Napoleon Bonaparte: Good Or Bad Essay

Napoleon Bonaparte was not a good leader and although he did help France he was too bloodthirsty and arrogant to be considered a good ruler. He did gain much land and wealth for France however; there was too much bloodshed involved. He said that he did not care how much blood was spilled as long as he got his way and won he was fine with death. This shows that he has no concern for the people of France and would throw away their lives so that he could come out victorious. One cannot be considered a great leader unless he is a leader of the people and although the country may be wealthy that doesn’t necessarily mean that the French people are happy. In addition Napoleon was also very arrogant, a trait that eventually led to his downfall. His invasion of Russia was a mixture of his arrogance and greed that eventually lead to the death of almost all of his troops and his downfall. That downfall caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of men in the army and also burned Russia to the ground and brought France plummeting downward. Altogether although Napoleon gave France wealth he would not be considered a great due to the amount of bloodshed under his reign.

The Stylistic Analysis of “the Supreme Illusion” by Arnold Bennette

The Stylistic Analysis of â€Å"The Supreme Illusion† by Arnold Bennette I`d like to speculate upon Arnold Bennette and one of his works. Arnorld Bennette is a British novelist, playwright, critic, essayist and journalist. His first published novel was The Man From The North. This was followed by Anna of The Five Towns, The Old Wives` Tale, Clayhanger, The Card and Hilda Lessways. Bennette is credited with more than 80 books and during the 1920s was considered among the leaders of English literature. And now I`d like to analyse a tragic tale from The Matodor of the Five Towns which is called The Supreme Illusion. As for the title, it`s a topical one. This text is about one of man`s disillusions and this suitable title helps us to understand the contents of the story, which deals with such themes as art, theatre and famous people and their satisfied ambitions. According to its form, it`s a short story in 2 parts. A narrator comes to Paris for the production of Notre-Dame de la Lune but at the hotel an ugly woman upsets his arrival. He meets his friend Minor Boissy and they talk about Minor`s careeras a playwright. Boissy tells about his leading actress Blanche and the narrator believes that she`s a young and pretty woman but in fact Blanche is just that woman whom he met having arrived at the hotel. In the plot structure there`s exposition where we make the acquaintance of the characters and Minor tells about his life and Blanche; climax, where the narrator expects Blanche to be magnificent, and denouement – his disappointment. It seems to me that the message of the story can be formulated as a proverb â€Å"If you want no disappointment, don`t indulge in illusions† The author uses some stylistic means to create the atmosphere and to convey it to the reader: flashback- to explain the reader the reason of the narrator`s state of excited annoyance; here we can see a great number of epithets describing French hotels (reasonable little hotel, haughtily-managed hotels, a magnificent porter); detachments (humiliated and helpless, her eyes were hard-hard) and parantheses (which we all know, and whose name we all give in confidence to all our friends). The narrator`s annoyance is showed even with the help of elliptical sentences (But no! ) and it also should be noted that they are with exclamatory marks. Later the narrator calms down and to prove it the author uses antithesis (a disagreeable excitement changes into an agreeable one). The author uses direct and indirect methods of characterization to describe his characters, that`s why we can judge about his attitude to them through his descriptions. To show how unpleasant and stout the woman is numerous epithets are found (barbaric and repulsive creature, offensive hag, odious creature), climax (a savagely-dressed, ugly and ageing woman); simile (her automobile as large as a railway carriage); inversion (pretty she could never have been) and of course irony (if she had been young and pretty, she would have had the right to be rude and domineering). But for Boissy Minor she`s different; he admires her, he always desires to satisfy her ambitions. She`s the sense of his life (it`s proved by anadiplosis: it`s the woman, it`s the woman who.. ) but he`s a rather realistic person (Don`t expect too much) despite he`s a prominent and wealthy man (metonymy: all the walls of Paris were shouting his name; climax: Octave Boissy was a very wealthy man, he even looked a very wealthy man; metaphor: one of the darlings of success; epithet: of an absurdly luxurious civilazation). He`s unpretentious and always says simply (the fact is I`m neurasthenic) although his disease hurts him (epithet: a morbid horror of walking) and usage of exclamatory sentences (I couldn`t.. ; I couldn`t.. ) but he tries to show it (antithesis: at once comic and tragic smile) as he laughs a lot. By his own words he explains his choice. There`s a great number of anadiploses (it`s not a question.. , that was my sole reason.. , it`s the woman†¦, his life consisted in one thing only) I like Arnold Bennette`s style of writing. It goes without saying that his language is stylistically coloured, he perfectly mixes formal, informal and harsh words (offensive hag, to deign, monstrosities, barbaric creature). Sometimes they are useful to express the narrator`s disgust , sometimes – delight but always to intensify desired effect. The topis of this story is vital and actual and upon the theme of illusion and its aftermath we`ve speculated last time talking about the John Boyton Priestley`s play entitled The Dangerous Corner.

Snatch by Guy Ritchie Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Snatch by Guy Ritchie - Essay Example In the previous work of Ritchie, the use of impenetrable accent by non-British was very common while in the current work; a character represented by Brad Pitt has played a major part in bringing up another complicated gypsy dialect that other characters find difficult to understand in the movie. The character represented by Brad Pitt, paradoxically finds it very easy to communicate using this language understood by fewer people than other characters who find it very difficult to communicate using the language understood by all. Brad Pitt sounds like the combination of Professor Backwards and Adam Sandler. Therefore, this becomes an advantage to Brad Pitt since no one would really concentrate on his presence since no one understands the language he speaks thus he does not experience the discrimination as the rest face. Ritchie is a professional director, he is not interested in crime, but instead, he pays more attention to the voltage. According to Hrubes, Postmodernist Intertextuality in David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, the events of the play, Snatch, make it very interesting to viewers even if no one really hopes to understand the plot or rather no one of the viewers is very keen to understand the plot. The clothesline for Ritchie’s’ pyrotechnics is whereby he seems like very close to tell the audience that understanding the plot does not really matter that much. The plot of the play revolves around interlocked stories, which include, pigs, stolen diamonds, and wicked boxing. Franky Four Fingers steal a diamond from Belgium in Antwerp and runs back to London, two men, Avi, a gangster from America and Borris the Blade, a Russian, try to separate Franky Four Finger from the diamond. This becomes very hard to separate since he is handcuffed with the diamond to the wrist. Eventually, two s hady promoters find themselves involved in the crime after Gorgeous George, a boxer, is found lying flat on the stomach after being knocked down. This leads to the recruitment of the gypsy is a very great fighter that London would not recognize, in desperation for a winner. Pigs feed on the bodies of the discriminated people. When the blacks, the thieves, and other discriminated groups of people die in London, pigs feast on their dead bodies. The part played by Pitt and gypsy constitute the most interesting parts of the movie. The characters in this movie have cartoon faces, and the actions seem outright and Ritchie is very aggressive in his camera style, which makes the movie captivating and interesting. Despite all these facts concerning the movie, the movie ends up nowhere in particular and it does not build or develop anybody. Therefore, this movie entertains more than it educates the viewers. The Snatch is partly a comedy and every event carried out is a dark comedy. It revolve s around death and murder, and decay whereby in Snatch, Ritchie keeps on throwing things that just do not fit in the movie at that time just to break the monotony of deaths, murder, and decay. Stunning things like a Russian who just does not die, a man who has four fingers, and a dog that is able to swallow a squeaky toy among other stunning and strange things. All these characters that Ritchie uses

Machinery and Integrated Cropping Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Machinery and Integrated Cropping - Essay Example Potato residues are in small amounts, and add very little organic matter in the soils. However, sweet corn adds more refuse that is decomposed by the forage. It also consumes phenoxy herbicides and act as a pest control measure. The rotation provided uses crops with a different nutrient portion to maintain fertility and recovery. Rotation schemes should factor in the cost of production, economic gains and long-term disease and pest control measures to manage potato production. Rotation farming in large tracks of land requires adequate and modern equipment to reduce the cost of labor cost and time. Due to the intense and time-consuming procedures involved, it is important to use zero-tillage. Specifically, this entails the use of 45hp tractor that cultivates at a rate of 1 acre/hr. (Nutbey, 2010, p 26). Notably, the purpose of this machine is to pull equipment such as Rotavators, planters, cultivators, digger elevators and harrows. However, the farmer must decide whether to buy or hire the 45hp tractor. The net present value method of analysis helps the farmer to determine whether to buy or hire this equipment. Net Present Value is a method of analysis that gives an answer to this dilemma. Precisely, it adopts the dollar as the base of this calculation and assumes the formula {PVF= 1/ (1+i) n}, where ‘i’ is the rate of discount and ‘n’ is the number of years (Gollier, 2010, p 17). The data represent the monetary pros and cons of hiring and purchasing, and shows buying as the best option. The purchase Net Present Value is $10,696 less than the annual hire Net Present Value. Therefore, it is profitable to buy than to hire the tractor. Drought resistant crops are grown in arable lands. For this reason, the 200ha arable land can be used to grow wheat, barley, sugar beet, and the grass under rotational farming. Wheat farming will serve as animal feed and human food. I thus recommend

Explanatory Synethisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Explanatory Synethisis - Essay Example Therefore, class inequality does not only affect provision of basic needs, but is a stigma that stratifies the society and binds individuals to static cocoons, which determines their quality of life. People in the lower income class in the society face daunting task trying to catch up with the rest in the social mobility dynamics and are sometime forced to lag behind their peers in higher classes. Locke suggests that a child born in a lower social class has a disadvantage not only in meeting their basic needs, but also in finding better schools and enough learning time to accelerate their learning process compared to their peers in higher social classes. The Economist (2005) in the article, Middle of the Class stresses that American education at the secondary school level is influenced by local property taxes, which suggests those living in high class area have more taxes to equip their schools with more resources than in middle and low class areas. To make it worse as the article ex plains, the increasing of college fees at state colleges that used to help children from poor families made the situation worse for people like Locke. Education is the key to a better future and the roles and responsibilities in a society are pegged on the level and standard of education in schools. Consequently, children from wealthier families will grab the top cream jobs due to the high standard of education received, leaving the poor children with lower rank jobs based on the low standard of education received. This makes it difficult for those in the lower social ranks to achieve the required social mobility in catching up with their peers in careers later in live, which increases social stratification levels. To bridge this gap, Yglasius (2012) proposes a system that ensures more funding in early education to equalize the rich and the poor. The motivation in this system is to help the disadvantaged poor students in attending the best schools, which would catapult them to bette r job opportunities similar to their wealthier peers. Social inequalities in the American society can be partly bridged by providing the less endowed with social security programs such as Medicaid, which facilitates all to have access to healthy living despite their classes. Yglasius recognizes the role that social security programs such as Medicaid have played in the society, though he laments that these programs have suffered from the effects of the recession and their effectiveness has significantly declined (Yglasius, 2012). In other words, Matt proposes programs that encourage pooling of resources to ensure both the higher and lower class citizens have similar quality of services, though there has to be proper management of such programs to realize this dream. In â€Å"Middle of the Class,† the article recommends improvement of policies that may lessen social inequality such as funding education for poor children, though the article recommends that Americans have to real ize there is a growing problem of social inequality in the country. This suggests it is only through pooling of resources that everyone would be carried along and not through the excesses of American capitalism that increases inequality in the society by increasing

Different Aspects of Reflective Learning and How it Relates with Hinna Essay

Different Aspects of Reflective Learning and How it Relates with Hinna Azeem Jewelry - Essay Example This report also reflects how our group worked both individually and collectively in order to complete the task. Reflective learning helps us improve our future by learning from the past. A good entrepreneur is one who not only posseses reflection skills but also enhances theses skills as time goes on. Hinna Azeem has proven herself as a entrepreneur who possesses good reflection skills. She has proved this phenomenon with the actions during the course of business. Introduction Hina Azeem, a jewelry brand named under the name of its very designer has become one famous brand. The brand started its life cycle in 2000. Like every business H Azeem grew slowly but steadily and within two years of the business achieved a stable growth. Hinna Azeem, the designer, was in the view of introducing jewelry at afforable price to the community. She not only wanted the jewlery to be affordable but also wanted it to be luxurious and stylish too. She believed that wearing nice and stylish jewelry gav e a lot of psychological advantages to woman in which confidence was one major aspect. After introducing luxurious and stylish watches and jewelry for woman Hina Azeem has now planned to introduced products for men is well. She has planned to start off with gemstone cufflinks and custom made cufflinks and also offers after service products which no competitor offers at the moment. This shall give her an added advantage in the market. Her idea of pricing jewelry at affordable rates has ensured a large turnover which has led to profit making. Her business strategies and skills are impressive. She has outsourced her manufacturing to turkey, china and far off to ensure cheap labour. This tactics in return has ensured her to provide cheap and affordable prices. Instead of choosing a business strategy like that of APPLE and pricing her products highly and make it a fashion symbol, she has prefered to go about it in her own way. Even though now that has business has flourished and her bran d named developed she has shown commitment to her initial strategy and has kept her price low. She has shown her sharpness when it comes to business at many occasions. Entering the men jewelry segment which is hardly saturated and offering extra value added services has kept her spot her. She has also started sales online, which shows her sharpness with regard to use of technology. Her skills and actions make her stand out to the rest of her competitors. She has been mentioned in many journal, which is a great achievement. She is a young but at the same time a prolific entrepreneur. REPORT Below is the report sections which reflect how each of us went about in fulfilling this task. What kinds of problems we went through and how each and every one of us played our part in completing the requirements of this module. The report has been laid down in such format so each individuals work and achievement can be analysed and understood. The conclusion is right at the end, and has been achi eved not individually but as a team. Individual 1 Every entrepreneur has its own way and strategies to success. Some use their own beliefs while others may go from learning from experience of others. Some may go making new opportunities out of threats; some may simply wait and capitalize on them. We may even come across people who believe that entrepreneur are born rather than made. I personally think that people have their own view and we are to respect that fact. No one is an entrepreneur until and unless he actually enters the field of business. On his ladder to success he shall face many

Security Essentials 5.5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Security Essentials 5.5 - Essay Example Edinburgh correctional facility does not house murderers and sexual offenders. Inmates with murder charges are known to be quite aggressive hence posing threats to the security of the facility. Female inmates are not convicted in the facility because the inmates are subjected to labour that would otherwise not be executable to female inmates. A maintenance priority work plan that entails the generation of annual reports is a security essential in the Edinburgh correctional facility. Annual reports are vital as far as security is concerned because the reports reflect the activities taking place in the facility throughout the year. From the annual reports, possible security flaws can be identified and appropriate action taken to that effect. Annual reports help in maintaining consistency in the security procedures and proper coordination of the security apparatus in the facility. From the analysis of the reports, better and secure work plans can be formulated and in this way security i s improved. Visiting protocols in Edinburgh correctional facility have been put out clearly to ensure that visitors do not compromise the state of security in the facility. Visitation is done four days a week on Sunday, Monday, Friday and Saturday. The timeframe ensures that due procedures are followed, and the visiting is done in a systematic manner without causing alterations to the normal security protocols in the facility. Edinburgh correctional facility has a systematic procedure that governs the movement of prisoners in and out of the facility. The procedures must be followed to the latter. Prisoners move into the facility through building 641 and go out and come back from work through building 640. Systematic movement makes it easy for the guards to monitor the movement of the inmates in this way averting any possible escape plans that may be conceived by inmates. It is impossible for the inmates to establish

Most Popular Alcohol Brands Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Most Popular Alcohol Brands - Assignment Example According to the research findings, priority 1 is ensuring that the consumers have full access to the information about the brands, both new and existing ones. Action Step: Hanging advertisement posters, displays and any other relevant information about the quality of the unpopular brands. Objective: To persuade as many customers as possible to taste and continue buying the unpopular alcohol brands. Priority 2: Ensuring full participation of staff and senior management in enhancing sales of the unpopular brand. Action step: Educating the entire staff about marketing and promotional activities. Objective: To create a competitive team that will promote high sales from inside the store to the alcohol market. Priority 3: Pricing, marketing strategies, and time of this operation. Action step: Â  Conduct market research about the prevailing alcohol prices and set a cheaper price for the product. Develop the marketing strategies and determining the period that the whole exercise will take.

University's Tools for Achieving Lifelong Learning Essay

University's Tools for Achieving Lifelong Learning - Essay Example There is little question that I have had a fortunate upbringing. In my life, I have a number of positive influences from my family, the faculty at my International Baccalaureate diploma program but also my fellow students. The classroom environment in my IB Program has a lot of students from diverse backgrounds and we often collaborate on projects. Frequently this presents a number of challenges insofar as on many occasions different parties believe projects should go in different directions. However, I believe that it is through working together that we can achieve the best results. Moreover, by working with people from diverse backgrounds not only can I learn more about what it takes to succeed in the real world but I gain a better representation of the diverse society that we live in. When we achieve a good grade on an assignment that we completed together I feel as though I have learned a lot more than just the curriculum. I have always wanted to attend University because I belie ve that being in the academic environment would help push me to perform at my highest level. In addition to building my ability to work in groups, I believe that the programs offered at your University will provide me with the tools to achieve lifelong learning. I always thrived in environments in which the learning curve is steep and I recognize that University requires a great deal of work but I believe the experience will be the very cornerstone of my future. I believe I have what it takes to exceed your expectations and should you need anything else from me I will be more than happy to accommodate your needs.

Coke vs PepsiPepsi and Coke’s Uncivil Wars Essay Example for Free

Coke vs PepsiPepsi and Coke’s Uncivil Wars Essay Chapter 9 in Competition Demystified: Uncivil Cola Wars: Coke and Pepsi Confront the Prisoner’s Dilemma What are the sources of competitive advantages in the soda industry? First we should look at industry structure. The cola companies buy raw materials of sugar, sweeteners and flavorings from many suppliers then they turn the commodities into a branded product which consists of syrup/concentrated combined with water and bottles. The companies are joined at the hip with their bottlers/distributors who then sell to many retail outlets. Selling bulky and heavy beverages lends itself to regional economies of scale advantages. The soda companies cannot operate successfully unless their bottlers and distributors are profitable and content whether company-owned or franchised. The existence of barriers to entry indicates that the incumbents enjoy competitive advantages that potential entrants cannot match. In the soft drink world, the sources of these advantages are easy to identify. First, on the demand side, there is the kind of customer loyalty that network executives, beer brewers and car manufacturers only dream about. People who drink sodas drink them frequently (habit formation), and they relish a constancy of experience that keeps them ordering the same brand, no matter the circumstances. Both Coke and Pepsi exhibit the presence of barriers to entry and competitive advantage—stable *ROE can be influenced by whether bottlers’ assets are off or on the balance sheet Second, there are large economies of scale in the soda business both at the concentrate maker and bottler levels. Developing new products and advertising existing ones are fixed costs, unrelated to the number of cases sold. Equally important, the distribution of soda to the consumer benefits from regional scale economies. The more customers there are in a given region, the more economical the distribution. A bottler of Coke, selling the product to 40% to 50% of the soda drinkers in the market area, is going to have lower costs than someone peddling Dr. Pepper to 5% to 56% of the drinkers. During the â€Å"statesmen† era of Pepsi and Coke, what actions did each of the companies take? Why did they help raise profitability? Note the stability of market share and ROE. ROE dipped in 1980 and 1982 as Pepsi and Coke waged a price war. Yet, market shares did not change as a result of the price war—both companies were worse off. Pepsi gained market share in the late 1970s versus Coke. Coke was slow and clumsy to respond. Price wars between two elephants in an industry with barriers to entry tend to flatten a lot of grass and make customers happy. They hardly ever result in a dead elephant. Still, there are better and worse ways of initiating a price contest. Coke chose the worst. Coke chose to lower concentrate prices on those regions where its share of the cola market was high (80%) and Pepsi’s low (20 percent). This tactic ensured that for every dollar of revenue Pepsi gave up, Coke would surrender four dollars. Coke luckily developed New Coke which allowed it to attack Pepsi in its dominant markets in a precise way—minimizing damage to Coke’s profits–and force a truce in the price wars. They made visible moves to signal the other side that they intended to cooperate. Coca-Cola initiated the new era with a major corporate reorganization. After buying up many of the bottlers and reorganizing the bottler network, it spun off 51% of the company owned bottlers to shareholders in a new entity, Coca-Cola Enterprises, and it loaded up on debt for this corporation. With so much debt to service, Coca-Cola Enterprises had to concentrate on the tangible requirements of cash flow rather than the chimera of gaining great hunks of market share from Pepsi. PepsiCo responded by dropping the Pepsi Challenge, toning down its aggressive advertising and thus signaling that it accepted the truce. Profit margins improved. Operating profit margins went from 10% to 20% for Coca-Cola. Pepsi gain was less dramatic but also substantial. Both companies focused on ROE rather than market share and sales growth. The urge to grow, to hammer competitors and drive them out of business, or at least reduce their market share by a meaningful amount, had been a continual source of poor performance for companies that do have competitive advantages and a franchise, but are not content with it.

Competitive Advantages Of Johnson And Johnson Commerce Essay

Competitive Advantages Of Johnson And Johnson Commerce Essay Johnson  Ã‚  Johnson (JJ) was founded more than 120 years ago on a revolutionary idea that doctors and nurses should use sterile sutures, dressings and bandages to treat peoples wounds. Ever since, JJ has brought to the world, new ideas and products that have transformed human health and well-being. Johnson  Ã‚  Johnson has more than 250 companies located in 57 countries around the world involving specially in to three main businesses ; medical devices and diagnostics, pharmaceuticals, and consumer health care. JJ has experienced astonishing growth through global expansion, innovative products and processes, RD, services and quality that make a difference in peoples lives. Johnsons Baby is the most trusted brand of skin care products for mothers all over the world. Like Diaper rash care, baby powders, baby hair care, baby bath products and many more. They offer products and information targeting baby care, skin and hair care, nutritionals and so on. Creating meaningful innovation in health care within the consumer business franchise depends on a research strategy deeply involved in technology and consumer insight. This takes into consideration JJs vision: Bringing Science to the Art of Healthy Living! Major competitors Although the Consumer Health Care division is the smallest of the companys three segments, it includes some of the companys most recognizable brands such as Tylenol, Neutrogena, and Band-Aid. The major competitors of JJ are Novartis and Procter and Gamble in baby care products. Table 1: sales of Major Consumer Franchise in USD Millions Company Name Johnson Johnson (Baby Care) Novartis (consumer health) Procter Gamble (BABY CARE AND FAMILY CARE) 2007 1,982 NA 1,440 2008 2,214 1,125 1,728 2009 2,115 1,118 1,770 Table 1 and graph 1shows the greater sales figure of baby care products of JJ than its competitors which also includes family health care products. From this, we can see the highest market share of JJ in the industry. In baby care, they compete primarily in diapers, training pants and baby wipes, with approximately 35% of the global market share. Graph 1: chart showing sales of table 1. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES PRODUCTS The first competitive advantage for JNJ lies in its product itself which has NO MORE TEARS ® formula patent. Safety, comfort, and gentleness have always been a top most priority in its products. Instead of soap or alcohol it uses various harmless chemicals, and its products go through rigorous clinical testing to ensure the highest standards in baby care. Johnsons baby shampoos and soaps has been a trusted product for the parents which rinses very quickly and cleanly, and doesnt cause irritation to skin, eyes and scalp unlike others products. They have got most number of patented products. BRAND JJ has a history of 120 years of operations which has been trusted by doctors, nurses and parents around the world, now operating across 57 countries with more than 250 operating companies. In 2008, its brand value was worth of $3,582 millions, ranking 92 in the world. The company has been involved in many CSR activities like supporting International Youth Foundation for HIV/AIDS prevention program in Africa, child center in India, educating the people and providing handful tips regarding healthy and safety living, caring babies, and healthy environment. INNOVATION It is interesting to see innovation in terms of its products and processes as well in JJ, and every year it comes up with innovative products. Recently they have introduced new night time product which has been clinically proved to help babies fall asleep well and throughout the night. JJ has strong and well-equipped RD network, state-of-art technology, huge investment capacity, world-class research facilities, highly productive small team settings, and sound scientific methods. Every year JJ invests billions of dollars in RD, in 2008, it had invested 11.9% of its total sales (total sales figure was $7,577 million), ranking 7 in the worlds top companies spending in RD, and topmost in its industry. EXTENSIVE COLLABORATIONS JJ has been exclusively involved in selective licensing, acquiring and forming joint ventures for growth and expansion. Every year they enter in to 100s of strategic alliances and they have acquired more than 35 companies through the world so as to share best practices, acquire and develop cooperative talent, share research initiative, group purchasing and others. For example, in 2006, it acquired consumer section of Pfizer Consumer Healthcare (PCH), which added diverse portfolio in nine additional categories. In same year, it acquired Groupe Vendome, a reputed company in France involved in adult and baby skin product, and now JJ is selling product in their brand name in market of France. The ability to work across company and countries has helped JJ to produce most comprehensive and broad health care products, which has made them unique in the market. Their diversification is within the industry has made possible for cross business collaboration to address unmet health care needs. CORPORATE CULTURE Driven by the companys vision and support from top management, employee diversity has become one competitive advantage for JJ supported by various programs and activities like affinity groups, mentoring programs, diversity university, etc. Employees are encouraged to work in different divisions and roles so as to develop broadly. The business model adapted by JJ fundamentally uses the adaptation of entrepreneurial values. The decentralized corporate structure results in different people with different skills, thoughts, and ideas coming together and collaborating to develop products and technologies. The company has received various awards and recognitions for its best practices. We have the people, proprietary technology and capabilities of many diverse, entrepreneurial companies, this enables us to innovate at the intersections of our businesses. Thats an important competitive advantage and why were truly more than the sum of our many vibrant businesses. Johnson Johnsons Vice Chairman Christine Poon Sustainability and conclusion JJenjoys sustainable competitive advantage mainly due to corporate culture and brand name. Innovation has become possible because of its resource capabilities, extensive collaboration strategies and its business model. It would be surprising to see JJpossessing more core competencies which they have created from 120 years of operations. It has created more value to customers from benefit and cost advantage thorough increasing return rather than economies of scaleThus, we strongly believe that it will make them to stand out in the market in days ahead too.

Suicide :: essays research papers

Suicide... I once had a boyfriend, who was severly depressed, and became suicidal. The act of his trying to commit suicide broke my heart, and his families. I decided to write my paper about how to help someone who is sucidal and how to spot the signs, if there are any. In the last 45 years suicide rates have increased by 60% worldwide. Suicide is now among the three leading causes of death among those aged 15-44 (both sexes). Suicide attempts are up to 20 times more frequent than completed suicides.1 Everyone feels sad at some point — it's only natural. But what doctors call clinical depression is very different from just being "down in the dumps." The main difference is that the sad or empty mood doesn't go away after a couple of weeks, and everyday activities like sleeping, socializing or working can be affected. Suicide is a general term encompassing all types of suicidal behavior, including thoughts about suicide, suicidal "chatter" or threats, deliberate self-harm , and suicide itself. Suicide is an intentional taking of one's own life. It combines a wish to be dead with the action that carries out that wish. A checklist used to determine whether a death is suicide include: (1) They initiate their death (2)the desire to be self-destructive (3) the loss of will to live (4) the motivation to be dead or to die There are some certain signs to watch for,as well, if you think that someone might be considering Suicide. They are as follow:  · Deepening Depression. A depressed person, who withdrawls from friends and family, and doesnt seem to be getting any "happier"  · Final Arrangements  · Risk Taking or Self-Destructive Behaviors  · Pre-Suicidal Statements. Direct or indirect statements about suicide, hopelessness or death, even when said in a joking or off hand manner.

Ananlysis Of Andrew Marvell Coy Mistress :: essays research papers fc

Andrew Marvell attempts to win his â€Å"Coy Mistress† over and ultimately convince her into unleashing her passion and turning over her virginity. He is playing on a women’s vulnerability of love and admiration, fear of the loss of beauty and youthfulness and ultimately he clinches his argument by appealing to passion and lust. He is displaying a sense of urgency, to further his persuasion and has placed limitations on the availability of time in order to increase pressure. In Marvell’s first stanza, he appeals to his mistress by painting a vivid picture of love and courting that would take place if time where available. There are no limitations in his first attempt at persuasion â€Å"vaster than empires and more slow†. The imagery used of adoring of her eyes and breasts, the passing of their â€Å"long loves day† and her â€Å"deserving† of this love are purely to convincingly permit her to see him as a gentleman, sincere in his affection. The author then turns into his second argument or tactic of urging that is less â€Å"genteel†(Evans) and â€Å"more graphic†(Evans), as he seems to become increasingly desperate. In the second stanza he is using fear, almost threatening her, as he portrays what would happen if they allowed time to run out. He warns â€Å"her beauty shall no more be found† and alludes to her dying a virgin. Certain necessity arises as he begins to relate death, ashes and worms to his loss of lust and time. As Marvell enters the third stanza he draws upon passion â€Å"at every pore with instant fires†. His â€Å"philosophical proposal†(Evans) that as lovers they can turn the tables of time and â€Å"thorough the iron gates of life†. He is drawing upon his earlier limitations of time and fear to convince her to be rebellious and give in â€Å"tear (their) pleasures with rough strife†, while youthfulness is still present. Andrew Marvell’s arguments are related and are commonly based on lack of time. He shows her he is capable of love and then presents her with dark images of what would be if youthfulness eluded them, as he ends his final attempt of influence alluring to ravenous passion.

Homelessness Essay -- essays research papers

Homelessness in our society. The existence of homeless people in our society is still evident today. Everywhere you look around our cities, parks and streets it is likely that you will witness a homeless person struggling to survive. This is most certainly a social justice issue, every Australian deserves a secure and comfortable place to dwell, not left on the streets to perish. In society the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer. People today are far to driven by work and money to see the problem of homelessness surrounding them. Those very reasons explain why I chose this topic to create an advertising campaign. On the 23rd of June, 1987 the Hawke government promised us this. â€Å"For our next term, we are setting achievable goals for Australia’s future in the world†¦. So we set ourselves this goal: By 1990, no Australian child will be living in poverty.† If only this goal was achievable. Between the years of 1991 and 1994, the number of young Australians between the ages of twelve and eighteen living in poverty had doubled to twenty one thousand. The government does not do enough to help the homeless, although some people are homeless due to their own wishes, there are many people on the streets that do not choose to live as they do. People are homeless because they may have lost their jobs, evicted from their homes, teenagers that run away from families and teenagers that are ‘thrown away’ by families who no longer want them. Every year, nearly twenty seven thousa...

Regard to the play Essay

The 1st act of any play is more than just an exposition. It shows the strengths and weaknesses of the playwright clearly. Comment on this in regard to the play. There are certain aspects the playwright has to keep in mind when he writes the first act of his play. Usually, most of the first acts of plays are as already mentioned, expositions. The writer introduces the protagonist, the antagonist, the setting of the time. Moreover, not only does he set the mood for the rest of the play but he also starts building some dramatic tension between his characters and starts giving us hints about what is going to happen next. But apart from all this, the most difficult thing the playwright has to do in the first act is make it interesting and gripping. This is extremely significant because if the first act of the play is not gripping enough, the readers won’t like to go ahead. This situation is just like how, on a bad foundation, any kind of structure won’t last long and so nothing can be built upon it. So, the dramatist is supposed to catch the reader’s interest and then retain it too, making the first act almost like a mini play in itself. To make the first act attention-grabbing, the dramatist must introduce a conflict – between characters, between situations – and thus build the dramatic tension of the play. This is similar to what Ibsen did in doll’s house. He not only made the readers meet Nora Helmer but he also showed changes in her character in the first act itself. At the outset, Nora was very frivolous and perky but later in the act, she seemed a much more mature woman than one perceived before. Thus Ibsen, as a writer, managed to take his readers through all the subtle nuances in Nora’s character. This came out as Ibsen’s major strength. He showed Nora as silly yet sensible, lying yet truthful, making her character a complete rollercoaster for the readers in the first act itself. The other characters he introduced were torvald and mrs. linde. Where both these characters came to be very linear, Mrs. Linde’s role was more than just Nora’s friend. She was a foil which Ibsen introduced to make us understand Nora in a much better way by contrasting her with Mrs. Linde. Therefore, as one can see, Ibsen took so much pain, put in so much effort, only for making us relate to Nora in as much depth as possible. This was also Ibsen’s another strength which came up in the first act. It was his asset because he knew that his protagonist is unconventional since she is going to walk out on her husband and children for something which people in that time thought to be very trivial – self-respect. Therefore, he recognized the fact that he must do something to make his readers relate with Nora’s emotions and so he used the techniques of contrasting – by using mrs. linde as foil, foreshadowing – by hinting in Nora’s dialogues about what is going to happen later in the play and showing and telling and thus created such an act where if nothing, at least he left the readers curious about Nora and wanting to know more about her and about what happened to her, if not curious about the rest of the play.

 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF ONLINE SHOPPING Essay

Just year before, online shopping was not popular as it is today. But nowadays online shopping is the one of the best method considered for shopping. Now it allows the buyer to buy anything by just a click of mouse. Now online shopping offers a variety of products and services, as it allows us to buy clothing, airlines tickets, a car and even your grocery to shop. Websites like amazon.com, ebay.com are among the list of most popular websites being used these days. This essay will discuss advantages; (comparison shopping and save time) and disadvantages; (additional costs and waiting time and insecure shopping). One of the main advantage of online shopping is; comparison shopping in which products can be compared and contrast on the basis of their prices and multiple outlets. Today everybody wants the freedom of choice, so the marketers have to present the variety of product to choose from. Read more: Importance of English language essay There are number of online shopping websites, for example ebay.com, amazon.com, ozsale.com etc. that offer variety of products and services with different offers based on prices. This allows us the freedom of price flexibility and choice. So in that way, it makes easier to select and discard the product with his own choice. Many consumers like to explore before purchasing any particular product from different websites which offers different prices and different offers from other website at the same time. Comparison shopping affects the buyer’s trend to buy any product. The trend of comparison shopping is influenced by the ‘dimensions of decision-making style’ of the consumers (Park, Y. A., & Gretzel, U. 2010). The comparison shopping also become beneficial for the buyer as it allows the consumer to save money as well. Another main advantage of the online shopping is that it saves time. Today’s in this fast pace world everybody expects the work to be done fa ster. So, if anybody have busy life who have no time to buy the grocery are using online shopping as a way to fulfill their basic needs. Online shopping doesn’t require visiting the shopping places as you can do online shopping by sitting at home or anywhere. Online shopping services are available to anyone throughout the day, which it allows us to use these services anytime of the day. Online shopping websites are available on every day of the year, public holidays as well. So  availability of online shopping makes it convenient for everyone to use. Online shopping is considered as a convenient method to find those things which are hard to find made it a ‘time saving method’ (Horrigan, J. 2008). The other most important disadvantage of the online shopping is the additional cost and waiting time that Company’s takes to deliver the product. . The additional cost for delivering the product is also an important reason why people used to buy from their local outlets. A product can take up to weeks to deliver the product which make it the most frustrating factor for online shopping. The online shopping can be frustrating factor for those who don’t have patience and time to wait. So it becomes better for the buyer to buy the product from local shops instantly. The price on online store is usually low but delivery charges of the product make the charges similar or higher than local outlets. The main disadvantage of online shopping i s insecure shopping. Insecure shopping means the scams and frauds by gaining the personal and financial details of the buyers and utilize it in a bad way. If someone obtain your details regarding your personal and financial information, that can harm your personality (respect) and on other hand it can become a cause for the loss of the money. Online shopping is widely used for shopping but has ‘worries about sending their financial details’ such as credit cards (Horrigan, J. 2008). There are number of scam and fraud websites that offer very attracting offers but websites like this can loot you. So scam websites make online shopping a chaos for the user. It can be concluded that online shopping have advantages but have disadvantages as well. Online shopping provides us variation that means comparison shopping but on other hand online shopping companies charge extra for delivering. It saves times on shopping but takes time on delivering. It is available every time but have insecurity of being scammed and looted. But in last it can be easily concluded that if buyer have time for waiting they can use online shopping from registered and legal website which can decrease the fear of online shopping frauds. So, it can be easily concluded that online shopping can be a best method for shopping. REFERENCING Horrigan, J. (2008). Online shopping. Pew Internet & American Life Project Report, 36. Lee, G. G., & Lin, H. F. (2005). Customer perceptions of e-service quality in online shopping. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 33(2), 161-176. Lester, D. H., Forman, A. M., & Loyd, D. (2006). Internet shopping and buying behavior of college students. Services Marketing Quarterly, 27(2), 123-138. Park, Y. A., & Gretzel, U. (2010). Influence of consumers’ online decision-making style on comparison shopping proneness and perceived usefulness of comparison shopping tools. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, 11(4), 342-354.

Reflection And Feedback To Improve Teaching Education Essay

Gibbs ‘ brooding rhythm can be truly utile in doing you think through all the stages of an experience or activity. In a group of degree 2 scholars that are taught by myself there are some persistently late scholars, and they are easy gaining that in industry the timekeeping issue would be a major issue as they would be made redundant. Due to the job of lateness my wise man advised to implement a acquisition contract, this was put in topographic point. At the following twosome of Sessionss the scholars who had been tardily arrived on clip. The group said that they realised that being relaxed with them worked as they are get downing to accomplish and besides realised that timekeeping issues were of import. This technique appears to be working and is being used with all of the groups that I cover. Puting specific mensurable accomplishable realistic marks ( SMART ) with groups has decidedly worked. The scholar ‘s accomplishments will be recorded on a matrix tracking sheet. This is carried out to see if any of the scholars require farther support to help with development. ( See appendix 1 ) Transcript of tracking sheet & A ; x200 A farther group of scholars are at flat 1 and a assorted gender group. The lone female of the group arrived some 20 proceedingss tardily for the first session. She was integrated into the session and after a piece they were sent for a comfort interruption, this gave the ideal chance to near her about clip maintaining. Her response was â€Å" I am ever tardily ; travel rapidly up it ‘s my break clip † . Apparently her break clip must be more of import than my learning session! Asking her if she required aid, the response was â€Å" I am a miss that ‘s why I get treated different † . Assurance was given that she would be treated every bit to the remainder of the group. As the session was shuting the group were gathered around the bench and asked if any acquisition had taken topographic point, and what had been covered. One of the scholars said â€Å" yes when do we acquire you once more, I like you † another replied â€Å" yes acquire here on clip â₠¬  . After that response I replied that if timekeeping improved somewhat longer interruptions will go on, in this case Taylor ‘s theory is being used. Frederick Winslow Taylor ( 1856 – 1917 ) put frontward the thought that workers are motivated chiefly by wage. His Theory of Scientific Management argued the followers: â€Å" Workers do non of course bask work and so necessitate close supervising and control. Therefore directors should interrupt down production into a series of little undertakings † . The manner I incorporate Taylor ‘s theory is alternatively of wage, longer interruptions are allowed. Hopefully given clip this group will get down to gain that regard is a two manner thing. There appears to be light at the terminal of the proverbial tunnel, and another session has merely been delivered to the same group and the female scholar turned up on clip. Praise was given with a little intimation of temper. The scholar has since turned up repeatedly on clip and other coachs are inquiring what was said to do her alteration. Possibly it is merely that she now feels portion of the group and equality is in topographic point. Recently oppugning a group about an unfastened dark at another preparation center some replied â€Å" I could n't be bothered to travel † and one of the older scholars gave me some positive feedback that reassured why I strive for professionalism. The scholar told me that the criterion of work on show was non every bit good as they were accomplishing ; he said you would non hold passed that work. This was congratulations from one of my scholars ; regard is evidently being gained on both sides. The scholars are get downing to gain that the f eedback they receive is relevant. ( See appendix 2 ) X200 Feedbacks. The following session went reasonably good in some respects ; everyone made a good attempt and produced a weldment of a criterion that could be improved upon although their attack was instead hurried and deficient in idea. Reflecting on this, a manner to do them believe more, experiment more, and set themselves higher criterions is required. They do non like me looking at their work, and it is as if they know the criterion is non every bit good as it could be. Geting them to show their work to each other following clip, to transport out peer appraisal might do them take more pride in it. As a consequence of this equal appraisal has been introduced. They still seem a small loath and maintain nearing me, although some of the scholars are now gaining what is required. The criterion required to finish a undertaking is outlined by the making presenting organic structure. These criterions have to be adhered to and this is relayed to the scholars. By utilizing these criterions we are all draw a bead oning to measure at the same degree, I personally like to see a good quality coating to any of their work as this raises the scholar ‘s opportunities of employability. The scholars are reminded of where some of the former scholars are now employed, this makes them gain that their ends can besides be achieved. 1064RJ2. Contemplation on ain specializer cognition and accomplishments.Having late been asked to cover a session whilst a coach was on a trip for development, made me see how personal accomplishments could be developed. The group were work based learning learners at degree 2. The session being covered was in welding and this peculiar procedure is one that is favoured personally. The scholars were given a drawing and required to make the three dyer's rockets in assorted places. This peculiar undertaking makes the scholars aware that we do need to be able to read and work to relevant drawings. ( Appendix 3 Bearing Support Bracket pulling ) Some of the scholars had non covered this peculiar welding procedure and asked if a presentation could be given. Transporting out the presentation reassured me that I had the necessary accomplishments. Reviewing and updating my personal accomplishments is carried out in several different ways. The scholars are up to day of the month with all of the engineering that is available ; although my personal belief is that you can non break custodies on experience. Having worked in this industry for about 30 old ages has given me a wealth of cognition in most facets of technology. The scholars are shortly cognizant if the coach has the relevant accomplishments and cognition, they will inquire examining inquiries at this degree. This is encouraged, and on contemplation perchance more inquisitory inquiries should be asked at degree 1. Enhancement of trade cognition has major benefits ; one is that when current information is available and besides relevant, this can be relayed to the scholars. This in bend makes the scholars confident that the coach is knowing, and besides working with current ordinances and techniques. The session was covered good and the learners were challenged to determine what acquisition had taken topographic point. My personal belief is that as coachs we need to constantly update our accomplishments and cognition. Researching relevant web sites ensures that you cover your current course of study and making construction within your specialist country. Reading diaries and besides run intoing with representatives of companies is another good technique which I have personally used throughout my calling. Whilst being employed by the Institute our section has started to ask for guest talkers from industry to give negotiations and presentations to the scholars. This reiterates what is being taught is up to day of the month, and that the right cognition is being passed on to the scholars. The makings I achieved in fiction and welding are at flat 3 and awarded by City and Guilds. The criterion I achieved was at differentiation degree, this is because I strive for professionalism. Training my scholars to take for high criterions will do them more eligible for employment. Raising their criterions and quality aids them to derive a recognized making. Passing on relevant cognition and associating this to industry appears to be working, this is associating theory to pattern. This gives more credibleness with the scholars as they know what is being taught is relevant. Updating accomplishments and cognition makes for better instruction and acquisition from the coachs ‘ point of position, this can so be relayed to the scholars and assessed to guarantee that acquisition has taken topographic point. 510RJ3. Audit of literacy, linguistic communication, numeracy and ICT accomplishments in your specialist country.Literacy and numeracy are being integrated within the Sessionss delivered, acquiring the scholars to mensurate and tag out their work pieces makes them gain why these accomplishments are required. Having late undergone some preparation on Information and communicating engineering ( ICT ) will assist to incorporate this within my Sessionss. Learners that are diffident are given counsel by presentation ; this could be a practical undertaking or associating theory to an illustration. Information and communicating engineering ( ICT ) is now used in both theory and practical Sessionss. An synergistic board has been installed in the workshop ; this can now be utilised in the practical Sessionss being delivered. I have developed synergistic word hunts that are linked to the relevant topic that I am presenting. The scholars enjoy this type of session ; they are incognizant that I am detecting if they have retained nomenclature delivered in theory Sessionss. These are displayed on the synergistic board and scholars are asked to happen a word and explicat e its significance. If the scholar is diffident there are two options given, they may travel and research the word or an account is provided. The account is sometimes given by one of the other scholars and this is noted as an indicant to what cognition has been retained and by whom. The synergistic board is besides used to associate the Sessionss to industry by demoing comparative picture cartridge holders. Having merely delivered the Technical Certificate faculty this is a good clip to transport out a hot contemplation. The faculty covers assorted facets of technology, from little dullard pipe work to mechanical technology. The workshop environment where the scholars gain their practical accomplishments is ideal to incorporate functional accomplishments. The scholars are required to tag out a board following a drawing and attach pipe work. This peculiar undertaking necessitates the scholars carry out basic add-on, minus and division of Numberss. This is an effectual manner of integrating application of figure in a practical session. The undertaking besides involves working with others and job resolution ; the undertaking requires brackets to be positioned in assorted topographic points so that the pipe work is supported. The scholars have to make up one's mind where they are traveling to procure the brackets, and besides have to portion the tools required to finish this undertaking. Th e boards used for this undertaking are rather big and this incurs wellness and safety issues. This job is really rather advantageous as this makes the scholars aware of the wellness and safety issues. The scholars are required to utilize peer appraisal on this undertaking, this in bend screens communication accomplishments as the scholars read and interpret the drawing. Discoursing the undertaking with fellow scholars is encouraged as this promotes inclusion. Tutor feedback is given when the scholar feels that the undertaking is completed to the needed criterion. The pipe work is pressure tested to guarantee that there are no leaks ; this is besides done in industry prior to the undertaking being commissioned. Reflecting on this session made me see should the scholars have more schoolroom Sessionss to better their literacy and numeracy accomplishments. In decision the advantages would be to condition the scholars themselves to see the importance of these functional accomplishments prior to each session. I feel that the literacy, numeracy and ICT skills that I have achieved are relevant to present the Sessionss to the scholars. These accomplishments are invariably required to be updated as ICT is ever developing. 567RJ4.Reflection on cardinal resources in your specialist country.Bing still in contact with this industry is an first-class manner of updating current criterions. The nucleus topic of fiction and welding has non changed much over the old ages, although more modern equipment and the of all time altering wellness and safety Torahs have. A really good resource for maintaining in touch with development and wellness and safety Torahs is the cyberspace. The scholars are invariably advised to research certain countries and feedback when I pass on new cognition to them. The lone disadvantage is that there is so much information out at that place that it is advisable to utilize the web sites which reflect the course of study country remit, and besides cover the demands of the relevant awarding organic structure. With the exclusion of the Technical Certificate faculty, the fiction and welding class does non look to hold changed a great trade from when I completed the class some 30 old ages ago. The same methods and some of the same undertakings are still being covered ; I feel this is because the staffs are in their comfort zone. After confabulating with other coachs it appears to be reluctance to alter. I consider it is clip for alteration to maintain up with industrial demands, and this will besides be good for the scholars. Evidence suggests that with the rapid progress of ICT, it most decidedly would non be good pattern to stand still. We need to develop farther accomplishments and carry out regeneration. Crowne S. Chief Executive of Becta writes: Year and page no â€Å" Technology has a great potency to transform the farther instruction system and the lives of scholars it serves. Some colleges and suppliers already use engineering really efficaciously, and they and their scholars are profiting consequently. Many are doing good advancement, researching how engineering can open up learning and acquisition and better their concern systems. Others, nevertheless, have truly yet to do a start and have mixed feelings about engineering. So it is indispensable that we do everything we can to back up colleges and suppliers as they make these alterations and travel frontward † . If the relevant governments are reding that it is clip for alteration so certainly we should be responding consequently. After transporting out contemplations on my ain instruction patterns, my belief is that as instructors, we should progress with the available engineering. This would guarantee that we review our instruction patterns often ; this in bend would heighten acquisition and do Sessionss more interesting for the scholars. There are stuffs and methods that are used for many old ages ; my personal belief is that budgets are regulating development within our country. Resources become damaged and worn and the equipment is non reviewed or adapted to accommodate our scholar ‘s demands. The books, resources and equipment should be updated yearly to guarantee that we are presenting relevant stuff and techniques. After analyzing this state of affairs it is decidedly evident that the members of staff are in their comfort zone. Reflecting on my Sessionss has made me more cognizant that advancement is needed in our course of study country. As coachs we need to implement alteration and reexamine our patterns on a regular basis. 511

Philosophy of Discipline Essay

Essay Question: In order to find out how things really are, one must understand the filters through which one perceives the world. I believe that we perceive and therefore know. We perceive through emotions, language and reason. These are also known as the ways of knowing. Thus, it is appropriate to use the Woolman’s twelve ways of knowing to talk about perception. Reality is what we see, hear, smell, touch, taste and feel. It is what we observe around us using our senses and feelings. However, how do we know that we are really seeing reality and not our perception or something that our brain can accept and process? There are colors that our eyes cannot see for example ultra-violet and infrared-red. These colors are invisible to the human eye therefore we cannot see them. What we perceive is a clean Singapore. How do we actually know that Singapore is not littered with invisible rubbish? Of course, there are special devices that allow us to see these two colors and prove that there is no such rubbish. However, you can never be sure that there are no other colors invisible to our naked eyes. The things that we have always believed to be true, because we have ‘seen’ it with our own eyes may actually be non-existent so can we trust our eyes? Is what we see real? ‘My desk is in the study room’. This statement’s so called ‘proof’ is based on ‘unproven’ premises and therefore nothing is true and reality is not real. This is skepticism. When can we be sure? We can only be sure when we begin with the simplest, most basic premises which is certainly impossible to doubt. This can be summed up into these three lines ‘what we see is not real’, ‘you cannot be sure whether you are dreaming or not’, ‘there is only thing that you can be certain of and that is your consciousness of your own existence’. Xenophanes once said that we can always learn more than we know, but we can never be sure that we have reached any final truth. Thus is seeing really believing or believing is really seeing? Everyone has behaves differently because everyone is taught or programmed differently. Some people never let a vulgar word slip their lips others say it all day. This is due to the different programs stored in their conscience. For example, if your father who bought you up teaches you that stealing is wrong, you would perceive that stealing is wrong and thus your conscience pricks you when you are tempted to steal. However, what if the person who passes the information to you is ignorant and teaches you what he thinks is right and these turn out to be wrong? This boils down to authority and acquaintances. The drug addiction problem is because of incorrect perception. If your father brought you up teaching you that drugs is good for you, you will the perception that drugs is good and take drugs without it pricking your conscience, eventually fall into addiction of drugs. Therefore, are you able to trust your conscience or the persons who brought you up and helped program your conscience? Dreams seem real and convincing. Is it possible that you remember your dreams as you remember past experiences? This seems absurd, but sometimes you can mistake a dream for reality (dreams often seem very real), as a result you may also mistakenly store that reality-look-alike thought in your brain. You mistakenly made these memories and you can no longer be confine your memory to real-life experiences, which in itself are not very convincing and have its areas for skepticism, but fake and pure materials from your imagination. Every argument or proof proceeded from premises, which it did not itself establish. Trying to demonstrate the truth of those premises by other arguments or proofs had to be based on undemonstrated premises. Therefore, no ultimate ground of certainty could ever be reached. What a valid argument proves is that its conclusions follow from its premises, but it is not at all the same as proving that those conclusions are true. Every valid argument starts with an ‘if’: if ‘p’ is true then ‘q’ must be true. That leaves open the question of whether or not ‘p’ is true. The argument itself cannot prove that because it has already assumed it and to have assumed already what sets are out to prove would be to move in a vicious circle. Perception can be simplified into two basic questions. Is your perception true? Why is it true or false? Then you can ask yourself how do you perceive? We know through our five senses? These senses send impulses or messages to our brain from the outside word. The brain then interprets and creates the real world in our brain. How does the brain interpret the impulses or messages? It can be done through past experiences, social, cultural, religious communities, spatial familiarity for example patterns and shapes, biological limitations, existing learning structures, language and self perception such as how we think or what we believe. It is indeed doubtful whether anyone could live based on complete perception, or if they could, whether such a life would be worth living. However, this refutation of perception, if refutation it is, is not a logical argument. In practical life, we must steer a middle course between demanding a degree of certainty that we can never have and treating all possibilities as if they were of equal weight when they are not. References 1. Longman Longman Dictionary Of Contemporary English (International Students Edition) Longman Group Limited 1978, 1995 2. Bryan Magee The Story Of Philosophy Doling Kindersley Limited 1998, 2001

Political Issues in Emerging Economies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Political Issues in Emerging Economies - Essay Example The Brazilian economy has a strong domestic services sector, which accounts for about 67 percent of the country’s GDP. Major growth areas include insurance, financial intermediation, and retail sales. According to UK Trade and Investment (2012), about 35 million Brazilians moved from Classes D and E to Class C between 2002 and 2012. Consequently, has marked the major economic growth rates, which resulted in a reduction of economic inequalities. In effect, this had an effect of increasing demand from the middle class, an increasing tendency to spend, and provided a major economic opportunity for companies – local and foreign. Partly due to the emerging class of middle class consumers, the Brazilian economy grew by 2.7 percent in 2011, which is lower than the 7.5 percent realised during 2010. Due to these economic changes, there have been efforts that implement policies to contain the increasing inflation since unfavourable global economy has resulted in a retardation of the economy (UK Trade and Investment, 2012). On the other hand, the slowdown contributed to a reduction in basic interest rates in order to boost growth through passing the reductions to consumers and businesses. Importantly, the labour market conditions are relatively favourable, at 6 percent, which is very comparable to the economies lowest. However, local labour regulations are onerous and complex. Therefore, it is important for foreign market entrants to handle them carefully in order to evade costly liabilities. The exchange rate of Brazil was affected to a large extent by the uncertainty in the global economy/ In mid 2012, the Real Dollar slumped from a ratio of 1: 1.73 against the USD to a rate of USD 1: 2.02 (UK Trade and Investment, 2012). In the area of trade, Brazil has remained balanced, but a comparatively closed national economy. The total of trade flows stood at about 25 percent of the economy’s GDP. Brazil’s exports stood at USD 256 billion in 2011 with the major exports being fuel and oil, ores, soybean, transport produce, ethanol, meat, sugar and chemicals. In 2011, the economy’s major consumers were China and US with these two countries representing 17.3 and 10 percent of total exports respectively (UK Trade and Investment, 2012). Other principal consumers include Argentina at 9 percent; Japan at 3.7; and the Netherlands at 5.3 percent. Brazil’s imports stood at USD 226.2 billion for the year 2012. Major imports included chemical products, machinery, automotive parts, oil, electronics, transportation equipment and electrical appliances. The larger

J.P Morgan and the Rise of Business Research Paper

J.P Morgan and the Rise of Business - Research Paper Example Discussion J.P. Morgan was born in 1837 in Hartford Connecticut to Junius Morgan and Juliet Pierpont. Being the only son among four other siblings made him to be more entrenched in the family business. He was to gain invaluable experience from working at George and Peabody Company, a firm in which his father had entered a partnership. Upon his return from New York, he became involved in working for the Duncan Sherman and Company from which he gradually rose in the ranks. Morgan established the J.P. Morgan & Company in 1861 which was to be the subsidiary of his father’s J.S. Morgan. J.P. Morgan made a name for himself through many shrewd deals which involved manipulation of gold prices for a profit. Since his father did not look kindly upon such shady dealings by Morgan, he forced the company into a partnership with Charles Dabney a successful Philadelphia banker (Geisst 35-39). J.P Morgan was involved in the rapidly developing railway industry during this time from which he ma de handsome returns. By the year 1869, Morgan was in charge of Susquehanna and Albany Railroad. By 1879, Morgan had made a name for himself from the sale of stock worth twenty five million dollars in the New York Railroad through a surreptitious consortium. Morgan made a handsome return on his investment in the deal which made his name famous making his to be appointed to the board of the New York Central Railroad board of directors soon after. A series of cunning business deals culminated with the formation of the Interstate Commerce Railway Association whose main aim was to thwart competition (Kwak and Simon 78-87). The group was composed of railway tycoons who were keen on protecting their businesses from increasing competition from small holders. The practice by the Interstate Commerce Railway Association of running down competing railroads through cartel led to the enactment of the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 which made it illegal for companies to behave in cartel like beha vior. Most of modern day American laws on cartels are based on this act of 1887 (Chernow 172-3). Morgan began to associate closely with the Union government in 1872 through his purchasing of treasury bonds and bills. The 1893 financial panic further increased the profile and stature of Morgan when he was put mandated to act as a central bank by the government. The US had no central bank system and was such in danger of collapsing due to lack of controls on the monetary system. In conjunction with European bankers with whom his father and he had acquired connections, he made a deal for the United States to get a loan of 65 million dollars from Europe. While Morgan made a lot of money from the transaction, he has been tagged as a robber baron by many critics since he declined to divulge how much he had made from the syndicate. Modern day history scholars in the field of economics acknowledge Morgan with saving the economic system of the US from imminent disintegration by his act (Morr is 69-78). Morgan has also been involved in the funding of many major American utilities companies. In 1879 Morgan was actively concerned in the giving of financial support to the research of the Edison Electric Company. Morgan is credited with the merger between Edison Electric Company and a rival to form the giant General Electric. Morgan was heavily involved in the provision of

Organisational Performance Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Organisational Performance - Research Proposal Example Additionally, Morris & Maisto (2005) suggest that fears over unemployment in volatile or unpredictable business environments is a source of extreme stress, often leading to alcohol-related diseases or cases of extreme moodiness both personally and professionally. When thoughts of potential job loss are somewhat irrational and are not based on tangible organisational evidence, it is the responsibility of the employer to build a sense of security for their employees to avoid extreme stress development. This is accomplished, according to Griffin & Moorhead (2006) by reinforcing that their position is stable and, if they remain productive and active contributors to organisational success, they will continue to be employed and valued for their successes. Again, in this scenario, it is the responsibility of the employer to take a proactive leadership approach to boosting employee perceptions regarding job security, perhaps by offering the employee an opportunity to complete a fast-track ma nagement programme to illustrate that the company truly values the relationship. Th There are a wide variety of theories regarding employee and employer relationships in the modern organisation and how to utilise positive reinforcement and motivational theories as a tool to sustain these relationships and boost worker performance. However, establishing security and a sense of appreciation (from a self-esteem development perspective) appear to be the primary catalysts for positive organisational performance as a company whole. When employees are content and secure, they are likely to be larger contributors to securing long-term strategic objectives. The proposed study design Upon project approval, this impending study on organisational performance seeks to answer two specific research questions: What are the most viable methods for employers to establish a sense of security in employees without being misleading' Can employers actually develop self-esteem in their employee population and how is this accomplished in hectic or otherwise difficult organisational environments' This proposed study will take a qualitative approach to research analysis, which Henslin (2003) suggests involves the who, why, and how of relationships, utilising subjective analyses to determine causal relationships between two or more members of the same organisation. The qualitative research approach was determined to be a more viable research strategy than the quantitative approach, which generally relies on statistical information or numerical representation, such as analysis of information laid out in a closed-ended questionnaire format. Because this study requires qualitative research approaches, the semi-structured interview was selected as the most viable research instrument in this proposed study. This

Business management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business management - Essay Example Business management It is argued that the supply chain standards are not fixed at a uniform level or universal conditions cannot be established. Several factors should be taken into consideration while implementing a supply chain implementation or improvement plan. Factors contributing to the effective development of supply chain management are many and varied, which include: - Design and Planning Services: The company offers Design and Planning Services in order to eke the customers in order to develop efficient and ever ready data availability, layered network which supports the customer in reaching new markets and improve performance. - Operations Services: " Managed Network Operations, IT Professional Services, Technical Information Products/Services, and a comprehensive Network Support Program, ensure comprehensive operational, troubleshooting, and maintenance support that keeps your network running smoothly and ensures high network availability. - Performance Services. GSM Network Optimisation Services provide multi-vendor optimisation of 2G and 2.5G networks based on unique modelling and data analysis tools, which utilise real measurement, report data from network users in the optimisation process. - Evolution Services. With Motorola knowledge, tools, and resources, you can conduct comprehensive planning scenarios, accurately model service mixes, and quickly create network simulations for GPRS or UMTS enhanced networks, while gracefully evolving your service offerings.†" (Motorola) In the globalise era when most of the business organisations are involved in different business activities it has become inevitable for the firms independently perform all the functions. Most of the companies do not operate their supply chain and rely on other firms to perform the multi-faceted tasks. The successful and efficient combination of the operations of these firms provides the company with the competitive edge in the market. (Cook, DeBree, and Feroleto, 2001). Lummus and Vokurka (1999) points out towards the need for the managers to understand the performance of all the stake holding firms in the supply chain. According to (Pohlen, 2003), this insight in the performance of each firm will enable the managers to develop measures in order to fulfil the demands of the customers. The main task of the supply chain management is to develop a strategy which can cater the need of the customers and is aligned with the company objectives (Pohlen, 2003). In this lieu it is important for the mangers to keep on measuring the performance

Remmber event Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Remmber event - Essay Example Maybe, I have a lot of lessons to learn from this experience which until now is one of my greatest questions I always throw to God. Years ago, when I was still in high school, I was awakened one morning by the voice of my father. He was talking and crying so bitterly I thought I must have been dreaming. I closed my eyes, thinking that when I opened them again, things will change. Sadly, it was not a dream at all. My father was telling my mother that my favorite cousin, Wesal died. I lay in my bed, numb. I did not seem to be able to move. It was unthinkable. My cousin is very young and she was among my best friends. I was very close to her because she was a good person. She was so sweet, always smiling and ready to encourage other people to face the difficulties of life even though she was suffering, herself. I admired her strength because I knew just how she was living as a married young woman. She was forcedly married to her cousin at a very young age. She did not love the man but because of our culture, she had no choice but to follow her parent’s desires. Nevertheless, Wesal suffered a lot in the hands of her husband. I was one of her confidants. She told me what was happening between her and her husband. She cannot divorce her husband because it is taboo for women to do so. Still, she always finds a way to hide her troubles and show that she could manage. When Wesal got pregnant, she was not treated any better. Her difficulties seemed to become more and more severe. After giving birth to young boy, she suddenly got sick. It shocked most of us when the doctors found out that she was suffering from cancer. She was too young. I visited her lot during that time and I was happy that she was always smiling. I did not know then that she was just trying to show how happy she was when in fact, deep inside, she was grieving and suffering. Before she died, I rejoiced when she told me she was feeling a lot better as opposed to other days when the pain

Poorhouses in California Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Poorhouses in California - Essay Example Prior to reviewing the history and functioning of California’s poorhouses, the actual cause that led to the establishment of such facilities should be examined. In the earlier days, prior to the formation of poorhouses, paupers and destitute people within a community were cared for by providing relief through a caretaker and auctioning or contracting them with those who require their support or work (History of 19th Century American Poorhouses, n.d.). While is not clear as to when such poorhouses actually came into existence, a political code instituted in the year 1982 included a provision of care for the destitute and sick population within the country. This led to the establishment of several poorhouses within the country which were mostly tax-supported residential institutions. However, by the 19th century the United States adopted the system of Poorhouse establishment from England. This was seen as a more efficient and less expensive method to provide relief to paupers an d destitute in the country. Hence several such houses were created with the hope that housing paupers in institutions would provide an opportunity to reform their character or habits and help them overcome poverty and homelessness (History of the 19th Century American Poorhouses, n.d.). It was quite a challenge to collect information pertaining to the origins of poorhouses in California as by the time these institutions were established, it was politically incorrect to refer to these facilities with names that seemed derogatory. During the years 1930 and 1940, the Work Projects Administration (WPA) began an inventory process of the County Archives of several states. As early as 1850, the legislature made a provision that the Court of Sessions which later became the Board of Supervisors, should take care of the county welfare and provide all the

Dual-Court System Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Dual-Court System - Research Paper Example State courts reserve the authority to hear criminal and civil cases related to state constitutional issues and laws (Neubaeur & Fradella, 2010). In various respects, the dual court system structure was designed to offer a certain degree of independence to local governments, and at the same time ensuring proper judicial checks and balance. Dividing-up administrative roles of justice and giving a number of responsibilities to the states is often regarded as both competent and a reflection of varied citizens’ diverse needs. Preserving an overarching federal system in the dual court system ensures that no single state legislates in excess of the standards required by the federal system (Neubaeur & Fradella, 2010). The constitution gives some supremacy to the federal government and set aside the rest for the states. State and federal governments both need their court system to interpret and apply the laws. The dual court system enables the two to spell out the control of their resp ective court systems. Court unification refers to the degree to which state and federal judicial systems in the United States establish one level of appellate and trial courts controlled from the top by a single individual or institution. The drive towards unification of the courts would not lead to a monolithic court system. This is for the reason that this would give the Federal court system excessive control while state legislative would make sound decisions on the matters concerning people’s needs and local affairs. The system is too complex and such a move will not result into a lasting solution. The state legislature performs better when making right decisions concerning local affairs (Cole &Smith, 2006). Further, courts are an important feature of the criminal justice system. It is logical to sustain separate systems inclusive of the court, corrections, and the police, locally at the state and federal levels depending on the circumstances. If there were solely one corr ectional organization and massive police force dealing with a monolithic court system, there will be minimal effectiveness (Cole & Clear, 2010). All criminal activity needs the presence of a judge and ruling after a person has been arrested. For this reason, it is far more effectual for each of the numerous locations in the entire nation to have a municipal court system. Judges have specified sentencing guidelines and philosophical rationales when presenting a judgment over presented facts. They include just deserts, that is, denunciation and retribution; incapacitation, restitution, rehabilitation, and deterrence (Rossi & Berk, 1997). If I were a judge, my sentencing goals and philosophical rationale would base on just deserts. This is for the reason that just deserts rationale imposes sentences and the amount of this sentence is established by the offense itself rather than any other reason, particularly not the offences to be made in future. Further, just deserts rationale and se ntencing goal simply justifies a sentence on the basis that wrongdoing deserves punishment that is equivalent to the wrongdoing. Basing on the fact, just deserts uses punishment for illegal behavior, the focus is on the offender himself; for the guilty alone, and only for the offence. I would choose on this approach because it covers both a retributive component if that

Glacier Inn Essay Example for Free

Glacier Inn Essay Our strategy map for the Glacier Inn focuses on the four main dimensions of a business: a financial perspective, a customer perspective, an internal process perspective, and a learning and growth perspective. Each dimension plays a critical part in establishing a strong unified culture, and documents the primary objectives within the organization. For 2004, Glacier Inn has two main goals: to increase profitability and cash flow. The map outlined in Appendix A demonstrates how we will use these four dimensions to facilitate and implement different measures to achieve the desired strategies. With regards to the financial perspective, Glacier Inn can focus on a growth of revenue strategy and productivity strategy. In order to increase revenue, your main focus is to increase the capacity and quality of the hotel. We also believe there are other possible sources of revenue that could be implemented in order to further your capacity to generate income. Because Glacier Inn has such a short season and window of opportunity to make a profit, it is crucial that you make the most out of those winter months by enhancing your productivity and efficiency. The Glacier Inn is part of the service industry, and customer satisfaction plays an integral role in the success of your organization. Your vision statement is centered on delivering more than just place to spend the night; you are providing an experience, an experience of unmatched value and satisfaction. To achieve this, we believe that centering your organization around the culture of the First Nations people will be creating memories and providing adventures. Providing your customers with an unrivaled experience will include outdoor activities, traditional meals, quality service, native art work, individualized rooms, etc. Not only will these add value to the business and differentiate Glacier Inn from other Ice Hotels, but they can also serve as another source of revenue to aid in our revenue growth strategy. The internal process perspective is another important role in our strategy mapping. One of your main goals is to increase occupancy at the Glacier Inn, and we feel that it is important to focus the marketing efforts on the adventure campaign. Glacier Inn needs to showcase their unique business offerings inspired by nature, art, and culture. Due to the nature of the business, it is difficult for Glacier Inn to attract skilled and competent employees. With the development of an effective hiring and training process that also supports the culture that Glacier Inn is trying to create, they will be able to better serve their target market by attracting and retaining customers. Innovation is a key part of your internal process controls, and Glacier Inn wants to be working with ice experts for the development of different and unique ice themes. The final dimension of the Glacier Inn Strategy Map deals with a learning and growth perspective. In order to expand and advance within the entertainment industry, we want to mentor employee proficiency by working with and training the first nation’s people; by incorporating and encouraging culture both internally and externally; and by advancing with new technology through partnering with local colleges and universities in order to generate new innovations in ice making and preservation. All of these dimensions feedback and tie in with what Glacier Inn is trying to accomplish and what their vision is for the company. Issues Another issue that you have acknowledged is the restraint of hiring skilled and competent staff. The Glacier Inn is only open during the winter months, which makes it difficult to attract qualified and experienced employees. Glacier Inn is providing an experience of culture and excitement for their customers. Why not provide the same atmosphere for its employees. In the end, it’s not just about the money. Employees will be able to enjoy the same lifestyle and adventure that this environment has to offer. Glacier Inn can also invest in effective industry training programs to help and support the success of their hired personnel. We also want to address your concerns over changing the staff bonus plan. Currently, bonuses are being determined by profits alone. We agree that the implementation of the 2004 scorecard will provide a great method of measuring employee achievement. The balanced scorecard will provide feedback on whether the strategy is working to impact organizational performance. By measuring employees based subjectively on their scorecard execution, staff will be motivated and empowered to work in the best interests for themselves as well as the company. With employees being measured based on the strategy and implementation of Glacier Inn’s critical success factors, you can ensure that those goals become fundamental to their success as well. Employees are able to focus their attention on what matters most to the success of the organization. The Glacier Inn Hotel has another concern without the seasonal revenues. There is only a short window of opportunity to make profits, from January 4th to April 15th, and is primarily determined by the warming of the weather which can shorten this window. To off set the decrease in revenues in the summer, the hotel can offer customers a chance to stay in touch with nature. Two innovations will be needed to accomplish this, hiring of experienced outdoor staff and the building of year round facilities on the property. By offering summer outdoor actives such as fishing, hiking, and canoeing on guided tours the Glacier Inn can attract year round revenues. Also having facilities built on the property will allow customers places to stay in the summer as well as a warm place or customers to stay in the winter if they are not interested in sleeping in the cold rooms. Lastly, Glacier Inn hHotel lacks a specific measures, targets, and personal initiatives that are clear to the employes of the company. These need to be clearly defined to enhance the strategy and culture that needs to be wolves into the company. We have recommended a possible strategy map that can facilitate these initiatives. We have also chosen a proposition on how the Glacier Inn can continually add value and increase customer satisfaction. We included below a detailed plan of additional initiatives of adding customers value. Customer Value proposition Glacier Inn has competitors in more than just the hotel industry; it is competing with other forms of entertainment as well. The direct industry competitors of Glacier Inn Hotel are the hotel chains in the area, such as Super 8 Motel that offer a place to sleep and eat at a low price. However they do not offer an individualized customer experience. Glacier Inn also competes with other forms of entertainment in Northern Ontario. Places such as Moose Cree Outdoor Discoveries Adventures, which offers outdoor activities incorporated with the culture of the area. However, this experience is easily replicated. We believe that if Glacier Inn could combine the value of both of these industries into one unique location. The hotel must be unique. We have chosen product leadership as our way of adding value to customer offerings. Our recommendations for implementing this customer value from the hotel would be: Three Main Concepts For Product Leadership 1. Cree culture could be used to attract many customers foreign and domestic that are looking for a Canadian experience or wish to discover more about the first nations of Canada. Through cultural story telling, traditional foods, also traditional artwork and ices museum in the hotel lobby a broad audience can be drawn to the hotel. This will also allow the area to maintain its cultural identity and uniqueness while informing others. 2. The Glacier Inn could also offer outdoor winter activities such as snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and wilderness sight seeing. Acquiring equipment traditional foods (maple syrup). When guests arrive at the hotel, staff could ask two questions: What do you want to experience? What are you not looking for? So that customers do feel pushed or pressured into experiences that’s are out of their fitness level. 3. Lastly, we believe that the individualized rooms will be an excellent way to attract customers to stay in each room. By pre-planning and designing each rooms theme the hotel can attract more customer to stay in the rooms overnight rather than just visiting the hotel for the day. Also ice sculptures will add a unique finishing touch to each room and can be a way of individualizing each room.

Financial Crisis and Brazil Essay Example for Free

Financial Crisis and Brazil Essay The economic crisis that has swept the world since 2008 has wrought havoc in national economies all over the world. As a group, one of the more particularly hard-hit groups of nations has been the Latin American countries of Central and South America. One notable exception to this trend appeared to be the nation of Brazil. The gloomy projections appeared not to apply to Brazil. According to Mauricio Cardenas of the Brooking institute: This doom and gloom has not infected Brazil, however, where President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is showing unprecedented self-assurance. Speaking in Madrid, Lula said somewhat rhetorically that this idea that markets can do everything is over,† and more fundamentally â€Å"The times in which emerging countries depended on the IMF are over. † This is not Hugo Chavez speaking, but the president of Latin America’s largest economy, who enjoys 80 percent popularity in his country. (Cardenas, 2008) Although Brazil weathered the early months of the financial crisis better than its Latin American neighbors, the longer the crisis has continued, the more the Brazilian economy has weakened. One of the factors that prevented an immediate collapse of the Brazilian Economy in the wake of the 2008 Crisis was the relative lack of foreign banks in the country. (Cardenas, 2008) Unlike many Latin American nations that have a high percentage of foreign banks (i. e. Mexico: 80% foreign banks), Brazil has only 30% foreign banks. (Cardenas, 2008) In the short term, this allowed Brazil to assume that a contraction in foreign lending would not have as deep an impact on their economy than that of other nations. Brazilian banks, in times of previous economic prosperity, had built reserves, rather than engaging in profligate loaning, leading to the hopes that these reserves were sufficient against the day that foreign banks severely restricted credit. (Cardenas, 2008) By September of 2008, this theory seemed to erode in the face of certain economic indicators. The Bovespa index, a market indicator similar to the Dow Jones industrial Average, lost half of its value from May to September of 2008. (Cardenas, 2008) 10% of that drop occurred in the second half of September. More strikingly, the value of Brazil’s currency, the Real, fell 32% against other world currencies. (Cardenas, 2008) These factors show that Brazil may still be prone to suffer in the economic crisis. Other analysts, such as John Williamson of the Peterson Institution of international Economics, have been less sanguine about the prospects of Brazil’s economy. Wiliamson stated: Moreover, the markets decided that while many of the emerging economies might no longer have any need for an inflow of loans, many (like Brazil) are still significant net debtors to the rest of the world and therefore still vulnerable to a sudden withdrawal of foreign credit. Compounding this is the fact that one may have a balanced overall position and still be vulnerable because debts are concentrated at short maturities. Hence one read, for example, of the Bovespa index falling by over 10 percent in a day (it has cumulatively halved in value since the peak in May). Likewise, the real has fallen by a cumulative 32 percent in the past month. The markets clearly do not believe that Brazil has been made invulnerable†¦ (Williamson, 2008) The world market contraction has had a significant effect on Brazil’s foreign trade. (Williamson, 2008) The export economy has relied upon raw materials for 50% of exports, and the prices of these materials have dropped dramatically in the face of world-wide declines in demand. (Williamson, 2008) The other half of Brazil’s exports, differentiated manufactured goods have also decreased in the face of reduced demand. Ironically, the weakness of the real against foreign currencies has softened the negative effect of these factors. (Williamson, 2008) The soft real will inspire increased purchase of manufactured goods from Brazil. This will soften, but not eliminate, the negative effects of low demand. The decrease in foreign capital that these commodity price decreases have reflected, will rapidly eat through Brazil’s trade surplus, and put strain on lending institutions in Brazil. (Williamson, 2008) The future of Brazil’s economy has been reported with varying degrees of optimism. The GDP of Brazil is projected to contract anywhere from 1. 5 to 20% in 2009 after growing 5% in 2008. (Williamson, 2008) An increase in the shift of agricultural exports to China has also contributed to the overall positive projections of the Brazilian economy. (Xinhua, 2009) The increase from March of 2008 (8. 5%) to March of 2009 (12. 5%) amounts of agricultural exports to China reflect this phenomenon. (Xinhua, 2009) The president of Brazil claims that the crisis has passed, and that Brazil has weathered the worst part of the economic crisis of 2008. (Xinhua, 2009) The longevity of the world-wide recession will determine if this is in fact a true prediction. (Xinhua, 2009) Brazil weathered the economic crisis of 2008 comparatively well, but suffered great financial repercussions late in the year. The economy seems to be in a stage of recovery, but its continued well being will rely on the recovery of other nations that control lending power and demand for Brazil’s exports. Work Cited Cardenas, M. (2008) â€Å"Global Financial Crisis: Is Brazil a Bystander? † Retrieved June 4th, 2009 from Brookings Institution website: http://www. brookings. edu/opinions/2008/1015_financial_crisis_cardenas. aspx Williamson, J. (2008) â€Å"The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Brazil† Retrieved June 4th, 2009 from Peterson Institution of international Economics website: http://www. iie. com/publications/papers/williamson1008. pdf Xinhua (2009) â€Å"Brazils agricultural exports to China up 52. 5 percent in March† Retrieved June 4th 2009 from China’s people’s Daily website: http://english. people. com. cn/90001/90778/90857/90861/6634356. html