A Rumi of One’s Own Essay Example for Free

A Rumi of One’s Own Essay Several years ago Kabir Helminski, a sheikh of the Mevlevi Order of Sufism, received a call from Madonna’s producer, who wanted to hire his troupe of whirling dervishes for a music video inspired by the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi. Helminski read the script, learned that a guy would be lying on top of Madonna while she sang â€Å"Let’s get unconscious, honey,† and wrote a polite letter declining the request. He also sent a package of books so that the singer might get a better sense of Rumi’s teachings. Like many Persian literary scholars, Helminski, who runs the Threshold Society, a Sufi study center in California, has had little success in convincing Americans that Rumi is about more than transcendent sex. (Madonna later recited Rumi’s poems on a CD, A Gift of Love, along with Goldie Hawn and Martin Sheen.) One of the five best-selling poets in America, Rumi, who was born 800 years ago in what is now part of Afghanistan, has become famous for his ability to convey mystical passion: his lovers are frequently merging into one, forgetting who they are, and crying out in pain. Yet his religious work—one book is popularly called the â€Å"Koran in Persian†Ã¢â‚¬â€is often ignored. To uncover and celebrate his heritage, UNESCO has declared 2007 the Year of Rumi; conferences about his work are being held in Istanbul, Kabul, Tehran, Dushanbe, and Ann Arbor. One of the featured speakers in Ann Arbor this fall will be Coleman Barks, an American poet who is largely responsible for Rumi’s American popularity as well as his reputation as an erotic soul-healer. Born in Tennessee, Barks freely admits to not knowing Persian (scholars call his best-selling works from the translations of others â€Å"re-Englishings†). While his poems are far more elegant and accessible than any previous English renditions, they tend to turn holy scenes into moments of sexual passion. Sometimes he takes out references to God and replaces them with â€Å"love.† As he explained in the introduction to his 2001 collection of poems, The Soul of Rumi, â€Å"I avoid God-words, not altogether, but wherever I can, because they seem to take away the freshness of experience and p ut it inside a specific system.† But Rumi, who spent most of his adult life in Konya, Turkey, based his life and poetry around that system. The son of an Islamic preacher, he prayed five times a day, made pilgrimages to Mecca, and memorized the Koran. Under the influence of an older dervish, Shams of Tabriz, he devoted his life to Sufism, an ancient, mystical branch of Islam. Sufis are less concerned with the codes and rituals of Islam than with making direct contact with God; as one scholar puts it, â€Å"Sufism is the core of the religion, the nut without the shell.† Still, the traditional Islamic texts are central to the faith. â€Å"I am the slave of the Qur’an and dust under the feet of Muhammad,† Rumi writes. â€Å"Anyone who claims otherwise is no friend of mine.† Rumi put forth an alarming quantity of writing—about 70,000 verses in 25 years—which affords translators the luxury of leaving out poems that might alienate the average American reader. In the introduction to his 2003 Rumi: The Book of Love,Barks jokes that his previous book of translations â€Å"achieved the cultural status of an empty Diet Coke can.† He gives the language a Southern hominess and an almost childlike simplicity: Love comes sailing through and I scream. Love sits beside me like a private supply of itself. Love puts away the instruments and takes off the silk robes. Our nakedness   together changes me completely. Starting with 50-year-old prose translations by the British scholar A.J. Arberry, Barks takes liberties to make Rumi’s language more accessible and universal. Occasionally this results in more than subtle changes in meaning. In one mistake, documented by the independent scholar Ibrahim Gamard, Barks mistranslates the word â€Å"blind† as â€Å"blond† due to a typo in Arberry’s version—inadvertently turning a scene about the abandonment of those who don’t know God (â€Å"Bright-hearted companions, haste, despite all the blind ones, to home, to home!†) into a part about resisting sexual lures (â€Å"I know it’s tempting to stay and meet these blonde women†). In Rumi’s time, it’s hard to imagine that there were many women with yellow hair; there wasn’t even a word for it. Barks’s wholesome soulfulness should be credited for bringing Rumi’s work to popularity, but in the process he leaves behind perhaps the most important part of the poems. â€Å"Rumi is not a great poet in spite of Islam,† says William Chittick, a Sufi literature scholar at Stony Brook University. â€Å"He’s a great poet because of Islam. It’s because he lived his religion fully that he became this great expositor on beauty and love.† There’s a sense in Rumi’s poems that he is at his emotional limits, simultaneously ecstatic and exhausted. His faith seems desperate, and almost tangible. Such devotion is striking because it’s inspired by God, not by the promise of sex as it sometimes appears in the translations. â€Å"He was the most important religious figure of his day,† says Jawid Mojaddedi, an Afghan-born Rumi scholar at Rutgers, whose translation of Book Two of Rumis Masnavi came out this month. â€Å"And yet people are shocked to find out Rumi was Muslim; they assume he must have spent his life persecuted for his beliefs, hiding in some cave in Afghanistan. We talk of clash of civilizations, and yet there’s this link that needs to be spelled out.† (Rumi’s success in America has actually boosted his popularity, Mojaddedi says, in parts of the Middle East.) But for many readers, Rumi’s Persian background has little bearing on the force of his poems. He has come to embody a kind of free-for-all American spirituality that has as much to do with Walt Whitman as Muhammad. Rumi’s work has become so universal that it can mean anything; readers use the poems for recreational self-discovery, finding in the lines whatever they wish. â€Å"It’s impossible to take Rumi out of context,† says Shahram Shiva, a Rumi translator and performance poet who regularly gives readings of Rumi’s poems, often in yoga studios. â€Å"Great art doesn’t need context,† he says. â€Å"The best thing for Beethoven’s popularity was when they put a disco beat behind Symphony no. 5.† Shiva recites Rumi to the accompaniment of flute, piccolo, piano, conch shell, and harmonica and belts out the lines in a deep, sultry Broadway voice. â€Å"Rumi’s one of the great creative beings on this planet,† he says, â€Å"a mixture of Mozart and Francis [of] Assisi, with a little Galileo thrown in, and maybe some Shakespeare and Dante.† In his most anthologized poems Rumi comes off as a saintly Tony Robbins, urging people to break barriers, stop worrying, touch the sky, make love, never surrender. It’s as if publishers worry that reading poetry is such a fragile enterprise that too much weight and context and not enough sex will scare everyone away. Helminski, who used to run a publishing company that put out Barks’s early books, noticed a consistent sensibility in the lines readers were requesting permission to quote: those suggesting that there’s no conventional morality, no such thing as ethical failure. The number one requested line was â€Å"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing / there is a field. I’ll meet you there.† â€Å"Our culture is so shame-ridden that when someone comes along and says, ‘You’re OK,’ it’s a great relief,† says Helminski. â€Å"Americans still have an adolescent relationship with Rumi. It will take some maturing before we move beyond the clichà ©s.†

Mahatma Gandhi Essay Example for Free

Mahatma Gandhi Essay In 1978, James McGregor Burns wrote about the dearth of leadership. One of the most universal cravings of our time is a hunger for compelling and creative leadership. McGregor Burns’ search for moral leadership reveals the tragedy of leadership studies- the confusion of leadership with power. Traditionally, leaders have been defined as those who hold power; allowing presidents, prime ministers and military generals, regardless of their accomplishments, to be considered leaders. Leadership studies have been further detracted from moral leadership because of the confusion of leadership with management. John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, and Bill Gates are considered leaders for the economic power they amassed. The confusion of leadership with power and leadership with management has led to a model of leadership that is Machiavellian (manipulative), hierarchical, authoritative, impersonal, elitist, and self-interested. The person I believe to be the greatest leader of the twentieth century exhibited none of the qualities named above. This person held no official political title; he commanded no army and he amassed no great wealth. He did, however, have tremendous influence. This truly exemplary leader derived his power from the conscious citizenry. The leader I am referring to is Mahatma Gandhi. Instrumental in the Indian Independence movement, Gandhi’s influence extended beyond the borders of India to the rest of the world. Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence inspired millions, including the great American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. A simple, pious man, Gandhi identified with and won the hearts of India’s most politically and economically marginalized people. He spent his life fighting to overcome modern forms of enslavement and oppression- caste oppression, religious hatred, gender oppression, and, what he saw as the worst form of violence, poverty. The purpose of this essay is to outline Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence and it’s influence worldwide as well as the strategies and characteristics that made Gandhi successful. Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence involved civil resistance, refusal to comply with unjust laws. He developed this philosophy while living and practicing law in South Africa. Organizing resistance to the notorious and grossly unjust apartheid system, which provoked significant legislative change, Gandhi left an indelible mark on the South African struggle for racial justice. Upon his return to India in 1915, Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence became infused with the struggle for swaraj (self-rule). In India, Gandhi raised his philosophy of non-violence to new levels of sophistication. Gandhi believed that organized non-violent civil resistance, not war, would awaken the consciousness of the British to their unjust domination over India. This was the belief that guided the Bardoili protest, the Amritsar Massacre and the Salt March. Gandhi’s mobilizations were so successful that they tarnished Britain’s international reputation and provoked irreversible change in Britain’s policy towards India, illustrating the potential of organized non-violent civil resistance. Gandhi was an uncompromising opponent of violence. He knew that using violence to fight violence corrupts and debases even the most noble of causes and leaves a legacy of bloodshed. If we look to the revolutionary movements of the twentieth century, we see the truth in Gandhi’s beliefs. The Bolsheviks, Maoists, the Khmer Rouge, the Shining Path, Sein Fein and the Palestinian Liberation Organization all left tremendous bloodshed in the paths towards liberation. They left a legacy of death and violence, rather than peace. Gandhi knew that the only solution to hatred, ignorance and fear was love, truth, and forgiveness. He knew that overcoming unjust hierarchies doesn’t mean inverting them; it means eliminating them altogether. Gandhi and his followers, like those who risked their lives to hide Jews during the Nazi regime, were prepared to die to make injustice visible for the entire world to see. For Gandhi, truth was a powerful weapon, needing no others. Indeed, truth has proven to be the most powerful weapon humanity has even known. One of the strategies that made Gandhi an effective leader was his ability to build bridges between communities, between upper and lower caste Hindus and among Hindus, Muslims and Christians. Gandhi saw the intrinsic humanity of all individuals, regardless of their caste, religion, gender, or social position in society. Deeply upset by communalism (Hindu-Muslim animosity), Gandhi was able to promote religious harmony through his personal and public actions. When this harmony was threatened, he fasted. Gandhi’s tremendous ability to bring an end to provincial and religious hatreds was tested time and time again with the Yeravda Pact and his fasts to end violence in Calcutta, Bengal and Delhi. One of the characteristics that made Gandhi successful was his ability to identify with the poor masses of India. Gandhi’s philosophy of self-rule distinguished itself from the elitism that characterized the Indian Independence movement, as well as virtually all other Independence movements of this century. Gandhi knew that freeing India from the yoke of imperialism also meant freeing the masses from economic servitude. Gandhi was opposed to Independence for only an elite few; he was fearful of an Independent India that would replicate past religious, caste and economic oppressions. Gandhi provided leadership by example. He exhibited the perfect marriage between personal morality and public action. The best example of this was his use of homespun cloth that provided employment for the poor masses and revived the village economy. In a world in which the inequalities generated by a global economy are becoming more obvious and frightening, Gandhi’s critique of technology and economies that benefit the powerful and marginalize the powerless is all too relevant today. The best demonstration of Gandhi’s leadership is his worldwide influence. American civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr., the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Belo of East Timor, and countless other leaders have been deeply influenced by Gandhi and his philosophy of non-violence. For example, in 1994, in a Gandhian spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation, Nelson Mandela reached out to his adversaries- the same ones who had tortured and imprisoned him to bring an end to apartheid rule. Gandhi’s greatest legacy is the notoriety he achieved for advocating non-violence as a means of overcoming oppression. It is this belief that guides the actions of millions of average citizens who participate in civil society movements today across the globe. A tribute to Gandhi’s enduring lifetime achievements will be paid by naming the first decade of the new millenium the United Nations Decade of Non-Violence. No greater tribute has ever been paid to a leader of this century. Inspired and profoundly moved by his life and work, I hope the Decade of Non-Violence will truly awaken the consciousness of humanity into liberating ourselves from all and every kind of oppression; using truth as our only tool.

Investigation and evaluation of environmental analysis

Investigation and evaluation of environmental analysis This assignment was given to me as well as to everyone else in the group by Ms. Karen Abberton. It is requested to be done as part of the course work experience in order to see how well students understood business management structure of the company they completed their work experience in. The brief for this assignment was given to us on the 16th of September 2009 and was requested to be submitted by the 16th of December 2009. As a business course student it is very important for me to understand business management, how a well organized business works and how it can change the wellbeing of an organization. In order to create a successful company or to upgrade an existing one, we should know what opportunities this organization has. We should be able to position the organization in the market scale against its competitors if there are any. The environmental analysis of a company helps us to see negative and positive elements of the organization, what in future might make us change s ome of the strategies in order to make the company more confident and invulnerable. 3. Methods of procedures Quite a few different sources were used by me in order to construct this report. In the first place based on the information received during Marketing Management Classes in Balsbridge College a lot of handouts were given to me as well as examples based on work of real existing companies and practical exercises. Also based on my work experience in KWE World Express where I have spent over two years working as Exports coordinator. I have included mainly secondary research and applied academic theories in order to support my assignment. Books, internet and newspapers. 4. Findings 4.1 Description of organization Is a Freight Forwarding International company which started its business in 1948 and was established in 1970 in Japan. At present there are 297 offices in 192 cities in 31 of the world it and employs over 8,000 people around the world. It is a tall company with LTD-limited Liability. Its product is the service the company provides to its customers. KWE is one of the leading freight forwarding companies in the world. Domestic and foreign air and ocean freight forwarding business, trucking company agent, customs agent, and transportation agent.There are two offices in Ireland: Dublin and Cork. Dublin office is located beside the Dublin airport in Horizon Logistics Park. It employs 26 people working in the office and 1 person working as sales representative visiting potential customers, (so called sales on the road). Dublin office organizes imports and exports of freight by road, sea-ocean and air. It has been established in Ireland in 1998 and managed to gain and keep quite a number of big and growing customers. Some of them are quite known pharmaceutical companies like Takeda, Astellas. Takeda is has been Dublins branch customer for over 10 years and there are two people in the company who are responsible for Takeda account. Astellas is a new pharmaceutical company which imports and exports up to 5 tons of cargo weekly with the KWEs help. I cant go any further until I mention such a well known customer of KWE as Dell. Dell have been KWEs customer for quite a long time, but as far as I know just before I left the company last spring Dell moved its main production to Poland which means the account was lost. There are still some transactions but only occasionally. Below I would like to show the structure of KWE in a chart. The first chart will show the main offices and the second chart will give information of the Dublins branch. Now I would like to point out the countries which go under the supervision of the areas shown in the chart: Americas: Brazil, Canada, Mexico, USA Asia and Oceania: Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, UAE, Vietnam. Europe and Africa: Belgium, Czech, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland Russia, South Africa, Sweden, U.K., Switzerland. Japan is the head office, each country should report to the headquarters main office, and the headquarters main office reports to Japan. Dublin Office Chart: As you can see it is a tall company, but lets start from the bottom. Each staff member should report to its supervisor, the supervisor reports to the department manager and the manager should report to the M.D. For Example I would report to Sandra White, she in her turn would report to John OShaugnessy and John should report to Thomas Weppelmann. In reality Thomas Weppelmann is responsible for more than just Dublin office. It means if the issue is not very big it will be resolved within the company, but if a decision has to be made like who to make redundant than Thomas Weppelmann will have to take part in the final decision, but still the opinion of John OShaugnessy is essential here as he spends more time with his staff and he knows everyones performance abilities. As already said the company is a freight forwarding agent. Its job is to safely transport goods from point A to point B, with the help of haulers, shipping lines or airlines.   Sales Department: Manager Karl OReilly Mark Fuller and Josephine Kill under his supervision. The aim of the department is to sell the companys product, which is service. They are a kind of companys advertisers. It is also under their responsibility to give price quotes to any customer inquiring a service to any destination of the world. Sales department is the start point of any shipment. They should know: 1. What kind of cargo 2. Where is it going to? 3. Dimensions and weight of goods 4. When the goods can be ready for transportation? 5. What is the desired date of transportation? And many more, the reason I say many more is because each customer and each type of cargo is different in its way. It can be smaller or bigger, it might be urgent on normal, it may go to different destinations and so on, it can be different types of goods and so on. The sales department goal is to give customer an impression that we are the only company in the country who can provide the cheapest, the safest and the best service off all. The information they give to the potential customer should be as accurate as possible, in order to avoid any issues later down the line. Imports Department: Eamonn Grogan and David Howell are responsible for Air Imports, the aim of these two people is to proceed the imported cargo as per government rules and regulations and to make sure that nothing bad happens to the cargo from the moment it arrives into Dublin and until the moment it is delivered to the final destination. They should make sure that the information they fill in the customs docs should be 100% correct, because any wrong steps or wrong information can lead to big fines for the company. Paul Byrne is dealing with DHL account, his job is to look after road exports and imports. Sarahs job is to look after sea imports and exports. She should be aware of the timetable of the ships and feeder vessels; she should daily check if the ships with different containers arrived into the transit port and left it as pre the time timetable.   On the import side the procedure is pretty much the same as air imports, all the goods should be customs cleared and delivery organized unless customer wants different. Exports Department: Sandra White, Joanne Howe and myself, responsible for air exports. Responsibilities include negotiating the prices with the airlines, checking the post flights on daily basis, organizing pickups and deliveries to airport. I was working in the Air Exports Department. I personally was responsible for some of the imports and accounts jobs as when I joined the company there wasnt too much job in the exports department and people from other departments used to give me staff to do. In general my main responsibility was checking the post flights in the mornings, than I was preparing the airway bills for that days shipments arranging collections, customs clearance for the shipments. My duties also included Cass Reports twice a month they are bills from the airlines which have to be checked if the amounts to be paid match the amounts on the bills, reports for customers, earlier mentioned    Astellas account is one of the customers who require weekly and monthly reports of the shipments KWE handle for them it was also one of my responsibilities. Accounts department: Sylvia Smith is the H.R. representative but geographically she is part of the accounts department, and her job is closely related to accounts. She is responsible for payroll. Her duties include to staff and operate the organization. Nicolla Uzell and Michelle Boylan are responsible for the accounts of the company. I think this departments duties dont have to be explained. Avril Reilly receptionist, she is the first person anyone speaks to on the phone. She has to sort the post, make sure that no unattended people are on the territory of the company. Warehouse: Mickael Tallon ahs 3 people under his supervision, their duties include packaging the goods for exports, delivering cargo and documents to the airport. Collecting cargo from the customers, delivering imported cargo to the customer, labeling the shipments with the referenced stickers. That is pretty much the structure of the KWE and the explanation of the different departments duties. 4.2 Internal influence on organization. Tangible assets:   these are the things which can be touched; we can also call it touchable: furniture, transport, equipment, it system. Furniture is the one of the assets KWE has which belongs strictly to the company as well as transport (Kintetsu Dublin owns one company car which is mainly used by the manager but it can be also used by any member of the staff unless they dont possess a full driving license), Also KWE owns a 20ft container truck which is used on the daily basis for collections and deliveries of the cargo. Equipment is a property owned by KWE, it includes copy machines, printers, fax machines, computers, a fork lift in the warehouse. IT system is another tangible asset the company owns. It belongs wholly to KWE and cannot be used by any other company. Intangible assets: The difference from the tangible assets is that intangible assets cannot be physically touched but it doesnt mean that its value is less than of those tangible ones. Intangible values of the KWE are: name, intellectual property. KWE name is a well known brand in the freight forwarding business circle. KWE is in the first ten biggest and known freight forwarding companies of the world. KWE has a good service reputation, and a good relationship with its customers built during many years with the help of the services provided.   Intellectual property is one of the strongest assets of KWE. Most of the people working for the company have many years of experience working in the business, which is supported by completing different courses from time to time, which gives staff the ability to be up to date with any innovations. Capabilities: It is the ability of the company, its staff to achieve the objectives, which lid to the achievement of the mission. What KWE capable is of: each department has an objective which is to gain as many customers as possible, and customers are money profit. But how strong are the capabilities of the company to achieve. What KWE are well capable for is to keep the existing customers, of course it gained a few new ones in the last period of time but only a few not because they are not capable to, because of the already mentioned economical crisis. Value chain analysis: Is one of the tools we can use to see the companys steps taken for creating the greatest possible value for its customers. It shows how the product of a company looks from its infinitive conditions and step by step it becomes a finished product which is a value for customers, who are ready to use it only in its final, result condition. In KWE it is the service they provide. But the customer is not interested and some of them dont even know what is used to provide the service they require. Value chain is a chain of procedures, and action taken which are applied in any organization. It includes: Inbound logistics Operations Outbound Logistics Marketing and sales Service I would like to demonstrate this chain in a real example. I will describe a day of work dealing with a particular customer in exports department. Inbound Logistics: 1. 10 am a call received from a ones off customer by our sales department for an urgent shipment to Japan. Customer needs a quote. 2. Sales get the information required in order to proceed the quote. 3. Sales let know the air exports department about a potential shipment to Japan and the information about the goods, dimensions and weight in order for the exports department to book a collection. 4. If the shipment was going let say to Canada than sales would have to contact different airlines for a quote, but because KWE have a daily consol going to Narita and Osaka in Japan they know how much it will cost the company for that particular shipment. All sales do is add up collection fee different airline fees, security if applies VAT and give the customer an estimated time of arrival of the shipment to the final destination and the total price. If customer agrees to the price the first part is done. Customer cannot refuse to go ahead because of the ETA estimated time of arrival, because any other airline can give whether later arrival time or the same one, the choice here is not a major one. There are only 2 airlines flying directly to Japan from London, none from Dublin. The inbound logistics part is done. Operations: After shipments arrival into KWE warehouse it has to be repacked (usually put on a pallet and wrapped with plastic cover to avoid any loss of the boxes from the pallet or water damage and so on.) A sticker with correct ref number matching the reference on the documents has to be labeled to the box now the shipment is ready to be loaded on the truck to go the port and connect Ulysses vessel to London.   Outbound Logistics: It is the main process of the transportation. Next morning exports department have to ring Japan airlines in order to see if cargo managed to get to their warehouse for the cut off time to go on the plane. If so we can advice our customer, if requested, that the shipment is in London as scheduled and should arrive Osaka next morning. Marketing and Sales: As you can see the sales department did its job in the very start of this operation. And in this particular case all they can do is to send a thank you for using our company service and a kind of advertising to this new customer who may appear to be not just a once off one. Advertisement can include the information of thee services KWE provides and letting the customer know about different destinations and our availability anytime with mobile all the details included and company mobile numbers. Service: Is the final result. The cargo arrival to the final destination point. It is in time as promised. All safe without any damage, this is where the value to our product is added in the eyes of the customer. And trust me this customer will advice our services to its friend, and thats how KWE becomes a brand name. The main winning point for any business is TIME. A company cannot become famous in 1-2 months time from the moment it opened. 4.3 External influence on organization. Marketing Environment consists of the macro and micro-environment. The macro-environment includes large social forces that affect micro-environment, and usually cant be controlled by the company. It is an external structure which includes the following: Political Economical Opportunities and Threads Social PEST and Porter Five Forces Technology   Natural And micro-environment consists of forces that are under control of the company. Micro-environment influences the ability of the company in producing a required service to its customers. It is an internal structure which includes the following Suppliers Customers Company Strengths and Weaknesses Marketing intermediaries Publics PEST analysis. Quite often someone who starts a business doesnt realize how important environmental factors for an organization are. I mean the country a certain business will be started in. It is very important for a new business owner to understand and to be aware of the political, social, economical and technological factors of the country the business is going to work in. A PEST analysis is one of those tools that help to understand the external environment of the organization. P Political  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   S Social E Economical  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   T Technology Political factors Can have a direct impact on the way a company operates. This factor does not depend on internal work of the company. Only decisions made by government affect the operations. Political factors include such areas as: v What is government policy on the cargo transportation? v Labor Law  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   v Government Stability   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   a)   There is a law referring to imported and exported goods in Ireland. This would include: goods imported or exported to or out of Ireland have to be customs cleared; all goods have to be declared on the paperwork, airway bills or bill of ladings. There is a law referring the goods for resale or personal effects goods. There is a law concerning import or export of medical goods and many other laws and regulations which strictly have to be obeyed by the transportation agents.    b) Labor law can influence a companys performance a lot. Ages ago people could work 24 hours a day and for very cheap pay, nowadays people cannot work more than 4 hours without a brake of 1 hour and no more than 8 hours a day. Total hours worked in a week should be no more than 40 hours. Min pay per hour has been implemented. During my employment in KWE I noticed that the rules and labor law regulations were followed as per law, every employee has been given a copy of the KWE handbook where everyone coul d see a detailed description of the companys policy and entitlements procedures     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   c) All the factors included above depend on how stable the government is. Any of the above can be easily changed due to government change or government instability. Government changes or coming of the new political parties can influence the organizations total figures. Business owners feel better to move the business to a country with growing economy rather than keep it in Ireland, where economy is down at present. Poland for example, labor is chea per, government taxes are lower. Transportation laws are softer. This follows with loss of clients for KWE. Economical Factors All types of organizations are affected by economical factors locally and globally. It doesnt matter if the economy is in a boom, recession or recovery all these affect consumer confidence and behavior. Economical factors affect the purchasing power of potential buyers. It also influences the internal and external economy. Economical factors include: v Exchange Rates v Economic downturn v The level of inflation v VAT rate a) Interest rates influence the company sometimes positively, but sometimes negatively. Because KWE deals with customers and agents all over the world, invoices the company gets are in different currencies, so the exchange rates which are in place of the payment day can influence the amount to be transferred for payment in foreign currency. Quite often payments are queried because of the exchange rate changing every day.   b) The present economical crisis negatively influences not only KWE but the general business structure of Ireland. People get redundant, companies lose experienced staff. A team which is used to perfectly fulfill its duties when everyone is in, looses the ability to do it in case of some people (not just one) of the team are not present. Performance of the companies is down, because not a full team works in the operations department. c) Level of inflation if it lows down than the customers are not very confident in using a service or buying a good. Social Factor: Social factor include the demographic changes of the country and of the world. KWE is a company who has offices all over the world so not only local demographics affect the business. These factors affect customers needs and size of potential markets. Information about demographical situation in Ireland can be found on the website: www.cso.ie . Social factors include: v How are views expressed? v Age v Career attitudes Technological factors. Technological factors are very important tools for an organization. Up to date technology can change the level of production, can improve peoples work performance and can change internal environment of an organization. Technological factor includes: v Impact of the internet v Software v Online Customs Clearance Internet is one of the most powerful technology inventions which were ever created. It helps people instantly send and receive information to and from agents, customers, suppliers and so on. Software- used in KWE for printing the documents for cargo and invoices was an old one, just before I left the company people started to be trained to use a new software which was easier to use, more friendly and could save time to staff because of the features and benefits it had and the old system didnt. Online Customs a few years ago I order to customs clear exported or imported goods the staff of the company were fill in all the customs declaration attach the documents for the shipment and physically go to the customs office and hand everything in. it was taking hours but sometimes days to customs clear the cargo. It was a problem for more people you can imagine: transportation agent, customer, customers customerand so on. After that an online system was brought to life to customs clear the goods. It saved people time increased the shipments, increased performance and increased the profits for customs office (which is regulated by the government), and for freight forwarding agents. From this analysis we can see how the PEST analysis can change the performance and may be predicting the near future of an organization even though a PEST as we know is an external factor which doesnt depend of the companys strategic. The most important of all four factors of PEST for KWE are the PET. We can see that technology had a huge impact on the company and freight forwarding business itself; economical factors like exchange rates have permanent influence different laws and regulation like the goods imported within EU are going under T1 status which means they dont need to be customs cleared and it eases the procedure and makes it cheaper as no customs charges apply. It was said that on tomorrows budget meeting 09-12-09 the government wants to bring the VAT up, which will hit the customers and KWE even more, negatively. It will work out better for companies to buy the goods they need across the border in England as the VAT is much lower there.   Porter Five Porters This model was invented by Michael E. Porter he wrote a book called Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors. Since then, people use this structure for analyzing a companys industry structure and its corporate strategy. Porter described five forces that shape every single industry and market. These forces help us to analyze everything from the intensity of competition to the profitability and attractiveness of an industry. The structure below:   Threat of substitute. 1. The time is wrong (economy is low). Bad time for any industry to be started right now. 2. This type of industry might need a much bigger capital to start the company than a local shop for example. 3. A lot of companies producing the goods for exports move out of Ireland to cheaper countries in Europe or Asia. (Dell moved to Poland, Xilinx-who were one of the biggest customers of KWE for nearly 10 years, moved to Asia) Cheaper countries means: cheap labor, cheap government taxes, VAT on imported goods and so on. Threat of new entrants. 1. If we look to substitute service KWE is providing than rivalry is quite high. There tens of companies at present competing for business in freight forwarding domain who can offer better service or rates. Due to high number of competitors with the same strategies and a lot of them being the same size the mission of KWE and many other organization in that industry is to just stay in for the moment until things pick up. Power of Supplier. Suppliers just like KWE are not in a very strong position at present. KWE can chose from many different suppliers and negotiate the rates to KWEs advantage. From many years of working in Ireland KWE managed to set up accounts and to build a business relation with many different suppliers, so at present if they move from one to another it wont be a totally new one which means there will be no switching cost involved. Switching doesnt affect KWE it only affects   the airlines, trucking companies or feeder vessels. Power of buyer. This is exactly who is in a winning position at the moment. If we look at it, it can be whether KWE or their customers in this position. Customers now win as they buy cheap transportation of cargo worldwide. KWE wins as well as it buys cheap service from its supplier another side of it is that KWE have sell thing they for very cheap as well, so the profit they make at present is minimum. Competitive rivalry of freight forwarding business. Conclusion: from the point of view of new entrants into the business rivalry is minimum and from the point of view that customers may move to a substitute supplier, rivalry is maximum. Competitive rivalry is high for KWE at present. So we cannot say for definite now that there is someone in a winning position in the present economical crises. Product can be easily substituted, suppliers can be easily substituted, each of them buys cheap and sells cheap. The only definite winner is the final consumer like us who doesnt buy imported goods for resale. The prices in Ireland on different products decreased a lot. The only problem is that the final consumer doesnt have the ability to buy as the income of people is very low and even worse people lose their jobs. 4.4 Internal and External influence on organization SWOT analysis Strengths: v Staff v Name v Experience v Global coverage v Long term contracts with suppliers v Consolidation Weaknesses: v Price of Services v Large number of players v Staff v Overseas agents. Opportunities: v Funding v New Services v Staff training v Technology investments Threats: v Economy v Falling Sales v Cash Flow Internal analysis Strengths of KWE Kintetsu World Express: Staff is one of the most important strengths of the company. A well trained and experienced staff is companys biggest advantage. Name KWE is a well known, recognized name in freight forwarding business area. Companies who supply different types of goods worldwide are well familiar with KWE as a freight forwarding company. Experience Many years worked in freight forwarding area gives the company an advantage. Global Coverage KWE provides services into main and secondary destinations worldwide. It can deliver any type of goods into most cities in the world. Long terms contracts with suppliers gives KWE the opportunity to offer its customers competitive rates as the rates they have with their suppliers are based on long term relationship. Weaknesses of KWE Kintetsu World Express: Prices of Services Air freight for example, some competitors might have their own planes flying to different destinations worldwide (ex. DHL) of course no matter how low the rates are DHL offers to KWE they can steel offer cheaper transportation to the customers and KWEs rates are going to be higher in comparison.   Large number of players a lot of competitors in freight forwarding business quite a big number of which might offer better rates and bigger service Staff as well as staff can be a strength it can also be a weakness. Some workers are not very competent in doing their job; some are not team players which is very important in an organization. It gives birth to a weak operating performance. External analysis. Opportunities of KWE Kintetsu World Express: Funding Investments could help the company in present economical crisis to gain new customers. Example: Invest in companys transport; trucks 40 foot containers could help offer customers cheaper transportation charges on road freight. New Services could gain new customers or provide new business for existing customers. Threats of KWE Kintetsu World Express: Economy is one of the external factors of macro-environment. As said before it doesnt depend on the companys strategy. This is exactly what happens in the current economical environment, when economy negatively influences the business. People losing jobs, sales drop, annual profit targets fail to be reached and so on. Falling Sales this is also what is happening at present due to economical crisis. But it can also happen when economy rises, depending on the companys marketing management.   How good are the strategies of the company, and how efficient are they for the org

How Americans Have Fought War Throughout History Essay -- American War

War is an art form. Everything from the tactics of battle to the uniforms to the weapons to the soldiers, every part has a certain role to play. From the very beginnings of war, there have been those societies that have excelled. Take the Spartans of ancient Rome. Considered by some as the greatest warriors of all time, these human war machines were bred for war. Boys were taken at young ages and taught the art of war until it became part of their soul. Then there were the Mongols. These fierce Central Asian steppe peoples dominated the Asian mainland for nearly a century. Fast forward a few years and the British Empire takes form, and sea warfare is perfected by the British Royal Navy. Now it seems as though America has become the world standard for military power. In its short history of war, America has employed the use of innovative tactics and controversial strategies, all of which were necessary for American victory. America’s first war, its war for independence included the use of a new strategy. American militia men, knowing they were overwhelmingly outmatched by the British Army, used a form of guerilla warfare in order to defeat the British. The colonists would launch surprise attacks on the unsuspecting British, catching them by surprise and sometimes defeating them (Kraplin 5). This was a step away from the form of warfare the British were used to. There were many other tactics the colonists used that the British were not used to, as well. The militiamen would often hide behind trees and fire upon the British soldiers as they marched by (5). This was also new to the British soldiers, who were used to facing an enemy on an open field, lining up, and firing away. This strategy also fit into the form of a g... ...y of Wisconsin Press, Madison, WI, 1968. Pike, John. "Napalm." Globalsecurity.org. N.p., 27 Nov 2005. Web. 23 May 2010. Preston, Anthony, Decisive Battles of the Pacific War. Chartwell Book, Seacus, NJ, 1979. Roth, David E., The Civil War. Quadrillion Publishing. 1992 Simkin, John, Chemical Warfare, n. pag., Web. 14 Mar 2010 http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/VNchemical.html Thomson, Sir Robert. War in Peace. London, England: Orbis Publishing Ltd., 1981. 181-168. Print. US Dept. of Energy, . "The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima."US Department of Energy: Office of Heritage and History. US Department of Energy, n.d. Web . 20 May 2010. . Weigley, Russel F., The American Way of War. Indiana University Press. Bloomington, IN, 1973.

The Shift in Abortion Policy in the 1800s Essay -- History Abortion Fe

The Shift in Abortion Policy in the 1800s "In 1800 no jurisdiction in the United Sates had enacted any statutes whatsoever on the subject of abortion... Yet by 1900 virtually every jurisdiction in the United States had laws upon its books that proscribed the practice sharply and declared most abortions to be criminal offenses" (Mohr p. VII). Societal Changes from the Early 1800s to the Mid 1800s During the early 1800s, abortion at the beginning of a pregnancy was neither immoral nor criminal. Common law held that before 'quickening,' the first perception of fetal movement by the mother, usually during the second trimester, the fetus was not alive or independent. After quickening abortion was a criminal offense, because the fetus had demonstrated the beginnings of independent life (Mohr p. 1). Since the point of quickening varied from woman to woman and depended upon her word, it was near impossible to prosecute criminal abortions (Mohr p. 2). Most of the laws of the early 1800s were aimed not at prosecuting women for obtaining an abortion, but rather to protect them from medical malpractice such as poisoning, physical harm, and unwanted abortions (Mohr p. 21, 28) (see mollie smith case link). Information on abortion was available to women primarily through home medical manuals and journals. Abortion information was usually available in two sections of home medical books: how to ?release obstructed menses? and ?dangers? to avoid during pregnancy. The latter section was a sort of how-to in reverse that could be effectively put to use by the reader. The most widely consulted work, Buchan's Domestic Medicine, advised emetics and a mixture of prepared steel, powdered myrrh, and aloe to ?restore menstrual flow.? Under caus... ...tives, sixth ed. Worth Publishers. 2001 Mohr, James C. Abortion in America: The Origins and Evolution of National Policy, 1800-1900. Oxford University Press: New York, New York. 1978. New York Times, Aug 23 1871, Aug 27 1871, Aug 30 1871, Aug 31 1871, Oct 29 1871. Shryock, R. H. Medicine and Society in America: 1660-1860. Ithaca, NY: Cornell. 1960 Starr, P. Medicine, "Economy and Society in Nineteenth century America," Journal of Social History. 1977. pp10, 588-607. Taverne, Dick. "The Huge Benefits of GM are being Blocked by Blind Opposition," The Guardian 3 Mar. 2004: 24. Wertz, R., and Wertz D. Lying-In: A History of Childbirth in America. New York: Free Press. 1997 Wilson, Richard K. "DNA: 50 Years Later," St. Louis Post 27 Feb. 2003: B7. Zeitz, Joshua M. "The Big Lie about the Little Pill," NEED NAME OF PAPER OR JOURNAL27 Dec. 2004: A17.

Appearance Vs. Reality Of Modern Music Affect On Teenagers :: essays research papers

Appearance vs. Reality of Modern Music Affect on Teenagers In today's society the teenager has had more rights than ever before, along with these rights comes responsibility, independence and good judgment. All of those mentioned have been destroyed in many teenagers lives by these "Rock Stars". The modern teenager is exposed to many different things that may affect their lives as they choose to live it, non quite as strong of a force than the effect of music, it is the teens outlet to expression, rebellion and popularity all of which are very important to the average teenager, but often in cases the teen who is trying to conform becomes subject to the "Rock Star's" manipulation, and that is when obsession kicks in. Then not only is the teenager subject to power corruption but so is the "rock star". This is the important thing to remember when dealing with the subject at hand. There are many reasons why teenagers cling to "rock stars", but there are always more popular reasons than others. One main reason that this occurs is because of the accessibility of what these "rock stars" are publishing. Think of all the things that teenagers have in front of them day-in, day-out; radio, television, clothes of peers etc. All of which are covered with popular musicians. So if they are so accessible then most people are aware of this so they start to pay attention to it, they see these extravagant people with no boundaries, limits or regulations. Most of modern "rock stars" have a catch something that stands out from the rest which leads to peoples attention. Also most "rock stars" these days have a relationship with the teens, the teens see themselves (or what they want to call themselves) in the "rock stars" presentation of their selves, but they take it to extremes so the teens say "hey they are like me but better" so it becomes an obsession to conform. These are some reasons why teens are obsessed by "rock stars". Out of all the different age groups on this planet why do teens seem to be the only ones who do this? Well teenagers have a great amount of time to read so much into things. Its the first age in most peoples lives where real independence is given, so they are desperate for something new to be controlled by. The one main reason why teens are the only age group subject to the manipulation of "rock stars" is because most of these "rock stars" are still in a teenage state of mind, so the real teenagers are already adapted to the Appearance Vs. Reality Of Modern Music Affect On Teenagers :: essays research papers Appearance vs. Reality of Modern Music Affect on Teenagers In today's society the teenager has had more rights than ever before, along with these rights comes responsibility, independence and good judgment. All of those mentioned have been destroyed in many teenagers lives by these "Rock Stars". The modern teenager is exposed to many different things that may affect their lives as they choose to live it, non quite as strong of a force than the effect of music, it is the teens outlet to expression, rebellion and popularity all of which are very important to the average teenager, but often in cases the teen who is trying to conform becomes subject to the "Rock Star's" manipulation, and that is when obsession kicks in. Then not only is the teenager subject to power corruption but so is the "rock star". This is the important thing to remember when dealing with the subject at hand. There are many reasons why teenagers cling to "rock stars", but there are always more popular reasons than others. One main reason that this occurs is because of the accessibility of what these "rock stars" are publishing. Think of all the things that teenagers have in front of them day-in, day-out; radio, television, clothes of peers etc. All of which are covered with popular musicians. So if they are so accessible then most people are aware of this so they start to pay attention to it, they see these extravagant people with no boundaries, limits or regulations. Most of modern "rock stars" have a catch something that stands out from the rest which leads to peoples attention. Also most "rock stars" these days have a relationship with the teens, the teens see themselves (or what they want to call themselves) in the "rock stars" presentation of their selves, but they take it to extremes so the teens say "hey they are like me but better" so it becomes an obsession to conform. These are some reasons why teens are obsessed by "rock stars". Out of all the different age groups on this planet why do teens seem to be the only ones who do this? Well teenagers have a great amount of time to read so much into things. Its the first age in most peoples lives where real independence is given, so they are desperate for something new to be controlled by. The one main reason why teens are the only age group subject to the manipulation of "rock stars" is because most of these "rock stars" are still in a teenage state of mind, so the real teenagers are already adapted to the

Ophelia Talks Back

Based on Margaret Tattoo's ‘Gertrude Talks Back' Why yes I do believe I am fair, and I don't need you to confirm it. Honey you were never invited to my wedding. God has given me one face, and I can do whatever the hell I please with it, thank you very much. Frankly you could do with a little heavy foundation and a wig yourself; it might Just conceal the premature balding and all the frown lines you've accumulated from moping. You looked like a tired old man some days. It totally screwed me over.Get thee to a friary. Clearly you're the one lacking in morals. I know you were cut about losing your dad, but there was no excuse to go stab mine. You careless little bastard. To be or not to be†¦ Oops, ha, I Just killed Polonium. I beg thy pardon. You may not lay your disheveled, deluded head in my lap. I don't want the grease stains from what's left of the hair on your head on my dress. Creep. And I've got more thoughts lying between my legs than you were ever able to resolve and brood over in your lifetime.You were terrible in bed. I've got more resolve, you see. Yes, I did kill myself seeing as you weren't planning on taking your last bow any time soon. Alas my attempt to escape from you and your contemptible sex failed when you and Alerter dived into my grave and started wrestling each other; proving no peace even in death. Men. And now you're claiming forty thousand brothers could not match your love for me. A far cry from Act 3. Well, Hamlet. I'd say make up your mind, but†¦ It's already a little late for that.