Poverty a retrospect of beliefs with the wrong reality Essay

As children we see life through a different set of eyes than others, and we accept the reality of our surroundings by how others judge us. We were the poor kids of the neighborhood and the others kids let us know that. My parents divorced when I was 5 and things were rough for my mother with 3 kids to raise on welfare. We thought we had it bad. Sometimes, we didn’t know where the next meal was coming from or who was going to help if things got worse; I remember we would stand in line to receive the food box for the month. Mom would put meals together and then she would leave for several weeks at a time, being on the road working for the Roller Derby. We never knew who our babysitters were going to be or if they were going to treat us with some sort of dignity and respect. Many times we took matters into our own hands and got rid of them and others just left, because we were not always the best behaved kids in the world, and we were always in some kind of trouble. The cops would bring us home at least 3 times a week for doing some crazy thing in the neighborhood, or stealing something from the local store to eat. After a while the cops and the store owners would just ask if we had something to eat or if there was something that we needed. Those were the days when people did come together and help others that were less fortunate, and we definitely needed the help. Our cousins lived in Firestone Park, a suburb of Los Angeles. They had some of the same obstacles to overcome except they did not have the community support that we received. My aunt was a single mother and did not receive food stamps. As I think back now on the difference between our lives, and the obstacles they faced compared to ours, we had it made. We faced challenges just as they did; I have been behind bars many times in my life. Both I and my older brother had interventions that changed our lives. My brother found out that the only way to change his life was to change his environment and look for other ways to support himself and his family than drugs. There were no food boxes available to my cousins and the cops were not as forgiving as they were in our neighborhood; the cops took my cousins to juvenile hall. There is one difference between my cousins and my family; they were half black and white. They were not looked at with the same sympathetic eyes as us and they told us about the way they were treated by the people of the city, and putting you all behind bars was the only way to solve the problem. From early on in their lives, they had to face the harsh reality that they were not treated the same as others even in their own community. Being called names by the other kids in the neighborhood, they had to fight everyday just to earn respect and they became the aggressors. They did things that we never thought of at our age, but that was the live they lived. My cousins went to juvenile hall very early on, and when they would get out, it did not take long for them to be locked up again. One of my cousins has spent over 3/4th of his life behind bars, and that is the only life he knows. We had spent a couple of days here and there in juvenile hall where they spent months throughout their teenage years. They did not have the same kind of caring community members as we did in our little part of the world; being a big city, crime was a way of life for kids there. There were not many options for the young people and joining a gang and the reality of death was just an everyday part of life. Drug abuse was prevalent and my cousins excelled in the life of crime. If it had not been for the YMCA in our community and the people that were placed into our lives, things for us could have been just as it was for my cousins. Both of my brothers have been in jail a time or two, except for my youngest brother who is spending the rest of his life in prison. He was sentenced to 25 to life, 25 to life and 18 years for crimes he was involved in 1994. I moved away from Stockton, California in 1996. My older brother moved away several years after I did and he now lives in Waldport, Oregon. He is a well respected part of the community. My journey began in 1995, after suffering a heart attack behind an overdose of Methamphetamine; I knew that I needed to change my life when I woke from the coma, and the charges that I was facing from running from the law for over 2 years. The judge whom I went in front of gave me my way out, but the road was not going to be easy. I had to complete a drug program, pay up all my fines and go to parenting classes. My kids had suffered long enough; they had to deal with all my addictions, the stealing, lying and cheating. It was going to be a battle, but I was willing to do what it was going to take to put my life back on the right track. The judge looked at me and told me â€Å"that if you do not complete this program and do all the requirements that I have set forth, that I would be facing 15 to 20 years straight time†. Thanks to the Veterans Administration and a Stockton Sheriff named Officer Garcia, the judge was going to give me a chance of a lifetime. All of the charges against me were to be dropped, and my records sealed and I would have a fresh start in life. The judge said it was against his better judgment to give me this opportunity, but I had a lot of people willing to give me a chance. He was looking forward to putting me behind bars. My cousins never had any kind of opportunities such as the one I was given and they were criminals and they would be punished to the full extent of the law. All of my cousins are in prison for life because of 3 strikes law. One of my cousins was not so lucky; He was shot and killed by the Los Angeles police that said he had pulled out a gun but none was ever found. They called it justifiable shooting, also known as guilt by association. I look back at the events of my life and realize that we were not poor by any means compared to other families in the Los Angeles area. The opportunities we had been given were not there for them and although we committed some of the same crimes, their punishment was more severe. I could never imagine being where I am today. I thank God for the people I have had in my life that gave me some different perspectives and hope that I could have more than I ever dreamed of. I look at how my cousins were raised and they way we were, and there are similarities, but we had it easy compared to them. Being of two different nationalities and dealing with the everyday stresses of the big city life must have been a burden that I am not sure if we would have survived. I must admit that life was not always rosy and wonderful, but we always had a roof over our heads and we might not have had the best meals but at least we had one. I am grateful to all the people I have had in my life that thought there was something to fight for and never let me give up hope. I pray for my cousins every day and give thanks to the lord for all that I have been given. Works Cited †. Howell, James, Decker, Scott H. â€Å"The Youth Gangs, Drugs, and Violence Connection Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, January 1999. U. S. Department of Justice. Boyz N the Hood Singleton, John. 1991. Columbia Pictures

How to Differentiate Hrd and T&D

In the early 1980s, the field of personnel management shifted its function from handling staffing and related administrative activities to the development of people as a resource of the organization (Sims, R. 2006). Thus, here comes the field of Human Resource Development (HRD). The term HRD started out first simply as â€Å"training†, then involved into â€Å"training and development†(T&D), and finally into HRD. Therefore, some confusion arise relating to the difference between Human Resource Development and â€Å"training and development†.In order to differentiate HRD and T&D, the author illustrates this essay by clarifying the definition of HRD and T&D, their respective main purpose, and the strategies of each term. I. Definition 1. Definition of HRD Because of the evolving nature of HRD, defining HRD is difficult. The first definition of HRD offered by Harbison and Myers related HRD to broad contexts, including economy, political, social and culture contexts, rather than just individuals and organizations.They defined HRD as a process to increase the knowledge, skills and capacities of all the people in a society: â€Å"In economic terms, it could be described as the accumulation of human capital and its effective investment in the development of an economy. In political terms, HRD prepares people for adult participation in the political process, particularly as citizens in a democracy. From the social and cultural points of view, the development of human resources helps people lead fuller and richer lives, less bound to tradition. †(Harbison and Myers, 1964)HRD was also referred as a learning experience provided by employees, leading to the improvement of their performance and/all personal growth (Nadler and Nadler, 1989). A recent definition from Swanson (2009) explained the term HRD as a process of developing and unleashing expertise which aimed at improving organizational system, work process, team, and individual performance . 2. Definition of T&D Generally speaking, training and development is defined as a field concerned with organizational activity whose objective is to improve the performance of individuals and groups in organizational context.To be specific, writers of some literatures have divided the term T&D into two independent parts: â€Å"training† and â€Å"development†. Separated definition for each word is created, which makes the definition of training and development quite straightforward. Training was defined as a â€Å"planned and systematic process to modify or develop attitude, knowledge or skills through learning experiences, to achieve effective performance in an activity or range of activities. † (Garavan et al. ,1995; Harrison, 1993; Reid et al. 1994) .A separate definition of development was that â€Å"the growth or realization of a person’s ability through conscious or unconscious learning, which usually includes elements of planned study and experi ence supported by coaching and counseling† (Wilson, 1999). Similarities can be seen from these definitions that both HRD and T&D provide human resource with learning to improve performance. However, their emphasises are different according to the definitions. T&D focuses more on the improvement of individual performance, whereas HRD is a business approach which plays a crucial role in the improvement of whole organizational.II. Main Purpose of HRD and T&D 1. Main purpose of HRD The key functions of HRD are individual development, organizational development, career development and performance improvement. Actually, the main purpose of HRD is under debate of researchers and practitioners. Should it focus on increasing the performance requirements of its organizations and enhancing the productivity of the workforce or on developing the individual competency and skills? When practiced in productive organizations, HRD should contribute directly to the organization’s goal.As a result, performance improvement becomes the main purpose of HRD. There are many aspects that HRD could improve performance: individual, process, as well as organizational levels. For instance, performance is impeded when the goal of an organization do not fit various internal and external realities (culture, for example). HRD could solve this problem by formulating a goal that fit in the organizational culture while a culture change process being implemented in order to support the goal of the organization. 2. Main purpose of T&DIn many literatures, the purpose of T&D concentrates on individual development. There is need to train and retrain the employees on continuous basis. T&D has the goal of influencing basic values and beliefs of individual. Meanwhile, there are also technical and management T&D programmes related to systems and procedures appeal to the inherent logic, and the planning methods and people skills appeal to the strategies of succeed. The relationship (or differe nce) of HRD and T&D (and other HRD functions) could be illustrated by figure1:Figure1 (Haslinda, 2009) Although the main purpose of T&D is individual development, which is one of the four key functions of HRD, we can not say that T&D is a subset of HRD. HRD and T&D are discrete entities. HRD is the integrated use of T&D, organizational development, career development and performance development to improve individual, group, and organizational effectiveness. III. Strategies of HRD and T&D 1. Strategies of HRD To contribute to the goals and missions of the organization, efforts of making HRD strategies must take place.First, there should be a clear overview of the relationship between the organization’s missions, strategic agenda, and competitive environment. Followed by an assessment of the current capacity of workforce, special needs are identified. An evaluation system needs to be built in order to examine if the target competencies indeed enhance the actualization of organi zational goals. Finally, the organization needs senior leadership and a culture that support lifelong learning of the work role of each employee. 2. Strategies of T&DTraining and development in an organization also requires a mechanism that establishes the competencies required by an organization to achieve success. Therefore, the strategy of T&D includes 1) identifying the employees’ training needs, 2) finding out the HR strategic plan, 3) establishing personal developing plans and 4) evaluating the T&D outcomes by assessment. The process could be revised over and over again. The strategies of HRD and T&D have several points in common. However, those tiny distinctions make HRD a more strategically orientated organizational process.

Introduction to Entrepreneurial Finance

Entrepreneurial Finance Philippe Gregoire Louvain School of Management – Universite catholique de Louvain Reference book : Entrepreneurial finance, a casebook. Paul A. Gompers and William A. Sahlman. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2002 1 Entrepreneurial finance Project assessment (POCD) Funding (amount, firm’s value, best partner) Deal (ownership / control / incentives) Exit (IPO) Project Assessment †¢ 4 critical success factors for entrepreneurial ventures ? ? ? ? People Opportunity Deal Context 3 People I’d rather back a ‘A’ team with a ‘B’ idea than a ‘B’ team with an ‘A’ idea †¢ Who are the key players What is their experience †¢ How does this experience prepare or not prepare them for the opportunity that exists †¢ What are strengths and weakness of the people involved on all sides of the transaction †¢ Are there key individuals that the company should add or replace 4 Opportunity †¢ New product / service ? Smartphone, †¢ New method of delivery ? Amazon. com †¢ New production technique ? Ernest Solvay patent (1861) to manufacture soda ash (enter in detergent, glass, †¦) †¢ Is there a sustainable competitive advantage †¢ Must the opportunity be exploited immediately †¢ Are there intermediate milestones 5Deal †¢ Spending money is not enough. Incentives and contingencies are important considerations. ? Key to all these structural features is the concept of the entrepreneur earning his/her equity through value creation. †¢ Moral hazard and adverse selection ? Entrepreneur bear the downside risk †¢ Choice of appropriate investors ? for whom you raise capital is often more important than the terms †¢ Selection of the proper financial instrument ? ? ? Debt Equities Convertibles / preferred convertibles 6 Securities held by Venture Capitalists †¢ (Source: Kaplan-Stromberg, 2003) Context †¢ Competition †¢ R egulation †¢ International environment †¢ Economic conditions 8 Introduction to entrepreneurial finance †¢ Finance ? Study of value and resources allocation (capital budgeting) †¢ †¢ †¢ Value of cash stream = f(magnitude, timing, riskiness) Economic value = Expected return = PV ? ? T t ? 1 E? Rt ? ? rf ? Risk premium CFt ? 1 ? E ? Rt t ? Cost of capital †¢ Capital rationing †¢ Entrepreneurship ? Focus on opportunities rather than controlling existing resources †¢ Entrepreneurial finance ? ? Financial management within entrepreneurial firmsStudy on both sides of the balanced sheet 9 The Balance Sheet of a Corporation Assets = use of funds Current (Short-term) assets Cash Accounts receivable Inventories Others (various claims) Fixed (long-term) assets Land Buildings Machineries & Equipment Liabilities = sources of funds (Capital structure) Current (Short-term) Liabilities Accounts payable Short-term debt †¦ Long-term Liabilities: Equi ty: Provided by shareholders (= owners of the company) Long-term Debt: Provided by creditors such as banks 10 Others Accounting Income versus Cash Flow †¢ Cash income ? ccounting income †¢ Whereas accountants try to match revenues with expenses, managers and investors focus on the difference between cash inflow and cash outflow. †¢ Cash flow = the amount of cash income (= inflow – outflow of cash) that is generated in any period †¢ Formally, 11 The Cash Cycle of a Firm †¢ Cash cycle: average time between when a firm pays for its inventory and when it receives cash from the sale of its product 12 Sources of Entrepreneurial Finance Bootstrapping Stock markets (IPO) 3Fs Leasing Governmental organizations 13 Section 1. Investment analysis Module 1. A : Source of value ? ? Introduction to entrepreneurial finance Case study †¢ Module 1. B : Financial statements and pro forma models ? Case study †¢ Module 1. C : Purchasing firms, buyouts, and valua tion ? ? Valuation in entrepreneurial finance Case study †¢ Additional (Optional) Reading and References: Smith/Smith: Entrepreneurial Finance, Wiley Edition. Sahlman/Stevenson/Roberts/Bhide: The Entrepreneurial Venture, HBS Press. 14 Section 2. Financing the entrepreneurial firm †¢ Module 2. A : Venture capital ? ? Private equity Case study †¢ Module 2.B : Angel financing ? Case study 15 Section 3. Harvesting †¢ Module 3. A : Initial Public Offerings ? ? IPO process Case study †¢ Module 3. B : Acquisitions ? Case study 16 Module 1A. Sources of value †¢ 4 stages of entrepreneurship ? ? ? ? Identifying opportunities Acquiring the financial, professional, and productive resources Implementing a plan of actions Harvesting the rewards †¢ 4 critical success factors for entrepreneurial ventures ? ? ? ? People Opportunity Deal Context 17 The Knot – People – Opportunity – Valuation – Deal structuring – Source of capital 1 8 Business Case Success as one of the early AOL Greenhouse companies – 3-book deal with Bantam Doubleday – Strong interest from advertisers – Significant traffic at its website 2 issues – Out of cash within 3 months – Race for scale economies on the internet To build the country ‘s number-one wedding resource, Liu needs 10 millions 19 People (Core founding team) †¢ †¢ All media people with experience in software, video, etc. Good understanding of design and presentation †¢ Lack of operational expertise, retail experience, and marketing 20 Opportunity †¢ †¢ †¢ Stable number of weddingRecessions have very little impact Event tied to significant expenditures ? ? Wedding party Guests †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Size of the market (35 billion) High advertising rate Stagnant competition, lethargic and not very innovative Couples planning to get married ? ? ? have relatively high income Are fairly young plan major l ife purchases ? are not very price sensitive 21 Opportunity ? Cash Flow Transformed the opportunity into cash flow = Business model = set of factors that together determine the cash flows a company can generate and create value The Knot : registry / advertising / merchandise / publishing and others 2 22 The Knot – People – Opportunity – Valuation – Deal structuring – Source of capital 23 Valuation †¢ Cash flow is the source of value †¢ To date, the Knot has posted losses and is expected to post losses for at least 2 more years †¢ It is difficult to use earnings to estimate the probability of generating future cash flows. †¢ Revenues and mix of revenues appear to be a better measure †¢ Multiple of revenues method. Compare to firms on the basis of ? ? ? ? Stage of development Business model Target market size Size of the investment round 24 List of comparable transactions 25Discount cash flow analysis Most forecasts are widel y optimistic. Discounted cash flow valuations only work when one gets an estimate of the expected CF 26 Actual income statement 27 Split of Revenues 28 Forecasted statement of cash flows 29 Actual statement of cash flows In Millions of USD (except for per share items) Net Income/Starting Line Depreciation/Depletion Amortization Deferred Taxes Non-Cash Items Changes in Working Capital Cash from Operating Activities 2011 5. 99 3. 74 0. 96 2. 78 11. 89 -1. 31 24. 05 2010 3. 65 3. 43 1. 78 2. 3 8 -8. 11 11. 06 2009 -4. 87 4. 75 5. 09 -1. 6 13. 83 -4. 92 12. 33 2008 4. 13 4. 84 3. 98 0. 56 6. 16 0. 2 19. 87 30 The Knot – People – Opportunity – Valuation – Deal structuring – Source of capital 31 Initial deal †¢ Initial investment : strategic partner ? Expect from AOL money, exposure and distribution  « more than just dollars to the deal  » AOL invested 1. 85 million in return for 45%, for royalties amounting to 20% of ad revenues on The Knotâ₠¬â„¢s AOL site and a lesser % of ad revenues on The Knot’s internet site. ? †¢ The deal with AOL provided instant reach and credibility to The Knot †¢ Is the deal expensive for The Knot? 32Ownership after AOL deal 33 Financing the Knot (new deal) 34 Convertible preferred †¢ Preferred has higher priority than common stock ? In the event of a firm’s sale or liquidation, holders of preferred stock get paid before common stockholders do. Entrepreneurs have greater incentive because if things don’t go well, the investor will be paid first Downside risk is borne by the entrepreneur ? ? †¢ Tax considerations ? Entrepreneurs pay taxes on the value of common stock that they have received. ? Investing in preferred stock does not change the price of common stocks. 35 Financing the Knot Why should they invest? To develop The Knot brand, to build out the technological infrastructure, to develop the gift registry business ? Practically, The Knot needs capi tal to fund the payroll and pay for day-to-day operating expenses †¢ How much money? Forecasted statement of cash flow †¢ Who should invest in The Knot? Business Angel, Venture Capitalist, Strategic Partner †¢ How should they value The Knot? Comparable deals on the market, multiple of revenues 36 Investor’s profile †¢ Angels + Higher valuation + – Someone with an experience in the registry business Limited capital ? ay not be able to provide capital in the future if needed Less helpful in recruiting others to the team †¢ Venture Capitalist + + – Large pools of capital and make multiple rounds of investment Network of contacts in the management and financial community Lower valuation †¢ Strategic partner + + – Experience in the business (retailer, wedding registries,†¦) Provide distribution and name recognition Conflicts of interest 37 What happened? May 1998, Venture Capitalist invested $3m for 22% ? $10. 6m pre-money va luation (3/(10. 6+3)=22%) April 1999, Venture Capitalist invested $15m December 1999, IPO 38

Miles Davis and Kind of Blue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Miles Davis and Kind of Blue - Essay Example This "Miles Davis and Kind of Blue" describes the career of Miles Davis, his contribution in jazz music and his album "Kind of Blue". The album in focus, Kind of Blue, was first released in 1959. The importance of this album lies apart from the importance of the innovations that it brought into the field of jazz, in the fact that it is the highest selling jazz album of all time. Its historical importance can be gauged from this fact itself. This album is unique as a result of the revolutionary impact of the chord changes that it effected in the structure of the jazz song. The melody of the song was earlier created through a structure that would be written earlier. However, with the introduction of modal jazz that was not exactly a Davis innovation, there was considerable scope for innovation as the melody was created through changes in the modes of the scale rather than the changes in chords. The dependence on chord was changed in a massive way when it came to Kind of Blue. This is t he reason as to why Davis is considered one of the greatest innovators of the genre. The technique of improvisation was built into the very structure of the composition and melody whereby the progression of the song could then happen through a process of improvisation on the part of the singer. Brought about by Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, this revolution was brought to its logical conclusion by Miles Davis through Kind of Blue, his greatest album (Kaplan). One of the main genres of the twentieth century as far as music is concerned, is jazz. ... This album is unique as a result of the revolutionary impact of the chord changes that it effected in the structure of the jazz song. The melody of the song was earlier created through a structure that would be written earlier. However, with the introduction of modal jazz that was not exactly a Davis innovation, there was considerable scope for innovation as the melody was created through changes in the modes of the scale rather than the changes in chords. The dependence on chord was changed in a massive way when it came to Kind of Blue. This is the reason as to why Davis is considered one of the greatest innovators of the genre. The technique of improvisation was built into the very structure of the composition and melody whereby the progression of the song could then happen through a process of improvisation on the part of the singer. Brought about by Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker, this revolution was brought to its logical conclusion by Miles Davis through Kind of Blue, his g reatest album (Kaplan). One of the main genres of the twentieth century as far as music is concerned, is jazz. Apart from the innovations that it introduced into other forms of music, it is also significant for its political importance as a genre that represented the aspirations and cultures of African American communities. The genre provided a voice to several people over the ages, voices that had been marginalized in the schemes of things as they existed earlier. The importance of jazz also lies in the way in which it was used to talk of certain issues that failed to be highlighted earlier as a result of the lack of an appropriate form of music or art. The emergence of jazz gave Black musicians an outlet through its freewheeling style that did not impose any

Reviews on Three Art Works Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reviews on Three Art Works - Assignment Example The arts provide viewers with a pleasant feeling because the work features the calm expression of the nature. The main theme or subject for this work is flowers. As discussed above, these art works do not tell any particular story or make viewers confused with deep visual presentations. A full body is beautiful too is an artistic work of Noopur Goel. This art includes some contrasting plates that represent some eating disorders. The full figured drawing depicts the people’s modern eating habits and concerns. Here, the artist tries to link eating disorders to certain unhealthy modern lifestyle practices. In the art, one plate shows the name of an eating disorder- anorexia nervosa- which is becoming more prevalent in modern life attributed to some misleading beauty concepts. Similarly, different plates contain some anatomical drawings in order to relate food practices with human health. Different plates with images of different body parts reflect that each individual has a distinct food practice in these modern days. The full figured drawing shows a royal dining table which contains ‘equipments’ for the modern food practice. Therefore, the artist tries to convince viewers that modern lifestyle and related eating practices lead to a variety of eati ng disorders. Goel has used combination of some bright colors to indicate the lavishness of modern eating concerns. Modern lifestyle practices, eating disorders, and human health are the central themes of this art work. Evidently, the technique used for the creation of this work is a little complex one. Hostile World is an artistic work by Krstiyn Janae Solie. It is a drawing of armor. The armor is black in color and has long sharp metal projections. As the artist says, this drawing is a representation of defense mechanisms. Obviously, it surpasses the mere concept of physical defense. The glossy black color gives significant effect to the image. And the projections symbolize one’s intrinsic

Natural gas is the most economical and environmental friendly fuel for Essay

Natural gas is the most economical and environmental friendly fuel for motor vehicles - Essay Example The most common types of alternative fuels considered for motor vehicles are electric fuel, natural gas, hydrogen and fuel cell. Each of these fuels has its own advantages and the disadvantages . The best alternative fuel will be the one that is economical and reduces air pollution . There are various types of motor vehicles depending on the kind of fuel utilized in it such as electric vehicles, hydrogen fuel vehicles, fuel cell vehicles and natural gas fuel vehicles An electric fuel vehicle has the capacity of not producing any pollutants and even if they do, it is easier to control it. However, the cost associated with it is very high. Since the vehicle operates on electricity, the refuel time is high and refueling is not possible in case of power interruption. Such vehicles have lower performance than other types of vehicles. [Alternative vehicles, n. d] Hydrogen is one of the most abundant gases in the atmosphere. The utilization of this gas in the motor vehicles does not produce any green house gases however, it produces small amount of Nitrogen oxide. One of the major hazards of utilizing hydrogen as fuel is that it is hazardous in nature and is difficult to store in vehicles. It also has limited refueling structure. . [Alternative vehicles, n. d] Fuel cell produces electricity by the chemical reaction between cer

Master Budget Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Master Budget - Essay Example The first and foremost step in developing the master budget is the sales forecast in terms of quantities and values of products. After considering the opening and closing inventory levels, the production quantities are determined which is known as the production budget. The production budget is further divided into the direct materials purchases and usage, direct labor and factory overhead budgets. Likewise the indirect material and labor, other factory overheads, cost of manufacturing, cost of goods sold, ending inventory of finished goods, selling, administrative and operating expenses are budgeted. Finally, the cash budget is prepared in which cash receipts and disbursements are determined. The process ends with the completion of the Pro Forma Income Statement, Pro Forma Statement of Cash flows and Pro Forma Balance Sheet. Zero based budgeting is a method of budgeting where all expenditures are justified and every department function is reviewed comprehensively rather than only gauging the increases. The reasons for adopting a zero based budget are that it results in efficient allocation of resources, it helps detecting inflating budgets, cost effective ways to improve operations are determined, it increases the staff motivation and provides an initiative for decision making, it is highly useful for departments where the output is not identifiable, it identifies outsourcing opportunities, removes wastage and outdated operations, communication and coordination within the organization becomes more efficient, and the task of cost centers and their relationship to the overall goals are identified. Question 2 Usually a budget also contains non-financial information. This information is used to explain the financial information, qualify it and divide the financial information into sub information. Types of Non-Financial Information Information like the quality of the resources, quantity of the resource required, procedure for calculation and the mechanism is generally included. In some cases the workload on the employees and the human resources required to do the job is often included. This information is used injunction with the financial details and helps to clarify the budget. Calculation of Financial Information using Non-Financial Information Non-Financial information is used commonly to calculate the financial information. For example the quality of a certain product can be divided into 4 classes and each class is allocated a weightage. The price of the product will be multiplied with the weighted average of the product to give the actual total price. Another example can be the quantity of wood required to manufacture 1000 units of chairs. This will be calculated by first finding the number of planks of wood a truck of tree gives. Then the quality of wood will be quantified to manufacture one unit of chair and finally the total cost will be found out. Thus non-financial information is usually necessary to calculate financial information. Advantages of Including Non-Financial Information in Budgets The benefit of using non-financial information in the budgets is that it makes the employees aware of the goals and objectives expected. These goals are set by using the non-financial inf

Schoolbased HIV Prevention Programs Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

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Nursing leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nursing leadership - Essay Example More so, it requires nurses to ensure that they are well equipped with recent and updated skills and knowledge to be able to practice safely and effectively without supervision. In addition, it involves keeping clear and accurate records to help in future references and avoid unnecessary confusion. A systemic review is where several trials of similar intervention are conducted to create an outstanding outcome. It aims at coming up with the best available research on a given issue by synthesizing the results of various studies. It makes use of transparent methods to identify, analyze and combine the results of any relevant study. Systemic reviews have become acceptable in health care setting and other disciplines. Philosophy of nursing refers to the core values and beliefs that a nurse upholds when performing their professional duties. It is the belief that every patient, regardless of their race, economic status, or disease they are suffering from, should receive high quality health care with the highest regards to compassion, integrity and respect that they deserve. Personal philosophy nursing includes the nurses’ feelings and perceptions on ethical issues of nursing as well as the patient’s basic human rights. Nursing is an important profession that mainly deals with individuals’ health care. It involves provision of holistic and quality healthcare for the sick and infirm. Nurses are expected to offer quality care and create awareness about different health conditions among the patients as well as the public. More so, they empower every patient concerning the delivery of a holistic treatment approach. Nevertheless, nursing helps in providing necessary support to different patients and their families. Nursing is all about providing quality health care to those who are in need. It is about maintaining a good relationship with the patient, being a

Meaning of Life Susan Wolf Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Meaning of Life Susan Wolf - Essay Example The meaning of life comes from within us and is not granted from without. I find this as the most convincing as regarding the question to the real meaning of life. This is surely the greatest way to perceive life-one’s own life, the life of a nation, a species, the world, and all living things. The meaning of life comes to us when we do things that our heart and mind desires, things that seem of importance to us. Otherwise, doing things that draw boredom since they seem not of much interest ton us does not bring the meaning of living into us. We can realize the idea of meaningless existence and the meaningless of life if we keep on doing things that bear no fruits to us and brings nothing (Taylor 433). It surely has no meaning to perform an activity that has been drawn repeatedly but, have no direction and purpose of it. With this, the objective of existence is meaningless. Richard Taylor draws this idea from our lives, and that of the animals, the endless activities that get nowhere. However, he also says that if this is what one is willing to per sue then the idea of meaning of life comes in. At one point, we ask ourselves why we do things repeatedly without getting anything out of it, a perfect image of meaningless existence.... t that he wants to work on, he must have the ability to be able to contribute in a positive manner to that project, and lastly the project that he is working on should be worthy in an independent manner of its own. A man must be able to have the strength to look back at his life when it is about to get over, and at that time, be satisfied truly to an extent that he feels as if his life has had some meaning or the other. (A., 2010) â€Å"What is perhaps most distinctive about my conception of meaning, or about the category of value I have in mind, is that it involves subjective and objective elements, suitably and inextricably linked. â€Å"Love† is at least partly subjective, involving attitudes and feelings. In insisting that the requisite object must be â€Å"worthy of love,† however, this conception of meaning invokes an objective standard: it is implicit in insisting that an object be worthy of love (in order to make a contribution to meaning in the lover’s life) that not any object will do.† (Wolf, Susan) The main aim of living one’s life, writes Wolf, should be of an objective worth and not subjective worth. Wolf writes that most people try to base or model their lives on people who inspire them and make them feel as if their lives were full of and ‘in’ meaning. Most people pick and motivate themselves by understanding actions of people who have benefited humanity at large, for example Mother Teresa and Albert Einstein. She writes that people must be able to feel satisfaction and fulfilment in order to find a sense of meaning in their lives. However, a person must carry out his own actions and achieve everything that he does on his own and according to his own merit in order to feel like he has done something meaningful which will make him happy and worthy

Voyage Calculation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Voyage Calculation - Research Paper Example The distances and the loads of each port have been used from internet sources. Where required the original sources have been given credit and logical formulae have been applied to arrive at the respective calculations. Tasks I. Maximum Coal Capacity 1. Maximum quantity of Iron ore that can be carried from Gladstone to Karachi. 2. Maximum quantity of Iron ore that can be carried from Newstone to Karachi. 3. Maximum quantity of Iron ore that can be carried from Hampton Roads to Karachi. II. Cost per Tonnage The cost per tonne of cargo for a round voyage from Port Gladstone to Karachi is USD 23.58 per tonnes of cargo. The cost per tonne of cargo for a round voyage from Port Newcastle to Karachi is USD 23.58 per tonnes of cargo. The cost per tonne of cargo for a round voyage from Hampton Roads to Karachi is USD 23.58 per tonnes of cargo. The cost per tonne of cargo for a round voyage from Port Roberts Bank to Karachi is USD 23.58 per tonnes of cargo. Additional notes: Allow two days for leeway per voyage for the whole trip. Allow 1 day for transiting the Suez canal. Allow half a day for bunkering in Gibraltar and in Suez. Gibraltar Bunker prices (Petromedia Ltd, 2009). Distances are obtained from Reed's Marine Distance Tables (Caney & Reynolds, 2000). Suez Canal transit cost (Leth agencies, 2009). III - Number of Shipments and ship speed a. Gladstone to Karachi There will be 3 shipments needed to transport coal from Gladstone to Karachi. The vessel will not be fully loaded on its last voyage. b. Newcastle to Karachi There will be 5 shipments needed to transport coal from Newcastle to Karachi. The vessel will not be fully loaded on its last voyage. c. Hampton Roads to Karachi There will be 5 shipments...The report will be covering the following aspects: It is necessary to understand that the contents of the report are based on a values that have been gathered from secondary research over the internet. The distances and the loads of each port have been used from internet sources. Where required the original sources have been given credit and logical formulae have been applied to arrive at the respective calculations. It is very much possible that there will be pre-monsoon and summer rains that can affect the course and speed of the vessels. Thus, allowance in the costs has to be made for such stoppages and slowdowns.

The Dirty Thirties Essay Example for Free

The Dirty Thirties Essay I have chosen the years of 1930 to 1940 as one of the most significant decades in Canadian history. I believe this because it might have been one of the hardest decades to live in. Reasons being that we had suffered greatly by the 1929 Wall Street stock market crash and the enormous 1928 wheat crop crash Canadians were barely making any money or just not having anywhere to work because the demand was very very low. Food was running out and the average working Canadian was making less than $1000 a year! The Federal Department of Labor had said that familys needed between $1200 and $1500 a year to maintain the minimum standard of decency. It was a very depressing time, most familys had retreated to farms where they could grow their own food and barely sustain a low quality of living. Being that an estimated 33% Canada’s gross income had been coming from exports the whole country was suffering. This caused many workers to be laid off and the ones that hadn’t been, their salarys were cut down to a fraction of what they had been getting before. Tens of thousands of people had been totally dependent on government relief, which was greatly affecting Canada’s infrastructure. The depression slowly came to end when the war had been announced. There was a great demand for men to become soilders and support the war effort. More and more young men had started lining up outside military recruitment facilities, most of them trying to make their first dollars! The depression had taken its toll, and forced lots of men to join the war effort due to the simple fact that this was the only way to make money at the time witch is pretty sad when you come to think about it. But this wasn’t the end of the depression, it had whent on after the 1940s. Ammunition, supplies, equipment, and weapons had grown in great demand. With less and less men being around due to leaving for the service many woman had replaced men in the work field. Later on getting names like â€Å"Rosie the Rivetor. †

Causes of the Opium War

Causes of the Opium War However, this prosperity and balance of trade came under severe threat when Britain discovered growing on the hills of India, a product that many Chinese people craved for and would shift the balance of trade in its favour opium. In the ensuing war, the Chinese perceived cultural superiority did not reflect in its glaring military inferiority to the British technological and tactical military superiority (Schaffer Library of Drug Policy, 2010). China was heavily defeated in the war that also brought shame to Britain (CNN, 2009). In the British Parliament, William Ewart Gladstone criticised the government for a war he described as unjust in its origin and designed to cover Britain in permanent shame (Kossoff, 2010). Staring down the barrel of a gun, the Chinese were forced to sign a one-sided treaty at Nanking (see appendix B) as every Chinese move failed (CNN, 2009). According to CNN, China was forced to part with 21 million ounces of silver to pay for a war started by Britain. Five ports were designated for unrestricted British trade Shanghai, Canton, Ningpo, Amoy, and Foochow (Hooker, 1996) and Hong Kong became a British territory. Other Western countries soon moved in to exploit Chinas war wounds as France and America secured similar trading concessions (CNN, 2009; Hooker, 1996). According to CNN, Chinas defeat led to an invasion of Western culture, and on Chinas doorstep, barbarians lived in grand houses. However, 150 years later, China has reclaimed these houses and taken back Hong Kong. This essay aims to discuss the significant causes of the opium war over which there has been much controversy. On the one hand, the Chinese perspective on the cause of the war is about Britains immoral poisoning of China with opium from smuggling, while on the other hand Britain holds the view that the war was as a result of Chinese arrogance that treated foreigners as inferior beings and subjected Western countries to unfair trade and unacceptable diplomatic standards. Irreconcilable Cultural Differences During the 18th and early 19th centuries, the Chinese culture projected a face of indifferent arrogance and contempt for foreigners which included the bland assumption of Chinese cultural superiority. This played a significant role in events that resulted in the opium wars (Hanes Sanello, 2002; Helprin, 2006; Holt, 1964). The arrival of Western traders in China for the first time brought them in direct contact with a strange new world having an alien system of government. East Asian nations had barely any knowledge about Europe. Their relationship with each other was built on the idea of a Confucian hierarchy, with China as the head of the Asian family and other smaller nations Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and Burma occupying inferior positions around her (Schurmann Schell, 1967). This status was accepted by these nations and they paid homage to china by embarking on periodic visits to Peking to perform the Kowtow a series of kneeling down thrice and nine prostrations before the Emperor, climaxing with the tribute bearer bringing his nose to the floor (Schurmann Schell, 1967; Holt, 1964). According to Holt (1964), the Chinese perceived China as the celestial empire and their Emperor as the traditional Son of Heaven. Other rulers of the foreign world were perceived to be no more than vassals expected to pay tribute to the Son of Heaven (Holt, 1964; Lewis, 2009; Pelissier, 1967). Holt (1964) as well as Hanes Sanello (2002), note that envoys from England to China refused to perform this ritual, especially since they did not grant their own monarch such recognition. However, no matter how vehemently Britain protested, or how unreasonable she found this custom, and how powerful she declared herself to be, China made no exception to her treatment (Schurmann Schell, 1967). Britain was among the other Western barbarians. Chinas perceived arrogance and deep sense of cultural superiority cocooned it from the rest of the civilized world by producing a complex administrative structure that isolated the Emperor and his chief advisers from direct diplomatic contacts. Though Britain had traded with the Chinese for many years, China declined to establish any formal diplomatic contacts because it did not perceive Britain as equal (Rodzinski, 1984). As noted by Chesneauk, Bsatid Bergere (1977), Britain twice attempted to dismantle this barrier by sending Lord Macartney in 1793 and Lord Amherst in 1816 as ambassadors to Peking. Both attempts failed. This was one of the infuriating features of the complex Chinese administrative structure that resulted in the Opium war. Commercial Greed and Free Trade The foreign devils as they were called by the Chinese were merchants from many countries, particularly Britain, United states of America and Portugal but also included France, Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark (Holt, 1964). Portugal history with the Far East was the earliest and longest but Britain gradually secured the largest quota of the Chinese trade with the West. Englands trade with the Eastern countries was monopolised by the East Indian Company until 1833. According to Holt (1964), this monopoly however allowed privately owned vessels from Britain and India to trade with China under licence from the East Indian Company. These vessels carried both raw cotton and the insidious drug opium. Opium was a source of enormous revenue to the Indian Government, wealth to the foreign merchants, and brought pleasure as well as suffering to the people of China (Hanes Sanello, 2002; Holt, 1964). During this period, the British Government of India and the directors of the East Indian Company realised that the Chinese were addicted to opium and that this presented a great trade opportunity for a huge fortune. Opium cultivation was quickly monopolised by the Government and permission exclusively given to the East Indian Company for its production and sale for which the company paid substantial duty to the Indian Government (Holt, 1964). Both the British and Indian Governments found opium smuggling to China too lucrative to be discarded. By 1832, the duty paid on opium to the British Indian Government made up one-eighteenth of its gross revenue (Holt, 1964). In the past, Britain had substantially imported tea, silk and porcelain from China. Holt (1964) estimates that twelve million pounds worth of tea was consumed in Britain annually. China had significantly much less interest in British goods of woollen, lead, iron and Cornish tin and so Britain had to pay for its trade deficit in silver (Pelissier, 1967; Holt, 1964). By 1817, China had been paid one hundred and fifty million pounds worth of silver by European traders (Holt, 1964). For the British Government, these profits from opium trade restored parity of payments from trade with China. Blinded by greed both the British and Indian Governments failed in their legal and moral obligations not to participate in, or encourage the export to another country, goods prohibited by that country. This was another significant factor that provoked incidents that led to the opium war. At this time, much of the economic theory guiding the British Empire was based on Cobdens perception of free trade unrestricted trade in all commodities including narcotics (Ball, 2010). According to Ball, arguments for free trade were that it promoted civilization and peaceful influence. In 1833, parliament brought an end to the monopoly of trade enjoyed by the East Indian Company with China and established free trade (Holt, 1964). Private merchants succumbed to the greed for fast and enormous profits. Special ships known as opium clippers were now more frequently being used for smuggling opium. Notable British owners included James Matheson, William Jardine and Lancelot Dent (Holt, 1964; Pelissier, 1967). These vessels were known to ship opium from India to China with great speed and efficiency thus compounding the opium addiction crisis in China. Figure Opium Smuggling Clippers from the West (Hays, 2008) Opium sales leaped. The trade spread from its original centre at Macao to nearby Lintin and by 1837 had reached the coast of Fukien, farther East. There they delivered their goods to Chinese smugglers in swift river boats called fast crabs which headed for the opium dens (Pelissier, 1967). In the 1760s, China received about 1,000 chests of opium. This increased to about 10,000 chests in the 1820s. However, after free trade began in 1833, this amount reached 40,000 chests of opium by 1838 (Rodzinski, 1984; Holt, 1964; Gelber, 2006). The opium crisis had become as much of an irritant to China as the refusal of equal status was to Britain (Pelissier, 1967; Holt, 1964). This massive increase in opium smuggling into China became a recipe for war. The Effects of Opium on China Chinas history with opium dates back to the 7th century when it was taken orally for medicinal purposes (Holt, 1964; Pelissier, 1967). After The Dutch introduced tobacco into Fukien and Formosa in 1620, the Chinese began smoking opium mixed with tobacco (Hays, 2008; Holt, 1964). By 1729, China was augmenting home-grown product by importing foreign opium from Portuguese traders. The damaging effect of opium smoking in China eventually led the Chinese Emperor to completely prohibit both home-grown cultivation and foreign importation of this pernicious article in 1780 (Holt,1964). Apart from Portugal which actually began the importation of opium into China, French and Dutch companies were also involved in the trade within their limits. American firms also had their share in smuggling opium into China (Holt, 1964). Corruption Trade relations with the West had always been organized according to the Canton system since the middle of the 18th century as Westerners were only allowed to trade in Canton. The Cohong was a group of Chinese firms exclusively responsible for trade with the West and fixed prices and volume of trade. The Cohong was responsible to the notoriously corrupt hoppo who received huge bribes from Hong merchants and members of the Cohong (Chesneauk, Bsatid Bergere, 1977). The vested interests that controlled the opium trade within China included the foreign merchants, Chinese middle men and corrupt Chinese officials. These corrupt official encouraged smuggling with little attempts at concealment. Even the Chinese fleet of ships stationed to prevent smuggling did nothing as long as they were duly paid a fixed charge on each smuggled chest of opium by the Chinese buyers. On occasions where the Chinese purchasers fell behind in payments, the foreign merchants were well too willing to oblige the admiral of the fleet with the payments (Allingham, 2006; Holt, 1964; The Free Dictionary, 2010). Massive corruption resulting from opium smuggling posed a major problem of authority that challenged the ability of the state to rule. This was the general pattern of trade that provoked the opium war. Canton and other ports of the Southeast regularly visited illegally by foreign vessels had become oases of corruption and insubordination (Chesneauk, Bsatid Bergere, 19 77). Addiction Figure Opium Den in China (Hays, 2008) While debates raged on in Britain about the moral sanction of the opium trade in China and about whose responsibility it was to stop the illegal trade- the British Government or the Chinese Government?(Holt, 1964), opium dens populated China. The effective aphrodisiac nature of the drug promoted obscenity. Smokers lay in stupor on wooden couches, their minds filled with fantasies and blissful emotions (Holt, 1964; Hays, 2008). Eventually, most of them were unable to work, business activities became significantly reduced and the civil service was almost completely paralysed (Holt, 1964; Allingham, 2006). According to Allingham, the smoking of opium had affected the idle rich and more significantly, about 90 percent of all men under the age of forty in Chinas coastal regions. Sleepy addicts roamed the streets in their thousands causing many social problems and increasing the crime rate significantly as they searched for means to enable them support their habit (Wudi, 2002). According t o Hays (2008), Emperor Tao-kuangs special High Commissioner Lin Tse-hsu estimated that 4 million Chinese people got addicted to opium but a British physician working in Canton puts the figure at about 12 million. Such was the level of addiction that led to the opium war. Even though Britain was aware of this level of addiction in China, it failed to respond positively to stop this decay. Chinese Economy This huge number of opium addicts required an equally huge supply of the drug. By 1838, opium represented 57 percent of Chinese imports (Allingham, 2006; Chesneauk, Bsatid Bergere, 1977). This took its toll on the Chinese economy. The sale of goods to Westerners was no longer sufficient for Chinese purchase of opium. Export of Chinese silver, prized by the West for its fine quality had to be employed to balance trade (Chesneauk, Bsatid Bergere, 1977; Asia for Educators, 2009). Even by 1833 when the East Indian Companys monopoly on trade ended, China already had a trade deficit of about 1.5 million to 2 million pounds a year that had to be paid in silver (Holt, 1964). This drain in Chinese silver caused inflation in its value within China and people had to pay more in copper for a fixed amount of silver (Holt, 1964). High Commissioner Lin Tse-hsu Emperor Tao-Kuang who was enthroned in 1820 had a fiery zeal for reform born out of genuine care for his people. He realised that the opium crisis required a radical cure (Holt, 1964). In 1838, after a great debate that involved most of Chinas top ranking officials in which a majority favoured an eradication of the opium trade while some advocated its legalization, Emperor Tao-Kuang commissioned a prominent official called Lin Tse-Hsu to go to Canton to eradicate the illicit opium trade that had become severely pervasive (Rodzinski, 1984; Chesneauk, Bsatid Bergere, 1977). Extremely heavy punishments that included the death penalty were promulgated for native opium traders (OBrien, 2010). According to Rodzinski (1984), Lin Tse-hsu was known for his integrity, justice, compassion and consideration for others. However, his attempt to carry out his assignment was fundamentally the immediate cause of the opium war (Teng Fairbank, 1954; Rodzinski, 1984; Hooker, 1996). Figure Artist Impression of Lin Tse-hsu (ChinaA2Z.Com, 2010) When Lin arrived in Canton in March 1839, he began his mission by appealing to everyone, especially the foreign merchants, to co-operate with him in the suppression of opium smoking. He then ordered all foreign merchants to surrender to the Imperial Government all supplies of opium held in store-ships in Lintin. In addition every foreign merchant was given a three day ultimatum to sign a bond vowing to stop importing opium and agree that any default would lead to confiscation of the illegal cargo and execution of the defaulter (Holt, 1964; OBrien, 2010). According to Holt, under enormous pressure 20,000 chests of British opium were turned over to Lin which he destroyed but Captain Charles Elliot (then Chief of the Commission) refused to allow British merchants sign the bonds. However a drunken brawl involving British and American sailors at a Kowloon village resulted in the death of a Chinese citizen called Lin Wei-hi. This brought more tension to the Anglo-Chinese crisis and directl y resulted to an Aglo-Chinese war (Holt, 1964). According to Holt, Lin had insisted that foreigners involved in Lin Wei-his death be handed over for trial. Captain Elliot refused, fearing unjust capital punishment as had occurred in the past. This led to a ban imposed by Lin on supplies of provisions and Chinese labour to the entire British community in Macao. Soon after, the British community was expelled from Macao to the barren island of Hong Kong. The effect was devastating on the community. In defiance however, Captain Elliot proceeded to arrange for supplies of food from the local peasantry backed by the 28-gun frigate which opened fire on some Chinese war junks that tried to prevent deliver of these supplies. This marked the beginning of military hostilities between Britain and China (Holt, 1964). Aggrieved, especially because British merchants in response to Captain Elliots orders had refused to resume normal trading in Canton after they were expelled from Macao, Lin issued a formal war threat accompanied with a demand for all British merchant ships in Chinese territory to resume trade in Canton within three days or leave the country. This again led to another military confrontation in which China sustained heavy losses and the whole Chinese fleet was forced to retreat as 29 war junks were no match for the British frigates (Holt 1964). Lin responded by writing a long letter to Queen Victoria (see appendix A) in which he argued that the Chinese cause pertained to Englands insistence on poisoning Chinese citizens with opium already banned in England. Many authors on the opium wars have expressed doubts that Lins letter ever got to the Queen. In 1840, Lin passed an edict that listed the crimes committed by British merchants and barring Britain from trading with China forever (Ho lt, 1964). The British Response Having reached a decision to go to war, Britain responded by issuing an ultimatum to China demanding that China returned all confiscated goods or paid the monetary equivalent, reparations for imprisoning the Chief Superintendent of trade and British merchants, and that British trade would be secured in future. Britain declared that if China did not meet these claims as well as sign a treaty with these claims incorporated, the war would continue. However, Britain acknowledged to China, its right to prohibit the import of opium but insisted that The Queen of England was obliged to protect her people from violence and ill treatment. Britain suggested that China should have dealt instead with its corrupt official who connived in the opium trade. Britain certainly took this position to protect her economic interest by forcing China into maintaining trade. By barring trade with Britain, China had provided the opportunity for Britain to exploit grievances Britain already had. This was the deciding factor that led to the Opium wars. Conclusion Chinas arrogance born out of a sense of cultural superiority created tension that significantly affected its relationship with Westerners. This was particularly evident in Chinas refusal to consider a mutually favourable balanced trade with western nations. But for this arrogance, Lin Tse-hsu would have immediately recognized that the Chinese military was inferior to the British and hence he would have adopted a more diplomatic approach rather than threaten war. His actions in trying to eradicate opium smoking and smuggling led directly to the opium war. Chinas seclusion prevented proper diplomatic relationship with the West. This vital requirement between nations could have prevented a war, but instead it bred grievances that were significant to the Anglo-Chinese war. Such grievances encouraged Britain to promote free trade which led to an increase in opium smuggling, corruption and insubordination. Opium smuggling also resulted in Chinas increased opium addiction and subsequent destruction of lives, families, the Chinese society and degradation of the Chinese economy. This caused great concern to the Chinese Government and thus increased tensions between both countries The British desire to balance trade with china, establish proper diplomatic relations and be treated as equal to China were important factors that provoked the opium war. This was partly due to commercial greed. As a result, even though Britain recognized the damage opium had done in China, she failed in her moral and legal duty not to encourage or participate in smuggling opium into China, especially after it had been banned in Britain. Finally, Britains decision to go to war with china because it wanted to protect its citizens from Chinese unfair treatment was only an excuse that was justifiable in part. However, it was mainly to protect its economic interest with China by forcing China to continue trade which China had prohibited. A decision Britain took with the realization of the extent of Chinese military inferiority. This factor encouraged Britain to go to war.

Case Study of Business Strategy Of Marks And Spencer

Case Study of Business Strategy Of Marks And Spencer Marks and Spencer is one of the biggest traders having inheritance of more than one hundred and twenty years. It has more than 895 stores in more than 40 regions all over the world. Its head office is in U.K, in the city of Westminster. Michael Marks from Slonim, Russia and Thomas Spencer a cashier from Yorkshire are the pioneers of this U.Ks biggest retailers. At Leeds (Kirkgate market) in 1884, Michael Marks started his own business by opening a penny bazaar stall. Then to develop his business he opened a shop at Manchester with the partnership of Thomas Spencer. H:st college assingmentsMS assingq no 51201445_MarksSpencerSheffieldHistory.jpg After the death of both the pioneers of the company Michael Marks Simon became the chairman of company while William Chapman took the helm until 1960. During the Era of Michael Simon Company touch the highest point .The business was floated as a public limited company after 10 years. In 1998 it was the first company of U.K who earned the profit of one billion pounds after tax deduction. Marks and Spencer prohibited smoke first time in store that later on became a legal offence to smoke at public places. Marks and Spencer mainly deals in Clothing, Home Ware, Food, Technology, Beauty, Financial Services, Energy and Hospitality. PLAN A: The Customers are becoming more conscious about natural and environmental issues, so for this Marks and Spencer launched plan A, which consists of 180 commitments to overcome the challenges. Many problems are related with Climate Change, Waste Reduction, Ethical Trading, Sustainable Raw Material and Health. To tackle these changes Marks and Spencer is doing much effort. C:UsersFaisalDesktopimagesCAXD7DW8.jpg In March 2010 Marks and Spencer expanded plan A introduced 80 more commitments and added them up with the existing ones. In these commitments their primary focus is on climate changes, waste, natural resources, fair partner, health and well being. These five main pillars are described below: C:UsersFaisalPicturesimagesCAV6T6WW.jpg CLIMATE CHANGE: Due to an increase in greenhouse gases produced by the human activities the earth is getting warmer day by day causing many damaging consequences. In 2006/07 Marks and Spencer cut their carbon emissions to 8% by reducing the usage of energy. Marks n Spencer also committed that up to 2015, they will improve their energy efficiency by 35%. C:UsersFaisalDesktopimagesCA3FRFRV.jpg WASTE: Every year the U.K has to throw away 400 tonnes of waste that comes from construction, industry, households and discarded packaging. The waste that is not recycled ends up in landfill sites which take many years to decompose. Marks and Spencer claimed that in the year of 2009/10 they have achieved the recycling level to 88% while reducing the amount of waste to 16%.They have reduced the food waste by 29% as compared to the years 2006/07.Marks and Spencer collected 133 million clothes hangers and reused 76% of them and recycled the rest. C:UsersFaisalPicturesimagesCAM1CR39.jpg They have also recycled their construction waste up to 89%.Marks and Spencer are committed to do that by 2015 they want to landfill help their customers to recycle or reuse their packaging and products. They will also help their suppliers to reduce the waste and to gain zero rates as well. NATURAL RESORCES: In plan A Marks and Spencer aimed to get as much of their raw material from their natural resources as possible. It is the U.Ks first company who has signed the WWF sea food charter, with 62 % of their wild sea food. Marks Spencer also purchased Green palm certificate to cover all the palm oil to use their Marks and Spencer product. C:UsersFaisalPicturesimagesCAG3OZ2S.jpg Fair Partner: Marks and Spencer has a vision that they are very strong in their communities and ensure good working conditions. Marks and Spencer has the lowest employee turnover rate in UK retail i.e. 14%.Marks and Spencer is offering competitive salaries, discount to their employees, bonuses and share save options to their employees. It provides different training programmes to the employees. Every employee has to undertake Marks Spencer Career Path Training and learning programmes .While the managers have to attend the different workshops to boost their capabilities. Marks and Spencer is trying to provide the best salary packages for the employees. C:UsersFaisalDesktopimagesCAF15VPV.jpg Health and Wellbeing: Unhealthy food is one of the main factors of many health problems. According to the part of the commitment of Plan A Marks and Spencer encouraged its customers and employees to get healthy and nutritious food by developing new product ranges. Marks and Spencer has launched online diet forums and health newsletters to allow active dialogue with the customers on nutrition and health. Marks and Spencer has removed artificial flavours and colours from all of its food products and soft drinks. It has also removed 90% of salt in its products. Very few of the products still does not meet the required standard of health and nutrition but Marks and Spencer is working hard to bring it in line according to the required standard. C:UsersFaisalPicturesimagesCACFVO3Z.jpg Analysis of the external environment: According to plan A Marks and Spencer has also taken into consideration the external environment of the company. External environment means the factors that directly or indirectly affect the internal function and perhaps business strategy and objectives as well. Most common factors of external environment are political, social, economic and technical. These factors are totally out of control of the organisation, but the company could be able to take some steps to overcome these challenges. Basically the external environment defines the competitive situation of an organisation and potentially can have both positive and negative impacts on businesses. Target analysis has four major categories of external factors that affect the companys capability to grow. Based on operation region, external environment is divided into three interactive segments which is remote, industrial and operational environment. External factors produce different influences on the companys productivity. On the ot her hand some influences are inter-linked with each other. For example information technology completely changed the way of work, customer behaviour and life style as well. Based on PEST analysis four major factors are going to be discussed in detail. Political Environment: Political stability in a country attracts the investors to do investment and that is a very key factor to grow business. Secondly, government trade policy, is either flexible or hard. Every organisation operates under the government policy about trade and within the legal frame work. The legal frame work covers many areas like tax rates, employees benefits, wage legislation, trade regulation and tariff. Suppliers, customers and competitors are also affected by the political environment. Economical Environment: Economic conditions also affect organisations external environment. In this regard some factors that influence business are tax rates, inflation, money supply, government need, economic growth rate and the tendency to spend at international and national level. Social Environment: In social context, normally Britain customers lean towards a specific product. In every transaction product quality matters a lot, but it could easily be beaten by offering lower pricing of the same brand. Some fresh analysis about Britains customers is that they prefer some fashionable styles over classic trends. This can be seen in Marks Spencers case because they are still struggling to get a bigger market share. This indicates that British buyers are very keen about their wealth. Technological Environment: Now a days a large number of the population is able to use the internet. It means that by using e-commerce many organisations can widen their horizons and do many more operations. This can be seen in foremost companies like Sainsbury, Tesco and ASDA as well. These days most of the trading and purchasing is done through the internet, and it has also become a competitive advantage of Marks and Spencer. Analysis of External Environment of MS: The U.K retail market is very eye-catching. The company has full support from the government. Because Marks Spencer has rich historic values and has become a very powerful organisation in the business world, new competitors are finding it very challenging to keep up with the quality of products and services that Marks Spencer provide. Analysis of the organisations internal environment and identification: In Plan A Marks and Spencer has taken internal analysis, which is also called SWOT analysis. This is a very important part of business development. SWOT analysis is a simple structure for generating strategic alternative from a situation analysis. SWOT is an abbreviation for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. In late 1960, Edmund defined SWOT structure. Learned, C. Roland, Christiansen, Kenneth Andrews and William d Goth in Business Policy, Text and Cases (Homewood, IL; Irwin 1969).In the 1980s General Electric Growth Council used this form of analysis. Basically, it throws light on thecompanys strengths weaknesses. The strengths highlight the different aspects that bring results in market value and the weaknesses draw the attention to those areas which need improvements. SWOT analysis is fruitful where you have to tackle a complex situation in a limited time frame. Organisation of an effective strategy is based on a clear definition of the organizations mission. For the success of an organization it requires some necessary ingredients which are listed below: Strategy must be carefully verbalized, applied, manageable and accomplished. Internal analysis of the organisation is an essential part in the strategic planning process. During 2005-06 Marks and Spencer had seventy thousand employees globally. The Company changed the employees structure according to the nature of the customers that used the products and services of Marks Spencer. Marks and Spencer also pledge to promoting equal opportunities regardless of age, disability,race, views about politics, working hours and religion. Marks and Spencer arrange flexible working schedules for fatherhood, adoption and IVF treatment, child and career break to boost their employees uniformity. Marks and Spencer also runs Business Involvement Group (BIG), which is a work demonstration forum in all their stores and offices that inspire their work force to share information and develop discussion about the companys business. If we talk about salary and welfare, the company has some incentive packages that include fundamental fixed pay. As for training, in 2005-06 more than 102,000 days were fixed for training purpose in which Marks and Spencer try to develop inner aptitude and skill of their workers. Marks and Spencer proved that they have great concern about health and safety of their employees by providing a wide range of work related health services. The companys code of ethics is also developing to give guideline to their member concerning their responsibilities towards customers, workers, stockholders, dealers, societies, government and the environment. Identification of the major issues challenging Marks Spencer: Marks and Spencer is one of the UKs biggest traders, giving different services to their customers in the field of food, clothing, and house hold products. They tried at their best level to give good customer service at an affordable price, but it is not always very easy. Marks and Spencer are losing their trend towards the youngstersand their other opponents in the market are taking advantage of this weak point. This is the biggest challenge that Marks and Spencer is facing nowadays. To overcome this weak point Marks and Spencer is also taking steps to provide cheaper products to their customer, but for this they have to import their raw materials, which also lessen the Marks and Spencers image of British Goods Seller. Cards and cash methods have been used for payment since 2001. Marks and Spencer have seen very tough times during the period of recession, but now it seems as though everything is going back to normal. The companys thirteen weeks before the start of OCT (2010) was very hope full. Homeware made an astonishing growth in sales up to 7% and food stuff which was last year 3.6%, this year it increases up to 3.7%.The clothing section is also growing and is the most rapidly expanding sales item of Marks and Spencer. During the autumn the women shoes sales touched a record, which Marks and Spencer claims that it was because of their strong advertisement. External environment and the impact on the strategic direction of the organisation: Strategic direction means those incentives that a company adopts for the achievement of its target i.e. how to produce, develop and sell its products. Basically strategic direction is the planning that an organisation follows for the marketing of its products. Marks and Spencer introduced a plan that they named as PLAN A the purpose behind which is to become worlds most sustainable retailer. For the success of any organisation it is very necessary to keep an eye on the environmental changes that occurs outside the organisation. As these changes affect the strategy of any organisation, it has to alter its rules and regulations according to the environmental changes. There are four main external environmental factors that effect the strategic direction of any organisation. a) Political b) Economic c) Technological d) Social The political condition plays a vital role to put an impact on the strategy of an organisation as it refers to the government policies. If the government introduces new laws and the organisation has some policies or rules and regulations that conflicts with the existing government laws, it has to alter its rules and regulations and make them according to the governments policy. The change in the political condition can affects the strategic direction of the organisation as every government has its own policies and the organisation cannot work against the laws of the country. Economic condition has also a deep effect on the strategic direction of an organisation. The economic condition of any country has a deep rooted effect. It includes taxation rates, economic growth rate and capability to invest at national and international levels. The rapid change in technology is another factor that can affect the strategic direction of an organisation .With the passage of time new techniques and machines are coming up and it is very important to adopt new techniques for the development of a business. In the social environment the consumer plays a vital role to affect on the strategic direction of the organisation. The organisation has to provide the products and services according to the requirements of the consumer. The lifestyle trends, ethical issues, media views, law changes, buying access, brand, religion beliefs, demographics and fashion are the social factors that can affect the strategy of the organisation. What should the organisation do to achieve or maintain competitive advantage in its industries? Competitive advantage: A companys competitive advantages are the features that give permission to do best even in average industry extensive performance and free entry into the industry as a whole. Every company has some definite abilities which make it different from other companies in the same industries. It has some unique competences that cannot be replicated by the opponents. Many companies complete their management price by using effective use of skills to organise their jobs. One example of such a company is Marks and Spencer. This company use technology to locate their goods. The company also use technology to coordinate between different departments. It brings more proficiency and less expenditure, and as a result production cost is low. On -the-counter payment was also introduced by Marks Spencer. It was very beneficial for the company as they need only a small amount of employees, so as a result labour cost was minimized and profit margin were increased. Marks and Spencer with more than 100 years of experience have a competitive advantage over most of their counter parts, because the company earn the trust and reputation among the customers, their workers and suppliers. Their customers have an extensive collection and are fully confident about the companys products and services.They also get value for money as well. Marks and Spencer demonstrates a shared sense of doing things, with their strong inner structure that moves around permanent employment relationships and strong organisational routines. In the external environment Marks and Spencer fully focus on product specification and design to continue their relationship with the customer, which lasts for many years. As part of their business accountability the company has strong conservational and communal responsibilities. TSE Stated that Marks and Spencer use modern methods of management like consumer research, planning, personal management, product innovation, staff training and many more and has proved itself as a founder and outshined among all other companies (1985).Marks Spencer maintain a strong organisational structure that is run by comparatively normal employees who get excellent results over many years, although many changes have occured in the economic environment (1995). Although, over the recent years, due to the big recession the company has had to face downfalls in some of their retailing areas, but they have managed to overcome all their uncertain hurdles through flexibility, that their opponents view as unnerving. According to an analyst Terhi Halme (2008) ,Even though Marks and Spencer has carried out extensive reformation over the past years, the companys competitive advantage has not been fully revived, so the firm could be able to answerable to the current down turn in British retail market. The decline rate during the past few months has been increased in their food unit and as a result revenue has dropped. Because of this, the food sector is also losing its market share. The management have to step up marketing and promotional spending to protect the market share. Additionally the team confidence is also diminish because of changed management, and therefore not been able to generate sustainable improvements. It is possible that Asian and Middle East companies that are in search of western products will take a look at the market shares of Marks and Spencer as presenting buying opportunities at the present price, especially during this recession. Conclusion: Marks and Spencers main aim is to become the worlds most sustainable retailer by 2015. To achieve this target Marks and Spencer introduce Plan A in which it has highlighted five factors to achieve their business goal that is climate change, waste, sustainable raw material, fair partnership and health. There are some internal and external environmental factors that affect the business strategy of the organisation. Internal factors are under the control of the organisation that deals with the strengths and weaknesses. But the external environmental factors are beyond the control of the organisation. Marks and Spencer has also taken initiative to maintain and improve its position. It provides good customer services, using modern techniques, and provides products according to the demand of the customers.

The Rotunda of the 1873 Vienna International Exhibition :: Architecture History

The Rotunda of the 1873 Vienna International Exhibition Austria hosted a world's fair in 1873, as it aimed to present itself as a world leader and the equal of England and France. The structure that served as the focal point and ideological locus for the Vienna Exhibition was its striking Rotunda, a feat of engineering and design, which is pictured during the fair's opening ceremonies on May 1, 1873. On that day, the streets of the Ringstrasse were wet with a cold drizzle. More than twenty thousand Viennese citizens came out to see the festivities, yet the area around the Rotunda, Leopoldstadt and Praterstern, did not seem even half full. Emperor Francis Joseph appeared at noon, signaling the beginning of the ceremonies. The program was unusually brief; it concluded in less than thirty minutes and lacked any type of formal speech. However, the one characteristic that immortalized that day was the music. The strains of the Imperial Opera's orchestra and the voices of two Viennese Glee Clubs united in performing Handel's March, the waltzes of Strauss, and the Austrian national hymn. While the music emerged as a high point of the initial celebrations, the atmosphere in Vienna during the fair seemed rather half-hearted. For the past several years, the nation had been enjoying a period of economic growth and domestic prosperity. However, just a fortnight after these opening ceremonies, the Austrian stock market underwent a severe crash, wreaking havoc on the domestic economy. This frustrated the efforts of the Austrians to convey a strong impression to the international community. Ironically, it also seemed that while other countries experienced success in selling their national products to the fair visitors, the Austrian displays lay untouched. For these reasons, the atmosphere in Vienna during the fair was not as jubilant as had been seen at other exhibitions. However, the crash occurred after the Rotunda was built, so the budget for the construction of the Rotunda strikes one as fairly impressive. In July 1871, the original amount allocated for its building was 6,000,000 florins. However, in September of 1872, an additional 6,000,000 florins was added. The website image is an 8 X 11 inch black and white engraving that appeared in the periodical Kunst und Kunstgeverbe auf der Werner Weltasstelling. One can note the presence of a small crowd, in their finest attire inside the building. It seems logical that this picture was sketched by an artist who had been present during the ceremony.

General Haig a Butcher not War Hero Essay -- World War I WWI WW1 Sir D

Sir Douglas Haig was born on the 19th June 1861. The Field Marshal was very highly ranked in the duration of The Great War. Haig was a British soldier and a senior Commander of The British Expeditionary Force from the year of 1915. General Haig is notorious for commanding the Battle Of The Somme and also renowned for the third battle of Ypres and various other victories leading to The Triple Entente’s victory of WW1. After the war, Haig was made an Earl and also received gratified thanks from both Houses of Parliament. So, If General Haig was such a renowned role model and congratulated for aiding greatly to the victory of the cold war, why on earth did some people refer to him as a ‘Butcher’? During the early stages of the war, it was classed as ‘Stale Mate’ - hence the beginning of the trenches. WW1 was revolved around Static Warfare. This resulted in many deaths and injuries gaining little land each time. People believe that the countless death to lls from battles is mainly down to Sir Douglas Haig thus creating the name ’Butcher’. But what is the truth? Where the deaths just an unfortunate aspect of the war or could the high numbers have been less? Many historians and common wealth citizens believe General Haig saw the soldiers as pawns, metaphorically speaking, in his own route to personal glory. Haig allegedly had no pity for the high death count and devoted his care only in winning the war to make himself a ’hero’. This is evident in The Battle Of The Somme. The battle initially began on the 1st of July with a five day bombardment of the enemy trenches. General Haig believed it would jeopardise the Germans giving the British and French divisions an advantage when the soldiers went ‘over the top’. What Haig had not count... ... potent reason for me believing this is Haig was well aware of the merciless deaths in both the Battle of the Somme and the Battle of Neuve Chappelle which were occurring and the failing tactics yet did nothing to stop this. The General stubbornly stuck to his plan so if they won the battle, he could claim it was under his lead they were successful thus helping him on his way to his own personal Glory. General Haig also blamed Sir John French for the poor reserve and lack of ammo whereas he was in lead of the battle and should have considered these aspects before he allowed his men to fight in the battles. This emphasises the point he saw the soldiers not as men, but as pawns which held less significance than himself and his pride. I also believe the power which was given to him would of not been possible if he had a lack of useful connections to people with power.

Court System Structure

The state court system and the federal court system have similar codes of conduct, but they do have their differences. The state court system hears way more cases than the federal courts, and get more personally involved due to the issues being right in their own backyard. The state of California has 58 superior courts (trial courts) which reside in each of the 58 counties. It is here where any, and all, issues pertaining to civil and criminal cases, as well as family, probate, and juvenile cases are heard. This is where the bulk of California’s judiciary justice is served. If a case is appealed it is taken up the ladder to one of California’s six Courts of Appeal. According to courtinfo. ca. gov (2011), â€Å"The State legislature divided the state geographically into six appellate districts, each containing a Court of Appeal. † (About California Courts, para. 2). The Supreme Court of California sits at the apex of authority in the state's judicial system (courtinfo. a. gov, 2011). Cases that have been questioned in the Court of Appeal must be reviewed by the Supreme Court, as well as any case in which a trial court has issued the death penalty. The federal court system has a similar structure to the state court system. The lowest level is the federal district court. The district court hears the civil and criminal cases that pertain to the potential unconstitutionality or impartiality of a specific state court. Federal accusations of fraud and drug crimes can also be seen here. The next level, similar to the state court system, is the U. S. Court of Appeals. This is the intermediary appellate court level where cases that have been appealed are reviewed. Atop this is the United States Supreme Court, the highest form of authority in the country. It is here where few cases are officially sent to trial, but instead cases may be reviewed by one or a group of the justices and sent back down the line.

Halftime in America: Chrysler Commercial Essay

The Chrysler commercial during the 2012 Super Bowl was extremely well done. It stars Clint Eastwood delivering a muscularly optimistic message about Detroit and its auto industry. Clint talks about America and how it has been hurting due to the poor economy and the unemployment rate. He does this through an interesting allegory of football and halftime. Chrysler does well targeting a very broad audience of American auto consumers. This particular commercial uses a fear tactic through a lowly lit background and the unmistakable growl of Clint Eastwood to reach the target audience. Chrysler attempts to tug at the proverbial heart strings or emotions of the auto consumer by playing on the fears of people and their lack of faith in the American economy. Americans want to believe that America is great and will pick itself up from the dire straits it is in. This commercial does a good job at trying to light that patriotic fire. This commercial was definitely well thought out. At a cost of $3. 5 million per 30 second time slot (halftime in America was 2:00 minutes long) Chrysler spared no expense. The 2012 Super bowl had 111 million viewers, a calculated move no doubt (â€Å"Super Bowl Ads Cost Average Of $3. 5m†, 2012). Detroit has been a long standing icon of American ingenuity and manufacturing; Clint Eastwood is an American acting icon; so it is no surprise that Chrysler put the two together to make a commercial. Chrysler, being rooted in America is reaching for brand recognition though perceived â€Å"Americanism†. It is an effectively persuasive tactic, though tasteless in my opinion. I say this for the simple fact that auto industry is no longer bound by borders; it is a global industry where many â€Å"American† autos are made with parts manufactured overseas. â€Å"For the third straight year, Toyota Camry, a product of Japan’s largest automaker, is the â€Å"most American car,† as determined by Cars. com’s formula. Honda Accord, the flagship of Japan’s second largest automaker, is second. † (â€Å"Report: The Two ‘Most American’ Cars Are Japanese†, 2011). I elieve that although the commercial was well thought out and constructed, Chrysler is rather tasteless in its tactics and disguises the tastelessness very well. In general, Americans are a proud and patriotic people; playing on this is a clever way to sell cars. Using American icons to sell cars is clever. In short, Chrysler gets an A+ for resourcefulness and creativity, but gets an overall failing grade for the hanky-panky thrown in the consumers face to disguise their real motives.

Conviction on Economic Stability Essay

One of the best renowned authors of the 21st Century, Adam Harmes – a foreign policy instructor bumped in an idea of analyzing the mishaps which is seemingly occurring in today’s era. Upon producing the book The Return of the State, he cited numerous instances and reasons why the International Business Propagandists must think of ways to expunge the ascending clash between the level of intervention implemented by the economic and political scheme, which he was able to sought as the primary problem on why the country has been departing from the reality of the immediate. Furthermore, he stated the major inevitable state of free-market trade mishaps are that by which denotes â€Å"supreme power† on America, which he, and Paul Martin believes as the root of all fault and that America should not only swallow the benefit out of the concept of trade alone, but rather share the Supremacy along with the other developing states since that as for the moment, they are considered as that which is vested with the pre-dominant influence over all the countries in UN and thus must make a move to improve the welfare of the general masses. He also mentioned numerous convictions on globalization’s effect in the economic realm, Unitarianism in America, G-20 series – as a cure to the rivalry in the economic basis and the expansion of the elite powers’ support over those who need such (Harmes). Concluding the totality of the book, Harmes’ enthusiasm and devotion on racial and international equilibrium and social welfare serves him a ticket on gaining the sympathy of those cosseting on prose historical books. In addition to that his arguments may have seemed opinionated in some certain circumstance, however, it illustrates the need of higher rationality and thus giving the â€Å"elites† in the world of globalization a tickle in their higher sense of rationality that the world is but a web of inter-related active countries and such voices and needs must be well taken care of (Harmes). The Return of the State is grandeur of Harmes in uplifting the banner of humanitarianism and concern for global economic stability. Reference: Harmes, Adam. The Return of the State. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 2004.

Machiavelli vs. Thoreau (Compare and Contrast Essay) Essay

The way one should govern and the way for one to be governed will always be an ongoing struggle. How can a government maintain order and the safety of its people yet at the same time preserve its citizens’ natural right to be free? The ideas from Niccolo Machiavelli, an Italian aristocrat, who published â€Å"The Prince† in 1513 for a Medici prince as a guideline on how to rule a country, gives a conservative approach to how one should govern. Henry David Thoreau’s â€Å"Civil Disobedience† published in 1849, offers a liberal approach on how one should be governed. Machiavelli stresses the importance of maintaining order while Thoreau suggests reform. Although their views are different both men approach their positions in an aggressive manner. Machiavelli’s approach for his audience would be through fear and power while Thoreau’s approach for his audience would be through nonviolent acts, such as being a nuisance to the government. Machiavelli’s audience would be any person in a position of power, particularly that of a prince. Machiavelli uses aphorisms and historical references when introducing his argument. Not only would he present his argument but he also presents an opposing point of view and discredits it. Thoreau’s audience would be people who share his views on a less controlling and a moral government. Thoreau appeals to his audience through the use of aphorisms as well as analogies with which people would be able to identify. Machiavelli insists that a ruler must do whatever is in his power to rule his people regardless of whether his actions are moral or immoral and that â€Å"†¦it is safer to be feared than to be loved when one of the two must be lacking†¦.For one can generally say this about men: that they are ungrateful, fickle, simulators and deceivers, avoiders of danger, greedy for gain, and while you work for their good they are completely yours, offering you their blood, their property, their lives, and their sons†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Jacobus 44). These comments support the pessimistic views that Machiavelli has about mankind. He theorizes that man is immoral therefore justifying a ruler being immoral. He states that in return for a ruler’s protection that a man must give his life. Contrary to Machiavelli’s views on morality, Thoreaus states, â€Å"That government is best which governs not at all† (Jacobus 145) and that â€Å"It is truly enough said that a corporation has no conscience; but a  corporation of conscientious men is a corporation with a conscience† (Jacobus 146). Thoreau believes that it is a man’s moral beliefs that would make a moral government. He believes that a man, if left at his own will, will do what is right and in return, if in government, will do what is right for the people. When governing a country, a ruler must have an army. In that aspect, Machiavelli states â€Å"A prince, therefore, must not have any other object nor any other thought, nor must he take anything as his profession, but war, its institutions, and it’s discipline†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Jacobus 37) and that â€Å"†¦between an armed and unarmed man there is no comparison whatsoever, and it is not reasonable for an armed man to obey and unarmed man willingly, nor that an unarmed man should be safe among armed servants† (Jacobus 38). These statements suggest that a ruler must always prepare for war and military strength is more intimidating than any other type of force. In order to maintain a country, a ruler must have a strong army to defend it. Thoreau’s opinion on the military seems to differ in which he describes an army as â€Å"†¦small movable forts and magazines at the service of some unscrupulous man in power† (Jacobus 147). He clearly describes men as machines of a ruler lacking morals, rather than men protecting country. Machiavelli emphasizes a ruler maintaining order and control while Thoreau emphasizes on the citizens ruling or having an impact on their government. For example, Machiavelli’s approach on how this order can be established would be through appearance. When Machiavelli states, â€Å"And men in general judge more by their eyes than their hands; for everyone can see but few can feel. Everyone sees what you seem to be, few perceive what you are, and those few do not dare to contradict the opinion of the many who have the majesty of the state to defend them; and in the actions of all men†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Jacobus 47), he is stating that what a ruler does that his citizens do not know about should not affect his reputation, as most people will follow the majority if the majority believes that their ruler is just and fair. He then continues to explain how this can be accomplished. Machiavelli continues to explain how a ruler can be deceiving when need be but can also be depicted as â€Å"†¦merciful, faithful, human, forthright, religious†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Jacobus 47),  leader yet at the same time, he states, â€Å"†¦in order to maintain the state he is often obliged to act against his promise, against charity, against humanity, and against religion† (Jacobus 47). In these statements, Machiavelli is arguing that in order for a leader appear moral he is often subjected to immoral acts. Thoearu’s views seem to disagree with Machiavelli’s reasoning as Thoeau states, â€Å"A minority is powerless while it conforms to the majority; it is not even a minority then; but it is irresistible when it clogs by its whole weight† (Jacobus 155). Thoreau believes in the good in men and that every man will do what is right for himself and if he believes a government to be immoral then it should be a man’s duty to rebel for what is right. Although one might be a part of the minority, an impact can still be made if the group stands together. The power struggle between government and individual freedom has been and always will be a never-ending battle. Comparing Machiavelli’s standpoint, which would be order and control, and Thoreau’s standpoint, being individual freedom, would give one an idea of this conflict. Even though both men were from different countries and lived during different times in history, their contrasting ideas still live through people in societies today and will echo into the minds of others in societies to follow.