. This reinstatement of the Selective Service Act came in response to heightened Russian military action and President Carter wanted to ensure that the nation had the contingence force to meet any possibly threats. Included in the Act was an amendment to consider women for registration and service in the U. S. Military. Congress approved reactivating registration, but declined the amendment due to Department of Defense (DOD) policy excluding women from assignments in combat positions. Even with the reinternment of the MSSA by President Carter, the draft was never enacted after 1973. December of 2015 brought a major shift to the U. S. Military with the announcement that all military jobs were now open to women. Military officials and Senators took this opportunity to reexamine and amend the MSSA to include female registrants. In June of 2016, the Senate passed the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act that included the amendment as the next logically progressive course of action. The primary reason for the Selective Services exclusion of women relied upon womens restrictions from combat roles. Still, many legislators oppose having the nations daughters, mothers and wives being drafted and forced to fight in a war. There are speculations that Congress had removed the amendment and corroborated a compromised version of the legislation with the Senate. The White House initially opposed women having to register with the Selective Service, but in December of 2016 voiced support for amendment and with women in combat roles. The final decision may not be with the President, Senate, or Congress, but rather with Federal Judicial branch, which may ultimately be the deciding voice on whether this policy is effectuated. Legal case against the Selective Service The MSSA has been legally challenged on severely occasions by citizens and organizations claiming unfair discrimination or unconstitutional merit. The issues are: who is being discriminated against and what rights are being violated? The answer: women for not having the same obligation and opportunities as men to defend our country or men for being singled out and forced to fight in a war in the event of the draft being enacted. In July of 1980, Robert Goldberg filed a lawsuit against Bernard Rostker and the Selective Service System, claiming the MSSA violated the Fifth Amendments due process clause and was unconstitutional. Rostker appealed the decision of the Pennsylvania Federal Court to the Supreme Court when Goldberg won. In the Supreme Court case of Rostker v. Goldberg (453 U.S. 57) of 1981, the court ruled in favor of Rostker stating that the MSSA does not violate the Fifth Amendment due process clause due to current restriction of combat roles on women. Congress concluded the MSSAs purpose relied on drafting combat troops, and restrictions made registering women null. In April of 2013, James Lesmeister and the National Coalition for Men filed a lawsuit against the Selective Service Administration once more claiming that the MSSA was unconstitutional. The Central District of California Court dismissed the case, stating U. S. Military policies still excluded women from combat positions. However, in February of 2016, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the courts dismissal, since the lawsuit had new legitimacy due to combat roles being now opened to women. Women in combat roles Women have societally fought hard to be considered equally qualified for the same positions and opportunities as men, and the U.S. Military is no exception. Since the 1990 and for the next 27 years, women have started to take a more direct role in combat positions and so has their heroism and sacrifices. The nation saw the first of many in the increase of womens roles; U.S. Navy warship and U.S. Air Force fighter squadrons commanders, women fly fighter jets in combat and combat missions off of aircraft carriers, cleared to serve aboard combat ships at sea and aboard submarines, and most recently with two women graduating from the U. S. Armys Ranger School. Army Capitan, Kristen Griest, one of the first women to graduate became the first female infantry officer in U. S. Army history (Kamarck, 2016b, p. 7). Women are now being accepted to many training courses that were once off limits. The U. S. Army has approved female officers for the Infantry and Armor branches and the U. S. Marine Corps approved women as riflemen and machine gunners. Womens heroism and sacrifice The Global War on Terrorism has proven that women being outside of combat roles do not equate women not being involved in combat. Women have earned an overwhelming number awards for valor during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraq Freedom (OIF) than any conflict before. The awards included Silver Stars, Distinguished Flying Crosses, Air Medals, and Bronze Stars the same awards men have received valor in combat roles. U. S. Army Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester became the first female soldier to be awarded the Silver Star since World War II and to be cited for close combat action (Kamarck, 2016b, p. 7). Heroism and sacrifice often intertwine, and women bore witness to sacrifice in combat, just like men. Margaret Cochran Corbin became the first woman to receive a military pension for an injury sustained in defense of Fort Washington during the American Revolutionary War (Kamarck b p1). The nonlinear warfare of the OEF and OIF put women in direct combat engagement, as a result women casualties and wounded then all other military conflicts combined. Women required register In a world of unpredictable political climates, inevitable foreign and domestic threats to our country and its U. S. Military call forth the need for the Selective Service. It serves as a natural deterrent to possible threats, stating that the U. S. Military has the ability to assemble a much larger force in times of crisis. The Selective Service System to as a relatively low-cost insurance policy against potential future threats that may require national mobilization beyond what could be supported by the all-volunteer force (Kamarck, 2016a, p. 24). Having women register for the Selective Service benefits our country twofold as it grants the U. S. Military an equally qualified group of citizens protecting the nation and it shows the U. S. Military has a higher ability to fill its ranks. The nation would truly show women are equal and in a time of national emergence can be called upon. Women not required register The ethical and moral issues arise by excluding women from registering now that military restrictions have been lifted; men would be forced to fight on the front line while women get to choose if the draft is ever enacted, and the MSSA is unconstitutional and discriminatory. Concerns of fairness and equality for men are raised when exemptions for women are currently in place, as men would not have an equal opportunity to opt out of combat assignments. The ability to choose opting from combat may cause its own issues for the Service, as many would choose to avoid combat, especially in the event of a war or national emergency (Kamarck, 2016a, p. 26). Legal cases can now be made against the MSSA being unconstitutional and discriminatory. Previous court roles will have to be re-examined and whether or not the MSSA violate the U.S. Constitutions equal protection clause will have to be addressed. A clear message would be sent throughout the nation regarding womens equality in society and t heir inability to protect the nation, even with the changes in military views (McGuire, 2014, p. 709). Resolving the Selective Service System By resolving the Selective Service, it could potentially increase the possibility of crisis throughout the world. Studies have shown that if the government tried to reintroduce a registration requirement during a time of a national need, there would sufficient challenges fully staffing and optimizing the necessary infrastructure that would be needed to meet the urgent DoD requirements. Enforcing a new registration requirement during time of need would likely result in a very low compliance rates, making difficult to establish a database of eligible individuals. (Kamarck, 2016a, p. 25) Conclusion The desirable outcome for the Selective Service will be with either women having to register or resolving the system all together. The truth is, nobody wants to see their sons or daughters being forced to fight in a war. The draft has been negatively perceived since the Vietnam War. Even the mention of the draft during any military action insets many to protests. The last time the draft was enacted, the overwhelming unpopularity caused it to be resolved. Many men found ways to avoid the draft, some more extreme than others. The Selective Service System has come under legal fire many times, suits claiming unfair discrimination or unconstitutional merit. For far too long, the Selective Service has been gender-exclusionary in regards to U.S Military restriction on combat roles. Now that policies have changed, so should the Selective Service. Regardless of gender, people who meet the required standards should be assigned to roles consistent to their abilities.