Popular culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Popular culture - Essay Example The main character is ostensibly Jeff Winger (played by Joel McHale), a handsome, conniving lawyer who has to go to a community college when he is revealed to have a fake degree. However, the key character is actually Abed Nadir, a young Arab-American who has Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism. This plays on the audience’s assumption that the handsome white man is always the hero and the most important character. For the first few episodes, the audience is led to believe that the show is about Jeff and his pursuit of the beautiful blonde Britta while a group of co-stars provide comic relief; later we see that the show is actually about Abed and his attempts to understand other people. Because of his Asperger’s syndrome, Abed is fixated on television and movies, and comparing everything in his life to TV and movies is his only way to relate to the people around him. Every episode either references the plot of specific movies and shows, or parodies a particular genre of movies. As the viewer watches for several episodes, it becomes apparent that the entire show is filtered through Abed’s perspective. This is different from other shows. With nearly all other TV shows, there is an unspoken agreement between the makers of the show and the audience that the audience will suspend their disbelief and pretend for an hour or a half an hour each week that the events in the show are true. Community betrays this agreement by subtly suggesting to the audience that the events in the show might not be real. Of course the audience knows this, but everyone is supposed to pretend that that’s not the case. It then makes the audience unsure of what is real within the world of the show. Is Abed real? Is he imagining everything, or just modifying reality a little bit? If we could see the show from outside of Abed’s perspective, would the characters even really be Abed’s friends, and would any of the events we’ve seen them ena ct have actually happened? The humor in the show requires the audience to have a base of knowledge about pop-culture in order to get the jokes. The show doesn’t assume that the audience is stupid and needs everything to be simple or have everything explained to them, but instead assumes a certain amount of shared cultural experience. The assumption is that enough people have seen The Breakfast Club, for example, or perhaps Pulp Fiction, that when an episode references one of those movies, most of the audience will get it. According to Steven Johnson, author of Everything Bad Is Good for You, this is a recent phenomenon in television. TV used to be much simpler and did not require the same amount of memory or mental work to understand. This points to an increase in the demand by audiences for more intelligent and challenging humor (85-87). Community also does not give the same clear-cut moral messages that other TV shows did in the past. Most television shows from previous era s held to the same moral and political values. They preached against racism and in favor of diversity, paid lip-service to feminism while still mostly showing women in traditional roles, and spoke in favor of traditional â€Å"family values.† Community portrays a world where things are not that simple. For example, it shows rather than tells us that race and diversity is a confusing topic and that things do not fit perfectly into a â€Å"

Decision making Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Decision making - Research Paper Example The paper uses the two concepts to analyze three mediation efforts in the Arab - Israeli conflict: the Camp David Accords I, Oslo Accords and the Camp David Accords II. In the findings of the research indicate that in all the agreements reviewed, both sides held on to their strengths and privileges to make demands. In areas that either party had weaknesses, they were ready to make risky demands, sometimes at the expense of breaking down the negotiation process. It was therefore conclusive that in mediation in international conflicts, parties use the prospect theory to take decisions on the demands to make. On the other hand, the rational theory is still important. Hence, mediators can only succeed if they guide the parties to the rational choices. Introduction Dealing with interstate conflicts has become a high priority, not only between disputants themselves, but on the global arena as well. The approach and the way by which conflicts are decided to be managed is a crucial issue. â €Å"Mediation is one of the oldest forms of conflict resolution and has been used extensively worldwide by individuals, states and organizations to bring about peaceful resolution to interstate and intrastate conflicts† (Siniver and Thomas, 2011 p2). Typically, mediation involves a third party helping two parties in a conflict to come up with solutions to their disagreements. Mediation aims at promoting a less adversarial method of dealing with conflicts in international relations. Terris and Maoz identify that third party negotiations have been used in 35% of post-World War II militarized disputes (Terris& Maoz 2005 p563). This underscores the importance of mediation as a tool for diplomats to solve conflicts and tensions between nations and states. I see high importance in understanding the perspective role of international mediation as a future conflict resolution tool. Since the demands of each side of the conflict must be heard in mediation, the method with which parties come up with decisions on the demands they put forward is important in determining the success of the process. Thus, each party might need to come up with decisions on the condition to present in the mediation. A simple decision making model involves diagnosis of the problem, search for options and choice, revision through a critical assessment, evaluation of options, choice of a given option and the implementation of choice or demands (Maoz, 2012 p5). The simple decision making model form the basis of the traditional or orthodox negotiation framework known as the Theory of Rationality. The Theory of Rationality is based on an attempt to attain a win-win outcome or the best solution for both parties with the long term interest of the parties. This is steeped in the Expected Utility (EU) Theory, which seeks the best good for the largest numbers of people (Milburn& Isaacs, 1995 p335). However, other theories like the Game Theory which is steeped in probabilities and choices come be u sed to arrive at the rational theory (Coombs& Avrunin, 1998). The Prospect Theory on the other hand, involves an individual negotiating to get the maximum net gains for himself (Bazerman et al, 1985). In other words, each group in the negotiation table will present demands that serves his or her needs best. And as such, we seek the best interests for ourselves. Thus, one must be expected to negotiate for his or her best interest. This makes the Prospect Theory the

Analysing the dimensions of Human Resources

Analysing the dimensions of Human Resources Human Resource Management (HRM) came into popular term over the past decades as a top managerial approach aimed at re-ordering the employment relationship to ensure employee efforts were strategically focused on achieving superior individual and organisational performance and competitiveness in increasingly volatile markets. All companies including British Gas are now paying considerable attention to make strong bond between HR practices and employees and organizational performance. The main purpose of this unit essay is to discuss about HRM as an approach to managing human resources such as labour in British Gas. 1.1 Explain Guests model of hard-soft, loose-tight dimensions of HRM. (P1) The most widely acceptable models of HRM are the soft and hard versions. The soft model is associated with human relation and the hard model on the other hand sees employees as human resource (Gratton et. al. 1999). The soft model assumes that employees respond better when an organisation recognise their individual needs and addresses them as well as focusing on the overall business objectives. The hard model primarily focus to promote human resource planning strategy, align with business strategy, outsourcing, flexibility, performance management and downsizing or work intensification. Some HRM models have been developed by UK academics including Guest and Storey. Guest has identified key features of personal management and HRM that allow for comparative measurement and acknowledging the close links between human resource strategy and general business strategy (Bratton and Gold 2003). The Guest model of HRM is given below: Policies Organisational job design Policy formulation and implementation/management of change Recruitment, selection and socialization Appraisal, training and development Manpower flows through, up and out of the organisation Rewards systems Communications systems HR outcomes Strategic Planning/implementation Commitment Flexibility/adaptability Quality Organisational outcomes High job performance High problem solving Successful change Low turnover Low absence Low grievance level High cost-effectiveness (Adopted diagram from Guest 1997) The model highlights the below key points: Linking to the strategic management of an organisation (Bloisi 2005) Seeking commitment to meet organisational goals and quality of work Focussing on the individual needs rather than the collective workforce to decrease turnover and absence Enabling organisations to devolve power and become more flexible Focussing people as an asset to be positively utilised by the organisation (Bloisi 2005). 1.2 Review the differences between Storeys definition of HRM and personnel and IR practices. (P2) There are some differences between HRM and Personnel Management (PM) and Industrial Relation (IR) practices as there are a lot of different views and contradictions. HRM is a new managerial discipline that has different perspectives of PM and IR, but create a new and broader disciple as a results of different views and contradictions of these two (Beardwell and Holden 1997). The main aim of PM and IR is to serve the objectives of the employer, towards an approach which seeks to gain the commitment of the employees and aims to satisfy the requirements of stakeholders. On the other hand, HRM is a theoretical strategic approach of competitive advantage or organizational success factor of tomorrow and it should be strategically integrated and aligned with the business strategy. Storey (1992) has established a theoretical model based on how an organisation has evolved from PM and IR practice to HRM practices is called a model of shift to HRM. Storey has underlined 27 points of differences between PM and IR against HRM. These points are grouped into four categories: beliefs and assumptions e.g., PM and IR requires the careful delineation of contract while HRM seeks to encourage employees to go beyond contract strategic aspects e.g., PM and IR takes time to take decision while HRM takes customer oriented approach with fast speed of decision making line management e.g., management role with line managers in PM and IR is transactional while it is transformational in HRM key levers e.g., communication in PM and IR is restricted while in HRM it is increased; and pay is evaluation based in PM and IR while in HRM pay is performance based. If these two strategies are not closely aligned, the organisation will find itself pulling in different directions and not making any progress toward meeting goals. 1.3 Analyse HRM from a strategic perspective and its implications for the role of the line manager and employees. (P3) For competitive advantages, an organisation should change old ways of doing business where most of the burden and responsibility of change will fall onto first-line managers of HR. They share the burdens and responsibilities with other line managers and employees. The first-line managers play a crucial role in making strategies for HRM because they are responsible for executing HR practices at the workplace (Nehles et. al. 2006). If these strategies are not identified and created consistency across business units to ensure closely aligned towards the attainment of corporate objectives, the organisation will find itself pulling in different directions and not making any progress towards meeting goals. The challenges for line managers are given below: Rapidly changing of technology that lead to the changing of business environment Pressure to do more with fewer resources to minimise production and other cost Downsizing of the employees to cut labour cost Greater workforce diversity as customers expectations are too high Increasing gap between available skills and required skills for a job. The line managers need employees with up-to-dated skills, multi-skilled, committed toward organisational missions and visions and competency for role play. The line managers also need tools and information systems to make quick and effective decisions. The line manager is directly accountable for the program impact of HR decision, while the HR team or employee is directly accountable for the compliance of the action. HR managers and employees must need a range of skills to cope with the change and make a productive environment. In this case, HR department provides full support and takes the lead in helping managers identify the core knowledge, skills and abilities required to support the companys competitive advantage (Buhlel 1999). For example, for a specific task, HR department may need to conduct an assessment and identify particular training needs. Then HR training specialist will be called up to actually deliver the training program. The HRM should do the following for managers and employees regularly otherwise business objectives will not be met in the long term. Providing training for such as problem solving, decision making and change management Creating positive environment Providing feedback and counseling on the options available to accomplish particular task/program with timely and professional manner Providing assistance with timely manner Supportive attitudes shown by the HR teams Collaborative relationship between line manager and HR team to effect needed action. 2.1 Review and explain a model of flexibility and show how this might be applied in practice (P4). Show how the case company might identify and apply this model to solve their workforce issues (M1). Flexibility refers to adjust and deploy the skills of its employees to match the skills required by its changing workload and production methods. Professor Chai Feldblum said We believe workplace flexibility is good for employers and employees, so its worth the effort to get it right for employers and employees (Gurchiek 2009). HRM can design a job where employees can work with flexibility considering the issues such as scheduling of hours work such as nontraditional start and end times; the amount of hours worked such as job sharing, phased retirement and part time work; the place of work such as a remote location or home; and changing work hours over the month or through the year depending on the demands of the job such as working more hours during busy periods and taking time off in quiet times. Review and explain a model of flexibility and show how this might be applied in practice (P4) Show how the case company might identify and apply this model to solve their workforce issues Workforce flexibility increases productivity and job satisfaction. It helps the company to become top in the markets maintaining the culture of diversity and tolerance. The flexibility depends on the nature of the job. HRM will need to ensure that the organisational culture is tolerant of alternate work schedules. The British Gas can provide 24/7 services to its customers and distribute its workload throughout the day as part of diversity and good customer services. More staff can be scheduled to work at peak time and less staff for off-peak time. The company can employ some staff who can work from home or remote area to reduce cost and provide better services to its customers within possibly less waiting time. The company needs to provide adequate training and support including equipment so that staff can work from home or provide services on demand to its customers. As a result, the company may need to pay less salary to such staff. For example, staff working from home or working on demand doesnt need to travel and/or can look after children home at the same time and as a result, they can work at cheaper rate than staff working at office. The company can employ local and nationwide staff on demand rather than employing them permanently to provide a maintenance and breakdown service for electrical goods and home wiring. The staff can be paid depending on number of services they provide. In order to provide quick and quality service to its customers, many staff working from home or staff working on demand should be employed and trained and reviewed their performance regularly. The company should randomly record and review staff telephone conversations and services provided to its customers operating a customer satisfaction online or postal survey. These resources can be used to train staff as well. 2.1 Review and explain a model of flexibility and show how this might be applied in practice (P4) Show how the case company might identify and apply this model to solve their workforce issues. (M1) 2.2 Describe the need for flexibility and the types of flexibility which may be developed by an organisation and give examples of how they can be implemented (P5). The employees need for flexibility at workplace. As a result, they can work better and more productive way than others. The need for flexibility at work place is given below: employees can look after children at home or spend more time with children and can reduce childcare cost older workers could remain longer if number of hours are reduced makes positive difference in retention and stress among lower-wage employees than their more advantaged counterparts increases moral, job satisfaction and higher level of engagement (Drucker 2010) decrease stress or turnout attract talent people in the organisation reduce consumption of employee commuting time and fuel costs. Flexibility can be different types such as flextime- allows employees to select their starting and ending time within a range of hours, reduced time, flex-leave- allows time off during the workday to address personal and family issues and flex-career- allows multiple points for entry, exit and re-entry. A company like British Gas needs to decide the scope of flexibility and make a plan considering all possible options for flexibility at workplace. The company can implement flexibility in the following ways: develop a business case looking at comparable companies like nPower, EDFEnergy and Southern Electric and their experiences with flexibility (Friedman D. E. 2010) reviewing existing and past programs and company policies to see how well they are working and what needs improving determine flexible work options, negotiate with employees if possible and review. introduce a pilot scheme to see how they work before fully implementing them help supervisors and managers to learn new ways of managing, including how to solve problem and look for win-win solution (Friedman 2010). 2.3 Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of flexibility working practices from both the employees and the employer perspective (P6). Flexibility is a management tool that can benefit employers and employees but it may not be welcomed by all employees of an organisation. Research shows that 78% of respondents reported that having access to flexible work options contributes to their success as employees to a moderate or great extent (Pitt-Catsouphes 2009). So flexibility should be applied creatively and it works best when all employees and customers are involved in the process of developing flexibility. Advantages Flexible workplace helps organisation if employers and employees get flexibility while they take decisions, they can do much better way and can save a lot of cost and bring a lot of revenue for the business. Flexibility in workplace help the employees providing flexibility like working from home and limited employment could ensure that employees are at their optimum working level. Disadvantages Lower wage workers are more likely to report that using flexibility will negatively affect their advancement (Richman 2006) If the employees are not responsible enough and/or they are not monitored regularly, the business might actually face lack of productivity During the hiring of the individuals or employing someone, flexibility options should be discussed in detail and care should be taken into consideration to ensure that only candidates who are serious about their jobs, careers and professions will be employed by the company. Indeed, the success or failure of the implementation of flexibility depends on how well the employees take it, how they use it to become more productive, instead of finding ways to shirk work and how the management assists them to implement it. The company should consider a range of workplace factors such as extent of access to flexible work options, supervisor support of flexibility, negative work-family culture and extent of utilisation of flexible work options to bring full advantages of flexibility at workplace (Pitt-Catsouphes et. al. 2009). 3.1 Describe the forms of discrimination that take place (P7) Recruitment and selection have been considered as areas for discrimination. In general the following two forms of discrimination take place (Bratton and Gold 2003) during recruitment and selection process: Direct where employees of a particular gender, race, age, colour or ethnic group are treated more favourably than other employees. For example, a policy to recruit only young persons to field workers. Indirect where particular requirements treat everybody equally but discriminate to a particular group where the requirement cannot be justified. For example, applicants for field workers should be 1.85 metres tall could result in a low proportion of female applicants. 3.2 Review how the legislative framework and any proposed changes relating to discrimination in the workplace can be applied by an organisation (P8). How has the above case company designed their recruitment policy to apply relevant law to avoid discrimination (M2). All organisations should be aware of legislation concerning discrimination in employment and have a duty to protect their employees from any discriminatory behaviour. According to the law, it is unlawful to discriminate against anyone on the grounds of their sex, age, race, disability, religion or martial status in recruitment, selection, promotion, pay, training, hiring, transfer, dismissal and all other activities and responsibilities related to HRM. An organisation like British Gas should avoid discrimination during recruitment and selection process. This is not only a legal requirement but also it gives the best chance of getting the right person for the job. The following changes can be proposed relating to discrimination in the workplace to avoid discrimination during recruitment: Ensure that best people are recruited on merit and the recruitment process is free from bias and discrimination Application form should contain minimum of personal details and some specific questions to avoid discrimination during selection process such as asking candidates to indicate special requirement to attend interview During interview, certain questions that are relevant to the persons ability should be asked only but must not be asked something that discriminate from other Assessment such as skill test and interview should be fair, reliable and valid throughout the recruitment process Fully investigate if a complaint of discrimination is made against selection Monitor recruitment process and update and review all policies regularly to meet employment law requirements fully Must take care while carrying out necessary checks such as checking necessary documents to ensure that the candidate has right to work in the UK. 3.3 Explain a range of current initiatives and practices which focus on equal opportunities in employment (P9). The HRM should follow rigorous and fair selection process to recruit suitable employees to ensure equal opportunity is everywhere. After employment, each employee should get equal opportunities to get promotion, development, training and to get all other facilities provided by the organisation, and terms and conditions are based solely on job related ability and merit. The British Gas should consider the following initiative and practices which focus on equal opportunities in employment: All managers and employees should have training on equal opportunities Review the effectiveness of the policy and identify practices that may lead discrimination Advise and take swift action if it is expected that discrimination is taking place Make arrangement so that employees can make complaint easily regarding any issue of discrimination and they are kept well informed the progress of the complaint Look creatively at new work patterns, employee practices and flexible working and promote the idea of equal opportunities throughout the organisation All staff should be treated with dignity and respect at work Employers should make an environment to prevent bullying and sexual harassment as they lead to job insecurity, illness, absent from work and even resignation (ACAS 2009) Equal pay and disability discrimination policies should be implemented seriously at workplace Because of ill health, dismissal from job must not be taken place and if it does, it can be considered as discrimination. 3.4 Compare and contrast equal opportunities and managing diversity (P10). In order to promote equal opportunities and diversity at workplace, first thing is to have equality and diversity policy, then it is backed up by action plan to promote the policy at workplace and ensure that it is understood and followed across the business including areas such as recruitment, training and pay to avoid discrimination (Web1 2010). In order to minimise or avoid the chance of discrimination over equal opportunities and managing diversity, the organisation needs to monitor the process following the steps: Collect monitoring data providing separate monitoring sheet with application form, through appraisal, performance evaluation and direct complaint and filling direct monitoring form Analyse collected data confidentiality Review policies and action plan where necessary. 4.1 Explain performance management in practice (P11). Using examples describe how organisation organize and manage performance appraisal activity (D2) and communicate these findings to the relevant human resources manager (M3). Performance management is one of the responsibilities carried out by top management to examine actual practice at workplace (Pollitt 2002). The senior managers should carry out a performance review and provide feedback regularly or at least once per year to their fellow employees providing an opportunity for discussion of career objectives and progressions, identifying training needs, assisting to develop individual abilities and help in succession planning to maximise career potential. The performance appraisal should cover issues such as salary, promotion, retention/termination, recognition of performance, layoffs, identification of poor performance, job requirements, legal requirements and analyzing past and present performance. Performance management is a culture in which individuals and groups take responsibility for the continuous improvement of business processes, standards and quality of products and of their own skills, behaviour and contributions (CIPD 2010). The British Gas should organise and manage the following performance appraisal activities: Arrange appraisal meeting with employees to discuss training required to improve skills, knowledge, standards and procedures and self-appraisal Let employees to fill in appraisal form Identify actions that help lead to improvement including the time and goals for the follow-up meeting Review the agreed activities Give and receive feedback Make effective communication at all levels. Managers and/or supervisors at the workplace should have communications to ensure that each employees performance appraisal activities are done on time. They should use a common information system possible an online system or intranet that will allow easy storing and accessing of performance reports and training needs information and generate automatic reminder messages regarding performance meeting and any activities due to complete. Using and sharing such information system at workplace, trainers and supervisors can provide effective and specific training to improve staff performance. 4.2 Critically evaluate different human resource practice in the workplace (P12). Use critical reflection to the above justify whether human resource practices are followed at British Gas or indeed any other company of your choice (D1) An organisation can use many different human resource practices in the workplace to evaluate employees performance such as performance appraisal, electronic performance, monitoring of quality services, monitoring competitiveness, calculating employee turnover rate, 360 degree performance management feedback system and reviewing safety incident. These practices promote human resource development of an organisation. For example, monitoring of quality service involves the recording of calls, team leader listening to calls, the provision of feedback, coaching on telephone technique and service delivery and the 360 process allows for multiple points of view to be given on any given individual to improve performance and identify training needs. A decent company like British Gas practices many from the above and does almost everything to maintain excellent customer services. The company has many call centres all over the Europe and provides adequate training and monitors employees performance regularly. The British Gas has launched a website called http://www.britishgasjobs.co.uk/ as Careers at British Gas. The website can be developed further to promote human resource development. In order to make aware potential and existing employees, job descriptions of all posts should be available on the website and these should be updated regularly. Potential candidates can be referred to the website. Once there is a candidate, the online system should conduct behavioral and technical tests first, then need a telephone screening, then bring them in for a face-to-face interview. The company can also use self-learning/service software programs within company website to reduce administrative costs and time, to increase information access for employees and managers and improve information accuracy (Price 2007). 4.3 Evaluate the impact of globalization on issues such as human resource planning (P13). Changes in the global business environment such as rapid development of information and communication technology (ICT), global dimension, currency exchange rate and takeover or expansion overseas have major consequences for HR managers (Price 2007). As a result, factors outside of a companys control that will affect its requirements for human resources and ways of managing them change as well and the organizational needs human resource planning based on cost benefit analysis in advance to use and manage human resources to meet organisational needs and add greater value (Friedman 2007). Indeed, the ICT and reduction in communication costs has facilitated the globalisation and increased competition. So human resource planning in any organisation is vital to train and develop employees. It should be strong linked with recruitment, selection, career planning and development, performance appraisal and the remuneration system otherwise the organisation cannot compete. 4.4 Review the impact of different national cultures and practices human resource professionals can employ to manage a cultural diverse workforce (P14). Demonstrate convergent/lateral/create thinking while answering the above questions (D3). National cultures differ mainly in four areas which are labelled by Hofstede (1980) as dimensions and these are power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism-collectivism, and masculinity-femininity. Research shows that a human resource policy can be familiar and effective to a country but it may be unfamiliar and ineffective to another country due to cultural factor. For example, pay for the performance scheme is very popular in the USA and UK but it may not successfully be practiced in another country (Suharnomo 2009). Laurent (1986) found that decision making in Germany is more centralised than in UK. On the other hand, organisations in UK spend more money for employee well-being and middle management development program than many other countries (Suharnomo 2009). Newman Nollen (1996) indicated that organisation performance is better in the organisations where there is congruency between national culture and human resource practices. An organisation must adjust its management practice in accordance with the environment or national culture to achieve successful organisational performance. For example, career development is stronlgly related to national culture in UK and USA. An employee who has good character will likely be able to use their capability in a workplace with other people. So cooperation is very important for every employee to meet organisational objectives. Conclusions Organisations with better learning, training and development systems, reward and recognition, and information systems can promote human resource development and improve organisational performance. These should be measured, monitored and updated staff skills time to time to meet organisational objectives.

Domestic Politics Essay

   Trade which means the exchange of goods and services for money is very important for the growth of any country’s economy. This business industry has continually changed over time. This can be clearly seen because a long time ago there was barter trade which is the exchange of goods with other goods or services. Initially there was no medium of exchange but later money was introduced. Traditionally, trade was also conducted within boundaries of countries that is local trade. However the arena has completely changed nowadays. This has been caused by the fact that the transportation of goods and services is easy. People, goods and services can be transported through air, rail, water or even road. This in turn means that space otherwise known as distance between the producer of goods and services and the consumer is not an issue. There is therefore a free flow of services, people and goods from one country to another. This means that there is international trade. However, international trade is affected by the domestic policies of the country as well and the politics of all other countries involved. This paper will study the effects of the politics of globalization in China. Yanrui argues that the economy of China has changed since the economic reforms which took place in 1978 (1). According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, her economy comes third. United States is ranked first followed by Japan. China’s economy has been growing very rapidly. It has been having a constant Gross Domestic Product growth rate of more than 10per cent. Her per capita income has also been increasing with time. Her economy is continually improving because she concentrates in ensuring that there is equitable sharing of resources as well as aiming at lowering the poverty levels. Additionally, (Dadush 1) notes that China is doing considerably well in the international market as she is the leading exporter and the second largest importer of services and goods. On the same note (Yanrui 2), states that there are two major factors responsible for the economic advancements in China. The first factor is growth of investments which between 1979 and 2004 grew at a rate of 12 per cent. The high growth of investments was caused by many foreign organizations investing directly and also the high rate of savings. This means that the foreign organizations invested in China as citizen and thus this is corporate citizenship. The organizations in turn save some money in the country. He observe that there was a very high increase in the ratio of domestic savings and Gross Domestic Product. The figure had increased up to 74. 8 per cent in 2004 compared to 10. 1 per cent in 1979. (Yanrui 2) continues to emphasize the fact that china’s economy has improved due to her increased exports. The exports rates were 18 per cent between 1979 and 2004. Yanrui continues to state that another factor to be considered in measuring the growth rate of China is the domestic consumption. The number of people acquiring cars increased at a rate of 24. 1 per cent per year between 2001 and 2004. This shows that they have money and thus the economy is doing well. It clearly indicates that due to the improvement in the country’s economy a lot of people had the purchasing power due to low prices of commodities and the taxes levied on the goods and services had reduced and hence most people could buy them. The economy of a country is highly affected by her politics Keohane (2). He continues to argue that the domestic politics of a country in turn affects the world economy. It is therefore necessary to consider how domestic politics, globalization influence each other in China. In China in 1949, the government used to control the prices of commodities, control some important policies such as the banking and financial policies. This hindered economic development and as a result her economy was not growing at a fast pace. After 1978 the Chinese government controlled only a few industries such as the one dealing with air travel. The Chinese government ensures that the activities in each sector of the economy are controlled by institutions or organizations such as Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture among others. The operations of some other organizations are supervised by the State Council. The State council has offices in other locations nearer to the institutions it supervises. The state council implements the policies regarding the economy. This is done by controlling financial operations of the organizations, ensuring that some resources such as transport, labor and raw materials among others are equitably shared and they also control the tax issues. Taxes can lead to a poor economy because they make the prices to shoot upwards if they are high. This in turn lowers the demand for the goods. Zhiyue (1) states that it is of paramount importance for China to attain democracy. However it is a hard task to decide which democracy model should be implemented in China. He (145) notes that there are four democratization models that china could use. They are: social capital theory, modernization theory, negotiation-pact and the modernization theory. Each of these will be elaborated. The social mobilization theory states that democracy is not achieved by mere economic advancement (He 147). The modernization theory on the other hand (145) advocates for the fact that if a country is economically developed it is most likely to achieve high levels of democracy. The third theory which is negotiation-pact stipulates that the learned and the political leader are very important in order for a country to achieve democracy (He 153). He also notes that it is viewed as the most secure model for transition. He (154) continues to elaborate that for a country like China to attain democracy various factors which include the culture, her economic development, the politicians and the social classes have to be considered. In addition to considering these factors any other important issue should be put into consideration. A balance should be stricken between the various factors in order to achieve democracy without violence which could lead to unnecessary loss of property and lives. Therefore in attempt to answer the question it is worth noting that China’s economy is doing well. This means that there is increased trade, income and saving are high, the prices and inflation rates are low. This basically means that the economic arena is good. However, China has not yet attained democracy. Yanrui (2006) observes that globalization is the ability of the Chinese economy to interact profitably with the international business community. He additionally states that a country’s level of globalization can be gauged by looking at how the international business affects its economy. China has made use of the international trade and thus her exports rose to 593. 4 United States billion dollars in 2004 up from 9. 8 billion United States dollars. It is at this point that I would like to note that the domestic politics of a country affects her globalization. The political system of a country determines whether there will be free flow of goods, capital, services and people in and out of the country. As has already been stated above for a country to be considered internationalized it has to engage in international trade. Thanks to the Chinese government which discovered this earlier and implemented the 1978 reforms. This encouraged international trade which has made her economy to improve dramatically. However, this should not cause the countries to lose their political identity in the name of being internationalized. China has an edge over any other country that has not reached her level. (He 139) notes that the China is almost developing to the level of the developed world. He also observes that though China has developed in terms of trade she still lacks in the democracy (140). This is therefore a clear indicator that China has a democratic deficit which is caused by its communist system. It is therefore important for China to look for a suitable democratic model which she should implement in order to avert the democratic deficit. He adds that ninety per cent of the people in China feel that they should have democracy (145). China has become a very important destination for any organization in the world. The Economists intelligence Unit (10) notes that there is no serious multinational that can afford to ignore China in its business operations. It continues to elaborate that the emergence of a stable market which is easily accessible makes China a preferred market for many multinationals. To ensure that the multinationals adhere to the expected standards China has introduced laws and regulations to cater for the organizations. Global Corporate citizenship is whereby a multinational company registers in a particular country such as China in order for it to conduct business in the host country. This is done in China and it is important because those companies who conduct business in China are conversant with her laws and hence security is maintained despite there being foreigners in China. The foreigners feel part and parcel of the country. It is important that each and every country discover that though the economy could be doing very well they should also ensure that they attain democracy. They should consider the democratization theories and and come with a model that will favor them. Domestic politics should ensure that country develops economy wise. The factors of production as well as the resources should be distributed equitably for the benefit of all citizens and any other party willing to conduct business in the country. Works Cited. Dadush, Uri. Global outlook: Not your average Crisis. Massachusetts, International Economic Bulletin, 2010. Economist Intelligence Unit. Coming of Age: Multinational Companies in China. Hongkong, Russell Reynolds Associates Economist Intelligence Unit,2004. He, Kai, and Huiyun, Feng. â€Å"A path to democracy: In search of China’s Democratization Model Vol 32, No. 3, 2008. Keohane,Robert, and Helen Milner. Internationalization and domestic politics. United Kingdom,the press syndicate of the University of Cambridge,1996. MIT department of political science. Politics of globalization. Cambridge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2009. Yanrui, Wu. Economic growth transition and globalization in China: advances in Chinese Economic studies. U. K: Edward and elgar Publishing Ltd. , 2006. .Zhiyue,Bo. China’s model of democracy. Chicago, Political Science Association, 2009.

Advice: Times Essay

â€Å"No Michael no more baseball† my mother nagged. She had nagged on about this for the past month and a half. She really didn’t want me to play anymore I guess. But I didn’t listen to her because I felt that I was at my prime. So I played again but this time it was traveling season. So what that meant was we played all over the place. We was going to be champions, the all times greatest! I knew that we were going to make Plainfield proud. But things weren’t going so good when we had our second practice. The coaches had made us run around the whole field 5 times nonstop, so many people had thought about quitting. I had even thought about quitting myself. But I didn’t want to be known as a quitter. So what I did what practiced hard, I did all my laps before everybody until I had a â€Å"CRACK† than I just fell to the ground. At first I thought I had broken my leg until I moved it. I was in shock because I dint know what had happened. When the coach had came by I told him that I broke my knee. Then he said it wasn’t broke because I was able to move it. Then I left practice and went to the hospital The X-ray showed that I had fractured my knee. My mother was in shock but not about me she cared about the bill. Then she told me what she said a month ago about not playing baseball. But she was right, I should have listened to her. If I did maybe I wouldn’t have been in that predicament. Now today I’m left with a huge scar on my knee, two screws, and a limp walk. I mostly regret it because after the accident we went on the Disney cruise and I had to be in a wheel chair the whole time.

Significant Elements Of Joseph Conrad s Heart Of Darkness

Significant elements of Joseph Conrad’s novella ‘Heart of Darkness’ are appropriated into Francis Ford Coppola’s film ‘Apocalypse Now’ in the setting of the jungles of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. As the title suggests, Conrad’s novel deeply explores the ‘darkness’ potentially inherent in people’s hearts. Heart of Darkness is set on the Congo River during the European occupation of Africa. Conrad explores the effect of exploitation on humanity. Similarly, Coppola’s film explores the metaphorical ‘darkness’ in Vietnam that causes the ‘apocalypse’ in the soldiers’ hearts, when they were sent to Vietnam. Coppola’s film itself is a metaphor for a journey into the self and shows how darkness can overwhelm humanity as a result of imperialism and war. Coppola use the nature of appropriation to explore the universal truths about humanity through their respective texts with the ir own individual contextual ideas. Conrad’s Heart of darkness, written in the 18th century at the time of the Belgian imperialistic advance and was based on Conrad’s personal experience travelling to Africa. The novella conveys the critical ideas of imperialism and racism referring to the natives as ‘Charlies’ and ‘dinks’, as well as the universal truths that humanity will degenerate in the absence of constraints. This aligns with how these central themes are presented in the film, Apocalypse Now. Kurtz’s role in Heart of Darkness was that of an Ivory Tradesman, which was a popular activity in the midShow MoreRelatedShakespeare s Heart Of Darkness1424 Words   |  6 Pages Relevance of Heart of Darkness Alexander Spirovski LITR 211 Professor David Auchter â€Æ' Joseph Conrad s Heart of Darkness contains both relevant and irrelevant elements to today s society. 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Vietnam And Its Effects On The United States - 2116 Words

Vietnam was originally a French colony located in Indochina. After the end of the First Indochina War when the French were defeated by the Vietnamese in 1954, the French persisted to obtain their freedom. They sought to obtain it by signing the Geneva Peace Accords, granting freedom to most of the colonies but left Vietnam divided at the seventeenth parallel into two different states. The northern portion was controlled by the Vietnamese, while the south was controlled by France, later on by the United States. The Viet Minh, governed by Ho Chi Minh, however were determined to rule over all the territory surrounding its borders so elections were scheduled hopefully to reunite the country under a strict Communist government. The Communists had a good probability of winning the elections due to their superiority in organizations, but the United States did as much as possible to keep Communism out of the South and other regions prone to falling into it. As the new Superpowers emerged aft er the end of World War II, the challenge of maintaining authority over targeted territory remained, but it was completely challenged by getting involved in the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War, being one of the longest wars recorded in American History, was also marked as the first War that made the United States fail with their plans of eradicating Communism to secure land that could be run by an independent government. Additionally, this war was broadcast on television, which allowed people toShow MoreRelatedVietnam And Its Effects On The United States1101 Words   |  5 PagesVietnam exports mainly rice, crude oil, textiles, garment products, rubber, rice, coffee, beans, seafood, electronics and computers. Its major exports partners are: United States, China, Japan, Singapore and Australia. 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