Prisons would not exist in a truly Christian society Essay

â€Å"Prisons would not exist in a truly Christian society.† Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer, showing that you have considered more that one point of view. All societies have different forms of punishment for people who break the law, some of these punishments are; the death penalty, imprisonment and fines. In this question I will explore both sides of the argument. Firstly I will be talking about the ideas of prisons not existing in a truly Christian society then compare them to those of prisons existing. Christians believe that God is merciful and compassionate; this therefore gives the sinner the chance to repent and to turn away from their sins. An example of this is when Jesus does not condemn the Adulterous Women but tells her not to sin again. This gives her the chance for her to acknowledge her sins and therefore not commit this crime again. Moreover this will encourage people to take the chance to change and they won’t commit any crime again, then being no point for prisons to exist. However this may not be the case as people might not just change, maybe they don’t want to be a better person. Another reason for prisons not to exist is if you send all the criminals to the same place prisons could turn into a college of crime and there people would only educate each other in more law – breaking ideas, and organise and take part in criminal activities. Thirdly, sending people away to prison is making them outcasts to the out side society, this is not what Jesus wanted as he deliberately sought out those people on the edge of society such as; lepers. Prisons would not exist as sending someone to prison is not a sign of forgiveness, it is taking someone’s life away, and only God can do this. However Prisons could exist in a truly Christian society as prisons offer people the chance to reform through the support of other people such as counsellors or Chaplin’s. Again, Prisons could exist in a truly Christian society as it is the Christians responsibly to create the Kingdom of God and therefore prisons could lock away those who would cause harm to the society and stop the Kingdom of God coming about. An example of a teaching for Prisons existing in the bible is of the Cain and Abel story. In this story Cain murders his brother Abel, and God gets angry with him and gives him the punishment of him being banished from his home and curses him so that he will never be able to earn a living on the land again. Some Christians would say that Cain’s exile resembles prison. Sending a criminal to prison gives the person time to reflect on what they have done wrong and gives time to change. In conclusion, it would seem that prisons would not exist in a truly Christian society because it is not showing or practicing the signs of forgiveness, yet it is possible that prisons are compatible with Christian teaching because of the Cain and Abel story, what with Cain being made an outcast. In my opinion, I believe that prisons should not exist as people should always be given a second chance, the chance to change.

Analysis of Memories of an Immigrant

Today, during our broadcasting, we will talk about immigration, particularly the huge immigration’s period, from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, to the USA: nearly 12 million immigrants, coming from all parts of the world, arrived in the United States between 1870 and 1900. To discuss of this subject with us, the famous author of â€Å"Memories of an immigrant†, Mary Wilde, will present her book. Good morning, as you know, immigration is an important subject in the world today. But, what did you decide to write a book about it, and what did you choose this time in particular. â€Å"Memories of an immigrant† is a biography of my grand-mother Annie McBride, an Irish immigrant. Social and cultural differences of immigrants have built north-American culture. In your book, why did your grand-parent decide to immigrate to the USA? Annie was born in 1880 in Ireland. She emigrated in 1901 because she wanted personal freedom or relief from political and religious persecution. Actually, there were political subordination by the British policy and religious prejudice of Protestant Masters to the Catholic Irish. In 1845, the great potato rot killed many of the crops people had planted and a famine resulted, but 50 years after the situation was the same. What were her expectations and dreams? Fleeing crop failure, land and job shortages, and famine, she came to the U. S. because it was perceived as the land of economic opportunityâ€Å"Golden Land â€Å". She decided to settle down in the US to start a new life, in order to have better prospects, so as to earn a better living. She hopped for a better future. Did she go with all her family in the â€Å"Golden land†? Hers parents died when she was young but she was raised by her uncle Bill and his wife: a couple of farmers. In 1895, Bill immigrated to the new country while his wife and Annie would staid in Ireland. After he had worked and earned money for the passage of them, they could have joined him. There is an extract of her journey to the US. Annie McBride said†¦ My journey to Ellis Island: Day 20 I'm in this boat since 20 days. It is so long. I thought the trip gonna be less hard. I am in steerage class; my bed is not comfortable at all. I sleep with six other persons, a French woman and an old German man. The four others, I don't know their name, I didn't understand their language. They are kind people; I ate with them yesterday evening, in the dormitory. My only diner was a lukewarm soup, a boiled potatoes and a stringy beef. The quality is poor, but it was good compared to the piece of bread we had in Ireland. I still have two months to end this trip. During the day, I talk with Julie and Gunter, my bedroom's mates. I learn very much about their country their lives and why did they decide to come to the USA. For me, eating potatoes was a miracle, in Ireland; the potato famine was a disaster and left lot of people destitute. I had the feeling that I was living the beginning of my new life. A life without fears and problems. I am very hopeful and impatient. Yesterday I didn't succeed to sleep, outside, a huge storm was rumbling. I was afraid because I hate storms and I always thought that in the ocean, it could be very dangerous. One hour ago, when I talked with her, Julie told me that the captain wasn't very nice, he committed sexual offences. I think this behavior is inappropriate to a female passenger, and I don't understand why he used this language. There is not drinking water on the boat. Yesterday, I drunk water with and horrible rancid smell and I had an unbearable stomach ache. I staid in my bed all the day, I was so bored. I heard that a typhus disease appeared on the boat. I'm afraid, it's gonna increase my constant pressure, this illness made lot of dead people in Ireland. I will propose to people to play cards with me, stay without do anything is just impossible, I think I will die of boredom. This day will end in four hours and let the place to another long and hard traveling day. I can't wait to arrive to USA. To see this new country, this new people, to live my new life. How was the arrival in the US and at Ellis Island? After four weeks in the boat, she made out the shore through the fog and was very excited. Annie's first view of the United States was at Ellis Island in New York. After leaving the ship all the immigrants had medical and legal inspections. If they were healthy and if they had 25$ they were allowed to leave Ellis Island and start their new lives. After inspections, where did she go? Bill told her the situation was very difficult when he arrived in the USA. In the ship, he met another Irish Sean who proposed to him to go to Philadelphia where there were working opportunities: the country was growing and it needed men to do the heavy work of building bridges, canals, and railroads. Thus, they were engaged to do work of building of railroads and canals, for miserable wages. They were forced to live in cellars because of poverty. Their brogue and dress provoked ridicule; their poverty and illiteracy provoked scorn. Then, Bill and Sean settled in the already existing Irish communities, where Catholic Churches had been built, and cultural traditions were carried out. Consequently, Molly, Bill’s wife, and Annie joined him at Philadelphia. They found work as chamber maid and caretaker of children. The Church played an integral part in their lives. It was a Church who fought not only for their souls but also for their human rights. Often stereotyped and discriminated against, many immigrants suffered verbal and physical abuse because they were â€Å"different. † Their transition into American life, however, was not smooth as the Irish minority came into direct and sometimes violent conflict with the Protestant majority. After 10, Annie had children with Sean, and in 1950, she founded a college, today renowned, in Virginia. Thank you for your presentation and participation, Mary Wilde.

Government Grants for Alternative Energy Source Research Paper

Government Grants for Alternative Energy Source - Research Paper Example Introduction As our world population grows day by day, it is becoming far more evident that our generations to come will have far more problems in their hands that they could handle. Alternative energy sources can evidently provide us with the edge we require to make this world a healthier place to live and more importantly to ensure the continuity of our future generations. Currently there are quite a few different establishments that are involved in researching alternate energy sources; it is a well known fact that our fossil fuel reserves will run out in the near future, depriving us of the leisure and comfort of our lives that some of us take for granted. One of the main problems that are faced with research is the fact that they require funding, however there are companies who are involved in such activities based on the assumption that there efforts will pay off in the near future, but is it enough? Evidently there is a strong need for governments to take the responsibility and provide gran ts to organizations that are involved in researching the fuels of the future. One of the biggest problems with the use of fossil fuels is the carbon dioxide emissions into the environment, everyday carbon dioxide is injected into our system, and these emissions stay there in our system building up every single day, it is the single most known factor for the global warming that our world faces (Alternative Energy, n.d.) There are quite a few different energy sources that are currently in use today, however the fact still remains that these sources are quite limited. According to British Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell, by the year 2050 one third of our energy needs will have to be fulfilled by wind, solar and other renewable sources, the statement has been originated from the biggest oil companies in the world. (Alternative Energy, n.d.) Solar energy has been in existence for quite some time but still there are problems that need to be resolved. Solar energy is one of the best ways to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions, it has been calculated that a 1.5 kilowatt PV system will help reduce the carbon emissions by 110,000 pounds over the next 25 years (Alternative Energy, n.d.) Apart from reducing the carbon emissions the technology also helps in reducing the consumption of the limited fossil fuels, this figure of reduced conventional fuels comes out to be a reduction of around 60,000 pounds of coal (Alternative Energy, n.d.) There are added advantages of using such energy source; it eliminates the acid rains and overall pollution of the atmosphere. However it is not always that simple, the electrical suppliers are reluctant to change their conventional way of producing electricity, this is where the governments role is most important. Some of the argumentations present the fact that the production of the solar panels itself consumes a lot of energy, although the argument is self founded but many studies have shown that the amount of electricity used to make a solar panel is equivalent to the amount of electricity that the panel will generate in two years time, hence this debt will be paid in that time (Alternative Energy, n.d.) The other most common environmentally friendly power generation system is driven by the forces of nature itself, wind. This technology has been around for quite some time now; there are quite a few areas that are generating their complete power supply t hrough this system. Studies have shown that the use of wind power generation has doubled three times between 1999 and 2000; in the year 2000 the electricity produced by these systems was around 10,000 megawatts. This amount of electricity is enough to power five cities of the size of Miami (Alternative Energy, n.d.) Yet again there are problems associated with producing electri

A Scene in a Film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 5

A Scene in a Film - Essay Example The anatomy of a scene is what comes in to separate the great film into becoming one that is amended in the collective consciousness of a person. Right from the outside looking in, a film comprises of a collection of many scenes that are subject to tie together. Several things help in elevating a film into becoming memorable. These may include having a great concept, a great cast, and a great screenplay. As a film writer, one requires to look at the collective scenes with objectivity and be able to know how he or she would tie it all together, thus be able to turn what may seem to be a loose connection of scenes into becoming a story. A great scene, from an individual view, is one that has the potential of highlighting itself to become the film’s greatest moment, together with having the ability to implement all the movie-making skills. This may entail employing the use of music, camera movements, acting, scripting, among many other defining roles. The key ingredient that defines a great film scene is having a striking and a cinematically beautiful image. In order to look at a movie from a critical perspective, there is a need for learning a little bit of the tools that filmmakers use in creating their products. Compared to the state of studying literature, one would require learning more about the methods of identifying similes, metaphors, and symbols. However, when it comes to studying literature, there is a need for identifying the cinematic techniques and theatrical elements and be able to learn how they may affect the audiences. These cinematic elements may include aspects of framing, angle, and camera movements while taking a shot, together with the sound and editing entailed in a film. The theatrical elements may entail aspects like costumes, props, sets, and the acting choice.  

A French Bakery Chain Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

A French Bakery Chain - Case Study Example They strongly believed that acquisition would help them maintain steady advantage without incurring extra cost on the expansion of business on a stand-alone basis. The LPB stores had decentralized working and functioned as stand-alone stores which it easy for the Fields to amalgamate the administration within its core functioning process. It was for this reason that merely after a month of acquiring LPB, Fields reduced the subsidiary administrative staff from 53 to three. Many of their functions like accounting, finance, human resource, training etc. were merged with that of the Fields’ company that resulted in redundancy of jobs in LPB. The main reason for the action was that Mrs. fields Cookies followed mechanistic approach and heavily used technology within its administrative process to streamline sales and production. While Fields appreciated empowerment of its managers and workforce, they also used technology extensively in their production processes to predict and improve sales. The huge hierarchy of employees in LPB was therefore not suitable for the efficient delivery of Fields’ goals and daily targets. Hence, they could o nly retain two persons in operations and one from their R&D section. As LPB Manager, I believe that the strategy of Fields is not right. LPB has gained considerable credibility in the area of baked products, coffee, and sandwich. The huge size of LPB was a significant factor that had prompted Fields to acquire it. The LPB products and services could offer the huge scope of expansion of interests of Fields as they had already created a niche market for their cookies. The acquisition had provided them with the opportunity to introduce their specialty cookies in the European market. The combination outlet could serve as a major facilitating platform for their business with a wide scope of opportunities for improved revenues. In such a scenario of a win-win situation, the redundancy was neither necessary nor morally correct decision.  

Move for Opportunity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Move for Opportunity - Essay Example The author also talks about the issues that the move for opportunity tends to create and how the moves can create not only physical stress but also a strong element of emotional distress as well. The author has not only focused on the affects of the relocation on the person but has moved a step ahead to also consider the effects of the relocation on the families. The needs of the families and how the attractive relocation packages can seem to be very beneficial yet not be as useful as to be able to provide the families with the best and the life that they need to give up for the package. There has also been noted by experts that these opportunities have proven to be very beneficial for the country as well. At the John Holland Group, HR [Human Resources] manager Darren Nelson agrees. ‘It’s these opportunities that have built both this country and people’s careers.’ He points to Karratha, WA, as the well-publicised focal point for opportunities created by skills shortages and a resources boom. ‘I know people moving here from the east who will have a 110 per cent salary increase.’ The article presented by Fran Cusworth is a very effective article to help people think about the options of relocating their job for the purpose of newer opportunities. This section will deal with an analysis of the article. The article will be analyzed under six main heading. This is as in the sub section below: i) Overall Effectiveness: The author has discussed the article in a advisory fashion to bring up a strong light on the issues as well as benefits of relocation packages that are provided by the recruiters and the relocation specialists. The intended audiences are the individuals due to have relocation and also families of these people. The overall article is straight forward with a very strong tone that has been used. The author has brought about a number of details like the affects of a failed move and how much it could affect the individuals

Time management Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Time management - Research Paper Example 8 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...11 Time management Introduction Time management entails exercising prudent control on the amount of time spent in performing several activities in order to improve productivity, efficiency and increase effectiveness (Pausch, 2008). Time management includes several tools, techniques and skills that enable individuals and organizations to accomplish specific activities within the time limit. The main aspects of time management include setting and adhering to priorities and minimizing time spent on non-core activities (Carroll, 2012). Time management is about utilizing the available time effectively through effective scheduling of time, setting clear goal s, prioritizing of activities, delegation of the tasks and reviewing the time spent on different tasks. According to Pausch (2008), the management must organize the workspace or environment in order to eliminate destructions and ensure maximum concentration. Eisenhower time management method classifies tasks in to either urgent or important tasks while action priority matrix determines the priority of tasks depending on the efforts and perceived benefits to the organization. According to Pareto principle (80:20 rule), 80 percent of the output is generated by 20 percent of the efforts. The Pareto analysis is useful in prioritizing the tasks since 80 percent of the results can be attributed to 20 percent of tasks completed. This paper will discuss benefits of time management, various skills in time management and methods of time management. The paper will also discuss ways of avoiding procrastination. Carroll (2012) asserts that effective planning entails preparing work lists of activ ities that must be completed during a certain time. These include the ‘to do lists’ that prioritize activities depending on their importance and urgency to the organization. The pending tasks must take accomplished first and new tasks must not start until the previous or already started tasks are complete. Accordingly, the individual or management must set goals and objectives that aim at ensuring efficiency of work. The goals and objectives must be specific, attainable and measurable (Croft, 1996). The goals must have clear deadlines that will guide the efforts committed towards accomplishment of the specific tasks. The management must motivate employees towards attainment of the set goals within the pre-determined deadlines. Accordingly, the management must delegate authority and responsibilities in order to ensure employees take accountability of their tasks in completing the tasks within the deadlines (Pausch, 2008). The employees must spend the appropriate and allo cated time on the right activities depending on the priorities in order to meet any strict deadlines and ensure efficient workflow in the organization (Croft, 1996). Benefits of time management Time management involves making the possible best use of the available time while doing the right things at the right time. One of the benefits of time management is that it makes individuals more disciplined and punctual. The individuals are capable of preparing ‘

Law Case Study - B Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Law - B - Case Study Example First, the defendant, ABC Go-Kart, owes everyone that enters the premise guarantee for their safety especially when using their equipment and cars for racing. In this particular case, the defendant’s employee fails to inspect the brakes which results in the failure of the breaks of Obama. As such an accident occurs and Robinson dies from it. Consequently, the defendant owes the plaintiff, a duty of care since it was expected that by the nature of the races that take place in the area, the waiting area should have been shielded from the tracks; thus, no wheels could fly and ram into those in the waiting area. Therefore, based on these incidences, I find that the defendant breached the duty of care by failing to exercise reasonable care in ensuring that the wheels of the cars for racing are properly fitted and the braking system is working. Consequently, they failed to show reasonable care in that the waiting area was left open when the same, according to Pennsylvania law, ought to have been covered so people would not get hurt from such incidences. Therefore, a cause in fact may be determined on these two grounds in that had it not been for the defendant’s negligent actions, the injury through death would have not occurred to the plaintiff. In considering the proximate cause for this incident, it is evident that ABC Go-Kart as the defendant would have foreseen such the scope of such an occurrence and taken adequate responsibility to prevent it. For instance, had they paid the mechanic well, he would have performed his duty accordingly and the brakes of Obama would have not failed. As a result, the plaintiff can seek for damages for such actions of negligence. The death of Professor Robinson in itself is a legal ground for which negligence can be proved hence, damages sought for. Failure of the defendant to exercise care

Why should anyone study philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Why should anyone study philosophy - Essay Example The meaning of this is that as long as an individual has his ideological persuasions guiding his life’s decisions and principles, that person may be said to be having his own philosophy. This means that philosophy can be defined broadly or even narrowly, depending on a person’s preference (Proffitt & Webster). The broad aspect of philosophy and its definition are underscored by the fact that during the classical era, even linguistics was considered part of philosophy. In itself, the phrase philosophy is a Greek compound philo and Sophia, meaning loving and knowledge, respectively. Although one may compound philo and Sophia and conclude that philosophy is the love or quest for knowledge, yet this definition barely suffices. Philosophy is indeed a love and a quest for knowledge but not all love and quest for knowledge are philosophical or philosophy. One can agree with Wallenmaier’s attempt at a more tenable definition of philosophy as the attempt to acquire knowle dge by rational means, concerning topics which are not amenable to empirical investigation (Wallenmaier, 340). The foregoing does not only reveal the difficulty which man has encountered in his attempt to define philosophy, but the simple-yet-so-complex nature which graces and characterizes philosophy. For instance, although Wallenmaier’s attempt seems the most plausible so far, yet it has its deficiencies. The plausibility of Wallenmaier’s definition is seen in the facts that: seeing philosophy as an attempt to acquire knowledge separates philosophy from creative disciplines such as music and literature; the rational aspect of philosophy which Wallenmaier mentions disassociates philosophy from religion and mysticism; and topics that are not amenable to empirical investigation as the focus of philosophy distinguish philosophy from empirical sciences such as biology and physics. Nonetheless, the difficulty in defining philosophy is underpinned by the broad nature of phi losophy which suffuses even into all other disciplines such as law, medicine, mathematics, art, linguistics and anthropology. In a separate wavelength, the reasons for studying philosophy may not be as difficult as the definition of the same may be. This is because taking an interest and having a passion in philosophy is inherent to philosophers or those who aspire to become philosophers. One may see the importance of studying in light of its three branches- epistemology, metaphysics and ethics, though these are not the only sub-disciplines of philosophy. Metaphysics examines or studies the nature of reality, especially in light of the relationship between the mind and substance, matter and attribute and fact and value. Conversely, metaphysics may be defined as the study of the essence of things and of the fundamental principles which pattern or organize the universe. In a conventional systems philosophy, the organization of the universe is construed as the fundamental principle of existence (rather than the laws of nature, matter or God). Because of this nature of metaphysics for instance, philosophy may help one investigate where the organization and complex patterning of the universe comes from. Herein, it is fit to posit that studying metaphysics will help the student have a more comprehensive understanding of ontology. This is because, in the study of metaphysics, the learner will also encounter evolutionary-systematic philosophy where essence is qualified as a process by which organization is created. In this light, ontology proceeds from elementary actions, in lieu of static objects,

General Motors Essay Example for Free

General Motors Essay 1. The history, development, and growth of the company over time (e. g. , critical incidents) General Motors (GM) was founded in 1908. William C. Durant brought together 25 independent car companies to form one large corporation. Each company held its own identity as GM operated as central administration office for the 25 divisions. Due to high cost in manufacturing of automobiles, GM was only able to target wealthy customers who could afford cars. Then Henry Ford, owner and founder of Ford Motor Company, revolutionizes the production process of manufacturing cars and takes the lead in the industry. With this new process, Ford becomes GM’s largest competitor, rapidly growing their market share by mass produce affordable cars, the Model T. GM did not have the same competency to mass produce affordable as efficiently as Ford and their sales plummeted. GM was in a bad situation, producing a wide range of expensive cars for a small target market of middle class customers. From 1910- 1920 Ford grew stronger and wealthier while GM struggled to stay afloat. In 1920, Alfred P. Sloan became the CEO for GM and made major changes to GM’s strategy to more effectively compete with Ford. Sloan restructured GM to regain its competitive advantage, targeting a different segment in the market. His consolidation of the 25 companies into 5 major self-contained and operated divisions: Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, Cadillac, and Oldsmobile proved to be successful. In 1925 GM took the lead in the industry, hurting Ford’s sales of the Model T so bad that Ford had to shut down his factories for several months to redesign his production line and produce new models. GM became the United States car market leader with the largest market share, 70% at its highest. 925 to 1975, GM expanded its product line to all kinds of vehicles to full-size trucks, light weight trucks, and various specialized vehicles such as vans and ambulances. GM also started to vertically integrate and at one point, made more than 65% of its cars components. From 1925 to 1975, GM dominated the United States market holding approximately 65% of domestic sales. Together, GM, Chrysler, and Ford, held more than 90% of the United States market. Due to the global oil crisis and low cost/high quality Japanese cars in 1970’s, GM lost its lead in the industry. The oil embargo of 1973 revealed the inefficiency of the American â€Å"gas guzzlers†. Neither GM nor its American competitors at this that time had the competence to build fuel efficient cars. Japanese cars now entered the American market and not only were they fuel efficient, there were reliable and affordable. In the 1970s and 1980s, demand for large sedans fell and thousands of GM workers got laid off. By the end of 1970s Americans flocked to Japanese economy cars or sleek European luxury cars and ignored high cost and low quality American cars. In 1980, GM still earned 3. 3 billion on more than 60 billion in sales. With its large cash flows, GM was still able to act as a dominant competitor. Roger Smith, GM’s new CEO aimed to regain GM’s competitive advantage and launched several major programs to reduce cost and improve quality. By 1990, these programs had cost the company over 100 billion dollars, which at the time, was enough to buy out Toyota and Honda. Smith had the most the difficulty lowering cost due to the high cost labor agreements with the UAW (United Auto Workers). GM invested more than 50 billion to improve and update technology and in 1980 started to develop automated factories using robotics to increase quality and efficiency. GM lacked the competency to effectively operate automated factories and was costing them twice as much in producing parts the traditional way. In 1982, GM created a new division called Saturn to develop low-cost manufacturing skills and produce quality cars by imitating Japanese manufacturing companies. It cost GM 2 billion to build Saturn’s plant, GM largest construction project in history. Saturns were priced to compete with Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla. Saturn did not meet its quotas and 1991 and lost $800 million dollars. The next year, Saturn sales picked up and were ranked top 10 in customer satisfaction but still had a loss of $700 million. Saturn could not replicate Toyota and Honda efficiency, especially its low cost supply chain. Same as other divisions, Saturn had difficulties reducing costs because high labor cost due to previous agreements with UAW. To learn Japanese manufacturing techniques GM had a joint venture with Toyota in 1983 called new United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. NUMMI). NUMMI reopened a failed plant in California under Japanese management in 1984. By 1986, with the use of flexible work teams, plant productivity was higher than any GM factory and twice as much as with the old GM management. The flexible teams were regularly rotated, trained to perform the jobs of other works in the team, taught the procedures to analyze jobs to improve work procedures, designed all the teams’ jobs. This freed managers to focus other tasks. GM quickly implemented this system to all its plants and by 2005; GM was laiming to be the most efficient United States carmaker. However, due to tariffs and high costs involved to bring foreign car to the United States, foreign car makers were eager to open their own car plants in the United States. By 1995, foreign controlled plants were making more than 1. 5 million cars a year in the United States. Although GM’s market share declined from 50% in 1978 to 35% 1992, it had not reduced it number of plants or downsized its work force significantly. In 1990 Robert Stempel became the new CEO and like Smith, Stempel did not want to down size the company at all. However, an activist GM director, John Smale, set out to stop GM’s losses and convinced the board to appoint Jack Smith as the new CEO. Smith made drastic changes and down sized the company dramatically. His new strategy for GM was to once again become profitable by aggressively focus on cutting cost, aggressive use of marketing of new designed vehicles that better satisfy customer’s needs, and create a new more-flexible decentralized organizational structure. He also reduced number of models and platforms in which they were built. In 2000, GM built a $1 billion state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Michigan to raise quality to Japanese levels. In 2005, GM did receive higher quality level similar to Japanese competitor but could not preform to be profitable due to high labor costs. In another attempt to lower value chain cost, GM closed down it Oldsmobile division in 2004. GM then focused on improving efficiency with its parts, components and suppliers, making various changes there. In 2000, GM, Ford, and Chrysler formed an organization called Covisint to gain power over global suppliers. Toyota launches program that reduces the number of steps needed to make components and car parts reducing its costs by 2. 6 billion. In 1992, it consolidated its nine groups into five and combined all its car divisions’ engineering and manufacturing units to eliminate redundancy. Also the five design and technical departments were combined into three to speed product development. To promote and improve coordination between departments, GM changed its organizational structure to a global matrix structure and invested heavily in IT to support this new global matrix structure. With the help of IBM, GM was now able to speed information transfer between its divisions all around the world. In attempts to quickly lower its cost, GM spun off several of its component parts divisions and vertically disintegrated. In 1996, form joint ventures with Isuzu Motors and Suzuki to establish facilities and make specialized engines and transmissions for GM. In 2000, GM acquired a 20% equity stake in Fuji, the manufacturer of Subaru cars and received a new CEO, Rick Waggoner. GM also establishes a strategic alliance with Honda. In 2001, GM’s new assembly plant in China begins production. In 2002, GM formed an alliance with Russian company. During this time, GM attempts to rapidly grow globally and competes with Ford to acquire premium European carmakers. GM bought many other European carmakers but did not find any to be profitable, only costing them more money and more failures. GM also acquired Daewoo and Hummer brand in hopes to strengthen product line and market share. All failed. In 2008, GM fell with the recession and spun off, sold, or digested many of its global assets. GM asked the government for bailouts and in the end filed for bankruptcy.

Radioactivity In Ionisation Smoke Alarms Environmental Sciences Essay

Radioactivity In Ionisation Smoke Alarms Environmental Sciences Essay In this coursework, I will be discussing the role of radioactivity in ionisation smoke alarms; I will focus primarily on the main radioactive substance used in smoke alarms, americium 241, and will analyse its effects as well as its half life. I will also analyse a variety of data based on smoke alarms, and finally, I will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of smoke alarms. In smoke detectors, Alpha radiation is given out. Alpha particles are made of 2 protons and 2 neutrons. This means that they have a charge of +2, and a mass of 4. Alpha particles are relatively slow and heavy. Alpha emitters must be used for smoke detectors since alpha particles ionise air the most, are mostly likely to be absorbed by cells and are least penetrating. Gamma rays and beta particles easily pass through air without causing ionisation, Beta particles are absorbed by a thin sheet of Aluminium and Gamma is absorbed by either concrete or thick lead. The radiation given out from the smoke detector is essentially zero and in any case very much less than that from natural background radiation. This is the radiation which all around us. The alpha particles  are absorbed within the detector. The small amount of radioactive material that is used in these detectors is not a health hazard and individual units can be disposed of in normal household waste. However, Alpha radiation is most dangerous inside the body because it is most likely to be absorbed by the organs whereas Beta and Gamma radiation is more dangerous outside the body because the skin cannot stop them. Americium-241 is dangerous if it is taken into the body in soluble form. The data which I mainly used for my coursework was from www.communities.gov.uk. I think this website is reliable and valid because it is a government website. It has not been created for the purpose of sale so it isnt biased. However there are a few problems with this website. The problem lies in the data which shows how the % of homes with smoke alarms has changed between 1988-2005. This data is unreliable and invalid. It is invalid because they change from smoke alarm ownership to working smoke alarm ownership in conclusion to that it also has data missing from some years. It is not as valid as it should be because it not the same as what was being looked at in the beginning. But as for the rest of the information, I think it is reliable and valid because it is a government website, not any website just put up on to the internet. The way in which we could make sure that the data we have it valid and reliable is by comparing them with other results from other sources. By doing this we would be able to see if they are similar or they are different and we would be able to find out if they are correct or not. The results which I got could be improved if they were collected in a number of different ways. For example data could be collected from the history of the emergency services, data could also be collected by handing out questionnaires and surveys or even collected via the phone. Advantages and Disadvantages of Smoke Alarms There are many benefits of a smoke alarm and many disadvantages. Below are some advantages of a smoke alarm. Firstly the most important benefit of a smoke alarm is that it saves lives. Smoke alarms are a powerful and effective fire safety technology. The smoke detector also allows the emergency services to react quicker so they are able to get to the fire quicker and save lives. The most important thing is the life of a person. Besides this, a smoke detector also saves money and property. Some people may have money stored at home. For these people it would be a great loss if they were to lose everything in a fire. With a smoke detector, a person is able to quickly put out the fire so a lot of the property does not get damaged. Another advantage is that the americium-241 is very sensitive. Ionization smoke alarms respond first to fast flaming fires. A flaming fire consumes flammable extremely fast, spreads rapidly and generates considerable heat with little smoke. It responds very quickly to small amounts of smoke. Americium-241 has a half life of 442 which is not too long or too short. It is just right. If it had a long half-life then it wouldnt have to be replaced very often but it would stay dangerous for a long time. If it had a short half-life then it would fall to safe level quickly but it would have to be replaced very often. The Americium is just right, not too short or too long, in the middle. One advantage is that to have a smoke detector reduces the insurance cost. This is because a house which has a smoke detector has less chance of burning down because the smoke alarm will detect the fire so the occupants are able to put it off. For this reason there is cheaper insurance for the house which has a smoke alarm. Finally, smoke alarms are very cheap. They are even free for many houses but for some people who have to buy it, it is of a very low price. With the advantages, there are also disadvantages of smoke detectors. Below are some disadvantages of smoke alarms. The biggest disadvantage is that it contains a very small amount of radioactive material. These devices are probably not a problem unless they burn, in which case the Americium would be released in particulate form an inhalation hazard. Another big disadvantage is that it is a bit too sensitive. It can be vulnerable to nuisance alarms if placed too close to cooking. It goes off many times especially if it is kept near a kitchen. This can be very annoying especially if it happens repeatedly. One disadvantage is that because there are many smoke alarms which give out radiation in this country, they will be radioactive for 1000 of years. The radioactivity in the environment will increase. The disposal of this type of smoke alarm is very harmful, when the building is demolished and new buildings are made, the smoke alarm still emits radioactivity which is not good for the environment. Finally, another disadvantage is that it works on battery and after a long period, the battery runs out. Therefore, smoke detector stops working so the batteries have to be replaced. Overall, I think that smoke detectors are beneficial because it could save a persons life if a fire was to occur and its also very cheap to buy but it has it drawbacks that it emits radioactive material, however the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

Microsoft vs. DOJ :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

Microsoft vs. DOJ Arguments of the DoJ (the white paper) 1. Microsoft and it ´s Monopoly Power MS monopoly power is in personal computer operating systems. A PC operating system as you all know controls the interaction of the different parts of the computer. It creates files, organizes the computer ´s memory and creates a platform for applications. The operating system is indispensible to the computer for this reason. Maybe that changes as technology evolves but right now a computer without an OS is nothing but a box of inert hardware. MS today ships 97% of PC OS that are installed by computer manufacturers. Case law defines monopoly as beginning at about a 70% share of the market. But this alone isn ´t illegal in respect to superior products, service or mere luck. Nor does market share alone necessarily imply monopoly power. For example a manufacturer might make 100% of knickers on the market. But if there are other pants manufacturers who are able to turn their production into knickers, the one and only knickers producer wouldn ´t be able to charge more than a competitive price or exclude rivals from his market. Speaking of this little example it ´s now clear what monopoly power means: it is the power to control prices and exclude competition. MS has and still exercises, both form of monopoly power. It charges above competitive prices and use tactics that eliminate rivals. And not because MS are superior to others and more beneficial to the consumers. No, not at all, MS uses predatory tactics whose sole purpose is to destroy it ´s rivals. MS often has denied that it posesses monopoly power but their arguments are quite feeble. A MS spokesman stated that the market is highly dynamic and that there are only low barriers to enter the market, especially for fringe firms. But this is untrue for the means of competition. There might be a lot of new technology but the barriers MS deliberately put up made it impossible for new market entry. The result is that MS can charge higher than competitive prices without a loss of market share. Another argument of MS is that it ´s monopoly power is defeated by ist need to compete against it ´s own installed base meaning that MS has eg now to compete against win 95. But this is another partly untrue argument because most consumers think of a new OS only when they want to buy a new computer and replace their old one.

Sci-fI Films Essay -- essays research papers

In this essay I am going to discuss about the topic: â€Å"Science fiction often plays off the real against the artificial, either in the form of humans versus non-human (androids, cyborgs, synthetics), or the world versus the non-world (cyberspace, inner-space, intentional space)†. I have chosen the films â€Å"The Matrix† and â€Å"Bicentennial Man† An explosion in information access and exchange is fueling the Information Superhighway that was created as a result of the computer revolution. If technology has truly become a god, then cyberspace is definitely its bible. Its scope is endless; its breadth enormous. Although the foundation of cyberspace, the computer, definitely serves to dehumanize culture, the Information Superhighway itself does not. If anything, cyberspace is re-humanizing the computer revolution. The World Wide Web, through pictures and graphics, has added personality and more personal contact to a technology that for years was ‘just the facts.’ Although the statement might be made that this is a pseudo-rehumanization that masks true human characteristics with digital ones, this is at least a step in the right direction. Something that removes the human qualities or attributes from culture can be said to dehumanize it. This technology destroys our view of truth and meaning. The basic presupposition of the Information Superhighway is that it contains information on any subject and can answer any question. It causes people to search places other than God for direction, truth, and meaning. Involvement with the technology serves to replace our involvement with reality. There is a tendency for people to start thinking of themselves and others in terms of their online personalities. Many people develop a whole other life on-line and some even end up being unable to separate their on-line identity from their real one. Recent movies such as The Matrix and Bicentennial Man serve to further blur this already fuzzy line. Bicentennial Man, directed by Chris Columbus (US, 1999), is based on a story Isaac Asimov wrote in 1975 and like many of his stories, it deals with the enigma of a machine with the intelligence of a man, but without the rights or the feelings. As we might expect the film presents Asimov's concept of the intelligent robot, a concept that, like Asimov himself, pre-dates the modern world of personal computers, video games, the Internet, 'e... ...housand years ago. If the portrayal of intelligent machines in films teaches us anything, it is that it is fortunate that such machines do not yet exist. It is fortunate that is, for the machines, because all the evidence would indicate that we are not yet ready to treat them as fellow persons. Fortunate too for us perhaps, because when they became smart enough to mount a successful rebellion they might make us pay for their oppression (Mitchell 2003). Reference: 1. Edwards, D A, ‘The Matrix’, The Matrix: An Ideological Analysis, viewed 5 June 2005, http://fiffdimension.tripod.com/matrix.htm1. 2. Menor F 2000, The Matrix(1999), viewed 7 June 2005, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/ 3. Mitchell, D 2003, What s it like to be a Robot?, viewed 7 June 2005, http://www.zenonic.demon.co.uk/zenorobot.htm 4. Setzer V W 2002, AI - Artificial Intelligence or Automated Imbecility, viewed 7 June 2005, http://www.transintelligence.org/articles/Artificial%20Intelligence.htm 5. The Matrix 1999, motion picture, Prod. Joel Silver. Dir. The Wachowski Brothers. Perf. Laurence Fishburne, and Keanu Reeves 6. www.duke.edu/~djs12/Lit%20Theory/ Lit%20Theory%20-%20The%20Matrix.doc

Loneliness to Insanity and Madness in A Rose for Emily and The Yellow W

From Loneliness to Insanity in A Rose for Emily and The Yellow Wall-Paper      Ã‚   In The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir states that within a patriarchal society "woman does not enjoy the dignity of being a person; she herself forms a part of the patrimony of a man: first of her father, then of her husband" (82-3). Both Emily Grierson in William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" and the narrator of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wall-Paper" are forced into solitude simply because they are women. Emily's father rejects all of her prospective mates; the husband of Gilman's narrator isolates her from stimulation of any kind. Eventually, Emily is a recluse trapped in a deprecated home, and the narrator in Gilman's story is a delusional woman confined to her bed. A study of the characterization and setting of "A Rose for Emily" and "The Yellow Wall-Paper" demonstrates how the oppressive nature of patriarchy drives the women in both stories insane.    The "patrimony of a man" destroys Emily as her father smothers her with his over-protectiveness. He prevents her from courting anyone as "none of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily and such" (82). When her father dies, Emily refuses to acknowledge his death; "[W]ith nothing left, she . . . [had] to cling to that which had robbed her" (83). When she finally begins a relationship after his death, she unfortunately falls for Homer Baron who "liked m... ...Jellife. Tokyo: Kenkyusha, 1956.    ---. Faulkner in the University. Ed. Frederick L. Gwynn and Joseph L. Blotner. Charlottesville: U of Virginia P, 1959.    ---. "A Rose for Emily." Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. 3rd ed. Orlando: Harcourt, 1997. 80-87.    Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "Why I Wrote 'The Yellow Wall-Paper.'" The Forerunner. October 1913. Online. An American Literature Survey Site. 14 November 1998. Available HTTP: www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~daniel/amlit/index.html    ---. "The Yellow Wall-Paper." Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. 3rd ed. Orlando: Harcourt, 1997. 160-73.

International and Comparative Human Resource Management Essay

Globalization of business activities has over the recent past happened at rising rates. With the rapid growth of technology, coupled with constant innovations, several corporate organizations have targeted to operate in global scale. With the advent of multinational corporations, the landscape of human resource has undergone a lot of transformations that have given it a new definition. It is important to note that the definition of human resource management has not remained the same given the international dimension added to it (Edwards & Rees 2006; Brewster & Harris 1999). The degree to which a corporation or company can be considered to be multinational is normally determined by looking at and assessing human resource management policies it has put into place and implementation of the same; these policies are considered alongside other facets of organizational structures and functions. In ethnocentric corporations, human resource policies are formulated at the head quarters, home countries, and then supplied worldwide to other subsidiary corporations. It has been argued that this is not an appropriate strategic policy formulation for a multinational corporate organization with international human resources (Briscoe & Schuler 2004). International human Resource Management is concerned more with global management of human capital of a given multinational corporation. The main aim of IHRM is to empower a multinational corporation to achieve success in its global operations; this means the corporation being competitive world all over, being efficient in its international operations, adapting to the global business environment and adapting to the same within the shortest time possible, being locally responsible (in every geographical region of its operations) and being able to transmit learning to all its globally dispersed subsidiaries. The main themes of this paper are about institutional factors that can potentially Influence IHRM practices and policies in developing countries. It also examines the implications of International Human Resource Manager. There are many actors that really influence the process of International Human Resource Management. However, for the purposes of this paper, the main focus will be on three institutional factors. Institutional factors that can Influence IHRM practices and policies in developing countries Institutional strategies and policies Different multinational corporations have different human resource management approaches. Several studies have found out that there is substantial national variance in terms of human resource management (Cooke 2002). This has mostly been witnessed where the parent country’s strategies seem to dominate how a multinational corporation manages its human capital. This is referred to as ethnocentric or forward diffusion strategies (Keeley 2001). This ethnocentric approach has been a big hindrance to the diffusion of parent practices into other subsidiaries. More research studies that have been done have also drawn focus to the influence which the parent country has on how strategic decisions regarding human resource management is done by a company in the host country. Most developing countries pursue different trade policies and strategies; they are these strategies and policies that inform how the multinational corporations operate and interact with other corporations from other developing and developed nations as explained by Kidd et al (2001, pp. 154-163). The fact is that these developing nations have different cultures from the host nations. Due to these differences, it has become an uphill task to transfer human resources management strategies amongst the developing nations. Moreover, different nations come up with changing legislations regarding labor management. These legislations are on policies that may concern minimum wages payable to an employee, the number of expatriates allowed in a foreign owned corporation and also the work status of such expatriates. Developing economies have different economic systems governed by different economic policies and strategies (World Book Encyclopedia 1994). Some economies are centralized while others are liberalized. In the centralized economies, it becomes a bit more difficult for foreign-owned corporations to get foreign expatriates and according to Dutkiewicz and Espino (1997, p. 22), a corporation may be forced to hire purely locally; the issue here is that centralized economies are under direct governments’ control. With respect to this, different governments come up with certain restriction or legislations that may be different from the home country of a parent corporation. Different countries also have varied legislations regarding human capital and multinational corporations are expected to comply with the legislations of the host countries. One area in which legislations differ is in terms of income. Income taxes may vary and have different ranges. This is always likely to have negative impact on the attitude of employees who are transported or exported to countries where income taxes are high. Besides, due to currency fluctuation in the global financial market, managing the salaries for the expatriates becomes a big challenge to International Human Resource Management process. Political factors Politics is one of the major factors that directly impact on IHRM. The political activities in the developing economies have significant influences in the IHRM. Elaboration of this point is evidenced by the fact that different developing nations have varied political environments. The political environments of developing nations are more dynamic in comparison to the political environment of Western developed and other developed nations. Due to this, International Human Resource Management process faces more challenges in the developing economies than developed countries. The causes of these challenges emanate from the fact that the political landscape is characterized by varied opinions by different rival politicians giving promises to the people during electioneering periods; this has made the political environment of the nations to be unstable and hence unpredictable in terms of efficient and effective IHRM policies implementation (Sparrow 2009). Political factors are intertwined with economic factors; this is in the sense politics determines economic activities in the countries. The role of politics in this sense is strong in the developing countries where poverty indices are still low. Political instability and or elements of social conflicts may scare away foreign direct investments; and most importantly, foreign workers may fear working in such economies. The effect of this scenario is ineffective transfer of human capital to certain regions. However, political stability and relative peace in these economies are likely to benefit multinational corporations as far as IHRM is concerned (Sparrow 2009). Within the political environment, there are several pressure groups and institutions that represent different interests of particular individuals. Labour unions are some of the mostly prominent pressure groups shaping the political landscapes. The availability and the latent influence exacted by the labour unions are some of the dominant factors considered when multinational corporations are deciding on countries to expand their operations to. The multinational corporations consider critically the potential cost and other limiting factors associated with the influence of labour unions. The structures of labour unions, their priorities and legislations and practices vary greatly amongst the developing nations. Some of the unions are organized based on the basis of shared industries while others are organized according to occupation of the members. There are nations where labor unions play a major role in labor relations and, low, are allowed to have representations in the boards of multinational corporations. Otherwise, there are also developing nations where independent labour unions are suppressed. Moreover, in some countries labour unions are only mainly concerned with safeguarding personal interests of workers; such interests are commensurate wages and better working conditions. In other nations, labour unions are actively involved in political process and activism. The presence of labour unions may be both beneficial and disadvantageous to multinational corporations. However, it is the prerogative of individual Multinational Corporation to decide whether it is to venture and carry out its expanded operations in a country of choice. However, it is important to mention that there are varied implications of the dynamic labor unions to the International Human Resource Management, especially in developing nations where labour unions are fully involved in mainstream politics and activism. These unions are not just a collection of workers, but also of individuals with political motivation. The consequence of this is that political issues may get into the core business of a multinational corporation thereby jeopardizing its business objectives. Therefore, International Human Resource Managers have to deal with more diversified labour issues than the national human resource managers. Organizational culture Organizational culture is one of the institutional factors that affect the IHRM. An organization’s culture is a popular concept in the theory of organizational management. It is used to refer to the underlying fundamental assumptions, shared norms and values that determines and informs the behavior of individuals attached to the organization; it serves as a behavioral control and provides a framework within which employees are to carry out organizational duties. Research has shown that there is evidence of potential ability of organizational culture in informing the values of the employees (Perkins 2000). Nonetheless, further studies have shown that an organizational culture may instill values and norms that are not consistent with those of national culture to its employees. Consequently, the both national and organizational cultures are likely to conflict at international level. Focusing on organizational culture, it is crucial to note that when a corporation goes multinational, it is likely to face challenges in situations it establishes subsidiaries in countries where its culture is potentially in conflict with the national culture of the host country. It therefore implies that an internationalizing corporation requires carrying out of thorough audit of the new regions of operations and reforming its organizational culture to conform to the national culture of the host state. This may include changing its human resource policies and harmonizing them with those of the host state (Perkins 2000). Every organization has its own culture, which it uses to remain distinct within the global sphere (Joynt & Warner 1996). However, this may not stand due to varied national cultural practices of different nations. As has been discussed earlier, the organization will be forced to adapt to cultural practices of the host countries; this may mean employees working in each subsidiary have differing norms and values. This situation is extensively discussed and explained by Heath (2005, p. 233). The organizations may find it appropriate to adapt to the cultures in the host countries. The implication of this is that the organization is most likely to lose its organizational cultural identity; but still the organization has to operate as a unit on the world business platform. Taking for instance, operating in a purely Muslim country will need restructuring how human capital is managed in the organization. The relationship between men and women in Muslim countries are not as liberal as other non-Muslim nations. Therefore, the organization is faced with lots of cultural dilemmas in terms of IHRM. Joint ventures and acquisitions are some of the ways through which multinational corporations expand their operations. Given the varied organizational cultures of the developing countries, integrating human capital to work as a unit is likely to be faced with some challenges on the basis of cultural conflict. This situation may be more evident where two multinational corporations come together just to form a joint venture. However, the organizational culture of the acquiring corporation may dominate the whole negotiation. But it is also important to note that, with this respect, organizational culture may not be a problem where a multinational corporation expands its operations to regions where its culture is identical or closely related to the host’s national culture and organization (Perkins 2000). Due to different and varied national and organizational cultures, a multinational corporation may consider localizing recruitment of its human capital. The advantage of this is that there is no need to grapple with cultural issues since human resources are tapped locally; the employees are already familiar with their own national culture and are able to form a uniform organizational culture (this is where the organization has decided it will allow its organizational culture to vary regionally or geographically). This is exemplified where multinational corporations expand within the developing Muslim states. Adoption of new technology and effecting new changes form an important part of an organizational culture. Employees and other stakeholders have different opinions regarding new changes; due to this, it is important that they are well prepared for such changes. Otherwise, any form of change may not get their support, especially when change involves the corporate organization going global with its business operations. An organization may be forced to ensure that its potential expatriates are well informed on the imminent changes and how they are likely to be affected.

Survivors: Conquering the Antarctica Rage

Organizations are in a constant need for a good leader – one who can stand out to deliver the desired ends and goals and in the process create leaders among its ranks as well. This is particularly true in our society today: driven by the increasing stress of competitiveness, material needs and wants as well as technological changes, an organization ceases to persist if it cannot develop and train a leader or a manager in every employee. The same is true in the health care industry where nurses and other health care providers have expanded responsibilities and now manages their own subordinates in order to deliver the best possible care that can be given to patients. Hence, within the framework of developing leaders and managers in every individual and surviving through challenges successfully, the story of Ernest Shackleton in Shackleton's Way and his conquest of the wrath of Antartica presents a valuable lesson in leadership, motivation and management. Consequently, his saga and heroism is not only contained in the literary and science journals but also in management, leadership, sociology and psychology as well. For one, his leadership style and the manner by which he managed his crew of 27 in a two-year ordeal, with every one going home safe is a classic and a remarkable display of character and organizational skills. This paper evaluates Shackleton’s Way written by Morell and Capparell (2002) in lieu with his leadership and management style particularly in choosing the right people for the job, creating camaraderie among the group, developing the strengths and overcoming the weaknesses of the individuals and forming groups to overcome obstacles and creating leaders in the process. Particularly, an analysis of Shackleton's leadership style, communication strategy, use of team management, conflict resolution and change innovation are explored in lieu with the ability of the whole crew to survive through the challenges of their Antarctica trip. This paper argues that meeting the desired goals/objectives of a group entails the commitment, the knowledge, skills and the positive attitude of individuals as directed by a good leader. Shackleton’s Way: Summary and Analysis Morrell and Capparell (2002) presented the dilemma of Shackleton's Way in this scenario: captured by the ice of Antarctica for two years with twenty (27) men in tow and very limited resources including gas, food, medicine and other resources, how can one man bargain to save their lives when negotiation with their captor is impossible? Morell and Capparell (2002) trace how the great Ernest Shackleton had turned this tragedy into a voyage that became a legend. In the first parts of the book, the authors traced the character and leadership style of Shackleton: amidst the rat race in the corporate world, he worked with respectful competitiveness and turned his bad experiences and weaknesses into lessons to make him a better person. Morrell and Capparell (2002) presented that the character that Shackleton would show in his voyage was shaped through his childhood years and were learned from his family. For instance, his exposure to different cultures made him realize the diversity of people and in learning different attitudes, behaviors and priorities. In succeeding chapters, we see Shackleton knowing the value of hiring the right people for the job. With his eye for optimism and talent, he gave the best renumeration possible to people he thought are the best in the job among those whom he interviewed. Knowing fully well that his people are competent, he abolished the traditional vertical hierarchy in organizations and instead created team management in order to make the crew realize their value in the whole expedition and the organization. This allowed him to get the best work done by each individual- making them realize their value and giving them importance through one-on-one talks. Through optimism and confidence, Shackleton was able to guide his people to the goal that he had laid down to achieve and resolving conflicts with justice and impartiality. More importantly, his team management and implementation of group dynamics- assigning teams, balancing them and ensuring that their tasks are proportional with their capabilities had been critical in their success. Furthermore, Shackleton in the process created leaders among his crew. After the expedition, he provided an invaluable insight to the group and how society can improve through his ways can still be applied today. As indicated, the primary strength of the book is how it provided the reader with a step-by-step account of how Shackleton's leadership was developed- including his personal history and extending into his business ventures and the Antarctic voyage. While several books have already provided us an account of Shackleton, no book has explored it using the leadership and management literature as much as how Morrell and Capparell (2002) traced and retraced the steps undertaken by Shackleton in succeeding Antarctica. For instance, in terms of Shackleton's leadership style, the authors started from his innate capacities as a leader and how he valued the process of recruitment using unique methods to determine character and in creating a group dynamics that allows for his talented crew members to provide their output. His leadership style is therefore democratic and he can be considered as a charismatic leader. Morrell and Capparell (2002) devoted a lengthy and informative showcase of how Shackleton can be considered as such- with confidence and optimism, he was able to facilitate and regroup his crew to attain the maximum possible output that he wants to attain. This was done first by showing them the overall picture and locating each crew from that plan. By doing so, Shackleton and the authors motivated the crew and showed how their plan will not work without one member. How could he have created such group coherence in the middle of so much conflict? The primary tool as aptly shown by the book is the manner by which Shackleton communicates with each crew member. He opted to resolve conflict through one-on-one discussions and through constructive conflict resolution. By trying to look for solutions instead of blaming, he was shown by the authors to be a good conflict negotiator. On this note, the authors have succeeded in showing the readers how communication can be done. In terms of team management, his group dynamics were clearly illlustrated by Morrell and Capparell (2002) when they examined how Shackleton divided his group into two- leaving 22 of his men in an island and bringing the others to find food. Choosing the ones who would be left behind due to illness and bringing the ones who can best deliver the goods showed how Shackleton maximizes their resources as well as in knowing who can best do the job. As a change innovator, Morrell and Capparell (2002) in the latter part of the book had showcased how the crew members became leaders in their own right after learning from Shackleton. Primarily, the strength of the book is that it can serve as an informative as well as an academic resource for all organizations. Second, the manner by which the narratives were sewn together to fit how leadership is through Shackleton's way makes the readers appreciate the value of leadership and of the organization. Finally, the book is entertaining enough to be read and understoob by a wide range of audience. On the other hand, the book's primary weakness is its inability to provide comparisons with other legendary leaders. This could have given the readers the chance to compare the leadership style of Shackleton with others. Consequently, in today's modern organization, the lack of connection and the attempt to apply it amidst workers of today seems to be missing. Implication and Application to Nursing and Health Care Practice Leadership is universal in nature- regardless of the organization and its needs, leaders have common characteristics that make them effective. In the healthcare organization, leadership is no longer the strictly vertical hierarchy- more and more independence is given to nurses and other practitioners. For one, the emergence of positions such as Licensed Vocational Nursing, Licensed Practical Nursing, Nursing Assistants, etc. ompels nurses to develop their own leadership styles. For instance, as a provider of care to patients, the nurse delegates’ tasks, supervises their subordinates, reports to their superiors as well as plan the care of the patient to reach the goals of care. Therefore, gone are the days when nurses are dependent on their physicians for their actions. Simil ar to the experiences of Shackleton, nurses and health care practitioners can gain important insights on how team management can be organized in order to provide continuous patient care. In nursing for instance, nurses works in functional system where each shift would have a nurse and allied professionals, the ability to coordinate, collaborate, negotiate with the team, allocate resources to ensure that all patients are given care, and pursue both short-term and long-term goals are now the roles of nurses. Consequently, nurses are considered to be the primary caretaker among health care professionals because they are the ones who are with the patients most of time. Therefore, nurses’ serve as advocates to physicians and other health care professionals. In doing so, the lack of leadership of nurses can lead to inadequate provision of care. Accordingly, Shackleton provided a valuable lesson on how nurses can rise up to the ranks to be head nurses, supervisors and even administrators in the same way that Shackleton's crew became successful managers and leaders. For one, as shown in the book, a leader becomes a follower first. Leading without knowing how to follow is disastrous. This is because the value of respect as shown through good communication and motivation can only be shown by someone who had been through the process of following. Thus, while there are innate qualities for leadership, it is highly developed. Consequently, strength of character particularly confidence, optimism and willpower which were essential qualities in the success of Shackleton are important qualities for nurses- not only in direct patient care but also in managing other staff nurses. Essentially, Shackleton's Way provides an insightful manner by which leadership is connected to character and how it can be honed in an organization. For health care practitioners and nurses, this book provides a vivid and comprehensive display on how leaders are made and how they handle people. Ethical, Political and Social Consequences of Shackleton’s Way While far from being the best leader in the literature, Shackleton's Way was able to impart the simplicity of how leadership can be done: that is showing compassion to your people and your goals, as well as respecting the rights of each individual. In doing so, one becomes an ethical leader and in the process, gains the respect of their members. For one, it could have been easy for Shackleton to abandon his crew and save himself or just bring the strongest ones to help him escape Antarctica. However, he worked in a way that would bring the best in every individual and in the process save them all. In present organizations, we see leaders and managers using people for their own advancement. It is common that those in the top positions use politics to get ahead. This is also true in our society- whether the government or in private sectors. It is almost impossible to say that one got ahead without stepping on another's shoe. However, the ethics and politics of leadership in Shackleton's Way believed and showed otherwise. For one, we see the purpose of Shackleton- it is ethically and morally sound: for all of them to survive regardless if he risks his own life in doing so. Even in the healthcare industry and particularly in politics, turn coating and saving one's own face has been very common- to a point where the youth regards it as the status quo. However, Shackleton's Way proved that leaders in any organization can choose the harder and more complicated way but one that is just, humane and effective.

Review of “Roses” by Kanye West

Student Project Presentation In 2005 Kanye West released â€Å"Roses† on his second studio album titled â€Å"Late Registration. † Though the composition is classified as hip-hop, it delves into many other genres and niches as it encompasses a wide-ranging mix of blues, rock, R&B, and many others. The extensive collaboration between West and film score producer Jon Brion during the making of the album resulted in a very unique orchestral-like sound thanks to the hiring of a full string section during production.The entirety of the album could be considered a breakthrough as it redefined the genre and what typical hip-hop was expected to sound like by juxtaposing heavy hip-hop beats with orchestral strings. It is this contributing factor that makes it so difficult to compare his musical style to that of any other artists. Although I thoroughly enjoy â€Å"Late Registration† as a whole, â€Å"Roses† is my favorite composition due to the lyrical substance and the manner in which West chose to express his story.West composed the piece entirely himself, a deeply moving story where he recounts his emotions and those of his family as his grandmother lay ill due to heart complications and his views of the healthcare system. Although he did not write out his lyrics at the time, this did not hinder the meaning of the composition in any way as his passion and conviction are still evident in the tonality of his voice and heart felt words as he ever so clearly conveys his story to the listener.The Grammys classifies the composition under its rap category. In 2006 â€Å"Late Registration† was nominated for five Grammys of which it won three for best rap song, best rap solo performance, and best rap album. In my opinion the category suits the composition because though it is not typical, it still is rap. I believe that this song should be a part of our course because of its element of improvisation, which is one of the cornerstones of Jazz.A s I mentioned before, West did not write down any of his lyrics for the composition, or for any of his first four studio albums for that matter, it was all improvised from his head straight to the recording, similar to the bass improvisations of the great Charles Mingus. It can be said that the compositions does have a rhythm section, yet it is not one composed of human players. Instead what you hear is an eclectic mix of synthesized instrument clips compiled into a beat.In the composition West raps over piano and a slow rhythm with the chorus then bringing in trumpet riffs, electric guitar, and vocal sample from Curtis Mayfield’s composition â€Å"Rosie. † So all in all, I am happy to have been able to elaborate on this composition and shined some light on many details and elements that may have been overlooked or just not known by you guys, the listeners. I could only hope that you enjoyed the music as much as I did and am glad to have been able speak to you about a composition that I really admire.

East Asian Economic Miracle

During 1960 to 1990, East Asia experienced a huge transformation in its economic development which is now widely referred to as the East Asian economic miracle. This was largely a result of the growth of eight economies known as the high-performing Asian economies, hereinafter HPAEs. These comprised Japan, Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, and the three newly industrialised economies (NIEs) which were Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Prior to the 1960s, tensions between the regional powers were relatively high, which was evidently the result of several major events including the Sino-Japanese war, the wars between Japan and Russia and Japan and Korea and the invasion and colonisation of certain regions. After 1960, however, a radical adjustment in the interactions between these regional powers developed, arguably as a result of the creation of organisations such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1967. This illustrates a significant relaxation of tensions which effectively promoted economic, social and cultural co-operation between the member states. 1] Nevertheless, the extent to which such tensions have diminished is questionable, especially in light of the effects of both the Cold War and the Korean and Vietnamese wars. In order to develop a valuable analysis which documents the political implications of the East Asian economic miracle, it is first necessary to briefly outline the precedi ng tensions which existed in order to measure the extent to which tensions subsequently relaxed. Prior to 1960, relations between China and Japan were undoubtedly hostile. In 1964, China fought Japan in the Sino-Japanese war over the control of Korea which resulted in the Japanese acquisition of Taiwan and the Liaodong province and the independence of Korea. In 1931 Japan had invaded Manchuria and was in occupation of this area by 1933. During this period atrocities such as the Nanking Massacre took place which exacerbated tensions between Japan and China. In 1905 Japan and Russia were at war, and in 1910 Japan had colonised Korea which significantly contributed to regional tensions in East Asia. Nevertheless, in the post-World War II era, most of the colonised egions in East Asia had become independent which arguably created the conditions for regional cooperation. However, when East Asia became engulfed in the Cold War, further tensions emerged between China and Japan. In addition, this also resulted in the creation of North and South Korea, and the Vietnamese civil war. Thus, these major events resulted in hostile tensions between the East Asian reg ional powers, which are arguably still visible today. During the 1940s, relations between Japan and other East Asian regions appeared to deteriorate, particularly as a result of the Japanese creation of the East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. Arguably, this seemed to enhance relations in East Asia by unifying the region and marking ‘the end of European control. ’[2] However, this was not a universally held opinion as many regarded this as political propaganda which served merely to disguise Japanese aggression and its underlying agenda for imperial domination[3]. It seems that it was not until the 1960s that relations between Japan and the South East Asian regions began to improve. Thus, the period between 1965 and 1975 ‘saw the maturing of Japan’s own economic position and the beginning of Japan’s large scale investment in the region. [4] Arguably, Japan realised the need for co-operation with the South-East Asian regions in order to take advantage of crucial raw materials such as rubber and oil. Consequently, Asia became the largest recipient of Japan’s manufacturing investment which resulted in large economic development in the South-East. Throughout this time of development, Sou th-East Asia introduced many tariffs and inducements in order to encourage domestic industrialisation and enhance relations throughout Asia. This large scale investment not only initiated rapid economic development, but it also highlighted the necessity of shared growth across the East Asian regions. As a result, east Asian leaders formally established the principle of shared growth, declaring that if the economy expanded all groups would benefit[5]. However, in light of the numerous stages involved in implementing such policies, serious coordination problems emerged. For example, it was first necessary for all the leaders to get initial support from economic elites and then to persuade them that it was necessary to share the benefits of his growth with the poor and middle classes. Secondly, it was essential to get the co-operation of the poor and middle classes by demonstrating how they would benefit from this growth. This was seen in Korea and Taiwan where comprehensive land reform was carried out, in Indonesia where rice and fertiliser price policies were used to raise rural incomes, in Malaysia where wealth sharing po licies were introduced, and in Hong Kong and Singapore where huge public housing programs were implemented. [6] Nevertheless, during this establishment of shared growth in East Asia the relations between the South-East regions continued to improve, and in 1967 the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was created. Its founding members were Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia. After 1995, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia also joined. ASEAN’s initial objectives can be summarised as follows: to ‘alleviate intra-ASEAN tensions, to reduce the regional influence of external actors, and to promote the socioeconomic development of its member states as a further hedge against Communist insurgency. [7] It is important to note that its creation had followed recent hostile relations between the South-East Asian powers, partly as a result of Indonesia’s confrontation with the new state of Malaysia, and the Philippines’ claim over the Malaysian state of Sabah. [8] Therefore it was an important step forward in the co-operation of these regional powers in which shared development could be promoted. In 1976, ASEAN adopted the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) which called for ‘signatories to commit to â€Å"non-interference in the internal affairs of one another†, a â€Å"renunciation of the threat or use of force† and the settlement of disputes by â€Å"peaceful means†. ’[9] The signing of the TAC was a major attempt in further uniting the South East Asian regions and establishing an effective agenda for the political development of the ASEAN countries. Thus, it effectively created additional foundations for the cooperation in the economical development of the ASEAN region. In 1977, the Agreement on ASEAN Preferential Trading Arrangements (PTA) was signed in a bid to promote intra- ASEAN trading. Therefore, the PTA prescribed the use of a range of preferential tariffs, export credit support using preferential interest rates and long term quantity contracts. Nevertheless, the extent to which this agreement was effective is questionable. For example, it seems that some of the product groups that received preferential treatment often had little importance as imports. [10] As a result, it was agreed that the â€Å"ASEAN content requirement† should be reduced in order to allow preference margins to be increased. Furthermore, it was thought this would encourage negotiation of the reduction of non-tariff measures between ASEAN countries. [11] This resulted in three agreements[12] in which the primary objective was to boost the industrial cooperation between ASEAN countries. Subsequently, the TAC and other intra-ASEAN trading initiatives seemed to reduce tensions between the South-East regions, although it should be noted that intra-ASEAN trading accounted for only a small percentage of total ASEAN trade as most countries relied heavily on the export of primary goods to Japan and the USA. In addition, as trade became increasingly competitive it appears that trade relations also became more aggressive and hostile. However, it has been suggested that in the early development of the ASEAN, it ‘deliberately deemphasised the goals of political and military collaboration’[13] in order to avoid exacerbating opposition from communist led countries such as China. Consequently, many East Asia regions came to recognise that a market friendly strategy would be an effective way of enhancing the strength of their economies whereby governments would provide adequate investments in people. Furthermore, this would result in a competitive climate for private enterprise, allow the economy to remain open for international trade and maintain a stable macroeconomy. [14] Many of these policies were implemented in east Asian regions in order to promote economic development at a successful rate, combined with selective intervention in order to guide private-sector resource allocation. This created a competitive environment with the benefits of co-operation between the government and private sector. 15] In 1992 ASEAN leaders endorsed the idea of an ASEAN free trade area (AFTA) which would gradually lift the tariffs for manufactured goods produced by these members in order to enhance ASEAN economic cooperation. The AFTA would remove barriers to trade and investment and therefore also present an incentive for foreign investment. However, the AFTA did not fully achieve its objectives due to pre-existing low tariffs, and therefore only very few intra-ASEAN traders took advantage of the reduced tariffs. [16] Consequently, it seems that there were only minor noticeable improvements in relations in the ASEAN. However, in Northeast Asia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China there was a massive economic development during the ‘East Asian Economic Miracle’ period. By the 1960s many regarded Japan as having a relatively mature industrialised economy in comparison with other East Asian countries. [17] During the 1950s and 1960s the idea emerged that Japan should use the flying geese model to support other Asian countries in their development. As a result, other regions would be able to replicate Japan’s developmental experience and adapt it to their own regions. For example, manufacturing with lower skill rates were transferred from Japan and invested into lower performing economies. Thus, by utilising Japan’s economic development experiences, combined with the major Japanese investment in other East Asian regions, the basis for regional economic cooperation was created. Prior to the development experienced by South Korea and Taiwan, both countries had possessed high trade deficits. It was only with the combination of heavy investment from Japan and aid received from the U. S. that they were able to offset these trade deficits and sustain high levels of investment. 18] This was achieved partly as a result of the South Korean and Taiwanese governments engaging in import substitution, which meant that instead of relying on importing nondurable consumer goods, they manufactured these products domestically. This was a highly successful strategy, and in order to further develop their market economies they switched to an export orientated s trategy following Japan’s example. This success has been shared with other export orientated economies which have achieved higher rates of growth in comparison to those countries that have pursued an import substitution strategy. Thus, despite the fact that tensions may have initially increased as a result of competitive economic relationships between Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, arguably the result has been a significant relaxation of regional tensions. In addition, powerful government agencies have also been instrumental in determining the tone of regional relations, as is evident from an analysis of policies implemented by South Korea’s Economic Planning Board, Taiwan’s council for Economic Planning and Development, Taiwan’s and South Korea’s model agency and Japan’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). The MITI have many useful policy tools, including the power to screen foreign investment and regulate foreign exchange. Their main objective was to maintain national independence in industries such as energy, steel, computer and telecommunications, etc. whereby they attempted to guide firms towards what was termed ‘sunrise’ industries which included electronics and information systems. Thus, Japanese firms were encouraged to improve their technological capabilities and relocate industries where national competitiveness was declining, such as in Taiwan and South Korea. These industries tended to have high labour intensity, therefore by transferring these industries Japan was able to avoid increasing labour costs. Throughout this period of development Japan also provided Taiwan and South Korea with some of the necessary machinery and components which was essential for their industrialisation. Consequently, South Korea was recognised as the most successful of the East Asian regions, and in 1996 South Korea was ranked as the twelfth largest economy in the world. 19] Taiwan has also experienced remarkable success in terms of the growth of its economy and has achieved a decrease in inequality of income. The ratio of incomes between the top twenty percent of households to those of the lowest twenty percent was estimated to be 20. 47 in 1953 which subsequently decreased to 5. 33 in 1964 where this figure has remained stable since, and has only risen slightly over time. [20] Both of these economies have experienced successful development in implementing th e same growth strategies seen in Japan. With the effective use of foreign investments, improved technologies, government policies and agencies, South Korea and Taiwan have advanced their economies and become major competitors in the global economy. Thus, as a result of the aid and guidance received from Japan, relations between these regions have undoubtedly improved. Throughout the ‘economic miracle’ many of the East Asian regions received foreign investment from the U. S. and Japan. Western investment was viewed y some as part of a wider effort to build opposition against the communist-led countries within East Asia, such as the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Therefore the PRC sought investment from other countries with similar political ideology, such as the Soviet Union who were able to provide loans, technology and advisors in order for the PRC to improve its communication infrastructure and heavy industrial foundation. [21] Nonetheless, by the late 1970s the PRC had not achieved its initial goa ls and its economy was unstable. In the early 1980s the PRC government changed its strategy in order to achieve economic development by liberalising the economy. Therefore, the government began deemphasising the need for central planning and encouraging local initiatives, and later began to follow the models set by the East Asian regions that had already shown significant development. Consequently, the PRC opened its economy to foreign investment, technology and trade which ultimately strengthened its economic performance. Before the 1980s, relations between the PRC and other East Asian nations had been hostile, particularly as a result of their conflicting political ideologies. It may be argued, however, that after this boost in its economical development, relations between the PRC and other East Asian regions began to relax as a result of the increase in the cooperation of these regions. Nevertheless, some commentators argue that the PRC increased tensions as a result of its economic growth which encouraged competitive relations. Similarly, some security study texts indicate that the strengthening of the PRC resulted in moves to convert its economic power into political-military power. [22] Thus, it is questionable whether the development of the PRC’s economy merely exacerbated tensions with other East Asian regions in light of a perceived military threat. After the East Asian economic miracle, the introduction of ASEAN plus three (APT) has been recognised as significantly increasing regionalism within East Asia. Although not an official organisation, it is a basic framework for East Asian cooperation which has enabled the integration of the East Asian regions whereby the policy of mutual dependence is prioritised. Furthermore, after the Asian financial crisis in 1997, it seems that there have been further calls for the enhancement of East Asian cooperation which subsequently led to recent suggestions for the establishment of an East Asian Free Trade Area (EAFTA). However, it should be stressed that the creation of such an agreement will be difficult to achieve unless further policies can be implemented to support such a move, for example, an increase in sub regional agreements and bilateral FTAs. [23] However, it should also be noted that in 2001 it was announced that ASEAN and China would establish their own FTA before 2010 which suggests that the prospects of an EAFTA being established are not altogether slim. Thus, it is evident that there have been dramatic improvements in East Asian relations as a result of the increased economic cooperation. Nevertheless, as the APT group consists of both advanced market economies and less developed economies many tensions continue to exist which is arguably compounded by the existence of the conflicting political ideologies in countries such as the PRC and Vietnam. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that the East Asian Economic Miracle has transformed East Asia’s economies whereby many East Asian countries have now confirmed their position as major contenders in the global market. Throughout this period the HPAEs have grown at a faster rate than most other developing countries in the world. This has been a result of numerous factors, but in particular it seems that this success is largely attributable to the regionalism that has occurred across East Asia. It seems that relations between the East Asian regions have rapidly developed, especially as ‘those countries that have adopted a â€Å"trading strategy† have tended to outperform others that have given primacy to the ideas of military assertiveness and territorial control. [24] Thus, in order to compete in an increasingly global environment, it has proved to be essential to minimise military conflicts and establish trade relationships that will benefit the region as a whole. Many of the HPAEs have taken note of Japan’s developmental example, and accordingly, each have similar economic characteristics. Arguably, this has been instrumental in enabling organisations such as the ASEAN to emer ge, as well as encouraging the implementation of many major policies which have enhanced intra trade relations. Nonetheless, a deeper level of analysis reveals that major tensions continue to exist within East Asia, such as the North Korean threat, Japanese tensions with its neighbours and disputes between China and South Korea regarding historical legacies. Nevertheless, it seems that the cooperation and shared development which has resulted from the East Asian economic miracle has, at the very least, created the foundations for progressive trade relations in the future.