Moneyball: Billy Beane Masculinity Essay

In an ever-increasing technological world, we are presented with many different concepts of what it is to be a ‘man’. Television, film and other forms of new media in particular are no strangers to the depiction of a variety of masculine stereotypes. However, since the popularisation of film in the late 1930’s, there has been one male stereotype that has been most commonly portrayed; the alpha male. One such character that this stereotype encapsulates is Moneyball’s (2011) Billy Beane, portrayed by Brad Pitt. Based on a true story, Moneyball, directed by Bennet Miller, depicts the Oakland Athletics’ 2002 Major League Baseball season, and the struggles of manager Billy Beane to take a low-budget team to success. The director’s discerning choices of narrative, symbolic and technical elements help to compose the alpha male stereotype that Billy conforms to. These elements give viewers an invited reading of Billy as an authoritative manager, who b ehaves and treats others with superiority, yet acts with a sense of individuality both around others and in a work environment, and openly shows emotion. Through Billy’s body language and mannerisms, and dialogue, the director consistently foregrounds Billy’s superior behaviour around others. As a result of Billy’s body language and mannerisms, we come to understand that due to his lack of relationships he cannot relate to players and thus treats them with a sense of inferiority. For instance, Billy always acts dominantly when in conversation, chewing tobacco, mimicking and talking over others and rarely sitting to display this authority. This body language is most evident when Art Howe, the team coach, attempts to intimidate him while negotiating his contract; Billy brushes him off despite Art clearly presenting the better argument. From there Billy proceeds to a scout meeting where he chews tobacco and indicates to Peter Brand when he is allowed to speak, with a snap of his fingers. This clearly demonstrates his use of body language around others to exercise his dominance. Bennet Miller further uses Billy’s dialogue to foreground his superior attitude and treatment of others. Billy rarely concedes to anyone, being particularly frank and straightforward, sure in his belief that he doesn’t have to explain himself to others. A  strong example of this is when Billy advises Peter Brand that, â€Å"It’s a problem you think we need to explain ourselves. Don’t. To anyone.† This mentality further reflects his display of superior behaviour and treatment of others, however, Billy remains quite individualistic both around others and at work. Bennet Miller uses the technical elements of lighting and camera work, and the narrative element of the plot to emphasise the individualistic orientation of Billy, both socially and at work. In spite of his behaviour and body language, throughout the movie Billy is portrayed as an individualist with few notable or intimate relationships. In many ways not only is Billy an individualist in the social sense but also in a work perspective, going against the grain of what baseball managers have done for the last 80 years; essentially he is a trailblazer. When we are first presented with Billy, we see him alone in a dark room lamenting the Oakland A’s playoff loss from the previous season. Through the use of lighting in this one shot we are presented with a recurring idea for Brad Pitt’s character, the haunting memories of loss and failure. Throughout the film we come to realize that the use of limited lighting and close up shots are used to highlight Billy’s social isolation. Furthermore, the underlying narrative is used to extend this idea, this time however in a work sense. The focal point of this movie is not baseball, but rather the way in which Billy defies the way in which players were picked for baseball teams. Instead of selecting players solely on their technique and precision, Billy opts to select players based on statistical merit. This important plot point is the basis for Billy’s determined approach to work; he works in a unique way, and is therefore considered by many to be ‘individual’ from other baseball managers. It takes great courage to defy what is widely accepted, and this action not only reinforces Billy’s alpha male status, but also reveals much about his discourse, especially his use of emotion, something uncommon to his stereotype. The elements of narrative and dialogue are effectively used by the director to underline Billy’s use of emotion, something uncommon of the alpha male  stereotype. With new depictions of masculinity rising due to technology, it has become accepted for more ‘manly’ stereotypes to show emotion. Billy is often seen throughout the film displaying his anger, frustration or satisfaction. The director’s use of narrative gives several examples of such sentiment: Billy throwing his tape away after hearing the A’s lose, upturning a table after a disagreement with the scouts and celebrating with a fist pump when he learns of his success in signing Ricardo Rincon. We grow to learn throughout the film that Billy didn’t play, and doesn’t coach baseball for the money, but rather for the satisfaction of winning. In fact, it is his deep emotional connection to failure, insecurity and lost potential that causes Billy to openly show sentiment. The director’s use of dialogue is key in understanding Billy’s overall discourse and in particular his use of emotion. An example of this effective use of dialogue is when Billy discusses the Oakland A’s 20-game winning streak with Peter Brand, â€Å"I’ve been in this game for a long time. I’m not in it for a record.† This suggests that Billy’s alpha male stereotype is more complex than it first seems, instead of being solely focused on the glory that can come with baseball, Billy shows us that satisfaction taken from exceeding expectations is most often greater. For many, emotion is not a characteristic commonly exhibited by an alpha male, yet Mill er manages to successfully weave this trait into Billy Beane. Bennet Miller has created a three-dimensional character in Billy Beane, who, while fitting the alpha male stereotype, adds emotion to a masculine depiction generally averse to showing sentiment. The invited reading created for Billy is that of a manager who acts with a sense of superiority around others, yet one who acts individually and openly shows emotion. Miller has achieved this invited reading through the selective use of narrative, symbolic and technical elements, including Billy’s dialogue, the film’s plot, and the use of lighting and camera angles. Ultimately, the film’s ability to present a common masculine stereotype and then challenge the discourse that defines this stereotype, positions viewers to realise that emotion is not an affliction of a male personality, rather it is something that defines the character of a ‘man’.

Noir of Chinatown Essay

Film noir is generally associated with a ‘dark’ type of film in the era following WWII. Film’s that are categorized in this genre are marked by a style that generally contains certain distinguishing elements – dark rooms with Venetian blinds, dark alleys, rain-slicked streets, dark offices and low key lighting. The plot usually deals with the dark aspects of humanity-greed, murder, deceit and paranoia. There are also distinguishing characters, the main character a detective or an investigator usually portrayed as a loner; a beautiful sensual femme-fatale who will use and eventually destroy the main character seducing him into crime. Although classic film noir generally is in reference to a style of film from the 40’s and 50’s, film noir form and style can be found in some contemporary films. One of those being Roman Polanski’s Chinatown. Although Chinatown breaks certain rules of film noir – it was filmed in 1974 and is in COLOR (black and white film is a traditional element of Film Noir) it models itself with formal elements of Film Noir genre including the sexy femme-fatale (with a twist), a protagonist main character seeking truth, and the plot laced with deceit, murder and greed. The film uses many shadows and dark and light contrasts. The low key soft lighting keeps the scenes dark and gloomy and projects the air of suspense. The viewer is told the story through the central character, Gittes, a hard-nosed detective in 1930’s LA, after he takes a case investigating adultery gets caught up in the middle of murder, lies and conspiracy- entangled into the dark side of humanity. When he meets the ‘real’ Evelyn, who comes across as mysterious, sensual and troubled, Gittes falls further into this web of corruption and complication as well as falling for Evelyn. The films keep the rhythm and pace slow seducing the viewer deep into the story. As in classic film noir Chinatown has a confrontational ending but with Chinatown there are surprising twists. We find the femme fatale has been a victim and is again a victim as she is shot. Gittes revelation that he has been wrong about Evelyn’s deceit also loses ending up with nothing. He loses the girl, and the crimes go unpunished. As the movie referenced

Complete Ramsey Walker’s profit plan Essay

Work assumption: 1. Assume that the sales will increase by 10% for each new title, as indicated the Backlist sales increase. 2. Assume that the total number of new titles remain unchanged; since Ramsey is trying to publish fewer segments and focus more resources on trying to publish fewer segments and focus more resources on differentiation those books in the marketplace, there is no reason for him increase the new titles. 3. Assume that they plan to increase their gross margin by 2% and decrease the expenses of sales by 1%, for each of the six formats, as given for Backlist. 4. Assume that AR as the percentage of sales remains 20%, as indicated by Backlist. 5. Assume that inventory as the percentage of sales decrease by 15%, as indicated by Backlist. 6. Assume that AP as the percentage of sales will stretch to 20%, as the last year percentage for the first five formats is 18%. The 10% increase in sales, 2% increase in GM and 1% decrease in expenses should be critical since it will increase the profit dramatically. And the decrease in inventory is also critical because it will decrease the lower part of the ROA formula. Since the overall goal of the profit plan is to achieve the 10% increase in ROA, so the above assumptions will directly affect the end results. Problem 2: Review the list of financial performance measure presented above. What measures or calculations should Ramsey use to manage the business? How should those measures be calculated? 1. Annual sales growth rate should be used to measure their performance  because this rate helps management to evaluate the quality of their decisions and also helps to make the new strategy for the future development. It is calculated by suing the difference between current year sales and previous years divided by the previous year sales. 2. Profit % is the most critical measurement of a business performance. Without profit or potential to earn profit in the future there is no meaning for a business to continue. It is simply calculated by using profit divided by the sales. 3. Average unit sales help the company to find the right format which is more profitable and more popular, and affect the company’s future strategies. Using the total units sold for one format divided by the total titles in this format. 4. Operating expenses can help them to manage their cost control system, OP can be calculated simply sum up all the expenses in the income statement. 5. POA and ROI are hard to control and too complex to analyze. But these measurements can be calculated by dividing the profit by total asset or total investment respectively, different results can be achieved by suing different assumptions. Picture Photo B & W Nonfiction Fiction Backlist Income Statement Number of New Titles 5 3 1 7 7 0 Sales 426,933.10 122,314.00 50,589.73 218,156.40 256,171.30 1,200,000.00 COGS 127,672.00 39,591.50 19,644.67 63,200.00 71,302.00 384,000.00 Royalties 58,218.00 16,679.00 6,898.67 29,749.00 34,933.50 180,000.00 Gross Margin % 56% 54% 48% 57% 59% 53% Expenses % of the sales 53% 54% 54% 54% 54% 47% Expenses 226,584.30 66,049.53 27,318.39 117,804.10 138,333.20 564,000.00 New Income 14,458.83 -6.083 -3,271.99 7,403.34 11,602.61 72,000.00 Balance sheet – May 31, 1998 Current Assets Inventory 39,892.20 40,119.15 10,933.55 36,187.90 65,747.50 500,000.00 A/R as % of Sales (projected) 20% 20% 20% 20% 20% 20% A/R $ 85,386.62 24,462.79 10,117.95 43,631.28 51,234.26 240,000.00 Total current Assets 125,278.80 64,581.94 21,051.50 79,819.18 116,981.76 740,000.00 Current Liabilities A/P as % of Sales 20% 20% 20% 20% 20% 0 A/P $ 85,386.62 24,462.79 10,117.95 43,631.28 51,234.26 0 Royalties Payable 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total current Liabilities 85,386.62 24,462.79 10,117.95 43,631.28 51,234.26 Free Cash Flow (= Net Income +/- Change in Net Working Capital) Net Income 14,458.83 -6.08 -3,271.99 7,403.34 11,602.61 72,000.00 Change in Net Working Capital 39,892.20 40,119.15 10,933.55 36,187.90 65,747.50 Free Cash Flow 54,351.03 -40,125.23 7,661.56 43,591.24 77,350.11 72,000.00

Alternate Forms of Assessment for Special Population Research Paper

Alternate Forms of Assessment for Special Population - Research Paper Example Community provides what such students expect in real world. For instances a minor should be ready to be put in a normal school setting, the playground and home; on the other hand, an adult should be put in a grown-up setting like a bank, a store or an office. Gauging such a student’s skill in every perspective from educational to physical outdoor skills. Any skill that requires integration. For instance, assessing personal and social skills individually from independence and liability would create room for redundant effort, and potentially resulting in reinforced focus on isolated skills. The embracing of continuous keeping of records for such students at all stages. Such a method would result in more accurate and reliable progressive or retrogressive efforts on the part of the student. Those students with severe hurdles have a higher variability in their skills from those without disabilities or minute disabilities on a daily basis. As such, seasonal skills could only be visi ble with time. The institutions dealing with such students should include, as a mandatory measure, supports and adaptations, and train the students to use them. The school system should avail devices, trained personnel and any other necessary support to enable the learners to function as independently as possible. Such a recommendation has been proved worthy in practice in Kentucky in that it drives effective school and classroom practice (Kleinert, Kennedy, & Kearns, 1999). On a personal note, of the above suggestion, I would be of a higher degree of agreement with number (ii). In a situation whereby an individual is disadvantaged, there always is the possibility of his/her worth in other life sphere. Just like it is said that disability is not inability, it has been proven over time that individuals with physical or mental challenges could still have a great unexploited talent. For instance, in Olympics there is the Paralympics category. There also are the Special Olympics for phy sically and mentally challenged athletes. The Most Beneficial Recommendations Recommendation number (IV) would be much realistic and would bear much expected positive results without having to continuously strain for such results. It would be highly ignorant when there is a standard meant to be attained in terms of result over a given period. Only those individuals who possess a high degree of irresponsibility and inhumane nature would set a goal for a disabled individual and not provide an environment that would make such a goal either realistic or easily achievable for such an individual. Assessing Students with Cognitive Disabilities In as far as dealing with a challenged student is concerned, there should exist laid down and visible lucrative incentives in the society for them and this could be achieved only when they compete with the other not challenged individuals. It should not just be in sports but also intellectually. Disabled individuals who achieve such targets, for exam ple, a very lucrative and well paying job in the society, act as role models and inspirations to the others. Zatta's article on Alternate Assessment for Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities :Implication for Educators, would be best to be termed as a much sought educational tool needed by any reformist wanting to transform the way the significantly cognitive disabled students are assessed and

Creative writing - 'Otherness' Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Creative writing - 'Otherness' - Essay Example I looked at her stern eyes and said, "he keeps it in the case that he carries with him to shop every day." Laila jo said nothing as tears dropped down her cheek. She knew like me, this was not the life she deserved but she didnt ask me about the plan any further. That night as we sat to eat our dinner, Laila did not speak at all. Rasheed went with his own narration of the days event, listened to the radio and went to sleep. I felt the chill in the air and my eyes refused to rest. I was feeling immensely alert and with every gunshot outside, I became all the more vigilant. Suddenly, I heard a thud and a cry and rushed upstairs. As a climbed the stairs, thousand thoughts crossed my mind but the sight of blood numbed me once and for all. Lying on the pool of blood was Laila jo...Rasheed had the gun in his hand. Aziza was crying her lungs out sitting by the side of her mother. I rushed to Laila jo and found blood oozing from her throat. Her eyes were wide open and for a fraction of a second I thought she was alive. I cursed myself for hatching that plan to her. I should not have confided to her. This was all due to me. A harami by birth, I deserve all the pain I suffer, But Laila jo? She was not a harami? At such a tender age she suffered so much! I should have killed Rasheed myself! o Allah! why is it that you take away everything that is dear to me! what have I done to be punished so hard! Rasheeds constant blows on my back felt nothing compared to the pain I was feeling in my heart. He was trying to separate me from my child but I will not let him have his will. I would not leave my child, she needed me. But a distant cry reminded me of the girl I had orphaned. Aziza I am your culprit! I am to be blamed for all that you would suffer in your life! My heart felt heavy and the throat sore. The sound of Laila jos voice was ringing continuously in my head. Aziza climbed down from the bed and sat by my side holding her

Legal Training Program (for Human Resource Management Class) Essay

Legal Training Program (for Human Resource Management Class) - Essay Example The workforce is becoming increasingly diverse. This contributes to the escalating rate of discrimination. One of the types of discrimination that happens in the workplace is sexual harassment. This is the most unwelcome and embarrassing behavior. Not only it can negatively influence the work performance of an employee, but it can lead to costly lawsuits for the organization. To improve productivity and to address the issue of sexual harassment, a good training program must be implemented. According to Konrad (2007), many of the US organizations are mandating the application of sexual harassment training program especially to their managers (p. 268). The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the federal government had been successful in addressing the concern on sexual harassment by ensuring that organizations under its supervision have conducted a training program for their employees (Swift, 1995, p. 53). A higher percentage of employees have expressed their satisfaction with the program. The assertiveness of the program has helped in reporting harassing behaviors which had been made easier for the victims. The same scenario had transpired in the European community particularly in the nongovernmental and voluntary organizations (Zippel, 2008, p. 66). The EU-wide campaign for sexual harassment training program had proven to be effective because more and more countries are adapting the program such as Germany, France, America and many more. There is discrimination in the workplace if there is hostility toward an individual based on sex, age, religion, race and even disability (Hoffman, 1999). Discrimination likely occurs in the workplace almost every day as employees interact. According to the study â€Å"Sexual Harassment Awareness Training at Workplace: Can it Effect Administrators’ Perception?,† the author found that â€Å"training has significant effects on the perception of sexual harassment ...† (Sabitha,

Vancouver supervised assisted injection facility Essay

Vancouver supervised assisted injection facility - Essay Example It had strategic purposes to support its mission listed as; improving quality of life for the illicit drug users and their environment, harm reduction and health promotion, empowerment of the illicit users to live productively. This led to the formation of safe injection centers that administer the drugs safely to the addicts. This essay will present a sustained analysis of social and economic impact of the assisted injection facility located in Vancouver. In particular, I argue out the pros and cons of the facility using a two part survey, chronological order. First, I will consider materials crediting this facility, then to those that show its disadvantages written from 2000 till recent. I will show give brief accounts that indicate the demand for these facilities. A rough estimate of 15,000 people inject illicit drugs, this excludes the occasional users. Injection drugs are often accompanied with severe health and social consequences for the users and their society at large. Increased infections, death and the accompanying costs are the distressing indicators of harm experienced within our society. These problems have grown immensely over the years and drastic measures should be taken. Safe injection facilities have remained an integral part of effective harm reduction strategy placed in Europe. They are associated with an array of positive health and social results including; less drug use, fewer drug related overdoses, reduced disease transmission, less public nuisance associated with drug abuse, less drug related crime and more drug users referred for treatment. These centers also help in sustaining contact with the most marginalized and chaotic users who inject in public. Let us now view the Vancouver context. Estimated 10-20% injective drugs users reside in Vancouver. This population has experienced increased HIV/AIDS prevalence, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and other

Personal Strengths, areas to develop more fully, 2 important Statement - 1

Strengths, areas to develop more fully, 2 important accomplishments - Personal Statement Example e grouped into four categories: social competence, problem solving, autonomy, and sense of purpose, which recent studies believed to transcend borders and cultures. Social competence or interpersonal intelligence, such as responsiveness, communication, empathy and caring, and compassion, altruism and forgiveness, is the ability to form positive relationship with others. Problem-solving skills or good intellectual functioning, which involves planning, flexibility, resourcefulness, and critical thinking and insight, is the ability to figure things out and find a solution to it. Autonomy, constituted of positive identity, internal locus of control and initiative, self-efficacy and mastery, adaptive distancing and resistance, self-awareness and mindfulness, and humor, is the ability to act independently and to take control of one’s own life. And, a sense of purpose, which includes goal direction, achievement motivation, and educational aspirations, special interest, creativity, an d imagination, optimism and hope, and faith, spirituality and sense of meaning, is the belief that one lives not only to breathe but to fulfill a mission. (13-35) Assessing my strengths based on the four categories stated above, I think I have strengths in all of them, specifically communication, planning, resourcefulness, critical thinking, self-efficacy and mastery, goal direction, and optimism. These aggregate of strengths help me reach my position today. However, there are areas that I have to develop more fully to further my success in life and to achieve satisfaction. Most of these fall on the category of sense of purpose. One of these is educational aspirations. This is so because though I am achievement motivated, I did not bother to further my studies. In fact, from being a market analyst of a multinational company, I have progressed to regional manager in a matter of six years, yet I lack post-graduate and relevant special studies as well to further my career. I think taking a

Management Maturity Model Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Management Maturity Model - Research Paper Example Killen and Hunt (2013) stressed the maturity level of any project and argued that the project maturity level is directly linked to the long term value of the project portfolio and resource allocation. Apart from Killen and Hunt (2013), other research scholars such as Rad and Levin (2006) and Pellegrinelli and Garangna (2009) have also stressed that project management maturity model is one of the crucial factors for any project management team. In the context of theoretical arguments of research scholars and project managers, the researcher has decided to shed light on project management maturity model with the help of both practical examples and theoretical hypotheses. Although the researcher is a project manager, throughout the paper the researcher will take a conjectural view in order to address the research problem in a fact-driven manner. Project Management Maturity Model Korbel and Benedict defined a project management maturity model (PMMM) as the systematic framework for a project management team to perform benchmarking and deliver value to the modern organization. A maturity model is basically an assessment approach by which an organization compares its project performance with the industry’s best practices and prepares a structured pathway to improve the existing processes. Korbel and Benedict pointed out a number of benefits associated with project management maturity models (PMMM) such as cost saving, an increase in the preciseness of project schedules and improvement of the quality of the project. ... f research scholars and project managers, the researcher has decided to shed light on project management maturity model with the help of both practical examples and theoretical hypotheses. Although the researcher is a project manager, throughout the paper the researcher will take a conjectural view in order to address the research problem in a fact-driven manner. Project Management Maturity Model Korbel and Benedict (2007) defined a project management maturity model (PMMM) as the systematic framework for a project management team to perform benchmarking and deliver value to the modern organization. The maturity model is basically an assessment approach by which an organization compares its project performance with the industry’s best practices and prepares a structured pathway to improve the existing processes. Korbel and Benedict (2007) pointed out a number of benefits associated with project management maturity models (PMMM) such as cost saving, increase in preciseness of pr oject schedules and improvement of quality of the project. Research scholars have found a positive relationship between project performance and project maturity level. The relationship can be depicted in the following manner; Figure 1: Relationship Between Project Maturity Level & Project Performance (Source: Korbel & Benedict, 2007) The above mentioned model is showing that the performance of a project increases as its maturity level increases. The researcher believes that there cannot be one PMM model which can be used in all projects. As a project manager, the researcher has recalibrated the PMM model in order to satisfy the interests of the stakeholders of the project. For example, a PMM model for a health and safety project differs significantly from that for a construction project.

Transnational Immigrants in a Global Society Essay

Transnational Immigrants in a Global Society - Essay Example On one hand he carries the stains of his culture with him and on the other hand when he is prevented from being considered a part of the new society, he automatically finds himself alienated. The sense of missing his own root, his culture, elements of his upbringing, recognition in his own society and the total sense of fulfillment is incited. Pondering over the current structure of the US society this sense of being unfulfilled becomes more explicit. Modern US society can be regarded as a perfect example of the global society where people from different ethnic background, from different nations have gathered with the aspiration to introduce new changes to their lives, to aspire for a better future. Most of the time, such feelings are generated from the perspective of attaining a better fortune rather than love for the nation. However such aspiration for attaining materialist gain could not subdue their spontaneous longing for their upbringing and culture. Such social alienation most of time gives birth to existentialist angst and they, consequently, also develop a feeling of hostility against that particular society. In the course of understanding what kind of problems can occur at the psychical level of an individual who, though is living in the US but transcends often to hi original existence, we have met Rina, a 34 years old lady, who has come down to the US for the purpose of completing her higher studies. While meeting frequently with her I have asked Rina several questions about her feeling over her stay at the US, her feelings about lifestyle in the new society and how she finds it different from her ethnic Indian upbringing. It is a quite common conviction transitional immigration is an entirely political phenomenon but the main impact of transitional immigration over socio cultural aspects of a nation most of the time has been ignored. In this context Reed

The Second Letter of Clement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Second Letter of Clement - Essay Example While the other texts contained many that will pertain to the subsequent tagged anti-Semitism in the faith, Clement II was undeviating in its message.1 The major tone of it was salvation and the steps necessary to obtain it. It contains teachings such as we shall regard him with importance as it may translate to diminutive degrees if we consider him small. Demeaning Jesus Christ will lead to suffering and those who worship him will be compensated and deemed worthy of his grace. He is the savior of all mankind and with his kindness we will be void of our sins.2 These early writings that have contributed so much in our understanding and teaching of the religion today are virtually unknown to many who follow the religion. They have shaped and cultivated what can be considered the biggest religion in the globe today. Professor Bart Ehrman, a prominent figure and scholar provides for many of the recent explanations associated with these writings. He pronounced that in many times these writings are treated in various ways. The epistle of Clement II for instance is in so many levels a misnomer. It was neither written by Pope Clement, which is the letter’s namesake, nor was it transcribed by the same person who was responsible for Clement I.3 The erroneously attributed manuscript was considered to be a homily by an unknown writer. This is what Professor Ehrman refers to as a product of an inspired reading of the Book of Isaiah that is found in the Old Testament. This he adds demonstrates the varied figurative elucidation to shape it in such a way that the text from were it was adapted from can be rendered in a manner that it can move the congregation though it may be drastically diverse compared to the past.4 The sermon also made use of the book of Matthew and Luke extensively. Two of the most prominent books included in the new testament of the bible. Excerpts from the book of Matthew can be found on chapter 2

To whom it may concern Essay Example for Free

To whom it may concern Essay Early in my career, I was sure I was set for life. I was fresh out of school and one of the starting members of Pusan’s own terrestrial broadcasters. Having only two national broadcasters in Korea at that time, I was helping to start a cornerstone of entertainment. Unfortunately I realized 15 years down the road complacency held me back from my true potential. Traditional media has provided many open roads for me, and what I’ve learned and experienced along the way I am very proud of. Starting as an assistant producer, I was on set for 24 hour periods making sure the set was proper and everybody was where they needed to be. It was hell everyday at different locations, but of course at my young age I didn’t mind. This was a whole new world that I was going to be able to direct. Eventually working my way up, I made a name for myself producing and directing regional variety programs and documentaries. In a way I was directing business decisions of the company and impacting the region’s economy. This position allowed me to raise a family of three and become well known throughout the country. I believed in traditional media with the printed newspapers and linear channels on TV. It took spending a day off with my daughter for me to realize that my thoughts, or rather hopes, of traditional media is far from the direction it is headed. Sure TV and radio will always be utilized but how about the way we watch TV or listen to the radio? How are we going to receive information in the future? Korea is a hotbed for ‘New Media’ with the start of satellite and terrestrial DMB as well as IPTV/VOD services. Never did I imagine the day would come when we can watch TV shows on a 3-Screen service. Traditional form of broadcasting is what I know now. ‘New Media’ is what I need to know in order to evolve, adapt and survive. I decided to take action upon my complacency and go back to school. The media world around me is changing so rapidly, I really should be at the forefront instead of becoming a dinosaur. There are so many things I need to learn about ‘New Media’. Sure the technology has changed and the mediums used are different. I believe though it is the impact of ‘New Media’ on society and the economy that will have the biggest affect which will spread all over the world. What is the next step? What can we do with this new service? How can we shape people’s lifestyles and the way they are entertained? Taking a look at the direction media is headed, I believe interactivity is the key. People want to control what they watch and it all starts with controlling what is on the air or on the Internet. Digital media is allowing viewers at home to shoot, edit, and broadcast what is seen. The rise of You Tube and Yahoo Videos can testify to this. Then there is the â€Å"Real Time† factor. Information is easily accessible where I can get the information I need right now. It is easy to link back how this affects the economy now, but what about the future? What adaptations will be made to the existing technology and where will that lead us? For example, how popular will WiFi be? How will WiFi affect consumer purchasing? How will this in turn affect manufacturing and exporting of new technology? Hitting a little closer to home, I am very interested in learning about IPTV. In my mind, IPTV has limitless reach around the world unlike terrestrial and cable TV, and the cost is much cheaper than satellite. Currently there are three IPTV operators in Korea, all backed by conglomerate giants. Will they survive? If so, what path will they take to ensure dominant market presence? If not, what are the reasons they lost control of a multi-billion dollar market? I attended a seminar a couple years back called ‘Convergence through Divergence’. Here the speaker spoke about how the semiconductor was the start of the digital revolution. According to him, the semiconductor allowed the manufacturing of devices we use today such as the computer, LCD TVs, digital cameras, phones, etc. This allowed the rapid change in digital lifestyle which led me to think what will be the paradigm that shifts media industry? For example when the compact disc was introduced, it was seen as the next step in digitalizing music. Just like LPs and cassette tapes, CDs were sold with whole soundtracks. Who would have imagined back then that sales of CDs would drop 60% today? Because of digital revolution, the music industry will never be the same. The industry will have to come up with new ways to earn profit thus affecting the economy. The same with TV. I remember when only terrestrial TV available, viewer rating would constantly reach as high as 40% to 50% for hit shows. Now with so many outlets and choices for contents, a number one show will get only 20% to 30% of the audience share. Should we continue to lose the audience’s attention or should we adapt to the audience’s focus and utilize new methods to reach them? Obviously losing the audience will mean losing advertisement revenues, but what is the most effective way to retain and even gain more viewers? Sitting at my current position and filling my current role, no matter how diligently I work, will not produce the answer this question. Going back to my original revelation, how did my daughter make me realize I need to change my thought and adapt to changes brought about by the digital revolution? I couldn’t relate to my daughter and what she was saying. Of course people say this is because of a generation gap, but the curious side of me started questioning why she thought how she thought. Where and how was she learning her information and what was it teaching her? I realized her thinking was not incorrect, just not fit for my generation’s way of thinking. The way I watch the news is on TV, at 9pm. The way she gets her news is through DMB, or blogs. And she doesn’t have to wait until 9pm. This made me envision the next shift in media. Anticipating where media is shifting is not easy since the shift will be dependant on many variants of the market. Questions I must ask myself is what are the emerging markets? Does one market affect the direction media is headed or does media control the emergence of certain markets? What area should I focus on in order to fully understand and control the emerging media market? In Korea we talk about the success of CDMA digital phones. We use Japan’s implementation of TDMA in the beginning and the current shift to CDMA as an example of how our network was a risk worth taking. But people fail to talk about the success of GSM world-wide, and compared to GSM, our CDMA system is not so economically successful. I need to be able to make the right decisions in shaping the country’s path for mass media. Instead of thinking locally, I want to focus on globalization of the Korean television industry. I feel the best way to further my career path will be to attend school. Once in school I hope to learn the following topics: Where Media is headed Shifts in media- mobile, IPTV, DMB, Making new media more profitable How to Impact society and business with new media The most important step for me in shaping my future is choosing the right school. I realize where I attend will affect what I learn and my views on my chosen field. I highly anticipate that your scholastic academy can offer me a balanced blend of intellectual challenge as well as a peaceful yet energetic setting for me to continue my studies. I look forward to hearing good news from you and discovering my future in ‘New Media’ together. Thanks. Tel : +82 11 853 6896 E-mail : woo. [emailprotected] com.

Barclays Bank Is An International Company Marketing Essay

Barclays Bank Is An International Company Marketing Essay Barclays Bank is an international company offering banking services to its clients and potential customers i.e. those with no account but transact with people with an account with Barclays. In banking sector a customer is termed as person who has an account with the bank irregardless of whether the funds are available in that account or not. The head office of Barclays is located in London and it has many branches across the world. The main business of Barclays Bank is to offer banking services, corporate and investment banking to its clients. Barclays is the leading company offering financial services in the world. The company has been rank as a top company in terms of employment. They offer competitive salaries that have made it difficult for employees to move to other companies thus portraying a positive image. Human resource managers of various branches of Barclays Bank have contributed most to the success of the company. This has been due to motivations of employees in terms of promotions, salary increase and praising of good work. Services offered by the bank have various characteristics which includes intangibility. This characteristic of services has made it difficult for many marketers to market the services and convince the customer to buy. Effective marketers are able to sell these services despite of its intangibility. The main thing that enables these marketers to sell intangible services is that they create a picture of a service to customers and demonstrate how the services will be beneficial to them in case they make a choice to buy (Krishnan, 2009. p 200). The image of the bank is also another important element which will determine whether the customer will trust the services offered by the bank or not. In Barclays bank, the company has a good image in terms of building and has enough parking spaces for customers in their premises. Customers want to associate themselves with valuable things and thus when the bank looks smart everyone will want to belong to that bank. This is a strategy especially to customers who are looking for secured place to keep there funds. Most customers look at the appearances before making up their decision on whether to deposit their money in certain bank or not. It is also important to ensure that the banking hall is organised so as to attract many customers to buy intangible service in the bank (Kotler, 2009. p 161). Business people hate queuing in the bank because they will consider it as a waste of time. It is for this reason, that most banks have introduced ATMs in their branches so as to reduce queuing in the banking hall; customers can deposit or withdraw using their ATMs. Employees are also another important determinant of the success of the bank because they deal with customers directly. It is important that the human resource manager plans for training his employees concerning the services they offered. In most cases, it is difficult to sell the service without a person; services are commonly sold by people who understand how those services work. It is therefore important to train employees so that they can offer quality services to the customers. Lastly, the bank employees should dress in a certain code so that it is identified easily by the customers who need to be assisted in filling out the forms, or customers who might face any difficulty within the Banking hall. Furthermore, dressing in a certain manner signifies a lot to the customers in the bank. It might suggest the kind of discipline which is being maintained in the bank or it shows that employees are ready to assist at any time the problem arises. Barclays Bank normally differentiates itself from other banks in the following manner. They offer quality services to its customers and charge higher prices. This pricing strategy indicates that the company is offering quality services and are reliable. The pricing strategy used by the bank is effective because it target certain class of customers in the market. It is important to segment the market so that you can clearly identify the kind of customers you are dealing with. In most cases Barclays bank target people with average income because this is a class where many people fall. It is challenging for a bank to differentiate itself from other competitors because whenever the bank introduces a marketing strategy other banks will automatically copy. Barclays bank has managed to maintain it leadership position in the market because of the loyal customers. These loyal customers act as the advertising tool to the company because they offer referral to other customers. Barclays bank has also benefited greatly due to the high number of customers they serve in the market. The bank has been in a position to cross sell its products to the customers thus increasing it annual turnover (Gaspary, 2009. p 328) Barclays Bank offers a wide variety of account to its customers starting from children account to fixed deposit account. These varieties have given the customer a wide choice to choose from their interested field in which they invest in. It is important to offer such variety of services so that they can satisfy all classes of customers in the market they served. Furthermore, Barclays Bank has differentiate itself by implementing total quality management has part of their strategy. The company apply total quality management by concentrating on the customers needs, main goals of the bank and other parties which relates to the bank in one way or another. Application of total quality management have been based on the fact that the bank should at anytime deliver quality services for the benefit of the customers and also to attained its objective (Clark, 2008. p 80) Apart from differentiating itself from other banks through the application of total quality management the bank has benefited in this application of total quality management in various ways. The main advantage of using total quality management is the possibility of balance of interest of the opposing parties. For example the bank will be in apposition to make higher profit because there are customers willing to pay premium prices for the quality services they received. At this angle, the bank will benefit by selling its services at premium prices while the customers will be in a position to receive quality services which are worth their money. Because of total quality management, customers will receive services which will satisfy them completely. Finally, the bank can differentiate itself by positioning its products well in the market. Many banks products and services causes positioning errors in the minds of customers, these positioning errors comprised of confused positioning, under positioning and over positioning. These errors can be eliminated if the bank can carry out extensive marketing and personal selling so that the customers can receive the right information concerning the bank. It is important for the bank to differentiate its services from other competitors in terms of price, quality, and the benefits attached to the services. Bank can ensure this by introducing post purchase behaviour so that they can obtain the reaction of the customers after they have used the product. Question 2 Project management Executive summary The managers of the Wagga Independent Groceries Company (WIG) have suggested that all departments be network so that the flow of information and data retrieval will be easier. Furthermore, networking will assist the employees to deliver and serve customers in the shortest time possible because they accessing information or any other requirement they may be looking for. This report will analyse the procedures of networking and the recommendation to the manager of the company (Chary, 2009. p 119) Introduction and background Wagga Independent Groceries is a reputable company offering technological services to its customers. The company is trusted by its customers due to its quality services they offer at affordable prices. Furthermore, the company has been able to survive stiff competition in the market because of its quality services they offer which has enabled the company to build a positive image with its customers in the market (Kurtz, 2008. p 123) Findings The networking plan has been divided into four phases so that it can ensure proper installation in the company. This installation will help the departments to share some important information regarding the performances of the company. Duration Networking procedures have been divided into four phases. This phases comprised of phase one which is planning and design. This phase is expected to last for 6 weeks with activities As going on. We expect to start our project at this phase in which we will deal with technical requirements design and we will be reviewing the functional designed frequently (Polkowski, 2009. p 63). In the second phase, we will deal with preparation for installations. This is a crucial stage in which will be ordering various equipment for installation process, we will also carryout system prototyping and pre-configuration and testing. We expect all these process to last for 8 weeks and we will carryout activity B, C and D. The next step we will be taking is the installation. This will be in phase 3 and we plan to carryout installation because by then we will be having all the necessary materials in hand. We will also deal with site installation and documentation set up to ensure that all the departments are network in the company. This phase will last for 10 weeks and the activities in this phase comprised of G, E, and F. Finally, we will carryout post-installation which will comprised a lot of work such as orientation of staff on how to use the system, and then post installation review on the performances of the new system and finally, the formalization of the system in the company. This phase will also last for 7 weeks. The diagram below summarise the whole process of networking (Lawrence Kimberg, 2009. p 74) Conclusion In conclusion, the implementation process of the company will be carried out as planned because all the necessities have been put in place. Since I am a project manager, I would request the finance department to release the funds to be used in this process in a timely manner so that we can implement the project immediately as planned. According to the estimates, it shows that in case of disruption of the operation, the company will incur an average of $ 30, 000* 7 = $ 210,000. The system managers have an alternative of this, the activity H (site installation) can be taken by another company though there would be additional cost of $ 80,000, and the period will reduce to 3 weeks instead of 7 weeks. The total expenses in the second option is $ 80,000 * 3 = $ 240,000. This indicates that the option of system administrator is expensive though the time will be reduced to three weeks. The action I am going to recommend is that the management of the company should weigh a different of 4 weeks and a different of $ 30, 000. From there the management of the company will be in a position to come up with a sound decision (Karel, 2009. p 424). Critical Path Method of project planning. Executive summary This report seeks to address the project management of Wagga Independent Groceries Company which we intend to network all departments in the company so as to facilitate easy flow of information. The main aim of this report is prepared for the senior management of the Wagga Independent Groceries to review the planned process of networking the companys department. Furthermore, the report will advise the management on what is supposed to be done and the date of implementation. Introduction and background Due to complexity of the company and its heavy operation, the management of the company have proposed that the project planning be carried out before the actual implementation takes place in the company. We have chosen with my team and under the instruction of our manager to use Critical Path Method when preparing this report. Steps in critical path method of project planning To network the company effectively, there should be procedures to be followed. In this method every participant in the implementation must have clear role to carry out in the project. The following diagram shows how the implementation will be carried out. The letters (A, B, C, D, E and F) represent the activities shown in the above report. The weeks also indicate the duration taken to complete the project in every phase. In this method, there is critical part which needs to be identified and it concern the period required in order to complete implementation. The critical part can be identified by determining various parameters such as the earliest time of implementation and the expected time in which project will be completed. This is very important for purposes of mentoring the actions taken so that the actual result can be compared with the planned result (Martinich, 2009. p 89). Question 3 Plant Location The best coordinates will depends on so many factors such as infrastructure, to make the appropriate decision the manager needs to determine the demand of the materials in the company. It is not profitable for the company to move long distance when it can make less profit. There are various problems which are associated with the POM-QM for Windows especially when the places are scattered. It does not give the appropriate solution because they are based on estimation. It is better for the company to look for other alternative rather than using POM-QM for Windows. The method also requires somebody who understands the procedures well so that will calculate the relevant answers. Question 4 Transportation problem It has been tradition for central office in rural Victoria to co-ordinate all the shipment of blood into 5 hospitals. From the auditors report it shows that the manual technique being used is not cost effective. Due to this the management of the hospital has decided to implement other methods such as mathematical modelling so that they can minimise the cost. Hospital 1 Hospital 2 Hospital 3 Hospital 4 Hospital 5 Supply Bank 1 $50.00 $50.00 $100.00 $150.00 $200.00 250 Bank 2 $70.00 $70.00 $30.00 $30.00 $100.00 100 Bank 3 $50.00 $50.00 $40.00 $120.00 $150.00 150 Demand 80 120 220 50 40 Hospital 1 and 2 spend the same amount in transport in blood from the three Bank Blood though their demand varies. This means that Hospital 1 is not effective as compared to Hospital 2. In general Hospital 3 is very effective because of high demand yet they spend equal amount with Hospital 1 and 2. On the other, supply from the three Blood Banks varies with Bank 1 delivering large amount of Blood. It will be economical if the 5 hospital utilise the supply from Bank 1. Hospital should also consider the storage devices available before making it decision. The hospitals need to analyse the blood group from every Blood Bank so that those with the same blood group can consider leaving so as to reduce the expenses. They should also analyse the usage of blood in the hospital to avoid transporting excess blood to the hospital. Besides, the hospital can team up with the Red Cross that has created a blood bank for emergencies so that they can be transporting whenever a need arises in the hospital. Work Cited Clark, G. Service operations management: improving service delivery. Financial Times/Prentice Hall, 2008. 3rd edn. Pp 79-84 Kurtz, D. L. Contemporary Business 2009 Update. Cengage Learning, 2008 12th edn. Pp 121-126 Martinich, J. S. Production And Operations Management: An Applied Modern Approach. Wiley India Pvt. Ltd., 2009 5th edn. Pp 88-92 Gaspary, P. Integrated Management of Systems, Services, Processes and People in IT. Springer, 2009 4th edn. Pp 326-330 Chary, A. Production and operations management. Tata McGraw-Hill, 2009 4th edn . 117-121 Karel, R. Operations and Supply Chain Management for the 21st Century. Cengage Learning, 2009 6th edn. Pp 421-425 Polkowski, L. Rough Sets and Knowledge Technology. Springer, 2009 3rd edn. Pp 61-64 . Lawrence, P. Kimberg, R. Advances in Business and Management Forecasting. Emerald Group Publishing, 2009. 4th edn. Pp 72-76 Kotler, H. Marketing: An Introduction. Financial Times Prentice Hall, 2009 4th edn. Pp 158-166 Krishnan, R. Marketing Research, 2009. Wiley India Pvt. Ltd., 2009 7th edn. Pp 199-201

Wal-marts foreign entry

Wal-marts foreign entry WAL-MARTS FOREIGN ENTRY IN GLOBAL MARKETS The phenomenon of globalization has determined many firms to spread out to overseas markets. The purpose of this paper is to examine the firms strategies for new market entry and the major issues they need to deal with while entering into new foreign markets and Wal-Mart is utilized as an example. During this expansion, some firms succeeded and some failed also. Wal-Marts entry into the foreign market and its operations in the China and U.K where it was successful are examined and it can be inferred that the cultural differences and the political influences play a vital role in selecting entry mode and setting operational strategies. Also, In order to understand the failure in German retail market amongst many, the following influential factors will be considered that Germany has different culture and consumer behaviour, oligopoly market environment, unfavorable legislation and influential labour union. Additionally, this entry and exit of Wal-mart affected, inevitably, other countries and most of the competitors in many aspects. In the domestic market of U.S, Wal-Mart has a considerable success. Since Wal-Mart began international operations in Mexico in 1991, it has violently expanded foreign investments all over the world, including Canada, Latin America, Europe, and the Far East. Wal-Mart expanded its international operations such as in the United Kingdom, South America and China where its going highly successful, whereas in South Korea and German markets its operations were unsuccessful and it was forced to pull out of these markets mainly due to sustained losses in an incompatible culture and highly competitive market. However, Wal-mart failed to position itself when trying to penetrate the German retail market through replicating its US strategies. Initially, firms should have a clear purpose for expanding overseas. Firms tend to go international for many different reasons, for example, firms may be interested in structuring a global brand image, the home market may be saturated, external initiatives to spread the product, or grabbing more market share etc. Prior to entering a particular foreign market, firms need to look upon the consumer purchasing power, market size, entry barriers, political stability and cultural and language differences. Culture plays an essential role in shaping whether a firm can last in a foreign market. Consumers in different cultures may have different attitudes toward the same product and may value things differently. Therefore, international managers should take into account the cultural factor carefully in decision-making. Furthermore, Psychic distance also requires being carefully addressed in the market selection stage. Psychic distance is defined as factors precluding or disturbing the flows of information between firms and markets in terms of differences in culture, language, political systems, levels of industrial development, etc (Johanson and Wiedersheim-Paul, 1975). Theoretically, firms have a tendency to penetrate the psychically close market to moderate risk. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Wal-Mart) is the worlds biggest American retail corporation in the world. Wal-Mart is a company which is renowned for its influence on US government. Wal-Mart has a friendly legislature and government policy in accordance to its company policies and method which indeed helps them to achieve goal such as limiting port security, the elimination of the estate tax, restricting tariff protections and obtaining lucrative subsidies. According to survey Wal-Mart has received 1.2 billion from US government in form of subsidies, grants and fund. Following are few examples that shows how US government helped Wal-Mart in US: More Than $1 Billion from tax-payer funded Subsidies. A May 2004 report analyzed how more than $1 billion from over 244 taxpayer-funded subsidies status, general grants and job training/recruiting funds is received by Wal-Mart. Millions To broaden the Street to its Headquarters. In2005, to broaden Eighth Street in Bentonville which goes to Wal-Marts corporate headquarters, a federal highway bill was signed by President Bush of $35 million. Employing Teens in Unsafe Conditions. An agreement was signed by the Wal-Mart with the Departments Wage and Hours Division about future child labor conditions that the teens aged 16 and 17 are prohibited to participate in activities Negotiating for Weak Enforcement. The conduct of an audit by the (OIG) of the child labor found an agreement among Wal-Mart and the Department of Labor that prove serious collapses in the WHD [Department of Labors Wage and Hour Division] process for approving, developing and negotiating such agreements. These consequences in the WHD gave substantial concessions to Wal-Mart, while entering into an agreement. In the early 1990s, Wal-Mart was enforced to expand its business into the new foreign market due to critical U.S market conditions. Firstly, In the US it faced market saturation. Wal-Mart comes up with 200 new stores each year and this fast expansion results in the short distance between its old stores and new stores. Further, the retail price difference between Wal-Mart and its key competitors has been lessened so consumers had little incentive to go to Wal-Mart. Therefore, rather than summing up the market share from its competitors, the new stores in fact gained the market share from its old stores. Finally, the progress in demand was declining because of the decreasing family sizes in the U.S. (Kim 2008) . Taking into account, all these factors, the international expansion appears as a prior strategy for Wal-Mart to promote its business growth. Wal-Mart initiated to expand internationally in 1991 with the creation of a joint venture with Citra, S.A. de C.V, Mexicos largest retailer. According to the Wal-Mart they promote its growth internationally because â€Å"We need to be the growth of Wal-Mart some day when the United States slows down† (as cited in Molin, 2004). The company feels the international market as a alternate when there was limited growth in the US. After creating a joint venture in 1991, Wal-Mart came out as a large international player and within one and half decade it expanded its operations in globally in many countries. Wal-Mart did not use single strategy to enter in different countries. They decide on the basis of the business, competitive and economic environments that exist in. Wal-Mart made its presence in local markets by first considering the uniqueness of each market, and then by altering its business model to suit that market. After choosing the country like China, the management makes the decision after analyzing the environment that seemed to be positive in China. The China is a country with a history of tremendous level of 1.3 billion population. In China , the governments liberalization initiative and its open policy increased disposable income of consumers because of limited competition offered by similar business models its high constant economic growth and. The retail sale in China is $1.2 trillion in 2007 and the growth of market is expected $ 2.4 trillion by 2020, which indicates that there is a big opportunity for the company. These factors attracted the Wal-Mart company to research and make their presence in China. In 1996,Wal-Mart entered China and it grew slowly. Some people pointed out on its slow growth, but according to me, the strategy of slow growth helps the Company to examine the environment in a completely different culture with regard to US. Wal-Mart had taken up those merchandising and store designs that suits the Chinese consumer requirements best. The company also tries to adopt the local culture and sourced the products from local manufactures who are familiar with the local taste of the people. Company also met the government trade and business guidelines, by adopting such type of the environment it helped the company to grow and launch its expansion plans in China. Wal-Mart is getting involved in the local community such as by participating in CSR- corporate social responsibility .It is also participating in the society by donating the funds and providing the kind support of $ 8 million over the past 13 years. All such awards achieved by the company itself show its achievement in China. Another issue that contributed to Wal-Marts success in China, was labour unionization. At first, Wal-Mart was reluctant to support the idea of unionization, but the constant efforts of All-China Federation of Trade Union led to formation of union amongst Wal-Mart employees, which has contributed positively to its success. Currently, Wal-Mart carries on 7,873 stores worldwide in 15 countries among which 3,615 stores in the foreign countries and remaining in the US. Moreover its international segment gives 24.6% of the companys total revenue in 2009 fiscal year. (Global Market Direct, 2009) However, even with such enhanced international sales, Wal-Marts international division is still far away from its one-third of total sales goal, which it was essentially expected to achieve by 2005. (1999 Annual Report) If we analyze Wal-Marts international business, we will find out a mixed story. It had substantial success in Canada, China, Mexico and the United Kingdom, but it was unsuccessful to place itself in Germany and South Korea. Wal-Mart was leading retailer and employer in US for last decade. There were more than 5000 stores in US itself. This made easier for the firm in structuring a good brand image in spite of offering cheap products. Due to its knowledge, low pricing, strategic resources, geographical presence, strategic investment, product differentiation and managerial excellence, the firm constantly had an upper edge on its competitors and generally drives them out of the business. Further reasons for Wal-Marts success was its elite relations with bureaucrats and government. Government policies usually were in harmony to Wal-Mart business and strategies. Wal-Mart had many weaknesses and pit holes also despite of being worlds no. 1 company. Wal-Mart was always criticized for poor labour practices by labour unions. In US the average salary per hour is $ 13 where as in Wal-Mart the lowest salary rate is US$ 9 per hour. Employees have prolonged working hours around ten hours a day. Further Wal-Mart is charged for adopting the tax avoidance schemes. It has also build a great reputation for destroying small and medium business. Therefore its never greeted in any society. The main weakness of Wal-Mart has been its international operation. It struggled to create a great mark in international market especially in Germany unlike America. It has been losing money from the year it penetrated German market. It has also been found that in some cases those inferior quality products are being sold because of discounted price. As a result consumers who are not price elastic have a preference over other brands. It also bears the huge labour turnover, about 44% employees leave Wal-Mart every year according to the national survey. These were some major weakness that the firm desires to come up in near future for its survival and sustenance. A number of factors that resulted Wal-Marts failure in Germany are such as different corporate culture, political influence, stiff competition and inefficient management and marketing strategies. Firstly, David Wild CEO in 2004, believed that cultural differences between American and German consumers were considerable challenges to Wal-Mart. Debby CEO in 2006 concluded that German shoppers are accustomed to shop at small scale discount stores such as Aldi and Netto that provides a limited range of products with special offers each week and no customer service, unlike US customers. In addition to different corporate culture, the competition has become gradually more intense between Wal-Mart and domestic retailers. The price difference has so lessened that sometimes even Wal-Mart had a higher price than their competitors. Consequently, consumers had little incentive to visit Wal-Mart Germany because of no obvious price advantage. Some other factors that lead to Wal-Marts failure in Germany were, their strategy of acquiring the top competitor did not work, as the German government did its best to ensure the welfare of the domestic players. Also, due to wage restrictions, Wal-Mart could not practice wage bargaining, as it did back in U.S, this was a huge, uncommon expenditure for the company. Its American strategy of restricting employee freedom and forcing them to work extra hours, brought up problems of high labour turnover and a negative image as an employer. Wal-Mart failed to have an effective management at the top level. Its CEOs changed every year,this in an obvious way effected the companys performance. Wal-Mart constantly ignored the strictness of German laws, and was charged heavy penalties for doing so. One of the most challenging thing for Wal-Mart was capturing the market- share. As per German legislation it was illegal to sell products below cost,because of which Wal-Mart could never achieve the à ¢â‚¬ËœLow price leader tag. It is impossible to smoothly run any organization, until there is co-operation between the employees and the employer. Wal-Mart faced a severe labour unrest,which hampered its brand-image. Kay Hafner,CEO of Wal-Mart reduced the wages to cut cost, this negatively influenced individual behaviour , as an anti-union decision. As suggested by Arndt and Knorr, a firm needs to understand the specifications when indulging in global expansion.Out of all the CEOs, only David Wild has been sensitive to cultural difference.He did bring about changes based on this understanding,which had some positive results,yet not profitable enough to impress investors for future investments. Moreover,as per German legislation their were some specific retail related laws,such as, limited legal working hours (80 hours/week) which were way less than the other European countries and had strict rules governing closure on Sundays and holidays. Wal-Mart repeatedly infringement German laws but were able to do away with it mainly because of global presence and influence on the government of US which played a major role in global politics. Some of incidences where the company broke few laws and was able to get away are summed up below:- ‘unfair trade practices such as selling goods below the cost price was prohibited in Germany but Wal-Mart was found violating these laws as it randomly sold some product below cost. German law required a company to disclose it financial statements annually, Wal-Mart seldom did that and was spared without any fine or legal proceedings at number of occasions. Obligatory Deposit Regulationdings law stipulated the retailer to provide deposit-refund-system on few products like metal beverages, cans etc. But Wal-Mart never followed this law. Thus from the above incidences it can be concluded that Wal-Mart used its global influence to refrain from some of the German laws. However, because German culture is quite different from American culture and because of unfamiliarity with the legislation, it would be difficult for Wal-Mart to make marketing and promotion right. And in fact these difficulties had been proved in Wal-Mart Germany. Consequently, rather than choosing Germany as the gateway to Europe, virtually after two years of operating in Germany it had entered in U.K .Even though U.K is not in the Euro zone and its geographic location is less favorable than Germany, it has a similar culture and legal environment as U.S. which makes it easier to operate the companys business and strategies. It has considerable success in the UK market which is called by as a ‘Wal-Mart-ready market[palmer 2005] .Therefore, the lessons learned from from Germany has proven useful for U.K. In the United Kingdom, Wal-Mart operates under its distinct organizational culture ‘the Wal-Mart Way, where executives act as servants and employees are known as ‘associates. Associates are empowered to adapt to local culture and are encouraged to try out new ideas. Consequently, associate cohesiveness is strengthened, and they are willing to work hard to achieve the best results. In addition, satisfying customer needs is always placed as main goal of the company. The company aims to offer British families the things they need at affordable prices, as well as providing superior customer service and convenience. Needless to say, Wal-Mart did face challenges initially even in U.K. The British Planning Policy(PPS6) has clearly limited the construction of huge retail outlets on the outskirts of a town, which was one of its most effective strategy in the U.S According to PPS6,the local governments were required to do so until there was a call for .Wal-Mart responded to this situation by protesting the restrictive policies to the top government officials. Eventually, Wal-Mart acquired an existing retail chain ASDA, and this proved to be fruitful as it served as the best strategic fit between the companies. In the UK, ASDA was the only operator with a consistent non-food offer and Wal-Marts organisational culture had already incorporated into ASDAs management principles before the acquisition taken place. Based on the above examination of Wal-Mart, it can be concluded that Wal-Mart possessed a great influence on the US government and it used its great influence to get various tax reliefs, subsidies etc and when it entered other countries like UK, China and Germany etc, it followed the same policy to influence the government and capitalize on these relationships. Besides that there were few incidences in which the US government helped Wal-Mart in its international operations and having good relations with the foreign government which brings about the companies involvement in global politics, which is the essence of the report. However,while expanding globally Wal-Mart besides carrying all these good relationships still had to confront with the cultural, political and the other economic factors when it entered in the foreign markets because Wal-Mart to be successful only transports its domestic policy to global markets. No such one strategy or model is applicable which is appropriatefor all the markets. Consequently ,Wal-Marts US model cant be consistently applied in other countries, even in UK whose culture is very alike to that of the US. Hence, adaptation to local culture and familiarity with its legislations is a crucial step for Wal-Mart or any firm while entering to the global markets. Therefore, Firms should always make cultural and political considerations as a part of strategic planning, and locating activities in countries that possess these attributes necessary for competing in these activities of foreign entry. REFERENCES IGO Retail Analysis. (2009). â€Å"Company Summary-Introduction: Wal-Mart.† [Online] Available from: http://www.igd.com/analysis/channel/profile_detail.asp?channelid=1channelitemid=27profileid=1541 [Accessedï ¼Å¡2 November 2009] John Robin, Cox Howard, Grazia Letto-Gilles, Grimwade Nigel, Allen Michael, Finn Edward (2002), Global Business strategy. Thomson Ricker (2007) â€Å"Internationalization Theory†, http://www.studentbibliotek.se/doku.php/internationalization_theory Problems in international market, patiporn kitlertphiroj, University college of denver) Landler, M. and Barbaro, M., (2006). â€Å"Wal-Mart finds that its formula doesnt fit every culture.† The New York Times, August2.2.pp.1-3[online] Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/02/business/worldbusiness/02walmart.html?_r=1 Wal-Mart (n.d.): 3 Basic Belief Value,[online] Available from: http://walmartstores.com/AboutUs/321.aspx [Assessed: 25 October 2009] Eurofood (1999), Wal-Mart buys Asda in UK retail shock, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DQA/is_1999_June_17/ai_55041044/ Knorr, A. And Arndt, A. (2003), â€Å"Why did Wal-Mart dail in Germany†, available at: http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/publikationen/pdf/w024.pdf(accessed November 3, 2009). IGD Analysis (2005): Chinese Wal-Mart chant gets louder. [online] Available from http://www.igd.com/analysis/news/index.asp?nid=2094 [Accessed online: 2 November 2009] Christopherson, S. (2007). â€Å"Barrier to ‘US style lean retailing: the case of Wal-Mart failure in Germany.† Journal of Economic Geography, Vol. 4, No.7, pp.1-19 http://walmartwatch.com/blog/archives/secret_meeting_details_confirmed_wa_mart_lobbied_uk_government/ http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/4737/ http://joeg.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/7/4/451 http://walmartwatch.com/issues/political_influence/ http://www.examiner.com/x-21521-Huntington-County-Political-Buzz-Examiner~y2009m11d28-Wal-Mart-does-again-this-time-in-Canada (http://www.themanagementor.com/kuniverse/kmailers_universe/mktg_kmailers/wal-mart.htm) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wal-Mart) http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/WalMart-Stores-Inc-html)

The Redeeming Features of the Characters in Electra Essay -- Euripides

The Redeeming Features of the Characters in Electra       In Euripides' 'Electra', there are a number of parts, speaking and non-speaking, that reveal the redeeming features of the otherwise pitiful characters. This essay will consider the roles of Orestes, Electra, Clytemnestra, the Peasant and Aegisthus (whose actions are only reported to us).    It is arguable that the characters are not redeemable due simply to the plot of the play: a son returns, kills his father's unworthy successor, his mother (with the aid of his sister) and was sent away at the end of the play by divine judgement. His sister assisted him in the matricide and is sent away also. However, it is unrealistic for all the characters of a tragedy not to have any good qualities. The nature of tragedy, according to Aristotle, is to invoke pity ('kitharsis'), cleansing the soul - this can not be invoked if the characters are bad people, since we will feel no pity. Aristotle described Euripides as "the most tragic of the poets..." so it is likely for the playwright to conform to Aristotle's' rules for tragedy. Bad happenings ('hamartia') are required to happen to good people, who may not be entirely noble but are still respectably good. For example, in Oedipus Rex, Oedipus scorns the prophecies of Apollo but he is a noble King, who feels compassion for his people and his destined blow was only the result of his uninformed actions.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Orestes is the avenging son of Agamemnon, returned to his homeland. We would expect this man to be the tragic hero of the play but he does not conform to the specifications. He is not a powerful character and is constantly in need of guidance, acting simply as a loaded cannon ("What do you suggest?"). When ... ...er in the play's duration, with a history of murder that seems disconnected from this person as we see her. Finally, Aegisthus, though amiable to his guests, has an undeniable history of murder and the people are happy to see him go. If he does have redeemable qualities, they are few.    Works Cited Euripides. Electra. Trans. Philip Vellacott. Medea and Other Plays. Baltimore: Penguin Classics, 1963. 105-152, 201-204. Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Birth of Tragedy. Trans. Clifton Fadiman. New York: Dover Publications, 1995. Perseus Encyclopedia. Revised 1999. Tufts University. www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/encyclopedia?entry=Euripides>. Powell, Barry. Classical Myth. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 2001. March, Jennifer.   "Euripides the Mysogynist?"   Euripides, Women, and Sexuality.   Ed. Anton Powell.   New York: Routledge, 1990.

Poisonwood Bible Essay -- English Literature Essays

Poisonwood Bible Barbara Kingsolver is the author of many well-written pieces of literature including The Poisonwood Bible. This novel explores the beauty and hardships that exist in the Belgian Congo in 1959. Told by the wife and four daughters of a fierce Baptist, Nathan Price, Kingsolver clearly captures the realities this family and mission went through during their move to the Congo. The four daughters were raised in Atlanta Georgia in the 1950’s therefore entering the Congo with preconceived racial beliefs, and a very different way of life than they would soon experience. Throughout The Poisonwood Bible Kingsolver explores the importance and impact of faith, and a religion based on your own private beliefs. Orleanna Price, the wife and mother, of this struggling family is a very honest woman, lacking some of the stronger religious background of which her husband possesses. Orleanna, struggles with the hardships of daily life; toting and disinfecting the family's water, scrambling to make ends meet and trying to protect her family from the myriad terrors of the bush. Orleanna uses irony to describe the early days of her marriage. As she describes them, the days when there was still room for laughter in her husband's evangelical calling, before her pregnancies embarrassed him, before he returned from World War II a different man, a man who planned ''to save more souls than had perished on the road from Bataan.'' Her husband, Nathan Price, had escaped those miseries simply by luck, and knowing it curled his heart ''like a piece of hard shoe leather.'' As her husband continually preaches the good Lord’s word, she is faced with what seems to her to be the more important burdens of life, survival and keeping her family safe and sane. She doesn’t appear to have nearly so strong of a religious background as her husband would have hoped for her, h owever, throughout the novel it is made quite clear that she is in fact a better person than her husband could have ever hoped to be. Her daughter, Leah, captures her mothers religion very well when she says, â€Å"my father wears his faith like the bronze breastplate of God's foot soldiers, while our mother's is more like a good cloth coat with a secondhand fit.'' This quote is very true, as her father is the evangelical missionary leader who parades his religion around, as he craves for the reputation of being a ... ... God by a different name, many different names actually, but all of them combined created the same image of what Nathan Price believed in, God. These people helped to show the different forms of which our God takes on, many cultures may appear to be non-believers but in reality each society’s God aims for the same goals. As this novel is told entry by entry, narrated by the women of the family a clear picture of life in the Congo is very accurately represented as well as the influences of faith on each character. Leah clearly points out, â€Å"We've all ended up giving up body and soul to Africa, one way or another." Each of us, she adds, "got our heart buried in six feet of African dirt; we are all co-conspirators here." This is true of each and every character throughout the novel, as their faith is altered and influenced by the events within their stay in the Belgian Congo. Kingsolver presents to her reader many separate versions of faith, from Nathan’s forever devoted, to Orleanna’s incredibly subtle but morally strong. While reading the passages narrated by the women of the family it is realized, that without your own personal beliefs a life filled with success is unfathomable.

Homeostatic Imbalances. Hypertension and Diabetes Essay

Hypertension is a common health problem especially among people over age of 60 years. This disease is diagnostic when a patient blood pressure is more than 140 to 159 over 90 to 99. Blood pressure refers to the pressure that blood applies to the inner walls of the Diabetes is an endocrine system disorder that occurs when the body is unable to control or balance the amount of sugar in blood and within bodily tissues. You know that the human body is like a machine, with organ systems that are specialized in certain functions, and interact with each other to allow all vital functions to happen. For the body to stay healthy, it is essential that its internal environment is stable and balanced despite the different changes that can occur inside or outside of the system. The natural and dynamic property of the body to maintain these conditions within certain normal levels is called homeostasis. When this property of balance is disturbed a disease may happen. I would like to explain to you what occurs in your specific case. The normal levels of sugar in blood are between 70 and 110 milligrams of glucose per 100 milliliters of blood , when the levels of glucose begin to fall because the person is working out or have been long time without eating the receptors in the body send a message to the hypothalamus which sends a message to the pancreas, which is the major organ of the endocrine system, so it secretes the hormone glucagon that stimulate the cells to release glucose which control the high levels of sugar in blood. On others hands, when the levers of sugar in blood begin to increase the pancreas releases insulin which stimulate cells to eliminate glucose from the blood. These two responses of the organism to internal changes are part of negative feedback system that allows the body to return to a normal state. In your specific case the feedback system is not able to maintain the homeostatic balance because your body does not produce enough or overproduces the hormone insulin and sometimes glucagon; in addition, the receptor sites within target cells could cause the body to become insensitive to these chemicals. Finally, the malfunction of homeostasis is the cause of the type of diabetes that you are suffering from. But don’t be scared because you are very young and strong. It is important that you know and understand everything about your disease in order to be educated and get your diabetes under control. arteries. When this pressure is over the limits, it is very dangerous and can increase the risk of heart failure, heart attack, stroke,  and kidney failure. For that reasons I would like that you understand what the reason of your problem is. When the heart beats too hard and fast, the levels of blood pressure increase. In normal conditions our body has a complex system of regulation that allows the levels of pressure back to the normal ranks. This system which is known as negative feedback is responsible for achieving balance in our bodies even if external or internal changes occur. When any internal or external factor makes the blood pressure rise, we have specialized cells located in the walls of some blood vessels that are able to detect the problem and send nerve impulses to the brain which sends nerves impulses to the heart and blood vessel that receive the information. As a result, the heart rate decrease, the blood vessels dilate, and the blood pressure goes down. Finally, the body goes back to the balance condition that is called homeostasis. In your case this natural process does not occur and for that reason you are suffering from hypertension.

Student Version of Decleration of Independence

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for students to break off with their parents and teachers and to become independent; they must explain why they deserve to be independent to the rest of the world. This requires us, as students to write our own Declaration of Independence for the rest of the world to see and comprehend why we should be and will be independent to show our oppression against our teachers. To begin with, it is obvious that all students are created equal and are given by their creator the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of whatever makes them happy.To get these rights, teachers should allow students do as they wish. However, when teachers begin a long train of mistreatment and machination against students with their communistic ways and Pearl Harbor sneak attacks with discipline it shows they only want to control every aspect of our lives. Do we not deserve respect? It is the duty and right of us sapient students to get rid of the control o ur fastidious teachers have over the students and our school.Furthermore, students have been very patient with the teachers and faculty of South Gwinnett High School, but with such a long history of mistreatment, headache and constant nagging from the staff it is only right that the rest of the world finds out what has been happening. It has rained so long, it seems as though it has rained for 40 days and nights. They give us repeated pointless referrals; they give us way too much work with no time to finish. Staff are constantly questioning students in the hallways and telling us what to wear.They tell us when we can or cannot use the restroom; they tell us that we only have six minutes to get to each class, which is not enough time. Our lockers are too small and our lunches are inedible. They refuse to let us go off campus for lunch, and they refuse to let us self-checkout anymore. They punish us if we do not make it to class on time by going to the tardy room, and they punish us for gratuitous reasons that were unfair and not our fault. Even after all of this mistreatment, the students including myself have expressed how we felt to our teachers.However, our complaints have fallen flat. And as usual we have been shunned and ignored. We have even brought our situation to the ears of administrators, teachers from different schools and parents, but we have been muted. A petition to ease the dictatorship of our teachers was refused by many. Some even attempted to post posters illustrating how the students felt. Students even tried going on strike, refusing to go to classes. Meetings to try and sit down with the faculty of South Gwinnett to discuss the matter were ignored as well.The betrayal was stern. Do we not deserve respect? Though, now we must announce that we are accommodating in this debauchery and separating ourselves from the school as a whole to become more independent and liberated. We, therefore the students and representative of South Gwinnett High School in Snellville Georgia present these facts to the rest of the country and the world for freedom. And with this, the students of South Gwinnett write and declare that we are now independent from South Gwinnett High School.

Inland Whale Essay

Finally, In the story of ‘Testily, Sun's Daughter† is the cause of the events that enroll in the story. My claim is, The cautionary tales â€Å"The Mans Wife†, â€Å"Butterfly Man†, and † Testily, Sun's Daughter† reveal that Native American societies and cultures depended on gar popup cohesiveness and not letting greed or personal desires take over. In â€Å"The Man's Wife† the man does many things that affect nature and the way of living.The man doesn't want to let his dead wife leave in peace so he stays with her, burns off his hair, and didn't eat or sleep while he was waiting for his wife. A quote that pro eves this is, â€Å"He as however able to tie around her waist a rope of eagle's down, and clinging to one end of it, he walked a few steps behind her all through the 132). This qua Toe proves that he insisted on being with her that he even went through and tied a rope roar ND her. This also shows that desire has taken over and he w ill do anything to be with her.Not her thing that the man did was going into the dead people's land. A quote that proves this is, â€Å"l must warn you that to the dead the smell Of the living is offensive, and there will be restiveness as among them, feeling of the impropriety of your being here at all†(Kookier 137). This is imp rattan because it shows that the man shouldn't be invading the home of the dead because the e dead and living should not interact with the dead. If this happens the dead is disturbed and t he balance of nature is disturbed.The man should of let go and moved on so his wife's spirit t can be in peace and the desire of his wife can go away. In the story â€Å"Butterfly Man† Clanswoman can't choose who to be with became use of the things she admires or that she likes. At first she was with her baby at the v illegal while her husband was gone. Then she left when not supposed to and saw a butterfly a ND followed it on and on, left the baby on the bu sh alone never to return because of what she wanted.A quote that proves this is, â€Å"Nor was it flying at random, for its standards COUrse WA s leading her ever up and back, farther into the hills, farther from the river†(Kookier 61 ). HTH s is important because it shows that her wanting that butterfly she never noticed how far SSH e was from her home and her baby. Another thing she does is disobey the butterfly man whew n he said not to look up and look at the other butterflies.A quote that shows that she disobey deed the butterfly man and looked at the other butterflies is, â€Å"Her eyes followed his flight and SSH e took one hand off the girdle and reached greedily for him†(Kookier 63). This quote is imports NT because when something is desired so much that they break the rule they are suppose d to follow like not leaving their house when husbands are hunting or the one the butterfly man gave which as never to let go and look up at the other butterflies.This kind of stuff and other things may lead to jealousy and many more things. In the story â€Å"Testily, Sun's Daughter† the cause of the events that unroll in the story are because Of Testily, Sun's Daughter. When Testily accepted Theta's proposal I Hoopla was mad. A quote that proves this is, â€Å"Hoopla was angry. He grabbed Tequila's arm, shouting, She's mine! She's mine! I am older than you and she is mine! â€Å"(Kookier 114). T his quote is important because it shows that Hoopla being jealous he ended up pulling Test

Seperation of Power

The separation of powers essay | Law Teacher Latest Update >> Writing a law dissertation appendix Search site†¦ My Account Order online anytime – Need help? Tel: 0115 966 7966 Like 1. 8k We're the most liked Law Essay Writing Service! ; Home Prices Services Order Guarantees About Us Law Help Law Essay Help Contact Us You are here: Law Teacher  » Constitutional Law  » Essays  » Separation Of Powersessay Translate this Free Law Essays page ? The separation of powers essay Search all our free law essays†¦These essays have been written by students for you to use to help you with your studies. If you need your own custom law essay then we can help†¦. Get a quote for your own law essay†¦ Dissertation Help Select Language Coursework Help Search Share & Download Like 0 Don't Get Ripped Law Study Guides BVC/BPTC Guides Off Print Download LPC Letter Drafting How to avoid Law Cases getting ripped off by other essay writing companies. 0 Email Law Essay Areas Find out more Helpful Law Info ‘The Separation of Powers, as usually understood, is not a concept to which the United Kingdom constitution adheres. Discuss This essay aims to examine the reasons for and why it is important to have a separation of powers, to examine the United Kingdom's constitution, assessing our somewhat unclear separation of powers, and discussing the reasons why we do not have a strict separation, taking into account the overlaps and relationships between each limb of Government and the checks and balances required for it to operate efficiently. The political doctrine of the Separation of Powers can be traced back to Aristotle, who states: â€Å"There are three elements in each constitution .. irst, the deliberative, which discusses everything of common importance; second the officials; and third, the judicial element. † This highlights the three elementary functions that are required for the organisation of any state. Nowadays, they are defined as the l egislature, the executive and the judiciary, and are carried out by Government. The legislature is the law-making body, and is comprised of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The legislative function involves ‘the enactment of general rules determining the structure and powers of public authorities and regulating the conduct of citizens and private organisations.Australian Law Resources Free Australian law resources to help you with your studies! Find out more Need A Law Essay Quote? Use our online calculator to get an instant quote online for your law essay. Find out more Not studying law but still need writing help? http://www. lawteacher. net/constitutional-law/essays/separation-of-powersessay. php[20-03-2013 01:11:41 PM] The separation of powers essay | Law Teacher The executive is all the institutions and persons concerned with the implementation of the laws made by the legislature.It involves central and local government and the armed forces. The role of the ex ecutive ‘.. includes initiating and implementing legislation, maintaining order and security, promoting social and economic welfare, administering public services and conducting the external relations of the state. The judiciary is made up mainly of professional judges, and their main function is ‘to determine disputed questions of fact and law in accordance with the law laid down by Parliament and expounded by the courts and .. is exercised mainly in the civil and criminal courts. The question which now arises is whether or not there should be a strict separation of each of the above functions. Locke stated: .. it may be too great a temptation to human frailty.. for the same persons who have the power of making laws, to have also their hands the power to execute them, whereby they may exempt themselves from obedience to the laws they make, and suit the law, both in its making and execution, to their own private advantage. We can also help you with essay writing in other areas of study†¦ Find out more Law Essay Writing ServiceFind out how our custom law essay writing service can help you get the grade you deserve. Find out more Similarly, Montesquieu believed that: When legislative power is united with executive power in a single person or in a single body of the magistracy, there is no liberty #46; is there liberty if the power of judging is not separate from the legislative power and from the executive power. If it were joined to legislative power, the power over the life and liberty of the citizens would be arbitrary, for the judge would be the legislator.If it were joined to executive power, the judge could have the force of an oppressor. All would be lost if the same man or the same body of principal men, either of nobles, or of the people, exercised these three powers: that of making the laws, that of executing public resolutions, and that of judging the crimes or the disputes of individuals. These statements illustrate that both academi cs felt if one, or a group of persons, controlled more than one limb, the result would inevitably be corruption and an abuse of power.Tyranny and dictatorship would ensue and this, in turn, would mean a loss of liberty for the people. However, although each emphasise the importance of a strict separation, it can be seen that in the UK, this is not the case. Parpworth states: ‘a separation of powers is not, and has never been a feature of the UK constitution. An examination of the three powers reveals that in practice they are often exercised by persons which exercise more than one such power. ‘ Why is this so? Why is there not a strict separation? Saunders explains that: ‘.. very constitutional system that purports to be based on a separation of powers in fact provides, deliberately, for a system of checks and balances under which each institution impinges upon another and in turn is impinged upon. ‘ If there was a strict separation, and we did not have overl aps or checks and balances, our system of Government would become unmoveable. A lack of cooperation between limbs would result in constitutional deadlock and therefore, ‘.. complete separation of powers is possible neither in theory nor in practice. There are numerous examples of overlap and checks and balances between the three functions of government, and these shall now be explored. The main instance of overlap, in recent years, was the position of Lord Chancellor. This role has been continually citied to support the view that there is no separation of powers in the United Kingdom. Historically, the position of Lord Chancellor was distinctive in that he was a http://www. lawteacher. net/constitutional-law/essays/separation-of-powersessay. hp[20-03-2013 01:11:41 PM] The separation of powers essay | Law Teacher member of all three branches of Government and exercised all three forms of power. He would sit as speaker in the House of Lords (legislative function), was head of th e judiciary (judicial function), and was a senior cabinet minister (executive function). After the Human Rights Act 1998 and the case of McGonnell v UK (2000) , the Government announced changes to the role of Lord Chancellor in the UK. In McGonnell, the European Court of Human Rights eld that the Royal Court Bailiff of Guernsey had too close a connection between his judicial functions and his legislative and executive roles and as a result did not have the independence and impartiality required by Article 6(1) of the European Convention on Human Rights 1950. This had implications on the Lord Chancellors role, as he performed very similar functions in the UK. It was after this that the Government enacted the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, which meant that the Chancellor was replaced as head of the judiciary by the Lord Chief Justice .He was replaced as speaker in the House of Lords by the creation of the post of Lord Speaker , and now only appoints judges on the basis of recommendat ion from a Judicial Appointments Commission . These changes show that there is a strong importance still placed upon the doctrine of separation of powers. However it is still possible to see overlaps within the three limbs. Examining the relationship between the legislature and the executive Bagehot stated that there was a close union and nearly complete fusion of these powers.This notion had been criticised, particularly by Amery, who wrote that: Government and Parliament, however intertwined and harmonized, are still separate and independent entities, fulfilling the two distinct functions of leadership direction and command on the one hand, and of critical discussion and examination on the other. They start from separate historical origins, and each is perpetuated in accordance with its own methods and has its own continuity. So let us examine this relationship. Firstly, the question to ask is whether the same persons form part of both the legislature and executive.It can be seen that ministers are members of one House of Parliament, but there are limitations as to how many ministers can sit in the House of Commons. As well as this, most people within the executive are disqualified from the Commons. These include those in the armed forces and police and holders of public offices. So it can be seen from this that it is ‘only ministers who exercise a dual role as key figures in both Parliament and the executive. ‘ The second question is whether the legislature controls the executive or visa versa. The legislature has, in theory, ultimate control as it is the supreme law making body in this country.However in reality, the executive can be seen to dominate the legislature. Government ministers direct the activities of central government department and have a majority in the House of Commons. Lord Halisham, the former Lord Chancellor, has referred to the executive as an elective dictatorship. He means Parliament is dominated by the Government of the d ay. Elective dictatorship refers to the fact that the legislative programme of Parliament is determined by the government, and government bills virtually always pass the House of Commons because of the nature of the governing party's majority.However, the legislature has opportunities to scrutinise the executive, and does so during question time, debates and by use of committees. The final question in this area is whether or not the legislature and executive exercise each other's functions. It can be seen that the executive performs legislative functions in respect of delegated legislation. Parliament does not have enough time to make all laws and so delegates its power. This is ‘convenient to the executive that ministers and local authorities and departments can implement primary legislation by making regulations. However effective parliamentary procedures exist that scrutinise the use made of delegated power which will be discussed below. http://www. lawteacher. net/constitu tional-law/essays/separation-of-powersessay. php[20-03-2013 01:11:41 PM] The separation of powers essay | Law Teacher The next relationship to be examined is that of the executive and the judiciary, and again, the questions we ask are similar. Firstly, do the same persons form part of the executive and the judiciary? Originally, the executive had the power to appoint judges and the Lord Chancellor sat in the House of Lords.However, following the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, as discussed above, the executive has less control. Judges are now appointed by the Judicial Appointments Committee. The second question is whether the executive control the judiciary or do the judiciary control the executive. Judicial independence is controlled by law. Since the Act of Settlement 1700, superior judges can only be dismissed by an address from both Houses of Parliament. But the judiciary do exercise some control over the executive. This is via judicial review. Bradley and Ewing state that this is an ‘essential function to protect the citizen against unlawful acts of overnment agencies and officials'. It involves the courts determining the lawfulness of executive power and is principally concerned with the legality of the decision-making process when delegated legislation is created. This demonstrates a definitive crossover between the judiciary and executive. However, some public bodies are exempt. For example, in R v Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, ex parte Al Fayed (1998) the court of Appeal ruled that the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards could not be subjected to judicial review.This was largely due to the principles of the separation of powers. The third question is whether or not the executive and judiciary control one another's functions. Once again, overlap can be seen, with the executive exercising a judicial function through the growth of administrative tribunals which adjudicate over disputes involving executive decisions. The final relat ionship to examine is that of the judiciary and legislature, and again, the same questions must be asked. Firstly, do the same persons exercise legislative and judicial functions?To honor the separation of powers, the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 provides that all full time members of the judiciary are barred from membership of the House of Commons. In previous years, the Law Lords from the House of Lords sat in the upper house of the legislature. As a result they: ‘took part, to a limited extent, in legislative business. ‘ However, since the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, they no longer execute legislative functions due to the newly created Supreme Court, which is separate from the House of Lords.Secondly, does the legislature control the judiciary or does the judiciary control the legislature. It is a constitutional convention that MP's should respect judicial independence and not comment on the activities of judges unless there is motion to dismiss a su perior judge. Judges, although they may examine acts of the executive to make sure they conform with the law, cannot review the validity of legislation passed by the legislature due to the doctrine of legislative supremacy. They are under a duty to apply and interpret the laws enacted by Parliament.If a Parliamentary Act is in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights, then, under the Human Rights Act 1998, judges in superior courts can make a declaration of incompatibility. However this does not mean the act is not valid, because, again honoring the separation on powers; only the Parliament can make or unmake law. The final question is whether the legislature and judiciary exercise each other's functions. ‘Each House of Parliament has the power to enforce its own privileges and to punish those who offend against them'. This once again is an example of overlap.The judiciary, when developing the common law, interpret statutes and delegated legislation. Thus, Bradley and Ewing describe them to have a quasi legislative function. They have a narrow ability to legislate, but their ‘decisions are important as a source of law on matters where the Government is unwilling to ask Parliament to legislate, and .. directly affect the formal relationship between the judiciary and Parliament. ‘ In conclusion, it can be seen there are definite relationships between each limb of government, and this shows that the separation of powers is not a concept to which the United Kingdom fully adheres.However, the view of the courts is one of absolute separation. ‘.. it is a feature of the peculiarly British conception of the separation of powers that Parliament, the executive and the courts have their distinct and largely exclusive domain. ‘ Whilst the courts remain of this view, and whilst the three limbs, although they overlap in many ways, remain distinct and largely separate, we can say there is at least a partial separation of powers in the U K.And rightly, as Parpworth points out: ‘an absolute separation would in practice be counterproductive in that it would prevent the abuse of power by preventing the exercise of power. Government could not operate if this were the case. ‘ The recent changes to the constitution as a result of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 prove that the concept is still firmly believed in, and while not always respected, it remains something the Munro states should not be ‘lightly dismissed'. http://www. lawteacher. net/constitutional-law/essays/separation-of-powersessay. hp[20-03-2013 01:11:41 PM] The separation of powers essay | Law Teacher How do you rate the quality of the essay above? Good Neutral Poor ORDER YOUR OWN LAW ESSAY GET A LAW ESSAY QUOTE Request the removal of this law essay http://www. lawteacher. net/constitutional-law/essays/separation-of-powersessay. php like http://www. facebook. com/LawTeacherNet AVomUz8N 0 Like 1. 8k 960 readers Get a quote Order now! 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