Assignment 1 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

1 - Assignment Example This results from the absence of causes, conditions or other necessary determinations of choice or behaviour. The definition of this term is usually negative, not affirmative. Spontaneous people do not necessarily exercise free will. Their behaviour is often seen to be prompted by proximate causes. Often, free will is translated to mean â€Å"could have done otherwise.† Determinism is the philosophical view that all events, including mental events, have a cause. In other words, all states of affairs, both physical and mental, are conditioned by their causes and are describable by scientific law. In a deterministic universe, there are no free will, no miracles and no chance events. The classic view of determinism was expressed by Laplace. Given sufficient knowledge of every particle in the universe, he believed any future event or past could be exactly calculated. I subscribe to the doctrine of Free will. This is because in business, the school of thought is that there is always something a person can do to achieve a desired result. In determinism, we cannot have sufficient knowledge of every particle but acts in part as business ventures must be calculated using the available relevant information. D. Self Service- This consists of acts that are committed for the betterment of the society. A moral person who practises true self service is promoted by his peers as an individual who should be followed There is no distinction between the general and business attributes of a moral person. Thus no distinction should exist between them as they are both in tandem, complimenting each other .Moral leadership characteristics are developed over time and influenced by upbringing, life experience, immediate social norms and training. 3. A promise is a firm agreement to perform an act, refrain from acting or make a payment or deliver. To be legally binding as a contract, a promise must be exchanged for adequate

Rates of reaction - molarity Essay Example for Free

Rates of reaction molarity Essay Chemistry Coursework Rates of Reaction Molarity (Concentration) Aim: to find out if the concentration of HCl affects the amount of hydrogen gas given off when a magnesium strip is added. Apparatus: Gas syringe to take all the gas from the reaction and measure it Test tube to hold the two reactants Measuring cylinder to measure amount of water and acid Stop watch to time the reaction Delivery tube to deliver the hydrogen into the gas syringe Ruler + Scissors to measure and cut the magnesium Reactants: Magnesium strip Hydrochloric acid 2HCl + Mg H2 + MgCl2 Preliminary Work: From preliminary work I have found out that using 20 cm3 of acid and using 2 cm of magnesium for 1 minute gives off sufficient gas to measure accurately and I also found that for the molarity I should not go lower than 0. 6 as there of gas given off will be too slow. This is how I did the experiment: I set up the experiment as shown above   Added 2 cm of magnesium strip to 20 cm3 of HCl   I then wrote down the volume of the gas every 5 secs for 1 minute of the reaction   Use concentrations   M to see which would be suitable. Scientific Knowledge: A chemical reaction needs reactant particles to collide successfully for it to take place. For the chance of a successful collision to take place more frequent collisions need to occur. These four factors affect the frequency of collisions therefore affecting the rate of reaction: Concentration there are more acid particles in the same volume so they are more likely to collide with the magnesium particles. Temperature when the temperature is increased the particles gain kinetic energy, which means the particles vibrate more which in turn means they are more likely to collide successfully. Surface Area a larger surface are means more particles are exposed. Therefore as larger number of collisions occur Catalyst the catalyst lowers the amount of energy needed for a collision without taking part therefore more successful collisions will take place. However I am only testing concentration so from this knowledge I know that the higher the concentration the more likely that the particles will collide. Prediction: I believe that as the molarity decreases so will the speed at which the gas collects. I predict this because of my preliminary work and scientific knowledge. This knowledge is that as the concentration increases there are more particles in the same volume so then there will be more successful collision. This means the volume of gas collected in the first minute should decrease as the concentration decreases.   Set up the experiment as shown above   Add 2 cm of magnesium strip to 20 cm3 of HCl   Write down the volume of the gas every 5 secs for 1 minute Use concentrations M To make the different concentrations I added water to 1M hydrochloric acid: Molarity Water/Acid cm3 1 Fair test/Reliability: By controlling all the other variables (temperature, surface area and using a catalyst) I am leaving only one thus making my results accurate and reliable and easier to test. I am also using the same amount of acid (variable) and magnesium each time making it a fair test. I have also repeated my experiment so that I can average out my results making it fair, as extremities will be averaged out. To make it a reliable and fair test I have made sure that the gas syringe is always at 0 at the beginning of each experiment and I will start the clock as soon as the Magnesium meets the HCl and always make sure that the Mg is cut to exactly to 2 cm. Safety: Always wear goggles so that no acid can go in your eye Wash acid after using acid so that acid does not transfer onto things that you touch and worse in your mouth (from the food that you eat). Results: Test 1 Molarity (M) Water/Acid cm3 T 5s I 10s M 15s E 20s 25s I 30s N 35s 40s S 45s E 50s C 55s S 6Test 2 Molarity (M) Water/Acid cm3 T 5s I 10s M 15s E 20s 25s IVolume of H2 collected Rate of Reaction: The rate of a reaction is how quickly the reactants turn into products. To work out the rate of reaction I have decided to find the time that each reaction took to reach 8 ml of H2 and converting it into a rate. The formula for Rate of Reaction is 1/time (secs) Molarity (M) Calculation Rate (3dp)   The rate of reaction tell you how fast each reaction takes to get to point as you can see from my rate of reaction graph as the molarity increases the reaction is quicker apart from 0. 8 (sources of error in evaluation). This graph is useful, as initially I has thought 0. 7 moles was the incorrect result but this graph proved otherwise. Also from this graph I can find out what the rate should have been for 0. 9 ideally which is 0. 036 so the time it would have taken for this experiment to reach 8 ml of H2 is 1/rate = 1/0. 036 = 28. 7 seconds. I can also predict other results:   Conclusion As my graphs and results show the volume of gas produced in the first minute increases with the increase in molarity apart from 0.8 moles, this anomaly occurred both times which is unusual but apart from that result I know that Molarity is proportional to volume of gas collected per minute. E. g. it takes longer for 8 ml of gas to be collected as the concentration reduces, which proves my prediction right. This is because there are more particles in the same volume if the concentration is increased. Here is a diagram: Less moles More moles Evaluation I believe the plan was good and enabled me to get the results that I needed. My experiment went very well apart from my one anomaly (0.8 Moles) this is unusual as it happened both time as but these are some reasons why this happened: Sources of Error Gas syringe was only to the nearest ml Magnesium it used up the HCl around it and turned it into MgCl but did not react with the acid at the bottom making the reaction slower Heat as the Mg reacts with HCl heat is given off speeding up the reaction Human Error reading the gas wrong, starting or stopping the clock at the wrong time etc. Solving these Errors Gas syringe use a position sensor on the gas syringe, which is attached to a computer. This will record the results with no anomalies. Magnesium shake the test tube every so often Heat cant solve this, the reaction is exothermic Human Error use a position sensor on the gas syringe, which is attached to a computer. This will record the results with no human anomalies. Extension To extend the investigation I would do the experiment again put try and put right all the sources of error and see if my results come out perfect. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Patterns of Behaviour section.

Politics and Love in Shakespeares Antony and Cleopatra Essay -- Anton

Politics and Love in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra Although the political struggles in Antony and Cleopatra are often treated as backdrops to the supposedly more engaging love affair between the two title characters, these struggles permeate the entire play, and give the love story its heightened sense of importance and tragedy. The relationship between Antony and Cleopatra would not have attained its renown and immortality had they not had been extremely powerful and public figures. The conflict between public duty and personal desire is the underlying theme of the play, and how the characters respond to this conflict is what imbues the play with suspense and interest. This conflict is most clearly seen in Antony who is caught between his role as a triumvir of Rome and his love for the Egyptian Queen. By allowing his all-consuming passion to overwhelm his sense of responsibility, he loses his half of the empire to Octavian. Octavian, on the other hand, consistently places the interests of the state before his own. Although he is cal culating, shrewd, and unscrupulous, all of his thoughts are devoted to the ruling of Rome; politics is his one interest, and power his only obsession. Cleopatra as ruler is often treated secondarily to Cleopatra as seductress and lover. While most of the obvious power struggle is between Antony and Octavian, one cannot ignore Cleopatra's involvement. Throughout the play, and particularly at the end, she demonstrates an acute political awareness as she does her utmost to secure what is best for Egypt. In a play with three powerful figures it is expected that political motivations be never far from the foreground or from the characters' minds. Antony's conflict is succinctly described at th... ...ads and embodies. Question of politics and duty are present throughout Antony and Cleopatra, and the love story cannot be considered independently of them. The private emotions of the characters are influenced by the public world that they inhabit, and their actions are not only the actions of individuals, but also of powerful leaders. WORKS CITED Bradley, A.C. "Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra". Shakespeare: Antony and Cleopatra. Ed. John Russell Brown. London: MacMillan Press Ltd., 1968. Greenblatt et al., ed. Antony and Cleopatra. The Norton Shakespeare: Tragedies. New York: W.W. Norton and Company Inc. 1997. Holloway, John. "The Action of Antony and Cleopatra. Shakespeare: Antony and Cleopatra. Ed. John Russell Brown. London: MacMillan Press Ltd. 1968. Lissner, Ivar. The Caesars: Might and Madness. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1958.

Homelessness as a social problem Essay

Homelessness is a social problem and is the condition of people who lack regular housing. Homeless people are often considered to have little necessities such as food, shelter, money or medical help. They would usually spend their night uncomfortably on the streets or temporarily in a hostel. Some people may reside in their friends house on a sofa or on their floor with a blanket. Some of the factors why people become homeless are due to domestic violence, relationship breakdown, fleeing persecution from another country, drugs and alcohol misuse,family disputes and mental health problems. Another common reason why people are homeless is that they cannot keep a steady job, therefore they cannot pay for their rent or they cannot pay their bills so resort to being homeless. Some people receive little income from their jobs which is not enough for them to pay all the bills or buy enough food or get themselves any clothes. Homeless people would turn to begging on the streets to provide so me money for themselves and purchase the little food they can get with the money. Birmingham last year is said to have had the highest number of people homeless in the country with figures reaching to 925 households.Homelessness can be caused by physical or sexual abuse from their families and so they may choose to run away and seek refuge on the streets. For homeless people, there are the good days and the bad days.The good days include the homeless getting reasonable amount of money in which they may receive 10 pounds by panhandling an hour. The bad days involve inflation or recession in which case they would receive very little and undergo starvation for the night. Some Homeless people may find other ways overcoming the problem of homelessness; one of which is going to prison. This way they will receive accommodation and enough food for them to eat which prevents them from starving.

Euro Disney Case Essay

1. Using Hofstede’s four cultural dimensions as a point of reference, what are some of the main cultural differences between the United States and France? Some of the main cultural differences according to Hofstede’s are that France has a high power distance meaning that in these countries people blindly obey the orders of their superiors. In contrast of the United States, which have a lower power distance meaning, that they have lower strata of the workforce but often with highly qualified people. Another Difference is the Uncertainty Avoidance both countries have. For example, France has a strong Uncertainty Avoidance, meaning that their cultures have a great deal of structuring of organizational activities, more written rules, less risk taking by managers, lower labor turnover, and less ambitious employees. Unlike the United States culture that has a weak Uncertainty Avoidance meaning that these cultures are more willing to accept risks associated with the unknown that life must go on in spite of this. As the last difference according to Hofstede’s is the principle of Masculinity, that consist of countries that their dominant values in society are success, money, and things. This principle applies to the United States. As for France, they have a Femininity principle meaning that their dominant values in society is to care for others and quality of life. 2. In what way has Trompenaar’s research helped explain cultural differences between the United States and France? As for Trompenaar’s research both countries are high in Universalism meaning that the focus is more on formal rules than on relationships, business contract are adhered to very closely, and people believe that a deal is a deal. The difference among the countries begins with the High Individualism for the United States. This views people regarding themselves as individuals. For Individualism people ideally achieve things alone, and they  assume a great deal of personal responsibility. In contrast of France Communitarianism referring to people regarding themselves as part of a group. For Communitarianism decisions typically are referred to committees, people achieve things in groups, and they jointly assume responsibility. The study of these differences is similar to Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions however not quite the same for some countries. Another difference between both countries is that the United States has an Achievement culture. This culture refers one in which people are accorded status based on how ell they perform their functions. Achievement culture gives high states to high achievers meaning that people who work more at the end they will have a pay off for their extra effort. In contrast of France that has an Ascription Culture that refers to which status is attributed based on who or what person is. In this type of culture an individual may have high states because of the longevity in a company or simply has a better status for the people they know. In other word if they have connections they get a better status. 3. In managing its Euro Disneyland operations, what are three mistakes that the company made? Explain. The mistakes Euro Disneyland operation had were mainly handling French Culture: 1. Alcohol ban in a culture that having wine is like a religion 2. Disney strict appearance code for employees. The European culture is more open with piercings, tattoos etc. Disney made a handbook of detailed rules on acceptable clothing, hairstyles, and jewelry. This upsetting because French complained that Americans were so insensitive with French Culture 3. Difference in language where the French firms felt strangers in their own country. As an example to this, having French workforce means that their language or accent is not going to be perfect to English speakers or â€Å"Disney Culture.† To exemplify more, whenever an employee tried to practice â€Å"Howdy!† in a cowboy environment, he mispronounced the word to something close to â€Å"Audi.† This could have created a major problem with Disney’s sponsors like Renault. Also Disney placed its first ads for work bid in English, leaving small and medium sized French firms feeling like foreigners in their own land. 4. Based on its experience, what are three lessons the company should have learned about how to deal with diversity? Describe each. One of the lessons Euro Disney faced was putting the park in charge of a French local (Bourguignon). Something that the Tokyo Disney top management handles it well. At the beginning an American was in charge of operations in Euro Disney. Even though he was well identified with the culture is not the same having a local in charge. Second they learned that they had to adapt their â€Å"Disney Culture† more to the European Culture. By trying to change policies like allowing wine for dining purposes and get rid of some uptight dress codes. Third they learned that with seduction they could establish god relations with local residents that would benefit the park in the long run.

Canadas Growing Autonomy †Sociology Essay

Canadas Growing Autonomy – Sociology Essay Free Online Research Papers Canadas Growing Autonomy Sociology Essay The twentieth century was a turning point in Canadian history as Canada went through many changes, including economic, and population growths. Today Canada has a position in the world as one of the middle powers. This was achieved by great progress on many fields during the twentieth century. The three most prominent events during the twentieth century which have helped Canada slowly drift away from Great Britain are the King-Byng affair in 1926, the Statute of Westminster in 1931, and finally the creation of Canada’s own flag, in 1965. In the twentieth century, Canada has grown increasingly autonomous from the United Kingdom. In 1926, the King-Byng affair was a great step forward in Canada’s independence from Britain. It all began when Prime Minister Mackenzie King asked the governor general, William Byng, to dissolve parliament and call a general election, where he refused (Wales). As a result of Byng’s refusal, King ensured that, once back in power, he would strip certain powers from the governor general. This would make Canada more independent from the Queen and Britain. This event has changed the way the job of the governor general has been carried out throughout the twentieth century (Wales). After this event Canada could freely pass laws and bills, without fear of intervention by the governor general. As King said after the affair, â€Å"It is a complete control by an individual† about Byng (The National). This showed the kind of power the governor general had before this event, where as now he/she must accept the laws given to be signed. The King-Byng affair is one major event where Canada has moved forward in its independence from Great Britain because Byng refused to call an election, it changed the job of the governor general, and it reduced the amount of power this job has. The statute of Westminster, in 1931, was another step forward in Canada’s autonomy from Britain. This statute removed some restricting acts from the past which restricted Canada’s independence including the Colonial Laws Validity Act of 1865 (Wales). This meant that Canada did not have to follow all the British laws created in Britain. This gave Canada more freedom and independence. As stated in the statute: â€Å"No Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom passed after the commencement of this Act shall extend or be deemed to extend, to a Dominion as part of the law of that Dominion, unless it is expressly declared in that Act that Dominion has requested, and consented to, the enactment thereof.† (Wales) This gave Canada the privileges to not follow all the same rules as the United Kingdom giving Canada more independence. This document gave all former dominions of the United Kingdom equal independence from the UK (Hallowell, 598). All former dominions had equal i ndependence because they could now freely create their own laws without the UK looking over their shoulder throughout the whole process. The statute of Westminster has helped Canada’s independence come a long way because it removed binding acts from the past, gave way for Canada to create their own laws, and gave all former dominions equal independence as the UK. When Canada created their own flag in 1965 they furthered their independence than ever before. The old flag, the Union Jack showed great ties with the United Kingdom because it had a strong bond with the UK (Wales). After the flag was created, the strong bond between the UK and Canada in their flags was broken and Canada was able to use and display their own flag. With the creation of the new flag Canada had their own flag to fly at international events (Wales). With the new flag Canada showed their independence from the UK in international events, such as the Olympics where Canada was respected for their own flag. Canada now had an original symbol to represent their country (Halowell, 428). The maple leaf is now Canada’s symbol which shows great autonomy from England because they are thought of being their own country without any affiliation with the UK. Canada’s new flag was a great step forward in Canadian independence from the UK because strong ties in the union jac k was demolished, it gave Canada something to be represented by, and Canada become known as its own country instead of a country with a back bone in England. Canada has grown increasingly independent from the UK throughout the twentieth century. Canada’s growing autonomy has been shown through the three important events discussed above: which are the creation of Canada’s flag in 1965, the Statute of Westminster in 1931, and finally the King-Byng affair in 1926. Canada should be greatly accredited for its increasing autonomy but on the other hand this process has been very slow. In addition, Canada still has many ties to the UK, which must be removed permanently for Canada to become its own independent country, with no backbone support by England. Research Papers on Canada's Growing Autonomy - Sociology EssayQuebec and CanadaAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationBringing Democracy to AfricaCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Comparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoPETSTEL analysis of IndiaWhere Wild and West MeetPersonal Experience with Teen Pregnancy

School Vouchers1 essays

School Vouchers1 essays Education School Vouchers There has been a lot of debate recently over the use of school vouchers. Voucher programs offer students attending both public and private schools tuition vouchers. It gives taxpayers the freedom to pick where their tax dollars go. In theory, good schools will thrive with money and bad schools will lose students and close its doors. Most people feel that taking taxpayer money from public schools and using this money as vouchers for private schools is a violation of the constitution. Most private schools in America right now are run by religious organizations. There has been a lot of controversy over this issue mainly because of the importance of an education in a modern society. School choice initiatives are based on the premise that allowing parents to choose what schools their children attend is not only the right thing to do, but is also an important way for improving education. Instead of a one-size-fits-all model, School choice programs offer parents various options from which to pick the educational settings they believe will work best for their child. However, there is Supporters of school vouchers claim that it levels the educational playing field for lower income families who would have the option to send their kids away from an ineffective poorly funded public schools. Some lower class families feel that their kids would have a better chance with a tuition voucher to go to a private school where more money is spent on education. Many feel that vouchers would undermine public schools, by taking away public money for smaller class sizes, teacher training and innovative curriculum. Also, many feel that vouchers would erode the support for public education. In Milwaukee, voucher schools say they do not give special services to students with disabilities. Most of the voucher schools refused to sign a letter that they will ...

Curiosity Kits Neon and Magic Powerballs Review

Curiosity Kits' Neon and Magic Powerballs Review Curiosity Kits offers a science kit called Neon and Glow Magic Powerballs. The kit, for ages 6, lets you create your own polymer bouncy balls. What You Get and What You Need Most of what you need to make powerballs comes with the kit. You get: 4 molds to make different shapes of balls20 packs of crystals in 7 neon and glow-in-the-dark colorsresealable plastic bags so you can store your ballsinstructions You need to supply: cup of waterscissors to open the packageswatch or timerfoil or plastic wrap My Experience Making Magic Powerballs My kids and I made powerballs. They are ages 9-14, so none was as young as the lower limit listed on the product, but I dont think a younger child would have any difficulty with this project. Children younger than age 6 might have trouble pouring the crystals into the mold to make a ball or might be tempted to eat the crystals. The instructions for this kit are very clear and include pictures, so its very easy to get great results. Basically, here is what you do: Snap together the molds.Pour crystals (one or many colors, be creative!) into a mold until it is full.Immerse the filled mold in a cup of water for 90 seconds. (We just counted to 90.)Remove the mold from water and allow it to sit on the counter for 3 minutes (time didnt seem to be critical), then remove it from the mold and set it on a piece of foil or plastic wrap.When the ball is set or not-sticky, bounce it and play with it.Store each ball in its own plastic bag (included). Pretty easy, right? It didnt seem to matter if you left the ball in the mold longer than 3 minutes, but you do not want to leave the filled mold in the water longer than 90 seconds. If you leave the ball in the water too long the crystals will swell up and split the mold open. The mold will be fine, but you will get a seriously mutated ball. The balls bounce really high. If they get dirty, you can just rinse them off with water. The package said you could make 20 balls using the materials, but we actually got 23 balls out of the package. What I Liked and Didnt Like About Magic Powerballs What I Liked Easy enough even a child can make them.The project is quick. I would say you could go from opening the package to having a ball within 10 minutes.You dont need any strange materials. Get a glass of water and youre set.The project is very safe. Its safe to touch the materials. The balls are non-toxic.Clean-up was simple. Just wipe down your work surface with a damp sponge when you are done.The balls are exactly as described. They really do bounce up to 15 feet. They really are bright neon colors. Most of the colors glow very brightly under a black light. Some of the colors glow in the dark (green for sure, possibly pink). What I Didnt Like This is one of the best science activity kits Ive come across, so there isnt a lot I would improve. However, I wish the instructions had included some explanation of the chemistry behind making the powerballs. It also might be nice if the crystals came in resealable bags so that you didnt need scissors and so you could store materials in case you dont make all the balls at one time. Magic Powerballs Summary Would I buy this kit again? Definitely! This would be an affordable and fun party activity for kids. It is an enjoyable family science activity. Do my kids want to do this activity again? Yes. The balls do not last forever (instructions said they were good for about 20 days), so this is a project that can be repeated.

Assignment 1b Scenario Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Assignment 1b Scenario - Essay Example In the final section IV, there is some basic information about the financial considerations of our new project. My role in this project will be to provide the analytical information about the project to the management, which will help the management to carry out their decisions and make plans and strategies for the project. Reporting on different aspects of finance will be provided; this reporting will be based on historical data taken from financial accounting team and also with some research done on similar works carried out by our organizati0on as well as the competition. Information provided by me will give a bird’s eye view of project finance to the management. In addition, I will also be providing some extrapolations, suggestions, cost and profitability analysis, so that management is well informed about the trends and realities in project finance, thus helping their decision making on project finance issues. In brief, following will be my responsibilities in the project. Though my reporting will primarily based upon the inputs provided from the financial accounting department, research and analysis, yet there is remarkable difference in the activities of financial accounting department and my work. Financial accounting department basically works for information gathering, recording, maintaining and reporting according to the standard ways in a generic manner whereas my role will be to provide the information on specific issues and targeted for management. My role can be differentiated from that of financial accounting team as follows: Management Accounting is the branch of Accounting that deals primarily with confidential financial reports for the exclusive use of top management within an organization. These reports are prepared utilizing scientific and statistical methods to arrive at certain monetary values which are then used for decision making. Financial Accounting, on the other hand, concentrates on the production of financial reports,

Business law - chinese trade and investment law Essay

Business law - chinese trade and investment law - Essay Example Significantly, in accordance with the principle of the balance between rights and duties, once China joins the WTO, China is said to be able to enjoy a "most favoured nation status" (Chen 2000). China's interest in WTO according to Chen (2000) is thus - ".the multilateral, stable and unconditional most favoured nation status provided by the WTO members and the achievements gained by other countries and regions from trade liberalization, [the participation] in the formulation of international trading rules, and [utilization of] the WTO's multilateral dispute solution mechanisms to safeguard China's rights and interests" According to the Fact File of the World Trade Organization (2005), the WTO is the only global international organisation dealing with the rules of trade between nations. Its goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business through agreements, negotiated and signed by the world's trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. Established on 1January1995, and created by the Uruguay Round negotiations (1986-1994), the organization is based in Geneva, Switzerland where 148countries (on 13October2004) are members. It has a budget of 169million Swiss francs for2005 and is now headed by Pascal Lamy as Director-General. The Fact File (2005) furt... Will joining the World Trade Organisation assist or hinder China's Development From the perspective of Rao (2001), a Chinese biotechnologist and food scientist, yes, China's joining the WTO in the long run will assist its development. Speaking before the WTO, he said China is aware that in so doing, some of its domestic food manufacturers will be hurt or damaged, just as others will not be. The Chinese government are also aware there could be initial shocks in agriculture and food industry, but in the long run "will be converted into a powerful driving force for its development." There are two views over the past years regarding China's accession to WTO: the optimistic view and the pessimistic view. The optimistic view reasons that the availability of cheaper supply food ingredients with higher quality after China's joining the WTO will give competitive edge to Chinese food industry in the international market (Rao 2001). In addition, the optimists say, China's membership will promote the rule of law in the country, undercut state power in controlling the lives of people, and accelerate China's transition from a command economy to a market economy. China's entry will also help modernize accounting, banking, legal, telecommunications, and transportation systems of the country, at the same time reduce corruption, favouritism, and local protectionism (Yu 2001). On the other hand, the pessimistic view says freer international trade and investment will strengthen the competitiveness of foreign food business in China, shrinking the domestic market for manufactured foods on account of the unavoidable decrease in Chinese farmers' income from low productivity. They say this will

International criminal court Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

International criminal court - Essay Example There are several reasons for this inability of national institutions, such as, first, the absence of political will to prosecute their own citizens or high ranking officials. This situation was witnessed in the former Yugoslavia. Second, these national institutions could have been destroyed, as was the situation in Rwanda. In the absence of justice there cannot be peace, without law no justice, and when there is no court to decide what is just and lawful there can be no meaningful law (United Nations, 1999). An international criminal court achieves justice for all, ends impunity, helps in ending conflicts, remedies the defects in ad hoc tribunals, provides an alternative to national criminal justice institutions that are unable or unwilling to act, and to acts as a deterrent for future war criminals. In reality, the ICC has not achieved greater success than the ad hoc tribunals that it supplants. Akin to the tribunals of Rwanda and Yugoslavia, the ICC does not act swiftly. Moreover, it is devoid of a system for enforcing its decisions. This makes it dependent upon governments to arrest and present perpetrators before it. Albeit, the ad hoc tribunals had this defect, they were able to rely on a UN Security Council resolution requiring international cooperation in executing the arrest warrants. In addition, the ICC is devoid of forceful checks on its authority (Schafer & Groves, 2009). Theoretically, the nations that had ratified the Rome Statute were to control the ICC; however, this has not been realized in practice. Schafer, B. D., & Groves, S. (2009, August 18). The U.S. Should Not Join the International Criminal Court. Retrieved May 17, 2015, from The Heritage Foundation:

Academic freedom in the classroom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Academic freedom in the classroom - Essay Example They believe that the instructor’s profession has nothing to do with the social or political issues happening around them and they must strictly adhere to the academic syllabuses. On the other hand, some others believe that the learning of a student would not be perfect if he fail to learn from the surroundings. Students are living in the society and the basic aim of the education is to make the students capable of living a healthy social life and to make them good citizens. For that purpose it is necessary for them to learn about the present things happening around them as well. This paper discusses these two different views briefly. KEVIN BARRETT, a lecturer at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, who has a one-semester contract to teach a course titled â€Å"Islam: Religion and Culture,† acknowledged on a radio talk show that he has shared with students his strong conviction that the destruction of the World Trade Center was an inside job perpetrated by the American government (Fish, 2006). It is evident that Mr. Barrett has expressed only his opinion about the trade centre destruction. It is a fact that sometimes such premature opinion by a professor would mislead the students. On the other hand, in order to analyze different dimensions of an issue and also to develop critical thinking, such opinions might be helpful. It should be remembered that the topic academic freedom has nothing to do with the content. ‘Critics charge that the professoriate is abusing the academic freedom in four ways: (1) â€Å"indoctrinate† rather than educate; (2) fail to present conflicting views on contentious subjects, thereby depriving students of educationally essential â€Å"diversity† or â€Å"balance†; (3) intolerant to students’ religious, political, or socioeconomic views, thereby creating a hostile atmosphere in the classroom; and (4) interject material, irrelevant to the subject of instruction’ (Report "Freedom in the classroom, 2007) It is a fact

Kindly see the instruction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Kindly see the instruction - Essay Example beliefs, as well as the many testimonies from couples of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered community (LGBT), judges and citizens alike are looking to overturn the Defense Against Marriage Act, which would allow gay couples to have the same federal benefits as their heterosexual counterparts. On March 27, 2013, the members of the Supreme Court gathered to hear the testimonies, fears, and concerns that both opposers and proponents of gay marriage had. Those that oppose gay marriage, specifically those that allowed California’s Proposition 8, which would ban gay marriage and overturn the marriages that had been conducted previously, made their side of the argument known that marriage is a union that has always been available only to men and women. Though they could find no consequences of people within the LGBT community becoming legally married, they continued to argue that to allow them the chance to marry would go against the very definition of marriage. The proponents for gay marriage, a large following that consists of homosexuals and heterosexuals alike, simply believe that under the freedom that America stands for they should be allowed to marry someone they love. After the first day of hearing testimonies, members of the Court also had their say about their own stances in regard to gay marriage. Justice Anthony Kennedy, who is â€Å"seen as the swing vote between liberal and conservative justices† (Dymond, par. 8), is less concerned about the marriage debate itself and more concerned about whether or not the federal government had the authority to legalize and then ban gay marriage in California. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg believes that there should be two separate types of marriage, a full marriage for heterosexual couples and what is referred to as the skim-milk marriage for homosexuals. There were other members, though, we were not as neutral. Elena Kagan found that the Defense Against Marriage Act was written and enforced out of

Academic freedom in the classroom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Academic freedom in the classroom - Essay Example They believe that the instructor’s profession has nothing to do with the social or political issues happening around them and they must strictly adhere to the academic syllabuses. On the other hand, some others believe that the learning of a student would not be perfect if he fail to learn from the surroundings. Students are living in the society and the basic aim of the education is to make the students capable of living a healthy social life and to make them good citizens. For that purpose it is necessary for them to learn about the present things happening around them as well. This paper discusses these two different views briefly. KEVIN BARRETT, a lecturer at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, who has a one-semester contract to teach a course titled â€Å"Islam: Religion and Culture,† acknowledged on a radio talk show that he has shared with students his strong conviction that the destruction of the World Trade Center was an inside job perpetrated by the American government (Fish, 2006). It is evident that Mr. Barrett has expressed only his opinion about the trade centre destruction. It is a fact that sometimes such premature opinion by a professor would mislead the students. On the other hand, in order to analyze different dimensions of an issue and also to develop critical thinking, such opinions might be helpful. It should be remembered that the topic academic freedom has nothing to do with the content. ‘Critics charge that the professoriate is abusing the academic freedom in four ways: (1) â€Å"indoctrinate† rather than educate; (2) fail to present conflicting views on contentious subjects, thereby depriving students of educationally essential â€Å"diversity† or â€Å"balance†; (3) intolerant to students’ religious, political, or socioeconomic views, thereby creating a hostile atmosphere in the classroom; and (4) interject material, irrelevant to the subject of instruction’ (Report "Freedom in the classroom, 2007) It is a fact

Data Analysis, Conclusion, and Plan of Action (recommendation) Essay

Data Analysis, Conclusion, and Plan of Action (recommendation) - Essay Example One of the most popular studies has been undertaken by Skinner, which focuses on the issue of punishment and motivation. According to his argument, when a person is made to undergo a punishment, then they reflect upon their actions and try to mend their behavior in a manner that is more acceptable to the society. However, skinner further clarifies that one should teach good behavior through positive reinforcement. Consider the clip system as part of the ‘Intervention strategy’, which constituted thinking and formulation of a set of rules. Under an experiment, students in a class were made to develop a strategy to wait for their turn to recite a poem. While there were initial problems ranging from interruptions to a noisy classrooms to students disrespecting each other, inducing a sense of motivation into students to present a high five clip to the student at the start of a turn helped in bringing an order into the system where every student soon waited for their turn. As such, through the use of motivation, it can be seen that rules can be formulated gradually. Skinner’s study on operant conditioning in 1938 was to establish of positive reinforcement, which he believed helped maintain the desired behavior in a very effective manner. Parents and teachers make use of the concept of rewarding young children to help manage their behavior. Examples in this regard would be to give sweets or mark stars for a pupil who scored the highest grades in a particular subject or exam. Harry Wong has deduced that students tend to learn the best in a controlled environment when the number of rules is kept between 3 to 5, which helps students to remember them with ease. By devising a small set of tangible rules, students were able to practice their decision making abilities on the basis of these rules and make the necessary changes in an effort to accommodate themselves into the new rule based system. Another technique under behavioral psychology is self

Quintessential Leader Description Essay Example for Free

Quintessential Leader Description Essay The main focus of this research paper is leadership qualifications in the workplace. Please structure a research paper to address the following issues: (A) Develop the academic foundations of leadership by providing a brief literature review of three (3) current articles (that is, within the last 4 years) that relate to any of Daniel Golemans theories. Research other articles not use used in the course. Make sure that the articles you choose are appropriate and related to you topic. The articles do not require Goleman as an author. (B ) Describe what you consider to be the quintessential good leader using additional research literature (in addition to those of the previous Goleman literature review) to support your defense. (C) Using the research from the Goleman literature reviews (category A), and the literature used to describe the quintessential leader (category B ), develop a theoretical leadership model with a focus on middle manager leadership qualifications for an existing or fictitious organization. Use one of the teamwork development models from threaded discussion 2.2 as one of the expectation of the leader. In other words, I want you to build an organization with a middle manager (leader) which instills all of the characteristics that you choose to describe, defend, and analyze. This is your chance to put your preferred leadership resource in place. It is recommended that you include at least three characteristics for your leadership qualification model. Note: you have full autonomy to provide the list of characteristics as long as it is defended using proper research methods. Make sure you analyze each characteristic and defend your assertions.

Market entry strategy for advancis medical

Market entry strategy for advancis medical In this report, I will be discussing about a pharmaceutical manufacturer called Advancis Medical, its products, marketing strategy and market planning needed for the company to enter a new market abroad. Organization Founded in 1979 and based in Nottingham UK, Advancis Medical is a pharmaceutical manufacturer which offers a wide range of wound care products that have good clinical efficacy and are easy to use and have superior performance. Holding around 125 employees, the values and mission of Advancis Medical is to design and manufacture dressings in order to manage the wound environment and achieve optimum wound healing by: Minimizing bacterial burden Creating a moist wound environment Leaving the wound as undisturbed as possible Achieving and acceptable cosmetic result for the healed wound (advancis.co.uk, online resource) Product and market character Advancis Medical offers a wide range of dressing products which can be categorized as follows: Activon medical Manuka honey dressings Activon Tube, Activon Tulle, Algivon, Actilite, Actibalm. Silfix soft silicone dressings Episil, Episil Absorbent, Silflex, Advazorb Border, Siltape, Advasil conform, Eclypse Adherent, Eclypse Adherent Sacral. Advanced wound care dressing Eclypse, Eclypse Boot, Advadraw, Advadraw Spiral, Advazorb Plus, Adva-co, Advasoft, Kikuhime. Advancis Medical has been able to make its product famous in the market. Recently this year, the company has walked away with the innovation award in Medlink East Midlands Innovation Competition. According to the sales and marketing director of Advancis Medical, the new products have had a fantastic reception in the market. Performance Advancis Medical distributes its product in various countries. They are Greece, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and 22 other countries as well. Advancis Medical strives for continuous improvement in the performance. The firm is committed to do something best, most complete, and most efficient and most timely way possible. Then it will try to think of ways to do it better the next time. The company measures its performance carefully, ensuring that integrity and respect for people are never compromised. It wishes to attract the highest-calibre employees, providing them with opportunities to develop to their full potential and to share in the success that comes from winning in the marketplace (advancis.co.uk). 2. International marketing planning International marketing is set of activity where the marketing of goods and services are carried out across national border. Having look from the UKs point of view, export activity seems to be the significant factor in international marketing activity. An international marketing planning comes from the firms corporate strategy and includes matters like product positioning, branding strategies, choice of target countries and methods needed to enter the new target market and so on (Lancaster G., et al., 2002). 2.1 Internal and External Analysis It is necessary to analyze the environment around the company to expand internationally. Here, I will be discussing about BCG analysis as an internal analysis. BCG (Boston Consulting Group) analysis is used to analyze their products and business line. The BCG analysis helps the company in allocating resources and acts as an analytical tool in brand marketing, product and strategic management. Source: (Bensoussan B.E., Fleisher C.S., 2008) Having look at the above chart, Stars are high growth businesses or products in markets where they are strong compared with the competition. In Advancis Medical, Activon Honey product acts like a star. They have high market share as well as high growth rate. Cash cows are low-growth businesses or products which has a relatively high market share. These units are mature and successful businesses with relatively little need for investment. Products like Eclypse, Eclypse Boot of Advancis Medical are cash cows. They need to monitored and need little investment. Question marks are units or products with low market share but which operate in higher growth markets. This means that they have potential, but may require substantial investment in order to grow market share among the competing and powerful competitors. As far as I am concerned, Advancis Medical has no specific products to match this unit. Dogs refer to products or business that have low relative share in low growth markets. Silf ix soft silicone dressings of Advancis Medical are the products that act as dogs. Performing an external analysis, PEST (Political, Economic, Social and Technological) factors will be taken into account for Advancis Medical. Political: The industry has witnessed increased political attention due to the increased recognition of the economic importance of healthcare as a component of social welfare over the years. Political interest has also been generated because of the increasing social and financial burden of healthcare. UKs National Health Service debate is an example. Economic: In the decade to 2003, the pharmaceutical industry witnessed high value mergers and acquisitions. With a projected stock value growth rate of 10.5% (2003-2010) and Health Care growth rate of 12.5% (2003-2010), the audited value of the global pharmaceutical market is estimated to reach a huge 500 billion dollars by 2004. Majority of pharmaceutical sales originate in the US, EU and Japanese markets. Social: Good health is an important personal and social requirement and the unique role pharmaceutical firms like Advancis Medical play in meeting societys need. In recent times, the impact of various global epidemics e.g. SARS, AIDS etc has also attracted popular and media attention to the industry. The effect of the intense media and political attention has resulted in increasing industry efforts to create and maintain proper government-industry-society communications. Technological: Latest scientific and technological advances in science are forcing industry players to adapt ever faster to the evolving environments in which they participate. Scientific advancements have also increased the need for increased spending on research and development in order to encourage innovation (Johnson G, Scholes K, 2002) 2.2 SWOT Analysis of Advancis Medical Strength Advancis Medical listens to the issues and problems raised by clinicians and its customers and response accordingly by developing the correct and suitable products. Good marketing strength in major geographical areas. Recently, the company won an innovation award which reflects its strength in sales and marketing sector. Weakness Discontinuation of products in the latter stages of development leading to customer dissatisfaction. Pricing strategy which turns out to be comparatively expensive. Opportunities Emergence of integrated global markets and globalization for new products Increasing demand of anti-bacterial honey products like Activon medical manuka honey. Individual brand positioning that makes their product different in the market. Threats Increased competition in markets and cheaper alternative methods found in the markets can be a possible threat to Advancis Medical. Rising raw material and transportation costs which might increase the production cost of the company. (Petryna A., et.al., 2006) 2.3 Marketing goals and objectives Besides increasing sales and profit as a marketing goal, Advancis Medical has other marketing objectives. The company highly focuses on these following marketing objectives: Gaining preference on brands and services Patient Education Customer retention by giving quick response to their queries and requests. Complying with the rules and regulations set by government. Some major reasons for Advancis Medical to look up for the market internationally are listed as follows: The company needs a larger customer base to gain economies of scale. Advancis Medical wants to reduce its dependence on any single market. Due to the high competition in the home market, its profitable for the company to go global and sell their products. Because of the economic recession, some other foreign markets have higher profit opportunities than the domestic market. 2.4 Marketing Strategy Here, Ansoff Matrix will be focused as a marketing strategy for Advancis Medical. Ansoff matrix is a tool which helps the business to decide their product and market growth strategies. Market Penetration is a growth strategy where the business focuses on selling existing product in existing markets. IT helps in maintain or increasing the market share of current product. Product development is the strategy where a business aims to introduce new products into existing markets. Market development is growth strategy for a business where a company looks for a new market to sell its existing products. Here, Advancis Medical will be choosing this strategy, as the company is seeking to sell its product at an international market. Under this strategy, Advancis Medical can perform various activities to support the strategy by: Increasing the global market share by distributing its product to more geographical areas and centralized logistics. Expanding and or distributing products to china and other emerging markets. Improving international brand status and positioning through effective international marketing campaigns (Bennett R., Blythe J., 2002). Diversification is a growth strategy where a business launches and markets new product in new market. This is comparatively risky because the business is moving into markets in which it has little or no experience (tutor2u.net, online resource) 2.5 Market analysis and Market choice Advancis Medical as a pharmaceutical company can segment the market and plan its market analysis by categorizing its customer into walk in customer (who physically visit the distribution centre) and mail order customer (who order the product). Now once the market has been segmented, it is necessary to analyze which market to go. Basically market analysis involves matters like: Demographics such as age structure, religious groupings, average household size of that target market. Macroeconomic influences like fluctuation in GDP, unemployment rate, etc. Consumer behaviour on cultural attitudes, educational levels, average income and living standards. Market choice is a main strategic decision. This report is based on selling the product abroad and not in European countries, thus I will be focusing on Asian countries/market. China, India, Pakistan and Philippines are the four countries that will be taken into account. Out of four countries, one will be chosen for Advancis Medical to sell and distribute their products. Factors Country Political and Economic Trade Regulation Investment Climate Technological Social China 7 8 8 7.5 6 India 8 8 8.5 9 7.5 Pakistan 6 6 5.5 5.5 6 Philippines 5.5 6 6 5.5 6 The above values are considered out of 10 points. And having looked at the table, India is the target country for Advancis Medical to sell and distribute its product because it has the best factors out of these four countries. Source: (china-window.com; online resource accessed at 9th November 2010), (buyusa.gov; online resource accessed at 9th November 2010) (Ernst Young Private Limited, 2008) (Hahn N., 2008) (Gorrill J.R., 2007) 3. Market Entry Strategy Basically, market entry strategy is a planned method to deliver and or distribute the products in the target market. Introduction As it has been discussed earlier about market entry strategy, there are various methods to penetrate and enter a new market. The market entry strategy methods available to Advancis Medical are as follows: Exporting Indirect Exporting Direct Exporting Licensing Joint Ventures Direct Investment The traditional, normal and easy way to enter a foreign market is exporting which includes indirect and direct exporting. In indirect exporting, the company works through independent intermediaries. Indirect exporting has two advantages. It involves less investment and less risk because the company doesnt have to develop department for exporting, overseas sales force or any international contacts. Direct exporting includes exporting of products and its distribution through the channel of export agent. It is done in different ways: Domestic-based export division, overseas sales branch, travelling export sales division and foreign-based agents. Licensing is another simple way to do international marketing and penetrate the market. It is the method of foreign operation where a firm in one country gives permission to company of another country to use the manufacturing, processing, trademark and other skills provided by the licensor. Joint ventures can be defined as an enterprise where foreign investors may join with local investors and share ownership and control over the rights, operation and property. The ultimate way of getting involved in foreign market is direct investment which involves direct ownership of foreign-based manufacturing facilities (Kotler P., Keller K.L., 2006) Country Profile As it has been discussed earlier on heading 2.5 of this report, India has been chosen as the target country. India is a natural subcontinent covered by the Himalayas in the north, the Arabian Sea in the west, the Bay of Bengal in the east and the Indian Ocean in the south. It has a land frontier of 15,200km and a coastline of 7,517km. India is the second most populous country in the world with 1,130 million people in July 2008 (estimated).The literacy rate is 65% with a great degree of regional variation. Hindi is the official language of the country and English is used almost everywhere in India acting as an associate official language in business sector. India has a parliamentary system of government with two legislative bodies; the central government and the state government. The countrys currency is Indian rupee (INR). The countrys banking system is controlled and monitored by the Reserve Bank of India. Indias economy is rapidly rising in the global economy. So, it is very fruitf ul for organizations to export, invest or do joint venture in India (Ernst Young Private Limited, 2008). Analysis of market entry strategy and making choice Market entry methods Advantages Disadvantages Exporting Manufacturing is home based, so its less risky. Provides an opportunity to learn foreign market before investing. Less or lose control over the foreign sales Less possibility of knowing who the customers are and hence failure to offer what they really want. Licensing It is a good way to start in foreign business and a door to comparatively low risk relationship -Any of the both companies get most out of the effort they do. Capital wont be tied up in foreign operation The participation remains limited to specific product, process or length of agreement. The Licensor has less control over the licensee than it does over its own production and sales facilities. Potential returns from manufacturing and marketing might be lost. -This strategy requires considerable planning, findings of fact, investigation and translation. Joint Ventures Sharing of risk as it is partner with foreign company Joint financial strength Good strategy for firms that lack physical, financial or managerial resources to undertake the venture alone. The partners might not agree over policies, marketing and investments. It may be impossible to recover capital if needed. This kind of strategy might prevent MNCs from carrying out manufacturing and marketing policies globally. Direct Investment The firm can minimize its cost economies by cheap labour or raw materials, freight savings and incentives by foreign government. The company will have good image because it creates job opportunity in the host country. The firm can have full control over its investment and hence can develop marketing and manufacturing polices. The primary disadvantage of this strategy is the firm exposes itself to the risk like worsening markets and devalued currencies. Secondly, the firm might find it really expensive to reduce or close down its operations, because the host country needs substantial severance pay to the staffs. (Kotler P., Keller K.L., 2006) Every market entry strategy has certain pros and cons, and looking at the above table I personally would suggest Exporting strategy as a market entry method for Advancis Medical. Having considered exporting as a better strategy for the company, Advancis Medical can avoid much risk and maximize the profit. With this strategy, the company could get a better chance to know and analyze the market and if it looks favourable the firm can switch to other strategy accordingly. 4.1 Implementation It has been considered that Advancis Medical is going for exporting strategy, now it needs to look for a reliable distributor in India to sell and distribute its product. Advancis Medical needs to point out which product to distribute in India. The product named Activon Tube from Activon Medical Manuka Honey Dressing category is the best product that matches the needs of market. According to (Kotler P., Keller K.L., 2006), it has been argued that many manufacturing companies think that their job is done once the product leaves the factory. But they need to pay attention to how the product moves within the foreign market. They should be focused on the potential problem that might arise during the distribution of products to final users. The theory can be illustrated by the following diagram: Source: (Kotler P., Keller K.L., 2006) There is a potential distributor in India named AK Pharma Pharmaceutical Distributor. It is situated in a town called Karnataka and is a leading pharmaceutical distributor all over India. The company does more than 13000 products from 250 of Indian and Multinational companies and have a client base of over 1500 customers including hospitals, medical dental colleges, chemist druggist and doctors (akp.in; online resource). The strategy adopted by the company will follow the 4Ps of marketing in following way: Product: Medical product/medicine is a pharmaceutical product offered by all the pharmaceutical oil companies. It is difficult to offer customers a point of difference with medicine. However, Advancis medical does so by selling medicine as well as the bandages that is better and faster for wound healing. Price: With common products in pharmaceutical industry, prices between competitors are easily matched, which means its difficult to differentiate the product based on price. Advancis medical is constantly monitoring the price and if possible cut costs and make the price reasonable to compete in the market. Place: Advancis medical distributes its product in more than 30 countries. And is expanding globally which is a vital strength in the firms marketing strategy. Talking about Advancis medical in India, I believe its a perfect location for the company due to the countrys demographic factors which ensures the right number and qualities of products are supplied to various places. Promotion: This might include the company to do advertising, marketing through radios or carrying out loyalty programmes to drive sales volume and retain the customers (Bennett R., Blythe J., 2002). Hence, having an overall analysis in the report, it can be seen that Advancis Medical needs to follow an exporting strategy to India and sell and distribute the product to that targeted market.

Death of a Salesman: The Emptiness of the American Dream :: Death of a Salesman

Any way that you state it, an American dream is a never-ending cycle of idealism. In other words, the yearning to be better than the best and to achieve perfect governmental harmony throughout society. Think about it though, if this were a possibility, wouldn’t it have already occurred? The first character seen directly acknowledging the emptiness of the American dream was the overlooked Loman brother, Happy. Happy, although suffering from â€Å"younger-brother syndrome† and lack of fatherly attention, proved to be the only successful family member of all the Lomans. Still, any amount of success would never be enough for him. The American dream would never be enough to make Happy â€Å"happy†. All I can do now is wait for the merchandise manager to die. And suppose I get to be merchandise manager? He’s a good friend of mine, and he just built a terrific estate on Long Island. And he lived there about two months and sold it, and now he’s building another one. He can’t enjoy it once it’s finished. And I know that’s just what I would do. I don’t know what the hell I’m workin’ for. Sometimes I sit in my apartment- all alone. And I think of the rent I’m paying. And it’s crazy. But then, it’s what I always wanted. My own apartment, a car, and plenty of women. And still, goddammit, I’m lonely. It is rather ironic that the American dream that Willy strives for everyday is the very same dream Happy pushes away. Willy believes the key to life and achieving the American dream is being well liked. However, his beliefs were faulty as well as trite, as we all saw when Bernard, who wasn’t very â€Å"well liked,† achieved the American dream. â€Å"Bernard can get the best marks in school, y’understand, but when he gets out in the business world, y’understand, you are going to be five times ahead of him†¦Because the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want.†(Willy P. 33) This is Willy and one of his more pompous conversations with Biff on regards to Bernard. As usual, Willy’s prediction was far off from the truth. Bernard grew up and got married, had 2 boys, and had his last appearance leaving to go argue a case in front of the Supreme Court.

My Education

Education should be skill based rather than knowledge based Good morning, today l, Sparks Gar, am going to speak for the topic ‘Education should be skill based rather than knowledge based'. As school ends and commencement addresses are given, two pieces of data caught my eye recently. Only 56 percent of law school graduates are getting Jobs proportionate with their education. And there are 3 million Jobs currently unfilled in the U. S.So what explains the disconnection between a large number of highly educated workers unable to find bobs and the millions of openings out there right now? The answer is skills. Or more precisely, having the specialized skills that fit with the Jobs, employers need to fill. The challenge is to get the people who need work to acquire the skills that employers are seeking. It is true that our young generation needs to be skilled in order to get employment. It is very much important to get skills and only then we can think of our bright future.In a cl ass all the students may not be excellent in their studies but here are other projects in which the weaker students can come up. In our society it is not only knowledge that matters but if you have the skill to do something you can guarantee work. Nowadays we usually face problems that a person is knowledgeable but not skilled enough to do a particular Job. The majority of Jobs are in the skilled trades, yet it wouldn't be hard to build programs around the needs of information technology companies, tech start-ups and manufacturing firms.We've all heard Tories of successful people who found their true passion and talent from the help of a teacher who had taken notice when nobody else had. We need to create a system and culture of education in which such self-discovery doesn't Just happen serendipitously but rather is the core focus of education. This can only come from an early exposure to a rich and diverse set of study, including art, music, science, math, design, writing and more. In 2010, Barack Obama made this a major focus, and from hat came skills for America's Future, which brought employers and community colleges together to design curriculum around skills for specific types of Jobs. Of course people's decision changes with time and some of us make a conscious decision to ignore our natural born attributes to pursue a different path in life. That is what makes us human. But with this approach, students will get a around exposure to ideas and critical thinking to marketable skills and training that we can rely on. My Essays By supercharges

Mr. and Mrs. Pitt: A Troubled Relationship from the Start Essay

In the renowned fantasy novel Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling, Albus Dumbledore says, â€Å"indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike.† The play, Angels in America, A Gay Fantasia on National Themes by Tony Kushner, presents several relationships of characters. The relationship of Joe and Harper Pitt in particular plays a vital role in his play. By not making the effort to fix the problems in their relationship, Joe and Harper have finally grown so distant from each other that it is impossible to fix it. Kushner uses many different writing techniques to present that Joe and Harper have a failing marriage. He uses tone and dialog to show that Harper isn’t going to follow Joe in his advancing career. Next, Kushner references movies that parallel Joe and Harper’s relationship. And lastly, Kushner adds real world examples to show the neglect of Harper’s emotional problems. All of Kushner’s writing techniques add up to clearly explain why the marriage is failing. Harper’s decision to not go to Washington D.C. with Joe is the first sign that Harper accepts that their marriage has failed. Harper denies Joe’s offer within seconds of him proposing the idea. Her instincts tell her that moving to Washington D.C. will just cover up their unhappy lives together even more. She then states, â€Å"We’re happy here,† (Kushner). The rapid response to Joe’s proposition and when she sarcastically states that they are â€Å"happy† hints that she is unhappy in the relationship. It is also shown when she directly says, â€Å"Pretend-happy,† (Kushner). It therefore implies that they are lying to themselves in order to make their relationship seem better. Harper does not want to move with Joe because she wants out of their relationship. She makes up several excuses to justify them for not moving. She starts out with referring to the Roman Polanski Film, Rosemary’s Baby. The movie’s protagonist, Waifi sh Rosemary Woodhouse, thinks that her husband has given a cult their unborn baby to be able to succeed in his failing acting career (Bozzola). In Angels in America, the similar situation is how Roy is giving Joe a promotion in order to get something out of it. The couple in the movie parallels to Harper and Joe’s marriage. Both Waifish and Harper have suspicions about their husbands that eventually become true. Harper on the other hand wants to get away from her situation by not wanting to move with Joe. She then refers to The Exorcist, but Joe quickly says, â€Å"The devil, everywhere you turn, huh buddy,† (Kushner). What Harper does not realize is that Joe is the devil and until they separate from each other, she will always be around the devil. Since Joe is the â€Å"devil,† it is nearly impossible for their relationship to grow and fix it self because it is â€Å"a thing that is very difficult or awkward to do or deal with,† (Google, Inc.). Towards the end of the conversation, Harper mentions that when they first got married Joe had â€Å"all these secrets and lies,† (Kushner). Those lies that the relationship is based upon caused it to be unsuccessful from the start. Because they were not truthful to one another from the beginning of their relationship, it has caused them later on to have problems that are coming out now. If they would have dealt with the problems that they have had since the beginning, then their marriage would not be failing. Harper realizes that her relationship has failed and therefore she declines going with Joe to Washington D.C. It is shown that she realizes her marriage has failed when later that day she says, â€Å"Without me. Without me, Joe. Isn’t that what you want to hear?† (Kushner). The emphasis Harper puts on â€Å"without me† confirms the fact that she has realized that the marriage has ended and that she wants to move on with her life. She does this so that Joe will get the hint that their marriage has failed and there is not anything they can do about it. Harper hears on the radio that part of the ozone layer is missing in Antarctica, but what she doesn’t realize is that the missing hole is a metaphor for her relationship with Joe. Kushner adds this into his play to show the audience that their relationship parallels to this atmospheric damage. Harper first mentions the ozone layer while she is alone at home waiting for Joe to come home. Harper states, â€Å"When you look at the ozone layer†¦things are collapsing, lies surfacing, systems of defense giving way†¦This is why, Joe, this is why I shouldn’t be left alone,† (Kushner). The things that are collapsing in the ozone parallels to Joe and Harper’s relationship. The neglect of the Earth, or the relationship in this matter, has caused problems to form that are nearly irreversible. With more and more neglect the worse the ozone is going to get therefor without the proper actions taken to fix the situation, it is going to diminish. Their relationship is the same way. Joe has not helped with Harper’s drug addiction, so it has gotten worse and worse. And since Joe has not helped with her problems it has just created another problem that they need to fix in need to improve their relationship. But they did not so their relationship has virtually diminished. It was exponentially declining since the start of the gap in their relationship. Since the ozone layer is depleting, Harper reasons that Joe should not be left alone, but right after she says that, she quickly changes saying that instead of Joe not being alone, she should not be left alone. This implies that Harper is the ozone layer and Joe is the person that keeps on damaging it. Harper does not know this but Kushner tells this to the audience so that they know. Joe has neglected Harper’s needs and has only thought of himself thus causing emotional â€Å"holes† in Harper. These â€Å"holes† can only be filled in with a substitute, in this case Valium. The drugs are the artificial necessities that fulfil her needs in her relationship. Just as Mother Nature tends to even things out, Harper needs to even out her emotions that are not present with Joe. Joe has caused a major portion of the holes that are found in their relationship. These holes are similar to the holes in the ozone layer that are caused by the neglect from mankind. The holes are irreversible and have a profound impact on Harper and Joe’s marriage. It is demonstrated when Joe shuts down Harper’s emotional problems that he had caused. Joe’s neglect for Harper’s emotional holes has caused them problems that cannot be fixed. Harper has always been afraid of the â€Å"man with the knives† (Kushner). At first Joe just thought that Harper was hallucinating and it was just a figment of her imagination. He even thought that Harper’s Valium addiction might have been the reason for her hallucinations. But after talking with her, he finally realizes that it has been him all along that had been the â€Å"man with the knives.† He has been slowly killing his relationship with Harper by his secrets which are represented by the knives. Harper was in bed when â€Å"someone was in there†¦ under the covers with a knife,† (Kushner). Harper and Joe’s situation represents that someone in their relationship is hiding a secret about themselves. This secret has to deal with the fact that someone is lying about their sexual needs. It turns out to be that Joe is hiding the fact that he is a homosexual to Harper. If in the beginning Joe would have told Harper that he was gay and that he was trying to work on it, their relationship would be more successful, but since he did not do this, his knives had been tearing away at their marriage. Each time he neglected to work on her problems and just let them slide by, his knife got sharper and sharper. It made it easier for them to grow apart and not know each other. Joe’s inability to help out with Harper’s problems and being secretive towards her had caused them to grow apart and ruin their marriage without being able to fix it. Harper and Joe’s relationship had diminished over the years that they were married starting from day one. They put their heads down to their problems and just let them slide. Their relationship could only slip so far until it is nearly gone and that had happened. Kushner presented their failing marriage through many ways. He used Harper’s decision to show that Harper does not want to advance with Joe in his career. Kushner then presents the movies The Exorcist and Rosemary Babies to parallel the relationship of Joe and Harper. The ozone layer is added into the play as a metaphor of their declining relationship to let the audience know that they are failing in their marriage. And lastly Kushner uses the â€Å"man with the knives† as a way to say that Joe is â€Å"killing† their marriage from neglect towards Harper’s problems. At first Harper and Joe had a great marriage, but after a while secrets and lies became the normal for them. These lies and secrets just worsened their marriage until it finally failed. Works Cited Bozzola, Rovi Lucia. Rosemary’s Baby – Rotten Tomatoes. n.d. 22 11 2012. Google, Inc. define: Devil – Google Search. n.d. 22 11 2012. Kushner, Tony. Angels in America, A Fantasia on National Themes. New York City: Theatre Communications Group, Inc., 1995. Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix . New York City: Scholastic, 2003.

Managing Groups in a Multicultural Setup

Surviving and succeeding in today’s global competitive business environment is obviously difficult. Cross-cultural working, managing changes, technological advantages give the much needed edge to set organizations apart. Our progress and approach strategies clearly defines our success. Developments in recent years have reinforced the view that we are moving from a world in which we determined our destination to one in which we must learn to navigate a path between myriad future possibilities (Stickland,1998).I had been assigned to a study group, which I was to work with, during the first semester. The group members met each other for the first time in the lecture theatre and decided to meet after class. The meeting was informal and we all introduced ourselves, exchanged e-mail addresses and phone numbers. All five team members talked about their backgrounds and I seemed to like the team from the beginning.Everyone seemed humble. As we kept on talking, it became apparent that s ome team members were more talkative than others. Team members, A and B were very talkative and kept asking questions while C and D were more quiet. I was more like an average participant, but in the end I too talked less. A and B looked at each other and me but not at C and D; C and D were thus not included in the conversations. I noticed this, but decided to ignore it for the time being. I thought I need to only change it later.The five members came from different countries across four continents. A was from India and from experience I knew that Indians would talk a lot and have strong opinions. B was from Honduras whom I thought would be talkative and easy going like my friends from Nicaragua and other Central American countries. While C was from Georgia, a country I did not know much about, D was from the US whom I thought would be a hard working, self-centered and confrontationist.The team was truly diverse. Having lived in Asia, North America and Europe, working with several m ulticultural teams for over a decade; I knew from the beginning that I had to learn more about their cultures and backgrounds. This was perhaps the only way I could interpret their behavior and adapt to them, while they could adapt to me too. I believed that judging people even before you get to know them was wrong, while at the same time I was sure that my assumptions about certain cultures and the norms within these cultures, were mostly right.We were assigned the first group task in management science. I walked into the assignment with a positive attitude and everyone else in the group did, too. After all, the first get-to-know meeting had been positive. Once we had gathered, we decided on where to work. We sat down and focused on the task that had been given to us. We read the assignment and were ready to discuss the task.Here things started to go wrong. As group members are not much familiar with each other, there is a certain amount of uncertainty and suspicion, when interpret ing each other’s conduct and action. Lack of positive relationship carries opportunities for development of serious conflicts. These may not only be difficult to resolve, but also decrease team performance, particularly when a relationship conflict is not differentiated from task disagreements. (Pamela and Sara 2002)As we had not established a hierarchy structure, there was no leader. It was an equal platform for all to put forth their contributions, at an identical level. I come from a consensus driven society and thought that it was the right approach. I believed that everyone knew how dynamics in a consensus driven group works. However, I was proven wrong. People were not listening to each other! People would not let each other talk. Instead they interrupted each other!I could not overcome the feeling that some people wanted to prove that they were intelligent and knowledgeable. We did not have a dialogue. The task’s problems and scope were not discussed. We did not talk about how to solve the task at hand. Instead people presented their solutions!. The team found it hard to keep up the schedules, and inefficient communication was taking its toll.I have worked as a management and strategy consultant in many countries and even founded companies in cultures foreign to me and I had never seen such chaos and unstructured behavior. In fact, gradually the team structure itself broke down and began functioning like two divided teams working on separate agenda. Did this have to do with some people’s inexperience?! Or was this peculiar only to me?.I went along with what was happening in the group, always trying to pull people back to discuss the task’s scope. The group agreed that we needed to look at the scope and understand it. However, people continued to argue their causes defending their ideas. We were not getting anywhere. Time was running out and I knew that we did not have a good solution. This was confirmed when we saw what other groups presented. Now, I wondered whether the other people in the group saw it the same way? But I never asked them. We had talked to each other in the first assignment but not with each other now . We were not communicating well.Several days later, the second assignment was given to us. We went back to the same room we had used earlier. We read the task and, to my surprise, nobody’s approach had changed. Everyone was talking and no one listening. D who had been quiet in the first meeting tried to explain his idea which I thought was good. I wanted people to listen to D and they did after I specifically asked them to. D has only studied English for four years and he had a hard time expressing his thoughts, lacking the necessary vocabulary.Everyone else in the group speaks English fluently. I believed this might be the reason why no one listened to him. Anyway, after D had talked, they resumed their unconstructive debating, ignoring D’s ideas. After I initiated a secon d attempt to get D back into the discussion without any success I must admit that emotions replaced my otherwise logical and rather rational thinking. The other group members’ ignorance upset me. I decided not to participate anymore. Instead, I decided to observe what was going on in the team, making mental notes and checking my initial assumptions about each others’ attitudes.I then realized that initiating a groupwork successfully is very important and difficult. Perhaps the task or objectives at hand need to correspond to an initiation level too. Not much has been said or written on tasks, which are more suitable for groupwork, particularly at the initiation level. But it has been widely accepted that group work must be established in defined stages or steps, so that there is a better sense of direction and focus at the early stages. It would also be more beneficial if the topics and activities are initially focused at a simpler, straightforward and interesting agen da, gradually moving on to complicating issues. (Elisabeth 1990)Once again, we ran out of time without having completed the task, we returned to the lecture theatre only to find that our solution was substandard. At this point, I thought we have had enough and decided that we need to have a team discussion to analyze why we were under performing and how can we improve?. I sent out an e-mail to the group on this and to my surprise the team agreed with me, and we met the next day. During the subsequent meeting everyone admitted that we have been under performing.We also agreed that an important problem was that we were not letting everyone speak up and that some members dominated the discussions. We had to change this. This is when we created a â€Å"Group Work Guidebook† and work structure guidelines. We established guidelines on courtesy, respect, conduct and criticism, which are to be exhibited by all, in the course of our groupwork. We also took certain strategic initiative s like sharing our strengths and weaknesses and setting up a roadmap for achieving our objectives.Even though we did not have specific roles I soon became the facilitator, with many suggesting that I take over as a secretary. I made sure to empower others in the group as we went along but also made sure that discussion went smoothly without getting stuck in details. When emotions started to come up in discussions I tried to intervene usually with humor. I had to skip a meeting as I was sick; however it gave me an opportunity to understand how the team performed in my absence. I was surprised to note that the team was indeed more receptive to each other than before. Meetings were however becoming more hectic due to time constraints caused unnecessarily by professors, and at times we felt like we were slipping off as before.What made me uncomfortable at times was that some group members started to see me as the leader, which I did not like. Group members would look at me when there wa s an argument or when they had questions. I felt like a judge! I did not want this because I felt that it would hold the group back from having open and productive discussions. I believed that we could have â€Å"new leaders† every time depending on what we talked about. The leader would naturally emerge and it would obviously be the one who knew the most about the matter at hand. When I received for example questions, and people looked at me.I would give my opinion but then make sure that I asked everyone else what they thought. It was a time consuming process and ate into our efficiency but it was worth it. We ended up with good results and everyone felt involved. However, not everyone felt that they had been involved every time we met. C had never worked in a multi-cultural team before and likes task-focused approaches. C took over the role of coordinator without us noticing.A says that she comes from a passive culture and thinks she is helping us which isn’t. . In the session, A mentioned that she was not feeling that everyone understood her and she had a hard time expressing her feelings in the group. I spoke to A about it, who needed more reassurance when she worked in groups. She had a tendency to talk a lot and many group members found it distracting and I sensed that she was being kept outside the team a little bit. We had agreed on some guidelines but, especially A and C wanted to work the way they were used to, unwilling to accept others’ ways of working. We started to prepare slides so that we could hit the ground running and it took a long time before we felt comfortable with dividing tasksThe initial phase helped us to bond. As we went along, the group worked harmoniously with some few interruptions. The group bonded more and more as we went along. Mostly, because we now understood each other’s needs and how everyone liked to work. Our team outing also contributed to this bonding, giving us an opportunity to talk on so mething personal. Also, we started to split tasks and worked in small groups. The objectives and approaches were discussed with the team.Then tasks were delegated. We were able to work faster this way. This also satisfied C who wanted a more task oriented approach. However, we did not exaggerate the task focus. A admitted that she in general has problems to express feelings, and we as a team assured her that everyone does have it, but that it is better to talk to us, so that we can support her as we work together almost every day. We were here to learn, try new things and have fun. In the â€Å"group therapy† session, the team agreed that efficiency was an issue although, it had improved over the past weeks. The question now was how quickly we could improve our efficiency and how?. We decided, especially during our project, to pick up the pace and set more deadlines.As we continued to progress well, it was becoming obvious that some team members missed a hierarchical structur e. The more experienced members however, were fine with not having one, while the less experienced ones looked for guidance and at some time even thought that they had turned into leaders as they tried to enforce a hierarchy or assigned themselves tasks such as structuring meetings, etc. I believe this helps them tackle their insecurity.The younger members showed that they could not handle stress very well. When we had client meetings C would get nervous and start bossing people around. I laughed at it initially, but pointed it out to him. Even other group members pointed it out to him and he improved. As we entered the final phase of the project I discovered that the younger members liked to talk in the â€Å"I† form more and more. When I had put together a model with A or C they would still say â€Å"I created XYZ† in the group. B picked up on this and it irritated her as well as me. I explained to them the importance of teamwork and made it clear that it should alwa ys be ‘We’ and not ‘I’.The study group bonded more and more. Even C who in the beginning thought that dinners were simply a waste of time now started to enjoy them and even initiates them. He felt comfortable with the team and the team in general spoke openly about everything. Today, we are still improving our organizational skills and efficiency. However, we are very comfortable with each other, joking and laughing more than we work at times. This slows down work, but we still achieve good results and most importantly we discuss things outside the assignment, which is also a way of developing.The project presentation went very well. C talks and jokes more than he has ever done before – not just with the group. D has found a humorous side as well and has been very calm throughout the process. B is very involved sometimes at a level that is too detailed but she keeps everyone positive. A is motivated again after the Management Science debacle when we scored lower than we had expected. I am more structured in my approach and communicate much clearer (harder) than before pulling the teams back to the essential problems, when needed. And, yes, I still spend much time talking to group members outside the group, helping in any way that I possibly can. Did it require much energy and time? Yes! But it was worth it.I look forward to working with this group again, because we are now working well together, learning more and faster; being adapted to each other’s working style and body language. There are people in the MBA with whom I do not want to work with. These are people who do not understand integrity, honesty and respect. Selfishness does not go well with me. I have understood and realized this only in the past few weeks, more than ever before. I continue to believe that my passive leadership style in which I try to make people discover their flaws themselves is good. Sometimes I have to be more direct, or there will be misun derstandings leading to potential conflicts.Creating a group and implementing a working plan or road map is a difficult and time-consuming task. The planning stage is very crucial for the effective working of the group, however it is also essential that we do not hold on completely to the plan. The group and leader must react to situations impulsively. (Linda 1997). I see myself more of a transformational type leader who set goals and inculcate awareness on the setting and achieving of goals by others to pull them from unworthy preoccupations.Transformational leadership elevates levels of morality and motivation among others and are more effective, It has not been possible to relate their leadership with demographic, social or personal characteristics (Linda et al). I have indeed been benefited by this groupwork experience, a benefit that will remain with me, contributing to whatever I would be involved in.REFERENCESLinda et al., 2001;Organizational Behavior; A Management Challenge, Lawrence Erlbaum AssociatesLinda. F. Groupwork in Occupational Therapy. Nelson Thornes (1997)Elisabeth D. Talking and Learning in Groups. Routledge (1990).Pamela J. and   Sara. K Distributed Work   MIT Press, (2002)Stickland, F.; The Dynamics of Change. Publisher: Routledge, London (1998).

Managerial economics-Ethics assignment Movie Review

Managerial economics-Ethics assignment - Movie Review Example Advertising another bailout package to the people and Congress proves to be a long stretch as suspicion and unwillingness is reasonably a hard sell when it involves companies that eaned billions. While Paulson figures out how to fix the problem, trying hard as he can to resolve it within the private sector, corporations are out for their own interests leading to the inevitable fall of Lehman Brothers. Eventually, the corporation files for bankruptcy and the bigger problems are just starting for big names that include AIG. This movie is ideal in understanding how the financial system in America works, not only that, it emphasizes on the interconnectivity of companies and even of governments that it is essential to appreciate that there must be mutual support instead of everyone only thinking for themselves. The role of managers can be seen to be the bridge that determines whether the company applies social responsibility or not. The relationship of businesses is important in building rapport and goodwill. In my own line of business importing and exporting goods, I find it true that the banks play a major role in the sustainability of trade. I do business internationally where I have to deal with people of different nationalities including the laws that apply to each transaction. The ethical conduct of business is just as important as the business itself. There are a number of ethical dilemmas in the film. Paulson, as a former banker who made his millions in Goldman Sachs, knows how they think and how they will react. At times he had been suspected of advocating for his own interests though the same is not true. He sat down the CEOs to push them to buy and support Lehman Brothers, but Merrill Lynch’s John Thain secretly called to push for the purchase of shares in his own company instead of Lehman Brothers. On the last part of the movie, Paulson managed to convince large banks to accept a nationalization

Cte d'Ivoire Outline & Report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Cte d'Ivoire Outline & Report - Research Paper Example Since the issue of who will lead the country has already been resolved, Ivory Coast is in the process of moving forward and breaking all barriers caused by war. The government has concrete plans on turning the fortune of the country. In addition, foreign aid and investments have been pledged to boost the country’s economy. Another issue that prevents Ivory Coast from improving is the lack of human capital development. The level of investment provided to improve cocoa farmers is low. The government needs to pay attention to this segment as majority of the population are into agriculture. Prices of commodities have to remain competitive and taxes should be reduced. I. Country Profile The Republic of Cote d'Ivoire, also known as Ivory Coast is a country situated in West Africa. The country has a total land area 322,460 square kilometers and shares borders with Liberia, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, and Burkina Faso. The southern boundary of the country includes a 515-coastline from the Gu lf of Guinea. Ivory Coast’s terrain includes lagoons in the southeast, dense forests in the southwest, and savannah areas in the north. The west part of the country is mostly mountainous with wide plains. The country’s climate is warm and transitions from tropical to equatorial. Ivory Coast experiences heavy rains during the months of June to October and dry periods from December to April. The average temperature is at 25 to 30 degrees Celsius with the lowest at 10 degrees Celsius and highest at 40 degrees Celsius (CIA, 2011). As of July 2011, Cote d'Ivoire has an estimated population of 21,504,162 which ranks the country 56th in the world. The population comprises of major ethnic groups; the biggest which is Akan with 42% of the total population. The other ethnic groups from largest to smallest include Gur, Northern Mandes, Krous and Southern Mandes. Each year, the population of the country increases by 2.0 percent with a birth rate of 31 per 1,000 people and death ra te of 10 per 1,000 people. Life expectancy on the average is at 57 years with males reaching 56 years and females reaching 58 years (CIA, 2011). Ivory Coast’s largest city is Abidjan where the seat of government is located. The capital city of Yamoussoukro and the government is divided into 19 regions and 81 departments. Other main cities include Bouake, Daloa, Korhogo, San Pedro and Divo. The country’s official language is French but the use of English has been observed. About 39% of the people are Muslims, 32% are Christians, 12% are indigenous and the rest have no established religion. Ivory Coast is 51% urbanized and the rate on urbanization is at 3.7% change annually. Literacy rate is at 49% where 61% of the men and 38 of women can read and write. In terms of age structure, 57% are aged between 15 to 64 years old, 40% are between 0 to 14 years old and the rest of the population is over 65 years old (CIA, 2011). II. History There have been documents stating there w ere pre-historic human settlements in Ivory Coast. Most of the groups that established communities in the country were tribes that broke away from powerful groups in West Africa. The lush forests have served as barrier preventing foreign tribes from coming in. Hence Ivory Coast has limited foreign influence and has limited awareness as to what is happening outside. During the 18th century, most communities were