Saturday, August 31, 2019

Boston Lyric Opera Essay

1. BLO’s eight customer objectives The first objective is to gain generous contributions. The amount per donator, ration between new donators and new contacts (collection rate) and the total amount of the donators and contributions are ways to measure how this aspect is doing. Incentives for the staff should also be incorporated into these objectives, especially ones that steer the process towards multi-year support programs. To measure the board involvement and recruitment, it is important that the reputation of the new board member is blameless and since operating in Boston, a local person with strong ties to the community would be better. To measure involvement the easiest way is to look the member’s activity, how many times they’ve been in meetings and how they’ve acted to build strategy. For example number of new initiatives. Also hours spent educating the board members about strategy and vision could be one measurement. Building an artistic reputation is hard and so is measuring it. Reviews on papers give a sight how the opera is doing, but the best way to know is to make a consumer survey for example once a month. Also comparing the growth in visitors between BLO and other operas gives an idea. Rating different aspects is another way to measure the artistic view. Giving value for example to the lead singer or the orchestra will help to understand how the opera is doing on its main field. These measures aren’t very proactive though, but helpful anyway. One objective is to launch a residency program. Its success can be measured by the amount of acceptances to invites and by comparing the audience amounts to normal. Like when measuring artistic reputation, the best way to measure how exciting and diverse opera’s repertories are is to see reviews and audience amounts. The grading system works when the given grades are compared to the rivals’ same grades and the shows are compared. These are of course not proactive measures. BLO wants to collaborate with other major artistic institutions like museums and theatres. Also other operas and specially talents working in them are important. One way to measure collaboration is the amount of tickets to opera that our associates sell. How many per cent of the total amount of sold tickets is it and have these collaborations brought new visitors to BLO. Community support and focus on community programs can be measured with the amount of local donators and specially the amount of new supporters. Has the PR-campaign been affective? Have local companies supported the opera? This can be measured with the amount of companies. Measurements that measure processes in line with the strategy are not always easy to find and it usually takes a lot of time to find the right ways to use them. Often they need to be adjusted or reset to fit the strategy. The main challenge is to find measures that are pro-active and directive instead of controlling. 2. Boston Lyric Opera had not really measured their organizational performance before. This had ultimately caused lack of focus and limited accountability. Boston Lyric Opera was mainly led by qualitative values as quantitative measures and financials were not the topmost factors in decision making. The new general director Janice Del Sesto and BLO’s board acknowledged that there was a history of expensive opera productions and large losses in Boston’s opera scene and they had to adapt a new business philosophy in order to operate fiscally. Non-profit organizations often have a lack of focus and their strategy concentrates to too many things at the same time. Ken Freed, a BLO board member, acknowledged that a more formal strategic planning process was essential for BLO in order to avoid mistakes that several arts organizations had made in the past. They decided to adapt the Balanced Scorecard to focus their strategic planning process. Using the Balanced Scorecard, BLO and its employees could see their day-to-day activities within a bigger and more strategic context. They started the change by defining BLO’s mission, strategy, competitive advantages, and distinguishing characteristics that would make it unique. The biggest change here was BLO reshaping its strategy. They acknowledged that their most important â€Å"customers† in this situation are the people who resourced their organization. BLO received nearly 70 percent of their operating budget from sources other than ticket sales, mostly from donors and supporters. BLO decided to place donors and supporters as their main interest group in the Balanced Scorecard. They were the body that enabled BLO to carry out their mission and strategy. Even though Boston Lyric Opera is a non-profit organization and its output is intangible, its organizational performance can be measured by quantitative measures. The Balanced Scorecard would bring quantitative measures alongside the qualitative measures. The Balanced Scorecard required BLO to quantify their activities. BLO acknowledged that and they for example created a database where they linked quantifiable donor data to qualitative information about donor meetings etc. Basically, the Balanced Scorecard required BLO to be managed like a business. 3. Lyric Opera had a new question ahead of them. They had to figure out what they wanted to become. BLO’s existing strategy was not valid anymore as their operating expenses rose and revenues from ticket sales were limited. BLO decided to adapt the Balance Scorecard in order to set new strategic objectives and measure their performance against those objectives in order to overcome to challenges they were facing. Adapting the Balanced Scorecard, BLO was able to compose a clear and precise strategy. Actually, the strategy itself was quite complex and multidimensional but the Balanced Scorecard gave it a framework that presented the new strategy clearly. BLO set three strategic themes that they felt were important in reaching their goals and they had objectives and measures of success for all of the themes. Using the Balanced Scorecard and the strategy map, BLO was also able to communicate the new strategy clearly to their staff, stakeholders, and other associates. The fact that BLO now had sufficient information of their organization and operations, it could draw new donors to them. By using the Balanced Scorecard, BLO recognized their key success drivers and they started to focus on the activities that had the greatest impact on their goals. They all had a clear common goal and BLO’s staff worked cross-departmentally, motivationally to reach the goal of providing unique, uality opera in Boston. However Jessica Del Sesto and Sue Dahling-Sullivan faced some difficult challenges and barriers to capture the above-mentioned benefits. There was some opposition from a few board-members of changing the organization’s governance structure, adapting the Balance Scorecard and managing an art organization by quantitative measures. These â€Å"old school† members did not under stand that BLO could not compete with the great opera houses and they could not standout from the crow without differentiating in some way. Del Sesto and Dahling-Sullivan were still able to carry out the new strategy and capture the benefits to make BLO a highly successful arts organization. One of the most crucial parts of the adapting a new strategy was to communicate the strategy clearly to their staff, board members and other stakeholders. It is an unconditional requirement that people understand the new strategy and its benefits in order it to succeed. Del Sesto and Dahling-Sullivan used the strategy map in communicating the new strategy and it clearly presented the reasons and benefits of the new strategy and it lighten opposition substantially. . The departmental managers and the employees of BLO are more empowered after the BSC but the artistic leaders are less. The managers are now more empowered because every department now gets to plan its own scorecard, and describe the ways how the department would meet the high level strategic goals. The employees are with the scorecard more empowered, as they can see the w ork in a more strategic context and therefore set priorities more effectively themselves. However the artistic leaders felt that the scorecard and specially the repertory planning template could limit their opportunities in designing productions. . Del Sesto uses the BSC as a managerial system. The BSC purely concentrates on the big picture; everything is based to support strategy. Del Sesto believes that the BSC helps her to steer board members’ attention to proper tasks. Also, she thanks BSC for helping employees to think more strategically, and with greater clarity towards their objectives. All in all, Del Sesto is clearly more interested on the management aspect of the BSC. One explanation to this is that BLO is a nonprofit organization. Its reason to exist is not to make profit to its owners but to offer culture to the community. All the objectives connected to the three main points are easier to measure with controlling measurements. 6. Kaplan and Norton have studied the success of BSC implementations in different organizations. They have concluded five principals that contribute greatly to the success. These principals can also be found on BLO’s BSC implementation. The process started with planning. Group consisting members from all functions thought in several meeting how the BSC should be made and what BLO is now and what it wants to be. All possible views were brought to conversations and the members were challenged to use their imagination. As a result the group made three strategic themes which determined the main points to BLO’s future strategy. These three big themes were divided to smaller parts and brought to a form that is clear to everyone in the organization. This is similar to Kaplan’s and Norton’s principal 1, where the strategy is translated in to operational terms. The BSC was completed by determining the actions to be made so that the strategy can be fulfilled. After this all parts of the organization got to make scorecards of their own and were so committed to the strategy. The whole organization was aligned to meet the strategy (Principle 2). The project succeeded because BLO was able to find the crucial processes and finish them through. The personnel were part of the developing strongly. During the process of creating the BSC, the role of the entire staff in overall success was emphasized. This made them easier to adapt the new way of doing things and easier to understand the strategy and how it can be fulfilled (Principle 3). Often when BSC implementation fails it is because the scorecard is considered to be only management’s project, just a top-level adjustment. As always with large scale organizational changes, also this project faced some resistance. Some board members and artistic staff were unsure about the motives for changing the old customs. This problem however was solved, as the need for change was successfully communicated through various levels of the organization (Principle 5). Other crucial point which was done well was the targeting. The mission was announced clearly and the goals were easy to understand. The three major themes were chosen wisely and chopped in to smaller pieces well.

Friday, August 30, 2019

How firmly was the Tsar in control of Russia before 1905? Essay

Russia was an Autocracy before 1905 and the Tsar was Nicholas 2nd. Many people dispute over whether he was in control or not, the main factors being: The Tsar’s leadership, Opposition to the Tsar, Social and Economic conditions and finally means of control. It can be argued that some factors are more important than others, but they are all significant in how I believe the Tsar was losing control. The Tsar’s flaws as a leader were an extremely important reason as to why he was losing control of his country. Russia was an autocracy- this meant that the Tsar had full control of the country and had the final say in every decision. This could have been positive, but I think it was a negative thing. He was not a very decisive person, and he would not delegate to others (An example of this being, how he interfered in the appointments of local midwives.) While he was busy doing the wrong jobs he needed employees that were capable of the best. Another flaw of Nicholas’ was that he was extremely suspicious of those cleverer than him and fired many of his best workers (Count Witte) and preferred to hire only family and friends. This helped to weaken his control on Russia because not only did he lose respect from his people, but also he was not doing his job and as the only ruler of the country, Russia did not have a focused authority figure. The Tsar had a lot of opponents within Russia and he did not deal with them to the best of his abilities. This meant he was not firmly in control of Russia at all. The 4 main opposing groups were: The Liberals (Cadets), The Social Revolutionaries (SRs) and The Social Democratic Party (Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks) Although the different groups were all angry at different things, the one thing they had in common was that they were all unhappy about Russia’s Social and Economic Situation. In my opinion the Bolsheviks were the most dangerous group towards Tsar and the government, followed by the SRs then the Mensheviks finally the Liberals. Even though the Liberals had the most supporters, they were a peaceful group; they were not doing any damage to Russia. The Tsar did not believe they were a threat so chose to ignore them. However with the Bolsheviks they had a huge following (the working class.) Their approach to change was violence as was the SRs. The SRs managed to get close enough to the government to kill 2 of their officials. The Tsar dealt with the Bolsheviks and the SRs by killing them or exiling them. By exiling them he showed a lot of inexperience with how he dealt with these groups .All he did was send them away; this did not stop them from coming back! Siberia is in the east of the country (the opposite side as to where the Tsar was), but it is also a desert. This meant that the people the Tsar exiled became resentful towards him, as they had to live in a desert. An advantage to being exiled was that it was in the middle of nowhere. The organisations could discuss ideas and produce plans of future rebellions without the Tsar knowing what was going on. By not knowing this he lost an element of control because he did not know what his most violent organisations were doing. Every group in the Feudal system (except the aristocrats) had an organisation to rival the Tsar. This was bad because that meant at the very least only 1.5% of the population (aristocrats) were in full support of him. By not having the full support of his people the Tsar lost a lot of control because as a leader your people need to respect you but also have faith that you will do the right thing for the country in general (not just a specific group.) The monarchy was mostly made up of aristocrats, so was the government and army officials. By having only aristocrats in important positions the Tsar was not being fair, the 80% of the population that were peasants had a lot of reasons to despise the Tsar. This further allowed his control on Russia to loosen, it lost him support of people and the public started to realise that the Tsar was not the leader they needed to help them receive a better way of living. They needed someone that was not desperate for the power and someone who could hold control. Finally the fact the organizations even existed meant that he had lost some control already. If people respected him they would no t have started oppositions and formed plans. The groups all had plans. Whether they would work or not was a different issue. His weak leadership meant that he would not let anyone help him, he had resorted to last attempts by exiling people and had become desperate this shows how out of control he was and he knew it, because no one helped him he did not have a well thought out plan as to how to deal with the groups. The social and economic conditions in Russia would have made it hard for any leader to keep control, never mind the Tsar (a poor leader who had a lot of opposition.) 80% of Russia were peasants where as the aristocracy who owned 25% of the land and were only 1.5% of the population. This suggests that the gap between the rich and the poor was extreme. As the number of peasants moving to the city increased, more and more people started to realise how big this gap truly was and did not like it. Having to walk past lavish mansions on their way home, to rooms they probably shared with at least 1 other family created tension between the two social groups. The rich were getting richer and the poor poorer and nobody could move up the system. To make matters worse Russia spans 12 time zones and 60% of the population did not speak Russian. The Tsar lived in the far west so if a problem occurred in the east he would not be able to deal with it for days which meant his control of the situation decreased. If only 40% of you population speaks the national language it makes it harder for internal communication. The laws in Russia may have been harder to understand and those who did not speak the Tsar’s language would not have been as easy to control. The Tsar did not have as much domination as he thought he did because he could not control what was happening with some of the people and circumstances in the other end of his country. The Tsar used a lot of resources to try and keep his people under control, but to me it became apparent that the more resources he used the more the people refused to submit to his rules. One of his many means of control was the religious persecution of the Jews. All throughout history dictators have used specific groups of people (mostly the Jews) as scapegoats. Trying to pass the blame of the country onto someone else showed that the Tsar feared he would lose all of his control over the people if they thought it was his entire fault. Other means of control the Tsar used were: Secret police, regular police, prisons, and the army. In Leo Tolstoy’s letter to the Tsar in 1902 he says, â€Å"The numbers of regular police and of the secret police are continually growing.† This shows that the Tsar had started these policies but they were not working. People refused to be led by a man that was not objective to all groups in society and did not have the leadership required to be a successful Tsar. Overall I think that in the long-term it weakens his control but in the short term in strengthens his control. Showing the force he has the power to use might scare some of the population into behaving (but not for very long, I think they will see right through him.) However, having to rely on force (only at the point of a gun) shows his concern of the control he has over his country. The fact that the severity of the situation ended in armed forces patrolling the people, carrying live ammunition also shows his concern and ever shrinking clasp of control. After reviewing all of the evidence I believe that the Tsar was not in control of Russia before 1905. The Tsar’s poor qualities as a leader lost him respect from the people, as did the organizations opposing him. His desperation showed a lot in the decisions he made. If you are in control you are not desperate, you believe in the decisions you make, and the Tsar did not. Almost all of his forms of control failed in the long-term. The opposing groups managed to create plans and had a substantial number of followers. The social and economic situation made it ever harder to control Russia and his flaws isolated him from help and minimized the 1.5% of people that believed in him. The strongest evidence in my opinion is the opposition to the Tsar. All of the other facts contributed to the main point that he had opposition. If a leader has friction between him and his people he will always struggle to have control but the Tsar just had to many recurring problems to have control.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Land law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 4

Land law - Essay Example If the court issues an order to seize the property of the debtor after the judgment, it is called writ of execution. It must be noted that attachment is a prejudgment remedy either at the time of a lawsuit or immediately after it is filed. However, the final decision is taken by the court. The United Kingdom does not have unique or singular law regarding bankruptcy. England and Wales follow same system whereas Northern Ireland and Scotland have another system of their own. If the given scenario is related to Scotland or Northern Ireland, and if the property is the home owned by Bill, then the section 40 of the 1985 Act will be applicable to the case. Instead, if the system of Wales and Ireland is applicable to the context, Alan will have to rely on the Part IX of the Insolvency Act 1986. At this juncture (as the jurisdiction is not specified) the system of Northern Ireland and Scotland is taken for case analysis. The section 40 of the 1985 Act protects the interests of the debtorâ₠¬â„¢s (here Bill) family and prevents the creditor (here Alan) from selling the debtor’s ‘family home’ without either ‘relevant consent’ or a court order. ... esent or former spouse or civil partner without the debtor, or by the debtor without a spouse or civil partner but with a child of the family† (Insolvency - personal and corporate, n.d.). Hence, if Bill’s property is the family home, Alan needs to comply with the section 40. This section clearly states how the consent can be obtained for the proceeding of the sequestration of a family home. Referring to section 40, if Bill’s spouse, civil partner, or former spouse or civil partner lives in the home (with or without the debtor), it is necessary to obtain the consent of the spouse of civil partner to proceed with the sequestration (Insolvency - personal and corporate). If the debtor lives in the home with a child but without a spouse or civil partner, then the ‘relevant consent’ can be obtained from the debtor. If the ‘relevant consent’ is not obtained from the parties concerned, Alan has to obtain a court order to attach the property of Bi ll (ibid). In this case, it is advisable for Alan to obtain a court order because other options may not be so sensible. B. the property is a tenanted office block Under this case, attachment of property will be a difficult task if the agreement between Bill and the tenant was formed before the agreement made between Alan and Bill. It is the duty of the creditor to make certain that the security offered for the borrowing is free from any liability arising out of issues like tenancy. Hence, if Bill’s office block was tenanted at the time of the agreement between Alan and Bill, Alan cannot attach the property of Bill unless the tenant is willing to vacate the office block. On the other hand, if Bill’s office block was tenanted after the agreement between Bill and Alan was made, Alan may get a court order for the

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Writing precis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Writing precis - Essay Example 11). The incident changed the definition of National Security. For the generation that did not experience war, â€Å"National Security† meant protection and absence from nuclear attack. The primary motivation of the terrorist attack was to conceal a secret hidden in the offices that were designated targets. The offices were not aware of the secret they held but once exposed, vast truth would surface out eventually. The origins and impact of the secret were kept by the National Security. Proper understanding of the reason behind the gruesome incident on September 11th is better than just describing exactly what happened that day. At first the pattern of the incident last September 11th was not obvious other than the total destruction and casualties of the collapsed World Trade Center, a destroyed segment of the Pentagon, four sacrificial commercial airplanes with the loss of 2,993 lives. There should have been a hidden motive other than the perceived objective of the attack is chan ged from its usual ‘symbolic’ designation as ‘a terrorist attack’ and a person begins by looking at it as purely a crime with specific objectives instead of checking the logic of the patterned of destruction (Heider 2008, p. 1). Central Intelligence Agency conducted studies about the Pentagon and other hijacking accidents in the U.S.A. they checked for possible reasons how the highjackers were able to carry out their â€Å"mission†. They analyzed deeply to find out whether there were negligence in the offices and works of the Defense of the U.S.A. they also found out how other small groups and other terrorists worked together to lay-out their â€Å"perfect plan† (CIA 2005). The incident destroyed the World Trade Center which was a symbol of American pride and influence. The terrorists were able to demonstrate how a powerful nation can be caught unguarded by a group of infamous determined men. The incident was brought by the Muslim extremists.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Supply Chain of Coca Cola Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Supply Chain of Coca Cola - Essay Example Coca Cola has always kept their main emphasis on supply chain and logistics activities. Coca Cola have developed ‘focus factories concept’. According to this concept, they have developed European manufacturing point along with the global manufacturing facilities. They have developed low cost manufacturing locations and strategic â€Å"hubs† across the world. The company has started putting emphasis on long distance modes of transport for developing efficient mode of transport and distributions of products. Coca Cola have also developed specialist nature of logistics and supply chain operations. They have opted for software driven solutions in supply chain management. Coca Cola has its own supply chain management in place for more than 100 years. They have implemented the PowerAde method of supply chain management which has improved their overall supply chain system (Coca Cola, n.d.). Coca cola, in European region have also benefitted from elimination of internal tariffs. They have started growing chain stores in European nations. They have also focused on low cost and rapid delivery as their success factor. Coca Cola in UK has established itself as a leading soft drink producing brand. It had a slow beginning in European region but through the improvement of logistics and supply chain management, the company has established themselves. They are now involved in various sponsorship activities in UK e.g. football.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Child and the Law Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Child and the Law - Case Study Example The multiple needs of the child, together with the fact that he has been acting as a caregiver for his mother, make the case a multifaceted one in which several different agencies need to be involved. The basic duty of care towards Justin involves assuring he receives parental care or in loco parentis care, adequate educational opportunities and medical provisions for the "signs of depression" that might incapacitate him or even put his life in risk if they were allowed to develop into full-blown depression. All these facets need to be taken into account. Taking each part of the account of Justin in turn, this analysis will first consider the "education supervision order" which he is under and also the fact that he has been "taken into care on a voluntary basis by Hoppingdean Social Services on a number of occasions". An education supervision order is an order that is granted by a family court under the provisions of section 36 of the Children Act, 1989. The Education Supervision Order (ESO) has a clear and compelling reasoning behind it. The ESO is designed to "ensure that the child receives an efficient full-time education, suitable to his or her age, ability and any Special Educational needs; and that the Child benefits fully from the education received" (cumbria, 2006). At the present time it appears as though the general provisions of such an order are not being met for Justin. Thus the fact that his "frequent absences" have left him without the peer group vital for social development at this age, and that despite the "remedial work" being offered by the school he "has fallen far behind on his schoolwork" shows that he is clearly not receiving an efficient education. The blame for this cannot be put at the school's door, as they appear to be meeting Justin's needs as far as is feasible for a general Comprehensive school. Neither, under the exceptional circumstances within which the family is living, can the blame be put on the mother who is suffering from depression and alcoholism. Normally the parents/parent would be required to attend a magistrate's court to discover why the elements of the ESO are not being met, but this would not be appropriate in this case. The question arises as to whether the fact that Justin has been taken into care on a number of occasions on a voluntary basis should offer the way forward: should Justin be taken into care on a full-time basis, thus transferring responsibility for the ESO onto the Local Authority Social Services Department. As it is the child exists in a kind of limbo in which no one agency, or his mother, is fully responsible for what is occurring to him. He clearly is not thriving within this situation, as his educational problems and initial signs of depression graphically illustrate. Some other action is needed. The case of Justin could be seen as an embodiment of the need for some kind of integrated services for at risk children in the United Kingdom. It was the realization of this need that led to the creation of the Children's Trusts. The Trusts were created in order to keep up with the Children Act of 2004. As the National Evaluation of the Trusts suggests, English Local Authorities and National Health Service organizations serving children, young people and families are expected to take steps to unify or co-ordinate these services . . . .Children's Trusts are the emerging framework in which improvements in outcomes for children and young people are to be brought

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Factors in High-Impact Innovation Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Factors in High-Impact Innovation - Term Paper Example Jewkes contextualized his research by noting the underlying mythology about high-impact innovation, which is basically that it requires a lot of manpower, a lot of resources, a lot of money and fancy equipment, and complex bureaucratic support (Jewkes). While not proving the inverse of this notion, his findings indicated more variability than popular assumptions support. In examining an impressive range of high-impact innovations, more than half were done by individuals, working independently and with few resources, either in isolation or within an organization in which they had freedom to experiment and analyze on their own initiative without having to cooperate in a team (Jewkes). Inventing can be a group process, of course, but the kind of individuals who contributed some of the most important discoveries and basic products of the 19th and 20th centuries were not even assigned to a project to do so and, in various intriguing cases, were not even formally qualified in the area they explored, discovered or invented within. Sometimes it was an accident and other times individuals were pursuing interests rather than careers. (Jewkes) Furthermore, it seems that many such individuals are not people who negotiate a career field and social skills that would endear them to a team or get them appointed to a formal position in the area to which they greatly contributed. They are often people who question every assumption, however consensual (Jewkes). They are eccentric and want to be left alone to explore their own curiosity. Many such individuals can be characterized as loners. The work of inventing has private elements to it. Thinking and creative â€Å"messing around† with ideas and materials needs a climate of unconstrained thinking, uninterrupte3d reflection and working autonomy. It can call forth heroic effort. The group dynamics of a team can constrain thinking and redirect creative ideas, or even humiliate them. Cooperation may overly-structure the proce ss and conflict may weaken it. Jewkes notes that the human mind, working alone, can organize and synthesize ideas far more efficiently than a team. There is a loss of creative power when the individual has to adjust to team members. Perhaps these are clues to why so many initial innovations came from lone individuals (Jewkes). Jewkes distinguishes between initial pioneering discoveries and inventions and the development of those discoveries and inventions (Jewkes). Development will generally benefit from the resources and monetary investment, as well as additional input and expertise that can be found in a university setting or in a larger organization. While inspiration and exploration is often initially a private matter, development and exploitation is often a more cooperative and planned one. Some stunning chemical innovations were accomplished by General Motors (Freon refrigerant and tetraethyl lead), but their pattern was more typical of the lone hero, since they are not a chem ical company, but a motor engineering company, and since their innovation involved an element of chance (Jewkes). Large companies have contributed significant innovations out of strong research programs, maybe because research itself has a private, lone hero aspect which can be done with a certain amount of autonomy by an individual or a small team, and merely funded and later expanded by the larger organizati

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Lean On Me Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Lean On Me Assessment - Essay Example He is very strict and he believes a lot in the value of discipline. In a way he acted like a dictator in the school. His leadership style worked well with the students, but it got him into trouble with the teachers because he did not show mutual respect. The teachers were not the enemy they are a part of the solution to fix the problems at the school. I would describe Mr. Clark’s organizational interventions as one sided. He controlled the interventions by imposing his authority into others. Due to the major problems the school faced Mr. Clark was the right person for the job. He made sure he resolved problems by imposing strict measures. Mr. Clark’s interventions brought clarity and changes to the school. He was a leader that got involved in every aspect of the school including students, teachers and parents. The students at this school needed the discipline. His style got him into trouble with the teachers because it seemed he did not respect their work. An example of a wrong decision by Mr. Clark was firing the music teacher for standing up to him. As the principal Mr. Clark had legitimate power over the teachers. Legitimate power is formal authority that can be used to control other people (Schermerhorn, Hunt, Osborn, 2003). Mr. Clark was too tough on the teachers and he was not accepting their input. As time passed in the story of the movie Mr. Clark started to change his ways and he began to cooperate with the teachers in order to make the school a better place for

Friday, August 23, 2019

Management and Labour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Management and Labour - Essay Example They can either make or break it. Thus, cooperation between the two, working as one unified body towards the goal of the organisation, is crucial, especially so that what brings profit to the organisation is no other than employee’s productivity. Yet, the source of strength of any organisation is also its weakest point because the required unity between management and labour is something elusive to achieve. Worse, it is oftentimes the source of hostility that usually brings the organisation down. As management represents the interest of the capital – gaining super-profit at the expense of exploiting labour – to achieve employee’s trust and full-cooperation for utmost productivity is a century-old challenge to management. This inherent contradiction between management and labour is seen as the usual reason why do employees restrict the level of their output. But as organisational relationships evolve in the course of time, giving more attention on human relations, and as technology displaces labour giving more leverage to management, problems of lessened employee productivity is no longer attributed to labour exploitation but to poor management. Labour is the most productive force of production because no else has the power to produce but the worker’s productivity. Even with the modernisation of technology, the crucial role of labour in capitalist production remains. Thus, ensuring worker’s high performance rate is key function of management, because anything that may cause reduction in the worker’s level of output is detrimental to the interest of the capitalist. But what makes employee restrict their output level –is it the management or the worker’s exploited working condition? To answer this question, it would be best to understand first man’s concept of work. What is work to man? What makes man work? What discourages man to work? Man works not simply to work

Stress response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Stress response - Essay Example His personal history was also significant. He was a chronic smoker and had smoked 20 cigarettes per day for many years. On admission, general examination of the patient revealed that he was anxious and agitated, but orientated to time and place. His skin was pale and cool to touch. Heart rate was 116 beats per minute and irregular, blood pressure was 140/95mmHg, temperature was 37.8 C (cool peripheries), respiratory rate was 28 per minute, abdominal pain score was 6/10 and approximate weight was 68kg and height 163cm. Disruption of homeostasis through physical or physiological stimuli is known as stress. The normal homeostasis is defined by the range of certain blood parameters. These include pH of 7.36 to 7.45, bicarbonate of 21- 27.5 m mol per liter, oxygen saturation of >97% and glucose concentration of 3.6 to 6.8 m mol per liter. During a stressful condition, the body takes some measures to restore normal homeostasis and these are called the physiological effects of stress (Tortora & Derrickson, 2006). There are many stimuli which can cause physiological stress in a person. These can be either physical (trauma, pain, extremes of temperature, disease, dehydration, infection and excessive physical activity), psychological (deep emotions, anxiety, apprehension and fear) or physiological (pregnancy, delivery, post-partum, lactation, sexual activity, menstruation and pre-menstrual tension) or chemical (excessive intake of alcohol, drug abuse and drug over-dose). These stimuli can either cause immediate effects, or delayed effects or even chronic effects on the body. When the body is exposed to a stressful condition, the hypothalamus situated in the brain secretes adrenocorticotrophic releasing hormone (CRH). Hypothalamus is concerned with the secretion and control of the different hormones of the body. The CRH which is released is a peptide and is produced by the neurons in the paraventricular nuclei in the

Thursday, August 22, 2019

A comparison of the development of tragedy Essay Example for Free

A comparison of the development of tragedy Essay This essay compares the differences and similarities in the way in which the tragedies develop in Macbeth and A View from the Bridge. Macbeth is a more intense tragedy, as innocent people die as a result of his madness, before he himself is killed. A View from the Bridge is a softer tragedy, dealing with two men who want the same lady. Straightaway, with such a high-powered storyline, Macbeth is going to be the more intense tragedy. The aim of a tragedy is to inspire a mix of emotions in the reader, where they have attachments to both sides, and to present an unfortunate sequence of events that cause an unfortunate ending. With so many more characters involved in Macbeth and a much longer sequence of events, it can be considered better at creating a mix of emotion in people, and thus might be considered the better tragedy. Both of the primary victims in Macbeth and A View from the Bridge performed a favour for the individual that murdered them, which adds to the tragedy. In Macbeth, Macbeth murders King Duncan in order to become king. King Duncan refers to Macbeth as his ‘worthiest kinsman’ and his ‘worthy Cawdor’ after he made Macbeth thane of Cawdor, which was a rank of nobility. Furthermore, upon staying within the Macbeth household, Duncan ‘granted many gifts’. He presented a diamond to Lady Macbeth for her ‘boundless hospitality’. This makes Duncan’s death evermore tragic and unjust, as he did not deserve to die. Similarly, in A View from the Bridge, Eddie offers two illegal immigrants a place to stay in his home while they find work, and insists he has to ‘buy a tablecloth’ to make his guests feel more welcome. Yes, Eddie’s relationship with Roldolpho sours, but his initial welcoming was an act of kindness. In both Macbeth and A View from the Bridge, the story started off well. During the development of the tragedies, Eddie went against advice from Alferi, which was to leave Catherine and Roldolpho to it. Had Eddie taken this advice, he would likely still be alive, so ignoring the advice lead to his demise. Contrarily, it can be argued that Macbeth took a lot of advice from Lady Macbeth and bended to her will. Macbeth was very uncertain about taking this advice, as he considered his loyalty to Duncan as his ‘kinsman and his subject’, and recognised that Duncan had his own noble qualities, as he ‘[h]ath borne his faculties so meek’. Had Macbeth not taken this advice and listened to himself, he would probably also still be alive. This is a difference in the development of the tragedies because both victims took opposite decisions, but ultimately ended up with the same fate. Macbeth was killed by Macduff, because previously Macbeth had murdered Lady Macduff and their children. Macbeth had not harmed Macduff himself, so he had not directly attacked the man who killed him, but the people who were close to him. Marco killed Eddie, though Eddie had not had problems with Marco, only Roldolpho. Thus, both characters were killed by people they had not directly attacked. This adds to the tragedy in both cases because it might cause the viewer to have some sympathy for the victim, or sympathy for the murderers who acted out of revenge in both cases. More sympathy might be afforded for Eddie than Macbeth, because the fate that Eddie got was not one he had inflicted on anyone else. While he lunged at Marco with a knife, it could have been that he was acting out of self-defence. However, Macbeth had ordered the deaths of absolutely innocent people. Lady Macduff, her children, Banquo and Duncan and the chamberlains, and had planned to kill other innocent people – Macduff and Fleance. Thus, in this case, it could be argued that Macbeth’s fate was a certain kind of karma. The same cannot be said for Eddie in A View from a Bridge, so this might cause the reader to have more sympathy for Eddie than more Macbeth. Macbeth focuses more on the depths of despair that its characters fall into more than A View from a Bridge. Lady Macbeth’s personal tragedy is explained, her blood-stained hands and her dreams and her eventual suicide may make the reader feel her tragedy as well as her husband’s. Duncan’s fall into the depths of despair are also poetically made apparent, through soliloquies and expressions such as ‘Will all Neptune’s great ocean wash this blood’, which is the expression of Duncan’s blood on his hands that haunts Macbeth throughout the play. The reader isn’t given the same insight into the raw mix of emotions in each character in A View from the Bridge, so the same mix of opinions of the characters is difficult to achieve. To conclude, while there are similarities and differences between the development of tragedy in both Macbeth and A View from a Bridge, Macbeth gives a much fuller and complex development of tragedy. It has so many elements in its plot and unfortunates in the sequence of events that lead to the end that it is difficult to fully explore its development of tragedy in comparison with such a short book.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Need and Implementation of Change in General Motors

Need and Implementation of Change in General Motors The ever lasting truth of the universe is change. People, organizations, markets change every second. This change is stimulated by the environment. On individual level people manage change by changing there routines and habits, which is relatively simple. Change in an organization is complex but follows the same rules, organizations like an individual have to change there habits and routines. The organizations who have failed to cope with the change have crumbled under the feet of time either disappearing or being acquired by other companies. For example skybird, tucker corporation, wirgin, tohatsu, clover, British satellite broadcasting, world champion wrestling, archandor, and most recently general which filled chapter 11 bankruptcy. These organizations were unable to recognize the change in the environment and were rejected by the environment. The organizations that have been proactive and managed change have been success stories .i.e. Microsoft, 3com and us robotics, Cadbury and Kraft etc. these organizations have changed there strategies at the right time, they were the leaders of market change. Introduction to General Motors General Motors Corporation (GM) is the worlds largest full-line vehicle manufacturer and marketer. Its arsenal of brands includes Chevrolet, Pontiac, GMC, Buick, Cadillac, Saturn, Hummer, and Saab. Opel, Vauxhall, and Holden comprise GMs international nameplates. Through its system of global alliances, GM holds stakes in Isuzu Motors Ltd., Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., Suzuki Motor Corporation, Fiat Auto, and GM Daewoo Auto Technology. Other principal businesses include General Motors Acceptance Corporation and its subsidiaries, providers of financing and insurance to GM customers and dealers. In the early 2000s, struggling under the weight of escalating healthcare and pension costs, GM sought to shed some of its less profitable activities. Toward that end, among other moves, the company sold its stake in Hughes Electronics, phased out production of the Oldsmobile, and discontinued the Chevrolet Camero and Pontiac Firebird. Facing a tough economic climate, GM has nevertheless retained its position as the worlds leading automaker. Models of change management Now companies have realized the need for change and change management. That is the reason many scholars came up with different models of change management. There are some simple models of change and then there are some complex models. simple models are helpful but do not identify the needs of current economy Simple models which follow the approach that one size fits all Lewins model Unfreeze the current paradigm of the organization. This involves understanding the need for change. Then communicating that need to the people. People should be open to change in structure, behavior and thinking. Change the organization paradigm by introducing new theories in the organization. This is a lengthy process as the new method will take time to sink in. people will question the new method thus it is important that there is a strong channel for feedback. Refreeze the changed paradigm. This is the stage where the change is inculcated into the organization and people followed the changed methods as a part and parcel of the organization. Kotters 8 steps creating a vibe of change into the members gather supporters to guide change create a vision explain the vision to the supporters empower people to follow and spread the vision create shot objective or milestones improvements and feedback Inculcation of change by making it a part of structure and system. Complex model which recognize the need of individual organizations. Johnson Scholes and Whittingtons model identifies the variables that the organization faces. Time is how quickly change is needed. This can be identified by the Balogun and Hailys model. Scope is the degree of change that is necessary. Continuity what is the incremental factor History is the past experience of change Skills what capabilities are required and what do we have. Resources which are available for change management. Readiness is the willingness of people to accept change. Power is where the of the organization lies i.e. with management employees, stakeholders etc. McKinsey 7S framework identifies the areas that management need to focus on in order to manage change effectively Structure is the hierarchy and the departmentalization of the organization before and after the change. Strategy is the plans that organization makes i.e. when to compete? Where to compete? And when to compete? System is the alignment of the strategy with the business objective and at what level evolutionary stage the organization stands. Shared values is what type of culture prevails in the organization Style is the leadership style of the management. How are decisions made? Staff is the human resource of the organization. How trained they are and what staff is needed? Skill is the organizations ability to use its resources. Thus measure of the efficiency of the organization. Need for strategic change in General motors General motor is a fallen giant. Glory of the past from being a great market leader to bankrupt company General motors has come a long way. In 1980s GM was the top car manufacturer in the USA until the arrival of the Japanese cars. The Japanese sold cheap and better cars. GM failed to realize the change in the industry and technology and constantly lost market share to the Japanese companies. Even with government support the company filled chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009. The strategies of the Japanese and GM can be compared with each other and get to what GM needs to do in order to get its former glory. The strategies that have been used by GM are heavy discounting to capture or retain market share. Strategic intervention techniques The purpose of intervention techniques is to improve the efficiency and the effectiveness of the organization. Strategic intervention techniques focus on improving the processes through which ideas are generated and then gain feedback on the ideas. These techniques make some thing happen and also focus on what is happening French Bell Jr (1994). The reasons for interventions can be To gain feedback To educate people To invoke rapid change in the organization. Rapid and sudden change in the external environment Intense competition Driving forces for change in GM Driving forces are the reason that GM requires to change its strategy and align itself with the environment. Few of the forces that pressure Gm to change are as follows Low economic growth in the car manufacturing business has stumped most of the manufacturers. Car manufacturers on government support are making cars at a loss but yet there cars are in the market and cutting the market share of other companies. Japanese car manufacturers are making better cars at low price which is the main competition for GM. Change in technology in the industry has been an issue. Honda and Toyota have advanced in technology at a higher rate than GM. Rising oil prices have also caused the industry to rethink there strategy. Resource implications for GM GM CEO Rick Wagoner has put in a lot of effort to turn around GM since 1992.but his response to change in the environment was too slow. The resources of GM can be evaluated using 5 Ms model Money has been the problem for GM for sometime now but government is ready to help them but they do not have a turn around strategy. Manpower of GM has not been able to generate new ideas which show dulled motivation, and poor creativity skills by the management and other employees. Also GM is stuck in contacts with employees with huge pensions. Minutes time frame for adaptation has always been short for GM and it has always lagged behind the need of time. Material has very special item oil which has sky rocketed. So the price of car manufacturing is rising as well as the price of maintaining a car. Machinery has been the major issue for GM as its competitors have acquired new machinery and processes which are better than that of GM. Due to these factors GM has not been able to change. These are the forces that create resistance for change. Change and stakeholders Stakeholders are an integral part of the organizational paradigm. To bring change in the organization, stakeholders should own the change. The process of change should start from within the stakeholders. To change the culture stakeholders should realize that there is a need for change. Then they should be directed into the right direction. In Kotters 8 steps model for change the role of stakeholders can be incorporated. The model pushes the organization to make its own decision and define its process of change. Kotters model for change for GM Kotter gives a model of change in the organization in which the stakeholders are empowered to make change for themselves. I shall use this model to explain how GM can bring about change in the organization with the help of its stakeholders. Step 1: Create urgency For change to occur it is necessary the whole organization realizes the need for change and puts its effort in making the change. For this purpose managers can paint a grim picture of the future if continued on the same path. Explain to the shareholders the increase in ability of the organization to exploit its resources. There should be feed back from the stakeholders and there ideas should be incorporated in the change process. In case of GM it is not very difficult to paint a grim picture because the next step to bankruptcy is liquidation. The decline in the performance of the company has been a question mark for a long time now. So in GM people are ready for change and stakeholders support the management. Now there is need for discussions so that the ideas and the wills of the stakeholders can be incorporated in the change process. Step 2: Coalitions This is the point where the leadership emerges; people among the stakeholder should take charge of the groups. It is necessary that to identify the key leadership and make them commit to the change in the organization. This is necessary that people who are selected for the leadership believe in the change. In case of General Motors they have to find leaders in order to bring change. Recognition of the people who will help GM to evolve and to accept the changed processes is necessary, if it wishes to make any type of change in its strategy. Step 3: Vision for change When the process of change starts there are many idea of floating. All these ideals need to be linked together if in order to form a vision. This vision needs to be simple and understandable. The vision gives people a sense of direction; they understand the purpose of the change. For change to be successful you need to know the main idea behind the change. For this purpose prepare a summary of the future endeavors of the company. Knowing about the future helps people to support the organization. In case of General Motors the mission statement is quite clear G.M. is a multinational corporation engaged in socially responsible operations, worldwide. It is dedicated to provide products and services of such quality that our customers will receive superior value while our employees and business partners will share in our success and our stock-holders will receive a sustained superior return on their investment. But unfortunately General Motors has not been able to deliver. The vision of the General Motors needs to be communicated effectively through the organization. Every stakeholder needs to believe in the mission statement of General Motors. Step 4: Communication of vision Every person in the organization needs to know the objective of the change. The previous paradigm of the company will produce resistance against the new method. The New Mission statement needs to overcome the resistance and unite the organization on a single path to success. For this the management needs to address all the doubts and problems of the people. Divide the vision into smaller objectives and tie the performance of individual with the achievement of these objectives. In General Motors the management should take responsibility of communicating process of change through the organization. A process of change developed from the input of stakeholders is easier to communicate back. Step 5: Remove obstacles In the process of change, there will always be resistance. The objective of the management is to minimize this resistance and bring the stakeholders to a common platform on which everybody can express their opinion. As the process of change moves forward, there should be constant checks for any barriers to change. In General Motors the inner management has failed to provide change in the organization. The change in GM can be induced from the outside; perhaps a change agent will help GM over come change barriers. Another good way to bring about change is to award the people who embrace the change. Step 6: Create short term objectives For the process of change to work people need to know that it is working. For this management can divide the main objective in to simpler objectives. The management should thoroughly analyze the short term objectives such that they are achievable and motivation. For the achievement of every objective the employees should be rewarded. In General Motors that management need to step up and divide their long-term objectives into the short term goals. The management should make the stakeholders believe that they are capable of changing the business for the better. The most important stakeholder of GM is the government. The government needs to know that that GM can stand on its feet, for it to bail out the company. Step 7: Build on the change The process of change is not complete he unless and until the change culture has inculcated into the organization. Changes in many organizations fail because they do not fully implement the changed processes. The changed processes should become part and parcel of life in the organization. The people of the organization need to build on the changed processes and achieve even more success. The management of General Motors should not stop at making the government believed that they deserve a bailout, but should make efforts to build on the changed processes. Step 8: Change in corporate culture The most difficult thing to do in bringing about change into the organization is to change the culture of the organization. In history many of the mergers in companies have failed because they unable to merge the culture of the companies. Changing the culture of the company is a very long and hard process. General motors will need to change the culture and introduce a fresh method to succeed in an unattractive industry. At this point the employees of General Motor will not be motivated; the management needs to bring faith back into the employees. Monitoring progress and conclusion The final step in the management of change would be to monitor the performance of the company. For this purpose appraisal of each of the activities of the company will be performed. The justification of activity will provide grounds by which the productivity of the activity will be measured. The idea of kaizen should become a part of the activities of the business. The process of change is very lengthy; it takes years for change process to become part of the culture. The management of the organization needs to be very patient and need to prioritize their objectives. In General Motors it is necessary that people accept the change and once the changed processes have settled in there should be continuous evaluation and revaluation. The U.S market has become very saturated thus not allowing the companies to grow as fast as they would like. For the companies to survive they need to use there resources with utmost efficiency.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

The Iron and steel industry

The Iron and steel industry CHAPER-IIOVERVIEW OF IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRYIntroduction Steel is crucial to the development of any modern economy and is considered to be the backbone of human civilisation. The level of per capita consumption of steel is treated as an important index of the level of socioeconomic development and living standards of the people in any country. It is a product of a large and technologically complex industry having strong forward and backward linkages in terms of material flows and income generation. All major industrial economies are characterised by the existence of a strong steel industry and the growth of many of these economies has been largely shaped by the strength of their steel industries in their initial stages of development. Steel industry was in the vanguard in the liberalisation of the industrial sector and has made rapid strides since then. The new greenfield plants represent the latest in technology. Output has increased, the industry has moved up in the value chain and exports have risen consequent to a greater integration with the global economy. The new plants have also brought about a greater regional dispersion easing the domestic supply position notably in the western region. At the same time, the domestic steel industry faces new challenges. Some of these relate to the trade barriers in developed markets and certain structural problems of the domestic industry notably due to the high cost of commissioning of new projects. The domestic demand too has not improved to significant levels. The litmus test of the steel industry will be to surmount these difficulties and remain globally competitive. Historical Perspective The finished steel production in India has grown from a mere 1.1 million tonnes in 1951 to 31.63 million tonnes in 2001-2002. During the first two decades of planned economic development, i.e. 1950-60 and 1960-70, the average annual growth rate of steel production exceeded 8%. However, this growth rate could not be maintained in the following decades. During 1970- 80, the growth rate in steel production came down to 5.7% per annum and picked up marginally to 6.4% per annum during 1980-90, which further increased to 6.65% per annum during 1990-2000. Though India started steel production in 1911, steel exports from India began only in 1964. Exports in the first five years were mainly due to recession in the domestic iron and steel market. Once domestic demand revived, exports declined. India once again started exporting steel only in 1975 touching a figure of 1 million tonnes of pig iron and 1.4 million tonnes of steel in 1976-77. Thereafter, exports again declined to pick up only in 1991-92, when the main producers exported 3.87 lakh tonnes, which rose to 2.79 million tonnes in 1995-96 and 3.3 million tonnes in 2001-02. The growth in the steel sector in the early decades after Independence was mainly in the public sector units set up during this period. The situation has changed dramatically in the decade 1990-2000 with most of the growth originating in the private sector. The share of public sector and private sector in the production of steel during 1990-91 was 46% and 54% respectively, while during 2001-02 the same was 32% and 68% respectively. This change was brought about by deregulation and decontrol of the Indian iron steel sector in 1991. A number of policy measures have been taken since 1991 for the growth and development of the Indian iron steel sector. Some of the important steps are (a) removal of iron steel industry from the list of industries reserved for the public sector and also exempting it from the provisions of compulsory licensing under the Industries (Development Regulation) Act, 1951, (b) deregulation ofprice and distribution of iron steel, (c) inclusion of iron and steel industry in the list of high priority industries for automatic approval for foreign equity investments upto 51%. This limit has been since increased upto 100%, (d) lowering of import duty on capital goods and raw materials etc. Growth of the Indian Steel Sector after Liberlisation Finished Carbon Steel The Indian steel sector was the first core sector to be completely removed from the licensing regime as well as pricing and distribution controls. This was done primarily because of the inherent strengths and capabilities demonstrated by the Indian iron and steel industry. The growth rate in 1995-96 was a phenomenal 20%. During 1996-97, finished steel production shot up to a record 22.72 million tonnes with a growth rate of 6.2%, while in 1997-98, the finished steel production increased to 23.37 million tonnes, which was 2.8% more than the production of the preceding year. The growth rate decreased drastically in 1997-98 and 1998-99 being 2.8% and 1.9% respectively. The growth rate in 2001-2002 was 4.29% with the total production touching 31.63 million tonnes. The production of finished steel during April -December, 2002 has been 23.83 million tonnes, which is 6.3% higher than the production during the corresponding period of 2001-02. Details of total production of finished carbon steel and the share of main and secondary producers in it from 1991-92 onwards are set out in the following table: Production of Finished Carbon Steel (In million tonnes) Year MainProducersSecondaryProducersTotal1991-92 7.96 (55%) 6.37 (45%) 14.331992-93 8.41 (55%) 6.79 (45%) 15.201993-94 8.77 (57.6%) 6.43 (42.4%) 15.201994-95 9.57 (53.8%) 8.25 (46.2%) 17.821995-96 10.59 (49.5%) 10.81 (50.5%) 21.401996-97 10.54 (46.4%) 12.18(53.6%) 22.721997-98 10.44 (44.6%) 12.93(55.4%) 23.371998-99 9.91 (41.6%) 13.91(58.4%) 23.821999-2000 11.20 (41.9%) 15.51(58.1%) 26.712000-2001 12.49 (43%) 16.78(57%) 29.272001-2002 13.05 (42.6%) 17.58(57.4%) 31.632002-2003(Till December,2002)10.38 (44%) 13.45(56%) 23.83(Figures in bracket indicate the percentage share)Pig IronAlongwith the production of steel, the production of pig iron in the countryhas also increased. The details since 1991-92 are as under :-(In million tonnes)Year MainProducersSecondary Producers Total1991-92 1.485 0.102 1.5871992-93 1.679 0.165 1.8441993-94 1.977 0.273 2.2501994-95 2.005 0.780 2.7851995-96 1.735 1.060 2.7951996-97 1.733 1.557 3.2901997-98 1.760 1.687 3.4471998-99 1.354 1.644 2.9981999-2000 1.2 45 1.900 3.1452000-2001 0.970 2.430 3.4002001-2002 1.016 3.055 4.0712002-2003( Till Dec. 2002)0.810 3.075 3.885 Sponge Iron During the early 90s, the sponge iron industry had been specially promoted so as to provide an alternative to steel melting scrap, which was increasingly becoming scarce. The production of sponge iron (Direct Reduced Iron DRI) during the period 1991-92 to 2002-03 was as under:- (In million tonnes) Year Production % increase 1991-92 1.31 1992-93 1.44 9.91993-94 2.40 66.71994-95 3.39 41.31995-96 4.40 29.81996-97 5.01 13.81997-98 5.35 6.781998-99 5.11 -4.48.1999-2000 5.18 1.372000-2001 5.44 5.012001-2002 5.66 3.992002-2003 (Till December 2002) 4.50 - As per the International Iron and Steel Institute, India has emerged as the largest producer of sponge iron in the world in 2001. Production of sponge iron in the country as an alternative feed material to steel melting scrap, which was being imported hitherto in large quantities by the Electric Arc Furnace Units and the Induction Furnace Units, has resulted in considerable savings in foreign exchange. Apparent Consumption of Steel Apparent consumption of steel is arrived at by subtracting export of steel from the total of domestic production and adding the import of steel in the country. Change in stock is also adjusted in arriving at the consumption figures. It is also treated as the actual domestic demand of steel in the country. Details of year-wise apparent consumption of finished steel since 1990-91 are given in the table below :- (In million tonnes)Year ApparentConsumption 1990-91 14.371991-92 14.83 (3.2%)1992-93 15.00 (1.2%)1993-94 15.32 (2.0%)1994-95 18.66 (21.8%)1995-96 21.65 (16.0%)1996-97 22.13 (2.2%)1997-98 22.63 (2.6%)1998-99 23.54(4.02%)1999-2000 25.01(6.24%)2000-2001 26.53(6.08%)2001-2002 27.44(3.39%)2002-2003(Till December,2002)20.65(5.0%) (The figures in brackets indicate the% percentage increase over the previous year. The apparent consumption of steel did not show any substantive increase in 2001-2002 mainly due to slowdown being faced by some of the steel using industries like automobile and engineering industries and construction. With the revival of demand for automobile and engineering goods and general improvement in the economy, it is expected that consumption of steel will increase further. Indias per capita crude steel consumption, as per the latest available figures is 27 Kg, which is far below the level of other developed and developing countries 472.4 kg., 428.6 kg. and 128 kg. in USA, EU and China respectively. With the ongoing economic liberalisation resulting in faster economic growth, steel consumption is expected to increase rapidly. Long Term Demand-Availability Projections of Finished SteelIn order to have a long term perspective to facilitate planning, a Sub-Group on Steel and Ferro Alloys was constituted for the steel sector under the aegis of the Planning Commission. The Sub-Group deliberated upon all aspects including supply-demand projections for finished steel during the period 2001-02 to 2011-12. Considering a GDP growth rate of 6.5% as realistic during the 10thPlan, the Sub-Group has projected the demand of finished carbon steel in the country to rise as follows:- (In million tonnes)Year Forecast of demand for Finished Carbon Steel 2001-02 28.242002-03 30.012003-04 31.912004-05 33.922005-06 36.052006-07 38.222007-08 40.742008-09 43.302009-10 46.032010-11 48.932011-12 52.01 Import and Export of Iron and Steel(a) Import of Steel Import in steel sector has been mainly in plates, hot rolled coils, cold rolled coils and semis. Import of steel (carbon, alloy and stainless ) during 2002-03 (upto December, 2002) was about 0.72 million tonnes. Import of steel (carbon, alloy and stainless) during 2001-02 was about 1.50 million tonnes, which was 17.43% less than imports in 2000-2001. The total import of steel, pig iron and scrap during the last five years and value thereof was as under :- Import of Steel, Pig Iron Steel Scrap (Quantity in million tonnes)(Value in Rupees crores )Category 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03(Provisional)(Upto Jan., 2003)Qty. Value Qty. Value Qty. Value Qty. Value Qty. ValueSaleableSteel1.652 2459.00 2.200 2930.00 1.885 2712.00 1.501 2260.00 1.470 2286.00Pig Iron 0.002 2.00 0.003 2.00 0.002 2.00 .002 2.36 0 .001 1.48SteelScrap0.880 478.00 1.076 584.00 1.512 945.00 1.980 1206.00 1. 225 820.00Total 2.534 2939.00 3.279 3516.00 3.399 3659.00 3.483 3468.36 2.696 3107.48 (b) Export of Steel The general policy and procedures for export and import of iron and steel, ferro alloys and ferro scrap are at present decided by the Ministry of Commerce in consultation with the Ministry of Steel. In a momentous move to push exports aggressively, Government of India has announced several measures in the new Five-year Exim policy (2002-07), which is in effect from 1st April 2002. These include the removal of quantitative restrictions on exports save in respect of a few sensitive items; permission for setting up overseas banking units in Special Economic Zones (SEZ); retention of duty-neutralisation instruments including Duty Entitlement Pass Book (DEPB) and other export promotion schemes. The most important move in the new Exim Policy is the reduction of transaction time for exporters by introduction of a new eight-digit commodity classification in line with imports. Under Advance Licensing, the new policy abolishes Duty Exemption Entitlement Certificate (DEEC) Book, a practice foll owed since 1975. The policy also withdraws Advance Licence for annual requirements. Exporters can now avail Advance Licence for any value. The Union Ministry of Commerce Industry has recently gone in for a hike/ revision in the DEPB rates for steel exporters, covering exports of galvanised products, hot rolled coils and cold rolled coils. For HR coils, the rate has been revised to 15%, while for galvanised plain/galvanised coated and cold rolled, the present rates are at 17% and 18% respectively. DEPB Scheme hasbeen made further attractive by including SAD in DEPB with effect from 1st April, 2002. Indias major market for steel and steel items include USA, Canada, Indonesia, Italy, West Asia, Nepal, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, Sri Lanka and Belgium. The major steel items of export include HR coils, plates, CR and galvanized products, pipes, stainless steel, wire rods and wires. With the fall in prices along with depressed domestic demand, India has been increasing exports to overcome the excess supply situation. This has resulted in antidumping actions being taken by developed countries like USA, EU and Canada. The trade action by some countries against Indian steel industry has, to some extent, affected Indias exports to these countries. The Government of India and the Indian steel producers are trying to combat such actions despite such efforts being very expensive and involving time-consuming procedures. Details of the quantity and value of steel, pig iron and sponge iron exported from the year 1998-99 are given in the table below: Item 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03** (Apr.-Dec.02)Saleable Steel 2.400 3.340 2.570 3.300 2.750Pig Iron* 0.276 0.290 0.232 0.312 0.351Sponge Iron* 0.169 Nil Nil Nil NilTotal 2.845 3.630 2.802 3.612 3.101*Source DGCIS ** Provisional Current Global Scenario In the year 2000, the World Crude Steel production was 848 million tonnes, showing an impressive growth of 7.6% over the previous year. The world steel consumption also rose by almost 8%. The international steel trade constituted around 303 million tons or 40.5% of the production. In 2001 and 2002, world crude steel production was 833.70 million tonnes and 886.70 million tonnes, respectively. The following significant developments have been witnessed recently in the global steel scenario: There has been a spate of mergers and acquisitions all over the world in the steel industry. This is a relatively new development in the steel industry and is not confined only to companies within the same country but often involved cross border acquisitions and mergers. China has emerged as the most vibrant market for steel production and consumption. The crisis of excess capacity and prevalence of market distorting practices in the global steel market has induced protectionist measures from a number of steel trading countries. To address these issues a series of high level inter-governmental meetings have been held under the auspices of the OECD. In March 2002, the US President announced imposition of temporary safeguard measures on import of key steel products into USA. In retaliation in respect to the US action, EU has also imposed provisional safeguard measures against import of certain steel products. China, Canada and Thailand etc. have initiated safeguard investigations agai nst import of steel products into their countries. Domestic Steel Sector Scenario The iron and steel sector has been experiencing a slowdown in the last few years. The steel market remained sluggish and price levels of steel and steel products remained stagnant. This stagnancy resulted in steel companies registering net losses. However, steel prices started to pick up from April 2002 and this upturn is expected to help steel companies to reduce their net losses. The growth of steel sector is dependent upon the growth of the economy in general and the growth of industrial production and infrastructure sectors in particular. The major reasons for the slow growth in the steel sector during the last few years include: (a) Cost escalation in the input materials for iron and steel Power tariff, freight rates, coal prices etc. have been under the administered price regime. These rates have been frequently enhanced, thereby contributing to the rise in input costs for steel making.(b) Continuous reduction in import duty on iron and steel After liberalisation, import duty rates on iron and steel items have been gradually reduced over the years. This has opened up the domestic iron and steel sector to international competition. The extent of changes brought about in the customs duty of some of the items of steel since 1993-94 are given below: (Import Duties % Ad valorem )Item 1993-941994-951995-961996-971997-98 1998-991999-20002000-01 2001-02HR COILS 50% 40% 30% 25% 25% 25% 25% 25% 25%CR COILS 75% 50% 40% 25% 30% 30% 35% 35% 35%Plates 75% 50% 40% 30% 30% 30% 35% 35% 35%Bars/ Rods/Structurals85% 50% 40% 30% 30% 30% 35% 35% 35%Measures taken by Ministry of Steel to boost Demand The Ministry of Steel has been making all out efforts to help the domestic steel sector to overcome the problems faced by the steel industry and boost demand for steel in the steel consuming sectors. These include:- (a) Establishing Training cum Service institutes The Ministry has endeavored to promote research and developmental efforts by industry as well as provide technical support and trained manpower to the steel producing and consuming sectors. The following institutes have been set up:- (i) The Institute for Steel Development and Growth (INSDAG), Kolkata (West Bengal):- This is meant to promote usage of steel primarily in the construction industry by producing working designs and updating Engineering College syllabi. (ii) Biju Patnaik National Steel Institute, Puri (Orissa):- This has been set up for providing training-cum-service promotion for the industry. (iii) National Institute of Secondary Steel Technology(NISST), Mandi Govind Garh (Punjab):- This is primarily meant to promote upgradation of manpower in the secondary steel industry. (b) Campaign for increasing demand for Steel The Development Commissioner for Iron Steel (DCIS) has launched a National Campaign for increasing the demand for steel, in non-traditional sectors, particularly in the construction, rural and agro-based industrial sectors. In this connection, a conference was held on 21.9.2002 jointly organised by Ministry of Steel and Ministry of Rural Development for promotion of use of steel in the rural markets. Various measures were suggested to increase the use of steel in the rural areas. It was decided that the cooperation of Ministry of Surface Transport, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Small Scale Industries Agro and Rural Industries, Ministry of Consumers Affairs and Public Distribution and Planning Commission may be obtained for the mission. (c) Reduction in Power Rail Tariffs In order to make despatches of iron and steel material more attractive through the railways, the Railway Board has been requested to consider lowering the classification of steel; give freight discount to bulk users and to bring down freight rates of iron and steel commodities. (d) Reduction in input costs The Ministry of Steel has been able to rationalise the classification of coking coal in consultation with the Coal Ministry so as to reduce the impact of royalty payable on this basic raw material. Import duties on several raw materials used by the steel industry have been reduced steadily over the past 4 -5 years. (e) Strengthening of Anti Dumping mechanism The Directorate General of Anti-Dumping And Allied Duties under the Ministry of Commerce is the ‘Designated Authority to initiate necessary action for investigation and subsequent imposition of anti-dumping duty when there is sufficient evidence of imports being dumped in India. A recent study by the Metal Bulletin Review reveals that in case of flat products, almost every steel producing country has either an anti-dumping case instituted against it or has started a case against exporting countries. As the consumption in India was increasing with the increase of domestic availability, the steel exporters particularly from the Russian/CIS countries have been depressing the Indian market by unduly cheap exports through dumping. India has already imposed anti-dumping duties mainly on HR products imported from these countries. Apart from the flat products, there has been imposition of antidumping duties on certain grades of alloy and non-alloy steel billets, bars and rounds from China and Russia. (f) OECD Meetings The crisis of excess capacity and prevalence of market distorting practices in the global steel market has induced protectionist measures from a number of steel trading countries. To address these issues, a series of High Level Inter- Governmental meetings have been held in which representatives from countries accounting for nearly 95% of the total steel production have been participation. These meetings serviced by the OECD Secretariat are being held in pursuance of President Bushs initiatives for a multilateral steel capacity. These initiatives are being supported by major steel producing nations including the European Community and Japan. Five High Level Meetings have already been held. India has a number of concerns with regard to the modalities of excess capacity reduction and enforcement of disciplines in the steel market. India has not forecast any closure of surplus steel capacity. It has been pointed out that our installed capacity which had reached around 40 million tonnes per annum in the mid to late nineties, is now estimated to be around 33-34 million tonnes against domestic demand of around 29 million tonnes. This is largely on account of closure of units in the secondary sector due to operation of market forces. The other participating countries have, however, forecast closure of excess capacity to the extent of 95-100 million tonnes by 2010 and furnished detailed break down of likely closure by 2005. The Working Group on Capacity, established during the third High Level Meeting, will monitor these market forecasts. Future Prospects With the onset of liberalisation, the steel industry has to gear-up, not only to meet domestic competition, but also the global competition in terms of product range, quality and price. The growth of the steel sector is intricately linked with the growth of the Indian economy and especially the growth of the steel consuming sectors. India has become self-sufficient in iron and steel materials in the last 3-4 years. Exports are rising and imports are taking place mostly in a few specialised categories. Production and production capacities are increasing. The position needs to be further consolidated and issues affecting production and consumption need to be resolved on a continuous basis. At the same time, productivity of our steel plants must be maintained at levels close to international standards. The Ministry of Steel continues to play an active and major role in helping the steel industry to overcome bottlenecks in the growth of this sector. Steel Exporters Forum The Ministry of Steel has set up a Steel Exporters Forum in February 1998 with a view to fulfil the long felt need of the producers and exporters from the iron and steel sector and also to resolve issues, problems and bottlenecks faced by them in exports. The Chairman of the Forum is the Development Commissioner for Iron and Steel. All major steel producers/associations are its members. Representatives of the Ministries of Finance, Railways and Surface Transport are also its members in addition to the Ministry of Steel.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Dreams Of A Lifetime :: essays research papers

Some people only get to dream about what life might be like if they had accomplished their life goals. Some people dream about what it might not be like. Steven was one of these more fortunate people until...Steven had to overcome more pain during his lifetime then some could imagine. He dreamed of becoming a wealthy, well known business man, with a loving family. He had no clue that it would be so hard to accomplish the few things that mattered the most to him, his dreams.Steven grew up in a family of poverty, heartbreak, and violence. Every night Steven’s dad would come home drunk and beat on Steven and his sister, Danielle. Sometimes Steven would hide in a closet with his sister praying that his dad wouldn’t come home. The pain Steven suffered during these beatings were unbearable. Steven’s mother couldn’t do anything about it. She was afraid of her violent tempered husband. She tried to take her kids away from their father a few times, but she was threatened and beaten. There was no escape from what seemed like hell. After years of violence and abuse, Steven’s mother had had it. After Danielle had just been molested by her father, she thought that their was nothing left to live for. She had pulled the trigger on herself, killing one of the few people that Steven had cared about. After this incident, Steven rebelled against everything that he believed in. He just felt like there was nothing to live for and no one he could depend on. Steven didn’t do his schoolwork, he ran away from home a number of times, and he even got addicted to heroin. Danielle had moved to her aunt’s house in order to avoid getting into trouble with her father, but Steven refused to go. Then on a cold rainy night, Steven went home to see a swarm of police around his home. He later found out that his father was killed in a fight over drugs, in which Steven was the source of. It was at that moment that Steven felt the worst he has ever felt in his entire life. He felt like he was to blame for his father’s death and his mind went blank. Without hesitation, he got his father’s handgun, held to his mouth, and thought of his mother. The loving mother that he used to have, the one that was to afraid to help him, the one that was just there.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Creating a Culture of Excellence Withing an Organization Essay

Culture of Excellence High standards of care are expected by patients and families regarding any type of health care. Creating a culture of excellence within an organization is needed to increase patient satisfaction and improve patient outcomes. This paper will examine a hospital that is creating a culture of excellence within the organization to ensure theses outcome. Committees within the organization have been implemented to examine all aspects of the hospital, and its operations to receive input to create change. This corporation is implementing high standards of care and practice that provide a culture of excellence. Reviewing current articles to understand what defines excellence, and the importance it has on an organizations. This paper will also summarize and analyze the interview of a unit manager involved with implementing a culture of excellence. Also this author will discuss nursing theories and standard of practice that lead to the evaluation of this particular topic. This paper will a lso look at how the author’s journey through the bachelors program has changed her nursing profession, and the opportunities it will open in the future. Project Description How do we define a culture of excellence and then achieve it? â€Å"Excellence, by definition, means a state of (high) quality, superiority, eminently good, superior or first class†(Wiggins & Hyrkas, 2011, p. 1). Most health care organizations depend on reimbursement from private insurance, Medicare/Medicaid, private pay, and investors. Reimbursements for Medicare/Medicaid depend partially on patient satisfaction, which is evaluated through Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS). These surveys evaluate all aspect of the patie... ...thor has learned valuable tools to ensure optimal communication and listing is done with everyone she encounters. The opportunity she has had to develop new skill and enhance old ones has created many new opportunities for her future. Works Cited Alligood, M. R., & Tomey, A. M. (2010). Nursing Theorists and their work (7th ed.). Maryland Heights, MO: Mosby Elsevier. Behavioral standards [Core Values]. (2014). Presbyterian St Luke’s Medical Center: Health One. Cliff, B. (2012, May/June). Excellence in patient satisfaction within a patient-centered culture. Journal of Healthcare Management, 57, 157-159. http://dx.doi.org/Retrieved from Wiggins, M. S., & Hyrkas, K. (2011). Achieving excellence in nursing management. Journal of Nursing Management, 19, 1-4. Yoder-Wise, P. S. (2011). Leading and managing in nursing (5th ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier Mosby.

John Locke :: Empiricists, Empiricism

John Locke was the son of a country attorney and was born on August 29, 1632 . He grew up in and during the civil war, and later in 1652, entered the Christ Church, Oxford, where he remained as a student and teacher for many years. Locke taught and lectured in subjects such as Greek, rhetoric, and Moral philosophy. Lockedisagreed with many of the topics that were taught at the university. Locke, after reading books by Descartes, acquired a strong interest in contemporary philosophical and scientific questions and theories.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1666, Locke accidentally met with Lord Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st of Shaftesbury, and from then on, this lifelong relationship and association helped to change the course of Locke’s career. Cooper made Locke his personal secretary and confidential advisor, and also let him hold a number of governmental posts while his patron was in office. In 1675, Locke became very ill and was forced to leave his employment and reside for four years in France, where he began his writing. After four years, Locke then returned again to England into Shaftesbury where he once again joined Cooper’s service. Four years later, Cooper was forced to flee to Holland, where Locke, shortly after, followed him. They remained there until the Glorious Revolution of 1688.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On his return to England, Locke issued many or works, the chief of these being the Two Treaties of Government, and the Essay Concerning Human Understanding. These writings were immediately successful and they both exerted a vast influence. Between the both of these works, they made the dominant view of English thought through the greater part of the eighteenth century. Also on his return, the new king, William III, appointed Locke to the Board of Trade in 1696, a position from which he resigned because of ill health in 1700.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Locke spent peaceful old age in the country household at Oates, of his friends Sir Francis and Lady Masham. He spent the last couple of years revising the Essay, replying to his critics, and writing a number of other works on economic,philosophical, and religious topics. Locke died in Oates on October 28, 1704.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Locke’s Two Treatises of Government (1690) was a well-known and respected document. In the paper, he attacked the theory of diving right of kings and the nature of the state as conceived by the English philosopher and political theorist Thomas Hobbes.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Ode to Evening

Tuesday, March 6, 2007 Ode to Evening – William Collins Introduction: â€Å"Ode to Evening,† is one among the most enduring poems of William Collins. It is a beautiful poem of fifty-two lines, addressed to a goddess figure representing evening. This nymph, or maid, who personifies dusk, is chaste, reserv’d, and meek, in contrast to the bright-hair’d sun, a male figure who withdraws into his tent, making way for night. Thus evening is presented as the transition between light and darkness. Collins’ Construction of Evening: Collins slowly constructs Evening as an allegorical figure with many attributes, and many aural and visual characteristics. Collins piles up epithets; Eve is â€Å"chaste,† â€Å"reserved,† â€Å"composed,† â€Å"calm,† â€Å"meekest†; her ear is â€Å"modest. † The figure of Eve so far is only yet a sketch, but her attributes add up to the idea of an attractive, calm woman who is not restless or forcefully active. Contrast of Evening with the Daytime: According to the poet, Evening possesses â€Å"solemn springs† and â€Å"dying gales† Daytime activity gives way to calm as the wind literally often dies down in the evening. Some activity now supplements our picture of Eve. The gentle movements of water and the air ensure that her figure is not static. Eve’s contrast with the daytime world is even more obvious when Collins compares her to the setting sun. The glaring â€Å"bright-haired sun† sits regally in his tent of clouds, the â€Å"skirts† or edges of which seem to be made of many-colored braided cloth. This ethereal (heavenly) cloth evokes a picture of a vivid sunset; the sun is descending to its â€Å"wavy bed,† behind an ocean or lake. The day is almost done, and the sun not at the height of vigor (he is in his tent), but the implication is that he rests only after an active day. The Journey of the Pilgrim into the world of Evening: After the sunset, at â€Å"twilight,† the world is not yet attuned to Eve’s mood. The air is hushed, except for some annoying sounds: the bat’s â€Å"short shrill shrieks† and sound of the beetle’s â€Å"small but sullen horn. † The bat’s weak eyes and â€Å"leathern wing† are not pleasant, nor are the many beetles as they are borne (by the a breeze, I assume) up against the pilgrim on his quasi-religious journey. The beetles’ horns together can be characterized a making a humming noise; in any case they are heedless of the annoyance they cause. The Poet in a Prayerful Mood: Up until now, Collins has simply been addressing Evening. The grammatical unit of the opening of the poem is not completed until Line 15: â€Å"Now teach me. † The mood of this verb is not imperative, but prayerful. In the drama of the poem, the speaker is at first unsure of himself but gradually gains confidence. Evening has finally arrived: darkening, still, genial, cheering, vital, and beloved. The poet prays for Eve to teach him to write a poem which praises her. This is Collins’ way. Description of Evening: Now the poem blossoms. Collins begins to build up, not a literal picture of Evening, but a picture of the allegorical figure of Evening composed of details which evoke more of her attributes. A â€Å"car† or processional vehicle is being prepared for Eve in which she can progress through the evening surrounded by her attendants. The picture Collins gives us of a ceremonial car would have been more familiar to his audience than to us. Her attendants add to her characterization. Her car is prepared by The Hours (goddesses who order the seasons and are given to adorn things), and accompanied by sprightly elves who sleep in flowers, river goddesses wreathed in sedge and shedding freshening dew, and pensive Pleasures. These are active and by-and-large beautiful figures, without being at all bustling or too dazzling. They all embellish the figure of Eve, delicately balancing her qualities: active yet calm, beautiful and cheerful yet chaste and reserved. The Spirit of Evening: Collins then asks Evening to lead on as she progresses to this lovely day’s end. She moves from the lowly heath, lighted now only by a reflection of a totally calm lake. Moving upward where Evening can be seen for the last time, the lake’s light cheers an ancient building and an upland field. Note that Eve is addressed a â€Å"vot’ress†; presumably like the poet she worships the spirit of Evening. The Other side of Evening: Collins now expands on his definition. So far, his description of Evening has been calm and beautiful. But Collins’ Evening is not just beautiful. She also includes â€Å"chill blustering winds† and â€Å"driving rain. † When he cannot walk about, the poet hopes to look out from a â€Å"hut† on a mountainside, rather like the place from which many Claude scenes are viewed. He will see wild scenery and flooding rivers, as well as the poem’s first traces of ordinary civilization: â€Å"hamlets brown, and dim-discovered spires. † Now night falls as Eve’s â€Å"dewy fingers draw / The gradual dusky veil. † Evening as seen through the Whole Year: Collins then takes Evening through the year. As before, some of the associations are not pleasant. Spring is nicely associated with both water and the movement of air (showers and â€Å"breathing tresses†), Summer with sport and half-light. Autumn is less lovely (sallow), but is generous with leaves. Winter is nasty, â€Å"yelling through the troublous air and attacking Eve’s train (of attendants? of her dress? ) and even rending her robes. Evening can be attacked and is vulnerable, but she is not defeated. Collin’s characterization leads us from the beautiful picture of the poems first 32 lines to a picture of Evening’s strength to endure through good and bad. All in all, Collins has accomplished what he evidently set out to do—catch lovely time of day in all its transitory aspects. Evening as a State of Mind: Lessons from Evening: From the beginning Collins has asked Evening to lead him on, to infuse his heart and mind with the ability to see her and write about her. The progress in the poem has not just been the gradual unfolding of Evening, but the gradual education of the poet about what Evening is—from the early visions of shadowy beauty to the qualities that endure through bad weather. These qualities have obvious human analogues. In short, Evening becomes, not only a time of day, but a state of mind that develops in the pilgrim/poet by contemplating and experiencing and writing about the literal evening. Literal evening is not just associated with but actually helps cause this wonderful calm, happy, contemplative, intelligent, happy, open, creative, sympathetic state of mind, the state that feeds Fancy (as in the writing of this poem), Friendship, Science (that is knowledge and learning), and for that matter physical, and by extension mental, health. It is no surprise that these qualities sing a hymn of praise to Evening—a hymn that is a sharp contrast to the yelling of winter a few lines before. [21] Conclusion: This poem points ahead. He is enabled by this state of mind and moves forward. Ode to Evening is one of the masterpieces of Collins. Collins’ odes, do not point morals. Rather they dramatically define their subject by building up a personified and vividly pictured allegorical character. it is the best of the mid-century odes and provides a good bridge to the great Romantic poets. – With due acknowledgements to Prof. George Soule

Friday, August 16, 2019

Academy Award for Best Actor and Legal Issues Essay

At the end of these instructions is a list of just a few of the hundreds of law-related movies that are available on the market. You are free to use any law-related movie you like (with TWO EXCEPTIONS – Double Jeopardy is NOT acceptable, because Hollywood got the legal issue completely wrong; and A Few Good Men is limited to military law, so not really helpful for the general population). (up to 50 points) PRINT YOUR NAME: _________________________ NAME OF MOVIE: _________________________ YEAR OF RELEASE: _________________________ DIRECTOR: _________________________ MAIN ACTORS/ACTRESSES: _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ A. Describe in a page the FACTS of the case the movie is about. ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ B Describe two significant legal ISSUES that this movie brought up. (Remember that FACTS are not the same as legal ISSUES. For example, in the movie THE ACCUSED, the character played by Jodie Foster is raped in a tavern. That is one of the FACTS of the case. One of the legal ISSUES was the use of PLEA BARGAIN – the prosecutor was willing to let the rapists â€Å"plea bargain† to lesser crimes.) ISSUE #1________________________________________________________ ISSUE #2________________________________________________________ C. Take either ISSUE #1 or ISSUE #2, and look up in a book in the NSCC library (or any other library or law library), or a legal web-site, as a reference that gives you greater understanding of this issue, so that you can describe the general rule of law about this issue, and any significant exceptions. Title of Book used for reference:______________________________________ or Website citation: ___________________________________ Author of Book:___________________________________________________ Copyright year:_____________(be sure to use as current a source as possible!) D. Describe in your own words what you think the general rule of law is about this particular ISSUE (and significant exceptions), and why you think the general rule makes sense (or doesn’t!). ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ (on the following pages I have put a short list of some of the many law-related movies that you may want to look at – but you do not have to stick to this list!) Some suggestions for LAW-RELATED MOVIES TO WATCH & REVIEW Some of the newer films may be available through Blockbuster or one of the other major video rental outlets. For the older classics, you may have to look at one of the â€Å"specialty† rental shops like Video Isle (top of Queen Anne Hill or on Fremont just South of 45th) or Scarecrow Video (5030 Roosevelt Way NE in the U District). 1. ORIGINAL INTENT (1991); with Kris Kristofferson, Candy Clark, Jay Richardson, Martin Sheen. Eviction of a homeless shelter. Landlord/Tenant issues. 2. THE ACCUSED (1988); with Jodie Foster & Kelly McGillis. True story of a Massachusetts gang-rape case and follow-up case. Issues regarding admission of evidence, criminal prosecutions, victim’s rights. 3. THE VERDICT (1982); with Paul Newman, James Mason and Charlotte Rampling. Alcoholic lawyer takes on a malpractice case. Possible unethical actions by attorneys on both sides of the case! 4. ADAM’S RIB (1949); with Spencer Tracy & Katherine Hepburn. Husband and wife lawyers, on opposing sides of the same case. Classic comedy with good discussions of several legal issues. 5. INHERIT THE WIND (1960); with Spencer Tracy & Fredric Marsh. Based on the famous Scopes â€Å"monkey trial,† with a biology teacher on trial for daring to teach the theory of evolution. A classic trial!! 6. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962); with Gregory Peck and Mary Badham. Small town Southern lawyer defends a black man accused of rape in pre-Civil Rights era. Attorney-client obligations, criminal trial issues. Somewhat outdated, but a classic nonetheless. 7. YOUNG MR. LINCOLN (1939); with Henry Fonda (haven’t seen this one yet). 8. TWELVE ANGRY MEN (1957); with Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marshall & Jack Klugman. CLASSIC jury film; intense jury dispute; how a jury evaluates a case. This is the Original! There is a recent (1998 I think) version also with Keanu Reeves, but I don’t know how it compares. 9. THE TRIAL (1963); with Orson Welles, Anthony Perkins, Jeanne Moreau and Romy Schneider. Man arrested for an unexplained crime he is never told about! 10. STATE’S ATTORNEY (1932); with John Barrymore (haven’t seen this one yet). 11. SERGEANT RYKER (1968); with Lee Marvin, Vera Miles & Peter Graves. Court Martial of soldier accused of treason. 12. PERFECT WITNESS (1989); with Brian Dennehy, Aidan Quinn, Stockard Channing & Lara Harrington. Witness to mob murder put in jail for perjury – social responsibility issues. 13. THE PAPER CHASE (1973); with Timothy Bottoms, John Houseman and Lindsay Wagner. Law student’s first year at Harvard Law School (mainly in contracts class). 14. L.A. LAW (1987); with Harry Hamlin, Susan Dey, Corbin Bernsen. Introduced the TV series of the same name. 15. KRAMER VS. KRAMER (1979); with Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep. Divorce and child custody issues. 16. JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG (1961); with Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Maximilian Schell, Richard Widmark, Marlene Dietrich and Judy Garland! Nazi war crimes trial. 17. SHOOT FROM THE HIP (haven’t seen yet – can’t comment). 18. MY COUSIN VINNY; fairly recent comedy with a newly-licensed attorney representing a family member wrongly accused of murder. It touches on a few serious legal issues regarding preparation for trial, even with the comedy. 19. ABSENCE OF MALICE (1981); with Paul Newman and Sally Field. Freedom of the press and defamation of character. 20. SUSPECT (1987); with Cher and Dennis Quaid. Jury tampering, collusion, bribery of a government official. 21. LOSING ISAIAH (1995); with Jessica Lange, Halle Berry, Samuel L. Jackson. Interracial adoption, child custody rights of biological parents. 22. MURDER IN THE FIRST (1995); with Kevin Bacon, Gary Oldham, Christian Slater. Cruel and unusual punishment in the Alcatraz prison; jury â€Å"nullification,† federal jurisdiction. 23. JUST CAUSE (1995); with Sean Connery, Blair Underwood, Laurence Fishburne; Kate Capshaw, Ed Harris. Coercion of a confession; murder, venue, Pro Bono Publico representation, conflict of interest. These are just a few of the hundreds of law-related movies out there. If you find other good â€Å"law-related† movies not listed above you think would be appropriate, let me know and we’ll add it to this list!!